Wednesday 28 January 2009

Claw machines, scooters, SPAM, and a stolen bike





























I used to be a predator at the claw machines, pulling out lighters at will. Sadly, my clawing skills have atrophied during my time away, and all of my claws came up empty. We pumped way too much money into this particular one.
B-dawgs was nice enough to let me drive his little 125cc scoot around. Nice! I loved my scooter in Taiwan, and I miss her. I have to get one on Jeju, soon. B's helmet was large, but of course it didn't fit my misshapen melon. I was once told by a wincing and apologetic Taiwanese helmet monger that my head was too 'long' to fit inside the available helmets. I ended up settling for a special Great Gazoo helmet.
SPAM is still given as a gift on special occasions in Korea. I suspect it holds a special place for older Koreans, as it was probably the only meat widely available right after the Korean war.
When I left Ilsan I left my old bike for T-bagz, but he never bothered to get it. As we walked by my old apartment (BoBo County, great name), I checked to see if it was still there. Gone. The next day, I walked by a beat up white Alton chained to a post. I stared at it for a while. It was my bike. Ilsan is not a tiny city, so the odds of this happening, especially a year later, are pretty small. I toyed with the idea of waiting around to confront the new owner, but in the end I figured it looked like my old ride was getting well-cared for, so whatever. It was a piece of crap anyways. I paid 100$ for it new, but then I basically bought it again piece by piece, as each component failed in turn.

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