dpark's weblog

Sunday night and last night I got close to 11 hours of sleep each night. Around 8pm or so I just totally crash. I wake up at 1am, and by then it's already bed time, so I stay asleep. Oh it's great. Last Friday I had kind of a neat dream. On Friday the sun let off this huge solar flare or something which was anticipated to cause electrical disruptions. Personally I didn't notice any, but in my dream, I was in a room, and through the window came this blinding, and I mean blinding light. Everything just turned white, and the thought that came to mind was Armageddon. Within the dream it felt surreal. Not sure if that made any sense, but it just felt weird.

This morning I went to HUP to get nerve conduction tests done. I was hooked up to this machine. The electrodes were placed on my skin, and the nurse zapped me with a mild electrical shock. She did this to my leg and my arm. I kind of got a taste of how horrible electric shock torture can be. On the other hand I think I got a feeling for what to expect from those electrical stimulation body-building gizmos.

Posted 12:30 PM by Donald Park

Monday, October 27, 2003

It's been a while since I've posted. Probably the longest I've gone without posting an update. Anyway I'm going to throw caution to the wind and probably knock the socks of most of you, because what I'm about to do is vent about a certain someone...and I know I'll end up regretting what I say, and wish I never said it...but right now I could care less about what this person thinks of me.

So...

Argh...I soooooo wanna rip into this guy, but I'm not sure how. Well maybe I'll think of something really hurtful and mean to say...without having to eat my words later.

And you know who you are. Please don't ever talk to me again. I'm soooooo pissed at you right now. The thought of your face makes me want to puke!!!

Hmm....I guess that was pretty mean. I feel better now.

Got my pictures of Korea in. I'll post them up shortly.

Posted 11:55 PM by Donald Park

Monday, October 20, 2003

I get to go to Dahlgren, Virginia today. I left work around 3pm today to come home, rest a little bit and drive down. I had a room reserved for me at Days Inn, and also I picked up my rental car from AVIS today. I get to drive around an Oldsmobile Alero for a few days. One thing I hate most about sedans is when I get in or out of the car, my shoulder always bumps into the door column which is annoying. I can't wait until tonight. I think it'll be the first time I've been away on travel and get to stay alone. All the other times I've stayed with a friend or relative. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully it's not a ghetto hotel though. I've heard stories about the hotels around Dahlgren weren't that great. We'll see.

On a different note. I received a letter from NBC studios. I have 4 tickets to go see Late Night with Conan O'Brien in November. So far I have 2 people. Need one more to come.

You want pictures? How's this for a picture? Since some of you are so impatient to wait for me to develop my pictures, I thought I'd draw a picture from memory. Hope this satisfies your curiosity.

Posted 4:05 PM by Donald Park

Sunday, October 19, 2003

Saturday, I went to work for 3 hours. Later took Yujin and Lynnette out to dinner at Osaka, which is a new asian cuisine restaurant. The food wasn't too bad. Came back home and just chilled...well actually prepared for the sermon.

Sunday woke up early and went to church. First service went pretty well. After service, I went to lunch with a bunch of girls at Thai Singha House. Only been there twice, and the food there isn't bad either. After that we went to Bubble Tea House. Met up with others from 2nd service. After that everyone wanted to come over to our apartment. I called Yujin and he told me him and others were already on their way over. So we had a bunch of people over which was pretty cool. 시연 cooked 닦도리탕. I was excited because it's on of my favorite home cooked meals. Reminds me of my mom's cooking. It's also something you can't order from a typical Korean restaurant.

Next week I'll be going to Dahlgren, Virginia. I'll be leaving on Monday night...coming back on Thursday night.

Posted 11:50 PM by Donald Park

Friday, October 16, 2003

Got back home. It's nice to be back I guess. There were a bunch of people at the apartment when I got back. But they were here to watch the Yankee vs. Red Sox ball game. Yujin and Lynnette picked me up from the airport. They had parked the car and waited for me outside of the gate to come out. Not really much to say really other than the ride back to the US was just as uncomfortable as it was going to Korea.

Posted 12:28 AM by Donald Park

Thursday, October 15, 2003

Man I can't believe I'll be leaving tomorrow. I'm NOT looking forward to the ride back. Seats in economy are soooooooo uncomfortable. Anyway last night I met up with some friends that I had met earlier at a night club. I'm such an idiot. I confused the two girls that I met and I actually thought I was meeting the cuter one. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be the girl I was trying to avoid on the phone. So I meet up with her and her friend. Injoong also came along and so it was the 4 of us that had dinner, then went to a cafe for some drinks, Then we went to �뷡��. Alcohol is not really permitted in most �뷡�� so we suck in 4 cans of beer. Considering the absence of alcohol, the singing part was actually pretty fun. The girls wanted to go drinking afterward too but it was getting too late and I didn't want to miss the last train on the subway. Taking a cab across town I think would have easily been $15. I arrived at the apartment at 12:30, and everyone was already asleep. I was so embarrassed to come home so late. My Canadian emmo, opened the door for me and I fell asleep on the couch.

So you probably want more of the details of our "date". We met in front of Hyundai Department Store. The girls asked where we wanted to go eat, and being perfectly naive foreigners, we said "I don't know" to which the girls sighed. I understand girls want a guy that can take charge, etc, etc...but give us a break...how are we supposed to know where to eat. The girls finally suggest a spot in �б��. We had �۰�� for dinner. During dinner, Kyoung-A gave me a present. It was neatly wrapped and everything. I felt really awkward to receive any kind of gift from her since this was only the 2nd time meeting her. I pull off the ribbon and open the box and I'm both relieved and scared. Inside was a picture frame with her picture inside. I was almost too afraid to open it...but they were just harmless pictures...and then I realized OMG...this girl is really laying it on. Then it kind of hit me. She was really serious about making a connection. At the cafe we talked even more and I think she was kind of sad that I wasn't showing her more affection. The conversation reached a dangerous level when we started talking about our past relationships. I was asked what I thought about her. It got really uncomfortable for a moment before I changed the conversation around.

Posted 9:08 PM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Goodness I'm so stupid. So anyway I met two girls at the club over the weekend. The first girl I met was actually kind of cute. She left kind of early though. We spoke to each other for at least half an hour. We exchanged business cards with our cell phone numbers. The second girl I met I put the number into my cell phone. For some stupid reason I mixed up the names of the girls. I thought I had a date with the cute one today, but actually I have a date with the other girl. Argh. This is definitely a beginner mistake. Usually I have trouble meeting just one girl, so I almost never have to think about managing two different things. He he he.

This will be my last day at the Marriott hotel. OMG it's so nice and comfortable here.

Posted 10:36 AM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Monday, October 13, 2003

Injoong and I woke up in the morning, had some breakfast and left the hotel for ��з�. It's supposed to be a pretty happening place since it's where all the college kids like to hang out. I only saw one college and it was an art institute. Not sure where all the college kids come from. We walked around and made it to ��빮��. It was not what I expected. I think ��빮 was better. We kept walking around and found ourselves in �λ絿. Where the Korean "IRS" building is. Had some �� and �� for lunch. I also had for the first time ever my shoe shined. It was kind of cool. I just dropped off my shoe and wore some slippers around while the guy shined my shoe. Today I also bought a few little items...one of which is called a ��. It's a little stamper that's carved out of wood with your name. It cost less than $2. I had one made a few days ago at another place and got ripped off REALLY bad. I paid $20 for it then. It has my chinese name inscribed into it though.

We walked around more and found ourselves at �溹 palace, so we walked the other direction and found ourselves back at ��빮��. Downtown Seoul is smaller than I expected it. We did a lot of walking around though. Before dinner I left for my emmo's place again. My parents came into Seoul today. The reason why my parents didn't make it to the airport the other day is because the border between N.Korea and China was closed because of a national holiday. They were not able to cross and was stuck in N.Korea until the following day. There was no phone, so they were not able to contact us. We had dinner together. Several of the family members from my mother's side came again today. I also got to see my uncle (my mother's younger brother).

Here are some pictures of my trip so far. These pictures came from friends that have digital cameras. Pictures of Korea.

Posted 9:26 PM (Korean time) by Donald Park

So...Saturday night was a very fun night. Scott, Connie and Injoong left before we went to BOSS which worked out well since most of my friends were from college. They showed me a GREAT time. That was the first time I got to see what booking was all about. I met some really nice people there. One of which was pretty cute. The next day both of them called me on my cell phone. Neither of them really know how to speak English. The whole night I got to practice my Korean. It was great. Anyway on Sunday Injoong met his cousin and they did their own thing. Scott and I went to Onnuri church. During service I received 9 missed calls from various phone numbers. After service I found out that my relatives were trying to contact me because they were unable to pick up my parents from the airport...and were worried something happened to them. My emmo-bo asked me to contact my brother in the US (because he might know about my parents plans...only later to find out...he was only guessing that my brothers would know). So basically I had to scrap all my precious plans with my friend just to entertain my relatives. Not to say the least I was pretty annoyed that day at my relatives. My cousin went to get me from the hotel and drove me to my emmo's place. All my relatives from my mother's side from Korea had met at their apartment. Only my parents weren't there as well as my mother's youngest brother. It was actually really cool to meet everyone. I'm glad my cousin came to get me. After that I went back to the hotel and went to sleep by midnight. Then woke up at 3 in the morning because one of the girls I met had called me!!! AIGOOO-CHAM...what are they thinking.

Posted 9:52 AM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Sunday, October 12, 2003

Friday night I was expecting to have a little bit of fun, but unfortunately we didn't end up doing anything. My friend IJ told me about a big party that was in the Apgujeong area but I decided not to go. Instead I stayed at the hotel and shot a few rounds of pool with Scott over a few drinks. OMG...I've never had a more expensive round of drinks than that night. When I looked at the bill...I thought I was seeing doubles numbers. Didn't have the cash to cover the bill so had to charge it.

Saturday we woke up and just took our merry old time. Had some lunch and went out to ��¿�. We just walked up and down the street which was packed full of street vendors. After that we went to �б�� where we met up with IJ, Kei, Young-gyu, Chris, JB. After that went to a ��帶��...and a club called BOSS. More details to come later.

Posted 11:02 PM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Friday, October 10, 2003

I can't believe my vacation is already half over. I'll be honest and I hope this doesn't offend/disappoint him, but I kind of wish I came to Korea alone. It's been fun, but for the most part I feel like this constant stress of having to look out for him. I guess that's just natural when you spend every waking moment with each other.

Anyway yesterday we went to the COEX aquarium. Midway through I get a call from Jae-hyung asking me to meet up with him for lunch. I was hoping to actually do our own thing, but he insisted that we meet for lunch and then pretty much took hold of the rest of our day. I think he is trying too hard to be a good host. He introduced us to two of his friends ~{H-A$~} and ~{@:5?~}. One was quiet but Eun-dong actually spoke really good English. So again I barely spoke any Korean that day. We ate lunch at the COEX food court and after that we went to this 팟빙수 place. We ordered something called "King of Bingsoo" and no kidding this thing was HUGE. I mean really really HUGE. I'll have a picture of it later. When the two girls went to get it, I could see several other people around us starting to giggle. It's kind of like that 1 pound steak that no normal person can finish, but if you finish it in one sitting you get your dinner for free. So anyway after that we walked around a little and stopped by the PC-방 there. It was pretty hooked up and best of all there was another section of it that had all free console games. I guess the idea was that you could play the games and if you liked it you would buy it. We also went to play some PUMP. Eun-dong said she liked to play it, but hasn't in a long time. I figured I could at least keep up with her. I get up to play with her and DAMN did she blow me away. Sun and DE Dave...seriously you guys don't stand a chance here in Korea against regular Korean people here. OMG...she really took me to school and I felt so foolish up there.

After that we went to the 63 Building where we could see most of Seoul. We stayed there for quite a while. It got dark and we were able to catch some pictures at dusk and at night. Hopefully the pictures will come out good.

After that we went to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Stadium, and after that we went to Seonyudo Park. It was also very nice. It used to be an old water treatmnet plant before they changed it into a park. There were so many couples there that night and they all had cameras.

That leads us to today. Me and Injoon woke up and went to Gyoungbok Palace. We got admission and an hour long english guided tour for only less than one US dollar. It was great. After that we walked over to Namdaemoon and strolled along the market place. That place was absolutely packed with vendors.

We are now again at the Marriott hotel. Can't thank Scott enough. Finally I get to shower with a real shower. More to come later. I think another guy is waiting for me to get off this hotel computer.

Posted 9:11 PM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Thursday, October 9, 2003

The last two days we've slept at my cousin, Jae-hyung's tiny one bedroom apartment. It's no Marriott but it's a place to stay. On Tuesday we went to the Korean War Memorial and after that walked around the Jong-roh area. We had lunch at this one hole in the wall joint. We ordered sul-lung-tang, but quickly realized when they brought it out, what a mistake it was to go there. The smell of the food was actually pretty gross. Surprisingly though we finished the food and left. Still not really full we looked at the food vendors on the street. I passed by one place that looked like they had mandoo. The fat doughy kind with meat and noodles on the inside. They were also selling this kind of fried pancake with a sweet honey like filling. So my friend Injoong politely asks the lady for one of each. Instead of giving us what we asked for she gives us a warm one and one hot off the grill. Both of us were a bit miffed by her actions, and then realized the white mandoo looking thing was actually the uncooked form of the fried pancake and NOT mandoo. She must have thought we were stupid or something. :) Later that night we met up with Jae-hyung, Ji-sook and her friend for dinner. Also I met with Roy, Ikjoon, and Chris (all of Brian's old friends) who I also knew from college. JB was still at work.

Yesterday Injoong and I went to Suwon Korean Folk Village. It was interesting, but LONG. Jae-hyung skipped his class and brought along a friend Eun-ju. I think they are interested in each other because practically the whole time, she doesn't say a word to us and only talks with Jae-hyung. They walked together and waited for us like they were a couple. I was actually really bored with them. I felt like I was imposing on their plans. After the folk village we went to the super market to pick up some stuff for dinner. We had sang-gyup-sa for dinner atop his apartment rooftop which was kind of cool.

Posted 9:09 AM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Tuesday, October 7, 2003

Yesterday basically all I did was go to Inchon International Airport to meet up with my friend Injoong who flew in from California. He is currently unemployed so he figured what the heck, why not make a trip to Korea, and so he bought his plane tickets just a week or so before leaving. Crazy guy. Anyway we meet at the airport and head over to my other friend Scott Kim, who is here in Korea on business. SOOO much thanks goes out to him. MAD PROPS, because last night was a very comfortable night. Since he travels so often, he's part of their exclusive member club or something so he's hooked up pretty good. Last night we grabbed some dinner right around the area. This place where the J.W. Marriott is, has everything you'd need. It's very convenient.

I was able to convert some of my money and made my first purchase...Baskin Robbins Cookies 'n Cream ice cream. Mmmmm it was good. Also while I was at the airport I rented a cellular phone. How cool is that? Which there was stuff like that in the states. Anyway today is kind of up in the air. We'll just kind of do whatever.

Posted 9:12 AM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Monday, October 6, 2003

Yesterday was a very interesting day. After waking up my emmo again made breakfast/lunch. She is really nice and looks just like my mom when she was younger. We went to Yoido Full Gospel Church, which is supposed to be one of the biggest churches in the world. We met some of my cousin's friends at church. Some of them thought I was her boyfriend since we sat together in the back. One of her friends was kind enough to buy me a cup of coffee from a vending machine. It was very nice. One thing I thought was interesting is how my cousin kept asking me what I thought of the women there. If they were pretty or not. I called Connie to meet up at the church she goes to. Onnuri Church which is another large church known for it's English ministry. I was very impressed with their use of audio/visual support. I really liked the service, but the ending was a little cheezy. It was their 18th anniversary as a church so they had a happy birthday celebration. They even rolled out a birthday cake. I took a picture which I'll post after I get it developed.

On our way out I bump into an old friend from Philadelphia. Of all the people in the world I could bump into, it had to be Jenie Jang!!! We all headed out for dinner at Korean restaurant in Ap-gu-jung. Again the food was delicious. After dinner we part ways and Connie, myself and Ji-sook head over to a Jazz bar called Once in a Blue Moon. It was an interesting place. The band members who were white, I think spoke better Korean than me.

Posted 10:10 AM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Sunday, October 5, 2003

Yesterday Ji-sook and I walked around the city. We went to the area where so many people gathered during the FIFA world cup tournament last year. We met up with one of her friends Doh-hyun. Surprisingly she could speak English pretty well too. So far I've had to speak very little Korean which is kind of a disappointment. I think it's probably much easier to learn English in the states than it is for someone to learn Korean in Korea...because it seems that so many people know how to speak English.

We had sul-lung-tang for dinner, but the girls were still hungry, so we went to look for somewhere else to eat. We ended up going to Orange cafe for some fruit bing-soo, parfeit, and shake. Afterward we headed over to Han River to see the fire work display. I'm still not 100% sure what the fireworks were for, but I think it had to do something with the passing Korean holiday. I think it's a celebration of the founding of Korea several hundred years ago.

After the fireworks we basically floated with the masses only to find out the subway was blocked off by police, and the roads were gridlocked, so we basically found a seat and rested there for a while. I was growing extremely tired. I was basically a walking zombie at that point. The girls could see how tired I was too. We finally got home and I just crashed. So tired in fact that another mosquito poked me full of holes before I realized it at 5am. After which I turned on the lights and waited for that sucker to fly by. I took a swing at it, but I didn't think I killed it. After a while I was getting too tired and decided to go back to sleep. In just 2 nights at this place I've been bitten more than 10 times a night. The buzzard even bit me at the tip of my left big toe!!! I woke up this morning with a slight red stain on my palm, and a big smear on my t-shirt...so I guess I got him. he he he.

Posted 11:54 AM (Korean time) by Donald Park

Saturday, October 4, 2003

I am finally in Korea. So much to say, and too lazy to say it :)

This whole week has been kind of hectic at work. I was spending 11 hour days at work just before I left. I wanted to finish up so much work before I left. I kind of felt bad too because while I'm gone, everyone else has to work just a little bit longer and harder since they have one less person on the team to help them out.

Wednesday night I got like 2.5 hours of sleep before having to get up at 5:45 in the morning. Here are some entries I made.

10/2/03 - I am in San Francisco International Airport and I thought I would see lots of beautiful Korean women, but so far none!
I just realized I am flying a rival company's plane. A Boeing 777. I shouldn't really say competitor since Lockheed doesn't make any commercial jetliners.
1 gin & tonic, 1 rum & coke later and at 34,000 feet high, I'm feeling on top of the world!!! Pun intended ;)
Where's that damn drink cart, I want another drink. These seats aren't very comfortable. I should have gotten business class seats or something. It's way too crammed here in coach class. I can't sleep for any decent amount of time without waking up a few minutes later with a painful crick in my neck. These stupid seats are way too uncomfortable. Plus i made the mistake of getting window seats on a long-trip flight. Argh.
We are now flying over Korea. I feel like I am finally coming back to the motherland. It's such an emotional feeling, I feel like crying. I get off the plane and through immigration, retrieved my luggage and through customs without a hitch. Walked into the reception area and was just overwhelmed by all the people waiting for their loved ones. My mom said my relatives would be hold up a sign for me with my name...but so were hundreds of other people. I definitely felt intimidated by all the people there and the fear began to sink in, what if I can't find them!!! I just stood there looking at all these people, trying to find my name. I walked over to the other side and finally found my name. I was saved!!! I met my emmo, and Ji-sook.
We left the airport to go home. I think we got lost because we ended up driving in circles around Seoul. I didn't mind. It was like a driving tour for me. We stopped by a Korean restaurant. The food was GOOD! I mean really really good.

10/04/03 - Last night I slept relatively comfortable, except for that annoying mosquito in my room that kept buzzing by my ear. I kept swatting at it every so often. I woke up this morning and actually saw the buzzard flying by. I think it was very tired of flying around and very full...FULL OF MY BLOOD. That stupid prick had been filling up on me all night because when I saw it, it's belly was swollen like a balloon. I brought him over to the sink and smushed it. Sure enough I had about a drops worth of blood on my fingers. Revenge was sweet.

Posted 11:36 AM (Korean time) by Donald Park