BEDIM 31 - Finished!

Well, I did it. I blogged every day this month. I only posted on my facebook wall about a few entries, and the views stayed low, but that is totally okay. I didn't really have a reason to do this BEDIM thing, and getting blog hits wasn't even in my mind, so I'm not let down or sad or anything.

I don't even have a profound statement about what I've learned or experienced while writing every day this month. Since I'm not finishing the blog or anything, I'll still write in it occasionally, so this isn't goodbye, just the end of the month-long challenge. I guess this is a pretty drab conclusion to the challenge...
Well, June is nearly upon us, and with that, I'll be able to say "I'm going home next month." I've had a wonderful time here, and to go home to the States and hunt for a job all over again is going to be a pain. I was actually looking online at what it would take for me to go back to London, since I loved my study abroad trip there, but I was saddened to see how near-impossible it is for an American to live/work there. Being able to work at the British Library or museums would be SO amazing. Maybe I can someday find a way to go back.

I guess I can finish up this month by asking a question: what should I change my blog name to? I don't know why I chose Imaginative Irony, and I've never really been very attached to the title. If you, yes, dear reader, you, have any suggestions, leave a comment. If I see a good one, I'll happily use it as the title!
So long, O lusty month of May, you've been a nice one.

Mission accomplished!

BEDIM 30 - Nearly Forgot!

It happened - I forgot to write a post yesterday. But, I'm in luck because on the other side of the world it's still yesterday, so I'm not completely out of luck.
Last night I was waiting for a friend to get online, but I fell asleep. I woke up about 4 times with my computer by my side and checked my email every time. My friend never did get online, which I guess allowed me to get some sleep.
Also last night I went the new movie "Snow White and the Huntsman" and I'm happy to say that it was a perfectly fun movie. It seems that most people hate the actress playing Snow White, and I even wasn't too excited to see her, but I guess the role of Snow White isn't that deep or complicated and I thought she did fine. All she had to do was look sad and determined, and as everyone knows, that actress is great at that face.
The costumes and design were really cool though. It was just the kind of fantasy movie that I love. There was even a part with a horse stuck in swamp mud and I had to restrain from screaming "ARTAAAAAAX!!!"
Sometimes students ask teacher what their favorite movie is, and I have a hard time answering because I like so many. I usually just answer, saying "fantasy movies" and follow up by saying Harry Potter. Then they laugh and say that I look like Harry.
Well, this is  the penultimate entry in my Blog Every Day In May challenge. It's short (like they all are these days), but maybe I'll be struck with inspiration for an amazing final entry. Let's hope so.

BEDIM 29 - Ice Cream!

As a kid, I never ever got ice cream from the freezer section of gas stations or the ice cream truck or anything. We always had some bucket of ice cream in the freezer at home, so I never really felt like I wanted or needed to by a single serving ice cream treat. Also, they were usually too expensive.
But then I came to Korea.
Ice cream bars and treats are so cheap here! I think that I've got ice cream after every time I've been out with friends after eating. It's not just me, either - everybody gets ice cream here! Every store has a massive ice cream freezer and a huge selection.
My current favorite is the milkshakes in a CapriSun type pouch. I could eat them all day (today I pretty much did). It's also tradition here where I work that you get ice cream after eating kimbap. It's just assumed that on your walk back from the kimbap place you will stop at one of the shops along the way and get ice cream. The portions are just right and take the spicy out of your mouth.
I think that I'll try to continue the tradition of ice cream after meals when I'm back in the States, but I'll also have to get plenty of exercise to keep myself from turning into a blob. If I do turn into a blob, I imagine that I'd look a lot like the Stay-Puft guy - complete with a smile.

BEDIM 28 - Movie Night

I just finished the movie "Contact" (1997), and I must say that I quite enjoyed it. The whole reason I watched it in the first place was because I saw a clip from the film with really amazing camera work, and I thought that there might be more interesting shots to look forward to.
Well, there some more shots that were interesting, but the point is that I watched the movie and enjoyed it.
I'm a sucker for special effects, sci-fi, and fantasy, and Contact was a good addition to my have-seen movie list. It sorta felt like more approachable "2001: A Space Odyssey," but with a trippy finale that makes sense to a casual movie goer (who hasn't read the book). Anyway, I'd recommend it, just be sure to have 2.5 hours for it.
Sorry this is so short, but that's all for today, folks!
See you tomorrow!

BEDIM 27 - Yongin Traditional Village

About two months ago, I went to a Yongin Traditional Village, which was build to replicate the old-time villages in Korea and to teach about Korean heritage. It was a little cold that day, but I had lots of fun. There was also an amusement park section. Those traditional villages had it all!

There were a few tall rocks and some trees with rope tied to them for you to write down a wish and then tie the paper to the rope. There were thousands of wishes, it looked really amazing.

There must have been many gateways in the days of yore if this village taught me anything.

"In the past, parents used to send their children to their neighbors after putting a winnowing basket on their heads to correct their habbit of wetting the bed."
What?! How would public humiliation correct bed wetting? 

I bet that most people didn't smile when they had to carry this thing.

This was a game in which people try to land a dowel vertically into a series of rings. It was more fun to watch that to play.

This picture doesn't show how truly colorful this was, but it was pretty amazing.

Here is a detail of the gate thing from the previous picture.

What traditional village would be complete without THE VIKING?!?
We went on this SO many times (as you can see, it was not crowded).

This little boy sat by me on this ride, and then sat by me or my friends for maybe 5 other rides (his mom didn't want to go on the rides). He was so cute! Also, as you can see, I taught him the roller coaster pose of my people! One of my proudest achievements!

BEDIM 26 - Flying Whales

Today was an awesome lazy Saturday. I slept in, skyped my family, played nintendo and the piano, noraebang, and ate ice cream.
As open and free my day was though, I still didn't think of anything to write for today.
So, instead of boring readers with my pointless ramblings, I'll post a video with one of the most amazing pieces of music ever. My only suggestion is that you LISTEN to it, not watch it - the conductor is freaking crazy! It's rather distracting. So yeah, listen to it and enjoy!

BEDIM 25 - I Don't Wanna Grow Up

My baby brother graduated from high school today (or yesterday for that side of the world). I can't believe how time flies. For graduation, his whole class is going to Disneyland! My own grad-night was really fun, but Disneyland would have made my day! Best last day of school ever!
So with the youngest gone for the next day and a half, and my other two brothers either married or off to a job-training thing - and of course my being in Korea - my parents are officially empty nest-ers for the first time ever.
Time is so weird for me to think about... I still feel like a kid most of the time, and making life decisions is stressful and scary. When my mom was my age she already had 3 kids! I think I'm not too cut out for this being-an-adult thing.
Just the other day I was email-chatting with my best friend and we were thinking of some fun things to do when we both get back to our hometown. The list I've been making is pretty awesome, let me just say, but it's still strange to be planning on being back in the States. It's like starting all over again. I really have no sure idea where I'll be in three months. I'm hoping for a certain job I applied for (and am totally qualified for), but if that falls through, I'll be without a plan. How am I supposed to have fun if I'm jobless and running out of money and stuff?
Anyway, perhaps in three months' time I'll have posted again about my wonderful perfect life and new adventures. Stay tuned for that! ("Be optimistic!" they say.)