So this Tuesday, my brother comes for a visit!!!! I'm so excited. IT's not nearly enough time here (only 4 days) but it's awesome to have something to look forward to here. Isn't it great that i have a brother willinng to spend the money to come out here for such a short time (all he could manage off)? He's the person i'm closest too in the whole world and it's a shame i've only seen him a couple times in the past 2.5 years.

This year will be a bit better though. I'll be seeing him in a few short days. Then I'll be seeing the whole family when i come home on a surprise visit during Christmas. In January, I'll follow him out to San Diego for a week or maybe more. So, we'lll be getting plenty of time together which is super. I can't wait to visit him in San Diego. He's got this new pad that's got an ocean view from one of the decks just a block or two from Del Mar beach! Even better than that though will be spending some quality time with my niece.

When i come home i plan on doing some visiting (mostly of people I met out here and family). I'll be home for around 7 or 8 weeks. During that time i plan on goiing to San Diego. From there I want to take a trip or two to LA and see the silly hollywood stuff and maybe even rent a car and see the Grand Canyon and visit my cousin in Arizona. After this, i want to come back to Pittsburgh for a few days and then take off again for a Canadian road and plane trip. Fly into Montreal and visit a couple friends i met out here who now have a baby together. Then I shall take a road trip to Toronto to visit my friend Jess--one of the lovliest women I've ever had the chance to get to know (also known from Korea). Between all this traveling i will also have to spend some time reconnecting with my peepz back home.

It sounds like a busy time, but I'll have to make it like that otherwise i'll just be really fucking bored being home for so long with no job, no car and nothing to do except hope my friends are up for something that night. When you're as eager to take trips and see things as i've become (seeing so many great things in Asia) coming home is a real drag.

I'll soon get some pics developed and you'll be able to some really interesting things of what's been going on recently out here. Until then, ttyl mammy jammies.

My Halloween outfit this year (well one of the two i wore at any rte.):

I'm on the bottom left of the pic.

I love technology! I just went out and bought a 2.5", 120G, USB 2.0 powered portable hard drive. It's a little bigger than my wallet and weighs only a few more ounces but holds so much info! It's blazing fast too! I can transfer 2G of files in only 3-4 minutes. After this weekend i should have so much more free space on my laptop.

In other news, i have a job interview tomorrow for what i think will actually be a better job. Same job really, but in a better location, in an actual apartment and not working for whackjobs! Wish me luck with that, though i'm pretty sure that i'll do well. Getting a job is so fucking easy out here, it's rediculous.

In other work related news, things are also going well. I was pretty frustrated this week at a couple points and really grilled the kids because they just wouldn't shut the fuck up. In all honesty though, it's pretty damn hard to control a classroom of 36-40 kids who can't entirely understand what you're saying. Still, i think i do a pretty damn good job at it: I can actually get the whole class to shut up in 5 seconds flat. The trouble is, they don't stay quiet which is frustrating. IT's also frustrating that they seem to make such little progress, but i guess i shouldn't get too bent out of shape about that when my 5th graders only have English for 80 minutes a week and my 4th graders only get 40 minutes a week, not to mention the huge numbers of classes that get cancelled all the time (which i shouldn't really complain about because it's all less work for me, but the lack of routine can be unsettling.) I must say though, that despite everything, the past couple days have been really awesome with me and the kids ahving some great times.

That's about all for now folks. Keep it real bitches.

The Snorkeling in Thailand is awesome! Scuba diving is next on the list for things to do down there.


Thai food is some of the best in the world! And now I know how to cook it!!!

Me and the amazing jackfruit!

Speedboats of the Mekong River! Dangerous as hell, but when time's short, they get the job done.

Speedboating on the Mekong River in Laos. Notice the crash helmets?! Also, check out the amazing scenery and greenery. Laos is just awe-inspiringly beautiful.

This is like a convenience store on a river. You can even get weed here!

I really dig the dragons here.

You can't see here, but this is a 7 headed dragon--one for each day of the week.

Another cool Laotian dragon. I'm a pretty swell photographer i think

This is bamboo scaffolding used in temple repairs.

A lovely little buddhist mural.

Rice offered to Buddha...i think!

Beautiful valley on the way to Vang Vieng. Our bus actually broke down at one point so we got a chance to get outside and take some shots of the beauty around us.

The Mekong River. In Vang Vieng, you can float down this on innertubes, stopping every few hundred meters and getting your booze on! It's super terrific.

I was told by the Brits i was with that this is called a flying fox. I'd call it a trapeze thingy. Either way, it's wicked fun, with participants easily able to get 15-20 feet of air at the apex of the swing before plunging into the river.

Biking around Vang Vieng, we saw some amazing scenery. Gigantic limestone cliffs and mountains. It's like paradise.

Another mountain.

A beautiful Buddha. To get here, we had to climb up this way steep trail on a mountain and then into a cave. Here's the trail down:

Ccan't really see how difficult it is there, but it was quite an effort.

Monkeying around this stunningly beautiful turquoise pool at the base of the mountain.

Mud! Everywhere was mud on this bike trip!

Buddha is everywhere down there. Here we can see him resting at a temple in Vientienne.

This temple in fact. It looks more like a Star Trek set piece or something out of Buck Rogers than it does a Buddhist temple.


And that was my Summer Vacation! I hope you liked the pics.

Now things are going quite well here in South Korea. The job is still wonderful and easy peazy though i do have an interview for another job on October 14th. Basically it would be the same job, but at a different University, lilving in a much better location. Or so i hear.

Just the other week i was present at school for something called Sports Day...or Field Day to us Americans. It was quite a spectacle with students running races everywhere and doing all kinds of other games. There was a giant tug of war game and even some of the parents got involved with stuff. I got plenty of pics of that but i need to develope them. Rest assured, they'll be here a lot faster than these pics.

I've been really enjoying my b-day present from my brother. He got me a subscription to a coffee of the month club--Green Mountain Organic Coffee--and it's terrific. You have no idea how wonderful real coffee is after having lived off the instant shit they serve all the time here.

Now i have a 6 day weekend and i have to figure out what to do for that. Time to go and try and get shit done.

Well I updated My Pics section with a bunch of pics from my latest vacations. I'll make the photo journal when i get some time. I hope you enjoy! And the pics are in reverse chronological order.

Sorry i haven't been around much. For the past few weeks i was on yet another vacation. Man this job almost gives too much time off hehe.

Where was I this time? Northern Thailand and Laos.

First i went to Bangkok though. Bangkok as always is full of hustle, bustle, pollution, booze, hookers, and amazing shopping. I scoped out this area of Bangkok which contained the single most impressive display of shopping i've ever seen. Contained within a small area were three major shopping complexes with an astounding array of stores...from bootleg video boutiques, to the highest end fashion and sports car dealers, everything can be found in the shopping complexes of MBK, Siam Center, and Siam Paragon. I've honestly never seen anything like it before.

First stop, book store. Now, i've searched high and low in Korea for a decent bookstore and by and large have found what are probably the best in the country. Unfortunately they all seem to have exactly the same crap and a rather limited selection--the exception being the used book stores around here. In fact just before i left i spent an entire day going to the 6 biggest/best bookstores in Seould (a city of 20 million people) and found jack shit of what i was looking for.

Enter amazing shopping complex in Bangkok. Within one hour of walking around i located every book that i was looking for in Korea and even found a full copy of the comic, the Watchmen which i have been dying to read (and currently am) for over a year now. God bless this lovely bookstore with it's huge and wonderful selection of English books of every genre. Many of you reading this have no idea what a welcome relief a good bookstore is after being in a foreign country for so long. It's a breath of fresh air. Overhwhelming and exhillerating at the same time. So many books! So little time! So, anyways i found everything i was looking for and it was a good day. Korea bookstores, you can kiss my ass.

Next stop, Northern Thailand's biggest city, Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is one helluva big step away from Bangkok. It's Thailand's second largest city and it feels more like a suburb than a proper city when compared to Bangkok. It's much quieter and so much less busy. Unfortunately, it's ultra touristy just like Bangkok..and well, just about everywhere else in Thailand (though admittedly, i've only been to the tourist trap areas haha.) Basically everyone tries to sell you something and no one takes no for an answer and if you don't possess a heart of steel, you end up buying a lot of crap you really don't want. Still, the sights and sounds of the markets can have a small amoutn of appeal. From the fake hill tribe members dressed like old, female Liberaccis making frog noises with their crafts, to the street foods and silk wares, fake guccis, bootlegged anything and crafts of all manner of design, many interesting things can be found.

I saw a temple there and took a Thai cooking course and...ended up buying a bunch of stuff i really didn't want or need though i suppose i'll find some use for it all eventually. Anyways, the Thai Cooking course was the highlight of Chiang Mai. For only 15 bones, you get an all day course where they take you to the market to buy food and teach you how to make 6 seperate courses all throughout the day and give you a cookbook. I made some delicious Green Curry, Pad Thai, Soup, Spicey Papaya Salad, Steamed Bananas and something else that was delish. All in all, the sites, smells, and sounds of the kitchen were wonderful and i was really impressed that i was actually making some of the wonderful Thai food that i'd only had in restaurants before--and it was just as good as anything i've had in Thailand. I can't wait to make some of this stuff myself someday (that is if i can ever find the right veggies, herbs and spices outside of Thailand..and lord knows it's not too likely in the uber hemogenized Korean grocery stores).

The dissappointing thing about Chiang mai was the rain. It rained way too much there. In fact, one day, it rained so hard that a 500 year old pagoda collapsed! Thankfully no one was there, but holy crap! It's stood proud for 500 years and a torrential downpour does it in.

I did meet some cool people there though. These three Spanish speaking birds were quite fun to hang out with and it was really great meeting people from such diverse places as Argentina and Spain. Good times were had by all and then they had to leave.

Well, this has gotten far too long already so the few of you who still read my journal will have to wait another day or so until i can write about Laos which really blew me away. Pictures also forthcoming and i hope you like 'em.

Not too many people seem to be reading this lately and i really do need some advice on what to do here. So here it goes..

So what do you do when a good friend says she's getting married and is happy and is with an apparently great guy....BUT, you're in love with her? Have been for years more or less... the weird thing is, we've never met face to face, but have been online friends for over 7 years. SEVEN! We have so much in common it's eerie considering we're from such different backgrounds. I guess it's my fault for never having made the plunge so to speak and actually travel out to meet her, but i never had that much money until i came out here and was too preoccupied with my own adventures and self. Gee whiz, i'm in a pickle here. I'm happy for her, but at the same time it feels like i just lost a piece of me. She's not married yet...not until next year sometime. I have no idea what to do.

Update...tentative plans are being made for study in New Zealand next year to get a Teaching Diploma. She wants to go down there with her boyfriend--and study the same course--and is inviting me to house with them. I forsee possible awkardness ahead. My best friend in Korea is also planning on pursuing a Teaching Diploma in New Zealand next year. It seems like fate is drawing me there next year.

I feel like i'm watching the beginning of WW3 on CNN every time i turn it on. I can't even turn it off really because that's the one of two english channels i get. It's very depressing. There are so many things that are screwed up right now. I used to support Israel, but i can't anymore...at the very least not in this. I saw a good quote on CNN tonight about the situation.

And we all know that kind of justice leaves the world toothless and blind

How true that seems. I know that's simplistic and a bit unfair to both sides, but there seems to be no justification for the amount of retaliation Lebanon is paying for what Hezbolla has done. A few hundred Lebanese dead for two soldiers being kidnapped? A few hundred more injured. And that's not even mentioning the destroyed infrastructure. It takes months to build and only seconds to destroy. Even when and if this is over, the ramifications will be felt for years to come...maybe even decades. Everyone talks about wanting peace, but that's all it is: Talk. What they really want is victory...at any price neverminding becoming what that which they seek to fight.

A very goood friend of mine wrote an essay on the matter which i thought was very good:

I hate this whole situation. It's depressing and tragic and i feel so helpless about it. The world could be going to hell around me and there's nothing i can do about it. Poor Lebanese and Israeli civillians. The world has gone to hell around them and there's not a goddamn thing they can do about it. People make me sad. I'm going to need to listen to some classical music or look at some good art to remind myself of the redeeming qualities of humanity. Peace out.

So i discovered an ex of mine on myspace the other day. I'm wondering whether or not i should get in contact with her. When i was with her, i was truly happy....and then she just left without ever saying goodbye. It was all i could do to get an email from her saying, "I'm sorry". I feel like there was never closure or anything like that with her. But, at the same time, i feel like "closure" is a stupid buzzword. I can't fool myself into thinking the only reason i was searching for her in the first place was to see how she was doing...but i did wonder...and i did find out (more or less). I'd like to say something to her, but i have no idea what i could or would say. Sigh...it's a pretty moot point when she's 10000 miles away--or maybe it's better that way. For more background on this issue, see June/July 2004 in my jourgnal.

I'm also increasingly torn about coming back...I feel like there's more for me to do out here, but i also feel like i'm missing out on so much more back. Not that "home" home is my future, but being on the West side is a helluva lot closer than being in the Far North East. In any case, the issue will be settled next year some time. We'll see what there is to see when we get there hoss.

Finally, finally, finally....finally what? I know there was something more i wanted to put in here, but the thought eludes me at this moment. Tomorrow's menu calls for rainforest canopy rides on cables and maybe whatever else i can squeeze out of the day in my limited time here. I feel like i've really wasted the vacation. I haven't taken ONE picture yet, but i've burned throug a couple books and had a nice, relaxing time away from it all.

Oh, i finally remembered. Remember from way back when i said i worked for the Moonies. I knew they were pretty much a cult, but now i'm convinced they're closer to insane (and mostly harmless) weirdos. Apparently the Rev. Sun Moon can marry living people to spirits and apparently one of my collegues is married to Ghandi (the real one as my best friend puts it). And they call themselves educators....biglesigh.