Cold to Hot: Change Coming

Life Update: This weekend was busy with seeing DJ Shadow in Hongdae on Friday, going to my first Korean wedding on Saturday, and meeting Remi from Vancouver on Sunday!

Things are starting to fly by a lot faster. It is officially two weeks from today that I leave Seoul and Korea and move on to the next chapter of my life.

I have finally bought tickets to Hong Kong, Thailand and Cambodia for three weeks before Christmas, so on December 2nd, I say goodbye to Korea and hello to South East Asian travel!

Then, as of December 22nd, I will return home to Vancouver - teaching and looking for an apartment. Fun.

On another more immediate note, it has suddenly and without warning become very cold. The walk to work here in Sinchon was a tough one with the freezing wind and flying ginkgo leaf attacks. Apparently, we may see snow on Thursday!

Thailand beaches sound extra inviting today. I'll keep you posted...

The State of the Nation at 30

(Better late than never! I blame the birthday festivities and liquids for the lateness of this post!)

As I have just turned 30, I feel it is time to sit down and take stock of my life and where I am. A sort of "state of the nation" to consolidate where I've been and where I am going. The State of the Peter, if you will...

What better place to host such an indulgence is there than on this blog. Read it if you want, or skim through all the pictures. It allows me to put it all 'on paper' before jumping into my third decade. So, without further ado, let's begin...

Where I've been.

Vancouver:

I have had a privileged life growing up in Vancouver with loving parents and sister. I am what they, and my extended family, have made me. I am also shaped by my friends - from school, university, work - here and abroad. I owe these people everything!

After becoming obsessed with dinosaurs at the age of five, I pursued a career in palaeontology by taking classes in geology and biology at the University of British Columbia. Before graduating with a Geology degree, I realized that a life in science - researching and publishing - was not for me. So with the completion of my science degree and much soul (and career) searching, I decided to become a teacher - elementary and high school.

One year later, I was a qualified teacher and began teaching as a substitute teacher in North Van....

. . .

Hmm..... This is beginning to sound like a job interview. Boo!
Ok, so let's change this up a bit:


In the past 10 years, I have become:

• a teacher, primary and high school teacher in North Vancouver. Taught all grades, but spent 3 months as a High School Geology teacher.
  


• a geologist, qualified but never really practiced. Worked at several museums, including the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
  


• a world traveler, been to over 20 countries. Climbed an active volcano (Mt. Etna, Italy), got dirty at La Tomatina and the Mud Festival (Spain and Korea, respectively), been drunk with people from 50 nationalities, hiked through old-growth forest (the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, among others), camped under the stars (many times, but in teepees in the Alberta Badlands), swam in 6 oceans/seas (Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico, Yellow Sea, East China Sea), found a mummified cat in Greece (gross!), drove around a country (France), didn't run with the bulls (that's only for crazy people! In Pamplona, Spain), experienced Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany), flew a lot (sorry Earth), ate some crazy food (live octopus in Korea, among others!), walked inside a meteor crater (Arizona), and crept through skull-filled catacombs (Paris).
  


• a film maker, Besides shorter travel videos, I wrote and directed two films - Bluebell Woods and its prequel, Tony's Empire. I also co-created a few other projects under the production company Prehistoric Insanity Productions - The Hardcore Apocalypse after Next Tuesday, Action Figure High, and the upcoming Delta Patrol!
  


• a tour guide, worked at the Vancouver Lookout and the Royal Tyrrell Museum doing my best to showcase their wonders...
  


• an artist, I love painting and drawing, and I'm slowly delving into digital manipulation of images. Created posters and other artwork for local theater productions and a mural for local museums. I also love making music and doing photography.
  

I love how self-indulgent this post has become. I feel great! Happy Birthday, Pete!

I have also pretended to be a:

• a palaeontologist, studying and creating art about the subject in my spare time, working at various museums, digging in Alberta!
  


• a film actor, worked as an extra in movies and TV - X-Men 3, I.Robot, Catwoman, 88 Minutes, Butterfly on a Wheel, Smallville, Tru Calling, Dead Zone, Killer Instinct...

• a talent agent, this is the role I play in the fictional blog Traumador: The Tyrannosaur Chronicles.
  

• travel writer, this blog!
  

Where I am now.

• I am currently teaching English to adults in Seoul, Korea. I am very happy here, but I also miss Vancouver and teaching children.
  

Where I am going.

• My contract with my Korean company (YBM) ends at the end of November, and I don't plan to re-sign. This is not because I don't like Korea or I hate the job - no! - In fact, I am having a ball, I just miss Vancouver and look forward to living there again.


• So after November, I'll be off to Thailand for almost three weeks with Steve and then I'll head home, arriving just before Christmas.


• My job with the North Vancouver School System is still waiting for me, so once I get back, I'll start subbing again with them. (You have to LOVE the NVSD for keeping my job - What other job lets you come back after two years traveling?)


• Finding a place to live will be more difficult. I am thinking about lower Lonsdale, but the prices down there are crazy! This will require a thorough search. Living alone or with roommates? Alone is preferred, but I may not be able to afford it - especially in North Van.

• The only other major set plan I have for the future is visiting England next summer. Another cousin is getting married and I will actually be able to go to this one (No Korean Contract! Teacher summers off! Yeah!) I also have many friends in the UK I need to catch up with...

• In the next 10 years, I want to:
• write, illustrate and publish kids books
• make another movie.
• get married and have children
• go shark cage diving (must be a Great White Shark)

Ahhh. Aren't lists great?!! They save the hassle of prose!

The future of this blog is secure - it is a great way to throw my thoughts and photos out there! I am sometimes tempted (by surfing though all the linked blogs I read!) to alter Bond's Blog into something it isn't. It could become a specifically Palaeo-Blog or a Travel-Blog or an Art-Blog or a Teaching-Blog or a Film-making-Blog. But that's not the point of this blog. It is a way of sharing what I think is cool. And, at 30, I still think these things - palaeo/travel/art/teaching/films - are cool!

It is a blog about me, Bond. Bond's Blog.

The State of the blog is good...
And the State of Peter is good too.

Thank you for listening to this completely indulgent rant. Have a piece of cake and a goody bag!

Gettin' Dirty at the Boryeong Mud Festival

Welcome to the 11th annual Boryeong Mud Festival here in Korea!

Yup, mud.

Continuing my "Dirty Festivals" travel experiences, I spent last Saturday covered in mud and loving it. This mud festival follows on the heals of last summer's La Tomatina Festival, where I partook in the world's largest tomato fight! Tomatoes, mud .... what's next?


Steve and I arrived in sunny Boryeong after a smooth 3 hour bus ride from rainy Seoul. The nearby beach (Daecheong) was where the fun was. This beautiful beach and the three or four streets inland become packed with both foreigners and Koreans every year for one week in July.

Coming from Vancouver, I've been missing the Ocean. Upon seeing the sea, we dove in and went for a swim. This was my first time in the Yellow Sea (Korea's West Sea)! One more sea to add to the list...


After cleaning off in the ocean, it was time to get dirty. Up the beach, hundreds of half-naked people stand around tables applying the warm, smooth grey mud to their bodies using their hands and paintbrushes. It was time to become "one of them..."








After experiencing the mud activities (mud slide, mud wrestling, mud pit, mud foot massage, mud jail, mud concerts, mud excetera... all too muddy to take photos, as you can imagine!), we spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking, and letting off fireworks on the beach. The night culminated in an amazing display of fireworks.

All in all, an amazing and messy experience! I highly recommend you check out the Boryeong Mud Festival and get dirty!

Horse Racing (Part 2)

The continuing adventures of an amateur horse racing gambler.

It began early as a knock on the door was followed by the entrance of Hong, one of our Korean friends. The blurry-eyed and stumbling roommates, Pete and Steve, put on their coats and shoes (at 8am, on a Sunday! I should be sleeping.) Into the SUV and off they zoomed, beginning their adventure into the unknown.

After avoiding psychotic madmen and suicidal pilots (or "driving") through Seoul and through a mountain (by tunnel), we arrived at our destination: The KRA Seoul Race Course. For Horses.

You may recall that I have a weakness for horse racing. See my York Races post from last summer... which is Part 1 of this story.

Last time in York, I won the first three races (I talk as if I was riding the horse myself! I mean to write that I bet on the winning horse...), netting me over $40 profit.

This time would be the same. I could feel it. The smell of victory filled my nostrils. Or was that the manure? Anyway, when we arrived we were ushered into the "Foreigner's Section," complete with comfy chairs, English horse info, and identifying tags. All the Koreans had hard chairs. Or they sat on the floor, or anywhere else.

Soon it was time for the first race. Here are my picks for the four races we bet on. Prepare to be amazed at my horse picking skills:

Race #1: I picked Changdaehan to win (1400 m). He lost. ("To win" means he has to come first.) Ugh! My horse-picking-skills have disappeared! Would I still come out on top?

Race #2: I picked Red Sky to win (1200 m). He came 6th. Aahh! Two down, no wins! What was going on?!

Race # 3: I picked Hot Spot and Shining Gold to place (1200 m). "To place" means that I win if either the two horses come first, second or third, thus increasing my odds of winning. It was a cunnin and, foolproof plan...

But they came in fourth and fifth. Mwaaah! I had lost the first three races. That's the opposite of my York racing experience! Hmmm, I thought. Perhaps, if it is an opposite experience, then I would lose the first three races (which I did) and then win the next three!!!

I would be a winner after all!

Here goes everything! With my new found confidence, I bet big! $10 bucks!

Race #4: I picked Small Jet and Southern Express to win (1200 m)! After a poor start, Small Jet was in second place! Southern Express exploded and died somewhere in eighth place, but Small Jet had a chance... Free Hugs was in the lead, followed by Jet. Small Jet then burst in front of Hugs and lead the pack! I was going to win! That great euphoric feeling was creeping into my throat. Jet was winning! Jet was winning! Jet was slowing!... Jet was..

Free Hugs roared past Small Jet and came first. My throat clenched and I knew it was over. Hong and Steve were making winning noises, but I wasn't listening. My skill was gone, as was my money.

All $16 of it.

So it wasn't a huge loss, but I didn't win! My Horse Races Story (Part 2) ends in tragedy. What will the future hold? You tell me. But like all good movies series, they come in three's. So there will have to be a sequel to this post in the future. Hopefully one where I win a lot of money.

Don't you agree?!

Halloween Party at Jenni's

I really thought I was going to miss Halloween this year. Again.

I really did! Last year, as you may recall, I was in England, where they do not celebrate the holiday - even in schools. This year, I was planning to have left Vancouver and be teaching in Korea at this time, missing Halloween again.

Happily, I am here! (As Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays!)

To celebrate the event, I was invited to Jenni Ferris' First Annual 29th Birthday/Halloween Party at her and her finance (Derek)'s house. Having planned not to be here, I did not have a Halloween costume. Haste was needed to find one!

I searched the house: thick black cloak, top hat, medical latex gloves, white shirt, black pants and shoes, wig, .... knives, ..... and a name tag reading "Jack Theripper" (aka Jack The Ripper).

Check out these photos from the night (taken by Kim Versteeg, Jen Echols, and Jenni):

Be weary...

Derek (the Beer Keg) and Jenni (the Ladybird)

My fist victims - Dave, Kim (Dr. McLusty) and Jack.
But who is Dave supposed to be?

Here's a hint...

No? He's Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget!

Ladybird, McLusty and Jen Echols (the One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater!)

Jack's next victims...

Jack, Cameron (Bob Marley) and LBird

Dancing to Ghostbusters and Thriller!

Playing with fire and sparklers

Happy Halloween, Blogshere! Have a safe and fun one!!!

Photo Gallery 2: Lisbon

Part 2: Lisbon

Meet up with Greg...

...and lock him out!

)