Billiards Before Bailing (May 1, 2026)
Yes, we miss Violet. And the best way to change our mood is to play games. So Will and I had one last day of playing games together in Seoul, South Korea before heading to Mexico City. First we played ping pong at our favorite game center (see related blog post). Then we headed over to play billiards for the first time in a long time.
Don’t hit that 8-ball! Finesse that stripe ball into the corner pocket.
The whole time we’ve stayed here in Seoul, we were directly across this billiards parlor:
This billboard worked. Seeing it every day had us want to check it out.
The fascinating thing here is that we came to play pool and there were actual billiard tables. These are tables with no pockets and four balls. It’s a totally different game and by the looks of it, much more popular here than the standard pool table.
That’s fine with us. They charged for the table every 10 minutes And we were able to get in three games in under a half hour. Lots of pool, lots of fun and relatively inexpensive.
Will lines up his shot & I’m so proud when he gets two in row … twice!
Such a simple thing and yet it’s fun and feels like home. For the longest time, Will through (incorrectly) that he was a terrible pool player because he would go up against his grandfather (my dad) who at one point was an amateur-level professional player. That means he would enter and win amateur tournaments. He’s really good.
That’s the man I played with for most of my life so both my brother Brian and I got pretty decent ourselves. It wasn’t until Will played some of his own friends (not our family) that he realized he was much better than he would give himself credit. When compared to kids his age, he realized he was just fine and better than average. Which is totally true.
Isn’t it funny how we naturally compare ourselves to those around us? If no one corrects us, we think we know something. It takes awhile until we begin to understand the wisdom, “Don’t believe everything you think.” Our internal thoughts are often wrong, but seldom do we question or doubt them.
Having no other information, we believe what we think rather than considering just how terrible our thought’s track record is and continues to be. So often do our thoughts leads us to completely inaccurate conclusions — like Will thinking he wasn’t very good at pool (… leaving out “when compared to my amateur professional grandfather”). Glad we cleared that up tonight.
Sunsets in Seoul are phenomenal. Just need a better vantage point.
This is our last sunset before we head out. Really glad we saw it before we had to leave. It’s been a relaxing and enjoyable stay in Seoul, South Korea. Every time I stay here, I get a wholly different perspective. Seoul is like Los Angeles in that it’s spread out. If you were to stay in West Hollywood, that would be a wholly different experience than South Pasadena or San Gabriel. Seoul is a lot like that with very distinct neighborhoods and city vibes. I’ve very much enjoyed this vibe and would happily return to Seoul in the future.
