My date, Cute Boy, and my chaperon, Korean-Only Girl.

Cute Boy's friends eagerly joined up with us and wow, talk about pure entertainment. They were so funny and so it made for a really interesting evening.

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, July 31

1. Well most of my day consisted of me playing with Mi Nam in the courtyard, cleaning my house, and studying Korean. I've been majorly slacking on my studies and so it felt good to get in a good couple hours of studying done.

2. Am seriously getting frustrated with the Yanky being under my skin. Today I found myself walking around downtown, contemplating whether or not I should go see him... no, I shouldn't. I shouldn't be chasing some dude. Mind ya, he's a really sweet guy who's sparked my curiosity. I think about him more than I'll ever admit to and I'm sure I would have gone had I not run into a friend of mine, Panty Boy... he's a Korean underwear model who I'm sure Hannah would instantly fall in love with. She seems to like these skinny dudes. I'm convinced though that Panty Boy will never love anyone remotely as much as he loves himself and his panties... ugly panties too!!! Hehehe.

3. Got dragged out shopping by Panty Boy who claimed I just "had to see how awesome he looked in these new pants"... ya, ok. He came strutting out of the change room with these super skinny tapered black pants that looked like they were painted on. Obviously this guy doesn't do rear shots... he has absolutely NO butt! I don't even know how that's physically possibly but there he was, standing right in front of me... yup, no butt! I'm really not into skinny guys and truth be known, I prefer a pudgy guy who's got some extra meat on him. I know, I know... my ex Byung Ryang (Ryan) was really skinny when I first started dating him but well, we all know what became of that situation. I quickly learned how to cook and cooked up a feast for him every night like clockwork. Dinner was at 9:45pm and so after a couple months of my late night cooking for him, he plumped up, filled out, and became the most handsome Korean man I've ever seen. Mind ya, the fact that I was absolutely in love with by this point definitely played a part in that.

4. After about an hour of dealing with Panty Boy's "does my butt look good?" questions, I finally snapped. I told him that maybe if he grew a butt I'd have some kind of answer for him, and then I left him.

5. Met up with Hannah for coffee. She had told me she had a problem and so she was desperately seeking advice. I find it kind of ironic that my friends ask for relationship advice from me, the very person who's relationships, if you'd even call them that, can't even outlast my hairstyles. Now, anyone who knows me knows I change my hair alot... cuts, styles, colour, perms,... you name it, I do it to my hair. I guess the true test of any guy in my life is whether or not he's been around long enough to see me change my hair. Brutal, I know but surprisingly enough, it's true! Agreed to think about a possibility of an "us" with Drama Boy, back in the day, but dropped the subject, dropped him and lost all interest when the new Clariol hair colour line hit the shelves. I ended things with Pretty Boy the very same day I cut my hair, and Yoon Jae, he lasted just long enough to see me perm my hair but then that was it. I am beginning to think that I am having much more interesting relationships at the hair salon and with my hair than I am with the guys I date... yikes!

6. Hannah's problem: she kissed the Drunk Punk from a few weekends ago and doesn't know if she really likes him. Personally, I think he's a punk, hence the nickname I gave him. She argued with me and said that he's actually a really nice guy. Oh, I'm sorry... I guess I should be thankful for him taking my life so carelessly in his hands by attempting to drive me home when he was drunk out of his mind.

7. One simple text message to Cute Boy, telling him that I was out downtown, sent him in a downtown search for me.... hehehe. He ended up finding me and convincing me to meet up with him later, for a late night dinner.

8. A little over an hour later, I met up with Cute Boy. He had brought along a chaperon, a kind of wing-man to help him ease his nerves. He's really sweet to me but wow, he's so nervous with me. The three of us went out to a local bar where we ended up being spotted by three of his friends who were all curious as to who this foreign girl (me) was with him. So, what was initially dinner for two turned into a party of 6... and I never did really get to eat dinner, instead, I nibbled on fruit and various side dishes.

9. Turns out two of Cute Boy's friends studied English abroad and so they were eager to speak English with me... well, Konglish actually. Cute Boy was glad I was having fun but I felt a bit bad for him, his English isn't as good as theirs. The two of us parted from the group and walked around for a bit. He escorted me home and then there was the whole awkward goodbye at the elevator. He's really shy and super cute with his pudgy cheeks but apparently he had a surge of bravery and so he leaned in towards me. Instantly I put my hand in front of my face and acted like I was just brushing the hair out of my face. My fast thinking "brush-of-the-hair" move resulted in me hitting him accidentally in the nose. We both blushed, I gave him a quick hug, and then jumped into the elevator.

10. Damn that Yanky. I mean, here I have this great Korean guy chasing me and showing me the kind of attention I like and yet there I was, brushing him off and feeling like I was doing something wrong. I had agreed to meet up with him tonight, hoping that he'd take my mind off the Yanky but it didn't work. Hannah is super shocked that I like some Western guy considering, but is convinced that this is a good thing. I guess so... yes, and no. I mean it's great in that I don't have to translate things for him or worry that things will be lost in translation, and it's awesome we can relate to each other but, like most foreigners, they come and go. He's only here till November and so I seem so consumed with this fact. Great... a time limit, as if dating in Korea wasn't retardedly hard enough. I never did like November. It's always the depressing month in between my much loved autumn and the lousy cold winter. Great idea there Amy... fall for some guy who obviously can be no more than a temporary boyfriend. Now I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I really out do myself but I think I just took it to the next level.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How can I control my life if I can't control my hair?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.
-- Henry Ford

There you go Ki Dong... you had asked to see what I looked like before I dyed my hair dark, dark chocolate brown. This is me in my first year of university... I look kind of pudgy and I don't think I was even wearing make-up (of course I had lip gloss on though... hehehe)

I'll be the first one to admit us Pollacks have our share of silly jokes and retarded stories.... but, at least we have a healthy sense of humour and can laugh at life.

Highlights of my Day... Monday, July 30

1. Big plans today: ear specialist appointment and the Yanky comes to Cheonan.

2. By 1pm I still hadn't heard from the Yanky but I had to leave for my appointment. Ki Dong took me to my appointment and so we got talking about him and his ex. Poor Ki Dong... he's exactly where I was about 9 months ago or so; stuck on an ex. He wants me to hang out with her this week but personally, I just want to kick her... hehehe. No but seriously, I really do like Ki Dong, he's an awesome friend, but he really needs to step back, take some time away from her and think about if he really wants her in his life. She did after all, rip his heart out, step on it about a million times and then ask from him to give it back to her again.

3. By mid afternoon I still hadn't heard from the Yanky and I had clearly become the laughing joke of the staff room... great.

4. Say it... I know you want to say it, others did and others will.... "I am a fool". Convinced that the Yanky wouldn't leave me hanging, I stuck around the office waiting for 6 hours. He never showed up. Instead, after what felt like a zillion hours, I got word from him, a text and then numerous messages on MySpace, in which, I admit yes he did repeatedly say sorry, but it only served to make me feel all that more embarrassed. Turns out he had slept in but even so, he still hadn't tried to patch things by coming out to Cheonan. He stayed in Songtan.

5. Ki Dong claims I've got no heart cause even after the Yanky said sorry like a million times, I sat back and bursted into laughter. I argue that I DO have a heart, it's black and a bit too sensitve. This is such a classic case of boy meets girl... girl falls for boy... boy screws up. I guess I laughed cause I didn't know what else to do. I know I was rather mean to the Yanky but my ego was bruised, my plans were shattered, my optimistic ideas were crushed, and now not only had I wasted my day waiting for him, I had become the office joke, killed my patience, missed both lunch and dinner, froze my butt off in the office, and wasted money paying my friend to babysit Mi Nam.

6. Ki Dong tried to cheer me up by asking me out for dinner but I declined. I had lost my appetite. I should have gone for dinner with him though cause I had spent all afternoon with him and so he didn't get any studying done.

7. Now I admit I'm stubborn, correction... I'm really stubborn. After I left the office the whole situation lingered in my thoughts. I couldn't shake it and so, being the fool that I already proved today that I am, I jumped on the subway and headed out to Songtan.

8. I don't know why exactly I went out to Songtan. It's not like I was mad and had a bone to pick with him, I just wanted to see him. I didn't want today to be a total write-off.

9. Walked around downtown Songtan with the Yanky... it was nice. We indulged in mandu and banana milk. I gave him a bit of a hard time about today and even picked on him a bit... telling him that he's too skinny, which at 190lbs he's obviously not. I wish he wasn't so damn cute.

10. On my train ride home, the Cute Boy from the other night texted me. By this time I had way too much drama from the male department today and so I really wasn't up for dealing with some other dude. I ignored his texts but gave in and accepted his phone call. Ahhh... Korean is so hard.... guys are so much harder though. I think I'll just stick to focusing on Korean, the language that is.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why is it ME chasing HIM?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.
-- Jim Bishop

Acting all silly with Konglish Girl... notice the blue wrapping on her thumb... hehehe. Not too sure what that's all about but she tried to explain that it's some kind of reusable bandage... sounds nasty.

My boy Jae Min and Korean-Only Girl... hehehe. So cute.

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, July 29

1. Woke up in pure panic as Mi Nam jumped around like a crazy boy and started barking. He was all spooked about something... and I have the scratches on my back to prove it. My front door knob was jiggling like crazy and then it was followed by so much banging!!! Wrapped the blanket around me and then proceeded down the stairs with the only thing I could possibly quickly think to use as a weapon... my curling iron... hehehe. Mind ya, I'm sure my mad bed head with my fro-girl frizzy curls would have been enough to scare them. Turns out it was my neighbor, new neighbour that is, as of today. He had gone to the wrong house and apparently was quite frustrated with the door lock.

2. Took a mean basketball to the head today when I was playing with the local high school boys down the street.. that's definitely going to leave a bump!

3. Agreed to venture out to Songtan again... second time this week. It's a little too much Western blood for me, way too loud, and consists of way too much testosterone for my liking but I kind of have a sweet tooth for the Yanky... hehehe. He's definitely a guys'-guy and ok, I think he's pretty cute.... not bad for a Western dude... hehehe (I had to say that!) Gangster Boy would dye of a heart attack this very second if he heard that I was actually attracted to a Western dude... an American for that matter. After all, I've been here for almost 3 years and Yanky is the only Western guy I've ever even remotely considered dating or have ever been attracted to. I had the "curiousity-hots" for my buddy Errol when I first saw him but I was engaged at the time and so that obviously put a stop to any thoughts of him.

4. It's a small world... wow! I couldn't help but totally be fascinated when I spotted a couple sitting across from me on the subway with the name of my Korean dry cleaners in Toronto advertised on their grocery bag... so cool!

5. Met up with the Yanky and his boys... his super-sized jumbo boys! After about being bombarded with about a zillion names, I was feeling a bit more nervous than when I first arrived. Nothings stranger than feeling like a foreigner to the foreigners.

6. Got the third degree from the Yanky and his boy M about my "American comments".... hehehe. I tried to justify it by telling them that my only real taste of Americans was here in Korea and well, those who know ANYTHING about Itaewon, can agree with me that it's not exactly a good impression... or a good representation for that matter!

7. I figure that last year out of 365 days, there were only 10 days were I ever had any kind of face-to-face conversation with a foreigner. I was the only foreigner at my school and my only real foreign friend was Gangster Boy but because he lived in Songtan, I hardly ever visited him. I don't particularly like Songtan.

8. Well, Yanky isn't a dancer and neither was his boy M, so, my dancing partner for the evening was Ruby (the Filipino juicy) and Pain (the Korean juicy). They were super sweet girls and so we had lots of fun busting a move on the dance floor.

9. No sooner had I just got on the subway ride home but Jae Min called me and told me to come hang with him. I was so hyper. I gave him a massive hug and even picked him up to swirl around. I had a really good time with the Yanky but nothing feels quite like returning home and seeing a good dear friend... Jae Min. He took me to this restaurant/bar were three of his friends sat waiting; Konglish Girl, Korean-Only Girl, and Cute Boy. Jae Min ended up leaving early and so for the rest of the wee hours I got drilled by Konglish Girl and Korean-Only Girl about why they think Cute Boy is my ideal match. Oh gosh... please, no more set-ups. Didn't my friends learn anything from those horrid blind dates they already had sent me on?! I know I sure did!!!

10. Sometime in the evening, Cute Boy had secretly called his phone from my phone and so after we walked around downtown sipping on our banana milk and after he and Konglish Girl escorted me home, the text messages started.... and then he called me.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Can you dance?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Whatever you want to do, do it. There are only so many tomorrows.
-- Author Unknown

Traveling in style baby! This is some kind of new advertisement for Korean summer scenic places... I love it. They've plastered the outside and inside of the subways with this massive advertisement, attached some tree branches, garlic to the ceiling and even attached some fake apples to the wall.

I've waited months for this... a good hearty Western breakfast!!!

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, July 28

1. Late in the evening last night I had a mad craving for a good old Western breakfast. I had planned to meet up with the American Kid bright and early today, after he finished work, at 8:30am.

2. Woke up to the American Kid's text message, "Are you still coming?" (8am). Oh gosh... I had slept in. Rushed off to Songtan and not only did I miss meeting up with him but the restaurant was closed. I was an hour late for the American Kid but over an hour early for breakfast.

3. Waited it out... they serve a killer Western breakfast ...bacon, ham, hash browns, eggs, tomatoes, salad, toast, and coffee. I haven't had a good Western breakfast since Mr. Smooth-Move bought out GS 25 and bedazzled me with a breakfast surely fit to feed a king.... that, and the whole Osan Air Force Base... hehehe.

4. I should have known that in a city infested with "Juices", wild bars and American Air Force, that everyone sleeps in and basically nothing is open before 10am... go figure, eh?! Even my cute little Video Rock Star wasn't at work which leads me to the fact that I HAD to cheat on him... hehehe.

5. Every time I visit Songtan I pick up some DVDs. The Video Rock Star wasn't there and so I left a note on his door and then ventured over to another DVD store where I bought some more "Sex and the City" and a new DVD. It was titled "L Word" and so I thought the l-word meant "love"... nope, wrong... so wrong. Came home, popped in the DVD and was shocked to find out that the l-word meant "lesbian". I can't watch this, no thanks.

6. Hit the gym with Hannah. Had a friendly sit-up competition and apparently Buff Boy and Newbie thought it'd be funny to take pictures of us with their cell phones as we killed ourselves trying to out crunch each other. I won.

7. After the gym, Hannah and I went shopping at Yawoori for a bit. We walked in holding hands like typical Korean school girls and were singing away to tunes on my MP3 player. Hannah had to get some pants exchanged and so I scoped out the latest Anna Sui purses.... so pretty. There's a purse there that I'm in love with, mind ya, with a price tag of $349, it's an expensive love that I'll continue to resist and just admire from a distance.

8. Lately I've been on a really weird diet, not intentionally though. For almost 2 weeks now, I haven't really ate any cooked food. Besides eating chumchi kimbab like it's going out of style, I've been loading up on sushi, raw veggies and lots of fruit... and I haven't felt better!

9. Am convinced Mi Nam is the best my "better half" will ever get... wow. We've been spending so much time together this summer... cuddling on the couch, walks in the park, soccer in the courtyard, coffee runs together.... he's awesome. Tonight we ate sushi together. I let him have my soup (it's cooked).

10. Ending this day by saying sorry to the American Kid. Turns out he doesn't like my nickname for him and so I'm officially changing it to The Yanky... hehehe. Hey, he is from New York so it's quite appropriate -- New York Yankies.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's my nickname?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it.
-- Christopher Morley

A little bone I have to pick with some people here.

He's so ugly he's cute... hehehe!

Highlights of my Day... Friday, July 27

1. Woke up to a surprise visit at my apartment door. All squinty-eyed and sporting mad bed head (not to mention I'm sure some killer breath... hehe), I opened the door and there stood the postal man. The other day I had allowed myself a little birthday splurge on the La Senza website... a couple days later (today), they showed up!!!

2. Never have I ever been so excited over underwear like I was today... I was like a kid in the candy store.

3. Dyed my hair today... and apparently the towel, my shirt, gave Mi Nam an accidental dab, and gave myself a new freckle on my shoulder too... oops!

4. Ahhh facebook... I'm addicted. I truly do love and appreciate how it's reunited me with my childhood friends. We all have so many stories. Let's see.... there's the high school sweethearts who got married and proved skeptics wrong, the geek that made his success and now signs the paychecks for other classmates, "Ms. Full-of-herself" who clearly got surgery and now is "Mrs. SO-Full-of-herself", and then there's some of us ugly ducklings who turned into swans and flew away, while Ms. Popular and Ms. Pretty aren't so hot anymore.

5. Have you ever had an idea that you thought was really good at the time and you though, hey, what the heck... let's do it?! Ya... that was my evening.

6. Rushed off to grab the bus to Seoul, but before I went, I almost had it out with this old Korean woman who was 5 seconds away from having me go buck-style on her.... see the video.

7. Headed off to Seoul to see a friend... a friend of a friend... well, not exactly. Anyways, I had told myself not to get involved and ask questions but I did exactly that. I think I've really screwed myself on this one and honestly, I don't even know why I did it. I wouldn't say I regret it but I know that it definitely pushed the limit. No regrets though... what's done is done and if anything, I had a great evening with an intelligent and well-spoken guy.

8. Regardless of the uncomfortable initial conversation, we did have a good time. We headed out to a park where we sat down, chatted up a storm and nibbled on some fruit.... and made fun of the ajumma's (old women) and their same-style hair... hehehe.

9. Terrible fact of the day: In Korea, every day one soldier commits suicide.

10. As if it wasn't hot enough, we then had to race back from the park to get me a Cheonan bus ticket. With only about 40 minutes, we had just left the park, still had to catch the subway, reach the bus terminal, and then hope there was still a ticket left. As luck would have it, we made it. And even after I rushed off to the bathroom, we still had 2 minutes to spare... sweet!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's your pet peeve?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.
-- Erica Jong

Shout-outs to my friend Ken, a fellow dog lover, a sweet Asian, and a cute Torontonian! I miss the T.

Daydreaming about Canada.

Highlights of the Day... Thursday, July 26

1. It's Thursday already?!... oh my gosh. And what's worse is, due to my retardedly messed up sleeping patterns, I missed seeing the morning and afternoon. Unlike Mi Nam who has the bladder like a camel, I couldn't take it anymore. At 5pm I cracked and got out of bed.

2. Awesome news... I can hear out of my right ear again, cool.

3. As if I wasn't lazy enough for getting up so late, I then go lazier and refused to get dressed and go eat. Instead, I scrounged around the house looking for something to eat. Tonight's dinner consisted of a can of tuna, canned peaches, pickles and tomato juice.

4. Jenn's leaving for Canada any day now and she's taking her boyfriend Sung Hyun with her... awesome. As excited as I am to hear about them venturing off to Canada, I can't help but get a little sad. I mean, I don't know when the next time I'll get the same privilege to see my family. If I don't renew my contract, I'll be moving back to Canada next March. If I do renew my contract though, I may not be back to visit until next summer.

5. Am excited for Jenn and Sung Hyun. It's his first time traveling to Canada and so I'm really eager to hear about the culture shock stories and see their pictures. They're a good couple. I am happy they have each other.

6. Haven't seen Hannah for two days now... oh the horror. I miss you Hannah!

7. Met up with Jae Min and his two friends. We headed over to Khan for good times and lots of Konglish... hehehe. Jae Min gave me the third degree about the men I seem to date and suggested that we should just date each other, after all, we're both single and we've known each other for almost 3 years now. Sorry Jae Min but my response to that starts with a "n" and ends with an "o"...... NO!!!

8. Learned a new Konglish word and it's terrible: "self-kill" = suicide. Tonight, while we sat there at Khan, Jae Min got interrupted by a phone call. One of his friends tried to kill herself tonight. Jae Min rushed off to go to the hospital. He called me later to tell me she didn't die. We were all grateful to hear the news, although I'm sure the girl wasn't. Please... no comments about this subject. The girl is one of my university students and so I feel somewhat uncomfortable as it is writing this about her. Thank you.

9. Finally caught up with all my emails... sorry dudes. Wow... I ignore my email box for a few days and BANG... 28 emails later! I'm proud to say, I wrote responses for all 28 emails. Mind ya, no sooner had I finally finished but some people had already responded to my response... oh gosh.

10. Like clockwork, the American Kid called me tonight. He calls me twice in the evening and it's kind of sweet. It's nice to getting attention but am curious as to what this means.... ok, so I'm not totally clueless, come on, at least give me some credit. He is a Western though :(

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Can you give me some food for thought?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
My favorite animal is steak.
-- Fran Lebowitz

Mi Nam loves running around in the buff... hehehe!

If he doesn't look impressed, it's cause he's not!

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, July 25

1. Met up with the Cheonan Trump for a sweet morning tea. I showed up wearing my "naked pants"... hehehe. My friends call them that because well, they leave no room for "error"... if you catch my drift. (No, they're not tight, they're just really thin). They're these funky hot pink pants I bought in Thailand.

2. The Cheonan Trump is definitely one of my favorite Koreans here in Cheonan. Not only does he bombard me with compliments and show me off around the office, but he always says the funniest of funny things. Today I bombarded him with questions, like a mini interview. Now, bare in mind his English isn't the greatest, but he tries. Today I thought I'd have some fun with the language by asking him some questions I clearly knew he'd be clueless about. Here's some of the questions I asked and his answers:

Q: What do you like to collect?
A: I like collect your smiles.
(Wow... what a line! It definitely worked to make me blush!)

Q: What is your pet peeve?
A: Peeing on my shoes.
(Hehehe... he obviously misunderstood the word 'peeve', heard the word 'pet' and thought I was asking him about something bad his pet does)

Q: What's your personal strength?
A: 20 kg.
(Hehehe.. I think he just told me how much weight he can curl)

Q: What's one hardship you've experienced?
A: A turtleship.
(Oh my gosh... so funny! He heard 'ship' and so he responded by telling me a Korean ship he's familiar with)

Q: What is one scary memory you have?
A: When I was a boy, a flying bird animal acupunctured me.
(Ok, so he understood the question but his answer was off. What he meant to say was "When I was a boy, a bee once stung me"... hehehe!!!!)

3. Rushed to meet up with Ki Dong. He accompanied me to my appointment with the ear specialist today. I wasn't looking forward to getting my ear probed again.

4. Thought I was literally going to faint today when the specialist stuck a camera into my ear and turned the TV so that I could watch the horrific scene. Nasty! I love my body but I'm not cool with getting so up close and personal with it. My ear looked like some scary cave... but nope, no potatoes. A lot of liquid though and one nasty infection.

5. Ki Dong and I have cracked Korea's most prized secret when it comes to us Western girls dating.... the secret being the hospital. There we were, standing in the middle of the hospital, while endless doctors passed us by and then it hit us. This place is the greatest meat market for us Western girls who like Korean men. I mean, it's packed with highly educated, intelligent, successful Korean men who speak English! It's true. Korean doctors are forced to learn English. However, I have my great doubts with love in Korea. The way I look at it, I make great money and so instead of thinking of finding something in the "Land of the Morning Calm", I'll make my cash, save it, and wait for science. After all, the way that science is evolving, soon I'll be able to make my own perfect man in a petra dish... hehehe.

6. Next semester Ki Dong isn't going to be working in my office and so I'm really going to miss him. I took him out for lunch today and made him promise me he'd come and visit me.

7. Oh gosh... the things Ki Dong say. He never fails to amuse me, I mean, he's super open and honest about what he says but sometimes I'm convinced that I'm back in Toronto talking with one of my Canadian boys.... hehehe. Sometimes I forget Ki Dong is Korean. Maybe he's been hanging out with the Western boys too long... hehehe.

8. On my way home from the hospital I ran into the mother of one of my former kindergarten students, Johnny. She was all smiles and it felt so good to talk with her. I really do miss my kindergarten students, after all, they were my first group of students when I first came to Korea. Nothing is quite like walking into a room full of giggling mini Koreans who want nothing more than to kiss you and be tickled.

9. Bought Mi Nam a t-shirt today... I know, I know. He's a dog, I hear ya. I couldn't resist though. It's a Korean soccer shirt. It's a little too big on him but I'm hoping he'll become a big boy. He doesn't really like it though and so he humoured me tonight with his struggling strip show.... hehehe.

10. By 9pm I was exhausted. I didn't hit the gym today cause well, my ear. I know my email box is getting bombarded but sitting at my computer, sitting in general actually, is really bothering me. I can't seem to keep my head up for more than a couple of hours without getting a headache and wanting nothing more than to lie down. And so, I popped in some ear drops, popped in a movie, and curled up on the couch with Mi Nam.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's the point of dating if it only leads to breaking-up?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-- Josh Billings

See.... even the Americans are sending over their troops to rescue me from the horror of Mi Nam's gas.

(picture of the American Kid and fellow troop)

Sorry Mi Nam, I love you dearly but you smell today!!!

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, July 24

1. Well, considering I went to bed around 10am... or was that 11am?... I was in no shape to get up and see the day and so I woke up at 5pm.

2. Woke up dazed, confused and choking on a super nasty smell. Turns out Mi Nam was having some major gas issues. I can just see it now, "Girl dies of gas poisoning from an 9-month-old puppy". I know, I know... kind of nasty to hear about this and it's a little too much info, but, it was just SO bad. I think it was the kimchi he ate. Regardless, he was a walking stink bomb today. Even when I took him for a walk, he let one loose and some random guy petting him commented on the smell... how embarrassing is that!!! Mi Nam, on the other hand, plays the innocent cute card very well and could careless.

3. It's funny how one little change in action changes the whole course of things. Today Hannah was supposed to meet up with me at 6:30pm. But, like always, she was late. She showed up at 7pm and so by then all the ear specialists were closed. I couldn't wait another day though. I was in a lot of pain.

4. Ended up being taken into emergency where I was then questioned over and over again about my right ear and health. Honestly, it was rather frustrating. I'm ok with them talking in Korean even if I'm not fluent but the problem was I couldn't even hear them in the first place. I had woken up today with absolutely no hearing in my right ear. Apparently I nailed it right on the head the other day when I self-diagnosed myself as having "otitis media". Am I good, or am I good?!

5. Was treated by a doctor who reassured me that everything would be ok and "this won't hurt a thing".... ya, ok. Like I believe that. He then placed this long metal tube into my ear to suck out the liquid and as soon as I caught glimpse of it, my knees began to knock. I clutched the chair arm rests as tight as I could, tried to stop my knees from shaking, and tried to endure the intense pain as he continued. I wanted to yell out "stop" but didn't. Instead, tears filled up my eyes and I bit down on my tongue.

6. About an hour later they let me leave the hospital. They sent me home with some ear drops, pills, a scheduled specialist appointment for tomorrow, and a wack of tissue for my tongue that I just brutally mashed up.

7. Hannah thought it'd be fun to have her friend meet up with us and then all go to dinner but as soon as she told me it was the drunk punk from Saturday, I was outta there. I grabbed a cab and left. Mind ya, I didn't exactly go quietly and instead gave her a bit of a lecture about the whole situation. I'm just not cool with some dude risking my life and then expecting me to give him a pity party for getting a fine. Honestly, I really think he has some nerve to show his face around us again and I don't understand why he's not embarrassed.

8. Ended up eating dinner alone and so I went to Kimbab Chunkuk. My order was simple, one chumchi kimbab. The manager however, took it upon herself to prepare a feast for me and so she treated me to some cold noodle, egg, and Korean pizza. I love Kimbab Chunkuk and apparently it loves me too... hehehe.

9. Mi Nam has started this new bizarre sleeping habit. Due to my ear infection, I can't sleep on my side for the time being and so I've been sleeping on my back. Straight like a pencil. Anyways, tonight while I was asleep I was suddenly awoken by what I thought was some rapist attacking me... seriously. It scared the heck out of me. Turns out it was Mi Nam. As I tried to return to sleep, he did it again. I woke and just laid there as he stepped up unto my tummy, stretched out his body and then fell asleep.

10. Laid in bed for about an hour before Mi Nam sleeping stretched out on my chest got rather uncomfortable, I mean, he's not exactly light.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Can you forgive and really forget?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
If you trust Google more than your doctor then maybe it's time to switch doctors.
-- Jadelr and Cristina Cordova

Dedicated to all the haters, heartbreakers, and bad boys who've taken my time and just added to potential future wrinkles.... hehehe. Thank you. You've only made me stronger.

Happy 8th birthday to a super cool mini Korean in my life.... Giggle Girl (jr.).

Highlights of my Day... Monday, July 23

1. With scheduled plans for 7:30am, I was definitely not impressed with myself when I found myself still awake at 4am. I know text messaging Errol in Canada didn't help my situation but I was suffering from a totally, out-of-the blue, super annoying, earache and couldn't sleep.

2. Woke up at 7:30am and felt like I had just been drugged. I had absolutely no balance and I could immediately sense something was wrong with my hearing in my right ear. Great, as if my ears weren't messed up enough. I mean, when I was in high school I played field hockey and once took a vicious corner hit ball to my left ear. It definitely hasn't been the same since.

3. In my attempts to tough it out, suck it up, and avoid any possible miscommunication (and mis-prescribing of medicine... that's freaky), not to mention having to get a needle in the bum, I decided to jump on the web and self-diagnose myself. Found a really cool site called Familydoctor.org where you search by the symptom. My symptoms included a partly swollen ear, a mysterious cut on my ear, crusties in my ear (maybe they're last year's potatoes I forgot to pick... heheh, just jokes), inside tenderness, and my hearing was greatly impaired.

4. I came to the conclusion that I either have "Otitis Media"... in simple terms, an ear infection in the middle ear, or a ruptured eardrum. Not sure how this all came about though. So strange!

5. Treated myself to some pre-birthday celebrations today by jumping online at La Senza and giving my credit card a little tickle. With this being Korea and me not exactly being physically built like a typical Korean woman, today's shopping was a necessity.

6. Realized just how careful you have to be when pronouncing various Korean words. I headed out to Kimbab Chunkuk today but what I thought I ordered and what I got were two totally different things. Turns out that one syllable difference meant I then had to fight the forces to gag and eat the plate they brought out to me which clearly had more unknown sea creatures on it that meets the eye.

7. Held a mini birthday party for Giggle Girl Jr. tonight. I had picked up an ice cream cake and a present (Sudoku board game) for her. Turns out she's never had ice cream cake before and so it got me thinking about birthday cakes I had. I remember once this girl I knew had a money cake. We were young and foolish so we thought it was great that her mom had put money into the cake batter. Now however, there's no way I'd be brave enough to risk my pearly whites bitting down on such a thing!

8. I admit it, I miss Yoon Jae. Having said this though, I know he's not the one for me in that I don't want to be with someone who doesn't fight for me. I'm as stubborn as a Polish gal is going to get and so I like a good argument. I'd have a much higher level of respect for him if only he were to be a little more aggressive. I don't want to be with someone who so easily gives up or steps aside.

9. Made a new video. Because of the fact that my sleeping patterns are all messed up, I found myself around 11pm with way too much energy. And so, I decided to curl my hair, pick a song and then shoot a video.

10. Yes, yes, yes... I smoked a cigar for the video. I thought it'd be appropriate considering the roughness of the character's voice and me being a girl.... hehehe. Why am I explaining myself to you here though?! It's my video... I must say this though, my editing was pretty rough and I totally look like I'm needing lip-singing lessons but I don't care. I had a lot of fun making it. Hope you enjoy.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Any requests for my next music video?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.
-- William James

My favorite couple in Korea, Jenn and Sung Hyun. They're so cute... look, they have couple jackets! Hehehe.

My favorite TV couple, Carrie and Mr. Big from "Sex and the City". This picture is taken from one of the more serious and heart-moving episodes.

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, July 22

1. Today is usually Yoon Jae and my day together… our day. Today it was just my day and so, with no plans and having come home around 7am, I stayed in bed until 4pm.

2. In a perfect fairytale world, full of pure romance, true intentions, and happy hearts, Yoon Jae would show up unexpectantly at my house at the usual time I meet him in Seoul. I’d open the door, he’d be there. He’d say sorry and we’d forget the whole retarded drama. Instead however, I live in the real world and there’s by no means any kind of Harlem romance novel playing out in my life. 5:30pm came; 5:30pm left and I was still here by myself. Yoon Jae didn’t come. My fairytale ending stayed just that… a fantasy story in my head.

3. Mi Nam made a new friend in the park today. He looks about my age and he was totally fascinated with Mi Nam, asking a billion and one questions about him. Mind ya, the two met in the park notoriously known as “Pervert’s Park” and so we didn’t stick around very long. Within 5 minutes, we were out of there.

4. The other day I registered for a paid tracker to put on my homepage. Today I got a notice and, honestly, I was kind of freaked out. It seems like nothing is a secret anymore, I mean, this tracker tracks just way too much stuff. It tells me how many times my page has been viewed -- by the day and even down to the hour. It also makes a graph of my visitors. It breaks down the visitors into “returning” vs “new” and does a summary that shows when exactly people are visiting my homepage.

5. Now, if that wasn’t enough info for me, it then goes further and tells me a whole lot of various things about my visitors:
a. IP address
b. Internet provider
c. Country
d. Region/State
e. City
f. How many times they visited, today and in total.
g. Exact times they visited my homepage.
g. If they were referred by anyone.
Wow… is there no secrecy? I mean, what does telling me that someone at IP address whatever, where ever, spent 1 hour, 39 minutes and 1 second on my homepage today really tell me?! It tells me that either a. I have too much time on my hands if I’m really investing in something that tells me this, or b. “Big brother” really is watching!

6. Honestly, I felt the whole tracking thing on my homepage was rather creepy. I only really wanted to know how many people visited it in a day but this was too much. I have only been using it for about a day now but today I pulled the plug on it. It just freaks me out.

7. Mi Nam proved he’s a true Korean boy today when he eagerly chowed down a huge piece of kimchi. Ya… I didn’t think it was too great of an idea considering it’ll probably give him a tummy ache but it was so funny.

8. Started thinking today about men, Korea and me. “Are Korean men really so different than Western men?” my friend once asked me. “Totally” is my response, and I think that’s definitely where the attraction stems from. Today, Jenn said it the best when she wrote me the following:

“Someone said something along the lines of 'how can you expect Korean guys to
UNDERSTAND you'......and in a sense I can see how the culture difference and
language barriers could cause a problem...........for me I look at these as challenges to overcome. It's way more risky and exciting to do something that is not the NORM or goes against the grain.........we both could have taken the easy way out. Marry men from Canada, buy a house and start a family........wow, sounds like fun to me!!!!! Well I think you know what I am talking about.

But what I really want to say about that comment that your friend made is that I
don't think any guy will EVER understand us. Isn't that what life is about, trying to discover yourself and become a better person. Well try doing that and then combined it with another life with someone doing the same and then tell me if it is possible to ever fully understand one......”

9. Ran into Mi Nam’s friend again. I was walking across the street when I heard someone call out Mi Nam’s name... hehehe. Turns out Mi Nam’s little friend is 25, is named Sung Hwan and likes foreign girls. And here all this time I thought he was just all about Mi Nam… hehehe.

10. Yoon Jae called me today… but so did the American Kid, Jae Min, and Ki Dong… so what. The conversation was full of various uncomfortable moments of silence, followed by us circling the issue, he not offering to talk about it, and me wondering why he really called me in the first place. Apparently he misses me but still isn’t really doing anything about it.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Are we getting wiser or just older?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.
-- Barbara J. Winter

Tonight I escaped Cheonan and found myself in Little America surrounded by not a care in the world.

Ok, ok, ok... fair enough. The American Kid's muscles are bigger than mine :(

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, July 21

1. With no attempts from Yoon Jae to kiss and make up, I made one phone call, got all dolled up, packed an over night bag, call out Hannah, and jumped on the subway. I was SO done with waiting around for the drama to unfold… Hannah and me wanted to go find some new drama. Our search took us to Songtan.

2. Hannah’s never been to the strange little bubble world of Little America (Songtan) and so I let her in on the golden rule: What happens in Songtan, stays in Songtan. Hehehe.

3. I had told Hyun Chae that I was in need of a change of scenery and so tonight we were going to celebrate his birthday a week early. He had to work until about 9:30pm and so we waited. Mind ya, our party of two doubled when the American Kid showed up with his buddy.

4. Hannah and I thought it’d be funny to talk about the American Kid and his boy in Korean… hehehe. They both have been in Korea for about 7 months now and haven’t picked up a word of language!

5. It wasn’t as busy as expected tonight. Was Songtan a total bust though?! No! Never! Maybe for Hannah who had congregated this idea in her head that she’d be bombarded with cute American guys. Me on the other hand, it was a night full of giggles, no stress, dancing and lots of attention. Attention, I admit I wish I was getting from Yoon Jae but… whatever. I figure, what someone doesn’t get from one person, they’ll naturally go get from another and so I had every right to venture out to Songtan tonight. Why should I waste away my youth on these dudes who only keep me home alone on a Saturday night while they're doing whatever, where ever?! I don’t even know if I’m single now, how retarded is that! I mean, I like Yoon Jae and a part of me is hoping that he’ll figure out how to fix this but I don’t even know if I want it fixed. All I know is that I’m just not one of those girls you can ignore and think you can get away with it. I’ve said this before and I’ll say again, just as hard as it is to get the girl, it’s just as hard, if not harder, to keep her. And in my case, this means you have to keep me curious about who you are. I’m beginning to think that with guys, I have the attention span of a goldfish!!!

6. The surprise of the night was running into Mr. Smooth Move. I haven’t seen him since he pretty much bought out the local GS 25 store of all its’ breakfast foods and cooked me the world’s largest breakfast… hehehe. I wrote him off months ago when he proved to be quite the aggressive boy. But tonight I got thinking. Maybe what I need is an aggressive, in-my-face, bad boy, after all, these good boys seem to just bore me with they predictable and routine-like attitudes. Anyways, as soon as he noticed me he came running up to me, picked me up, and swung me around. Wow. Turns out he is buddies with the Video Rock Star who always slips me a free DVD when I visit his shop… cool. They ended up joining our party and so now my initial party of two turned into a party of seven.

7. At curfew my party rushed off to be back on base at one. Hannah and I were still wide awake and not wanting to go to sleep. One of her friends called us up and so we jumped into a taxi and
headed off to Pyoungtaek… that was our mistake for the night!!!

8. I thought Hannah’s two friends were pretty cool… at first. The one was a Korean model and so naturally he was gorgeous! The other, well, he wasn’t exactly the brightest of light bulbs. No sooner had we jumped in their car but then we were pulled over by a police spot check. Ten minutes later I found myself sitting outside of the Pyoungtaek police station while buddy-boy filled out some papers. He was getting fined for drinking and driving…. Congrats on your $1,500 fine buddy. They all thought it was kind of funny but all agreed that the fine sucked. I on the other hand, was ready to punch the dude in the head for so carelessly letting me get into his car when he knew full well that he had too much to drink. That’s not a good first impression that’ll ever win me over!!!

9. Took a taxi BACK to Songtan to get my bags and to sign out of the motel, and then took ANOTHER taxi BACK to the police station. Total time wasted = 1 hour. It wasn't totally wasted mind ya. I did use this time to call my friend Errol in Canada and then I called Yoon Jae. Yup, I gave in and called him. It was about 4 in the morning and he was studying for his TOEIC test. Didn't really get the answers I was looking for but then again, maybe no answer is the answer.

10. With no one knowing how to drive except for the very dude who just got pulled over, they looked at me… “Heeeeeeeeeeelll no!!!” I blurted out. I know I have no licence but take my friend’s scooter out occasionally for a quick spin, but there was no way I was going to drive that car and be responsible for the lives of 3 other people! We ended hiring a designated driver from a local service company. He drove us to buddy-boy’s house where we hung out for about 2 hours and then headed back to Cheonan. Got home at 7am.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Can you make a mistake and miss your fate?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The reverse side also has a reverse side.
-- Japanese Proverb

Here's Mi Nam's evil stare! Today I went to go wash his sweater, well, my sweater that he's claimed his, and he got all hyper... hehehe.

Thanks Fun Boy 11 (funfunfun11) for the encouragement and advice.

Highlights of my Day... Friday, July 20

1. Still no real comment from Yoon Jae about Wednesday. He doesn't want to talk about it.

2. Finally got a chance to catch up on my emailing... well some of it. I'm beginning to become quite the computer geek... oh my gosh!

3. Not a very interesting day today. For the most part, today consisted of basically me cleaning my house and singing at the top of my lungs... hehehe.

4. Ok, ok, ok... so seems like the hot question lately has been "When are you (me) coming back to Canada?" Honestly, I have NO idea. But, I will say this. If my friend Errol, whom I met when I first came to Korea, comes back to Korea as he is suggesting he will next spring, I WILL BE STAYING ANOTHER YEAR, FOR SURE.

5. Took Mi Nam was quite the attention hog today when I took him for a walk. The Kimbab Chunkuk lady bombarded him with pieces of ham, while others stared at him, asked to pet him, and one boy gave him like half a bag of chips... hehehe. Mi Nam loves it and they for sure love him!

6. In Hannah's attempt to make me make me feel better about the whole Yoon Jae situation, she bought me chocolate. She said that chocolate will make my heart happy.... hehehe. She's so cute. Besides chocolate being a kind of aphrodisiac, supposedly, did you know it is also a kind of poison... I'm serious. Apparently chocolate kills dogs. It affects a dog's heart and nervous system. A few ounces is enough to kill a small sized dog... oh my gosh! That's terrible!

7. More useless facts I found out today:

a. Everyone has a unique eye and tongue print.... I can so foresee some guy using this as a bar line... hehehe.

b. On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily... I think this explains why I look nothing like my parents... hehehe.

c. Most lipstick contains fish scales... That's cool with me. I'm a lip GLOSS kind of gal... hehehe.

d. Mosquito repellents don't repel you, they hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors and so they don't know that you are there... Hmm, cool. Can someone please use this info to create me a "bad boy repellent"!!!

e. Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite.... That would explain my retarded hyperness, I eat a lot of peanut butter and am usually a bit off the wall, hehehe.

8. Got myself all psyched up for a movie and dinner for one, well, with Mi Nam too. Headed out, ordered myself some chicken and then went to go pick up a movie... the place had closed, an hour early... dang!

9. Forget this staying in on the weekends... I remember back when I lived in Toronto, Canada. I'd have at least a couple of places I had to hit before the night was over. Catching me at home was basically impossible and weekends consisted of meeting up with lots of friends, spending mad cash, not being able to catch dinner till about 3am and was one big overdose of giggles and good times. Now, it's Friday night and I'm home alone with a bucket of chicken and Mi Nam staring at me... dang. I ended up not even eating the chicken... I gave it to Mi Nam.

10. No word from Yoon Jae. I told him I wanted to talk to him about "it" by tonight. Times up. He said he wants to wait till tomorrow to talk. I'm not one to wait around for a guy, at least not this early in the game. I've got big plans for tomorrow. "PG" rated plans... hehehe. Jokes.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's the point?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness, can be trained to do most things.
-- Jilly Cooper

Wow... we're sooooo strong! Not only do we look like we planned to wear the same outfit but here we are, trying to honestly look like we're holding up this car.... hehehe!

Good times with good people. Check out Ki Dong's shirt.... hehehe. I love it!

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, July 19

1. Today it was rainy and gloomy… how appropriate for the uncomfortable thoughts and mood I was sporting today.

2. Started my day off with an early morning tea time with the Cheonan Trump. He had been golfing in the rain this morning and so he wasn’t very successful with trying to persuade me to come join him next time he goes golfing. He's hardcore into his golfing.

3. Hit the gym with out my partner in crime… Hannah. I thought I’d work out with the big boys today but, as it turns out, no one was really at the gym. No Buff Boy, no Newbie… even Old Man Smiles wasn’t there. I had the gym all to myself… sweet! Convinced the new girl at the front desk to crank the tunes. Cool.

4. I seriously think I’m dying of boredom this summer and so, in anticipation of preventing this from happening during my winter break, I messaged Wonder Woman and told her to count me in on Thailand for January. Nothing but beach, ocean, overdosing on fresh pineapples and endless market shopping for two weeks with the rebellious, but ultra sweet, Wonder Woman sounds so perfect! I can smell the beach already... oh ya!!!

5. Met up with Ki Dong for dinner and a movie tonight. He brought along a fellow Dankook coworker, Ellie. She’s a super nice Korean lady who I’ve never met before but really clicked with today. She got my stamp of approval when she took a crack at Ki Dong... hehehe. I'm always up for a good dose of sarcasim!

6. Met the notorious ex… Ki Dong’s ex that is. In addition to this girl totally ripping his heart out after 5 years of being together so that she can “explore” some other guy, she now has the nerve to ask for Ki Dong back. I’ve had endless conversations about her with Ki Dong. She was his first and only love. Today I finally got to meet her. She was nothing like I imagined and honestly, after, although I felt bad for her cause I’m sure she knows we all know about her and so was obviously super uncomfortable, I couldn’t help but think, good for her… she deserves to feel uncomfortable. What goes around comes around cookie! As they say, “Karma’s a b&#$h!”

7. Had dinner at the very cool Hong Kong restaurant that over looks downtown. We chowed down on Chinese food and shared some juicy stories. Ki Dong and Ellie gave me the low down on dating Korean men and so that was quite funny. I totally trust Ki Dong and I’m always up for advice from him. It’s fair to say that he’s always got something “interesting” to say. So at dinner I sat down and spilled my beans about my current situation. He doesn’t approve of you-know-who. Neither did Ellie. They both think that I’m being played for a typical Western girl.

8. Top two Western girl stereotypes in Korea:
a. If you’re pretty and white, well then, you must be a Russian prostitute.
b. Western girls are easy.

9. Hannah, Jae Min and Jae Min’s friend all joined up with the three of us after dinner for a movie. We had plans to go see “Die Hard 4.0”. Awesome movie! It was by far the movie of the summer!

10. I remember when the first three Die Hard movies came out, back in the day. My brothers and I tried to sit down and count how many people got killed in the movie. I know it sounds kind of morbid but trust me, watch the movie. It’s non-stop, butt-kicking, bad guy popping, action. And so, I tried to count the number of deaths, too hard. Gave up after, I don’t know, about a 100… just jokes. Hehehe.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Are you feeling lucky?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Why don't you and I both step outside and see who gets hurt.
-- from the movie "Die Hard 4.0", said by the daughter of Bruce Willis' character

Introducing my new iPod Shuffle. It's super tiny but super cool!

Getting ready to get my funk on at the gym... hehehe!

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, July 18

1. My morning started off on a bit of a rough note when I got asked to help someone out and had to wake up at 6am, only for them to sleep in.... dang!

2. So much for my morning plans. I was up for the day and so I walked all the way back home and got fooling around on the Internet when all of a sudden I clicked on an unfamiliar link and IT popped up... "it" being my ex's homepage! Now at first glance I froze. One side of me told me to close the page, the other side told me to check it out. So, I went with the stronger side and checked it out. Now honestly, I don't really care if he has a girlfriend or not, that's his prerogative and that's not the issue, the issue was whether or not he ever posted pictures of me. Turns out I gave him over a year of my life and yet there's NO trace of it on his homepage... ouch.

3. That definitely put me in a weird mood and I don't know whether it was cause of my thinking or what, but the rest of the day ended up being just as weird too.

4. I was desperate to get out of the house and so I took a taxi to LotteMart. Picked myself up a sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet iPod Shuffle by Apple. It doesn't have a screen on it to check out what song is playing but it stores about 240 songs and you can create various playlists. I just need it for when I'm training and so I loaded it up with my cardio songs. Cool.

5. Ran into an old friend of mine, well, a friend I met when I first came to Korea. He was all smiles to see me. He asked about my ex and when I told him that we've been broken up for quite some time now and I have a new boyfriend, he was shocked. He kept on insisting that he thought we'd (my ex and I) be married by now. Now, it's one thing to dig up the past, but it's another thing to push it in my face and make me choke on it.

6. Got the strangest of emails from someone I've never even met. Actually, she's the girlfriend of my friend who works at my gym back in Canada. Anyways, she emailed me asking to be a kind of mediator between her and this man in Korea for a business venture she's attempting. Hmmm.... is this one of those jealous girlfriends checking out the female friends?!

7. Today I felt like I was dwindling in the twilight zone and so I wanted nothing more to hit the gym, work it off and then go home to Mi Nam. Well, no such luck. No sooner had I put my Shoxs on at the gym but my phone rang.... it was Yoon Jae.... he had just got off a bus in Cheonan (my city)!!! Talk about a total surprise! And if that wasn't totally sweet enough, he offered to wait while I worked out but I couldn't do that. I couldn't let my boyfriend travel all the way here and then make him wait. I may be a tough chic but I'm not heartless.

8. We grabbed some quick food at Kimbab Chunkuk and then chilled out at Coffee Bean. Yoon Jae commented on the wicked patio at Coffee Bean. "What do you expect, baby?" I asked. "This is Cheonan... everything is better in Cheonan"... hehehe.

9. Yoon Jae had come straight from school and so he wanted to shower. He wanted a t-shirt to change into and so I started to look for one... found one. It was in a closet that I've never used before, of all places. Talk about great luck right? wrong... so wrong. Immediately when I threw it down to him, I realized who's shirt it was... it was my ex's. Talk about having a weird rush of emotions. There I was, standing in front of my boyfriend while he wore my ex's shirt. It felt so wrong. It's almost like that t-shirt allowed the ghosts of the past to resurface. I felt so uncomfortable and so I wanted nothing more than to have him take it off. However, I said nothing.
10. Mi Nam totally adores Yoon Jae, I think he's pretty great too. But as for surprising me like tonight, I have mixed emotions. I think a big part of it had to do with the fact that I was just having a retarded day though. I know his surprise visit was romantic, super sweet and all, but it was so late in the evening and so I was kind of put in an uncomfortable position. I know, I know, I could have turned him away but he's my boyfriend. Having said that though, I think he wants a more serious relationship but I am happy with where it is right now; it's safe. I'm not so involved that I'd get hurt if I ended it right here. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to end. Wow... I really need to stop thinking so much, I think that's what is messing things up for me. Hannah says I should just go with the flow, go with what feels right. But what happens if you don't know whether it is right or not? I mean, is the line between wrong and right so clear cut, or what?! Things aren't always so black and white, there's that gray area. Tonight, I found myself in that gray area.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Since when did life get so complicated?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Life is rather like a tin of sardines - we're all of us looking for the key.
-- Alan Bennett

... who are you?

Got to love Konglish!!!

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, July 17

1. With no real plans today... or ANY day for that matter... I gave my house a good scrub down. Everything from the walls, to the dishes, bedding, and even Mi Nam, got a good cleaning. Dang... I really need a new hobby... hehehe.

2. I'm convinced that I am a 26 year old senior citizen cause today, while at Coffee Bean, I realized just how laid back and relaxed my life has become. Mind ya, it's because it's summer time though. Let's see, my morning activities today included sitting at Coffee Bean for about an hour while I sipped on my coffee and watched everyone else rush off to work. Then I took a walk through the park, picked some flowers, and then brought back coffee for my building's security man.

3. No more messages from Bones McSkinny. You weak, weak man! I guess it's fair to say I won that argument. Having said that though, I am still curious as to who he really is. With Bones not sending me emails, I now have a new "fan"... great :( Random emails from "Signed Yours" started two days ago. Today he sent me 5 emails JUST to say, "I wanted you to know I think about you.... I thought about you.... I am thinking now of you.... I will think again of you". Can you say creeeeeeeeeepy?!

4. Did some online shopping on a Korean site Hannah showed me the other day. I had absolutely NO idea on what I was doing but was however able to figure out how to create an account. Ended up buying a cardio hip-hop dance workout DVD... cool.

5. I realized just how bored I was today when I found myself getting all excited about eating at Kimbab Chunkuk. I mean, I eat there practically everyday but today Yoon Jae had told me to go try this dish he recommended. He had me order saewoo bokeumbab, which is basically a massive plate of rice with chopped up ham, corn, onion, and shrimp pieces in it with an egg thrown on top. I wasn't impressed. I love in-your-face, fire in your mouth, tongue burning kind of food... spicy!!!

6. It's official, the Kimbab Chunkuk manager loves me... hehehe. Lunch was her treat today, wow, cool! I guess spending a good chunk of my paycheck at her place religiously scores me some royal treatment... hehehe.

7. We're smack dab in the middle of summer and yet I've seem to have caught a cold. Actually, only one side of my nose has. What's up with that?! No worries though. Nothing a bit of Vicks vapour rub from good old Toronto can't handle.

8. Today was a Korean holiday. It was Constitution Day and so many things were closed, my gym included. Mind ya, I didn't know until I got all ready and showed up to a dark gym. Hmmm... Hannah and I thought we'd use this as an opportunity to check out the gym that's directly across from my house. Wow... talk about super expensive. The trainer argued that it's because it is open late, open on ALL holidays and includes the bath house. Ya, like telling me I can prance around naked and bathe with my female students will really sell me on that deal. NO THANKS! I don't even let Mi Nam see me naked.

9. After checking out the gym, Hannah and I headed over to Coffee Bean, her treat... nice! I couldn't help but feel like I was on display though as I sat at the window seat table. Can you believe it, some guy walked by and actually stopped to come in to tell me that I had a small head?! What kind of line is that?! Hehehe.

10. Tonight, while all curled up on the couch, I had the most bizarre thought: I really want my parents to meet Mi Nam. I know it sounds kind of funny but, if you only knew why and what Mi Nam means to me, you'd understand. To sum it all up, Mi Nam was my self-prescribed remedy I gave myself for getting back on my feet after I crashed and burn from my previous relationship. When everyone had bombarded me with advice and yet failed to cure me of my broken heart, I found myself desperately needing some kind of distraction. Someone once told me that the way to get over a love is to fill your heart with new love... Mi Nam. However said you couldn't buy love obviously has never had a puppy lick their face... hehehe. Anyways, Mi Nam has become a huge part of my life and he has definitely changed it. I no longer live my life just for me. Now there's a four-legged little boy that depends on me and smothers me with unconditional love. I really want my parents to meet him; he's one cool dude.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Who is Bones?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Love me, love my dog.
-- Author Unknown.