Adventures...in food ordering!

So everyone is pretty tired, and after a day of walking the area and shopping at the Hyundai Store (I know, that is what I drive, but this is a 12-story high-class store that puts malls to shame), it was time to eat. Klay and Kristy crapped out, and ordered some bulgogi (meat and rice) from a vendor and later regreted it. Ate in the room.

But Max, he just had to eat a fish. About a block from the guest house was this little place that had a fish tank out front. Your usual assortment of puffer fish, sea slugs, octopus, and flounder. And Max just had to have a flounder. So, heck, I took him to eat it. We went in...not many people there, and when we got the attention of the waitress, we took her out and pointed to fish. She smiled -- the only language we had -- and we went in and sat down. Here came bowls of seaweed soup, cabbage, red paste, and lettuce.

Then came the fish -- a beautiful whole flounder on a bed of glass noodles...raw. Yes, looking around, we noticed that this was a raw place. Not a cooked fish in the house. Well, it was sushimied rather nicely, but it was still a bit chewy.

But Max was a gamer, and we went after that thing. The soup, the fish, and the 5 little bird eggs that came with it...

We left some of the fish as we left, and it mortified the ladies there...they quickly scooped it up and took 10 minutes packaging it up into a wonderful little dinner box. As we were going out, Max had it right..."next time, dad, look around for a stove before we order our food."

June 4th.

My birthday...got up at 5:30, which wasn't hard because it gets light at about 5 a.m. Was going on my 50th birthday run. Streets were still quiet. I was just getting started when behind me was a great crash/honking/skid sound.

It had to happen. Tons of motorcycle delivery guys are around...streets, sidewalks, alleys. Keep your head on a swivel, like they tell linebackers. One was lying in the street, his shoes about 10 feet away and a big bike laying on him. I went out into the middle of the street, and gave him a good "you OK, buddy?" in englsih, of course. As I started to pull the bike off of him, he flips open his helmet visor..guy was about 80 years old. Still working the streets. He got his shoes on him, and as the cars were gathering around/speeding past and acting irritated that this guy was lying in the street. He stands up and together we push the bike to the sidwalk. Thing was beat up, but he wasn't going act hurt.

Man, these guys over hear are tough....like the saying you see around here, "when your house burns down, pick up the nails."

the rest of the run was a run to the top of a mountain in the middle of the city behind Yonsei University...where I had gone 10 years agoe when we came to get Klay. More on that place later.

Tonight? hamburgers, per the boys' request. What the heck, got to pace ourselves on the raw fish thing....