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…