The Volcano is Winning, Aaron is Erupting

This blog post will be a grand experiment to see if I can channel my frustration into productivity of some kind.

At least I’m not homesick!

I don’t want to say that it was really just the cab driver’s fault, but I let him know how I was feeling when he tried to rip me off on a trip back to my apartment last night.

Yes it was only 40 cents. It’s not about the actual money. It’s about the idea. That idea that you are trying to overcharge me. Was it because I’m a foreigner? Because I appeared to be drunk, or you just felt this was a fair assumption considering the time of evening? It doesn’t matter the reason.

At least I don’t piss in the street or sleep on the ground in the middle of the road.

I’m won’t name names.

(I’m not naming names because I don’t know their names)

Either way, the cab driver did not get one whiff of money over 2200 won, which is the standard fair for basically anywhere in Seogwipo, particularly the Bally Hotel to my apartment in Jugong.

The cab driver wasn’t sure what to do at first. He took his time to drive off. Perhaps he was trying to decide if he should yell or chase after me, and then he realized that he would be showing poor character. In the end, it doesn’t really matter.

What does matter is that for the third time this week, I was awoken before 9 am because loud Koreans were working on my balcony.

It’s like Kafka in Jeju!

Two men were painting the roses red, shooting the breeze, and generally having a grand only time at 8:22 am this morning. I’m currently writing from a Paris Baguette down the street because the noise was not conducive to either sleep, work, or anything in between.

I feel like I can’t even (insert something crude in this space) read tarot cards while they’re around. Or maybe I should. That would probably be a good way to ensure complete privacy for the rest of my time on Jeju.

Anyway, I didn’t ask for the maintenance work, but you can be certain that I’m paying for it.

At least I’m not paying for Boingo wireless anymore. What a scam that is.

I’m reading a book called the Soccer War that I borrowed from a co-worker. It’s about revolutions/coups in Africa and South America. It would make a great musical.

Why is it so expensive to travel to North Korea? It’s almost as if they didn’t want me to come.

I would like one of my short stories to be published. Can we get that done?

I would also like some real breakfast pastries, a turning back of the clock to September, a pay raise for my work at Yale, some added height on my frame, more tightly controlled facial hair growth, and plenty of other things that won’t be showing up in this blog post.

Winter is coming. This is a fact.

It’s also the tagline from the overrated and extremely silly (but yes, addictive) show on HBO, GAME OF THRONES, a fantasy series so tedious and nerdy it makes me feel cool that I still prefer LEGOs.

My co worker Robyn is showing me how to properly apply makeup to my face so that it doesn’t look like I barely achieved 4 hours of sleep the previous night. But don’t worry, I’m not becoming a metrosexual. I’m not homophobic, but I still am working on overcoming my prejudices against metrosexual men.

I have no problem if gay men (or women) convert my children, but please, keep the metrosexuals far away from my house.

At least I’m not sick of kimchi yet!

I’m extremely sick of the weird minnows that they keep on serving as side dishes with every meal. But I was sick of those things two months ago.

Tonight is Halloween. Spooky!

Almost as spooky as the mold which is growing on the inside of my pumpkin!

It’s not my pumpkin anymore, though. I abandoned it on the side of the street. Just like Koreans seem to abandon their dogs (with reckless abandon!) when they become too big.

And before I write something I shouldn’t, I’m going to abandon this blog post.