sing song tuesday night

it's 2:36 am and i have just returned home from a lovely night out with my coworkers to celebrate--SAY WHAT?!?!--MY LAST FUCKIN DAY of work, at least for a wee while! we ate good food, drank good drinks, and sang our hearts out at norehbang. it. was. glorious!

r-16 bboy festival

bboys. there's no denying how much i dig bboys and bgirls. their mad mouth dropping athletic skills coupled with their bring it on bravado has me weak in the knees. this festival was in incheon, a good distance away from seoul. (nearly 2 hours by train!) but it was worth it. two great nights of sleep in a new and swanky hotel room, fabulous company and awesome bboys. sweetness.

theresa hams it up for the camera!

the room:

the view from the room. incheon is developing rather rapidly:


festival sanitation, to prevent the spread of h1n1:

we saved money on our tickets by buying them from a scalper:

super savers:

balloon stix. blow 'em up and cheer!

hip hip hooray!

in action:

the r-16 stage:

quasi-date with art boy

i've been thinking, yet again, about romantic relationships. i've been contemplating what i know about them and what i would like to understand further. i've also been reflecting on past relationships, gently analyzing what did and did not work with those people with whom, it seemed at the time, i felt an intense, deep, affectionate connection.

i realize that i tend to fall quickly in lust with the notion of a person. this is no "new" news per say, but, it's good to be reminded of proclivities. i jump quickly from the initial attraction to wanting immediate intimacy. it could be that i allow myself to become blinded when i feel like i've finally found a person that genuinely "gets" me. often times, that premature assumption makes me realize later that they only "get" one aspect of me and that that one dimensionality leaves me bored, misunderstood, and disappointed.

i get impatient, but, it's that exact impatience that gets me in trouble. it's ridiculous, really. i like the not-knowing. i like the sense of adventure, the sense of curiosity and wonder it provides! so why do i try to rush, why do i ask questions when the answers will reveal themselves in time?!? with this in mind, i met art boy with this heightened sense of awareness and it was such a lovely lovely quasi-date.

so what's with the quasi-date, right? well, art boy and i met in insadong and we walked to a nice cafe nearby. we ordered coffee and chit-chatted as we had done over the phone for the majority of this past week. we continued to share our thoughts and opinions about cultures and preferences. it was very comfortable and chill, quietly exciting, and challenging--we speak primarily in korean, so, it's sometimes a korean language focus overload for me! for our first meeting (dude--my sense of time is terribly warped! we met only a week ago, but, it feels like i've known him for much longer...) he gave me three gifts! it's a matching set consisting of a credit card wallet, colored pencils, and a travel cup. he said that he felt like santa reaching into his satchel (it's not a purse, it's a satchel!) and asked me if i was well-behaved. he was joking and i don't think he has ANY idea of how his jokes can often be taken, uh, rather, vulgarly! nor do i really think he has any intention of taking them down that road. fine. i admit it. my mind is obviously in the gutter! but come on! well-behaved? naughty or nice? seriously? seriously! that's pretty funny! (and there's more where that came from!)

i was really touched that he was so thoughtful as to give me such nice and useful gifts--utilitarian rules!--on the first (quasi)date! and they are so stinkin cute! after about an hour at the cafe, his friend joined us and we all walked to a restaurant where we sat on the rooftop terrace and ate 칼국수:korean noodles in a seafood/potato based soup. we all chatted about art, new york--where friend would like to attend grad school, and life in korea. it was a really nice time. and i came home feeling quite content. so three cheers to letting things happen organically and slowly.

now, i must pack! my apt is atrocious. and i move in three days!

one huge relief!

i move out of my apt on october 1st. until tonight, i had no idea to where i'd be moving. my stuff would've had a temporary home, but, me? i didn't want to inconvenience my close friends who live in efficiencies, nor did i want to inconvenience my extended family. by the fortunate graces of this mysterious universe, my friend theresa's friend, ji young was looking for a subletter with very relaxed stipulations. as of right now, i only want a temporary home for a month. (by the end of october, i hope to have a new job that will either provide housing, or a sweet housing allowance.) and the best part is, is it has a rooftop terrace. i don't smoke cigarettes, but, if i did, that would be the most perfect place to blow smoke rings.

hmmmm....

i woke up to this thought today: should i be freaking out that i'm not freaking out? and then i remembered that things always find a way of working out, whether i freak out or not. besides, freaking out is exhausting and i need to conserve my energy.

art boy

i met a boy today. it was completely unexpected, adoringly cute, and it has me feeling re-energized in a fabulously giddy way!

my friend, amanda and i went to the KIAF--korea international art festival--at coex mall this afternoon. it was giant. it was enormous. humungous. it contained so much art, that we had to see all of the artwork in two parts. a savory spicy sushi meal separated the two viewing sections and provided the necessary nourishment for such a visually stimulating event. in part one, i met art boy.

we were standing in front of a painting that was executed in the photo-realistic style of chuck close. it even mimicked the cigarette in close's self portrait. i shared my comments with amanda, who was unaware of chuck close, so i explained his methodology. meanwhile, art boy had overheard our exchange. after we admired the painting, art boy, aka the gallery representative, approached us and said that yes, the artist was influenced by chuck close. (i knew it!) he also informed us that the artist currently has his other paintings on display at the gallery, if we were curious to see more.

then, he asked me where i was from, i replied, from america.
he asked where in america, i said, maryland.
he wondered, is that close to ny? it's about a 5 hour drive.
when i informed him that we were both english teachers, without missing a beat, he said, "i should learn english!"
and i told him, "yes, you should!"
there was a cute slight awkward pause after which i asked him for his business card. he didn't have any on hand but he did say that he could write down his number for me. he gave me his digits on my kiaf brochure and i told him that i'd give him a call.

when i texted him later, i was tickled by his response, which led to an hour long phone conversation. art boy! hooray!

i feel like i'm taking crazy pills...

thursday morning, i had a job interview and once i stepped into the academy, i felt like i had just walked onto the set of an awkward movie. and by awkward, i also mean a bit creepy. korea, not unlike america, is very image focused. however, koreans tend to take that focus rather...gratuitously. as part of the application, you must include a recent photo of yourself. in america, they call that discrimination. in korea, they call that part of the application process.

this past week, i've sent out over 15 (maybe even more than that) applications to various academies and recruiters. i've received phone calls and emails to set up interviews. i love immediate responses, i find them thoroughly satisfying. this past week has reminded me of how tiring the job process can be...the emails, the cover letters, the resumes, the interviews, the bullllllshit. finding a job in addition to finishing a job is a double whammy. i've been trying to remain focused during my remaining days (countdown: 7!) but, it's cumbersome.

with the reality of the continuously sinking job market in america, many recent college graduates have caught on to the growing trend of finding work abroad. teaching english overseas is certainly no new idea, however, the influx of people in korea has presented new challenges to candidates like me, who embody a duality that is difficult to grasp or understand for older koreans: the duality of identity. korean AND american.

boundaries in korea tend to be more rigid than flexible and for some korean natives, meeting people like me, who are so obviously culturally american yet so physically korean, is confusing. the english academy industry in korea falls into two main camps: those that prefer korean-americans and those that prefer caucasians. during my job search, i have encountered blatant racism due to my korean-american status. at first, it really upset me--i felt defeated, enraged, intensely sad. let's save that for another blog post!--but after letting that reality sink in, i know that i, at least, have a niche. i just need to find it and work it to my advantage. which is why the positive feedback from my applications have felt that much more rewarding.

enter the creepy interview. there were many immediate strikes against this particular academy:
1) the director was 10 minutes late for the interview and didn't even stay for the entire duration.
2) the assistant director gave me the creepy stare. oh you know what i'm talking about. that focused, intense, inappropriate for the work environment stare.
3) the explanations that the director and assistant director gave did not match. that equals serious disorganization.
4) my gut gave me a firm and resounding "NO."

the gut knows.

brilliant.

a hella fine compliment that boosted my spirits:
"people would pay money to live with you."

from the one and only luminous amber haynes.

tick, tock, tick, tock...

crunch time is on. in less than 2 weeks, i'll move out of my apt. to where? i don't yet know. rather surprisingly, considering just how much i don't know, i'm being quite calm about this whole up in the air sort of business. i contribute that to realizing that it's not worth much to getting my panties all up in a bunch about shit i simply can't control. i'll either find a job before i have to move out, or i'll find a job after i do. no big whoop. no use in getting all kinds of crazy. it's unnecessary and that sort of drama is tiring as fuck.

i admit, it is a bit scary. i do have to get my shit together. i have to pack. i have to clean. i have to sort. and i definitely have to de-fuckin-clutter. simplicity, bitches. simplicity. i am uber uber grateful to my friend, theresa who has agreed to let me crash her pad in case the latter happens. i hope to not overstay my stay and am so appreciative of her time, space and generosity to be able to have the safety net in which to find and accept a job whose needs i suit and of course, a job that suits my needs.

i've definitely been active in getting my name and resume out there. i've sent more than a handful of applications and have had the luck of having interviews immediately. the jobs, so far, have been a bit lackluster, but i still have the hope and patience that the job i am seeking will seek a person like me in return. i'm fuckin radical, bitches. ahem. and modesty is clearly not one of my virtues, at least not right now. i think there's such a fine line of knowing your worth...and balancing that confidence with humility. i don't think you need to necessarily be modest when you advertise yourself. shake your motherfuckin tail feathers, suckers. shake em. own it. work it.

i take pride in the work that i do. i work hard for my money. so hard for it honey. i am worth it. ssssssssssseriously. (and, i'm just a wee bit tipsy right now.)

fat david

true enough:

suddenly

all of a sudden, my hair looks long and I LIKE IT! my current hair plan--this is all for kicks, shitsngiggles!--is to grow my hair to shoulder level and then, get a perm! yes, a big ole PERM. it will be big, bold, and beautiful. or it could be out of control, which is just another way of saying, big, bold and beautiful.

superstar-K!

the fascination of reality tv and talent, vis a vis, american idol and britain's got talent, has arrived in korea. welcome to superstar-k! thanks to my friend, lance, who was in the preliminaries, amanda, he and i were able to attend a live recording and got to sit behind the judges, one of whom is a very famous korean lady: 이효리.

on the set, waiting for the fanfare to begin:

say superstar-k!

one of the contestants singing "thank you for the music" by abba. the theme that night was none other than abba:

the judges giving their scores to two contestants:

red hot

cosmically speaking, full moon nights make for some random--RANDOM!--experiences. this past full moon was certainly no exception. last saturday night, the evening began with some serious wrongs: the wrong subway line and the wrong subway stop.

then, some more wrongs: we didn't have directions to the bar we were trying to find, but thankfully, for an odd united nations-ish looking bunch like us, (a white girl, a black man and an asian) native koreans knew that we were looking for the only foreign bar in bucheon. yes, bucheon. so we make it to the bar, after an epic 3 hour journey, and we felt, in polite terms, really out of place. this was not the kind of bar where everyone's glad you came. in fact, we stuck out like city folk among the suburban folk and amanda overheard someone (a westerner, not a korean native) say, "who's the black guy?" after a quick round of drinks, we happily left and made our way back into our comfort zone, in nitty gritty seoul.

after some more outrageous mishaps, the night ended in random red hot fashion. just as we were all about to hail taxis home, three canadian guys who were hanging out around the crosswalk asked me if i wanted to buy a pair of red shoes. huh? what in the hell? apparently, they had befriended a sort of crazy older korean lady--ajumma--and was helping her sell a pair of red high heels, directly off her feet. she ran over to where we were--at that time, she was trying to convince some other person to buy them!--and sure enough, they fit. my size, 235. red. shiny. pumps. the canadians told me that they'd split the cost of the shoes and so i was suckered into these "dorothy take me home" high heels. the cost? less than 5 dollars. classy? far from it. red hot? you betcha!

residue

the dictionary defines residue as a small amount of something that remains after the main part has been gone. lately, i've been re-thinking about how i have the capability to be a super agent of my own change. this change begins with my thoughts and words. choosing how to think determines how i feel and act. this choosing how to think, however, takes time and conditioning. it's like a super hardcore brain work-out.

for the past few weeks, i've been choosing to not dwell on certain thoughts about certain people. all of a sudden tonight, (갑자기) a residue goo coated my eyes and made me feel reminiscent. it's a slippery slope of emotions, the romantic versus the realist. when can both be satisfied?

suraksan

ahhh yessss! yesterday, i went on a solitary hike and loved every minute of it. it was probably the most risky trail i've hiked--it wasn't very well marked and so i found myself scaling rock faces, and basically bushwacking until i managed to meet up with what seemed like the "trail" again. the mountain is not the tallest by any means, but, the view from the top was breaktakingly--the last few steps have you huffin and puffin!--beautiful and serene.

the buddhist temple at the beginning of the hike:

buddha likes it hot:

sunbathing peppers:

buddha and his friends:

yellow lotus:

before the sweatfest began:

the city below:

at the mountain top:

a nice lunch spot:

화진포/hwajinpo!

this past weekend, my friends and i went to a fairly remote part of korea: hwajinpo. it's been described as one of those seasonal beach towns that gets a lot of action from june to august. we went during the last weekend in august and it felt fabulously quiet. it's a 3 and 1/2 hour bus ride north east of seoul and it is close to the north korean border. in fact, in hwajinpo, kim jong il's childhood home can be seen tucked away on a hillside.

we walked along the beach to his "villa" and inside, we saw a few relics from his past, like this picture:

i wanted to get out of the city for a much needed break. and even though it was cloudy for most of the time, hwajinpo was the kind of peaceful, joyous getaway i craved. my friends, amanda and theresa are awesome company and excellent travel mates!




we chit-chatted about culture, philosophy, and art, and from the comforts of our pension room, absorbed some trashy tv as well: the NEW 90210 and canada's next top model. (which, unsurprisingly isn't very different from antm.)

january pension:

our room:

the balcony: