卒業、そして未来へ。

In the garage...

2011-06-12T23:09:00.000+09:00

Find me here:
www.s2age.tumblr.com
&
www.twitter.com/s2age

Open your eyes

2011-03-20T23:32:00.000+09:00

[You]
Report · 11:09pm
ughhh no!!!
i'm usually FAIRLY confident
just
not in your presence
you do something to me mr ball
that no other person does
[Graeme Andrew]
Report · 11:10pm
woo-woooo
it's my magical powers
maybe because I always push you to be better
(because I see IMMENSE potential in you)
[You]
Report · 11:12pm
lol no it's cuz you're SO confident that i feel so
small
ahahha
aww graeme! really? :D:D
[Graeme Andrew]
Report · 11:13pm
yes, but then you say that you're boring and say that you never have adventures...which makes no sense at all!
[You]
Report · 11:14pm
i live a boring life! so what
i WANT to have adventures that you're so fund of
but i'm afraid i'mma SUCK a tthem
haha
[Graeme Andrew]
Report · 11:15pm
perhaps you should come and have insane adventures with ME (I won't let you suck at them)
[You]
Report · 11:15pm
btu i WILL suckat them
and you'll be disappointed
oh so severely disappointed
[Graeme Andrew]
Report · 11:16pm
you'll be excited, so severely excited
I will not let you suck at them
it's against the rules
[You]
Report · 11:16pm
but i SO willlllll
[Graeme Andrew]
Report · 11:16pm
and I will enforce the rules
I will push your comfort zones WAYYYYY beyond their limits
your eyes will light up
and all will be awesome
[You]
Report · 11:21pm
i don't like being pushed out of comfort zones T_T
[Graeme Andrew]
Report · 11:21pm
how about pulled then?
in any event, this point is non-negotiable, hhahahah!
[You]
Report · 11:22pm
hahah
thanks for your faith though
means a lot to me <3<3
[Graeme Andrew]
Report · 11:23pm
you opening up and being awesome means a lot to me...I can't wait to see it happen!

Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat.

2011-01-30T23:53:00.003+09:00

I can't say I have a single favourite place to eat... but here's a few of the foods I love... and that I wish I could eat all the time.

First: Korean BBQ.
Can't even compare this to the garbage they serve you in Toronto. Enjoyed with lettuce leaves and chopped scallions, meat in Korea is soooo good. And cheap! Finish with a bowl of cold buckwheat noodles and I really couldn't be happier.

Second: Shabu kalgooksoo.
Shabu means hotpot, basically, and here you put in various kinds of mushrooms and vegetables... and after you eat that, they put in noodles (kalgooksoo), then they fry rice for you in that pot. So, so, sooooo tasty. Especially in the winter.

Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.

2011-01-18T18:07:00.002+09:00

Hahahahha, these little Guess shoes I've been dying to buy for a few months now. Bought!

... anyway. It's my second day back at work, and the kids are wearing me out already! Damn! It takes loads of energy to plan lesson and then execute them according to plan. I've been fed the last 3 meals by different people, I keep going out... I need to eat better, and at home, and go sign up for the gym. =/ Maybe once the weather warms up a bit......................

Day 8 – A song to match your mood.

2011-01-15T21:40:00.002+09:00

Hmmm. Well, my mood right now: tired (although it's barely past 9:30). What would go with my mood right now?? Maybe Glee's version of Lean on Me.

My current addiction right now, though, is a song by IU and 2AM's SeulOng, called JanSoRi.
Here is the link, have a listen if you can.

Day 7 – Your dream wedding.

2011-01-15T21:35:00.002+09:00

The big day, huh?

Some say they're not one for big, fancy weddings... but I am. If I have the monetary means, I would like a grand old church wedding and a sick reception all-night long. Why? Every girl's dream? Neh. It's a big day - in fact, the big day - and should be appropriately celebrated. I don't care if I should go into debt afterwords, I'm having a massive wedding, full of friends and family that I love.

I actually would like wedding day 2, a quieter, calmer one done in a Korean traditional matter.

No picture suffices. Let's leave it to my imagination for now.

Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.

2011-01-15T21:31:00.004+09:00

I was actually talking to William about this today!

When I'm older I'd like to have a dog named Gladstone and he shall be an amazing little Shiba Inu.

Oh my god -- can you be any cuter?!

Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.

2011-01-15T21:24:00.003+09:00

I think two years ago plus 3 days I was sitting at a brunch place in Toronto with Murray! I have pictures of the place but not of me/us. So here's a picture, taken January 20, 2009.

We had a secret santa gift exchange thing and then we took this photo afterwords! Man, that was a wonderful time. I loved living in the Norfolk house with these girls...

Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.

2011-01-15T21:09:00.010+09:00

I'm so behind!

Best friends. The word itself seems so... elementary school. You know?

Anyway, here are some of my closest friends:

Mini William!

Since he looked better when he was younger, this is the picture you get (don't kill me!). This boy (not a boy anymore though, I suppose!) knows me basically inside and out. :)

This picture is amazing, and I will never get sick of it.

Stephen in Grand Bend, 2008.

My dearest Stephen always, always has my back. You can't even begin to imagine just how much that means to me. ^^*

Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.

2011-01-06T03:29:00.004+09:00

Ah. The first date.

I've actually never thought about this, so it's kind of hard to say I'd like x, y, and z.

I think the problem these days is that there just isn't much else to do besides eating and drinking. I am feeling this full-on right now as I meet all my closest friends and find that there's nothing to do but get a meal and then coffee afterwords. So I guess the generic answer is dinner and a caffeinated beverage. Get some talking going...

I think if I'm comfortable enough though, I wouldn't mind doing the following, too:

1. Soooo I'm a giant bookworm. And ideally the guy I'd be seeing is like that too, so it'd be nice to make a stop at a bookstore. GEEKY MUCH?! I know. T_T. Well yesterday I sat at a Chapters with a friend and I felt like it could be done with a boy (lol, not to say Murray isn't... but you know). There doesn't need to be too much talking... just, I don't know. Seems nice. Quiet, comfortable... and sharing whatever amusing thing we find in what we're reading.

2. I also really like parks and trails. If the weather's nice, I wouldn't mind sitting around on a patch of grass and enjoying the sun.

Picture?

Sitting at the park near the Japanese Imperial Palace last summer in Tokyo.
Cooling off in the breeze...

Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.

2011-01-03T15:50:00.003+09:00

Aw fuck, I didn't take a picture of the meals. But drinks count, right?

You can barely see them though, ugh! Whatever, what's more important are the people! Introducing Naz and Yuki! Haha and random white ladies in the background, looking actually more like the subjects of the photograph.
Good seeing the pair of them!

Timothy's, Port Credit

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.

2011-01-02T15:04:00.006+09:00

I feel today might be a good day to start this challenge! It'll also get me to blog more. Prepare yourselves for a long-ass blog post.

But before that, happy new year!

Let's get right to it.
A photo (cred-Will):
This is from a batch taken this past Tuesday, when my darling William organized a little dinner for me and my friends at the restaurant I used to work at. When taking this photo, I was instructed to be "less Asian" - and this is what he got. Haha.
Anyway, instead of doing introductions or whatever, I figured I might just share my new years resolutions. And you can watch me as I fail or succeed.
They're nothing crazy or broad like 'lose weight' or 'travel the world', 'get a better job'. They're modest, and doable.
1. I would like to exercise more. Nothing ambitious, just like, twice a week for an hour each will do.
2. Get into graduate school... which means doing well on the GREs.
3. Cook at home. A real meal. At least once a week.
4. Get familiar with a new topic. History, hopefully.
5. Re-familiarize with an old topic. Namely Japanese... or math, linguistics.
6. Learn to knit/sew by hand.
7. Write 5 hand-written letters and 5 post cards.
8. Community service/volunteer hours. 10hours/month?
9. Be more diligent about going to church. At least every other week.
10. Keep a diary.
11. Make use of my planner.
12. NO MORE SHOPPING. Online/offline. At least, no more clothes or purses.
13. I want to have been in each continent at least once before I die. So, visit a different continent.
14. Blog once a week.
15. Read more classics.
16. Give it 10 minutes, 10 seconds, at least a deep breath (depending on the situation) before getting angry.
17. Practice the flute twice a week. 30 minutes each.
18. Go to the library twice a week. Min. 2hrs.

... thoughts?

And my day?

Well, I woke up to breakfast in bed, which was super nice. I got it fed, too, hahaha. Lazed around, went to coffee with someone super awesome (that's you, Stephen!) and ate leftovers (Thai red curry, salad, chicken, vegetables...) and played Super Mario (which I stiiink at) and Mario Kart. And here we are.

I also want to do a short reflection regarding 2010.
I want to think I've done a bit of growing up. I guess that may come with time, naturally... but still. I've also got a friend back that I'd thought I'd lost. I got in touch with some old friends, that was nice, too. I think I've forged some life-long friendships and I'm really thankful for those...
I can't say it was a bad year. My days in Korea have been good, people are kind to me, and I can't thank some higher being enough for that.
I did lose someone I cared about a lot. This holiday season, more than any other time, has made me miss him dearly. I hope he knows there's a gaping hole in my life where he used to be...

Anyway, if I remember correctly from "Rent", a year is 365 days, 525,600 minutes. That's a lot of fucking minutes. Here's hoping they are used wisely... because we're never getting them back. And we live this life just once. So I guess what I'm saying is, do what your heart tells you, because you actually don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. If there'll even be a tomorrow.

Last Christmas

2010-12-19T22:52:00.002+09:00

오늘 초등학교 같이 다니던 친구와 강남에서 만났다. 11년만이였다. 신기하고 또 즐거웠다.
친구와 이런 저런 이야기 하면서 시간이 얼마나 빨리 흐르고 있는 지 느꼈다. 그리고 인간의 기억력의 한계를 절실히 느꼈다. 3학년 때 같은 반, 5학년 때도 같은 반이었는데 둘 다 몰랐다. 동호는 그래도 6학년 담임 선생님 이름을 기억하던데 난 사진에서 본 얼굴밖엔 생각이 않난다. 아주 작고 사소한 일만 기억한다. 개수대에서 양치하면서 욕에 대하여 했던 대화. 철봉에서 놀던 일. 벚꽃 휘날리는 것 보고 눈 온다고 생각했던 일 (나도 참 생각이 없었던 것 같다...). 진짜 열 손가락 안에 안 든다. 내가 아무리 이사하고 환경이 바뀌어서 그랬다고 하더라도 참 너무하다. 이렇게 보면 우리학교 아이들도 11년 후 동창과 어딘가에 앉아서 샤브샤브 먹으면서 "아~ 그때 그 선생님 기억나? ㅇㅇ친구는??" (동호의 말을 빌려) 자신들의 기억력의 한계를 탓하고 한심 해 하고 있을까? 요즘 애들이 점점 똑똑해진다고 하지만 11년이라는 세월은 길긴 길다... 나도 그저 희미한 기억 속에 남을까... 사진이라도 많이 남겨야 되나 보다.

Met up with a friend whom I attended elementary school with when I lived in Daejeon, for the first time in 11 years. It was quite enjoyable. And as we talked about this and that, I realized how fast time really goes by... and the extent of human memory. We were in the same homeroom class in grade 3, as well as 5, but neither of us knew it. At least he remembers the name of his teacher in grade 6... I only recall, and vaguely at that, his face from photographs. All that's in my memory are small, insignificant events, like brushing my teeth at the fountain (?) area and talking about swear words, playing at those rod things in the playground, and thinking it was snowing when it was just cherry blossom petals flying around (makes me think I wasn't all that clever). I remember maybe like 10 different events/things. Yeah, one could say it's because I moved and underwent a huge change in the environment surrounding me, but still. In that sense, it makes me wonder if, in 11 years, the kids at my school will be sitting at some Shabu Shabu (hotpot) place with an old friend saying things like: "oh, do you remember xx teacher? What about oo friend?" (as my friend put it). And getting frustrated with how lacking their memories? They say kids these days are getting smarter and smarter but 11 years is a long, long time... Will I be just another part of some vague memory? I suppose I should at least take lots of pictures to capture as many moments as possible. =/

It's my life

2010-11-07T02:41:00.005+09:00

Ack I hope my brain will be functional in 3ish hours... enough to pass this test, at least. Damn this Korean Proficiency test and people scaring me saying that it's hard for native Koreans toooo! Blah.

So I had this realization that all sorts of people (including those I may want to impress or that don't know me all that well (and I'm not ready to unleash the crazy on them yet)) may see the various kinds of stupid things I say/do/post on facebook (and twitter, and this blog (the most... with my stupid vlogs))... and for a brief moment I felt all hot in the face and wanted immediately to delete a lot of them... then sense kicked in and told me that no, this is who I am, and there's no point hiding it. If they don't like me for who I am (albeit seemingly? retarded) then well... I don't need you, either!
Thank you to WC for instilling this [shameless] confidence in me. It actually makes my life easier and more open.

Gah I can't wait to be done this test tomorrow - I'll be free in about 10hrs' time. I really want to clean my house (I know... but it's a filthy mess) and do like 8 loads of laundry (actually my laundry situation isn't toooo bad) and take out lots of food/regular garbage (like I said, filthy mess). Oh, and dishes too - but there's just a few since I eat out so much. Mostly I just want to give my floor a good wipe down. And go to church. Yep yep. Watch my TV shows. And all that jazz.

Pics from 학예회 last? week:

Kids getting bigger than me... and making sure I know it.

These ones are still a bit smaller than me. Hehe <3

I know he doesn't look great in the picture but he's gonna be hot hot hot when he's older. (Is that weird for me to say? He's already the most popular 5th grader at school!)

My fav child in 5-4 in the yellow wearing a blinging hat.

(All taken with my sickass iPod 4)

꺼져줄께 잘살아

2010-10-31T21:20:00.001+09:00

Let's give vimeo a try.
Here's a new vlog... first in many, many months. I know.

v.blog.11 from Adrienne Kim on Vimeo.

Comments?

I don't want you to leave

2010-10-29T23:26:00.002+09:00

It's time. I have no choice but to give it all I've got. Pray I can use my full potential (whether it'll even be enough is... to be found out). And if I don't make it, I'll just study another year and apply again. All I ask is that I give it a 110% (and not become a nervous wreck).

Typhoon!

2010-10-08T15:01:00.002+09:00

Game. I played the typhoon game with my grade 1s and 2s today.

I came across this and figured I'll do it in Nov - I just want to archive it here for now.

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 – A photo of our favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – What’s in your makeup bag?
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without.
Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 23 – 15 facts about you.
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – What’s in your purse?
Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?
Day 28 – Your favorite movie.
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days.

Anyone wanna join? :D

Yo yo yo

2010-09-17T09:00:00.004+09:00

It's been about two weeks since my last post... and that one barely had any content.

Here's an update.

I've decided to only apply for two of the three grad school choices. The decision is largely based on my hagwon teacher's opinion that I've got a higher chance getting into one than the other... and although the school I've forgone is better known in the field of translation, I've chosen the one that I still have a better chance of getting into.

I pray to God I've made the right choice... there's no turning back.

On a lighter note:
Kids who like sitting in the front row. Even when they change seats, they always return to the front table. 6-1 이 준, 전형민, 천유선. 6-3 김성범, 장윤석. 6-4 정주영. 6-5 윤자영. It's cute - they know the benefits of the front row and like to come back for more, it seems.

And one more:
I've got this huge gash on the back of my right thigh from wearing raining boots for like 5 minutes. It's starting to scab and looks mighty gross.

Memory Techniques

2010-09-04T09:08:00.003+09:00

1. 정보를 '체험'으로 바꿔라.
2. 무의미한 철자를 외우려면 재미있는 말을 만들거나 소리내어 읽는 등 - 암기법 활용.
3. 남에게 가르치는 사람이 가장 잘 기억한다 (에피소드, 반복, 점검).
4. 새로운 정보를 기초 정보에 앵커링시켜라.
5. 기억의 표시를 만들어 둔다.
6. 적극적으로 이용, 일상생활과 결부.
7. 유사. 대조. 인접. -> 함께 외우기.

From "기억의 기술", 라이프 엑스퍼트

Poison

2010-09-04T01:39:00.002+09:00

I am surprised at how angry of a person I am.
specially once a month.

Seriously, I just want to pick fights sometimes...
No. No wait, it's not that I want to pick fights.
I want to release the anger and lash out -- which ends up in fights.

/self-analysis.

Lucifer

2010-08-29T22:32:00.007+09:00

I haven't been this addicted to a Korean boy-band song in a while... Not since UKiss's 빙글빙글, I think. SHINee's Minho and Taemin (I even know their names!) were on 세바퀴 last night, and man are they young... but sooo hot. *----*

Anyways today I went to partake in this class at Shin Dong Pyo language hagwon - just to observe and see how the class is run (to see if I want to take it). I came back with my ego/confidence in my translation skills dropping from 80% -> -20%. Oh my god. Everyone in that class was sooooo good at Korean... AND ENGLISH. AJKSDLFJADS@#($&#@%*!)(!! T_T

Welps that should make me harder. Nothing like not wanting to lose to others to motivate me.

For your viewing pleasure (since there are no pictures this post)... if you can get past the somewhat girly dance moves and their makeup-laden faces, well, it's a damn catchy song... Minho's at 2:57, and all through the damned vid I couldn't take my eyes off him lol (*pathetic *hates self). He was real awkward on the show last night but all's forgiven since he's good-lookin'... (who knew I'd fall under this Korean celebrity spell):

Crying, crying, crying

2010-08-26T09:27:00.005+09:00

I've been following this story on Yuna Kim and Brian Orser splitting, but I've just got to say - all the girl seems to be doing is crying. I even read the piece she wrote on her cyworld account, which was absolute garbage because although she claims to be an adult (turning 20 in Sept), she was just pointing fingers and being an angry teenager, basically. If you say you're an adult and capable of making your own decisions, make wise ones. She knows most of Korea (me excluded) worships her, and that her note on cyworld won't go unread. I feel like she's abusing her popularity to turn people against Orser's claims. If she really believes things should be left private between the two parties, then she shouldn't even be posting stuff like that in the first place. What a hypocrite... And if you want to take a stand against what Orser is saying, make it official, you stupid child...

Seems Orser got paid shit for the coaching he did. And he got fired (at least according to him) after Yuna Kim's mom became her manager (we've seem similar things happen in Hollywood - parents of celebrities being blind and rash). I get it's just a matter of renewing a contract between a coach and a student, but this case seems fairly one-sided (as far as I can tell).

I also read that she wrote a grammatically incorrect line on her twitter: "would you please stop to tell a lie, B?" (lolwut) Directly accusing her teacher, her coach, of telling lies. Seems very disrespectful (even if he were telling lies, there'd be better ways of telling him to stop, I feel).

In the end, this all could've been handled much better on Yuna Kim's side. If they'd made this split public together, there wouldn't be so much bad press - about either of them.

I half hope Orser takes to coaching Asada Mao (or some such equivalent, since he firmly said he wouldn't coach Mao) and she crushes little Yuna... then we'll see who's sorry, lol.
/rant.

Few links:
Kim Yuna's Cyworld
Chicago Tribune // Universal Sports // the Star // JoongAng Daily

시간아 멈춰라

2010-08-22T01:28:00.003+09:00

I've made a point of catching up the socializing I missed out on the last month or so, seeing the people I needed/wanted to see. Starting with my beloved wei-grandma on Monday, I've gone out every single night this week (Kyle would be proud).

I think as more time passes by, I realize how important my grandparents are to me... or do I say grandmas, since I lost both of my grandpas? Anyway, it was the loss of my grandfather back last November that has made me think about how I should really get to know the adults and the older-folk in my life... they've lived much longer lives and are thus much more knowledgeable... they've also lived through wars and difficult times many years ago. I see the importance of knowing history and passing that on...

Anyways, I also saw JC (x2), SB, and KY this week - and all were good times. I think I missed the company of my friends (having been grounded here, and Japan before that).

With JC on Tuesday we went to a cat cafe (strange but amusing) and explored the Hongdae area (finishing the day with an awesome piece of cake). With SB - we wondered (seriously...) the Ansan area, checked out the Gyeonggido modern art museum (nicely AC-ed and with seating) and did 5+years worth of catching up. KY and I went to Incheon Grand Park (which was really nice... but hot) and got awesome ayce real Kbbq. I saw JC again today at Youngdeungpo Times Square and tried out many, many clicky pens and had dinner, followed by a good chat session in a book cafe. We also saw breakdancers (a nice surprise).

Just a side note about how much I love same-gender friends - I think I appreciate them so much more because somehow I seem to have more opposite-gender friends and sometimes it's just so good to have you understood by a fellow girl. I love you, Jenn!

Pics:

An awesome cat at the cat cafe. @Gio Cats, Hongdae.

Earl Grey cake @ Snob, Hongdae.

"Self-Bar" buffet-style Kbbq restaurant, @Songnae station, Bucheon.

Bboys in Times Square, Youngdeungpo.

Jenn and I before we split to take our respective subways. @Youngdeungpo station.

It's getting hot in here...

2010-08-15T16:33:00.004+09:00

Sometimes I think the most motivational phrases are ones like, "oh you're not good enough." It drives me to work harder.

Anyway.
My current desktop picture:

Incheon Airport.
Saying farewell to my sister + family.
Sister's staying in Canada, Brian, mom, dad are coming back.

A Thursday Morning in Tokyo

2010-08-04T08:41:00.003+09:00

Just a quick update on what I've been doing here since landing:

29th: Flight, Yokohama
30th: Minato Mirai, Yokohama then Hakone
31st: Yunessan Onsen (Hot Springs) Theme Park, Hakone then Akasaka (hotel)
1st: Roppongi, Tokyo Tower, Shiodome, Odaiba2nd: Shinjuku, Harajuku, Omotesando, Shibuya3rd: Tokyo Station, Marunouchi, Ginza, Roppongi

... and that brings us to today!
Today I'm hanging out with my cousin (whom I haven't seen since I was like 1... so I don't remember her at all) and my aunt.

A few pictures to entertain y'all:

From a food order vending machine. Mainly to save time, I assume.

Ramen I had with Yuki and Hasumi in Yokohama. Think, tasty broth.

Onsen Theme Park. It was a damn shame there were like a jillion people there...
but the numbers started winding down towards when we started to get into them,
so wasn't so bad... but still.

Tonkatsu meal in Roppongi.

If you're reading this, comment to let me know you are! I want to know!!

Chillin' at Kimhae

2010-07-29T11:41:00.006+09:00

Hello.

I'm at Kimhae International airport, waiting for processing to start for the 2:15 flight to Narita. Me, being me, and my mother being my mother, I left the house at 8:50... got here [too early] at 11:30 (even with the traffic jam on the highway). Yes, the flight's at 2:15... but I hate feeling rushed. I can't think straight when I rush things so this works for me. I have 8 hours on my netbook battery, so I should be plenty entertained, too.... I better not leave my freakin' camera battery around again -_-.Anyways I spent the last few days at home with my family... and every time I leave them I realize with every nerve in my body that I really, really love them. It was my brother's birthday on Monday so we had cake and a full course Korean dinner (pics below). Took same family photos because we weren't sure when'll be the last time we'll all be together (=/).

There are police with machine guns here. O_O

I also so a white girl with ugg boots, black leggings, and a hoodie... silly girl, it's like 30+ degrees out today.

There is a whole family camped out right next to where I'm sitting << annoyed. Some photos of the last few days (photo cred to my sister):

Me and Brian's miniature birthday cake.

Brian is 15!

Fooling around with Jeannie's camera.

Theme: no expression.

Jeannie & me.

... start processing already!

A Random 60th Birthday and Hair&Books

2010-07-24T21:49:00.003+09:00

Nursing teacher took me took a 60th birthday party (Koreans celebrate 50-60-70-80 birthdays fairly big) and I stuffed my face (it was a buffet - hurray!). After that, we got our hair trimmed and went to a bookstore (I bought TIME and 한계레21 and a TEPS vocab book).

Hair cut --

This is what I look like all the time - deep in thought. Yes.

Now, onto packing. Blah.

Nostalgia and then some

2010-07-24T00:27:00.011+09:00

I had an interesting morning reading through my old Xanga and LiveJournal entries dating back as far as 2004 (holy). I was such a child in highschool, all that was on my mind was boys, boys, and more boys (god, could I be more shallow?). The posts start to have more content towards the end of HS and beginning of university - and now here we are. 6 years have passed. I hope I've changed for the better. Seriously.

Though, funnily enough, I think one of the most important things about making a blog more readable is how... easy it is on the eyes. Step one, large fonts. Step two, less clutter.

Anyways.

I went to Gyeonggi-do Gapyeong today with my lovely nursing teacher, and though the weather was cloudy, we had a good time.

Here are some pictures:

Petite France.
An area in Gapyeong that is supposed to resemble a bit of France.
It has an exhibit dedicated to Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the man who wrote the Little Prince...
Which was great because I love the Little Prince.

Me, at the set for Beethoven Virus (K-drama) - a part of which was shot in Petite France.

My nursing teacher, in the round amphitheatre area.

Our second destination was The Garden of Morning Calm.
It was absolutely gooooorgeous.

Us, in front of a small church located at the end of a lily-filled path in the Garden of Morning Calm.

Finishing the day off with some Nengmyun.

Fleeting & ephemeral

2010-07-20T21:35:00.006+09:00

I've been getting daily visitors these days in the form of: a few grade 5ers who've gotten addicted to UNO (and one who is dying to beat me at it); several grade 6 students who like testing their (lack of) English and getting some MyChew out of it at the same time. I know they're noisy and they take up so much of my time, but I think I really like children by nature, and I can't help but adore them still (selectively, though, of course... but I guess that's hypocritical). This one kid just cracks me up every time with his funny antics and words. I love that the time I spend with them are filled with laughter.

Today I told them I'd buy them icecream (5 of them) so we went and did that after school. They all showed up - to my surprise. Haha. I managed to shake the girls off, but the two boys followed me until I reached the nursing teacher's home... lol.

Anyways, I think that's something I really like about Korean culture - that kids are so friendly, and aren't afraid to get close to you. I'm not sure that applies with adults, or, even beyond adolescence... My point is, the kids don't hesitate to get close to you (to the point where I feel like we're way past the teacher-student boundaries/lines) but I really don't mind... I won't be a teacher to them forever, but I do want to be someone to them as they grow older.

So, without further ado, for your viewing pleasure:

This picture honestly doesn't do them justice as to how wonderful they are.
From L-R: JooYoung (sitting, in the blue), JoonSuh, YunJoo, EunYoung, JiHyun.

Prime

2010-07-15T10:41:00.003+09:00

Oh my god. Who knew working with children could get this tiring?! Thank the Lord vacation starts in less than a week. It really couldn't start at a better time. Some kids are just so unbearable!! Detestable, obnoxious. And it's not good to pick favourites, no, but sometimes two kids can do the same thing and I can't get mad at kid A, s/he is so cute but at the same time I just wanna throw kid B out. How does this work?!

힘.들.다.

Give me freedom

2010-07-12T22:25:00.003+09:00

Notes:

"그럴 줄 알았더라면" - who knew the first two words were separated??
"ㅇㅇ 것 같아요" & "ㅇㅇ 것 같던데요" - '것' seems to be always by itself...
"할 수 있을 것 같으면 --" - so many spaces... w t f.
"내일 봬요" - '봬' not '뵈' in cases when it's '뵈어요' -_-
"오해할 리가 있나요?" = "오해할 리가 없어요" -- so weird
알아두기: "'-이었다'는 서술격 조사 '이다'에 선어말 어미 '-었-'이 결합한 형태로, '명사+이다(이었다)'에서 명사가 받침이 없는 경우에 '-이었다'를 '-였다'로 줄여 쓸 수 있습니다. 예를 들면, '학생+이었다'는 '학생'에 받침 'ㅇ'이 있는 까닭에 '-였다'로 줄여 쓰지 않고 '학생이었다'처럼 씁니다. 그런데 '아버지+이었다'는 받침이 없으므로 '-이었다'를 '-였다'로 줄여 '아버지였다'처럼 쓸 수 있습니다. 결론적으로 '-였다'는 '-이었다'를 줄여 쓴 것입니다."

어렵다 어려워 ㅠㅠ

Time flies

2010-07-08T16:19:00.006+09:00

I am a part of all that I have met.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson

It's true. And the reverse is true, too. All those I have met, all those things that I've done (or not done), are a part of me. Every little incident, every fleeting encounter... changes us. Yes, some have more impact than others. And some, we may not realize influenced us until a later day... but I think the most important thing is to be ready and prepared to improve as these things happen. Embrace criticism and remarks with open arms, because depending on your perspective, these could really alter you -- for the better.

(I'm not sure any of that actually made any sense... just trying to write something at least every other day...)

Spraypaint the vegetables

2010-07-06T23:38:00.005+09:00

선생님으로써 가장 힘든 것 중에 하나가 학생들을 대하는 방법인것 같다. 잘해주고 토닥거려주면 금새 머리 위로 기어 오를려고 들고. 무뚝뚝하고 엄격하게 대하면 정이 안가서 아이들이 선생님을 멀리한다.
적어도 엄하게 대해서 아이들이 싫어하는 대상이 되는 것은 교육상 좋지 않다고 생각된다. 아이들이 그때 그때에는 말을 들을지 몰라도 진심으로 받아 주지는 않는다. 근처에 오는 것과 도움을 꺼려하게 된다... 아이든 어른이든 누가 좋아하지 않는 사람이 가까이 오는 것을 그다지 좋아할 수는 없다.

9월달에 마음에 와 닿았던게 기억난다: would you rather be a teacher kids respect, or like?

솔직히 아이들이 날 존중한다고는 못한다. 그냥 동내 누나 정도로 대하는 것 같다. 아니면 지네 친구;;;라고 생각하는 애들도 없지 않다. -_-

이렇게 되면 될수록 아이들 통재가 어려워지지만, 진실을 말하자면 난 이게 편하다. 내가 평생 교사 할 것도 아니고 얘들 담임도 아닌 이상, 학생들이 나를 통해 영어시간이 지루하지 않고, 배우는 것은 비록 많지 않아도 (배울 시간은 아직 충분...하다고 여겨진다), 계속 긍정적인 반응이 유지될 수 있다면 난 만족할 것 같다.

어리석은 사고방식일지도 모른다. 하지만 이를 바꾸기엔 너무 늦었고, 당연히 정도를 넘어서면 상황설명을 꼭 하고 넘어 간다. 뭐, 그게 얼마나 효과적인지는 모르겠지만 말이다.

And we wonderin'

2010-07-04T00:37:00.004+09:00

Today I trekked up to NE side of Seoul to attend an open house session held by Hanguk University of Foreign Studies. I was running a bit late, but I guess so were 3-4 girls who got off the same subway as me. It was really amusing to see all of us just pelting down the streets - all strangers, but for the same destination... Anyway, I got there to find like 1000+ people packed into this one auditorium. As I sat on the floor watching a lady go through the admissions procedures, she informed us that they picked 150 students for their graduate program last year, and that 53 of them were for the English-Korean department. However, that number won't hold true for this year, as they're adding another program to the preexisting 2 in the E-K department, reducing that number by about 10 or so. IE, they're selecting about 45 people this year... I wonder what the chances of me making it into that measly percentage are.

I need to read more Korean newspapers and familiarize myself with current affairs/events. I should also get cracking on getting both Korean and English grammar down... signing up for tests...

Planning Japan... marking tests... cleaning my house...

So much to do, so little motivation.

한국외국어대학교

아낌없는 사랑

2010-06-13T21:58:00.005+09:00

I'm not one to boast (?) about my faith, but I read this prayer at church earlier today and I wanted to put it down somewhere so I can remember it in the future.
I think we can all appreciate the fundamental values this prayer suggests, no matter what our religious beliefs may be.

평화의 기도 성 프란시스

나를 당신의 도구로 써 주소서
미움이 있는 곳에 사랑을
다툼이 있는 곳에 용서를
분열이 있는 곳에 일치를
의혹이 있는 곳에 신앙을
그릇됨이 있는 곳에 진리를
절망이 있는 곳에 희망을
어두움에 빛을
슬픔이 있는 곳에
기쁨을 가져오는 자 되게 하소서

위로받기보다는 위로하고
이해받기보다는 이해하며
사랑받기보다는 사랑하게 하여 주소서
우리는 줌으로써 받고
용서함으로써 용서받으며
자기를 버리고 죽음으로써
영생을 얻기 때문입니다.

Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me show love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.

--- St. Francis of Assisi

I want your love

2010-06-05T10:34:00.003+09:00

I love people.

My comment on JejuTiffany's website - and their reply.

Fireflies

2010-05-26T08:53:00.002+09:00

Hurts my heart to know you're gone. Really feeling that void now.

I miss you so much, Moody.

Sky Tower, Osaka - Dec 28, 2009

Too legit, too legit to quit

2010-05-02T22:52:00.003+09:00

I am at a loss for words.

My best memories of you are from my trip to Japan and Japanese Studies class and all the help you gave me with MJC.
Fuck.

I love you so much. I miss you.

세상을 다 가져봐

2010-04-30T19:13:00.003+09:00

Vlog posted. But first, a picture (of SWB and his brother and a very happy Adrienne):

Children, and ones as great as these, are love.

VBLOG 08

국민체조~~

2010-04-28T08:43:00.004+09:00

This morning, after getting out of bed (brutal), I heard on the news (I feel so old) that a bad habit is: exercising less than 2hours/week, and not eating vegetables and fruit every meal.

Damn. So, after thinking I'll just be more diligent with eating food for breakfast, I came across this: there are problems with our traditional breakfast foods -
"Too sugary or carb-filled. Pancakes, waffles, toast, donuts, pastries, scones, bagels, pies, sugar cereals, breakfast bars, muffins. [...]
Too fatty. Fried eggs, sausages, bacon, cream cheese on your bagels, cheesy omelets, Egg McMuffins, Sausage McMuffins, hash browns, anything English or Scottish."

... which has prompted me to look up healthier and easy breakfast options, here's some (for my memory's sake really...), retrieved from here (but edited by yours truly to make it feasible here in the ROK):
Oatmeal, flaxseed, blueberries & almonds. (I've always heard that oatmeal is super duper healthy but the truth is I hate it and I'll never eat it so I'm going to omit the details from the site.)

Whole-grain, high-fiber cereal with low-fat milk or soy milk (which has 1/3 the saturated fat of 1% milk), and maybe throw in a few berries.

Scrambled tofu. Healthier than scrambled eggs. Add some onions, green peppers or other veggies, some light soy sauce or tamari, maybe some garlic powder, and black pepper, stir-fry with a little olive oil. Eat with whole-grain toast. Fast and delicious. (Who in the world scrambles tofu...???)

Fresh berries, yogurt, granola. Get low-fat yogurt (not non-fat, as it often has too much sugar) or soy yogurt, cut up some berries or other fruits, add some healthy cereal.

Fresh fruit salad. Cut up some apples, melons, berries, oranges, pears, bananas, grapes … any or all or whatever your favorite fruits are. Add a little bit of lime or lemon juice.

Eggs with peppers. Egg whites are healthier than whole eggs. Scramble with a little olive oil, red and green bell peppers, maybe broccoli, onions, black pepper. Goes well with whole-wheat toast.

I think for people like me, who, even after getting up 15minutes early, will still find that there's no time, we need foods that have been prepped before... like hard-boiled eggs. Maybe steamed sweet potato or something. I should try to integrate more vegetables into my diet though, but I'll need to eat something with substance to sustain me because these little devils-ahem, kids-will wear me down by the end of 3rd period (11:30ish).

Maybe if I can get me a blender, I'll just blend all those things together (no... but I'll blend fruit). I'd like nothing more than a stack of hot, buttery pancakes for breakfast though, but it seems that really ain't an option.

Oh, delicious pancakes.

When is your birthday?

2010-04-23T12:53:00.004+09:00

You'll find that my blog titles have nothing whatsoever to do with the posts themselves. "When is your birthday?" is the title of grade 6 lesson 4. Just what I taught today so freshest in my mind.

Anyways I saw a crazy man on the bus last night. And no, I don't mean like mentally disabled. I mean he was pretty sane but clearly fucked up. What do I mean? Well, I was sitting there, listening happily to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (audio book - nerdy, I know), I heard some shouting on the bus (I like to sit right up at the front, where I can see out the front window just like the driver can... and I get less car-sick). Turns out this 50-smth year old man (I'm guessing his age) was talking loudly about how it is rude of the driver to ask the passengers to beep their cards as they exit the bus (in Korea, you beep your card when you get on, and beep it out when you get off... they'll charge you accordingly. If you don't beep out, they don't know how far you've gone, so you get charged the maximum amount... which is like, 1700won. I found this out the hard way). He was going on and on (maybe he was drunk), and so this 20+yr old man was like... "ahjuhshee (mister), if you're not gonna be quiet please get off the bus." (Which I wanted to applaud him about) Then, the man proceeded to rant about how someone younger should not be telling him what to do. It made me so mad! I wish I had had the guts to say something. Or at least support the younger guy as he stood up to the crazy man. ARGH! God give me strength to stick up for what I believe.

Anyways, on a brighter note, one of my favourite grade 6's and I had a rock-paper-scissors round, and I lost, so he flicked me on the forehead... OW. Stupid kid, that hurt.

What a nice day!

2010-04-22T10:40:00.004+09:00

Hahahhahahaha, the highlight of my week:
Every Thursday, I do an English Quiz during morning announcements. The quiz consists of 3-5 hints and the kids watch, write the answer, and put it in a ballot box. I draw 3 winners (1 each from grades 1&2, 3&4, and 5&6). In my favourite class, 5-4, and one of my favourite students CW called me over while the other group was up playing a game... and whispered: "I wrote that you're pretty! Pick me, please! (선생님 예쁘다고 썼어요 뽑아주세요!)"

It killed me. Hahhahaha man, times like these... makes being here so worth-while. It was just the way he went about telling me that, it was just so cute.

Thoughts lately

2010-04-15T09:03:00.008+09:00

On the most-widely used search Engine in Korea, Naver, there's a little corner on the right-hand side of the front page that shows the words being searched for: right now, today, and during the week. I frowned slightly when I saw the top search for today: Cinderella's Elder Sister (신데렐라언니) - a TV show. There are earthquakes and lava over-flowing and what Koreans are interested in is a goddamn TV show. I understand that maybe these disasters don't effect our day-to-day routine. And maybe what's shown on Naver search window top 10 doesn't accurately reflect what kind of news concerns the general public. Also, I shouldn't forget that the generation that uses Naver is generally younger, and news of such grave nature and on a global-scale might not be of interest to them. Lastly, I need to remind myself that no less than a year ago, I also lived in an ignorant bubble... to the point where these days I find myself wondering, 'did such catastrophes happen the past four years when all I was concerned about was what I'm gonna do that night? I just wasn't aware of any of it taking place?'

The thing that bothered me was that, when that naval ship sank, the whole country was in an uproar about rescuing the ship ASAP and getting those poor people out. The damned thing still makes the news every day (night and morning). It's retarded how little people care about the 600 people presumed to be dead as a result of China's earthquake. It's on the news so briefly too, almost as long as the piece on how this travel agency ran off with a highschool's grad trip money (I mean, who gives a shit...).

* * * * *

On a different note:I just finished reading Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho. I've started Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. I got Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella as a gift so I'll read that before I go to sleep (I'm afraid Shutter Island is gonna be too scary to read before sleeping... I'm a huge wuss). I've also got Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss, which should be arriving any day now. I love books and I love reading but sometimes I just can't find the peace of mind to settle myself down on a couch with a tea in hand and read... I always feel like there are more important and pressing things to do. Sad, really.

And we're back with:

What I missed about Korea:
1. How small the country is. It only takes several hours to get to the other end of the country (thanks to KTX ~ which goes super fast).2. How the older person, or the male, usually buys meals! Well, I kind of feel bad but that's the culture here. It's how it's done, and I'm expected not to feel bad about it.
3. Cheap candy & chocolate ftw.

What I didn't miss about Korea (and some general pet-peeves):
1. People who glue themselves to poles on crowded buses. So either other people can't hold the pole at all or my hand is at their like bosom (hehehe bosom)... it's awkward!
2. CROWDED, SMELLY buses.
3. School every other Saturday (not me, though).

What I didn't know about Korea:
1. Each seat at the library has a number and at the front entrance of the library, you can reserve a seat number as you walk in. The time you spend there is unlimited or until the library closes.
2. How kids have such good skin! And just like a small patch of rough skin gets called atopy and everyone makes a huge fuss about it.
3. Why, oh why, it's so cold this year.

* * * * *
Random: my favourite bus for my commute (the 23)~

Gift

2010-03-14T20:42:00.001+09:00

K.Will - Gift
(cute MV)

v.blog.07!

The Ramen Challenge #2

2010-02-23T16:26:00.007+09:00

라면... 이번엔:

오늘의 재료:
모듬 버섯, 썰은 대파, 콩나물
라면종류:
미니라면

조리방법:
1. 우선 콩나물을 씻어 놓고 물을 끓인다.
2. 저번과 같이, 스프와 건더기를 먼저 끓인다.
3. 버섯들을 찢거나 잘라서 넣는다.
4. 콩나물을 넣고, 면도 곶 는다.

5. 얼음 덩어리를 넣어주면 면이 덜 푼다.

완작:

오늘의 feedback:
a. 버섯을 너무 많이 넣었다. (I put in too many mushrooms)
b. 파보다는 고추다. (Hot pepper > green onion)
c. 콩나물을 좋아한다면 정말 괜찮은 것 같다. (Click here to know what it is)

오늘의 성공도 (today's success rate):
* * *.5
3.5/5 - 저번보다는 낳았다. (Was better than last time)

다음번의 계회:
고기. (MEAT)

Ramen Challenge side-note

2010-02-13T01:25:00.003+09:00

Today, I made half of a ramen (yeah...) because I wasn't too hungry. I read somewhere to put an icecube in when the noodles are cooking to keep them firm... and I think it worked! The noodles were awesome! Of course, you gotta eat it fast or else it'll get soggy anyways.
I'll make another pot of ramen this weekend and post up pics and all that jazz.

5 day weekend ftw.

The Lost Symbol

2010-02-07T10:05:00.006+09:00

If you plan on reading the book, be aware that this post will be spoilers.

First thought is that I'm very disappointed, this book made me feel like Dan Brown's totally selling-out.
Two - the dialogue is utter crap, it's hard to imagine people actually talking like the way he wrote (especially the university-students scene, where he depicts students like they're in grade 5).
Three - it's REALLY annoying to have Robert Langdon be skeptical about "the myth"s and stuff for the whole goddamn book. You'd think, with his friend/mentor's hand cut off, you'd put your skepticism aside and just go with it... but no. I know that Brown kept Langdon a doubter so that the people who do believe can explain things to him (and to the readers at the same time), but he needs to find a better way to do this.
Four - his references to Isaac Newton, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, etc. is getting too much. It worked in his earlier books, because it was a new concept (at least to me) - that these famous people who lived ages ago were involved in some sort of myth/quest, but to continue disgracing their names for the sake of his book? Nah, that ain't right.
Five - DAMN long, and it didn't need to be.
Six - it was kind of obvious that the Mal'akh was his son...

I will give him this much though - he narrates really well. His use of words when describing such simple things as a pillar (I don't know if he does, I'm just saying), is astounding, and so vividly real.
Also, I don't know how valid and true the stuff he covers in his books are. I suppose if they Were really, mostly real, he should've written a non-fiction book... right?

I hope he doesn't write any more books. It isn't fair that he sells so much and makes a lot of money due to the fame of his previous books... when his current book is shit.
*shrugs

Just my two cents. Now, onto Veronika!

*new photos on my reel! top right. :)*

2012

2010-01-27T21:15:00.003+09:00

Currently watching 2012.

The books I have bought and the order in which I will read them:
The Old Man and the Sea, Of Mice and Men, Aesop's Fables, The Road, Sherlock Holmes, Veronika Decides to Die, The Lost Symbol -
1. Veronika Decides to Die
2. The Lost Symbol
3. Sherlock Holmes
4. The Old Man and the Sea
5. Aesop's Fables
6. Of Mice and Men
7. The Road

On a different note, I've signed up for Translation/interpretation hagwon. Yay.

Sponge 2.0

2010-01-22T22:26:00.004+09:00

You really can't conceal the impact of childhood education. My morals and ideals are mostly based on what I learned and realized in my 10 years in Canada. I am finding that I feel some things here in Korea are so offensive to me because of said education... and habits, too, I guess... Just what we've been told is right and wrong... It conflicts somewhat with what is acceptable here.

For example, I was watching this show called Sponge 2.0 today... It was my first time watching it, and I only had the TV on because I was ordering-in (just, take my word for it, I know it doesn't make much sense). Anyways so I happened upon this TV show, so I parked myself in front for the TV and started watching it (it's supposed to be a funny but educational/informative show)... and what I saw repulsed me. It made me so angry I could barely eat my food! So mid-meal, and after their section that angered me, I went on the bulletin board?-type thing... where viewers post their comments and questions and the like. I wrote a bunch of things expressing my discontent. What was I so angry about? - They had a section on sandwiches from "all over the world." Except their idea of "all over the world" consisted of like 10 or so sandwiches, 3 of which were from Japan and 3 from Korea... and the panel of judges (who were to decide which sandwiches are innovative yet tasty) were 4 Koreans, and 1 half-Korean (I'm not sure about her background actually... but her Korean is nearly flawless). So a partial panel already, and surprise surprise, their final pick was a Korean sandwich, which the show called something like, "the best sandwich in the world!" Which, to me, and probably to most people who grew up in Canada, was complete and utter bullshit.
Another thing that angered me was this sandwich they said was from Mexico. Now, I don't know if this sandwich actually exists there (I can only assume it does, from the Mexican chef they had making it), but the sandwich is made of butterfly caterpillars. What completely upset me was when the judges were all freaking out about the live caterpillars (yeah... live!) and one of them even asked the chef to eat it (I get the feeling to see if Mexicans really do eat it). It's considered a delicacy apparently, and Korea has some weird shit here too that would gross out people (I can vouch for this) and I was very, very upset that people would be so disrespectful about what is considered traditional in another country. Like we're one to talk. I bet the whole country would be in an uproar if they'd found out that some country out there was getting disgusted at the stuff we eat here normally.
One last thing - the people on the show, after watching the bit on the judges and the "world's best sandwich", had this luck-badluck-luck game for the participants of the show. Which, I find is ridiculous, because how is it bad luck to get a non-Korean country's sandwich to eat? You should be thankful for the experience.

This is why I say the education has such a large impact on a person, because Canada is so worried about what's politically correct, they would never make mistakes(?) like these. We've all been told not to say things that could offend other people, especially of different races, cultures, and nationalities... Here, people aren't so careful. Korea's super homogeneous, so I can't really blame the masses, but a TV show doing things like this? I didn't think was acceptable. Not at all.

Anyways, I vented on the site, so I feel better now.
Here's proof:

The Ramen Challenge 01

2010-01-17T14:28:00.010+09:00

혼자살다가 보니까 귀찮아서 자주 라면.우동. 즉석에서 해결이되는 음식을 많이 찾게된다. 허나 이런 컨비니언트한 음식은 영양가가 많이 없다. 그래서 난 라면을 자주 먹되, 좋은 재료를 많이너어 아주 맛있게 끌이는 방법을 찾고자 한다!

오늘의 재료:
팽이버섯, 고추, 치즈, 스팸, 달걀
라면종류:
미니라면 (미니라면이, 양도, 칼로리도, 나에겐 딱! - 보통라면 먹으면 배가 완존 빵빵해진다...)

재료들 <3 짱 흐뭇.

조리법:

1. 야채부터 먼저 씩고 딱고 썬다 (다 준비를 해놔야한다!).고추는 이렇게 예쁘게 썰어준다.

2. 그후 같은 도마위에 스팸을 썰고, 따로 복아준다 (귀찮지만... 고기가 필요하니까. 그리고 오늘 저녁때에 반찬으로 먹게...ㅎㅎ).

스팸은 먹기좋은 사이즈로 잘라서 볶아주는 샌스!!

3. 불을 키고 물을 끓인다 (라면용 금은냄비를 사용해준다. ㅋㅎㅎ). 스프먼저 끓인다. 그후에 건더기를 넣는다.

오늘의 경우엔 버섯도 이때 넣어주었다. 익어햐하니까!

4. 별도의 그릇에 섞어준 달걀도 지금 넣는다. 그후, 라면을 2등분 하여 집어는다.

5. 치즈와 준비한 재료를 얹어주고... 먹는다 (어젠남은 단무지와 함께... 그리고 우유는 매우니까 필수! 수저도 한국인 티 다나는 은수저! ㅎㅎ).

오늘의 feedback:
a. 치즈... 넣지말자. 국물이 맛이 안난다! - Do not put in cheese, it ruins the taste of the broth/soup.
b. 버섯너무 일찍넣다. - I put in the mushrooms too damn early.
c. 면 퍼지기 전에 먹어야한다!!! ㅠㅠ - Must eat before the noodles get soggy! I hate soggy noodles.
d. 고추가 아작아작씹히고, 살짝 매콤한 맛도 내주고, 푸른색이여서 보기에도 예쁘다. 고추 오케이! - The green hot peppers were crunchy, slightly hot (spicy), and the green made it visually appealing as well. Excellent choice!
e. 김치가... 있어야 라면이 제맛이 난다. - I need kimchi to fully enjoy the taste of ramen.

오늘의 성공도 (today's success rate):
* * *
3/5 - 그냥 그랬다. It was so-so.

다음번의 계회:
아무재료 없는 라면. 베이스가 필요하니까 (Ramen with no additonal toppings... because I need to know the base-taste... haha).

JAPAN

2009-12-18T16:13:00.003+09:00

Winter break! Here's a rough sketch of what/when/where I will be.

Dec 24: Taking a half-day, gonna spend it with AD ^^
Dec 25: Taking an afternoon train down to Ulsan, where my famjam is. The train ride is 5hours, but that's okay, I'll sleep and watch movies/tvshows... write xmas cards? Haha
Dec 25-27: At home with the family
Dec 28: Headed out to Gimhae International Airport in Busan (via city bus, then airport shuttle bus), taking flight to Osaka... The flight takes about 1.5hours, so I will probably get there mid-afternoon...
Dec 28-Jan 3: In Osaka... Jan 2, meet with AH, Jan 3, meet up with BL finally!
Jan 3: BL and I leave Osaka via over-night ferry cruise into Busan harbour
Jan 4: Day in Busan + train up to GwangMyung
Jan 5-Jan 9: Korea adventures starring BL and myself...!

Lots of planning, but I am stoked!

Somebody to lean on

2009-12-13T21:50:00.003+09:00

1. I love my parents. I will take every opportunity to tell them so.

2. PJ and I had our Hapkido kids over for dinner and movies - and what eventually turned into a sleep-over... but it was filled with laughs and jokes and I am more in love with them than ever. Here are the highlights, so I remember them: Hite, Yoot nol ee (with Hite and loser team buying ice cream), One card, blanket fights, breakfast of champions (eggs, ham, kim, kimchi, and rice...), dividing chores (and being surprised when they were done voluntarily by the time we got back from renting movies!), socks, getting up at 7... it was all in all a very good time.

3. Got treated to some awesome raw fish course meal (there was like 15 dishes that came one after the other) by this lady I worked with when I was at RL this summer. She was from the Korean agency, and she was so nice. I tried a lot of things that I've never eaten before (JunBok, Gool, MongGae, to name a few)... but they were all delicacies and she ordered them for me, so it would've been rude of me not to eat them. I am proud of myself for manning up to eat even the weird lookin' stuff!

4. Saw my grandmother, kun umma & appa, IK unni, my youngest aunt, and JH oppa. Was a good day.

5. I went to Itaewon for the first time. It always said foreigner hotspot... and it was true!! At one point, I saw an English billboard with Korean written on the side, and my mind reverted back to how it was in Canada and though, "hey, there's Korean there, nice!" ..."...wait... ... ... ah...hahah."

6. I miss my grandfather.

Guess this means you're sorry

2009-12-10T19:33:00.002+09:00

Vlog. Now only accessible through this blog site, and not facebook. Tried it through flickr this time, let's see if it's any better. *edit: repost via facebook.

Not much happenin' right now, but this week has been exhausting. So I am retiring for the night... yes, I'm aware it's only 7:30pm. Good night.

A journey after a journey

2009-12-01T08:42:00.002+09:00

저번주 금요일에 우리 할아버지는 저멀리 여행을 떠나셨다. 나도 죽어야만 갈수 있는곳으로. 태어나서 처음으로 그렇게 슬펐던것 같다. 그럿지만 난 채력이 딸려서 나중엔 우는것마저 힘들더라. 그리고 계속 울다보니까 너무 아프고 지쳐서 끝에가서는 슬픈생각을 하고 싶지 안았다.
저번에 병원갔을때를 생각하면 저절로 눈물이 흘렀다. 할아버지께서는 내손을 얼마나 꼬옥 잡아주셨는가. 그때에 내가 할아버지한테 사랑해요 - 힘내세요... 했을때 할아버지께서는 고개를 끄덕이시고 말씀도 하시려고 하셨는데... 이젠 대전어디의 정수원에 흔적만 남아계시네.

그렇지만 난 믿는다. 할아버지는 내 생애, 내가 살아있는동안 날 지켜주실거라고. 내가 힘들때, 내가 지치고 희망을 잃었을때. 할아버지께서는 내 곁에서 나의 수호천사가 되셔서 힘이 되어주실거라고...
그리고 우리의 마음속에선... 평생살아계실꺼라고.

할아버지. 사랑해요. 보고싶습니다.

Everything Epik High

2009-11-14T13:42:00.004+09:00

So I asked my sister to get me this E p i k H i g h shirt for my birthday, and it came (took one day haha)... thus, to celebrate it all, here are some photos:

Yeeeeahhhhhhh! Mithra Jin character shirt.

No one wants to see my face so it's covered by the cam. :)

Back - says: EPIK HIGH & SLEEP (all that's in Mithra's brain)...

Eff yeah Limited Edition. Awesome.

Tablo's compilation of short stories that he wrote while he was enrolled in Stanford for English... the English version, that I purchased a few days ago.

The Korean version (which is a prettier book) that he translated himself... that I borrowed from the school library.

Currently listening to: Epik High's 6th album, [e].

I love MC Mong (v.blog.05)

2009-11-10T21:00:00.001+09:00

Not to worry, the vlog says nothing of my desire for Shin Dong Hyun (aka MC Mong).

v.blog.05 (I am terrible. This video blog is SO overdue):

Winter Break

2009-10-20T06:44:00.002+09:00

Here's how Korean elementary school winter vacation works (for teachers):
Dec 21 - start of winter break ceremony (usually a half day)
Dec 22 - official start of winter break
Feb 2 - end of winter break (classes resume)
Feb 12 - graduation (& end of an academic year)
Feb 15 - "spring break"/break until the next academic year begins
March 1 - start of new academic year

SooOoOO straaaange. And for teachers, of course you don't get all of it off... for regular teachers, some have research they must complete, and if you aren't doing that, of the people in your grade, there should be 2-3 people at the school (at all times - except for days marked in red, so national holidays). Essentially you work about 2-3 days per week. For us English teachers, we (in the suburban areas) have 25 vacation days which I must split (nearly) evenly between summer and winter breaks. I have decided to take my vacation for the beginning half of winter break (works out better - I use 12 days but rest for 19)... and those days I am at school, I'm only required to do 20hours - so I can leave after lunch! Same goes for during "spring break".

Anyways, I kind of posted this because it was so strange, also because I needed to organize it for myself so I can remember it.

Unofficially, here are my vacation days (I haven't confirmed with my coteacher yet):
Dec 22-Jan 10. I will probably spend it with family in Ulsan and visiting Japan. Weee!

On a different note, I hate needing to eat breakfast. I am tired of bread and bakeries already... man what am I gonna eat?! (yes it is not even 7am yet... I felt like blogging)

OI!

2009-10-15T08:42:00.002+09:00

Just a note on hapkido. Ahh, so it's been about a week and a half and my experience at hapkido has been interesting to say the least. The kids there are great - they have been very welcoming and sweet (for the most part). Going to hapkido is a good way to kill two hours per night... the downside being that I don't have much time for anything else and that I sleep late (thus suffer the next morning). We've done kicks, self-defense, kendo, Brazilian judo, and a random assortment of things like handstands and cartwheels. As lazy as I get sometimes, I think it's a good way to keep my preoccupied and entertained - and one more thing I can say I did whilst I was here, heh.

Being active + v.blog.04

2009-10-10T17:18:00.003+09:00

Probably past due time for a blog post... yes?

Double feature special~!! (so Korean, with the "~~!!")

On being active...
Hapkido Monday-Friday 8:30-10:30pm.
Jogging Saturday-Sunday 8:30-9:30am.

Right now, everything hurts, everything aches. However, I cannot wait to get better at handstands and cartwheels.

As for the vlog:

Trips and subways

2009-10-04T10:51:00.003+09:00

I just got back from a 2 night, 3 day trip with my family during "thanksgiving"/Chuseok holidays. It was 5+hrs each way to get down just to DaeJeon (trip back: bus->train->subway(transfer 3 times)->bus->home) but... it was worth it. I could really, really feel the love. I'm very lucky.

Subway/trains special -
What I missed about Korea:
1. 300-700won coffee/hot beverage vending machines. Ingenious. Canada needs to get these.
2. Train seating. The top of the seat where you rest your head - on either side of it, it slopes so that your head doesn't roll off (that sounds like the head's been cut off... but you know what I mean). I can sleep easily knowing that I won't end up using the shoulder of the next person's as a pillow.
3. Cheap fares to get around. Man, if you've got a t-money card (or the like) and transfer and stuff from subway to bus or vice versa, it's so cheap. What a great system. Forget paper transfers that are only good for like barely 3 hours, fares that are super high (2.75 for TTC. Ridic.), lack of announcements/signs as to where the eff you are.
What I didn't miss about Korea:
1. Over-crowded waiting areas in stations for trains.
2. UGH. Middle-aged women and grandmas who just PUSH and PUSH so they can get out. I kind of just want to elbow them in the face.
3. Subway seats are too close together. Real cozy.
What I didn't know about Korea:
1. How freakin' delicious and cheap waffles are. I bought one today at a subway stop today for 1000won, and the lady smeared on this pink cream thing on one half and honey/syrup on the other. They're fairly big too, which is nice. That pink strawberry cream was so good and the waffle tasted awwwwwesome.
2. How many people try to sell shit on the subways. On my way down on Friday (start of the holidays) - I saw like 4 different sellers in the span of 2 hours (I transferred once). I've seen them sell knife sharpeners, things to pull out hair from drains, fan covers, what looks like a ghetto version of tide-to-go, hand-held sewing machines, etc.
3. They have these metal seats on some trains and they hurt like hell (my back!) if you are riding the subway for an extended period of time.

On a different note, I met up with a friend whom I've known since we were four. It was weird but a lot of fun. Thinking about how you've known someone for 17years is really strange, it's more than I've known some of my relatives. *shrugs

New things

2009-09-23T22:19:00.008+09:00

Quickie before I head to bed ;) ... man I am such a granny, going to bed at 1030...

Just a few things:
* My next door neighbour is also an ESL teacher from PEI! I ran into her at the elevators one time, I went over last night to chat her up (and bring her some icecream) and we're getting dinner tomorrow. I feel so lucky, and I'm very happy to have someone from Canada so close.
* Headed to Mokdong this Sunday to see my friend from the TESL class we took together, and hang with my grandmother afterwords.
* Taught teacher ESL class today, pretty intimate, we went over a poem. Hopefully I can offer something to these ladies that they can find useful later in life.
* Having class rosters is like having power. I probably enjoy it too much.
* Tomorrow I'm starting 2-days-a-week morning English announcements... it'll be a quiz/guessing game on Thursdays and idioms/vocab on Tuesdays. I pray they go well.

What I missed about Korea:
1. CHEAP, DELICIOUS ICECREAM. *fat*
2. Cheap dry cleaning/fixing/hemming...
3. So many places to visit. This country is so full of history and culture in every nook and cranny, it's kind of overwhelming, but I'm going to try my best to see as much as possible.
What I didn't miss about Korea:
1. Uneven roads... it poured on Monday, there were gigantic puddles eeeeeverywhere... there was a lake in front of the school, I swear...
2. No driers for your clothes. All hung-dry and that sucks.
3. Crazy bus drivers that drive on the wrong side of the lanes (but I mean, some old men passengers will yell at them...)...
What I didn't know about Korea:
1. They get sweeps of yellow dust from China every year. It's apparently terrible for your health and they discourage going outside or keeping your windows open (we had this yesterday).
2. They have recently changed the rules to walking on the right side (used to be left side). The school has implemented this and as of yesterday, there are markings on the stairs, in the halls - kind of reminds me of the road.
3. They play music all over the school before announcements start? Not sure why...?

Beautiful view of the sunset from my balcony...

Half priced ice cream ftw

2009-09-20T13:49:00.002+09:00

Enjoy vblog.03 - couple of shout-outs, listen until the end!

1.5hr subway ride

2009-09-15T21:28:00.006+09:00

This past Sunday, KY and I went to Insadong and Myungdong. I've been to Insadong (three years ago) but it was a somewhat different experience this time. First off, we were left to explore and adventure by ourselves (had my cousin to guide me last time). And this time the streets were filled with cultural workshops and performances and the like. Pretty sure nothing of the sort was going on last time.

Enjoy the pictures! More on flickr.

Streets of Insadong - some traditional music show, it was really nice.

View from top of SsamJiGil.

KY being wicked cool!

Some of the things you can see/purchase in Insadong.

The traditional tea shop that my guidebook recommended. Real cute.

Really starting to enjoy my pat bing soo. MmMmm.

I am excited for more adventures to come. :D

When opening a bank account...

2009-09-14T15:17:00.002+09:00

Bring with you:
- your alien registration card
- your passport
- 1,000 won
- info on: address, phone number
- name stamp (do-jang) if you have one

Went to make one today, alone, I think because I speak Korean people think I can figure things out on my own. Well, lucky for them, I think so too.
Took too long (a 45-min wait) and it was about a 20-minute walk.
O well, better than falling asleep here.

Catch the tail

2009-09-12T20:27:00.002+09:00

Not much to report. Enjoy my face and the awkwardness and the lack of focus on the topic. Haha.

Alien registration

2009-09-09T21:39:00.002+09:00

Alien. Funny word to describe foreigners in a country.

Anyways, haven't been taking many photos.

Just one of the few things that I've been thinking about:
Some Korean gr6 boys look like... they were born yesterday. Others... I would believe it if someone told me they were in high school.
I guess it's a strange stage in their lives. Strange stage. Hmm.

Oh, and that 1yr old who's got... twins in her tummy...

Things I miss about CANADA:
1. University life. So hassle-free.
2. The weather. Why is it so stinking hot here still??
3. CLEAN AIR. GREENERY. PARKS WITH TREES.
4. Nice neighbours T_T
5. If you're reading this... probably you.
Things I didn't miss about Korea:
1. Rude middle-aged Korean men who don't care about aaaanything.

Walking along a fishy-smelling street

2009-09-08T20:23:00.005+09:00

I live right by the water, which means... yes, fishy smells! Fishy markets! Fishy restaurants! Fishy tanks! Everywhere! Anyways I really don't know how that foreigner lived here... the streets of Korea are dirty. Well, this is in comparison to Canada, which may not be all that fair. I mean, if the streets here were to be that clean, I'm sure taxes would be through the roof and we'd have one angry country on our hands. And we do not want that. No, no.

Anyways I ventured out today for 3 reasons:
1. Needed dinner
2. Needed converter/adapter thing
3. Didn't do it yesterday.

Few things to note about the street outside my house:
One. No street signs. These streets do not have names. Then again, I don't think a lot of Korean streets do. Here, they all use "navi" - short for navigation (GPS). By all, I mean like, eeeeveryone!
Two. I have never seen shrimp swim. Have you? Can you picture it? I didn't take my camera today and I didn't take pictures, but I was... astounded. I never imagined they swam like that.
Three. I saw these... disgusting, disgusting looking things in one of the fish tanks outside (they display these outside the restaurants/markets... they have various fishies, crabs (huge), shrimp, those flat fish things that just lay at the bottom... did I see some lobster? Maybe not. Anyways lots of random stuff swimming in tanks)... they looked like gigantic, slimy, grey worms. I kid you not. I almost hurled right there on the street. Just thinking about them makes me queasy.
Four. Kimbap, the Korean roll with egg, spinach (or something green...), ham, carrot, etc., goes for 1500won, roughly a dollar fifty. Suffice to say, that was my dinner. Mmm.

I will write a better post about the school and stuff later, maybe this weekend. I am too tired... and it's only 830 pm. I guess that's what waking up at 6 does to ya.

What I missed about Korea:
1. Kimbap
2. Have I said this before? The number of places open 24/7
3. Korean food freaking everyday... awesooooome
What I didn't miss about Korea:
1. Dirty, polluted air (even here)
2. Hot, hot, hot, hot, fucking too hot still
3. Gas-top stoves, so damn hard to use (took me 15 tries the first time (no joke), still takes me a good 4-5 tries to get it on)
What I didn't know about Korea:
1. How anal they are about recycling!
2. How common 7-11 is here! It's everywhere! And they sell everything! From triangle riceballs to bandaid, from drinks to microwavable hotdogs... they also re-charge your bus pass, you can go to a 7-11 to put more money on it...
3. The kids are allowed to be loud and run in the halls?

New and improved! Now with internet!

2009-09-07T21:55:00.001+09:00

Just got internet tonight, but too tired to blog. So here is a video:

Running across like mad women with our lives at stake

2009-09-03T20:37:00.003+09:00

Didn't really do much today. Went to Home Plus (similar to WalMart Superstore, in my opinion, just divided into three or so levels) with mother to buy some groceries and other necessities.

What I missed about Korea:
1. Plastic models of food... they look better than real food!
2. Free stuff they give you with purchase of milk (in our case)
3. TV game shows! So funny. :D
What I didn't miss about Korea:
1. I become ruder by the day. No "excuse me"s or "sorry"s or even "thank you"s where they are due! No one says anything of the sort around here.
What I didn't know about Korea:
1. That you have to wait at the lights when crossing (as pedestrians). There isn't a switch you can press... well, there is, but it's for handicaps.
2. They have these cool things on the sinks that hold small food waste (off dirty dishes), and when you press it a certain way, it takes the water out of them, making them even more compact... make sense?
3. How much being here will make me miss home.

Pic 1: umbrellas, umbrellas, umbrellas. I remember having such a hard time finding a decent umbrella in Canada... There's so many here.

Pic 2: Lots of hobo tables like the ones I used.

Pic 3: Plastic food models! Awesome, big portions, CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. Good system too.

Pic 4: I love these. AND they have more here!! Love Love.

Pic 5: Individual sushi for take! It's like a la carte, but at a grocery store... I thought it was neat.

Thoughts on a pair of red glasses

2009-09-02T20:58:00.006+09:00

Today, Jeannie, mother, and I went to Ulsan University where my sister is being "enrolled" as a special student (sponsored by my uncle - father's older brother who is a professor of urban planning there). It was a grueling ride that lasted an hour and a half via bus... and Korean bus drivers are freaking crazy. Anyways, I dozed off for most of the ride.

Pic 1: the "town" bus; pic 2: the city bus. You can see the differences. The city bus is pretty comfortable, actually... except for how it jerks so very often because of the reckless driving.

The campus, at first glance, was pretty grand, the very first building that met the eye was quite impressive. There were lots of Korean university students hanging about the walk-way into the campus, loitering around the booths set up for clubs. It was difficult for me to believe that a lot of the girls there were younger than me (they're all dressed fob-Korean-girl-stylez...) - the boys are definitely older... because they have to do two years of military training at some point.

This is the university... nice building, right?

We met up with my aunt (wife of the professor) and had lunch at a cafe in the sports center of the campus. It was a nice little cafe, pretty full, kind of pricey (is this a common denominator in all university campuses?)... kind of reminded me of the Bean Bar, except on campus, and still less expensive. After stuffing our faces (we were hungryyyy), Jeannie & I went to explore the area right outside of campus while mom and aunt stayed and had their fill of coffee and gossip. There were lots of small shops (as can be seen in a lot of places in Korea). I bought a pair of earrings for 1500 won, which is very roughly (I don't want to do real, exact math on the conversion and exchange rate) $1.5. Funnily enough, it fell apart when I tried to put them on a home. Gotta get me some bbonde (super glue/hot glue type thing).

Following that, we hurried back to the cafe because it was so hot. Had ourselves some pat-bing-soo (red bean on shaved ice (with optional fruit, icecream, & Corn Flakes, in this case)) & strawberry juice and iced green tea latte. We were so full... We all joked about going back home as piggies.

Pic 1: nice little cafe we ate at (called Madiu); Pic 2: this is the pat-bing-soo

It was then time to meet my professor uncle, who took my sister and mom to see the professor that will be instructing my sister. My aunt and I sat around in his office (it was pretty spacious - forgot to take pictures) and talked about this and that. She advised to me continue writing practices by means of diary or blog or whatever, and find beauty in little things and write about them as an artist would draw them (and depict the hidden/underappreciated beauty). She said that the writing skills (Korean and English, in my case) don't become good overnight, so I must practice. These were wisdom-filled words, and I shall try to heed them as much as possible.

What I missed about Korea:
1. Little stores that sell stationary and the like. I love those!
2. Cafes. Usually not a franchise, very-well decorated and excellent for dates.
3. How cheap it is to get around.
What I didn't miss about Korea:
1. MEN that are dressed like and look like women.
2. For emphasis... dirty washrooms! Ughhhhh.
3. People wearing lab-masks.
What I didn't know about Korea:
1. Boys in university tend to be 2 or so years older than girls, thus making them all "oppa". This is due, as I said, to the mandatory military training.
2. It's about 600 won for the "town" bus, and 1000 won for the city bus. You can use the transit card... but you must beep it on your way out if you're transferring. That way, when you get on the next bus, your fare is cheaper. Kind of neat, right?
3. People... park cars on the sidewalk, in the middle of the street (so between two-way traffic), in the corner of baseball fields... ALSO, they do not signal. Signaling is for chumps here in the S. K.

Sick!

2009-08-31T08:15:00.002+09:00

There's a toilet-bidet in my parents' washroom... and... the seat HEATS UP! Woooooow. I thought it was post-worthy!

Here and Now

2009-08-30T19:48:00.000+09:00

So.

I'm in Korea now. I still feel weird, like, tomorrow, things will go back to normal and this a part of some weird dream-reality ('cause God knows I have those). I think once I move into my place in ShiHeung, things might sink in a little better. Right now, the hurt is still great. I've been pretty nostalgic but today's been busy and I'm busy sleeping when I can (I don't even feel like I'm jet-lagged, just... I try to sleep as much as possible mostly because I think everything I've been doing is tiring me out - new things have that effect).

In any case, in terms of ESL'ing, I move in on the night of the 5th, and start teaching on the 7th (scary shit).

I will start photo-blogging soon because that's much more interesting than reading my thoughts, but as of now I can't seem to get to the internet without using other peoples' computers (they are either password-protected (and people don't know them) or wired... damn it all).

So WC&I got to the airport pretty early, chilled by ourselves a bit until SB&ZH showed up (thanks guys!) and we all had some good laughs (I'll post the pics when I can). They left, then WC saw me off at the gate... when the waterworks started. I was bawling on my way - on the moving escalators, in the waiting area, in the duty-free. I somehow ended up getting a gate that boarded earlier than others (suck it, keeners!). I had the wrong seat at first, had to move. Had a white guy help me put my carry-on on the compartment (he said "she's got her life packed in there!")... settled in. I was next to a white guy-Filipino lady couple with a son who was 1. Most people would've been so annoyed to be next to a crying one-year old... but I enjoyed it for the most part. Good thing I brought my good headphones to drown out the crying. I played with the baby a bit, too. The meal was good, KAL (Korean Airlines) gives you two meals - dinner (bibimbap or chicken) and breakfast (Korean porridge or omelet). Plus a sandwich at the end which I don't count because... it was terrible. There was (grilled?) red pepper and some sort of smear of a meat... haha... Anyways, what I wanted to show you guys was this:

Sick, right? I thought so. You can choose from the main menu, the following options: movies, music, games, map (showing you were the plane is exactly), KAL shop... and maybe like a few other things I didn't utilize. The movies section alone had many options, such as Hollywood, Asian, Korean, Kids, etc. I watched He's Just Not That Into You & Star Trek (yes... again). The music section was good too. The list was pretty recent. In any case, I slept here and there a bit, used the bathroom a lot (thank goooooodness for aisle seat).

I arrived local-time a bit past 2am on Saturday "morning". I got picked up by my mother's oldest brother from InCheon International, who drove an hour or so to get me to my uncle&aunt's in SuWon.

I ended up getting a bit of sleep around 5ish until about 730am when... I had breakfast. It was so good! But... too early. I was super groggy. Around 10 my aunt and I left to DaeJeon where my dad's side grandparents live (my family was also there). The train (SaeMaEul) takes about 1.5hrs. I slept for the most part. Got to the station, my dad and grandfather came to pick us up. Grandfather (HalAhBuhJee) made comments about how there's a whole troop of people coming to pick up such a little person (myself). When we got near the apt that my grandparents live in, my grandmother, sister, and brother also came out... further proving HalAhBuhJee's claims, haha. Had lunch here, left... to my dad's older sister (he has two, this is the younger one). She has some land in a farming area where she grows her own hot peppers and potatoes and the like. Saw my cousin and his fiancee (getting married this Dec!). Then after that drove to UlSan (where I am now) for two hours. The place that my parents are staying at is pretty nice, very modern. I like it a lot.

Anyways, just a few more things:
- What I'd missed about Korea:
1. Family!
2. Cheap drinks/food.
3. Variety stores and restaurants (yes... restaurants) open 24hrs.
- What I didn't miss about Korea:
1. Open showers! So weird. No curtains... my shampoo bubbles get everywhere. Strange.
2. Reckless drivers. I feel like shitting my pants everytime I'm in a car.
3. Dirty washrooms. I'm a clean-freak, I don't do well with these.
- What I didn't know about Korea:
1. SOOO many toll routes. And no alternatives! You must take them, and it costs a lot of money. Apparently there are a lot of non-government roads and that's why.
2. A lot, a lot, a lot of gas stations. About 1 every block. Oh, and they're all full-service (at no extra charge!) and they give you a free thing of tissues.
3. You can save your e-ticket for the train on your cell. It's valid.

I miss Canada, though. *sigh.

All Set

2009-08-21T13:04:00.000+09:00

SooOOoO. It's been a while since I've written here and now that I have a bit of time, I figured I'l update.

My F4 visa has been picked up. My flight is booked.

F4 visa, just to note, actually takes a long time and a lot of processing of information. You need to have renounced your Korean citizenship officially (if you're under the age of 22), as does one of your parents. You need like 4 different forms (which my parents took care of for me) and to do it from Canada, it takes like 2-3 months. You CAN go into Korea and get it there (you can just walk in with no visa of any sort... Canadians can do that!), but it still takes about a week to process (on top of the week for the renunciation, etc.). I got really lucky because the lady at the desk at the embassy was so very willing to help us and got started on the process even before the other documents were ready and the renunciation had even happened. So, thanks to her and to everyone involved, I got my visa in time for the flight!

Packing is a pain the arse, but it must be done. Actually, maybe because I don't really know what to expect thus not know what to pack for, it's mostly done... Strange how that works.

Stage two complete!

2009-06-22T14:12:00.001+09:00

So I've handed in my documents to CanConx, and a signed contract to ShiHeung.

Next I'll have to ship those same documents off to ShiHeung.

Then what? Not sure yet, I'll face the music when the time comes.

*Edit:
The Korean consulate now charges $4.40 (2x what it used to be...) for verification of documents. Be warned! Also, take your passport with you... they make a photocopy of it.

Getting too caught up in other stuff...

2009-06-17T16:21:00.001+09:00

Been studying and training and didn't really have time to keep track of application/Korea stuff. Getting emails asking how my progress is going. Sorry to say, at a halt until noon tomorrow!

On a brighter note, received my contract for Seoul. Looks great.

Toronto Trip

2009-06-12T12:52:00.000+09:00

LAME.

So today my buddy WC and I went to do the following:
1) Go to my elementary & high schools to get proof saying I attended both since grade 7 (this is needed for those who's first language is not English) - did this with mom
2) See a lawyer/notary public to get my degree and CRC (criminal record check) notarized (2x each)
3) Visit the Korean consulate to get them verified
4) Go to CanConx to hand them in.

The first part was fairly easy, the elementary school had the letter ready for me, high school said pick it up tomorrow.

The second step went well (for reference, most places will charge $50 for the first copy, then around 10/15 for subsequent ones. If you are able, look into a notary public that is affiliated with your school, and they'll charge you way less. For example, the McMaster notary public person charges $20 for the first, then $5 after that) - we went to Mississauga to find our own family lawyer, who did it for a reasonable price ($80. Yay!).

Then we headed off to Kipling station to make our way down to Toronto (we bought a day pass for $9, since we were anticipating lots of traveling and abusing of the transit system to avoid walking) - specifically St. Clair station (which is the closest subway stop to the consulate). This is where things went downhill: I wasn't informed I needed a sealed transcript to get my degree verified. There was nothing I could do, since I didn't have the transcript on-hand. I got my CRC verified (2x, and costs $2.20 each = $4.40) and headed back to St. Clair station (only to get off at the next station @ Davisville).

Davisville is where CanConx is located. I'd ordered my sealed transcript directly from the University this past Tuesday, so I was hoping that if the people at CanConx had it, then I could just go back to the consulate and get it all done today... but unfortunately it had not arrived yet. So I gave them my passport (pg3) photocopy, copy of TESL certificate, CRC notarized and verified copies (2x), and the passport photos (got those done yesterday - costs about $20 for the first 2, then another $10 for 2 more - @ Black's Photography).

I'll have to get my sealed transcripts from Hamilton, get it verified at the consulate (in person or via mail) and then to CanConx.

Anywhos, long day, didn't get as much done as I should've. At least it was bearable because my dearest WC was there to keep me company the whole time. Appreciate it!

Later days!

PS. even with our continual and incessant wanting to avoid walking... I still got two whoppin' blisters on the bottom of my right foot. Hurrah.

Preparation Stages

2009-06-09T04:10:00.001+09:00

Hello all.

This is a blog I'm setting up not only to keep loved-ones informed on my journey and preparation, but to motivate me to do what is necessary in order to make it happen. Also, it'll double as a travel/journey (as you can probably deduce from the url) blog. Lastly - if anyone plans to go in the future, I'm hoping this will be of help.

As I said, since I'm still in the preparatory stages, I will not make this blog public, but hopefully if it all works out, it will be in a little over 2 months.

Right now, I have two school boards I'm preparing for. Seoul and Gyeonggi. Both have their positives and negatives, and I haven't yet decided which I'm going to go for. Since the document-gathering and the requirements are similar for both, I'll go with the flow for now. Just keeping my options open in case one of them doesn't pull through. If anyone wants to know, I can give you the names of the agencies that I've used...

Following is the list of things I need before June 22nd (I will cross them off as they get completed):
1. Copies of contracts
2. Notarized copies of Degree (to receive... tomorrow!)
3. Sealed transcripts
4. Criminal record checks (vulnerability sector) - notarized copies
5. Passport (with expiry date 6+ months from now) + information page copies
6. Passport photos (may be different from photo in passport)
7. Proof of English education from grade 7 (if English isn't first language)
8. TESL certificate copies
9. For Gyeonggi (since I'm a step behind): application, resume, letters of reference, self-health assessment*

*note: these are the documents generally needed for first stage of application/document-gathering process. I've already completed this for Seoul.

Later days.