The Drunkard-- Korean Style

Two things that stuck in me about Koreans, as per stories shared by people back in the Philippines:

1.) Koreans are such workaholics.
2.) Korean men drink a lot.

And well...

Hehe. Okay, to tell you honestly, I don't know why that man has made such comfort in one of those subway station benches, but my, I could just immediately think of one thing: The guy's drunk. Haha.

In the few weeks that I have been here in Korea, I would like to think that I can be witness to how Korean men really enjoy inhaling alchohol. There sure have been dinners spent with colleagues, especially in the few days after we arrived here, and I must say that these men may work their asses out in front of their computers for eight to even ten hours a day, but when they let loose and party, they do mean HARD CORE bar hopping. They get out at seven in the evening, eat dinner and drink beer, sing their lungs out in videoke rooms and drink beer, then have another round in another bar with pure talk and beer. Way to go! Haha.

END OF POST. NO MORE

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Hangnails

If you could actually see my hands, hangnails have grown that I play around in removing them, yet the real (hard core) nails have not been cut. Try to hold my hands and it would feel a little coarse and those little lumps brought about by the veins have protruded more. You can to look at me straight in the eye, but you’ll first notice those pores that have become more visible in that area near my nose, and you can already count on the pimple scars that have occupied my now eye-bagged face.

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Ukay-Ukay Freak

Ella is definitely where the real bargain is. Family and friends know how I frequent surplus or second hand stores that abound in the Cubao and Manila area back in the Philippines, and how I am always able to prove them that I can dig whatever it is that I buy to strut along—may it be clothes, or bags, or anything, really. Hahaha. I remember the first time I brought home a purchase from an ukay-ukay back when I was in college, and my mom went nuts on such useless and ‘hazardous’ buy. Well, aside from the fact that it would be an added burden to her already heavy pile of everyday laundry clothes, like some people, she got concerned over my health and hygiene. She freaked out over the thought of clothes from second hand stores that may have come from a dead person. Yeah, that common perception. But hey, even if it is true, it’s not like the soul’s going to bug me with it. Come on. People have had so much of those horror flicks. Well, the hygiene part may be really be a question, and I’ve given it a thought until some seconds when I told myself that technology has given us a way of already doing better cleaning methods. Teehee. You see, I’ve always thought that ukay-ukay stuff has the creativity and individuality factors that a personality like me craves for. I could almost be so sure that the piece I may actually decide to buy won’t come to me in another person’s body along the street. And almost always, people have asked me where I bought the stuff that I actually just snatched from the ukay-ukay.

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Subway Showcase

Subways here in Korea have so far been a good venue for anything queer yet entertaining, to even profitable and money-making. I don’t know if it’s plainly brought about by the Chuseok celebration, but these are worth-noting anyway.

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Thanksgiving Buggers

Korea is celebrating one of its anticipated holidays from today until Monday. Chuseok or Hangawi is Korean’s very own version of the American Thanksgiving, and this is most emphasized by the time that these Koreans set to visit their ancestral hometowns and feast on the abundant harvest with the family.

As for new expats like me, with just a little over a month of stay here, I had to suffice myself with the goodies that the company gave each employee for the holiday—- a box full of ORION chips and cookies and biscuits to feel the spirit of the occasion. I have no family here to celebrate the holiday with.

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My Kind of Bed

South Korea is a sure more prosperous country, with a picture of wider streets and highways, faster trains coming to and fro in subway stations, as well as statuesque buildings housing Korean workaholics who constantly work in doubling their money and wealth. But these don’t exempt this country from the slightly unpleasant reality called poverty.

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Basic Homesick Tools

It’s been a few days since I finally completed my mobile phone and home internet subscriptions here, also remembering the first twenty-one days when I initially had no means of communicating with my folks back in the Philippines, other than the office internet and the after-work computer rentals in nearby PC “bangs” (rooms). Accomplishing the task wasn’t easy though, and we sure needed help from Korean colleagues who have been nothing but really helpful in assisting us with the transactions.

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The Future BPO Hotspot

Interesting article that I read from Wall Street this morning. In the wake of what seems to be a global slowdown, the Philippines’ economy is redeemed, aside of course from the ever-reliable remittances of overseas Filipino workers, by the growth of BPO companies that greatly addresses major labor issues (employment) in our country. And it’s good to know that it’s the FILIPINO SKILL that they are actually banking on, and not solely the cheaper labor that we are currently priced at, as compared to India.

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The Stock Trading Game

I have long been meaning to try this game that the Philippine Stock Exchange’s official website offers to stock aficionados. It’s called the Stock Trading Game. It’s a pretty easy procedure to follow since all it takes is an online registration. After filling up basic information which includes one’s user id and password, it will already prompt any investor-wanna-be’s to the world of securities and trading.

With the basic trading guidelines posted on the web page, one can always take that first dip into choosing the stocks to gamble on.

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What Am I Really Doing Here?

I don’t even know at times. I just constantly remind myself to plainly take whatever fate is slapping me with. EVEN THE UNFAVORABLE ONES.

I of course came to South Korea for work. Just like how a normal Filipino would treat outside-the-country endeavors. With current inflation hitting household pockets and business balance sheets, it would be impractical to say that it’s purely for fun or vacation. How I wish I were some old-aged Caucasian backpacker just out to squander all the money that his 401(k) is giving him. Hell no. But I am out to make my parents just like them, and so I am willing to take the risk, and the upright challenge and adventure that goes with it. I am in my twenties, done with school, and out to head on with anything to help paint my future, so I could give it all back to my parents who worked their asses out in letting me finish school. I am still on shaky waters, though.

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