Woohoo a nice month ahead!

Next month will very nice indeed. We will have 2 holidays which means two, four day weeks!

I think the first holiday which will be next Thursday we ought to relax at home, and perhaps go on a walk. The second holiday we should head to a beach, and soak up some ocean air!

I just wish the second holiday fell on a Monday since that would give us a 3 day weekend....well 2.5day weekend. See Saturday after classes we could hit the road, and arrive in say Pusan by 5 or 6pm. Book a motel, and hit the beach. Have a nice dinner then head back to the hotel....uh...err motel, then sleep. The next day head out to the beach early like, and get nice spot read books, play in the sand, get our feet wet. Then have lunch at TGI Friday, then head back to beach on more time. After that head back to Gunsan (it would be Sunday afternoon by this time). I would arrive in Gunsan perhaps around 7-8pm, and still have Monday free to relax at home and get ready for the week.

Ugh getting vacation time is so difficult in Korea at times. This chu-sok we really need to get away!

/tata

Spring?

I can almost feel spring! Last week I went to the cherry blossom festival with a friend. It was nice we ate roasted pork, I mean it was on a spit and everything......very nice! I also want to visit the beach, just sit back and enjoy the warmth from the sun (under an umbrella), and read to my hearts content. George on the other hand can run about throwing rocks into the sea, and picking up shells.

nestled next to me would be my lil lady Yogita. Perhaps we can prepare some food, or maybe visit a local restaurant.

You see now is the best time to visit the beaches on the west coast (I do not know much about the eastern beaches, but they are much more popular). During this time you can enjoy the scenery with out getting bothered by large groups of people. In the summer......well.....better aim for one of the many small beaches.

I can only wonder what this year will be like. Time will tell!

/tata

Whats up?

We are doing fine this week, although I am behind in emailing my students. Days in Korea pass so quickly. We are almost in the middle of our weekend class program. Soon we will have full weekends!

I have decided that perhaps later this year I will buy another car, used of course. I am thinking about the Hyundai Equus, depending on my plans I will post pictures of it. I am leaning heavily towards this car due to its roomy interior, loads and loads of options, and it is domestic.

I can get easily get an import perhaps 10 years old, with low mileage. However, maintaining such a car is very costly! Simple fixes can cost 100,000 won. While moderately priced spare parts suddenly become very expensive, in an import. Korea unlike America lacks a diverse automobile market. Sure many people have imports, but they also have large disposable incomes that allow them to drive it on a lease for years, then go lease another import.

Me...I do not have those options. I do not want our disposable income going toward a car. Better to save, or invest. Korean cars have gotten steadily better and better in terms of quality, and safety.

The car is expensive though, so I while I will save for it, I am keeping my eyes open for any other options in the car department.

/tata

Having fun people?

Some people just don't know how to really have fun, or perhaps it is just a differing view on what is considered fun.

For example, if you join a gym, people will go to specific stores which sell work out gear. This stuff is EXTREMELY expensive! 60 bucks for a shirt, or for a full set you might have to shell out 150 or more.

Instead tossing on a clean t-shirt, jogging pants, or perhaps a pair of shorts, people instead go all out. I mean, I guess I am just a simple person, or perhaps I am the boring one?

I mean people just get up and go! Of course we ought to stretch, and properly warm up, but dropping hundreds of bucks to ride a bike?! Or dropping thousands of dollars (Korea) to buy golf clubs?! Why not purchase second hand? (Of course I am talking about most people who get interested in a sport, not people who have spent years and years enjoying a sport or hobby).

You see the funny thing is this, stuff starts to collect dust. That barbell set, ends up in a corner, along with the those cyborg gloves that you bought with it. In addition the workout gear ends up as substitute thermal underwear.

I am guilty myself. When I first bought my car, I bought hundreds of dollars of "car care" products. Wax, compound, paint, wheel, and tire cleaners, and other stuff. Basically, I do use car paint to touch up scratches, minor dings, while WD40 helps with squeaky doors. But tire cleaners.....really they suck. They often cause a dark coloring on the wheel in summer (heat), leaving the wheels looking very dirty.

However, having engine oil, power steering oil, and coolant, this is nice to have.

Mayhap I will post some tips on car care that I have learned.

/tata

Kids...

It seems all around me people that I knew years ago are married, and have kids. I mean Yogita and I where the first, among most people we know. Its interesting to see these new parents cope with their new responsibilities. You see some getting so worked up and over protective, they end up not really living life. Then you have the couples who ONLY married due to their age, and social pressure. Those couples tend to pour all of their love on their children, not on each other. You end up with this strange scene of parents competing for their little ones adoration (well it seems strange to me).

I had one student who is not married, and that person is happy with the decision. I must say that I respect the decision not to marry if you feel it is not for you. Social pressure to do something, is usually just people who think they know what you need. Or rather you ought to do as they did, in order to be happy. You know the saying "birds of a feather...".

Still I see parents lavishing attention on children not realizing that their spouse is a very important part of the equation that makes a family work.

/tata

Work work..

I am a fortunate guy! I am busy and will be even busier in the future. I have drop by the book store sometime this week, email English. I have to prepare for another class.

So, work work, and no vacation. It was funny, and sad when we visited India. Most people take a long leave to fully enjoy India. We....barely a week!

However, on the other hand we could be unemployed, or underemployed. So, I ought to count my blessings.

In Korea the work ethic is quite strong. One friend of mine, he works 6-7 day weeks, often with company sanctioned drinking events. This really reduces the actual quality of the work that people are able to put in. If I have a hang over I am not going to perform at my best. If my entire team has a hang over then that will impact the productivity of our entire team.

Ok I gotta run, Mr Cho is stressing me out!!!!

/tata

Weekend madness

What a weird weekend. We are now in the fourth, no actually sixth week of the weekend class. Wow time flies! Yogita and I have decided make more concrete plans for family outings. In the past we would just impulsively travel, when we had time. Now with gasoline companies milking consumers and blaming high prices on a country that supplies only 2% of the worlds oil. We can not afford to go running off whenever we so please. Or rather we could, but it would damage our budget. Yogita and I have made tentative plans to get a better car, but we will have to see if it is in our best interests.

Korea like I have written before is a really weird place in that people don't really seem worried about events around them. Rather they just sort of shrug their shoulders. I wonder how Japan's disaster will change people's mood. So far, we talk about it, donate money via cell phones, and kids can be seen wearing masks. (I do not want to get into a long rant on those masks!) All in all that is all I have seen.

Although one student told me about a foreign professor who was wearing a gas mask in Jeon-ju. LOL

What about your skin buddy! Sure your lungs are ok, but Radiation can and is absorbed right through the skin. I mean...x-rays anyone. Basically I am saying lets be aware, and not treat this disaster like it is nothing, but lets not over do it.

Oh and so far I have heard that 2 ESL teachers died in Japan.

/tata