over shoulders

whenever i'm on the subway, i like to entertain myself by counting 1) how many people are asleep or on the verge of sleeping (the answer: usually half) 2) how many are reading, playing with their cell phones or nintendo ds or some other techno gadget (answer: the other half) and 3) how many people i see looking over someone else's shoulder to see what they're doing (the rest).

last night after work, i went to itaewon to finally meet my friend reanna, who also knows emi, our mutual friend and connection. on the way, i sat next to a guy who i noticed was reading an english dictionary. i was completely amused by the illustrations which described noses...as in potato nose. huh? what? it also had dimple and cheek and other parts of the face. the illustrations were simple but a bit twisted. sort of like what might happen if keith haring met edward gorey. just not as dark, okay.

i realized that i caught myself as one who looks over shoulders and spontaneously asked him if he wanted to practice speaking english. he accepted my offer and we spoke in combination korenglish and had a really nice chat. he is finishing his last 8 months in the army, and will return to school to finish his studies in english lit. afterwards, he may pursue grad school in the states or find a job in korea. he was fun to talk to and i loved being able to so simply and easily start a conversation with it so well received. he's 26 years old and when i told him i was 28, he was surprised. he thought i was 22! huh? since when did my age keep getting younger? (wink, wink!)

work is going well. my kids amuse me, i amuse my kids and since i made having fun a priority in my classes, i give a lot of energy, which makes me wicked tired but satisfied. tonight our branch is having a hweshik, aka a work paid for happy hour! and you know what that means, drinks on the house, meals on the house and inevitably norehbang afterwards. i may just have to get my alicia keys on...