Meatman, Beef, & the National Sport of South Korea

Last spring was a difficult time to find work. My first year living in Victoria I'd earned my daily bread working for the provincial government but an ailing economy meant government work opportunities had shrank faster than a fifteen year old in ice water. Eventually my wife got sick of me staring out the window and making armpit noises so she suggested I take up volunteering again. We had both been volunteers while living here in 2007 and I had also volunteered while abroad in 2008, so I suppose it was the next logical step to take if no work was forthcoming. A few e-mails later I was accepted as door security for the “Island Open Championship”, which I incorrectly interpreted from the website as being a Mixed-Martial Arts competition. When I arrived, not entirely prepared to deal with pot-bellied failures hollering while steroid beasts tenderized one another, I was relieved to learn that the event was actually an all-ages Taekwon-Do competition. That meant the testosterone factor would be a fraction of what I’d expected and I would probably not be vomited upon.

Cabin 12 | 3111 Cedar Hill Rd | Victoria

Update 3/14/2012:  Hey there, loyal readers.  Cabin 12 has relocated to 3111 Cedar Hill Road near the Hillside Mall.  It's a bit of a hike but worth it for the friendliest restaurant in town.  This review refers to their former location at 607 Pandora Street but I stand by my words.


To get to the new Cabin 12 by transit take the #24 bus from downtown.  It'll let you off a stone's throw from their door.  Otherwise there are a number of buses that take you within walking distance, including the #4, 22, 25, 27 & 28.


Sometimes you just know that you're not going to like something.  In early 2005 I was going through a prolonged breakup when two close friends got tired of me drifting from room to room in my house like the ghost of Miss Haversham and dragged me to out to the movies.  Living in Revelstoke we had only one film on offer, the romantic comedy Hitch and I fought like mad against going in there; after I Robot there were a dozen things I'd rather do than watch Big Willy "Hell, yeah!" his way through more nonsense, but my friends prevailed.  

Funky, but in a good way

Two hours later I emerged from the cinema feeling better than I had in months - over the course of the film I had come to realize that I had great friends who really cared about my well-being.  That's a rare thing.  But take away that affirmation and you're left with a film that was, as predicted, absolute rubbish.  When I came across it on cable recently I felt an almost irrepressible urge to channel The King and fire my .44 into the television.  All the positive memories clustered around seeing the film couldn't change the fact that I knew I would hate it going in and felt no different coming out.  


I knew I wasn't going to like Cabin 12 because I'd heard it was "trendy", "funky", and "hip", three words that make the hair on my neck stand up, but I thought I'd give it a try - it only seemed fair.  Sometimes you just know that you're not going to like something.  And sometimes you're wrong.  I enjoyed my lunch at Cabin 12 more than any in recent memory and if this is the way that owners Corey & Dan always run their ship then I've found my new favorite restaurant.

It's Love, By George!

There are certain discussions that every couple eventually has:  Will we have babies?  What inappropriate, trendy name will we give them?  How many people have you been with?  How many?  I feel like I barely know you, I'm going to my mothers!  These are often pivotal moments in a couple's history, determining in one languid moment of pillow talk whether he will produce a ring from a bedside drawer, or whether she will casually mention that if this month doesn't have thirty-two days she's missed a pill.  In a recent moment of intimacy Nicky & I cautiously approached one of these questions, slowly and with great delicacy because it is through such thin ice as this that the walrus of discontent bursts through to devour the penguin of happiness.  The question?  If you could spend the night with one celebrity - who would it be?