Adventures in Stupid Dreams...
Last night, I had a lovely sleep. When I woke up (yes, again at 7:30 even though it's Saturday) I remember thinking to myself "Hey, that was a great dream. I should write that down." Instead of opening my eyes and grabbing for a pencil, I instead chose to wrestle my blankets back from the cats and go back to sleep for an hour.
When I woke up again, I could only remember parts of my dream, and boy oh boy are they really NOT worth writing down. You know me though, I'm going to write 'em anyway!
Part 1: I accidentally flushed someone else's clothes down the toilet. The clothes were sitting on the toilet (not in it) and I had to pee, so I flushed the toilet first and WHOOOSH!! the toilet just sucked the pile of clothes right down. Next thing I know, I'm trying to explain via limited Korean and complicated Charades just exactly what happened. Go ahead - you try it! I dare you. Try to explain to someone that you flushed their clothes down the toilet BY ACCIDENT, but the only words you can say are 'water' and 'bathroom' and every time you try and say 'clothes', the word 'flower' comes out. HA! It's not so easy now, is it???
Part 2: Someone played a practical joke on our office, and turned all our office furniture into chocolate. The computers, phones and everything still worked but were made of yummy cocoa. I was getting frustrated because the person I shared an office with kept eating the phone cord and the computer keys. Why s/he couldn't eat something like the potted plants or the pencils I don't know. They had to go straight for the stuff I was trying to use.
See - it wasn't nearly as exciting as it had seemed to me earlier this morning.
Notice: I've added a link on the sidebar to The Mealey Blog. Please use it if you want to keep up-to-date on those Marvelous Mealeys!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
Adventures in Octopi...
Well, after 3 years in Korea, I've finally done it.
Justin and I went out for dinner with one of our classes - for octopus. Some of the dishes were tasty and harmless. We had a tofu & kimchi dish, a seafood and noodle soup, and a rice,vegetable,spicy sauce and octopus stir-fry. Then, there was the 'Fear Factor' dish I thought I would be too squeamish to try: live octopus. They put the plate down on the table and all the little tentacles were still squirming. I watched as the students tried to pry the pieces off the plate, while the little tentacle suckers were clinging to the plate. By the time I worked up the nerve to try a piece, I was able to get a tiny little piece that had stopped wriggling. It was dead, but raw. I dipped it in some sesame oil and munched away. All I could taste was the sesame oil, so it was actually pretty good! Next time I'm invited to an Octopus restaurant, I won't be so hesitant to accept. It was actually a really tasty meal.
Well, after 3 years in Korea, I've finally done it.
Justin and I went out for dinner with one of our classes - for octopus. Some of the dishes were tasty and harmless. We had a tofu & kimchi dish, a seafood and noodle soup, and a rice,vegetable,spicy sauce and octopus stir-fry. Then, there was the 'Fear Factor' dish I thought I would be too squeamish to try: live octopus. They put the plate down on the table and all the little tentacles were still squirming. I watched as the students tried to pry the pieces off the plate, while the little tentacle suckers were clinging to the plate. By the time I worked up the nerve to try a piece, I was able to get a tiny little piece that had stopped wriggling. It was dead, but raw. I dipped it in some sesame oil and munched away. All I could taste was the sesame oil, so it was actually pretty good! Next time I'm invited to an Octopus restaurant, I won't be so hesitant to accept. It was actually a really tasty meal.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Adventures in Internal Monologues...
Me: Unggghhg. What time is it?
Also Me: It's 7:30 a.m.
Me: Unggghhg. .... What day is it?
Also Me: It's Saturday.
Me: So why am I awake?
Also Me: I'd guess it's either a result of the sun streaming in your window, or a cat breathing in your face.
Me: Mmmmm, the bed's still cozy. Let's roll over and go back to sleep.
Also Me: Too late. You've let this dialogue continue for too long, and now I'm awake. Let's get up and scrub the bathroom!!!
Me: Who ARE you?? This is not some crazy 'clean-the-bathroom-at-the-break-of-day' holiday. It's Saturday you addle-brained nincompoop.
Also Me: Haven't years of experience taught you that name calling isn't going to work? All you've managed to do is irritate yourself and now you're awake too. Let's go make some baklava.
Me: No. I don't care what you say. I'm rolling over, snuggling under the blankets and staying in bed whether I'm sleeping or not!
Also Me: You can't. Now you have to pee too.
Me: Cheater.
Me: Unggghhg. What time is it?
Also Me:
Me: Unggghhg. .... What day is it?
Also Me:
Me: So why am I awake?
Also Me: I'd guess it's either a result of the sun streaming in your window, or a cat breathing in your face.
Me: Mmmmm, the bed's still cozy. Let's roll over and go back to sleep.
Also Me: Too late. You've let this dialogue continue for too long, and now I'm awake. Let's get up and scrub the bathroom!!!
Me: Who ARE you?? This is not some crazy 'clean-the-bathroom-at-the-break-of-day' holiday. It's Saturday you addle-brained nincompoop.
Also Me: Haven't years of experience taught you that name calling isn't going to work? All you've managed to do is irritate yourself and now you're awake too. Let's go make some baklava.
Me: No. I don't care what you say. I'm rolling over, snuggling under the blankets and staying in bed whether I'm sleeping or not!
Also Me: You can't. Now you have to pee too.
Me: Cheater.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Adventures in Busses...
Since today was Graduation Day here at the university, I only had 2 students show up for my afternoon class. We opted to go to the coffee shop for the 2nd hour of class, which created a nice, casual atmosphere. Both students had spent some time in Canada, and we began talking about a variety of culture shock issues between Canada and Korea.
While a journey on (or near) a Korean bus has often caused me a great deal of stress, I never imagined that a Canadian bus could do the same. Busses here travel well above the speed limit, resulting in a rather precarious balancing act as it careens around a corner. Furthermore, upon aproaching a string of cars waiting at a stop light, the bus will 'jump the queue' and cut infront of the first car in line ~ usually well into the intersection. These are the two major complaints I have against Korean busses.
It came as a shock to me then, when one of my students said he hated Canadian busses! He hated that if the speed limit was 60 km/h, the bus never exceeded 60 km/h. He also hated that a bus would actually stop at the indicated stop line at an intersection! He said that it was frustrating, because the bus was so slow and pokey, he felt like he wouldn't get to his destination on time! Wow. It had really, truly never occured to me that a quiet, orderly, safe, methodical transportation system could possibly prove to be frustrating for someone from a different culture. It made me realize that when it comes to Korean transportation, I've fallen into that horrible traveller's trap of thinking "Oh, they only do it the way they do because they don't know any better." Gotta love Cultural Diversity!
Since today was Graduation Day here at the university, I only had 2 students show up for my afternoon class. We opted to go to the coffee shop for the 2nd hour of class, which created a nice, casual atmosphere. Both students had spent some time in Canada, and we began talking about a variety of culture shock issues between Canada and Korea.
While a journey on (or near) a Korean bus has often caused me a great deal of stress, I never imagined that a Canadian bus could do the same. Busses here travel well above the speed limit, resulting in a rather precarious balancing act as it careens around a corner. Furthermore, upon aproaching a string of cars waiting at a stop light, the bus will 'jump the queue' and cut infront of the first car in line ~ usually well into the intersection. These are the two major complaints I have against Korean busses.
It came as a shock to me then, when one of my students said he hated Canadian busses! He hated that if the speed limit was 60 km/h, the bus never exceeded 60 km/h. He also hated that a bus would actually stop at the indicated stop line at an intersection! He said that it was frustrating, because the bus was so slow and pokey, he felt like he wouldn't get to his destination on time! Wow. It had really, truly never occured to me that a quiet, orderly, safe, methodical transportation system could possibly prove to be frustrating for someone from a different culture. It made me realize that when it comes to Korean transportation, I've fallen into that horrible traveller's trap of thinking "Oh, they only do it the way they do because they don't know any better." Gotta love Cultural Diversity!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Adventures in Functional Grammar...
Yup, my books have arrived and I've embarked on another semester of Linguistics. Today's highlight (and I mean that literally, I've attacked it with a flourescent yellow wand and adorned it with a gargantuan "?") declares:
Dependent clauses of the second type are the kinds of messages that are full clause projections from projecting processes realised by verbal groups that express saying, thinking, reporting, believing and so on. ~Using Functional Grammar. Butt, Fahey, et al. p.167
I can tell you what verbal group I'm thinking about reporting right now, and it's certainly not fit for Moms or Sailors to read!
Perhaps I should have chosen to study Children's Literature, Plant Destroying, or Pudding Making. Those things I think I could do well. It's going to take me a full semester to de-code the above quote, much less apply it to the looming assignments.
However, the activities I've tried in the textbook so far have been fun. I'm just worried that they're fun the same way Calculus was fun until I realized that there really was a right answer, and I couldn't just choose the numbers that were pretty or felt right. Time (and my professor) will tell.
Enjoy your day, I'm heading back to the books.
Yup, my books have arrived and I've embarked on another semester of Linguistics. Today's highlight (and I mean that literally, I've attacked it with a flourescent yellow wand and adorned it with a gargantuan "?") declares:
Dependent clauses of the second type are the kinds of messages that are full clause projections from projecting processes realised by verbal groups that express saying, thinking, reporting, believing and so on. ~Using Functional Grammar. Butt, Fahey, et al. p.167
I can tell you what verbal group I'm thinking about reporting right now, and it's certainly not fit for Moms or Sailors to read!
Perhaps I should have chosen to study Children's Literature, Plant Destroying, or Pudding Making. Those things I think I could do well. It's going to take me a full semester to de-code the above quote, much less apply it to the looming assignments.
However, the activities I've tried in the textbook so far have been fun. I'm just worried that they're fun the same way Calculus was fun until I realized that there really was a right answer, and I couldn't just choose the numbers that were pretty or felt right. Time (and my professor) will tell.
Enjoy your day, I'm heading back to the books.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Adventures in Odd Couples...
My morning class is quite energetic, gregarious and not the least bit shy about discussing any topic. Today, while discussing fears and phobias, we watched a few clips from a recent Fear Factor episode. The conversation then wandered onto the topic of a recently married Thai couple; The Queen of Scorpions married the King of Centepides. The Queen spent 32 days incased in a box with 3,400 scorpions, while the King spent 28 days snuggled up to 1,000 centipedes. The Queen's wedding dress was adorned with a number of live scorpions. And here I've been thinking that the Fear Factor contestants are nuts for spending 2 or 3 minutes with the l'il critters.
My morning class is quite energetic, gregarious and not the least bit shy about discussing any topic. Today, while discussing fears and phobias, we watched a few clips from a recent Fear Factor episode. The conversation then wandered onto the topic of a recently married Thai couple; The Queen of Scorpions married the King of Centepides. The Queen spent 32 days incased in a box with 3,400 scorpions, while the King spent 28 days snuggled up to 1,000 centipedes. The Queen's wedding dress was adorned with a number of live scorpions. And here I've been thinking that the Fear Factor contestants are nuts for spending 2 or 3 minutes with the l'il critters.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Adventures in ellipses.
I realize I haven't posted in quite a while...oopsie daisy. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I was home for the holidays, and enjoyed every day in Ottawa. Sadly the canal wasn't frozen, so there wasn't any skating ~ but we did get some tobogganing in.
Last night, I finished reading a collection of ghost stories by M.R.James, written sometime prior to 1931. In his epilogue, he expounded on ideas for ghost stories he had had, but had never materialized. His second last paragraph contained this digression maligning the elipsis - "It may not be alone ... (Dots are believed by many writers of our day to be a good substitute for effective writing. They are certainly an easy one. Let us have a few more ...)."
As much as I like using ellipses (although not as much as I like saying 'ellipsis') he does have a point. Imagine a literary world inwhich the ellipsis runs rampant. One would be left with only a title, and perhaps a few verbs to help the narrative along.
Hmmm, perhaps by now you've guessed that I'm back at work, since the only thing I've found to write about today is punctuation. My apologies.
I realize I haven't posted in quite a while...oopsie daisy. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I was home for the holidays, and enjoyed every day in Ottawa. Sadly the canal wasn't frozen, so there wasn't any skating ~ but we did get some tobogganing in.
Last night, I finished reading a collection of ghost stories by M.R.James, written sometime prior to 1931. In his epilogue, he expounded on ideas for ghost stories he had had, but had never materialized. His second last paragraph contained this digression maligning the elipsis - "It may not be alone ... (Dots are believed by many writers of our day to be a good substitute for effective writing. They are certainly an easy one. Let us have a few more ...)."
As much as I like using ellipses (although not as much as I like saying 'ellipsis') he does have a point. Imagine a literary world inwhich the ellipsis runs rampant. One would be left with only a title, and perhaps a few verbs to help the narrative along.
Hmmm, perhaps by now you've guessed that I'm back at work, since the only thing I've found to write about today is punctuation. My apologies.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Adventures in Mid-December
First of all, I should say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! I can't remember how many years she's been around, but I know it's more than me and less than Grandma. She was born somewhere in between.
Second of all, I should mention what I've been doing lately. Mostly, I've been marking final exams and projects. As usual, the monotony has been broken by a few smile-producing responses, none of which I can remember at the moment since I just woke up. Maybe once this cup of coffee starts to work it's magic, I'll remember that in response to the questions "Is your best friend the smartest person in the world?" most of my students answered "Yes, s/he is". One of my loyal, but oh-so-honest students wrote "No, she isn't. but she's a very nice person."
Finally, I've been counting the days until I head home for Christmas. Only 3 days and 2 nights until I have to make sure my seat back and chair table are in their fully upright and locked position in preparation for take-off. WooHoo!
First of all, I should say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! I can't remember how many years she's been around, but I know it's more than me and less than Grandma. She was born somewhere in between.
Second of all, I should mention what I've been doing lately. Mostly, I've been marking final exams and projects. As usual, the monotony has been broken by a few smile-producing responses, none of which I can remember at the moment since I just woke up. Maybe once this cup of coffee starts to work it's magic, I'll remember that in response to the questions "Is your best friend the smartest person in the world?" most of my students answered "Yes, s/he is". One of my loyal, but oh-so-honest students wrote "No, she isn't. but she's a very nice person."
Finally, I've been counting the days until I head home for Christmas. Only 3 days and 2 nights until I have to make sure my seat back and chair table are in their fully upright and locked position in preparation for take-off. WooHoo!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Adventures in American Justice
I suppose I could have called this entry 'Adventures in Capital Punishment', but that just didn't seem right.
This afternoon, I caught Larry King Live as he covered the impending execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Half an hour later, I caught The Green Mile. Together, they got me thinking about capital punishment, justice, retribution and restorative justice. I'm not going to go into a great long diatribe at the moment, as I'm reluctant to just blurt out my 'top-o-the-head' opinions when it comes to important things. (I've got no problem blurting out opinions about non-dairy whipped topping, sport sock/dress pants combinations or the west-coast penchant for socks with sandals, but the death penalty is an entirely different matter).
I will however mention that I was greatly pleased to see Mike Farrell speaking on Larry King as chairman of Death Penalty Focus. You may remember him as B.J. Hunnicut on M*A*S*H. He was articulate, passionate and polite. I was impressed, and was glad to hear him say:
"And it seems to me that when this society begins to realize the damages being done us by the damage we do others, only then, perhaps, will we begin to realize that we can reach out to be representative of the values that we hold dear."
It seems to me that vengance, revenge, and a refusal to forgive cause as much damage to those seeking vengance as to those at whom the anger is directed. (I'm sorry, if I weren't so sleepy, I'm sure I could have made that sentence readable.)
Before I paddle myself into waters I'm not ready to swim in, let me just plug in the link to the Centre for Restorative Justice at Simon Fraser University. It's worth the read if you're interested in such things. http://www.sfu.ca/crj/about.html
I suppose I could have called this entry 'Adventures in Capital Punishment', but that just didn't seem right.
This afternoon, I caught Larry King Live as he covered the impending execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Half an hour later, I caught The Green Mile. Together, they got me thinking about capital punishment, justice, retribution and restorative justice. I'm not going to go into a great long diatribe at the moment, as I'm reluctant to just blurt out my 'top-o-the-head' opinions when it comes to important things. (I've got no problem blurting out opinions about non-dairy whipped topping, sport sock/dress pants combinations or the west-coast penchant for socks with sandals, but the death penalty is an entirely different matter).
I will however mention that I was greatly pleased to see Mike Farrell speaking on Larry King as chairman of Death Penalty Focus. You may remember him as B.J. Hunnicut on M*A*S*H. He was articulate, passionate and polite. I was impressed, and was glad to hear him say:
"And it seems to me that when this society begins to realize the damages being done us by the damage we do others, only then, perhaps, will we begin to realize that we can reach out to be representative of the values that we hold dear."
It seems to me that vengance, revenge, and a refusal to forgive cause as much damage to those seeking vengance as to those at whom the anger is directed. (I'm sorry, if I weren't so sleepy, I'm sure I could have made that sentence readable.)
Before I paddle myself into waters I'm not ready to swim in, let me just plug in the link to the Centre for Restorative Justice at Simon Fraser University. It's worth the read if you're interested in such things. http://www.sfu.ca/crj/about.html
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Monday, November 28, 2005
Adventures in Christmas trees
Although my Dad will be mortified ("You don't decorate for Christmas before December!"), a group of festivity-minded folk helped me decorate my aparment last Friday night. Now my little tree is up and glittering (and occasionally assaulted by my cat), cutsie little snowmen and angels grin from shelves and walls, and Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby croon holiday medlies in the evenings... and I traipse about in the afternoons with no jacket. Methinks the weather matcheth not the season. Only 24 more sleeps 'til I fly home for the holidays ~ and hopefully some snow. But not when my plane is trying to land. Or take off. Or when I'm driving. Or if I have to shovel it. If I could have my way, we would have light little fluffy flurries from now until December 24th, at which point, once we're all snuggled together at home, there would be a massive blizzard that would coat the world with white until January 2nd, at which point everything would melt away and spring would arrive. If I ever build a climate-controlled bio-dome, that'll be the weather forcast for the holiday seaon. I hope you're enjoying the weather, and the Advent season wherever you may be.
Although my Dad will be mortified ("You don't decorate for Christmas before December!"), a group of festivity-minded folk helped me decorate my aparment last Friday night. Now my little tree is up and glittering (and occasionally assaulted by my cat), cutsie little snowmen and angels grin from shelves and walls, and Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby croon holiday medlies in the evenings... and I traipse about in the afternoons with no jacket. Methinks the weather matcheth not the season. Only 24 more sleeps 'til I fly home for the holidays ~ and hopefully some snow. But not when my plane is trying to land. Or take off. Or when I'm driving. Or if I have to shovel it. If I could have my way, we would have light little fluffy flurries from now until December 24th, at which point, once we're all snuggled together at home, there would be a massive blizzard that would coat the world with white until January 2nd, at which point everything would melt away and spring would arrive. If I ever build a climate-controlled bio-dome, that'll be the weather forcast for the holiday seaon. I hope you're enjoying the weather, and the Advent season wherever you may be.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Adventures in Nuclear Waste
Earlier this month, South Korea chose the historic city of Kyoungju to provide a home for a proposed nuclear waste dumpsite. While there are many things that worry me about this dumpsite, two things stick out in my mind.
1) My university students don't seem to care. I asked one of my classes what they thought about it. One student said she was happy that the dumpsite will be built in Kyoungju, because she is from another town that was in the running. My other 8 students all said they didn't really care one way or the other. Hmmmm.
2) Commerce-Industry-Energy Minister, Lee Hee-beom, said "By minimizing preparing procedures, the government will finish the building before the end of 2008." Why on earth would you minimize preparation procedures while building a nuclear dumpsite!?!? On the bright side, I don't really believe that it will be completed by 2008. The subway in Daejeon was supposed to be up and running for the World Cup (2002) and I still have to take the bus when I'm there. Even so, call me paranoid, but I really don't think that one should be skimping on preparation when it comes to building a nuclear facility. Again I say, "Hmmmm...."
Perhaps it's time to consider moving back to the other side of the globe.
Earlier this month, South Korea chose the historic city of Kyoungju to provide a home for a proposed nuclear waste dumpsite. While there are many things that worry me about this dumpsite, two things stick out in my mind.
1) My university students don't seem to care. I asked one of my classes what they thought about it. One student said she was happy that the dumpsite will be built in Kyoungju, because she is from another town that was in the running. My other 8 students all said they didn't really care one way or the other. Hmmmm.
2) Commerce-Industry-Energy Minister, Lee Hee-beom, said "By minimizing preparing procedures, the government will finish the building before the end of 2008." Why on earth would you minimize preparation procedures while building a nuclear dumpsite!?!? On the bright side, I don't really believe that it will be completed by 2008. The subway in Daejeon was supposed to be up and running for the World Cup (2002) and I still have to take the bus when I'm there. Even so, call me paranoid, but I really don't think that one should be skimping on preparation when it comes to building a nuclear facility. Again I say, "Hmmmm...."
Perhaps it's time to consider moving back to the other side of the globe.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Adventures in Cartoon Land
When I was a little girl, I was convinced I could draw a door on the back of my TV and enter my favourite cartoon, Battle of the Planets. One day, Mom found me poking around behind the TV with a pencil in my hand and shooed me away. I never got the chance to fight the intergallactic menace - Zoltar. Now that I'm all grown up, I realize I can't fit into my TV ~ but I'm sure I would have been able to when my body was smaller ~ if my plot hadn't been foiled. I'm not bitter.
I got thinking about that little snippet of my early years today, and came to the conclusion that even if we don't have a super-portal from the real world to cartoon land, I think that those who inhabit cartoon land actually do have a super-portal. My theory is based on 3 things: 1) Roger Rabbit. 2) The Simpson's episode where Homer gets stuck in a vortex and winds up in the real world. 3) As I walked out of the Student Union store today, I took a deep breath of fresh~ish Autumn air and surveyed my surroundings. The trees were a bright yellow, the sky was a clear blue, students were milling about as students do...and a large, fuzzy, white duck with a big yellow beak was walking by carrying a briefcase. No word of a lie. Not only was this "duck" strolling down the street, nobody else seemed to notice! I love this campus.
So there you have it. Even though I was never able to get to cartoon-land myself, I'm now content to wait for cartoon-land to come to me.
When I was a little girl, I was convinced I could draw a door on the back of my TV and enter my favourite cartoon, Battle of the Planets. One day, Mom found me poking around behind the TV with a pencil in my hand and shooed me away. I never got the chance to fight the intergallactic menace - Zoltar. Now that I'm all grown up, I realize I can't fit into my TV ~ but I'm sure I would have been able to when my body was smaller ~ if my plot hadn't been foiled. I'm not bitter.
I got thinking about that little snippet of my early years today, and came to the conclusion that even if we don't have a super-portal from the real world to cartoon land, I think that those who inhabit cartoon land actually do have a super-portal. My theory is based on 3 things: 1) Roger Rabbit. 2) The Simpson's episode where Homer gets stuck in a vortex and winds up in the real world. 3) As I walked out of the Student Union store today, I took a deep breath of fresh~ish Autumn air and surveyed my surroundings. The trees were a bright yellow, the sky was a clear blue, students were milling about as students do...and a large, fuzzy, white duck with a big yellow beak was walking by carrying a briefcase. No word of a lie. Not only was this "duck" strolling down the street, nobody else seemed to notice! I love this campus.
So there you have it. Even though I was never able to get to cartoon-land myself, I'm now content to wait for cartoon-land to come to me.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Adventures in Squirrelyness
The day has finally arrived when I've folded my summer clothes for the last time this season. All my t-shirts, tank tops and gauzy cotton shirts have been tucked away and vacuum packed in a space bag. Sigh.
I don't know what it is about Autumn that makes me feel like a squirrel stuffing my nest for the winter. I've been freezing soups and stews like a madwoman, I've been cleaning out closets and nooks and crannies and even that mysterious cupboard under my sink. I've started crotcheting a blanket, and the other day I thought "Hey, I wonder how you make pickles?"
OH - and it's Halloween today. I nearly forgot. So far the only Trick-ot-Treater I've had tonight is my neighbour, Tracy. She wasn't even looking for candy, she was bringing me soup. I think she's also feeling like a squirrel.
The day has finally arrived when I've folded my summer clothes for the last time this season. All my t-shirts, tank tops and gauzy cotton shirts have been tucked away and vacuum packed in a space bag. Sigh.
I don't know what it is about Autumn that makes me feel like a squirrel stuffing my nest for the winter. I've been freezing soups and stews like a madwoman, I've been cleaning out closets and nooks and crannies and even that mysterious cupboard under my sink. I've started crotcheting a blanket, and the other day I thought "Hey, I wonder how you make pickles?"
OH - and it's Halloween today. I nearly forgot. So far the only Trick-ot-Treater I've had tonight is my neighbour, Tracy. She wasn't even looking for candy, she was bringing me soup. I think she's also feeling like a squirrel.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Adventures in Hiking
I went hiking yesterday with some friends from here, but there was a bit of a misunderstanding. I thought that a 1.5 hour hike was round-trip. Nope. It took just under 2 hours to get up the hill (becuase I'm a slow-poke) and another 1.5 hours to get back down the hill. Nonetheless, it was a gorgeous hike, the view from the peak was fantastic and the weather couldn't have been nicer. By the time we got back down to the bottom, we were tired and hungry and exhilerated. We stopped for one of the best Galbi dinners I've had here (Galbi = BBQ'd pork strips). So, one I finally crawled into bed last night, I had such a good sleep . Although today, I've been hobbling around like an arthritic duck; I've got blisters and my bum muscles are sore. We hope to go again once more of the autumn leaves start to show their colours. (And my legs become fully functional again!)
I went hiking yesterday with some friends from here, but there was a bit of a misunderstanding. I thought that a 1.5 hour hike was round-trip. Nope. It took just under 2 hours to get up the hill (becuase I'm a slow-poke) and another 1.5 hours to get back down the hill. Nonetheless, it was a gorgeous hike, the view from the peak was fantastic and the weather couldn't have been nicer. By the time we got back down to the bottom, we were tired and hungry and exhilerated. We stopped for one of the best Galbi dinners I've had here (Galbi = BBQ'd pork strips). So, one I finally crawled into bed last night, I had such a good sleep . Although today, I've been hobbling around like an arthritic duck; I've got blisters and my bum muscles are sore. We hope to go again once more of the autumn leaves start to show their colours. (And my legs become fully functional again!)
Friday, October 14, 2005
Adventures in Persimmons
Persimmon season is upon us here in Korea. They look so beautiful. The sky has been a deep clear blue lately, and the autumny-orange persimmons look so cozy surrounded by a few dark green leaves. Angelika and I walked into town yesterday via the rice paddy back roads, and the persimmon trees were my favourite view along the way. Then, this morning, the lady who cleans our building (you may remember her from the canned peaches enounter) knocked on my door and presented me with a HUGE persimmon. It's twice the size of any I've seen on the trees around here. I wonder if I like eating them? I guess I'll soon find out.
Persimmon season is upon us here in Korea. They look so beautiful. The sky has been a deep clear blue lately, and the autumny-orange persimmons look so cozy surrounded by a few dark green leaves. Angelika and I walked into town yesterday via the rice paddy back roads, and the persimmon trees were my favourite view along the way. Then, this morning, the lady who cleans our building (you may remember her from the canned peaches enounter) knocked on my door and presented me with a HUGE persimmon. It's twice the size of any I've seen on the trees around here. I wonder if I like eating them? I guess I'll soon find out.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Adventures on Thanksgiving Weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I feel fortunate that I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with some moist turkey, sweet cranberry sauce, savory pumpkin soup and a slice of pie. I don't exactly know what the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea does, but I'm more than happy to eat the food at the dinner they host every year.
It also gave me a chance to get back to Seoul and see my travel agent there. Hooray!! I'm going home for Christmas this year!!! What a lovely Thanksgiving gift.
We stayed in a Yogwan in Seoul, which is like a small motel. Some of them are quite clean and cozy and comfortable. The one I managed to pick out was not. Ewwww. I woke up with 12 mosquito bites on my arms, and some of them are swelling up like red, puffy quarters, nickles and dimes.
The weekend went by super fast and now I can't believe it's Monday already. I think that since I've had 2 long weekends in the past three weeks, actually having to go to work on a Monday seems a little strange! Even so, I hope all of you reading this from Canadian soil will enjoy your holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I feel fortunate that I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with some moist turkey, sweet cranberry sauce, savory pumpkin soup and a slice of pie. I don't exactly know what the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea does, but I'm more than happy to eat the food at the dinner they host every year.
It also gave me a chance to get back to Seoul and see my travel agent there. Hooray!! I'm going home for Christmas this year!!! What a lovely Thanksgiving gift.
We stayed in a Yogwan in Seoul, which is like a small motel. Some of them are quite clean and cozy and comfortable. The one I managed to pick out was not. Ewwww. I woke up with 12 mosquito bites on my arms, and some of them are swelling up like red, puffy quarters, nickles and dimes.
The weekend went by super fast and now I can't believe it's Monday already. I think that since I've had 2 long weekends in the past three weeks, actually having to go to work on a Monday seems a little strange! Even so, I hope all of you reading this from Canadian soil will enjoy your holiday.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Adventures in Free Food!
Like many people I know, I grew up big and strong by eating Church Basement potluck dinners, (and I capitalized it, since I think someone should use it as a brand name for a line of microwave dinners~ wouldn't you buy something called Church Basement 3 Bean Salad, or Church Basement Baked Beans??). The point of all this ---well, to be honest, this is going to be the point-before-the-point, so if you're feeling overwhelmed already, you might want to bail out now--- The PRE-point is that I love free food. Think about it. I'd never make a Spinach Pie in my own kitchen, but if you serve it to me at your house, chances are I'll love it. Or, when I'm going through the supermarket, and there are free samples of stuff -stuff I KNOW I don't like and I'll never buy - I still take the free sample! And then I stand there with a thoughtful look on my face and murmur things like "Hmmm, it's not so bad. Maybe I'll add it to my list next time" but I know I won't. I just don't want to hurt the feelings of the nice lady who's handing out the Dixie cups full of free food. So that's my pre-point. I love free food. I think maybe judging by the size of the congregation on Church Basement pot-luck days, other people do too.
Now, onto my main point. Even better than getting free food, is giving free food...so other people can have it for free. And there are no dishes for you to wash!! I've added a link on my sidebar for The Hunger Site. It's a website that allows you to click the box that says "Give Free Food". You can click every day, and each click donates 1.1 cups of staple food to folks who need it via The Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest. (There is info about these organizations on the site). I've known about, and frequented this website for a long time now (Thanks to Melanie for pointing me in its direction). There is also an on-line gift shop associated with it. Every item purchased (and there are some really nice ones!! ) results in more free food for somebody! When you look at the stuff in the shop, along with the price and product description, it also tells you how many cups of food will be donated if you purchase that item. Christmas is getting closer, and if you tend to do some of your shopping online anyway, you might want to check out The Hunger Site. The only sad part is that while folks will get good healthy food, nobody's going to be lucky enough to get a "Church Basement Jell-O and Olive Salad".
Like many people I know, I grew up big and strong by eating Church Basement potluck dinners, (and I capitalized it, since I think someone should use it as a brand name for a line of microwave dinners~ wouldn't you buy something called Church Basement 3 Bean Salad, or Church Basement Baked Beans??). The point of all this ---well, to be honest, this is going to be the point-before-the-point, so if you're feeling overwhelmed already, you might want to bail out now--- The PRE-point is that I love free food. Think about it. I'd never make a Spinach Pie in my own kitchen, but if you serve it to me at your house, chances are I'll love it. Or, when I'm going through the supermarket, and there are free samples of stuff -stuff I KNOW I don't like and I'll never buy - I still take the free sample! And then I stand there with a thoughtful look on my face and murmur things like "Hmmm, it's not so bad. Maybe I'll add it to my list next time" but I know I won't. I just don't want to hurt the feelings of the nice lady who's handing out the Dixie cups full of free food. So that's my pre-point. I love free food. I think maybe judging by the size of the congregation on Church Basement pot-luck days, other people do too.
Now, onto my main point. Even better than getting free food, is giving free food...so other people can have it for free. And there are no dishes for you to wash!! I've added a link on my sidebar for The Hunger Site. It's a website that allows you to click the box that says "Give Free Food". You can click every day, and each click donates 1.1 cups of staple food to folks who need it via The Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest. (There is info about these organizations on the site). I've known about, and frequented this website for a long time now (Thanks to Melanie for pointing me in its direction). There is also an on-line gift shop associated with it. Every item purchased (and there are some really nice ones!! ) results in more free food for somebody! When you look at the stuff in the shop, along with the price and product description, it also tells you how many cups of food will be donated if you purchase that item. Christmas is getting closer, and if you tend to do some of your shopping online anyway, you might want to check out The Hunger Site. The only sad part is that while folks will get good healthy food, nobody's going to be lucky enough to get a "Church Basement Jell-O and Olive Salad".
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
Adventures in Chuseok
This weekend was what's known in Korea as Chuseok, and is often described as the Korean Thanksgiving. It's a time when everyone travels to their hometown, the women cook monsterous quantities of food and people tend to their ancestors tombs. It's also a time when English teachers at Daegu University gather for a fantastic BBQ - since we have 3 birthdays in September that need to be celebrated in style. We had tons of food, some guitar music, some singing, and of course, a pinata. It's so much fun to watch grown adults scrimmaging for a fun-size Snickers bar. Although, come to think of it, when the weather's nice like this, we have a BBQ almost every weekend, whether there are any birthdays or not!
So, since I've been finished work since 9am last Friday, I've had plenty of time to clean, shop, make some pottery thingies, BBQ, watch some movies and play cards with my friends. Now, it's 2:30 on a Monday afternoon and I'm thinking that after I wash up all the brunch dishes I'll just curl up with my cat, a good book and a cup of tea for a little while...or re-decorate my bedroom. We'll see how energetic I'm feeling after the dishes are done. Also, since it's only been 2 weeks since the semester started, and now we're enjoying a long weekend, it feels like summer again. I really hope I don't forget to get up and go to work tomorrow morning!
This weekend was what's known in Korea as Chuseok, and is often described as the Korean Thanksgiving. It's a time when everyone travels to their hometown, the women cook monsterous quantities of food and people tend to their ancestors tombs. It's also a time when English teachers at Daegu University gather for a fantastic BBQ - since we have 3 birthdays in September that need to be celebrated in style. We had tons of food, some guitar music, some singing, and of course, a pinata. It's so much fun to watch grown adults scrimmaging for a fun-size Snickers bar. Although, come to think of it, when the weather's nice like this, we have a BBQ almost every weekend, whether there are any birthdays or not!
So, since I've been finished work since 9am last Friday, I've had plenty of time to clean, shop, make some pottery thingies, BBQ, watch some movies and play cards with my friends. Now, it's 2:30 on a Monday afternoon and I'm thinking that after I wash up all the brunch dishes I'll just curl up with my cat, a good book and a cup of tea for a little while...or re-decorate my bedroom. We'll see how energetic I'm feeling after the dishes are done. Also, since it's only been 2 weeks since the semester started, and now we're enjoying a long weekend, it feels like summer again. I really hope I don't forget to get up and go to work tomorrow morning!
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