Events

There's been a lot going on of late in my little life: some of it serious enough; some of it not at all. For tonight, I'm just going to bring you all up to speed on the more trivial elements. I don't want to be getting too heavy on here at 1.25am!

Catherine and I headed down to Daejeon last Saturday for the Daejeon Citizen V FC Seoul match and, later, for a friend's birthday. The weather is really weird in Korea these days. The start of the match was pretty hot, but by 5pm it was shiver-inducing frostiness once again. You just don't know were you stand! I loved the whole experience of visiting another away World Cup Stadium, hanging out with 'Cath', the atmosphere in a bigger-than-expected crowd (they reckon over 30,000 but I'd be pretty skeptical about that), and the beautiful sunny day. The match, or rather, the FC Seoul performance, left a lot to be desired. Wagner put Daejeon ahead on 14 minutes following an unforgivable miscued header in a suicidal position from Lee Gyo Ro - not his only blunder of the match either. We somewhat fortuitously equalised on 37 minutes when a Djeparov free-kick from the right was nodded into his own goal by Hwang Jae Hyun, although Daejeon keeper Choi Eun Seong should probably have done better.

As the temperature plummeted in the second half, Seoul began to carve out a few half chances, without really looking all that threatening. The longer the match wore on, it became fairly obvious that Daejeon were happy enough with a draw, and it was all away pressure without much end product. The hugely ineffective Molina was guilty of a particularly glaring miss, as was Server Djeparov, whom I can pardon a little more easily as he was by some distance our most influential player. Kim Tae Hwan put on the most frustrating of crap, pathetic displays on the right wing. No vision, no idea where to run, no guts, no stomach for a fight, and no respect for his superiors when he inexplicably chastised Djeparov having not read a delightful through-ball from the Uzbek captain. The guy is so far below the required standard, but it looks as though he'll feature under Hwangbo Kwan, who has had a pretty shaky start as manager thus far.

In football, the chance to turn things around with a positive result usually comes around quickly enough. FC Seoul did so earlier tonight with a convincing 3-0 home victory over Hangzhou Greentown of China in the AFC Champion's League. Dejan, former Metz trainee Ou Kyoung Jin, and Molina all chipped in for what is undoubtedly a great result to make it two wins from two in the competition so far. I have looked over the starting line up a few times and still can't make head nor tail of it. Molina was dropped to the bench (he came on to score) and Djeparov didn't feature at all but I'm not sure if they were rested or injured or what. I get the impression that the manager has no idea yet about his preferred starting eleven, and I hope he can figure it out before we lose touch with the top teams in the K-League! Saturday sees us travel to Chunnam Dragons, who haven't looked like pushovers at all in their opening two matches. I'll be taking time out of my St. Patrick's Day festivities to watch it on TV. Defeat would mean one point from a possible nine and leave us languishing at the foot of the table. A win, on the other hand, will be 'proof' that we're starting to find our feet and are still one of the teams to beat this season. All the more harrowing is the sight of Suwon Bluewings perched at the top of the league... Cmon Seoul...

That's the football rant out of my system for the week. Normal service resumes tomorrow - whatever that is.

Slow, slow, slow, slow, FAST!

Tuesday night and my first blog this week, which should go some way towards explaining just how insanely busy I have been since work started up again yesterday. My head is fried with so much going on all of a sudden having been so idle for most of the summer. So far, I think I'm keeping on top of it all fairly well and I'm enjoying the classes. Right, how about a quick catch up on the weekend?

As my last blog alluded to, I was being very 'sensible' last Friday in order to get myself organized for a busy Monday and be free to enjoy the weekend guilt-free. Once I was done blogging I did, indeed, get sucked back into my book and very nearly didn't bother going out to meet Thomas and his co-workers celebrating the end of their summer camp in Suyu. I talked to Rob on the phone on his way to the airport and then did the family mart > Rock n' Roll Day thing that is becoming more and more of a nice little Friday night habit.

I didn't have much time to laze around on Saturday before I set out from Wolgye at 5.15pm to get to Suwon (at 7.45pm...) a quarter of an hour into the Suwon Bluewings V FC Seoul encounter at a packed Suwon World Cup Stadium, by which time we were already losing 2-0. I was pretty much heading down on my own but one of the nice things (although sometimes annoying) about Korea is that random people have a habit of befriending you and that's what happened as I was getting out of my train. My FC Seoul shirt attracted a fellow supporter and she shared a taxi with me to the stadium. I'm not going to talk too much about the game but I was still standing, staring in shock a fair few minutes after the players had left the pitch. I certainly understand why Seoul and Suwon fans simply don't get along. When I was heading to meet Matt for a quick beer after the game, two Suwon fans stopped me to kindly warn me that if I didn't take off my Seoul short, "You die". Lovely. Having come from 2-0 down to get back to 2-2, it still rankles that we lost 4-2. I'd say it was a great game for the neutral: highlights here.

After the game I got the train back up to Seoul to go see Kev at Stompers in Itaewon. We were treated to some good music over the course of the night. It was both strange and enjoyable to watch Kev (old guitarist) and Jeff (new guitarist) playing so well together in the Rolling Stones cover band. The lead singer was also one of the best to watch that I've seen in a long time. Like true rockers, they headed over to Woodstock after to play another show but I stole off to Dillingers in honor of Rob where I met up with Stephen and Darragh and did a fair bit of ranting to the poor barmaid who made the mistake of asking me about the FC Seoul match. When they found out I was a fan, the bar owners gave me some merchandise they had laying around and promised me the signed ball they have behind the bar if I could make it back for the quiz on Thursday. There's no way I'll make it with my teaching schedule, but I'll be holding him to it at a later date...

Sunday was a lazy day spent hanging about with Ji and Thomas before forcing myself to stay awake for the rain-spattered Belgian Grand Prix, won by Lewis Hamilton to keep his world title bid well on track. I stayed over at Ji's that night even though I never ever seem to sleep that well over there. And so it was the case again...

Monday consisted of a taxi home at 6.30am, teaching Brand English from 7.30-8.45am, heading over to the main campus to pick up class lists for General English, writing out seating plans, teaching three General English classes from 10am-1pm, going back to prepare myself for the Dynamic English 2 classes, squeezing in a short nap, finally getting some food, teaching DDE2 from 6.40-9.20pm, preparing my classes for Tuesday and FINALLY getting to sleep around 1am. Somehow I woke up at 4.30am and couldn't get back to sleep so today has been as all over the place as yesterday. Throw in doctor's appointments and Korean class and it's looking like a pretty busy week. Importantly, all my classes have been going really well and I'm looking forward to a couple of really productive teaching blocks coming up. Secretly, I have to admit, it's nice to be busy again...

A couple of other things before I go. I have seen a few people posting this South Park episode on facebook (ironically) but I finally watched it in full tonight when I came in from class. If you're on facebook (is anyone not??), I think you'll identify... Watch it here.

As part of my recent push to get my pictures up on facebook, I asked my ex-girlfriend Annie for a link to some pictures of a safari we went on with a sound couple from Jersey (UK) back in early 2008 in Venezuela. I'm not going to get around to putting them on facebook anytime soon, but if you want to check them out now, you can do so here.

Finally, I mentioned meeting my friend Matt after the Suwon game last Sunday. If you're interested in reading a PROPER blog that never ever fails to be funny and insightful without taking itself too seriously, you should check out his recently revamped blog here.

There you go, that's all my business for the day. I'll do my best to blog again soon but we'll see how limiting my classes and sleeping pattern will be over the next few days. Great to be busy again though...

Is this it?

Well, here I am at 9.20pm on a Friday night having spent the day in Korean lessons and preparing classes and I really have to ask myself: what happened to me? It's really not that long ago that Friday came and I had that giddy sensation all day and ALWAYS did something fun, if not always too crazy, later that night. It's strange how suddenly 'being 28' creeps up on you and it's not something you get much warning of, aside from the other 27 years of your life that is... I think I echo the views of a lot of my peers when I say that the biggest turmoil of this age is the half of you that thinks it's time to 'grow up' battling with the (especially audible on weekends) half that wants to squeeze another few years of craic out of it. My mind tells me not to take life too seriously, live a little, you could be gone tomorrow for all you know. Unfortunately, about a million other things tell me I should be settling down, 'acting my age' and keeping one eye focused firmly on the future. I'm never sure which side is winning.

I really feel like chatting about a million things football right now but I'm aware that I do that a lot on here and it's not everyone's cup of tea so I'm resisting the urge... I will be heading down to Suwon for their home encounter with FC Seoul tomorrow night before coming back up to see Kevin playing with a Rolling Stones cover band at Stompers in Itaewon and whatever else the night holds. Sunday will definitely be the day of rest that it's intended to be because I'll be on duty from 7.30am-9.20pm on Monday. Way to get dropped back in at the deep end.

I continue to read and relish 'David Copperfield' - in fact, I'm still only half way through it's 700-plus pages. I find the fixed social strata of the Victorian period so interesting. Every character seems to know where they stand in relation to the others. Of course, this is very limiting and Britain has gone to great pains to enable us to affect our own class rather than our blood (officially, at least). So many situations in the book require characters to keep the peace and act incredibly patiently even in the face of cruel injustice at the hands of those who, quite often, appear intellectually or morally inferior. In today's 'western' world (although Korea is an exception that I will come to in the future), it seems that everyone you meet has a strong sense of self and it's no longer acceptable to dismiss or talk down to those who may have come from a less-distinguished background, for example. I'm tempted to romanticize the era portrayed by Dickens but I obviously need to check myself. My Dad has worked, at various times, for the water works, as a farmer, a fisher and a bus driver. My Mum started working in a factory at 14 before becoming a 'domestic technician' and latterly an office worker (she has, however, also gone on to attain a 2:1 BA in Community Development in spite of the burden of having five children). If I had been born in Victorian England, my options would be pretty limited. Thankfully, I live at a time where those who are able can open up more and more options through hard work or education. Not that that's the case for everyone, regrettably, although it's a definite improvement on the prospects of even the previous generation.

Alright it's time I started having a life. I'm going to head out to meet either Thomas or Ji for a few sociables locally. Maybe just a couple of chapters of David Copperfield first... Have good weekend everyone.

What a difference a day makes..

...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!

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.