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)

Ending October

Monday, October 28th, was a pretty easy day for me since half the band wasn't at work since it was a Comp Day for them.  I was able to get some paperwork done and practice.  Scary but true.  It turned out to be a long day though since i had to help make sure all the gear and vehicles were ready for Tuesday.

6519 Steps (2.84 miles)

Tuesday, October 29th, I was suppose to go to the M16 range to qualify.  It turned out to be a total cluster... we were tagging along with another company.  We were late leaving (they had us cooling our heels for a long time waiting on the convoy) and then the convoy took off through a yellow light and left us behind.  Luckily, we knew roughly where we were going... well, we got their eventually after a Russian officer tried to trade us a map for one of our vehicles.  Then, once we got there, we sat around waiting... after a couple hours and they had only zeroed maybe 30 people of the 150 people there, they decided no more zeroing - we'll all just try to qualify.  We packed back up and headed back to post.  (After we took pics of the bus they had destroyed getting to the range... thank goodness that wasn't us!)  One the way back, we listened to AFN and got a shout out on the radio... I happen to know the radio DJ...  and luckily, all the folk in my vehicle spent our time laughing about the day rather than spending too much time bitching...

6698 Steps (2.91 miles)

Wednesday, October 30th,  work work work.  Normal day though I was pretty short with people because I was ready to be gone!  After work I went to get my nails done and I coughed pretty much the entire time and as soon as I left, my nails got smudged.  Ugh...

13821 Steps (6.01 miles)

Thursday, October 31st, was my last day of work before leave!  Happy Halloween!!  It went by in mostly a blur thank goodness though I got into a fight with one of my friends which put me in a sour mood.  There was also a rumor about a surprise EDRE in the wee early morning so I was thinking I had to stay up late to sign out on leave at midnight so I went out and listened to a cover band (which was pretty good actually) and got very little sleep.

14414 Steps (6.27 miles)

Core Dump!

Monday, October 14th, was another day off and it became my cooking day!  I put together Enchiladas and Shepard Pie in dishes that I froze and now can easily pull out for dinner later on.  I also went for a run - I was going to run Seoul Tower but instead ran the perimeter of post and saw lots of new stuff that's close by.

10938 Steps (4.76 miles)

Tuesday, October 15th, we had lots of computer/printer issues at work.  It could have been worse - BN had lost their internet so I hand carried lots of paperwork over to BN so that my soldier could leave for WLC the next day!  My WWQ also got together and had our first rehearsal in a bit - we are starting to think about our upcoming holiday concert and the caroling season.

12543 Steps (5.46 miles)

Wednesday, October 16th, was a pretty normal day.  My soldier left for WLC and I did paperwork.  Story of my life!

14022 Steps (6.10 miles)

Thursday, October 17th, was a long and stressful day.  I don't even know why it was so stressful but everyone was in a bad mood.  I went with a friend to go see a movie - we walked over to the Ipark movie theater and the only movie that was playing in our time range (and was in English) was Gravity.  It was a good movie - very poignant though it did make me dizzy.  I might have had more issues if we had seen it in 3D.  I definitely want to come back to this movie theater though to see the big blockbuster movies that are coming out soon - Hunger Games 2, Thor 2 and such...

20029 Steps (8.71 miles)

Friday, October 18th, was a Comp day for us (making up for the extra work we do...)  I got up and went for a run with my friend Alan and we ran/walked about 8 miles.  Afterwards I met up with two of my specialists and took them to get their CIF issue which is all their Army equipment and gear.  We had to inventory it all (and luckily I had just done this so I could help them because I knew what it all was!)  Then we went and laid out their equipment, painted and taped their bags and packed their "Go Bags".  We had heard rumors that an EDRE (Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise) was on the horizon so I invited all the new folk to the unit to come to our bag packing/painting party.  Quite a few showed up in order to get their gear in order.  Afterwards, I went to the Navy Club for my usual Friday night hangout.

27570 Steps (11.99 miles)

Saturday, October 19th, I rolled out of bed and went to my Hash.  It was a much longer run than normal... like 12 miles long!  We told the hares that if they had just done another 1.1 miles we could have called it a half marathon!  I was so sore and tired by the end!  Afterwards my friend Dom and I went to get pizza - we went to a place called Monster Pizza because I was told by some band folk that it was the best pizza around.  It was not.  It actually reminded me of Bells Pizza... only really good as drunk pizza food... it was super greasy!  Then we met up with some other runners to go to HBCfest which is a musical festival in HBC (right outside my gate) where all the local bars have a rotation of local bands play.  IT WAS CRAZY!  There were sooo many people that they were spilling into the streets though the local cops weren't too happy about that.  My group ended up holing up at the VFW since it was slightly quieter than everywhere else.  It was a fun night of dancing and listing to music!

27570 Steps (11.82 miles)

Sunday, October 20th, I got to sleep in a bit and then bummed around a bit.  At night they were running the Shadow Run of the Army Ten Miler - it started at the same time as the actual Ten Miler in DC.  We actually only ran a 10K (ie... the 5K route twice...)  There were about 30 folk who came out, though it was fun :-)  I ran with Alan the whole time and we finished a couple minutes less than an hour.

18358 Steps (7.98 miles)

Monday, October 21st, was rough getting up after such a late night, especially since I still had to go to PT.  We have a new PT schedule were it runs from 0630-0800 and our first formation is now at 0930.  And we no longer wear our reflective belts.  And they aren't closing the roads during PT hours anymore.  Our thoughts are that 8th Army heard that they needed to reduce their ranks by 10% and said "challenge accepted!"   In the morning we marched a honor guard ceremony and hat afternoon we went to the EST practice shooting M16s - the EST is like video game shooting.

7920 Steps (3.44 miles)

Tuesday, October 22nd, was another day of work work work.  I did have lunch with a friend at one of the KATUSA snack bars and he whipped out an ultrasound photo - his shock and awe!  He was so excited to be a dad though he isn't telling many folk until they are further along.

9679 Steps (4.21 miles)

Wednesday, October 23rd, started with a class on growing professionally and personally and the trainer had one of the KATUSAs stand up and talk about US misconceptions.  He said," I wear skinny jeans because they fit and I wear bright shirts (esp. pink ones) for fashion.  But I not gay."  It was fairly adorable.  At lunch I ran down to the TMC (Troop Medical Clinic) for my doctors appointment where, while I'm lying on the table the doctor asks me "Are you a nurse?"

Me: "No?"

Doctor: "No medical training?"

Me: "No??"

Doctor "Well, you definitely sound like you have!"

Me: "Ah... a lot of my family is in the medical profession."

Doctor: "Oh?  What happened to you?"

Me: "I went and got a frivolous arts degree instead"

Doctor: "Well, you can always go back and get a medical degree!"

I thought it was funny.  They shot my arm full of drugs and then I rushed back, changed into my dress uniform and marched another ceremony.

9279 Steps (4.04 miles)

Thursday, October 24th, was another fun day.  We did tactical PT for PT in the morning which consisted of us learning different buddy carrys.  I got a bit peeved because they segregated the females for training which is a huge EO violation.  Afterwards we had our EDRE where we had to bring all our equipment and "Go Bags" and lay them out to be inspected as if we were going to war.  It's amazing how much stuff you have to go to war with.  We also had a full unit weigh in which means I spent my lunch measuring people in between bites.  I had a heart to heart with my SGM at the end of the day about EO issues.

8058 Steps (3.50 miles)

Friday, October 25th, was thankfully a Comp Day.  I slept in a bit and didn't get up to run because my body really needed the rest.  I skyped with some family in the morning and did a fashion show for my mom over skype.  I did eventually drag myself into work to get some paperwork done (I will never catch up on all the paperwork...)  I met up with Sam there and we did fashion show part 2 and then bummed around the PX before going to happy hour at the Navy Club.  I walked in and an officer shouts out "Captain America!"  I did an embarrassed wave and trudged through as the rest of the guys in the room wanted to know why he was calling me that...  Afterwards, I went back to my BEQ and popped in a movie for a bit.  Some friends called and were feeling down so I trudged out to go play pool with them - playing pool against me always makes people feel better!

10940 Steps (4.76 miles)

Saturday, October 26th, I woke up and met up with fellow hashers right outside the gate and we traveled together to our start point.  The hash run today was a good one because the pack stayed together pretty much the whole time and it was only about 4 miles.  Afterwards we trekked back to post.  I bummed around for a bit and then met up with some friends to go to a Halloween party.  I went as a Librarian (I know... so original... but I do have the clothes for it!)  There was a guy in a giant bear suit and he got hounded by the Koreans no matter where we went.... it was hysterical!  A couple of the guys took turns wearing the suit because they all needed breaks from having their pictures taken all the time!  There was another guy who was dressed as Quail Man and we were polling the folks who recognized him to see what the age spread was... not very big at all actually.  It was a really fun night :-)

15014 Steps (6.53 miles)

Sunday, October 27th, I woke up not feeling all that well.  My cold progressed to more than just a little cough, but to full blown cough with crap in my lungs and dizzyness :-(  I slept in for a bit but then had to go to work.  I did get to have a fairly awesome brunch with a friend though, but then more work.   I ran into my PLT Leader at work and he told me that I wasn't allowed to come to PT in the morning with that nasty of a cough and texted my soldiers to tell them I wouldn't be there...  I doused myself with Nyquil and went to bed early.

Turkey Necks and Sloppy Joes

Sunday, October 6th, I got up fairly early so I could start my crockpot ribs!  I got to smell the ribs all morning and I only missed getting to smell them when I went out for a Hash with Southside.  The ribs were fantastic by the time I got back :-)  Not a horrible way to spend a Sunday!

15274 Steps (6.64 miles)


Monday, October 7th, we didn't have PT in the morning because we had a sequence rehearsal for the CSM change of responsibility which can be worse than a change of command because CSMs never know how to shut up :-P  One of the CSMs had some pretty fantastic one liners including "you can tell by my turkey neck and sagging belly."

5274 Steps (2.29 miles)


Tuesday, October 8th, was a fairly normal day though the top ranks of the band were out at the M9 range.  We worked, there was drama due to the government shut down.  Fairly normal stuff at this point.

9687 Steps (4.21 miles)


Wednesday, October 9th, we did half mile sprints for PT and then had a fairly normal day.  We were suppose to have concert band in the morning, meetings and paperwork in the afternoon.

6301 Steps (2.74 miles)


Thursday, October 10th, was a long day.  We did buddy exercises in the morning for PT.  We had a sequence rehearsal in the morning and then classes (which were frustrating as hell).  Then we had a Honor Guard Ceremony in which I marched.  It was frustrating and long and hot.  Afterwards, I stayed late working on paperwork for training and for my squad.  I treated myself to a milkshake from Once Upon a Milkshake.

14169 Steps (6.16 miles)

Friday, October 11th, was the start of my four day weekend for Columbus Day. I slept in a bit and then met up with Sam for a day of shopping.  We went over to Garden5 (where we had the joint concert last week).  We got these really strange corn shaped, bread with cream in the middle things at the subway which were fantastic.  Then we had fun, spicy hotdogs.  When we left, we had small cakes (that I had eyed last week!)   We shopped the hell out of the food, can't say we did much actual shopping though!  We've decided we are both good window shoppers but are horrible at committing to an actual purchase!  We headed back to post and ran into a couple other band guys in Itaewon so we had coffee with them and then showed them some of the funny things we found at the Hamiliton Shopping Center.  We also found the Korean version of a Claires which was lots of fun.  We headed back on post and went to the Navy Club since it was $1 beer night!  I ended up meeting up with a bunch of people and it was pretty hysterical.  One of the guys had a bit too much to drink so I walked him home and then had movie night with another friend (we watched Airplane which I hadn't seen in forever!)

15683 Steps (6.82 miles)

Saturday, October 12th, I rolled out of bed to go run the Columbus Day 5K fun run on post.  A couple of other band folk and Carter also ran which was nice!  I ran with Herold for a bit but he took off on me, but I still ended in around 27:00.  Afterwards we got Jamba Juice!  I showered and relaxed for a bit before meeting up with Sam and we went and got our nails done - Mani and Pedi.  I think I terrified the Korean lady with the amount of calluses on my feet.  Then we went and got her watch battery replaced and shopping around a bit on post.  We decided to go out to Itaewon to go have dinner at the Rose and Crown and didn't realize that the Itaewon Global Festival was going on.  They had shut down the street and lined it with tents - Sam and I decided to walk down the middle which was crazy crowded.  I led the way, since I am the giantess, and helped break our way through the crowds.  There were tents with all sorts of world arts and music, but predominately the tents were filled with different types of ethnic foods.  And it was an odd assortment of countries - USA, France, Germany, Kenya, Uzbekistan... very random.  The US tents had boiled crab, hot dogs and sloppy joes.  I was really excited at the Ecuador tent which had horchata!  I had us stop and buy some - it wasn't as good as the horchata from my Taco Stand in Fernley, but it still tasted like being back in NV.  We decided it wasn't worth trying to fight for food so we went with the first plan and got a table at the Rose and Crown.  I had Young's Double Chocolate Stout (which was fantastic!) and Sam had an Irish Cream Ale.  We both had a salad (because the dressing is soo good and I am trying to figure out what its made of!) and then we split the Fish and Chips and the Shepards Pie.  After dinner, we trotted down to the Bampo bridge to watch the water and lights show.  Afterwards, we came back to my place to watch Pitch Perfect.  Sam stayed the night since it was late by the time we were done with the movie, plus the festival was creating so much noise that Sam wouldn't have been able to sleep at her place anyway.

34454 Steps (14.98 miles)

Sunday, October 13th, was an extremely lazy day for me.  I rolled out of bed fairly late, went and grabbed some coffee and then got pulled into a book and couldn't stop until I finished it.  I finished the third book of the Hunger Games Trilogy, Mockingjay and it left me in quite a funk.  The trilogy really makes you think about what we as a species are capable of and what could possibly happen.  I walked down to the commissary to stock up on food and made beef stroganoff for dinner (though it wasn't nearly as good as Moms!)  I got to skype with a friend and then watched some tv online before deciding I should call it a night.

7012 Steps (3.05 miles)

Ceremonies and ceremonies...

Tuesday, October 1st, was a fairly normal dayish... we had dress rehearals for the upcoming USFK Change of Command... our 4 Star General was going to change out and so its going to be a big deal with a lot of brass... Afterwards we had more concert band rehearsal for our upcoming rescheduled joint concert.

11138 Steps (4.84 miles)

Wednesday, October 2nd, was Change of Command Day!  It was a nice late start for us followed by the SGM lining us all up and inspecting our uniforms with a ruler and a fine toothed comb.  We rolled out for the ceremony... which was incredibly long!  There were 5 speeches - some Korean guy, the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey, the outgoing Commander, General Thurman, and the incoming, General (I'm not even going to try to spell his name at this point).  It almost turned into 10 speeches, but someone got wise and did simultaneous translations (thank goodness!!!)  That was a long freaking time to be standing out in the sun unable to move.  Luckily, no one passed out on the field.d  After work, I dragged Carter (who is newly promoted to SSG!) out to Craftworks to have a beer and a burger to celebrate his promotion and tease him that his promotion was the reason the government got shut down... it follows, right?

7396 Steps (3.21 miles)

Thursday, October 3rd, was our big makeup concert day with the Korean Special Warfare Command Band.  Because of the government shutdown technically all concerts should have been cancelled... our first instinct was to just not answer our phones and check our emails... but we did go get permission from the 8A chief of staff in order to still do our concert.   However, we were waiting anxiously for the phone call last minute saying get back on the bus and come back...It was a late start for us, though I rolled in early so that I could get some counselings and other paperwork done.  We loaded up the bus and rolled out to Garden5 in Songpa which is this huge shopping center with an open plaza in the middle (where we were going to play).  We then had a joint sound check/rehearsal/basically a first practice concert for a couple hours.  Then we got fed Bulgogi, were allowed to wander around for a bit (I've decided I'm going to go back... fun shopping experience place!), then we changed in these tents they set up in the  basement of one of the buildings and then we performed our concert!  We had an MC for the concert who spoke all in Korean and apparently she was a very famous Korean comedian.  I didn't understand anything that was going on except I think she was trying to auction off some of the Korean saxaphonists to some of the women in the audience.  She also called our commander "Chef Deeeeeeelaney!"  The bari sax player who was sitting next to me translated a bit of what she was saying... mostly that she asked our Katusa (who had sang one of the songs for the concert) to come back on stage and show us his dance moves.  After he did this, she said "you are obviously a virgin."  Then he ran off the stage... it was an odd concert.

10538 Steps (4.58 miles)

Friday, October 4nd, started off with more dress rehearsals/dry runs for a change of command, though this time its for a CSM Change of responsibility next week (which might be even longer since NCOs really like to talk...)  After a couple run throughs, I ran over to turn in this weeks CFC stuff, grabbed lunch with a friend, and then slaved away the afternoon with the training shop getting caught up on DTMS stuff and the slides for BN.  Then I went to happy hour at the Navy Club (still loving the $1!) This time, our bar had been overrun by Air Force Officers and their scary looking wives!  I had dinner with some friends (Italian of all things... it was pretty good!) and didn't stay out too late since it had been such a long week!

13296 Steps (5.78 miles)

Saturday, October 5th, I met up with a group of friends to go hiking in Bukhansan National Park where we climbed Baekundae Peak (about 830 meters).  It was a cool climb with a bunch of parts where you were scrambling hand and foot up rocks.  I was amazed how busy it was... you really are never alone in Korea!  Apparently, when you get old in Korea, you hike up and down Korean mountains with as much fancy hiking gear as you can carry.  I just had on my running shoes and if I'm going to be scrambling over rocks like that, I will need to invest in some shoes that can grip because I slipped a bunch and landed on my butt only a few times!  The view from the top was absolutely amazing though!  After we climbed back down, we went out for Chicken and Beer since some of the guys we were with had never been to our Chicken and Beer place in Hongdae (which is the best Chicken and Beer place that I've been to!)  I called it an early night because I was exhausted after such a long day!

22833 Steps (9.93 miles)

 

Catch up!

Monday, September 16th, work work work.  I do that, you know!

10084 Steps (4.39 miles)

Tuesday, September 17th, we had our first rehearsal with the Korean National Military Symphony.  For the joint portion, I am one of 4 bassoons!  It is crazy!  I haven’t played with that many bassoonists in years!

8999 Steps (3.91 miles)

Wednesday, September 18th, was the last day of my week and the first day of Chusok!  (Big Korean Thanksgiving/family reunion rolled into one)

6840 Steps (2.97 miles)

Thursday, September 19th, was a responsible conduct day for the band so I slept in but still got up and put my uniform on so I could go to a schools meeting at battalion.  I ran into Carter there and he gave me shit about coming into work on my day off.  My friend Dom and I got to talking and he is a member of the Hash running group.  He said that tonight was the start of the Korea Hashathon and that I should tag along.  I said, sure!  I’m game for running groups!  The group is a very random one – a mix of soldiers, expats, English teachers and god knows who else!  For a hash run, there is someone who is the hare and they lay a trail (with chalk or whatever) and the runners have to follow the trail though the hare can lay false trails and double back and make it quite difficult to follow.  The hash can be anywhere from a mile or two to 10 miles!  At the end, there is a little party with singing and shenanigans (there was even a guy who played bagpipes at the end!).  Overall, I had a fantastic time!  It was really nice to meet non-army-band folk.  Normally, there are a couple groups in Seoul that Hash on the weekends, but because it was Hashathon there were going to be 14 hashes over the next 11 days! 

14491 Steps (6.30 miles)

Friday, September 20th, I decided to go back for Hash run #2.  This Hash happened to be Uijeongbu which is up North near the DMZ.  I traveled with a group via rail to get there.  This Hash was mostly through the woods and up and down a crazy mountain and I think they said it was about an 11k?   Anyway, it was a lot of fun!

20930 Steps (9.10 steps)

Saturday, September 21st, I got convinced to do more Hash runs!  I truly had meant to be productive over the weekend, but running sounded a lot more fun.  I went to one Hash in the morning and then one in the afternoon.  By the end, I was beat!

28507 Steps (12.40 miles)

Sunday, September 22nd, was a thankfully relaxing day!  No running for me since I had an APFT the next morning.  I was supposed to meet up with a friend for dinner, but he accidently fell asleep and slept through our dinner plans (a fact I get to make fun of him for for a long time!)

11014 Steps (4.79 miles)

Monday, September 23rd, I woke up feeling terrible.  I hadn’t slept well and I was pretty sick to my stomach.  But I toughed it out and went to my APFT and managed to pass with a 250.  I was pretty rough feeling the rest of the day though.

13568 Steps (5.9 miles)

Tuesday, September 24th, was a normal morning but then we had a joint rehearsal with the Korean National Military Symphony which was fun.  What was really funny is that we had a break in the late afternoon and the Koreans got us snacks for the break.  Snacks were Burger King whoppers and fries.  It was pretty hysterical actually if you think about that that must be what Koreans think us Americans eat for our snacks. 

8979 Steps (3.91 miles)

Wednesday, September 25th, I helped run an STX in the morning for the new people in my band.  I taught the courses on Individual Movement Techniques and Moving Under Fire – I actually had a lot of fun teaching and then watching my troops run around with the gas masks and dummy weapons.

21474 Steps (9.34 miles)

Thursday, September 26th, was another joint rehearsal day however this time it was all day long.  We were playing in a different auditorium and went through the whole concert – their portion, our portion and then the joint portion.  While I was waiting and not playing, I managed to make a pretty phenomenal reed (if I do say so myself!) just in time for the big concert!

12755 Steps (5.55 miles)

Friday, September 27th, was our big concert day!  I didn’t have to report to work until 11:30, but I got up earlier so I could go in and check my email and take care of paperwork (and get a starbucks, of course!)  We loaded up and traveled out to KBS hall.  We had a sound check with all the different groups and then we literally ran through the whole concert since they were going to do a live broadcast on the Korean TV and they needed to know who to zoom in on and such.  Then there was dinner (I think there was a fish head in the soup…) and then one of my soldiers was going to be interviewed by AFN since this was her first concert in Korea (and actually in the Army since she was a new soldier)  I got interviewed too about her since I am her first line leader.  Then the concert!  I think it went really well… I was happy with how we sounded J  It was huge production and a lot of work but the audience seemed to really enjoy it!  After the concert, we packed up, and I was back on post and in bed around 23:30.

8155 Steps (3.55 miles)

Saturday, September 28th, I rolled out of bed a little after 6am in order to make it the bus that was leaving at 7am for the Comrade Marathon for the 60^th Anniversary of the ROK-US Alliance.  There were a few other band folk running – one running the 5K, two running the 10K and then myself and one other running the half marathon.  We got there, got our bibs and t-shirts, got our bags checked, and did all the other regular runner stuff.  Our new vocalist was the person singing the US anthem which was cool to see!  Then, before the run, we were lead in warm up excises by a KPop group.  One of the more hysterical things I’ve seen in a while.  When the race started, I started to hang with the 2:00 pace group, but then I got ahead of them… and before I knew it I was doing 8:30 splits for the first 9 miles!  I paid for it the rest of the race though!  I ended with a 2:09 final time which was a PR for me (by best half marathon before was a 2:13 back in 2010)  After a half marathon, you usually expect a bagel or a muffin or a banana… not in Korea! They gave me a lunch plate with rice, some really strange fish soup, kimchi and a random assortment of unidentified substances.  I nearly puked…  Afterwards, I took the subway back and hobbled back to my BEQ.  I showered and then collapsed in bed with a movie which I half watched and half napped.  Later, I met up with some friends for some pizza and beer (which is always the appropriate night after a half marathon!)

24898 Steps (10.83 miles)

Sunday, September 29th, I woke up incredibly sore!  My IT band in my right leg is mostly on fire – that’s what I get for not training correctly and starting off waaaay too fast.  Anyway, I was a bit of a bum for most of the morning – though I did get up for my book talk chat and then skyped with my mom.  In the afternoon I went to the final hash run of the Hashathon which was a short hash and then a beer mile.  I took 4^th place for the females which I figured wasn’t bad considering I was hobbling after the half marathon.  Afterwards, some friends and I went to a restaurant in HBC and I had spinach mozzarella ravioli. Mmmm!  Then skyping with friends and bed!

7117 Steps (3.1 miles)

Monday, September 30th, I didn't have PT in the morning since my woodwind quintet was supposed to play a change of command in the morning.  We got up and rehearsed early but then our mission got cancelled and instead had to go to drill band all morning... yay... For lunch we had a Hail and Farewell with pizza.  After work, I went to get my hair trimmed since I hadn’t had it cut since before I went active duty (months!!).  Apparently I just want a trim with a few layers does not translate well in Korean.  The guy took a lot of my hair off and I am pretty bummed out.

10848 Steps (4.72 miles)