Overdue update

Not five minutes ago I received a phone call I've been dreading for some time. For the past couple of weeks the same number has called my cell phone everyday and I've managed to avoid the call, because I knew who it was and I knew what it was in reference too. I finally picked up and faced the music. It was the DVD store down the street informing me that my movies are now 51 days overdue. I feigned ignorance and promised to return them tomorrow. That has been the state of my life the past couple of weeks. I haven't updated here in nearly as long as I haven't been to the DVD store.

January, and along with it winter intensive, came and went. It was difficult and busy, but I got through it and tomorrow I get the paycheck for it so it will be worth all the effort. I had a week off in January as well, during the Lunar New Year, but I mostly stayed home and rested.

The good thing to come out of the hellish January schedule is that I saw how much I can really do in a day if I just do it. So, I've tried to stick with the same sleeping and waking schedule. Which means I've continued to wake up each day at 9am. This may not seem early to some, but I don't start work until 1pm and usually wake up about 11:30am. In addition, I've decided to finally take some real Korean classes starting next week. They will be five days a week from 10am-12pm, so I'll need to be awake and ready for them. I thought it was best to just maintain that schedule. Also, I usually go to bed between 3am-4am, but I've managed to get myself adjusted to going to sleep around 1am. It's not the best schedule in the world and by no means makes me an early bird, but it's quite an improvement and I feel good that I've been able to stick to it.

This past week I've spent my early mornings exploring the area where I live. I found a great map of Seoul online, saw all the interesting things around me and decided to go check them out. Of course, the first day I resolved to do this I woke up early, looked out the window and saw a few inches of snow on the ground. No problem though, I sludged through the slush and managed to wander around for over an hour.

This weekend I'm boarding a bus and going to the ancient capital of Korea, Gyeong-ju. It's a four hour bus ride from Seoul, but is supposed to be worth a visit. I've finally managed a way to charge the batteries for my camera, so stayed tuned for pictures from the trip. Also, look out for an upcoming post I like to call "Ghetto School".