Slow news day.

I have gotten slack about posting again. Part of it is that after being here for close to a year, new experiences don't happen every week. Part of it is I have been feeling a bit down lately. Part of it is the daily grind, part of it is that plans to have family visit never seem to pan out. Korea isn't a good stop over for most of the places my family would travel, and with uncertain vacation time at my Hogwan, it's hard to make plans. The biggest reason I am feeling down is that so many things are up in the air right now. I am about 98% sure that I will being doing a second year in Korea (unless something unforeseen happens). However, I don't know what I will being doing here. I have gone to five different universities in the last couple of weeks to show my face and give my resume package to their English departments. Right now I am waiting and hoping to hear back from one of them. There isn't much I can do except wait and it's stressful to have so much uncertainty. My hogwan has also put the pressure on because they want to know if I will renew my contract and they said they need to know by the beginning of June. This doesn't give me much time to find a new job. I have been reasonably happy at Unium. They give a lot of holiday time and a decent pay rate. However, it's also good to have change, and I don't know how they will feel about giving me time off in August (when I want to travel Korea and go back to Halifax when my sister Ingrid is there). The other problem is that the hours are so late that its next to impossible to find privates when I work during all the after school/work hours (4-10).
Anyway, all this uncertainty has gotten me feeling a little out of sorts. On the good side, summer is finally here. I spent several of the last weekends playing beach volleyball. People tend to hole up during the winter, so it's great that the social scene is starting to pick up. Also, it's amazing how quickly new things appear here. A darts bar popped up a couple of months ago and indoor golf has also just appeared in Busan. I just played today with a mate. We got a pizza and played 18 holes. You play in a big room with a huge screen, and good quality clubs. We played for two hours for just $20. I was also supposed to go paintballing in the country area around Songjong beach last Saturday. Unfortunately, it got rained out, but I am sure it will happen again.
Hopefully my plans for next year will settle themselves within the next month. As soon as they do I will let everyone know here.

A sad anniversary

Last week, while I was in Seoul, I had a drink with a friend and toasted my uncle Jon's memory. Jon died on the 28th of April last year. I don't really know what to write in this post. I still haven't really come to terms with Jon's death. I couldn't go to the funeral and I don't even know if he has a grave site somewhere. I have thought a lot about Jon this last month. There was a deep bond between Jon and I. During my time in university I visited a couple of times a year, and he was a constant source of emotional support and advice about life. More than anyone else I would have loved to share my current experience in Korea with Jon.
I don't really know how to express what else I am feeling. I guess I didn't want this first anniversary to pass unnoticed.