Notes to Self

Creativity

2009-02-17T13:18:00.004+11:00

For a while during our travels, I was able to soak up so many new and beautiful things that my creativity urge felt mostly fulfilled. Since arriving in Australia, and having a lot more down time, that hasn't really been the case. I was able to get some new and interesting books by australian creative types that I may not have been able to find in American libraries at all, but I have had no idea where to go to find supplies, and fully aware that I would have been unable to use a lot up in the time I had, and no place to work, in any case. {Wow, long run on sentence, that one} So, tomorrow I leave Australia and my urge to create SOMETHING is driving me nuts. I won't really be able to work in the US due to time and space constraints, or the first week in ROK due to the same problem. I really hope we end up with a space that gives me some creative space-and fu space for my sweetie too. First on the agenda is not creative, per-se, but is making something. A blankie for the next addition due to join the ever expanding Stiley clan. Then, I'm thinking I need to learn to crochet. My friend Jen has made some of the most amazing items, though she has years of experience. Then....and then.....and then......

Grrrr....Blogger

2009-02-10T20:48:00.002+11:00

It just took me about 2 hours to get this whole new blogger password BS sorted. Not that this gets read much, but still, they really need to stop changing this set up~really!

OK, so with all that time sucked up, I really don't want to bother with much of a post. So, long story short:

I'm in Australia.
I'm leaving Australia in a week.
I'll be in America for a week.
I'll be in Korea thereafter, with Aaron, otherwise known as the onion cutting man in so many photos.
Wow, things have changes.
Things have changed for the better.
Except the won-dollar value. Not better. Ah well.

Things have changed a lot since I used to do this regularly!

October

2008-10-24T13:07:00.003+11:00

Well, October is almost over. I'm actually somewhere with internet, a computer, some spare time, and the inclination to post. I see blogger has changed a lot since I was last on. I've lost all the people I was linked to, so if you stop by, please leave your link info so I can try to figure out how to click back and see what you are up to.

I'm outside Sydney, headed to the Gold Coast soon. We're gonna have to find a new job soon. Dang wallet demands it. Being a couch surfing bum has been great, tho I can't sleep on most of the "beds" I've had. It's been noce to splurge on nice hotel rooms occasionally. Hong Kong Novotel has very comfy digs!

For some reason, everything fails when I try to upload photos to any website. I'll blame Mattie's Aussie internet connection (I'm told that Telstra is too blame, so...take that Telstra, you suck!).

I really do have a good excuse for not posting besides WOW and hot Aussies....give me a second to remember, I just got sidetracked thinking about a hot Aussie. Thankfully I have one to keep me warm and look out for me. Australia has actually been cold!

So, what have we been up to?.....

So, we bought an around the world ticket. I took Azza home to America. We stayed with my Dad, who now lives
on the Olympic Peninsula in Port Ludlow. After a while there, we drove down to Oregon for my Jay's wedding. We flew to Boston and stayed with my Teri on Cape Cod. Then we flew to Sweden to stay with the Länjes there. We had nice digs in Gothenburg to ourselves (Jonas & Co.were at their summer cottage helping Magnus build his next door!) After that we went to Magnus & Christina's place in Stockholm. They are very trendy people, so we had an apartment in the most popular part of town. It was walking distance to everything, so we got lots of exercise! Public transport in Scandinavia is expensive!

We took the train down to Copenhagen for the weekend. One of Aaron's friends is Danish and his folks live outside the city. They drove up for half a day and gave us a high speed tour of the city. The next day we took the train back up to my host THomas & Kertin's place outside Gothenburg. Then we flew to Hong Kong. We stayed there 1 night two different times but we were too tired to do anything there! It was ust a layover to Vietnam and then to Thailand. We were in Vietnam for 10 days and Thailand for 10 days.

Vietnam was striking but very very poor. Hawkers are everywhere in the city. On the Mekong Delta, cute young kids are the most sought after accessory for the boat people plying their wares to tourists. Traffic in Saigon is the most insane traffic I have ever seen. Motorbikes everywhere. The traffic moves, but very very slowly, and crossing the street in Saigon is considered an art. Pick your timing to start well, then do no go too fast, but above all DO NOT STOP moving. The motorbikes will simply go around you. We saw a number of accidents. Shopping there is cheap and can be even cheaper if you know how to do it-but I do not. I can not bargain, but I look like an expert compared to Aaron, poor guy. We learned to use each other to improve our bargaining skills, though. Also, sometimes, when you are too tired to bargain, and you think about how
cheap it really is, and paying "whitey" price doesn't really matter, except when someone is trying to rip you off, like a taxi driver. We lucked out and caught him, though. Most people are lovely and friendly.

Thailand was next. Bangkok is insanely polluted, but it is clear that Thais are much better off economically that the Vietnamese. For starters, there are not so many motorbikes, and the cars are newer. Japanese cars are most popular. Bangkok traffic is also insane, but unlike Saigon, it simply does not move. Getting in a taxi is usually a bad idea. Taking the river ferry is your best bet. We got out of Bangkok quickly, and headed up to Chiang Mai. Thais are very relaxed and Thailand is called the land of smiles, and rightly so. When bargaining with a Thai, expect laughter. It is to keep anything from getting too serious. I learned well not to take myself to seriously there. The Thai people are so relaxed that it made it much easier to
feel that way. The heat will slow everything down as well.

After relaxing, swimming and shopping, and a last night of great performances of local dance, we headed to Sydney. Azza's best friend, Matt, lives an hour and a half outside the city with his partner, Alicia. They have a small house here. The differences between here and America are subtle. Shops look similar, but houses are different. Cool nights and no heat in Sydney homes has led to no shortage of cold feet for me! The thing that gets me here are the palm trees and the birds. All throughout SE Asia and Australia I've made Azza laugh when I look at the palm trees and say that they are fake! It's like when it snowed while he was visiting me in South Korea.

In about a week we will go to the Gold Coast, where he is from, near Brisbane. We will stay with his family while we look for new contracts.

It'll be more interesting when I can get pics up, so I'll try to do that once we hit the Gold Coast.

Hey

2008-06-25T17:46:00.003+10:00

I'm back. For how long remains to be seen. :) Not sure who stops by anymore, considering that I don't! I didn't realize it had been quite so long.....

I have a million and one pictures, but neither the time nor the patience today. So, long story short....I am not renewing at my school. Aaron and I want a contract together and Samyook is definitely NOT the place for that, although they asked me if he would be interested in joining the staff. He most certainly is not. It was not a bad place to work when I started, but it has become an 'us' vs. "them" type of place.

It got really bad after some of the foreigners made plans, even buying tickets (out of the country, mind you) for the scheduled eleven-day vacation. Well, leave to the school to cancel two days in the middle, expecting everyone to cancel all plans-without complaint. Suffice it to say, they had a fight on their hands, and they have made working conditions more difficult each at least monthly.

I am happy to leave, and one teacher has already left (Meredith :( That sucked) Two others will be leaving this summer as well, one other choosing to leave (without problems, with an LOR) during the contract.

I am very much looking forward to (and a little apprehensive about) an extended vacation Aaron and I have planned that will include Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Sweden, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia. More to come.....but who knows when. ;)

2008-03-17T19:37:00.003+11:00

Guess I should come in for my monthly check up, huh? Yeah, I definitely don't have as much blogging time on my hands. That's OK, I'm keeping plenty busy. Thanks for all the birthday well wishes, all. I had a lovely, mellow birthday weekend. Saturday was dinner with friends, Sunday was lunch with Azza. I got breakfast cooked for me both days. Not bad, huh?

The actual school work is going pretty smoothly. Things with the school......leopards don't change their spots, right? Thankfully theere are other things that make up for it! We have some new teachers at the school. Meredith is a lovely Canadian with attitide for miles. So, yes, we get along fabulously. The school FINALLY hired some non-North American teachers, which I think is good for the kids. I really think that they need to realize how much more broad the English speaking community is, world wide. Speaking of world...it cracked me up when tons of the kids spelled the "world" as "wold"

See, my new English co-teacher is Ian, an Australian who has started teaching at the school with his partner, Vanessa. The are a lovely couple from Australia. As a matter of fact, they lived for the last two years on the Gold Coast, Azza's home town. They are as laid back as Azz and so far teaching with Ian has been easy and enjoyable. Vanessa is teaching 1st grade with Edvish.

And, because pica always make posts better:
Chris came out of hiding to join us for dinner, and get Edvish talking. Aaron and I posed for a few pics, then it was time for Meredith and I.

2008-02-19T18:44:00.005+11:00

Sorry y'all, I'm still not posting regularly. I got very sick over this last week an I am still getting over it. I was getting over it, then work got very stressful. Now I am expected to put together lesson plans without knowing work book pages. I was told, "Oh, you can add that later," and the idea that I only want to do this once.......oh wait, it's not even in my contract! The fact that I STILL refuse to do work that will extend beyond my contract (because, you know, it's BEYOND MY CONTRACT) is being ignored. Even by the western member of the admin. This last part makes me laugh. Everyone is using phrases as if I am going to go ahead and do it. Which I am not, even if I am sure I will renew. Which I most certainly am not. Aaron borrowed a phrase from the movie Blood Diamond, which was TIA (this is Africa) and we now say TIK, this is Korea.

Went to the doctor yesterday, as I had been so sick over the weekend. Aaron was so good to me, though. He basically took care of me all weekend long, while he was here. I am lucky, no? I am just not used to all this attention, but it was nice to not have to worry about too much stuff.

OK, folks, I'm still really beat so I'm gonna call it quits for now. I want to end on a positive note, though. These days, that means something usually means something not Korean, but I will try to think up something Korean, too. Here goes.

(Korean) 1. My co-teacher from last year, Amy is wonderful.
2. My co-teacher this year is Kim Yoon Soon, and she embodies her English name, Grace (I need to learn this from her). She wanted to change it. I told her it was perfect.

Not Korean: 1. Aaron sent me a huge bouquet of flowers for Valentines Day.
2. He happily took care of me when I was sick.

My camera is not happy with me, so here is a not-so-great picture of the flowers.

2008-02-07T16:34:00.000+11:00

Yes, yes, I know I am very overdue for a blog post, but I haven't been knitting at ALL and...I'm heading to lunch. That's my excuse. Brannew....Korean take on Italian with large glasses of house wine. Aaron and I have been very busy doing nothing and enjoying our boredom. And he got me addicted to World of Warcraft (henceforth known as WOW) and we've been playing tons, now that we finally have it downloaded on my computer. Leopard is next.

Lunch time! Pictures of Japana and all to come..........eventually! ;)

A New Post?

2007-12-04T20:14:00.000+11:00

Yes, a new post-imagine that. It's been a month since my last post. Yep, I am getting erratic again. I'm sticking to the same old excuse, and you know what his name is. ;)

I guess it's a good thing, though. School life is still bumpy, but no major upsets like the AC fiasco this summer-but I do think my washer is on its last legs-or spins, as the case may be. Sometimes it's just too tired to spin the clothes during the wash cycle. I have asked around and pretty muched confirmed that all westerners i know think that their korean clothes washers suck, so I am not the only one in this boat.

As it is the home strtch before vacation, I find myself insanely busy and hating it. So much to get done, and all I can think about is being on vacation. I will spend some time in Changwon and I am actually going somewhere outside of Korea-finally! I will be headed to Japan with Aaron for a short trip to Fukoaka. Just because, really. I'm sure I could head to fancier (and more expensive) places in Japan, but we're just doing it for a quick break.

I have officially stopped the log cabin blanket and am waiting on more yarn which I have ordered and expect to have before the break. So, I'll be knitting a blankie in Changwon. I'll also be headed to Seoul for at least a couple of days and hope to hang out with frineds there and do a little shopping.

Don't hate me for saying this, but lately I have missed shopping. No, really. I miss being able to go out and find what I want. You know, in my size, regular (read: not Korean) style for a reasonable price. All the things I can't do here. That goes for clothes, food, homegoods, school stuff...yeah, everything. It is officially driving me crazy. I priced out some storage stuff-basic plastic boxes with drawers today, and cannot believe how much more this stuff costs here. Korea is not cheap. Which is crazy, because korean made stuff goes for a lot less in the US than here. Go figure. Consumers do not dictate prices in any way here.

Ah well. Just my 2 cents before I make dinner, do dishes, fold the laundry, grade tests, make a sample project for Tips class, and go through the workbook for winter camp. Yes, I am kidding myself. Somewhere between dishes and laundry I will be too......meh....to continue. And that's not the whole list.

Maybe I should order out for dinner?

Tryig to upload more photos, but blogger seems to be having issues. An excuse for another post, I guess!

Just cuz

2007-11-05T22:05:00.000+11:00

Azza turned into a shutterbug after we bought him a new hat and came home. He's got a whole album of goofy hatted craziness. I'll spare you most, though may add more later. I like this one, though.

All is Quiet

2007-11-05T21:56:00.000+11:00

Well, no, not really. I've ben rather busy and distracted. No new knitting goodness to share, and teaching continues as usual. Considering my readership is 2, I figure it's no big deal. ;) Actually, I hope my family is still stopping by. Too many places to keep up online, though.

Would like to find an easy to knit hat that still looks nice for a guy-no sweaters, for obvious reasons, and I am not referring to time constraints here. Ideas welcome. Let me know what you have been up to. Comment, leave a link and I'd love to check your stuff out. I'm a bit stalled at the moment. I was supposed to have knit wool socks aplenty by now, but still have only the one pair, which is terrible, because it is definitely getting cold. Plus wool socks, when I can find them here, are outrageously priced!

I'll try to post a little more often this month....

Knitting

2007-10-08T19:48:00.000+10:00

No, really, I have been knitting. Not much, cuz I've been busy...OK, not really. But when Azza leaves, I actually do knit. Well, I actually knit with him around too. Told him it was very Zen, like Qi Gong, and he gets it (yes, I know, I am mixing my disciplines, hear me out, though, OK?). It's my Qi Gong ('course, I expect to be doing that, too). So, I have started a log cabin blanket, but I think I have too many shades of purple, and I am thinking I should order something more contrasty from handpaintedyarn and wait for it to get here. I think maybe I should see if I can get another pair of socks done (only my second). See, the 1st sock of my second pair sits neglected on the needles due to my frustration with it. But, since I am taking the 4 hour bus ride to Changwon next weekend, I need something portable. Log cabin, not so portable. Decisions, decisions. Pictures, no. I'll get around to it, though, I promise.

I could blame the acupuncturist, I suppose. Started going for the sciatica and back pain. As you may remember, I have been getting physical therapy for months, and it worked.....up to a point. So, my friend Chris took me to the acupuncturist he has been seeing for the same problem. I think it is helping, so I will continue for a while. I am still hoping that total relief is a possiblity.....

As Per Request

2007-10-05T23:41:00.001+10:00

OK, before I fill said request, will the anonymous commenter please step forward?

OK, now that that's done, this is Azza (apparently that is Aussie-speak for Aaron), otherwise known as chivalrous cutter of onions and sleeping man. He's an Aussie, works in Changwon, and has been spending quite a bit of time in Wonju lately. I'll take credit for the last bit. You can figure out the rest, right? 'K :)

Unlike me, he cries when cutting onions and can fall asleep at the drop of a pin. Lucky him. I'd be more than happy to cry cutting onions if I could fall asleep that easily.

Pics and Spam

2007-10-01T21:56:00.000+10:00

Complaints were registered about the onion shot in my last post. I think it is a great shot, but......I will add another, to give you a better idea. See, some people can fall alseep at the drop of a pin. I cannot conceive of this, but I tolerate those who can do this as long as they have other endearing qualities. And Azza does.......(but I am still terribly jealous). Besides, I like the pic.

And, because I find it hilarious yet again, a lovely Chusok gift set...yes, it is spam, and yes, that is roughly $40.00 US for the thoughtful holiday gift. I kid you not. This, I truly do not understand!

More Random Stuff

2007-09-28T19:07:00.000+10:00

Well, I started a log cabin blankie, but I haven't gotten far enough to warrant a photo yet. I am continuously distracted from getting work done. This includes: knitting, school work, and basically anything that involves, well, actually doing anything. Not that I am complaining. Besides, after all that nothing, the chiropractor said I was doing better! But doing nothing has been a blast over the Chusok holiday.

So, I thought I would share some photos.

First up:

When Eddie moved in across the way at the beginning of the month, her toilet was not working properly. No idea why. She was wondering how the woman who lived there before her had dealt with it, as she had said nothing to the landlord. He came up and after a great deal of time plunging, disassembling, and snaking her toilet, this is what finally came out....

Yes, it IS a cell phone. From the TOILET. May have fallen off the itty bitty shelf above the toilet. May have.

Next up, just for kicks:

Yes, I can make grown men cry. Barring that, I make them cut the onions up so I don't end up crying. Yes, I know, I am awful. But the tacos were tasty!

About to pop!

2007-09-17T20:57:00.000+10:00

I can't believe it. My nieces are both pregnant and about to pop. Steph, shown first with Matt, aka Baby Daddy, is on bedrest.

N., is here, with Jordan, her oldest. I think he's excited.

They both look ready to pop. Wow. Where did the time go? I remember when my nieces were born.......

Did I mention...

2007-09-12T20:50:00.000+10:00

I went to Seoul in August to hang out with a friend. We ended up in, um, three different Starbucks, I think. And Aaron doesn't even drink coffee! Anyway, we went to a Korean palace from back in the day...it's out in the hood north of the river, ya know? So, I have a photo of myself with a guard in traditional dress, but that one won't load. :( But I have others of me and another new friend. He was very accomodating. I think he was happy for the company. Sorry the shots stink. He wouldn't hold still.

Beach!

2007-09-01T17:11:00.000+10:00

I went to the beach about a week and half ago. Well, I wasn't expecting much, so I wasn't too disappointed, but I still hoped it would be......I dunno. Since we were at one end of the allowed beach area, this shows a pretty empty part of the beach. Most of it was covered in umbrellas, and the water was packed.

But, I enjoyed it nevertheless. Can't really swim, they won't let you go out far, and the water is full of inner tubes. Many people don't go to the beach to swim. Most people "swim" (i.e., go into the water) in shorts and a shirt over a swimsuit, though there were some women who were just in suits. Most of them weren't the type to hit the water though. My friend kept noting when one such girl put on more lipstick.....definitely there to "be seen." Not that that doesn't happen plenty back home!

I enjoyed a bit of swimming, and just floating in the water, staring at the dome of the sky, and just listening to the surf. I really, really miss the sound of the ocean. REALLY. ;) We buried J. and then A. in the sand. It was the only time we could keep J. in one place for any length of time. She wasn't too keen on the ocean-the water moved too unexpectedly, I think.

Back at school now. It's OK. Very school-like. Very unvacation-like. No surprise there, eh? Vacation wasn't quite long enough for me. Ah well.

Hweongseong...or however you spell it.

2007-08-16T18:36:00.000+10:00

Went swimming yesterday, finally! After a night hanging out with friends and no sleep (for me, the insomniac) we all went about an hour out of town to a popular river spot. It's a mountain stream, plenty cold, refreshing, and it was really beautiful. The cold water did what the coffee did not manage to do and wake me up for a bit.

We managed to find a spot we more or less had to ourselves. There was a big group upstream, and when we went to the deeper area downstream, there were people there too, but we had our little area for cooking and chilling. It was nice to be swimming, to be out of town, and not have any expectations.

I don't care for kimbop, so I was glad that we had a bit more. The guys took a while, but managed to a get a good fire going. They don't have to same rules about fires here as back home. It was kind of a hoot to watch the guys with the fire. In the beginning, I wanted to help out (if you know me, you know I am a pyro-just like the rest of the family) but the guys were.....well, guys. So I just sat back. Eventually the sausages got cooked, and that's what matters, right? ;)

The funniest part for me was seeing all the Koreans cavorting in the water fully clothed. My friend N. started the same, in the water with her clothes over her bikini. Eventually I think she took a little pity on me, looking so white (and Caucasian) in my bikini, and swam without the extra clothes over her suit. It's quite normal for Koreans to swim with shorts and shirts on. Many of them can't swim at all. Even though I saw lots of swimmers at the pool last year, I think those Koreans may be more the exception to the rule. I haven't had the heart to return to the pool and be stared blatantly at in my one piece, even, this year. I can be just as self conscious about being in my bathing suit as the next gal, and an idoor pool is too much of a fish bowl. Between staring at me because I am white and because I do the sidestroke (poorly-I am not a good swimmer), I'm just not up for it.

Unfortunately, the pictures I managed to snap did not do the place justice, and the best shots were of J. looking the part of an adorable 3 year old, as she always does.

More Random Thoughts

2007-08-09T08:11:00.000+10:00

Yes, I have a lot of those. Entirely too many, in fact. I have been pondering the vagaries of friendship. Perhaps it is so-called frinedship? I don't know. But something I haven't quite been able to put my finger on has been bothering me. Well, many things. One of them is the nature of friendships. I have, in a way, been morning the loss of some friendships lately. I don't do that very well. It was a long long time growing up before I realized how transitory frinedships really were.

It seems to me that a lot of people keep their friendships fairly superficial, and seem to do so quite deliberately. I prefer to let a relationship develop as fully as it naturally would on its own. A friend of mine keeps commenting on how "deep" I am. "You seem like you would listen to deep music," or just,"you seem pretty deep." It makes me wonder, do most people just live most of their lives on a superficial level? Am I really that different? Are people that aren't "deep" happier?

Maybe I should try to just stop thinking so much. Yeah, fat chance of that, right? Nevertheless, there are some friends, new and old, that I miss sometimes.

Summer Camp

2007-07-31T20:16:00.000+10:00

My 1st grade art class at summer camp. Sorry I'm so loud. The kids are having fun, so I have to get their attention. :)

I loading a couple more vids of my kids on youtube. www.youtube.com/mmstyleknits

Thought for the day

2007-07-29T00:13:00.000+10:00

Which I may delete later (posting under current conditions=bad idea). Nevertherless:

We change and grow, hopefully, as we get older. We hope that these changes are for the better, although I can personally attest to slowly integrating bad habits that aren't helpful. For example, I procrastinate way more than I ought, and I find that I am not as able to focus as I was, say, 10 years ago. I am learning less, among other things. That may be simply because I am not in school and I am much less likely to read clearly educational materials (as opposed to novels) in my free time. In school, reading materials and what I gleaned from them, were not optional. But, I know I have time to keep learning much more, but do not take proper advantage.

So, my question, after discussing things that I think can change, is this:

Do we hit a point where, assuming we are "average," that we cannot change our moral and ethical leanings, and therefore, the actions that they govern? Or can we only change them minimally? I should put some time into defining average. I am referring to people who are not at the extremes of society. Criminal elements (I know that this comprises at least a siginficant portion of the population of my own country, but many are extreme, and so changes, through rehabilitation are drastic, but in many cases, change will never occur because they are so marginalized).

I guess what I mean to say is, if you long thought certain things were right or wrong, morally, can that change, really change, in your thinking? Can it change the way you would act in relevant situations? Not that long ago, a friend put forth the idea (possibly something that was read) that the personality is formed by the time we hit 30. What if I don't like parts of my personality-even though I know that much of it is based on experiences and reactions to them? What if I were to change the reaction to a situation based on a long held belief? Am I going to be able to look at it from a new perspective and feel like I can accept the change/response I had and move on? Or am I going to regret acting on new ideas that don't mesh with beliefs that are still informing part of who I am?

OK, I know this is not well written or informative, even. Thoughts?

Settling-should you do it to bring a measure of peace that lacks a sense of truth to you, or keep striving when you think (in all honesty) "it" might be beyond your reach? I thought this might be separate (it is, in some ways) but it also has do to with the way I have lived my life to now. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense.

Concert

2007-07-27T20:56:00.000+10:00

I was at a great concert last night. The main performance was a Korean band called Boom Boom. Drums. Lots of drums. If you know me, you know I am a sucker for drums. It was a blast. Small performance space, big drums-especially the traditional Korean style one. It was great. Because of the nature of the space, I could feel the drums resonating through me. Loved that.

A TV station was filming, and as the only non-asian person there (there was one other foreigner-a Vietnamese fellow who was great sport when they put him on the spot) I stood out. So, the camera man interviewed me and the man I was with translated for both of us. He also translated the jokes that were sung in the at the end in traditional korean style. Boom Boom is 6 performers, including a dancer, and man on a traditional horn and the drummers.

Normally, there are no performances at this time-it's normal vacation period, but I think they made an exception for the TV station and others. My companion at the show, Michael, told me that it was a shorter than usual performance. There was dinner and tea first. I don't usually care for Korean green tea, but this was mild and pleasant. Maybe because I don't usually like most teas here, I was not too surprised to find out it was from a $100 bottle of tea. Dinner beforehand was apparently something new-a spicy chicken stew, with rice and veggies-which are the norm.

Because I had to catch my bus back, I missed the after performance party, unfortunately. I would have loved to find out more about where and when this band plays. Plus, if the tea was $100 a bottle (think the equivalent of paying $4-5 US for coffee, but in a setting that is much more special than Starbucks), then I imagine the Makoli (which I do like) was probably significantly better than the $3 kettles I've had with friends!

Unfortunately, I did not film it with my camera, which would have been a great addition for my class coming up in camp. I will ask Eun Jeong to look at the brochure I brought home to find out if I can get CDs of videos to show my kids. I'm still hunting for good supplemental materials for that.

OK, please don't mind me if I don't check this over before posting. I recently got a pretty good idea of my "usual" readership, and I don't think either of you will mind! (PS, Lurking family members are REQUIRED to comment and leave their name in! I know where you live!)

Aww shucks

2007-07-21T19:17:00.000+10:00

....Aww, shucks, thanks, Spin, for giving me the rockin' blogger award. Had I known, I would have nominated you first, because you are a great knitty friend and an amazing knitter. Given that you already got one, just make room on your mantel for one more! Also, I'd give one to Sade for interesting posts, and being a helpful, kind fellow knitter, and to Shona because she has been so cool and supportive. I'd give one to Rob, but, well, she doesn't actually blog, she Tweets! But, she has been a great help and a lot of fun, online and off.

A bit pink for me, but......

2007-07-18T17:45:00.000+10:00

Sweet! Podiobooks just added 3 chapters to Full Share. Gets better.....Dexter Preair episodes 1 & 2 were on my RSS today! Little things....

2007-07-14T11:38:00.000+10:00

Off for more PT. Yesterday they had to stop the black monster early. Usually it doesn't hurt a whole heck of a lot, but it "pulled" further than usual-strtching my back. Stretching the back feels good, but the chiro saw the look on my face due to the ache that starts up in the hip area. Ugh. It's weird, the pain isn't extreme or anything, just persistent. I hope that this heals up soon. I have no idea how long I'll be doing this.

I met the doctor's wife yesterday, my student's mom. She was nice, but it was one of those awkward moments of obligatory talk when you don't know someone at all and have no idea what you have in common (besides Anna, of course). So, it was the usual how are you's, Anna says she like's Mallory Teacher, Anna's a great student, blah blah until an appropriate amount of time has passed that makes it OK to beat a hasty retreat. Sounds worse than it is, but these meetings are often awkward for me. I can never think of the right things to say to parents. It's easier when it's a student I really enjoy and who does well, like Anna. Ideas appreciated to help me with future awkward moments!

2007-07-13T08:46:00.000+10:00

The A.C. was finally installed last Sunday. YES! What a difference. Of course, my !@#?!! landlord made the installer drill the hole in my wall over a meter below the ac unit, so it doesn't look pretty. And it's running from my 2nd floor apartment to the compressor on the ground. Need some spray foam for around the hoses, but I don't know if they have that sort of thing here. Probably, but I've no clue how to ask for it, and Amy looked at me like she had no clue when I asked. I also don't know if the hoses should be packed away in the winter. Will they have water in them? If so, I figure that can't be good. I know nothing about AC. I've actually never had it before, except in other people's places.

On another note, I have started physical therapy. X-rays showed that I have a compressed disc between the L4 and L5. It's a long process here-at least for me. The doctor is the father of one of my students. He must have written that I am not to be charged any out of pocket fees. The first time, Amy translated, as she was kind enough to come with me. Second time, the women at the front desk kindly signalled no charge-saying as much, but not that I can understand. So, I don't know if they've said, no charge at all. Thrd time they laughed and waved me off with a scrip for pain meds I don't fill. They don't do anything. Yesterday, the fourth time, they had my scrip ready as I walked out and were saying goodbye before I had it in my hands in order to avoid the whole bit entirely. Not that I mind-they can have a laugh at my expense-because the doctor is not charging his daughter's teacher! Cool. Granted, co-pays here are much less than in the US, but still, nice benefit of being a teacher.

The whole PT set up is rather assembly line, unlike the limited experience I have had back home. Many people are in line and in various points of treatment. I start with heat on the spine, then electrical stim, then some sort of traction machine that is more like a long black torture device. I lay down on it. It has seprate pieces fitted together to support the different parts of the body. The part that my pelvic region is on isn't full wiidth. I lay flat, and one of the nice staff people-usually one particular woman, screws two curved peices onto the machine. She lines me up until my hips are in the right place to have these curved vices tightend on the side of either hip, holding me quite firmly in one spot. Velco straps are criss-crossed over my midsection. Something that sounds like a blood pressure monitor is pumped, and under my back I feel the pressure change slightly.

I should note that all electronic medical equipment that I have seen is labeled in English, sometimes with Korean overlay, but more often not. So this efficient woman who straps me in swings the monitor over that has a time graph, many buttons and notes regarding the pounds of pressure, and various other things all only in English, in front of me. The first two times she explained the whole thing to me in Korean while I waited patiently, grinning inwardly.

At this point, the slow torture begins, lasting 30 minutes. She turns the machine on and leaves. It begins to slowly apply pressure, which I can only just feel, while it slowly stretches me down the table with each round. One minute on, thirty seconds off. The first time the pressure was too high and my whole lower back/pelvic area hurt by the time I was out of the machine. When it finally finishes, it releases me, and when I am not prepared, my streched body, held in the vice, is forcibly brought back to the starting position. Let me tell you, if I haven't raised my back and feet to sort of slide with it, it HURTS. Ugh.

The torture device is followed by a session of chiropractic. The chriropractor usually does more electric stim first. From the point that I am on the black bed, I am in his area, and he sees at least one patient every ten minutes or so, usually more. The whole PT area is one large room, with 3/4 walls, so that from beginning to end you can hear ubiquitous cell phones ringing, fans whirring, the chirpractors table kirchunking with each hapless victim...er, patient. Actually, he is a very nice man and we manage to communicate sufficiently with my mangled Korean and his basic English. He knows more medical terminolgy than everyday conversational words. But, it works. Depending on wait time before treatment, and various points in between, the whole thing takes at least two hours.

Thus far this is no change with the treatment, but I have hurt for well over a year, so I think it could take a while for my body to get back to "normal." I am headed back for more torture today after school. Yippee.

2007-06-30T18:28:00.001+10:00

I$* {(*$%# % O*&#%$P#^TPQ#*%BIW#*&RW*(#Y!!!!!!????!

Articulate, no?

They came out to install my air conditioner today and when they found out that they would have to put the compresssor on the roof, the guy wouldn't install it. Said it was too far. I am REALLY annoyed. and hot. and annoyed. I have too much to do to go AC shopping again. it will have to wait.

And, yes, Robin, I am certifiable. Would you like me any other way? Easy for you to say, Michigan is a lot cooler than ROK, ja?

I Had to Do it.

2007-06-29T22:34:00.001+10:00

I broke down. I couldn't take it anymore. It was getting to me, wearing me down, day after friggin' monsoonal day. It was just too much, I tell you. Everybody else was cool with it, why not me, right? So, yeah, I had to do it....I bought an air conditioner, or, "Aeh-Kon" today.

My friend Chris drove me to a part of town where he had looked before. He couldn't find the store he had been to, but the one we stopped at had more used ACs to choose from. So, it was less than a new AC and the price included installation, boring the hole through the wall, etc. I talked them down by 20 bucks. Yeah, not much, but I think (just my opinion, mind you) that waegookins have less bargaining power.

Chris' Korean is definitely better (even if his wife wasn't Korean, he spends a lot more time studying than I do) so he asked the when, etc. But initially I asked for 20,000 won less and the woman said no. She went and talked to the guy in the shop, and when she came back, she didn't say yes or no. I basically showed her the money I had in an envelope and Chris said this is what I had-point being that that was all I had. Since I never spend all my cash, it was close enough. It was an effective bargaining technique.

It will be easier to hang out in my apartment and get stuff done now, although I really need to get a better desk. This isn't an actual desk and it is too tall to work at comfortably. But I waited this long to get AC!.......

KT saga continues

2007-06-26T19:24:00.000+10:00

KT, the Krappy Korean inTerneT company does not have hold music when you call the Engrishee hep-uh line. No, but they do need someone to check the translation, instead of using Babelfish, or a person with equally poor skillz.

Diall 100, press 8 for Engrishee, press 1 for anything not related to repair.

Hold. Listening to the following, mostly in seemingly random order:

"The line is busy."

"Now is on another inquired call."

"Connection is delayed."

"It is a lot of inquiring call now."

"One moment please. Please wait for a while."

I used to wonder what the heck someone was thinking naming a brand called "Ask Inquired" here (repetitively redundant, anyone?). But they seem to use the word inquire very differently and thus translate it strangely. Hmm, is that (inquiring call now) a present progressive used as an adjective? I get my perfects and progressives mixed up until I look them up-and sometimes I still do!

Anyway, this all came about because KT sent me another bill-yes, another one-for service at the old place that I moved out of 4 months ago! I called and was bumped to the pleasant English speaking womanin Seoul that I have spoken to all along, and she called the Wonju office (no English speakers there) and they said they had not turned it off and promised to do so-again. No explanation as to why. Idioterna. Yep, you can guess what that means. We'll see if they actually get around to it.

Eddie, who has been kind enough to bring the bills to me, moves out of that building at the end of next month, I believe. I don't care about my credit here, perse, but what if I move again?

Muhahahahahaha!

2007-06-24T21:19:00.000+10:00

Oh, my stomach hurts, I laughed so hard.

More funnies, not for all.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Pachanka/OMGBunny

2007-06-22T15:22:00.000+10:00

I'm melting, I'm melting....ahhhhhhhh! Watch my koreanized stripey leggings, etc, melt into the floor, leaving nothing but my teacher's witch hat. Ahhhhhh....it is so frackin' hot out there, I could fry an egg on the sidewalk. I need an A.C. somethin' fierce. "Aekon" periohaeyo!! Now, please.

Trackbacks.

2007-06-20T19:52:00.000+10:00

Will someone please 'splain this to me? I click to trackback, thinkin' I can link to my site somethin' cool, ya know? Nothing happens. What are they and how do you make them work? I wanted to trackback to Sade's blog and nothin' doin'. Grrr.

BTW: thanks to Robin (yes, it IS your fault :) Resistance is futile) I now have a twitter site:

http://twitter.com/Malcontent

Just because, you know, I needed another website to keep up along with my facebook account and this one.

Hehehehe.

Well, no, I am in Korea so, it's kekekekeke. One of my kids said this in my 7th period extra class on Monday. I got the giggles. Dorky goofy giggles. Kekekekekeke. He's so l337 and he doesn't even know it! You should see this kid, too. He's really grown on me. He sometimes gets this "I'm a wee bit evil and adorable" smile on his face sometimes, like when he kekekeke'd. He didn't know what he did that was so funny, so that made it even better. Anyway, imagine Teacher having a giggle fit in front of 11 slightly bemused children (cuz you KNOW that never happens to me, right?!) whose grasp on English is tenuous at best.

"Teacher, wheh?"

Giggle. Faces chalkboard.

"Teacherrrrrrrrrrr...wheh-guh-rae?"

Turns back. "Paul's silly." Giggle, smile.....lightly, "Kekekeke."

Class continues.

2007-06-19T20:07:00.000+10:00

Strange...but this mught be true. Well, except that I think the whole left/right brain thing isn't quite what people used to think it was. But we use the terms more loosely now. Well, I don't know-do you use the terms left and right brained loosely or do you believe that the hemispheres of our brain are that specific? Comments welcome!

You Are 50% Left Brained, 50% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

The job

2007-06-19T19:54:00.000+10:00

Signed up for another year on Friday. Got what I asked for cuz I was reasonable, but made sure it was fair to me, too. Damn fair. What commercial is it? Because I'm worth it......:P

2007-06-19T19:53:00.000+10:00

No kidding....

You Are 87% Non Conformist

You're incredibly strange. And a weirdness like yours takes skill to cultivate!
No one really understands you. And you're cool with that. You just hope you never have to understand them!

Are You a Nonconformist?

W00T!

2007-06-05T21:28:00.000+10:00

I have tomorrow off. I don't know why. Some Korean holiday. I don't know which one. Frankly, I don't care which one. I just know that I have tomorrow off. Sweet!

Tagged

2007-06-03T18:56:00.000+10:00

I was tagged by Shona, a.k.a. Gourdongirl with the "What's in your bag" meme. Ergh. Memes. Love 'em, hate 'em. So, my bag, as of right now, has:

Anna's copy of "Self Made Man" by Norah Vincent
My sunglasses w/ case
My sudoku book
Ticket stub for Pirates of the Carribean III
My bag to hold various smaller items so I can find them, which had:
Eyedrops
A thing of tissues I was handed by a woman on the street. It is a common form of advertising here.
Lip stuff, as we call it in my family-not lipstick, but for moisturizing
Lipstick
Some Arnica Montana, which I am almost out of
My be-stickered altoid tin, which is for ibuprofen and the like
Pen, pencil and eraser
and my Korean health insurance card thingie.

My wallet, when I was hit with the meme, was not in the purse. Go figure.

I'll make tagging optional. If you leave a comment on this post and you have a blog (or blog tyoe account, like facebook), consider yourself tagged. I will check! :)

Now I will transfer everything to my book bag, which I use during the week...the damage would have been much worse there!

Socks, as promised

2007-06-03T14:40:00.000+10:00

Finally, a matching set! OK, so I actually finished them a while ago, and have since started working on the first of another pair (since frogged due to gappy heel frustration at the ?gussett?). And it's much too warm to wear them :) now. But once I figure out this gappy problem, I should have some lovely socks by the time is gets cool again.

They wrote what?

2007-06-03T14:17:00.000+10:00

Bear in mind that this is an official Adidas store in Seoul, with requisite photos of some one famous. The first photo is for context. Easier to see in the second one, though. In this case, the famous face is David Beckham. I am sure he would be oh-so-proud to be lending his name to this poster (What do I know-maybe he would be). Note the writing below the photo. I can't recall the full text hidden by the clothes. But I couldn't help but notice the glaring lack of an "I." This, I have to tell you, is quite typical, even in high end advertising. Then there is the comma, and capital letter. Is this a new sentence, or what?

2007-06-03T13:57:00.000+10:00

Yes, I have been neglecting my blog lately. Apologies to those who check in regular-like to read about the goings on in my life. I have been fairly busy, with school, friends, etc. I went to Chiak Mountain a couple of times, learned to make Mak-Ci (I don't know the spelling, but pronounced Mahk-sigh), visited the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, lost and replaced my passport.....all in all, no excuses for ignoring my blog, but there it is. Oh, yeah, and I finished a a pair of socks, too. I'll show those shortly. Meanwhile, my trip to North Korea (same as the email many of you got.)

This is the view into North Korea that you get from the part of the DMZ that we are allowed to cross. South Koreans are not allowed to come here, out of fear of defection. The actual line is inside the blue buildings. Our American tour guide is the friendly looking guy at the bottom. Behind the blue buildings is North Korea, and the building their representatives come out of. We saw 2 soldiers at the top of the steps. It was a hazy day, which is common here, so good shots are hard to come by.

There are 3 Swedes and 3 Swiss military personnel at all times on site. These are two of the three Swedes.

This is me, in one of the blue buildings. There are clear markers (speakers and a flag) in the middle of a central table to show where either Korea ends/begins. The reps from either side sit on their own sides. However, there have been times when North Koreans have come in and walked (considering the lack of dancing I have seen here, I doubt they were dancing, despite our guide's description) on the tables. Whatever is on the boots, those responsible for the South Korean maintenance have been unable to remove the boot prints. By the way, in this picture, I am actually in North Korea.

See how fierce he looks? Apparently South Korean (or ROK) soldiers posted here are supposed to do this at all times. The Taekwondo stance, balled fists, and even the sunglasses meant for intimidation. You do not walk between this soldier and the flag on the table in front of him out of respect. He is standing on either side of the line. When they lock/unlock the door on the far side, they now do it in pairs-one with weapon drawn-as there was at least one instance of them being charged by North Korean soldiers. ANd, yeah, don't I look thrilled? You are allowed to take these shots as long as you do not touch them. Still, I felt a little disrespectful, unit it was pointed out by a friend that they do this all day long. Maybe they get a kick out of it?

There are 2 towns in the DMZ-one South Korean, one North Korean. The North Koreans built a fancier one than the South Koreans had, along with music and propaganda that used to be broadcast VERY loudly for the ROK residents to hear, telling them they should defect. ROK built an impressive flag pole, to which DPROK (North Korea) responded by building an even larger one. The flag weight is some insane hundreds of pounds and is cranked manually. Not much breeze that day, and very hazy. Nowadays, ROK residents that live in the DMZ have it pretty good. They are all descendants of original residence from before the war. They are exempt from the 18 month military service required of SK men. They have nice houses built by the government, and do not pay taxes. The average income is about $82,000.00 which is many times the average of most Koreans. Many hire workers to work the farms here, while they live in Seoul (among the most expensive cities in the world) and own businesses. The DMZ is a wild life refuge, having many animals that now live nowhere else in Korea. It will never be reclaimed, as there are too many mines laid by both sides.

The Golden Compass

2007-05-01T17:41:00.002+10:00

See the post below. Roll your cursor over the animal/daemon and click on the question to go to the site to answer some questions. If the assesment is different, the animal could change.

2007-05-01T17:41:00.001+10:00

P Meme

2007-04-30T18:44:00.000+10:00

Well, Sade, if you were wondering, your mail was, for some reason, put in the junk mail! Therefore, I did not discover it for many days. Errgh.

Anyway, Sade got the letter T and posted 10 things that she likes that begin with T. Then she said that anyone who would like to pick up on the meme should leave a comment for that post saying they would like to be tagged with a letter, and so on. If you would like me to leave you a letter, comment away. If you're visiting from facebook, post it on your wall.
I have been bestowed the letter P. At first I was thinking.....P?!? But I am all good, I think. Anyway, I decided to do this in the first place because I have been feeling down lately, and I figured thinking about good things certainly can't hurt. And so:

1. Patrick, my brother. I love him very much, and miss him.
2. Patricia, as in Fasold. She is a great woman and thanks in part to her, I now know my awesome kid brother, Danny.
2.5 (I have decided that even though I love my uncle Patrick, this would be cheating, or doubling, anyway.)
3. Passports...for 2 reasons: 1. They allow you to travel to new and interesting places and 2. I have lost mine and the sight of it before I pay for a new one would be terrific beyond belief right now. If not, I will go the embassy on Friday.
4. Payday. Paychecks, paycheques. Pay packets. Wage packets, whatever ya call it. Enough said.
5. Harry Potter. Yes, but his last name begins with P. Besides, in Korea, where I am now, everyone uses their last name first.
6. Primeval. A British show currently on break. I'm saying-this is not an easy letter. Maybe I should think about this for a while.
7. Peppers, small hot korean ones that are part of the flavor in dagalbi, green ones, red ones, yellow ones, and I miss zesty banana peppers like CRAZY!
8. The Piano. I actually like many of Jane Campion's films.
9. Panacea. (A solution or remedy for all difficulties) I like the way the word sounds, and even if it is a flawed idea, it would be nice.
10. Photography. I'm not very good, my camera can't do much, but it is a skill I appreciate and admire all the same.

And, in case Harry Potter is cheating (although I would include it anyway)

11. Paper. I like paper.....I like decoupaging my daytimers and journals with it, I like hanji and other specialty papers, I like cool looking wall paper. I like writing sometimes and I like drawing sometimes....on paper. I like paper towels for cleaning (terrible, I know), I like toilet paper for obvious reasons. I like the font named papyrus. Yep, paper.

They Said What?

2007-04-29T17:33:00.000+10:00

Yep. I think I might start carrying my camera around. You see this all over the place. Translation programs (although they have there uses for single words and the like), what a waste...more than a waste...please help me find the word I am looking for. As far as Koreans are concerned, translation programs might as well be the opposite...create gobbilty-gook (pun intended from the waygook) from your language to another language. Say something...just not quite what you meant to say....and likely not even close.

Sample 1:

Progress Report Hell

2007-04-24T18:43:00.000+10:00

It's back again. Every month. Why do they do this? I have a long list, thanks to Charlie, of comments that can be used on progress reports. As he put it, he hasn't written an original idea in years. But slogging through to find the right one, or even just the time it takes to get through all these children. I want to do them justice, but.....er......I want to finish too. Thanks to those and PMS, cramps, etc., I have come to the conclusion that I will get nothng further done that is school related today, despite having almost the whole day off. I can only concentrate for so long on that stuff, and the progress reports took up all the alloted time and then some. I also discovered that there are words I cannot remember how to spell properly without a dictionary (or, in MacWorld, a dictionary widget) at my finger tips. Yes, I am an English teacher.

Yes, Robin, my apartment, as you put it, is cozy, but bigger than the last. I was not blessed with matching, functional, properly sized (for the space) furniture as you were. But, I did not pay for it. If I decide to satay another year, which is likely, I may splurge on some incredibly over priced, relatively poorly made furniture that better suits my needs. As one who likes to be as organised as possible and as neat as possible MOST OF THE TIIME, I may have to break down before I have a break down, if you catch my drift. I just hate spending the money when I'm not here to stay. I want to save the money for when I go home to stay. Not that I know when that will be or where home is, actually. But that's another post to ponder.

My first Sock!

2007-04-20T19:09:00.000+10:00

And, yes, it is wearable! Yippee!!!! Notice I said "sock" not "socks." Sock #2 is on the needles. I be so happy. I have a waerable sock. I be so proud o' me.ou must tilt sideways to fully appreciate this post....I'm lazy today, and it is almost time for dinner.

And, yes, it is wearable! Yippee!!!! Notice I said "sock" not "socks." Sock #2 is on the needles. I be so happy. I have a waerable sock. I be so proud o' me.

Next my nifty new cell phone. Number to be given to friends only. Old phone can be reserved for annoying early/late/last minute texts. I know it won't last.

My new digs.

The best view from my new digs. I don't see this if I look directly out any window. Skipped the kitchen window in this post due to limit on photos allowed by blogger.

2007-04-08T17:41:00.000+10:00

On my bedside table: Fionavar Tapestry book 3.
Weather: yellow dusty.
Mood: pretty good:
List of things to do: a ton.

Sock knitting: disasterous. Frogged the "completed" one for yarn. Started another. Got to the second half of the heel and it didn't match the forst half. Frogged, as per usual. Good yarn, though, it's holding up through all of this. Aobut six froggings.

New TV viewing: Vicar of Dibley, funny. Regenesis, promising, not yet yet addictive. Charlie Jade: good stuff, Robin Hood (no, not the one I loved as a teenager with Michael Praed) doesn't take itself seriously, which is good. Amusing fluff. Some good eye candy.

Music: nothing new :(

2007-04-08T17:22:00.000+10:00

"These are the times that try mens' souls. In the course of our nation's history, the people of Boston have rallied bravely whenever the rights of man have been threatened. Today, a new crisis has arisen. The Metropolitan Transit Authority, better known as the MTA, has attempted to levy a burdensome tax on the population, in the form of fare increase. Citizens hear me out-THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!"

Cue the music.

" Well let me tell of the story of a man named Charlie on a tragic and fateful day. He put ten cents in his pocket, kissed his wife and family, and went to ride on the MTA.

But did he ever return? No, he never returned, and his fate is still unlearned. (What a pity) He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston...he's the man who never returned." (Kingston Trio, Charlie and the MTA)

See, poor ol' Charlie, he gave up his dime at Kendall Square station, then he changed for Jamaica PLain (better known nowadays, as JP), but, you see, when he got there the conductor told him, "One more nickel." Think he had it? No! Charlie couldn't get off of that train. Charlie rides all night long, lamenting that he can no longer afford to see his sister in Chelsea, or his cousin in Roxbury.

I'm paraphrasing, of course. Needless to say, I'm waxing a bit nostalgic for the good ol' days when I was a kid, and this was some of the music we listened to, and we all can sing together in unison now. I gotta say, I miss my family south o' Boston and on the West coast. Love you guys. Wish my Ma, like Charlie's wife, could go down to the Scully Square Station with a sandwich at quarter past two. If we vote for a guy named George O'Brian, do you think we can get fares back to a dime on the T (as it is now called)? I think not. But I bet there are no shortages of G. O'Brians in Southie.

Pardon me, I'm off to the Tijuana jail. Got no one to go my bail. Just $500..........guess I'll have plenty of time in the slammer to do lesson plans! :)

They don't stop!

2007-03-26T18:53:00.000+10:00

I wish some one would tell the Jehovah's Wintnesses that a foreigner who speaks almost no English lives in i-bek-o-ho (my room number). They must be close by. Third time already. Foiled each time. Wide eyed at the foreigner each time. Spread the news....no not that.....the news that I can't talk to y'all. Last time it was funny. This time I am PMSing. It could get ugly, I swear. Hehehe.

2007-03-26T18:14:00.000+10:00

Just a shout out to those who check my blog regularly. Thanks. It is always nice to read your comments and know that you've been here. Robin, love the story about clockin' the ajoshi. For the rest of y'all, who may remember that Rob's super power is super speed, she's at least 2 inches taller than me. I'm taller than 90% of the Korean population....you do the math. No wonder she landed it on his forehead. Spin, thanks for the bind off advice. (I almost wrote BO advice, then remembered that 99.9% of my wonderful readers-that's the other 5-would think I meant body oder. Hehehehehe......especially funny in Korea, land of the imported, overly girly, smell ya coming from a block away deodorant).

Weather: rainy
School: busy, gotta get the progress reports done. Planning, planning planning. It never ends.
Laundry: dry, needs to be put away.
House: clean. still got to get the crappy desk out on the street. I feel weird doing that. Under the cover over darkness (of which there is none here)
stomach: not quite empty
battlestar galactica: downloading, much too slowly
dinner: don't want to make it. Don't want to bust out school books either. I want to read my regular book
on my beside table (which is actually a chair): Book 2 of the Fionavar Tapestry, which I highly recomend to those I know read fantasy.
Typing skill: non-existent. Spelling skillz left with the typing skills. Maybe they're looking for some soju?
PMS: rampant. Get over it.
Me: Done. Decision made-I'm going to read, cook, watch TV, and if any school books get looked at in the meanwhile..well, wouldn't that just be shocking.

Random Thoughts

2007-03-23T22:33:00.001+11:00

I knit my first sock. Need to fix one hole. But what pisses me off was that I was trying to be a good girl and cast off really well, and it's too tight! !#U(*U(*Y$*(!@Y$!!! I can only just barely get it over my ankle. This just will not do. I am trying to fix it, but I ca't figure out how to get thread to the stiches to loosen them. Grrrrrr.

Saw 300 with Kristy. Mancandy.......mmmmmm....even with fakish abs. Flexfest. No one has abs like that all the time. But still...mmmmmm. Kristy about clocked a drunk ajoshi (korean guy) on the way home. We were waiting for the crossing light to change and he was yelling progressively more loudly at us. Wanting nothing whatsoever to do with him, we ignored him, though Kristy commented that she would essentially take him out if she had to. I felt exactly the same. Most of these people are smaller than me. Anyway, he finally came up to us. He kind of tapped me, but Kristy said he grabbed her shoulder. We both spun on him, and she started yelling at him. She raised her fist and he backed right off. We turned back around to finish waiting for the light and he kept saying the only thing he probably can in English, "Thank you, thank you...." I took that to be more of an, "I'm sorry'" from his tone. Needless to say, he did not try to bug us again. Good thing it wasn't Wednesday night, when I was in a downright evil mood.

Finally, sick as a dog, and I could really smell/taste the pollution on the air tonight. Disgusting.

Random Thoughts

2007-03-23T22:33:00.000+11:00

I knit my first sock. Need to fix one hole. But what pisses me off was that I was trying to be a good girl and cast off really well, and it's too tight! !#U(*U(*Y$*(!@Y$!!! I can only just barely get it over my ankle. This just will not do. I am trying to fix it, but I ca't figure out how to get thread to the stiches to loosen them. Grrrrrr.

Saw 300 with Kristy. Mancandy.......mmmmmm....evn with fakish abs. Flexfest. No one has abs like that all the time. But still,...mmmmmm. Kristy about clocked a drunk ajoshi (korean guy) on the way home. We were waiting for the crossing light to change and he was yelling progressinvely more loudly at us. Wanting nothing whatsoever to do with him, we ignored him, though Kristy commented that she would essentially take him out if she had to. I felt exactly the same. Most of these people are smaller than me. Anyway, he finally came up to us. He kind of tapped me, but Kristy said he grabbed her shoulder. We booth spun on him, and she started yelling at him. She raised her fist and he backed right off. We turned back around to finish waiting for the light and he kept saying the only thing he probably can in English, "Thank you, thank you...." I took that to be more of an, "I'm sorry'" from his tone. Needless to say, he did not try to bug us again. Good thing it wasn't Wednesday night, when I was in a downright evil mood.

Finally, sick as a dog, and I could really smell/taste the pollution on hte air tonight. Disgusting.

And I always wanted to be a pilot.......

2007-03-11T15:23:00.001+11:00

Your results:
You are Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)
Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)

90%
Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)

85%
River (Stowaway)

75%
Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)

70%
Inara Serra (Companion)

55%
Derrial Book (Shepherd)

50%
Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command)

50%
Wash (Ship Pilot)

45%
A Reaver (Cannibal)

35%
Alliance

30%
Jayne Cobb (Mercenary)

30%

Medicine and physical healing are your game,
but wooing women isn't a strong suit.

Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test

45% Reaver. Hehehehe. Watch out, I might bite! 90% Simon...that's twisted, cuz he's hot.

Muhahahahahaha!

2007-03-11T14:55:00.000+11:00

The scene: Western woman is chillin', hanging out doing comoutery stuff. William Orbit plays in the background. Knock on door, repeated shortly.

Woman, "I'm coming." Opens door. Two Koreans, a man and a woman, are outside. Eyes widen slightly at the unexpected sight of a white woman.

K-Man, weakly, "Oooh." Pause, "Korean?"
W-Woman, smiling knowingly, "Aniyo."

All look at each other briefly. Door closes. W-woman smiles to herself. Hehehe. Foiled again. The Jehovah's Witnesses in this country are quite persistent. Actually, this is the only place I have been where people try to convert me more than back nome in the US.

Some Photos

2007-03-10T19:07:00.000+11:00

Some photos in no particular order. First, Robin and Chai. Most are from my most recent visit to Seoul to hang with Robin, aka, Beta Clone 62. With her is her friend Chai, a killer Blues guitarist. He owns a bar called Just Blues in the Apkujong area of Seoul. He plays with his band, and it was great. I have some short film shot of him rockin' out that I will get up on to Youtube so you can check them out. Also, there is a shot with me and Desi, who I hang out with sometimes when I get to Seoul and we can actually coordinate time. Then Rob, Chai and I after we've had a few. Well, Chai, more than a few. I can't believe he can play like he does with that much alcohol in his system, but the dude can play! Finally, the view out of Rob's apartment in Seoul.

Now that I've moved, I'll get some shots of the new place and shots around Musildong, the new part of town where I live.

2007-03-06T19:04:00.000+11:00

Yes, I have been remiss. No, I haven't forgotten any of you. Have you forgotten me? I hope not. I had a very busy last half of my "vacation." I went to Seoul and rocked out with Robin (yes, I meant it, get it? Rockin' Robin, and yes, that was Uncle Mal's favorite tune.) We drank too much, had lots of fun, saw skinny dancing korean girls at Hooters-yes, I know. But it was funny, I swear. The food sucked, the beer sucked, and the dancing was hilarious in that it was, well, I dance better. That's sayin' something. Pictures to follow, when I get to it.

I also moved. There are bugs here. Ick. Most are hopefully dead or afraid of me. I cleaned like crazy. It STILL need to be cleaned more. My bleach needs to do it's part. Some stuff needs to go. The TV is pointless. The broken desk it sits upon is pointless. You should see my kitchen shelves. They are so HIGH. If I were taller, OK, but I am taller than 90% of the population of this country, and I need a chair to reach the third shelf. The second shelf is marginally usable. Nut, I have a bigger fridge. I am missing the dryer at Halla. I love being able to walk to school. One of my best friends lives right around the corner.

I have been trying to do lesson plans, but they keep having school dinners. And meetings, and meetings, and meetings. I keep getting sidetracked due to an apartment that needs cleaning. Oh, and I hate doing year long lesson plans. Hate it. If, like Rob, I had 2 books (those books are so thin, too, Rob!) I could plan in no time. But I have a multitude of heavy books. Did I mention I hate doing lesson plans? They never work, and once I do them, I hate getting told that they aren't right. If they tell me that, I will say, well, this is how I understand them, and if you would like to change the format, go ahead! That'sgoing to have to be that. You should see the daily lesson plans that Kristy puts together, the other second grade teacher. Crazy long and involved. They're really nice, and she said it is cool that the ones I give her won't be like that. :)

Well, I guess I should plan a lesson, huh? More later y'all. An oh yeah, my first sock is still coming along. Like the leasson plans (because of them?) it has been slow going lately, thanks to so many other things needing my attention.

Ergh.

2007-02-22T21:59:00.000+11:00

Toof wath yanked a week ago. Ith sthill huths. Yuck, but ith getting bettah. Tomorrow I go to Seoul after getting the stitches taken out. Hurray for appointments at the dentist, a perfectly valid reason not to attend the 10 am school meeting I was informed of via text messaging at 6pm tonight. Hahahahahaha. Oh, yeah, that and the reason that I am ON VACATION!!! Thanks to time and some good examples to follow in my fellow teachers, I am learning to navigate and live with the last minute craziness which is working in Korea. I believe the technical term is lastminititus. It infects a huge portion of the population here. Thankfully, it is a largely non-threatening, though frequently annoying, infection that can be avoided with simple, practical precautions. That is not to say that I haven't met several previously uninfected individuals who did not take proper precautions, unfortunately.

I have another invite to return to Seoul on Monday for dinner from a woman I 'met' on Knitty who was living in Mokpo for 3 months. Her husband ships out to sea and she gets a great trip from a family member. It would be great to actually meet her. Her letters home, which she forwarded to me, where descriptive, interesting, and sometimes laugh out loud funny. I could really relate to a lot of what she said. I am not sure if I will make it, but I may try. I just get so sick of being on the bus, and I have moving to think of, utilities to get switched, and eventually, basic lesson plans to be pondered.

I frogged the 1st sock about when it was 40% through because I decided that part of it was too big. If it had been the whole thing, then I would have just shocked it into shape, but it was only a large area after the inside end of the toes. It would of been too floppy, methinks, but I am far from a sock knitting expert. The blanket still sits in the box it has been exiled to. Pardon me for ending a sentence with a preposition. Life goes on, even for English teachers-my apologies to Sarah K., one of the best teachers in the world, and my English teacher for 4 years in private school. One of my favorite not-exactly-a-rule English rules is that once you know the language well enough, you can break the rules. And it is for this reason alone that I may start a sentence with either 'And' or 'Because,' or end a sentence with a preposition.

Had a most fabulous internet chat with T. last night. She finally got on Skype and bought both a mike and camera for her computer. It was so cool to see her and hear her. As she said, we are finally in the age of the Jetsons'. No flying cars on the market yet, but as I saw on 60 Minutes last year or so, there are several prototypes with promise. How cool is that? Maybe, just maybe, my dream of flying will finally come true. So I won't be breaking the sound barrier, flying Tomcats off of air craft carriers or piloting shuttles to space (with role models like Lisa Nowak, that might not be a bad thing!) but I might be able to fly my personal aircraft to the 200 meter (high) tier parking level someday!

Alright, time to get to work on that sock I recast. Well see how much I can get done whilst watching a subtitled movie. And for those of you who think that Americans using 'whilst' is snobby (I read this the other day), kiss my gluteous maximus (private joke, sorry y'all).

2007-02-15T20:25:00.000+11:00

I'm tired. And silly. Haven't played with photobooth since resurrecting The Lifeline (aka, my computer).

After looking at this I realized, "Look, Ma, no arms!" I'm sick. Hehe. There's lots happening, but I'm pretty tired today, for no good reason. Met the new teacher, seems like a nice guy. He's from Texas, and I know any time I talk to him for 10 minutes, I'm going to get my southern twang back. Apparently, his wife speaks English quite well, so I am looking forward to meeting her as well.

........

Doorbell rang it was Anna. She is always bringing me up goodies she's cooked. I am a terrible cook, so I don't reciprocate (at least not with food-I try to keep her in mind for other things). Tonight's offering was noodles in cream sauce. Smells good. My last good meal before I get the tooth yanked! ;) R&A have said I ought not eat in the morning, though the doctor didn't mention it. But then again, his English (and my Korean) made it easy to miss a few things. Can you tell I am nervous?

Anna was nice enough to offer to go with me. A good thing, too, because I forgot to have Halla U. written down so that I could hand it to the cab driver. Can you imagine if I tried to tell a taxi driver in Korean where to go after having a tooth extracted? As if I don't mangle the language enough, right?

So, I think I will enjoy this and then try my hand at knitting the socks once again. I have cast the darn things on about 8 times. Lorna's Laces Shepherd sport in Aslan. I'm using 2's and despite my best efforts, I keep messing up the increases (the pattern is toe up gauge free by Stasia that I got off a website recommended by some folks at Knitty.

Moving

2007-02-14T17:00:00.000+11:00

Well, it is official, I will be moving. Charles is leaving to work in a new town and school, and I will take over his apartment when he leaves. The people who run the building where I currently live are great and I will miss knowing that getting someone to take care of something, or getting packages delivered is no problem, but the new place is walking distance to school and is in an area with restaurants, coffee shops, etc. It is closer to downtown as well, and is still close to my friends who will continue to live in Unisville. Hopefully moving will not be too much of a hassle, and I will be able to just switch the utilities into my name. I will probably cancel my landline and couldn't get cable in that building if I wanted it. The owners have a deal with the satellite company, but satellite is too expensive to be worth it, and I will not pay to get cable in the new place-installation is expensive and I hardly use it. So, internet is my main concern.

Once I move my packages will be delivered to the school rather than my home, and I will get the new address out to anyone that wants it. Hmm, I will miss having a dryer, but I will have my own washer, and the utilities will be cheaper, so I can turn on the floor heat to dry my clothes in the winter. :)

Also official, this school year is over. A new teacher that will be coming in tomorrow to look for an apartment for himself and his wife. We still do not have a replacement teacher for Charles. At this point, most reputable teachers have positions lined up for the new year. We may well all be pulling down some overtime to cover classes for a bit. That should be interesting. How much overtime I am williing to do, quite frankly, depends on how well my classes are blocked and what grade I will be teaching. That's right, I still don't know.

The new head of the English department has been chosen-a Korean teacher that I do not know at all, except by sight. She doesn't speak English. My current co-teacher will be her assistant (basically overseeing) immersion classes, J. will oversee regular English classes, and D. will oversee English specail classes. I do not think that my current co-teacher will be my co-teacher next year. Who that will be remains to be seen.

All in all, things are looking pretty good. Now, I am just waiting to get the darn tooth pulled. It hasn't bothered me much, but has been just troublesome enough that I have decided to keep my appointment to have it pulled. If all goes well and I am not in pain, then I will make it the Stitch and Bitch on Sunday too!

KT still sucks

2007-02-11T20:16:00.000+11:00

Yup, they sure do. First, Eddie and I both lost internet at the same time on Friday night. We could only get to an all korean web page that was clearly asking for an ID and passqword, which neither of us had ever set up. So, she souldn't even check her email. I knew I still had an actual connection, because my email worked, since I do not got to a weebsite, but use a separate program. The "engineer" (read, tech, as I well know from back home-if you had called the techs at Adelphia engineers, oh, the hilarity that would have endsued!) arrived and got us both bak online and gave us both IDs and passwords for future reference. He said they are having server problems affecting all customers, which was to be fixed by today, but let me tell you, moving from one site to the next is like watching paint dry right now.

Hmmm, so one teacher is leaving to get married and move, and the school is frantically looking for a replacement, who will get his apartment rather than a more senior teacher (read, me, because I asked for it and don't have other forms of compensation that others have accepted-selfish, probably, do I care? Not really. I want to be able to walk to school and pay 2/3 less for heating bills). So, we are losing a good teacher and a great guy. Also, our director is leaving. Losing a another great guy who really cares about the teachers. Heaven only knows what will happen now. Did I mention that I probably won't know wjhat grade I am teaching until a week before term starts? Ugh. I'd rather prepare now and be done with it.

Sorry folks, too lazy to get some pictures on from a walk in the area. Maybe next time. It would take for-frackin'-ever for them to upload anyway!

Imagine This Scenario

2007-02-03T21:13:00.000+11:00

Mallory Teacher: " Goo morning, childwen."
Children (giggling): Goo morning, Miss Mallory Teacher!"
M.T.: "How ahh you (sounding like the true Bostonian she isn't)?"
C.: "I'm fine," and a few, "teacher talking funny, hehe."
M.T.: Ahh you weady to get stahted?"
At this point the highest level girls will begin giggling uncontrollably.
Ever curious, never shy male student with great English raises hand and says, without waiting," Teacher?"
M.T.: "Yes, Wyan?"
Half the class giggles. The 2 lowest level students have quizzical expressions.
Ryan: "Teacher, why do you sound funny?"
M.T.: "Because my wisdom toof hurts, Wyan."
Ryan, looking interesting and ready to crack up: "Wisdom toof?"
M.T."No, 'toof, Wyan, toof....Errr......(trying to pronounce what should be 'sah-rahng-nee' or 'love tooth' in Korean)
"......Sahwangnee...."
Everyone sitting in an orange child sized chair at an undersized desk starts laughing and hooting. This goes on for a while, until Mallory Teacher gives a teacherly glare and says,
M.T.: "Fingahs on lipssss!" Before she can put her on finger on her lips she starts laughing until it hurts her toof.

Yep, the next 2 weeks should be interesting. It hurts A LOT and I'm really nervous about getting it pulled, since I have never had anything but a cleaning. Ah, well. My coworker went to the same place in December. As long as I can find some one to go with me so that some one can actually pronunce the destination to and fro to the cab driver, I am sure I will be OK. Without that, all will be lost!

Six months

2007-01-30T21:37:00.000+11:00

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'

2007-01-22T10:25:00.000+11:00

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!

2007-01-19T23:12:00.000+11:00

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!

2007-01-18T22:42:00.000+11:00

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.....

2007-01-13T21:42:00.000+11:00

...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!

2007-01-11T21:45:00.000+11:00

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

Korean

2007-01-11T21:27:00.001+11:00

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!

2007-01-07T22:54:00.000+11:00

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!

2007-01-05T00:16:00.000+11:00

'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.

Crap!!!!

2006-12-31T16:28:00.000+11:00

My computer crashed! I am using a friend's. There will be no updates and no email for a while. Here's hoping my hard drive is not complete toast and that I can find an authorized mac repair shop in Yongsan. And quickly. And that I don't have to buy a new hard drive. Ah, well. crap. y'all are going to have to call me until future notice if you want to actually talk to me. And no american tv. argh. no dvd's. argh...only crappy korean tv.

It's official

2006-12-30T00:32:00.000+11:00

If I don't worry about the time difference, it's official tomorrow. I've been blogging for a year. I am more consistent here than I am in my journal. Maybe that's bad, but it is nice to have family and friends stop by and let me know they've been checking on me. Feeling the love.......;)

Pix

2006-12-29T02:07:00.000+11:00

Two of my new candles

Skully Lives! Actually, I've added about 9 more inches to sleeve #1 since taking the photo

Typical intersection of downtown Wonju.

For my Little Big bro Pat-this is a storefront

Average street corner-ain't it lovely?

The red sign says something pronounced like dahm-pae, but I have no idea what that means.

Bugger

2006-12-27T23:42:00.000+11:00

I hate living in the boonies sometimes. Most of the time. I walked a ways for the bus (instead of the closest stopm for extra excercise-why can't I spell that word?), grabbed it for the express purpose to go get a mocha at Bay Wabin (Bae-wah-bean) and I got there and she was there, but closed. Brought stuff so I could hang out and write, which takes some doing for me here. It takes a while before I feel comfortable enough to hang out alone in some places here. Back home, no sweat, but here, people just don't do things on their own. Many restaurants, the minimum order is a double portion. So, some places I feel OK, others not. Not a safety thing, but a social thing. Hard when you only know so many people, and most don't want to come all the way out to your neighborhood. Grrr.

Yesterday I went downtown and bought some candles-chinese style ones with Chinese script on one and some really neat drawings on the other two. I am sure they will look really beautiful as the flame starts to get lower into the candle, backlighting the design. I'll have to send some home, for sure.

In the end, I managed to get the house cleaned up and laundry done, and I ran into Jane: she walked out of the elevator while I was waiting to get on with my clean laundry. It was kinda funny-we looked at eachother kind of suprised for a minute. Then she gives me a big hug. Her closest friend lives in my building, Je-hae, on the sixth floor. Je-hae is very nice, but her English is a lot more limited. So, Jane had to go into Family Mart to get a toothbrush and I was telling her about a funny misunderstanding on my part with the guy working at the counter. But, I say, he's a nice guy, even though we basically don't understand anything the other says. So she apparently told him in Korean that I like him. All I can say is, I hope it doesn't have the same double meaning in Korean as in English. All I need is a 19 year old Halla student thinking I've got the hots for him!......wait, maybe that is all I need...;)

I have pictures. Maybe tomorrow I will be motivated enough to show you. Just some shots of downtown. When you really look, you realize how different, small, thrown together, and often, dirty, it feels. But it is different from home, and that is part of why I left.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T12:43:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas to all of those you who check up on me here. I miss you and I hope you have a great day. I am lazy music filled morning (Jamie Cullum's All at Sea, love it, T,, thanks) and I am about to open my wrappped present from T.,...drumroll please.....yes, it sat in front of me on my desk every day for maybe 10 days and remained wrapped so I could do this TODAY......Dream Angus, by Alexander McCall Smith.....looks good, I think I will enjoy it. Thanks T! Still has a bit of that new book smell you wnated to be sure was still there ;) International post is not good for new book smells.

Later I will goto dinner at Outback with Kristy, her sister Kelly, who came from Bundang last night, and Rhonda. There may be a movie involved, but I am not sure I want to see a holiday romantic comedy....most of those just aren't that great, I find.

Anyway, y'all have a great day.

Recommendation

2006-12-24T14:34:00.000+11:00

Thanks, T, for the Jamie Cullum CD. If y'all like like a kind of updated jazzy sound, I recommend his stuff. My favorite song so far on Twenty-something is probably the same as T's: All at Sea. I'm probably going to listen to it until I kill it. :) Fits my mood right now. Wish I was out on the water right now, wish I could leave the obligations and connections behind right now.

I also recommend Jinusean's Telephone number, if you're in the mood to check out some korean rap with English thrown in. No, I don't understand the korean, but it has a good beat. You can check it out on Youtube, but you have to bear with the stupid video that goes with it if you listen there. Basically, take the idea of rap that coems out of the US, especially the materialistic part of it, idealize it, wrap it up out of context and absorb it into another culture. America too has done this, I know. It's just interesting to see it from the other perspective. Maybe because Sweden is western, I did not see it nearly as much or as blatantly as I do here. Anyway, that's the video. Girls in sexy clothes in front of big cars and guys in weird clothes that just look like rap costumes. When against a white background, given no context, it just makes it so obvious. good beat, tho......;)

After much thought and talking to others, I have come to what I can only call my own personal conclusion that Korea is a more materialistic culture than America, and for those of you that know me well, that is saying a lot. It is in a different way, though, too.
- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -
I got really off track with the rest of this post and edited it. I'll have to put my thoughts together in a more structured way to explain what I mean.

Knits and Snowmen

2006-12-21T20:56:00.000+11:00

The first photo is a snowman ornament my mum sent to me. The second is a photo of me and most of my second graders. Aren't they cute? Even when they look annoyed, they are cute-that's just what kids are like. When they are annoying, as opposed to annoyed, that's another matter, but.....the third is a shot that I took in Seoul, I think that must be the headquarters for Shinhae Bank. It's about as Christmassy as things get here. Christmas is not a big deal, and the lack of commercialism is refreshing, but the lack of being able to find suitable gifts for those I want to give something to is annoying. Pardon my overuse of the word today. Anyway, I needed another potholdery thing, so I knit one. Simple boring 3X rib that I switched every 11 rows, for a total of three times. I cheated terribly on the handle so I could hang it behind the snowman.

It is nice to be on vacation, though the books for immersion camp sit over in a corner. I won't be able to ignore them entirely. But for now I shall certainly try. And I shall certainly sleep in to a shameful hour-but do so shamelessly!

Vacation

2006-12-20T22:07:00.000+11:00

Vacation has begun. I know it will be over before I know it, but for now, I will just enjoy knowing that I can sleep in, take naps, nit keep to a schedule, etc. I will have to create a schedule for camp, but that;s really as simple as dividing the pages in the book by the number of lessons.

Whoo-hoo! Vacation. Three Glorious Weeks. Now, if only I was gong somewhere warm. I will comfort myself by remembering the money I am saving and planning something for February vacation. ;)

Random thoughts

2006-12-19T16:31:00.000+11:00

Wow, I just realized I have been blogging for just shy of a year now. I'm getting better at posting more regularly too. I had some pix taken of me with my second graders today, so I will get those on here soon. I haven't looked at them yet, so I hope they came out OK!

Comments part 2

2006-12-17T01:06:00.000+11:00

I think I have fixed the comments issue. Please try again so I know for sure. For some reason, I was not getting notification of the comments to be moderated. Probably a typo on my part. So, they have gone off to nowhere land, but hopefully all is well going forward. Went to Seoul today with Rhonda. It was her first trip to Seoul and her first time on a subway. She is fun to hang out with and easy to talk to. It was snowing as we left, there was a bit in Seoul, but it warmed up so it was all gone by the time we got home. It's a cold night, though, and we are supposed to get more tomorrow. It never amounts to much which suits me just fine. I had my fil in Massachussetts, especially with the huge showstorm we had while I was living in New Bedford and working at the cable company. I still remember feeling bad for the guys in the field, digging around for hours because the pedestals weren't even visible. And they had to find 'em to fix 'em. I remember calling people up when the techs called in on the radio, and telling these people, "We can't help you now. Please call us once your street has been plowed. The cable company will not plow to your house-duh (No, I didn't really say the last part;)

We took so long in the stationary store, that we saw Robin just long enough to leave Starbucks and have a beer at The Nashville. Since I hadn't spent much, I treated myself to Guiness. Mmmm, tasty.

Title Schmitle

2006-12-14T19:51:00.000+11:00

I am just killin' time until vaca, considering my dinner options, and thinking about having a wisdom tooth removed. It's not overly troublesome, but...yeah, TMI. Cheaper here, but there is the whole Lost in Translation problem. You get used to it in many ways, then BAM, something important comes along and you REALY REALLY wish you could speak the language. The group at family mart seemd impressed (in my estimation, overly impressed) by my ability to give my cell ohone number to them in Korean. Funny stuff, I guess. They were laughing lots, but I didn't get it. But thay are cool people, so I know it wasn't mean spirited laughter. Some of it may have been laughing at themselves, since they were having a hard time communicating with me even though there were three of them and only one me.

OK, y'all where are my comments? You know that that is the only way I know that you are checking in. Come on y'all, let me feel the love.......

No Dice

2006-12-13T21:02:00.000+11:00

...on the Mallory thing. I found sn obit that makes me wonder if they are family. I wonder if there is a polite way, using good ettiquette to find out if peop;le area distant relation. I sill consider.

Received 2 pacjkages today. Betreen mom and Teri, I have the motherlode of antacids, so no worries there. Sweet. Teri, thankfully your actual present was wrapped and remains so to heighten anticipation. There appears to have been a last minute substitution in a package. Yarn that I specifically remember giving away has made its way back to me, whilst some lovely much anticipated lace yarn has disappeared into the great yarn black hole. I ave given up on it's ever escaping the velocity and strength of said black hole. Teri, if you do not mind, if my sock yarn, which tends to be thicker, is not a proper substitute (I have been waiting since August with three patterns for said yarn), I will simply reorder it and have it sent to you and you can send it directly, as I do not anticipate a large and import tax alarm bell ringing rate to ensue from said order.

Some purply pinky stuff that I do not recall ordering has also appeared. Maybe they are sending small reminder gifts? Don't know. BTW Teri, please do not send any more knitpick catalogues-they are for the purposes of selling only and od not have any nifty patterns included. I wouldn't want to spend money on a catalogue I can peruse online. But I greatly appreciate the thought. Th antibac gels are appreciated greatly. Since soap and paper towels are so scarce (not even available for teachers at my "prestigous" (tonge-in-cheek) school, antibacs are very nice to have. I try to wash were the foreign teachers keep soap, but since we have only cold water, it is not the most pleasant experience.

On Saturday I hope to go to Namdaemun market and the largest Alpha chain store I have heard of so that my friend Rhonda can get some drawing charcoal, we hope. Since it is but a stop away, I hope to go to Dongdaemun to get blankie and bag yarn. I am so bad, and must knit like my life and livelihiid depend on it over vacation to warrant such expendtitures. Not that I haven't ensured very nice deals and mat share as a after christmas I can never get it to you in time present.

"K, I am tired and had a weird day, so I will sign off for now.

This is sooo silly, but....

2006-12-12T21:06:00.000+11:00

OK, so you know how "google" has become a verb, as in, "to google ones' self" (sp?)? Well, months ago I did it with my full name and the only thing that came up was a UW page. My name wasn't on the googled part, either. You had to search for it, and I got bored before I found it. I was relieved, actually, because it is kind of a creepy phenomenon. But I figured, hey, what if I just use my first name? Well, I hit page 7, some youngun's page cam up a lot, and, of course the famous climber, George H. L. Mallory, who disappeared on Mt. Everest. I didn't know that they had found his body until I tried this search. Yep, they found Mr. Mallory in 1999. But, I digress. Wrong Mallory, right? Right! Because I am Miss Mallory Teacher! a.k.a., Mallory-My-Lass (mi-loh-ri-meh-lass, as Dad says, anyway), a.k.a., Mulray, as Teri says. Or, as Pat coined, Telephone Pole.....oh, wait, I digress yet again. Mallory. Yup, that's me. The Mallory that needs to go on a yarn diet Even though the sock yarn that arrived today was sooooo lovely, but until I learn to knit socks, and have some knitted socks, and maybe gift some knitted socks, I need to go a on a sock yarn diet. Worsted and bulky weight are A-OK, since, as per an earlier post, I think I may be knitting a new baby blanket. Oooh, off topic tangent-I am good at that, aren't I?

Were was I? Mallory, that's right! Mallory! So, the entire original point of this post was to write my name: Mallory a post on my blog and see if it makes a difference, even though it is not in the name of my blog. So, l please pardon my momentary vanity. After all, when was the last time you saw me with earrings, a necklace, make up and a skirt-or even a fancy non-skirted get up all at once? Long time, eh? So, I guess I don't think of myself as particularly vain, except maybe in a minor way about being reasonably smart.

So, this is Mallory signing off to see if she can get her big bro Jay's chat handle to work properly, and to, oh, google herself-by first name only, mind you! ;)

Translation and Misc. Stuff

2006-12-10T02:22:00.000+11:00

Actually, Bridget, the last post was all good stuff. My Swedish mum, Kerstin, called me last night because she had already received my Christmas card. She is, always has been, and no doubt, ever will be, terrible at snail mail. So, when she hears from me, she inevitably calls to say hello. I can't complain-it's great to hear her voice. Although, she asked if I wanted anything, and I said a letter would be great. I could even pass on the Marabou, as I am hoping to kick the sugar addiction over break. We had a lovely talk and I found out that Jonas and Bettan will have another bay, due in March.

As to other stuff: Yes, Bridge, I guess mom mailed some stuff. She said she tried to remember every thing but was unsure if she did. I hope she remembered the essentials, like the herbal remedy that helps me kick sugar, deodorant, and some of the warm clothes that I asked for, among a few other things. Teri sent me enough cold medicine in her last package for at least two colds. So, other than that, it is indeed a waiting game. I will let you know what she missed.

This afternoon I went to my regular Saturday hangout (Maidu, to do progress reports) and called Rhonda, a new friend who is from Texas. She is a hoot and this is her second go round. After graduating from college (after having and raising a son a bit younger than me, and that's all I'm saying) she decided that she wanted to come to Korea before jumping into the 9-5 grind that would be part and parcel of her new degree. She too is an artist and we have a lot in common and I have enjoyed her company in the couple of times we have hung out. We tried soju (first time for both of us) and I have to say, it basically tastes like very weak vodka. I prefer vodka. Soju has nothing going for it on its own, I have to say. You'd have to mix it to make it worth it. I have tried that too, whilst out with Kristy and Andrew and it was crap. I don't know what kind of brew it was supposed to be, but if you add soju to OJ like any sensible vodka appreciating person might do, you might have an decent drink. The swill we had while the three of us were out, well, let's just say that I switched to a beer-korean beer, at that. Ugh.

Anyway, I was lazy today and got a late start, a late finish, and it is time to call it quits. Besides, my Skully has not made any progress (if this were a spanish sentence, the mere structure of the sentence would blame it on the sweater rather than the knitter, an idea I quite like, so therefore I blame it on the sweater. What do you expect? I always screw up when I have to pick up stiches to knit!). The uruaguayan yarn is still airing out in order to loose the inherent odor that treated wool can often have. So, no knitly news. Will have to make more progress on those 2nd grade progress reports tomorrow. Doing progress reports always reminds me of my 4th grade teacher, who, at the end of the year wrote some nice things, rounded off with, "and come back next year without that Southern accent!" As if it were my fault she couldn't understand me! Imagine if I wrote that the kids should come back next term, "without that Korean accent!" Really, now! ;)

oops-double post

2006-12-09T00:07:00.001+11:00

Won't delete due to comment.

Övädade Händelse

2006-12-09T00:07:00.000+11:00

Vilken ovädade händeslen hände idag. Vilken fin hädelse hände idag! Telefon ringde klockan halv tio. Jag tänkte känske telmarketer (svensk?). Men de' var Kerstin! Vad fin att hära sin röst. Den var lite som att fa en stor kram från Sverige. Tack och lov hade jag drukit lite vin så var min svenska lite bättre an vanlig. Vi pratade en tid och sä lärde jag att Jonas och Bettan ska ha ett barn til. Kontratulerar! Nu måste jag sköpa garn til en filt (not felted, just blankie) til! Men de' var bara så fin att prata med Kerstin. Jag tänkte inte saga att jag planera besök nästa sommaren, men de' sa jag i allafall. Om jag stannar til in Korea hoppas jag att göra så. Shhhhhhhh.....saga ingeting!

Så avslutade dagen veldig bra. ;)

Comments

2006-12-07T23:18:00.000+11:00

Sometimes I just want to leave a post so that people that I miss can leave comments to let me know they are checking up on me. Less than two weeks to vacation. I am looking forward to it VERY much. Teri, I got your package and it had some very cool stuff in it, and thanks. I know there is a lot of stuff that the third graders will go crazy for and the stuff that is too young for them I can give to Miss Won for the second graders market. All in all, I will have some very happy kids. And there was plenty of stuff in there to make me smile, too. I will send an email to answer all of your many questions, and the letter was great and no shortage of laughs. Spin, I got your card, too, and thanks. Yep, I smiled. :)

I'm off to bed. I like 9 hours in bed, which usually translates to about 6 hours of good sleep-maybe more sometimes. No way to be sure, right? More KT problems and I can't get it straightened out because I don't speak korean. They keep screwing up and overcharging me and not lowering my service (they actually cancelled it!), but because I am getting the higher level of service, which I do not want, I can't get my money back. Companies rule the individuals here. You should see the way they rip their own off. But it makes me realize how good we've had it for so long in America-for those who have a bit more than a pot to piss in, anyway. I can't speak for those who really don't have two cents to rub together, even though I have been there.

Ok, nite y'all.

Knitly News

2006-12-05T22:27:00.000+11:00

Still working on my Skully sweater that will have no Skullies, so I can wear it whilst teaching. I also finish a no pattern scarf with my Manos Stria cotton, just so I made something with it finally. Nothing terribly impressive, I just did a basketweave with garter on all edges

Top one shows how it looks close up, the patterning, such as it is, and th bottom the overall look. And, yes, that lavendar lushy plushness is a throw blanket I knit from some poly-yes poly-goodness I bought here in Korea. It is sooo soft and nice. Rather thick, too. Not super warm, but, did I say plushy goodness?

Next up, I hope, finish Skully, some socks (my first, basic pattern ideas welcome-I may try the 2 needle idea on knitty now-does this creat bulkiness or problems where sewn up?), and a blanket with the wool from handpaintedyarn.com. Scroll down for pics of that and of the Seoul SNB.

I've Been Promising Pictures

2006-12-02T23:41:00.000+11:00

First, Thanksgiving pictures.

Manuel, Eddie, and Jane (L to R). Manuel lives in Gwanju. He is Eddie's fiance. Eddie is the teacher that came to Sahmyuk after me. They are both mellow, cool people. He's a kiwi, she's from the States. Jane is one of the korean English teachers and she's easy to get along with. She is my standing translotor for the hairstylist, and we always have lots of laughs when we hang out together. She's all good with it when I am goofy and silly.

Kristy, Canadian, teaches at a hagwon in Wonju, in the Lotte Cinema area. For me that is a walk and bus ride or a walk and a cab ride away. We went to Seoul today, actually, and I was with her when she bought this shirt awhile back. Joseph's amazing technicolor coat-can you say drama major, y'all?

Charles, one of the Sahmyuk teachers, looking thoughtful. He has been here for 5 years, has a girlfriend who speaks no English, and is an all around cool guy. Easy to work with and fun to have around.

Ok, finally, me, with straight hair when I actually took the time to make it look nice.

I promised proof that I went to the Seoul Stich and Bitch. Here it is. I was in the same neigborhood today with Kristy during part of our time in town today. I plan to go again this month, at least once.

And, of course, the yarn I ordered from handpaintedyarn.com. Very nice, for the most part. It's basically Manos, only cheaper. If you don't knit, you don't get it, I don't need to explain. It is designated to become a blanket (The multi at the bottom may become part of a pair os felted slippers if I can find a pattern-ideas welcome). The green on the far right was a gift that was thown in with my order. I will order merino for next to the skin stuff. Some of the colors are just amazing. Again, if you are not a knitter (crocheter)......then you must be family and you know I'm crazy. Yarrrrrn. Yum. I confess, I bought sock yarn from Ebay. I haven't even knit a real sock yet! Guess I better bust out the needles, eh?

2006-12-01T09:47:00.000+11:00

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas........well, no. But we did have our forst snofall in Wonju yesterday. It's nice to be somewhere where it didn't start a month ago! The kids went nuts. It wasn't enough to stick, and one of my fellow teachers said the average that does stick, once in a while, is an inch. Whoo-hoo! I can deal with that kind of snow! Especially since I am not dispatching cable and don't have to worry about how crazt the weather will make my work day. I don't miss that at all! Of course, even in the rain or even the one monsoon style thuderstorm that happened after I came did not interupt electricity, phone, tv, or internet service to anyine I know.

So. it's cold I have been busting out my korean bought winter coat. I am getting used to it, so now I think it's not that bad (the coat). The fake fur actually feels quite nice if you zip it up that far.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-26T11:31:00.000+11:00

So the Sahmyuk English teachers and Jane, one of the Korean English teachers, had our Thanksgiving celebration last night that also included a Canadian (Kristy) and a New Zealander (Manuel). So, there was me, Anna, Ralph and Charles and Edvish-the Americans of the group. I took lots of pics and willpost them up when I am feeling a bit better. It was a fun time, and I learned some interesting things a about people :)

2006-11-23T19:24:00.000+11:00

What I really need is my big bro. Thanx for checking in Jay. And my little big bro and my sisters and my mom. I miss you guys something fierce. really and truly, I do.

2006-11-22T21:43:00.000+11:00

I need a punching bag. I hate KT. That would be my internet and phone. They suck. I pay about $6 more the Eddie and she lives right next to me-literally the next apartment over, and I pay $10 less than Anna and Ralph. And they set it up for automatic withdrawal without even telling me, then they didn't withdraw last month (I had no idea that they didn't) and there is an extra charge on this month's bill. I need a KT punching bag. This is not the week for this to happen to me either, if you catch my drift.

Arrrghhhhhhhh.........gonna watch some comfort tv on my itty bitty computer screen (don't get me started on the fact that I paid an arm and a leg for the cable install and I can gaurantee that I haven't turned the tv on a dozen times since I got it in late August).

muuuuumblemblembel.....grumble....fi-faaaa....shis.....mar........ship-p'al (closest I know in Korean)............grrrrrrrr..........

p.s.

2006-11-15T23:38:00.000+11:00

I cast on a boatload of stiches tofinally make a scarf out of the manos cotton stria I have becasue the majority of clothing here is hideous and outrageously expensive. Koreans seem to think nothing of ripping each other off. Send the same cheaply made stuff to the US and they woulld get half the price...oh, wait, a lot of it just wouldn't sell. Not fashioable where I am from.

Can you say horizontal stripes aren't flattering? Well say it five times fast in Korean!!! Ugh, I hate the clothes here. And they are clearly made poorly and are too thin too keep you warm...especially since heat in the school is too much to ask for, along with soap (I kid you not) a towel or anything to dry just rinsed (can't call 'em washed) hands on, or even toilet paper!

Yes, toilet paper. Ladies, travel in Korea sans toilet paper at your own risk. I hope it doesn't get cold enough for my butt to freeze to the toilet in the unheated bathroom. Don't get me started on the fact the kids think there is "no air" if you close the windows between the bathroom and the unheated hallway. Ugh. I close them, the co-teacher opens them. I will have to tell her that when it is my class, that just won't do. Then have a sceince leson to explain to the kids that they won't asphixiate. The things that I hear.......oh, wait, I was going to bed to sulk!

2006-11-15T23:32:00.000+11:00

Hello?.......deleted because I don't think anyone is paying attention.

Browncoats Unite!

2006-11-12T02:14:00.000+11:00

Hey Robin, thanks for stopping by. Love the Serenity -ahem-cross stitch (duh). For those of you who don't know, robin is a kick ass chick I met at the Seoul SnB last Sunday (pix to follow) who is quite accomplished and exxxtremely patient at errrr.....cross stich. Not the least of which because supplies are in even shorter supply for her than for us knitters out there. She had a great Serenity (yes, it's....) cross stich which I can not rave about enough. Look forward to seeing you again soon! I will try to make to next weeks SnB if I have the energy for the round trip. By the time I got back to the bus station after our dinner, Robin, it was 8 o'clock and the buses were booked until 9.45! will have to find out if I can buy my return ticket upon arrival and then make sure that I can get there on time.

Glad to hear Steph is getting the help she needs. I have been there, in my own way, and I am glad that she has the support network that she needs. It was more than I had, and Steph, honey, make the most of it. Just because people don't know what you are going through, doesn't mean you don't mean the world to them. Call me whenever, ok? I wish I could be there, for whatever help I might be able to give, or at least understanding. Also, kiddo, remember that just because some people's experience is a bit different, that doesn't mean that they don't have a really good idea about how you feel. It may be for different reasons, but we often end up in the same kind of head space. Be proactive, don't settle, and find the right person for you to help you, Just because they have you see one person, if it doesn't feel right, well it just ain't right. Been there, done that, and found the most wonderful woman to help me. Sometimes I wish I could still talk to her.

Heaven knows, Korea ain't easy and sometimes I could use some guidance. But, it is after midnight here, and I have cast on a scarf out of utter disgust for the prices that koreans will charge each other for items. Labor is cheap here, but stuff is not. If htey sent it to the US they would have to charge LESS in the hopes of getting people to buy it. I really wish I could go to H and M at the mall and get the inexpensive gloves they have-about 3 pairs, and a few scarves at their near unbeatable prices, some of them are pretty stylish too!

Nite y'all, gotta do come garter stich and crash, and mourn the fact that next week is the half season finale for Battlestar Galactica. That show rocks!

Ciao for now,

Mallory a.ka. 'Style

ps, Robin, does your site allow for comments and if so how?

2006-11-06T01:47:00.000+11:00

Mood: improved thanks to SnB Seoul. Picturely proof to follow when it is not so late.
Minor frustration: Dongdaemun is closed on Sundays. No new yarn for me.
Cold: Still kicking my ass. Need expectorant and cough medicine, both apparently available from the pharmacy here. Translation unknown.
Wish list: Antiseptic gel. Kristy says she knows where to get it in Seoul. Don't know when that will happen or if it will be in stock.
Productivity: About 20 more rows on the back of the skully sweater at the SnB. finish it up, add the arms, seam it and I'll have a sweater. Not as easy as it sounds. The seaming, anyway. I suck at that.
More later.

Seoul?

2006-11-05T15:06:00.000+11:00

Thinking about going to Seoul tomorrow. I have Monday off, so I would have time to recover. It would be just me, I think. I have emailed a friend to tell her I would be in town and if I go I will try to find the Seoul Stitch and Bitch and find some knitters. Hung out with Kristy today and she ended up buying some knitting needles. From listening to her talk I'd say she knows her stuff and can teach me a few things. We get along pretty well and I feel pretty comfortable around her and she still hangs with me after my crappy weekend last weekend, so that's a good sign.

Losts of thoughts running through my head. First, I should get some pix up to make my blog more interesting because that is what most people like. Viola.

Yes, some one lives there. Maintainence seems to be a foreign concept here. You just use a building until it falls apart, ignore rust, holes, etc, then eventually build a new onw. If it is an apartment building, it looks exactly the same as the old one. Originality is not a big thing here.

Farmers dry their stuff out on the street. It's weird to me. Also, documenting the changes as fall comes. It's a strange fall, though. It is November 4th and I swear it hit at least 55 degrees today. If not warmer. I had a tank top and a light zip sweater on. Which reminds me of the things I wish I brought. More clothes. Anna said it would not be too tough to find wintery stuff here, but I don't like korean styles and I find shopping exhausting and frustrating here, even more so than at home. Wish list: Tums, please send me tums. I get occasional heartburn for reasons I cannot figure out. I wish I had my down comforter, but I bought a soft blanket in the downtown shijang today by Rodeodoree (Rodeo Drive-ain't even close, y'all!) with Kristy. Added it on top of everything else and added the plastic stuff you can cover your windows with that I bought from Costco. I added it last nitght and there is not enough space on top for it to stich, so it came part way off. I just stuck it to the window for now. It'll help some. See, my school put us out where they can save a bundle but it costs us more in bus fare and we have LPG for heat. Propane. It costs a lot more than whatever they use closer to town. Ah well.

I just like this one.

SORRY!

2006-11-05T01:20:00.000+11:00

I don't mean to offend. I had no idea some of you were reading my blog-you never told me. I'm lonely, see? I know you get it. But see, here's the thing, no matter where I go, there I am. I can be melancholy in the Mass and make shit for pay and have a boat load of frustrations and barely survive, or I can go somewhere, live with a different but with another set of frustrations and sock away some money. Heaven knows I'd have to work like a bent korean ajumma farmer until I was 95 at home right now because I can't pay bills and save and have yarn back in the States. Besides, here I am exotic. Yes, I get stared at. Yes I hate it sometimes. Sometimes I can ignore it. no, being exotic has not worked in my favor.....yet. Maybe it won't. But I can feel exotic all the same. At least for a little while.

2006-10-29T18:22:00.000+11:00

hite is korean beer, previously mentioned as shite. yup.

my cold has returned with a vengeance. sneezing, coughing, painful sinuses, etc. can't blame it on drinking cuz i haven't. i just realised that i have a really really short fuse right now and i don't want to take itout on anyone. so i am avoiding peopple. maybe that's good. maybe not. i went back to bed after i relised that the hike was off. anna called me to confirm while i was on the phone with teri (thanx for calling back, btw) and they said no can do. anna and i have come to the consenses that we are just going to leave it be unless they get in touch with us. so be it.
back to the involved lessonplan that i am trying so hard to avoid.