A Cheerful Corner Of This Universe November 25, 2008

A few weeks ago my kindergarden class and I were discussing the intricate anatomy of, say, lima beans and I begged my supervisor to allow a little hands-on project. Well, these our the fruits of our labors, thus far, including a couple of clandestine side-projects of pumpkin and marigold seeds. My kids have responded handsomely to the project with diagrams, observation sheets, hypotheses, long-term goals and plans, and a heavy discussion of what to do with the profits from our farmer’s market sales come spring. Oh, my little burgeoning hippies!!!

One Year Gone November 23, 2008

Last week was the anniversary of Hooker’s death and you can just imagine how we’ve been feeling over here. It’s been a few weeks of good cries, bad wine, and those bittersweet stories of turkey meals gone bad, pooping on school books, rolling in elk carcasses, camping, learning tricks, catching lizards, sleeping on our stomachs, eating her weight in spaghetti, having about a dozen nicknames, (to include Mrs. John T. Schveepers, Doodle, Hookie, Monkey of Love, Cookie Marie, Stink Mouth/Stank Mouth, MC Puppy Pants, Pupperooni, Wiggle Britches, Stinky, Gloria Fan-derbelt, Fuzzy Britches, and Fanny Pants), having the stinkiest breath but the sweetest kisses, and just how “Hooker” came to be. We managed to make this last night and it was a strange mix of catharsis and insanely sad:

Thinking November 15, 2008

Thinking, originally uploaded by Jake & Kristin.

This little family was hanging out in Tapgol Park enjoying the beautiful fall afternoon last weekend. The dapper fellow in the blue hat was busy contemplating the pigeons, trying out going up and down stairs, and generally looking quite thoughtful.

As miserably hot and sticky as the summer was, autumn has almost made up for it. Today was cloudy, crisp, and a little rainy. Delightful. Maybe tomorrow we’ll trek up the hill to the University and get a few pictures of the fall foliage.

A Great Weekend November 13, 2008

Last Saturday we were shopping in Seoul and heard these guys playing:

and did some sight-seeing which was cute pretty:

And then dinner in Jookers which was downright yummers, complete with salad, pizza, and a glass of wine. No pig’s bladder tonight, people!!!

And finally a ride in this, which was great because there’s no better way to end the day than by saying “F*%k you” to poor people:

My Baby November 11, 2008

Gyeongju Korea + Sexy Blonde =, originally uploaded by Jake & Kristin.

We’ve spent an awful lot of time with each other over the last six months.

And I still miss her for the two hours I spend at Tae Kwon Do a few days a week.

I never imagined that I would find someone that I could spend so much time with and not get sick of them, much less want to hang out with them even more. I’m really lucky.

And she’s hot, too.

Doing Fine… November 8, 2008

Our reader may have noticed that new posts and pictures have been slim for a while now. Here’s why:

Organic milk!

We found some organic goods at E-Mart and an organic grocery store opened down the street from our house. Since then we’ve been busy drinking organic milk and yoghurt. No more BGH for us!

In other news, we’ve got a good routine going. We’re pretty used to life here, we like our jobs, fall has arrived and the trees are changing color, and we have almost finished Christmas shopping. Korea is a good place to be. Life is good. Now it’s time to go to Seoul and look for some more Konglish goods to send home.

PS-We just finished K’s birthday pound cake as part of a delicious breakfast. It lasted more than a month. That’s self control people.

Dead pound cake.

A New Reason to be Proud November 6, 2008

Barack Obama is the President Elect of the United States of America.

I can’t express how pleased and proud we are that our country has made such a monumental step in reclaiming itself from the reckless abuse of power that has marked the past eight years.

We have a lot of work to do to fix our problems as a people, but I think that we actually have a chance of success now. I’m looking forward to getting home and getting involved. I hope that we will not allow complacency to open the door for people such as “The Uniter” to wreak havoc on our nation and the world again. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a new reason to be proud of our country.

If you haven’t already listened to it, you should hear Mr. Obama’s victory speech.

It is likely that a more in depth discussion of history and politics will follow at some point.

lol;p!!!!1!!!!1! November 4, 2008

New meme: rodents tied to carts and speaking Korean. Enjoy, intertubes.