Dear Winter

Dear Winter
I really haven't missed you or your friends snow, ice, and cold all that much since I've moved to Korea. I hope you don't consider my impending visit to Sweden about you. When I left Canada I was very clear that it was you and not me. Maybe we could try the friend thing next year, but I would really appreciate it if I didn't see you or your friends while I'm in Stockholm.
Thanks,

a.

My Kimchi Brings All the Boys to the Yard

I feel a little more Korean than I did when I woke up this morning.
Why?
Because I MADE my own kimchi.

For those of you outside of Korea kimchi is more than just spicy pickled cabbage and various other veg - it's a way of life. It cures everything and anything that ails you ... from cancer to impotence, writers block to dull hair .... kimchi does it all while being pretty damn delicious.


It's a pretty fabulous process...
Arm covers? Check.
Double layer of huge plastic gloves? Check.
Little paper apron? Check.
Bandana? Check.

Let's do this.

Look at those little darlings! I'm so proud of them.

Delicious = Messy


... and then I couldn't stop singing this song, which I'm fairly certain is a terrible thing considering I was at a temple.

Ps. This entire day was free. Thank you! Check here for more info.

Passport - or Fortune Teller?

My passport ......



she is a small thing of intense beauty that has been lovingly toted around the world to many wonderful places in her own special red leather case. She is very special. However, she will expire in April, which for those of you not counting is 5 months from now. Many countries require that your passport be valid at least 6 months after your scheduled departure date .... Taiwan is apparently quite strict about such things as I learned when I tried to book a last minute ticket to Taipei a few days ago. However - I think my passport may have had my best interests at heart because look what happened in Taipei last night ...

Then again, nobody was seriously injured and I missed the chance to experience my first earthquake.

I still love you.

Hot Dog Catalogue Launch. GO!

We launched our new little creative hot dog out into the world last night ...



... she made a few new friends.

yummmmmmmm......

Because the best things in life really should give you a heartattack.

Hot Dog Love Dog

What are you doing Saturday night?
Dancing / Drinking / Reading with me?


Hot Dog Catalogue Release Party at Basement in PNU.

Come see what they did with my photos.

My Present To You ....

hugs & kisses
=)

Sunday Dinner

Sometimes the best part about being an adult is being able to do exactly what you would have done when you were a tiny little person - except now there is nobody around to tell you it's getting late, or not to make a mess.


You still play the same old fun games .....






..... float around a few special balloons .....




.... and then out comes the face paint......

... and Sponge Bob ....

Mix in a little dancing ....

... and there you have it.

A perfect Sunday night.

This is why we are friends.

[8:49:24 AM] Rhylon: I had a super weird dream about you last night

[8:49:48 AM] me: mmmmmmmmmmh

[8:52:57 AM] Rhylon : you were in this massive spiderweb in a big grey factory and all the yarns of the spiderwebs were intraveinously connected to you tubes and they were all pumping different kinds of sperm from different nationalities and you were spitting out babies and they were being rolled up in the flags of different countries like so many kimbaps

[8:54:28 AM] me: I am officially terrified for the day

[8:56:39 AM] Rhylon : hahaha

[8:57:02 AM] Rhylon : it's because I'm reading Omnivore's Dilemma right now and it's all about industrial corn-fed cattle farming

I Will Drink A Whole Cup of Gravy!

You know you're in for something delicious when one of the guest's shows up to the party with their own oven .....

... cute girls sit on the floor and make pies ....

.... JCS' acquired stuffing recipe made an appearance. How can you go wrong with a pound of butter?

... and the gravy was so good some people drank it out of a cup.

Despite all of this, all my new friends and even the old one couldn't put me back together again.
I have a cold.
Ugh.

You're Going To Party On A Boat?

Sometimes you have a little too much fun on a Thursday night and then you end up going to bed at 8:30 on a Friday night .... and it is unquestionably worth it.
That was last Thursday.

It started with White Rainbow




..........and then it was followed by Yacht.

YACHT - Psychic City (Voodoo City) from Jona Bechtolt on Vimeo.
Ok .... so maybe I wasn't cool enough to have heard of these bands before the show ... and maybe I spent some time talking to the really cute singer with the cropped bleached hair without realizing she was the main attraction ..... but my socks were thoroughly rocked by the end of the night.


I think the same could be said for everyone.

Gwangwho? Gwangju!!

Would you say either of these photos is worth losing a cell phone?





yeah.
Me neither.


This is how the weekend reunion began in Gwangju. The plan was to meet an old friend from my school days in Ireland and run around town for the weekend.
But then .... 20 mins into the visit, before I met up with the girl, I lost my cell phone.

PANIC!!!!


Oh My God!
I don't have her number written down.

Oh My God!
If I lose her now I'll never find her in this town!

Oh My God!
Why didn't I just take the ride with the Mormons who approached me and offered a lift?

Oh My God!
I immediately jumped into the first empty cab I could find and dashed to the train station... and found the girl ... and then we doubled back AAANNNNNDDDD look who we found taking a nap in the grass.



So we shopped and ate, and drank and ate, and drank and danced in order to reward ourselves for our sleuthing skills.

Some of the classy art on display in our class motel.

It was alot of fun.

.... and then MB's bus took a wrong turn on the way to Suwon and it took her too many hours to get home.