Just Seeing If I Can Post Videos From This Site

FA Cup Final 2006 Liverpool Vs West Ham - video powered by Metacafe

The Scouse Anthem: To All Who Don't Know: Lest Ye Forget!!!!!!!!

This is a great clip with some background commentary.
To those of you that don't know this song; It is sang before the kick-off at every home game and at anytime during the game that we Scousers desire. Listen to the last clip; we won it for the 5th time.... Istanbul.... Ataturk Stadium..... May 25th. 2005. My Mum's 65th Birthday too.... Happy Birthday Mum!!!

One Funny Video With Some Funny Arse Cats!

I hope you all enjoy this blog. I watched it a long time ago, but found it again today. It is just as funny the second time around. My favourite is the one that runs out into the street and the other one is the one getting on the couch.

Another Weekend Is Upon Us!

The project is slowly improving, moving along at a moderate place, but far from being the finished article. That is the anger control, by the way!

I have taken some important steps to improve myself and it is working out okay. I am not going to be too critical of myself, just keep trying and trying.

Anyway, enough of the bloody bullshit! How is everyone's week been going? I have had a fairly good one, but at times, it seemed like it was going slow and here we are now close to another weekend. I have had a good week and have done quite a bit of relaxing, albeit with very little sleep. I don't know how to sleep anymore. Just learnt that when it happens, it happens.

Don't really have any plans for the weekend, but am going to be busy doing something, that is for sure. Don't really feel like blogging much right now either. Looking forward to going to the gym for a run tonight and then a few drinks after with Dave. Where, I have no idea, but somewhere in Samsung Plaza.

Personal Anger Or What?

I find myself contemplating my feelings on a regular basis and am trying to 'fine tune' myself to be the healthiest human being I can, both physically and the hardest part of all, emotionally.

I find the emotion of anger, although useful at the appropriate times, is a useless emotion most of the other times. I can find so many things to be angry about and can justify every single one of them to myself. Saying that though, does it really solve anything?

If anger changed things and brought about a settlement within myself, then it would be a most useful emotion. However, that never seems to transpire and therefore the whole emotional rollercoaster ends up being moot.

I am trying my best this week especially, to not be angry at silly little things. To me of course they are not silly, but in the grand scheme of life, they are very silly. I need to just chill out and give some of the same " I don't give a shit attitude about whatever" that other people give towards life.

Saying that, I will not lose my integrity of course and will not succumb to end up at the same level as they are. I will however, try to stop taking things so personally.

A prime example is about the people that I work with. Only one person when they enter the office ever says hello to everyone in the office. Of course that person is Tony who I gave a shout out to on my blog the other day.

It drives me mad, but now I realize that there is absolutely nothing I can do to change it. So therefore, I will come into the office and say hello when I enter, as I usually do, but as far as when other people come in, I will not turn around or make an effort to say hello to them unless they say hello of course.

I will not be angry about it, I will just accept it for what it is. It means nothing really, to most people, but it is tantamount to treason for me. It will be a good test of my resolve and something that I can use to build upon and let other things just happen without trying to wrong the rights of the world.

I may sound like I am just babbling, but I hope there are some of you that understand what I am saying. Maybe it is just a culture thing, i.e. European culture versus North American culture..... I really am not sure.... any comments would be appreciated....... help me understand..... hehe.

Today is Tuesday and kind of a relaxing day, no 4 straight classes, so I can breathe a little while still doing my work. I am at work now and have finished my preparations for the classes. I think that I am going to have one of my classes 'observed' today, so I have the added stress of that........ not really..... just joking.

It is actually normal to have classes observed, but I have only had one done since I have been here, which is now almost 10 months.

The last time I had one done, I got a great review and hopefully I will get another good one today. It will help me get a great reference too for when I come back to another school after my nice 5 or 6 week vacation in Canada and Europe.

Meeting Dave tonight for a drink and looking forward to just chilling in a place away from the four walls of my apartment. I like my own space, but we all need a break away from the same old same old.

Katie Got Her Diploma Last Night And Won The Film Award!

Katie is the one in the middle with the great dress! This was taken earlier this year at her prom night. She graduated from high-school with honours, of course!

Anyway, last night was her graduation ceremony to award her the grade 12 diploma and any awards that she may have won. She won one and pocketed a nice $500 for the "Film Studies" award or something like that. Not really sure what it was, but it was for something with film.

Congratulations to my niece anyway! I called her earlier on in the day, actually about 9.30am her time and woke her up. We had a good chat about university and how everything is going. I am lucky as I graduated in September 2004 from the same university, The University of Toronto, so I can give her a little insight and maybe a little bit of a boost for her morale. I am her favourite Uncle by the way...... hehe.... I am aren't I, Katie??????



This is a picture of my nephew and Katie's brother, Jamie. I like the angle of the picture and he looks so cool in it. This is taken off his "My Space" website. Keep up looking cool and hey Jamie! You made it on my blog..... you are famous now!!!!!!!

He is currently in grade 12 and graduates in the summer of 2007 and then he will be going to university just like his sister. My poor sister and brother-in-law will be broke with 2 kids at the same time in university. They both have part-time jobs though. There is no way my sister and brother-in-law would not make them work for what they deserve..... ...

Dave and I are hanging out at my place tonight, watching some English football with english commentary on the computer and hopefully play around with his camera and make some videos, which I hope to post one of on my blog very soon.

We are both novices at it, but he has taught me a little and we are bringing each other on slowly. I am sure we will be very good at it very soon. Wish us luck and check this space regularly.

Seeing Some Results For The Hard Work At The Gym!

I had a nice sleep in today. Didn't get up until 2pm. Mind due, didn't get to bed until 3am. Also, it is the usual, wake up every 2 hours or so and then go back to sleep.

I actually met the milkman when I opened the door to check if my milk was there at 5am...... he almost shit himself like I did, as he was going to put the milk in the bag as I opened the door. He got a nice shot of me in my underpants too...... scary for him probably!!!!!!!

I have been getting Danish low-fat milk delivered to the house on Mon, Wed and Friday for the last 8 months or so. It usually comes around 4am, but today was the first time that I had ever seen it getting delivered. There is a little bag wrapped around the gas meter right outside the door that the fella puts the milk in.

If I don't want milk for some reason, I just take the bag of the meter and put it inside the house. I get billed once a month for the milk and it is usually around the 28 dollar range, which is for 3 normal pints of milk, 3 times a week for the month.

Milk is a lot more expensive here than in Canada, that is for sure and not half as good tasting either.

When I got up today, I was thinking what I was going to wear to my friends wedding in two weeks. I don't have a suit so I have to settle for a nice pair of dress pants and a nice shirt and tie.

I had a brand new pair of dress pants that I bought 6 months ago, but couldn' t wear them as they were too tight! Well the good news is that this afternoon, I tried them on and they fit with a little room to spare. I was so happy and it actually made me realize that I have lost weight without even knowing it.... well sort of.

The tag is still on the pants too! So that means I have a nice pair of pants to wear. I have dress shoes, so now I have to see if I can buy a nice dress shirt to wear. I think I will be alright as there are shirts here that fit me okay. Good news for my motivation to go to the gym and keep going!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be going to the gym of course after work tonight with a little bit more motivation than before. I have been staying at the same weight, about 218 for the last month or so, but I guess I have been losing inches, which I didn't realize. I want to keep going and my long term goal is to lose another 10lbs and about 2 or 3 more inches in the waist and chest and back.

I will do it if I keep doing what I am doing now. I think a big key is not eating later after I get off work, which is after 10pm. I wake up a little hungry, but am getting used to the feeling now.

I don't want to get too carried away, but am doing it for my health and that alone. I quit smoking 15 months ago and this is the second thing that I want to do in my life; eat healthy and exercise consistently. Plus, I am going to the sauna everyday.

Even when I come back to Canada on holiday, I will pay the daily rate at whatever gym and still work out as much as I can. I will have a lot of free-time, so why not!!!!!!!

In Korea, Don't Eat Around Your Students!

One of the most annoying thing sometimes when you are at the school is when you decide to go outside and eat some food while they kids are leaving and either going to get the school bus or a public bus. The reason is that they come up to us foreigners and say, "Teacher, teacher, I am hungry, please buy me, please give me, please oh please, hungry, really want, give, give!!!!!"

I was told that they don't do it to the Korean teachers, which makes me wonder why and also what do they think they are playing at. It just goes to show you how different the kids act towards us foreign teachers. It is only a small thing, but speaks in volumes about other things that frustrate us as teachers here in Korea.

I have been carrying something into the office from the store next door or the food stand and had the kids literally surround me to beg for food. They are unbelievable and it is really really aggravating when that happens.

I make sure now that I go out a few minutes after the kids have left the school and make sure that I don't walk back into the office at the same time as the kids are getting let out. Again, pretty sad really when you think of having to do that because of the snotty nosed little kids. You would think that they had never eaten before too.

Mind due, the Korean teachers when they see food come into the office courtesy of Avalon, are like flies on shit and hoot and holler just because food is there and then they all flock like vultures on a fresh corpse. It is quite disturbing at times. Again, you would think they had never eaten before except these are grown adults!!!!!!!

Today was a good day. I am on cruise control now as Fridays, I only have 2 classes. I will go and have a sauna tonight, but not work out as I will be going to the gym for a nice long run tomorrow at about 11am. If I worked out tonight, I would still be too sore at that time to run tomorrow.

Can't believe that it is Thursday already. The week really has flown by.

An Error In My Last Blog!

Today, this picture is how I felt when I woke up. I did happen to find the England vs Holland game on the internet through my pc stream player that Stu sent me. It was not a bad game.

England played much better, but still should have had about 3 or 4 more goals. Overall, it was a much better perfomance and one that can be built on. I got to sleep at 5.30am. I fell asleep through parts of the game. Gerrard missed a good chance one on one with the goalkeeper on a breakaway that was gifted by a back pass from Belharouze.


I originally said that today was a special day in Korea as the middle-school kids were writing exams to get into highschool. I was wrong. It is in fact highschool kids writing their exams to get into university, which is a huge deal here in Korea.


Don't fall off of your seat because I admitted to being wrong, but don't get used to it either. It doesn't happen that much, after all...... lol.

What You Gotta Do To Get Some Sleep?

Here I am at 2.44a.m. wide awake and not even the slightest bit close to being able to sleep. What gives with that? I have tried everything..... hot milk.... no exercise.....being drunk. Even that is a joke. I can be wrecked out of my mind and still wake up every two hours or so..... I just don't get it!!!!!


I guess I should go with it as they say? There is not much I can do. I even put on some of that relaxing music that is supposed to help you sleep.... got it off the internet... didn't do shit! It is funny because I am not even thinking about anything to keep me awake.

It is not like I have much to worry about these days except the three most important people in my life; me, myself and I.

As Dad always says, "Must be nice to have only yourself to worry about, you selfish bastard!"




So does anyone have any ideas other than a sledgehammer or sleeping pills, which don't interest me at all?

Wayne, the head teacher or should I say head supervisor now as he has been promoted, gave me some pills and said they were really strong and would knock me out. I took them and they didn't do jack shit. I felt a little groggy, but that was it. He laughed at me and told me that I must be mental or something. That was about 4 months ago and I was not interested in taking anything else like it.

I think they are going to show the England vs Holland game at 4am, so maybe I will be awake to watch it.

I just went for a walk downstairs to the store in my apartment building and bought some cereal and milk. I am going to have a bowl of it and see if it makes me groggy. I don't have to much to worry about though, as I don't start work until 3pm, so I can still catch some sleep in the early hours and recuperate enough for work.

I am listening to a cd mp3 torrent that I made. It has 20 albums from the U.K on it from someone that posted it on a torrent site. Listening to Madonna right now; Confessions. I was listening to the Pussycat Dolls before and another fella that I have never heard of; Orson. Fatboy Slim just came on.





Meet Tony the Mormon from my school. He is such a happy guy all of the time. This is just a funny picture with him pulling faces. He has been a lot of places as a missionary with his family and church.

He really is deeply religious and Wayne is always poking fun at him with some really funny questions and quotes like saying, "Hey Tony, you can't lie remember, so tell the truth."

Tony is a really good sport about it and is one of the nicest fellas that I have met. He is always in a good mood and always enters the office with the nicest greeting you will ever hear in your life. Nicer than the other teachers who most of the time don't even let on they are there until you see them. American style, I guess!!!!!!!

He is an interesting guy to talk to and he just turned 30... doesn't look it eh? Anyway, I wanted to give Tony a shoutout on my blog as he deserves it for just being a good overall human being. Those Mormons have some really weird beliefs though.... kind of spooky at times, but Tony is cool by my books.

Tonight is supposed to be the coldest night of the year so far according to Dave. He told me today that it is always associated with the day that the middle-school kids write their exam to get into a good high-school. Probably because it is November 16th, don't you think!!!!!!!!

Lots of kids will be busy tomorrow and most of the middle-schools are off because of the oth kids in third year writing the exam. Middle-school has 3 years and then they have another 3 years in high-school.

The school year is really different from Canada and America and the United Kingdom. The Korean school year starts in late February or early March. They have Christmas holidays then they go back for about 3 or 4 weeks and are then finished the year. They get 4 weeks starting the end of December and go back the end of January. They also get 4 weeks in the summer.

Most of the students go to other classes during the vacation time. They go to math, science, music, art school and another school that is called all subjects, which in Korean is "Ipsi Haegwon." Haegwon means school really in English, although the literal translation means academy or institute.

Anyway, the poor bastards don't get much of a break. Remember too they have Saturday school when they are in regular school too!!!! They just started getting every second Saturday off last year. Before they got that, they went to school every Saturday for on average about 4 hours..... wouldn't that suck!!!!!!!!

Terrible Taxi Driver But A Great Guy!

I was in a taxi, which by the way happens at least once a day and sometimes 2 or 3 due to my time constraints and being a "Gypsy" and I began to notice immediately that the driver was awful. His breaking was woeful and he was riding the acclerator and break equally with power.

I got talking to him in Korean and he spoke a tiny bit of English. Of course the first question he asked me was how old I was. It gets on my nerves, but I succumbed as usual and told him. He told me he was 71!!!! Yes, that is right, 71!!!! No wonder he was a bad driver. Not that old age necessarily makes you any worse of a driver, but I am sure his reactions are not top end anymore.

My Dad says that dozy old people are just normal people who have always been dozy and now just got older...... haha!!!!! This guy might have suited that bill, that is for sure.

Well, I asked him why he was still working at that age and he answered back with a full laugh that he had no money! I laughed at that, but at the same time thought to myself it was a little sad to be in that predicament at his age. Maybe he doesn't have enough money to do other things that he wants. I think he had money, maybe just not enough! His taxi was very nice and very new and the taxi drivers here usually all own their own taxis.

Speaking tests are over today and we are back to normal teaching. I am looking forward to teaching today, but not the 4 classes straight without breaks. I only have about 10 weeks to go now before I finish, so I can hack it no problem.

I went to the gym last night. Ran 5km in 30 minutes and enjoyed it immensely. Didn't have a sauna though, which is unusual in itself, but I was too hot...........

Jacket weather is here. Today is the first day that I have wore a jacket. It is still a little nippy at night, but not cold inside the apartment. The heat is not on and I think it will be a while before I get round to that. I will hold off as long as I can..... believe me.

A friend from Ulsan, Troy who is one of the original fellas that was here in Korea back in 2000, is getting married on Sunday, December 3rd. Dave and I will be going of course. We will be leaving late Saturday evening and then probably come back late Sunday night. I am looking forward to seeing the wedding and seeing Gareth and Tony down in Ulsan.

Troy owns a bar in Ulsan called "Benchwarmers." He is a workaholic, but likes it that way. I have known his girlfriend just as long as I have known Troy, well almost because Troy introduced us to her when we first got here. Her name is Sharon and she is a really nice girl. Congratulations that he finally convinced her to say yes..... haha. She is Korean too, by the way.

What A Difference A Good Sleep Makes!

Well, here we are one day later after the supposed hiatus from exercising. That is not going to happen. Not at all!!!!!! I am off to the gym tonight.

I had a good nights sleep or relaxation or whatever you want to call an insomniac's sleep pattern. I feel like a new man and I did go to the sauna last night, which did me the world of good. I spent about an hour and a half there and enjoyed it immensely.

The cold weather finally arrived today, by Korean standards anyway. I still do not have my coat on, but think that I need to wear one either today or tomorrow. The wind is a little chilly, but I am sure by Canadian standards, this place pales by comparison to being cold.

Don't really have much to blog about today other than today is the last day of the speaking tests. It has been quite easy over the last two days, but also a little boring.

I watched a replay of the Liverpool vs Arsenal game and it looked like Liverpool never got out of first gear. Defensively, they were absolutely horrible. All 3 goals came on mistakes and not by good play from Arsenal.

Even with playing that badly, Liverpool still looked like they could have been in the game at times. Riise was terrible and the worst player by far was Bolo Zenden. He almost scored too, as well as Gerrard. Bellamy's goal at the end was not offside, but Crouch's was at the beginning of the match.

The one thing that did bother me about the game, was Van Persie's deliberate hand-ball, which rivalled Maradona's "Hand of God," but was caught by the ref. The other one was the tackle by Pennant on whoever, but totally uncalled for as well as Carragher's nasty one, which should have earned him a double yellow, red!

I think some of the players are way too nasty and over the top of late. Something needs to be done to tone down the tackles from behind and the knee kicking, ankle stomping tackles that put players out for weeks and months.

They need to have more respect for each other as fellow professionals as well as more respect for the referees. The referees are questioned continually, yet the tactics of some of the players goes un-noticed. The players are part of the problem and they and only they can find the solution. Give yer heads a shake!!!!!!!

Taking A Week Off From Everything To Recharge My Batteries!

I decided today to take one week off from the gym and have some early nights to recharge my batteries. I am feeling a little rundown right now and am pushing myself too hard. I thought about this last week, but after the weekend, decided that I don't want to burn myself out.

I am taking a one week total break away from anything that takes extra energy out of me. I am going to go to the sauna tonight and soak my bones and enjoy the warm whirlpool and cold bath.

My Mum said a couple of weeks ago that I need to be careful about not overdoing it and I am going to heed her advice and try a one week trial. I am going to just pamper myself with good food and good rest. Let's see how I feel and then take it from there.

Plus. I am sure that after one week away from the gym, I will be itching to get back and workout and run.

Today and tomorrow are speaking test days at my school. That means that our schedule is great. We don't teach any classes, but have to mark essays and of course give speaking tests to some of the classes.

It is all organized for us and each student usually has to answer 4 or 5 questions from two assigned units that they have been told to study. It is in a classroom with only 5 seats facing the teacher and the kids just sit in the seats with no desks of course and listen to the questions and answer them. We have our own marking sheets with the students names on them.

We mark them on comprehension, interaction, pronunciation and accuracy of answer. They get a maximum of 10 points for each section, but it is an overall mark for the way they answer the questions given to them.

It is quite fun and the kids are quite cute to watch, as they get so nervous sometimes while they are sitting there. They are not allowed to talk to each other and they get marked on moving or fidgeting while they are sitting down. That is part of the interaction mark and it also includes how comfortable they seem to be with the whole test experience.

The only thing that is a little frustrating is marking the essays that they are given by the Korean teachers. The English is so bad sometimes and we have to mark the essays for every student that is at the school that day. It is divided between all of the foreign teachers of course, but it is quite fair, but still a pain in the brain.

It's Just Gotten Ridiculous, Don't You Think?

Today I was on the bus and also in a taxi. At different times of the day, of course. On the bus, the bus driver was talking on a cell phone while driving and in the taxi the driver talked the whole time that he drove me to my destination. It is incredible that they are even allowed to do it, which I think they are not.

Not only is it dangerous because their cell phone isn't even hands-free, but it is also annoying because most of them talk really really loud when they are on it and I don't want to listen to some guy talk to his friend or wife while I am sitting on the bus or in a taxi. Do you have an opinion on this? Is it just me or are cell phones starting to take over the world? Leave a comment as I would love to hear what other people have got to say!

There is a fine here for anyone driving and talking on a cell phone... about 30 dollars for each incident, but it is not policed very well. I think there should be something done about it for sure. This is by far not the first time that this has happened. It has happened lots of times and I am sure will continue to go on, as long as they are allowed to get on with it.

It has been a while since I have been back to Canada so I would like to know if it is becoming a problem there. I know that drivers were doing it before I left, but bus drivers and taxi drivers??????????

This is the new converter by JVC just out of their factory and they can't keep up with the orders. They are backlogged by 2 years already and the waiting list keeps getting longer. Only problem is that it costs $100, 000 for each one...... men are willing to pay it though. It is called the JVC, model number OOOIWANNA.

Dave and I are going to watch both games from the Premiership live on ESPN with full English commentary. I am not sure which game is second, but the first game is Man City vs Newcastle. Both teams have been struggling of late and desperately need a win to put them back on track.

Newcastle are sat in the bottom three; the relegation zone, which is a shocker. Most people are not aware of what a huge club Newcastle are.The team is steeped in tradition and passion for the game of football. If they don't pick up soon, the fans are going to be absolutely livid. Glen Schroeder may be the first casualty of the season as far as firing managers goes, although the chairman at the club has given him his full backing.



Dave and I are going to have some barbecued low fat pork at one of the places around my apartment. Actually we have been there a few times and it is a good place. The meat we are going to eat is called "Daeji Kalbi" which literally means "pork meat."

The other type of pork that is popular here more than kalbi is "Samgyop Sal," which literally means "three layers of fat!" I have not eaten any of that for over 5 months now. It is just like bacon except a little thicker and a little fatter.... seriously!!!!!!!!






Cleaned my apartment from top to bottom today. Put in a load of washing, washed all my dishes and emptied all the garbage cans. Cleaned the toilet, sink and gave the bathroom a good going over... .shit that reminds me, I forgot to clean the mirrors in there, gotta go and do that now while I am thinking on. I have a great memory; it is just very short.


Big game tomorrow. Liverpool vs Arsenal. Liverpool have to have a good game to make up for the debacle they had against Man U. If we win, I want to win with grace and style and want the team to play good football.

Arsenal are going to be pissed as they lost to West Ham Utd in the last few minutes of their last game. They also have not qualified yet for the group stages of the Champions League because they couldn't score against CKSA Moscow despite having golden opportunities to do so. I hope they suck tomorrow against Liverpool.

The time difference here now with the extra hour behind sucks a little because now most of the games are starting at midnight and if there are some weekday games, they don't start here until like 4.45am.

But, as usual, I will be up at anytime to watch the Reds and especially if it is Champions League or against one of the big clubs in the Premiership.

Brooms, Brushes, Mops And Anything Else!!!!!!!

I have wanted to do a blog about this particular issue for a while now, but kept forgetting all the time. It is going to be about how short the handles on all the cleaning equipment in Korea are. It is no joke either! It really is a problem especially for foreigners that come here who notice it right away.

The Koreans are quite oblivious to it, to tell you the truth. Whenever I have mentioned the fact to them, they look at me like I have 3 heads or something.

Every single brush, bar none, has this little diddy, short handle that you makes you bend your back about half way over to use it. All you see all day long with people here when they are cleaning up, is them bending half of their body over. They wonder why people here have such bad backs and believe me there are tons of them especially when they get older.

The other big problem is how they sit too. Although as foreigners we are in awe of how they can sit cross-legged for hours at a time on a flat floor and eat at a table with minute legs, there is a price to pay for this. Lots of the Asian have joint problems and have bad backs especially the older men and women. Older women, as in their 40s and up work outside and when they are picking either for farming or for other manual jobs, they sit in a squat position, much like a baseball catcher, for hours and hours.

What this ends up doing is ruining their spines and they end up walking like handicapped people. I have seen so many older ladies here with their chests stuck out and their backs indented due to sitting like that and their overall general lack of calcium in their diet. Women here are not encouraged at all to drink milk or have calcium in their diet. As most of us know, women naturally lose calcium in their bones as they age and it is a very good idea to have dairy products that include calcium in their diet. The Koreans know nothing about that!!!!!

Even the sight lines of everything here comes across as short at times and not just for the foreigners, but also for the Koreans. Kitchen sinks are low for one example. Everthing has not been thought out, as I always say.

Another Korean nuance is how the men here who deliver anything from boxes to parcels or anything that requires lifting power to carry. They carry everything behind them on their backs with their hands off to the sides holding it onto their back. It looks so uncomfortable when you watch them carry like that and oh so unhealthy.

It is the same when it comes to stretching; like taekwando and hapkido. The instructors teach you to bounce when you stretch, which is the worst thing that you can ever do. There have been quite a few foreigners who have taken taekwondo here and ended up injured and in the hospital with pulled groins and pulled muscles and torn ligaments. I have talked to these people personally about this issue. The teacher would come around while they were stretching and push them down really quickly or even sometimes sit on them while they were stretching...... just nuts!!!!!!!

It all comes back to the main issue that I say is Korea's main problem; they don't give a shit whether what they are doing is right or wrong, it is just the Korean way.... like it or lump it. It is their attitude to most things in life, but it is done in a very sly way. It happens with their style of teaching English and goes into all areas of their life.

I was told about 6 years ago that Korea was one of the most autonomous countries that you could live in anywhere. They were so right!!!!! People ask me to describe Korea and I describe it like this; Korean!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even how the businessmen address English speaking people. i.e. the type of English they use. The banners on the huge department stores that have so many English mistakes on them. The advertisements on the t.v. that are written in such bad English and on and on. This carries onto all areas of life and as I read a paper about Korean workers a few years ago, Koreans are good workers, but in Western countries very rarely become supervisors or managers as they really have a problem thinking outside the box.

This is a reflection of their culture and one of the most annoying things about living here. Don't get me wrong, I love this place and embrace most of the differences with an open mind and an open heart, but this particular vane of thought is what holds them back from getting to the next level. If they could get there, they could excel in so many more areas of business and commerce, never mind as a country themselves.

Having the health and safety background from Canada, thanks to the City of London and some courses I took, the rules and regulations here are not just slack, they are just plain ridiculous. People walking under booms loaded with material. Road work with signs just before you get to them. Cars parked in bus stops, taxis pulling over anywhere and on and on........ I don't want to sound too negative, but it is the cold hard truth.

I like the fact that there are not rules attached to everything, but I now realize why the West doesn't accept credentials from some countries. There is such a big disparity in training and actual work habits. Again, I love this place, but realize that it will not be a country that I will live in for a long long time.

I plan to be here for at least 3 more years and then it will be time to move on and travel more of the world. I want to practice my French, Spanish and Greek and I can teach English in these places while improving my language skills. Also, the world is such a beautiful place, I want to see as much of it as I can. Travel 101 will be my motto now, then and for the rest of my life.

"Wherever I lay my hat, that's my home...." Marvin Gaye scripted it right and that is how I feel at the present moment. I have never been happier in my life and I mean that with a big smile on my face and a warm thump of my heart. I am glad to be alive and have a wonderful family and friends.

The Fast Has Ended..........54 Hours.... Tank Cleaned

The fast ended last night at 10pm after I finished work. I was meeting Dave for a drink, so I decided that it was long enough and also I did feel like eating something.

My stomach feels great. It does feel cleaner and I feel like I am a little emptier around the mid-section.

I ate some "Odeng" which is like a small thin sheet of cardboard, but is really crushed fish.... quite healthy. This particular type was the spicy type and the odeng sits in a broth of spicy crab and other peppers and such. It is really cheap too.... costs a dollar for two of them. The odeng is on a skewer stick and you chew it while it is on the stick. It is a very popular and common food here in Korea and they even have restaurants that sell just odeng. You usually brush the non-spicy odent with soya sauce that is provided in a bowl right at the stand where it is sold. Below is not a picture of it, but I found this pic on a website that shows one of the staple beers that they drink here in Korea. Take the "C" out of Cass, what you got? "ASS!"

This picture is a good reflection of the side dishes that I have mentioned in Korea. They are usually all complimentary and refills are free too. This is just a small picture and only shows a few side dishes. Sometimes space on the table is a problem especially if you are drinking water and beer and other beverages. It is quite cool though when you have such a big variety of food to pick away at. They are usually very healthy foods too.

There is a picture at the bottom of the blog where you sit on the floor and eat the Korean style that shows the space issue that I mentioned.

Liverpool won last night. They beat Birmingham 1-0. Not a convincing result, but it sounds like Bellamy played well and missed a few chances, but is over his injury. There was however a bit of bad news. Mohammed Sissoko will be out for a while, which is a big loss to the midfield. He has a dislocated shoulder and that will take a while to heal. Maybe now Gerrard will move back into the central role and be able to wander, more like he has in the past. Too bad for Sissoko though.

The other big guns in the league; Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham all won. It will be interesting to see who we get drawn against in the next round of the Carling Cup. I hope we stay away from the other big teams until at least the semi-final. I would love to get Southend or Wycombe.

48 Hours And Still Going Strong......... Well, Somewhat!!!!!

I am 48 hours into the fast and everything is going fine. I had a cup of tea this morning at a friend's house, but other than that, just water has entered my gut.

I actually went to the gym last night and did a workout for about 15 minutes and then ran 2km really fast.

I was not planning on running or doing anything, but could not resist once I was there. I had a great sauna and the cold bath last night was extremely cold, which was nice to cool off in once you came out of the sauna.

These fellas look like how I have felt for the last few weeks..... .fat fat fat!!!!!! Sumo wrestlers emobody physical perfection, don't you think? Well, not quite.

Did you know that to become a Sumo wrestler, you have to be able to do the full splits? Well, you do and everyone of them, although fat and generally obese, are actually very good athletes in their sport. I don't think they could run 100 metres though!

I still cannot believe that I am not hungry! I have had a few hunger pains in the last few hours, but they are the first ones since I started. The only thing that I have found a little tough are the smells! All the restaurants and the school have nice smells that make the nasal passages want to eat.

I have taught myself to just enjoy the smell and tell the brain that it doesn't want it. It is going quite well, like I said, but I don't know how long I will last now. I have no actual goal, just want to see how things go.

Once I have passed the 50 hours mark, which is in 2 hours, I will re-evaluate if I want to remain on the fast or not. I can't eat until 6.40pm anyway, as that is the class that I have a 10 minute break until the next one at 6.50pm.

Can you believe that Man U lost to Southend!!!! It was so good to see one of the minnows destroy a giant like them. Just wouldn't have felt the same way if a team did that to Liverpool. We play Birmingham tonight, so that had better not happen.

Southend are also at the bottom of the League Championship and haven't been in good form at all lately. I watched the last 20 minutes on tv here at 5am in the morning and I was hoping that they would win.... I was willing them to win on the edge of my bed.

Here is the giant killer himself; Freddy Eastwood who scored a wonderful free-kick that the goalkeeper had no chance to save. He must be on top of the moon right now. He is a Man U supporter to boot, which makes it even more special for him.

Cleaning The Tank Out Again!

Some more jokes that came via James Campbell Esquire again. My Dad has a bunch of friends that circulate jokes between them. There are always some good ones and some classics too!!! I hope you enjoy my choices from the array that I look at!

Over the last few weeks, there have been a lot of people talking about pregnancy and having children and also about how to raise children.... some of the teachers at my school.

Marilyn who sits next to me in school has a 20 month old boy and she was asking me what to do about him yelling everytime they are out in public. She was genuinely asking me what to do. I just told her not to allow it and find a way to stop it, either by instant punishing or taking something away that he will not like.

Either way, I told her that each child is different and not to be the constant 'smacker' that Korean parents have a habit of doing. After being smacked so much the child becomes desensitized to the whole act, anyway. As I told Marilyn, which was passed on to me by my Mum and Dad; there is no manual that tells you how to raise a child!

I look in the mirror sometimes and wonder what happened to that goofy, young kid that used to look back at me. Well, the goofy kid is still there, but the image has become an older man!!!! Doesn't looking older suck sometimes? I think everyone suffers with it, I am just trying to get a hold on it.

I remember when I was 30, I felt the same way, so why the constant harrowing of myself? Maybe it's because I am shallow and that beauty and the world's opinion about it, eats my whole being everyday. I want to get out of the grasps of that mentality, but it sure is hard, especially in Korea with the constant 'age' thing popping up.

Most of the time though I don't give a shite, but I am human at times..... don't laugh now!!! If I had any of those things left... what are they called?

Fee.lllll.....iiii....nnn....ggs, oh feelings! Yeah, I know that people would be hurting them or trying to hurt them. I don't have any of them that can be hurt anymore, so I am safe!!!!!!!!! Just joking of course.... always wear my heart on my sleeve, as my good friends know.

Another classic pic and one of my favourites! I love the way some people think. Humour is such a gift to have in life and helps you get through so much shite sometimes.

Back to the good old fasting for me again. Except this time, I am only drinking water. It is going to be a real deal fast this time. I have gone 24 hours right now as I am typing and don't feel the slightest bit hungry. I also ran 7kms at the gym last night in 50 minutes, which is a new record for me over the last year or so.

How is it that I don't feel hungry? I am telling you, we all eat way too much and don't give our systems any chance to clear out. I am bound and determined to last as long as I can, but in a healthy way. If I start to feel weak or dizzy or have any negative effects, I will stop right away, so don't worry!!! I will keep you posted on how I am feeling and of course will tell you how many hours and how long everyday..... hehehe.

The cold weather has finally arrived and it is beginning to become coat weather. I am not wearing a coat yet and will hold off as long as I can.

I will still go to the sauna for the next 2 or 3 days, but will not workout due to my fasting. I am not a total idiot, you know!!!!!!!

The essays are all done and now I have to write 70 more comments.... the same ones that I just finished about 3 weeks ago.... total overkill that is for sure. The next essays go out next week too!!!! That means we will have essays to do again in two weeks.

We also have the speaking tests on Monday and Tuesday and have to mark essays for the Korean teachers again. There is never anytime to rest, that is for sure. I am looking at things positively though and am not going to bitch about it anymore, just state what is going on and not necessarily how it makes me feel....... let's see if that is possible?

My sister has a good friend, Allison who is pregnant. Allison is originally from Birmingham although most of her accent is gone now. Anyway, she got married a few years back and her and her husband, Scott, had been trying to have a baby for a while. She got pregnant, but my sister tells me she is petrified about the whole giving birth thing. Maybe she should have done what the woman above did!!!!

My sister said she was at the hospital waiting to get a check-up and she heard all the woman groaning and such and has also been to the pre-birth classes. She said at the time that she was at the hospital, " I have changed my mind now, I don't want to do this anymore," to her husband. Really funny when you think about it. She is due in the middle of November, so good luck with everything and I hope Mum to be and child enjoy the whole experience........ haha.

I have known Allison for quite a few years too since she met our Jackie. She is a great girl and her husband, Scott, is a sound fella too.

Argy Bargy......... Nudge Nudge....... Bang Bang!

The title kind of sums up what I feel like today! So many people today stepping right in front of me, banging my bag, clicking my heels...... drove me nuts for while, but I took a deep breath and now I am over it.

I went to the gym to relieve some frustration and it worked wonderfully. I am slowly getting back to my old strength now..... took a while, but I am getting there. I actually bench pressed 215lbs today twice and nice clean ones too, no cheating.

I did flys with 45lbs in each hand and had a really good tricep workout, then ran 2 kms.... I felt so good afterwards. Soaked in the cold bath and went in the sauna for 4 goes at 5mins a piece. I walked out of the public bath a new man.

Had a great turkey breast sandwich complete with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, onions and hot peppers at Subway. There is one just a five minute walk from my place. Just what I needed to!

The Liverpool game last night was a load of shite. It was so so boring. Although we won, I hated Reading's tactics of 5 at the back. It meant that Sammy Hyppia must have crossed the half way line more in one game than in his whole career. It was a shite game to watch and Reading should be ashamed of themselves for playing that way.

As the ESPN commentators said, "It was just damage control!"




The Everton game on the other hand, was much more enjoyable to watch. What a strange game though! Everton were all over Fulham for the first half and really should have had 2 or 3 goals, but poor finishing let them down. The second half was the exact opposite, Fulham were all over Everton and scored the only goal of the game, via a deflection. Everton almost got the goal back at the end of the half except for a fantastic double save by Niemi off of Andrew Johnson or AJ as he is referred to commonly now by the commentators.

Tonight is Tottenham vs Chelsea and I personally would love to see Spurs put one over on Chelsea. Man U won again last night too...... the bastards........ 20 years for Ferguson as manager on Tuesday, quite an accomplishment even if I hate him. I only hate him in a rival sense of course. I have been listening to the ESPN squad and everyone raves about him as a football person. He has helped a lot of managers over the years, supposedly and continues to do it today. As an ambassador for the sport, I guess he ranks up there with the best of them.

I guess that is why he got the knighthood..... but come on, Sir Alex?...... still irks me to this day..........

Dave and I are meeting up later to watch the match. Don't know where yet, but more than likely Dublin's again. I have actually only been there once in the last 3 weeks, bit of a rarity for me like!!!

The weather here is getting a little cool at night, but I am sure compared to Canada, it is nothing. During the day it is beautiful and feels like Fall or early Spring. I am not complaining about the weather here, that is for sure.

I am itching still for the next 3 months to fly by. Dying to see my Mum and Dad and our Jackie, Nuri and the kids. Can't come fast enough. I guess once November ends, it should be all downhill from there.

Trying to save as much money as I can (about a hundred dollars) so I can spoil them all rotten when I get back there...... I can hear my Dad now, saying, "Yeah right, cheap arse!!!!!" Hehe.

Hey an old dog can learn new tricks, you know! I think they can anyway?

A Few More Pics Of Taipei And Other Stuff Off Dave's Camera!

Dave finally got round to sending me the Taipei pictures. Can't blame him for taking so long really, as his computer at his house is a relic and the computer at school is all in Korean, making it hard to understand how to do anything.

Anyway, at long last here are some more pics of different things in Taipei and much better quality than my camera, which is a relic by now as far as digital cameras go.

The first one is of a side street right off the main street. Believe it or not, people actually live there. It looked like a demolished alley with derelict houses, but it wasn't!

It took a walk down there to see what condition the houses where in. They were a mess and looked like something that had just been put together to stop the wind from coming in. It was quite an eye opener for me.

Off of the main street, the other houses looked okay, but this place was also kitty corner to a temple that was stuck right in between a set of shacks and a store.



This one is a good shot of a main street in Taipei. You can see all the tropical trees. Like I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, Taiwan has done a good job of putting lots of trees everywhere to mask the industrial look of the country or should I say the western look of the place. You can see in the picture there are lots of boulevards that create one way streets to drive on and gets you off the main glut of traffic. These are all usually full of scooters too.







There is a story behind this picture here and here is how it goes. Usually in Korea, side dishes like these ones in the picture are complimentary. You can also order as many refills of them as you want and they don't cost you a red cent.

Anyway, Dave and I decided to go to a traditional Taiwanese restaurant and this one looked like it fitted the bill. We waited for a table and this one came up. We sat down and we looked at the menu. We started to pick at these side dishes, which were no big shit, by the way. A little bit of nothing, is how I would describe them. Anyway, we were nibbling away at them, while we waited for our order to come. We had ordered quite a range of things, some of them turned out to be okay, but some were shite and way too fishy for us.... even for Dave who is a fish lover.

We got the bill and the stupid side dishes cost as much as two of the things that we had ordered on the main menu!!!!!! They charged us for them and really we did not enjoy them!
The bill ended up being around 45 dollars, which is highway robbery, by Taiwanese standards and not what we were looking for at all.

We wanted to try some of the food, but at a reasonable price and this was nowhere near a good deal for the food that we had and the quality and quantity. Anyway, at least we had some authentic Taiwanese food. Doesn't come close to rivaling Korean food though.



This is a picture of Kyle who we met through Billy who is in the picture below. Kyle just ended his contract at a school as he was not happy with the way things were going, so he gave them his 6 weeks notice and now has gone on a trek of Vietnam or Cambodia or one of those places for about a month.

He is coming back and then going to get a job at another school. He is a good guy, very young as you can see from the picture! He is big into photography, just like Billy and also has his own blog. I am going to put his link onto my blog, if I ever get around to remembering.




This is a picture of Billy, myself and Dave at Dublin's. I don't know if you can see from the picture, but I look like an Albino!!!!

Here is what happened: I dyed my hair about a day before we left for Korea and decided to dye my goatee and sideburns as well as my eyebrows!!! Didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I looked like one of those psychos from a movie. It really was weird how my eyebrows looked.

I don't have many pictures from Taiwan, but if I did, I probably wouldn't post them as I looked like a real tit in them and spooky to boot. If you look closely at the picture, you can see what I mean.

I am staying home tonight and watching the Liverpool game on my computer, in English I hope! Dave is going out with a Korean friend of his who he met at the gym. We thought we were going to go out all together, but Dave called him and the Korean fella said, "Friend no, no, you and a girl, me and a girl, " or something like that.

Dave felt bad that I was not coming along, but I told him that I would prefer to stay at home anyway. I don't ever want to be the third wheel or the fifth wheel or whatever it is. I hope Dave has a good time and I am sure he will tell me all about it.

Dave and I met up with Billy last night and had a few drinks outside the Family Mart by Dave and Billy's house. Billy seems okay, but of course a little sad and not looking forward to the trip back home. He does however have first class seats there and back, so that will be a little bit of comfort for him to travel with. It is something that he has to do and has resigned himself to that fact; not an easy thing for any human being to go through.

Billy even got someone to cover for him while he is gone. How awesome is that for a guy to do when he is going through something as tragic as what he is. The school should realize what a good guy he is and give him his just rewards when he gets back; appreciate him more and realize that he is a great teacher and human being.