She returns...

It has been an extraordinarily long time since I last blogged and I have no excuse. I guess I’ve been too busy living to bother reflecting or informing. Slightly selfish, I’ll admit. But, dear god there are new developments… I’ll just take off and see where this leads.

First, my hagwon is going bankrupt. Wow! They are closing at the end of this month so
I have two weeks to find another job. The closing of the hagwon creates numerous problems and opportunities.

Problems...

1. I have only 9 more weeks left on my contract. No one will want to hire me for only 9 weeks.
2. The hagwon pays for my apartment so I’ll have to find a new place to live.
3. Without a job, I can’t save money. The whole point of moving here was to save money.
4. The hagwon pays for my cell phone. I’ll have to get a new phone.
5. The hagwon owes me salary for October. The hagwon is claiming to be broke.
6. The hagwon owes me my bonus for completing my contract. The hagwon is claiming to be broke.
7. The hagwon owes me a plane ticket home. The hagwon is claiming to be broke.

Opportunities...

1. I only have 9 more weeks left… I can work part-time and teach private lessons. With just a couple odd jobs I can triple my hourly salary and probably make even more money than if I stayed at the hagwon.
2. I’ll just see if they’ll let me pay for the next two months of my apartment. If not, I’ll find someplace else to crash. This problem is totally solvable.
3. Saving money? See Opportunity #1
4. No cell phone? So, I’ll buy a new cell phone. Or get my current phone put onto my credit card. Whatever.
5. They’ll pay me or I won’t show up to work tomorrow and they’ll have to refund tuition.
6. They’ll pay me or I won’t show up to work tomorrow and they’ll have to refund tuition.
7. They’ll buy the plane ticket or I won’t show up to work tomorrow and they’ll have to refund tuition.

BONUS Opportunities...

1. I was already planning on going to Thailand in November. And now, since I have all this time to do whatever I want, I think I’ll just extend my trip and go to Vietnam!
2. I work on Sundays, but now I won’t have to. Sundays are all mine again! Late brunch with tea and good company. That’s the very definition of Sunday.
3. I was going to go home three days after Christmas. Now, I’ll be home in time for Christmas.
3. Change! I like change. I was getting bored and dreading the next nine weeks, now I’ll be flying by the seat of my pants.

So, I think this whole situation is going to be a blessing in disguise.

In other news…
The value of the won is taking a nose dive. What a nightmare! It is down about 25% to the dollar since I arrived, so I’ve lost about 25% of the money I earned if I convert it to dollars. Since I am definitely coming back to Seoul to go to grad school, I’ve decided to leave as much as possible in won. I’ll take out a few million won for my trip home, but leave the rest in Korea and pray for a better exchange rate!

Grad School...
Applications are happening. I’m finishing them, turning them in and crossing my fingers.

Birthdays...
I turned 24. I am now a twenty-something... A mid-twenties kind of girl. I think 24 is going to be a good year. In fact, the year started out pretty great with a fantastic birthday celebration. It was a night of drinking, kissing and dancing.

First, the drinking. There was lots of it. But, the best part was the free drinks. I don’t think I paid for a drink all night. And I even had a couple strangers walk up and say “Someone told me it’s your birthday and that I should buy you a shot.” So, I kept being pleasantly surprised by a variety of fruity shots. But, since I have clever friends, the people bringing me shots were all handsome men. I don’t really remember any of their names, so I just started labeling them "Cute Boy #1""Cute Boy #2" and so on.

And now onto the kissing... What free shot would be complete without a kiss on the cheek? My cheeks got a lot of action. I even had a few ask if I'd kiss them on the cheek. And being drunk and flirty and 24, I was happy to oblige.

And finally, the dancing! We danced at Wolfhound. Others went to the club, but at Wolfhound they played Jailhouse Rock and Sweet Caroline and all the classics that everyone knows. I just sang along and let the good times roll. Besides, if I had gone to the club it would have just been thumping techno with no room to move. I needed room to dance and breath and rock!

But, before I move on... Let me share the wonder of Wolfhound, my favorite bar! Wolfhound has become the hangout for me and all my friends... We go there almost every weekend. There are a couple other popular foreigner bars, but this one is particularly cool because it is a little out of the way. You have to go off the main road and down a back street to get to it. And, more European, Australians and New Zealanders hang out there, so there are fewer rowdy and crass boys and more cute boys with accents. And, since our crowd always hangs out there, we’ve started to know the other “regulars.” We have a couple other groups of friends that we’ve met there and we can expect to see and hang out with whenever we go out. It has a real ‘Cheers- Where everyone knows your name” quality about it.

Speaking of “Where everyone knows your name...” About a block away from Wolfhound is Seoul Pub, which is my other favorite bar. One of the owners is named Junior and last time when my friends were in town we stayed out all night at Seoul Pub. They are open till 6am and we hung out with Junior, playing cards and darts until they shut the place down. So, now Junior knows me and whenever I come in he always says hello with gusto and plays my favorite songs. He lets me be the DJ and pick any music I want. Sometimes he’ll buy me and my friends a round of drinks “on the house.” It makes me feel like such a cool, hip gal who is “in the know.”

A few other random updates...

Song of the Moment: Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon
(This song has been on the top of my list for quite awhile now.)

Fall is here and I am in love. Crisp breezes. Gold leaves. Scarves.

A casting director approached me today on the street to be an extra in the movie “Beverly Hills Ninja 2.” They are filming here in Korea. Maybe I’ll call them. Why not, right? It could be my big break!

I fell down yesterday. I just fell over. I thought it was pretty funny, since falling down is a pretty infrequent occurrence. I mean, think about it... When was the last time you just fell down. Didn't trip. Didn't step on a shoelace. Didn't get bumped by another person. Just one minute you're walking. The next minute you are on the floor.

I really like Holly Flax.

Book I’m Reading: Lonesome Dove
(It’s Liz’s favorite book, so I said I’d read it. Actually, surprisingly good.)

Current Color of my Toenails: Chipped Gold

Current Color of my Mood: Yellow… with a hint of Leafy Green

Most Recent Reason to be Thankful: Billy Joel's Live Albums and English Breakfast Tea

Word of the Moment: Megalomaniac

Youtube Video of the Moment: Hey Sarah Palin”