And then we were friends

I haven't been sharing much about my personal life, but felt an update was necessary. For a while now my relationship with JH has been going downhill. Back in May things were quite nice, but then as the summer advanced things started to grow apart between us.

Eventually he has come to the conclusion that we should change our relationship to being friends. That in time this will serve us better than in a close relationship. Although things weren't working out for us I was confused by this conclusion.

But these days I am getting use to this change and accepting it. I suppose I am back in the single boat and this time I want to stay in it and assess my life and such.

Even though we are now friends I find myself needing some distance from him to sort all this out and accept it. But eventually I do want to be his friend and not loose him forever.

So that is where I am at nowadays. If you have any questions email or post them.  Thanks~

Fall Approaching

This morning the air is a bit breezy and cool, which means Fall is on its way here. I don't hear any cicadas buzzing, well just a few, but with it not being so deafening anymore this is also a sign of the changing seasons.

The first week back to work went all right with a few jolts to remind me that I am teaching first grade. The kid's levels have been changed and there are new groups now. Overall, most of them are descent but there is one that is just pure awfulness. However, I have good feelings for this semester which is helped by the prep work I have done and the experience behind me.

This semester we have a drama festival to practice for and perform. Since parents are coming to see it the homeroom teachers are all stressing over it. We had a brief meeting about it on Friday and from what I gathered we basically need to practice the songs and roleplay with them a lot. But it will cut into class time, where as we are suppose to practice 10 - 15 minutes at the end of class. Ah well!

My mantra this semester is just go with the flow, even though some things sound completely ridiculous. I hope I can achieve this and not step on anyone's toes.

I know I don't share much about my personal life with you folks but there have been developments in the boyfriend department. He has been living at home with his Mom and Sister for ages now. But they have been thinking of getting their own places. His sister's boyfriend is kind of a loaded man and so wants her to live in a officetel that he pays for. His mom is going to move into a new place with her boyfriend and so that leaves my guy alone. He was planning to just stay in his current place alone, but then last night the landlord told them they have to vacate it by the end of October. Now JH is scrambling to find a place. He would come live with me, but we both agree my house is too small and it would hurt the relationship. In this respect, I wish I could accommodate him. He is going to see about getting a loan and if it is big maybe shoot for a two bedroom place, and who knows I might move in there. All of this has me a bit nervous as I don't know what is going to happen and money is a big issue right now.

So as Fall encroaches on my life I feel like change might be in the wind or something big is down the road. But really I am stressed because I want to know if my job will keep me another year and stressed with my future in general. All in all, I am trying to keep my chin up, save money and yet go out and do things at the same time.

I suppose you could say I am looking forward to Fall, but not Winter.

The Han River Treats Me Well

Yes, you are probably looking at one of the most spunkified pet dogs on the planet. The dyeing is one thing, but then the braided tail and ears is another. After I took these photos the owner told us, "Copyrighted!". It was a laugh.

These shots were taken in the early summer time during one of our trips to the Han river. Sometimes when JH and I are heading back from some place in Gangnam I beg him to make a stop at one of the parks along the river. Usually, we park and take a nice stroll around and then head home.

I wonder if will continue to make stops here when the weather turns to ice. Until then I hope to enjoy it as much as I can.

My Boyfriend's Backyard

First, let's take a look at a traditional summer food called Samgyetang. You are suppose to eat it three times in the summer. I had my share of it when I was at JH's house a few weekends ago, and his mom made it fresh for us.

The chicken, you see there, was disassembled and broken up into pieces and made more into a soup. It was quite delicious, wholesome and I loved the little dipping side of salt and pepper.

JH had been telling me about a park nearby his house. You see the man lives in a concrete jungle in the Northeastern part of Seoul. It is an area corner to corner with "Villas" or tiny housing units. The only plant life you see in this kind of neighborhood are the ones growing out of pots from people's doorsteps. So when he mentioned "park" and "nearby my house" I certainly was curious.

Sometime after dinner we went outside and I followed him to the park, making our way towards a mountain.

I enjoyed strolling through his neighborhood as I discovered the varying kinds of homes nearby and ways people decorated and took care of the exteriors.

This is a basement unit and the outside was covered in a mix of pictures, plates and other odds and ends. I was tempted to go up and play on the xylophone, but of course didn't.

We came to the park, which was quite spacious with exercise equipment, shady trees and the typical group of old gentlemen.

JH mentioned how about ten years ago he went here with his pals to smoke, and there was no grass or tall trees at that time. Apparently, the park was pretty new a decade ago.

There was even a small garden with some corn growing in it.

We came to a part where there was a slide to roll down. I had fun and rolled down it, but what made it even more special was that there was a kid at the bottom of the slide and before I knew it he was right behind me. Kind of odd and fun.

JH had some fun on the exercise equipment.

I had fun discovering this green gem in the "backyard" of JH's neighborhood. It certainly gave me some confidence that Seoul isn't always this slew of concrete and drainage pipes.

Mom Sent a Package

A while ago my mom sent a package with all sorts of stuff in it for JH and I. She mostly wanted to send him good wishes for his birthday, which was back in April.

Even Tom got in the act...

Last summer I visited my mom and JH got her a Starbucks mug with a Seoul logo on it. So it was fitting that she sent him a Florida Starbucks mug.

It's always fun to get a loving package from back home.

Life of Tom

JH said it perfectly yesterday, "I wish I could trade lives with Tom and Tiger." Tom's life is pretty serene and well taken care of.

He is getting past his kittenness and sleeping a lot during the daytime, already having his favorite spots.

One of which is a propped up box on the balcony, which provides enough sunshine for a good mid-day nap.

When active he likes to roam around the house meowing for attention or runs around playing with his toy mice.

One of his favorite hobbies is scratching the hell out of his scratching boards.

Lately, he has become adventurous and likes to run out of the front door when it is opened and explore the front area of the apartment. This troubles me as he could jump off and well die. But he seems to have put two-and-two together. However, I can't really just let him be by himself out there as my neighbors leave their doors open, and he has already wondered into one person's place.

I'll have to stay out there with him, in the meantime, so he doesn't do too much exploring. Tom's life is pretty sweet for a house cat. Also I am really happy to have him as my companion as he is sweet and follows me around the house. He still wakes me up in the morning but I think he obliges when I am not interested.

Oh my little Tom!

3-Alley Pub Lunch and a Movie

Ever since JH returned from his American vacation he has been craving some of the foods he sampled there. One of which is the American burger. I'm not talking about a McDonald's burger but the kind you get at a mom-and-pop restaurant. One that is thick and juicy with a big bun and fresh toppings.

He realized that the usual places to get a burger in Korea, like Kraze Burger, just weren't cutting it. I told him how this is how I feel about pretty much any dining experience in Korea. But I told him there was hope, for Itaewon was known for good burgers.

With a little inquiring, over at the Seoul Patch, I heard that the 3-Alley pub serves up great burgers. So with much anticipation we headed over to Itaewon to see for ourselves if a truly delicious burger exists in Korea.

The 3-Alley Pub wasn't hard to find as our parking spot was just up the hill. Plus the name of the place and the location match, as it is situated within a narrow back-alley of Itaewon. We came during lunch time and the traffic wasn't heavy. The cool air still lingered as summer isn't fully upon us yet.

JH declared the cheeseburger and I the fish and chips item on the menu.

We waited...

Then finally a beautiful spectacle came before our eyes...

As you can see this looks like a very tasty burger and indeed it was. The bun was fluffy and wholesome, while the meat was juicy and seasoned wonderfully. But the most important part was that JH found himself satisfied that there is an "American worthy" burger here in his country.

The fish-and-chips were pretty good, however I concluded the burger was way better and so next time will get that. JH was so pleased with his meal that he proposed we came here every Saturday! I told him if he wants me to grow more fat than sure. haha

After lunch, we meandered around Itaewon for a little bit before heading to TechnoMart for a movie. 

The above was a sign on the pub's window, asking people to not bring in cakes. I found this especially funny. It is common for Koreans to take a cake with them to a bar or restaurant for a special occasion. I suppose this pub doesn't really want that kind of culture in their establishment. Or they are making a joke?

As we walked down towards the main Itaweon street we passed Tartine bakery, which is very famous amongst the food-Kblogosphere for being one of the best in Korea. I definitely was tempted with their window display of goodies. 

We found ourselves later in the new WhatTheBook store, which is so much bigger and brighter than it use to be.

I loved how this store felt like a cozy book-store from back home, and I was more pleased to find they had the author I was looking for. Now my bedtime reading is very much fulfilled. 

If you notice, in the above picture, I left a little something behind on their bulletin board. ;)

Heading back to the car I spotted these "yellow fruits."

Itaewon is a place for many treasure finds, and I think it offers something for everyone.

The movie we saw was KungFu Panda 2 in 3D, which was pretty fun actually. It was my first time experiencing a movie in 3D, and I found it to be a new and exciting way to enjoy a film. However, I would say that your eyes get use to it and by the end of the movie you don't really feel like you are having a 3D experience. I would recommend seeing this movie, because it is one of those laid-back ones that you can just enjoy and have a good time with.

After the movie JH took me over to his neighborhood where I said hello to Tom's brother Tiger, and had dinner at a nangmyeon place nearby.

All in all, a pretty fun day and one that was very satisfying thanks to the 3-Alley Pub.