(no subject)
I've been working hard and playing hard for the past month or so.
Work has become very frustrating, with lots of drama and frustrating new policies, and where suddenly I became the second-in-command, after everyone else either quit or went on extended vacations to other continents. Our CEO just came back from America, which...um, was not helpful.
I am nervous these days because I need to get a new job, and in order to get a new job I have to get an FBI criminal background check...while living in Korea. So.
The weather in October was AWESOME. Seriously, if you ever come to Korea, come in October. It is gorgeous, especially with the fall foliage and all, and there are all kinds of cool festivals and stuff.
My church had a picnic in early October. It had rained all the previous day, and the morning too, but during the picnic itself, the weather was lovely.
The most popular festival in Seoul this year was probably the fireworks festival, which was cancelled last year because of the swine flu. And when David and I got there, I realized why. We didn't go to the main firework display area, Yeouido Island, because we knew it would be packed. We went to Ichon, across the Han River, instead. When we exited the turnstiles at Ichon station, we just saw a wall of humans. We couldn't even get out of the subway station for fifteen minutes. On the news later, we heard that 1.2 million people were there.
But we persisted (okay, I persisted and David humored me), mostly because we had already packed our picnic blankets and food. We did end up finding a place where we could see the fireworks, but I had to use zoom on my camera, and there was an unbelievably annoying little boy sitting next to us.
Still, it was amazing how good the display was. There were three rounds of fireworks, 30 minutes each, with 15-20 minute breaks in between so the smoke could clear. After each session, more people left, so we got to see more each time. And trust me, they WERE good. I was happy we went. After they finally finished, we waited around for about an hour eating fruit and waiting for the crowds to clear. But we still had to walk two subway stations away before we were away from most of the people, and could get on a train home.
The following weekend, I went on retreat with my church, which was...disappointing. I felt like I spent the whole weekend listening to my priest and not to God. So it wasn't nearly as cleansing or refreshing as usual. Next time: me and God, that's it.
The weekend after that I was supposed to go to the bibimbap festival in Jeonju (and am actually pretty sad I missed it) but David's friend was getting married that weekend in Daegu, so we went there instead.
It was rainy, so we didn't go sightseeing much, but we had a pretty good time.
Also, we found this medical checking area in the subway station! I found out my blood pressure is 117/73 (higher than it used to be), 63.5 centimeters, and 55!! kilograms, which I have not weighed since I was...eleven years old. Seriously, it's absurd. Must eat more ice cream.
Then! The week before last was our Halloween Party. I was a Devil with a Blue Dress on one day, and a corpse bride the other.
Also, a couple of friends (자선, 태림, David, Sarah, and Sarah's sister Becca) came over and we had a peaceful Halloween evening, with ddeokbokki, veggie frittatas and veggie chili, mandu, and candied apples. We attempted caramel popcorn, but boy oh boy was that a miserable failure.
That Sunday was gorgeous~~~ so David and I went to Kyungbokgung (the palace) to see the leaves changing.
After we left, we happened upon the Blue House (where the President of Korea lives), which neither of us had ever seen before.
In fact, the more we walked, the more cool stuff we found.
We even found this museum with exhibits about the G-20 Summit.
This past weekend was our 2-year anniversary (Gosh, I adore this guy) and we took lots of pictures, especially at the lantern festival we went to, but one of the first things we did this weekend was buy David's DSLR camera, which is my early Christmas present for him, and I guess anniversary present too, because wow, those things ain't cheap. But anyway, all the pictures are on David's new camera.
We hung out with his friend 두진, who normally lives in Pakistan, but was visiting for the week. We had Italian food with 두진, 자선, and 태림, all of whom studied with David in the Philippines. It was...a lot of Korean for me. I was awfully overwhelmed by all the Korean this weekend, because my drum class is in Korean, we hung out with Korean friends, we went to Korean church on Sunday, and then went to a Korean play with David's mom and sister...who also spoke Korean with me at dinner. So I had an awful headache from trying to concentrate so hard both days.
Last night I slept for thirteen hours.
My drum class is almost finished (sadness) so I have been trying to practice for our performance on the 20th. I have been going to a three-days-a-week Korean class, which is just about perfect for me. I am finally going to see Jiyoung on Wednesday, which is great, cause I have not seen her for a thousand years.
The weather is getting colder and I need to remember what is good about winter:
~hot chocolate
~citron tea
~ice skating
~fuzzy boots
~crocheting on the train
~icicles
~coming home!!!!
~going to Mexico!
~Christmas lights
~Christmas tree
~Christmas music
~Christmas cards
~$5 challenge
~baking
~New Year's Resolutions
~holding hands in the snow
~Korean heated floors
~snowboarding
And how are you doing?
Work has become very frustrating, with lots of drama and frustrating new policies, and where suddenly I became the second-in-command, after everyone else either quit or went on extended vacations to other continents. Our CEO just came back from America, which...um, was not helpful.
I am nervous these days because I need to get a new job, and in order to get a new job I have to get an FBI criminal background check...while living in Korea. So.
The weather in October was AWESOME. Seriously, if you ever come to Korea, come in October. It is gorgeous, especially with the fall foliage and all, and there are all kinds of cool festivals and stuff.
My church had a picnic in early October. It had rained all the previous day, and the morning too, but during the picnic itself, the weather was lovely.
The most popular festival in Seoul this year was probably the fireworks festival, which was cancelled last year because of the swine flu. And when David and I got there, I realized why. We didn't go to the main firework display area, Yeouido Island, because we knew it would be packed. We went to Ichon, across the Han River, instead. When we exited the turnstiles at Ichon station, we just saw a wall of humans. We couldn't even get out of the subway station for fifteen minutes. On the news later, we heard that 1.2 million people were there.
But we persisted (okay, I persisted and David humored me), mostly because we had already packed our picnic blankets and food. We did end up finding a place where we could see the fireworks, but I had to use zoom on my camera, and there was an unbelievably annoying little boy sitting next to us.
Still, it was amazing how good the display was. There were three rounds of fireworks, 30 minutes each, with 15-20 minute breaks in between so the smoke could clear. After each session, more people left, so we got to see more each time. And trust me, they WERE good. I was happy we went. After they finally finished, we waited around for about an hour eating fruit and waiting for the crowds to clear. But we still had to walk two subway stations away before we were away from most of the people, and could get on a train home.
The following weekend, I went on retreat with my church, which was...disappointing. I felt like I spent the whole weekend listening to my priest and not to God. So it wasn't nearly as cleansing or refreshing as usual. Next time: me and God, that's it.
The weekend after that I was supposed to go to the bibimbap festival in Jeonju (and am actually pretty sad I missed it) but David's friend was getting married that weekend in Daegu, so we went there instead.
It was rainy, so we didn't go sightseeing much, but we had a pretty good time.
Also, we found this medical checking area in the subway station! I found out my blood pressure is 117/73 (higher than it used to be), 63.5 centimeters, and 55!! kilograms, which I have not weighed since I was...eleven years old. Seriously, it's absurd. Must eat more ice cream.
Then! The week before last was our Halloween Party. I was a Devil with a Blue Dress on one day, and a corpse bride the other.
Also, a couple of friends (자선, 태림, David, Sarah, and Sarah's sister Becca) came over and we had a peaceful Halloween evening, with ddeokbokki, veggie frittatas and veggie chili, mandu, and candied apples. We attempted caramel popcorn, but boy oh boy was that a miserable failure.
That Sunday was gorgeous~~~ so David and I went to Kyungbokgung (the palace) to see the leaves changing.
After we left, we happened upon the Blue House (where the President of Korea lives), which neither of us had ever seen before.
In fact, the more we walked, the more cool stuff we found.
We even found this museum with exhibits about the G-20 Summit.
This past weekend was our 2-year anniversary (Gosh, I adore this guy) and we took lots of pictures, especially at the lantern festival we went to, but one of the first things we did this weekend was buy David's DSLR camera, which is my early Christmas present for him, and I guess anniversary present too, because wow, those things ain't cheap. But anyway, all the pictures are on David's new camera.
We hung out with his friend 두진, who normally lives in Pakistan, but was visiting for the week. We had Italian food with 두진, 자선, and 태림, all of whom studied with David in the Philippines. It was...a lot of Korean for me. I was awfully overwhelmed by all the Korean this weekend, because my drum class is in Korean, we hung out with Korean friends, we went to Korean church on Sunday, and then went to a Korean play with David's mom and sister...who also spoke Korean with me at dinner. So I had an awful headache from trying to concentrate so hard both days.
Last night I slept for thirteen hours.
My drum class is almost finished (sadness) so I have been trying to practice for our performance on the 20th. I have been going to a three-days-a-week Korean class, which is just about perfect for me. I am finally going to see Jiyoung on Wednesday, which is great, cause I have not seen her for a thousand years.
The weather is getting colder and I need to remember what is good about winter:
~hot chocolate
~citron tea
~ice skating
~fuzzy boots
~crocheting on the train
~icicles
~coming home!!!!
~going to Mexico!
~Christmas lights
~Christmas tree
~Christmas music
~Christmas cards
~$5 challenge
~baking
~New Year's Resolutions
~holding hands in the snow
~Korean heated floors
~snowboarding
And how are you doing?