Archive for Lifestyle
January 20, 2010 at 12:37 pm · Filed under Take a Lap
There is a professor at the university. I hate him. I hate everything about him. He’s taking the graduate course with me. The ‘good’ side of me wants to help him out, because he is pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. The ‘bad’ side of me wants to see him fall flat on his face and kick him out of the country.
One time, in the Summer, I ate dinner with him and another professor. He was speaking Korean to order food, (and you should know that he speaks awkwardly loud, fast, and with incorrect pronunciation.) The waitress was having a hard time understanding him, but he just kept talking. At the same, the waitress was trying to explain the menu. I found it comical, and I may have snickered. Immediately he asked if I was laughing at his Korean. I said, “no”. But, I could tell he wasn’t buying it.
Later, the waitress came back to say that they were out of our order. Again, the hilarity of reordering insued, and I snickered, and he took a great offense to this. He asked, “Are you laughing at my Korean?” I wanted to just say yes, but he went on a tirade. For something so small, it struck a nerve.
He said he takes “great pride” in his Korean. He’s lived here for 19 years. He said one Italian guy laughed at his ability to speak Italian, (which he partially is) and he said, “I kill people who laugh at my Italian.”
I really couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. Was he seriously getting worked up over this? We hadn’t been drinking, so what the fuck? The second professor calmed him down, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Apparently, he has a world of baggage, so he takes anti-depressants. He’s bipolar, so he takes medication. Without his job, he has nothing. Therefore, the English professors look after him, like seriously covering his ass for anything at the university.
The professors encouraged him to enroll in this program. He should get a Masters to feel less like a “weak person”. (He likes to use this phrase when he feels like he’s being picked on) However, none of the other professors are, now, participating in the program to look after him. And I sure as hell don’t want to do it! He’s a parasite, who is incapable of surviving on his own.
I’ve been updating him on the course projects, the housing, the homework assignments, and the required textbooks … Why? Because he doesn’t check his email!
When I learned that we’d be doing group presentations for the course, I immediately signed up and made a group. Weeks later, I decided to tell him about the group presentations. He asked, “Are you in a group yet?” I said “Yeah, I picked a topic and the group is full. He replied, “It’s too bad we’re not in the same group. We could work TOGETHER!” I was like, “heh…………..yeah.”
I told him about the dormitory housing. We could get a single room or share with a friend. He said “We should room TOGETHER.” Timidly, I said, “Ok”. But, I thought that would be a recipe for disaster. I don’t want to be around this guy. A few days later, I said that I need my ‘me’ time and ‘personal space’. I told him I’d get a single room. He said, “Yea, I think I’m thinking about doing the same thing.”
Today, I majorly helped him out with the pre-course homework assignment. I held his hand, while he sent an email for the presentation topics and updated the coordinator with his housing and food choices.
At least 6 times, I’ve heard him say “I haven’t studied or had to do anything like this in 20 years.” It’s a bullshit excuse, and I want to fire back, “Well you ought to get your shit together, now!”
I could go on, but this is a good place to stop writing. I hate him.
January 14, 2010 at 2:11 pm · Filed under Lifestyle
Korea is having lows that they haven’t seen in 6 years. Due to this, my boiler wont crank out the heat any higher than 59F. My room was too uncomfortable to study in last night. So, I declared it a ‘Fat Day’. I sat down with some chocolate and granola and watched a movie.
I went through my 2009 Resolutions post from a year ago. If I think about my accomplishments. I was about half and half. A couple accomplishments came in the last few days of ‘09. Sadly, … no, I never punched any a$$holes.
I’m proud that I gave year end donations. Like 2007, it was a $20 limit. (I never donated in ‘08) Once again, I donated to Wikipedia, the EFF, Creative Commons, and $5 is still TBD.
Since, school ended I’ve been able to watch more TV – in a educational way. At 6PM, there is a show called ‘My Hometown’. Reporters visit people (typically the older generation) and follow a “life in the day of” manner. They focus on what work they do, the meals, and the home. The language is over my head, but the show highlights the Korean working class.
One time, I had a discussion with my co-teacher about Ceej’s toe shoes. At E-mart, I saw toe socks on the rack, and I said, “Hey, I’m going to buy you toe socks for X-mas!” He seemed less than enthus’d. He later explained that in Korea, toe socks carry the stigmatism that you must have ‘athlete’s foot’. I was like “Nah, they’re just cool socks.” Well, it sucks to be him, because I’m giving him toe socks.
December 24, 2009 at 8:47 am · Filed under Lifestyle
UPDATE – 2 years ago I invested in XX mutual fund. I put a lot of money in it, because I liked the long term possibilities for it. In 2008, its value fell like the entire market, but the dividends were still ok. I’m always looking at dividends as a positive angle.
This year, the dividends resulted in $62.69. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! I’ve got 2K in CDs that give me a better yield than that. Ridiculous!
The computer I have in my apartment wont stop rebooting during start-up. I’m afraid I’ll have to re-install windows and lose all my videos, photos, music, and files from this last year.
Customs still hasn’t delivered my presents. GIVE ME MY STRUDELS AND DEODORANT!
December 19, 2009 at 10:47 am · Filed under Lifestyle
Although I’m not religious, I tend to skew towards the angle that things happen for a reason.
Back in September, I bought 200 shares of UNG @ 13.15. The chart looked good, I thought that uNG would at least get up to the high teeeeeens … but … It didn’t. Day by day, I watched it plummit down to the 9s. That was about an $(800) loss.
In trading there is a principle called ‘Averaging Down’. At a lower price, you buy MORE shares, like 200 or 400. That way when the stock goes back up you make money. The stock doesn’t have to get back up to 13.15, but if you bought at 9 and it got to 11, your losses and gains would balance out. Weeeeeell … I didn’t do that.
UNG ran up to the 12s, and I was kicking myself. Had I ‘Averaged Down’ somewhere I could have turned my losses into gains. Instead, UNG never quite made it back to 13.15. It stagnated around 12 for a month, and then slowly crept back down. “… man.”
A month ago, it broke 10 again, and ideas of ‘Averaging Down’ floated in my mind again. Should I?; Shouldn’t I? “Ah, what the hell!” I bought 2000 shares @ 10. Balls-y, Yes! If UNG went up to 10.3, the gains and losses would have balanced out. And if UNG went up to 11. Well, I would have had $(400) + $2000 = $1600 gain! … but … instead UNG kept falling to the 8s. Now, I was cursing myself.
With 2200 shares of UNG, that’s nearly a $(4000) loss. Those red four digits were staring back at me. I started thinking about everything I could have bought with that money, particulary a new camera. For that price, I could have bought the Nikon d700 and a good lens. *le sigh*
However, after this revelation, what should happen. Since the beginning of December, UNG started to make an uphill climb. Go Baby, GO! Everyday, the Dow Jones has been inching down, but my baby UNG was going up. News of Exxon-Mobile buying shares was also propping it up. Come ON! Yesterday, it made it to 10.46. I checked it’s status and I now had a $400 gain. Praise Allah!
But, this is where greed starts to factor in. Do I hold on to it and hope it goes to 11; Could it go up to 12! Now, we’re talking a set up camera lenses!
No, Mers. NO!
Initially, I had to think back to the first UNG trade of 200 @ 13.15. I wasn’t expecting more than $100 or $200 out of this trade, and now I had that.
So, I sold it. And I think I’m done for the year.
There are maybe 7 more trading days in the year. I haven’t met my New Years Resolution of ‘Having a profitable year of trading’. Overall, I’m still down. But not by much. I think it’s time to sit back and reflect. The days are short. Another year has gone by. And, I know I’ll be buying a Nikon d700 and new lens. Merp.
December 15, 2009 at 10:25 am · Filed under Lifestyle
I really think Koreans need a lesson on logic.
The school bathrooms are cold, but fortunately there is a heater in the teacher’s bathrooms. When the heater is on, the bathroom gets warm. It is comfortable to poop and pee when the air is warm. It is a convenience.
So, why would you open the windows or turn on the ventilation fan?
Seriously, all the warm air gets sucked right out. What’s the point of having a heater, if you’re going to blow in cold air? The bathroom is clean, it’s not like it reeks of urine and feces. Dammit, stop being stupid!
There are some foreign teachers that have to teach English to the Korean teachers. I don’t do that, but if I did… Lesson 1 one would be “Were you raised in a barn?”
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