Jon Huer: Any attention is good attention

And with that title I'm gonna have to admit I'm playing right into his hands and giving him just a little bit more internet buzz. I'm not sure if he's trying to be serious yet or if he's just a shockblogger. Or shock columnist. But for the love of GOD!!! If anyone TRIED to make a stupider list of things foreigners like about Korea, I don't know if they could. Hmmmm, maybe I should try. It is my destiny.

Aside from number 1, which I mostly agree with, I can't get through this list without being overcome with this strange sensation that I can only describe as my body deciding between laughter and vomit.

What I am going to do is discuss his list, give my genuine list, (and not assume that it is agreed upon by all expats here in Korea), and try my best to create a shockingly stupid list that I think would shock and anger people into reading my blog and be worse than Jon Huer. That'll be the hard part.

Huer #1. Street Safety. I agree. The streets are safe. From crime. I don't feel like I'm going to get mugged as I walk down the street anywhere in Korea. I've never seen a gun or person with a gun except a soldier at the DMZ. And you just don't get the kids that are so bored they decide to vandalize or terrorize. And if it was anything but video games and hagwons that was keeping the kids busy I'd say kudos to Korea for that. But driving or even walking in those streets is dangerous. And if you get hit by a car you are pretty much left to your own devices to solve the problem. Police, ambulance, hospital and fire services are abysmal. But yeah I agree.

My #1 K.B.O. The Korean Baseball Organization.

My shockblogger #1 The way people of other blood are treated as absolute equals by all Koreans.

Huer #2 The sweetness and charitable disposition of Korean women over 60. I gotta say I like the ajjumas. But sweet? Charitable? Holy shit! Has this guy never stood in line to get on a bus or buy a ticket or pay for food or any fucking line in the country. The ajjuma elbow will get them right to the front. And people never do anything. It's accepted. Would YOU argue with that lady? There's a reason why the term "ajjumonster" was created by foreigners and the phrase, "third sex" was coined by locals. They are something to see. And the salmon-like metamorphosis from "beautiful, cute, quiet, anassuming, bashful, shrinking violet" agashi to ajjuma is a biology study just waiting to happen.

My #2 Drinking culture. I love being able to walk around outside with a beer. Show up for work hungover, they UNDERSTAND. (not that I ever would...) And there is always beer close by. You don't need to get it at a beer store. Drinking customs, drinking games, drinking songs, I love everything about the Korean drinking culture except soju.

My shockblogger #2 The intrepid Korean mosquito. These voracious little vixens are a superspecies of nature to be revered. Korean national treasure #564.

Huer #3 Korea's countryside people's unique attitude toward foreigners. Is he referring to how they demand, "Hey! Hello!" And then when you acquiesce, "Hi." they laugh their asses off? It's not unique since lots of people drive by herds of cattle, moo out the window and laugh their asses off when the cattle reply. But I suppose it IS a unique attitude toward PEOPLE.

My #3 Korean food. Nuff said.

My shockblogger #3 The lovely holiday togetherness one experiences on highways and thoroughfares throughout the country during Chuseok and other national holidays.

Huer #4 The Korean fighting spirit. Refusing to accept fate or impossibility. The Korean heart seethes at injustice. They have a pretty easy time accepting MY impossibilities. Like getting my visa renewed without leaving the country. Impossible! #5 pizza with olives, green pepper and mushroom instead of boiled egg, corn and sweet pickle. Impossible. Transferring money without producing my passport. Impossible. Cutting the hair on the top of my balding head. Impossible. All those things were in fact possible, (and I had them done), but those and MANY others are termed "impossible" when somebody just doesn't feel like doing their job. Probly hungover because of the drinking culture. And as for seething hearts is that what you call that shit-eating grin they give you when they reneg on promises in the contract while reminding you that YOU are still bound by it till the end of the year?

My #4 Winter, spring and fall. Not too hot, not too cold. Juuust right.

My shockblogger #4 The healthy, sauna-like conditions in Korean summer when laundry can take a week to dry and 30 can feel like 50 degrees. Korea has four seasons you know.

Huer #5 Spontaneity Yes the Koreans I know make it a point to be spontaneous. In fact they pencil it into their busy schedules after Tae Kwon Do hagwon on Thursday from 5-6 PM and Noraebang on Friday from 9-10. Or before sexual intercourse from 3-3:02 Sunday afternoon. The average Korean won't do anything spontaneous today except unnecessarily changing a lane. Without looking. But since it was done 75 times on their 10-minute commute to work, yes they are spontaneous.

My #5 It's a cheap place to live. Mostly because the good teaching contracts come with housing but I can save a lot more here than anywhere else I've lived. And I don't skimp either.

My shockblogger #5 The pleasant introspection and single-mindedness of purpose Koreans engage in that is so accute they can sometimes transcend their surroundings. Like when they are choosing gochujang with their shopping cart blocking the entire aisle for 10 minutes. When they walk across the road during the don't walk signal with their thoughtful gaze skyward. Or when they slam their article down on the check-out counter, get into a taxi or bark their order out when you are in front of them in line.

Huer #6 Lyrical songs of Korea. I have to admit if he's talking about "Bong JJack" or "Trote" music, it IS something uniquely Korean and, like Reggae, it's hard to feel sad when you're on the bus or buying a sweet potato on the street and hear it. At least for me. Bong Boing ba Boing. I WILL buy a CD before I go home. Who am I kidding I'll download some.

My #6 The babes. (externally). They are nice to look at until that tragic agashi-->ajjuma stage.

My shockblogger #6 The awesome, well thought out, intricately poetic, highly sophisticated Korean pop music. Not to mention the ingenious choreography that invariably goes with it.

Huer #7 Sense of humour and gaiety. Someone called Koreans the Irish of the East. I can't even finish this one. Korean humour is as clever as a sack of hammers. At any given time in Korea you can turn on the TV and there'll be a "gagman" dressed as a woman, pulling an exaggerated face or falling down. Pure genius! There is no political humour, wordplay, wit. Make yourself or someone else look stupid and you're hilarious. When I was living in Seoul a TV producer asked me to play a comedic character on TV. Even had a contract. I refused with relish for this reason. And I gave up teaching lessons involving jokes or humour a LONG time ago. I'll leave the "gaiety" part alone.

My #7 The mountains. There IS some good hiking to be had here.

My shockblogger #7 The lovely, helpful people and solid organization at every immigration office throughout the land.

Huer #8 Pansori. There's no real way to describe it, (or enjoy it). You just have to witness it. Okay, okay, yes the singers make huge sacrifices to get their throats into shape for the songs. If they were singing the high note from Boston's More Than a Feeling THAT I could appreciate! But I guess if a guy's looking for a cool and pretty slack job you can't do much better than a Pansori drummer.

My #8 I Tae Won Not for the shopping. I Tae Won is like a U.N. meeting every night. It's a great place to meet interesting people and they DO have pubs there. And although they're expensive you can find some great restaurants there too. My favourite place in Korea to eat drink, play pool and sometimes get my funk on.

My shockblogger #8 The myriad friendly, hospitable souls you can meet, share a pint or play darts or pool with at all the fine pubs across Korea.

Huer #9 The way the lower class is treated. Koreans are extraordinarily forgiving toward those less fortunate than themselves. This one actually made me a bit angry! Forgiving!?!? We forgive you for being the underpaid scum who make US rich. The thing is, and this is a good thing about Korea, I don't see many less fortunate people. However, you are less important than me if you have less money. Belee dat shit!

My #9 Everland I've been there about 6 or 7 times and will go a few more before I leave Korea I'm sure.

My shockblogger #9 The ingenius "undol" floor heating and the coziness of sitting on the comfortable, piping hot, cement floor while entertaining guests, drinking or eating and the wonderful tingly sensation in the lower extremities that comes with it.

Huer #10 The noteworthy achievement of being able to create new English words and concepts. Konglish. "Skinship" is the one and only achievement of note I can think of in this category. The annoying, confusing, nonsensical, and downright stupid achievements in this field: unending.

My #10 Friends Although there are many losers who come here to work and genuinely unlikeable people who live here, I have made some good friends in my years in Korea.

My shockblogger #10 It really should be number one but since it is integral in all the top 10 best things about Korea, (except the mosquitoes and the weather), I put the highly advanced, education system as my number 10.

Lunch Time

Here's what I'm having for lunch today.





Mmmm Mmmm good!

Dust Defence

March is nearly over and most likely so are all my positive entries to be found here and Facebook. The mogies are back. I'm not the only one blogging about them either. Mosquitoes are of another kind here and the season seems endless. But the oppressive heat and the bloodsuckers are going to be accompanied by the worst Chinese sand season ever here I think. I think that way because it's only just coming up to April and I've felt the effects of the sand for a month already. And yellow dust levels have been low in Gwangju. But I'm pretty sure that's what's been ailing me lately.

I've been snorting Otrivin when nasal CLOGGING, (caps for Heather's benefit), has been at its worst but it hasn't done diddly to reduce chest congestion, the half hour morning hackfest or the BUCKETS and BUCKETS, (again caps are for you Duder), of snotrags I've been producing. Nothing has helped me sleep through an entire night either. But yesterday I found another much sought after weapon in the war against the common cold that just might be as useful come the dust days of summer: "hot lemony Neo Citron." Well it's not Neo Citron but like Kleenex is tissue, in my mind Neo Citron is any cold medicine that comes in tea form.

I have been asking at yaks, (drugstores), all over Korea for this stuff for years and lo and behold I find it yesterday when I'm not even looking for it. I went into a yak close to the local supermarket to get some money from its bank machine. As I'm walking towards the machine out of the corner of my eye I caught a new display and sure enough, Theraflu!

I'm even happier about finding this that I was about the hot dog buns a couple weeks back. Sleep is pretty doggone important and when I don't get enough I don't feel like doing anything. I remember taking Neo Citron and being knocked, (the f), out! So last night, even though my symptoms were not at their worst, just because I had it, I made some late night lemon knockout tea. It worked like a charm! I got up at 8:30 today instead of the usual 4 or 5 and I didn't get up one time last night, instead of the usual 4 or 5. I feel great today! Good thing too cuz I have lots of work to do.

Yeah, I decided not to go to Kang Neung for the World Women's Curling Championships. I have quite a bit of copying, attendance making, and lesson planning to do for the upcoming week. Plus, because of the cherry blossom season, it's a nightmarish time to travel in Korea. And I'll save money and I can watch the games on TSN and get a better view and the campus here is just about ready to burst into bloom too and that's always nice to see. These are pics from cherry blossom season a few years ago when Kasia and I were both working here at Seogang.





It gets pretty spectacular around here. And I don't have to clean up all the petals. So I better use all the energy I got from that great sleep last night to get my work done. I gotta make good copies of all my attendance forms. All I have now are lists the kids made by signing a paper I passed around. I've been waiting for department heads to give me pictures of students so I can add them to the attendance but they hang onto their students pictures like I don't know, manhole covers. That doesn't make any cents does it. Har har har. Yehaw, Theraflu! Good drugs! Happy springtime everybody!

Dokdo--->Takeshima

Well Korea lost. Dokdo is no more! I will never call the above island Dokdo again. It is now Takeshima. Japan won it fair and square. Unfortunately I had to teach right at the crucial moment. It was about 2:10 when Korea pulled off their improbable comeback in the ninth inning. I had to see if they'd make it so I showed up late for my 2:00 class. But I didn't get to see the 2-run game winning single by Ichiro. Although my students got updated, on their cellphones, DURING CLASS, and told me. I didn't mind that much.

I was sad to see Korea lose. At first. But now I'm finding out exactly what happened. Men on first and third, Ichiro at the plate and a .220 hitter coming up next. ICHIRO who has more hits in a season than any ball player ever. More than Ty Cobb, Wade Boggs, Paul Molitor, Pete Rose! And he was already 3 for 5 in the game! THEN the guy on first STEALS!!! The American announcer was saying that the guy shouldn't steal cuz it takes the bat outta Ichiro's hands. Only if your manager and players haven't been told their whole lives how evil Japan is. Only if the batter isn't the guy who has been most vocal about how he enjoys beating Korea. Although I think that's been a bit blown out of proportion too. As things ALWAYS are here involving Japan. The worst I've heard that Ichiro said about Korea is that it smells like garlic. Have you been here? It DOES! They have chewing gum commercials on TV here where garlic/kimchi breath knocks people over until they pop in a piece of Zylitol.

Anyway, I will tell you I am absolutely not a fan of walking the bases loaded but in this case it would have been the smart thing to do. The obvious thing to do. It makes me wonder if the Japanese team was clever enough to actually TRY to take advantage of the emotional Koreans. I had been noticing signs throughout the tournament and actually blogged about some. Korean batters swinging at 3-0 pitches. That's a cardinal sin! Trying to stretch singles into doubles and steal bases when it just isn't smart to do so. These were all blunders committed against Japan. And in 4 games you notice things like these. Maybe the Japanese team had the brilliant strategy to try to use this over-emo against Korea. Kudos for them if they did! It worked.

After seeing pictures like this:







I said to myself, "Self, if Korea isn't going to man up and put their money where their stupid slogan chanting, flag-planting, sport-politicizing asses are, I'll do it for them!" and I determined that in MY mind the winner of the WBC would get ownership of what I knew then as Dokdo. And it seems fitting that Korea lost it by being overemotional, the way they have chosen to spearhead their campaign to get someone, ANYone else to recognize their claim to this island.

So I'm sorry, Korea. Dokdo is not yours. Takeshima is theirs. Try to take something positive from this. Geez, that's a laugh. Like asking them to see a sporting match between Korea and Japan of ANY kind not as another battle in a war but as a chance to improve relations between two historically opposed nations. Might as well ask them to stop breathing.

For anyone interested in a more detailed, VERY VERY detailed investigation of the Liancourt Rocks you can go to this amazing blog. From what I've read there it looks like Korea's case is pretty weak anyway. But I guess they're using it to unite Koreans, (like they need that), and test the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" theory simultaneously.

It's quite a spring in Korea!

I can't decide what to do this coming weekend! I saw some of the first Magnolia trees blooming while walking to David and Angie's place on Saturday after the ball game we went to. Kia won the game 2-1 but there was precious little action. Only a couple of the regular starters played for Kia and there were only a few hits for each team. I think both runs scored on wild pitches too. That's just not a classic match-up for both David and Rebecca to have as their very first baseball game.



But there was kimbop, shrimp chips and chicken for all. And the weather held out. It looked a little like rain but that didn't start until we were safe inside the confines of D & A's batchelor pad that I have to say is pretty darn nice! We had a good chat and some kick-AZZ pizza. I was pretty worn out though after waking up at 6, walking to the batting cage and driving about 6000 won worth of balls left AND right handed, then consuming a box of chicken and five beers at the game so I had a couple pieces of pie and then I was a pumpkin. Judging from this pic I resembled a pumpkin more than I thought. Damn, I need some exercise! And this is AFTER a pretty good calory burning day!



Anyway the Sunday game was rained out but it turned out okay because the Korea/Venezuela game was on. Korea won 10-2! I watched the whole thing. Yoon Suk Min, the Kia Tiger pitcher, got the win too! It was awesome! In Gwangju Yoon Suk Min is known as the smiling ace. On one of the websites I keep up with, which is about Korean baseball, I predicted he'd win 20 games this season for Kia. I hope he wins 25! And he's 21 I think. My only fear is that the major leagues will scoop him up. So I was happy that he let some people hit and gave up 2 runs. Korea vs. Japan in the final! The winner keeps Dokdo! Who will the pitchers be? I sure hope Korea doesn't start the so-called Japan killer, Kim Kwang Hyun. Japan has killed him. He's just a young fella yet. He'll need at least another year to shoulder that much pressure. Probably a combination of Ryu, Bong and if they're smart, the guy I think has been the second best pitcher for them: Jong Hyun Wook. The Korean coaches just keep bringing him on for a few outs then yanking him for no aparent reason. Maybe he should START! Anyway, this is Yoon.



So now I have to decide what to do NEXT weekend. The Tigers are in town during the week. I think I could catch the Friday game. But I'm thinking of going to Kang Neung because the world Women's Curling Championships are there and the playoffs will be this coming weekend. I'm sure the Canadian Jones team will be in the midst of those. And if memory serves, immediately following Magnolia season in Korea is the beautiful cherry blossom time. Wouldn't it be a great pic to get the Canadian women's curling team to pose with the trophy underneath a big blooming cherry blossom tree! It's tempting.

Anyhoo, if I get that picture I'll be sure to post it here.

PLAY BALL!

It's an exciting time in baseball right now. For me anyway. Korea is looking good in the World Baseball Classic, and since I am a regular at Kia Tigers games in the Korean Baseball Organization, I feel a kinship to these players and vote for them. Even though there are only two Tigers on the squad. In fact I'd almost be tempted to vote for them if they played the Canadian team. Almost.

But not only that, pre-season baseball is getting under way here. I gotta say baseball is something Korea does right. Pre-season games are free. They're not very well publicized or anything but I have been wandering by the ball park now and then to check on things and asking guards if they knew anything. I was sure it was getting close to baseball time.

Last Sunday I was sick but just had to get out of the house. I wasn't sure a walk would do me any good since I think it might be something in the air that is contributing to this sinus cold I've had for a month, but I had cabin fever. So I got my red-palmed gloves and a stack of 500won coins and decided to walk to the batting cages. I smacked the ball around pretty good. Even sick I'm dangerous with a baseball bat. Then, since the ball park is just a little ways away from the batting cages I ventured over. It was 11 am when I got there. I asked the guard if there was pre-season baseball on March 28th because there were lots of ads about something happening on March 28th. He recognized me from another time I had asked about baseball. He said, "No, concert. Today baseball." I thought he was asking if I was asking. I said, "Yeah baseball. When is baseball?" He repeated, "Today baseball." I'm using Korean and he's using English. This happens a lot for some reason. And if I speak English they speak Korean. That happens too. Weird.

So I said, "TODAY? What time?" He told me 1PM. Since I have no real responsibilities in my life, (gloat gloat), I just went in. I watched infield drills, and batting practice for both teams. I was like the ONLY guy there. Sitting in the best seat in the house eating ramyun and an egg sandwich, coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose. It was AWESOME! A couple of the players know me. I can't remember which ones cuz I was drinking soju with the Tiger cheerleaders the night I was introduced. Lost my baseball glove that night too. (The one in the picture) And I just can't find an adult baseball glove anywhere in Gwangju. Anyway, Byun Sun Woong, one of the catchers, and I talked a bit before the game on Sunday. I think he was one who met me. I'm pulling for him to get more playing time this year.

Around about 12:30 people started arriving. At various times during the game I had people sitting beside me but almost nobody walking in front of me at all. A few of the Tigers Superfans came up to me and renewed our acquaintences. They asked if I wanted to go out after the game for soju but I refused due to my cold. There were no cheerleaders so it was just folks naturally calling out cheers for the Tigers. It was a rare game for me at which I didn't drink but the other fans were partaking so they got more boistrous as the game went along. I couldn't yell very well because of my cold and the atmosphere was so casual I found I didn't need to. I just clapped and whistled when Kia did good stuff.

Yang Hyun Jong looked really good pitching almost 5 innings and giving up only 2 hits. He gave up a run due to an error and a couple walks but had a solid pre-season outing. Then the dreaded Son Young Min came on in relief. It was 1-1. I thought for SURE he'd blow the lead like he had done so often last year. But he was pretty solid. And the Tigers scored 4 runs in the bottom of his first inning and ended up getting him the win. The final score was 5-2. It looks like maybe Kia's relief pitching has improved. That was by FAR their weakest point as a team last year. So this is a GREAT sign for the season.

Lee Jong Beom and Lee Hyun Gon got a couple hits each and looked like they were in mid-season form. So did Lee Che Ju. So the Lees were looking good.

Choi Hee Seop got a solid base hit and looked a bit better than last year but MAN he takes some ugly swings at the plate! And his fielding is below average.

There was a good looking shortstop named An Chi Hong who I hadn't seen before. He got a hit and made a few really nice defensive plays. So that's a big plus too.

All in all it was a great way to spend a Sunday! I think next weekend the Woori Heroes are in town Saturday and Sunday so I'll be at the ballpark rain or shine. Or snow. I think maybe I'll bring some beer this time too. Can't wait!

Ooops

Oh.

Tee hee.

Well it just looked like a bunch of gobbledeegook while I was typing. Never used to be like that.

Geez now I have to go back and post pics I wanted to post with all these recent entries. And links. NAH!

Okay, just one. THIS


is the new 50,000 weon bill I wanted to put in my Insomnia post.

Broken Blog

This is what happens when I try to post a pic.

This
is what happens when I try to post a link.

What has happened to my blog???

Korean players of note in the World Baseball Classic

One of the things I really love about Korea is baseball. The Korean Baseball Organization, (KBO), is going to start exhibition games later this month and starts in early April. So I, as usual, am pumped about my favourite team, the Kia Tigers', chances this year again. I might do a rundown of the Kia Tigers staff on here but for now I will bring all you folks up to date on the players you'll be seeing soon since they made it through today to the second round. They have a rematch with Japan tomorrow which I think they might lose but probably not as badly as they lost the first game to them. They'll likely start a better pitcher. And with any luck they'll make some adjustments to the lineup that I think they should make. Almost all these guys are players in the KBO who I get to watch all season long. I'm looking forward to it.

Pitchers

Bong Jung Keun -LG- Played in the majors. One of many pitchers to have shoulder surgery, lose velocity, then come home to Korea to pitch in the KBO. He had 140 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.66 in '08. For LG that's VERY respectable. Pitched 4 disastrous innings in Beijing vs. Taipei. 9 hits, 6 runs and 3 walks. But pitched 3 innings vs. Taipei in W.B.C. and gave up 2 hits, no runs.

Jeong Dae Hyeon -SK- Won 20 games in '05. Submarine style. There are better pitchers not in Japan. I don't know why he's there. He may not be used at all. Maybe he's there to pitch against a big name player who hates submariners. ???

Hwang Doo Sung -Woori- He was spectacular qualifying for Beijing but left off the roster. Pitched 5.1 innings got 8 strikeouts and gave up no runs. He might be the starter for Japan/Korea II. If not he'll be available if the starter gets shelled early.

Im Tae Hoon -Doosan- Rookie of the year in '07 but struggled a bit near the end of '08 and was replaced by Yoon Suk Min, a better pitcher, for the Olympic team. Pitched 2 innings vs. Taipei and gave up 2 hits and 2 walks but didn't give up a run and struck out 3.

Jang Won Sam -Woori- I like his number, 13, it's one sam like his name. (Sam is Korean for 3). '06 KBO Rookie of the year runner up and 2nd in strikeouts with 142. Shut out China for 4 innings and threw a complete game shutout vs. Holland in Beijing. W.B.C. vs. Japan he pitched 2.1 innings and gave up 4 hits, 3 runs and 3 walks. But he did strike out 2.

Jong Hyun Wook -Samsung- He was the only one who didn't give up runs every inning he pitched against Japan. Cleaned up the "Japan Killer"'s mess in the 3rd and got two solid outs in the 4th before the coaches decided he was pitching too well so they yanked him. 1 and 2/3 innings pitched, 0 runs, 1 strikeout.

Kim Kwang Hyun -SK- '08 strikeout title, gold glove, pitcher of the year, 1.26 E.R.A. Young and handsome. No question he is the golden boy of Korean baseball. His nickname is the "Japan Killer" for his efforts in Beijing. No question he did well but people seem to forget he was losing his first game against Japan when he left. It was Yoon Suk Min, a better pitcher, who got the win in that one. But people still give him credit for the win. However he DID pitch 8 strong innings for the win in Korea/Japan II. The thing is he's an inconsistant pitcher for SK. He's young! So it didn't surprise me much when Japan shelled him at the W.B.C. 1.1 innings pitched, 7 hits, 8 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts.

Lee Jae Woo -Doosan- This is who replaced Jong in the game vs. Japan and he looked pretty ugly. 2 innings pitched, 3 hits, 3 runs including a homer to Johjima.

Lee Seung Ho -SK- He was rookie of the year in 2000. Now he's just a relief pitcher. He threw an inning vs. Taipei and got a strikeout without giving up a run.

Lim Chang Yong - Plays for the Yakult Swallows in Japan. In '08 he had 33 saves and a 3.00 E.R.A. with 50 K's in 51 innings. He'll be the closer. He was brought in very cheekily when Korea had a 14-0 lead over China and two out in the final inning. He got the out. Korea's not making any friends doing crap like that.

Oh Seung Hwan -Samsung- Gets a lot of saves. 40+ saves in '06 and '07. Save vs. Cuba in Beijing. I think he'll be a set-up man for Lim. Haven't seen him yet.

Ryu Hyun Jin -Hanhwa- '06 Rookie of the year. '06/'07 strikeout king. May have been Korea's best pitcher in Beijing. 17.1 innings pitched, 2 runs, 13 strikeouts and 2 wins including a complete game 1-0 shutout vs. Canada, (that I hated watching), and 8 1/3 solid innings vs. Cuba for the gold. He might be back for Korea/Japan II cuz he only pitched 3 innings against Taipei giving up 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 3.

Son Min Han -Lotte- He's a solid pitcher. He won't pitch any gems and he'll give up runs but he'll get wins. I like him for long relief.

Yoon Suk Min -Kia- I may be biased but I think this is the best Korea has to offer when it comes to pitching. If Ryu wasn't Korea's best in Beijing, Yoon was. He got wins vs. the U.S. and Japan. He got a save against Taipei, a hold vs. Cuba, and he got a save in Japan/Korea II. So his stats against Japan are better than the "Japan Killer"'s! I spent last season watching him pitch gem after gem only to get the ball taken away and given to a crappy relief staff on Kia who lost a lot of his games for him. STILL he managed to win 14 games and come 2nd in E.R.A. in the league last year with 2.33. Today in the W.B.C. he routinely shut out China for 6 innings giving up 2 hits and striking out 5. He's undervalued.

Catchers

Kang Min Ho -Lotte- I think he's the better catcher at the plate. He really works the pitcher and gets a lot of walks. 2 plate appearances so far and one walk.

Park Kyung Oan -SK- His name should be spelled "Wan" not "Oan". Maybe he calls a good game cuz he's not impressive at the plate. 1/7 with 2 strikeouts, a walk and one RBI.

Infielders

Choi Jeong -SK- The only non-pitcher we haven't seen yet.

Jeong Keun Woo -SK- He's an average second baseman. I hate him because he got the homerun that beat Canada 1-0 in Beijing but I still think they could have found a better 2B. 3/9 4 runs, 2 RBI, a walk and a strikeout.

Kim Tae Kyun -Hanhwa- This guy's a monster. '08 he got 31 homers in the KBO, which lead the league. He also had a .324 avg. I didn't like it when he swung on a 3-0 pitch in the first Japan game of the W.B.C., but he got a 2-run homer so... 3/8 4 runs, 5 RBI, 3 walks.

Ko Young Min -Doosan- Being used sparingly. He's 0/2 so far.

Lee Bum Ho -Hanhwa- He's only had three at bats but might get more. 1/2 2 runs, 3 RBI, walk.

Lee Dae Ho -Lotte- Another monster! I like him better than Kim Tae Kyun. Even though he kills the Tigers. Won the KBO triple crown in '06. That's avg., homers and RBI. He was .360 with 3 HR 5 runs and 10 RBI in Beijing. 3/6 1 run, 2 RBI and 2 walks so far. But he'll get more.

Park Ki Hyuk -Lotte- I think he looks, (and hits), like a little boy. There must be 10 better shortstops in the KBO. 2/10 1 run, 3 RBI and a strikeout.

Outfield

Choo Shin Soo -Cleveland- "Big League Choo". He plays in Cleveland and was player of the month of September in '08. So he might turn out to be a good Korean major leaguer. He's only the DH in the W.B.C. and not doing so well. 1/7 3 runs, 1 walk and a strikeout.

Kim Hyun Soo -Doosan- Most hits, (168), and best average, (.357) in the KBO in '08. Hit .370 in Beijing and is doing awesome in the W.B.C. so far too. But like a lot of the Koreans he's playing with a bit too much swagger. He swung on a 3-0 pitch and got out vs. China and tried to stretch a single into a double vs. Japan. If he hadn't, Kim's homer would have tied the game. 5/11 3 runs, 1 RBI, 2 walks and a strikeout.

Lee Jin Young -LG- This guy is me! He hits a ton but very level so watch for some screaming line drives when he's up. He's in RF cuz he used to be a pitcher and has a rocket for an arm. He gets lots of assists. Hit .333 in Beijing. Got a grand slam in Korea's opening game vs. Chinese Taipei in the W.B.C. 3/8 2 runs, 5 RBI, 1 walk.

Lee Jong Wook -Doosan- Blazing speed. Playoff MVP 2 years in a row for Doosan. He gets lots of runs and lots of stolen bases. But can't do either if he's not hitting. And he's NOT. I think he needs to be replaced by Lee Yong Gyu. 2/9 3 runs, 2 RBI, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts.

Lee Taek Keun -Woori- One of my favourite players. I once saw a weekend series where he went 5/5 on Saturday and 3/4 on Sunday against the Tigers. The colour commentator on MLBTV is in love with his swing. I've seen him play short. I'd swap him for Park Ki Hyuk next game. MUCH better bat. Only had one at bat so far and lined out.

Lee Yong Gyu -Kia- The only other Tiger. He is the best position player on Kia. I think he's just as fast as Lee Jong Wook. Another overlooked contributor to Beijing. He made a difference in almost every game. Hit a measley .481 and scored 8 runs. He's just been subbed for fielding and running so far. Hasn't hit yet but has scored a run. He just has an effect every time he plays. Put him in, coach!

So that's the lineup this year. There are glaring omissions like Lee Seung Yeop, Park Chan Ho, Seo Jae Eung, Lee Jong Beom and cases could be made for many others. But it's like that everywhere I'm sure. I was told that negotiations to get TV rights to show these games on Korean TV broke down. Imagine Korea/Japan negotiations breaking down. So anyways I have to watch really crappy streams of them. But I've seen most of all the games. And I'm looking forward to seeing these guys in real life when the pre-season games start at the end of this month! Can't wait. See you at the ball park sports fans!

Insomnia

I guess it's another sign of old age. I just can't seem to string together more than 3 or 4 hours of sleep. I had a good 40 years of awesome sleep though. I guess I'm pretty lucky. So it's 4 am on a Wednesday and I've been up reading news. It's the last thing I should be doing if I want to go back to sleep. News just makes me angrier and angrier and keeps me awake. But even worse, Korean news.

Since coming here in '96 there has been a constant barrage of stories circulating amongst the expats here that just make you shake your head. "Things that make you go WHAAA?" as they are called on http://www.seoulpodcast.com/page/2, a virtual goldmine of these stories. On some occasions they manage to leak out to the rest of the world but as hinted in last post, Koreans are very concerned about LOOKING not BEING civilized so they tend to try to downplay these stories and squash them before they affect Korea's global standing. That is, before they cost Korea money. In a perfect world, I suppose, the economically advanced countries should also be the most socially and morally advanced countries as well. I think globalization will bring us closer to this ideal. Which means Korea has to really step it up socially or their economy will take a dive. In my opinion, Korea was at its social best when I got here in '96 and is at its social worst right now. Yes, they are deteriorating. It's pretty obvious to me that Koreans are incapable of social change for the better. So long as they are economically stable. But when they fall on hard times they can put on a good show of fealty and global-mindedness. And we have seen them make promises to align themselves socially with other countries in their economic neighbourhood and we have seen them deliver on these promises - until financial stability was regained. Then back to the Korean ways. These shows will only fool the world so many times before it stops bailing Korea out. So rather than go the right way, reform, Korea looks like they might go the wrong way, isolationism. I think the idea of isolationism is gaining in popularity particularly when the possiblility of uniting with North Korea and no longer needing to outsource slave labour to people with non-Korean blood is looming. In fact they are probably in the midst of this disaster right now. I think we've seen Korea's glory days. But that's just my opinion. Why? Cuz I live here! And I can't escape these crazy stories.

A South Korean student in New Zealand stabbing his Japanese teacher in the back; A South Korean model not allowing her nude picture to be released in Japan; People given what the government, not they, considered fair payment for their homes which will be leveled to make richer Koreans richer, then some were killed by riot police during their protest; Actress Choi Jin Shil committing suicide after being rendered incapable of caring for her two daughters by her recently divorced husband, who was able to steal her fortune by Korean law; The suspension of the MUCH needed 50,000 weon note due to a map of Korea on the back that doesn't include Dokdo; Korean financial blogger "Minerva" jailed for being right about the recent economic collapse; ignorant treatment of dogs, mentally handicapped and women; these are all secondary. The issue that has me out of bed tonight is one that has been building at an alarming rate and one that for the first time has me a bit scared to be here. It's about sexual molestation.

The most famous case was of a Canadian guy named Christopher Neil who molested some Korean girls and was busted in Thailand and so on. This led to mass hysteria. It's now mandatory for all foreign workers to get criminal record checks that include a check to make sure you haven't committed this crime in your own country. Same thing happened with drugs. A foreigner or two was caught with them so they changed the laws. For foreigners. This I've blogged about before. It's not a bad thing to change these laws but it stems from racism, not any real concern for the victims. The whole time this was happening I couldn't help thinking that it was the old "blame-the-foreigners-for-the-ills-of-your-country" ploy. Not as much with the drugs but I was absolutely positive that Korea, a country that prizes martyrdom, and has a notorious hate on for foreigners would be a dangerous place if people started seeing how they could get a foreigner deported on a whim by claiming sexual molestation.

There was a very good episode of South Park where the kids got their parents taken away by social services by claiming they touched them improperly. No parents = paradise for the kids, right? They found that they actually missed their parents. Koreans are gonna find that if they start, (and it HAS started), going down this road they'll miss the foreign teachers. I've seen a few more teachers accused. And they always seem to be Canadian, dammit! I'm not saying that these teachers are necessarily innocent but I've taught Korean kids and I know Korean culture. The little kids are always jumping on teacher and kissing them goodbye or hugging them. It comes with the territory and is not discouraged the way it is in Canada.

Far be it from me to encourage prudery and discourage sexual freedom but although I have never witnessed sexual molestation at the schools where I've taught I've seen some very sketchy behavour and some VERY sketchy characters who I absolutely knew had ulterior motives for buying rounds of ice cream for the kids. Not foreigners. And I'm not going to get into it but there are some sexual tendencies in this culture that would make anyone from my country more than a little uncomfortable. SO it seems to me like some of the story is missing when I see the outrage at teachers who "touch students inappropriately". For God's sake because men are still dominant in this society through a system they call "hojeok", there is all kinds of inappropriate touching that goes on between female elders who are proud of young, male family members. And children are still spanked by teachers. This could very easily be done in sexually inappropriate ways. It makes me sick to talk about it.

But not as sick as the recent story about the 16-year-old girl who had been repeatedly raped, FOR 7 YEARS!, by three of her relatives. Two uncles and her grandfather. Do the math. They started when she was 9. So where is the moral outrage about THIS story? Has anybody outside Korea heard about it? Nope. Only through the blogs of us foreigners in Korea. And while there was a little bit of protest about it by Koreans, they quickly lost interest in it. The internet hits on the story dropped rapidly and died pretty fast.

These three guys went to trial and were found guilty of rape by Korean law. WHEW! Good! They'll certainly get what they deserve! Cuz this is an enlightened, civilized society and the laws are morally reasonable. RIGHT? These GUILTY men together served a grand total of zero days in jail! Nil. Nadda. Fuck all. And there's more. The victim was released back into their custody to be raped some more!!! There is even more. The girl was mentally disabled.

The inescapable conclusion, (and it's bolstered by other stories like U.S. soldiers abusing Korean women, so-called "comfort women" who were forced to have sex by Japanese during their occupation of Korea, and so on), the real outrage is not about the sex or the power dynamics, it's simply that Koreans don't like people sexually abusing Koreans - unless they are Korean.

I can't think of a clearer sign that Korea is a lost cause as far as globalization is concerned. But maybe I'm just cranky from not enough sleep. I don't know. Fuck. I work at a school where a majority of my students are young, pretty girls. I live in the same dorm as them. All any one of them has to do is say I was touching them incorrectly and who knows what might happen to me. Would my ten year career without any incidents be any defence? Doubt it. Would a parent or fellow student serve a day in jail for killing me? I doubt that too. But I'll tell you what, I personally know of a few incidents they've had with Korean teachers sexual misconduct here and not only were they not prosecuted, they were reinstated! Odds of that happening to me or any other foreigner under the same circumstances? Zero. Zip. Nadda. Fuck all.

Just feeling a little more vulnerable as a foreigner here in Korea. I had a picture of the new Korean 50,000 weon bill with an old Korean dude with his pants at his knees in the spot where national dignitaries usually appear. I thought it might be appropriate for this post. But for some reason I can't post pics or links here any more. Maybe I've been flagged by the Korean government already.

Back To School

A shudder literally went down my spine as I typed those three most dreaded words of my childhood. Old habits die hard I guess. Cues from childhood kick in. I still can't get used to the sound a wooden spoon makes either when someone twirls it in their hand. In my childhood that sound was almost invariably followed by a good, (and always well deserved), whack with said spoon. Mom always twirled before whacking. Like a batter's hitch. And if ever I see someone put a fork into their mouth upside-down then pull it out through closed lips, I sometimes flinch. That was the warm-up for a fork to the head in my house. So here's some parenting advice from father Dave: if you're gonna whack your kid with the kitchenware, don't hot dog it, just grip it and rip it. Your kids will thank you for easing future trauma.

Those were three of many very similar feelings I got during my childhood life which all contributed to a general sensation of flightlessness. I ached to get out into the real world and make my own rules. I had simple desires. I wanted to drink directly from the milk carton without looking both ways first. I wanted to walk around the house all day in my gotch. I wanted to watch exactly everything I wanted to watch on TV. I just wanted to do a whole bunch of those things that usually led to whacks with the kitchenware. It turned out I never really DID get free from school but two out of three ain't bad. I drink heartily from all my beverage containers. So here's some advice from host Dave: If you're at my house and I offer you a beverage, it's safer if it's from a previously unopened container. I'm in my underwear right now. More advice for visitors: knock or call before opening my door. And I just watched The Apprentice, Big Bang, Amazing Race, then because I fell asleep the first time, watched Amazing Race again. I'm airborne, man, I'm flying!

This is one of the aspects I kind of enjoy about working at a college here in Korea. I get to see kids with their first taste of freedom. For them it's nowhere near as total as mine was but it's still fun to watch. It might be interesting for people out there to read where I notice it the most. It's not in cooking or eating because every last students eats every last meal at a restaurant, at the cafeteria or they get it delivered. So not a whole lot of change there. You might think it's in the area of drinking. They certainly DO take advantage of not having to pass the soju breathalyzer when they get home late at night. Kids are getting drunk and getting busy here! But I don't think that's the biggest adjustment. Not the sex either. Or having to get their arses out of bed and into class without being forced by Mommy or Daddy.

I'd say the biggest transformation in these kids is in the area of fashion. This includes make-up, (boys and girls mind you!), hairstyles, and clothes. It is in keeping with the spirit of this country that kids spend way more time trying to LOOK like adults than ACT like adults when they get out on their own. It's a natural thing though in a country where most college aged kids still look like middle school children. And not in just MY opinion, they behave at a similar maturity level too. I think less than half of my male students shave. Some of the girls look like they haven't gotten used to puberty yet either. So I guess it's just natural to overcompensate. And the results are hilarious to me. It's all I can do to keep from laughing in the face of it as I walk amongst them.

In the mornings the boys all take their showers in the shower right across the hall from my room. And like clockwork as they enter the bathroom area they all give a high-pitched, phlegmless, amateurish hock that I suppose had been passed down from male to male in their respective families. And ostensibly to improve that very hock in the morning about 90% of them smoke. Even some of the girls have started that. Unfortunately sheer loudness of voice must also be regarded as a right of passage to adulthood here too because no matter what the time might be there's nobody talking quietly.

And just months ago these kids wore the same clothes 6 days a week. No make-up and no hairstyles to speak of. Now it's time to make up for all the school uniformity. It's a sight to see! Particularly the shoes. I saw no less than 4 students who almost took a bite out of the pavement today because they were wearing their new high heels. One girl fell down a few stairs but managed to right herself before disaster. And I purposely look sometimes - almost every girl is wearing high heels! I even saw a dude today who looked like he had blisters on his blisters wearing a brand new pair of shiny brown shoes that were thin and about 6 sizes too long.

The make-up on the girls is outlandish. I try not to get too close to my female students. It's good practice in case I teach back in Canada anyway. But it's like taking a rocketship to the moon. It looks like a smooth round circle from Earth but as you get closer you see cracks, scars, craters, and scarification in the crust. I had a few female students who tried coloured contacts. That's just spooky. Extended eyelashes that could take out an eye with black mascara snow chunks falling off now and then. It's not yet to the point of Japan but a LOT of kids get their hair coloured. I think I would do that. I mean EVERYBODY has the exact same hair all through school! Perfume is getting more popular. I don't NEED to get close to smell that.

And then there are the clothes! As different as a backpack is to a Gucci bag! We just got a new building over the winter vacation for the Hotel Management courses but I think the school could just as well have installed catwalks between the dorms and the buildings. That's what the roads here are. I could look out my window and be a fashion announcer at almost any time. Here now is Shin Ae sporting her splashy spring colours and saying, "GO AWAY WINTER! I'm in the mood for bikinis and beaches!" Shin Ae has a daringly cut McGuire hunting tartan minikilt with matching Chanel sporran. She has on a blindingly fuscia top and sensible black beret. She is walking Lassie her mini schnauzer. Shin Ae is a Capricorn and she enjoys bubble tea and paper folding. Whoops! Be careful with those 8 inch Italian heels, Shin Ae! Well at least she won't step on a hemline.

Next we have Yong Hwan. Doesn't he look businesslike in his, umm, pants and shirt. And old guy socks and shoes.

There's not much to men's fashion in Korea other than men don't wear t-shirts, running shoes or white socks after the age of 18. Except sometimes when they play sports offline. That's all I ever wear. But I can pull it off because I'm a foreigner.

Anyhoo, these are some things I noticed on my first day back today. Today I taught a class that I teach 3 times a week that only needs two lessons in my opinion and a class that I teach twice a week that could really use 3 lessons. But I'm still not sure if the second class was actually supposed to be mine. I might have walked in on a dozen students using an empty room to relax and taught them all about my hometown, hobbies and intruducing yourself to a stranger. It wouldn't be the first time. Nobody will say anything if you're teaching the wrong class. And they won't get up and leave either. I would't be surprised but I would be happy cuz they were pretty low level even for Seokang.

I asked the dean of the department what room I was expected to teach in and he showed me on the schedule I was in 103. But after teaching an hour my boss called and told me some students had been waiting for an hour in room 204. So I asked the people in my class how many students there were in their class. They told me 30. I had only 10 I think. So I assumed there were 20 people upstairs. I went up and there were two guys and they showed me on their class/book list that they were in a TOEFL class. I don't teach TOEFL. I hate it with a passion! But I'm still not sure where I was supposed to be or where all my students were. That's okay because there were a bunch of other people in the classroom as well and one was the dean. He had no clue what was what. And, bad news, there were some cleaning ladies and maintenence men. One was the tall Idon'tcaretaker! So damn, he didn't get the boot! He just got transfered to the new building. But I guess that's better than having him in the dorm.

But that's the way things usually are on the first day. Organized confusion. I'm sure by mid semester we'll have all the bumps ironed out. It's okay, they're all just here to try to convince the world that they're adults now anyway. They're so cute! Hee hee hee.

It's March. March 1st. Next month marks my third full year of blogging. I give, (I'm not sure "credit" or "blame" would be the right word), to Heather for showing me how to blog. Thanks, Duderino. Over these three years it's been a useful way to vent for me. But I was just searching for an entry I alluded to in my most recent post about being walked in on while in the shower, (May '96), and started to realize that this is just as good as a journal. For as long as Blogger.com remains, and remains free, I have access to a history of my tales, and sometimes pics, of the past. I wish I'd started doing this long ago. I'd absolutely LOVE to read some blog entries about my years in university! And I'm sure I'd enjoy reading about how foolish, and how bad a writer I was when I was young.

I HAVE kept journals at times during the past. In my university days I used to get the Sports Illustrated day planner every year for about 6 years. Still have those and MAN are they fun to read! I even recorded dreams off and on during university. I have very weird dreams! So those too are fun to read about.

Probably the most complete history of my life in one spot would be all the letters I've written to my dear old Gramma Vickers. And I don't flatter myself to think that she's kept them all over the years, but if she had they'd be a great read!

I have Mormon friends who keep journals. I think it's one of the things the church tries to encourage. I think it's a great thing to encourage. If I could get all my students to blog just think how much their English would improve! And I could just read their blogs and make grammar corrections in the comment box. But that's never gonna happen. Besides it's a lot of work for me. We don't want that. But if I had smaller classes filled with students who really wanted to learn English...

So I thought I'd try to put an entry here that gives a feel for my life at this time. It will be this sort of entry I really like to read in the future. Like when I watch movies I sometimes get into moods where I don't care about the quality of the movie or the acting or whatever, it's the scenery that holds my attention. I watched Home Alone recently because it has some really nice cinematography of things I miss about home. Houses. Sidewalks being shovelled in winter. Christmas lights. American cars. Mailboxes. Who knows what I'll be reading in my blog in the future that will conjure up old memories of Korea? I think it'll be details. So I'm gonna try to make this a detailed entry.

As I sit at my computer drinking Ahmad black currant tea, which I bought on one of my infrequent journeys to Hannam Supermarket near I Tae Won in Seoul I'm glad it's in a blue mug. I like blue mugs. They make things taste better. It's a blue Starbucks mug that I think I might have purchased during one of my infrequent journeys to Starbucks. I only go if someone else wants to go. I think I got this mug when I was hanging out with Mike and Heather in one of about 50 Starbucks in downtown Seoul. I think this was purchased at the one across from the Kyobo Building with the view of the Lee Sun Shin statue. Mike loves Starbucks. More than anyone should really. I think it might have been in October cuz Heather and Mike got pumpkin flavoured coffee.

The tea is steaming quite copiously as it sits on my "I love to cook with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food." potholder, which was a gift from Jocelyn who I worked with at Mokpo U. last year. Thanks Jocelyn. And also thanks for telling me the word, "potholder". It was a struggle for me at the time to come up with the right word for this object. It had been buried in my brain for years so that retrieval was impossible. Ever forget a simple word like that? I had to send Jocelyn a message on facebook asking what the word for that large, material, coaster thingy we use for pots was. That's embarrassing.

The tea is steaming a lot because it's a bit chilly in my dorm room at Seogang today. I turned my heater off a few days ago when it was warm outside. The heater takes over a day to turn off. So I was sweating like a banshee for two days. Then the third day was fine but wouldn't you know it, today it's colder. I could turn on the heater but it won't heat up till sometime next week when it will most likely be warm again. So I'll just wear extra clothes until spring.

I can't see them because my purple horizontal blinds are closed, but I can hear students talking, and probably flirting, very audibly while sitting on the picnic tables in the courtyard outside my window. They might even be drinking soju. It's only 3 PM but it's the Sunday before the first Monday of class here. Might as well drink in that last blast of freedom.

Luckily for me I don't work tomorrow. I teach Physical Therapy from 9-11 and Hotel/Food from 2-4 on Tuesday. Wednesday I have Physical Therapy again from 2-3, and first year stewardess from 3-4. Then Thursday I have first year stewardess from 9-11, (when most will be catching beauty z's), and from 2-4 I have second year stewardess, who I taught last semester. I'll be doing a special class from 4-5 every day but that doesn't start for a couple weeks. It's a really sweet schedule! No Fridays! But it can and most likely WILL change dramatically before we fully get going here.

Now I have a girl, (what she's doing in the boys side of the dorm I don't know), talking, nay yelling into her phone directly outside my door. I wonder why anyone would stop there for a phone call. Yesterday the "Woo" guy returned. There's some kid here who is constantly running around yelling that. He's woken me up on many occasions. I think he might be like Timmy from Southpark. All Timmy can say is "Timmy." I think maybe all the Woo guy can say is Woo. But with different intonation depending upon the circumstances. But I'm sure even HE can pass here at Seokang.

I haven't been sleeping right for over a month. Sinuses. I'm pretty sure I'm not allergic to Korea but it's a theory I've mulled over. It could be the Chinese sand but upon checking my past blog entries I find that May is when that is worst. I've found only one thing that helps: Otravin. But as is my way, I choose not to medicate unless it's absolutely necessary, so I have a wastebasket full of dirty snotrags beside me and a roll of TP beside my blue tea mug. I slept from about 7 AM to noon today. I was up watching live streams of the Accenture Matchplay Championships. I think Ogilvie will win. I also watched hockey and a little bit of Sopranos. I had trouble with my video. Both streaming vid and the Sopranos cd were coming up on the screen as just green and red stripes. Sound was okay though. I went into control panel, display, settings and mokeyed around. That worked so I was able to watch. I am pretty sure that playing Guild of Heroes on facebook is what messed up my video settings. It has happened before. How is still a mystery.

See? This'll all be good stuff to look back on if I have these problems again.

We had hot water all through the day yesterday so I did my dishes and made some Chilli. I have two pickle jars of it left. I bought some sour cream and marble cheese from the underground market a couple days ago. I grated some of the cheese yesterday into the chilli. Mmmmmm. I think today I'll have some sour cream in my chilli. I wanted to go grocery shopping this afternoon for eggs, bread etc. but that was dependant upon hot water. As I walked into the bathroom to check I said out loud to myself, "I'll bet next month's salary we don't have hot water all day today." And sure enough I won the bet. So now I have to wait until 7 PM to shower up and go shopping. Hence, this entry. Usually we have hot water in the dorm from 7ish to 9ish AM and PM. That's all. I think that's starting today.

I think at 6 I'll play some Wii and work up a sweat then shower at 7. Till then I guess I'll just putter around at my computer.

Well this has been a good entry. Not especially interesting but time well wasted. See you soon.

How To Be a Good I-Don't-Caretaker

Five days ago I went to the immigration office with my boss, Professor Jung. We just call him "The Jung" around here. He doesn't know anybody's first names either. It was the second immigration visit this time around. Fourth in total for this year of work. I went there the previous week and after the requisite hour and a half wait was told that I needed to come back with papers from the school. But it was okay because I had expected that. And I got to watch Robocop on the big Samsung LCD screen TV in the waiting room. Along with 5 or 6 kids that really shouldn't have been watching Robocop on the big Samsung LCD screen. The Jung had been told that I would be in and out in one shot and for some reason he had believed whoever it was at the immigration office that had told him. Silly man.

While we drove to the office with the extra papers he asked how things were at the dorm. I didn't want to bring that up because I thought I'd freak out but I surprised myself by telling Jung in a calm manner, (for the fifth time), about the problems I'd been having with the I-Don't-Caretakers and the door. I elabourated and told him the latest story about coming back from a vacation with lots of luggage including my computer and having to struggle half an hour with the door then another half an hour looking for an I-don't-caretaker, then HE struggled with the door for half an hour finally using the knob key which I don't have a copy of and refusing again to give me one when I asked. I also told Jung that the taller I-don't-caretaker was in the dorm the whole time listening to us both struggle with the door and when we finally got it open he said to the small I-don't-caretaker, "Oh. I didn't know it was you."

Immediately Jung called somebody and told them to give me a key to the knob lock on the door. Which I should have had 6 months ago. Which I had asked for many times and was refused and assured that nobody ever locks the knob lock. Hell, I wouldn't have got the key to the deadbolt if I hadn't gone to the I-don't-caretaker's office and asked them specifically for it. They weren't about to bust their asses and walk the 15 steps from their office to my door to give it to me. Because they don't care. It's their job not to care. It's what they do. Although there have been many times when they decided for no aparent reason to walk straight into my room when I was foolish enough to leave my door open. Never do they have anything useful to tell me or give me, like a key, they just want to see me in my gotch. And a few times they HAVE. One time one of them brought some ladies in while I was in the shower. To dust off the fans I think was the reason. And more than once they actually opened the LOCKED door to get in despite my yelling "NO, DON'T COME IN!" But all that's part of the I-don't-caretaker's job too. And after yelling at them frequently, getting Jung to yell at them, putting a sign on my door that says in Korean "DO NOT ENTER", ALWAYS keeping my door locked, and vainly trying to deprogram the Korean knock-and-walk mentality out of all of them, it's now to a point where they only SOMETIMES do that. The other night I was cooking cheeseburgers and one of them came to my door and knocked. He tried the knob but it was locked. I yelled, IN KOREAN "I'm busy." He knocked again. I yelled again. He knocked one more time and I opened the door and pointed at my cheeseburgers. He just looked past me at my apartment a bit then walked away without telling or giving me anything.

So anyway, now I have both keys to the back entrance which puts a damper on all the fun the I-don't-caretakers have when they see me going out on a Friday night and decide to lock the lock I previously didn't have a key to. So what could they come up with at their daily meeting to replace that part of their job? They have daily meetings. They sit at a round table and I suppose these are the points of business they discuss. Aparently my footwear was on the agenda at a recent meeting. I am about 6 steps from a hot and cold water machine, which I often use, and about 10 steps from a washing machine. I don't wear shoes or socks in my apartment unless I'm exercising. (Playing with my Wii). So I usually walk in my bare feet to get water or do laundry. This week alone 4 of the I-don't-caretakers have ordered me to put shoes on. What they want me to do is another part of Korean culture that is programmed into them at an early age and that I'll never EVER do. They want me to crush the heels of a pair of shoes making it an expensive pair of slippers then noisily, (need I say annoyingly noisily?), shuffle the 6-10 steps outside my apartment.

Now you might think I'm being lazy or stubborn. Yes I am. But the real reason I will not do this is because if I asked why this national obsession with shoes, slippers, footwear, and they thought about it for a month the best reason any of them could give me is "just because." Many Koreans have told me that they have several ways to say this in Korean. I even know one of them. And it is mind-boggling how well accepted this is as an answer to meaningful questions. It's a sad part of this culture that I will not adopt. I have been moving into an apartment carrying a fucking giant couch and when the Korean on the other end comes to the entrance he kicks off his shoes for the love of GOD! And then while carrying a refrigerator out he struggles at the doorway to slip his shoes back on. You might THINK I'm only kidding.

So this morning I'm filling my Brita at the water machine in my bare feet and the small I-don't-caretaker says to me, "Mister David." Then turns his head to the side, sucks in some air and says something in Korean about "shin pal", shoes. After being ignored for the appropriate lenth of time he shows me the key he was told to give me 5 days ago. But he doesn't give it to me. Oh no. He goads me into following him in my bare feet, with my now full Brita, like a jackass might follow a carrot to the back door. There's another I-don't-caretaker there in a supply room who orders me to put some shoes on. While ignoring him the small I-don't-caretaker launches into this elabourate display of how to open door locks. Does he demonstrate once? No. Twice? No. I think the guy would have continued all day if had let him. This is the guy who with both keys STILL took half an hour to open the door when I had returned from my vacation and had my luggage outside. And said to me upon entry, "See? No problem!"

I calmly told him I understood the complicated concept of doorlocks in English. Then I told him I understood in Korean. Then I said it a little louder. Finally I say to him "WHY? WHY 6 months? WHY, WHY, WHY?" Then to the other I-don't-caretaker who is still sternly glaring at my bare feet I knock on my head a few times and say, "Crazy!" All in a loud voice but while smiling. Finally he parts with the key and I barefootedly, and noiselessly, convey my key and filtered water back to my room. How much do you want to bet they'll start locking both locks now?

There is a bright side to the story. And if it's for sure, it's bright like hangover sunlight. I haven't seen the tall I-don't-caretaker for quite some time. These I-don't-caretakers don't make the college any money. They are a lot more dispensible than I am. I have had nothing but trouble with the tall guy and before me Kasia had had her share of troubles and possibly even before Kasia the bastard was causing trouble for the foreign teachers. If he has quit or been fired things will be greatly improved around here. If the little key demonstration and possibly the shoe thing was in any way punishment for whatever degree of responsibility I might have had in his removal it was well worth it. I'm hoping and praying.

Don't worry about the tall I-don't-caretaker. With the skills he's acquired during his tenure here he will be a valuable addition to any number of establishments throughout Korea that need employees to do nothing and piss people off. He'll land on his feet I'm sure.

Playing with my Wii

The long winter vacation is almost over and I have an unusually small supply of stories, photos and adventures to talk about. For a few reasons I didn't really go ON holidays this winter. I visited friends in Osan for an extended period of time but that's only 3 hours away from home. I didn't go to another country or see anything I haven't seen before. I think when I'm old and waxing reminiscent, the thing that I just might remember most from the winter of '09 will be entering into the Wii era of my life.

For the past few weeks I've been playing with my Wii, almost every day. That doesn't sound like anything new right? Har har har. Playing with my Wii. It sounds modest. I mean the inescapable inference is of diminutive size. How big could a "Wii" be, right? They should have called it a "Wang" or a "Woah" so I could proudly tell people what I've been up to.

And believe it or not, there are similarities. There was a recent SNL sketch where Alec Baldwin sees his son and friends playing with their Wii. He asked if he could give it a try. The Wii actually has sensors that make SHAKING the controller necessary. In the game Alec Baldwin played in the sketch he founds some bags and had to shake money out of them and the harder he shook the more money came out. I guess in the heat of the game people might naturally tend towards familiar muscle memory and Alec was shaking his Wii like a teenage boy. And getting massive amounts of money. The other guys, who didn't have the, how shall I say it, self-pleasuring tenure of the old man were in awe. They carried the innuendo on for a while too changing hands, making sounds you might hear at a coin operated porn booth and saying that Mom will be a natural at it. It was a pretty clever sketch.

I remember playing video games with Kasia in my dorm room and thinking that students who passed by might have overheard us and jumped to some conclusions. Now with the Wii it would probably sound even worse. I play golf all the time and you can put spin on the ball by pressing the direction arrow the way you want it to spin and shaking as hard as you can. If the ball is heading toward the water I put back spin on it and shake like a mad man grunting things like, "Suck back, ball! Don't get wet! Come on, baby screw back! Almost there, almost there, OH OH God yeah!" And I'm in here all by myself playing with my Wii. I hope nobody listens at my door.

And it's only going to get about a thousand times better when I have friends over playing with my Wii. Or if they don't want to play they can just watch me play with my Wii and see how an experienced veteran does it. Then they can join in when they think they've got the hang of it.

I've put my X-Box away. She's in storage with all her games. Now I'm a Wii man and I want the whole world to know! This is my electronic coming out announcement. Wow, that felt good! If you enjoy playing with your Wii, don't be afraid to tell people. It's okay. You're perfectly normal. And if you have friends who disapprove of it, well they just weren't any real kind of friend in the first place now were they?

I think for myself it's gonna be hardest to tell my Mom I've given up on the X-Box and now only play with my Wii. You know how old-fashioned some people can be. But I think she'll come around when she sees how happy it makes me.

I thought about being bi-consolar but there are just too many problems. For me it's easier to do one or the other and I'm committed to this relationship now.

Ha ha ha. I could go on and on with that. Anyway, I think I'm gonna go get the Wii Fitness board soon and with that I'll likely exercise more often. I already play golf and sort of exercise between shots to try to simulate walking the course. It's actually MORE exercise than golfing. And I've heard they already have a Simpsons game for it. I REALLY want that! I can see so many really cool games in the future. With a larger sensor they could have full body simulation so that you'd HAVE to do the exercising. A video game that is GOOD for you! Who could have predicted that?

And I think maybe the best thing about my Wii is that if I find I'm spending too much money socializing it's something interesting to do for free. Tomorrow I'm going to an Indian restaurant with Dave, Ang, Rebecca and Kasia, then to a sort of pre-wedding party for a couple other friends afterwards. I won't feel bad about spending too much money cuz I've been saving money playing Wii for a while now.

If you've never tried the Wii you should. I've seen so many people who hate video games say they really enjoy the Wii. The only downside for me is the fact that I have a Korean Wii. It's really hard to figure out all the instructions. And for some reason, like the Ipod, the Wii hasn't caught on in Korea so there aren't many games available. But with any luck I'll be able to get English games and maybe get a mod chip so I can play them on my Korean Wii. I'm going back to Canada in the summer and you can bet I'll be figuring all that stuff out while I'm there. If not before.

Anywii, I think I'll go golfing. Keep yer stick on the ice.

Survivor Brazil Predictions, (first episode spoiler alert)

Already! That means I'm gonna be back at work before too long. Boy time flies when you're getting old!

I'm gonna do things a bit different this time. I waited till after the first episode this time to make my predictions. Every other bit of info I have is from the Survivor website. I didn't do so well last time but I think getting to know the survivors for one episode's gonna make a huge difference! Here goes:

Tyson- THIS guy is a Mormon?!? I think he might just be the most interesting survivor this time around. Probst seems to think so too saying he looks like trouble. His first impression of Erinn was that she might be a bitch and unlike the Mormons I know who wear very specific undergarments at all times, he was the first to get nekkid on the show. Immediately colourful. He did his mission, (and wore those specific undergarments the whole time), in the Philippines so the heat won't be a prob. He's a swimmer and a cycler but doesn't look threateningly athletic. His favourite movie is "The Jerk". Good. His favourite survivor is Johnny Fairplay. Bad. He figures arrogance might be his downfall and he obviously has no shortage of that! I was noticing that there was no token homosexual on the show this time when suddenly Tyson started talking about what he'd spend the winnings on. Furs for his shoulders, jewels for his pretty fingers and a tiara? Could be why he dropped outta BYU. Gay or not he's gonna be flamboyant. I can't see him exiting early. I could see him winning. Not sure if I want him to or not yet.

Sydney- I don't see much to her but the fact that she's gorgeous. Says that people will get on her nerves and when Carolina was talking about getting the shelter done Sydney was the most vocal in disagreeing because it was too much work. I think the tribe will live to regret that since it gets VERY rainy where they're at and they're sleeping on the ground. Says she will lie, cheat and steal. She voted for Stephen in the first impression vote probably more because he looked geeky than for his corporate soullessness. I think it was probobly her more than Spencer that killed their team on the maze and lost the challenge. Don't like her and don't think her looks will keep her around long.

Sierra- Sore throat or not she looked pretty weak. But won the whole crew over by using her craftiness, (as in arts and crafts), to make a shelter. Everyone forgave her. Everyone, that is, but Coach. However, if it's a good shelter and it rains soon, which it's gonna, maybe coach will forgive her too. She put on a show, (not just because she didn't wear her panties), in the first challenge. Probst really likes her. I think I'll agree that she is gonna be surprisingly strong and she'll last for a while. Don't forget she DID make the obvious decision about the immunity idol but for the social, not the strategic reason. Nonetheless she has the first clue to the whereabouts of the immunity idol and lots of time to find it.

Coach- If anyone will rival Tyson for the title of most interesting survivor this time I think it'll be this guy. But I think I'm gonna like Tyson a lot better than Coach. Probst said he could listen to his adventure stories all day long but wouldn't let him date his daughter. I think that says it all. He kayaked 6000 miles alone for crying out loud! But he's in love with himself and his downfall is GONNA be his strategy to lead the group. He was coaching his tribe in orientation during the hike to camp. And although this guy navigated all over the world he didn't get his team to camp before nightfall. So maybe he was in reality lost at sea on that famous 6-month journey. Actually called himself a genius and many times a "Renaissance man". Well the literal translation of that is "rebirth" and you gotta die before you're reborn. I don't think his alliance with Brendan will get him anything but stabbed in the back. And probably deservadly so. Says he's gonna leave bodies in his wake as he gets from A to B. Wrong strategy.

Candace- One of the few things I hate about Survivor is that they ALWAYS have lawyers on the show. For ONCE I won't be voting for the lawyer to get snuffed out early. I am totally in lust with this gal. If I were in her tribe, I would write someone else's name down just to keep her hot bod around. And hey, she's not a PRACTICING lawyer any more. However, I, like Probst, find it hard, uh difficult, to believe her when she says things haven't come easy, uh been easy for her. I wonder if she got all those scholarships and passed the bar on her first try purely through hard work. Was it real hard work or was it like when her, Sierra, Deb and Tyson went to get water and she was up on the hill watching the other three and DRINKING water while they did all the work? Says she hasn't had a challenge lately. Well she hasn't dazzled me yet by stepping up to this one. But she HAS dazzled me in other ways. Unfortunately the nice boobs are usually voted off fairly early. I think it's cuz they're hard not to notice. She might be a princess and if anyone actually can't handle the elements I'd put my money on Candace or Erinn.

Stephen- Thinks he might get eaten. I think that would be GREAT television. Has worked in corporate America for the last 7 years. He calls it "soul-sucking" work so he's probably lost most or all of his soul. His plan is to look innocent and get other people to suggest dirty moves for him. Thinks the good old boys will hate him. I agree. I think I will hate him too. Hope he gets voted off fast but if he shows ANY athleticism he will probly have a good chance to make it to the end. But I doubt it will be without making enemies along the way.

Jerry- Looks a lot younger than he is! I think he's smart to keep his military training on the down-low. Probst and I agree that he has an instantly likeable personality. He CAN lead but ain't gonna. I think that's smart too. I want him to get the money more than anyone and he'll be one of my favourites. He's got all the tools. I think for once a guy I'm voting for COULD win!

Carolina- Kinda glad she's gone because every time her name was pronounced that way it made me cringe. However, it's another woeful case of the breasts getting voted off early. This is one where Probst was wrong. He figured she'd be around a while for her cuteness. She said that in the beginning she was going to try to work on unity in the tribe. Yet she was perceived as being whiney and complaining the most. And then at tribal council she announced to the whole world that she IS whiney and DOES complain the most! Dizbrain!

Debra- I have a feeling I'm gonna like this chick a lot! Just like Bob from last season, (who shoulda won dammit!), I have an instant affinity for her because of her occupation. But she looks to have a really cool personality too. Says she'll be the life of the party and the clown. I think everybody is gonna like her. And with all the working out she does they'll forget all about her age. I also like her cuz she's smokin' HOT! If I were a student at her school I'd LOVE to be sent to the principal's office! She's probably one who I'll be voting for to win it all. But it's early. I could change. She does have some glaring weaknesses. Says she's way too trusting, wears her heart on her sleeve and tends to want to lead. Could be tragic.

Sandy- Two things she said that stick out to me: 1. I have to try to figure out what a "pace" is. And 2. "Why the hell do I even wanna waste my energy on tryin to get in your good graces when I ain't eith- why- neitha- never- there- wudn't an option?" Like Probst I think she'll be lucky to last another vote. If Carolina hadn't commited suicide Sandy'd probably be driving bus now. I don't think she'll have much time to mother her tribe or "caress them in (her) breast." However, when she was voted for in the first impressions vote she DID say that a young one will get voted off first. And she was right! God help me I like this old gal! She spices up the tribe! Even though she probably didn't know what "curry favour with the tribe" meant in the immunity idol clue, she DID rename her tribe Jalapeno! Unfortunately she'll have to do more than believe to achieve. Her strategy is to not get voted for because her tribe wins immunity challenges. I think that's her only chance and she did a great job in the first challenge. Also she may be able to weather the first vote against her. All she has to do is ask somebody what the hell a pace is.

Taj- I'm gonna lu dis girl! And why not? She's a singer and out of the gozillions of girls that throw themselves at successful NFL stars like Eddie George, he picked her. There MUST be something to her! I love two other things about her: 1. Her strategy of "nurturing you right out the door." and 2. giving the winnings to kids from abusive households. Cuz we KNOW she doesn't need the money! She's doing it for the fun and to lose weight. And good for her! She says she's snappy. But let's face it, a big old black lady is gonna get away with that. She sure snapped Carolina's ass straight out the door didn't she? And Carolina was thanking her for it! My early female fave.

Brendan- I think this is the smartest guy in the game and I think he's going to win. I don't vote for him because he's rich, but I think he'll probably deserve to win. He voted for Erinn in the first impressions vote and I think that was the smart vote. He has already been approached for an alliance and I don't think this'll be the last or the best offer he receives. He might play dirty but I think he'll outwit more than anyone. He has already said that nobody wants a Coach during the Survivor experience so we'll see how that plays out. I think Coach is toast soon. He showed strength, but not too much of it, during the challenge. I don't think I'll be too upset if he wins. And that'll be nice since the last few shows HAVE been won by people who I didn't want to win.

Erinn- Salon worker. Says only 15% of her job is doing hair, the rest is people skills. She'll need them because she hasn't made a great first impression. She likes the looks of Tyson but he thinks she looks like a bitch. Says she tends to blurt things out. Like already, "What the hell am I doing here?" Her last camping trip was in 7th grade. Says she's tough but I'm not buying it. Although she kicked ass on the maze in the immunity challenge. If she survives it'll be because she completely disappears.

J.T.- I just know I'm gonna like this guy. He's a country boy with a brain. Kinda like my own self, hyuck! He's got a lot going for him at a young age so he's got some savvy. Absolutely kicked ASS on the first challenge! Left everybody so far behind on the running part I think he slowed down so as to not stand out so much. He has a good strategy, to ally until they're down to 6 or 7 then throw the alliances out the window. He's a good fisherman. He's the guy who did the map and compass work that got his tribe to camp early enough to make up for time Sandy wasted looking for the idol. He says the heat and mosquitoes won't be a problem. But Alabama is hot and DRY I think. The rain might be problematic. But I can't see him giving up because of it. If a man wins I hope it's J.T.

Spencer- Youngest ever on Survivor. Probst says he's got a good head on his shoulders but could get played. I agree. Says he's used to teamwork from playing sports but I doubt his teams ever tried to backstab him. He'll have to be on the lookout for that. He is smart and well spoken. In the beginning he was thinking. Told his team to get lots of rope from the truck. Has seen all the Survivors so that should help him. If he doesn't get too hungry I think he'll do okay. He looks to be the kind of player I vote for. Could win but I think he'll play too honestly so it's a long shot.

Joe- Is in real estate. He's probably not hard up for money. A proud Texan. He carried a lot on the trek to camp so he's strong. I think he coined the name "Psycho Sandy" so he has a sense of humour. I don't know if that'll stick though it is appropriate. Him and Spencer saved Sandy. However, Spencer was smart in that he was saying positive things about Sandy whereas Joe was dissing Carolina. This might be a negative for him. Especially if it keeps up.

So to recap, MEN: I think either Tyson or Brendan will win. I vote for Jerry and J.T. WOMEN: I think either Debra or Taj are gonna win. I vote for Taj and Debra.

Can't wait for next show.

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm in hibernation mode again. Not completely, I mean I cleaned up the house, exercised, did some laundry, and went shopping for groceries today. Bears don't do those things in winter. I don't think. But for most of the day, as with the other days of my holidays, I was pretty immobile. Watched 3 movies, updated my facebook page countless times. I'm having a pretty good war with three other players of Gangster Battle. One guy named "SBD The Gasser" and two, (I'm assuming), gals named "Princess Di Connell" and "OT Settle the Score Woman". I hope these people don't take it personally when I attack them. I just do it cuz I know I can beat them and it's easier than searching for folks who I think I might be able to beat. Besides, they started it! They don't attack me, they ambush me. Cuz if they attack they lose. And OT Settle the Score Woman sometimes shanks me in the back multiple times. I think once she shanked me 10 times in a row. This is what you do when someone is in the hospital. You can't attack someone who's on the mend but you can shank them in the back. Nice eh? They've killed me more times than I've killed them. But I just attack them for money usually. Although I admit if I have nobody left to attack I'll shank OT Woman. I did that today while singing, "Shank shank shank, shank shank shank, shank your booty." But she had it coming to her. heh heh.

The movies I watched were "The Wrestler", "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Benjamin Button". Lemme tell you these were three good movies! In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they all won an Oscar. It's funny how things work. One day I watch nothing but duds and then some days everything I watch is great. I think it might have something to do with me. My mood when I watch. I saw the Dark Knight recently too but I don't think I was in a good movie watching mood. I still liked it though. Another Oscar hopeful for Heath Ledger. But before I start making Oscar predictions I'll have to watch films like Milk, Frost/Nixon, The Visitor, Doubt etc. This is a fun time of year for me. And I gotta say it's very nice to have the time to be able to see all these movies. So I'm counting my blessings. Not often I get to do that. But during hibernation I have plenty of reflection time.

Anyway, as it stands right now I'd have to say my early favourite is The Wrestler. Even though Mickey Rourke was the lead actor in my all time LEAST favourite movie, 9 1/2 Weeks, and I still hold a long-standing grudge against him for that, this was a great movie! And not just because of Marissa Tomei's super hot bod. I'm not saying he deserves an Oscar. I think he was good but from what I see in his interviews he's much the same as the character he played and he's played it before. But I loved this movie. Thumbs way up.

Slumdog was a pretty interesting look into the street life in India, but maybe it's just me, (having seen the same stuff in other Asian countries), it wasn't really new. Take a game show that is a HUGE hit because of the suspense it creates for viewers and put it in a movie. Not really a risky premise. If you add brilliant character development like Quiz Show then you'd have something. But the characters were a bit too melodramatic and superheroic. Like, (I understand), much of Bollywood fare. I was impressed how all the actors refrained from busting out into song or dance. Until the end of the movie. lol I liked it quite a bit but don't think it's good enough for Oscar. I don't want to spoil anything but the autograph scene was awesome!

Benjamin Button was such an obvious rip-off of Forrest Gump that I wonder if its whole purpose was to give the academy what they are looking for. And if you get a table full of Comic Book Guys to make a list of flaws that come up when a guy is aging backwards it would never end. Things like teeth. Were they rotten when he was born old or did they decay and fall out as he got to his teens? Why he changes so much in the 15 years that he grows up with the girl. If he went from a 90-year-old to a 75-year-old, how much change would there have been? Really. He went from a blind, deaf cripple to a fully haired, dude who could RUN. Ever see a 75-year-old run? And his girlfriend never looks like she ages more than 20 years while he goes right down to pubescence and infancy. But somehow looks like she's 200 a few years later on her death bed. And of course the sex drive. Did he need Viagra when he was a young guy who looked like an old dude or an old guy who looked like a young dude? He got his share of nookie during BOTH periods. No THIS is one book that shouldn't have been made into a movie. It requires too much imagination. Having said all that, I liked it. I loved Forrest Gump and this was very much the same movie. And Brad Pitt is money. He's never made even a mediocre movie. All his movies are great. So yes I'd recommend it but not for best picture or actor. However, Ben's Mom was even better than Sally Field, (Forrest's Mom), so she might deserve an Oscar.

So that's what I've been doing on Valentine's Day this year. Not bad. And cheap! But I'd like to wish everyone out there, (and their sweetheart), a happy Valentine's Day. In Korea, I hope you had a great one. I'm sure sooner or later this day will mean something to me again. I don't miss it much though. In fact if I had a significant other I might just suggest the very same day only together. What do you think, is this one reason why I DON'T have one?