I suck at Nablopomo. -shrugs- Sorry. I mean, it's not that I don't have interesting things happen to me all the time, just that I don't think about blogging about them everyday. I'm usually busy, you know, experiencing them. Also, it's been something like 2 weeks since I had a night home by myself/got home before 9pm. So, when I did have time, I just wanted to chill and not have to worry about being under pressure to do something like blog.
That being said, lots of fun/interesting things have happened. Where to start? The most recent are easiest to remember. Or perhaps to group them into categories. Here goes:
Knitting: I've been working on my dragon shawl, mostly. I'm just starting the third repeat of the pattern, so I have a ways to go. Still, I like how it's turning out. I would take pictures, but it's hard to see very well. I did a swatch the other day for the tunic I'm going to make, and will probably take that to SnB to work on this week. Yummy, silk/cotton blend in a nice light green. I finished my cowl as well, and am pleased with it, despite having to rip out the bind off and redo it. It's very awesome, and I'm supposed to take pictures at some point. I got into trading stuff on ravelry, and now have a hand-dyed skein of alpaca and a skein of blue/green sock yarn. I also bought some really nice alpaca to make a pair of fingerless gloves with - the new Sourwood Mountain pattern from Knitty. Unfortunately I need to learn cables before I can do it - it's supposed to be fairly difficult. However, the weather has taken a turn for the worse, so I'm sure I will be able to get them done and still have time to wear them a bit. If not - well, there's always next winter.
TV/Books: Did i mention I finished Hana Yori Dango, both seasons? I was happy with the ending, for the most part. Of course, now the Korean drama that's a copy of it is all over the place here - they even have F4 fajitas at On the Border. Let me tell you, Hanazawa Rui's Korean counterpart is not as attractive, especially when drawn with an oversized head on a shrimp's body. But in general, the whole Korean cast is not as attractive. Especially Korean-Makino. She's supposed to be cute, but... no.
Since then I've vague cravings to watch the last season of Doctor Who that I never got around to, but I've been watching another drama, Taiwanese, Romantic Princess. The lead guy is growing on me, and the lead girl, Xiao Mai, is beautiful as well as really sweet. But she's also naive as fuck and kinda annoying at times. She tends to do things without thinking (like getting engaged to play a prank on someone she doesnt like. I know, right?) It hasn't annoyed me enough to stop watching, so I'll keep going. I also watched the pilot for a an American drama called Damages that Jon was pestering me about. Still haven't gotten to True Blood. (shh... don't tell him).
I got a book from BookMooch a few weeks back, and picked it up last night. I liked it so much that I finished it
I've been working on another audiobook as well, when I'm knitting at home, or jsut when I don't feel like listening to music. I'm continuing with the Sword of Truth series. I always liked Stone of Tears, though there are some parts in the middle that drag a bit, and I'm about halfway through it right now. I still haven't decided if I will listen to the books I haven't read yet on audio, or read them first. I guess it depends.
Okay folks, that's pretty much not it at all, but I'm zonked. More later. In the meantime, here's a song I've been liking lately.
today was a good day. I got a lot of things done - boxes mailed to neechan and to a fellow Raveler, money on my phone, a time for Gizmo to go to the vet to get fixed, took my jeans to be altered. I even dropped by Knitting Tree for an hour or so to tell them about the Myeongdong meeting and do a repeat or so on my cowl. It was fun to be there again - I told them I would come back Friday and bring some of my FOs to show them, since last time I was working on the legwarmers.
After all my errands, I ended up in McDonalds to meet my new friend. We had a lot of fun talking for an hour or so before he had to go do homework for a marketing class. He lives in Kukdong, which is like, right next door to me. When I walked back by KKW the lights were still on, so I ended up going back to McDonald's with Kim-teacher, Kyung Mi (Violet) and Soh Jin (pansy). We stayed there talking about all kinds of things till 10. And now I'm home, browsing ravelry and attempting to figure out what pattern I want to make with this cotton/rayon blend from Knitting Tree.
Also today - yummy kimbap. MMM...
I'd like to finish this cowl this week so I can be wearing it. Also, wanna start my dragon shawl but am still working out if it should be double-stranded or single. Need two more balls to make it double.
And then Jon sent me this article.
Excommunicated doctor hailed for abortion
Archbishop Don Jose Cardoso Sobrinho of Recife excommunicated the doctor, the child's mother and the medical team involved in the procedure.
However, the stepfather was not excommunicated, with Sobrinho telling Globo TV that, "A graver act than (rape) is abortion, to eliminate an innocent life."
Um, no, I don't think so. Because rape isn't the elimination of anything innocent at all. This is just wrong on so many levels. First one - 9 y/o raped by stepfather, pregnant with twins. Abuse had been going on since she was 6. (Can 9y/os GET PREGNANT?) Hello, where was the mother in all this?
2ndly - the girl's mother and the entire medical team who performed the abortion have been excommunicated. Guy who did the raping? Totally cool in the eyes of God. And the Archbishop has the nerve to say that "God's law is above human laws." Of course it is, but I think you are getting confused here, because the law that says it's okay to rape your stepdaughter is probably not God's law. My two cents, anyway.
Brazil bans abortion? What?
I didn't have tutoring tonight, cause Jihyun was going to be late at school, so we decided to do it some other time. So I took a nap when I came home, though I briefly considered going out to get ice cream or going to Gangnam anyway. I have yet to eat dinner, cause I was asleep and then have been surfing the tubes reading random things. I found this hilarious, Jon sent it to me.
Why men look for any excuse to get away
I know, just the title, right? I clicked thru and read some of the articles on the parent site, and they weren't too great either. or confidence-inspiring. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with their advice, just that they ... were slightly off. Perhaps because I don't share the view that men are supposed to be an accessory to child-rearing, and not the other half of it. It seems like most articles you read that talk about Dads are all like, "well, it's normal for him to want his space..." Um, HELLO? Women want their space too - they just probably feel less inclined to ask for it, since society tells them that they are the one primarily responsible for the child.
A lot of the stuff in this article and others, I wonder about. People talk about how they no longer had time to go out (understandable) and how they lost some friends as a consequence of having kids. But when one guy says, his conversations with childless friends were "stilted" because they "weren't impressed by good bowel movements" - well fuck no, they probably weren't. why the hell would you want to hang out with one of your friends you haven't seen in a while, and then have them start talking about their kid's bathroom habits? I think that if that's all you can find to talk about with your friends after not having seen them for a bit... that's an issue with your friendship.
Other than that, there were just little things - the guy in the article above talks about how he has become "a less interesting person" since he had children. That seems odd to me - I would think that being interesting or not is an integral part of your personality. One guy in another article said that he "no longer thinks about his ambitions or dreams" or doesn't really take them seriously, and another that he doesn't talk about things like that with his wife like he used to. And to all of this I'm like, wtf? Really?
And all of my reaction to this sort of thing probably just really shows how not ready I am for children. I love my kids here, but I am glad that I don't have to deal with them constantly. I enjoy my freedom, enjoy being an 'interesting' person, having friends that I can talk about my goals with, and HAVING ambitions that I do take seriously.
Yep. Totally not ready. But if parenting is the way these articles show, then I'm not sure I will ever be ready.
I'm so beat right now, probably cause i just got home from tutoring jihyun a bit ago. Got free dinner out of it, though. She's opened up a lot, and I think things will go well. Her grandmother laughed at me a lot during dinner, but they said it was because she liked me. They were worried cause we had curry for dinner and it was very spicy - Koreans are always concerned that their food will be too spicy, in my experience. I explained that I liked spicy food, and that it was okay. Jihyun's mom is some sort of nutritionist, I think - she's very concerned with eating healthy. So we had curry, and spareribs, (and of course, kimchi) and then we have this thing that's good for your digestion - kind of like persian tahdig, but with hot water over it. It wasn't actually that bad. And then we had yuzu tea, which definitely takes some getting used to - It's sweet and sour and bitter all at the same time. I like Korean food much better when I'm not eating it at school...
I talked to Julie and Jon some tonight before I left- Jules wants me to move to DC, and Jon wants me to come visit when I come back thru there. DC doesn't sound bad, and it was a place I was thinking of going anyway, so we'll see. I'll have to take some time during the next few weeks and start looking for jobs/schools.
AND!! I finished an icon for the etsy shop. I still have some tweaks to do on it, and have to do the banner, but I should be able to finish those - hopefully this week. Though I am super-busy this week. -sigh- Oh well. I enjoy being busy. Kind of. Tho parts of me also misses coming home and passing out.
Speaking of passing out - it's that time for me.
I just finished watching the last bit of Hana Yori Dango 2, so I'm done with that series. I really loved that show, though at times it was predictable and the back and forth kinda annoyed me. -sigh-
Poor Hanazawa Rui... he just kept getting screwed. Such is the way of Japanese dramas. Not like your amazing, sensitive first-love could be the one you're destined for - no, it always has to be the crazy guy who's your first kiss by accident and has some vendetta against you. Until of course he realizes how awesome you are, but by then you don't really want anything to do with him. Argh.
Yeah, I'll probably watch it again. -smile- Next up: Romantic Princess, the Taiwanese drama I started at the same time as HYD.
I surprised myself by getting stuff done today. I finished all of the editing for Kimura, did part of my work for stuff with Jihyun (gotta finish the rest tomorrow) and went to Jamsil. Well, I had to do that, cause otherwise how would Donald get here? He seems very nice. Hopefully Violet-teacher will be happy.
Okay, off to work on my cowl some more before bed. I get paid this week so I am going to hit up ddm and get some beads for Bethany's cowl, as well as some more jewelry stuff...
Currently singing: the theme from HyD2 - "Love so sweet" by Arashi
Tomorrow: planning for sessions with Jihyun. Finish editing for Kimura. Finances for this month. Make Kizuna banner and icon. Get Donald from Jamsil. Do nails.
Monday: Finish planning lessons for week. Tutor Jihyun.
Tuesday: Tutor Jihyun. Mail package to Mamaw/Jessica
Wednesday: Dinner with new Korean friend.
Thursday: Knitting in Myeongdong.
Friday: Tutor Jihyun.
Saturday: Clubbing with Tim. Ever-continuing exploration of Dongdaemun. Indian/Thai food with Cait?
Sunday: Hyehwa SnB.
This week sometime: Finish my cowl. Start Dragon Shawl (again). Go see if Gangnam yarn store has more thread. Finish Hana Yori Dango. Start reading something. Try to fast without developing a massive headache.
It occurred to me recently - I should start looking for a job for when I go home. Need to get started on that.
Well, today was my first day meeting Ji-hyun and it went well, I felt. We talked a bit about things that she likes, and decided how we want it to work. We meet 3 times a week and we've got a rough schedule worked out - we're going to have conversations for the first two days, and read a book on the third days. She said she likes fantasy, and mentioned Twilight, so I thought she might like the Night World books. So we're going to start the first one next week. Then we had Mr.Pizza and she went off, to her friend's house, I guess. I think this will go well. Of course, it means I have work to do this weekend, but it won't be that bad, I think.
tonight I wasn't sure what I should do. I'm feeling kinda lazy and tired, so I decided to start my shawl. I'm on the 6th row or so, and it's going well, I think. But I'm kinda worried that I might not have enough for it the whole thing, since I'm doing it double stranded. We'll see how it goes. My cowl's blocked out nicely, but unfortunately it is a little bit big. so I think I shall get some ribbon and thread it through and try it then.
Now i'm going to go back to my shawl and my audiobook.
Well, today I finished my first cowl. It's fairly awesome and once it finishes drying/blocking I shall post a pic. I'm really proud of it cause, well, it's my first and it only took me like 10 hours (if that) and it's lace and I came up with the pattern by myself. I mean, I modified it from something else. For the record, I prefer to mod things to my specs and purposes, rather than reinventing things. It just makes more sense to me. This becomes an issue in our age of copyright-craziness.
Then I came home and took a 8 hour nap. I've been really tired lately and not really sure why. Well, scratch that, pretty sure it's because I havent been eating/drinking.
So here I am, reading blogs and such. I went to McDonalds and got food cause i'm too lazy to cook at the moment. And now as it's 430 and i have to be up in 4 hours for work, i think i shall head back to bed.
Today was my grandfather's birthday.
I went to bed early last night to make up for not sleeping well the night before, and slept like a log. A log with really vivid dreams about sex with ex-boyfriends. No lesbians last night, though. -sigh- Maybe I just need to pull out some of my trash novels - haven't read any of those in a while.
I was so into my dream that I didn't get up to eat this morning, and even came home and passed out for an hour during lunch. I thought about taking a nap tonight, but got to talking to Jon and putting up some more stuff on Etsy, and then had to Gangnam. I met another Baha'i there, and his female friend who has a daughter about Xtna's age. She seems like a sweet girl, and they want me to tutor her. So, I'm now a tutor. Sweetness - I can totally use the extra money, and it seems like it will be fun. Our first meeting is on Friday - I told her we could meet anywhere she wants, a coffee shop or whatever. But then she found out I had a cat, so she wants to come to my apartment. Lol, means I have to clean up, but it's good to have something that she's interested in. I'm not really sure what level her English is - Pico said she can read very well, but her conversation ability seems non-existent. I think that's pretty normal though - even tho she's been taking English in school for 8 years.
We have a lot in common, interestingly enough. She goes to a design high school not too far from me, and is studying architecture. She likes sweet potato tempura and sushi, and apparently is very artistic. Her mom seems really nice, and asked me if I would like to go with them to places like jjimjilbang. They paid for my dinner tonight - we had Korean sushi and sashimi. It was very yummy, and I had fun with them. Maybe we will be good friends - that would be nice. I just have to figure out exactly how to teach her. I'm going to get her to read some stuff for me on Friday and test out what she knows. Then we'll go from there.
I started a new cowl tonight. I'm modifying it from a scarf pattern, and I was going to do it flat and then seam it, but the bamboo needles I started it on are being ridiculous, so I think I will go to the Knitting Tree tomorrow and get some metal ones. I much prefer working with metal needles, anyway.
Fasting goes well. The only problem I really have is being extremely thirsty, and my allergies acting up in the morning doesn't help. I might have to start drinking lots of water to help with that. I need to start Some Answered Questions, but not tonight. Going to bed now, with the beginnings of a headache and hopes that I can sleep without dreaming.
Well, I finally FINALLY got my new Etsy shop set up!! To be honest, it was setup last week, but I just hadn't take pictures and written up descriptions and such. I'm the only one with stuff actually posted at this point, but hopefully my friends will get their stuff up at some point.
Today was the first day of fasting, and I managed to not take a nap, despite that I really wanted to pass out after work. I somehow closed my eyes and snoozed for 20 minutes without much notice from anyone, including myself. Fasting always makes me sleepy. Soh-Jin asked if I was hungry, but I was more tired and thirsty than anything else. And I didn't sleep well the night before - think I am going to go to bed early tonight, cause I can't really get back to sleep after waking up at 630. Didn't help that my phone rang at 8 am either - but it's about a tutoring job, and I wasn't really asleep.
Also the first day of class - it went well. Pansy class is only doing half-days this week, and I spent my first class with them just playing while they got used to being at school. There are only two girls, and they are both sweet, and were better behaved than the boys, most of whom refused to let their parents leave without them. Amy and Emily were good until I left, and then they got upset, but I think they calmed down after a while.
The switching up of the classes is interesting - the former 5-year-olds being in Daisy and Rose class is an adjustment. From what I have seen of the new kids, they are mostly okay - some of them are very good, for kids who're just starting school. There's one new boy in Violet class who's going to be an issue - he doesn't speak ANY English, and to top it all off, his mom decided his English name should be "Joy." That's not going to work, and I made sure to tell Joan. I remember seeing the name last week, but I figured it was a girl, not a boy. -sigh- Hopefully they will fix it, because I'm not having a boy named Joy. Bread and Shark is one thing, (and Bread is now Andrew, which works for him) but I draw the line at transexuality. Though we do have two Alvins and a Barney in Pansy class.
Alright, I'm beat and I still have a few more things to post on Etsy before bed. And I'm really thirsty. and want carrots. Need veggies, I think.
Ooh! Almost forgot. This is my new earring of awesomeness that I got this weekend.
