John hijacked my phone so I apologize to anyone who received text messages from "me" at strange hours. Good one, John. That's something I would do. Heed my warning though, mind your phone now!
Birthday photos
This birthday will be one of those that I certainly will not forget or rather I won't forget that I remember next to nothing from this chaotic night. Seemingly it was the 10 or 11 shots of soju, the three shots of jager, not to mention the mugs of beer that has contributed to my memory loss. Judging from what Lucy said I did at the bar, I won't complain about my amnesia. Thanks guys!
John hijacked my phone so I apologize to anyone who received text messages from "me" at strange hours. Good one, John. That's something I would do. Heed my warning though, mind your phone now!
John hijacked my phone so I apologize to anyone who received text messages from "me" at strange hours. Good one, John. That's something I would do. Heed my warning though, mind your phone now!
What's so special about today?
American author Louisa M. Alcott, British writer C.S. Lewis and French president, Jacques Chirac and I share the same birthday....today!
So that makes me a Sagittarius, and being a Sag, I have these traditional traits:
Optimistic and freedom-loving
Jovial and good-humored
Honest and straightforward
Energetic and ethical
Humorous and compassionate
Intellectual and philosophical
But as those who know me will say, "I'm not that happy go lucky on a regular basis" Yes, there is a dark side of being a Sag. My not so wonderful characteristics include:
Blindly optimistic and careless
Irresponsible and superficial
Pride and impulsiveness
Impracticality and superstitious
Tactless and restless
I can see someone of you nodding your head in agreement. Now stop it! It's my birthday so think only of my good qualities!
Sagittarius is the ninth sign of the Zodiac and associated with travel and expansion. In terms of anatomy, Lucy and John take note, Sagittarius is said to rule the hips, thighs, and sacral area. Proof that I was predestined to have nice legs!
What's more, I was born in the year of the Rat. People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox.
So there you have it. That's what is special about today.....me!
Thanks to Lucy, Caroll, Yasmeen, Narah, May, David, Annie, Celine, Hyeon, Jin and Yoanna for the fabulous cards and gifts!
blah blah and tuesdays suck blah blah
Tuesday it is and for some reason I feel extremely tired and stressed out. I don't know why. I left well the last two nights so it must be something else. Most likely, it's because my mind is in overdrive with all the work I have to do. It's one of those days I feel like screaming.
But don't worry about me. As the song goes, I will survive.
Enough about work though. This morning in TKD, I practiced more and more kicking. I hope I will be ready for my second Dan test in February.
But don't worry about me. As the song goes, I will survive.
Enough about work though. This morning in TKD, I practiced more and more kicking. I hope I will be ready for my second Dan test in February.
Footy!
Our plan today was to play American football. Clearly Sarah and I interpret the game "football" differently. Sarah solidified her understanding when she showed up at the field with a rugby ball. For the last couple weeks, we have been promoting the "big game". There seemed to be a lot of interest but not enough to get someone out of bed on a rainy Sunday afternoon. So there were two.
My game face is on. We ran a few laps and practiced kicking the ball back and forth. I forgot how talented I am. And Sarah is no slouch either. Man, we were hot. Maybe we should try out for some Korean team.
Sarah nearly knocked my camera out of my hands with this ball. Nice kick Sarah. Now do it in a real game!
Sarah is always hogging the camera. Maybe she really is ready to become a sports star. I could feed some rumors to the trash magazines. Boy do I have the dirt on this one!
Yes here I am just holding the ball. You can see how green it is here in Korea in November. Behind me is the pond where the ball successfully landed after I kicked it. Don't worry, I can swim and I managed to get the damn ball before it floated away.
Did I mention we had a sponsor? All proceeds from the game went to pay for Sarah's flight back to Australia for Christmas. We even had a little money left over to pay for new uniforms.
Sarah reaches for the stars. Here you can see her stretching before our the 20 laps around the pond. Don't strain yourself Sarah!
My game face is on. We ran a few laps and practiced kicking the ball back and forth. I forgot how talented I am. And Sarah is no slouch either. Man, we were hot. Maybe we should try out for some Korean team.
Sarah nearly knocked my camera out of my hands with this ball. Nice kick Sarah. Now do it in a real game!
Sarah is always hogging the camera. Maybe she really is ready to become a sports star. I could feed some rumors to the trash magazines. Boy do I have the dirt on this one!
Yes here I am just holding the ball. You can see how green it is here in Korea in November. Behind me is the pond where the ball successfully landed after I kicked it. Don't worry, I can swim and I managed to get the damn ball before it floated away.
Did I mention we had a sponsor? All proceeds from the game went to pay for Sarah's flight back to Australia for Christmas. We even had a little money left over to pay for new uniforms.
Sarah reaches for the stars. Here you can see her stretching before our the 20 laps around the pond. Don't strain yourself Sarah!
Korean T-shirts: lost in translation, found in humor
Apparently not only is it cool to speak English but it is even cooler to wear clothes with English expressions. Just like when we're back home and we see someone spotting a shirt with strange lettering, we think, how cool. When in effect, we're likely expressing our delight at some curse or nonsensical words. This morning, I went to mini mart to pick up some socks and a few shirts caught my eye. Can you guess which one is my favorite?
cold cold cold it's cold cold cold random cold
I skipped TKD this morning, not to go hiking but to prepare for my Russian history class. I have been putting it off since I agreed to take the class and I can't procrastinate any longer. My student will be ready to go tomorrow morning bright and early.
All I have to do is print, read all the damn material and memorize all the important dates. Fun stuff!
Last night I went out to Hwamyeongdong,where I used to live, to check out the football field. It's not much of a field but it will be better than nothing. I visited my old tkd school and chatted with the grand master. I saw Chelsey and we chatted for a bit too. Judging my all the emails I have gotten recently, we should have a good turn out.
Andrea has agreed to come to South America with me next year. Details are sketchy but they are a go. So last night I wiped the dust off my South America On a Shoestring guide and had a read through. yeh!
All I have to do is print, read all the damn material and memorize all the important dates. Fun stuff!
Last night I went out to Hwamyeongdong,where I used to live, to check out the football field. It's not much of a field but it will be better than nothing. I visited my old tkd school and chatted with the grand master. I saw Chelsey and we chatted for a bit too. Judging my all the emails I have gotten recently, we should have a good turn out.
Andrea has agreed to come to South America with me next year. Details are sketchy but they are a go. So last night I wiped the dust off my South America On a Shoestring guide and had a read through. yeh!
My students are all tied up
Our reading in my 5 and 6 o'classes focused on the evolution of neckwear. So I thought let's have a contest to see who can tie a tie the fastest. Here's a few pictures of my 6 o'clock students, who are as energetic as a book of stamps. I should have taken pictures of 5 o'clock class because the students are more responsive. You can see like all students, they tried to shield their faces.
"Paris" tries to tie the Tie on "Jane". There's some pictures on the instructions but I told the girls to cover them up and read only. I know they ignored this. But that's okay. We had fun anyway.
My favorite twins, "Amy" and "Judy" are resourceful as they try to tie a knot around the pencil case. Good for them.... they read the instructions and covered up the pictures.
And here's "Ann" who tries to do it all herself. She was not amused that she didn't have a partner. In the end though, she was tying faster than the other girls.
"Paris" tries to tie the Tie on "Jane". There's some pictures on the instructions but I told the girls to cover them up and read only. I know they ignored this. But that's okay. We had fun anyway.
My favorite twins, "Amy" and "Judy" are resourceful as they try to tie a knot around the pencil case. Good for them.... they read the instructions and covered up the pictures.
And here's "Ann" who tries to do it all herself. She was not amused that she didn't have a partner. In the end though, she was tying faster than the other girls.
Let's get personal
Question: What does a man wearing a very feminine pink shirt and a woman carrying a cute Yorkshire terrier have in common?
Both approached me at different times today requesting private lessons. The woman was quite pleasant about the whole thing when I said no, thank you. I surprised myself when she asked me in Korean and I understood here. But then she went on and on about something and I just nodded my head.
On the other hand the man was quite insistent. He followed me up the stairs to Wilshire but I remained strong and I said no thank you over and over again. I hate saying no it's really weird to be approached but someone you don't know for private lessons. I don't think I would ever do that to someone.
I added a new feature to my blog. Earlier today John was faithfully reading the personal ads in the Korean Herald so it gave me the idea to write a personal ad for him here. Then I thought I should write one for Lucy too. But she didn't relish the idea so I just have to amuse myself by playing cupid for John.
Both approached me at different times today requesting private lessons. The woman was quite pleasant about the whole thing when I said no, thank you. I surprised myself when she asked me in Korean and I understood here. But then she went on and on about something and I just nodded my head.
On the other hand the man was quite insistent. He followed me up the stairs to Wilshire but I remained strong and I said no thank you over and over again. I hate saying no it's really weird to be approached but someone you don't know for private lessons. I don't think I would ever do that to someone.
I added a new feature to my blog. Earlier today John was faithfully reading the personal ads in the Korean Herald so it gave me the idea to write a personal ad for him here. Then I thought I should write one for Lucy too. But she didn't relish the idea so I just have to amuse myself by playing cupid for John.
John is out on the lamb
John and his best bud Neil had a heck of a time on Saturday night. The details are sketchy but partial accounts reveal a fist fight, a struggle and a robbery. All incidents involved John, so it's no wonder he is hiding his face behind the newspaper.
Random thoughts form the TKD studio
It was so nice outside yesterday. It's too bad that I spent most of the day inside the hairdressers. At least I had company so it wasn't that boring. Maybe I'll skip TKD one morning this week to go hiking (if my leg holds up). Lucy and I still have to go get our pics taken in our uniforms on top of a mountain before she leaves.
Who's that girl?
Inspiration hit us early as Sarah and I chatted over coffee at Starbucks. We were both complaining about our hair and we thought, hey let's do something about it. So four hours and four hundred thousand won later, Sarah and I emerged from Felia as two hot babes. (Mind you we were pretty hot before)
Before: Okay Sarah does look a little crazy here but that's what Korea does to a person. The seasons have changed so it's time for us all to go warmer.
After: Who's that hot brunette? Sarah is determined to prove that the brownies have more fun. Not that she didn't look hot before but now she's hotter!
Before: Okay Sarah does look a little crazy here but that's what Korea does to a person. The seasons have changed so it's time for us all to go warmer.
After: Who's that hot brunette? Sarah is determined to prove that the brownies have more fun. Not that she didn't look hot before but now she's hotter!
Playing silly at Wilshire in Busan
In order to liven my days up at Wilshire, I like to run and jump as high as I can in front of the counter. Caroll just loves the distraction. I got good lift off here. Watch out!
"Come on Baby", is Peter's favorite expression. Peter loves John. John Loves Peter. It's a happy relationship. Can't you tell? I wonder what that helmet is used for?
Walking to TKD in the beautiful fall weather
Everyday I walk to and from TKD. Since the leaves on the trees have changed, my usual dreary walk has become almost peaceful and pastoral. I only have to look up at the orange and red leaves on the trees to feel a smile beginning.
As this is my only chance to see any green during my day, I have to appreciate this small wonder as much as I can.
Speaking of TKD, Lucy and I learned a TKD dance this morning. It was more like an aerobic class if I had to describe it. Fun, it was though. We had a break from kicking and practicing poomsaes.
these boots were made for walking
Lucy and I went on a mini-shopping spree tonight. As we went out late, the shops were beginning to close up shop. But it didn't stop us from making a small dent in our wallets. I bought these fabulous boots from Converse. For the past few weeks, I have been going into the Converse store to stare at the sneakers. In fact, the store keepers were at the point of calling me by name. There's a huge selection and it's impossible to choose just one pair. Lucy came with me to help me decide on a pair. We'll both go probably go back. We saw several pairs that would accentuate our wardrobes.
Kickin' it at TKD
At TKD this morning, I worked on kicks and more kicks. My leg isn't healed but I could do more than I could last week. Here's picture of my tkd master striking a pose.
Weekend Roundup..can I get any more boring than this?
On Saturday, Remembrance Day was observed in Canada while here in Korea, Peppero Day was celebrated. Two holidays could not be further from resemblance. Like last year I felt odd not recognizing the date in some form of ceremony or gathering but in my heart I did pause and reflect. Even today when I listened to some Remembrance Day newscasts I felt teary-eyed.
On Sunday, I was feeling the effects of crapulence or drunkenness from the previous night. But I sucked it up, and I went to Sarah's for our book club meeting. We discussed The Thorn Birds for about 10 minutes then we watched part of the miniseries. Sarah cooked us a wonderful dinner. Everything was cooked to perfection. Barb has chosen our next novel. We'll read The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens.
On Sunday, I was feeling the effects of crapulence or drunkenness from the previous night. But I sucked it up, and I went to Sarah's for our book club meeting. We discussed The Thorn Birds for about 10 minutes then we watched part of the miniseries. Sarah cooked us a wonderful dinner. Everything was cooked to perfection. Barb has chosen our next novel. We'll read The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens.
We practiced sparring this morning in Taekwondo. My leg is still not healed so I was useless. The master seems to forget that I am injured and keeps yelling at me to kick faster, do this, do that. I am trying my best but damn it my leg isn't cooperating. I just don't think it's wise for me to push myself when I am not okay. I don't want to slow down my healing process. All of it is just so damn frustrating. All I wanted to do in class was cry, cry and then cry some more.
What is the difference between a road and a street?
A road usually runs between two more distant points, such as between two towns. A street is described as being a paved road or highway - in a city, town, or village, especially one lined with houses, shops, or other buildings. The implication is that if a street does not have these things, it will probably be called a road. When a town expands, sometimes what was formerly a road will become a street. The word road is the more general term, though, and can be applied to a street. Street is the narrower term.
Above is what I stole from www.dictionary.com A wealth of fun facts can be found there.
Above is what I stole from www.dictionary.com A wealth of fun facts can be found there.
munching on cashews
I finished early tonight so I took the opportunity to really clean my apartment. Now that it is colder many cockroaches will be looking for a vacation home.
Last week John gave me a toaster that had been in one of the kitchen cupboards that was never used. Excitedly I took it home with visions of toasted cinnamon bagels with peanut butter. But I had been too busy lately to do any food shopping so I left it until this week. Imagine my horror when I opened the lid of the toaster to see two or three cockroaches scampering around. To say the least, I lost my appetite, and the cockroaches lost their mobile home. I took the toaster with its inhabitants to the trash.
Cockroaches Beware: There will be no vacancies at Hotel Jade this winter or anytime soon.
Last week John gave me a toaster that had been in one of the kitchen cupboards that was never used. Excitedly I took it home with visions of toasted cinnamon bagels with peanut butter. But I had been too busy lately to do any food shopping so I left it until this week. Imagine my horror when I opened the lid of the toaster to see two or three cockroaches scampering around. To say the least, I lost my appetite, and the cockroaches lost their mobile home. I took the toaster with its inhabitants to the trash.
Cockroaches Beware: There will be no vacancies at Hotel Jade this winter or anytime soon.
Out and about with Lucy, Neil, John and Julie
Wilshire's gang is out on the town. Don't we look like a happy family? You wouldn't think that a few minutes before this photo was snapped that Neil and I were still arguing about some silly arguments we had months ago.
Here's Julie after applying makeup. Isn't she beautiful? That bag on her lap is full of makeup. We all took turns applying makeup in view of everyone in the restaurant. In Korea, that's perfectly normal. In the western world, that's perfectly crazy.
And these are the leftovers of some octopus. Doesn't it look appetizing? In the tin tray, you can see various types of seafood including mussels and clams.
Last night I met Julie and company at an outdoor seafood restaurant in Jagalchi. When I arrived they were eating various sea creatures and were are their third bottle of soju. Julie quickly poured me a few shots to welcome me to the party. It was so good to see Julie again. She looked fabulous as you can see in the picture. From there we went to a jazz bar in Nampodong. We met up with an obnoxious Canadian guy and a silly Korean girl. It no longer was my scene so I hopped into a cab and met Lucy at OBS. Not surprisingly she was too tired to stay out so we just had a one drink together.
Neil and John were there too so I had some company. Of course the two of them were hammered. Neil just wouldn't get over the fact that I told him to F**K O** a few months ago. I apologized and I thought that was it. But he kept going on and on about it. Well he sorta apologized to me about his behavior but he doesn't think he did anything wrong. Typical.
At about 4 am this morning, I found myself at the Lotte casino with one of OBS's regulars. I didn't play but I watched him lose his money.
help, i need somebody, help!
Another Saturday morning ho hum. At least I am not working yet. I still have three hours of freedom before I go into Wilshire. I'm sitting here at my laptop answering my emails and listening to The National on the Internet. I'm happy that I can stay informed with what is going on back in Canada. Otherwise I would be even more out of it when I return.
Lately, I have been checking the job market in different parts of Canada and in New Zealand. With only four months left here, I still haven't decided or made any leeway in a decision of where and I what I am doing next. The decision is going to be life altering once again. There's so many possibilities that I don't want to ignore. I could move to the West, I could move back to the East or Ottawa or I could head straight back to Toronto. Then of course, there's always another RTW trip. Ugh!
I'm frustrated with myself because I really don't know what I want. Should I concentrate on a location first? Or should I concentrate on trying to get a job then worry about what part of the country I will live in? I need advice. I need help but ultimately it is I who has to decide. Help!
But then if I do seriously start freelancing again, it doesn't matter where I live. With the Internet I can be anywhere and write or shoot.
Lately, I have been checking the job market in different parts of Canada and in New Zealand. With only four months left here, I still haven't decided or made any leeway in a decision of where and I what I am doing next. The decision is going to be life altering once again. There's so many possibilities that I don't want to ignore. I could move to the West, I could move back to the East or Ottawa or I could head straight back to Toronto. Then of course, there's always another RTW trip. Ugh!
I'm frustrated with myself because I really don't know what I want. Should I concentrate on a location first? Or should I concentrate on trying to get a job then worry about what part of the country I will live in? I need advice. I need help but ultimately it is I who has to decide. Help!
But then if I do seriously start freelancing again, it doesn't matter where I live. With the Internet I can be anywhere and write or shoot.
For the love of kimchi, answer your door
The cleaning lady in my apartment loves me. This morning she was very excited to give me some homemade kimchi. I could tell she was excited because she started ringing my doorbell around 730 am, and continued to do so until I answered at 910 am. It was really sweet of her.
No hopping, skipping or jumping.
Oh, the agony of having an injury. Still my leg remains unhealed completely. Regardless of the pain and futility of my leg, I am still going to TKD each morning. All week it's only been me there as Lucy is sick. I can't kick so everyday I've been practicing my poomsaes.
It's great being the only student so I can concentrate on what I need to work on. My poomsaes are fine though. I wish I could work on my kicking but that's out of the question for a while still.
In February, I will take my second Dan test. There's a lot of work ahead of me but I know I can do it. I just hope that my working schedule doesn't interfere with my classes in January.
It's great being the only student so I can concentrate on what I need to work on. My poomsaes are fine though. I wish I could work on my kicking but that's out of the question for a while still.
In February, I will take my second Dan test. There's a lot of work ahead of me but I know I can do it. I just hope that my working schedule doesn't interfere with my classes in January.
Warning... Canadian Criminal Posing as a Teacher in Busan
My director asked me to hire a couple teachers. I get to post job ads, sort through resumes and do the interviews. I feel good that he trusts me to hire a competent teacher. With this is in mind, I easily posted an ad on pusanweb earlier this week. Then today I received an email with the heading from someone,
"Criminal Teacher in Korea: WARNING ALERT!!!"
Imagine my surprise when my first thought was the loser who worked with us for a few months, and to find out, I was dead on. It was none other than the jackass that worked with us in the summer and then was fired for kicking students and harassing coworkers.
Here are some highlights:
"To whom it may concern,
I am sending you a warning about a criminal teacher who has been in Korea for 5 years. He was recently fired from Kyungnam College of Information and Technology (KIT) in Busan, and will be looking for a new job. He was fired for failing to provide a valid criminal record (He handed in a forged criminal record.Before that he was let go from the EPIK program for misconduct.
Apparently he solicited sex from students, but the police would not press charges because the parents of the female students did not want their daughter's names in the press. Prior to that XXX was at Dong-eui University, where he was let go after one year. In 2003 his teaching license was suspended in Ontario, Canada after he pleaded guilty to misconduct. XXX was alleged to have had committed sexual misconduct eight times with female students. He was also under investigation for criminal convictions of assaulting a police officer, uttering death threats, and resisting arrest.This basically means he will never be able to teach in Canada ever again."
Whew! Okay usually I wouldn't post something like this because you never know who the source is. But since I know this "criminal", I have no doubt that every word in this email is legit. I am just glad that someone is circulating this email. This guy is a first class jerk. John says he remembers that all XXX used to talk about was sex and how to treat women. Besides the shoving incident with me, he was seriously messed up. All the Koreans thought so too. It wasn't just his wife beating t-shirts that he wore everyday. He was really scary.
When I read that email, I felt really nauseated. Men like that make me sick. This is just more proof that Asia is a haven for losers and criminals (myself excluded).
"Criminal Teacher in Korea: WARNING ALERT!!!"
Imagine my surprise when my first thought was the loser who worked with us for a few months, and to find out, I was dead on. It was none other than the jackass that worked with us in the summer and then was fired for kicking students and harassing coworkers.
Here are some highlights:
"To whom it may concern,
I am sending you a warning about a criminal teacher who has been in Korea for 5 years. He was recently fired from Kyungnam College of Information and Technology (KIT) in Busan, and will be looking for a new job. He was fired for failing to provide a valid criminal record (He handed in a forged criminal record.Before that he was let go from the EPIK program for misconduct.
Apparently he solicited sex from students, but the police would not press charges because the parents of the female students did not want their daughter's names in the press. Prior to that XXX was at Dong-eui University, where he was let go after one year. In 2003 his teaching license was suspended in Ontario, Canada after he pleaded guilty to misconduct. XXX was alleged to have had committed sexual misconduct eight times with female students. He was also under investigation for criminal convictions of assaulting a police officer, uttering death threats, and resisting arrest.This basically means he will never be able to teach in Canada ever again."
Whew! Okay usually I wouldn't post something like this because you never know who the source is. But since I know this "criminal", I have no doubt that every word in this email is legit. I am just glad that someone is circulating this email. This guy is a first class jerk. John says he remembers that all XXX used to talk about was sex and how to treat women. Besides the shoving incident with me, he was seriously messed up. All the Koreans thought so too. It wasn't just his wife beating t-shirts that he wore everyday. He was really scary.
When I read that email, I felt really nauseated. Men like that make me sick. This is just more proof that Asia is a haven for losers and criminals (myself excluded).
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