TravelStream™ news feed for member morpheous on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/morpheous en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:37:17 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1259072977/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1259072977/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1259072977/tpod.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:37:17 -0500 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Uijeongbu, Korea Rep.

But a BeastIs the urge to rip to sheds but only a thought in my headanyone who talks to or moves upon a woman with which I wish to share a beda sing of my insecurityor merely the genetics that have passed which make survival of the fittest worthy?To keep other encroaching males away orperhaps to prevent a mate from wanting to stray;a thought to ensure it's my genes passed on with her,preventing cuckoldry from some other sir.Like any other Earthly animal, I am but a beasttunneled into gene propagation of many children at least.Or maybe it's just meand my insecurity...It's cold here but today was rather mild. I don my tights, shoes, and a few shirts. My earphones are covered by my toque and my body is ready to be pushed. The music's playing with Vedder and the boys screaming in my ears. The time is started on my Ipod and I move along the narrow street down to the river path. I decided today will be fast, very fast. I set the pace with a good stride. Once on the path I become the first white blood cell racing through a vein on the way to a cut with invading bacteria. I push harder and become pure energy racing at faster than light speed. My legs move like I have never moved them before. The only people to pass me are the ones going the other way. I press on and run under the beautiful rainbow bridge of changing colours and think that no person, no state, no government, no religion, and no God has any right to dictate that two people in love cannot marry. I move faster than the wind. I run the hills like they are declines. My mind shows weakness and asks to stop. I answer by crushing this weakness with my pounding feet on the path. I drift and think to numb the pain; to escape it. Love, hate, war, peace, future plans, and a Japanese surfer chick named Keisha who is more than likely a construct of my imagination than anything tangible. I feel my pace slow and quickly correct it with a vengeance. I push so hard I want to puke. But I don't. The end arrives on the night horizon and I explode into a pace deemed worthy of this run. At the end I stop slowly and check my Ipod: 45:00:00. I smile at the open air around me. Cars drive across the intersection. Their lights seem brighter; more vivid. I walk home waiting for it. It comes quickly and soon I am high off my own self created chemicals. I feel great as the endorphins work like a dose of Morphine. I move home slowly knowing full well there's no need to rush, anything, ever.I have my second half marathon in Seoul the first weekend in December. I have joined a growing group called "Team Dirt." Which is organized by a great guy named Justin. Justin has a brother and several other family members who have an eye disease called "Choroideremia."  We're hoping to raise tons of cash for the research cause and if anyone wants to throw some pennies at it here's the link: http://www.firstgiving.com/fightforsight Thanks for reading.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1258523601/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1258523601/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1258523601/tpod.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:28:53 -0500 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Uijeongbu, Korea Rep.

As I age I realize that all my neurons might not be firing as well as they used to. I might not remember where my keys are or why I walked into a certain part of a room or place. This is often aggravated by such anomalies as the few situations I had to today. Like as I was skating across the crosswalk when the walk sign is green and the corresponding light for opposite traffic is red. Yet cars still seem to be going through the intersection. Have I gone mad? Has my perception of this reality been so distorted that I can no longer process information. Why are these cars going through red lights? Fear. Panic. I try and calm myself. Maybe I have gone colour blind? That could be it. Maybe I am reading the reds as greens and the greens as reds. The further climb out of mental fragmentation led by the rational desire to possess a sane mind tells me:<i>Yeah drivers often run red lights here.Crisis averted. My brain is OK! Then another incident again seems to make me think I'm loosing it. I place my sticky note pad on a shelf as I grab a pen to write a note on a piece of paper which will read:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Good Job :)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; +1 Sticker and a hug&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bad Job&nbsp; :(&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -3 stickersEvery Wednesday I lay out the rewards/consequences for positive/unruly behavior in the library on my over sized clip board.&nbsp; I have brushed up on my behavioral psychology as I and friends watch psychology lectures from Yale on a weekly basis. I considered making my students positive reinforcement (the good job stuff) and the negative punishment (the bad job stuff) shrouded in mystery. So I look for the sticky note pad to cover the behavioral psychology tools I'm using. This will allow the students to work to be the best they can be, uncertain of the outcome of desirable and less than desirable behavior. <i>Hmm I'm sure I put it on this counter. I think to myself. <i>Ahh must have put it in my pocket. Nope not there. Ok no worries its got to be on my desk. Minutes pass and the students get restless. They fidget. Their voices get louder and I get anxious. <i>Where is this effin thing? I start to think again like this morning. I'm forgetting things. I quickly compensate for my presumed mental inadequacies by resorting to a childhood rationale of missing objects. That being Little Green Men the size of tooth picks with invisible spaceships removing items from my reality. This calms me. Yeah the aliens have it. I resort to improvisation and find some tape and paper. Then from across the room I hear:"Kevin Teacher! He, he, he, he" As Angelina holds up my sticky note pad and smiles at me from her part of the table on the other side of the room. I can't help but smile and love my job even more than I thought possible.Thanks for reading.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1258066174/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1258066174/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1258066174/tpod.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:04:20 -0500 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Uijeongbu, Korea Rep.

The World's Most Dangerous DayI got a hero from a dangerous time and placeHis calming reaction saved the entire human raceThe Soviet diesel sub made it's way though US and NATO linesThe move of trespass was met with depth charge finesThe sub was shocked, shook, and grindedThe captain <i>Valentin Savitsky's anger left him absent mindedTheir pay load would have been the angel of death for most of earthOrders to fire the nuke tipped missiles to prove their worth"There's a war going on up there!" might have echoed from the deep"Take out as many as we can before our eternal sleep"Words to fire on the tip of his tongueOf Vasily Arkhipov's sweet voice was sungTo not fire that nuke on the worlds most dangerous dayLeaving Moscow, New York, and humanity safe, miles away...I have been watching a lot of Chomksy lately and I find him an excellent and enlightening role model. Not only is he a major influence on how I personally think and perceive the world around me but his lectures are intoxicatingly educating. It took me around 35 years to start to develop money management skills. I must say that my attempts are still in their infancy but it's a start I guess. I have made a bet with Mel to see who can live off the least amount of money in November. Apryl also provides motivation though support and the occasional dig as well. When given motivation to make such changes to ones life style be it for health reasons of financial ones, a person might just find new and better ways existing. Like me now eating with my students at lunch. Whereas my lunch was once a simple bowl of rice veggie porridge for 1,990 won, I now have a melody of very healthy Korean food that is free. Yeah I have traded adult conversations in the staff room for discussing things as "Is it yummy?" As I understand more and more of the adult world and it's truths, sinister nature, it's hope, and it's beauty it is often very nice to be with children and their innocence. The students have shown me how to wrap my rice in seaweed and correct my pronunciation of their food. Sally said my actions have made the parents happy because can I can talk with the students at lunch. My paradigm shift has gone from eating whatever to eating cheap to eating for free. And the final end point lunch with the students, is the best of the three.I have a form to be filled out for a school in Saudi Arabia. It's a British School that most likely caters to oil kids. It's the second step and the third will be an interview in February. No word from Bali yet and my recruiter said to be patient. The money difference between the two is double with Saudi being the more lucrative (in terms of cash) place. I will pursue all avenues that present themselves to me. Making a decision of a two year commitment does not make me afraid in the least. I have learned to adapt to any possible situation and am very flexible, some might say too much so. Maybe this job in Saudi will serve the purpose as a rather attractive person might as you flirt with them to make the real person you desire come running to you to quell their jealousy...maybe not.&nbsp;Thanks for reading
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257400251/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257400251/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257400251/tpod.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:58:07 -0500 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Uijeongbu, Korea Rep.

My NanobotsThe nanobots will scrape scrape my veins.Taking away from artery clog the reigns.Making smooth tunnels for swift flow.Of red blood substance and oxygen giving me glow.Of my cancer they will eat it`s appetite for uncontrolled growth.They will fight fearlessly this horror with heroic oath.Those in the darkest hells of depression.Will soon find the nanobots repairing neurons with unquestioned obsession.When my heart fails to open important valves.The nanobots will be there to fix it with robotic salves.And yes they`ll take on HIV.Blasting it away, banishing it for eternity.When it comes to my precious brain.The nanobots will fix all things that make me insane.I`ll never be left in darkness blind.Because of eye fixing technology that`s the nanobot kind.When the sugar in my blood gets too high and my outlook is grim.Through my blood to destroy it they will swim.But of all this good they will do, my humanity will be in question.For will I now be part machine and no longer fully human? A deep thought for my brain system that will spend much time with it's complicated digestion.Kevin StempIn 1998 when I was in an evolution class in my third year of university I started to understand why we are the way we are. This elaborate plan of natural selection and gene propagation was fascinating. For an assignment in one of my tutorial class of maybe 20 students we were asked to find an article in a newspaper and critique it from an evolutionary perspective. At this time actual paper and not electronic articles we readily available. Though I was more focused on charming the hot blond I would sit beside by bringing her little lion figures so she could put them on her table while she presented her article to the class, I did manage to put together my own piece. Though I never got the girl, I did manage to prepare a unique article on evolution. I say unique because everyone was doing articles on walruses, other animals, and yes lions complete with figurines. I chose the human animal and my article was that of researchers attaching electrodes to a quadriplegics brain giving him the ability to move a cursor on a computer screen with his thoughts. I explained that it was my opinion that our evolution would be that that we would be merging with machines in the future. Ironically 4 months later I would find that I stirred up an emotional debate in bar between a group of young men about whether machines could take over the world. A Christan in our discussion told of how God would come and smite anyone who accepted such things inside our bodies. Others told of how we controlled the technology and the depicted scenario is not possible. I mentioned Deep Blue.In my opinion we will merge, it is inevitable. Whether some accept it or not is a certainty. Perhaps like the split from our ancient lineage the Archaic <i>Homo sapiens this new species will be more adept at surviving not only on our changing planet but trials of moving outward into the cosmos. The moral and ethical hurdles involved in this process are many and should be considered critically. With new found technology we may never age or die of natural causes. We will certainly have taken the reigns from God and be able to determine our own fate. Of course the potential for abuse and awry technology gone bad is always a possibility. My story about the nanobots is meant to create a sense of hope for something that I believe will happen regardless of any particular group that may try and stop it. Then again the concept of living a good and just life, aging, developing the psychology that comes with growing old, and the end (or beginning of something new, depending on what you believe) that being death, will be drastically rewritten and changed forever.I have this game I play with my grade one students. Once we have completed our lesson be it how to write a How-to-Paragraph, how to change water from a liquid to a solid, or the difference between frogs and toads, we play. The game is called ask "Mr. Computer (err formally known as "ask Google"). Favorite questions of mine to date are:1. How many Greek Gods were there? What does Hercules look like?2. How do you create matter? <i>The record skips and scratches in my mind as Tyler asks.3. How do you create water?&nbsp;<i> I smile as I envision little Rachael as an adult settling possible disputes (or wars) over a dwindling water supply by <i>saying "Hey let's not fight. We can make water very easily!"4. Then the comes the rampant desire to know the flags of the world. I have a nice little collection behind my desk. The boys are very industrious in their flag drawing. 10 flags= 1 sticker, 20 stickers= a prize from the prize bag.I'll post some pics from Halloween in this write. I got them this week.As far as my last blog on the economics of war I would like to say that I have a good friend that happens to be a Republican who is helping me maintain a balance and keep at least one and sometimes two feet firmly grounded in reality, with the occasional jump away from it that I so love doing. It also helps me from becoming too far to the left. Extremism in any form is rather dangerous.Thanks for reading.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257336815/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257336815/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257336815/tpod.html Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:59:11 -0500 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Uijeongbu, Korea Rep.

The Economics of WarSo you wanna be economically dominant. You should sit around and devise a plan according to these principles: Step 1: Eliminate the barter system. Exchange it for paper that you can print out of thin air with absolutely no cost and control it with your corrupt banking system. Loan this money to the government but charge them interest on it so high that they will never be able to pay it off. Step 2: Control the worlds resources. Specifically oil. Bully any one who has it and is not willing to play by your self indulgent and extremely favorable to you, conditions. You might be even devious enough to impose sanctions that starve children and deprive the sick of basic health care needs to bend the country to you will. If that fails you, bomb the shit out of whom ever in you mind deserves it. Of course you'll have to make up some kind of fake reason, like they have WOMD. Once you have killed over a million people both directly and indirectly you trench in with no desire to leave. If you're lucky the next one that you will target will be very close by. Hey you might even be lucky enough to have your next target sandwiched in between two countries you have already occupied.Step 3: Continue to keep technology from others that will sustain nations once the oil you have monopolized runs out and the world looks to use other energy. Like atomic energy for instance. It will be important to ensure that other nations do not have access to this future way of giving people heat, light, and general infrastructure needed to maintain a country and keep it from the dark ages. It is essential to use propaganda and label these nations that seek it as evil and dangerous so you have a reason to prevent them from developing such vital technology for future prosperity once the planet has been bleed dry of oil. Of course you are above these labels so don't worry. If need be, implement harsh sanctions and of course threaten military action. This will keep you on top.Step 4: Ensure that the masses are unaware of your plot to control the world. Give them cable TV with as many channels as possible, DVD players, designer homes, great food, and most importantly ensure that you control the mainstream media. Make sure the lives of celebrities and the troubles that they have (that are in no sense different than those of your neighbors) dominate the front pages of newspapers and mainstream media websites. People will love this and most will not give a shit about what is going on in the real world.Step 5: You'll always need war. War under the guise of freeing people (by of course telling them they have to think and act like you do) and stopping terrorism seem to be a few working presently. And lets face it no one will really complain. We have been fighting with each other as long as history has been told. And probably beyond that when your and my ancestors were cave men with stone spears.Step 6: Keep an eye on the people you want to control. Spy as much as you want and don't give a shit about freedoms and civil liberties. Make the masses so afraid that they would even turn their own mother in as a suspected terrorist. Get the people working for you. Step 7: Control the population. Lets face it this rock is only so big and humanity is getting bigger and bigger each day. Now here's where you can be kind of nice and benevolent. Start by pushing for couples not to breed. Then if that doesn't work put shit in their water to make them sterile. And of course refer to Step 5 for another way of thinning the ranks. Or you can get the brightest minds working for you. Pay them well. This is a necessary expense because these people will be the ones creating so called natural disasters to wipe out the massive populations of the third world that are nothing more than leeching nuisances on your profits; specifically global real estate and food. You team of scientists could even create a virus that could thin the ranks. As a precautionary measure ensure a vaccine is developed and keep it by your bedside incase the scientists mess things up and shit goes bad. Don't tell anyone except the chosen 2 million people you wish to have left on Earth about the vaccine.Step 8: Practice the wise words of a great writer named George Orwell and sung by a former rock band called Rage Against the Machine: Who <i>controls the past now <i>controls the future , who <i>controls the present now <i>controls the past! This is rather easy to do. Write in educational books only what you want the masses to know. Leave out the other stuff that might give them power over you and your plans. It is important to dumb down the population. After all, an educated and free thinking population is very bad for your plan. They might even realize what's going on and revolt. That would be bad news for you and the economics of war. Remove the book 1984 from print. Follow these 8 steps and rest assured you will be on the right path to controlling the world by using the economics of war.This above narrative satire is meant for your amusement and though many of the thoughts are based on what what I have researched and studied over the years I have been in Korea some of it contains my own views and opinions and is meant to get you the reader to question what is really going on in the world. Whether I'm right or wrong is for you to decide. I cannot stress how strongly opposed to war I am. When I see a Canadian commander telling his soldiers that the men they will set out to kill are "fucking animals" because they laid the boots to a fallen solider (which is not cool at all) I understand the psychological process being implemented here. It's called dehumanization and it's essential to do this in war to ensure that a soldier is trained to not look at the target in his scope as a living person, but as a beast, monster, or something not human thus making he or she able to pull the trigger and do his or her job. I am fully confident that this exact process is occurring amongst the Taliban and any other tribesman of Afghanistan as they are informed of the torture that went on the holding prison of Abu Ghraib at the hands of the forces that have occupied their ancient lands. This is a no win situation for both sides. The instant we see each other as unequal, the instant we decided our enemies are monsters, animals, or infidels, we have failed in what it means to be human by removing this precious concept from our minds through dehumanization.Now yes it is easy for me to run a narrative from my humble bachelor apartment in a very safe country; save for Kim Jong Il's use of nukes to the north. I will never use a gun in war. My time is spent with students and I hope I can influence them to love their neighbors. Of course this is no easy task as some of the boys in my class are already ready to open fire on North Korea. According to them it's a bad place. Even when I try and explain that it's not. Then again it might just be possible they might be coming around. The other day Joon, a boy who aspires to travel the world (except to North Korea because it's a bad place) gave me a picture of a North Korean flag to put up behind my desk. These moments are so intoxicating to me that I long for the next country where I'll learn about it's people. I have a good friend. His name is Pete. We used to skateboard together as kids. As time moved forward we drifted apart as friends. Many years later one of my best friends Chuck came across a picture of Pete and last winter he came over to may parents house and we caught up on old times. Pete's a Canadian soldier and has been to Afghanistan probably a couple if not more times. Recently he sent my father and I a jacket from his regiment. I wear it here in Korea and on the crest it says:" Je me Souviens" that means "I remember"Even though I oppose war and the horrors it causes I wear this jacket not because I support the geopolitical reasons nations wage war.&nbsp; I wear it to never forget the fallen men, women, and children who have left this world and the families and friends that weep for them whether they are from the USA, Canada, Germany, Afghanistan, or any other nation or people that find themselves locked in a deadly struggle for life it self.Thanks for reading.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257080747/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257080747/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1257080747/tpod.html Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:01:25 -0500 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Seoul, Korea Rep.

MoveI got a need to be in perpetual motionRegardless of our Earth spinning and all it's commotionOr&nbsp;rumors&nbsp;of&nbsp;some kind of big bang explosionMaking us hope there won't be a space time&nbsp;implosionWheels rolling along the curves of my mindPavement trailing quickly far behindWhite powder of the godsStrapped in for the ride with perfect oddsFloating amongst transparent dreamsTorrent waves pushing me it seemsWhen all I need is to be in the nowMove with me and I'll show you howMy third Halloween here has come and gone. This one was certainly as memorable as past ones. We had our Halloween party on Wednesday as opposed to the preferred Friday because the photographers could not make it to our school. The photographers are essential for capturing all moments. And it's just plain custom in Korea to have tons of pictures of all things. I have been know to be shown how to pose with my students while they are doing fictitious class work. And yes the school has the right to put your picture on a bus as they have done with&nbsp;Jamie.&nbsp;I decided to go as the Black Spider man to our school party. I had help from&nbsp;Jenni, John, and Mel to design a web out of metal tape and then the next morning Eager came up and taped it on my wet suit. I some what anticipated the day encompassing such things as being a little hot in the suit but was not prepared to sweat out&nbsp;three or four&nbsp;kilos over the day. Peeing would be tricky as I needed Jordan to unzip me for my only pee of the day at 2:40. Of course my walk in to work was interesting. As I passed by the garage the mechanics gave me a thumbs up and said "Spider man!' A little old lady screamed in terror as&nbsp;I passed her as she got out&nbsp;of her&nbsp;car. Once at school the students arrived in a few at a time. There were princesses, good spider mans (to which I would have web wars in the hall ways with), transformers, vampires, soldiers, and all kinds of little ones dressed up. I told stories to each of the&nbsp;5 and 6 year old&nbsp;classes while my colleagues ran games. I took my students through the haunted house&nbsp;in the gym we made the night prior. I ended up carry little&nbsp;Losa and holding on to Angelina as they&nbsp;screamed&nbsp;in terror and a river of tears&nbsp;flowed&nbsp;down their faces. While the boys fought valiantly against the monsters of the house with their assorted weaponry.&nbsp;Later in the day the moms showed up for a belated surprise birthday party for me. We had cake and I smiled kindly in my spider man suit. They slipped me an envelope with a gift card and I thanked them with a hand shake. So kind, so kind. At home after the day I had a long awaited hot shower and a cold beer and reflected on what movie stars do regularly: make up and costume, work 9-15 hrs, repeat 5-6 days a week, four months at a time. Not an easy job I assume. Then again I'm sure the rest and recoup between films surly eases the burden. Especially when you have millions to spend.My afternoon students were not dressed and only a few dared the house. I'm sure the memories of last years terrifying experience&nbsp;were enough to stay out.&nbsp;We played games and did absolutely no school work.The adult party was last night. I chose a new costume as the spidey thing would not be condusive to swilling beers and having to piss frequently. My new costume was that of Gandalf. I worked on it all day Saturday with some serious help form Apryl and Mel. I could not have finished it with out their help. The three of us rode the subway in our costumes with stares abounding. We met the rest of the crew and then went to Go Gos for some fun. The bar was alive with numerous costumes and energy. Some knew who I was and some asked if I was Jesus or Moses until I showed my sword. Don't think those biblical figures had one. The Koreans wanted pictures galor. One guy wanted me to pose with his wife. At one point I wanted to&nbsp;break into a run and make for the bar so as to escape the paparazzi.&nbsp;"Run fools!"Inside I met some interesting characters. Trojan Man was giving out condoms but seeing as I left my Viagra back home there was not much use for it. A nasty vampire banged my beautiful hand crafted staff made by Apryl on the floor and all I could think was that I kill vampires for a living; thoughts kept to myself so as not to send him into a bloodlusted rage. Though worried I was not. There were beautiful ladies and all sorts and many different kinds of interesting folk. I had a shot of JD with Waldo from Wheres Waldo and even did a bit of dancing. At 87 I still had moves.Today I picked up a portable hard drive so I can reformat my comp and save all my stuff on it. After that some DOTA. Jordan, Jacob,&nbsp;and I&nbsp;are&nbsp;doing an Introduction to Psychology class&nbsp;via a site&nbsp;called Academic Earth. It has videos of entire courses from Yale University that you can watch on-line. It's really cool to be brushing up on my Psych after finishing a degree in it&nbsp;eight years ago. Today we studied Freud and yes ladies, I understand you all want a penis. Been thinking a lot about the fact that I don't have any children or even a wife for that matter after reading this article: http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/forever-young/hey-kids-dont-forget-take-my-brain-out-freezer. While it is entirely possible to procreate&nbsp;five even ten years down the road I find myself realizing that I might very well not. If I don't then yes I would miss out on conversations such as the author has in the article. But as the author says without kids I would be able to continue to have a life to do what I want in this adult playground called Earth. And believe me it's quite large.Thanks for reading
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1256137516/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1256137516/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1256137516/tpod.html Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:18:43 -0400 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Uijeongbu, Korea Rep.

See the path cut by the moon…for you to walk on…See the waves on distant shores…awaiting your arrival…<i style="">Unthought Known by Pearl JamThere is a certain formidable distance you can place between yourself and love. Occasionally in ones haste to outrun the rather threatening and scary feelings of love, one might slow to a walk out of sheer exhaustion and then beside them appears someone who has been chasing them who may be pleasantly pleased they have caught up with the object of their hearts desire. Or perhaps they were just passing by, or maybe even running from love themselves and their walking becomes in step with your own. It is then and only then that the one who evades love must decide to begin running again or walk beside someone that might love them unconditionally, forever. I fired off 5 emails tonight to jobs in such obscure places like Argentina, Japan, Kuwait, India, and Morocco. I'm sure a long awaited nightmare (that I do enjoy for the sheer realism of them all) I’ll have tonight is that of each administrator reading the email and finding the typo I found in one of the emails I was writing. Then again maybe that dream will not come and instead the job offers will.I went for another round of acupuncture tonight and hopefully my back is better by Sat. The acupuncturist said "No running for two weeks" after he scoffed at me for doing jumping jacks with my dozing grade one class in an attempt to wake them from a sleepy Wed. evening lesson on bats. I did one and a half before stopping and realizing my folly. I made them switch to running on the spot and pretending to be gazelles running from a cheetah. As well as the other side of life; that being the cheetah chasing the gazelle for food. Did you catch the gazelle I asked? Most did. The acupuncturist said swimming is OK but it looks like the combat might have to wait for a few weekends.I got my letters of reference from two previous supervisors, all fantastically written. I did enjoy reading their opinions of me and my friend and previous supervisor Deirdre, is on record of saying in the letter “He took direction very well and demonstrated a sense of humor, a necessary quality given that he was the only male on the team!” Heh, heh, heh. Me and my team of married chicks!Thanks for reading
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1255958076/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1255958076/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1255958076/tpod.html Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:34:49 -0400 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Uijeongbu, Korea Rep.

The fact that empirical data reveals I am but 4 days away from turning 35 does not really shake me of my Peter Pan Syndrome. Three different gathering points that may or may not indicate my age can be found in:1. Unlike when I was 21, I much now prefer to head home from the bar at around 1130pm with the occasional 12am departure. There is something to be said about getting a good nights sleep with a minor hangover as opposed to arriving home at 7am and feeling the pain well into Wednesday.2. My body often protests the physical pain I put it through and in defiant opposition to my mind which seems to think it has full dominance over my body, will revolt with pains in the least to expect places. Like yesterday for no obvious reason my lower back started to hurt like hell and though I was good when I did nothing, moving was very painful. Especially today when a rowdy tomboy of&nbsp; girl I teach who often enjoys jumping and swinging on my arm, did so. As a solution I decided to seek out a new experience. One I have never had. I went for acupuncture. One of my student's father is an acupuncturist with his practice close to the school. I went tonight after pounding out some report cards. I met the father who had a kind and gentle demeanor. Interesting to see the genetics behind the smart little boy I teach. Anyways after I tried to make the mood light because his English was not good he did an exam and determined I have a minor sprain. He asked me if I had ever had acupuncture before and if I was sacred. "No and no" and then I was lying down on my stomach and he put about 10 needles in my lower back. They hit with a light sharpness and after that I really didn't feel them. He kept them in for 20 minutes and then I had some electric current. After I felt better but still not able to run, which is driving me insane. If I'm not pounding out km's on the pavement I am at unrest. Not to mention I will be scrimmaging at an MMA gym on Sat. where I will once again be able to unleash the raw rage and anger I do hold, in an appropriate setting. Like a beast I'll test my wrestling skills against other forms of combat styles. Maybe I'll get choked out maybe I won't. My friend Apryl wants to come so I'll have to impress.3. And of course the final and unmovable concept of the actual number 35. No way to get around it. Then again "you're only as young as the woman you feel." Though these days I do the feeling with my mind not my hands or lips.The big guy took me out on Friday for some wining and dining. He being my principal Mr. Kim. I knew the nature of our dinner date and knew my answer going into it. Sally came too. We ate raw steak sushi and some good bite sized steak pieces while swilling beers and soju. I decided I would eat meat this night. Lately it takes a conscious effort for me to eat meat instead of having an unconscious meat eating habit most of us humans are conditioned to. I have always said I would never give it up but these days I certainly eat less and less of it. Whether it ever disappears from my diet is an uncertainty to me. After we were slightly intoxicated he popped the question. I explained that I was not unhappy with my status but that I need a break...a big one. He countered with a appealing vacation package to which I paused and then continued with my commitment to move on. He offered me a job at his school in China to which I considered briefly and then we drank some more. It's a big step for me, though not reversible, a big step. It really is dawning on me how very soon I'll be saying good bye to my friends, students, and Korea itself and it won't be easy.&nbsp; Saturday Greg and I had a bday celebration together with some great friends and good times. I got a package from my folks today. A bday package with some tea, a mouth guard for at night, and the coveted and long awaited Backspacer by Pearl Jam which has blown me away. Now before sleeping it's time to go fishing. Fishing for jobs.Thanks for reading.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1254917068/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1254917068/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1254917068/tpod.html Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:24:17 -0400 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Busan, Korea Rep.

As of Tuesday last week I was reluctantly resigned to spending the only three day weekend (Chuesok) until Xmas holidays here in Uijeongbu due to a serious lack of funds. Well it would not really be to bad as I had a liquor box full of coins that I planned to get me through the weekend. I sorted it out over a few nights placing the Yen, CAD, Yuan, and USD aside to single out the WON. James came over later on Tuesday and helped me sort it into specific piles as the bank would not take it other wise. We had a chuckle at how much change I had and he seemed to believe it would be a lot. We made a friendly beer bet about how much it would be and I took it in on Wednesday to the bank. The banker had a chuckle as I pulled out a few huge bags of coins. All in it was 307,000 WON. This was James' first guess before he changed it to 300,000 and I was just under at 270,000. With this new found wealth minus the cost of one Kilkenny, I decided that I would call Nathan to see if he had any room left in his van for the trip to Busan. As luck would have it he had four seats. In the end it was my friend Sarah and I that would go from Uijeongbu. We met the rest of the crew heading down at 12am on Friday morning. We would be 8 in the van. The trip ended up being the same as last year minus the fun waves last time. The drive is always snug and a bit uncomfortable but the reward of swimming in the ocean at 7am after the long drive was well worth it. All in the trip was great. Met some cool people, sat on a beach all weekend, swam in the ocean, saw a cool temple, and discovered it's OK that I never won a national wrestling title (a thought that often haunts me to this day). The waves were small and a few of the tinier women in the surf lesson Nathan did were able to get up. He took the group out for a paddle about 200 meters off shore and RJ, Bo, and I decided to swim out with them. Nathan made each student get off their boards and I thoroughly enjoyed his reassurance to the more fearful of the 20 or 30 of them that "There are no sharks. They've all been eaten." A some what comforting yet very tragic thought. Later that day I grabbed a board lying down on the beach from the tour group and paddle way out into the ocean. It was the least I could do. I was alone for a while then a Korean paddled out beside me and we had a smile and he turned around and went back in. As I sat out there alone, away from people, computers, students, and stress I had many thoughts. The most inviting was envisioning a job at an international school in Bali in which I will be able to develop a wrestling program and ride a motorcycle to the many surf breaks around the island. Of course if this materializes then I will try and not blast off the planet fully fulled by an overwhelming amount of joy and happy energy. I have been in contact with a principal at the Bali International School and have my fingers crossed constantly except for when I check my email a several times a day awaiting his next piece of correspondence. On the drive back I laid on the floor and tried to get some sleep. Giving the seat to Sarah. Sarah and I were back in Uijeongbu at 6am with just enough time for a three hour nap before work.The first couple of days back at work were rough. My mind was not there. More adrift in the ocean or sitting on the beach. On Tuesday as I sat on the mat with my students trying to focus them to read. It was the end of the day for them, I had no energy, and they were not listening. I gave up and said "OK, put everything away." Once they listened to that I turned off the lights and hit play on the CD player. As the scary Halloween music began to play some laughed and some were dead silent. I turned on the the lights and Time Warp came on and we danced around the classroom. Sally had a chuckle as she watched the whole event and even filmed it too. She told me some were scared of the Halloween noises. I'm sure I'll be walking through the haunted house this year with little children clinging to my legs and body.We have been working on our play and I have found some good ways to reduce the difficulty of directing little children. I work in small groups with each actor and actress. They can focus well in this setting. Today we did part one in the gym and some can do it with out their scripts. It is not uncommon to hear Max as Bilbo say to Herry who is Gandalf "Gandlaf my old friend!" while they are doing math. I love my job!The job in Indo will start in July so I have some general ideas about what I'll do if I get the gig but nothing set in stone. I am prepared to fly there for an interview ASAP if it is offered. Either way I plan on being there for a few months after Korea. Though I am very stoked on Indo I am going to be firing off resumes at every school I can get my brain on. And yes I am not above working in Mongolia if the deal is right.Thanks for reading
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1253799659/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1253799659/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/morpheous/korea2007/1253799659/tpod.html Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:02:16 -0400 Teaching adventure in Korea.

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Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, Korea Rep.

The intelligence test (IQ test) was created by a pompous bunch of intellectuals. Its design was merely to allocate names like moron and imbecile to those that might use other forms of intelligence to navigate their existing reality. Neglect it does the emotional intelligence, drive and will power, street smarts, or any other avenue that may be used to interpret reality positively and successfully. I am ashamed that such a device might have very well been used to deem a certain person unintelligent and worth of sterilization.-My thoughts on the documentary "Stupidity"So as a non planner of future events, my experience over the past few years has led me to fully start early on the end of the year performance. It'll be in Dec. this year so got to get things rolling. That to which I have. I started my script a few weeks ago and it'll be a twin to the Hobbit. I decided to change the dwarfs into elves, because let's face it, my little angels will be much cuter as pointy eared elves than grumpy old dwarfs. I decided to fix the roles contrary to the random draw that they are supposed to be. There is no way that a student who can't really speak well will be able to carry the role of a main character. So simply put, I assigned the roles yesterday. Here's how it went down:"OK here we go boys and girls! Max looks like you be Bilbo. Bilbo is a little man and he's very brave."<i>cheers of applause"The rangers will be Brent and William!"<i>Assahhh"David, Steven, Amy, Losa, Angelina, Daniel, Eric, James will all be elves!"<i>Yayyyy"And Herry you'll be Gandlaf. He's a great wizard who knows powerful magic. He's a grandfather so you'll have to wear a big beard."<i>The class erupts into laughter and Herry sinks his head into his arms in a sad cryOppps...Sally Help! are my thoughts as I see her through the window to which I am tapping on frantically.<i>Once Herry was assured by Sally and I that it was ok and his class mates (most of 'em anyway) apologized for laughing he seemed to come around. I spent this morning looking for clips from Lord of the Rings to show the students tomorrow. I hope Herry is pleased with Gandalf kicking the Balrog's ass.This part of the job is a most stress inducing, few years of your life taking, gray hair creating, and all around good time. I will surely hope that the can't stand still, unable listen to directions, do their own thing, lovable group of 12 seven year old's I call the Blue Jay Class will step up and do their best come December.The date last week was not a date as I got my dates mixed up. As Ji Eun and I texted back and forth she wrote that it was the 26th not the 19th. Oops on my fault. Not to worry as once I explained my folly to Greg and Matty we explored Hongdae. We found the only ice bar in Korea. We donned parkas, sipped drinks out of blocks of ice, and got a bit chilly. The good thing is Ji Eun must not think I am a total space cadet (though I would like to travel to Mars) because we'll meet this Sat.James Cowan is heading out of the ROK and we'll have dinner and drinks this Friday. Be sad to see him go but again it's the nature of the beast. I told my grade one students that I would not be their teacher next year and little Emily wondered why? "Well I'm going to go traveling and then go back to Canada.""But when will you come back?" she queried.As a student of mine for two years now those words kinda broke my heart. It's going to be rough for me to leave but I need to go. Not out of escape or unhappiness but out of sheer curiosity and a new beginning. Tonight I went to a concert to which my principle must be a behind the scenes donor of sorts. It was quite nice to be mesmerized by the beautiful voices of the men and women performing. I ran into Rachael a grade one student of mine and her mom who were also there. They had been to Alberta for 5 weeks a little while ago. As I spoke with her mom and asked of their trip she commented on how beautiful it is in Canada and how much space there is. She told me how lucky I am to live there. Words to never be forgotten. After the concert I went to a wake for a Korean supervisor from CIS. I was instructed the proper bowing technique for showing respect and then the small group of teachers I was with had some Soju and food in the friends room. According to a group of young Korean men Jordan is like Justin Timberlake and I Arnold Schwarzenegger.Thanks for reading &nbsp;
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