It's a Super Hero Week

Oct 18-24, 2010

Mother nature must have wanted me to get as much of her glorious warm weather in this week as possible, because she had me up, thanks to one of her little creatures, at the crack of dawn to start this week. After only going to bed at 2am, I was stirred from my slumber a mere 3.5 hour later by the sound of cats crying outside my apartment window. Thinking I could ignore it, I closed my window and tried to get back to sleep. After about 30 more minutes of the crying I decided I better investigate, and possibly throw a shoe out the window. When I opened my window and leaned out I saw a mother cat and three babies wandering around at the edge of an 8 foot deep alley, crying, looking down, and then walking around confused. It was obvious that something was up, so I got out of bed and went outside to investigate. It turned out that the fourth kitten had gotten too close to the edge and had fallen down into the alley, and was incapable of getting out, which was why there was all the crying. Not being one to leave an animal stranded, I went back inside to get a towel and then jumped down into the alley to try and rescue/quiet it. After about 25 minutes of trying to get it to come to me, I decided to go to it but quickly found out that the end of the alley was too small for me to make it all the way to the cat. Turning to Plan B, I climbed out of the alley and walked along the edge until I was over top of it and using my towel, nudged it until it ran to the other end to hide under and air conditioner. I got back down and cornered it under the unit, then ever so slowly put the towel over it and picked it up by the back of its neck, which it didn't seem to mind until we made eye contact making it freak out. I carried it back to the area it had fallen from and let it go so it could rejoin its mother, which had gone into hiding since I had come out.

Good deed done for the day, I went back inside fully awake at 7am and talked to a few friends online, including Lauren and Ash while I let my heart cool down. After that I went back to sleep for a few hours, because under 4 just wasn't going to cut it. Skipping the gym to sleep, I got back up around 1130, made a lunch and headed off to work. After work I hit the gym then headed home for some football action. I was about one quarter in on a game when Blake phoned me and said he was in my area and that we should grab a beer from the corner store. It turned out that he had been out to have dinner with a friend who will be leaving to study in New Zealand soon, and when that wrapped up he thought he would came and see what I was up to. We chatted over a couple beers outside the store until just after 1, then went our ways. Me home to finish the game and him home to bed.

Tuesday I got back on track and got up to go to the gym. After the gym I went home to get ready for work and grab my lunch, then it was off to drop some knowledge bombs on my unsuspecting students. Little did I know I would be the one getting the bomb shelling. Near the end of the day, the director came in with my pay stub from last weeks pay, and then sat down to "talk about" what had happened. I thought that I knew what had happened and told her that I understood, but she had a look that told me I was about to get some bad news. As it turns out, the money that had been missing from my account which I assumed was the advanced pay from the previous Friday and my pension plan, was really my pension plan and medical insurance back payments. This meant I still owed the school the 200 000W and that I was really missing 550 dollars from my last pay. Needless to say I was not happy, but already having come to terms with getting screwed last week, I just sighed, rolled my eyes, and said "whatever". In the end all it means is that I will not be able to send home as much money as i had hoped for the next couple months, or get into many extra curricular activities. After work I just headed home to relax and watch the Monday Night Football replay.

Still feeling the effects of this sickness I have been dealing with, which I am starting to suspect is pneumonia, I slept in Wednesday until 12 because I was feeling all dragged out. Once I got up and started moving and feeling better I got ready for work and headed out. Work was all in all the same as usual, teach some basic materials, have a few laughs, and call it a day. Again after work I waived the gym and went home to watch another game and see about getting some more rest. While the game was on I cleaned up a bit and prepped some more food for my lunches for the rest of the week, then settled in for the night. It was a good thing that I did too, because Thursday I felt a bit better and was able to get to the gym in the morning, and then after work it was off to Sincheon to meet Blake so that we could book some reservations at a few places for his up coming birthday. We booked at The Warehouse, and of course Gold Bar III where we also stuck around for a few drinks. Garret even showed up, and Blake and I had to explain to him that the football playing in the bar had to stop before somebody gets hurt. He seemed a little put off at first, maybe he thought we were hating on him, but we weren't it's just better for every one's safety if he doesn't try to tackle me every time we drink together. We hung out until about 130 before heading over to McDonald's for a Shanghai Spicy Chicken Burger, and then getting in a cab to go home.
Thanks to the Shanghai chicken, I was up early Friday and managed to catch a few people online for a chat. I actually missed the gym because I was busy talking online, but I probably needed the rest more than the exercise. Once I was done online I got ready for work and went to get the last day of the week done and over with. Seeing as it was Blake's birthday on Saturday, I decided it would be a good idea to stay in Friday night and rest up, because one never knows what's going to happen at a birthday at Gold Bar III. That and I had an 11am appointment to get my dreads tightened in Itaewon, meaning I would have to be up and out by 10.

I managed to get up before my alarm even went off at 930, had some breakfast and was out the door by 10 Saturday morning without any problems, making it to my 11am appointment right on time. I went in and for the first time in many years (over 5) had somebody else wash my hair for me. Generally I try to wash my hair before I go, to make sure that it is clean, but I washed it Thursday and knew that it wasn't that dirty after only a couple of days. Be that as it may, I let them wash my hair, and WOW did it ever feel nice to have somebody else washing my hair. After the washing I went to the chair for the lady to work on my dreads. The lady at the salon is in her late 40's or early 50's and seems to know what she is doing, and went to work right away hooking my dreads. Then it got weird. There is another lady in her mid 30's who also works at the salon who didn't have anything to do and decided to come over and help. By help I mean hold my dreads out of the way so the other lady could see better, and hold my head in place where she thought it would be most comfortable. All the while she was making small talk about how I looked like an actor, which I assume is because I am white; how I look older than 27, which I said was because of my several days of scruff; and how she was surprised I was single. I wasn't sure if she was hitting on me or just being Korean, or being a Korean gold digger. There were times when the conversation swung towards what I looked for in a girlfriend, and what I like to do in my spare time, and I tried to answer them as broadly as possible and try not to offend her. In the end my hair was done and I was quite pleased with the result. Before I left the salon the owner asked if she could take my picture since not many men go there. I agreed and they took a few pictures of their work, then Clara, the name of the one lady, sat down beside me and they took a couple pictures of me with her. She laughed and said she was going to tell all her friends she was dating an actor. Kinda weird, but whatever. I just told her to make sure she tells them the beard is for my up coming role as a motorcycle bad ass. Hair done and self esteem boosted, I headed home to grab a nap before the festivities for Blake's birthday started.

Waking up a couple hours before I had to leave, I watched some videos and took a shower before making for the subway. I met Blake and Nate on the platform of their subway station, and together we got back on the train and headed to Sincheon for the 6pm meet up time. Frank and Garrett also met us there, but a large portion of our friends had other plans and said they would meet us after dinner. We started at Aladdin's Lamb, a Korean style barbecue based on lamb meat, that has become a favourite of the area. After dinner we swung over to The Warehouse where we had reservations at 8 for about 20. Unfortunately, we only needed half the space we had reserved, as only Hayley showed up for the predrinking there. Near the end, about 30 minutes before our reservations at the next place took effect, Alex B and Dino showed up, followed by MinSup, Junk and his girlfriend KaeLim. They helped us finish our beer and we all headed to Gold Bar III. At Gold Bar we seemed to be the only ones there for quite some time, but eventually all our friends showed up as well as a lot of other people out for the night. Throughout the night Blake and I had been spreading word that Blake didn't want it turning into a constant flow of shots like every other birthday does, that way he would be able to keep partying longer. Everyone agreed and it seemed as though Blake might have dodged the Gold Bar birthday bullet that seems to hit everyone else. And then it happened........Blake's inner animal came out and the next thing I knew he was coming through the crowd holding a bottle of vodka and a bottle of whiskey, pouring them not just into other peoples cups, but into his own mouth. Looking over at Nate, we both had a look as to say, "Where did he get those?", knowing full well that he had bought them. I let him enjoy them for a while, but sooner or later he had to put them down, and when he did I snatched them up and took them back to the bar where they could put them in keeping for him. It was only 12 and Blake was well on his way to blackout city, so I pumped some water into him and we kept the party going for as long as he was still standing. By 1am he decided he needed to sit down, which quickly turned into passing out in the booth we had. No biggie here in Korea, we let him sleep for about 20 before waking him up to take him home. Luckily Junk happened to be leaving at that time and agreed to drive him home so that the rest of us could stay at the party. At the same time, Nate left to hit the casino. I went back inside for another hour of blurred hanging out before heading to McDonald's with Thomas and Jeanne for a late night snack. Off in a cab by 3, I was home and calling it a night just before 4.

Waking up to a phone call from Blake at 930 the next morning, I reassured him that he didn't do anything stupid and that everything was taken care of. He said he was feeling super shitty, rightfully so, and let me go so he could get back to sleep. I went back to bed for about another hour before I was up and feeling go to go for the day. Having rested up and drank a lot of water before the party, then taking it easy so I could keep an eye on Blake, I was far better off than I had been on most previous Sundays. I sat around for a bit watching internet videos before getting a hold of Nate about our plans to get together and work on our Halloween costumes. He however was in the same boat as Blake, after he stayed up all night at the casino. I told him to call me when he was feeling better, and went back to watching internet videos. Eventually in the late afternoon he called me and asked if around 5 worked, which since I had nothing else going on worked just fine. I went over to his place at 5, met Blake on the way and we grabbed pizza for the costume workshop. Nate was working on his King Kong mask while worked on my Predator armor. Nate eventually turned attention to a Predator mask for me......he's a very artistic guy, which is why we are doing costumes in the first place. By 8pm we were all feeling worn out so we shut it down for the night and headed to our homes. I grabbed some groceries on the way home, then settled in for the night with another football game.

Savin' cats and savin' friends. Hope you all had a good week, and are enjoying the cool fall weather.