In My Opinion - Professional Sports

The other day, I was doing work in the cafeteria. It was around lunch time, and a middle-aged woman sat down in front of the television nearest to me. She changed the channel to a soap opera, which I endured for an hour, before her lunch was over and she went back to work. A few moments later, a man sat down nearby, and I waited until the woman left before I stood up to change the channel. Unable to find Fox News after about three minutes of searching, I settled for CNN another news channel. No sooner had I sat down than another man walked over, changed the channel to ESPN, and sat down with the first man. Enraptured, they stared at the cathode ray tubes while I packed up my stuff and passed three other televisions, two of which were broadcasting ESPN, on my way out of the cafeteria.

Professional sports are both a horrid waste of time and an ingenious distraction. Ignorant people who can't be bothered with important issues, such as politics, become caught up in a world of which they will never be a part. They wear the jerseys of their favorite athletes (which I never understood -- why are you wearing that jersey if it's not your name and you're not related?), they get angry when "their" teams lose. But, when people are so involved in something as inconsequential as sports, people of that mindset are obviously not as wholeheartedly involved in other affairs of the world (which is a good thing). Professional sports irk me. And yet, when I see the people who are so devoted to them, typically it makes me happy inside that these usually aren't the people forming the world's policies.

Mochi

Mochi is one of my favorite Japanese snacks. Mochi is made of glutinous rice and traditionally served around New Year's. The Sergeant and I currently have three boxes of daifuku (mochi stuffed with filling) -- red bean, taro and green tea.

Aeri's Kitchen

Want even more Asianness? Yes, I just made up that word. Check out Aeri's Kitchen. Aeri has a ton of Korean recipes (complete with Youtube how-to videos and yummy photos!). According to my Facebook stalking, she and The Sergeant plan to exchange recipes.

Black Sesame Sweet Soup

Apparently, I'm on an Asian kick this year, so I'm just going to roll with it.

During my freshman year of college, I met a Chinese ESL student whom I befriended. During my first visit to her dorm, she offered me a bowl (actually, it was a Glad plastic storage container) of some sort of sweet, grey soup (or something to that effect). It had the consistency of sludgy water, but I thought it tasted good. I forgot to ask her what it was called, and it wasn't until recently that I found something similar in an Asian grocery store. After mixing up a cup, I realized that it was the exact same thing. And that if you don't add cold water before adding hot water, it congeals and looks likes sludgy water. I like to make the soup thicker, anyway, so it has a consistency more along the lines of thin mud. Yum.

The soup is Vietnamese, but it's also popular in China for supposedly keeping grey hair at bay (something to do with the fact that it's good for the blood and liver). It's also good for the kidneys, so the packaging claims. I have the instant version, but it can also be made by soaking rice in water for an hour, then grinding it in a blender with toasted black sesame seeds and later boiling it with some water and sugar.

Koreans & Church

While I was waiting for The Sergeant, a Korean hairdresser walked out into the waiting room (presumably to see how many people were waiting to be serviced). She glanced at me, did a double take, nonchalantly meandered to the seat in front of me, picked up the newspaper, and asked, "Are you Korean?" The rest of the conversation went as follows:

Eun: Yes, I am Korean.

Kim: Ah, ahnyounghasaeyo.

Eun: Ahnyounghasaeyo. I don't speak Korean, I was adopted.

Kim: Ah, you were adopted?

Eun: Yes.

Kim: You very pretty.

Eun: Thank you.

Kim: I saw you, you so pretty, I did not know if you were Korean or not.

Eun: Are Koreans ugly or something? Yes, I'm Korean, and thank you.

Kim: You go to church?

Eun: Yes.

Kim: That's good. Where you go?

Eun: I attend church in Pennsylvania; I'm from Pennsylvania.

Kim: Ah, Pennsylvania? You should come to my church.

Eun: I bet it's a Korean church. Where do you go to church?

Kim: It's not far. How long you here?

Eun: Only until next week. I'm with him *gestures to nondescript area on the other side of the wall.*
Kim: When he leave?

Eun: Next week.

Kim: Next week?

Eun: Yes.

[The Sergeant finally enters the waiting room.]

Kim: You should come to church. They have translators. Hold on. *disappears into barber shop*

Eun: First, "Are you Korean?" Then, "You go to church?" They're all the same, and they think I'm one of them! We need a huge picture of Jesus.

Kim: *presents pamphlet and continues to give us directions to the Korean church* I hope to see you soon!

The end.

Bibimbap

The Sergeant and I have begun frequenting a local Korean restaurant. Bibimbap is by far my most favorite Korean dish, so obviously it's the only thing I've ordered from the menu.

USAA Military Group Card

Support the Wounded Warrior Project with your credit card. The USAA Military Group Card makes a contribution to the WWP with every active account. Just make sure you're responsible enough to have a credit card, because those credit relief commercials on television disgust me, and if I find out that one of my acquaintances has or is using one of those programs, I'll shun you for life. True story.

Mobile - Haircuts

The Sergeant is getting a haircut. I wish I could have my hair cut for less than $10.

Mobile - Lunch

The Sergeant is on lunch break until 2:30pm. At Panera some random, middle-aged man asked The Sergeant his age and if he could kill his daughter. Southerners.

U.S. Army Ranks

U.S. Army Ranks

Eun: I was reading in the caf when 20 or 30 soldiers came in, and even though the rest of the caf was empty, they just had to sit where I was sitting and be loud. They filled up all of the tables along the wall and then sat down on the couch on either side of me. One of them was using the f-word.

The Sergeant: What rank were they?

Eun: I don't know, I didn't look.

TS: We need to teach you how to identify ranks.

Honor the Fallen - July

According to Honor the Fallen at Military Times, these are the following men who gave their lives for our freedoms this month:

Army Pfc. Ryan J. Grady, 25
Marine Cpl. Larry D. Harris, Jr., 24
Army Sgt. Jordan E. Tuttle, 22
Army Pfc. David A. Jefferson, 23
Air Force Capt. David A. Wisniewski, 31
Army Spc. Morganne M. McBeth, 19
Army Sgt. Johnny W. Lumpkin, 38
Army Pfc. Jacob A. Dennis, 22
Army Spc. Clayton D. McGarrah, 20
Army Sgt. Andrew J. Creighton, 23
Army Pfc. Edwin C. Wood, 18
Army SSG Christopher F. Cabacoy, 30
Army Spc. Louis R. Fastuca, 24
Army Spc. Keenan A. Cooper, 19
Army Spc. Jerod H. Osborne, 20
Army Spc. Roger Lee, 26
Army Pfc. Michael S. Pridham, 19
Army Pfc. Anthony W. Simmons, 25
Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel G. Raney, 21
Army Spc. Robert W. Crow, 42
Army Spc. Joseph W. Dimock II, 21
Army Sgt. Donald R. Edgerton, 33
Army SSG Jesse W. Ainsworth, 24
Army Sgt. Shaun M. Mittler, 32
Army Spc. Carlos J. Negron, 40
Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Roads, 20
Marine SSG Christopher J. Antonik, 29
Army Pfc. Nathaniel D. Garvin, 20
Army Spc. Christopher J. Moon, 20
Army 1st Lt. Christopher S. Goeke, 23
Army SSG Christopher T. Stout, 34
Army SSG Sheldon L. Tate, 27
Army Pvt. Brandon M. King, 23
Army Spc. Chase Stanley, 21
Army Spc. Matthew J. Johnson, 21
Army Spc. Jesse D. Reed, 26
Army Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher, 24
Army SSG Leston M. Winters, 30
Army SFC John H. Jarrell, 32
Marine Cpl. Dave M. Santos, 21
Marine SSG Justus S. Bartelt, 27
Army Sgt. Jesse R. Tilton, 23
Army Sgt. Matthew W. Weikert, 29
Army Sgt. Justin B. Allen, 23
Marine Gunnery Sgt. Christopher L. Eastman, 28
Marine Cpl. Joe L. Wrightsman, 23
Army 1st Lt. Robert N. Bennedsen, 25
Army Sgt. Anibal Santiago, 37
Army SSG Brian F. Piercy, 27
Marine Cpl. Paul J. Miller, 22
Marine Cpl. Julio Vargas, 23
Army 1st Lt. Michael L. Runyan
Marine Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41
Marine Maj. James M. Weis (according to Military Times, his age was 371. . . .)
Army Pfc. James J. Oquin
Army SSG Conrad A. Mora, 24
Army Spc. Joseph A. Bauer, 27
Army Sgt. Daniel Lim, 23

I list only names, ranks and ages because I've learned that the rest of the information is frequently unreliable (mainly the cause of death and location).

A Funny Story (Not Really)

A few evenings ago, I whacked my head off of the corner of the bedside table. Impossible, you say? Remember, this is the same woman who, in the darkness, in her own home, walked straight into the wall instead of the doorway. I ended up with an absolutely ginormous and incredibly painful lump right at my hairline on the left side of my forehead. It even bled a little. It looked pretty epic then, but now it's just a small bump with a scab. The end.

Also, future blog entries may be posted via mobile phone due to the cleaning staff and the fact that I'm chained to the desk because I have to use an ethernet cable. And I thought my college was the last place to acquire wireless Internet access.

Wounded Warrior Project

Have you donated to the Wounded Warrior Project yet? Honor and support a wounded warrior at WWP Proud Supporter.

Current: $55
Goal: $250

Not Ever

Asian Invasion

Another unusual (to me) aspect of military life is the high population of Asians, namely, Koreans. Apparently, soldiers stationed overseas marry Korean women, return to the States, and find themselves divorced after their Korean wives join the Korean clique and never bother to learn American customs. I first found out about this while at a local base in Pennsylvania. I was shopping in AAFES, sporting an Army jacket and carrying my purchases in a bag that clearly stated "AAFES" across the front. A soldier turned, saw me, and asked if I worked there. Wondering if this was really an example of the world's finest, I told him I didn't. I was later informed that a lot of Asians work at AAFES. It's now a running joke that I want to be a manager of AAFES some day. But, I digress. Less than a mile from base is a Korean dry cleaner, barber, store and restaurant. On base, I saw at least one Korean woman working in the hairdressing salon. One might think that I could actually pass for being a legit Korean in this environment. Not really.

For years, Korea has struggled with homogeneity. Read this article by the NYT if you don't believe me. Marrying outside the race is unpatriotic (but, having grown up in America, I obviously don't have that issue). Also, you don't have to have a Korean mother to have a Korean mother (which I've learned since patronizing the local Korean restaurant). Combine those two facts with the fact that I tend to glare when I'm infuriated. Actually, it's not just a glare -- my dad has dubbed it the Korean Death Ray. And I recently learned that I am not the only one capable of delivering such a look. Every Korean is born with such a capability. So. Combine the racism, the ajumas (older Korean women/mothers) and the Korean Death Ray, and then throw a Korean-American walking with a +6' Caucasian into the mix. It can get a bit dodgy.

For example, yesterday I was in AAFES with The Sergeant. We were preparing to leave when I spotted an ajuma (typically identifiable by their tight perms, use of pastels and socks with sandals). As she neared, I glanced up at her and noticed that her eyes were slowly roving from The Sergeant to me, and back again with the most miserable frown and KDR I've seen in a long time. Since The Sergeant has taken the liberty of telling me that the Asians stare at us quite frequently, I decided that I had had enough. Mustering my own KDR, the ajuma and I had a stare down as we approached. I'd like to add that I totally won -- she looked away at the last moment. That's right. Fasian = 1. Ajuma = 0.