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Wow - quite a bit to catch up on. The first being that I have slept in every morning this week so far.
But enough of that. So I went to Seoul with the express purpose of doing very little except a spot of shopping. And I achieved that very nicely thank you so much. (I spent waaaaaay too much) But I the happy owner of two new pairs of shoes, a couple of shirts, a couple of pairs of pants and a bunch of bootleg DVDs. It turned out to be a particularly fun weekend where I spent most of the time indulging myself in all the things unavailable in the small town of Nonsan. I had probably 12 Starbucks coffees over the course of two days, bought a ton of magazines at Bandi and Lundi’s (Time, The Economist etc) and probably the worst idea: I went to McDonalds.
The last time I had more than a coffee at the Goldern Arches was over a year and a half ago, and it’s still crap. But I was particularly happy that I was able to order (in Korean) my medium 2 cheeseburger combo - NO ONION.
I also went to the movies and saw Memoirs of a Geisha at Seoul Cinema. It was OK and I thought relativly faithful to the Arthur Golden novel. Bootlegs I got this weekend were Jarhead, Capote, Saw 2, Goodnight and Goodluck and Syriana. with the exception of Capote they were all rips from DVDs distibuted for awards consideration to members of the Acadamy (or so the little thing along the bottom kept telling me, it also kept telling me to call 1800-NO COPYS if I had purchased or rented the copy -oooops.) Jarhead was particularly good in the mould of all classic Marine Corps films (Full Metal Jacket etc) and Syriana was a suprise stand out.
The beginning of February saw Groundhog day - apparently the groundhog saw his shadow and there is still 6 weeks left of winter. Not a day later it snowed - quite heavily. So it’s still cold.
Spoke to Mum on Sunday by phone concerning the newest ructions coming from home and also to confirm dates and stuff for my little holiday. In a similar vein I am now working to put the increased amount of paperwork together required to renew my visa - Immigration wants my ORIGINAL degree now. Why the f(*&k I don’t know since I’ve been here 2 years already but I do what I have to do. (expensive DHL shipping come up).
I continue to go on and on about it, but work is soooooo much better in the afternoon, either the kids are better or I’m mre on form, but it goes quickly and all under control.
And finally the good news - I am sitting in my pajamas as I write this. I took the plunge and will be spending about NZD$35.00 a month for 8Mb down/1Mb up broadband. (5 dollar modem rental, one year contract, 30 buck install fee - and believe me the poor guy from KT earned it with me bitching at him in Konglish - It took about an hour to find the right wiring to hook me up - I was sure he was gonna rip open the plaster board and he even had to go get his boss but all is well.) So I’m off - lots of mp3s, movies, porn, photos etc to download. - Ahssah.
