Shopping at Wal-Mart and Minaz is Coming!

There is a few things I can do in Canada with ease that takes a heckuva lot of effort in Korea. One is buying shoes. For some reason, Koreans have this idea that if a shoe is about half an inch (or so) longer it looks a lot better...I do not concur. In fact, I really hate it. It looks like you're wearing bloody clown shoes. Plus, I have wide feet (and Koreans generally, it seems, do not) so anything that fits my width there looks like skis. I found one pair there...a pair of Kumkang's (brand) for 150,000 won (about 120USD). So, last time and this time I was in Canada I made a trip to Wal-Mart for some new kicks. This time I got the same dress shoes as last time plus some runners (for the gym when I get back to Seoul...things are getting a little out of hand on the belly front). I love it here. Shoes are normal lengths, come in half sizes and wide widths. Perfect. It takes me like 3 minutes per pair of shoes to pick them out and, although I really like it in Seoul sometimes, no need to spend 10-20 minutes haggling on price. And at Wal-Mart you know the prices are good...it's not just a slogan, they are pretty darn cheap!

Ok, next topic: food. Today we had pizza and (much like I said before) the taste just was not enough. I had to slather the slices with Louisiana Hot Sauce just to make it bearable. I fear my tastebuds have reached the point of no return. How can I visit London (as I plan to sometime soon) and endure bland English food? Maybe I'd better pack some heat (hot sauce, that is) for my trip.

I'd also like to thank Shawn for adding me prominently to his links area on his blog. His was one of the first blogs I read and I read it everyday (using the Blogarithm thingy to remind me...I have the same service if you'd like to get an email when I update this thing). One part of his writing I really enjoyed was his stories about his time on Geoje-do (where a few friends of mine are right now, as it happens). Well, he made them into a book and I put the link on my site...not just because I like his work, but maybe he'll give me a promo copy (hehe). Anyways, here is the link and cover of the book. If you want an entertaining read take a look at it and his blog. Oh, I also donated to his site and got myself a gmail address...and gmail is pretty cool. Thanks Shawn!



And, last but certainly not least: my bud of over 10 years is finally coming to Seoul for a visit. I really didn't believe it until he sent me the confirmation email from his travel agent: confirmed and paid! Really, he's been threatening to come for a while and see what Seoul has to offer, but now it looks like he's gone and done it. He'll be there next week (just a couple of days after I get 'home' to Yeouido myself) so looks like I'll have a busy schedule for a while. Man, I can hardly believe it: Minaz in September, Yusheng in October...what next?

Time for bed...got to get up early tomorrow for kids' shots and family photos (yay!). Ah, the joy of being a Dad. Better get all I can, though, as I'll be out of here soon and back to the life of a 기러기아빠.