KLB - Last Night


With nothing else to do on this fine Sunday afternoon, I went through and reread a few weeks worth of posts. Though I actually laughed a little at some of the things I talked about, I found myself cringing over every poorly worded sentence and typo. When I write a post, I usually write it at one time, then push "publish" and that's that. I probably should leave it for a bit and come back, do a spell check, re-read and fix mistakes and then, finally, publish. On the other hand, that isn't as spontaneous and authentic. I don't want every entry to sound like a well crafted piece of writing - at least that's what I keep telling myself. The truth is I'm just lazy.

Why am I not out enjoying the day? Because I have a hangover. The first one I've had since the last time I hung out with John. That's right - it's all his fault. He forced them down my throat, every shot. Well, he always buys me shots of something and I have a hard time refusing. I should have stuck to beer.

The night started well. Julie and I felt like idiots because all this time we've lived here, we had no idea that right across the street there's a bus stop for a bus that runs directly to Hongdae (the party capital of Korea) no stops. 20 minutes. Until last night, whenever we went there, we had to take the subway which, with the transfer in Sindorim, takes over an hour. Thats partly why we rarely went. Upon this new discovery, I felt particularly bad because my friend James, who couldn't make it last night, used to live right where the bus drops you off at Hongdae station. I probably would have hung out with him a lot more, whether to have a bite to eat, a few beers or practice at the band room there had I known about the bus.

Anyway, to get to the point, Julie is mad at me now because I acted stupid after all those shots of tequila - go figure. At 4:30 AM, I pleaded with everyone to go to a norae bang (karaoke room - they are open all night and are everywhere) and/or restaurant and I wouldn't shut up about how much I love Korea. You see, John's friend, who's from Hawaii of all places, says she doesn't like it here. It's ugly. In fact, she referred to Korea as a third world country and she's hated the trip and never plans to return.

Being from Hawaii probably makes most places in the world look ugly, but for some reason, this pissed me off. I hate when people don't like Korea. In my drunkenness, I took her remarks personally. I wanted to show her the fun side. Where else in the world can you feast on delicious strips of meat in a crowded restaurant (kalbi) then go sing your heart out at a bustling karaoke at 5:00 a.m.? I guess I went overboard. John was up for it, great guy that he is, but his sidekick wasn't. She doesn't like karaoke, of course, and she wasn't hungry.

Then my mouth flapped on about things it should have shut up about in the taxi home, nostalgic rambling about nights in Koje-do and, um, oops, my first Korean girlfriend and those first times she took me to norae bang and how much fun that was. To top if off, when we got home, as if I didn't make an ass of myself enough, I wanted to go shopping at Walmart for munchies. At 5:00 a.m. I drove Julie nuts, basically, and she won't talk to me now. It's a real bummer when one member of your drunken group is dead sober - especially when that member is your girlfriend. Aigooo!

That was the first night I went out in months. Now that I'm getting a bit older, it's lost a lot of it's appeal. It's still fun, sure - I like to hang out with friends and listen to good music - but I always end up overdoing it and feeling like crap the following day. I hate the way I feel right now. I want to enjoy the day, go to the health club, but my record is warped and won't play. I should feel better in a few hours though. I'd better go buy something nice for Julie. It's pretty lonesome out here in the dog house. At least I have DSL in here, though.