Highlights of my Day... Thursday, October 23

1. It was joked about today that I’m not to be allowed to watch over someone’s child as apparently I’d easily trade it for a measly cup of oatmeal… oh come on. Like anyone in Korea has oatmeal… hehehe.

2. Final day of midterm exams and it was definitely nice to end it off with my all-boys class. They really tried hard, put in a lot of effort, and honestly, I was quite surprised. They kicked my other Thursday’s class’ butt… totally!!!

3. I was most intrigued by this one particular student who had worked himself up so much for the exam. He arrived super early for his exam but shook like crazy throughout it. I was so distracted by his nervous twitches, his stuttering voice, his constant clearing of his throat, and the fact that you could see his knees shaking through his pant legs. Once in a while he’d kick out his leg, as if to kick away the shakes he was struggling with. I found the whole situation rather cute. I knew it wasn’t funny that he was so nervous but I thought it flattering and admirable that he was so serious about my exam.

3. Arrived home after work today to blocked off elevators and tape plastered over certain floor numbers in the elevators, my number included. Turns out I missed the notice about them waxing the hall floors. I managed to sneak up to my floor, via the stairwell, and I with the staff waxing away but with their backs to me, I snuck into my apartment. I’m sure the footprints leading to my apartment will label me as quilty for messing up their floor.

4. Once in my apartment however, I realized something… I can’t leave! I was then stuck in my apartment until the scheduled time, 12:30-5pm, was up. And so, with nothing really to do inside, I went into clean-freak mode and cleaned everything in my apartment, including Mi Nam.

5. I’ve thought up a seemingly painless, quick, efficient and genius way on how exactly I can go about leaving Korea without all the fuss and mess… get Q to sign my housing contract when it comes up for renewal in February! I’m seriously thinking about returning to Canada next year and so I told Q that if he agrees to take my apartment off my hands than I’ll stick around till the summer. Moreover, cause of Q’s Mokcheon simple-boy ways, promising him my stuff when I leave is a sheer bonus for him, after all, where he’s staying now (floor 5 of my building), his house appliances and whatnot consist of a table, a beat-up TV, and a rack to hang his wet, washed clothes on. Unlike him however, I’ve accumulated quite the stash of things here, ranging from a $2000 TV and a $200 plant, to custom made shelf units, a whole whack of dishes, a rice cooker, blender that could chop up bricks if you wanted it too (..hehehe), and a full desk unit with an accompanying shelf unit.

6. The big problem here is that I can’t get my contract deposit money until I leave the building, or sign my apartment over to someone else’s name. But between the end of my work contract and my housing contract (and when I’d actually get all my money from both parties, there's at least a month.

7. I was smart in the summer when I decided to open a bank account in Canada during vacation but now I’m faced with the problem of getting all this money to Canada. I figure I’ll have to stick around a bit to transfer it cause walking over the border with this much cash would definitely cause the flashing lights to go crazy. Junior Mint joked today and said I could live at the boxing club, I’m there all the time anyways, but I can’t do that… so silly. So now the problem is in Q’s

8. Well fall weather is definitely here and so my fall leather boots have already been broken in, my wools have been pulled out from back of my closet, and my winter coat has been sent to the dry cleaners. Tonight I got out another fall item… my dampboo. I think Dampboo translates to sweat jacket… sweat being the key word here cause that’s exactly what it makes you do, sweat like a mad man!!!

9. Putting on the dampboo at boxing is a sure sign of either one or two things. It means you either have a game coming up or it’s fall. Junior Mint likes to keep the club windows open all year round and so this means in the summer you die from the blazing sun shining in and then freeze in the winter with the cold winds that blow in. The dampboo, however, within a matter of minutes of training, your body temperature soars and the sweat starts coming down.

10. Turns out my dampboo today was a sign for BOTH things: it’s fall and I have a game coming up. Now the game date is not definite yet but it’s scheduled for sometime in December and with Christmas being the end of December, I take it the game with probably be in the first two weeks, giving me but only a month and a bit to train.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What is money to you?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it.
-- Bob Hope