Six months

Six months today. In a way, my time so far in Korea seems to have moved at a snail's pace, but looking back, it seems to have gone by so quickly. Of course, the mostly downtime of the last six weeks (excluding last week and the week before, where I actually put in O.T.) has gone quickly. It stinks that most of my downtime happens when it is so friggin' cold. But, since the school is not properly heated, it has its advatages. I haven't kept the shoebox properly heated either, but I can always jump under the covers or take a long hot shower. I'm sure my long showers are partly to blame for my last whopper of a utility bill-that I and I actually let the temp go up to 17 or even 18 upon occasion. Not lately, tho. I think my house is colder than Mom ever kept our house. Of course, I am a lot more susceptible tothe cold than I used to be. Sixteen degrees is......60.8 degrees Fahrenheit...yeah, colder than Mom's, fo' sho'. I have to get the school to move me somewhere that isn't LPG-too expensive!

Six months.....wow.

Little bit a Shakin'

PS, We actually had a minor earthquake here the night before last. From the Korean text that came through on my phone, which I can't read, it looked like it was a 4.something, I think. I didn't even feel it, but some coworkers and friends did. I think the epicenter must have been a ways out, but I haven't found anything on the English speaking internet to get details yet. I think the only other one I have been in, in Seattle, was stronger-but that's not saying much.

Sci-fi, Death and Taxes, Oh My!

Week one of immersion camp down. Too bad I have to get up early tomorrow. I get frustrated when I think about how few hours some people have to work, if at all. I try not to think about it too much. If I could sleep in more, I would not be so bothered about it. But, I have been managing to drag myself out of bed, at least. I can only hope that I have a better schedule next semester. It could make all the difference, truly. I must admit, I am entirely too dependant on being able to get enough sleep. Clearly, I must not be able to get enough, or I would be able to ramble on about something a bit more interesting, at least. But, as usual, if you know me well, you know how much of a difference it makes for me.

I am having a heck of a time keeping a schedule. That, and I am going through Stargate withdrawal. Finished a season, and the new program I am trying is taking forever with the next season. As soon as it is done, I am going back to my old program.

Guess I need to bust out some Firefly, so I can get my Sci-fi fix. As much as I like BBC's Hustle, it ain't shiny with big guns, fast flying machinnes, and has no weapons or machines with names like phasers, lassiters, or flux capacitors (sp?), and there are no time paradoxes, black holes, or scientists plotting to blow up suns in order to get out of the latest impossible fix-and look damn good doing it (hey, even the patches on Mal's brown coat just make him look cooler). How American can I be? Ooh, yeah, and Mickey and Danny aren't as drool worthy as Simon Tam. And what can I say-I've had a thing for Richard Dean Anderson ever since MacGyver, and Ben Browder since Crighton first sling shot into a galaxy far far away. Nevertheless, for those of you back home, I recommend the Brit show Hustle. It was playing on AMC, despite the fact that it is not American, nor movie, nor classic. Good grift, though.

Stay tunes for scenes of our next episode....Our intrepid heroine tries to untangle the impossibly labrinthine tangle known as the American tax system. One of the most popular characters, Bridget, returns, to help our heroine-will she be in time before Mal implodes, causing devastation thoughout HallaVersity that could reach as far as the Heungeop Nebula in the B31.34 galaxy?

Skull-less Skully is done!

The basic pattern is Skully from Stitch and Bitch. I did not add any Skulls because I need to be able to look teacherly at school. This is my second sweater, and it is warmer than most sweaters I could get in Korea. Unfortunately, it is already showing some wear after I've worn it only twice. Advice is welcome. Can I wash with dish soap, as wool wash does not exist here, or should I Ebay myself some wool wash? It is Knitpicks Sierra, 70% wool and 30% angora (slightly scratchy, so I need to wear something under it. The shape of the neckline really limits what looks nice.) Will reblocking help?

Anyway, I am fairly pleased with myself. Pardon the lack of a photographer. The color is most accurate in the shot of me wearing it. I modified the pattern slightly. The arms can be a bit of a hassle under a coat, but dang it's warm. Whatcha think?

Back to school.....

...on Monday. I was just getting to a point where I was really loving being on vacation. Well, no, I have been loving it the whole time. Now, I've just gotten USED to it. On the plus side, in just over a month, I will have 2 weeks vacation again. Boy, am I going to miss sleeping in. Getting up on Monday morning is going to be a tough one, I know that already.

Fixed!

Well, Blogger help was no help. But, By process of elimination, I found the right button and changed everything back to English. Hurray!

Korean

Sorry to all who hit comments and see what is almost certainly unintelligible to them. Yep, I can't read it either...it's Korean. For some reason, when I switched to the new blogger, since I am in Korea, Blogger must have ASSumed that I am Korean and would like said interface. l@%$@#!@#$$%%%^^&&*! That is instead of writing swear words in English, Korean, German, Spanish, French, and Swedish.

Trying to get it all sorted out. Your patience in this matter is appreciated. Please pardon our mess while we upgrade for your convenience......blah blah. Oh, yeah, and I haven't done much with pictures since I lost them all.

Skully needs to have lots of ends woven in, then I'll add a picture. I made something for some one back home, but I have yet to get it to the post office, so it shall remain unpictured here. Not that that is a word, but if you know me well, you know that I've a penchant for making up words as I go. Not that I can take credit for all of the unwords that I use. oochee-wahwah-chee-my-way! Jay, did I spell that right?

Bacon!

So, do you remember those commercials for some dog treat or other-I can't remeber the brand-that featured a cartoon dog that was all about the bacon? I don't remember the visuals so much as the sound track. Something like this:

Dog-Bacon!!

Narrator-Your dog won't know that 'name brand here' isn't really bacon.

Dog-Bacon!! (wagging tail)

Narrator continues along the same lines about how it isn't bacon, blah, blah, but your dog will smell it, taste it, etc, and think:

Dog-Bacon!!!!!

Shot to happy dog with said treat and the last sound is the dog:

Bacon!!!!!

OK, well, I've been in Korea for five months. I have eaten entirely too much Korean bacon for it to be good for my arteries. But Since I walk into the stores here and can't read directions, have to buy all fruits in veggies in bulk 90% of the time (90% of which will go bad before I can eat it all on my own), hate too good "real" meals (and none to good of a cook to begin with, I know), and can't find the ingredients easily (if at all) in Wonju for the kind of things I made back home, I have been eating a lot of bacon and eggs (and tobasco) and BLTs. That said, I have been eating them with korean bacon.

Allow me to explain the difference. Korean bacon is wimpy. Yes, WIMPY. Small, short, skinny, thin. Wimpy. makes me laugh when I remember Dad always saying at a restaurant that he wants it crisp. He always has to specify that to the waiter or waitress, sometimes in a way that just made me cringe to be with him (love ya, Dad, but still). Dad, you will not get your wish with korean bacon unless you specify that you want it BLACK. That is how you make korean bacon crispy. You burn the heck out it. A dog would be convinced that Korean bacon is, in fact, bacon. It's been so long since I have seen real bacon, that I forgot that korean bacon is not real bacon. Well, today I went to pick up my firewire cord that I had left with Robin on my last visit, so that I can back up this perecious hard drive o' mine.

Pant, pant.....Robin brought me BACON!!! Folks, we are talkin' the real deal. Kirkland brand bacon from Costco, same as dear old Dad buys at his Costco on the west coast. If they don't have Costco in Ronin (Ronan?) MO, he probably stocks up every time he heads through Spokane. Bacon and Salsa (Do I know dad or what? Eggs, some meat that comes packaged in a roll-like pepperoni, and some sausage patties, and some computery gadget and a couple of books to fill out the carriage, but I digress). So, bacon and Stich and Bitch were the hightlights of my day. Even if all I did was a swatch. Skully is almost done, and therefore too big to cart to Seoul and back. A couple of inches on the arm and I will have to attempt the dreaded seaming.

Yes, bacon. The real deal. Time to whip up some dinner, y'all. Far be it from me to change up my routine today.

On another note, I am hoping that the Airborne cold medication that T sent me will kick this cold right outta me in the beginning stages. None of that lingering of the last cold. Nope, I want to be healthy as a horse, and right as rain when immersion camp starts on Monday.

I'm Back!

'Nuf said. Mallory's a happy girl. Many, many thanks to Robin, who has gotten kudos here before, for help, TONS of info, and just plain good company whilst in Seoul. She helped me find a place that was an authorized mac repair center there, gave me Mac tips, Mac stuff, laughed goodheartedly at my Mac ignorance, then proceeded to lower my ignorance level by as much as possible in the time allotted. Oh, and she has my blog on her Newswire RSS feed...some one has me on an RSS feed. That's cool. ;) Now, if I can just get her to walk slower.......

Oh, T, I'm going to sign up for Skype. Then I'll give you info so we can talk for free-yes, FREE. Thanks Robin.
Now I am going to cook a very late dinner (it's 22.20) and watch the latest Heroes episode. Thanks Robin.
And while I do all of this, I am in Stealth mode. Nobody's messin' with me. Thanks Robin. ;)
Tomorrow I will find a back up software to use on my new back up hard drive.....yep, you guessed it.....Thanks, Robin!....so this never, EVER happens again.

(Psst, Robin rocks!....but you can tell that already, right?)

Ok, y'all, it'll take me a while to get everything back the way it was.......but I am soo happy to be back in business.

Ciao for now.