Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Night Ski/Snowboard
Went snowboarding for the second time in my life. We went from 1am to 3am. It was great.
We only went on the "difficult" run... at first I was like, "Hey guys, you remember I've only done this once before, right? Are you sure I should be going on this one?"
But it worked out. By the end of the night, I was doing the most difficult slope with no problem... if a bit slower than my friends... but I did have my s-turns down and I was getting up to pretty good speed.
That's how it's always been with me. I pick things up pretty quickly, but never seem to "master" them. Sort of a mediocre Jack-of-all-trades. Also, I've discovered that if I want to learn something, it's best to try doing the most difficult thing first. Without the challenge I don't get better.
Anyway, here are a few grainy pics taken with my little point and shoot at 1600 ISO. Hopefully this is the start of my return to photography.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I paid basically $35 for the whole trip... gear rental and lift ticket. My friends had the hook-up.
PS it's all man-made snow. So it was icy... and my knees and butt hurt today.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
I'm Alive
Hey everyone. I'm alive and well. I've just been a bit busy. So busy I haven't been able to pursue my favorite hobby... photography. I keep carrying my camera around with me, but never get a chance to take it out and shoot. The weather is cold, so there haven't been any interesting outdoor activities.
I've been busy planning a trip to Japan. I've also been meeting up with a lot of great friends. Some who I haven't seen in years and suddenly they show up in Korea, it's amazing.
I've also taken up learning an instrument. When I was younger I used to play the flute. I love it's sound. I got a lot of teasing in middle school, but I stayed with my instrument. Unfortunately I didn't have a good flute and didn't have the money to buy a new one, so I eventually gave up playing. However, I now possess the financial means to continue my musical pursuit. I've also found an excellent teacher.
Christmas season is here. It's a strange and somewhat sad time. This will be the 3rd Christmas I've missed with the family. I have no real plans as of yet. Maybe a fancy dinner with friends... I'm not sure.
Last week I made "gingerbread" houses with my students. Everything sounded great, until I learned that cake frosting and graham crackers don't exist in Korea. So with some quick thinking and a trip to costco (yes, they have costco here, no, costco didn't have cake frosting or grahams) we used cookies and peanut butter instead. The kids loved it and I have peanut butter hand-prints on my shirt to prove it.
Some interesting people I've recently met... a Korean who grew up in Malaysia and who now works in Korea for a logging company, a neurosurgeon from Uzbekistan who is doing medical research, a Korean concert pianist who changed her major and studied in Germany for 9 years to become a doctor and then decided she didn't want to be a doctor, a Korean who grew up in New York and who looks exactly like my friend Ko-Ko from University, the really cool husband of my friend who I haven't seen in 8 years, a fashion magazine writer who I showed one of my favorite secret coffee shops, an artist who makes lovely postcard sized ink drawings, and many many more...
Stay tuned for photos. I'm going through camera withdrawal and won't be able to resist much longer. Even if they are dumb pictures taken in my apartment.
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