Photo story: Iced and almost to pieces sliced

Warning: all you faint of heart, shoo! R-rated for graphic violence. This photo story recounts a bone-chilling misadventure that ocurred during a hike on Mt. Mani (Manisan), Kanghwa Island. The red arrow points at the site where the life of our young [relatively speaking]heroine might have been lost or some of her bones migh have been broken, skull cracked, skin scraped, apples in her backpack bruised... [enough with the graphci violence]. If you're still with me, not-so-gentle reader, rejoice, for the heroine will be saved at the end by an act of unselfish bravery performed by the heroine's strong tall Teutonic friend, Princess Andrea von Greifswald und Sungbuk-gu. Let's begin our story. Not so long, long ago, as a matter of fact in the most recent past, a group of friends were merrily walking down Mt. Mani, lookiing forward to their strength elixir called dong-dong-ju. ...They were so happy, admiring beautiful winter scenery [see attached photo]. Of course, there was no red arrow to spoil the perfect cool colours scheme ....

The creek, its gorgeous silvery ice topping reflecting the setting sun, was too much for friends to resist. They stepped on the slippery surface, holding tightly to one another. Their happy faces give no indication of what horror is about to happen in mere seconds....

One of them, the flakey blonde Bianca, Duchess of Greencurry and Ricepudding decided to pose on ice for the aforementioned Teutonic Princess Andrea. Gracefully and gingerly as befits HRH, she walked closer to the middle of the creek, holding onto branches and stepping on sporadic heaps of fallen leaves. When the Princess' ran out of film, the Duchess started walking back to her friends who were, somewhat worried, standing on the bank, eagerly awaiting her safe return.

Unfortunately, the Duchess was wearing hiking boots and you should know, dear reader, that they are not designed for frolicking on ice. She slipped, fell and on her back started sliding down the steep creek. Princess Andrea, a passionate photographer, a fresh film in her camera, decided to first shoot her friend and then save her. Look at that agony, that face marked by fear and disbelief - a Pulitzer winning photograph.

Aaah, what a relief: Princess Andrea threw herself upon the creek, grabbed the tips of Duchess's fingers, and they were both pulled to safety by Sangwon, their knight in shining armor. To recover from the shock they all went to the nearest restaurant and had lots and lost of dong-dong-ju. They are still there, living happily ever after enveloped in the warmth of their friendship and alcoholic haze. The [happy] End.

Pointing at Where Fools Rush In, Not Princess

A fast learner, especially from mistakes: Princess, two weeks after the "fatal" fall down a frozen waterfall, at a safe distance from beautiful but dangerous Mommy nature.

Is it really almost over?

I mean, my vacation, is it really almost over? A 1,5 month ago, at its glorious beginning - having decided not to travel anywhere for reasons of advancing age that forces me to start saving for the rainy day and that dreaded winter of life - I thought I'd have all the time in the world to clean my dusty office, organise files, drawers, cabinets. On the home front the plan was to have my house wallpapered and spruced up from top to bottom; kitchen cupboards were to be lined with paper, photographs were to be scanned, saved on a disk, put into albums; long overdue letters were to be written; long-neglected friends were to be contacted; I was to study Korean one hour a day, exercise more than an hour a day and become a self-educated and self-sufficient pilates and yoga guru; I was to approach the level of IT proficiency equal or similar to Bill Gate's....

I gotta stop 'cause just listing things that were to be done and are, alas, still pending makes me feel like the sloppiest, most disorganized, time-wasting dudette that's ever seen the light of the day. Why am I such a slop and scatterbrain?

When it comes to theories of how to reach goals and accomplish what one wants to accomplish, there are two schools of thought: one that says you gotta be realistic, and the other that says you have to aim high if you want to get anywhere. Both approaches have their pros and cons, I guess it all depends on a type of person you are and also on a situation you find yourself in.

A while ago, over beer at an Irish Pub in Daehangno, I was talking to Clare and Jiwon about New Year's resolutions. Clare seems to belong to the first school of thought: be realistic and have your goals reasonable and manageable. My vacation plan disaster should prove her right. I wanted to accomplish too many things and I ended up with -to put it gently - meagre results. On the other hand, last year, following the "do or die and aim high" approach I set a goal to lose 20 kgs in 6 months. I made my own personal plan I religiously stuck to and lost 21 kgs in less than 4 months. Three years ago I also stopped smoking cold turkey, following the same 'harsh' strategy. It's to be concluded that "must do it or else" attitude works for me, and it does but, alas, not always. Many times in spite of swearing, promising, resolving, deciding, I stay on track for about 3-4 days, but then my determination fades away, and I fall back to my old vile ways.

On the other hand, a few years ago I was quite successful with a gentler approach, I was all about "skill over will" - gradual accomplishment of big things by chopping them into small manageable pieces. It worked: I had lost 17 kg over a two-year period and I had cut down on smoking, even becoming a non-smoker for months on end [but always going back to it 'full time' ]. What is it then?

Why do I - and I am sure many other people- seem not to be boxable into either of the categories? Experience has shown that I am neither a skill over will nor a do or die kind of a gal, but that I am both at the same time. There's only one answer: the power of the situation. A few years ago my circumstances were much different from today's. I was younger, I felt I had all the time in the world to become healhty, fit, a non-smoker, succssful, loved... Now, I feel like time's really flying. Now's the time to set high goals and work hard to accomplish them. I just have to remind myself that people get tired and that they need an ocassional breather. I think that's exactly what happened during my vacation - I actually dared to take a vacation.

Simply put, I was tired: my job exhasted me, personal problems left me frazzled, friends on ocassion let me down... I really needed a vacation. Going out 'n' shooting breeze, playing a tourist in Seoul, watching Sex and the City reruns, reading what I wanted to read, sleeping in had much more appeal than cleaning house and organizing drawers.

So, I forgive myself [they say that greatness of people is measured by their capacity to forgive - so there you go]. After all, all is not all that bad. I did spend some time studying Korean and scribbling Chinese characters; I did exercise a little [actuallly walked a lot in my aforementioned tourist role], I did attempt and sometimes even successfully twisted myself into a veritable zoo of yoga camels, locusts, cobras, dogs, cats; I did clean my house - perhaps not as thoroughly as I planned to,, but it smells fresh and looks really homey - I even bought a few silky cushion covers that add a splash of Koreana to my digs; I did start my "let's get better at things digital and electronic" crusade [the proof is in this blog, ain't it?]. I aimed high and although I didnt' get anywhere nigh, boy, did I ever enjoy the slow ride. Just puttering around recharged and readied me for going back to my demanding and sometimes downright exhausting job.
I still have about two weeks of bumming around. Then I'll work hard for a few months until the next vacation for which I already have some plans - and they are grand, as always.

I'm my Valentine, my sweet Valentine...

Happy Valentine's Day OR Happy Anti-Valentine's Day? What should it be? One of my friends says her boyfriend's not allowed to bring her chocolate, roses, candles and the works on Valentine's, or any other day. She says: 'it's so cliche'. If he can't find a more original way to show me his love I don't need that well-worn Hallmark/Harlequin crap. She has a point there, but I disagree. I guess lots has been said and done by someone else before, but lots has not been said and done for me.

It's a truth universally known that many people feel exactly like this lonely coach potato on Valentine's Day . If we can manage blissful happiness on our own on any other night of the year, why do we feel such a high degree of "desparation" on Feb. 14th? Weird! It's all those stupid card/ chocolate/candy/candle companies and flower shops that need to profit from our "forced" romantic feelings. "Happy Valentine to my Dear Mother-in-Law"? Oh, please, isn't this usually the woman who drives you crazy more than anyone else? Our reason knows exactly what's going on, but still our hearts long for those candies, chocolates, candles... 

Having refused a few hot dates - you better believe it! {it's too cold to go out} - I stayed home, chocolatey candle shown below burning and smelling better than Milka. When the temptation to bite into it became unbearable, I got out my secret stash of real chocolate, sat by the fire, urrgh, actually sat on the heated ondul [a Korean-style heated floor, and did my best to make yet another Valentine super sweet, date or no date.

How wise a candle can be? Its smooth brown surfaces professes something wise and true - and that in stylish gold letters. I read it over and over again....

...and I ate this (not the wrapper, the chocolate, of course)... I am impressed by a truly feminist message this chocolate sends: a woman can give herself a rose. Who needs a bloke for that?

...and this...

...and this... 

Ahh, feeling quite fuzzy-buzzy after all that chocolate.... Sceptics might say that chocolate is just a susbstitute for something else missing in a girl's life and that the substituion works as successfully as Como Agua Poro Chocolate. Hmph, you be the judge of that. I am going for another bite.

Clubbing Korean-style in Hongdae

The following 6 pictures are courtesy of my friend Clare, an overall amazing woman, but especially a keen photographer. To be honest, they're not really "courtesy," but rather rip offs from her own blog [god forgive me and Clare, too]. All pictures were taken in Hongdae, a clubbiing part of Seoul, in the course of a "club night" last month. We started by having cocktails at "Tin Pan", followed by dinner at "Gastro", followed by a short dance at some club, followed by another dinner at a hole-in-the-wall type of a restaurant that serves super cheap Korean food. The first photo shows the food: a steaming bowl of ramyon [instant noodles].

This is me, eating ramyon and checking phone messages at the same time - a very Korean thing to do.  

Clare, skillfully swirling steaming noodles around her chopstics.  

The beautiful interior of "Gastro" in Hongdae, a fun part of Seoul with lots of clubs and bars.  

Elegant dining. Clare introduced to us a newly open fine fusion restaurant called "Gastro." Fusion means a combination of foods and flavors coming from different parts of the world (e.g. Italian with Asian influences). Shown here pouting in pretty pastels over artsy pottery: Jiwon and me.

Shiraz, Cheese and Cigars

Smoked out. Sunday, February 13th, Wine, Cheese and Cigars Chez Mois. My friend Andrea's boyfriend is visiting from Germany. The good man brought blocks of cheese from Germany to our cheese-deprived lives, Korea not being quite the Switzerland of Asia. We decided to see how much cheese and wine can be devoured by 5 people in the time frame of 4 hours. Jiwon, Clare, Timo [the boyfriend], Andrea and I attacked the feast. Final result: you don't want to know! Lots and lots of everything. Below: Andrea, inhaling poison from one of the cigars I bought in Daehangno [Seoul's entertainment district] from a half-frozen Peruvian (illegal?) migrant worker, a pretty woman called Miriam. I don't care for cigars but she looked so miserable, I bought 4 to cheer her up.

Thinker and Smoker. Here's Jiwon thinking about her upcoming move to New York - or perhaps about the weight of the world?

Dobongsan Hike, Feb. 12th

Although there is hardly any snow on mountains in the Seoul area, there are plenty of frozen creeks that offer interesting photgraphic backgrounds.

Rock and the City. Hiking in Korea is a national craze. Mountains in Seoul and around Seoul are swarmed with hordes of hikers dressed in black hiking gear and equipped to the nines. As you hike under high skies surrounded by trees you're fooled into thinkging that you're far, far away from the madding Seoul crowd; the next moment, you turn around and this is the wiew that offers itself to you: an urban jungle with thousands of high-rise apartment buildings.

Dobongsan (Mt. Dobong) in Seoul. A water spring hidden in a cave.  

Cave[wo]men