The End Is Nigh

Hey all, hope your weekend was as fun as mine. We headed out to Bucheon with the band on Friday night for a show at The Park. It's a bit of a funny venue in that it tends to be very polite and restrained during the first half, only to go totally nuts for the second. Jeff was in flying form and we went on for about three encores, including what seemed like a never-ending version of Born to be Wild with plenty of crowd participation. Fun times. I was staying in a really nice motel over there (they do exist) so I stayed as long as I possibly could the next day before they came up to gently insist that I get the hell outta there.

I finally gave in to peer pressure by getting a haircut in Shinchon, but it was what Jim dubbed a, "compromise cut" in that I didn't really cut it up all that short. It was one of those weird experiences we have here as foreigners: put to the front of the queue; the boss came out to cut my hair; about half a dozen staff members gathered round to watch; a generous discount for no particular reason, etc. I know I had to get it done but, I miss my out-of-control-tramp-esque hair...

A couple of our friends were having their last night out n Seoul (unless they come back...) so, after a bit of pool with Stephen and Creego, we headed over to Shamrock n' Roll for grub and a few drinks. Jes was on a no-drinking vow for the night, but this didn't seem to include any of the shots we were buying her... curiously... There were obviously a lot of farewell parties that night, because Club FF was absolutely jammed. Angry Bear were playing before us, and were quite good this time around. They are a nice bunch of blokes too - fair play to them for going down the 'originals' road so steadfastly. I had an absolute ball during our gig. Great crowd, great set, lots of energy. It was just one of those great nights where everything comes together. We were getting a lot of good feedback after the show, but we still need to do more to get our name out there on the Seoul music circuit. I'm looking into getting some posters and leaflets made up for every gig, and just take it out of whatever the kitty is.

Sunday was a lazy one. Ji and I headed to Nowon for Jimdak and watched 'Unknown', the new Liam Neeson flick. It was one of those ridiculous, intelligence-insulting films, that I always hate myself for watching when I occasionally do so. It had some redeeming features in it's action scenes, car chases, Neeson not being terrible (unlike January Jones), but if you're thinking of watching it and there is ANYTHING else on - go see that (in my humble opinion).

Yesterday marked the start of a new 'session' at work and the first day for a new batch of teachers. There was a lot more hustle and bustle in the teacher's room, with new teachers not sure what to do, and 'older' teachers trying to help them out. It seems as though they all got on fine and enjoyed their classes; it isn't a difficult job to get through at all. I'm teaching a higher level than usual this time so it took (and will take) a bit of adjusting. However, they seem like good classes, and I'm looking forward to trying out a few new things and stretching them as much as I can.

Today is a holiday in Korea so I've been studying (some Council of Europe guidelines for selecting methods, approaches and materials - directly applicable to my teaching for once), dealing with job offers (I accepted the job in Egypt...), and I'm just about to go and meet a few friends in Itaewon for dinner. I hope everyone is doing well this week. Bizarrely, it seems as though there was something on the radio at home about 'old friends', which prompted three different people to email me pretty much out of the blue. Small world we live in...