holding my breath..

a funny thing happened to me the other night. not funny haha, but funny in a different way. but ok...myabe a little haha funny.

i have never been happier to make the switch. and by that i mean from PC to mac. my powerbook is so great. and on my travels, i have regarded it as my life. i can lose evetything, but my powerbook...that would be doomsday.

so yesterday...last night...the unmentionable happens. my mac freezes...and i restart, but it doesn't start up. i'm thinking about the last time i backed up my hard-drive and start to silently weep because it has, in fact, been some time since my last back up. i have the apple protection plan so i'm ok...but the information...the pictures and the songs and the documents and contacts...all gone!

but alas, my mac starts up and i quickly work to save all precious data. gotta work quick because who knows what's wrong with this thing. i'm able to start saving a bunch of things but in the middle of transfer it stops. doh! it freezes again...but all i want to do is backup this info...

so i pick up my laptop and it starts working again. ok...i carefully place the laptop back on my desk and again it starts to freeze up. so i get it know...i have to be holding my laptop for it not to freeze. i've always joked about this powerbook being my baby, but this is a little much.

anyways...i finally get all my information off and sometime this week (probably sonner than later) i'm going to get this thing checked out. hopefully it's not just some harddrive issue and my computer is really screwy - that way i might be able to get a replacement computer.

side story:

my friend, ben, had a mac notebook and had some issues with it. he sent the computer in to apple, but after apple was unable to fix they sent him a new mac Ti because his computer was outdated and was out of production. the only solution was to send him the (at the time) new Ti notebook. i'm hoping that the same thing happens for me. if they can't fix it i might get a new macbook or at least a new 12" powerbook which is faster and better than my current one.

i'll be a sport...

ok since i was tagged and all.

The first player of this game starts with the topic 'five weird habits of yourself,' and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don't forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says “You are tagged” (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.”


ok..

1) I look at the bottom of pots and other ceramic wares. most find this kinda weird. but those who know...well...they just know.

2) i've been pretty successful investing in the stock market, but yet it's just a hobby. i'm a potter by trade though.

3) i like to wash dishes. it calms me

4) my closet is color coordinated

5) well...have you read my other posts? then i'm sure you can come up with plenty to finish up the top five.

now i'm going to pick some other poor fools...muhahaha

I am FEZ...

So I had orientation today. stuck in a little auditorium with 600-some other bodies, i was told about various administrative stuff...most of which, might i add, i have no idea about. soo...good luck to me.

while i am moderately confident about my korean-conversational skills, this brought on a whole new experience - like i was in a foreign country (imagine that...) all these new words whizzed by me at a million miles an hour (in fact the people WERE speaking much quicker than i'm used to). welcome to graduate-school level korean. i guess i need to upgrade my pre-elementary school korean...and fast!

of course i just wanted to run out of that auditorium, but alas, i was sitting in the in the middle of my row and those 600-some people had trapped me in. so i did what my students probably do...i had no choice but to zone out. of course i was fully alert when the presenter introduced important information because he would prompt his audience by saying that the following is very important information, but unfortunately i didn't get much it anyways.

during grad school we had a foreign language requirement so that we could understand what it was like to be a foreign student in one of our own classes. the requirement: taking a foreign language. what bullsh@t. every teacher should have to take classes in another country...or just sit through orientation.

damn deja-vu (a glitch in the matrix?) ...i have had this horrid feeling that i made a mistake before: the moments before boarding the plane to korea wondering how i would survive with my crap korean. but i guess i've been ok so far...well until now at least.


PS: sorry Kim...postponing the game

Re-occurring Dream...er...nightmare.

So I had this nightmare again...There are different variations of this nightmare, but last night was clearly one of the worst:

I was working at the studio...it's supposed to be the one where I'm teaching classes, but of course it looks totally different. I'm working with a bunch of potters that I met while in Korea and also one of my profs. from back at USC. Anyways, this prof. and I are talking about how I shouldn't be making wheel-based sculptures and that it's too much of a risky move...anyways...

ok..so i'm handling some pieces from out of the kiln and the glazing is super runny. There is like this weird glass form (think: coral) which the glaze formed coming out of the side of this piece. (note: glaze is pretty much glass) anyways, while I'm handling the piece it pricks into the back of my hand and breaks off of the piece since it's really delicate. As I try to remove the glaze form, the ends just break off. So now i have little glass splinters in the back of my hand. I'm looking for a tweezer because the splinters pieces are way too small for me to take out with my fingers and people are telling me not to worry. and this is when it happens...

my hand starts to hurt...immensely. and it kinda swells. I am squeezing my wrist and slowly work the pressure towards the end of my hand when the holes where the splinters entered my hand burst and out comes this gelatinous material (think: those tiny orange eggs used in sushi). My hand continues to spew this gunk...

and I wake up. the pain somewhat remains, but i know it's only in my head...
pretty disgusting, i know...but this dream scares the s#@t outta me.

Ceramics Classes... (Updated)

So I have been teaching pottery classes here in Korea for a couple of weeks. The class is conducted in English...mainly for foreigners, although I do also have a couple of Native Koreans. The class is going well and my students are quick to learn. I would like to think that my instruction is the reason for this, but i think i just have good students.
I wish I was getting paid for it though. Here I am teaching classes and, for compensation, I get free use of the studio now. I guess that's kinda cool, but with 6 students, i'm making the studio quite some money. And now I sit here thinking, what did that Business degree teach me anyways? No, but really, I have no problems with helping out the dude. He's a good guy and helps me out a lot in other ways. For a foreigner in foreign land, that help means 10x what it's worth to a Native Korean if you know what I mean.

Meanwhile, I have been working on some wheel-based sculptures. I think I might be able to get into a group event/show some time soon where I may be able to get these suckers a little exposure. It's kinda far out and the people at the studio kinda stare at it wondering what the hell it is...but i think i would get a kick out of seeing some more responses. Like I said, I'm still working on them...I have about 8 done. I'm thinking of making these sea-forms have power in numbers though. Make it look like a great big underwater garden!

Random Ramblings...

I suppose most weather wants to be all sunshine and clear skies...something to the tune of what you might find in Los Angeles.

Korea's weather has been quite manic. It was nice and warm one day (which is to say in the positive C's) and then it began to rain the next day, which was followed by a so-so day. It snowed, got really warm and now the wind is blowing and it's cold again.

Like I said, I'm sure most weather wants to be something more consistent, but if we take a look at weather in Los Angeles, we also know that it every so often breaks down...EARTHQUAKE!

So if the drug companies could make a Prozac for all weather that suffers from being bi-polar, would they? Of course not...don't be silly. In most parts of the world, we just call it 4-season weather. So why do the drug companies capitalize on all these "4-season people?" Well...most people have larger wallets than the wind.

no valentine's sentiment from me...

but since all my friends are doing it on their blogs...
i will share this bit of information:

on valentine's day in korea, women shower their loved one with adoration - which usually means chocolate.

next month, however, is the mans turn to do the same...although, as i understand it, it means more expensive chocolate...
this day is called "white day" and is celebrated on 3.14

and yet the next month...on "black day" (4.14) is the day when all single folks go to eat 짜짱면 (jja-jjang-myun: black bean paste noodle - much better then it sounds). I usually celebrate this holiday...because i like 짜짱면 of course.

ok...so that was my little conformist bit on valentines, although it was a day or two late (what can i say? it took a while for me to jump the band wagon)

great...

so dick cheney "accidently" shot his buddy in the face with a shotgun...ahhh...ok
so does anybody really believe anything that anybody from the bush admin. says?

check out this video about 911 called Loose Change on my friends site. it raised my eyebrow.


how many more years do we have to deal with this? Aren't republicans supposed to at least drive up the price of stock?

just added...

I just added a guestbook section...
Feel free to drop a line!

By the Time You Read This...

The snow will have melted!

It snowed all day the other day, but today the sun is out and the snow is turning into nasty slush and ice. After living in Patagonia for about 3 mos, I got sick of the "perfect" weather of Los Angeles. The constant sunshine is far from perfect. Living with seasons - and snow - is a nice change. I wonder if the novelty of constant sunny weather could last longer than the novelty of constantly changing weather - hmmm...

My Home...

So I've been living at my new place for about a month now. Asides from the bed, I got a bit more furniture for the place. Although I don't know if a few wooden blocks would constitute furniture... I also got a nice cabinet for my clothes so I've finally moved out of my suitcases. My next purchase is a desk since I'm going back to school...and students need desks...right?

It's small...no...quaint. It's good enough for one person. It kinda reminds me of a deluxe-dorm (the ones that the RA's lived in). Anyhow, it's cheap and it came with a fridge, washer and the astro-bed. The nice thing is that by bathroom is a nice and big (which is relative) and a little veranda, which acts as my oversized fridge since it's freezing out there. It's also very close to school and, most importantly, minutes away from my studio. Speaking of which, I starting teaching some friends of mine today! It was nice to be teaching....ceramics (and not English) that is! Well, anyways, that's it! Party central and home to my new ceramic works...

Like Father Like Son...

s. has a great job! she gets an annual benefits budget in which she can use for anything she wants! i suppose that's one of the cool things about working for one of Korea largest video game companies. swimming laps on the 24th floor, above the cityscape of seoul, was one of these benefits. however, the events of this experience prompted this story:

it was a family trip to Ixtapa, Mexico and we were getting ready for our illegal, underwater, SCUBA excursion (I suppose that was a bit redundant). "Don't worry, Terry!" My dad, often referred to my mom as Terry. Her English name is Theresa... And me dad was comforting my mother because she had some issues regarding breathing underwater. Of course, if you know my dad, this was done in somewhat of a condescending manner in which he was boasting his own abilities (or ability to successfully try new things).

one tank of oxygen will last about 45 mins...assuming that you remain calm and maintain a regular breathing pattern. we each went off with your own guides and began our underwater adventure. "Stay calm...you'll be fine." And with those words, my dad and mom went their own ways...

I don't remember what order we all came up. I just knew that I came up before my 45 mins were up because after the novelty of breathing underwater wore off, I spent the remainder of my time inflation and deflating my flotation device which would allow me to "fly" through the ocean. i would float up; i would float down. sometimes i would spin like a dart on my descents.

but coming back onto my boat, i was greeted by my sister who told me that her instructor ate a live clam (or other such shellfish) underwater. how could anybody EAT underwater? I also saw a grumpy, red, dad sitting by himself. when I asked him what happened, he just angrily shoo'd me away. a look to my sister and we just snickered quietly. we were joined by my brother who also inquired about our Terry-less dad as we shared out submarine stories.

finally, with a huge smile...my mom boards back on the boat excited, practically glowing from her SCUBA experience. a look of concern overcomes her face as she sees dad sitting and unwilling to share his stories. but his jovial instructor explained how, he had swallowed some salt water and would be ok. a huge smile once again gleamed on my mom's face.

back to the pool:
s., an ex-smoker, and I are swimming laps and she stops to take a breather. I suggest she gets some water and maybe stop. she was a smoker and wasn't in the best of shape. i add - i'm not in much shape myself, but i was a swimmer... (?) a few moments later, we're racing down the pool. of course, I swim just fast enough to make sure that i (and my ego) beat her. and after some few lazy laps we decide to get out. and who's the one complaining that they feel like their going to die? "but you were a swimmer, while i was a smoker," she comments as we head out of the pool and into the locker areas.

a defeated me sits in the locker as i try to breath and regain my composure. damn...like father like son. they (my dad's friends) even say i walk like him...in korean they say that my dad and I are like 붕어빵...

Being PC...

I insist that in the future this, so called, Chinese New Years be called by its proper and politically correct name: Lunar New Year.

And I say bring back the Oriental Chicken Salad...

website...

Because I don't have internet explorer (as the distribution of IE has ceased as of this year), I am not aware of how this site looks for those using IE. I created this site using safari and firefox. If you are using IE, or any other browser, please inform me as to what issues you have be experiencing, cosmetic or other...

thank you

A thought I had...

although I'm sure I'm not the first to have thought of it since it seems so cliche:

Ray Charles was blind, so he used his ears to make music...
Van Gogh cut off his ear, but he didn't really need it since he used his eyes to make art...

I heard that when one doesn't have all five senses, that the other senses develop to compensate for the lost one...

nope...that's all...

Kinda in a slump...

(but what else is new?)

I walked outside yesterday evening/night and walked into the most beautiful of cobalt nights; The crescent moon above slicing through the nights sky.

I'm constantly surprised with how life is able to throw us curve balls and reinvigorate us with the smallest things. Even if it is for a second, taking the time to take that mental photograph and to acknowledge that the wind, although biting as it may be can...well...