it's what we do on Sundays

every now and then, i wonder what challenges are beset the generation i am a part of. i don't really feel the need to make a squillion dollars or swim Bransfield Strait, and sometimes all i feel like i'm doing is saving money so i can do something interesting with it. well, while i'm saving, i found this.

before Playstation, before Xbox, before other ones i can't think of, was Sega master system. i've had this game, Shinobi (1987), on my pc for the past few months and can't get past one part.

this part's easy

this parts easy if i have knives or double-powered sherikans

this parts easy

this parts im-f***ing-possible!

after 45 minutes, i'm at optimum strength, optimum power, optimum vocabulary, and i get to this jump. if i don't jump to the other side, i fall down the shaft. and i keep falling. every time, EVERY TIME, i fail!

my brother could do it when we were kids. he finished the game a few times, whereas i passed this part 3 times (never finished though).

so, should i keep striving? going the distance? or should i just accept that, after 2 decades, i gotta move on?

A selection of tombs and a new year's sunrise

Seoulleung Tombs, near Gangnam, Seoul

A temple nearby

Sunrise over Namsan, Central Seoul - the first of the New Year

Something that i thought looked like a cool photo - i really should note what i take pictures of.

'Twas Lunar New Year . . .

theres been some events this week!
Ethan's last day at work, so we had another excuse to hit a noribang (karaoke). usually friday or tuesday is all we can think of.

Brian and i took Jeanine, new teacher from South Africa, for a game of 'golf'. she did really well too, came close to beating us on one or two holes. she even chipped in the hole from a sand bunker! give her a couple of months, i reckon. anyway, i managed to shoot -1!!! easy course, but still, rah rah.

a teacher from another school fell foul of his boss, the police and Korea in general, so a few of us spent many an hour delving into Korean immigration law, contracts etc etc, and found, basically, that he didn't have a leg to stand on, unless he wanted to stand on it in another country.

after being fired, he ended up getting blackmailed into paying a large amount of money back to his boss that he, by law, didn't owe. he had to for reasons i won't disclose, but it was pretty slimy and made me consider myself very lucky to be working with the people i do. my view of my school has taken a very positive leap in the past week.

and we got a few days off for Lunar New Year, wahoo! Brian is in Thailand with his lady friend and i headed into Seoul to take more photos (posting soon) and watch my first games of rugby since moving here. WAHOO, i thought. then i watched 4 very not entertaining games. i think i was expecting too much (y'know, don't eat a kahlua and chocolate cheesecake for a few months, and it may be dissappointing when you do - actually, maybe not . . bad example, let's move on).

so i was disappointed by the rugby, got booted out of the bar at 320am-ish then headed to a jimjibang. 24 hour sauna's in Korea provide a sleeping room, and they're cheaper than a hotel room (actually, they're cheaper than a super-sized Big Mac combo). it was my first time and, as it turns out, will be my last. in the sleeping room, i had a really scary looking dude choose to sleep right beside me (and i mean right beside me). i moved over a little, but he seemed intent on spooning, so i went downstairs and watched tv until near sunrise. after a shower, i headed to the subway and went northwest to a small hill that was free to roam around. i saw the sun come up, took more photos (posting even sooner) and listened to Shamanists praying on the clifftops around me. a great start to the new year.

thanks to those who've emailed and posted comments about the book and i'll find a couple more photos soon.

pics of home

with a little help from Adam, i bought myself a new camera at Yongsan, Seoul on saturday, and spent sunday learning a little bit about using it. here's a few pics from one of the clearest days we've had since i arrived (we have stars tonight!!)

the main main road

from the top of a small hill near my place, the town you see is Oido (2km away) and the causeway beyond links to an island 11km further away (yes, this is a very clear day). i cycled to the island along the causeway every day in summer and autumn.

a cross between volleyball and soccer

in the park by the hill. the pond is still thawing, mainly because its in a place that sees little sun. other ponds around the town are long since thawed. interesting fact: the river that passes through the heart of Seoul hasn't frozen this winter. the last winter it didn't freeze was 1993(?).

unpredictable

unpredictable: without cause for predicable behaviour

intractable: uncontrollable; unable to be managed

contrary: not in agreement; not aligned

detached: not attached

these attributes could be the "dark side" of my personality. a workmate was looking up horoscope attributes, and when i saw mine, i took note. i think they're quite a good short roundup of my less than sociable qualities.

i don't know what other people think of me (jeez, i don't know what i think of myself), but when i saw "intractable", i thought it was kind of bad, but then i got to thinking. i really like that no one controls me. i know negative connotations come up about that, and if it's true about how i live life, it could explain why my working life hasn't been all fun (i don't mind work, but i struggle as an employee).

i think the detached thing is quite true too, sometimes good, sometimes bad. having been privy to friends suffering, i know i care. so detached doesn't mean careless. however i don't really see my life as impacting on others very much, which isn't true but i struggle to see where it does. i sometimes wish someone would ring a bell, or give me a lapel pin every time i impact their life, then i'm sure i wouldn't be so blasé about relationships. that's the thing though: i'm not blasé when caring about friendships and family. ah, i don't really know myself.

in book news, my book blog, In the fading light of Ling Xi is ready for your readership. thanks to those who have partaken of having a look. feel free to leave a comment, praise or turky-basting, as you see fit.

my book

turns out my book hasn't grown wings and won't be flying to a Dymocks (or other chain store) near you. i'm not so fussed about being a dismal failure as a writer, however i am a bit gutted that people won't ever get to read it.

so, to combat this, i'm blogging it to In the fading light of Ling Xi. i'll be blogging a few chapters every week, so please, check it out.

The title, as you may surmise, is In the fading light of Ling Xi, and it's a non-fiction acccount of me backpacking through China. I'll highlight a few chapters (the ones i really want people to read) if you don't want to read everything.

comments are welcome.