Monday 30 October 2006

Mike wins a million........ won!

Yes, its true... we hit the casino on Sunday night and Mike, the lucky SOAB won just over a million won on the slots. Thats close to $1000, or just under 600GBP at the current exchange rate. He slipped and slided to take the jackpot on one of the slots to will a cool 10,000 credits playing the Seal Slide game (probably my favorite machine in the casino we go to, anyone who knows what the "Jazz Bee" is will know what I mean when I say this is a great feature! Its a Jazz Bee beater in any case!). They brought his winnings in a little plastic container, for which he had to sign for and got a hearty congratulations off the staff!

Other than that there wasnt really much in the way of "new" excitement. We hit the Norebang on the Saturday night after trying the bowling alley in this "city" they call Guri... it had all of 6 lanes and was completely full and we got told to go away. I pulled out "She Bangs" by the olde Ricky Martin amongst others, and Friday night we did some boozing in the apartment playing NHL07. We also sorted our flights out on Saturday, which we get full confirmation of today at some point. All I can say for definate is we'll be home soon! Image

Friday 27 October 2006

Beyond the Last Straw

In an amazing continuation of the turd ideas that come out of the head of those in "charge" of this hole, we were all blown away by the audacity of this woman! Its truely unbelievable!

We hadnt been formally told about the events on Halloween until this Wednesday... quite amazing seen as though the children knew, the parents knew and there was even a poster put up in the foyer advertising it. In any case they dropped the amazing "sleepover" idea in favour of a big party in GS Square on the top floor. Its a big events area, and is probably likely to net this woman some extra advertising and maybe some new kids but who knows. If anything it will show the parents the lengths the school is going for the kids, which in turn will be good word of mouth to their friends.

Good idea you might think, and I somewhat agree, but the best part is yet to come.... ;)

Given that the thing goes on until after teaching hours we were a little pissed. We even had to order costumes for it and weve all been allocated roles to do. Im in charge of an Arts and Crafts event, Michaels doing "Balls Eyes", which we can only assume is a piece of Engrish for Bullseye and Hayley and Richard have something to do with fish and cotton candy.

So we ordered costumes.. Mike and I are gothing it up, which should be pretty funny, but in the meeting we flick through to find a piece of paper with costs on. We all knew what was coming!

Mrs. Lee must think shes spent enough, and aparently had allocated us 10,000 won each for our costumes (thats about 5GBP) so Kim squirmed when she said she wanted us to make the difference up OUT OF OUR OWN POCKET NO LESS! Our jaws just dropped....

In any case we stood our ground - "If you want to put on this little show then she has to pay for our costumes, its not our decision to do this crap" was our theme. Kim said she would tell her, but we think she will pay the difference herself not to cause too many waves (the stupid bitch has already told Kim that shes too lenient with us... i mean WTF!!). We feel kind of bad that she'd do this, but at the end of the day thats her choice, we all know who should be paying.

The amazing this is the difference per costume is about 10-20,000 won. We were even told to pick a costume without telling us there was a budget, or saying about this crap until after they were ordered! The best part was the breakdown of the costs for the event prior to the page with this costume bollocks on - it was the equivalent of a picture of a puppy with big eyes, meant to cause the reaction of "ooh theyve spent so much money on this"... but if anything it made this seem even more petty.

This place amazes me by the day... its not a matter of money; I spend 10,000 won on 2 drinks in the UK, its just the principle (or is that Principal, Wonderland... lol.. inside joke!). I'd rather smoke a bunch of 1000 won notes in front of this woman than help her make up the difference in her promotional events! Its beyond the straw that broke the camels back and Im counting the days now!


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In other news weve had a few problems with flights. Apparently you cant book flights the way we wanted to do it - the cheapest flight was a return flight for 420GBP, starting at Manchester first, which is what the problem is. If we dont show for that starting flight, we wouldnt have a place on the return flight, which is the only part we want any way.... and a one way ticket out of this stupid place is nearly twice as much as a return, or 550GBP for the same deal on a return but starting the journey at Seoul. Absolute bollocks, huh?! Image

So our dates have yet again changed and we have another plan. I will be able to hopefully confirm that on Saturday, so fingers crossed!!!! Image


ps. Excuse my spelling and poor English... Im having one of those days and Im sooo tired!!

Tuesday 24 October 2006

The Last Straw

So Im due to get on the shuttle bus this morning at 8:30 for my weekly shuttle bus duty that some "genius" here thinks will somehow promote the school and get us extra staff. We "get paid" for this hour of sitting there but as we are all still no where near our 110 hour limit to get paid extra it really makes no difference to our pay. I dont really have so much of an issue with it other than its a complete waste of my time, and means that we have one grumpy teacher thats had to be up about 90 minutes earlier than they would normally start a day but according to Kim, its only for a month (bullsh1t... Image)

Anyway, last week the bus was a no show for Mike. He was pissed and told them straight that it was bullshit and if theyre gonna make us do this then at least have the damn buses show up. This morning it was my turn...

Emily comes down at 8:55am and ive been waiting at least 30 minutes... were due to get picked up at 8:30am at the school and we were there at 8:20-8:25, coffee in hand, waiting. Mikes bus shows at 8:25 and he jumps on with the old man, mine this week is a complete no show.

I get upstairs to a sour faced bitch and shes trying to make out its my fault.. can you believe the cheek of some people. She tells me its "impossible" and "was I there at 8:30 on the dot". I practically feel like telling her to get f*cked right there and then... I sternly tell her that Mike got on the bus at 8:25 so yes, we were there at 8:20, a full 10 minutes prior to our supposed departure time. After a few more sour looks and squirming she calls the woman on the shuttle bus, 30 seconds later I get a broken sorry and it crawls back into its shell. I say nothing, smile crudely, turn and walk... *parents cover your eyes now* F*CK THIS F*CKING SCHOOL!

Mike got hugs and apologies and although fake as hell, its typical of the way I'm treated by her. I'm obviously too stupid to get on a bus, or even tell the time in her eyes... I mean like all foreigners out here that work, we must have fluked our degrees or something! I am done.... really I am!

On a lighter note Amy has sorted her visa extension... we just have to book something and take proof of the ticket back to the Korean Immigration Office and they will sort it for them. Praise the Lord... Image

Wednesday 18 October 2006

Decision on the horizon

Our decision is becoming clearer... utlimately were back to the UK sooner rather than later and its a decision Im certainly glad we've made. Dates are still a little uncertain but at the moment were hoping for a stop over in Hong Kong for a couple of days to a week and then coming home. We found that a new airline called "Oasis Hong Kong Airlines" is offering super cheap LGW->HKG and vice versa for GPB75 plus taxes (about GBP140 once the tax offices have taxen their cut) and a flight from here is looking at 280,000 won+ taxes, so getting home for about 300 notes each is plausable. Hopefully Ill even have enough left to buy my Wii.... Image
In any case there isnt really a great deal to report as of yet for definate, other than you're likely to see us both before Christmas for yet another indefinate period.

I'm so glad I chose Korea, and Ill be so glad to get back to get into computing. I think if Id've been teaching in Japan or Hong Kong I wouldve wanted to stay longer but this way I know teaching isnt my "cup of tea", Ive cleared debts that wouldve taken me a lot longer to in the UK, got a 6 month holiday for free and Im coming home with my 360, my new Nikon D70 (..oh yeah, I bought that this month! Image), a new 300GB hard disk full to bursting with new TV episodes, music and alike (and possibly another one before I come back ... anyone want anything downloading before we come back just let me know!!! Image), and Ive met 3 new close friends that I can tap up for breaks in foreign lands when were bored of the UK! So yes, 6 months away from home has been good for me...

..but Ill somewhat be glad to be back! Yes, Im still going to be grumpy about paying all the UKs stupid taxes (but it now gives me a good excuse to finish my book!), the shitty weather (we _do_ have some of the worst weather in the world.. the world isnt all shades of grey!), the deal with prices being pounds not dollars but Ive grown to appreciate some of the things we do have, like being thousands of miles away from the nearest psychopath! Lol... Image
Theres nothing quite like the threat of a nuclear war to get you thinking of...

A quick list of things I want to enjoy when I get back...

1. Pint in the Links... on Jonny! A game of darts and a few quid in the bandit... its stupid but thats home... slagging off the gay lord quiz master, whether thats the Racoon or that other Knucklebeard and then not really being all that bothered about it.
2. Boys nights...OiOi with eBoy and the lads.
3. Talking science with Phil
4. Snooker night!
5. Steak night at Spoons.
6. Mixed Grill and a pint of Bods at the Fairhaven.
7. Driving a car... any car!
8. Poker Tuesdays/Thursdays
9. Knowing my games consoles are all there...
10. A TV thats less than 10 years old.... probably again, at Jonnys! Image 11. Sitting in the sand dunes.
12. Having more than one room in my house.
13. Tescos for bits and bobs at 1am when Im in one of those moods!
... too many little things to counts really... moneys a nice thing to have, and tax is a nice thing to avoid, but without the small things it can be a little empty... until you have enough of it not to be bothered about the little things and can just do what you want all day!

Oh, and the gyms going pretty well... still just about doing between 90 minutes and 2 hours a day 5 days a week and you can totally see the difference... its a small start but its certainly in the right direction, so a gym membership is a must for me when I get back! I hurt my neck which put me out for 3 days (that hurt in more ways that one) but Im back on course now... Image
Right, thats another free period done... I will post again once we have a definate plan of action! Take it easy y'all!

P.s. RIP Paul Hunter - I only just found out today that he passed away. People die of cancer ever day but he was a great player and a sorry loss to the world of snooker.

Wednesday 11 October 2006

New, Clear Decisions to be made!

Hey y'all! Its been a while but its been a crazy few weeks so I thought Id update quickly and post a full lowdown of events later!

In light of the recent nuclear tests we're in discussions about our future in Korea at the moment... the cash is nice, as is the lack of tax but its not really worth it if a nuclear bomb is iminent to be dropped in our faces now.

Reading today on the Guardian website, the US has proposed sanctions for NK to the UN and a 30 day deadline for action after the date it is agreed so that gives a minimum of about 2 months before anything could "really" go down if it was to go through... and knowing the UNs actions, they wont be any great rush to decide on a millitary solution, so personally I feel our only real threat to stability is Gee Dubya doing something stupid (these aren't odds I would be backing)... Image
In any case, it does feel a bit weird here now.. its always been a little questionable and unstable in this part of Asia, but it now feels even more so. So were coming up with a few plans to worst case scenarios, other plans for just in cases, or whether we want to just say balls to it and its not worth the risk.

Amys visa here runs out on the 5th November so she will have to either find a job, go on a day trip to Japan, or she'll be heading back to the UK in less than a month. Im sure a lot of you would like the later option so please get in touch and let us know your thoughts.. we're a little concerned were not getting the "full picture" on the news out here!

Whatever our decision is I will let you all know as soon as its set in stone! Image