No, not Michael Jackson, but Mark Jones. Mark and I go back a long way, and in honor of his wedding this weekend (which, is actually taking place just about as I write this; sadly I can’t afford the plane fare to Viet Nam), this entry’s for him.
I first met Mark when he lived a couple of floors below me at University. Given the cliques in our halls, I have no idea how I even came across him – assume it had something to do with having a few drinks and wondering around aimlessly. We stayed close for years, and (perhaps this blogs biggest claim to fame) after following my time in Korea, Mark quit his accounting job and moved out. Now he’s living in Viet Nam. Congratulations, Mark, in honor of the occasion, here are three of our dumbest moments:
The Bungee Jump: Mark and I are both extremely stubborn when it comes to bets. Neither of us likes bungee jumping. One typically late and alcohol fuelled Korean night out, about one week after some bad calculations killed someone on a Korean bungee jump, we decided we were going to go to Bundang the next day and jump. So we did, hung over, and looking like it was the last thing in the world we wanted to do. It wasn’t until later that we realized that neither of us wanted to jump. Still, worth it for the pictures.
The Best Leaving Party Ever: We’d been living together for a month or two before we both left Korea. Perhaps inevitably, that led to a joint leaving party, which ended up being totally brilliant. We obviously had too much time on our hands, as we decided we should both dress as ‘Ajummas’, the batty old Korean women, who had irritated us for the previous couple of years. So out we went, in Seoul’s most fashionable, dressed up in technicolored sports clothing, visors and, in Mark’s case, a dress. Personally, I just don’t have the nerve for the dress. We ended up having a personalized live show from our friend’s band after curfew in a live club that we both became obsessed with. Great night. Hopefully there aren’t too many pictures around.
Once Upon a Time in Salisbury: I’m sure Mark thought he’d got away with this one. Sorry mate. One story that’s always hung around is the time Mark came to visit me at home, and we ended up playing cricket all afternoon, and then heading down the pub with a big group. It was the middle of the summer, so we sat out in the sun outside the pub, and drank what must have been about two pints before deciding we’d rather have quite a chilled out one. So we went back, crashed, and… this is still the thing my mum remembers most about Mr Jones… Mark managed to empty his stomach onto the couch. He blames heatstroke. If you say so Mark, if you say so…. (sorry man, it had to be in there!).
Congratulations Mark and Hanh, sorry I couldn’t be there, I’m sure it was a fantastic day, I hope you enjoy the honeymoon and really happy life together,
J x