Hey, I've been doing this for a whole year now!

So it's been a year. I started this project while preparing for a trip home to Seattle from Seoul. I was feeling the energy of the upcoming respite; I remember the excitement. A year ago today I most certainly woke up, prepared a glass of chocolate milk, then sat down in front of the computer where I probably stayed most of the day. That first entry confirms this, except it does say I completed some chores and it made me feel good. That's it. That's almost every day in Korea, it seems. (That's not true, but that's what it feels like.)

Today I started the day 14 floors above that intersection where I used to work, exercise, and bank. City Grind espresso below across the street. So busy, that little business; I think the two guys who own it must be rich by now. All the bike messengers in the city seem to stop there for coffee and conversation. Maybe they trade stories about their respective companies. (Who works for that company that makes its employees pull a trailer behind their bikes? Always see those poor fools huffing it up Madison.) I like to look at their helmets from up above. One guy sped by wearing a sleek red one that gradually turned nearly florescent yellow from front to back.

Leg day: squats, leg press, extension, curl, calves, and lower back.

Afterward I ate lunch at the sandwich shop below the club. Corporate America was out for grub, all dressed up in suits and big clunky jewelry like the kind sold at Nordstrom. Then walking downhill through the Columbia Tower, I saw a few reluctant recruits into the corporate culture: people who tamed long manes with skinny elastic bands and who rebelled in that marginally acceptable way of not ironing anything, not wearing ties, and allowing their black pants to fade to grey. There was a boy too, a new recruit or maybe an intern who looked like he could be the poster child for Abercrombie&Fitch. He laughed with his coworkers over lunch, his long blonde bangs cast out of his eyes with one quick flick of his neck.

A few blocks below, on First, tourists hogged the sidewalks. I hate them: here every summer, walking slowly, pushing strollers, stopping to take pictures of Hammering Man (or whatever he's called). I shopped in places they don't go, but didn't find the thing I was looking for. And then it was time to catch the bus.

Instead I just waited for it. (At least Seoul doesn't even pretend keep schedules.)

The thing about buses here is that they just aren't that interesting. Not enough people ride them to really make for good entertainment possibilities (except maybe on 70's series). Mostly, they just go slow and stop too often. I miss the aggressiveness of Seoul bus drivers, guys who drive like the big ole bus is an extension of themselves. They know instinctively the clearances of the bus which allows them to maintain the same speed regardless of the proximity of other vehicles.

Slowly and safely to Fremont for summer camp. I was on time but camp counselor was late! The office was locked and there were no seats so I had to loiter with a homeless guy among the large planters in the courtyard of the building. A drunk guy, who was apparently a deliveryman, came up and spoke to both of us before continuing on to the bathroom.

Later I fueled up at a nearby café before waiting again for the bus. Finished shopping when I got back downtown. Waited again.

All this made me tired. It did. It's the bus. I thought about it and decided that no matter where I am, if I have to ride buses all day, I get tired. More tired in Seoul because of the extended distances, the oppressive pollution, and all those people. Still, it's not worth it. Better to ride my bike.