3 Days Before I Move Into My Own Digs!

The countdown is officially on. I have 3 more days to wait until I finally move into my own place. I can't wait, to tell you the truth. It will just be so nice knowing that it is my own place and not the school's, as in the past. I plan on staying there for at least 3 years. That means no more moving for that time.........yipeeeeeeee!!!!!!

I am sick of moving over the past 7 years since I left Canada and then returned and then moved 3 times again and then returned to Korea and moved 3 times again.......Wow! I can't believe that I moved that many times. No more, my friends. I can actually decorate this place and make it feel like home.

I had a good weekend, which ended up by watching a football game of foreigners, which if all goes well, I will be playing with next weekend. Mostly a mix of Irish fellas and a couple of English blokes. They look like a good team and they have a couple of Ghanan lads who are really good. Should be a good team to hang out with as well. Some good craic and some good laughs as well.

The weather here is warming up and should be getting really hot within the next month or so.....humid as hell. I like though, so I can't complain.

I went to the gym 2 out of the 3 days on the weekend. I am still losing weight and am happy to say that I am weighing about 209lbs now. For those of you who only know kilos, it is about 95 kilos. Those of you who only know stones, it is about 14 stone 10 0r s0........ a big improvement from the previous weight back at the end of March......just keep going Paul, still got another 10 kilos, 22 pounds or a stone and a half to go.

Glad to see that Michael Owen played a full 90 mins for England over the weekend and I am actually glad that McClaren picked Beckham for the squad for next weeks game against Brazil and the qualifier the following week.

Dave and I have tickets to see the Holland vs Korea next Saturday night in Seoul. That should be fun and I am looking forward to seeing a good competitive match.

I will post some pics of the new place later this week, if all goes well.

Happy Birthday To My Mum!

May 25th is the most special day of my life ever. You know why? It's because if my Mum had not been born, then I wouldn't be typing this blog would I.......lol.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to Margaret Irene Campbell!!!!!!!! I love my Mum to bits and I am the luckiest man alive to have a mother like her.......I mean that and am thankful everyday of my life. Have a great day, Mum.

Pic of the inside of Dublin's.

Went down to Bundang last night to meet up with Rob who just came via the Phillipines. We all met years ago in Ulsan and we have known Rob for over 5 years now. He looks good, as always and I am happy that he decided to come back to Korea.

Rob and Dave in Dublin's.

I have a few pics of the coffee shop in Bundang, "Coffee Bean" and also of the inside of Dublin's, the Irish bar that I used to frequent. Some pics of Dave and Rob and of Billy and Sara.

Dave outside Coffee Bean.

Billy and Sara having a laugh. They are not an item, just fooling around in the picture. Sara works at Avalon, where I used to work last year.

Off To Watch The Match!

Dave and I are off to watch the match at Hollywood's. First we will grab a quick bite to eat and then head off to watch the match, which doesn't start until 3.45am our time, here in Korea.

I am dead excited about it and a little nervous. Everyone is going on gangbusters about Liverpool being the underdogs and even Bellamy said it right yesterday in the an interview from last week, "AC Milan will not get the space that Man Utd gave them in their games against us. That is for sure!"

I hope we win it in regular time and I hope that it is a very entertaining, exciting game with Liverpool scoring a couple and hopefully, winning it convincingly. I don't think my heart could take penalties again, so let's do it normally.

There should be a good crowd at the bar tonight as tomorrow/ today is a holiday here in Korea. It is Buddah's birthday. How old does the old, fat bald guy turn today, anyway?

Richie and Nick and Matt and Winston and Dave and I will be the regulars that always show up at the matches plus drunken Simon who is always two sheets to the wind.

I met a fella, Simon, an Irish lad who said he will be there too. I may go and watch his team play football on Sunday and he said he could sign me up, but wasn't guaranteeing me a spot to start every week. That would suit me fine. Just want to start playing again and kicking that little round ball around the pitch.

Off I go. I hope that I have great news to put on my blog tomorrow. If not, then at least we got to the 'big show' and hopefully put up a great effort.

"We love you Liverpool, we do, we love you Liverpool, we do,
We love you Liverpool, we do, oh, Liverpool we love you...............

A Few More Pics Of My Students

Surprisingly enough, I didn't put any blogs on this weekend. Just kind of busy and burnt out from working and going to the gym. Not in a negative way, just didn't want to sit in front of a computer and type something over the weekend.

I am back in work mode again after a very good weekend. I moved some of my stuff over to the place that I will be moving in on May 31st. The lady is still there, but she was nice enough to let me drop some stuff off. She cleared out one of the wardrobes that I have bought of her. There are 3 big arse ones in all and I put my suitcases in one of them.

She is having an open house this weekend as it will be here last weekend in Korea. I will drop another suitcase and some bags off on Sunday again. I also need to talk to a friend of hers about the internet at the house as it is in her friends name and I would like to just transfer everything over so there is no 'down' time, as such.

The weather here is really nice. Very springlike weather. Sometimes a little cool at night and sometimes very warm during the day. I can feel the humidity sometimes, which for anyone that doesn't know about Korea, is so so thick in the summer. You can add 10-15 degrees onto the heat in the summer with the humidity.

My school has no a/c, so we will see how that goes. My Korean teacher has already asked the principal to think about buying two of them. One for each room that the foreigners teach in. i.e. Isaiah and I.

I hope you like some of the pics of my students. I am starting to really like teaching them and they are actually improving quite a bit. Except for my last class, who can't even read simple English, but are supposed to be advanced. I need to do some reading with them and make sure they can read what I write on the board.

2 days to go to the big show. Liverpool vs AC Milan. I am getting quite excited and am looking forward to going to Hollywoods and watching it live with friends. It starts at 3.15am our time, here in Korea. We have a holiday the same day, so it has turned out just perfect.

I am off to school now and then to the gym again later on. I am down to 210 lbs or 95 kilos. My waist is actually starting to show now......haha. I am still highly motivated and getting thinner is actually making me want to exercise more and more. I am weight training a little more now, but don't want to get back into doing an hour or more of it. I think 30 minutes and targeting the main body parts, is my aim. Not too heavy, but not too light. I also need to stretch my elbow too, which is sometimes a little 'pins and needles' feely. It doesn't give me pain anymore, but it is still a little tight sometimes.

Backpackers And Being Oblivious

North Americans take their backpacks everywhere and I mean everywhere. To pubs, bars, cafes and on and on and on. I think it is an extension of themselves, much like people that can't put their cell phones down for 2 minutes. Talk on them in the shower, in the toilet etc. Get over it people. Get a life!!!!!!

Korean people are oblivious. That is the best word to describe them when they are walking or in crowds or among a lot of people.

That is just the way it is and I wanted to just get those two things out there, as they really bother me at times.

I quit my telephone teaching at night. It was a bit of a joke. I had to give 3 days notice if I was going to miss a phone call. The students could cancel the same day and there was no penalty. I was not having that and I told them to forget it. Of the first 15 or so calls that I made, there were 5 cancellations. Not worth my while and definitely not worth hanging around the house from 10pm to 11pm from Monday to Thursday. A good experience, but now history. I was fair about it and asked not to be paid. The least that I could do!!!! The company needs to re-evaluate some of their policies and pay a hell of a lot more..........enough said............Next!!!!!!

From A Whisper To A Scream

The girl that I mentioned in my last blog is now history........haha. It happened as quick as that.

I called her tonight and just wasn't easy and I got a bad vibe. She came across as very cocky and arrogant and I hate that shit in anyone. I asked her if she wanted to have lunch tomorrow and she was very evasive and kept talking about how many guy friends she had........... forget that right of the mark.

Anyway, I am not the slightest bit disappointed. I sent her a text message and told that I might have seemed a little desperate as I was being so nice to her!!!!!

No bad blood or anything, just a gut feeling, which nowadays I am right in tune with. Number erased from the telephone............. next!!!!!!!!!!!

An Eventful Weekend

Friday night, I headed to a little bar and had a few drinks, which ended up turning into too many. I guess the main problem was that I had not eaten all afternoon and was on an empty stomach.

One of the things that I have started to do, is that if I am not hungry, I will not eat. I am listening to my body more carefully nowadays and when it tells me that I have to eat, then I eat. If not, then I just don't eat. Makes sense to me. If I have no energy, that is a sign that I need to eat.

Woke up fairly handy on Saturday morning and headed to Bundang for midday. I finished there about 4pm and then headed back to the Kangnam area, or thereabouts. I finally finished everything about 9pm and decided to head for Hollywood's.

I had my normal grilled chicken sandwich and baked potato there and actually did not have a drink. While I was there, I got a call from Jason that I used to work with at Avalon. He was in Sincheon, which is close to Hongdae and has loads of places to see and hang out at.

I grabbed a taxi and then met him at the big department store. We went to this little 'hole' of a place in the basement of a building. It was quite a cool place and they played some good cool music. Jason and I got chatting about our respective trips overseas.

He managed to go to South Africa, Cambodia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. He had a great time and had some great stories. Especially about being in Johannesburg, where he went right into the ghettos against some people's advice. He hung out with an African fella and he said he was the only white person there. He said it was very cool and he got to see the real people of South Africa.

He had a few other stories and we had a good time chatting and having a good laugh. Then we decide to go to Hongdae and go to a place called "Tin Pan Alley." I had been there before and it is not a bad place, but mad packed. We met some girls there and flirted a little with them, but I decided to head out about 2 am or so as I wanted to get up and go to the gym, Sunday afternoon.

I woke up about 1pm and headed to the gym. Ran 7.2kms and felt great after my sauna and bath.

I met a girl called Tara on the subway last week. She is Korean and dead fit. I got her number and we decided to meet up on Sunday in Itaewon. I met up with Dave and his flame at the moment- a 20 year old Korean girl. We went for coffee at Coffee Bean in Itaewon and then I met Tara downstairs. Dave and Haejin took off for a walk before I met Tara. I called Dave and we decided to meet up and have some bbq pork at one of the local traditional restaurants that I frequent.

We all had a good time and chatted a little and laughed a little. After we were done, Dave and his girl headed back to Bundang and Tara and I decided to go to an Indian restaurant above the Hamilton Hotel. She had travelled to southern India when she was in her early twenties and now has a penchant for Indian tea. She must have had about 6 cups while we were there!!!!!!

We sat talking for about 2 hours and had a good time. She is a very energetic girl and has a good brain and a great attitude towards life. She was in a bad car accident 3 years ago and it took her that long to recover from it. She has a new outlook on life and is very positive about her life, more so than before.

She is very pretty and dresses very stylishly and I think I like her. We decided that we would see each other again. I think we hit it off really well and I enjoyed her company. We were very honest about a lot of things and that was refreshing. I am not going to even think about where this may be heading, I am just going to enjoy meeting her and hanging out with her.

Not much else happened over the weekend. Just had a good time relaxing yesterday and enjoying the gorgeous spring weather. I am gearing up to get ready to move, which is less than 3 weeks away now. I am looking forward to that immensely.

A Funny Comment Left On The Blog

I just finished reading one of the comments that was left about my blog, "Refreshing Honesty In Korea."

The individual mentioned about how corrupt the government was and the cheating husbands and the university professors plagiarizing everything in sight.......quite negative really, but exactly what I like people to do.

My blog is open to criticism at anytime and I really appreciate any comments left. That means at least you are reading the blog!

In reply to the comment left though, don't you think that those kinds of things mentioned happen in every country around the world? It is quite funny to think that Korea is the only country with womanizers and with corrupt politicians. America, the strongest nation in the world, doesn't have any of that does it! Laughable at the least!

Anyway, thank you to the individual that left the comment and I hope in the future, some of my readers will also feel compelled to leave some comments too. Read the instructions on the right side of the blog on how to leave a comment.

Today is a lovely sunny day and I am going to enjoy everything that it has to offer. At the moment I am listening to my students next door singing in Korean. It is choir practice and they have been praciticing for about the last 2 week or so. They sound great, by the way.

A pic of one of my classes.

Refreshing Honesty In Korea

I have included a few good religious jokes for those of you that like them. Got them off my Dad, of course!

One of the amazing things about Korea, is the people's honesty. It starts with the kids and goes through to the adults. Of course, there is always an exception to the rule, but most of the Korean people abide by their honour code and live their life adhering to it.

A Catholic driving too fast!

At my schools even the past ones, students very rarely ever cheated and they actually would tell you if someone didn't do their homework or got a wrong reward for something they didn't do. I saw so many times examples of this in the school. I was taken aback at first, but now I know it is the norm.

A Jewish, world class, olympic swimmer!

Today was another unbelievable example of a Korean being honest. I usually stop at one of the subway kiosks, as I am on the subway for 2 or 3 hours a day going back and forth from school to home etc.

Well, I guess 2 days ago, at this particular one at my school location in Sang-Il Dong, the man had charged me too much for a pack of crackers and a drink. I had no idea until today. He came up to me and explained in his broken English........"Yesterday, yesterday (which meant the day before yesterday,) I charge too much and feel really really bad, oh my heart feel so bad, I give you 500 won now back."

500 won is about the equivalent of 70 cents Canadian! It was unbelievable how bad this man felt and he kept apologizing and I think he was hoping that I would have come back the day before, so he could have given me the 500 won that he owed me.

As it was, I had not bought anything that day, as I had the wild shites and a really bad stomach ache and other ailments, which I am glad to say, are gone now.

Such a refreshing moment today for me. To think that honour is the most important thing to this small shop owner. I think it is great and it is once again, one of many reasons why I love living in Korea.

Figure this one out for yourselves......haha!!!

There are cultural differences wherever you go in the world, but in Korea the good one's make up for the bad one's, that is for sure.

I wish every country was as refreshingly honest as Korea is at times. Itaewon has a bad reputation for being a little 'dirty,' but that is because so so many foreigners work here........... the few always spoil it for the many. That is my philosophy anyway. Itaewon is not really that bad. Like anywhere, you learn to stay away from the scuzzy areas, especially late late at night. That is only common sense isn't it.

The nice thing about riding the subway for so long, is that now I am reading more. I have finished 3 novels in almost 2 weeks. The one that I am almost done is called, "The First Immortal." It is pretty good and it is about humans being able to live forever or as close to forever as they can. It was written in 1998, so it is interesting to see where the world has progressed, even since that time.

Oh No! The Mancs Have Won The League!

I will keep it short and sweet. I never wanted Utd to win the league, but with the behaviour of the Chelsea manager, there was really no team that you could support winning the Premiership title.

Today, I am the bearer of the sad news. Yes, the Mancunians have won the league. Some say it is well deserved on their performances this year. I just hope they are not their same-old arrogant selves, telling everyone how wonderful they are and rubbing it in everytime they have a chance.

That is one of the main reasons that Liverpool have the biggest rivalry with Utd. We are not self-serving and pompous. We actually try to have a laugh about it when we are good, by singing a song like the "We won it 5 times in Instanbul, we'll win it 6 times!"

Anyone that knows the furor that is caused by any team that is arrogant, just has to look at the piece of work that Morinho is at Chelsea.

Enough said, I have to accept the fact that Utd have won the league, but will not enjoy saying it out loud...........................

Standing On Buses

Although I have been here for more than 4 years now, I still cannot get used to the Korean concept of standing on buses that are travelling on the highway!!!

Yes, that is right. There are people standing in the aisle of the bus as the bus reaches speeds of 100km/h. I know in the West, it would not be allowed and there would be law suits all over the place if someone got injured.

I was actually taking the bus on Friday night from Itaewon to Bundang. The driver let 3 of us get on through the back doors, as the front door was blocked due to the people standing. I then proceeded to sit on the stairs facing the exit door. It was unbelievable really. Don't think that the drivers take any more care while driving with people standing either. They drive the same way; pumping the brake pedal, pushing the acclerator pedal up and down and in general taking quite a few chances, as always.

The drivers here would be fired in Canada or America, the way they drive. It is commonplace here also for the bus drivers to accost the other drivers in cars and honk the horns at them and sometimes even cut them off.......seriously!

I don't mind it much of the time, but you have to be weary when you get on the bus if you have a weak stomach, as the drivers will give you motion sickness everytime.

The Seoul Festival is winding down now. There were lots of sidewalk food stalls offering food from all countries around the world as well as other events all over Seoul. I never made it out to any of them. I just stuck around Itaewon and did my usual adventure walking routine. I am finding new places all the time and am enjoying all the delights that the area has to offer.

I am still keeping at my healthy diet and going to the gym 6 days a week. I am happy to say that I am now at 215lbs. That is 27 pounds lighter than when I arrived back in Korea, just over 6 weeks ago. I feel great, but like I said before, I have another 20 pounds to lose. I am targeting 198lbs right now as my ideal weight and figure I should be at that weight by the end of July. Once I reach that goal, then I will be heading for 190lbs. Consistency is the world and I will be Mr. Consistency.

Heard some other news this week also. Rob, the friend that I had a big row with in Canada and subsequently worked thing out with, is coming back to Korea around May 18th. Not sure where he will go, but I bet he will go back to old hick town Ulsan.

I hope he doesn't, as there are tons of more jobs here and loads more girls too. Well, whatever he does, I will be able to see him once in a while, if I feel like visiting there or vice-versa.

Watched the Liverpool second team play yesterday and they were absolute rubbish. The game didn't even mean anything, even to Wigan, as they ended up losing too. The last 2 games don't mean shit, so Benitez wants to make sure that he gets no injuries at all before the big final.

Found out yesterday that the day, or should I say the morning of the Champions Legaue Final (our time here in Korea,) it is a national holiday here and we all get the day off. That means that Hollywood's will be open, showing the match!!!!!! It should be great, as that means it will be full of the Scousers from around here or LFC supporters, watching the match. Can't wait ,to tell you the truth. I hope we win it 6 times.............

A Memorable Week!

First of all, Liverpool winning the Champions League semi-final was the start of a great week. The game itself was awesome. I was shitting myself watching it. Thought we had won it when Kuyt scored in extra-time, but the goal was given as offside....complete bullshit if you consider the officials have been told to give the attacker the benefit of the doubt to make the game more exciting and in favour of the forwards. Anyway, we did it on penalties again.

Morinho was an arse-wipe as usual, saying that Chelsea played better and that we were not trying to score. The man has no class, he is an arrogant piece of shite, that is what he is. He even bad mouthed Ronaldo, saying he has no class as he grew up in a poor neighbourhood and atmosphere. You are a class act, Morinho!!!!!

Then the next thing that happened, was even more invigorating. I got an email from my Mum and Dad and they told me that my son, Tyler, had dropped by the house to see them!!!! I was hoping that this would happen for so long. It did and I can't be more pleased. With all the history of the divorce and the bullshit attached to it, I was hoping that Tyler would find his way and seek out his grandparents to have a relationship with them. Well, it happened and like I said, I am over the moon. I feel great for myself, for Tyler and of course for my Mum and Dad. He is the oldest grandchild and hopefully he is back on track to have a great relationship with them in the future. He said that he was going to visit the next week and Mum and Dad told him to bring his girlfriend too. I am sure if she meets them, she will like them very much. They are very charming anyway and if somebody doesn't like them, they must be off their rockers!!!!

I couldn't ask for better parents and I mean that as my moral and ethical guides in my life. Whenever I think about doing anything, I always fall back to what they taught me growing up. They are the real deal when it comes to honesty, integrity and true human beings. They are my family and I am so proud to say that.

This week has been terrific on all fronts. I started my job on Monday and it went quite well. The levels of the students are very low, so I have my work cut-out to get them up to snuff. Some of them don't even know the alphabet!!!! I don't mind though, they are all so cute!!!!

I went to immigration to get my 'alien registration card.' Believe it or not, that is what it is called.....haha. I got sent to the wrong place first, then had to go to another place and when I got there, I didn't have the business number of the school plus something else. I had to phone my boss and get all that stuff of him. I was a bit angry to say the least and let him know so. He was cool and apologized and said that the English teacher at the school, should have given me all that stuff. Her name is Elley and she is Korean and a bit thick to say the least.

She was talking on her cell phone in my class while I was teaching. She also was in my class making up sheets and stuff, which I am going to put a stop too if she pulls it again next week. I told her already that I need my desk to get things organized for each class. She is nice enough, just thick as shit, like I said........lol.

Soldiers momento:

I am off to meet Dave tonight in Bundang and will meet up with Sara and the gang again. Sara has a friend visiting from jolly old England, so it should be fun meeting him and seeing what he thinks of Korea.

Things are getting close now. I move into my own place, June 1st. Can't wait to have my own place and decorate it the way that I want it. It will be nice to know that I am staying there for at least 3 years and that it is mine, all mine, all mine, oh yeah!!!

So, Liverpool vs A.C. Milan for the second time in the Champions League Final on May 23rd. Should be a memorable match and I can tell you one thing, we will not be caught like we were in the first half like in Istanbul. One thing about Benitez is that he makes sure the players don't make the same mistakes twice.

We have a holiday here in Korea the next day, so I am hoping that Hollywood's will be showing the game and I can hang out with a bunch of Scousers and Liverpool fans........would be awesome.

Two Vestil Virgins Singing Their Hearts Out!

Sara and Catroina at their best in the singing room on Friday night. Check out the score at the end...........Hilarious, really!!!!!!

2 Virgins Singing Their Hearts Out!
Video sent by yourman64

In And Out Of Japan

Met Issaiah at Incheon Airport and we flew to Japan and arrived here about 11am. Met some fella, Jason, sitting next to me, from America. Also met some other people doing the visa run, so I was the guide, as I have been here 5 times now, doing the same thing.

Took the shuttle bus over to the domestic terminal and then got on the subway and got off at Tojinmachi. Walked to the embassy and had something to eat, as it the embassy was shut for lunch until 1.30pm.

Met a fella called Ivan from New Zealand, Martin from Canada and as I said, Jason from America. We had lunch at The Hard Rock Cafe and then checked in at 1.30pm at the embassy or should I say, consulate.

Paid our fee, did the paperwork then head off to find our hotel. We were staying in Hakata, which is full of hotels. Ivan ended up being in the same area and Martin and also Jason wanted to find a hotel in the area.

We all agreed to meet up at 7.30pm to go out for some drinks in the Tenjin area. We could meet back at Hakata Station and go from there. So the plan was set to tour the Tenjin area.]

When we met up at Hakata, Ivan needed to change some money, so he had to back to the airport, which was only about one hour in total. It is impossible to change Korean money here in Japan in any place other than the airport or the banks. Ivan set off and we agreed to meet him back at Hakata at 9pm.

Also, Martin had met a girl, Liz who came along with us. She also was American and lives in Seoul. She hung out with us and we headed to Tenjin. We met a nice Japanese man who showed us where the Happy Cock bar was. He ended up hanging out with us too.

When Ivan met me at the Hakata Station, he had 2 Japanese girls with him. They were very nice and their names were Kastura and Rika. They hung out with us the whole night too. We then found the Happy Cock and paid about 20 dollars for all you could drink all night.....that is right, 20 dollars plus there was free food for about 2 hours. If we had of been the first 50 in the club, it would have only been 10 dollars to drink all night.

The club give you a pink wrist band and that is all you need to show when you order the drinks for the night.

Needless to say, it ended up being a good night and Jason and I left last. We got home about 3am. Slept all morning and now am off to pick the visa up at the embassy. My flight is at 6pm and back to Korea.

Short and sweet, as they say. Very hot and humid here. Japan is not very user friendly for English speaking people. Korea is much better in that respect.

Back to Seoul tonight and meeting up with Sara and Catroina for some food and drinks.

My Cousin David and Carmel Are Tying The Knot!

Great news! My cousin David and his girl, Carmel, are getting married. I just found out from my Mum and Dad yesterday.

I have been trying to call David's Mum and Dad, my aunt and uncle, but there was no answer. I also called David's cell phone and he picked it up and then it went dead.

Again, not a great pic of our David and Carmel, but David doesn't like getting his pic taken and Carmel had told us that they have hardly any pics of just the two of them together.

I am very happy for both of them and Carmel is a really nice, sweet girl. I think they will make a great husband and wife for each other.

I got to hang out with Carmel a bit when I visited Liverpool and must say she is a really sound individual and one night when she was a bit tipsy, she let us all know that David was the love of her life and she wanted to be with him forever.........it was quite funny, actually, but like I said, she is a really wonderful girl and will treat our David great as he will her, likewise.

Not a great pic, but our David on the left with Carmel and then Dave on the right.

All the best to both of you. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend. I guess the wedding is in late August, around the 22nd, I think. I will be there in spirit though!

Korean Baseball Players' Salaries.

As I went to see a baseball game here in Seoul yesterday, Sara had asked me how much the players make. I wasn't sure, so I 'googled' it and here is a small article that I found. It is quite interesting to note that in baseball in Korea, there are quite a few older players, which is the opposite of the regular workforce here.

Usually, the cut-off at most of the companies is about 45 years old. The workers are retired by the company and do not have the option to carry on working. Of course, there is always the exception to the rule, but it is the norm. Therefore, a lot of the older fellas (if you think 45 is old!) drive taxis, have their own shops, billiard clubs, cafes and small businesses etc.

Click on the link here to read about the baseball players' salaries.
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2007020974688

Sore Toes And Feet

Doing anything to the extreme comes with a negative effect. Mine this week, is sore toes and feet from running so much.

It is not debilitating or anything, just a little uncomfortable at times. I guess I can expect it after all the running I have done this week. Earlier this week, I ran 12kms and today I ran 10kms again. All in all, I think I am clocking an average of about 30kms a week.

A pic of a restaurant that was in Chinatown in London, England. Hey Stevie, bet you didn't know they were using your name! Actually it is the name of the street, Gerrard St.

All the running is done on a treadmill of course, which by the way is healthier than running long distances outside. Less pounding of the hips and knees and other joints. The surface on a treadmill has a shock-absorber built into it, so it takes a lot of the pounding out of running, especially long distance running.

I have a goal in mind for what weight and what size waist that I want to be and I just keep picturing myself like that while I run through all the pain barriers, which believe me there are lots of......haha.



My diet is the biggest improvement in my life lately. I am eating lots of vegetables and fruit and not going anywhere near fried foods or fatty foods. I am eating a lot of Korean dishes, which I love anyway. I have found a few places around here that have excellent dishes. I am eating bibimbap everyday, which is currently my favourite.

A pic of Bibimbap. It has lots of different things in it like shoots, beans, dried seaweed and other stuff I can't describe. The key to it is the red spicy sauce you mix into the ingredients and the hot boiled rice. It is very spicy and very very tasty.




I am also eating turkey and chicken breast and staying away from bread most of the time. It is not hard eating well and I enjoy my food a lot more than the fat ridden crap that I was eating before.



I am going to a baseball game today with Sara and Tom and a few other people. Not sure who all is going, but I am heading onto the subway and going to the Kangnam area, where the stadium is located. It is the same area where I went to see Metallica in concert last year.

Different Cultures That Is For Sure!

I had a conversation the other night with my roomate about parenting, believe it or not. She has 2 boys and I have one boy. Her boys are in their 20s and my son will be 20 in September.

Pic of Buckingham Palace gates.

It all started about her asking me if I had a good relationship with my son. I told her that it was okay, but still a little strained due to the history of the break-up between his mother and I.

Anyway, one thing led to another and we talked about how kids mature or don't and what things parents are responsible for or not.

Outside Buckingham Palace. Check out the double-chin caused by chip butties and sausage and bacon butties. It is gone now, by the way. I am 20 pounds lighter.

That is when I was completely blown away. I was telling her about how traditional I am and how my family is very British. Not that all families are like mine, but there is a thread of commonality amongst families in Britain. She explained about how she felt about families and how non-traditional hers is.

The souvenir shop at Liverpool's stadium, Anfield. You can see the shadow of Bill Shankly's statue reflecting in the window.

Where the difference in opinion came was about the kids seeing the grandparents. While I believe wholeheartedly that it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure the kids see the grandparents, she said it is the opposite! That the grandparents should be seeking out the kids all the time and that they should do the chasing per say.

Pic of our last night at Lark's Lane. Can't remember the name of the place, but we had a quiz night there later after the meal, which was good. I won 5 pound and picked our group out of a draw for a free bottle of wine, too.

I couldn't believe that she meant it. I mean why would grandparents run after their grandchildren? Parents are really supposed to run after their kids either, it should be the kids doing the running most of the time. Of course, it is not a literal meaing, it just means that the onus is on the kids." Honour Thy Mother And Father!!!!!!"

If a lot of people in Canada feel that way, now I know why families are so screwed up over there then. I have heard this before over the years, but thought it was just a few people here and there that were like that.

It was so weird because my roomate was so adamant that the parents and the grandparents should be the chasers.

Ah! Now I know how we got on the subject-we were talking about how some people are either chasers or sitters. You know the type; friends or family that never call you for that matter. You are always the one calling them. I just think that is people. Sometimes it annoys me that my friends or family don't call me as much as I call them, but I am most certainly not keeping score. That just creates a drama and I am not into that crap!!!!!

Afterwards, we agreed to disagree, but I was really amazed that someone could think that about their children or grandchildren. It is arse about face, if you ask me.

She then proceeded to tell me how screwed up her one son was and the other one kept somewhat in touch with her, the other one hardly did or did it when he felt like. He went to Australia and was there 2 months before she even knew. Didn't get an email or nothing from him. I guess her way worked then, didn't it......haha.

I don't mean to be judgmental as I have a screwed up relationship with my son, somewhat. But I will tell you one thing, I have stuck to my guns and not changed who I am or what I do because of my kid. I have tried to teach him some lessons about life, but it has been difficult because I have an angry mother in the mix that doesn't like me or my side of the family COMPLETELY.

Well as I said in the title. There are different cultures even when they speak the same language. That is for sure!

Anyone that has any comments about this, I would love to hear them, good or bad.

Signed The Contract Today For My New Job

I met the recruiter at the subway stop close to my school that I am going to be working at and also met the other teacher that I will be working with. His name is Issiah and he is from America.

A pic of the entrance to Hollwood Grill. This is where all the games are televised live from the English Premier League. It is also my local now.

We went from the subway stop to the school and did all the official signings of the one year contract agreeements between the school and ourselves.

This is Eugene, one of the owners of Hollywood's. He is a Liverpool supporter and I have donated several of my memorabilia to him, which has been put into the bar on the walls.

I also had to take my degree, 2 photos, passport and an official sealed transcript of the marks from university. That is a must nowdays, which started about 3 or 4 years ago.

This is a pic of Sunny who is the main waitress during the week at the bar. Great girl and really good bartender/waitress. Hollywood's offers a full menu as well as liquid refreshments.

All the signed documents are then taken to immigration by the principal of the school and the recruiter, to apply for an E2 Teaching Visa.

This is a pic of J.J. He is a regular at Hollywood's and knows Eugene's family very well. The other owner, Sean, J.J. knows the family very well, too. He is a tailor and has his own shop in Itaewon. He loves to gamble and drink, by the way.......lol.

It usually takes a week to get approved and then off you go to any Korean Embassy outside of the country. Once you are there, there is a pre-sent document to the Embassy, which is processed once you go there and present your passport. You drop off your passport the one day and then pick up your passport the next day. You also need a photo to put on the official document there too. The Embassy then puts a big invitation visa inside of your passport and then once you get back to Korea, you must present it at customs and then within a week or so go back to immigration to recieve your 'Alien Card.'

This is a pic of the table where a lot of poker playing goes on, especially on the weekend. Some big money changes hands there a lot of the time. Hollywood's takes 5 percent of the money that you win when you cash in your chips. Gambling has never interested me, but J.J. is playing there all the time.

It is actually called an alien card, but your require this to work legally in the country and must present it if immigration ever shows up at your school or the police stop you for any reason. It is the same size as any bank card, but has your picture and school name and address on it. All red tape of course, but a must at any school that wants you to teach there full-time.

A pic of the tea-towel with the words to "You'll Never Walk Alone" on it. Right above the bar, thank you!

I will be going to Japan by the sounds of it- if immigration processes the information in a week like they usually do, next Thursday and then come back Friday. I will be going together with the other teacher, Issiah, which will be nice for a change instead of going it alone.

If you look carerfully under that metal exhaust duck, you can see a blue scarf on the wall. That is the scarf that I got from Tokyo when I went to see Liverpool play in The World Club Championships.

Not much else going on, looking forward to working on April 30th and making some money plus being kept busy. My job is great by the way; I will be working Monday to Thursday from 1.50pm to 5.30pm. I get every Friday off and only work those hours all the time. That will leave me loads of time for myself and allow me to chill out from the kids once in a while.

The only drawback-if there is one, is that the school is about 50 minutes on the subway from my house. Well, you have to take the good with the bad, right!

Mending Fences And Keeping Friendships

I kind of had a feeling that my friend, Rob, would call me sometime in the foreseeable future.

A pic of a pub that is in Bundang. Dave and I took the two girls that we met from Bulgaria and Serbia there on Friday night.

Well, he called me this afternoon and we had a good talk about all the shite that happened while Dave and I were visiting him up in Ottawa.

A pic that I took while waiting for the bus in Hannam. Don't know where they were from, but they were going somewhere all dressed up. Cool hats!!!!!!!

A pic of the GPS that all the taxi drivers have in their cars. I don't understand the whole concept of driving and watching the television screen, which a lot of them do. Or maybe they just watch it while they are pulled over waiting for a customer......yeh right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We argued a little, but not really arguing, just trying to understand what happened and why things ended up being up in limbo like they were.

Rob is a good guy and a good friend, but sometimes annoys the shite out of me. I am sure I do the same to him, but that is exactly what we talked about.

A pic of Tom and Sara from the other night at her house.

I am very happy to say that our friendship is back on track now. Life is too short to hold grudges and to be narrow minded. Of course in a friendship, if someone crosses that line, then there is nothing you can do.

That did not happen in this case. It was just a case of too much liquid and a lot of stress contained in both people. Rob knows what I am like and I try my best to just say it like it is. He does the same, but in a very different way.

Now that is one mess of shoes. All the shoes from the other night at Sara's house. Need a shoe-rack, do you think?

I think that is the reason we are good friends, but in this case, we just ended up butting heads and falling out with one another or was it just me falling out with him.......lol. (That remark is for you Rob!)

So our conversation ended up being just like it always used to be. Talking about life and shit and of course weight-training. I am a man on a mission now and will be 35 pounds lighter by the end of the summer. Maybe many of you don't believe that, but I will be supplying the pictures when it happens.

Off to the gym now for a nice Sunday workout and have some wonderful Korean food afterwards.