Angelo Bernardo

The show at Rocky Mountain Tavern (RMT) totally rocked. Jason had a cold, my neck was sore and Craig, being English, meant that we had our work cut out for us! The cool thing about RMT is that there are 3 floors. The first floor is where most people hang out but the second floor is where people go to party while listening 2 live music & watching sporting events. The 3rd floor is where the outside patio is and is only open when the weather is nice.

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The crowd was just right. Many new friends and old friends came out 2 support not only the show, but 2 celebrate James’ birthday and watch Craig’s head hit the ceiling of the bar. Yea, he’s THAT tall! DJ Comatosed (Greg) did an excellent job spinning and playing 2 the crowd all night. It’s a real pleasure 2 listen 2 his selection of tunes because he’s got so many choices and always knows how 2 surprise his listeners.

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I must admit that I was a bit concerned as 2 how things would go on this particular night, simply because the band only spent three hours practicing. Fortunately, it’s safe to assume that we’ve been playing 2gether long enough, and have been playing the songs (we play) long enough 2 intuitively rock out! New songs we add are easier 2 get through than when we first started playing 2gether. By August, I believe that we will be adding original music 2 our shows.

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There were many highlights on this particular night. One of my favorite moments was looking out into the crowd and seeing one of Jason’s friends, Nicki (who is on vacation in Korea) sleeping during “Better of Dead.” Can U believe that?! Here we are, Jason screaming his balls off, Craig being English and me jumping around on stage during what could possibly be our loudest song and there she is sleeping. So, as any Tele player would do, I went over to well… WAKE HER UP! And wake her up I did. Seeing her eyes open up as I screamed in her ear, while stepping on her toes was simply priceless. Also, I think that everyone in the vacinity who knew she was sleeping, got a real kick out of the situation!

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The crowd was just so responsive on this night. Their applauses and cheers were really genuine. As a musician, U spend so much time praciticing and thinking about how to develop and maintain a high energy during a gig. When the crowd responds warmly immediately after U begin playing, it’s such a confidence booster. That tingle goes up Ur spine and U begin 2 wonder if any girls in the crowd R gonna dance on tables and loose their shirts. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but it didn’t matter. Seeing people dance and sing along 2 some real rock classics was inspiring enough.

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Jason, Craig and myself did some real hard partying late in2 the night. Many of us continued 2 drink as DJ Comatose did his thing on his giant barrell table where his DJ equipment was set up. We stayed @ RMT until 1 or 2 am, than made the journey 2 Hongdae. The interesting thing about Korea is that some bars, like HO BAR, have 3 or 4 locations situated in one area. So, we ended up @ HO BAR IV and ordered a bottle of Jack Daniels and tons of bottles of Cass (Korean Beer). We celebrated a good night and Jason’s birthday (April 5th) with a really fucking expensive Hagen Daas cake from the GS cornerstore. I thought it would only be fitting 2 buy his cake from there because well, Jason is tipically Asian and his family owns a corner store back home in Canada… it was the perfect idea! So, we ate and drank. Eventually finding ourselves outside eating Dok Boki (������), Soondae (����) and Kim Mari (�踶��).

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So, yes. April 7th in Itaewon was a memorable night. There have been many before and there will be many after. Luckily, this one particular evening will stand on its own as a highlight and as one 2 remember for a very long time.

**Thanks 2 Kelli, Charlie, Clem and Nicki for taking pics and sharing them***

***Check the photos section of this website for all pictures taken***

Green. Yellow. Black.

SLP Seocho celebrated St Patrick’s Day with having the children and staff dress in any shade of green, and just about everyone wore their favorite shirts. Considering we start work at 10 a.m, it took a few hours for people to warm up to my camera but once they did, I think that there were a few happy campers in check! errrr, maybe!

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There was also a work lunch birthday party for Carey, whose birthday falls in March. In order to make anyone’s birthday that much more special, SLP steals money from all their employees and gives it to the birthday boy/girl! (It turns out to be approximately 300,000WON cash money). In the end, the amount doesn’t end up evening out! Oh, the joys of birthday wishes… I can’t wait until August to celebrate my B-day!

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The students also enjoyed making St. Patty Day themed crafts. “M” Class, and other 1st year students, made hats and canes from construction paper, stickers, crayons, ribbon, and straw. Some 2nd and 3rd year students made Lepricons, or other interesting art.

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Next Blog: Jason and James celebrate their birthdays on April 7th at Rocky Mountain Tavern, the night of the BIG SHOW!

The shows at Psycho have always been nutty. This past Saturday proved 2 follow that same theme. It’s becoming somewhat tradition for Tequila body shots to be drank, people loosing themselves while dancing on chairs and tables, and well, to just have rockin’ time. In addition, it was Craig’s birthday and it gave us much more reason to party it up on this evening!

Imagine this: U show up at a bar where you see a sign of the night’s entertainment. Written is “Las Pistolas Del Amor,” (which translates into The Love Guns in English) followed by supporting act “LUBE.” Also providing entertainment is the quintessential DJ COMATOSED. So, you decide to wander inside to see what all the rock n’ sexual hype is all about. LUBE turns out to be a trash/hardcore band, and LPDA turns out to be a classic punk/modern rock threesome. Both bands rock hard and do their best to keep the crowd excited and pumped. It works; only because the crowd is ready for the debauchery that lies ahead.

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We introduced some new tunes from such bands as Arctic Monkeys, The Vines, and Ramones. Clem and Gus, both of which are new co-workers of mine, came to Gumi to see what all the fuss was about. Well, after seeing Clem work his mojo and meeting some new people in a new town, Gus and myself were hiding by the DJ sneeking shots of Tequila! In one of these pics, Gus and Clem seem to be pretty chummy chummy!

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Other than breaking a string, or a few false starts and wrong chord changes, the show was a success. The energy was high and the crowd was simply fun to play for, as they danced and sang along with some of their (and our) favorite songs, by some of our favorite artists.

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**For a look at pics of the gig, take a look at the PHOTOS section of the website for all the best pics taken by Clem**

I decided for this blog to not write about my personal adventure, but rather about the city of San Diego. Unfortunately, the pictures are small, but click them to enlarge them.

Downtown, San Diego

These are views of houses and buildings along the shore in both downtown SD, and on Pacific Beach. The view of Petco Park, the Padres’ homefield is taken from atop a rooftop hotel bar.

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Many of So-Cal’s malls, if not all of them are unlike the conventional ones that exist in cooler parts of the world. This is a picture of Horton Shopping Centre, and much like Fashion Valley Mall, both are located outside.

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There is some real cool street art painted directly on sides of buildings. Other works are Latino-flavored, as is this one in Fred’s Restaurant of the Cabron.

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Pacific Beach is where I stayed with Steve and his roommates. It’s there that you’ll find a cool, kicked back nightlife that’ll keep you drinking until just after 2 am. Many of the bars close at this time, but the best part is that many of them have specials for either draft beer, mixers, or “You Call Its” (that allow you to drink anything for two bucks). Check out Gringo’s, Fred’s, Pacific Beach Bar and Grill, or Moondoggies on Garnett Ave. There is also a music store that you can find on that same street. What I liked most about Pacific Beach was the oceanside. I found myself either walking, or riding the bike for a couple hours. There are so many people out there in the morning doing their own thing that you don’t have to feel awkward about doing something out of the ordinary; like say playing guitar while sitting on the sand watching people surf.

The pictures taken of the sunset were taken at about 5:00 p.m, along the shore. It’s a beautiful sight definitely worth checking out.

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Downtown Airport is great because the planes fly right over you as you drive on Highway 5. They can’t be missed and the planes can be heard whizzing by your car.

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Mexican (Latin) Food and Margaritas are such a large part of experiencing San Diego. The city borders Tijuana, Mexico and there are many Latinos that work in SD. There are primarily two languages that can be heard being spoken on the streets: English and Spanish. Burritos, enchilatas, tacos, and quesadillas can be bought at very affordable prices. But be sure to get yourself a margarita to accompany your meal; it is worth every penny that the experience will provide you.

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What do you get when you cross a Mexican, three Americans, and a Canadian?

Answer: A mess…

The evening began with some “pre-gaming” at the house, and heading into Tijuana to find a good bar to set up shop.

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We found a great bar with live music and it’s here that the compitition began to see who would come out as the victor of a prestigeous, and classic award.

***Side Note: After drinking enough beers laced with lime and salt, you find yourself doing things that leave you baffled come morning time.

In this session of The Beer Funnel, we’ll look at four candidates in the running for the The Golden Cup.

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Candidate #1: Fabian

After drinking from the funnel, Fabian found himself forgetting he was DD. Not only is Mexico his home country, he is also a veteran of the live music scene. He had known the musicians playing at the bar, and he ended up playing onstage for three songs. Two of which I joined him on (The Doors “Roadhouse Blues,” and Pearl Jam’s “Black”).

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Candidate #2: Shawn

Playin’ his cards right, he was able to zone in and hit it up! We’ve all got our tastes and preferences, and everyone always needs “a whole lot” of lovin’. And knowing that one conquest wasn’t enough, he also took time to talk with a colorful senarita, who was peaking around the corner and checkin’ him out!

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Candidate #3: Jeff

Now, it’s understood that you are not supposed to just walk up and grab ass, but Jeff just had to reach out and touch the moon! Apparently, when a butt is as colorful as this one was, it screams, wanting to be grabbed by a handful. It worked out well for him and she didn’t turn around, slapping him straight across the face. Before he knew it, girls were lining up to do some dancin’!

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Candidate #4: Kyle

Kyle woke up in the next morning realizing that he’d forgotten his bank card in a Mexican ATM in Tijuana. Women were checkin’ him out all night, and Shawn informed him that he fit the ideal “gringo” look that Latino girls like. He also did well communicating with the locals, always cooly responding “yea,” or “no” to everyone that approached him trying to sell something. After a many, many pints… Kyle had his drunkin’ tiger face in full effect!

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So, after viewing the candidates, one assesses the facts and details to conclude a winner, and end the anticipation. So, the winner is:

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Awarded for 4 reasons:

1) being designated driver and putting up with an arrogant, and demeaning Immigration Officer… Fabian was cool under pressure, and got us home in one piece

2) taking us to eat some great, freshly made street vendor tacos and quesadias. (Easily, the best I’ve eaten to date)

3) knowing the band at the club, and not only playing drums with them for three songs, but also getting me up to play two songs

4) because he’s from Mexi-Cali……. Eh!

*Footage of Fabian and myself playin’ The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues”*

*Footage taken by Kyle*

First off, what happened to the beaver? I didn’t see the beaver. Someone must have stolen it, because I looked everywhere for that beaver… even inside the fridge. Nevertheless, having a Santa, Miss Santa, and two Jesus’ present at a party is enough to assume that this beaver was not safe at all! So, it probably left… or did it?

I thought maybe Kat a.k.a Miss Le Toe (pronounced ‘mistletoe’) may have hidden it, but “nay.” Than it occured to me that perhaps Sabrina had taken it to her car so she take it home to play with her new kitten… but “nada.”

Curiousity abound, I decided to secretly play detective to figure out who stole the beaver from this bash. I encountered many suspicious looking suspects who seemed to be having a good time. It all led to one simple question: Who stole the beaver?

Soon, my curiousity turned to obsession. Obsession turned to insanity. By the middle of the evening, all I could think about was finding that beaver. I proceeded to have a few drinks, hoping that it allow me to see hidden clues from around the apartment. Before long, I was too drunk to care. The beaver was gone, and I had to accept that the cruel soul that stole the beaver had probably done the unthinkable…

I have no idea what the ‘unthinkable’ is, but it could not have been good. A poor, helpless beaver trapped in a big city with no place, or no one to turn to. Where was its mother? What about its father? Or brothers and sisters?

However, I did notice that the washroom had been made, and ready for someone to take residence. Could it be that someone had prepared the beaver’s bed? Well, all I know that I wasn’t going to sleep there again, after my one-night episode in Korea (re: visit blog titled “Sleeping in the Bathroom).

Possible Beaver Theives:

Could Miss Le Toe have stolen the beaver…

Jeremy…

Ladies… lookin’ good.. lookin’ good… but one of you must have surely stolen the beaver!

The Hood(s) ~ Uh, I mean Hood~Haber(s)

Okay, Jaclyn… She could have stolen the beaver to give to Jeremy as a christmas gift! I wonder.

**Side Note: Jaclyn, here’s the picture you’ve been searching for since your and Jeremy’s house party. Now, I look like shit.. ha, ha.

Shane, doin’ his thing with the camera… “lock, ready and load.” Could there be evidence of the missing beaver in that camera? Only Shane knows.

Jesus and…. Jesus

The beaver sleeps 2nite…maybe

Jesus, Santa, and the Mistress

Miss Le Toe taking aim…

Jesus and Jesus… This time, they sense a disturbance in the air. Surely, they must know that a beaver is missing.

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**Hey Jeremy, Jaclyn told me a long time ago that your last name ws Duvall.. it’s her fault!**

Yes, Jeremy and Jaclyn will soon officially be known as the Hoods, and if they turn out to be a modern couple, they’ll be known as the Hood-Haber(s)!

Anyhow, onto the story…

Friday night was the first night I have been able to hang out with some friends, and just relax. Sabrina kind of organized a welcoming back party at Jacklyn and Jeremy’s place. How kind of her to offer someone’s else’s home… lol… but a gorgeous home it is! It turned out to be an eventful night of gambling!

First off, you know you’re in Canada when you walk into someone’s house and there is a hockey game on the TV. Sabrina, Christine and I were greated with a warm smile from Jaclyn, and Ronnie screaming, “What the F*ck!” at a mistake the Leafs made. Kat cooly replied 2 Ronnie’s comment with, “awwww, it’s okay…they’ll get another one.” {side note: Canadian girls that watch hockey, particularly the Toronto Maple Leafs, simply rule}

So, basically, there were three of just about every Canadian guy’s favorite 2 things:

1) Girls
2) Hockey
3) Girls watching hockey!!!

Accompanied by the sounds of Zeppelin, Radiohead and other wild sounds, our poker game started out with a bang, as I raised the anty rather high on the first hand, setting the tone for the rest of the night. Five hands later, I found myself holding pocket A’s, only to have them cracked by Kat (who hit a straight on the river). So, I was out… but Ronnie was gracious enough to allow me to join her game as we agreed that we would split the winnings. Well, b4 I joined her, she was doing great and was the chip leader. It was her first time playing poker and call it beginners luck or whatever, but she was doing well… that is until I teamed up with her 2 lend some advice…haha… I really think she was upset with me (lol) because within 5 hands, she had lost almost everything, and she was out of the tournament shortly after.

Sorry Ronnie.

Jaclyn ended up winning the event. We hung out some more, taking a stroll into their warm garage where a ‘cigeratte’ was shared by 5 people. Ah, yes… it’s good to be back in Canada!

I am certain that 2nite was the first of many great evenings to be shared over the next three months. Here are some pics with some caption added by yours truly. Visit the ‘Photos’ section for all the other pics that were taken:

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I’ve known U 2 faces since high school and haven’t seen y’all in a year, but U both still look the way I remember U… Gorgeous!

Jeremy makes one bad-ass Ceasar!

The incredibly expensive $5 buy-in

This is the face of a man that has yet to realize his pocket A’s were about to be cracked. Jaclyn must have sensed something BIG was about to happen!

Yes, Ronnie… your feet are huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!

Lady in Red… the artist!

“Are you talkin’ to me?”
I said… “Are… YOU… talkin’……. 2…. ME?”

The lovely trio

Hey, hey, hey…

That’s Sabrina hiding from the camera, as Christine and Kat embrace the moment!

Aaarrrrr Maitee…

Mickey Mouse… Jeremy’s rather creative creation!

“Like a Rolling Stone…”

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Our final show of 2006 ended with a BANG, accompanied by classic Club Psycho behavior. There is something about that bar that makes people loose their minds. All moral judgement ceases to exist. It’s as if one becomes possessed by the venue. One thing that you can bet your life on, is that you can always have a good time at Psycho.

We arrived at 11:30pm, and quickly learned that the P.A System seemed to have cut a circuit. After clearing some technical difficulties, we began the show and from the start everyone was into it. Jason handed out T-shirts and peps wore them proudly. It’s a real inspiration to see people wearing your band’s name across their chest!

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There were these really energetic Koreans bangin’ their heads the whole night. I kept vibin’ off them because they were what every fan could be; crazy, loud, and possessed by the music. We bounced energies off one another all night…

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Jason and Craig were their usual awesome selves…

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But as always, it was the people that made this evening great. The after party and DJ’ing always rocks the house hard. Being it was the final night to wrap up an incredible year, one can only expect to be consumed by the energy that is Club Psycho.

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So ends the shows for 2006…

So, it’s about 3 hours B4 I’m supposed to leave for my plane and I’m bored…….still. I’ve been bored all week, but I’ve been having a blast doing nothing!

But so it goes, I’ll be home in later 2day.

Booya. (Jason is the only other person in the world that I know uses this word).

Without revealing the travel company’s name, because I did receive my refund (less $3), I’ve decided to post my story of a Travel Agent’s attempt to steal my money.

Here is my story:

Last week I spoke to a travel agent that set up my trip to China last august. I wanted to take another trip, and he had a great price to Boracay, Phillippines. Well, he failed to tell me of the Typhoon that was about hit there(which has killed hundreds of people). I ended up reading about it on Weather.com, but I had already given him my money. Well, he booked the wrong days for me to travel anyway, and it would have meant I could only stay there for 2 days. I came to find out that he had bought group tickets to leave on the day he was forcing me to leave, and if I wanted to travel the day before, I’d have to pay an extra 150,000W ($150CDN). That option didn’t sit well with me, so I demanded a refund and things got out of hand. He told me he’d return my money in full, but it never came. Six days later, I went into his office when there were other customers there and confronted him. I sat in the chair directly across his desk, informed him that I would not leave his office without my refund. I exposed his trying to take out $1,500 from my VISA account, which was blocked by the credit card company (thank God), and continued to accuse him of fraud. Anyhow, he responded by insulting and calling me “racist”, “drunk”, “a liar” and all while violently waving his finger in my face. I demanded he refund my money by lunchtime the next day or I was going to the police.

As I stormed out of his office, he said to me, “What will you do if I eat your money?”
I responded with, “I’ll come get it.”
His reply to that was, “Why wait? Come and get it now.”

I couldn’t believe it. My travel agent was challenging me to a fight in his office, with others there. I decided to play it cool, and turned to the 7 customers watching this fiasco and said, “This is the man you are about to buy your plane ticket from.” And I walked out.

The next day he called me to apologize and said he’d send me to Bangkok. I began to think that if I didn’t take a trip ANYWHERE, that he’d just keep my money. I agreed to go, but again I noticed he was scamming me when I called Thai Airways Friday night, and was told that my ticket was only reserved, not bought. I was supposed to leave on Sunday, and now I was certain I was being scammed.

Saturday, I call him and ask why my ticket hasn’t been purchased yet. He told me that everything would be fine and not to worry. Well, I was worried. I hung up the phone, knowing he was in the midst of stealing my money. He called me back a few times that night, but I didn’t pick up my phone. I was to fed up with dealing with this shady agent.

Fast forward to Sunday, and I took the 4 hour/26,000W ($26CDN) bus ride from Gumi to Incheon airport. I went to the checkout counter, and gave them my confirmation number, but they told me the plane ticket had not been purchased, only reserved. I told the airline I believed that my money was being stolen, so they asked me for his telephone number and called him (in front of me) and demanded he fix the problem immediately. In the end, he refunded my money (less $3) to my bank account (while I was at the airport). I checked my account and my money was there. This nightmare had finally come to an end.

In retrospect, I don’t know what his percpective of this episode is. Maybe something really went wrong and he couldn’t purchase the ticket. I don’t know, but I believe he was cunningly trying to scam me. He chose the wrong victim. I would have done EVERYTHING imaginable to hurt his business: internet posts, flyering the neighborhod his business is located in, walking into his office (on a daily basis) while he was with customers to expose his true nature, and most importantly, going to the Korean authorities.

I’ve decided that after a week of hell, I’m going to hang out in Seoul, and do some travelling with my fellow ‘Gunner’ Jason to some other tourist cities/towns that I didn’t get to go to this year, particularly Busan.

Remember, if a flight ticket price seems to good to be true, chances are, it probably is.

**If you are curious to know the name of the Travel Agency, feel free to messege me directly. In the meantime, I have no interest in continuing any sort of drama with him, or his shody business. I just wanted to share my experience.