Saturday, June 28, 2008

Oh Canada

5 movies later (Horton Hears a Who; Penelope; Charlie Bartlett; Bernard & Doris; Definitely, Maybe; Mad Money*), I landed safely in Toronto. No sleep but lots of enjoyment from AC's remodeled cabins with personal touchscreen monitors. Non-stop Shanghai (PVG) to Toronto (YYZ) is where it's at!

* Diane Keaton is seriously annoying. The quirks that made her cute in Annie Hall have made her an easily frightened and often screaming woman in her recent movies. Seriously, her acting is the SAME in every movie!!! Totally over her.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Nevermind

Nevermind! Heading back to Toronto today after all. After deciding on taking the job and calling to make my flight change, I discovered costs are prohibitively high to fly back at the end of August (eyeroll, Olympics, eyeroll). Can't change departure country, sadly.

That added on to the annoyance and cost of needing to get another visa for entry back into China makes the idea kind of not worth it. While pay is high, I'd be only working 15 hours/week for the first three weeks thus making the airfare thing problematic.

So... back to the original choices of what to do next. And off to do some frantic packing!!!

UPDATE: I can FOIL

I can FOIL and reverse-FOIL again.

SAT Prep Offers BIG MONEY!

As part of my year on the road, I decided to take a job--maybe. I've been offered a position at Jess's SAT prep school to teach SAT Math in Seoul for the remainder of the summer (through August 22). I was pretty much set on taking the position until I had a sudden gnawing fear that I won't be any good. It's especially unnerving because I will not be able to receive proper training as the official training camp for teachers was early June. Frankly, I haven't done actual math (finance math doesn't count) in five years.

Just now I was looking at some sample SAT math questions, and it dawned on me: I don't know how to use FOIL anymore. Like, wha? A polynomial? Oh right... x-squareds and whatnot. At least Mr. Pythagoras can take a breather--the Pythagorean Theorem was stored in my permanent records. You'd think though that after using FOIL non-stop for pretty much all of high school, it would've made it into the vault. Clearly, first, outter, inner, last never had much use in daily life. At least Pythagoras came in handy when solving little puzzles on my podmate's MENSA 1-a-day tear-away calendar back when I was a working chump. I guess a^2+b^2=c^2 was pretty easy to memorize anyway.

Now, problem is, I needed to make a choice about this position like... ten minutes ago. Shite!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Craving borscht and other stories


And beyond the barbed wire fencing in one of the most militarily fortified borders of the world, is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea... aka, North Korea. There is a little "fake" town amidst those mountains designed to show the South Koreans that the North is just dandy. Population in said town, zero. You can view it from binoculars in the DMZ.


Uh, can we say, "YUM"??? Seaside towns have the seafood advantage. (Northern S. Korea)


Jess demonstrates her military prowess at a war museum in the DMZ. (Rifles are really heavy.)


Korean countryside is lovely. And cruising on bikes like this makes me feel like a fop. I ought to be wearing a top hat.


Jess's parents currently reside in a little seaside town (whose name escapes me) where homemade seawater tofu and potato pancakes are the must-eats. MMmmmmMMm.


Arriving or leaving Seoul en bus.


Love of the cabbage extends beyond kimchi. Get some authentic Russian food from the Ruskies themselves in Seoul. (Loves me some borscht)


Tired feet. But of course, you can guess which pair comes from boring ol' USA and which pair comes from Seoul.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Seoul Review

Back in Shanghai and into the mouth of the Dragon. I literally mean mouth because walking off the plane this evening was like walking into a steam room. Hot and humid and highly unpleasant. That's payment for living in a fairly exciting city, I suppose.

But 'nuff about Shanghai, let's see some Seoul!


Friday nights at Dongdaemun's multitudes of shopping complexes and food bizarres is an absolute must. Fridays also play host to pop rock performances left and right. These kids were pretty catchy with quite a hefty following of teeny-bopping admirers. Don't blame the girls though; these guys were pretty cute, and there's something for everyone! Check out Mr. Nerdy McNerdpants in the middle there.


Chowing down with Japanese tourists in one of the street food stalls in Dongdaemun. Yum, yum, yum, nosh, nosh, nosh.


Dongdaemun actually refers to this thing. The East (Dong--same as in Chinese) Gate (Mun, like men in Chinese).

But it's the all-night shopping that keeps people there until 5am (as Jess and I were). The seriously good shopping from the wholesalers located in off-the-strip warehouses is open from 10pm-5am Sunday nights through Friday nights. They take, to Jess's and my chagrin when we returned on the following night, Saturday nights off.


Staying there til the wee hours of the morning didn't pose too much of a problem as we were driven by the adrenalin rush of getting AWESOME clothes for CHEAP*. Also, the sugar in these tasty cream puffs will keep anyone awake for hours. Custard filling squeezed in upon order and purchased en masse in COEX. Delicious.

(*Compare $50 with £465. This, folks, is how luxury goods companies can rob a person blind)


Back on the first trains at 5am with the very, very tired. (This guy kept bouncing between Jess's and the other dude's shoulder/lap.)


And, apparently, the very, very drunk.

Alternative ways of passing the night: Walker Hills Casino and 24h bathhouses.

Walker Hills Casino for foreigners-only is the most peaceful, serene casino I've ever seen. We were intending not to gamble but to loiter and blend in with the crowd while ordering free booze from scantily clad waitresses. Unfortunately, due to the brightly-lit atmosphere where no one said a word and scarcely a ka-ching of the slots were heard, we were forced to part with our cash. Of course, smart betting and a little bit of luck meant hours of entertainment and booze and only $10. Totally worthwhile. By 10pm, people started filtering in to create a more lively atmosphere, but seriously, it was like a morgue in there with its white, flourescent lighting hehe.

Bathhouses are a Korean institution, or so I'm told. These apparently double as cheap hotels for thrifty travellers or drunk businessmen who need a place to sober up before the ensuing work day. And it's like a little mini-city in these bathhouses too! Everything from cafes to cinemas to internet bars to massages are available within the confines of the bathhouse and all charged back to your handy little key--your sole possession as you pass the hours in bathhouse-issued sweatsuits (akin to a convict's attire) with a little pink towel around your neck. And it's pretty hilarious, but everyone sleeps (or tries to sleep) on the tiled floor of an open area that doubles as a yoga-classroom in the daytime. Ah, Seoul. I miss it already.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Food Lover's Paradise

Asia is a food lover's paradise. I've never understood those people who refuse to try new things or are turned off when meat isn't in a convenient "fillet". Because lord are they missing out! Asian food of all stripes is just: So. Good. (Getting bored of my raving about the food here yet? Or just getting hungry?)

So dear Jessica has been taking me around Seoul and its surrounding areas gobbling up everything we can lay our grubby little paws on. Unfortunately due to her job, we don't have time for much else aside from eating. Also in her fridge is the best--the absolute best--bread I've ever tasted. It's from Tokyo Boulangerie and unfortunately not found elsewhere! Oh, to be in Tokyo simply for this bread! As Jess said, "Damn those Japanese. They really can improve on everything." So true.

I wish I could post some photos but for some unknown reason my camera is no longer connecting to the computer via its USB cable. My mouse still connects so it may not be a USB port problem but a camera/camera cord problem (?). Who knows. It's frustrating though because I sure do wish I could share my bounty with the lot of you... from Shanghai to Seoul to the DMZ to Tokyo Boulangerie bread. Yum.

In lieu of new photos, I'll post these old photos (again, from Beijing). Delicious zhajiang mien from the ever-popular (and so cheap) Lao Beijing! I think these bowls cost around Y8? I can't quite recall. Regardless, it's under $2.


Chinese zhajiang mien is served unmixed. Wheat noodles are topped with cucumbers (and here also some pickled daikon radish and other veggies) and then "jiang". In Beijing jiang is typically a soybean paste sauce. Other places some mixture of hoisin sauce is used. While I prefer the latter, Beijing's soybean version is also quite tasty.


Mix it up and eat!

All righty then. Laptop battery is about to conk out with no sign of an outlet anywhere. That's how they prevent undue loitering at coffeeshops, I suppose. Of course, it wouldn't be such an issue if my battery had more than 50minutes of life in it (Grr).

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Live from South Korea!

Currently in a South Korean sea-side city. Took a visit to the DMZ (Demilitarised Zone) and saw North Korea! It made me sad. Well, not so much in the mood for blogging right now. More to come... although not very frequently as my host doesn't have internet back in Seoul! Hehe. That's all right. It's giving me time to catch up on books of which my host does have plenty.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Europe planning, briefly

I am planning my Europe itinerary. Start in Istanbul, Turkey on August 1. Then I need to make a decision: East vs. West

  • Option 1: Turkey -> Greece -> Italy -> France -> and so forth
  • Option 2: Turkey -> Bulgaria -> Romania -> Hungary -> and so forth
I am leaning towards Option 2. Besides, all roads will lead me to France and the UK regardless. Ideally, I'd even be able to spend at least a month in France and brush up on my French which would mean rushing the rest of it. Argh, planning travel is the worst part of it. I am really, really not a planner.

ORD or YYZ -> IST (August 1), LHR -> DFW (November 15 in time for Thanksgiving and the 1 year anniversary of my joblessness!) or something like that.

Alternatively, scrap all of this Europe stuff and volunteer somewhere for 3 months. Decisions, decisions!!!!

Beijing (May 15-30, 2008)


Forbidden Palace as seen from Tiananmen Square.


Tiananmen Square.


Guarding the Palace of Supreme Harmony, or whatever. I forgot everything I heard on the audio-taped guide through the Forbidden Palace. That place is freaking huge! And the Emperor's room is surprisingly tiny, in comparison. This lion's a femme. She's got a cub under her paw.


Beijing is not a pedestrian-friendly city.


Ernie's bros.


Art in Factory 798 District.


I kind of read a lot into this photo although, as far as I could tell from this series, no such intentions were from the artist. Anyway, to me this kind of sums up China's growing capitalism, continued exploitation from the West, and if those sunglasses were rose-tinted, it'd be a perfect symbol for the people's ignorance of what they're missing.


Dad's last meal, more or less, in China... TGIF! The servers had more pieces o' flare than in the US. That burger tasted damn good. You do start missing burgers.


Inside the Performing Arts Centre, aka, The Egg. It's a beautiful structure. The only one of all these recent new buildings (ie. the Olympic buildings) that I actually admired. Look at the different types of rock/marble they used for the floors. A lot of Benjamins went into this thing.


Itinerant workers building up China's future Olympic legacy.


China is a land of contrasts. What you don't see from this photo is that beyond this make-shift metal gate is a shanty town of itinerant workers from the countryside. They eat instant noodles squatting by the side of the roads and work tirelessly to create an idyllic town for Western eyes come August. Facades are going up everywhere, and where there isn't time to fix up a facade, there are new walls covering the dilapidating hutongs. I don't know why the government uses its money this way; they're not fooling anyone. China is still, very clearly, a developing country.

It's getting there though. Slowly. Just hope for ever-better leadership in the future.

View from the Bund


Produced in Powerpoint.


Except it actually looks more like this. (Although, my camera lens was clearly distorted in taking this photo)

Sunday, June 01, 2008

In Shanghai and having a panic attack

2005 feels like it was multiple lifetimes ago. My self-defined "time-off" is halfway over, and I haven't exactly had any epiphanies in the way I'd hoped. Meanwhile, time is still forging ahead at warp speed, and I'm just along for the ride. This is the quarter-life crisis. "Welcome to the club," he said.

Wait, so like, how old were you when you got your life together, anonymous reader?

The worst is, it's not really the "getting my life together" that I want and fear not having. It seems instead to be the fear that at some point, I'm going to have to. No more travelling around the world with little regard for my health and finances! And unfortunately for me and my sex, there is a deadline to our frivolity.

(No, biological clock isn't ticking... exactly. It's just like ambient noise in the background--really annoying ambient noise reminding me that I need to start looking into anti-ageing beauty products.)