Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Winds Of Change

I have some green New Zealand mussels steaming in a pot filled with some garlic and oil.

Today was windy enough to blow a hat off your head.
The air is so clean and the sky and sun so bright it is like being in another country altogether. All the dirty air has been swirling away to be sucked by by Typhoon Nabi, now on Korea's southern doorstep.

This morning I went to start an extra teaching job. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me through the door of my school with my bike. Not quite sure what they expected, but there was no way I was going to leave a W2 million plus bike outside in a country where even second hand bikes get stolen at the drop of a hat. They weren't willing to consider letting me keep the bike inside, so I left.
Went to a place where they stitch clothes and took in a pair of cycling pants and my puma shorts. Felt a bit gloomy, but a few minutes later realised that the last thing I need now is the strain of teaching kindergarten kids.
Lately I have been stressed out by the smallest thing.

Today while standing in line at Newcore, with my groceries, I felt a trolley bang against my ankle. Someone was trying to get between a pillar and me.
In the elevator, once the door opened, a woman behind me just pushed right against me. Once we were out I said to her, not loudly, "Calm down."

One of the realities of living in a very overcrowded country, is that people bump into you, nudge you, push you, walk into you, and in most other countries they'd get whallopped. Here it's normal to jump the queue, to push in, and not necessary to apologise for personal collisions.

I got an email from a communications agency in PE who were looking for a writer. They asked for my CV, and shortly after sending it I got an email back saying, "We regret to inform you..."

I've also gotten the first cardboard boxes and filled them with my books. Will post these, as the first of about 3 or 4 shipments, tomorrow morning.

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