First off, a big apology to all of those that read that last blog entry. Apparently I did not properly log out of my blog correctly on Monday so some of my coworkers took the liberty to go in and make some minor changes to my Author and The Blog pages. Then they uploaded a new post. I was think about leaving it up to give you all a taste of their sense of humor but it was kind of annoying me each time I saw it and the graphic depiction of death and lack of remorse might shake the sensibilities of some of my family members who read this. Definitely got some concerned emails…

I would have taken it down but they also changed the email address and password thus effectively locking me out. Very effective on their part. Needless to say I was not as amused as they were, I’m more of a laugh with you or well-meaning shit-talking amongst friends king of guy. Not the real laughing as group at one member in particular variety. Enough about that though and back to the positive vibrations playing out here during the Chuseok holiday!

The main events were two shows and one epic hiking trip up in the mountains. The first show on Friday night was a fairly uneventful local show of a rock duo (guitar & drums) and a progressive jazz trio (bass, keyboard & drums). There were probably only 8 other people there and I was the only foreigner in attendance so was definitely an intimate showing. Saturday night Gold Panda put on an epic show in Seoul. First band from abroad I’ve seen in my time as a resident here and they definitely brought the epic tunes with them from NY. The show was at Rolling Hall which is definitely the most legitimate venue I have been to here. The occupancy seemed like anywhere from 3 to 4 hundred. Felt like every hipster in Seoul was in attendance. Lots of dancing and running into recently acquired fans made for a great evening!

Sunday was just some festivities around the foreign district with my coworker from DC and watching a little of the Ireland vs. US in the World Cup for rugby. Later that evening we attended a Chuseok party thrown at a small house overlooking the Itaewon are near Namsan tower. The Korean and German guys hosting the shindig were outstanding hosts and a bevy of food was offered, much cooked on the barbecue on the grill outside. A large hookah offered a various assortment of shisha to partake in.

Tuesday was the end of my 4 day workweek so I celebrated by hitting up the mountain (Bukhansan) with my friends who are a couple that attended the same university I did. The weather was great and even though there were trove of people trekking up the mountain the holiday enthusiasm made for beaming smiles and a jovial atmosphere on the peaks. This marks a full month of me hitting up the mountains for multiple kilometer hikes and I couldn’t be happier. My skin is the olive tone I appreciate, my energy level is higher and I feel great overall! Highly encourage anyone who has some high altitude topography nearby to get out there and enjoy it this fall. My condition is strong.

Standing tall on a mountain!