I've been a little more active than I was as of my last posting, but I still haven't gotten to go to any super-cool places as of yet. Work's also been pretty busy (and looks like it shall continue to be so until June), but it's nothing I can't handle.

In any case, on Saturday, I went ahead and braved the rain (which may or may not still be slightly radioactive) to head on down to the HBC festival. Said festival is a thing they have down by the Army base- it's at the same stop as Craftworks, so, y'know, bonus. Though this may be the first time I actually went to that stop WITHOUT going to Craftworks. I feel...vaguely guilty, maybe? Then again, if I did go by, I'm sure it would've been ridiculously crowded.

Mostly because EVERYWHERE was ridiculously crowded. Y'see, HBC is a little neighborhood by the army base- which naturally means it has a ton of expat bars. And so, twice a year, they have a big schindig in which tons and tons of people pile into this little strip and meander around from bar to bar. Said bars each have various musicians playing- though from what I saw (admittedly, a bit early in the evening), most acts consisted of 'guy with a guitar' or 'two guys with guitars.' Which is fine! It's just not exactly a musical showcase. Far more casual vibe. I did, however, discover a beer called 'Red Rock,'- it's made by Cass, and it's surprising amongst Korean beers as it actually...has flavor. It's a halfway decent, semi-hoppy ale. And here I didn't think such a thing was possible from Korean beer!

But again, crowded. Tons of people up and down the street...and they didn't close the road. And as such, there was a steady stream of cars and trucks craaaaawling down the street. It would've been a far better party if they'd closed the road. Then again, I'm not sure how 'official' the festival is.

I headed home fairly early ish (by Seoul standards) so I wouldn't have to worry about missing the last train. Wee.

Sunday was my typical 'lazy day,'- I did some cooking, went for a walk, ran errands, etc. While I was out, I happened to pass by a big TV studio (seriously, it's a block away from my apartment), where they were filming...something. A small crowd of Koreans had gathered to watch, and so my curiosity was peaked (though my laziness won out when it came to going back to my apartment to get my camera).

In any case, some tall guy in a pinstriped suit walked out, which caused a little murmur to go through the crowd, so I'm guessing he's semi popular. It looked as if they were rehearsing a shot- pinstripe suit guy walked through a little group of reporters, and...held up a pair of purple shoes. And then the director would give some more direction through a megaphone, and they'd do it over again. Huh. I didn't stick around to see which take was the best.

Which brings us to today! Again, work. But Mondays aren't so bad, as I've mentioned before. But the real interesting part is what I did AFTER work...namely, I got a haircut (as I rather badly needed one). Surprisingly enough, it wasn't too hard- all I did was print off a picture of a haircut I liked from google images, showed it to the hairstylist, and she did the rest. Really, it wasn't any different from getting a haircut in the states, except for the fact she didn't use the electric clippers very much- and she also dusted the hair clippings off of me with...a foam sponge. Huh.

I suppose the picture's obligatory- even if I hate taking pictures of myself all myspacey like that. Not too bad, though. And cheap, too! Only 7 bucks- or less, given the current exchange rate. Also, I need to comb my hair better, but that's what it looked like after walking home, so wee. I didn't feel like putting any gel or anything in it- especially since I'm gonna take a shower soon.

So yeah. Not really looking forward to this Saturday, as we'll be waking up WAAAAAY too early to head on down to some instructional seminar in Gwanju (which is apparently like 4 hours drive away). I'll even be making a presentation...but it still kinda (and I mean really) sucks to have to lose a Saturday like that. Booo. Though on the bright side, it's not like I need to work every other weekend like some English teachers do. So, uh, look on the bright side?

...I may bring a book.

Still, stay tuned, dear readers! As in the near future, I want to hit up Gyongbokgung, the enormous and restored royal palace that's not horribly far on the subway.

Also, for my birthday, I think I'm going to a BEER CASTLE.