A Monday back at work after the Olympics and my brother sent an email full of jokes. Just including a couple of my favorites:
I think that's how Chicago got started. Bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'
--Richard Jeni
Our bombs are smarter than the average high school student.
At least they can find Afghanistan
--A. Whitney Brown
Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so?
There's a support group for that.
It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar
--Drew Carey
Do you know why they call it 'PMS'?
Because 'Mad Cow Disease' was taken.
-- Unknown, presumed deceased
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Bad cell phone service providers
I doubt that this has ever happened with AT&T or Verizon. I gotta give the man props for this though!
Man Smashes Mercedes into Cell Phone Office -- A man in his 40s, upset with his cell phone service, drove a Mercedes Benz into the front door of the head offices of SK Telecom. Kim, 47, plowed the Mercedes S500 into the lobby of the SK Telecom office in Euljiro 2-ga in Seoul at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. No casualties were reported but a revolving door was seriously injured.
Man Smashes Mercedes into Cell Phone Office -- A man in his 40s, upset with his cell phone service, drove a Mercedes Benz into the front door of the head offices of SK Telecom. Kim, 47, plowed the Mercedes S500 into the lobby of the SK Telecom office in Euljiro 2-ga in Seoul at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. No casualties were reported but a revolving door was seriously injured.
Monday, August 18, 2008
No erooing at the Great Wall
An afternoon at the Great Wall of China, and let me tell you, the most amusing part of the whole experience was the list of rules next to the lift on the way down (yes, we walked up but took the lift down...)
An Olympic weekend
Last Friday was a holiday in Korea, and I made the most of it by taking a trip to Beijing for the Olympics! I had tickets to the rowing finals on Saturday and Sunday and to preliminary lightweight boxing matches (that is what they had online, and the boxing was a lot of fun to watch even if it was not exactly clear HOW they awarded points). The Chinese fans were amazingly passionate, and you had everyone from 5 year-olds to 70 year-olds cheering. The only downside is that once the Chinese competitor was done, they would leave the stadium. But I did love the nationalism and we definitely thought it affected one of the boxing matches.
I stayed with a friend from high school, Joyce, and her husband. They were excellent hosts, organizing cab rides (very needed given their lack of English and my lack of Chinese), taking us to great places to eat and providing me with a bed! I hadn't seen Joyce in about 6 years, and she is due in a couple of months! She was quite a trooper, and watched both boxing and stayed out late on Friday. We had some amazing Peking duck, ate dinner outside next to a lake (it has been a long time since I have enjoyed that type of experience!) and ate dim sum in a racous restaurant while watching China vs Germany basketball.
Beijing was a fascinating place, about 1 hour outside of the city (on the return from rowing) we saw a herd of sheep. There was hustle and bustle, but nothing that crazy (I think it was less for the Olympics actually). There was a slight over-service problem (read Dave Barry's column to understand more of that, but in general there are about 5 waiters to every table in Beijing).
I made the most of my time in Beijing, also visiting the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. I wanted to see the summer palace, but even I knew when I was over-extending myself. Next time I plan to spend more time eating good food, getting a few massages, and doing a little sightseeing. But it is all a question of when I feel like giving the Chinese too much money for a Visa ($140 to be exact).
Rowing was great to watch, I ended up spending a good chunk of my time with one of my best friends, Bill, who rowed with me from 2000 until 2004. He rowed at Oxford for a year, and knew a bunch of the British team. Their whole group went wild as the British won two golds and two silvers. The US came out with a gold, a silver, and a bronze. I was very happy for Michelle Guerette (silver in the Women's 1x) who was a couple of years behind me and is coached by my college coach. We chilled out with some of the alternates on the lightweight men's four on Saturday night (teammates of mine from 03 and 04), and Bill decided to order a drink called the Flaming Lamborghini (think Sambuca, Kaluha, Baileys, Blue Curacao liqueur, all lit on fire). It was an exciting couple of days though, and really great to catch up with old friends!
The last morning involved dragging ourselves out of bed (Bill stayed out until 5:30, I left the bar early, ie 2:45). The great wall was a lot of fun, I still can't believe that it is so long (6,400 km!) We walked only a small portion of it, but it was well worth it when we were able to read one of the best Engrish signs ever on the way down.
My last experience was watching the medal ceremony for the US Women's 8. When they play the national anthem, the fans sing along. Unfortunately the US section consisted of pretty much me and Bill. And neither of us knew much more than 50% of the Star Spangled Banner, which the Brits with us decided to videotape while heckling us. Maybe I will learn that for the next Olympics ;)
I stayed with a friend from high school, Joyce, and her husband. They were excellent hosts, organizing cab rides (very needed given their lack of English and my lack of Chinese), taking us to great places to eat and providing me with a bed! I hadn't seen Joyce in about 6 years, and she is due in a couple of months! She was quite a trooper, and watched both boxing and stayed out late on Friday. We had some amazing Peking duck, ate dinner outside next to a lake (it has been a long time since I have enjoyed that type of experience!) and ate dim sum in a racous restaurant while watching China vs Germany basketball.
Beijing was a fascinating place, about 1 hour outside of the city (on the return from rowing) we saw a herd of sheep. There was hustle and bustle, but nothing that crazy (I think it was less for the Olympics actually). There was a slight over-service problem (read Dave Barry's column to understand more of that, but in general there are about 5 waiters to every table in Beijing).
I made the most of my time in Beijing, also visiting the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. I wanted to see the summer palace, but even I knew when I was over-extending myself. Next time I plan to spend more time eating good food, getting a few massages, and doing a little sightseeing. But it is all a question of when I feel like giving the Chinese too much money for a Visa ($140 to be exact).
Rowing was great to watch, I ended up spending a good chunk of my time with one of my best friends, Bill, who rowed with me from 2000 until 2004. He rowed at Oxford for a year, and knew a bunch of the British team. Their whole group went wild as the British won two golds and two silvers. The US came out with a gold, a silver, and a bronze. I was very happy for Michelle Guerette (silver in the Women's 1x) who was a couple of years behind me and is coached by my college coach. We chilled out with some of the alternates on the lightweight men's four on Saturday night (teammates of mine from 03 and 04), and Bill decided to order a drink called the Flaming Lamborghini (think Sambuca, Kaluha, Baileys, Blue Curacao liqueur, all lit on fire). It was an exciting couple of days though, and really great to catch up with old friends!
The last morning involved dragging ourselves out of bed (Bill stayed out until 5:30, I left the bar early, ie 2:45). The great wall was a lot of fun, I still can't believe that it is so long (6,400 km!) We walked only a small portion of it, but it was well worth it when we were able to read one of the best Engrish signs ever on the way down.
My last experience was watching the medal ceremony for the US Women's 8. When they play the national anthem, the fans sing along. Unfortunately the US section consisted of pretty much me and Bill. And neither of us knew much more than 50% of the Star Spangled Banner, which the Brits with us decided to videotape while heckling us. Maybe I will learn that for the next Olympics ;)
Friday, August 15, 2008
Ah yes, this is my industry
Children, 12 and 13, treated for addiction to mobile phones
• They spent six hours a day on them, says psychiatrist
• Spanish cases may be tip of iceberg, expert warns
I feel lost without my mobile phone at times, so I can understand this! I did have a scare on Sunday when I turned on my phone and discovered a broken LCD screen (now the 2nd time, the first was my digital camera). It was fascinating to know I had a text message, and to be able to see who it was from, but to be unable to read the text. That and the inability to screen phone calls. What can you do? Thankfully I was able to fix it with very little hassle on Monday morning. Back to my addiction!
• They spent six hours a day on them, says psychiatrist
• Spanish cases may be tip of iceberg, expert warns
I feel lost without my mobile phone at times, so I can understand this! I did have a scare on Sunday when I turned on my phone and discovered a broken LCD screen (now the 2nd time, the first was my digital camera). It was fascinating to know I had a text message, and to be able to see who it was from, but to be unable to read the text. That and the inability to screen phone calls. What can you do? Thankfully I was able to fix it with very little hassle on Monday morning. Back to my addiction!
Olympic fog
I am looking forward to going to the Olympics next weekend, and the latest article in the Onion just cracks me up:
Citing Poor Conditions, China Refuses To Send Delegation To Olympics
I have been watching the olympics on TV this past weekend, it isn't quite as easy given that it is in Korean with Korean athletes, but I have watched sports I would never have watched before (aka: women's archery, fencing, weightlifting). Fun to see the athletes, I definitely don't miss the craziness to get anywhere near that level. I do miss rowing, but more the college level of competition and sport for the fun of it (the exhaustion after a workout, the battles in practice, and working out outside!)
Citing Poor Conditions, China Refuses To Send Delegation To Olympics
I have been watching the olympics on TV this past weekend, it isn't quite as easy given that it is in Korean with Korean athletes, but I have watched sports I would never have watched before (aka: women's archery, fencing, weightlifting). Fun to see the athletes, I definitely don't miss the craziness to get anywhere near that level. I do miss rowing, but more the college level of competition and sport for the fun of it (the exhaustion after a workout, the battles in practice, and working out outside!)
Summer, with a vengeance
It is hot. I mean really hot here. A 100 meter walk over here seems brutal and you are sweating just to get to the dining hall during lunch time! Speaking of lunch, what cracks me up about lunch here is the receiving line. In fact the whole lunch experience is interesting. First off each business has a different lunch time (ie this place CLEARS out at 11:30 to get lunch) so as to not overcrowd the cafeteria. After choosing between your three options (typically one is western), you put away your tray. Then you walk out and do three things, drink a cup of water (they don't drink water during lunch, that would be weird), use a toothpick in front of the mirror, and take a napkin from the dispenser on the wall. And of course when you get back you have to brush your teeth (you would too if you had as much garlic for lunch as most Korean dishes do!)
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