Merry Christmas!!!

Dec 20-26, 2010

After having been at John's so late Sunday night, I woke up late for my hair appointment in Itaewon Monday morning. I was supposed to be there by 930, which meant leaving my house by 850. I however didn't wake up until 910, and had to rush out and phone to let them know that I was running late. They didn't seem to care though, since they always seem to have room for people. After my appointment I slid over to the foreign food store to pick up some oatmeal for this weekends Christmas dinner, as well as some cheese for myself for Christmas. I made it home in time to make some lunch before heading out to work a bit early so that I could figure out what impact John's broken arm would have on our work week since he was going to be laid up in the hospital all week for his surgery. It seemed however that I wasn't the only one on top of the matter, as June the director was also working on how we could meld our schedules and make it work. In the end I got a new schedule that had my days filled from beginning to end with both our classes, and those that I could not cover were to be covered by Patrick, one of our Ace teachers who has a very lax schedule at the moment. Quickly I made my rounds to inform the teachers of what was going to happen for the week, and being met with blank uncomprehensive stares from most of them I returned to my desk to catch Patrick up to speed on what he would be doing. I laid out all the books and step by step instructions for each class, as well as wrote down all the homework and assignments, which made Patrick feel very at ease. Work went by whirlwind fast, and after work I went to the gym to get my pump on, and my stress out. After the gym I went home and watched a football game before calling it a night.

Waking up Tuesday morning felling good, I set to work making my lunch for the day and folding up some laundry. Again I went into work early and got things sorted out for the day, though mostly for myself since I took the brunt of John's classes that day. After work I went home and relaxed, watching a football game and calling John to see how he was doing in the hospital. Wednesday morning I had to skip my usual workout, because we were having our office Christmas lunch in Sillim at T.G.I. Friday's. We had pre-ordered at work the day before and I was more than stoked for my rib and shrimp combo. Lunch was good, and once it was finished a bunch of us walked back to the school from Sillim, because the temperature was very mild and because most of them wanted to kill as much time as possible before entering the school. After work I made up for lost time at the gym, and then went home to send out my weekly email and work on the Christmas cards for my coworkers.

Thursday Jean and I figured it was high time to get over and see John in the hospital since he was finished with his surgery and due to see our ugly mugs. That and we had made him a card the day before at work and wanted to take it to him. So, around 11 Jean and I met up and headed to Sillim to go to the hospital, making a quick stop at the Lotte department store near the hospital for Jean to buy a winter Jacket. We made it to the hospital by 12 and had a good visit with a pretty sore John. He was in good spirits, and glad they planned to keep him the extra days so that he didn't have to try and take care of himself right away. After our visit we grabbed a cab back to Bongcheon to get to work on time. Work was just as busy as it had been all week, and I was glad to be out of there at the end of the day and on my way to the gym. I had a great workout and when I was finished I went out for a drink and some chicken with Jack my friend from the gym. He was a bit down because this was his last week in Seoul since his classes were finished, and he had to return to his home town of Busan for Christmas. We wrapped it up around 130, and I came home to finish up my Christmas cards, and get some sleep.
Friday morning, being the last day before Christmas, I went to E-mart at Sindorim to try and find some new toys for Goah, as well as the lemon juice, apples, and sugars I needed to make my Christmas dessert. I was a little upset when I couldn't find any toys for her at the huge store, but was able to find the ingredients I needed so it wasn't a wasted trip. Running a bit behind, I made it to school 30 minutes late and got right to work organizing my classes, and those that Patrick would teach in lieu of John. Most of the day was a breeze however, because almost all the teachers were showing movies on account of it being Christmas Eve. I gave out all my cards, which brought smiles to the office, and made my way to all my classes to say Merry Christmas, assign the next homework pages, before settling in to watch movies or finish up paperwork for when John came back. After work I came home and made a call home to Russ, Michele, and the kids to wish them a Merry Christmas and get all caught up on their shenanigans. After talking to them, I killed some time and then called my grandma's house to do the same, and as luck would have it my dad and Uncle Ken were there so I got to talk to them as well. Once my calls for the night were finished I put on National Lampoons Christmas Vacation to watch then tied some ribbon around my Christmas cheese and Goah's food before I drifted off to sleep.
I got an early start to Saturday morning, when I got up at 9am to make a call home for my Nan's annual Christmas Eve gathering which she refused to have elsewhere even though she has been dragged down from her newly started Chemotherapy. I was able to talk to her for a few minutes, but she was getting ready to have a rest and pasted me off to talk to the rest of the family. It was nice to talk to everyone, and share some of my stories with them since I haven't been to good at keeping in touch with them during my travels. After my call to Nan's I waited for a bit before calling my Uncle Rod and Aunt Kim and kids because they had been at church. I spent about an hour talking to them before they were calling it a night and I had to get to work on my apple crisp. I had been planning to make apple crisp for several weeks, ever since I found the recipe online for making it using just a stove, and since that's all I have it was perfect. Now that it was Christmas and Alex B had invited a bunch of us over to his place for a potluck style dinner, i had good cause to try it out. The recipe called for enough stuff for 3-4 people and would take about 15-20 minutes to make. I however was making for over 12, and was working in a kitchen space likely 3 times smaller than that of the person who wrote the recipe, so what might have been 90 minutes of work quickly became close to 3 hours, but well worth it as I really enjoy cooking and puttering about in the kitchen. Eventually I had it all done up and was able to shower and get out the door by 4pm, only an our later than planned, but still well withing the desired arrival time of the party. I arrived in my old neighbourhood by 445 but had to wait for Garrett until 515 since he didn't know where Alex lived. We made out way there and joined Frank, James, Marshal, Phil, Aslan, Ben, Monica, and Alex for diner and drinks; then eventually were joined by Alex and Louise, and Brady and SoHyun for some dessert, and more drinks. We sat around chatting, listening to music, and watching internet videos until midnight when those of us who didn't live in the building decided to pop over to Sincheon and see the guys at Gold Bar for a few drinks. We had some drinks and chatted with the staff and some other friends until 4am when we all decided to grab some McDonald's breakfast and head home. I got my two meals, one of which I shared with my driver, and made it home by 430 to crawl into bed.
I got up Sunday morning around 130 in the afternoon and got right to work doing nothing for a while. I sent out some Christmas messages, and talked to Gavin for a bit before deciding it was high time to get out and get something done for the day. I got off of skype and got ready to go for groceries, and when that was taken care of I took some time to clean up my apartment before watching a movie, some football, and then call home.

Another week down, another step closer to the cold hand of winter. I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and are winding down this year happy and full of hope for the new year.

A Christmas Card Bonaza

Dec 13-19, 2010

Having left my Christmas cards at work over the weekend, they were of top priority to start this week. With the weather beginning to show signs of a coming winter, I really wanted to get them finished and in the mail so they would make it home on time. So first thing Monday, I got up and got ready to go to work a bit early so that I could sit down and power though some cards. I was able to finish up another good chunk of them throughout the day and was pleased with myself for finally getting off my keester. After work I was of to the gym where i got in another good workout even though the gym was super busy with all the pre-Christmas resolutioners. I waited out the crowd and eventually it was just me and a few other people doing our thing. After the gym I headed home and caught up on some blogging while watching a football game and finishing a few more cards. Before I knew it, it was 230 and I had to get to bed.

Waking up sore on Tuesday, I once again got ready and headed of to work to get some more of my cards done. I was all but a couple cards from being completely finished and was happy that I might be able to get them home before Christmas. After work I went straight home to finish the few cards I had left to do, and then get my weekly email off. Pleased with myself I watched another football game before calling it a night. To my surprise, I woke up before my alarm on Wednesday and couldn't get back to sleep, so I made the most of my time by watching stupid internet videos until it was time to head to the gym. After the gym I swung home to get my lunch and then headed off to work, on the way dropping my packages of cards off at the post office. I was surprised I didn't run into any of the same problems I did the week before, but was a bit disappointed that when the teller told me the chances of the cards making it before Christmas were slim. No biggie I thought, my family knows how schedules and I don't get along. After work Jean, Chrissy, John, and I all went to a place near John's new place (he had to move because the lease on Mike's place was up and the landlord didn't want foreigners in the building anymore) for some fried chicken and beers, before heading home in what has been the coldest, windiest day of the year so far around -12C.

Thursday morning I woke up with a sore back. Hoping it wasn't my rib problem coming back to haunt me, I took the day off and just relaxed before work. While at work I took a few Advil, which seemed to relieve the pain enough for me to carry on with my day. After work I headed home to lay down and watch a football game. Friday morning with my back feeling a bit better I opted to skip the gym again and instead ride my bike to work to get the oil changed and battery charged up before the winter comes, though even with having it running last week it was still in a kick start situation. The guys at the bike shop beside work was more than ready to help me out, and even cleaned up the engine of all the oil that has been leaking out, as well as tightened my chain. Running smoothly after work, I rode it home before going out for the night. I hope I can keep it going through the winter so that I don't have problems in the spring. I had been invited Thursday to go out with a Korean friend of ours Angie to Itaewon for a few drinks at a new bar, and so made my way there around 11. Before I went to meet her at BU2 I met Alex and Louise where they were finishing up diner, and then we went together. The bar was a little hard to find, being located past most of the places we usually go, so it took until around 12pm before we found it and met up with Angie and her friends inside. The bar was a pretty upscale place, but nice for a change. We stayed there until 230 when Angie and her friends had to go, and then split over to Wolfhound for one last beer before grabbing some kebabs and heading home for the night around 4.

Saturday I wasn't sure what I wanted to get up to, so when I woke up at noon I just sat around watching some internet videos before putting on the original Home Alone and having some laughs. About mid-afternoon I got a call from Frank about plans for the evening, and after some texting we decided to meet in Gangnam for dinner at 7 to get galbi. Garrett and Hayley also came out, but after dinner Hayley had to head home while the rest of us went across from the restaurant to Rainbow for a couple drinks and a hookah. Eventually Garrett became far to intoxicated to be in the bar, or even in public for that matter. He was trying to get up and play the live bands instruments or make announcements over the mic, so Frank and I had to intervene and get him to just sit down, and at that point he realized he was due to go home. After he left Alex and Louise came in and we all had one more drink before heading up the street to a basement bar called Voodoo. After several more drinks it was 230 and time to call it a night, so we finished up and all left to get cabs. Myself, as usual, I walked down to Kyodae from Gangnam because it is easier to catch a cab there, plus the walk gives me time to work some of the booze out. Home by 3am, I checked Facebook before going to bed and saw that my new coworker John had broken his arm snowboarding in the afternoon, but since it was so late I resolved to get to the bottom of it the next day.
Up at a reasonable time on Sunday I got a hold of John to see what the story was and if there was anything I could do to help him out. He told me how it happened and that it was actually his humerus in the upper arm instead of the usual lower arm bones. After talking to him I got ready and went back to Sindorim to pick up some Christmas cards for my coworkers, and to check out the E-Mart there. Eventually I made my way home and stopped for some groceries on my way back from the subway station then came home to clean up my domicile. I was able to get the dishes done, a load of laundry washed, and the floor swept and washed before heading over to John's for a few cheer up beers with him and his friends. I stayed longer than I had originally planned, and had to make my weekly call home from John's, which meant it was short and I'll have to make another later this week. We finished our beers by 230 and I made my way home to call it a night.

Well another week down and Christmas just around the corner. I hope everyone has their shopping done and is getting ready for all the Christmas food.

Sorry, Spain Doesn't Exist

Dec 6-12, 2010

Well winter is rearing its ugly head now, and the temperature showed it this week by dipping to low single digits and even some negative degrees. I personally didn't mind it since I like the cold, but could really use my winter stuff that is on its way from home still.
Monday was a good start to the week. I got up feeling well rested and got ready for work, making lunch and getting a game plan together for getting my Christmas cards done. I assumed I could get them done during my breaks at work. Keep in mind how I have said assumed. At work I was able to get a start on my cards while it was still fresh on my mind, and finished 1/3 of them. After work it was off to the gym. A trip I was really looking forward to having missed the last two days of last week, and having a new workout routine to get started on. The new system worked out great and I felt that I had one of the better workouts I have had in a while. After the gym I came home and threw on a football game while I took another crack at making chicken soup.
Luckily, since I started it earlier than the last time, I was able to sleep with less interruptions of getting up to stir it through the night. Waking up around 11am to a house full of the smooth aroma of the soup I made, I felt good and eager to get to work so that I could eat my soup for lunch. Once I was at work I got back to work on my Christmas cards and was able to finish up several more before my classes started, and that was about it for the day because during my breaks I was kept busy with school related work. After work I came home and put on the Monday night football game while I put my weekly email together. One that was all finished I wrote up a few more cards before calling it a night.
Wednesday morning it was up and back to the gym for a second go at my new workout schedule. Again it was a pretty good workout once I got into it, and I was able to get through my sets much faster than I thought I would. After the gym I quickly went home to get my lunch and the first of the Christmas packages I was going to send, and then it was of to the post office for one of the funnier Korean experiences I have had in a while. Keeping in mind that I live in Bongcheon, which is a small neighbourhood with a very old feel to it, it does not have many of the same comforts you see in other areas of the city. Our post office for one, is quite small and I think that is the causing factor for the following incident. As I walked into the Bongcheon post office I was met with scared eyes. The mail clerk asked me where I wanted to send my package, and when I replied Spain I was immediately told NO. Confused, I asked why and was told that they just do not mail things to Spain. Assuming it was because it was such a small post office, I asked if the larger post the next neighbourhood over would mail my things to Spain, and again was told NO. Confused even more I left and went to work. Then to top it off, it had been snowing earlier while I was at the gym and had started again. It wasn't the nice kind of snow however, what it was was wet heavy snow that left me me almost as if it had rained. Once at work I put the Korean staff on it and they quickly called the larger post office to get to the bottom of it. After about a 30 seconds on the phone they came to the conclusion that the post office in my neighbourhood was out of their mind and that I would have to go to the larger one to send anything to any country smaller than Canada.
After work my Wednesday just kept getting stupider. Mostly only I was getting stupider. Since John has just moved into the area, but will only be at his apartment for this week, we decided to have a few beers there before he had to move. So Chrissy, Jean, John, and I all grabbed a couple pitchers of beer, some chicken, and a pizza then went to John's. We watched some T.V. while drinking and chatting, and then after about 4 pitchers and a couple bottles of soju, Jean and Chrissy left, but John and I decided to grab a few more pitchers since one of his friends was on her way over to hang out for a bit also. Before long there was 9 empty pitchers laying around and we were well drunk, and I decided to get on home. During the walk home, idiotically I thought it would be a good idea to check and see if my bike's battery was still alive enough to start it up. I assumed it would be near dead given the cold weather and the lack of use lately, but hoped for the best. The best didn't happen. my battery was too dead to start the bike, and I knew of only one way to start it. It is to get the compression up using the kick start or by riding it down a hill, so that the motor will turn over and the bike will start itself. Having tried the kick start several times to no avail, I decided to ride it down the long hill I happen to live on. It is not something I am proud of doing since I think drinking and driving is a terrible habit to get in to, but my better judgment was out to lunch. So I hopped on and rode it out, but again it was a no fire deal. I got all the way to the bottom of the hill and it still wouldn't start, so since there was no way I was going to push it back up the hill, I left it there and walked home, but only after I tried to push start it for 20 minutes like a maniac. Home by 430 in the morning, I sent a few Skype messages to Lauren, who happened to be on, before passing out cold cocooned in my blankets.
Thursday morning I woke up feeling like I had drank a tonne of beer the night before and pushed a bike around like an ass. I inevitably skipped the gym and get my life together before work. I left a bit early so that I could make it to the post office in Sillim and get my mail issues sorted out. Then on the way back past my street, I tried one more time to get my bike started with the kick start, but again it was a futile effort. Leaving it where it was I went to work to hate on John for encouraging my alcoholism the night before. Again after work I thought I would give it one more shot, which failed again, so I simply moved the bike out of the way and planned to push it to the bike shop beside work the next day. After that I went home to watch a football game and finish sleeping of my night before.
Feeling better Friday morning, I was off to the gym again to start my day. After the gym I went home to grabbed my lunch and then made the walk to the bottom of my hill to push my bike to work. Then to my surprise, in a last ditch effort, with the weather warmer I was able to kick start the bike and ride it to work. Once I made it to work I let it run for a while outside to give it time to charge the battery. Thinking that I had gotten lucky, I didn't take it to the bike shop, but instead went in to start my day. Throughout the week John had been working on the Korean teachers to go out Friday for some drinks. I wasn't sure how it would turn out since most of them tend to shy away from outside of work activities, but after days of pestering John was able to get them all to come out to Sillim for drinks. This was good news, as just this week many of the teachers made their final decisions about leaving the school after this semester, because they are tired of dealing with the school's crap. I rode my bike home after work before meeting everyone at Sillim station and then going to the bar from there. John took us to some place he knew, and we had a great time joking around and playing drinking games. By 230 we were finished up and the Korean teachers went home, but Jean, Chrissy, John, and I all slid over to Ho Bar for one last beer and some darts before cabbing it home. Once again intoxicated, and still worried about the fate of my bike I kick started it one more time and let the it run for another 20 minutes to try and add some more juice to the battery. I thought nothing of it until after, when I realized it was 4 in the morning and that I might have woken my neighbours. Oh well.
After such a late night, I slept in until around 12 Saturday, and then got up and filled my day with internet videos and zombie killing until around 5 when it was time to get a move on. Frank had organized a get together at his place for what we were calling Christmas Tacos. He bought up all the fixings and all we had to do was show up, refresh his funds, and dig in. It was super nice of him to do something like this, since it isn't often we are able to find a place large enough to have get togethers that isn't a bar. Myself, Thomas and Jeanne, Brady, Marshal, James, and Matei and Jen all joined in the fun, which started around 7pm. Eventually we drank all the beers and as people started to filter out, James and I decided to go to Gangnam and meet another friend for a few more beers. By the time we reached Gangnam though, my friend had gotten a last minute call from another friend and ended up ditching us for a late night hook up. And who can fault him for that? Not I, that's who. James and I shared a couple pitchers at Woodstock before calling it a night around 3am and taking taxis home, which I had to catch at Kyodae since Gangnam is such a bad place to catch a taxi late at night.
Home and in bed by 4am the night before, I got up at noon with big plans for the day. I thought I might go to the coffee shop and finish my Christmas cards that I had slacked off on the latter half of the week, but quickly realized I had forgotten them at work. After that I resolved to get some groceries before wasting the rest of the day watching movies and football games. Eventually it became night time and I called home to see how things were going, and was filled in on my Nan's new Chemo-therapy schedule, which will be start on the 14th. I hope everything goes well.

Another week complete, and other set of goals half reached. Hope everyone is getting geared up for Christmas.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Nov 29 - Dec 5, 2010

The beginning of this week brought with it several changes. For starters it was Mike's final days at JLS, as well as Blake and Nathan's final days at Avalon. On top of that the weather continued to cool. Soon I will have to break out my leather jacket and put the spring coat away. So let's get on with the happenings of my week.
Monday had the same start as the past several, I got up and made food before heading to work, but when I got to work there was a new face. John, Mike's replacement was there to meet everyone and watch some classes. Unfortunately we were still on cruise control waiting for the next semester to start on Wednesday, so Mike and I talked to him about the different levels and books, as well as introduced him to the other teachers and kids. He seems like a pretty nice guy, and shares a lot more interests than Mike and I did. After work i hit the gym before coming home to watch a football game and get off my weekly email.
Tuesday was Blake's last official night so after work I hopped on the subway and took off to Gangnam to meet up with him for some dinner and drinks one last time before he left. SaeJin, Wes, June, Nate, and Blake's replacement were there for dakgalbi, and after that we popped over to 4.5 Bar for a couple beers. It was a good and calm night, though the replacement was a bit over excited and loud, but settled down after we told him he was causing a scene. We finished our beers and took off in time to catch the last subway home around 1230. I said goodbye to the guys at their stop and continued on my way home. It's weird to think that Blake, my partner in crime, won't be here from here on out, but such is life for travelling teachers.
Waking up at a good time Wednesday morning I hit the gym before heading to work to start our new semester and make sure John had his schedule in in order. Mike also finished on Tuesday, but isn't leaving until next Wednesday so we made plans to hang out on Saturday. My new schedule has me teaching some new classes with some different Korean teachers, and some of my new classes have some great/sweet kids in them. I am looking forward to this semester now that I know the kids, and am set up with all the material. After work I came home and watched another football game before calling it a night.
The game having gone into over time the night before, I slept in Thursday, missing the gym before work. While at work however, I was introduced to a new snack food that John called "ColPop", short for Cola and Pop. It was given to me by one of my new grade 2 students because the class had one extra. It is a nifty idea, a pop cup filled half way with the pop of your choice with a smaller cup that rests in the top filled with popcorn chicken. It's the perfect combo snack, it kills both thirst and hunger, while cutting down on packaging. I enjoyed it thoroughly before my classes and saved my lunch for later. After wok I wasn't in the mood to catch up on my workout schedule so I just went home and put on a football game and played with the cat.
Friday morning I skipped out on the gym once again so that I could make a long overdue call home to my dad. I had been meaning to call him for a while ever since the business with North Korea happened, but kept putting it off or plain forgetting. We talked for a couple hours, and it was nice to get all caught up on news from back home. Cutting it close I got off the phone with him and started getting ready for work only to have Gavin buzz me on Skype. I talked with him while making my lunch and getting ready to go, but in the end I was still about 15 minutes late for work. No biggie, they know I have little to do at the start of the day. John seemed to be settling in nicely and was starting to get the idea of which teachers were who, and what books he needed for each level. After work again I kept it calm. John, Chrissy, and I went out in Bongcheon for some fried chicken and beers at our regular TwoTwo Chicken place. I was home by 1130, and watched another game to pass the time before lights out.
I woke up later than hoped on Saturday, but still in good time to get some things done. I got ready, after having some cereal, and headed out to finally find some Christmas cards. I had been on the hunt for a few weeks and I was in a "no fail" situation. I wasn't going to stop looking until I found them this weekend. Luckily I only had to go to two stores to get what I was looking for. I wish I had started my search a little closer to home. As it turned out, I only had to go a few stops away to Sindorim station to find an E-Mart with a bookstore in it, teaming with Christmas cards. I dropped a few chun and was home by mid-afternoon so I could get ready for Mike's going away dinner/party in Itaewon. The plan was to meet at the station around 7 and then go to Ali Baba's for some Indian food before hitting the bar scene. The food was good, and I met a few more of Mike's friends, who were all pretty nice. After dinner we went to Bungalow for a drink, but as more people showed up we ran out of space and had to change venues. Eventually we decided on Roofers, but had to wait for a charity performance to finish before we could go in so that we didn't disturb the actors, even though they were just a bunch of foreigners in a "time killing" social club. When it was all over we went in and got some more drinks and watched the band, also made up of the previous performers, warm up and begin their show. After a while, Mike was ready to head out, but since Brady and Frank showed up, I decided to stick it out with them instead of getting caught up in Mike's whirlwind adventure. We finished a couple more drinks before leaving ourselves to go to Wolfhound, where we met Garrett on the way. Since Wolfhound was a dead atmosphere we only stayed for one drink before Frank and Brady decided to head home, it was 230 after all. Together we all had some street shwarma, and then Garrett and I continued on to Seoul Pub for what I assumed would only be one more short round. Boy was I wrong. We got in and low and behold who is there, my new coworker John. We had a quick conversation, but he was working on some girl in the corner so I didn't keep him long. Then like a magnet to South African girls, I started a random conversation with a girl, who, you guessed it, was from South Africa. I don't actually believe it has any thing to do with me, as much as it might be a conspiracy by the South Africans to take over the peninsula by sending all their gorgeous girls over to get everyones' guard down. And then BOOM! In the end I'm pretty sure the conversation came more from necessity. Her necessity to get some creepy Korean guy away from her, and Garrett's need for back up with a girl her was talking to. I originally tried to leave but Garrett bought me a beer, that I really didn't need so that I would stay. Eventually I finished my beer and had to go. Not because I was that drunk, but because 3am turned into 630am fast. Along with Garrett, I left the bar under the peeking eyes of the sun and made for the subway, where I found a train waiting to carry me home. On the way I rocked out to my mp3 player with an entire bench to myself, and a bunch of Koreans just looking and wondering. Home by 730, I walked up my hill in the dim morning light and then passed out as soon as I hit my bed.

Waking up mid-afternoon Sunday, I had some pretty bad gut rot from all the Long Island Ice Teas I had the night before. Luckily my head didn't hurt, because a double whammy would have sucked. As it was I spent most of the day watching movies before going to get groceries and making my weekly phone call home. This week I was updated on the condition of my Nan, and when her Chemo will be starting etc.

Another week down, another week closer to winter rearing its chilly head.

Is that a roach in my window sill? Oops!

Nov 22-28, 2010

Well this week started off pretty good, though much colder than it has been recently. Work was a breeze since the kids were done their testing and we were free to just play games and watch movies. On Monday I got up at a reasonable hour and made some lunch for myself, as well as some tuna salad for the week. After all my cooking was done I got ready and headed off to work. Work, as I said, was a breeze and I watched movies or played games with all of my classes. After work it was off to the gym, where I ran into Jack again as well as the trainers, so we all talked for a bit while the trainer tried to get me to talk to some Korean girl who was working out. I had to tell him that I can't just walk up and start talking to a random girl due to the language barrier, and the fact that I'm a foreigner ofter scares people. He offered to do it for me but I was able to talk him out of it. After the gym I headed home and while I was watching my usual Monday night football game I put together the ingredients I had bought for some chicken noodle soup in the slow cooker Amy and Mark had given me. After it was on and cooking I sat down to write my weekly email before calling it a night and hitting the hay.

After getting up sporadically throughout the night to stir my soup, I got up for good around 1030 and got a good start to my day. I didn't have anything to put my soup in so I scooped out some for my lunch using one of my cups, and then bought a container and ladle on my way home from work. While at work, it was some more games of vocabulary bingo, and general hanging out. The news of my soup making spread through the office and everyone wanted me to bring them some to try, so much for having soup to myself for a few days. After work I went straight home to put the leftover soup in my new container before throwing on another football game and calling it a night.
I got up on Wednesday and hit the gym with a vengeance before work, which felt good. My goal of reaching 78+kg is getting closer, but is still a long way off from my current state at 74kg. After the gym I stopped by home and grabbed my lunch, as well as the rest of the soup and some bowls for my coworkers. I hadn't even been at work for more than 10 minutes before the soup was broken out and everyone was taking turns digging in. I felt bad that I only had enough bowls for 4 people to eat at a time, but luckily with their schedules there wasn't a panic for time to eat all at once. My soup got some good reviews, and nobody got sick so I might have to make it a regular thing. It felts good to cook for people instead of for just myself for a change. After work I took off to Kondae to meet Blake, Nate, and Wes for a few drinks and some chatting. Nate only stayed for a bit so that he could get home and get some packing done, but the rest of us stuck it out until around 130 before calling it a night. Funny enough, on our way out of the bar a group of Korean girls celebrating a birthday were also leaving and out of nowhere one of them looked at Blake and I and exclaimed that she knew us. Upon further questioning, it was determined that she had seen us at Gold Bar, no surprise there, so we wished her a happy birthday and went on our way.
Waking up feeling great I went to the gym Thursday morning, and then grabbed a pizza on my way to work for lunch. After work it was off to Apgujong to meet up with Blake, and a couple of our Korean friends Gina, who used to date Junk, and her friend Lily. They also brought a friend that Gina had met during her recent trip through Australia, named Leon, who would turn out to be an asshole after he got into the soju. I met them at an underground restaurant/hof, and they had already been drinking. I helped them finish off the beer and soju that was there before we left for 24/7 Event Bar. Once there we ordered a bottle of whiskey and continued to drink and have fun until eventually Leon past his point of control and started telling everyone what to do, and started with the infamous drunk demand of "Listen to me!", repeated over and over while pointing in your face. We had all seen it lurking up, but once it took it's full form I was quick to put my foot down. I tried to be nice about it, but told him that he needed to relax and stop being such a dick to everyone. He wasn't sure how to take that one since it is quite counter cultural, and when he tried a rebuttal I laid out his options. Option one was to relax and stop being so aggressive towards everyone, and at the time it was only Blake and I who he was trying to bestow his knowledge of Korean culture on; or two was to leave the bar. Blake tried to interject and smooth things out, but I made it clear that I was not happy about how he was behaving and that I wouldn't put up with it for a second longer. He seemed to understand and decided to calm down and talk quieter and less in-your-face from that point on. After that we played some darts with the bartenders then finished our bottle and left around 3am.
Friday started out with an unexpected talk with Lauren. I happened to see her online when I got up and so sent her a message which turned into a rather lengthy conversation to start the day. She was sharing her current dislike for her living situation, given that her roommates had been in a bit of a snit all week, so she had been a bit alienated. She also shared some good news about getting offered a writing job, or something of the sorts because she seems to have a way with words. After our chat I had to scramble to get ready for work, and made it just on time, not that anyone really pays attention to my comings and goings at the office. I only stayed at work long enough to take subways orders, then it was off to get some lunch since I was out of food to make at home. After work we had a company dinner for Mike since this was his last full week with JLS. However, it was a bit pathetic at how some of the Korean teachers were acting about it. It's is understandable that they are tired after having so much work to do these past couple weeks, and some of them did just want to go home, but when you have worked with someone for a year it would be nice if you didn't make a big fuss about having a farewell dinner with him. Though I did hear through the grape vine that Mike wasn't the most liked person in the office. Nonetheless, you should still make an appearance and say goodbye. We went to a Korean barbecue place close to work, and ate our fill and had some drinks, and in the end almost everyone at the office came out for at least a bit of time. Around 1215 I said good night to the group and headed to the subway to get myself over to Sincheon for Gold Bars 3rd anniversary party. I was met there by Blake, Nate, Alex and Louise, Brady and SoHyun, Frank, and a few other Korean friends. Eventually Junk even made an appearance. Since it was a party, I took the chance to break out my light-up t-shirt from Beijing, which everybody loved, and we got our party on. Slowly the crowd started to fade, and by about 4am most of the people had left. Blake and I walked Junk to his girlfriends car and came back to collect our things only to find that Nate had disappeared. Not thinking too much about it we picked up our coats and the bag of swag we had gotten, and were about to head to McDonalds when Nate called. He thought we had left without him, and a little upset, had gone to McDonalds to get some food. We quickly went to find him hunched over his seat loathfully eating fries. Once Blake and I got our food we jumped in a cab and headed home. Once home, I thought it would be a good idea to stay up for a bit and drink some water. While doing so I saw Lauren online again and threw out a message to see if she was around for a chat. To my good fortune she was and for the first time since she left we had a video chat. It's always nice to see the face of the person you are talking to, as well as being able to talk instead of type everything you are saying. Now, for those of you who know me this next part will be completely reasonable. While we were talking, I thought I heard a bug in my window sill, and since I have had a few roaches in the last couple months I assumed the worst and quickly jumped up to take a look. What I had forgotten was that I was bare naked and just wrapped in a blanket, and ended up giving Lauren a full frontal. Insert embarrassed face here. But since she didn't seem to mind, we carried on talking until about 9am when I decided I had better get to bed, and so had she.
Having stayed up so late into Saturday morning, I slept until around 530 in the afternoon before waking up feeling rather refreshed. I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave the house, but within minutes of getting up Blake called me and asked if I wanted to meet him and Saejin in for a bite and some drinks. I knew that they were going to keep it pretty calm, so I jumped through the shower and headed that way as soon as I could. I met them at a upscale looking, but regular priced bar for a few beers before moving to a place we have been before called The Table. We had a couple more beers there before cabbing it home around 1230. Once home I threw on a movie and just relaxed until I eventually fell asleep some time after 3.
Waking up just before lunch on Sunday, I took some time to laze about and watch some internet videos before getting off to the grocery store to pick up my weekly supply. After I had my food for the week, I got ready to go to Sincheon again for a bit of a going away party for Blake at Gold Bar. It wasn't meant to be anything big, so having it on a Sunday helped keep everybody under control. Plus, since it was a Sunday we were the only people there. I got there first around 650 and met Thomas and Jeanne on my way to the bar, so I guess technically I arrived at the same time as them. Blake showed up a few minutes later, which allowed me to step out and get some cheese donkas for dinner. Eventually Frank, Brady and SoHyun, Angie, JiYoung, Junk, Charles, JungHun, and Nate all showed up and we sat around chatting and having a few laughs with each other and the bar staff until it was some time after midnight but the right time to call it a night. I shared a cab home with Nate, Blake and JiYoung for the first leg, and then got off a few stops shy of my area so that JiYoung could take the cut off south to her house. I jumped in another cab and finished the ride home in time to make my weekly phone call to my mom at about 1am, during which I talked to Parker, and Braunwyn who just had her tonsils out.

Well there it is another week down, another week closer to Christmas and the coming winter snowboard season. hope everyone is enjoying the weather and not freezing too bad yet.