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Raised on promises She couldn't help thinkin' that there Was a little more to life Somewhere else After all it was a great big world With lots of places to run to Email me: lao.ocean @ gmail.com December Photos Now Playing: Sorak-san The Windmill Salmon Festival Soccer Goal   Where do visitors come from? (Since 20-Dec-04) Fave flowesr: Plumeria Birthday: DEC 31st
Dance like no one can see Love like you've never been hurt Live like it's heaven on earth 
 Let's set it straight - Is the country Laos or Lao?Here's the answer This week... Things that make me happy
Movies I've seen this month
What they're saying about me
"She's a nut! Not too sure how else to describe an "at-first-glance" seemingly quiet girl who dances like a chicken when she thinks no one else is looking, who likes to pass off her "made up" answer for fact, until you look at her and see her hopelessly trying not to crack a smile, who WITHOUT FAIL remembers to put a line of dental floss in her purse before she goes out (and isn't afraid to use it after dinner, thankfully NOT at the table!!). I can always count on her to know the hottest hollywood gossip, and to dance till all hours of the morning with me." "My co-worker just told me that there was a premiere for Bridget Jones 2 last night, just blocks from my work, and we missed it! Hugh Grant, my beloved and the framework upon which my future husband is based, was just blocks away, breathing the same oxygen, and I missed it! If I had a friend here who was as savvy with E-news as you are, this catastrophe would never have occurred!" Guess what I heard... Oh my god!! This donut is so good! - Ras about a Krispy Kreme donut "I want to do! But what is paintball? There is no such word in dictionary." - Suwa, Japanese teacher "I am now skipping church to see if I am going to win my bids!!!" "YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA.....I won the felt tip pens!!!!!!!! Yippeee...."who let the dogs out...arf, arf, arf, arf"...."let me hear you say Y..M..C..A"....oh yah, who's your daddy!!!" - Renee Other favorite quotes:
A gift is an offering. A selfless act that adds something to someone's life. Something that they need. Have you ever walked by something and you just had this feeling that someone you knew would absolutely love it? Faith is believing when there is no rational reason to believe. Homer: "We Americans are England's children... I know we don't call as much as we should, or aren't as well behaved as our goody two shoes brother, Canada... who I should mention has never had a girlfriend... I'm just sayin'..." Anything less than mad, passionate, extraordinary love is a waste of time. There are too many mediocre things in life, and love should not be one of them. The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it. When your heart speaks, take good notes. Travel has a way of stretching the mind. The stretch comes not from travel's immediate rewards, the inevitable myriad new sights, smells and sounds, but with experiencing firsthand how others do differently what we believed to be the right and only way. It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting. Sometimes to see the light, you have to risk the dark. |
I will let you down... I will make you hurt
2/5/2004
Would you marry someone who has never said "I love you", during your 4 year relationship? I was at Ras' school and his class was discussing this. There was a woman in his class that has only said those three magic words to her boyfriend once. She only plans on saying it again on their wedding day. This has to be an extreme of Korean culture. I know they're conservative, but how could you be with someone for so long and not verbalize how you feel? While at his school, I also ended up watching the Super Bowl ads online. I have a warm spot in my heart for animals and old people, and found those commercials to be the most amusing. I find kids and old people funny (looking and acting), except for the cranky ones. I skipped the H&R block ad - come on... the name alone sounds boring. I particulary liked Budweiser's "Clydesdale Donkey" & "Horny Talking Monkey", and Frito Lay's "Fight to the Death". Back home, you don't download commercials, but I hardly ever watch English commercials here. One of the best things about being in Korea, is that I don't watch much tv anymore. I'm not constantly bombarded by commercials for new "must see" shows, so I don't know what I'm missing. Sure, I hear about the O.C., but is that show really good? It's all for the better, because tv takes up so much of my time. I usually only turn on the tv at night to watch English music videos at 9:00 pm on MTV, and then just have it on as background noise as I surf the internet. I always watch Friends and Will and Grace from 11:00-midnight. Of course, I'll read about shows online. If there are good things said about a particular show, I'll download it to watch. Actually, Ras will download it for me to watch. That's how I found out about "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". On the other hand, I don't think I'm missing much by not watching Jessica Simpson and her reality tv show, The Newlyweds. How long is it before you're not newleyweds anymore? Didn't they marry lat year??? I saw Johnny Cash's video "Hurt" online a couple months back. This time it was on tv, and it made me a little sad while watching it. In the video, you see Johnny Cash old and tired, but there are clips of him when he was young, smiling, and and just getting started in life. The lyrics were a little haunting... What have I become
Temptation Island 2
2/4/2004
I'm watching Temptation Island right now - season two. Honestly, why would you go on this show with your boyfriend/girlfriend?!? These are couples on the verge of breakup, and having 10 other hot bodies to tempt you is just going to push you over the edge. The girls let their boyfriends go out on dates (and vice versa), and then cry about it when videos of the dates are shown to them. How could this possibly help any relationship? People are stupid. That aside... the show is interesting. Much better than Paradise Hotel. Reality TV - I love you and hate you at the same time! For anyone in Korea, join in the debauchery: Tuesday, channel 57, 12:10 am. (not sure what other nights it's on, but I think I'm watching the 2nd episode)
Good times ahead...
2/4/2004
Well, the news is out, and I wanted to make it official. Raswan and two of his Korean friends are opening up a bar in Kangneung!!! For anyone who was here at least two years ago, you know about Sting. It was the bar that foreigners went to, before we were banned after Philippe's antics there with a foosball stick. This new bar (still un-named) will be in Sting's old location! It's on the 2nd floor, across from Boss Night Club, formerly known as Boogie Boogie. Below are early pictures from the bar. Everything was cleared out and these are pictures from last Monday (1.26.04). A carpenter came in and was building the bar. Where the ladder is, is where the foosball table used to be. Aaahhh... memories of "Oh yeah" team. Plus, this bar will have a pool table too. It should be open in about 3 weeks. I'll keep you posted!
Dancin' and the police
2/3/2004
This past weekend, I went to Seoul for Club Day (that's what they call it, even though it should be Club Night). It's in Hongdae on the last Friday of every month. For 15,000 won ($12.50 USD), you get a bracelet that lets you into 15 different clubs in that area. In addition, you also get a free drink at the bar where you bought the bracelet. I went by myself because other people were busy or sick. I wondered what it would be like, going clubbing my myself. I know that if I went to a bar by myself, it would be strange. If I was backpacking by myself, I'd do it out of necessity, but I haven't had to since I've been in Korea. I went to Seoul, knowing that it wouldn't be bad, because I'd be dancing and not needing to talk to anyone. I was going to stay in Itaewon because it was the cheapest place for a single room that I knew. Places in Sinchon are a whole lot nicer, but I didn't want to cough up 50,000 for a room by myself. I was pretty lucky, because I found a guesthouse online. Kim's Guesthouse had an opening, and a single room was 27,000, still cheaper than Itaewon and closer to where I would be that night. It's in Hapjeong, which is two subways stops away from Hongdae. When I got there I met three other Americans - a military guy, and two female English teachers visiting for the weekend from Japan. In the living room were also two Japanese backpackers. The two girls almost went with me to Club Night, but they wanted to get up early to see the sights of Seoul the next day. Overall, it was a nice hostel, and I'd definitely go back again.
I went to Hongdae around 11:30 pm, and just walked around at first. (A map of clubs in Hongdae)My second club was Hodgepodge, which I REALLY liked! It was a great mix of music - hip hop and dance pop. I was really surprised because the club was 75% Asian, and 25% foreigners (not military). It was great to see all the people in the club cheer and sing along to "Like a Virgin" and Radioheads "Creep". What was also great about the club was that there wasn't attitude, like there was at Stompers (another club in Hongdae). Sure, I could see the guys checking out girls, but they weren't sneeking up and grinding on them, like they would at Stompers. It was nice to actually dance and enjoy the music, instead of always being on the defensive about guys. I was there for a couple hours and pulled myself away from that club because I felt I needed to take advantage of the night and check out other clubs. I ended up checking out about five more places, but eventually decided to go back to the hostel because my feet were starting to hurt from dancing. I thought I'd have a good time out, but it turned to be a really good night out by myself! Check-out at the guesthouse was 11:00, but I ended up having coffee and toast, and checking my mail until noon. I then went to Costco (Line 5, Yeongdeungpo-gu Office, exit 3). I didn't get too much this time. The newest thing they now stock are - whole black olives!!! The next day, I opened up a can, and popped them like they were candy. 28 grams of fat - straight to the hips. Oh well...  A polish dog & drink = 2000 won. Then I went to Kyobo bookstore (Line 5, Gwanghwamun, takes you straight to the door). After Kyobo, I took a quick detour to KNTO (Korea National Tourism Organization), and noticed a lot of buses with police in them. In the 2nd picture below, the police stopped traffic so they could make an illegale u-turn and park by Kyobo. There were TONS (tonnes to Canadians) of police standing or sitting around - waiting for something.
I was really amazed by the whole thing and wondered what was going on??? Was there going to be a riot in downtown later that evening, and they were getting ready for it? I was a little hesitant at first to take pictures of these guys, because back home, police are... you know... scary. I asked a Korean person who was also taking pictures of the 5-oh(!), and she said they were just training for potential riots in the future. How nice... can I get on that mailing list?
Canadians and their maple leaf patches
2/1/2004
I thought the following was was hilarious! It's a thread from Dave's ESL, regarding why Canadians wear their flags on their backpacks. I've also realized that my closest Canadian friends don't participate in this activity. Now I know why we're friends. :)
I think that the first part is true enough. The mapleleaf on the backpack thing should be taken as a charming sign of naivete, and nothing else. If I was a petty thief, I think I would make a beeline to these fresh faced prairie kids with their North Face windbreakers, Roots sweatshirts, and of course their expedition backpacks adorned by the big patch lovingly sewn on by their mothers. I remember when I was planning my own first trip out here, many of my relatives, most of whom have never set foot outside of Canada save for a package tour, cautioned me to put on the patch. One of my aunts was quite insistent about this- it was almost as if the mapleleaf was a sort of magic talisman able to deflect the evil eyes of American hating foreigners. My grandmother was a little more sanguine about it - she had been in a bus draped with mapleleafs that had actually been stoned by Spaniards during one of the episodic fish fights we've had.
How to know you've lived to long in Korea now that you're back home
1/28/2004
Tonight I was just lurking on Dave's ESL Cafe, when I came upon this. It made me think of Renee and all the other friends I've had here, who have left Korea. I wonder how many of these will apply to me, when I finally go home. How To Know You Lived Too Long in Korea Now That You're Back Home. . .
Oh yes, and for those back in their respective countries... If you want to remember how life in Korea was like, try these things: 1. Drive down the road weaving in and out of traffic, running red lights while waving hello to everyone. Don't forget to talk on your cell phone.
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British rockers
1/26/2004
I went back to work today, after nine days off on vacation. It was nice not doing anything for that long, but to tell you the truth, it really wasn't too different from my everyday life. I do whatever I want anyway, but now I have to be at work from noon to five. The only thing that's an annoyance in my job is making calls to my students every night. And the only person I have to thank for that, is Kiran! It happened a month ago when my director came to me, showing me a telephone evaluation sheet from her nephew, who attends L.C.I. English, who's teacher is Kiran. She thought it was a good idea that I started doing telephone calling too (which I do think is a good idea). It's just annoying during the winter vacation because I finish at 5:00, but I don't call my students until 8:00, when they're home from other academies. Since I don't have a home phone, I've had to call some of them on my cell phone. Yeah, it's not a big deal, and I like to complain sometimes. On a different note, I just saw a new video (Miracles) on MTV by the Pet Shop Boys. I was in the kitchen when it first started, but knew immediately who it was. Sure, lead singer Neil Tennant isn't the best singer, but he's British, and that automatically brings him up a couple notches. I'm not sure what it is, but I've found many British male singers to have really melodic voices (i.e. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd (specifically the song, Learning to Fly) and Chris Martin of Coldplay). I love all those 80's Brit bands, especially The Cure, Erasure, and OMD. Ironically, after the video was over, there was a commercial for HP printers, accompanied by The Cure's "Pictures of You". It's funny, because when I was in high school, I first heard Pink Floyd in the back seat of my friend's white Chrysler Le Baron. Perry was in the driver's seat, while my boyfriend was in the passenger's. I was sitting in the back, as we were driving somewhere. I knew Perry was a huge fan of Pink Floyd, but I didn't know what kind of band that was. To give you a clue to what kind of person he was: he liked Dungeons and Dragons, painted his own models for D&D tournaments, had long hair he tied into a ponytail, and frequently wore peasant shirts with black knee high boots (think, Lord of the Rings, meets medieval waif). So, I just assumed his tastes wouldn't be anything to what I was listening to at the time (Nirvana, Sublime, Everclear... with a touch of TLC and Boys II Men). The first Pink Floyd song I'd ever heard was "Learning to Fly". I was blown away by the song, but more importantly, the vocals of David Gilmour (this is not to say that Roger Waters isn't great either). After that night, I wanted to hear everything by Pink Floyd. I didn't have enough money to buy all their Cds, so instead, I went to the library and tried to check out all the Pink Floyd albums they had. If a CD was checked out or at a different library, I made a request to have them deliver the CDs... sometimes from 50 miles away. By the end of the summer, I had recorded almost all of their albums onto tape, so that I could have a copy. Almost ten years later (man, I'm old), I still have those tapes somewhere in my parent's house... and they're still one of my favorite bands.
Maybe I was crazy
1/24/2004
After receiving the following email from a friend, I can rest assured that at least three people read what I write. :) I'd have to say, this is probably the first time I've had an email lecture. There's one word is this email that gives away the identity of this person, definitively: ARE YOU CRAZY? You can't seriously be thinking of going snowboarding again so soon after hurting your back?!?!? Freak, yes, your back does A LOT!! Every time you sit, stand, walk, run, snowboard, roll over, bend over, kneel down--you get the picture--your back does tonnes of work!! Your back (in co-operation with your abs) work to stabilize your entire upper body...it has a BIG job! If you hurt your back so badly that you were in bed for 3 days, and then immediately go back to the ACTIVITY that damaged your back in the first place, then you are just asking for it to be injured again...BAD IDEA!!! Maybe your back isn't sore anymore, but has not returned to its 100% strength capacity and range of motion again. It hasn't HEALED!!!!!!!!!! Ok, ok, I get the picture. I had big plans of being Superwoman and healing fast (or would that be Wolverine from X-men?). I didn't go snowboarding on Thursday at all. Actually, a bunch of us were supposed to go to Yongpyong on Thursday, but everyone bailed because it was too cold (-22o C, -8o F). I had still wanted to go, and just hang out at the lodge. It would have been fun to go up the gondola and take advantage of the sauna while everyone else was snowboarding. In the end, the majority won (9-1), and I had to reluctantly stay home. Friday also turned out to be another cold day at Yongpyong (-24o C, -11o F).
Up and walking again
1/20/2004
After two and a half days of mostly lying down, I'm finally able to move around after my snowboarding accident on Sunday. That was the beginning of my "supposed" three day snowboarding trip. Ras and I had gone up to Yongpyong, and were starting off our day around 10:00 am. Actually, it was Ras' first day of snowboarding, and he was doing really good. On the second time down the beginner's slope, he was already turning! I think it was my second time snowboarding before I even tried that! We were having a good time and were finishing up our last run for the day. I told him to go ahead of me, because there weren't a lot of people at the time. I thought there'd be less of a chance of him running into anyone, and he could practice turning turning some more. After he left, I started going down, and fell about two minutes into it. I had fallen earlier in the day and had notice that my back was getting a little tight. It didn't hurt, but was a little uncomfortable. When I fell this last time, it wasn't a big tumble, so I was scared when I tried to get up, but couldn't. I tried a couple more times, but it was too painful, so I just layed on my back for a couple minutes, resting. My mind was racing, wondering what I should do. I couldn't move, and was looking behind me, wondering when the ski patrol would come by. Then I thought, "This is how I'm going to end my day? Being pulled to the bottom of the hill by a snowmobile?" After feeling sorry for myself, I mustered up all my strenght to try and stand. I was able to stand, but not straight up. I had both hands on my knees, bending over, and supporting myself. I couldn't turn, and ended up snow wedging myself to the bottom of the run. 20 minutes later, I reached the wide, flat part at the end of the mountain. Since I couldn't turn, and there was no more of an incline, I couldn't make myself go any further towards the lodge. So I took off my snowboard and attempted to carry it back to the lodge. I couldn't pick up my snowboard because the pain was too great. At that time, I happened to look down and saw the broken suspender strap from someone's ski bib. I proceeded to tie this to one of the bindings and dragged my board behind me, as I slowly walked back, hunched over with one hand on my knee for support. Ras finally spotted me and headed towards me. He asked me what happened when we finally got face to face. I didn't want to, but started crying before I could even tell him what happened. I wasn't crying because of the pain, but because I felt so pathetic dragging my board back, and barely able to get down the run by myself. I just felt sorry for myself as I whispered that I hurt my back, as my tears were freely flowing. After a couple minutes, I had to tell myself, "You're such a girl, stop crying." To make a long story short, the doctor at the ski resort said I had a "lower back contusion". I interpreted that as having pulled or bruised a muscle. Treatment: I had to rest for 3-4 days and take pain killers. This was the first time I've had a back insury, and I couldn't believe how debilitating it was. I didn't realize your back muscle did so much! For the first day, I couldn't sit up, stand up, or hardly turn on my side when sleeping. I was laying around so much that my right ass cheek would fall asleep, then I would adjust and then my left ass cheek would fall asleep! And you KNOW, you're laying around too much when your ASS FALLS ASLEEP! And there's nothing you can do about it!!! And oh my god!... I could only watch Korean tv for so long! I was getting so bored that I was watching re-runs of the juicing machine on Home Shopping. But today, I'm feeling much better. It's still a little painful, but at least I'm able to get up and move around. I'm trying to will my back to being healthy again, go I can go back snowboarding on Thursday. To be continued...
Night boarding with a Hello Kitty lover
1/14/2004
Last night was the first time I went to Yongpyong this season to snowboard. One of the teachers at my school invited me, since she goes two or three times a week, and has a season pass. Yong-im came to pick me up in her cute, red car. I soon came to realize she's a connoisseur of cute paraphernalia. I had never seen a Korean's car this "decked out". The inside of her car looked like a dollhouse had exploded in it. There were five (count 'em 5!) hanging dolls suction-cupped to the windshield (a boy, rabbit, rhino, Mashi Maro, and Hello Kitty with wings). Stuck to the dash were two car freshners, one of which was the character, Pingu the Penguin. A small picture frame bobbing on a spring of coil was also stuck to the dash. The rear view mirror had a toy cat clipped to it. The steering wheel cover was furry, and from the Winnie the Pooh collection. A Winnie the Pooh accessorie was also illuminating from the cigarette lighter. The stick shift had a Hello Kitty cover. The CD holder above Yong-im's visor has some kind of character I couldn't make out. The driver and passenger seats both had white faux fur, while the back seats had pillows. There was a sticker on the gas cover, which I think was Pucca. I knew that Korean women liked cute things, but I had never been invited to see their belongings so closely - in their natural environment. Back home, if it were possible for 12 year olds to have cars, this is what it would look like inside.
A few minutes after getting in the car, the only English CD in her Hello Kitty mobile was taken out. So, we were talking and listening to Avril Lavigne on the 30 minute drive to the mountain. (I tried to hide my love for Miss April, by pretending to be utterly indifferent to the CD). And please, don't get me wrong, Yong-im's a great person and I had a lot of fun with her, but you'll never see dolls in my car. Once we arrived and were looking around, I realized I had never seen Yongpyong will so little people before. There were less than 20 people going down runs, and nobody was running into each other. Also, I believe it was the coldest day of the winter so far. The temperature was 10o F (-12o C), with a wind chill factor of -8o F (-22o C). Luckily, I brought enough warm clothes, because the wind was pretty extreme for me. I was taking off my gloves during the night to either adjust my bindings, get something out of my pocket, or wipe my runny nose. When I got home later, I realized how dry my hands were from the wind. They felt like I had rubbed sandpaper on them! I was also a little nervous before the first run, wondering if it would really be like jumping back on a bike. For the most part, it was. I was going down each run, remembering, "Turn with your legs, not by twisting your upper body". I fell down only four or five times, but we didn't really go on any challenging runs. Still, it was a really nice to get out during the week, and check out conditions before I go back this weekend!
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