I quit my teaching job

From Online Edits

Today was my last day at work (oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I decided to quit my ESL job). My kids threw me an awesome surprise going away party and gave me some really endearing goodbye letters and a hand painted fan that made me sad and giggle. (I've copied one letter below)

This weekend Jes and I are off for a two day trip to hike some super touristy mountain in the middle of South Korea...Songnisan National Park.

I'm long, long overdue for salt water. Tuesday we depart for several weeks of Siargao, a little island in the Philippines. AND all I gotta say is there better be some freaking swell or wind.

Next week is the 2009 Kiteboard Worlds racing at Crissy Field. I'm rooting for all the local boys back home...and kinda sorta wish I was there, but I remember how much of a grind 4 days of course racing on the San Francisco Bay against the likes of Sean Farley, Sky Solbach and Sean Richmond can be.

Wish me luck...wish me many long shacking barrels at Cloud9 on Siargao or any of its nearby brothers or sisters.

Last, I am heading back to San Francisco around the 20th of September for a couple weeks to celebrate my bro's engagement. He's having a thing called a 'betrothal'. I don't know what that is, but I'm damn happy for him and his to-be and I'm really looking forward to seeing family, friends and California.

luv ya all!

This is a letter reprinted from one of my students, Jessica

To Anthony

Hello' I'm 6th Grade Jessica.
When I first met you
I was like seeing a teddy bear
almost felt like pooh
It's like yesterday
we have first met but already
saying goodbye I'm so up set
last time in English class
when i got something wrong
you told so nicely that
through out this time the
word i haven't know
I got to use it in at home
school and at my academy
i was so happy
when i grow up, i'm going to
be a person like you teacher
like nice pretty
well even though you go to
san francisco don't forget
about us and be happy
-from-Jessica

From Roll 85

July 18th, 2009

 

 

 

monsoon relief

We've been inundated by monsoons for about 7 days. Today, finally, relief! Clear skies, warm sun, morning breeze. I woke up late, opened all the windows to the apartment, hand washed 3 pairs of shoes and hung them outside to dry, and then serenaded myself on my guitar for a couple hours.

The banks of the river run through my hometown...

'The banks of the river run through my hometown'...well they do if I considered Seoul my hometown.

But seriously can I talk about the banks of the rivers and streams in Seoul? They are phenomenal! 10's of miles lined with badminton and basketball courts, aerobic line dancing to crazy Korean Pop, kick-ball-volleyball, drunk old men, inline-skate race courses, half-pipes and skate parks, climbing walls, happy children, fishermen, happy old people...all kinds of old people...even the kind that drive those 4 and 3-wheel powered scooters around because their hips failed too soon), thousands of cyclists from EVERY walk of life, random congregations, and unconditional acts of kindness. The banks of the river are a utopia. It's void of commercialism, save the occasional nondescript Makali Hut--a $1.60 for 750 milliters of a refreshing alcoholic beverage of pure Korean enjoyment in the shade.

Since Jes and I have been riding our bikes more, we've been getting more familiar with the banks of the river and it's absolutely fabulous...it's everything you want your city's bike paths to become...socially nonexclusive, commercial free, community oriented, social interaction encouraged, recreation encouraged, all ages welcome, at all hours of every day.

Yesterday, we decided to forge our way through Seoul via bike to our friend's house...typically he would be a 1 hour subway ride from our apartment...Turns out he is a 1.45 hour bike ride from our house. 99.9% of our journey was on dedicated bike lanes and 99.8% of it is was on completely isolated from vehicle traffic bike lanes. The ride there was g-o-o-d; the inebriated return ride home at midnight was unforgettable. I think there we're more people traveling, singing, using, recreating, playing instruments, dancing, confiding, fishing, sweating and embracing on those narrower strips of land than anywhere else in East Asia last night.

Lover's Rock

Remember Lover's Rock by Sade... and then listen to it. If it doesn't please you, chances are it will please the one you love!

Granite

Last weekend I went with the climbing company to a remote mountain called Nyeong Song San (i'm absolutely sure that's spelled incorrectly). These are some of the peeps.

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

I wanted to recommend a couple online videos I've really enjoyed recently.

The first one is The Story of Stuff which you can download directly from the storyofstuff.com . It is about the story of...stuff. It's fun, informative, and using some great examples puts stuff, pun intended, into perspective.

Another video which is much more comprehensive but equally as fascinating is found at the Manpollo Project . Actually this website has a series of about 10 lectures by the same dude, only about 3 of which I've seen. Start with the first one, How It All Ends. This guy teaches you how to evaluate sources of scientific information as they pertain to global warming. There are many debates, still, about global warming and trying to know who to believe can sometimes be very difficult if you aren't a scientist or can't evaluate the data directly. The Manpollo Project seeks to help you.

"Get informed then let it change you"- Manpollo Project

Peace!

Kiteboarding in the Han River

Sunday afternoon I looked out the window and saw the trees blowing. I decided to take a chance and hop on to the subway with my kiteboard gear and head down to the Han River. I was pleasantly surprised to find a stiff breeze on the water and a couple dozen windsurfers and kiteboarders. Apparently, there is a wind club for kiters there and they've got a pretty decent setup...an air compressor, changing rooms, showers, astroturf, etc and are really nice guys. I lost my spreader bar somewhere on the subway and these guys had an extra one to loan me.

The club chases wind on the east and west coasts of South Korea every weekend and
they tell me they sometimes kite in the waves there. I found some pics on their website that look like there is some good potential for cracking lips. They have a website, www.hiwind.co.kr, which is where I took these photos from...I'm not sure who took them.

The little guys.

From Recently Updated

We play a lot of games in my ESL class. One such game is Pass-The-Ball. The purpose is to practice asking and answering questions.

Student 1 asks a question like, “What time is it?” Then Student 1 tosses the ball to the Student 2 to indicate who he’s talking to and that an answer is required. Student 2 catches the ball and answers the question appropriately, “It’s 3:30.” Student 2 then needs to ask a question and likewise pass the ball, and so on.

So, Yesterday, I heard lots of laughing and screaming coming from the hallway beside my classroom where the students like to hangout during break time.

I found them voluntarily playing their own form of Pass-The-Ball. Only they had evolved it into a much more violent activity.

Instead of tossing the ball, Jay hurls the ball as hard as he can and screams, “WHAT’S…YOUR…NAME?” The ball nails Tom, another student. Tom doubles over from the impact and lets out a yelp, but quickly recovers. Tom retrieves the ball and fires it with as much force yelling, “MY NAME IS TOM!!!! HOW… ARE…YOU?” The ball flies down the hallway and pounds Eric in the back of the head. Eric falls over, but gets up laughing “I’m okay….WHERE ARE YOU?” and sends the ball again. Pass the ball is now a very aggressive game of dodge ball.

My first reaction was to tell them to stop, but then I thought, it’s cool. Afterall, they’re practicing English. They just happen to be venting their frustration with the language simultaneously.

It’s really funny to watch.

Here are some pics of the students and video of another game we play that isn’t so violent.

Ganhyeon

From Ganhyeon

This Saturday I woke up early to catch a train to Ganhyeon . Chong, who runs my climbing gym invited me to come climbing with him and few friends.

I was very nervous about the climbing part, because I have never climbed on real rock and while I may appear to some Koreans to have some basic ability and skill in the gym, the fact of the matter is I'm muscling my way through a lot the routes.

The foot of the climb is about a 20 minute walk from the train station and stands to be the most tranquil area I've seen yet in Korea (albeit I haven't seen much). It sits along the edge of a slow river and there are plenty of trees to provide shade from the strong sun.

We arrived about 9:00am and the group I was with started stretching, donning their gear, quick draws, unfolding ropes, etc. I was a bit lost to say the least...now I know how that beginner kiteboarder feels--you know the one who shows up at the beach, doesn't really know anyone, doesn't know the routine, fumbles around with his equipment and takes about 8 times too long to get on the water. Yep, that was me at the climb.

The social embarrassment and fear was striking. It kinda felt like being dropped off at the 1st of day of 1st grade. Not to mention, being white, I stand out like a soar thumb and can't understand a word anyone is saying. It could have been worse right?...peeing in my pants would have been par for the course.

So there I am not really sure what to do. So I start arranging, rearranging, unpacking, packing, and trying to look busy, waiting for some kind of cue.

Then I start getting nervous and forget everything. I struggle putting my harness on!

which way does the harness go...oh no, it’s twisted...Jesus, I think everyone's watching me.

I hear some Koreans casually talking and then laughing off in the distance and I become paranoid,

I think they're laughing at me. Which way do I unfold the rope...what am i doing. Ahhhhh I wanna go home.

I decided I needed too chill out. I found a good viewing spot and just watched for about 45 minutes.

Sensing my hesitation some people encouraged me to try a few easy routes which helped me get comfortable and back in my skin. I have to say climbers are some of the friendliest, helpful, most mellow groups of people I’ve had the pleasure to hang out with.

After trying several routes I settled on a fun juggy 10b route that had a couple difficult sections that sent me dangling a dozen times. Talk about the school of hard knocks though! I'm sure my friends gave me important tips and advice about how to fall---I just didn’t understand it because it was in Korean. So I learned a few lessons the hard way, fortunately with only a few scrapes, bruises and loose teeth to show for it.

Lesson 1: don't grab the rope as your falling. Instinctively, I grabbed it twice. The first time I got a good rope burn; the second time I got my palm pinched in the quick draw.

Lesson 2: That length of rope you were holding in your teeth as you're trying to clip in to the next draw...remember to spit it out BEFORE you fall. I damn near lost all my front teeth as I dropped a good 6 meters and the rope was ripped from my bite...

So I learned a few lessons, but came out relatively unscathed and can't wait to go back again. Here are some pics.

Some pictures from around town

Left: Pronun: Sam Geop Sow. These are 1/2" thick slices of swine belly (think bacon) but unsalted and uncured...pure fabulousness. Jes and I are convinced eating lots of this stuff will sufficiently inoculate us from H1N1.

The meal is served with all kinds of side dishes to garnish your pork with. We compete with each other by seeing who can come up with the most original and tasty combination...it reminds me of ordering customized pizza slices on Noriega with M and G.

I think we'll order another pork belly booster tonight.



To wash down Sam Geop Sow is a Korean brand of beer, OB Blue. Drinking it always makes me a little nostalgic, dude.












Left: Seoul Subway Station Advertisement: Remember the story about Kentucky Fried Chicken changing its name to KFC because they weren't really using chickens? I've been spreading it around Korea and to all my adult classes. Just found out that it's an urban myth.

This ad exudes healthy, bright and clean...Are they selling burgers or laundry detergent?



Left: Korea has a very efficient health care system.











Left: This is one Jes' classes.
Yesterday morning I got phone call from Jes while she was teaching. She said her students wanted to say 'hi'. So they all got on the phone and we greeted each other...one even told me that he was an alien. Way to go Jes!

Apparently they are fascinated by me and ask Jes a million and one questions about me every day.



Left: This subway is so calm, beautiful, sterile, homogeneous, efficient, and clean I'd let them perform a triple bypass on me in here; even the seats are heated!

Burningman announces some of this year's installations

Honestly, last year I was certain I would take a year off from Burningman. Don’t get me wrong; it was f-ing amazing last year as always. But my sense was that many people were going to take a year off…some favorite venues, Opulent and Pink Mammoth would also be taking a hiatus. I thought ‘09 would be a relatively quiet, perhaps more introspective year on the Playa and my liver wouldn’t hate me if I took a year off…

So with that moving to Korea and missing '09 wouldn’t be an issue.

BUT…DUDE! I just received Will Chase's update on the list of honorarium art installations for Burningman this year. Duuuuude!

Carbon flowers, with fire pistils, that expand and contract 30x; Chimera - a 30’ long something with vertebrae dripping and pulsing with flames; A flame thrower shooting gallery; Soma--sounds like 2 massive tesla balls pumping out all kinds of electricity and flames: http://www.flaminglotus.com/art/what-we-create ; Burninator grid--I have no idea what it is but it sounds sweet; An evoloutionay life-size zoetrope;
Oh My!

And of course there will be sailing with friends on the Playa.

Bro, this year looks like it will be all-time…and I’m not going.

…or maybe I will.

I'm up in the Woods

My friend from back home just turned me on to Bon Iver. I just heard his song 'Woods', which is more like a hymn and I felt compelled to post the verse. Listen to it if you get a chance.

"I'm up in the woods
I'm down on my mind
I'm building a still
To slow down the time"

-Bon Iver

Google Maps

I've mapped out some favorite places I frequent in Seoul from our house on Google Maps. You can see it here.

I think the satellite images were taken during the winter because everything looks like a radiation cloud passed over the city--brown dingy and lifeless.
Right now cherry blossoms are in full bloom and the mountain by our apartment is covered in bright green canopy of leaves.

Ant is a Mexi Can

I'm featured in Jes' blog! - The Mexican Ant.

http://pureunderachievement.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-we-have-mexican-ant-in-his-natural.html#links

Physics for Future Presidents

Several months back I read the book Physics for Future Presidents by Robert Mueller after hearing an interview of the author on KQED’s Forum. The book presents science topics related to current events in a very accessible manner. It gives the reader enough practical knowledge to grasp the big picture and science surrounding various issues.

It covers such topics as nuclear bombs, nuclear power, space exploration, biological warfare, global warming, the fossil fuel crisis, and alternative energy viability. Since reading the book I’ve become even more curious with the physics surrounding these topics and their treatment in popular media. As well I’ve wanted to introduce similar material to my own students and therefore wanted to become more conversant on the subject. After searching the web for more info about Mueller, I discovered he teaches a course at Berkeley that reviews the topics of the book in much more depth AND all of his Lectures are on the posted online… http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details_new.php?seriesid=2008-D-52019|2008-D-69453&semesterid=2008-D
SWEET! So I’ve been attending his Fall 08 Semester Lectures bi-weekly for the last couple weeks in Korea and am loving it. The course is taught through the College of Letters and Sciences so the material is much accessible than perhaps a similar course that would be taught through the physics department.

Borimae Park

While North Korea was debuting their much anticipated rocket over the skies of Japan this morning, Jes and I decided to go to a climbing wall at Borimae Park.

We met a few other friendly Americans there, one of whom knew enough Korean to help us rent a rope, a caribiner and a harness.

In my life I have only bouldered and never top-roped climbed, and while Jes has passed her belay test, she couldn't recall how to tie off a rope to a harness or thread a rope through the belay device. Fortunately, our American friends did know what they were doing and offered us a few quick lessons to get us up and running as well as taught us a few climbing techniques.

So we spent a few hours climbing, practicing our new skills. I practiced setting a top rope as well. I can tell there is no fear in the regular rock climbers on that wall, but it was very different for me. Once I was more than 4 meters above the ground I began to grab and hold on to every hold too tight; I stop using my legs to move up the wall; and then there I am 15m high, shaking from fear of heights, shaking from lactic acid build up, shaking from fear of the rope not being to withstand my kilonewtons. Well I fell several times and my compadres kept me safe. It was lots of fun.

Afterwards we stopped by the foot park. That's right! a park for therapy for your feet. You take off your shoes and walk over various surfaces, some painful, some soothing, and then some painful.

On our way home, we stopped in Itaewon to meet a friend and had some cocktails at a restaurant that has sandboxes which you sit in to eat and drink. I think Jes thought it might ameliorate my longing for an ocean. It was less like a beach a more like an ashtray.

South Korea vs. North Korea Soccer Game

South Korea vs. North Korea.

It was North Korea vs. the South Korea at the World Cup Stadium--about an hour's subway ride from our apartment. Both sides played poorly. Our friend said South Korea usually plays better. During half-time Kim Yu-Na, world champ ice skater and Pride of Korea, walked out on the field. She said something in Korean...it must have been good because all the Koreans cheered ; )

In the final 15 minutes of the game South Korea scored a lack luster goal and won the game. I hope North Korea doesn't retaliate with a nuke.

Dancing

Jes and I met a event promoter at a bar a couple weeks ago. We started rapping about DJ's, deep house, Burningman, etc. He invited us to club Vera where he was promoting a DJ from New York the following night. We caught the tail end of the house DJ set, which was really fun.

He just sent me this photo from that night. Looks like Jes is the new covergirl...

Saturday March 28th, 2009 Seoul Korea

Today: Saturday, March 28. Clear and Sunny. 55 degrees.

6:30am: Was suppose to get up early and take an overnight trip with Jes to the coast but felt like shit. Sinus infection started at my upper lip and wrapped around the sagittal crest. Nose very swollen--looked like a like a native indian, or like that Neanderthal from the Gecko insurance commercials. Apologized to Jes and went back to sleep.

8:30am: Made a pot of coffee from a drip maker Jes recently retrieved from a friend whose been storing it for her for a couple years. Coffee is very dear here--about $40/pound for subprime beans. Coffee is served everywhere in Seoul. However, water with brown food-coloring at $4 a Grande is as bad a purchase as a condo in Las Vegas in 2005. I fold and cut my own filters from paper towels. I have yet to find anyone vending #2 cones.

9:00am: Settled back into bed and dove into Cloud Atlas by Robert Mitchell.

11:00am: Ate half of a left over pizza and another pot of coffee. Still in Cloud Atlas.

12:30pm: Jes came home with groceries and a new domestic product--a folding drying rack. It allows us to dry our laundry in a consolidated space rather than hanging and draping our stuff over every available surface in our apartment. Drying machines are only for the rich.

4:00pm: Put down my book. Jes served us homemade traditional BLT's, fresh strawberries and Fanta for a late afternoon lunch. It was hands down the best meal I've had in Korea, and definitely one of Jes' top three specialties (to the best of my knowledge Jes' cooking repertoire consists of five items.)

5:30pm: Watched Sprout on my laptop. Made a mental note to look up Ceylon as a possible surf destination. Listened to a Jack Shimabukuro album I downloaded yesterday and tried to work out a couple Beatle tunes on my ukulele. Need a tuning fork.

8:15pm: Sinuses are feeling much better; my nose is back to a more agreeable size. I might even go outside tomorrow.

10:00pm: Feeling restless after a day indoors, Jes and I opted to go for a walk in our neighborhood. Our apartment is 2 blocks from a subway stop. Our neighborhood is divided by an overpass. The north side of the pass is populated with more wanna-be western establishments--it feels like Stonestown. The south side of the over pass is more traditional and is more like Irving St., By Seoul standards we live in a suburb. After an hour of exploring, we settled on a traditional Korean restuarant (there are hundreds around us and its sooo difficult to choose one) and had a a really nice meal...Jes taught me how how to order food speaking Korean!!! 'Yo gi Yo! Twogay Tedchi Gowbi Geyeso' - "Over here waiter! Two BBQ pork dinners for us." "Comsadeenya" - "Thank you!"

Dobongsan Mountain

Last sunday, Jes and I took the 3 subways to get to Dobong station, which drops you off at the foot of Dobongsan. San stands for mountain. Hiking is a favorite pastime among Koreans, especially among the older generation...and too their credit, Korean seniors appear to be very cheerful and healthy.

The approach to the mountatin is about a 20 minute walk from the subway. As we waited for the cross walk light to change at the station we were quickly enveloped in a crowd, several thousand strong of senior Koreans. Their numbers surprised me, but more so, their outfits. These Koreans were donned in the finest alpine climbing gear to be had, titanium telescoping walking poles, 2010 hiking boots, ultra-light packs; the lightest, most breathable, nylon/wool hybrid fabrics, the most teched out shit you can get: The editor of Outdoor Mag would be proud.

I thought we were just going for a light day hike but judging by the accouterment of my peers Dobongsan might be less like Mt. Tam and more like Everest. I turned to Jes, "I think we might be seriously under-dressed for our hike." I was in all cotton: t-shirt, jeans, hoodie and tennis shoes. Aside from and REI pack, Jes wasn't any better off. She assured me that Koreans were just realllllly zealous when it came to hiking outfits.

We crossed the street. The approach to the mountain is a paved path about 30' wide, both sides lined with restuarants, food stands, and major brand gear outfitters for every letter in the alphabet. I wonder if Tibet and the Himalayas are as smothered with Helly Hansen's, North Faces', Mountain Hardwares', Berghaus's...yikes!

Maybe we we're unprepared. Maybe not. Maybe those Koreans know better. We didn't it make it more than 20 minutes up the mountain before we decided to turn around and go home. Maybe it was because it was that time of the month for Jes; maybe it was because we drank a lot the night before and danced til 2am; maybe it was the yellow dust that was blowing in from Mongolia, maybe jet-lag had caught up with us, and maybe it was just because we thought the mountain was way too fucking ugly and packed with people to be bothered with. Or, maybe it was because we didn't dress right...I guess we'll never know.

However, during that short hike we found an unbusy outcrop off of the side of the trail where several, recently restored, Korean Temples stood.

Web Cams

Jesus I wish I hadn't done that! I swear I was just looking up news articles on the web; looking for a topic to review in my ESL Free Talking class tonight. Then I deviated from my purpose (as one necessarily does on the internet). I thought, huh wonder if I can pull up the Ocean Beach cam over the internet all the way from Korea.

Brilliant idea Anthony....Not! Why would you do something like that? Maybe corporal mortification--after all, I was raised Catholic.

I did it. The cam worked. Why wouldn't it? And guess what? It was windEEE! And yes, 5 kites were out; that I could count. The ocean was bathed in golden, Californian, sunset light and the sand was blowing in streams down the beach, in a pixelated webcammy sort of way.

Instinctually, I assessed the conditions superman-fast: A small short period swell out of the west and judging from the angle of the kites I think the wind was North-north-west. Maybe the NPH (North Pacific High Pressure) has set up off the north coast of Cali. Conditions might persist several more days. Let's see, I could be at the airport in 1 hour, in San Francisco in 15, but with the time change....

My eyes started watering. I wish I could be in that cold wetsuit, saltwater filling my everything, adrenaline pumping, a song in my head, the constant soft roar of the breaks. And when I was done there would be perfect exhaustion and decent beer.

I stared at the screen...my heart sank lower and lower with each press of the refresh button. Refresh. Refresh.
But then I caught myself. Stop!!! I shut my laptop.

But the memory lingers.

Today is Friday morning. Fortunately I'll be too busy to sulk about missing Cali...last class is over at 10pm.

Holy Great White

I took Einstein up to Tomales to pick up a 100 extra small oysters from the Tomales Bay Oyster Company for the party. Knowing once I got to Ray's the drinking would be non-stop I decided to get a run in. I went to a trail along the coastline above RCA's. While short, maybe 3 miles, it was a wild run. The wind was howling 40+ and waves were pounding the cliffs. And a BIG thanks to Jes. She gave me a pair of hand-me-down trail shoes which really helped support my ankles.

Later that evening we all got in the Jacuzzi while it was pouring rain. Ray, always the gracious host, was concerned that our cocktails would get too watered down with the rain and provided us with large multi-colored umbrellas...it was kind of surreal. When was the last time you saw a group of people in a jacuzzi sipping cocktails, holding umbrellas over there heads in pouring rain?

Today, it was back to Ocean Beach for more kitesurfing. While I was between the middle and outer sandbar the wind started to die as a large set was rolling in. It was easier to head out to sea than try and out run the waves..And while I was out there, like a submarine surfacing, I spotted a Great White Shark not 60 yards from me...it's the first time I have ever seen one in person! It was just motoring along with its black dorsal standing a good two and half feet above the water. Unfortunately, with the wind dying, I wasn't in any condition to greet him and thank him for not eating me all those times I'm sure he could have. I will always remember him though.

Valentine's Day with Ocean Beach.

I didn't make the pillow fight, which I heard was 6,000 attendees strong this year...

After wasting my time with a bunch of tire-kickers I finally sold my SUP board yesterday morning. Randomly it was a kiter from Santa Cruz that ended up buying it. After he looked at the board I invited him and his friend down to Ocean Beach to go kiting and we got some epic surf...hence why I missed the pillow fight.

Ocean Beach gave me the best Valentine's Day present...south swell in the 8+ range and side-shore winds with no rain. A couple hours into it my knee locked up on me (an old miniscus injury) when I hit a lip too late on some shore break and got slammed to the sand...dude! Fortunately JG was there to help me hop out of the water and after a minute the knee unlocked and I was back on the water again.

I thought I might try and kite again today but it's massive...Matt has aptly described it as looking like there are Lock Ness Monsters all over the place. Instead, I'm heading to Bolinas to shuck oysters and sit out the gale.

Full Moon Fever

There ain't no full moon tonight...in fact there isn't any moon tonight, it's just rainy and cold. I've had "Wonderwall" in my head for days. I never I liked Oasis, but I really like this song these days and enjoy singing and playing it on my acoustic guitar. I told Jes and she recommended I listen to the whole album, '(What's the Story) Morning Glory'. So after a couple martinis with my favorite Bombay Gin, I did, and I'm not impressed. Wonderwall was the best song by far, perhaps a one-hit- wonder...no disrespect intended Oasis fans. But I was then reminded of Yer So Bad, off of Full Moon Fever. Why did Wonderwall lead me to Yer So Bad? It may have had something to do with Jes' rants about how fabulous midget wrestling is and how much she wants to bring a midget home. So in honor of Yer So Bad, I listened to the Full Moon Fever album. Holy Shit! There are a lot of overplayed songs and a lot of overplayed albums, FMF being one of them. But it's a phenomenal album. And it still jerks my soul in 2009. Thank you Mr. Petty.

The Pinnacles

The last several days I moved out of my apartment of 4 years, quite my job of 4 years, cleaned my apartment...it's been about 4 years, scrambled to put together Korean visa documents before the deadline, moved into my brother's house, and have been squeezing in as much surfing and kiting at OB as I can before moving away...exhausting.

Jes invited me to join her for a short day trip to the Pinnacles.
It turns out it was a good day to visit the Pinnacles...we saw a total of 4 other hikers, the weather was warm, and relatively dry and the sunset was pristine. I got to check out (by check out i mean look at and climb a few feet high) a couple climbing routes too. I recently took up bouldering at my local gym which I'm enjoying a lot and hope too continue in Seoul. I was surprised by how sharp and aggressive real rock is to the hand compared to the gym...but then that's how most things are outside of a gym.

We summited the High Peaks Trail by sundown and then turned around. I suggested to Jes instead of driving home we cross over to the bay of Monterey for the evening and check out the Aquarium the following day...so we did. I love the Aquarium...the Jellyfish, Sea Dragons, and schools of Pacific Sardines were by far my favorite. I also tried a lot of the interactive exhibits and loved how clever they were put together...I'm putting 'building interactive science exhibits' on my list of future jobs i would love to have.

The food, true to tourist traps, was bad at Cannery Row...but I'm not gonna complain about tourist trap food anymore, I'm just going to compare it to other tourist trap food, which in this case, was okay.

Now I'm back and I'm hoping the 10 day forecast for rain is San Francisco is wrong. I'm actually considering leaving the coast and chasing some snow in the mountains for day or two...