HOW EMBARRASSING!

Today, on the bus, one of my coworkers was talking about Kaplan, and he pronounced it kuh-plan. He sounded so stupid that I couldn't even correct him for pronouncing it wrong. I mean, he's white! He should know better!

I had a private class with a new student, and he said he saw a funny picture of me. It turns out that my boss has a copy of one of my high school pictures (above), which I use for my gmail profile picture, in her office. Apparently, she even likes to show it to new students whom I've never met before.

In that same class, I was speaking and my voice cracked really hard. I tried to play it off by acting as if nothing ever happened, but I saw my student chuckling to himself.

In the subway station, I saw a man accidentally step on a girl's heel so hard that she turned around and gave him the most upset look. She made him feel so embarrassed that he yelled, "아가씨!" as she furiously walked away.

Last week, one of my TOEFL kids started pointing out that one of the other students had a habit of saying, "Yap," whenever she couldn't think of what to say during the speaking section. His impersonation was so funny that even I was laughing. She was so embarrassed and told me that I was a terrible teacher for laughing. Too bad that that only made me laugh harder. Man, her face was cherry red.

Steve Martin once said, "Chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is." I think Mr. Martin's words are very wise and true.

Thought of the Day: Individualities.
Song of the Day: Yoon Do Hyun Band-사랑할거야

Last night, 순우 and MoMo were looking at the sky and were amazed at just the few stars that were visible. In my game group, one of the members described English being like music because it was so beautiful to her ears. In the morning, Jane thanked me just for asking her if she had slept well. It was a good retreat.

Thought of the Day: 식신.
Song of the Day: Epik High-막을 내리며 (Dedication)

In an interview, Method Man once referred to himself as a "humble warrior." Haha. I was listening to his humble song on my way home and was totally loving it.

It's funny how I used to hate this song, but I think it's even funnier that I like it now.

One more day, y'all, one more day!

Thought of the Day: Report Cards.
Song of the Day: Wu-Tang Clan-M.E.T.H.O.D. Man

Last night, I was waiting outside of Hongdae's subway station, Exit #5, which happens to be raging with young people every Friday and Saturday night. Anyways, there were so many people waiting for friends or blind dates to arrive. It reminded me of the Love Actually scene where people are so happy to meet with their loved ones.


There may be love in this world, but there's definitely a greater need for it.

I actually just got a phone call from Portugal. What a way to make and break my day.

Thought of the Day: 순대국.
Song of the Day: Kim Dong Ryul-취중진담

Here is a picture of one of my TOEFL students studying so hard for his daily vocabulary tests. As you can see in his humorous drawing, he really wants to get a 120 (perfect score) on the TOEFL. David's actually one of our hakwon's most special students because his English is fluent even though he's never been abroad before. This kid seriously studies harder than a lot of college students that I know.

I have a very special heart for David because he also happens to be a Christian. He gets a lot of pressure from his mom and seems to hate his life these days. Ever since he entered middle school, he's been finding very little meaning in his life as he studies with no end and apparently, no real purpose. Anyways, whenever I see him groan and sigh, my heart totally resonates with him. He doesn't get much sleep, and I don't get much sleep. He comes to hakwon, and I come to hakwon. He writes papers, and I grade papers.

David, I feel you, man.

Thought of the Day: Green Hills.
Song of the Day: Jinusean-Gasoline

Whenever we think of 찜질방s in Korea, we think of a nice place where one can relax and sleep. Well, I just watched a documentary about a father and son who were living in a 찜질방 cause they couldn't afford their own place. The dad had no stable job and was always grateful to find one that could pay him 80,000won for that day. There were even times where he couldn't find work for a few days and couldn't afford to go into the 찜질방. The mom left them 6 years ago as they haven't seen her since.

I hadn't seen any documentaries for several months now, but I think I really needed to watch this one. I felt so ashamed about how much I complain about my minor discomforts with work and housing. There are too many people out there who have it so much harder. That father and son are probably at the 찜질방 right now anticipating another hard day. Thanks for the documentary, Jae.

Thought of the Day: 가문
Song of the Day: Epik High-Let It Rain

I love this song!

Look at her expression after she finishes the song. She was truly singing to someone special.

Thought of the Day: 15-9 = 5
Song of the Day: Baek Ji Young-사랑 안해

Thought of the Day: Mere Christianity.
Song of the Day: Big Bang-거짓말

All of my kids laughed at my short haircut and asked if I went to Blue Club, which is the equivalent to Supercuts. Apparently, you're not supposed to cut too much of your sides or the back in this country. Back in the states, that's the way you're supposed to cut your hair. Even the lady thought it was weird that I wanted to cut my hair so short. I'm such a fob to these people. Sometimes, culture can be so weird.

Thought of the Day: She dies.
Song of the Day: Mos Def-Beef

Today, I watched two movies and three episodes of Sopranos. I feel like a total slob. Blah!

One of the greatest things about iTunes is that you can organize your music so well. Being the music lover that I am, I happen to have approximately 2,000 songs on my computer. But with these 2,000 songs, I've come to discover that I have a bit of a problem, a compulsion, if you will. For a couple of years, I spent time making sure all my artists and song titles were capitalized and spelled correctly. Then I arranged everything by genre. But I didn't stop right there. I decided that having all the album art covers would be kinda nice. Then I thought it'd be cool to know what year each song had come out. The most ridiculous thing that I recently accomplished was looking up the lyrics to every single one of my songs. Of course, I have a few exceptions like my Japanese songs or The Munjees.

Anyways, I had a point in sharing all of that interesting information. As I was looking at my song count by year, I noticed a very clear bell curve. Let me show you what I mean:

Number of songs in...

1990: 3
1991: 13
1992: 10
1993: 31
1994: 61
1995: 87
1996: 90
1997: 119
1998: 149
1999: 195
2000: 198
2001: 176
2002: 131
2003: 133
2004: 105
2005: 61
2006: 38
2007: 42

Something happened when I went to college: music started to suck. I wonder how bad 2008 is going to be. Here's some more useful information.

Most played song: ATB-Emotion (94 times)
Most played Korean song: Epik High-평화의 날
Most played Alternative song: Blink 182-I Miss You
Most played Hip Hop song: Nas-If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)
Most played Christian song: Ginny Owens-If You Want Me To

But yeah, my brother thinks I'm a freak.

Thought of the Day: 1972.
Song of the Day: Lee Ki Chan-미인

I'm always falling asleep in my class right after lunch. That food coma hits you hard. I wonder how many of my school teachers used to fall asleep right after lunch. I wonder how many of those LG fools fall asleep at their desks right after lunch. I wonder how many of my students have caught me nodding off in front of them. What a scary thought.

Aren't you sick of reading post after post about my rants dealing with work? Well, I'm tired of going through them. Winter Intensives are so hard!

Thought of the Day: Marco Polo.
Song of the Day: Phil's Mix-Track 04

I actually got super sick on Christmas night. My fever was so bad on Thursday that my boss even sent me home an hour early, which she only did for me one other time last year. Anyways, it's been a true test of patience and perseverance preparing for my SAT class every night with my unfavorable conditions. Yesterday, one of my students asked what other subjects I teach. I told her that I pretty much do anything that the hakwon tells me to do since I'm their lil slave boy. Well, I finished teaching that class and as one of Elite's slave boys, I couldn't help but think of the words, "Free at last, free at last." Here are some beautiful lyrics to a song that was written around the time of black slavery called, "Free at Last," that I've never even listened to:

Free at last, free at last
I thank God I'm free at last
Free at last, free at last
I thank God I'm free at last

Way down yonder in the graveyard walk
I thank God I'm free at last
Me and my Jesus going to meet and talk
I thank God I'm free at last

On my knees when the light pass'd by
I thank God I'm free at last
Tho't my soul would rise and fly
I thank God I'm free at last

Some of these mornings, bright and fair
I thank God I'm free at last
Goin' meet King Jesus in the air
I thank God I'm free at last

In Roots, the African American slaves would tell their dead loved ones that they were finally free. I think that's so beautiful...and true.

Thought of the Day: Nolita.
Song of the Day: Big Bang-거짓말

"Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas..."
-Frank Sinatra

My junior year in high school was the worst Christmas I ever had. I was bedridden with the flu and spent the entire day reading Grapes of Wrath for winter break homework. However, this year's Christmas totally outdoes my junior year. For the past 24 hours, I've been stuck inside my room working on SAT Math problems and reading Fantastic Mr. Fox and Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, making worksheets and tests for those books. This job is driving me nuts. This year, Frank, I'm gonna have to pass.

Thought of the Day: "Poppycock!"
Song of the Day: Fall Out Boy-Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

Guess who's going to China?

2008 will have Lovefest!

Thought of the Day: Ice-cream Waffles!!!
Song of the Day: Mika Nakashima-Oborodzukiyo ~Inori

Every once in a blue moon, my boss will ask me to teach SAT math to some high school kids from abroad. The thing is, I'm not too good with math to begin with. But SAT math just really makes my life so much more difficult. More than your math skills and ability, it's all about the shortcuts and strategies. Too bad I lack both. I was truly humbled today when one my students finished all of his quiz corrections and homework IN class while I had had a head start on some of the homework problems. He finished everything (50 problems) while I was stuck on #16.

Towards my last couple of classes, I decided to "challenge" one of my private writing students with impossible problem #16. The second year middle school student simply replied, "Oh, I had a problem just like this on my test last week!" He graciously showed me how to do it on the board. He even showed me two different ways. By the time he had left, I only remembered half of his explanation. But right before finishing my last class, I was finally able to see things from a different angle and solve the problem easily. *phew* It's times like these that cause me to reconsider becoming a math teacher. Koreans are so good at math!

Thought of the Day: China.
Song of the Day: The Brilliant Green-Koi wa Kirakira Boshi

"My comrade. We will fight through Seoul together and prevail. After Seoul, we'll be invincible."
-from Jaepil Kim's Christmas Card

I am a firm believer that struggle can bring people together. Look at your past mission trips, study groups, college friends, and now for some, your fellow coworkers. That's partly why the Church is so awesome; we're all broken, but we help each other out. I told my small group that I'm kinda sadistic in the sense that I love hearing about their hardships. However, that stuff encourages me cause it reminds me that I'm not alone. If I struggle, I'm sure you're struggling, too. If you're struggling, I assure you that I'm right beside you.

But speaking of difficulty,





I am way out of shape.

It's been a while since I've gone hiking. I think we're going to keep it that way again.

Thought of the Day: Sauna.
Song of the Day: Fernando Ortega-More Love To Thee

I had forgotten how funny The Office was. Season 3 is awesome!

Thought of the Day: Lost
Song of the Day: Alanis Morissette-You Oughta Know

I've been feeling really tired almost everyday. The funny thing is that I'm getting a lot of sleep, too...like +8 hours these days. I've been having some hard days, but I don't think I'm particularly depressed. However, I do find myself not smiling as much either, which actually isn't saying much since I don't smile very much to begin with. It's something that I really want to work on though. I always used to despise people who never looked happy. Sadly, I've become one of those despicable people.

"Christianity is not just for Sunday mornings. It's for difficult Monday mornings."
-Dennis Kang

Pastor Dennis is such a faithful preacher. He is one man who never fails to help me smile. Happy Monday.

Thought of the Day: 식곤증
Song of the Day: Wu-Tang Clan-16th Chamber (ODB Special)

David: Doofus!
Paul: Do you want to die?
Me: Hey, just tell him to be quiet!
Paul: (turns around to look at David) SHUT UP!

Thought of the Day: Superbad.
Song of the Day: Yoon Do Hyun Band-나는 나비

Looks like we have another young pop group with a catchy song that my white coworker, Brian, likes, 현조 누나 had on her cyworld music, and 정원 sang last night. It's crazy cause I just found out that the leader of the group is G-Dragon who originally started off solo when he was only 12 years old. I remember listening to his first song on Perry's first (and last) album back in high school. So weird. Them Wonder Girls still appear to be quite popular, too. As I was walking home today, I saw two girls waving at me from afar. But as we came to a closer distance, I realized that they were just doing the Tell Me dance. So weird.

My friend, Christine, took her huge Teachers Exam today. I texted her a few hours ago, but she never responded back. I'm really afraid that she is depressed and stressed out about not doing well. She didn't handle it too well last year. If there's one thing Christine,종성, and my dad have taught me, it's that isolation is very unhealthy. People were not meant to live alone.


My middle school students are preparing for their finals at school, so none of them studied for my review test last week. This student received a 2/100. That's a whopping 2%.


Here's a happy picture of Jung pretending to not be too cool to play with me. I like her because she's weird.


December's here!

Thought of the Day: 사랑니
Song of the Day: Big Bang-거짓말