...ok a few days. Still. What a difference. Went to the hospital yesterday expecting to have more fluid drained (NOT a pleasurable sensation) and facing up to being told that I'd need surgery. As it turned out, he reckons it's healing (although I need to rest it more) and gave me a new brace with a little more room for movement (setting me back another W230,000...). No huge needles were stuck into my knee. Always a bonus. Next appointment is August 30th by which time I should be able to flex my knee up to 90 degrees (I just noticed there's no 'degrees' symbol on my keyboard...) and been strengthening my quad again gradually. He was showing me some exercises and I was pretty horrified to realise that I can't raise my leg in the air when I'm laying down anymore. Whatever little muscle I had has just shriveled up. Lovely thought.
After the hospital Ji and I headed to Dobong Station which is actually where I lived in my first year in Korea (from December 2006-December 2007). In a place like Seoul, it's amazing how much an area can change in less than three years. In Cooley (where I grew up) I can see a few new houses or different road signs and so on each time I go back. In Dobong, however, the entire feel of the place has changed. There are coffee shops, nicer-looking restaurants, everything looks cleaner and more modern. I guess it would have been a more comfortable place to live like that but I'm glad my first year in a totally different culture was slightly difficult. I wouldn't change it.
I'm looking forward to a nice weekend of hanging out with friends and having a few beers. We got great news this week when Ji got five free tickets for the K-League All-Star match against FC Barcelona next week. We had already bought tickets but she can cancel them for a small fee and our new seats are MUCH better. It's fairly common in Korea to receive little freebies through someone you know and I'm always grateful when it happens. I've had a fair few in my time here. It never seemed to happen in Ireland/England. Not to me anyhow. So that's a few quid saved and probably the best seats I've ever had at Sangam World Cup Stadium. Let's hope Barcelona bring a few decent players and that Dejan gets the nod for the K-League team.
He was on form again last Wednesday night in the 4-2 win (aet) against Suwon in the semi-final of the Posco Cup. It wasn't always a great performance but Dejan took his goals really well and was unlucky not to bag his hat-trick when his beautiful curling shot with the outside of his boot just hit the post. The game was tilted in Seoul's favour by two substitutes; Lee Seung Ryul and new-signing Server Djeparov. Lee scored two instinctive goals and looks to be the next young star that will move on to bigger and better things, following in the footsteps of Park Ju Young, Ki Seung Young and Lee Chung Young. Djeparov, making his debut, looked bright and inventive even though he didn't contribute anything concrete on this occasion. He is captain of Uzbekistan and was AFC Player of the Year in 2008. He's only on loan from Budonkyor but, if he can build on this performance, could be a key player in our push for the championship. On Saturday we have a top-of-the-table clash with leaders Jeju United, who will be keen to get revenge for their 5-1 drubbing in the Posco Cup last June. I'll be there so you'll hear about it early next week. You can watch highlights of the cup win over Suwon here.
I think I may have got on the bad side of my boss yesterday because I missed a program development meeting when I was at the hospital. Unfortunately, there was no way around it and I made sure to get copies of anything I missed, etc. I think that, in Korea, there's a big culture of doing things simply because they are expected of you, not because they actually need to be done. In general I'm hard-working and well-prepared so I'll be back in the good books soon enough I'm sure. I only have one class each morning these days so I have plenty of time to prepare for the next semester, which will be more of a challenge than the first half of the year, I'd imagine. I'm quite looking forward to it.
My advice to you this weekend is to go out, meet up with good friends and to talk and laugh as much as you can. I'm sure it sounds blindingly obvious but the benefits of just relaxing and spending quality time with good people shouldn't be under-estimated. Have a good one everyone!
Thursday 29 July 2010
Tuesday 27 July 2010
It's just rock n' roll..
Be warned: I'm still a bit grumpy and off-colour BUT I had a brief respite when my new band (as yet unnamed - suggestions still welcome!) played not just our first but our first AND SECOND gigs last Friday night. We rehearsed in Hongdae (in a really psychedelic, chilled out rehearsal space) then decided over chicken and beer that we were ready for our first show. Aren't all the best decisions made over chicken and beer? A few texts later and we were playing our first ever gig at Club FF. It was an almost entirely Korean crowd, which isn't the norm for me here in Korea strangely enough. Nonetheless we had them up and dancing within a couple of songs. I even managed to wiggle about a bit in spite of my splint. Onstage chemistry seemed good. The guys are brilliant musicians. They really are.Drunk on the atmosphere, we decided to taxi ourselves over to Itaewon and play a second impromptu show at Woodstock in Itaewon. A few of our friends were there (only my girlfriend made it over to FF given the short notice - she wouldn't have missed it) and there was a decent crowd even though it was very late on a Friday night. Given that we finished our set just before 4am, I can't say with any certainty how great/otherwise we were. Still, it was fun and we got plenty of good feedback. It all augurs well for the future. Jim flew back to England the very next day. What a trooper. Come back soon buddy. I had missed it so much. There is no better feeling. Ok, well, maybe I wouldn't go that far...
We headed out again on Saturday night and it was fun. Spent most of Sunday chilling out with Ji. Back into the routine of teaching and so on since then. My form hasn't been good but I won't bore you with that (again). Off to watch FC Seoul in their big Posco Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Suwon Bluewings tonight with a few friends. Good win away last weekend against Gwangju Sangmu. Ha Dae Sung scored a scorcher (his sixth of the season) and it was good to see Jung Jo Gook add a quality second. Check out the highlights here. Couple of key players returning to fitness (including Kim Chi Woo, who I'm a big fan of) so it'd be great to get into a final and push on from there.
Back to the hospital again tomorrow. Say a prayer, cross your fingers, sacrifice a cow, do whatever you think might result in me getting unexpectedly good news. There's a video from one of our shows so I promise to get that up soon with some pictures (the picture above is from an old gig with U R Seoul). I'll write more when I'm less likely to sound like a self-obsessed bore. Perish the thought! I hope you're all well.
Thursday 22 July 2010
Overcast
That's the word that sums up both the weather and my mood today. All week really. I'm doing my best not to feel sorry for myself with the knee situation but I'm not always as successful as I'd like. The official word remains the same. I have my next appointment on July 29th at which I'll find out if I can take off the splint and start physio or if I need to start preparing myself for surgery. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that surgery will be a pain, financially as well as physically and mentally. I am trying to be upbeat about it though. I was grumbling to myself whilst in Suyu last night running a few errands only to be passed by a group of cheery adults with much more severe physical disabilities than my silly little dodgy knee. The point wasn't lost on me.
I haven't blogged since Monday. I haven't been particularly busy or anything. I just think it's not the best idea to write too much when I'm not at my brightest. It has also been a very samey week in a lot of ways. My classes are going well and I'm enjoying them but there's nothing too noteworthy in that. I did stumble upon something interesting in my new class with the girls who work in the office here. That's a nice class because it allows me to get to know the Korean staff much better. I actually love teaching them. Anyway, the topic was 'friends or lovers?' based around the story of two friends (a male and a female) and the question arose as to whether or not men and women can really just be friends. Maybe it's not surprising among a group of six women in their early twenties, but they were insistent that men are incapable of being friends with women without other thoughts coming into it. I guess, if I'm honest, the number of my female friends who there has never been anything physical with (in mind or matter) is very, very small. It did surprise me a little that the girls in the class agreed with each other so vehemently. They mentioned at one point that maybe foreign men are capable of it, but not Korean men. That's probably a different debate altogether.
I mentioned that I had been reading 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel. Well, it has been great company for me in an otherwise fairly empty week (by my standards at least). I finished it last night. Although it dipped in terms of quality in the final section and took about 100 pages to really get going, it was still a very enjoyable and, at times, enthralling book. At one point I was so wrapped up in the narrative that when a mosquito buzzed past my ear I nearly jumped the height of myself. I really thought, for a moment, that I was in that lifeboat with a Bengal tiger snarling by the bow. Of course, it's an allegory, but the story stands up by itself and is well-written and thought-provoking. My edition has some 'reading group questions' that I'm mulling over at the minute. I would definitely recommend you read it. 'Believers' might enjoy it even more than I did.
Religion is a major theme throughout the book. For me, this often spoils a work because I feel as though there is an essential leap that I simply cannot take and so my appreciation will be lacking. As early as the seventh chapter, the central character, Pi Patel, chastises agnostics: "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation". While I can't agree fully with that, agnosticism does strike me as a bit of a cop-out that I have been clinging to for a while now. It's a kind of covering of bases just in case one side isn't right, while still protecting yourself from the barbs associated with belief/non-belief. I am ready to admit that I am an atheist. I simply don't believe in the notion of a God or that there is any point to what we are doing as we mill around in our daily lives. In saying that, I would consider myself to be a humanist. It's still something I'm thinking about. I don't feel, at 28, that I'm ready to draw a line under the biggest of questions just yet.
Well that got a bit heavy didn't it? Thankfully I have music and sport to distract me from becoming too sullen. We had rehearsal on Wednesday night and again later on today. Some of the songs came almost effortlessly and sound really, really good. Others will take more time but I'm enjoying trying tougher things and working at it. They'll really feel like an achievement when they come. And they will come. As a group we're starting to build some momentum and we're getting on well as people which is probably even more important than how well we are playing the songs. Cheon is a top bloke and brilliant bassist. I feel as though I have known Jeff for ages already and I don't really need to say anything about my relationship with Jim. Ok I will anyway. He is one of my favourite people on the planet. I really honestly always feel privileged to be able to play with such talented musicians. I'm gagging for a gig... Jim leaves on Saturday for four weeks but it seems as though I'll be singing in a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band with Cheon and some of his friends. That'll give me my music fix for the month.
FC Seoul crashed out of the FA Cup in mid-week with a 2-1 defeat away at Busan. Judging from the highlights, it was a game that was there for the taking had we been able to defend a couple of basic crosses in the air at the back. The ever-impressive Choi Hyo Jin scored the opener for Seoul. However, Busan clinched it with two headers late in the second half. Frustrating. I am thinking of going to watch them away on Saturday night. In Korea, all men (with some exceptions) must serve in the military (usually for 26 months). If you are a professional footballer, you do this by playing for Gwangju Sangmu FC. They aren't the most competitive team in the league, hardly surprising given that their panel is constantly changing from year to year. Unfortunately, in true Korean style, they aren't playing at home in Gwangju this weekend but in nearby Younggwang, which makes the trip down that bit less convenient. We'll see how the knee is in the morning and what Ji thinks on the matter.
I only have 40 minutes before my language exchange so I better get cracking. I probably won't write anything over the weekend so have a good one everyone. Make the most of it! If you feel like a giggle check this out. I've been meaning to post it since my friend Jessica showed it to me. I think it'll resonate for anyone who has ever been in a relationship!
I haven't blogged since Monday. I haven't been particularly busy or anything. I just think it's not the best idea to write too much when I'm not at my brightest. It has also been a very samey week in a lot of ways. My classes are going well and I'm enjoying them but there's nothing too noteworthy in that. I did stumble upon something interesting in my new class with the girls who work in the office here. That's a nice class because it allows me to get to know the Korean staff much better. I actually love teaching them. Anyway, the topic was 'friends or lovers?' based around the story of two friends (a male and a female) and the question arose as to whether or not men and women can really just be friends. Maybe it's not surprising among a group of six women in their early twenties, but they were insistent that men are incapable of being friends with women without other thoughts coming into it. I guess, if I'm honest, the number of my female friends who there has never been anything physical with (in mind or matter) is very, very small. It did surprise me a little that the girls in the class agreed with each other so vehemently. They mentioned at one point that maybe foreign men are capable of it, but not Korean men. That's probably a different debate altogether.
I mentioned that I had been reading 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel. Well, it has been great company for me in an otherwise fairly empty week (by my standards at least). I finished it last night. Although it dipped in terms of quality in the final section and took about 100 pages to really get going, it was still a very enjoyable and, at times, enthralling book. At one point I was so wrapped up in the narrative that when a mosquito buzzed past my ear I nearly jumped the height of myself. I really thought, for a moment, that I was in that lifeboat with a Bengal tiger snarling by the bow. Of course, it's an allegory, but the story stands up by itself and is well-written and thought-provoking. My edition has some 'reading group questions' that I'm mulling over at the minute. I would definitely recommend you read it. 'Believers' might enjoy it even more than I did.
Religion is a major theme throughout the book. For me, this often spoils a work because I feel as though there is an essential leap that I simply cannot take and so my appreciation will be lacking. As early as the seventh chapter, the central character, Pi Patel, chastises agnostics: "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation". While I can't agree fully with that, agnosticism does strike me as a bit of a cop-out that I have been clinging to for a while now. It's a kind of covering of bases just in case one side isn't right, while still protecting yourself from the barbs associated with belief/non-belief. I am ready to admit that I am an atheist. I simply don't believe in the notion of a God or that there is any point to what we are doing as we mill around in our daily lives. In saying that, I would consider myself to be a humanist. It's still something I'm thinking about. I don't feel, at 28, that I'm ready to draw a line under the biggest of questions just yet.
Well that got a bit heavy didn't it? Thankfully I have music and sport to distract me from becoming too sullen. We had rehearsal on Wednesday night and again later on today. Some of the songs came almost effortlessly and sound really, really good. Others will take more time but I'm enjoying trying tougher things and working at it. They'll really feel like an achievement when they come. And they will come. As a group we're starting to build some momentum and we're getting on well as people which is probably even more important than how well we are playing the songs. Cheon is a top bloke and brilliant bassist. I feel as though I have known Jeff for ages already and I don't really need to say anything about my relationship with Jim. Ok I will anyway. He is one of my favourite people on the planet. I really honestly always feel privileged to be able to play with such talented musicians. I'm gagging for a gig... Jim leaves on Saturday for four weeks but it seems as though I'll be singing in a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band with Cheon and some of his friends. That'll give me my music fix for the month.
FC Seoul crashed out of the FA Cup in mid-week with a 2-1 defeat away at Busan. Judging from the highlights, it was a game that was there for the taking had we been able to defend a couple of basic crosses in the air at the back. The ever-impressive Choi Hyo Jin scored the opener for Seoul. However, Busan clinched it with two headers late in the second half. Frustrating. I am thinking of going to watch them away on Saturday night. In Korea, all men (with some exceptions) must serve in the military (usually for 26 months). If you are a professional footballer, you do this by playing for Gwangju Sangmu FC. They aren't the most competitive team in the league, hardly surprising given that their panel is constantly changing from year to year. Unfortunately, in true Korean style, they aren't playing at home in Gwangju this weekend but in nearby Younggwang, which makes the trip down that bit less convenient. We'll see how the knee is in the morning and what Ji thinks on the matter.
I only have 40 minutes before my language exchange so I better get cracking. I probably won't write anything over the weekend so have a good one everyone. Make the most of it! If you feel like a giggle check this out. I've been meaning to post it since my friend Jessica showed it to me. I think it'll resonate for anyone who has ever been in a relationship!
Monday 19 July 2010
A lot of balls!
27 to be exact! Above is Lee Chung Young, a former FC Seoul winger now plying his trade for Bolton Wanderers FC in the English Premiership. Even though he is just back from a fairly successful World Cup for South Korea, he still had time to come back to World Cup stadium on Saturday and kick/throw 27 signed balls (his old shirt number at FC Seoul) into the crowd in the pouring rain at half-time. What a nice bloke...The FC Seoul game at home to Chunnam Dragons was probably the highlight of my weekend. I sat in with Ji on Friday night with pizza and we just chilled out. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was out socialising as soon as I could after work every week with the Friday feeling coursing through my veins! Now staying in seems to be the norm. Most of Saturday was spent pottering about, doing my usual bits and bobs. The monsoon rain was quite the spectacle, although it threatened to ruin my plans to go watch the match at 7pm.
I called 1330 (unbelievably handy number you can call up for information on virtually anything - they even settle bets on drunken nights out, although I'm certain they're not happy about it) and they informed me that the game was still on (in spite of torrential rain for two days...) so I headed over. Ji met me in Seokye and we got the subway over together. The pitch was in perfect condition even though the rain continued to pour throughout proceedings. Seoul were good without being great and, although they ran out 1-0 winners, it was a nervy performance. The goal came when Hyun Yong Min crossed for Dejan to lay it off for Ko Yo Han who fired home accurately with a left foot finish. It was his first ever FC Seoul goal... You can check out the highlights here. Chunnam had a free-kick strike the crossbar and possibly bounce over the line in the first-half. I've seen it a few times and I'm still not sure if it was a goal. Goal-line technology anyone?
Our seats for K-League All-Stars V FC Barcelona have been booked so that's something to look forward to on August 4th. I read that no World Cup winners will be here but Messi will. Not overly confident that we'll see much of him but I'm looking forward to seeing the K-League players anyway. Incidentally, I stumbled upon quite an informative English-language website dedicated to Korean football here. I'll certainly be frequenting that from time to time. It's not always easy to keep up with what's going on here with the language barrier.
Derry City beat Shelbourne 2-1 away from home last Friday night to stay 10-points clear so, with FC Seoul currently in 3rd position in the K-League, it's a great football season for me so far! Aside from my own football-related injury, of course. I'm hoping to travel down south next weekend for FC Seoul's away K-League encounter with Gwangju. They are quite an interesting team because they are made up of footballers completing their military service. Annoyingly, it looks as though the game is taking place in Younggwang, not Gwangju, although it might be a good chance to have a sight-seeing trip somewhere new. Be nice to get the camera into action properly for the first time...
Friday 16 July 2010
Oryowoyo!
Sorry it has been a few days since I last blogged. I haven't been particularly busy or anything but, somehow, I just haven't been able to sit down and record everything. I'm quite proud of myself for staying fairly active and keeping busy in spite of my immobility this week. Speaking of the knee I'm still in the splint and on crutches when I need to cover any kind of distance. However, the swelling seems to have gone down and it doesn't really hurt as long as I don't try to turn too sharply and keep it well rested and iced up. I'll finish my meds over the weekend and I'm so hopeful that I'll get good news when I go back on the 29th. I'm so ready to get back to normal, you have no idea. Coincidentally, that's my mother's birthday. I now have no excuse if I forget it this year...
The last few days have been filled with my regular little chores; teaching, reading, preparing TOEIC classes, and so on and so forth. It has been fairly enjoyable having time to fool around on the guitar, get back into my Korean lessons online and just generally being able to catch up with people without feeling guilty about 'wasting time'. "How to be Free" by Tom Hodgkinson has been a very influential book on my life over the past few years. On the one hand, I try to live with as few constraints as possible and avoid the pitfalls of 'career', 'pressure' and 'expectations' as much as I can. In saying that, I seem to have some kind of innate Catholic guilt that makes it impossible for me to just relax without feeling as though I'm letting someone down or wasting my life. More on that another day I think.
I met Rob, Steven and Andy at Seoul World Cup Stadium for FC Seoul V Daegu FC in the last-eight of the Posco Cup on Wednesday night. Credit where it's due, the stadium has decent facilities so it wasn't hard for me to get around on my crutches. The game itself wasn't up to the same standard, which is hardly surprising given that it was their first game back after the mid-season break for the World Cup. Lee Seung Ryeol was our (FC Seoul's) only player in the South Korea squad in South Africa. It didn't take him long (22 minutes, to be precise) to show his quality with a deft pass giving Adi the chance to open the scoring from just outside the penalty box, although the Daegu keeper could have done better. Ha Dae Jung did well to scramble home a second six minutes later following good work from Choi Hyo Jin down the right and FC Seoul looked as though they were coasting.
It rarely seems to work out that way. A simple long ball from their own half allowed Daegu to grab one back through Om Byeong Hun on 36 minutes. Shocking defending from Kim Jin Gyu and Park Yong Ho, reminiscent of Terry and Upson for England against Germany. They were equally conspicuous in their absence as An Song Min nodded home an equaliser unmarked from a corner kick after 73 minutes. Somehow FC Seoul were holding on in a game they had looked so dominant in initially. Thankfully they secured a place in the last-four with a convincing 5-3 penalty shoot-out win, but it should never have gone that far. The highlights video (below) is worth a look if only to witness Dejan's audacious spot-kick to secure the win. I doubt he ever tried anything like that when he was playing back in Europe. What a legend (ok, maybe only to me).
I guess it'd be helpful for me to explain why exactly I love him so much. Well, a while back we were all at COEX Intercontinental Hotel wine buffet to celebrate my friend Jessica's birthday. In the middle of trying to sort out a wire transfer of some emergency cash to my friend Thomas, I passed none other than Dejan and Adi in the lobby!! They were so civil and I talked to them for ages, showing off my FC Seoul knowledge. Dejan casually mentioned that I should go to the tunnel after the match next day and he'd give me his shirt. I thought nothing of it. Under the urging of my girlfriend, we crawled between the gates at the end of FC Seoul's 5-1 drubbing of Jeju (in which Dejan scored two crackers) and I joined the little bunch of fanatics vying for their attention. Somehow he saw me, pointed straight at me, approached, stripped off his shirt and stretched over the other well-wishers to place the soaking wet trophy straight into my grateful clutches. It might sound silly, but I was ecstatic! I'm excited again just writing about it, to be honest. It's sat in my wardrobe (I washed it... eventually) and I'll be saving it to wear on special occasions. Whatever his intentions, he has a fan for life in me now. I'll be back on Saturday night for the K-League encounter with Chunnam Dragons and wishing him all the best, as ever. Incidentally, you should go here to vote for him on the K-League All Star team that will face FC Barcelona on August 4th. I'd love to see how he'd fare against that kind of opposition...
Here are the video highlights from FC Seoul V Daegu FC last Wednesday night.
On Thursday night I met my friend Stephanie in Myeong Dong for dinner and a long-overdue catch-up. She has recently come back from visiting family and friends at home in the US and experienced something fairly common to me and my colleagues in Seoul. When we are here, working, living, traveling and whatever else we are doing, we are changing as people. At the same time so are our friends and family in our respective homes all over the world. Going home can be a difficult experience. We all have a certain idea of what 'home' is and people back home have an idea of what we are like. When those things don't match up, it can be tricky. In Stephanie's case, her parents don't even live in the same state she grew up in. I think all of us who have moved away from home can identify with that. I usually really enjoy my first week home, enjoy my second a little, then start hating being home any longer. It's a horrible feeling because it's tough on my family to see that I'm unhappy being back, but it's just a fact of life that people grow up and feel more comfortable in their own set of circumstances where they are independent and in control of their own lives on a day-to-day basis. I'll be home for two weeks this Christmas. Hopefully that's just the right amount of time and I can be mature enough to make the most of my precious time at home.
Not much has been going on over the past couple of days. Monsoon season has kicked in at last, just in time for most of my mates going to MudFest in Boryeong, but hopefully they'll all still have a good weekend anyway. I think it has abated enough for me to go watch FC Seoul V Chunnam Dragons tonight at 7pm. I promise I'll get my camera in action and show you the little stream out my window that has developed into a gushing river over the past 24-hours. I also got my birthday present from Ji yesterday, an Apple iPod Nano. It's strange that I've gone from someone who shied away from 'gadgets' to someone who has a laptop, digital camera and iPod within the last twelve months or so.
I just can't seem to focus on what I'm writing today so I'm going to sign off. I hope you're all having an enjoyable weekend, no matter what you're getting up to.
Tuesday 13 July 2010
Little by little...
It's coming up on midnight but I'm not feeling sleepy at all having just got in from the trek that was my journey back home from band practice. Rehearsal was decent tonight but, of course, there were only three of us so it was hard to go through anything properly. Maybe not everyone was as prepared as they might have been but the positive signs are still there. The song that I was really worried about is already sounding as if it could be very, very strong. I surprised myself with the vocals a little. Nice to be able to do that after 23 years of singing. Wow I'm old... I called Cheon (bassist) and tied him down to rehearsal next Wednesday night so hopefully he'll come and we can have a really solid jam together to get his heart back in it before Jim (our drummer) leaves at the end of July to go back home to England for four weeks. It's a shame that he's going just as we're getting a set together but I'm happy for him that he's going to get a good stretch back in England with his family and friends. I'm looking forward to that at Christmas myself.
Just prior to rehearsal I met up with my good friend Jess, who I haven't seen enough of this year. It's just so easy for weeks and weeks to pass by without seeing people we should be going out of our way to keep in touch with. She's one of a number of my friends who are leaving Korea at the end of August. It'll be tough but it comes with living in a place like Seoul where so many people are on different paths and come and go according to their own personal life plan. New people always seem to come in their place and life goes on. Jess seems to have exciting plans for the future. Hearing other people's hopes and dreams always makes me reappraise my own. A lot of that going on these days.
The rest of my day was as routine as they have been in general of late. I get up, I prepare for my class, I teach my class (very glad to see the return of my old student Chae Young this morning), I reply to emails, catch up with the news, read my book, read 'Time', study some Korean (still very basic), mess about on the guitar (even more basic than my Korean), practice my songs and do some research for the TOEIC classes coming up next semester. It's not the most exciting routine I've ever had but it passes the time and feels ok. At least I feel as though I'm being productive even though I'm stuck in a splint still. The end of the third paragraph and the first time I mentioned my dodgy knee! Must be some kind of a record.
Lots of distressing news coming from back home in Ireland these days. Eight dead in a car accident near where I'm from; most of them in their late teens and early twenties. That seems to be a bit of an epidemic where I'm from, although it's my understanding that things had been getting better up until this, the worst traffic accident in Ireland since records began. Trouble brewing in Belfast around the 12th July Orange marches. I can't explain the feelings those stories stir up in me. 'The troubles' were an every day part of my life growing up and have largely gone away since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. It seems that a small band of people are intent on dragging the province down into the past again. I'm confident that the will of the majority will see us through these choppy waters. The thing is, in Northern Ireland, you're never too far away from digging up a lot of hatred and bitterness on both sides...
Just prior to rehearsal I met up with my good friend Jess, who I haven't seen enough of this year. It's just so easy for weeks and weeks to pass by without seeing people we should be going out of our way to keep in touch with. She's one of a number of my friends who are leaving Korea at the end of August. It'll be tough but it comes with living in a place like Seoul where so many people are on different paths and come and go according to their own personal life plan. New people always seem to come in their place and life goes on. Jess seems to have exciting plans for the future. Hearing other people's hopes and dreams always makes me reappraise my own. A lot of that going on these days.
The rest of my day was as routine as they have been in general of late. I get up, I prepare for my class, I teach my class (very glad to see the return of my old student Chae Young this morning), I reply to emails, catch up with the news, read my book, read 'Time', study some Korean (still very basic), mess about on the guitar (even more basic than my Korean), practice my songs and do some research for the TOEIC classes coming up next semester. It's not the most exciting routine I've ever had but it passes the time and feels ok. At least I feel as though I'm being productive even though I'm stuck in a splint still. The end of the third paragraph and the first time I mentioned my dodgy knee! Must be some kind of a record.
Lots of distressing news coming from back home in Ireland these days. Eight dead in a car accident near where I'm from; most of them in their late teens and early twenties. That seems to be a bit of an epidemic where I'm from, although it's my understanding that things had been getting better up until this, the worst traffic accident in Ireland since records began. Trouble brewing in Belfast around the 12th July Orange marches. I can't explain the feelings those stories stir up in me. 'The troubles' were an every day part of my life growing up and have largely gone away since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. It seems that a small band of people are intent on dragging the province down into the past again. I'm confident that the will of the majority will see us through these choppy waters. The thing is, in Northern Ireland, you're never too far away from digging up a lot of hatred and bitterness on both sides...
Monday 12 July 2010
Party Pooper
I don't want to sound sorry for myself but I just had a pretty depressing birthday weekend. I don't use that word lightly. I'm not going to go into any of the particulars of what happened (nothing all that bad at all) but it was just a weekend I wanted to end as soon as possible. Everyone I had any contact with just seemed to make it worse and the best part was probably the few hours I had by myself during the day on Saturday. All the happy birthday wishes on facebook were very nice too, I must admit.
A birthday can be such a great, fun time but days like that have the power to make a person feel incredible miserable. There is an expectation that something good will happen. In reality it's just a day like any other. When the expected something doesn't materialise we just feel as though we have been deprived of something we were due. Your birthday also gets you thinking about past birthdays, your age, your life, your future and so on and so forth.
The only other really depressing birthday I can remember was my 19th. It was near the end of a long, unfruitful year at University in London. I was having a bit of a tough time in life with University not working out as I had envisaged but I was too stubborn to admit defeat and stayed there for the summer making things progressively worse. I can't remember in detail what happened to made it so bad but there was a festival in Finsbury Park and a friend of a friend throwing her drink in my face on account of her being a nutter. It just really left me having to face up to the fact that all wasn't what it should have been in my life and I went back to Ireland to start picking up the pieces soon after.
A lot of the same thoughts were going through my mind yesterday as I sat around with Ji doing absolutely nothing, which always annoys me on it's own anyway. I'm just not good at being inactive. Even if I'm not doing anything worthwhile, I at least like to be doing something. Without doubt a large part of my birthday malaise is down to the fact that I'm still stuck in a splint and can't really get around without crutches. Nonetheless, it seemed that everyone I came across did their little part to make me feel even worse. It had me questioning the people I spend my time with, what I'm doing with my life and what I should be doing. It might sound cocky but there's no doubt in my mind that I'm too good a teacher to be doing the job I'm doing. I just don't see how I can get out of it anytime soon.
Anyway I'm going to stop with the whining. Sorry. I didn't see the entire World Cup final because I watched the British Grand Prix before going to sleep and just couldn't wake up again. What I did see was actually a pretty fascinating game, although I've heard a lot of people complaining about the quality or lack thereof. Of course I'm glad Spain won it, even though teams like Argentina and Germany provided more entertainment. They look so complete even without Torres showing his true ability. I'm already turning my attention to the qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championship in Poland and the Ukraine. Ireland have been drawn with Russia, Slovakia, Andorra, Macedonia and Armenia. It doesn't look too bad on paper but Russia are always strong, Slovakia were at the World Cup (where they beat Italy) and Macedonia are one of those annoying tricky sides that we have faltered against before. Our campaign kicks off on September 3rd away to Armenia before the visit of Andorra to Ireland 4 days later. Not long from now at all! How the football bandwagon keeps on rolling... Anything less than six points from those and it'll be even more of an uphill struggle...
The British Grand Prix yesterday was exhilarating! I'm uneasy with the habit of re-jigging the rules every season to level the playing field but if this is the result, then it's hard to be against it. Brilliant drama with Webber and Vettel, amazing races from the British McLaren drivers, Alonso's "don't talk to me" message to the pit crew. Wonderful. I'll be fulfilling a lifetime ambition by attending a Grand Prix in October (Korea's first) so I'm glad the season is as tight as it is. We're also hoping to go watch some live women's tennis in September. I'll have my summer fun after the summer is done.
A birthday can be such a great, fun time but days like that have the power to make a person feel incredible miserable. There is an expectation that something good will happen. In reality it's just a day like any other. When the expected something doesn't materialise we just feel as though we have been deprived of something we were due. Your birthday also gets you thinking about past birthdays, your age, your life, your future and so on and so forth.
The only other really depressing birthday I can remember was my 19th. It was near the end of a long, unfruitful year at University in London. I was having a bit of a tough time in life with University not working out as I had envisaged but I was too stubborn to admit defeat and stayed there for the summer making things progressively worse. I can't remember in detail what happened to made it so bad but there was a festival in Finsbury Park and a friend of a friend throwing her drink in my face on account of her being a nutter. It just really left me having to face up to the fact that all wasn't what it should have been in my life and I went back to Ireland to start picking up the pieces soon after.
A lot of the same thoughts were going through my mind yesterday as I sat around with Ji doing absolutely nothing, which always annoys me on it's own anyway. I'm just not good at being inactive. Even if I'm not doing anything worthwhile, I at least like to be doing something. Without doubt a large part of my birthday malaise is down to the fact that I'm still stuck in a splint and can't really get around without crutches. Nonetheless, it seemed that everyone I came across did their little part to make me feel even worse. It had me questioning the people I spend my time with, what I'm doing with my life and what I should be doing. It might sound cocky but there's no doubt in my mind that I'm too good a teacher to be doing the job I'm doing. I just don't see how I can get out of it anytime soon.
Anyway I'm going to stop with the whining. Sorry. I didn't see the entire World Cup final because I watched the British Grand Prix before going to sleep and just couldn't wake up again. What I did see was actually a pretty fascinating game, although I've heard a lot of people complaining about the quality or lack thereof. Of course I'm glad Spain won it, even though teams like Argentina and Germany provided more entertainment. They look so complete even without Torres showing his true ability. I'm already turning my attention to the qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championship in Poland and the Ukraine. Ireland have been drawn with Russia, Slovakia, Andorra, Macedonia and Armenia. It doesn't look too bad on paper but Russia are always strong, Slovakia were at the World Cup (where they beat Italy) and Macedonia are one of those annoying tricky sides that we have faltered against before. Our campaign kicks off on September 3rd away to Armenia before the visit of Andorra to Ireland 4 days later. Not long from now at all! How the football bandwagon keeps on rolling... Anything less than six points from those and it'll be even more of an uphill struggle...
The British Grand Prix yesterday was exhilarating! I'm uneasy with the habit of re-jigging the rules every season to level the playing field but if this is the result, then it's hard to be against it. Brilliant drama with Webber and Vettel, amazing races from the British McLaren drivers, Alonso's "don't talk to me" message to the pit crew. Wonderful. I'll be fulfilling a lifetime ambition by attending a Grand Prix in October (Korea's first) so I'm glad the season is as tight as it is. We're also hoping to go watch some live women's tennis in September. I'll have my summer fun after the summer is done.
Saturday 10 July 2010
Ummmmmm
I really don't have all that much to say today. I had a nice but terribly grown-up Friday night in last night with Ji. We ate, she beat me at Scrabble and we read and had an early night. That's life when you're nearly 28 folks, watch out! In fairness I doubt I'd be staying in if I didn't have this God forsaken splint on but we still had a nice time.
Another nice win for Derry City FC last night and the march goes on. I'm looking forward to watching the British F1 Grand Prix this weekend and, of course, the small matter of the FIFA World Cup Final between Holland and Spain. I just noticed that the mouthy know-it-all I work with drew Holland in the sweep. I'll be rooting for Spain solely on that basis. An Irish co-worker drew them so it's time for a bit of national solidarity I think.
It looks as though I will be having a language exchange with a former student who teaches Korean here starting this week perhaps. She is a really nice woman and, I suspect, a very good teacher so I'm looking forward to it. She is also very pleasant to teach so I'll be doing my best to help her as much as I can.
I finished 'Foe' last night. It's one of those very symbolic books that, although wonderfully clever, fail to excite. It was about the power of words and the authority of those who rule over them. It was a good read, but I doubt that it'll live long in my memory. I found Yann Martel's 'Life of Pi' in the teacher's office, which has been recommended to me countless times. I'm hopeful.
Having ruled out our proposed new band name on the grounds that it just split opinion too much, I thought of the idea of stealing a band name from 'The Hitch hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' because Jim and I both love the series. So, what do you think of 'Disaster Area'? It has already been done (by a Metallica tribute band, I believe) but I can't see that bothering anyone on the music circuit in Korea. Cheon text last night to say that he can't rehearse on Tuesday due to the illness of a family member. Jim, Jeff and I are going to meet up anyhow. I hope we aren't losing Cheon. If we do, it'll be 100% my fault... I also hope his family member is ok. I hope that goes without saying...
I can't explain how much I'd love to have a drink tonight. It's my birthday weekend for crying out loud! Rob and Thomas are in Suyu right now having Family Mart beers (cans outside a convenience store, yet another great aspect of living in Korea) and I'm going to join them with Ji soon. I meant to mention that our delivery food last night was 11,000 Won (about €7) for two main dishes, some mandu, side dishes, two portions of rice and delivery. Then they come and pick up the dirty dishes next morning! I took a few pictures to put up here but it'll have to wait. What could I buy for €7 in Ireland these days? Not very much, I'd say.
Anyway, it's the 3rd/4th place play-off tonight. Well, who cares...? I'll probably watch it anyway. I hope you're all having a nice weekend. Thank you, as always, for your comments both private and public.
Another nice win for Derry City FC last night and the march goes on. I'm looking forward to watching the British F1 Grand Prix this weekend and, of course, the small matter of the FIFA World Cup Final between Holland and Spain. I just noticed that the mouthy know-it-all I work with drew Holland in the sweep. I'll be rooting for Spain solely on that basis. An Irish co-worker drew them so it's time for a bit of national solidarity I think.
It looks as though I will be having a language exchange with a former student who teaches Korean here starting this week perhaps. She is a really nice woman and, I suspect, a very good teacher so I'm looking forward to it. She is also very pleasant to teach so I'll be doing my best to help her as much as I can.
I finished 'Foe' last night. It's one of those very symbolic books that, although wonderfully clever, fail to excite. It was about the power of words and the authority of those who rule over them. It was a good read, but I doubt that it'll live long in my memory. I found Yann Martel's 'Life of Pi' in the teacher's office, which has been recommended to me countless times. I'm hopeful.
Having ruled out our proposed new band name on the grounds that it just split opinion too much, I thought of the idea of stealing a band name from 'The Hitch hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' because Jim and I both love the series. So, what do you think of 'Disaster Area'? It has already been done (by a Metallica tribute band, I believe) but I can't see that bothering anyone on the music circuit in Korea. Cheon text last night to say that he can't rehearse on Tuesday due to the illness of a family member. Jim, Jeff and I are going to meet up anyhow. I hope we aren't losing Cheon. If we do, it'll be 100% my fault... I also hope his family member is ok. I hope that goes without saying...
I can't explain how much I'd love to have a drink tonight. It's my birthday weekend for crying out loud! Rob and Thomas are in Suyu right now having Family Mart beers (cans outside a convenience store, yet another great aspect of living in Korea) and I'm going to join them with Ji soon. I meant to mention that our delivery food last night was 11,000 Won (about €7) for two main dishes, some mandu, side dishes, two portions of rice and delivery. Then they come and pick up the dirty dishes next morning! I took a few pictures to put up here but it'll have to wait. What could I buy for €7 in Ireland these days? Not very much, I'd say.
Anyway, it's the 3rd/4th place play-off tonight. Well, who cares...? I'll probably watch it anyway. I hope you're all having a nice weekend. Thank you, as always, for your comments both private and public.
Friday 9 July 2010
Every cloud...
...has a silver lining. It's amazing how many different things you can find to do when you're laid up. I really shouldn't reveal this about myself but I have a habit of keeping a 'to do' list from day-to-day. Everything goes on there. I even include mundane activities as essential as 'shave', 'shower' and 'eat dinner'. I think you get the message. I can't remember when I started doing this but it has been going on for a long time; maybe since I was 16 or so. I'm not sure that it really makes me more productive but it certainly makes me feel more productive when I see all those basic things with a line through them at the end of the day. Yes, I know it's pedantic (oh, I hate that word) and possibly slightly OCD, but I still do it nonetheless and can't see myself stopping anytime soon. Let me take you through my (almost completed) list for today:
- Shave: That's fairly self-explanatory I'd imagine.
- Wash: It's 'wash' instead of 'shower' because I need someone (Ji) to help me with my splint if I'm to have a shower. I'm still able to give myself a good scrub - no need to worry about my personal hygiene!
- Prep for my lessons: I usually try to do this the day before but this class is very straightforward and doesn't start until 10am so I have plenty of time in the morning.
- Teach: Yeah, just the one class these days lasting 50-minutes. I only had two students this morning.
- Breakfast: I did warn you that my list is full of banality... I still have the Weetabix Ji brought me back from her last trip to Hong Kong. What a great start to the day.
- Korean: Meeting Ji's family last night resulted in sufficient guilt to encourage me to dust off my vocab notebook and spend some time with the 'Let's Speak Korean' videos on YouTube.
- Guitar: I'm one of those people who attempts to self-teach guitar from time to time but never gets too far. I did take lessons last summer so I'm slightly better than the past but still not anywhere near good enough to play in public. One of my New Year's Resolutions is actually to sing at an open mic and accompany myself on guitar. Still a long way from that...
- Songs: With rehearsal coming up on Tuesday night I want to be well-prepared and go some way to making up for my no-show last week. I have about 8-10 songs to get ready so it takes nearly an hour a day to go through them properly. I'm not going to start mentioning what we're covering but one of them is the toughest song vocally I've ever attempted. It's going to take a lot of work but will sound brilliant if we can pull it off properly).
- TOEIC prep: I'm trying to get a head-start on the program starting at the end of August. I suggested a .pdf book of printable exercises to my boss (to buy) but I'm not holding my breath.
- Lunch: Ramen and tuna; lunch of kings.
- Emails: I'm keeping up-to-date with everyone much better now that I'm house-bound. It has actually been brilliant catching up with everyone's craic. One friend just lost his job after going on an impulse trip to London to surprise his new girlfriend. Now that's romantic! Costly, but undoubtedly romantic.
- News: I listen to BBC Radio 5Live every single day to keep up with all the news back home. Strangely enough, I never really listen to or read news from Ireland... While browsing the news on bbc.co.uk I came across the brilliant Fergal Keane again. He's an Irish journalist I first encountered when I read his, 'A Stranger's Eye, a Foreign Correspondent's View of Britain' by chance, which was simply written but so full of a love for humanity that it really stayed with me. His recent article about the Somme memorial is full of his trademark ability to not just describe but to help us feel. What a talent.
- Read: I'm still reading 'Foe' by J. M. Coetzee. I'll reserve judgement until I finish it, which I think is only fair in general.
- TIME: I am a regular reader of 'Time' magazine since Ji started giving me her subscription. I think it's valuable to read international current affairs from another perspective and I find it helpful in providing basic information about what's going on around the world.
- Blog: Here I am.
- Dinner: Ji is on her way as we speak and I believe we're having spaghetti bolognese tonight. Yum.
- Ji: Yes, I include seeing my girlfriend on my 'to-do' list. Feel free to judge.
Thursday 8 July 2010
So much for my light summer
We had our 'program development' meeting today and it has thrown up a lot more work than I had been expecting. From late-August until December we will be teaching DDE2 (Dynamic English 2), which will involve preparing students for either the TOEIC or TOEFL test. I'll be teaching TOEIC. I have done it before so it's no big deal but it throws up a couple of issues. Firstly, we have less than two hours a week from now until August 6th to put together a syllabus and teaching materials for 12 weeks of classes. Undoubtedly we'll go over that in our free time, which equates to unpaid overtime. Wonderful. Secondly, TOEIC is pretty dull to teach. Entertaining our students goes a long way to deciding if we are viewed as good/bad teachers in this job so it's going to take a lot of thought and creativity. I already spent a few hours researching online earlier. Even though I think that it's misguided to teach to a test like this, I'm also kind of looking forward to it.
Later in the day I had an unexpected dinner with Ji and some of her family. I've met her elder brother before but it was my first time to meet her cousin, aunt and grandmother. Of course I always feel bad when I can't communicate with them in Korean. Her aunt says I 'must' learn it in six months. I hope she isn't holding her breath because I've already spent two-and-a-half years living in Korea and I'm still terrible. I really must get back to studying it. I'll try to find a language exchange partner and hit the books for a bit before my MA starts up again in early-September.
I ended up missing Spain V Germany live but I watched a re-run earlier and it was a really tense, intriguing match. I think Spain deserved it but I hope they can find another gear before the final on Sunday night. Strangely enough, Holland are the only team to have gone unbeaten in the tournament. I'm not even going to try to call it. I was fairly convinced that Brazil were going to take the title and, if not, I thought it'd be Argentina. Holland have totally surprised me. I suppose Spain aren't really a major shock but the way in which they have navigated their way through the tournament couldn't have been predicted. Want my prediction? Really? Ok, for what it's worth I think it'll be:
Uruguay 1 Germany 3 on Saturday night
and
Holland 2 Spain 1 on Sunday night
Those are really just plucked out of the air. The longer this World Cup has gone on, the less sure I have been about any of the outcomes. Incidentally, the race is still on for the Golden Boot between Villa, Sneijder (both on 5 goals), Forlan and Klose (both on 4). That'll be interesting to keep an eye on. Otherwise I don't think any real football fans see much at stake in the 3rd/4th place play-off.
My birthday is coming up on Sunday and apparently Ji was trying to organise a bit of a get-together among my friends on Saturday night. I feel kind of bad about it but I asked her to cancel. I really don't like making a fuss about my birthday anymore. I mean, 28 is of no significance at all. I also worry that these things turn into a popularity test. Who can really be bothered going to all these parties? Most of the time people go out of some kind of sense of 'duty' as if it's an obligation. I don't want anyone to feel that way. Because I'm on pills for my knee, I won't even be able to have a drink. I think going out, not being able to have a drink and then going home as all my mates go out for a big night would be kind of depressing to be honest. I appreciate what Ji was trying to do and I feel bad that I'm being a grouch about it but I'm a little surprised that she didn't guess that it wasn't going to be my cup of tea. I'll be happy to stay in with her and give my knee some more much-needed rest.
I was going over songs tonight and came across a cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' by Pink. It's a song that's close to my heart because I used to sing it with Furey when we were young, ambitious teenagers who really thought we were going to be rock stars. I don't know why I clicked on the link but I was pleasantly surprised. It's a tough, tough song to sing and she rocks it. I think I'm quick to disregard some musicians because of their image or the crappy songs they sing but there's no doubting that that girl has an incredible voice. Check it out for yourself.
A big shout out to Matt who told me how to get videos on here. I wouldn't have predicted that my first would have been Pink but there you go. It's official. My blogging habits are about as easy to call as the 2010 World Cup.
It's getting late and I have a little prep to do for my morning class so I'll sign off here. Thank you to those who have been writing the first ever comments on my blog. Sad and all as it is, I was really excited to see them!
Later in the day I had an unexpected dinner with Ji and some of her family. I've met her elder brother before but it was my first time to meet her cousin, aunt and grandmother. Of course I always feel bad when I can't communicate with them in Korean. Her aunt says I 'must' learn it in six months. I hope she isn't holding her breath because I've already spent two-and-a-half years living in Korea and I'm still terrible. I really must get back to studying it. I'll try to find a language exchange partner and hit the books for a bit before my MA starts up again in early-September.
I ended up missing Spain V Germany live but I watched a re-run earlier and it was a really tense, intriguing match. I think Spain deserved it but I hope they can find another gear before the final on Sunday night. Strangely enough, Holland are the only team to have gone unbeaten in the tournament. I'm not even going to try to call it. I was fairly convinced that Brazil were going to take the title and, if not, I thought it'd be Argentina. Holland have totally surprised me. I suppose Spain aren't really a major shock but the way in which they have navigated their way through the tournament couldn't have been predicted. Want my prediction? Really? Ok, for what it's worth I think it'll be:
Uruguay 1 Germany 3 on Saturday night
and
Holland 2 Spain 1 on Sunday night
Those are really just plucked out of the air. The longer this World Cup has gone on, the less sure I have been about any of the outcomes. Incidentally, the race is still on for the Golden Boot between Villa, Sneijder (both on 5 goals), Forlan and Klose (both on 4). That'll be interesting to keep an eye on. Otherwise I don't think any real football fans see much at stake in the 3rd/4th place play-off.
My birthday is coming up on Sunday and apparently Ji was trying to organise a bit of a get-together among my friends on Saturday night. I feel kind of bad about it but I asked her to cancel. I really don't like making a fuss about my birthday anymore. I mean, 28 is of no significance at all. I also worry that these things turn into a popularity test. Who can really be bothered going to all these parties? Most of the time people go out of some kind of sense of 'duty' as if it's an obligation. I don't want anyone to feel that way. Because I'm on pills for my knee, I won't even be able to have a drink. I think going out, not being able to have a drink and then going home as all my mates go out for a big night would be kind of depressing to be honest. I appreciate what Ji was trying to do and I feel bad that I'm being a grouch about it but I'm a little surprised that she didn't guess that it wasn't going to be my cup of tea. I'll be happy to stay in with her and give my knee some more much-needed rest.
I was going over songs tonight and came across a cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' by Pink. It's a song that's close to my heart because I used to sing it with Furey when we were young, ambitious teenagers who really thought we were going to be rock stars. I don't know why I clicked on the link but I was pleasantly surprised. It's a tough, tough song to sing and she rocks it. I think I'm quick to disregard some musicians because of their image or the crappy songs they sing but there's no doubting that that girl has an incredible voice. Check it out for yourself.
A big shout out to Matt who told me how to get videos on here. I wouldn't have predicted that my first would have been Pink but there you go. It's official. My blogging habits are about as easy to call as the 2010 World Cup.
It's getting late and I have a little prep to do for my morning class so I'll sign off here. Thank you to those who have been writing the first ever comments on my blog. Sad and all as it is, I was really excited to see them!
Wednesday 7 July 2010
Wiiiiiiiiii!!!!
Yeah so I never mentioned that I spent most of the day last Saturday playing Wii sports with Rob and Ji. That thing is such a good laugh and so addictive. It always makes me grin a little to myself when people talk about it as a healthy, active option. Let's face it, there isn't too much to it. I'm one of those annoying people who don't really move around so much and I'm still decently ok. I think people forget that they're not actually playing real tennis. It's just a game based on it. I'm pretty hard to beat on the old Wii tennis. I might stick that on my CV.
Class was great this morning. They're only a very small group but they're very dedicated. After all, they're giving up their summer vacation to take a non-accredited English course! I'm trying to keep it light but useful for them. I always have some little starter activity to review, then cover two pages of their textbook before an interactive reading/writing activity at the end. That invariably goes over my 50 minutes with them but no-one seems to mind. I'm thankful I only have that one class a day because my knee requires a lot of rest.
Ji got the wheels turning on claiming back what Seoul National University Hospital over-charged me when I went there last month. Apparently they thought I wasn't covered because my ARC (Alien Registration Card) number wasn't entered on their system properly. Shoddy. Either way I should have something reimbursed quite soon. The annoying thing is that the expense was what put me off getting the MRI sooner. I rarely complain about life in Korea but things like that, when you don't really know what you are/aren't entitled to, can grind. Mind you, I could be making more of an effort to learn the language and be able to figure these things out for myself.
I watched the Uruguay V Holland game earlier. Not too impressive for a World Cup semi-final. I guess the downside of all the early upsets is that the tournament may not contain as much quality during the latter stages than it might otherwise have. In saying that, Spain V Germany is a mouth-watering tie. I'll be going to sleep early so I can get up at 3am to watch that one. I don't know why I have turned a bit negative on the World Cup of late. I guess having a personal interest with the likes of South Korea and England (or even France and Italy with their ties to Ireland's non-qualification) have sapped me a bit. I'm hopeful tonight will live up to expectations. On form, surely it has to be Germany? On paper, Spain. They haven't scaled the heights as they did in the Euros two years ago, but you'd be a fool to rule them out.
The season has recently resumed for my beloved Derry City FC. At the halfway point of the campaign they are seven points clear at the top of the First Division and look set for an immediate return to the top flight after the disaster that was last season. I was delighted to see Mark Farren back and scoring in the 2-1 over Mervue in Terryland Park. However, it seems that the mid-season break has somewhat hampered their momentum. I hope they get back into their stride asap. Incidentally, if you know of a good Derry City FC or League of Ireland blog, please do let me know.
Nothing much else to say today. I'm at Ji's place now and she's making me some dinner, the star that she is. It was a pain getting here because it's too hot to be lugging yourself around on crutches. I also took two buses rather than a taxi because it's just too much bother getting in and out of back seats. I sound as though I'm whining, but I'm not really. I'm still hoping to maybe see some people this weekend and catch up with Jess and Steph next week. We arranged a rehearsal for next Tuesday night too. For a second there, we thought we might have lost Cheon. I definitely need to get my act together and show up well-prepared and on time. Especially the 'show up' part.
The dinner is getting close - my belly is rumbling! Let's hope for a great match tonight and I'll write more tomorrow.
Class was great this morning. They're only a very small group but they're very dedicated. After all, they're giving up their summer vacation to take a non-accredited English course! I'm trying to keep it light but useful for them. I always have some little starter activity to review, then cover two pages of their textbook before an interactive reading/writing activity at the end. That invariably goes over my 50 minutes with them but no-one seems to mind. I'm thankful I only have that one class a day because my knee requires a lot of rest.
Ji got the wheels turning on claiming back what Seoul National University Hospital over-charged me when I went there last month. Apparently they thought I wasn't covered because my ARC (Alien Registration Card) number wasn't entered on their system properly. Shoddy. Either way I should have something reimbursed quite soon. The annoying thing is that the expense was what put me off getting the MRI sooner. I rarely complain about life in Korea but things like that, when you don't really know what you are/aren't entitled to, can grind. Mind you, I could be making more of an effort to learn the language and be able to figure these things out for myself.
I watched the Uruguay V Holland game earlier. Not too impressive for a World Cup semi-final. I guess the downside of all the early upsets is that the tournament may not contain as much quality during the latter stages than it might otherwise have. In saying that, Spain V Germany is a mouth-watering tie. I'll be going to sleep early so I can get up at 3am to watch that one. I don't know why I have turned a bit negative on the World Cup of late. I guess having a personal interest with the likes of South Korea and England (or even France and Italy with their ties to Ireland's non-qualification) have sapped me a bit. I'm hopeful tonight will live up to expectations. On form, surely it has to be Germany? On paper, Spain. They haven't scaled the heights as they did in the Euros two years ago, but you'd be a fool to rule them out.
The season has recently resumed for my beloved Derry City FC. At the halfway point of the campaign they are seven points clear at the top of the First Division and look set for an immediate return to the top flight after the disaster that was last season. I was delighted to see Mark Farren back and scoring in the 2-1 over Mervue in Terryland Park. However, it seems that the mid-season break has somewhat hampered their momentum. I hope they get back into their stride asap. Incidentally, if you know of a good Derry City FC or League of Ireland blog, please do let me know.
Nothing much else to say today. I'm at Ji's place now and she's making me some dinner, the star that she is. It was a pain getting here because it's too hot to be lugging yourself around on crutches. I also took two buses rather than a taxi because it's just too much bother getting in and out of back seats. I sound as though I'm whining, but I'm not really. I'm still hoping to maybe see some people this weekend and catch up with Jess and Steph next week. We arranged a rehearsal for next Tuesday night too. For a second there, we thought we might have lost Cheon. I definitely need to get my act together and show up well-prepared and on time. Especially the 'show up' part.
The dinner is getting close - my belly is rumbling! Let's hope for a great match tonight and I'll write more tomorrow.
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Ah-knee-yo!
It has been a few days since my last post so it's time to put that right. Usually my absence in one way or another can be attributed to a busy/heavy weekend and that's certainly the case this time around. I mentioned all my upcoming plans in my last entry and everything I planned for Friday and Saturday went ahead as planned. However, Saturday night went on that bit longer than is really sensible so I totally missed band practice on Sunday. Jeff did the same. It's pretty shabby from both of us and I'm sure Jim and Cheon were far from impressed. We'll have to make sure it doesn't become a regular occurrence.
I woke up on Monday with my head full of those ideas I always wonder how many I'm sharing them with across the globe. The common themes are, 'I'm never drinking again', 'why didn't I leave earlier on Saturday?', ' why did I go to INSERT LOCAL WATERING HOLE HERE on Sunday night?', etc, etc, etc... Accompanying those old favourites this Monday was the solemn oath to go off drinking for a bit. As it turns out, I really will be on this occasion.
Having shown signs of improvement last week, my knee was sore and swollen again on Monday having not been exactly rested up over the weekend. Ji and I headed to a local hospital today. I want to say right away - DON'T GO TO SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL!! That's where I went a couple of weeks ago to be ripped off, annoyed by smug volunteers and no more enlightened about what was actually wrong any more so than I had been when I went in. They also failed to see that I am covered by health insurance and so over-charged me by quite a bit. They haven't heard the last of me on that front.
Today I went to Him Chan Hospital and now actually know what was wrong and what I need to do to get better. I started of by getting some fluid drained from my knee. If you are a girlfriend going to the hospital to support and pacify your nervous boyfriend then don't say, "Oh My God what a huge needle!" when the doctor is about to treat him. Yeah, that doesn't help. After that joyous experience I had an MRI scan on my knee, a process that I wouldn't fancy experiencing if I was claustrophobic. It involves being put in a tube that wouldn't look out of place on Star Trek and listening to a much louder equivalent of those old dial-up internet tones for twenty minutes. I spent the whole time looking at a sign saying 'Philips Laser Aperture' and trying to rack my brains figuring out what 'aperture' actually means... That didn't make the time go by any longer you'll be aghast to hear.
The diagnosis is that I dislocated my patella and, although it magically went back into place on it's own, the event ripped a ligament. I'm in a new splint and on crutches for three more weeks at least. He also warned me that if it happens again (the dislocation) then I'll be in for surgery. I think it would be wise not to play football or do any serious jogging ever again but we'll see... It was a huge relief not to need surgery and I'm glad to finally have an answer for those who constantly ask me what's actually wrong with me (or my knee, at least). Additionally, the pills I'm on to aid my recovery strictly forbid me from drinking alcohol for a bit. That's fine by me...
So. Cycling trip to Seonyudo for my birthday: Off. Mud Festival trip with the lads: Forget about it. Jisan Valley and Pentaport Rock Festivals: Not on your nelly. Surprisingly, I actually don't mind at all right now. I'm looking forward to lots of reading, laying about, kicking Ji's ass on the Wii, maybe playing chess with my co-worker Kevin, and generally not feeling guilty for being lazy. You know what? This might be a blessing in disguise. That is until I hear everyone's fun stories from everything I'm missing and start feeling jealous...
The work side of things is quite quiet at the minute. I started my new class on Monday. It's just a 50-minute class with 4/5 students at the moment. Not tough to prepare for or execute. I'll be doing some curriculum development from Thursday with Richard Wright and Stacey but I'm not sure we've been told what's expected of us yet. It'll be nice to have allotted time to prepare some strong topic classes. Then I think I have some kids classes for a couple of weeks. Then three weeks off. Did I mention that I have three weeks off coming up? Not that I'll be able to do much other than hop around at this rate anyhow.
Well this is a lot of babbling today, isn't it? I'll pull myself together tomorrow to blog on the World Cup, Derry City FC and my thoughts Frost-Nixon, which I saw earlier tonight for the first time and was really impressed with. For now, goodnight everyone and I hope you are well.
I woke up on Monday with my head full of those ideas I always wonder how many I'm sharing them with across the globe. The common themes are, 'I'm never drinking again', 'why didn't I leave earlier on Saturday?', ' why did I go to INSERT LOCAL WATERING HOLE HERE on Sunday night?', etc, etc, etc... Accompanying those old favourites this Monday was the solemn oath to go off drinking for a bit. As it turns out, I really will be on this occasion.
Having shown signs of improvement last week, my knee was sore and swollen again on Monday having not been exactly rested up over the weekend. Ji and I headed to a local hospital today. I want to say right away - DON'T GO TO SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL!! That's where I went a couple of weeks ago to be ripped off, annoyed by smug volunteers and no more enlightened about what was actually wrong any more so than I had been when I went in. They also failed to see that I am covered by health insurance and so over-charged me by quite a bit. They haven't heard the last of me on that front.
Today I went to Him Chan Hospital and now actually know what was wrong and what I need to do to get better. I started of by getting some fluid drained from my knee. If you are a girlfriend going to the hospital to support and pacify your nervous boyfriend then don't say, "Oh My God what a huge needle!" when the doctor is about to treat him. Yeah, that doesn't help. After that joyous experience I had an MRI scan on my knee, a process that I wouldn't fancy experiencing if I was claustrophobic. It involves being put in a tube that wouldn't look out of place on Star Trek and listening to a much louder equivalent of those old dial-up internet tones for twenty minutes. I spent the whole time looking at a sign saying 'Philips Laser Aperture' and trying to rack my brains figuring out what 'aperture' actually means... That didn't make the time go by any longer you'll be aghast to hear.
The diagnosis is that I dislocated my patella and, although it magically went back into place on it's own, the event ripped a ligament. I'm in a new splint and on crutches for three more weeks at least. He also warned me that if it happens again (the dislocation) then I'll be in for surgery. I think it would be wise not to play football or do any serious jogging ever again but we'll see... It was a huge relief not to need surgery and I'm glad to finally have an answer for those who constantly ask me what's actually wrong with me (or my knee, at least). Additionally, the pills I'm on to aid my recovery strictly forbid me from drinking alcohol for a bit. That's fine by me...
So. Cycling trip to Seonyudo for my birthday: Off. Mud Festival trip with the lads: Forget about it. Jisan Valley and Pentaport Rock Festivals: Not on your nelly. Surprisingly, I actually don't mind at all right now. I'm looking forward to lots of reading, laying about, kicking Ji's ass on the Wii, maybe playing chess with my co-worker Kevin, and generally not feeling guilty for being lazy. You know what? This might be a blessing in disguise. That is until I hear everyone's fun stories from everything I'm missing and start feeling jealous...
The work side of things is quite quiet at the minute. I started my new class on Monday. It's just a 50-minute class with 4/5 students at the moment. Not tough to prepare for or execute. I'll be doing some curriculum development from Thursday with Richard Wright and Stacey but I'm not sure we've been told what's expected of us yet. It'll be nice to have allotted time to prepare some strong topic classes. Then I think I have some kids classes for a couple of weeks. Then three weeks off. Did I mention that I have three weeks off coming up? Not that I'll be able to do much other than hop around at this rate anyhow.
Well this is a lot of babbling today, isn't it? I'll pull myself together tomorrow to blog on the World Cup, Derry City FC and my thoughts Frost-Nixon, which I saw earlier tonight for the first time and was really impressed with. For now, goodnight everyone and I hope you are well.
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