Sunday Morning Coming Down - Part 4 of 4 in the Weekend that started Wednesday

 

I awoke the following day with no visible scars or tattoos on my body.  It felt like waking up from hibernation, or high sleep; completely rested, wide awake, and raring to go. When I struggled to get up I realized I was still drunk from the night before. Schweeeeet. Anyways I get out of bed butt-shuffle down my narrow stairs, turn on my laptop and begin scrounging for food and clues of how I got home. My clothes were everywhere, a full glass of water left on the counter, no food though. I make an omelet and begin chatting to figure out how I got home. Nothing other then friends calling a cab for me and sending me home alone. After joking about things that I vaguely remember, the self-appointed A-team (formerly canadian crew) plan to go for a hike, cleansing our bodies before we dirty them up again. To prepare for this hike I put a water bottle into my freezer, and that's where I found my drunk-food - to paper bowls packed with strawberry ice cream? Big change from pizza but no matter, it's still good. 

This was my first time hiking in Korea and I have to say it was really great. It reminded me of when I was younger walking through the Don Valley in the summer months. There weren't many animals but the trail was quiet and shaded which helped cushion the blow of sobering up. We shared plenty of laughs and stories from home on the way up and back. Afterwards, a few of us went out for all you can eat K-BBQ, I could have stayed the whole night but everyone else had hit a wall. We left and met up again at 9 for some predrinks, and then headed to the ever-so beautiful Gwangali beach.

This pre-drinking session was very exciting. I learned two new drinking games: Beer Baseball and Celebrities. I will never play Beer Baseball again, and I will advocate for Celebrities everytime I go out with a group of 5-10.

Then we crawled along the beach stopping in at several bars for a pint and then moving on to the next one. Eventually the bar scene got pretty weak so we sat on the beach and took some photos. At this point in time I learned a very valuable lesson; never wear a snap button shirt when you go out drinking, it will be ripped open at every opportunity. Because of my foolishness I spent half my night buttoning up my shirt. The rest of the team Gangnam-Styled behind unsuspecting Koreans and also shot fireworks at each other. Thankfully no one was hurt because I didn't need a buzz kill. As the night progressed people started to cab home. When only the Ju and I were left we found a band of Koreans who spoke adequate English. As we sat out on the beach admiring the bridge, I thought, no, I knew, this was going to be the first all-nighter. So I paced myself through it, the Ju went home, and I was alone with these complete strangers. However, the people in Korea who are up this late are not like the crack-packing, sleep deprived crazy, toothless lunatics you'd meet back home behind Wal-Mart or liquor store, but genuinely friendly and completely sane people. So me and my new friend, Mr. Kim, went to the nearest Mini-Stop and bought some Ramen noodles and a nice cold Hite. We sat on the bar stools looking out at the beach. As the light was coming over the horizon I was looking to see where the sun was but I couldn't see it. Of course, its behind those immaculate Hyatt apartments. So I told Mr. Kim we will meet again after Chuseok and we parted ways. I walked along the water until Shinshegae where I could finally see the sun rising over the apartment complex. I took the subway home from there. Once I was home, my lack of sleep caught up with me so I napped for about 4 hours and then got up to greet the day again. 

There was only one thing left I wanted to do this weekend. Play some Ultimate Frisbee. Throughout high school and university playing frisbee was a top-three activity, and I feel without it there's a hole in me. So despite having less than 20 hours of sleep in the past 4 days I head out to run like hell. When I walked onto the field I felt rejuvenated. I was happy to see a wide range of talent so I wouldn't be the worst player. We circled up and divided into teams. Games went to 3, winner stays on. Since its pick-up everyone manned up, unfortunately I was paired up with a gazelle disguised as a human. It had been a long time since I've run full tilt, and by the 2nd point I thought I was going to die. Lungs pumping and legs throbbing I kept playing until the 3rd point at which point I didn't know if I would make it home unless it was in an ambulance. We lost the first game so I got to lie down for a good half-hour and at the end of that game I caught my second wind. I played another couple games and started to feel like I was 17 again, no beer gut, legs of a cheetah, and a push-it-to-the-limit attitude. I couldn't keep it up for as long as I wanted to so I left, because when I watch sports I find I need to play them. 

I returned home feeling like the best weekend of my life was over. Now I can only wait for the next one (which is in 2 hours).