This was originally posted on my Xanga site a few years ago. Most of the people in this story are foreigners.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
· Friday Night Lights
Friday night was interesting. Started out rather innocently enough, but ended up with a slew of unexpected events.
11:03pm – Normal Beginings.
Met up with Blossom and Manu in Hongdae. We decided to hit Yu Gaek Ju because Tae Ho, the manager is a good guy and occasionally gives us service. After debating for a few moments what to eat, we settle into our booth(big enough for 6) and begin discussing our lives.
12:11am – A slight crack
After a solid hour of consuming sausage, cajun chicken salad, soup, and a lot of cheap Korean beer, my stomach is begining to tell me that perhaps that was NOT the greatest combination of food and liquor. However, the night is young so we all continue to inhale at a good clip. Things seem to be going well until Blossom receives a phone call from CRon 2. At first, I don’t want another dude to show up and upset the delicate balance of power at our table (Guys: 1 Girls :2) however in my slightly lack of sober state, I agree. So after it’s been decided that CRon 2 will be joining us, I get the feeling that we’ve just altered our paths for the night.
12:34am tremors
CRon 2 arrives and from the start there are a few things readily apparent: he’s not sober, he’s jovial, and he’s in the mood to talk! The last two really helped ease the fact that he arrived with absolutely no female companions. CRon 2 is happy enough and begins talking about various different subjects which include, but are not limited to: one of his friends crashing his m3(forget exactly what kind of car it was..but it’s expensive..and foreign) at a race course, surfing, him buying a Hyundai..Sonata?? Things are pleasant enough until Blossom receives yet another phone call, this time from a guy she met through…Xanga(perhaps you’ve heard of the site). Apparently he’s an adoptee from the East Coast and he wants to meet Blossom. That seemed normal enough given my current state, however somehow I managed to catch the fact that he was with another person..so I naturally ask Blossom if the other person was a white guy..she forgot to ask..so she’s forced to call him back and utter the lines “Uh..i was just wondering..is the other guy you’re with…white??” Armed with the her new found knowledge she gives me the “apparently his friend is not white, most likely Korean” signal which looks a lot like someone smiling and nodding at the same time.
12:52am full on
Nomar Garciaparra dressed in a white wife-beater(is there another kind?) and a Boston Red Sox cap and Khakis arrives with his VERY VERY VERY drunk friend. Nobody is really sure exactly how drunk his friend is, but it becomes abundantly clearly a short time later. Here’s what the initial exchange looked like:
NG: Hi, how are you
US: Hey..how’s it going
Drunk Friend: Hi, what’s your name?
12:58 Repetition is the key to success
Everyone is getting their drink on pretty heavily at this point. Nomar launches into a very intense conversation about his adoption experience. At one point in the conversation I heard him utter the words “If it wasn’t for my best friend I’d be dead” I thought that was a bit intense for only knowing the guy for about 6 minutes ..give or take a few. His extremely drunk friend isn’t quite faring as well..this is what the next exchange went like:
Me: So..what do you do in Korea
Drunk Friend: Hi, what’s your name?
Me: I’m Bob
Drunk Friend speaking to Blossom: Hi, what’s your name?
1:13 Repetition is STILL the key to success
Everyone is doing pretty well at this point, however Nomar’s friend isn’t exactly improving as shown by this next exchange:
Drunk Friend: Hi, what’s your name?
Me(wearing an ASK shirt): Bob
Drunk Friend: Do you go to Yonsei?
Me and Blossom(laughing hysterically): NO!
Drunk Friend to Blossom: Hi, what’s your name?
1:44: Shitty Bathroom Dialogue
After drinking large quantities of beer, I decided to finally break the seal. Didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, however when I get to the bathroom, CRon 2 is already there and he’s completely perplexed by the large quantity of water on the floor. He is really wondering why there is so much water on the floor, so in his inquisitive state, he asks me in English “why is there so much water on the floor” to which I respond..”I have no idea!” Apparently, my English response was not satisfactory so he attemptsto ask the SAME question in Korean to one of the other patrons. Given his extremely low level of Korean ability and his inquisitive nature about such an inane topic, I knew this was going to be a disaster. Here’s what the exchange sounded like:
CRon2: “물.. 많이… 여기… 왜?”
Korean patron: “뭐???”
CRon2: “물… 많이… 여기.. 왜?” and then he looks at me and says Bob how do you say that in Korean
Bob: Well..not sure what the word for FLOOR is, but that’s definitely not the most polite way to say ANYTHING in Korean.
At this point the guy is fucking pissed so he leaves the bathroom and about 10 seconds later he’s got one of his buddies with him. Apparently his buddy was supposed to be a translator because he asks CRon2 to repeat what he said..unfortunately his buddy had about the same English level..so they had to ask in Korean. I see what’s happening and just politely apologize to the 2 Korean guys and try to usher CRon2 out of the bathroom as quickly possible.
I proceed to tell him that A. Asking why there is so much water on the floor is probably not the best conversation topic ANYWHERE, unless you’re on a boat. B. You have to be a little more tactful when trying to say something in Korean. C. Be careful what you say to drunk people in a bathroom!
2:05am Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday!
Does anyone remember those really bad ads for monster truck rallies? I do..unfortunately. The reason I bring this up is I always remember one of their tag lines was “we’ll sell you the WHOLE seat, but you’ll only need the edge!” When I get back to the table, Nomar is still knee deep in his conversation about his adoptee experience, however he’s managed to sit in a way that requires him using HALF of the booth. To get an idea..think Ben Stiller in Dodgeball..I think someone just threw up in their mouth. Anyways, Nomar is using half the booth which means Blossom is sitting where I should be sitting..and I’m sitting on the edge of the seat..even though the booth should seat 6 comfortably. I was trying really hard NOT to listen to Nomar’s conversation, but only because I’ve heard similar conversations about 5000 times before. However, Manu, being relatively new to the adoption circle/world is completely enthralled with it. It’s almost like she’s listening to the word of God. She’s so enthralled by it that her eyebrows are furrowed! Meanwhile, CRon 2 has rejoined the conversation and the 3 of them proceed to have the most animated conversation I’ve seen in a long time..although I think it might have just been Nomar.
2:19am going thru the motions
At this point everyone has had their fill of beer and food. so it’s decided that some folx want to head to a club to get their grooves on. CRon 2, amazingly enough, upon hearing that we’re leaving, proceeds to run over and pay for EVERYTHING . As he’s heading over to pay for it, I make a feeble attempt to give him some money which resembled a slightly drunk guy trying to give money to a guy who wants to pay for everything.
2:26am decisions!
Nomar and his buddy really wants to go some sleazy bikini bar, however Manu is insistent that everyone goes dancing. At this point, I’m just along for the ride..I think ditto for Blossom. And CRon 2 too.
2:28am Middle Aged French Guys
On our way to S-Club, which is only a 5 minute walk away we happened to walk by some Middle Aged White Guysthat were jabbering along in a foreign language which I recognized to be French. In jest, I told Manu, “hey..why don’t you help them out” She took it and ran with it…unfortunately these guys were not only French, White..and way too old to be in Hongdae..they were DRUNK! When they heard Manu’s PERFECT Quebecoise accent they just about spilled their seed on the street. They would NOT let her get away..so we basically had to pry her away from them.
2:30am Invisible Pockets
As we approached S-Club Nomar and his friend mentioned something about being low on funds?!?! I’m not sure about the rest of you, but how exactly does one go out without either A. enough fucking money to have fun for a night or B. A FUCKING ATM CARD??? At no point did they attempt to make a getaway or ask about getting to an ATM. However they did manage to go thru some convoluted motions of pretending like they were looking for money in their pockets..which would have been fine..except Nomar was wearing a wife beater..and wife beaters don’t have pockets..AT ALL.
We reached S-Club and then Nomar and his friend have pretty much resigned themselves to NOT going into the club because of a lack of funds. However..once again CRon 2 proceeds to whip out his wallet! He says that he’ll pay for everyone, but there’s only one problem..they don’t accept plastic, so he has to cough up some cash…I was not in the mood to let a guy pay for me to get into a club..so I cough up 20 bucks and throw it in. Upon realizing that it’s only 15 for guys…and 10 for ladies..I instantly got Dutch on everyone..including the ticket lady and proceeded to ask for my change. I don’t think I got it back.
2:41 In da Club
We get in the club and they’re playing a lot of music..which I don’t recognize..which along with quickly getting sober is NOT a recipe for doing ANY kind of dancing. So I head over to the bar and order a drink and watch events unfold on the dance floor. Things are fairly normally given the club setting, however CRon 2 hasn’t let up yet..he doesn’t want Nomar and his buddy to NOT have drinks so he proceeds to buy a couple of rounds. After finishing a few rounds Nomar and his friend suddenly bolt.
Now it’s just me..CRon2 and Manu. It’s so freaking humid in the club that I want to leave after about 20 minutes..but I somehow manage to stick around with Blossom. However, I can’t take it anymore so I tell her I want to leave. We go look for Manu and CRon2 and they’re getting extremely familiar with each other and some Korean guy.
I’m tired so I’ll continue this at a later date
Note: ASKis an organization that stands for Adoptee Solidarity Korea, however in Korean it’s called 국외입양인연대. The last part of the name in Korean also happens to be the name of a very famous university(연대) in Korea, but the shirt CLEARLY had nothing to do with ANY university.
