2012 - Part 1

I understand that I am starting this a little prematurely, but with the end of the year approaching and all this talk of the end of the world it got me thinking reflectively on this past year. Also, we have started to to see things online stating "Best of..." for the year. Best music, best movie, biggest moment for so and so - the list goes on. So I guess I wanted to make a list of my own. Or more like, a reflection of my year.

While I am reflecting, I am honestly shocked at myself, and the amount of change that a person and a whole life can change in the space of a year. People who know me well know my least favourite saying is "life is short". I mean, what the fuck are you gonna do thats longer than be alive? I know a memory or a deed can last forever but an action? No, life is NOT short... it is as long as it has to be. And this year has made me realise how much more you can fit into it.

If I have learnt anything this year (and I have, I have learnt heaps) its that things can change in the blink of an eye, and I believe the key to being happy and healthy is to be flexible and accepting of change. This has been the biggest and most rewarding lesson for me in 2012.

January

I have no idea what I was doing in January. Someone might be able to help me out here... I'm guessing I was job searching, because I was really unhappy working for Neco Holding (who met a fateful end - more to come) and was always on the lookout for a better and more rewarding job. 

I don't even remember what I did for New Year... Was it this year that I was ay Viv and Vron's? I have no clue.

I have no idea where this was taken or why - but I uploaded it to the comp in January. 

February

Again, no idea. I know I was still working. Just cruising along and my snail pace. If I have missed something epic please tell me because my memory has failed. I know I went to the Southern 80 with Elene, which is always the best part of Feb. I'm shattered I am missing out next year. Oh well. 

Actually, in Feb I started Karate. Now, everyone gives me a fair bit of shit about this, but worked really hard to try and learn the katas, and I really enjoyed going. And when I get home I will hopefully start it up again. If not karate then some other martial art thing... It's good to know how to defend yourself and also for fitness. 

Moving on...

March

Ah... This was when the winds of change started blowing. Poetic huh? But true none the less. The company I was working for, Neco, went into voluntary administration. Bankrupt. Myself and everyone else made redundant. There is no point going into what happened but the bottom line was many people ended up unemployed. It was one of the years defining moments, and the day we finished up will stay in my memory forever. 

we got to work a bit later than usual, because everyone knew it was the end. We had done no work that week (it was a Wednesday) and we knew that this week would be the last. I assumed it would be Friday though... Anyway, our boss called us all upstairs and he gave us the news, said we had to clear out our desks and be off premises by 12pm. He gave us an info pack full of stuff related to government entitlements and whatever. Also letters of recommendation and other things. It was a nice gesture, one that I appreciate more now than I did at the time. He even let us raid the online store before we left. I remember leaving the office and going to have a coffee with a work friend... The whole thing was surreal. Still kinda is, in a distant way. 

I took at least 25 Neco mugs from the online store, as well as various other bits and pieces. I have no clue why I took the mugs... 

Anyway, March saw me without a job.

I also went to Torquay with the team, which was fun. We went over the Labour Day weekend. I took Billie to her first horse show, where she placed in her first ever led class. I know it was just a small show but it meant something to me. 

One of my best friends, Sarah, got engaged and asked me to be her bridesmaid. Well, this actually happened earlier, but the engagement party was at the end of March. 

Me and Billie at Doongala

Dan, Kirst and Nay at Torquay

April

I had another friends engagement party, Louise. Her and her fiance live around the corner from me and I love it. (seeing a trend yet?)

In March I had started delivering flowers for Darren's Flowers, but I started to pick up more work in April. I was still looking for work at the time, something in my field of study (I was looking for something in sustainability) but with no luck. My beautiful and amazing step-mum Sue asked me if I would like to work on her business with her to which I replied with a resounding YES! This led to the next defining moment of 2012. My trip to Sydney.

Sydney

On the 29th I went to Sydney. I flew out in the morning and came back in the late evening the following day. I went to attend a workshop with the Green Building Council of Australia, to get a better understanding of the Green Star Energy Rating system. The original plan was that myself and Sue were going to go to Sydney for the weekend and have a bit of a girly trip away and fly home after I attended the conference. 

Misfortune soon struck and Sue had to fly to Perth to be with her sick mother. This left me with 2 options - pick another weekend to do the course (both me and Sue were looking forward to the time) or go alone. 

I did NOT want to go by myself. I hate being alone and change scares the shit out of me. I hate meeting new people and I don't like trying to make new friends. I had not been to Sydney since the Olympics, and what the hell would I do with myself for 24-48 hours? But something made me go anyway... 

Now, everyone knows I am not a religious person, but I honesty felt that there was some sort of divine intervention at work, because there is no way I would have made that decision otherwise. I am the opposite of independent (dependent on everyone and everything to be honest) yet here I was deciding to go to Sydney alone and do this course. 

Dad dropped me at the airport and off I went. I arrived in Sydney, shitting myself (not literally thank God) and made my way to the hotel via a shuttle bus that dropped me at the door. The hotel was beautiful, right on the Harbour. From my room I could see the Opera House. I spent that afternoon wandering around Circular Quay and visiting markets and galleries. I took touristy pics of the Bridge and the Opera House. It was one of the best afternoons I have had in ages. I had never felt so completely free.

The course the next day was a little dull but enjoyable enough. No one good looking though... 

Afterwards, I went to get my bags, get changed and get dinner. I caught the airport train to the airport his time, and didn't get lost. I boarded the plane, flew into Melbourne and dad and Sue picked me up from the airport. I grabbed my car from their place and drove home, had a chat with mum and went to bed with Pawpaw at my feet. Back to normal...

But something had changed. I didn't know what, but I felt I had changed somehow - I wanted something more.

Another highlight of April was that I broke Billie to saddle, and rode my pony for the first time. April was a big month.

More to come, as I collect my thoughts :)

xoxo

Weekly wrap up

Weekly wrap up - 

So here we are again on Sunday. I always like to do a weekly summary, and share some deep insight with you, fellow citizens, but this week nothing really comes to mind. I mean, OBVIOUSLY things happened (you know when you haven't seen someone in ages, and you ask them "so, what have you been up to?" and they reply, "oh, nothing much." and its obviously a lie - as if they haven't done anything in MONTHS) but I can't decide whether or not they are worthy of a blog entry.

For example, I made myself pancakes for breakfast this morning. I am getting way better at pancakes actually, so maybe this is worthy of writing about.

Ooo, another worth event - it was Cheng's birthday on Wednesday and we went out for a bite to eat at a Chinese restaruent in Pyeongtaek. The food was really good, it was a nice change from Korean food. And the company was fantastic as always. Then on Saturday night we trekked into Gangnam for Cheng's birthday celebration 2.0, having dinner at an Italian place and then to a club.
The restaurant was called California Pizza Kitchen, and it is located in Gangnam right near Sinnonhyeon Station exit 6. The food was great, I forgot my camera and my phone ran out of juice so I don't have any pics to post unfortunately. But I had the walnut carbonara and it was lovely and creamy. Actually it was the richest thing I have eaten since coming to Korea so I was feeling a little gross after I ate but I swear it was so good I had to keep eating! And what I didn't eat lovely Mathilda finished off for me :) It was a little more pricy than the foods at home (by home I mean Songtan), I think it was 13,900 won for my meal.
Then we went after to a club down the road called Eden. It was super fun, and regrettably I went home early but I wish I had stayed. We got in for free thanks to the beautiful Catarina who got us all on a guest list, but once in the drinks were SUPER expensive - I paid 12,000 for a vodka and soda. The shots were something like 9,000... Very pricy. But, the music was really good, it was all house music when I was there and apparently it stayed good all night. The best part? They were songs from home!!! And the DJ was a chick (which is probably why the music was so good). I mean, some of the stuff was a little older, and maybe it wasn't good at all and I was just excited to hear familiar tunes. Whatever. And... They boys were WAY hotter here than at home. I mean, super good looking. So now I know where all the hot Korean boys have been hiding. If you are looking for one, they all live in Gangnam, which actually makes sense.
I ended up cathing the last bus to Osan home with Heejin and Dave, but I think Heejin actually would have rather stayed and partied. Next time we will!

For anyone wondering, the last bus from Gangnam to Osan leaves from near exit 7 at Gangnam Station at around 1am. It was a little late, I think it arrived at about 1:10, but it got us back to Osan by 2ish. And then the cab ride to my place was about 7,000 which was great. So there is some new info for the masses! Don't all thank me at once.

Umm... I don't think I did anything else of note...

I am in the midst of a disagreement with Co. Its over winter camp of course, not the first disagreement we have had over it either. This time, I suggested that we make the camp shorter and have all the students in together. He is convinced that i am lazy and trying to get off doing work. And so it goes on. He called my recruiter at Korvia for some reason, to say that I didn't understand my contract. I have since emailed my GEPIK co-ordinator to double check that I am right (which I am pretty sure I am...) anyway watch this space.
God I hope I get a new co-teacher next year.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I am sure he is a nice enough guy. I just don't want to work with him. I can't remember if I blogged about it or not, but his idea of dicipline leaves a lot to be desired, and he is a control freak. I need a more positive and imaginitive person to work with. or I just need to come to terms with the fact that I have a long time to go working with this bloke so I need to suck it up.
End rant.

In other news...

It hasn't snowed this week but it has gotten warmer. As in around 2-5 degrees C so practically balmy. And I fell over on ice on Monday or Tuesday and made a dick of myself in front of a heap of people. It was awesome (not).

Thank god it is payday tomorrow, because I am broke... And I need to get some Christmas gifts for people. Anyone at home reading this be warned - you will probably not recieve a gift. Its not because I hate you, actually I love you all more that you know, but I just can't afford it at the moment. So I will just save up gifts and send them over when I have some spare cash. Or you can have something fun from me when I get home. 

We are doing some cool xmas things with the people here, I am going to Mia's for Christmas Day, and doing a pot luck Christmas party with another friend before Christmas. So we have that holiday covered... And then SISSY arrives! So pumped for that, we are down to 11 days to go :D

Milky is doing really well, even though I didn't go back to the vet on Saturday. I couldn't afford to get the booster vaccinations, so he will have to wait until next weekend. I am hoping it is no biggie, they even sent me a text to remind me. Oops. But we had to eat! And drink... and party... Ok, so maybe my priorities are a little bit out. But trust me, Milky is fine and happy as a pig in shit. He is currently snoozing in front of the fridge, one of his fave places. 

Plans for this week? Well, hump day has been moved to Tuesday because we all (well, most) have a day off on Wednesday. WOOOHOOO!!! 

"Why, Bonnie?"

Well, because of the elections! We may have a race that stops a nation, but in Korea the elections stop the nation. I don't know too much about it to be honest, but I think I want Number 2 to be elected. The old guy, for those playing at home. But because if the day off, it will be a HUGE night on Tuesday night I am fairly certain we will be getting pissed in Suwon and being hungover all day Wednesday. If not hungover I plan on going to the Tim Burton Exhibition which is on in Seoul atm, and then maybe iceskating in the city. Romantic huh!?!

And then friday is the last day of term, and I have 2 weeks off! So excited, I really need a break. 

No pics to show you this week, I haven't really taken any. Sorry, my bad. But I haven't been anywhere!!! I promise I will have more to show next Sunday.

Till later, then.

xoxo

Winter is Beautiful

And I thought I loved summer...

Winter in Korea is something else entirely!

  Pretty much since December hit we have had snow. The first snow flurry I missed, I was too busy doing nothing at my school computer. But the second time... Well! It was beautiful! It was just after lunch at school, and Jeong came tearing into my room saying "Bonnie snow!!!" We both spent a fair portion of the afternoon staring out the window as the carpark filled with snow. I know I sound like a cheeseball, but its absolutly magic. 

  Yet, I feel like I am one of few who think this... Many people have been complaining, saying its too icy, or too cold, or they don't like snow. Co went so far as to say he prefers rain. Figures he would say that. But for me, I love snow. And I am loving winter in Korea. Apparently this snow is unseasonal, they don't usually get this much snow so early in the season. I am convinced that its all for me because I love snow. 

Songshin Elementary - the view from my classroom window

The view from the school corridor - the big tiled building straight ahead is Songtan Station

Kids playing on the sports oval at school

 Even Milky likes it, although I need to get hom some shoes because his little feet get cold and then he limps. But he loves playing in the fluffy white goodness, even though then he comes inside and is all wet. For Christmas he is getting some new outfits from the family at home which he is really looking forward to. That reminds me of another thing I love about Korea - dressing up your pet.

  Which brings me to my next point...

Things in Korea that should be everywhere (i.e Melbourne)

This one is dead obvious, but I need to put it in writing...

• Reliable public transport

When I think about it, the metro train system at home is actually like the metro subway here. Except, the system at home doesn't work. And from what I hear the Myki system has managed to make things worse rather than better. This is unbelievable to me. Here, with Songtan being part of the Seoul Metro system, we use a system very very similar to Myki called the T-Money card and it works perfectly nearly every time (see what I did there??? #englishteacherfail - figure it out). Millions of people use the subway system here every day with out a drama... This system needs to be copied and applied at home. When I think about it though, people need to be a bit more responsible at home and take a bit more care of how they use public transport. That would also help... It does no good just to complain about the system, people also need to be responsable. Korean people don't abuse the system and I think that might be one of the reasons it works so well. So possibly we need to have a bit more of a Confucian attitude at home.

• Animals dressed up as other animals

This one has a shout out to Jess, as she was the one who really summed it up so nicely. If I choose to, I can dress Milky as a rabbit, or a bear, or even a cat if I choose to. Couple that with the many different outfits he can wear anyway, and different shoes. This trend MUST come to Australia. I will continue to dress my dog when I get home. I will just hope that it catches on.

This leads me to the next point - 

• Children/babies dressed as animals

You actually do kinda see this at home, but to a way lesser extent. And its still mainly the Asian parents who dress their adorable Asian children this way. All kids should be dressed as animals. End of story. 

• Bulk buying toilet paper and freebies attached to things

You can bulk buy anything I suppose, but it looks weird just coming out of Coles with 28 rolls of toilet paper. I will be doing this if I can when I get home. And here, there are free things attached to items, like a box of tissues attached to your bulk toilet paper. Or coffee with your bulk cereal. Its a great marketing idea and also I love free things (I don't drink coffee but its still awesome).

• "Tester" pads/sanitary napkins

Yes, this one is for the ladies, and its not a 'tester' so much as just an open pad stuck to the shelf that you can touch and look at to see exactly what pad you are buying. Now, I tend to me more of a tampon girl myself but they are really hard to come by here (Koreans believe that tampons are bad for your health) but the sanitary napkin market is huge!!! There is an entire aisle dedicated to pads at my local shop, and there are a heap of these 'testers' just stuck to the shelf. So you can have a feel and a look. What a great idea. Nothing worse than not reading the info properly (especially when its in another language) then getting home and realising that you brought wings by mistake. A problem of the past!!! 

• Unbelievably fast download times

This one has been spoken about heaps. Not by me, but the info for internet speed in South Korea is all over the net. I don't speak computer talk, but even I know its super fast. I downloaded the Fellowship of the Ring (extended edition) in about 10 minutes. Maybe less, I was drunk and cant remember. 

There are a heap more of these and I shall add them as they come to me.

In other news...

Last weekend I ventured with Jess to Coex, which is a giant shopping mall in Seoul. We both needed to buy winter jackets so off we went. It ended up taking us over 3 hours to get there, no joke. And we actually can't figure out why... It was just one of those days... At least we found jackets.

Coex was amazingly big, and apparently sometimes its a good place for celebrity spotting. I have no idea if there were any there last Sunday or not, but there didn't seem to be any huge crowds follwing some person around so I doubt it. It was a journey, but I would like to go back another day and have a wander. But bring cash - credit cards are dangerous!

Coex Mall in outer Seoul

This weekend was pretty quiet, but I did see my first Korean film at Megabox Cinema in Pyeongtaek. I don't have a Hangul keyboard on the Mac, but the name of the film translated to 26 Years, and its based on events that happened 26 years ago (duh) regarding student riots and the slaughter that followed. The film was pretty violent at times but I enjoyed it. I have seen a few Korean movies now, and you can pretty much break them into two categories - cutsey romantic films and dramas. I prefer dramas by a million.

Today I went with a cool group of people to go see some fossilized dinosaur eggs. Now, everyone who knows me also knows how much I love dinosaurs... So I was totally keen. But it wasn't meant to be, the day crept away and the eggs were further than we thaught. We ended up just having a fun day riding the bus all over Suwon. I still had fun, I met some cool new friends and caught up with some other friends. So all in all a good day.

Milky is doing really well, he is a bit fatter but still not putting on as much weight as I would like him to. He is such a great companion, I sometimes feel like this might be the reason I came to Korea... I really had no purpose for coming, just wanted a change, but maybe it was my fate to save him. He is such a super little dog, everyone shoud adopt if they have the chance and want a pet. I know I have said it before, but I am now 2 for 2 with shelter animals as pets - Pawpaw is an amazing cat and now Milky. Get in it animal lovers!!!

Milky and me... Spoilt dog on the bed

I think thats about it for this week. Its nearly pay day, so I can start to be social again soon. And its 16 days till Christmas and 18 days till Sissy comes to visit. IM SO EXCITED TO SEE MY SISTER! When mum came over Georgia wouldn't let me blog or fb about it, because she didn't want anyone to know she was at home alone... Mum I hope you don't mind me talking about Georg coming! 

Peace out, citizens

xoxo