The Land of Morning Calm Leaves Me Restless

I am somewhat enjoying the ropes of classes now that Gena (the expert cook, amongst other areas of "expertise" including the music of Eminem and Steven King) is gone. A trip to Japan made me realise that fun exists out anywhere: you just need to find the means and proper company whose energy and ideas off which you can feed. Funny that I saw this more clearly while there, considering that Tokyo is so beautiful and full of energy and excitement, spotless, like a city from a futuristic cartoon.

As one concerned with the concept of time moving faster with every increase in one's age, I found the feeling of weeks/weekends blurring together disturbing. Always meeting for dinner followed by drinks in the bar, sitting there only listening to the talk because all I can think about is how I'm always just working and studying Korean and then always end up drinking and doing nothing (but drinking) on the weekends. Simply being a muse leaves me unamused. I need some inspiration to come alive, some spark that gives me drive.

I recently received a surprise email from a Minnesotan who I'd met during my previous year in Korea. He's back in Seoul. He'd left for the States last time, and I thought he'd be settling there. This is the guy who one night (at 5am) slithered like a snake across the floors of cars on the subway, his shirt changing from a light blue to light brown in the process, then proceeded to run up every "down" escalator upon his exit of the deep underground subway, screaming "Bulgogi!" (marinated beef) all the way. So maybe life will have a little more zing to it in the coming months.