279

Dear Sacramento,

How do I miss thee? Let me count the ways ...

1. Megan.

1. Colin.

1. Mike.

1. Ellipses.

5. BodyTribe.

6. $2 Tuesday IPA at the Roob.

7. Game Night at Dave & Mel's; Game Night at Gideon's.

8. Foxy Goose.

9. The SUPA Crew, pre-Peace Corps adventures, especially the ones who visited me on the island (*ahem* Roxie & Babs!) and/or sent me sweet packages full of treats from Trader Joe's (*ahem* Michelle!).

10. The Bee, but only for the comix & puzzles.

11. Dad's, Andy Nguyen's, that Mexican place on Alhambra next to Safeway, & Hot Italian.

12. Your proximity to my family.

13. South Side (especially the Universal Universe) & McKinley.

See ya 'round, Old Friend.

All the love in my heart,

ali

280

That's Yuna, morphing into Magic Eye Vision Mode.

(Lindsay's? Jack's? Ben's?)

281

Dismal afternoon lighting in Bangkok with a camera that kicked the bucket 14 hours later. R.I.P., Old Bricky. You lived & mostly functioned far beyond your factory's intended capacity for picture-takin. So long, and, thanks for all the fish-photos!

282

Daejon Halloween Hat 2010 champions! Yeah, Grey, all skill levels represented and you still came out on top (T.w.s.s.!). Way to captain, Wozzzz >< (This was not my team, btw.)

woz/yuna's.

283

Inspired by Rob's sweet Halloween '08 design, & encouraged by Sean to duplicate. Thanks, boys! Koreans in Daejon loved it so much, they were stopping me in the streets to take pictures... first alone, then beside me. Hmm, on second thought, maybe they were just using Halloween as an excuse for height, etc. comparison ...

Woz/Yuna's.

284

After an 8-hour bus ride and a 6-hour layover starting at 2 am at the ferry dock, other travelers and I finally boarded the world's jankiest ferry to Ko Tao, Thailand, where the endless harassment continued. This time, the Thais solicited PADI open water dive licenses, dive/bungalow packages, and a free! scooter/taxi ride to the dive shop! Finally, I sucked it up and picked one with a particularly attractive fun dive/accommodation deal, just to get them off my back. I found out he earned a paltry 100 baht bonus (about $3) for every tourist he brought to Big Bubble (and who later agreed to the 3,000 baht PADI license course or an 800-baht fun dive or ten), which I probably should have just handed him myself when the dive instructor insisted on a refresher course; I hadn't been diving in a year. She claimed that every shop on the island would say the same, which, had I been semi-functional after 36 hours of traveling and approximately 3 combined hours of sleep, would have been the first clue that these people just wanted my money... a cue to turn on my heel and find a bed immediately. My refresher course cost 166% more than a single fun dive, and wasted both my time and the time of the dive master guiding the course. After being personally PADI Advanced Open Water trained, one-on-one, by JP, at Lumbadive, and then accompanied by he or Clair on 16 dives, a year doesn't seem long. And they have set an unattainable standard, which will leave me disappointed and unfulfilled on every subsequent dive I make anywhere else. Thailand is bad. Dive shops in which JP & Clair are not involved are worse. Therefore, diving in Thailand can go right to hell.

285

From a tuktuk somewhere in Bangkok, July 2010.

286

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm couchsurfer's last night in seoul before Kuala Lumpur, goin' B.i.G., Korean-style.

287

At the Museum of Contemporary Art, near Sadang Station.

Sean's.

288

Korean wedding, Vegas-style.