I quit my job today!

My neighbor just banged on my door and asked me to stop singing. SUCK IT, NEIGHBORS!! I'm channeling my inner Beyonce over here, and you're busting up my groove!!!

Clearly they don't recognize talent when it slaps them in the face. Perhaps if they had seen the awesome dance moves accompanying my singing they would feel differently.

Know one of the many things I love about Korea?

The fact that they've never given up on the hula hoop. The other night Ant and I were at our favorite watering hole downing a few cold ones, and he was like, "Hey, look! There's hula hooping going on over there!" And sure enough, right in the middle of the street at 9:30 at night some ajumma was just giving that hula hoop all she had! It was awesome. Even my gym has a bunch of hula hoops, and the ladies all just get in a circle and hula hoop forever while catching up on the latest gossip.

In other news, it's our last day of work! Tomorrow we head south to Songnisan National Park, and Tuesday we head to the islands!!!

Woo Muthafuckin' Hoo!!!!

Yesterday, while I went to the gym for some running on the dreadmill and a bit of weight lifting, Ant put on his little apron (you should really pause right now and picture him in an apron...) and made a huge dish of pasta salad for us to take to a potluck at our friend Teddy's house. We decided it would be cool to ride our bikes there, and it really was a cool ride. Of course, 8 hours of tequila, vodka, and beer later the realization that we also had to ride them home hit us like a ton of bricks - much to Joel and Cam's amusement. We went back and forth between just sucking it up and riding home (his argument) and continuing to drink (my clearly logical side of the argument), until we struck a compromise - we'd ride home, and stop at all the makkolli huts we passed on the way.

In case you're ever in that position where you've had a few drinks, but you can't tell exactly how drunk you are, let me tell you that the second you sit your ass on a bike you'll know. As long as I could go in a (relatively) straight line I was OK, but trying to manuever around any object, no matter how large or small? Forget about it.

Anyway, for some reason I didn't take pictures yesterday at Teddy's, but here's a bunch I never posted from the other week when we all got together to celebrate Teddy's birthday.

Saturday afternoon we had Achilles over for lunch. Fast forward 12 hours and we had somehow found ourselves at a random bar in Sinchon wasted out of our gourds. Especially yours truly, who didn't even think of getting out of bed until 5 p.m. on Sunday. Ant was totally sympathetic to my plight, as he spent most of the day laughing at me and referring to me as "The Barfer."

To sum it up, I'll give you a quote from a text I received from Achilles last night, "As my brain heals I'm realizing what a fuckin' blast I had!!"

Seriously. It was a total blast. And how 'bout the last picture, where Ant tried (unsuccessfully) to climb the walls of the subway? Hahaha.

Mmmmm...BIBIMBAP*!!! yumyumyumyumyumyumyum!!!!! There are tons of recipes on the web for this stuff, so if you want to try it back home just google it and pick one that looks good. If you're in Korea, just go to practically any restaurant...it's super cheap (3-4,000 won, usually) and easier than making it. Basically it's just a bowl of rice (bap means rice in Korean) with assorted veggies and seaweed on top, covered by an egg. They also add hot sauce, and at some places you can get it with meat. Then, you stir it all up and moosh it together, and shovel it down your throat. Serve with a side of kimchi, of course. :-)

*this post dedicated to Melanie at 2nd chances. :-)

On our way home from Jeongju we stopped at a local Folk Village, because we're not just hashers, we're cultured hashers. The houses are maintained to be replicas of the traditional Korean way of life. Korea has quite a few Folk Villages, so this wasn't the first one I've been to. I actually enjoy being a tourist and sightseeing, but when it comes to these if you've seen one you've pretty much seen them all.

We took a quick tour of the place (it's not big at all) and then headed off for some bibimbap. Jeongju is apparently famous for their bibimbap but to me it tasted the same as the stuff we get from the ajumma down the street from our apartment.

I'm not even sure how to begin to describe the debauchery that occurs when you shove nine hashers and a dog into a rental van that seats six. The S2H3 roadtrip to Jeongju was a great success (once we found the place) and the entire weekend was a blast! I'd love to tell you guys some more about it, but, as you know, what happens at the hash stays at the hash! I will say this: I doubt that our hotel will be renting a bunch of rooms to foreigners again anytime soon!

Some pictures from the trail:

A few pictures from the circle:

A pre-dinner toast for Voice, and Beaver and Voice entertaining the pack with The Engineer Song:

Dinner and debauchery at the Deep In Bar:

Yellow dust over Mongolia

Just a little info on the whole yellow sand thing. I've talked about it to some people at home, and I could tell by the looks on their faces that they totally thought I was exaggerating or just completely making it up. So here's your proof, mofos!

*This article reprinted without permission.*


from 51st Medical Group

Aerospace Medicine squadron

3/1/2009 - OSAN AIR BASE, REPUBLIC OF KOREA --

March through May on the Korean Peninsula brings a break between the winter-bearing Siberian air mass and the summer swelter that flows from Southern Asia. But, just to keep things interesting, spring in Korea also means yellow sand storms from the Gobi Desert in Northern China, Inner Mongolia and Manchuria.

These sand storms kick up huge clouds of dust that can travel all the way to Korea and Japan. When that happens, the Korean Meteorological Association's weather officials may issue "Asian Dust" or "Yellow Sand" health advisories, using a yellow-sand warning system. The level of warning depends on how much sand, measured by the number of dust particles, are in the air. For more information, visit http://web.kma.go.kr/eng/asi/asi_01_01.jsp. USFK also monitors the Yellow sand and provides regular updates and recommendations throughout the day. You can access their information at: http://www.seoul.amedd.army.mil/sites/yellowsand/default.asp

Osan's Bioenvironmental Engineering, Public Health and Weather officials monitor the KMA and USFK sites and provide advisory updates throughout the day on the Commander's Access Channel as conditions warrant.

The health risks associated with yellow sand are minimal for most active duty members and their dependents. There is a small subset of personnel who are at higher risk from the yellow sand, namely individuals with pre-existing respiratory problems such as asthma, emphysema or other forms of chronic respiratory disease. These individuals may experience wheezing or shortness of breath with high dust levels. Individuals with seasonal allergies may also notice worsening of their allergy symptoms such as increased nasal congestion, eye irritation, coughing, phlegm and shortness of breath. If you or a family member has one of these conditions please check the Osan AB Commander's Access Chanel throughout the day, or the USFK website for an update as conditions frequently change.

The following measures can also help prevent development of symptoms associated with yellow sand: · Consider limiting outdoor activities when high dust levels are present · Wear glasses instead of contacts · Close windows · Wash exposed skin after returning indoors · Wear long sleeves · Cover mouth and nose · Do not drink or eat food outside · Drink water frequently · People with lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion.

For more information regarding yellow sand, call Public Health at 784-4494/2515 or Bioenvironmental Engineering at 784-2623.

Today is the highest so far this spring, and even though I'm having an awful time with it it's actually only considered to be a moderate risk.

Seoul during yellow sand storm. It's nowhere near this bad today.

Looks like there might be quite a bit of indoor running in my future!