Weekend Update

Huge blog dump coming, you might want to go get a cup of coffee. XO

Friday: Jason Mraz and the W Hotel. Obviously, Mraz was awesome. The venue was similar to The Roseland in PDX so it was nice and intimate. The crowd was all sorts of rowdy and Jason even stopped the show to make an "Important Safety Announcement" about the crowd crushing the folks in the front. The band played a full show and 2 encores, probably about 2 hours of music with the opener. My knees are still sore from standing and jumping for so long.

The Venue from outside:


Jason! This is after the show - he came out to take some Polaroid's of the crowd & play a quick solo:


Afterwards we took a shuttle bus up the hill to the 6-star Sheraton "W" Hotel to have a very expensive cocktail. The hotel is incredibly modern and has some very neat spaces, including an ultramodern bar with 70's style pod chairs. My POS camera refused to accept such modern greatness so photographic evidence is slim.

The light sculptures at the entrance:


The individual bathrooms and sculpture garden:


For X - The one on the right is Kettle One:


Saturday: Itaewon & Insadong. The girls from my office took me out for lunch and then clothes shopping in Itaewon. This was possibly the most humiliating experience of my life because I am a chubster and we had to ask up front if the shop carried "Big Sizes." More than a few shopkeepers laughed in my face, but I did manage to find a skirt that will suffice for the DMZ trip.

The rest of the day was awesome. We went over to Insadong and I got most of my souvenir shopping done before dinner. The girls also bought me a few gifts, which was strange but really nice. I enjoyed hanging out with them and hope they are not just being nice to me because I'm from WHQ.

This is where the ring the New Year's Bell. People in Korea celebrate their birthdays at the start of every year (and their actual day!) so it's a big festival:


A man pounding rice for a traditional snack:


Me and Strawberry Girl, a very famous cartoon. Her best friends are Watermelon Man and Dung Boy. I'm kinda sad they didn't have a Dung Boy statue to pose with:


Sunday: Seoul Grand Park & The National Museum of Contemporary Art. I took the subway all by myself out into the country and the Grand Park. The art museum was nice but I can't say I enjoyed most of the art. There were a few great pieces and a lot of strange stuff. The visiting exhibition was a French artist and her work creeped the pants off me - I seriously could not get out of there fast enough. I guess if the purpose of Art is to inspire emotion it was successful, but I am now terrified of stuffed animals.

The open air sculpture garden, where I enjoyed an Orange Juice Soda:


On the way back I passed Seoulland "where happiness & adventure come true":

I'm pooped from all the walking/standing/shopping I've done this weekend. I almost went to see "Once" at the theatre on my way home, but there was only 1 ticket left and I wasn't in the mood to crane my neck from the front row. So, I'm going to be lazy here instead - maybe I'll go have a Stake at Amigo's!

On a side note, Pan's Labyrinth is possibly the scariest movie I have ever watched in Spanish with Korean subtitles - I have no idea what the heck they are saying but jeepers, it is fascinating.

Fun With Food!

I think they wanted to use an "H" here (on the back of a cheese package):


The biggest carrots. Ever:

For My NTS Peeps

Name that logo:

Ha!

I just saw the funniest commercial for French Cafe (coffee drink) featuring the lead actor from "Prison Break." You know, that silly show on FOX about a bunch of macho guys that have been wrongly imprisoned? I guess star Cutie McGee has a softer side he displays in Korean commercials. He was sitting at a baby grand piano on a patio, overlooking the city at sunset. While gently taping the keys he softly sang "Baby, I love you..." I'm not sure if he was singing to the coffee or because of the coffee. Either way, I LOL'd.

Tomorrow night is the Jason Mraz concert and I'm super-excited. We are leaving the office at 5, stopping by my hotel to drop off the laptop and then heading to dinner in Gangnam and the show in central Seoul. It's a sold out show but I think it's a smaller venue so maybe I'll get to see Jason up close. Fingers-crossed. Wheeee...it's going to be awesome!

Curious

I found this cool site full of web tools and thought I'd test it out with a quick poll.

Another Photo Blog (Mostly)

Saturday I had intended on going shopping in Insadong but the torrential rains kept me closer to home. During a break in the rain, I decided to try walking to E*Mart (the grocery mega-store). I figured if it started raining again it would be a lot easier to take a cab home and at least I'd be getting some exercise. I never found E*Mart, but I stumbled upon Seolleung National Park, housing the tombs of a former King and Queen.

As you can see, the park is right in the middle of the city. But it's strangely quiet inside and there are lots of places for sitting and walking. In fact, I'm pretty sure the locals just go to walk the loop & watch the birds. Total Admission Cost: $1.




I also found the Lotte Department store and wandered around. It was similar to a Nordstroms - very high end with little boutique-like shops & a huge food court/gourmet foods area. In the ladies room I got caught trying to take a photo of the warning signs on the bidet. You can't see it well but it's all kids doing strange things on the toilet. On the bottom left is a little boy smoking that just cracked me up. Like, yeah, that's the first thing I think of when I think "Danger" & "Bidet."


Saturday night I met up with an American friend of a friend for dinner & many drinks. We met outside the subway and I was enjoying the throngs of people coming up and popping their umbrellas open. I saw a few people get smacked in the face.


Look - it's She's Bar! Right next to Dunkin' Donuts:


M's friend Y - playing the Didgeridoo at the Hookah bar:


Very Drunk People:


I unfortunately didn't get any photos inside the Flinestones bar, but I got a lot of blurry shots like this. I think it sums up my state of mind at the time:


Lastly, I go to the local convenience store just about everyday for snacks or drinks. I was delighted to find a fruit basket today with cherry tomatoes, mini oranges and the biggest grapes I've ever seen. It just made me happy, so I leave you with that.

The Other Boleyn Sister

Working Titles:

Poor Girl Makes It Big, Loses Head

I Betrayed My Sister For This?

Scarlett & Natalie: A Love Story

I Bedded a King and All I Got Was This Stupid Baby

Ain't Karma a Bitch

One Hundred and Twenty Two

The morning started like any other morning - wake up, shower, dress, log in to work network to chat & check email. Slowly a terrifying tale unfolded...while I slept last night 122 of my colleagues were laid off. And another handful have "fallen off the org chart" and being absorbed elsewhere - wether they like it or not.

The idea of being laid off is terrifying to me. In my current state of debt there is no way I could survive on unemployment, and frankly, the job market sucks right now. So I feel pretty bad for those 122. I don't know exactly who they are or what they did, but it sucks. And the way the company is handling these "re-orgs" sucks too.

For instance - a friend was offered a choice: take this job (in my department, and which she does not want) or you can quit. But if you quit, you will not get severance or benefits. Nice huh? Meanwhile, that job was a rare opportunity for advancement in my group - and it's been taken away. Needless to say, I'm not in a pleasant mood.

Another Day, Another Dalla'

I woke this morning in a really great mood, ready for a fantastic day. And then I logged in to my work email. Ugh. I've been frustrated with many of our business practices for a long time, but you don't realize how bad things are until you try to explain it to someone else. I feel that we've hired these bright young PAs to help us out but have thrown them in to a broken system & are expecting them to fix it. If we don't rethink the way we currently operate we are going to be in a world of hurt. Anyway, I don't want to go into a lot of detail on the world wide web, but it's been a long week and I'm looking forward to Friday.

I'm so deep in football illustrations and red tape that by the time I come home I just want to crash. Last night I managed to go out and explore some new areas but chickened out when it came to trying a restaurant. It's not so much that I'm afraid of the food, but that I don't know how to order when a menu consists of listings like this: 밥 사발. I don't want to point at something and end up with the Raw Eel Delight. So, I bought some premaid meals at the 7-11 and ate in front of the TV. Hopefully after I'm here a little longer I'll grow some cajones and spend more weeknights out on the town.

Tomorrow night I'm going to see The Other Boleyn Girl with Jinju and Danny. I really have no interest in this particular movie because, well, it looks pretty bad. But, I thought it was so nice of them to invite me. I had mentioned that I really like the movies but that I didn't know how to read the schedules and buy a ticket. I think they feel sorry for me - but who cares! I have Korean friends!

I bought a subway pass the other day so I'm ready to test out some new areas. I'm thinking of going either to Insadong, which is the more traditional area of temples & markets, or to Hangik, the local artsy neighborhood near a major university. We'll see how I feel - I reserve the right to change my mind at the last minute and go to E-Mart.

Finally, I've been looking into tours of the de-militarized zone (DMZ). You can only go with one of the guides and you must wear appropriate dress (no jeans, no tee shirts, etc), which means I have to buy some new clothes. I'd like to find some nicer things anyway so I can keep up with the cute girls at the office. So, keep your fingers crossed that I can find some XXXXXL dress pants this weekend. Cause I *Love* shopping so much.

Oh, and that little jingle that the washing machine plays? It has gone from charming to evil.

Slow Night

Exhaustion hit me like a wave this afternoon so I came home and crashed. I'm not sure if it's still jet-lag or maybe allergies but I could barely keep my eyes open. I was too tired to venture out & ordered a chicken salad from room service. I liked the spicy chili vinaigrette but I'm not a big fan of baby corn & pickles in my salad. Odd.

While dining, I watched "Alone in the Dark," one of the cheesiest movies ever. Staring Christian Slater & Tara Reid, it is based on a video game and there is probably some cult following. It was sooooooo bad. Really. Grade-A cheese. Awesome.

So, no new tales to tell. I think I'm going to have a cup of Green Tea ice cream and go back to bed. Another strange movie is coming on starring Sean Astin & Vinnie Jones. Maybe I'll get lucky and there won't be electricity-discharging alien monsters running amuck in this one. *Update* It' about a time-travelling bank robbery. Maybe not.

Also, my washing machine plays cute little music when it is done. Charming.

St. Paddy's Day

Today I told my offices mates about St. Paddy's Day and that I was planning on going out for a drink at the local Irish Pub. Jinju wanted to come with, so after work we hailed a cab back to my hotel so I could drop off my laptop (Jeeves was mysteriously absent). While here, she helped me talk to the front desk about my broken dryer and they sent maintenance man over. Convinced that I was an idiot, he proceeded to give us a demonstration but, low and behold, he got the same error message. Turns out the drum is not draining properly and therefor won't dry. So, a repairman is coming tomorrow! Yay! Clean clothes! Without having to hang things from all the chairs!

Next, we sauntered over to the bar for a pint and shared a Caprese Salad. This being an Irish bar in Korea, I was a bit surprised that the Italian salad was so dang good. Afterwards, we wandered through the shops of Gangnam, stopping for Japanese style snacks and Cold Stone Ice Cream. I really enjoyed chatting with Jinju - I learned that she went to college in London and then worked in marketing before landing back here. She lives with her parents (as most unmarried Koreans do) and is amazed that own a home and "have to do all that cleaning!" We talked about the dating culture here, children, dogs, BBQ (backyard, not tabletop), coffee and movies. All in all, not the St. Paddy's Day I expected but a great one none the less. I leave you with a few random thoughts for the day:

• Why do I giggle every time I see the word "dong"? Maybe it's time to grow up.

• Maybe I should stop mentioning "dong" in a blog my parents read. (Sorry!)

• Tomorrow I'm buying tickets to see Jason Mraz. Sora & Adrianna are coming with!

• Why, o why, are the sewers here so pungent and prolific?

• This weekend I WILL take the subway

• Jinju said she'll go with me to Lotte World. Weeeeeee - Korean amusement park!

• The people I work with here are amazing. In fact, the people I work with in general are amazing

• I sincerely hate the elevator in this hotel. It is evil.

• I miss my dog, I miss my friends, I miss my bed...but I am so happy and thankful to have this experience.

Highly Entertained

Sorry I've been quite, my coworkers flew in on Wednesday and it's been non-stop fun. They have been traveling to different factories and fabric mills for 2 weeks are a bit crispy at this point. Anyway, Wednesday was Sara's birthday and we had a girls night after dinner. We went to JJ's at the Hyatt where they have live (English) music and dancing.


This is where we met Steven, a "Korean man from London." I think the velvet smoking jacket really say it all:


Thursday night I skipped out on the festivities and caught up some sleep. I wanted to be prepared for the Friday night festivities. First we went to dinner - pretty much half the office was there and we had a lot of fun. Look at all the food and booze:



Next we headed out for drinks, where I taught everyone about "Pineapple" shots and subsequently have photos of all my coworkers with double chins. I may also have some blackmail fodder, but I'll keep those private. For now.






Today I took it easy - watched a movie, struggled with the washer/dryer, discovered my calling card is bunk and took a tour of the neighborhood. I found some interesting things and am looking forward to exploring more.

Batman, The Club - I envision goth kids:


Some light Saturday traffic and sidewalk parking:


The nearest movie theater...I'm going to have to figure this out:


Who doesn't love Young Dong?


hmmmm...

Day 1 & 2

Shakes and I went to the mall on Sunday to have some lunch and experience Korean life. We tried talked about seeing a movie but were to overwhelmed on how how to order a ticket in Korean. Here is a movie poster you might recognize, except not:


So, we decided to go to the Aquarium instead (also in the mall). It's just like most aquariums except in the middle you hit this Disneyland like area where they just put fish in anything they can find. Like washing machines or mailboxes.






My personal favorite was this little monster of a fish that reminded me of the Merman in Tombstone, Arizona. I may have nightmares for the rest of my life.



On our way out of the mall we stumbled across this millennia old temple, that is still a functioning church.



Also, it seems that the kanji I have tattooed on my neck now translates to "flower pot." Silver says that she recognizes the ancient meaning but that the asian languages change very often so this is a common phenom. At least it doesn't translate as "Piss Off."

Day 2
Worked pretty solidly throughout the moring and then went to traditional lunch. I asked the team about it and they said they went to lunch together everyday. Kinda a nice change from our solitary lifestyle in the US. Anyway, I had a roe based rice bowl and it was quite lovely.

Managed to spill an entire bottle of ginger root based energy drink on my lap, resulting in Shakes dreaming up the name of Gingerpants. Between this and the tattoo I may never be known as Kate again.

Later IK came up to me and asked if I wouldn't mind having dinner with the group. He asked if my jetlag was okay and I told him that I was tired, but would love to come out to dinner. He told me we would drink Soju (Korean Whiskey/Vodka) and it would kill the cold. I, of course, agreed.

We went out for traditional Korean BBQ and it was wonderful. The only problem I have with these meals is that they NEVER stop bringing out food. I seriously don't understand how they are all so thin. They just eat and eat and eat.



Also, the cows blood soup is not so bad - I didn't eat the coagulated bits but the broth is quite nice.


Just for X:
The girls here keep a toothbrush in the office bathroom for oral hygenene, but also keep a dishrack for the coffee mugs they wash there. Many of the toilets here have automatic seat covers and they have mouthwash dispensers in the bathrooms. Newcastle costs 12$ per bottle but oftentimes the boss takes you out drinking on the company dime.

Time Travelling is tough on the system

I seem to have caught a cold so I'm feeling pretty groggy but, I am safe & sound in Seoul. The traveling went pretty smoothly, only a few exceptions. Like the United desk at Portland where about 300 angry people waited in line for one agent. Genius!

Anyway, once in San Fran I had the option of waiting for 30 minutes for the shuttle or to walk, but going back through security. I made the wrong choice and walked but I had plenty of time. Once in the proper terminal I went into The Red Carpet Club, which is giant museum like lounge with free snacks and drinks, where I ordered my 2 complimentary cocktails at once & surfed the internet for a few hours. Definitely more fun that sitting gate-side.

On board the plane I was very pleased with our seats. We had the ones that recline almost into a full sleeping position- it really is amazing compared to coach. Not only are the seats comfortable but they just shove food & beverages at you constantly and they don't get grumpy if you ask for another soda. We even had a menu to choose our main course from - I think the last time I flew the stew just dropped a plate on my tray without saying a word.

Look at all this leg room!


Our flight arrived early in Seoul and I was delighted at how well organized & maintained the airport was. I've never been through a smoother customs/luggage/immigration process. I think I was in the car with Jeeves in less than 20 minutes from landing. Hurray for efficiency!

Jeeves (the driver) is a man of very few words. In fact, hello was the only one he spoke for the first 30 minutes of our drive, and then suddenly he flipped open his cell phone and started barking at someone. I've quickly realized that I'm never going to understand Korea. I can't even pick out syllables must less recognizable sounds. And every conversation sounds angry, even when laughing!

Made it to the Dormy In and managed to check-in. The "helpful english-speaking" staff is not so much the later, so it was a comedy of errors as the clerk tried to explain what I needed to sign...I think i signed a lease for the first 30 days, but not the last 30. I have no idea why and I'm hopeful that I will not be evicted. I may have to look into this further - at the time I just wanted to get to my room.

Called Shakes, also entertaining, as I didn't have his room number and had to call the front desk for a transfer. It took a few minutes to give the name. "No, B as in Boy, Bombay, Boolim...no, no, not P - B," you get the idea. Anyway, eventually I said Nike? and she looked him up that way. Oy Vey. After he showed me how to work the heater (it was 90 degrees in the room) we headed out for a little walk and some grub.

So, less than 24 hours here I've tried Kimchee and Hotpot. I had a nice mushroom & seafood hot pot which is like a thick soup served boiling hot at your table. It was a little bland (I was hoping for spicy to help with the cold) but had some good flavor. I also have a general idea where all the local fast food and bars are...I'm sure it'll all make sense soon, but for now it's pretty disorienting. Most streets in Korea don't have signs or names so you find things by their building number. As in, the order in which the building was built in that district. So, building 80 Jamlil would be the 80th building built in Jamlil-Dong (Dong = neighboorhood, try not to giggle too hard). Or something like that...the point is, I've got to learn to navigate by landmark.

I think I'm starting to ramble so I'm going to go now. Here are a few pictures, I'll post more soon. XO.

The Room:



The view:



I'm taking votes on what this is, Shakes says cereal dispenser...

Here are the instructions, leave a comment with your vote!