My neighbor just banged on my door and asked me to stop singing. SUCK IT, NEIGHBORS!! I'm channeling my inner Beyonce over here, and you're busting up my groove!!!
Clearly they don't recognize talent when it slaps them in the face. Perhaps if they had seen the awesome dance moves accompanying my singing they would feel differently.
My job continues to infuriate me, most recently by not giving me my diploma back - which is actually illegal. My employers seem to be incredibly gifted at bending and stretching the law, and then suddenly following it just before they're about to get penalized, so I'm sure I'll get it back, it's just a freakin' hassle for something that should be totally hassle free. On my own personal HOW MUCH ARE THE RACIST, SEXIST LIARS I WORK FOR BOTHERING ME TODAY SCALE, this actually falls pretty low, as I can easily buy another one from my university (apparently the 35+ grand I spent on the 1st one didn't include the cost of a copy), it's just one more frustrating battle to get what is rightfully mine. Every month it's something, from them not paying me, to them paying me but taking mysterious fees out of my check, etc., etc. But, at least I don't have this guy's job! And, at least I'm not poor Kevin:
My daydreaming time is being spent shopping for a standup paddle board. When it comes time for me to actually buy one (Jeez, I can't wait to get back to America) I'll probably end up with a decent used one, as these are all in the 2 grand range and I don't have that kind of loot to drop on one right now. I think the middle one is my fave, as natural materials always appeal to me more than synthetic, but it's ridiculously heavy and twice as long as Einstein. The bottom one is the first one I've seen that looks like a big fish (a whale?), so I thought it was cute.
Anyway.
It'd probably be fun to paddle on the Han. Doubt I can find a decent board that big anywhere in Korea, though. And there is that rumor of the Han River Monster...I definitely don't want to be swallowed up by any kind of river monster.
Got tricked into eating vegetables tonight when I came to the sad realization that those dishes really weren’t going to wash themselves. So, it was scrub down some pots and pans and cook up some flesh (Mmmm…flesh) or find something else. In the end, laziness won out and I threw together a salad with some veggies and hard boiled eggs that were taking up space in the fridge.
I told myself I would feel good about using the veggies, instead of allowing them to take their normal route, which is something along the lines of this: Carried home from grocery store --> put away in fridge with all sorts of yummy plans for them --> time passes --> “JES!!! What the F is this nasty shit in our fridge???!!!??? Wait…maybe this soft, bendy green thing is OK to eat – is it some kind of weird Korean vegetable?” “Uh…that was a carrot when I bought it.”
Anyway, you get the picture, it’s something pretty close to that – except Ant doesn’t curse that much. But whenever I do my Ant impersonation (which he looooves), I throw a bunch of swear words in.
Jeez. I’m rambling. So…thought I’d at least feel good about not wasting so much food (I really do hate wasting food) but it turns out I feel just like someone who had to force down a salad when they really wanted a burger.
Waking up early to run, 40 minutes of Bikram after school instead of my usual nap, and a salad for dinner?!? Dear Flying Spaghetti Monster, what the heck has happened to me?!?
Anyway, after a phone call to SF that probably cost me an entire man won, I got a text from my coteacher (coteacher is a totally legitimate word here in Korea) about having some beers. Being good – and broke – I declined, but then I got this gem of a text, “BOB THE HOMEROOM TEACHER IS HERE!!!!” Well, why didn’t you freaking say so?!?
Bob. Bob the homeroom teacher. The funniest man on the face of the planet. I’m not even kidding when I say he’s so cool that having a few beers with him was actually an item on my bucketlist. He even talked me into drinking soju by promising on his wife that I was better looking than any Russian prostitute in Korea. Nice, Bob. If I ever have a 3rd grader, she/he is completely in your hands!!
So, I’m home…a little tipsy but not full on drunk, and I’m off to bed.
But first, a message for my awesome buddy Achilles, who spent an entire evening with me last weekend speaking really, really bad Spanglish. Actually, I don’t even know if it could be considered Spanglish, since we mostly just added an ‘O’ to every single word. Kind of like this:
Me: No mas cerveza or shot-o, because-o mi es drunk-o. Ant-o will be mad-o.
Achilles: Ant-o es in the bathroom-o
Me: Bring-o it on-o!!!
So Achilles-o, here-o you go-o: Gracias por introducing-o mi to Florence-o and the Machine-o. I love-o them mucho mucho. And-o I also love-o you!!
Goodnight, everyone. I think morning is going to come way too quickly for me!
I told myself I would feel good about using the veggies, instead of allowing them to take their normal route, which is something along the lines of this: Carried home from grocery store --> put away in fridge with all sorts of yummy plans for them --> time passes --> “JES!!! What the F is this nasty shit in our fridge???!!!??? Wait…maybe this soft, bendy green thing is OK to eat – is it some kind of weird Korean vegetable?” “Uh…that was a carrot when I bought it.”
Anyway, you get the picture, it’s something pretty close to that – except Ant doesn’t curse that much. But whenever I do my Ant impersonation (which he looooves), I throw a bunch of swear words in.
Jeez. I’m rambling. So…thought I’d at least feel good about not wasting so much food (I really do hate wasting food) but it turns out I feel just like someone who had to force down a salad when they really wanted a burger.
Waking up early to run, 40 minutes of Bikram after school instead of my usual nap, and a salad for dinner?!? Dear Flying Spaghetti Monster, what the heck has happened to me?!?
Anyway, after a phone call to SF that probably cost me an entire man won, I got a text from my coteacher (coteacher is a totally legitimate word here in Korea) about having some beers. Being good – and broke – I declined, but then I got this gem of a text, “BOB THE HOMEROOM TEACHER IS HERE!!!!” Well, why didn’t you freaking say so?!?
Bob. Bob the homeroom teacher. The funniest man on the face of the planet. I’m not even kidding when I say he’s so cool that having a few beers with him was actually an item on my bucketlist. He even talked me into drinking soju by promising on his wife that I was better looking than any Russian prostitute in Korea. Nice, Bob. If I ever have a 3rd grader, she/he is completely in your hands!!
So, I’m home…a little tipsy but not full on drunk, and I’m off to bed.
But first, a message for my awesome buddy Achilles, who spent an entire evening with me last weekend speaking really, really bad Spanglish. Actually, I don’t even know if it could be considered Spanglish, since we mostly just added an ‘O’ to every single word. Kind of like this:
Me: No mas cerveza or shot-o, because-o mi es drunk-o. Ant-o will be mad-o.
Achilles: Ant-o es in the bathroom-o
Me: Bring-o it on-o!!!
So Achilles-o, here-o you go-o: Gracias por introducing-o mi to Florence-o and the Machine-o. I love-o them mucho mucho. And-o I also love-o you!!
Goodnight, everyone. I think morning is going to come way too quickly for me!
I normally wake up around 5 and try to haul my ass out of bed before 5:30, so when I say I got up retardedly early for my run today, it ain't no joke.
Map My Run says I logged a good 6.8 miles. I just know I ran until I didn't feel so fucking nuts anymore, then went home. Apparently, I've been hauling around 6.8 miles worth of crap bouncing around in my brain, mostly centering on not wanting to be where I am vs. trying to suck it up and just *be* where I am.
It was a gorgeous morning, and running so early meant there was actually some breathing room in the normally crowded streets of Seoul. I took advantage of the extra room and let not one, not two, but...SEVEN (!!!) snot rockets fly!
Map My Run says I logged a good 6.8 miles. I just know I ran until I didn't feel so fucking nuts anymore, then went home. Apparently, I've been hauling around 6.8 miles worth of crap bouncing around in my brain, mostly centering on not wanting to be where I am vs. trying to suck it up and just *be* where I am.
It was a gorgeous morning, and running so early meant there was actually some breathing room in the normally crowded streets of Seoul. I took advantage of the extra room and let not one, not two, but...SEVEN (!!!) snot rockets fly!
Me: GOODNIGHT WORLD!!
World: SWEET DREAMS, JES!!!
Ant's in SF for a bit visiting friends, family, and the Pacific. And the grocery store, with a long list of yummy food items to bring back for me (hello, Wasabi Wow trail mix and cinnamon frosted pop tarts!!!). His absence isn't so bad during the day, but nobody saying goodnight to me before I drift off makes me a little sad.
But, drift off is what I'm about to do. Most of you are just getting your Sunday started, and mine's over. I'll never get used to it.
World: SWEET DREAMS, JES!!!
Ant's in SF for a bit visiting friends, family, and the Pacific. And the grocery store, with a long list of yummy food items to bring back for me (hello, Wasabi Wow trail mix and cinnamon frosted pop tarts!!!). His absence isn't so bad during the day, but nobody saying goodnight to me before I drift off makes me a little sad.
But, drift off is what I'm about to do. Most of you are just getting your Sunday started, and mine's over. I'll never get used to it.
Ant took me to Everland, which is Korea's rip-off of Disney World, for my birthday. Only it was a week after my birthday, cause I actually felt like crap on the day of my birth. Anywho. We had a great time. I like amusement parks - I like the rides and the food and the energy and Everland is a great one! A two-headed turtle, a big, scary roller coaster, and brand spankin' new running sneakers. It's gonna be hard to top this one! Thanks, Ant!
So I just got finished with a project writing a few articles (occasionally people actually pay me to write shit for them, but it's usually topics I don't care too much about) on...wait for it...herpes. More specifically, on different treatments for herpes simplex virus type 1, which is the one that causes cold sores, not the "other" sores.
While researching, I read a bunch of crap that was designed to be a Q&A session, where people post questions about possible exposure or outbreaks, and the doctor answers them. I bet there's no way in hell they were answered by a real doctor, but that's not the point...
About 75% of the questions (which were primarily written by women, but again I think they're made up) started with statements like, "I had brief oral sex with a man for about a minute..." and "The oral sex was unprotected and lasted about 2 minutes total..." ONE MINUTE??? TWO MINUTES, TOTAL??? What the heck, people? Why bother? Who has oral sex for only one minute?!? [ed. note: except me, mom and dad. i'm not married so i don't do such nasty, filthy things, not even for only 1 minute. in fact, i had to look up what the term 'oral sex' meant.].
Jeez. No wonder I see so many unhappy people walking down the street. ;-)
While researching, I read a bunch of crap that was designed to be a Q&A session, where people post questions about possible exposure or outbreaks, and the doctor answers them. I bet there's no way in hell they were answered by a real doctor, but that's not the point...
About 75% of the questions (which were primarily written by women, but again I think they're made up) started with statements like, "I had brief oral sex with a man for about a minute..." and "The oral sex was unprotected and lasted about 2 minutes total..." ONE MINUTE??? TWO MINUTES, TOTAL??? What the heck, people? Why bother? Who has oral sex for only one minute?!? [ed. note: except me, mom and dad. i'm not married so i don't do such nasty, filthy things, not even for only 1 minute. in fact, i had to look up what the term 'oral sex' meant.].
Jeez. No wonder I see so many unhappy people walking down the street. ;-)
Only one of those pictures is an actual giraffe, but I'm not telling which one.
And now...STRICTLY FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE...Ladies and Germs, I present to you (drumroll, please)...
Ant thought they must argue all the time over every little decision that had to be made, but I just figured they solved any disputes in the typical Korean fashion: rock, scissors, paper.
A TWO-HEADED TURTLE!!!!!!!!!!!
Ant thought they must argue all the time over every little decision that had to be made, but I just figured they solved any disputes in the typical Korean fashion: rock, scissors, paper.This little dude lives at the COEX aquarium, which we went to as part of my birthday celebration. Ant went terribly far out of his way to make my birthday special, and I think he's totally awesome for it. Not only did we visit the two-headed turtle, but we got to hang upside down on some cool rides at Everland, too. Pics of that may or may not be coming, depending on my motivation level.
The trip to the aquarium was the second one we went to together, the first being Monterrey. I think I liked that one better, but only because Betty White approves of it, and they let you get your picture taken hatching out of an egg.
“Nature does not hurry,
Yet everything
Is accomplished.”
-Lao Tzu
Yet everything
Is accomplished.”
-Lao Tzu
I have always loved this quote, and lately more than ever before I find that it really applies to my running. Certainly, nobody who has seen me on any of my recent runs around town would think I was in a hurry to get anywhere. I am slow. Very steady, but slow. I know there are points during every single run I have where I could push myself harder, make my legs churn faster, my arms pump quicker, make it up that hill before the dude with the walker, but I don’t. I guess at this time of my life I prefer a steady, balanced pace as opposed to constant stops and starts, even if it does mean that it will no doubt take me longer to get to where I need to be.
I’m OK with that. I’m OK with being slow because I have realized that at the end of each and every run I go on, what needed to be accomplished has been accomplished. Even things I didn’t set out to do, or didn’t even know had to be done. At the end of every run, I find that the stresses I was not able to withdraw from have instead withdrawn from me. I find that I am physically stronger, and my senses are sharper. I am able to really listen, instead of just hear. Instead of wanting to close my eyes and make it all go away, I see nothing but beauty in this concrete jungle that at times seems more like an imprisonment than a living situation I chose to put myself in. And my voice is, without doubt, louder, clearer (though still lispy), and – foul language and all – totally my own. The other voice that takes all too much joy in reminding me of my insecurities, faults, illness, and past mistakes is silent, finally recognizing that there is a force within me that it just cannot stand up to.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I sometimes wish I were naturally faster – so much so that more than once I have worked out elaborate training plans designed to increase my speed, and I could probably quote from memory every workout described in almost every “RUN YOUR FASTEST 5K/10K/HALF/FULL MARATHON EVER!!” article. But then I hear someone mention the date and comment on how it will soon be getting cold, and I realize that I know this not because of the date on the calendar, but because of the two golden leaves that appeared overnight on the tree I run by every day. I know exactly how much progress they are making on the bike path they’re installing near our apartment - not because I saw the newspaper article or cruised by in a taxi, but because I run past there so often that the workers have actually waited for me during rainy weather to tell me that even though it wasn’t open yet, I could run on the finished part of the track in order to avoid the muddy conditions of the area surrounding it. I know, during those rare moments when the sky is visible through all the pollution, exactly where to look to see the first star of the evening, because at my speed you certainly don’t make it home before dark. If I were too focused on shaving seconds off my time, speeding ahead as fast as I could go, running would still have offered me these gifts, but I would not have noticed them.
Running in the slow lane will never get me Nike sponsorships and trophies or the ability to run alongside Kara Goucher and tell her personally how fucking cool I think she is (even if I did meet her, I could never keep up), but it has given me the gift of getting to know - and really like - myself again, and of learning to accept progress one slow step at a time.
Patrick Swayze AND Mary Travers?!? Sheesh. The stars of my childhood are dropping like flies!
I must be getting old.
Oh, that's right...I am. Just turned 33 on Monday. Thanks to all for the b-day wishes. Best part of my b-day was, no doubt, going to visit the two-headed turtle.
It's a good life, and I'm thankful to be where I am and grateful for all the awesome people and things I have.
I must be getting old.
Oh, that's right...I am. Just turned 33 on Monday. Thanks to all for the b-day wishes. Best part of my b-day was, no doubt, going to visit the two-headed turtle.
It's a good life, and I'm thankful to be where I am and grateful for all the awesome people and things I have.
I'm injured.
Crap Crap Crap. Double Crap. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!
It started on vaca (have I mentioned that I spent 2 1/2 weeks in paradise while you guys were working?) when I was running on what they called a "road," and I tripped. Of course I tripped. I'm the biggest klutz in the world. Anyway, in an all-out effort to keep from face planting on a pile of rocks, I did whatever it is you do in a situation like that and somehow really fucked up my shoulder. Wasn't too worried - it was nothing that a butt-load of ibuprofen couldn't take care of. I figured I pulled something and in a few days it would be just fine.
But it's not fine. It's been bothering me quite a bit, though not enough to keep me from running. Just enough to keep me from ENJOYING my runs.
And then, this morning, on my run through the park, I got totally flattened by a mean 8 year old on a bike. She came off the pedestrian ramp like her life depended on it, probably didn't bother to look before she crossed the 2 bike lanes, and totally slammed into me. From behind, so I didn't see it coming, didn't brace myself, didn't have a second to try and get out of the way. I fell, hard, and she half rode over me and half fell on...my shoulder. My left arm has been rendered useless, my knees are scraped, and I have a bump/bruise on my forehead. And the poor little girl just cried and cried and cried - especially when she saw I was a round-eye. Poor thing!
Anyway, whatever I had already done to my shoulder was totally aggravated. Tomorrow's a scheduled rest day anyway, so hopefully by Saturday it'll be OK. You don't go through the health problems I've gone through without being forced to learn a thing or two about how to suck it up and handle physical pain, but holy cow it hurts right now!
Nothing else to report - except a random Korean dude in the coffee shop I'm holed up in just gave me an ice cold can of Cherry Coke. How sweet is that?!? For those of you back home, Cherry Coke is not an easy item to locate over here.
Just when I think the Universe hates me (fair enough - it did run me over on a bike this morning) it redeems itself by tossing a can of yummy Cherry Coke in my lap! Now if only it would deliver a pizza or a sandwich or something - I'm freaking starving!!!
Crap Crap Crap. Double Crap. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!
It started on vaca (have I mentioned that I spent 2 1/2 weeks in paradise while you guys were working?) when I was running on what they called a "road," and I tripped. Of course I tripped. I'm the biggest klutz in the world. Anyway, in an all-out effort to keep from face planting on a pile of rocks, I did whatever it is you do in a situation like that and somehow really fucked up my shoulder. Wasn't too worried - it was nothing that a butt-load of ibuprofen couldn't take care of. I figured I pulled something and in a few days it would be just fine.
But it's not fine. It's been bothering me quite a bit, though not enough to keep me from running. Just enough to keep me from ENJOYING my runs.
And then, this morning, on my run through the park, I got totally flattened by a mean 8 year old on a bike. She came off the pedestrian ramp like her life depended on it, probably didn't bother to look before she crossed the 2 bike lanes, and totally slammed into me. From behind, so I didn't see it coming, didn't brace myself, didn't have a second to try and get out of the way. I fell, hard, and she half rode over me and half fell on...my shoulder. My left arm has been rendered useless, my knees are scraped, and I have a bump/bruise on my forehead. And the poor little girl just cried and cried and cried - especially when she saw I was a round-eye. Poor thing!
Anyway, whatever I had already done to my shoulder was totally aggravated. Tomorrow's a scheduled rest day anyway, so hopefully by Saturday it'll be OK. You don't go through the health problems I've gone through without being forced to learn a thing or two about how to suck it up and handle physical pain, but holy cow it hurts right now!
Nothing else to report - except a random Korean dude in the coffee shop I'm holed up in just gave me an ice cold can of Cherry Coke. How sweet is that?!? For those of you back home, Cherry Coke is not an easy item to locate over here.
Just when I think the Universe hates me (fair enough - it did run me over on a bike this morning) it redeems itself by tossing a can of yummy Cherry Coke in my lap! Now if only it would deliver a pizza or a sandwich or something - I'm freaking starving!!!
Well, after a ridiculously small amount of deliberation and a ridiculously long phone call with Orbitz, Ant decided to stay in the Philippines. Cause, dude, there's some sweet swell coming in, bro. He extended his stay for 11 more days, which, believe it or not, is the longest we've been apart since the moment we laid eyes on each other (clearly the best day of his life). Can you guys believe it took him that long to take a break from me?!? :-) Shit, even I don't go that long without taking a break from me!
Not surprisingly, I miss having the ol' ball and chain around, especially when it's time to refill my coffee mug or beer glass. It's been pretty boring and quiet without him at home. I was getting a bit mopey being all by myself, until finally I decided that maybe this break was a good thing for us, and maybe I should take this time and really figure some stuff out.
So, I've decided to see other people.
And while I was a bit unsure and nervous at first, it's actually gone pretty well.
Last night, for example, I had a few beers with Daniel Craig (you know, the famous British Secret Service guy, 007?), before moving on to dinner with that guy from the Transporter movies. Who cares what his name is - have you seen him?!? Hotness like that does not require a name. By the time dinner was finished I was pretty beat and thought I'd just head to sleep, but then I decided to check in on an old high school flame, Zac Efron. I headed to sleep as soon as Zac finished serenading me about how he won the big state basketball game - I mean, 3 in one night is plenty...any more than that and people are gonna start to talk.
Sadly, none of them put out. But, anything before the third date and I'd think they were too easy, anyway. :-)
Oh, and I've also invented a new cuisine. Mexican/Korean fusion. I'm still deciding on the name - either Korexican or Mexorean. What do you guys think? All dishes are served with tortillas and sides of guac, sour cream, and kimchi. :-)
Not surprisingly, I miss having the ol' ball and chain around, especially when it's time to refill my coffee mug or beer glass. It's been pretty boring and quiet without him at home. I was getting a bit mopey being all by myself, until finally I decided that maybe this break was a good thing for us, and maybe I should take this time and really figure some stuff out.
So, I've decided to see other people.
And while I was a bit unsure and nervous at first, it's actually gone pretty well.
Last night, for example, I had a few beers with Daniel Craig (you know, the famous British Secret Service guy, 007?), before moving on to dinner with that guy from the Transporter movies. Who cares what his name is - have you seen him?!? Hotness like that does not require a name. By the time dinner was finished I was pretty beat and thought I'd just head to sleep, but then I decided to check in on an old high school flame, Zac Efron. I headed to sleep as soon as Zac finished serenading me about how he won the big state basketball game - I mean, 3 in one night is plenty...any more than that and people are gonna start to talk.
Sadly, none of them put out. But, anything before the third date and I'd think they were too easy, anyway. :-)
Oh, and I've also invented a new cuisine. Mexican/Korean fusion. I'm still deciding on the name - either Korexican or Mexorean. What do you guys think? All dishes are served with tortillas and sides of guac, sour cream, and kimchi. :-)
Over 24 hours of travel, 3 checks for swine flu, and one interview from customs and I'm back in Seoul. It's been a whirlwind of crappy food, going away parties, beer and vodka, and the coolest sunglasses ever since I got off the airport bus yesterday morning. Updates on EVERYTHING soon.
I've got one thing on my agenda tomorrow: Run far, and (hopefully) somewhat fast. Now, I'm off to bed. G'night.
I've got one thing on my agenda tomorrow: Run far, and (hopefully) somewhat fast. Now, I'm off to bed. G'night.
The other day we rented some kayaks and paddled around to some of the neighboring islands. When we got to one we met a couple schoolgirls, and it took them about 0.003 seconds to fall madly in love with Ant. Totally understandable, in my opinion. :-) They followed him everywhere he went, giggling hysterically the whole time, and slowly working up the nerve to inch their way closer to him. Occasionally, one of them would shove one of the other girls in his general direction, and she would scream and run back to the protection of her girlfriends. It was quite funny and endearing, especially when they started offering commentary to each other, "Look! He's drinking the water!" "Now he is sitting down!" I could have stayed and enjoyed the entertainment all afternoon, but soon it was time to leave and make the journey back to Cloud 9. As we were getting ready to shove off, they finally worked up the nerve to ask him his name, and he snapped a pic (well, he says pic, I say total crotch shot - you guys be the judge) of them.
Other than that, it's been a whole lotta nothing, day in and day out. There's 2 decent surf sessions a day, and in between those we sit around, read, play cards, go for a swim, and just pretty much pass the time by doing whatever. It's been awesome. I've been running, which has turned out to be a great way to meet the locals. Some of the kids come out and run with me for a few minutes when I pass their house - they think it's hysterical - and most of the adults cheer me by name. Even some of the other tourists are like, "Dude, you're the girl we saw running down the street. You're nuts!"One more week until I head back to Seoul, where brutal reality and air pollution will no doubt slap me in the face. At least I have Shells' visit to look forward to!
I interrupt these posts about our trip to Songnisan to say that even during vacation, my job makes me hate it more by sending me stupid emails with thinly veiled threats and poor grammar and words that they think are English but don't actually exist.
They made things so miserable for Ant that he quit. They had pretty much left me alone up until the last month or so, leaving me to wonder why they were so awful to everyone else while I was having it pretty easy - now it looks like they've run out of people to bother and have set their sights on me. It's gonna take nothing short of a miracle to get me through the last 6 months of my contract.
They made things so miserable for Ant that he quit. They had pretty much left me alone up until the last month or so, leaving me to wonder why they were so awful to everyone else while I was having it pretty easy - now it looks like they've run out of people to bother and have set their sights on me. It's gonna take nothing short of a miracle to get me through the last 6 months of my contract.
Just got back from a 3 day trip to Songnisan National Park. It was an awesome trip, and if you're in Korea and you enjoy hiking you should really make it a priority to get there. If you're in Seoul you can take a direct bus from Nambu bus terminal, but the schedule is a bit inconvenient so we took a bus from EBT to Cheongu, then a different bus from Cheongu to the park entrance. Took a little over 3 hours, cost about 12,500 won each way. We left a little later than we had planned, so Saturday was pretty much a bust in terms of hiking. We tried, but there were a ton of park employees at the gate telling us it was closed. Instead, we walked around the town, found a place to sleep, dumped our bags, and went back out to explore the town a bit. Had some Dong Dong Ju and seafood pajean for a snack, then walked around some more until stopping for dinner. A few pics of the town, as well as the truck that was driving around selling all sorts of goodies, including dog meat: 
We found a cute, cheap minbak to stay in. No beds, so we slept on padded mats (called yohs, and quite common in Korea) that the minbak provided. The place seemed to be run by one lady, and she was super friendly and the whole place was spotless.
We found a cute, cheap minbak to stay in. No beds, so we slept on padded mats (called yohs, and quite common in Korea) that the minbak provided. The place seemed to be run by one lady, and she was super friendly and the whole place was spotless. 
After dinner we wandered a bit more, then headed back to the minbak to see if there was anything in English on the TV. We found The Bourne Ultimatum. Total score!!!
So, Thursday night I got back from what might be the best run I've ever had. I was having so much fun at the park that I went 3.5 miles farther than I had planned, which made it longer than my long run of the week. When I got home, I saw that not only was I red-faced and dripping with sweat, but I had little dead bugs clinging to my neck and face. So, of course I took a picture for you guys. Only, as I moved my head towards the camera I got sweat in my eye. OUCH! So, instead of dead bugs, you get my, "OMG! THERE'S SWEAT IN MY EYE!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!" face.
We're off to the mountains now. Catch you in a few days - be good!
We're off to the mountains now. Catch you in a few days - be good!
Know one of the many things I love about Korea?
The fact that they've never given up on the hula hoop. The other night Ant and I were at our favorite watering hole downing a few cold ones, and he was like, "Hey, look! There's hula hooping going on over there!" And sure enough, right in the middle of the street at 9:30 at night some ajumma was just giving that hula hoop all she had! It was awesome. Even my gym has a bunch of hula hoops, and the ladies all just get in a circle and hula hoop forever while catching up on the latest gossip.
In other news, it's our last day of work! Tomorrow we head south to Songnisan National Park, and Tuesday we head to the islands!!!
Woo Muthafuckin' Hoo!!!!
The fact that they've never given up on the hula hoop. The other night Ant and I were at our favorite watering hole downing a few cold ones, and he was like, "Hey, look! There's hula hooping going on over there!" And sure enough, right in the middle of the street at 9:30 at night some ajumma was just giving that hula hoop all she had! It was awesome. Even my gym has a bunch of hula hoops, and the ladies all just get in a circle and hula hoop forever while catching up on the latest gossip.
In other news, it's our last day of work! Tomorrow we head south to Songnisan National Park, and Tuesday we head to the islands!!!
Woo Muthafuckin' Hoo!!!!
I know I promised you guys some pictures of monkeys and haven't delivered yet - I've been a bit busy. I'm very busy and important over here, you know.
Ran last night, and it really sucked. My body just wasn't in the groove it needed to be to complete the miles, and even with Rockzilla I was bored. Boredom is my kryptonite. It just kills me! But, I finished the planned run anyway and then headed to the gym to do a bit of weights. I was feeling a bit down by the small amount of weight I was lifting. I kept thinking, "I know I'm stronger than this!! Why am I so freaking weak today? I don't even feel tired! OMG, what if I'm sick again? I was soooo weak when I was diagnosed..." And then I remembered that the weights are in kgs instead of lbs. Haha. Makes a bit of a difference. Geez, I'm a moron. But, I'm a fairly strong moron, so at least I've got something going for me!!
So...here's what I'm thinking about my bike situation (I promise I'll shut up about it soon), and please feel free to weigh in. I was gonna just go and buy a bike similar to Tara - relatively cheap, cruiser style - because when we leave here in a few months I'll just have to basically find someone to give it to or ditch it somewhere. Which means I will have to get yet another bike when we move to wherever we move to next (What's that? There are apartments for rent in Manitou Springs, CO? Hmmm...did you hear that, Ant?!?). That will be the 5th bike I've paid for in 3 years (although one was a gift so that doesn't really count).
I was planning a surprise trip to Hong Kong for Ant and I for our upcoming anniversary, then he surprised me by saying he was going back home during that time (and didn't surprise me at all by saying that he didn't even know we had an anniversary - stupid boys), so I have some extra money that in my mind and budget was already spent. I was gonna use the cash to just take myself somewhere (why, hello, Saipan, you're looking lovely this time of year!) but now I'm thinking that maybe I should use that money plus a little extra and just buy a decent bike. I'll have the added expense of shipping it to wherever we go to next, but it might still work out better in the long run.
And if we end up going to a place where I can't use it right away (hello, beaches of Indonesia!) I can just ship it to PA, because what are parents for if not to store their adult children's stuff? Kidding, mom (sort of) (not really).
In other news - 2 more days of work and then a month of vaca! Off to the mountains for 3 days (Songnisan National Park), and then over to Surgao (I totally spelled that wrong - sorry, JoyRun!) for a few weeks of sun, sand, and surf! Man, I love my life!
Alright, enough of my incessant rambling. How are you guys?
Ran last night, and it really sucked. My body just wasn't in the groove it needed to be to complete the miles, and even with Rockzilla I was bored. Boredom is my kryptonite. It just kills me! But, I finished the planned run anyway and then headed to the gym to do a bit of weights. I was feeling a bit down by the small amount of weight I was lifting. I kept thinking, "I know I'm stronger than this!! Why am I so freaking weak today? I don't even feel tired! OMG, what if I'm sick again? I was soooo weak when I was diagnosed..." And then I remembered that the weights are in kgs instead of lbs. Haha. Makes a bit of a difference. Geez, I'm a moron. But, I'm a fairly strong moron, so at least I've got something going for me!!
So...here's what I'm thinking about my bike situation (I promise I'll shut up about it soon), and please feel free to weigh in. I was gonna just go and buy a bike similar to Tara - relatively cheap, cruiser style - because when we leave here in a few months I'll just have to basically find someone to give it to or ditch it somewhere. Which means I will have to get yet another bike when we move to wherever we move to next (What's that? There are apartments for rent in Manitou Springs, CO? Hmmm...did you hear that, Ant?!?). That will be the 5th bike I've paid for in 3 years (although one was a gift so that doesn't really count).
I was planning a surprise trip to Hong Kong for Ant and I for our upcoming anniversary, then he surprised me by saying he was going back home during that time (and didn't surprise me at all by saying that he didn't even know we had an anniversary - stupid boys), so I have some extra money that in my mind and budget was already spent. I was gonna use the cash to just take myself somewhere (why, hello, Saipan, you're looking lovely this time of year!) but now I'm thinking that maybe I should use that money plus a little extra and just buy a decent bike. I'll have the added expense of shipping it to wherever we go to next, but it might still work out better in the long run.
And if we end up going to a place where I can't use it right away (hello, beaches of Indonesia!) I can just ship it to PA, because what are parents for if not to store their adult children's stuff? Kidding, mom (sort of) (not really).
In other news - 2 more days of work and then a month of vaca! Off to the mountains for 3 days (Songnisan National Park), and then over to Surgao (I totally spelled that wrong - sorry, JoyRun!) for a few weeks of sun, sand, and surf! Man, I love my life!
Alright, enough of my incessant rambling. How are you guys?
I gave my scheduled run tonight the ol' one finger salute and instead headed to a section of the city I'd never seen before for some beer with a coworker. HEY! Don't freaking judge me! It may not have been the best decision for my plan to be the Universe's most awesomest jogger who occasionally picks up the pace enough to be considered a slow runner, but it was good for my mental health. A few beers, some greasy, fattening food, a shared crossword and much, much name calling and I no longer want to rip out all of my boss' hair strand by strand. That's gotta count for something.
Know what else counts for something? We had a field trip today, and except for the part where my 6th grade boys practiced their extortion skills on my 4th grade boys, it went as smooth as could be expected. I'd even go so far as to say that everyone involved had a good time - except maybe the polar bear, who ate the Capri Sun juice container a student "accidentally" dropped in its' cage. I was fairly angry about it, but my Korean teaching partner thought it was kind of cute, because it was an accident. An accident? He would have had to practically stand on another kid's shoulders to reach over the glass divider to "accidentally" drop it in the cage. Sigh. This was the same boy I had already had a discussion with about how zoo animals don't eat people food, because I busted him throwing potato chips and cookies to the elephant. "I know, Teacher. Accident, Teacher. I won't do again, Teacher. Sorry, Teacher." And 10 minutes later, he feeds a plastic container to an endangered animal and gets a big hug for it. But hey, far be it for me to bring a little social awareness to their young lives. I'm just here for the kimchi.
ANYWAYS - the rest of the field trip was great. Each kid had been assigned an animal they had to research for homework, and when we got to that animal they had to present their material to the rest of us. This was my favorite:
Student: My animal is the lion. They live in Havanna.
Me: They live in Cuba? There are lions in Cuba?
Student: Teacher? Lions don't live in box. Even I know.
Me: Not cube, CubA. It's a country.
Student: Oh. Yes, Teacher. They live in Havanna.
Me: Are you sure you don't mean the Savanna????
Student: Teacher, I don't know. My mom did homework. I just read to you.
I'll post pics later - I got some good ones of the monkeys doing dirty deeds to each other, so make sure you stop back cause you definitely won't want to miss out on them. Right now, my book (The Inheritance of Loss) is calling me, so I need to go get a few chapters in before the ol' ball and chain gets home from work. :-)
Know what else counts for something? We had a field trip today, and except for the part where my 6th grade boys practiced their extortion skills on my 4th grade boys, it went as smooth as could be expected. I'd even go so far as to say that everyone involved had a good time - except maybe the polar bear, who ate the Capri Sun juice container a student "accidentally" dropped in its' cage. I was fairly angry about it, but my Korean teaching partner thought it was kind of cute, because it was an accident. An accident? He would have had to practically stand on another kid's shoulders to reach over the glass divider to "accidentally" drop it in the cage. Sigh. This was the same boy I had already had a discussion with about how zoo animals don't eat people food, because I busted him throwing potato chips and cookies to the elephant. "I know, Teacher. Accident, Teacher. I won't do again, Teacher. Sorry, Teacher." And 10 minutes later, he feeds a plastic container to an endangered animal and gets a big hug for it. But hey, far be it for me to bring a little social awareness to their young lives. I'm just here for the kimchi.
ANYWAYS - the rest of the field trip was great. Each kid had been assigned an animal they had to research for homework, and when we got to that animal they had to present their material to the rest of us. This was my favorite:
Student: My animal is the lion. They live in Havanna.
Me: They live in Cuba? There are lions in Cuba?
Student: Teacher? Lions don't live in box. Even I know.
Me: Not cube, CubA. It's a country.
Student: Oh. Yes, Teacher. They live in Havanna.
Me: Are you sure you don't mean the Savanna????
Student: Teacher, I don't know. My mom did homework. I just read to you.
I'll post pics later - I got some good ones of the monkeys doing dirty deeds to each other, so make sure you stop back cause you definitely won't want to miss out on them. Right now, my book (The Inheritance of Loss) is calling me, so I need to go get a few chapters in before the ol' ball and chain gets home from work. :-)
Since some douchebag decided he could take anything he wanted even if it very clearly belonged to someone else I no longer have a bike. Poor Tara. She must be so scared. I hope they spray painted her a decent color, at least.
It totally pisses me off that there were, no kidding, 8 (!!!!) UNLOCKED bikes lying next to Tara, who WAS locked, and they didn't touch even one of those. It's not that I wish someone else's bike had been stolen, it's just that I really, really wish mine hadn't been. Ant (who can remain upbeat about it because he still has a bike) says it's because my bike was the best one there, and he's right - IT WAS THE BEST BIKE EVER!!!! It had fenders, and a huge basket, and it looked skinny and light but actually weighed a freakin' ton - just like me!!! It's because I'm made of Quantonium, like the ultra strong chick in that movie, Monsters vs. Aliens. Seriously.
I had sort of decided without really thinking about it that I wouldn't be able to get another bike while here in Korea. I really can't afford it, and since we're transients here I'd only be able to ride it for a few more months before it would be too cold and icy, and we'll be gone before it warms up again. But just one day of hoofing it and having to take taxis to places that Tara usually took me has me thinking differently. It still seems like a waste of money, but I don't care. I'll probably make it back in saved subway, bus, and taxi fare anyway.
GRRR!!!!
In other news, long run Sunday (long for me, anyway) and it sucked but I powered through. Last night I did 34 minutes (the plan I'm following called for a 30 minute run) while Ant skateboarded along. Well, actually, he skateboarded ahead, then waited for me to catch up, then skateboarded ahead...you get the idea. I'm still enjoying it, but man oh man am I slow. How do you speedy speedsters do it?!?
It totally pisses me off that there were, no kidding, 8 (!!!!) UNLOCKED bikes lying next to Tara, who WAS locked, and they didn't touch even one of those. It's not that I wish someone else's bike had been stolen, it's just that I really, really wish mine hadn't been. Ant (who can remain upbeat about it because he still has a bike) says it's because my bike was the best one there, and he's right - IT WAS THE BEST BIKE EVER!!!! It had fenders, and a huge basket, and it looked skinny and light but actually weighed a freakin' ton - just like me!!! It's because I'm made of Quantonium, like the ultra strong chick in that movie, Monsters vs. Aliens. Seriously.
I had sort of decided without really thinking about it that I wouldn't be able to get another bike while here in Korea. I really can't afford it, and since we're transients here I'd only be able to ride it for a few more months before it would be too cold and icy, and we'll be gone before it warms up again. But just one day of hoofing it and having to take taxis to places that Tara usually took me has me thinking differently. It still seems like a waste of money, but I don't care. I'll probably make it back in saved subway, bus, and taxi fare anyway.
GRRR!!!!
In other news, long run Sunday (long for me, anyway) and it sucked but I powered through. Last night I did 34 minutes (the plan I'm following called for a 30 minute run) while Ant skateboarded along. Well, actually, he skateboarded ahead, then waited for me to catch up, then skateboarded ahead...you get the idea. I'm still enjoying it, but man oh man am I slow. How do you speedy speedsters do it?!?
Our coffee maker makes this strange sighing sound every ten minutes or so - the type of sound you make when you exhale all your troubles away.
I find it super comforting.
I'm turning into quite the morning person in my old age. That's something I never would have thought I'd become!!! But, here I am, waking up before the sun every morning even though I don't have to, and I'm really enjoying it. I meditate, I put on some music and dance, I read or sometimes get my run on. Sometimes I don't do anything but watch our nosy neighbor watching me.
I find it super comforting.
I'm turning into quite the morning person in my old age. That's something I never would have thought I'd become!!! But, here I am, waking up before the sun every morning even though I don't have to, and I'm really enjoying it. I meditate, I put on some music and dance, I read or sometimes get my run on. Sometimes I don't do anything but watch our nosy neighbor watching me.
I spent most of my morning meditation trying to keep pesky, invasive thoughts about how annoyed I am with some of my coworkers and bosses from creeping into my head and wrecking my peaceful morning vibe. Without going into too much detail, work has not been a positive atmosphere for me lately. In fact, it's totally sucked and the energy has been absolute shite. For my part, I've been avoiding said coworkers when I can and have been a little short with them when I've had to deal with them, so I'm sure I'm not really helping the atmosphere much. I honestly feel like if today wasn't Friday, I'd just quit and drag Ant on the first plane to this place:
Because I know some of my coworkers read this (though probably not the ones who need the message the most) I'd like to point out that the fact that someone doesn't speak a language as well as you does not mean that you are automatically smarter than they are. Using language that you know the other person doesn't understand to make yourself look smarter doesn't actually make you look at all intelligent. If everything in our school were conducted in Korean, which is the language that all but a handful of employees speak, we would all (with the exception of Patrick) end up looking so retarded that in comparison the Special Olympics would look like a Mensa convention.
Because I know some of my coworkers read this (though probably not the ones who need the message the most) I'd like to point out that the fact that someone doesn't speak a language as well as you does not mean that you are automatically smarter than they are. Using language that you know the other person doesn't understand to make yourself look smarter doesn't actually make you look at all intelligent. If everything in our school were conducted in Korean, which is the language that all but a handful of employees speak, we would all (with the exception of Patrick) end up looking so retarded that in comparison the Special Olympics would look like a Mensa convention. We are compensated fairly well for doing what amounts to very little work. Why is it so hard to show up on time, sober, and do what little is expected of you? Yes, the administration at our school are racist pricks, but them getting mad because you're an hour late and drunk and falling asleep in class doesn't mean Korea sucks. There's nowhere in the world where that behavior would be tolerated.
OK. I'm letting it go now. I promise.
I'm not psychic, but I definitely see some beer in my future.
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