My IQ....not too bad...Einstein is 160

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"Chasing the only meaningful memory you thought you had left."

Long time between posts i know, and i guess a lot to update. So here goes....

JOB:

I HAVE FINISHED!!! One year done at my old academy and i am very very happy to be done!! There was some tension there that i am happy to be done with, also the curriculum i was teaching was insanely boring and repetitive! I will miss my co-workers and SOME of the kids but overall happy to be out and starting my new job.

The new job: I work 12-5:30 teaching from 1-5:30. It is in a public elementary school but i work for a private organization who run an after school program there. So i have small classes of between 5-13 students. It is relaxed, fun and even though i have only completed a few days i am excited about ENJOYING the year i have ahead of me teaching again in korea.

Health:

Some of you might know, but if not i have been kind of sick for the last 3 months now. It all started with a round of food poisoning. Since then my stomach and intestines have been very tender...official verdict was traumatized, which meant for the last 3 months i have been medicated and couldnt eat: spicy food, greasy food, cold food or drink.....a tough few months. I am now of the meds and slowly getting back to full health, i think i am about 75-80% im staying away from the spicy food, greasy food and cold food still as much as i can, but drinking again. It is hard not to in this country hehe. But to be honest i have had my fill of ham sandwiches, pumpkin soup and chicken soup to last me a good few years, as this was pretty much my diet for 3 months. Not to mention the ribbing you get when you go out with the boys and order a salad and juice while they destroy steaks and beers!?!? hahha

House:

I have a spanking new (for me anyway) apartment. It is a loft, which basically means i have a downstairs area for living with a kitchen and bathroom and a small upstairs area for sleeping. It is very very nice. I am very happy and should thank Moon for helping me out with finding a real estate agent.
I have also had to buy my own furniture for the place and have managed to do so for pretty cheaply and for that i should thank YeJin who used her 'clumsy' korean skills to order me some sweet furniture of the internet and also accompanied me on several shopping trips ^^

Football

After the personal successes of last season, football is back and Bundang FC so far have turned things around. With a stronger squad and a season under our belt we have started well with 2 wins from 2. Scoring 19 and conceding 1. A 16-0 win over 7 players was nice but not as nice as a 3-1 win away against a strong side. This weekend another tough test follows and if BFC are to push for the promotion as they wish too, this is a game we must win.
I love playing for this team and love all the boys and the banter we create, on a sadish note though the man who took BFC to where they are now has decided to ship off to another team to help them get moving in the right direction. So another thanks here for Kevin, without whom BFC wouldnt be the club they are today.
As a result of this Carl the Captain has taken on the managers role and i got picked as assistant manager and vice captain, which is an honor and i hope to help this club move up the league into the 1st division.

Life in General:

I am enjoying my time here still, but had be getting really down with sickness and not enjoying my old job. But i do feel this is a new beginning for me and it is time for my luck to change. So i am optimistic about the future, but remembering what i learnt in the hard times from the past i will try and take better care of myself.
I will also be planning on coming home for chirstmas. Probably about 3 weeks from the 21st but this isnt confirmed yet. About 90% though.

Enough from me this time, hope someone is reading this, i know im not regular but from now on i think i will try and get on here and update a bit more regularly...no promises though!

And finally the title, doesnt mean a lot really, just hoping when im done with my time in korea i have more then one meaningful memory to chase!! It is from the Neutral Milk Hotel song Oh Comely, from the Album In the Aeroplane over the Sea. It's an older disc but one i have only discovered recently through another band citing it as a great influence and after giving it a listen or 50 it is quality. Track it down.

Is it ever solid???

Oh yeah i forgot to add, also the 'solid plans' i made for september and travel are probably almost certainly not gonna happen now....so watch this space for some sort of update on that....

End of the season

So the first season ended for Bundang FC and while we didnt win the league, we did beat the previously undefeated champions in our final game of the season and were the only team to do so all season. Finishing second from bottom on the table, after beating Persian Storm and St Pats for a total of 9 points. Conceding a bag of goals over the season yours truly still managed to win MoTM on 3 occasions, which was enough to secure Player of the Season for BFC, a proud moment for me and a trophy which i will proudly display for years to come.

To cap off the season in style BFC had a gala awards night and drinks which was delightful. The wags dressed up nicely as did the boys, not a poorly dressed one amongst them. Overall a great night, drinks, speeches and laughs.

Finally the award season ended with the annual SSFL league banquet at the Wolfhound pub in itaewon. The awards were handed out for best player, top goalscorer, best defender and best goalkeeper for both division one and two. And in a true surprise i somehow managed to pull top goalkeeper in div 2. Again a proud moment for me and one that capped off one of my best season in football, from a social, sporting and awards point of view.
So thanks to everyone involved in BFC for an awesome season of football, and with a little luck i will be here for season two, who knows right!?
Also check out the ssfl website here: http://ssflkorea.com/news.php

I'm Making plans, not to make plans while i'm here

Firstly, new photos up, check out the picasa page, link on the right!
Secondly title, is from Jack's Mannequin, the song Lights and Buzz, an amazing song, and well i really am trying to just live life without to much of a plan, or without getting to wrapped up in the small things, it is easier said then done. Anyway an awesome song, on high rotation right now.

I dont really have much to say, im working and playing as ever. Nothing new to report really. Wish there was something new to say, or something exciting to report but at the moment there isnt. As of next week i have 4 months left on my contract at school, time has truly flown and i am looking forward to my travel and the next great adventure, which could be next week, or next year, but whenever it is im ready.

And endless crowds of people, they walk upon this stone

So whats been cracking for all the people out there, back home i guess, who may be reading this?? let me know, havent heard much from many people, so updates would be nice. Thanks to those people who have sent photos, emails and such. It's nice to have stuff from home to keep me going and get me through any slight cases of home sickness i may get.

First i should update the Bundang FC results, since the first post we have played another 4 games and well, in three we were totally out classes and went down, 8-0, 5-0 and 6-2. Not pleasant reading at all. The only consolation, all be it a small and egotistical one is that i did manage to get man of the match in the first 2 of those....scores could have been worse i guess. Then the day finally game, the boys and I were at our wits end, i was done with losing. Especially by such tragic numbers. We played the Persian Storm, who were sitting just above us in the table, i wont relive the whole match, but lets just say from 1-1 at half time, we pulled away to win 5-2. A victory has never felt sweeter to myself, not since under 10's had i played for a team that shipped so many goals and went into each game on damage control (that is no reflection on any individual, just a sad fact). So the first epic win for the newly formed Bundang FC and im proud to say i was part of it, anyone on facebook should check out the fan site (i know hilarious right???) anyway, search groups and "I'm a Fan of Bundang FC". Join and become one of the orangutan army!! It is specially set up for friends and family of the team who live overseas but want a window into the lives and games of the club....or so i heard from its creator and our captain.

Enough of football, what have i been doing lately i hear you ask? Well, not much other then work, football and drinking i guess. I did manage to check out the aquarium the other weekend, pictures will follow on one or other wedsite....im not sure yet and i havent the time to upload now, but when i do i will post links here. here is a teaser:


The aquarium was pretty cool, and i took ALOT of photos, here is my favorite....it doesnt have me in it though!!

While there i also checked out the kimchi museum, which was pretty cool....oh right most of your probably dont know what kimchi is....well it is basically korean saurekraut (spelling?!!) fermented cabbage (or many other vegetables, there are hundreds of variations) pepper powder, a few other mystical ingredients then stuck in a warm place for weeks or months and boom, you have koreas favorite dish! It grows on you, and well now, honestly i love the stuff!! In case you want to research it further:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi

I guess the other news is i got a new puter, i joined the mac revolution and I havent looked back. My old computer died so i needed a new one. My mac is sleek, white and powerful, we will announce the engagement soon!!! hahaha


I have also made some solid plans for after my contract and beyond, this is the plan as we speak...September, contract ends, so i will head to: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China and maybe India with two of my good friends here, Elicia and Kyle. This will take around 3 months and i aim to be back in Oz for christmas....mum will murder me or disown me or both if i dont!? After that my current thinking is to return to Korea for a second year, i honestly havent finished with this country and i think one more year should be enough, and also it will allow me to save some more money. After that year who knows, asia, europe, the americas, africa, australia, im not thinking that far ahead just yet!!


Blog title, is nothing special really, just been listening to The Sounds of Animals Fighting a lot lately so i choose one of there lines, it is apt to some extent i guess, the world is a stone with an ever increasing number of people walking upon it, i just hope they all have some idea where they are walking too. Anyway The Sounds of Animals Fighting are a 'super group' if you will made up of people from bands i love, check them out, this line is from the song 'The golden boy that was swallowed by the sea' from there second album, Lover the Lord has left us.


Enough from me this time, as i said i will update you all once i have posted my photos somewhere!!

sweating to these lyrics

Hey everybody, or nobody, i have no idea who actually reads this stuff, and i post so sporadically that i don't blame anyone for not checking in here but if you do occasionally you will find little pearls of nonsense spewed from my incoherent brain, all spoken in poor english as the longer i spend away from Aus, the worse my english appears to be getting!!! Anyway, im good same old same old here, but the football season has just begun so i thought i would break down the games week by week as they happen, just to keep the blog moving and to allow me to actually write something other then: Excellent work, please watch your grammar or please write more next time which all seem to be the extent of my english writing these days.

So here it is the first game of the Seoul Sunday Football League or SSFL, my team is the mighty BFC, Bundang Football Club, also known as the Orangutans, which i can personally claim credit for coining. Simply put, we where orange, we are hairy and drip with animal magnetism so it just seemed to fit. Here is a pic of the boys so you can see for yourself:

Anyway, the game. We start our season against the Han River Harriers, as we had a forfeit against osan last week, so we were sitting pretty with 3 points and 3 goals after the first round, but now our first test.

Han River started brightly and had the best of the opening exchanges but really without threat until about midway through the first half an Innocent looking cross/shot is fired towards goal and yours truly makes an absolute hash of it, spills it into the path of the on rushing striker for HRH and bam 1-0. Pain, disappointment, anger, frustration and a massive deflating of ego follows, the life of the GK is always like this, on mistake and punished in the worst way. The game goes on HRH have a second goal disallowed for clear offside, but BFC realize its time to step up.

The boys then rally and take control of the game, until a late but non-malicious challenge is placed on a BFC player, Charlie, a free kick is given but Charlie stays down. There is talk of hearing cracks and he is in some pain. He is helped from the pitch, in pain but keeping it together not like the drama queens that are ruining the beautiful game by rolling around after the slightest tap. Anyway thats the end of the game for Charlie, and after x-rays it is revealed he has multiple fractures in his leg and requires surgery. Haven't heard how this has gone yet, but thoughts are with Charlie at this time and a speedy recovery is hoped for.

The game continues, BFC in control, and the Crouch like Pat up top, laying of intelligent passes and bringing people into the game, then the breakthrough. Pat plays in Dae Hee, on the right wing, he is clean though on goal, and he delicately chips the ball into the far left corner, the game is in a state of flux, Han are calling offside, BFC are confused, the ref points to the centre circle BFC are level 1-1. First goal for BFC is scored and its game on.

Half time, team talk and oranges, a few tantrums and hissy fits, mostly from myself, due to the clear let down i feel i have committed on the boys. I get myself together and prepare for the second half.

The second half is even, no clear cut chances, a long range shot from Ross of BFC causes alarm, and a last ditch block from Mohammed saves BFC's skin but nothing major. The game is heading towards a draw, BFC is in a slight state of disarray due to injury and mass substitutions messing with the formation and Han take control but still no clear chances. BFC get themselves together and formation and order is restored when disaster strikes. Three BFC players are vying to clear a bouncing ball away from inside the box against two han players, when a BFC player (who for prides sake will remain nameless) gets his toe to the ball and in an attempt to clear he screws the ball off his foot and it floats delicately into the far left corner past a stranded GK.

BFC push until the last but to no avail, undone by luck in the end. Final score BFC 1 - HRH 2

A solid start to the season, no shame in an even match, especially against a team who finished 3rd last year. The season looks promising if we can sort a few small issues out and i can recover some of my pre-season form.

The title is from the band Cute is what we aim for, and the song is Curse of Curves, i choose it because it said sweating, that's all really.