Groucho’s closing due to landlord’s negligence, refusal to renew lease

by June Leffler

Groucho’s Bar and Karaoke announced via their Facebook page that they will be closing at the end of January. While customers bemoaned the news and many praised the work they had done in their four years of business, the owners only said that there is by no means a lack of financial support.

The bar’s success, despite not being zoned to sell hard liquor, along with the anticipated business due to Germantown’s growth leave little reason as to why the owners would voluntarily close.

Groucho’s will be closing because their landlord, Lisa Dolson of the former Lisa’s OakStreet Lounge, refuses to renew their lease. However, Dolson has not explained the reason for this and has discontinued contact with Groucho’s owners since last summer.

“We’ve called and emailed her but she never responds,” said Steve Rogers aka Groucho. “We want to continue the business, but she’s stonewalling us.”

The negligent communication had led to poor upkeep of the building and an earlier eviction notice, despite Groucho’s consistently paying their rent. Last November, Groucho’s desperately tried to contact Dolson because their liquor license was expiring just three months before their building lease ran out. After no contact, the owners renewed their liquor license for another year, despite not being able to renew their lease. This instance became a confirmation of Dolson’s refusal to cooperate.

Having heard customer and neighborhood comments on Dolson and Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge, Groucho’s can only speculate that she wants to move a new business into the same building.

“Lisa told me originally that this space was jinxed. Bars here wouldn’t even last six months,” said Minae Rogers. “She knows we’ve been doing well here for a while and might want to do something similar here.”

Besides Groucho’s longevity, Steve and Minae Rogers expect the new Germantown Mill Lofts across the street (set to be finished by fall 2015) to almost guarantee a worthwhile business venture.

I spoke with Lisa Dolson, but she declined my request to interview.

Groucho’s owners are open to the idea of relocating the business. This year they have looked at several locations, but have yet to find an appropriate venue.

“We’d like to stay in Germantown or even move to the Highlands, Old Louisville or Market Street,” said Steve Rogers, “but we also need to find a place suitable for a karaoke setup.”

Even if Groucho’s does not relocate, Rogers said he’s interested in karaoke jockeying around town.

A public outcry from customers appeared on the business’s Facebook page after they announced their closing.

Jake Reber, a longtime patron and host of Groucho’s Comedy Attack, said Groucho’s has a strange atmosphere that matched how he was feeling when he stumbled across the bar. Jake Reber lived near the bar and felt it became his own.

“When I first walked in Steve was playing Sun Ra’s “Nuclear War”, and I love that song,”said Reber. “Steve and I have a lot of shared interests.”

Reber then began hosting the bi­weekly Comedy Attack.

“I learned how to be a comic here, and Steve helped me learn how to host a show,” said Reber.

Like many others, Reber is heartbroken over the news.

“I just want to ride the magic with everyone and see what should and will happen. I don’t want to be bitter, and maybe this will help Groucho’s find a more adept place to sell liquor and work with a better landlord.”

Groucho’s Bar and Karaoke is a mom and son run bar on Goss Avenue, known for its dive setting and cult and nerd flair. Groucho’s has hosted four Halloween screenings of Troll 2, the bi-weekly Comedy Attack, music and theatrical shows, and costume parties over four years.

Groucho’s last day of business will be either January 24th or 25th.

Getting Lasik in Daegu, SK

TLDR; I would recommend Plaza Eye Center with Dr. Koo. The procedure was a success. Walk ins are welcome, Korean is not required. The Cost is 1.5 million won plus 100k won for tests. Located near Debec department store, specifically Hangaram Town. The nearest subways are Daegu Bank and Myeongdeok. Just see them after work and they’ll get you set up.

Pros and cons throughout the process: Cons would be that the price is a little expensive compared to other blogs I’ve read, and at first I was kinda pissed that I had to pay for those preliminary tests. The procedure was seamless, but I was in pain for the entire weekend. Also my doctor didn’t give me pain relievers TT TT cry cry or sedatives.The pros are that my doctor is very concerned with my healing process. I’ve seen him 4 times since the surgery (two weeks ago). These check ups are free. While my eyes are dry(due to the winter/heater, not some balked surgery) my vision is great. I just have to use drops for awhile. Also the clinic is pretty damn busy(but almost no wait time!). The environment is even a little chaotic, which might unsettle some people, but I take it as the clinic is reputable and in demand.

Interested? Here is some more detail.

Staff, setting an appointment and communicating in English: You do not need a Korean to help you book this or assist you. The staff have no expert English speakers but they are super friendly and will help you out. Communication was never an issue. No need to book in advance, and if you were to call I’d think you’d run into more trouble with communication over the phone. I arrived with no appointment on a Monday around 5 or 5:30. I got my initial tests that day and was able to set up more tests and eventually the procedure. I’m still seeing my doctor for post check ups and the staff are really sweet, know my name and are not bothered at all that I don’t speak Korean. Granted, if you want a staff and doctor that speak perfect English, look elsewhere I guess. Communicating was no trouble for me though.

Doctor: He’s a normal guy, normal doctor. Dr.Goo said he’s performed somewhere around 500 surgeries or more. As I said above, he’s seen me regularly after my surgery, and I appreciate it. It makes me glad I didn’t do some 600k lasik run to Seoul.

Cost: 1.5 million for the surgery and about 100k for tests. 1.5 was definitely my budget for the procedure. I’ve heard of paying 1.3 for everything. The price isn’t cheap, but still fair. Check ups are free. Medication is super cheap.

Procedure and possibly wigging out: The procedure was the most horrifying experience in my life. You don’t receive any sedatives. They only numb your eyes. I feel like the procedure was very safe, but it’s crucial that you keep your cool. It is essential to breathe, you have nothing else to calm you down. You need to calm down, not because of pain but because you go temporarily blind. Your instincts are definitely on alert and telling you to run for it. I would not recommend this to any person that is apt to anxiety. Still, it’s doable, a ton of people do it. I was silently wigging out, but made no sudden movements. Dr.Koo said I was a great patient.

Pain: There will be pain. During the surgery there is some, for sure, but nothing throbbing or too sharp. The evening after surgery was painful. The procedure was Friday and the weekend was painful off and on. When I woke up was the worst. So while most blogs say the pain is just for the evening, it well persisted for me the entire weekend. The first two weeks my eyes were pretty sensitive and dry. I’m healing, no worries.

Before lasik requirements: No contacts for two weeks. No eye makeup for 3 days to a week. No makeup,perfumes or lotions the day of surgery(anything with slight fumes is a no go).

Medications and post Lasik instructions: Oral meds three days(three times a day). Drops for up to four weeks. Sleeping shields/goggles for a week. They’re real cute. Don’t drink the day before, day of , and day after surgery. I resumed wearing eye makeup two weeks after the surgery. I wanted to be conservative on that end. 

Post Lasik checkups: The day after surgery, three days after surgery, the week after surgery, two weeks after surgery, four weeks after surgery, 2 months after surgery. Basically be mindful for a full month after surgery about a long vaca of some sort.

My suggestions on if to get Lasik and timing your procedure: I absolutely recommend lasik. If you prefer yourself without classes and won’t miss them (or are willing to rock some falsies occasionally) then get it done. There’s no discussion on this. Complications are minor/fixable. Cost( in Korea) is cheap, especially when factoring glasses, contacts and eye doctor costs normally. Contacts had been a pain for me, but even if you’re eyes take em well, still, get lasik. The biggest issue is if you’ll freak out under the knife( it’s not a knife but yeah they slice into your eye a bit.) Also, timing is really crucial as you can have minimal fun for up to three months lets say( no skiing, swimming, etc). Last thing, my eyes have not been handling the dry winter. I would recommend getting the procedure right after your summer vacation.

How to get to Plaza Eye Center?

If any of the bus numbers below are familiar to you then you’re in luck. All of these will take you to the Hanagram Town bus stop.

Buses that go to Plaza Eye Center.

Plaza Eye Center is on the outskirts of the posh Beomo district and is caddy corner to the Debec department store.

If the bus isn’t feasible, take the green line to Daegu Bank and hail a cab for Hanagram Town. If the driver is unsure, then they will definitely know Debec. As of writing this post, the third metro line is being build and runs parallel to the street Plaza is on.

Here it is.

I daydream to cope with my LDR. advice.

On the Internet, there is a ton of discussion and debate on how to make a long distance relationship work. And while there are many habits and cute activities to strengthen your relationship, these things are only the basic rituals to help you cope with the situation.

My boyfriend and I have a super solid relationship, even though we only Skype twice a week, because we’re faithful and pretty independent.  The Internet’s got a lot of cute and fun ideas that a couple can do together over the distance. Try ’em out. A vital part about an LDR, like all relationships, is to simply look out for your happiness and your own mental state.

Exercise, spending time with friends, committing to your work or hobbies are greats ideas! Great diversions! I do all but one of those. However, when you cannot divert from your desire to be with your partner you need to displace your feelings. You could call them up, but maybe it’s 5 in the morning for them. Just as you have to resign yourself to Skyping rather than actually seeing them, you have to still enjoy the thought of your partner when you can’t contact them at all. Here’s what I mean by displacing your natural urges for sex, romance, and companionship.

1. Day dream and fantasize. My friend asked me what is the first thing I will do when I get back to the States. I play that moment out in my head everyday. I think about going past security with my two bags and seeing him. We’d slowly meet each other at a staggered pace and I’d look up and say “You waited. I always knew you’d wait.”

Whatever realistic or surreal imagery works for you, daydreaming is about coping with the time you have and enjoying yourself. You’re not going to be disappointed if when the real moment comes it’s not so picturesque.

In fact, this interview with a relationship therapist on The Huffington Post says that people in LDRs are able to have a more ideal image of their partner than maybe those living in the same city(or some small apartment).

Before I took the time for daydreaming or other similar daily meditations( picturing my boyfriend and I drinking, having sex or getting Indian buffet), I’d just be kind of upset and obsess over the countdown calendar I have on my phone. Your enemy in a LDR is time, and dreaming, while sleeping or awake, zaps time and gives you the uncanny impression of everything actually happening.

2. Live vicariously through your friends. Revel in their juicy stories. Or get drunk and bitch at them for having  no game. That helps me displace my frustration and I assume it doesn’t totally wreck their egos…uhhmmm.

3. Enjoy romantic movies and literature. If you can turn around from being disgusted at couples on the street to gently sighing as you see them you are in the best position to not hate your LDR life. I showed my students Slumdog Millionaire, a great story of a long lost love reuniting. It broke me down and built me up. I cried and gushed from the beautiful longing nature of this film. Enjoy romance when you see it in art or on the street. Let your heart long for and appreciate this images, don’t be depressed, disgusted or jealous.

5. Hone your (at times tragic) romantic side. Tying together 1 and 3 really. Love is a mutual commitment and understanding, but it’s maddening effect is based on your own individual experience of it. Love is a spiritual and emotional experience within the individual and you will continue to yield to those sensations even by yourself if you really love someone. Own it. Be the hopeless romantic with an end in sight.

Love inspires us and changes us,but over time it gives us too much comfort and can impede our creativity. Take this um uncomfortable time to be creative.

Winging the 2013 Busan Film Festival: Tips on getting tickets and seeing movies

TLDR: Advance online purchasing is a bitch for many reasons, mostly that tickets sell out too quickly. However, you can easily get tickets the day of without having to camp out at the ticket booth. For opening ceremonies you have to book before hand.

Koreans are a different breed of early bird when it comes to online purchases. The Busan Film Festival allots 80% of movie tickets maybe a week before( check www.biff.co.kr for the date and time) the first day or screenings. They do so through the Korean site Daum.net. I went on the site the day after tickets went on sale and I had no luck for several reasons.

 The pitfalls of buying your BIFF Tickets online:

1. Minimal English on Daum: This can be worked around with a browser that translates or a Korean friend. You’ll need to either register as a native user or a foreign user and have your ARC or Passport number. But…

2. Daum’s BIFF page blows: The online ticket system is very interactive and even lets you pick your specific seats. To actually get through the whole process you need to a) use only Internet Explorer b) and have flash. That might be simple for some of you, but I was having no luck using Internet Explorer. I must not have had flash, and got stuck on the page to pick my seat. Assume all the worst things that could happen when accessing a somewhat advanced online ticketing system through Internet Explorer.

3. All online tickets sell out between two to 24 hours after they go on sale: You can be apart of the madness, but ticketing starts in the mid morning of a weekday. If you’re set on a particular film or attending the opening or closing screenings, then you probably want to be online when the site officially opens. As I said, the ticketing site boggles my mind. It’s super frustrating. Plus the site lists all movie screenings whether they are full or not, so you might be doing a lot of back and forth on your computer just finding screenings that aren’t full.

 Better alternative: Buy tickets that day.

No reservations, no worries. After school I went straight to the bus station, bought a ticket, found myself in Busan and went on the hunt for a room at a nearby love motel. 30,000 won a night.

 I was fortunate enough to be super punctual and get all the tickets I wanted on the day of. My biggest piece of advice that I wasn’t seeing on other blogs is this: Day of tickets do not sell out like online tickets. Koreans must have this thing on lock. They do the online madness to get their first choice films and the best seats. That’s probably why the day of ticket booth is lined half way with foreigners, and the rest Korean college kids.

I called the information desk the night before to get inside advice on when to arrive to the ticket booth. I asked if 7am would be early enough to get tickets(the booth started operating at 8am) . She said if I wasn’t interested in popular films then I should be able to swing it, but she hesitated. I took the first subway from my stop and arrived at the ticket booth at 6:30. Yes there is a long line that would give you the impression you will be stuck with the shittest movies there are. But, there are a ton of movies, only a few of which got enough press to warrant arriving so damn early to a potentially 10 am to 6am the next day event.

How I would do it better next time.

 –Pick up tickets the day of. Be on time, but don’t camp out: Get as much sleep as you can because you will need it if you’re doing the midnight films( out of three, one was amazing, one was okay/eh, one was terrible). If that’s getting a motel the night before or making early bus ride, do what makes sense. The ticket booth opens at 8. I got there at 6:30. I recommend you get there at 8:30. It would suck to get to the film festival so late that you can’t see any movies. That will not happen. Another advantage of not getting your tickets so early is that the seats will be better. Reserved tickets pick their seats, but day of tickets are seated according to when you bought it. All of my tickets were in the first row because I was so damn early. Those were not great seats.

– Review the list of movies before hand. While you are in line, the staff will give you a card for a) the four approximate time slots to see a film b) space for the name your first and second choice. You will go through the program or the BIFF site and fill out the card( each movie screening has a three digit number). I assumed that every movie would be enjoyable because I’m an indie kind of girl, right, and these are all artsy film with a purpose. Plus, I was so worried about tickets selling out because this was my first time and I didn’t know anything. Very few films actually impressed me. The one I did enjoy was the one my friend read up on and suggested. If you are on time you will get your first choice probably. Choose wisely.

– Take naps, drink coffee, do whatever will keep you awake. Spaland, the most epic jimjibang is a three minute walk away.. Biff is pretty exciting if you do it hard. Prepare for this.

Where exactly is the ticket booth and the theaters?

This is where you can buy tickets^^

Busan, Centum City subway stop, exit 6. I wasn’t seeing any signs towards the main ticket booth(and there is only one to get tickets the day of, don’t think you’ve avoided a line by spotting one of the many ticket pick-up booths). Go straight out of exit 6 until you hit the street( very soon). Walk across the street and then go left immediately. Take it all the way until you meet the small intersection. Go right a short distance. Then you will see a small building on your right and the cinema center on your left(it’s not actually marked from this angle). Go to the cinema center, it is on the side that will be facing you( not the one directly across from the other building). There should be tall movie posters in the grass outside of where you need to be. And inside, the line. It goes pretty quickly.

 Most theaters I went to were in the Cinema Center(opposite side of the ticket booth) and Lotte cinema, which is closer to the subway stop.

ESL lesson: Deals, Shopping part I

intended for: All levels at Korean high school

Time: 45-50 minutes

Materials: worksheets , ppt (shopping deals)

Aims: Learn shopping phrases and practice shopping conversations. This is part 1 of my lesson on shopping for students roleplay test. The ppt has a number review and a product discussion. Use either, none, or both.

Present: Present useful phrases for shopping. Have students repeat after you.

Practice: Call on students to practice the phrases you just taught. The ppt has questions and pictures which students can answers. ex, you say “Hello, how may I help you”. Student sees the picture of the rice cooker and should response “Excuse me, I’m looking for a rice cooker.”

Production: (more practice than production really) Hand students the two part worksheet. They must work in pairs. For part I, students want to buy a laptop and must choose the one they want to buy by filling in the dialogue. The matching slide shows three laptops. For part II, students decide what kind of candy they want and how many bags to get. The matching slide has three kinds of candy and their deals. 

Opt practice: Students may need to review their numbers. The beginning of the ppt has numbers to review. Explain the rules of the commas.

Opt production: The ppt has slides with a crappy LG flip Phone and a cool Samsung Galaxy. Suggest to the students that their parents will buy them one fo these phones. ask them which phone they want and list reasons to buy Galaxy phone and then reason to buy the LG phone. This gets students to think more deeply about what they are actually looking for when shopping. 

Outcome: Not a special lesson but the practice dialogues are pretty good. These are a great way to get students to start using appropriate shopping conversations without a) them having to form a dialogue from scratch and b) them just reading from a already formed script. 

ESL Lesson: Who is your hero?

intended for: Most levels at Korean high school

time: 45-60 minutes.

materials: printed out worksheets (heroes), and ppt ( heroesppt1)

Aims: Students will work with vocabulary for the characteristics of heroes and the different titles( jobs, etc) of heroes. make sure to school them about some Tesla. the lesson isn’t anything special but I think the materials are pretty boss.

Present: Present the list of characteristics and let students write the Korean translation of the words. Let students repeat after you. Next, present on the people. Let students guess who the hero is. Explain a little bit about each hero, where they are from, why they are famous and what is their title and characteristics. Have students complete the translations for the titles on their worksheet.

Practice: Have students match the characteristics to the actions for part I. Have students match the title to the person for part II. Go over the answers.

Production: Present the three main questions, who is your hero? what did he/she do? why is he/she your hero? Present the example paragraph. Have students write similar paragraphs.

Outcomes: This was a prep lesson for speaking tests. So I didn’t urge the students to complete a perfect paragraph. I really just wanted them to start using the vocabulary and start thinking of who their hero might be.

for educational use only. do not sell this.

Lesson Plan: Would you rather?

I went to one of those demo classes and stole much of this lesson from the class I saw. Use it too.

Intended for: High School Freshmen (in Korea)

Time: 45-50 minutes

Materials: 2 PPTs, paper ( enough for each pair), tape.

Objective: Students will form and answer ‘would you rather’ questions

phrases: ‘Would you rather…or..? ‘i would rather… than.. blank.”

Key words: than… and any words your students aren’t familiar with on the slide with many questions.

Introduction(5): I have separate slides for girls and boys. Show them the slides of the handsome man/ unattractive man( respectively, the hot chick and the not at all hot chick). Tell the students that the people in the slides want to be their girlfriend/boyfriend. Make a story as to why the unattractive person might be the better option. For the boys, I said Megan Foxx was in debt and the boys would have to pay her bills, while Sandra Bernhart is wealthy and the boys would not have to work. For the girls, I said the hot guy wasn’t very nice, but the unattractive guys( which is a pic of my boyfriend) is really kind and treats a lady pretty swell. Ask them who they would choose.

Present(10): Essentially follow the slides how the necessary grammar. drill em.

Practice(10): Work in partners and ask each other all of the questions on the slide/list.

Production part 1(10): Have the pairs draw two choices on their one paper. Explain that they should be able to ask ‘would you rather’, and that they need a verb. My example slide is a dog and a cat, so I would ask “Would you rather have a dog or a cat for a pet?” Check up on them throughout.

Production part 2(10): Once groups are about finished, get your tape and post up their drawings around the room. Have the students walk around the room with their partner and ask ‘would you rather?’ questions about the drawings.

Outcomes: The lesson works pretty well, It might be short of the allotted time actually. I don’t know when the best time to present this is, but let them know that they cannot use ‘like’ in their questions. I just doesn’t make sense. Even though the lesson seems simple there’s a lot of ways they can be hmmm inaccurate.

Boys ppt: wouldyourather

girls ppt: wouldteachers

Adverbs of Frequency, ‘North Korea will unlikely…’

Intended for: High School Freshmen (in Korea)

Time: 45-50 minutes

Materials: PPT, Four sheets for four corner( Unlikely  10%, Possibly 30%, Probably 70%, Definitely 90%), tape, dice( but can be opt.)

Objective: Students will be able to use adverbs of frequency to make predictions.

phrases: “How likely is this?”, “(North Korea) will unlikely (reunite with South Korea).”, (Aliens) will probably (visit Earth).“

Key words: Unlikely, possibly, probably, and definitely.

Introduction (10): The day’s topic is predictions. Have students talk in pairs and ask questions from the slide about their partner’s future. Where will you live in ten years, etc. Call on students to present some answers.

Present (10): Present your prediction. Robots will control the world. Ask students, How likely is this?. They may respond with simple yes, no, or never. Present the four adverbs of frequency. Ask students to use those words to make a prediction. Then go over the next slides: how to use these words in a complete sentence. Use next slide to check which two have correct grammar and which on does not. Drill students on your robot prediction.

Practice (12): Four corners. Each one of your sheets with the adverb of frequency should be taped in the corners of the room.  Show slides with certain predictions (North Korea will reunite with South Korea). Have students stand up and instruct them to move to the appropriate corner. Drill students once they move to the corner (how likely is this? NK will unlikely reunite with SK). There are about ten slides. My co-teach ended with a funny prediction about one of the students doing a dance or something crazy, so all the kids moved to definitely. Then she had to dance…

Production: Have students sit and talk to their partner. The slide shows 6 subjects that they need to make a prediction about. Each subject has a number attached to it. I have them roll a die, and each time they need to make a prediction based on number. take turns. then drill em.

 

Outcomes: Students are able to pick up the sentence structure pretty well. Boys will hesitate to move during four corners. They rather just hangout with everyone at ‘possibly’, but you can still drill em. Students will not use all the time to make MANY predictions for the last stage. I say, drill em for the last three to five minutes. Still, it’s a worthwhile lesson. content is good, but the bad kids will still be shits.

#adverbs of frequency # esl #lesson plan # high school #predictions # future

avderbsfrequency_future_leffler