Gingerbread House and Another Early Christmas

The job search continues. Tomorrow I'll have a piece on headhunters (recruiting firms) that might interest you. Today, though, it's all about the family. We went to my Uncle Bob's yesterday to make/decorate a gingerbread house. The gingerbread was even made by Aunt Kristina; like Kate, she's in import too (but from Sweden).

Bob showed me the article below from the Swedish Press. I guess I'd have a hard time getting a position in Stockholm.

Last Fart at the Riksbank

There is to be no more farting at Rikesbanken, the Bank of Sweden.

"We do not have a specific fart ban, but we have ethical guidelines and naturally, farting is simply not done here, "says Steffan Folke at the bank's work environment office.

It all started with complaints about a colleague's farting from computer technician Goran Andervass. The incident accelerated into a serious workplace conflict. Andervass was fired, took legal action and finally received a monetary compensation from the bank. According to Andervass he was "provoked by a disgusting fart - a right stinker - at 7:30AM in my office". The farting colleague is not keen to talk about this.

Krister Skoglund in the human resource department warns staff about farting too obviously near others: "If it happens on numerous occasions it will be perceived as a violation.", he said.

Yes, that is an actual news story...what a place.

As you enter Bob and Kristina's place you see this gal looking strernly at you as if to say, "Take off them boots!" I think it was at my mom's (Bob's her brother) parent's place but not sure who she is.


Someone's great-grandmother, but no idea who...


...maybe Kristina's? Naaahhhhh!

Bob...well, Bob collects things. Lots of things. Keys, for instance. And pipes. And CD, DVD, VHS players; camcorders; records, reel-to-reels, nick-nacks, paddy-whacks, dog-bones...just lots and lots of stuff.


Just a few of Bob's keys and keychains.

Before dinner the boys did some bonding as boys do...play with blocks and technology. What? You thought they'd play house or something?


Here's Anders and Spencer playing with Lego...


...as Lars and Winston explore the house.


Anders shows Winston his Powerbook.

In the backyard Spencer takes a look at the garden.


Bob says this ladder was just 3 feet high when he planted it in the garden in the spring....what kind of fertilizer is that?!!?


Bob has a bumper crop of ladders. Can you have too many? (Um, maybe.)

Then came dinner. Authentic Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, gravy (...mmmmmm gravy...) and some veggies. All things I could hardly find in great supply in Korea.


Bob gets his mug in the shot.


"Some Swedish meatballs made by a Swedish meatballer," as Bob said.

After dinner we gave them their presents: the boys got 100% polyester ties (mayeb their first) handpicked by a master clotheshorse...me. Their parents got chocolates.


Lars and Anders model their flashy new ties sans collared shirts (which, I guess, is the style nowadays).

Then came ( I know you've been waiting for this with bated breath) the decorating of the gingerbread house. As mentioned, Kristina made the bread and assembled it with sugar glue of some sort (sounds yummy).


This is how it started. (Winston almost ended it right there.)


On your marks, get set......go!


A view from our eye-in-the-sky heli-cam.


Here is Kristina putting more icing on the roof. She'll get great big Popeye-esque forearms from all that squeezing!


Everyone has a hand in the construction.

After that we hti the road for the >1 hour drive home (at least when I'm at the wheel). I've driven so much in Vancouver that even after being gone for 2 years I still could get there without a map (well, I did look at it once...I'm not that good).


Everyone (except me, of course) is sacked out after a long day.

Maybe this is what put them to sleep...driving home isn't exactly like cruising the Vegas Strip.


Take a look at this scene...this is just outside Vancouver. Hundreds (thousands?) of acres of farmland.

As you have read, we've been opening Christmas presents every once in a while. The first time was with my Mom and Dad. That was because we didn't figure I'd be here over Christmas so we did it early. When we got home from Bob's Spencer was so wired about opening presents (ah, to be last year when he didn't know what they were...) that we figured might as well let him open one. My Mom and Dad always said that it was kind of a rollercoaster for us kids to get everything in one day and then have a weird feeling when it was all done. I kinda like opening a few every once in a while too (hey, why wait?).


Spencer gets ready to tear into his present of the night.


Jessie gets her gift from the Bob + Kristina...coffee...mmmmmmmm.


Winston models with the new Santa Claus plate...ya, we didn't have him hold it up.

After that it was time to workout. I took a fwe pics of the clubhouse we have here. It's ok, and mostly deserted. The pool is empty a lot (should get some of those pics up as well...I have them here somewhere I think). In the fooseball/gameroom is a big TV and DVD player and such which seems a little redundant given the large units they have here.


We have fooseball if anyone's up for a game.


Here's the gym. Brutal lighting, but you can see it's pretty a universal, a few free weights (only up to 35 lbs/15 kgs)...


...a Stairmaster, a treadmill and a TV...what more could you want? (How about some aerobics instructors?)

Then it was time to make dinner for the boys. I made some omlette and fried ham then added 김/gim (seaweed) and 밥/bap (rice) for the Korean crowd. That stuff in the glass isn't just water, it's 보리차/bo-rli-cha (barley tea). Koreans just call it water most of the time. If you want water-water in a Korean restaurant (or in Korea) you'll need to ask for 냉물/naeng mool (cold/ice water).


Dinner for the Two Princes.


Now, the next day, it's time to eat the house.

Couldn't resist this shot this morning on my errand-run.


Take a look at the neon sign...what the heck is a Vietnamese sub?

Later.

Each Year is Better Than the Last?

Working on a big post with lots of pics...kid duties are keeping me from the PC, though. Here's a couple of items from today's paper to tide you over:


Let's see...he's been married ONE year and says every year is better than the last...why not just say, "Dear, it better get better than this!"?


And here you can see that this person is so special she deserves a personalized birthday wish from nine of her closest friends and family...or maybe not.

More Views

Just a quick one this morning...got to get in the car to my uncle Bob's (yes, Bob's my uncle) to make gingerbread houses with our boys and his boys (Lars visited me in Seoul last May, as you may remember).


Here is that view again in a little more light. Now you can see that gigantic building in the core of town easier. Isn't it massive? (hehe)


Here's another one...how serene (except for all that traffic!)


One more...that's it.

Spencer's First Audioblog

Click to play (may need to save then play from your PC).

Spencer Takes to Golf and Minaz Gets a Korean Groove!

Today was like many others lately...devoid of drinking and clubbing (waaaaaaaaa!). At this time last week I was out-and-about...but not now. The closest I get to Seoul is (i) my family and (ii) watching the multicultural channel to see Korea (KBS and YTN) news.

But, it's not without its fun times. After lunch Spencer tried his hand at livingroom golf (he calls it hockey, a la Happy Gilmore)--but he used my Outsider soccer ball as a golf ball...good imagination, eh?


Here is Winston eating lunch.


Spencer comes down for a swing.


Spencer's backswing. Fore!

Before dinner I spent some time with Spencer as Kate and Winston had a nap. Don't tell her, but I gave him some strawberry ice cream with strawberry sauce and banana in it. What?!!? You are Kate? Well, don't read that last line or look at this picture, k?


Ice cream and strawberry sauce...mmmmm.


A litte dessert after dinner (shared with Kate too...).

Right now Minaz (he kinda reminds me of Lex Luthor of Smallville in this pic; read the name of this group "Al Gore-ism???") is off to Las Vegas for a few days of debauchery (much like he had in Seoul, I imagine...links here and here and here, among others). Before he left he broke some news...he met a Korean gal last weekend. She moved here when she was 19--I'm assuming she's over 19 now, as Minaz is like 30 or something--so she should be more like a Korean gal than a Western one. 아가씨!/aga-sshi! (girl!) This is a guy who said (before and during his visit to Seoul) that he's not all that interested in Asian gals...more into Latinas. Well, rules are meant to be broken, I guess. You da man, Minaz! (Just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into...Korean gals appear 'submissive' but, especially after marriage, you're the one in a skirt/apron/dishgloves!)


The end of the day (finally), reading to the boys.

Life in the 'Big City'

It kinda cracks me up when my Mom describes Coquitlam (part of Vancouver) as a big city. C'mon! Sure there are quite a few more people living here than 'sleepy hollow' (as I call where they live; actually they live in farmland outside of sleepy hollow!) but it's not exactly the metropolis that Seoul is...not by a long shot.


Early-morning view off our deck...you can get a glimpse of the 'high-rises' downtown between the trees.


Another look....but very similar. Yup, this is in 'the big city' according to my Mom!


Even in the middle of town there are vacant lots!

For those of us who have lived in both kinds of populaces--I was born and raised in small towns of under 10,000 before moving to Vancouver (1.5 million) and Seoul (12 million)--I think we can agree that both have their pluses and minuses. Delivery and other services is a big bonus in Seoul that is rarer in Vancouver and almost extinct in smaller towns (at least in Canada). I really, really miss having my gym uniform, towels and toiletries (as well as a locker for my shoes) provided in Seoul (nowhere in Canada have I found that yet). But from our place here we can take a 10 minute walk down to a massive park (not Yeouido Park that is full of people, either, but also without the many ice cream and other sellers that make Seoul a lively place).

Uh-oh, better get back to these kids. Both of them have colds now...joy.

A Trip to the Doctor's and Peter's Hilarious Blog!

Please, try to keep from getting too excited. Not much to do here in the way of drinking and such like there is in Seoul. I now know why so many Korean youths who come here end up making their way back to Korea for a little nightlife. Life here is so different (and not only because I'm not working at the moment).

Take my Yeouido schedule, for example: up at 7AM or 8AM, in the office about 30 minutes thereafter (really close); call wife; lunch at noon with Jo and the guys; send/receive about 30 textmessages and emails during the day; work out from 2PM or so for 1.5 hours; head out at 6PM; have dinner with friends then hit the bars or watch TV or whatever until 10PM; read a bit or something then bed at midnight. On the weekends just substitute inline skating, sleeping, shopping or other assorted crap for working.

Here in Canada: kids wake me up with their battery-operated toys (or jumping on me) at about 8AM (after trying unsuccessfully at 5AM, 6AM and 7AM); get them fed; play; work out from 9:30 or something for 1.5 hours (have to do this) then lunchtime and head out somewhere in the afternoon and then dinner and try to settle them for bed. On 4 days Spencer goes to pre-school for a few hours (yay!) but it's a false economy as my wife usually has lists of tasks to fill my time. Blog all night and then sleep at 2AM or so. Sounds, grand, don't it?

On a sidenote, my Mom is now a member of Virtual Tourist (her page is here, mine is here). Way to go Ma!

On to today's 'adventure'...Spencer has a cold so we went to the doctor's. She (Dr. Angela, now a reader of my blog!) has 2 young kids of her own and her husband is a doctor as well (how she does it I have no idea).


Everyone in the car!



Spencer and Winston chillin' in the examination room.

Ya, unlike Korean hospitals where you go right into the doctor's actual office (and I never wait on account of I'm a foreigner), here we waited a bit in the exam room (and arrived 20 minutes late thanks to Kate calling the office and finding them behind, again; we were right on time). Had to entertain the kids (and myself), so...


Keeping the boys happy with glove balloons.


Dr. Angela checks out Spencer.

Got home and drugged up the boys on Tylenol Cold for Infants. They love the taste and Spencer even asks for medicine when he feels sick!


Spencer gets some medicine. He likes it! He likes it!


Winston gets a dose too.

I have to say: thank you, thank you Peter for starting your blog. It was incredibly hilarious today. So much so that I would like all readers to go and take a look. It's right........here.

Here's an excerpt that was especially insightful:

Korean bus drivers, I have a theory about how they are selected. They get to do a minimum 10 years as prison truck drivers, do special training on how to torment the prisoners, pull away full blast, stand on the breaks, like a fighter pilot stencil their victims on the side of the bus. Then, when the victim count reaches the required level they are promoted to Seoul City Bus Drivers. This is a job they tackle with a relish. They must have a speed rating for how fast they can get a passenger standing in the back of the bus to hit the front windscreen and then splatter him all over the rear window and this gets discussed at their meals afterwards over plenty of bottles of Soju (add that to the dictionary) and much mirth. I like to sit in the middle seat at the back facing down the aisle as there’s sufficient legroom for me (every thing in Korea is designed for a 4 foot 6 ajuma size person). Today I moved to the window as the aisle was wet and I had no break traction, did not want one of my bus driver’s stories tonight to be about this tall Westerner who reached the front of the bus on his rear end in 2 milliseconds and you should have seen what a mess his new pants were and he actually tried to impale me on his umbrella, dunno why.

Finally, after all this working out my wife and sis-in-law had the unmitigated gaul to flaunt ice cream in front of me tonight. They know I need to lose weight so I can get into my best suits comfortably and get a good job; but did that stop them? Noooooo. I had some anyways....hehe.


Oh ya...strawberry ice cream with strawberry sauce on top...oh, it's just a coffee, 여보/yeobo (dear)!

Busy day with the kids.

I feel a little guilty about that last posting...there were no pictures for you! What kind of a nut writes hundreds of words for you dedicated readers? This one, I guess. Well, here I'll make it up to you (as long as you like pure Canadian pics).

Today we went to the local track. It's about 5 minutes from home (as most things are) and I thought it would be a good place for Spencer to get some air. He's been sick lately and although Korean way is to stay home the ol' Canadian way is sometimes to get out in the fresh air (bundled up, mind you) and get things moving again. Well, I have no idea what I'm doing, obviously, because Spencer ended up puking 6-8 times at the track, in the car, in the Korean restaurant where we tried to have lunch and at home...seems a lot of phlem made it down to his stomach and wanted to see the light again. Until then it was a nice, day, though...the first break in the rain since I got here FIVE DAYS AGO!


Spencer! Come back! 빨리와!


Here he comes!


Winston is here too. (Note bluish sky.)


Winston found some worms.


View at the track.


More view from the track.

Afterward I got the usual list of things to do/buy/cook. One of which was banking. I was sick and tired of driving around (was trying to find gas cheaper than 0.849 CAD, but couldn't) but still managed to make it to this drive-thru banking thingy. This is the second time I've used one. I'm not really impressed, but it beat walking the 5 metres to the branch or using a teller.


One of the conveniences of Canada/U.S.: drive-thru banking. Had to get out to use the thing, though.

This is one thing that struck me about Korea: they love to give gifts and stuff but there are hardly any greeting card stores. (Is it just me? Or are there some tucked away somewhere?) This pic is from an aisle in Shopper's Drug Mart...look at all these cards!


So many cards here...and it's not even a Hallmark store!

Also little seen in Korea are duelies (trucks with 4 wheels on the back axle) and these Toyota 'Yee-ha' trucks, as I call them.


Something you just don't see in Korea: A yee-ha truck lifted with big mudders and no rear bumper (everything but the gun-rack).

When I stopped for gas this store freaked me out a bit. It's a Nevada Bob's golf shop but there is this guy...


Is that a guy over there?

...painted on the wall. With him behind the car you can't see that his image ends at his torso. I thought some Santa dude was watching me from across the parking lot until I focused on it.


Here if you want to see animals you have to go to a pet store...in Korea you can just as well go to a restaurant.


Kate's favourite view...the mountains as we near home.

Ah, almost home...


Our little complex's road...quaint, ain't it?

Back home Spencer got some spring back in his step. I roll the hula-hoop to him with some major back-spin on it so it comes back to me...then he runs after it. Pretty fun and involves little effort on my part (I like that).


Spencer finally gets the hula-hoop.


Winston and my hard-won Suwon Samsung F.C. ball from The Outsider.


Winston strikes a pose for the camera.

Tonight I made it to the gym again (one in our complex....it's not super, but it'll do). Got to watch The Apprentice, that was nice. Got to get this weight off that I accumulated while laid up with this bum foot I had a while back and from getting here (food on the plane isn't too good, I think, and jetlag screws with my appetite a fair bit). Walking home I noticed the stars in the sky and thought that I rarely saw them in Seoul...but then with all the rain we've had here I haven't exactly seen them nightly here either.

What time is it? 2AM! Holy crap, better get to bed. Kids will wake up at 7AM so got to rest up for that. First though, let me explain the opening of presents a few days ago. Those were Christmas presents, but on account of they were on a cruise my Ma and Pa didn't know that I'm back from Seoul for good...and we planned on having Christmas with them that night rather than later or separately on the actual day. So, we saved some of them for another opening nearer the Big Day. Man, these boys get all the breaks!


Last shot of the day...fitting, isn't it?

Working Women, Mass Transit and More Shopping

Today I picked up my lovely sister-in-law Jessie from the West Coast Express terminal in Coquitlam. While waiting for her to appear I saw many, many ladies making the trek from the train to their cars or waiting 'drivers'. They all looked quite tired after a long day at work with their nylons and heels and skirts and attaches. Man, is this women's 'liberation'?? I mentioned this to Jess and (note: she was born and raised in Korea so she's not your typical Canadian gal) she agreed. She said that this women's lib business ended up hurting women as they can't help but clean up at home (men only seem to tidy up when there's a gal coming over; ask Seinfeld: "the tub is love") and then they have to work outside of the home as well.

I have to ask myself why these gals are working. First, I should say that I am all for someone having a vocation and a sense of pride in one's work. However, if you take into account taxes, lost government benefits (because the household has a higher income), and the cost of work clothes, transportation, baby-sitting, lunches (who can brown-bag it consistently?) I figure you have to be making about $50,000-$60,000 CAD to make it worth it to get a job outside of the home. Add to that the time involved, added stress, missed workdays because of sick kids and other crises and the intangible that kids are better when raised by their parents than by outside caregivers (I'll get a citing on that and insert in a bit) and you have to ask yourself: Why??

Perhaps it's Western society. We tend to think that we ask less of our ladies than traditional societies like, say, Korea. But, in Korea once a gal is married and has kids she basically quits her job (heck, my wife did that before we even conceived). Part of that is because most jobs (except perhaps teaching and nursing) in Korea do not allow any maternity leave; society and family also dictates that mothers (and other women in the family) should make raising the kids their primary duty/job/obligation. Does this make sense? One thing that I've learned is that NO ONE cares more about you and your family than you do. At the end of the day they can't really leave you (much as they might try to)--especially in Korean culture--and you also cannot leave them. Thus, you should make sure that your kids have the very best at all times: you. Why give the delicate and important task of raising your children to strangers who, in essence and no matter how 'good' they are, will place their needs above those of your kids? Also, working takes a lot out of people (and, as noted, it seems to take a hefty income to get something economic back) so when you come home can you take the reins of rearing as well? I don't think so.

Ok, that's enough on that...much as I love to get comments on my blog that may be the limit on a hot topic for now. Let's move on to urban planning. Driving around Vancouver today got me thinking that Seoul has one thing very, very right: highrises and public transportation. Here we have (i) buses; (ii) mini-neighborhood buses; (iii) Skytrain; the (iv) West Coast Express (WCE); (v) and cars. Vancouver is very spread out with many single-family homes as well as town-homes and apartment buildings clustered around the city. By-and-large the apartment areas are connected by Skytrain and buses and the WCE runs from the outskirts to downtown. Oh, and there is also a smallish passenger ferry to augment the bridges from the North Shore to the downtown core. There are major and minor highways running all through town as well.

Here is the problem, as I see it: there are too many people spread out over too large an area. This is typical of Canada (which, basically, has oodles of land)--especially compared to Korea/Seoul. Vancouver has these clusters of people in Downtown, Richmond, Burnaby, the North Shore and Coquitlam where populations are dense (not stupid, just lots) and, in some cases, growing quickly. However, (i) there are not enough, it seems, to support an extensive subway system as in Seoul and (ii) no one is willing to let construction crews tear up their boulevards for a few years to put them in place. So what we get is a hogde-podge of links and thousands of cars on the road everyday. We build wider streets and install more lights at intersections and things don't get any better.

My idea (but it will take a while): (i) change zoning regs to allow for more high-rises that are multi-use (commercial, residential, tourist) to allow builders to (tastefully) build up rather than out; (ii) purposefully make parking a pain in the butt so that residents do not rely on their cars as much and (iii) build real public transportation that does not interfere with the above-ground (I mean subways) and might even be new commercial areas (as Seoul has hundreds of businesses adjacent to and inside the subway stations). This might take 10-15 years but it might be better to start the planning now than to have a worse problem later. Having multi-use buildings could mean fewer people commuting anyways, as every business that is located there could have its staff in nearby apartments. I also know that apartments can be very comfortable. In Korea they are usually thin so that both sides of the dwelling have windows (in Canada just the corner units have the luxury of a cross-breeze) and even 2-storey ones exist.

Let me know what you think on these two topics...I'd be interested to know.

And, as you know I continue to compare shopping in Korea and Canada/the West. One place where we got Korea beat is Starbucks. In Korea a Grande Mocha is about 4,700 won (at 895 KRW/CAD that's 5.25 CAD) and in Canada it's about 3.70 (plus 7% GST makes it 3.96 CAD). That makes a Grande Mocha in Canada 25% cheaper than in Korea. But there are other places where your dollar doesn't go as far as your won. Umbrellas in Canada are about 15CAD + 14.5% taxes here in British Columbia makes them a lot more expensive than the ones I bought in Korea for 3,000 to 8,000 won...and many businesses give them for free to clients as part of their promotions which really tilts things. Batteries are another area where Korea wins. Get this: even in a 7-11 (where prices are higher than most places) 4 AA Energizers (not no-name ones) cost 3,500 won (or 3.90 CAD) while in Canada (at London Drugs) they are 6.99 (plus taxes = 8.00 CAD!). Good God, that is outrageous! It's over 100% more in Canada...I'll have to look into this more...will report more crazy pricing as I find it (try to contain your enthusiasm).

Peter: Keeper of the Flame

My newly-acquired bud Peter has gone and done it and started his own blog. I have an honorable mention in it...thanks a lot for your kind words, Peter.

It's written much like he speaks...easy-going but punctuated with binary-like statements. For example:

"Was born in 1957 so am a young 47. Somewhere along the way I was supposed to grow up, can't remember that happening, still am just a little farm boy from a little town in a little province of South Africa. So if you expect pearls of wisdom from a middle-aged gentleman, again, bloggoff!"

I think this is the first known useage of bloggoff. I LOVE it! Crap, just Googled it and found a few references. Still, wish I had thought of it first. Anyhoo, he should be a good eye on Yeoudio until another picks up the torch.

More Pics, U.S. Thanksgiving and Missing Shopping in Seoul.

For those readers who are not family I've edited out quite a few shots (thanks, Ma) to give you more of the highlights of my parents' visit to the 'big city' (of Vancouver..if you know where they're from you'll know why this little place of 1 million or so is big).


Here's a version of '52 pick-up'...Spencer really liked it. (My Dad looking on; he liked it too.)


Spencer and Winston have an early Christmas.


Wow....what a surprise, it's a train!

Maybe it's part of being a boy, but these guys love trains, cars and things that move around on wheels...oh, ya, and robots, too.


Winston taking his new book for a spin.

Ya, a book, but it has a vibrating thingy in it that makes the cat on the cover seem to purr.


2 boys in the tub.


The bear sleeps off its jetlag.

When I need to sleep I can pretty much do it anywhere...but on a leather sofa is fantastic. Spencer and I like to wrestle so here is a pic of us...he first took every blanket and pillow he could find and piled them high on me.


Watch out for the bear in the cave, Spencer!~

Watching TV today you'd think that Thanksgiving in the U.S. was the most incredible travel day on the planet? Well, you can't deny that it is a big day for the U.S.: about 37.2 million people were on the road or in the sky (no one travels by canal nowadays, do they?) and they were likely going pretty far (the U.S. is about 9.6 million square km--compared to Canada's 10.0 million square km it's good-sized, but to Korea's 98,000 it's about 98 TIMES larger). But, is it even close to Korea's 추석/Choo-seok (Thanksgiving) city-to-hometown exodus? Let's see. The U.S. has 37.2 million people in transit out of a population of 293 million people (12.7%) and Korea has about 30 million of its 48.6 million on the roads (Koreans prefer bus/car over airplane)--or 67.7%!! And all of that traveling occurs in an area about the size of Indiana! Then there is the griping about the gasoline prices. In the U.S. gas is about 1.97 USD a gallon while in Korea it's approximately 1,400 won a liter. Convert won to USD (1,058 KRW/USD) and liters in to gallons (1 liter = 0.26 gallons) and you get an equivalent price of (this is mind-boggling) 5.09 USD per gallon in Korea! Holy crap!

But Korea has us (Canada and the U.S.) beat when it comes to buying consumer goods (especially clothes and toys which are made in the region). I often wondered how much companies like The Gap and Old Navy and Sears paid for their merchandise, but after shopping in Seoul for 2 years (and it isn't even the cheapest place to get stuff) and getting good names (got a couple of Van Heusen shirts for 5USD apiece) I now understand. While cruising the stores in the mall today I say the same quality (and sometimes the same brands!) on sale here for about 10 to 15 to 20 TIMES as much as I can get it in Seoul...and that's not even the wholesale I'm-buying-a-container-of-these-things-give-me-a-discount-price! So, you have to figure things are doing alright as long as the stuff can move out of the stores and you can keep costs (like wages and shrinkage/shoplifting) down. The only place that had close to Namdaemoon prices was a larger Dollar Store (the smaller ones are a rip-off here much of the time). I also saw kids' toys here (mostly cars and tracks and 'stunt' cars) for sale at little booths in the mall for 30CAD (25USD) each...literally the same ones I saw in Seoul for 10,000 won (9USD).

Why the discrepancy? Well, transportation, for one. The stuff has to get here. Then a few more middle-men with their self-interested fingers in the pie (I'm not against this, but it's a cost.) Add in real estate fees for the stores here, higher selling wages, higher taxes and indirect costs, advertising...it seems to make sense. And if you look at this stuff in places like the U.K. and Western Europe I hear it gets even more brutal for the consumer.

What really makes sense is my plan now..to go to Seoul at least once a year to stock up on stuff. Heck, I can get toothbrushes there 6 for $1 and here they are like $3 each! Add it up...a few suits, a suitcase of shirts and ties for $5-$10 each rather than $50-$100 and you got yourself a trip to Korea paid for in savings.

Memories of Hongdae.

Ah, a weekend has passed and no trip to 홍대/Hongdae...not that I go there a lot, but it is a pretty happenin' place for dinner, drinks and dancing. But those days are over....for now...bo-hahahahaha! Seriously, though, this place (Vancouver) is like a ghost town after 5PM (when they roll up the sidewalks for the night).

Here are a few pics of days goneby in places inebriated.


A restaurant names Oink......that says it all.


Mmmmmmmmm..sam-gyup-sal! Gonna miss that. (Actually this is pork cheek...Oink doesn't serve 삼겹살.)


Take a look: grilled pork; gilled pork and gtilled pork all in the same place! What variety!


Bing-su and coffee...may cost as much as the meal (or more!).


Hodge Podge in daylight...a sight I hardly see (morning light is another story).


Luxury Noraebang....always packed and often with a line outside...except right now.


Kamja-tang place...another locale usually seen at 5AM or so.

This was actually the normal progression: meet at 7 or 8 for dinner, head to a hof or club (or two) before going to Hodge Podge and then a Noraebang and topping it off with Kamja-tang--which literally means potato soup would be more aptly named 돼지/dwei-ji (pig) soup because it is made of pig back (tastes much better than it sounds) and a couple of small potatoes. Sometimes we'd be out til 5AM or 6AM (taxi fares are 20% higher from midnight to 4AM and subways open at about 5:30)...of course now I am more likely to be awakened by 1 or 2 kids bouncing on me at 6AM than anything else.

Well, better get to bed...later.

First Two Days in Canada

I just uploaded the last batch of pics and posting stuff and was going to watch some TV before heading to bed (ya, it's after 2AM now....still got the ol' jetlag) but I gotta tell you: TV here sucks. Even with so many channels, late-night TV is pretty brutal. (My older comments on TV here; nothing's changed.) So, I'm back at it.

As you'll notice these pics are better from the ones with my phone-cam (oh, how I miss it already!) but they are sometimes a little over-flashed or wavey. No matter, at least I can take a pic outside of perfect natural lighting and at a distance of over 2 feet and have it look good.

May I introduce you to my family? Here they are...but I'm sure my wife and sister-in-law (think that's 처제/cheo-jay in Korean) will probably kill me for posting any that don't portray them in a 100% flattering light (as if I could be trusted to know what that is...).


Winston, Kate and Spencer...watching TV.


Spencer makes short work of the Go-Stop cards with his robot-airplane.


Spencer goes crash-crash.


Spencer looks thoughtfully at the next target of his robot-airplane.


Winston reads his book to me...well, you know, kinda.


Winston takes a walk...not on the wild side, just a walk.


Winston is attacking the camera!


Spencer sacks out as Winston cranes his neck to see the TV around his goofy, picture-taking Dad.

The next day (Sunday) we went out for lunch. (I slept right through breakfast; and probably will do so for a few days.)


Jessie goes all shy on me at White Spot...


...but I got her!

Men, take note...she's Ewha University educated and single!


Spencer shows his mug for the camera. Check out the Pirate Pack lunch!


Winston first uses it as a steering wheel, then remembers it's a pancake...mmmmm.

At the next table was a Korean family...what are the odds? Quite good, in fact, there are tons of Koreans in Vancouver (over 50,000 in a city of about 1-1.5 million; compared to 200,000 foreigners in all of Korea's population of 45 million). Coquitlam is especially liked by the kimchi-eaters and we run into them all over. It's nice to know the boys (and I) can keep up our Korean studies and have a few non-family victims to try it out on.


Spencer takes to cutting up a pancake with a spoon...What? No scissors at the table?

Later we went out to a hotel near the airport where my parents and Uncle Bob and Aunt Kristina were hanging out. Ma and Pa had just come back from a cruise and where at a conference and Bob and his family lives nearby.


Is it me? Or does this light sconce look like a modern art rendition of a toilet-paper roll??

Check out these pizzas from Costco. These things are gigantic...and 3 for just 30 USD! In Korea you get these little things 1 for about 20USD. This is one part of Canada/the West that kicks butt...of course you need to keep from blimping out.


Spencer and Grandma take at 2 MASSIVE pizzas (like 60cm/24" diameter)...the likes of which you'll never see in Korea.

My Uncle Bob recently lost a ton of weight...literally? No. Maybe close, though. Now he's lookin' lean but still enjoys a cold one.


Bob and his beer....lookin' thin and trim!


Uncle Bob, Kokanee's diet spokesmodel for 2004.


Bob and Kristina lounging in the hotel.


Grandma and the boys 'play cards'.


Spencer flicking cards.


Winston responds to a question from the peanut gallery.

Well, that's about it. My Mom has a few more pics from her camera I can get up on here. Mom, send them!

Oh ya, this was also the first time (since they were on that cruise the last few days) that they got the news that I'm basically back for good. They liked it as, well, you know, it makes a heckuva lot of sense to have the family together. Anyhoo, we figured this would be the only chance to have Christmas together (if I was leaving in 3 weeks) so they brought over the boy's presents (and a wedding anniversary thing for us, too). We opened a few and will save the rest for later. I figure I'll be in Canada at least until Christmas, although (with any luck) I could be back on a plane heading somewhere for an interview in the interim.

Facing the End of Hometown: Yeouido

Note: Things have changed, and due to popular demand I've moved this post from the first page. All new posts will be of my post-Yeouido life (although there is a definite Korean bent to much of it, seeing as all of my in-laws are Korean) so please read on and see what new stuff I'm up to. Also: be sure to enter your email into the Blogarithm box to the right...then you'll get an email everyday that I update this site, if you like.

Yes, this is not a publicity stunt or because I think Korea sucks or anything. As of this Saturday (the 20th) I'll be no longer with my firm in Korea and will be on a plane bound for Canada. The last 2 years has been great but I have a few things that keep me from being here any longer: (i) my wife and kids are in Canada and I don't foresee them coming here in the near future and even if they do it'd be for at most 1-2 years; (ii) when I speak with others outside of Korea (U.S., Europe) they seem and are much more advanced than the thinking here, and I have to think of my career path; and (iii) the market here is turning, as always, but I have no idea when it will be a lucrative as I'd like/expect.

Don't get me wrong, I love Korea and Koreans and the work, but it's just not coming together here as I had planned--and I've given it a lot of time to turn the corner.

At the end of the day, I know there are positions in other firms (in other countries) that can give me all that I want and need for my family and my career. I'm sure that I will come back here (my wife is from here and I have many friends here I want to keep in touch with) but it will be more as a tourist (like Minaz and Yusheng did these past couple of months) than anything else.

I also wanted to end on an up-note, much like Jerry Seinfeld did. Clients here are warming to hedge funds (in spite of the bad press lately) and I've set up a pretty good system for the firm; but someone else will have to take it to the next level.

In the spirit of Seinfeld, whose last episode had Time of Your Life as its theme song, I thought I'd butcher another song (as I did Englishman in New York earlier). It's to the tune of 1979, my favorite tune to 'sing' (to use the term loosely) in the 노래방/noraebang.

2002

Shakedown two-thousand and two, James got here and knew just what to do
Get up early and hop on the train
Hedge funds on the brain
A new and exciting place
For this country hick-town boyish face
We were sure we'd never see an end to it all

And I don't even care to shake these han-gook blues
And we don't know just where our dreams will go
To beer, oh no
Forgotten and absorbed into the street below

Double Jack, cola poured and mixed
I don't know how to get this place fixed
Soju-bomb city liftin' dues, we can see that

We don't even care, as restless as we are
We feel the pull in the land of a thousand guilts
And poured cement, lamented and assured
To the lights and towns below
Faster than the speed of sound
Faster than we thought we'd go, cloaked in a shroud of hope

James B got to knew the way
To do work and to get his pay
No apologies ever need be made
He knows Seoul better than it fakes it, to see

That he don't even care to shake these han-gook blues
And he don't know just where his dreams will go
Not here, oh no
Somewhere else for him to find, in the end, that's all

Plane leaves from Incheon Saturday
And he'll be back in some other way.

Well, I will continue to update this blog...and I plan on starting another once I establish a new hometown. If it's exotic like this place it may be an intersting read.

Later...

The long way home.

I left Seoul for good. Surprised? Well, I was a little too. Things had been simmering for quite a while (months, in fact) as we waited for more positive things to come, and some externalities (interest from other firms in my services) helped things along. At the end of the day I don't think I do or will regret my decision but I will always have a bit of remorse for leaving so many good compadres suddenly. I made many friends in Korea and had just started meeting many others...but luckily those ties can continue thanks to the Internet and international flights. I can only guess how brutal it might have been if this were just 10-20 years ago. Snail mail? Forget it. I also hope they will read this and my new blog (of my new 'hometown') so they can keep up with what is going on...and I'll read theirs as well (seems everyone is getting a blog these days).

On Friday I took a walk across Yeouido Park (one last time) to see a bud at Korea Investment Trust. He too couldn't really put together that I was heading out...but he figured it out after a bit. He's one of the few people in Korea (similar to Mr. Jo in my office) who 'gets' what I do. So refreshing.


Yeouido Park in the fall...brown, quiet, but still lovely.




Yeouido Park again...I'll miss this rock. Why? I have no idea.


까치/Gachi bird (a magpie) in the park. I've wanted to get a good shot of one of these for a while...this is as good as it gets.


An incredible find...a bidet in a public washroom! (Well at the Korea Investment Trust building anyways..but still pretty unreal.) Guess this is my last Korean bathroom pic for a while.

On Friday night a few guys from the office and I went out for a 회식/hwei-shik (office party; again, I typed that without Hanguel on the keyboard...getting scary!) of 삼겹살/sam-gyup-sal and then 노래방/no-rae-bang (singing room). They don't officially know the verdict of my leaving but they certainly get the drift. My boss wants to treat it as an extended vacation (which it might be if things change drastically) but they don't really know what to think. They always asked me when I'm coming back...but what can I say? My boss wants things one way and my 'Western' logic tells me to do another thing. Well, a few key people know what is happening...as well as those who are not associated with the industry or are good long-time friends...that's the balance I've struck with myself.

On to funnier things. I've always wondered who the heck came up with this name for a songbook company. Kumyoung? C'mon! I was sure my parental filter wouldn't allow me to look at this site...pretty rich, eh?


Kum Young? What the heck!??!


Wow, it's me singing. (Obviously an action shot of my shakin' and boogiein'.)


Jo singing....he's really good at a few songs and we did a few English ones together.


Yoon crooning--this guy is good! Had no idea. First time hearing him belt one out..


Park barking--another good singer, and what a range: Korean traditional, kid's, Western...good voice.

To move I had to get a few boxes; for that I went to my building's 매정/corner store. This gal and her husband own it--a great couple. She's full of smiles and I got a 10% discount on a lot of stuff...also did the bulk of my shopping there as things were not only cheaper than most places but it was (obviously) closer than any store.


The 매점아줌마/may-jeom a-joom-ma. She was always smiling!

I got so many boxes that I needed a ride to the airport. I had EIGHT big bags/boxes plus a carry-on! 동준/Dong-Joon gave me a ride in his spacious SM5. He lives in Yeouido too and we met from a notice he posted in my building looking for English buds/tutors. Well, we were more friends than anything else--another one I need to keep in touch with. I think it didn't hit him until we parted at the security gate...*sob* (what a wimp, eh?).


Dong-Joon driving me to the airport (with all my bags) in his SM5--thanks, man!

We got there plenty (about 3.5 hours) early so plenty of time to get the luggage checked in. Dong-joon even did the Korean negotiating tactic (say the same thing again and again and wait for the other side to cave) and got one of my bags on for free...the other 5 cost 550,000 won (500USD) to send over, though. Sounds like a lot but (i) the delivery services apparently aren't much better and (ii) I may have to wait weeks or longer to get them, so what the heck. You only move out once, right?

On the second floor (not in security) there is the Panorama Restaurant or something. If you want a cheap meal they have rice and 8 Korean side-dishes (all you can eat) for 3,000 won (2.70USD). We had bing-su, though....mmmmmmm...gooooooood.


Dong-Joon really, really, really like 팥빙수/pat-bing-soo (shaved ice and so much more). (The scary thing is I almost memorized the Hanguel keyboard and did that bit of typing from memory!)

I got to the gate with 2 hours to spare and made a few last calls and snapped a few pics (then made sure I emailed them to myself before I left, as there is no service for this phone outside of Korea). I sacked out on a bench in the deserted waiting area and awoke about 30 minutes from take-off. What a sight...I went from everyone-is-thin Korea to welcome-to-the-buffet Western-anywhere during my snooze. Lard Van Winkle or something. Not that I have a problem with plumper people (I'm one of 'them') but one thing that is striking is the average weight of Asians and Westerners. In Korea I am 'fat', 'overweight' and 'in need of a diet'; in Canada I am 'slim Jim'.

They announced that we should line-up and I was perfectly situated to be first in line. Here was my view. I had plenty of time to shoot this and email it because they had us stand there for about 15 minutes. Hurry up and wait...so Korean.


The long walk...da da da da, da da da, da da da da....(theme from Star Wars whenever Darth Vader shows his mug).

On the plane I slept a bit and watched a movie...Ron Burgundy, Anchorman. Bloody hilarious movie. I usually think these wacky ones are a little overacted but I liked this one. Did I need a pick-me-up? Ya. Here's a hint for flying: when they serve breakfast just refuse is and use that time to continue sleeping. I did that once (not this time) and it was great...the food is usually pretty heavy and gassy (eggs and crap) anyways, so why not just go through customs on fumes and get the last of some much needed shut-eye. I find that flights from Korea usually get in during a lull in the customs lines as it is--usually takes me about 10-20 minutes to get through.

Another Korean fact: hospitals never and even most buildings rarely have a 4th floor as it is pronounced similar to 'death' in Korean (and Chinese and Japanese); so they either omit it (like we might the 13th) or they call it floor 'F' (which, in a love hotel, is quite ironic).


In Korea there sometimes isn't a 4th floor.

More later...pics of kids and all that rot...as well as updates on the next leg of my 'journey'.

The last 24 hours or so...

Since thing here are so inexpensive (as opposed to cheap and crappy quality) I did a chunk of shopping yesterday at Namdaemoon Market. Ya, got more shirts but also Christmas gifts. You know you can get shetland wool or lambswool sweaters here for 5,000 won (4.50USD)? Ya. They aren't in a store being fondled and folded by prying teenage sales associates, but they are the real deal.

I got a pair of pants also and wanted them altered before I left. The guy said in the basement of a nearby building there was 밴딩/banding (Konglish for hemming, I gathered correctly). I thought I'd have to search the place to find one...but, in true Korean fashion, there were 7-8 down there. I just approached the one that was least busy and he got at it. The price was 4,000 won (3.60USD) and done in about 5 minutes. The guy I bought the pants from said it was 2,000 won but I wanted a cuff on it and was not energized to fight this guy for a couple of bucks (it costs 5,000 won for the dude to come to my apartment so what the heck). Here's a tip in negotiating: if you need alterations (basically all dress pants and suits) then ask them to discount the price of the item you're buying. It works A LOT. This guy (begrudgingly) gave me 1,000 won off the pants (a whopping 14,000 won total price) so even when they don't want to they usually do.


Here is my tailor going at it...on-the-spot-service.

It's tough to find this little spot, so maybe get a local to call him for directions.


If you need some 밴딩/banding and you're in Namdaemoon look him up!

Welcome to the U.S. of A?! A few shops had this animatron Santa outside of them...a little scary, actually. For a place that has little Christmas fervor this display was a little surprising. Maybe Christmas is getting bigger here...


U.S. Thankgiving has passed...so Santa is out in Korea too!

And, proving that Namdaemoon is full of specialists in virtually everything: here is a store whose stock is entirely made up of zippers.


And if you need a gajillion 지퍼/ji-peors (zippers) check out this place outside Exit 7 of Hyoheon subway station.

Next it was off to 시청/Si Cheong (City Hall) area to have dinner with John and Jung-Soo and Bunny (who knows Jung-Soo as well). On the way there I saw this sign...


Sand & Food? Sounds great! (Sand could mean sandwich, but isn't that food too??)

Jung-Soo is getting married on Saturday (the day I depart) so I'll miss it but I still gave him the envelope of money. (Yes, I did use the right one.)


Here is the groom-to-be Jung-Soo cookin' up the pork...he'll make a lovely wife, won't he?

Check out the pork on this cool (well, hot, actually) grill. Basically lean, mouth-watering...pork chops...sizzling on the...hot metal....getting so...well-cooked...then dipped in a honey-mustard sauce....excuse me, I gotta go back there right now...


John and Jung-Soo; friends in Korea for over 8 years.

Afterward his fiance Sook Jeon (Sook is her first name, most but not all Koreans have 2 first names; Jeon is her last name-in Korea women keep their last names and kids take the father's name) showed up. She's quite good-looking (a little thin for my taste, but then I'm a bloody bear, as you may know) and we had some ice cream...with fruit on it...and...just a sec I gotta go have another one.


Shaved ice, yoghurt ice cream, peaches, oranges, melon, other fruits...cherry tomatoes and Frosted Flakes?!?! Sounds a little weird, but really good. (Could use some chocolate sauce, though.)

After that I went back to Yeouido and met with Jo again. He is so sad to think that I'm getting on a plane soon. Whatever will he do? Wherever will he go (to drink)? Well, I'm sure he will survive. A new bartender at The Outsider (yes, I was there again--figure I'll overdose on it before I head off) took a liking to him so maybe he will go there on a daily basis.


Jo is melacholy (over here Koreans call this emotion sentimental for some reason) tonight...thinking of how he'll survive without my being there. *sob* Or, he may be just drunk.

Got up today, got dressed, went to work and saw my boss come in the office at 9:02AM. Then I left to go to the doctor for this damn foot of mine again. (As long as I am physicaly there when he arrives in the morning and leaves at 6PM it seems he has little worry about what happens in the interim.) Today I got an elastic thingy to keep things in place (rather than the short-leg cast/splint) and my obligatory shot of something from a needle in my butt then off to physio (upstairs) again for more shock therapy and stuff. This time they treated my foot as fries in McDonald's for a few minutes.


My new bandage...can now wear normal shoes on both feet!


How you like your toes? Extra-crispy??

They also gave me 써비스/sseu-bi-sseu (service, free, extra) in the form of a massage bed treatment. It isn't what you think, this is a legit place. It was actually a mechanical thing that you laid on your back on while piano-hammer-like thing-a-ma-doods pound your shoulders, back, gluteous maximus and legs. Ahh-hh-hh-aa-aah-ahh. My father-in-law got along famously with the doctor and they traded contact info so when/if he goes to Vancouver they can go golfing...what a guy: always networking.

Time to work!

Walk Through Yeouido Park

One thing I like about Seoul, and Yeouido in particular, is walking around in the middle of the day when the weather's nice. There is always something happening here. Today on my way back from lunch there was a stupendous protest (again) in Yeouido Park and the usual masses of elementary-school kids walking hand-in-hand, occasionally stopping for a 김밥/gimbab (rice and such wrapped in seaweed) break. Ah, these are the days.


Kids backpacks all in a row in Yeouido Park.

After the park I spied the Belt Man. He's similar to the Tie Guy I often see as well--his store is in his truck. This guy has a ton of belts, wallets and suspenders (but mostly belts). If you have a style in mind this guy has it. I got 3 today: 1 casual, 1 dress (Valentino knock-off) and one Western/yee-ha-Cowboy style for my father-in-law.


Yeouido's belt man...look at his wide selection of waist-wrappers!

I looked at this one but decided against it for some reason.


Um, Mr. Belt Dude...you might want to proof this. I'm assuming you mean Dark Horse, not Hores.

Ok, back to work!

Off to Canada

Well, here is the news I promised yesterday. I'm off to Canada this Saturday for a much-needed and relatively long (3 week) rest. Of course it won't be all play...my kids will be there to take care of and my wife will have a (daily) list of things for me to do, buy and cook (yes, I cook).

Got a lot to do before I take off...but I'll keep the updates going (as always) while I'm in Canada.

I went to my gym (where I havn't been for the last week on account of this bum foot of mine) and explained to them that I'd be taking a few weeks out of Korea. They didn't seem to understand but I heard from their Korean that they wanted to 'di-lay' my membership while I was gone. Sure, ok. But they didn't think that I understood that so a girl rushed off to get the newly-acquired English-speaking golf pro (kind of an odd guy, but his English is very good) to tell me. Ok, got it (again). That's one thing about Koreans they (i) assume you know what they are talking about or (ii) want to make absolutely sure that you understand it 100%. I guess that's why I'm trying to learn the language...to help them out with that instead of being a gomer-gringo.

Shawn's Book

I was mesmerized by Shawn's story on his blog and thought it a good idea to get his book (link on the sidebar also). Here's what I received today (I think 2 business days after ordering; very quick!).


What the heck?!?!? Shawn sent me a bunch of Korean English-language newspapers! Is this what I get for 10,000 won!?!


Oh, here it is...on page 61 now. A great read!

I'm tearing (quickly, not crying) through it and found it eerily similar to my (and I'd guess many others') journey here. Just substitute "hedge funds" for "English" and you've got the idea.

대학수능시험/dae-hak-soo-neung-si-heom (Korean SATs) Today!

Almost forgot. Today all workers are advised to stay off the roads until about 9AM so that Korean students can get to their testing centres on time for the dreaded SATs here. (I walk to no problem.) This grade more than anything else (even connections, maybe) decides which university they might attend and, ultimately it seems, their life-path (job, spouse, home, cemetary plot). Many suicides occur when the grades come out. Glad my kids need not go through this.

Article and picture of parents praying here.

Same-old: ice cream, doctor visit and The Outsider.

I know everyone missed my posting yesterday, but I had a good reason (two actually): (i) had to go to the doctor again for this foot of mine (reported below) and (ii) got updated stats from CSFB/Tremont's Hedge Index to upload, analyze and make a presentation with commentary on (all in one day).

On to ice cream...my junior Jo bought this one Monday night. Man, it is rich! cappuccino coffee and chocolate in a waffle-like (note: waffle-like) wrapper. Not bad, but could only eat half.


The Big Waffle: cappuccino ice cream in (good tasting) styrofoam.

Tuesday night I bedded down at about 9:30 and woke up at 4AM. Couldn't get back to sleep so I went to the office and passed this row of (about 30) buses waiting for the throngs of early-risers (or maybe late-prayers because they actually extinguished the neon cross when it was over) at the Yeouido Full Gospel Church across the road. (My office is on 'Gospel Road'...haha.)


5AM church buses...for the really, really dedicated.

I went back home at about 8AM to nap but was awakened by my CEO calling at about 9:15. "James where are you?" "At home for a bit, I was there at 5AM--coming back soon." "James, it is 9AM! Time to work!" "Yes, I know, I will be there in 5 or 10 minutes." "James, you should be here!" "Yes I am coming." And so on...sometimes I wonder about this line of thinking. If I am there at 5AM to do work but somehow am not there at 9AM is there a problem? Maybe.

I got a reprieve from the salt-mine (joke, joke) when my father-in-law picked me up for my doctor's visit. Oh...my...God..when I entered the office it was just like The Outsider. One of the nurses (the darling who gave me my shot in the butt last time) said, "하이 제임스/Hi James!" The reception desk is even curved like The Outsider bar...too much. No X-rays this time...but the doc sent me to the second floor for some physio/torture.


My lovely physio-therapist (probably Ms. Kim, statistically-speaking).

First, a HOT pack on my foot. No one seemed to be able to remember where my pain was; many thought it was my ankle, but it's on the top of my foot...so much for complete medical records.


Here is my foot in a HOT pack. Yeow!

I saw this contraption in the room as well. I saw something like it in The President's Barber where a boy was tortured with electro-shock by a dude in the Park Chung Hee administration (he was a dictator). The boy lost his ability to walk...could it happen to me?


The shock machine...I pity the patient that has that done on them...


...Holy crap! It's me! Aaaaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhh!

The nurse said most people's toes/fingers wiggle when the 'therapy' was applied, but mine didn't. Must be because I am a foreigner, I said. They accepted that as plausible (hello! I'm human too...haha). The bloody thing hurt (no surprise there) and I wondered if they do this sort of thing in the West also.


My father-in-law looks on as the electrodes are clamped on.

Next some sort of vibro-shock thingy. At least it didn't hurt.


Now for some sort of massage...the jelly reminds me of when my wife had ultrasounds to see our boys in the womb.


Here she I going at it...and there goes my chances at being a 'foot model'.

Coming back I realized how screwed the roads can be in Seoul. Usually I take a subway or taxi, but my father-in-law wasn't up on Yeouido one-way streets and a 5-minute trip was extended a good 10 minutes.


And returning to Yeouido...what better symbol of this area than 2 new twin towers being built?

Last night it was back to (you guessed it) The Outsider with Jo and Peter. We polished off my bottle of Prince whiskey (a local blend, suitable for mixing with beer, unlike Macallan).


Peter shows just how low my ceiling really is.

After that we came back to my place for some Crown Royal and then parted company. Of course as soon as I hit the hay 이동준/Dong-Joon Lee (or D.J. as he likes) gave me a call to meet him back at the bar (he lives in the same building). He was sad about something (will let you know that tomorrow) and we had badgered him to come out so I returned and ended the night (again) at a respectable midnight.


My bud Dong-Joon gives the thumbs-up for another round of drinks at The Outsider.

Tune in tomorrow for the exciting news!

12 Hours With the In-laws

It started out auspiciously enough (whatever that means): as you know from yesterday, my in-laws planned a gathering in an uncle's place in Suwon. (Oh, when I say uncle and aunt and cousin it's my wife's...but you know what I mean.) I took a cab to my wife's parent's place (FIL-father-in-law, MIL=mother-in-law, too long to type) as my foot is still bothering me; it may be another week before it's ok. When I got there they brought out the apples (you'll see food is a recurring theme here). Then we brought a bunch of stuff to the car and headed to Kangnam to their new officetel: 20-odd 평/pyoung (1 pyoung = 3.3 square metres or 33 square feet...you get used to it). They're moving to Canada for good (leaving me here by my lonesome: waaaaa!) so they've been slimming down everything on this side of the Pacific.

Too bad my phonecam is so brutal for long distance shots, but I think you can see the view is pretty good: ya, a good view of the smog.


View from 16th floor Kangnam Officetel...wonder what it's like on the 22nd floor...

And here's their front yard, the street with the most expensive real estate in the country (and many parts of Asia and the world as well).


Here is the view of Kangnam-daero (Kangnam big avenue) on a Sunday. Usually all the lanes are filled.

Meanwhile, back in the loo, there are creature comforts of every persuasion.


In the new officetel...if you can't get up to get the door there's an intercom station here.

On the way to Suwon I saw this sign. Korean doesn't have an 'F' sound (but, yes, they can say the 'F'-word) so they often use 프/peu as in 호프/ho-peu (hof, bar/pub) or 휘/hwi 화이팅/hwa-ee-ting (fighting, similar to gambatte in Japanese) and 휴래쉬/hyoo-rae-swi (freshie, below). It's just one of those things that makes no sense until you've been here for a while and been indoctrinated in the language.


후래쉬마트/Hoo-rae-swi Ma-teu = Freshie Mart...go figure.

As a contrast I took a pic of the view from the Suwon apartment. This one is on the 4th floor, but even though we were in the 'country' most apartments here had 16-20 stories! Here is a question: why is it that they can keep building these things and people keep buying them/living in them? Think of it...the fertility of Korean women is low, the population is aging, there is net emigration (never really heard of masses of people immigrating here) and yet construction of high-rises continues unabated in the city and the country. Where are all these people coming from? Maybe there are old apartments being torn down, but that can't last forever. Maybe the extended family of the past is being broken down into nuclear families and parents on their own. Maybe unmarried kids moving out has something to do with it. Maybe there are still people on the farms who are moving to the cities. Any ideas?


Slightly different view in Suwon (note field).


And instead of a gigantic road, a park (which looks like a road).

Here comes the food. Good God, there is no way we can finish this...and we didn't.


An incredible amount of food...but that's Korea for you.


Of course you have to pour for the most senior man first.


감배/Gambae! Time to start the feed!


Cognac and soju; what a juxtaposition that is.

Man, that was a lot of food...I really wonder how Koreans keep anything close to a slim figure.


My 장인어른/jang-i-neo-reun (father-in-law)...looks a little sleepy after the meal.


Three 아저씨/ajeosshi (older men) take it easy.

In Korea it seems the ladies love housework. Of course they don't how could they? But...they just keep on smiling and laughing and carrying on as they do it. Hmmmmmm...if I could package this I'd be a millionaire!~


Our hostess getting down with the dishes!


And here she is elbow-deep into the 김치냉장고/kimchi naeng-jang-ko (fridge).

The older ladies (my MIL and her sister) have earned the right to take a rest as the younger gals go at the dishes.


My 장모님/jang-mo-nim (mother-in-law) and her sister (foreground).

Here's one now:


Another 이모/ee-mo (auntie) gets down for the camera.

My 사촌/sa-chon (cousin) goes to a university near Seoul University (1.5 to 2 HOURS away from here, Monday to Friday) now that he's finished his compulsory military (Air Force) training.


My (wife's) cousin 상엽/Sang-Yeop is looking for an English name. Care to suggest one?

Now that the dishes are done the gals sit down with more food.


Here are the girls relaxing after doing the dishes (with a bowl of about 40 oranges).

And the men get served the food by them: plates of 감/gam (persimmon) and 귤/gyool (oranges) as they play Go-Stop (rules and stuff here). I was in a few hands too but my foot only let me stay in for enough to lose about 30,000 won to the old masters.


And the boys playing go-stop for about 3-4 hours.

Usually the oldest guy takes in the most, but this time it wasn't my FIL...although he did get a good chunk of my money.


My father-in-law laying down cards and raking in the dough.

Ok, this in NOT a Korean product...so I have no excuse for the copy on this bag. Would someone please explain to me what they heck those guys at the ad agencies were smoking when they thought of this! (Probably the same guys who came up with *69.)


Take a look at this...Nibble Nobby's Nuts?!?!!

At 6PM I thought we'd be heading home but we had 떡국/ddeok-gook (rice-cake soup) and then headed to the 노래방/no-rae-bang. I was dead-tired as this foot has kept me from a good sleep for the last 4 days, but my FIL said we should go and that it would only be an hour. Prophetically I said: "It's never one hour at a 노래방, it'll be two." It was. It was a slow night so they kept giving us 써비스/sseo-bi-seu (service/free/extra) time. Gee, thanks. It was pretty fun, but by the end of that I was pooped. Slept most of the way home in the car and got home at 10PM, over 12 hours after I left for what I thought would be a 3-4 hour tour.

This is a pic of a sign here in Yeouido. Koreans are resilient if anything; the government doesn't allow room salons/brothels anymore so this "room business" has changed it's tune (get it?) to 노래클럽no-rae-keul-leob (singing club). Same system of selling beer and whiskey and charging a 'tip'...ya, the tip is the cost of the girls. But no...it's not a room salon, that is illegal...it's a singing club, that's all. That there are girls there you can rent by the hour is a mere coincidence. (Count on seeing more of these popping up around town.)



And with that it's time to get to work.

More Ice Creams, More Foreigners...

First the ice cream:


보석바/bo-seok-ba (Jewelry): An older one, hence the 500 won price. The thought of biting into sugar nuggets/gems is a little irking, but tastes good.


맛있구마/mashi-ss-goo-ma (yummy sweet potato): I went right out and bought 3 more! (A little sweet, though.)


러브베리/love berry: got to try this one soon...will update.

UPDATE: Unlike the picture, it is devoid of chunks of strawberries and the strawberry-flavoured shortcake-like wafer is like foam matress material.

On Friday night I went out with Curtis and Bunny (our illustrious translator). Curtis is originally from Chicago but recently moved to Indianapolis (which he considers a small town of 1 million). He's here on contract for a while and was introduced to me by another Virtual Tourist, olddude. (It's getting kinda odd now to say that I know so many people 'from online', especially to relationship-conscious Koreans, but you do what you can.)

We went out for 삼겹살/sam-gyup-sal (3-layer pork) and then to (you know it) The Outsider. One of the original girls just quit (*sob*) so we really appreciated having Bunny along as the English ability at the bar fell dramatically when she left. We weren't able to get him a date with a gal on the first night, as Yusheng did, but apparently he did call one of the lovelies the next day. Way to go Curtis!


Curtis from Indy/Chicago...a pretty cool guy.

On Saturday I was pretty tired. Fell asleep with a window open and almost froze. Went to the doctor again to do more X-rays of the ol' foot (this involved a drive down the road and a long wait. This is different. In Korea they do the X-day developing right then and there and then a specialist takes a look at it and I personally took the X-rays and opinion to the original doctor. I think in Canada we have to do the X-rays, go home and get another appointment with our family doctor then go back again another day. Interesting...and although I had to wait a bit it was nice to get the prognosis within an hour instead of 2-3 days.

Heading home I saw an example of Koreans doing whatever they can to make a buck. Here a guy is selling (in the blowing cold air) 32,000 won (30 USD) heated seatcovers for just 10,000 won...man, he looked cold.


Making a buck by selling seat-warmers on the street.

Ok, it's off to Suwon today to the the in-laws and eat a lot. Hope I don't get too pudgy from not exercising (on account of the foot) and still eating. Got to get back in the gym ASAP.

Firefox...

(The browser, not the movie) I've heard of this thing from my more techie-inclined friends and thought I'd try it out.

It's got a different look and apparently some security-enhancing bells and whistles. I have no clue how to tell what is what with code cutting but as long as it works well and I can find a few things better about it I'm happy. One nice thing is it doesn't shove the right-hand sidebar of my blog to below the left-hand one (ugly) like Internet Explorer does so often; that's nice. Also, it's in English (my I.E. one is in Korean which can be a pain if I want to do something a bit less mundane than surfing: like export bookmarks).

Take a look if you like, let me know what you think and if you know of things that are super-cool about it I'd be interested in hearing about it.

UPDATE: Thanks Trev for this article on I.E. vs. everyone.

Finally, take a look at this page. Looks like 50% of the stories are to do with sex. Some interesting stuff from the usually conservative Chosun Daily.

Fun with Babelfish, Well...Kinda Fun.

There's a reason it's got the name Babel in it. You likely know the story of a group of people in the Bible (the details are a little sketchy for me) who tried to build a tower so high it would reach heaven and they could speak with God. Well, the Big Guy didn't like this (reason is you don't need a tower to reach out and touch Him) so he made it so they all spoke different languages: thus work ceased and the world became the linguistically-fractured place that it is.

Enter Babelfish. At first glance it seems to work magic. You input some text or a webpage and it translates it for you (if you click on a link in the page it automatically translates the new page too)! Fantastic! That is, until you really read the output.

Take a look at this posting of mine from a couple of days ago:

Now the bad news: it looks from this article that Korea is going to get worse before it gets better. Basically: (i) the older, Western educated, powerbrokers in Seoul are being replaced by locally-educated ones (not good, if you've ever looked into the school system here; (ii) the new administration wants to move power from Seoul (the centre of the universe here for over 500 years) to the provinces (where more regional and xenophobic populaces live), and (iii) the new guard is open to North Korea and, quite possibly, the absurd notion of a peaceful and profitable reunification.

Here it is in Korean:

지금 나쁜 소식: 잘 좋아질 전에 한국이 더 나쁘게 얻기 위하여 가고 있다 고에 이 기사에서 본다. 기본적으로: (i) 너가 학교 제도로 이제까지 여기 보면 오래 되는, 서쪽 교양있는 것 의 서울안에powerbrokers현지 교양있는 그들에의해 대체되고 있다 (좋은,; 여기의 (ii) 새로운 행정은 (지역 및 외국인 혐오 서민이 살는 까 곳에) 지방으로 서울 (우주의 센터500년간 이상)에서 힘을 이동하고 싶고, (iii) 신임 보초는 평화롭고 유리한 재통일의 북한 그리고, 확실히 가능하게, 황당한 관념에 열려있는다.

And here it is Babelfished back into English:

Now bad news: Before getting better well, in order to get badly Korea compared to that it is going, it sees from this article. Basically: (i) you here see until now with school system and long you become, by them who are powerbrokers local culture inside Seoul of the thing which is west culture you are transferring, (it is good,; Yu Gi Ui (ii) the new administration peels and (the area and the foreigner hatred populace the flesh) Seoul (500 years centers of outer space above for) from force it wants moving toward a region in the place, (iii) the new guard peaceful Rob North Korea of the re-unity which separates it is being opened in the conception which absurd and, is possible positively, is.

Huh? Ya, not quite perfect. But, if you have some text or a few pages where you want to get a (very, very) rough idea of what is going on this can be a start. Somehow I think Supernib (a copyeditor here in Seoul) will find a lot of similarities between this free web-applet and some of the stuff she gets to clean up after professional Korean translators have it.

It's not Remembrance Day or Veteran's Day Here Today...

No, it's 빼빼로/ppe-ppe-ro Day! FYI Armistice Day is the original name for the commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918--thus ending WWI and setting the stage for WWII. The U.S. changed it to Veteran's Day (although Canada, the U.K. and other countries call it Remembrance Day) in 1934, in order to honor veterns of all wars.

Anyways, in Korea, as you know, things are different. 빼빼로 (flash thingy here, article here) is a cookie stick dipped in chocolate and other goodies; called Pocky in some places (like China) also. It's quite good, but perhaps not good enough to warrant a red-letter day. (No, it's not a day off, but it's widely celebrated by young lovers and such.)

How did it come about? They say someone dropped 4 빼빼로 sticks and saw that they made a '1 1 1 1' pattern. Hmmmm...how can we make some money out of this? Let's see: 1 111, 111 1, 1 1 11, 1 11 1...11 11...aha! Over here they don't call it November or any 'word' it's just 11월/weol (month). So, in addition to Valentine's Day (February 14th) when women buy stuff (cards, chocolates, stuffed animals!) for men and White Day (March 14th, another Korean-manufactured gift-giving day) when men give stuff to women there is also 빼빼로Day. Genius.

Since I don't have a girlfriend here (or anywhere else...hehe) I got a box of the things for my junior (Jo) in the office. (Over here no one thinks you're gay if you do this...they just think you're fond of someone.) Our office girl Jung-Mi saw them so I got one for her too.


Our officegirl proudly displays her 빼빼로 on her desk.

Ok, lunch is over...later.

Good News and Bad News

First the good news: I found another good ice cream bar here in Seoul, Crunchy King. It has a waffle-like chocolate shell and a filling of ice cream and chocolate bits and such. Not bad, although the waffle part is a little dry....maybe if I dip it in milk or coffee...


Crunchy King...not a lot of crunch, but pretty darn big.


Here is the inside of the CK bar...not bad at all.

Now the bad news: it looks from this article that Korea is going to get worse before it gets better. Basically: (i) the older, Western educated, powerbrokers in Seoul are being replaced by locally-educated ones (not good, if you've ever looked into the school system here; (ii) the new administration wants to move power from Seoul (the centre of the universe here for over 500 years) to the provinces (where more regional and xenophobic populaces live), and (iii) the new guard is open to North Korea and, quite possibly, the absurd notion of a peaceful and profitable reunification.

Hmmm...best to focus on the ice cream for now.

More pics and my wonderful day at the clinic.

Yesterday I was at the gym on the treadmill and ever-so-slightly rolled my foot. It didn't hurt all that much then, but later on it started to act up. When out with Peter and Bunny (oh ya, she was at cf too...great help to us whiteys who know the bare bones of Korean and vice versa for the staff there) it didn't feel too hot, either. This morning I could hardly walk. After lunch my father-and-mother-in-law came and got me and took me to a nearby clinic. While in the car I got a look at these recent photos of my boys.


My boy Spencer does his best "Korean smile for the professional photographer".


My second boy Winston strikes a pose in the ol' MLB cap.

Now, I've been to the doctor here before, but it always surprises me when you go into the treatment room and it's actually, literally, the doctor's office: complete with papers piled high on the desk. No waiting for up to 40 minutes (as I have in Canada) both outside in the waiting room then again in the little treatment rooms. That wooshing sound is me flying in to get things fixed: one of the best parts of Korea, by far.


The doctor's office...the REAL doctor's office, no little rooms!

After taking a look at it this 30-year veteran orthopedic surgeon (ya, you can just walk into a specialist's office, no referral needed or possible) figured some X-rays would be a good idea so he walked me into the X-ray room and took 6 pics of my tarsal area. (Tarsal means foot:me so smrt.)


X-rays of my foot from every angle.

5 minutes later there they were...let's take a look. Hmmm...nope, probably just a strained/sprained ligament (or as he said: slaintd rigamunt). Time for a 'short-leg splint'. Cool. For 7-10 days...well, at least it'll be off by the time I get on the plane.


My new shoe, for 7-10 days.

Then he figured a shot (in the butt, from the female nurse, woo-hoo!) would be a good idea. I didn't even feel the thing which means: (i) my butt's so fatty it has a cushion between the nerves and where the needle went, or (ii) she was very, very good at her job (hehe). And, in true Korean fashion--probably because he has an equity stake in the 약국/yak-gook (pharmacy) next door--I got a prescription for 3 pills, 3 times a day for 3 days (talk about a trinity). No idea what they are or how they are to help me, but I got them.


And, of course, I need some pills.

Oh, and this pic came from Rachel's (aka Supernib) camera from the VT meeting/piss-up a few weeks back. Hahaha...I'm such a riot.


Me with Rachel's camera.

Yesterday I got this email from 김현정/Ms. Hyeon-Jeong Kim (another of my devoted readers). I answered it and sent it to her (her email will be in the comments area of this post so she doesn't get a ton of spam). If you like, fill in your comments and fire it off to her. As you can see, they like the number three also. (This blog is brought to you but the number 3, the letter F and the Hanguel 가.)

Hi! I'm Hyeon-jeong Kim working in a publishing company, Nexus which is one of the biggest publishing companies in Korea.

Surfing the Internet, I was glad to find your blog and email address because I was looking for foreigners who can fill in the questionnaire below.

Could you please take your time and fill in the following questionnaire? It would be very appreciated if you could introduce your friends to me for the survey.

Thank you for your help.
Hyeon-jeong Kim
--------------------------------------------------------------
Questionnaire

This questionnaire is carried out to use as reference materials when we publish a book which describes Korean culture in English. Please answer the questions below frankly, interestingly or wittily [my specialty!-JB] based on what you have felt while living in Korea.

Name: ______________ Sex: __________
Occupation: ___________________
Duration in Korea: ______________

Q1. What is the most surprising/shocking things in Korea, with Korean people, or about Korean culture? (3 things)
1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
3. ________________________________

Q2. In which part in detail do you have curiosity about Korea, Korean people, or Korean culture? (3 things)
1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
3. ________________________________

Q3. What is the most embarrassing things you've gone through in Korea, with Korean people, or about Korean culture? (3 things)
1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
3. ________________________________

Q4. What is the most interesting things in Korea, with Korean people, or about Korean culture? (3 things)
1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
3. ________________________________

Q5. What do you envy most in Korea, with Korean people, or about Korean culture? (3 things)
1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
3. ________________________________

Q6. What do you find is the most difficult things (to do or follow) in Korea, with Korean people, or about Korean culture? (3 things)
1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
3. ________________________________

Thank you for sparing your precious time!

Kelvin just IMed me from Malaysia. It appears my blog is duo-faceted: booze and food. Well, that's me. If you want pics of autumn and fallen leaves check out Shawn's Korea Life Blog or Joel's Picture Pages...if you want martinis and stumbling around I'm your man.

New Bar with a New Friend

On Monday I visited The Outsider with John from one of our partner firms and one of my juniors-plus Peter, a South African expat here on an IT project. He is always asked by Koreans who have never seen him if he's black...um, no, 10% of South Africans (usually those who travel, I'd hazard to guess) are white: bred from the English and Dutch colonists who have been there for over 100 years.

Anyhoo, last night, in a quid-pro-quo manner, he showed me his haunt near the 63 Building: cf. It's a nice place like The Outsider: girls to pour drinks (and nothing else); a bit darker on the lighting; no casino games or special events--but quite nice. cf is perhaps a better place for more private entertaining as there are booths (which The Outsider lacks) there as well as totally private side rooms. All in all, not a bad place. Now we have to check out the sequel: cf2 which is in the same area.


cf usually means "commercial film" (advert) but here it means 'contemporary fusion'. It's fusing drinks and lovely bartenders to arrive at a fission reaction between hammered men and their won.

Just got a call from another expat here: Curtis. He just got in from Indianapolis and is here on a short contract. He just tried kimchi and has yet to try soju or live octopus...this should be fun.

Walking around Yeouido

Today I took a walk after lunch with one of my juniors from work. Here's what we saw and heard.

Cookie-oh is Korea's new version of the ice cream sandwich. The makers of these things are adding up-scale (and up-priced) versions of everything now. It's still pretty cheap at 700 won (about 0.60USD) but I remember when the gold ol' i.c. sandwich was just a quarter...but that was a quarter century ago. It tastes real goood, though.


Cookie-oh-my-God-how-much-is-that?


Would you like some hot...I mean exciting shoes, sir?

(You may need to save and play from your harddrive.)

Short One Today.

Ug, went out last night...not much time this morning. Here are a few pics I took over the last couple of days.

This one is of one of the many (non-violent) protests in Yeouido. The crowd was made up of 아줌마들/a-joom-ma-deul (ajumas) and their kids and they were mad at a construction company...not sure of the details. They were very, very vocal though. Yelling at the top of their voices into the loudspeakers--quite comical, actually. They also sang songs like "The Three Bears" (albeit probably with a Communist bent).


Let's go to the protest...bring the kids!

Here is the stairwell in my office building. What better place than this to hang your load of towels fresh from the laundry.


Towels in the stairs...


...all the way down the stairs.

Go figure, if you can/dare.

UPDATE: This post (from Marmot) comes under the heading "veddy interesting".

The Outsider and Canada stuff everywhere

On Friday I headed to...well, you know where...The Outsider with my junior from the office. He hadn't been there in a while but you can only resist the temptation for so long.


The Outsider's sign...you, too, can be an insider at The Outsider.

I think I may have to get some sort of VIP card there or something. I saw the owner there again and he did 2 things: (i) introduced me to a waitress from his San Francisco branch (run by his sister-in-law), I think he sees me as a fellow 기러기아빠/gi-reo-gi a-ppa (wild goose dad) as his wife and 2 girls are in the States; and (ii) he showed me his promotional booklet for the Yeouido location. Look! I'm in it! Hmmm...that gets me thinking. When I come in the doors they don't just say "어서 오십시오!/eoh-seo-oh-ship-say-yo! (Welcome!)" but many also say "하이제임스/Hi James." If you know who Norm is on Cheers you know what I mean. (Oh, and didn't say more than 2 words to the waitress...you know I'm not a 제비/jay-bi (playboy).)


Look, it's me in The Outsider promo book!


A closer look...man, I hope this was before I started losing weight!

Finally, before I started going on about the Canadian things I've been seeing pop up in Yeouido: Canadian lobster, beer, socks, celebrities...and now a mug. This one was strange. I went to my usual 삼계탕/sam-gye-tang place and it was a little cold so they served me some hot 보리차/bo-li-cha (barley/wheat tea); but not in a normal cup: in this Molson Canadian mug. Then I remembered that the owner is from Abbotsford (near Vancouver) so that explains how it got here and they probably know that I'm from Canada (Koreans aren't very PC, they judge you based on where you're from and have no qualms in asking). Still...


This Canada thing is getting a little scary.

I guess it was bound to happen. Koreans don't really like many of the policies of the U.S. and there has been in incredible influx of students and immigrants to Canada in the last few years. I wonder how far this will go. Will there be a Lotte World Canada park? Perhaps a Hyundai Toronto car? Maybe a TG Vancouver model computer?

Lunchtime Near Namdaemoon

On Friday I had lunch near 남대문시장/Namdaemoon (Shi-jang)Market. I've been there so many times but there is always something new: such as a guy selling veggie-cutting machines. Well, it's not really a machine...it's human powered and probably costs 20x the production cost here.


A little road-side chopping.

Next there was this guy selling polish. The stuff could take the red off a tomato, if you believed what he was saying. He had long sleeves on, probably because his forearms are like Popeye's...all the rubbing everyday has to have an effect on your physique.


Watch me polish everything in site (except my microphone).

Then I saw my shirt connection. Went a little crazy today, 6 shirts (negotiated down to 35,000 won, about 33USD, but he gave me another 1,000 won off for no reason) and 2 ties (5,000 won for the both of them). The ties I like: conservative, simple but with a bit of style. The shirts were touch and go. 2 are plain white ones and upon further examination (at home) I found them to be real cheap-like; 2 were poly-suede things and I really like them (should be good for the cold weather coming);another actually had a Tip Top Tailors (Canadian menswear chain) $45 tag on it and the last one had a mandarin/banded collar (I had to wash it, but it's not bad at all for about $5.50).



After lunch there was a group giving out food samples near the escalator. This is one thing I really like about Korea: service and samples. They're really into the promotion thing here. There ones were of dried persimmon...got to give them to the father-in-law, he loves these things.



Oh ya, before lunch the drivers for the big-wigs in the building dutifully lined up the execs' cars for a speedy getaway. Nice. High end Korean cars, Audis, BMWs...must be a good building.


They're in the starting blocks.

Ok, time to log off for a bit...later.

More Pics

Koreans seem to be really into packaging. Things have to look good, you know. I finally went out for pizza again yesterday at Mr. Pizza. Man, that New York Special was good. (Interesting story on Kim Jong-Il and pizza here.) I asked the gal to 포장해주세요/po-jang-hay-joo-say-yo (also said as 싸주세요/ssa-joo-say-yo, both mean 'packing' or put in a doggie bag) and she came back with this: each one wrapped and in a spanking-new bag.


Individually wrapped in foil, then put in a cute little bag...where are the environmentalists?

Also at Wingswing they go the distance in their 싸주세요-ing.


Let's see: wrapped TWICE in foil then put in a box...this is a worse offender.

A while back I saw "The President's Barber" (an odd but funny tale of life in Korea during the Park Chang Hee era) at a DVD방/bang (room) and headed to the men's room...or what I thought was the men's room. When I got in I saw a sink to my left and a door to a stall with this sign (below) on it...hmmm, so what am I supposed to use? The sink? (I used the stall anyways.)


Hmmm...where's my little room?

Not only that, there was a shower nozzle attached to the sink tap as well. Good thing it wasn't diverted to go up there. Yeow!


Perhaps a shower before the show?

Another of Korea's fantastic ice cream bars: the Choco Flake Bar. Its centre is made of a gooey raspberry-like substance...much reminiscent of the taste of a Big Turk.


Another good ice cream bar, the Choco Flake.

And, finally, check out what they have in the lobby of my officebuilding. I took this pic when the guard was nowhere to be seen...all the keys for the offices were out (as they are each night). Good thing we have an electronic lock on our door too. Korean mail is similar. Parcels are left in the lobby of buildings and apartments (sometimes without a closed door, even) and mailboxes are usually quite porous. Is there no crime here?


You can see the high security of my building.

Hope these pics make up for all the writing I've been doing the last few days.

One Big News Round-Up

Korea is anything but boring; it seems like everyday there's another incredible news story that you'd never expect in the West. Here's a peek at what's happening here.

First, always a lively topic, North Korea (NK). I'm not sure what was going on with this (some things I just don't research well unless I'm pretty sure it'll affect me) but a few weeks ago everyone was up in arms about repealing or changing the National Security Law. I think it had something to do with a law that would allow NK to get into the South...whatever that may mean (but it certainly does not sound good). It's bad enough there are textbooks here that support NK's view of history. And not its seems NK is getting money not only from 'legitimate' means (basically selling its citizens into slavery for 30 euros a month--little of which probably makes it to the actual workers) but they are even selling the food aid it receives (um, so why give it??). Of course the South has plans to deal with the eventual fall of the North...the problem is maybe too many plans. There was even a DMZ breach recently, but I wonder if the official explanation of a South Korean defecting to the North (what!?!?) makes sense--I believe it may have been an NK operative going home.

That's just it, though, the government here has many far-reaching plans--like the current 'war on suicide'--but how many actually make sense? Why not a 'war on right-handed-iousness'? How about a 'war on bad meat'? Or a 'war for healthy food'? Perhaps a 'war on parasites' might be appropriate. No, no. It's much better to go after them corporate raiders that threaten inefficient businesses, to try to stop speculation the won (not likely); to direct government pension funds to prop up the local stock market, to defend the BOK's brutal forecasting record, or to try to relocate the capital, then get the notion defeated and have many investors and speculators (as well as banks) in a pinch--of course foreign investors didn't fall for it, the bulk of their investment is in Seoul: noted as the best real estate market in Asia. Basically, Korea is inconsistent. Whether in government (Uri Party faction) or business, Koreans like to get together and diverge from time to time.

My favorite topic of the last few weeks is the crackdown on adult/sex parlors (called room salons and many other names). To which, the 'ladies' said "we want to work" and the Johns said "you're violating the human rights of men [to pay for sex]". It would be more hilarious if it wasn't so true. (I'm not sure what they will say to the new Viagra play coming out soon.) Good grief, it could even mean bad news for the economy! Imagine all that money for whiskey and broads being spent on education and family trips abroad. (Although the recent economic slump has increased soju sales at the expense of whiskey consumption, so I think I know where the saving would go.) The government's response to the hardships on both sides is: money for the ex-hookers and condom ads (um, little late).

Then there's the economy. Don't get me started on that...too late. Korea is falling behind the rest of Asia as the number of credit card delinquents (more here) and their balances swell as debts are written off as uncollectible and collateral (properties) are seized in larger numbers. Korea is readying for higher unemployment and higher inflation (in the 70s we came up for a word for this: stagflation) and a hard landing (think parachuting with an umbrella). Businesses are closing down and even part-time workers are getting shafted--just as the income and wage gaps widen and the population turns the corner to being a lot greyer. The rich also control a good portion of the economy and bank deposits here. The true barometer: McDonald's has permanently lowered its prices here.

Everything seems to be working in reverse: Korea imports (literally) tons of kimchi (more here) and chestnuts from China (Chinese kimchi even beats the Korean variety in Japan); and businesses and capital (mostly to evade taxes) are fleeing the country at an alarming rate--some is even going to gold. Foreign investors are opportunistically buying Korean assets (just as they did in 1997/8) so maybe that's a bright spot. Also, Korean culture is being exported at a growing rate (much as Koreans are emigrating); but Korean kids are getting more like their Western counterparts: more materialistic (worrying about such things as how to get a good seat at the movies). That icon of Californiaism (the metrosexual) is also here as Estee Lauder and other foo-foo firms line up to sell Korean men mascara and lip balm.

The good news: you can get wicked digital cameras here. Samsung continues to up the ante to 5-megapixel camera phone and even (recently) a 7-megapixel cam-phone model in an effort to be #1. Also, if you got the dough here life can be good (no sex parlors notwithstanding), especially if you get sick. However, there is only ONE foreigner licensed to practice medicine here so you may not get the same treatment as in the West. (Likewise, Koreans use all-foreigner legal teams for their international court battles.)

That's it, hope you found this picture-less post entertaining, interesting and/or amusing.

Famous Canadians

That posting I did yesterday got me thinking of how Canadians are perceived in the world. Over here almost no one knows which famous stars (sounds redundant, but try to think of those 2 words independently) are Canadian. When I tell Koreans that Mike Myers or Jim Carrey is Canadian most Koreans are surprised and a little incredulous. What? A Canadian? Yup. Some turn in their passports and become American, but many actors continue their Canadian citizenship as a form of patriotism (believe me it's not for the taxes...although it might be for the healthcare system we have Up There).

Here's a list that I just rattled off in my head thinking about this: Nickleback, Shania Twain, Pamela Anderson, Jason Priestly, Leslie Nielson, Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Bryan Adams, John Candy, Avril Lavigne, Caroline Rhea, Celine Dion (story on her hubby), Alex Trebek, Monty Hall (who lived down the street from my mom's mom), Dan Ackroyd, Lorne Greene, Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), Superman, Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, William Shatner, Anne Murray, Alanis Morissette, kd lang, Raymond Burr (who was born in the same city as my sons), Michael J. Fox (I used to live near his Burnaby home and the theatre named in his honour), Terry Fox (the amputee who attempted to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research and my university, which he attended, has a field named after him)...the list goes on.

There's a few lists here, here, here and here.

Sean's Info on Envelopes

Sean, an avid reader and commenter on my little blog (at least until I changed to Haloscan and lost lots of comments, sorry man) had this to say about my Virtual Tourist tip on giving envelopes in Korea for weddings and funerals:

The left envelope says '祝結婚 (축결혼)'
祝(축) = congratulations / 結婚(결혼) = wedding or marriage

And the right one says '賻儀(부의)'
賻儀(부의) = goods or gifts to aid in funeral

I believe the best way not to pick up a wrong envelope is asking the seller or just choose a plain white one. For more infomation about this custom, check out the following address here.

Your VT posts (along your blog) are quite interesting and educational even to Koreans. Keep on your good job! :-))

3 characters = wedding; 2 characters = funeral.

Thanks a lot Sean...you da man!

A Bunch of Pictures

Here's smattering of pics I took recently with the ol' cameraphone.

This is my crosswalk to my gym...it goes across about 10-12 lanes of traffic. I used to wait meekly before crossing, now I hardly break stride: they always stop (except buses).


My walk to the gym.

Another day, another protest. Nothing violent, but they always bring out the coppers...this one has about 15 buses of riot police attending in case the students and old people shout too loudly.


Ah...the riot buses (all 30 of them) look so peaceful in the sunset.

Korean food, it's sooo healthy..right. How about this: take a corndog and embed french fries in it then slather it with mayo and/or ketchup. Mmmm...mmmmm...(grasping chest, gasping)....good.


How about some more fat with that, um, fat.

An interesting place I happened across in Nowon. (No, I did not go in, is that's what you're thinking...but I did think about it.)


Sexy Shocking Bar...wonder what goes on in here...

Korea has TONS of good and cheap ice cream flavors. Some of them taste like crap (at least at first, it's amazing what you get accustomed to here) but many area super good. Max price is 0.80USD, but usually 0.40USD.


En-cho, the best ice cream I've ever had (especially at 500 won/0.43 USD a pop).

The invasion of the Canucks: many bars now carry and promote Molson Canadian now. Is there another Canadian beer? Apparently not.


Molson Canadian...premium beer?!?

And the wave continues in hosiery...um, what the heck!??!


Nornen Canadian......premium socks??