Lunar New Years Part 1

* I finally got to see Sherlock Holmes! After 3 unsuccessful tries to see it in the theater, see previous posts for explanation, I got to see it on my computer. I got a downloaded copy of it from someone at work. They were passing it around on a flash drive. I was so scared that I was cursed and destined not to see this movie. As I sat down to watch it on my computer I kept repeating, "please don't crash, please don't crash." It didn't; I got to watch it all the way through without a problem. I enjoyed it, don't know if it was worth all the trouble I went though to see it, but I liked it.
* I was so surprised! I saw a Dora the Explorer sticker on someone's car. When I sound out the words underneath it, it does not say Dora the Explorer, so maybe it say a phrase like, "yes we can," or something like that. I'm just so impressed that Dora is tri-lingual! So she can speak Spanish, English, and Korean. She is a great role model for me.
* So I mentioned that Chin Kim was on that list posted at work, this means she is now officially in charge of the 6th and 7th floors of our office building. So that also means we needed to move offices, since we were living on the 8th floor. At first I was going to go to the 7th floor, because this is where the the team I manage is located. But the only desk they could find for me was up front next to Hye Jung. So I was excited at the prospect of sitting with my friend, but Chin said no. And she didn't say no for the reason I thought she did. Apparently, when people are new to the company they are seated in the front desks. Since Hye Jung is new to the company she is sitting up front. Since I am suppose to be a manager, Chin thought it was unexpectable for me to be sitting up front, although I am also new to the company. The further you are from the front, and the closer you are to the windows, the higher up you are in the company. So now I live on the 6th floor, next to a window, in the same office space as Chin Kim.
On moving day, at exactly 4pm, employees from the 5th and 6th floors showed up to help us move. They brought boxes and labels with either my or Chin Kim's name on them. They just started sticking labels on everything and taking it away. I was shocked, they had our offices moved from the 8th floor to the 6th floor is 10 minutes!!!! It reminded me of Loribeth's wedding reception where all of a sudden the dinner was over and waiters started grabbing people's plates and drinks. They could clear a party out like a fire alarm!
* Please excuse the foul language in this next paragraph (especially you Gary because I know you hate this word) but I feel it is necessary to describe exactly what I see. So apparently showing cleavage is incredibly scandalous, but its okay to wear cootchy cutter shorts. Well, if you were nylons with the cootchy cutter shorts it is completely acceptable. But if you don't wear nylons, or you show cleavage, well then your a whore. I think it comes from a history of woman here not really having much cleavage, well until recently when western diets were introduced like Cold Stone and McDonalds. So to make up for not having boobs to show off, woman here wear the most revealing shorts imaginable. So now when I see a woman wearing this style shorts I make reference to her ovaries showing.
* Bonyun's grandfather died last week. It is customary to give an envelope of money to someone when their family member passes away. Friends give $30 and managers give $50. So I thought this was a just a range in which you give money so I gave $40. Nope, Bonyun and Sunny were laughing at me because I give the amount between what people give. Silly English! But its the thought that counted and Bonyun and her family appreciated it. Plus they got a chuckle out of my faux pas.
* So I was excited to learn that there is a milk delivery service at work. Every Tuesday and Thursday is cereal day so I have to stop at the convenient story and pick up a jar of soy milk. At work they only offer cow's milk on cereal day, which I am allergic to, so I have to provide my own. But I could have had soy milk delivered to the front desk every Tuesday and Thursday, and it would have been 30 cents cheaper a bottle!
A manager from the 6th floor called the company for me and they sent a sample of their soy milk for me to try before I signed up for their service. Good thing they did because I couldn't drink it. It wasn't true soy milk, it was 70% cows milk and 30% soy milk. I was so pissed! It was just regular milk but instead of being fortified with calcium, it was fortified with soy beans!!!! So once again, I have to go to the convenient store on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get my soy milk for cereal day.
* They have a Korean Project Runway. Its actually in its second season and its just like the American program but no Heidi Klum or Tim Gunn. They have a Korean version of Heidi and Tim though. And this week they had Austin from season 1 of the American show. You remember him, he once wore his own dress he designed because his model didn't show up. Well, they had him on this show and I was so grateful because he spoke in English to all of the designers and judges so I actually understood a little of what was being said during the program.
* Melissa, we do need to be old ladies in Korea when we grow up. They get to go hiking every day and bully people around. They get to cut people off in line, and they get to ride the subway for free! This is definitely the place to be when we are elderly!
* I went hiking with the hiking club from work. Once again, I was the only female hiker, my companions were the same two from last time, plus one of the guys I manage from the 7th floor. We hiked the highest mountain near Seoul, 836 meters. It took 4 hours and we had to use crampons (ice cleats) to climb down the mountain because it was so icy. There were frozen waterfall everywhere. In fact, when I stopped to take a picture of one of these beautiful sites I was able to save 2 peoples lives! The first one was a woman walking up the water fall without crampons. She started to slip and I grabbed her and walked her across the ice to the other side. If I didn't she would have slid and fell off the cliff.
I went back to try to take the picture again and a guy coming down the mountain without crampons actually slid off the cliff! He was able to grab on to the metal rope railing and was holding on for dear life. I dropped my backpack and went over to the guy and basically bear hugged him back over the cliff to safety. The guys from my hiking club were so impress with me. They had already passed the waterfall and were waiting for me to finish taking a picture, so they got to watch the whole show. The guy I had saved was either too shook up about almost dieing, or was too embarrassed about being rescued by a girl, that he didn't even say thank you to me; he just ran off. That's okay, I did my good dead for the day and felt really proud of myself.