so alex...what did you take away from today's passage?
8 Better a little with righteousness
than much gain with injustice.
went to a steakhouse and didn't order steak. thats how a model and her friend orders. 4 sides. and i had to force the issue for wine. hit up glam. then boom bar. agua shot? jager shot? tequila shot? service? yep i got the hard lean and a big spill. and then i saw susul like u wouldn't believe. but u know she had a good body.
all i can say is that i'm still adjusting. everyday just kind of melds into another as routine mixes with sleep and the occasional drinks overshadowed by an umbrella of a frustrating fear rooted in basic language barrier. i'm at the 2 week point. week 2 was better than week 1. but i missed my bus stop this morning and was utterly and completely lost...AND LATE. google maps is not perfectly accurate and did i mention that it's all in korean? i downloaded a seoul bus app and a seoul metro app that are useless as both are in korean. did i also mention that im still using a blackberry? this stress is making me break out.
"how come google maps only gives public transit directions and not driving/walking directions?"..."koreans don't listen to directions dUH!"
"u have to see my inbox..."
"u like a challenge"
i'm sure there are a ton of good things that are just a works in progress as this blog becomes just another cliched expat rant about small towels, and men brushing their teeth at the urinal. for instance, im currently wearing a shirt that is a bit tight, but did not fit a few months ago. im not dieting, im just eating korean food. thinner is nice. then there's the hot girl everywhere factor. that sole fact gives a single male a lot of hope and happiness. i guess you could say that my korean is improving. i have 2 tutor's that i stagger weekly, both a bit older than me, and for some reason, they make tutoring sessions like a date and text me good night in korean.
it snows in april cuz the lunar year is missing one month this year>>noryangjin fish market amazing.>>JJs....>>koreancupid.com>>HAHAHA
i went through hormonal acne ridden teenage years like everyone else. i remember popping pimples and loading up on clearasil and being very embarrassed at prepubescent fu man chu facial hair etc. i remember using stridex for my football helmet chin strap and listerine-ing my mouth piece. but when i hit 16, i was introduced to skin care by our gang of 7 girls and 3 guys, inseparable for 6 weeks of harvard summer school. they washed their face, i washed my face. they exfoliated, i exfoliated. they did charcoal masks, i did charcoal masks. they used toner, i used toner. they used spf i used spf. they used eye cream, i used eye cream. at 16, i was moisturizing. at 16, i was also doing pushups and situps in btwn homework chapters to look like the next marky mark. and so when i read this..."i was ahead of my time"
via echang.
I believe in taking care of myself,
in a balanced diet, in a rigorous exercise routine.
ln the morning, if my face is a little pufffy,
I’ll put on an icepack while doing my stomach crunches.
I can do a thousand now.
After I remove the icepack, I use a deeppore cleanser lotion.
In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser.
Then a honey-almond bodyscrub.
And on the face, an exfoliating gelscrub.
Then I apply an herb mint facialmasque,
which lleave on forten minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine.
I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol,
because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older.
Then moisturizer,
then an anti-aging eye balm,
followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman.
Some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me.
Only an entity— something illusory.
And though I can hide my cold gaze…
and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours…
and may be you can even sense our life styles are probably comparable,
I simply am not there.
‐ PATRICK BATEMAN, AMERICAN PSYCHO
1. smaller portions are just healthier. even if the soup is salty and you're eating carbs, in essence, it's just fewer calories. less intake less calories. it's that simple.
2. taken from marshalljonesjr.com
- A small towel won’t dip into the water on the floor. Korean bathrooms double as showers. Water gets everywhere. It’s much harder to keep a long towel from touching something and getting all nasty.
- A small towel will dry quicker. I didn’t believe this at first. You’d think that a large towel would spread the water around and end up drying faster. That’s not the way it works. My small towel dried in a night.
- A small towel is easier to clean. I can easily throw my small towel in with a load of other clothes. If I’m going to wash my large towel, though, I need to plan ahead so I have enough space for it along with the rest of the load.
- A small towel is cheaper. You could buy a whole pack of small towels for the price of one large one. It doesn’t seem like that big a deal until you consider how much you could help someone by donating the extra money to somewhere like Charity: Water.
- A small towel is smaller. Minimal.
3. i can't wear sunglasses anywhere. i don't like bright mornings and like to sleep with shades on, on the bus. its not accepted here (warm weather = sunglasses. not sun.) i get stares. no sunglasses means squinty eyes, means wrinkles. gah.
4. it's taken me some time to get used to corporate attire...(and losing a little in the waist line)...foot ache however is a whole different story. how about foot sweats? korean men have found a way to deal with it. u wear slippers under your desk. just like the women.
5. brushing your teeth after meals is a healthy habit and much needed after kimchi for lunch. but brushing your teeth while standing at the urinal? completely unecessary.
every monday morning we have prayer in the vision room. we sing in korean and we read the bible in korean. let me give you my rendition of proverbs 2.
"if you accept my words and store my commands then you will understand what is right/just and fair. wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you. wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men...men who words are perverse, men who have left straight paths to walk dark ways who delight in doing wrong...."
"wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman from the wayward woman w her seductive words..."
**
"what do they pray for? $$?"
"did you join a cult?"
....
"cults are rich"
i'm not a tourist. i'm really here. i'm living every stereotype of korean life.
i ride the bus to work. there's a school girl sitting next to me. everything on the bus is in korean. everything everywhere is in korean. i went into a meeting and they spoke only korean. i live in gangnam and i work in gwanghwamun. there's four traders and one manager. i work in an office of mostly women and the dress code is that corporate attire i haven't donned on a consistent basis since almost a decade ago. and so i sit in discomfort. i fidget. i wiggle my feet. i adjust my collar and i continually check the time. in at 8. home at 8. korean food will make you lose weight. soups are light and relatively oil free and one bowl of rice merely fills your stomach because 4 legged proteins are rationed in thin slices. seafood is the choice of most and portion control is well maintained despite abundant banchan. for a country boasted for its vanity it definitely has its fair share of reptilian skinned people. blame the weather.
im in an office of non smokers and non drinkers. ironically, i may drink less here. happy brothers.
korean weddings: "mechanical"
