A Sigh of Relief

Well, today marks the end of one of our 'sessions' at work and this particular session has been a frickin' tough one, I can tell you. I taught 61 hours overtime and that doesn't include the extra thought, planning, rethinking, re-planning, marking and reporting that involves! Next block, I won't be teaching Brand English so that means I'll no longer need to be getting up at crazy o' clock in the morning and still be teaching at stupid o' clock at night. In fact, I'll be going from a very tough schedule to a pretty lax one. Very much looking forward to that. All work and no play makes Brian a dull boy and all that. The timing is perfect because I restarted my MA studies last week (although I haven't done much so far) so I need to start devoting a couple of hours a day to that soon.

I'm thinking of doing my dissertation on education for democratic citizenship in International Schools and the lessons that can be learned for national contexts. That, no doubt, sounds very boring but I think it'll be fascinating and, practically speaking, will help me learn more about and network with International Schools as I go on a serious job-hunt for next year. The actual submission date for the dissertation isn't actually until 31st August, 2011, but I have my first assignment for it due on October 31st coming. I'm officially set on trying my best to get a first overall and dropping this, "oh, I don't really mind either way" carry on. The work starts next week, as I don't have any classes to teach really.

More confusion with our 'band that may never be' today. Apparently, Cheon has some dinner he has to attend, so Jeff canceled our rehearsal. Unfortunately, neither Jim nor I got wind of this, and only found out by chance this morning. Nevertheless, the three of us are going to meet up tonight to go over new songs as much as we can without a bassist. On top of that, a few of the dates I was hoping to play next month are already taken (by Jeff's other bands) so, all in all, it might be getting to the point where we have to start looking elsewhere. I can't explain how much I'm missing the buzz of performing, the routine involved, the bonding (that's bondING!), the craic, the seeing people you don't see as often as you'd like, the music, the dancing around like an eejit, the meeting new people, etc., etc., etc.... It seems like I've been saying we'll be up and running 'soon' for an absolute eternity. If 'soon' isn't November, it might be time to seriously consider our other options. Poor old Jim and I are chomping at the bit!

Tomorrow, we're heading to Ulsan for a bit of a boys night out and the crucial encounter between Ulsan Hyundai and FC Seoul on Sunday afternoon. I just this second found out that Stephen might not be going, to keep the recent trend of 'people-saying-they're-going-to-do-something-but-not-doing-it-in-the-end' going on strong. I know I'm guilty of it myself from time to time but keeping the lines of communication open would be nice. Frustrating. Either way, I'm going to head down. Big game for us and will be nice to get out of Seoul and do something completely different for the weekend. Being off next week, I'll be able to stay out on Sunday night guilt-free and watch the Merseyside Derby. I should go sort out my crappy fantasy football team for the weekend...

I was chatting to my Dad yesterday to wish him luck for a job interview he had (I still don't know how it actually went). He's hoping to become a driving instructor, and we all think he'd be really good at it. Amazingly, he has been in his current job (as a tour bus driver) for 13 years now... He reckons he might have met as many as 10,000 people in that time, all over the British Isles. At his age, no-one wants him to be away from home, trekking all over the place, doing crazy hours, taking flak from passengers anytime anything (even beyond his control) goes wrong. I really, really hope he gets the job. He's a great driver, intelligent, good with people, and a calming influence. Cross your fingers or pray to whatever or whoever or wherever it is you believe in people, will you? I can't wait to get back home in December and catch up with my old Daddy-o and Mammy-o. Not for too long though, of course...

Big old Friday feeling in my guts today. Started the day with coffee with my Brand English class to mark the end of the session, did a bit of marking, met up with two of my favourite students for another coffee, finished my marking, had a tough but fun language exchange with the ever-wonderful Na Ra, and now I'm here sharing it all with you and enjoying it all over again! I think there may well be a few drinks tonight at rehearsal and a few more over the course of the weekend. You can't beat the little tingly excited feeling you get thinking about what it might hold in store for you. I don't get it as much as I used to these days. No doubt there will come a time when I can't even remember the sensation, but hopefully there's life in this old dog yet. Have a good one, wherever you are, and I'll catch you up on Monday.

Time, Precious Time

Ahhhhh at last I'm really enjoying the luxury of being off work and having whole days during which I can do whatever the hell I please. I know I have said before that I'm best not being left idle too long but, when I'm in the right form, there's nothing better than having no major commitments and just being able to potter about at your leisure. And I'm actually getting a lot of useful things done! The new semester will soon be upon us so I'm quite well prepared for the new TOEIC program and I've come up with few new ideas for my morning 'Brand English' class. Mostly, I have just realised that I'm going to be really busy next month with a fuller-than-normal teaching schedule and my Masters program starting back up again. As a result, I'm doing as much song learning, guitar playing, book reading, Korean studying and random time passing as I can fit in. For sure I'll miss it when term time rolls around again.

I bought a keyboard from my (departing) friend Jess last night and I'm looking forward to getting started on that again. I played piano to a decent level when I was young but haven't played a note since I was 15. I really didn't enjoy going through the motions of playing scales, learning pieces, doing grades and the humdrum practice that is the last thing on your mind when you're a teenager. Now, older and wiser, I'd love to be able to be able to play a bit at gigs or use it for song-writing (something I'll have to take more responsibility for now that John has gone). My guitar playing is gradually improving too so I'm still on course for playing live before the year is out, as my New Year's resolution requires. I just found out that I have ANOTHER song to learn for the acoustic gig tomorrow night that I'll be singing with Patricia, Zee and Kev, I presume. It seems that quite a few people are coming and I'm quite looking forward to it now. Like I said, if you're in the area...

I met up with Ji for dinner tonight in Suyu. She's pretty stressed out with her first full week at work and some extenuating circumstances that aren't helping her at all. I'm trying to be there for her as much as I can but stress is a funny thing that seems to constantly increase the size of the problem in your mind until you feel totally overwhelmed by it. Thankfully the weekend is coming for her just in time, I hope. It serves as another reminder of the work/life balance (a term I use with some discomfort). I, of course, plan and hope to get a job at an International School in 2011. When you think about it, I know that means long hours, high expectations, harder work and a certain amount of stress from time to time (something I rarely, if ever, experience in my current position). It makes you wonder why you want to do it, other than for reasons I wouldn't be too proud to admit to, such as status. Mind you, it's not as simple as that. I'd be teaching a subject I love, I would have goals and challenges, I would have more variety and work with professionals in a professional setting, and better long-term prospects to name but a few factors. It certainly is food for thought though.

Ok time is pushing on so I'm going to sign off but I plan to write more tomorrow. Also, if we are facebook friends, I'm FINALLY uploading pictures of my Eastern European trip at the end of last year as well as pictures from Christmas at home and some out and about Seoul before I had my camera cruelly STOLEN!!! Wow it takes a long time... but now that I've started I'm keen to get them all up even if only to avoid losing them altogether if something were to happen to my computer. Hope you're having a good day wherever in the world you are. I'll leave you with an oldie but goodie that I'll be singing a portion of tomorrow night.