My Favorite Christmas Song!!!

Out of the Bubble

One of the weirdest things about living overseas is that I am no longer a part of the US news cycle. The only way I can keep up with things is on the internet. Many news events are covered in the Korean media, however all of that content happens to be in Korean. A language which, as it is, I don't know.

This means that I haven't seen that funny commercial. I tend to know what movies are coming out because I am friends with the marketing person at a large theater chain, and two of my friends run a non-profit theater. However, I have no idea what movies are good. Sometimes I can tell on facebook that a movie is popular because so many people talk about it in the status updates.

FYI, New Moon was just released here. Dec 2.

But to me the weirdest thing is that being outside of the news cycle, I can really see how stupid some things are. Seriously, it's none of anyone's business what Tiger Woods was doing a few nights ago. He really doesn't own anyone any information.

Why should he? Because he's famous? That's just stupid. He is just a guy. Sure he wife prolly pounded the crap out of him with his own golf club. So what? Really, it doesn't affect your life at all.

Also, American politics make me want to punch kittens. Guess what, health care is too expensive. It is. And jerks at insurance companies are getting rich off of you. And so are politicians. And no, you won’t turn French if the healthcare bill passes.

Speaking of politics, I read where Obama hasn't done anything yet, eh? You all know he has been president for less than a year right? Are we really already looking at his legacy? The media keeps talking about it, so do you too. I know, I understand. I used to have an insatiable thirst for news too. But with the internet and who knows how many all day news channels, it is just too much.

I've been able to spend my days playing with little kids, and my nights working on hobbies. I can read a new book, study Korean, or take some photos. Guess what? It's really nice not knowing every last detail about the latest scandal. I mean, the police report from the Tiger Woods thing is pretty easy to figure out between the lines. Do you really need TMZ to tell you what happened? And, really, do you care? At all? If so, why?

My recommendation? Turn your TV off, grab a book and find a cup of something nice to drink. What I wouldn't give for a root beer float right about now.




(my hobby)

Twitter

Just so you know, always be sure to check my twitter feed on the right hand side of this page. It's updated a lot more, because I can add photos from my camera phone to it. It's much easier than adding here. So please, check back every so often, and take a look.

Coffee Time

As you can tell, I like going to cafes. The pictures below are from my new favorite cafe. I'd like to share with you a story from that cafe.

I go there one day, and there is this 40 something man in a power suit sitting at a table. He has a nice attaché case, a few pens and he appears to be working very hard on something. He's got a rather large piece of paper, about the size of a poster board, but it's just paper. I thought, maybe he's doing some design work or something.

I see that he's got three or four other papers arraigned very neatly around him, and he keeps looking at them. Blue print specs maybe?

Finally, I go up to the cafe counter and I see what he's doing.

The three or four papers are covered with zigzag scribbles, each different colors. And the huge piece of paper? It's nearly completely colored.

I ask the owner about it, her English ain't so good. She grabs her Korean to English dictionary (everyone has one on their phone). The Korean word for "crazy" and "annoyance" show.

Turns out, he comes every few days, sometimes for up to 5 hours.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Well i just had my birthday, and here are some photos to prove it!




This would be my very own coffee flavored cake. Which was given to me by Hyun Jin, who runs a nearby coffee shop. She said she choose that cake because I'm a "Coffee Monster."



Always the Farwell Eagle, even far from home.



Soo (my 친한 친구,feel free to use google translate if you want), lighting my candles. Each long candle is for 10 years, the shorter ones... well I turned 30 so who needs them?




And finally Hyun Jin preparing to give me my awesome gift. Not only does she run a cafe, but she's studying graduate level courses in Beauty Sciences. It's actually a very popular field of study here. And it's pretty serious.

16,000th Photo

I went for a bike ride and I took this photo. I rode outside of the strictly "urban" area, and found this little bit of rice. In the background you can see some smaller buildings, a couple churches, and those big buildings in the back are the kinds of buildings that must Koreans live in. Interestingly, this was exactly the 16,000 photo I've taken with my camera. Yay!

추석 잘 보내세요!

Wow, this might be my favorite photo of all time! So I know what you're most likely wondering, why are these kids dressed up like that? Because it's Chuseok.

Chuseok is Korean Thanksgiving. It falls on what we'd call the harvest moon. As is the case with many Korean holidays this is based on the lunar calender.

The kids are wearing hanbok. Click here if you're interested in learning more.

For most of us Native Speaking Teachers Chuseok is notable because we get a day or two off. I got Friday off, so that was cool. And it's also notable because today, the day of the harvest moon, there isn't anyone around. Korea is a busy place, but everyone has gone home to be with family. It's kind of cool, but is quite odd.


Here are some more cute photos. Enjoy!