261

Three bottles of soju, 45 drinking yogurts, two cups of ramen, fake Doritos, an external hard drive full of movies, two girls hiding from the minus-degrees wind chill on Saturday, and Korea: ingredients needed for verrrry advanced scientific drink-mixing experiments. Nisha and I attempted a successful mimic of the tasty yogurt soju concoction we tried one time in Gangnam.

262

Jennifer and Lucy gettin down, showin me their "I Love Alex Teacher!" dance.

263

There was a kimchi harvest at school on Friday. We savored its delicious red pepper burn with an entire roast pig in the teacher's room off of large community-style plates (none of that individual nonsense).

264

What Seoul's Times Square Christmas would look like being flushed down a Southern Hemisphere toilet.

265!

South Korea's spine.

266

Soberly strollin thru Dangsan Park on the way to Saturday afternoon Oktoberfest debauchery.

267

Sometime after Seoul Homebrew Oktoberfest and 30,000 won for AYCD, against my better judgment, I went outside and started taking pictures. Nothing more needs to be said about this incident.

268

I spy with my little eye ... three things Koreans LOOOOOVE: 1) stairs in the woods 2) using trekking poles on the stairs in the woods, and 3) hi-mountain-fa$hion North Face/Mamut/K2 water/wind/ice/freezing rain/cowboy/ninja/bear/North Korean missile-proof jackets pants boots gloves ear warmers scarves hot water packs. Actually, #3 could come in handy dandy these days.

269

In the temple at the bottom of Bokansan National Park.

270

A percussion seahorse bike made from chicken wire, fabric scraps, egg cartons, and spray paint? Wait, am I at Burning Man or the Hi Seoul Festival?

271

Somewhere in the middle of a brisk (weather, certainly not pace) hike in Bokhansan National Park, we nearly stumbled upon the razor wire, in place to dissuade hikers from rolling down the hill in childish glee?

272

Steven, age 7, future Star Craft World Champion.

273

If you squint yer eyes reaaal tight-like, consume a handful of psychedelic mushrooms, and imagine Kim Jong Il in his aviators cruising around his 675 square miles of golf course behind his 775-gold-toileted mansion, you can see North Korea somewhere in that string of lights.

274

The River Kwai, and the bridge that goes over it in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.

275

Korean dude gettin down while his partner practices turning doorknobs on doors for giants. And a hula hoop. Near the Eco Bridge in Seoul.

hannah's.

276

Ben's.

277

I reckon this be Woz's kitchen. Who else would make notes to herself on the backsplash in Sharpie, and buy kitchen accessories to match her clothes, then build a bike to match her everything?

woz or yuna's.

278

Beachside Bungalow in Ko Phangan, Thailand at Ibiza guest house for 250 baht per night (about $8).

Carriacou reallllly spoiled me for beaches (and other things); I thought this one sucked cause it was too hot & shallow. What kind of brat complains about a tropical beach sucking?! Wait, I'll tell you! The kind who lived two meters from the most beautiful, pristine, crystal-clear, deserted Caribbean Seaside, teeming with colorful fish and other creatures, coconut trees, mangroves, iguana, hawksbill/leatherback/green turtles for two years. Soon as we figure out how to fund it, we're startin a school there...in Carriacou, NOT Thailand. Who's in!?!?!???

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.