Burned by the hot hot sun

I am still in Mexico. The sun is hot, the ocean is calm, the pool is refreshing, the food is tasty and plentiful, and all is well. I got a job offer in Korea today at the school I mentioned the other day in Ulsan. Ahhh!! That freaks me out. I think as soon as I have a real job offer I might get freaked out. I will definitely get freaked out. I am already freaked out. Being out of Toronto makes me realize that I will be away from it again very soon. Yikes.

I emailed Ben back to see whether there will be a job for Darcy in August when she will be able to join me.

I am enjoying my time in Mexico. Today we are heading to the city to try to get a taste of real culture. I dont feel as though Im exploiting the locals at least since the resort is full of Mexicans as well as Canadians and Americans. That was definitely not the case in Cuba when I was there a couple of years ago.

The sun is so damn hot that I was unable to face it for two days after we spent the first day lounging around like idiots. i spent 12 American dollars on aloe. They can charge as much as they want for that green slop here. Speaking of exploitation!!

I think they lie about using alcohol in all of their alcoholic drinks. Is there some kind of substance that tastes like liquor but is alcohol free? We drink and drink but nothing happens.

No, I haven{t had a vacation fling. But weve met some nice friends to hang out with. And finally, I have taken about 150 pictures so far so be prepared!!!

nueva entrada

Hola amigos! It was raining when we got off the plane. But today it is beautiful! I cant type on this keyboard.
Bye!

On my way

I've seriously overpacked and I'm about to head out to the airport. We take off at 1:30 and were told to get there three hours early. That's early!

Normally I would tell myself not to use the internet because it's a healthy break to take from this crazy addiction. Then I would use it anyway. Sadly, though, I'm in the middle of important Korea contract communication so I'll have to come online once in a while...

I don't know how in the world I'll pack for Korea. Packing for one week is hard enough.

I'll be back in a week! Hasta la vista!

The latest

I finished my TESL course today! Yay! I did another simulation lesson and it went swell though I was criticized on my board work. Board work, shmoard work. Like they have boards in Korea...

This afternoon I decided to give my good pal Ben at Footprints a call to see what the heck was going on. No, I did not give him a piece of my mind. It is a free service, after all. I just indicated my seriousness and my intent to get going by July. What's the rush, you ask? Well, I plan to go to grad school the September of my return so if I leave in July, my contract will end a year later, giving me two months of traveling time. I want to travel! That's the whole point of all of this.

Ben was no more helpful on the phone than he is over the internet but I think I managed to get my point across. Perhaps he didn't think I was serious? I have no idea.

On the downside, D'Arcy is having surgery on her arm (after a nasty ringette incident) and it has been pushed back from this week to the end of June. The doctors tell her there is a SIX week recovery period! This is no good at all. It will postpone our departure date to mid-August. I think it would be okay (and hopefully she does too) if I leave before her as long as we can get contracts at the same school or at least close to each other in the same city. I hope that doesn't make me a bad friend, but there's nothing for me to do here and she's probably going to stay abroad longer than I am.

I asked Ben if he had any schools that are hiring in July and August and he does, in Ulsan! That's where Blake is! I kind of wanted to be in Seoul because that's where my Korean friend Ji Hee lives, and then my second choice was Pusan for no good reason, but I can handle Ulsan. I think it compares to Hamilton, which isn't exactly a thrill for me. For those in the know, the two possible schools are called ELC Daldong and Samsan. Any word on them?

Anyway, that's the news for now.

The other thing I wanted to write about is of pressing concern. When should I publicize my blog?? I have yet to send out the address to all my friends and those around me who might be interested because things have been too un-Korea-related, but I feel like that point is coming to an end. Hmmm... when should I divulge my dirty little internet geek secret?

Mexico tomorrow!!!

Another interview

The interview with Shane Finney at Canadian Connections went alright. You know how you just feel uneasy sometimes at interviews? I don't always but this time I did. Ah well. The office was really nice and he was friendly and legitimate-seeming, but I just felt like a tool. It looks as though he agreed to represent me (and D'Arcy though she still has to send in her resume). I was happy and excited until I got home and did some quick internet research on the Korean public school system which is what he specializes in.

From what I found at Dave's ESL cafe, working at a public school would be a lot more difficult and demanding. There are as many as forty students in the classes instead of ten or less which is how it is at the hagwons (private schools). The hours, however, are more regular and there is often a Korean teacher in there with you to provide support (which may or may not be a good thing). The pay and accomodations are very much the same except the public school is less likely to close suddenly or to withhold pay.

Besides being difficult to teach so many students, I read that it is often stressful because there are less foreign teachers working alongside you and less support in terms of ideas and dealing with culture shock. They expect you to teach these students like a REAL teacher, unlike the private schools. You have to make sure not to offend the other Korean teachers and that kind of thing.

I don't know how I feel about any of this. I don't know anything about teaching really, despite the little experience that I have. Am I cut out for that kind of situation? Do I want to put myself into that kind of situation?

Shane is waiting to hear from a school in some city that is south of Seoul ; pretty far south of Seoul, for that matter. The start date there is in mid July. My departure date keeps getting pushed further and further back! I guess I'll try to push Footprints harder, contact Canadians with Seoul (though their website keeps shutting down and they never returned my first email), and look into what else can be done. Why is this so difficult? Blake had offers falling into his lap! Grr.

Tomorrow is my last day of school!!! I have to do another simulation, this time teaching a grammar point: the first conditional. (If I suck, it won't matter.)

More Recruiters

As you know I haven't been too satisfied with Footprints Recruiting. I have contacted another recruiting agency as per the advice of CCLCS where I'm doing my TESL course. It's called Canadian Connection and I have an interview set up for this afternoon at 3:30. At least it is located here in the city so I can easily meet them and get a feel for their legitimacy. All I want is a contract and a departure date. Ooh hoo hoo.

Do you like my links? I like my links.

I am excited for Mexico.

Huh??

Where oh where has my sidebar gone??

I didn't touch anything and it has suddenly vanished. I'm shocked and amazed.

Two days till Mexico.

[update:] It came back as soon as I published this. Weird!

I got my self

It's not that I can't sleep tonight, it's just that I haven't tried. Though I'm exhausted.

I just finished the book. Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. Chide Opera all you want, but 'she' chooses some damn good books. What a messed up story. My god. I've said it before and I'll say it again: When a book (or a movie, song, image, or person) makes me laugh out loud or cry real tears it gets my stamp of genuine approval. I remember the first time it happened: when Anne's grandfather dies at the end of Anne of Green Gables. That was some serious emotional stuff. It's gotten me cleaning my room (and blogging(at the same time)). And using some weird new mathematical type of bracket.

Evita was bad. Seeing ol' friend Robin was nice, and her boyfriend. And her friend with his girlfriend. There were five of us and we went out for dinner. I made a joke about being alone and she layered on the sympathy. It was a joke! My mother thinks I would be happier if I would just find a man. Why bother, I say, when I'm about to leave the country?? I say that because she doesn't understand me when I say that I don't need a man to be happy. I say that because I haven't yet met someone who can do that. I'm not particularly unhappy anyway. And I'm not afraid of missing out on love. She replies that I'm putting my life on hold by leaving the country. Putting my life on hold?? Isn't this what life is about?

I feel like I'm at an important junction in my life right now where decisions have to be made. The two paths I envision are either a 'traditional' life of work and family and things, or a non-standard life of travel and experiment and rule-breaking. If I choose the latter, into which I slot Korea, I might never be able to rejoin the traditional. If I opt to be safe and return home after one year to 'find a man' and whatever else comes along with that, I might never be fulfilled. I don't know if I can choose both. There's no urgent decision to be made right now, since this one year that I am taking will hopefully provide some answers for me. But it is on my mind lately.

Taka is a 33 year old guy in my class who was born in Canada, raised in Germany, and educated with a six year law degree in Germany. He then went to Thailand on a whim to travel and got stuck, staying for at least four years. Returning to Canada he has found himself to be useless here; unable to use his degree and unable to find a job. He's moving back to Thailand at the end of the course to marry his Thai girlfriend and live in Thailand for the rest of his life. He really says that.

I can't imagine giving up on home for a country where you are forever a foreigner. He says that once you leave, even for just a year, your home ceases to be your home. It's like a sense of limbo where you don't feel complete in either the country you were living in or the place you came from. The people you knew have moved on with their lives without you and you have changed significantly. This idea intrigues me and scares me only slightly.

I'm ready to leave here. I'm curious to see how things will turn out. I feel like this whole thing will be a major determiner in the course of my life.

I'm on cold medicine too and perhaps feeling a little overly dramatic. And now I'm making excuses.

A fitful sleep

I have a cold. Yeah, I'm about to go to Mexico and yeah I have a cold. It's okay. I think it will go away before Friday.

I saw Crash last night and it really shook me up. I couldn't fall asleep so I picked up the book I'm reading. It shook me up too and kept me reading until 4am. You know when you just can't sleep and you start reading and the book sucks you in so you both can't sleep and can't stop reading? And you know you shouldn't be up so late because you have something you have to do the next day? Yeah, that was me.

Once asleep I dreamed of my first day in Korea. I met people, I took pictures, I tried to exchange money. I even saw Rory. He had a limp (like a character in my book) and he said hello to me. I must be expecting a small community of bloggers in Korea. Ha. I dreamed that D'Arcy signed a contract without me, too, and all the effort put towards finding a school in need of two teachers was wasted. I was pissed.

I woke up sweaty and perhaps feverish. Now I have to go downtown to see Evita with my oldest childhood friend who is in town from Montreal for the weekend.

I'm tired and sick. Boo.

Gracias Iosmal! You are the coolest!

I hope you don't mind if I post your awesome Spanish lesson for all to see. Thanks so much! This is great!

Hola preciosa !
(it's not the right translation... but... i think you can translate this by yourself ;)

Sorry to write by email, but maybe the course will be a bit large to post it.

Ok, the phrase Blake has written will be very useful in case you drink a lot of tequila... it means something like: "please, no more tequila!!!... I'm going to die (morir)" and in Mexico, trust me, the national sport is drinking tequila :D

I'm sure people speak english in the hotel you go, but, if you want to adapt yourself in the mexican way of life, you have to know some expressions: (maybe you'll have problems with pronunciation... but... try to do your best ;)

Basics

Me llamo Jessica = My name is Jessica
¿Como éstas? = How are you?
Encantado de conocerte = Nice to meet you

¿Qué hora es? = what time is it?

Usted habla muy rápido = You speak so fast !
¿Puede repetir, por favor? = could you repeat please?


In the morning (at the hotel)

You already know:

Buenos días = good morning

¿Donde está el restaurante del hotel? = Where is the hotel's restaurant?
Me gustaría desayunar = I would like to have breakfast

Tostadas = toast
Café = coffee
Leche = milk
Zumo = juice
Zumo de naranja = Orange Juice
Mermelada / Confitura = marmalade
Fresa = strawberry
Melocoton = peach

(I'm sure you used to breakfast completely different than me :$)

In the street / Tourist Mode

¿Podría ayudarnos? = Could you help us?
Taxi !!!! = similar ;)
Queríamos ir a XXXXX = We would like to go to XXXXXXXXX (some address or monument)

¿Cuanto vale? = How much it cost?
Es mucho !! = It's too much !!!
Un poco menos = a little bit less

¿Podría hacernos una foto? = Could you take us a photo?

Lunch time

(Spanish and mexican food are very very different, but, I know the basic mexican food (i think you too)):

When you go to a restaurant:

Querríamos comer = we would like to eat something
Quiero un burrito (or some other typical thing) = I want ......
Burrito, quesadillas, guacamole, nachos (mmhhh), tacos (similar to burritos), enchilada, http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/foodindex.html

Queremos beber cerveza típica mejicana = we want to drink mexican typical beer
Cerveza Coronita , Cerveza SOL, etc...

Puede indicarme donde está el servicio / aseo? = Could you say me where is the toilet?


In the night

¿Donde está la discoteca del hotel? = Where is the hotel disco?
¿Podría decirnos una zona de fiesta? = Could you tell us where is the party area? (I'm not sure in the translation :$)

At the disco:

Quiero un tequila = I want one tequila
I don't know very well the typical drinks in mexico, "tepache" (ananas based drink), "Agua de Jamaica" (very refreshing)... "midori royal",
and of course "Mojito", "Martini", Piña Colada, Margarita, Daiquiri, Caipirinha, etc...

To some mexican guy / girl:

Eres muy guapo = you're so cute ! (I'm not sure if you can say "cute" to a boy... is it correct?)
Somos de canada / de Ontario = we are from Canada / from Ontario
Tengo 22 años = i'm 22 years old (note to Iosmal - I don't know how to say 22 in Spanish!!) ;)

Tienes los ojos más bonitos que he visto en mi vida = You have the most wonderful eyes I've seen in all my life ! (Note to Iosmal: hahahaha)

Venimos de viaje de fin de estudios = it's our final studies travel (¿?¿?¿?... do you understand the meaning? :$)

¿Qué habitación tienes? = What's your room number... (anybody knows.... )

If you are interested in some other things to say to a mexican guy/girl, just ask ! :D


Some corrections:

Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinCo.= OKBuenos dias, buenAs noches. = OKnegro, roJo, verde, azul. = OKnachos, quesAdillas, guacamole. ;) = :Dariba, la vanca loca! ====> Viva la VIDA loca !!! Not la vanca !!!! Vanca doesn't exist... but vaca, it's cow !!! (Note to Iosmal: Ahh, vaca. That's what I meant!)

In Mexico there are some expression that are completely different than Spanish:

Paaanna!! = oh my god !
Chinga tu madre = similar than "fuck you!" (Note to Iosmal: looks like something to do with your mother..?)

(i'll try to talk with a mexican friend to improve this first lesson ;))


Well, I think it could be the first step in the wonderful world of the Spanish / Mexican language... if you have some question you think are important... just write me and I'll try to help you.


Besos = Kisses !

You can call me Jessita

Hey hey hey. I'm excited about Mexico. Korea? What? Where?

I went into a Korean grocery store the other day and couldn't understand a thing. Yikes. I bought some cookie snack things that were very delicious. They were in the same aisle as the pepporo.

The trouble with spending time in the city is all the tempting and delicious food that abounds. Our class has turned Friday's into "going out for lunch days" so last week we had roti and tomorrow we're having Thai. Then, for a special Tuesday dinner (whoah, pushing the social level up a notch from classmates to dinnermates) we're going for Pakistani cuisine. I have no idea what that will be like but I'm looking forward to it. And yesterday Jordana introduced me to an all-you-can-eat sushi place that not only has sushi but chicken and spring rolls and all kinds of other delicious things for only ten bucks. We ate all we could eat, that's for sure.

Is it possible to lose fifteen pounds in one week? I think I'll have to leave my bikini at home this year. :( Nachos and tacos here we come!

Iosmal is going to teach me all the necessary Spanish that I will need in my one week stay on an all-inclusive. I already know hola and cerveza. What else is there??

Eight more days!

I still have no contract for Korea. Damn Footprints.

Booked!

I love last minute decisions like these.

We booked our trip to Mexico today! Yes! We're flying from Toronto at 1:30 pm on Friday May 27th. We will arrive in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at 5:30 pm. Too bad we're not leaving earlier so we can actually enjoy that day too. You can't win 'em all. The weather forcast is beautiful for Puerto Vallarta this week but the extended forcast shows a day of cloudiness when we arrive and I can't find any forcast that goes into our week. I think I'll keep from looking.

The hotel we're staying at is called Royal Decameron Complex. Nine more days!!!!

I have things to do.

Cuba Si!

I'm high tailing it outta this cloudy and cold hell hole. That's right, folks. Jordana and I decided on Saturday that we are going to take a little trip to an all-inclusive. We thought Cuba would be a good choice. The prices are just so cheap! Upon further investigation it appears there is a good reason for the dirt cheap prices. Hurricane season will probably put a damper on our festivities. So we might have to spend an extra $100 and head to Mexico where there is still a possibility, though less so, of rain. If nothing else, we can spend our time eating nachos, shooting tequila, and kissing strangers. That would be money well spent.

Tomorrow we shall get together to plan our trip before heading out for a much awaited sushi lunch extravaganza.

This Mexico trip will take place in ten days time.

By the way, my sidebar has not disappeared. It has been sacrificed to the bottom of the page to allow larger pictures to be posted. Does anyone know how to accomodate both large pictures and a sidebar that is actually on the side?

[update:] I resized the large pictures because I just couldn't take it anymore. The sidebar is back and I'm happy. Click on the pictures if you want to see them in larger size.

Gone Exploring

My Poor teacher Martine was hit with pancreatitis so class was dismissed at 1:00 instead of 5:00. Yay! Zainab and I decided to use this opportunity and take a trip to the beach. In 10 degrees celcius weather, what better thing is there to do?



We rode the streetcar all the way East on Queen St until the end of the line. Zainab has lived here for four years and has never been to the beaches. I have only ever driven here and all my beaches memories are (unfortunately) tied into Micheal. Not anymore.



Back in the thirties this was a lively neighbourhood where many Torontonians would flock to in order to keep cool, including the many immigrants of the other areas in the city. I guess the lake was actually swimmable in those days. The Beaches' residents were appalled at the mess left from picnics and the rude behaviour of the immigrants that included changing into their bathing suits in cars or changing their babies right on the picnic tables. To put a stop to such behaviour that was apparently messing up the beach, the residents began a club which they self-titled "The Swastika Club". They wore swastika badges on their clothing and patrolled the area. By the way, the thirties was when the Nazi's were gaining power in Germany and the Jews were among the new immigrants to frequent the Beaches.

The story goes on, ending with one of the city's most violent riots at Christie Pits park between the Jewish boys and the Beaches boys.

Anyway, it's a beautiful place to go today, even on a cloudy and cool May day. Damn, why is a day in May cloudy and cool?!?



Here is Zainab very interested in checking out the water. Where are the fish??



And here's me under the clouds.



There are lots of beautiful stones along the shore and try as I might, I couldn't skip a one.





I love getting the afternoon off. Is pancreatitis reoccuring? Just kidding. I swear.

More on the job search front

There have been zero interesting offers sent my way from Footprints. I'm not very satisfied with their services at this point, actually. The guy who is finding me a job, Ben, has been sending me some generic email about once a week that does not reflect my job criteria at all. Most of them have June 1st start dates and are only offering one teaching spot. Did he not read that we cannot leave until the end of June and that there are TWO of us looking for a job? It's as if he just sends the same opportunities to everyone. Then, when there's one that seems interesting, I ask for information and he sends it a few days later. And the school is often blacklisted or paying too little or something else is not right. Man!

Here is a teacher's reference for an opportunity in Kangnam, Seoul. The school, part of the SLP chain, is posted on a blacklisted site. Here's the reference:

Dean Flemming
Dear Mr. Glickman,

1. Kangnam SLP is as good as any I have heard of and has some of the same problems as all Korean hagwons. Rating: 9

2. The work environment is stressful sometimes because the market is competitive for schools nowadays, so the school has to be the best to keep its students. However, the owner recognizes good teachers and supports them generally. A good teacher will have the freedom to teach as well as he sees fit.
Also there are some excellent teachers here out of the 20+ foreigners: they can help a new teacher a lot.

3. Housing: 6, not so hot

4. Kangnam always honors its contracts, I am pleased to say.

5. Teachers who fulfill their contract have always received their full bonus.

6. Hmmm ... I would only recommend this school to a friend who is willing to work hard in a strange new environment. It is quite stressful at times. It is VERY rewarding, financially and psychologically (because of the children and because of the value of the work). If you are hardworking, then by all means come here.

7. SLP is a chain with its own books and teacher's manuals and workbooks and stuff. It's not the greatest but it is pretty complete, and Kangnam has lots of other written material teachers have compiled over its eight years. But the school expects a teacher to use the material intelligently and creatively, not just photocopy and hand out or just read a page and move on.
Teachers are free to teach ANY WAY they see fit however, if it makes the children speak proper English.

8. There are three broad categories of schools: Grammar schools that focus on reading and multiple choice for exams (easy to teach at), Conversation schools that offer a white teacher at a cheap price and only want the teacher to entertain the students, and Conversation schools that strive for excellence... Kangnam SLP is the third type of school and expects its teachers to make their children excel in correct spoken English: this does not always work, but that is the expectation in the end. So expect hard work but good advice from good teachers and commendations if you learn to teach well.
And no Korean is permitted by the teachers or students. Discipline is generally up to the teacher.

9. Kangnam is right on the subway to all the downtowns of Seoul. Kangnam also has a bus straight to a huge mall. The neighborhood itself is middle class residential apartments and houses. Unexciting but convenient for shopping and travel.

It's really hard to say whether it's bad or not. It sounds like an honest operation, but it doesn't sound like the environement is particularly fun.

What do you experts out there think?

Oh, I also sent an email to Canadians with Seoul to see if they are any more efficient.

I didn't see the plane when I took the picture.

Attack of the killer daschund! Her two inch legs will take you down, especially with those unclipped claws!

Hanging in there

Nothing too much has been going on. It's summery. As in summer-time-like. I've assembled the hammock. All is well.

My teaching simulation went well, I think, though tomorrow I'll get written criticism from my teacher. She seems strict, but we'll see. The common compliment that I received is that I seemed very natural. Danielle told me that I have the personality of a good teacher. Interesting. I think I just thrive on attention. Hence the blog, love of karoake, and spotlight related jobs like swim instructor, tour guide, and TA. Ah well. If you've got it...

Today is Israel's birthday and the Jewish film festival in Toronto is in full swing. Wendy and I went to see two very interesting films yesterday, one of which was about people betting on suicide bombings as a means of coping with the loss of loved ones. I wonder if that really goes on. The film depicted an underground type bar with big screens showing news reports. The betters were waging large sums on the next location, the number of deaths, and that kind of thing. It's really sick. We were going to go to a club for Yom Ha'aztmaut, Israel's birthday, but other things, like America's Next Top Model, took precedence. It's sad. Really I'm just tired from waking up at 6:15 to help my dad at his office. I don't know how my parents do it.

Go Naima go!

Hey, did you see that Natalie Portman shaved her head for some movie role? Nuts to that!

We also didn't go because Wendy pulled one of her "just didn't call" stunts. Tsk tsk Wendy. 'Tis okay, I didn't wanna anyway... Madison on Friday?

Simulation Tuesday

Tomorrow I have to present my "Simulation Lesson" to my class. I hope it goes okay.

Today I wore pants that were too baggy in September. Now they're too tight. Crap. Life sucks. ;)

Trying and Mother's Day

I saw a really good play last night at the Berkely St. Theatre. It was about the friendship between an old and near death man and his young secretary. His grounchiness reminded me of my grandfather. His forgetfulness reminded me of my grandmother.

My grandparents returned to Montreal on Friday and it was with a lump in my throat that I bid them goodbye. They're aging and I'm leaving for a long time. I hope they stay healthy. I hope my grandmother remembers me upon my return. It was a different goodbye than it usually is.

The man in the play speaks of the death of his father when he was only a small child and then the death of his son at the age of six. "It's a terrible thing when the people in your life who are supposed to love you leave you."

For mother's day we pulled out all the stops and made a photo album filled with Corky, my recently deceased dog. From puppyhood to her last ice cream cone, we put as many pictures in there as we could. Seeing photos of myself at the age of 9 struck me. She was around for quite a while. We got the tears we wanted out of mamma.

Madison

Friday May 6th 2005, 9:00pm

Watched "America's Next Top Model" uncontrollably. Glad to see Deer-face got the boot. Three cheers for Naima, despite tardiness.

10:30 pm

Sitting at bar in U of T neighbourhood bar Madison reminiscing as usual. Remember our trip to Cuba over two years ago? Think we'd recognize the friends we made there, Nada and Kenana, if we were to run into them? Sure, probably. Do you believe in God? Nah.

12:30 am

Walking from one room to another in mammoth Madison. Feel squeeze on ass. Turn to face perpetrator and give puzzled, ticked expression. Very handsome ass-grabber confesses his crime: "I'm the one who just grabbed your ass", he says calmly. "Why?" I reply. "It looked like a good one to grab." I flip hair with as much feminist gusto as I can without totally deterring handsome ass grabber. I never see him again.

12:35 am

Relocated in another room to listen to guitar player/singer while piano man is on break. Shocked and amazed by appearance of Kenana, the girl from Cuba discussed previously, and recognize her promptly. Alcohol may have delayed Wendy's reaction slightly, however recognition ensued shortly thereafter. Still don't believe in god? "I believe!"

1:30 am

Spend next who knows how long talking to this fellow with the crooked hat. Crooked hats, particularly trucker hats, are immediate deal breakers. We tell him to straighten his hat. He drops the "g-friend" bomb after twenty minutes of chatting us up, which is fine since he had a crooked hat. He tells a long and romantic story about how his girlfriend is from France and is going back forever on Tuesday. Tuesday will be the hardest day of his life. Blah blah blah. I imagine it might have been an elaborate lie to make us feel sympathy for his poor, brokenhearted soul.

Time unknown

Walk back to Wendy's mother's apartment which is free for use while mother is away on holiday. Love the fact that bar was five minute walk from apartment. Hate suburbs.

7:00 am, Saturday

Wake up to shriek of alarm. Wendy off to work. Jess off to dentist. Neither fun. Now time to sleep.

Essentially bilingual

Large, childish writing in blue ink is mine. Small black ink is Ji Hee's. Click to enlarge and see if you can read it.

Marks are in

So I got my final grade report for the year. The grades that will matter and count and either help me or keep me from getting into grad school. I got my lowest mark of my entire university career. C'est dommage. Luckily it doesn't seem to matter right now. I still have a high enough average and to top it all off I got an A in statistics. Hooray. McMaster uses a 12 point scale for grades, 12 being an A+ and 1 being a D-. It's odd to see a 5. Stupid 5.

Today I ate out for every meal. (This has nothing to do with the 5.)

Bacon and eggs with Wendy for breakfast in the Annex (where I want to live eventually, I've decided.)

Bibimbab with Ji Hee and Zainab for lunch at Bathurst and Bloor during our TESL lunch break.

Swiss Chalet with the parents and grandparents for dinner (I love chalet sauce more than life itself.)

Then I walked on the treadmill during the entire Apprentice in an attempt to counteract the gluttony.

Man, I can't believe I got a 5.

Obsessed I is

Only a few days ago I wrote that I'm enjoying the summer and feel like taking my time getting to Korea. Since then I've rekindled my I-want-to-go-now flame.

Did you know I can read Hangul? That's right. I am now Korean literate. Since I have no class on Wednesdays I bought myself a Korean-English dictionary and hit the streets. The streets of little-Korea, that is. Armed with my dictionary and my reading skills I translated store signs, probably looking like a freak standing in the middle of the sidewalk on Yonge St. (where few people actually WALK) squinting up at a Korean sign and flipping through my dictionary. It was fairly productive. Then I froze almost to death and had to get a hot chocolate. What kind of May is this?? There was a group of Korean girls next to me who were talking a mile a minute and I couldn't make out a single word they said.

Then I went to the mall and bought a Canada Day t-shirt.

I wanna go. I wanna go. I wanna go. I needa contract. Blake or Kiran, wanna be my manager and find me a good contract? I'll buy you a bag of kimchi...

I FINALLY got some pictures!

Here are some pictures from the Shins concert that I went to a couple of weekends ago.



Here they are doing sound check. Not a great picture, I know, but still kind of cool.



And here they are playing. Notice how close my seat must have been? It was pretty amazing. Too bad none of the band members are exceptionally attractive...

I have a couple other ones but they're not so great. If you're interested, check out my flickr page by following the link on the bottom of my sidebar.

On a related note. Zach Braff and some girl named Summer from the O.C. went to one of my brother's concerts tonight. Zach is in Montreal shooting a movie or something now and he got on guest list for the show. That's cool, I guess.

Missin' apartment living

Making anything in front of my grandfather is like taking a driving test.

"Cut the tomatoes from the middle to the skin!!!"

"Don't lift the lid of the pot of rice!!!"

"Rargh ragh jumble jumble rargh!!!"

Man oh man. I like to cut tomatoes my way. I like to look at the rice while it bubbles. Why don't you cook, buddy ol' pal? It doesn't matter if you are cane dependent...

I'm a sensitive soul, I swear.

Oh, I met another missionary on the subway today who "blessed me". First I get prayed for and now this. I must have good things coming to me.

I'm a pass holder

Bought myself a subway pass today. I now can board trains all day long and think not of the $2.50 fare per ride. With my pass in hand, not only do I intend on travelling to school each day, but I also intend to get to know the city better. I want to explore all of the neighbourhoods of Toronto including Cabbagetown, Chinatown, Corso Italia, the Entertainment District, the Fashion District, Greektown, Habourfront, Indian Bazaar, Koreatown, Little Italy, Little Poland, and the Beaches. I wonder if I'll get that far... My pass is only good for a month. If anything, I will not have to think twice about stopping at the mall on my way home from my class.

I also bought three new DVDs today: Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Donnie Darko. There was a great sale at HMV. (Jordana, are you out there??) I'm in new DVD heaven.

No progressions on a contract just yet and D'Arcy just left for a three week trip across Great Britain and surrounding areas. We have decisions to make and I kind of wish they would just be made for us. Though I'm excited to go, the thought of leaving is not as urgent as it was before I finished school. Now I'm enjoying my relaxing summer and TESL class and hope that May and June take their time. Don't worry though, I am definitely not experiencing cold feet.

Speaking of cold feet, did you hear about that runaway bride? Insane.