Let me begin by saying welcome back to MJ's blog. I must apologize for not updating this sucker in quite awhile. I'll follow that apology with a sincere thank you for your return. With no more digression, let IT begin...again...
So much has happened since the last time I've been on here and I ask myself "Why haven't I posted any of it?" I think that the most logical answer to this is that things that had once seemed unique have become sadly routine and, frankly, unimpressive. But something unique did happen to me recently. In fact, it happened two days ago!
My social life in Korea has taken a mediocre boost with my acquiring a few key pieces of technology: my cell phone and lap top. I hang out with some really neat Koreans in my area, that aren't forty years old. One is a preciously adorable girl named Sarah and her close life long friend, Jungu (for those of you not familiar with Korean names that is indeed a man's name). Lately, we had gone to malls together, saw the Christmas Carol and had SEVERAL meals together.
Two nights ago was Sunday night and I had no plans and was very ambitious to find something to do. I texted (it's an amazing new verb meaning: to text. Yes, I just changed a noun to a verb! [Language is FUN!]) Sarah to see if she wanted to go see a movie. She made the clever suggestion to go see a movie at a DVD Bang (pronounced BONG). You've heard me talk about PC Bangs before; that is where I had written all of my previous posts. Well here is your first lesson in Korean: bang means "room." So when I say DVD Bang I literally mean a DVD Room. Whatever you're imagining is probably more right than you even know.
We took our time deciding on which DVD Bang was most worthy of our 13,000 won. We decided on one and headed on up.
Entering the place of business we were greeted with an assortment of His/Her slippers to put on for the duration of our stay. The shoes that had got us there, we locked up in miniature lockers. In front us stood a huge wall of movies to choose from. All sorts of titles: Korean, American, and Japanese. I was overwhelmed, how am I suppose to pick a movie from a selection of three countries and languages?! I narrowed my decision to picking a Korean movie since I hadn't experience that side of this country's culture. Sarah picked out the three titles she thought were most popular and famous in Korea. I decided in the same style I always do: fate, by a flip of a coin. That inescapable fate lead me, ironically, to Old Boy. Old Boy is a film littered with metaphors of fate, destiny and unavoidable tragedy.
With our selection we payed and were told we could have as much of the treats in the lobby: pretzels!, ice cream!, crazy Korean snack-like cookies!! Needless to say I loaded up; If I'm paying for something I want to get my money's worth, eh?
We walked into the room and I immediately came to the conclusion that the people working at this place were probably certain we'd be, to borrow a term from Catcher in the Rye, "necking" all through the movie.
The room was perhaps 12ft. by 6ft. with the screen at one end and the projector above our heads. Between the two walls was nothing but a mattress and enough pillows to create another mattress. This room was made for getting down to business, I couldn't help but think perhaps Sarah is sending me a message, or maybe I to her since I picked this particular location. Either way, mixed signals were clouding the air. (Foreshadowing???)
The movie began and I have to say that Old Boy is a great film, depressing but GREAT. I would highly recommend it to everyone I know. It has more twists than M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, 6th Sense and The Village COMBINED! It's filled with a multitude of great quotes
such as "Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone" and "Sand or Stone they sink
just the same" both quotes which hold deep meanings in the movie and with the night ahead.
The movie ended in tragic fashion but would not have been as good otherwise.
Sarah and I got ice cream then decided to walk her home.
Okay, I'm going to bear my soul to all of you for two reasons now. I'm not lonely here and I'm not
desperate for any relationships, as any of you who have known me already well know that I'm happiest
alone. But, I owe a tale to make up for my lack of dedication to this blog and for making you read this
much of a story. Your obviously holding out for some sort of a kicker. Well here it comes, I hope your wearing a
cup.
I walked Sarah home, which is about fifteen minutes on foot away from where I live. It's not a bad walk, one way
which is down hill, not to mention its a damn cold night. We talked the whole way back and were sharing
our thoughts on different movies, steroids, computers, etc... it was a long walk. At the end of this walk
I always ask myself the same stupid question, "is she expecting something from me?" Traditionally, the
many times I had walked her back before I had always just waved goodbye and left, without even a hug.
But, this time was different.
Everyone has been in this position (God I hope I'm not the only one!): You have the feeling someone likes
you but because of a mutual shyness neither can ever tell for sure or not. Usually, one will perform a series
of experiments i.e. strategic gestures of affections (hugs, arm touches, sheltering...), ask questions, do anything
to get a read on the opposite individual. Well, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures and some
of us dive in head first not knowing how deep or shallow the the water was.
The water was no thicker than the surface in my case.
I jumped in and received the dreaded head pull-back in repulsion. If you think that's shameful, imagine the yelp
of shock she let out! Ha, all I could do was laugh my ass off, literally. I saw the scene from her point of view,
mine and omniscient perspective all that the same time and all three were hilarious beyond containment. I
said goodbye and left cracking up. All the way home, 15 minutes of it, uphill, in the cold, one thing went
through my head constantly, "laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." And, like Old
Boy, this night would not have been as good of a story to tell had it ended any other way.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm back!
P.S. Sorry the writing isn't as good, I'm rusty.
