Even if you're a coworker....

never upset a server. It's fairly unlikely that we are going to spit in your food or stir your coffee with our finger or worse yet our dick. The best way to mess with you is subtle. Do little things to you like sit you next to the bathroom or a door with a draft. Maybe we'll tell you that we are having problems with your credit card. Probably the best reason not to mess with a waiter might be how easily teed off they can be all the time.

Restaurants are notorious for being high stress places from all the constant movement and orders. If you haven't worked in one it might be hard to understand why. It's a simple job, right? No. Emotions run high in a kitchen. Everyone has a chip on their shoulder. And in the front of the house, the waitstaff tend to be on edge all the time for a number of reasons including being on some sort of substance. A noticeable number of waitstaff and kitchen employees drink to excess and smoke like chimneys or have drug addictions. Luckily, they can take their stress out on you before they blow open and suck down a six pack after work.

If you think you shouldn't be nice to and tip your waiter, then maybe you should read this -





Here's an interview with the author from TIME magazine.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1831742,00.html


It's easy to be cynical and avoid eating out. If you put your trust in a server, a good server will make your night.

And for you who have worked in the business, you know about the importance of professional courtesy to a fellow server.

Meet me along the way

I don't like to think of a year in terms of 'how many do I have left?' For the sake of a New Year's Resolution, it's ok. What was my NYR? It was to save money. What for? That I have figured out. I am saving for a trip back to ASIA.

It's all tentative. At this point I wouldn't even call the trip to Asia a plan. But here's the idea. Taiwan, Thailand, Korea. But there's room for more. Vietnam? Cambodia? Hong Kong?

How could I pass up a rickshaw ride with a driver who tries to call for the police after HE asks YOU about weed? Or the pizza shop that adds that 'special topping' for you? Seriously, it's hard not to go after hearing stories about the scuba diving and cliff diving off the beaches of Thailand (sorry, Drake. Cliff diving was not so kind to you). The stories about the half- and full-moon parties flood in from everyone who has been. But it's not the parties I really want to go to. I want to see it all.

I want to see the skyscrapers of Hong Kong. Ride the coastline roads of Vietnam on a beat scooter-motorcycle. The sights and warmth of Taiwan. And of course the remnants of what I left behind in Korea. I want to compile a travel log worth reading about. I want to live it up the only way I know how. Getting out.

For now, it's all tentative. But I do extend the invitation to all. All are welcome to join. The more the merrier!

Meet me along the way.

New Year's Resolutions

They never work for more than a month, maybe two. You know that you're going to quit going to the gym 4 times a week by the end of January. You'll be saying, 'It's just too crowded. I'll go another time.' Then you put it off again and again. And before you know it, your New Year's Resolution has dissolved.

I'm not here to tell you how to fix that problem. I'm not going to keep you motivated for 52 weeks this year. I really want to tell you is......

Happy New Year. It's nice to think you have a clean slate to start with every new year, right? Take advantage of it, if only for a few weeks. I will.

Thanks for reading my blog over the past year or more. I'll take advantage of the new year and try to make this lively again if only every other week.

As for my real New Year's resolution, I work out enough. What I don't do is save enough for school and a little travel. My New Year's resolution is to cut my most frivolous spending and wasting money particularly over spending on food and booze when I go out and gambling. It's a waste. I'm too broke to be doing that. I'd like to savor my money in my bank account until I need it. Look at the numbers and at some point down the road think....Yeah, I could comfortably do that but what good is it? Might as well make myself into a Mr. Moneybags. Sooo, essentially, I mean.... GET MY SHIT TOGETHER!

 

That's me in the middle.

So, what's your resolution?  And, try to be more creative than lose 5 pounds. That's lame and you'll never hold to it.

Success Makes Everyone Forget

 As things get slowly better at work and the grad school process begins, I think less and less about my time in Korea. Maybe it's being busy that keeps me from thinking about it too much. Maybe it's more and more time away that makes even the best memories seem less vivid. It's unwise to change what's working for you when there's not a problem to worry about it.

 Success definitely washes you over. Not to compare myself to Tiger Woods or Kobe Bryant, but they are good examples of how success, more importantly WINNING, makes people forget your past. On a personal level it clears your mind as well. But you can never completely forget.

 If you could, raise a glass to the bar's future success. It needs a bit of luck. Preferably raise your glass or two or three in my bar.


Anyway, it looks like time to move on. What's in store for me next?


I've spoken enough about me for now. I'm just going to relax my shoulders and droop like Bernie....

Dreams Fade

I really do miss Korea. It has certainly left it's impression on my life even though it all seems like a dream. What makes Korea so tangible to me is music. The memories and feelings that flood back into my mind whenever I hear certain albums that I listened to over those 12 months in Korea. The music ranges from the first Girltalk to Passion Pit to, yes, Justin Bieber. Those kids have Bieber fever! ('Teacher.....your name Justin......Justin Bieber?! ----- NO! --- Teacher Bieber!) Seriously, whenever I hear Passion Pit's Moth's Wings memories of walking through Bupyeong's crowded Underground Shopping Center enter my head. Memories of poorly translated t-shirts and acid wash jeans hanging from hangers and dodging wayward walkers. Memories of seeing my students walking together but still too scared to come say hi to me. Even the smells bad and good touch my palate. Every song brings back a new memory and enhances the other memories. Music brings me back to Incheon once more. There's nothing like it.

You could argue what makes Korea so tangible to me and some of you in Seattle is the people like Wildcat-Crab-Ian and Ryan whom I met in Korea and shared with the rest of you here. But they way they have transitioned into life here in Seattle makes it seem like they were here from the start. Everyone loves Ian...I mean Wildcat. Even though Wildcat is a self given nickname everyone likes him enough to call him that. Who would call themselves Wildcat anyway? Anyway, they have made the transition back into life back in the states together with me.

The transition has been tough. I still think of going back especially when the times get tough. That dream seems like a great idea. Part of me regrets leaving. The other part doesn't. The part that regrets leaving misses all my students, the good times, my friends left behind and my co-teachers even though the were upset with me for going. I did leave a little of my heart there. But when I lived there, my heart longed for home and friends. And I know if I went back to Korea the times there wouldn't be the same without friends like Tony, Ryan, Ian, and Drake. But that isn't what keeps me from going back. And to be honest it sometimes seems like the only real thing that keeps me from going back is convenience. I'm here. Why go? Simply put I made a promise to myself to return to explore and give life and learning a chance.

I can't leave just yet. I have only begun to settle back into my life here. Things are beginning to fall into place. My new job is starting to look up. I still have to explore my graduate school options. As my reverse culture shock is fading and the Holidays are smiling on me, the dream seems farther away. But I will always have those seemingly tangible memories that make the dream real.

Back again, Back again jiggitty 'Jeeg'

Many of you who read my blog while I was living abroad have seen me since I've been back. I've had a lot of you tell me that you read and a few of you even enjoyed my posts. I probably should have given you a comprehensive quiz to test you. Prepare yourself for the next time I see you ---- Bring a calculator and a pencil,  no. 2 only. Seriously, thank you for keeping up and reading over my blog. It really tickles me to know that. Unfortunately for all of you, here comes the real test for the both of us.

 A few of my 'oh, you're far too kind' readers have asked me to bring the blog back and I have decided to oblige you. You may later regret your words unless your my Mom. She has to love me no matter what. Even if I post you doing the 'Chicken Dance' on Thanksgiving. Sorry, Mom, you're stuck with me and the rest of our family. Good news for you though: no ambulances, fire engines or police cars were called upon last Thursday! We'll save that for your Christmas Party on the 18th (Yes, everyone who reads this is invited to sing along with my Father and ring Christmas bells with my mother --- I will be downstairs hiding from all of this with a beer in hand).

Quick side note: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY PARENTS! 43 lovely years together of loud snoring and here and there a lucky moment of boredom. As for the date, it fell on the 25th last week the same day as Thanksgiving. They had a lovely weekend, I'm sure. At the very least my Dad didn't fall off any ladders or electrucute himself. That's a win on it's own.

As for my life, I am employed as a server and bartender. Blah blah blah --- still living the dream ---- and I'll be back with more once I have a better idea of how to describe my reverse culture shock and my standard life at home. I really do miss kids cheering whenever I entered the classroom. Maybe that's why I like my nieces so much. Although Ella, my youngest niece, gets excited then cries simply because I am too tall.


One more thing: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/cowboysaliens/
Wow....just......wow...

One Final ROK Post

My talk with Vitaly, who I have failed to see while I have been here, inspired this post today. He told me something that fits Korean culture and society perfectly. Apparently, there is no direct equivalent of the word 'rational' in the Korean language. If I hadn't lived here for a year, I would have laughed it off as merely a harsh joke. Instead I laughed hysterically for how true it seems. What makes it so easy to believe is the way that Koreans operate and think. A friend of mine who has lived here for near close to a decade once said, they grow up on Confucian values. Their logical reasoning is much different than how we think. And if you lived here then you would understand why.

  Let me line up a few examples for you.

-- Women, even at the age of 35, have curfews. I don't think I've had a curfew since my junior year of high school. But you will be out partying with a woman, who likes to drink and get down (as she might have done with one of her employees), and she will have to leave at midnight to make it home in time for her curfew. At least you know this party whore has traditional family values.

  Believe me they are all about their families here. It's great to see. But it's, also, to the point of nepotism. The family who owns Samsung also runs the other major companies because they are related. I'm not saying this because they are all named Kim or Park (but they are). They are nepotistic. They appoint their family members in the top posts. And they control the government to an extent much akin to how major conglomerates and industries help their 'man' make it to the hill in D.C. So, we aren't too different in that sense. But politics in Korea is whack. I won't get into it. They could probably get their fraudulent brother out of daily on pardon. Sadly, I don't think they would let me marry into the biz.

-- The superficiality and double standards. I really don't need to make light of the superficial nature of many Koreans. It's not applicable directly to Confucian rationale. But it does demonstrate their priorities. The superficiality can be a bit shallow. But, hey, I'm white and I'm tall so it works out for me. As for the double standards it can be really strange at times. They think Western women look like whores because they have low cut shirts and dresses exposing their cleavage. But it's ok to show off your legs all the way up to a 1/4 of your ass at the same time rock high heels. It's hot. But I think Dave Chapelle would agree that's a whore's uniform just the same as dropping your tits out the front of your shirt like melons on display.

-- The strange way of doing and thinking about things. The little nuances and backwards way of thinking that make them geniuses and morons at the same time. Koreans have thought up some amazing inventions. At the same time they do some of the most backwards, irrational things I have ever seen. Most of the time it's the little things you witness during daily life. When you walk into a store, they have plastic bags to wrap you umbrella in so you don't drip water all over the floors. BRILLANT. On the other hand, I have never seen a line in Korea except to get into a bar. They just push to the front. They don't even know what side of the walkway to walk on. They just walk without any order at all. Then stop without provocation (my biggest pet peeve). I will mow you down, Ajuma. Watch yourself.

I could probably write a college thesis on the history and analysis of how and why they walk willynilly style and how it relates to their thought pattern.


These are but a few things that make up why the idea that Koreans don't have a literal translation for the word 'rational' is so awfully fitting and so very different from the way we think.

But I don't want to bash Korea. Because unlike my friend Tony Stevens, who said any expat who lives here for their life is a loser, I love Korea and Koreans.

I won't miss the drunk man punching me in the stomach or yelling at me in Korean because I am speaking on the subway.

I will miss the short skirts and fit birds.

I won't miss Cass, O.B., and Hite. Blegh. (I heard they use formaldehyde)

I will miss being a rock star at my job and on the street.

I won't miss the old men awkwardly staring at my face from a foot away without a hi or hello. 

I will miss the kindness so many Koreans have shown me since the day I arrived. It's been amazing. But now what am I going to do? Take a deep breath (a very deep breath of Seattle breath) and enjoy my home.

So, I bid you a fond farewell Korea. One day, I will return to your peninsula. If only for a short time.


Best wishes,
   Justin Teacher


P.S. Dad, I know it doesn't answer your continual nagging. So, let me alleviate this question for about 30 others. I'm going to study and go back to school. Any job I can attain back home right now is not worth it if I plan to improve my life. Time for me to incur some more educational debt.Woo...


P.S.S. I've got a hot case of the fever. HOT HOT HOT ouch. I could really use some parity.