Over the next few weeks, I will be copying this blog into a word document and then deleting it.
There's too much information about me on the internet. haha.
Hope you are doing well, everybody.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Sleeping through stuff, unemployment suits me.
New Year's Eve was the night of Meena and Ashlee's big Martini party, which I was actually really excited about! I brought back a metal shaker specifically for the occasion, and even bought some vermouth. But around eight or so Vanessa and I decided to take a nap and next thing we knew it was eleven, and we were both groggy and grumpy and neither of us really felt like going to a party, so we blew it off, pretended it was midnight, wished eachother a happy new year and turned in for the night.
We woke up the next morning, played Mario party, and then cleaned for about four hours. I didn't think it would be possible to clean such a small apartment for such a long time, but two people living in one divided room take a long time to organize. Of course, the spilling of pop corn and sugar onto a wet floor doesn't help either. haha.
And now, Vanessa's back at work at her winter camp, and I am sitting around the apartment, doing some cleaning and going to the gym when she's done work, and otherwise just relaxing, well into my second month of three unemployed. It's fun.
We woke up the next morning, played Mario party, and then cleaned for about four hours. I didn't think it would be possible to clean such a small apartment for such a long time, but two people living in one divided room take a long time to organize. Of course, the spilling of pop corn and sugar onto a wet floor doesn't help either. haha.
And now, Vanessa's back at work at her winter camp, and I am sitting around the apartment, doing some cleaning and going to the gym when she's done work, and otherwise just relaxing, well into my second month of three unemployed. It's fun.
The Wii, games games games, couple stuff
Boxing day morning I walked Vanessa to school. Vanessa was frustrated with her school, because they insist that Christmas is just as big a holiday here as in Canada, but it really isn't. It might only have religious significance, but none of the cultural significance translates over. Anyway, after I dropped her off, I called home and chatted a bit with my family, who were having their Christmas dinner at my uncle Brian's house in Toronto. It was good to chat with everyone. I kept walking about half an hour North to where Jon and Emily live, because a store near their place apparently sold the transformers necessary to hook up my new Wii to a Korean plug. I couldn't find it, so I stopped in and borrowed Jon and Emily's.
SINCE THAT DAY, I HAVE BECOME ADDICTED TO "ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS". Seriously, this makes my former "Bomberman" addiction look like nothing. Zelda is really addictive, and the scary thing is that the online cheats that I have used (twice, when really stuck) have revealed that I'm only about one thirtieth of the way through the game after playing for almost 11 hours on that account. yikes!
On Saturday Vanessa and I went downtown to do some shopping. Well, more accurately, she did some shopping and I sat at "Angel In Us" coffee and started this whole blog update thing... After that we met with Jon and Emily for Spicy Pork, which was just as delicious as it ever was. We then headed to Provence, and did the most couply thing I think I've been involved in since Vanessa and I started seeing eachother... First, we all ordered the same thing: Coffee with Bailey's. Then, we pulled out travel Scrabble and played in the coffee shop. Then we ate 7-11 snacks. It was very couply. But very fun. I lost.
Vanessa and I have also been also playing obscene amounts of Mario Party since first playing it with Jon and Emily last Sunday. Vanessa made a really good chilli, and then we all sat down and played Mario Party. Vanessa was instantly hooked, and we've probably played it 10 times since.
SINCE THAT DAY, I HAVE BECOME ADDICTED TO "ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS". Seriously, this makes my former "Bomberman" addiction look like nothing. Zelda is really addictive, and the scary thing is that the online cheats that I have used (twice, when really stuck) have revealed that I'm only about one thirtieth of the way through the game after playing for almost 11 hours on that account. yikes!
On Saturday Vanessa and I went downtown to do some shopping. Well, more accurately, she did some shopping and I sat at "Angel In Us" coffee and started this whole blog update thing... After that we met with Jon and Emily for Spicy Pork, which was just as delicious as it ever was. We then headed to Provence, and did the most couply thing I think I've been involved in since Vanessa and I started seeing eachother... First, we all ordered the same thing: Coffee with Bailey's. Then, we pulled out travel Scrabble and played in the coffee shop. Then we ate 7-11 snacks. It was very couply. But very fun. I lost.
Vanessa and I have also been also playing obscene amounts of Mario Party since first playing it with Jon and Emily last Sunday. Vanessa made a really good chilli, and then we all sat down and played Mario Party. Vanessa was instantly hooked, and we've probably played it 10 times since.
Christmas Day 2007
Christmas was really nice too. We woke up and exchanged our stockings and ate obscene amounts of candy. Vanessa got me a really nice sweater and a shirt and she really liked the travel scrabble that my parents sent for her. She also enjoyed the 2 pounds of Moritz Icy Cubes that I had at the foot of her stalking. What else did we do on Christmas Day... (in typical fashion, I have put off writing for weeks, and now I'm struggling to remember back through a really busy week) oh, we cooked! Vanessa made bacon wrapped water chestnuts and oysters. I ate enough to officially qualify as a horny Cap'n Crunch. If you don't get the joke, I'm not going to waste my time explaining it. Well, I shouldn't... but maybe I actually should, I don't want to seem weird. You see, water chestnuts are crunchy and oysters are an aphrodisiac. It didn't matter, I ate so many that the only thing I could do was sit stock still in a chair and grunts demands.
I made tea biscuits, but by my usual miracle of mis-measurement they turned into something completely different and unexpected, those being biscuits that were basically deepfried in the excessive amounts of lard in them. Woohoo! The whistling sound you're hearing is rising cholesterol. We headed over to Jon and Emily's for dinner, and they were very gracious hosts. There were drinks, friends, games and one hell of a fine dinner, with a turkey, gravy, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, biscuits and cookies and apple crisp for dessert. We did a Secret Santa gift exchange, and I got this stuffed dog from Bobby that dispenses toilet paper from it's mouth. I've been informed that I am not allowed to take it into the bathroom, even as a joke. haha. Vanessa got a really nice scarf and mitten set from HangBin, and gave Jon a batch of home-made Candy-cane chocolate bark. I gave Vanessa (the other) a gift certificate for a bottle of wine for her and HangBin to share at Provence, but I was most proud of the card, which had hanbok on the front, and then a little lesson on what it was and who wore it, which was only fun for me, because she has been here for just as long as I have, and is dating a Korean guy.
After dinner we played some games, and had a generally good time. The Wii was a hit, and so was Scattergories, although as competition became fiercer I decided to opt for the room where the outcome of each turn was decided by a computer with whom you could not argue. I mean, you could try, but the computer would not listen, and would just move to the next round no matter what you did, which is unfortunately not the case with Scattergories. Vanessa kicked a lot of butt (mine is embarrassingly included) at boxing, and then we moved on to golf. The only frustrating thing about the Wii is that it's actually so accurate that if you break out of the narrow range of motion that it allows for a golf swing or a tennis swing it goes a bit wonky. You have to swing properly, and release the button at the proper time, or it can really misinterpret what you're doing, which can be pretty frustrating. But... you just plough on through and make up for it with your next shot.
I saw Dave brought his guitar, which made me wish I had brought mine, but he never played anyway... too bad, some music would definitely have been nice.
We wound up leaving around ten or so, I think, but I really have no idea, and heading straight to bed.
I made tea biscuits, but by my usual miracle of mis-measurement they turned into something completely different and unexpected, those being biscuits that were basically deepfried in the excessive amounts of lard in them. Woohoo! The whistling sound you're hearing is rising cholesterol. We headed over to Jon and Emily's for dinner, and they were very gracious hosts. There were drinks, friends, games and one hell of a fine dinner, with a turkey, gravy, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, biscuits and cookies and apple crisp for dessert. We did a Secret Santa gift exchange, and I got this stuffed dog from Bobby that dispenses toilet paper from it's mouth. I've been informed that I am not allowed to take it into the bathroom, even as a joke. haha. Vanessa got a really nice scarf and mitten set from HangBin, and gave Jon a batch of home-made Candy-cane chocolate bark. I gave Vanessa (the other) a gift certificate for a bottle of wine for her and HangBin to share at Provence, but I was most proud of the card, which had hanbok on the front, and then a little lesson on what it was and who wore it, which was only fun for me, because she has been here for just as long as I have, and is dating a Korean guy.
After dinner we played some games, and had a generally good time. The Wii was a hit, and so was Scattergories, although as competition became fiercer I decided to opt for the room where the outcome of each turn was decided by a computer with whom you could not argue. I mean, you could try, but the computer would not listen, and would just move to the next round no matter what you did, which is unfortunately not the case with Scattergories. Vanessa kicked a lot of butt (mine is embarrassingly included) at boxing, and then we moved on to golf. The only frustrating thing about the Wii is that it's actually so accurate that if you break out of the narrow range of motion that it allows for a golf swing or a tennis swing it goes a bit wonky. You have to swing properly, and release the button at the proper time, or it can really misinterpret what you're doing, which can be pretty frustrating. But... you just plough on through and make up for it with your next shot.
I saw Dave brought his guitar, which made me wish I had brought mine, but he never played anyway... too bad, some music would definitely have been nice.
We wound up leaving around ten or so, I think, but I really have no idea, and heading straight to bed.
Christmas Eve 2007
On Christmas Eve, I ran some errands, went downtown to pick up my Secret Santa gift for VCR and get a transformer so we could hook up the Wii to power. I ran into Ee MeCha and joined her and SeungJong for lunch, which was good bibimbap, plus raw fish, which I ate first to get out of the way. Anyway, I got the Christmas gift, then went to E-Mart to get dinner for Vanessa and I (I made a roast and squash) and then headed to Gumho World for the transformer, but it was unfortunately closed, so bad luck for me.
Vanessa and I had a really nice Christmas Eve dinner. The roast was well received, and then we exchanged our big gifts. She got us a couple gift, a three day spa stay in Bali, at a really small little resort where I will be treated like a king, and shower outside. woohoo! She also took one of my favourite photos, which I have wanted to get printed and mounted for a long time, and cut it up and did this basket-weave thing with it, and it looks really good. I almost started crying when I saw it... it must have been a lot of work, and it is really creative and thoughtful. I gave her her big gift, a pair of diamond stud that I got while I was at home. They were also well-received. :)
After dinner, Vanessa and I got dressed up and headed to the Christmas Eve service at Jon and Emily's church. It was not what we were expecting, it was very small, maybe only twenty people or so, and it was a lot of singing! Vanessa managed to entertain herself pretty well with her candle (haha), and after the service we headed out to see the movie "August Rush", which I highly recommend. I spent about three quarters of the movie on the verge of tears. After that we headed to Provence, had some tea, and caught a few of the last songs of their night, mostly the usual highly emo fare of SeungJong.
It was a good day.
Vanessa and I had a really nice Christmas Eve dinner. The roast was well received, and then we exchanged our big gifts. She got us a couple gift, a three day spa stay in Bali, at a really small little resort where I will be treated like a king, and shower outside. woohoo! She also took one of my favourite photos, which I have wanted to get printed and mounted for a long time, and cut it up and did this basket-weave thing with it, and it looks really good. I almost started crying when I saw it... it must have been a lot of work, and it is really creative and thoughtful. I gave her her big gift, a pair of diamond stud that I got while I was at home. They were also well-received. :)
After dinner, Vanessa and I got dressed up and headed to the Christmas Eve service at Jon and Emily's church. It was not what we were expecting, it was very small, maybe only twenty people or so, and it was a lot of singing! Vanessa managed to entertain herself pretty well with her candle (haha), and after the service we headed out to see the movie "August Rush", which I highly recommend. I spent about three quarters of the movie on the verge of tears. After that we headed to Provence, had some tea, and caught a few of the last songs of their night, mostly the usual highly emo fare of SeungJong.
It was a good day.
Christmas Open Mic - December 23 2007
Sunday was the day of my big open mic at the Speakeasy, a first at the Speakeasy, and something I was really excited for. I was really excited, but there was a problem, and that was I had no guitar. So I had to do some shopping! I went to a bank machine and discovered... no money came out. It said "Can not honour". Well, no u, I guess, but the implicit message was the same whether it was the Queen's English or not. Anyway, I went to a few, almost had a breakdown, and then Vanessa took me to another machine that she said always worked for her, and it did, thank goodness, but only in $100 incremements, and only four times, so I had to stop then. Which was fine, because when I got to the guitar store (Vanessa had some other shopping to do) and tried out some guitars, the owner eventually pointed me toward a 420 000 won guitar made by Cort, which had a beautiful sound (very country) that absolutely blew away the others. Of course, it's no surprise, I had been mostly trying guitars based on looks (I was infatuated with the idea of a coloured guitar), so no wonder the one that gets recommended by the owner kicks ass.
Anyway, he gave it to me for 110 000 off the list price, which was really nice of him, and threw in a soft case, strap, capo, patch cords, some picks, and two sets of strings, one cheap one for "single changes" and one nice Martin DS set for a "full change" (which he was very careful to explain to me).
I started the show off, playing about half of the Hawksley Christmas album, "Almost a Full Moon" (of course). I think it went well.
The open mic continued with a few really nice performances, with Jens Rushing and Ian from Mokpo making a trip down for the evening to spread some cheer. I'll honestly admit that I didn't get Jens at first... I didn't know what was going on, because his performance style and music (especially lyrics) are both so bizarre. But listening to the recordings I have made of him at the different parties, I can finally say that I understand it now, and I really love that he comes out to perform, because it makes my night every time. He played two of his own Christmas themed tunes, first a song about Christmas zombies, and then a tune about Frosty the Snow Demon. The Ian joined him for some more traditional fare, and I especially liked their renditions of The Little Drummer Boy and "Mr Grinch".
Anthony Coppa did his usual set of originals (plus some newbies, or maybe all newbies... he seems to write a lot) and did a really great job, and then did a little run-through of "O Holy Night" and did a good job, which I was glad for, because I was going to do it, with minimal practice, and I was glad to be relieved of it, because that some is a bit of a task, and really should be done well.
Jordan Emmans Band come out for the night and stole the show. They did a few Jordan Emmans originals, including a Christmas song that he set the music for, and a beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night" (again) that blew everyone away, with beautiful harmonies by Dave and some of the nicest drumming (tom-intensive) from Dan that I have heard in a while. I love when Jordan comes out to the shows, because it makes me look like a great organizer. haha.
Then Rebecca Fairless and Brian Bordage took the stage for a cover of "Christmas in Prison" (is that the right title?) with Rebecca on vocals and and guitar and Brian putting in an awesome turn on the dobro (extreme jealousy). The only complaint that anyone had was that the duo only had one song, but Brian continued with a few covers of his own, and I joined him on stage to throw on some harmonies for "The Weight" by the band, which I did well enough to surprise myself.
I took the stage a second time, and then Anthony, and Rebecca joined me on stage to put some harmonies on "Safe and Sound" by Hawksley Workman.
I thought the night really well. I had hoped for a good mix of Christmas music and original stuff, as long as the overall feel was upbeat, which I think was definitely achieved. Unfortunately, I was the only one to share any stories, which I had also hoped would be a highlight of the evening, and get some non-musical people involved in the night. But the night remained focussed on the music, which is also good, but I think that my story could have used some company.
What was the story? Well, sharing time, again.
So, it's the Amond family Christmas dinner, the Tuesday before I returned to Korea. The family is sitting around the table, eating, and my little cousin Ben says "Oh, I should have brought the game that my family bought, it's a lot of fun".
I said "Oh, what game is that?"
He told me about their new game, called "Things", which involves each player responding to the same question, and then everyone trying to guess the other player's responses, with points being awarded for correct answers. Ben then explained it further using the the example of "Super Powers".
I said (I admit this is a terrible joke) "I bet I know what Chris's superpower would be..." then I looked around "X-ray vision." A pause.
"And I think we all know why."
Dad proved he did know why with his response.
"I've always wanted to be a gynecologist."
And that's where dinner derailed for me.
Then my mom chimes in with an even more appropriate sidenote, "But you would only be able to see two patients a day."
Wow.
Awkward laughter.
And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, my grandmother puts in her two cents.
Wait for it...
"Well, Gerald, you've always had the hands for it."
Eww.
I lose it. I spend the next ten minutes in a fit of giggles that leaves me red-faced, sweaty, and on the verge of throwing up. I am so hot from embarrassment and laughter that I actually have to mop my face with my napkin. Then, just when I think I am done, I see that my cousin Sean and my aunt Margaret are in the middle of fits of their own. So there I go again...
The open mic was a good night. Unfortunately, Vanessa had to work on Christmas Eve, so we had to call it a night at midnight and head home.
Anyway, he gave it to me for 110 000 off the list price, which was really nice of him, and threw in a soft case, strap, capo, patch cords, some picks, and two sets of strings, one cheap one for "single changes" and one nice Martin DS set for a "full change" (which he was very careful to explain to me).
I started the show off, playing about half of the Hawksley Christmas album, "Almost a Full Moon" (of course). I think it went well.
The open mic continued with a few really nice performances, with Jens Rushing and Ian from Mokpo making a trip down for the evening to spread some cheer. I'll honestly admit that I didn't get Jens at first... I didn't know what was going on, because his performance style and music (especially lyrics) are both so bizarre. But listening to the recordings I have made of him at the different parties, I can finally say that I understand it now, and I really love that he comes out to perform, because it makes my night every time. He played two of his own Christmas themed tunes, first a song about Christmas zombies, and then a tune about Frosty the Snow Demon. The Ian joined him for some more traditional fare, and I especially liked their renditions of The Little Drummer Boy and "Mr Grinch".
Anthony Coppa did his usual set of originals (plus some newbies, or maybe all newbies... he seems to write a lot) and did a really great job, and then did a little run-through of "O Holy Night" and did a good job, which I was glad for, because I was going to do it, with minimal practice, and I was glad to be relieved of it, because that some is a bit of a task, and really should be done well.
Jordan Emmans Band come out for the night and stole the show. They did a few Jordan Emmans originals, including a Christmas song that he set the music for, and a beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night" (again) that blew everyone away, with beautiful harmonies by Dave and some of the nicest drumming (tom-intensive) from Dan that I have heard in a while. I love when Jordan comes out to the shows, because it makes me look like a great organizer. haha.
Then Rebecca Fairless and Brian Bordage took the stage for a cover of "Christmas in Prison" (is that the right title?) with Rebecca on vocals and and guitar and Brian putting in an awesome turn on the dobro (extreme jealousy). The only complaint that anyone had was that the duo only had one song, but Brian continued with a few covers of his own, and I joined him on stage to throw on some harmonies for "The Weight" by the band, which I did well enough to surprise myself.
I took the stage a second time, and then Anthony, and Rebecca joined me on stage to put some harmonies on "Safe and Sound" by Hawksley Workman.
I thought the night really well. I had hoped for a good mix of Christmas music and original stuff, as long as the overall feel was upbeat, which I think was definitely achieved. Unfortunately, I was the only one to share any stories, which I had also hoped would be a highlight of the evening, and get some non-musical people involved in the night. But the night remained focussed on the music, which is also good, but I think that my story could have used some company.
What was the story? Well, sharing time, again.
So, it's the Amond family Christmas dinner, the Tuesday before I returned to Korea. The family is sitting around the table, eating, and my little cousin Ben says "Oh, I should have brought the game that my family bought, it's a lot of fun".
I said "Oh, what game is that?"
He told me about their new game, called "Things", which involves each player responding to the same question, and then everyone trying to guess the other player's responses, with points being awarded for correct answers. Ben then explained it further using the the example of "Super Powers".
I said (I admit this is a terrible joke) "I bet I know what Chris's superpower would be..." then I looked around "X-ray vision." A pause.
"And I think we all know why."
Dad proved he did know why with his response.
"I've always wanted to be a gynecologist."
And that's where dinner derailed for me.
Then my mom chimes in with an even more appropriate sidenote, "But you would only be able to see two patients a day."
Wow.
Awkward laughter.
And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, my grandmother puts in her two cents.
Wait for it...
"Well, Gerald, you've always had the hands for it."
Eww.
I lose it. I spend the next ten minutes in a fit of giggles that leaves me red-faced, sweaty, and on the verge of throwing up. I am so hot from embarrassment and laughter that I actually have to mop my face with my napkin. Then, just when I think I am done, I see that my cousin Sean and my aunt Margaret are in the middle of fits of their own. So there I go again...
The open mic was a good night. Unfortunately, Vanessa had to work on Christmas Eve, so we had to call it a night at midnight and head home.
The Return
So, I'm back in Korea. It has been pretty exciting so far, lots to do, lots to do. This morning I was marvelling to Vanessa that it had only been one week. It's just hard to imagine, it really feels like I have been here for two or three weeks, like I barely even left.
I arrived last Saturday, and I was greeted by Vanessa waiting for me at the airport, which is a great way to start anything, really. I was horribly late getting out of customs, because I got stuck behind a bunch of people who apparently had issues, so they each took like twenty minutes to get through. I was really worried too, because I had never entered Korea on a tourist visa before, and I was concerned that with all the daily changes that were happening with my work visa arrangements (an entirely new blog entry/rant will follow) I was worried that they would stop me at the airport and detain me! But I got through, no problem, although I had a small panic attack when the man asked me "Where is your visa?", because he assumed I was here for work. YIKES! But I just said "Oh, I'm just visiting some friends" (a technical truth) and he said "That's coo" (spelling intentional) and let me pass with a stamp and a nod.
We got on a bus, chatted, and mostly slept, due both to my jetlag and the bus' interior temperature of approximately 7000 degrees. There was a condensation imprint of me left on the seat when I got up, it was that hot.
I arrived last Saturday, and I was greeted by Vanessa waiting for me at the airport, which is a great way to start anything, really. I was horribly late getting out of customs, because I got stuck behind a bunch of people who apparently had issues, so they each took like twenty minutes to get through. I was really worried too, because I had never entered Korea on a tourist visa before, and I was concerned that with all the daily changes that were happening with my work visa arrangements (an entirely new blog entry/rant will follow) I was worried that they would stop me at the airport and detain me! But I got through, no problem, although I had a small panic attack when the man asked me "Where is your visa?", because he assumed I was here for work. YIKES! But I just said "Oh, I'm just visiting some friends" (a technical truth) and he said "That's coo" (spelling intentional) and let me pass with a stamp and a nod.
We got on a bus, chatted, and mostly slept, due both to my jetlag and the bus' interior temperature of approximately 7000 degrees. There was a condensation imprint of me left on the seat when I got up, it was that hot.
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