I had never heard of Justin Dart, Jr

If you haven't either, go here and find out a little bit about him.

Double Damn

I have lost my ability to sleep in. I woke up at 7.30 and again at 9.30, despite not going to bed until 2.30. I wanna sleep!!!

Memoirs of a Geisha

I just finished this, having borrowed it from Amber only on Friday, in a 200 page reading spurt this morning.

I did like it. The writing is often beautiful and the plot kept me interested. But it is also a book that made me uncomfortable.

This article does a better job than I ever would at articulating some of that discomfort.

Damn

And now I've gone and shown my patriarcical upbringing (not by mom and dad per se, but by society) by writing about a god as if it had to be a man. Damn it, isn't it enough that I ruined what would have been a lovely tomato sandwich???

Why is it...

... that I'm so fond of dot-dot-dot?

But seriously, why is it that my pepper shaker, when I add pepper to something that I will be mixing, managed to slowly and evenly dispense my pepper, but when I add pepper to a toasted tomato sandwich, disgorges half of the contents onto one tiny bit of sandwich?

In spite of years of an unshakeable atheism, I do believe there is a pepper god. And somehow, some way, I have seriously pissed him off.

It's official...

Okay, so I'm losing my break at work. This isn't a particularly big deal - I'm more than efficient enough to not need it. However, it comes at a time when I have discovered that the tests that are supposed to exist for a textbook I am teaching have disappeared. And guess who gets to rewrite them? Yours truly, of course. You know, it isn't even the writing of the tests. I mean, I'm a perfectionist/control freak, I love the idea of getting to do things my way. However, it annoys me that the school is so ridiculously unorganized. Perhaps it is the result of having worked in the business world, and temped especially, but people, you need to label computer folders in a way that people after you will be able to understand! And having a computer network (that isn't even presently working) that contains pictures of the girlfriend of a teacher from years ago is silly.

And to top it all off, the computers are always fucked. Always. Right now, the network doesn't work and one printer doesn't either. Which means we couldn't access anything on that computer. Except that we could, as it has a new CD writer, which could be used to transfer all the files to a computer with a working printer. And that did get done, but only after I pretty much threw a hissy fit and insisted it be done RIGHT NOW because we do, in fact, really need access to it. Not my calmest or most professional of days, but it certainly got the job done. And the boss seems to like me as much as ever. Not sure why, cause I can be pretty aggressive in terms of getting shit done, which isn't supposed to go over well in Korea. I did manage to burn off a lot of steam by cleaning out some random cupboards and finding some rather useful resources. The whole damn place justs needs one big reoganisation/ clean. And you all know I'll do it before I leave, cause shit like that just annoys me. Well, maybe not the actual cleaning. Though I did once clean our fridge with some Windex.

After my last break for the next three months, of yelling and cleaning, I had a class where I teach this story about a boy named Leon. His dad is away in the army and he is lonely. He has a pretend friend (imaginary my students don't seem to get) named Bob and then he makes a real friend named Bob. Which lead to me singing to my students (to the tune of Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys):

Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob the friend,
Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob the friend,
Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob the friend,
Bob the frieeeeeeend, he's not preteeeeeeend, Bob the friennnnnnd...
He's got me happy in a new town, happy in new town,
Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob the friend.

Yep, it's official, folks. Teaching is making me weird.

It's not just the Americans and the Brits!!!

On a student's notebook:

"Are you afraid of learning English? Don't worry, just speak English as loudly as you can. Here we go - Hi~!"

It's Monday, so it must be time for...

... a post about my weekend!

I guess that this is a high turnover time for Korea or something, cause a lot of people are having goodbye parties. Henry is heading back to California, so we got to have fun with him, his bro, and the gang generally. Met Laura in Itaewon for dinner at Geckos and then went to the usual haunts in Hongdae: 66 and Halaboogies.

Sunday was the same kind of lazy day as last weekend, with the same great company. Though at the end of it all, I had to head to Itaewon to put money on my phone, buy a phone card, and browse in a bookstore. Okay, I didn't HAVE to do that last one... Picked up two new books and a magazine.

The best news, of course, is that camp is OVER!!! Woohoo! Friday was cool. Today, what with sleeping in until 11am, was cooler. I love being back to my normal schedule. Please, January, don't come too soon!

There were some good things about camp. For that first week, the new classes with the kids who are overly well behaved cause they are a bit scared of the new teacher are fun cause they are so good! That doesn't last long, sadly. I liked teaching one of my textbooks, called Thoughts & Notions. I had never heard of the Marie Celeste or the Roanoke Settlement. I had no idea that Monarch butterflies were so cool: they migrate from north eastern parts of North America to Mexico, but it takes four generations to complete one round trip. I wanna know what caused the Tunguska Explosion. And while teaching the origin of postage stamps and inflation wasn't quite as fun, it was still nice to teach something other than fiction.

I am listening to the letter W on iTunes. There are a lot of songs called Wait!

Where the hell is matt?

I have a new life goal. I wanna dance like an idiot all over the world just like this guy!

Why I love living alone...

I am listening to Wake Me Up Before You GoGo and eating a plate of caulliflower smoothered in cheese whiz at ten minutes past midnight. And it fuckin' rocks!

I.AM.RADIOHEAD

Which British Band Are You?

I am Radiohead, in spite of the fact that I was too stupid to take the opportunity to see them playing in Thessaloniki, which would have been bloody amazing.

Amazon weirdness

So, basically, once I recalled Blueberry Pie, I wanted to see if I could find the album on CD. I would love to own it cause as a child I LOVED that song. This lead me to Amazon and I happened to look and see what I've got on my Wishlist. I do it every once in awhile to see if I've bought anything on it since or whatever. And bizarrely, I had listed Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach, which I bought at Abbey's Bookstore in Itaewon a couple of months ago. When I bought it I would have sworn that I had never heard of it before, the title just caught my eye. But, apparently not!

Ten Songs Meme, from Frog

Ten songs starting with "B" - no Googling or iPod scrolling allowed. Include artist as well as title.

Wanna play? Comment and I'll give you a letter.

Banana Pancakes, Jack Johnson
Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
Build Me Up Buttercup, The Foundations
Building a Mystery, Sarah McLaughlin
Blueberry Pie, Sesame Street record from my childhood
Bad Moon Rising, CCR
Better Together, Jack Johnson
Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
Blackbird, The Beatles
Baby Got Back, Sir Lancelot

For those with a sense of humour and a feminist bent

I found this a very amusing response to the stupid Forbes article on career women.

I've Been Tagged!

And it's the first time it's ever happened! And by someone really cool - Blue at the Gimp Parade.

Why do you blog?

I started off blogging because I had one friend whose blog I loved reading and I was working a temp job where I had nothing to do. I was so bored and figuring out how to set everything up gave me something to do. Also, since I live a long plane ride away from my family all the time, it seemed a nice way for them to keep up with my life. Which it is, but then they never email me with their news! Now, I blog just because I do. I am constantly thinking of things to blog about, as weird little things happen to me throughout the day. And partly, it replaces my travel journals - I still write in an actual journal sometimes, but not as prolifically as I used too.

How long have you been blogging?

April 7, 2004 was my first real post. I have older posts because I took old emails and turned them into posts from previous trips I took.

Self-portrait.

Taken with my webcam and conclusively proving I haven't the faintest clue about how to take pics with my webcam.





Why do readers read your blog?

Most of my readers (i think) are friends and family. And I'm guessing they read mostly because I'm such a lazy emailer! I wish I could say it was for my witty and intellectual banter, but I am the sort of person who blogs about socks and gum and stuff like that.

What was the last search phrase someone used to get to your site?

"pics" "new glasses" -male site:blogspot.com
calientes club itaewon
jjim
"temp agency" "series of tests"

(okay, so that wasn't just the last. but it made me curious about what sort of searches lead to me!)

Which of your entries unjustly gets too little attention?

The one about socks. Definitely. Cause those really were the most rockin' socks ever.

Your current favorite blog:

I love reading my friends' blogs to keep up with them and probably the most prolific are Greg and Sam. Aside from that, I've been keeping up with Avast!, The Gimp Parade, Frog Blog and The Ditsy Chronicles. I am slowly adding more blogs to my daily reading, but it takes me awhile.

What blog did you read most recently?

Ditsy. Cause it's damn funny.

Which feeds do you subscribe to?

I have just started trying out Bloglines. I am not sure what I think yet.

What four blogs are you tagging with this meme, and why?

Gregorian Rants, This is my Brain on Graduate School, Buntie, and Doctor in the Larval Stage. Because they were the first four people who came to mind.

Feel the English

Yoda-yoda-yay, yoda-yoda-yay, yoda-yoda-yoda-yoda-yay.

I have no idea if that is some Korean song my student Tom sings or what, but I have now become the Yoda teacher.

I'm gonna pick the kids up and spin their chairs around with the force the next time they misbehave.

Crack

Lotte Pink Peach gum is like crack. I am addicted. I chewed a whole pack last night, cause like all Korean gum, the flavour doesn't last long. Laura is just like a pusher, dammit!!!

I. AM. CANADIAN

I missed this one the first time round. My parents mailed me a newspaper clipping with the rant though, as I was living in Scotland. I must say that I do like it. And I love that my country's patriotism is largely based around beer ;)

Fragile

THIS WAY UP á

Amanda has fragile contents which may break!

Username:

From Go-Quiz.com

So true. I am sure life would be better if everyone kept this in mind when interacting with most people. That said, I am ridiculously easily hurt. I emotionally react to every little thing. Most of the time, I will never admit to these hurts, cause I am fully aware of how silly I would sound.

Bwhahahahahaha!

Snubster!!!

A Very Lazy Weekend

A lazy weekend, and a perfect one. Went out Friday night and had a brilliant time, getting more than a bit sauced on a rather small number of drinks since I skipped dinner. Wandered between 66 and TinPans and chatted with tons of people and just generally had a great time. Saturday I didn't do much at all, was tired and coming down with a cold and probably a bit hungover. Went to dinner at Fridays, finally eating after 24 hours. It's weird-I do like to eat, but on the weekends it isn't the slightest bit unusual for me to not eat until really late. Really late has been pushed as far as 10.30 pm so far.

But Sunday was the most perfect day. I headed out to Dongducheon, and god, that takes forever. But it was amazing - great company, one good movie (Waiting - I laughed a lot) and one bad (The Hills Have Eyes is too gory for me and not jump-in-your-seat scary the way I like them), and just generally a cool, lazy, hanging out day. However, the last train out of Dongducheon doesn't connect to the last subway into Seoul, as I learned. To my relief, a cab from whatever crazily up north station I ended up stuck in was only 22,000 won. Not too bad. And now I have Honey Nut Cheerios!!! Yay!

Today has sucked though. I am just too tired for 12 hours of teaching. There is too much to be done and nowhere near enough time to do it in. I was kinda bitchy all day - to the kids (which granted, mostly consists of just being less fun and more "be quiet and learn" which is probably good for them) and my boss, who, of course, at the last minute is always asking for this, that and the next thing. I don't have time dammit! And I work 12 hour days, I am NOT taking it home with me.

However, some galbi, some rum, and a fudgesicle has made it all better.

Worth a Watch

A very funny video filmed by Sean, Amber's boyfriend.

Cunning

Amusingly, my students say "Brian is being cunning" instead of "Brian is cheating". And not just one class either, but many of them, so I guess it's a fairly standard Korean misspeak. I love Konglish :)

In other school-related news, I am getting ridiculously efficient. I managed to do my homework lists and write up my camp report cards in one forty minute break. Once camp is over and we go back to our normal schedules, I am not going to know what to do with all my extra prep time. Either that or I'll just go back to spending the first half hour of every day making and drinking my daily cup of coffee. I miss it now that I am too busy!

Ho ho ho...

....Green Giant!

I was in the Body Shop and spontaneously picked up the Tea Tree Face Mask. I look like I am trying out a potential Hallowe'en costume as the Green Giant. Or like the Hulk.

Did I mention that some of my students think my flowery skirt makes me look like a grandma? Others told me I look beautiful (must wear more skirts apparently). And I'm Princess Number 2, after Julie, so it can't be all bad.

My fascinating life overseas

Or, a post about foot moisturizer. Isn't my life in Korea fascinating? ;)

So, when it rains hard and you are wearing flip flops after just moisturizing your feet, it can get a bit slippy, as I discovered this morning. Also, Body Shop hemp foot moisturizer does not smell nice. I didn't buy it myself, by the by, it was a hand me down from either Marisa or Athena. It works like a maniac on speed, but the smell leaves a lot to be desired.

I want camp to end, already! I am soooo damn tired. Woke up inexplicably at 5am this morning. Not good. I am cooking myself the ultimate in comfort food: pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. I don't know why I find that so comforting. Mom must have made it for me as a kid or something. I might add some peas, but I am not sure I want to mess with success. I am tired and overworked and report cards are supposed to be due tomorrow. It's a good thing he said "latest, Friday" cause that is as soon as I'll be able to manage them.

And, my god, when does the heat end???

Tuesday is for Skiving

I sorta like having a Tuesday as a holiday. It is a bit silly, but it makes me feel like I am a naughty teenager skipping school to be enjoying myself on a Tuesday.

Not that I did terribly a lot. I went to Hongdae and chose some new glasses. In a situation of ironic proportions, I am too fat for the clothes here, feet are too wide for the shoes, and yet my face is too narrow for most of the glasses. Most looked far too big. Then there is the fact that square is trendy right now in Korea and they look horrible on me.

On top of that, there are tons of glasses wearers in Korea. I think it is way more cool here than back home. People wear pretty bold styles. I, however, do not. I love the look of myself in glasses - whether this is due to wearing them since I was 13 or it is my hatred of sticking my finger in my eye ruling out contacts or it's cause I really like the look of it, I don't know. But I still like my glasses fairly subtle and generally I think they look better when they kinda blend in with my face.

So, my new glasses are a bit darker than I am used to. But they cost $55 American. Compared to my usual $600!!! I am gonna start shopping for glasses more often. At that price, I should come home with a new pair for every day of the week at least.

It was raining like crazy (and I bought yet ANOTHER umbrella because it was), so after a quick stop for some stuff in The Body Shop, I headed for a coffee at Starbucks while waiting for my glasses to be ready. Then I met up with Laura and YunJin and we went for tea and shopped at Etude House, the pinkest store EVER. I bought some lip stuff and some eye shadow and got a free washcloth, body puff, and post-it notes. I love the freebies here.

Shopping aside, I have forgotten to take my allergy pills for awhile. Such a mistake.

Grrr.

Would also like to add how much I hate when you finally get a chance to sleep in and your damn body works like an alarm clock and has you up and unable to fall back asleep at 8am. I mean really! I have a day of vacation, dammit!!!

Me being Mawkish

You know you are feeling too sentimental of late when forwards like this get to you. And yet this one did. I have indeed had my heart broken, broken another heart, and lost one of best friends all in the past 6 months. It has been exhausting. However, I do find myself happy more often than not. I did what was right for me and it has paid off. All that confusion and unhappiness and general feeling of being lost that I was stuck with in Scotland is gone. I have paid one hell of a high price for being happy again, but I am. And it is worth it.

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will.

You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time.

You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.

You'll fight with your best friend.

You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.

You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Myspace Musings

When you are listening to iTunes, which is playing the end of "I'll Go Too" by Carrie Newcomer and the beginning of "I'll Take You There" by Sean Paul and it is mixed with someone's Nine Inch Nails song on their profile, it is VERY, VERY WEIRD!!! As if going from Carrie Newcomer to Sean Paul wasn't going to be weird enough already.

Smurf Me!

So, I generated my smurf names. Since I have two middle names, I tried twice. I'm either Red Army Smurf or Revolution Smurf, depending on with grandmother's name I use.

On an un-smurf-related note, I have become a big Carrie Newcomer fan, in spite of her rather religious content. And you should too!

Love/Hate

I have a love/hate relationship with my air-conditioning. Basically, I would melt without it. It really is that hot here. However, if I have it on for more than 20 minutes max, I freeze. So I wake up in the middle of the night too hot. I turn on the aircon. I fall back asleep. I wake up shivering. I turn it off. Later, rinse, repeat. All night.

Whoda thunk it?

It's funny sometimes how people are. One person you never expected to betray you does. Another person you barely know comes to be a regular correspondent and one of your best friends.

And Matt, the quiet guy who works right beside you at Heritage, turns out to have four tattoos.

I wouldn't have thought he was the type.

Also, while green tea icecream wasn't immediately delicious, it is slowly growing on me as I drink this shake. Yum.

9 to 9

Ok yo....

I wake up late every morning
Mr Joo calling im still yawning
Get up wake up hair and makeups
Waiting for you don't be sawing
This teaching job is important
I don't think I can put my all in
Hold on I was drunk last night
Now its all kicking in and I don't feel right
Gave my number to a breh who wasn't my type
Now my phones on silent im being polite
Now private callers get no love from me
Just let me be...

Oh my gosh my days are getting longer
And there's no turning back im working da 9 to 9
It's in my contract sometimes 9 instead of 1:30
I ain't no early birdy im lazy dats all I can say
So make sure you heard me
And deres no turning back im working a 9 to 9

So you gotta...do...sum...ite... for...kangaroos
Kanga who sorry who im altered for snooze
Oh! Kangaroos those ones ain't my class
My head's messed from Cass
Whoops Im being rude
Wheres my red bull and my sandwich I need food
I cant handle this
Im getting pissd like pampers, working in a school
"Looby loo"
Nah Id actually rather catch my z's and count sheep in my sleep
Lets not wake her up actually looks quite sweet

Oh my gosh my days are getting longer
And there's no turning back im working da 9 to 9
It's in my contract sometimes 9 instead of 1:30
Im no early birdy im lazy dats all dat I can say
So make sure you heard me
I aint no early birdy
don't wanna wake up till 12:30

Couldn't be bothered to plan much ere
Sooooooooo oh dear
Huh where am I man...
This... this aint good... whats going on?!

So puzzlemaker won't change my words
Im a vocabulary chik called dipstick
This aint on my wishlist
Oh shit Im in class reading the wrong story
Next class is really gory
Next a class with lazy Tweenies
It's like presenting C-beebies
Have u seen me?
Never again, am I drinking lambrini
"Its alright Teach it's a dream... jus wake up!"

Oh my gosh my days are getting longer
And there's no turning back im working da 9 to 9
It's in my contract sometimes 9 instead of 1:30
Im no early birdy im lazy I'll say it again
To make sure ya heard me
I aint no early birdy
Don't wanna wake up till 12:30

The Lady Sovereign version is of course much better than my rip off. If you don't listen to her, start now.

Since Thailand

Basically, since I got back from Thailand, I've only had time to work, eat, and sleep. Yay summer camp! Can't wait till it's over. The only good thing is the pay cheque - I am looking forward to that extra cash. After all, I have that expensive juice addiction to feed...

Lindsay and I didn't do too much exploring around Seoul. I took her to Insadong for a little shopping and pizza at Agio's. We went to Ladies' Night at the Loft. I watched her pack and sent her home with some Christmas gifts. We spent a bit of time out on Saturday in Itaewon. On her last day we went to Starbucks, as she wanted a mug with Korean writing on it and then spent a crazy amount of time going to the airport, waiting around for her flight, and then for me trying to take the airport bus home through traffic.

This past weekend I went into Itaewon for some errands on Saturday. It is lovely and sunny here, which I love. I love the sun, it makes me so happy. I think I just lived too many years in places with too much rain and greyness (Edinburgh, Vancouver, even Kingston for large parts of the year). Even in the winter when it is cold it is still usually sunny here. Even during the monsoon. It's lovely. What isn't so lovely is how damn humid it is here. I am dying. Every day on my lunch break I sit around in my underwear with the aircon on. Yep, that is what I'm up to RIGHT NOW!!!

Saturday night Julie, Amber, Laura, and I went to Margarita's for a very late dinner (we didn't even leave our building till 10.15) and then met up with Pedro & Co. at 66. We then moved on to Tin Pan's 1 and 2 and Halaboogies. (That place changed it's name briefly to Hage, but seems to have gone back). Danced up a storm. Danced on the pole. Danced. Made a slightly drunken call to someone who requested it. Went home and slept sometime after 5. Or was it 6?

Sunday wasn't up to much. Either that or I wasn't. Had a long, serious and rather depressing conversation with someone and then decided I couldn't be arsed doing a whole lot else. Was asleep by 9.

Which means I am still stuck wearing my old glasses, the ones I don't like. I have a holiday tomorrow, so maybe I can buy a new pair.

And damn, I write bad poetry!!!

I have expensive taste in juice

I love juice. Love it. Don't care that there are lots of calories and less nutrition than in the fruit itself. Please note: I like juice, not drink. Though sometimes drink can be nice. I often water juices down and I do drink a ton of water too, but basically, I'm never gonna give up my juice.

And in Korea, this means I spend an absurd amount of money to buy juice I like. Ruby Red Grapefruit juice costs a whopping 6,800 won. As does the new apple juice I just tried and is the first decent apple juice I've found in Korea. That's right, folks, I pay about $7 American for 1.89 L of juice. Which is crazy. But I really, really like juice.

An Ode to My Favourite Pair of Glasses

Many a time, I have sat on or
stood upon these glasses poor.
But this last time it was too much
No amount of fixing touch
Will repair this pair
Should have taken better care
As now they are in two half
And they have gotten the last laugh.

Talking to Americans CBC Special (PART 2) f/ Rick Mercer

One of my students, who has disappeared this month, would ask me every class to sing O Canada. Why he liked it so much, I have no idea. But while the kids were writing things from the board, I always complied. This version, however, would have been funnier!

This is why all my students should listen to me very, very carefully!

Bwhahahahahaha!

'A basic rule of punctuation'
GRANT ROBERTSON

From Monday's Globe and Mail

It could be the most costly piece of punctuation in Canada.

A grammatical blunder may force Rogers Communications Inc. to pay an extra $2.13-million to use utility poles in the Maritimes after the placement of a comma in a contract permitted the deal's cancellation.

The controversial comma sent lawyers and telecommunications regulators scrambling for their English textbooks in a bitter 18-month dispute that serves as an expensive reminder of the importance of punctuation.

Rogers thought it had a five-year deal with Aliant Inc. to string Rogers' cable lines across thousands of utility poles in the Maritimes for an annual fee of $9.60 per pole. But early last year, Rogers was informed that the contract was being cancelled and the rates were going up. Impossible, Rogers thought, since its contract was iron-clad until the spring of 2007 and could potentially be renewed for another five years.

Armed with the rules of grammar and punctuation, Aliant disagreed. The construction of a single sentence in the 14-page contract allowed the entire deal to be scrapped with only one-year's notice, the company argued.

Language buffs take note — Page 7 of the contract states: The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.”

Rogers' intent in 2002 was to lock into a long-term deal of at least five years. But when regulators with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) parsed the wording, they reached another conclusion.

The validity of the contract and the millions of dollars at stake all came down to one point — the second comma in the sentence.

Had it not been there, the right to cancel wouldn't have applied to the first five years of the contract and Rogers would be protected from the higher rates it now faces.

“Based on the rules of punctuation,” the comma in question “allows for the termination of the [contract] at any time, without cause, upon one-year's written notice,” the regulator said.

Rogers was dumbfounded. The company said it never would have signed a contract to use roughly 91,000 utility poles that could be cancelled on such short notice. Its lawyers tried in vain to argue the intent of the deal trumped the significance of a comma. “This is clearly not what the parties intended,” Rogers said in a letter to the CRTC.

But the CRTC disagreed. And the consequences are significant.

The contract would have shielded Rogers from rate increases that will see its costs jump as high as $28.05 per pole. Instead, the company will likely end up paying about $2.13-million more than expected, based on rough calculations.

Despite the victory, Aliant won't reap the bulk of the proceeds. The poles are mostly owned by Fredericton-based utility NB Power, which contracted out the administration of the business to Aliant at the time the contract was signed.

Neither Rogers nor Aliant could be reached for comment on the ruling. In one of several letters to the CRTC, Aliant called the matter “a basic rule of punctuation,” taking a swipe at Rogers' assertion that the comma could be ignored.

“This is a classic case of where the placement of a comma has great importance,” Aliant said.

Thailand

Photos are here.

Thursday
We got to sleep in a bit, as we didn't have to leave the house till 1.30. Left the packing off till the morning, naturally. had a great shower, got all shaved and smooth and ready for the beach.

We had the wonderful experience of getting to walk to the airport bus in a monsoonal downpour. It was crazy. The bags got all wet and so did I. Froze my ass off on the overly air conditioned bus and it occured to me that I was wearing flip flops and didn't have any socks to keep my feet warm on the plane. Ooops. But since it's the law of the universe that you have to forget at least one thing on every trip, at least it was the socks this time!

In the airport we wandered into a gift shop while looking for some socks. They sold these jewellery boxes for $120. I have one that I bought in Insadong, same size and style, for $40. Crazy. Didn't find any socks, so we went off and had some lunch. Lindsay wasn't a fan of curry, apparently it was her first time eating it.

The plane ride was fine, boring as always. I watched Ice Age II and listened to one of the two English radio stations. I missed having my iPod, but didn't want to worry about losing it or having it stolen. Between cameras and passports and airplane tickets, I figured I had enough to keep track of.

At the airport we arranged a hotel room for the night near the airport, with a free transfer over. It was quite a nice place, nicer than I would usually stay in. Had all sorts of little toiletries and stuff, all of which I either used or took. After all, that's why they charge more than hostels, right? ;) We just arrived, slept, showered, and ate breakfast at Ebina House.

Friday
So, Bangkok Airways is posh. Free drinks and snacks, free internet terminals in the departure lounge. Nice. Upon landing, I discovered that the airport has no walls. It is just a collection of thatched roof style buildings, open to the air. Very cool.

After only one day in Ko Samui, i was sooooo burnt. I have some very bizarre
tan lines. very, very bizarre. basically, i've burnt an outline of my bikini into my back. and that with using sunscreen all day, reapplying often, and lying in the shade. could it be any more obvious that i am of British descent? ;) i think "tomato teacher" may well become my next nickname...

Got a pedicure while lying on the beach and swam in the ocean and read a book. we splurged for a bungalow with air con, which wasn't really necessary. while nice and hot and sunny, koh samui lacks the humidity of seoul, so to me it wasn't really that hot. certainly didn't require air con.

had the best thai curry for dinner at our guesthouse and went to wander around the main strip of Lamui. We had a few beers and then went dancing at Bauhaus, the big club. there wass a foam party, which basically was just dancing to house music in a cordonned off area full of soap bubbles. It was fun, but weird, and I wasn't so fond of having gotten dressed up and put on makeup to be covered in foam. Also, there were a lot of children there till fairly late, which is understandable as I can see the appeal for children of the whole thing.

it was sooooo good to be away from 12 hour days at work. (though i kept trying to speak Korean to everyone!!!) Nice to just lie around and chill. We were staying at Lamai beach, which is a little less popular than Chaweng, so a bit more quiet and chilled, but still with some nightlife. Seemed a good balance. As well, it looks like Chaweng doesn't have much in the way of budget accomodation, and as i'm sure you
all know, i'm all about the cheap accomodation!

the beach was minutes from our door, gorgeous white sand and blue water and palm trees. it's wonderful. if teaching in thailand paid better, i'd be here in a
minute. granted, i said that about Cambodia too.

All in all, I went through books on the trip. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, which I had read before but barely remembered. Local Girls by Alice Hoffman, which was ok. Falling Leaves by Adeline Mah, which was good and I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson, which was my favourite of the lot. I traded a couple in at the used bookstore in Lamai - the selection there was soooo much better than in the used stores here in Korea. I guess it is all that book buying people do in anticipation of beach holidays. Who knew I would go to Thailand and come back with 10 books?

Saturday
Saturday was really relaxing. Had a fantastic Thai massage with oils and then we just lay around all day. Went into Lamai for a meal and to do some souvenir shopping. Lindsay is a shopping queen. We saw some Thai boxing, which was cool. More dance like and with lots of kicking. Didn't look very tiring, but I am sure it is. Ate Magnum ice creams, which i very much miss from Europe. And there were tons of mating frogs on the path back to our bungalow upon our return. Island love ;)

Sunday
we did a jeep tour of Koh Samui. rode on elephants and saw a very touristy elephant/monkey show. rode up the very bumpy and steep road to the top of the mountain for the view, which was fanatastically fun, and went to a statue garden and to see the big buddha temple. lindsay tried thai food for the first time and it made her ill, unfortunately.

my nose ended up bright red, in spite of my sun block efforts. i have also badly burnt the part of my hair. damn all that british blood.

Monday
after a day of snorkeling and kayaking, i was even more red if that is even possible. and i was wearing sunscreen the whole damn time.

We started with a light breakfast and a round of seasickness tablets. After my ferry from Jejudo experience, i am pretty sure I have a stomach of steel. That said, there seemed no reason to be silly and tempt fate. After an hour in a speedboat, being constantly sprayed by sea water, I was drenched and ready to snorkel for the first time. The water was murky but I could see fish, mostly yellow and black stripy ones. However, I had a slight technical hitch. Basically, I could take off my glasses and not really see very well or I could leave them on but then the mask leaked. Alternating between the two, I had a good time. I would love to snorkel somewhere more exciting, which more to see. It is fun.

We then went to an island with a lake (can't recall the name) that Leonardo Di Caprio jumps into in the movie The Beach. In fact, most of the movie was filmed in the national marine park at various locations. The lake was beautiful but the hike up a little tough on the ankle. Then lunch on yet another island with gorgeous white sand.

Finally, the kayaking trip. Open kayaks with rather short poles. On the way over I got to kayak with the very good looking guide. On the way back I was transfered over to help out an Asian couple, as they hadn't a clue. Much better workout being in the back and steering. The photos have a weird light quality to them that i love, but have no idea how i achieved.

Tuesday
We flew out early, in fact got bumped to an earlier flight on our arrival at the airport, to Bangkok. We just had the one day there as our flight back to Korea left at midnight. we went to see the emerald buddha, the grand palace and wat arun. wat arun was my favourite, especially because the decorations where made with things like purposefully broken plates. Very cool. I thought that the grand palace reminded me of a more ornate version of what I saw in Cambodia, and I kinda preferred the Cambodian version. They did have a model of Angkor Wat, for Thai people unable to visit the real thing. We had a long boat ride along the canals, so we got to see houses with lots of washing out and tons of potted plants. There were delapidated shacks, apartment buildings and nice looking houses all crammed together along the water. We were briefly in a market near the dock and then we took a tuktuk to khao san road, home of the backpackers, for some shopping. had a really good pad thai.

it was raining and dull, which at least means i couldn't burn any more!!!

Wednesday
i got back exhausted, with tons of laundry to do, and two bills waiting for me in my mailbox. but it is always nice to come home. Can't wait to hit the road again, of course!