March 2006

Another week has come and gone. This week was spent getting ready for a visit from my former colleagues at the Air Force Inspection Agency. They’re arriving tomorrow night and will begin Kunsan’s Health Service inspection on Monday.

I’ve done my best to give folks the correct perspective on this inspection and the team that’s coming to visit. Some have taken my comments to heart, but some refuse to dismiss old paradigms and insist on focusing more on presentation than the actual content of the documentation they provide. This of course, is a big mistake and may just bite them in the ass.

One thing I advised against is the old “meet them when they get off the bus” reaction. When I was inspecting with the team, there was nothing we disliked more than the long line of greeters immediately upon our arrival. Think about it, we’ve been traveling for several hours and want nothing more than to check into our rooms and get something to eat, but before we can do that we must “grip and grin” with every member of the executive staff.

The team arriving tomorrow will have just completed a 14-hour plane ride, where they then boarded a bus for a 3-hour drive to Kunsan. They’ll arrive late at night and battling jet-lag. Will they get to check into their room and get something to eat before catching some much needed shut-eye, nooooooooo, at least not before having to grip and grin with every member of the executive staff.

…sigh…

I went into the office today to get some work done and when I arrived discovered my coffee pot had leaked all over the counter. Evidently there’s a crack or something beneath it. So, I cleaned up the mess and threw the coffee pot away. Fortunately, I had a spare coffee pot, the one I shipped to Korea from home, so I drove back to the apartment to get it. I cleaned it and drove back to the office. I filled it with water, put in a filter and some coffee, plugged it in and turned it on. It started gurgling. I set the clock on the pot, sat down at my desk and turned on my computer. I’m just getting started on my stat homework when POP! and the power goes off to half my office, including the coffee pot.

Okay, so there was a power surge and it tripped a circuit breaker. I went into the hallway and opened the breaker box and reset the breaker to my office. Everything should be working fine now. Everything worked fine, except of course for the coffee pot. There was power to the outlet, but the coffee pot wasn’t working. The power surge fried the coffee pot and that was that. So, I expressed my feelings with a string of 4-letter words, poured myself a cup of the coffee that had already brewed and sat down at my desk to stew for a minute before I drove to the store to buy a new coffee pot.

It’s rather ironic that as I type this post, I’m enjoying a lovely cup of tea.

Today was Cindy’s last day in Korea. She leaves for the high desert tomorrow morning.

We spent the afternoon with friends and visited the National Museum of Korea just outside the gates of Youngsan.

Our friends, Ray his wife Hyon and their girls, took us to the shopping district of Namdaemun. Cindy, Hyon and the girls went shopping while Ray and I went to a nearby “Hoff” (pub) for a couple of cold beers. After the shopping spree, we returned to Youngsan and had dinner together at a nearby Korean restaurant.

A nice end to a great vacation.

Today Cindy and I spent the day in downtown Seoul. First we took a cab to the shopping district of Itaewon. This is an area that many Americans visit because of its proximity to Youngsan Garrison. We walked up the street looking in the shops and fending-off the pushy vendors. When we came across the subway entrance, we thought we’d give it a go. After all, we’ve been all around England and Sydney, Australia on the subway, this shouldn’t be much different, right. Well, sort of.

Although much of the information was in English, not understanding the language was a big disadvantage. We wanted to visit the Hard Rock Cafe to buy shirts for the kids and have some lunch, so armed with the Hard Rock brochure and a sorry map from the hotel, we bought two subway tickets at â‚©190 each. We entered the gate and boarded the “Line 6″ train for Yaksu. At Yaksu, we boarded the “Line 3″ train for Apgujeong. Upon exiting the subway station, we tried to determine the right direction to go to find the Hard Rock. This wasn’t as easy a task as we thought it would be.

We looked for a familiar street or building name, something top correspond with our crappy map, so we could get our bearing. Nothing. We walked around the block and came across a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop (go figure!). We went in and ordered two cups of coffee and a jelly doughnut for Cindy. I asked one of the workers for directions to the Hard Rock and she didn’t know what i was talking about. I showed her the brochure and it didn’t help. She asked one of the other workers to help us and this time we found someone who could indeed help! She wrote the name of a hospital on a piece of paper and then some text in Korean. She told us to walk up one block and give the paper to a cab driver and he would take us there. We did.

The cabbie didn’t speak a word of English, but he read the note and invited us into the cab. He took us to the hospital which was right next door to the Hard Rock Cafe! The cab ride was â‚©3,000.

So, we were able to buy the t-shirts, but the restaurant didn’t open until 5:00 (it was about 2:30). We headed back to the subway station. On the way we stopped at a Mary Kay store we’d seen as we were riding in the Cab. Cindy is a beauty consultant and knows just about everything there is to know about Mary Kay. The store was very interesting and they seemed very excited to learn that Cindy was a Mary Kay girl, too! Cindy bought some product that they make and sell only in Korea and they showered her with gifts. It was quite an experience.

After Mary Kay, we got back on the subway and headed back to Itaewon where we dined at the Outback Steakhouse. It was very good and a pitcher of Hite beer made the meal pleasantly unique.

What a nice day!

We drove up to Seoul yesterday and are staying in the Dragon Hill Lodge at Youngsan. The accomodations are fantastic; the rooms are large and comfortable and the view from our window is very nice. The weather outside leaves something to be desired, though: rain and fog.

Our drive to Osan today was uneventful. Cindy and I loaded up the Jeep this morning and hit the road about 10:30. The traffic was light and the drive was easy and pleasant. We arrived about 1:30 and checked in right away. We’re staying in one of the chief suites and are quite comfortable. After bringing in the bags, we took a walk down “the alley” outside the base gate. Cindy bought a leather coat, some purses (gifts) and had some luggage tags made to match her new luggage. Tonight we’re ordering pizza and vegging-out in front of the television.

Cindy and I will soon be taking a trip to Osan to do some shopping. We’ll be spending the night there before going on to Seoul. It’ll be nice to get away and I think Cindy will really enjoy the experience.

I’ve contacted a friend in Seoul and we’ll be hooking up with him and his family for dinner while we’re there.

We plan on visiting the Korean War Museum during our stay in Seoul. I’ve been there once before and what was really interesting is that although the United States liberated South Korea, we really played a relatively small role in the history of that war.

What else will we do in Seoul? Shop!

I see within the mirror,
a glass representation of myself,
identical eyes staring back at me.
What secrets are revealed
in that reflection?
Can I truly know myself?
Is what I see mirrored
in the minds and hearts
of those around me?
or am I considered differently?

I am known by the other
He knows me in a way I can
never know myself;
in a moments evaluation
he pronounces an instantaneous
judgement of who I am.
In a flash I am reduced
to an impression; a supposition
that is reality to the mind that
owns the thought.
I am a slave to that image
if I have no further contact
with the other.

Gazing on my reflection
in the mirror, can I truly know
something of that image
unknown now to me?
Can I see what others see?
Can I be the other?

Revised. Originally written in 1999

The cold winter wind
Chills deeply to my bone
Sunshine does not help

It’s snowing outside. Although just a light dusting, the ground looks fresh and clean. The temperature outside is 21°, but the wind has died down since yesterday and it only feels like 13°. The sun is starting to peak out from behind what was just a short time ago, some very ominous grey-black clouds.

I’m not a big fan of cold weather. I don’t mind snow as long as I don’t have to go out in it. I’m looking forward to some warmer weather. Springtime in Korea is supposed to be very pleasant: A comfortable climate and luscious green hues paint the landscape as the rice patties become active. I’m told the summer months are sweltering, but I have a feeling I’ll be more comfortable then than I am now. I much prefer the warmth and humidity of Florida to the dry cool air of New Mexico and absolutely detest the cold wet winters of Virginia.

It’s been a week since my last post and I’m just getting the time to update. Cindy came to visit on Tuesday and she’ll be here for a couple of weeks. I’m very glad to see her and we’re enjoying our time together. I took the “Wolf Pack Wheels” (Services bus) to Incheon to pick her up. I arrived at the airport just as her plane was touching down. It took her about an hour to collect her bags and clear Customs. We grabbed a bite to eat in the airport and boarded the bus for the trip back to Kunsan.

I had to work the rest of the week, but am taking the next week off. We plan on spending some time at Osan and Seoul before she has to return to the States. This weekend we’re just relaxing. Last night I took Cindy out for her first Korean meal. We went to the “Log Cabin” restaurant and ordered a meal that the Americans call “Beef on a Leaf.” This dinner was a spicy pork dish with rice, various kimche and the assorted leaves (sesame, cabbage, etc) used to roll the morsels together. We washed it all down with a couple bottles of Hite beer. It was very good!

This evening were going out again, but this time with friends. What has pretty much become a “Supper Club” with me and several of my colleagues at work. We pick a different place each week and meet for dinner. It’s really a lot of fun and we get to experience so many different foods. Cindy and I are really looking forward to the event this evening.