Beauty & the Beast

Every parent is proud of their children and even the smallest of their achievements. In this respect we are certainly no different. Jenene and I are amazed at how much Harper and Promise have grown during the time we have been in Korea, and we always comment about how much our family and friends back home will be shocked when they see the kids in June.

Something in the water here has certainly made them both shoot up – so much so that they have both had their complete wardrobes replaced (the clothes not the actual piece of furniture) due to the fact that they keep growing out of things so quickly. As well as their physical growth, they are both quickly becoming very worldly children. It is amazing to hear what they talk about when they are playing together – their trains travel everywhere from Seoul to Southbank to the Great Wall to South America to Legoland, and even to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Promise has recently started doing Ballet, and she thinks this is very cool. She often prances around the apartment showing off her new moves, which sometimes causes the people downstairs to complain about the noise. She’s not the lightest little thing on her feet, but perhaps that will come soon. She is a very feisty little thing, and there is no way that anyone will ever be able to pull the wool over her eyes. At the same time she is a very loyal and loving friend, and she provides us with many laughs.

Harper has really gotten into his Tae Kwon Do, and it’s surprising how flexible (or lexible as he says) and agile the big fella is. He was very shy and timid at first, but now he gets right in there and he even yells out at the top of his voice. He has no idea what he’s saying, but it’s what everybody else is yelling out so it must be right. He has his first grading next week, so hopefully by Tuesday afternoon he will be a yellow belt – this scares me a little as I think he is going to be able to kick the crap out of me by the time he’s 7!

The kids have developed a really close bond since coming to Korea, and we often get comments about how lovely it is to see a brother and sister take such good care of each other. In fact we gets lots of comments, from people we know and from others we don’t, about what great kids they are general. This make Jenene and I gleam with pride because we think they’re pretty cool too! We are truly blessed to have these two wonderful people in our lives.

Running Man

Well it’s done! I ran a half marathon this morning – a total of 21.1km in 2hrs and 3mins. It’s something I‘ve been working towards for about 8 weeks, and now that it’s done I’d be lying if I said that a little more preparation time wouldn’t have been useful.

It was a lovely overcast morning and a balmy 16-18 degrees – great running conditions. The recent rain meant that the air was relatively clean, as the dust and pollution had been settled. It was a great challenge and definitely something that I’m glad I had a go at. I’m particularly pleased that I was able to make it without walking, and in a fairly respectable time.

I’m not sure if my legs have been this sore since I was about 8 years old and use to spend all day on my bike, but it’s a good pain (if there is such a thing?). Jenene, Harper, and Promise were at the finish line to greet me, and once I had received my medal Harper wore it so proudly that you’d think he’d completed the run. When’s the next one I hear you ask? I think I have realized that I may be more cut out for specializing in the 10km class, but you never know, maybe I’ll be stupid enough to try another one if the opportunity presents itself – it’ll depend on whether or not I can walk tomorrow!

A Night With Fat Mike!

Since coming to Korea I have been starved of live music opportunities, so it took little convincing to get me to the NOFX show in Seoul on Tuesday night.

I’ve been a fan of Fat Mike and crew since the early 90’s when I first heard “Don’t Call Me White” played on 4zzz, while I spent 12 hours on the side of busy road counting the cars that went past. Oh the things you do to get a buck at uni. I was doubly enticed at the prospect of checking out the Korean punk scene.

Koreans in general are very good at copying/imitating the goings on from other countries. This happens at all levels, music, television, shopping malls, and even railways. I am happy to say that the punk scene gets the same treatment. It was hilarious to see these little Korean guys clad in Suicidal Tendencies hats (complete with brim upturned), black t-shirts and black jeans, complemented by the thick black rimmed coke bottle spectacles. No wonder they were all standing down the front.

One of the positives of attending a standing only gig in Asia is that the odds of some 6 ft 5 inch guy standing right in front of you decrease exponentially. On the negative side is the effort involved in actually getting there. It took me 2hrs and 45mins to get there, causing me to miss the first 45mins of the show. Luckily I was able to catch the last 45mins before traveling for another 2 hours to get back home. So 4hrs and 45mins of travel to see a band play for 45mins. I think the yellow dust is seeping into my brain. The venue was also a little dodgy – an underground basement which was about 15 m wide and 30 m long with no bar and no toilets. There was a stage at one end and a sound console at the other, with a couple of hundred people crammed in between. It was an intimate gig, but I didn’t get too close because I wanted to make sure I was one of the closest people to the door, in case I had to get out of there in a hurry. Man it’s hard to be sensible in punk/anarchic atmosphere!

It was a great night and I am really glad that I made the effort to get some live music back into my veins. It will have to be a pretty good band to get me to go through that again though.

He's got a point!

"You won't defeat the axis of evil by putting smart bombs in the hands of dumb people." Billy Bragg.