New Personal Best.

Hi there. So. It's been a while. Mianhamnida. Is anyone still here? So yes, there seems to be a pattern developing with regards to the (in)frequency of my posts these days. I see that. I won't promise things will change, because I've done that before and I feel my words may be meaningless now. Instead, I'll give you the run-down on how my weekly routine has been as of late, and next time you're here and I haven't posted, you can just use your imagination instead. Weekday mornings usually see me working my mojo in the magic classroom . This one's definitely more entertaining than teaching, but it can be fun for me too. I'd be happy doing 45 minutes of card tricks, but there's also a bunch of magical props in the room to mix things up. Most of them are pretty lame, and the kids can usually see straight through the tricks, but they enjoy it anyway. Sometimes, you'll get one kid who just wants to BELIEVE! and he'll imploring the others to 'just accept it! and stop spoiling the fun. My afternoons are even slacker, as I'm teaching pool! Despite the theme, the kids often end up using more English that they do in my other classes. This is because I put them in a three-minute time-out if they use any Korean at all, and since they really want to play, it forces them to stick to the rules to the letter. Few have played before, so we've not yet managed to get through a whole game. The way some of them handle the cue, you'd think they've never held any piece of sporting equipment before. Not that I'm one to talk about sporting prowess. I'm finally working day-shift again, so I can actually go out to play with my friends after work! Yet somehow I still seem to have very little free time. Monday and Thursday nights are Korean class 7 - 9pm, after which I'll come back and do my homework if nothing else is going on. Wednesday has become our weekly poker night, which I am yet to make a profit on. Tomorrow night being Valentine's day, half of regulars have bailed on us, so tomorrow night is Single's Night! Friday or Saturday night will probably find us singing karaoke until 5am, leading to the following day being mostly spent in bed. I really should post more often for my own sake - with my memory I completely forget what I've done otherwise...did I ever tell you about the time we accidentally ordered tripe soup? The only photos of interest I've taken in the last couple of weeks are from this Sunday's visit to Seoul Tower, one of the major tourist attractions that I've somehow never quite reached before. I think I said back before Christmas how refreshing it was not having to see any decorations being put up in November like back home. We are however still living with them mid-February. The Mighty Han. Public theatre. There's video too, but I can't do that to her. Or at least I won't, on this occasion. This weekend is the Lunar New Year, so a massive bunch of us are heading down to Gyeongju on the East coast. I don't have the faintest what the sights are down there, but it's my first time properly out of Seoul in seven months so I'm very excited! You might even get another post next week! The holiday means we get a three-day weekend to enjoy, but ultimately we're no better of as it just means we'll be teaching Tuesday-Saturday next week instead of Monday-Friday! But at least we'll be well rested. Or maybe not. There's a bit of a sickness going round again, but it's only mild this time. I have a bit of a runny nose and tickly cough is all. Not much, but it is enough to crack open the medicinal whiskey. There's a Korean citrus 'tea' called yu-ja-cha, which honestly looks and tastes exactly like marmalade, but I've discovered that with a shot of whiskey it is almost worth being sick for. I put the kettle on to make some about 45 minutes ago when I started writing this damn post, and now I'm finally going to let myself go and finish the job... Chal ja.