I'm back from my trip.

I just got back to Incheon to my trip and guess where I'm at?  That's right, the fucking PC bang because I'm a really cool guy.  It's not the first place where I went after getting here.  That honor goes to Burger King.  Anyway, I'll tell you more about my trip a little later because right now, Diablo II is calling.

Lee Soo Yeon is one of my heroes.

So, she's a professional table tennis player born in Korea.  She has a pretty long list of accomplishments and she's currently coaching in the United States.  I like the way she plays and her matches are fairly exciting, but the best part about her is that she's also a fashion model.  Here's a video where she's playing ping pong in a mini-skirt and heels.  She's definitely one badass bitch.

Sooyeon from SPiN New York on Vimeo.

Check this out.

Read this article by my buddy Andrew Leonard for the California Beat.  It's on the Yongsan Electronics Market here in Seoul.  Most importantly, check out the last paragraph.

Ping-pong lessons start today.

I'm so fucking excited.  In about 8 hours, I will be on my way to becoming a professional table tennis player.  I didn't ask him last time, but I'm hoping that he has gear that I can buy at the place.  I would like to buy my own paddle.  Maybe I'll even get a uniform.  That would be fucking sweet.

Tae Kwon Do!? Fuck that shit...

I'm going to take lessons in something useful instead, like ping-pong.

I just signed up for lessons.  The gym [or dojo as I am going to call it] is about a 15 minute walk from my house.  The only reason I decided to do this is because I want to leave Korea with one awesome skill.  My buddy, Ian, used to take lessons at the place I'm going to and he said it's pretty legit.  The guy speaks English to some extent, although when I walked in with Ian today he asked us if we wanted to "ping-pong duel" each other.  It should be okay since I should be able to get by with my minimal Korean.  I was able to discuss when I wanted to go and all that.  I'll be going three days a week.  Each lesson will be an hour.  The lessons are later than I wanted, 10PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but it'll be fine.  If anything, it'll keep me away from the weekday drinking.  I also have lessons on Sundays at 3PM, so I'll be getting some exercise instead of just bumming around and eating pizza like I usually do.

I'm regretting that I decided to do this so late in my contract, since I can really only take lessons for the month of July because I'll be on vacation for half of August.  I'm still looking forward to it though.  It's the most active sport that I'm going to get into since I quit baseball in high school.  You know, since I really enjoy bowling, darts, and competitive videogaming, which make up the trifecta of pseudo-sports.

What I learned in Korean today:

Hangul/Pronunciation

• 탁구 ë°°ìš°ê³  싶어요/tak-gu bae-oo-go ship-eo-yo

Translation

• I want to learn how to play ping-pong.

I'm going to sign up for lessons next week at the place in my neighborhood.

I think mammoths are badass.

The Korean network, EBS (Education Broadcasting Company), is going to have a three part documentary on mammoths. It's airing next week. Check for more information in the article. I think the reason I'm so excited is that I actually enjoy nature shows even though I can't understand anything they're saying. They're also using computer graphic images and the picture on the site looks like it's well made.

This Korean dude married his pillow.

This isn't the first story of its kind. There was that dude who married a character on his DS (badass). However, I want to be friends with a dude like this. No joke. Not because I know he'd be super interesting and shit, but so I could attend the wedding. Like how awesome would it to be that dude's best man?

I'm actually waiting for some chick to do this in the near future but with one of these.

Fuck sharks with lasers, this is way cooler.

According to this L.A. Times article, scientists have been tracking great white sharks and have found that they migrate away from the coast. The scientists believe that the sharks may be migrating just to hunt giant squid. If you don't know anything about giant squid, they're estimated to be about 40 feet. A great white is about 20 feet and the largest predatory fish. One of these actually killing the other IS FUCKING BADASS. Seriously, no matter how you imagine it in your head, you can't really think it would be anything but awesome.