serendipitously procrastinating

Cute Charlie things

2012-01-15T19:13:00.006+09:00

While Charlie is an outside dog, he comes inside to watch his meals prepared, for special training time, and for social times. After his last time inside for the night (after dinner he has a little social time), he goes outside with a dog biscuit. When he sees the biscuit, he goes to the door and waits to go outside.

The other night he didn't go to the door when I got his biscuit. I called and showed him the biscuit and let him sniff it, and then went to the door, but he still didn't come. I got a candy cane (he LOVES peppermint, but it is an extra extra special treat) and went to the door, and he still wouldn't come. It occurred to me that I only had half a biscuit in my hand (it had broken).
I went to get a full biscuit, showed it to him, and he went straight to the door.

Tonight when I got the biscuit, he gave it a good look (it was a whole one!) and went happily to the door to go outside for the night. He's a character, all right! (Oh, the pic is about 6 months old. He's now MUCH bigger).

His tricks and words he knows include:
- "sit"
- "drop"
- "come here" (he sometimes disobeys this if what he is doing is more interesting (like chasing a bird at the dog park))
- "stay" (stay in the sit/drop position until I come back [from another room] or tell him to come)
- "shake hands.... other hand"
- "high five" (which paw depends on the hand you offer him)
- "bang" (lay on side and play dead)
- "look at me" (look me in the eye)
- "not yet" (put a piece of food down, tell him 'not yet', and he won't touch it until you say 'ok, now').
- "go get it" (eg, throwing a ball)
- "bring it back"
- "get your pig"
- "get your chicken" (yes, he does know the difference)
- "pick it up" (pick up [the toy] from the floor by my feet and give it to me)
- "in my hand" (put it in my hand)
- "outside" also "go to the door"
- "do you want to come inside?" (when you are both outside; he'll go and wait by the door)
- "here it is"
- "wait" (when we are walking, he stops and 'waits' to cross the road)
- "let's go" (usually follows wait, or to signal the start of a walk, or to get him to continue walking when he stops to smell something)
- "bow" (drop to his front elbows and put his chin on the floor)
- "park"
- "walk"
- "do you want some?" (indicates you have something he might want so he'll come to you and usually sit and "relax")
- "really?" (follows "do you want some" and he will "relax" harder by pushing is head harder onto you)
- "relax" (put his chin flat on the surface [knee, thigh, table] you indicate)
- "touch" (put the back of your hand in front of him and he will nudge it with his nose)
- "roll over"
- "on your mat" (goes and sits on his mat inside)
- "kiss" (nudges/licks your cheek/nose/forehead with his nose)
- "heel"
- "easy" / "settle" (don't walk so fast/settle down)
- "uh-uh" / "no"
- "mum"
- "dad"
- "Angie"
- "my car" (go to my car, not out the gate or to "dad"s car)
- "let it go" / "give it to me" (when he has something he's not supposed to; when inside, it usually results in him running to the beanbag and burying his head in it and waiting until you come to him and take it out of his mouth)
- "get down" (eg - off the couch)
- "treat" (as in 'do you want a treat' - results in him coming to you, or going to the laundry where his food/treats are kept)

He is also sort of knows
- "rabbit" (another toy)
- "beanbag"
- "ball"

A puppy can indeed be a baby substitute

2011-05-15T19:41:00.002+09:00

My folks have been talking about getting a dog for the last THREE years. It has to be a boy, and a black and white border collie. And not too expensive. And not from a dodgy pet store. And it has to be a puppy so we can train it properly....

Yes, there was a list of criteria that this puppy had to fill. And none was found in the years of looking in the paper or online. They were either already too old. Or they weren't black and white. Or they were too expensive. You get the idea.

And then, there he was. In the paper. On a weekend my parents were going away for two weeks. So, what to do? Send me to go see him, that's what. He might have been ugly, or just "not exactly right".

But he wasn't. He was super cute, and playful. He looked at me with those pretty eyes and wagged his tail. He snuggled into my shoulder when I picked him up.

Talk about a dilemma. Here I'd found our dog, and my parents were going away. And the backyard gate wasn't finished yet.

But he was so cute!

So here I am on the first night. I've had him for less than 10 hours and I'm exhausted and a little frustrated. I feel like a single mum with an adopted 6 month old baby.

It's not his fault he's scared of a new place, and missing his family. It's not his fault he's teething and so must chew on everything. It's not his fault he's used to playing with his siblings, which includes play-biting.

I can't leave him alone outside because he cries (and he has to be on a leash until the gate is finished).
I'm house-breaking him and teaching him not to bite hands or shoes or chew on his bed, and that inside is for calmness and outside is for running and playing. I worry about what he'll do when I have to leave him alone and go to work.

He's still gorgeous, and when he falls asleep in your lap, or comes when you call, or looks at you and wags his tail, you can forgive him for not understanding what you want. And he's at such a vulnerable age for developing his personality!

I just can't wait until I'm not doing this on my own.

Life is not a Fairy Tale

2010-06-18T18:14:00.002+09:00

You might turn a frog into a prince with "true love's kiss"... but it's likely he'll then run off with a stranger with sawdust for brains, a rake for a body, and watermelons for boobs.

What You Deserve

2010-01-09T01:03:00.000+09:00

Interesting word "deserve".

What do we deserve?

What don't we deserve?

I bet what first comes to your mind is that most people don't "deserve" bad things to happen, but they do. Natural disasters which destroy physically... people-disasters which destroy emotionally... to name just two. So, you may think that this post is about the age-old question "why do bad things happen to good people?" and you'd be wrong.

At the end of the day, I don't think "deserving" has any real meaning in terms of what happens to us in real life. I'm sure we all have ideas about what we do and do not deserve (you could, perhaps, substitute the word "expect/earn/ought to have/any other synonym" here, to broaden the idea) in life, and I'm sure we have, to one extent or the other, worked to make those things happen, and I'm sure we have, to one extent or the other, gotten BOTH what we think we do and do not deserve. (This makes sense in my mind at the moment, so you may have to read that again. Also, do not read into it too deeply. This is not the point of this blog).

Besides our own opinions, what about what other people think certain individuals deserve? I'm sure if you think about it, you'll be able to remember times you've wished certain choice events on another: "they deserve to die" perhaps being the most extreme example. I know in my weaker moments, colourful descriptions of unusual and ironically bizarre events and/or causes of pain and/or the loss of certain body parts replace the word "die" when thinking of certain people I feel have wronged me (the cause of pain appropriately matching the event which led to those thoughts in the first place).
Of course, I know that this type of wishful thinking is just displaced anger, and not an un-common way of working through it. And I also know all about the ideas of "forgiveness" and "let God judge" (not exclusively a Christian idea) and "what goes around comes around" and "karma", etc, etc. Anyway, that's too tangential for this blog, and I've drifted far far away from my intended focus.

My intended focus, indeed. I started by saying that most people immediately think of bad somethings they don't deserve. But what about when it is a GOOD something?
Saying "I don't deserve that" in relation to something GOOD (ie: "I'm not good enough for that") is, I feel, the equivalent of the person who puts other people down to make themselves feel bigger, or compliment-fishing, or compliment-rejecting. It's a sign of a weak personality, really. Or a lie. Or a cover-up. Or a cop-out. Or a person with false humility.

We don't hear the phrase "I don't deserve that" uttered seriously in connection to good things very often, because no one generally turns down something which is better than they thought they would get without VERY good reason, which then cancels out the use of "I don't deserve that" (and I'll explain that in a bit).

A waitress doesn't reject a larger-than-expected tip... A child doesn't feel disappointed with a bigger-than-expected icecream... A woman doesn't decline a diamond in favour of cubic zirconia... A homeless man doesn't choose stale bread when roast lamb is on offer... A traveler doesn't turn down a free up-grade to first class.

Rather, they thank their lucky stars, eagerly grab it with both hands, and gratefully (joyously? appreciatively? amazedly?) accept. If extenuating circumstances truly don't allow them to accept (the up-grade is only for one person, and they don't want to leave their traveling companion back in economy), they gratefully acknowledge the wonderful opportunity offered to them, and as-graciously (regretfully?) explain their reasons for decline. And this is what I mean by cancels out the use of "I don't deserve that". The reason for rejection has nothing to do with "deserve"; it's not a "I don't deserve to" but rather "I would love to, but I can't/couldn't/shouldn't because...".

So, if a guy breaks up with you because "I {He} don't deserve you"... just pity him (and maybe kick him in the shins).

What I Do Between My Last Two Classes

2009-11-03T19:13:00.000+09:00

Another draft, this one from '06

I don't do this, exactly (although I might start, if I get bored enough).

Usually, I surf the interblag (aka the webweb) and webcomic archives. A friend just put me onto this one. Of course, everyone knows how much I love chickens (scroll down to read the one about the cat, and PROC3000 has to be one of my favourite characters), and then there's Partially Clips (but I've already been through their entire archives, and I'm subscribed to them on GoogleReader, (ahh, the goodness of google) so am automatically updated with any new ones).
I find odd stuff by people with too much time on their hands (Colin, you'll like that one, I think. It takes a few minutes to load), and even odder stuff (that makes me laugh) by people with what I assume to be even more time on their hands and a warped sense of humour.

I'll also browse music videos, do random google searches for friends (it's how I found out this on GoogleVideo), and pretty much any of the intermehnetting ways to procrastinate.

Captain in the Order of Intermehnetting Procratinatoriness. Intermehnetting. Or should I say 'blagoblaging'?

YouTube

2009-11-03T18:18:00.002+09:00

They put an electric shock dog collar on a human. This is the result.

The Painters and Decorators are In

2009-11-03T16:23:00.000+09:00

Going through my archives, I found this one as a draft from '05.

Riding The Crimson Wave, Planting Cotton, Taking Carrie to the Prom, Backing the Reds, Entertaining Vampires....

The River of Life, The Painters and Decorators, Aunt Flo, and The Communists....

I'm on the BUS, and Seeing Red.

You can go here to learn more about the topic of this post (if you have not clued yet, this will be an eye opener).

Captain Chopsticks
(with the communisits in the summer house)

Leaving Korea; Pros and Cons

2009-08-08T20:58:00.005+09:00

Things I'll miss about Korea:

- being given a laugh every time I see Konglish advertising and clothing.
- being within a 5 minute walk of a large cinema, a department store and two grocery stores, my bank, my work, cafes, restaurants, 4+ major bus routes and more.
- being within a 15 minute walk of the beach, a hiking mountain, another cinema, two more department stores and another grocery store, bars, clubs, my salsa classes, and more.
- friends
- Sunday night Trivia
- my perfect-for-one-person apartment
- cheap bus and taxi fare
- my tutoring job

Things I won't miss about Korea:

- asshole bosses
- idiotic directors
- depressing work situations
- leery men on the beach
- being asked if I'm Russian (code for if I'm a prostitute)
- manic drivers
- being stared at wherever I go (and not in a nice way)

Plans of Finality

2009-08-02T04:01:00.005+09:00

I've never really been a good one for big changes. It freaks me out a little leading up to it. I tend to get comfortable with doing and living something a certain way and have trouble imagining myself being ok and just as comfortable with something else.

This change: moving back home.

When I first came to Korea, it wasn't a life-change. The first time was kind of like a paid educational opportunity/ holiday. When I decided to come back for work, it was a paid adventure/holiday. But that quickly but imperceptibly turned into just "life". And for the most part, it's been a good life. I've had fun, met life-long friends, and grown in "life" sort of ways. It hasn't always been good, and as those "not so good" aspects of living here have become more significant (maybe not "bigger" or "worse", but certainly occupying more of my field of vision as I drive on the highway of life), I've known for a while that this would be my last year here.

But to choose an exact date... to make those plans of finality... I struggle. I somehow envisioned my last month here and the actual return home could happen like in a cloud; I don't actually need to DO anything, things will just happen and one day I'll wake up back in Australia with everything already posted home and whatnot.

Unfortunately, flights don't book themselves, bank accounts don't close themselves, and loose ends don't tie themselves off.

So, the planning begins, and now that I've set an actual real-life date with an actual plane with a seat that will have my name on it, some part of me has woken me up (actually quite literally - it's 4am). This part of me dauntingly tells me about everything that can go wrong and endlessly lists what I will need to do to wind up this chapter of my life for good... forever.

It's like drawing near to the end of an entralling novel, but knowing you will never be able to read it again.

Escaping A Burning Building

2009-01-19T21:05:00.001+09:00

Last night I was at PubQuiz, a weekly trivia night I attend at a local pub. Always lots of fun, and a time to catch up with good mates.

Anyway, last night, about halfway through the quiz, there was suddenly a lot of commotion towards the front of the place (behind where I was sitting the in far back corner). Looking around, I noticed that it seemed really dark, and realised that the ceiling was covered with black smoke. Then I noticed the flames, which had engulfed the kitchen behind the bar, and were quickly engulfing the bar (which was near the door) and the ceiling.
People started shouting, get out, get out. At first everyone was like a deer caught in headlights, and my first thought was actually "it's only a fire. put it out and let's get back to the quiz." Well, I didn't do that :)
I grabbed my jacket (thank God, because I would have died of exposure outside) and joined the herd rushing the door (between seeing the fire and getting out the door was only actually about 8 seconds, but in that time the fire was on the ceiling over the door, so we had to run bent over).

So, we stood outside and watched the place go up. The Koreans there called the fire dept, we shouted to the people in the upper floors of the building (who took the elevator down), people took photos and video on their phones, some called loved ones, and a few cried, and me and others stood a respectful distance back since the place had gas (there was a small explosion). Of course, the guys who had a girlfriend got to look very manly and protective standing and wrapping their arms around their girlfriends while the guy watched the fire and the girl buried her face in his jacket (why? fires are fascinating.)

It took a bit for the fire trucks to get there (but not that long if you know anything about Korean traffic). The fire guys quickly put out the fire, had one truck which decided to spray a hefty dose of water on a car and the people standing behind it (including me, but I got out of the firing range before the truck really started gushing), and the fire guys eventually went in and retrieved items left in the bar (cell phones which actually still worked, melted bags, etc). By that time many people (all the couples, noticeably) had left, and everyone left was starting the freeze, so we went to Sunset (another bar nearby) for some after-fire-we-survived-wow drinks.

All in all, certainly an interesting PubQuiz (I take it my team won).

Work Frustrations

2008-11-07T12:13:00.002+09:00

Work is pretty stressful this week. We just got new books, and one of them is ridiculously hard. It's way above the students' levels (I doubt even some of my Korean coworkers would be able to understand it fully), and the subject matter is not suitable for elementary school students - it has questions like "how much do you smoke? Would you marry someone who smokes? How many lottery tickets do you buy each week? What are the pros and cons of using credit cards? Would you ever sign a prenuptual agreement? What do you hope your children will be?" and discussion topics like "My friend smokes and he said I should try it". This one is obviously to provoke a debate about smoking, but there's no way elementary school students have that understanding or experience, let alone the language.
So, I went to my director and explained all of this, and she said "just skip those questions." It's absolutely not that easy, and it's still in the book for students to read, so I said I couldn't do that. After an extremely frustrating conversation trying to make her understand that 1) the language was too hard and 2) the topics are inappropriate for children, and having her keep repeating things like "but you must", I finally said point blank "I'm not going to teach that book." Probably not the most tactful way to put it, but nothing else was getting through. In the end I called a guy on another campus of the school whose job is to act as a go-between and translator when there are problems between the foreign and korean teachers. He's a Korea who grew up in America, so he is bi-lingual and also understands Western culture. He understood the problem with the book at once, and talked to my director who finally agreed to find a new book. For the rest of the day she ignored me and acted like I killed her dog.

Stuck in the Mud

2008-07-18T10:47:00.008+09:00

I was kicked in the ribs at MudFest (see pics below) while in the wrestling pit (I was half on top of another girl and a guy slid into us, ramming his heal into my side) and it hurt at the time, but I didn't think much of it.
Now, almost a week later, my side is still hurting. Not sure what exactly is wrong, but I have two conclusions:

1) Nothing is broken because I assume that would hurt a whole lot more. and
2) I'm not bleeding internally because I don't see an actual bruise, and assume I would be dead by now if that was the case.

The MudFest, by the way, is a 10 day event in Korea. They have warm mud which you can paint yourself (and others) with, go swimming in, douse yourself (and others) with, wrestle in, etc, etc. There is an ocean right there, so much of the time is spent alternating between getting dirty, swimming and getting clean, and getting dirty again. I was there for two days and had an AWESOME time!

ThinkGeek Does It Again

2008-06-05T11:16:00.001+09:00

This is Awesomeness at its practical best.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/9470/

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/86dd/

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/a34b/

Finally Gone

2008-05-29T00:38:00.002+09:00

The Asshole has left the country. I never got my money back. I don't particularly care, (although loosing 100 bucks still stings a little), I'm just glad I never have to see or deal with him again.

The Asshole Strikes Again - Literally

2008-05-12T00:57:00.005+09:00

Well, I was out tonight and ran into The Asshole (aka The Guy Who Owes Me Money - see posts below for details) after not having contact for a while. I went up to him and in a jokey way reminded him that he still owed me and that if he had money to be out drinking, he had the money to pay me back.
He waffled some things about "not now"... "I'm not in the mood"... or something ... and then came out with "I'll hit you". I laughed it off with a step closer and an incredulous "ha. really?"

He did. He drew back and slogged me with a loose fist right across the cheek. Through shock (I've never been hit in the face by ANYONE before, especially seriously - out of anger/hatred. I saw it coming but thought he was at least half joking and would stop an inch from my face though. If I knew he wouldn't, I would have ducked.) I instinctively hit back, and although I can't tell you if I connected all that well, he was kinda bent over turned away from me when someone stepped between us. My kick-boxing instructor would have been a little disappointed; someone hadn't stepped between us, so I didn't get a chance to connect with the balls.

He got dragged (led?) out of the bar and I went back to my group.

So, I've officially been hit by a guy. Who knew that such low life forms still existed?

At least I can say I've been in a bar fight....

Excuses for not paying me back

2008-05-01T22:22:00.002+09:00

"I'm here and everyday I go for broke. I don't have 100 bucks in my account."

Needing Advice About Asshole Men

2008-04-23T22:12:00.006+09:00

Situation: When I went back home over Christmas, I left my plants in the care of a guy who was a friend/acquaintance. He lives in the floor above me, and although I knew he wasn't the most reliable person, I really had no one else to ask who would be around while I was away, and still here when I got back. I also needed a bill paid for me while I was away (since he lives in the same building, I figured it wouldn't be that hard for him to collect my mail and pay the bill for me) and gave him $100 to cover it. I asked him if he could do this for me, assured him I wouldn't be offended if he said no, and made sure he was willingly taking on this responsibility.

While I was back home, I occasionally got in touch with him, and he said all was going well.

I came back to Korea and found that one of my plants had died. Ok - not that big a deal. I was a little disappointed, but oh, well. Like I said - no big deal.
He hadn't paid the bill. Again - a little pissed off, but no big deal. The penalty was only 5 bucks.

The issues began when 1) he didn't give me back the plant pot of the plant that had died (it was a nice one) and 2) he said he didn't have the money right then to give back to me.

I said "no worries". I'm generally pretty laid back and don't get worked up over little things. He lives in my building, so it wasn't like I wasn't going to see him again. I gave him the thank-you presents I'd gotten him in Australia, anyway (I've been brought up well in this department, I believe), but I regret doing this. He doesn't deserve them.

After a week or so, I messaged asking if I could drop by and get the plant pot and the money. No answer.

After another few weeks, I ran into him. He said he knew he owed me money, and that he would catch up with me next week. Again, nothing.

I messaged again with no reply.

After another few weeks, I messaged again, receiving the response "I don't have it". Now, as an aside, that is pure BS. How many adults do you know with a well-paying job who don't have $100 in their bank account? There is an ATM on the ground floor of our building - it would take 1 minute to go down and drop the money off on his way back up to his floor.

So I sent him the reply to have it to me by Friday. After no reply, I messaged asking him to give me a date he would pay it back. He mentioned a date a few months away, and at a time when I knew he would be leaving the country.

Well, to hell with that. It had now been over three months since I'd gotten back.

I started messaging everyday, knowing I was bugging him, sending him the chorus of "song for the dumped" by Ben Folds, and annoying the shit out of him.

His latest message has been "stop annoying me or you won't see a dime... I promise you."

OMG!! What is wrong with this person?!? He owes me money. End of story. It's not a hostage. It's not a negotiation. Besides, I did "not annoy" him for three months, and that got me nowhere.

I have a feeling it's now become a game for him - to see how long he can go without paying me and seeing if I'll back down with the messages and being "annoying". It's a game I'm not going to play. He may be an immature dickless asshole, but I'm not (ok, so I stooped to passive aggressiveness for a little while, but I'm not proud of it). This situation is frustrating, infuriating, upsetting, annoying, irritating....

So what do I do? At this stage I'd like to tell him to go fuck himself with the $100 and let it go. Honestly, he's not worth $100. At the same time, it's money I'd really like back. Plus, I don't want him to mistakenly think that he's "won" this "game". He owes me the money. Why can't he just pay it back?

I really don't get it. What is the big deal about paying back money you owe someone? What kind of inconsiderate, indecent, selfish, stupid prick is he? I'm no paragon when it comes to consideration, money, and other things, but if someone asked me to do them a favor like pay a bill for them and gave me money to do it, and I just happen not to have done it (it would have to be something pretty big for me not to follow through with a promise like that, though. If I knew I wouldn't be able to do it, I wouldn't have taken on the favor), I would be apologising profusely and giving the money back to them asap.

What is wrong with people?

Decency = Consideration

2008-04-15T11:40:00.011+09:00

After a few recent experiences that have pushed my buttons and irritated me, when I am generally a pretty calm and un-irritable person, I am venturing a theory that inconsideration is at the root of all that is wrong with the world.

While I certainly have not developed this theory to an exegesis level and it's not perfect, the more I think about it (especially in relation to issues with others that hurt, irritate, or anger me), the more I like it. I consider myself a decent person, thanks to fantastic parents who taught me about valuing others, even if I dislike them. In no way am I perfect in this area (or ANY area, for that matter), but I still consider myself to be a decent person who attempts to live with values such as thoughtfulness and consideration for others.

Inconsideration has many facets; selfishness, egotisticalness (ok, not a real word, but you know what I mean), etc, etc. More often than not, people hurt each other because of inconsiderate behaviour, which ranges from pollution (inconsideration towards the environment), vandalism (inconsideration towards strangers) and simple thoughtlessness to far worse (inconsideration towards friends). Often acts of inconsideration lead to other problems: rifts in relationships, unforgiveness.... I could go on, but I'm lazy and after working in Korea as an English teacher for over two years, I now lack the vocabulary.

There are many examples I could give, but I'm sure you've got the idea. Think of anytime someone's behaviour has hurt you, and I'm sure at least 95% of the time it can be attributed to inconsideration.

Why can't people just be decent?

I Can't Sleep

2008-04-05T04:52:00.007+09:00

So now I can't sleep. To help with this, I'm going to spew thoughts into this blog so that they are no longer in my brain.

1. I will never understand men.

2. I forgot number 2. I could repeat, or reiterate number 1, though.

3. Why do people think it's a good idea to drink so much? Do you really think it's sexy to forget that you have already paid for your BigMac and try to dance to the elevator music they are playing while waiting for your fries as a way of hitting on me?

4. I think I've become a little obsessed with cleaning my floor, and to be honest, I don't think it's such a bad thing. It takes 5 minutes to run a broom over it every morning instead of 20 minutes to clean on Saturday morning.

5. I'm a seriously good cook and am thinking of marrying myself.

6. Why is it that when you can't sleep your brain starts writing (and editing) blog posts, usually (at least partly) about not being about to sleep which makes your brain write blog posts, which you then have to write.

7. More people should listen to Jimeoin. He cracks me up. Especially his bit about thongs, barbies, and the cockatoo.

8. No one ever reads number 8.

9. Lists are always in even numbers, and I think I'm ready to sleep, now.

Fukuoka Visa Run

2008-03-28T20:19:00.009+09:00

Ahhhh. Back from two days in Japan on the notorious Visa Run. So, let's see....

This part is called
Returning: KOREAN IMMIGRATION: ZOO OR CIRCUS?

Getting back into Korea reminds me of why is is bad to travel outside of the country while living here. The contrasts between Korea and where you have been are not in Korea's favor.
We were still a good 15 mins from the port when a Korean tour group stood up en mass and started to collect their bags. There being no way I was about to wait on the ferry (or "high-technology sailing machine" as it was called in the on-board introductory video) for the group to go ahead of me, so I eased my way to the front and stood by the wall a short distance from the door, knowing that a crew member would have to open it when we docked. Apparently Koreans don't know this, as one of them squeezed into the one-foot gap between me and the door and hung onto the handle, pressing her face against the small window as if it would make the ferry dock sooner. She was soon shooed back by the crew member, but she was in one desperate hurry to get off, as were the hundred other people cramming behind me, intent on setting a record for the most people in the aisle of a ferry.
Thanks to my fortuitous position, I was the first one off the ferry, and although that no doubt saved me many minutes, once in the terminal I was greeted with what a shepherd dog might see in the stock yards.
Hundreds of Koreans who had arrived on the ship before us were not so much standing in lines for the 8 desks servicing Korean citizens, as standing in a mob, mostly trying to get three lines merging into one by the time they got to the desks. Even then, many of them tired to go up to the desk two at a time and stood two-abreast at the waiting line. One even used the "foreigner" line to get to the front of the "Korean" line next to us.
The "foreigner" line consisted of myself and many Japanese behaving far more civilised than the Korean. This line at least resembled a line, although one man used the convenience of the wider-than-one-person aisle to scoot up past everyone and try to go to the desk at the same time as the girl ahead of me.

Once out of the stock pen, it was onto the subway, which had similar crowded and rudeness attributes, until my own stop (at the end of the line) began to draw near and the crowds thinned considerably as we went further along (reminding why I like living out here).

This part is called
Accommodation: NO CAPSULE FOR YOU

On a usual Visa Run, the cost of the ferry and accommodation comes in a kind of package, but this time I missed out on the deal and would need to arrange my own lodgings. I looked into capsule hotels and was quite looking forward to the experience and making my own video. Since the vast majority of these places are male-only, I was pleased to find that there was the Greenland Tenjin Siesta in the area I was looking in that had a female section.
Unfortunately, it no longer exists, so I just ended up staying at the Hotel Etwas, which is located next door to where the capsule hotel was.
Oh well. Capsule hotel next time, I hope.

This part is called
Random: ENGRISH AT ITS BEST AND OTHER JAPANESE STUFF

There is something about English being used incorrectly by Asian nations that never fails to amuse. For this part, you can see my photos.

This part is called
Walking: SIGHTSEEING AROUND FUKUOKA IS BEAUTIFUL BUT MAKES YOUR FEET HURT

I absolutely LOVE cherry blossoms, which in Japan come in pink and white. Unfortunately, the cherry blossom season had only just started while I was there, so I couldn't get the photos which make people go "wow!" It was also really overcast while I was there, which makes for difficult photography conditions, but I did the best I could. These photos are of different temples, shrines, and gardens. I did a bit of experimenting with the settings on my camera and tried to get some artistic shots. I hope you enjoy them.

Too Much Hilarity

2008-03-25T18:56:00.005+09:00

Having students see you crying with laughter is probably not a good first impression

A couple runs into each other at a brothel

A letter survives 15 years on a fish

Cute story about a bear

And a monk has a hidden side..

And What?!?!?!

More of such news can be found in the 10+pages here

Setting up to Fail and other First-Day Impressions

2008-03-24T20:28:00.006+09:00

Well, I finally started my new job today. I have to admit, I was really looking forward to it, having been out of full-time work for 4 months.
I wasn't really sure what to expect on the first day, but

1) there being no books was not surprising, but a bit disappointing (What was I supposed to do for the hours I was there?)

2) giving placement tests to sort kids into levels and classes was NOT something I had expected, and then having to give the test (an oral interview) to 35 kids per hour was not something that was in anyone's best interests. Not mine - I didn't know the kids and didn't know the foggiest about where they were at (I started off asking a kid what he did on the weekend when it turned out he couldn't answer "what is your name?"); and Not the kids - not much time + the excitement of having a new teacher + I'm-sure-there-are-other-factors = not gonna do their best.

3) sitting around staring at the wall for 1 1/2 hours before the first round of tests started and then another hour between two of the three rounds of tests was not what I would call well-used time. But since there were no books, no classes, and no prep of any kind whatsoever that I could possibly conjure up even if I was Hermione, which I'm not, I sat in my char at my empty desk and clicked a pen while I let my mind wander aimlessly (it didn't really have all that much to wader around in, and there were large periods of simple blackness). I did, however, enjoy the kids' oohs, ahhs, gasps, "It's pretty", and other exclamations as they stepped off the elevator and saw me. One kid almost caused a pile-up when he a took a step of shock backwards into the mob of his peers trying to get out of the elevator.

4) after the tests ended at 8:00, being expected to wait till 9:30 for a teacher's meeting= again, time spent staring at the wall rocking in my chair and clicking my pen..... I think not. There is only so much my mind can do to occupy itself after more than 2 hours of already having done so. So, in response to the head teacher's direction "you stay here wait yes", I said "fair dinkum mate; tell 'im he's dreaming. That's a bloody useless waste of my time. I'm gonna go have a tinnie" (ok, for you literalists, I didn't really. That's what my brain was saying, but I think what came out was along the lines of a polite "I go eat.. come back nine thirty, ok?"

So I grabbed a pizza on my way home and here I am. No longer being the grumpy bugger I am on an empty stomach, I'm not gonna go into the hassles I've had with Kangsan Travel trying to organise my trip to Japan for a tourist visa. Suffice it to say that I'm just gonna give up trying to reason with them that I actually DID make the booking in time for the deal and fork it out for a two-night stay. Money Issues aside, two nights in Japan (Wed and Thurs) will be nice, I'm sure.

~~~
Ok, so I just returned from the "meeting" which consisted of being introduced to the other teachers (14 Korean women who may or may not speak varying degrees of English) a "hello", a "goodbye" and I'm walking back out the door 30 seconds later.

So there ya go... a small insight into my first day back in the workforce.

Grey's Anatomy Overload?

2008-03-04T15:55:00.009+09:00

I've spent the last 4 days watching seasons 2, 3, and 4 of Grey's Anatomy pretty much non-stop. And several things have occurred to me.

There is not a single healthy romantic relationship portrayed.
- Izzie and Denny were going ok, but he died (Season 2).
- Christina and Burke were doing well, but that fell apart at the wedding (end of Season 3, but to give the writers a little bit of credit, they had to write Burke out of the script when he was fired for making derogatory remarks against homosexuals, which the actor who plays George is).
- Meredith and McDreamy are obviously one of the most messed up relationships in the history of television, and even though they do have (one) good patch(es) (in Season 3), that, of course, didn't last.
- Although Bailey and her husband's relationship does not feature extensively, even that falls apart in season 4.
- Meredith's fake mother dies in season 3, effectively ruining ONE seemingly healthy marriage and Meredith's one opportunity to have a healthy parental relationship.
- Of course, Callie and George's marriage doesn't work out.
- Flings are flung extensively throughout the script, none of which work out.
- Other relationships which don't work are the Chief and his wife, George's parents (his father dies), Meredith's parents (obviously), and even several patients' relationships.
I REALLY like Miranda Bailey.
Meredith's sister is really stupid and annoying, but gets slightly better towards the end of season 4.
They messed up and put a different actress in as the Chief's niece in season 4 than season 3.
Season 2 and 3 are the best. The start of season 4 kind of hits a slump, but get better.
The doctors are pretty much eye candy. Kerev and Sloan in particular.
I don't think I'll watch Grey's Anatomy like that again.

Where in the World???

2008-02-26T14:18:00.005+09:00

I've known for a while that many people, and Koreans in particular, seem to have trouble knowing where the country of New Zealand is located.
While in Korea, I've taught the World Map and used globes and pictures where NZ is absent all together.

I found this add on Facebook which assures me that NZ's location continues to confound.
Yep; New Zealand is an Asian country, right up there with China and Singapore.

Namdaemun Burns

2008-02-20T12:03:00.005+09:00

Namdaemun, the South Gate of Seoul, is a structure over 600 years old, part of the remnants of the ancient Palace and city wall. There are 4 gates around which the modern city has been built, but the South Gate, in the center of Seoul, was it's most prized.
On Sunday night, February 10, 2008 at around 10pm, it went up in flames. As was discovered afterwards, the arsonist was an old man with a grudge against the government about land compensation.
My boyfriend Sean and I happen to be flicking through TV channels when we stopped at a news station. Although unable to understand what was being said, we recognised the building in flames, and went for the short walk to go and see it in real life.

Namdaemun/Sungnyemun as it was in 1904.
A night shot of the gate in modern times.
Monday morning, after the blaze.

Plans Smams

2008-01-30T11:51:00.000+09:00

At the end of last year, I knew exactly how the next few years of my life would go. I'd go home to Adelaide for Christmas (have a great time, catch up with friends and family, get a tan...), return to Korea early '08 (get a public school job, earn as much as possible, travel SE Asia, and in general have a great time), then pack up Korea in '09 for good and return home for a bit before heading to Europe. Great Plans. Perfect Plans. Plans I felt eager to live.

Plans gone to shit.

I didn't count on dealing with the winter blues upon returning to Korea. I didn't count on my dislikes of Korea being pretty much the only thing I return to. I didn't plan on meeting someone while back in Oz...

Men. Always getting in the way. I'm sure I wouldn't feel half the animosity I do towards Korea and my "plans" if there wasn't this person back in Oz making me miss him. You wouldn't think you'd feel that close to someone when the vast majority your interactions are over instant messenger, but there you go. Hey, it's not LOVE... but...
URG! Stupid, confusing, plan-messing-up men and relationships.

Other than that, I'm not sure I like Korea so much anymore. I've been slammed with a fatal case of Winter Blues, and thing Korea are annoying me to death. Like the idiot who lives on the 21st floor and pushes ALL of the elevator buttons... the disgusting men who spit everywhere and smell like bondaegi and goguma on the subway... and so much more.
It seems like people have changed since I've been away, too, and I no longer feel like I have a niche here.

My job plans aren't falling into place as easily as I'd planned on, either. There is one or two offers, but there are still details to be worked out before I'd seriously consider taking one of them. And that's always depending on if these irritating recruiters ever get back to me with answers to my questions, and if I'll be able to get a visa with no problems since new laws have come in.

Being a person who always relies on intuition and feelings to make decisions, the Winter Blues are effectively crippling my ability to keep, make, or change my plans.

Do I stay and force myself to survive here? Go home and get a job near my guy (when there's no certainty that anything would work out and still be wanting to live out of Oz)? Leave Korea and head to Europe a year early (and still be missing him, and without the financial net I'd like)?

Who the hell knows? This is all brain-spew, anyway.

Think I'm gonna go and eat timtams and have a cuppa tea - things that will always solve all problems.

From 33 to minus 3 ~ Initial Reactions

2008-01-17T14:58:00.001+09:00

Early in December last year, I quit my job and went back to Australia for holidays, planning on returning to do one last year in Korea in 2008.
I absolutely LOVED my time back home; the weather, the food, catching up with friends and family, and living in my parents' gorgeous house. I loved having a backyard. I was amazed by the incredible blue sky and the beauty of gum trees everywhere.
I was struck by the differences between the two countries in a way I hadn't been when I had returned from Korea the first time.

Although Korea had become "home" in the last two years, I had mixed feelings (mostly negative) about returning, which I attributed to the relaxing bliss of being on holidays with absolutely nothing I absolutely HAD to do. I know that I tend towards laziness, and I was in my element.

Almost 24 hours after leaving Adelaide, I arrived back in Korea and depression hit me like a low front. It doesn't really help that the airport is situated in a dingy part of the outskirts of the city, and in contrast to my fresh experience of Australia, the country looked and felt dirty, ugly, industrial, impersonal, gray, and frozen (well, actually, it WAS frozen. That wasn't just my perception). The contrast between the two cities (Adelaide and Busan) struck me as it never has before. Whereas Adelaide seems to exist in harmony with nature, Busan seems to have fought a war (and won) against it; as though masses of concrete and twisted metal had fallen from the sky, crushing all natural beauty in its way.

Thankfully, I live in one of the nicer areas of the city, but when I look out of my dirty window (the outside uncleanable), I don't see grass and a garden. I see the side of the building on the otherside of the street, and the small area of nature I can see is on frozen dirt and ugly scrawny trees (seriously, nothing beats gums).

In case you're getting the wrong idea, I'm not necessarily "unhappy and depressed" to be back, and that's not the purpose of this post, anyway. Rather, I'm merely documenting a perception of the city that has never struck me in the same way, or to this degree before.

The Backyard Barbie

2008-01-12T21:29:00.002+09:00

As part of my farewell, I had a group over for a good 'ol barbie, and realised (or remembered, to be more exact) just how fantastic they are. Can it get any better than a great sunny day, lamb chops and snags, a beer or a coke (from an esky full of ice, of course) and great mates sitting around a table outside? I submit that it cannot.

'Ave a good 'un!
A~

Jerks Hurt

2007-08-17T18:52:00.002+09:00

It seems like I'm a magnet for men who are emotionally unavailable fuckwits without the foggiest idea what a real friend is or how to treat one once they get it (ie: in me).
I don't claim to be the most emotionally stable person in the world. I don't claim to be an amazing friend who has never hurt someone or been rude to a friend. But I bloody well know what kindness, respect, honesty and apologising is.
The prick in question was calling me, hugging me and basically telling me how much he appreciated my friendship. And within 2 weeks (ok, 3, I guess) has said "never speak to me again" and deleted me from his facebook. And I seriously haven't even really seen him that much in the last fortnight, so I don't think I've actually done anything, and even if I have inadvertently hurt/insulted/whatever him, a normal friend would be straight forward and say "what you did hurt me" and we'd talk it through and everything would be ok, really.

So, although I seem to have been suckered again, I will not be dragged down by a bad man and possibly an American (or Korean) stick insect. He obviously doesn't care about me, our friendship (and we WERE pretty good friends, I thought), or all the good times we've had and I will not waste my energy with such a bipolar/manic-depressive asshole.

I choose vodka. And Shaka Kahn.

Haeundae Sand Festival

2007-06-08T22:22:00.001+09:00

It was pretty much what you'd expect by it's title: A million people, live music, hands-on stuff for the kids, sand-castle-building competitions. It was the latter that attracted me to walk down to the end of the beach. There were the usual castles, faces, fish, mermaids... And this. Very cung. Any foreigner will instantly recognise this sand creation of the common Korean squat toilet....

Ahh, Korea.

T.... spells Teacher

2007-05-22T18:23:00.001+09:00

If a person were learning a new language, and had heard, seen, spoken and written a word a million times a day since they began learning that language, you would think said person would know how to spell it, right?
As I found out: wrong.

The word in question, as you may have gathered from my subtle title was 'teacher', given in a spelling test as one of eighteen words studied that week from a phonics book to children in about 4th and 5th grade.

Two students (out of 8) got 18/18 for the test. Variations of 'teacher' included

there
thult
thchur
tetchr
thecer

I don't know what happened. Usually they are not this bad (even the boy who I suspect is dyslexic) but it must have been creative spelling day, because other mistakes from the students who did not get 18/18 were:

gird (girl)
sourt (shirt)
ciunt (count - the 'i' saved him from having me burst out laughing)
ciw, cird (cloud)
latur, letur, letle (letter)
pual, puls (purse)
nults (nurse)

Of course, these are the kind of days where all you can do is laugh (and blog about it).

have a good one,
Ang

Chickens. Hehehe. Chickens.

2007-05-10T21:14:00.000+09:00

Web Comics

2007-04-24T20:05:00.000+09:00

hahaha

Early Morning Wake Up Calls

2007-04-21T06:04:00.001+09:00

She stood there in the video feed of my doorbell moniter. Feet together, hands clasped, head bowed meakly, dejectedly, sadly; chin-to-chest. She was young, perhaps 18, but hard to tell because of her posture. The older woman stood in front of her authoritatively, looking respectfully into the camera. The first ring of the doorbell woke me up. The second got me out of bed. After viewing their images for a moment, I opened the door and simply said "wrong ah-part-uh". The older woman looked a little shocked, a little disapointed, a little uncertain. I closed the door and I could hear them move on down the hallway.
It made me wonder at their story. And at who had lived in this apartmen before me.
It's not the first time something like this has happened.
That time the doorbell did not ring, my door was simply tried to be opened at 2 am. After being jolted awake with nightmare-come-true images of someone breaking in, I lay in my bed, thanking God I had locked the door. My door handle was tried again. Then the doorbell. There was no image in the video screen. It got me out of bed to take a closer look as the bell rang one more. Through a sleep-fogged mind, I stood there looking at the screen, lit up from being activated, but showing no image. Not a person. Not an empty hallway. Just an empty monotone screen. I waited, knowing I would never open the door till I knew who was on the other side. And after a moment the man took his hand away from blocking the camera, looked slightly confused, slightly angry, and walked away.

Who are these people looking for?

Anniversary

2007-04-01T16:38:00.000+09:00

It is one year to the day since I arrived in Korea to be a teacher. It is 9 days until I am 26 years old.
As I reflect on these numbers and the past year, my mind is flooded by thoughts; memories I wish I could erase; others I wish would come alive Harry Potter-style for me to hang on my wall.
Time is a funny thing, and this past year seems to have gone by so quickly, with life just going on. At the same time the memories, both good and bad, replay in my mind in a mixture of still-frames and video clips, and I am overwhelmed by them all.
I don't want this year to just 'go by'. I don't know exactly what that means or how to make it happen, but to avoid melancholic ponderings, right now I'm thinking that filling the year with friends, food and wine sounds like a good start.

So, cheers. 'Ave a good one.

I Have 27 Housemates... Technically I suppose it's closer to 1000, but I'm only thinking of the ones I can actually hear.

2007-03-06T03:07:00.001+09:00

I tried to block the voices - babbling, cackling; intruding and interrupting. I was having a great time playing with my nieces and talking with my family about lawnmowers and Andrew's new helicopter with which we could see the badly shingled roof of mum+dad's as-yet-unrenovated house and the broken pipe (identical to the one in my bathroom) which was causing damage and holding up renovations because no one could walk on that part of the roof. Dad had called in friends from the gym, the same guys from the circus in Big Fish, who'd come in with a frontend loader to rip out the rotting corner.
The Voices couldn't be the clown guys; it was too loud and annoying.
My subconscious was trying to decide where the offensive sound was coming from when consciousness took over with reality, slowly but surely, my family fading...
Stupid Brain. I couldn't really blame it, though. Once it had realised that my suspected-to-be-a-prostitute neighbor was having a party at some witching-hour hour of the night it had to insist I was not in Adelaide.
I lay in the semi-darkness of the shoebox I have made... and call, with genuine affection... home. The gaggle came from the apartment on the other side of the wall as my bed-head...nope, from the apartment on the other side...maybe outside...no, definitely the other side. TV? Real? T.V. Some talk show with a large female panel. Too awfully annoying to be real.
I got out of bed and did the only polite thing. I thumped on the wall. The sound lowered. Good - T.V. Volume control.
Stumbled back to bed and peered at the clock - 2:18. Urg. Pulled covers over head.

Maybe I was still dreaming.... Sleepy Tired Hopeful part of brain tries to put Currently Irritated Insistent Consciousness in a box.... ... ... ... ... ...? Urg!... It's real! *yawnsobsweartiredly*
Get out of bed again. Thump harder more times than before.

Back to bed *yawn*

Consciousness starts writing post, jamming the lid of his box open. Reluctantly give in and turn on light *yawn* write post on paper. Think about thumping once more to remind the 30-going-on-13s that some people are normal.

Go back to bed and turn off light. Tired coaxes Insistent into his box... Hopeful places diary on top of the lid.....

My Friends....

2007-02-23T13:50:00.003+09:00

This is a video Aubs took last night at Sasha and Nathaniel's going away party. Ahh, Kev. We love you!

An Inconvenient Truth

2007-02-17T15:12:00.001+09:00

I just finished watching this on the net, and I have to admit that I didn't know it was a documentary before I watched it. Presented by Al Gore (and I have to say I am pretty much ignorant when it comes to American politicians, so I have no comments to make about him or any of his actions) on the subject of Global Warming, I found it fascinating. I have always been interested in Geography; it was one of my favourite classes in high school - thanks Mrs. E!)
Since I am not surrounded by the Pad Crew watching the muted credits and eating Cadbury Marble Chocolate, it is difficult to discuss the doco (even if half of them are my alternate personalities). Let me just say that I recommend a viewing. You can go here for more information on it.
And if nothing else, he uses a clip from a Futurama episode, so Al scores points with me just for that.

Food For Thought... I mean, Emotions.

2007-02-15T09:40:00.001+09:00

I have a lot of time off these days while waiting for my new job to start, and I've been watching a lot of day-time TV. The topic on Oprah the other day was about the weight loss. I've always felt (literally) that certain food cravings (like chocolate) were related to mood (chocolate helps anything), but what about these:

* Meat could mean you're angry
* Sweets (chocolate) might be a sign of depression
* Ice cream might mean you're anxious
* Salty snacks could mean you're stressed
* Pasta might signal loneliness or sexual frustration
* All of the above might mean you're just a little bit jealous

Funny - it doesn't say what a craving for kimchi means. Oh, wait a minute - there's no such thing...

Changing Lanes at Meteroric Speed

2007-02-02T19:55:00.000+09:00

What is ahead of you on the highway of life one day may change in the blink of an eye the next and I seem to have veered into oncoming traffic this week.
Until just 7 days ago, certain career issues seemed set, and I spent much time and thought planning for what would come after the certainties. Now the resulting plans A, B and Cs are useless.
On Monday I was told that my school was closing and Februrary 28th would be the last day. Meaning, I would need to find a new job before then. So, I spent Monday through Friday searching the job scene of Busan, and saying goodbye to my faviourite students, some of them changing schools before I even had that opportunity.
Today I was told "You're last day will be Tuesday because the students have left" and I was sent by my director to another director (a friend of his) for a job interview (under slightly suspicious circumstances, which I will not elaborate on as it would take too much explaining, but it was nice of him, anyway, and I went; but I won't be taking the job).
I now have two weeks to find another job before I will need to be looking for a new place to live.

Things have changed so quickly, I'm still processing what happened on Monday.

Thoughts through Tears

2007-01-25T18:53:00.003+09:00

I haven't posted for a while, I know. When life is simply raging on and going through the motions of teaching, living, and just breathing, it can be hard to know how to put some things into words, and if those words will even mean anything.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about relationships. About why we feel drawn to certain people, about why we love the people that we do, about where that love comes from, and why and how some of those people don't seem to recognise or value that love and even sometimes throw it back in your face, laughing at the hurt they cause you, figuratively spitting in your face and kicking you when you are down.
Loving your enemies, forgiving and turning the other cheek is all well and good. What about "Love the callous jerks, the insensitive bastards, and the selfish heartless assholes that pollute our lives and break our hearts"? What about self preservation and getting out of destructive relationships?

Why is it that sometimes we can't stop caring for the said bastards and assholes who hurt us? Why is it that when we see the hurt deep underneath the callousness we hurt for them, as well as because of the hurt they have caused us.

When it is obvious that someone, a friend, we care about and have invested a lot of time and emotion in really doesn't care a jot about us, it's really hard to let it all go; in some ways it's a denial that we were wrong about that person; wrong about the friendship - it can be hard to admit; hard to accept.

I've never been one to easily give up on a friendship. But does that make me a naive pushover; a hopeless believer that some good exists inside everyone; an idiot who sees the hurter hurting and can't let the person go? Is this just me? Maybe I have a saviour complex. Maybe I'm a co-dependant.

When someone you considered a close friend deliberately and repeatedly hurts you, they are obviously not a friend. Personally, I don't see how people can be so selfish and cruel. The word evil comes to mind.

It makes me sad when friendships change, especially when they die a gruesome death.

Calvin and The Snowmen

2006-12-21T13:32:00.000+09:00

Last year I made it my mission to find and post every Calvin and The Snowmen cartoon that I could find. I thought it only fitting that I link those posts again.
They are worth it!

Round 1
Round 2

Captain Christmas. Yes, I am a die-hard fan of C&H. You take luck, now!

Poetry

2006-12-07T10:01:00.001+09:00

When I rise
full of love
for life and laughter
and the me that I am
love will meet me…

When I rise
above my own neediness
fears
and frustrated tears
and allow myself to be warmed by the Son
love will shine on me…

When I rise
past prayerlessness
desperate hopes
sleepless nights
and wondering why I’m alone
love will wrap me in it’s arms…

When I rise
beyond sacrificing who I am
mistreating my heart
and giving my affections
too freely to the ungrateful…

When I rise
above
accepting scraps
when I crave a whole slice of cake
reaching for carrots
that are merely mirages of together forever
accepting other’s rejections
as a validation of my desirability…

When I rise …
oh, when I rise,
when I rise above it all
my wings will carry me
to a place called faith
and deliverance
a place where
the lies whispered in the dark
must flee
in the face of such intense light…

for this is the place
where God is
and love dwells
for God and love are the same…

and as I rise even higher
chains snapping from my heart
my mind
my soul
I soar even higher
carried on the wings of love itself…

Yes, I rise
and love kisses me deeply
even so sweetly
and whispers
I’m home….

(author unknown)

Caved

2006-11-13T11:58:00.002+09:00

I caved and got involved with Myspace.

Check me out!

Captain More-Internet. I have the Barenaked Ladies as friends.

Reasons For Not Enjoying Something

2006-11-10T18:29:00.002+09:00

In one of my favourite classes today, I was teaching them a basic converstaion structure which went along the lines of

A: "I went to [a baseball game; see a play; see (insert name of movie); etc]."
B: "Did you enjoy it?"
A: "Yes. It was excellent."

Each conversation was supposed to end with "Yes. It was excellent."
My favourite kid (I've mentioned him before) came up with:

FK: "I went to see a play".
B: "Did you enjoy it?"
FK: "No! It was boring, too noisy and the characters ugly!! And craaayzeeee!"

Well, after that, the baseball players were ugly, the actors were ugly and even the person they went to the country fair with was ugly - and none of these events were enjoyed.

Captain Converstaion Class. At least my kids enjoy my class!!

Cold Enough

2006-11-06T18:40:00.001+09:00

The weather tonight has reached the point that's about as cold as I like it to get. It being only November (and the beginning of it, at that) does not fill me with eager anticipation for what the weather will be like in December. Or January.
It makes me long for the steamy days and balmy nights of summer, caramel frappucinos, and the crowd-less post-beach-season sands of Songjeong.
It does not make me think of Christmas (or Peppero Day - something more cultural and sooner to be celebrated), which, this year, seems to have crept up on us with the slowness of the bullet train in China (it's faster than the KTX).
It makes me think of people back home, getting out the BBQs, beer-o'clock (as opposed to the winter wine-o'clock) becoming more frequent, welcome, earlier, and enjoyed outside.
It makes me remember wearing un-embarrasingly similar jeans, cammie and thongs as Em, and walking down Rundle Mall.

It's like an Adelaide winter, and I feel like any day now, the shortest day of the year will pass, heralding the weather for playing cricket and frisbee near The Pad at West Beach, and for wearing my fabulous Thailand skirt to work again (and for frappucinos - caramel, of course).

But since winter has only just begun (and many people would argue that it's more like fall - aka autumn), I have to settle in for the long haul through the season that makes me sometimes sad and often lazy. However, I can think of many inside-and-warm-places to be, things to do, and people I love to do them with.

I hope we at least get snow.

Captain Cold. If I have to be this cold, it had damned sure better be a white Christmas.

From The News

2006-11-03T18:45:00.000+09:00

This is sickening (no pun intended) and terribly saddening.

Captain Melancholic, wondering how such irresponsible people can become parents.

Halloween

2006-10-30T10:11:00.000+09:00

I went to two halloween parties over the weekend. The first I went dressed as The Angel of Death; the second I went as a vampire. Here are some of my favourite photos!

Friday night:

Saturday Night:

Captain Black, who would like to be a vampire because the makeup is so much fun!

Halloween Chickens

2006-10-27T09:56:00.000+09:00

Where There Is No Coffee

2006-10-23T20:59:00.001+09:00

The Parentals, Part 2

I suspected that Starbucks would actually be closed at 6:30 in the morning. It was. Not a good start. I had inferior instant from GS25 instead.

Made it to Seoul quite alright, sleeping most of the way.
I was greeted by dad with a big hug and by mum with big tears (I expected they would happen) and a big hug. It was great to see them :D

Well, we walked and walked and walked; Namdaemun, the tower, Geumbokgung Palace.... The palaces were having this enormous historical re-creation festival with 'changing of the guards' and all sorts of stuff with a lot of people looking and acting historical-like. It was really interesting and I'd never seen anything like it before.

With extremely tired aching feet, it was 4:30 when I realised I hadn't had anything to eat since dinner the night before and hadn't drunk anything since the coffee. Unsurprisingly, I was a bit of a grumpy bugger.
And I was frustrated. From the palace, we'd gone to the hotel (which is down a tiny little alley and you'd never know about it unless you'd been there. Even taxi drivers didn't know about it). From the hotel we went looking for food.
I was starving. My blood sugar was skydiving. My brain wasn't reading the Korean properly and I couldn't find anything I recognised. I was looking for a 'normal' kimbap place. Or an outback steakhouse. Preferably the latter.
The hotel was really close to Damdaemun, so we headed there. I swear I remember there being an OS on the corner. There wasn't. Arrggggg!
We ended up in the basement of Doota shopping mall and in KFC where I scoffed a twister, a coke, and two and a half serves of fries.

Much better.

From there we walked around Damdaemun markets, which were pretty cool.

~~~
As an aside, and for those of you in Korea, I could not find any Family Mart, Mini Stop, GS25, By The Way, or any other little quick stop store ANYWHERE in Damdaemun where we were staying. It was amazing. There were about 10 pharmacies, but no store. I also couldn't find any Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts (although aparently there was a DD down a street around a corner). It is the furthest I have ever walked in Korea without seeing one (or all) of the above. Just amazing (and irritating, as it turned out).
~~~

After sleeping, we checked out of the hotel (we couldn't get the room for a third night) and dumped our stuff in a locker at the station, then headed for Insadong Street. It was early, so we went for coffee. Starbucks! Which still had the Pumpkin Spice Latte!! Yay!!!
I love Insadong. I bought a scarf. And almost all of my Christmas presents to send back home. :D
Unfortunately, it began to rain early afternoon, and we hadn't found a new place to stay for that night, so we went back to the station around 6 and got tickets for the first KTX back to Busan.

We arrived in Busan around 11:30 and ended up with the worst taxi driver I've ever had in Korea. Not only was he generally extremely rude during the trip, at the end he tried to tell me that the bridge toll was 2000. At least I assumed that that was what he meant by "toll i cheon". I got pretty angry at him, since I know it's only 1000.
It was a pretty upsetting end to a good two days.

Captain Scene-Maker, who has no qualms about yelling at taxi drivers at midnight.

The Parentals

2006-10-21T05:30:00.001+09:00

My mum and dad arrived in Seoul yesterday. I am going up there by KTX in 2 hours. I was out a little late last night and went to sleep at 3:15, slightly paranoid that I would sleep through my alarm (I've done it a few times, waking up with barely enough time to change my clothes to get to where I needed to be. Those are the times I wear a hat and am thankful that I am not anal about makeup).
So I had a nice little dream about something or other, and woke up at 5. I haven't been able to get back to sleep, even though I love my bed so much at the moment that I would eat it if I could.

So, anywho, the parental unit is here. I am quite excited to see them. I think my dream was about getting a Starbucks coffee. It's so sad that they don't have Pumpkin Spice Latte anymore, according to Aubs.
It's 5:40. Sooo Tiiired.

My kids have a new name for me: Teacher who is pretty and also scary sometimes.

Yeah, Ok, so I'm rambling. C'mon. This is Serendipitously Procrastinating at it's 5:41am usual. If you have been around for any sort of time, you should be accustomed to my ramblings at any time of the day or night.

Mmmmm... Coffeeeeee.....

Captain Shortly-to-be-Caffinated, with a cinnamon scone and 300kms/hour!

Lunch

2006-10-20T12:03:00.001+09:00

Ok, so two posts in one day has become a little unusual for me, but I just have to say, I'm somewhat of a genius in the kitchen.
I made my own pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, garlic, and ginger and it tastes amazing. It looks a bit gross before it is mixed in with the pasta, though, (actually, it looks a bit gross when it is mixed in with pasta, as well). But it's still amazing - the leftovers are even better today than it was last night!

Captain Lunch. Now I have to go into work and do plans and evaluations.

Thrash Bus II

2006-10-20T11:45:00.000+09:00

Have I piqued your interest?

Captain Pique-er. Go, Rodney! Go!

Distorted Beauty

2006-10-17T17:38:00.000+09:00

So you think that model in the magazine really looks like that?

Dots

2006-10-07T11:43:00.000+09:00

Remember all those hours you spent in class during primary school... and high school (and lectures in uni - expecially that lecture held in the really cold lecture hall where you had to wear more layers than you needed outside and where you could sit at the back and not really be noticed) playing the dots game?
Well, now you can play the game online. Handy for the next generation who use mobiles and BlackBerries.

Thanks to UserFriendly and their LOTD.

Captain Old-School Gamer, intermehnetting again.

How To Do Seoul In 24 Hours

2006-09-27T11:00:00.001+09:00

Meet friends at Jangsan Starbucks and catch a cab, discussing train-delaying tactics for friends who are running late.
Board the slow train and then go back outside to look for said friends.
Breathe a sigh of relief when they board the train 30 seconds before departure.
Depart at 11pm Friday night.
Try to sleep in uncomfortable positions.
Get to Seoul and look for coffee coffee coffee.
Give up looking for good food and coffee and settle for Maccas.
After "breakfast", play the "do you know where this is?" translation game with a taxi driver.
After friends conclude this game and get in the cab, head off in the general direction of something.
Walk, wander and get a little lost for about 11 hours.
Meet back up with friends, splurge on tickets for the fast train, eat pizza for dinner and sleep on the KTX.
Arrive back in Busan at 11pm Saturday night.

photos to be posted later.

Captain Explorer

ITLAPD 2006

2006-09-16T19:07:00.001+09:00

Avast, me hearties! I must be tellin' ye o' this grand fine event that be comin' up. This be, of course, International Talk Like A Pirate Day, it be'in' on the Tuesday of this 'er month o' September.
Now, I already be givin' ye some links last year ('oi be puttin' 'em 'ere fo' ye), but ye can 'ave a gander 'ere.

Ye can find ye a grand name,

Learn ye a fine pirate word o' two,

Introduce a young'un t' the Sweet Trade,
Make ye'self some grog t' splice the mainbrace

An', go 'ere t' see me blog in all its piratey glory, or 'ere t' see what ye own site be lookin' like.
Play a game,
Have ye a fair party...

Find th' rest ye'self

Now, many a matey be celebrating this day for the Pirate in all o' us (don't be a land lubber and be denyin' ye inner Pirate!).
Chumbuckets Savage Chickens be running a series o' Pirate Chickens like this one from the year last!

Captain Woman-Pirate Ang the Awfully Elated (or Ensign Captain Chopsticks the Powerfully Funny) D'arrr!

TBII

2006-09-15T11:32:00.002+09:00

Thrash Bus II: Clone of the Thrash Bus. An epic action-adventure featuring The Pad Crew of Adelaide. Since an exclusive viewing of the TBII trailer and final filming in July last year, Cast and Crew have long-awaited the first news of its release, now rumoured to be in early November. This film looks set to stand alongside the likes of The Emporor's New Groove, The Boondock Saints, The Castle, and other favourites in certain bookshelves (or, in Rodney's case, his DVD bookcase).
Details for the Adelaide premier are yet to be confirmed by Producer/Director/Actor/Cinematographer/What-Else-Am-I-Forgetting Rodney Twelftree. On the International front, Camera-woman Angela Eckermann is planning screenings in Busan, South Korea, while there has been previous speculation that Actors/Thrasher Extraordinaires Warwick Twelftree and Andrew Newman would further the International release in China.

Thrash Bus II: Clone of the Thrash Bus; coming soon.

Captain Cinematographer/Movie Reviewer

Die Doing What You Love

2006-09-08T18:39:00.001+09:00

Two Australian icons have died within a week of each other. Steve Irwin and Peter Brock. Both deaths have come as a shock; a shock enhanced because of the close proximity in time as well as the fact that these two men were so well-known, generally liked and, as I have said, iconic.

Both men died doing what they love. Steve in the ocean; Peter in a race car. Some have said that the fact that Steve died doing what he was so passionate about in life made the death, in some ways, less tragic. It seems that people are already saying the same about Peter.

But does it really matter "how you go"? Is a death less painful to those to whom the death actually matters (while most of us are in the deliciously round-eyed 'isn't it tragic?' stage, there are some people who are genuinely mourning these two men) if the person "dies doing what they loved"? It certainly makes for sensationalism (now even more-so, since there are two of them) and better news headlines. It makes for great quotes beneath pictures of mourning relatives.

What if they hadn't been famous? What if Steve had been your average-Joe who loved diving? When a uni student was attacked by a shark off the coast of SA (last year, I think it was) while on a research trip for uni, I don't recall anyone saying he died doing what he loved, even though he did have a passion for the ocean (although, now that I think about, maybe they did. It's certainly not said of the average shark attack, though.) Perhaps it's the nature of the death. A shark attack, being somewhat more violent and gruesome than a 1 in a million chance of getting it in the heart from a stingray you are swimming with, is hardly what anyone loves/loved to do. Would this phrase "died doing what he loved" still be said of Steve if he had been mauled by a crocodile in a prolonged and vicious attack?

What if Brock had been your average Australian petrol-head who loved to thrash? (And yes, I know that word, 'thrash', will evoke a reaction with certain readers.) I doubt it would have made world news, to begin with. But would people close to that person find comfort in the fact they "died doing what they loved"?

It reminds me a little of the movie Point Break with Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves; Swayze's character most certainly (and classically) "died doing what he loved."

Does it matter how you die? Would someone ever say "she died doing what she really liked?" Do you have to be passionate about something on the verge of it being an obsessive love affair before someone would say "she died doing what she loved"? Being morbid, for a moment, I don't think there is anything I'm THAT passionate about. Sure, I can think of ways that I wouldn't like to die; anything that lasts for more that a few seconds would probably make the list.

What about you? Is there something about which you would say "That's how I'd like to go"?

Captain Ponderer, blogging, as usual, during the break before her last class for the week.

Working With Chickens

2006-09-05T17:41:00.000+09:00

Because chickens rock!

Captain Druged Chicken, wondering where she can get some of these mandatory ones.

Stupid Kids

2006-08-30T19:29:00.001+09:00

I'm sorry, but he is. Scott's in an advanced class, but he's just thick. We were studying the forms "can", "could" and "able to". There was a simple question based on a short story and all he had to write was "yes, he will be able to" or "no, he won't be able to". I explained the question to him, and explained the two answer options. He wrote:

"Yeh, he saved I be can to save you I be able to always beat."

Need I say more?

Captain Frustrated, who feels sorry for the other boy in the class (Louis) who just happens to be brilliant. Louis is finished the whole page before Scott finishes one question, so he draws for half an hour while I help Scott.

Mirrors Were Invented By Squirrels

2006-08-30T13:59:00.000+09:00

In the latest of our Women's Group meetings we discussed cosmetic surgery and our perceptions of our physical selves, among other tangents. One of these tangents was about how we tend to look at ourselves in any available reflective surface, no matter where we are. It is a phenomenon in Korea that all elevators ('lifts', for my Australian readers) have mirrors on at least three walls, and quite often on the door as well. A challenge was set: can we avoid looking at ourselves all day? Exceptions were made for getting ready in the morning, after lunch (don't want to scare kids and cause co-workers to talk by having something stuck in your teeth), and at night; ie: three times a day.

Monday I woke up and looked at mirrors a minimal amount of times in order to make myself a presentable teacher. In the elevator, I glanced at my reflection once, and then studiously looked at the floor. This type of behaviour went on for the rest of the day. It was an interesting experiment. Like Aubrey, I found I knew exactly where I would be able to catch a glimpse of myself in the shops I passed, and other paths I frequented. For the most part, I did reletively well, and didn't sneak all that many peaks at myself.

Tuesday did not go so well. Aubs dyed my hair Monday night, and while I admired the new colour while getting ready in the morning, I was determind to adhere to the mirror challenge once again.
To make a long story short, I failed miserably, my downfall being born of a comment from a kindy kid: "Tee-cherr! Hair. Big."

I hate my hair at the best of times (it's thick and there's a lot of it, so it has a tendency to be boofy and frizzy), and am pretty self-concious about it. Even though I checked my appearance after the class (and it wasn't that bad, really), Pearl's comment did me in. For the rest of the day I studied my appearance at every opportunity.

And I found I'd liked myself better on Monday. I liked having only a vague idea of my appearance. I realised on Tueday just how critical our sub-conscience self-evaluation can be as we catch brief (and sometimes distorted) glipses of ourselves throughout the day. Of course, it's not always critical; sometimes it's a nice self-esteem boost - but usually (for me, at least), that boost only comes when I already feel good about the way I look. It can happen that the more I study my appearance, the more I notice the things I dislike.

With these thoughts in mind, today (Wednesday) has been somewhat of a better day. Although I made thouroughly sure that my hair was completely de-boofed before I left the house this morning (ok, so I've checked it via touch and occasional stolen glances), and making allowances for checking my technique - a good excuse, I know - in the mirrors at the gym, I have kept my gaze mostly averted from the masses of mirrors, windows, computer screens and elevator doors that my paths cross (or, to put it more accurately: run parrallel to.)

And I feel pretty good.

Captain Anti-Mirror, who wonders if it may be Bob answering when I say 'Mirror, mirror on the wall: Do I look ok today?'

Corn? Corn?!?

2006-08-28T20:57:00.002+09:00

The other day at work we had what they (the Korean teachers) called a "summer festival" with the kindy kids. Basically, we were just making fruit salad. I thought: "cool". A nice way to use up a lesson I wasn't particularly inspired to teach.

Apparently, tomatoes are not the only vegetable considered fruit in this country. The "fruit salad" (I have to use quotation marks because I'm not sure the label fruit salad can accurately be applied in this situation) consisted of apples, bananas, yogurt (and I do realise that Australians and maybe others will think I spelt that wrong while the Americans will skim over it with no thought whatsoever) tinned fruit salad (all fine, so far), carrots and corn. When we (I) asked "why" about the last two, since they are not fruits and I thought I could make a case about innacurate teaching, I was told "because they are good for you." When asked if I wanted some, so emphatically declined, stating that corn and yogurt together was "just wrong".

I suppose I really shouldn't have been so suprised. Koreans put corn on everything and when ordering pizza, you have to specify "no corn" in the same way you have to specify "extra anchovies" back home - it's just not "normal" for them to leave the corn off.

Captain Corn-is-not-a-Fruit and Pluto-is-a-Planet

The Book Is Tired. And My Washing Machine Is Loud.

2006-08-14T22:49:00.001+09:00

Oh, the joys of ESL teaching! One of my 'advanced' classes (the kids are in about grade 5)started a new book this week. Their previous book would be a strong contender in the "Worst ESL Book in the History of Printing" awards (there was even a grammatical error on the cover), and I was quite excited about starting the new one. When I walked into class, the first thing I was told was "Tee-cher! The book - it's tired." Being the brilliant translator of Korean Kids' use of English that I am, I said "You mean: 'the book is boring.'" "Yes, tee-cher. It boring. " Another kid piped up, opening the book and waving a hand over a random page, "The pictures - no colour." Well, we began the Tired Book, and I'm still looking forward to teaching it. There's a tonne of new vocab (I got stumped with a few of them - I can't remember them at the moment, otherwise I'd give you an example), plus, I'm going to get them to keep track of their reading speed (words per minute). It may not win first place in "Best ESL Book in the History of Printing", but it certainly wouldn't be considered an entrant in the "WESLBITHOP".
Plus, the sun was shining today, and tomorrow is a holiday! Happy days!!
My washing machine is cleaning the clothes I put in it when I got back from the gym, and it still isn't finished - I'm sure it's doing it on purpose. So I'm going to watch Friends (second season), and hope that the cycle ends soon, because I want to go to sleep. But there's always sex & the city (fourth season) after Friends if the stupid machine refuses to stop rinsing and spinning.

See - here is a photo of my clothes being held hostage.

Yay!! Tomorrow is a holiday! I have to find something to send to my 2-year old niece for her birthday. I miss my family tonight.

Captain Hungry. I'm trying to go on a diet, but I haven't eaten anything since that caramel frappucino on my way back to work after lunch.

Sauna Does Not Compensate For Overdoing It At The Gym

2006-08-04T23:30:00.000+09:00

After spending the day shopping in Seomyeon (which will not mean anything to you if you haven't been there) with Gina (a Korean co-worker), I came home to no plans. I could have made some, of course, but after a dinner of a fruit smoothie, decided to go to the gym. 14kms of bike and treadmill later, I went up to the spa (in the same building. It's kind of a joint operation with the gym). Because the gym is under renovations, members get free use of the spa at the moment, and I don't think I've taken enough advantage of that yet. Anyway, after showering and soaking in a brown-coloured spa, I went and had a salt-scrub in the sauna. After rinsing off, I soaked in a green-coloured spa, debated (and decided against) doing a few laps of the 10-meter pool, and spent some time in a cold bath with bubble jets aimed at your back, thighs and calves. Very nice.

Clubbing next Friday is already tentatively planned, but I'll argue (depending on the mood I'm in) that my night tonight was just as good a way to spend a night.

Captain Soreness. My muscles ALL hurt, despite the spa. And I have to get up in the morning to go to the post office - Em, I think the poster has arrived!!! :D

Clear Skies

2006-07-29T18:28:00.000+09:00

plus sunscreen = not burnt; tanned!

Captain Summer, basking in the gorgeous weather!

Burnt In Busan

2006-07-22T20:46:00.000+09:00

I didn't think it could happen. Not through all the smog. I suppose being out without sunscreen for 2 hours in the middle of the day will do it to you, though.

After all the rain we've been having (especially on the weekends), I was overjoyed to wake up to sunshine (even if not to clear skies), and zealously went down to the beach to catch some vitamin D. I also took a book I've been reading on and off for the last three months. Come to think of it, I've only been reading it when I've been down at the beach.

Anywho, I didn't think I'd get burnt. I took sunscreen, but didn't apply it. This isn't Australia, where you burn in ten minutes down at the beach, afterall. So, there I was, contentedly lying on my stomach reading The DaVinci Code, occasionally turning, but not paying much attention to tanning evenly; I honestly didn't think I'd tan much at all in the first place - it was pretty smoggy. But burn I did. As burnt as I've ever been in Korea. Certainly not at burnt as that time in Madang.... THAT was burnt-so-it-hurt-to-wear-underwear burnt.

I don't know whether being burnt on one side of your body is better or worse than being less burnt on both sides. At least I'll tan. But for now (and no doubt tomorrow), I'm applying Aloe liberally, and trying not to let my skin have too much contact with anything.

Captain D. At least my body is happy internally. How could it not; I had Kebapistan for dinner.

On The Job Front

2006-07-11T21:29:00.000+09:00

hehehe.

Am I Being Unreasonable? I Don't Think So

2006-07-06T21:02:00.001+09:00

I'm thinking of giving notice at work. In the last few weeks the job requirements have reached ridiculous proportions.

First, they put our lesson plans (in my case, monthly lesson plans for 7 classes, bi-monthly classes for two classes as well as our usual weekly plans for two kindy classes) and evaluations (like report cards) all due in the same week. At the same time, they told us that we now needed to do daily evaluations for our kindy classes. So I write exactly the same thing for Kitty Math and Smurf Math and Kitty Science and Smurf Science for every child (eg: shapes review; excellent. how plants grow; excellent). I write it once, copy it , and paste it 11 times. It doesn't take a lot of time. I can get it done in seconds. But it is utterly meaningless and pointless, which, for me, is annoying and irritating, although I try not to let such a little thing get to me.

Anyway, on top of that, the week after the plans and evaluations were due, I had to do open classes for my two kindy classes; basically a huge performance class to show off to the parents.

Not surprisingly, I got sick (major ear infection) and stressed.

I breathed a sigh of relief when my open classes were over (I had them last week), thinking, like the gullible fool I am, that things would go back to 'normal'.

A fool, indeed.
The list this time (springed on us on Tuesday, I think) includes tests for our elementary classes (I have 7), Storytelling Competition for the same classes, and a Composition Competition for another 2 classes, all due at the end of the mont. I don't mind it so much, because we use class time to practice for the competitions. The teacher (and the fierce independence streak) in me objects in a screaming protest to being told what, how, and when to teach things, but ok. I can do this story thing. It'll be a good waste of class time.

But I don't want to waste class time. For the most part, I love my classes and care about my kids. I know them, as individuals, very well by now; all this is something that my lecturers and mentors continually remarked upon through uni. It is something that set me apart and had the kids in my prac classes still talking about me a year later.

Anyway, where was I. Mmmmm. The list of crap. So, besides preparing our kids for tests and wasting our time with these f***ing competitions, the straw that may break the camel's back (read: Angela will resign from a job for the first time in history for reasons other than having no time between her other job and uni) came today.
Apparently the "boss", who spends all day sitting in her office, has now said that we are not allowed to sit down in classes. We immediately protested and were told it would be ok to sit for a little of the class (like 5-10 minutes) but wouldn't you know, when we went back to our classes the "teacher's chair" at the front of the class had been removed. Luckily I was in a class where we all sit around one big table, so no chairs had been removed there, but in the other classes - yep. You really HAVE to stand up. And this for me goes too far.
Sure, I know haegwons are generally pains in the arses, only caring about the Won flowing in; not about the kids or the teachers, but ... I will NOT have these idiotic, baseless, and ridiculous ... rules ... IMPOSED on me!! I am a bloody good teacher - sure as heck better than 90% of the idiots who get teaching jobs in Busan (I happen to be friends with people with me in the top 10%).

As I have said, it's getting ridiculous. Things are being piled on, and it is senseless. I do not sit down an awful lot in my class anyway; most of the time I am writing on the board, moving between desks, leaning against the board ... I'm standing up for nearly the whole class. But to be denied even the option of sitting.....

So, do you think I am being unreasonable about this whole thing? Are the demands of my "boss" (whom I have actually only seen once, and I'm quite sure wouldn't have the foggiest about teaching), within reasonable bounds of the requirements of a job? Should I accept it and continue with the job?

I tend to think not (to put it mildly) but would love to hear any comments. Also, if you know how to discredit a school on the internet, I'll accept all suggestions as well (I might tell them tomorrow that I'll get them black-listed).

Captain Seriously Annoyed and Frustrated, who ate half a tub of Caramel GooGoo Icecream after work today. All that running at the gym for nothing.

DOES King Kong Fly?

2006-07-06T12:34:00.001+09:00

Me, in kindy class today (pointing to a picture of a parrot): "What is this animal in the tree that flies?"

Pearl (4 years old, rising out of her seat with enthusiasm, hand shooting into the air): "King Kong!!!"

Captain Teacher of Little People in Korea, getting a laugh a day.

You Know You're in Korea When...

2006-07-02T18:40:00.001+09:00

Jen and I went to the beach this arvo, and, walking home, decided to stop by E-Mart since it was on our way. Predictably, it was pretty packed. In fact, leaving the grocery area to go back up to the check-out, there were two lines queuing for the escalator. There was even a worker-dude there directing the traffic. Despite what their theme song says ("Hap-py hap-py hap-py E-mart-tuh"), I was Not Happy, Jan.

Captain Korea, who can sing the E-Mart theme song, and does so while waiting in line there.

Synonymous with Singular

2006-06-29T18:59:00.001+09:00

Two boys (they are actually my favourites and at the top of the class) in the class I wrote about the other day seem to think my name is synonymous with the word "singular". Whenever I say "singular" (as in, "this is a singular noun"), they chime up with "sing-gu-lar... ang-ge-la... sing-gu-lar... an-ge-la".

I wonder if they really know what they are saying, or if they just like the way the two words end in the same letter blend.

Captain... Uh... Single.

Bad Things Happen In Sevens

2006-06-27T19:03:00.002+09:00

... or maybe more. This is my list of things that on their own aren't so bad (some of them), but all at once... well, you'll get the picture.

I forgot to take my trash out, so my apartment smells like very ripe bananas.

The elevator doors squashed me this morning.

Australia lost to Italy in the last 5 seconds of the game I stayed up late to watch (and I fell asleep in the last 5 minutes, so missed the ending live, anyway).

My ear infection is getting better, but hasn't cleared up completely, so I still feel like I'm talking and listening to everything underwater. At least I'm only taking three ibruprofen a day now, instead of the 10 ibruprofen and 10 panadol I was taking each day (along with antibiotics) last week.

I ran out of wine. note to self: get some more.

The magnets keep falling off the backs of the flash cards I had to make for my open classes coming up. (Have now fixed that with double-sided sticky tape.)

Have found out that one of my classes know many of my verbal idiosyncrasies VERY well. Have found out I seem to say "oh, my goodness!!" a lot. Good thing I can laugh at myself; it was one of the funniest classes I've ever had.

I'm hungry. Where's Kosta with my dinner?

I've been told three times to dress up for my open classes tomorrow. So not only do I have to plan a performance class, I now need to plan an outfit.

I'm tired and I think I'm rambling. Not unusual for this time on Friday night.

Oh, wait. It's not Friday yet. How can the week only be up to Tuesday?

Yep. Definitely rambling. Have forgotten what this post was supposed to be about. Means I'd better go.

Captain Yawny, wondering if she can stay in this rolly chair and get someone to push her up to her class. They could use the elevator....

The Calritz Contract

2006-06-24T12:22:00.000+09:00

Chickens At Work

2006-06-20T21:47:00.000+09:00

Just because I can and because I have no energy to write more.

Captain Chicken Whisperer.

My Friends Don't Understand Chickens; Pity Them

2006-06-18T18:06:00.001+09:00

The worst part about telling a joke is when you realise halfway through that the people around you aren't going to get it, while you find it so funny you have trouble telling the joke through your laughter in the first place. This happened to me the other day, and it's just embarrasing. I'm not just embarrased for myself, but also for the others around me who lack my sense of humour; I pity them. I doubt these people would understand pirates, penguins, or even ninja monkeys, for that matter. (Although Aubs now understands squirrels - most people (girls, anyway) do, once they are explained). I suppose that's why Em and I are such good friends; we have warped and bizzare minds. Mmmmm.... Caffinated ninja monkeys fighting snowmen penguin pirates (tried that one in your series, yet, Em?)

Well, in the true spirit of Serendipitously Procrastinating, here be chickens!! This isn't their best one, but.... Pirate Chickens!! Huzzah!!

Captain Bird. I speak Pigdin, and, apparently, Chicken.

Thoughts at 3am

2006-06-15T04:14:00.000+09:00

Well, I'm awake after one of those annoying nights where you dream about work. I was re-living classes I had today (well, yesterday), mentally re-checking my evaluations and lesson plans, re-having conversations with co-workers... the list goes on. I hate these nights. I feel like I get no break from work, and it exhausts me.

Anywho, it's about time I posted again, anyway.
I've been meaning to post more about the World Cup. Obviously, I was very excited about Hoju's win against Ilbon :D And then there was the game last night - Korea vs Togo. I tell you - Koreans (including the children) have been going nuts about the game. I have to admit, I was going for Togo (being the underdog) for part of the game (especially when they scored the first goal), but now that Korea's won, I can't be that disappointed; afterall, if they make the finals we'll (hopefully) get a day off work! Plus, in every class today (yesterday) I was able to use a good 15 minutes of the class talking about the World Cup in general and the Hoju vs Japan and Korea vs Togo games in particular, especially with my advanced class (and Louis, who spent most of the class doodling soccer fields on his handout).

In other news, I'm getting a care package sent to me from mum and dad. This is almost as exciting as the World Cup. Thanks to Aub's "getting to know you" email I just read, I've been reminded and added a block of dark chocolate (Old Gold - macadamia nut or almond) to the list. How I could leave it off at the beginning, I don't know. I guess having jaffas and timtams on the list made me think I had the chocolate part down. Silly me.

Captain Going Back To Sleep, posting again in the early hours of the morning.

**Edit: 4:13am** Captain Commenter. Where would I be without Em's blog?

**Edit: 5:09am** Captain Wiget: unable to sleep and drooling over Mac OS X Tiger. Mmmmmm, dashboard...

AS-SAAHH!!!

2006-06-13T00:44:00.000+09:00

3-1, baby! 3-1.

I Want To Go Hoooooome!!

2006-06-09T19:05:00.000+09:00

It's 7:10 and I have 20 minutes before my last class of the day. My first class was at 10:50 and other than my lunch break, it's been one class after the other. Of course, it's like that for all of us most afternoons, but today I'm really ready to go home. Wine calls.
I should be using this time to write evaluations, grade tests, write at least one of my many monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly (tri-fortnightly annually quad-termly) lesson plans, prepare for my class (now in 16 minutes), or even make a shopping list, but quite honestly I can't be stuffed. I am supremely tired, hungry, brain dead, and tired (did I say tired already?)
I have checked that my neopets have been fed (Blood Type B is fine, and Capshida is hungry. I tried to get some food, but the store was out of stock), and checked most of my blog list. I was delighted to see new posts from Tom, Aubs and Liz, and disappointed to see no new post from Rodney (does anyone know where I can find a haddock?). Em had no new post, but that's ok because I know she'll have another one there soon.
On the topic of blogs, I am proud to say that I seem to have as much influence over people in Korea as I did in Adelaide. Certain people here are suddenly gaining a renewed or new interest in blogging! Em, our plan for World Domination is underway!!

O.K. 10 more minutes to kill.... Actually, the computer's clock is wrong. According to the clock that controls the bell, I have 15 minutes! That stupid bell-clock is slow. Or else, every other clock in this place is wrong. It really stuffs you up when you're teaching (well, now it doesn't because I'm used to the bell being "late") and all the kids start protesting "teeaach-errrr!!! be-elllllll!!" to let you know that you've gone overtime, even though you obviously haven't. Speaking of kids, in one of my beginner classes today we were talking about people and they had to draw a picture of someone and write "This is my (mother/father/brother/sister/friend/teacher). His/Her name is ___". Well, one of my kids drew me (hilarious picture!) and wrote my name in Korean. He wanted to check the spelling, so I wrote 엔첼라 on the board. The kids "oooooo"ed and started clapping. They said "teeaach-errrr!! Good Kore-an!!" and when I said "kamsahamnida", they nearly fell off their chairs and clapped some more. Very Funny.

Well, this class (9 minutes to go) won't be that good, but it's Friday, and being the last class of the day you're not checked up on, so I figure I'll just play a game for half an hour of the class. (It just occurred to me that workmates now have this blog address, but you won't say anything will you ;) Lisa... Kosta... Ken...?)
Anywho, I'm bummed that the school doesn't have a proper scrabble set; I was Scrabble Queen at Pukyong. But UpWords will have to do.

Well, thanks for wasting time with me.

Captain Whose Brain Is Elsewhere. If anyone finds it, pease call 010 3037 8232.

Two Days Off in Two Weeks

2006-06-07T11:14:00.001+09:00

We had a holiday on Wednesday last week for election day. It wasn't a public holiday, but the school gave us the day off, anyway. ~nice!~
My coworker, Lisa, and I went to Haeundae Beach to tan for two and a half hours, and then went to a spa - I've forgotten its name, but it's one of the biggest ones in Asia. Arriving sweaty and hot, we stripped and went up to the bath area. (In case you are unfamiliar with public spas and jjimjilbangs, the bath areas are segregated, and you go completely naked. It was a bit of a shock when I went to my first jjimjilbang last year, but I'm over being modest or self-conscience.)
There were main baths in the middle of a large room, and a tonne of others we discovered in the maze of "rooms" and areas. There was a yellow-mud spa (pretty cool), a foot bath (not all that exciting), a range of sauna rooms (different temperatures and with walls made of different material) and a steam room. The place also had a "rose bath", and hidden in a cave were three pools. The first, labelled "Jasmint Bath" in English and "Jasmine" in Korean, had water coming out of a deer's mouth and had a slight smell of jasmine. The next, labelled "Philosophy Bath" had water dribbling out of the mouth of a buddah-like statue (and it did indeed look as though he were dribbling). The third had water coming out a deer's mouth as well and was labelled (slightly disturbingly) "Person Bath". Considering the other baths (except for the philosophy one) contained or were scented with what they were labelled as, it was cause for wonder, and in the end we did not go into the Person Bath.

Leaving the bath area, we donned clown-like pj's (shirt and shorts) and went into the main area of the spa. There was a large common floor area where groups of people were sitting around in cloned pj's chatting, watching TV and drinking (for the most part) cold green tea (neng nock cha). Around this area various igloo-type rooms were placed. There was a cold room (about 6 degrees), a "jewel" hot room, a yellow-mud hot room (and it was HOT), and a rainforest room(cooler, but scented and with a picture of a rainforest on the roof (two of the segments of the picture are upsidedown). Down some corridors there was a high-oxygen room, and a few more hot rooms. Each room had a sign outside telling you what the benefits of that room were. Like "to loose weight", "promote energy", etc. Some of them were pretty funny.

So, unlike the holiday we had yesterday (Tuesday) for Memorial Day, that was my well-spent day off last week. In honour of this week's holiday, here is a recipe for you (one guess as to how I spent Tuesday).

Long Island Iced Tea
1 part gin
1 part rum
1 part triple sec
1 part tequila
1 part vodka
1 1/2 parts sweet and sour mix
1 part coke

shake and pour

Captain Worker (ha!), enjoying her 4-day weeks.

Recipe

2006-05-26T14:21:00.001+09:00

Something where just the name makes you gasp, sigh, drool, and more....

oh, yeahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Triple...

Chocolate...

Espresso Bean...

Cookies.

Bitten by the Love Bug

2006-05-25T09:17:00.001+09:00

I woke up this morning to find the strangest mark on my stomach. I had to look twice, but it was unmistakeably in the shape of a heart. Judge for yourself.

Captain of all Weirdness; strange things happen even while I sleep.

**edit 6:00pm: I don't know if it was the bite or not, but I've come down a bit sick. Damn love bug.**

Pretzel Girl

2006-05-25T03:23:00.000+09:00

I've started going to a yoga class, confirming that I am indeed inflexible, with a big butt. At least compared to some of the Koreans. Korean women have no butt. Honestly, I haven't had a butt that small since I was about 12. The instructor kept telling us (my Canadian workmate and I) to pull our butts in, and we tried telling her "it's in!!" to no avail.
The instructor was also using a girl with double-jointed elbows and hips as a model. It was nice to see that I wasn't the only one not able to turn myself into an inside-out backwards pretzel. The pose I call "triangle with a tumour" wasn't so bad (could still be a smaller tumour), but the backwards pretzel (actually the same thing as the triangle-with-a-tumour, only backwards/inside-out) was just imposible. (unfortunately, I can't find a pic of either on the net).

Captain Cookie; in-pretzable, and writing (as is not terribly unusual) at 3:40am.

Hadong Green Tea Festival

2006-05-23T12:30:00.001+09:00

Here be pics.

tea in baskets

roasting tea

rolling tea

picking tea

pouring tea

Captain Tea, with green tea coming out of her ears (it was a gift at the festival). It itches, but smells nice.

All Hail The Chickens

2006-05-18T21:40:00.000+09:00

Kindy Excursion: The Outback Steakhouse

2006-05-18T17:43:00.002+09:00

After a night of terrible dreams (which for some reason included the whale Moby Dick, BNL songs, knitting, ironing, and a femenist debate), I arrived at work and departed on an excursion with Ken and Kosta (two of the other foreign teachers here) and three Korean teachers, along with 11 7-year-olds. We went to the Outback Steakhouse. For those of you unfamiliar with this restaurant, it is an American chain with an American sterotypical and idealised Australian theme. It was two hours before they officially opened, but we were let in, led to a private room, and sat down. We (Kosta and I; being the Austrlians) entertained the kids by naming Australian animals, showing them the koala on the coaster, and then we rescued by a Korean waitress who gave the kids (and us) a tour of all the memorabilia on the walls. A papermache kangaroo that they waved to ("Why are we saying hello?" one smart kid asked. "It isn't alive."), landscape photos, a Ned Kelly portrait, a picture of shearing sheep, and of course, pictures of kangaroos and koalas. They also go to touch a stuffed crocodile (I think it was really an alligator, but they called it a crocodile).

There was also an ABUNDANCE of boomerangs, and Fosters and XXXX posters. I liked the sign behind the bar that said "Bar not to be used as a bed after hours".

Anywho, after the tour we sat down, helped the kids make their own salads, and ate the salad. Then the teachers sat at another table and ate prawn pasta, cheesy fries and chicken salad while the waitresses gave the kids chicken and fries and entertained them.

All in all, a great way to spend a morning (ie: not teaching), and quite a nice morning tea.

If I can get copies of some of the photos, I'll post them up.

Teacher's Day

2006-05-15T19:33:00.002+09:00

Well, here in Korea we've celebrated Children's Day, Parent's Day, and now Teacher's Day. We didn't get holidays for them, but it was made up for by Teacher's Day. Not only was the school really easy on us, buying us pizza for afternoon tea, but they also gave us a gift, and I also got gifts from some of my students. Here is a picture.

I forgot to add in the tin of truffles I got as well.

My classes were all pretty good today, too. Mondays are actually my best days; my easiest schedule. I only work from 9:50 to 6:30, with a 4-hour break between my first and second classes. Fridays are my worst days; working 9:30 to 8:30 with a 2.5 hour break and a 50 minute break: not good. I'm also one of the only teachers on the "last class" shift. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm on the last class shift, but my class is really good, and the other teacher on lates (teaching another class) is great. We have a lot of joking going on. On Friday, we just kind of head home (too tired to joke around).

Anywho, that's been my day - Teacher's Day!!

Captain Teacher. Celebrate a teacher today.

Shopping Perils

2006-05-11T21:21:00.002+09:00

Shopping in Korea (in this case grocery shopping) can be like a treasure hunt; not only are things labeled in foreign characters, but the stores are also arranged in what I (a frequent patron to Woolies, Coles and the like back in Australia) would call "illogical". Things are not always where you would expect to find them. The strangest one I saw was 'feminine products' across the aisle from cooking oil, with gas cylinders for those tiny portable camping stoves on one side and something totally incongruous on the other; plastic plates or lollies or whatnot.

Anyway, when things are labelled in a foreign language, purchases often require guess work and detective skills: looking at pictures, comparing products with some English vs no English, and so on.

Let's take the example of shampoo and conditioner. It's pretty easy to spot; I know the brands 'Pantene' and 'Head and Shoulders' (even with the Korean writing), and I recognise some of the Korean brands. Some of them have 'rinse' (American terminology for conditioner) and 'shampoo' written on them (in English). I can also read the Korean equivalent of 'rinse'.
So, I find the right aisle, figure out which is affordable (it happened to be Pantene), and identify 'rinse'.
However, now I have 5 different kinds to choose from. I picked one at random, but unfortunately I think I picked a 'for volume' kind. Anyone who knows me and my hair will know that 'volumising' is something it most certainly does not need, and contrary to what some people may think, I think it actually works. My hair tends to resemble a mop or a poodle most days; after using the rinse, my hair tends to look like a poodle sitting on a mop, or a mop which has somehow morphed with a poodle. Combined with the wind we have at the moment, add "witch" to the picture, and you've got my hair.

Unfortunately, I also bought the "two-bottle value pack" (thinking it was a "shampoo and conditioner set" pack), so I've got a lot of the stuff to go through.

Here is what the bottle looks like. I suppose purple is generally on 'volumising' kinds of cond/shpoo, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time.

Captain Conditioner, whose love of purple has gotten her boofy hair.

Korean Food: Kimbap

2006-05-09T21:41:00.001+09:00

I had kimbap for lunch (and dinner) today, and when I mentioned it to Em on chat, she told me to blog about it, so here goes.
It's basically a rice roll. It's one of my favourite Korean foods. You can buy one for W1000 (about AUD$1.30), so it's pretty cheap, too (one is plenty for a meal).

Well, here are some pics.

It has rice (obviously), carrot, egg, ham, and two other veggies I have yet to satisfactorily identify; all in all: delicious.

Captain Kimbap. "Hana kimbap, chuseyo."

Huzzah!! More Pages

2006-05-05T14:38:00.002+09:00

I have been accepted to GooglePages! I only have the intro up at the moment, and pages that have been created and linked to, but have yet to have content. Go here. Go there NOW!

Huzzah for me!!

Captain Pages. There is now more about me on the internet!! Another place for me to exert my powers and dominate the world!

Partially Clips #2

2006-05-03T21:05:00.000+09:00

I'm sorry for posting two in a row, but this was too much. Em: I'm sorry to tell you, but you immediately came to mind when I read this.

Brought to you by Captain Crack-up. I've still got to find me some strog mix. Where's a Larrrd 'n' Easy when you need one?

Partially Clips

2006-05-03T12:49:00.000+09:00

Brought to you by Captain Eats, Shoots & Leaves

The Full List of Sidebar Links

2006-05-01T19:00:00.000+09:00

Links

Another one of mine Korea: Life and Times

Lochy's Stuff Silverback's Tales

Take My Quiz!

Poetry:The Mask

Garfield Comic Updated Daily

Satyrrical News

More Linkies~ Web Comics

Savage ChickensUltra funny

Partially Clips Dito

April&MayManga comic

MacHall Another comic

UserFriendly And another one

Rum and Monkey

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
Rum and Monkey.

What kind of pirate am I?
You decide!
You can also view a breakdown of results

Games

Get Santa Drunk My top score: 1190

Hexagone Addictive

Wasabi A pretty easy sudoku, but nice set up

Quizzy Quiz Quiz

Posts With My Quiz Results

Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

Taking Over The World

Procratinating at Lunchtime

Various 'Quizilla' Results

A String Of Them In September

Something That Caught My Eye

2006-04-28T17:38:00.000+09:00

Beeramisu

notes: Use Italian-style ladyfingers called savoiardi, they are harder and don't go to mush when you dunk them in the coffee bath. Look for them at Italian markets.

1 pound mascarpone cheese
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 eggs beaten (hs note: leave these out if you are worried about eating raw eggs; it's still tasty)
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
48 ladyfinger cookies (hs note: I used less, one 7 ounce package)
6 ounces (3/4 cup) Porter beer
1/2 cup brewed coffee, the stronger the better
1/2 cup cocoa

In a large bowl mix together the mascarpone, sugar, beaten eggs and vanilla. Fold in the whipped cream. Set this mixture aside.
In a shallow dish stir together the Porter beer and the brewed coffee, Dip the ladyfingers cookies into the coffee mixture (hs note: if you are using regular non-Italian ladyfingers make it a quick dunk). Don't let the ladyfingers get soggy. Arrange them in a single layer in a glass casserole dish (hs note: 8x8 is prob. fine). Spread 1/2-inch layer of mascarpone mixture on top of the ladyfingers. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cocoa. Repeat this for the second layer. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

Serves 12

Captain Cookery. I haven't tried this recipe, but just the word 'Beeramisu' sounds pretty good.

Stupid People

2006-04-21T18:09:00.000+09:00

Would you (if you are/were a woman) be this clueless?

According to Reuters, a 76-year-old man claiming to be a doctor went door-to-door in a Miami neighborhood offering free breast exams, and was charged with sexually assaulting two women who accepted the offer.
One woman became suspicious after the man asked her to remove all her clothes and began conducting a purported genital exam without donning rubber gloves, investigators said.
The woman then phoned the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the suspect fled. He was arrested at another woman's apartment in the same neighborhood on Wednesday.
The white-haired suspect, Philip Winikoff, carried a black bag and claimed to be visiting on behalf of a local hospital....

'One woman became suspicious...' Became Suspicious!!!! I would have been suspicious of him 10 miles away; if by some incredibly miraculous lack of judgement on my behalf (ie: I fell into a coma or was in a state of temporary labotomy) he actually got to the point at which she 'became suspicious' I would have been screaming "Assault!" and bashing his pathetic-and-weak-excuse-for-existance head in.

And look at him - honestly!!!!

Captain Cluey, wondering how people can be so dumb that people like this Phillip dude can actually pull off a hoax like this. It baffles my mind.

Being a Slack-ass and Chat Procrastinator

2006-04-19T18:50:00.001+09:00

I've finally gotten around to changing my 'location' details.
I do have plans to write a proper post soon.
I do have plans to post pictures soon.
I do have plans to execute these plans.

In the meantime, here is a part of a recent IM conversation with Em. (apologies for any spelling mistakes. It was IM, afterall).

Emma: hola
me: hello!
Emma: eh. not a huge fan of coconut, I wouldn't worry. [sorry - that sentence was from another part of the conversation. I forgot to take it out, and now I've gone back to do a quick proofread, it's so incongruous it's cracking me up; I've got to leave it in]
We're having strog for dinner
me: I LOVE STROG!!!!
I've got to find me some strog mix.
Emma: Mmmm... strog the "Emma way" with four times as much sour cream as is necessary.
me: I'm going to have left over spaghetti.
I need to cook something new.
I have eggs. I wish I had an oven - I could have done quiche
Emma: get one of those little table-top grill/oven combos.
like the one that everyone's nan seems to have. then you can do toasties :D
me: I'm planning to, but it has to wait until I get paid and until I move :(
Emma: fair nuff. they need bake-o-mats, like landromats.
take along your cake, and an hour later you've got baked goods.
me: hehehe
Emma: mmm... bake-o-mat
me: sounds like a franchise idea :)
Emma: lol too right. We could open a chain of bake-o-mats around the country. Huzzah for convenient baked goods!
me: we could go international!!!
Emma: shit yeah. I can see starving college students all over the world wanting cookies... and there we are, Bake-o-mat to the rescue!
"All hail Bake-o-mat, bringer of baked goods!"
WE could have our own cult.
me: we could be mobile - like in the simpsons with the mobile pretzel van
Emma: Hell yeah! That would be so awesome. The vans could play greensleeves :D
me: We could be "the oven van"
yeah! - greensleeves!
Emma: "doo doo, doo doo-de doo doo, doo doo, dah de doo, doo doo de doo doo dee..."
hee hee
me: And our ad could be "do you know the oven van, the oven van, the oven van? Do you know the oven van....something something something" to the tune of the kids' song "the muffin man"
Emma: hell yes. that would be awesome. With dancing muffins.
just to tie it all together.
me: and ovens and other baked goods
Emma: why not just have vans serving baked goods?
me: maybe even a dancing turkey with stuffing coming out of its butt
Emma: bugger the baking service. Baked Deliveries!
"Forgotten it's your child's birthday? Christmas crept up on you? Never fear, the BakeVan is here! Bringing you baked and roasted goods since two twenty-somethings got bored and chatted online!"
me: mmm - catchy
Emma: innit just!
Maybe we should start a campaign for the Oven Van.
me: except, people could just zip out and buy a cake at the cheesecake shop
We need to target people's lack of self-control.
Emma: but if they're at an office party after hours... where are they gonna get the cake from if people forgot it?
Or if it's 3am and the pregnant missus wants roast turkey??
me: It's like Mr Whippy. You may not intend to buy or need an icecream, but if you hear the dingle bells, you go out to the street and get one
we need to be like that. If people order something, theen we still need to make it and deliver it. The cheesecake shop already delivers, doesn't it?
Emma: yeah. Freshly roasted turkey with jacket potatoes, sweet potato, beans, carrots, and succulent stuffing.
dammit I'm hungry. I wish R would get off the phone so we can get strog.
mmm... STROGGGG......
me: mmmm.. who wouldn't buy strog if a van of it came down the street
Emma: hell yeah! bring it on!
me: I think we've got a winning idea, here
Emma: indeed we do. The DinnerVan.
me: we could even do a menu, so the people on our route would know what we were bringing each night
Emma: Like meals on wheels, but for everyone!
me: yeah!
Emma: On a complete change of topic, I'm hoping to get volunteer work at the RSPCA shelter down the road
me: or, like light and easy, except we don't cater to individuals. We've got strog on Wednesday, and if you want it, you can order it, and we'll bring it, and you can buy it
Emma: yeah. And there's nothing light about it. Possibly "the-way-grandma-made-it-with-lots-of-fat-and-lard'n'easy
me: and even if you don't order it, you can still stop us on the street and buy it
mmmmm... lard'n'easy
Emma: ROFL! That's funny as all hell!
That's it - we
me: The Lard'n'Easy Dinner Van
Emma: 're Larn'n'Easy.
choice. and I can't type
me: yarrrr
Emma: pirate dinners - Lard'n'Easy
Larrrrrrrd'n'easy
lol
I crack myself up
me: "Arrrrrrr!! Get ye some Larrrrd'n'Easy!! tonight"

Captain Co-Founder of Larrrrd'n'Easy! Bringer of Pirate Goodness since 'ought five, d'arrrrrr!!!!

I NEED BROADBAND!!!

2006-04-03T12:11:00.000+09:00

I'm going though withdrawals, seriously. I do not have internet in my apartment and I'm going mad. Good thing there are English movies on TV.

At the moment I am on a computer in the school I will be working at - stupid old Windows with IE and no Firefox. I miss my apple iBook.

I don't have time to do much on internet at the moment, and it's very annoying trying to work on this computer with the mouse that keeps sticking (I might take the initiative and clean it. The keyboard is sticky, too. EWWWWWW). So, without my nice laptop, it's pretty hard to check blogs (not to mention write the), so to all my regular readers, I'm very sorry, but you will have to excuse my absence for a while. I'll try to post when I can, but who knows when that will be.

I'm going insane without ready access to internet. I can't blog or surf or write emails whenever I want to and I feel like this is what part of hell must be like.

Captain Wireless Addict. I don't need batteries, I just need broadband.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2006-03-29T15:54:00.000+09:00

4:18pm: I'm back from town and dyeing my hair. I've packed!! I'm 5 kgs overweight, so I hope whoever checks in my baggage is feeling generous and doesn't charge me for it. I discarded some of the clothes that was in my origional "to take" pile. And I've had to leave behind my "maybe take" pile.
But I'm packed!!

5:01: I've washed out the dye, and my hair isn't as dark as I thought it would be. Oh well. I wore the gloves when I put it in, only to get the dye all over my hands and imbedded under my nails when I wiped the stray stuff off my face.

5:27pm: I forgot about the clothes I had on the line. It will have to wait until I get back - I have a function at the Uni.

Captain Packing; I can't plan four hours ahead of time, let alone planning for the next year.

My Neice, The Cutest

2006-03-29T08:26:00.000+09:00

Quotes of Esther, age 18 months:

In church, said to another child in the chreche who was crying: "Well, arn't you are naughty boy".

In church, said to a bloke sitting next to them (a big guy, with tats and obviously not too thrilled to be there and looking like he feels out of place): "G'day mate" (bloke smiles; his day made).

At home, dropped a grape on the floor: "oh darn".

At home, singing along to Colin Buchanan: "baa baa baa".

At home, talking to Auntie Ang: "abggiblle lagaa mmbe ggelmdabldalbldmebdlamnblo iblbbleiiab!! agbblelagge mmgable". (ie: talking so fast you can't understand what she's saying).

Captain Aunt; just say awwwww.

Two Days To Go

2006-03-28T13:52:00.000+09:00

Well, the countdown counter is wrong.

Anyway, with two days to go, I'm cleaning the car (Henry) today in preparation of selling him. Well, mum and dad will do the actual selling, but that's besides the point. I can't believe how dusty he was. You could tell he had been up to the country a few times from all the grass and wheat seeds in the boot (that's the trunk, for you Americans) and the fine dust trapped in the seels around the boot.

Had my computer HD upgraded to 80gig yesterday and it took a bit of mucking around to get it set up again. Thank goodness for dads who are MacAddicts.

Had a nightmare last night that I was arrested at the Korean airport for not having a proper passport. It was better than the other dream I had where I forgot to pack (see below), and a lot shorter than the dream I had the night before about loosing my luggage between here and Japan. (actually, that dream was weirder than the spy one, but I can't remember it in detail. From what I do remember of it, I have the most bizzare imagination).

I need to go into town tomorrow to pick up some of that hand gel stuff that disinfects your hands as it evaporates.

I haven't started to pack yet. Looks like it will be a late night tonight and tomorrow.

I might go lawn bowling with dad again tonight. We'll see.

I took 6 garbage bags of clothes and stuff to the Salvos (salvation army for those of you not from Australia - it's a charity). That's one more thing crossed off the list.

Tomorrow will be my last day to blog before I get internet sorted out in Korea. Let's hope that will happen quickly.

Thanks for reading this far!!

Captain Countdown. It doesn't really feel like I'm leaving in 39 hours