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| Cheong Gye Mountain |
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Cheong Gye Mountain
Topia organized a hike yesterday. It's a pretty popular thing to do, have your boss organize some outing and then them force you to do it regardless of what you already had planned or whatever. I wanted to go, so it didn't matter, and I don't think Topia did that yesterday, but Joy and Grace's mom both work at the same hospital, and their boss made them hike the same mountain as we did yesterday, what a coincidence. Anyway, I got some pictures, nothing very exciting because they mountain isn't very large, and the colors aren't fully colored yet. And, the few shots that would've turned out colorful I had to take facing the sun, so the shot is washed out anyway. Without further adodo (hehe, I said dodo, but not time for poop jokes), here are the pictures:
Monday, October 19, 2009
My realization of my loss of happiness
Saturday was my real birthday celebration. I spent all afternoon with Grace, shopping for some winter shoes (which I didn't find and ended up having to buy online for twice what they're worth), eating, just hanging out in Seoul. After that she met a friend and I went back to Jukjeon and watched a movie with Joy (the girl I'm trying to date). The choices were Fame and District 9. I told her I knew nothing about either and didn't care. She didn't want to make the decision so I chose District 9 since it started earlier and we both had to be up early. This was on the phone, too, so I couldn't even look at the pictures of the movies. She did tell me District 9 was Peter Jackson, so I got excited, but then saw that he only produced it, not directed it. Anyway, I really enjoyed it because it was a very different alien movie, and I would totally review it right here if it were the right place to do so. She did not like it at all. It was much too violent for her.
About Joy. I met her 3 weeks ago with her church group on a Saturday. I then spent some time with her the next day, mostly at church or with church people. Then, that next Saturday (one week ago) she was at church from 9am to I think midnight. (You may be sensing a pattern). Sunday I was hungover and didn't wake until 4pm, but did manage to surprise her by showing up at the cafe she was at around 10pm. She had been in church until then. Saturday she was at church from 3pm-8pm, and yesterday she was at church from 8am-8pm, give-or-take. She is what I would call a "super church-girl."
Since I met her at church and all that, she probably assumes (or assumed) that I was the same way. That thought didn't occur to me until last week when I texted her to tell her I wouldn't be going to church. I was going to say I was sick, but then realized that if I said that she'd feel concerned and sorry, but if I were hungover she probably wouldn't, so I told her the truth expecting her to be repelled and to judge me. She didn't. I was pleasantly surprised and thought maybe there was some hope there.
We had an almost-date Saturday night at the movies, and afterwards I told her I wouldn't be at church the next day because I was going with my friend Heather to Palmi Island (see pictures here). She said that I hadn't been to church the previous week so I had to go that week. I began to lose hope that she would leave me be, and I never had much hope in explaining to her my reasons because I have enough difficulty with that with fluent speakers, let alone someone of lesser English abilities.
I then began to examine what I was doing. I wanted this relationship with a girl whose culture, language, and religious practice I did not share. In all likelihood I will be leaving in a little over 4 months, and it would not be good for either of us. But Joy made me happy. I began to question why, and the answer was simple; I was looking for happiness because I had lost it. When, where, and why I lost happiness I can't quite tell. I am inclined to say it was sometime since I moved to Korea, though it's just as likely that the move simply made it more obvious.
I realized that I've been looking for happiness in people. I look at every girl that walks past me in hopes that our eyes will meet and I will see in them some acknowledgement that I am attractive. I look at men and think to myself that the girls around us find me more attractive because I'm foreign and exotic. I try very hard to be invited to dinner with my coworkers. There are other examples, I am sure, but no more that quickly come to mind. It is all quite pathetic.
I have always found happiness in other people: in their presence, in their happiness, in their approval, in their laughter. Whether this is good or bad I have not yet analyzed, but the point is that I have never looked for happiness in others, I had always had it. Since I have moved here, however, I have had no one else to be with, to find affirmation in, to witness their pure happiness. I have been lonely: in spirit, in person, and in mind. This loneliness has only grown. At first it was my goal to live without internet in my house. This quickly fell because I "needed" it to call friends and family more conveniently. It was my goal to live without a cell phone, but I "needed" it to jump-start a social life here (it hasn't done too much good). I had not intended to buy an Xbox, but I "needed" it to stay in contact with the few friends I can on there. It was my goal not to accumulate things while here, but I "needed" a bike so I could have freedom of mobility. I bought my ebook reader to read books, sure, but I realized once I bought it that I was happier because while I was reading I wasn't living reality, where I was lonely.
I am not entirely sure of the cure. Of course people want to say that God is the answer, and depending upon what is meant I am likely to agree. But I want to know why I was happy before I came here. Was I really happy, or just not noticing that I wasn't because I had so many people around me? I believe the Christian life is made up of three relationships: our relationship to God, our relationship with others, and our relationship with ourselves. Our relationship with God might be broken down into communication (prayer) and obedience, which is borne out in our relationship with ourselves and others. This may or may not be true or helpful, but it is as I've come to see it. If it's true, then our relationship with others is very important. Humans are social creatures and need others, but the extant to which we need them, and who we need, are our sins. I believe I have desired people too much, and desired God and myself too little.
Believing as I do that going into a building that some call a "church" is not necessary to the Christian life, and that our emphasis on reading the Bible is ill-placed because not until the last 100-150 years have the Western public been able to easily and readily own their own Bible (not that it shouldn't be read, but it needn't be memorized, and time is much better spent in "doing"), my emphasis is on people (in all manner) and prayer, and in these I hope to please our God. And in these, I know I have not. But you see how I can so easily go from the idea of pleasing Him with my relationships with others, to pleasing myself with my relationships with others. And the neglecting of prayer is as simple as not doing it, and "none" are the wiser.
It is this tightrope that I thought I was so deftly walking, and have realized that I was not walking at all, but thrashing around on the ground some 30 feet below the rope with a broken neck, only furthering my injuring by my continual movement.
Some of you may be curious about Joy. So am I. I do not know what is going to happen. We are still on good terms, she is aware of none of these thoughts, and she is probably just thinking that I should've gone to church but didn't, oh well.
As a reminder, go here for the pictures of Palmi Island.
About Joy. I met her 3 weeks ago with her church group on a Saturday. I then spent some time with her the next day, mostly at church or with church people. Then, that next Saturday (one week ago) she was at church from 9am to I think midnight. (You may be sensing a pattern). Sunday I was hungover and didn't wake until 4pm, but did manage to surprise her by showing up at the cafe she was at around 10pm. She had been in church until then. Saturday she was at church from 3pm-8pm, and yesterday she was at church from 8am-8pm, give-or-take. She is what I would call a "super church-girl."
Since I met her at church and all that, she probably assumes (or assumed) that I was the same way. That thought didn't occur to me until last week when I texted her to tell her I wouldn't be going to church. I was going to say I was sick, but then realized that if I said that she'd feel concerned and sorry, but if I were hungover she probably wouldn't, so I told her the truth expecting her to be repelled and to judge me. She didn't. I was pleasantly surprised and thought maybe there was some hope there.
We had an almost-date Saturday night at the movies, and afterwards I told her I wouldn't be at church the next day because I was going with my friend Heather to Palmi Island (see pictures here). She said that I hadn't been to church the previous week so I had to go that week. I began to lose hope that she would leave me be, and I never had much hope in explaining to her my reasons because I have enough difficulty with that with fluent speakers, let alone someone of lesser English abilities.
I then began to examine what I was doing. I wanted this relationship with a girl whose culture, language, and religious practice I did not share. In all likelihood I will be leaving in a little over 4 months, and it would not be good for either of us. But Joy made me happy. I began to question why, and the answer was simple; I was looking for happiness because I had lost it. When, where, and why I lost happiness I can't quite tell. I am inclined to say it was sometime since I moved to Korea, though it's just as likely that the move simply made it more obvious.
I realized that I've been looking for happiness in people. I look at every girl that walks past me in hopes that our eyes will meet and I will see in them some acknowledgement that I am attractive. I look at men and think to myself that the girls around us find me more attractive because I'm foreign and exotic. I try very hard to be invited to dinner with my coworkers. There are other examples, I am sure, but no more that quickly come to mind. It is all quite pathetic.
I have always found happiness in other people: in their presence, in their happiness, in their approval, in their laughter. Whether this is good or bad I have not yet analyzed, but the point is that I have never looked for happiness in others, I had always had it. Since I have moved here, however, I have had no one else to be with, to find affirmation in, to witness their pure happiness. I have been lonely: in spirit, in person, and in mind. This loneliness has only grown. At first it was my goal to live without internet in my house. This quickly fell because I "needed" it to call friends and family more conveniently. It was my goal to live without a cell phone, but I "needed" it to jump-start a social life here (it hasn't done too much good). I had not intended to buy an Xbox, but I "needed" it to stay in contact with the few friends I can on there. It was my goal not to accumulate things while here, but I "needed" a bike so I could have freedom of mobility. I bought my ebook reader to read books, sure, but I realized once I bought it that I was happier because while I was reading I wasn't living reality, where I was lonely.
I am not entirely sure of the cure. Of course people want to say that God is the answer, and depending upon what is meant I am likely to agree. But I want to know why I was happy before I came here. Was I really happy, or just not noticing that I wasn't because I had so many people around me? I believe the Christian life is made up of three relationships: our relationship to God, our relationship with others, and our relationship with ourselves. Our relationship with God might be broken down into communication (prayer) and obedience, which is borne out in our relationship with ourselves and others. This may or may not be true or helpful, but it is as I've come to see it. If it's true, then our relationship with others is very important. Humans are social creatures and need others, but the extant to which we need them, and who we need, are our sins. I believe I have desired people too much, and desired God and myself too little.
Believing as I do that going into a building that some call a "church" is not necessary to the Christian life, and that our emphasis on reading the Bible is ill-placed because not until the last 100-150 years have the Western public been able to easily and readily own their own Bible (not that it shouldn't be read, but it needn't be memorized, and time is much better spent in "doing"), my emphasis is on people (in all manner) and prayer, and in these I hope to please our God. And in these, I know I have not. But you see how I can so easily go from the idea of pleasing Him with my relationships with others, to pleasing myself with my relationships with others. And the neglecting of prayer is as simple as not doing it, and "none" are the wiser.
It is this tightrope that I thought I was so deftly walking, and have realized that I was not walking at all, but thrashing around on the ground some 30 feet below the rope with a broken neck, only furthering my injuring by my continual movement.
Some of you may be curious about Joy. So am I. I do not know what is going to happen. We are still on good terms, she is aware of none of these thoughts, and she is probably just thinking that I should've gone to church but didn't, oh well.
As a reminder, go here for the pictures of Palmi Island.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
God's Will
God's will is a phrase we toss about today like a beanbag at a 6-year-old's birthday party. When the idea of it first came to humanity, it was likely to a nomadic man somewhere in Mesopotamia whose idea of freedom was likely so vastly different than ours as to almost defy definition in our modern frame of mind. As it progressed, and seemingly came to a head in the New Testament, so did the people to whom it was spoken to. Incidentally, doing a search for "God's will" or "will of God" will yield very little (surprisingly little for most people).
So what is God's will? Can it be known? To what extent? I don't know the answer, but it has been enlightening to look at the lives of those who were the first to read Paul's letters, or John's, or Peter's, etc. They did not own cars. The furthest they could hope to travel in a given day would've been less than 50 miles on land, and less than 100 by sea, if in both cases conditions were optimal. These are rough guesses from one totally uneducated in such things, so allow me to be wrong, but I don't think I'm too far off, at least not for sake of my point. Their choice of schooling was limited to their father's income and where they lived, and if any sort of "higher" schooling even existed near them. Their choice of a job was limited to their father's occupation or the kindness of another who was willing to take on an apprentice. Their choice of a spouse was infinitely more limited than ours due to a variety of factors, not the least of which were lesser freedom of travel, less life experiences, and generally lower population densities.
So these three things: occupation, education, and spouse. These are the big things in one's life, and the three things that many Christians think of most often when thinking of "God's will." And it was these three things that our ancestors had so little of a choice in, in comparison to ourselves. And all my previous reckoning was assuming that the person in question was not a slave or servant who had almost no choice in their future, as we may say it.
Yet we all three--moderns, ancients, and ancientests (spellcheck?)--share something in common, and it is in this that I think God's will is focused. It is our daily reckoning with ourself and with others. It is simply living, wherever and whenever one is and chooses, but living truth, and living love.
The New Testament never seems to mention a man's occupation, except that he is leaving it to follow Christ. The New Testament never seems to mention a man's education, except to call it rubbish when measured against the Father's Kingdom. And this is all probably coincidental or accidental, and I build no great statements on them as being a strong foundation, but it is something interesting to consider.
So what is God's will? Can it be known? To what extent? I don't know the answer, but it has been enlightening to look at the lives of those who were the first to read Paul's letters, or John's, or Peter's, etc. They did not own cars. The furthest they could hope to travel in a given day would've been less than 50 miles on land, and less than 100 by sea, if in both cases conditions were optimal. These are rough guesses from one totally uneducated in such things, so allow me to be wrong, but I don't think I'm too far off, at least not for sake of my point. Their choice of schooling was limited to their father's income and where they lived, and if any sort of "higher" schooling even existed near them. Their choice of a job was limited to their father's occupation or the kindness of another who was willing to take on an apprentice. Their choice of a spouse was infinitely more limited than ours due to a variety of factors, not the least of which were lesser freedom of travel, less life experiences, and generally lower population densities.
So these three things: occupation, education, and spouse. These are the big things in one's life, and the three things that many Christians think of most often when thinking of "God's will." And it was these three things that our ancestors had so little of a choice in, in comparison to ourselves. And all my previous reckoning was assuming that the person in question was not a slave or servant who had almost no choice in their future, as we may say it.
Yet we all three--moderns, ancients, and ancientests (spellcheck?)--share something in common, and it is in this that I think God's will is focused. It is our daily reckoning with ourself and with others. It is simply living, wherever and whenever one is and chooses, but living truth, and living love.
The New Testament never seems to mention a man's occupation, except that he is leaving it to follow Christ. The New Testament never seems to mention a man's education, except to call it rubbish when measured against the Father's Kingdom. And this is all probably coincidental or accidental, and I build no great statements on them as being a strong foundation, but it is something interesting to consider.
Friday, October 9, 2009
An Enquiry into Somatosensoral Words and Their Subjective Meanings, Particularly Applied to the Eastern Mindset vs the Western Mindset.
Apparently, in the Korean toothbrush market, "Soft" is merely a relative term to differentiate between toothbrush bristles which will rip concrete from its moorings, from those that will merely rip your gums from your head.
Good News, Bad News
First, the bad news. I was told Thursday that the lease on my apartment is up at the end of this month and will have to move because the prices in the area have increased as much as 25%. I won't be moving too far away, just a 10-minute bus ride probably, but that's a lot more than a 3-minute walk :( Plus, I've gotta pack all my stuff. I've been told that when it comes time to move, they'll hire someone to actually move it all, which is nice since I don't have a car here. Almost 8 months here and I have just began to enjoy this town I'm living in, and now I have to move. Oh well, so it goes.
Now, the good news. The overtime was supposed to be taken away last week, but something happened and now it's delayed for another month. Because I thought it was being taken away, I had asked my boss to give me as many as he could. I've been grading an average of 65 e-BCs a week, which results in an extra $140/week, on average. In addition, the won continues to rise agains the dollar, which means I get a small raise every day. Right now the won is where it was just over a year ago. There hasn't been a day in the past month or so where it didn't go up at least a little bit, and sometimes more than a little bit. By the time the overtime does get taken away, I'll be making more on my base salary than I was when I got here, including base and overtime.
There are 4 of us with October birthdays. Two were this past week, and two more next week. Every birthday, Topia buys a cake, and I had been looking forward to at least 2 cakes, assuming they'd combine the birthdays that fell on the same week. Well, guess what, they didn't. They combined all 4 into one, which was basically the low point of my week, realizing I would only get one cake. I've decided, however, to stick it to the man and buy another cake next week because, dammit, I want cake.
A few friends and I are going to Itaewon today, which is foreigner central here, because I need to shop for some good winter shoes. I want some simple moccasins with fur in them because that would be crazy-comfortable, and warm, but I somehow doubt they will sell them, or that they can custom-make them. My number 1 priority in shoes is comfort, and that doesn't even seem to figure on the Korean priorities list. Hopefully I can find something, or my toes will be cold all winter :(
Now, the good news. The overtime was supposed to be taken away last week, but something happened and now it's delayed for another month. Because I thought it was being taken away, I had asked my boss to give me as many as he could. I've been grading an average of 65 e-BCs a week, which results in an extra $140/week, on average. In addition, the won continues to rise agains the dollar, which means I get a small raise every day. Right now the won is where it was just over a year ago. There hasn't been a day in the past month or so where it didn't go up at least a little bit, and sometimes more than a little bit. By the time the overtime does get taken away, I'll be making more on my base salary than I was when I got here, including base and overtime.
There are 4 of us with October birthdays. Two were this past week, and two more next week. Every birthday, Topia buys a cake, and I had been looking forward to at least 2 cakes, assuming they'd combine the birthdays that fell on the same week. Well, guess what, they didn't. They combined all 4 into one, which was basically the low point of my week, realizing I would only get one cake. I've decided, however, to stick it to the man and buy another cake next week because, dammit, I want cake.
A few friends and I are going to Itaewon today, which is foreigner central here, because I need to shop for some good winter shoes. I want some simple moccasins with fur in them because that would be crazy-comfortable, and warm, but I somehow doubt they will sell them, or that they can custom-make them. My number 1 priority in shoes is comfort, and that doesn't even seem to figure on the Korean priorities list. Hopefully I can find something, or my toes will be cold all winter :(
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Happy Chuseok!
Today is Chuseok in Korea. Yesterday I went to some nearby mountains with a church group. It was a Christian retreat, and I'm sure most of you can figure out how I feel about those things. This one was exactly what I expected: good people, great people, trying hard to get to a good end, but whose means are not fully thought out.
During discussion, I had to remind the group, more than once, of how the disciples thought of Jesus because everyone there kept talking about it as if they considered Him to be the Son of God, or their God. There were other times where I had to bring things out about the Lord's Supper and the Passover, which should be obvious. It's all so frustrating. I say with Fitzgerald (though out of context) that this is "a new generation, shouting the old cries, learning the old creeds, through a revery of long days and nights; destined finally to go out into that dirty gray turmoil to follow love and pride." It's the same thing said over and over and over again, with little thought as to how does this rubber actually meet the road? I know for some of you it will come as a shock to hear me say this, but where's the practicality? Let's stop talking about "how to grow closer to God," and let's start DOING IT.
Any-dang-way. I did have fun, and I don't regret going. I met a guy who was born and raised in Uganda, who became a Christian and whose family disowned him because of it. I've told him that I'll give him half of my tithes to send to friends and people, as he sees fit, in his country. I met lots of Americans who were very new to Korea, within a month, and I was able to give them some advice and help. I stayed up until 5.30am talking with two other guys, discussing nothing and anything, being refreshed in the presence and conversation of fellow Christians. For some pics of the hike we went on (I went barefoot), go here: <http://picasaweb.google.com/jmphry/NamhanSanseong#>
Today being Chuseok, it was rather hard to find a meal. I invited a few people out to dinner, people who I knew didn't have anything to do on the holiday, and one was sick, one was tired, one never called back, but one did come. He and I went out to dinner, but it was a chore. We were basically trying to find a restaurant open on Thanksgiving or Christmas. All we could find were bars, haha, sad face. We ended up going to this new place that just opened behind Topia. It's a combination butcher and barbeque, so the meat is fresh. It was really pretty good.
During discussion, I had to remind the group, more than once, of how the disciples thought of Jesus because everyone there kept talking about it as if they considered Him to be the Son of God, or their God. There were other times where I had to bring things out about the Lord's Supper and the Passover, which should be obvious. It's all so frustrating. I say with Fitzgerald (though out of context) that this is "a new generation, shouting the old cries, learning the old creeds, through a revery of long days and nights; destined finally to go out into that dirty gray turmoil to follow love and pride." It's the same thing said over and over and over again, with little thought as to how does this rubber actually meet the road? I know for some of you it will come as a shock to hear me say this, but where's the practicality? Let's stop talking about "how to grow closer to God," and let's start DOING IT.
Any-dang-way. I did have fun, and I don't regret going. I met a guy who was born and raised in Uganda, who became a Christian and whose family disowned him because of it. I've told him that I'll give him half of my tithes to send to friends and people, as he sees fit, in his country. I met lots of Americans who were very new to Korea, within a month, and I was able to give them some advice and help. I stayed up until 5.30am talking with two other guys, discussing nothing and anything, being refreshed in the presence and conversation of fellow Christians. For some pics of the hike we went on (I went barefoot), go here: <http://picasaweb.google.com/jmphry/NamhanSanseong#>
Today being Chuseok, it was rather hard to find a meal. I invited a few people out to dinner, people who I knew didn't have anything to do on the holiday, and one was sick, one was tired, one never called back, but one did come. He and I went out to dinner, but it was a chore. We were basically trying to find a restaurant open on Thanksgiving or Christmas. All we could find were bars, haha, sad face. We ended up going to this new place that just opened behind Topia. It's a combination butcher and barbeque, so the meat is fresh. It was really pretty good.
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Other
I wrote a poem, which is the first one in over three months. There used to be a time when I'd write at least a poem a day. I wonder what happened to all that creativity. Anyway, about this poem, I was walking home and it was drizzling, sightly chilly, and I met a man walking the other way. That small incident got me thinking and before I got home I had this poem. The rhythm is at times halting, but this is how I would walk if this realization dawned on me while walking home. As narcissistic as I am, I'd appreciate your comments and criticism on this.
The Other
Two travelers if they be called
Converged upon a yellow walk,
Twas brownish viewed within the day
But yellow lamps made it to match their hue.
The Other's shoes was all the Other one espied
For umbrellas did block their view
'gainst cold and wind and rain and dark
And carried each to hearth and home.
With wine and merrymaking,
But when the Other left he left his
Mistress sitting, smiling upon her bed.
And as the Other traveled, traveled with a smile
He thought about his wife to whom he tarried,
Who at that selfsame moment sitting upon her bed
Wore nary save a smile.
The Other
Two travelers if they be called
Converged upon a yellow walk,
Twas brownish viewed within the day
But yellow lamps made it to match their hue.
The Other's shoes was all the Other one espied
For umbrellas did block their view
'gainst cold and wind and rain and dark
And carried each to hearth and home.
And in passing each decriedThe night, it had been filled
How like and like their feet were built,
And how their gaits were matched so well
As the pants that atop their shoes did sit.
With wine and merrymaking,
But when the Other left he left his
Mistress sitting, smiling upon her bed.
And as the Other traveled, traveled with a smile
He thought about his wife to whom he tarried,
Who at that selfsame moment sitting upon her bed
Wore nary save a smile.
The Happiest Place in Korea
Grace and some friends decided last-minute to go to Everland, Korea's version of Disneyland or maybe Six Flags, on Saturday night and invited me along. We got there shortly after 7pm and the big attraction, T Express (which goes 140km/hr, or 79mi/hr) closes at 8, and I'm not at all sure why we didn't immediately go there but of course when we did eventually get there it was closed. I think the group didn't know it closed. Anywho, went on a couple of vomit-inducing rides (I was going to describe them but then realized how incredibly hard it is to describe rides), and ate some vomit-inducing food (not really, but I couldn't resist the pun). I told all my students today that I went to Everland on Saturday and they were all angry at me, and then I followed up my news with a test, so they really hated me today, mwahahaha! Ah, the joys of crushing the joys of children...
So my boss reminded me that one of the kids I taught last semester always comes to class in his hopkido clothes, so I asked me where his dojo was. He told me it's near Ori station, which is one subway stop from me, so I'm going to go there some morning this week, if I get up early, and try to find it, or I'll just go Saturday.
Wonderful news: I met a girl who is interested in me, and I share the feeling. One major drawback, however, is that she spends a LOT of time on Saturday and Sunday at church. She wants me to go to all her stuff, but it's in Korean so in refusing it looks like I'm a heathen (which I am, but that's not the point). Her English isn't great, but it seems like it's just rusty from disuse because from Saturday evening when I met her, to Sunday night when we said goodbye, her English had already improved. She's an EMT here, so we can share some stories about nursing and stuff. It's also funny the English she knows from being an EMT, like she knows what a laceration is, but not a scratch, haha. I explained it to her this way: laceration->cut->scratch.
So my boss reminded me that one of the kids I taught last semester always comes to class in his hopkido clothes, so I asked me where his dojo was. He told me it's near Ori station, which is one subway stop from me, so I'm going to go there some morning this week, if I get up early, and try to find it, or I'll just go Saturday.
Wonderful news: I met a girl who is interested in me, and I share the feeling. One major drawback, however, is that she spends a LOT of time on Saturday and Sunday at church. She wants me to go to all her stuff, but it's in Korean so in refusing it looks like I'm a heathen (which I am, but that's not the point). Her English isn't great, but it seems like it's just rusty from disuse because from Saturday evening when I met her, to Sunday night when we said goodbye, her English had already improved. She's an EMT here, so we can share some stories about nursing and stuff. It's also funny the English she knows from being an EMT, like she knows what a laceration is, but not a scratch, haha. I explained it to her this way: laceration->cut->scratch.
Friday, September 25, 2009
[Insert Clever Title Here]
I bought a bicycle! It's certainly nothing special, it cost about $65 used, but it's a bicycle. I've ridden it around a little bit and it makes it much more convenient to travel to the 24-hour place up the street to eat. I found a halfpipe and I played around on it a little bit. I had never ridden a bike on a halfpipe and it was pretty scary. I didn't even ride to the top, which was no more than 5 feet, but I did start to get a feel for how to do it. I may keep playing around on it, I don't know.
The other exciting thing to note is that I organized a teacher get-together last night. 9 of us went out to dinner after work. More would have come but they had phone calls to make before the end of the month, which is rapidly approaching. I plan to make it a weekly thing. At first we went to a Korean barbecue place and had soju (the Korean rice liquor stuff). One or two left at this point, but we did play a lot of drinking games until the place closed down. Then we went to a karaoke place for an hour, where we drank more soju. Then we went to our favorite bar, which was closed, and then on to a seafood place that was still open, where we drank more soju. By 4am there was just 5 of us left, and we all went home in varying states of disrepair.
I figured the first few get-togethers would just be a time to dump on our bosses and vent some frustration that we otherwise can't because the office atmosphere is one that dissuades one from conversation and friendship, and that's exactly what this one was. One of the girls is quitting whenever they train her replacement, and she had some fun stories. It's really a shame because she's a good person and she enjoys the kids, and without smearing anyone on my blog, I will say there are irreconcilable differences and bridges have been burned. It was great for everyone involved to begin to feel a kindred for their fellow-workers, and I hope these weekly forays into the local bars continues for a long time (though in truth I could do without the karaoke).
I am still half-heartedly saving for an iPod, but I'm hoping for some bday money to get me to my goal (hint hint, mom). I've been without one for almost two months and want to convince myself that I don't want it (which is true), but I definitely want it enough to still justify the purchase of it. It seems like half the use my laptop sees is just as a music player, which is quite a waste of resources and electricity.
Due to John's inspiration in China, I've decided to take up a martial art. Taekwondo is the national sport, but the form I've wanted to learn for a long time is aikido. Unfortunately it's not popular enough to have a presence in the smaller town I live in, but maybe hopkido is close by. If nothing else I will just fall back on taekwondo because I do just want to do it more for the exercise. A potential hurdle I've been made aware of is my schedule. I am free in the mornings on the weekdays, when most others aren't and therefore many things are closed. I could do it only on the weekends, but that's not what I want because it wouldn't be a sustained, continual workout.
The weather is becoming chilly at night. Tonight's low is 14C, or high 50s for you people. The days rarely get further up the scale than the low-to-mid 70s, and the humidity is almost non-existent (at least to a sub-tropical native such as myself). It's quite interesting to see the seasons change in such a dramatic fashion, since I've haven't seen anything like it in 10 years. I look forward to the quickly-approaching winter. I hope to get some hiking in before the temperature gets too cold.
Chuseok is on October 3rd. Briefly, Chuseok is like Thanksgiving. It's a three-day festival, so it if happens to fall on a Tuesday or Thursday then a 5-day weekend results. However, this year, it falls on a Saturday, which means I get 1 day off. I don't want to complain, but can't Korea get its act together and make sure these holidays always fall on a weekday, like America does? This is year is the worst in recent memory for holidays falling on weekends. In the 6 months I've been here I've had 1 holiday off, and took 1 day of vacation off. I've worked most Saturdays and many Sundays. The next holiday isn't until Xmas and New Year's, and the one after that is March 1st, which may or may not be an important holiday, and anyway is the last day of my contract. With all the holidays added up, in the 365 days from March 1st, 2009-March 1st-2010, there will have been only 4 holidays that affect weekday workers. But at least I got a job.
The other exciting thing to note is that I organized a teacher get-together last night. 9 of us went out to dinner after work. More would have come but they had phone calls to make before the end of the month, which is rapidly approaching. I plan to make it a weekly thing. At first we went to a Korean barbecue place and had soju (the Korean rice liquor stuff). One or two left at this point, but we did play a lot of drinking games until the place closed down. Then we went to a karaoke place for an hour, where we drank more soju. Then we went to our favorite bar, which was closed, and then on to a seafood place that was still open, where we drank more soju. By 4am there was just 5 of us left, and we all went home in varying states of disrepair.
I figured the first few get-togethers would just be a time to dump on our bosses and vent some frustration that we otherwise can't because the office atmosphere is one that dissuades one from conversation and friendship, and that's exactly what this one was. One of the girls is quitting whenever they train her replacement, and she had some fun stories. It's really a shame because she's a good person and she enjoys the kids, and without smearing anyone on my blog, I will say there are irreconcilable differences and bridges have been burned. It was great for everyone involved to begin to feel a kindred for their fellow-workers, and I hope these weekly forays into the local bars continues for a long time (though in truth I could do without the karaoke).
I am still half-heartedly saving for an iPod, but I'm hoping for some bday money to get me to my goal (hint hint, mom). I've been without one for almost two months and want to convince myself that I don't want it (which is true), but I definitely want it enough to still justify the purchase of it. It seems like half the use my laptop sees is just as a music player, which is quite a waste of resources and electricity.
Due to John's inspiration in China, I've decided to take up a martial art. Taekwondo is the national sport, but the form I've wanted to learn for a long time is aikido. Unfortunately it's not popular enough to have a presence in the smaller town I live in, but maybe hopkido is close by. If nothing else I will just fall back on taekwondo because I do just want to do it more for the exercise. A potential hurdle I've been made aware of is my schedule. I am free in the mornings on the weekdays, when most others aren't and therefore many things are closed. I could do it only on the weekends, but that's not what I want because it wouldn't be a sustained, continual workout.
The weather is becoming chilly at night. Tonight's low is 14C, or high 50s for you people. The days rarely get further up the scale than the low-to-mid 70s, and the humidity is almost non-existent (at least to a sub-tropical native such as myself). It's quite interesting to see the seasons change in such a dramatic fashion, since I've haven't seen anything like it in 10 years. I look forward to the quickly-approaching winter. I hope to get some hiking in before the temperature gets too cold.
Chuseok is on October 3rd. Briefly, Chuseok is like Thanksgiving. It's a three-day festival, so it if happens to fall on a Tuesday or Thursday then a 5-day weekend results. However, this year, it falls on a Saturday, which means I get 1 day off. I don't want to complain, but can't Korea get its act together and make sure these holidays always fall on a weekday, like America does? This is year is the worst in recent memory for holidays falling on weekends. In the 6 months I've been here I've had 1 holiday off, and took 1 day of vacation off. I've worked most Saturdays and many Sundays. The next holiday isn't until Xmas and New Year's, and the one after that is March 1st, which may or may not be an important holiday, and anyway is the last day of my contract. With all the holidays added up, in the 365 days from March 1st, 2009-March 1st-2010, there will have been only 4 holidays that affect weekday workers. But at least I got a job.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Success!
I sit here eating the most satisfyingly-attained meal I've ever had. If I had caught and strangled a tiger with my bare hands, I scarcely believe it would be more satisfying. You see, I ordered delivery...in Korean. I gave my order, my address, and when it came, my money. So blessed is Korean delivery that there is no extra fee, nor tip. God Bless Korea.
P.S. for the curious, I'm eaing al toke toke bap (fish egg rice).
P.S. for the curious, I'm eaing al toke toke bap (fish egg rice).
Whitewater Rafting: Canceled
So. Whitewater rafting. Love it. Gonna go. Got canceled. Frowny face.
Topia was going to go whitewater rafting today. It cost about $30 for everything, traveling, eating, and rafting. I was pretty excited. Then yesterday, I got to work and was told too many people had canceled last minute and transportation therefore became more expensive, so they canceled it. I'm almost speechless...almost.
The online overtime that they're outsourcing to the Philippines got a little change. They're not ready to outsource it yet, so they're going to allow us to do them for 1 more month. I'm really hoping that it continues to get pushed back. Anyway, since it's the last month, I told my boss that I'd do as many as I could, up to 100 per week. That'd be about 10-13 hours/week overtime, and would get me about $200+/week. I ended up grading 70 this week, but you have to factor in those students who didn't do it for one reason or another, so I've probably got 80-100 students who, if they all do it, will get me lots of money. As it is, 70/week is W175,000/week, or $143 right now, according to google. That'll be a nice chunk of change, at least for one last month. And another nice thing is that the quality of the ones I'm grading this semester is much better. One week, last semester, only 19 did them, and I had to fail 10. I nearly always faild 30% or more of them. This week, however, I failed 1/70. Not bad.
Yesterday was 9/11, and as fate would have it one of the books that the students had to read for the online overtime stuff is called Capital Kids. It's about kids who live in different capitals around the world or something. Anyway, the first part is about America, and one of the kids lives in D.C. It talks about the terrorists hitting the Pentagon, and 9/11. It was kinda weird to be grading them yesterday. Got me a little patriotic and I told my first two classes what 9/11 was (most know about it, but don't necessarily know the date, I mean, they're 7-9 years old).
The new iPods came out Wednesday, and should be available in a few weeks. I'll be saving up for one this month and it'll be my birthday present to myself. There was a lot of hype, as always, and Apple responded by delivering a wet fart of an announcement. All iPods got a video camera (but no still camera), except the Touch, which would benefit most from it. The nanos did not get a memory upgrade, while all other models did. The nano did, however, get an FM tuner which I don't need or want, a microphone which I don't need or want, 0.2 more inches of screen which seems paltry, ever-so-slightly better battery life, and an almost-useless pedometer. The prices on nanos dropped $20, and the Touches dropped as much as $120. The classic got a memory upgrade and price drop, and the shuffle got a price drop. Nothing special in the least. Quite disappointing. Some, however, will love the new features on the iPod, but I just want it to play music, and do it well, and it took 5 years for iPods to become as good at that as the competitors such as Creative. EDIT: Just found out that the iPods are available now, but the prices in Korea are expensive. A 16gb nano in America is $179, while it's $220 here. Very disappointing. Not sure I want to buy a new one now.
To end on a positive note, I'm enjoying this new semester with 2 less teaching hours. I am actually able to go into work at 2pm, and not early. And even then I don't always have much to do. Sometimes I just sit at my desk and read. However, as the semester gets into full swing, there will always be "something" to do, just like at any job, and I will try to always do something.
Topia was going to go whitewater rafting today. It cost about $30 for everything, traveling, eating, and rafting. I was pretty excited. Then yesterday, I got to work and was told too many people had canceled last minute and transportation therefore became more expensive, so they canceled it. I'm almost speechless...almost.
The online overtime that they're outsourcing to the Philippines got a little change. They're not ready to outsource it yet, so they're going to allow us to do them for 1 more month. I'm really hoping that it continues to get pushed back. Anyway, since it's the last month, I told my boss that I'd do as many as I could, up to 100 per week. That'd be about 10-13 hours/week overtime, and would get me about $200+/week. I ended up grading 70 this week, but you have to factor in those students who didn't do it for one reason or another, so I've probably got 80-100 students who, if they all do it, will get me lots of money. As it is, 70/week is W175,000/week, or $143 right now, according to google. That'll be a nice chunk of change, at least for one last month. And another nice thing is that the quality of the ones I'm grading this semester is much better. One week, last semester, only 19 did them, and I had to fail 10. I nearly always faild 30% or more of them. This week, however, I failed 1/70. Not bad.
Yesterday was 9/11, and as fate would have it one of the books that the students had to read for the online overtime stuff is called Capital Kids. It's about kids who live in different capitals around the world or something. Anyway, the first part is about America, and one of the kids lives in D.C. It talks about the terrorists hitting the Pentagon, and 9/11. It was kinda weird to be grading them yesterday. Got me a little patriotic and I told my first two classes what 9/11 was (most know about it, but don't necessarily know the date, I mean, they're 7-9 years old).
The new iPods came out Wednesday, and should be available in a few weeks. I'll be saving up for one this month and it'll be my birthday present to myself. There was a lot of hype, as always, and Apple responded by delivering a wet fart of an announcement. All iPods got a video camera (but no still camera), except the Touch, which would benefit most from it. The nanos did not get a memory upgrade, while all other models did. The nano did, however, get an FM tuner which I don't need or want, a microphone which I don't need or want, 0.2 more inches of screen which seems paltry, ever-so-slightly better battery life, and an almost-useless pedometer. The prices on nanos dropped $20, and the Touches dropped as much as $120. The classic got a memory upgrade and price drop, and the shuffle got a price drop. Nothing special in the least. Quite disappointing. Some, however, will love the new features on the iPod, but I just want it to play music, and do it well, and it took 5 years for iPods to become as good at that as the competitors such as Creative. EDIT: Just found out that the iPods are available now, but the prices in Korea are expensive. A 16gb nano in America is $179, while it's $220 here. Very disappointing. Not sure I want to buy a new one now.
To end on a positive note, I'm enjoying this new semester with 2 less teaching hours. I am actually able to go into work at 2pm, and not early. And even then I don't always have much to do. Sometimes I just sit at my desk and read. However, as the semester gets into full swing, there will always be "something" to do, just like at any job, and I will try to always do something.
Friday, September 4, 2009
I can see!
I went to the eye doctor Thursday morning with Grace and they determined that my glasses and eyes were matched, and then found out that the tear ducts in my right eye don't work right, so they prescribed me some eye drops. The whole thing cost less than $20 for the appointment, checkup, and eye drops. God bless Korea.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
First day of the new semester
Well, it's official: I've got 6 months left. Today was the first day of the new semester. Lots of new teachers who have been slowly trickling in over the past two weeks, doing meaningless office work, today got to actually do their job. The atmosphere in the office is usually quiet, work-like, no family-feeling (which I hate), but the new teachers are changing that a little. I hope us teachers can feel more and more comfortable with each other, though it is weird knowing that just about everyone will leave after 1 year, or in lots of cases less than that.
And speaking of leaving in less than one year, my friend Vivian left. Before getting a job at the school, she applied to be an airline stewardess. She passed the qualifications and stuff, but they weren't hiring so they kept her on file. They called her on Saturday or Sunday and offered her the job. She came into the office on Monday morning and told the boss about it, offered to work for 2 weeks, but instead of congratulated, negotiated with to work longer, praised for her hard work, she was guilted and made to feel like crap for abandoning her job. As if this job is that important. They told her she could just finish the day and leave. That left quite a bad taste in her mouth, and she left last night, quite unhappy. I'm happy for her, she'll be doing more what she truly wants to, but of course we'll miss her and she'll miss us. She gets to work out of Hong Kong, and fly all over the world! Freaking sweet! I'd love to live in HK and fly everywhere!
Vivian's leaving affects me more than just on a personal level: she was going to be my desk partner, and she is notorious for giving her desk partners food. I have now, thanks to fate, been cheated out of a semester of candies and snacks. Woe is me, woe is me! My new desk partner seems nice enough, but no promises of candy in her eyes.
My first day this semester was fine, I had my mastery classes (kids that are basically fluent), which was no surprise because they like to give them to teachers for 6 months rather than 3, and I had even given them homework last Thursday so it was class as usual. My only other class today was an older class that is pretty good at English. I had actually taught two of them my first semester, so it's nice to see them 3 months later and see how they've improved, especially since the single greatest destroyer of teacher spirits is thinking your students aren't learning. I didn't need to be overly strict with them because, being more intelligent students, they're a little more mature and don't need to be beaten as much. Tomorrow, however, I have every intention of slapping around a couple of kids, laying down the law, that kind of thing.
Oh, and Grace is going to go with my to the eye doctor Thursday morning at 9am to get my eyes checked. After that I can order some glasses online and get them shipped here, hopefully within a couple of weeks, and will be able to see well again.
One more "Oh, and." Oh, and the weather here has been a-ma-zing since Friday night. Friday was hot, but the night got into the low 60s. Since then, the high has never gotten higher than 85, and the low has been about 65. I would rate the current humidity level as "unbearable," which is at least two levels lower than Charleston's "freakish death-level" humidity. Therefore, it is quite comfortable to me, while still quite sticky for everyone else. I can laugh now, but when the winter comes and my snot freezes, the glove will be on the other foot, so to speak.
And speaking of leaving in less than one year, my friend Vivian left. Before getting a job at the school, she applied to be an airline stewardess. She passed the qualifications and stuff, but they weren't hiring so they kept her on file. They called her on Saturday or Sunday and offered her the job. She came into the office on Monday morning and told the boss about it, offered to work for 2 weeks, but instead of congratulated, negotiated with to work longer, praised for her hard work, she was guilted and made to feel like crap for abandoning her job. As if this job is that important. They told her she could just finish the day and leave. That left quite a bad taste in her mouth, and she left last night, quite unhappy. I'm happy for her, she'll be doing more what she truly wants to, but of course we'll miss her and she'll miss us. She gets to work out of Hong Kong, and fly all over the world! Freaking sweet! I'd love to live in HK and fly everywhere!
Vivian's leaving affects me more than just on a personal level: she was going to be my desk partner, and she is notorious for giving her desk partners food. I have now, thanks to fate, been cheated out of a semester of candies and snacks. Woe is me, woe is me! My new desk partner seems nice enough, but no promises of candy in her eyes.
My first day this semester was fine, I had my mastery classes (kids that are basically fluent), which was no surprise because they like to give them to teachers for 6 months rather than 3, and I had even given them homework last Thursday so it was class as usual. My only other class today was an older class that is pretty good at English. I had actually taught two of them my first semester, so it's nice to see them 3 months later and see how they've improved, especially since the single greatest destroyer of teacher spirits is thinking your students aren't learning. I didn't need to be overly strict with them because, being more intelligent students, they're a little more mature and don't need to be beaten as much. Tomorrow, however, I have every intention of slapping around a couple of kids, laying down the law, that kind of thing.
Oh, and Grace is going to go with my to the eye doctor Thursday morning at 9am to get my eyes checked. After that I can order some glasses online and get them shipped here, hopefully within a couple of weeks, and will be able to see well again.
One more "Oh, and." Oh, and the weather here has been a-ma-zing since Friday night. Friday was hot, but the night got into the low 60s. Since then, the high has never gotten higher than 85, and the low has been about 65. I would rate the current humidity level as "unbearable," which is at least two levels lower than Charleston's "freakish death-level" humidity. Therefore, it is quite comfortable to me, while still quite sticky for everyone else. I can laugh now, but when the winter comes and my snot freezes, the glove will be on the other foot, so to speak.
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Meaning of Liff
Liff (n.): a book, the contents of which are totally belied by its cover. For instance, any book the dust jacket of which bears the words. 'This book will change your life'.
The Meaning of Liff is a 200-something page book by Douglas Adams (author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) that is simply a dictionary of made-up words, liff being one of them which lends itself to the title. I thought it was a pretty witty title, and as such makes it perfectly acceptable for me to steal as my own.
Since I've gotten my new eBook reader, I've read 2 full books, plus parts of many other books. I loves it. Also, in the past week I've rearranged my apartment, found the post office and mailed things to family, and started barefoot running.
First, to the barefoot running. My stomach is probably larger now than it has ever been in life, but that's kind of like saying I'm the fattest kid at anorexia camp. I'm not particularly worried about it, in fact I get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when I realize that I'm not hungry, and that I'm eating at least 3 meals a day, unlike before I moved here and I was eating maybe 2 meals a day if I was lucky. However, my pants are starting to shrink or something, so I figure I'll get my waist to shrink a little along with them. And as for the barefoot aspect of barefoot running, of course I would do that and I'm sure none of you are surprised. While I'm beginning I'm just running around the block so my body can re-learn how to run properly. As my form gets more natural (and therefore better, faster, more effecient, etc) I will start running longer, obviously.
In the past week, a couple of changes have come over my psyche. Perhaps a quick history is in order. When I first started working at Topia, I was trying to make friends, and I was being myself. I didn't really make any true friends at Topia, and thought that maybe being myself somehow offended others, or something, so I began to chip away at myself. By that I mean I tried to talk less, be less the center of attention, be more comfortable alone, etc. At first I thought this was a good thing and that I would finally stop being so prideful and attention-needy. However, if that was my goal I wasn't going about it the right way, and looking back I can see I was kind of dying inside, and passing it off as something else. My self-confidence was slipping, my humor was going, etc.
Anyway, in the past week I've decided to throw all that crap away and just do what I feel like. In other words, do what I want and consequences (and others) be damned. As a result, I'm much more happy, my self-confidence is returning, and I crack jokes whenever and however I want, and if someone's offended well then they aren't listening right. I'm not entirely sure what has caused this change, but it could be a couple of things. In the past two weeks I've attended a meetup group that just improvises and jams in a guy's apartment, so music has returned to my life. I also attended an atheist meetup group whose sole purpose was to explain to each other why Christians were wrong. As a result, I got the chance to discuss religion. Those are the two greatests passions in my life, I've realized, and they were missing. Another great passion in my life is reading, and it, too, was missing until I bought this eBook reader. I was also under the impression that a co-worker didn't like me, despised me even, for a reason I could not begin to fathom. I finally asked a close friend of hers and he responded with absolute confusion, and said that idea never crossed his mind. This, too, has put me at ease because in my times of weakness and self-consciousness, I had invented all kinds of terrible things I unwittingly did to her/didn't do to her, and thought that she had convinced others I was a terrible person. I was kinda creating my own personal hell, though it's difficult to accurately represent the situation to you because my current state of mind is so contrary to what it was just a couple of weeks ago. In all likelihood I'm representing it much too graphically, but I'm trying to get it right.
As you can see, many changes have happened and I'm not sure what, if any of them, are solely (or even particularly) responsible for my new-found happiness. All I know is, I've got a new book toy thingy, and I don't give a damn no more.
The Meaning of Liff is a 200-something page book by Douglas Adams (author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) that is simply a dictionary of made-up words, liff being one of them which lends itself to the title. I thought it was a pretty witty title, and as such makes it perfectly acceptable for me to steal as my own.
Since I've gotten my new eBook reader, I've read 2 full books, plus parts of many other books. I loves it. Also, in the past week I've rearranged my apartment, found the post office and mailed things to family, and started barefoot running.
First, to the barefoot running. My stomach is probably larger now than it has ever been in life, but that's kind of like saying I'm the fattest kid at anorexia camp. I'm not particularly worried about it, in fact I get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when I realize that I'm not hungry, and that I'm eating at least 3 meals a day, unlike before I moved here and I was eating maybe 2 meals a day if I was lucky. However, my pants are starting to shrink or something, so I figure I'll get my waist to shrink a little along with them. And as for the barefoot aspect of barefoot running, of course I would do that and I'm sure none of you are surprised. While I'm beginning I'm just running around the block so my body can re-learn how to run properly. As my form gets more natural (and therefore better, faster, more effecient, etc) I will start running longer, obviously.
In the past week, a couple of changes have come over my psyche. Perhaps a quick history is in order. When I first started working at Topia, I was trying to make friends, and I was being myself. I didn't really make any true friends at Topia, and thought that maybe being myself somehow offended others, or something, so I began to chip away at myself. By that I mean I tried to talk less, be less the center of attention, be more comfortable alone, etc. At first I thought this was a good thing and that I would finally stop being so prideful and attention-needy. However, if that was my goal I wasn't going about it the right way, and looking back I can see I was kind of dying inside, and passing it off as something else. My self-confidence was slipping, my humor was going, etc.
Anyway, in the past week I've decided to throw all that crap away and just do what I feel like. In other words, do what I want and consequences (and others) be damned. As a result, I'm much more happy, my self-confidence is returning, and I crack jokes whenever and however I want, and if someone's offended well then they aren't listening right. I'm not entirely sure what has caused this change, but it could be a couple of things. In the past two weeks I've attended a meetup group that just improvises and jams in a guy's apartment, so music has returned to my life. I also attended an atheist meetup group whose sole purpose was to explain to each other why Christians were wrong. As a result, I got the chance to discuss religion. Those are the two greatests passions in my life, I've realized, and they were missing. Another great passion in my life is reading, and it, too, was missing until I bought this eBook reader. I was also under the impression that a co-worker didn't like me, despised me even, for a reason I could not begin to fathom. I finally asked a close friend of hers and he responded with absolute confusion, and said that idea never crossed his mind. This, too, has put me at ease because in my times of weakness and self-consciousness, I had invented all kinds of terrible things I unwittingly did to her/didn't do to her, and thought that she had convinced others I was a terrible person. I was kinda creating my own personal hell, though it's difficult to accurately represent the situation to you because my current state of mind is so contrary to what it was just a couple of weeks ago. In all likelihood I'm representing it much too graphically, but I'm trying to get it right.
As you can see, many changes have happened and I'm not sure what, if any of them, are solely (or even particularly) responsible for my new-found happiness. All I know is, I've got a new book toy thingy, and I don't give a damn no more.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Great News
We got our schedules today, and we do get 2 less hours next semester, yay! I have a 1-hour break on M and F, 2 1-hour breaks on T and R, and no breaks on Wednesday. That means I can finally eat a normal dinner 4 days out of the week! I'm so happy.
However, this can still all go downhill. A foreign teacher had some problems back home and said as recently as two weeks ago he may leave in September. I have heard nothing more from him, though I believe things are working out now. If, however, he were to leave, I imagine we would all get those 2 hours back.
Also, good news, my diarrhea has basically gone away. I still have some stomach problems, but nothing debilitating.
Oh, and I've found out I'm allergic to apples now. This started happening shortly after moving here. I had some apples, felt fine, but then one day I bought a bunch and as soon as I finished an apple I was sneezing and felt that my throat was tight. A week later I had 2 slices of apple that a student gave me, and I felt a similar sensation. Tonight, at work, they gave us green apples and peaches. I tried one slice of green apple, hoping the color difference may help, or that the allergy had gone away with me not eating any, but it was worse than ever. That single slice made my lips tingly and almost numb, made my throat feel tight, and my tongue feel funny. Hopefully I'm not allergic to apple sauce as well because that's one of my staple foods in America.
If I may recap my health problems since coming to this country: I've developed an allergy to one of my favorite fruits, I've developed plantars fasciitis, my eyesight has gotten significantly worse (my eyes feel strained all day and night, and small signs further than 10 feet away are blurry with my glasses on), I wake up with back pain everyday, I had a canker sore while first here, diarrhea, increased lactose intolerance, and I'm the fattest I've ever been in my life (though that's not saying much). Other than the fattness and eyesight, I don't know what to do about anything else. Maybe this post wasn't full of great news, I guess I lied, haha.
However, this can still all go downhill. A foreign teacher had some problems back home and said as recently as two weeks ago he may leave in September. I have heard nothing more from him, though I believe things are working out now. If, however, he were to leave, I imagine we would all get those 2 hours back.
Also, good news, my diarrhea has basically gone away. I still have some stomach problems, but nothing debilitating.
Oh, and I've found out I'm allergic to apples now. This started happening shortly after moving here. I had some apples, felt fine, but then one day I bought a bunch and as soon as I finished an apple I was sneezing and felt that my throat was tight. A week later I had 2 slices of apple that a student gave me, and I felt a similar sensation. Tonight, at work, they gave us green apples and peaches. I tried one slice of green apple, hoping the color difference may help, or that the allergy had gone away with me not eating any, but it was worse than ever. That single slice made my lips tingly and almost numb, made my throat feel tight, and my tongue feel funny. Hopefully I'm not allergic to apple sauce as well because that's one of my staple foods in America.
If I may recap my health problems since coming to this country: I've developed an allergy to one of my favorite fruits, I've developed plantars fasciitis, my eyesight has gotten significantly worse (my eyes feel strained all day and night, and small signs further than 10 feet away are blurry with my glasses on), I wake up with back pain everyday, I had a canker sore while first here, diarrhea, increased lactose intolerance, and I'm the fattest I've ever been in my life (though that's not saying much). Other than the fattness and eyesight, I don't know what to do about anything else. Maybe this post wasn't full of great news, I guess I lied, haha.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Good News (possibly)
Two bits of good news. First, and most important, I was unofficially told that most of us teachers will only be teaching 24 hrs/wk next semester (in one week). I currently teach 26 hrs/wk, and while a 2-hour deduction may not seem like much, it is. 2 hours less teaching means 2 hours less in the classroom, 2 hours more of office-time grading (i.e. not grading at home), and less time preparing for those 2 classes I don't teach. This would equate to about 5 hours less work/week. In addition, we are definitely losing the potential for online overtime, which is going to take $400/month from my pocket, but also give me 5-7 hrs/wk more free time. Odds are I won't be using that free time in any productive way, but I can hope, can't I? This is still unofficial, but I'll be finding out this week.
Second good news is that the eBook Reader that I've been waiting to come into stock is finally in stock, and I'll be heading to their main office on Tuesday morning (they have staff meetings Monday morning and I work in the afternoon) to purchase one for about $250. I'm incredibly excited. I have over a thousand ebooks downloaded already, mostly classics and sci-fi (and one Bible), and can't wait to start reading, especially since I can't check out books from the public library for two weeks. I didn't return one of their books for two weeks, and the punishment is no more books for two weeks. I'm not sure if it's a 1:1 ratio for the punishment, but it did seem like it. I would have rather just paid a couple of bucks, but oh well, I'm getting the ebook reader.
Now for some bad news. I've been at home all day with a terrible case of diarrhea. Yesterday, I had kimchi fried rice with an egg on top, some soup, beans, curry on rice, and a rice ball with kimchi in it (kimchi is the national food, delicious, fermented, and healthy). Nothing out of the ordinary, and I'm beginning to think I have some sort of worm or something. The past couple of hours have been fine, however, so hopefully it'll continue to get better. However, if it's so bad that I can't work tomorrow, then I may get my eBook reader one day early, haha.
I finally got my Xbox working online, so now I'm able to play Halo 3 with friends. However, with John in China, Alex MIA, and the 13-hour time difference, I haven't played with friends much. Oh well, I'm already getting bored of the game again, haha.
I finally found where the post office is. It only took a month. Turns out there is no Jukjeon library, only Suji post office. Jukjeon is where I live, but it's in Suji, so I've been searching for a Jukjeon library (and strangely enough finding it online) and not being able to find it in person. Just in time to be 3 months late for Nick's birthday, nearly 3 months late for father's day, nearly 2 months late for my brother's birthday, and right on time for my sister's birthday. However, I haven't gotten anything for my sister yet. I think I'm going to just send the box I have now, and find something for my sister next weekend.
Second good news is that the eBook Reader that I've been waiting to come into stock is finally in stock, and I'll be heading to their main office on Tuesday morning (they have staff meetings Monday morning and I work in the afternoon) to purchase one for about $250. I'm incredibly excited. I have over a thousand ebooks downloaded already, mostly classics and sci-fi (and one Bible), and can't wait to start reading, especially since I can't check out books from the public library for two weeks. I didn't return one of their books for two weeks, and the punishment is no more books for two weeks. I'm not sure if it's a 1:1 ratio for the punishment, but it did seem like it. I would have rather just paid a couple of bucks, but oh well, I'm getting the ebook reader.
Now for some bad news. I've been at home all day with a terrible case of diarrhea. Yesterday, I had kimchi fried rice with an egg on top, some soup, beans, curry on rice, and a rice ball with kimchi in it (kimchi is the national food, delicious, fermented, and healthy). Nothing out of the ordinary, and I'm beginning to think I have some sort of worm or something. The past couple of hours have been fine, however, so hopefully it'll continue to get better. However, if it's so bad that I can't work tomorrow, then I may get my eBook reader one day early, haha.
I finally got my Xbox working online, so now I'm able to play Halo 3 with friends. However, with John in China, Alex MIA, and the 13-hour time difference, I haven't played with friends much. Oh well, I'm already getting bored of the game again, haha.
I finally found where the post office is. It only took a month. Turns out there is no Jukjeon library, only Suji post office. Jukjeon is where I live, but it's in Suji, so I've been searching for a Jukjeon library (and strangely enough finding it online) and not being able to find it in person. Just in time to be 3 months late for Nick's birthday, nearly 3 months late for father's day, nearly 2 months late for my brother's birthday, and right on time for my sister's birthday. However, I haven't gotten anything for my sister yet. I think I'm going to just send the box I have now, and find something for my sister next weekend.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Good Weekend
This past weekend was pretty good. Friday night, work treated the foreigner staff to dinner and drinks, which is always nice. Nothing crazy happened, luckily. I did find out, conclusively, that our online overtime will be outsourced to the Philippines, which takes about $400/month from me, but there's nothing I can do. No one likes it, except of course the higher-ups, who will be saving a buck or two.
Saturday I finally went into Itaewon. Itaewon is foreigner central, and supposedly has the largest amount of crime in all of Korea. I wouldn't doubt it, the place looks downright shady. I had wanted to not go there ever, just because the stereotype about foreigners there is not very good, but I am planning on going there next Saturday to get some shoes custom-made, so I might as well go now. I met some people there for dinner and discussion. It was a group of atheists, and I suppose they assumed I was an atheist, too. I went because I had nothing else to do, and I wanted to have a decent discussion on religion. Religion being a don't-ask-don't-tell topic for many people, my friends and I don't discuss it. I really enjoyed the discussion, but at times it was all I could do not to laugh at some of them. They of course complained about Christians just regurgitating what they've heard others say without trying to think about it or research it themselves, but some of them did the exact same thing, and I had to correct them on some of their false assumptions. I don't really know what I'm going to do, I'm sure they'll ask for my religious experiences sooner or later and I'll have to tell them the truth, but until then I guess I'll just add another perspective (i.e. one that is well-versed in Christianity).
The group dynamic was pretty interesting. There was an ex-orthodox Jew, a couple of ex-Protestants, and a couple of people who'd never been religious. The ex-orthodox Jew of course knew a lot about Judaism, but the ex-Protestants knew about what the average Protestant knows, and the others knew even less. The next meeting is in two weeks and the discussion will center around a debate between a rabbi and some news guy. According to the ex-orthodox, it's pretty good and the rabbi holds his own.
Sunday, I met up with some fellow musicians and we had a 5-hour jam/improve session. It was pretty cool. Some of us were quite good, some of us were quite new, so laughs were had sometimes on purpose, and sometimes on accident. Afterwards a few of us went to an open-mic night in Itaewon (twice in two nights...) where one of the girls performed a couple of her songs.
Still on the quest for a good friend that I can share things with and just hang out with. As Grace gets closer to quitting Topia, she is becoming more involved with church. She is the kind of person who enjoys being busy, and she knows once she quits work she'll be bored, so I think that's why she's doing this. Seriously, she's probably doing something "churchy" at least 20 hours/week now, on top of working at least 40. It's sickening, actually, because at her church I see very little concern for working outside of the church. Everyone likes to sit in circles and stroke their god-ego. People are constantly trying to pull me in and get me more and more involved, and I just want to shout at them to leave me alone, that I'm fine without their useless Christian backrubs.
I bought an Xbox in early July and have never been able to connect to Xbox Live to download things. That means I can't download updates to games and therefore can't play them online. Basically, the Xbox is useless to me. I've spent at least 6 hours on the phone to Microsoft, and at least as many hours on the internet googling for solutions, and found nothing. I've tried to call my ISP here but I can't get through to anyone. I'm very close to just selling the thing and counting my losses. That'll give me more money to buy an eBook reader and/or iPod.
P.S. It's finally happening! <http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/13/cell.phone.wallet/index.html?eref=rss_tech>
Saturday I finally went into Itaewon. Itaewon is foreigner central, and supposedly has the largest amount of crime in all of Korea. I wouldn't doubt it, the place looks downright shady. I had wanted to not go there ever, just because the stereotype about foreigners there is not very good, but I am planning on going there next Saturday to get some shoes custom-made, so I might as well go now. I met some people there for dinner and discussion. It was a group of atheists, and I suppose they assumed I was an atheist, too. I went because I had nothing else to do, and I wanted to have a decent discussion on religion. Religion being a don't-ask-don't-tell topic for many people, my friends and I don't discuss it. I really enjoyed the discussion, but at times it was all I could do not to laugh at some of them. They of course complained about Christians just regurgitating what they've heard others say without trying to think about it or research it themselves, but some of them did the exact same thing, and I had to correct them on some of their false assumptions. I don't really know what I'm going to do, I'm sure they'll ask for my religious experiences sooner or later and I'll have to tell them the truth, but until then I guess I'll just add another perspective (i.e. one that is well-versed in Christianity).
The group dynamic was pretty interesting. There was an ex-orthodox Jew, a couple of ex-Protestants, and a couple of people who'd never been religious. The ex-orthodox Jew of course knew a lot about Judaism, but the ex-Protestants knew about what the average Protestant knows, and the others knew even less. The next meeting is in two weeks and the discussion will center around a debate between a rabbi and some news guy. According to the ex-orthodox, it's pretty good and the rabbi holds his own.
Sunday, I met up with some fellow musicians and we had a 5-hour jam/improve session. It was pretty cool. Some of us were quite good, some of us were quite new, so laughs were had sometimes on purpose, and sometimes on accident. Afterwards a few of us went to an open-mic night in Itaewon (twice in two nights...) where one of the girls performed a couple of her songs.
Still on the quest for a good friend that I can share things with and just hang out with. As Grace gets closer to quitting Topia, she is becoming more involved with church. She is the kind of person who enjoys being busy, and she knows once she quits work she'll be bored, so I think that's why she's doing this. Seriously, she's probably doing something "churchy" at least 20 hours/week now, on top of working at least 40. It's sickening, actually, because at her church I see very little concern for working outside of the church. Everyone likes to sit in circles and stroke their god-ego. People are constantly trying to pull me in and get me more and more involved, and I just want to shout at them to leave me alone, that I'm fine without their useless Christian backrubs.
I bought an Xbox in early July and have never been able to connect to Xbox Live to download things. That means I can't download updates to games and therefore can't play them online. Basically, the Xbox is useless to me. I've spent at least 6 hours on the phone to Microsoft, and at least as many hours on the internet googling for solutions, and found nothing. I've tried to call my ISP here but I can't get through to anyone. I'm very close to just selling the thing and counting my losses. That'll give me more money to buy an eBook reader and/or iPod.
P.S. It's finally happening! <http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/13/cell.phone.wallet/index.html?eref=rss_tech>
Saturday, August 1, 2009
To Have and to Have Not
So I lost a bunch of stuff today. I'll start from the beginning, since that's a pretty good place to start. First there was God, and His roommate Steve. Then, God created the universe, and most of what is in it today. Humans created some stuff, too, I guess. Steve didn't really do much.
That brings us to today. A few friends and I wanted to go hiking, so we decided to climb Bukhan Mountain. It's the most popular mountain in the area, and I and two others had been there before. We ended up doing the same climb I did back in early May. Anywho, we we met at a coffee shop at 10am, but on the taxi ride there my wallet fell onto the floor of the cab, and I didn't realized it at the time. I thought the "thump" I heard was a coin hitting the floor, and after a quick inspection and finding nothing, I left the cab. My wallet had my Alien Registration Card (ARC), my iPod, my debit card, my subway money card, and, most importantly, a coupon to Java City.
Korea can be a very honest place at times, so honest it's scary. I've heard stories of people getting the wallet stolen, then mailed back to them with only the money missing. My ARC has my school's address on it, so hopefully they mail it or call or something. My ARC, subway card, and debit card can be easily replaced, but my iPod and Java City coupon can't be. It has taken me nearly 5 months to fill in that whole card to get a free coffee, and now that I have I've lost it. Because I lost my subway card I had to buy single ticket passes all day, which cost a little more than using a subway card, and are lots more annoying.
Before we reached the mountain, two of my friends wanted to stop by a store that sold really cheap backpacks. The cheap backpacks were also low quality, so we started looking at nice, hiking packs, and they were cheap, too. I ended up buying a 40 liter Abba bag for about $30, which isn't incredible or anything, but probably worth about $50 in the States. It helped immensly on the climb, since last time I used my 11-year-0ld Janson backpack from 8th grade which left knots the size of baseballs on my shoulders.
The hike was great, much better than last time because, last time, not all the members of the group were equally motivated, and not everyone had the same goals in mind. It made for a somewhat stressful, at times not fun trip. This time, everyone was on the same page and it was much better. The weather, however, wasn't. There was much more foliage which took away a lot of the views, and it rained on us for about 30 minutes. I would like to show pictures of the hike, but that leads us to my next great loss of the day.
After hiking back down the mountain and getting back into the city, I hoped on my favorite bus, the 1005-1, to go home. I was quite tired from only 6 hours of sleep and the hike, so I dozed a little on the bus.While I was sleeping I had my camera in the crook of my arm, and at some time during the bus ride it fell out of my arm, but I didn't realized it. When I woke up I didn't remember ever holding my camera, so I didn't look for it until I got to my apartment and was unloading my bag. Found it at the bottom of my bag, nevermind.
So, the bad news is over, now for some good news. My camera was already messed up; it couldn't zoom and if I tried it would shut off, so it needed to be replaced sometime soon. I was also contemplating buying another iPod when the new ones come out in September, either the latest model or the one before it, since they'd be cheaper. I still shouldn't be purchasing such expensive electronics willy-nilly, and I don't "need" either one, so if I don't get them returned then I'll just do without for a while, but it would be nice to have them so I can sell them when I want to upgrade. Oh well, so it goes.
Life is ok right now, nothing bad, but nothing great either. Still haven't felt connected to this country or any people, so I'd like to go home when my contract is up in 7 months. The coolest thing going on right now is that I'm kinda hellbent on buying an ebook reader. I've stopped drinking and buying expensive foods, just to save up. So far, in just two weeks, I've saved about $100. I'm having trouble with my Xbox, so I may sell that and be able to buy the ebook reader now. In anticipation of getting one, I've downloaded a couple hundred books in the past few days: everything by Hemingway, Salinger, Haruki Murakami, Asimov, Douglas Adams, lots of Robert Jordan and Orson Scott Card, and a few odds and ends.
Oh, and the title is an allusion to a book by Hemingway, "To Have and Have Not."
P.S. sorry for writing so rarely, I had gotten out of the habit while I was busy in June and part of July, and I'm trying to get back into it.
That brings us to today. A few friends and I wanted to go hiking, so we decided to climb Bukhan Mountain. It's the most popular mountain in the area, and I and two others had been there before. We ended up doing the same climb I did back in early May. Anywho, we we met at a coffee shop at 10am, but on the taxi ride there my wallet fell onto the floor of the cab, and I didn't realized it at the time. I thought the "thump" I heard was a coin hitting the floor, and after a quick inspection and finding nothing, I left the cab. My wallet had my Alien Registration Card (ARC), my iPod, my debit card, my subway money card, and, most importantly, a coupon to Java City.
Korea can be a very honest place at times, so honest it's scary. I've heard stories of people getting the wallet stolen, then mailed back to them with only the money missing. My ARC has my school's address on it, so hopefully they mail it or call or something. My ARC, subway card, and debit card can be easily replaced, but my iPod and Java City coupon can't be. It has taken me nearly 5 months to fill in that whole card to get a free coffee, and now that I have I've lost it. Because I lost my subway card I had to buy single ticket passes all day, which cost a little more than using a subway card, and are lots more annoying.
Before we reached the mountain, two of my friends wanted to stop by a store that sold really cheap backpacks. The cheap backpacks were also low quality, so we started looking at nice, hiking packs, and they were cheap, too. I ended up buying a 40 liter Abba bag for about $30, which isn't incredible or anything, but probably worth about $50 in the States. It helped immensly on the climb, since last time I used my 11-year-0ld Janson backpack from 8th grade which left knots the size of baseballs on my shoulders.
The hike was great, much better than last time because, last time, not all the members of the group were equally motivated, and not everyone had the same goals in mind. It made for a somewhat stressful, at times not fun trip. This time, everyone was on the same page and it was much better. The weather, however, wasn't. There was much more foliage which took away a lot of the views, and it rained on us for about 30 minutes. I would like to show pictures of the hike, but that leads us to my next great loss of the day.
After hiking back down the mountain and getting back into the city, I hoped on my favorite bus, the 1005-1, to go home. I was quite tired from only 6 hours of sleep and the hike, so I dozed a little on the bus.
So, the bad news is over, now for some good news. My camera was already messed up; it couldn't zoom and if I tried it would shut off, so it needed to be replaced sometime soon. I was also contemplating buying another iPod when the new ones come out in September, either the latest model or the one before it, since they'd be cheaper. I still shouldn't be purchasing such expensive electronics willy-nilly, and I don't "need" either one, so if I don't get them returned then I'll just do without for a while, but it would be nice to have them so I can sell them when I want to upgrade. Oh well, so it goes.
Life is ok right now, nothing bad, but nothing great either. Still haven't felt connected to this country or any people, so I'd like to go home when my contract is up in 7 months. The coolest thing going on right now is that I'm kinda hellbent on buying an ebook reader. I've stopped drinking and buying expensive foods, just to save up. So far, in just two weeks, I've saved about $100. I'm having trouble with my Xbox, so I may sell that and be able to buy the ebook reader now. In anticipation of getting one, I've downloaded a couple hundred books in the past few days: everything by Hemingway, Salinger, Haruki Murakami, Asimov, Douglas Adams, lots of Robert Jordan and Orson Scott Card, and a few odds and ends.
Oh, and the title is an allusion to a book by Hemingway, "To Have and Have Not."
P.S. sorry for writing so rarely, I had gotten out of the habit while I was busy in June and part of July, and I'm trying to get back into it.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Strangest...Dream...EVER
It was strange, but very comforting. Last night, I dreamed I was taken up through the most beautiful-blue sky, into Heaven. I have absolutely no recollection of what happened while in Heaven, but when I was placed back on Earth I remember being told a number: 8.22. There were one or two more numbers, but that is all I can remember now. For some reason, in the dream, I interpreted this as a specific date in 2010, but not August 22nd. There was some sort of logic involved, but I can't remember now because I can't remember the other number. Then, in the dream, as I realized it was a specific date (all I can remember now is it was sometime in the Fall of 2010), I thought to myself, "I need to remember this date, it's important, it's when the Resurrection will happen." The most beautiful, interesting thing about the dream, the thing I will probably never forget, is the color of the sky, and how comforted it made me feel. Now, of course I'm not saying I had some sort of vision or anything, but it was the only dream like that I've ever had.
The next dream I remember having was getting married. The date was sometime between now and fall of 2010, which makes me think it was an extension of the first dream, or something. It was the wedding day, and our families were all there and I remember us having to do stupid things that the families wanted. And by "stupid things" I mean weird stuff, like take our shoes off, and eat with only our pinkies. Anyway, just after the ceremony I remember thinking, "Oh no! My apartment is a mess (which it is right now), and we're going there right now." Another thought also occurred to me: I didn't have any condoms for the honeymoon. In short, I was unprepared for this wedding day. However, it, too, was a very comforting dream because of the feelings I had for my unknown wife, and the feelings I knew she had for me. We didn't have the wedding-day jitters, or that super-euphoric love, just an unstated, I-will-do-anything-for-you love.
Immediately upon waking, I tried to mix these dreams together and interpret them. I came up with the idea (and this is moments after waking, still in a dream-like stupor) that the Resurrection really was going to happen in a little more than a year, and that I would not be ready. I can't quite agree with that interpretation, however, because I'm not convinced I had a vision from God, and in the wedding dream I didn't feel bad because I was unprepared, it was something that just happened.
Like I said, I'm not convinced I had some vision from God, but that dream was very strange, different than any dream I can remember having, and it was so peaceful and reassuring. It was welcomed, because I've been so busy lately and I feel like I'm being pursued: by work, by worry, by time.
The next dream I remember having was getting married. The date was sometime between now and fall of 2010, which makes me think it was an extension of the first dream, or something. It was the wedding day, and our families were all there and I remember us having to do stupid things that the families wanted. And by "stupid things" I mean weird stuff, like take our shoes off, and eat with only our pinkies. Anyway, just after the ceremony I remember thinking, "Oh no! My apartment is a mess (which it is right now), and we're going there right now." Another thought also occurred to me: I didn't have any condoms for the honeymoon. In short, I was unprepared for this wedding day. However, it, too, was a very comforting dream because of the feelings I had for my unknown wife, and the feelings I knew she had for me. We didn't have the wedding-day jitters, or that super-euphoric love, just an unstated, I-will-do-anything-for-you love.
Immediately upon waking, I tried to mix these dreams together and interpret them. I came up with the idea (and this is moments after waking, still in a dream-like stupor) that the Resurrection really was going to happen in a little more than a year, and that I would not be ready. I can't quite agree with that interpretation, however, because I'm not convinced I had a vision from God, and in the wedding dream I didn't feel bad because I was unprepared, it was something that just happened.
Like I said, I'm not convinced I had some vision from God, but that dream was very strange, different than any dream I can remember having, and it was so peaceful and reassuring. It was welcomed, because I've been so busy lately and I feel like I'm being pursued: by work, by worry, by time.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
So busy
I have been sooo busy this past month with all my classes. Every week I have to grade 18 1-2 page essays, 17 short essays, 12 story summaries, 12 character analyses, prepare two pages of in-depth discussion questions for two classes (questions such as, how does the author use chiaroscuro in the story, what is the purpose of parody, what are the conflict, plot events, and resolution of the story, how does the author use housework to illustrate the deeper meaning of the story etc.), grade 12 word tests that include spelling, part of speech, and sentences, etc, and that's only for 6 of my 13 classes. Those are my most work-heavy classes, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to the others. As I've mentioned before, I tend to get to work an hour or two early, stay 30 minutes, grab dinner, then grade papers for an hour or so, then go to bed. Now, in addition to all that, I have midterms to grade.
Today, however, I caught up...somehow. I have nothing big to grade this weekend, and my usual online overtime is smaller this week for various reasons. In short, I am relieved almost to the point of tears. I want to assign less work so I will have less work to grade, but if I do that the students won't learn as much.
I traveled to a nearby city and bought a used Xbox 360 from a guy. I had been debating over it for months, and finally decided to do it. I had been spending between $5-10 a week in internet cafes, playing Starcraft b/c I was bored (until I got so busy, that is). I bought the 360 and two games for around $200, and I probably won't be going to internet cafes anymore, so technically I kinda saved money. In addition, John is moving to China and it'll be nice to play Halo with him, in addition to Mike and Alex who are still in South Carolina. I don't have Halo yet, but I've been able to talk to both Mike and John while playing different games, so that's pretty cool.
I've been thinking a lot about extending my contract or not, and it basically boils down to a job. If I don't have a job setup in America when my contract is up, there's almost no point going home to the economy and trying to find one. However, I can't imagine a situation in which I would extend more than 6 months, so I'll almost certainly be back in the country before September 2010. My friend Austin, however, has been doing independent website design. He's been able to make pretty good money and, from what I can tell, keep pretty steadily employed. If I can manage to study some programming languages while I'm here, I could head back to America after my 1 year, assuming nothing keeps me here (primarily the proverbial girlfriend). Doing programming will also allow me the opportunity to travel and see the friends who will, by that time, scatter to the corners of America. The problem will be finding time. Therefore, I'm considering not doing the online overtime next semester, which will cost me ~$100/week, but will also give me ~5 hours/week. Knowing myself, however, those 5 hours may go towards things not productive. It's all very tentative, as you can see.
On a totally unrelated note, ThePirateBay.org is being bought out for just under 8mil and it will become subsidized. A horrible blow to those of us who believe information should be free. I have never thought much of what I am able to produce or give, and have always had trouble charging for it. For instance, I taught surf lessons for free through much of high school and college, even though they go for ~$30/hour for a private, and I taught flute lessons for almost 2 years for free. I also have a difficult time imagining teaching private lessons here in Korea for money. It upsets me to see some charge outrageous prices for, what amounts to, frivolity. Thus, in Korea where there are no ramifications, I shall pirate all the media I can, while I can.
Today, however, I caught up...somehow. I have nothing big to grade this weekend, and my usual online overtime is smaller this week for various reasons. In short, I am relieved almost to the point of tears. I want to assign less work so I will have less work to grade, but if I do that the students won't learn as much.
I traveled to a nearby city and bought a used Xbox 360 from a guy. I had been debating over it for months, and finally decided to do it. I had been spending between $5-10 a week in internet cafes, playing Starcraft b/c I was bored (until I got so busy, that is). I bought the 360 and two games for around $200, and I probably won't be going to internet cafes anymore, so technically I kinda saved money. In addition, John is moving to China and it'll be nice to play Halo with him, in addition to Mike and Alex who are still in South Carolina. I don't have Halo yet, but I've been able to talk to both Mike and John while playing different games, so that's pretty cool.
I've been thinking a lot about extending my contract or not, and it basically boils down to a job. If I don't have a job setup in America when my contract is up, there's almost no point going home to the economy and trying to find one. However, I can't imagine a situation in which I would extend more than 6 months, so I'll almost certainly be back in the country before September 2010. My friend Austin, however, has been doing independent website design. He's been able to make pretty good money and, from what I can tell, keep pretty steadily employed. If I can manage to study some programming languages while I'm here, I could head back to America after my 1 year, assuming nothing keeps me here (primarily the proverbial girlfriend). Doing programming will also allow me the opportunity to travel and see the friends who will, by that time, scatter to the corners of America. The problem will be finding time. Therefore, I'm considering not doing the online overtime next semester, which will cost me ~$100/week, but will also give me ~5 hours/week. Knowing myself, however, those 5 hours may go towards things not productive. It's all very tentative, as you can see.
On a totally unrelated note, ThePirateBay.org is being bought out for just under 8mil and it will become subsidized. A horrible blow to those of us who believe information should be free. I have never thought much of what I am able to produce or give, and have always had trouble charging for it. For instance, I taught surf lessons for free through much of high school and college, even though they go for ~$30/hour for a private, and I taught flute lessons for almost 2 years for free. I also have a difficult time imagining teaching private lessons here in Korea for money. It upsets me to see some charge outrageous prices for, what amounts to, frivolity. Thus, in Korea where there are no ramifications, I shall pirate all the media I can, while I can.
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