Just a few more hours...

Going Home, or Coming Home?

Going home would be the correct term for going back to America, but they say home is where the heart is. And since my heart has no intention of leaving my chest cavity, where ever I go is home. So would it really be staying home? Anyway, my dates have been set and I'll be coming home a little earlier than expected. Sept. 10 is my departure from beautiful Incheon Airport and Sept. 17 is my departure from ghetto LAX. Thinking about it gets me pretty excited. I haven't been home in close to a year. There is plenty that I want to do. Here is a small list:

Things to eat:
Tommy's chili cheese burger and chili cheese fries with large drink
In-N-Out Double-Double whole grilled onion and animal style fries
Dino's Chicken Plate
El Taurino Burrito and some tacos
The Hat (or King Burger. Basically anyplace I can get the pastrami and Orange Bang)
KFC mac and cheese
Pop-Eyes mash potatoes and gravy, biscuits
A well cooked steak

Things to buy:
Mostly work clothes. Khakis, work shoes, dress pants, dress shirts, polo shirts, socks.
I also want to pick up some non-fob t-shirts (I've thought about this one for a long time only because I wondered if Korean people look at foreigners with the same eyes as we do fobs. So if I go back with America-styles, would I be a crazy looking fob?) Sneakers are also on the list. Maybe I can fianlly get that jacket, and some underwear (wife beaters, boxers).
Other than that it's the little things I can't buy in Korea like good beef jerky.

Things I'm looking forward to:
Spending time with family.
Going to church.
Seeing friends.
Seeing my dog.
Driving (even though it's going to be an Enterprise Rent a Car for a few days. My parents took me off our insurance and it's not a good policy that covers me even with my parents' coverage. The irony...)
I don't know how much of it I'm going to do, but watching TV and be able to understand all of what's going on.

Wow that short list turned into a long one. For the most part, I don't think I'll venture too far. The farthest I'd go is probably Camarillo and that is if I can't find anything good around the Valley shopping centers...so yes it looks like I'll be going to Camarillo. LA of course but in small doses. I live in Korea so Korea-town is not a very high priority. Unless it's for Dino's or El Taurino. Or another random lunch with friends. Since it's during the week I understand that people will be busy, so I'm not getting all butt hurt about not being able to hang out.

The Humidity is Here...

Well that's not completely true. It's been here for a while. It started mildly after a short rainy season, but now it is here with all it's sticky, two showers a day is not enough fury. It only really bothers me when I'm sleeping because I wake up dehydrated from all the precious moisture that has left my body via sweat. I think I need to drink more water rather than refreshing drinks like coffee, sodas, sugary juices, etc. I don't like it when my pee is glowing in the morning from losing too much water and not having enough of it in the first place. I don't really know when it's supposed to stop, but I hope it's soon.

On another note, I may be coming home sooner than expected. Vacation time in October is just fierce. So I may be coming home late in September. It isn't that bad but plane tickets are very expensive because of the Korean Thanksgiving. It should be nice to get back to a nice, dry heat with all the salty, fatty, American food. I was thinking about it last night and I havea list of things I want to eat that will make me an unhealthy American again. Strangely enough, I thought of all of the weird things that I would miss in Korea. Here is a brief list:

Mirrors in elevators
All buildings over 5 floors.
StarCraft Channel.
Free tissue packets from random people.
The confort of walking around at 3 in the morning without the lurking feeling of being mugged.
My own place.
Random Korean drinks that are hard to find in the States even in Korea town.

Anyway, it's only for a week or so. I think once I have it, I'll miss American food a lot more. And being thin for that matter...

Photo Update

In regards to my last post, I want to say thanks to Hans. I think I've just been a little homesick and have been prone to complaining without seeing all the good things that I have around me. Well without much further hesitiation, here is a photo update of my life since the last one.

Remember this one? Bulbasaur has started growing faster since I moved it closer to my window. The little guy really is awesome but is just too much dust in my house for the little guy to handle. Either way, it's growing up strong and healthy. It's darker because it grew a layer of moss grew over its body.

The plant on its back is now huge. On top of the leaves growing, it is also growing some pieces of grass on top. Usually things that come into my house tend to die but it refuses to die and insists on thriving. My kind of plant.

Remember Happy? She's doing fine, just really dirty now. I guess it happens when you have me for an owner. She's starting to fade which is making me a little sad. But for the most part, she is still always happy. Still makes me happy.

The latest edition to my faux pet family. I have a total of two dogs that I've been raising. I also got Mario Kart. All of this keeps me pretty interested for the most part.

Lastly, my cousin got married this past weekend. I went but my camera isn't really well suited for taking pictures at a wedding. My cousin is going to send me a cd of wedding photos. This is part of one of the floral arrangements they had. I thought it was really pretty so I'm putting it up.

There you have it. When I'm not griping about life, I actaully do seem to have a good times. Miss you all back home.

From Great to Suck...

I know I said there would be a photo update, and I promise there will be. But I had some things to gripe about so here goes. Lately, I've been getting a little tired of Korean food. My coworkers all know this story, but a couple of days ago, I bought some food from a restaurant. I looked at my rice and side dishes and this wave of complacency came over me and I honestly considered just throwing the food away. So this past week, my coworkers have been gracious enough to indulge in my cravings and have been coming along to random places where it's not Korean food. But this is all dinner time.

Now today, I go to McDonalds. Nothing says fat American more than McDonalds. A while ago, McDonalds got rid of the apple pies. I guess Korean Korean people don't really like them. I still don't understand the phenomenon where Korean American people love the things. I got over it though. If they don't have them, well I can find some dessert satisfaction among the myriad of cafes Korea has to offer. But I go today for my usual lunch, the cheeseburger set/meal and chicken nuggets (4 pc). This is a nice little lunch that tides me over pretty well. I order and the lady behind the counter tells me, "We don't have McNuggets." I was in disbelief. I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't think to ask, "Is that just today or forever?" I just got my cheeseburger and left a crushed man. As I'm writing this, I'm hoping that it's just today. How do you get rid of McNuggets?! It's like getting rid of the Big Mac. That's one half of the Happy Meal Menu (the four piece and six piece).

Anyway, Ann is going back home soon. I'm hoping she comes back in my car loaded up with goods from Costco. Today sucks.