holiday dinner

deery-lou.

merry christmas to all and a happy new year!

last night was our holiday dinner at ils. we went to a beef restuarant and had yummy steak. there's something to say about eating steak with chopsticks. they actually cut it into pieces as its cooking on the grill in front of us. when we left the restaurant it started to snow. seeing that neither anna nor jk could drive we had to wait for a driver to come to drive their cars. our next stop was to sangokson for more needless drinking. i think i finally made it home around 2am. at school today it was party day. we made christmas cards and snowflakes. one of my classes had a gift exchange however, none of them reallly got the concept since they wanted to keep the gifts they brought. whatever! it got to the point where i wasn't going to force them to do it.

i'm off to bali today. once again i need to get up at 4am to catch the bus. i feel like a jet setter these days. i'm actually quite proud of myself because all i'm taking is a carry on. and no big shoes!! i know! its a first but figured do i really need big shoes while on the beach. probably yes but it not sensible. its the year of minimal packing for me. especially since i'll be in a bathing suit most of the time. i hope everyone has a great holiday. i probably won't be writing until i get back. try not to miss me.

today's tips
on dating
the best way to lose a boy is to chase him.
— the clue of the dancing puppet, nancy drew

on manners
never turn down a party invitation when your favorite date is going to be there.
— while the clock ticked, the hardy boys

be well…

hong kong adventure

hong kong photo booth madness

deery-lou.
like a blink of an eye my hong kong trip came and went. i arrived at the marco polo hong kong hotel mid-afternoon. while misty was at work i walked around the waterfront and surrounding area. in the late afternoon i met up with misty briefly. we were going to try to get a photo taken so we could go into china but were too late. oh well. she went back to work and i ventured around the giant mall. yes, hong kong is like one giant mall after another. its definitely a place for those who like to shop. after cruising around the mall for over an hour i made my way back to the hotel. i needed a rest. i felt completely overwhelmed. the night before i only got two hours of sleep, if that. my plane left for hong kong at 9am which meant i had to leave by 5am. it takes two hours by bus to get to the airport and then i had to go to imigration to get a visa stamp. the joys of traveling. misty met me back at the hotel where we had christmas. YEAH!! how fun is that! christmas in a hotel in hong kong. love it. misty brought some macau pies back to the hotel. they were the yummiest pies ever! we then rallied and went down to the hotel bar for some cocktails with her co-workers. misty wanted me to met kitty. she works at the bar there and has been serving them every night. what i thought was going to be one drink turned into two plus a shot. kitty just wouldn't let us leave. love her. misty and i headed out after the second drink. we took a train into hong kong. destination lan kwai fong. we were in search of this "cool indie bar" that was in her book. unfortunately we found out later after much walking around that the bar was no longer there. we grabbed some dinner in this tiny little restaurant that was really good. we continued our exploring and found the area where all the foreigners hung out. the street was literally filled with foreigners drinking. not wanting to hang out there we found a little bar off an alley to grab a drink. we stayed there until we were annoyed by the foreigner sitting next to us. he was trying so hard to pick up on these two asian girls that it was embarrassing. misty and i realized that we are snots and thats why we love each other so much. hee hee. we set out to look for another bar i found in the book. unfortunately like the other place this bar was gone too. sadness. we spent the rest of the evening just walking around. we found a lot of cool alleyways with stairs. misty befriended a cat. around 1am we headed back to the hotel.

on saturday morning we met her co-workers for breakfast and then headed out via the train to the new territories near the chinese border. we spent most of the day exploring various little neighbors from different stops. at one stop we found a temple to tour. most of the stops had little markets to walk around. we also managed to hit every chinese bakery in search of macau pies. we didn't find them but we did find some delicious egg custard pies. we parted ways with her co-workers late afternoon and decided to explore the university stop. we thought there might be some cool shops there. nope. it was just a university. oh well. we jumped back on the train and headed to mong kok where there were all these markets. that's where misty, bless her soul, looked up and found TOY MART. how happy was i! it was four floors filled with toy shop after toy shop. i thought i'd died and gone to heaven. with newly purchased toys in hand we made our way back to the hotel for a quick rest. we sat on the hotel beds with our pile of toys laughing. how are we? here we are in our thirties sitting in a hotel with toys all around us. i love us! misty then took me to this nearby local bar. we were the only foreigners in the place which made it great. i love experiencing things like that. they were all playing some drinking game with dice. that night the vt's were going down like water.

sundy morning we went to some market area near the hotel in search of touristy gifts. nope. most of the shops were closed. i was in search of the olympic mascot toys. seeing that the olympics are going to be in bejing i thought that hong kong would be flooded with merchandise. sadly i was mistaken. we jumped on the train and headed to sik sik yuen wong tai sin temple. misty and i had our fortune told. we actually did the shaking stick fortune. we're so down with the culture. from the temple it was back to toy mart. yeah i know, but its been ages since i bought toys and i needed more. we strolled through the market again. this time i actually bought stuff. went to temple street market which was just opening then headed back to the hotel. we had another toy session then took a walk along the waterfront. i wanted to see the city lights. we got back to the hotel around 8:30pm then i headed out for the airport. i arrived in korea at 5am to freshly fallen snow. it was 16 degrees F. my bus ride home took 3 hours because of traffic. it was a tough day.

it was so great to be able to see misty. it made me realize how important she is to my life. and to be able to experience a new place with such a great friend is wonderful. she's such an amazing person. so full of life, a great sense of humor, and appreciates the simple things out of life. in a sense she's alot like me. more than i realized before. thats probably why we get along so well. seeing her in hong kong was as if no time had past. thats what makes the friendship so amazing. it was definitely sad to say goodbye so soon. it was kind of like a tease but definitely worth it. i'm so happy i made the trip. and even happier to have been able to spend it with her.

here are some highlights from hong kong tour o5
1. MISTY!
2. macau pies
3. avenue of the stars
4. the crazy christmas is everywhere in hong kong
5. the childrens christmas pagent
6. the sweet potato lady
7. the kiss store front window
8. egg custard pies
9. little birds in cages hanging outside of stores
10. good chinese food
11. the chinese bakery
12. bbq pork buns
13. the chinese pub
14. hearing cheesy pick up lines like: "you shouldn't teach. instead you should dye your hair and join a rock band"
15. man in subway carrying olympic mascot toys telling misty that you can find them everywhere
16. being asked if i wanted to buy a suit every 5 minutes
17. snake and turtle restaurant
18. eating strange sausage
19. misty buying doll clothes for her newly purchased giant blythe doll
20. graduation pictures at the university
21. random shrines all over the city
22. from outer space toys
23. fortune telling sticks
24. random carnival minus the rides outside of temple
25. woman telling me i should stay in hong kong for 3 months
26. wearing fur coats in the vodka bar
27. christmas in hotel room
28. finding a super hero t-shirt and misty telling me i so needed it
29. toymart
30. finding a 7-11 that had fountain drinks
31. crunchy bread with a 2 inch slab of butter in it
32. bartering with the market people
33. chanderliers hanging above plants
34. hip asians
35. not hearing misty ringing the hotel room doorbell cuz i had cartoons cranked up
36. finding random temples
37. the giant meat market
38. view of the city from the 6th floor
39. shitfighters
40. secret doors
41. photo booth

be well…

click here for my hong kong photos!

off to hong kong

deery-lou.
haven't had much time to write this week. my nights have been spent trying to get ready for my trip. i can't believe i'm leaving in nine hours. i have to get up at 4am to catch a bus to the airport. that should be fun! hopefully i won't oversleep. could you imagine that. on wednesday night i had my end of the year dinner with my ansan city friends. they took me to a most excellent bulgoggi restaurant. we drank soju and ate yummy sidedishes. what more could one ask for. anyway…its 1am and i should probably get some sleep. so i'm gonna cut this post way short. by this time tomorrow i'll be hong kong. so excited!!!!

today's tips
on sleuthing
being able to throw your voice can get your unskilled assistants out of tight jams.
— the ringmaster's secret, nancy drew

catch phrases
boy, i thought my number was up!
– the melted coins, the hardy boys

be well…

a sapho night

deery-lou.
the weekend completely flew by. i 'm not really sure what happened to sunday. did i spend it all day sleeping? watching tv? eating junkfood? all of the above? i know what i didn't do and that was clean my apartment. on saturday i meet up with chen and patrick at the coex. we were going to see harry potter but it was sold out until 8pm. i was suppose to meet them at 4pm. however, i was running late as usual. it seems that ever since moving to korea the once 10 minutes early jethan has turned into the 10-20 minutes late jethan. its like i've been sucked into the slow motivation vortex. i always seem to have everything planned out but then...POOF! the next thing i know i'm late. so the movie was a bust. we went to the blue nile for coffee. we sat there a while chatting, drinking, and smoking. it was chilly outside. we then headed over to it-no-fun [itaewon] to meet up with jen and astrid for dinner. as we were running to try to catch the train, chen got her elbow caught in the door. unlike most train doors these don't manage to reopen on impact. as i stood there on the other side i thought the train was going to take off with her arm stuck. the doors managed to open and when they did i squeezed into the already packed car to join chen and patrick. the second mishap with the trains came when we almost missed our stop. patrick and i jumped off but chen was still aboard. i grabbed the door with my hand and luckily instead of closing shut on my fingers i was able to open the doors. we ate dinner at thai orchid which was very good. they invited me to go to a party so i did. with alcohol in hand we got in a cab and made our way. they lived up on a giant hill in a neighborhood close to itaewon. of course the cab didn't take us to the top nor did we ask it too. instead we walked. we were the first to arrive. it was 8pm. i ended up being the sole boy at this party. most of the ladies there were of the unstraight variety. AWWW! i had found my people. i felt like i was kicking back at the lexington club. it was great meeting all of these fabulous people. alicia and wendy, the hostesses, had made a mexican dip which i could not stop eating because of the sour cream. it could have been a bowl of just sour cream and i would have been happy. they had a very cute apartment with an awesome view of the city. its great to know that there are places like this to rent. the evening consisted of lots of drinking, great conversation, tv trivia, karaoke, neighbors complaining, and a sing in. no party would be complete without the guitar coming out and listening to the ladies sing indio girls and 4 nonblondes. those gals sure do love their linda perry. i love when unexpected things happen. i wasn't even planing on going to a party and here i was having a good old time. we stayed until 2 or 3 am. not sure which. then chen, jen, astrid, and i cabbed it to their neck of the woods. chen was gracious enough to let me crash at her pad. we stayed up for a few more hours talking and talking. finally we got some sleep around 5 or so.

on sunday i did a little shopping with chen in her neighborhood. we hit up a couple of department stores and looked at all their christmas decorations. i found some tiny lights to put up in my apartment. hee hee. i got home around 5pm and spent the rest of the day eating and watching tv.

today's tips
on dating
a young lady with some judo skills can take care of unwanted advances in short order.
— the whispering statue, nancy drew

on manners
take the girls with you. mix dancing with detective work.
— the flickering torch mystery, the hardy boys

be well…

4 days and counting…

snowflakes and hongkong

deery-lou.
TGIF. this week went by super fast. in fact this month seems to be flying by at ultra speed. this time [its midnight on friday] next week guess where i'll be…HONGKONG drinking coctails with misty. YEAH!!! i can't wait. my work is actually letting me take friday off. how cool is that. misty and i will be able to celebrate an early christmas together. hee hee. its going to be a great trip. not sure what we are going to do but that doesn't really matter. i just hope hongkong has some good toy stores. i'm jonesing for cool toys! how sad is that. anyway we are going to rock the kong like its never been rocked before. my friend jean just got back from there. she said it was awesome. not really sure what to expect. which is good than i won't have any expectations and can be surprised by it all. i like surprises!! it'll be really funny if i show up in hongkong and derek and kate are there too. how great would that be. an asian reunion!!!

tonight in taekwon do i had to practice fighting with kim jung-ho. i think he was a little nervous at first. there nothing like a 35 year old fighting a 13 year old. if he's even that. my sabanim kept telling me to kick hard. as he put it "kill, kill, kill." i couldn't do it though. i didn't want to hurt him. even though i'm sure jung-ho could have kicked my ass if he tried. he kept laughing which made me laugh. i was also told to kick higher. so what else is new there. its always about kicking higher. during warmup stretches my sabahnium decided to help me out with my split by pushing my legs farther out. it hurt so damn bad that i was laughing to keep myself from crying. all i could think of was that my legs were going to tear out of my body like a barbie. pain is not fun.

peter came to class today with his "shygirl" again. the other day his sister wasing wearing a "shygirl" shirt. at first i though it was the same shirt but hers was in a different color. now if they'd only wear them on the same day. i didn't have my camera with me today. hopefully he'll wear it again cuz i got to have a picture of that. i got a new class this week. its a "kiddy" class. which means that they are in grade k. at first i was dreading this class after my last grade k experience. there are four of them in the class: sara, tracy, luke, and leia. three of them are siblings of other students at our school. it took them 30 seconds before they won me over. they are so cute and very smart. today was craft day. we made snowflakes. leia kept calling me sonsaengnim [korean for teacher] and wanted my help. when i handed her the paper back ready to cut she would start gabbing in korean to me. i just nodded and said yes cut. she did this about 3 different times. there snowflakes were something else. sara opened up one of hers and it was basically a giant hole. she kept calling it a grandma snowflake. i'm going to really enjoy this class. before leaving for the day anna told me that the kiddy-kids keep calling me blue-eyes teacher. they are so cute…

todays tips
useful catch phrases
after those fakers!
— the mystery of the chinese junk, the hardy boys

powers of observation
a strange tattoo might be a means of identifying long-lost royality.
— the clue in the jewel box, nancy drew

be well…

shygirl

deery-lou.
shygirl, shygirl, your nothing but a shygirl. thats my new song. it was inspired by of all things a t-shirt that one of my students had on. peter came to school yesterday wearing a grey turtleneckish kind of shirt. i say turtleneckish because although it looked like one from the front, the collar was actually split in the back. as he was running around the halls i noticed the black "sh" and the glitter on the front. when he came to my class i got a closer look. thats when i noticed that it said "shygirl". obviously a hand-me-down from his older sister yuni who i also teach. i'm not sure he really understood what the shirt said. and for that innocence i'm truly jealous. if a boy in the states wore a "shygirl" shirt to school it would be all over for him. forever being teased. however, thats not the case here. because like peter no one gets what the shirt shirt says. and besides the guys shirts are so feminine looking its hard to determine what is guys and what is girls sometimes. there's been a couple of times i was in a shop and couldn't tell if i was looking at boy shirts are not. all during class when peter misbehaved i kept calling him "shygirl". everytime i did he smiled really big. that class is definitely the "giggle" class. all him and chris do is laugh. it reallly puts you in a good mood. we were reading a story yesterday and the word "sax" was in there. of course both of them kept saying "sex" and laughing. then peter pointed to the old man in the book and called him chris. that seemed to make him laugh even more. i'm reallly glad i got this class back. i missed them.

as i climbed the stairs to taekwondo i kept hearing a "santa song" over and over again. when i rounded the corner i noticed that the lights were dimmed and the music was getting louder. i saw my kwanganim standing in front of christmas. next to the tree was a 3 foot singing/dancing santa. please save me! i must have heard the song 5 times within 10 minutes. it was great to see them getting ready for the holidays but the thought of having to listen to it everyday makes me want to scream. one student came into the practice space humming the song and imitating the dancing santa.

so a few weeks ago i was surfing the web and came upon this site music gorilla vs. bear. i think i actually found it either via misty or bagelradio. anyway this site contains lots of indie band info, reviews, ramblings, and samples. i felt like i struck gold. having been in korean for the past year finding new music has been almost impossible. thank gawd i had bagelradio to get me through lonely nights. now i have this new site where i can find new music to enjoy, too. and i did just that. i now have a new favorite band smoosh. they are merely young girls 9 and 11 from seattle. i love this album so much. i can't stop listening to it. they are the indie band version of hanson but a hell of a lot better. i highly recommend that you all check them out. i might start the offical smoosh fan club. hee hee.

today tips
on sleuthing
convertibles are swell but they sure do call attention to your comings and goings.
— the haunted showboat, nancy drew

survival tactics
always pack two overnight bags in case you have to stay over until the next day.
— the bombay boomerang, the hardy boys

be well…

first snowfall of winter

geumchong subway staion

deery-lou.
it doesn't matter how many times you've seen it or experienced it. the first snow of the year always feels so magical. last night it snowed. it felt like i had just stepped into the scene of edward scissorhands when winona ryder was dancing under the falling snow. the first snow brings out the best in people. everyone seemed so happy last night. grownups giddy as school children. there were snowball fights all along the streets of hongdae. the pinkish-black hue of the night sky was perfect. i remember standing outside letting the snow hit my face. it felt so good. nothing could have been better. walking down the snowy streets was like being in my own movie. a few koreans carried umbrellas as they made their way through falling flakes. nothing could have been better. i felt so alive. it was an explosion of innocence throughout the city. snow rules!!

earlier in the day i met up with my friend jean. we went to see a fortune teller in insadong. before actually going to see the fortune teller we had tea and korean rice cakes. they were quite tastey. the fortune teller we wanted to see wasn't there today. the man at the office recommended another one. he, too, was not there. both of these places were like stepping into your neighborhood bar. nothing fancy about them. merely a tiny office in a building. but with both of these options being shot we decided to go to this other place we saw. it seemed like the "mcdonalds" of the fortune telling world. there were all these ads, write ups, etc. on the walls that lend down to the entrance. unlike the small dingyness of the other places, this one was quite spacious and cozy. they even had two candles burning. sometimes atmosphere does help. the particular "fortune telling" we were getting is a method of divination called saju. saju means the "four pillars". it is composed of the year, month, date, and hour of one's birth which are supposed to influence one's fate. unfortunately i was lacking my hour of birth but i had him do it anyway. plus since i was born in the states he changed my date of birth to april 9 which would have been april 10 in korea. thinking about it now it would have made more sense for him to have made it april 11. so my fortune is only 70% acurate. fyi: my friend jean translated since he didn't speak english. some things might have been lost in translation. anyway here are the highlights…

saju highlights:
1. i'm not good at studying
2. unlucky in love
3. don't have any luck
4. the year of the dog, which i am, is currently going through 3 years of bad luck. it ends in 2006
5. my relationships don't work cuz i'm cold and keep things to myself
6. i'm a warm and nice person
7. will be married at 39
8. should not invest money
9. won't have a lot of money
10. haves lots of ambitions but poor follow through [i'm lazy]
11. am creative but have a tendenacy to go from one thing to another
12. get bored easily
13. haven't had a job that i've truely liked yet. that will change in 2007
14. have better luck in eastern countries than western
15. will have a big move in 2007 or when i'm 39. [i forgot what he said]
16. sees my job as a researcher or teaching
17. as for relationships girls don't like me
18. need to add more humor to my life
19. should avoid sweets
20. i'll prosper later in my life
21. blue is my color

there you have it. i'm actually going to get it done again when i have my exact time of birth. then i can see how different it is from this prediction. i'll keep you posted.

after the saju experience i looked for a nearby bridge to jump off but couldn't find one. just kidding. we then headed over to hongdae. my friend chen and some other artists were having an opening at a gallery. there's was a reallly great turn out for the exhibit. jean and i walked around for a bit then left to get food. when we stepped out of the restaurant it was snowing. jean headed home and i went back to the exhibit. hung out there for most of the night until we got kicked out. a group of us walked around hongdae and when they finally decided on a place to go to i headed out. i wanted to make sure i caught the last train home. the subway ride home for the most part was uber crowded. it was great riding the train watching the snow fall. i walked the home feeling completely happy.

now's probably a good time to briefly mention the craziness that was friday night. it was anna's birthday so we went out to dinner and then for drinks. i bagged on tkd [so bad]. towards the end of the evening our boss got a bit drunk. of course when he does he starts talking. a lot of it was "i believe in you" over and over and over again. he told me that he had a friend that worked in television. then mentioned that if i wanted to get on television i probably could. although i'd have to lose some weight. he brought up some things that "evil sammy" said before leaving our school. its been a year since she left and still she haunts this place. the cab ride home got even more interesting with his babbling of sex and saying that "people are wondering. ansan is a small community. they are telling me things". we tried to ask some questions about you the "them" were. but he never did have an answer. when we asked if it were parents he said no. who knows. once we got out of the cab the whole "i believe in you no matter what" came up again. this time he added the "i don't care what you are". and then more babbling to which i have no idea what he was talking about. i can only assume he was talking about our sexuality once again. bored now. we headed off to our apartment while he went on to the korean drinking house. as if he need anymore. so that was my friday night. after a night of several haunting random nightmares i woke up in the morning wishing i had gone to taekwondo instead. go figure.

today's tips:
the powers of observation
if you see a downed pigeon, check to see if it's a ferrying any messages. it might be a carrier pigeon.
— password to larkspur lane, nancy drew

all in a sleuth's day
horseplay can lift your spirits.
— the mark on the door, the hardy boys

here are some photos i took last night in the snow.

snowy tree

snow falling from sky

snowy pine

banana peels

my feet

camouflaged

my mini-faceless snowman

wonderland

footprint

be well…

roboraptor video

deery-lou.
look! up in the sky! it's a bird! it's a plane! it's a roboraptor…

click here for video

today's tips:
out-of-doors hints
if you step on something squishy, shine your light on the ground and pick up the creature. if it is about three inches long, and has pointed ears and a horrid-looking face…it's a vampire bat.
— danger on the vampire trail, the hardy boys

wilderness tips
adventure can make you hungry! pack a hearty snack.
— the moonstone castle mystery, nancy drew

be well…

moms

deery-lou.
today i had to teach a special class of moms. my orange b class is moving up to green a and their moms were all worried. jk thought it would be a good idea to have the moms come in and show them what i would be teaching. sounded like a good idea. as i started to explain my lesson plan to them i realized that maybe one or two out of five actually understood what i was saying. thankfully ruby's mom who understood what i was saying acted as the translator. the class soon turned into a question and answer period. whereas each mom wanted to know how their child was doing. kevin's mom was first. i really wanted to say that her child was a follower but managed to find some encouraging words for her instead. i'm not really sure if the fully grasped all that what said but hopefully they'll feel at little more at ease with their children advancing. its funny because they all wanted to know if the children spoke english in my class. and they do. they are actually one of my better classes. always speaking english and always asking questions. i told the moms that most likely they are not speaking at home cuz there is no one to communicate with. its like when i studied spanish and russian. i didn't run home and start talking with my parents in either of these languages. i probably should have. it would have been a whole hell of a lot funnier. as i sit here and type the students from my orange b class are running around the halls acting like maniacs. their moms are now in class with anna. the moms were a trip. all decked out in their finest dudes. one had a fur lined vest on. its definitely safe to assume that these kids all come from some money. now if only one of these moms would adopt me...

today's tips:
on manners
a true hardy says good-bye in person.
— mystery of the whale tattoo, the hardy boys

on being a lady
if you can at all prevent it, do not chase after thieves when you are clad only in a leotard. it's unseemly.
— the secret slipper mystery, nancy drew

be well…

zander, warrior boy

deery-lou.
so i'm finally getting around to posting my halloween video. i know, i know. sometimes i forget that i have video. anyway…here's zander demonstrating his great warrior skills. sorry for the sideways video. its too bad you can't just rotate it like a photo. hee hee. i need to teach myself how to use imovie so i can make fancier movies. however, i must confess i've been to lazy to learn. until then you'll have to put up with the video straight from the camera. and now on with the video…

click here to watch!

i found another image from halloween that i didn't post. it's of me and anna. we were at manhatten western bar. i was still in my korean high school student and anna transformed herself from a dead high school student to a pregnant one. i kept telling her that "it ain't my baby!"

high school baddies

today's tips:
on being a lady
lipstick is not just for looking glamorous; it can be used to signal for help on windows or other surfaces.
— the mystery of the fire dragon, nancy drew

handy instruments
always have a magnifying glass on hand for clues not visible to the naked eye.
— the wailing siren mystery, the hardy boys

be well…

toast

deery-lou.
it's amazing how sometimes the simplest things can make one happy or taste so good. it just so happens that this thing i'm talking about is…TOAST! yes, toast. christine decided to move back home with her folks so she gave me her toaster. i've been thinking about buying one for months now but haven't. so on saturday she brought over the toaster. what's the first thing i did? made toast. i can't believe how freakin' good toast with butter and jam was. this morning i had toast. just a few minutes ago i ate toast. i'm so lovin' toast right now. i never really appreciated it back home. toast was always taken for granted. passed over for a bagel or english muffin. no more i tell you. for me, from now on its all about the toast. now if only i had some bacon to put on the toast i'd be in heaven.

my sahbanim worked our butts off today. it was nonstop running and kicking. today kim jung-ho and his brother were late. when they walked in the sahbanim was saying something to them. jung-ho's brother wasn't even wearing his uniform. he had on a turtleneck sweater and cords. meanwhile jung-ho's pants were complete floods. the sahbanim pointed this out my pointing to his pants and saying "michael jackson" then started to moonwalk. it was pretty funny. jung-ho has become my new buddy. he's always saying "hi" or "good job" to me. i even ran into him and his mom at the store and he came running over to say hello. what a polite boy.

today around 3:30pm the sky got completely dark. then moments later it went to a sepia hue. we thought perhaps there had been an eclipse. still not sure what caused it. it was raining but i've never seen clouds turn the sky completely dark like it was the middle of the night. very strange. for a minute there i thought it was going to start snowing. fortunately it didn't. plus its not that cold yet. i found out today that i have to give a demonstration to the parents of one of my classes. apparently the parents are concerned about this class moving up to green level and want to see what i'm going to be teaching. good times.

i just discovered yet another new favorite drink. its called ambasa. it's coke's version of milkis, my other favorite drink. they're like milk soda drinks. to me they taste like liquid baby aspirin. so delicious. so anyway, i couldn't find milkis at the store so i decided to try ambasa. and sure enough its basically the same thing. the ambasa label is blue and white with clouds. like a little taste of heaven. if i'm not mistaken the tagline on milkis is "a new soda beverage sensation" or something like that. there are people floating with umbrellas on the label.

today's tips:
on etiquette
learning a new craft will make you chatter on incessantly about the art form. be careful not to bore your less artsy friends.
— the clue of the leaning chimney, nancy drew

useful catch phrases
"we sure pulled a boner."
— hunting for gold, the hardy boys

be well…

an old friend in a new place

deery-lou.
last night i got to see mr. william crump who was in town with his wife agatha. her family was having some sort of reunion which brought them to korea. it was great to see them even though it was only for a short time. the last time i saw them was at their wedding and i really didn't get to spend too much time with them. i've known william since high school days although we didn't become really good friends until after my senior year. we had a sort of love/hate relationship in the beginning. looking back on it now makes us laugh. we even got to travel around europe together which was amazing. although we haven't lived in the same area for more than 10 years we remained closed. thats when you know you have a true friendship. so being able to see him here and catch up was fantastic. i met up with them in hongdae. we had some coffee, cake, and good chat. we then walked around a bit and stopped in a pc room. they needed to check their emails. it was the first time i've been in one so i was excited. the walls were painted black, there were indiviual computer stations, and big leather office chairs. everyone in there was playing computer games. computer games are BIG here, especially cart rider which looked similar to mario kart. when i was living in maryland i'd go to my aunt and uncle's house and play it all the time. i was always toad. i even bought my own controller so i could plug in any time. hee hee. . they were mostly korean guys too. i saw two girls. and being korea everyone was either smoking or there was a pack right next to them waiting to be smoked. they even sold snacks and refreshments in there. how fun is that. once they were done with their email check, bill was having a slight problem since the messages kept popping up in korean, we headed to maryjane's and had a drink. before we knew it the witching hour had approached and it was time to go. i almost didn't make the last train because i got held up at sindorim, my first of two transfers. even though track 4 said trains were heading in the direction i need to go none came. after seeing two go by on track 2 i decided it was best to go there myself. of course once i did the next 6 trains weren't the right ones. finally at 11:50pm one came. i seriously think i have waited at least a half hour. i was starting to get worried. i still had to go eight stops and transfer again. and not really knowing when the last train to oido was i thought for sure i'd be stuck. luckly when i got to my next transfer point there was a train waiting. when i got out of the station it was raining and cold. but it was alot better to get wet then be stuck.

on my ride home i felt quite nostalgic especially after seeing william. so it seemed only fitting to play some smiths on my ipod. that made me think of high school, ea, visage, hs friends, etc. its cool to be able to listen to music or a certain song and have it evoke such great memories. having been wired about missing my train i was unable to sleep. i stayed up until 4 am watching episodes of oth. sometimes i love me.

today's tips:
on accoutrements
a fagot is a bundle of tightly woven twigs, like a basket. just a good thing to know.
— the secret of the forgotten city, nancy drew

on lessons learned
a large mask will make a person's body seem smaller. a tiny face mask can make him look bigger.
— the missing chums, the hardy boys

be well…

me survey

deery-lou.previously on the e-list...

Here's a survey that I took while living in Korea but forgot to post. I'm posting it now according to the date I saved it—11.26.05

stay gold & be well

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:	ethan
Birthday:	april 10, 1970
Birthplace:	camden, new jersey
Current Location:	south korea
Eye Color:	blue
Hair Color:	dirty blonde
Height:	178 cm
Right Handed or Left Handed:	right
Your Heritage:	east european mix
The Shoes You Wore Today:	the only shoes i wear:my swears
Your Weakness:	right now palace story stuff, in general toys
Your Fears:	the viking
Your Perfect Pizza:	cheese
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	learn to draw
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	cool
Thoughts First Waking Up:	ten more minutes
Your Best Physical Feature:	my eyes? i dont know
Your Bedtime:	whenever i've tired
Your Most Missed Memory:	christmas morning as a child
Pepsi or Coke:	wild cherry pepsi
MacDonalds or Burger King:	chik-filet!!
Single or Group Dates:	single
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	mama's sun tea
Chocolate or Vanilla:	strawberry
Cappuccino or Coffee:	tea
Do you Smoke:	yes
Do you Swear:	yes
Do you Sing:	only at noraebongs or when i'm alone
Do you Shower Daily:	sometimes
Have you Been in Love:	hmmmm
Do you want to go to College:	i've been. would love to go back
Do you want to get Married:	maybe
Do you belive in yourself:	sometimes
Do you get Motion Sickness:	not really
Do you think you are Attractive:	in a weird sort of way, yes
Are you a Health Freak:	no
Do you get along with your Parents:	yes
Do you like Thunderstorms:	love them
Do you play an Instrument:	i played the recorder in 4th grade
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	yes
In the past month have you Smoked:	yes
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	no
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	yes
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	no
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	no, but i wish i did
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	nope
In the past month have you been on Stage:	nope
In the past month have you been Dumped:	nope
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	nope
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	nope
Ever been Drunk:	ummm, yes
Ever been called a Tease:	no
Ever been Beaten up:	no
Ever Shoplifted:	when i was younger
How do you want to Die:	don't really think about that
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	i don't want to grow up
What country would you most like to Visit:	i want to visit as many places as i can
In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color:	don't have one
Favourite Hair Color:	don't have one
Short or Long Hair:	medium
Height:	175 cm
Weight:	75 kg
Best Clothing Style:	indie-geek, t-shirts
Number of Drugs I have taken:	zero
Number of CDs I own:	too many to count
Number of Piercings:	zero
Number of Tattoos:	zero
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	need to think about that
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

thai land videoes

deery-lou.
last night once again i stopped off at the little food stand to get some eats. here was the conversation i had with the woman:
me: [pointing at what looked like chicken in a red sauce] is that chicken?
woman: [smiles and gives me a confused look]
me: chicken?
woman: [said something that sounded like "ocra"]
me: fish?
woman: [shakes head and says something to her husband who came out]
me: [to the man] chicken?
man: [says the "ocra" sounding word]
me: fish?
man: ok, fish

i decided to pass on the mystery dish and instead settled for the pulled pork and sweet potato noodles. its just too good to pass up.

on a random note here are some mini-vids from the new years eve show last year at sea view resort in thailand. enjoy!
watch me! thai dancers
watch me! more dancers
dance contest [vickie and i got selected for a newspaper, sand dance contest]
watch me! sword fighting

be well…

little food stand of goodness

deery-lou.
i'm love with the woman who has the little food stand by my apartment. i've passed by it several times always looking by never buying. the one day i did decided to stop and get a closer look there was nothing that appealed to me. then the other day i noticed that she had this delicious side dish that consists of sweet potato noodles, veggies, and meat made with seasame oil. i bought some. it was so good. on my way home from work tonight i stopped again. no sweet potato noodles. that exactly what she said to me in korean. instead i decided to get some pulled pork and some seaweed and onions in vinegar. all for $3. it was so damn good. yum-yum. so as you've probably guessed by now i'll be eating there every day. forever and ever. love her. i ran into one of my students this morning at a stationary store. i'm looking at cards and i hear "hi, ethan teacher." she then picked up a cookie and said, "look cookie". so cute. i was at this same store last night buying some of those character frogs that my student had. obsessed much. now i've got three of my own. hee hee.

and now for todays tips.
on dating:
come up with a clever code with your boyfriend/girlfriend in case one of you is ever kidnapped.
— the invisible intruder, nancy drew

on manners:
when you solve a mystery, it's nice to throw a party with plenty of good food.
— the mystery of the aztec warrior, the hardy boys

be well…

beep.beep

deery-lou.
well, helloooooo scooter. yes, its no surprise that there's a hello kitty scooter. i've seen one before at the store. what surprises me is that someone actually bought one and is riding it around in korea. i so need to be friends with them. riding on the back yelling "beep-beep" to everyone we pass by. sort of like how pauline and i would drive around in her geo singing imperial teen songs. sigh...

recently i've discovered some new favorite things.
here they are in no particuliar order:

1. palace story [more on that later]
2. an ice cream sandwich that consists of sponge cake and an orea ice cream center. yum-yum
3. my new taekwondo pants [so warm, who would have known]
4. warm honey-red ginsing tea
5. these frog anime characters [i tried to steal one from my student but it didn't work]
6. hobbang [these delicious snacks that come out in the winter]
7. getting a free toy at mcdonalds for no reason
8. fancy leg warmers [i so need to buy these for someone]
9. these veggie snacks that look and taste like dorritos

be well...

free market

deery-lou.
on saturday i went to hongdae to shop at the free market. the free market is where artists gather in the park and sell their work. it's becoming one of my favorite places to go. besides all the art venders they also have bands playing. it a great way to spend a lazy afternoon listening to music and buy cool stuff. i did a majority of my christmas shopping there. i can't believe i'm actually finished. now all i have to do is wrap and mail. which will probably take me three weeks to do. there are lots of great finds at this art market. there's jewerly, journals, clothing, picture frames, etc. and the fact that they are all hand made from local artists, rocks. its so nice to have a place where artists gather and you can buy their stuff. the whole free market idea is great. its too bad we don't have anything like this back home. perhaps that will be my new goal. to set up a free market in san francisco when i return. that would be cool. a friend of mine is thinking about selling some of her work there which inspired me to work on some stuff to sell as well. we'll see what transpires. i did come across one artist who's work i feel in love with. it had that gothy-cutesy-anime style that i've become obsessed with. the artist name is delos. i watched him draw a picture on some girl's camera. how cool is that. on my way home i realized i should have asked him to draw on my ipod. if only i had thought about it when i was there. many next time.

remember how a few weeks ago i mentioned the toy museum and had some pictures. well anyway i finally uploaded the video.

click here for a visual tour

be well…

in search of...

deery-lou.
since being in korea i've had a lot of time to think and reflect on things that have happened. recently i've been thinking alot about past friends that i've somehow managed to loose touch with over the years. one person in particular keeps coming to the forefront: amy poole. i met amy in college back in 1990. we both attended the university of georgia in athens, ga. our friendship last until 1992 when i ended up going back to florida. we saw each other once while i was living in atlanta. we met up for lunch at little five points. it was right before i was going to head home. then in the summer of 1993 while touring with my friends' band spoke we stopped in athens for a gig. i got to see amy then, too. from there things sort of just dwindled. i moved to boston for a few years, then found myself in baltimore and evidently ended up in san francisco before i came to korea. now over ten years have past i still can't forget her. we had a strange kind of relationship. at first i really liked amy and i think she felt the same but it was never the right time to persue any kind of romantic relationship. instead we formed a really close friendship. one that i cherished alot and one to this day that i kind of miss. we'd skip class when it was too "africa hot" out to study and eat gyros. this place we went to had the best half and half gyros. and the yogurt sauce was to die for. i would kill for one now. she was one of those people that i instanstly clicked with. life was good then. not that its not now but we were so carefree. college was great. anyway...the reason for this post is cuz i'd love to be able to find amy. i'm hoping that perhaps someone might stumble upon this who knows her. if thats the case please let her know about this blog and hopefully we can reconnect. if not, well, it was great to be able to write about it now. who knows what will happen...

be well...

guide to life

deery-lou.
well its wednesday which means quiz of the week…NOT!! as doppelganger willow would say, "bored now!" but don't fear. i've come up with a new weekly special which is much more a representation of who i am and to an extent how my mind works. for years now i've had this strange quirk, or actually a pseudo joke that a few of you know about already. it's my kidnapping theory and how one should always be prepared incase such an event happens. thats why i'm always conscious about what i'm wearing. it doesn't matter where i'm going or what i'm doing. i don't want to be last seen wearing a raggy t-shirt, sweats, and a baseball cap. besides if thats the description that was given none of my friends would recognize me. people joke about my giant shoes i wear but little to they knew that in a pinch they can be used as a weapon. i also make sure my bag is equipped with all the essentials. again, one never knows what is going to happen. just look at those people on lost. hi, plane crash now living on an island with crazy people. my philosophy is be prepared for anything. luckily for me, a few years ago two books hit the market that have become my so-called "survival bible" as well as my "guide to life". they are "the hardy boys' guide to life" and "nancy drew's guide to life". i've had the hardy boys' one for awhile now, but the nancy drew one was recently sent to me by d. needless to say they go with me everywhere. they are packed full of insightful tips especially for that budding sleuth in all of us. which brings me to my new feature. on wednesdays i'll be giving some tips from the aforementioned books. each week there will be one tip from thbgtl and one from ndgtl. and now for this week's tips:

moxxie and a good sense of balance are essential when crawling on a roof.
— the hidden staircase, nancy drew

thinking with a pencil often helps to clarify a case.
— the mystery of the chinese junk, the hardy boys

until next time. be well…

the weirdness of it all

deery-lou.
while wasting time walking up and down the newark airport back in august i stumbled upon a small treasure of sorts. i was in a bookstore looking through magazines and i notice one called weird nj. of course being born in jersey i had to take a look at it. it contained info on strange, weird places in nj. some of these places were houses where murders took place, haunted woods, strange looking trees, and weird folks. hence their name. it was the coolest thing i've seen in awhile. who knew jersey could be so cool. certainly not i. then again i left jersey in '78, i was only eight. then a couple of days ago i was thinking about this mag and i decided to check the web. sure enough they even have a site www.weirdnj.com. and it doesn't stop there. there's also a site for weird us [www.weirdus.com] by the same guys. during my investigation i discovered that they even have a show airing on the history channel. anyone who is interested in strange, weird things should definitely take a look. there's a lot cool stuff on these sites. it was on the weirdus site that i found out about the midget village [see misty's blog]. its amazing how much weirdness is out there. which makes me wonder why am i so drawn to it. i remember some strange and weird stories from my youth like deadman's cliff that was in the woods by my house or that the walt whitman house was haunted [its now a museum]. or even the academy that was in flordia which supposedly some people died at. i actually still have the yearbook from that place. the people looked scary. i love hearing tales that these. how cool would that be to be able to spend your time researching strange tales from towns. i want their job. anyway i just wanted to mention this stuff cuz i found it all quite interesting. if you have any strange or weird stories you want to share with me please do. i love that kind of shit.

be well...

freetalking…

deery-lou.
i got word today that they are giving me another class to teach on tuesdays and thursdays. its a freetalking class—basically it means conversation. normally the idea of teaching nothing but conversation would excite me, especailly since there are no guidelines its just talking. unfortunately its going to be with uber shy students. these are kids that i have a hard time getting to speak during normal class. now i'm going to have a special talking classes with them. yikes. of course this class would come about during the week i have a sore throat. oh well. then i was told that our classes are getting rearranged next month. its like "whatever". it seems like we are constanstly rearranging class times to appease the students. in taekwondo do tonight one of my buddies told me that my hairstyle was very good. he even gave me the thumbs up. i love these kids.

on saturday i went with horace to see the drawing restraint #9 film since we didn't see it the last time. i must say that i went in there we expectations of it being a very long drawn out art film. i left being pleasantly surprised by it. i actually enjoyed it. the worst part about the whole film was the chairs we were sitting in. not very comfortable for a two hour movie. then there was a scene where mathew barney was wearing denium on denium [at least it looked like a denium shirt] and i couldn't get past it. i don't care who you are d on d is a definite not cool. after the movie we got some tacos at this dingy looking place in itaewon. it kind of reminded me of the taco joints that surround college. you know the ones that the punk rock kids always hung out at cuz it was cheap eats. although this one had military peeps. anyway i had a burrito and it actually wasn't that bad. definitely nothing like a ground beef burrito from the place on valencia and 18th but it was better than nothing. we also hit namdaemun market and insadong for some shopping. other shopping day out for me and i didn't buy anything for myself. what's happening to me. oh yeah i'm saving up for my goth doll. the most productive thing i did on sunday was add album cover art to my ipod. how sad!!!

here are some random videos of korean drum music taken at different festivals.

watch me! drum band
watch me! children drum band
watch me! lantern festival

be well…

11.11

pepero madness

deery-lou.
today was pepero day, the korean valentine's day where folks give out pepero, bisquit sticks dipped in chocolate. this year since i have a much bigger class load i was inundated with pepero after pepero. chocolate ones, strawberry ones, big ones, little ones, boxes, and even an entire container filled with pepero. one student gave me a bread stick dipped in chocolate. how much pepero can one boy eat? so far 12 or maybe 13. i lost count. oink. oink. before being dismissed from taekwondo tonight my kwanjangnim and sahbumnim handed out pepero. oh, no! not more. my kwanjangnim handed me two pastry sticks with chocolate on them and a pepero and said, "i love you." then he giggled. i just finished eating one of the pastry sticks and all i have to say is… yummy, sugar goodness. speaking of tkd it seems we can purchase winter uniforms. my kwanjangnim gave me a form the other day. i tried to ask him tonight if i "have" to buy the winter uniform but i don't think he quite understood what i was asking. all i got as a response was "you going to order." so i'm seriously contemplating the purchase. basically it's a red and black sweat suit. i'm turning so korean. it looks super warm which would be a plus as opposed to our normal uniform. i remember freezing last year. so who knows. i'll sleep on it.

fridays are speech days in class. each monday i give my students something to memorize and on fridays they have to stand in front of class and recite it. last week was the days of weeks. simple and easy. this week i decided to spice things up a bit and gave them the smurf theme song to memorize:

la, la, la, la, la, la sing a happy song
la, la, la, la, la, la smurf the whole day long
smurf along with me
simple as can be
la, la, la, la, la, la now you know the tune
la, la, la, la, la, la you'll be smurfing soon.

i did cut out a couple of sentences to make it easier. each student had to recite it on their own. they could either sing it or speak it. i tried to make them sing and dance but no luck. for two of my classes i took video of them singing the song as a group. i think this song will forever be embedded in my mind.

click here for video

click here for video

be well…

adidas

deery-lou.
whenever i walk to school my route usually takes me through the outlet strip mall. thats where i first discovered the wonderful "crazy-faced" mannequin in all her glory. nowadays i make it a habit to check out whats happening in the adidas window. they have soccer player dolls that they pose. hee hee. dolls are funny. the anticipation of how they are going to be posed seems to brighten up my day. the best is that some of the soccer players have a bald spot. you got to love that. here's a glimpse in the world of adidas, korean style.

getting the shot

doin a split

nice bandana, cameraman

protecting the goal

bring it on! and looking after the family jewels

what's happening down there

ball playin

line dancin

threesome

is that a ponytail?

caught on film

siemens! dirty

be well…