tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54790892009-02-21T10:38:31.125+09:00Yes, it's a working title...Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1104411117637089452004-12-30T21:51:00.000+09:002004-12-30T21:51:57.636+09:00

My lovely frog.

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1104410440348108892004-12-30T21:38:00.000+09:002004-12-30T21:40:40.346+09:00

Merry Christmas guys and guyitas. I hope everyone is well, and particularly that nobody was caught up in any way in the recent tsunami disaster. It's good to get home for the festive season, although I'm finally getting my face fixed this year, which does not exactly induce Christmas cheer. Nevertheless, it's been a good week, to be rounded off in traditional mode by getting shitfaced in

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1102606681775398732004-12-10T01:10:00.000+09:002004-12-10T00:38:01.776+09:00

Like all sensible people, Italians love an excuse not to work. This is not due to laziness, simply a refined appreciation of the spiritual value of sitting at home in one's dressing gown, eating, getting stoned and watching schmaltzy crap on TV. To this end, shops are closed at lunchtime, and on Sundays, Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, and there is of course a wide selection of public

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1102181868261401612004-12-05T02:12:00.000+09:002004-12-05T02:37:48.260+09:00

And suddenly, for the third weekend in a row, I find myself in Venice. It's an obscenely expensive, sickeningly beautiful city. These two factors are a winning combination for the local tourist industry due to the well-known economic equation beauty+money=romance. People throw away their money in a conscious display of gay abandon, hence the 15 euros you can pay for a coffee in Piazza San Marco,

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1101917790011190522004-12-02T01:28:00.000+09:002004-12-02T01:16:30.013+09:00

It's been such a long hiatus that I really don't know where to start. I could begin by stating the fact that I am, indeed alive, but this should by now be self-evident to all but the most dense of readers (whom I've already contacted to give him a headstart). I could apologise for not writing anything, but anyone genuinely upset by my lack of posts needs to take a long, hard look at where they're

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1097104398496195272004-10-07T08:10:00.000+09:002004-10-07T08:13:18.496+09:00

Of course, being at home isn't all bad. I remember several people saying that the culture shock on returning home would be worse, and they were right (as "they" invariably are). Retrospectively, this is probably what put me in a bad mood before, but now I'm feeling rather more chirpy about having moved on from Korea - due in no small part to the fact that I am leaving in less than twelve hours

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1094747128633006992004-09-10T01:22:00.000+09:002004-09-10T01:25:28.633+09:00

"There is nothing worse for mortals than a life of roaming." -- Homer. "If we really think that home is elsewhere and that this life is a 'wandering to find home,' why should we not look forward to the arrival?" -- C.S. Lewis. The change of pace when coming home is hard to deal with, even though it’s a demon I’ve confronted twice before. It feels like my parachute has opened prematurely on the

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1094114326238193982004-09-02T17:04:00.000+09:002004-09-02T17:38:46.240+09:00

Two posts in a day. Sometimes I think I spoil you guys. I am in a significantly less pleasant mood than I was three hours ago. Apparently, despite never missing a single class all year, I am not entitled to my no sick days bonus. Whyever not? Because they forgot to write it into my contract, that's why. Now, generally I know diddly squat about contract law, but I had been led to believe I was

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1094102962375812542004-09-02T14:25:00.000+09:002004-09-02T14:34:40.913+09:00

It doesn't happen often, but I am in a reflective mood. The reason it doesn't happen often is because, I have recently been discovering (well, in the shower this morning anyway, during which I simultaneously, during my final hairwash, ran out of shampoo and conditioner - coincidence? I don't think so) I'm slowly losing the ability to think of anything further out of the box than whether the cat

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1091716428274718832004-08-05T23:33:00.000+09:002004-08-05T23:33:48.273+09:00

"Quad erat demonstrandum."

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1091716313953158832004-08-05T23:31:00.000+09:002004-08-05T23:31:53.953+09:00

Bye bye sun.

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1091716164195747592004-08-05T23:29:00.000+09:002004-08-05T23:29:24.196+09:00

A plane cruising in over Iho beach, Jeju-si.

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1091716106127360752004-08-05T23:28:00.000+09:002004-08-05T23:28:26.126+09:00

A whole lot of nothing much - the view from Mount Halla.

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1091715860095834572004-08-05T22:10:00.000+09:002004-08-05T23:24:20.096+09:00

It looks like President Roh Moo-Hyun's policy cronies have finally got round to having a look at that Korean Constitution thing the commoners are always banging on about, namely Article 21(2): Licensing or censorship of speech and the press, and licensing of assembly and association may not be recognized. So, Eastern Seoul is back in business, and I can finally tell you, blistering and peeling,

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1088654455372784862004-07-01T13:00:00.000+09:002004-07-01T13:00:55.373+09:00

Read closely now...

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1088654280483170882004-07-01T12:16:00.000+09:002004-07-01T12:58:00.483+09:00

Some of you will be wondering why I haven't updated in weeks. The reasons are manifold, and include laziness, being busy and other factors I don't want to discuss here, but the biggest reason is that I have been banned! Well, not this site specifically, but all the major blog providers have been blocked by the government, with the result that it is now impossible in South Korea (and probably

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1086669884534162032004-06-08T13:44:00.000+09:002004-06-08T13:44:44.533+09:00

Lager, lager, lager, lager, shouting.

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1086669788631244402004-06-08T13:42:00.000+09:002004-06-08T13:43:08.630+09:00

"Cast no dirt into the well that gives you water." -- Korean proverb. Yes, the saga continues, as Mario and Luigi spent the weekend systematically destroying my apartment. I returned home on Friday night to a floor smeared with concrete paste, my washing machine in the kitchen, my toilet on the balcony, and the overwhelming stench of wet concrete all through the house. By Sunday, the entire

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1086353775195242552004-06-04T21:56:00.000+09:002004-06-04T21:56:15.196+09:00

Here's the birthday boy himself.

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1086353717627969982004-06-04T21:55:00.000+09:002004-06-04T21:55:17.626+09:00

Some of his lanterns (same presents every year when you get to his age).

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1086353555912204232004-06-04T21:52:00.000+09:002004-06-04T21:52:35.913+09:00

A crazy Buddha bash to celebrate.

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1086352737645858322004-06-04T21:35:00.000+09:002004-06-08T12:56:00.090+09:00

8:20 in the morning is a great time to do a lot of things. Chief among these is, of course, sleep, which is a fine activity to be enjoyed at any time, and holds a firm second place in my all-time top ten things to do. Other 8:20-compatible activities include drinking, dancing, sitting in taxis and bothering "Persians". Nowhere on this list, however, will you see the word 'plumbing'. Unfortunately

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1085329807633967232004-05-24T01:07:00.000+09:002004-05-24T01:30:07.633+09:00

Today I went to a wedding. But this is Korea, so it was no ordinary wedding. For a start, it was at one of the huge wedding chapels scattered around the city - big ol' buildings made of icing sugar, with minarets and little statues poking out of them. We arrived a full thirty seconds before the ceremony, leaving just enough time to go and see Kate, the bride, on a ceremonial chaise-longue thing.

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1084717647834228862004-05-16T21:42:00.000+09:002004-05-17T01:35:11.323+09:00

"Have you no fear, English?" -- Omar Sharif, in Lawrence of Arabia. Yesterday was Teachers' Day, a quirky little holiday which, at home, might be marked with a verging-on-ironic "Happy Teachers' Day" or, at most, a couple of cards. But then, this is South Korea, Land of the Corporate Holiday (remember "Pepero Day"?), and so to my pleased astonishment, Thursday and Friday came with a deluge of

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479089.post-1084018429860955222004-05-08T21:13:00.000+09:002004-05-17T01:19:52.290+09:00

"And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." -- Nietzsche Just got back from a spot of downtown shopping where I got a cool pair of trousers. Way too long for me of course, so I had them shortened - a simple process, but one that in the Republic of Korea nevertheless requires two hours. Perhaps they had to harvest and spin the cotton first. Anyway, here I am waiting

Ninjaminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295322691134250905noreply@blogger.com