Noryangjin Fish Market

Noryangjin Fish Market!

I went to the fish market with some friends waay back in November and it was actually really cool! We bought flounder and salmon and they just chopped it up, put it on a plate and we went downstairs to a restaurant to cook it up.

Genius!

They had everything from King Crab to Conches...

It's outdoor and super cold in the winter, but Bizarre Foods from the Food Network came here!

The man slicing up our salmon, he was an artist.

Huge ass Tuna!

We took the rest of that salmon. The highlight was definitely the octopus that was wriggling in our bags, they just were chopped and served, i filmed one of my friends, franklin, eating it. I ate it too though! but the video failed because he had to help me get the tentacles on the chopsticks, those suction cups are soo sticky!!

Great band

Avett Brothers, one of the best bands I've heard, its great!

Here are lyrics to their song Ballad between love and hate:

I think its genius

Love writes a letter and sends it to hate.
My vacations ending. I'm coming home late.
The weather was fine and the ocean was great
and I can't wait to see you again.

Hate reads the letter and throws it away.
"No one here cares if you go or you stay.
I barely even noticed that you were away.
I'll see you or I won't, whatever."

Love sings a song as she sails through the sky.
The water looks bluer through her pretty eyes.
And everyone knows it whenever she flies,
and also when she comes down.

Hate keeps his head up and walks through the street.
Every stranger and drifter he greets.
And shakes hands with every loner he meets
with a serious look on his face.

Love arrives safely with suitcase in tow.
Carrying with her the good things we know.
A reason to live and a reason to grow.
To trust. To hope. To care.

Hate sits alone on the hood of his car.
Without much regard to the moon or the stars.
Lazily killing the last of a jar
of the strongest stuff you can drink.

Love takes a taxi, a young man drives.
As soon as he sees her, hope fills his eyes.
But tears follow after, at the end of the ride,
cause he might never see her again.

Hate gets home lucky to still be alive.
He screams o'er the sidewalk and into the drive.
The clock in the kitchen says 2:55,
And the clock in the kitchen is slow.

Love has been waiting, patient and kind.
Just wanting a phone call or some kind of sign,
That the one that she cares for, who's out of his mind,
Will make it back safe to her arms.

Hate stumbles forward and leans in the door.
Weary head hung, eyes to the floor.
He says "Love, I'm sorry", and she says, "What for?
I'm your and that's it, Whatever.
I should not have been gone for so long.
I'm your's and that's it, forever."

You're mine and that's it, forever.

Dreams

So, I had a really odd dream last night. I think it's appropriate to write it down.

I dreamt i came back to novi, my beach house, after a long time being away, I went down to my grandmas apartment and saw two beds made up on the couches in the living room. It was just like the old days, but with the new couches instead of the old beat up one. I was relaxed feeling great.

I'm standing there looking at the beds when i see a shadow pass by me, I look over and it's my grandma, probably 10 years younger, black hair and wearing a dress we bought her a long time ago. I look at her confused and say "baka what are you doing here?" (she was put into a nursing home a year ago)

She looks at me, and i have all this built up emotion and happiness to see her how she was. I hug her and start crying profusely, the best cry i've had in awhile, just hugging and crying. She keeps telling me, "where would i go? i will always be here, forever, until you re old and gray" and i just keep crying and crying, from happiness, relief, sadness, I don't know. It was one of those really good cries the ones you feel really good about after you stop.

I eventually stop crying and let her go, I look onto the porch and I see my mom, same as she is now, sitting on the terrace with my grandpa, talking with him (my grandpa died almost 2 years ago). My grandpa, also about 10 years younger, looks great, and is talking with my mom just the way he used to, it makes me immensely happy.

I look over into the kitchen and my sister, barbara, is doing something, cooking maybe, and looks at me, and says "I know, when I saw her I wanted to burst into tears to."

...and then I woke up...in a way I was at peace.

It's been awhile...

So, I decided to write something since it's been awhile.

I was slightly in the dumps for the past two weeks, no real reason just depression. I really do like Seoul it's just difficult to get into the groove of things.

I did manage to explore Itaewon this weekend, the foreign district.

I met my friend Eby at Rocky Mountain Tavern, which is a place run by four canadian guys, and is a great place to just chill and drink the day away.

I stayed with her there and her friend Brandon who was awesome, and we watched College football, which is something I rarely do. I like this place because they make bloody cesar's I have yet to get one there, but they are one of my favs.

Around 6pm me and Eby went to the spa/public bath right next to the bar up some very steep steps. It was very interesting, getting naked with friends is quite the experience, I was surprised how unfazed I was about the whole thing, I was more concerned about myself then anyone elses body.

It was great they had a steam room and a sauna. Cool pool, green tea bath, rose bath, etc. Only 5,000 kwon!!! YAY! It was just really relaxing.

After that we went to a Thai restaurant "Buddha's Belly" behind the alleyway of the Hamilton Hotel. I had Thom Ka Gai soup with rice it was amazing, definitely going back.

All in all it was a great day in Itaewon, I don't know why it gets such a bad rep, I don't think there's any validation only that there are a lot of foreigners there and the crime rate is the worst in Seoul, meaning you sometimes have to watch your bag. I think it gets a bad rep from koreans and it bleeds into the foreigners.

GOOD TIMES!

RVA

Everyones got to check this out! my college town finally got some recognition for being cool. In the past richmond was always looked at as a ghetto dirty city filled with homeless crackheads.

While the homeless crackheads are around, there are still a lot less of them! Especially in the fan, a true miracle. The dirty thing should be taken out because Richmond is beautiful, but some people are definitely dirty, and 200 year old houses are pretty crappy as well.

Either way I always held a special place in my heart of this charming little city and I'm glad it finally getting some recognition! GO RVA! One of the artsy places I know, thanks to the one of the best Art Schools in the nation, my school, VCU!

p.s. they really gotta thank VCU for this, they seemed to have saved them! GO VCU!!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/travel/18hours.html

Sleep

Oh Sleep! Why have you abandoned me?? I'm beginning to feel as though I have insomnia. In Marina world that means I am only get a mere 6 hours of sleep a night rather then my regular 9, but WHAT HAPPENED?? SOO SLEEPY, just want to sleep! come back to me now!! Always exhausted but my mind has been racing a mile a minute, you'd think all those meditation classes would eventually help me. BLAH staring at the ceiling waiting for sleep to come. Too bad I can't lay one my back too long because then I get sleep paralysis. I am getting old, I have regulations on how I must sleep. BOOOOOOOOOOOOO! lame, poop.

Little Prince

"All men have the stars," he answered, "but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all these stars are silent. You--you alone-- will have the stars as no one else has them--"- The Little Prince

I live by this book, I love it, and I think everyone should read it once in their life! Nothing is more touching and innocent then the little prince...I was just thinking about that today, thought I should post it.