Sickness, Zombies, and Video Games; or "Someone Throw Me Into a Swimming Pool of Antibiotics...or a Giant Margarita"

It’s been five days since I contracted some form of viral plague. I’m not entirely certain what it is, as my doctor (the veritable Dr. Choi; quiet man, comfy slippers) initially said I had a strain of the flu, but then later changed the prognosis to a larynx/throat/lung infection. It’s entirely possible it could be an early form of pneumonia as well. On Friday, it got so bad that the doctor had to put me on a bed and run an IV through my arm for a couple of hours. I’ve never had that before; I guess you could say it was very exciting, but I’m in no mood to be very excited. I just want my damn health back, and the desire to breathe without simultaneously praying for death. As a consequence of my ailment, I’ve been confined to my shoebox for the next two days, having already spent the weekend here already. Some good has come out of this, though. It turns out that one of my co-teachers whipped up the absolute BEST homemade chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had in my life. It was like a wet dream with chicken broth…and penne pasta.

A Shot Seen Around the …Doctor’s Lobby

So after I’m done visiting with Dr. Slippers, I’m escorted into an adjacent waiting room by the nurse who would inject me with a delightful needle filled with…I don’t know, anti-sick shit. Anyway, she gestures to me to drop my pants, as she would storm the Bastille from behind; I comply, not caring one bit that she had to look at my wrinkly pathetic patooty (the thing is flatter than Sarah Palin’s view of planet Earth). She popped it in, pulled out, and gave me a little square wipe to press the spot so the minimal bleeding would quickly dissipate. Just as she handed off the wipe, the nurse flung open the door and walked out without closing it behind her. As I turned around to look for her, I saw a lobby filled with Korean women (and their children) staring at my bare and bony ass. Some were shocked, others were amused, and at least one turned away (presumably in horror?). I rushed to pull up my jeans, but by then the damage had been done.

Zombies in America

I was talking with a friend of mine a few weeks ago on the state of affairs of American/Western society. He had an interesting commentary on how things are at the moment: we’re a nation of zombies. In the last 10 or so years, there’s been a major rebirth of zombie- related films (Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, ZombieLand), and he posited that it was no coincidence. We are also hooked into some sort of corporatized Stockholm Syndrome, he argued, where we have allowed ourselves to become a captive audience to the forces that be – our government, our companies, etc. At first, I thought he was being a bit far fetched in his ideas. But the more I think about it, the more I agree. The first example that I can think of in this new millennium is the 2000 election debacle, in which the man that won the election – in both Florida and nationally – did not actually become president. There were no real mass protests or demonstrations at the blatant punch in the face of democracy, or at the abortion of a Supreme Court decision that gave us George W. Bush as President. But throw in the Iraq War (no reason to go, and it was a popularly-support war), declining wages, loss of jobs, economic stagflation for most people coupled with prosperity for the upper crust of society over the last ten years, and the near-destruction of the economy due to greedy bastards on Wall Street, and what should you have? Mass public participation in economic, political, and social fourms. People should be fighting for their livelihoods and right to live in dignity; instead, it seems we’ve castrated ourselves by believing in the false narratives of a corrupt oligarchic political-economic system. Most people understand that the heads of Pfizer, Bank of America, Delta Airlines, virtually every Wall Street financial firm, etc. don’t give a rats ass about them, but we’re all too comatose to do anything about it. The fact that there weren’t mass arrests in the 10005 zip code after the meltdown is really disheartening.

Congress isn’t much better, as a bunch of Republican deuchbags – one Sen. McFartyPants is particularly deuchy for his sanity-bankrupt stance on DADT – are currently holding up all legislation until we extend taxcuts for income earners of over $250,000,  while at the same time balking at extending unemployment benefits during the worst economic period in the history of ever (except the Great Depression; that was mad depressing). Whose interests do you think they really have in mind? Further, we’ve been talking about the supposed insolvency of Social Security so much that you’d think it’s going to break down tomorrow; it’s not. It’s one of the greatest scams that’s being hoodwinked over people. A few adjustments in the system makes it solvent; one of the biggest adjustments would be to eliminate the ceiling at which payroll taxes are deducted, currently at $108K/yr.

So our economic and political systems are largely ineffective (and arguably hostile) to the needs and wellbeing of most Americans, instead serving the interests of a few at the expense of everyone else. But what of our societal pursuits? What are we doing in the realm of music, art, film, culture, that kind of shit, etc. that’s advancing the cause of our common humanity? Perhaps this donut pizza, accompanied by awful beer, can lead us to some answers.

We’re Doomed.

On the Lighter Side…

Click here for hilarity.

Losing Interest in Things That Were Once Relevant; or “Flight Simulator Bores the Hell Out of Me”

I spend a fair amount of my free time playing various video games, mostly Flight Simulator and a modified computer version of Madden (programmed with 2010 rosters and bother bells/whistles). For a long time, I took a sense of enjoyment in these games and others. But lately, it seems that playing those games serves no purpose other than to fry my brain cells; besides, the 49ers can only win so many consecutive SuperBowls before I realize I’m playing through a game-world that could never see its replication in real life (they’d be lucky to hit 8-8 this season, like every other season). I guess this is part of growing up, losing interest in things that once peaked your imagination and enjoyment. Aviation in general seems to be a losing love for me, something I never thought would happen. Yet the industry has been severely tattered in recent years, with labor relations going to hell, airlines merging left and right, and new aircraft concepts looking like sterile mule-child experiments. I’ve taken a greater interest in reading lately, mostly in terms of news and blogs. I didn’t follow current events all that extensively up until last June, when I first arrived in Korea. I guess mindless forms of entertainment – be they videogames, endless drinking binges, voting Republican, etc. –  can serve a purpose of escapism that itself needs to be escaped from.

In some ways, I’m starting to think that my gauntlet to Korea was rooted in a not-yet-understood form of escapism. I can’t readily explain it now, so maybe I’ll do so in the future. But suffice it to say, I don’t think taking a year or two – or ten or twelve, in the case of some veteran teachers that I’ve met – really helps you to “find yourself”, whatever the hell that means. I think I know more about myself now NOT because I am in another place, but because I am away from home…I hope that makes some sense, even though I’m not fully elaborating. Now all this being said, I’d like the record to show that my experience in Korea has been mostly great. Except for being sick this week. And the awful awful beer that permeates this binge-drinking society.

Confessions to Make

A. I've been at war with correct grammar and usage of various things like commas, periods, and ellipses. But I've never gotten anything lower than an A- on a major paper, so kiss my grits.

B. I’ve been listening to 1990s boy band music a lot lately. I feel dirty and wrong.