The one about templestay

    I was reading an excerpt from Catherine Price at Wildmind recently in which she described a templestay experience in Korea.  Her experience is precisely what I have thought of the concept of templestay and the supposed value of its practice. Even though I'm a Buddhist and visit temple often, there is a reason I've never succumbed to the lure of templestay.  The life of a Buddhist monk is one of strict discipline, ordered regimen, elaborate ceremony, and attention to minute details of form and style.  

 
    The rationale for such a culture is that it is supposed to reflect the karmic results of following the Dharma.  It reminds me of the college I attended which believed a devout christian can become completely immune to the temptation to sin through a certain mystical experience. However, a rigid system of behavior enforced members of the college to act as though they had had this experience, whether they actually had or not.  Heavenly perfection was simulated through unbending rules and ceremony, very much like life in the temples.

    It's not my place to disparage the practices of the monks and nuns of the temples.  They live how they've chosen to live, fed by centuries of tradition.  It gives a unique peace of mind to not have to think about how to do something, where to put something, or when to do this and that.  It's all laid out in detail and has been for generations.  I admire the beauty of it and the stalwart nature of those who choose to live that way.

    However, it's not how I feel the Dharma.  The natural chaos of the universe, the lack of design in the nature of the world, that's how I experience the Dharma, a lively conversation among all things everywhere all the time.  That doesn't mean I can't focus on the moment or perceive the karmic values of my choices. It just means that I don't see the need to force patterns upon randomness.  I don't see the need to square circles or flatten hills.  I don't see the need to pass the day sleep deprived because I had to observe a ceremony nor to place my dinnerware with an unyielding exactitude on the placemat and eat the food it in a particularly ordered manner.

    Living out the Dharma is not a matter of discipline; it's a matter of staying pointed in the right direction.  It doesn't matter whether you walk the Path in boots, sandals, or barefoot so long as you walk the Path.  Mind your behavior.  Guard your speech.  Watch your step.  But for goodness' sake, don't worry about whether your chopsticks are on the correct side of the dish or whether you've performed the right number of prostrations.

Mindfulness is not punctiliousness. 

Weekend of Wonder

This is me and the other "Ambassadors" at the KOTESOL conference on Saturday.  We were volunteers to help conference-goers and presenters get around, find things, and so forth.  It was fun.

The KOTESOL weekend was exhausting, though.  Since I needed to have a coat and tie outfit, I had this bag I needed to carry around with a change of clothes and some stuff I wanted to work on from the university plus some things I bought at the mall. It became a burden after a while. The hotel couldn't give me a room for two nights, so the next day I lugged this heavy bag around all over Seoul trying to find a place to stay the second night.  Ended up at a crappy motel near Seoul Station.  Saturday night I went to Gavin Farrell's place for a soiree.  We hadn't seen each other in probably ten years.  He was teaching in a high school in Ansan when I lived there "back in the day."  His mum and stepdad were over visiting, and they're from Windsor, so they're practically Michiganians! (But I didn't hold that against them)

Sunday morning I was sick (with green puke! yuck!) and just wanted to go home... so I did.  Simon is probably a little miffed that I took off without telling him, but my phone was dead, and I have no idea what his phone number is without the phone working.  I haven't heard from Joel for a long time now.  He updates his blog, so at least he's still among the living! heh heh  I'll try to make a trip just to Ansan sometime.  I can't really handle doing several things all in one weekend.  I don't care for running around and going out a lot.

Tidy is as tidy does

 

This is a poster I found outside our office advertising positions as au pair in the United States. It says "Enjoy a year in the USA."  Sounds fun.

I made the mistake of going out to HomePlus without having anything to eat since breakfast, so I gave in to temptation and went into McDonald's and got a Big Mac.  Now, before you chastise me, the Big Macs in Korea are smaller than the ones in America.  I don't feel too bad about eating one then, though the salt content is no different than back home.

Did some laundry and cleaned a little bit more in the house.  I'm thinking that if I need/want somebody to come check on the cats over the weekend, the place should at least be tidy (or what passes for tidy with me).

Tomorrow I take off after classes for Seoul so I can be on hand for the KOTESOL conference.  The guy who's handling volunteers said I'm to work Saturday morning, and I'm an "Ambassador" whatever that might be.  Hope I get a diplomatic limo! heh heh  Sunday I hope to spend in Ansan.

I think Sugar senses my impending trip and stay over in Gyeongi province.  She's been more clingy than usual and actually tries to talk to me while she clings.  She's such a senstive little thing.  It breaks my heart when she sits at the glass door and watches me go someplace and she can't go, too.  They both have cabin fever, and it's my fault.  Tomorrow morning before work, we'll go on the roof and play for a while.   

 

Ticket to Ride

These are my train tickets for Seoul this weekend, there and back.  Sherry got me a Dongguk University discount sheet for the KTX, and it did save me a lot of money.  The KOTESOL Conference is this weekend in Seoul, so I'm going up Friday night and coming back Monday morning.  The cats will be more than pissed at me, but I'm the boss, and that's just the way it is.  Hope to spend Sunday in Ansan, my 'hometown'.  
I listened to Sarah Palin's remarks in Virginia about "real America" and it convinced me she's not ready for national public office.  People wonder why the country is divided, and there it is, another Republican candidate saying that some citizens are real Americans because they believe the same as they, implying that some citizens are not real Americans because they dare to disagree.  And she says Obama's a socialist?  She obviously hasn't checked out the Bush administration's socialized banking system lately.  
It has rained all day. Yuck. The rain makes Korea beautiful and full of fresh, clean water, but it's still yuck.  My one class today played 'Password' much better than my other classes so far this week!  There were a few students who obviously had studied the vocabulary to a pulp, because for them, all it took was one hint word and they got the password!  However, because of students sharing the nature of my test with others, I have put together another pair of tests so that my other classes this week will not get the same test as their friends got earlier in the week.  The students have to sit side by side at little two-person tables, so I took Sherwin's idea and made a pair of tests so that they could sit next to each other and not be able to copy.  It has worked like a charm.  Thanks Sherwin!
      

Two's Day

The house governors put up a sign.  Apparently there is a new clothes line or clothes pole or something like that on the roof, but you have to use your own clothes pins.  I didn't know we could use the roof for our own personal laundry drying needs.  Live and learn.
Since my midterm test is only 30 minutes long, I decided to use a game to relieve stress before the test.  We played Password.  I had wanted to show the students a clip of the TV game show Password, but the overhead projector for the computer in the classroom wouldn't work.  We played anyway, but they sucked at it.  I did it in lieu of a vocabulary section of the test.  Should have had a vocab section on the test!  They are SO lucky!
This house is a wreck again already!  I can't keep a place clean to save my life.  Need a maid... well, probably need an engineer the way I absolutely destroy a house just by living in it!
Laura and I made some arrangements to go to a Halloween party in Daegu at some hotel.  There's supposed to be a buffet and all that.  She said it was basically an event where Koreans can gawk at foreigners having a good time while wearing costumes.  I would love to see Koreans let loose sometime and enjoy themselves without inhibitions.  Not holding my breath, though.
Lotte SuperCenter isn't selling Hoegaardens at all anymore, so had to go to HomePlus for my favorite beer.  Lotte is on my list. grrr
I'v discovered this spread they call marron.  It's like carmely goodness you can spread on toast.  It's basically candy posing as a breakfast accoutrement, but I don't care.  It's great.  Tomorrow I'm going to mix it with peanut butter to see how it holds up under the conditions of my bizarre eating habits.
  

By Azura!

Here's the picture of the Ferris wheel in Ulsan that I mentioned yesterday.  Being on the roof of a building makes it even higher and scarier than if it were on solid ground!  I get moribund chills just thinking about the horror of it.

And here's a daedra heart still warm and beating in my hand... oh, wait... fantasy life and real life overlapped there for a second!  This is really a dragonfruit from Jeju, as best I could tell from the conversation I wasn't paying attention to.  The fruit originally comes from Southeast Asia, again, as best I could tell.  (When people start to talk to each other about foodstuffs, I start to drift.)

Ferris Wheel's Day Off

A few days ago while I was over at the bank paying bills, I came across this incident.  Apparently the man hit the back of the woman's car, and she was trying to get him to do something about it.  He kept pulling the door toward him, but she was having none of that and kept yanking it back open.  I wish I could've gotten the camera on a video setting, but the light changed and everybody wanted to get going.  Anyway, good for her!  Even if it was only minor, he still should be polite and deal with it.

The other day I went to Ulsan to see our co-worker who was in a car accident.  She had surgery Monday, but I haven't heard how it went.  Debating whether to make banana oatmeal muffins or or just banana bread.  The muffins are pretty good, though.  I was rather surprised at how much I liked Ulsan.  It isn't huge, but it's got a big E-Mart and they say there's a HomePlus, too.  There's a Bennigans, Outback, Starbucks... the stuff that helps you feel normal here, even if you don't go to those places often.  The express bus terminal has a humongous Ferris wheel on the roof!  I have pictures, but my camera is in the office.  I'll post something tomorrow to show you.  It's huge, and it's very tall, so I won't be going up in it (vertigo or acrophobia, whatever it is, I hate heights).  The seats are inside little compartments, so you're not just hanging there, but still, it's high and rotates very slowly.

I made a stop-motion video yessterday, well, two really, but nothing to post.  I used little toy cars and had a race around an oval track.  It was very fun to do, though.  Had to lock the cats out of the room while I was working on it, and I still haven't heard the end of their complaining about it.

The Compassionate, the Merciful

Hilarious picture that I pinched from Dr. Myer's site :

That says it all, as far as I'm concerned!

I have this minor debate going on with some proponent of the quran (koran).  He can't seem to grasp that I'm not elevating the bible above the quran; I'm denouncing both sets of literature as crap that twists weak minds away from reality.  All theistic religious literature is nonsense built around hearsay based on deceit.  It took me a long time to realize that and come out from among the religious nuts, so I'm not holding my breath with this guy.  He really believes the quran is the word of a god.  To me, the quran reads like the Unabomber Manifesto .  It starts out OK, then it just rambles and rants on and on until you want to blow something up in frustration.

The financial markets here in Korea are starting to feel the Bush Administration-sponsored Financial Crisis.  Oh well, I don't invest in the markets, and I don't take out loans, so I guess the only concern for me is the value of the currency.  We shall see how that goes.

My county clerk back in Michigan hasn't sent my absentee ballot yet.  Better give her a call to make sure she got my request.  I also need to call the police department to see about my criminal background check.  Korea requires non-professor teachers to get criminal checks.  Even though I work at a university, and they call me professor, the contract doesn't call me a 'professor', and the university will not hire us on an E-1 (professor) visa, so we have to go through all the crap and nonsense that the hagwon teachers have to go through to work in Korea.  Doesn't seem right, but that's what the Korean people decided after their hysterical reaction to that Canadian pedophile last year.  I guess it's cheaper to hire us on a one-year E-2 visa, even though we are the ones who actually pay for the visa to work here.  An E-1 visa is good for two years, so the university retains more leverage to dismiss Westerners they don't like by not using the E-1.  Some people trust Koreans completely, but I stay on the defensive around them still.  Been hurt too often, I suppose.  I do get sick of being called "foreigner" all the time.  They have no idea how insulting that is in English.  Well, at least at the airport, they changed the "foreigner" immigration check-in desks to "non-Korean".  That's a good sign, I guess.

Day Out

I went out on my bicycle for a long while today and came across this little shop selling pumpkins.  A lot of the pumpkins have their stems still on them, so they'd be good for Halloween.  Koreans don't do Halloween, and they don't grow Halloween pumpkins, but these will do.  After Halloween, you can eat them!
Tonight I saw a commercial for a car with some kind of special airbags, so I waited and watched three CSI episodes so I could video the commercial if it came on again, but it never did.  It was rather cute, a child running and slamming into his mother's breasts, then a shot of an airbag deploying.  I think they were comparing the safety of mother's bosom to the safety of the car.
I made a video by the river and in the park with my new Canon camcorder and edited it in iMovie.  It wasn't anything special; I just wanted to see how it worked and how well it worked.
Got an email from the departmental office saying that they wanted one of us who don't work Mondays to take over another teacher's Monday morning class instead of the person who volunteered to do it.  Maybe that person is doing it grudgingly, I don't know, but the email didn't elaborate, and it's hard to read between the lines of somebody whose English isn't great.  One of our teachers was in a car accident, so she's laid up for the rest of the semester and needs other teachers to cover her lessons.  I swear to all the gods I don't believe in, our department is under a curse! 
As I type this, I'm listening to some men arguing someplace outside....
I took my camera out and caught the tail end of some altercation across the street.  The guys had already stripped to their wife-beater undershirts, but there was a woman trying to keep them apart.  Lots of swearing.  Lots of yelling.  The camera missed the good stuff, I think, but I might post what I have later.
As an aside, I've always wondered why men wear wife-beaters.  They're completely useless at protecting your clothing from sweat stains.  If you don't care that your clothes get sweat stains, then why bother wearing any undershirt at all?  
  

Fresh is Best

This is me and Ted and Yunjeong at the butcher shop samgyeopsal restaurant last night.  You know the meat's fresh when you can watch the guy hacking it up for you when you order!  I had a nice evening with them; we chatted and caught up on stuff, ate samgyeopsal (pork with veggies), went to a late movie (Hellboy), then back to their place for more chatting and a really comfie bed in their living room.  The living room is the former serving area for La Cantina, which is unfortunately defunct right now.  Maybe a resurrection sometime(?)  We can always hope.  A little after 10:30 this morning, I got tired of waiting for those two to get up, so I left a note and took off for Seoul.  My intention was to get a camera that works with iMovie, then go to COEX Mall for a late lunch and shopping.  The former worked out, but the iPark Mall (where I got the camera) is loaded with shops and restaurants and all that, so I figured I didn't need to go to COEX. Got another book by Conn Iggulden to read on the train. Lunch wasn't at the mall; I went to Seoul Station and had a steak with mashed potatoes at Bennigans.  Outside there was a rally (protest?) regarding something about housing.  It was pretty darn noisy, but probably a worthwhile event.
Here's a picture of my camcorder that I have tested, and it does work with iMovie.  Everybody online said that all MiniDV camcorders with firewire will work with a Mac, so it really wasn't a big gamble.  This is a Canon ZR800.

Tomorrow I'll make a video with it, edit it in iMovie, and upload it to YouTube.  Also have to finish my lesson plan for this coming week. 

Looking Forward

I hope everybody watches the vice-presidential debate this week.  If you have closed-captioning, I would suggest that, because Sarah Palin's accent is so abrasive I can't stand to listen to her.  Is that the normal way to talk in Alaska?  Yuck!  I'd go nuts if I had to listen to people talking through their noses like that all the time.

Rent is due today... I think.  I don't have a written contract with the owner, so I'm not sure what day of the month we agreed on last year for paying the rent.  It isn't a big deal here in Korea, though.  People get around to paying up eventually.

This Friday is a national holiday, Foundation Day.  It celebrates the day when Tangun, the son of a god, was born and started the Korean nation.  Needless to say, Christians want this holiday removed from the calendar, but so far, it has survived Christian imperialism.  The true meaning of the holiday, this year at least, is that it falls on a Friday, and I don't have classes on Mondays, so there will be (for me) a very long weekend!  I might even go to Seoul and enjoy myself with a visit to the Thai restaurant, buy a book, see a movie, go to the mall... nice stuff.  

Life is good, because the alternative isn't.

   

Ripping a new one

The other day I was riding along on my motorcycle, and I noticed that I had this HUGE rip down half the left side of my fairly new jacket! WTF? I still have no idea how that happened. As far as I could remember, there was a clothing repair shop in my neighborhood, but I couldn't find it. Maybe I just misremembered. So I rode around on my bike in and out of all the little streets looking for a clothing repair place, and all I could find was this laundry. The name in Korean translates "Laundry Village." What's a little funny, too, is the other sign sticking out perpendicular from the wall reads "Soju Village," soju being the national grain alcohol they drink a lot of... a lot. However, the laundry lady was sober, and she said she could fix the jacket, "If that's all right." I guess she had sensed my apprehension at having a mere laundry lady sewing up a rip in a jacket. Red-faced, I left the jacket with her, and yesterday I picked it up. It is so well done, I can't tell where the rip used to be! She carged me the equivalent of $3. That's another thing I like about Korea. Real people doing honest work are fair and honorable about what they charge.
For some reason, I woke up at 2 AM today. Isn't that a pain? Couldn't fall back to sleep, so at 4:00, I got up and gave the cats their breaky and made myself a cuppa tea. With my PC all back and running perfectly, I'm thinking of getting some speakers for it... nice speakers. Right now the PC is using some tinny pieces of plastic crap I had in a box in the closet. Yuck.

The Price is Right

This is a bad picture I took out the window of a train, but I have seen these fields of strange crops, and I have no idea what they are.  I've never seen plants like that.  These plants have a stalk about a half-meter tall, maybe more, with a round single leaf at the end.  If anyone knows what this plant is, please tell me.  It must be something edible, or the Koreans wouldn't grow it.

In other news, my PC came home from the repair shop today.  I was at the phone office trying to find a way to get my phone repaired (the screen is broken) when the delivery guy called.  So I told him when I'd be home, and he told me it'll be 4000 won.  The phone office didn't know why the Motorola shop couldn't repair the phone, so they called, and it turns out that they don't know when they'll get any replacement LCD screens in for that model.  You'd think they'd just order one, but this is Korea, and if it's sensible, it probably won't be the 'correct' way to do things. I can receive calls on the phone, but if I miss a call, there's no way for me to know about it. Anyway, the Motorola shop told me they'd call me when a screen came in.  Hope I don't miss the call.  Those folks don't seem like the redialing type.

My classes are getting better every day.  We're playing The Price is Right all week as well as watching some YouTube snippets of the TV game show.  It's fun, and even the rebel kids who just come in and plop down in a seat are getting into the game.

 

Dies Horribilis

If you want to know where to do it, just read the sign.

Today I had a brilliant idea.  They say you can put Windows on a Mac if you use the Boot Camp program that comes with Mac.  Well, sure enough, Boot Camp partitioned the drive, and Windows had 32 gig all to itself.  It started out fine as I began installation, but then Windows asked where I wanted to install it.  I chose the 32 gig partition that was set aside by Boot Camp, and Windows said, "I can't go there!  It isn't NTFS formatted!"  So installing Windows on my Mac came to a screeching halt until I could figure out how to make the partition NTFS formatted so Windows would load on it.  Couldn't find out, because I couldn't get the other side of the drive, the Mac partition, to start up again so I could get online!  What a nightmare.  So I let it all sit idle while I went to Busan to see if I could find a good laptop computer as a back-up so this will never happen again. My students send their homework through the internet, so I need a working computer.  Couldn't find any of the laptops CNET recommended, but I'm thinking the Samsungs probably aren't too horrible... pricey, though.  Didn't buy one, because Joel sent me a text message on how to get the Mac up again:  hold the "c" key during start-up.  Easy peasy.  But I still have the apparently unusable Boot Camp partition on my Mac drive to deal with.  Online I've found that if I shell out money for a program, I can get the partition to accept Windows.  Isn't that always the case with Macs?  You have to pay for this, then for that, then something else before you have everything you need to use the damn thing.

Anyway, had lunch with Rob at McD's at the Mega Mart in Dongnae in Busan, then went to his place to try to find the control panel on his computer.  His wife insists the computer use the Korean version of Windows, and it was impossible to find the control panel.  I told him just to install the XP I had given him and let her gripe, because she can read English IF she needs to.  All she does is go to Korean websites, and you don't need a Korean version of the OS for that.  Men, on the other hand, need to work with the computer and do stuff on it, important stuff. ㅋㅋ 

My cell phone somehow got crushed while in my front pants pocket.  The screen is broken.  I can use the phone, but the screen is unusable, which basically means I can't see to read texts, to dial, or any of the other uses of the cell phone screen.  Ugh.  This phone has been cursed from day one.  I doubt they'll fix this bit for free, however, since it must be my fault, though I can't think of anything I did that would cause the screen to break.

The Keys Errant

I was reading an article in the International Herald Tribune about the North Korean dictator's illness, and it mentioned Imjingak, which is where I was on Saturday.  So this is the closest South Koreans can get to North Korea.  I didn't know that.  The rest of the DMZ is fairly wide, about 4 klicks they say.

I lost my keys while on this trip.  When I left town, they were in my bag, because I remember tossing them in there in the office.  Anyway, the liaison in the departmental office let me in my office yesterday, and he said he'd get a key made for me (for 2000 won).  So today he still hadn't got a key for me.  I was in no mood for bullshit games, so I took matters into my own hands and borrowed a key from the security desk, went to a key shop, and voila!  I have two copies of my office key now.  I had a spare key for my bicycle lock, so that's all right for now, though having only one key won't do in the long run.  The memory stick that was on my lost key ring didn't have anything important or embarrassing on it.  I'll just get a new one.  We'll see if Joel finds my keyring in his car.  That's the only logical place left to look of all the places I was last weekend.  Simon said it wasn't at his place.

Can you believe the week is half over already?  That's the good and bad of working for a uni here in Korea, time marches apace.

I'm devouring the book Wolf of the Plains by Iggulden.  Very good book; I highly recommend it.

The Big Bike Ride

This weekend is the Korean version of "harvest home" or what North Americans might call Thanksgiving: Chuseok.  Saturday morning a bunch of us got together at our friend Vaughan's place where he had rented us some motorcycles to make a day-long tour.  Above, you can see me on the Harley Sportster 883cc he got for me.  More on that son of a bitch later (the bike, not Vaughan).

We traveled first up to the Imjin River, famous for many battles during the Korean civil war in the early 50's.
Here you can see the new railway trestle over the river going into North Korea.  This is the first time I have seen part of North Korea.  You can see a guard tower on our side and one on the North Korean side.  There are guard towers all along the river. They sell some North Korean stuff here, but it was all alcohol of one kind or another.  Apparently alcohol production and consumption are popular on both sides of the DMZ.

I was happy with the bike tour for the first few hours, but after this stop at the Imjin River, the "big boys" (avid and experienced riders) led us off in the wrong direction into the neighboring province, and the whole trip was almost 12 hours long, 90% of it riding.  My ass hurt like hell, and I still (literally, I am not joking or exaggerating) have only partial use of my right hand.  I still cannot hold chopsticks or tie my shoes.  (If you could see how I'm struggling now trying to type this, you'd be laughing your asses off!)

The Harley had the stiffest clutch release I have ever manipulated.  After 6 hours of stop-n-go traffic, my left had could barely stand to pull it in and hold it, even for a few seconds.  My boot toe wouldn't fit under the clutch lever, so I was constantly having to wiggle my foot in sideways to change gears, which in the heavy traffic we were in was a lot of gear changing.  I couldn't leave my foot resting there, either, as the gear lever would start moving down and literally pinch my foot to the footrest!  Ouch!  But it was holding the twist throttle that was the killer.  I now know why big bikes have cruise control!  It's been almost 27 hours since we came back, and my hand is only slightly improved in functionality.  I hope I regain full use before I have to teach tomorrow.  I can't write yet, and I write a lot on the board in class!

Though the trip wasn't what I had envisioned or wanted, there were aspects that were good.  I got to ride a big bike for the first time ever, and I think I would enjoy touring on bikes, but ON MY TERMS, not some alpha males' hyperactive need for danger.  (Yes, I'm glancing at Alex and Bart).  If I do this again, I'll go with people who just want to ride somewhere, do something fun like a picnic or some beach cricket/softball and then ride home... a good time resulting in good feelings and happiness all around.  Am I right?  My hand is hurting from typing, so I'm gonna shut up now.

Sushi Rolling

This is the statue of General Kim on the top of a hill over in the park near my place. Today was the first time I'd ever gone up the hill to see it, though it is lighted at night; I've seen it from afar before. I have a video, but haven't done any work to process it into anything yet.
Went looking to buy a new motorcycle helmet, but the shop is closed on Sundays apparently. There might be other shops, but advertising isn't really a Korean thing. You do see advertising, but not how you think it would (should) be. I'll check the motorcycle shop out tomorrow. I don't work Mondays... though I need to do some lesson prep. After meeting my students last week, I'm discouraged and need to alter my lesson some. Last spring when the semester ended, my students and I had a nice rapport, but now, only a few of this batch are my students from spring semester (freshmen take two semesters of English). They and I had a good time this past week, but the others who don't know me just sat there like dullards.
Had lunch at a 'kimbap' restaurant. (Kimbap is what they call a "sushi roll" back in the States, 'makizushi' in Japan. In Korea, sushi rolls usually don't have any fish in them unless you ask for it.) Anyway, I will eat kimbap if I'm dying of hunger, but that rarely happens, so today I ate spicy pork and rice instead. Good stuff.
It was a nice day out on my bicycle. Rode along the river mostly.

Party Poop

I was on a website this morning, and they asked me to type in some figures in order to weed out spammer programs. As you can see, I think I typed the correct numbers, but I got a specific rebuff saying I had entered the figures incorrectly! I never could get my information uploaded, so screw it. If they want to play games, they'll have to play without me. There is no website on the Internet that is so important or crucial to my life that I feel the need to keep trying to convince them to let me in.
I listened to some of the Nazionalist Party speeches from St. Paul. Exaggerations and outright lies for the most part. So far, they haven't addressed any of the specific things Barack Obama said at the Democratic Party convention. The Nazionalists had better start addressing the issues, because their convention ends soon! Obama outlined specific plans, but nothing like that has come from the St. Paul crowd. Nazionalists usually rely on scaring the shit out of the mostly ignorant American public. Effective on the nescient, but pathetic to those of us who can think for ourselves.
Beautiful day today. Oh, Vaughan wrote and invited me to join the gang on a motorcycle ride up in Gyeonggi-do a week from Saturday! Can't wait! It's Korean Thanksgiving that weekend, so it might end up being a pleasant ride since the Koreans will mostly be at their ancestral homes eating fancy food. My experience riding with others is... well, I have no experience riding with others, so this'll be a new thing under the sun for me. Might get a good video out of it.

First Day

I went in to the university late in the morning to try to get ready for my first day of teaching in many weeks. The weather seemed unsettled, so I wore rain gear, but didn't really need it. My first class was at 3:00, and I had a little presentation as an introduction to the course, but it was made on OpenOffice, and the Microsoft Office on the classroom computer wouldn't open it. What a disaster! So I had to do it all from memory on the whiteboard... boring!
Between that class and the one at 6:00, I downloaded and installed OpenOffice in the classrooms I'll be using the rest of the week, plus we had a faculty meeting for just us English Conversation teachers. The university is hiring at least seven new teachers for next year, but they're really looking for people who are already in Korea. So in October they'll advertise, and in November they'll interview candidates.
I discovered that I missed the deadline for signing up for Fall classes at NAU. For some reason, I thought I had lots of time. I had agonized over and organized what I wanted to study, but all for naught, since I didn't read the webpage properly. Live and learn, though. Next time I will be a lot more on the ball.

Busan

At Nopodong station in the suburbs of Busan, the cops were just standing at the top of the stairs and (randomly?) asking men for their IDs and writing information in little notebooks. There's a wanted poster for some guy posted all over the country in transportation centers... wonder if they're looking for him this way.
So I took this little trip to Busan. The trains between here and Busan didn't have a good schedule, so I opted for the express bus service. It only took 50 minutes to get to Nopodong subway station in Busan! Didn't realize the outskirts of Busan were so close! Might go down there more often now. Rob had to finish administering a test, then we got together for dinner at Outback, but not the Outback where we were. Apparently the local expat community has declared it a "bad" Outback. I get all confused when I go to Busan, so don't know where we ended up exactly, though the food was good... pricey, but good. I tried a bottle of Victoria Bitter which is a really nice-tasting beer. It won't replace my devotion to wheat beers, and it is no threat to Hoegaarden for my affections, but it is nice all the same.
I stayed overnight at Rob's place with his wife and son, then after a delicious breakfast at McDonalds down the street, we went to Hanaro Department Store, which is run by Nonghyup, a farmer's cooperative company. I needed a watch to wear while on my motorcycle, and after hemming and hawing over some $380 watches that could do everything but sing Dixie, I settled on a Von Dutch for $58. It has a large face, and when I'm driving, that's what I need. I'll post a photo of the new watch on my livevideo site.