I just had to make the best out of it. We all had to complete a 9-kilometer run this fall at a company event. Although I always have trouble running because of my flat feet, this place made it less painful for me!
(The road full of gingko trees in Misari)
(Runners warming up)
The Misari Motorboat Racing Park in Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province, which is just a few minutes from the province's boundary with Seoul, was the venue for the 1988 Seoul Olympics rowing events.
(Running with a view)
(Kids on a field trip in Misari)
With a man-made lake in the middle, it's actually a cool place to stroll around especially on a cool autumn day.
But unfortunately, I am no Olympian and I had no time to lazily stroll around this huge venue. I had to run like the rest of the pack! And run I did!
(The last thousand meters)
In my hours spent in my neighborhood gym in Hannam-dong, I would just brisk-walk on the treadmill watching CSI shows on the treadmill TV. My regular goal was to solve the crime, not to lose weight. Ha-ha-ha! But that day, in Hanam City, there wouldn't be any TV series to entertain me, but the whole autumn foliage and fresh air of the Korean countryside.
I hadn't subjected my legs to running non-stop for an hour, but this surprise test of endurance gladly didn't cause any injury, although I saw one runner being carried off on a stretcher. He was lucky; an ambulance and a medical team were on standby.
(Lunch!)
(The view of the autumn blue sky from my spot)
And in an hour, the nine-kilometer torture was over: a few photos, a few slowdowns and one water stop. On hard road, on dirt and on foot!
After the run, everyone had to replenish our spent energy through packed lunches among the the autumn foliage. Joining my colleagues, I just sat under a tree, thankful that I was able to finally bend my legs and rest my butt on the ground, and not anymore chasing my breath around the park.
And while everyone was away entertaining themselves with performances after the race, I just laid down on the cold grass under the blue autumn skies and enjoyed the free afternoon before a scheduled dinner.
(Going home)
After that, I roamed around the park once more, strolling this time, and ventured into the elevated mound to enjoy the view of the mountains beyond the fields of Misa-dong, bringing with me my camera, a hopia and a Mary Grace ensaimada for snacks. Ha-ha-ha! I didn't have time to smell the roses earlier, so to speak. Now, I finally did.
(Hopia!)
(My Mary Grace ensaimada)
And when the afternoon ended, we all rode off to the Friday afternoon sunset and to Songpa-gu's commercial district for dinner, where I had the best galbi ever! I realized all the calories I lost while running in the morning were all back at dinner time! Ha-ha-ha!
The galbi they deserved was soft and tender, and its flavor has a very subtle hint of sweetness and saltiness, not one overwhelming the other. An order was pricey, but it was worth the enjoyment! No wonder they're in the Zagat list.This was so much better than the galbi served at that over-rated galbi restaurant in Itaewon. And the service was very good, too! The Korean ajummas serving were very accommodating and helpful.
Oh, well. I didn't win any Olympic medal that day, but at least my efforts were rewarded by the scenic view of the Korean countryside in the fall and by a fabulous galbi treat!
(Crossing the Hannam Bridge on a bus)
A couple of weeks back, my good friend Woosung promised to share with me a hundred Korean ballads, which he enjoys in his phone. I told him some of these K-pop songs we hear everywhere can be irritating. It was time to listen to slow, real music. He then told me he would be happy to share them!
(Gangnam!)
And today, a chilly Saturday, I crossed the Han River to meet up with him in Gangnam as I needed to get from him a USB full of Korean ballads. We agreed to meet up at a cafe, which I heard of but never been to: the CNN Cafe!
Every morning, when I turn on the TV, I always make sure it's CNN News I hear when I roam my apartment to prepare for the day. It's always a good start for me to be updated with what's happening around the world. And today, I had another excuse to cross the river and spend a lazy afternoon in a cafe which just doesn't serve breaking news, it also serves iced cafe mocha!
(The view of Gangnam street from the cafe window)
CNN Cafe in Gangnam (I think they have another branch somewhere) is just a few meters from Exit 11 of Gangnam Station, and it's on the second floor next to the YBM entrance. I felt immediately comfortable when I entered: the place is spacious with lots of tables, seats by the window, electrical outlets everywhere, a couple of desktop computers that one can use for free and of course, a flat-screen TV showing, what else, CNN News!
A few minutes after I got there, Woosung came with a gift of a hundred songs! Thank you, Woosung! Now, my ears won't be tortured anymore by these K-pop songs. Ha-ha-ha!
As he told me earlier he couldn't stay for long and had to be somewhere else, I wanted to spend a couple of hours in the cafe to continue reading a controversial autobiography of an ageing Philippine politician that my friend Fay bought for me in Manila, and especially handcarried by another friend, Cielo, to Seoul. (Thank you, Fay and Cielo!) Since most of the customers around me were studying and reading, I decided to join the club. The dinner birthday party of another friend was still a few hours away; I still had time to spend with a book, an iced cafe mocha and CNN.
I think I liked it here, if only their iced cafe mocha was in a bigger cup. CNN's news coverage is always impressive, but their coffee was not, actually. Their cafe is actually more conducive to studying and reading, and not for an after-lunch chatting with friends. After all, next door is an educational center.
(A typical Gangnam afternoon traffic)
I hope to visit CNN Cafe some other time when I cross the river. Maybe to read. Maybe to blog. Or maybe to meet up with a friend who's sharing another hundred songs with me again. Ha-ha-ha!
(Crossing the street to take a bus on
my way back to Hannam-dong)
(Warning: Not so wholesome photographs ahead. For the squeamish, please cover one eye when you scroll down).
It happened one lazy autumn Saturday morning just like this one.
It was around 10 AM, I just woke up, but my common sense was still asleep. I was doing some chores cleaning and trying to warm up when I ventured into the sink and tried to clean my drinking glass. I sometimes see people cleaning the dishes with rubber gloves, but not me. I think I have a pair somewhere, but putting it on when I only have a few items to wash was not part of my regular cleaning ceremony. So, I held the glass with my left hand while my right, which was too big for the mouth of the glass, was inside trying to wipe away any smudge inside under running water when...CRACK! The glass broke and multiplied!
It broke while my hand was inside! I think it was then fair to conclude that, just like promises, glasses are made to be broken. Ha-ha-ha!
My left hand immediately dropped the broken glass (or whatever was left of it) on the sink. I then held my wet right hand up with my left and did the next inevitable thing: UTTER PROFANITIES!! Ha-ha-ha!
It was then that common sense woke up!
I felt something on the side of the pinky and at first, I could not see it. So, I momentarily wished that it would be like a scratch and a strip would just do the trick. But when I turned my hand around, I could see a slice and blood was just dropping down the sink, mixing with water and suds from my Pure dishwashing liquid which I bought from E-Mart.
"Jeeez. What the f-ck was I thinking?"
The Korean Red Cross would chastise me for wasting this precious Type-O blood. I haven't even visited them to donate again. And now this? Wasting blood on a lazy Saturday morning?
I stood there for a minute, not moving, just thinking in front of my sink, still in my pajamas with both hands not being to do anything else but console each other. And "Jeeeez" again.
I realized I had no choice but to run to the Soonchungyang Hospital, which is just about 200 to 250 meters from my apartment. All I needed to do was to get rid of the pajamas and just wear the easiest thing: my jogging gear. I already had a sweater on. Luckily, I was able to wash my face and brush my teeth upon awakening. I was ready for the outside world with a clean face and a fresh breath. Ha-ha-ha!
So, after getting rid of the pajamas, I slowly put on on my jogging pants. I then grabbed my wallet, my cellphone and my house key, while pressing the wound with a paper towel! And the emergency journey of a thousand steps began with an elevator ride down. As I walked out of the building, I decided to take a cab. There would be a few pedestrian lanes to cross and I didn't want to be dripping along the way.
Luckily, it was a Saturday morning with taxis were available everywhere. As soon as I got into the cab and told the driver where I wanted to go, he must have immediately thought something was wrong with this passenger in a track suit. His freakin' destination is just on the opposite side of the Hannam-dong intersection! If he drove through a green light, his orange cab would be at the hospital in 30 seconds. And we were there, right at the driveway of the Soonchunyang Hospital in less than a minute.
And as I was swiping my credit card through his T-Money swipe box with both hands to pay for the short ride, he turned around and asked me if I was okay. I told him I was bleeding. I wasn't sure if he understood, but I had a feeling he must have said, "You'll live".
I immediately got off his cab and casually walked into the emergency room. Upon entering, I showed a female doctor what was underneath the paper towel wet with Type-O blood: the result of carelessness and stupidity in one slice. She showed me in and had me seated on a bed, right next to a Korean woman who was lying down eyes closed, also in her track suit, and being attended to by a couple of doctors. Gosh, I realized her case was worse. Her right eye brow was being stitched!
And being a nosy patient, I asked the doctor what happened to my neighbor. She said the woman's wound was from her keys. I guess I wasn't the only one careless that morning. And as soon as my left hand got freed, it was time to take pictures! This rare case of being in an emergency room and those drops of blood weren't going to waste! I had to blog about this! Of course, with gory photos to boot! Ha-ha-ha!
(Eeeww! I squirm every time I see
this picture, too. Ha-ha-ha!)
(Another 'eeewww'! She's looking underneath the sliced skin)
I felt better and relaxed when the medical team (yes, at least two medical practitioners attended to this 1.5- centimeter wound) started to do their job. They examined it, cleaned it and x-rayed it! They said they had to be sure no broken glass was left inside. That means 100% of it was still left on my kitchen sink waiting for my Saturday housekeeping to continue.
(A doctor showing off his sewing skills on
my dainty right hand skin)
After the x-ray, a male doctor injected my hand with anesthesia saying I needed it to block out the pain. He would be closing back my skin in six nylon stitches. Hmmm. I never learned how to sew in my life. This was the time to watch and learn. Ha-ha-ha!
(Ta-daaah! All stiched up!)
After the sitching, I was made to wait as they still needed to inject me with antibiotics to make sure no infection would set in as a precaution. Disaster was now over.
I was glad I lived near a hospital. I could just imagine what would have happened if I didn't: more blood spilt along the way!
I am thankful to the medical team who attended to me at the emergency room of the Soonchungyang Hospital in Hannam-dong. I wasn't able to get their names.
I was required to visit the hospital every three days to re-dress the wound, and guess what. It had to be a plastic surgeon who should do this petty dressing! Wow. And I only thought they only do noses and breasts. Ha-ha-ha!
(My sliced right hand visited a plastic surgeon!
First time in my life!)
(My bandaged right hand couldn't be stopped from partying. Tonight, it was in Itaewon!)
In the 1992, Dewi Sukarno slashed Minnie Osmena's face with a wine glass in Aspen, Colorado. I heard she needed 37 stitches. But when I met Minnie Osmena a few years after that at her home in an exclusive village in Makati City, Philippines, I didn't see a trace of that slash. "Gosh", I said to myself, "her plastic surgeon must have been very good!" (Minnie was flying to Cebu City and I went to her home to ask her to bring some goodies for her sister who lived there.)
But in 2012, no face was slashed in Hannan-dong in Seoul. And no wine glass was involved either. Only a smudgy drinking glass. Ha-ha-ha!
And just like Minnie's, this wound was attended to by a plastic surgeon (as if!) and will definitely heal, too. But it's the lesson I learned that day that would remind me every time I clean my drinking glass: use a better dishwashing liquid! Ha-ha-ha!
Be careful, everyone!
(On an early autumn morning,
the final bandage was on the way work!)
