life of surprisesaplenty

Our first week in Canada

Mon, 02/11/2013 - 21:41 — surprises aplenty

Here is a brief look at our first week in Penetang, Ontario. I am on my mother’s computer and don’t want to take too much time on it so a lot of this post will be terse to the point of being cryptic. I am writing this post more for my memory than for international scrutiny.

Just before coming to Canada, I had one last hike on a small, local mountain and finished the hike in my T-shirt. The day before leaving, The Little Guy (TLG) and I rode our bikes to Eulsookdo.

I saw the completion of the 4-rivers project.

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 19:14 — surprises aplenty

I’m leaving soon. I depart on January 31 and don’t know if I will be back. As I wrote on Facebook (names removed),

“My work these past three years -and also at Kwandong before that, has been great but I am returning to Canada next year. I can’t say for how long.

The Little Guy’s English is barely sufficient for day to day conversations with me and falling far behind his Canadian cohort so we (TLG and I; my wife will remain in Korea) are moving to my mother’s home in Penetang for at least one year. TLG will attend school and I will look for some kind of work. If I find useful and valuable work, my wife will emigrate and join us. If not, we will return to Korea to work I love and have shown an aptitude for but with the real concern about what high school will be for TLG- and any Korean child.”

I am not ready to talk about Canada, but that will come.

strange post to return with, I know

Sun, 12/30/2012 - 21:33 — surprises aplenty

I don’t even want to look at how it has been since I last posted here. In my half-hearted defense, I have posted somewhat more frequently at the Creativiti Project.

I do want to keep writing here and I have some big changes in my life coming up; changes which definitely fit with the title of this blog. Further, I need to plan for 2013 and set some goals and what better place to such a personal activity then on a blog read by …some.

First though, a short post today with some humourous photos.

My son and I were rollerblading in the apartment’s parking lot and we found a sign that I read at “Ee ba to hae 2000″. If you have the Hangeul character set, it was “이바토해2000″. My son says that doesn’t mean anything, but I have photographic evidence.

The Games start soon!

Fri, 07/27/2012 - 23:17 — surprises aplenty

Tomorrow night, my son and I will be watching Olympic swimming, and probably other sports and events. I’m excited to see what the swimmers can do but also am envious of my son’s idealistic view of The Games.

If I were to write down my own version of an Athlete’s Credo, it would describe wanting to do my best but also wanting the same for my competitors. I would prefer to win or lose and be secure in my belief that the outcome was correct. If I were to win, I would want my opponent to say something like, “I did my best and you were better” rather than “If I’d had a better start…”.

Of course, I won’t be there competing and perhaps people who have put enough effort into getting there have different priorities.

parenting milestone

Tue, 07/24/2012 - 21:58 — surprises aplenty

My son and I went for our first bike trip on Sunday. We rode along the river and across a bridge to Eulsookdo, a park with ecological preserve, a drive in theater and other tourist attractions.

Previously, I had jogged or roller-bladed beside my son as he rode, careful to be close enough to try to catch him if he tipped over.

Yeosu World Expo: Meh

Thu, 06/21/2012 - 08:17 — surprises aplenty

I guess not many people are attending the Expo. Not as many as Korea had hoped, anyway. Various branches of government offices are required to buy so many tickets and my wife kinda-sorta volunteered to do so at her workplace.

I was surprised by how close Yeosu is to Busan. I looked at Google maps and asked for directions- it would have sent me way North to Daecheon before returning South to the expo for a travel time of over six hours. Instead, we drove it in under two-and-a-half.

Getting there was pretty easy although we didn’t see any Expo signs on the expressway (number 10, if you are curious). Once near the location we found signs for the Expo -go straight, and for Expo parking -turn right. We turned right and drove through the grittiest industrial area I have ever seen. There were a lot of signs for parking and that was the only thing that eased my fears that I was heading into a scam.

Donating blood in Busan

Tue, 03/27/2012 - 20:51 — surprises aplenty

I am simultaneously proud of having donated blood and embarrassed at having donated so seldom.

There were hassles in donating blood in Korea but today I saw the nurses had translated questionnaires for English speakers. The translation seemed to be of a previous form and the question numbers didn’t match but the important questions could be matched.

for donating my blood, the nurses offered me a variety of gifts: I chose a 5,000 won (about $5.00 Can) gift certificate to be used for ‘culture-related purchases’ – bookstores.

A month in Gangwondo… and where Surprises is going in 2012

Mon, 01/30/2012 - 15:05 — surprises aplenty

Hi all. It’s been so long. In November, I was either busy with nanowrimo or procrastinating about not being busy with it. In December, I guess I was busy with exams then camp. In January, I was at camp, then sorta rootless for a while.

I remain sorta rootless now, but do feel I have time to blog.

rats and badminton

Sun, 01/01/2012 - 09:37 — surprises aplenty

Happy New Year, Everyone!

My post today isn’t about the New Year, but about two events that occurred this past week. They have a surprising number of parallels.

First, on Wednesday night I played badminton for the first time in ages. My friend Tom invited me to play. I am a terrible badminton player (indeed, this is true for most team sports) but thought a friendly game would be fun.

It turned out I had an edge, a wonderful advantage. Tom’s shoes just didn’t agree with the gym floor. For whatever reason, he had almost no traction and I did. To win a point against him, all I needed to do was to shoot to one side then the other, or anyway to shoot where he was not and he would be unable to get into position.

Sounds simple, right? It did work a few times despite Tom’s long arms. There were a few occasions where I did get him to the left side then forced him to run unsuccessfully to the other side chasing (shuttle)cock.

The dinosaur museum in Goseong (and more)

Wed, 12/07/2011 - 08:26 — surprises aplenty

Hi there! Long time, no read.

I attempted the Nanowrimo project last month (the goal is to write 50,000 words- a novel – in one month) and didn’t get very far. Still, that was the number one thing I was to do, so if I wasnt doing it, I couldn’t do things lower on the list either.

Anyway, I’m back.

December third was our wedding anniversary so like any middle-aged couple with a child, we did child-friendly stuff. Heck, we all loved the dinosaur museum!

I sure didn’t love the trip to the museum. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been suffering from headaches occurring roughly every other day. First, I went to a dentist but he found no problems. Then I went to a hospital and I learned my cold has progressed to sinusitis and the infection in a sinus cavity has been causing my headaches.

Mayor’s Cup Surfing Competition at Haeundae

Sun, 06/26/2011 - 06:06 — surprises aplenty

My friend Melvin of Pine Ocean SUP (1,2,3 and 4) invited me to hang out with him as he promoted his fledgling Stand Up Paddleboard company during a surfing competition at Haeundae. I happily agreed.

Ordinary April Fools Day Prank

Sun, 04/03/2011 - 09:51 — surprises aplenty

A coworker and friend of mine is a skilled violinist and I recently noticed he sometimes leaves his violin at work. I also noticed it is about the same size as my son’s toy guitar. A little before April 1st, I moved the violin to the office manager’s desk and left the toy and a note.

The text reads:

Patrick,

I though you might want to go the electric violin route, like Linzi Sheppard.

enjoy!

Cheers,

Andy
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enjoying the winter

Mon, 02/14/2011 - 09:56 — surprises aplenty