This past Saturday, Thomas had a work-in-the-garden and BBQ party on his farm, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend even though I really wanted to. Almost two months earlier Raswan and I had signed up to take part in Kevin’s Sinchon Sportsapalooza: So big, it’s a “palooza.” Kevin did all the organizing and logistics for this all day event.

13 teams of four people (2 boys and 2 girls) competed against each other in various sports and activities in Sinchon. They included:

1. bowling
2. batting cages
3. Mario cart video game
4. air hockey
5. basketball shootout
6. billiards

Our team was called “Lastman Soccer.” The following is the story behind the name. Last summer, when Ras and Kevin were at the Yeoido swimming pool, they met a Korean guy there who was mentally challenged. This didn’t stop him from coming up to the foreigners and asking Ras what his name was. He said, “Raswan.” The guy said, “It’s nice to meet you Lastman! What’s your family name?” Ras answered, “Sockol.” “Lastman Soccer, ok.” Throughout the rest of the day, whenever they saw each other, this Korean guy would yell out, “Hello Lastman Soccer!”

Our team consisted of Ras, me, Jenay, and Ben. We met at Sinchon’s lesbian park (behind Hyudai department store) at noon to get instructions for the day. We received t-shirts, a bag with two bottles of the official sport drink of Sportsapalooza (soju), a map, and directions on where to go and what teams we were competing against for each event. For the 20,000 won fee paid by each person, we received the t-shirts, all events paid for, two pitchers of beer at “Watt’s On Tap” for our team, and a burger and fries for dinner. Not a bad deal at all.

(Above: The girls of CanAM Crushers (who won the entire event!) and Lastman Soccer. L-R: Stef, Gisela, Jenay, & me)

The two events Ras and I liked the most were the batting cages and bowling. I had never gone to a batting cage before, but was able to hit 11 out of 13 balls in the 120km cage. As the day winded down, we had dinner and drinks on the rooftop of “Watt’s On Tap.”

The day was fun - good times had by all. I think Kevin wants to have another Sportsapalooza in June or July, so I’ll post information on this blog as it come up. Thanks again, Kevin!

The entire album can be seen on Flickr.

We all know that Koreans are good at protesting, so the torch’s procession in Seoul will be more chalk-full of suspense and surprises than an episode of Lost.  For those interested in watching the drama unfold, the relay will start at Olympic Park at 2 pm, then end at 7 pm at Seoul City Hall.

There are already four groups scheduled to protest:

1) Press conference by CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
About planed events, protests and the situation of the refugees

Time : Thu., April 24, 2008 11 am
Place : Olympic Park, Peace Gate,

2) Insadong Street Protest by 444 campaign
Protest and performance, every week and for 444 days at the Chinese Consulate

Time : Sat., April 26,2008, 3 pm
Place : Entrance of Insadong Shopping Street, near Anguk Subway station

3) Protest, Performance, Music, candle light vigil by Christians for Social Responsibility

Time : Sat., April 26, 2008, 7 pm
Place : Olympic Park, Peace Gate

4) Protest before and during the relay by different NK refugee organizations

Time : Sun., April 27,2008, 11 am
Place : Olympic Park, Peace Gate [source]

Five snacks I love:

1. chocolate covered gummi bears
2. cheese
3. honey toasted macadamia nuts
4. Smartfood popcorn
5. Toffifee

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. Buy a house for all my relatives
2. Start retirement accounts for all my relatives
3. Go back to school and study for fun
4. Travel
5. Volunteer

Five bad habits I have:

1. Letting email pile up
2. Procrastinating
3. Being late
4. Leaving doors/cabinets open
5. Never exercising

Five places I’ve live:

1. Eugene, Oregon
2. Norwalk, California
3. Gangneung, Korea
4. Gunsan, Korea
5. Gunpo, Korea

Five jobs I’ve had:

1. Pietro’s Pizza cashier
2. Safeco intern
3. Office manager for a non-profit organization
4. Rite-Aid photo department
5. baby-sitter Kindergarten teacher

Can you have a green thumb by growing three things?  I’ve planted the lily bulbs Ras and I bought from the Yangjae Flower Market, and they’re doing well.  There’s also some basil and cilantro (not pictured).

Basil has to be one of the easiest things to grow from seeds.  If you look carefully, you’ll notice this is the container from Nolboo bosaam home delivery and the yellow container is from Costco’s chicken packs.

I wasn’t happy with the first panoramic from my apartment.  The picture was very distorted.  This version is closer to what I see when I look out the window.

The larger version can be seen here.