March 8, 2003

• Goodness gracious how the time flies these days!

  
  

  Sorry to be away for so long. It doesn't seem like a little over a month since I've posted, but evidence seems to support that bizarre hypothesis. So much has been happening that I don't think I can possibly begin at the beginning. I guess I'll start somewhere in the middle, hit the main points, and try not to bore you all to tears.

  
  

  So. Here we go.

  
  

  The biggest news is probably that we've acquired a computer. It was a thank you present from my employer, for some extensive volunteer work my wife did for him during December and January. It's a snazzy little machine, too. Brandname and all. It's a Samsung MV 20, sporting a P4 1.8GHz processor and a lovely big monitor (I'm not sure whether it's a 17" or a 19"). It's very snazzy-looking.  It's hooked up to a 1.5-4 Mbps VDSL connection too, which sure is nice. Its arrival has brought about a dramatic reduction in my stress level. We can now phone Canada cheaply from the comfort of our own home. We can also watch English television, which is a huge relief. We've ben downloading CSI and West Wing and other goodies unavailable in this part of the world. Ironically, this lovely new toy has probably played a large part in my recent absence from Xanga. The only stressful thing about the computer is the operating system. It's running Windows XP Home Edition, which is all well and good. I can live with that. But it's in Korean. I know this shouldn't be surprising, and it isn't. It's just annoying. Everything -- buttons, settings, error messages, help menues... all indecipherable. I'm hoping to get the company to deal with it soon, but for now it's a major source of irritation.

  
  

  As far as work goes, change continues to be the name of the game. Morning classes came to an end, so my day now starts at eiher 2pm or 3pm, depending on the day. It means that I don't get to teach the littlest kids any more, and I miss them. But they may be back once some more sign up. We shall have to see. So my day is shorter now, which is nice. The other big change is that I'll be switching to a co-teaching format with my evening Jr. High classes. If you recall, until now I've been all on my own, devising my own curriculum and trying to keep up. This new format will see me working from a series of textbooks and having a Korean speaking teacher (probably my boss) in class with me to explain the concepts. It's good in that the lessons may become more intelligible to the students, and I no longer have to struggle to make up an endless supply of class material. On the negative side, it takes a lot of the fun out of it, I'll be losing most of my classroom autonomy, and the classes will become rather drab in comparison to the high-energy stuff I've had to prepare in order to keep their attention. The new format hasn't started yet, and I don't know when it will, but the end is nigh...

  
  

  Another prominent event in my life at the moment is the Baha'i fast. Every year at this time, for one Baha'i month (19 days) we abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset. It's a time for meditation and study. You'd never realize how much of your daily life centers around food until you try fasting. It's fascinating! This year is actually quite easy, since my actual physical activity level is much lower than in past years, but it still takes a lot of focus to make sure I don't slip up when students hand me candy!

  
  

  On what is probably a completely uninteresting note, I went to the dentist today. He did a fabulous job, though the experience was strange since they generally don't use anaesthetic here. I'm not saying it was primitive or anything -- it was state of the art, with tiny videocameras and everything. I had a big hole in a front tooth that needed fixing. He did a beautiful job, and it's undetectable. I'm not a vain person, but one of my few weaknesses is that I will always pay the extra for porcelain fillings. I want my teeth to look like teeth. I've always been blessed with good teeth, and this is only the third cavity I've had in my life (although the dentist did find a small one in a molar, so I'll have to go back some time...). So, a positive if painful experience. They say people can tolerate less pain in the part of their body with which they associate their "self". Well, I live in my head, so tooth pain is very unpleasant. Stick a fork in my leg, and I'm fine...

  
  

  Well, I think that's the gist of things as they stand. Still no progress on any new pictures on the website, but hopefully before too long I'll find the time to spend some quality time with the scannner at work. Songs continue at their dismal pace... We continue to flip flop on the issue of whether or not we'll renew my contract after this year...

  
  

  Thanks for reading and commenting, everyone. I hope you're all well and happy. I do my best to try and visit you all and comment as best I can, but sometimes I get behind. I certainly won't take another month before my next post, though!

  
  

  All the best

  
  

  Take care
  -Justin-

  • 7:56 am
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