I'll be turning 32 and I can't say that I'm particularly happy about it. I'm not one of those people who hates their birthday because it means getting older, or anything like that. I guess I just feel like I haven't accomplished as much as I would have hoped to at this age. And who do I have to blame? Myself. I think that's what I'm most frustrated about. I have all the power within me to do what I want to do, be the person I want to be, go where I want to go yet I haven't done pretty much any of it knowing all that.
Is this what a mid-life crisis feels like? If that's what I'm having right now then I'll be dead in my 60s! I better get a grip!
Maybe I just need to go eat something. I get cranky when I'm hungry.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
my august
August here was pretty dang hot, humid, and filled with monsoon rains. I don't miss that weather.
With some of Dennis' help and with the help of a website and book, I was able to learn how to read Hangeul (Korean writing). I can read it, but understanding what I'm reading is a totally different thing. I'm also learning how to write it properly, but that's not going very well.
Oh, this didn't start in August, but back in the beginning of July I joined a couple of Dennis' co-workers, Heather and Mariko, in their cupcake baking endeavor. They thought it would be a good idea for the girls to get together and do something while our husbands playing poker together. And I guess cupcake baking became it. This happens on the first Friday of every month. They borrow our oven and we bake in Heather's apartment, which is in the next building over. Mariko's place is much bigger than ours and is two subway stations over, but we can't do it there because that's where the poker games happen. They pretty much buy all the ingredients and bake the cupcakes for their students and I provide the microwave and kinda help out with the decorating and whatever else they need help with. The girl talk, the shows we watch on Heather (and Luke's) huge projector screen, and the baking are all really fun. The drama we hear about from the boys' poker nights are also very, very entertaining, but unfortunately can't be discussed here.
We actually started a Facebook page called "Friday Night Cupcakery". Feel free to "Like" it and check out some of the stuff we've done! Here are a few pics.
So far we've done pie cupcakes, cookie monster cupcakes with cookie dough centres, red and white Canada Day and red, white and blue Independence Day cupcakes, and a rainbow Pride cake! I'm not sure what next month will bring!
As for the rest of my August. That will have to wait until my next post because it's way past my bedtime!
With some of Dennis' help and with the help of a website and book, I was able to learn how to read Hangeul (Korean writing). I can read it, but understanding what I'm reading is a totally different thing. I'm also learning how to write it properly, but that's not going very well.
Oh, this didn't start in August, but back in the beginning of July I joined a couple of Dennis' co-workers, Heather and Mariko, in their cupcake baking endeavor. They thought it would be a good idea for the girls to get together and do something while our husbands playing poker together. And I guess cupcake baking became it. This happens on the first Friday of every month. They borrow our oven and we bake in Heather's apartment, which is in the next building over. Mariko's place is much bigger than ours and is two subway stations over, but we can't do it there because that's where the poker games happen. They pretty much buy all the ingredients and bake the cupcakes for their students and I provide the microwave and kinda help out with the decorating and whatever else they need help with. The girl talk, the shows we watch on Heather (and Luke's) huge projector screen, and the baking are all really fun. The drama we hear about from the boys' poker nights are also very, very entertaining, but unfortunately can't be discussed here.
We actually started a Facebook page called "Friday Night Cupcakery". Feel free to "Like" it and check out some of the stuff we've done! Here are a few pics.
So far we've done pie cupcakes, cookie monster cupcakes with cookie dough centres, red and white Canada Day and red, white and blue Independence Day cupcakes, and a rainbow Pride cake! I'm not sure what next month will bring!
As for the rest of my August. That will have to wait until my next post because it's way past my bedtime!
end of July/August/September.... in the news
Shooting rampage in Norway - July 22
Amy Whinehouse dies - July 23
Riots in London - August 6
Canuck Rick Rypien dies at 27 - August 16
Hurricane Irene affects U.S. east coast and Atlantic Canada - August 20-29
45 hockey players die because of Russian airliner crash - September 7
10th anniversary of 9/11 attacks - September 11 (obviously)
Did I miss any big headliners?
Amy Whinehouse dies - July 23
Riots in London - August 6
Canuck Rick Rypien dies at 27 - August 16
Hurricane Irene affects U.S. east coast and Atlantic Canada - August 20-29
45 hockey players die because of Russian airliner crash - September 7
10th anniversary of 9/11 attacks - September 11 (obviously)
Did I miss any big headliners?
alright
I've been a bad blogger. Almost 2 months without a post. Shameful! Pure laziness is my excuse.
So, what's new with me? Well, work has kind of had its ups and downs. August was pretty bad for my students, behaviour-wise. They were so out-of-control! But I came up with this Quiet Game star system where all my kids start out with 5 stars beside their name and the rules are this...
I will erase one star for each of the following: speaking without raising your hand, speaking Korean, getting out of your seat, playing with your chair, falling off your chair, saying bad things to your classmates, touching your classmates, and most importantly, not listening to your teacher (me).
If they have 5 stars at the end of the day they get stickers to stick on their sticker sheet. When they fill their entire sticker sheet they get a present. So far this month this Quiet Game has been working well. I keep forgetting to give them stickers at the end of the day though because I often don't have them during the last block of the day. They usually have a different class with a different teacher last block. I also have to figure out what to get them as a present once they fill their sticker sheets. A lot of them are pretty dang close to filling it! Maybe that's why I haven't been giving them stickers. Heheh.
Anyway, what else has happened these past two months... ? Let me think and I'll post more later.
So, what's new with me? Well, work has kind of had its ups and downs. August was pretty bad for my students, behaviour-wise. They were so out-of-control! But I came up with this Quiet Game star system where all my kids start out with 5 stars beside their name and the rules are this...
I will erase one star for each of the following: speaking without raising your hand, speaking Korean, getting out of your seat, playing with your chair, falling off your chair, saying bad things to your classmates, touching your classmates, and most importantly, not listening to your teacher (me).
If they have 5 stars at the end of the day they get stickers to stick on their sticker sheet. When they fill their entire sticker sheet they get a present. So far this month this Quiet Game has been working well. I keep forgetting to give them stickers at the end of the day though because I often don't have them during the last block of the day. They usually have a different class with a different teacher last block. I also have to figure out what to get them as a present once they fill their sticker sheets. A lot of them are pretty dang close to filling it! Maybe that's why I haven't been giving them stickers. Heheh.
Anyway, what else has happened these past two months... ? Let me think and I'll post more later.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Our 2nd anniversary
We got married July 7, 2009, so it was our 2nd anniversary not too long ago! Our anniversary fell on a Thursday and we were thinking of going for a nice dinner on "Cafe Street", the main street outside our building, but it was monsoon raining so we opted to save it for the weekend. We didn't want to get soaked in our somewhat dressy garb. We also agreed to save money and not get each other anything, so I just got Dennis a card, but what did he do? He broke the rules. He had flowers and chocolate delivered to my work. It was very sweet and a very nice surprise!
That night we didn't want to cook, so we went back to the restaurant where we had our first date, Bennigan's. Well, the actual place was the Bennigan's in Daegu, but we're not gonna take the 2 and a half hour train to Daegu just to have dinner there. Not the best food, but it's the romantic thought that counts.
Friday night, the weather cleared up so we decided to have our nice dinner. Restaurant of choice: Nairobi. An African themed Italian restaurant. Yes, quite strange. As we were heading out the door I got a call from Missy asking me where the all-you-can-drink wine joint (Marianne's) was on Cafe Street. She also asked if we had a spare umbrella. Spare umbrella?! Apparently it started raining from the time we looked outside our window, got changed, and walked to our door. Whatever, were all ready to go and hungry! My feet and sandals got soaked, the humidity messed up my hair and we were sticky, but we were "dry" otherwise. Dinner was good, but nothing special, and not as pricey as we thought it would be. After dinner, I needed dessert so we went to Baskin Robbins where I had my usual green tea scoop and chocolate scoop in a cone. It was a lovely night despite the rain.
That night we didn't want to cook, so we went back to the restaurant where we had our first date, Bennigan's. Well, the actual place was the Bennigan's in Daegu, but we're not gonna take the 2 and a half hour train to Daegu just to have dinner there. Not the best food, but it's the romantic thought that counts.
Friday night, the weather cleared up so we decided to have our nice dinner. Restaurant of choice: Nairobi. An African themed Italian restaurant. Yes, quite strange. As we were heading out the door I got a call from Missy asking me where the all-you-can-drink wine joint (Marianne's) was on Cafe Street. She also asked if we had a spare umbrella. Spare umbrella?! Apparently it started raining from the time we looked outside our window, got changed, and walked to our door. Whatever, were all ready to go and hungry! My feet and sandals got soaked, the humidity messed up my hair and we were sticky, but we were "dry" otherwise. Dinner was good, but nothing special, and not as pricey as we thought it would be. After dinner, I needed dessert so we went to Baskin Robbins where I had my usual green tea scoop and chocolate scoop in a cone. It was a lovely night despite the rain.
my weekday start
So here is what my typical work weekday morning is like:
I wake up at 7am, shower, change, put my face on, dry my hair and tie it back (since it's so friggin hot and humid these days), and get my snack and water bottle/tea mug ready. I don't usually eat breakfast at home, but I have some sort of snack or coffee before the first class begins (I definitely need the energy). I leave the apartment at 7:48am and head to the subway, which is a 4 minute walk from our building. I usually put my headphones on and turn on my ipod on my way to the station. I get my subway card ready and swipe it to get through the turnstiles. The subway used to come at 7:55 on the dot, but now it's been coming at 7:58 or sometimes a few minutes past 8:00. Late is not good because I have a shuttle to catch and it doesn't wait!
I make sure I'm last to get on the subway because I like to stand right at the door since I get off on the next stop (Migeum) and I like to be the first off. I hate the pushing and shoving, so I like to get out asap. My train's not usually packed because I'm going against rush hour. It doesn't go towards Seoul, which would obviously be busier.
So I get off the train and head up the escalator. I used to take the stairs, but I've gotten lazier. Heheh. I get hit with the smell of freshly baked goods on my way up the escalator because Migeum station has a waffle type shop, a baked goods shop, a little Dunkin' Donuts, and a coffee shop. It's great to be greeted by the smell of freshly baked goods in the morning!
So after the escalator, I swipe my card to get through the exit turnstiles and head to exit number 7. Oh, exit number 7, how I despise you. There are 5 sets of stairs to go up to street level and each set contains 15 stairs. So, this means every morning I have to walk up 75 stairs. I'd have to say that's the worst part of the morning for me. You should have seen my face the first time I looked up to see how far up I had to go. I immediately looked around for a nearby escalator or elevator! But, get this, the escalator beside this monster stairwell is going DOWN from street level! Why would you make the escalator going DOWN and not up???? Oh right, I'm in Korea where nothing makes sense and where things are usually backwards and illogical. But I still love their food. That's definitely one thing they have going for them.
After my hike up the stairs (am I being too dramatic? Maybe for others 75 stairs is nothing. Haha. Well, for me it's a hike!)... anyway, after my HIKE up the stairs I check to see if I have enough time to go to the Family Mart or the other convenience store nearby to get a coffee or breakfast (sometimes they're one and the same). And those who know me know I don't drink coffee, but here with a job teaching 5 year old kids, coffee is often a necessity to get through the morning. I don't mean real coffee, but those coffees that taste like dessert... French vanilla, mocha, and caramel macchiato flavoured, etc.
Then I walk over, cross the street, and get on the school shuttle bus with the other teachers. The bus leaves at 8:10 exactly, but lately it's been leaving a couple minutes later to wait for Donna. She's always late! Haha. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get to school from there. Once at school, we all get ready for the crazy, exhausting day ahead.
And that's my typical weekday start to the day.
I wake up at 7am, shower, change, put my face on, dry my hair and tie it back (since it's so friggin hot and humid these days), and get my snack and water bottle/tea mug ready. I don't usually eat breakfast at home, but I have some sort of snack or coffee before the first class begins (I definitely need the energy). I leave the apartment at 7:48am and head to the subway, which is a 4 minute walk from our building. I usually put my headphones on and turn on my ipod on my way to the station. I get my subway card ready and swipe it to get through the turnstiles. The subway used to come at 7:55 on the dot, but now it's been coming at 7:58 or sometimes a few minutes past 8:00. Late is not good because I have a shuttle to catch and it doesn't wait!
I make sure I'm last to get on the subway because I like to stand right at the door since I get off on the next stop (Migeum) and I like to be the first off. I hate the pushing and shoving, so I like to get out asap. My train's not usually packed because I'm going against rush hour. It doesn't go towards Seoul, which would obviously be busier.
So I get off the train and head up the escalator. I used to take the stairs, but I've gotten lazier. Heheh. I get hit with the smell of freshly baked goods on my way up the escalator because Migeum station has a waffle type shop, a baked goods shop, a little Dunkin' Donuts, and a coffee shop. It's great to be greeted by the smell of freshly baked goods in the morning!
So after the escalator, I swipe my card to get through the exit turnstiles and head to exit number 7. Oh, exit number 7, how I despise you. There are 5 sets of stairs to go up to street level and each set contains 15 stairs. So, this means every morning I have to walk up 75 stairs. I'd have to say that's the worst part of the morning for me. You should have seen my face the first time I looked up to see how far up I had to go. I immediately looked around for a nearby escalator or elevator! But, get this, the escalator beside this monster stairwell is going DOWN from street level! Why would you make the escalator going DOWN and not up???? Oh right, I'm in Korea where nothing makes sense and where things are usually backwards and illogical. But I still love their food. That's definitely one thing they have going for them.
After my hike up the stairs (am I being too dramatic? Maybe for others 75 stairs is nothing. Haha. Well, for me it's a hike!)... anyway, after my HIKE up the stairs I check to see if I have enough time to go to the Family Mart or the other convenience store nearby to get a coffee or breakfast (sometimes they're one and the same). And those who know me know I don't drink coffee, but here with a job teaching 5 year old kids, coffee is often a necessity to get through the morning. I don't mean real coffee, but those coffees that taste like dessert... French vanilla, mocha, and caramel macchiato flavoured, etc.
Then I walk over, cross the street, and get on the school shuttle bus with the other teachers. The bus leaves at 8:10 exactly, but lately it's been leaving a couple minutes later to wait for Donna. She's always late! Haha. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get to school from there. Once at school, we all get ready for the crazy, exhausting day ahead.
And that's my typical weekday start to the day.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
summer vacation!
Although we only get a week off, it's a week of freedom! I'm just glad that Dennis and I have the same time off.
We've chosen not to leave the country, so we've spent our first three days off eating out, watching Scarface, Batman Begins, Dark Knight, and new episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage, grabbing drinks at a local bar, baking cupcakes, and going on a Han River boat "cruise"/tour in Seoul (with Missy and Brianne). We were planning on heading to the War Memorial Museum in Seoul today, but Dennis called the Tourist Info Line to find out what time the museum closes today and they said, "It's actually closed every Monday." Dennis was not too pleased about that, but thank goodness he phoned before we actually got there. We've both been before, separately, as we didn't know each other then, but it would be nice to enjoy it together. I'm sure we'll end up there before our vacation is over. Free admission! Asa!
We're also going to the Sheraton Grande Hotel in Walkerhill, Seoul to have the buffet dinner there. One of Dennis' students gave him two gift certificates (valued at $110 CAD) for the buffet as a gift before summer vacation! Asa! He also got Davidoff cologne, which smells great, but I much prefer the gift certificates!
We've chosen not to leave the country, so we've spent our first three days off eating out, watching Scarface, Batman Begins, Dark Knight, and new episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage, grabbing drinks at a local bar, baking cupcakes, and going on a Han River boat "cruise"/tour in Seoul (with Missy and Brianne). We were planning on heading to the War Memorial Museum in Seoul today, but Dennis called the Tourist Info Line to find out what time the museum closes today and they said, "It's actually closed every Monday." Dennis was not too pleased about that, but thank goodness he phoned before we actually got there. We've both been before, separately, as we didn't know each other then, but it would be nice to enjoy it together. I'm sure we'll end up there before our vacation is over. Free admission! Asa!
We're also going to the Sheraton Grande Hotel in Walkerhill, Seoul to have the buffet dinner there. One of Dennis' students gave him two gift certificates (valued at $110 CAD) for the buffet as a gift before summer vacation! Asa! He also got Davidoff cologne, which smells great, but I much prefer the gift certificates!
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