I'm still here...

Sorry for the lack of updates lately...I've been dating someone and haven't really had much happen that warrants blogging about. Classes start next week though, so I'm sure that will lead to something interesting :) In the meantime, enjoy some Tom Waits.

I'm a yellow belt! Yay!

To celebrate, I had to take part in "promotion exercises", which involved 600 overhead sword strikes, 100 kneeling strikes, and various other means of torture. Kind of makes me dread my next promotion :)

Fortune Telling

Fortune telling is big business in Korea. People set up booths almost anywhere, enclosed in transparent tarp to keep out the cold, and folks queue up on benches to wait their turn. Once you're in the booth, there are the old standbys--tarot cards, palm reading, etc, but last night I saw something new.

I was on my way to meet a friend last night and the taxi driver has his tv tuned to a fortune telling show. Apparently, from what I could gather, the fortune teller would make a prediction about someone based on whether their driver's license floats or sinks when it hits a bowl of water. One lady brought in her husband's license, and when it sank like a stone she started bawling.

I'm not sure if the news the fortune teller imparted was of imminent death or an extra-marital affair, but either way this woman was reduced to tears at the sight of a piece of plastic sinking to the bottom of a bowl of water. Strange.

End-of-school ceremony

So today was officially the last day of school for the students. When they come back after spring vacation, they will go to the next grade.

The highlight of the ceremony for me was when one of the teachers lit up a cigarette while congratulating the students.

Two great records.

I listened to two great records yesterday. One was the lone release of Zwan, Billy Corgan's band after Smashing Pumpkins broke up. This record is great because it actually sounds more like Siamese Dream and Pisces Iscariot than the last 3 Pumpkins records do.


The other record I listened to was Sunshine Hit Me by Band of Bees. You might as well call this a one-off also, because the rest of the records by this group sound nothing like this.

Spiiicy!

Last night after gumdo class some of us went out for beer and chicken. I ate quite possibly the hottest chicken ever. Well, probably not, but hot for me. I'm paying for it today--my stomach is not appreciative. While at the restaurant, I had to snap a pic of the restroom sign. It's good they were so descriptive, lest you forget how each gender relieves themselves. Sorry the pic is so blurry; I took it with my phone.

You know it's the 70's...

...if somebody's singing in front of some lattice.

Oh! Almost forgot!

My gig at the bar went well. The crowd was especially receptive during the second go 'round, when they'd had a few more to drink. After I finished, I took some requests, which was a big hit. Troy wants me to play again, so here's a setlist I'm working up.

Country Girl - James Iha
Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
Pink Triangle - Weezer
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles

Any suggestions?

Lots of updates today! I'm back from vacation, after more than a month off. I work this week, then I get two more weeks off. For some reason spring break in Korea is at the end of February. Don't ask me. I won't knock more vacation time though. This time I think I'm going to go to Japan. Really this time. I'm getting some extra money from working at the ULA (Ulsan Language Academy) over my last vacation, and I should have enough for a round trip ticket to Tokyo.

I test for my yellow belt in gumdo on Feb. 19th! It seems like I just started, but I've been training 4 days a week almost every week since I started at the beginning of January, so I feel like I've made some progress.

Today I'm back at Gangdong Middle School. The third grade class there is such a waste. We did kind of a spelling bee game and they couldn't spell words the first grade students could spell. Ugh. And to top it all off, there's a student in there who's studied abroad and his English is excellent, so he stays bored while the rest of the students are so below average. Frustrating.

Let's see, what else...oh, Peggle is awesome. If you haven't played it, you need to. It's free. Be warned--it's addictive.

ZenKimchi - Korean Food Blog

Unfortunately, Seoul Survivors is no more. They logged their last episode in last week. Luckily, the archives will live forever. During the last few episodes, they had a guest host on who does zenkimchi.com, the most famous food blog in Korea written by a foreigner. There are a ton of great Korean oddities, as well as some great Korean recipies you can try out at home. He even has ideas on substituting ingredients for people who don't have access to some of the more "exotic" ingredients found in Korea. Check it out! (Chad, this post is for you!)

http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/

Best Superbowl Ad

Also, the only ad to feature an oboe.



Been busy so far this week teaching in ULA. I'll write more soon.