Reading once more...

It seems to be interesting how the busier I got, the more I read. When I had all the time in the world, I had little or no inclination to read anything, but now, with the sporadic availability of work, the upcoming trip to Melbourne and preparation for an internship (which is finally happening, 12 months on! Hurrah!) I seem to be reading everything in sight.

A few of the latest titles:
Nice easy read, a possible teaching item.

An interesting perspective (and I thought a rather objective one at that, objective in the sense that all antagonistic opinions were represented in the book, but the author also chose to make clear her own opinions) on the man who is all at once admired and a bit loathed.

A little bit distressing! I didn't know what to make of it actually... o_O

Caving

I know. I said it would never happen. 100 acorns later...

I've jumped on the bandwagon so late, I'm being dragged through the trails, I know. I actually needed to be talked through the process. I had to be taught how use it. I am not a luddite, my Korean is slow, not bad, but it was just that much easier to get someone to show me than to feel it out for myself.

If you think facebook is a pain to navigate, you obviously haven't tried the bastard that is Cyworld*. The front page of their website is postively seizure-inducing, there are that many flashing gifs and images. The simplest things are counterintuitive. Everything costs money - or 'acorns'.

Let me explain 'acorns' further. (On a sidenote, why are they called acorns anyway? Acorns? Why? Why!?!) You pay money to buy acorns to do anything on the site. You'll pay acorns to change the blasted colour on your menus (IF you want to change the colour on your menus. Goodness knows why anyone needs to pay money to change the colours on their menus anyway, but some people feel the burning urge to do so). You pay this money, these acorns, and then the only option is renting! You RENT these Colours! RENT! Your menus will change back to standard colour after your time is up. Last I checked, colours were free domain to anyone with eyes and the ability to know what a colour was. Actually, you probably don't even need eyes to have a right to colour.

The one and only redeeming feature about it is that it keeps me connected to people who fervently prefer it to facebook. I have a close friend who is overseas at the moment, and if it wasn't for her regular updates and her page (or 'hompy' - don't ask) I would throw the in towel on the stupid thing already.

Statistically speaking, a whopping 90% of Koreans in their twenties have a Cyworld homepage, and overall, 25% of Koreans own one. Crazy stuff. And if even a tenth of the users paid to change the colours of the menus... well, you get the kind of revenue we're talking about. There must have been a significant percentage of second-generation-ers who wanted in as well, because there is a foreigner account set up procedure (which is all in Korean, interestingly enough).

I live to regret the brilliant decision that was setting this up, but I have been told to give it more of a chance. So it continues. I'm not even going to bother posting the link, I'd be held liable for the fit you would have upon loading the front page.

*Cyworld, the original Korean networking site, not to be confused with it's tamer, but largely similar American offshoot.

The Mind-Body Connection

So, i think I'm finally starting to recover from the stupid bug that's had me for the last couple of months. I've been so sick, firstly with a throat thing, and then it morphed into a cold after 5 courses of antibiotics. It seems to be all good now. Crisis over. Two months later.

It did get me thinking about the connection between our physical and mental wellbeing - how tightly they are knit together, how truly "wonderfully and fearfully made" we would appear to be. When one has all of the sloppy unhappiness that comes with a physical ailment, after a while, we begin to see manifestations of this illness in the person's mental wellbeing. Sometimes it doesn't even take that long. Certainly, the example of myself was that after 4 weeks, i found myself hitting the bounds of my usual positive attitude.

I was in peak fitness and happiness when this stupid viro-infecty-cough thing hit me. I was working out pretty hard, eating really well and so forth. And a month later, I'm still fighting it off. So what happens? My hope that the next course of antibiotics will do the trick, slowly begins to be questioned. Doubt in western medicine creeps in. I fear that this is something lethal and scary, and my doctor has no idea. I google my symptoms. It's strep throat. I'll develop Necrotising fasciitis. It's cancer. I'll never sing again. I won't be able to teach...

Which is all absolutely ridiculous. I mean, honestly. Necrotising fasciitis? Of all the hypochondriac thoughts to begin having.

And then i became moody. I wanted to withdraw. I began having uncharitable thoughts about everything. I began to despair in my future. I stopped looking for work. I stopped caring about other people. You get the picture.

But the point I wanted to make was this: it took a month of a cold (not hives, or organ failure or, i don't know, hospitalisation?) to break me into a nervous googling wreck. A month. Goodness knows where this would have lead if it went for longer than 2 months.

Just when I think I can do it all on my own, that everything i have is all my own work... a month long advent into a sore throat and I get my come uppance.

Take care of yourselves... it's cold season.

Song of the Moment: Beyonce - Halo

White Day arrives...

White Day gift!

Tasty :D ... a ChupaChup would have sufficed... but chocolate is my real weakness...

Photies~

So I'm trying to take advantage of the fact that i have a half decent point and shoot camera (which actually belongs to the parentals, but it's mine now.... ;D) and have tried to keep it on hand to take a few pictures every now and again. It's nice to have them, even though it's annoying at the time sometimes. So recently...

My subsistence for the past few weeks. I've been paying for all this fast food on the scales.

We've had a few farewells these past few weeks... Church has had a lot of these for the past few years. The influx of working holiday-ers means that there is another sad goodbye upon expiry of said visa. Cue photo, teary prayers and hugs.

Posers. Pre-aforementioned teary song and prayer.

Australia is just awesome. I know i say this often, but i can guarantee you, i don't verbalise it half as often as i feel it. I took this whilst driving to Canberra few weeks previous, and words can't describe how perfect this day was. The sky was so pretty, the roads were clear and there was sunshine everywhere.

With friends at Bungalow 8 a few nights ago... It was good fun, devoid of alcohol for myself, but awesome nonetheless.

Song of the moment: Travis - Love will come through

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Stuff that's been making me happy...

1) MONACO BARS ARE BACK ZOMG! Even though it was in a swish new plastic wrapper rather than the buttery folded paper wrapping, it was most definitely back. It tasted less chocolatey, but lovely at the beach in the shade of a kiosk all the same. It was the stuff of school uniforms and hot summer days walking home with a backpack full of books.



2) Speaking of the beach, I've managed to rack up two whole days at the beach this summer, which is two more than last summer :D I was at a beautiful cove at Long Bay today with some lovely people. We cooked snags (that's sausages for everyone who doesn't live in Australia) on broken public barbecues as a practice run for Australia Day :D

3) Addicted to fashion blogs and magazines.

4) DOMO!



Never fails to illicit a grin.

Song of the moment: Jon Mclaughlin - So Close

Kentucky fried CRACK!

I would just like to put it out there that i have had KFC everyday for the last week.

Seriously?

This clearly needs to stop. I am not going to see anything good come of this. But how can I say no to this? Even when it's bad, they're still good.

10 secret herbs and spices and crack.

Song of the moment: Tom Jones - Just help yourself

WOOHOO!

In my inbox today.... :D

I refer to your application for employment as a teacher with the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. Your application for employment as a teacher in New South Wales public schools has been processed. Your approval to teach is attached to this email.

Very very excited! :D

But I probably won't apply for casual placements until next year. Need to save up some baseline $$ before that.

Song of the moment: Norah Jones - Rosie's Lullaby

A note to self

Hey there.

So you're like... really tired and everything, I know. But could you like, slow down on the workouts? You're driving me crazy with all this healthy food and exercise. Oh yeah, and working doesn't really work for me. And this whole budgeting thing was a bad idea from the start.

I would like to negotiate for less work, reduced exercise, more lying around, more frivolous spending and at least 5 portions of junk food per week. Excluding weekends. Oh yeah, and quit it with the stupid stressing already. You're driving me nuts.

Thanks.

Love,
Me.

Song of the moment: Hillsong + Delirious - What a friend I've found