so here is what I found - Kat your names means the same thing mine does, Sarah and Sera your names mean lady or princess in Hebrew. Mark your name means warlike from the latin. Nick your name victory of the people in Greek. Mother your name mean gracious in God (it's English). Dad, Ross means red rose in latin. Little bro your name means crown in Greek. And Mornay, dude, I'm sorry but apparently your name isn't in the database, so you have no meaning at all! (I don't mean that really)
Now, Sarah, don't go getting a big head, we know that you like to think that you are a princess but are still not going to treat you like one.
These means actually suit a couple of you rather well, I'm sure you know who you are!

I just found out something really scary. I was bored so I looked up the meaning of my name. I quite like the fact that it's root is Greek, but that it means pure and virginal means that my parents must have been delusional when I was born. Me, pure, not bloody likely. I don't really wish to discuss the virginal state, or anything relating to it. But really, I thought that it was rather funny, that my name means pure, rather scary too. Might go look up some friends now so as to make fun of them!

I'm sick

I have an effing head cold, started yesterday. Isn't it a great way to spend a weekend. Ended up with my ears all blocked up last night and completely lost all sense of balance, thank the gods I was sitting down at the time and not standing. It's the chopping and changing between air conditioning and no air conditioning, it's a pain in the butt, you hot, cold, hot, cold .....
Other than that I'm glad the week is finally over. The open classes went reasonably well, but for the first 5 minutes with my 6 year-olds I though I was going to have to kill some of them, they were trying to show off for their parents, speaking stupidly and not doing what they were supposed to be doing,
We went to the Coca-Cola factory for a field trip yesterday, it was okay, was disappointed when they didn't give me any Coke, I wanted Coke. We did, however, get to try the new Alovera juice, we actually pretty good, and they gave me a Coca-Cola money tin, that has both English and Korean on it, the kids got yo-yos, I wanted a yo-yo, they were cool.
So, there isn't much else happening here, not doing a lot this weekend, since I'm going to Taiwan next weekend. Mornay, don't forget that you're meeting me next Saturday around 1pm. Might go to E-Mart, need to get a bike pump as the tires on my bike are getting a little flat, which I guess is okay after 5 months of using it nearly everyday. Definitely going to have to buy a bike when I get home, I like my bike, and it doesn't hurt my knee to ride, the way ot does to walk.
Anyway, time for me to be off, talk to you all later.

ONLY 117 DAYS TILL I GO HOME AND 125 DAYS TILL I GO TO AUSTRALIA ON VACATION!

Too early to go to sleep ...

so I thought that I should update. Well, I have have finally passed the 8 month mark and it is now less than 4 months until I go home, yey! Also, finally got the dated payslips that I will probably need to hand over to the tax department when I go home, before they will give me student allowance. Is a double bonus too, as they are signed by the director and specificly state the date I started work, well actually Chelsy screwed up and the state that I started a day earlier than I actually did, so I should be able to leave a day earlier than I thought I would, bonus!
Also found out that I don,t need to worry about my drivers licence expiring while I'm away either, as I will be returning home withing 12 months of the expiry date, and I won't cost me anything extra to renew it when I get home, another bonus, saves a lot of hassle!
Had the first of my open classes with the parents watching me teach today, went better than I thought it would, apparently the parents were impressed, even managed to get the kids speaking English, almost the entire time, it probably helped that I bribed them with candy. I plan to do the same tomorrow when I have the open class for my 6 year olds.
Unfortunately we're having an intensive English course for some of our hogwan students, which means I shall no longer be getting breaks in the middle of the day, which would mean working straight through without a break from 10 till either 8 or 6.30. I pointed out that if they wanted me to do this then I didn't want to serve the kids lunch, I wanted to have a break then, as it is not fair to have no break at all, especially since I don't eat with the kids, well most of the time it's really spicy, and that is bad. Chelsy said she does it everyday, I didn't like to point out that she doesn't, as on tuesdays and thursdays she only teaches kindergarten, and she only teachs 4 hogwan classes on the other days, also she won't even be one of the teacher teaching the summer course, it will be scott, and either Karen or Rachel and I. At least it will only be for a month and we will get paid overtime for it, as Scott and I already teach more than our contracted 120 hours a month.
In other news, am going to Taiwan next week, yey!
AND IT IS NOW ONLY 121 DAYS UNTIL I GO HOME!

another thought

ONLY 126 DAYS UNTIL MY CONTRACT IS UP! YEY! YEY! YEY!

I guess it's my turn

Seeing as people have begun bitching at each other to update their blogs, I figure I should get mine out of the way before they start on me. Though there really isn't all that much to say, have been reading instead of sleeping again, really shouldn't do that. Have almost completely finished all of my cross-stitch (so Mum you may want to get that other stuff in the post ASAP). There is only 2 weeks left until Summer vacation and I go to Taipei to visit people, there is only about 4 months till I get to go home (thank the gods for that too!). Um, tomorrow is Birthday party day at school so I get to eat cake (though I must say they put some pretty damn weird things in cakes here). We have open days for kindergarten next week, where the parents are coming in to see how we teach the kids, so the kids are presently in training. On Friday, next week we are going to the Coca Cola factory for a field trip, but Scott the lucky SOB has the day off as him and Nig are going to a music festival near Incheon, heaps of cool bands are playing, but they won't let us both take time off at the same time, sux really, but at least I get an extra day tacked on to my summer vacation, hope Chelsy hasn't forgotten as I will not ne able to come to work on that day, will be taking at least 2 different buses and 2 different planes to get from Kinmen back to Gwangju, won't get back till like 9pm, and am leaving Kinmen at 8.15 (bloody sux really!).
Okay, I'm done babbling about a bunch of useless crap now, I'm going to sleep, and it's before 3am, isn't that a good thing!

Can't think of a title today

Not much happening, it is supposed to be pissing down with rain, the weather report said we were supposed t0 get 200mm of rain over 3 days, well today is day 2 and there is still no rain!
I did however read most of the night again, and was rather grumpy when Mum woke me at 10am this morning to give me all the interesting family gossip, Tried to go back to sleep but failed, so now I am up and waiting for it to be 1:00 so that I can check my Mythos account and take my land bonus and build some more buildings.
Tomorrow is a public holiday, so I don't have to go to work, yey, I get and extra day of sleeping this weekend, not interesting plans, may go downtown for a look around, but since I'm not allowed to spend any money there isn't much point. Will be in Taipei in 3 weeks, also yey!

Just a quick one

So, I figured it had been a while, haven't been doing much, as it has rained a bit the last few days, finally finished all my new books though, I must say most of them were pretty good. Only 2 days left of work this week yey! We're spending most of our time preparing for open classes, which are where the parents come in and watch as teach their kids for half an hour, so the kids need to be trained so that they are perfect!
um, am definitely going to Australia in December, tickets have been paid for. Going with mum and I got an email from Lynette yesterda, so we'll be catching up while I am there too, she only lives 20 minutes from Surfers. It will be good to see her, haven't seen her since I left NZ, and that was almost 11 months ago.
Okay, time to go to work, later.

More new books

So yeah, the new books I ordered for Kat and I arrived the day after she left, she would have been more annoyed about it too, had she not just been to Page One in Taipei to buy 6 new books herself. So I must that Danse Macabre is quite a good read, much better than the last book, very very interesting. As is the new Steph Plum book, I am rather impressed that she finally manages to say those important little words too. Latest Kim Harrison is really good read too, and apparently Jenks makes one hot human size dude!
Other than this nothing has happened well except the fact that it's pissing down with rain of course, so am not able to do anything.
I am however, extremely happy about the fact that the All Blacks kicked the shit out of the Aussies in the first Bledisloe Cup/Tri Nations match - and when everyone was saying that they were going to lose too. I really like the way we prove everyone else wrong!

We've had she's finally arrived, this time I'll go with she's finally left!

So as you may have guessed Kat is gone, left early this morning, had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6am. I'm the queen of the gods for eff's sake and I still had to get up and take her to the bus terminal. I did however come home and go back to bed. Had to take a taxi to work though because a) I stayed in bed as long as I possibly could, and b) it was raining.
I must say it was a pretty uneventful day at work, at least none of my kindergarten kids stole anything from me today, but then again they got in a crap load of trouble for stealing frm me over the last week, evil little buggers that some of them are.
Um, am trying to think of more to write and nothing is coming, but Mornay if that was you invading me you are a dead man! Just wait, I'll be in Taipei in less than 5 weeks and just you ask Kat exactly how long my memory is! But a very good birthday present may go a long way to diverting my anger else where.
So anyway, a boring weekend, a pretty boring 2 days at school. But am currently translating the menu at one of my favourite restaurants in a bid to learn some Korean. Shall actually take a class in Korean next month. As I have decided to tutor foreign students in English when I get home, there are a lot of good points to this idea:
1. Would be able to work fewer hours and make more money.
2. Wouldn't have to go back to New World
3. Wouldn't have to pay tax on it
4. Wouldn't cause any more stress to recent injuries (such as knee and should - no heavy lifting)
5. Can make Mum and Dad happy by being able to afford my own 1 bedroom flat and not live with them - % will probably make me pretty happy too.

Only 144 days until i come home (well leave Korea, not necessarily arrive on that day!)

So...

went to Seoul, didn't see much, couldn't do the Han River cruise or go up Seoul Tower because there was FOG FOG FOG FOG and MORE EFFING FOG! Had the same problem on the DMZ tour, we went to the Dorasan Obervatory which allows you to look at the 2 villages in the DMZ and see into North Korea, but unfortuantely there is was so much FOG that you could barely see 10 metres in front of you! We ended up coming back to Gwangju a day early due to FOG and lack of money, as I finally got me some asthma medication, cost me 116,000 won, about 170NZD, to go to the doctor and get 2 effing inhalers! But I was able to speak to someone who spoke English and didn't need an unreliable person to translate for me.
Yesterday, Kat and I wen t downtown, picked up my ticket for when I go to Taiwan next month and had lunch at TGI Friday's, was really good and I am really glad that there is another one opening up in Sangmu by work next week. Also introducted kat to a 1000 won store, where she bought prizes for her kids - the downer was that it rained all day. Met up with Nig and Van last night for some Soju, but we packed it in pretty early due to tiredness. And I finally won me a prize in one of the claw machines, is an ugly looking thing, but hey I FINALLY WON something!
Not doing much today can't be bothered, but we're going out to get some food now, so will catch you later.