To do more of the things I enjoy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/austinevan/ / CC BY 2.0

This post is dedicated to part of my New Years resolution. Namely, to do more of the things I really enjoy. Because it's those things that make this time on the Earth a little more worth the effort. I'm not saying to be a Hedonist. Rather more an Epicurean (in the philosophical sense). Well, it just so happens that reading makes me very happy. So I vow to do more of it. The things I really want to read. I think that there are things that one should read, and I read those regardless. I do think, however, that my 'pleasure' reading has been a bit neglected. To mollify the situation, I got a few books from the library. The results are as follows:

• A Study in Scarlett (Arthur Conan Doyle)
• The Scar (Chine Mieville)
• Persuader (Lee Child)

  It took me an evening to read the 'Sherlock Story'.  Very pleased.  You can tell by reading the stories where Guy Ritchie got the distinctions of Holmes character from.  His representation of Holmes is accurate in sense.  Holmes is continually evolving but some of his more 'eccentric' traits are really touched upon in the film.  They are sculpted and molded into a different type of Holmes, but it is a re-imagining of the literature icon, which one could ground in the books themselves.   Well, that's finished. Off to tackle Mieville.  I'm kind of excited because it takes place in the same universe as 'Perdido Street Station’; I thoroughly enjoyed that book, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys new and adventurous fiction. The first 250 pages are build up.  That being said, you must understand that he is laying the groundwork for a new place.  He is establishing the mythology, physics, and conceptual logistics for a place that you have never been to, and cannot correctly conceive without having been told about it.  It is entirely new. I loved it.  And Lee Child?  Well, I love the hard-boiled stuff; Jack Reacher is a BAD-ASS!

So, I am going to go and continue to do some reading.  I hope you all have a very Happy New Year!

Eating in Korea....

This post represents events that took place sometime in Late Oct. Early Nov in 2009
This is an old post, which I never published.  So for posterity's sake, I publishing it now.  So when I return to look at what has 'gone down' in the past I remember this period for what it was, not just how it looks through the sepia-tinted lens of retrospect. As always, for those of you viewing this through Facbook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com.  It will enable you access to photogalleries and other multi-media material which doesn't transfer into 'Notes'



Wow! Today, I went shopping at a Korean Supermarket for some food.  Well, it was bound to happen. Eating 'on the run' all the time is really messing with my interna chemistry.  So, off I ventured to go and get myself some stuff to eat.

Woe, what a circus.  First, the only places outside of small outdoor markets (where no one speaks English and prices are in Korean), or little corner stores (that only have packaged stuff), are these huge 4-story multi-super-stores.  Imagine that a Macy's at a Stop-and-Shop, and then engulfed a Target... and you'll begin to et close.  There are mind-numbing.  Everywhere there are people giving samples, shouting at you to come over there particular section and get whatever it is that is particularly good, or on sale.  It as very confusing.  Next time, I take the Ipod (like I do in the States when I'm shopping stoned) and shop in sweet oblivion.

What struck me even harder than the weird 'circus maximus' vibe that is uber-prevalent, is the food itself.  Wow, I have never seen such processed food in my life.  These people don't cook, apparently they just 'warm stuff up'.  There are more brands of Ramen noodles and 'cup of noodles-type products' than you could possibly imagine.  I was seriously under-whelmed by the selection of fruits and vegatables (tried one of the bananas I bought, they were possibly the worst I have ever had).   The kicker for me is, Asians are not big on chsse.  In fact, they don't eat a whole hell alot of it (except for the Kraft singles shit)! I am going to seriously have to figure this out before I die of starvation here, and we all know how I get when I'm hungry (don't want to be the start of a war between the US , and one of its greatest allies).

So, I'm going to have to work on this.... hopefully it won't be for that long.  So... until the next post... Eat something good for me,

H

Dalmagi Pagoda Dec. 10th

Dalmagi Pagoda Dec. 10th

This posts recall events that took place in the beginning of Dec. in Busan, South Korea

For those of you reading this on Facebook 'notes'. The original post is available on my blogger site www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. This will enable you to see photos and other multimedia material that does not 'transfer' into 'Notes'

 So, it is the beginning of December and I have finally got an exit plan.  So, I need to wait it out for the next two weeks, and then fly home to the States for the holidays.

Most of my day involves either caffeine or being online.  I might add that these are not mutually exclusive events.  Many cafes offer wifi and Internet access.  I'm trying to keep myself stimulated intellectual.  That I am finding is quite difficult in S. Korea.  So I spend a fair amount of time performing recon in my corner of Busan. I'm always on the lookout for a good cafe, with a quick connection so I can 'kill two birds with one stone'.

It just so happens that on one of my little 'missions' I discovered a 'slew' of Cafes not three blocks away from my flat.  One was open twenty-four hours! In addition to this very advantageous solution to my Internet and caffeine addictions, there was also a kind of 'park' across the street.  This little park had an ocean view, a pagoda and some benches.  It was in actuality kind of cool.  I would often go there in the mornings to check e-mail, grab some coffee and look out on the ocean, often straining my eyes and trying to see Japan past the misty watery horizon.

Seoul Sojurn

                                                          
One of the biggest paybacks you will ever receive on an investment of time and money is by figuring out how transport works in a new place... before you actually need it. This becomes an exponentially more pointed if you are living in a foreign land. Today I ride the KTX. This is Korea's answer to the ICE (Europe's inter-city express), or Japanese 'bullet train'.  It's Saturday, I have just picked up my medical certification (no diseases!), and now I am off to Itaewan (a part of Seoul) to get shoes.

Why shoes you ask? Ok, here's the synopsis...


When I arrived in Korea, I stayed with anther teacher until my flat was ready.   I stayed there for approximately 10 days.  I ended up moving on Friday the 30th of Oct.  I returned to the old flat the next morning to pick up a few items I had left there.  When I arrived there, the door was wide open.  The other teacher was nowhere to be found. I noticed that the flat was also empty.  I mean, not only of people, but also of stuff.  I had left slightly more than 24 hours prior.  Nothing was there. 

I quickly found out (by inquiring with some of the neighboring teachers, whom I had become friends with), that sometime after I had left to my new place the other teacher was asked to move into a different flat.  The reason being that new teachers were scheduled to arrive today, and the place needed to be empty and clean for their arrival.

Well, you might think that the other teacher would have grabbed the few items I had left there on my way out.  That would only be logical right?  Yeah, well... no dice.  Apparently my heavily medicated creepy es-roomie hadn't the presence of mind for such a course of action, and needless to say, all of my belongings were no longer there. 

Now, I'm not real big on material possessions.  I do, however, believe in at least having all the necessary gear that one needs when one is living in another place.  Besides, things can be replaced right?

Well, of the things that were gone only two things were very important to me. I mean I could replace the Iron, the ironing board, my French-press, and the cooking apparatus I had just recently purchased.  What I couldn't replace however, were the two pairs of shoes that also were MIA.

OK, so you’re probably wondering why I'm complaining about shoes.  Well, I don't know how much traveling you've done, or if you ever tried to get clothing in another country, but here's a tip:

YOU WILL HAVE AN EASIER TIME GETTING BLOOD FROM A STONE THAN FINDING A SIZE 13 IN ASIA

I had spent the last two weeks walking from shop to shop, all over Busan trying to find shoes in my size.  I have been reduced to only pair of shoes.  A pair of black Pierre Cardin leather dress shoes.  Which are totally amazing.  I bought them last year in Dubai, and I am totally in love with them.  They aren't however, a pair of shoes you want to live in.  After two weeks of wearing nothing but these shoes, I want to kill myself.  Ladies, I can honestly say I empathize with you.  I understand the torturous agony of spending 'all day in heels'. I will never mock you again.

So, here I find myself, riding the KTX express train to Seoul in search of large shoes. If you need certain Western luxuries while in Korea, your only hope is Itaewan.  Itaewan is a very foreigner-friendly section of Seoul. I think there is a military base nearby, or at least there was.  If you can't find it in Itaewan, you'll just have to go back to the States for it.

The results of my journey:

Success... and it was so easy.  I arrived in Seoul approx. 3 hours after leaving Busan.  The subway was conveniently located in the same building as the train station.  Itaewan was only about four subway stops away from Seoul train station.  Easy-Peasy!!!  When I got out of the subway in Itaewan, I walked about a block.  I immediately saw a shoe store with a large hand-made sign, which read "Large-Size Shoes'.  Pay dirt!  I tried on a few, vacillating between a pair of Merrels and a pair of Sketchers.  In time, I decided to take both. My purchases were bagged and paid for, and I merrily exited the store. One pair on my feet, the other in my backpack. The whole ordeal took about 25 minutes.  I had no idea that it was going to be this easy and fast. 

That being all taken care of, I hopped back on the subway, returning the exact way I had came, and jumped back on the next KTX back to Busan.  My feet, coincidently, felt a thousand times better.  Like I was walking on little clouds.  Life was once again bearable!  I was so happy, that I rode the first-class car back to Busan (it was a real good thing too, lotsa leg-room!)