July 20, 2010 at 3:20 pm · Filed under Lifestyle
A heat wave is expected to continue Tuesday across the nation with the level of discomfort forecast very high.
…
“Avoid outdoor activity as much as possible. It’s better to stay indoors when heat wave warnings are issued,” said a KMA representative. “Drink plenty of water, frequently. Sunlight should be blocked even indoors, with good ventilation.”
The discomfort index is expected to exceed 80 in most of the nation, the level that all people feel negatively affected by the high temperatures.
~ per The Korea Times
I’ve never heard of a “Discomfort Index”, but I like the sound of it. I’m going to use it in all situations. At the bar, “Talking to you is causing my discomfort index to rise”. “I can’t eat that chewy bar or else my discomfort will increase.”
July 15, 2010 at 9:52 am · Filed under Lifestyle, Photos, Plants, potato
2 3 4 5
Photo 1 and 2 are a stamp that a student had bought me. It has my Korean name on it. 3 is the Zen Potato project. The container which I had for it had no drainage at the bottom. One day a teacher over watered the container and I noticed signs of the potato molding. So, I chucked it into the rice fields. 4 is my latest mate delivery. Yeah! It’s a lot of mate, but it will get drank. My attitude has become very positive these few days, and I think it’s because of 5. These are the clovers that I started growing in the home. They only took about 2 days to sprout.
July 8, 2010 at 9:44 am · Filed under Lifestyle
Whenever I log into Facebook, I hate seeing the recommended pages. They’re always retarded. I don’t want to be a fan of “Reading” or “Love Me Electric”, (whatever that is). Get out of my face, Facebook!
Congrats to Ceej and the Ultramarathon! Although,… sometimes I wonder how spectacular these events really are. Beforehand, people know the agony which their body will go through. So, they have aspirin, changes of socks, and need constant energy intake. *hmmmm* I don’t know. It seems like some triumphant bodily mutilation. I don’t know why I would want to put my body through that kind of physical endurement for the self gratification of just because … Don’t get me wrong. It’s a cool mark to have on your belt, but I wouldn’t want to damage myself in the process. That’s just me. I do butt clinches for my daily exercise at the J.O.B.
I’ve been watching a lot less of my tech shows, lately. I’m not listening to any podcasts. Besides SYTYCD, Billy Bell and Alex Wong, WOOWOO! I’m not watching any Summer programs. I want to see some Summer flicks, but I dont like downloading the crappy ‘in theater camcorder recordings’.
I’m waiting to watch Toy Story 3 and a couple others.
The students finished their final exams, but classes continue until July 16. ??? As I write this, the “I dream a dream” song is playing in the classrooms… I dont know why?
On the exam days, the all the exams finished by 1PM and the students went home. The teachers aren’t allowed to leave until 5PM. But they do anyways. I stayed late one day, and I was rewarded with 2 slices of pizza… but it’s not like I was working hard … or for the school for that matter.
Tree trimmers have been at the school for the last 2 weeks. Man, they work slow, but they’re doing a good job. All the trees have that Asian bonsai appearance and shape. Even the regular trees got the treatment. They lobbed off the major branches and left the smaller one. They’ll look cool in a couple years.
These days, I’m doing graduate assignments at school, or studying Korean, or dicking around online. I dont really do much.
I ordered 2 Korean animation DVD’s and a language book. Sometimes it’s really hard to find these things in a store. Even the BIG stores don’t carry them. This week, I think I spent $100 on books and the DVDs.
I want to get some new glasses and frames. I’ve had this pair since 2002 or 2003. It’s time for a change. I want some Oakley frames. ‘The Owl’ recommended an eye doctor he sees, so that might be my weekend plans.
I’ve still been watching World Cup soccer. I guess I’ll cheer for The Netherlands, now that Germany is out. The Ass Clown professor from the University, who I hate, keeps saying “Mers, You’re cheering for Germany, because you’re German!” (I made the mistake of telling him that the Huber-side goes back to German immigrants.) So, now, I’m German. He really like to stereotype people by their country, so that he can make sweeping assumptions about people. “Mers, you make beer cuz you’re German!” “Mers, I’ll bet your family eats a lot of sausage cuz they’re German!” No, you idgzit!
June 29, 2010 at 4:14 pm · Filed under Lifestyle
Yesterday, at 10PM, I got this message from one of the local University professors. “Black’s wife is dead. We’re at the hospital.” The text really got me wondering why he didn’t text “past away” or “died”. Instead, he wrote she is dead. It was odd.
Black’s wife was Korean and an English teacher at an elementary school, but I’d never met her. She and Black had moved into a new home before I came to this city. I knew that Black’s wife had been hospitalized before for some condition. Black never spoke personally with me about it. No one had, so I never brought it up. Black and I aren’t that close. To be honest, I dont think Black is close with anyone. I spoke intimately with him once, and I got the impression that his personality was similar to “Uncle Fidelity”. He was independent.
I called the professor who sent me the text. I asked if it was her condition, and he said no. It was odd.
I sat in my room for awhile pondering. I was going to meet the professors and watch World Cup at a bar later. Then, I remembered that I know the American who works at the elementary school with Black’s wife, so I thought that I should tell him. He had got the news just before I called.
This morning “The Owl” called to check if I had heard what happened. He said that it was a suicide.
I wonder why she would do that. The Korean school year hasn’t finished yet. It was a Monday evening. And I think the elementary students have final exams this week. I wonder if she reached out to anyone before she commited to it. Did she reach out to Black? Her family? Did they not reach back? Where was Black?
It’s odd.
June 15, 2010 at 3:04 pm · Filed under Lifestyle
Today, I had to go to an “open class”, where we observe another conversation class at a different school. We went waaaayyy out into the country side. The school was on this secluded road next to some mountains. We seriously had to drive outside the city for 10 minutes. I’ve never been that far East of the city. After the open class the English teacher comes up to me…
Him: “I guess you’re the only teacher here who I’ve never met.” There were 5 others.
Mers: “I’m Mers.”
Him: “Do you teach in Anseong?”
Mers: “Yeah, I teach at Doowon High School.”
Him: “Doowon High School? Is that in Anseong?”
Mers: “Yes. I’ve been here over 2 years. Who are you, n00b?”
Other girl: “Mers, where have you been hiding?”
Mers: “I’ve been in Anseong” …oh that’s right! You’re not a part of the Kool Kat Krew! When one of us dies, I’ll let you know about the club.”
