If all were well I’d be sleeping, but I’m not for see this is my first night in Joy Palace and my palace of joy is offering no joy in the form of sleep. I just moved into my new apartment earlier this afternoon and I must admit I’m having extreme hotel withdrawal. It was bound to happen considering my irrational love of hotels, but it probably wouldn’t be so bad if I had a decent bed to sleep on. I think the Koreans were only given half the story because their beds are nothing than box springs. Sometimes if you’re lucky they stack them for you and you get box spring on top of box spring. This could play into Korea not being a big holiday destination for western families. Dealing with your kid’s concussion the first night after a round of bed jumping is not the ideal vacation experience. I do have an air mattress but pulling it out and dealing with it seems like too much work at the moment.
Well it’s the next night and I’ll have you know I did indeed pull out the air mattress and it turned out to be the decision of the day because I was actually comfortable enough to sleep. I do think I need to go back and add to a little of what was said last night. Everybody has their dream job and everybody’s dream job tends toward the glamorous: astronaut, professional rock climber, neurosurgeon, etc… I’m no different and for the longest time my dream job was U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea. While over there we actually got to meet the ambassador, a rather tall woman with a striking resemblance to Janet Reno. I always thought wanting to be ambassador of PNG was a pretty shrewd pick. I’d get to go back to PNG, I’d get to live way up on a hill in Port Moresby in a house surrounded by an 8 ft. restraining wall topped with swirl upon swirl of razor wire. It’s PNG so there probably wouldn’t be a lot of competition among the diplomatic corps. Best of all it’s totally a job I could handle, the U.S. has next to no interest in PNG; we’ve for the most part pawned it off on Australia. A tough day would have been hosting a 4th of July party for the 5 – 10 Americans in the country (this actually happened while we were there. Unfortunately I wasn’t there by our friend Joey and some other Peace Corps people were there and the best part is they actually got charged for the Coke’s they drank which is so wrong it’s funny. Anyways I’ve given up on my dream job, but I don’t feel too bad, most of you are never going to become astronauts either (well there is one of you with an outside chance).
This brings me to my point, I’ve always thought it was a good idea to have a back-up dream job; an achievable one, without all the pretention. My realistic dream job was guy-who-runs-a-big-hotel. You know the excited feeling you get when at an airport, excited because you’re going somewhere; well being in a hotel is a lot like that, just more comfortable. Of course this would only work if it was a big international hotel with people from all over going in and out; running the local Motel 6 doesn’t hold the same allure. I would walk around greeting people, I’m sure I’d be fluent in multiple greetings and could go around giving away complimentary drinks and meals. The best part is I’d get to live in a hotel; a true dream of mine. A dream that might have came true. I’ve seriously considered living in a hotel here in Korea. I had it all figured out, instead of the govt. spending $25,000 a year to live in an apartment I could have stayed in my old hotel room and saved the taxpayers $10,000. Unfortunately I shipped way too much stuff over to make it work so instead I’m stuck in Joy Palace (and you’re helping to cover the extra $10,000).
Today was Labor Day which poses an interesting question, should you still celebrate American holidays if you’re not in America? Seeing as how I never celebrate Labor Day when in the states not a lot of deep thinking was required. When you wake up in Korea and its raining you pretty well know that when you go to bed it will still be raining. It rained all day and it rained on my mood. I was in a funk most of the day. Part of it has to do with how much of an American automotive slut I am. When you wake and it’s raining and you have plenty of plans but you don’t have sheltered transportation handy, oh and you’re American, a real sense of helpless confusion sets in. I did eventually make it onto the base, but of course it was raining there too. I did a few things but it didn’t stop raining, I got something to eat but it didn’t stop raining, I went to the BX but it didn’t stop raining; of course the whole time my mind stayed true to the weather. Two eventually put me back on the path.
First I ran into my principal (Tim) just I was about to leave and took advantage of the situation by bumming a ride home. Principal Tim is new to Korea as well; he has spent the last 20 odd years in Europe, most recently in Italy. He a tall, slightly awkward, aw-shucks kind of a guy. Incredibly nice and a million miles away from the disaster of an administration I dealt with at St. Cat’s. He tells me he has to stop at the BX (base exchange, essentially the base department store) before we leave and oh yeah, he’s really hungry so we have to go eat (I was cool with both, number 1 I could take advantage of the car and buy a TV, and 2 everyone has to eat). Sometimes when you’re down a nice person is all you need.
We decide it’s easiest to just eat on base at Chili’s (again) and this is where to mood really started to lighten. I’m sitting at Chili’s with my boss, shootin’ the breeze thinking to myself how is this happening? The idea of going out to eat with Christopher Ollie seems absolutely self-mutilation inducing, while the thought of going out to eat with Sister Jane seems awkward in the extreme (Sister Kathy would be no problem and Father Roetzer before the stroke would have been a night on the town). During our entire Chili’s dining experience I notice how Tim continually flirts with our waitress in his childlike, lovable loser way. So not only am I eating with my principal, I’m now watching him work his mack, and with this going on, how in the hell could one be glum? For a brief moment the thought of dining with Christopher Ollie while he hit on the waitress entered my mind, and in my mind I was sure I would leap over the table and stab him in the neck with my fork. Principal Tim even goes so far as to say to me “I didn’t think I’d find Korean women attractive, but I do?” Shit it could have been the 40 year flood happening outside I wouldn’t have cared at this point. I thought to myself “surely this guy’s act will never work”. But then it suddenly dawned on me, of course it’s going to work. Maybe not today with this girl, but it most definitely will work; shit I’m sure it already has, many times. The world is filled with all shapes, sizes and personalities. Certainly I could never use this guy’s playbook, I’d feel like a complete fool, but we’re different people and that’s better; why in the hell would I want to go out to eat with my clone? I’d rather eat alone and free myself to watch what’s going on around me.
The second thing that lightened my mood actually happened earlier in the day, but it but it here for endearment’s sake. I had just walked from the school to the BX under a constant drizzle that had left me damp and worn. Suddenly while wandering the aisles I hear a familiar song, a memory inducing song that takes me back to childhood and riding in my Mom’s HUGE beat up green Buick. I not only felt better, but I actually felt good; the suddenness of the turn was welcome, but hard to believe. I love music and sometimes underestimate its magic. A few times in your life you hit upon the perfect song at the perfect time which is damn well how it ought to be because you put up with a whole lot of shit songs in between. The song I heard was Baker Street by some one-hit-wonder I don’t have a prayer of remembering. I loved that song way back in the late 70’s and I still do. I know you’re all, at this moment, on a computer so your job now is to go to some music sight, find it, and listen to it. If you’re really into today’s “hot” new jams, this song might not be for you, but take a chance.
“And when you wake up it’s a new morning
The sun is shining, it’s a new morning
Well it’s the next night and I’ll have you know I did indeed pull out the air mattress and it turned out to be the decision of the day because I was actually comfortable enough to sleep. I do think I need to go back and add to a little of what was said last night. Everybody has their dream job and everybody’s dream job tends toward the glamorous: astronaut, professional rock climber, neurosurgeon, etc… I’m no different and for the longest time my dream job was U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea. While over there we actually got to meet the ambassador, a rather tall woman with a striking resemblance to Janet Reno. I always thought wanting to be ambassador of PNG was a pretty shrewd pick. I’d get to go back to PNG, I’d get to live way up on a hill in Port Moresby in a house surrounded by an 8 ft. restraining wall topped with swirl upon swirl of razor wire. It’s PNG so there probably wouldn’t be a lot of competition among the diplomatic corps. Best of all it’s totally a job I could handle, the U.S. has next to no interest in PNG; we’ve for the most part pawned it off on Australia. A tough day would have been hosting a 4th of July party for the 5 – 10 Americans in the country (this actually happened while we were there. Unfortunately I wasn’t there by our friend Joey and some other Peace Corps people were there and the best part is they actually got charged for the Coke’s they drank which is so wrong it’s funny. Anyways I’ve given up on my dream job, but I don’t feel too bad, most of you are never going to become astronauts either (well there is one of you with an outside chance).
This brings me to my point, I’ve always thought it was a good idea to have a back-up dream job; an achievable one, without all the pretention. My realistic dream job was guy-who-runs-a-big-hotel. You know the excited feeling you get when at an airport, excited because you’re going somewhere; well being in a hotel is a lot like that, just more comfortable. Of course this would only work if it was a big international hotel with people from all over going in and out; running the local Motel 6 doesn’t hold the same allure. I would walk around greeting people, I’m sure I’d be fluent in multiple greetings and could go around giving away complimentary drinks and meals. The best part is I’d get to live in a hotel; a true dream of mine. A dream that might have came true. I’ve seriously considered living in a hotel here in Korea. I had it all figured out, instead of the govt. spending $25,000 a year to live in an apartment I could have stayed in my old hotel room and saved the taxpayers $10,000. Unfortunately I shipped way too much stuff over to make it work so instead I’m stuck in Joy Palace (and you’re helping to cover the extra $10,000).
Today was Labor Day which poses an interesting question, should you still celebrate American holidays if you’re not in America? Seeing as how I never celebrate Labor Day when in the states not a lot of deep thinking was required. When you wake up in Korea and its raining you pretty well know that when you go to bed it will still be raining. It rained all day and it rained on my mood. I was in a funk most of the day. Part of it has to do with how much of an American automotive slut I am. When you wake and it’s raining and you have plenty of plans but you don’t have sheltered transportation handy, oh and you’re American, a real sense of helpless confusion sets in. I did eventually make it onto the base, but of course it was raining there too. I did a few things but it didn’t stop raining, I got something to eat but it didn’t stop raining, I went to the BX but it didn’t stop raining; of course the whole time my mind stayed true to the weather. Two eventually put me back on the path.
First I ran into my principal (Tim) just I was about to leave and took advantage of the situation by bumming a ride home. Principal Tim is new to Korea as well; he has spent the last 20 odd years in Europe, most recently in Italy. He a tall, slightly awkward, aw-shucks kind of a guy. Incredibly nice and a million miles away from the disaster of an administration I dealt with at St. Cat’s. He tells me he has to stop at the BX (base exchange, essentially the base department store) before we leave and oh yeah, he’s really hungry so we have to go eat (I was cool with both, number 1 I could take advantage of the car and buy a TV, and 2 everyone has to eat). Sometimes when you’re down a nice person is all you need.
We decide it’s easiest to just eat on base at Chili’s (again) and this is where to mood really started to lighten. I’m sitting at Chili’s with my boss, shootin’ the breeze thinking to myself how is this happening? The idea of going out to eat with Christopher Ollie seems absolutely self-mutilation inducing, while the thought of going out to eat with Sister Jane seems awkward in the extreme (Sister Kathy would be no problem and Father Roetzer before the stroke would have been a night on the town). During our entire Chili’s dining experience I notice how Tim continually flirts with our waitress in his childlike, lovable loser way. So not only am I eating with my principal, I’m now watching him work his mack, and with this going on, how in the hell could one be glum? For a brief moment the thought of dining with Christopher Ollie while he hit on the waitress entered my mind, and in my mind I was sure I would leap over the table and stab him in the neck with my fork. Principal Tim even goes so far as to say to me “I didn’t think I’d find Korean women attractive, but I do?” Shit it could have been the 40 year flood happening outside I wouldn’t have cared at this point. I thought to myself “surely this guy’s act will never work”. But then it suddenly dawned on me, of course it’s going to work. Maybe not today with this girl, but it most definitely will work; shit I’m sure it already has, many times. The world is filled with all shapes, sizes and personalities. Certainly I could never use this guy’s playbook, I’d feel like a complete fool, but we’re different people and that’s better; why in the hell would I want to go out to eat with my clone? I’d rather eat alone and free myself to watch what’s going on around me.
The second thing that lightened my mood actually happened earlier in the day, but it but it here for endearment’s sake. I had just walked from the school to the BX under a constant drizzle that had left me damp and worn. Suddenly while wandering the aisles I hear a familiar song, a memory inducing song that takes me back to childhood and riding in my Mom’s HUGE beat up green Buick. I not only felt better, but I actually felt good; the suddenness of the turn was welcome, but hard to believe. I love music and sometimes underestimate its magic. A few times in your life you hit upon the perfect song at the perfect time which is damn well how it ought to be because you put up with a whole lot of shit songs in between. The song I heard was Baker Street by some one-hit-wonder I don’t have a prayer of remembering. I loved that song way back in the late 70’s and I still do. I know you’re all, at this moment, on a computer so your job now is to go to some music sight, find it, and listen to it. If you’re really into today’s “hot” new jams, this song might not be for you, but take a chance.
“And when you wake up it’s a new morning
The sun is shining, it’s a new morning
But you’re going, you’re going home.”
2 comments:
Sorry to say, Kevin, but I don't think you'd make a great big-hotel-manager. You'd have to talk to people and seem interested all the time. Though after reading this, I think that you could aspire to Nomadic Military Principal. Korea for a few years, Europe for a few years. Where could you teach in Africa for the government? That would tick off another continent.
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