Drama! and other tidbits.

Who knew it could be so much trouble just to go home? After much begging and pleading and demanding, I finally got a flight home for February 27th--it lands in Atlanta at freaking 10pm (meaning a 2.5 drive home) but it's better than the flight to Birmingham that leaves on February 28th with a total of 15 hours in layovers ("Oh, but it still arrives on the 28th since Birmingham's 15 hours behind us!"). Whatever. 


Now that I have the flight situation worked out (more or less), I just found out I have to be back in Korea by March 15th in order to start training on the 16th, meaning I have to leave Birmingham on the 14th (as opposed to the 19th). Sad. Oh well. At least I get to go home, unlike my poor husband. I keep forgetting just to be grateful for that :) 


Oh, and congratulations to my dad and Darlene, who will be married while I'm home! (This is the only picture I have of you guys, I need more pictures!)

What's with all the fist-pumping?

      Alright, alright. Be jealous. 

    Marc and I are planning a 5-day trip to Beijing in June. I'm super excited, mainly because means another stamp in my passport :) We're doing the package tour thing with this one, which is a pretty good deal (I think). It includes hotel and almost all of our meals, basically everything except tips. Oh, and we get a discount for booking early. Everyone I've talked to about it says it's a good thing, especially since English-speakers are not as readily available in China. 

    Now, the REALLY good deal is 2 roundtrip tickets to Beijing for only $291? That's outRAGEous! I promise it's not usually that cheap, it's just a special that was going on right now. (Now if only it was so easy to get my flight to Birmingham...hdktyrjhvjhf)

    So, anyway, we're going to Beijing for 5 days for less than $900 including airfare. I don't even want to talk about how much money we spent going to Japan. Ugh. I suppose it was worth it though. 

     I do have lots of pictures to upload, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm lazy, can't help it. It's in my genes (just kidding, Dad!). I just wanted to brag a little bit about our good fortune.

A little disappointed

So, there's this blog I read sometimes, and the girl lives in Korea and she posts about her weight loss efforts and different tips and things; I usually read it when I'm looking for some motivation. Well, she posted yesterday that she hasn't posted in a while because she finally gave in and got weight loss surgery. She had the gastric sleeve done, which is where they basically cut out 85% of your stomach so you're left with a stomach the size of a banana. 


Now, I'll admit I've definitely thought about it--in Korea, it only costs about $7000 as opposed to $20,000 in the US. However, I would have to gain weight to qualify (although the restrictions here might not be as strict) and, the most important thing... I love food! Ah well, I guess I'll just keep on keepin' on. Just wanted to share.

You need a perma? Perma what? Hahahaha.

Sooooo... I did it. I took the plunge. And I think I like it!

I've been letting my hair grow out some because I want to have a long voluminous mane of chocolate hair, but the downside is that it doesn't really do much when it starts getting long (hence the reason I always cut it). I decided to get a little body wave put into it to give it some oomph. Perms (or permas, in Konglish) are really popular here so I decided to just go for it finally. I mean, in the past, the way I gave my hair some "oomph" was just not brushing it. I know, kinda weird. But it worked!

Now, I'd hoped to get a digital perm...

but maybe you have to ask for it specifically. Doesn't it look scary? Anyway, I ended up having the regular perm method--I was a little nervous when it was first finished, but I expected it to be extra-curly... it was still a bit of a shock though. Now, 2 days later, I think it looks pretty good. 

I'm still learning how to style it properly; today was the first day I could wash it, and I had to be at work at 6:30am, so I just did whatever. Maybe this weekend I'll have the time to really mess with it. Anyway.

Now I'm cooking lunch for myself, attempting to make my first-ever Korean dish--bibimbap. Rice and vegetables, more or less. It's really tasty though, I just hope I can duplicate it. Wish me luck!

Where I end and you begin

my boys, doing what they do best.

And let me leave you with this:

Hey there, Mr. Fish Head

So this weekend I was super busy. Ummmm, Friday night went out, Saturday worked in the morning and then went out for a friend's birthday, and then Sunday was the usual game day. Oh, and I cooked too. (Rae, I'm finally channeling my inner Martha Stewart!) 


We went to a really tiny Japanese restaurant for the birthday party, where we had delicious sushi, eel, and fish! Here's what's left of the sushi...

the eel...

and the fish!

Yes, it was a whole fish. Yes, that's the backbone. Yes, that's the tail AND the head! And it was all SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! However, some of us were a bit inexperienced at eating the wholefishonaplate and just started sticking our chopsticks in. Then we noticed that a more experienced Korean was cutting out the backbone. Sooo.... yeah. Hahahahhaha. 


Later we moved on to a bar called BilliBowl... it's got darts, pool, drinks, food, and billibowl of course! What is billibowl, you ask? Let me show you... 

It's a combination of billiards and bowling (get it?). You put the little ball on the green area and shoot it like pool down the bowling lane. It's scored just like bowling also. It's incredibly difficult if you're totally inept at shooting pool (I finally got better right at the end). Here's the only pictures of me and Marc from the evening: 

Guess who?

Me and Ellen

Wow, I look like I'm plotting something terrible. Oh well. Over and out. (ha ha ha, I'm so funny!)

Like a smack in the face!

So earlier today, I was thinking about a time during college when I was accused of cheating. Yes, yes, I know, hard to believe.

I was a junior taking Anthropology 101 (circa 2005) and we were taking a multiple-choice test. I knew all the answers (seriously, I did!) but I was curious as to how my friend next me was doing. I noticed that he'd already answered a few wrong, and I was thinking that I hoped he didn't fail. Innocent me didn't even THINK about how it must look, me peeking ever-so-slightly at his exam. I guess I peeked a little longer than I thought because the next thing I knew the professor came over to me, took my test, and marched me to the very front of the class (there were about 50 students) and sat me down right in front of him. Since it hadn't even registered yet what happened, I was utterly dumbfounded and asked what was going on. He looked at me like I was an idiot and told me he saw me looking at the other guy's paper. Well, I had never been so completely mortified in my LIFE. I started to try to explain, but I quickly realized that the professor didn't know me, didn't know anything about me... of course I just looked like another cheater. I thought I was going to vomit all over myself. Fortunately I held it back. I finished the exam in record time (I guess he "caught" me early enough that it wasn't worth failing me over, thank God), handed it in, and left as fast as possible.

For some reason I started to think about this while I was teaching my level 2 class today. They were doing some pairwork speaking and I was just listening, so my mind wandered a bit. I'm pretty sure just remembering all those feelings made me feel sick all over again... I must have looked it, too, because a student asked if I was okay. Oops. I came back to reality after that.

It's just so weird how you can remember some situations as if they just happened yesterday, with all of the same feelings, but others quickly leave your mind.

It seems that the moments we wish to forget always stay with us the longest.

D-D-Domestication

Hmm. I think I've officially become a wife. Yesterday I made homemade chicken stock and then broccoli soup. Why did I take on such demanding tasks, you ask? Well, my dears, it's because... **drumroll**... Swanson Chicken Broth is about $3.50 per 14oz can here in Korea. And that is just r-e-t-a-r-d-e-d.


I made the decision to do all this on Monday because it was so frickin' cold outside--I NEEDED some soup. I scoured the Internet looking for some yummy recipes that would be easy enough to make using ingredients I could easily find at HomePlus or Emart. The first recipe for chicken stock I found took like 4 hours to make, which was fine, but then I saw another one for stock that only took about an hour! However, it required using "neck, back, or leg pieces cut into 2-inch chunks. Your butcher can do this for you."


Well, that's all fine and dandy, but how do you say that in Korean? Sigh. I figured I'd just cross that bridge when I got to the store. Silly me, I should have remembered how much Koreans love their chicken pieces. As soon as I went to the poultry section I found already-cut neck, back, AND leg pieces. Woohoo! 


I immediately returned to my abode and joyfully threw together the most incredible and simple chicken stock known to man!


Okay, not really. I actually ended up getting stalked by an Indian man who seemed quite upset that I didn't speak Korean since he didn't speak much English. I think he stole my grocery list in retaliation. 


In any case, I was determined to cook all of this the next day. And I did. And it turned out fantabulously! My broccoli soup was also quite delish. I also plan on making Italian-inspired veggie soup, Asian-inspired veggie soup, and regular veggie soup (courtesy of WW 0-point recipes. Score!). 


So, who's coming over for dinner?

Busy!

(Not really.)


Soooo, the new work month has started and I'm already beat! I am definitely ready for a vacation (Hello, Birmingham!). It's still cold here, I think maybe that has me a little bit down also. I really need to go to HomePlus and buy some food. Maybe tomorrow I'll force myself to do that. 


In other news, JACK'S COMING BACK ON SUNDAY!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I LOVE January! I'm ready for Jack to save us... I wonder what this day will bring? Will he save us from the clutches of a troubled economy? Or perhaps he'll just stage a coup and take over the presidency? I like that idea. Jack Bauer for president!


Also, does anyone watch "True Blood" on HBO? I got into it right at the end of last season and loved it. Marc bought me the book series for Christmas and I'm already on Book 6 (I just started them New Years' weekend). It's like "Twilight" for adults--no sparkly vampires and no cheesy romance! I also like the cover art... it's pretty kooky. Here's the first one (most of the "True Blood" inspiration comes from Books 1 and 2; I didn't find much similarity after that, which is fine by me). 

Well, as you could probably tell from my post, not much has really happened on this side of the globe. I'll try to think of something more entertaining to write about next time. 

I hate being cold.

Have I ever mentioned my distaste for cold weather? Well, just in case... I hate it. It's going to be pretty much at or below freezing all week and it makes my face hurt just thinking about it. I have, however, discovered a new love for roasted chestnuts. It's the only street food I've ever bought but I love it. There's this lady that sets up a cart just outside my school and I buy some everyday. They're all warm and soft and already peeled and it's just a perfect little winter snack. They also remind me of my mom just a little bit because the only time I've ever eaten chestnuts is when she made chestnut dressing for the holidays. (Speaking of which, it's getting to be *that* time of the year. Sigh.)


I leave you with these images (nope, didn't take the photos myself) of my new favorite Korean snack.

SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!

OMG!!11!1!!!!11!1!1!!!! IT LIKE, SNOWED! AND IT STUCK! AND THE WORLD DIDN'T END! HOLY CRAP, BATMAN!1!!!!!!1!1!11!1!11!111!!!!!!!11!11

Okay, that's done.

But it's true! It did snow today, and we got a couple of inches! It started around 10am maybe and it was still going at 12 when I was heading home. I wanted to take a taxi but traffic going towards the apartment was stopped dead, no signs of movement SO I ended up walking. It wasn't really a bad walk, but by the time I got home (about 30 minutes) I looked like a giant walking snowman. 

If you're not from Alabama, you might not understand the significance of my next statement. However. It was truly an amazing thing, how the world still functioned with snow on the ground. I mean, they've obviously brainwashed Alabamians into believing that snow=apocalypse. Well, my friends, if that is the case... then the apocalypse just happened a few hours ago. Fo' rillz.

Apocalypse NOW

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

Alright, so I'm a little tired now and I'm not even really sure what I'm saying anymore. I'm going to go "hit the hay" as they say, so C U L8RZ!

Happy Twenty-Ten!

Hello, world! It's 2010--a whole DECADE since the deadly Y2K bug! A whole DECADE since I've been legally able to drive! A whole DECADE since... well... a lot of things!
Anyway.
We didn't do anything for New Years' Eve. Can you believe it? Marc and I are already turning into old farts. We did at least stay up to welcome the new year, but that was all. No frills, no drinking, nothing. Ahh, oh how the times are changing.
It's strange to think how much I've changed since 2000. In 2000, I was a mere sophomore in high school. I was attending my first-ever public school and realizing that I'd been quite sheltered throughout most of my life. I was playing soccer (don't laugh!) and swooning over basically the entire boys' soccer team. That was also the year I left to attend boarding school and met my bestest friend.

10th Grade, before a choir concert

11th Grade; I couldn't actually play that guitar, unless you count the first part of "Dueling Banjos"

Freshman year of college

Junior year, by far the best year of college, I think

One of the first pics of me and Marc together, on my 22nd birthday

My first car accident

Look, we're making a heart!

Did you like our trip down memory lane? I like to dig up old pictures and show them off. Mainly because I like 9834683476 pounds smaller, but you know, whatever. :)

Oh, we went to Seoul today. There's a big Andy Warhol exhibit so we went with a couple of friends to see that, then we went to eat at On the Border (mmmmmm!) and saw Sherlock Holmes. It was a pretty good movie, although some parts dragged a little bit.

We kept getting shushed on the train. Apparently our waegook voices were just too loud. It was hard to hear over the train! Oh well. It was a nice day, all in all. Now my darling husband is torturing the cats with this toy that my dad sent them as a Christmas gift. It's just a feather and a ball attached to a little pole, but the kitties can play for hours. Sometimes we just prop it up somewhere and watch them go. Mewster's a little lazy though... he only plays if it actually comes to him. Elliot, however, will actually chase the thing.

Oi, long post. I've been rambling. Catch ya later, alligator.