From the church...

I spent last night over at Neighborhood Unitarian Church in Pasadena, so that I could get a portrait taken for the church member directory. I wasn't too happy with the portraits taken, but I can live with what I got.

I spoke with the church's music director, who was there for a portrait session himself. I noted that he had arrived in a black 2006 BMW 325i with sport package. We had a nice chat - and much of it revolved around Korean and Cantonese food, both of which he and his wife love (and I had plenty of myself as of late). Of course, I made sure to talk about my past three months in Seoul and Hong Kong, particularly the lack of Unitarian representation in South Korea but the Koreans' own, very Unitarian-like approach to religion and spirituality.

And of course, the subject of BMW had to come up too. As it turns out, the couple's son had totaled the wife's Toyota Camry in a DUI accident, so as punishment, they had to take his BMW away. The couple hated the BMW, however, as it was a 3-series with sport package, meaning cramped interior and very firm ride. All the juicy bits I shared with them regarding BMW's coziness with Pope Benedict (not to mention massive advertising on Bill O'Reilly, and refusal to acknowledge my inquiry emails) turned out to be pleasant revelations. It was priceless to tell them that I had just spent $40K on a lowly Hyundai - and that the Hyundai is a far superior vehicle!

Tonight, I expect to ring in 2009 by visiting my favorite transgender lesbian nightclub in San Fernando Valley. It will be Gwaneum One's first visit there. She will surely make a grand statement in regards to what I had done during my trip over in Asia!

Los Angeles: Korean Friendship Bell

This past Sunday, the last one of 2008, was spent again aboard Gwaneum One - in a very fitting way to end a very meaningful year. Here's my recap of the day.

I brought Gwaneum One to my home church - Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena. This church has been one of Southern California's leading proponents of gay marriage, and I am glad to call it my spiritual home.

The Toyota Prius next to Gwaneum One bears many progressive-themed bumper stickers, and is quite typical of the cars that show up here. There is a good mix of all makes and models here; in the far right, another Hyundai (a black Santa Fe SUV) can be seen. I also counted three BMW 3-series sedans too on this day, which made me cringe, but it appears that most people are less in the know about BMW's evil deeds than I am, so I'll have to let it pass. I'll just make sure to spread the word on why I gave up a BMW to drive a Hyundai.

After some shopping opportunities (which yielded nothing that I had wanted), I drove south to San Pedro, to visit Fort McArthur, now Angels Gate Park.

This park's claim to fame is the Friendship Bell, a gift of South Korea's military dictatorship to the United States for the Bicentennial. I came here for a photo op for Gwaneum One, but ended up getting far more than that.

This dedication plaque, dated to July 4, 1976, is in English and Korean, and dedicates the bell to the American spirit and a long, prosperous alliance between the two nations.

Too bad, in the name of "preserving" that American spirit, South Korea's government and the Korean-Americans have been very hard at work destroying it instead!

On January 28, 1981, President Chun Doo-hwan came here and planted this tree. He had seized power through a bloody military coup the previous year, and his US visit, within the first few days of the Reagan Presidency, was to ensure that Reagan would legitimize and back his rule.

Not all was bad under Chun, however. He had vowed to step down at the end of his 7-year term, though his ulterior motive was to install his military buddy Roh Tae-woo in an indirect election. The South Koreans were fed up with this move, however, and revolted, forcing Chun to accept direct elections. Roh did succeed Chun, but had to win the presidency the hard way - real votes in a fair direct election.

Korean village guardians - Great General Under the Heavens, and Female General of the Underground. These are very familiar sights to me by now (in fact, a smaller pair even guards my bedroom), and I am glad to see them here again.

The bell pavilion. A lovely sight!

Detail of the pavilion sign and the color scheme. The colors need some restoration work, I must say; between the ocean breeze and the strong Southern California sunshine, Korean-style color decorations have a hard time keeping up.

Here is the bell itself. It is a massive bell, modeled after the Emille Bell back in Gyeongju, which was part of my road trip last month. It really feels like by coming here, I extended my road trip by another month and 6,000 miles. The only change is that I showed up in Gwaneum One, instead of Gwaneum Zero.

The bell is actually the same size and design as the Emille Bell, making it one of the largest bells ever made. Yes, it does come with a special acoustic chamber that is unique to large Korean bells. And in a few nights, its sound will fill the skies of San Pedro, as 2009 is rung in.

The exterior features four pairs of figurine images: a Statue of Liberty, paired with a Korean counterpart.

The ceiling colors are very vivid, as they had not been exposed as much to direct sunlight. I also get a good look at the acoustic chamber.

Another look at the pavilion, with the Palos Verdes hills to the northwest.

This is a very clear, breezy hilltop, and an excellent place to put a bell pavilion. And this plot of land is surrounded by water on three sides - south, east, west - and that has parallels to the Korean peninsula, which itself faces water in the same three directions.

A look east allows me to observe the busy harbor activities in San Pedro and Long Beach. In the distance are the hills of Orange County.

Looking south, I can see the Santa Catalina Island. In all my years in Southern California, I never got to travel out there.

There is even a small exhibit hall in this park, maintained jointly by South Korea's Cultural Service (under the auspices of the South Korean Consulate of Los Angeles) and the City of Los Angeles Parks Department. I am inside.

This is a map of Korea and vicinity, produced by South Korea's government mapping service. Korea is shown as a unified nation. The major islands of Japan and the northern populated areas of China (as far south as Shanghai) are also shown. Until a month ago, this map had pretty much described my extent of Asian travels; now, I've gone beyond this map, by visiting Hong Kong.

There are some pieces of art here, including this golden Pensive Bodhisattva. I had seen so many of these during my three months in South Korea, and I am glad to see one right here in Los Angeles.

More traditional Korean art. I can also take in modern Korean art, including the Mashimaro animated character and other pop art items.

There also are many tourist posters. They show lots of things, from Bongeunsa Temple next to Seoul's COEX Mall to Seokguram Grotto in Gyeongju. I had visited more or less all of them, and was glad to be reminded of my past three months.

I really feel that by coming here, I extended my South Korean sojourn.

The exterior of the exhibit hall. The flags of the US and South Korea are hoisted outside, and the bell pavilion is in the distance.

There is a sizable parking area here, almost full on this beautiful day. Many local residents like to hang out here for barbecues, for kite flying, for basketball, and for many other activities. A few Korean-Americans trickle in from all over Southern California as well.

Gwaneum One is in the center left, and today, it's the only Korean car in sight here - but a very appropriate one at that. In 1986, on the tenth anniversary of the bell, a visitor could've, for the first time, shown up in a South Korean automobile - the lowly Hyundai Excel. The visitor may have also brought a Samsung boombox or portable cassette player. In the late 1990s, a visitor could've shown up in a better car - probably a Hyundai Elantra - and his/her laptop would've boasted tons of LG semiconductors. And today, I brought Gwaneum One featuring an LG navigation system - though I don't have an LG cell phone on me (I love my iPhone too much). By contrast, back when the bell was first dedicated, the most advanced South Korean goods available in the US were primitive AM radios and black-and-white TV sets. At least they were more advanced than their predecessors - human hair wigs!

A farewell shot of the bell pavilion, with the Catalina Island hills to the far right.

Looking forward to doing some more driving soon. I had missed this year's LA Auto Show due to my Asian trip, so I'll make up for it by driving down to San Diego for the auto show there. I'll stay far away from the BMW stand, but will definitely hang out at most other stands, just to see how most manufacturers' cars stack up against Gwaneum One. I'll certainly hang out for a while at the Hyundai stand, and talk to other visitors about how luxurious my Gwaneum One is! And of course there is that Las Vegas trip that I must also do. If I feel up to the task, I may even consider Palm Springs and/or Santa Barbara.

San Francisco: Gwaneum One

Christmas 2008 was spent driving Gwaneum One back to Los Angeles. The holiday season that had begun on a warm note in Seoul, and extended to Hong Kong, ends like this - I will remember for the rest of my life.

Before starting my drive south, however, I wrapped up my Bay Area stint by driving Gwaneum One into San Francisco itself for some photo ops. The variable weather, with periodic intense showers, made it a bit tricky to take photos, but on the other hand, the deserted Christmas streets meant that I had ample street parking and no traffic jams to fight.

I've checked out of my Emeryville hotel, and now I'm ready to go. As it turns out, a Ford Festiva parked next to me overnight.

In the late 1980s, three South Korean automakers tried their hand at the US market. Hyundai brought its own design, the Excel, into the US, and sold it at Hyundai's own dealerships. Meanwhile, Kia decided to build a nice Mazda design, the 121, as the Pride, and ship the first batch to the US, to be sold in the US as the Festiva, using Ford dealerships. Daewoo did something similar; it took the Opel Kadett, named it the LeMans, and sold it through Pontiac dealerships. Of course, the Hyundai Excel was the most popular of them all, but it was the Ford Festiva that was the most practical and durable.

Times have changed. Hyundai has progressed so much that I am now driving a Genesis, a car that more than holds its own against the finest names from Japan and Europe. Kia replaced the Festiva with the Aspire, and also set up its own dealer network to sell the likes of the Sephia, before going bankrupt and becoming a Hyundai subsidiary that it is today. Daewoo left the US market, then returned using its own showrooms and models, before going bankrupt as well; now, as a GM subsidiary, it supplies Chevrolet with the Aveo.

The drive into San Francisco over the Bay Bridge was quite treacherous, thanks to strong crosswinds and dark storm clouds. Gwaneum One is lightweight for a car of its size, which is great for handling and fuel economy, but not so great when it comes to crosswinds. But even given that, its crosswind performance is acceptable. The dark clouds not only required me to use the headlights and foglights, but made the instrument panel kick into night mode.

My first photo op for Gwaneum One is Chinatown. I couldn't get the front side of the gate without illegally parking, so I had to park just inside the gate, as seen above. Pretty crummy place for a photo - even more so because everything is closed for Christmas. I had a similar story over at Washington Square Park as well, and I didn't even bother to upload the photo from there.

I proceeded to Coit Tower - the place that Bill O'Reilly wants blown up. I am so glad to be showing up in something other than a BMW.

Just below Coit Tower is Fisherman's Wharf. Here's a good look at Alcatraz, across the bay from the docks.

Normally this place overflows with tourists (and only tourists - no locals ever come here), but this being Christmas morning, it's quiet.

I had to tackle Lombard Street, of course. I crept down using the lowest gear, and got out of the car at the bottom so that I could take this photo. (Yes, I am holding up that VW just behind me.) Good thing that Gwaneum One has proximity keys, which allow me to open/lock the doors and start/stop the engine without ever touching the key, as long as the key is in my purse. It makes all those photo stops much easier.

With the help of the car's excellent navigation system, I am lining up a whole bunch of photo op locations and visiting them in order. San Francisco is the perfect place to acquaint myself with the system, due to my partial knowledge of the geography.

I brought Gwaneum One to the southwest corner of Haight and Ashbury. It's a bit too glitzy to bring a luxury car here, but at least it's a Hyundai - a working-class brand!

Gentrification of the area had recently put in a Gap at the southeast corner, but today, it was gone, to be replaced by something else.

Parked on Fulton Street, on the north side of Alamo Square.

In the distance is the City Hall, where countless gay couples were hitched in 2004 and again earlier this year. I do hope those weddings can continue soon - legally. At least, state attorney general Jerry Brown is arguing that a constitutional amendment, such as Proposition 8, that takes away existing rights from a specific group of people, is itself unconstitutional; I hope the courts will make a good decision on this one.

East side of Alamo Square, looking at the Painted Ladies that pop up on so many postcards.

The Painted Ladies always remind me of watching Full House, featuring the Olsen twins as babies/toddlers. That reminds me - I'm channeling some of Mary-Kate Olsen in my outfit today, as I repeatedly enter and exit Gwaneum One. I wore a black midthigh-length suit jacket with a tan tunic blouse, and rounded out with brand-new black cable knit tights and suede boots. Yes, it is the Mary-Kate "no pants" look, but it worked out quite well for me today.

Hate seeing that silver BMW across the street. On the other hand, in front of Gwaneum One is a Subaru (not pictured) that has lots of pro-LGBT bumper stickers. Many people would call it "fagalicious." Subaru is blatantly pro-LGBT and therefore very popular among San Franciscans.

And for that matter, San Francisco straights are even more passionate than their gay neighbors about gay rights. I love this, especially since this is something that the homophobic Third World immigrants back in Los Angeles don't realize. Back in Los Angeles, straights NEVER speak out on gay issues, period, unless it's to oppress gays.

Time to shine. Parked on Castro Street, in America's gayest neighborhood, smack in front of the Castro Theatre.

Looking down on Castro Street lined with rainbow flags.

I must, once again, make it clear that Gwaneum One and I visited Castro not to bring the spirit of the homophobic Korean-American Christian extremists from Los Angeles - the very ones who rammed Proposition 8 through - but rather, to bring the spirit of Kwan Yin, as well as those of the good people of South Korea and Hong Kong.

Twin Peaks is straight above Castro, so that's where I drove up next. The twisting hillside roads provided an opportunity to test the handling of Gwaneum One. I'll say it again and again: Gwaneum One is nowhere as seductive as a BMW, but very firmly planted and capable of matching every move.

I'm on top of Twin Peaks, looking toward downtown.

Another angle, looking toward Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz.

I decided that this was enough. But I didn't want to go straight home; I decided to head north on Golden Gate Bridge for a few more photo ops.

I'm at the parking area right before the bridge - the last stop in San Francisco.

To the right is a Kia Rondo. With the Kia acquisition, Hyundai is positioning its main brand as the car brand, and Kia as the truck brand. Kia's utility vehicles, including the Carens (the Rondo is the third-generation Carens renamed for the US market), have been improved, while some so-so cars have been dropped. Hyundai, on the other hand, has lost some of its light trucks that are redundant with Kia models. And even for that matter, the Hyundai Entourage minivan, a clone of Kia's Sedona, is a North America-only model, built for the US and Canadian Hyundai dealers; in the rest of the world, only Kia gets a minivan.

I have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and entered Marin County. Here's a look back at the bridge.

And a look back into San Francisco. I'll be back again soon. San Francisco's freewheeling, tolerant spirit is something I'll forever cherish, and I am very disappointed that Los Angeles and its backward immigrant communities, working with the reactionaries of Orange County, have been steamrolling San Francisco over.

My drive ended in Concord, in Contra Costa County, 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. Of course, Concord was my home for 18 months, so I know the area well. Three years ago, I was glad to come here in a BMW, rather than the junk Ford that I had driven here during my residence. Now, I'm even more glad to be back - in something even nicer; it's even more special because between the Korean-Americans and the South Korean political establishment, I would've never considered a Hyundai during my Concord residence.

Behind Gwaneum One is the city's main square, Todos Santos Plaza. The two-story building to the right houses Concord's LGBT community center; behind it are some large buildings belonging to Bank of America.

I took surface streets toward Walnut Creek afterwards, looking for a lunch stop, even though most places were closed for Christmas. There used to be a Lyon's diner in Pleasant Hill (Lyon's is not present in SoCal, so I eat there whenever I visit NorCal), but that one's now gone. I came up empty, and ended up starting the drive south immediately.

I made my lunch/refueling stop at the village of Santa Nella located in Gustine, just a few miles north of CA-152 on I-5, and about 80 minutes from Walnut Creek. Otherwise, I kept driving nonstop. Gwaneum One's extremely quiet and comfortable, and I loved driving it. Even with the lunch stop, the high prevailing speeds - well over 90 MPH in some stretches - meant that I made my drive from Walnut Creek to eastern Los Angeles County in a mere 5 1/2 hours.

Now, Gwaneum One has almost 1,200 miles on the odometer. 900 of them were racked up in the past three days. Hyundai only specifies a 600-mile break-in period, so I did more than enough driving for break-in. Not many specifics, other than varying the vehicle speed (pretty much standard) and keeping the engine speed between 2000 and 4000 RPMs as much as possible. And all this driving is not costing me much either; I did about 24.5 MPG for the whole trip, despite the high speeds, and Gwaneum One neither requires nor recommends premium gasoline, so I only need to put in regular unleaded, which now costs $1.65/gallon (Costco) to $1.80/gallon (retail), about 10 cents more than last week but still only a fraction of last summer's prices.

I look forward to a few more drives to other places, before having to get back to full-time work after New Year's Day. I will visit Vegas after all - though it'll be a non-gambling trip.

San Francisco: out and about

I'm giving San Francisco the same treatment that I had given Seoul and Hong Kong for the past few months. It only lasts a few days, however, due to my much shorter visit.

California Academy of Sciences is one of the most outstanding science museums anywhere, and has been a San Francisco landmark for ages. However, major damages from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake necessitated closing its Golden Gate Park facility for complete rebuild. The rebuild was completed in September 2008, and that gave me another excuse to come up to San Francisco (of course, the main excuse is my car).

A greenhouse containing a tropical rainforest is a star attraction here. I needed an hour for this: 30 minutes in line, another 30 minutes looking.

At the bottom is a flood basin, and yes, there are people down there - walking through a glass tunnel.

Another star attraction is the planetarium, but due to having to wait four hours for a show, I had to back out. At least I don't have to wait the four hours in line - I can reserve my showtime upon entry to the museum.

Freshwater rays from the Amazon rainforests.. Who knew?

A fish tank. One of many test shots where I tried out the color capabilities of my new Canon from Seoul. I'm impressed with the camera's capabilities - it blows away my old Pentax. With the anti-shake feature and a very smart exposure controller, I can take almost any photo and capture just about all colors.

There is a lot of emphasis in the new Academy on environmental sustainability and global warming. This bicycle, which can use a hybrid of pedal and electric power to travel at very impressive speeds, is an example of transportation alternatives.

Visitors are welcome to hang, on a wall using a piece of paper, their own ideas on how to fight global warming. Many of the ideas were far more to the left than I'd ever dream of back in my reactionary SoCal neighborhood. I made sure to write down what I've just done, and it's very obvious:

I have just sold my BMW - not because it pollutes, but because BMW management supports politicians who don't believe in global warming. Replacement vehicle is a Hyundai. Hyundai pays for one year of carbon offsets with my car.

Yet another level where the car swap makes perfect sense.

Contrary to what some of my neighbors back south like to think, humans have evolved relatively recently compared to everything else out there. Here are some replica human skulls, from Homo Habilis to the Neanderthal. Behind me is a replica of Lucy, the famous Australopithecus Afarensis fossil.

Penguins! While most penguins hail from Antarctica, these belong to a South African species of warm climate penguins.

Another example of evolution at work. Galapagos turtles!

The Foucault Pendulum is always a common sight at many science museums. In fact, I had seen one less than two months before in Daejeon!

The one here at the Academy is quite famous, and makes sure to return in the new building, as seen above. The pendulum proves that the earth rotates.

The rooftop is wild plant garden. Nicely done.

A new bus service provided by San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Authority, a new umbrella organization which oversees the city Department of Parking and Transportation (DPT), the Municipal Railway (Muni - mass transit), and other transportation services within San Francisco. This is the new Muni 74x "Culture Bus," which offers visitors the ability to travel to several museums throughout San Francisco. Fare is steep at $7, but that's for the all-day hop-on, hop-off privilege. Not bad.

Speaking of mass transit in San Fran, Muni now uses smart farecards called TransLink, similar to Hong Kong's Octopus and Seoul's T-Money. It appears to be in testing stage, however, and very few people, if ever, carry the cards. Most people carry the monthly flash pass, which is simply shown to the driver when boarding a bus. Visitors like me pay cash fare ($1.50) and take an old-fashioned paper transfer as proof of payment. Fare management at Muni, indeed, is still very primitive with plenty of fraud opportunities.

BART is the other component of San Fran mass transit, though after using the subway systems in Hong Kong and Seoul, I now feel that BART looks downright primitive by comparison. This is despite the fact that BART trains are probably the fastest and the most capable subway trains anywhere in the world. BART fares are ridiculously expensive too, while at it. And my magnetized ticket quit working, and BART had to write me a manual paper voucher for the return leg of my Berkeley-San Francisco roundtrip ticket. And by riding BART today, I ended up riding three different subway systems this month - I don't think I've ever done that before.

Back to Berkeley. I took Gwaneum One for a spin around Berkeley, but didn't find much to photograph. I ended up at the Unitarian Church, where I took this entrance sign photo.

Gwaneum One has a very BMW-ish profile from the back, but the Hyundai logo remains very prominent. That's the only Hyundai logo on the exterior of the entire car, by the way. There is no logo on front. The other Hyundai logos are found on the wheel caps and the steering wheel.

Another church shot. Love the banner in the background, which makes the church's stance on the gay marriage battle clear.

For now, there is a risk of me and Gwaneum One being seen as unwelcome visitors from Los Angeles's notoriously reactionary, homophobic Korean-American community. After all, Gwaneum One does carry dealer insignia from Los Angeles. At the church, however, I can simply talk about my three months in Asia, and the story of why I am no longer showing up in the BMW that I had brought here last Christmas Eve. Of course, once I get the vanity plate, my allegiances will become crystal clear - and that won't be to the Korean-Americans.

I'm heading back to the church in a few hours for another Christmas Eve service.

My Emeryville hotel faces the Berkeley Hills to the east, and the bay to the west. I got a free upgrade to the bayview room, and this is my view out. Love the hills of San Francisco, and I also get a good look at the east spans of the Bay Bridge. A new east span is being built to replace the current one, which is likely to suffer catastrophic failure at the next major earthquake; the new span is progressing very nicely.

San Francisco

I drove up I-5 into the Bay Area, and arrived at a Hilton Garden Inn, as usual. But this time, it's a new property in Emeryville - actually, a renovated property, to be exact - rather than my usual location near SFO.

The rain will get in the way some, but I wanted to break in Gwaneum One, so I had to make the trip. I'll surely have a lovely Christmas Eve, San Francisco style.

I picked up word that Benedict XVI now thinks "gender blurring" (LGBTs) is as much of a threat to the world as destruction of rainforests. I won't comment on it, other than that I am more proud than ever to have dumped my BMW. As long as BMW continues to be the main corporate sponsor of Benedict (and O'Reilly and many other reactionaries), I'll forever feel proud of my decision. Sure, there continue to be many BMWs around the Bay Area, but I guess that they are either (1) unaware of BMW's politics or (2) supporting it anyway (definitely true of some Contra Costa County suburbanites).

Gwaneum One is great meanwhile - though I am still trying to find my optimal seating position, due to so many possible adjustments. But all features are working just as advertised, and it's the best touring car I've ever driven. I did know that Hyundai has been spending a fortune on R&D, and that it also has over two decades of luxury car experience (dating back to the original '86 Grandeur), but still, the Genesis is blowing me away.

Quick update

I was very happy to bring Gwaneum One to my Unitarian Church yesterday - and share the story of my three months in South Korea and Hong Kong, and why I am no longer showing up in a BMW.

The people were very happy to have me back, and to hear my story. The South Koreans' more relaxed approach to religion has many Unitarian parallels - and it was as much of a revelation to the churchgoers as it had been to me. After all, they are used to the Korean-American religious extremism, including overwhelming support for Proposition 8, which my church had strongly opposed.

And sure enough, there used to be a few BMWs in the church parking lot, but I saw zero yesterday. And while Gwaneum One was the only Genesis around anywhere, it was far from being the only Hyundai at the church.

Now, the order of business is to buy insurance for Gwaneum One, and to take it up to San Francisco. Looking forward to everything. For now, I am amazed at how smooth and high-quality the car feels. Hyundai is certainly the least prestigious manufacturer I've ever bought from, but the Genesis is the smoothest and the most refined car I've ever driven.

I got it!

For the past twelve hours, I've been the proud new owner of a silver Hyundai Genesis. In the above photo, I took delivery and have brought the car over to the dealership's parts department to pick up the official Hyundai iPod cable (unfortunately not free, but $30), after spending a few moments discussing my past Hyundai vehicles with the sales staff.

It was a miserable day, due to lingering jet lag and delays in paperwork for dumping my BMW. But I'm so fed up with the continuing reactionary politics in SoCal - including all the McCain-Palin and Yes on 8 bumper stickers still around me - that I just can't be seen in a BMW anymore. A Hyundai that carries the spirit of my past three months in Asia, complete with a Buddhist-themed vanity plate, is the best statement I can make on the crumbling Los Angeles freeways - to those cocky Hummer and BMW drivers.

Yes, the vanity plate is on order. The dealership has to order a normal plate for now, but I put in my separate order for a vanity plate. The vanity plate will be held at my designated DMV office, where I'll be able to turn in my normal plate for the swap.

Also, this is the first car that I am naming. Actually, my rental Sonata back in South Korea was the first car that I got to name. The rental Sonata was Gwaneum Zero, and this Genesis is Gwaneum One. Yes, I am naming my cars after my transgender matron saint.

Gwaneum One is NOT perfect. It's less tossable than the BMW 3-series (though it still handles very well - more like a Mercedes or a Lexus), and lacks the BMW's full tool kit. And the trunk, for that matter, has much of its interior unlined - I'd expect such cut-rate treatment in an Accent, not in this $40K luxury car. But it's a much bigger car with many more features, and still the best car I can buy at any price; the features of the top-end Technology Package, including the rear parking camera and the navigation system, work flawlessly. The nav uses Hyundai's DIS - Driver Information System - a knob that looks like the BMW iDrive, but works much better.

My wallet is $3oK lighter, but I am glad to have made the trade. I can't stand the BMW brand anymore, between its reactionary politics and its cut-rate customer service. When I gave up the 3-series, I saw it disappear into the CarMax service bay - and was relieved. I didn't miss it at all, and didn't even want to take a farewell photo.

Looking forward to years and years of wonderful journeys aboard Gwaneum One!

Final Insult

Due to the neoliberal mismanagement of the US and world economy, it looks like my mint-condition BMW will fetch a pitiful amount.

I got a good no-obligation appraisal, and it's just as pitiful as all other preliminary values I had obtained. The vehicle was checked out to be in tiptop condition, so it appears that the real issue is more of a luxury car glut in the market. Sure, I have a fantastic deal on the Hyundai to make up for it, but it doesn't make up for the massive clobbering I am getting on my BMW.

A 5-year-old BMW should still hold about 45% of its original value, but it appears that it'll only hold a third in this market. I guess this is the final insult that the neoliberal bastards, funded in part by all the money I've paid to BMW, have in store. I even had a few second thoughts about making the trade.

But I must go ahead with the trade. If buying a car were all rational, nobody would ever buy luxury cars anyway. There is quite a bit of emotional factor involved, and again, life is way too short to be spent driving a car that doesn't speak for me. I would rather give up my BMW before it loses even more value, and it really starts to deteriorate. Plus, it looks like the Hyundai Genesis is on track to become the next North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show in January (that'd be a first for a South Korean car), and it'll be priceless to be driving around in a winner.

I've made final arrangements with the purchasing service, and the whole swap should be complete by midday tomorrow.

De-briefing and more

Over a family dinner, I was debriefed as to what had happened during my absence:

• The wildfires had forced an evacuation of my place, and my BMW and other things had been moved for the duration.
• Los Angeles County, during the general election, voted for a 1% sales tax increase to fund transportation improvements. That makes my sales tax rate 9 1/4 %, and honestly, I don't think Southern California deserves any more of my money than what it already gets from me.
• Gay marriage is again banned, though by a very narrow margin. Duh.

I also shared some of my South Korean and Hong Kong observations, and further stated that if 2MB and the Moonies are behind the Obama-bashing and other US right-wing initiatives in any way, they must get their behinds kicked. Also, I do feel that there is a parallel between North Koreans destroying South Korean LGBT rights under the blessing of the 2MB government, and Third World immigrants destroying Californian LGBT rights under the blessing of the Republicans. I'll stand for neither, and the fair-minded people of both areas are with me on this.

The biggest statement I can make to the world, and most importantly to myself, over these developments, of course, is to proceed with my car swap. I made sure to clean out my BMW already; documents and other items that I must give up with my car are already loaded in it (except for spare parts, which will be taken care of today), while things I must transfer to my new Hyundai have already been taken out of the car. Today, I'll drive the BMW for the first time since my return; first, it'll allow me to assess its condition, and second, I'll get to drive it to a CarMax for a written appraisal. I'll continue to drive it through tomorrow, when I finally give it up and take delivery of the Hyundai.

I've still given no one any indication of my car swap. And that's the way I intend it. Nevertheless, I can no longer feel good/ethical about driving my BMW, and life is too short to be wasted in cars like that. The only reason I can even stand driving it from now on, is only because I am driving it to get rid of it.

And one more thing. I still can't believe that Hyundai now makes cars good enough to replace my BMW! I did discuss the Genesis with my coworkers and others - and all of them are telling me about how every review raves about the car. I guess it really is time to shut up, and start actually driving the thing. Sure, I was too young and too poor to drive the Lexus LS400 twenty years ago (and I still wouldn't, as I really hate Toyota), but I'm counting myself fortunate that I can afford the Genesis now, and make up for that. If my new Hyundai inspires someone else to buy his/her own, hopefully in place of a BMW, then I'll be happy.

Car update

The details of my car trade are firming up nicely.

I now know the exact vehicle that I'll be getting; I have the vehicle's VIN now. And yes, the VIN starts with a K, denoting South Korean assembly; I'm old fashioned, and like my cars to be built in the manufacturers' home countries. Sure, Hyundai now builds the Santa Fe and the Sonata V6 in Alabama, and I can support fellow Americans and their jobs by buying those vehicles, but I'm not a fan of Alabama Bible Belt culture, unfortunately. Most of my vehicles have followed this program, except for my driver's ed car, a Toyota Corolla from Fremont, California, and the car that I'm retiring now, a South African BMW.

I also know where the car's sitting right now. It's at a dealer lot, and the dealership is kind of far from me. However, it's within walking distance of a CarMax lot, where I can get an appraisal for my BMW that will hopefully be less pathetic than what the Hyundai dealerships are offering me. I do think I'll take a bath on the BMW trade-in, as the sour economy results in a glut of luxury cars, both new and used; this will probably wipe out the savings from the good price I have on the Hyundai. CarMax will buy my car even if I don't buy one of its cars, so it'll be a nice option for dumping the BMW, and given that I'm trying to do the trade as a secret, and therefore am not asking anyone for help, I do need the ability to get from the CarMax lot to the Hyundai lot easily.

I may even drive my BMW to a CarMax closer to me on Friday, while on lunch break at work. That CarMax can certainly give me an appraisal, which is written, locked for 7 days, and valid at any CarMax location.

When I take delivery of the Hyundai, I'll also ask if it's possible to order vanity plates right away. This will be the first time I get vanity plates in California, so I need to know the drill. In normal cases, I have vanity plates delivered to a designated DMV office, where I show up to turn in my old plates and get the new plates. I hope I don't have to wait for a normal plate (which itself takes up to 2 months) then wait another 2 months for the vanity plate. I have five possible vanity plate configurations that are available according to DMV.

It looks like I'll be breaking the new car in very fast. I'll drive it to Las Vegas after all, right after New Year's Day, just a week after San Francisco. Looking forward to many photo ops - especially with my new Canon!

Korea Recap: Final Photos

Here are my final photos from Seoul, mostly from December 13th, except for the final one from December 14th.

This announcement board adorns a subway station on Seoul Metro's Line 2 under Euljiro. It's quite interesting.

The bottom center asks South Koreans to save a billion liters of petroleum. This can be done by asking ten million petroleum users to conserve 100 liters (25 gallons) each. Relying more on mass transit, rather than driving, can easily save 100 liters of gasoline in under a month. Saving 100 liters of crude oil could be a bit more of a challenge, however, as one liter of crude yields several liters of gasoline.

The top left, from the National Human Rights Commission, says: "Differences can't be discriminated against." Various characters, from the homeless to a black rapper to a gay man to a transwoman, speak out about themselves, and why discrimination is foolish. My favorite character, however, is a cat, who says, tongue-in-cheek: "I think humans are pathetic too. Can I discriminate against you humans too?" Never mind that the commission's rulings are nonbinding, and that the 2MB government would rather not listen to them.

Further evidence of the 2MB policies are on the top right, a standard thought police poster again reminding me to turn in every leftist in sight for a 30 million won reward.

Here is a map store. I can pick up road atlases, globes, and more. It's closed in this photo, but could be of interest to me on a future visit.

The store is run by Seongji, South Korea's leading map publisher. My road atlas for last month's road trip was published by this company too - and it was excellent! For now, I brought my atlas to the US, so that (1) it'll be a reminder of the road trip and (2) I can plot my next South Korean road trip, which may be as early as next spring.

The Republican city government is threatening this mall and all other subterranean malls too, by attempting to sell them to the highest corporate bidder who is certain to jack up rent and bring in only corporate shops. This store has a protest banner as well: "Choking the throats of mom-and-pop merchants. Grand Nationals, blow yourselves up."

Here's another store, one that makes signs, often lit, all Christian. It's one of the few that doesn't feature a protest banner.

This is one of the signs made by the store, showing the Christian genealogy running from Adam to Jesus, as documented by the Bible.

A tourist map of Jeju Island. I'll certainly fly over there the next time I am in South Korea. On top of all my statues from the past three months, I can definitely use a pair of harubangs.

Jeju tourism promotion office, closed for renovation.

The message on either side of the door - ᄒᆞᆫ저옵서예 - means "welcome." It's in Jeju dialect, and the standard Korean equivalent would be 어서 오세요. Most mainland Koreans recognize that word from Jeju, plus harubang (grandfather), but that's about it.

I certainly look forward to being thrown off by the utterly strange dialect when I arrive in Jeju. I'll also love taking in the island's unique culture and sights while at it too.

Now, I've arrived at Incheon Airport, cleared security and immigration, and picked up my Canon camera. Time to kill a few hours before my flight to Los Angeles boards. I took this photo, even though planespotting is technically illegal at Incheon, or any other South Korean airport that matter. (Many South Korean airports, including Busan Gimhae, are military airfields, so the no-photo rule would be strictly enforced at such places.)

The above is a Korean Air 747 with special arts promotion livery, complete with a Mona Lisa. That plane will fly to Sydney after sunset.

For that matter, Asiana also ran a flight to Sydney the same evening, though on a standard 777. Asiana does have a special livery 777 to commemorate the opening of its Paris route, and I saw it, but it was operating to Hanoi instead. My flight to Los Angeles, yet another 777, wore the old mocha gray paint job.

Asiana's passenger 747 fleet is down to five now, and I spotted three of them: HL7417 (combi) which had brought me back from Hong Kong, and now going to Singapore; HL7418 (pax) which flew me from LAX to Incheon twice, sitting overnight for a Beijing run the next morning; HL7428 (pax) which flew me from LAX to Incheon once, often flies the President, and was operating to New York, departing at the same time as my LAX flight. It was glad to see these travel companions again.