Frank In the Swamp

frankintheswamp @ 2009-12-26T12:56:00

2009-12-26T03:55:40Z

Back in the ROK...and it's not too bad so far. I have had almost 2 hours to kill at the airport before my bus which is less than stellar, but free internet with the purchase of a $1 bottle of water is okay.

And I'm okay with eating Korean food again after the culinary wonderland of Hong Kong.

Christmas Eve I wound up in an Irish Bar attempting a Celtic-Fusion rendition of Mac the Knife, which won me a weird Rugby shirt that makes my arms look comically spindly.

I start with my weeks of teaching 30 hours soon, but I think I'll muddle through okay. I'm not teaching anything new, and after teaching 4 writing classes last semester, I just have one this semester and that's a lower level class so the correcting will be of single paragraph essays, not 5 paragraph essays...which is better, much better when you have a stack of them.

Tomorrow I have a heap of planning to do, but I do feel refreshed from this trip, even if I had an unexpected layover in Beijing last night due to a late plane from Hong Kong. They told us about 5 different things, ran us around the airport, but finally coughed up a nice room (though not the dinner they promised)...I had changed money, so I was able to have a couple Tsing Tau beers before bed, reminding me that Korea is the only Asian country that can't make a tasty beer.

Hrmmm...doesn't take long for the bitterness to creep back in.

But I have only a single page for VISA stamps left in my Passport...I must've been doing something the past 10 years.

I should head out and get something to eat before I go wait for my bus...and sweat all the way back home.

Merry Christmas everyone...it's not a bad life over here, but I miss you.

Reunited, no peaches or herbs

2009-12-22T01:01:36Z

Met up with my friend Chris from HS and her friend yesterday.

Day revolved around getting back into the Dim Sum restaurant...4 hour wait this time, so we visited a temple, a nunnery, and strolled along some shopping streets. Loose plan for today, but it as of yet early...so plenty of time for plans.

This hotel smells fresh, has clean linen, and a view of the next door park.

Not only that, there is a thrift store next door (The is a Salvation Army Hotel)...so I picked up some cheap books.

I love thrifting.

frankintheswamp @ 2009-12-20T21:41:00

2009-12-20T13:41:47Z

Had a very enjoyable evening last night. Good, authentic cantonese dinner followed by a good, authentic Guinness...all seasoned with good conversation and great smiles.

Today I got a leisurely start, even though I had intentions of "making the most" of a day in Macau. And while I am still a firm believer in getting started before noon (and not trying to start coming up with endless new options, Ms. Hill), when 8 a.m. feels like too early to move, I say, "don't move."

Had Vietnamese twice today. This morning I stopped in at a restaurant near my hotel and had noodles and pork and mushroom ball soup. Simple but nice. In fact, I've been very pleased that my tastebuds haven't been permanently razed from the excessively spicy (and uncreative) food in Korea. Been enjoying subtle flavors oh so very much once again.

The ferry to Macau was nice, though I do lament that Asian ferries don't seem to give an outboard option the way that European ferries do. Given that it was the weekend, and the only legal place in China for people to gamble (the ferry actually had to announce that it was illegal to smoke AND gamble on board) the customs line was long and I didn't touch my feet to Macau pavement until after noon. I got a bus and found the old town square surprisingly easy, though it was packed as Disneyworld. In fact, because of the Portuguese architecture and cobble stone streets (walked upon by throngs of Asians) it really kinda felt like Disney world.

I had read about a great restaurant in my guide book that I wanted to try for lunch, but I kept seeing these people chewing on these porkchop sandwiches as I threaded my way towards the ruins of some church. And once I actually came within smelling distance of the shop, I knew there was no putting off lunch. A simple, well seasoned (and very fatty) pork slice on a light on the inside and crispy outside hardroll (really can't think of anyway to improve on them: they were plain but perfect) and I was extatic...and for 2 bucks! I CAN afford to eat at expensive restaurants (or at least sit down restaurants) when I travel now, but I'm a peasant at heart. Street food and crappy diners are still my favorite places to try when traveling. I also had one of Macau's famous egg custard cups...good, but nothing special...and tried their almond cookies, that were very reminiscent of my my mom's almond cresents.

After seeing the nifty church and fort, I grabbed another pork sandwich, and strolled very pleasantly south through a still very European section minus the gobs of mainland tourists.

The downtime was necessary though as I had plans to take down the biggest casino in the world...The Venice. Macau's version is three times the size of Las Vegas's version (though still smaller than Italy's version) and although I was kept at bay by policemen protecting the President of China's motorcaid (name escapes me currently) for a good half hour on the side of the street, I made it in and did some recon before making my plan.

Roulette has (almost) always been good to me. They had automated wheels ringed by computer screens where one could place their bets. I slipped HK$100 into the machine and started my interior strategy which focuses on 17 Black and the numbers in the center third. I clicked the $1 button and started poking away at numbers on the screen, noting that there was a $10 minimum bet...but alas, Red 5 was standing by, and took away...ALL $100 OF MY MONEY...seems that the $10 minimum was translated to $1 on the screen, so I had bet the whole wad in one go.

I recouped my nerves by playing some video poker for a bit, but no money (in fact, I lost another HK$50), so I cashed out, and headed for the door...but there was another roulette table...and this time I played a single chip on 17 Black and hit. I always replay a winning number, so I was down to a profit of HK$190 when I left the joint, and to rub salt in their wounds I took their free shuttle bus back to the ferry.

Yeah, that's how I roll.

Sing, sing me a song...

2009-12-19T10:29:00Z

Bought ear plugs for tonight...though there was nothing too interesting keeping me up last night as way of noise, but noise there was.

Been just exploring on boat and on foot. The boat ride was nice, though not exactly a sail (though they did have them raised), had a great breakfast of lox eggs benedict, walked around HK central scoping out possibilities for tonight and the near future, visited the free zoo (hit Lemur feeding time), and was recouping in a Starbucks and am now off to dinner with the lady who sat down next to me.

As a simple man, I require very little else.

Back in the saddle...

2009-12-18T10:53:42Z

I didn't plan for this trip.

I did buy a lonely planet, but it assured me that December was the low-season and that I'd be able to hagle for room prices.

It also did not quite make clear that the majority of the budget rooms at the Chungking Mansions were flop houses for the displaced minorities of Hong Kong.

So that's where I spent the night last night, and while I did not have any bed bug bites, it could be that they were scared off by the angry shouting matches that occured directly outside my 10X4 room. (I was amused that the small TV include had a remote control...like there was any place in the room I couldn't reach it.) Still for $120 Hong Kong dollars (about $15) in a MAJOR metropolis, you can't complain, right? Well, the weird draining noise I heard in the night, was actually water draining into my room from a mysterious pipe in the corner. The volume wasn't particulary worrying, but it's mysterious source was.

So I decided to make sure I tried to get into a good room today. All the recommended rooms, however, have been booked up long ago, so I'll be staying in a very active "love hotel" this evening and the next two. I had to pay extra to not have to move out each day.

However, I had the best damn meal I've had in quite some time for lunch. A dim sum restaurant that recently gained a Michelin star (Michelin only goes to 3, and doesn't dole out even a single star lightly). I took a number, came back in an hour, waited another half, but then gorged on 6 different types of dim sum from eggplant stuffed with pork, to vermicelli noodles stuffed with pigs liver. All at regular Dim Sum prices of about $1.50 per serving of 3 dumplings.

Today was largely a hunt for lodgings, made complicated by the fact that I was looking for a room for a German guy who wasn't satisfied with his "good" Mansion room, so I could take those over. He agreed to the whore house and payed, but then balked at the thought (or rather thought his arriving girlfriend would more so than the colorful denizens of the Mansions, so I've got that room, and am quite frankly happy to have it for $50 a night as everything else was looking to push $120 or more, and many with no rooms at all for Saturday and Sunday.

And it's near the Dim Sum place.

Nice guy though, and the day walking around was quite pleasant if not exactly a touristy day in Hong Kong.

I did, however, book a space on the only authentic, restored Junk (chinese sailboat) in Hong Kong for tomorrow morning. And if I get up in time, I just may make it out for the free Tai Chi classes too...but I'm not betting on it.

The light show starts in just one hour at the harbor...but I don't think I'm going to make it tonight...plenty more time...plenty more time.

Countdown...

2009-12-14T10:26:59Z

Tomorrow is my final day of exams, though this year is complicated by numerous students missing due to being quarenteened with the swine flu.

I still have a dozen papers to correct from another class, but really there's only a few students who are really on the borderline, so the exam grading itself shouldn't be too bad.

I still have to get ready for Hong Kong...need cash and have to figure out what to pack, something I'm still awful at after all these years. Going to try to go really light, but as a big guy in cold weather...that's hard to do.

Today was actually a really nice day, I was wiped out yesterday and feeling just crappy in general, but rebounded nicely.

Fading Fast

2009-12-12T16:20:08Z

It's a good thing the end of the semester is coming.

And it's a good thing this year, we get a week after exams before the intensive semester starts (where I'll be teaching 30 hours a week).

Friday and much of today, I've been mentally and bodily spent. Just really unable to do a whole lot of anything. I actually pushed myself to get some cleaning done, and even got into some of the small detail stuff like cleaning that weird gunk that clings to the knobby bristles of my hair brush. But still, I've been weary.

More because of a dip in the ol' mood cycle than any real work related exhaustion, but perhaps there's some corrolary there too. I'm never quite sure.

It's always a little different, or perhaps my mind just refuses to remember the details from the last time. Right now in a given day, I have no appetite, but cannot seem to be satiated if I do chose to eat (last night I ate two chicken breasts, lots of vegies, and three pan roasted potatoes). My legs are tired to the point of almost aching, but feel fine if I force myself to actually walk somewhere. I'm almost falling asleep during the day, but cannot nap for more than 15 minutes. I find myself staring into the mirror for long periods of time.

It will pass.

It always does.

Forced myself to go out to a triple birthday party tonight, and it was nice, though I hung back as a spectator for much of the evening. There was plenty to spectate tonight. Nothing too awesome or aweful, just enough entertainment.

frankintheswamp @ 2009-12-06T21:38:00

2009-12-06T12:38:11Z

Okay, I realize I'm not its target audience...but holy crap was New Moon bad.

Have a Crappy Day!

2009-12-01T13:07:20Z

Today got me down.

Not sure why...though it may have been from the crappy piece of chocolate cake I decide to splurge on.

Got some correcting done, but still avoiding doing the minimal work I need to accomplish.

Went for a walk after work, long one to see my friends Dan and Nicole who just had a baby. Saw the little gal last night too at the hospital. Korean wives usually stay in some sort of pampering hotel for a month after giving birth, they were very hesitant to let Nicole leave after just two nights.

They also believe that you shouldn't take the baby out for 100 days. And that the baby's room should be about 110 degrees fahrenheit. The hospital room's floor (they are "famous" for their "ondol" in-floor, hot-water-radiator heating) was so hot it was almost painful through socks.

Anyway...feeling better, but still scared to watch the second half of The Shining right before bed.

My second g star conference

2009-11-27T11:09:59Z

Well, this video game conference wasn't much different than the last one I saw in Seoul last year. No cute daughter of a boardgaming company gave me a free game this year, but since I wasn't walking around with a family man and pastor this time out, I am able to share with you some geek porn.

There were a few differences, though. At first, I thought this was just a thematic, sci-fi entrance to the expo...

But, no...Korea still has swine flu "fever," so to speak, so disinfectant chambers are in use.

I guess the video games have changed too, but to be honest they all look pretty much the same to me.

This was a head to head match of Starcraft II, with professional commentators in the middle and professional players on the ends (only one pictured). The original Starcraft came out in 1998 and is still played avidly (and televised often) here in Korea...the release of a sequel must be big news.

I started to get a low-grade headache after just walking around for 45 minutes. Not sure why.

This was an interesting game...a bi-plane fighting simulation with a chair that replicated the motion, thankfully not too accurately as I managed to crash into the ground after just a few minutes of playing.

Some of the most impressive stuff wasn't up on the BIG screens. This really blew my mind...yeah, that's a video game.

And this was an arcade game.

And these are boobs.

I admire the one-upmanship this game promoter used...they didn't have big screen TV's, but they had models who actually sat down next to you in their fish net stockings and leather bikinis to marvel at your masculine dominance on the screen...just like their real girlfriend do...which is why this young man seems non-plussed by the occurrence.

Sorry, but I just have a disappointing end to leave you with.

An Article Summing Up Korea

2009-11-26T15:13:13Z

This article on the recent internet site for foreigners sums up Korea pretty well, except that this site supposedly got fixed.

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/11/25/200911250052.asp

Overtime

2009-11-24T06:23:19Z

Co-director just came in to ask me a favor...teaching an extra class in the winter.

I'd really rather not, but besides not being sure the rammifications of saying "no," I find it hard to pass up an extra $200 bucks a week for 4 hours of teaching conversation with no prep or correcting. Back in the UP, I'd have to sub for four days to clear that.

Anyway.

I'll survive, and it's just for 5 weeks.

Sunday's Date

2009-11-23T13:16:25Z

Okay, I met this girl on Halloween when I was flying high...a nice Canadian couple who I didn't know very well had thought to set us up, as we are both old. Single people in their 30's are quite a curiosity, by which I mean a persecuted minority, in this country.

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure what I said, but I think she was paying attention, as she had Amber and Chris suggest that we go hiking last weekend, have dinner, and then play boardgames afterward.

She is a nice gal, but very Korean, by which I mean she showed up for the date over an hour late and was dressed in tight white cords for the hike. She was late because she was up until 5 am networking with an owner of a successful private school at a friend of her's party...she seems very aggressively upwardly mobile, a trait that I don't care for in most countries people.

Still, it was a fun time, and she was really into the game, and likes to eat food, and looked pretty nice in said white cords, so I hope to see her again.

And she was game for taking a ride on the fake roller coaster downtown, the kind where you sit in a car and face a screen while wearing 3D glasses while hydrolics throttle you back in forth in a way I'm pretty sure would be--thankfully--illegal in the US. About halfway through, I had to keep my chin tucked to my chest as I was developing some pretty intense neck pain.

Anyway, I've been slacking off somewhat on my school work...just hitting that period in the semester where I'm having a hard time caring about much. Students were there a little before me, but these last papers are kicking my ass. I'm really not sitting down and plowing through them like I should.

I brought home a whole stack today, but only got through the 5 long papers this evening. I should have put less effort into them, but it's a small class and they are working hard, and I actually like correcting the papers, but I dislike the amount of time it requires.

Still, things are going alright. I'm just hitting an ebb of energy, which is always a bit disheartening.

I can blame some of my lack of energy on the fumes from the remodeling of the apt. downstairs. I snuck down there about an hour ago and opened some windows to air out the place. I'm not sure exactly how it is permiating my apt, but it is, and it's a bit too cool for me to keep my windows open.

Good weekend...so far

2009-11-22T03:21:16Z

Got some cleaning done yesterday morning, though sadly my floors are still unscrubbed and the kitchen is getting kinda bad, especially after yesterdays activity in there: pumpkin pie, fresh rolls, and a squash-onion-dill bake.

Celebrated Thanksgiving with my friends Dan and Nicole, who were so looking forward to this dinner (they went all out and ordered a turkey from Seoul and made a great sausage stuffing and many other sides) that they were just Thankful that their baby didn't arrive early (due next week).

Off to meet some people for a hike...sorta a set-up with a gal kinda thing.

We shall see.

I have correcting and planning to do tonight, but not a ton.

Seoul Weekend

2009-11-16T13:23:39Z

Had a great weekend.

Friday upon arrival I got settled into my hotel, which was not fancy, but clean. I then went about searching Seoul for oatmeal at some of their famous markets. I made a mistake and wound up at the Dongdaemun Market, which is many sprawling blocks of shops and food stalls and tables piled high with merchandise...but no oatmeal.

I reconsulted my notes and hit the Namdaemun Market which was just a stop away from my entry point on the KTX, Korea's zippy quick train (which unfortunately doesn't link directly to my town). It's definitely more organized and touristy, and it didn't take me long to find the underground market and the western food stalls. Plenty of oatmeal to be, though it was all Quick Oats (at least it's not instant) at $10 a tube. I bought four, and I feel more secure facing the winter until I'm able to make it back home and resupply. I also bought a bag of Cheetos (they have them here, but not the cheese flavor, only a spicy coating), though sadly they are the puffs, but $5 spent there and that too adds a certain luster to my cabinets. Not too much else of interest for me though. They had a lot of cocoa and cocoa powder, and a few stalls had some boulion, but the cheap crappy kind, so I'm hoping my stock holds out.

I returned back to my hotel feeling triumphant. Really. Not merely just pleased with myself, but like a winner through and through.

I continued my night with a visit to a Jazz bar, which was the only place that Lonely Planet said anything nice about in the Itaewon section, and while I can't judge all the other places, it was a nice joint. A $5 cover got me in to hear a great 7 piece jazz combo. They were most young guys in their 20's, but they were lead by a 60 year old guy who played various percussion and hammed it up only a bit too much. Very enjoyable music, many tunes I vaguely recognized, and some good people surrounding during the band's breaks. The next band was a quartet and played more of the jazz that I don't like (a little more modern perhaps?) so the gal sitting next to me joined me on heading to a quieter bar for awhile.

The next day, I met up with my boardgame friends...and perhaps I shall write more tomorrow.

Been a tiring day today, but good overall. No complaints at all.

frankintheswamp @ 2009-11-13T09:33:00

2009-11-13T00:33:40Z

Off to Seoul for the weekend.

Going to try Itaewon, which is derided as some as being nothing but whores and military and others as being great nightlife with great Western food.

Meeting up to play some games on Saturday, and hoping to find a source to stock up on outmeal.

Various cuisines will be ingested and hopefully some good music will be danced to.

No plans for whores or fights with Marines.

Old Comic Strips...

2009-11-10T03:44:19Z

I really dig this kind of stuff...even when it just really shows you how far we've come.

http://www.barnaclepress.com/

Powerfullly Tired...

2009-11-09T10:58:11Z

Not sure why.

Slept well last night, though worked hard today.

A little too tired to get any thing done when I got home from work, but I did enjoy the fruits of Sunday's labor. Turned my leftover chicken and peppers into the filling of a burrito along with some black beans and some cheddar cheese. I also placed an order for some flour tortillas...40 of em for $15 is the going rate at Costco.

Took a hard nap with the bedroom light on, and still barely registered the alarm (set for 35 minutes). I'm hoping, of course, that I didn't fuck my chance at a good night sleep tonight, but just wrestling to stay awake at 6:30 didn't bode well anyway...and what the hell. It's not as if the fate of mankind is hanging in the balance of me being able to perform at peak capacity without a smidgen of unwarrented grumpiness.

But now I have 2.5 hours before my ideal bedtime of 10:30, and I'm a bit at odds at how to spend it. I feel more ambitious than watching first season episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm...and less ambitious than studying Korean (I skipped class tonight, which was really probably for the best).

Just how will I amuse myself...the world waits in wonder.

The Weekend...

2009-11-08T11:46:05Z

Played screen golf for the first time yesterday with some friends who returned to Korea after blowing their meager savings in the 3 or 4 months they went back home (granted that time was split between two different continents).

Hoping that won't happen to me, but then I'd have to leave first before that would become a worry.

Currently very tired, though I didn't get my one goal for the day accomplished...getting my cell phone activated. The reason wasn't pure laziness though, the phone won't turn on anymore...and I didn't have anyone who could help me out today, so I balked.

I did get into the office and did a little prep early on in the day, rather than waiting until I'm beat right now at 8:30.

I took a sauna which probably accounts to a good deal of my exhaustion, was out at the bar the past two night past 1 am, and engaged in a flury of cooking over the past four hours. Besides the successful experiments with spicing up some ground pork into sausage and then making a traditional white gravy (which I just put over toast, not biscuits)...I made some chicken breasts with bell peppers (green, red, yellow, and orange) in a wine taragon sauce...a mushroom, onion, and potatoe soup...and I've currently have an apple cake cooking.

I'm a little leary about the cake's chances for success as it's suppossed to cooked in a bundt or hollow centered pan of some sort. It's a pretty thick batter and the center is looking pretty runny and the edges pretty brown at the moment.

We shall see.

The chicken and soup rock pretty damn hard, so I'm happy with that. Over the past few months, I've entertained a few times after cooking up a big meal. And while it's satisfying to cook for other people, I'm also happy to have some leftovers from my efforts.

Friday was a nice guy's birthday, so I went out for that. Last night was a nice guy's last day in town (and a brief visit by the couple I knew from before).

The screen golf (where you hit actual ball against a computerized screen, sort of a more realistic Wii golf--you use real clubs) was surprisingly fun. And I actually beat a couple folks who golfed somewhat regularly.

Woo-hoo.

Best Pregnancy Costume Duo...

2009-11-04T11:18:38Z

These guys are great. First friends that I really enjoy just hanging out with casually...probably one of the main reasons I'm so much happier this year.

My break...

2009-10-27T04:11:16Z

Okay, I didn't hit everything I wanted to during my break...even on my unambitious list.

Unfortunately, that meant I didn't even finish all my correcting, though I did most of it. And I did do a good deal of planning for my Advanced Writing Course. I spent about two hours yesterday plotting out some lesson plans and figuring out the due dates and conference and presentation dates. After five days off, I really enjoy going back to work. Even enjoyed the correcting I did last night.

I did bake pasties, and they turned out mighty fine. Made some new converts as well.

Spent about six hours teaching myself/playing Arkham Horror, a game based in the world of a 1920's pulp horror writer. Surprisingly fun solo experience, though I did enjoy the games after pasty night, even if our selection wasn't too ambitious.

I went on one lengthy hike, about 12 km to a location I've hit before, but took a new and longer loop. Almost totally avoided the adjumas (Korean adult women) who can really ruin any experience with the shrill yelling and general pushiness.

And happily no regrets where I feel I "shoulda"...yes, it certainly would be nicer to have no correcting or prep to do this week, but I enjoyed my time off, even if it seems like not all of it is accounted for in my meager activities.

My house is well sorted, though I still have a good amount of ironing to get through...

Now back to work for me, while I still have the spirit.

Lame and lazy...

2009-10-23T11:52:08Z

Okay, I'm halfway through my six days off (in 3.5 hours I will be to be more precise), and I've found that I'm getting damn lame and lazy.

Lame, because, well, I have the time and money that I could've gone to Hong Kong, Tokyo, or even just Seoul for a good long weekend, but I really didn't feel like it (as stated in my earlier entry).

But lazy hits because I've done precious few things from that previous list. I've done a little cooking (a kind of chicken ragout with fresh multi-colored bell peppers and a banana bread) but little school work (I do have all my exams finished but haven't touched three classes worth of essays) and not many of the skill-building extra-curriculars I had planned.

I did however hike about 12km today at one of my favorite local mountains (about 30 minutes north by car) and followed that 4-5 hour jaunt (with plenty of vista gazing) with a sauna and a nap.

After the hike we ate at a small restaurant located near the temple at the base of the mountain. We ordered a pumpkin pancake and a bowl of homemade-noodle soup. Both were good, but I couldn't explain that we wanted two small bowls to share the really big bowl of soup. Even holding up the bowl and saying the words "one" and "more" in Korean...along with body language wasn't enough. The barriers to communication Koreans somehow put up is really baffling here at times.

To re-illustrate that point, 20 minutes later when I discovered I had left my parking lights on (more likely I probably failed to turn my headlights all the way off) I got my jumper cables and approached a man returning to his car and pointed to the cables and then to his car and then my car. He looked a little confused but then went into his trunk to get HIS cables...luckily for me he figured it out that I indeed had my own cables, but needed him to help me jump the dead battery with his live one, and to a small but growing crowd, we wer able to do so.

Oh, and in other big news Wednesday I finally got around to having a wart I've had for a good 10-15 years frozen. I now have a painful, purple M&M sized blister on the pad or my right middle finger. The weird, warty texture in the middle make it look like an eye, and I find myself staring at it often.

Things to do during my six days off...

2009-10-20T09:04:54Z

1. Make pasties. I have never made pasties. I don't think I've ever helped make pasties. I wanna pasty.

2. Correct papers and get myself organized...I don't really have a ton of correcting to do, but I have a bit. Today, I corrected one set of exams while giving another, but afterwards instead of plowing into the recent exams, I went for a long hike with a friend and his dog. Weather right now is crisp and leaves are starting to change.

3. Take a trip to Daegu...kinda-sorta starting to see my Korean professor. Her English isn't the best and my Korean is still next to non-existant, but the few times we've hung out, have been fun and flirty.

4. Do a bigger hike. I was going to go for a few nights over to a nearby island, but really, I'm feeling like DOING STUFF...not just hiking around and sightseeing. But I do want to see something new here in Korea, but I'll try and figure out a day trip.

5. More cooking. Yeah, I'm in that kind of mode. I made a great german chocolate cake last weekend, and I'm probably going to make some banana bread shortly...but besides the pasties, I've got a fridge full of vegetables and I wanna use them.

6. Some actual writing. I haven't made a stab at anything in awhile.

7. Reading...David Foster Wallace has been neglected as of late.

8. Play my uke...another thing that I enjoyed doing early in the semester that fell by the wayside.

9. Play/learn some new games. Yeah, I'm still buying more and more games. There are worse addictions I guess.

So yeah, in general, I'm not looking to do anything to spectacular...just about 2 months ago I traveled to some islands in Thailand, camped on the north side of Superior, and had a whirlwind tour of the midwest...I'm okay with staying put for a bit, though I am scared that I will just piss it away on internet time.

I really did enjoy my trip to Japan during one of my breaks...

New Favorite Korean Food

2009-10-11T11:51:45Z

Pork spine soup.

Damn was that good. Good enough, I almost went back again for dinner...but I didn't.

I feel like I properly honored the weekend...and I even graded 20 essays tonight. Surprisingly good book reports, except for the 3 I flunked as plagiarism.

Dancing Fridays and Chili Night

2009-10-11T01:13:42Z

Friday I went out with a friend who was leaving town in a few days. She's a very mellow but positive and active person, so she's well known and popular in the expat community here, probably 25 people showed up to the restaurant for dinner, though she really didn't know all of them. The expat-drinking community is quite open here, so almost any public gathering is open to others.

I had already eaten (a kind of hurried coq-au-vin type dish to utilize the great mushrooms I got from the market) so I just joined for drinks, but drink I did. The soju, the beer, and the mokoli (a milky rice wine) all in random order and increments.

After leaving the restaurant, we decided on a local bar and a good chunk of the folks from the restaurant joined us, and since the bar was empty, we added just the right amount of mayhem while leaving plenty of room for me and the women I accosted to use my three swing dance moves in the aisles between the tables.

I had all but stopped drinking at this point (about 12:30) having just one Heiniken and many glasses of water until 2:30 when someone suggested going to a Noribang (karaoke room). I've probably mentioned that Im not a big fan of the rooms, as I very much prefer subjecting a wider audience than just my friends to my renditions of "Life is a Cabaret" or "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport."

Anyway, sang a bit, drank nothing, ate some food (Koreans are very into eating while drinking) and was the first one to leave at about 3:30.

Woke up at 7 a.m. with a throbbing headache despite the water I drank, etc...must stay away from Korean booze...however, a couple aspirin allowed me to go back to sleep and feel moderately healthy when I finally got up around 11 am. Lunch of a spicy salty soup followed by a big cup of good coffee at a coffee shop and a sauna of the perfect duration followed by an hour nap, and I was ready for people to come over for cornbread (courtesy of Chelsea Michigan's Jiffy Corp.), chili, and games.

I had made the chili the night before because I went crazy at the fruit and vegetable market earlier on Friday. I made an incredibly stupid mistake of thinking that the coffee can sized "Chili Sauce" I bought was a base for chili. What makes this especially stupid is that I realized this at one point before the purchase, and then again before I added it to the chili. I wasn't going to use it solely for the chili's stock, but I added WAY too much to start and then spent time figuring out how to reduce the sweetness of the chili. I added some vinegar before remembering that the red wine I buy here is pretty much flavored vinegar and a cup or so of my $5 wine brought it around nicely after it sat overnight.

Today I've got papers to grade, but I'm hoping to get out and do a nice hike. Good start to the day so far. Breakfast of leftover fruit salad and cornbread, laundry already hanging up and drying (though my ironing has backed up to an nightmarishly daunting point).