Wonderful

Great news,...Wonder Dog has a new home! On Saturday I picked him up from Kamikaze's vet and he was all freshly washed and smelling good! I paid his bill and put him in Kamikaze's old carrier and we set off for Seoul. Poor doggy had to stay in the carrier for the better part of six hours, but he was pretty well behaved. When we stopped at a rest area about halfway into the journey I smelled something not too pleasant and realized Wonder had had an accident somewhere along the way. So I cleaned out the carrier and did my best to clean his butt off. He did a pretty good job of not getting crap all over him, so it wasn't too bad.

I was later than I wanted to be arriving in Seoul, but I borrowed the nice Grandma's phone who was sitting beside me on the bus, and arranged for the girl interested in adopting Wonder to meet me in Itaewon. The grandma beside me on the bus was a Christian and told me three times God loves me. Cool.

Standing in the cold in Itaewon for about 30 minutes, I swear I saw more foreigners pass by than I have in the last three and a half years I've been here. And to think I've never even spent any amount of time in Seoul. What a dummy I am. It was Saturday night, but still - there were so many people around and so many things to see. I was just so happy to be there! Before Wonder's prospective mama showed up, I met up with my friend John. I've known him for a long time - but only through the internets. So I was a bit nervous about meeting in person - but I needn't have been. He is a great guy - and was a wonderful host. (I was more nervous he'd think I was a goof.)

Wonder's new mom showed up. I had hoped we could have spent more time together, but as it was she had to make a quick decision about Wonder. Luckily she had pretty much made up her mind on Wonder. We had talked a lot the week before and I knew she was a good match and is going to be a responsible pet owner. I understand how it was easy to decide to take Wonder home. He really is a cute little muppet, and he got so much attention from people who saw him. He's got a new name, too: Kaibee (the Wonder Dog!) So Kaibee went to his new home, and John and I went to his (gorgeous) apartment so he could change out of his snazzy suit and into jeans and I could drop my bag off. Then we hit the town.

I hope I get the chance to go back to Seoul soon - because I had so much fun. We went to have some BBQ at a little restaurant and then we bar hopped! I got to see some of John's haunts and I asked a million questions about Itaewon and living in Seoul and army guys - that were all around until their curfew at 1:00am. We had some dollar shots at a country bar, and some beers at a loud dancey gay-friendly bar, and some late night singing at a Pinoy palace. Okay - it wasn't a palace - more of a bar,...and what I did with the microphone in hand could barely be called singing. I'd caught a cold the night before and sounded like I was gargling sand. Brutal. It was a great night though - and I loved meeting some of John's friends. Fine, fine people, them.

Sunday was as Sundays are supposed to be. John fixed a wonderful breakfast, (biscuits!! hello!!) and we watched Team America: World Police which was too funny! Later, John showed me around Yongsan where he works - and I found that fascinating. I've never been on an army base before. In case you don't know, it's much more like a decent sized town, complete with hospital, hotel, library and schools. I was picturing M*A*S*H. We had some tasty burgers at a cool restaurant and then I set off for home.

Now I'm bummed the weekend is over, but I'm happy Wonder Kaibee has a warm home and I'm so glad I got to hang out with John. (Thank you again, John - it was a great visit.) I hope I'm invited up again sometime - and you're sure welcome here - but you know this one horse town is jinja chaimie opseyo.

Meanwhile back on the ranch, my cold has exploded and I'm a sneezy congested hacking ball of fatigue. It didn't help that my co-worker didn't turn up today - her mom's in the hospital - so there was just the boss and I covering all the classes again. Mayhem.

I'm going to konk myself in the head with a mallet now and knock myself unconscious. That, or drink a cup of neo-citran and crawl into bed. How was your weekend?