this would've been the better part of the field trip, except our bus got lost in seoul for about 2 hours, and the sleeping only lasted about 45 minutes.
3.30.2009
3.23.2009
still sick. . . errr
yep, i’m sick. . . or maybe allergies are kicking in? but my students keep sneezing and coughing on me, so i’m betting it’s sick. . . .
dammit.
other than last last week was busy. we celebrated st. patrick’s day at school with some crafty projects. all the kids wore a lot of green and the mood was pretty festive. that was tuesday, and thursday was birthday party day. so all the kids who have march birthdays got announced and recognized. our mercury birthday student (the younger kids) was dressed in a tux with tails. . . so cute. but he was too scared to get up in front of the crowd.
the two festive days definitely made a nice break within the week.
made a skype call back home so grandpa and the aunts and uncles could see the technology working. the morning internet was a little dodgy though. . . so the picture was nearly as clear as usual. kind of a bummer, but i guess they were impressed anyway.
thursday, even though i had a sore throat, i went out to trivia night. i ended up teaming up with a couple of real smarties. . . and we won. (i think i maybe supplied 5 answers that they didn’t already have. kinda felt like i would’ve been more productive with a pair of pom-poms.) so this week we supply the questions. yee haw! think i’m gonna make my set music related. there have been too many sports questions for my liking. i can’t tell if my questions are ridiculously obvious, or ridiculously hard. guess i’ll know better on thursday.
saturday i planned to go to this ‘welcoming party’ that my recruiter was throwing in itaewon. swon agreed to go with me. i slept in really late and thought i was feeling a little better. i met up with swon and we met a friend of her for a dinner. her friend is getting ready to interview for theatre grad schools in the US. swon and i tried to coach her in some of the questions she should ask and be ready to answer.
then swon and i got caught in the rain.
we were pretty late to the party as well, but i don’t think it mattered much. the main guy from the office actually remembered my first and last name, i was impressed. the bar was way too loud though. i didn’t feel much like yelling to get to know anyone. so swon and i left to have some dessert.
we got up late on sunday. we had all these grand ideas; hiking, visiting galleries, shopping. . . but we both felt cruddy. i really hope swon doesn’t catch my ick. i hope it might be just from the rain. we ate and napped. i caught a train home while swon met up with her family for her mom’s birthday party. i certainly didn’t want to bring my sick butt into a family party.
well, this week should be interesting as well. we are going on a field trip. i keep offering to buy some cotton rope to make one of those class wrist leashes for our students. i can’t keep them from running off while we walk the 50 feet between the classroom and the playroom. i’m kinda worried about losing them outside of school. the head teacher says there’s no way we’ll lose them. i’d still like to carry some rope with me.
well, again there are some pics up, so enjoy.
dammit.
other than last last week was busy. we celebrated st. patrick’s day at school with some crafty projects. all the kids wore a lot of green and the mood was pretty festive. that was tuesday, and thursday was birthday party day. so all the kids who have march birthdays got announced and recognized. our mercury birthday student (the younger kids) was dressed in a tux with tails. . . so cute. but he was too scared to get up in front of the crowd.
the two festive days definitely made a nice break within the week.
made a skype call back home so grandpa and the aunts and uncles could see the technology working. the morning internet was a little dodgy though. . . so the picture was nearly as clear as usual. kind of a bummer, but i guess they were impressed anyway.
thursday, even though i had a sore throat, i went out to trivia night. i ended up teaming up with a couple of real smarties. . . and we won. (i think i maybe supplied 5 answers that they didn’t already have. kinda felt like i would’ve been more productive with a pair of pom-poms.) so this week we supply the questions. yee haw! think i’m gonna make my set music related. there have been too many sports questions for my liking. i can’t tell if my questions are ridiculously obvious, or ridiculously hard. guess i’ll know better on thursday.
saturday i planned to go to this ‘welcoming party’ that my recruiter was throwing in itaewon. swon agreed to go with me. i slept in really late and thought i was feeling a little better. i met up with swon and we met a friend of her for a dinner. her friend is getting ready to interview for theatre grad schools in the US. swon and i tried to coach her in some of the questions she should ask and be ready to answer.
then swon and i got caught in the rain.
we were pretty late to the party as well, but i don’t think it mattered much. the main guy from the office actually remembered my first and last name, i was impressed. the bar was way too loud though. i didn’t feel much like yelling to get to know anyone. so swon and i left to have some dessert.
we got up late on sunday. we had all these grand ideas; hiking, visiting galleries, shopping. . . but we both felt cruddy. i really hope swon doesn’t catch my ick. i hope it might be just from the rain. we ate and napped. i caught a train home while swon met up with her family for her mom’s birthday party. i certainly didn’t want to bring my sick butt into a family party.
well, this week should be interesting as well. we are going on a field trip. i keep offering to buy some cotton rope to make one of those class wrist leashes for our students. i can’t keep them from running off while we walk the 50 feet between the classroom and the playroom. i’m kinda worried about losing them outside of school. the head teacher says there’s no way we’ll lose them. i’d still like to carry some rope with me.
well, again there are some pics up, so enjoy.
3.17.brighton.1
st. patrick's day at brighton. hazel and i put together some crafty hats with rainbows, pots of gold, and clovers for the kids to make.
3.15.2009
week three, check!
last sunday a group of us went to check out Watchmen. it actually opened up a day early here- though i have no idea how that works out.
i was really psyched to see it, and thought it was a good adaptation of the graphic book, now i want to read it again. alas, my copy is in loaner limbo back in the states. bummer.
afterwards i caught some dinner and a movie with one of the other teachers. monday turned out a little odd, everyone i had been hanging out with had food poisoning or something. guess i just missed it. i’ve been congested all week, and it finally feels like it’s letting up a bit tonight. hope it finally breaks, i could use more sleep and less coughing.
the week was still hectic. i’m wondering when i’m going to feel comfortable at this. when will the routine settle into my brain? although there are new teachers at the school, everyone except me and my korean teaching partner, have done this before- oh, and we have the youngest/ newest classes of kids.
everyone else seems at ease. i feel completely lost most days. didn’t help that some water pipe busted over my kindy room. large flood on monday, and a second one at the end of the week. i wasn’t there both times- in another room teaching, but my friday kindy classes all got moved to another room. like those little ones needed any more distractions.
thursday night i got invited to a trivia night at a very ‘foreign friendly’ bar one subway stop down. it’s not quite the same set-up as the ones in boston, but it’s still a nice excursion. the only problem is that it starts pretty late. other schools go much later into the evening. a lot let out around 10 or 11pm. walking around, i’ve even seen the buses letting kids off around midnight.
anyway, since the winners of last week’s trivia game are responsible for making the questions for the next game, everyone needs to wait till they get out of work. it was fun, but i don’t know if i can pull that late a thursday night every week.
saturday was both white day, and st. patrick’s. white day is sort of a response to valentine’s i guess. here, on valentine’s day, girls give boys treats. . . and on white day, boys return the favor. either way there was a lot of chocolate and treats being passed around, and sweets left on my desk. . . . yum.
st. patrick’s was in seoul. camille (another teacher) and i took the train into town to meet a few more of her friends. it’s a pretty big thing for a lot of the foreigners, and even a number of koreans. we didn’t stay for the actual parade. it turned out that it’s really just a parade of all the festively dressed attendants about part of town. it was fun to see everyone garishly dressed. . . and mascots dressed as foam topped guinness filled glasses, but i didn’t mind moving on.
we headed to itaewon, another area where there are a large number of foreigners. hence a larger number of stores catering to our objects of desire. . . like books, cheese, and recognizable cough suppressants. i even found dryer sheets. (for some reason my dryer has a weird smell. everything comes out smelling a bit like corn chips. the dryer sheets would be nice, but i think i’ll hack a set out of some febreeze and a hand towel. for a sam’s club/ bj’s size box of dryer sheets, it was nearly $20. trying the hack now. corn chip smell has faded to neutral.)
anyway, i picked up a few things and got to see another part of seoul. i did spot a coldstone creamery, and we ate at a fairly ‘western’ restaurant for lunch.
all in all a pretty good weekend. i spent today doing some cleaning, laundry, reading, and working on my syllabus. maybe this week will jive a bit better for me. i’m not holding my breath though, we’re throwing a st. patrick’s day party and a march birthdays party both this week. should keep things busy.
check out the pics below.
i was really psyched to see it, and thought it was a good adaptation of the graphic book, now i want to read it again. alas, my copy is in loaner limbo back in the states. bummer.
afterwards i caught some dinner and a movie with one of the other teachers. monday turned out a little odd, everyone i had been hanging out with had food poisoning or something. guess i just missed it. i’ve been congested all week, and it finally feels like it’s letting up a bit tonight. hope it finally breaks, i could use more sleep and less coughing.
the week was still hectic. i’m wondering when i’m going to feel comfortable at this. when will the routine settle into my brain? although there are new teachers at the school, everyone except me and my korean teaching partner, have done this before- oh, and we have the youngest/ newest classes of kids.
everyone else seems at ease. i feel completely lost most days. didn’t help that some water pipe busted over my kindy room. large flood on monday, and a second one at the end of the week. i wasn’t there both times- in another room teaching, but my friday kindy classes all got moved to another room. like those little ones needed any more distractions.
thursday night i got invited to a trivia night at a very ‘foreign friendly’ bar one subway stop down. it’s not quite the same set-up as the ones in boston, but it’s still a nice excursion. the only problem is that it starts pretty late. other schools go much later into the evening. a lot let out around 10 or 11pm. walking around, i’ve even seen the buses letting kids off around midnight.
anyway, since the winners of last week’s trivia game are responsible for making the questions for the next game, everyone needs to wait till they get out of work. it was fun, but i don’t know if i can pull that late a thursday night every week.
saturday was both white day, and st. patrick’s. white day is sort of a response to valentine’s i guess. here, on valentine’s day, girls give boys treats. . . and on white day, boys return the favor. either way there was a lot of chocolate and treats being passed around, and sweets left on my desk. . . . yum.
st. patrick’s was in seoul. camille (another teacher) and i took the train into town to meet a few more of her friends. it’s a pretty big thing for a lot of the foreigners, and even a number of koreans. we didn’t stay for the actual parade. it turned out that it’s really just a parade of all the festively dressed attendants about part of town. it was fun to see everyone garishly dressed. . . and mascots dressed as foam topped guinness filled glasses, but i didn’t mind moving on.
we headed to itaewon, another area where there are a large number of foreigners. hence a larger number of stores catering to our objects of desire. . . like books, cheese, and recognizable cough suppressants. i even found dryer sheets. (for some reason my dryer has a weird smell. everything comes out smelling a bit like corn chips. the dryer sheets would be nice, but i think i’ll hack a set out of some febreeze and a hand towel. for a sam’s club/ bj’s size box of dryer sheets, it was nearly $20. trying the hack now. corn chip smell has faded to neutral.)
anyway, i picked up a few things and got to see another part of seoul. i did spot a coldstone creamery, and we ate at a fairly ‘western’ restaurant for lunch.
all in all a pretty good weekend. i spent today doing some cleaning, laundry, reading, and working on my syllabus. maybe this week will jive a bit better for me. i’m not holding my breath though, we’re throwing a st. patrick’s day party and a march birthdays party both this week. should keep things busy.
check out the pics below.
3.14.2009
booty.1
after skipping out on the parade, camille (another teacher at the school) and i decided to walk around itaewon for some shopping. itaewon has a few shops that specialize in importing some creature comforts from back home, like nyquil and dryer sheets.
we first stopped where i could get some nyquil. turns out i'm pretty much like every other foreigner who comes here. i got sick. nothing too bad, just lots of congestion, and the nyquil knock off really helps me get some more rest.
then, off to an english bookstore. yay!. yes, i brought a book, and have a handful more prepped for shipping, but the one book i brought (as fascinating as it is). . . just isn't holding my attention. so some more fiction for me please!
last stop, a market that we only heard about. camille knew the subway stop, but we knew nothing else. we ran into another foreigner who kept a small journal detailing where to get and find things. she pointed us in the right direction. (thank you!)
booty.2
here is some of the booty i got at the hannam market.
shaker cheese! yay. . . not so easy to find. a double shot? glass of nutella. yummy!. . . and cheese! cheddar is hard enough to find, but sharp cheddar was really difficult. i guess adirondack wicked sharp is too much to hope for.
st.patty.1
saturday. a few co-workers and i took the subway into
daehangno for the st.patty's day parade. it's a pretty big gathering for a lot of foreigners in the area.
there's some sort of smorgasbord afterwards, all you can eat, and all the guinness you can drink for about $50. we weren't so interested in that, but don a little green and into seoul we went.
st.patty.4
hey look, it's me, with a token green scarf on, and a big guinness balloon behind me.
we didn't end up staying for the parade. we were pretty sure the parade consisted of the people gathered walking through the streets somewhat drunkenly.
3.14.ansan.1
did i tell you there is an on/off switch on my bed board?
it leads to nothing. but it makes me wonder what electrically minded/ radio shack gear geek person once lived in my room? am i in a time warp? have i been here before?
3.13.ansan.1
here's the view of one side of the street that brighton english school is on. lots of bright and colorful lights, and this is nothing compared to the larger downtown area.
3.13.brighton.1
i'm not sure if there is irony or not in the fact that the first science project i worked on with my kindy kids was a simple circuit. light bulb, wires, switch, battery. the parts were a little cheap too, so i had to do a little fussing with the pieces to get them all to work.
i wonder if the project would have flustered me more if i hadn't spent 10 years as a theatrical electrician.
3.08.2009
3.7.ansan.1
so there's this hill with a set of stairs leading up it a bit behind my building. i decided to do a little exploring this weekend. (my building is the large gray one on the left.)
3.7.ansan.4
the larger path follows an aqueduct that feeds little family gardens all around the hill.
3.7.ansan.5
near the top of the hill, a place to stretch and work out a little. (i hear that this kind of set up is littered throughout the city.)
3.7.ansan.8
finally, my destination for the day. i do have a few essentials to pick up.
think of it like a walmart, or target. . . but bigger.
no one warned me about how busy this place is on the weekends. i might try to avoid it in the future, and get my shopping done during the week.
3.6.nightout.1
we went out as a group this weekend. our last new teacher arrived and we all celebrated at an indian restuarant. (yay, indian food!)
afterwords we went to a bar that a bunch of the foreigners know called manhattan. near midnight the bartenders do a cocktail juggling/ bar flare show. it included a guy that lit something on fire inside the bottles and tossed them. . . then just flat out tossing something on fire as seen here. at the end the head bartender lit the cocktail tower aflame by shooting as fireball out of her mouth. my pic turned out a little too blurry. . . but it was cool looking.
i know. . . i'm so easy to impress. . . just light something on fire and i go a gooey.
3.6.nightout.1
we ended the night, and early morning, at a noribong. we had a really good time, and yes, dan, this picture is kinda for you. why is it people always pick to sing this song?- i think they just like singing along with the horn blasts after 'sweet caroline.'
3.01.2009
2.28.seoul.1
friday night- swon picked me up in ansan and we drove back to her house in seoul. i got to meet her boyfriend chuwon (sp?). he speaks very little english, and i speak even less korean, but with the soju flowing i started to pick up some phrases with their help. we had a very good time, and the evening went very late.
2.28.seoul.2
saturday- swon sets her laundry out to dry in the quad area (there is probably a korean word, but i don't know it yet) of her house. her place is really sweet, i guess a little small for what is considered a traditional house, but still really nice.
2.28.seoul.3
saturday morning (well, it was morning for us still)- here's the view of the hanock village (traditional style houses) where swon lives. it's a very popular area for tourists to visit.
2.28.seoul.5
saturday- after a late breakfast swon, chuwon and i were in downtown seoul, for a wedding. . . . yes, you heard me right. i had no idea i was going to be a part of this till after i was in swon's car driving to seoul friday night. i asked her if she had any plans and she replied, "well, we have a wedding tomorrow." at first i was going to just sit in a coffee shop nearby, but i ended up walking in with them and watching a little of the ceremony. just like the graduation/ talent show on thursday for the school, the wedding ceremony had a lot of live video playback.
as we left, swon and i found this interesting looking building.
2.28.seoul.6
saturday afternoon- swon and i drove to suji to visit with swon's parents. they have a really nice home in a high rise building, you can see their living room and little garden. swon's mom made an amazing dinner. they were incredibly welcoming.
swon and i also did some shopping at e-mart (kind of like walmart, but bigger- if you can imagine). we thought about seeing a movie, but we were both pretty tired.
2.28.seoul.7
sunday- after a great breakfast with swon's mom and dad, swon had some meetings in a part of town near a famout art school.
i walked around the area for a bit. there were a lot of cute artist shops, and apparently some obama fans.
shortly after that i got to sit through a show swon worked on. i can't tell you much about it, but it was a pretty great end to my first week.
brighton.show.5
the brighton school talent show and graduation. here is a class singing a song. the whole thing was a big to do. . . costumes, lights, blow up set, and live video so the parents had a good view. all in all it made for a busy thursday.
2.23.2009
arrival
the airport was easy enough to get through. plenty of pictures and english to get me along- i really need to pick up korean though. not every other place will be as accommodating as the international airport. :)
customs was no problem, getting my luggage was easy, and as i walked into the area where people wait for you i was greeted by a man who seemed to know my face (i had to send a picture as part of the process). he’s the director of the school. but close by was swon!
i hadn’t given her all the flight info, since it would be really early monday morning, and i was already told the recruiter or someone from the school would meet me. i didn’t want her to go to the trouble.
well, she got the flight info from my mom. (mom and dad at work, even from afar)
she showed up with a breakfast for me. i introduced the school director and her, and we talked all the way to his car. swon met is at the school.
you wouldn’t believe the errand the school director and i made before we got to the school. we stopped at a department store to pick up some replacement fluorescent light bulbs. it was like almost nothing had changed. standing in a aisle staring at fluorescent bulbs choosing between different wattages and color temperatures.
we got to the school and i met a few of the teachers. swon and i got a quick tour. the school director then led me to my apartment. swon checked out my cable while i showered. the cable and internet was already set. nice.
swon had to get to an appointment, but we had a quick lunch before she dropped me off at the school.
i spent the rest of the day observing some of the classes. i was given an option to go home earlier, since i would be tired, but i stayed till about 5.
i picked up some food at a local market and walked about 15 minutes to the apartment.
i’ve eaten a bit. i fell asleep around 8- very tired, but woke up again around midnight. it will take time to shift my internal schedule. i hope i don’t completely sleep through tomorrow morning!
there are some things to get to make the apartment more cozy, but for now what’s here will do. pictures to come soon- i want to unpack and settle a little more first. . .
the teachers all seem really nice and welcoming. there was a new korean teacher today as well, and another couple of foreign teachers will arrive within the week, so there will be more people in the same boat as me.
i have a bunch of observing to do, and schedule to figure out, but in the meantime swon wants to come out during the week to make sure i get a phone and bank account set up. she also wants me to visit her in seoul- but that will have to wait for a weekend.
busy busy.
but right now i should sleep.
customs was no problem, getting my luggage was easy, and as i walked into the area where people wait for you i was greeted by a man who seemed to know my face (i had to send a picture as part of the process). he’s the director of the school. but close by was swon!
i hadn’t given her all the flight info, since it would be really early monday morning, and i was already told the recruiter or someone from the school would meet me. i didn’t want her to go to the trouble.
well, she got the flight info from my mom. (mom and dad at work, even from afar)
she showed up with a breakfast for me. i introduced the school director and her, and we talked all the way to his car. swon met is at the school.
you wouldn’t believe the errand the school director and i made before we got to the school. we stopped at a department store to pick up some replacement fluorescent light bulbs. it was like almost nothing had changed. standing in a aisle staring at fluorescent bulbs choosing between different wattages and color temperatures.
we got to the school and i met a few of the teachers. swon and i got a quick tour. the school director then led me to my apartment. swon checked out my cable while i showered. the cable and internet was already set. nice.
swon had to get to an appointment, but we had a quick lunch before she dropped me off at the school.
i spent the rest of the day observing some of the classes. i was given an option to go home earlier, since i would be tired, but i stayed till about 5.
i picked up some food at a local market and walked about 15 minutes to the apartment.
i’ve eaten a bit. i fell asleep around 8- very tired, but woke up again around midnight. it will take time to shift my internal schedule. i hope i don’t completely sleep through tomorrow morning!
there are some things to get to make the apartment more cozy, but for now what’s here will do. pictures to come soon- i want to unpack and settle a little more first. . .
the teachers all seem really nice and welcoming. there was a new korean teacher today as well, and another couple of foreign teachers will arrive within the week, so there will be more people in the same boat as me.
i have a bunch of observing to do, and schedule to figure out, but in the meantime swon wants to come out during the week to make sure i get a phone and bank account set up. she also wants me to visit her in seoul- but that will have to wait for a weekend.
busy busy.
but right now i should sleep.
travel
(quick aside) i know i promised pictures, and i definitely will take them. i have a small problem with feeling too touristy, so i don’t always take pictures when i’d like. . . but there will be some on the way.
do you know what sucks about travelling? the packing. i’m horrible at it. my friend sara just left for a month or two. . . or more in india. she brought one bag. a couple pairs of pants, a handful of shirts, other essentials. both my allowed bags weighed in barely below the limit. . . and that was after a fury of quick last minute edits at home. my carry on weighed about 25 pounds. the other things that sucks about traveling is tugging around heavy bags- but that’s my own fault.
i flew out of ottawa in the afternoon, headed to chicago. i lost a knife from my checked luggage. less lost and more confiscated by the cops. i just flew with it in my checked luggage three weeks ago. . . what’s different now? it’s sad, but it’s more important that i get where i’m headed. the thing that bothered me was the cops kept asking what i used it for. i don’t use it. i believe the idea is never to use it. it was a gift from bride (katy) to maid of honor (me). i explained that it was a gift/ memento and the cops kept saying that that isn’t a normal kind of gift. knives are a very normal gift among my friends. . . err. to their credit, when they saw that it’s loss upset me, the cops did try to send it to me like it was in lost and found. but i guess the law stepped in, it has to be destroyed.
most of the airports i get around in have a number of places to eat and shops inside the terminal. that isn’t so in the international terminal at o’hare. i hadn’t had dinner and planned on getting something inside the terminal. my protein bars came in handy. but then i got on the flight.
we were served dinner on the plane (at about 2 or 3 am my time- but trust me, i wasn’t complaining). i am completely impressed with asiana airlines. my dinner was good, and so cute. little containers for everything. a package of real cutlery which included salt, pepper, sugar, toothpick, napkin, and a handy wipe- and a hot wet towel before hand. i had the steak dinner, not the bimbimbap, but the bimbimbap smelled fantastic. dinner was a salad, steak with carrots, potatoes, and broccoli, dinner roll, side of smoked salmon, slice of cake, and a beverage of choice (but not tea or coffee- that is for after dinner.)
nearly every hour the flight attendants walked around with water and orange juice. the entertainment was kinda like jetblue. your own screen with shows, movies, music, video games. you could start, pause, rewind etc each of the movies you wanted. i watched three, the women (bad), max payne (ok), and eagle eye (surprisingly better than i thought). i played bookworm and bejeweled. it got better when i realized i didn’t have to use the remote because the screen was interactive. the remote was a special combo, phone/ entertainment remote/ video game controller/ credit card swipe (for email and phone calls.)
after dinner they turned off the cabin lights and i did get some sleep. when it was time to wake up we were given good morning call, and the lights in the cabin slowly dimmed up. there was a sandwich at some point, but i passed on it. i got up a few times, to stretch and break for the bathroom. the bathrooms had lotions and toothbrushes available.
breakfast was a choice of pancake or omelet. i opted omelet. so a spinach omelet with some broccoli and tomato. strawberry banana yogurt, crescent roll, sliced fruit, and beverage, with coffee and tea making the rounds.
so yeah. it was a 14 hour flight, but if you have to do it, this isn’t a bad way.
2.18.2009
all in one place
for the first time in about 15 years, i and all of my belongings are in the same place.
i don’t mean to make too much of it, but it is an unusual occurrence, and it will only last for another two days.
the last two boxes that i sent myself from california arrived today. i started sorting them into the things that will stay in storage at my parents, and the very few things that i will bring along with me. (i should bring less.)
i need to put more effort into packing. procrastination is such an amazing thing, especially when you actively, consciously participating. compared to packing and cleaning, you would not believe how much more interesting this book i am reading is. the book will be there for me whenever. . . but i want to read it NOW.
ok, back to packing, or procrastinating. . . which ever comes first.
i don’t mean to make too much of it, but it is an unusual occurrence, and it will only last for another two days.
the last two boxes that i sent myself from california arrived today. i started sorting them into the things that will stay in storage at my parents, and the very few things that i will bring along with me. (i should bring less.)
i need to put more effort into packing. procrastination is such an amazing thing, especially when you actively, consciously participating. compared to packing and cleaning, you would not believe how much more interesting this book i am reading is. the book will be there for me whenever. . . but i want to read it NOW.
ok, back to packing, or procrastinating. . . which ever comes first.
2.03.2009
from -15 to 70 and back again
my mission was to empty my storage unit in southern california.
it’s been there since i left my job at calarts before the summer of 2007- lame, i know, trust me, i know.
i thought i’d be going back to my job, but then halfway through my summer i realized it just wouldn’t be good for me, or good for the students, so i quit. for some reason i didn’t go back to california after my summer in santa fe to get my stuff. . . i don’t remember what my rational was.
i have plans to leave the country, and i didn’t want this unfinished business looming over me. . . not to mention the monthly fees.
day 1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the morning i left it had been 15 below. . . it wasn’t nearly as cold as i drove out to burlington to catch a flight in the early afternoon. the drive goes through the islands to burlington is real pretty.
i guess i picked a good time since another snow storm was due to hit us later that evening. . . i just snuck out in time. and there’s nothing like walking outside into 50+ degree weather, especially when you’ve gotten used to thermal underwear and wool lined winter caps. shedding the layers was a treat.
picked up my rental, a zippy yaris, and drove to my hotel.
i only lived in the valencia area for 7 months. i didn’t expect to remember the roads or places of interest so i printed out and looked through maps like crazy. i did surprisingly well, even when i hadn’t google-mapped my destination.
my first night, while snacking in my room i wondered why my bed, then why my room was vibrating. . . then i realized with was residual from my plane flights- all in my head. i woke up bright and early (strange for me) at 6. well, it was 9 est.
day 2-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i brought every set of master lock type keys i could find. . . but i had a feeling that none of them were going to work. i just figured there would be a way. wednesday morning, i got to my storage at 9 and none of my keys worked. some paperwork, lock cutting fees, phone calls and faxing to my brother (since he was the legal renter) ensued, and i was into my storage by around 11am.
btw, if you wanna know what it looks like to watch some guy cutting off your locks. . . here’s a shot from my phone.
i started sorting out garbage and picking out pieces that could go to goodwill first. i knew what i meant to keep. cds, the empty dvd cases (all my movies are in cd books), some books, and my comics. what i didn’t plan on was all the memorabilia type stuff. . . or things like my portfolio and school work. . .errr. . . . more sorting.
i made my first drop off to goodwill around 3. i remembered where it was! they don’t take hangers. . . i had a lot of hangers. i asked about mattresses. . . they don’t take them, but salvation army might. hmm. . . obstacles. and the trash bins outside the storage unit are locked. i’d have to pay to take my trash to a dump site, or be clever and indiscreet and find a hopper somewhere. . . discreet, with 26 bags of trash and possibly a mattress? not gonna happen. i took a lunch break after goodwill and started searching for ideas back in my hotel.
i had hoped to drop some things off with students, and some with goodwill. i thought i might be able to donate the books. i called a couple of places, one only accepted paperbacks, and the library wasn’t picking up the phone.
the quick truck rental and trip to goodwill sounded less and less likely. i did some quick google searches for trash sites and such online. . . and that’s when i saw a familiar name. 1.800.GOT.JUNK. all those hours of watching ‘clean house’ just paid off. :)
i checked out their site. it’s not a cheap thing. . . but it can take a lot of the worry and back break from a cleaning job. they recycle everything they can, and donate to charities whenever they can. they are big on bringing as little to a landfill as possible. i like this. (beyond all that, i just read that they were initially started up by a college student in canada. -i know my feelings are unfounded, but whenever something is canadian, i just expect it to be better. . . more trust worthy. . . or something.)
i made an appointment for the next day.
i continued to sort through my things for the rest of the afternoon. i started packing boxes that i would send back to myself. i had to be out by 7pm, or be locked in.
dinner from whole paycheck. . . err. . .whole foods. yummy sushi.
mind wired, body tired. constantly running through my head, like a mantra, ‘be productive, B-E- productive.’
day 3-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the next morning was similar. back at the storage before 9. . . sorting. my appointment with 1.800.GOT.JUNK was for 12-2.
i did all the major sorting, and even the smaller/ picky sorting before they called. (i have a tendency to place important pieces of paper into books i’m reading, so i had to flip through all the books in the two tubs i planned to give away.)
anyway, their customer service was phenomenal. the guy i spoke to on the phone was very helpful and kind, and the two guys that came to move my stuff were congenial and worked quickly. i am impressed with the entire outfit. one of the guys that moved my stuff took the time to tell me how glad he was to see me using a reusable water bottle. again, they stressed that they would go through everything to separate out things that can be recycled or reused.
my only criticism. . . they don’t pack a truck they way i would. they started with my trash, which could all be thrown in much later. i would’ve started with the mattress and the table- big square things. . . stack the tubs and storage bins, place the electronics, then pack in the trash and my bike. it definitely wasn’t a roadie pack.
they left around 12:45. all gone, except for my boxes. i packed them into my car. some more faxing and phone calls to my brother, and i’m out of my storage.
celebration lunch? in-n-out. mmmmmm. . .
back to the hotel. for some reason i’m especially beat in the afternoon. wrote some cards to people who would receive boxes.
after a long lunch i walk out to my car to address all the boxes. drove to the post office. it took four trips with a hand cart from my car to the counter. just as i got in line, there was no one else. . . awesome, no one to piss off with a long wait. as i stepped to the counter. 7 or 8 people filtered in. i had 13 boxes to ship. it took a while, but i cracked a joke about single handedly helping the USPS through the recession.
everything gone, except for one extra bag that will travel with me. my portfolio would’ve needed a much larger box. . . i cushioned it and some other bits with a blanket my friend sarah made for me. (i didn’t keep the two pj bottoms she made me, but i really like the blanket and wasn’t ready to give it up. . . . yet.)
it felt so good to be done.
back to my room to relax before meeting up with a friend from calarts. . . and some more whole paycheck sushi.
michael and i met up and found a bar to hang out in. i was able to give him a few things from my storage. . . and since i remember that he liked them so much, i made him a batch of rice krispy treats and brought them from ny.
we did lots of chatting- michael and i actually met briefly in ohio, working for vincent in cleveland before calarts. for the first couple of weeks that i was at calarts we kept wondering why we looked familiar to each other. after talking through a complete techie genealogy we discovered that we worked together a couple of times in cleveland, and one of his closest friends from his undergrad was one of my apprentices at SFO.
we talked about a number of places that he hasn’t visited in the LA area yet. i had the advantage of knowing an LA native while i was there. i got to see a lot in my short time there. hopefully michael gets a chance to take in some sites before he graduates.
we bumped into a couple other calarts students. . . ones i actually knew. so much for keeping on the dl.
day 4-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i can sleep in! or, it would be nice if i could sleep in. not only am i wide awake at 6, but there’s some sort of loud industrial work happening in the next lot for a full hour.
i did sleep for another hour between 9 and 10.
michael thought there was a chance that we could head down to the getty if he got out of a meeting early. . . but that didn’t happen. i had a lazy day walking around. i can always waste time in a borders. *must not buy more books!*
i wouldn’t get to Mon (exceptional sushi), or Chan Dara (exceptional thai). . . but i picked up some thai from in town. it was delicious. i wouldn’t get to the getty, or the observatory, or the arclight. but, that’s ok. it wasn’t supposed to be that kind of trip anyway. it was gorgeous out. warm and sunny.
michael and i met up for a movie in town. ‘taken’. . . from minute 5 on it was a heart pounding thrill. pretty fantastic. i reminded him over and over that he should go to the arclight to see coraline, and watchmen, it’s what i would do if i were there. :)
turns out he’s a big fan of westerns, and well. . . i’m a big fan of ‘easterns’- or samurai movies to be exact. we are now coaching each other through a list of what the other should see.
day 5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(automaton day)
get up
shower
pack
clean car
check out from hotel
put gas in the car
drive to airport
check in rental
wait
fly and sleep (i think the father from twin peaks, ray wise, is on my flight)
land in ny
wait (in a pretty great terminal actually- yay jetblue)
fly and sleep
land in burlington
drive 3.5 hours home
it’s 4am
sleep a lot
wait for stuff to arrive
2.02.2009
storage.story.3
here's my task- clear it.
doesn't look terrible, but it was deeper than this picture can show.
storage.story.4
who knew i had a purse? i used it once, for katy's wedding. never got the hang of purses. . . love the messenger bag though.
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