Chirping birds on a rainy morning

I don't know if it's because I live in a corner unit, but my balcony has recently become a pitstop for my feathered friends. They congregate on my balcony and if I approach the door, they fly away...leaving lovely little presents for me to clean up (unless the rain washes it away).

They really only stay for a few seconds, but sometimes I'm afraid they will fly into my room. Last year I had a pigeon fly through my lounge, sit on my fridge looking confused and then just leave!

I've been awake since early this morning & noticed the birds singing from 05:00 already. 🐤🎶

Anyway...this little guy has been sitting here for a good few minutes. Chatting away or calling its friends for company / shelter from the rain on my balcony railing.

I decided not to shoo it away. After all what's a little present that I can sweep or mop away?! As I look around, I'm surrounded by rooftops and tall apartment buildings. These little creatures bring nature alive into our concrete villages. Their little chirps are quite welcoming over the traffic and hooting. Good morning, friends! 🐦

Leap Year!

This evening I realized that it's the end of the month and I hadn't uploaded a single post for the month. Many reasons for that, but that's another story! Uploading from my mobile, so will write a proper entry ...perhaps tomorrow :)

New Week...

I don't feel like I'm ready for Monday yet. As always, week-ends are far too short. On Friday, I was incredibly tired and allowed myself to have a bit of a sleep in yesterday (Saturday).  I had an extremely chilled day watching TV, reading and a wee bit of writing.

Today, I went to Canal Walk for a few things. Watched Ra.One which I enjoyed, but I when I stepped out the cinema, I was faced with hundreds of crazy month-end / Christmas shoppers.

It's 21:30 and I really want to stay up to write, but I need to be up at 04:30.  So what do I do?

Time Management! For the next month, I absolutely need to incorporate writing into my daily schedule. 300 words. Minimum. Daily.

Tomorrow is the start of a new week and also one where we say hello to November. The end of 2011 is in sight and I think I'm feeling a bit anxious about it, hence my uneasy feeling I've been having lately. Anyway, more on that tomorrow perhaps.

For now, I will publish this post, disconnect and head on over to slumber land.

Wish you all a wonderful week ahead :-)

I'm still alive

Some (very sweet) people have asked me about my blog and how my writing has been going recently. My answer? "I really need to get down to it."

To be very honest, I've been procrastinating for the longest time to write this post. I was beginning to feel like a "retired writer" and yesterday, I watched an Oprah interview with JK Rowling (creator of the Harry Potter series) and when asked if she'll stop writing, the author told the Queen of Talk that she will never stop. Almost as if it wasn't even an option... to which Oprah replied, "that's what makes you a writer!"

So I thought to myself, "I can't call myself a writer if I don't write." which is as wrong as calling myself a blogger if I don't blog.
I've said that my blog has been collecting dust and cobwebs, but in all honesty, I just haven't felt the need or more importantly the want to blog. I'll be exploring why this happened in posts following this one.

February

Truth be told, I'm glad that February is over!

Restless at 2am

Our Jack Russell has been prancing around the house at 2am and has decided to park outside my room instead of getting into HER bed and sleeping!

I'm still here

I don't really know what excuse to give, except that - life just happens. I have not been blogging and am so behind on email correspondence, which isn't me...really.

Over the past few weeks, I've realized that one of two things happen to me:

1) I have too much energy and not enough time.
or
2) I have too much time and not enough energy.

I have so many people to thank.. for a number of different things, but I'll get to that soon enough. For now, I just need to get the words out, whether they make sense or not.

I've had the most interesting conversations with people, I've watched good movies and I've read some thought-provoking books, all of which deserve a post of their own. So without much further ado, let me get to my blogging!

To friends around the world, I hope you're healthy, happy and ready to welcome 2011 with a bang.

Love always x

Spam Mail - my nemesis

This morning I woke up to an e-mail titled "Your Apartment" from someone called "morgan benson". I immediately thought that it was relating to my apartment in South Korea. Well, it wasn't. It was just another junk mail. I'm just curious how many people fall for this? It read:

Hello Friend,

I got yur contact as i was searching for a lovely apartment for my client Hon Dr Francis Poku the former minister of national security here in Ghana in , he is the one that need it for a fast relocation with his family, he wants 4-5 bedroom flat or a home in any part of South Africa , he has budget $3m, let me know the prices range of the one under your possession if is up or less to the budget.

I will like to you to send me the interior and exterior looks so i will be able to view it very well and send it to the honorable minister to as well to take a look because he has told me that immediately we received the pics and conclude with it will be payument so that once you receive the payment and confirm to me, then i will join you to inspect the apartment because the honorable minister has given me the power of attorney to sign any neccessary document on his behalf.

Charles
DEVTRACO ESTATEA AGENT
+233547886458

10:10:10 10-10-10

Yes, I'm a day late. This was yesterday...

10 seconds after 10 minutes after the 10th hour on the 10th day of the 10th month in the 10th year of the century!

The ice-breaker post

Every single day I vow that I will blog. I'm about 30 days behind and I have so many photographs to upload. I usually call posts like this my "ice-breaker post" because all it takes is one to get me started. So...watch this space - I'll be updating in the next few days. :)

Happy Spring Day :-)

In South Africa, September 1 marks the beginning of Spring...so here's wishing one and all a very happy, sweet and successful Spring/September :-)

Weekly Wrap-Up

I wrote this last night....

Hello everyone

It's Sunday evening. I'm feeling sleepy, but thinking about having a cup of coffee to wake up a bit. I need to write a bit more before I turn in.

Life really is like a roller coaster. It has its ups and downs, twists and turns. We don't know what surprises (or disappointments) await us around the corner. The past week has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. I've done a lot of thinking and self-analyzing. I think I need to organize these thoughts into various blog posts.

Speaking of blog posts, I'm also thinking of dedicating a theme or topic for each day. In an ideal world, I will upload a post every single day, but unfortunately I don't live in an ideal world.

I have a few idea's stewing in my mind, and I think I just need to get the words out. I'll try and make sense of them at a later stage - if even that.

Office Kitchens & Fridges

I got these in an email from my buddy, Ajay. One thing I know for sure - these little notes are not from Korea. Here, once something is in the fridge, it's for anyone who gets to it first. It's a culture of sharing. I know this first hand because I've taken things like banana's, yogurt and juice to work and when I go for it, it's gone! Anyway, these are funny - Enjoy!

Unusual spotting

On my way to work yesterday (Thursday, July 22, 2010) from the corner of my eye, I spotted some fluttering of colour in a gutter. When I looked down, it was this little butterfly. A couple of people stopped to look what I was taking a photo of...but if you know me, my camera is always ready to snap something that catches my attention!

The "ice breaker" post

Image from Google Images

I love working half days. The first week of English Camp has come to an end. I've been finishing at 12 everyday, giving me the afternoon free. I've been going to the gym and taking naps (the heat drains me) More importantly, I've been packing and making trips to the post office.

This morning I walked to work in rain, thunder and lightening. I was really scared. Even being indoors, the sound of thunder frightens me...so imagine being outside. There were no cabs to be seen until I was just about at work!

After work today, I went to the gym and had a pretty good workout. I decided to spend the afternoon blogging. Instead, I socialized (albeit online) a bit too much, made phone calls, reservations and whatnot. It's nearly 8pm now and what do I have to show (in terms of writing?) Nothing.

Idea's and topics for blog posts crash land in my mind on my way to work, in the shower, lying in bed or working out at the gym. Sometimes, I'll whip out my iPod Touch and type some notes. Most of the time, however, they just remain in my mind. When it's time to sit at my desk and actually write, it's like my fingers and brain freeze. Suddenly, the sentences I'd formed (almost perfectly) in my mind battle to come out.

So I'll use this post as an "ice breaker" of sorts and I'll attempt to churn out a few more before I decide to call it a night.

Wish me luck :)

School Kitchen Tour

Everyday, the children and teachers enjoy a wholesome lunch at school. I usually enjoy it (when there's no meat on the menu). I was really curious to know what the kitchen looks like, so on Thursday, July 15 2010 I got special permission to visit the place where our food is prepared everyday.

There are special shoes that must be worn in the kitchen

 You have to "clean" your shoes on this wet mat

Aprons and masks

Paul's Family

Paul the Octopus has family living in a tank outside
a restaurant down the street from me!

How...neighbourly of me?!

Every now and then, there's something in my mailbox in my apartment building - nothing exciting, just bills.

On Monday evening when I got home, everyone's electricity/gas bills were placed in our mailboxes. I thought my bill was unusually high, but I figured it was just over-use of my aircon and fan.  On Tuesday morning, I paid the bill and went along with my day.

Last night (Wednesday) when I got home, I noticed that someone still hadn't taken their bill out of their mailbox. "My neighbour must be away," I thought. I just glanced over the number on the only mailbox with the bill still in it.

It was apartment no. 504 - which is mine!

So whose bill did I pay?

I quickly checked my receipt, only to realize that I paid for my neighbour in 505. In 3 years of living in the same apartment building, this is the first time this has happened!

Anyway, this morning I paid my own bill. When I got home, I sorted it out with my building manager who just chuckled as he said, "Change paper!" (meaning: You took the wrong account! )

Whatever. Just write.

About an hour ago, I started this blog post. I was distracted by everything - chats, emails and tweets. Oh, and a phone call. Then I had to make a call.

My browser crashed so I started typing on Notepad - just to keep the momentum going. When my browser started up again, I copied & pasted the above into a blog post. And here I am. Finally.

[Here's hoping I'll be able to hit "Publish Post" before my eyes want to close.]

For the past (however many) weeks, I have had a mental list of things I've needed and wanted to blog about. They're all sitting unwritten in my mind. As the semester winds down, work has been busy. For those who think that "teaching kids can't be that hard", I have no words for you! If I'm not in the classroom, I'm in the office sitting at my desk, with the aircon blasting ice cold air on the back of my neck, as I prepare lessons, research, write reports and whatnot.

Something else has been taking up my time during the evenings. Just a little something called the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted in South Africa. Truth be told, I don't usually follow football, so I just stick to cheering and giving a "whoop whoop" when a goal is scored by the team I'm supporting for that match. Even living seven time zones away in South Korea has not stopped me from rejoicing, cheering and expressing heartache with friends in South Africa - and other parts of the world. This includes matches at 03:30!

My sleep has been erratic, but I keep reminding myself that I can't let my blog gather cobwebs. I wish I could be one of those people that write about things as they happen - or even just an hour after. I don't want to say that "I wish there were more hours in a day" because that would make me feel like I suck at time management. But I do get tired. Tired of sitting at my desk. So tired that I just want to close my eyes. And sleep.

Tonight, I thought about why all the sentences are floating around in my mind. As witty and thoughtful as they are (in my mind) why can't I get myself to write [type] and just get it all out?

I've come to this conclusion:

I'm trying too hard to be "perfect" - in the sense of being grammatically correct and having zero spelling errors. Including the horrid little ones that spell check (or my eyes at 02:47) doesn't pick up (but my mother's eagle eye does - thanks, mummy!)

A few days ago, I thought about my blog.

• What makes me think I'm so special that I should have a blog?

• This blog celebrates its 5th birthday in September. That's a lot of blog posts. Do I really talk that much?!
   
• Does anyone "listen" when I "talk"?
  
  
• Why do I have a blog & bother maintaining it? Why?

Some people spend time collecting memorabilia, photographs, letters, movie stubs, concert tickets and such which they compile into a scrapbook. A few years ago, I was interested in taking scrapbooking up as a hobby, but I don't think I had the patience, time and energy to commit to it. And scrapbooking is a commitment!

People also keep journals where they write about their feelings, emotions, daily events ...things like that.

I think my blog is a combination of these two things. While many blogs have a particular theme or subject (teaching, movies, fashion, politics etc) my blog is just a mixture of anything and everything. Whatever I'm in the mood for on a particular day at a particular time.

While journals are typically private, my blog is public. Instead of sending mass e-mails to family and friends around the world about everything I get up to in South Korea, I maintain this blog for them to simply log on, read (if they want to), browse through my photographs and leave - at their leisure. If no one wants to do that, that's also fine. I mainly blog to archive my life. Because, yes - I do think that I do some pretty exciting things that I would like to remember in a few years time, like clicking on my Egypt travelogue and giggling at my proposal under the stars on a cruise deck!

I have visitors from New Jersey to New Delhi. Who are these people? Are they interested in my life? I don't exactly know why (or how) they arrived at my "humble cyber abode" or what the duration of their stay was, but I'm always honoured when someone takes the time to comment on something I've written.

I've said before that my life is an open book. I've written about a variety of topics - some that spring to mind: "Why I will stop giving gifts", "Saying 'I'll pay' is like a sickness", "Frustrations of being a foreign teacher in Korea" and others.

Men and women of different ages from various walks of life have e-mailed me about posts where I have been brutally honest, like my account of having a panic attack a few months ago during a staff dinner.

I think I'm rambling now, but to bring it all back and wrap it up with a big red bow, what I'm saying is that: I need to stop thinking that my blog posts need to have a beginning, middle and conclusion.

Many people can't fathom when I tell them that my English has deteriorated over the past couple of years of being in South Korea. I teach English at an elementary school, so my everyday language consists of "How's the weather today?" to "Are you hungry?" to "What time is it?"

Short.
Simple.
Too simple.
There's really nothing Einstein about them.

I know that my sentences have become a lot shorter. My brother brings this to my attention every time we chat. I think it makes me sound abrupt, which I swear I'm not. It's just that I feel I can get my point across in a few words rather than adding unnecessary blah blah blah's to make it more complex - kinda like what I'm doing to this sentence right now, if you have noticed!

OK so from now on, if I have something to say, I'm just going to go ahead and say it. Even if I find myself at a loss for words...who cares? I just need to get typing and the words will come, I'm sure!

Hey...it's my blog, and I'll blab if I want to :-)

'Chocolate' Sharpener

My students have such cute & creative items of stationery. This is the latest one I've seen - a pencil sharpener that looks like a block of chocolate :)