It’s been a long time comin’ ( an I’ve been a Long Time Gone) but here I am.

Actually posting this from Washington, DC (well, technically Alexandria, Virginia) where I arrived after a 20 hour journey from Seoul yesterday. Have meetings here the next two days before spending the weekend in South Carolina with family. Back to Korea on Tuesday.

I can pretty much illustrate my overall existence these past few months with an incident that occurred in the early morning hours today. My secretary booked my hotel and it is a freaking smoke free facility. So, I wake up at 0400 (jet lag is a bitch), brew the in-room coffee, grab the USA Today newspaper and head outside for a morning smoke. Now, I am all suited up for my first big meeting with the brass from higher headquarters and I’m being careful not to do something stupid like spilling coffee on my new tailor-made pink dress shirt. Suddenly there is a “plop” sound and I feel something hit my arm and I’m thinking surely it is not starting to rain. No, some f’n bird scored a direct hit on my suit jacket. That was a shitty start to the day.

Anyway, just prior to flying here I had 12 days in the Philippines, and spent the last five sick. Still sick, but getting better day by day.

Not sure who still ventures into the barren waters of this blog, but I’m going to try and get back in the groove again. So check back occasionally. Or not.

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“It is not in the world of ideas that life is lived. Life is lived for better or worse in life, and to a man in life, his life can be no more absurd than it can be the opposite of absurd, whatever that opposite may be.” Archibald MacLeish

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This Weezer video is rockin’ the internet. I actually saw it a couple of weeks ago and never got around to posting it. But now that the blogfather Instapundit has linked it I can say with some certainty “you saw it here last!”

Anyway, it’s a pretty fun video and catchy tune even if you don’t like Weezer. And I can appreciate the sentiment:

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It is funny what pops up in your email. Even funnier that perfect strangers happen upon my blog and find it somehow worthy of their attention. Hell, I am thrilled when someone takes the time to leave a comment. But sending a warm and thoughtful email actually inspired (guilted?) me into posting some new crap here. Here’s what Michael from Sarasota had to say:

hi John,

I wanted to write you a quick email. I have been periodically reading your blog over the last couple years. You have a really great way of bringing your experiences to life on the computer. I wanted to tell you though, that something odd has happened to me. Let me explain.

I am American. I left the U.S. and went on a year+ long journey around the world when I was 19-20. When I was done, I settled in Germany for 4 years. There I would meet my Japanese wife. Other great adventures ensued. in 2001 I returned to the US and I now live in Florida. Knowing this is important to understand the point I will now make.

On my journey and subsequent life in Germany I was quite a writer. I have books and books of handwritten journals. At one point I bought a typewriter and then it REALLY poured out of me. It was really something. All the way up until the completion of my life in Germany, I wrote a lot. Then, upon my return to the US, my writing stopped. I really felt like I didn’t have much to write anymore. Since I have been back in the US, I have made some attempts at writing but it is weird. I just don’t have much to write about.

Then I began to understand why. Living away from the US allowed me a great amount of anonymity. It allowed me an identity that was very well defined my my “foreiner” status. I was the guy from New York, or i was the tourist, etc. People regard Americans with a certain courtesy around the world, politics aside. I really liked that status. That special status made me feel like I really had a genuine story to tell, like Captain Ahab.

Now I live in Florida and life is great. It is warm, there are beaches, life is easy. The only problem is that I don’t have anything to write about because I have melted back into the sea of my countrymen. I hope that you enjoy your “gaijin” or “gwailo” status in Korea and reap the unique benifits it has to offer. Reading your blog really puts be back into my traveled life and brings that other dimension I have described here.

Just thought you’d like to know,

Michael

Thanks for that Michael. Your words reminded me that I am in fact having a great adventure, and it only stops being so when I allow myself to take things here for granted. So, I will try a little bit harder to make each day meaningful, even in the most simple or mundane things I might chance to encounter.

And who knows? Maybe I will even get off (or technically on) my lazy ass and write about them.

Thanks again for writing.

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My laptop died. Well, it is not dead but it has alzheimers or something. It just shuts down with increasing regularity. It started happening a couple of months ago with things like YouTube videos, which I guess take a lot of computing power to run or something. Then it started happening with simple tasks like email. Well, it was three years old so I suppose that’s about all the useful life you can expect.

So yesterday I went to the PX and picked up a new machine. I bought a middlin’ HP desktop with a nice 19″ widescreen monitor. Set me back $700. I looked at a Toshiba laptop with the same memory as the desktop for about $150 more, but you know I can’t see myself lugging a laptop around much anyway. So I will wait till I can afford something top-of-the-line before I take the plunge on another laptop.

So, this computer is ok. It runs Vista which I have heard nothing good about. So far no problems though. The pain in the ass is that all my bookmarks, photos, etc. are on the old machine. Ah well, I think it has enough life where I can get my hard drive stuff salvaged and transferred to a new home.

On a positive note, I was able to load and play CIV IV. Got it for Christmas a couple of years ago but the laptop didn’t have the systems required to run it. Then the CD/ROM quit working so I couldn’t even play CIV III. So it was nice to get back into some gaming. CIV IV is quite a bit different than its predecessors, so it will take some getting used. But I spent most of the day yesterday getting a feel for it and I think I’m going to have another enjoyable pastime to fill in the gaps when I’m not throwing darts.

And there you have the latest fascinating episode of my so-called life.

Cheers!

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…’cause I’m going down. Actually, I am already down. I mean my internet connection is down. Which is a real pain in the ass.

So I will see you when the problem is resolved. I think I have narrowed it down to a problem with my wireless router or my laptop.

Hasta la vista!

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…but my darts were hot. But not hot enough. We lost to Eberhardt, but we went down swinging.
Hate to lose, but they are a good bunch of guys and we wish them well the rest of the way.

Wait till next year!

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Nobody EVER accuses me of that for some reason. But for those of you who know one, try these tidbits to shut him up (or her as the case may be):

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING?

“Stewardesses” is the longest word typed with only the left hand and
“lollipop” with your right. ?

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or
purple.

“Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “MT”.?

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears
never stop growing.

The sentence: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every
letter of the alphabet.

The words ‘racecar,’ ‘kayak’ and ‘level’ are the same whether they are
read left to right or right to left (palindromes).

There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”:
tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in
order: “abstemious” and “facetious”

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only
on one row of the keyboard.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.?

A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps They don’t appear until the child
reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full
moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would
never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel
that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and
a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely
solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Now you know everything!??

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Last night we played the last place team in our division and barely escaped with a 12-7 victory. Actually, we all threw pretty decent darts, but “The ‘B’ Team” has either really improved since we last played them, or they were throwing awesome. Or both.

I had a 5-mark, two 3BCs, a ton-20 and a ton. And I wound up 3-3 for the night. My own damn fault, because I blew both of my cricket games in singles. I was playing a strong player and threw six darts that didn’t count for anything plus some one marks. That ain’t winning darts. How I could be on bulls but miss three throws at the 19 just blows my mind.

Three weeks left in the season against three tough teams. Eberhardt (Scrooge Pub) at home, then Alley Ratz at 3 Alley Pub and our long anticipated rematch with the Blessed Bulls at Bless U Pub. Should be interesting. We have a lock on a playoff spot already, but it would be nice to sneak past Alley Ratz for first place. Probably gonna need some help to do that at this point.

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Nomad has a very nice link to a YouTube video which gives some good safety tips when walking the sidewalks of Seoul. In case you missed it there, here it is.

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A person I never met, but one who’s writing I admired. As she lay dying I was touched by the testimonials of her many friends and admirers. And I was reminded that to be truly loved is ultimately the greatest measure of success one can achieve in a lifetime.

Here’s a quote that I think captures her unique ability to cut to the heart of the matter in a concise and insightful manner that few writers ever master:

A society that allows Playboy is not a society that allows women to be stoned to death for adultery. Human nature being what it is, we’re probably stuck with either burkas or naked balloon breasts forever. I know which I prefer.—Catherine Siepp

Her good friend Moxie has a tribute here.

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

–khalil gibran

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My parents raised me tenderly,
I was their only son.
My mind got mixed with ramblin’
When I was all so young,
And I left my home the first time
When I was twelve and one.
I’m a long time a-comin’, Maw,
An’ I’ll be a long time gone.

On the western side of Texas,
On the Texas plains,
I tried to find a job o’work
But they said I’s young of age.
My eyes they burned when I heard,
“Go home where you belong!”
I’m a long time a-comin’,
An’ I’ll be a long time gone.

I remember when I’s ramblin’
Around with the carnival trains,
Different towns, different people,
Somehow they’re all the same.
I remember children’s faces best,
I remember travelin’ on.
I’m a long time a-comin’,
I’ll be a long time gone.

I once loved a fair young maid
An’ I ain’t too big to tell,
If she broke my heart a single time,
She broke it ten or twelve.
I walked and talked all by myself,
I did not tell no one.
I’m a long time a-comin’, babe,
An’ I’ll be a long time gone.

Many times by the highwayside,
I tried to flag a ride.
With bloodshot eyes and gritting teeth,
I’d watch the cars roll by.
The empty air hung in my head
I’s thinkin’ all day long.
I’m a long time a-comin’,
An’ I’ll be a long time gone.

You might see me on your crossroads
When I’m a-passin’ through.
Remember me how you wished to
As I’m a-driftin’ from your view.
I ain’t got the time to think about it,
I got too much to get done.
Well, I’m a long time comin’
An’ I’ll be a long time gone.

If I can’t help somebody
With a word or song,
If I can’t show somebody
They are travelin’ wrong.
But I know I ain’t no prophet
An’ I ain’t no prophet’s son.
I’m just a long time a-comin’
An’ I’ll be a long time gone.

So you can have your beauty,
It’s skin deep and it only lies.
And you can have your youth,
It’ll rot before your eyes.
Just give to me my gravestone
With it clearly carved upon:
“I’s a long time a-comin’,
An’ I’ll be a long time gone.”

–Bob Dylan

I actually took the Long Time Gone moniker almost 20 years ago when I played in the CompuServe chat rooms. It was inspired by the Crosby, Stills, & Nash song of the same name…“it’s been a long time comin’, it’s gonna be a long time gone…”. Just wanted to be clear that I have no association with the Dixie Bitches song. But having found this Dylan tune by chance, I must say it is a good fit and henceforth it will be the “official song” of LTG.

Just so you know.

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I’m full of the spirit of Valentines Day this year (oh was the title of this post misleading? Sue me!).

Jenn at I’ve got two shoes has a great post about the bag one of her students used to bring candy to school.

Here it is:

If you can’t make it out it says:

“Loving You
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth”

A perfect Hallmark moment. It may not have the utility of “Bah Humbug” but damn if it doesn’t capture the essence of love.

And what is Valentine’s Day without poetry?

I ask but one thing of you, only one
That always you will be my dream of you.
That never shall I wake to find untrue
All this I have dreamed and rested on.
Forever vanished, like a vision gone.
Out into the night.

–Amy Lowell
Roger that.

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At Dolce tonight, feeling kinda blue.

This was one of the songs playing on the music machine:

Four strong winds that blow lonely
Seven seas that run high
All those things that don’t change
Come what may
If the good times are all gone
Then I’m bound for movin’ on
I’ll look for you if I’m ever back this way…

I guess that’s a Canadian folk song. The Neil Young version is what was playing tonight.

Things change, it is the nature of life. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck though.

Ah well. What’s done is done.

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Long trip. Wheels down landing. Nothing else to report.

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I made it back to Virginia without incident, and that’s about the best you can hope for when it comes to air travel during the holidays. The planes were jam packed of course, but I had an aisle seat and did the best I could with the confinement that is steerage, I mean economy class.

The house is all decorated up for Christmas and looking good. Since my last visit Carol has installed hardwood floors and the place is looking a hell of a lot better than it did when I lived here. Have to give credit to the son-in-law who is quite the handyman.

You might have noticed that I’m posting this at 3:30 am–yeah, my body thinks it’s Saturday afternoon. Oh well, I will adapt to the time change–probably a day or two before I head back.

Got a nice cartoon from a former coworker (and friend) at the Department of Education. So, Jim you be careful should any altercations break out at Dolce Vita.

More later….

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Well, if you are even half as bored as I am today, you will love watching these machines in action!

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Someone sent me this on email. I kinda liked it. Perhaps you will as well.

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Well, Sunday I had some company over for Mexican food. Burritos (beef and chicken), Spanish rice, and refried beans. Root beer floats for dessert. I overcooked for six, got four and had lots of leftovers. So, my coworkers enjoyed breakfast burritos this morning. Now, I am definetly not in the Big Hominid’s league when it comes to cooking, simple and easy is my style. But I guess it surprises people that I can even pull that off, at least based on the reaction of my Korean employees. Ah well, let them have their delusions–good for the image and all that. Anyway, it was fun. Sunday we ate, talked and watched a few episodes of Coupling. Too hot for anything else, and we had a good time.

Tonight was dart league, and I managed a 5-1 night and Dolce Vita remains undefeated. So, it’s all good. Such as it is….

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