Say it with Spam

Chuseok is coming. It's the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, and it's affording me a 4-day weekend (although, as expected, further questioning has revealed that I WILL be teaching some classes next week, so a weekend without plan stress remains a fond wish). I've been warned against traveling or expecting to get anything done, so I'm gearing up for a low-key weekend. Everyone on the subway is carrying boxes and wheeling carts--this is the time of year for presenting gift sets to your relatives. Fruit, soap, and tuna appear to be the hot items--$30 will get you 12 Asian pears in foam cozies, arrayed in a box, and I haven't checked how much it is to express your affection with stylishly organzied tuna fish cans. I passed a guy near the subway station carrying a Spam gift set, complete with matching bag. I didn't even think they HAD Spencer's in Korea.

As everyone prepares to celebrate the harvest, I'm feeling increasingly frustrated and desperate. And not just because of the pop music that plays all day outside my window. I just got back from another grocery shopping trip, and it appears I will be eating pasta for about 330 more days. I went to E-Mart tonight determined to find something else I could make for dinner. And came up completely empty. I've finished the kidney beans Ramsey gave me, nursing the can for 4 dinners' worth, and 3 taco salads (or approximations thereof) have just about depleted my supply of Deer Hill refugee dehydrated beans. And now I don't know what to do. I'm not sure where Ramsey got the beans--probably in Itaewon for $15/can. And I know there's no tempeh, gardenburgers, not dogs, phony bologna, or fake beef. There's not even peanut butter. Ramsey suggested dumplings, but rudimentary inquiries of the sample lady at E-Mart indicate that they all contain "gogi". I can buy tofu...but then I eat it with pasta. My body seems to be on to this, and is calling my bluff. 2 hours ago, I felt uncomfortably full and bloated after noodles & tofu. Now I'm feeling hungry & shaky. What will I do about it? Um...have cereal? Perhaps Costco can come to my rescue. (I'm already going over budget on groceries every week--just what I need is to buy a membership to pay inflated prices for imported food) In the meantime...I sprang for the $4 jar of spaghetti sauce.

And speaking of consumption, I also signed up for a cell phone today. I had the afternoon off, and thought it would be nice to have a phone for a long weekend of meeting people for this and that. I guess 1 out of 2's not bad. There were a number of free phones to choose from (a nice surprise). Some really did not appeal to me. One of them looked--and felt--like an '80s pocket cassette recorder. It even had buttons on the side. I felt like I should be shoving it in someone's face as I chase them down the street. Naturally, that was the one available today. The one that really called to me (another surprise--I'd browsed some phones in Seattle just to see what I liked and the result was "nothing") is out of stock, so they'll mail it to my school next week. Because of the holiday, it's going to take longer than usual. I considered taking the cassette one--after all, you can watch tv on it!--but after going 6 weeks without a phone--make that 33 years and 6 weeks--being stuck with one I hate for an entire year just to have it my hot little hand TODAY seemed stupid. So 'round about next Thursday, I'll have the one I truly want. A little uplift to comfort me as I start having to teach again. :(

Meanwhile, I continue to feather my nest via the "dollar" store (my term, not theirs). I've been twice this week, resulting in a mixing bowl (pancakes ahead!), a stainless steel bowl & lid for leftovers (which I really like--if it turns out to actually be all that, I may head home with a few), and a laundry hamper, along with mundane stuff like pot scrubbers, envelopes, and packaging tape. I'm very glad I noticed the laundry hamper--I'd figured to spend around $15 on a plastic one, but this is one of those mesh ones for $2...and since it's collapsible, I can even bring it home with me. I'm sort of developing a "dollar store wish list"...good God, what's happened to me? Trying to quell the urge to buy humorous wastebaskets for everyone. But if you want one, by all means, let me know!