These Days…

These days I find myself quite busy, surprisingly busy in fact, considering school has not begun yet. I’m still working on getting that last twenty-odd pages for my novel written, but I think I may have to wait till Sunday to get that done. I’ve got band rehearsals every night now, because we have a gig Saturday and recording begins again next weekend (and after two months away from the saxophones, it means steady practice to regain some of my tone and my staying power). I shall be making a trip to Seoul on Thursday, and then Friday is another …

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Korean Gangsters, Politics, and Self-Mutilation

I am writing the last little bit of my novel left to be written before I set it aside for now. Well, while looking online for background information on the famous Korean folk hero/gangster/freedom-fighter Kim Du-Han, I found a very interesting article at TIMEAsia titled The Way of the Fists. It’s all about Korean gangsters and their folk-heroism, their connections with politicians, and their public shows of nationalism which often involve a very specific form of self-mutilation. Very interesting piece, in my opinion.

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Family Expansion

Well, a few days ago my sister informed me that she’s engaged, which means I am going to go to Canada in late June for the wedding. And now, today, my other sister just sent me the following image in an email: You can guess what that means. Seems like the family will be gaining two new members in 2004. Big news! It’s exciting…

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Playing Catchup

Well, now I really am back in Korea. Let’s see, what things am I playing catchup on? Well, finding out what’s been going on in my friends’ lives, for one. So many phone calls. I’ve just changed phones, so I’m going to have to look into getting calls forwarded to my new phone number, which is with a different service provider. (I switched mainly because my old phone sucked, and I got the new phone for VERY cheap by signing up for a plan.) By the way, getting a phone plan can be ridiculously complicated in Korea. I had to …

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On Returning Home

It’s funny, I was saying in an email last night that I was good to be home, and I realized that this funny little apartment in Jeonju, South Korea, is indeed my home. It’s what I think of when I say the word, it’s how I feel when I get off that shuttle bus. Funny and strange but not at all bad. Having been away for two whole months, that is also strange. Now, one might think that I could have come back like Odysseus, wandering off the ship to find his world gone into a bundle of chaos. But …

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