Bungy pics I owe

Bungy pics from yesterday. Lots of great action today. Don't think I'll have time to provide an update until later though :-(

Salute's for you MAJ C - looked a bit retarded since I thought the idea was to face the video camera below, not the hidden cam.

Queenstown with Gilbert

This first picture, our venison meal from a local brewery was at the end of the day. I'd like to put out a sincere thank you to my fine host! We even got through most of the day without going on about PLCs and SCADA systems! If ever you're in Seoul or America - I'd feel priviledged to show you around.

Today we slept in. Then I woke up confused about the time. It was daylight savings so we set the clock back an hour. That's right - back! It was almost a month ago when the US set their clocks forward. (Mar 9th as opposed to Apr 6th). Well, that had to do with an early full moon, among other things, and New Zealanders also respect the "spring forward, fall back" mnemonic. It's just that fall - autumn - begins in April in the Southern Hemisphere. And in Korea we don't recognize daylight savings.

It was a good day today. Gilbert from the PLCs.net forum drove me around the spots in Queenstown. It's amazing what an "OT: been to New Zealand" post can get you! He first took us to a site overlooking a narrow stream/river where they do Jet Boat rides. I was interested, but Austin had his sights set elsewhere. Those crazy guys come inches from rock walls at high speeds. The impressive units can operate in 4 inches of water.



Next, Gilbert took us up a narrow windy road up a steep hill. It was an amazing view that featured many of the areas where we'd been and were going. Hang gliders were launching from there - made me think of my little bro. Queenstown's the "adventure capital" of, well probably the world. The list goes on and on: Sky diving, bungee jumping/swings, luging, gliders, boats, rides, you name it...



After that we went to Arrowhead. It's an old gold mining town that maintains much of its historic roots. It was a fun place to check out and wander. But we got cut short for our Kawaru bungy reservations.






I'm told this was the first commercial bungy site in the world. It's certainly a great location! I have great pictures to post, the usual tourist trap ones - I should be able to download them tomorrow. That's me - pretty hard to tell, though. I do have a DVD copy of the video.

I opted to get wet. Apparently the farther you jump outward the less wet you'll get. The tune changed for Austin after I stayed dry. He was told that he'd pay for me. I doubt it mattered how he went - they made sure he practically dipped down to his waist.


We made a quick stop at a local winery for a taste test. They get fully booked a week in advance for dinner, but we just caught them before closing. It was the first New Zealand wines I'd had. Very good!

Our last stop was Speight's Ale House for dinner (pictured at the top). Aside from being evacuated due to a fire alarm, all went well!

A few last minute things: 1. Great pictures taken everywhere - will have to see separately 2. Sheep greatly outnumber people here 66 million to 4 million 3. lamb gyros/wraps are awesome!

First night in New Zealand at the Jail House

Promised pictures from the Jail House.

We didn't stay in Christchurch very long. After leaving the airport for our hotel at 5:00PM, the plan was to drive to Queenstown the following morning. More specifically, the plan was to figure out the plan as we went along. The only problem is that the same red flag kept rearing its ugly face. Most people we talked to had been, or were staying for over a month. When I mentioned my 12 days, the next question was always, "Oh, so which island are you visiting? And what area?" followed by a surprised, "well good luck with that..." response to our plan to see it all.

Randomly wandering into a tour place late at night may have been our saving grace. Who would have guessed that tours book in advance? That we might not be able to get a cheap motel room on the weekend on the spot? That the auto ferry that we depended on needed booked tickets that sell out and get more expensive? Or that the numbered highways on the maps whose distance in kilometers weren't great, but will take many hours since they're windy and only run one lane in each direction? So Åda, our booking agent from Sweden, helped us come up with a plan and reservations.

Most of the places were closed so our bookings had to be done in the morning. Here are a few pictures from a central area in Christchurch near Åda's office. It would have been a great place to hang out for a few days.



It's unfortunate that our awesome scenic drive has been watered down to a collage of thumbnails. But I suspect that scenery pictures will only get better with our trip and those photos will be better viewed in a web album. The blue lakes look amazing - due to the rock base instead of soil. New Zealand was formed as a volcano, not broken off of Australia (thanks, Kelly). That hill picture had a rainbow projected on the side of the hill - first time I've seen anything like it. We drove through a flat region at first, then hills through a varied landscape.


I thought "Fish & Chips Chinese Takeaways" sounded great for lunch. Austin decided that it looked like cafeteria food. So after rejecting my first idea of a sit down restaurant on the basis of it taking too long, we ended up a different one. My award winning lamb curry was excellent as were his fish and chips.

NZ, day 1

The flight wasn't bad. There were enough extra seats to make the 12 hours fly by. I like Korean air, too. Cute, accommodating flight attendants and good food help - I'm especially fond of the Bibimbop.

After arriving in Auckland, I jumped on a domestic flight to Christchurch.



The couple next to me noticed me scribbling activities and scrounging through an absurd sized pile of brochures. They offered enough good advice during that hour long flight to get me on a solid start.

Austin was right at the baggage claim - things were off to a smooth start.

Our rental car is a new, manual transmission Toyota Corolla. Driving on the other side of the street isn't too bad, except some of the crazy left turns and roundabouts. Shifting with my left hand is a bit weird. The worst part is that I keep turning the windshield wipers on instead of activating the turn signal, which is on the right side. Oh, and I feel really stupid! I couldn't figure out how to get the vehicle in reverse, which is left and up besides first! After consulting the manual I "figured out" that you have to hold the shifter skirt up in order to activate it.

We found a "Jailhouse" hotel. It's a trip! We have a bunk bed that's a real converted jail cell. The manager is the "warden" and the place is all done up! The only gotcha is the authentic shared shower (they did put stalls up). More pictures to follow.

Our technology on the go is great too. Austin brought his router and Vonage phone, and I brought my laptop. We just plug in a common area and can make calls to the states and are fully wired! Sweet!

Off to Auckland

Chillin' in a bus, feet propped up on the luggage rack. I'm gonna blow a huge chunk of leave - it feels great! What am I doing in New Zealand? Where am I going? I donno! I have a rental car reserved in Christchurch that's due 10 days later in Auckland.

I'll meet my friend Austin. All he asked for from Australia, he left a few weeks earlier, was baby wipes. I guess we might camp for a day or two. He plans on showering with baby wipes - I figure there's probably TP in New Zealand. I'm not worried.

My favorite thing lately is Jonathan Coulton. His catchy, geeky tunes have brought magic to this bus ride. Ok, I've wandered far enough. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

First day at the range - and second

We shot at a Republic of Korea base. That's one of their jump (airborne) training towers.






My first range day. Actually, the first time I've operated anything besides my (less than exciting) primary weapon, the Baretta M9. I got to play soldier and train with an M4. It was a great day, we had plenty of ammo to expend! We did things like firing rapid controlled pairs from a safe ready position and run a qualifying round. I didn't qualify, but had an excuse! The idea of a 3 round burst never excited me much, but now I think it's genius - it's pretty easy to control "semi-auto" sets of 3 round bursts - SWEET!




The second day was M9 qualification. An odd thing for me is that I shoot to the left - in pretty tight groups. Trying to guess and compensate for it at 25 yards was puttin' me all over the place. I qualified sharpshooter once and marksman once out of 3 rounds, but it wasn't pretty.

Later we did an unsupported weak arm drill where we fired with our left hand only - gangster style, but not turned. While my grouping wasn't tight, it was pretty evenly spread around the target! Doww! That right handed left eye dominance is out to get me. Next time I'll have to learn to be a lefty!

My first exercise

Just returned from my first field exercise. I'm told it really wasn't that similar to what the "real Army" does, but this is probably as close as I'll ever come. We slept in big tents - I'm thinking 15-20 men apiece. Each one had 3 hanging lights and a heater slash A/C unit that arguably worked - lukewarm at night, freezing by morning. When we arrived the tents were already set up, I had an assembled folding cot, a Rubbermaid bin, and half of a small portable clothes hangar rack. Not too shabby - it felt like RV camping.

The bathroom was a short walk from my tent. We had toilets and (very) hot water - I swear they must pressurize it to keep it from boiling. If someone was rude enough to flush the toilet without loudly yelling, "Fire in the HOLE!", you'd hear loud angry screaming of everyone in the communal shower - the scalding hot water probably didn't burn you, but it sure felt like it.

Army Chow was significantly better than I expected. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but I always enjoyed it. Just slightly below a normal military mess hall, which is just slightly below dorm food - but great considering that we were standing up in an alternate location.

We wore body armor, a load bearing vest (I left my canteens), gas mask suit (behind my left thigh), and helmet. The Army issued me an ACU patterned helmet cover that didn't match my uniform. Guess I should have bought a matching one and affixed my name and insignia - whatever. We also carried our primary weapon everywhere. For many it was an M4/M16, I had an M9.

You can tell it wasn't that cold since I didn't bother to put my gloves on for that picture. They're the big bulge in my right pocket. Pictured with me on the left is Gil, my High School wrestling buddy's cousin and coach's nephew. Funny that we should bump into each other like that. He came and kicked my butt a couple times as an assistant coach when I was a senior. I didn't realize that he was stationed at Travis then. We didn't recognize each other until we were chatting halfway through. On the right is Rich, my co-worker. We have a lot of fun in times to come!

The exercise was a really long week. Guess I learned a lot firsthand about how we conduct modern warfare.

There's a picture from the victory party. We were celebrating our win (surprise, surprise) with our Korean counterparts who we'd been working with all week.

I was slow on the camera. I missed the RV that had a bicycle taped on - yes tape, they'd created a web of packing tape to hold it on. This overpacked blue truck was the next car in front of it. They must have been traveling together. I'll never get tired of sights on the roadways.

Pictures here.

Fire in Namdaemun

This is a huge tragedy for Korea. I have several other posts that I've been meaning to put up, but they'll have to wait. Take a look at the top picture I snapped in the New Years entry - I wish I'd been standing in front of it.

Namdaemun or Sungnyemun gate was a historic landmark in Seoul. Built in 1398, it was the oldest standing wood building. According to the all knowing Wikipedia, it used to guard the city from Tigers. We're talkin' National Treasure Number 1 of Korea!

My friend James was walking his dog when he took these pictures, the first one at 9:33PM on Feb 10th. He described the significance to Koreans as like the Liberty Bell.


1:43 AM, Feb 11th










1:49 AM, Feb 11th










Next day, Feb 11th 6:45PM

Feelin' shady in Itaewon

I don't know what it is - I just can't get used to this routine. Every month I withdraw a stack of hundreds, this time an even 50. Sometime later I go find a "money lady" out in town. They run currency exchange services out of small buildings in alleys that sport a yellow sign. They have a posted currency exchange rate, but they'll give you a random amount extra if you bring hundreds and ask (or are a regular). The Army run Dragon Hill Lodge will give you about 850 to a dollar if you're a guest. The bank on base is a little better at about 920 now. I got 946 from the money lady today, even given that we just took a big hit from the fed lowering interest rates.

In any event, I'm only a little nervous riding the subway to Itaewon with my wad. Today is pretty convenient, they had three 1 million won notes for me, so I "only" had 173 of the standard 10,000 won notes. I've been stuck with all small bills - you feel like you're carrying a suitcase full of money. An interesting thing is that the 100k and 1mil notes aren't official currency. I think they're issued by banks or something. You typically have to sign the back of them when you pay, sometimes even write your phone number. It's ok to have many signatures.

Once I had won in my backpack it was ok. There's no reason anyone would jump me for funny money. I was stopped by a tailor in front of his shop. Long story short I walk out having committed a negotiated $500 for 2 piece suit, a long cashmere jacket (same price as the suit), and 2 nice collared shirts - all custom made. I've always planned on getting a couple custom suits while I'm here. I've heard guys get them in the low $100 range. At that price I might get a pimp costume made in white or pink. Here it depends more on the material than the labor, weird. I'm also told that Osan has much better prices. Seoul's getting "expensive".

So I'll be getting a car at some point. I've been too indecisive. I've passed up a free one (accidentally) and several nice ones at about $1000 (doww!). It's funny how your standards change with your environment. I keep seeing $500-800 "Hoopties"and thinking that they're overpriced. Might spend up to about $2500 depending on the deal. It's tough, because you can't expect to get nearly anything back on your Korean car. On the other hand, we have American auto manufacturers that will give military members a great deal on new cars overseas. You can drive them here then get them shipped back.

New Years 2008

New Years 2008 was less eventful than I would have hoped. The video that James showed me from last year made the dense crowds Roman Candle fire was coordinated - after the bell rang that only occurs on the New Year; it looked like AA gunfire from Desert Storm. Then there were "real" (Class A) fireworks overhead. This year there were a lot of candles, but people were lighting them off for well over an hour straight. I'm told the bell (right) rang once at 11:40 and no fireworks. There was an absurd amount of building and tree lighting, an ice skating rink, several bands, and more police officers than I've seen in my life combined. It was cold, but we still ran around and had a good time.

This has little relevance, but I'll mention it anyways. So I bought a computer at the Electronics Mart, a local nice, high end retail building housing many small vendors. After spec'ing out a computer and negotiating the price they were very nice. They gave me an Internet terminal and a cup of coffee to occupy myself while I waited the hour and half for them to build it. Upon completion I was shown that everything worked - the Internet connection, audio, etc, etc. The first thing I did at home was try to boot to a CD. Big problem, though - pushing the button just made a grinding sound. As you can see in the picture, Adashi shoved the DVD drive in behind the cables that connect my sound and USB ports (above) to the motherboard. He apparently installed my English version of XP from a hard drive image. It took longer to decide if I wanted to fix it than actually do so. Then I realize that he DeWalted the nice anodized thumbscrews on the back. Nothing a screwdriver couldn't handle, but disconcerting nonetheless.

An update for close friends and family: I've been busy throughout the holidays. Went to several coworkers places for parties, had a work holiday party, and several other festivities. Guess I've been too lazy to post lately. Been spending too many geeky hours watching The Office, My Name is Earl, and Star Trek.

Seoul Skiing

Seoul skiing is no Colorado. It's more like Boreal - except that Boreal's man made snow doesn't thaw during the day and freeze at night to create a downhill iceskating rink. It is convenient, though. An hour drive from the city and you're off snowboarding. The first trip was an evening run after work on a Friday. I think it was around 8-12 or so. What I found baffling was the price. $45 for the lift ticket and equipment rental including: board, boots, pants, a jacket, a helmet, and goggles. The guy drove to the resort in a suit at midnight to pick up our gear. The strange thing is that the lift ticket was more than $45 at the resort. I wonder if anyone actually pays that. The rental at the second trip charged $10 to rent a board and boots - then provided us with 25% off coupons for lift tickets that were slightly more than $40...ugh...?

The skiing wasn't great but I had a good time. I was able to trade in my skis for a board so the second trip felt like two. A few weird things worth mentioning:

1. They had "magic carpet" conveyor belts that took beginners up the bunny slopes. Similar ones behind automated gates would help you onto the lift. Especially silly considering that many Korean snowboarders completely remove their boards before getting on the lift. Skiers with poles shouldn't care less.

2. My friend Max skiing on one foot. See the video on youtube here.

3. Food prices - just like at airports, they don't get the whole monopoly thing.

4. Rental places - there must have been literally 10-20 on the way to each resort all providing the exact same service. What are they thinking?

5. Compressed air stations - they have nozzles hooked up to compressed air to blow the snow off your equipment when you finish. Not a bad idea to remove the bulk of the ice from your board. For some reason the Koreans would take forever blowing their equipment until there wasn't any snow left, but it would still be pretty wet.

More pictures here