My Crazy Day Today

My Day: Up until 6am reading HP6, slept until 1, got ready, cable/internet mtg, bank for new acct, food and errands, then to work. Got rained on, sweaty, and then a sick woman vomited all over everyone in the elevator. She got my shoe, and one of my students. I won't be eating spin dip anytime soon... And bye bye Ji Hoon! :( Will miss my best partner!

WHAT AM I WATCHING???

I thought I might've unwittingly strayed into watching a Korean TV-porn when, in the first scene, an adjuma is praying and a large phallis pops up out of the ground. I was mostly sure when, a few minutes later, dozens of men in loincloths stripped in front of several women, in cut-off hanboks...

Wow. It was hysterical though. :)


* Adjuma: middle-aged Korean woman
* Hanbok: traditional Korean dress

Commercials I'm Loving Right Now...and One I'm Not

I'm currently loving the new Cass Light, Kia Soul, and Demi Soda commercials. I wish I had the software to view phone vids on the computer... Six pack, six pack... :)) If I figure out how to do it, I'll definitely post them!

I must saw, though, that I am NOT a fan of the new "yellow dress dancing" loan commercial. The original was so much better. The girl group who is doing is now can't dance! And I so won't be buying their CD after seeing this performance...

Unnamed Spanish Movie... Cuz' a Spanish Title Written in Korean is a Bit Hard to Decipher...

Watching a Spanish movie with Korean subtitles is an experience that's truly hard to explain. My Spanish needs to improve dramatically to make this work well...

Lazy weekend...

Lazy weekend at home. Get to hang out with the dog. Maybe then he won't hate me so much when I leave him to go on vacation next weekend...

I Have Food Issues

I just got squirted in the face by a rogue fudge pop. It was pretty funny. Would've been better with an audience and a laugh track, though.

GRE Prep and Choosing my Grad Schools

I started studying last week for the GRE, and narrowing down which schools I intend to apply to for grad school. The test is offered at the university near my house on October 23rd. In Korea, it’s the same test as everywhere else in the world, but here I only take part of it on the computer. The Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT) format will be taken prior to the 23rd, at any time, and on that date I will sit down for the rest of it, in paper test form. I must take the GRE for entrance into any of the programs in International Relations or Political Science. Boo. It’s like studying for the SAT, except this time I actually care about my score.

Good Day, and FREE Cooking Lessons!

Great day at acupuncture, perfect timing meeting Jaz on the subway platform, great showing and the J One Gallery for Jason Jenkins' new show, delicious Maya, noraebanging, and an offer for FREE Indian cooking lessons from my favorite Nepali restauranteur. Great day.

Random Downtown Scenes

A walk downtown always reveals new and interesting things. These are giant paint brushes. I don't know what one would use them for.


Men's fashion in Korea has grown on me. Men just couldn't get away with this at home.


This is a new clothing store's facade. Odd, but endearing.

Lemon, the Pet Goldfish

One of my kids wrote a story about a pet goldfish named Lemon. The last line was "I love my pet Lemon." I had to laugh. Made me think of pet rocks.

(It always makes a sour face :))

Bad Ankle

Doc said to stay off my foot for a while. Don't think that will fly at work, but maybe a bit more sitting will be allowed. Did some PT, which is much kinder than the US version. Again tomorrow for round 2. Meanwhile, I have a date with Harry Potter, and some NCIS.

"Hive"...Coming to a Recycle Bin Near You

"We don't negotiate with ants" might just be the dumbest thing ever uttered in a movie. If I were that actor, I'd be pissed. Luckily, no one will notice, as the movie's so horrible, no one but me will ever see it. (The price I pay for only having 3 English channels...)

***
I was told that that is a line in the Disney/PIXAR flick "A Bug's Life." However, in "A Bug's Life" it was said BY A BUG. In that context, it makes sense. In "Hive" a governor was fighting with intelligent, otherworldly ants trying to kill him. I think that's a little different.

Hayes in August

Maxin' and relaxin', as always.

Ankle pain

In pain, but somehow managed to stand up long enough to wash the dishes and make dinner. Doctor tomorrow or Thurs... Hopefully we can get me fixed before vacay in two and a half weeks!

Do they make ankle upgrades?

I need to find an ankle store. Actually, a foot & ankle store. Mine's not functioning properly, and I think I need an upgrade. Too bad the warranty ran out some time ago...

(My toe is still broken from February. Stay off it until it heals? HA! How can I do that and stand up teaching? Now the trice-sprained ankle of winter 2008-9 is giving me big probs, and I think I bruised my heel bone. I'm a pile of goodness, truly.)

Lazy weekend...

I had a lovely lazy weekend, to recuperate from the last month's worth of crazy summer session scheduling goodness... Too bad the weekend's only two days though...

Happy birthday to my cousin Megan, and my uncle Dan!

Clever Dog

My dog is too clever. Yesterday, he somehow managed to drink the milk from my cereal bowl on the counter (which is too tall for him to reach, or so I thought), leaving the cereal bits in the bottom. This morning, I awoke to find those bits were gone too.

Summer Session at Yongsan Special

I was offered a position teaching drama to the students for the summer session. It was a crazy month. I taught summer classes from 9-12 at Yongsan Special, went home for a nap and shower, then to my regular job. I didn't do much else for a month, aside from rip my hair out. It was fun at some points, but I won't be doing that again. The extra money was so not worth it.

On the escalator down into the subway.






The school from across the street.




Coming out of the subway to the school.






Some of the students on the last day. Some really like to pose, and others just like to hide. :)

Maybe the sharpest wit in the class...

Jack:
I don't like that teacher.

Me:
Why not?

Jack:
He's not nice. And he's short.

Me:
You're short.

Jack:
But I can grow.

Prancing Man

I just saw a man prancing across the street. It would've been funnier if it was intentional.

(It reminded me of when I saw the Clydesdales when I was little. I loved watching them too. ;) )

The Moment of Realization was Awesome

Conversation with a student today:

Luigi:
(seeing my Harvard t-shirt) Teacher, did you go to Harvard?

Me:
Yes, I went to Harvard.

Luigi:
Really? (pause) Lie! Lie!

Me:
No, it's true. I really went to Harvard.

Luigi:
(long pause) Did you STUDY at Harvard?

Me:
No, I didn’t.

Luigi:
Haha! So you went to VISIT Harvard? Haha..


The moment of realization put a great look on his face. It was awesome. I love when they learn that literal meanings can be different than what they think they're asking. (Native Speakers too!)

Goodbye Tina!

Today was 8/9/10 and I didn't even know it. Boo. And I saw one of my kids at Emart tonight, where she told me that she's moving to Canada TOMORROW for A YEAR. I had no idea. I met her mom, who thanked me for teaching her daughter. It was really sweet, and really sad.

Vacation Decisions

I hate making vacation decisions, cuz I want to do it all! But I think I've made the decisions finally! Two weeks on an island paradise in the Philippines, Open Water/Advanced Open Water/Underwater Digital Photography courses, kayaking, trekking to waterfalls, mountain biking, and some snorkeling should do the trick.

I'm old.

I realized how old I am this week. On August 3rd, 16 years ago, I got my driver's license. (I remember the date because it was 8/3/94.) This year, I've had my driver's license as many years as I waited before I could get one. Good god.

Teaching Review

Guess my boss doesn't hate me as much as previously thought, since I got a combined score on my review of 94% (from her survey and the students' surveys)...bonus. 5 more days of summer session! Woohoo! One more hell day until the weekend! Double woohoo!!!

Prop 8

‎"The evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples." Snap.

10 down, 6 to go

Had a good day and good dinner. Finishing up some business and off to bed. Up early for day number 11 of 16.

Story Presentation Questions

This brief exchange took place after a female student finished her presentation. The inflection she used made me smile.

Boy:
Why do you get ready with a hat?

Girl:
Because my face is important.

Note to self...

Made it thru another hell day, barely. Note to self: taking a muscle relaxer during the first half of the work day is ALWAYS a bad idea. 9 intensives days down, 7 to go.

Dinner with the Yongsan Special Girls

I went to dinner one night with Sharon and Christianna for some Korean food. It was good, but a bit spicy for me. Sharon took care of pouring the beer.


Sharon and I waiting for dinner to cook down.


Korean peppers, like most peppers, are way too hot for me.

Down with Mondays!

Another Monday? I thought we voted these out already...

Forrest Gump Day

One day during our summer camp class, a boy named Doo Young said he was hungry. He said I should bring some food for him the next day. But he couldn’t decide what sounds the best. He started thinking:

Chicken. Or pizza. Or chocolate. Or kimbap. Or kimchi. Or mandu. Or kimchi mandu. Or kimchi-jjigye. Or dwinjeon-jjigye. Or…

For literally TWENTY MINUTES he went on and on. The whole times I way having a serious Forrest Gump moment. (Shrimp pasta, and shrimp salad, and…) It was hilarious. He even continued through the following classes that day, and the next.