a poem for my dad, who is now 58...or 59.
"i'll tell your father" mom used to say
a threat that would keep our shenanigans at bay
little did we know that back in the day
dad was much tamer than mom (but in a good way)
when i was too little to hold your hand
i'd sit on your shoulders and survey the land
from those heights i felt i could stand
and hold the world in my grasp, at my command (i had a vivid imagination)
now we're both older and i'd have to guess
sitting on your shoulders would cause you some stress
but that doesn't mean i love you any less!
we all grow up! but i digress.
Happy Birthday dad! I love you to bits!
when it comes to fathers, you're one of the greatest hits!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
pot pourri
today is my last day at a Korean middle school for a long long time. I feel good about it. it's lunch break and I have only 1 class left - high level grade 1s. JOY! BLISS!
so, why am I typing a blog when it's lunchtime and should be stuffing my face? well, it seems that the last meal they should serve in my cafeteria is the one meal i will walk away from given the choice. Bibimbap. For those of you not in Korea, "bibim" mean "mixed" and "bap" can either mean "cooked rice" or "a meal". Anyway it's a mixture of sticky white rice, various overcooked/boiled veggies, roots, sprouts, etc, maybe some shredded pork. The sauce (cuz you always need sauce here) is red pepper paste, which i detest. Now, in all fairness, bibimbap is one of the korean meals that the majority of foreigners enjoy. This is classic picky Vanessa coming out. I've tried eating it without the sauce, but what your left with is, well, a bland mixture of cooked veggies and rice. not awesome. usually i try to eat some. sit down with the teachers, allow them to cluck their tongues at me. Today, however, i just turned around and walked out. it's like my body said "nope, not this time, not on your last day". Turns out skipping a meal at school is cause for major tongue clucking. whatever, I got a teacher's milk out of the deal. I'll go and eat something after 5th period :P
--------
yesterday i went to a nearby mart to pick up some baking supplies. I passed a man with a little girl (about 6 years old). The man turn to me, waved and said "hi", then tried forcing his daughter to do the same. I noticed that the girl was on the verge of tears and then the powerful stench of soju struck my olfactory. what the hell is this guy doing pissed drunk at 6pm with his young daughter? i wouldn't be at all surprised if he had driven to the store either.
--------
I was talking with a Korean man who used to work in the office at the yeonsuwon (he recently transfered to a school. He loves to study and practice English, so we chat sometimes. He told me that the other day, he didn't sleep well because his son was awake watching TV until 5 am. I asked how old his son was, expecting him to be a teenager, but no, his son is....wait for it... 4 years old!! WTF?!? Has anyone heard of a bedtime? I wanted my next question to mirror that sentiment, but instead I toned it down to "Why was he awake so late? kids should sleep at night." Apparently the kid had been sleeping all day and woke up at 6pm. That awesome if your rearing an owl, wombat, or any other kind of nocturnal beast, but yo! get a clue. your kid's 4, he needs a bit more guidance in his life choices.
--------
here are some phrases I've recently seen on Korean clothing and accessories:
"black knickers, white girls"
white knickers, black girls
no knickers, loose girls"
" meat puppets, descendants, angst"
"poodle butts"
"i'm so hungover i wish i was dead" (note, upon reading this, my first reaction was not "that's an awful thing for a young girl to have on her t-shirt". rather, it was "yo, grammatically, it should say i wish i were")
"a call-to-arms for all chunkily-penised boy to do her right and do her good."
what's alarming about some of these is that over the past 3 years, i've noticed that the english on "konglish" shirts has improved a lot, but I'm wondering who the hell they have sitting in a room thinking up shit like "chunkily-penised". not a pretty picture.
---------
got some more info about teachers college that has further made me regret ever taking french as an elective. not only did it force me to do summer school for 3 years in university, but now i have to take an extra elective at teachers college along with the catholic education elective. that puts me at a whopping 32.5 hours a week of classes. nice. (oh yeah, and an extra $1000 in tuition). my degree better be embossed in gold.
--------
hmmm, back to happy feelings. in a week and a half, i will be free as a bird for 1 month (before coming home). sprinkled in there are random trips to japan and busan. other than that, this girl will be takin it easy. hells yeah.
so, why am I typing a blog when it's lunchtime and should be stuffing my face? well, it seems that the last meal they should serve in my cafeteria is the one meal i will walk away from given the choice. Bibimbap. For those of you not in Korea, "bibim" mean "mixed" and "bap" can either mean "cooked rice" or "a meal". Anyway it's a mixture of sticky white rice, various overcooked/boiled veggies, roots, sprouts, etc, maybe some shredded pork. The sauce (cuz you always need sauce here) is red pepper paste, which i detest. Now, in all fairness, bibimbap is one of the korean meals that the majority of foreigners enjoy. This is classic picky Vanessa coming out. I've tried eating it without the sauce, but what your left with is, well, a bland mixture of cooked veggies and rice. not awesome. usually i try to eat some. sit down with the teachers, allow them to cluck their tongues at me. Today, however, i just turned around and walked out. it's like my body said "nope, not this time, not on your last day". Turns out skipping a meal at school is cause for major tongue clucking. whatever, I got a teacher's milk out of the deal. I'll go and eat something after 5th period :P
--------
yesterday i went to a nearby mart to pick up some baking supplies. I passed a man with a little girl (about 6 years old). The man turn to me, waved and said "hi", then tried forcing his daughter to do the same. I noticed that the girl was on the verge of tears and then the powerful stench of soju struck my olfactory. what the hell is this guy doing pissed drunk at 6pm with his young daughter? i wouldn't be at all surprised if he had driven to the store either.
--------
I was talking with a Korean man who used to work in the office at the yeonsuwon (he recently transfered to a school. He loves to study and practice English, so we chat sometimes. He told me that the other day, he didn't sleep well because his son was awake watching TV until 5 am. I asked how old his son was, expecting him to be a teenager, but no, his son is....wait for it... 4 years old!! WTF?!? Has anyone heard of a bedtime? I wanted my next question to mirror that sentiment, but instead I toned it down to "Why was he awake so late? kids should sleep at night." Apparently the kid had been sleeping all day and woke up at 6pm. That awesome if your rearing an owl, wombat, or any other kind of nocturnal beast, but yo! get a clue. your kid's 4, he needs a bit more guidance in his life choices.
--------
here are some phrases I've recently seen on Korean clothing and accessories:
"black knickers, white girls"
white knickers, black girls
no knickers, loose girls"
" meat puppets, descendants, angst"
"poodle butts"
"i'm so hungover i wish i was dead" (note, upon reading this, my first reaction was not "that's an awful thing for a young girl to have on her t-shirt". rather, it was "yo, grammatically, it should say i wish i were")
"a call-to-arms for all chunkily-penised boy to do her right and do her good."
what's alarming about some of these is that over the past 3 years, i've noticed that the english on "konglish" shirts has improved a lot, but I'm wondering who the hell they have sitting in a room thinking up shit like "chunkily-penised". not a pretty picture.
---------
got some more info about teachers college that has further made me regret ever taking french as an elective. not only did it force me to do summer school for 3 years in university, but now i have to take an extra elective at teachers college along with the catholic education elective. that puts me at a whopping 32.5 hours a week of classes. nice. (oh yeah, and an extra $1000 in tuition). my degree better be embossed in gold.
--------
hmmm, back to happy feelings. in a week and a half, i will be free as a bird for 1 month (before coming home). sprinkled in there are random trips to japan and busan. other than that, this girl will be takin it easy. hells yeah.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
for my seester
Hello!
To some people, today (july 2nd), is simply "Canada Hangover Day", but to me, today is much more awesome. It's the day we can all celebrate the birth of my big sister, Bernadette. w00t!
My celebration will be in the form of recounting random memories from our childhoods. Enjoy!
Aged 6-9 - Going out into the rain (or just after) armed with plastic ponchos and old margarine containers filled with dirt, Bern and I would worm hunt. We'd rescue poor stranded wormy souls from the sidewalk and give them a new home in our plastic jar. I don't know what happened to them when we were finished. Mom?
Aged 12-14 - Spending our summer afternoons in the cool basement eating candy and playing cards. She would always win. Recently she told me it was because she always cheated and I just never noticed. I'm not mad though.
Aged 8(ish) - My brother and sister were playing soccer in house league, but i was a bit too shy/ scared of pain. Then one summer, I started playing with my sister's team during their practices. I'm sure she hated having her little sister there, but she tolerated me nonetheless, and at that age, that's all one can hope for :P
Aged 18-20 - New Years parties - or lack thereof. A few years in a row, Bern and I rented movies and new years eve and she inevitably fell asleep before midnight. I'd turn off the movie, wake her up and whisper "happy New Year" then go off to bed. Not thrilling, but we did it together.
Aged 16 - Being in the school choir together. Notably, the time we sang a short duet together in "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".
Ah-WEEEEEEE Ah- WE-um-bum-buh-waaaaay
Aged 22 - Bern finally came to spend a weekend at my apt in London for my birthday party in 4th year. It was totally awesome to party with my friends AND my sister.
Anyway, lots of other memories, but i'll stop there!
Happy Birthday to my Seester. I love you!
To some people, today (july 2nd), is simply "Canada Hangover Day", but to me, today is much more awesome. It's the day we can all celebrate the birth of my big sister, Bernadette. w00t!
My celebration will be in the form of recounting random memories from our childhoods. Enjoy!
Aged 6-9 - Going out into the rain (or just after) armed with plastic ponchos and old margarine containers filled with dirt, Bern and I would worm hunt. We'd rescue poor stranded wormy souls from the sidewalk and give them a new home in our plastic jar. I don't know what happened to them when we were finished. Mom?
Aged 12-14 - Spending our summer afternoons in the cool basement eating candy and playing cards. She would always win. Recently she told me it was because she always cheated and I just never noticed. I'm not mad though.
Aged 8(ish) - My brother and sister were playing soccer in house league, but i was a bit too shy/ scared of pain. Then one summer, I started playing with my sister's team during their practices. I'm sure she hated having her little sister there, but she tolerated me nonetheless, and at that age, that's all one can hope for :P
Aged 18-20 - New Years parties - or lack thereof. A few years in a row, Bern and I rented movies and new years eve and she inevitably fell asleep before midnight. I'd turn off the movie, wake her up and whisper "happy New Year" then go off to bed. Not thrilling, but we did it together.
Aged 16 - Being in the school choir together. Notably, the time we sang a short duet together in "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".
Ah-WEEEEEEE Ah- WE-um-bum-buh-waaaaay
Aged 22 - Bern finally came to spend a weekend at my apt in London for my birthday party in 4th year. It was totally awesome to party with my friends AND my sister.
Anyway, lots of other memories, but i'll stop there!
Happy Birthday to my Seester. I love you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)