Friday, July 29, 2005

denmark memories

The below entry was originally posted to a defunct web blog site, provided here as a record of previous events. Some content might reflect old server and not current server. For this specific entry there was no date listed on my post for this entry. Date is approximate.



My memories of my trip to Denmark are doing what most of my thoughts do: fade. I'm writing them here in an attempt to keep them in some sort of captured state.

On the airplane to Denmark I didn't sleep at all, for two reasons. First, I was sitting next to two talkative siblings and Second.... well, I have something to confess. I love airplane food. I know a lot of people will be screaming in shock and disbelief, because I've met so many people who hate airplane food. But I guess its like how some Japanese people are crazy about [http://www.ekiben.or.jp|/ekiben/] (I kind of lunchbox you can buy near or on trains) However you explain it, I love getting the little packages of burned food, wrapped in endless plastic with a beautiful mix of food from where you are coming and where you are going. So how could anyone sleep? If you do, you might miss the airplane food!

As we got close to Denmark, I opened my window and I could see the shadow of the long airplane on the clouds below us. As the plane moved back down toward Earth the shadow, and the clouds, rushed up to meet us... growing and then we smashed into the thick clouds, cutting through them and rushing into the air above the city of Københvn. It was about 8:30 at night, and the sun was just starting to glide down a bright warm sunset glittering on a huge harbor below us, and then thousands of little buildings with red tile roofs, in strange patterns of squares and rows. The plane made a big swoop around the harbor and then we were on the ground hardly before I had a chance to realize it.

I walked through the airport, finally found the exit... and there were no customs officers, no one putting my bags through an xray machine. Nothing. I waited, and several people just walked out the exit, still that seemed to easy. What was going on? Finally someone came out of a backdoor and waved me forword through the exit. I'm not sure why, but that was the easyest entry into any country I've ever been to. It felt like going to Denmark from Korea was like being in America going from Washington to the next state over or something.

My friend from college, Diana, met me at the airport, and we went to the train station. She lives with her Denmark family (she is their nanny) on the island of Fyn. The train was bigger and more impressive than ones I'd rode in Japan or Korea, it seemed heavy. Right away I noticed that neon signs and technology wasnt as common as I was used to. Eventually I would notice that technology seemed to be as deeply prevalent in day to day life, but in a background sort of way instead of a foreground kind of way... atleast this was my impression.

The next day we went to the Hans Christian Anderson Kid's Musuem and stuff like that around the area she lived. The city Diana lives in is oddly named "Belinghe" which is close to my college town of "Bellingham"... Anyway, it was wet and rainy but not so cold.

The next day was about the same, just seeing the local area, visiting a shopping mall, and enjoying some local food (hotdogs come in bread-tubes, with the sauce inside) and walking around the total countryside near the house. In the evening I helped the family make some [korean food]. We made kimbap and korean style BBQ... and also some Korean silkworm bugs from a can (eaten by old korean people) it was fun to introduce this style of food to some friendly Danish people, although it didn't end up being perfectly like what I have to eat here.

The next day brought me and Diana into Københvn to meet her Korean-Danish friend Hye Jin (I forgot her Danish name, I have a bad memory) She was adopted to Denmark, but she has recently tried to learn some Korean and has been to Korea to try to connect with her birth family. After meeting her Diana got tired of hanging out with me so she went home. I didn't know where to find a cheap youth hostel, so I went to the airport to wait for my airplane the next day.

All in all, I had a fun trip and this LONG summary doesnt really capture all my thoughts but hopefully it will help me remember those moments. SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

international weirdness

The below entry was originally posted to a defunct web blog site, provided here as a record of previous events. Some content might reflect old server and not current server.

Thinking about international weirdness. The camera I bought (Konica minolta) was made in Korea, and then shipped to it's parent company in Japan and then imported to Korea and sold to me. Weirdness.
More international weirdness. My mom emailed to tell me she has started learning Japanese. Her lessons decided to teach her pronunciation by teaching her borrowed English words, so she's learning English in Japanese, and she's having a hard time losing her English accent. So she's speaking English words in Japanese with an English accent. It's our international world.

Monday, July 25, 2005

frustration

The below entry was originally posted to a defunct web blog site, provided here as a record of previous events. Some content might reflect old server and not current server.

This weekend I was kind of frustrated about personal issues, and called Young-min. He was also having a few problems, so he agreed to meet me and help me buy my new camera. We went and got it (a nice and ugly red Konica Minolta 5 megapixel brute, but didn't get the Olympus so no more complaining~) and then we decided to go hang out at his campus. His college is in the countryside, in the state below Seoul state so it took awhile to get out there. In his computer lab we met his classmate Sam, from Pakistan, and talked about life in Korea. Young-min lives a million miles from me, so he offered to let me sleep at his house with his room mate (two guys sharing a small one room house, so they each only have to pay like US$150, not bad!) and so I crashed there. Next day, I got some awesome spicy Bulgulgi with him, and then went back "downtown." I called Suah because I wanted to talk to someone, and she invited me to see a movie with her and her friend Sunny. We saw Island. Hollywood movie. There I told you the plot with two words. That was another day. Number 8693. (Oh, In case you're new to this, I'll be uploading photos into the [http://neonvirus.schtuff.com/?q=tag:pictures|picture stream], so go look for those.)



DAAG

Saturday, July 23, 2005

seven am

The below entry was originally posted to a defunct web blog site, provided here as a record of previous events. Some content might reflect old server and not current server.

Wondering why I am awake at 7:00 in the morning. I've been awake all night. I really need to brake this cycle... maybe going to Denmark will help. I'm all set, will be going in less than 5 days. Wooo! Should be fun... Looks like I might not get that camera since I have had major protests against (one friend even sent 3 messages to my cellphone begging me not to get it, saying it sucked that bad) so if I have time I'll just have to browse.
Forgot how I found this clump of info, but the [http://ming.tv/flemming2.php/__show_article/_a000010-001554.htm|optical eyetrick] is cool, and one can trace the path back to a cool blog too. Try it out, it works for me if you follow the directions. DAAG

Friday, July 22, 2005

early morning

The below entry was originally posted to a defunct web blog site, provided here as a record of previous events. Some content might reflect old server and not current server.

Well, its just barely the 22nd, because its 1 in the morning. I'm hungry, I should go home and make some dinner.
In less than a week I'll be in Denmark, if all goes well. Wow. I've never been to Europe, I feel like a little elephent in a big jungle-themed Broadway dance hit. Eh?

I've decided (I think) to buy the 5 megapixel [http://olympus-imaging.jp/lineup/digicamera/mjuminids/|μ-mini DIGITAL S] instead of its 8 megapixel sister. (And no, I'm not going for the 5 because I like lo-fi tech, I'm going for the 5 because.. well, its cheaper, duh.) I've been told the camera is ugly, but I've also been told I'm ugly, so I don't think I'll let the appearance of the camera stop me for buying it... its all weather design, I can film in the rain! Only thing I don't like is it cant use my SD memory cards, I'll have to invest in XD cards to make this little camera happy.

What? You want me to stop geekblogging? Bite me. Byte me. oh I'm so funny. Uh... South Korea is hot thesedays. Walking to work today I felt like a icecream cone in hell. Burning heat, and then when you step inside a building, ice cool air conditioned happyness. Yay....

Oh forgot. Go Indie Film Makers, Go! I ran across this group of fairly young dudes making a kickass geekfilm in Washington state. I wish them the best, check out their ongoing project [http://ideality.ccfilms.com/|Ideality]. Looks like they are trying hard... Anway, time to stop blogging .. DAAG!

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

tired

The below entry was originally posted to a defunct web blog site, provided here as a record of previous events. Some content might reflect old server and not current server.

Tired. Work attacks the mind and leaves nothing but a quiet buzzing sound. I can hear the kids being noisy still, ahhh, the noise wont stop!
OK. I'm ok, I'm ok. Oh yeah, back to school again tomorrow.
Seen "Google Earth"? ...pretty cool little tool that lets you zoom in and out on Earth as if you were like a secret agent or something, fun but I couldn't see myself using it for any real searches.
I've been trying to sleep by drinking more beer, which has helped some but it makes me feel like I'm back in college, and that doesn't solve any of my problems in the long run, so I should just try to sleep with out any help I guess... Maybe its the heat? Maybe it's keeping me awake. Hmm.
This about finishes my thoughts that are kind of random and scattered all around. wooo DAAG

Sunday, July 17, 2005

no show

The below entry was originally posted to a defunct web blog site, provided here as a record of previous events. Some content might reflect old server and not current server.

Well, I bought a gift for the universe today. I went downtown because I thought I was buying a nice new 5 megapixel camera from someone off the net, but that didn't happen, they never showed. Anyway, I was downtown so I thought I'd walk around COEX... Seeing COEX on a saturday night, is a assault on the visual cortex, people spread like molten humanity, filling all gaps, bouncing randomly as they roll forward in nonstop undulation. No joke. Its a crowded mall, full of people. I saw a nicer camera at the Olympus store, and I might just get it instead, even though its more expensive and uses a different type of memory. But on to my gift for the universe. I went to book store that I know sells Japanese books, and I browsed, but they didn't have anything new that interested me so I told myself I should buy an English book. Its been a long time since I read an English book for fun, I thought. So I walked along, seeing what would catch my eyes. Insomnia by Stephen King was the first one that said pick me up, it was a perfect description of my current state. For whatever reason, I'm not sleeping good. Haven't slept much more than 5 hours in one night, in the last few months. I soon gave that one up though for a very interesting, but expensive, Murakami Haruki book. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Seemed to be a good read, I bought it and headed back into the mall. Cut to two hours later, I'm walking toward the train station. Hey, where's my book? Somehow I put it somewhere that I couldn't remember and I no longer had it with me. Weird. So I have given my newly bought book to the universe, I hope the universe shares something with me in exchange.
I bought some beer and picnic food, plan to get drunk and eat yummy food tonight in an effort to battle my insomnia. Lets hope it works. DAAG!

Saturday, July 16, 2005

surprised

The below entry was originally posted to a defunct web blog site, provided here as a record of previous events. Some content might reflect old server and not current server.

Two of my friends surprised me today. I've been being kind of annoyed that some of my friends here seem to always wait for me to ask them to hang out, they never seem to ask me, or at least thats what I felt like. But two of my friends (they are friends from my exchange student program) called and were really proactive about hanging out today, which was cool. We didn't really do much. I just took them out to eat at this Japanese-style steak restaurant, really good pepper steaks, and [Japanese style chopsticks] for the rice! (I could write a whole entry about Japanese style chops sticks, and now that this is a wiki blog, I think I might do that.) Then we walked a little bit, went to a restaurant ordered some ice cream thing, talked, and went home. Not really what you would call a "wild night on the town" but fun none the less.

In a geekier note, every entry in my blog will now become a "Document" so I'm trying to think of names for each one, if I name them all random subjects it will be a horrible mess, but dates are boring? Hmmm. Oh the troubles of a techno-life---!

My best wishes go out to Aaron with his health problems right now, if you have a minute or two wish him well mentally. Positive energy flow, and all that. He's a cool guy, I wish him well too. Those Nymph Nodes can be a biyatch sometimes, huh man?

Thats all for my "blog" at the moment.
SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI
 
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