Post-Christmas Christmas Post

Why hello there, Daily T-shirt crowd. It's been awhile and I apologize for neglecting my faithful army of readers. As in Mom, Aunt Pam, and Grandma Czapla. I kid, I kid. I know there are at least 5 more people who may drunkenly remember to stumble on my blog during the wee hours of the upcoming New Year before passing out in their party clothes. This post is for you, friends.

So what have you missed during this fine holiday month of mine in Korea? Well, a week before Christmas I received a package from the faraway land of my natives in Demotte, Indiana. Unfortunately, I consumed the deliciously edible contents in 2 days and cannot provide you with pictures of those gifts. But you jerks can feast your eyes and mouths on salt and vinegar chips any time you want! Be thankful! Be verrrry, very thankful. Anyway, back to my Christmas presents. The Pops hooked. it. up. with TWO containers of salt and vinegar chips, one Brittle Nut Medley and one bag of roasted and salted almonds. Quadruple holler. In case you didn't know, Koreans don't do savory. Buy a bag of chips and it's bound to taste like frosted flakes. The other night, we ate at a pasta place and they served us cool whip with our garlic bread. WTF, Korea?! They like-uh the sweet here.

Within the package of AMURRKN goods was another prize, although inedible and initially frowned upon, it has proven its value every night at approximately 11 p.m.

Say what you will, judge if you must, frown with distaste. Sorry Mom but I did. Yes, it's true. They are Christmas pajama pants. I suspect of the Old Navy fleece variety. And when I tried them on in the comfort and privacy of my home, with a shock I realized I never wanted to take them off again. I thought of all the nights of sleeping when I hadn't had these pants. Wasted and gone, pitiful. These pj's are beyond perfection in softness and  comfort. And although wearing Christmas tree clothing may be out of fashion most of the year, I will wear them nonetheless. Because I love them. And I love Christmas. So deal with it. 

Other than that, Christmas Eve festivities consisted of a party at our friends' apartment around the corner, eating delicious food, and staying up til 6 a.m. playing Apples to Apples and Celebrity. Wicked fun. On Christmas night, we went to a yuuuuuge buffet in a fancy hotel with a lot of other waygooks (foreigners). Twas heavenly to eat a bit of turkey and stuffing and bread and butter. 

That's purty much it. New Year's is this weekend and as of this moment, no specific plans. The last couple of weeks have been kinda funky for me personally so send some lovin' thoughts or positive vibes my way if you wanna. E-mail would be even better. Missing y'all lots and lots! Merry post-Christmas from Korea!

Our lil tree. 

Me thinkin' about your faces. And my pajama pants. And Christmas. 

This Is Movie Clash

This is great news if you's a Clash fan. And if you're not.....it's never too late to start! Get yr daily dose in by listening to the track so graciously provided by me below. More rockin' than you'll ever be. 

CBC News - Music - Clash's London Calling goes from vinyl to video

November Daze

Dang, so November has come and gone in a blur. I pay attention to the calendar and still can't believe how fast the time goes by. In the last week, there have been a few instances of forgetting I'm in Korea. It's pretty awesome. The whole living-in-a-foreign-country thing is starting to feel not so foreign all the time.

So what have I been up to in November? Well, 2 weekends ago Michael and I took the bullet train to Seoul.
Riding the train is simply one of my favorite things. My nostalgia for it runs deep after my summer spent in Europa --and it reminded me of fulfilling a promise to myself that it would be a regular transportation option again sometime in life i.e. I need to move to Spain. Or Italy. Or France. Wherever. Taking the bullet train is the fancy way to Seoul: tickets cost around 100,000 won round trip but the ride only takes two and a half hours. Super plush, high class style. You know how we do.

Forgot to mention the reason for our over-nighter was to see Los Flaming Lips. Whaddya want from me? My life rules. We got in Saturday afternoon and hooked up with Michael's old pal Lazar. As in Jeff. As in Laser-Beam. He's awesome and hosted us well. He's been living in Korea going on 4 years and can actually speak/write/read Korean AND has Korean friends. That doesn't happen nearly as much as you'd expect so he's basically a celebrity. 

So happy to finally see fall colors!

Laser-beam and I walking to his casa. 

Roof-top of Laser's house in central Seoul. Lil hazy but still rad. 

So after grabbing some dinner, Jop-face and I headed to the show. Do I really need to say much here? It obviously ruled. Small cannon-things firing confetti. Huge balloons being hit around, eventually bursting and showering more confetti. Background video projection with  naked dancing women. Webcam on the mic so you could get a sweet view of Wayne Coyne's sweaty teeth. Giant gong. Koreans dressed up in matching orange outfits dancing on the side stage. Yuuuuuuge hands shooting green laser beams from the palms. We took some video but the sound quality is so abysmal I can't subject you to it.

What a sweet vibe they had. Wayne was really full of the love. Highly recommended. 

After the show, we met up with Laser-beam and his friend Laurie to go to a "hippy" bar. Here are a few other notable drinking spots we passed on the way. Oh, the humor of English in a foreign land. 

Mom, please note Michael took this photo. 

One of 7 locations in Seoul if you's a picky ho. 

I'd rather eat a sexy pig. 

We eventually made it to our destination in spite of the all the tempting spots along the way. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when Laurie said it was a "hippy" bar but I was more than pleasantly surprised when we got there. It was underground and we had to takes our shoes off and put them in a miniature pillow-case type of bag at the door. The place was like some kind of hippy cave with lots of world beat playing. And it was super sweet actually. Something about dancing with your shoes off makes you feel like you're at home in your living room. We sat in this awesomely cozy cavernous floor space with lots of pillows and candles for light. Again, super sweet. The place was pretty chill when we arrived but was quite bumpin' by the time we left. I was in hardcore dance mode even though Michael could spin better deaf than the dj and there was a random drunk opportunist on the floor taking advantage of any girl unfortunate enough to accidentally bump into him. Thankfully I was sober and too quick for his inebriated groping attempts. My only gripe of the night was not taking better pictures of the place and only spending one night in Seoul! It's an awesome, yuuuuuuge city and I can't wait to go back. 

Sweet Korean interpretative dancer on the left, Laser-beam being weird with his nipple, Laurie and me. Photo courtesy of Jop-face.

Needless to say, Sunday came too soon and we were back on the train. At the station, we stopped to dig the sound of some sweet Peruvians playing magical tunes. It was awesome and really interesting for me to ponder their life over here. Michael gave them a "Que buena!" with his Spanish-speaking style and you could tell they really appreciated hearing it. Pretty cool. Take a soothing listen below. 

Until next time, Seoul.....

Daily T-shirt: MONEY IS BLOOD

"I keep looking forward to the day when music is a liquid they pour into your head." --Wayne Coyne