Living the Dream

It's been awhile, amigos. Sorry for the wait, but I've been climbing mountains in Kangwon-do for the past two months, living off the land, breathing in fresh air, becoming one with nature, achieving Enlightenment. Oh wait, no, no, that's not right, I don't remember any of that. Funny how the mind sees what it wants. Actually I've been touring Asia, absorbing all the sights and sounds and people, getting a first-hand education of life in a way that those textbooks in school could never provide. Yes, all the places I've visited these past two months, I could tell you all about Asian culture...hmm, no, no, that's not what I've been doing either. Well, that's strange. Err, maybe I've just been having a normal, fun time in Seoul, wining and dining, studying and partying, getting to know lots of interesting people. That MUST be what I've been doing these past two months. Because otherwise, I have no recollection of the past two months. They have breezed past, like a fart in the wind. Excuse the Polly Shore humor.

Wait--it's all coming back to me. The past two months are flashing before my eyes! I'm seeing lots of white-walled, sterile classrooms. Glassy-eyed kids. Many cups of coffee. All from the same dirty mug that I swish hot water in and declare "clean". SAT tests. 10 hour days. Lots of spaghetti for dinner. A losing battle between my muscle and body fat. Hmmm. Wait a minute. This doesn't seem like a two-month-long refreshing hiking trip or Asian adventure...it's sounds like a hakwon busy season! AHHH!!!!

Phew, it was just a dream. I'll just go ahead and pack my clothes for the gym before classes start in the afternoon. Huh. My gym shoes seem to have collected a layer of dust over the weekend. Well, I guess I've been needing to do some dusting in this old apartment. What's that? Who could be sending me a text message at 9 am on a Tuesday? Why, it's my boss! So nice of him to wish me a good morning. But wait. What a strange message: "good morning...1,2,3 period SAT classes. thank you." Hmm. Wait a minute...I'm starting to panic. I need to check my calendar. It's February! It wasn't a dream!

Well, enough with the extended anecdote. Coming to grips with the fact that the last two months have been a relative "blackout" (and not the good kind), I realize that I need to do be productive with the free time I have in between these busy seasons of work. Busy season starts to end around mid-February and for the next four months I'll have a much lighter work-load. I want to start working out again, taking language classes, and looking for a job for next year (the ever elusive task). All three of those things have fallen into disrepair, and I want to start getting my mind and body back on track. The lunar new year (also known as the Chinese New Year) is this coming Thursday, and my boss is sending all of us teachers to a ski resort from Wednesday to Friday. It will be my first ski trip in a decade, and some of my coworkers are convinced that I'm just lying about my inadequate ski abilities (since I'm from Colorado) so that I will look awesome when I hit the slopes. I keep telling them I ski like a hamstrung goat, but I think they might be expecting some theatrics. Well, if they want theatrics, I'll give 'em something to remember. I'll be tearing up the slope. The Bunny Slope. Any 5-year old that wants to race will find me no slouch. And, let's just say I'm not a gracious loser.

Now that I'm free of the death grip of the summer season hakwon, I'll have some more time to update you all on my thinking much more often.

And, if you want to laugh your guts out, I suggest you watch this Japanese candid-camera show at a ski resort. I'm still not sure how this game show doesn't get sued by all these people. Watch the whole thing, it gets better throughout.