Bulgogi, Bibinbab, et al.

As I sit on my spring-laden bed at 2:30 in the am typing this blog to keep it current, I'm digesting a wonderful korean meal put together by the Mira, the wife of my friend and colleague here in the Geography Department, Jae Youl. Korean food is one of my favorite ethnic genres of cuisine, and Mira did not disappoint. Wow! And then I stayed and chatted until 1 am (I showed up a bit after 6 pm.) Not a bad night at all.

As promised, here's one of my classic travel emails. This was sent on 4 October, 2000, during simpler times, while I was on Semester at Sea and visiting Shanghai. Hope you all enjoy.

Greetings from the Middle Kingdom!
So here I am, sitting in the Peace Hotel on the famous and chaotic Nanjing Lu and emailing in Shanghai, China. This hotel is aptly named, as it is a tranquil spot in a sea of absolute bedlam all around it. This is the craziest place that I have ever been. I have never seen so many people. There are so many people on the streets that traffic cannot get through. And there are soldiers everywhere, People's Liberation Army. But they all seem pretty friendly. People are hustling you all of the time, trying to get you to buy something and beggars and everything everywhere. It is unbelievable, and probably the most interesting place that I've ever been.
You see, it just so happens that Oct. 1 is was the 51st anniversary of the Communist Party defeating the KMT and taking control of China, so there is a weeklong celebration. So in this, the 5th or 6th largest city in the world, there are even more people in town, and all of them are out on the street.
Japan was wonderful. I split off from the group with which I went to Tokyo and went to a place called Kamakura all by myself to see the world's largest outdoor buddha (yes, even bigger than mine.) It was pretty cool. Then I had a university stay with some japanese students, and after touring around Osaka for a day, we went back to their apartment and I taught them some American drinking games. I got some great pictures of these Japanese students passed out everywhere. They don't have much of a tolerance.
Today in Shanghai we visited an artist's village, a flower and bird market, and the Shanghai Supermarket. The supermarket was absolutely insane. You can buy a live duck or chicken or snake or fish or a really large toad or turtle or just about anything you can think of, and they kill it for you right there and you can take it home and cook it up. We also had lunch in the home of some people from Shanghai, and they fed us an absolute feast. Brady would have loved it, even more than his China buffets.
I've been buying up all of the communist paraphenelia that I can get my hands on. I now own my very own copy of Chairman Mao's little red book, as well as a cool lighter with Mao's picture on it that plays "Red Sky Over China" when you flip the lid open. I'm on a hunt for posters on Friday. CDs are very cheap here. They cost about 12 yuan, which is equivalent to about $1.50, so that's pretty cool. Everything here is cheap-far cheaper than Japan or Vancouver or Grand Forks.
Keep on rockin' in the free world (since I won't be in the free world for a while,) and I'll try to write you again from my next stop, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
aei

Fighting Lethargy

Not too much to report on today - just fighting a bit of lethargy that seems to be carrying over from the cold. It's not good - haven't done a lick of work for three days now, when there is lots of work to be done. And so it goes - we'll get 'er done. Class was cancelled yesterday, as Dr. RD Sack (see earlier posts) was taking his anti-postmodern thought on the road to UCLA and undoubtedly locking philosophical horns with Edward Soja, another geographical philosopher who is there. Planning on a weekend solid with thesis writing. Therefore, since there's more likely than not going to be nothing of great interest, sans the Beer and Loafing (a thing that we in the UW geography dept. do - like presenting an academic paper, only with lots of beer and lot of heckling) tomorrow and the Korea Dinner that my friend Jae has promised for Saturday. So, I'm planning to begin posting some of my classic emails sent while traveling in the past. Should be fun...
Hail Progress!

The promise of a coming day...

Today was merely a day of working at the Arthur H. Robinson (may peace be upon him) Map Library and class - a seminar on migration and citizenship lead by Dr. Madeline Wong, and always providing lots of lively discussion from a class with diverse ethnicities and diciplines. So that was good, as always.
The cold is in recession - not quite as furious of a recession as the economy is typically under any president named Bush, but it's on the way out, which is a good sign.
Quick origin of the nickname, "The Dude." It comes from the movie The Big Lebowski, which could very well be my favorite movie of all time. The Dude, the main character played by Jeff Bridges, has very long hair and dresses in a very casual manner. While I was in Japan, I also had very long hair, big sideburns (The Dude has a goatee.) Also, I have a very laid back manner, much like The Dude. Therefore, my coworkers began calling me The Dude. And I happily accepted that name.
Hail Progress!

The day after

This day, which saw the continuation of mine and the rest of the world's mourning over the loss of Hunter S. Thompson (may peace be upon him,) saw a promising upswing in The Dude's health, thanks in large part to big quantities of Green tea and ecinechea (sp?) in the coughdrops that have been a mainstay of my diet. While I was only able to finish about 350 of the 600+ pages of assigned readings for the methods class lead by Dr. J.A. Peck, the class was still very interesting, as always. We mostly discussed Mitch Duneier's work, Sidewalk, an academic book that isn't written like an academic book - it's actually readable! And highly highly recommended.
Other than that, not too much to report from the burgh of M-A-D. More about the Dude later.

In Memoriam

This day spent by me resting and recovering has been completely overshadowed by the tragic events which have transpired near Aspen, Colorado. Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, the pioneering gonzo journalist and influence on so many who have followed him, is no longer with us. Rest in Peace. HS Thompson, dead at age 67.

Equilibrium

Here I sit, just after 11 pm on a Saturday night, after a reasonably successful weekend, despite my pathogenical handicap in the form of an increasingly nasty cold. The bulk of my diet for the past three days has consited of Halls, Day-quil, and Ricola (and was my entire lunch on Thursday,) and sinus pressure has gone from bad to worse. However, once the above mentioned cold meds kick in, life becomes tolerable and I can function. Relatives were visiting, and fun was in the air. Thursday evening, Uncle Dan, Aunt Carolla and Cousin Pinto visited from sunny Barney, North Dakota, way back in the homeland. Friday had us visiting the Windy City of Chicago, which was, well, windy and frigid to the point where walking around, my favorite activity just about anywhere, became unpleasant to the point of impossiblity and forbade us from getting a decent view of the city's world-class skyline. However, not all was lost - despite assurances from the staffers at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) that all tours on Friday were booked from calls and emails placed during the week leading up to it, simply saying to the people at the desk that we had driven ten hours (or at least Dan et al had) was enough to get us in the door, which Dan, being a farmer, found immensely interesting and Pinto, being someone who's always been intrigued by financial markets and the like, dug as well. Other activities included a visit to the federal board of reserves bank and a temporarily successful attempt at topping the John Hancock Tower that ultimately failed due to other factors. Saturday had us touring around the M-A-D, visiting such sites as the capitol, the union, and State street Brats. Good times had by all.
Am praying to every deity I can think of to kick this cold as quickly as possible - big activities in the weeks and months ahead - classes to attend and keep up with, a thesis to write, and a trans-pacific move to prepare for - and illness will not expedite any of it. So, as the Romans would've said, Excelsior! Higher!

Miserere

Coming off of my second day of missing classes due to the nasty cold, I feel a bit groggy but pleased to be returning to class and to work at the Arthur H. Robinson (R.I.P.) Map Library located in historic Science Hall. Am looking forward to speaking about the importance of perspective in place making with Dr. RD Sack, as discussed in yesterday's post.
The big news of the day, however, is that The Dude will officially be back in Asia come May. I've accepted a job at Assumption University in Bangkok. More on that another time.
There's been a request to explain the origins of "The Dude." This will happen soon - worry not. Had I not lost my very first post, it would already be on here.

Hail Progress!

Insomnia - my only enemy, my only friend

The Insomniacal binge, fueled by a day of non-stop tea drinking and a long afternoon nap both aimed at keeping in check a rather nasty cold which kept me from work and class today (er, yesterday now, I guess,) continues to rampage like a bull through the streets of Pampalona without any foreseeable end. As the writings of my professor, geographical philosopher, and enemy of all things postmodern, Dr. Robert D. Sack, regarding the importance of perspective in place making have failed to hold my zombie-like attention for more than three pages, I thought that I would post more musings here before trying to salvage an hour or two of sleep prior to my alarm clock's imminent eruption at 8 am.
As yet another Feb. 14, known as St. Valentine's Day to some and as Black Monday (or whatever day of the week it happens to fall on that year) to me and several like-minded and highly moral individuals has passed into the annals of V Day (not to be confused with the day that Japan surrendered in WWII) history, I look back on it with mixed emotion. I am displeased to have been ill and missed what is certain to have been a great seminar in my Qualitative Research methods class, led by the noted Marxist geographer Dr. Jamie Peck with guest lecturer and urban Pacific Rim geographer Dr. Kris Olds discussing his research. However, by not setting foot outside of my apartment on that most evil of card and flower company contrived "holiday," as far as my perspective is concerned, (see above reference to the writings of one R.D. Sack) it didn't even exist in the place that is my apartment, which is a true blessing. Like Brett Michaels and the rest of that great 1980's hair band Poison said, "every rose has its thorn." Or perhaps every cloud having its silver lining is more appropriate in this case.

A completely sleepless night and the subsequent misery bourne of sleep deprivation that is certain to follow me throughout the day tomorrow has gone from likely to probable. The battle must continue.

When it began...

As mental collapse due to exhaustion becomes an ever more real possibility at this tender hour of 2:39 am, I stare at my roommate's ill-tempered cat sleeping on my rock hard $100 futon that I purchased 18 months prior to this (and slept on for a trying 12 of those 18 months) at the Target near Madison, Wisconsin's East Town Mall. I am exasperated - after an hour of pouring my soul into my very first post of this blog, I have somehow lost every word painstakingly typed during this insomniac fit. If my hair were longer, I'd rip it out. But The Dude must abide and not be un-Dude. So I'm signing out and I'll pour my thoughts later. Hail progress!