Looking Back on 2014

I never seem to think time passes too slowly ever. There are times where I think 5 minutes feels like an eternity, but never a day. I have long stopped to 'bear' with time passing, and am mostly embracing it's passing by. I know that however hard days can be, they pass by fast, and only what we choose to leave in our memories really stays. 

And it's all good like that.

Last year I didn't see the end of year pass by. My memories lay with the moving to Guro, and the transition to Mokdong life. I had never thought I'd have so much things to bring around and accumulated so much. This time around I wonder what kind of luggage I will bring with me and what I will leave.

Last view of my apartment in Dongtan. I realize how crazy those two years I've spent here were on many levels, and how different they were from another.

Getting the girlz installed and cozy in the new apartment.

The start to a crazy baseball season...

My first discovery in Mokdong.

Tea trip to Boseong.

Friend's wedding.

Spring baseball.

May disaster side-effect taking on me.

Outings with Fortis kids.

Short trip to Canada.

In Do Minjoon's bedroom.

Sumer baseball.

Yay bought a hanbok!

Chuseok with the kids.

Hongdae with Injung.

Our own Hanbok Day.

My very own designed-doll.

More Hanbok Days.

Last game of the season 2014.

Boat ride on Han River.

Another wedding.

Late fall Hanbok Day.


Have a Happy year 2015!!!!

LOVE

PEACE

FUN

FRIENDS

FOOD

SUN

Spring Come, Rain Fall - Antique CoCo

There was this restaurant making Japanese style food wonders in Hapjung Area, Seoul. I went there last spring with a co-worker to try their salmon and was swept away. I wanted to go again soon, but time passed and I never got the time. It's only a few month later that I ended up going with a friend. 

To knock my face on this. 

So apparently the place has closed down. I can't tell if they are planning on opening again, but it didn't say so I have my doubts. They were in a good spot, not too far from the station, and had a nice building with 2 floors, with very simple layout of cement and wood. The food was amazing and I had wanted to try their desert and coffee (I'd been full the first time so I hadn't).

I am so sad.

So we went to another place in the open underground area around the station, and walked around the area to a Chocolate store called Antique Coco (안티크코코). I never knew Hapjeong had so many nice places to see for window shopping. This is partly because I have only really been there in the evening or at night for that time with my coworker, and the recording of my friend's CD track Black Skies last year. Wow. Time flies.

As usual, my idea that "Seoul, the more you know the less you know". 

 So this place had wonders. They make their cakes - that look amazing, but were too much for us having already shared 3 full course plates between two people a few minutes previous to entering - and chocolates. 

The store was a tiny opening in the side of the building, with an inviting patio and storefront sign, but they also had the whole basement on one side, so there were lots of seated spots, and they had their indoor restroom (+1 on coffee shop chart yay!).

They had this black chocolate ball filled with sweet (but not crazy sweet) red wine of which you could drink from with a straw and then break down the chocolate with a small heavy hammer (which we totally failed to do - the employee took three strong quick swings at it and broke it in 5 seconds...)

You can see on the picture how the chocolate on the inside has been dyed with the wine. It was not gooey at all, as I had slightly feared, but just soft and fragrant. It was even better than the wine, who by the way had been really well chosen to match the chocolate. They told me the name of the wine but I fail to remember it. They apparently usually had 2 types of wine filling but they only had this one when we went.

10%

Pause bien méritée pour le corps et l'esprit. Massage de dos et pieds avec Injung <3

C'est l'hiver, encore une fois, en Corée.

L'hiver, la période de l'année où je suis habituellement productive pour m'empêcher de laisser les blues du rapetissement des journées m'atteindre. 

Mais cette année j'ai laissé les blues me prendre, je n'ai pas vraiment fait grand chose, et j'ai l'impression de m'être fait voler mon automne. L'emploi que j'ai à Mokdong m'a apporté de grandes joies, mais ces joies là n'était pas le travail lui-même. J'aime l'école, j'aime les enfants, j'aime le quartier, et j'aime ma grande amie de Mokdong. Mais ma boss fait partie de mon 10%. 

Et ça rend ma vie misérable.

Malgré le fait que je sois très sensible, et que les choses m'atteignent facilement dès que je fais une erreur involontaire, je suis généralement rapide à me remettre sur pied. Mais ces temps-ci, s'additionnant au blues de l'automne, j'ai du mal à me remettre.

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Ma mère est une figure importante dans ma vie, et fait partie des personnes que j'admire le plus au monde. Elle a toujours eu une grande sagesse à mes yeux, et les premières fois où, grandie, j'ai découvert que toutes nos valeurs n'étaient pas exactement les mêmes et qu'elle était un être humain ayant vécu ses propres aventures - bonnes et mauvaises - cela m'a fat tout un choc.

Mais toutes ses histoires restent avec moi, dormante, et reviennent parfois par vagues de souvenir chaud qui me flattent les joues dans un hiver froid.

Cette philosophie, je l'ai entendue d'elle. 

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Le 10%

Dans la vie, on s'entête à se faire aimer de tout le monde (peut-être pas vous, mais moi je fais mon possible). Dans mon cas, j'ai une grande phobie qui m'a toujours tenue compagnie. La peur de ne pas être aimée par autrui.

L'histoire du 10% est sortie dans un contexte de travail, alors que je l'ai toujours gardée avec moi dans tous les aspects de ma vie, c'est ironique que je la ressorte dans un contexte de travail.

À mesure que l'on avance dans la vie, l'on rencontre pleins de gens qui font partie de notre tous les jours, et 80% de ces gens seront des gens avec qui il sera bon de vivre. Soit ils feront leur travail si bien qu'ils seront d'une grande aide, soit ils seront amis qui rendront votre vie sympathique et distrayante. Aucun d'entre eux de resteront nécessairement dans nos vies, mais ils feront partie de nos bon souvenirs et une partie de notre vie qu'il sera bon de raconter à d'autres.

10% seront les personnes que l'on rencontre par hasard, qui changeront votre vie. Des gens placés sur notre chemin avec qui tout marche. Par parce que vous être en tout point pareils, mais parce que vous êtes en tout point compatibles. Ils sont peut nombreux, mais ils sont les gens qui vont transformer votre vie pour le meilleur.

Et puis il y a le dernier 10%. Ceux qui, malgré TOUS vos efforts, ne vous aimeront jamais, rien ne marchera jamais. Pas par malice nécessairement, mais parce qu'il n'y a rien qui fasse que vous soyez compatibles. D'un côté ou de l'autre. Il n'y a pas moyens d'améliorer la relation avec ces personnes, parce que c'est toujours un cercle vicieux. 

Le cercle vicieux est pire quand on est comme moi, et qu'on essaie malgré tout de changer l'impossible. Chaque effort n'est pas reçu comme un effort, mais comme un manque d'habileté ou de mauvaise volonté de ne pas avoir fait mieux, ou de montrer comme ça a été difficile d'accomplir.

___________________

Ma boss est dans mon 10%. Cela m'a pris 9 mois à m'en rendre compte. Mais je me rend compte que ça ne changera pas. J'étais bien mélangée par tout ça. Étant une résidente étrangère en Corée ayant accumulé une quantité assez impressionnante de bagage à déménager en cas de changement d'emploi, j'ai fait de mon mieux pour que cet emploi fonctionne bien pour y rester au moins 2 ans. Je me suis mis beaucoup de pression dans les derniers mois et je pense que ça m'a rendue un peu malade. 

Alors cet hiver j'ai décidé de prendre un brin de repos pour penser à tout ça. Ça ne vaut pas toujours la peine d'attendre de se faire laisser tomber avant de réaliser que son bateau ne tient pas l'eau. J'ai toujours essayé de tenir jusqu'au bout, voyant l'abandon d'une épave comme une cowardice, une défaite. 

Et j'apprend sur le dur. Parce que ça ne s'apprend pas dans les livres, la différence entre l'acharnement et l'effort. 

Parce que parfois ce n'est pas le manque d'effort qui font que tout s'écroule, et quelque fois cela n'est pas être paresseux que de décider d'arrêter de mettre des efforts où l'on ne devrait plus.

Ce billet à pris des tournures de journal.

November Nexen M.T.

If you have travelled a minimum in your lifetime, you will have stopped in what are called "truck-stops" - at least, we call them so in Quebec, because those are the mandatory stops truck drivers have to make after a set amount of kilometers run between cities, so small villages have set their earnings by offering cheap fast-food for the stopping drivers.

As mentioned, truck stops are not gourmet places. They have hot-dogs, hamburgers, poutine (in Québec) fries and the like. Well there are stop places along the highways in Korea too, where people stop to stretch their legs and eat a bit. The food is Korean fast-food. Japanese udon or fried cutlets, Korean bibimbap and soups.


Hisayong - the baseball crew I cheer with in Mokdong, had what they call a M.T. (sadly can't remember what the acronym stands for) on November 15,16. It's weird because I feel like it was only a few days ago that November felt so far, but we are almost Christmas. Cold winter has started in the East.

 This is crazy.

So Nexen is not playing in Mokdong for a few months and I have until December 20 to decide if next year is worth getting a season pass. If I stay in Fortis then it might be a good idea, because I can go directly after work. If I don't, well I might stay a bit longer in Canada after my contract and get back to Korea late in the season so I really don't know what is best yet. I wish I knew more about what is coming for me work-wise in Korea.

Anyways. I am going on a tangent.

When we went to the MT, we stopped at a rest stop and I ordered something that looked yummy, half-expecting something weird. It looked like small rice balls with fried crispy onions on top, with mayonnaise and greens on top. I felt like an expensive restaurant in Quebec might be selling those, with a more expensive sauce type. The food was $4.

It was exactly what I expected. And I was surprised by it. It was super simple, yet so tasty. And the amount, small enough to fill in my easy-to-fill stomach without making me feel too full. Anyways. It was blissful in my mouth.

So here we are for Korean truck-stops.

Win. 

The stop also had an amazing system of this-toilet-is-taken red and green lights at the top of each doors. Isn't this amazing? It blew my mind.

Then again. 

It doesn't take me lots to get mind-blown. I enjoy life like that.

And yes. I am creepy like that. I take pictures in bathrooms.

I had a ride from a friend going to the same place, and we got there early afternoon. The pension was really nice, with a build-in Jjimjilbang (sauna) and large rooms. If I may complain about one thing, it was that, later, we found out that there were like only 4 sets of blankets in the building.

And we  were over 40 people.

Can't have everything they say....

As soon as everyone got there and settled, we headed to a local elementary school to play Tball. We had split everyone in 4 teams and played al afternoon. It was still warm with the sun up, and was a great day out.

Haebaragi Team for the win. We ended up 2 nd place in the 'championship', so I decided that we were Nexen, as Nexen finished second this fall. Much better than being Samsung. :P

Me, looking amazing.

Frgetting to let go of my left hand after hitting, concentrating expression, huge looking layers of Nexen jackets and .....

Ball got caught.

Out.

Oh well...

I kept this picture because I think I look cute walking nonchalantly at the back, and I did not really like many pictures of the ones that were taken that day, save that one. 

Part of our evening's refreshments. There was amazing meat Bossam for dinner with goodies that came later. I actually got a bad migraine that evening and ended up not eating much, and not drinking much, and sleeping pretty early so I missed part of the fun, but oh well....

In the evening, the games continued and in the end, our team finished first. There were a couple of nice prizes but the one I really wanted, Jungho Kang's cap from when he was number 25 of the Hyundai Unicorns, went to someone else on the team, and no amount of aegyo - Korean way to act cute in order to obtain things from a man -  got me to have it.

The next day, most teams had to reform, because half of the people had gone back to Seoul so we re-teamed and played one game of t ball, and ... shoot, what's 'balon chasseur' in English? The game where you need to hit people on the other team around the legs and they have to get out of the field and throw the ball from the outside? Anyways. We still won.