Archive for February, 2009

Scattered

2 years ago

by JR in Korea and Culture, Teaching in Korea

Our Visitor

Adam and his new guitar

I woke up early on Saturday due to the our small furry visitor that we were watching. According to her parents, she is an early riser and they were telling the truth.

Later, I took Adam to Songtan, so that he could buy a guitar. I wanted to make the trip because I needed to pick up a bottle of whiskey and also had an urge for some Thai food. It was interesting to go back to my black market that I usually go to. They have completely torn down most of the roof that covered the back allies and it does make it look a bit better, if not less seedy. The area is still run down, but at least you are not walking in the dark. Adam got a good deal on a Fender and I actually got my whiskey for the same price as normal even though the exchange rate has changed drastically.

JJ and I didn’t do much for Valentine’s. We ended up going to our favorite restaurant and then coming back home and watching Bolt. The movie was actually pretty funny.

My Afternoon
As the above picture shows, I spent the afternoon with paperwork. I am trying to organize all of JJ’s visa work. I have to go get some pictures made, finish writing a cover letter for the I-130, get a few addresses that I have forgotten, verify my parent’s date of births, and get a little bit more info on JJ’s old addresses. I am almost ready to book my appointment to drop off all of the paperwork and then the waiting game begins.

Canon 70-200 f/4 Photo from Roadcarvin

I almost ordered this jewel tonight from an online Korean company, but the company will only take a cash payment via bank transfer and I am just not that comfortable doing that. It is grey-market, but I don’t feel too worried , as I will be back in the States in less than 9 months. I found the address of the company that was selling the lens and will make a visit on Saturday. I am curious to see if they give me the same price that they published on the internet. They had a bunch of deals and if they treat me right, I will be back to pick up a Tamron 17-50 or a Canon 24-70 in a few months.

Toploader 75AW

2 years ago

by JR

I ordered this from G-Market on Sunday as mentioned before. I don’t if I am going to love it just yet, but when I upgrade my lens, I think I am really going to enjoy it. I really don’t like the length of the strap and may end up picking up a longer one.

photo equipment

Dogs With Super Hero Powers

2 years ago

by JR in Family

Photo evidence of my love for animals

Before I go into my rant, I want to tell you how much I love animals. I have had dogs since I was a little kid. I have never owned a dog in Korea, but I have always had a dog in Mississippi We have always had Labs. Mallard- a beautiful and smart white lab, Missy- an extremely dumb, yet full of personality black lab, Dahlia-smart as a whip and equally beautiful chocolate lab, and now we have Dahlia’s son- Moose a chocolate lab that is probably the best dog that I have ever owned.

My neighbor in Korea has two puny ankle biter dogs that have to be the worst behaved dogs I have ever seen. But that is not the real problem. The problem lies with their super-sonic hearing. I mean these dogs could her a mosquito fart from 10 miles away and when they do, they have to let everyone know that they have heard something. My apartment walls are not that thick and I hear every ruff, gruff, and bark. I live on the second floor in a villa with a locked front door. If someone puts an advertisement on the door downstairs, they let us know. When the cats are running outside, they let us know. When someone types in the first number of the code to enter the building, they let us know. Every time I come home they bark and growl and attack their door.

I am a night owl, so my quiet hours are probably different than your regular Korean person. We are usually asleep by 3 and wake up about 10-11. I would not have a problem if these dogs were being loud after 8 am, but 3:30 am, come on. Today was the third day in a row that they have woken me up between 3 and 5. I was startled awake at about 4:30 today. I have never tried it, but today I had a sudden craving for bosintang.