Another Reason Not to Use Make Up Testers

While at COEX grading papers and stocking up on The Face Shop's cheap toiletries today, I witnessed one of the grosser events that I have seen in recent memory. While a young mother was putting every single lipstick on her mouth, her son repeatedly sneezed all over the testers. I mean, all over. I guess she figured she lived in the house with him, so she was already exposed. Or mothers don't mind their kid's bodily fluids. Or she's a Korean mom and, therefore, oblivous to her child's actions.

At any rate, I will no longer even be putting testers on the back of my hand-- I *do* mind kid's bodily fluids.

When Matter Meets Anti-Matter (or not)

Last night, both guests (Stafford and a comedian) backed out at the last minute. Okay, the comedian had been admitted to the hospital... Stafford's excuse was...um... I don't remember. Joe knew how sad I was to have missed the chance to meet Evil Jennifer, so he surprised me by having her on. A good time was had by all. Or by me, anyway. You'll have to listen yourself to this week's episode-- due out Saturday. I know, I know, that's three days away. Try to hold your horses. :-)

***

Getting back to work has been fine-ish. The days still seem much longer than they should. I've got a good bunch of kids and the new teacher is actually a teacher, so she has not had any problems so far. Even better, her college roommate may be coming to work with us from next month, so I won't have to force myself to be sociable.

***

Last week, I missed out on discussing this topic on the podcast, but I revisited it this week. Now all I need is a T-shirt with this on it:

Home Again Home Again Jiggety-Jig

Well, I made it through the rest of my visit without any more hurricanes.

I decided to pony up another $130 (it was already the most expensive coach ticket ever, so why not?) for the extra 5" of leg room. I know, if anyone doesn't need extra leg room, it's me, but I figured not too many families would pay that for their kids, and I was right! I had a window seat and no one next to me for the entire flight (three planes)-- money well spent.

I missed getting my cat out of jail last night by about ten minutes, so I was there at opening this morning to spring him. He was totally freaked out and jumped out of my arms on the way home and hid in the bushes. I finally had to pull him out by the leash (he has the kind that wraps around his chest-- I wasn't going to choke him, so don't send me nasty emails.)

Now I've got to try to get my cable hooked up today or (gasp!) I won't have TV for the long weekend. For the past four years I've gotten free cable, but my apartment has discontinued that service. I imagine that has something to do with the ajumas that put together a petition to lower our monthly bills, which are already pretty low. Thanks for saving me that $3, ladies.

ETA- Reason Korea is great #33: I called the cable company at 12:00 and the cable guy just left (5:15).

I guess I should unpack. Or take a nap and then unpack... I just hope I didn't miss this while I was gone:

(Thanks to Brian for the head's up and the link to I lobe Konglish.)

It Wouldn't Be Home Without a Hurricane

Gustav has now pretty much come and gone with little damage to my family members and their homes but now I'm stuck in Tampa, because the airport will still be closed when I was supposed to fly back to NO. I rescheduled the flight and was happy to get on one, but my sister is pissed because the traffic's going to be bad. She wanted me to reschedule it for Saturday-- the day of the opening game between the Saints and... Tampa. Whatever. I guess it wouldn't be a trip home if she wasn't pissed off at me about something...

If it's Thursday, it must be Disney World :-)

Why don't work weeks go by this quickly? Needless to say, I'm having a great time and doing a lot of relaxing and not a lot of homework...

I've been home for a week now and am already at destination #2-- my Dad's in Florida. Tomorrow we are going to Epcot. Apparently there is a new ride that simulates a hurricane-- is that really necessary in these parts?

World's Meanest Mom

That's how I felt when I took my cat, kicking and screaming every step of the way, to the vet, which, fortunately for me, was two blocks from my house. May I just say, that was the longest two blocks of my life. I did at least get some enjoyment from seeing how much he freaked out all of the Koreans we passed. :-) Watch out he might steal your soul! Actually, the sounds he was making did fit a soul-sucking demon...

When I got to the vet, there was a bit of a Korean moment, of course. Last week, I talked to the vet, made a reservation, if you will, to make sure they could take care of him for three weeks. I was quoted 300k, which was what I had expected. No problem. When he saw my "big cat" the price changed to 375. What, are they going to feed him more? I will just have to trust that the higher fee went to getting him a larger cage. I will also have to trust that they will let him out to exercise each day. I had to hit up the ATM, since I had been told 300, and when I came back, Kneivel was out of sight and silent. So, I am also trusting that they didn't drug him up to keep him quiet.

Koreans Can be White Trash, Too

While I was grocery shopping today, I saw a store employee doing inventory. No big deal, except he came across an open bottle of wine. Yes, some thirsty shopper uncorked a bottle of wine in the store and had a little drink. Were they carrying a corkscrew around with them? How did they do this surreptitiously, anyway?

***

I was finally able to get a ticket from New Orleans to Tampa with my inferior Korean credit card. Well, actually, I used Paypal. I heart Southwest. And Paypal.

Dear Sallie Mae, Please Pull Your head Out of Your Ass. Thanks, Jen

Around the beginning of the year, as you may recall, I paid off a student loan more befitting a doctor/ Harvard grad than a teacher/ state school grad. As you can imagine, I did a few happy dances and then forgot about it. Until today. When I got a nicely worded note letting me know that I was going to default on my loans. After I gave the nice (but clearly uninterested) customer service rep a piece of my mind, I was informed that I had not paid $300. Let me just back up and say that I called my student loan people and confirmed that everything was paid and they happily announced that I was debt free. How, I would like to know, can I pay money that I don't know is owed? The nice (but clearly uninterested) customer service rep insisted they had informed me and gave me the address they had been sending mail to, where I lived in 1996. Did they lose the five (six? ten?) addresses I've had since then? I would understand this if it were still state-run-- government workers aren't really known for getting off their asses for much of anything but a break, but Sallie Mae has been privatized. So, theoretically, this is a profit-seeking corporation. Were they hoping to cash in on the massive interest that has accrued to make a total of $300?

Out of the Mouths of Babes...Or Reason Korea is Not Great #1

As long as I have been here, I still am occasionally stopped in my tracks by my students' offhand remarks. Or writing.

.

Yesterday, I was given two college application essays to review for a student. Let me repeat: college application essays. You know, the ones that make you stand out as the perfect freshman that the school absolutely must accept. OK, just wanted to make that clear.

.

The topic of both essays was something along the lines of "Discuss some hardship you have overcome." Essay #1 was all about the "hardship" of sharing a room at boarding school with a girl that had multiple airplanes and homes around the world. The hardship? The roommate was messy. Really. Space devoted to said hardship and its resolution? One paragraph. Space devoted to telling about the girl's wealth? Three paragraphs. She actually said that their difference in socio-economic status was a cultural difference they had to deal with. You know, as opposed to the cultural difference of coming from different cultures. Which, BTW, she did not mention.

.

So, the first essay was basically crap. No problem, I thought, she has a second essay with basically the same topic. If necessary, she can revise the second one and use it for both schools. Then I read the second one. This one was about the hardship of staying with a black family for a fortnight in England. It was a hardship because of the stink of their weird food throughout the house. However, she found their hair very interesting to look at, even after she got used to the strange smells. Now, she proudly announced, she tells her friends that black people aren't scary and dirty. Really. I read the entire thing thinking it had to be a joke-- this girl lives in the US. But, no, no joke. So, I edited the grammar and vocab and put a nicely worded note suggesting she revise the overtly racist parts, without specifically stating that she would only be left with an introduction.

So Close I Can Taste It

One week from now, I will be getting on a plane for home. My first visit to BR in four years. I've only got a few classes this week, so I've got to do some shopping, packing, and arrange the kennel for my cat.

I'm not looking forward to that last one-- it took him a while to forgive me for the last time and that place had a huge cat area with floor to ceiling condos and room to run. Of course this is Korea, so that place is gone, so it looks like he's going to spend three weeks in a cage.

***

SAT classes mostly ended last week, which is why I have so few hours this week. They ended much better than I expected except for a few of my private tutors. My tutoring sessions weren't as popular as the ones with the young teachers that spent equal time chatting and teaching. I'll try not to take it personally. ;-) Now I have no excuse not to work on my CALL coursework and a couple other papers I've got ( long over-) due.

***

Well, while the soldier has been in the field for two weeks I have had plenty of time to "reflect" (obsess is such an ugly word) on things. I've decided not to see him any more. As nice as he is, I want to meet someone that I don't have to modify my vocabulary for, I do that all day at school. It's not like I'm some super-intellectual person, so I don't think that's unreasonable. I think things were really over when he was shocked to hear that I was (gasp!) reading one night when he called. Having two weeks to fixate on it sealed his fate. Onward and upward. :-)

***

I got some unhappily surprising news at work on Friday. Just last month, I signed a long contract in order to get this vacation and another month off in January. I did it not only to get the time off, but also because there are some developments going on at my school that, if they come to fruition, would be an excellent opportunity for me. Then, out of the blue, on Friday, one of my bosses (the one spearheading the project) announced that she and her (horrible, wretched) ex have reconciled and are talking about getting married in spring, but she wants to get married be the end of the year. After they get married, she is going to move to the US so he can go to dentistry school. Her plan when I met her was to become a dentist, BTW, but now she wants to be a wife. Only. I have to say, I'm really not pleased with this turn of events-- surely she knew this was a possibility last month. In fact, I may not finish my contract if she leaves.

I Haven't Fallen off the Face of the Planet

I've just been busy. Friday was the end of the regular semester. I had foolishly thought that the next few weeks before I go home would be relaxed. Well, it will be slower than the past six weeks, but I'll still be teaching about 35 classes a week.

Since I'm going home when SAT classes finish, I was not scheduled to teach children's classes for the summer. I thought that meant I would be teaching 9-1 for the next three weeks. I was half-right-- I'm teaching 9-1. And 2-6. Mondays, at least, are half-days. I suppose I'll be happy on payday, because I'm working August on an hourly basis. That will make up for the most expensive cattle class airline ticket in history.

***

Other than teaching, I've just started my final course for my MEd!!!! Hold your applause, hold your applause. Yes, this course I began a mere five and half years ago, it coming to a conclusion only 6 months past the technical deadline. Go waivers!

***

I haven't written about my personal life in a while, so here's an update. Things are fairly quiet on the Please-Be-My-X front. Right after I sent him home for the third time (but who's counting), he was emailing me on his usual stalker-esque schedule. It has petered out, though. He managed to get a job and hold it for an entire week before he sabotaged himself. When he complained to me about his mom's lack of understanding (he's squatting at her place), I told him pretty straight up that he does the same thing over and over and over, knowing what the result has been the previous umpteenth times. So, it is his fault for thinking things would be different this time. Since then, there has been near radio silence. I may even send him divorce papers soon...

I also started seeing someone about a month ago. He's really sweet and seems eager to prove that he is NOT like P-B-M-X. He's a soldier stationed about 1 1/2 hours away, so that's a little inconvenient, but we're taking turns going to see each other, so... so far so good. I have to say, it's weird to go out and have someone else pay. Good weird. :-) He's going to the field for some extended training this week and when he gets back, I'm going home, so that kind of sucks, but I'm sure I'll survive... ;-)

I'm in Wikipedia

Check it out.

Also check out cheerleaders at the 7th Wheelchair Sports Tournament doing a dance inspired by Japanese horror movies. Some things just don't translate well...

I got my name in the paper today

Check it out here.

Castus Interuptus

There will be no new podcast this week, but not for lack of trying. Last night, we talked to Annalog for exactly two hours and twenty-five minutes before Joe realized that the record button had not actually engaged when he had clicked it. In his defense, I hadn't noticed either-- there is a voice prompt and a warning from Skype that the call is being recorded, neither of which occurred last night.

Since it was already well past my bedtime, we decided not to have a new episode this week and to have her come back in September.

***

I received my grade for the only project that I had to do for the CALL class I was taking-- not what I was expecting. I'm pretty pissed, because I put a lot of effort into it and the comments are kind of ...um... nit-picky. Now I can only hope that my online participation grade will boost my overall grade. I put so much work into this class-- way more than I would have if it were a traditional classroom setting, so getting this grade has put me in a crappy mood.

I had heard ages ago that this particular instructor is a hard ass, so I'm going to go with that, rather than think my research/ writing is sub-par. ;-)

***

My SAT classes are going well. The kids are pretty good, behavior-wise, considering that most of them live in the US and that this is their vacation. They spend four hours a day getting filled with exam-y goodness and then go home to do about six hours of homework, five days a week. I can honestly say that I would not have given it my all had I been put in their shoes.

I've only got six more working days with 11 classes(MWF I *only* have 8 per day). Yea! At the end of the month, my regular classes will finish for the month and then I'll only have SAT classes. Then, when those finish, it's off to sunny LA (Louisiana, that is) for almost a month.

Estonian Potpourii

Estonian Potpourii
Originally uploaded by crazylacelady

Estonian Potpouri-- I've got the center block of one square plus the first pattern done-- 25 lace patterns to go. ;-)

A Month?!

I had no idea it had been so long since I last posted.

Well, I haven't had anything exciting going on, so I guess there was nothing to post about. I was too busy finishing the semester (the penultimate course for my master's!) to knit or anything else, really.

At school, I'm teaching SAT classes from 9-1 and then my usual schedule (2:30-8:30), so I still don't have much of a life even though I finished the class I was taking.

After much leg work on my mother's part, I was able to secure a criminal background check for my visa renewal. Since I haven't lived there since 1991, I'm sure no other place in the world would consider that a valid check, but I'm not anywhere else, I'm in Korea. I also got my medical, which was the usual fun of a Korean doctor's office.

So, I'm sitting in the (full) waiting room while the nurse tries to figure out exactly which drugs I'm supposed to be tested for, when she realizes she's forgotten an important question. Rather than call or motion me over, she shouts, "Ms. Jennifer, Ms. Jennifer, are you having your period?"

There is an older woman there who is afraid something might get lost in translation, so she starts calling out possible English translations (she never did get it right), while the other nurse starts calling out all the Korean euphemisms I am likely to have heard before. Nurse #1 later realized she had forgotten another important question, so we replayed the scene, replacing "chronic illness" and "medications" for "period."

I then got to give the crowd (okay, about seven or eight people) a thrill when they got to see me get weighed. Koreans are always very curious about my weight, which always makes me want to answer, "I weigh enough to crush you like a bug, so don't tempt me!"

In the hospitals defense, they went to a lot of trouble to make sure I was taken care of. A candy striper (or something similar) walked me through the correct lines, because it was set up like the DMV-- it took three lines to set up the physical. She then walked me to the first testing area. Shortly after the nurse got through shouting her way to a medical history, a guy showed up to translate for me. He stayed with me the rest of the visit (about an hour) to make sure I didn't have any communication problems. From what he said in passing to other employees, I gathered that his job was to babysit the elderly and foreigners. ;-)

I called my school before I left the hospital to make sure I had done everything and the secretary asked if she could pick up the results, because it would interfere with my teaching schedule. In typical Korean fashion, the rule is, if the tests are normal, anyone can pick them up, otherwise, only the patient. One would think that they could a) contact the patient in case of abnormal results, or b) seal the results in an envelope, but clearly that is not the case.

Anyway, with medical records (yea! I don't have TB!) and criminal background check in hand, I went to immigration day before yesterday and renewed my visa. Either they finally have enough copies of my diploma and transcripts on file (at least half a dozen) or that was last year's issue and now they are on to drugs and molestation.

Total cost: around US$250, not counting the gas money I paid my mom for the inordinate amount of running around she had to do.

That's pretty much been the height of excitement around here.

I've finally got a project on the needles, but it isn't getting anywhere fast. I'm not sure about my yarn choice, so I'm not bothering to take pictures. I've posted the finished pattern. I started with block three, because there are no nupps or other weird design elements in the center pattern. Of course, what I really ought to be doing is knitting something for my mom to take when I go home, but I'm pretty stingy about my knitting...

A Forest in Seoul and "Eco-mowers"

This is going to be another drive by post. I'm madly trying to finish my coursework for my penultimate class for my MEd. However, I found time to go to a picnic in Seoul Forest on Buddha's birthday.

The forest is still new, so Seoul is clearly evident.

Even the drain covers are fancy.

Unlike the wine.

I didn't get a shot of the Dixie cups the wine was consumed from, but you get the idea.

Jennifer Teacher aka The Ball Buster

So, I went to work today in a good mood. Last night, Joe and I had Amanda on the podcast and it was fun. I actually got to talk a little knitting. Not much, because we had already run about 90 minutes longer than intended, as we do every week, but whatever. We've pretty well established that neither of us is capable of thinking a thought that we don't utter. So, Amanda and I kept the knit-talk (is that knittish?) brief.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are "event days" at school, so I was in a good mood about that as well. Just one little meeting to get through. I'm sure you can see the fly in the ointment already.

About a week (maybe two) ago, all teachers were given a form to fill in showing what lessons they had remaining in each textbook for the next ten weeks. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the results of our labors and any adjustments that needed to be made. To give you an idea of the amount of work involved, one teacher started doing hers about an hour before the meeting and finished on time.

However, another teacher came in 90 seconds before the meeting and we had the following conversation:

Him: "Um... I haven't finished the paperwork for the meeting."

Me (not surprised, since he generally starts any paperwork on the due date): "Well, just bring what you have so we can discuss that."

Him: ... (Deer in the headlights with crickets chirping in the background.)

Me: "Did you not finish or not begin?"

He hemmed and hawed and apologized, but this was pretty much the end of the conversation. I'm about as non-confrontational as they come, but his stuff is always late and this particular paperwork required little actual work to do. However, that's all I said. Really.

So, the meeting starts a few minutes later and when we took out our paperwork to get started, he started crying. I felt like complete shit until I rewound the conversation in my head. I don't think I was overly harsh, insomuch as I didn't actually scold him.

Later my boss pulled me aside and asked if I was the reason he cried. She then thanked me for putting the fear of God in him about getting it done. Yeah, nothing like tears to let me know I've done a good job.

Colbert v. Rain

Of course, a dance-off with a Korean wouldn't be complete without a round of DDR.

080505 Rain dance-off with Stephen Colbert

Reason Korea is great #96

I have pink eye. Okay, it's not a usual reason to celebrate a country, but bear with me. I went to the eye doctor yesterday (no appointment, I just dropped in.) I waited nearly five minutes before I was examined. It was hard to wait so long, but I'm a patient patient. Hehe.

Anyway, I had pink eye. Which I figured. Which was why I hauled myself to the doctor on a Saturday. As I was paying the receptionist, she apologized to me. Why, you may ask? Because my insurance wouldn't cover the visit, prescription, or follow-up. The cost of the visit and prescription together was right at $20. I'm guessing the follow-up will be in the $10 range. I think I'll live. ;-)

Now I'm wondering if I should take tomorrow off. There was a pink-eye epidemic in Seoul a couple of years ago-- I wouldn't want to become known as Pink-Eye Jennifer Teacher...Hmmm... the big struggle for workers in Korea: work even if dead vs. public health concerns. If my eye is still pink tomorrow, I'll call in. The crust is already gone, though, so I'm pretty sure I'll be fine. (Dammit!)