Monday, October 30, 2006

I wanted to update but my internet HATED me...

My internet died on Friday after school, and was not reborn until today, despite numerous efforts and epic struggles to fix it earlier. My weekend, therefore, seemed a lot longer than it should have. But it was okay. :)

So let's back track. Willy's birthday party was last Wednesday. It was much like last year's party, although we only had to wait about 20 minutes for pictures instead of an hour. I can't deny Willy's cuteness. Clearly, this is a kid who will get by in life on good looks and personality rather than brains. And of course, here are some pics, especially for The BF, who loves Willy. :) Here he is with his cake... I think this is round two of pretending to blow out the candles.


And here's me and Willy. I saw this picture and freaked out for a second because I forgot my hair is short now. I didn't realize it was me in the picture!


Then Thursday was our fieldtrip. We went to the African Culture Center, which is a trip by itself. See, Koreans are still fairly racist. Like, they think black people are monkies and the color will rub off and stuff, like a black person's skin is dirty. Um... get with the program. Anyway, first we went to a show (dancing and stuff) and then walked around a museum (sculptures) where the class wanted to know "Why everything ta-tas?" Yes, I taught them ta-tas. I figured it was better than what they knew before, which was pointing and saying "this one." ANYway... we finished up with the kids banging on some African drums and then we ate lunch and came back to school. Oh, the excitement. Again, pics for your enjoyment. This first one is my kids dancing with one of the African dancers.

Then of course the obligatory class picture with the dancers. Can I just say the dudes were RIPPED up? 'Cause they were. Oh, and the lady on the end let me wear her head thingy. It was awesome.

Finally, this is a cute sculpture and a cute picture of my kids being cute by it. Key word here: cute.
There was major drama at school on Friday that I don't feel I really need to discuss here, but let's just say it was WAY too much for a Performance Theater/Big Test Friday. Balls. But Friday night I went to Rodney's and it was relaxing and funny. Phil is my new gay husband and he was telling me a story about a lip sync he did to George Michael's "Faith" while wearing his karate outfit and impersonating a preist. Yeah... I died of laughter and came back to life only to laugh some more. It was THAT funny. Oh man... LOVE that guy.

So I think I'd better make Saturday and Sunday thier own entry, as Blogger is hating me and not letting me post any more pictures. So... until it stops hating me...

Much love!

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Wednesday, October 25, 2006

@!#$%&*

So I know I haven't really updated about my life in a little while, but let me just rant about my school for two paragraphs. If you don't like it, skip. I won't tell.

So, as we all know, the principal is an evil bitch straight from hell. Whatever, I've dealt with it. But today she finally did something that directly affected me and pissed me off. Apparently when I was sick with food poisioning a few weeks back, she came in my room and told my B.C. class not to eat snacks they brought from home during class time. Now, I have NO PROBLEM with this because if they're eating, they're quiet. When they're quiet, I am happy. Everyone wins. Well, she apparently tells them not to eat snack anymore, and then today she discovered that three of them were and took them in her office to talk to them about it. Um, excuse YOU, bitch. DON'T come into my classroom when I'm SICK and make a rule I know NOTHING about and outlaw something I have NO PROBLEM with. Or at least have the common decency and professionalism to, y'know, TELL me about it. WTF? She thinks eating is too "distracting" or something stupid but, hi. I'm a good enough teacher to tell weather or not my kids are paying attention. And I call them on it for SURE. Plus, I know my kids and she doesn't so she needs to shut the hell up. So I went to talk to her about it and just say, like, "If you don't want them to eat snack then just TELL me and I'd tell them not to." It's really not that hard. But she wasn't there, so I wrote her a note. This method had CLEARLY served me well in the past (note the HEAVEY sarcasm here). She'll prolly just read it and then not say anything about it because she's an evil bitch from hell, which is fine with me, because if I had to talk to her I might punch her in the face for breaking a cardinal rule of life: You can't be ugly AND a bitch. You can be ugly. You can be a bitch. But an ugly bitch? NO ONE LIKES YOU PROBABLY EVEN YOUR MOTHER AND I WANT YOU TO STAY THE FRACK OUT OF MY CLASSROOM!!!

In another incident today, and this one is FAR worse I think. Christa's been sick since Saturday and today was her first day back. I'm not talking, like, she has a cold. She went to the hospital and has had a fever for four days. She's SICK. She didn't look at all like herself and you could just tell she felt like crap. Anyway the principal agreed to talk to her at 6:00 today (about what I don't know but it doesn't really m atter) and THE PRINCIPAL DIDN'T SHOW UP. She was no where to be found in that school. Um, RUDE MUCH? HELLO?!?! OMG... I can't STAND that woman. I. Can't. Stand. Her. I cannot WAIT until I'm done. *takes a deep breath*

Okay... onto my life. Um... my weekend was pretty low-key. I went out for some beers with school people on Friday night and it was totally key for one reason and one reason only: the superiority of my gaydar became irrefutable. The new guy at school came out to us. And it's only key because last weekend, Nate told me his goal was to set me up with New Guy and I was like, "Uhh, I'm pretty sure he's gay, dude." And I was RIGHT. I am The Awesome. Clearly, he is my new BFF. :)

Saturday and Sunday were pretty tame. Saturday morning I went to Costco and bought four kinds of cheese. It's fine. Whatever. Then that night I was suposed to go out to the SunRadio show, but a) Christa was sick 2) it didn't even start until 11 and d) I drank the night before and didn't really want to drink again, which everyone there would be doing, and the funniness wears off somewhere around 1 a.m. So I went to Thai Orchid with SeetaandJames and Momma and Daddy M and ate some friggin' DELICIOUS pad thai. Oh man... YUM. And there was this chicken dish, I can't remember the name (if I ever knew it) and it was pretty much the best thing I've eaten in a loooooooong time. Oh dear... joy in the mouth.

Sunday was sleeping in and church. That's about it.

Today we had Willy's birthday party, and tomorrow is a fieldtrip, so clearly there will be pics coming soon. Maybe I can get them up by tomorrow night, but I'm not making any promises.

XOXO

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Sunday, October 15, 2006

"I hate this, I hate myself, and I hate you."--me, in regards to mountain climbing


I had to work all week, so basically it sucked and each day was aggravating and pointless. I work at C.I.S. This is my way of life.

I did, however, have quite an eventful Saturday. SeetaandJamie took Mamma and Daddy M to climb Dobong-san, the mountain close to where we live. I'd never done it in my year here, and I felt pretty bad that I hadn't, so I came along. While it was pretty warm out and it was a good workout, including climbing acutal rocks, it was pretty fun and the view and the experience were spectacular. Of course, I have pics. The first one is the first little lookout point. You can see most of Uijeonbu here.


Yeah, I had to climb actual giant rocks. Here's proof:


Yep, climbed up a few of those. Um... scary. Just a bit. Next is a picture from the top, or as high as we went, anyway.


And one more...


And of course we took the obligatory group photo on the way down.


The lady was a total pro, and even got the city in the background. Clearly, she was awesome.

It took us about 3 and a half hours to go up and down. It was a work out, and I fell once and hurt my elbow, but it was a great time. Glad I did it. Oh, and I made a new friend. Check this out...

Okay, this dragonfly thing is getting freaky. One landed on my shoulder a few months ago after church. And now this... What's the deal? Can't get a date to save my life, but clearly dragonflies LOVE me. Such is my life.

After the epic mountain climbing adventure, I came home and took a nap. After a sufficient amount of rest, I met my pals Mark and Cam and headed to Hongdae where we ended up eating dinner at this Italian restaurant with a waterfall around it. Um... awesome. I had lasagna made with green noodles and it was YUMMY. Clearly key to life. At the restaurant, my friend Fred and his girfriend and Cam's roommate met us, and we went to see Sun Radio, a band that now has TWO of my pals as members, not just one. Clearly, I am awesome and THAT is awesome. It was John's (of JohnandLindsay fame) first show as the new bassist, so it was great. I'm not sure if my entourage enjoyed the show, but I had a great time and my new hair makes dancing super fun because it bounces all around.

My new haircut made a smashing debut as well. All John said to me all night was how much he liked my hair. He was even petting it at one point. Oh man... funny. Also saw an Austrailian band called The Cants who confirmed my theory that all bands beginning with "The" are awesome. The drummer even invited anyone to come stay at his house in Austrailia, which is fine with me 'cause I'm planning to go there and he's a rockstar. lol. Anyway, it was a great but early night, and that was fine with me 'cause, y'know, I climbed a mountain in the morning. Like ya do.

Much love.

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Monday, October 09, 2006

"Can you see why I like it here?"--The J

So... China. We spent the whole day in the airport on Thursday, almost literally. We got on an early bus because we thought there'd be tons of Chuseok traffic (it's a big travel holiday because everyone goes to see family and stuff) but there wasn't any traffic at all. Awesome. So we get there super early and then our flight gets delayed, so we basically bummed around the airport for five hours. Good times. Anyway, after we finally checked in, Seeta and I wandered by this free paint a fan thing, and so everyone painted one: me, Seeta, James, Momma M and Daddy M too. Seeta was jealous 'cause she said mine was the best, but I'm not so sure. Here's a pic, you be the judge.


Our lovely painting extravaganza was all fine and good, but we nearly missed our plane! As we rushed the few hundred meters to our gate, they were calling our names on the loud speaker. Too bad we never heard the boarding call!! Oops! But, we made it and got on the plane.

Which, by the way, let me just say that Asian air lines are KEY. Our flight was only an hour but we got a meal. AWEsome. Fly Asian, kids. I'm telling you. :)

We got there and got to the hotel and I called The J. We ended up meeting up around 9:30, after a bit of exploring with the fam and some dinner. It was so great to see her and have someone to chat with that I really feel kinda gets me. Anyway, yeah. Her place is really, really beautiful, as is the city of Qingdao itself. It's super clean and well kept, and Joanna's place is huge and perfect and makes my place, which I thought was pretty decent, look like a crap box. Neat. Granted, her school situation is a little bit difficult (she's living in two places because stuff didn't quite work out properly but the future is looking up) but still. I can totally see what she sees in the city.

So Day 1 was pretty much a bust as far as sight seeing, but The J and I stayed up til 1-ish talking. Key. Day 2 was pretty unlucky, but still fun. We met at Starbucks around noon and headed off to a temple in the mountains near where The J lives. It was a nice place to walk around, very quiet and peaceful. Beautiful too. Check this out...


Here's the whole crew in one of the temple buildings. I figured out how to use my timer because I am awesome. :)



The J and I are in front (duh) and behind are Seeta, James, Daddy M and Momma M (Seeta's parents). I was having a good hair day. That's awesome. Here's another treasure from the park... a chimunk with GIANT BALLS. I'm not lying. They're GIANT.

Te he he. Awesome.

After that we got lunch and tried to go to the museum but it closed at 5 (it was 4:30 at the time). Then we tried to go to a market, but it too was closed. Finally, we decided to eat again, and the restaurant was closed too. Turns out, everything was closing early because of a holiday. We did manage to procure some food, and then headed back to the hotel to walk along the pier and see the city all lit up. For example, here's the hotel everyone stayed in.


And here's some more skyline.


Yeah, it's pretty. I told you! And I totally look like a stellar photographer, too. BONUS! Anyway, after some picture taking and strolling, we headed home again.

Day 3 was a little more successful. We met early at the museum and walked around there for a while. Then we headed to Starbucks and Joanna's secret DVD shop treasure. Um... it was awesome. I thought it was cheap to buy bootlegs for five bucks here, but in China they're a dollar. A. Dollar. Um, that's the coolest thing ever. After that, my shopping adrenaline was flowing and we headed to the market from the day before where I found some treasures. And let me tell YOU, there's no cheap like China Cheap. Soooo key. I went with the intention of buying Christmas gifts, but mostly ended up buying stuff for myself. Whatever. I'm over it.

After that we ate and went for massages. Seeta, James and I all got foot massages and it felt good but my lady was BRUTAL. She gave me the BUSINESS. She was totally hardcore, but my feet felt really good afterwards.

Finally, we headed to dinner at a nice hotel with an Asian fusion buffet and a chocolate fountain. Wait, TWO chocolate fountains. One dark, one white. It was the best thing in my life ever. The food was really good, too. Ma. Gi. Cal.


Seeta was kinda feeling sick after dinner, so the hotel crew went back to thier place but I wanted to see one of the Olympic countdown signs so The J and I took a loooong walk to find one. We did. Of course, I took about a million pictures. Hi, have you met me? I love the Olympics.

They're actually holding the sailing regatta events in Qingdao for the 2008 games, so the city's pretty into the whole thing, just like me. I even got a Happy Meal to get one of the little Olympic mascot toys. Um... I'm a loser.

Day 4 was another airport trip and a trip home. All went smoothly and I managed to make it to the vet to pick up doggie before 8. Awesome.

I'll leave you with one final pic of The J and I outside the Crowne Suite Hotel where we ate the amazing buffet. Thanks again, friend, for letting me stay. I wanna come back soon!!

Much love.

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Sunday, October 08, 2006

"I REALLY don't wanna go to work tomorrow..."

China was great and I'm back safe and sound. I'm photo editing the pictures right now, and hopefully I'll be able to post them tomrrow. We all know the history I've had with posting entries I'm actually excited about.

For now, I'll leave you with one. This is a McDonald's, but with the name written in Chinese. I just thought it was kinda cool. Check it out.

Get to the real post tomorrow.

Much love.

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Sunday, October 01, 2006

"This was pretty much the best week ever."

It didn't start off that way. Monday I was sick. Like, I woke up and felt like I was gonna barf all over... and then I did. Twice. Turns out, Christa was sick too, which was excellent because I wouldn't have made it to the doctor without her. Seriously. Anyway, the doctor said it was food poisioning and dehydration. Around 3:00, I started to feel better, and managed to make it out of the house to buy some dinner. Korean Traditional porridge is KEY for a sick day meal. I'm just saying...

Tuesday was a day as usual, but I have an hour and a half break now, so that pretty much rules. I've been doing a lot of decorating and redecorating, and it makes me feel like a good teacher. So that's nice.

Wednesday was also business as usual. Blah.

Thursday was a fieldtrip day. We went to the sweet potato farm, just like we did last year. It's actually one of the better field trips, 'cause the kids can be active and run around, not just walk around in a line. This is key. So... here are some pics. This is Willy with the smallest sweet potato ever.


Clearly, James found the biggest sweet potato ever.


The look on his face is classic James. He's secretly my favorite, let's be honest. :) Here's Caroline with a pretty big one, too.


Here's everyone digging. Eric is clearly happy about something. Probably his mullet. Or the potato he found.

Finally, here's a class pic. It's a little different from last years as Joon is gone, Christina is here, my supervisor is now Karen and I'm wearing a different outfit. Oh, and they put creepy, weird scarecrows in the background. Nice touch.


So that was that. Overall, a good fieldtrip and day.

Friday was Performance Theater. I put the performance on YouTube, and you can watch it here if you are so inclined. :)

Friday night I made baked spaghetti and Chritsa and I drank wine and watched 2001:A Space Odyessy. Interesting movie... Glad I watched it but still kinda freaked about it. It's kinda creepy, let's be honest.

Saturday. Ahh, Saturday. I had it free because last week was my last Korean class. Christa and I made appointments to get haircuts, but before that I had to finalize my China stuff and eat a pita. Seriously, the pita's at Pita Time contain crack because I've eaten one EVERY weekend for about 4 weeks in a row now. OUT of control.

Moving on... China's all ready to rock and roll, and I even think my pal Kelly's gonna watch Lancelot, so I don't even have to take him to the vet. Yay!! After Itaewon, we hightailed it to Head Rush and I proceeded to chop my hair off. Yep, it's gone. Here, see for yourself:


I like it more today than yesterday, because I styled it myself and it's a bit more messy. Key. Sorry about my ghost-like face... not really sure what's up with that. Anyway, that's my new hair. I'm excited about it 'cause it's back to natural now, no more color at the bottom, no more perm. I'm starting new, and it feels really good. Seriously, once all the grossness hit the floor, I felt free. It feels so good to have my old hair back again!

After the cuts, Christa and I shopped around a bit and lamented the fact that we don't get paid until Wednesday. I bought a new hat and dangly earrings, in honor of my new hair and the neew ease with which I can now wear both. I also bought an AWESOME coat for you don' t even wanna know HOW much... But I love it. Anyway, later that night my new hair and I went out to Sortino's to eat. Seeta's parents came to visit her (she's been here four months... I've been here a year... whatever) and she and James took them to Sortino's for dinner. Adam and Christa came too. I had spaghetti and meatballs and it was yummy. Mmmmmm.

Today I skipped church and went with SeetaandJamie and momma and daddy to Insadong. But before Insadong, we went to Cold Stone Creamery, which I just recently found out exists here. It. Was. GLORIOUS. I can't even describe how magical it was. I had chocolate icecream with peanut butter, peanuts, and caramel in it. It was heavenly.

Then we went shopping. I bought a "you moved to Georgia for a job" gift for Brigette and a birthday gift for Annie. Clearly these purchases were key as I've been meaning to buy them for ages, just haven't been able to find the time. I also bought two Christmas presents because I rule. :)

Insadong is clearly the most evil place on earth because I LOVE pretty much EVERYTHING there. I fell DEEPLY and HOPELESSLY in love with these paintings I saw. They are $200. There are three of them. I am buying them before I leave. They are THAT awesome. *sigh* Oh man, I could seriously spend an entire paycheck there. It's so bad. Evil, evil place.

Walking around, I spotted this little doosey and had to take a picture in it.


You can clearly see why. Everyone who walked by wanted to be my friend. I'm so cool.

Much love.

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