| Had some really amazing manduguk (like Wonton soup, only you get a bunch of wontons in a really big bowl instead of just one) for lunch today. It was totally a little whole in the wall joint, but the lady running the place was super nice and even the kimchees accompanying the soup were really good. There was so much garlic in the soup and the kimchee that Dave can hardly stand being around me. Haha! Of course, I'm making an effort to breathe on him as much as I can. ;-) |
Feels like the day has been wasted. I mentioned earlier that I had scheduled out everything I wanted to do in a day to make sure it gets done, but then days like this come along and it’s all blown to hell. It seems like it shouldn’t really matter. What’s the harm in taking a day off from the schedule? I mean, it’s not like I’m getting paid or anything. But it does matter because every day is potentially a day off from the things that are important to me. The fact that I’m not getting paid means that it’s much easier for me to neglect that work.
So….
It started on a sour note, with me getting up late, leaving in a hurry, and forgetting to leave out the empty bottles and the money for the water man. Turns out I left on time, got there early, and now I owe the water guy twice as much the next time he drops by. Plus I have all those empty bottles lying around for two more weeks. Grr.. Where was I going? Oh, to the antique market with Catherine and a couple of her friends. I guess it was good to go. I mean, I’ve wanted to go for a long time as I didn’t know where it was and I thought there’d be lots of cool old stuff there, which there is. Almost too much old stuff to weed through. I bought a Buddhist thingee whose Korean name I've forgotten. When you find yourself in the vicinity of temple, this thingee makes the first sound you hear. It’s very peaceful. It’s a hunk of wood that’s carved and hollowed out so that it looks like a round bell (without the jingle ball in the center) connected to a round handle. It’s sanded smooth and varnished. When you hit it with its little whacker, the sound resonates through the hollow center, echoing loudly. I’m gonna hang it on a wall. We ate lunch and walked around a lot looking at antique stuff. There was this OBESE stone Confucius sitting outside one shop. He had really fat earlobes that looked like they had melted and run down onto his blubbery shoulders. His droopy fat breasts were supported by his bloated round belly. He was grinning and I imagined it was from all the pleasure his enslaved women brought him. Evil Confucius.
Catherine was generous with her car and so after we were done at the antique market she went with me to the tailor for my coat fitting. I don’t think it went very well. The coat was kind of just pieced together and it’s hard at that stage to see what it will look like in the end so that when I’m asked if something is right or wrong, I really feel like I’m just guessing. When I was there everything seemed cool, but later I thought about it more and worried that it might look more conservative than what I want and I really don’t want that so I called Mr. Kim when I got home and told him I wanted to come by again. He said that was OK, but then he called back and said the coat had "already been processed at the factory" - the man has a factory that processes things? Who knew? Probably a bunch of poor souls locked up in an attic somewhere - and that he’d finish it and we could alter it after it’s finished if I want. That’s cool. Guess I’ll see him Monday then.
Catherine had time and treated me to a ride home. Woohoo! Free ride man! With that knowledge, I trotted off to the black market and purchased a case of root beer and some other processed delights. Mmmmm! We chatted all the way home about how Korean businesses continue to shoot themselves in the feet and how Western businesses, who are financing this idiotic masochism, are getting really tired of losing their money and are deciding to get outta Dodge. Oh yeah - and we balked at the stupidity of South Korea signing an agreement with the North that will allow S. Korean commerial airliners to fly through Norhthern airspace. Geez! Talking about taking a risk to save a few bucks! I'm putting my faith in bureaucratic entanglements and hoping that those flight path changes don't go into effect until after I'm gone.
Riki called tonight and we set up another schedule breaker for tomorrow. We’re going to Insa-dong (my favorite!) for tea and an art fix. Can’t wait!
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