hk returns to Seoul

Yes, we've returned to the birthplace of this blog -- and of me -- and it's mighty fine, I tell you, mighty fine. My dad's here, picking me up at 6 am from the airport and giving me cash and driving me six hours roundtrip for a medical checkup. My grandmother is here, preparing all sorts of food and asking what I want to see and eat. My great aunt is here, grumbling that I make her life hard, but then right away asking if I want roasted corn tonight or tomorrow, and pushing more food on me. And the memory of those two fine years I spent living in Korea is here, full of so much experience and life and sorrow and joy and friendship and learning. Mighty fine, I tell you, mighty fine.

But while all is mighty fine with me, not ALL is mighty fine. Freakishly, two of my cousins are going under the knife this week -- my younger cousin for the removal of a kidney stone or some such thing tomorrow, and my older cousin for the something else a little more serious later this week. My father, after I hounded him, asked for his test results today at the hospital with me, and though the doctor wasn't alarmed at all, the report cited marked intestinal hyperplasia, which I find through the internet CAN be precancerous. But not necessarily.

I, on the other hand, am healthier than a horse. Despite frequent stomachaches this past month, the GI check (which, by the way, necessitated my first encounter with anesthesia -- awesome stuff! I kid you not -- I felt a burning in my arm and wasn't even aware I fell asleep until I woke up 5 minutes later not having a clue that they'd stuck a long tube down my throat and into my stomach) showed a nice, pink, healthy stomach. Blood tests were normal ("You have a lot of blood," the doctor commented), and in general, I'm in very decent shape. Often the case with hypochondriacs, I think.

It's nearly 2 am, and I came in about half an hour ago from seeing KB, the guy with whom I had a fling two and a half years ago. I hadn't heard from him since last August (and I hadn't written to him either), and I'm happy to report that we had an extremely pleasant four-hour chat over beers and a late night snack, during which we covered what he's doing, what I'm doing, what we both plan to do, our love lives, the meaning of life, regrets, and how I'm going to visit him in South America next fall. I think we were both genuinely happy to see each other, and pleased to find each other doing so well. Reference was made to our fling (by him), which we both think of in very pleasant terms. It's funny to me that we can be so pleased by each other's company after having this ... affair, for lack of better word. I think there's a bit of sexual tension still there, but he's got a girl on his mind and another one just recently in his bed, and hk don't play that. I did, however, task him with finding me a foreign service officer husband. And I am rather flattered that he responded with alacrity to my message and asked me to call again if I had time later this week. Aw, KB! You're a sweet lad.

More research on hyperplasia tomorrow, when I've got more of my faculties.