Chillax

I never talk about current events/political crap as a rule - it's all a steaming heap of bollocks, but I'll chime in this time.  Today a small South Korean island got the shite shelled out of it.  I've never been to the island, but I've been to Deokjeok-do, a nearby island of similar size/population.  When I lived up in the mess that is Seoul, I went to this island 9 times.  Nine!  Why?  Well, apart from the great birding and beach campfire insanity, the island appealed to me because, like much of Jeju, it seemed to work on a different level than mainland Korea.  The people there drift slowly through a more simple existence, kinda like being in a Korea that may have existed 30-40 years ago.  I remember the 153 year-old lady who icily eyed me as I sat on her fence (birding of course) for 30 minutes, before coming over to me with a toothless smile and offering me what was probably the oldest piece of candy ever.  After talking with her about birds for a while, she allowed me to take her picture - after of course she adjusted her sweater to make sure she looked presentable.  Women.  Anyways, that's all I have to say about that.  It just sucks that a little island like this was shit-kicked in the name of whatever.

  Locally, I drove past the two small military outposts near Seogwipo's harbor, and instead of seeing the usual one (18 year-old pimply) guard leaning lazily in a guard hut, each boasted about 4-6 heavily-armed dudes.  They were standing near the gate, all twitchy and geared up.  The navy patrol boats in the harbor looked like they were getting set to put to sea.  Chillax.