Well, this trumps all. I have a real backlog of blog topics since I haven't had much time lately to sit and commit my thoughts to cyberspace, but the big news of today is that I'm online at home. Blogging live on the internet, in my own room! This is a happy occasion indeed. I don't have my personal computer sorted yet--I brought the school's home--but just the fact that I can access the internet on my own, for free, is enough lift for today. Wonder how much I'll get done tonight.
Little by little, things come together. I got my settlement allowance on Friday. They told us we'd get it during the first week. It only happened because I told my co-teacher I didn't have any money and she pulled some strings. So, finally, I can relax a little. Just a little, but it feels good. Friday night, I went on a shopping spree. All the things that have been annoying me in my apartment can now be rectified. Started slowly with the $10 coat tree I've been eyeing at the shop down the street. Came home & put it together (no tools required, fortunately). It lists, but at least if I have a wet jacket, I don't have to lay it on the bed or hang it next to my good suit. Had to consciously remember that I can leave plastic bags on the floor without fear of anyone smothering.
Next stop, the little grocery store. They don't post prices, though, so I'm really uneasy about shopping there. Decided I need to find a new store. So I set off walking in a direction I haven't been. Not much useful for a while. Finally came across Lotte Mart, a sort of Wal-Mart meets Marshall Field in Korea. It was 8pm. They were closing. Still can't make sense of that, but whatever. Instead, struck oil at a "dollar" store next door. I'm still pleased as punch about this. For $20, I got:
--a paring knife
--a wooden spoon
--a frying spatula (splurged on the $3 one for the nice, round handle!)
--a plate
--a cute bath towel with elephants on it
--a mat to dry dishes on, shaped like a fish
--9 hangers, sturdier and cheaper than the ones at the store down the street
--a little present for Ramsey, for loaning me money and giving me food
--a cutting board, shaped like an apple
--a can opener
--and, gratuitously, a bookend that looks like a cute cat
Then, for whatever reason, I kept on down the street and found--cue music of wonder--a Tesco HomePlus. It had a bunch of Korean writing on it and the number 24--does that mean what I think it means? It does!! 4 beautiful floors of *mission accomplished*! 2nd floor--a new USB, so I don't have to subject my personal one to the hard use and promiscuity of daily classes; 3rd floor--birthday present for Mark, and quirky Chinese alarm clock (though this might have to go back--I can't figure out how to turn off the alarm, and the Korean directions I had my co-teacher read today refer to a non-existent switch...more miming & ineptitude in my future); basement--groceries! "Corn Flight" (you know them as Frosted Flakes) with a jaunty lion on the front and a free pack of colored pencils (yay!), chocolate chip cookies (almost $3 for what turns out to be 12 individually-wrapped cookies--boo), butter ('cause I'd used up the packets I got at Outback when they threw a few extra breads in with my leftovers), oj with a sample of grape juice taped on (this is big here), and crackers (also in micro-packs inside the box, but I'm quite self-satisfied for discerning that they were buy 1 get 1 free). My kitchen is almost properly functional now. And I know where to get Western groceries when I need them. Things are good.
Then the big bonus--I went to a chili party on Saturday night, and my new friend Amanda had gone to Costco and gotten me a welcome gift--a giant slab of cheddar!!!
After the bounty of this weekend, I'd be a damned fool to complain about anything, but I probably will, so watch this space.
Little by little, things come together. I got my settlement allowance on Friday. They told us we'd get it during the first week. It only happened because I told my co-teacher I didn't have any money and she pulled some strings. So, finally, I can relax a little. Just a little, but it feels good. Friday night, I went on a shopping spree. All the things that have been annoying me in my apartment can now be rectified. Started slowly with the $10 coat tree I've been eyeing at the shop down the street. Came home & put it together (no tools required, fortunately). It lists, but at least if I have a wet jacket, I don't have to lay it on the bed or hang it next to my good suit. Had to consciously remember that I can leave plastic bags on the floor without fear of anyone smothering.
Next stop, the little grocery store. They don't post prices, though, so I'm really uneasy about shopping there. Decided I need to find a new store. So I set off walking in a direction I haven't been. Not much useful for a while. Finally came across Lotte Mart, a sort of Wal-Mart meets Marshall Field in Korea. It was 8pm. They were closing. Still can't make sense of that, but whatever. Instead, struck oil at a "dollar" store next door. I'm still pleased as punch about this. For $20, I got:
--a paring knife
--a wooden spoon
--a frying spatula (splurged on the $3 one for the nice, round handle!)
--a plate
--a cute bath towel with elephants on it
--a mat to dry dishes on, shaped like a fish
--9 hangers, sturdier and cheaper than the ones at the store down the street
--a little present for Ramsey, for loaning me money and giving me food
--a cutting board, shaped like an apple
--a can opener
--and, gratuitously, a bookend that looks like a cute cat
Then, for whatever reason, I kept on down the street and found--cue music of wonder--a Tesco HomePlus. It had a bunch of Korean writing on it and the number 24--does that mean what I think it means? It does!! 4 beautiful floors of *mission accomplished*! 2nd floor--a new USB, so I don't have to subject my personal one to the hard use and promiscuity of daily classes; 3rd floor--birthday present for Mark, and quirky Chinese alarm clock (though this might have to go back--I can't figure out how to turn off the alarm, and the Korean directions I had my co-teacher read today refer to a non-existent switch...more miming & ineptitude in my future); basement--groceries! "Corn Flight" (you know them as Frosted Flakes) with a jaunty lion on the front and a free pack of colored pencils (yay!), chocolate chip cookies (almost $3 for what turns out to be 12 individually-wrapped cookies--boo), butter ('cause I'd used up the packets I got at Outback when they threw a few extra breads in with my leftovers), oj with a sample of grape juice taped on (this is big here), and crackers (also in micro-packs inside the box, but I'm quite self-satisfied for discerning that they were buy 1 get 1 free). My kitchen is almost properly functional now. And I know where to get Western groceries when I need them. Things are good.
Then the big bonus--I went to a chili party on Saturday night, and my new friend Amanda had gone to Costco and gotten me a welcome gift--a giant slab of cheddar!!!
After the bounty of this weekend, I'd be a damned fool to complain about anything, but I probably will, so watch this space.
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