Last post of the year (probably)

Well, I hope everyone had a good Christmas.

I’m sure most of you didn’t get any snow, but what the hell, I’m sure in about 50 years or so there won’t be any so enjoy whatever you do get when you get it. I didn’t get any snow either but at least I got to make some wonderful Christmas tacos with the girlfriend. I capped my Christmas night off with a little drinking session involving myself, Jayce and Nate which ended at my house drinking soju and playing NBA Live. I realized when I woke up on Monday morning that this would be my first year ever without some sort of Christmas break. It’s pretty crazy to have to sit back and reflect on your life in terms of Christmas vacations. Maybe lame is a better word. At least I got Monday off.

Now we turn to New Year’s, the last and first holiday of the year. I don’t think I’ve had a sober one in a long time, but this year seems like that might finally happen. I actually have a half-day on Friday and Monday off, so this will be the longest weekend I will get until I take my vacation in September. More than likely I will spend it in my house lounging around. My ambition knows no boundaries.

I’ve noticed a few things floating around out there in cyberspace recently and felt the need to comment about some of them.

First, the last Harry Potter finally has been named and the title is: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows”. I kind of wish she would have named it something more funny but whatever. Guess the title “Harry Potter Does Hogwarts” would give the religious nuts one more reason to try to ban the book. Personally I would have named it “Harry Potter and the Haha There Is No Seventh Book” and it would have consisted of only page containing a photo copy of my ass. I will be reading it when it comes out though, just like everyone else on the planet.

There seems to be a lot of movies that are somehow connected to childhood memories coming out. The new Rocky movie, the Transformers movie, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, the new Fantastic Four movie (with Silver Surfer and Galactus!), and probably a few others I haven’t heard about. More than likely, I will see all of them at some point just for the nostalgic value. Two movies I would like to see happen would be the Dragon Ball movie (you saw Matrix 3, they could do it) and a Superman movie that has Doomsday in it.

Yes, I am a complete nerd.

Well, guess that’s it for this week’s post so I will leave you with a few pictures to peruse. Enjoy.












Christmas tacos!!




The Christmas Tree in Sichong, near my house





Dave assumes his battle position. By that I mean passes-out-and-gets-screwed-with position.


A totally irrelevant picture, Kon from Bleach. (俺と一緒に連れて行きやがれ!) Kon rules.

Merry Christmas

Here it is, my Christmas post, enjoy.

This is my second Christmas in a row spent in the great country that is South Korea and I’m sure people are curious as to how Christmas is celebrated here.

Honestly, if you were to walk around downtown areas of Seoul, you probably wouldn’t notice too much of a difference from what it’s like back home. There are tons of Christmas trees and decorations everywhere and some of the big company buildings have gigantic neon signs hoisted on them. It looks almost identical to what Christmas looks like in Japan. There are, however, a few notable differences since about a third of the Korean population is Christian and will actually be attending church during the holidays and there are no “Christmas cakes” here. As for the media aspect of Christmas here, you won’t find too many Christmas movies on T.V. but you will definitely see lots of images that capture the aesthetics of the season. If you want a peek at what Christmas looks like in Japan, visit my friend Doug’s site since he has taken the time to lay it out a bit on his blog, something I lack the energy (and time) to do. Anyways, it’s as easy to feel the holiday mood here as it is back home.

Me and the Charlie Brown Tree

Now for my thoughts on Christmas.

I remember back when I was a child and all I cared about was gifts. Yes, I was a spoiled little brat (probably still am in some ways) and I only understood the meaning of Christmas as “must hoard toys”. As I got older, I started to take Christmas gatherings for granted and mostly looked forward to it because it meant I was on break from school. Back then my grandfather used to sit down next to the Christmas tree and pass out presents to me and all of my family while wearing a Santa hat. It’s times when I think about that memory that I miss him the most (that and when I reminisce over the finger scar he “bestowed” upon me). Even though I was mostly dragged into the commercialism of the holiday and brief break from school it provided, there was always a lingering voice in the back of my head that constantly reminded me that these holiday seasons are important. How important I wouldn’t figure out until much later and in actuality, I am still trying to grasp at it in many ways.

I have now spent something like 4 Christmases away from home. That’s enough for anyone to understand why my feelings towards Christmas have changed the last few years. While I’ve kept the core ideals behind the holiday in my heart, the actual practice of celebrating it has changed quite a bit. Most of the Christmases spent abroad have involved me carousing with friends and generally being caught up in the party aspect of the holiday while quietly missing my family and friends. While I treasure the memories of those Christmases spent with new friends and faces immensely, there was always something that reminded me that I wasn’t home. Perhaps it was that lingering voice again.

I guess the point of this was to let people, those who have the opportunity to spend the holiday season at home with friends and family, know that they should feel blessed for that one reason alone, because believe me, I would trade almost anything to be in your shoes.

So for all of my friends and family reading this, I want you to know that I miss you all very much and I wish you all a very safe and happy holiday season.

From da hart, from da hart.

Michael

Snow In Korea

What the hell, let’s make humpdays my official post day.

I may or may not post something on other days but feel free to check/comment whenever time allows you to.

So, today was big presentation part 2 (2 ½ if you want to count the last one I second-chaired for) and it was the most important one I have done thus far. This time it was for ING Life, an insurance company and the pressure was on. Not only was the Managing Director from the company there (all the way from wherever the hell he’s from, I think Belgium) but so was my big boss, the big boss of the Korean branch, and all of the other board members. I was expecting to do about a 25 minute presentation on their ethics management implementation but two minutes before it started I was told it had to be cut down to 10 minutes. Imagine my excitement. Now I had to cut down a report that had already been cut down and leave only the meatiest of the meat all with two minutes of prep time. I don’t think I did as well as the first presentation but everyone seemed satisfied, especially my big boss, who was the person I wanted to impress anyways. All in all, it was stressful as hell but I made out in the end. I guess that’s the important part.

Damn I need a drink.

As for updates, nothing of great importance has happened this past week except I have finally put up my Christmas tree (all 2 ½ feet of it) with the help of my girlfriend. I plan on posting pictures before the end of this week so check back in for those on Friday when I hope to have my official Christmas post.

Oh yeah, and it snowed here on Saturday. Some of the biggest, most fluffy flakes I have ever seen. Me and the boys had some fun chucking snowballs at each other. I even made a miniature snowbaby on the hood of some guy’s car. I hope nobody snow-aborted it. I was pretty drunk, but nowhere near as drunk as George who went outside the bar and started chucking snowballs at random people even with his sandals on. Then, some guy who we were thinking about beating up because he kept staring at us ended up being one of the coolest guys I have met in awhile. He ended up being able to speak some Japanese, so I got to have the drunken Japanese conversation I’ve been looking for. Yay for me. So all in all, not such an eventful week, but fun nonetheless.

Keep checking for my Christmas update.

Thank Gonzo It's Friday

I love Fridays.

All other days of the week should slit their wrists because they will never measure up to the greatness that is Friday. Well, Saturday is cool too I guess.

So, another week at work ends which means the usual bevy of questions. What will I do? Who will I meet? Where will I go? What should I eat?

Figuring these questions out is only some of the fun Fridays bring.

On the technology front, I plan on getting my new cell phone this weekend which should be pretty kickass. It’s going to cost about 800 dollars but since I am signing an 18-month contract with them, I can spread it out over that time so it will cost me about 40 or so a month. It’s a pretty awesome phone. It has a turnable screen so I can watch TV on it, a pretty good digital camera (the coolest thing is the photo option), an MP3 player, a blender, and I can even use it as a phone. Pretty cool, huh? Okay, I was lying about the blender part. I should also be picking up my computer soon which will add a whole new dimension of fun to the house. Finally, I have about 60 hours now logged on my Final Fantasy 12 game and I recently realized that I am only about ¾ of the way through it. For all of you that care: all characters are currently at level 43 and I just beat the Tyrant dragon boss. For all of you that don’t care: Final Fantasy is still cooler than you, crumb.

On the work front, I have yet another presentation next week, this time for the Board of ING Life. The key words for this project are speed and conciseness. I only have about 20 minutes to give a review of their Ethics Management system that we have been researching for over a year. Apparently most people here don’t like high-end presentations because there is too much pressure. I can see why. We have 20 minutes to show them why it justifies contracting another year long project with us. Essentially, the presenter can fuck up a year’s worth of work for many people in a third of an hour. I love the pressure, I live for it. I like watching my colleague’s worried eyes as we walk into the room, its pure hilarity. I guess it’s the job of the young, gung-ho new-hire to not grasp the gravity of the situation at hand but I think it’s just that reason that I do well in these things.

On a side note, I sat in on a presentation I helped design this week for the Japanese ophthalmology company, Santen. They had the Japanese CEO and CFO there who I quickly introduced to myself in Japanese. Even though it has become a bit rusty, I can still get around pretty well and the 2 guys loved me for it. I found out the CEO actually lives like a 5 minute walk from where I used to dorm in Inage. Small world. Anyway, this made the atmosphere of the presentation a little more friendly which helped my friend give a great presentation. I hope to go out drinking with the Japanese guys soon. It’s been too long since I’ve drank with a Japanese businessman. It’s kind of like drinking with your cool uncle back home, only shorter.

Ah yes, it’s almost Christmas. It’s funny how my almost complete lack of Christian values and way of life don’t stop me from enjoying this holiday. I’m not saying that I only enjoy the commercial end, I mean actually still do get the “Christmas Spirit” around this time. Well, I’m not going to blow my load on this post as far as Christmas is concerned, I’ll save a whole new post for that next week.

Finally, I’ll end with a few pictures of my workplace. Enjoy.



This is right when you get off on the elevator on the 9th floor

My throne of power. See the upside-down water bottle? That's my humidifier.

The view from the bathroom window.

View from the water jug.

Some funny English for you. Okay, the advertisement was actually for an English school trying to point out that the sentence was funny English but still, funny nonetheless.

Out of Shape and Pet Peevitry

Another humpday is upon us, which means another post for the blog.

First, I’d like to start with our company basketball game.

Yesterday the AC Nielsen Korea team played our HSBC client team. I guess it’s kind of a heated rivalry since everyone at the office was telling me we had to beat them no matter what. I was told that the series is a pretty even split but that the HSBC team was decidedly more athletic than us. My synopsis is this: they were all height and we were all speed.

Standing at about an even 6 feet tall, I am probably the tallest player on our team. The shortest guy on their team seemed to be at least 2 inches taller than me while the tallest was probably 4 or 5 inches taller than me. The game was split into 4 15 minute quarters and was standard full court. I was almost dead. I can’t believe how out of shape I have become. I used to be able to run full court games for hours and hours on end with no visible signs of fatigue. By the end of the second quarter I was pretty winded but we also had a 30-4 lead. I scored the first 9 points for our team but pretty much played defense the rest of the time. We ended up coasting to a 65-50 win but if the game would have went another quarter, we probably would have lost since they gained a lot of momentum near the end. I’m not sure how many points I had but I had almost 30 rebounds. It was fun and I’m glad we won. We made plans to play again next month so I’m looking forward to that now.

My recent experiences playing basketball have made me realize something: I’m getting old and out of shape. This is not something a 25 year old should be saying and it disgusts me. Therefore, I have decided to start a basketball training regiment like I used to do in college. I need to cut out smoking and drinking (except for maybe on occasional Fridays or Saturdays) and I need to start training like I used to. I will not let up until I am back to my old form and dominating these games we play completely. I estimate if I start my training next week, I will be back to about 60 or 70% in about 3 or 4 months. At that time I will post pictures showing my progress. Hell, I’ll even set a date for it, April 1st. Let’s see what I can do, shall we?

Next, after working in an office again for almost a month, I’ve realized all my old office pet peeves are still there. I sometimes feel like an asshole because I think like this, but other times I think, fuck them, they should stop being assholes. Whatever, here is a short, non-exclusive list of my office pet peeves:

1) People who take the elevator to the 2nd or 3rd floor. Goddamn your lazy ass, take the fucking stairs, it’s not like it’s going to kill you. If you do not suffer from some sort of physical malady, you shouldn’t be taking the elevator to the 2nd or 3rd floor.

2) People who don’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom. I do not want to shake your hand after you have just finished holding your penis or wiping your ass. Wash your damn hands.

3) Ass-kissers. Look, I understand we all need to get ahead in life. You should do that by showing your abilities, not overly complimenting someone in power so they will like you. Close your honey-dripping shit-covered mouth.

4) People who huddle around the water jug like cattle. If you want to socialize while pretending to do work, you might want to do it in a less cliché place. Also, please stop pretending like you weren’t having a conversation when people walk into the room, chances are they don’t care what you are saying anyways.

For the purposes of keeping this post short, I will stop here. Maybe I’ll add more on a later post but for now, I’m done. Just making this list is making me angry.

That’s my post for this humpday. I hope you all have a pleasant one.


Oh yeah, and here is my business card format. If you can't see it too well, sorry, I'll give you one when I see you. Whoever you are.

Engrish or English?

Ahh, English. The native language of people hailing from America, Canada, Australia, England, and a score of other countries. It is also, for some freaky reason, the international language of choice by most of the world. It has become so important to be able to communicate in English in some countries that complete losers fresh out of college can get a job teaching it in some countries (even losers with HUGE noses and long, shitty blonde hair). Ha.

I also have “beautifying English” as one of my main objectives at my current job. While I have a lot of trouble turning sometimes horrible English into “beautiful” English, it also allows me to come across such gems as “cummarize”, which was a friend of mine’s attempt at typing “summarize”.

(Note: The word “cummarize” is hereby mine and mine alone. Nobody without written consent of me shall ever be able to use this word. It’s MINE MINE MINE!!! HAHAHA)

Back to the point.

I was wondering the other day about English and it’s applications. If there are more “broken” speakers of English in the world than native speakers, why is native English still so important? I know the textbook answer to this, however, I truly wonder why sometimes.

I have been laughing for years at sites like funny.engrish and others like it. I participated in a scavenger hunt where one of the objectives was to take pictures of “funny” English around town. I had to explain to a friend why the shirt we seen online that said “War is Homo” in pink letters was not appropriate. There are thousands of things you can find on the internet dedicated to “funny” English. I have been told by colleagues that they have an easier time understanding “broken” English than native English. It's almost uncanny that we as native speakers can hold so much sway over the more populated "broken" speakers.

So my question is this: When will native English stop being important in places where there aren’t natives? When will “funny” English be the standard of all standards when it comes to English. Will there be a time when all native speakers have to go to language schools to learn “broken” English? Does it matter?

I hope this elicits some comments because I am really interested in reading about people have to say about this.

Really I’m not. The only two reasons I made this blog post was to a) post something since I haven’t since last week and b) call out my dibs on the word “cummarize”. I apologize for the inconvenience of reading this post. You can disregard it. I never really thought most of the thoughts above. I just needed something to disguise my true purpose.

Sorry.

Haha… Cummarize.






Oh...and on a side note. Props to good ol' Doug for still having these OLD school pictures from our time in Chiba. See ya in a few months fucker.

This is me as a Japanese school girl. I think I looked more like Janis Joplin, but whatever, the elements are all there.

No, we're not drunk in this picture. Yes, we am.

The Japanese in this sign is absolutely priceless. If you can't read Japanese, here's a translation: Learn to read Japanese.

This is an ancient tradition in Japan where someone sits in the drunk chair and Doug shoves a broom in their face.

Humpday

I don't even know when the word "humpday" fell into my vocabulary as a way to describe Wednesday. I actually don't even like using it, i just do. Kinda like public bathrooms or other people's toothbrushes when you sleep over. Whatever, today is humpday.

As usual, I mostly only have work-related stuff to share since I'm still getting settled in my neighborhood and don't go out much lately. Once I get fully settled in though, I'm sure I'll be back to my old antics. Bet you can't wait.

Either way, here it goes.

I just finished a presentation today for the board of Buy The Way, a convenience store here in Korea. I put some effort into it, but I didn't really try as hard as I could of (the story of my life). Basically, it was me, my 2 co-workers who had actually been working on the project for its entirety (about 6 months), 4 investors from Hong Kong, the president and CEO of Buy The Way and 3 random Korean-Hong Kongers. I was probably the youngest person in the room by a couple decades and I had an hour long presentation (which turned into 2 hours with all the questions) to do on a company I barely know using notes from research I hadn't done.

I smelt disaster.

My sense of smell must have been off though since everyone gave me great feedback and applause. The president knew that I hadn't actually worked on the research since he had been in on it since the beginning and apparently I surprised him with my knowledge of the subject matter. I must say it was kinda humbling being in front of all of these people who are the big swinging dicks in their companies and have all of their eyes focusing directly on me and what I'm saying. On the other hand though, I felt the power. HA. I don't know what else to call it. It was a great experience to say the least and now my company will hopefully keep giving me high-profile clients to present to. The challenge, the uncertainty, I fucking love it.

It also seems that I will be getting my business cards today. One side English and the other side Hindi. Just kidding, Korean. Once I get my hands on them I will post a picture or something. I'm sure it's pretty easy to see how elated I am currently, but whatever, I'm feeling pretty damn good at recent developments.

On the home front, nothing has changed except the size of the ass-print on my quasi-couch from sitting and incessantly playing Final Fantasy 12. That and watching Venture Brothers. My home life pretty much consists of those two things and sleeping. I also shower occasionally. I will be calling the cable/internet/phone guy this weekend and hopefully get everything I need in those departments installed. I also need the curtain-hanger guy to come over and hand some curtains for me eventually. I hate not being able to walk around my house naked without people looking at me. Sometimes I do anyways for their enjoyment.

So to sum up this post: presentation, name card, elation, ass-print, quasi-couch, naked.

Yep, that'll do it.

Oh yeah, and felk. I love that word.

A real taste

Week two is almost officially in the books and what a week it has been. While the beginning of the week started off in Week one fashion, it ended completely differently.

As you all know, Week one was a bust, all I did was sit around on my ass and search internet sites. By the end of yesterday though, it was starting to look like a whole different monster. I have been attending mandatory training sessions for the last week and they can be pure hell. It's not so much the sitting in the same chair for hours on end as it is attempting to learn the materials when it is taught completely in Korean. I will be the first to admit that my Korean is not that good (despite attempts by my co-workers to convince me otherwise) and I cannot pretend that I understand more than about 20 percent of what they are talking about during these sessions. I mean, they are discussing quantitative analysis studies and how they relate to consumer behavior in a language I have been studying for about a year and a half at speeds that even my co-workers say is too fast. On top of it, I have homework for the sessions almost everyday. Then they wonder why I can't complete it.

"It would take me at least 3 weeks to complete this since it is completely in Korean."

"Umm...okay..can you turn it in tomorrow?"

"No, because by my math, tomorrow would be 1 day, not 3 weeks."

"Oh, okay, don't worry about it."

(shrugs shoulders, goes back to looking at nba.com)

Not that I don't want to learn the material, it's just I insisted on having the necessary materials in English. So, I finally get the materials in English yesterday covering all of the models and discussion materials and then I am asked to take the test today.

"Umm..just got the materials yesterday..."

"Oh..so you can take the test?"

"No, because I haven't had time to cover all of the material."

"But it's in English."

"Yes, but unfortunately, I am yet incapable of reading 100 pages a minute."

"Oh, okay, you can take it next time."

Obviously, there are some communication barriers that need to be overcome by management and most of the staff here since I was told last night by my boss that I shouldn't even be going to these sessions. So after sitting at a computer screen for 5 mind-numbing hours in a row having a lady talk into my ear about how to manipulate a program I will never use, I get this information from my boss. Needless to say, it has been a bit frustrating but as always, I will get through it.

The projects I am working on, on the other hand, are very fun. I am covering a project for Johnson & Johnson while simultaneously preparing for a presentation for Buy The Way, a convienience store chain. I have a lot of groundwork to cover and a shitload of notes to memorize, but it is very challenging and fun. I am interested to see what this job turns into. I am sure I will be regretting that statement in the near future too...

In other news, last night was the official "welcome the new guys" party. About 25 or us went out for Sam Gyup Sal (kinda like thick-ass bacon, yummy) and lots of Soju. They wanted to see if I was a strong drinker...they found out the hard way. Now half the company knows not to lay their livers on the table when it comes to drinking with me.

"Wow, you're a strong drinker!"

"Wow, you're not, drink."

I shall conclude this week's rant with more pictures. Enjoy.


My new bed. Yes, the blanket is green. But it is so much more comfortable than whatever rag you will be curling up in tonight.













This is my official work badge. The Korean above my name, when literally translated, means: "is much cooler than you, dick". Actually it's my name.












This picture was just precious. I can't even remember how long ago this was taken. Thanks Marc! Sorry Ralph :(

To be fair, you can see me all painted up at my friend George's site. www.gromeiser.blogspot.com
Enjoy

Thanks for the land, suckers

I'm back with a recap of my first week of work here at AC Nielsen Korea but before that, I need to layout what's going on here so I have a backdrop.

I started at around one of the busiest times of the year for companies here, the dreaded fiscal year-end. This essentially means that my company and probably a vast majority of publicly traded companies here must close out their budgets and start making the new budget for the following fiscal year. This also means that there is almost nothing for the new guy(me) to do. So I really didn't get to do much work this past week but I think I have an idea of what is waiting for me around the bend. I've spent some time talking with Glyn, the only other foreign worker here from England, and he has given me some of his projects to look over. I can tell you now that I will eventually be in for some LONG evenings here. Whatever, better than sitting at my desk with my thumbs competing for ass-time.

The people here are pretty cool. I'm already a member of the company basketball team (we don't play competitively, just for fun) and I had my first outing with them this past Tuesday. We will be meeting twice a month for a few hours of good ol' ball-playing. Some of them are pretty good and Tuesday helped show me how out of shape I have become (not that I didn't dominate the boards as always). Oh well, add another thing to the list of shit to do while here (Note to self: self, stop being so damn lazy and get active again). After the games, we went out and drank some soju and I bullshitted with some of my co-workers. Good times.

In other news, my apartment is still pretty much the same as I left it this past weekend. I will, however, be out shopping for stuff this weekend. I have included some pictures of how it looks now but don't get accustomed to them, it will be changing soon (and i'll be posting more pictures).

Finally, I would like to wish a happy turkey day to everyone reading this. Since I was broke my turkey day dinner consisted of ramen noodles and rice. Yummy. I miss all of the food at home and getting to see all of my family around one dinner table. I don't, however, miss all of the bullshit images perpetuated around Thanksgiving. You know, all of the posters of happy turkeys seemingly blissful of the gruesome death that awaits them and cutesy images of pilgrims and indians gathering around the table like the Brady family. I'm all for family gatherings and good food, but let's at least get the facts about the holiday correct. Speaking of which:

(You can skip the italicized parts if you want, it's just a history lesson.)

When the Pilgrims came to New England they were coming not to vacant land but to territory inhabited by tribes of Indians. The story goes that the Pilgrims, who were Christians of the Puritan sect, were fleeing religious persecution in Europe. They had fled England and went to Holland, and from there sailed aboard the Mayflower, where they landed at Plymouth Rock in what is now Massachusetts.

Religious persecution or not, they immediately turned to their religion to rationalize their persecution of others. They appealed to the Bible, Psalms 2:8: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee, the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." To justify their use of force to take the land, they cited Romans 13:2: "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."

The Puritans lived in uneasy truce with the Pequot Indians, who occupied what is now southern Connecticut and Rhode Island. But they wanted them out of the way; they wanted their land. And they seemed to want to establish their rule firmly over Connecticut settlers in that area.

In 1636 an armed expedition left Boston to attack the Narragansett Indians on Block Island. The English landed and killed some Indians, but the rest hid in the thick forests of the island and the English went from one deserted village to the next, destroying crops. Then they sailed back to the mainland and raided Pequot villages along the coast, destroying crops again.

The English went on setting fire to wigwams of the village. They burned village after village to the ground. As one of the leading theologians of his day, Dr. Cotton Mather put it: "It was supposed that no less than 600 Pequot souls were brought down to hell that day." And Cotton Mather, clutching his bible, spurred the English to slaughter more Indians in the name of Christianity.

Three hundred thousand Indians were murdered in New England over the next few years. It is important to note: The ordinary Englishmen did not want this war and often, very often, refused to fight. Some European intellectuals like Roger Williams spoke out against it. And some erstwhile colonists joined the Indians and even took up arms against the invaders from England. It was the Puritan elite who wanted the war, a war for land, for gold, for power. And, in the end, the Indian population of 10 million that was in North America when Columbus came was reduced to less than one million.

The way the different Indian peoples lived -- communally, consensually, making decisions through tribal councils, each tribe having different sexual/marriage relationships, where many different sexualities were practiced as the norm -- contrasted dramatically with the Puritan's Christian fundamentalist values. For the Puritans, men decided everything, whereas in the Iroquois federation of what is now New York state women chose the men who represented the clans at village and tribal councils; it was the women who were responsible for deciding on whether or not to go to war. The Christian idea of male dominance and female subordination was conspicuously absent in Iroquois society.

There were many other cultural differences: The Iroquois did not use harsh punishment on children. They did not insist on early weaning or early toilet training, but gradually allowed the child to learn to care for themselves. And, they did not believe in ownership of land; they utilized the land, lived on it. The idea of ownership was ridiculous, absurd. The European Christians, on the other hand, in the spirit of the emerging capitalism, wanted to own and control everything -- even children and other human beings. The pastor of the Pilgrim colony, John Robinson, thus advised his parishioners: "And surely there is in all children a stubbornness, and stoutness of mind arising from natural pride, which must, in the first place, be broken and beaten down; that so the foundation of their education being laid in humility and tractableness, other virtues may, in their time, be built thereon." That idea sunk in.

One colonist said that the plague that had destroyed the Patuxet people -- a combination of slavery, murder by the colonists and disease -- was "the Wonderful Preparation of the Lord Jesus Christ by His Providence for His People's Abode in the Western World." The Pilgrims robbed Wampanoag graves for the food that had been buried with the dead for religious reasons. Whenever the Pilgrims realized they were being watched, they shot at the Wampanoags, and scalped them. Scalping had been unknown among Native Americans in New England prior to its introduction by the English, who began the practice by offering the heads of their enemies and later accepted scalps.

"What do you think of Western Civilization?" Mahatma Gandhi was asked in the 1940s. To which Gandhi replied: "Western Civilization? I think it would be a good idea." And so enters "Civilization," the civilization of Christian Europe, a "civilizing force" that couldn't have been more threatened by the beautiful anarchy of the Indians they encountered, and so slaughtered them.

These are the Puritans that the Indians "saved", and whom we celebrate in the holiday, Thanksgiving. Tisquantum, also known as Squanto, a member of the Patuxet Indian nation. Samoset, of the Wabonake Indian nation, which lived in Maine. They went to Puritan villages and, having learned to speak English, brought deer meat and beaver skins for the hungry, cold Pilgrims. Tisquantum stayed with them and helped them survive their first years in their New World. He taught them how to navigate the waters, fish and cultivate corn and other vegetables. He pointed out poisonous plants and showed how other plants could be used as medicines. He also negotiated a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and Massasoit, head chief of the Wampanoags, a treaty that gave the Pilgrims everything and the Indians nothing. And even that treaty was soon broken. All this is celebrated as the First Thanksgiving.

If you bothered reading this, good for you. If you are skipping to the pictures, good for you too cause here they are:
(Remember that my apartment is shaped like a giant L-block from Tetris)

The long view of my apartment from where will be my bed.

Kitchen action. Yes, the fridge is the size of my thumb. It shall be replaced.

Side view of the "closet" space. I will be getting sliding doors to cover those.

My office building at night, from across the street. I work on the 9th floor.

Monday

As I type this I am sitting in my cubicle awaiting to see what my first Monday at work has in store for me. It seems I will have a few projects to work on this week which is refreshing to know considering I had absolutely dick to do last Thursday and Friday. I pretty much just sat here and looked over notes while occasionally sneaking out to have coffee. Overall the company seems really cool so far. Everyone is really friendly and I actually get to use my Korean pretty often. Today I need to sneak down to the HR department and see if I can get an advance on my first check because I am broke already. So much to do, so little time.

I moved into my new apartment this past Saturday. I guess my initial perception of the apartment was wrong because once I started getting things in there, it wasn't as small as I had previously thought.

The cool things about this apartment:
1) I have my own apartment again
2) It's in probably the biggest party area in Seoul, Hong-Dae
3) It's just been renovated so it's very clean
4) The layout is going to challenge my creativity for arranging apartments

The not so cool things about this apartment:
1) Until Sunday, I had no hot water or heat
2) It's in probably the biggest party area in Seoul, Hong-Dae (yes, it's a bad thing too)
3) It's far as hell from everyone I know
4) I have to furnish it still

I went out yesterday and in five trips managed to get it somewhat furnished though I am nowhere near completion. I bought a TV and converter (all night Final Fantasy sessions, here I come!). I also managed to get a humidifier and some other odds and ends around the kitchen. I guess I'm satisfied so far but I'm sure every weekend for the next couple months is going to involve me doing something for the apartment. Things I need to get include; a bed, curtains for the windows, a computer and computer desk, kitchen table and dishes, cool posters, a wine bar, and a stereo. This is by no means an exclusive list. I figure if I'm gonna be in this place for up to two years, I best pimp it out. I have the money now after all. I will be including pictures of the apartment as soon as I figure out how to get them on my work laptop.

That's it for now I suppose. As always, I will keep everyone updated.

First Day

I'm back. It was a fun little trip on the planes coming back to Korea despite the seemingly endless hours of sitting. My ass hurt something awful. Thanks to my brother I was at least able to keep myself entertained with his DS. So let's chart the voyage back shall we? This will give people who have never traveled so far a good idea what to expect when they do.

6:00am (Chicago Time) - Wake Up
7:30am - Leave for airport
9:ooam - Arrive at airport
9:30am - Have my liquor stolen at the security check (Bastards)
11:00am - Plane Departs for Tokyo
11:30pm - Plane arrives in Tokyo (yep, 12 1/2 hours later)
4:00am - Plane departs for Seoul
6:30am - Plane arrives in Seoul
7:ooam - Take bus to Seoul
8:00am - Arrive at Dave's house (11pm Seoul Time)

So, for all of you mathematicians out there, that's 26 hours spent en-route. Lots of fun. I hope all of you out there get to enjoy it sometime.

After moving shit around and getting dressed at Dave's, I went out to meet some friends who had gathered at one of our watering holes in Gangnam, Woodstock. After drinking and bullshitting for a few hours, I needed to get home and finally get some sleep. After sleeping for about 6 hours, I woke up and got ready to go and meet my girlfriend. I had spent a lot of time deciding what to purchase for her so I was happy that she liked the things I had picked out. After eating lunch together and catching up I came back to Dave's house and lounged around for the rest of the evening.

The last few days have pretty much been like that. Meet the girlfriend, then come back here and lounge. Tomorrow finally changes all of that because I start my new job. I'm anxious to start there because it seems like a pretty good job. The company has provided me with a great salary, good working conditions and hours and an apartment(it's kinda small though). Either way, I guess I can't complain. Everyone wish me luck. I will keep everyone updated.

Week 3 Update

Well, despite how slowly the time seems like it has been going, it's almost time for me to get back to Korea. It has been a lot of fun spending time with friends and family. It's a shame that I can't spend more time here with everyone. Ah well, I will be back here next year to visit so I guess it's the time between that makes my visits that much more special. So, enough reminiscing, time for the weekly update.

If most of you didn't know, last week saw the much anticipated release of the latest addition to my favorite video game series, Final Fantasy. Needless to say, I spent much of my mornings the last week accumulating about 20 hours of game play on it. Since I now have my own copy however, I no longer feel the rush and eagerly look forward to spending some of my free time back in Korea playing this beautifully designed game. In other gaming news, PS3 and the Nintendo Wii will be coming out next week but it doesn't seem like anyone (at least anyone I know) will be able to get their hands on them until early next year.

You know you want to play with me

When I wasn't wasting my time at home playing video games, I actually went out and met some of my friends and did things. I also had a little family/friend get together at my house to put a cap on my three week adventure home. Friday night saw me meeting up with Ralph and going over to have a few at the local watering hole in Bolingbrook, Tailgaters. It was cool because I met some people there I haven't seen in awhile. Good times.

Me and my friend, Eric at Tailgaters

Even though Halloween is over and I spent arguably the most tame Halloween night in history here, it did have it's highlights. One of which was my two dogs, Colt and Bullet, dressed as Batman and Robin. Even though I am thoroughly sick of all of the fashionably inhumane things they do to dogs in Korea, I thought this was really cute. Plus, at least they didn't dye their fur or anything.

From the left, Colt and Bullet

My last Saturday night in Chicago saw me spending time with my father and my little sister, Patrice. It's been hard to maintain a working relationship with my sister since she is only 6 and I've spent more than half of that time living abroad. It was a good time and I realized that teaching children for as long as I did helped me learn patience when dealing with them. This was a revelation for me since I have never been the most patient person when it comes to dealing with children. So I guess my old job influenced me in more ways than just turning me into a raging alcoholic to fight the pain of being employed there.

Sunday was my little home party. Some members of my family and friends came over to eat, drink and be merry. My mother and grandmother collaborated on some excellent food and I drank myself into a stupor with my friends. It was a memorable night since my friends actually stayed at my house despite having to wake up at a quarter to five in the morning and go to work. It's all love homies.

All in all, I have had a great time out here. Spending time with everyone has been surreal and I really can't wait to get out here again next year and do this again. As I will be spending the remaining time here with family, I doubt I will have too many more pictures to share but we will see what happens. Until next time.

Here are a few pics:

Me and my uncle, Ray and Family

Me and my uncle, Jarry

Kitchen Party!!

Garage Party!!

Ralph's head floating in a zebra skin ocean

Fuck me? Noooo....fuck you!

Week 2 Update

Week two of my excursion home has been interesting to say the least. I've been running myself ragged to meet as many members of my family as humanly possible before my time here is up as well as drinking and carousing with my good friends since we won't have that opportunity for at least another year.

I got to go to my cousin's wedding this past weekend which was an interesting time because I was able to meet an entire side of my family in one day and also see my cousin who had just recently come back from Kuwait. As always, I spent most of my time at the reception drinking and mingling with family. I was in such a hurry to get there on time that I actually forgot my camera at my father's house, so no pictures of this event unfortunately.

My doggie, Colt

Watching the Chicago Bears play the 49ers this Sunday was too funny. It's very satisfying to watch the team that trounced us all through the 90s finally get their comeuppance for a decade of making me wince whenever I watched sports updates. 41 to 10. Haha. Stuff it up your ass San Fran. GO BEARS!!

That evening I also went out with some of my friends I haven't seen in awhile. Since we all wanted to drink in a bar setting without paying bar prices, we decided to go to my friend Chris's basement to play pool and drink. The night ended like it usually does when 8 people spend a better part of the evening drinking, with slurred yelling and head shaking. Here's to all of you drunken derelicts.


The cast from Cheers

Finally, Halloween this year seems like it will be a bust. Everyone is working and I can't drive anywhere because I lost my damn license. So the only "holiday" that I get to spend here seems like it will go out with a whimper. Whatever. At least I can sooth myself knowing that my friends back in Korea will be having a great time with whatever shenanigans they have planned. Rock out guys, take some good pics.

Homecoming

It has been a busy, yet fun, first week back home. I finally arrived home to surprise my family and took the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/v/z6szypyDlTo

I think it's safe to say they were surprised...

A picture of my house

My first night when as planned, I slept for a countless amount of hours into Saturday afternoon. After awaking and having breakfast with everyone, we drove out to surprise some other members of the family. The next victim was my aunt, who, after having me walk in and greet her nonchalantly, stood there blank faced for a minute before she recognized me and gave me a hug. After having lunch together, I decided to do some shopping. Since my 16 months in Seoul gave me few options in the underwear and runner department, I decided to stock up while I was here. After buying a few more things I went home and prepared to surprise my friends.

My friends, while excited to see me, weren't too dramatic about seeing me for the first time in months. I guess it would have been a little awkward if they had the same reaction as my mom, so I understand their reactions. We proceeded to get shit-faced on beer, grey goose vodka, jose cuervo and the soju I brought back with me. I don't remember doing much during this time except laughing my ass off, playing pool (one game took a few hours at the end) and overall having a great time. One of my friends summed it up by saying my being there was "surreal" or maybe he said "so real" or possibly "No Deal", either way the vodka was good.

From the left: Ralph, Myself, Chris, Marc and Brandon

Sunday left me nursing a decent hangover and waiting to surprise the next major person on my list: my Dad. I was eating some Taco Bell (love to hate it) when my Dad rang the doorbell. I answered the door, once again rather nonchalantly, and my Dad greeted me with a smile, a hug and a "No Shit". If you knew my father this would be exactly what you would expect him to say. After sharing some stories and some coffee, we went out to the local Sports Authority to buy a few things and play with the air hockey tables that were on display. Overall it was a great afternoon.

Monday and Tuesday were much of the same thing: surprising relatives and drinking with friends. Needless to say, two more great days. I hope the next two weeks are as good as the first was.

Sweet Home Chicago...

The Touchdown

Seeing the beauty of the skyline from my elevated position as the light cracked over the horizon. I'm home again. It's been 16 long months since I basked in your welcoming aura.


Sweet home Chicago.

Though I haven't surprised the folks yet (that will be transpiring in 3 hours) it has been exhilirating to see the same familiar roads and buildings again. I can't wait to see what the next 3 weeks hold in store.

Kid in an all too familiar candy store...

Going Going Back Back to Chicago Chicago

As I write this, I realize I will be getting on the plane to go home in 8 hours. I haven't been home to see my family or friends in almost 16 months so this visit is definately well over due. I'm anxious to see how everyone has been doing in my absence. Even though it will only be for about 3 weeks, I look forward to spending time back home. The most interesting aspect of this trip, however, is the fact that NOBODY (with the exception of my friend Ralph, who is picking me up at the airport) is aware of the fact I'm coming home. I'm excited to give my family an "international surprise" that I'm sure they won't soon forget. I plan on putting all the videos and pictures from the trip on here when I get back so look forward to that.

Get ready Chicago, I'm coming back to you.

Back to Basics...

Well, this is the first post. Expectations are high and I'm eager to disappoint so here goes...

A brief description of me for those of you who don't know me that well.

I currently live in Seoul, South Korea, one of the largest (if not the largest, depending on your tools of measurement) in the world. I have been here a grand total of 28 months dispersed between January 2003 and present day and it doesn't look like I'll be leaving anytime soon. I am originally from Chicago, where I spent the first 20 years of my life before I went to live in Japan as a student from 2001 until 2002. I graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in December of 2004 with a major in International Business Management and I have just procured a position at AC Nielsen Korea where I will be a Market Researcher. Hope thats a good enough description.

On to recent developments...

As I said, I have just recently been hired by AC Nielsen Korea. While it has been a rather tiresome process to obtain a job in Korea as a non-native, I look forward to the challenges it offers. The bright spots of this deal were beyond my expectations in many respects. My salary is well beyond expectations and I actually get to go home and see family and friends for 3 weeks before starting the new job. I am not, by the way, telling anyone about my trip home (with the exception of my friend Ralph, thanks for picking me up bro!) because I want it to be a surprise. Other than this recent excitement, I have just been resting up and recovering from my latest job at Wonderland English school.

I promise to start putting pictures and other forms of entertainment on here as soon as I have the time and energy.

Peace