December Begins!!!

Monday, December 2nd, work work work.  It was a pretty quiet day so we all wondered why we didn’t get the day off… I know we get the day off a lot, but we work a lot too!

16797 Steps (7.31 miles)

Tuesday, December 3rd, after work I ran to ipark mall so I could buy tickets for the new Hunger Games movie – unfortunately I was too early to buy movie tickets for Sunday… I was too excited!

10040 Steps (4.36 miles)

Wednesday, December 4th, work work work!  I spent most of the night dealing with drama revolved around who had the keys to the cabinets that had our tactical gear in it.

19626 Steps (8.54 miles)

Thursday, December 5th, we had tactical PRT in the morning with our IOTV (body armor stuff)  It was actually pretty fun especially when I scared the crap out of one of my soldiers by actually picking him up and carrying him instead of just dragging him like the rest of the females.  After work I went for a run to ipark mall again and actually bought the tickets this time!

22034 Steps (9.58 miles)

Friday, December 6th, I woke up realizing that running so much after doing tactical PRT with my IOTV was a very bad idea – my back was hurting pretty badly.  After work I went out to the Navy Club for drinks and then ended up out in Itaewon to hear one of my friends who plays in a cover band play.

19097 Steps (8.31 miles)

Saturday, December 7th, was a fairly relaxed day for me.  The Vice President came to post and I had volunteered to be a part of the group that played for him but my higher ups decided they wanted a real sax player rather than me.  So instead I went for a run and ended up running 15 miles.  That night I went with my friend Dan Cantu to his holiday party on post.   Dan didn’t want to go by himself and I happened to have a fancy dress.  I was a bit nervous at first since it was a bunch of officers that I didn’t know, but I ended up having a great time!  It was hysterical because my band’s jazz combo was playing at the party and I hadn’t told any of them I was going to be there.  It took them a while to figure out who I was – apparently I look very different in a dress than I do in uniform!  However, by the end of the evening I was in rough shape – running 15 miles and then standing around in heels was a bad idea for my feet!

34181 Steps (14.87 miles)

Sunday, December 8th, got up early to watch MSU beat OSU in big ten champs game!!!  I went with a group to watch it at the Navy Club (since they were going to be open in the morning and had tvs!)  I honestly didn’t think we were going to do so well… it was awesome!  Afterwards, I went with some friends to go see Hunger Games 2 in 4D which was a really cool experience!

6902 Steps (3.00 miles)

Monday December 9th, we did a Seoul Tower walk for morning, worked all day and then went to our chicken and beer for dinner for Alan’s going away party.

19377 Steps (8.43 miles)

Tuesday, December 10th, was a fairly tame day - MPT rehearsals and paperwork, then to add to the excitement, I went to the commissary after work.  Wild times had by all!

10411 Steps (4.53 miles)

Wednesday, December 11th, we had a MPT rehearsal in morning, then in the afternoon the Canadian Brass came to give us a master class for two of our brass quintets and the woodwind quintet.  It was quite an interesting experience!  For dinner that night, I made my blue cheese and onion sauce steak for dinner for Herold, Dan and Sam.

13203 Steps (5.74 miles)

Thursday, December 12th, I didn’t made it to PRT since my back was hurting fairly badly.  I ended up going to sick call where the doctor was worried about my back and put me on basically a dead man’s profile.  And they put at shot in my butt.  It made me unable to feel by body and very woozy.  Apparently people thought I was pretty funny for the rest of the day!

8638 Steps (3.76 miles)

Friday, December 13th, we had our Band Change of Command which was the climax for the day.  I was still pretty heavy drugged since they doctor had prescribed muscle relaxers for me.  Afterwards I went back to my BEQ and ended up cleaning pretty obsessively.  I was going to meet my friends at the Navy Club but it was closed so I ended up meeting up with a friend out in Itaewon.  The drugs started effecting me pretty badly – I don’t think that type of muscle relaxer was good for me unfortunately.  Luckily I have good friends who helped me out.

16814 Steps (7.31 miles)

Saturday, December 14th, I stopped taking the muscle relaxers and got the drugs cleaned out of my system.  I played at the first general’s Holiday Reception all afternoon.  It was interesting because I ran into some of the officers and their wives that I had met at the holiday party I went to with my friend.  I also got to eat a lot in between sets and it was a great spread!  They even had bacon chocolate cupcakes!  That night I went out with my friend Jake and a couple other friends – we went out to Hongdae to listen to a cover band.  One of my friends and I got into an argument about the best chicken and beer place so I had to take him to mine to try! 

12785 Steps (5.56 miles)

Sunday, December 15^th, was one of the best lazy days.  I slept in, watched movie, and read.  Couldn’t ask for anything better!

1160 Steps (0.50 miles)

Monday, December 16th, was our first day of caroling around post with my Woodwind Quintet.  We had to go to formation and got stuck in EO class first, but then went over to the Finance building to play for the money folks and then for DTS/G8.  The Colonel there coined us.  Then we went to the post office and got kicked out.  It was an interesting juxtaposition of things.  We also went to try to play at the Dragon Hill but they are busy with musicians.  We took lunch and then went to play at the ACS building for housing and transportation.  Afterwards we went to AFN where my buddy, Ed got us on the radio live to plug for ourselves and for all the other caroling groups.  It definitely helps to have connections!!!  It was fun getting to carol around post – I can’t tell you how many Koreans took pictures/video of us playing.  They really like music!

14719 Steps (6.40 miles)

Tuesday, December 17th, was our second day of caroling.  We started early at the Hospital – we played in the chow hall and then in front of the pharmacy.  Afterwards we went to another big building and played in multiple locations – PAO, IG, Chaplains, and Force Management.  We took a coffee break for those in my group who are having issues keeping up and then went and played at for the Staff Judge Advocate.  We went and played at the USO and then took lunch at the hospital Katusa snack bar.  After lunch we went to Protocol with a captain who thinks we are his personal woodwind quintet.  He opened the doors to his building so everyone could hear “his” music.  Then he asked if we had played over at 8^th Army headquarters – we said no, you had to have a security badge to get in.  He said he had one and escorted us over!  We played for a bit there and then decided that was a good way to end on a good note!  Afterwards, I worked on some paperwork and dealt with too much drama.

However, I officially am 6 months through my tour in Korea and only have 6 more months to go!!!

7835 Steps (3.41 miles)

Wednesday, December 18th, was the start of the half day schedule and subsequently was a very laid back day!  We went to the pool for PRT in the morning and then I did some paperwork in the morning and then practiced for a bit.  After lunch, I didn’t have to go back to work so I bummed around a bit, read, watched tv shows and pretended to be productive!

11316 Steps (4.92 miles)

Thanksgiving and Holiday Concert

Monday, November 25th, concert band, concert band, concert band!  It was an all day fest of rehearsals getting ready for the big holiday concert.

19023 Steps (8.27 miles)

Tuesday, November 26th, was more concert band rehearsals and meetings.  Plus Navy Club.

8413 Steps (3.66 miles)

Wednesday, November 27th, was the last day of my week!  We had concert band and other training and then after work I went over to Dan’s with Sam.  Sam made us a spaghetti squash spaghetti (which was really good!) and I made lots of pies for Thanksgiving!  1 Apple, 2 pecan and 4 pumpkin pies.

12887 Steps (5.60 miles)

Thursday, November 28th, I got up and ran in the morning with Sam and Dan (we had to earn all the food we were going to eat!)  We went over to another friend’s house (with all the pies!) where there was a ton of food and good times!  I was kind of out of it though since it was my first Thanksgiving without any family and I was pretty bummed out.  I went to another friends afterwards and we watched Grizwold’s Christmas Vacation.

19799 Steps (8.61 miles)

Friday, November 29th, I got up early and took a coffee to my friend, Ed, who was working the radio station special for Black Friday.  Apparently they do do Black Friday on post and it is a bit scary.  I listened to it at the radio station and then got to Skype to family!  Later in the day I went for a run and got lost (twice) and ran nearly 9 miles by accident.  Later I went to a Black Friday party hosted by one of the guitar players in my band and his wife.

29632 Steps (12.89 miles)

Saturday, November 30th, I was completely lazy all day long.  Which was perfect since I was all mopey from the holidays.

4165 Steps (1.81 miles)

Sunday, December 1st, was our Korean-American Friendship Holiday Concert extravaganza!!!  We got to work fairly early to have a quick rehearsal and then rolled out to the Seoul Arts Center (which is a phenomenal venue – it is called the Carnegie Hall of Korea.)  The dressing room had these great lounge chairs which we took full advantage of.  The sound check took forever so we were a bit rushed to change, but the concert went really well.  I even had a few friends come which was awesome J Afterwards we had to wait around for the dog and pony show with the General but oh well.  After we got back to post, I went out with Sam, Herold and Dan to this amazing burger place.  Seriously, it was amazing!!!  I ate way too much and it was worth it!

9858 Steps (4.29 miles)

Raking Leaves

Monday, November 18th, was the start of Fall Clean Ups on post – which is Area Beautification.  IE – I was out raking and bagging leaves.  It wasn’t bad though it was tedious.  It was also the first day of snow!

23074 Steps (10.03 miles)

Tuesday, November 19th, was a bit rough.  I was Duty NCO for the week and I had a huge issue with my CQ personnel which made my whole day interesting.  I ended up having to take a soldier over to behavior health to get checked up on.  It’s strange sometimes when I have to be an adult.

14894 Steps (6.48 miles)

Wednesday, November 20th, was more Fall Clean Ups and concert band rehearsals getting ready for our big concert!

21652 Steps (9.42 miles)

Thursday, November 21st, we were supposed to do Fall Clean Ups at our own BEQs but they didn’t give us any tools.  I told my SGM that if he could find my BEQ, I’d be impressed!  Needless to say, it was a bit of a slacker afternoon.  I did go get a Double Down from KFC which was a heart attack wrapped in chicken.

18111 Steps (7.88 miles)

Friday, November 22nd, I graded an APFT in the morning and then we had it fairly easy for the rest of the day.  I went to the Navy Club that night and met an interesting person though his friends were all dicks.  They managed to piss off everyone else in the bar.  One of my SFCs said that we all left because if we had stayed there would have been a fight – we definitely would have won but we would have all gotten in trouble!

15703 Steps (6.83 miles)

Saturday, November 23rd, I got up early and went to the “5K” Turkey Trot on post (it was more like 2.7 miles but who’s counting?)  That afternoon I went over to Herold’s apartment to make an apple pie while he made enchiladas.  Chuck and Sam came over and we ate, listened to music and played games.  It was a nice, relaxed evening.

24588 Steps (10.69 miles)

Sunday, November 24th, I got up and went to Southside Hash which was a nice run and then we all fancied ourselves up for a Hash wedding and Hash Thanksgiving.  It was nice getting together with so many crazy, wonderful people. Afterwards, I met up with a friend for dinner and to watch some movies.

28030 Steps (12.19 miles)

Back to the Grind...

Monday, November 11th, Happy Veteran's Day!  I managed to pull myself out of bed and go to the 5k run that was on post.  It wasn't a great run but I finished in just under 30 minutes.  And got the free T-shirt.  I didn't do much else productive that day except laundry and practicing and buying more drugs because my cold was back with a vengeance.  

16968 Steps (7.38 miles)

Tuesday, November 12th, first day back at work after leave always sucks.  Well, it wasn't terrible but I wasn't terribly excited to be there.  I mostly dragged butt all day.  After work I went to the Navy Club for the free hot dogs and cheap beer and then went to bed early.

10725 Steps (4.66 miles)

Wednesday, November 13th, we started the day with 1/2 mile sprints.  We also had concert band and we were given all the music for our holiday concert on December 1st.  I am worried about whether people will get everything learned in time - my parts aren't hard so I'm not so worried about me.

6933 Steps (3.02 miles)

Thursday, November 14th, was an interesting day.  We had tactical PRT in the morning which consisted of going to one of the soccer fields and doing Army circuit training.  It wasn't a bad way to do things and luckily wasn't that cold.  I didn't bothering showering after PRT since next up was Combatives training which was a lot of fun.  It was a very hooah type of morning.  For lunch, I showered and chomped down some food before going back to work for some WWQ rehearsal.  It was a very productive rehearsal which I was happy about.  Then I went to a BN schools meeting and then after a bit more paperwork, popped smoke for the day.   I met up the Sam and Dan and we went down to the river walk where the Seoul Lantern Festival was going on.  I was expecting there to be lights that were maybe strung across the river or floating down the river but there were these big paper sculptures lit up all down the river - all with some sort of historical or cultural significance.  It was pretty cool actually.  We had Italian for dinner afterwards and I made Sam take the head of my shrimp... it was staring at me in a really creepy manner!

21268 Steps (9.25 miles)

Friday, November 15th, was a responsible conduct holiday - ie, day off.    I slept in a bit do to the Nyquil, but was still up at a reasonable time so I could go into work and finish up some paperwork and get some practicing and reed work in.  I grabbed a late lunch of cup of noodle and did laundry before going out to the Navy Club for $1 beers.  I didn't stay very late and afterwards, went back to my BEQ, popped in a movie and went to bed.  I am rather exciting...

4441 Steps (1.93 miles)

Saturday, November 16th, was one of the most musically rewarding days I've had in a long time!  I woke up fairly early and got ready for the day.  I ran over to Starbucks for coffee (much needed) and then picked up my bassoon and went to the bus station here on post.  I met up with one of my percussionists and we hopped on the free bus to Uinongbu which is north of my normal location (basically up near the DMZ) where Camp Red Cloud is - also home of the 2nd ID band.  One of the guys up there wants to put in his conducting videos to be a band officer and he wanted to conduct Stravinsky's l'histoire du soldat (Soldier's Tale) which calls for Violin (covered by a 2ID trumpet player who is also a Violin player), Double Bass (bass guitar player from 2ID who use to be in 8A), trumpet, trombone, clarinet, percussion and bassoon.  Since I'm the only Army bassoonist on Penn, I got asked to participate.  The music is very hard - any free practice time I had for the last couple weeks was spent woodshedding my part.  I went north really nervous and feeling completely unprepared.  And I had a blast.  I didn't play things perfectly, but I was definitely not the weakest link and damn, we actually sounded good part of the time!  It has been a while since I felt like I truly accomplished something!  Afterwards, my percussionist buddy and I caught the free bus back to Yongsan.  I dropped off my instrument and met up with some friends who were out playing pool in Itaewon.  I had to walk back to post in the rain and almost had to break up a fight at the gate, but even that couldn't take away from me having a pretty terrific day.

9970 Steps (4.34 miles)

Sunday, November 17th, should have been a lazy day, but it ended up being more stressful than it needed to be.  I woke up and lazed about in bed watching the score updates for the Michigan State/Nebraska game (we won!) Then I had to deal with some CQ issues which meant I needed to shower quickly and head over to the band hall to give one of my soldiers a lunch break in the barracks with no power.  Then I went and saw Thor 2 with my buddy Carter.  Afterwards, I dealt with some more CQ issues, bought some coffee and then was lazy and did nothing but read (ok... Kate got me hooked on another book...)

9515 Steps (4.14 miles)

Germany!

Friday, November 1st, was the first day of my leave!  I got up really early, showered, signed out on leave and then left post.  The first taxi I got into, the driver had no idea what I was talking about when I said Seoul Station, but the second taxi did.  Once at Seoul Station, I got on the express train for the airport.  I got to the airport, got checked in, went through security and got some coffee.  My flight left at 10am for Paris!  I read the International Wall Street Journal and drank champagne for the first hour (yay free booze on international flights!)  I had one of those personal TV screens so I ended up watching a lot of movies - The Heat, Now You See Me, Iron Man 3 and Monsters University.  I read a little and tried to sleep but I was super excited and had a hard time sleeping.  There was also lots of food!  For lunch there was this strange thing on a spoon and I had wanted to beef option but they were out by the time they got to me so  I had the stuffed mushrooms.  There was a trio plate of desserts plus a plate of cheese.  The stewardess was appalled that I was drinking white wine with my cheese and brought me out red wine.   The second meal on the plane I had a shepherd's pie with lots of veggies on the side.  They also had lots of snacks throughout.  I got really tired about an hour before we were suppose to land... perfect timing, right?  We landed in Paris and I was corralled through customs (they stamped my passport and didn't ask any questions) and then I had a few hours before my next flight.  I wandered through the shops but plopped my backpack in one seat, sat down in the adjacent seat, and curled up over the two.  Luckily I set my alarm clock on my phone.  Unluckily, I was so tired I didn't hear it and apparently the French were blasted with music from Futurama for about 10 minutes before someone shook me awake.  I got on my next flight with no issues and slept the whole hour trip to Nuremberg.  Once landed, no one even checked my passport as I rolled through, grabbed my bag and met up with Matt!  He helped me haul my suitcase out to his car and we drove the 40ish minutes back to Hallstadt where he lives (just outside Bamberg).  He gave me the grand tour of his apartment including my own room with a fancy air mattress and 3 blankets (yes... I am spoiled).  He made sure to point out the strange shower that isn't completely enclosed but I had used a shower like that before (in Ireland) so it wasn't too confusing for me.  I pretty much collapsed after that and slept.

651 Steps (0.28 miles)

Saturday, November 2nd, was my first full day in Germany!  And I was sick L  I slept in (which was awesome!) and Matt made me breakfast and coffee (he learned how to make coffee… he is one of the few people in the army that doesn’t drink coffee!)  Matt went and showed me post and I got access to wifi so I could check my email and assure folks that I made it safely.  Afterwards, we decided to hike into Bamberg (about a 45 minute walk… in the rain!)  Bamberg is a really quaint little place – the town hall is built in the middle of the river.  Years ago when the peasants asked for a town hall, the lords of the land gave them the tiny slip of land.  The city builders built two bridges on the north and sound ends of the island and built a hall larger than the lords of Bamberg.  Because it sat lower than the churches, the lords couldn’t get the church to rally behind them to make the peasants take it down.  It’s funny because the town hall actually extends over the island and over the river… use what you get!  Matt took me to the restaurant for dinner where he went his first night in Germany and we had his first meal – the Lumberjack special!  It was a giant steak covered in fried onions with fried potatoes and covered with a fried egg.  With a giant dollop of horseradish on the side (not as strong as the horseradish from Hamtramack!)  We also had Rauchbier which is a smoked beer that tastes a lot like bacon!  In a good way!  After dinner we wandered around some more and had some more beer and then had Spaghetti ice cream – which is ice cream made to look like spaghetti… it was actually really cool!  We took a taxi back because I was exhausted!

12736 Steps (5.54 miles)

Sunday, November 3rd, was a lazy day for us!  (It’s vacation!  It’s allowed!)  I read most of the morning away and we watched the show Bullshit! With Penn & Teller.  (Hysterical if you haven’t gotten a chance to see it)  We also shared a sampling of beers).

1831 Steps (0.8 miles)

Monday, November 4th, we decided to tackle the sights in Bamberg!   We drove into town and parked in the parking structure that was the bomb shelter during WWII.  It was impressive!  They could fit the whole town down there and even had escape tunnels.  We went to the old archives/library first but they were closed L  Next we went to the Dom Cathedral which was the imperial cathedral of St. Peter and St. George – the first building was finished in 1012 and the current building was finished in 1237.  It was gorgeous and showed all the awesome old church things!  Including walking around on dead people.  Then we went to the Rose Garden which, even in winter, was very pretty.  Lots and lots of different variations of roses.  We then hiked over to St. Michael’s Monastery which was originally built in the 1000s and rebuilt in the 1600s.  Unfortunately it too was closed for construction but it was very impressive from the outside!  Then we walked through Burgerpark which was huge!  And every so often was a sculpture or statue.  And red squirrels.

That night was dress up night and I rocked out in my red dress.  It was fun with good food, wine and dancing!

18539 Steps (8.06 miles)

Tuesday, November 5th, we decided to go into Nuremberg.  We got up early and bought a ticket for the train, took the train from Hallstadt to Bamberg and then Bamberg to Nuremberg.  At the train station in Bamberg we picked up some pastries (and coffee for me!)  We wandered around Nuremberg for a bit (we were lost but Matt assured me we weren’t…)  We, of course, went to the library.  Yes, they use Dewey.  Then we went up to the Kaiserburg (Imperial Castle) which was one of the most important imperial castles for the Holy Roman Empire.  Apparently, I did not know much about the Holy Roman Empire!  There was a huge interactive history section where I learned a ton about the ins and outs of the Empire which was fascinating.  Plus – giant castle!  Afterwards, we were starving so we found a place for lunch.  We started with Glühwein which is a spiced hot wine which really warms your cockels.  Then we had beer and preztels and other German yummies.  We then wandered through Nuremberg just taking in the sights.  Around the base of one of the cathedrals was a whole group of people in Guy Fawkes masks who said they were a Occupy group.   We also went to the Lego store (which was awesome!)  They had a whole wall of organized by color pieces…  We then wandered outside the city walls to a movie theater called the Roxie which was showing Ender’s Game in English!  It was awesome to be able to see the movie so soon after it came out!  And in the correct language!  Afterwards, we caught the train back to Bamberg and then to Hallstadt. 

18045 Steps (7.85 miles)

Wednesday, November 6th, was another bum day which are important for vacations!  Lots more reading and tv show watching.  We went into Bamberg for dinner where I had some amazing schnitzel!  Then we went and sampled a bunch of the local beers (when in Germany!)  It was a great laid back day!

16857 Steps (7.33 miles)

Thursday, November 7th, we went back into Nuremberg via the train.  Our first stop of the day was to go to the Documentation Center Nazi and Nazi Party Rally Grounds.  It was incredibly interesting learning about the Nazis and WWII from the German point of view.  It was scary and terrifying  - they did so much with propaganda and it is amazing how history can repeat itself over and over.  Afterwards we went back into the city center and grabbed lunch (brats and sauerkraut and bread rolls!)  Then we went to the Febohaus City Museum which was in an old merchant’s house (Late Renaissance style) which went through hundreds of years of history as you went through the house.  Germans really do have their audio guides down to an art form.  For dinner we went to this amazing steak house and then caught the train back to Hallstadt.

12377 Steps (5.38 miles)

Friday, November 8th, was my last full day in Germany L  We got up in the morning and decided that even though it was raining, we were going for a run!  We ran out to the Seehof Palace and Park which was an old summer residence for the Bamberg prince bishops.  Matt swore that it was a 10k run to the place but it was maybe… maybe 4 miles.    I told him he needs to stop believing his soldiers when it comes to distances!   For dinner I just pointed at something on the menu and ended up with this awesome pork dish were they had fried the skin so it was like crackling and there were potato dumplings and a rich sauce.  I was basically in food heaven!

16887 Steps (7.34 miles)

Saturday, November 9^th/ Sunday, November 10th, I rolled out of bed, showered and made sure all my stuff was packed up.  We gathered my bags down to the car and then swung through a bakery to get some pastries and coffee to sustain us for the drive.  We got to the airport in really good time (actually, before the Air France counter was open) but I got all checked in.  It was sad to leave Matt, so I wandered through the airport a bit looking at all the wierd things to buy before settling down with my kindle to read.  My first flight was relatively uneventful, I read and napped.  I didn’t have a ton of time in Paris – enough time to check my email, use the facilities and walk leisurely to my next flight.  The long flight went ok – my tv moniter didn’t work so no staying up all night watching movies L  The steward was upset but I told him it was no big deal.  I read for a bit and napped.  The food was fun just like the first flight.  There was an appetizer of pineapple, spinach and foie gras (which I don’t think I had ever had before!)  For lunch I had a polenta with cheese and mushrooms.  For breakfast I had a fruit thingy which was sweet and sugary and woke me up!  I landed just fine in Seoul, customs still refused to stamp my passport, got my luggage and caught the subway back to post.  I was instantly hit with the horrible smell of Korea as soon as I got off the plane… ugh… Once on post, I went and signed in.  It was maybe 10am so I went to work and checked my email and then went to my hash running group (not to run, just to hang out so I could stay up long enough to reset my body’s clock)  We ended up getting pizza afterwards and I watched a New Zealander get into a fight with a Russian.  Korea is very strange sometimes…

2866 Steps (1.25 miles)

17874 Steps (7.77 miles)