I sound sort of like one when I cough. Ahhh, Korea. Your air is so unhealthy. Even though my cold is gone, as always it will likely take me a month to throw this cough. And getting rid of it will include coughing up a lot of unpleasant looking goo. Fun, fun.
However, on the happy side, two of my students didn't show up, so I have a free hour - woot!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
I Like Spring
On Friday night, I went to Kabinett with Brian - our goal was to get some fondue and eat a kangaroo steak. I liked Kabinett a lot, though the tables are really huge, so it was a bit hard to chat when it was busy and noisy. The fondue was good, though I've had better, and it turns out that kangaroo tastes rather like cow. I was disappointed - somehow I expected it to taste differently than it did.
We left nice and early - I was sick and needed to be in bed early to make the hash and Brian had to work the next day. I had one of those nights where I was either so cold I needed two heavy blankets on the bed and the heat on high or so hot I was burning up. Not fun. However, by the time I woke up on Saturday morning I was feeling a bit better.
I started my trip down to Songtan well - I wasn't running late or anything. Then I had every possible bit of bad subway luck. Every train I was on stopped before the end of the line, so I had to wait for the next. I got to five stops away and by then I was running late and yet again, I had to wait for the next train. I figured I'd be ok - the hash started at noon, but that means hares away at 12:30, so I had some extra time. Except that I waited and waited. Three more trains arrived and the passengers hopped off and joined me in waiting on the platform. When the next train finally arrived, it was an express that doesn't even stop in Songtan, so I decided to take it to Osan and hop in a cab. If I had had a Seoul cabbie, that would have been great - but Songtan cabbies drive slower than my grandmother. Sooooo frustrating. However, I jumped out of my cab and was instantly on trail.
It was a great trail on a lovely summer day. One of those trails where even the walkers are able to keep up with the runners and it's always more fun when the pack stays together. Plus there was a beer check on trail. When we got to circle, I was a beer bitch - and not a very good one! Oops! I got called on the line an awful lot - as a sponsor, for the beer bitch duties, and as a hash shit nominee! Gah! I'm glad I didn't get stuck with it.
After circle we went to Rainbow Rider's place for a barbeque - the ribs were awesome. As was the wine. I totally missed getting a subway home, so I crashed with Anteaus and now I am using his laptop while he makes me pancakes. Nice. After that I really have to get home and get cooking for tonight's baby shower.
We left nice and early - I was sick and needed to be in bed early to make the hash and Brian had to work the next day. I had one of those nights where I was either so cold I needed two heavy blankets on the bed and the heat on high or so hot I was burning up. Not fun. However, by the time I woke up on Saturday morning I was feeling a bit better.
I started my trip down to Songtan well - I wasn't running late or anything. Then I had every possible bit of bad subway luck. Every train I was on stopped before the end of the line, so I had to wait for the next. I got to five stops away and by then I was running late and yet again, I had to wait for the next train. I figured I'd be ok - the hash started at noon, but that means hares away at 12:30, so I had some extra time. Except that I waited and waited. Three more trains arrived and the passengers hopped off and joined me in waiting on the platform. When the next train finally arrived, it was an express that doesn't even stop in Songtan, so I decided to take it to Osan and hop in a cab. If I had had a Seoul cabbie, that would have been great - but Songtan cabbies drive slower than my grandmother. Sooooo frustrating. However, I jumped out of my cab and was instantly on trail.
It was a great trail on a lovely summer day. One of those trails where even the walkers are able to keep up with the runners and it's always more fun when the pack stays together. Plus there was a beer check on trail. When we got to circle, I was a beer bitch - and not a very good one! Oops! I got called on the line an awful lot - as a sponsor, for the beer bitch duties, and as a hash shit nominee! Gah! I'm glad I didn't get stuck with it.
After circle we went to Rainbow Rider's place for a barbeque - the ribs were awesome. As was the wine. I totally missed getting a subway home, so I crashed with Anteaus and now I am using his laptop while he makes me pancakes. Nice. After that I really have to get home and get cooking for tonight's baby shower.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Bad Luck
Last week, gastro-intenstinal nastiness. This week, nasty cold.
I can barely walk up a flight of stairs without hacking up a lung, which is going to make hashing tomorrow... interesting. I'm still going dammit - I'm a beer bitch as of tomorrow, plus I'm trying to drag a bunch of virgins along. And I'm commited to a party afterward.
The next day I have to try and cook for the baby shower, go to a book club, hash with PMS and then attend the baby shower.
Why can't I be sick on weekends when I have nothing to do? Those kinds of weekends don't come often though.
I can barely walk up a flight of stairs without hacking up a lung, which is going to make hashing tomorrow... interesting. I'm still going dammit - I'm a beer bitch as of tomorrow, plus I'm trying to drag a bunch of virgins along. And I'm commited to a party afterward.
The next day I have to try and cook for the baby shower, go to a book club, hash with PMS and then attend the baby shower.
Why can't I be sick on weekends when I have nothing to do? Those kinds of weekends don't come often though.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Productivity
It's odd how little I have to do in a day to feel productive. Today I slept until noon, made breakfast, washed my dishes, put some laundry in the washer, did a quick tidy, cut up an apple for snacks later, and left the house. I paid my bills (two months of them, since I was too lazy to go last month), transfered the bare minimum of money home (because I spent the rest on a new computer), and bought food to make a dish for the baby shower on Sunday while buying some seo-u bokimbap for lunch.
It left me feeling like a rock star, especially since the won must have gone up a bit and I didn't lose as much in the transfer as usual.
However, I am also getting a Yellow Dust cold (damn China!), which makes for an interesting experience when giving listening tests. I've been supressing a cough all day.
And I have a mighty stack of marking. So maybe my sense of being productive isn't very accurate.
Ach, well.
It left me feeling like a rock star, especially since the won must have gone up a bit and I didn't lose as much in the transfer as usual.
However, I am also getting a Yellow Dust cold (damn China!), which makes for an interesting experience when giving listening tests. I've been supressing a cough all day.
And I have a mighty stack of marking. So maybe my sense of being productive isn't very accurate.
Ach, well.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Happy Dance
I ordered my computer. Now I just have to wait for it to arrive.
I'll have to tell you my damn Americans story tomorrow. No time tonight, sadly.
I'll have to tell you my damn Americans story tomorrow. No time tonight, sadly.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Ada Lovelace Day
Comic by Kate Beaton.March 24th is Ada Lovelace Day, honoring women in technology. The challenge was to publish a post today about a woman in technology whom I admire.
Who was Ada?
Ada Lovelace was one of the world's first computer programmers, and one of the first people to see computers as more than just a machine for doing sums. She wrote programmes for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, a general-purpose computing machine, despite the fact that it was never built. She also wrote the very first description of a computer and of software.
We especially need imagination in science.I picked Maria Mitchell, who was an astronomer. It may sound like a bizarre choice, but I learned of her existence while reading "Name That American" in a Harcourt textbook with some fourth graders and I thought she was really cool. Perhaps I'm the odd one out in terms of never having heard of her before, but in case I'm not, I thought I'd share.
It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but is
somewhat beauty and poetry.
—Maria Mitchell
Maria Mitchell was born August 1, 1818 on the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts and she became the first acknowledged woman astronomer in the United States. Not many girls born in the early 1800s were encouraged by their parents to aspire to high goals or were lucky enough to have a father like William Mitchell, a dedicated astronomer and teacher himself. He was delighted with the early talent his daughter demonstrated for science. Instead of considering such interests useless for a girl, Maria's father did everything he could to further her knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. Maria's made contributions to science, education and women's rights.
On a clear autumn night in 1847 Maria stood on the roof of her parent's house, focusing her telescope on a faraway star. Suddenly she realized that the faint, blurry light wasn't a star at all, but a comet. In 1848, Maria became the first women member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and later became a fellow of the society. She served as professor of astronomy at Vassar College from 1865 to 1888. In 1875 Mitchell was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Women. Mitchell died on June 28, 1889.
Throughout her career Maria encouraged young women in the same way her father had encouraged her, to be anything they wanted to be. After her death, the Maria Mitchell Astronomical Society was created as tribute to her memory. Mitchell was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1905.
This is Cool
Music videos made of clips of other people's YouTube videos.
Isn't technology cool sometimes?
Another cool thing is that my PC bang computer translates English words into Korean any time I run the mouse over them. Which would be cool if I needed translation. Wonder if it works in reverse?
Isn't technology cool sometimes?
Another cool thing is that my PC bang computer translates English words into Korean any time I run the mouse over them. Which would be cool if I needed translation. Wonder if it works in reverse?
The Fuck-It List
I love this idea: Create an anti-bucket-list, called a Fuck-It List, full of things that you feel absolutely no need to do before you die. Here are some of mine, at least a few of which I was at some point convinced I should want:
-Be a “serious” runner
-Own a house in the suburbs
-Iron my clothes
-Own a car
-Get organized
-Blow-dry my hair and put on make-up before I go to work
-Settle down
-Wear pantyhose
-Write poetry
-Atkins
What’s on your list?
-Be a “serious” runner
-Own a house in the suburbs
-Iron my clothes
-Own a car
-Get organized
-Blow-dry my hair and put on make-up before I go to work
-Settle down
-Wear pantyhose
-Write poetry
-Atkins
What’s on your list?
Friday, March 20, 2009
Blerg
I'm still sick and none too happy about it. I puked so much yesterday that I left work early. I'm still puking today, but less, so here I am, at work. Gah.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Eerie
The other day I was in a cab on my way to work when I discovered that the traffic on Dong-bu Ichon-dong was being stopped by police officers. Beyond the officers I could see that there were no vehicles on the road at all. I paid my cabbie and started to walk, which is when I finally figured out what was going on.
It was a test of the "North Korea is attacking!" sirens. I've heard them only once before and have never been outside to see it in action. All the cars pull over and stop. The street looks a bit frozen, with only the odd pedestrian walking around. I've never seen a Korean street so empty during the day - except when I was in Kaesong, North Korea.
Wish I had had my camera.
It was a test of the "North Korea is attacking!" sirens. I've heard them only once before and have never been outside to see it in action. All the cars pull over and stop. The street looks a bit frozen, with only the odd pedestrian walking around. I've never seen a Korean street so empty during the day - except when I was in Kaesong, North Korea.
Wish I had had my camera.
Cheesy Goodness
I made a lasagna in my toaster oven last night and I must say it was an epic endeavour.
First off, procuring all the ingredients is none too easy. Finding ricotta cheese and lasagna noodles is a lot more complicated than just wandering off to the nearest grocery store. The Indian place in Itaewon has carried both in the past, but I hadn't been able to find them in the last couple of months. I finally scored at Hannam Market, which is basically a cheese-lovers heaven. I can see that a good part of my salary may start going to cheese, now that I've rediscovered Hannam. I hadn't been there in ages and now I blame it all on Melissa.
Then there was the ground beef dilemma. I was all set to cook up a store Monday night and even bought my bottle of wine, only to remember that you can't buy ground beef in Haebangchon - meat is something I get from the grocery store near work. My plans were foiled for the evening. Plus, I drank the bottle of wine. Tuesday I grabbed a bunch of stuff on break, including more red wine, and was ready.
Once home, ingredients all assembled, I made my sauce. My lasagna differs from my mother's in two ways - the incredible amount of garlic I put in the sauce and the incredible amount of wine that goes both into the sauce and into the cook. I used to have lasagna parties where the rule of thumb was that three bottles were needed - one for the cook, one for the sauce, one for the guests. This time I figured one would do, as I thought that my five little tins wouldn't require that much sauce, there were no guests, and I wasn't in the mood to be hungover at work on a Wednesday.
I decided to cook the noodles because the Italian on the package suggested to my limited Italian-language ability that pre-cooking the noodles would make it faster to oven cook and I figured already that my toaster oven would increase cooking time. Then I put the egg in the ricotta - I have no idea why this is done, but since my mother told me to do it, I do it. Seldom am I this obedient but you don't mess with lasagna.
I had forgotten how much I freaking hate to grate mozzarella. If anyone ever wants me to make them a lasagna all they have to do is show up to grate the damn cheese. That done, I assembled the ingredients, ready to start making my five wee lasagnas. And this is where it went a bit pear shaped - I had nowhere near enough grated cheese, I ran out of sauce and that ricotta was being spread incredibly thin by my last tin. In fact, the last one is even a layer thinner.
Based on how damn good it tasted once I had one cooked and (messily) on my plate, I'll certainly be making lasagna again. However, in case anyone was wondering if I was taking the piss by saying that it's cheaper to eat out in Korea than cook, let's just look at the numbers for a minute. I made five servings of lasagna. The noodles and cheese alone cost me $40. I'd estimate there was another $25 worth of sauce, ground beef, and vegetables. The wine was $11.
So each lasagna cost me $15 to make. For $15 I could buy a lasagna at pretty damn nice restaurant here. And if I did that, I wouldn't have to do the ridiculous pile of dishes! Granted, restaurant lasagna is never as good as homemade - in fact, I refuse to order it out because I always find it disappointing.
Eating dinner last night was like a flashback to family gatherings at my parents' house, particularly birthday parties for my Nana and her twin sister. I pictured all my little cousins (not little anymore - they're all old enough to be my Facebook friends these days!) running around, making the dog bark like crazy, while Nana and Aunt Joan did shots of airplane Bailey's and the rest of us got merry and quite full. Good times.
First off, procuring all the ingredients is none too easy. Finding ricotta cheese and lasagna noodles is a lot more complicated than just wandering off to the nearest grocery store. The Indian place in Itaewon has carried both in the past, but I hadn't been able to find them in the last couple of months. I finally scored at Hannam Market, which is basically a cheese-lovers heaven. I can see that a good part of my salary may start going to cheese, now that I've rediscovered Hannam. I hadn't been there in ages and now I blame it all on Melissa.
Then there was the ground beef dilemma. I was all set to cook up a store Monday night and even bought my bottle of wine, only to remember that you can't buy ground beef in Haebangchon - meat is something I get from the grocery store near work. My plans were foiled for the evening. Plus, I drank the bottle of wine. Tuesday I grabbed a bunch of stuff on break, including more red wine, and was ready.
Once home, ingredients all assembled, I made my sauce. My lasagna differs from my mother's in two ways - the incredible amount of garlic I put in the sauce and the incredible amount of wine that goes both into the sauce and into the cook. I used to have lasagna parties where the rule of thumb was that three bottles were needed - one for the cook, one for the sauce, one for the guests. This time I figured one would do, as I thought that my five little tins wouldn't require that much sauce, there were no guests, and I wasn't in the mood to be hungover at work on a Wednesday.
I decided to cook the noodles because the Italian on the package suggested to my limited Italian-language ability that pre-cooking the noodles would make it faster to oven cook and I figured already that my toaster oven would increase cooking time. Then I put the egg in the ricotta - I have no idea why this is done, but since my mother told me to do it, I do it. Seldom am I this obedient but you don't mess with lasagna.
I had forgotten how much I freaking hate to grate mozzarella. If anyone ever wants me to make them a lasagna all they have to do is show up to grate the damn cheese. That done, I assembled the ingredients, ready to start making my five wee lasagnas. And this is where it went a bit pear shaped - I had nowhere near enough grated cheese, I ran out of sauce and that ricotta was being spread incredibly thin by my last tin. In fact, the last one is even a layer thinner.
Based on how damn good it tasted once I had one cooked and (messily) on my plate, I'll certainly be making lasagna again. However, in case anyone was wondering if I was taking the piss by saying that it's cheaper to eat out in Korea than cook, let's just look at the numbers for a minute. I made five servings of lasagna. The noodles and cheese alone cost me $40. I'd estimate there was another $25 worth of sauce, ground beef, and vegetables. The wine was $11.
So each lasagna cost me $15 to make. For $15 I could buy a lasagna at pretty damn nice restaurant here. And if I did that, I wouldn't have to do the ridiculous pile of dishes! Granted, restaurant lasagna is never as good as homemade - in fact, I refuse to order it out because I always find it disappointing.
Eating dinner last night was like a flashback to family gatherings at my parents' house, particularly birthday parties for my Nana and her twin sister. I pictured all my little cousins (not little anymore - they're all old enough to be my Facebook friends these days!) running around, making the dog bark like crazy, while Nana and Aunt Joan did shots of airplane Bailey's and the rest of us got merry and quite full. Good times.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Weekend Round-Up
Friday night I kicked off by watching some TV. I know that all of you are thinking that watching TV isn't a terribly exciting way to spend a Friday night, but after two weeks in a house with no computer or TV, I have to say it was nice to just veg out for a bit.
Saturday was the big St. Patrick's Day celebration in Seoul. I started it out by hashing with Yongsan Kimchi H3 in the morning. Trail led to the start point of the parade, which is where we conducted a slightly interrupted down down. I suspect our pictures will end up in the newspaper at some point, because the ambassador's wife was marching along with us at one point. What with people in green wigs, kilts and happy coats, we were an interesting group. The parade itself was odd - we went through backstreets so tiny that most of the time there wasn't much of an audience. Afterwards there was free Guiness and music in the park (where I bumped into Jeni, Padraic, and Brian) and the Seoul Hash, with is normally men only, invited everyone to join them in a run. A bunch of us skipped it in order to eat lunch and only joined them for the down down.
After that, we all disappeared off home or to hotels to get ready for Bootylicious' On Out and a St. Patrick's Day pub crawl. It started at Scrooge Pub, moved to Dolce Vita where Padraic joined us and we even sang a hashing song. Next we headed to Polly's Kettle to dance the night away. I woke up on Sunday morning with my face covered in stickers and a green wig on - so, a successful night out!
I didn't make it to the Southsiiiide hash and I was rather late to book club. However, so were Melissa and Carol and they were the only two who got their hungover asses out of bed! Since only I had finished the book, we just brunched and discussed our nights. After that we went to Hannam Market and I bought $40 worth of cheese - which is exciting because I've been wanted to make lasagne in my toaster oven and I finally came across some ricotta.
After a quick stop to pick up the latest Bitch Magazine, I went to Yongsan with Brian to shop for a new computer. I've decided to get a Dell, so I'll be going through the exciting process of trying to order one in Korean this week. However, the shopping trip was key, as I figured out how small I'm ok with going screen-wise and picked up a new external harddrive, that will come in handy once I have a computer! I think that I can also buy a cord to transfer all my files from my broken computer without the cracked screen mattering, so that's cool too. We finished off the shopping with dinner at Outback.
Then on my way home, I came across a bookshelf in the trash. Woot! Free stuff! It took me ages to get it clean and reorganize everything, which stirred up a ton of dust. So I had to sweep and mop, which lead to doing my dishes and reorganizing my bathroom cupboard and cleaning out my fridge. Not the most exciting Sunday night, but it was productive.
Also, I have waaaaay too many books. That bookshelf filled up fast!
Saturday was the big St. Patrick's Day celebration in Seoul. I started it out by hashing with Yongsan Kimchi H3 in the morning. Trail led to the start point of the parade, which is where we conducted a slightly interrupted down down. I suspect our pictures will end up in the newspaper at some point, because the ambassador's wife was marching along with us at one point. What with people in green wigs, kilts and happy coats, we were an interesting group. The parade itself was odd - we went through backstreets so tiny that most of the time there wasn't much of an audience. Afterwards there was free Guiness and music in the park (where I bumped into Jeni, Padraic, and Brian) and the Seoul Hash, with is normally men only, invited everyone to join them in a run. A bunch of us skipped it in order to eat lunch and only joined them for the down down.
After that, we all disappeared off home or to hotels to get ready for Bootylicious' On Out and a St. Patrick's Day pub crawl. It started at Scrooge Pub, moved to Dolce Vita where Padraic joined us and we even sang a hashing song. Next we headed to Polly's Kettle to dance the night away. I woke up on Sunday morning with my face covered in stickers and a green wig on - so, a successful night out!
I didn't make it to the Southsiiiide hash and I was rather late to book club. However, so were Melissa and Carol and they were the only two who got their hungover asses out of bed! Since only I had finished the book, we just brunched and discussed our nights. After that we went to Hannam Market and I bought $40 worth of cheese - which is exciting because I've been wanted to make lasagne in my toaster oven and I finally came across some ricotta.
After a quick stop to pick up the latest Bitch Magazine, I went to Yongsan with Brian to shop for a new computer. I've decided to get a Dell, so I'll be going through the exciting process of trying to order one in Korean this week. However, the shopping trip was key, as I figured out how small I'm ok with going screen-wise and picked up a new external harddrive, that will come in handy once I have a computer! I think that I can also buy a cord to transfer all my files from my broken computer without the cracked screen mattering, so that's cool too. We finished off the shopping with dinner at Outback.
Then on my way home, I came across a bookshelf in the trash. Woot! Free stuff! It took me ages to get it clean and reorganize everything, which stirred up a ton of dust. So I had to sweep and mop, which lead to doing my dishes and reorganizing my bathroom cupboard and cleaning out my fridge. Not the most exciting Sunday night, but it was productive.
Also, I have waaaaay too many books. That bookshelf filled up fast!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Reading Time
Why does anyone ever think it's a good idea for me to organize anything? Bwahahahahaha. Even brunch and books is beyond my skillz.
I really enjoyed reading this. Particularly the last paragraph.
I really enjoyed reading this. Particularly the last paragraph.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Think Green
I'm marching in a St. Patrick's Day parade today. Can't recall the last time I marched in a parade...
What y'all up to?
What y'all up to?
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
No Frequent Shopper Points for Me
In the last week, I have bought peanut butter, toothpaste and tomato sauce for the first time in a year and a half.
The toothpaste is easy to explain - I love Colgate and it's hard to get in Korea, mostly only sold in blackmarket shops that get it off the American army base. Now that I live a stone's throw from the base, that's not a big deal, but spending over an hour on the subway for toothpaste is ridiculous, so I've always just brought enough for a year. Plus, Jenn gave me a tube of nasty-tasting Korean stuff, which I felt obligated to use because I hate the idea of wasted resources.
As for the peanut butter, don't think I don't eat it all the time. It's just that my last jar was from Costco - even a peanut butter lover can't eat 4 pounds of peanut butter quickly. The tomato sauce is explained by the fact that I bought a three pack right around the same time that I started making my pasta with tomatoes but not tomato sauce.
Still, it's an odd way to shop. And I won't need to go shopping for body lotion for at least another year.
The toothpaste is easy to explain - I love Colgate and it's hard to get in Korea, mostly only sold in blackmarket shops that get it off the American army base. Now that I live a stone's throw from the base, that's not a big deal, but spending over an hour on the subway for toothpaste is ridiculous, so I've always just brought enough for a year. Plus, Jenn gave me a tube of nasty-tasting Korean stuff, which I felt obligated to use because I hate the idea of wasted resources.
As for the peanut butter, don't think I don't eat it all the time. It's just that my last jar was from Costco - even a peanut butter lover can't eat 4 pounds of peanut butter quickly. The tomato sauce is explained by the fact that I bought a three pack right around the same time that I started making my pasta with tomatoes but not tomato sauce.
Still, it's an odd way to shop. And I won't need to go shopping for body lotion for at least another year.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I Don't Feel Like Thinking Today
1. Do you like blue cheese? I prefer it in dressing form, but yes.
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No, but I'm game if you are. Just kidding. (Hahaha. Keeping Brian's answer.)
3. Do you own a gun? I own a plastic gun.
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Starbucks? I love peppermint mochas. Now, you'd think that I'd be able to add peppermint to my mocha on a regular basis, not just at Christmas, but no. Not possible. And this year they didn't even have them! I hate Starbucks, but not enough to not drink their coffee.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes. But less so than the majority of my family. My brother once almost passed out while listening to a story about my uncle chopping his fingertip off with an ax.
6. What do you think of hotdogs? I like the ones from the carts in Toronto and any cooked over a campfire. My brother once tried to make some in the microwave in a metal pot of water - good times.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Home for the Holidays is the closet I can think of. And I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas anyway.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee. Sometimes more than one cup.
9. Can you do push-ups? I presume so.
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I like silver earrings and my Van Gogh-ish necklace.
11. Favorite hobby? reading, hashing
12. Do you have A.D.D? No. But early onset memory issues, yes.
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? .....................I PROCRASTINATE (stealing Brian's again!)
14. Middle name? Joyce Elizabeth
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I wish I didn't have two more private classes to teach, I haven't finished the freaking novel I have to discuss on Friday, I would really like some chocolate.
16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? a cab ride to work. a cab ride home. That's it.
17. Name 3 things you drink daily: coffee, water, V8
18. Current worry? I need to join a gym, but I'm a lazy ass.
19. Current Dislike? One on one speaking classes with no suggestion of a cirriculum.
20. How did you bring in the New Year? Solar New Year at Martha's party, Lunar New Year with lots of drinking in bars.
21. Where would you like to go? Where don't I want to go?
22. Name three people who will complete this? The three most bored people.
23. Do you own slippers? Korean slippers? Then yes. American slippers? No.
24. What shirt are you wearing? A pink tank top under a purple sweater.
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Why? Are you inviting me over? Then Yes. (Haha. Brian's answer is a keeper.)
26. Favorite color? Blue
27. Could you be a pirate? Only if there are daily showers and no scurvy.
28. What songs do you sing in the shower? I am not even awake when I hit the shower.
29. Favorite food? Thai, Indian, or Italian.
30. What's in your pocket right now? lip balm
31. Last thing that made you laugh? Crystal complaining about the K2 class
33. Worst injury you have ever had? Ignoring the word worst, the funniest injury I've ever had was the broken toe, times two.
34. Do you love where you live? Yes. Though I'd love living on a beach in Thailand more.
35.How many TVs do you have in your house? Not a one. Or presently a computer. I read a lot.
36. Who is your loudest friend? Vanessa?
37. How many dogs do you have? Zero
38. Does someone have a crush on you? Don't think so.
39. What is your favorite book(s) or author? This is a ridiculously hard question. I'm really liking Love in a Time of Cholorea by Gabriel Garcia Marquez right now.
40. What is your favorite candy? Toffiffee (No idea how to spell that.)
41. Favorite Sports Team? OBH3, Southsiiiiide, YKHHH, PMSHHH
42. What songs do you want sung at your funeral? I'm gonna turn into a sparkly vampire instead of shuffling off my mortal coil.
43. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? In bed, reading.
44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke this morning? maragrghergerw. Aren't I articulate in the morning?
45. Who do you wish you could talk to? Bodicea
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No, but I'm game if you are. Just kidding. (Hahaha. Keeping Brian's answer.)
3. Do you own a gun? I own a plastic gun.
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Starbucks? I love peppermint mochas. Now, you'd think that I'd be able to add peppermint to my mocha on a regular basis, not just at Christmas, but no. Not possible. And this year they didn't even have them! I hate Starbucks, but not enough to not drink their coffee.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes. But less so than the majority of my family. My brother once almost passed out while listening to a story about my uncle chopping his fingertip off with an ax.
6. What do you think of hotdogs? I like the ones from the carts in Toronto and any cooked over a campfire. My brother once tried to make some in the microwave in a metal pot of water - good times.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Home for the Holidays is the closet I can think of. And I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas anyway.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee. Sometimes more than one cup.
9. Can you do push-ups? I presume so.
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I like silver earrings and my Van Gogh-ish necklace.
11. Favorite hobby? reading, hashing
12. Do you have A.D.D? No. But early onset memory issues, yes.
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? .....................I PROCRASTINATE (stealing Brian's again!)
14. Middle name? Joyce Elizabeth
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I wish I didn't have two more private classes to teach, I haven't finished the freaking novel I have to discuss on Friday, I would really like some chocolate.
16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? a cab ride to work. a cab ride home. That's it.
17. Name 3 things you drink daily: coffee, water, V8
18. Current worry? I need to join a gym, but I'm a lazy ass.
19. Current Dislike? One on one speaking classes with no suggestion of a cirriculum.
20. How did you bring in the New Year? Solar New Year at Martha's party, Lunar New Year with lots of drinking in bars.
21. Where would you like to go? Where don't I want to go?
22. Name three people who will complete this? The three most bored people.
23. Do you own slippers? Korean slippers? Then yes. American slippers? No.
24. What shirt are you wearing? A pink tank top under a purple sweater.
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Why? Are you inviting me over? Then Yes. (Haha. Brian's answer is a keeper.)
26. Favorite color? Blue
27. Could you be a pirate? Only if there are daily showers and no scurvy.
28. What songs do you sing in the shower? I am not even awake when I hit the shower.
29. Favorite food? Thai, Indian, or Italian.
30. What's in your pocket right now? lip balm
31. Last thing that made you laugh? Crystal complaining about the K2 class
33. Worst injury you have ever had? Ignoring the word worst, the funniest injury I've ever had was the broken toe, times two.
34. Do you love where you live? Yes. Though I'd love living on a beach in Thailand more.
35.How many TVs do you have in your house? Not a one. Or presently a computer. I read a lot.
36. Who is your loudest friend? Vanessa?
37. How many dogs do you have? Zero
38. Does someone have a crush on you? Don't think so.
39. What is your favorite book(s) or author? This is a ridiculously hard question. I'm really liking Love in a Time of Cholorea by Gabriel Garcia Marquez right now.
40. What is your favorite candy? Toffiffee (No idea how to spell that.)
41. Favorite Sports Team? OBH3, Southsiiiiide, YKHHH, PMSHHH
42. What songs do you want sung at your funeral? I'm gonna turn into a sparkly vampire instead of shuffling off my mortal coil.
43. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? In bed, reading.
44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke this morning? maragrghergerw. Aren't I articulate in the morning?
45. Who do you wish you could talk to? Bodicea
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Damn Social Studies
I used up my entire dinner break making up a packet for the monthly project. Meh.
No time to blog. I'm off to read Ta-Na-E-Ka. For like the tenth time.
No time to blog. I'm off to read Ta-Na-E-Ka. For like the tenth time.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Hopefully this might explain hashing a bit more...
Pre-drinks at Eager Beaver's on Koje-do. Most people are drinking a hasher's beverage of choice... beer. Hashing and beer go together.
Southsiiiider's down south, checking out Koje-do's night scene.
Circle, pre-run. This is when the trail marks are explained to the virgins. Since each group does things slightly differently, you are a virgin every time you hash with a new group.
On trail - it was a great day to be out and hashing. Plus, the non-urban trail was a nice.
The down down - post run beer, food, and circle. In the bottom left of this picture, someone is wearing a happy coat, with all their patches on it. There are patches for special runs and for hash groups.
Beaver being called to the line for a hashing infraction - Koje-do does it quite differently than the other hashes I've been to, as they drink for a few seconds and then dump the bowl of beer on their heads. We just drink our beer. All of it.
Recycling in Korea
Last night as I was wandering home from the PC bang at 2 a.m., I saw something I haven't in awhile - the dudes that go through the garbage looking for stuff that I assume they make money off of. I wish I had brought my camera because the one guy had a pile of cardboard in a cart that was about twice as tall as I am.
Today's meeting was fantastic - no tests to write today AND I get a tax rebate tomorrow. It's only a couple hundred dollars but I'm still happy!
And it turns out that Dell makes those tiny, light-weight computers. I think that might be the way to go, with an external harddrive to hold my iTunes.
Right, time to go and teach!
Today's meeting was fantastic - no tests to write today AND I get a tax rebate tomorrow. It's only a couple hundred dollars but I'm still happy!
And it turns out that Dell makes those tiny, light-weight computers. I think that might be the way to go, with an external harddrive to hold my iTunes.
Right, time to go and teach!
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Hashing in the Land of Not Quite Right
I finally own my first hash gear - in fact, I went from none to two t-shirts in just one weekend. I've got a fair number of patches too - I should really sew them on to something... or just pile them up until my next visit to mom in Canada. (That was a joke, mom. Sort of.)
Friday from work, I took the subway over to Seoul Station to hook up with Dirty, Countess and DSD (hash names, obviously) and head down to hash the 800th run with the Geoje/Koje-doH3. It turned out to be one hell of a long trip. First off, our train didn't even leave Seoul until 9:20. In spite of the fact that KTX is a marvel of high speed train technology, that still didn't get us to Gupo until around midnight. And oddly there was absolutely no soju in either of the convenience stores in the station, leaving us with bekseju, which I can now conclusively say that I hate. The reason we ended up in Gupo and not Busan is that Lunesta, another hasher, lives there. In her apartment, we managed to fit 8 hashers and her roommate. Those are some skillz, I tell ya.
The next day Thanx and I Pee Weigh arrived, along with three hashers from Hong Kong. We went and had do-it-yourself fresh spring rolls at a Vietnamese place for breakfast/lunch - incredibly delicious. Then we started the odyssey - cabs to Lunesta's to grab our bags. Walking to the local bus station. A bus into Busan. A subway to the ferry terminal. An hour long ferry ride. Taxis to Eager Beaver's place, where we were crashing for the night.
Finally, pizza and beer was procured and we were all able to chill out. After that we hit up with Koje-do night scene, which I have to say is not exactly exciting. We bar hopped a bit, one of the Hong Kong hashers got to talking with a British guy on the street and somehow that led to us singing Like a Virgin in a juicy bar. Yep, that's what happens when you hang out with hashers - the absolute last thing you'd expect!
We all woke up fairly early to shower and headed to the clubhouse to pay hash cash and grab t-shirts. From there all us Southsiiiider's were put into various cars and off we headed. The Koje-do hash was my first family hash and there were a few differences. First off, while longish, it was more flat than uphill, something I enjoyed immensely. Secondly, they didn't lay any false trails, so it was a relaxing meander through the countryside in the sun - damn is it nice to get out of Seoul! Secondly, the circle and down down are considerably more tame - no asking virgins inappropriate questions about their sex lives, for example. The songs were pretty lame, too. However, they aren't all boring - when you get called up to drink, after a few gulps, you are supposed to chuck a bowl of beer on your head. We were called up to sing a song of our own and the children were told to plug their ears, though we kept it innuendo enough that it was cleanish. And we all intended to actually down a beer, in Southsiiiide tradition. However, they sprayed us liberally, leaving everyone a bit smelly for the trip home!
Family hashing reminded me a bit of Scouting events, in terms of there being hiking with kids and dogs. However, it's considerably less organized and for sure, there is plenty of beer for the grownups. So, not as exciting as Seoul-style hashing, but the trail was fantastic. And I got to hear the Korean pop song, Nobody, played on a church organ while using the bathrooms. I had forgotten the rock star sensation of being a foreigner outside of Seoul as well.
After the down down, we made our way onto a local bus to the bus station, where the trip home stalled a bit. I guess we should have booked tickets in advance, because we had two hours to wait until the first bus with available tickets. We went for a bit of a wander and found some delicious soy ice cream, so it wasn't a total waste! Then we sat on a bus for four hours, taxied it to HBC and I decided it was time for some TV, being tired but not sleepy, so here I am, in a rather smokey PC bang. Time to get on the new computer buying, I must say.
Friday from work, I took the subway over to Seoul Station to hook up with Dirty, Countess and DSD (hash names, obviously) and head down to hash the 800th run with the Geoje/Koje-doH3. It turned out to be one hell of a long trip. First off, our train didn't even leave Seoul until 9:20. In spite of the fact that KTX is a marvel of high speed train technology, that still didn't get us to Gupo until around midnight. And oddly there was absolutely no soju in either of the convenience stores in the station, leaving us with bekseju, which I can now conclusively say that I hate. The reason we ended up in Gupo and not Busan is that Lunesta, another hasher, lives there. In her apartment, we managed to fit 8 hashers and her roommate. Those are some skillz, I tell ya.
The next day Thanx and I Pee Weigh arrived, along with three hashers from Hong Kong. We went and had do-it-yourself fresh spring rolls at a Vietnamese place for breakfast/lunch - incredibly delicious. Then we started the odyssey - cabs to Lunesta's to grab our bags. Walking to the local bus station. A bus into Busan. A subway to the ferry terminal. An hour long ferry ride. Taxis to Eager Beaver's place, where we were crashing for the night.
Finally, pizza and beer was procured and we were all able to chill out. After that we hit up with Koje-do night scene, which I have to say is not exactly exciting. We bar hopped a bit, one of the Hong Kong hashers got to talking with a British guy on the street and somehow that led to us singing Like a Virgin in a juicy bar. Yep, that's what happens when you hang out with hashers - the absolute last thing you'd expect!
We all woke up fairly early to shower and headed to the clubhouse to pay hash cash and grab t-shirts. From there all us Southsiiiider's were put into various cars and off we headed. The Koje-do hash was my first family hash and there were a few differences. First off, while longish, it was more flat than uphill, something I enjoyed immensely. Secondly, they didn't lay any false trails, so it was a relaxing meander through the countryside in the sun - damn is it nice to get out of Seoul! Secondly, the circle and down down are considerably more tame - no asking virgins inappropriate questions about their sex lives, for example. The songs were pretty lame, too. However, they aren't all boring - when you get called up to drink, after a few gulps, you are supposed to chuck a bowl of beer on your head. We were called up to sing a song of our own and the children were told to plug their ears, though we kept it innuendo enough that it was cleanish. And we all intended to actually down a beer, in Southsiiiide tradition. However, they sprayed us liberally, leaving everyone a bit smelly for the trip home!
Family hashing reminded me a bit of Scouting events, in terms of there being hiking with kids and dogs. However, it's considerably less organized and for sure, there is plenty of beer for the grownups. So, not as exciting as Seoul-style hashing, but the trail was fantastic. And I got to hear the Korean pop song, Nobody, played on a church organ while using the bathrooms. I had forgotten the rock star sensation of being a foreigner outside of Seoul as well.
After the down down, we made our way onto a local bus to the bus station, where the trip home stalled a bit. I guess we should have booked tickets in advance, because we had two hours to wait until the first bus with available tickets. We went for a bit of a wander and found some delicious soy ice cream, so it wasn't a total waste! Then we sat on a bus for four hours, taxied it to HBC and I decided it was time for some TV, being tired but not sleepy, so here I am, in a rather smokey PC bang. Time to get on the new computer buying, I must say.
Grumpy
I'm feeling quite grumpy lately that I haven't been able to keep up with reading blogs. This no computer at home situation sucks. And I miss Grey's Anatomy, too.
The thing is that I can't decide between buying one of those lightweight computers or buying another Dell.
The thing is that I can't decide between buying one of those lightweight computers or buying another Dell.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Friday, March 06, 2009
Train Tripping!
I'm going away for the weekend to hash on Koje-do, down near Busan. It's going to be a packed weekend.
Pictures will follow later!
Pictures will follow later!
Loneliness and Isolation
With my Elite classes we've just read a ghost story where the narrator is driving across the States. It's illustrated with several Edward Hopper paitings to convey the isolation of the narrator. But all I can think of when I think of Hopper is that on trivia quizzes I've twice forgotten the name of this painting:
Edward Hopper, Nighthawks
Edward Hopper, Nighthawks
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Two Steps Back
Feel free to laugh...
I got home around 6 a.m. this morning. Yep. Wednesday night is always my late night, but last night was ridiculous (also ridiculously fun though). We won trivia again, but I can't even blame last night on a bottle of free vodka because my team all took off early and so we're saving it for another weekend. When they left, I hung out with my coworker, Sara. When Phillies closed that should have been a sign that we should be on our way to home and bed, but apparently it wasn't. Lauren had arrived, complete with broken arm, and so we headed over to Ssen. The next thing I knew I was behind the bar, DJing and learning to pull my first pint, and suddenly it was six in the morning.
Then I came to work and made thumbprint animals. You know, when you stick your thumb in an ink pad and then draw on the thumbprint to turn it into a racoon or a zebra or something? I didn't think this one through very carefully, obviously, because in spite of washing my hands about twenty times I have one very, very purple thumb. And I can't even blame that on my lack of sleep because I decided to do it yesterday - we don't actually get supplies for the Fun & Activity class (and thank maude it's my turn to do the activity because the hokey pokey was making teacher a wee bit looney) and so it seemed like such a good idea. I've got white paper, some limited coloured pencils and an ink pad. "Assa!", I thought.
I thought wrong.
I got home around 6 a.m. this morning. Yep. Wednesday night is always my late night, but last night was ridiculous (also ridiculously fun though). We won trivia again, but I can't even blame last night on a bottle of free vodka because my team all took off early and so we're saving it for another weekend. When they left, I hung out with my coworker, Sara. When Phillies closed that should have been a sign that we should be on our way to home and bed, but apparently it wasn't. Lauren had arrived, complete with broken arm, and so we headed over to Ssen. The next thing I knew I was behind the bar, DJing and learning to pull my first pint, and suddenly it was six in the morning.
Then I came to work and made thumbprint animals. You know, when you stick your thumb in an ink pad and then draw on the thumbprint to turn it into a racoon or a zebra or something? I didn't think this one through very carefully, obviously, because in spite of washing my hands about twenty times I have one very, very purple thumb. And I can't even blame that on my lack of sleep because I decided to do it yesterday - we don't actually get supplies for the Fun & Activity class (and thank maude it's my turn to do the activity because the hokey pokey was making teacher a wee bit looney) and so it seemed like such a good idea. I've got white paper, some limited coloured pencils and an ink pad. "Assa!", I thought.
I thought wrong.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Baby Steps
I really must get more sleep. Like get to bed before 5 a.m. kind of sleep! Granted, I can easily sleep until 1 p.m. the next day, but I still feel like I'm not quite racking up enough hours of slumber.
On Monday night I went to bed at 1:30, which is basically unheard of in my life. Last night was a late one at 3:30, but I still felt well-rested when my alarm went off at 11:30 this morning, which gave me plenty of time to read a book while drinking my coffee and eating my toast with honey, shower, and do my dishes.
Now I just have to start leaving the house early enough to take the subway.
I'm a creature of habit, for sure. But I also have a strong resistence to authority. The only person who can ever convince me to do anything is me, but I'm as good at developing bad habits as good ones. However, I'm making some steps towards a slightly healthier lifestyle lately. We'll see how that goes.
The broken computer is certainly helping.
On Monday night I went to bed at 1:30, which is basically unheard of in my life. Last night was a late one at 3:30, but I still felt well-rested when my alarm went off at 11:30 this morning, which gave me plenty of time to read a book while drinking my coffee and eating my toast with honey, shower, and do my dishes.
Now I just have to start leaving the house early enough to take the subway.
I'm a creature of habit, for sure. But I also have a strong resistence to authority. The only person who can ever convince me to do anything is me, but I'm as good at developing bad habits as good ones. However, I'm making some steps towards a slightly healthier lifestyle lately. We'll see how that goes.
The broken computer is certainly helping.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Monday, March 02, 2009
A Few Discrepancies
My predictions weren't bad, but there are some things you just can't predict...
First off, I'm reading like crazy now that my computer screen is broken. If I'm home in the evening, I read a book a night. Mostly slightly fluffy books, granted, as I'm usually wiped out of any enthusiasm for thinking by the end of a day of classes.
Saturday I woke up early enough to not only have breakfast and get ready for the hash, but also to do my dishes and a quick clean. That's just bizarre. Then I wandered over a block to meet up with a bunch more hashers and we set out. On what turned out to be a bit of a ridiculous trip - somehow it took us an hour on the subway to end up in... Yongsan. For anyone who knows Korea, we could have done that in 15 minutes in a cab. At this point we hadn't even really left our own neighbourhood and we were 15 minutes late. Ahhh, hashing. I love the way they imply that being on time is important. So, into some cabs we hopped - the cabbie was startled to hear we were going as far as Anyang in Saturday traffic because, really, who does that? We made it down to find that the pack had left about 20 minutes previously - since I'm slow as shit, I stayed with the majority of our group to watch the bags with Butt His Nut. Only Countess decided to catch up.
After some hanging around, we all took the subway to Songtan for the down down at the Den. It might have been the longest down down I've yet experienced, but there was plenty of beer and food, so it was a lot of fun. After, a bunch of us went back to BHN's house to change into going out clothes and shower and then we hit nighttime Songtan, which is as fun as I remember, though I haven't been down there in years. I ended up crashing with some people in a hotel, which was rockin' because I got to have a bath in a giant tub that had jets!
The next day, I managed to continue in what was apparently the trend for my weekend - the people I was with and I arrived after the scavenger hunt (name all the bars on the map) had begun, so we settled in with some Bloody Mary's and waited for the pack to return. In spite of my lack of participation, I lost my Southsiiiide virginity doing an interpretive dance - I'm sure it was "interesting". After another long down down, we all had brunch and watched movies at BHNs before finally heading up to Seoul late in the evening.
Since everyone else peaced out, I happily went home to have some soup and read a book - I was knackered. I love sleep - love it! - but I seem to be embracing the whole "you can sleep when you're dead" line of thinking lately.
Just think how tired I might have been if I had actually done any running!
First off, I'm reading like crazy now that my computer screen is broken. If I'm home in the evening, I read a book a night. Mostly slightly fluffy books, granted, as I'm usually wiped out of any enthusiasm for thinking by the end of a day of classes.
Saturday I woke up early enough to not only have breakfast and get ready for the hash, but also to do my dishes and a quick clean. That's just bizarre. Then I wandered over a block to meet up with a bunch more hashers and we set out. On what turned out to be a bit of a ridiculous trip - somehow it took us an hour on the subway to end up in... Yongsan. For anyone who knows Korea, we could have done that in 15 minutes in a cab. At this point we hadn't even really left our own neighbourhood and we were 15 minutes late. Ahhh, hashing. I love the way they imply that being on time is important. So, into some cabs we hopped - the cabbie was startled to hear we were going as far as Anyang in Saturday traffic because, really, who does that? We made it down to find that the pack had left about 20 minutes previously - since I'm slow as shit, I stayed with the majority of our group to watch the bags with Butt His Nut. Only Countess decided to catch up.
After some hanging around, we all took the subway to Songtan for the down down at the Den. It might have been the longest down down I've yet experienced, but there was plenty of beer and food, so it was a lot of fun. After, a bunch of us went back to BHN's house to change into going out clothes and shower and then we hit nighttime Songtan, which is as fun as I remember, though I haven't been down there in years. I ended up crashing with some people in a hotel, which was rockin' because I got to have a bath in a giant tub that had jets!
The next day, I managed to continue in what was apparently the trend for my weekend - the people I was with and I arrived after the scavenger hunt (name all the bars on the map) had begun, so we settled in with some Bloody Mary's and waited for the pack to return. In spite of my lack of participation, I lost my Southsiiiide virginity doing an interpretive dance - I'm sure it was "interesting". After another long down down, we all had brunch and watched movies at BHNs before finally heading up to Seoul late in the evening.
Since everyone else peaced out, I happily went home to have some soup and read a book - I was knackered. I love sleep - love it! - but I seem to be embracing the whole "you can sleep when you're dead" line of thinking lately.
Just think how tired I might have been if I had actually done any running!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
ON ON to the Future Part II
Sunday's a harder guess. Today I might be sleeping in late (if I went back to Seoul yesterday) or I might be up and hashing again (if I stayed in Songtan.) Which means I might be losing my last Seoul virginity. I also might possibly end up being named in that case, as I think I'd have hashed enough in Songtan.
After that, I will likely be eating out somewhere and the most sensible money's on it being at Wolfhound, pre-quiz. Then I ought to be there for the quiz - after all, I usually am. I might be out late, or not. That one is pretty variable.
There might even be time for a bit of magazine shopping, though I'm going to guess not.
After that, I will likely be eating out somewhere and the most sensible money's on it being at Wolfhound, pre-quiz. Then I ought to be there for the quiz - after all, I usually am. I might be out late, or not. That one is pretty variable.
There might even be time for a bit of magazine shopping, though I'm going to guess not.
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