January 2012
13 posts
1 tag
I'm planning on going to college for a semester in...
The more Korean you know, the easier your life will become and the more Koreans you’ll meet — but it’s definitely pretty easy to get by without knowing any Korean and even easier to get by knowing just a little bit of Korean. Of course, I say this as someone living in Seoul. Your mileage may vary if you’re in a rural area. And I can’t promise for certain that...
imnopicasso said: You know if you dump water into the bowl, it will flush….
I know nothing practical in the world. This is a miracle fix.
More toilet woes.
talkinboutstuffseoul said: Imagine the same circumstance, but with a completely fluent, native speaking head teacher. He makes me want to scream.
Yes! She’s fluent, too! It makes it extra irritating because she’s the nicest and most responsible of all of the...
Time out for co-teacher ranting.
My handler co is an excellent co-teacher. She is. And she’s a very sweet person.
But she sucks at the handler part of her job. When my school owed me 200,000 for apartment expenses, she forgot about it for a month. Whenever I’ve asked her questions about random things — skin clinics in the area, buses to school, if she could call a cab for me, etc. — she’s said...
The Future.
So, what’s going on?
Things with Bacon are better. It was less of a rough patch for us and more of just a rough patch for me. Which I’m still going through. I think winter vacation is putting me through the wringer because I have absolutely nothing to do. It’s too cold to do anything outside, and I am borderline broke this month, and everyone else is busy. So I’m just...
Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet lately. Right now, I’m just kind of going through some feelings and thoughts that I don’t really know how to express — or if they should be expressed at all, especially in a public forum. Yes, they have to do with Bacon and my relationship with him. No, they’re not happy or good feelings. They’ve recently come up when discussing the...
Anonymous asked: At what age did you start learning Korean and how fluent are you?
Auditions for "The Vagina Monologues" in Seoul →
Thought some people might be interested. February 4~5.
Computer question!
My computer is totally dead. The hard drive is okay, but the logic board is fried. Protip: don’t try to turn your laptop on if you spill liquid on it! I’ve been schlepping my work laptop back and forth every day, and Bacon has offered to bring one of his desktops to my apartment. I’m starting to actually lean toward buying a new one, though.
But.
I want to go traveling after my...
“I would rather date handsome guy, then marry rich guy.”
– My second grade girls know where it’s at.
I don’t normally talk teaching tips, but my students all loved my ‘Would you rather…’ lesson. It’s easy. It’s fun for them. It’s fun for you. Feeling like a boss.
1 tag
What is your heritage?
I have a varied European heritage — mostly German, French, Scottish, and Polish, according to my mom — with a miniscule amount of Native American, but I am very, very much just American and white, haha. The last person born outside of America on either side of my family was my grandmother’s great grandmother on my mother’s side. On my father’s side, I’m the...
December 2011
23 posts
Party pooper.
I think everyone has a holiday that they just don’t do. Some people don’t dress up for Halloween. Others grinch out on Christmas. Me, I don’t really get into New Year’s Eve.
I like booze, especially champagne. I like getting dressed up. I like sparkly clothing and glittery makeup and noisemakers.
But I don’t like crowds. I don’t like being surrounded by drunk...
golden-notebook:
hotyellowfellows:
“Guys from Busan are not friendly with their women.”
—
Bacon
Hahahaha. And now he‘s spouting off about how they think Seoul men are girly. Appropriate for conversations going around right now.
(via hotyellowfellows)
I have no idea what this is in regards to.
To be fair, I feel like it’s not so much about friendliness as it is about cluelessness. Once...
“Guys from Busan are not friendly with their women.”
– Bacon
Hahahaha. And now he‘s spouting off about how they think Seoul men are girly. Appropriate for conversations going around right now.
(via hotyellowfellows)
I have no idea what this is in regards to.
To be fair, I feel like it’s not so much about friendliness as it is about cluelessness....
“Wait. You didn’t say that was from ME, did you? [Me: I did.] What! Well....”
– Bacon
“Guys from Busan are not friendly with their women.”
– Bacon
Hahahaha. And now he‘s spouting off about how they think Seoul men are girly. Appropriate for conversations going around right now.
Christmas
No ring, just a necklace and earrings I’d shown him as examples of jewelry styles I like. I guess he wanted to be on the safe side, haha.
And we had cake. He took me to a shop that sells plain cakes and icing and other stuff, and you get to then decorate your cake to your liking. Ours was ugly, plus it’s Korean cake/icing and therefore mediocre, but it was a very, very fun way to...
But the positives of today:
Bacon continues to be amazingly calm and awesome in emergencies.
I woke him up early with my flailing and cursing, and he helped me through it, looked shit up on my phone. After I dealt with the computer as best I could at the time, I was running suuuuper late, threw on some clothes, and he made sure to state a positive opinion on my outfit, since I was unsure of my appearance. When I called him...
This morning, I managed to spill a glass of water directly into the keyboard of my laptop. As I am someone who prides myself on never having mixed water and electronics (no “Dropped my cell phone in a toilet, so give me all your phone numbers!” Facebook groups for me), this was incredibly disheartening. Also disheartening, reading MacForums’s lengthy, myriad topics about spilling...
Because this doesn't sound terrifying.
Bacon: is it okay to go to ilsan? or nowon? or but i dont want to be in [redacted]
cuz your kids can see us
HYF: For dinner?
Bacon: yes
and a thing
or things
Bacon: ???
where?
lets do ilsan
i will give you a minute and if you dont answer i will do ilsan ahah
HYF: I was taking out the trash, haha
Bacon: okay
HYF: For dinner, I'd prefer itaewon, like zelen or somewhere nice
Bacon: too late. i took care of it
HYF: Okay
Bacon: you have to follow my plan on christmas
no choice
hahahahahahahahaha
bahahahahahahahhahaaha
okay going to workout
brb
“Well, he was just an old man, so… It’s still a bit of a shock.”
– Classic Bacon understatement
Came back from lunch to many 진짜s and a text from Bacon, and now my network is spotty at best.
Wonder what’s going to happen over the next few weeks and months. And I wonder what kind of emails I am going to get from friends and family back home.
Right now, I wish I were still super anonymous and single, because I’m having a fucking hilarious and painfully awkward TMI conversation with Bacon. A part of me wants to post it. But another part of me is like, This is a weird conversation to post from your boyfriend, especially knowing how many people read this and know you offline.
Oh, second language learners and their inability to...
Give me 5.
Played Give Me 5 with my students today, both boys and girls. I have been playing this game for the past two days. I have a certain rule as well that their answers have to be nouns, concrete nouns, things you can touch, taste, see, whatever. One of the questions is to give me five things that start with the letter S.
Leave it to my second grade girls to yell out, you guessed it, sex. As their...
호호호, 헐헐헐.
Korea people: What do you give your families and friends for Christmas? I am uninspired at year three for Korea-y gifts. I have given 사랑해 coffee mugs and crazy pajamas and fuzzy socks and idol socks and amazing beauty products and photo books and all that jazz and just cannot figure it out this year. I‘m giving normal gifts as well, but I still feel obligated to throw in some Korea stuff.
...
Tricksy.
On Saturday night, I pulled kind of a dick move.
Bacon and I were just hanging out at my apartment and relaxing, and I decided to Skype my mom. We were talking and catching up, talking about Christmas plans. She asked if I knew what Bacon was getting me for Christmas, and I said, “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
When I looked at Bacon, he had sheer panic in his...
1 tag
First snow of the season in Seoul.
The only reason I like it is for the extra humidity. And because this is relatively late for winter.
A tanka of my week.
Last week, stomach flu.
This week, sinus infection.
At least my mucous
Is Christmas-colored. Festive.
Starks are wrong. Winter is here.
I’m just boring and sick and miserable right now, hence the lack of updates for a week. The one upside to being sick right now is that it’s finals week, so I don’t actually have to teach. I can just stay at my desk all day, downing water...
November 2011
16 posts
Best boyfriend ever.
I have gotten unbelievably sick with a nasty case of the stomach flu — which is making its way around the Thanksgiving group — since getting home. I have just been sleeping and shivering and burning up and other miserableness. I have a highly infectious and unpleasant sickness. And Bacon is on his way over with meds and provisions and just to be with me. God, I love him. My mom jokes...
imnopicasso:
Nearly 24 hours of sleep and I still feel like I’m going to fall over if I stand up for too long. Can’t call into work as there is an emergency involving a special placement program that the parents are bugging out over — we have to give interviews with the native speaking English teacher, and I’ll have to grade several essays by the end of the day, so that the parents can’t argue...
On Tumblr and posting and the Internet.
I know this is all ages ago and in the past, so skip it if you don’t want to read about the Tumblr stuff from the 10th/11th. I want to let it go, believe me, and it’s been discussed quite a bit already. But I feel strange and awkward and a bit unwelcome posting right now, especially when people are still making posts on Tumblr that are like, “I feel fat — BUT I BETTER NOT...
Anonymous asked: I'm disappointed, I thought for sure I could read up on some Kyuhyun Super Show 4 goodness, but I guess with Bacon, your priorities have changed... despite, I still love your blog, but I expect a dose of Kyuhyun every now and then. What happened to all the beautiful pictures (not just Kyuhyun)?! p.s. sorry for your puppy loss D''':
Anonymous asked: is that him? Did i spot yr bf on the pic lol
It okay. Don't be cry.
Bacon apparently just doesn’t do well with sadness.
Today I found out that my dog back home got acute leukemia and had to be put down. I sent Bacon a message about it and his reply was just, “Nooooooooooooo.”
I tried to slog on through the conversation anyway and mentioned that this is the third dog my family has lost in as many years. His reply?
“Oh, your pets just need...
So.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to say, or even whether or not I want to say anything at all. I’ve mentally written and rewritten posts in my head, and I’m still not entirely sure how I want to respond to all of this. Because here’s the thing: I can’t defend myself against personal attacks. I can defend my writing. I can defend my ideas. I can defend my...
Pepero Day: It's serious.
Bacon: I am trying to make Pepero. Wonder if it works.
HYF: Don't tell me!! You're ruining the surprise!
Bacon: Okay.
I lied.
I bought it.
HYF: Still ruining the surprise!
Bacon: Okay. I am not telling you what I'm doing.
HYF: Okay.
Bacon: No.
I am not giving you Pepero. It's stupid.
HYF: Fine.
Bacon: Now you are confusing.
HYF: Just don't talk about Pepero Day.
I will see what you have prepared tomorrow.
And I will evaluate your love for me accordingly.
Bacon: That's insane.
Lost My Mind in Seoul...: In which I am a total... →
spicyenoughforyou:
lostmymindinseoul:
It has been a stressful week for me. This term is almost over, I have a ton of assignments and papers due soon, I’m taking the Praxis on Saturday, and work has been really hectic. I agreed to meet a friend for coffee before class tonight to de-stress. I’ve been friends with this girl since middle…
I feel like your friend’s projecting. She might be...
Nov. 9th: Bacon’s birthday
Nov. 11th: Pepero Day
Nov. 21st: Anniversary
Awful timing. Too many special days in one month. Too many gift ideas for one month, especially since I have to come up with yet another gift next month.
We're all doing it wrong.
HYF: Who wants to tell me about their weekend?
Student: I saw my girlfriend.
HYF: How long have you been dating?
Student: Almost 200 days.
HYF: Oh? Where is your couple ring?
Student: Not yet. At 200 days.
HYF: I thought it was 100 days for couple ring?
Student: Teacher, NO. That is for elementary students. High school is 200.