I’m sitting here at the guesthouse, resting a little before I go out. It’s another Club Night, but I’m not as pumped up about it as last month. I’m tired today… I slept on the bus to Seoul, was falling asleep on the subway, and really contemplated taking a nap before going out tonight. Once I get out there, it’ll be a lot of fun, like it was last month.

Today, I had grand plans of going to Lotte World, Namsan Tower, and the aquarium at COEX Mall. I only accomplished the last one. I thought there weren’t going to be as many people out today, since it was a workweek, but there were the same amount of people out as during the weekend. Don’t these people work?!? Well, I do have to remember, some women are housewives, and students are still on vacation. You’d think that travelling by subway would be fast, but it’s still slow, with all the walking and transferring. Like I always say, I like to visit Seoul during the weekends, but I’m happy I don’t live there. There’s just something about it… I could happily live in a metropolitan city like New York or Barcelona, but Seoul lacks the coolness factor that would counter act the hassles of living in a large city. Yes, Barcelona (or Barthelona, as the locals pronounce it) is an AWESOME city!

Barcelona, Spain

Anyway, the aquarium was cool. One might wonder if it’s worth the 14,500 won entrance fee, but it’s a nice splurge. They had a lot of sharks, and some of the fish were amazingly beautiful. While there, I was going to see a movie.  The ticket line for movies was one floor down.  So I looked over the balcony to see how long the line was.  I’m not good with estimating, but I would say it was at least 30 minutes.  I had never seen a movie in Seoul, and figured that the wait might be worth it, to sit in a better theater than the ones in Kangneung.  Plus, it wasn’t like I had any pressing matters to attend to.  I went down the stairs to find the end of the line.  Once at the bottom, I found that there were the same number of people waiting BEHIND the stairs!  My god, an hour wait to buy movie tickets!  That’s when I gave up.  The COEX movie theater really looks like a cool place, but I’d recommend catching a matinee, or having lots of patience.

I figured it’s about time I changed the snow on this blog.  As much as I like occassional snow, and was hoping for one more snowfall of the season, it’s about as likely as me learning to cook anytime soon.  So instead, I opted for "spring flowers".  It’s been getting really warm lately, and winter is defitely over. 

For me, signs that spring is here:
- I can no longer keep drinks cold by placing them in my tiled bathroom.
- The lock on the scooter is no longer rigid and hard to unwind.
- I went out last week without a scarf and hat.
- I’m no longer afraid that my down jacket will catch on fire while at school, because it’s been too warm to turn on.
- The downtown chestnut vendor is gone (sweet potatoes are still for sale, though).
- I’m already starting to daydream about days on the beach

I realized it’s been such a long time since I’ve written anything. I’ve been really busy with helping at The Warehouse, and really didn’t have any free time. For the last couple of weeks before the opening, I was at the bar almost every night, until 2:00 or 3:00 am. Mostly, I was helping with designing different aspects of the bar, painting, and just general cleaning up.

Opening night on February 20th turned out really well. From 8-10pm, the place was full. Michael had come in earlier in the night with some of his students. After awhile, the students noticed that people were trying to come in, but had to leave because there were not seats available. In response, the students left, so that other people could come in! Isn’t that nice? Go back home, and you wouldn’t see anyone leave a bar or club, so that other people could enjoy the place too. Last week’s opening was mainly a small opening for friends and friends of friends. There was absolutely no advertising, and on opening night, there wasn’t even a sign up. This week has been a test period - organizing the menu and the logistics of running a bar. This Friday will be the public opening. There’s supposed to be a banner outside, and "Grand Opening" plants that friends and associates send to wish good luck. I’d like to see how it goes, but I’ll be in Seoul on Friday night for Club Night.

My school’s taking a day off on Friday, so I’ll end up having a four day weekend. I’ll head up to Seoul Friday morning and spend the day doing some touristy things. I like the idea of having a free day, while everyone else will be going about their day, busy with work or school. It’ll feel like playing hookie, and wherever I go won’t be as busy as it would be on a weekend.

Yesterday, I saw Cold Mountain. I didn’t know too much about it, other than who was starring in it, and that it’s up for Best Picture of the Year. I’ve also seen Lost in Translation, and thought Cold Mountain was a better film. Cold Mountain was slow at points, but I felt the story was more interesting and I got more out of it than Lost in Translation. I’ve always thought Nicole Kidman was a pretty woman, but in some scenes, she was really beautiful in a simple looking way. I could see where some think she’s a striking beauty. Her skin seems to be made of flawless porcelain.

Today and yesterday were such blustery days. The wind was blowing everything around! I could hardly even scoot around, and the dust was torture to my contacts. Yellow dust is just around the corner.

Yesterday I went to the dentist to have a check up and cleaning. Maybe I should have been a little weary when the dentist finished with her patient and then washed her gloved hands, instead of getting a new pair, before heading to me. I guess on the bright side, she DID wash it thoroughly, and her hands were never actually in my mouth. Still… it’s the are-they-doing-it-correctly-in-Korea? factor. My dentist at home would throw away his gloves even when he wrote in my chart with a pen, or touched an x-ray. The dentist came to me, and asked, "Where does it hurt". I told her it doesn’t hurt anywhere, but I wanted her to check if I had cavities. All she did to "check" was to use the air blowing instrument in between my teeth. How are you supposed to tell anything by that? I’m no dentist, but if there was a VIP card for people who went to the dentist enough times, I would be an official card holding member. If you want to know about root canals or crowns, ask Dr. lao_ocean, D.D.S. Anyway, what she should have done, was to individually check my teeth with the metal probey-thing and take x-rays of my whole mouth. There’s a lot that can go on under the surface. A few more shots from the air machine, and it was determined that I had no cavities. Hard to believe… I know I eat lots of sugary foods and snacks. (I’m still working on the Halloween candy Renee sent me.) I’m not looking for th dentist to tell me I have a cavity, I just didn’t think she was doing a thorough job… especially since she didn’t even check my upper teeth. While there I had her remove two old fillings and replaced them with resin (tooth-colored fillings). I was surprised how cheap it was! Only 50,000 won ($42 USD), while it was $150 when I did it at a small dentist clinic in California. So, I was pretty happy with that. Afterwards, the dental assistant came over and gave me a cleaning. While the fillings were good, the cleaning was the most painful I’ve ever had in my life!!! She used some kind of sharp metal instrument, that upon contact with my teeth, sounded like screeching metal on metal. She also didn’t take any caution in jamming that thing into my tender gums. At times, I wanted to sceam out, but instead clenched my fingers and curled my toes from the agonizing pain. Luckily it ended pretty soon, and I didn’t die. Still, after all that, I didn’t even get a fluoride treatment or even a free toothbrush or dental floss (to add to my collection). I guess the only real positive thing I can say about that experience, is that it was cheap. I’ll let you know where it is, if one day you’re feeling masochistic.

Would you marry someone who has never said "I love you", during your 4 year relationship? I was at Ras ‘ school and his class was discussing this. There was a woman in his class that has only said those three magic words to her boyfriend once. She only plans on saying it again on their wedding day. This has to be an extreme of Korean culture. I know they’re conservative, but how could you be with someone for so long and not verbalize how you feel?

While at his school, I also ended up watching the Super Bowl ads online. I havea warm spot in my heart for animals and old people, and found those commercials to be the most amusing. I find kids and old people funny (looking and acting), except for the cranky ones. I skipped the H&R block ad - come on… the name alone sounds boring. I particularly liked Budweiser’s "Clydesdale Donkey" & "Horny Talking Monkey", and Frito Lay’s "Fight to the Death".

Back home, you don’t download commercials, but I hardly ever watch English commercials here. One of the best things about being in Korea, is that I don’t watch much tv anymore. I’m not constantly bombarded by commercials for new "must see" shows, so I don’t know what I’m missing. Sure, I hear about the O.C., but is that show really good? It’s all for the better, because tv takes up so much of my time. I usually only turn on the tv at night to watch English music videos at 9:00 pm on MTV, and then just have it on as background noise as I surf the internet. I always watch Friends and Will and Grace from 11:00-midnight. Of course, I’ll read about shows online. If there are good things said about a particular show, I’ll download it to watch. Actually, Ras will download it for me to watch. That’s how I found out about "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". On the other hand, I don’t think I’m missing much by not watching Jessica Simpson and her reality tv show, The Newlyweds. How long is it before you’re not newlyweds anymore? Didn’t they marry lat year???

I saw Johnny Cash’s video "Hurt" online a couple months back. This time it was on tv, and it made me a little sad while watching it. In the video, you see Johnny Cash old and tired, but there are clips of him when he was young, smiling, and and just getting started in life. The lyrics were a little haunting…

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt