“Semper Gumby,” Always Flexible

“Semper Gumby,” Always Flexible

One of the interesting catch phrases I learned while working as a civilian employee of the U.S. Army is “Semper Gumby,” which means, “Always Flexible.”  It is used as a tongue-in-cheek war cry when something inexplicable occurs to necessitate an abrupt course adjustment or change in plans.  I’ve learned that it is a very valuable personal philosophy for the workplace.  As I go through the daily process of accomplishing my designated mission it has become clear to me that I must endeavor to remain flexible, if for nothing else to retain my own sanity. As I am presented with an especially challenging circumstance (or person), I find it comforting to invoke those simple words and change my attitude.

I have a job to do.  If I can remain flexible and open to possibilities, I can navigate any difficulties that arise while maintaining a reasonably pleasant outlook.

As I go forward and deal with a particularly prickly co-worker or a inordinately intricate mandatory procedure I remind myself that I must always remain flexible.

So, like Frank Costanza’s cry of “serenity now” from the TV sitcom Seinfeld, I chant “Semper Gumby” and press on…

Texas-shaped things

I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about this ever since I noticed the Texas-shaped thing phenomenon here in San Antonio. As a new resident of Texas, I wasn’t aware that many household items and other common things come in two forms: the normally shaped version and the obviously improved Texas-shaped version.

It seems that Texans are intensely proud of their state — apparently, even the shape of it. I’ve lived in several states, but I’ve never been in a place where the people seem so intensely interested in the geometry of the geography.

Below are some examples of Texas-shaped items I’ve seen since I started living here in San Antonio (slideshow):

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I guess I should get back to blogging…

Well, it’s been almost a year since I last posted to this blog.  Quite a few interesting things have happened since then.  I moved from Seoul, Republic of Korea to San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.  Let me tell you, there is quite a difference between the two places.

I have also started a daily (or almost daily) video blog using my iPhone.  It is called Slade’s 365 iPhone Video Project and you can find it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/sladewalters.

Basically, I post a silly video every day using only the built in camera on my iPhone and the iPhone iMovie app.  I’ve posted a few interesting videos IMHO, but lots of pretty dumb ones.  When I look back over the past 234 video posts, I realize how much I’ve actually done in such a short time.  Life is amazing.  I can’t wait to look back at these videos in 20 or 30 years with my kids and grandkids.  I’m sure there will be lots of clothing and haircut jokes.

I think I’m going to look back over the videos I have posted so far and post some behind-the-scenes comments here, so that in the future I can remember what I was thinking about and doing in more detail.

Speaking of the differences between Seoul and San Antonio, here are some photos I took in both places.  Maybe you’ll see the contrast too.

The Alamo in downtown San Antonio, Texas

Gyeongbokgung - Gyeongbok Palace in downtown Seoul, Republic of Korea

Audio Post

Dongdaemun Pet Market in Seoul

One of the interesting things about Seoul is that there are many areas of town where vendors who sell similar types of items gather in close proximity. As an American, the idea of setting up shop right next door to fifty competitors seems counterintuitive, but it seems to work well for vendors here in Seoul. There is a large pet market in Seoul near the site of the city’s old east gate, Dongdaemun, where many different types of vendors set up shop. One of the most colorful and interesting to me is the Dongdaemun pet market area. In the space of about one city block there are 20 or more vendors selling pets of all kinds. They have many of the same kinds of fish, birds, dogs, cats and other small animals that you would find in any U.S. pet store. They also have pets that I haven’t often seen in the U.S. This weekend I saw chickens, roosters, pea fowl (peacocks and pea hens), hedgehogs, snapping turtles and the most rare and exotic pet of them all… chipmunks.

Korenglish, Part 2

Check out the name of this shoe store I saw recently in Seoul. I’m assuming they do a brisk business in bathroom slippers.

The best Japanese-style ramen I’ve found in Seoul

A few weeks ago our family tried a fairly new “Chinese” restaurant near where we live in the Ichon-dong neighborhood of Seoul. They have the best Japanese-style ramen I have found in Seoul so far.

Most American’s think of ramen as those freeze-dried instant noodles, but in Japan ramen is actually a great meal that is often made with freshly made noodles and a complex variety of different broths and other fresh ingredients. Ramen is a noodle soup that was supposedly originally imported to Japan from China, but I see it as very uniquely Japanese cuisine. Ramen is a very common meal all over Japan with an immense number of regional variations. Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan is known for its tasty ramen. There is also a Ramen Museum in Yokohama.

Anyway, as I was saying; the restaurant, called Ruo China Dining, has the best Japanese style ramen I’ve found outside of Japan so far. They also have great Japanese-style gyoza (gyoza are little meat-and-vegetable-filled potsticker dumplings that are often also served with ramen at ramen shops in Japan). They even have amazing deep fried harumaki ( which literally translates to “spring roll” in Japanese). I’ve managed to get the family to this place at least once each week since we found it. It really reminds me of Japan.

Instant Coffee – Korea Style

I just wanted to share something I’ve learned to really like in Korea: 1/2 Calorie Maxim Instant Coffee. Basically, it is a little packet of instant coffee with creamer and sweetener with 25 calories per cup. It tastes pretty good. Coffee purists will hate this, but it works for me and it replaces my morning Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks, which was something like 300 calories.

Korenglish, Part 1

I figured this would be a good place to post some interesting korenglish (korean+english) items that I have seen in Korea. This isn’t the best one I have ever seen, I just happened to snap a (bad quality) photo of it with my mobile phone while riding (not driving, riding) down the street recently.

The on-car advertisement reads, “ALL COMPUTER COME ON”. I wonder what that means? Is it a computer-based dating service for pushy people? Maybe it is a command for a voice activated system.

Scissors are an eating utensil in Korea

Case in point, I went to a place that serves a traditional Korean steamed/boiled chicken dish. The bowl is for the bones. The metal Korean chopsticks and long Korean spoon and scissors are the utensils.

The food was actually pretty good. It had a sauce that tasted like it had soy sauce and something sweet. The vegetables were potato, cucumber, carrot and onions. The only thing I didn’t like were the spicy red peppers that were cut up and mixed in. However, this is Korean food so those spicy red peppers are in pretty much everything.