Thursday, August 23, 2007

Update

The long awaited day is here. Well, actually it's tomorrow. I flight out from Vegas tomorrow and arrive in Seoul on Saturday at 6:45PM. United Statesians, I'll miss you. Korean compadres, I'm excited to see you.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Make it Easy On Me

So a long time ago in a country far, far away a former girlfriend and I were sitting at a bar, sipping beers and cocktail and sharing stories. We had been together for about 11 months but were going to split and go in different direction in a couple of days. Things had gone badly since the beginning of our trip and it only took a little while for us to realize that things weren't going to work out. However, we continued to travel together for a bit out of convenience sake.

At this bar we were getting a little bit tipsy and philosophical (the two always go together with me) and we were sharing beliefs and ideas. Eventually the ex started laying out some of her beliefs, the ones she had hidden from me for fear of judgement. She stated that she believed that aliens lived among us and that there was a specific alien race called the "grey people". These were the people who make our lives difficult. Anyone who is disgruntled, angry, rude; they weren't just disgruntled, angry or rude; they were the "grey people"; a group of aliens that was going compromise humanity's aura with bad alien vibes. There were other races of aliens that had other characteristics and agendas. After listening to her for awhile I began to feel that if her theories held any credibility that pretty much her and I were the only people in the world who weren't aliens, and I wasn't so sure about her any more.

I just sat there, taking it all in, like you might a science fiction film. When she was done I didn't argue with her or try to change her mind about anything. I just said in my mind, "Thank you, you made our parting so much easier."

This brings me to disc golf. Yesterday Dave and I went up to Snowbowl to play disc golf, a sport I've grown to love. The round started out well enough but by the middle of the course I was hitting trees with my disc and missing five foot puts. I was so pissed off by the end of that course that I concentrated on drinking beer rather than throwing my disc, an activity with much more predictable results.

The thing is, I love disc golf and it killed me to miss out on it last year in Korea, but now, after that last game, I think disc golf might have done me a favor. I have no desire to play it right now nor for sometime. Sure, if some friends were going out to play I'd join them, but just to be with my friends. Disc golf made have done me a favor yesterday just as that old girlfriend did me a favor a long time ago by making our parting easier. Sometimes, if you look at it the right way, Frisbees and exs can be very much the same.
One Big Waiting Room

I absolutely suck at waiting. Usually when I go anywhere I might have to wait, I bring my backpack stuffed with books, a journal, my two portable gaming systems in order that I won't have to just sit and endure the waiting.

I've now been waiting for a weekor two to get back to Korea. What first happened is Korean immigration took twice as long to process my paperwork as everyone elses', even though my school was one of the first schools to send my paperwork in. Once Korean immigration gets done farting around and actually does something they send you a visa issuance #. Now there's two ways you can go about getting your visa: 1) take your passport directly to the Korean consulate 2) send your passport to the consulate. Option #1 is the fastest if you live in San Fransisco or LA. I'm in Flagstaff so no dice with one. Late Sunday night my issuance # came in and I rushed to the pit of hell (or Kinkos as some people call it) to send off my passport and additional paperwork. Now, once again, I'm in immigration limbo, waiting for LA to stamp a work visa in my passport and send it back to me. Until I know exactly when it's coming, I can't book a flight.

Once I do book a flight I have to drive to St. George, a four hour drive away, to drop of my car at my parent's winter house. I then have to take a shuttle two hours west to Vegas to hop on a plane to fly 12 hours west from there to arrive in Seoul and Seoul is 16 hours ahead of Pacific Time. Oh, and classes start on Monday.

Now I wake up at night wondering where I am? Am I in Seoul? Am I in California? Wyoming? Arizona? Utah? Zimbabwe? My bags have been packed for two weeks getting ready to go somewhere that is nowhere closer than it was two weeks ago. I feel like I'm in the reserves, knowing that I'll be called up at some time, but when is a mystery and all I want is for something to happen. I just want to start on my second tour of duty in Korea.

I know other people handle this in a more stoic and peaceful fashion than myself but I'm about to follow Dave and Sarah to work for want of something productive to do, and Sarah helps deliver babies at the hospital. The fact is that I've burned through my books, wrote in my journal, played too many video games and now the backpack is just about empty. This is the lamentable and pitiful scream of the unemployed.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Change of Pace

I think I wrote the last post a little too soon. I'm still in Flagstaff and I don't know when I'll be in Korea. Hopefully it will be before the 27th as that is the first day of school. It's kind of bad when the teacher misses the first day of school. The problem is with the Korean immigration office. They lost my paperwork or burned my paperwork or something. I'm supposed to get a visa issuance #, where I then mail my passport to the Korean consulate in Los Angles, where they then stamp the passport. They then send the passport back to me and I then click my heels together three times and I'll instantaneously be transported to Korea or so the story goes.

On a different note, Kat was giving me crap (Kat crap?) about playing tennis and golfing, so I decided to go in a different direction. A few days ago I witnessed a bar fight, operated heavy construction equipment and then went gambling. Shooting guns and fighting fires is next on my list.

I have never seen a bar fight in my life, at least not a decent one. Sure I've seen those ones where two drunks start swinging at each other and hit everything besides each other, but I've never seen one where chairs are in the air and glasses are thrown. Now I will say this, I don't necessarily want a bar fight to happen, but if it is going to happen then I want to be there to see it.

So, my friend Dave and I went to Sportsmans, a rather laid back bar, with the rest of his softball team. We were sitting at a table, there were about nine of us, when a skinny white guy, about 6'2", came into the bar from the smoking patio and clocked one of the softball players, a guy named Ralph, in the face. Ralph was sitting down and had been taking a sip of his drink when he got nailed which cut his nose and lip.

You're probably waiting to hear what Ralph had done to antagonize the skinny white guy, but the answer is nothing. I've heard that before, where a guy is talking about how his friends got in a fight and he swears that they didn't do anything to start it; but this time it's the truth. Ralph and this guy had never seen each other before let alone talked to each other. The other thing is Ralph is not a small guy. He's about 6'2" as well and about 240 lbs. The drunken antagonist (DA as he shall now be called) could have done a lot better to hit someone smaller (maybe me, although I'm glad he didn't). Ralph jumped up, as well as everyone else at the table, and somehow we all ended up outside on the smoking patio. The DA's friends and father were holding the guy back and Ralph was yelling at them to let the DA go so he could kick the crap out of him. The DA's father was saying that it was all his fault, probably trying to protect his son, to which Ralph responded, "Then I'll kick your ass instead." It seemed like a fair trade.

The DA was then taken back into the bar, to protect him from the enraged softball team. By this time the cops had been called and I was afraid the DA's friends were going to try and sneak him out the back before the cops showed up, so I walked around the building to make sure that didn't happen. That's when the fight blew up. I heard the DA had made taunting gestures through the window and that's all it took. I think the DA's friends were tired of defending him and figured that a fight was going to happen anyhow so everyone jumped in. Chairs flew, glasses were flung and the DA got the shit beat out of him. And where was I during this whole thing? At the window at the side of building watching this thing like you might watch a bunch of drunk fish fight in an aquarium.

Shortly thereafter the first police showed up separated the groups and took reports. I heard the police talk to the DA and he said "Yeah, I have this post traumatic stress and sometimes someone looks at me the wrong way or I don't like how they look and I snap." Cool, I thought, at least this guy is admitting fault, but here's the deal; the police never arrested him. The cops just told us that he had his day in court. So this guy who punches people in front of at least a dozen witnesses and instigates and major bar brawl is never arrested, but if I drink three beers and attempt to ride my bike home the cuffs are put on me immediately. How about it Flagstaff police? Can you explain this in terms I can understand?

Luckily no one was really hurt but it was strange the next day. Dave and I felt that everyone looked menacing, like they were about to start a fight. That may be because the biker gang, The Banditos, had just rolled into town, but now I think we have our own post traumatic stress to deal with. I'm half-way kidding. These things are like car accidents or wars, very interesting while they are going on, but nothing good can come of it by the end.

So the next day Dave and I rented a Bobcat to do some heavy duty yard work at a friends house. If the bar fight was exciting, the Bobcat was downright terrifying. I could never get the hang of the thing and was scarred silly I was going to tip it. Still I hung in there and got slightly proficient at driving laps around the yard and dumping half full buckets of pea gravel. I can cross that one off the list.

And this weekend I went to Vegas to see Kat and her friends. I gambled a bit and ended up losing about twenty bucks so I could have done worse. When I was getting ready to drive back to AZ I realized I had a $5 voucher I hadn't cashed in at one of the casinos so I decided to stop back by before I left town. I realized that gambling by yourself during the day is depressing. I also learned that gambling by yourself during the day and losing is really depressing. I don't think I'll ever be addicted.

So here's to bar fights, addiction and terrifying machinery; may I never see you again.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Summer of Luv

The date to go back to Korea is drawing near, although I'm not sure how near because I don't know the exact date of when I'll be coming back. I'm still waiting for a visa issuance #. I've heard I'll get it around the 16th but the 16th is slowly coming and going with no # so far.

In the mean time I'm anxious to get back to Korea. One can only go so long without working and making money and being somewhat productive. Plus I seem to miss my friends in Korea.

At the same time I'm not that anxious to get to Korea. A year is a long time to go without seeing friends or family. I wish I could just teleport back any time I wanted.

This summer has been great though and now I'm going to brag and show off, but I'm going to do it in the most abbreviated way I can think of, by listing the activities I've participated in over the last three months:

Museum, museum, museum, paint, paint, mow, mow, mow, hike, hike, hike, hike, hike, hike, hike, hike, hike, bowl, bowl, swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, DRIVE, golf, golf, golf, golf, golf, disc golf, disc golf, disc golf, disc golf, disc golf, disc golf, disc golf, disc golf, alpine slide, camp, fall in fire, fall in river, snorkel, ATV, ATV, ATV, fish, fish, water ski, tennis, tennis, tennis, mountain bike, basketball, basketball, basketball, wine tasting, Winchester Mystery House, surf, couch surf, raft, wait in lines, roller coaster.

There's more activities like eating, sleeping, drinking and some other things you just don't want to hear. I'd like to thank all the friends who let me crash on there couches and spare beds for a week or two. It was great to see old friends and to make new ones.

This summer's beer sponsor was Pete's Apricot Ale. The food sponsor was In and Out Burger and this winter's diet sponsor will probably be SlimFast. Hotels and accomidations were provided by Extended Stay America and Hotwire was the official booking agent. Until next time, I'm Nathan Price singing off for Summer 2007.

AZ Sky


AZ Sky
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Coming back from Fossil Springs Eric's truck came down with a flat tire. Eric and Dave used their manly skill to get us moving again while I took pictures. We all have our talents.

Fossil Springs


Fossil Springs
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.

Tarzan


Tarzan
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Much of my time back in the states has been spent mastering the art of the rope swing.

Funky B


Funky B
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
They make um strange in Arizona.

Boonis in the Bag


Boonis in the Bag
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Boonis sits and silently judges you with his firey gaze.

SLC Sunset


SLC Sunset 3
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.

Utah Mountains


Utah Mountains
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Wildflower season.

Virtual Orris


Virtual Orris
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
If you're ever homesick or lonely for your friends, try making a virtual one. Displayed here is Virtual Orris. No he can go where ever I go.

The Basshole


The Basshole
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
This is the new tunnel at Snowbird. In the winter the conveyor belt conveys skiiers to the other side of the mountain via a moving walkway. Dick Bass is the owner of Snowbird so this tunnel is affectionately named the Basshole.

Taking it to the Tude


Taking it to the Tude
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Wildlife

JC and His Knaughty Hose


JC and His Knaughty Hose
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Jeff and I were laughing about the Knaughty Hose out front on his lawn. I think that JK Rowling should write one more Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Knaughty Hose".

Monday, August 06, 2007

Califonication

The last week and a half were devoted to traveling around California, seeing as much as possible and meeting as many people as possible. In a way I felt like I was on a campaign trail, but it was just because Kat wanted to show off all the cool sites and get me to meet her friends and family. Mission accomplished. Listed are some of the things that stood out.

1. Magic Mountain- I do not recommend going to Magic Mountain on a Sunday in July. There's just too many people. Also two of the roller coasters broke down while we were in line. There's one coaster, The Extreme, that I really looked forwards to. It's motto was something like, "Experience the rush, experience the adventure!" All I got to experience was the line. It was one of the coasters to break down. And when you think about it, that's pretty scary; having a two coasters break down right before you get on them. Was there some duct tape that came loose or something? Enough of the bitching, Kat got to hear me do enough of that. Despite the long lines and a few mishaps Magic Mountain was worth it. Ride the Deja Vu if you ever get a chance.

2. The Wild Animal Park in San Diego- There's lots of animals. It is cool.

3. The La Brea Tar Pits- In Hollywood there's a series of tar pits in which prehistoric animals would get stuck. Eventually some of the tar pits dried out leaving perfectly preserved fossils of saber toothed cats, mastodons, birds and wolves. It's a science and nature geek's paradise.

4.The Winchester Mystery House - Okay, here's Sara Winchester's history wrapped up all nice and tidy: a) Sarah marries William Winchester, heir to the fortune of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company b) Sarah's husband and daughter both die c) Sarah sees a psychic who tells her that the bad luck is because of all the people killed by Winchester rifles d) the psychic also tells Sarah to build a house for her and the spirits and that building should never stop, and that's what Sarah did; she continually built her house for the next 36 years. Eventually the house would contain 160 rooms, 47 fireplaces, 40 bedrooms, 6 kitchens, 52 skylights, and 1 shower. Now, instead of annoying spirits wandering throughout the house there's just annoying tourists.

5. In and Out Burger- I had never been to one of these before and In and Out is the first fast food restaurant to live up to the hype proclaimed about it. They were the official sponsor of our trip.

6. Sonoma- Sonoma is wine tasting country and so that's what I did, tasted the wine. Kat and I went to three tasting rooms and by the third one my tongue had a blow out. I rescued it by going to the Irish pub and ordering a beer.

7. The Russian River- Kat and I went on a "river rafting" trip down the Russian River. You know that a river is pretty mild mannered when your guide doesn't accompany you and just tells you to call him on your cell phone towards the end. Still, this trip was great. We just sat in the inflatable kayak, drank wine, swam and occasionally paddled. There were rope swings and many beaches. It was perfect.

8. Jet Blue in Long Beach- Jet Blue is a company known for their laid back style, maybe a little too laid back. At the Jet Blue terminal in Long Beach there were four flights taking off at roughly the same time. The announcement to board was made but no gate or flight number was mentioned. This caused everyone in the terminal to get up go and go towards their gate because everyone thought their flight was boarding. This then caused some of the Jet Blue sales associates to get angry and make the announcement that the plane was not boarding and everyone should sit down. Once again this was done without mentioning a gate or a flight number. I just sat in the back and played my Nintendo DS.

There were quite a few other things, Pacific Beach, The Getty, Venice Beach, San Fransisco and so on but who wants to hear me go on forever. I have to thank Kat for having infinite patience with me. As if traffic isn't bad enough it's worse when a person won't stop bitching about it (that person was me). She was also a great tour guide and put up with my dumb questions, the most prevelant being, "Is this gangland? Are we in gangland now?" I want to thank all of Kat's friends, and now my friends, for being so nice and occasionally letting us crash at their places. All in all the trip was one of the best ones I've ever taken and the cool thing is there was still lots to see that we didn't get to, stuff that has been saved for next time.

Wine Country


Wine Country
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Wine tasting the way it should be.

Flying Wanker 2


Flying Wanker 2
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
I'm a sucker for a good rope swing, or even a bad one.

Gondala Guide 2


Gondala Guide 2
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Life's easy, especially when someone else will paddle for ya.

Winchester


Winchester
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
A house for spirits and tourists.

Privacy Please


Privacy Please
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Sarah Winchester liked to spy on guests and staff at her house as demonstrated by this bathroom door.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Getty


Getty
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
The Getty is a super cool place and it's free to get in although parking costs $8. A lot of museums have snack bars and children play areas put in as an afterthought but the Getty incorporates these into patios and gardens. It's just a chill place to hang out.

The Getty


The Getty
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.

Sabertooth Kat


Sabertooth Kat
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
One of the many things to see at the La Brea Tar Pits.

The Bridge Keeper


The Bridge Keeper
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
This is the thing that greets you upon entry to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. Although he looks like the harbinger of death, this guy was pretty peaceful and allowed us safe passage.

Flamingo Echo


Flamingo Echo
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.

Blue Parrot


Blue Parrot
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Colorful thing ain't he.

Come to Me My Jungle Friends


Come to Me My Jungle Friends
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
I love it when zoos become interactive places and we can have contact with the animals. Here I am giving nectar to a friendly bird. After this we went to gorilla cage and served them a beer.

Tired Kitty


Tired Kitty
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
And I thought lions were fairly serious creatures.

Surprised and Happy


Surprised and Happy
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Who knew throwing dirt could be so much fun.