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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. |
Salmon up the wazoo
10/22/2004
I'm excited for tomorrow. I'm going to Yangyang for the Namdaecheon Salmon Festival. As some people know, I love salmon. It's my favorite fish. For 20,000 won ($15.38 USD), ticket holders have the opportunity to wade into an enclosed shallow stream and catch a huge salmon with their bare hands! Tickets went on sale almost two months ago, but sold out in 5 hours! As most people in Korea know, nothing is impossible. It's just a matter of who you know. I know Christa, who knows somebody, who knows somebody, so I got a ticket a few days ago. I've never had Korean salmon, so it'll be interesting to see what it tastes like. This is a link to the Yangyang Inland Fisheries Research Institute, which is trying to bring back the salmon population in Yangyang. There's some good background information about the festival. CherryTrout.com is a site about fishing in Korea, and has a picture of the species of salmon that is in Yangyang, called Chum and Sima salmon. This is the official Yangyang Salmon Festival Website.
Breaking news! Korean scientists have proved what foreigners here have know all along... that while eating at a food card, dipping your odeng into the communal soy sauce dish is (gasp!)unsanitary. Duh! I like this quote: "On a good business day, the saliva of hundreds may be mixed in that dish of soy sauce. And consider yourself fortunate if the dish of soy sauce was used just for one day." According to the Chosunilbo, just because that old Korean man shakes away excess soju after finishing his shot, in order to pour yours, does not make it germ free. No matter how hard he shakes that little shotglass, it doesn't reduce your chances of getting saliva-transmitted infections like hepatitis. While we're on this subject of cleanliness, why do people choose to eat from food carts that are on bustling streets, where many cars drive by, blowing out exhaust in proximity of the food. I'm not dissing food carts, I like odeng and dapoki, but choose to eat at ones that look somewhat sanitary.
The Perfect Man for Renee
10/20/2004
As most people who know my friend Renee, she has always said that her perfect man is somebody like Colby Donaldson, from Survivor: Australia. There were a list of things that made him great, but once of the most unique ones, was that he was a "side-mouth-talker". It's hard to explain what that actually looks like, but Jeff and Ras joked that Renee's dream man was someone who just had a stroke. I'm not a fan of the side-mouth-talker, but he IS VERY good looking. Renee met him this past weekend at the Edmonton's Woman Show.
Megan's Birthday
10/19/2004
This past Saturday was Megan's birthday. It started out with dinner of meat, then we walked over to The Warehouse. It was a fun night because I was at that perfect balance of having enough to drink, that it made me goofy, but not really being drunk. On the other hand, everyone else thought I was completely drunk because I was jumping all over Sheena, canoodled with Na-kyung, swing danced with Tom, and did an impromptu dance, which I latered called "The Windmill". The last time I was really drunk was about 6 months ago. You can tell, because my face will get all red, and I'll be so tired and exhausted, I'll want to sleep at the table. The last time, Ras had to make me a makeshift bed in the kitchen of The Warehouse so I could sleep for a couple hours. After that, I woke up refreshed, and was dancing again. To reiterate... yes I had some drinks that night(soju & Coke, a long island, and a KGB), but was not wasted. Maybe the guys below were, though!
I went around and had everyone give me their "Sexy look". Here's what I got.
All pictures from Megan's birthday can be found here.
I've Got It
10/18/2004
 After racking my brain for the last week, I've finally figured out what I'm going to be for Halloween! I'm not telling anyone... it'll just have to be a surprise. The Warehouse is having its Halloween party on Saturday, October 30th, with free shots throught the night for people who dress up. Meanwhile, Bumpin' is having their party on Sunday. One may wonder if many people will go out on Sunday night, but Mr. Lee's is offering his famous FREE barbeque. Plus, I teach at 3:30pm on Monday. Woohoo!
Soraksan's Changing Leaves
10/17/2004
This time of year in Korea, the leaves are changing colors, and they're most beautiful in the mountains. There are segments about this natural show in the news, and my students and their families are making trips out during the weekend to see the foliage. This past Friday, Ras and I went to Sorak-san to check out the leaves. He didn't work that day, and I worked at 3:30 pm, as I usually do. I didn't have time to do a proper hike, but at least wanted to see how far along the leaves had changed. On an express bus, it took 45 minutes to get to Sokcho, then another half hour up the mountain because there was a lot of traffic on the single road. We saw students there on field trips, and quite a few Chinese tourists... and ended up helping some that were trying to use 10,000 won to pay for their 750 won bus fare. We took the 1.1km cable car (7000 won round trip), then walked another 10 minutes to the summit of Gwongeumseong. The sign at the top of the peak reads like this: 5 minutes from the peak, we came upon some kind of traditional ceremony. I'm not really sure what it was for, but there was a cow's head as part of an offering. Overall, the leaves are about 50% changed. Another week or week and a half, and I think it'll be really beautiful in Soraksan.
World on Fire
10/14/2004
Instead of spending $150,000 to make her newest video, Sarah McLachlan spent $15 on "World on Fire" and donated the rest to charity. Watch the video here. Does anyone remember when MC Hammer spent $1,000,000 on the video for "2 Legit 2 Quit"? A very noble cause indeed, but will she ever make a "regular" video again? Wouldn't it be hypocritical if she did? Now, back to useless things that won't hellp the world. How about a beer infused with caffeine, guarana, and ginseng for contemporary adults with a "highly social and fast-paced lifestyle?" Well, there's obviously only one answer for that... Anheuser-Busch's new beer, B-to-the-E (BE)...yo!
Sports Day
10/13/2004
Recently, Kangneung Elementary School had a Sports Day, or "Field Day" as it was called when I was growing up. Most of my elementary students are from that school, since it's located five minutes from my academy. On my way to work, I stopped by and watched the last 30 minutes of their activites. As you can see, the P.E. uniforms for this school is purple and white, which isn't as bad as another school, who wore fluorescent green. It looked like they were having fun, but I wished the students here could play on real grass!
Saturday night... I'm walking downtown and come upon this - a man so drunk, he hell asleep on the hood of his car.
Yo dogg! Thatz gonna be hella dope, when it drops! Off da hook, fo sho! (Sorry, I've got street cred to uphold.) You can start building your own street cred at The Rap Dictionary.
Now I see... the triple triple
10/7/2004
The elusive triple triple. It you've ever played Scrabble, then you have an idea of what I'm talking abouut. I found this great flash video called CRAZIEST, which also happens to be the single highest scoring Scrabble word if used correctly - 311!!! The video's great. It was pretty entertaining, but at the end, I wondered if it was really a true story.
Jello Pudding pops
10/5/2004
Initially, I came to X-entertainment to read the article, "Spider Man Reviews Crayola Crayons", and I wasn't disappointed. The writer's sense of humor is great.
Still, what caught my eye, was the feature about Jellow Pudding pops. Remember those? They were one of my favorite childhood ice creams, along with others, incluing Otter Pops. I love how this site has great pictures to go with their features. Take my hand, and walk with me down Nostalgic Road.
I couldn't agree more that the chocolate & vanilla swirl was the best flavor. There are only four of them in a box of twelve, so that meant my two brothers and I each got one. With the last one, I would hide it in the back of the freezer, hoping that no one would notice it missing, only to eat it secretly when they were playing outside. Yeah, I was sneaky. Still am... Last of all... Halloween is coming up. Actually, it's 4 weeks away, but still... It's a holiday where the sole purpose, is to get candy. How could I not love it? AND, I just got Renee's latest package to me. It's a pumpin carving it! I'll make one later this month, and post it. I still have to decide what to be for Halloween.
Colder nights in Korea
10/4/2004
Korean automaker, Hyundai, rates #2 in value, behind Lexus! Surprising! Still, I'd rather own a mini cooper. It's cute, sassy, and somehow reminds me of a Ford Woody Station Wagon.
Alicia Keys is coming to Korea on Wednesday, Oct. 13th. I would have considered going to see her, but it's in the middle of the week. She's playing at the Millenium Hall, which is right next to Gangnam Express Bus Terminal. I wonder if she'll get a chance to walk outside and have some o-deng (boiled fish paste on a stick). Actually, it tastes better than it sounds. Well, this isn't good news... If North Korea were to attack South Korea, 1/3 of Seoul would be destroyed within an hour. If the U.S. did not help with air support, Seoul would fall in less than 16 days. Any sign of trouble, and I'd be on the first bus to Busan! Want to see the two richest businessmen in Korea? Of course, it's Samsung Group's chairman, and his son. Maybe it's just me, but whenever I see pictures of super rich people, I wonder if they'd had plastic surgery. Maybe because I'm being exposed to shows like The Swan, Nip/Tuck, and Extreme Makeover, that makes me a skeptic to naturally good looks. The only one of the above shows worth watching is Nip/Tuck, which TV Guide says is "The coolest show on TV." I've noticed it's been getting kind of cold lately, with lows in the 50's (14 oC). I know that to some in Canada, that doesn't seem very cold, but I grew up in a moderate climate, and I'm the type of person that gets cold in the sun. I really noticed it today when walking home, because my ears were cold. There are not too many things that I LOVE about the colder weather, but one thing I do love, is getting a chance to use the heating pad on my bed. I've never used one until I got to Korea, and let me tell you... it's FREAKIN' FANTASTIC!!! That's right, 3 exclaimation points! I love crawling into a pre-warm bed so much, that I almost every time I use it, I wish I were fat - really FAT. That way, I'd have more skin to cover more of the bed, thus feeling more warmth. Makes perfect sense, right?
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