Hey it's hot lips... you like it! Ha, ha, ha.

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, January 31

1. Hanna came to school all sad and teary-eyed. When I asked her what was wrong I couldn’t help but giggle when she told me her mom got mad at her because she was sitting on the toilet for too long. During second period I had to go get her from the bathroom cause she was having “issues” on the can…. nasty.
2. Definitely thought it’d be an ackward morning at school given the terms I left on Friday and the fact that Mr. Lee and I open the school together. Surprisingly though, it wasn’t and I’m a bit confused about it all.
3. I take it that either A. The Big Guy has ignored my Friday’s remarks (common pattern he’s been displaying) or B. The Big Guy doesn’t care about Friday’s remarks… both bother me.
4. Found it incrediably weird that the Big Guy ask me to phone the States to talk to a prospective
5. Pulled a Spazzy-K move and left work early… went to another work… ahhh, that’s a double Spazzy-K in one shot!!! (Almost but I didn’t actually work at the other place).
6. Checked out an “opportunity” that knocked on my door but decided that some doors are best kept closed. No thanks.
7. Ran into this strange Mr. Stumpy Korean man while walking. He inquired about my profession and then continued on to more confusing and personal questions. At one point I think he honestly asked me if he could go to my home with me. “Di jin da byung shin?!!!”
8. Treated myself to an evening at Leechard Pro Hair Salon where I was pampered, massaged, chatted to, goggled over, trimmed, dyed, and dolled up by a total of 6 workers. They’ve got this whole tag-team thing and were so cute. I especially thought it cute when the main salon artist put her own lip gloss on me. That salon rocks!!!
9. No visits from Ryan on account of rain.
10. Voted the “Whites” in my building the most annoying neighbors. In addition to their late night hallway giggles and chasing each other in and out of the two apartments, they also seem to be deaf and thus talk SO loud, laugh SO loud, close doors SO loud, and even make "other" noises SO loud.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...

What is the point of working so hard if all it leads to is more work?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...

Justifying a fault doubles it.

-- French Proverb

Look at the cute couple... it's Egghead and Banana-Boy!

The view from N Seoul Tower. From this viewpoint I can believe that 50 million people fit into this country.

Highlights of my Day... Monday, January 30

1. Took the long way into Seoul…via subway… to go see my favorite Korean! Guess who?!
2. While studying my “Survival Korean” text on the subway I couldn’t help but over hear an argument between a evangalist and some subway rider. Jot down some of the words the subway rider kept on repeating and relayed them to Ryan. Turns out I now know how to say “Do you want to die?”, “Man with no balls”, and “Retarded person”. Hmmm… that wasn’t quite the Korean language lesson I was aiming for today! Interesting to note though that the second phrase I learned actually had a history story to it as oppose to being just another silly insult.
3. Celebrated our 100th day together two days early. Ryan took me to this really nice Korean restaurant where I was taught how to eat breaded saucy shrimp in style… ha, ha, ha.
4. Argued with Ryan over kimchi and rice, and what exactly makes Korea and Canada unique. Once again, I was pro-Korean and Ryan cheered for the Canadians.
5. Ventured to the N Seoul Tower to do some sight seeing. It was a bit foggy but the lack of good weather was definitely made up with the company I was with!!!
6. Got pick-pocketed by this gorgeous guy and I let him get away with it. Ahhhh… Ryan you and your sticky fingers… so funny!
7. Totally lost the “double p” while waiting for the subway in Yongsan. Ryan had dropped me off and I totally got the run around by various strangers in the train station who clearly didn’t know what they were talking about. Voted myself for "Jerk of the Day" for dropping the "double p" on Ryan.
8. After much frustration I was approached by this young man who was more than willing to help me. He showed me where the train would be, inquired about the time it'd be coming and he even shared his snackies with me. We ended up taking the subway together.
9. Realized after we past Mr. Friendly Stranger’s subway stop, that maybe he wasn’t just along for a subway ride. Tried to dodge him once I got off but he followed me out to the taxi. He didn’t get into my taxi but I caught him checking out the license plate id.
10. Finally got home just as the clock was sticking midnight!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What just totally ticks you off?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it.
-- Frank A. Clark

Je Min trying to be all serious with me with his questions on marriage.

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, January 29

1. Woke up in Ryan’s apartment and was super hungry. Ate a bit of sponge cake for breakfast and had to laugh at just how stubborn I am. You think I’d learn from yesterday’s junk food fest and tummy ache!
2. Ventured outside Ryan’s downtown apartment and it was like a ghost town! In his area there was no one around but surprisingly enough 5 minutes down the road at Yawoori people were flocking the streets.
3. With Ryan in Seoul, my plans for the day were at an all time low and so I clean-up his place a bit and then treated myself to a morning bubble bath and it was great!
4. Ventured over to Tasha’s house and was greeted by SK (her rat….oh I mean dog) who now looks like a quaterback instead of the football. Despite his small size, I must admit that when he bit my toe I was nervous. A thousand mini teeth chomping into my toes just doesn’t sound too pleasant.
5. After waiting around for my laundry to finish, I discover that the machine hadn’t even added water to the load. So my clothes were simply shook for an hour. Tampered with the faucet knobs and five minutes later when I returned, the laundry room had flooded over and water was going down the front entrance of the apartment building…. OH NO!!!
6. Headed downtown with Tasha. We went out to supper at TGIF where we were greeted by the staff who were all curiously asking where Ryan was. Is it that obvious Ryan and I always come here?!
7. Went to Mbar and like always, funny chats with Je Min and his boys. Turns out they’re a bit intimidated of the fact that they’re all Ryan’s juniors and Je Min's curious as to if I'll marry Ryan. He asked me and my response was, "When am I going to marry him?... Well today I'm busy"... I don't think he liked me joking off his question.
8. One of the new faces that works there bowed to me and so I gave him 1,000 won. Tradition has it in Korea that that’s what they do on Sollal (Lunar New Year).
9. Tasha and my chat with the older DJ turned into him getting a bit frustrated and so he resorted to a kind of made-up sign language. In the end, it was clear what he was saying and what Tasha and what I got out of it was three totally different things!
10. Drama 101 with my brother Robbie and the new apple of his eye. Relax dude!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why is love such a simple emotion and yet so complicated to figure out?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Curiosity is a willing, a proud, an eager confession of ignorance.
-- S. Leonard Rubinstein

With no Ryan to keep me company, MC Mong kept me company with his cool tunes... on my computer that is.

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, January 28

1. Slept on my bad ear and so today’s activity was at an all-time low. Couldn’t really do anything but wait it out.
2. Movie day with Ryan. Am getting more daring with him… this is the second time now I’ve let him venture out and select the movies. What’s up with the religious movies tonight though?!
3. Much to my surprise, got invited to Ryan’s house in Seoul by his mother!!! I was so incredibly flattered but I’m still super nervous to meet his family. Better put a push on learning my Korean!
4. Realized that Ryan’s got less groceries than even me! Hadn’t eaten all day and so tonight’s supper started off with a tangerine as an appetizer, chips as a side dish and for the main meal… sponge cake. Washed all this down with good-old banana milk. No dessert thankfully! I don’t think my stomach could have handled more junk food!!!
5. Ryan left to Seoul and so I stayed at his house. Shortly after he left some dude came banging on the door and frightened me. Oh the joys of Ryan living downtown and above a bar.
6. No Louis…. I haven’t killed anyone.
7. Spent the evening hacking away on the computer and trying to figure out how to get a driver’s license while living in overseas without a home country license.
8. Made myself a bubble bath and soaked in it for about an hour… mind you, that’s because I also fell asleep in it.
9. Sorry Ryan… I finished your M&M’s. Went to bed feeling like I had just relived a childhood Halloween celebration. Ate way too much junk food today.
10. Tried to go to sleep but was woken up by the drama episode in the apartment hallway. Today’s episode consisted of a drunken man banging on, what I assume, was either his girlfriend’s or wife’s apartment door. He continued for about an hour and then she opened the door where upon the drama started up again in the apartment. Don’t people sleep around here?!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you even read my questions of the day?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not!
-- Author Unknown

My pride and joy of Korea...Wisdom class!

Here's us at SLP celebrating the Lunar New Year. All the staff and students in the kindergarten program dressed-up... everyone looked so beautiful!

Here's me joking around with Dream and Wisdom class... they're so tiny that you'd never guess there was 17 mini-Koreans under that dress of mine!

Highlights of my Day... Friday, January 27

1. Have to admit that Hanna could not possibly be any cutier! When she entered the school wearing her traditional Korean hambok I was speechless. So beautiful.
2. Today we celebrated the Lunar New Year (Sollal) and so all us kindergarten teachers dressed up in the traditional hamboks. Shannon and I had ones specially made for us courticy of Mr. Lee and so that was really special. Recieved a few gifts from my students in addition to a handful of "love letters" from Wisdom class.
3. Learned how to play two traditional Korean games and so that was really fun. I’m definitely lovin’ the Korean experience. Ryan says I’m half Korean… I want more!
4. Showed my Korean pride by wearing my hambok the whole day.
5. Interesting discussion with Shannon about Canada vrs. Korea. I of course was pro-Korean. Shannon had an interesting point… she said maybe what makes Canada unique IS the fact that it celebrates all these cultures. I still stand by the idea that Canada is what it is because of what OTHER people have made it to be. After all, what’s uniquely Canadian… hockey and our brutal winters, great.
6. First successful day in my elementary Virgo class…. and no, Adrian WAS there. I don’t know how it happened but it happened. I just accepted it and went with it.
7. Word is out…. I've had enough. Told Mr. Lee that I am not renewing my contract. He was really disappointed but obviously so was I to have to make this decision. It's going to be extremely hard to walk away from my students but I don't support what the school stands for anymore. We're all standing for something different.
8. Watched out of SLP and everyone at the front desk was speechless. I felt like I was doing the death–row walk.
9. Of course…. Ryan came to my rescue and turned my major frowns upside down.
10. Went out for supper with Ryan at my favorite restaurant in Ssangyong-Dong. Had my favorite Korean meal, sat with my favorite Korean, got served by my favorite Korean waitress, and forgot all about what had just happened 2 hours prior.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where do you draw the line?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
If you don't stand for something you'll fall for everything.
-- Author Unknown

Wisdom and class looking not-so impressed with the police station field trip.

Us SLP teachers joking around in the staff room and having a mini Aussie celebration. Cute!

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, January 26

1. Regardless of the fact that I’ve been at school since 8:30am, I went home to grab some Vicks and upon returning AND running into all the kinder teachers in the elevator, they DITCHED me. I went to grab my camera, returned and the two buses were gone. Am convinced this was done to prove a point… not too sure what that point is.
2. Took the kinder kids to the police station for their field trip and it was a pretty sad field trip cause not only did we see very little of the station but we also came back at 11am. It meant I then had to teach kinder lessons.
3. My spontaneous kinder lesson for Dream class consisted of them trying to explain the Korean alphabet to me and teaching me how to write various words. Don’t get me wrong, we did other work too.
4. Ha, ha, ha…. Mr. Policeman… you think I’m pretty. So funny. I think that was the first time I’ve seen a Korean blush.
5. Tasha put a temporary Australian flag rub-on tattoo on my face for Australia Day and great, today of all days one of my student’s parents comes to meet me and there I stood with this thing on my face! I tried to cover it with my hand but was busted when I had to use two hands to accept her gift. Now the parent thinks I’m a freak and my elementary Glory class is convinced I honestly tattooed an Australian flag on my nose.
6. Won the award for the best comeback… “We’re in Korea, things are automatically smaller.” Patty… you loved it!
7. Looks like Tasha is going to be my Lunar New Year’s Eve date… we’ve got no celebration plans but I’m hoping there will be no midnight kiss or I’m decking her one! Ha, ha, ha.
8. Was definitely impressed when I found out Mr. Lee never got my transcripts back from the Korean immigration office. That’s great! … can you sense my sarcasm?
9. Still getting those annoying “x number of days till your wedding” emails. Apparently it’s 123 days till my wedding… oh my goodness, what the heck am I doing sitting here. I better get a move on finding a husband…. jokes. Reality check…. life is so different now. Regardless of whatever drama, life is so great and the fact that I’m sharing it with an amazing and beautiful person (MacGyver) makes it that much more sweeter.
10. Stressful late night chats about work and plans…. and lack there of it.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
If you were your own boss, what would you do differently?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
We live by faith, not by sight.
-- 2 Corinthians 5:7

Can you spot the REAL MacGyver?

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, January 25

1. Am convinced Kipper in the kinder Peace class IS a new boy. Since he scored kinder Glory’s Sunny as his girlfriend, his days have been very happy. Today he gave me one of his mini hot doggies and the thumbs up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his so smiley!
2. Competition is on! It’s a toss up between Wisdom Johnny, Kevin and me as to who has the biggest nasal passages. I’m convinced their sneezing on me has gotten sick but now I can’t blow my nose enough it seems. Nasty, I know.
3. Oh the joys of my elementary Virgo class. Drama 101 again with Adrian. Today’s drama was due to the fact that I marked Jenny’s homework before his.
4. Called it a day after experiencing another routine dose of frustration. Came to the realization that my problem is that I do care. On that note, packed my stuff threw in my two cents and left.
5. Am convinced that I’m not the only one counting down Spazzy-K’s days…. her countdown has now also become my countdown. Made the decision tonight and I’m quite content with not knowing what’s next.
6. It was brought to my attention that I failed to commemorate “MacGyver” on his impressive and creative use of lighter fluid about a month ago. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to forget you in the blog. Trust me, your performance surely was not forgotten about!
7. Laughed so hard at oh the things I wish I could write in the blog…. rarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrh! You have NO idea! Am convinced I’m now thought of as the laughing fool as I uncontrollably laughed my butt off thinking about the things I wish I had someone to tell. My lips are sealed though and so your secrets MacGyver are safe with me!!!
8. Supper tonight at TGIF. It’s not our usual night to go there but we made an exception and ended up scoring 40% off the bill. Great!
9. Did grocery shopping and it was just like old times at my parents house where I’d go grocery shopping (well not really shopping...more like picking) in their fruit cellar. Tonight's location however was Ryan’s house.
10. Stayed in to watch the Korean soccer game with Ryan and ended up falling asleep 5 minutes into the game.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Whats your nickname?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The more naked you are the more fear you feel.
-- The REAL MacGyver

Jack sporting a smirk for the camera. He's so cute but unfortunetly the camera clearly doesn't capture that.... he's too cute!

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, January 24

1. Hanna showed up at 9am and ya, I was really impressed.
2. Not too sure why I had to do this but I got measured for a hambok today (traditional Korean dress). I’ve worn one before but didn’t need to get measured. Dave is convinced they just wanted to see just how much bigger Canadians are… they’re fascinated. He got measured too. Hmmmm….
3. Still have not mastered Ryan’s lesson “just give medium” but admit that I have learned to accept that you can’t change people…. no matter what I do, say, or think, some people will always remain strange and deranged.
4. Dinner date with Home-girl. Had to laugh at the fact that she’s been here for awhile and she can’t stomach spicy Korean food at all! So I sat there and ate her veggies that were definitely smothered in red pepper paste.
5. Got an unusual phone call from a friend of a friend who insisted I meet him cause he had some question he just had to ask me in person. Agreed to meet this Mr. Who at my gym despite my hesitation and thoughts of this being a “set-up”.
6. Turns out Mr. Who isn’t as strange as he initially started off being. Wanted to talk business with me…. good stuff! What’s the business you ask, ummm, let’s just say that’s MY business!
7. Had an interesting but very hard conversation with Jin Suk at training. She assumes I know more Korean than I do and so now she hardly ever uses English. The worse part about it is that I think I just agreed to something. I don’t know what, but later in the evening she texted me a message that read “thank you Amy”. Thank you for what?!
8. Busted my butt at training and pushed myself way too far with the skipping. Some women were watching me as they WALKED on the treadmill and so I felt obligated and a bit pressured to show them what the term “working-out” really means.
9. Surprise visit from my favorite Korean….. Mr. Yoon. He claims he came over just for my stash of cheese. I know better though…. he thinks I’m pretty. Ha, ha, ha.
10. Got kidnapped, tossed onto the convertible and then taken to a hide-away near Yawoori. I can’t say I really put up a fight though… I blame that either on the hard work-out or the cute Korean.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's the best advice you've ever recieved?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
He's so cheesy, I can't watch him without crackers.
-- from the movie "Reality Bites"

You're looking at my new co-worker, Jinny. Sure she may be young, sure she's only 4, sure she may have trouble even opening the staff room door, but she sure knows what's going on in kindergarten.

Highlights of my Day... Monday, January 23

1. I knew this was going to be a day of frustration when I rushed to tutoring early in the morning and Hanna didn’t show up till 9am.
2. Hats off to Johnny in my Wisdom class for totally milking the system. I told them that for every “love letter” they wrote I’d give them one sticker. Well… Johnny wrote 12! Ya it’s true. I walked into class and there were 12 love letters addressed to me and so I had to give him 12 stickers!
3. Sat back, closed my eyes, pictured myself on the back of Ryan’s scooter flying around Korea… opened my eyes and much to my incredible disappointment, realized the reality of it all. There I sat sitting with Spazzy-K and 37 days still to go.
4. You can imagine my anger and frustration when I discovered that Jinny, my 4 year old student in Wisdom class, knew more about what’s going on with the kindergarten program than me. This is pretty sad.
5. Money can’t buy you love but it apparently buys attention. Everyone wants to be the hero.
6. After a frustrating work day I retreated to my former elementary Peace class for a breath of fresh air… it really sucks large that I’ve been pushed into Virgo class and so now I’m not able to have this class.
7. Have you ever wanted to scream “What are you thinking?” at someone….ya, experienced that after Dave told me a certain someone rejected the leveling down of a particular student. She babo!
8. Funny story today… can’t remember how it all started but it ended up with me telling Louis that whenever he ticks me off I’m going to just sit on his head.... the calander that is. In the SLP calander there's two pictures of him. Jokes all around and there I sat in the staff room on Louis’ head.
9. Meet Mr. Important tonight by fluke and am totally stoked about the next couple of weeks. Definitely ready to play the duo role of both the villain and the hero. This should make for a very interesting story.
10. Came to the conclusion that the “Captain” was right… this is a business. On that note, I hope there’s no hard feelings, after all, this is just a business. Consider this a business transaction.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where does your loyalty lie?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.
-- Henry Ford

Is it a bird?... Is it a plane?...Is it a circus freak? No, that's no freak, that's my brother Robbie in New York (well... they're all freaks there). Correction... only the face is Robbie's.

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, January 22

1. Showered, blow-dried my hair, even chatted with Ryan and supposedly his grandmother was oblivious to it all. Looks like he was right again.
2. After a couple of months of dealing with people’s stares, I’d have to side with Ryan and say it’s getting pretty old and annoying. They seem to be so fascinated that he’s Korean and I’m Canadian… a white chick. Mind you, he’s whiter than me and I’m more yellow (inside that is).
3. Ventured out to Costco with Ryan and talk about sensory overload! It was great. At the sight of all the western food I turned into a 2 year old in a candy shop... and ya, it was that obvious. Ryan said I was so hyper and I didn't stop talking.
4. Spent about $35 on cheese!!! I bought two mother-sized cheese bricks and a bag of babybell cheese. Now I can eat cheese everyday for breakfast AND snack! Great!
5. The rest of our Costco groceries consisted of muffins, Canadian maple syrup and 12 boxes of macaroni and cheese.
6. The countdown continues to our “special day”… our 100th day as a couple. Ryan says we’re going to go out and celebrate it in style, good stuff. February 1st is the BIG day!
7. Ate ice cream at the Haagan Das ice cream restaurant that we discovered the night before. It was a full-fledge sit down restaurant with a menu that so beautifully incorporated ice cream with EVERY meal it served.
8. Got my phone bill for my new cell and looks like my overseas calls were either omitted from the bill or apparently not as pricey as I had expected. Great.
9. Story time with Ryan consisted of him freaking me out with tales of the recent Cheonan murderer…. great. I’m sure I’ll be able to sleep better tonight.
10. Movie night was a bust. We were both too tired and so we vegged out for the evening with a big pot of macaroni and cheese.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's your favorite bedtime story?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.
-- Woody Allen

Kwang Ho being all shy and cute for the camera. Then there's Ryan and Shin Woo relaxing... cool guys!

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, January 21

1. Met up with Mr. Lee to go check out a possible new apartment for me. It was really nice but it was also really not what I’m looking for.
2. Much to my uncertainity about whether it’d be a total bust or not, I went with Ryan to Seoul to meet up with his buddies.
3. Finally found a really nice white winter ¾ length jacket. Ryan played his best poker face but I couldn’t help but giggle as the sales lady literally held me back and refused to let me leave her shop. She finally gave into Ryan and I scored a great deal on the price.
4. Met up with Kwang Ho and Shin Wo. First time meeting Shin Wo but I’ve hung out with Kwang Ho. Congrats to Kwang Ho for his new job that’s taking him to Japan for a few months. Kwang Ho definitely is one of my favorites among the people Ryan has introduced me to. He's got such a sweet and innocent nature about him. Shin Wo's pretty cool too.
5. Had an “interesting” evening in Seoul and I don’t think I’ve ever talked so little nor daydreamed so much. Meeting Ryan's female friend was definitely the most uncomfortable part of the night. In my head I tried to figure out how to run away and get back to Cheonan but then reality hit me and I knew that wasn't a cool thing to do. Stayed and tried to make the most of the evening.
6. Hats off to Ryan for being an incredible sweetheart and trying so hard to swing me into the conversations. Ryan, when you left the table… I was lost!
7. Got commented way too many times today on my “small head”. It’s funny how Korean’s love small heads and yet us Canadians would take it as a insult. When I think of small head I think shrunken voodoo head. Not nice.
8. Snuck into Ryan’s grandmother’s house to crash for the night. She had the television blasting and I was nervous to even sneak a peek at her. Ryan claimed she couldn't hear anything but I was still so nervous. I'm a good girl... ha, ha, ha.
9. Have to say that seeing the metal Ryan got for being in the army was pretty impressive. Touching that metal, I felt pretty proud to be his girlfriend.
10. Had the hardest time falling asleep knowing that the only thing that separated me from being founded out was a closed door.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where's the limit of your comfort level?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
English is a funny language; that explains why we park our car on the driveway and drive our car on the parkway.
-- Author Unknown

Posers!!! Woo, you're such a funny dude!

Highlights of my Day... Friday, January 20

1. Tried to wake up and do my laundry… ya, like that happened.
2. Special snack day with Wisdom class because they all scored high on their vocab tests and I ended up eating three ice cream sandwiches. They couldn’t finish them and I wasn’t about to waste ice cream… never!
3. Alice phoned Patrick’s parents (elementary Leo class student who NEVER does my homework). When I went to check his homework I noticed that he had not only caught up but did the homework for the rest of the MONTH! Then, if that wasn’t enough, in class he whipped through the activity and did extra work. Talk about totally being impressed!
4. I don’t know who’s worse… Spazzy-K or her mini… Spazzy-K Jr. Officially claimed Adrian in my Virgo class Spazzy-K Jr. because he’s as confusing and as difficult as she is. He’s metamorphing into her, right before my eyes…. I’ve now entered the twilight zone.
5. Asked Spazzy-K’s sidekick about something and she was clueless. I’m surprised that I was even surprised about this. How many days left… TOO MANY!
6. Hold your horses… Korea is taking over Japan!!! Well, according to my blog visitor tracking map that is.
7. Sat back and realized money is owed to me in a total of four countries. Ryan made me pinky-swear not to ever help people out again if it involves money. Nothing in life is free but why do I continually pay the price for others?!
8. Good times with Woo and Tasha after work at the Japanese Restaurant. Got a chance to talk to Mook on Woo’s phone and so that was pretty cool.
9. Tried to convince Ryan to come out and join me with Tasha and Woo… not so successful. The guy is so stubborn… I think I’m rubbing off on him.
10. Came home to a sweet surprise... Ryan and ice cream. Double sweetness!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do dumb people even know they're dumb?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I think the world is run by C students.
-- Al McGuire

It seems like sometimes we do more giggling and girl talk than school work in my Glory class... these girls rock!

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, January 19

1. ALMOST 40 days and 40 nights left (41 to be exact)…. I’ve now entered the world of Jonah and the whale with my “patient” wait for Jaja’s number to be up!
2. This song drives me bananas… ha, ha, ha. Wisdom class is infatuated with Raffi’s Banana phone song and so they played it on repeat… ALL morning. That’s 80 minutes of banana phone!
3. Was made out to be the heartless fool when joking with Betty in my elementary Glory class about things I love. I told her I love five things: ice cream, tangerines, banana milk, Korea, and Ryan. When I asked her to list her five things all five were family members.
4. Figure I am learning more Korean in my elementary Glory class cause of Sophia than she is learning English. She insisted I read her report card to the class but wasn’t impressed with the part where I wrote she spoke way too much Korean.
5. Yes, I am a mean person. Sported the grin similar to that of the “Grinch that stole Christmas” when I heard someone refer to Spazzy-K as the “core of the disastrous disease that plagues the staff room”. That fact that this particular person said it just blew my mind!
6. I love it… “Amy teacher doesn’t do that… if Amy teacher was here she’d….” Ah, it’s always nice to hear I’m missed, especially when it’s a room full of my former elementary Peace class students. Alice and Clara informed me of all the cute and annoying references my students made to me. Sorry they give you a hard time sometimes…. I miss that class.
7. Excellent… found out that Tasha is staying in Korea till May and so I’m totally stoked about that.
8. Boxing was a big bust. Apparently cause Jenn is not already a member at the gym, my $10 boxing class costs her $40 a month! No thanks. We ended up leaving and I was totally bummed out. Was looking forward to kicking butt with Jenn and Elizabeth (SLP student…she’s 8).
9. Interesting conversation with one of my university buddies. Definitely re-thinking things over. It’s wild to think of just how much has changed for me in a year and how I’ve changed so much too. Mind boggling.
10. Congrats to my brother Bobby-B for his much anticipated homerun. I totally struck out tonight but it’s still one up for the B-Team. Sorry dude… I totally don’t have my game on tonight. Dang curve balls!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Would Korea be so different if I wasn't here?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Is the glass half empty, half full, or twice as large as it needs to be?
-- Author Unknown

Two of my mini-Koreans from Wisdom class... Jinny and Joel. They're just the coolest of kids. It's hard to believe they're only 4.

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, January 18

1. Success with Hanna and tutoring today… she’s now mastered the first part of the alphabet.
2. Looks like I’m not alone on this one anymore… witnessed Patty get the “wrap-around” by Leo class Eric. Don’t think he grabbed all her 2000 body parts though and so she got away lucky.
3. Had storytelling with Peace class today and totally amazed how Kipper rapped out “Down by the Bay” by Raffi. Looks like things are looking up for this mini Korean… got word that now Sunny in Glory class is his girlfriend. Good stuff buddy.
4. Test day in my elementary Leo class… I love test day. They laughed at how easy they THOUGHT my spelling test was until I turned into the test Nazi and added different components to the test. What was originally a 5 minute spelling bee turned into a 20 minute full-fledge test.
5. Am convinced Pinky in my elementary Leo class is the most needy student, besides Gina’s constant need to come into the teacher’s room that is. After explaining over and over the instructions to the activity she came and asked me what to do. I told her, “life is an orange… you don’t know what that means? It means you have to solve your questions… that’s life.” Her response was turning around and asking Julie for help. Ironically Pinky is the only one that gets her work done correctly.
6. Getting really sick and tired of having to explain how to read a homework sheet to Adrian in my E2-1 class. Adrian, you’re cute but you can only play your “cute card” so many times!
7. Admitted my new found obsession… hacking away on the computer and exploring things for my blog. Dave showed me how to hack at other people’s website codes… hook, line, sinker! Oh no… I’m turning into a computer freak!
8. Despite Monday’s run-in with Mr. Pervert, I walked through the dark park on route to Ryan’s house because I could, should and did. Ironically two girls walking behind me were uneasy with this other dude and so they caught up with me and walked closely behind.
9. Caught Ryan listening to “Banana phone” by Raffi… he denied it. His humour is so incrediably attractive.
10. Text messages “I love you” from Jin Suck…. hmmmm, thanks?! Got reassured that it’s okay and that it’s not more than just a friendly note. Thank goodness… she showered with me at the gym. I was beginning to think I had to watch out.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What is something you fear?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart.
-- Author Unknown

Sorry Hanna, but no tutoring today.

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, January 17

1. Didn't show up for tutoring and got told at the end of the day to not be late again. It's ironice how when the good kid does ONE thing bad, it's remembered. Now when the bad kid does ONE thing good, it's remembered for that one thing too. I'm not the bad kid here.... lest we forget!!!
2. Got spazzed on by Spazzy-K who claimed she couldn't do work in class cause I had one of the workbooks. First of all, you're the photocopying-manic! Secondly, life is an orange... figure it out and solve your own problems. And lastly... how did that book get on my desk anyways, hmmmm.
3. Sat back as all the commotion went on, switched on my phone and things were instantly brought into perspective.... 43 days to go!
4. The internet was so slow at school today and yet it was still not as slow as "some people".
5. Almost forgot that my elementary Glory class had a scheduled spelling test. How could I forget that?! I love tests!
6. Caught myself singing out loud in the staff room as Prince blasted on my earphones... "You don't have to talk too flirty, I know how to undress myself"... ya, maybe I should be careful on that one!
7. Noticed that Mr. Slow-Talker has been coming in more frequently and so who's responsible for that? I want to get down to the bottom of this!
8. Got lots of good words of wisdom from Dave. I'm "Mini-D" in the making it seems, good stuff.
9. Ran into a friend at the gym and then was introduced to some of her gym girl friends.... all 7 of them.... all 7 naked older women. Made sure I preoccupied my hands so I didn't have to shake hands or anything. As a result, I got away with avoiding contact but then got a naked hug from my friend.
10. Spent a good part of my evening trying to educate myself with computer technology and the internet (hence the funky new fonts and graphics on my blog).

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's the best advice you ever got?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
It's always been and always will be the same in the world: The horse does the work and the coachman is tipped.
-- Author Unknown

Reason #99 why I don't hang out with any of the "white dudes" here in Korea... I think you can figure it out.

Highlights of my Day... Monday, January 16

1. Woke up and realized I had slept all night with my contacts on… oh ya, felt great! (Note the sarcasm here!)
2. Got to sleep in cause I didn’t have tutoring this morning!
3. Virgo class was a HUGE success today but I think it’s cause Adrian didn’t show up.
4. Finally ran into my newly wed neighbor. Funny how people seem the need to explain themselves.
5. Felt like Rockie at the gym today with my old school training and hardcore skipping. Thumbs up for my skipping by Woo, thanks.
6. On my way out the door I met my new neighbour… Mr Sneak-a-Peek! I walked by just as he was heading in the door and then he stood there peeking out the door at me. I saw you freak!
7. Stopped by the GS store for a snack and as soon as I entered, the dude behind the counter told me “no more”… is it that obvious? Am I that much a creature of habit that even the store clerk knows exactly what treat I’m coming for? Nonetheless, was disappointed that he had no rice cake thing-a-mabobs!
8. On route to Ryan’s house I was followed by Mr. Pervert, a man I definitely have not met before nor intend on ever seeing again. I met him when I got out of my taxi. He had no problem with the fact that it was so VERY obvious that he was following me and he was not at all bothered with publicly touching his crotch as he chased me down.
9. Bolted away from Mr. Pervert and showed up at Ryan’s house shaking like a leaf. Ryan told me that next time I should just “kick that perverted penis!” Mind you, the fact that I was wearing a skirt made me nervous cause I thought I was easy prey for a quick cheap feel.
10. Decided that late nights and cute black skirts are a bad combo! So much for dressing to impress… seems like all my skirt and boots did was dress me for disaster!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What is your worse fear?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.
-- German Proverb

Here's a glimpse into what's happening on the other side of the world... In Bowmanville, Canada, my best friend Andi, her husband Mark and their little one Oakley, are enjoying their new house. My little friend is all grown up now.... ahhhh!

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, January 15

1. Met this super cute little girl while waiting for a seat at TGIF. Her mom was trying to teach her how to say hi, in Korean. She walked up to me, bowed, and mumbled what I assume was her best attempt at say hi.
2. Lunch at TGIF. Ryan got a TGIF points card and so we’re officially “regulars” here now.
3. Noticed the girls beside us at Baskin Robins eating a whole tub of ice cream and thought it rather strange. Turns out WE were the strange ones. Here we were sharing a single scoop while everyone else was literally making a meal out of ice cream. That’s hardcore!
4. Turns out Ryan and I are philosophers. Our topic of debate today was human cloning. He was pro-cloning and I argued against it.
5. Ryan spat a huge gob of toothpaste in my hair… by accident!
6. Allowed Ryan to choose another movie despite his poor, poor selection last night. Thankfully he was much wiser with his selection this time.
7. Spent part of a good part of my evening feeling like my head was being crushed. Sat myself in the bathroom and slept leaning against the wash machine. I was in rough shape… have been all this week actually.
8. Experienced some traditional Korean herbal medicine and boy did it taste great (no, actually it was worse than buckleys!!!).
9. Forty-four days till “Jaja” is outta here! This calls for a celebration!
10. It’s been eighty-three days since Ryan first kissed me.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's something unusual you count?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The greatest wealth is health.
-- VirgilPower, 1860

You can't see me but I'm feeling a bit left out... I'm the only one here not wearing a silly hat. Just joking. Good food at TGIF... company's not bad either. Ha, ha, ha.

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, January 14

1. Ryan and I officially claimed this weekend to be a lazy weekend on the account that we’re both recovering. He’s really sick and I’m nursing a very sore body.
2. Cruised around on the back of Ryan’s scooter and there was no where else I’d rather be. This IS definitely the life!
3. Checked out Carafar (I know I probably spelt it wrong) in our search for macaroni and cheese. No suck luck.
4. Props to Ryan and his “Asian driving”.
5. Ate at TGIF. This is usually our Sunday spot but we thought we’d change it up. So cute, even the waitress remembered our usual seats.
6. Consider Ryan a lucky man. An additional benefit to him dating me is that he has doubled his wardrobe. Turns out he looks better in my jeans than I do, that’s not fair.
7. Movie night… Ryan and I were really up to doing nothing but veggie out for the evening.
8. Have to give Ryan both thumbs down for his movie pick tonight. It was definitely a sleeper and that’s exactly what I did… sleep through it.
9. Found out that Ryan originally thought I was south east Asian when he first saw me. No
10. Ryan,… I won’t write about “that” on my blog. Ha, ha, ha!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Who's your favorite person?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
You must have control of the authorship of your own destiny. The pen that writes your life story must be held in your own hand.
-- Irene C. Kassorla

Look who's back...me!!! Now lets see who has returned since the gym's reopening.

Highlights of my Day... Friday, January 13

1. FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!
2. Am convinced Eric is Korea’s most curious little boy. Spent the morning running away from his wondering hands. He even followed me into the bathroom!
3. Invented this really quite easy game for Dream class. It’s like hopscotch but the steps are large print-outs of vocab words. They loved it. Their record time for 10 words, 9 students was 1 minute and 44 seconds. Just goes to show you how simple kids are.
4. Accidentally swiped a pink marker across Betty’s face (she’s in my elementary Leo class). Sent her to the bathroom to wash up and when she returned to class she threw-up a handful of water…. not cool! We all got wet, including some important papers. Grabbed her by her jacket and pushed her out of the class.
5. Felt so disappointed with Betty and at the end of class I opened the door and there she stood waiting for me. She turned and then asked me, “Are you still going to kick me in the butt?” Earlier I had told her I was going to kick her (jokingly) in the butt if she didn’t stop fooling around in class. Turns out she thought I was serious.
6. After dealing with Betty I then had to go to the always “interesting” Virgo class where I there had to deal with Jimmy. Turns out Jimmy thinks it’s funny to not do homework. He didn’t think it was funny when I kicked him out of class and sat him in the teacher’s room. I told him he wasn’t allowed to go home until he caught up with his homework book work (about 3 weeks of pages).
7. Thirty minutes later, Jimmy returns to class with not only all his homework done but with a very changed attitude. I think I spooked him.
8. Went to my old gym and ran into Woo. Scored a deal on my membership… boy do I miss this gym and my old buddies! Impressed some of my buddies with my retarded skipping tricks. Simple things for simple minds!
9. Went to my new gym and canceled my membership. Turns out the new trainer there is some kind of semi-pro boxer and so I was definitely kicking myself in the butt for not finding this out earlier… maybe I would have stayed here. Regardless, he invited me out to his class and so I’m thinking about it.
10. Cruised around with Jin Suk and ended up in the middle of no where at the world’s tiniest tea house. Came home and then hung out with Ryan.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's better, smarties or M&Ms?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure.
-- Murphy's Law

On the fast road to recovery after my battle of the sexes. I must admit, I'm pretty proud of how I represented the "white woman". Beware... there's more where I came from!

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, January 12

1. Ate cheese again for breakfast even after I dropped it on the floor! That stuff is like gold, you just don’t go throwing gold away… are you crazy?!
2. Hanna’s mom apparently is flustered with the lack of improvement in Hanna considering I’ve been tutoring before class. I’m sorry but she didn’t get lost in MY class so please don’t blame me for another person’s lack of attention to their students!
3. Voted Jack’s mom the most supportive kinder mom with her entry in Jack’s communication diary today. Not only did she go beyond what was expected and apologize for Jack’s behavior yesterday but she also called Kevin’s mom to apologize. She totally gave me her support and gratitude for being Jack’s teacher. I was right from the start when I called her “Super Mom”. I could almost kiss you… almost.
4. Got molested at school by the kinder kids… Eric did the “reach-around” and then I experienced Joel’s wondering hands in my top! Result… spent my morning on the lookout for Eric. Kicked Joel in the bum for his curious hands but he thought it was a game and so he tried it again. Every time I kicked him in the bum he’d laugh and try it again. Finally I took his sticker book and pretended to eat it. Some how he believed that I’d do it and so he stopped.
5. Taught Wisdom class the word “bra”.
6. Discovered that my Glory girls totally rock… turns out we all like the same Korean bands and so I made them a couple of cds. One English, one Korean.
7. Received a late Christmas presents from Jack’s mom… anti-wrinkle cream. I’m flattered but aren’t I too young to even introduced to that word!
8. How ironic… had to ask Jinni (Korean teacher) how to spell an English word and then got asked by Shannon (English teacher) for a Korean translation.
9. Always thought boys were simple creatures… turns out Korean ones are in a league all of there own.
10. Realized that cheese is the only thing I’ve been able to stomach since Tuesday and so for dinner…. cheese.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's the dumbest thing you heard today?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others.
-- Francois duc de la Rochefoucauld

Me, the "white monkey" not looking so smiley for the camera... maybe it's because I've seemed to have lost my banana!