Art and Writing...

Word Count: 2,062

On track with my word count so far, but getting up this morning wasn't any fun. I set my alarm for 9, but I hit snooze until 10:00, but then they are laying something in the in-construction house next door. It was a snooze time filled with strange crashes and confusion. I finally got ear plugs, but I wasn't coherent enough to use them. Then I was up long enough to make my coffee, but wimped out and slept for another half an hour--which made my coffee cold. How sad.

Yesterday I discovered a art/craft store in Unhaengdong. This was quite exciting, and I got two new markers... light blue, the Korean version of Prismacolor, I guess. 2,000 won (2 dollars) a piece, but I'm excited anyway, because they are going to work much better than my light blue highlighter. I've been meaning to do that for a long time. I also found little miniature wood hobby sets... haha, which might become my Korean obsession for the year--you know, minus turning my apartment into an indoor jungle.

Speaking of my jungle, I'm pretty sad because my beautiful pink flowers aren't doing so well. I have no idea what to do! I thought at first that I wasn't watering them enough, but now I think that I am watering them too much... they are getting sad and decrepit. But maybe they are getting cold? I don't know! It's terrible! I don't know the first thing about gardening, other than you need to put water in it. And it isn't as if I can ask the shop owner.

I went tooling around on my bike yesterday around 11. I love riding around at night. It's been one of my favorite experiences here so far. I put on my headphones, and I just ride through the streets. It feels so peaceful. Everything is dark. No one is around. For some reason here, it gets very humid at night, even though it is cold. The air is thick, and light reflects from it, so there are halos of yellow and white around everything.

Where I live is quite developed, as I'm sure you've seen by the photos, but it's a little cell of development. There is a small river/stream that runs along one edge, and then the other side is bordered by the small set of hills that I walk on. There is a huge, six lane road, but on one side of it is huge apartments, fifteen stories high, and on the other side it is rice paddies, farm fields, and the little river. It is such an abrupt change, and at night it is quite beautiful. Almost space age.

Yesterday I made it all the way to the Chungnam University area, which is a fun college town. The buildings are older, compressed, with wires sticking every which way. The houses are made from brick and look quite odd--Asian, but not Japanese or Chinese, of course. Distinct. The corners are dulled and everything is curvy, and the roofs almost look Ghanaian, flat with railings and places to dry clothes. I loved the neighborhood--especially since at 12:00 midnight there were still tons of people wandering around. In fact, I drove past a tiny cafe, and who did I see? Why, my coworker! How odd! I stopped in to say hi, but then I meandered off home. Small world, this. But I like it. It's good to get to know people.

I had a good weekend, but it was mostly Halloween partying and the like. Didn't see or do anything spectacular, but I'm excited because I'm heading into Seoul this weekend! And it's Nano, which means that I'm going to get my writing ON! Yay!

A new bike and a new stovetop... all in 24 hours!

Oh my! Well, on Wednesday I cracked and decided that I was just going to buy a shiny new bike. I've never had a shiny new bike before--I mean, not one that I bought for myself. My little red baby is back at home, probably rusting away... ;.; but it was a gift/hand me down--and on top of that, it was the prize of the party when it came to being retro. This cute little bike had no gears and back peddle breaks. But now I have a shiny silver jet... it's got a basket and a shelf above the back tire. And it even has five gears! Wow! haha--oh and a BELL. :D

Even better, though, it folds in half, so that when I bring it into my already teeny apartment, it won't take up oodles of space--only half an oodle. Bikes in Korea tho have these tiny little wheels and peddles that I can't quite get used to... so everything turns fast and I'm not used to the subtlety of the movement, haha. Also having a bike with gears means that it is heavy on one side... so riding without hands is a lot harder. Sigh--especially since I can't break with my feet so I have to touch the handlebars. Sad. I feel a lot less cool. On top of that, I'm still used to back peddle breaks... which means that when I'm about to hit someone, I don't reach for the break right away... I back peddle, nothing happens, and then I panic. Haha. We'll see how long it is before I hit something. Let's just hope it's not someone, because I still can't say "I'm sorry" in Korean.

On Wednesday I went out to eat with my coworker and we had some seriously delicious food at a Chinese restaurant. There were... YAM CHIPS in my sweet and sour chicken! YAM CHIPS, guys!! I haven't had a real yam chip since... since Nas made them on the day I left Africa! Holy Buckets of Steaming Fries! It was so exciting.

We also met some fellows from the International Astronautical Convention. Do you know what that means? Space men! I thought it was over, but I was wrong! It's finishing today, so hopefully they will all be out at the bars tonight and I can chat with them, haha. I mean, cuz really, who doesn't want to hang out with an astronaut?!