Good to Go

rose and shone in the early am this morning to frosty breath and shallow heartbeat.....reached clumsily for my cell phone and picked up my bag.....looked down and realized i had dropped my bag instead.....sometimes the motor skills appear to be in good working order, and then something goes wrong.....called Joshua teacher who i was to be meeting at 7:45 at the bus stop.....he couldn't find his degree, so i took off with my roomate towards immigration, which is inconveniently located at the other end of town.....ravenously hungry.....bleary eyed.....

read some hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy on the train and marvelled at the Korean art of 'staring at you until you glance back', at which point their eyes automatically jump to stare off into the distance like you never existed.....it's a skill i'm convinced is innate in Korean physiology, some sort of anterior muscle reflex that has been somehow perfected at the cellular level

immigration is a tired, worn out building that must have been designed in the 80s and refuses to embelish on any form of aesthetic whatsoever.....downstairs, i calmly put my money into the photo machine.....my friend Chris teacher had already warned me of this infernal machine but foolishly, i had not taken him seriously.....i began feeding the beast bills but ran out of money.....hastily i ran over to the booth next door and got some change for a 10 (000).....upon my return, said machine had ingested my money and refused to admit that i had already stuffed it with bills.....so i stuffed in some more.....then it blipped for minute, pretended to be broken, and then nothing happened at all.....irritated, i walked away, and after leaving its personal space bubble of 10 metres, it made the decision to cough out my photos.....not at my hands, but at my feet, so i had to bow in front of it to claim my booty.....scandalous machines they build here in Korea

all said and done, i confirmed the authenticity of my degree, applied for an alien registration card and paid for a 'multiple entry visa'.....on my way out i was hassled to buy a phone card, so i did.....after wandering around in downtown gangnam for close to 2 hours finding my way back, i finally arrived at work.....in rave pants and a hoodie, hungry, half-blind from squinting in the sun, dazed and confused and ready to teach