A few pics

Just adding a few quick pictures. I will be dropping a post later on in the week. Enjoy.

This is my team at work. This was our team dinner about 3 weeks ago.

This is at the top of Suri mountain. It's about an hour and a half south from my house and it took us about an hour and a half to get to the top.

Me at the top after I climbed out onto this rock.

We always have to carry a beer with us to the top of the mountain to drink on the way down. It makes the decent that much more fun.

Spring has sprunged

I know "sprunged" isnt a word but it damn well should be...

It’s been awhile since I last posted and I was figuring it would be good to drop a little blurb before the weekend since I plan on posting another picture/video update then.

Spring is officially here in Korea. The change of the seasons and weather in Seoul are remarkably like that of Chicago with a few differences.

First, it gets much colder in Chicago than Seoul during the winter. I’ve never had to wear my “winter” jacket in Seoul more than 4 or 5 times per year and people thought I was crazy when I was walking around in shorts and a t-shirt in April. All I can say is, “That’s how it’s done in Chicago”.

Second, springtime in Korea brings the “yellow sand” phenomena which is pretty much sand from the Gobi Desert in China being swept up and spread through the air of Seoul in waves that hit every spring. It causes plenty of health issues for people with lung problems and those with allergies every year so it always helps to have a face mask for those particularly nasty days. I’ve also adopted the routine of washing my eyes out with saline when I get into my apartment and keeping my humidifier on at work all the time. Color me a hypochondriac.

Other than that, like I said, pretty much the same.

I have been enjoying the nice weather and have been taking longer lunches than usual so I can stroll around the little gardens with my co-workers. It’s also really nice to be able to wear my sandals again. The unfortunate thing is that spring only lasts like 3 weeks before it starts getting hot. That is why I plan on enjoying this weather while it lasts.

Things on the work front are pretty much the same. I work, do some presentations, yada yada yada. I will be up for a promotion pretty soon and though I don’t really want it, the extra income will be nice. Other than that, work is fine.

I will be traveling to Japan next weekend to meet up with my grandmother and the rest of my family who I haven’t seen in almost 4 years. It should be interesting to see how far my Japanese skills have fallen off while actually in the country. Here’s to 36 hours of Japanese practice and lots of delicious food. I should have some cool pictures to share when I get back.

So this is my “little blurb” entry.

I will get to posting pictures and videos this weekend sometime so be on the lookout for that.

It's been kinda drab around here lately...

I haven't been posting pictures or videos at all lately and I'm assuming that my glowing posts about work aren't keeping people as interested as I've led myself to believe. As such, I've decided to post a few things that I've been keeping to myself and hopefully a few of the remaining people who actually read this blog still will get a laugh or two out of them.

This picture dates back to when the Bears were marching through the playoffs. I dressed up my friend Gina in this outfit. Da Bears~

Okay, so the way this sign is pronounced is "Don King" but it has absolutely nothing to do with the Don King. Why? In Korean "Don" actually means "pork". So in this case, it's actually the Pork King, a place where we can get Korean BBQ.

This is the only picture I managed to take on my birthday since I forgot to charge the damn batteries. Here from the left we have: Jayce, Greg's Wife's Sister, Greg, Greg's Wife, and Joe. They're great fun.

This was a random Japanese couple I met at a bar in Itaewon. They were hilarious.

This was in a country bar in Itaewon. The only one of its kind that actually has a damn square-dancing floor. Needless to say, I hate the place. They do, however, have cheap jello shots. I also get to watch fools dance around while they are drunk.

This is what happens to people when they fall asleep around us. Poor Gina, and her own boyfriend Aaron is the only one placing the cigarette in her ear. Boo Hoo.

This is Rhett in all his glory. Rhett was my "boss" at my old English teaching job. Besides doing stuff like this whenever he feels the urge, he also engages in far more interesting activities that, because of their nature, will never see the light of day on this blog.

This is Micah in his drunken daze. I like to call him Clay Fakin'. I bet some of you who are well versed in the uselessness that is pop culture know why.

And finally (at least for tonight), I will end this picture update with a video that everyone everywhere must see. I haven't laughed as hard as I did when I first watched this in years. Enjoy.

http://funnyordie.com/v1/view_video.php?viewkey=3efbc24c7d2583be6925

Otaku-licious

I’ve noticed something interesting about myself lately and I wanted to comment on it.

Now, I’ve been reading comic books (most especially Japanese manga) for as long as I can remember and I’ve never really considered myself to be a manga “otaku”. However, I am starting to question now whether or not I am.

I never used to purchase comic books, rather I would just sit in a library or store and look over them when I had the time or was just bored. They were also something to do while sitting over at Chris’s house and engaging in not-so-legal activities. I always liked comic books/manga and really felt jealous sometimes of people’s abilities to create whole new worlds and characters out of thin air and put them on paper. Ah, yes. That’s the ability I envy the most, the ability to draw comic books.

In the last few years however, I’ve gone from the occasional indulger to the avid collector/reader. I have purchased something along the lines of about 200 manga comics or tankobon in the past 2 years. That is well over $1000 in comic books alone. Since I started my new job 5 months ago, I have purchased about 40 or so tankobon and it seems I am buying at least 2 per week.

I love reading them when I am traveling on the train or bus or sometimes when I just get the urge to lay down and read something. Besides being decent Japanese reading practice, I like how completely immersed in the storylines I become when I crack them open. It really helps me get away from the stress and worrying of the real world even if only for the 10 minute train ride.

I don’t know if this makes me an “otaku” or not but I guess if it does I really don’t mind the moniker at all. I used to think of “otaku” as scraggily haired white kids who wear anime shirts and spout off the random 3 words they know in Japanese at the most inappropriate times. I actually still do carry that stereotype now that I think about it. Maybe I’m a new type of otaku, a more suave type of comic book nerd….

Probably not though…

At least my hair isn’t scraggily.

Here is a list of the current manga I am reading. If there are other “suave otaku” out there who feel like sharing their list with me, it would be appreciated. Recommendations are great too.

“Samurai Deeper Kyo”
“Naruto”
“Bleach”
“D Gray Man”
“Full Metal Alchemist”
“Death Note”

The beginning of my social withdrawl...

The PS3 is finally here. I ended up having to pay about $120 in taxes to get it out of the post office but after dropping what I did on it already, it didn’t seem like much. They even asked if I wanted them to deliver it to my house so I didn’t have to carry it.

“No thanks. I’ll just carry it home.”

It consumed almost all of my Saturday and a few hours of my Sunday. The new Tony Hawk is pretty damn good and I’m also liking NBA 2K7. Madden 07 has its usual luster and the Marvel Ultimate Alliance has the makings of a great multi-player. I’m not that happy with the Sonic game because it’s just too damn uncontrollable and the new Genji is very fluid. That was my game breakdown. I look forward to getting a few blu-ray disc movies and seeing how good they are.

Other than the PS3, I went to the movies with the girl and her brother. We saw “300” and I was pretty impressed with it. It wasn’t “Sin City” but it did a similar job in making gore beautiful. I also now have a goal for my workouts because the Spartans in that movie were just impossibly ripped. I’m going to have to find those workouts somewhere. Anyone know where to look?

PS3 me

Yep, I should be getting my brand-spankin’ new Playstation 3 in the mail within the next two weeks or so. If it wasn’t for work keeping me busy lately, I’d probably be even more excited than I am. The total expenses including the system, games, cords, random accessories and shipping should be about $1200 in total. While that might sound kind of steep to most (it really isn’t), I’m pretty sure it will pay for itself within a few months or so. Once I get my hands on it, I’ll post some pictures of it for people to drool over.

Now that writing about one of the more exciting things going on for me is over (yes, I know, whatever), I can elaborate on more of the details of my mundane life…

Work has been pretty hectic lately. Not so much in the sense of staying late, but rather the amount of stuff I do while I am there. I am usually juggling 3 or 4 projects at once along with a series of other smaller side things all while trying to learn another side of our business. The programs I’m using are pretty interesting and the level of expectation from me is getting pretty high. I guess I’m pretty happy I finally have a job that challenges me somewhat.

I also set a date for my brother’s trip out to visit me. He should be here for about 3 weeks or so from mid-July or so and I’m looking forward to him coming out here again. Though it might be the last time I get to see him for 3-5 years, I’m really proud of him finally taking some initiative to change his own life’s direction and join the Navy. While I’m not sure where he will be stationed, it would be pretty cool if he could get out to Korea once in a while. Either way, I’m sure we will enjoy the 3 short weeks he is here. Prepare yourself bro.

Other than all of this, I really don’t have anything else going on lately. I hope to post some pictures and videos on here soon for people to enjoy. Perhaps I will over the weekend when I have more time.

Off to the gym with me…

I'm a boring person/official adult

It’s funny how less often I am making blog entries lately.

It’s not because I am too lazy or too busy (I am a bit of both), but mostly because I have almost nothing interesting to update on. As most people have pointed out to me, “All you do is talk about work”, and I must agree. Unfortunately, the path I have chosen for myself career-wise leaves me with little options as far as doing other things. I know, I know, I have the weekends and after work time, right? Well, I have no excuse on the weekend tip, but as far as after work is over, I mostly just eat dinner and go to the gym. Rinse, Repeat.

I’m looking into how I can change my rather mundane life into something more fun while still keeping the responsibility part intact and it is proving to be difficult. I hope to start doing more on the weekends than just meet friends and carouse around town. I want to turn this blog into a bit more than just work updates and boorish musings and start posting more often on cultural issues and other more interesting topics. I guess we’ll see what time permits…

As far as recent happenings, I had a pretty decent birthday party and got to hang out with most of people I wanted to. We started off at a Brazilian restaurant/buffet then went to drink at a bar in Itaewon. I got a really nice wallet from Jayce and Dave gave me a ham sandwich without the bread, so it was mostly just ham. I guess things have been rough for him lately. Other than the b-day, nothing really exciting has happened. It’s been mostly work, going to the gym, and downloading anime. I did go over to the girlfriend’s house and have dinner with the parents which is always fun. I got to eat a delicious meal and then stayed the night. My girlfriend’s parents are two of the nicest people on the planet, I really have to say.

Oh, and I bought a computer desk and chair. Excitement.
So I guess this is my crappy update. I’m looking at going to an art exhibit with the girl this weekend so maybe I can take a few pictures and have something more interesting to post.

Look for Korean and Japanese posts within this coming week (hopefully).

Juxtaposition

So here we are again.

Work has been particularly interesting lately, albeit rather busy. Last week I got to present two projects to a client, one of which I had 3 days to work on. Essentially that meant I had 3 days to turn a report into a good report into a presentation into a concise and effective presentation and finally memorize all of the key points. The entire thing lasted about 3 hours or so and it went extremely well. The second in command of my company was there to watch me as well.

I recently found out that my job title and position will be changing effective this March, due mostly to the results of my presentations. I will now be handling RMS (Retail Management Services) business as well as my original CRS (Customized Research Services) duties. This means that I will be doing more of the presentations to big clients and also get a chance to get my hands on more of the raw data for projects. Up until this point, I’ve been mostly handling the ass end of reports and final presentations. This switch means I will be able to gain a more holistic approach to what we do here. More responsibility and more work. Same pay. Ha.

I also participated in the recent inter-company basketball game. Since I’ve been getting back into shape and running lately, my basketball legs are also returning to me. It was pretty evident that I still have some rust spots to work out but this recent game was my best outing at the company yet. My CRS team beat the RMS team 107-68. We pretty much pulled away after the first quarter and built close to a 50 point lead in the fourth. I don’t know how many points I scored (between 20 or 30) but I cleaned up on the boards (42) as usual. And yes, I do keep track of my rebound total. It’s all I have to be proud of. I look forward to next week’s game.

Enough about work though.

This coming Saturday marks the 26th anniversary of my entrance into this world. I guess it is rather unfair to most people to say that I feel like I’m getting old but, whatever, I’m getting old. While I am eager to start what I am sure will be a more successful quarter century, I can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic and sad when I look back at my more carefree, responsibility-less days. I guess you can really tell you’re getting on in years when you start using the word “nostalgic”. In any case, happy birthday to me.

Things are really starting to move forward on the travel plans for the next year.

In April I will be going to Japan to see a few old friends. I am kind of mad at myself for going so long without seeing them but at least it’s good to see that they still remember me. I look forward to meeting you guys.

After that, my bro-ham will be coming out here in June for a little while and I’m excited to see him. Fresh from graduating from high school and he already has traveled more than I did at his age. I look forward to showing him around Seoul some more. Also in June (?), I will be going out to Japan again to attend a Jungle Juice beach party, something along the lines of what I did during my year there. I’ve heard they’ve had one every year since we introduced it back in 2002 so I’m looking forward to being there for the 5 year anniversary. Watch out kids, the Jungle Juice King is back.

In July (hopefully), Marc and Ralph will be making it out here so I can show them around Korea. It’s going to be hard to synchronize everything, and the price of the trip is a pretty steep but I’m confident that they will get here and have a good time.

And of course, in September I will be going home for a couple of weeks to see the family and friends.

So as you can see, I’ve got a lot to look forward to the next couple of months. Maybe 26 will be the best year yet.

Here’s to hoping…

Last post of the year (probably)

Well, I hope everyone had a good Christmas.

I’m sure most of you didn’t get any snow, but what the hell, I’m sure in about 50 years or so there won’t be any so enjoy whatever you do get when you get it. I didn’t get any snow either but at least I got to make some wonderful Christmas tacos with the girlfriend. I capped my Christmas night off with a little drinking session involving myself, Jayce and Nate which ended at my house drinking soju and playing NBA Live. I realized when I woke up on Monday morning that this would be my first year ever without some sort of Christmas break. It’s pretty crazy to have to sit back and reflect on your life in terms of Christmas vacations. Maybe lame is a better word. At least I got Monday off.

Now we turn to New Year’s, the last and first holiday of the year. I don’t think I’ve had a sober one in a long time, but this year seems like that might finally happen. I actually have a half-day on Friday and Monday off, so this will be the longest weekend I will get until I take my vacation in September. More than likely I will spend it in my house lounging around. My ambition knows no boundaries.

I’ve noticed a few things floating around out there in cyberspace recently and felt the need to comment about some of them.

First, the last Harry Potter finally has been named and the title is: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows”. I kind of wish she would have named it something more funny but whatever. Guess the title “Harry Potter Does Hogwarts” would give the religious nuts one more reason to try to ban the book. Personally I would have named it “Harry Potter and the Haha There Is No Seventh Book” and it would have consisted of only page containing a photo copy of my ass. I will be reading it when it comes out though, just like everyone else on the planet.

There seems to be a lot of movies that are somehow connected to childhood memories coming out. The new Rocky movie, the Transformers movie, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, the new Fantastic Four movie (with Silver Surfer and Galactus!), and probably a few others I haven’t heard about. More than likely, I will see all of them at some point just for the nostalgic value. Two movies I would like to see happen would be the Dragon Ball movie (you saw Matrix 3, they could do it) and a Superman movie that has Doomsday in it.

Yes, I am a complete nerd.

Well, guess that’s it for this week’s post so I will leave you with a few pictures to peruse. Enjoy.












Christmas tacos!!




The Christmas Tree in Sichong, near my house





Dave assumes his battle position. By that I mean passes-out-and-gets-screwed-with position.


A totally irrelevant picture, Kon from Bleach. (俺と一緒に連れて行きやがれ!) Kon rules.

Thank Gonzo It's Friday

I love Fridays.

All other days of the week should slit their wrists because they will never measure up to the greatness that is Friday. Well, Saturday is cool too I guess.

So, another week at work ends which means the usual bevy of questions. What will I do? Who will I meet? Where will I go? What should I eat?

Figuring these questions out is only some of the fun Fridays bring.

On the technology front, I plan on getting my new cell phone this weekend which should be pretty kickass. It’s going to cost about 800 dollars but since I am signing an 18-month contract with them, I can spread it out over that time so it will cost me about 40 or so a month. It’s a pretty awesome phone. It has a turnable screen so I can watch TV on it, a pretty good digital camera (the coolest thing is the photo option), an MP3 player, a blender, and I can even use it as a phone. Pretty cool, huh? Okay, I was lying about the blender part. I should also be picking up my computer soon which will add a whole new dimension of fun to the house. Finally, I have about 60 hours now logged on my Final Fantasy 12 game and I recently realized that I am only about ¾ of the way through it. For all of you that care: all characters are currently at level 43 and I just beat the Tyrant dragon boss. For all of you that don’t care: Final Fantasy is still cooler than you, crumb.

On the work front, I have yet another presentation next week, this time for the Board of ING Life. The key words for this project are speed and conciseness. I only have about 20 minutes to give a review of their Ethics Management system that we have been researching for over a year. Apparently most people here don’t like high-end presentations because there is too much pressure. I can see why. We have 20 minutes to show them why it justifies contracting another year long project with us. Essentially, the presenter can fuck up a year’s worth of work for many people in a third of an hour. I love the pressure, I live for it. I like watching my colleague’s worried eyes as we walk into the room, its pure hilarity. I guess it’s the job of the young, gung-ho new-hire to not grasp the gravity of the situation at hand but I think it’s just that reason that I do well in these things.

On a side note, I sat in on a presentation I helped design this week for the Japanese ophthalmology company, Santen. They had the Japanese CEO and CFO there who I quickly introduced to myself in Japanese. Even though it has become a bit rusty, I can still get around pretty well and the 2 guys loved me for it. I found out the CEO actually lives like a 5 minute walk from where I used to dorm in Inage. Small world. Anyway, this made the atmosphere of the presentation a little more friendly which helped my friend give a great presentation. I hope to go out drinking with the Japanese guys soon. It’s been too long since I’ve drank with a Japanese businessman. It’s kind of like drinking with your cool uncle back home, only shorter.

Ah yes, it’s almost Christmas. It’s funny how my almost complete lack of Christian values and way of life don’t stop me from enjoying this holiday. I’m not saying that I only enjoy the commercial end, I mean actually still do get the “Christmas Spirit” around this time. Well, I’m not going to blow my load on this post as far as Christmas is concerned, I’ll save a whole new post for that next week.

Finally, I’ll end with a few pictures of my workplace. Enjoy.



This is right when you get off on the elevator on the 9th floor

My throne of power. See the upside-down water bottle? That's my humidifier.

The view from the bathroom window.

View from the water jug.

Some funny English for you. Okay, the advertisement was actually for an English school trying to point out that the sentence was funny English but still, funny nonetheless.

Engrish or English?

Ahh, English. The native language of people hailing from America, Canada, Australia, England, and a score of other countries. It is also, for some freaky reason, the international language of choice by most of the world. It has become so important to be able to communicate in English in some countries that complete losers fresh out of college can get a job teaching it in some countries (even losers with HUGE noses and long, shitty blonde hair). Ha.

I also have “beautifying English” as one of my main objectives at my current job. While I have a lot of trouble turning sometimes horrible English into “beautiful” English, it also allows me to come across such gems as “cummarize”, which was a friend of mine’s attempt at typing “summarize”.

(Note: The word “cummarize” is hereby mine and mine alone. Nobody without written consent of me shall ever be able to use this word. It’s MINE MINE MINE!!! HAHAHA)

Back to the point.

I was wondering the other day about English and it’s applications. If there are more “broken” speakers of English in the world than native speakers, why is native English still so important? I know the textbook answer to this, however, I truly wonder why sometimes.

I have been laughing for years at sites like funny.engrish and others like it. I participated in a scavenger hunt where one of the objectives was to take pictures of “funny” English around town. I had to explain to a friend why the shirt we seen online that said “War is Homo” in pink letters was not appropriate. There are thousands of things you can find on the internet dedicated to “funny” English. I have been told by colleagues that they have an easier time understanding “broken” English than native English. It's almost uncanny that we as native speakers can hold so much sway over the more populated "broken" speakers.

So my question is this: When will native English stop being important in places where there aren’t natives? When will “funny” English be the standard of all standards when it comes to English. Will there be a time when all native speakers have to go to language schools to learn “broken” English? Does it matter?

I hope this elicits some comments because I am really interested in reading about people have to say about this.

Really I’m not. The only two reasons I made this blog post was to a) post something since I haven’t since last week and b) call out my dibs on the word “cummarize”. I apologize for the inconvenience of reading this post. You can disregard it. I never really thought most of the thoughts above. I just needed something to disguise my true purpose.

Sorry.

Haha… Cummarize.






Oh...and on a side note. Props to good ol' Doug for still having these OLD school pictures from our time in Chiba. See ya in a few months fucker.

This is me as a Japanese school girl. I think I looked more like Janis Joplin, but whatever, the elements are all there.

No, we're not drunk in this picture. Yes, we am.

The Japanese in this sign is absolutely priceless. If you can't read Japanese, here's a translation: Learn to read Japanese.

This is an ancient tradition in Japan where someone sits in the drunk chair and Doug shoves a broom in their face.

Going Going Back Back to Chicago Chicago

As I write this, I realize I will be getting on the plane to go home in 8 hours. I haven't been home to see my family or friends in almost 16 months so this visit is definately well over due. I'm anxious to see how everyone has been doing in my absence. Even though it will only be for about 3 weeks, I look forward to spending time back home. The most interesting aspect of this trip, however, is the fact that NOBODY (with the exception of my friend Ralph, who is picking me up at the airport) is aware of the fact I'm coming home. I'm excited to give my family an "international surprise" that I'm sure they won't soon forget. I plan on putting all the videos and pictures from the trip on here when I get back so look forward to that.

Get ready Chicago, I'm coming back to you.