Monday, May 19

100 things about me: Part 3

It has been a few months since I added to this list, so I thought I would continue with the list. I have no new adventures to talk about this week either, so you get to know a little more about me, instead of a little more about Korea.
41) I think I'm on the right number. Sometimes I forget things like that. I actually did look back on my previous posts so I would remember what I had already told you, but it didn't occur to me to see what the last number was. I'm also lazy, as well as forgetful, so I'm not going back to look. I'm sure one of you will check for me and let me know if I'm wrong. Thanks.
42) I think as I'm getting older, my springtime allergies are getting worse. I like to take pictures of trees and flowers, but at the moment I don't like the real ones so much. I am liking my antihistamines a lot though.
43) I think I must be getting old. Everytime I see, or hear a baby, I think, "aww. I want one of those." Then I tell myself "no, you don't." Stupid clocks. I'll just have to enjoy everybody else's babies. It's a good thing other people have babies for me to appreciate. Wow, how was that for not trivial?
44) I am getting much better at being myself with people. I think that's because now I know more of who myself is, did that make any sense? I am much more comfortable with who I am now, and that makes is easier to share me with other people. See, still not trivial. Good for me.
45) I like the "new Robin" way more than the "old Robin". This is how I describe me now and me before I came to Korea. "Old Robin" was boring. "New Robin" is way more fun. I like me more now. I hope you all will, too.
46) I really hate when people fight. Even when people are grouchy at each other. It makes me so uncomfortable and I want to go hide in a different room so I can escape the tension. I have a very sensitive tension sensor. I notice.
47) I don't do grouchy very well. Probably because of the previous entry. I don't like when people are grouchy at each other, so when I'm grouchy I tend to stay away from people. I don't want to create tension.
48) I'm getting grouchy a lot lately. People stare at me. It's annoying. I'm tired of being a freak. I'm tired of people thinking they need to talk to me. It must be time to leave.
49) I am procrastinating from packing. If I pack it means that I'm leaving. I don't want to leave, but I really do. It's confusing and frustrating and sad, all at the same time. I want to go home, but I don't want to leave. Does that make sense to anyone?
50) Okay, let's get trivial. Garlic makes me gassy. That's really unfortunate in a country where garlic is added to practically everything. Oh well. Everyone gets gas. It's nothing to be embarassed about.
51) I like to paint my toenails. I feel naked when I don't have colour on my toes. Right now my toenails are purple. They're pretty. I have to think about what colour my toes are when I decide what shoes to wear. My shoes can't clash with my toes. It's not a problem in the winter, as I don't show my toes, but now that it's summer, it's a major concern.
52) I like to have popcorn for breakfast, preferably air-popped. With orange juice. I see nothing wrong with that. I haven't actually had popcorn for breakfast in a long time because I don't have a popcorn popper, or a microwave. Makes it harder to make popcorn. I only have popcorn when I go to the movies. The popcorn at the movies is cheap here, so I always have popcorn at the movies.
53) I bought shoes today. I knew as I was paying for them that I really didn't need new shoes and that I had to pack and all the sensible things that I should have been thinking to talk myself out of it. And then I bought them anyway. Even when I am trying to be sensible I can find a reason to buy shoes. I didn't have black flip-flops with a heel. That's a good enough reason.
54) I don't like to wear pants. Who needs pants? I get home from work and take my pants off. I'm starting to think that a nuddist colony would be great. Maybe a little cold.
55) I'm quite excited about getting my black belt in taekwondo. This is totally not something I would have done before. I am definately not a sporty type person. Getting my black belt is so out of character for me. I love it. I'm just full of surprises. My test is in a month. Cool.
56) I can't actually admit that I'm excited about stuff. That would require, you know, showing emotions, whatever those are, and that is not something that I do. So, disregard that last comment. I never would have said anything like that.
57) I totally forgot what I was going to say. It was good too. Hmm. I wonder what it was. Oh well, I'll tell you something else. I can't sleep with my hair down. I have to braid it so Ican sleep. If my hair is loose it gets all over the place and I end up pulling my own hair when I roll over, and that's really annoying.
58) I hate when pictures are crooked on the wall. I am much to, well the best word is 'anal', to allow pictures to be crooked. There is a restaurant here where the pictures are intentionally hung crookedly on the wall, and screwed into place so they can't be moved. It drives me crazy. I have to very carefully not look at the walls. I get too distracted if I do. It's like Diane with mirrors.
59) I'm almost as obsessed with mirrors as Diane is. I like to look at myself in the mirror, provided, of course, that I have done my makeup. There is one mirror at taekwondo that I don't like to stand in front of because it's what I call a "fat mirror". You just can't look good in that mirror. The one next to it is so much better. It's a nice mirror. I'll stand in front of that one.
60) I don't like to look in the mirror in the bathroom in the dark. I think this goes way back to elemetary school where the girls at a sleep over would tell the story of "Bloody Mary" and tell you that if you said her name three times while turning around in the dark in front of the mirror she would show up behind you. I still don't look in the mirror in the dark. I know it's stupid, but that's how it goes. Oh, and there are alligators under the bed, too, so you have to jump. We weren't allowed to have monsters, so we had alligators instead.

Okay, that's your "learn about Robin" session for this month. I hope you enoyed it. Now it's late so I'm going to go to bed. Good night.

Wednesday, May 7

Yes, I am still alive.

Okay, I'm sorry. I know it has been a while since I updated my blog. I have been lazy. What can I say? Right now I am procrastinating from cleaning, and also from making lesson plans, so updating my blog seems to be in order.

Last weekend was a long weekend. Monday was a national holiday. It was children's day. Any reason for a holiday is good for me. We crammed as much into the weekend as we could. On Saturday Rachel and Leah and I went to the Hanji Festival in Jeonju. Hanji is traditional paper made out of mulberry bark. The festival included a parade with costumes made out of paper and a marching band playing traditional Korean instruments.


Sunday was Buddha's birthday party. His actual birthday is next Monday, but the party was a little early. We went up to Seoul to join in the festivities. There were lanterns all over. There was another parade. It was very long, but had a lot of cool stuff like a military marching band and a group of unicyclers. There were also thousands of people walking in the parade carrying lanterns. This was the lantern festival celebrating Buddha's birthday after all.
This is a five story high poster of Buddah. We watched the parade standing right next to it.
As Monday was a holiday we had to put it to good use. There was a professional soccer game in Jeonju, so we headed on over to watch. It was really cool. It was also really hot. I think it was 30 degrees out and we had to sit in the sun. You have to separate the fans, you know, and the shady side of the stadium was for the away team's fans. We couldn't cheer for Suwon. Jeonbuk, our team, has Rider colours, so it was obvious who we had to cheer for.
This Monday coming up is another holiday, Buddha's birthday, so I'm sure we will find something to do. I'll let you know.