Had quite a productive morning. While the last 3 Tour De France stages were downloading, I got some educational material, with the focus on fun, off the net. Discovery has some useful stuff, like puzzlemakers,crosswords, lateral thinking brainteasers for kids etc. Made some massive puzzles and other games since today the Public Schools break up for the holiday.
Fixed up Sun Young's Abstract which is hectic medical jargon, and posted some articles that show a clear and present danger, in terms of both H5N1 and Climate Change. I saw a documentary done by National Geographic which reveals new insights in the complicated Theory of Weather and Climate. It's fair to say that this documentary disturbed me as much as The End of Suburbia did.
Also did all the washing and cleaning, then slipped out into the oven to pay my phone bill across the road. Last month it was over W60 000, this month it is W48 000, with at least W43 000 being internet charges. Shows you how little I make local calls from home.
Then went to the bank to pay my electricity bill. Just over W30 000. I am expecting a shock when I get the next one as I have been putting the aircon through its paces. Day and night. Turn it off, and my apartment rapidly transforms into a sauna. I turn it off when I go out, and when I get back the thermometer reads around 28 degrees.
Feels like I am sitting in a sauna right now...at school. Sweat is literally streaming down the back of my neck.
Everything went quite smoothly until I went to buy a newspaper in Madu subway. Maybe reality was different to how I remember it. I remember grudgingly parting with my W500 coin (needed for the bus), and then right after paying I pulled out another W1000 note and asked for change (2xw500 coins). The woman insisted on taking that as payment for the paper, and when I tried to explain I had already paid she called her son over. Since I was running pecariously close to being late, I thought stuff it, and grabbed the W500 coin I'd placed with the opther 2 W100 coins, between the sweets (which I think, thinking back, she probably hadn't noticed). Now I think she thought I'd stolen her money, so sent her son after me. I was feeling huffy, having paid W1200 for a W700 newspaper.
On the stairwell I heard her son shouting and running after me. Now I realised they clearly thought I'd taken the newspaper, that I'd stolen it. This annoyed me even more, because I was the one who'd lost money. I quickly whipped out my wallet, trying to dispel the myth that all foreigners are criminals, and intended to do away with whatever money they thought I owed with another W1000. The irony is, I had a W1000 in my hand, and one W500 coin, but I had to hold on to these for the bus. So when I opened my wallet, all I had was a wad of W10 000 notes, and one sweaty W5000 that I'd discovered in my pocket in the bank.
So I stuffed a W5000 into his hand.
Then, amazed at myself, and going slightly crazy at the same time, ran up the escalator, and now the guy pursued me again.
At the top of the escalator I tried to explain, using actions, exactly how I had made the purchase. Except I lacked W200 in coins. Exasperated, I left him with a total booty of W6200 (for a W700 newspaper).
Now, I'm not sure why I didn't just leave the newspaper. It wasn't as though I really really wanted it. And ironically, I'd already read most of the Herald's stories online this morning anyway. Crazy!
The good news is I am 1/3rd of the way through my time here. I've worked May, June and half of July, and have 5 months to go if we include the first part of December. And after August it will just get cooler and more pleasant. I'm sure during the last third time is really going to fly.
I'm going to Cheolwon tomorrow to do this half Ironman, but if it is hot like today, I won't even start the run. This week also seems to have raced by. Hopefully I'll do the same on Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment