Being back in Canada is rough. I had a great placement in Missisauga, but I'm not loving my time at Queens. I haven't really made many friends for seeing outside of school, and most of my classes aren't exactly engaging. My favourite hobby seems to be eating, which worries me. I'm antsy to get back into practice teaching and home. I'd also really like to take a trip, but everything seems out of my budget.

I went to talk to a career services counsellor last weekend about the alternative practicum. I said I'd like to go overseas for as little money as possible and he gave me some options. He said the cheapest place would be an international school in Guatemala. I thought I'd be able to manage a budget of $1000, but he pretty much said I'd be stretching it with $1500. If I'm already $30000 in debt, does another 1 or 2 even matter? A real international school would be fantastic option if I want to go back into teaching overseas, outside of an esl setting. On the other hand, I came back to Canada because I wanted to establish a life and career here. I could have a fantastic experience somewhere in Brampton or Toronto that might be more relevant to my immediate future. Then again, I only need one more stamp for a completely full passport. That would be cool.

Poll #1485541 International Experience
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6

Is a month in Guatemala (counted towards my teaching degree) worth $1500?

I've been back in Ontario for just over a month now, and three weeks of it has been spent in Kingston, Ontario. This is different.

In the last installment of my adventures, I was at a more thrilling part in the journey. After Vietnam, I went by land to Cambodia and Thailand. I ended up taking something like 6 flights in 5 days (there goes my carbon footprint), and never got an upgrade despite trying all the ways, other than actually paying for it. I flew Bangkok to Hong Kong to Seoul to Tokyo to Vancouver, and often didn't know where I was except by which currency was showing up on visa bill. Every page of my passport is just about full, so I guess it's time to be home.

School is certainly a different type of adventure. The main challenge is the 13 classes I seem to be in (one of which I just found out about). It's overwhelming, but if these 21 year olds can do it, surely I can too, right? I already feel like I'm a better teacher than I was months ago when I had my own class, but it's also absolutely terrifying to think about how much I need to know about everything. I'm expected to know the steps required to shoot a basketball, how to explain the reading acquisition process, why an egg doesn't spatter someone when you knock the plate it's on over with a broom, how to tell if a child is being abused at home, why it's unacceptable to be bad at math even though I am, how to show national pride in a provincial based curriculum, and a slew of other things. All these things are mixed with modern ideas about education. My art teacher wants me to refine my skills in one medium and create a portfolio. My math teacher wants me to learn something, anything, new. My professional practice teacher wants me to read a book I love to the class. Neat. These classes make me excited about learning and where this will take me. I'm having a few problems socially though. I feel a bit of a disconnect from some of my other classmates, maybe because of age or culture or lack of effort. I'm guessing it's probably the latter. I really want to focus on doing well this year, but I'm probably better off socially to be with people than spending my free time watching Gossip Girl online.

Starting in October I'll be working back in Peel Region in a primary school for the month. I'm sure I'll start feeling more stable when I'm there. I'm looking forward to having some real time at home, even though I'll be spending most of it commuting, being stressed out, and memorizing curriculum documents. This is happening so fast.

In March I'm going to get to choose where to do my placement. In this alternative practicum, many students choose to go overseas. I've been looking at a program geared towards students of my university in Nicaragua. With the flight, the program will be about $3000, which is $3000 above my budget. I'd love to get experience overseas in another setting though. Being a poor student sucks. I have to cook my own food and everything. Bah.

It feels good to fiinally be on vacation. I left Korea for Vietnam a week ago and haven't looked back. Hanoi was hectic, Ha Long Bay is everything the pictures advertise, Hue was hot, and Hoi An is paradise so far. I really need to get back on the budget after buying tailored jeans and a custom made leather jacket earlier today, but I'm on holiday so it's all good. It's so nice to finally go on a long trip. I'm meeting lots of people and every day is an adventure. In less than a month I'll be home.

I've had a lot of good times and bad times in my two years living abroad. Highlights of the bad include losing my passport, going to the emergency room for lung problems, being locked out of my house at night, getting covered in mysterious hives, being too sick to go for bottled water and too scared to drink tap water, etc. Despite all this, I have not cried on the phone to my dad, repeating that I wanted to come home - until today.

It all started when my sister called last month announcing that she would be taking her first trip abroad - to Tokyo - with her boyfriend. I've always said that if anyone I knew came to East Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan), I'd make the effort to go out and see them, so I emailed my travel agent, priced a weekend in Tokyo, and got the ticket. I even somehow convinced my Korean employers (who never give anyone time off unless someone dies) that I needed a day off. It was perfect. My sister's boyfriend got a hotel room with three beds in Tokyo, and I was all set to meet them there.

A lot of my friends (including my best buddies here) seemed to be going away the same weekend - to the beach, to a city down south, to the sub-tropical island on the southern coast, or to a nearby temple city. Did I want to come? No, I was going to Tokyo ... bitch.

I opted to get Magic Straight, the Korean super straightening hair treatment for my roots. I'd been thinking about it for a while and wanted it for vacation next month anyway. The only catch was that I wasn't allowed to wash my hair for three days, and I wasn't allowed to put it back, behind my ears, or out of my face, for a week. Surely I'd be having too much fun in Tokyo to worry about silly things like my hair.

So on Friday I left from work and went to COEX, where I could pick up Korean snacks to share with my sister in Japan, make sure my residency status is valid in Korea at immigration, and catch the bus to the airport.

I've gone on a lot of trips, but I don't think I'd ever been so excited. I hadn't seen any family in 14 months, and I'd never gone on a trip to meet up with someone before. I even took a bunch of photos through the bus window on my cellphone (mostly of the expressway), so I'd have something to show my sister of my trip to see her. I got to the airport, decided I needed $700 in yen to shop (the hotel was paid), and breezed through security.

The problem came at immigration. They said that whatever I had done at COEX meant that if I left the country, I'd lose my work visa (and therefore my severance pay, apartment, health insurance, flight home, pension, and right to work in Korea). I argued that I was working legally, had a legal residence permit, and a valid work visa. I pointed to the dates on my documents several times. I called my manager and she argued with them. But in the end they kept repeating that I had two choices: I could go to Tokyo and lose everything or turn around and go home. So I sat on the floor of the immigration desk, between the security checkpoint and the immigration checkpoint, in sight of the Duty Free shops, but just outside the reach of the gates, and cried. I cried like I hadn't cried since I was a child. I cried like it was the end of the world. I cried all over my newly straightened hair, but I didn't tuck it behind my ears. At 8:10, my plane left. The immigration officials said that there weren't anymore flights today, and that it was a public place and that I was making a scene. The ground staff for Korean air escorted me back through security and I came back home.

I know it's not the end of the world and I know my judgement is being clouded by a bad case of PMS and a general feeling of being burnt out, but I want to go. I packed a suitcase today and then unpacked it. I contemplated canceling my trip to Vietnam in two weeks. I thought about just not going into work anymore.

So I stayed at friend's house so I wouldn't have to wake up alone in my apartment, I went out for a nice breakfast and had champagne, I went shopping with another friend, I ate my favourite meal - breakfast for dinner, I made a nice cup of tea and finished the book I was reading.

But it didn't really help, at least for now. I think I'm going to feel extremely shitty until the time I'm supposed to be in Tokyo is finished, or at least until I can wash my hair again. Bitch bitch bitch.

So I've come down to the last two or so months being employed teaching and I'm at an impasse. I lost a very lucrative side-job and now only work outside of my regular business hours on Monday nights. This has given me a considerable amount of free time that I had been using to read, see friends, and hit the gym. Lately I've felt a bit unsatisfied though. A crop of new teachers came with the new school year, and they've bonded together, which is nice for them. Unfortunately, they've replaced some good friends, so I've found myself with a lack of social commitments. There's no doubt that I have some fantastic friends in Seoul, but it would have been nice to have better friends in the neighbourhood to just casually hang out with and go to dinner. I mean, isn't it just common courtesy to ask the entire group of coworkers you're with on the bus to go to dinner, or that movie? I know it's stupid high school-like drama that I'm wasting energy on, but part of me wants to give them the "Hey jerks!" speech, that I may be silently planning while they're discussing their weekend plans. Also, it's probably all in my head and they couldn't care less if I came or not to dinner or the stop at the overpriced coffee shop I don't even like.

Anyway, all this has made me think that maybe I should be doing more with my time. I've decided to travel for a month before heading back to Canada, so that's going to require a lot of cash. Plus, university isn't as cheap as I remember, now that I've experienced what paying back a fraction of a student loan (with interest!) is like. My Monday night job has offered me extra hours, and possibly another job. This may have me working an extra four hours or so, adding maybe an extra $100 a week. I'm not sure though. Last August (after dropping 2 grand to go to Bali), I decided to work 11 hours a day (and run for 40 minutes each night in the 40 degree heat), and spend a few hours commuting. I wasn't miserable, but definitely felt relief when I decided to go back to a more relaxed pace. I also feel like a jerk accepting a new job, and then leaving the country in a couple of months. Then again, I'm not going to be able to get some to pay me to speak non-naughty English to them for very much longer. I should be raking in the cash.


Poll #1387220 How to spend my final months in Seoul
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

What should I be doing Monday - Thursday after my real job?

I've accepted the offer from Queens, but am still open to late offers from other schools.

I've extended my contract until at least the end of June. They are pushing for July

I'm addicted to laser hair removal.

I can't figure out how I'm going to do all the things I want to do before school starts.

I don't like working on someone else's schedule.

( In other news, I went to a psychic )

But before I share the news about university. Let's give a little perspective. Teacher's college in Ontario is pretty hard to get into. The application process takes seven months, and there's about a 25% success rate, depending on the school. I dropped the $600 and applied to 6 schools including the bottom of the barrel Lakehead University, some mid-range schools, and Queens and Toronto, which are considered pretty good. I thought I'd probably have to just suck it up and go to Lakehead, but things turned out differently.

From the six, I got two yes's, one no, two "we'll see if there's space", and one confusing system that doesn't give a definite answer:

Yes - Queens, Windsor
No - Laurier
Maybe Later - Toronto, Lakehead
We dont' even know - Western

Queens was the first school I heard from, and my Ontarioite friends all insisted that I'd get into all the schools if Queens would have me. I'm really embarrassed to have not gotten into Lakehead. They didn't say no exactly, but come on! It's Lakehead. They should be paying me to go. I also can't believe the only flat out no is from my own school. They send me bloody emails asking for stuff all the time, and I ask them for one thing... Bah! I'll probably just accept the Queens offer because it's a good school and slightly less ridiculously far from my house. Plus, they may soon catch on that my grades are just barely skimming their minimum requirements. Why did I play so much Civ III instead of going to class 4 years ago? I'd still like the ease of going to U of T and not having to rush home to find an apartment in the frozen east, so I've asked them to keep my application open.

So it looks like I'm going to be a real teacher. I even told my school today and they're trying to convince me to stay until the end of July. That would give me exactly one month to tie up all loose ends in Korea (pay, canceling all my bills, pension, going away party), travel almost all of South-East Asia (I need to see at least Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam before I go), do a stopover in Vancouver to see the west coast and visit friends, get some face-time with the family, find an apartment in Kingston (I'm waaay too old for residence), move my life to somewhere I haven't been before, and start school. The sensible thing would be to just leave in June, but that's coming up quick and it would really hurt my school to leave before the Parent-teacher conferences. Plus, I'm scared going. I've grown so comfortable here.

All those decisions that I'd figure out after I heard from university are sneaking up on me. I just want to sit on the grass and let the cherry blossom rain fall on me while I read a book.

It's become quite clear that I suck at this whole blogging thing. Facebook really has spoiled us with its constant updates and catchy one-liners. No one even needs to pretend their bloggery drivel is of substance anymore because we can fill in "Jennifer wore her SARS mask today" (which I incidentally did). Anyway, to the life updates:

I hear back from the many schools I've applied to for teacher's college on April 1st. I'm getting really nervous about it and dreamed that the only school that took me was the University of Hawaii (which may or may not actually exist, despite my nonexistent application). I am going to see Oasis on April 1st Korean night-time, so it should be over by April 1st Canada day-time. It could possibly be the best night/day ever, even surpassing the introduction of The Fun Cooker.

I've started trying to be healthy again, which is difficult with the Yellow Dust just starting to settle in. I have plans to start riding my bike to school. I sometimes go to belly dance class, even though I'm terrible. I've also joined the cheapest gym in the neighbourhood, and have been going semi-regularly. I even took that body composition test, but the results were not promising. Although I'm well aware that I'm not fat, the machine says I should lose 4 kg. Not going to happen. It couldn't hurt to stop picking at the cake that seems to show up in the faculty room everyday though.

I did go for the laser hair removal and I love it! I have three more treatments and I'm considering just getting a full Brazilian add-on, minus the tasteful patch. If you don't know what that means, you don't need to.

The Korean school year starts at the beginning of March, so my old lovably horrible students are on to antics in their new classes. My new students are way easier to deal with, but I miss the big personalities and proper English of the old ones. It breaks my heart when I see my old students with their new teachers, running over for a quick twirling hug before having to go back. The hardest part of teaching is starting from scratch again (both with the relationships and the academics), but it's satisfying to know that they'll get there.

I've been trying to go easy on the budget since the financial debauchery that was January, with its two international trips and crazy aspirations to own Shanghai Tang purses. Visa still isn't too happy with me. The Korean currency also hit the gutter. I used to make about $40 Canadian an hour in 2007, but now I'm topping out at $25, at least when we're keeping it legal. I might even have to start cooking my own food and washing myself soon. Boo!

My school has asked me to resign for a year. If I do, I could probably negotiate a $200 per month raise and possibly some time off, but the time off would be a stretch. I'm very interested in extending my contract to the summer and then going home, hopefully to go back to school before I look too much like the "mature student" that I now am. All these decisions really come down to April 1st, a date that once seemed so very far away. There has been a more prominent family hassle factor to deal with lately, especially with my Australian aunt going to Toronto this summer, and I just don't want to deal with it.

I really did go to India, despite the fact that I haven't gone on about it. Here's proof:

Jen at the Taj Mahal Agra was way colder and foggier than I thought it would be. Mystical!

I had a very lower middle class upbringing. I wore hand-me-downs. I never took vacations where we didn't stay with relatives. I went thirty grand into debt to get a university education.

So now that I'm an adult, and still a good twenty grand in debt, I feel like I can be a complete fancy pants. I spent the weekend in Shanghai spending well over 2/3rds of my monthly income (on a bag, four pairs of heels, and a jacket before Visa cut my card) after getting back from India a mere three weeks before. I don't even really wash myself anymore. I pay someone to give my body a good scrub every few weeks.

So when a friend told me that she's getting permanent laser hair removal, I was more than intrigued. Why should I continue paying someone to painfully wax me when I can just get it over and done with in 5 monthly sessions (conveniently 5 months before I'm set to leave Korea)? And everyone gets everything lasered here. Maybe it's a sign I've been in Asia too long. Anyway, the laser is the Soprano XL, and from my quick google search, it seems pretty promising. I'm going tomorrow for a consult after work, but need to sign up pretty fast if I want to get the Lunar New Year special. What do you think?

Poll #1339751 Laser Hair Removal
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10

Permanent laser hair removal is safe and relatively cost effective. Should I just go for it?

What should be lasered?

TMI Alert! How much of a bikini line do I want to commit to getting rid of?

Oh, and I'll get to the much more interesting travel blogs, and the photos, and the postcards I'm meant to sent. Really. Today is my last day of overtime.

India rocks.

Having an iPod touch rocks. I'm currently hanging out in the Hong Kong airport waiting for nine hours to pass. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have these small electronic devices to occupy me. Anyway, the plan is to nap here until I can get up and do those important things I forgot to do in Seoul like buy travel insurance, change money, and eat. I'm so excited about this trip. Expect many pictures.

So my computer seems to be working fine after its hibernation in the air-tight box. There are still two tiny blotches of brightness on the lower left off the screen, but it's hardly noticeable and I'm pretty happy. It looks like I won't have to spend the Apple coupon, a mere $80 off $280, on a new computer that I really can't afford. According to my bankbook, I somehow spent over $3000 in November, and all I have to show for it are university applications, 3 new vaccinations, paid medical bills, an upcoming trip to a country with a high terrorist threat, food, and a few cute new wardrobe items.

You'd think that this would encourage me to save money, but the Apple coupon is calling out to my inner consumer whore. I have until the end of the month to spend it on anything from the Apple online store, and quite a few things are calling to me, namely:

1. An Ipod Touch - I know I already have a super old 1st generation ipod nano, but I only use it for running and the touch is so neat. The new nanos are adorable, but I'd love to have a mobile wifi device. Because I mostly cart around my laptop to use the internet, a touch would prevent the kind of accidents that made my life come apart a little last week. The new touch also has nike ipod + support, which would be my main reason to update my nano when it dies anyway.

2. A Time Capsule - I was considering buying this instead of my external hard drive last year, which I lost anyway. It would be nice to have a wireless router, and my laptop disaster reminded me of the need for constant back-ups. I'd also be able to upgrade to the new operating system, which looks cool, but I could buy a regular external harddrive for like $40 in the electronics market.

3. Various small purchases - I've heard that it's always best to buy more RAM, especially now that my laptop is getting old, but I'll probably just buy cheaper non-Apple RAM once my warranty expires next year. There are a few other things I'd like on the Apple site, like a more secure laptop bag and nice headphones, but none of these things give the satisfaction of a new toy.

I'm not going to pretend that I already kind of have my heart set on an ipod touch. It'll satisfy gadget obsession and would be just plain cool, so instead of posting a poll when I've made up my mind already, I'm going to ask if anyone has experiences with the ipod touch. Also, is engraving lame, cool, or just lame enough to be cool? I'm not sure what I'd engrave on it though.

As many of you know, I converted to Apple when I finished university and didn't look back. I love my laptop. It's been all over the world (well all over Asia at least) with me, and I couldn't imagine life without it. Until, of course, I started to sit here typing in the Pc Bang (Room). Allow me to elaborate.

Last week was pretty stressful for me. I was desperately trying to finish up the many essays I had to write for teacher's college (which were stored on the laptop) and running errands that I couldn't manage during my two-month bout of various illnesses. I brought my laptop to work on Tuesday to try and get some work done, but surprisingly couldn't get much done with 20 5-year-olds running about. After work I took the bus and subway to the hospital to get flu and Japanese encephilitis (or something) shots, but didn't notice something leaking from my expensive leather bag. It turns out that leather doesn't quite look good when you expose it to water, but it sure can hold the stuff. I don't know how long my poor laptop was sitting in the contents of an entire bottle of water, and frankly, I don't want to think about it.

I know of two Apple Repair Centers near my house (did I mention I love living in the city?) The first is this place, where they speak perfect English, or another shop that's slightly closer where they don't. Because my own negligence caused the problem, I decided to take it to the non-English speaking shop. I've found that Koreans often get embarassed or frustrated about their lack of English, and do things that they technically shouldn't. This is how I'm able to buy plane tickets two hours after the travel agents close, but still before the rates go up. I took the computer in, they opened the back, said the logic board was gone (again), and told me to come back on Friday.

So I did, a little nervous. They immediately recognized me (of course) and brought out my macbook. It started up, which I took as a good sign, and then the screen came up all blotchy like there was still water inside. I pointed and the technician got me on the phone with someone to explain the problem. Apparently it's pretty easy to tell that there's half a liter of water inside a laptop and that's what broke my logic board. They said that I've voided my warrenty. They mentioned something about an $820 repair fee. I gasped. I thought about my applications due that night. I refused. I cradled my half-working computer in my arms. I left the store. They said they'd call me on Monday.

And they did. Someone from Apple Customer Service called to apologize and say that unfortunately I'd have to pay if I wanted my lcd working perfectly again. I said I couldn't afford that, and they sent me an e-coupon for a new computer. They said that they technically shouldn't have fixed the computer, but understand that with the language barrier it was hard for the service center and I to understand each other. Score!

I've gotten advice from the internet and my Chinese computer engineer friend (who reccomended that I boast my wifi signal with a wok and a piece of wire) that I take the battery out of my laptop and leave it sealed in a bag of uncooked rice for a week. I think you can figure out why I mentioned he was Chinese. After I finished up my essay for Queens last Friday, I did exactly that, so we'll see how it works out this Friday. Please pray to the technology gods for me.

"Teacher, I want to be a bee-keeper because honey is delicious"
It made my day, but there really wasn't much competition. Work hasn't been going too poorly, but I've been on edge because of my many health conditions. Since coming back from Hong Kong in September I've had (off and on) pleurisy, dehydration, mild food poisoning, pink eye, the most severe cramps of my life (I messed up my pills because of the vomiting), lice, bronchitis, and a two month hacking-up-green-phlegm cough. No wonder I'm kind of depressed.

Anyway, today I could put it off no longer, so I finally started my teacher's college applications. I hate applying for things. I fear rejection, and the future, especially if my future holds rejection.

But I'm doing it. I'm trying to apply to a wide range of schools because I know my marks aren't great, but I'll have two years of solid teaching experience which should count for something. I've narrowed it down to Lakehead (Orilla), Laurier (Waterloo), Windsor, Queens (Kingston), Toronto, and Western (London). I've decided I can't live in either of the Bays (North or Thunder), so I just hope all the people who did better than the bare minimum academic average are not looking to be teachers.

In short, applications suck. I hate this.

I've been meaning to post about how it's really fall now. Sometime in late September the temperature went from 30 degrees to sub 10, literally overnight. Fall means I need to get my ass in gear with teacher's college. Fall means I need to actually purchase plane tickets for my Christmas trip. Fall means I have less than a year left in Korea to do all the stupid things I've wanted to do with my youth while abroad. I'm not ready for fall.

But even with the deadlines of my legitimate concerns looming, I can still quite comfortably shuffle them aside to make way for watching downloaded reality fashion tv, going out with friends, and spending too much money on foreign luxuries, despite the crashing won.

So waking up at 6 am on Thanksgiving Sunday to run a 10K race I signed up for a month ago came as kind of a shock. I ran my first 5k race the previous week, and then did nothing but laze around. In fact, the night before the race I ate at TGI Friday's, hung out in a casino, and went for drinks at a fundraiser in Apugujeong (a glitzy party area). Running kind of hurt, but I ran it in 54:42, which I'm quite proud of. What hurt more is the hacking cough I've been nursing for about a month. It was getting a bit worse, but I didn't think anything of it.

I did some shopping that night (shitty Forever 21 just opened in Seoul), spent a lot of time recovering at the sauna/public bathhouse, had some pizza, and went to bed early.

I woke up to go to work in serious pain. I couldn't walk down stairs properly because my left knee felt shot, there was a jabbing pain in my left side like I'd bruised a rib, and my hacking cough made me feel like my lungs were going to rip through my tender ribs. I went to work anyway in a bad mood. As things got worse as the day progressed, I ended up stressed and crying in front of 20 4-5 year olds that couldn't understand how to count American money that any of us had seen before. I realized I should go to the doctor.

Korean emergency rooms are a lot like Canadian ER's in that you feel like you're waiting forever. In reality, I only waited an hour and a bit and have the time stamped bill to prove it. The Koreans there were super nice to me, probably because I was crying hysterically and wincing because heavy breathing causes sharp pains. I only get really homesick and lonely when I'm sick. They took an X-ray and told me I have pleurisy. It's going to hurt to breath for a while. Fantastic.

On the upside, there are a lot worse things I could have with sharp, sudden chest pains. And despite how I felt yesterday, I think I will run again, just not for a while. I thought my body was punishing me for running a race without training, but it's just the after affects of a cough that went on too long. My gimpy knee already seems healed. I've made an appointment with the only hospital in Korea that I trust and they're getting me in to their pleuristic clinic today. As long as the underlying cause isn't Tuberculosis, I think I'm going to be okay.

And bonus: I took the day off work. I'm losing my no sick day bonus, and I know that with some Tylenol I could have worked, but screw it, it's Thanksgiving. I'm going to go buy a pie and eat the whole thing myself.

Poll #1266693 Current Dilemmas
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10

Christmas/New Year's vacation?

I have too much hair. Does getting it thinned out at the salon cause that much damage?

Shopping is exhausting.

I bought a Nikon Coolpix for Bali and I hated it. It felt like a cheaper version of my old canon. I returned it when I got home and have been camera-less since then. One of my friends is attempting to fix the canon, so while I need a digital camera for my trip tomorrow, I don't want to buy another little purse camera, but don't have time to research another one. I'm looking for something under an SLR because I don't want to mess around with lenses, but I think I go to enough cool places to justify something pretty nice. I did a quick trip to the mall yesterday and like the Olympus SP570, but its lack of rechargable battery bothers me. My sister's boyfriend (and research monkey) recommended the Sony H50 which also seems nice. Because I'm getting my canon fixed, I'm looking for something in that range, but have no time to do research (I'm at work now). My flight leaves around 3 tomorrow, I work until 12:30, and live 1.5-2 hours from the airport. It's going to be rough, so I want to run into Duty free with a couple of camera models to just pick up.

Any recommendations? I'd like something that I could play around with, but I know I don't need an SLR. I have about 24 hours from now to decide. Help!

Work is slowing down a bit and tempered out by fun activities and a much needed public holiday on Friday. I had an especially good day on Tuesday when I didn't teach at all because we went on a field trip to see The Very Hungry Caterpillar Musical by a neat Canadian puppet/theatre company. When we got back to school we had lunch and I played with lego with the kids until I fell asleep. By the time I woke up, it was time to brush our teeth and go home. That doesn't make me seem like the best teacher, but some days you just need a good nap, especially with the craziness of August. Today we had a birthday party for half the day too. We're going on another field trip next week to some sort of transportation park. I've heard they may be go-carts. I really like my job. I even think the cafeteria food might be improving, but that's most likely an extension of my current contentment.

As for the long weekend, I'm leaning towards going on a trip to one of the western islands north of Seoul with a coworker. The weather looks depressingly bad as the monsoon season gets in a few more hits this summer, and I'd probably be better off saving a bit for the upcoming long weekends in September and October. Going somewhere close and cheap with a Korean speaker seems like a good move. It was hard to turn down the travel agent on the tickets she reserved for me to Cambodia and Hong Kong this weekend, but it's for the best. I've decided I definitely want to go to Hong Kong in the next few months though. Today I cinched the deal by going to the huge bookstore by my apartment and buying the LP Hong Kong Encounter because I hate carrying huge Lonely Planets that I probably won't use anyway. I also found that new books are currently cheaper than used books because of a sale on everything English, and my handy foreigner discount card. I even ordered in a book I wanted and it'll be in in two days. I love living in Gangnam and I love how helpful Koreans are.

Anyway, now that the book is bought, I only have to decide on when to go. The September holiday is Korean thanksgiving and a huge travel time. It's pretty much high season for any flight out of Korea (except maybe Taiwan). The advantage with absolutely everyone having the day off is that I can go with any of my friends, regardless of where they work. It would be pretty easy to find travel companions. It's also the Chinese Moon Festival, which means Moon Cake (one of the slightly offputting Chinese delicacies I love!), lantern festivals, dragon parades, and probably Chinese fireworks.

The other option is to go in October. October is pretty much the best time to go to a lot of places in Asia. The monsoon season is finished, and in Hong Kong that means cooler, though still hot weather. August is supposed to be unbearably hot and September only slightly less so. It probably won't rain by October and you could swim at the beach, but it looks a bit like the beach of Singapore (ie. not a good idea). Also, because it's just a regular long weekend (though still a public holiday), flights will be much cheaper. Because there isn't a festival, accommodation would probably run a little cheaper too. It would be easier and probably more pleasant to hop down to Macau if I can find the courage to do one of the hair raising adventures on Macau Tower, like the world's biggest bungee jump or the sky jump.

So as usual when it comes to travel, I'm a bit confused.

Poll #1240207 When to do Hong Kong?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

When should I go to Hong Kong

I know that I'll regret looking back at my blog in the future and finding boundless amounts of entries about being unemployed, dribble about what I've eaten, and silly banter about tv shows instead of my Asian travels, new experiences, and overall solid evidence that I did enjoy my twenties. Yet still, I always find it hard to find the time to document my life when I'm busy living it (especially after being snubbed by the internet company twice), and I've certainly been busy.

So far August has been a month of spending about 1.5 hours every weekday on a bus where you literally can't move and have to shift your weight onto one precarious step above the exit door so it will close, working for 10-12 hours in two different (though close) parts of Seoul, frantically cleaning my endlessly dirty floor, running errands, and finding an hour almost every night to run in the 37 degree heat before showering and collapsing into bed. Sometimes I read too.

Despite all that and occasional omissions of a few of the details before collapsing into bed (including unfortunately the shower), I'm really happy. I still love my job, even with overtime, and I'm getting a lot of satisfaction from working so hard. Running has gotten a lot easier. I've made some pretty good friends. I had a marvelous vacation in Indonesia. I always seem to have envelopes of money in all my bags and around my apartment.

I told myself that after the financial pillaging that was July (I think I might have spent somewhere in the neighbourhood of 4 grand somehow) August would be a month of getting back into shape and saving money. So far it's going well, even though I was dangerously close to booking a trip to Cambodia for this weekend before realizing that two trips to South East Asia within two weeks is a little excessive. I'm confused how I'll spend this holiday weekend. In two months I've managed to collect enough Korean Air skypoints to get to Jeju-do first class return, but it might be hard to book on a holiday. Perhaps it'll be best to rest up for the last half of August because I think tiredness might outweigh the joy of the runner's high and pockets of cash after 31 long days.

Also, I'm really sorry I haven't been keeping up with your entries because of being crazy busy or on vacation and having no internet. Please let me know if anything important has been going on in your lives or feel free to write (address on facebook). I will write back (including to Sabrina who sent that lovely card, a reply is on the way, really).