Red Handed

I was out Saturday night with some friends and after dinner and such we took a stroll to the centre of town. There's a "park" which is really just a big oval with a bandshell at one end and a new spongy floored playground at the other. All around the perimeter of the park there are new exercise machines that have been installed so we were screwing around trying to determine their breaking-threshold strenuously working out. I'm joking - we were just trying them out, and most of them are quite cool. A free outdoor gym - nothing wrong with that,..but there's one that reminds me of Frankenstein's laboratory bed which completely flips you upside-down. Well actually you invert yourself, thereby controlling the speed at which your feet go airbourne and then you use the wheel-crank things on either side of the contraption to right yourself. This move targets your obliques, quadrophenias, and triceratops. (I have no bloody idea.) My friends didn't read the instructions, though, and thought it was Hee-Larry-Us to plunge me upside-downand refuse to let me back up. HATE!

Anyhow, about half-way around the park (and after me flipping out just a little bit) our party broke up and it was just the boyfriend and I still messing around. He'd already mentioned that I should go get my bag, which was sitting in the pavilion just over yonder in plain view. I told him not to worry about it, but a couple machines later he said he was going to get my bag because there was some guy milling around. We headed across the oval and when we were fairly close he broke away, running up to the guy who was now sitting near my bag - and he reached out and grabbed the guy's wrist.

Buddy had my wallet in one hand and all my money, that he'd removed and folded in half in the other!
YOINK!
My gentleman of a boyfriend said something that equated to "My dear sir, whatever are you doing? This is highly out of order!"
I was not so kind, and though I've never learned the Korean word for 'fucking thief,' I did call him tenbabydogs eighteen crazybadman assholes, and inquired if he wanted to die?

It's a good lesson for me. I've become really complacent when it comes to keeping things safe. People are always telling me to zip up my bag when I'm walking around and they're absolutely right. I've been trying to be more vigilant - and almost losing a couple hundred dollars has really got my attention. Korea's quite safe, but still,...I think I've gotten overly used to my surroundings and need to be far more alert.

I'd venture to say the world needs far more Lerts.

Meanwhile, I'm going to visit my bank and get a cash card, which is something I should have done a long time ago. I think it's been two or three years now since my CHB bank turned into Shinhan. However, I've still got a CHB card that is fraying and dented and on the verge of breaking. When I hit the ATM its like gambling, with me wondering if this is the time my card decides it's time to finally die. These days few people carry a lot of cash on them, so that thief must have thought he really hit the jackpot until he was foiled. Thievery FAIL -- lucky for me!