I kind of stole the second part there from Jimmy Buffet -- I am pretty sure there is a book he has written called A Pirate Looks at Fifty -- or something similar to that. So I had this ginormous (if the word is spelled wrong please correct me) plan set out to type up this super-sized post all about how it felt to reflect on the past decade of my life -- then to look toward the future decade that has recently just begun.
We'll review the weekend that was to start with for now. It was a very pleasant weekend, although Saturday started without any plans until the evening. By 1:30 pm, the day was pretty busy. I met with my friend Mr. William, and we had a wonderful lunch at a new rooftop restaurant called Poom (what Poom means, I haven't the slightest clue). We enjoyed some wonderful rib-eye steaks, along with a glass of wine and some great appetizers as well.
We talked about all kinds of things during our few hours in the restaurant, and our time outside at the local park. Mr. William is a very busy business man who was kind enough to make time in his schedule for me. Mr. William is one of those who really humbles me with his kindness, and is always full of compliments for me. He even told me that I should turn some of this blogging stuff into some book writing -- I'm not sure about all that, but I do believe some of my experiences over in this corner of the world, could make for some interesting reading.
I left downtown after our time together, and then went back home to get ready for a short workout at my favorite gym in the world -- Life Health Club. I didn't spend but thirty minutes there, but it was nice to see some of the older folks that I love to practice my Korean with. The owner's daughter usually works the counter and she's a trip to talk with as well.
A good friend of mine, Timothy, helped me out with some of my Korean for an hour or so after my workout. We met a Starbucks that had Alison Krauss and Union Station playing for about ten or fifteen minutes. I had to pause and explain who it was to Timothy. Our friend Kai met up with us there for a few minutes too. Kai had found out on our English club website that it was my birthday, so he bought me a little gift certificate that I can use at any of the major movie places or restaurants in Korea.
We then departed and went to our English Club meeting. I am a member of an English Club in the Daegu area, that is about 75% Koreans, but these days there's a decent number of English speaking folks from various countries too. We usually have prepared topics with questions that we discuss from 7pm - 9pm on Saturday evenings almost every weekend. When we are finished, we go to one of two local restaurants to eat and drink -- I usually just prefer the eating part. This time there were two of us that were celebrating birthdays in the coming week. One younger lady who I didn't meet until this past weekend's meeting was having a birthday on Tuesday, and of course my birthday was on Sunday. So there was a cake that had a candle for each of us on it.
I was kind of unlucky to get the pink candle on my side, but beggars can't always be choosers I guess. We did Happy Birthday, in English, for the most part. I forgot to do the customary "make a wish" thing before blowing out my candle, but I usually don't wish for anything to great. Perhaps it's because I don't usually get what I wish for. Anyway, my mom sent some party stuff from the good 'ole Party Superstore, since I was turning the big 3-0!! Balloons were seen bouncing all around the restaurant, as everyone was carrying on in their separate conversations.
I went home about 11 pm, hoping I could fall asleep easily, but that didn't happen at all. I was so hoping to get some shut-eye before my homemade Korean breakfast at 8:45. I think it's because there was some caffeine in my tea from Starbucks -- gotta blame something besides myself right? My Sunday was a lazy one. Uncle Koo had wanted me to go play soccer with him and some friends, but I don't even own the proper stuff to play soccer. So I just stayed at home and watched UFC 129, like I was planning to do anyway. Little Sis Eun Byeol who was supposed to plan an afternoon with some friends and I, decided that she didn't want to do anything but stay at home and watch TV. So, I ventured out on my own and visited my former bosses at the Daegu Young Falcons Office.
Though I don't tutor these young kids anymore on the weekends, I am still invited to some of their special events and gatherings. Tomorrow there is an Air Show in the province near me, so I'm going to join a large group of them there. Tomorrow is actually a holiday -- Children's Day here in Korea.
The Koos (family that I stay with when I go to Daegu), treated me to a nice dinner, and the mom even bought me a nice gift of manly cosmetic stuff. I told her not to bother with buying anything but she felt pretty compelled to do so. She and Eun Byeol walked to the store, when I went to meet a friend and bought the stuff. I walked upstairs to my room and noticed a box and a letter on the table that weren't there when I had left earlier. I was pleasantly surprised to have the gift. I met my friend Michelle who studies in a coffee shop almost every night. She's a Korean who is trying to go to school in Australia, so she's studies English quite a bit for hours and hours every day. She does speak pretty well, so I gotta give her some credit there.
I'm gonna take a small break from this typing for now, and complete the latter part of this post later. I'll add some birthday pics and Children's Day pics soon also.
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