We saw 2009 before you did

I even called back home to see how 2008 was working out in its final hours and to let everyone know that 2009 was much better. Christine and I went into Hongdae for the night to join in the many parties that were happening in Seoul. While eating dinner, Christine taught me how to say "Many fortunes in the New Year" in Korean (Happy New Year). I tried it out on the cashier before we left to try and impress her. Let's just say I'm glad we were the last customers in there.

After dinner, we went to a couple of bars to have some drinks and listen to some music. We went to Jane's Groove first shortly before midnight. We had time to get a drink (or two in my case) and dance before everyone was screaming "Happy New Year!" This bar was pretty cool, but the band was nothing worth noting. What was really cool, was this bar had a Nintendo Wii setup so you can play Wii Sports while enjoying your beer and listening to music. Christine kicked my butt in bowling...

Our first photo of 2009. Or maybe it was our last photo of 2008? I don't know...

After my embarrassing loss, we went to Club FF (Funky Funky). The bouncer convinced us to check it out saying he'd throw in two free drinks with our cover fee. After deciding this was a good deal, we went ahead and bought our way in. Then we found out that everyone was getting free drinks with their cover fee. My negotiation skills felt shamed. The first group we saw had a really good funk sound. We found out the drummer was a guy we had met back in Ilsan a month or two ago while at a coffee shop. An ex-Marine from the Special Forces now teaching at a preschool in Seoul. (I think they made a movie about this with Vin Diesel...). The next band was the last group for the night. They played a lot of covers from Zeppelin to Weezer. It was a good show and a lot of fun to hear some favorites being played onstage.

Robert Plant and Steven Tyler came to Seoul to rock in 2009!