Well, I'm moving again. This will be the fourth place that I've lived in while in Korea and it is by the far the best. So, while I start the daunting task of packing up all of our stuff, I am struck by the amount of times I have done this.
Let's see if I can count.
1) 1982-1997 Nashville, TN (Family)
2) 1997- March 2001 Franklin, TN (Family)
3) March 2001 - June 2001 Franklin, TN (Clay's house)
4) June 2001 - August 2001 Tulsa, OK (Family)
5) August 2001 - May 2002 Knoxville, TN (Dorm)
6) May 2002 - May 2003 Knoxville, TN (House with Sid and John)
7) May 2003 - December 2003 Knoxville, TN (House with Jay)
8) January 2004 - May 2005 Knoxville, TN (Solo)
9) May 2005 - August 2005 Knoxville, TN (House with Roger and Bcat)
10) August 2005 - June 2006 Cincinnati, OH (Sister)
11) July 2006 - April 2007 Seoul, ROK (Solo)
12) April 2007 - September 2007 Seoul, ROK (고운)
13) September 2007 - July 2008 Seoul, ROK (고운)
14) July 2008 - ??? Seoul, ROK (고운)
How many times have you moved?
Showing posts with label clam musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clam musings. Show all posts
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Heritage of My Face
"Right in the face!" or "Get outta my face!" are some of my favorite quotes because anything that is "in the face" is funny...in the face.
My previous two posts have been dealing with the nuances of my facial resemblace to famous lesbian teevee icons, like... well, just one: Ellen.
There is a little known site called My Heritage. On this site, you can put in a picture and the program will find celebrities that you resemble. Simple.
So, I'm going to put in 5 totally different pictures of myself and see who comes up. I'll give you the top 5 on each.
First image going in is my drivers license from when I was 21 year old.
And this is the most lesbian one I can find.
My previous two posts have been dealing with the nuances of my facial resemblace to famous lesbian teevee icons, like... well, just one: Ellen.
There is a little known site called My Heritage. On this site, you can put in a picture and the program will find celebrities that you resemble. Simple.
So, I'm going to put in 5 totally different pictures of myself and see who comes up. I'll give you the top 5 on each.
First image going in is my drivers license from when I was 21 year old.
MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Geneology - Family tree templates
Here is onw from last year.
MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph
And this is the most lesbian one I can find.
MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph
So, do you see Ellen? No, I see some dude name William Moseley and Aretha Franklin. But now I feel like I've turned my back on my long time nemisis, Ellen.
Who is your favorite look-alike?
The "Ellen" Hogan Show
I was 15 and had just made the move from a very private school where I had studied for nine years, to a very public school. Like many people in that situation, I was forced to introduce myself all over again and since I had never done that before, I was a little intimidated. A perk of being in that position is that you have to chance to reinvent yourself. After all, no one knows you so you can fudge a few facts or erase some that you weren't all that fond of in the first place.
After a few months there, I had made some solid friends and seemed to have a reasonably good standing in the 600+ person freshman class. I hadn't broken the cool barrier by any means, but I was known and hadn't been branded as anything that would effect my upward social movement or my self-confidence.
One day, I walked into the common area. The common area was the place that all the conventionally cool people congregated in the morning. I was usually in there, but often times I was not in the mood for the empty conversation and hyped-up personal stories. I was in there this day though. I walked in sporting a brand new striped black and orange Structure shirt and was immediately approached by my friends. We started chatting for a few and out of nowhere, one of my heavier-set pals blurted out, "You look like Ellen."
"You look like Ellen." Those four words. Those four rotten words have been following me around since then. Sure, I escaped them from time to time, but they always came back. They came back later in high school. They came back in college a few times from different crowds. And now, it's made yet another appearance in Asia. Is there nowhere to run? No.
But what is it that looks so much like Ellen? Is it her man-ish look or my fe-man-ish appeal?
My name is George and I'm an Ellen look alike.
Step 1: Complete...
After a few months there, I had made some solid friends and seemed to have a reasonably good standing in the 600+ person freshman class. I hadn't broken the cool barrier by any means, but I was known and hadn't been branded as anything that would effect my upward social movement or my self-confidence.
One day, I walked into the common area. The common area was the place that all the conventionally cool people congregated in the morning. I was usually in there, but often times I was not in the mood for the empty conversation and hyped-up personal stories. I was in there this day though. I walked in sporting a brand new striped black and orange Structure shirt and was immediately approached by my friends. We started chatting for a few and out of nowhere, one of my heavier-set pals blurted out, "You look like Ellen."
"You look like Ellen." Those four words. Those four rotten words have been following me around since then. Sure, I escaped them from time to time, but they always came back. They came back later in high school. They came back in college a few times from different crowds. And now, it's made yet another appearance in Asia. Is there nowhere to run? No.
But what is it that looks so much like Ellen? Is it her man-ish look or my fe-man-ish appeal?
My name is George and I'm an Ellen look alike.
Step 1: Complete...
Korean "Meet the Parents"
Well, a new comedy is in the making.
Obviously this will be my favorite movie of all time. I guess my story was a little different though. I gained approval before we were engaged and I wanted to have a traditional wedding. Who could pass up the hats and man-dresses?
So, let's pretend the movie is based on my wedding. Who do you think will play the roles of those in my wedding?
Who would play me, 고운, and Micah? (The three in the Korean garb and from left to right: 고운, me [George], Micah.)
Can you guys help?
"In the vein of "Meet the Parents" and inspired by real events, the pitch follows an American guy who falls in love with a Korean woman while teaching English as a second language. He proposes marriage and she says yes, with a condition: Her Korean family must approve and they must have a traditional wedding in Korea. So the groom makes the trip with his family in an effort to marry his true love."
Obviously this will be my favorite movie of all time. I guess my story was a little different though. I gained approval before we were engaged and I wanted to have a traditional wedding. Who could pass up the hats and man-dresses?
So, let's pretend the movie is based on my wedding. Who do you think will play the roles of those in my wedding?
Who would play me, 고운, and Micah? (The three in the Korean garb and from left to right: 고운, me [George], Micah.)
Can you guys help?
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Explanation
Perhaps it's time to explain the title of this blog and the picture of my stached-face hovering over a bowl of makkoli.
If you want to know what makkoli is the click here. Makkoli is a great Sunday afternoon drink. It's light, it tastes great and it's got that extra kick that gets you going.
The floating translucent stached-face is just that. It was my attempt to try something new on Photo Shop while incorporating the title of the blog.
So, these are my thoughts over a nice cool Sunday afternoon drink.
If you want to know what makkoli is the click here. Makkoli is a great Sunday afternoon drink. It's light, it tastes great and it's got that extra kick that gets you going.
The floating translucent stached-face is just that. It was my attempt to try something new on Photo Shop while incorporating the title of the blog.
So, these are my thoughts over a nice cool Sunday afternoon drink.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Night-time habits
Being married is really quite amazing. You're always with the person who knows you best and both of you get to witness and playfully navigate through those idiosyncrasies that no one else will ever know or understand.
And as an added bonus, you get to witness 100% of your spouses night-time habits. I can say with all seriousness, that 고 does not make a sound. She is silent and almost lifeless except for the occasional shift or move-the-leg-on-top-of-me maneuver. We've lived with each other for over a year and honestly I can't sleep without her silent presence or even her middle of the night leg placement. Now, she might not say the same thing about me. Her issue is more related to my snoring which from what she said, can get pretty violent for the first ten minutes or so. Regardless of our individual quirks, we pretty much have discovered most of our night-time habits at this point. Or so I thought.
Last night was like any other night. We BOTH worked out (by that I mean she worked and I wrote nonsense on my blogs) and then got into bed by 10:30 or 11:00. We fell asleep soon after and that was going to be that. Well, it's starting to get super hot and terribly humid here in Korea, so maybe at 2:00am I woke up to turn the fan on and kick the air conditioner into full gear. When I did that, 고 woke up and asked me to crack the window (see why here). After the air balanced out and it was comfortable again, I fell back asleep.
Again, I woke up. This time it was about 4:30am. I was so hot again and I leaned over to see how 고 was doing with the heat and that's when I discovered the one night-time quirk that I have never known.
Obviously, I knew that she had put this on before bed, but when you're not expecting something so "different", it can throw you for a loop. She's still adorable though!
And as an added bonus, you get to witness 100% of your spouses night-time habits. I can say with all seriousness, that 고 does not make a sound. She is silent and almost lifeless except for the occasional shift or move-the-leg-on-top-of-me maneuver. We've lived with each other for over a year and honestly I can't sleep without her silent presence or even her middle of the night leg placement. Now, she might not say the same thing about me. Her issue is more related to my snoring which from what she said, can get pretty violent for the first ten minutes or so. Regardless of our individual quirks, we pretty much have discovered most of our night-time habits at this point. Or so I thought.
Last night was like any other night. We BOTH worked out (by that I mean she worked and I wrote nonsense on my blogs) and then got into bed by 10:30 or 11:00. We fell asleep soon after and that was going to be that. Well, it's starting to get super hot and terribly humid here in Korea, so maybe at 2:00am I woke up to turn the fan on and kick the air conditioner into full gear. When I did that, 고 woke up and asked me to crack the window (see why here). After the air balanced out and it was comfortable again, I fell back asleep.
Again, I woke up. This time it was about 4:30am. I was so hot again and I leaned over to see how 고 was doing with the heat and that's when I discovered the one night-time quirk that I have never known.
Obviously, I knew that she had put this on before bed, but when you're not expecting something so "different", it can throw you for a loop. She's still adorable though!
Any Ideas?
For the past two months or so, I have been teaching part-time at a small school near my current school. The whole idea of this little hagwon is shady. Let me give you a few quick details.
I walked out of school on a Friday after I had finished and was approached no more than thirty feet away from the door by woman who said she was looking for a teacher. She handed me her business card which was made out of basic printer paper. It was all crumbled up and the name and writing on the "card" had faded. First of all, it is illegal for most ESL teachers in Korea to teach at multiple places. However, I'm on a different visa, so I can do whatever I want. Suckers! Still, she did not know that when she approached me and didn't seem to care that I possessed the legal visa. Regardless, I set up an "interview" for the following Monday and went home to tell 고. We were both cautious about the school, but figured an interview wouldn't hurt.
That Monday, I went into her school and met with the director. This women was amazingly creepy. Besides the fact that she was watching cartoons when I came in FOR MY INTERVIEW, this 60 year-old woman had Yoko Uno hair, a checkered silk blouse and a small, yappy Yorkshire Terrior in her lab which, of course, she was compulsively petting during the course of the interview. I asked the basic questions, i.e., pay, hours, and simple contractual details. I was told that there would be no contract "because the director has health issues". That's right. The interview concluded with me having to pass muster or in all reality, the smell test as she made me hold and pet her dog. It was creepy, but since it was virtually thrown in my hands, I had to comply. I gave the dog about 20 seconds of tepid love and then dashed out the door.
The next day, I decided to bring 고 in there to hammer out a few details. Nothing was hammered out, but the pay was good enough and the hours low enough that it would be worth the risk. It has been. I have gotten paid on time, had no problems and it has been worth it.
So, why did I bother writing this? Well, I was in there yesterday and was in the middle of my third class when the director walked in with what I assumed was tea. I was grateful and did my insincere bow and continued teaching while holding the cup of cool tea. I smelled it before I took a sip and it smelled fine. So, I drank. It tasted odd. I smelled it again and then took another sip. The director had put alcohol in the damn tea! And it wasn't just a little alcohol. This thing was loaded up. Normally I would have slammed it and asked for another, but I was in so much shock that I had just been offered alcohol while teaching that I had to put it down.
Why would she do this? Only one clear answer: During her afternoon cartoon-watching marathon, she likes to tie a few off and since she was already plastered while she was making my tea, she mixed the two up and gave me hers.
You have any better ideas?
I walked out of school on a Friday after I had finished and was approached no more than thirty feet away from the door by woman who said she was looking for a teacher. She handed me her business card which was made out of basic printer paper. It was all crumbled up and the name and writing on the "card" had faded. First of all, it is illegal for most ESL teachers in Korea to teach at multiple places. However, I'm on a different visa, so I can do whatever I want. Suckers! Still, she did not know that when she approached me and didn't seem to care that I possessed the legal visa. Regardless, I set up an "interview" for the following Monday and went home to tell 고. We were both cautious about the school, but figured an interview wouldn't hurt.
That Monday, I went into her school and met with the director. This women was amazingly creepy. Besides the fact that she was watching cartoons when I came in FOR MY INTERVIEW, this 60 year-old woman had Yoko Uno hair, a checkered silk blouse and a small, yappy Yorkshire Terrior in her lab which, of course, she was compulsively petting during the course of the interview. I asked the basic questions, i.e., pay, hours, and simple contractual details. I was told that there would be no contract "because the director has health issues". That's right. The interview concluded with me having to pass muster or in all reality, the smell test as she made me hold and pet her dog. It was creepy, but since it was virtually thrown in my hands, I had to comply. I gave the dog about 20 seconds of tepid love and then dashed out the door.
The next day, I decided to bring 고 in there to hammer out a few details. Nothing was hammered out, but the pay was good enough and the hours low enough that it would be worth the risk. It has been. I have gotten paid on time, had no problems and it has been worth it.
So, why did I bother writing this? Well, I was in there yesterday and was in the middle of my third class when the director walked in with what I assumed was tea. I was grateful and did my insincere bow and continued teaching while holding the cup of cool tea. I smelled it before I took a sip and it smelled fine. So, I drank. It tasted odd. I smelled it again and then took another sip. The director had put alcohol in the damn tea! And it wasn't just a little alcohol. This thing was loaded up. Normally I would have slammed it and asked for another, but I was in so much shock that I had just been offered alcohol while teaching that I had to put it down.
Why would she do this? Only one clear answer: During her afternoon cartoon-watching marathon, she likes to tie a few off and since she was already plastered while she was making my tea, she mixed the two up and gave me hers.
You have any better ideas?
Sunday, July 6, 2008
"George is a genius..."
I've never seen such an accurate title. Of course there are so many levels to that genius, and I can admit that most of them are well below what would be scientifically accepted as "genius". Regardless of this minor detail, in the eyes of my mother-in-law, I am quite skilled in timing and being able to read the situation and exercise what is called in Korean as 눈치 (nunchi). It simply means "tact". My friends know that I have no such quality, but when it comes to my Korean family, I have to suspend my usual over-the-top, loud mouth attitude and hone in on some other qualities.
How did this come about? Well, as I mentioned in a previous post, I had a Yanni Dance party that was meant to crush the spirits of a rival and send a clear message that I am going to remain at the top of the in-law ticket. That dance party came with an added bonus. As I said, I simply went to Youtube and typed in Yanni which on course provided me with tons of Yanni songs and specifically, his most popular songs. Unbeknownst to me, while the party was in full swing, 고's mom kept on telling everyone (in Korean) how amazed she was that I knew all of her favorite songs; that I knew just what she liked and was selecting them with ease and without a break in the mood or atmosphere.
The point of this is that she had no idea what Youtube was or how it worked. She simply thought that I was a genius and had the know-how to select the songs that she liked because I liked them too. I did like them, but would not have made those selections.
고 knew that this helped my standing and did not reveal to her mother how I was selecting such tunes. Sweet 고고!
How did this come about? Well, as I mentioned in a previous post, I had a Yanni Dance party that was meant to crush the spirits of a rival and send a clear message that I am going to remain at the top of the in-law ticket. That dance party came with an added bonus. As I said, I simply went to Youtube and typed in Yanni which on course provided me with tons of Yanni songs and specifically, his most popular songs. Unbeknownst to me, while the party was in full swing, 고's mom kept on telling everyone (in Korean) how amazed she was that I knew all of her favorite songs; that I knew just what she liked and was selecting them with ease and without a break in the mood or atmosphere.
The point of this is that she had no idea what Youtube was or how it worked. She simply thought that I was a genius and had the know-how to select the songs that she liked because I liked them too. I did like them, but would not have made those selections.
고 knew that this helped my standing and did not reveal to her mother how I was selecting such tunes. Sweet 고고!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Really?
My eyes get red, especially after beer, a long day, too much sun, if someone is looking at my eyes when I think they are red or when someone else has red eyes. Odd, but I think that its pretty common with fair eyed people. So, I need eye drops. 고 and I went to the pharmacy and picked some up.
Again, it's blurry, but you probably saw that it was RED. That's just want I want to put in my already red eyes. Also, it's called Tinkle. It works though, still I'm not super thrilled to put red Tinkle in my eyes.
Again, it's blurry, but you probably saw that it was RED. That's just want I want to put in my already red eyes. Also, it's called Tinkle. It works though, still I'm not super thrilled to put red Tinkle in my eyes.
Draw
We went and saw North Korea and South Korea play last night in a somewhat meaningless qualifier to reach the next round of qualifiers that begin in September. Both countries will be moving on. The game was at World Cup stadium and was pretty dull. The beer was good.
It's awful quality and dark, but those are the unification people.
It's awful quality and dark, but those are the unification people.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Roof Top
I just had my busiest work week ever. Literally. I did my usual daily gig and then had my other hagwon job on Monday and Friday nights (I just got home) and tutoring Tuesday through Thursday. It was long. 고 worked a lot too. We're both pretty beat.
It looks like we're going to press on and go for dinner on the roof of Express Bus Terminal here in Seoul and then move either out for more or just head home. I'm willing to bet that it'll be home.
Here's the most typical song I can imagine for this evening.
It looks like we're going to press on and go for dinner on the roof of Express Bus Terminal here in Seoul and then move either out for more or just head home. I'm willing to bet that it'll be home.
Here's the most typical song I can imagine for this evening.
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