BEDIM 15 - Boy Band!

At work today, just before we were to go pick up our students, one of the head teachers showed us a music video from a new-ish(?) boy band called Taken. We were all wondering what in the world was going on, but when the video finished, we were told that the group would be in English Village for a photo shoot (supposedly for their album art), and that we would need to keep our students in check.
Well, as it turned out, they did indeed take pictures all afternoon and danced in sync and dressed like Korean pop stars and the students were enthralled even though they had NO idea who this band was. I heard the girls gasping and swooning and saying "boy band!" and being completely annoying, bless their hearts. I tried telling my class that the band was Taken, and they replied, "Chicken?" and still didn't care.
On my way home after clock-out, the group was still taking pictures, and it was when some underling was tying a guy's shoe for him that I decided I needed to snap a picture of this ridiculousness.
Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough to get the shoe-tying (she stood up just as I snapped the picture), but here are the pictures I did get:

"Did you double-knot it this time?"

Looks like I'll need white pants and a pastel tee to make is big here after all...

Also, for your viewing pleasure, here is the music video that was shown to us at work:

As far as K-pop goes, this is pretty lame, and has every K-pop video cliche evarrrr: weird asymmetrical hair styles, long dance numbers, random English phrases, perceived badassery, and a chorus that will haunt you for days. For the record, I do not like this song or video. I think most of my co-workers didn't like it either, and some of them are pretty avid k-pop-cultured people.
My friend next to me said with mock sentimentality, "Aw, look how young they are! Just starting to wear makeup."
So there it is, perhaps the next big thing for Korean kids to dance to at talent shows.
Even though I might be getting too old to follow this stuff, it's still fun to see and and enjoy (and be fiercely sarcastic toward).

Here is a random picture I took 2 weeks ago of North Korea. Have a nice day!

North Korea is the land on the horizon on the other side of the river.

BEDIM 14 - Rainy Days and Mondays...

Today was a Monday at work if I've ever had one. Lots of sick calls means a tighter and much busier schedule for everyone else. It also rained all day and picking up the students was hectic (and outdoors - in the rain), but the busy day did seem to go by quickly.
I'm so out of ideas for blogging tonight, so instead I'll post two Youtube videos of [short] songs I like. Enjoy!

BEDIM 13 - My Mom Rocks!

Remember when I wrote about being asked to play with a fake iPad and be photographed? Well, today my friend said he saw me in a commercial while waiting for the subway! I don't know what it was advertising, and I'll never be recognized for the star that I am, but it's still fun to know that the random photo shoot went somewhere.

In other news, it's Mother's Day! I love my mom because she is nice and amazing and makes good food (and cookies) and tells me she loves me. What else could I want? My mom quilts and is very crafty, and I'm sure I got some of those traits of my own directly from her.

If I were home this Mother's Day, I would have done something fun or special for my mom, but I'm halfway around the world and I'm afraid a phone call will have to do. Be sure to call your own mom today too!

BEDIM 12 - My First Bus Ride

This is a true story from my first day of school.
When I was started kindergarten, my mom drove me to school on the first day and as far as I recall, I had a fun day. There was even a girl in my class that became one of my best friends all throughout growing up. When the half-day of school came to a close, it was time to go home, and I was to take the bus. I walked with my class to the bus lane, where two buses waited to take all the kindergarten kids home. Well, I didn't know which bus to get on - no one had told me that there'd be two.
I don't have any idea what made me do what I did, but I chose to get on the first bus in the line, probably thinking that it was closer and I wouldn't have to walk 20 more steps to get on the other one.
Amazingly, my totally random choice landed me on the right bus and I got home safe and sound.
I sometimes remember this story and wonder how my day would have been different had I got on the other bus...The school district couldn't have been too huge, and I'm sure I knew my phone number, but I would have been a lost little boy if I'd chosen the other bus. I'm sure I would have been crying too, and the whole ordeal would probably have made me detest going to school long before my dreaded 4th grade year of misery.
So, my first ever bus ride was a lucky success. That whole school year of riding the bus home was great because the driver gave us candy when we got off the bus to walk home. To a kid like me, that was pretty dang cool.

BEDIM 11 - Goodbyes

Today at work I said goodbye to a friend who is returning home after 3 years of teaching abroad. She's going to South Africa, were it's winter during my summer and everyone's accents are super awesome.
It's a little strange, working in a place where you can make friends so quickly, and the watch them finish up their contracts and head off - who knows if you'll ever meet up again? In her farewell speech she DID say "I don't say goodbye, but instead, 'see you later'" and I think that is an amazing way to look at it.

BEDIM 10 - Three Peaks

Near my home there is a part of the desert called Three Peaks. There are hills of sandstone and dirt, but it doesn't have three distinct peaks, so I really don't know how it got its name. Perhaps one of the peaks is the one locals call "Jello Rock" which is also ridiculously named.
Ignoring the name, Jello Rock is a fun place to play. There are rock crawls every year on the sandstone boulders and campers there anytime the weather is warm. My brother and my friend and I went camping there a few summers ago on a night when a meteor shower was due, so we climbed up the to the peak with camp chairs and without a flashlight (and I do mean climbed - it was steep, and really dark too) and my friend somehow did it in flip-flops because she forgot to bring real shoes. Anyway, we made it to the top and had a wonderful time talking and enjoying the amazing meteor show for a while before heading back down the mini-mountain to our camp.

But not before snapping a picture of the show!

Another time, the same friend and I went out to Three Peaks to let her dog run around and be free while we chased after trying to get it back. Again, it was night this time and we somehow totally got lost among the millions of juniper trees. 

So treacherous! 

After half-joking about never finding the car and having to walk miles back home, we finally found our ride and the dog and came back home unscathed. 

During the writing of this post, I searched online for some pictures of the places I mentioned, but sadly couldn't find any. I did find a bunch of my hometown that look like I'm from a deserted prairie with nothing even in the distance to look at. When I am back home I'll see if I can rectify this by posting some pictures that show that there are, in fact, mountains on the distant horizon and therefore something to look at in the distance besides cows and ranch-style houses with no greenery to speak of.

There's no place like home!

BEDIM 9 - Drawing Abilities

Once upon a time, in a distant land, I endeavored to make a book of left-handed drawings and doodles and some words, and believe it or not, I actually filled the blank composition book full! I did this for a friend, to whom I did give the book, but things changed and we grew apart. Since then, by a stroke of luck, I got the book back and I will never let it go again!
Since that time I've started other books too - none were so complete or fun, but I still doodle and stuff. I'm by no means a talented artist, and I have a sort of strange style. When it comes to "drawing abilities," I don't really have much, but I still like to put pen or crayon to paper, and I usually do it left-handed so it looks like a first grader drew it. Provided for your viewing are a few "drawings" I made...
I love the artist Edward Gorey and tried to copy some of his stuff into a book I started, and here is a picture:

 This was just a doodle, nothing significant:

I also love calligraphy, but I'm really slow. Things like this take me a while, but I think they look pretty nice:

 This is an envelope that I made for a letter I wrote, and turned out really cool, I thought.

Not everything is black and dark though - this is the album art I made for a friends birthday mix I made:

And here are some parts of the original book I mentioned (sorry for the poor quality, I took these with a crappy camera like 5 years ago):

"If you even get close to me I'll bite your little fingers off."

Maybe someday I'll photocopy my drawings and bind them in a book of my own to keep forever and scare my future kids with. It could be fun!