it has been a good weekend. i feel well-rested and re-energized. i’m looking forward to november, my favorite month of the year (for no other reason than the fact that my birthday’s in november). there are going to be two n0-school days in november: nov. 18th (korean SATs) and nov. 22nd (interview day for prospective students). my birthday is on the 16th, by the way (i share a birthday with olympic gold medalist oksana baiul). and the social network opens on the 18th; i kind of want to see it.
school is going to be crazy. our school’s final exams got moved up a week because they’re going to start remodeling the dormitory in early december. i know that that’s a shit reason to move exam dates, but ::shrug:: that’s what we do. for most of december, the students are arriving in the morning and leaving at night, like what students do in non-boarding high schools. it’s gonna be crazy. and because the exam dates got moved up (seriously, they announced this, like, two seconds ago), our english conversation classes’ project presentation dates have to be moved around. i’m gonna have to work some magic rescheduling these presentations. sigh.
anyway, i’m not worried. work will always be work. i’m feeling good right now because i had such a relaxing weekend.
on friday, i did the laundry and watched my shows.
on saturday, i received a package from home. my older sister sent me one dress shirt from express, three packages of goldfish crackers (one has already been devoured), and ten packages of dog treats. the dogs got more stuff than i did. i sit next to prairie in the teachers’ office, and it seems like she receives a box from home every week (or something like that). so it was nice to get something from home. see? i have loved ones, too!
at around one, we took the dogs to the vet for their heartworm medication. in the states, we would buy a year’s worth of heartworm pills and visit the vet once a year. penny and oliver’s vet suggested that we come in every month for their heartworm pills because then he can give them a quick check-up (for free). so that’s what we do now; i adore my puppies’ vet. we also let the vet know that we’re planning on getting them fixed very soon.
later that day, around five in the afternoon, my internet stopped working. i unplugged and plugged and restarted stuff again and again, but nothing seemed to help (and i know my way around computers). so i gave up. that night (at like, 11:30pm), the significant other called KT, talked to an actual person, and scheduled a service call for the next day (a sunday). i was like, right…
today (sunday) was a gorgeous day. picture perfect. no clouds in the sky. breezy, but not chilly. since i didn’t have the internet (it’s like living without oxygen), i finished jennifer 8. lee’s the fortune cookie chronicles (review to come). and then i cleaned my house for most of the morning so that the internet guy wouldn’t judge me.
around noon, we had lunch at an actual restaurant (i really needed that), and went to e-mart. there, i totally caved and bought a portable vacuum cleaner (for all the dog hair—it’s mainly oliver’s). it’s light, rechargeable, and pretty. i haven’t used it yet (it needs to be charged for ten hours). i can’t wait!
around four, the KT guy came. he fixed whatever he needed to fix in ten minutes or so. he tried to explain the problem to me in korean, and i was like, yeah, that’s not gonna happen. then he immediately tried to explain it to me in chinese (to my surprise), and did a passable job of it (some cable up on my roof got kinked…or something). i was impressed! in the end, he realized that i spoke english and left me with these parting words: “internet very high. your laptop, slow.” i nodded and smiled. yes, my dell inspiron is over five years old.
the cost of him coming to my house for the ‘repair’? nada. “this is korean service,” the significant other boasted. yeah, and on a sunday (halloween), too!
i took the dogs out for a long walk in the park, where we encountered an ajumma walking her long-haired bitch. she and i had a five-minute conversation about my dogs. i nodded and smiled for most of it, but i got some things in. we both disapproved of people who throw puppies away on the street. she suggested that i get my dogs body harnesses (as opposed to attaching the leashes on their collars). i said my puppies were probably related, but that i didn’t know for sure. she said that they didn’t look like brother and sister. anyway…
when i yell “kennel!” both dogs run into their respective crates. i’m actually doing a good job training them.
i had a good weekend. and tomorrow’s november. all of my gifted kids keep writing on my facebook wall. one of my favorite students (hah-young) got accepted into yonsei and thanked me for proofreading her college application essay. i have apples and green grapes in the fridge. gifted classes are over!
sorry for all the randomness, but i feel light today.
