October 2006

100 days and counting. 100 days until I’m home for good! Tomorrow, I begin the double-digit countdown to “operation exodus.”

This evening I went to the movies. I saw “Talledaga Nights” with Will Farrell. Good movie with a lot of laughs. I was very refreshing after the bomb “Anchor Man” Farrell put out a couple years ago.

Looks like a quiet weekend ahead. I’ve got to go into work for a few hours tomorrow, but other than that, not much is planned. This weekend is the Korean Thanksgiving holiday of Chusok and I certainly don’t want to venture out onto the highways.

I’ll be going to bed soon, but will probably do a little reading first. Before that, I need to put in a call to the Met Opera Guild to speak to someone about my subscription. I subscribed to the “Opera News” magazine in July, but have yet to receive a magazine. My first issue was supposed to be September, but it never came. I’m also supposed to receive a free CD with my subscription, but alas, I’ve received nothing. I’m not too excited about their customer service either. I called and left a couple messages on their voicemail, but no one returned my call. I phoned again this evening and the voicemail is full! I got another number to call from the operator, but they don’t come into work until about 9:30 a.m. EST (10.30 p.m. here in Korea).

Of course, it may not be the Opera Guild. I’ve been having problems lately with the postal service. I sent a package home on September 18 and it still hasn’t arrived. Fortunately, I insured it, but I can’t file a claim for 45 days. I also subscribe to the “Military History” magazine and have yet to receive my October issue! It’s frustrating to say the least!

Oh well, only 100 more days!!

Its been a busy week for me here at “the Kune.” Training exercises at the beginning of the week put me into my chem gear again (I certainly won’t miss that when I leave). Thursday was a safety day for the wing and more training.

Friday, the 8th Medical Group (USAF) and the 38th Medical Clinic (ROKAF) got together for a friendly game of softball and a cookout. It was an afternoon of fellowship and gave both organizations a change to get to know one another. I set up this event with my counterpart at the ROKAF Clinic and hopefully will enhance the interoperability of our organizations. After all, in a contingency, we’ll be working together to care for the warfighters, both American and Korean, assigned to Kunsan.

The first softball game was the USAF versus ROKAF and in the second game, we combined the teams with USAF/ROKAF versus USAF/ROKAF. I played a couple innings, too, which was pretty interesting since I haven’t played in almost 25 years! I got a couple of hits and scored two runs, so I guess I did okay. The ROKAF folks sponsored the softball games and provided snacks and beverages. They had a couple tables with Korean grapes and a tub full of Cass beer, Power Aide and water. After the softball game the USAF sponsored a cookout at the Stool II in the medical compound. We had typical American faire with hamburgers and hotdogs, baked beens and chips, as well as the beverages behind our full-service bar. Our guests brought some delicious Korean wine (a little too sweet for my taste, but tasty nonetheless), some learned to play Cricket from our dart aficionados and we indoctrinated them into the organization with the “Stool Sample Ceremony” at the bar. I explained afterward that this made them a part of our “family” and we’re welcome anytime to the Stool. They seemed especially pleased with this and I find that the Stool holds some special meaning with these folk. Our next event will be basketball.

Yesterday morning started off with a Bowl-a-thon fund-raiser for upcoming enlisted events. The Chiefs’ put together a couple of teams and raised about $300 for the event. We didn’t do too badly, I personally bowled a 143 in the first game, but tanked the second with just a 66! That’s the worst score I’ve ever gotten. I just couldn’t stop the darn ball from curving right…I scratched the first ball on 5 frames. After bowling, I took a nap!

Last night the Chiefs’ went out to dinner at the Turtle Ship restaurant in Gunsan. The dinner was good and all the Chiefs looked pretty wiped-out sitting there in the restaurant. After dinner we had a beer in the Den and watched the last half of “A Bug’s Life” on the big screen television. What a sight that musta been!

Today, I’ll take it easy…go for a run, read and listen to music. Tomorrow begins another week!