Hello Weekend

As suddenly as it appeared, it went away. Yes, no more mopey Brian. For a few days, at least. Good day; feeling back up at 75% or so. Less-pointless-than-usual meeting in the morning. Good study session midday really getting into the research strategy section. Enjoyable prep and children's classes (smart, smart kids - the only major problem is how much faster they get through the activities than I expect!). Finishing straight of 'On The Road', where it's all really coming together and the thoughts are bouncing around my head. Nice dinner and conversation with Steph (and a lovely little gay Christmas present that I'm actually chuffed with). Back home, sweet home. Funny how things seem a bit brighter so suddenly and for no apparent reason.

That could all change when I head to Xanadu Travel tomorrow morning to try to sort out my visa for China. If I can't get it sorted I have basically thrown away... I actually don't want to think about how much money. Still, I'm positive. The thing about Korea is that, somehow, there always seems to be a way round these things. Cross your fingers for me.

Got some great ideas from Steph tonight about a lesson I wasn't feeling so comfortable with. Hopefully it'll be all good tomorrow. Always get a bit frustrated at myself for seeing asking for help as weakness. I'm sure my life would be a lot easier if I wasn't so hell-bent on pretending I don't need a hand, when I do. I usually do make a new year's resolution (which struggles on til about mid-Feb, if that) so I guess this year I should try to criticise less and ask for help more. I have some program development work to do with Kevin tomorrow, so that's as good a place to start as any.

Meeting the boys in Gangnam tomorrow at 8 before our gig at 10. It's refreshing to me that I don't even know where the venue is, never mind what it's like. I'm determined to enjoy a few beers and sing those songs as though I have never sung them before. Gotta get the fun back into it. If you happen upon Gangnam tomorrow night, and know of a place called 'Readers', drop by and say hello.

And with the completion of this post comes the satisfaction of ticking everything off my snazzy new to-do list (thanks Ji) for the day. Oh, the little pleasures of life.

RIP Gerry Rafferty. Check out this cover of his classic 'Baker Street' by the Foos. Night all.

China Visa: Seeing Red!

Well I'm not sure I mentioned but my Christmas present for Ji this year was flights for us to Shanghai for Lunar New Year (from February 2nd-6th). For the record, she got me a nice wee netbook that is no doubt going to come in pretty handy during the summer when I'm casually (!?) typing up my dissertation in various little cafes around Seoul. Anyway, I have been to China before (Beijing for Lunar New Year in 2007) and getting the visa was a pretty straightforward process. So I wasn't too worried as I went to Jonggak to sort it out with Ji's travel agent. Turns out, you have to have six-months remaining on your Alien Registration Card (ARC) to be able to apply for a visa. There are a few other loopholes, none of which helped me out much. Who knew? Cue frustration, bitterness, the blame game, cursing modern-day bureaucracy, and (sometime after all of the above) trying to find a way round it. As it happens, xanadu travel in Itaewon have some kind of dodgy way round it, so I'm headed there first thing in hope. Most people I have mentioned this to already said, "yeah, I know" but in case you are as in the dark as I clearly am: DON'T BOOK A FLIGHT TO CHINA UNLESS YOU HAVE AT LEAST SIX MONTHS REMAINING ON YOUR ARC! So there.

Incidentally, my search for a solution brought me back to good old Dave's esl, where I posted a query in the travel section, hoping someone could shed some light on xanadu travel for me. Unsurprisingly, no bites. If you're looking for a response on Dave's, just suggest that Korea is the best place you have ever been and that working here is a constant cause to be thankful. That should get them going. While I was there I thought I'd see what the whining losers have been on about of late. This post should tell you all you need to know. Apparently China is now the place to go, and Korea is hell on Earth, even though all the people posting so appear to still be in Korea. If you get past the third page, you've done better than I did.

Anyway, to what's going on in life. I was supposed to sign my next contract (pay raise, woo!) today but I noticed that they have called me BrAin Craig. That would make it 4 out of my 4 teaching contracts in Korea. I think it's easy enough to see why the confusion arises. Once that's done I start applying for my next job in August, hopefully in an International School. In my current 'what's-going-on-what's-it-all-about-what's-it-matter-anyhow' state, I'm probably going to blanket apply to social studies jobs around the world and let circumstances decide my next move. Once I break through those January blues, I'm sure I'll focus it a little more than that. Gig coming up on Friday at a new venue (for us) in Gangnam called 'Readers' then we have rehearsal on Saturday and it seems to be about a million peoples' birthday that night. The following week we play at the 5th birthday party of 'Speakeasy' in Gwangju (hopefully with Feed The Boats), which I am genuinely looking forward to. Cheon has just had a work skiing trip thrown on him, which will probably mean that he'll have to drive to Gwangju on his own and be there just on time to start playing. Anytime foreign teachers are getting it tough in Korea with last-minute changes of plan, there's always the guarantee that Korean workers are getting it worse.

Any lethargy you may detect these days probably comes from the fact that:

a. January is depressing, and

b. I'm finally reading 'On The Road' by Jack Kerouac.

Really great book that I'm flying through, but definitely should come with a disclaimer: don't read if your head is already up your ass. Mind you, that might mean I'd never get to read it. Let me leave you with my song of the day, which doubles up as another shameless piece of self-promotion. Have a good one everyone.