There never is a good time for health issues.

It'd be better if mine could have waited until I was securely back in a job in the insurance... though likely I still am, since I kind of doubt Hetty made it to immigration to cancel my paperwork with the school quite yet. But either way, even without insurance, it's all pretty damned affordable.

Mine aren't really urgent, though sooner rather than later would be best. First is another friend who has nothing but great things to say about how much better life is on anti-depressants. Apparently, the world is less irritating, aggravating, and anxiety-inducing with them. Another surprising benefit Jason mentioned is that he's less obsessive about things.

You mean... things like what song I missed getting the name of at the coffee shop last night? I spent 2 hours today sitting in the coffee shop drinking fantastic coffee, and waiting to see if the song would come on. Sadly, it was all slower, relaxing-in-a-cafe kind of music. I got up to head back to the hotel to get my stuff and go to the train station, when an employee who worked there smiled and said goodbye in English. Well, I thought, it couldn't hurt, so I asked him if he had worked last night. That was beyond his English, but another guy asked if he could help me. I told him that, as crazy as it sounded, I was wondering if anyone there might know the name of a song that had been playing last night when I came in, around 5:30 PM. He did laugh, they all laughed, but said it was an internet station. I asked for the station to see if I could research it, when he did me one better by going through the list of songs played around that time. When none with those 2 words appeared in the titles as they paged down, the guy ACTUALLY started playing each song! When I told him I didn't know it from the beginning, he'd play a little of the start, then skip to the middle. We'd gone through about 20 songs, he said, and should soon come across it, when all of a sudden, we did!! He had me come around to take a picture of the screen so I could easily find the all of the song's details. We were all laughing, but this won't be bothering me anymore, with or without medication. The guy even turned up the music, had them unfold a chair for me, and invited me to sit down and listen as he started it again! Then refused the money I wanted to give them as a tip for their obsession-relieving help. 

The other issue is what I have determined must be plantar fascilitis. I have a pain in just my right heel that is bad enough that it makes me limp when I first start walking, though it goes away after that. I've determined, a bit reluctantly, that this must be laid at the feet of those damned jump squats. I've taken 2 weeks off of working out now-- last week because of packing and because I hoped to give it time to heal through rest. This week I wanted to do yoga, but knew I wouldn't be able to without a yoga mat on the hotel floor. (And I decided against a studio because I don't want to spend too much since I've another month to get through before I get paid-- I'll be missing about 1/2 my monthly salary from ILS for the flight, and since I only worked half the month of June, that would just about do it.) I actually went to the mall to look for a yoga mat. I went to the 2 floors that are nothing but sports and outdoor stuff, but to my astonishing shock, there were NO yoga mats! I found what looked like one on a mannequin & indicated it to the sales lady, who went to an elevator and came back with a rolled-up cushion one would put under the sticky mat. Since my hands and feet slide on the sticky mats, the cushion alone wouldn't work. Presumably I'll have better luck in Seoul, which is where I'm headed now. 

So, more answers and reactions once I've seen the doctors. But great to have the answer to what was that song!? (Which was, just in case you're wondering, "Piece of me" by MK, Becky Hill.)

3rd or 4th time could be when I finally truly learn

that not only am I uninterested in at least half of the typical tourist things to do, but can definitively rule out any "Cultural Village" from anything I should ever go see.

The first time I experienced one that I remember was in Guatemala. I'm hazy on the exact where, but I think it was in Antigua. It was a recreation of what an old village would look like, but the only thing you could actually DO was continually have to rebuff most if not all of the people selling souvenirs. I remember not being particularly impressed, excited, wowed, or learning anything except that I was sick of being carted places in the hopes I'd start buying stuff.

The second time was in Tuscany, when we went to 2 supposedly famous and historic villages. The only history remaining were the location, some city walls, and the roads/walkways. Everything else was cafes and souvenir and gelato shops. Don't get me wrong, gelato's good, but there's only so much you can consume in one afternoon. I was also wretchedly sick at the time, yes, and unable to find a farmacia, but I was once again extremely bored by the whole concept.

Which may or may not bring us today, when I found the Gamcheon Culture Village as a thing to go see and do in Busan. I learned while already on my way that it's mysteriously and unaccountably apparently called the Macchu Pichu of Korea. Ok, Macchu Pichu is the one that I'm not sure counts as the 3rd cultural village I've seen. That is I suppose what it is, though its fame, popularity, story, and age make it a hell of a lot more than that. As you may recall, Marcelina and I were less-than-impressed and I think a little disappointed about what it actually was. Gamcheon bears absolutely no resemblance to MP at all. What it DOES remind me of is Valparaiso in Chile. Only in that I got there and said, "THIS?? THIS is IT?? Are you fucking KIDDING me??"

It's really just some colorful 1 story buildings in the valley and on the sides of a mountain. The buildings actually reminded me of Bo-kaap in South Africa due to the coloring, though naturally South Africa soundly defeated this place because the colors were brighter, the buildings and doors more interesting, plus the really impressive spice shopping to be had there.

Of course getting to Gamcheon was frustrating because I had to take a city bus, and try to decipher and hear the stops announced over the noise of the bus, which was a losing battle. I heard Gamcheon, but couldn't hear what came after that. And I've known many stops here in Korea to have the same first 2 words in a stop, but the last 1 or 2 are different, which is how I suppose 1 distinguishes which exact one you want. I got off a few stops later, and started wandering. I saw a view that resembled the image in the guidebook. Why now that it was in person I suddenly thought, "Dear God please tell me THIS is NOT it," instead of from the professional picture, I sadly just don't know.

Nice colors, yeah. But all I could think was, what exactly is this going to give me besides picture-taking that I just really don't do anymore? 

I looked up as I wandered up and down the hill, and saw what looked like some old stone temple sculptures at the top of the mountain. THAT must be it, I thought. I walked on to find the next bus stop so I wouldn't have to walk all the way up.

But as it happens, it wasn't really all that long before I saw the big sign on a wall and a pedestrian walkway. My doubts as to which way to go were erased when I saw 3 Western women garishly dressed. Those were definitely tourists, so this was definitely it.

And that picture above, is pretty much it. There are some nice murals on some buildings, cafes with painted parrots on the top, and the typical street food, plus some souvenir shops thrown in.

Sure it's cute, but how is it cultural, especially to Korea? I think it took me around 20-30 minutes of wandering and 2 failed attempts to buy a coffee to enjoy the view (the first I could tell by the menu and interior that the coffee wouldn't impress, and the 2nd was because I got the strange and unique-to-Korea response that they don't sell cappuccinos, only lattes. Which is REALLY mysterious since the major difference between the 2 is that a cappuccino has less milk. That isn't the only difference, but that's more or less all he, or the other coffee places that I've known to say the same thing, have to do to make me a cappuccino instead of a latte) to say I did it, I know this won't count in my competition on UNESCO sites with Mark, and I'm leaving.

Oh, and I hoped that at LEAST maybe the air quality would be better since we were higher up, but in fact it was WORSE. I'm really only in orange and yellow-colored air zones, but Gamcheon was red. That means you need to wear a mask. God how I wish I didn't have to wear that mask all the damned time.

So, I've finally learned. Cultural village like Lesedi in South Africa or whatever Maori village we got to stay in in NZ? Go; those were interesting and educational (and Lesedi had great accommodation too). Anything else? Skip that shit like the line to climb the Eiffel Tower, or the laugh-out-loud view of smog and ugly architecture that Cerro San Cristobal was. 

Everything else I thought of writing about has been subsumed by my failed search for a song

One thing I'll miss is the great coffee place near my hotel here in Busan. While waiting for my coffee, a song I loved the sound of came on. Naturally, I didn't have shazam on my phone. I began trying to download it, but I'd caught the end of the song. I looked at the barista to see if I could ask him, but he only spoke Korean. No help.

I came home and searched, but I fucking failed. Unhelpfully, it was a dance/techno-ish song with the lyrics, "alight, tonight," then I don't know what the guy said. And it was a guy singing. I lost a little of my mind searching for this song, and my soul became a little more angry when I failed.

Before I got fatally obsessed with the song, I was thinking about the fact that Tina, whom I met in Chile, chose to go back there to teach. Tina taught in South Korea for several years before Chile, and had considered coming back when she suddenly/mysteriously left Chile abruptly last fall. Today I thought, instead of choosing shabu shabu, Korean barbecue, and excellent coffee (seriously, coffee in Korea is excellent!), she chose pastel de choclo and nescafe. I wondered not only how high you have to be, but high on what to make that sort of decision?

That's all I have to say. I've been so deflated by my failed song search that I have nothing more to add right now.

It's that time, people,

time for yet another bitch session.

Today was day 2 of training Marcianna, my sainted replacement, who I believe has a magical effect on my 1st graders PKB: the little hellions for 2 DAYS IN A ROW were doing work! She is right on them about opening their books/not speaking Korean/paying attention, etc. Oh and I got the cutest goodbye notes, including a longer one that I was not expecting! One was so sweet & heartfelt that right after she gave it to me, she hid under the table, lol!

Marcianna is black with long braids, which most of the kids love. But I've been wondering which ones would be freaked out by her race. This morning we found out it was Jessica, in Clifford. She's 4-5 years old, and while she had Sara-teacher (who's true African descent, not African-American), apparently her memory is short because we had Hessed with her class yesterday. We "made" beaded necklaces, with cheap elastic string that will NOT stay tied, no matter how many knots you tie and how tightly you tie them. We spent the whole class retying necklaces. But Jessica had a different take at home: she started crying and told her mom that the new teacher hit her on the hand.

I immediately knew this was bullshit because that is not this girl, there was no one upset or any scenes/issues in class, and I've been waiting for the race thing to come into play. While I know that Hetty has to investigate, I also thought she should know that her race was almost certainly the real problem.

I went to Jessica after we assured management that nothing like that had happened, and asked her what happened. Did something bad happen in class? Was she hurt? She shook her head no.

Nathalie, her homeroom teacher who knows a TOTALLY different Jessica from the girl who wouldn't breathe without making sure Lydia did at that exact moment, said that wasn't like Jessica. Righhhht, because little kids don't lie for attention or because they're upset about one thing but blame something else? Anyway, Nathalie and their Korean teacher, Emma, whom I like, talked to her and, yep, turns out she's just freaked out because she's black. Or at least wanted to act like she was. Who knows, lol.

Just as being the owner of a hagwon that hires teachers from other races means Hetty should be aware of the racial thing, I am seriously wondering how she's going to manage such a place when she doesn't understand culture shock, its inevitability, and how to be supportive or at least understanding of it and not assume, or say, that the teacher is not adaptable. Jesus, I foresee a lot of bs like this, and disguised bullshit, taking place there, and really hope that I'm wrong. I think Marci is going to be a good teacher.

In other news, yesterday (TRUMPET BLARE!) I received my letter of release for Friday, and took it and my other stuff to the school in Anyang that I decided on. Seriously, in my contract it discusses parties entering the contract with integrity and honesty and, should problems arise, which are inevitable, that both parties should try to discuss and work through them respectfully and amicably.  I really like the owner (who makes homemade Korean dinner for everyone) and head teacher... I even like the way they speak Korean: at ILS, Hetty and the receptionist, especially, are shrieky and shrill, talking overly high-pitched because of the kids. These 2 talked like normal human beings every time they spoke in Korean. So I'm officially signed and got what I needed from Hetty!

And I also got the other bullshit of being a foreigner in Korea when I found out that transferring from another school means you have to get the health check done again. Ashling said she'd only been here 3 months but had to do it again when she changed to this school. As you know, we foreigners are dirty, impure, and apparently can contract communicable diseases by reading their names, I guess, since we couldn't possibly catch anything from the pure Koreans! It's irritating as hell that this is a belief here (last night, Tausha went to the corner store and an older, drunk Korean man started following her and yelling at her about foreigners. He wouldn't stop when she turned around & said something to him, and followed her to the store. He followed her INTO the store, and yelled until the owner told him to leave. He did, but waited outside for Tausha! Luckily they called the police, who escorted her home, but of course, no report was filed, because as she said, she's just a foreigner and he was drunk).

There. See? I feel better. I was annoyed about the health test redo, mainly because of the attitude you know is behind it, but am much better now.

Funny though: that whole woman issue/foreign woman issue has been huge here. Not long ago, an Australian girl was roofied, gang raped, and then found a totally unconcerned police force and first responders. At the hospital, they didn't even have rape kits!

Then about a month ago, a guy stabbed a woman to death at the Gangnam train station because women had always ignored him. When women were leaving notes and gathering in her memory, men stood around and harassed them. so this has all come to the forefront here recently... interestingly just as the Stanford rape case is causing big waves in the US.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In any event, it is now Thursday night, not Wednesday, and I am pleased to say I am mostly packed. My favorite girls Danielle and Leah are coming over WITH THEIR VACUUM to hang out for a few, then take this bottle of wine with them for when I get to spend all of Saturday and that night with them. And tomorrow? Tomorrow it is all OVER!!!! I am not done with the tests I needed to finish before transitioning completely to her, but got everything else done, and am just ready.

I did get another goodbye surprise. I was saying goodbye to the 3 preteen girls and 1 boy Mason. I was hugging Kayley, the Korean girl who lived in NZ and talks a ton, when all of a sudden the quiet girl jumped on my back! After I stood up, she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me. So sweet and surprising that the quiet, somewhat strange one really liked me... oh wait. Lol. Nope, not strange at all.

More details,

as I have them, & as requested. Never in my life did I think I'd be accused of shirking on providing sufficient detail, pedant that I am, but yet again, my brother, who no doubt reads my blog so carefully more to mock and needle me when I leave stuff out rather than any frathernal concern (kidding!), has clarified from my last post that he is indeed accusing me of leaving important shit out.

So, my school found a replacement for me, her name is Marcianna, she is a Canadian of Jamaican descent (which appears to be important information, hence I'm passing it along to all of you). Marcianna lands this Tuesday, the 14th, at 5:00 AM and will go directly to the school. She'll be staying at some tiny place across the street from it. I will begin training her on Tuesday, and presumably (though have to confirm with Hetty) that I will finish training her on Friday, the 17th, which, as it happens, is the official 3-months-to-the-day I gave my notice.

On Saturday morning, the 18th, I will move out and be homeless for around a week. I am hoping I can stay with my friend Danielle, particularly because we haven't seen each other in a few weeks, and my other friend, Danielle's daughter Leah, would be excited about the extra opportunity to try to freeze me.

I packed up my blue suitcase... now if ONLY I had a vacuum for those big vacuum bags! Here's hoping I locate one.

Yesterday I decided, very last-minute, to head to Busan the following Sunday, the 19th, and have a touristy, relaxing time outside of Seoul and its environs. On Thursday I'll go to Seoul and check into a ridiculously cute apartment-type place until I guess the following Monday, the 27th, when I will begin training with Ashling at my new school, which is in the Seoul suburb of Anyang, believe it or not, rather than Seoul proper. This means I'm still only about 45 minutes from Itaewon & other popular places on the subway, but get THIS: only about a 25 minute bus ride (depending on traffic) to Budang/Suwon, meaning I can still make it to Friday night yoga pants wine night!!

Once Ashling is finished about 1 July, I'll move into my new, ridiculously spacious home!! Let us contrast my old with my new.

Current place

New place, view in bedroom. 

Old place bathroom. This contains the entire dimensions of the bathroom.

New place, entry way

Old place: from bed to end, door is on the left.

And for this, I have no equivalent, because this is a loft apartment!!!

No more fighting for space between the drying rack and the kitchen when I work out!!

As for other clarification, yes, I'm still seeing Aaron. I thought things had just drifted off to an end, but he suddenly kept saying hi, and as I've mentioned, my options are limited, at all times, but particularly here in Korea. So until something better comes along/one of us leaves, I think we both know we could never be serious about each other, but we're both nice company for the other, he ensures I watch movies which I never do on my own, he gets exposure to intelligence and reason, Trump supporter (*SHUDDER*, horror) that he is.

Ok. I THINK that covers it all. Yes? All clear now? More details, almost certainly stressing and bitching, rejoicing, etc. as they come up in the coming weeks.

And I will admit to a bit of apprehension

admitting to Ashling/warning her that Hetty was doing what she is, even though she has been here for a bit, and really, it doesn't take too long before you understand how a lot of shit works here particularly the bad.

Fortunately, she said that it's common for hagwon owners to do that, she knows it & they know it, but she'd warn them. She then confirmed that Anna told her to relay to me not to worry about what the owner says to Sue or her.

And just like that, more updates!

So, there was one other interview, and I'm actually waiting for another, which is 15 minutes late now, but it's moot because I decided to take the job I went in and interviewed for on Tuesday. It's in Seoul, so YEAH kids, I'm moving on up to the big city-- and less pollution, if you can believe it. I'm replacing an Irish girl who posted the job on a facebook page. Meaning I got plenty of time to talk to the teacher I'm replacing. She liked her school, hence her helping them find her replacement.

I talked to the head teacher there, Anna, on the phone last Thursday, then did the 2 hour train ride (because I don't know where to catch the Seoul bus near work) to Seoul to meet the owner and see the school. Well, I wanted that; the phone interview was sufficient for Anna to say I had the job.

The school smells mildewy but is fine; I really liked the owner (though I'd honestly have really liked Hetty if I met her without experiencing what I have), got to talk to Ashling more (I love her name). The only other native teacher is, as Ashling accurately described, a socially awkward guy who has been in Korea too long, which again is why they soo want another woman. Met the Korean teachers, who seemed very nice.

And then Ashling sent pics of the apartment. And that more or less sealed the deal for me. It's bigger than a pygmy's apartment, and is a loft! There's more than a foot between the bed and... anything else! Ashling told me it was a major selling point for her too. I mean, I think the bathroom alone is twice the size of what I have now.

Yesterday Hetty told me that Marcianna, my blessed replacement, is arriving the 14th. So we will plan on my moving out of the apartment on the 18th. Unsurprisingly, this was music to my ears. Well, not the moving part, that I never enjoy, but I will pack up some kitchen stuff and one piece of luggage at least and Nathalie already kindly offered to help with storing stuff, as have others.

Today I heard from the school I interviewed with last week, that I mentioned in my previous post. He had, of course, called Hetty. He texted to say that he had had a really positive view of me, but Hetty told him I "showed lack of adaptability to new environments and lack of enthusiasm to develop better quality of education."

When I first read that, I started second-guessing myself, because I remembered it as lack of adaptability in general, and I thought, do I? Maybe she's right and that's a fair criticism. I've always hated change, despite my desperate need to change countries and cultures on a regular basis. And as unpleasant as it is, criticism can be very helpful in a number of ways. I don't want to be unfair and say it's not my fault, everyone else sucked and/or failed, not me. But having typed it out, without the immediacy of responding while at school getting ready to go to class, I can honestly say being unable to adapt to new environments isn't really one of my weaknesses-- I have done that every time I left the country. Smaller scale when it's temporary on vacation, but it's still what you do. And while I hated Chile, I still adjusted to being there. I adjusted to this apartment-- it wasn't ideal but I knew it would be small, having been to Asia before.

No, the fact is she is still seeing me through the prism of her initial arrival, which was smack-dab in the middle of my culture shock, which is likewise not an uncommon occurrence. At all. In fact, Hetty lived in a smallish town in Canada for 3 months (it was supposed to be 6 months, she never mentioned why it wasn't).... The fact is is 9 out of 10 teachers are going to have it, so if you're going to own a school like this you'd best accept that and be able to see through it and understand it. So, while I can agree that I'm not THE most flexible/adaptable person, having worked through my culture shock in about 4 months isn't that bad.

As for the education crack, well I'm going to go with that's just utter crap, given Anna-teacher's assessment before she left, hearing that my students like me, and that just today Heidi-teacher, my Elmo-whisperer, asked me if I was sure I had to leave and couldn't stay here to teach at ILS. It may be a comment on how utterly useless and awful Hetty's Hessed program is, which NO ONE wanted to touch with a 10 foot pole, and it was "gifted" to me (I've always thought it was entirely possible it was done to punish me, lol). But in any event, apparently her criticism will prove as useful as teaching algebra to 4-year-olds.

So what is it exactly you're accusing me of?

Holding out on you? Because THAT is just NOT true! I just don't know anymore what I have and have not written about. That's the thing. Luckily, I have a little brother who's keeping tabs and acts surprised when I tell him something that happened a while ago, so I must have posted about it. Right? Right.

But apparently I didn't? And understand that if I'm repeating myself, I'm not going to go and read through everything. So some old info could be posted, but I will finish with a new-to-you story of my ruinous Saturday.

So Hetty found a replacement for me! This I am pretty sure I've told you. Hmm. But maybe not. Well, anyway, she found a Canadian to replace me. I can't remember her name-- Marcella? Something like that. I don't know. You'd think I would remember the woman I will adore for helping me out of that place. And I'm working hard to cover pretty much everything for her first two weeks and months so that even after training her, she'll have time to focus on adjusting and teaching, instead of Hetty's incessant paperwork. I found this out about 2-3 weeks ago, hence my certainty that I've mentioned it. When precisely she was coming I couldn't say, because Hetty couldn't say, because paperwork & nonsense.

Now we're into June. On June 1st, Hetty told me she'd gotten and sent over her visa number. So, it could take 2-3 weeks to get that through the embassy, booking, the ticket, etc. So we're thinking/hoping she could be coming... well, Hetty was thinking the 10th, but I'm going to go ahead & put it around the 17th (my notified last day) or so. Since I'll stay until she comes & to train her, again... WAIT, yes I DID tell you all this. Well, oh well. In any event, we're still waiting to hear when she gets here, but hopefully soon.

In other news, I've been going on interviews. So far I've had 2, and they're both after work on my early days, which means I get home at 10 -11 on those days, which sucks. The first one I didn't love the guy when I talked to him, and felt just the same at the interview, so that was easily out. The second owner I liked more, and he was very nice during our interview. It's a very nice looking school (because it was renovated recently), and the owner seems very nice. There are only 2 English teachers (we're called native teachers, which throws me off because native to me means native to where we are, hence it makes me think Korean teachers, but no). Both are men, which hagwons do not want. They want as many women as possible, because of the usual reasons I guess. So they're super eager I work there because of that. Likewise, they basically want to hire you right away. And normally, that is kind of awesome. I loved the ease of getting a job that way in Chile, but in Chile, I was at-will & could work elsewhere or go elsewhere without a thought. Obviously here with contracts that's much trickier. Now that I've been here and been at a place that doesn't work for me, I wish that the schools were a bit more selective. A balance between the US (which is WAYYY too long & irritating a process to get a job) and here, where it's almost too easy. The guy I'd be replacing is a Kiwi, and the remaining guy is a surprisingly cute South African. What worries me about asking the outgoing teacher any questions is the fact that he's a guy, because men just aren't that picky. I know it's a bit different, and the Kiwi is older (or at least looks older than I am), but I always remember in college my roomie's boyfriend Mike was living with a bunch of guys. Mike was a clean-cut guy that I could imagine being clean and neat, but there was a rat in their place that his roomies had named & found amusing. Mike didn't like it, but didn't hate it enough to move out. I feel like men just kind of shrug off shit that I wouldn't be able to.

Still, my other 2 interviews this week are in Seoul, which means the earliest I can get home is 11. Which just really sucks. But, I have to do it to explore my options. I like the one school, but want to see a few more before I decide.

In other news, Saturday I went up to Seoul for a doctor's appointment, and decided to make it a shopping day too because I desperately (I'd say) need sandals, and the largest size the stores in Yongin have is 7.5 or 8. I'm 8.5, which shouldn't make a huge difference, but here it does. Itaewon, the part of Seoul that is full of expats, supposedly has many "plus size" shops, which anyone not Asian is considered. Well great, but I didn't exactly know where those stores were. And even after using a 3-year old blog post with suggestions, I'm not much wiser. Of the 2 places for women, 1 didn't sell shoes or bras (oh, did I mention I need 2? I do, and they only sell A cups here. Which, you don't really NEED a bra for that size, though I guess for "modesty's sake" on a cold day, maybe), and the other only had shoes in Korean sizes. Because why wouldn't it? Which brought me to a Korean store, the ABC Mart, which had bigger sizes only in Berkenstocks. I wanted a beige/tan color because I'd like to wear them with both black & white, but women's Birkenstocks only come in black, white, & silver. I should mention I do not like Birkenstocks at all, but I really need sandals that badly. I settled on a white pair, which have all these stupid ridges whose purpose I don't know, though it feels like I'm walking on stones.

From there, I went & got my apple cider vinegar with the Mother, which is a health thing & you can only get said stuff in Seoul. I had all of that & a big overnight bag because I was going to Aaron's because there's no one else here for me to see, as I've said before. So on to the train I got.

As I was transferring I tripped on the stairs. My bags prevented me from really falling and hurting myself, but not hurting the bags, because when I got up the stairs I notice my big overnight bag was leaking liquid. WTF, I wondered? Taking everything out, it turned out I'd broken the bottle of apple cider vinegar, so my clothes, which were on top, were now soaking in it. And glass. I threw a complete hissy fit in the station, screaming the f-word in various forms rather continually. After dumping (most of) the glass & remaining vinegar, I put my stuff back in & got on my way.

Only to discover once it was too late that the train I'd chosen goes 1 stop off the main line to end, pointlessly I'd say, one station away, while the main line continues another 20 or so stops. This means the painfully slow trip there, getting off the train, waiting 15-20 minutes before it starts back up to go back one station & get back to the main line. I cannot tell you how deeply irritating this was. But given me, I'm sure you can imagine how gracefully I handled it, lol.

Fortunately Aaron bought me a replacement bottle at the Commissary, and then took care of my laundry too. The only thing he didn't take care of was buying wine on his own. I thought of telling him before he went in, but he was already buying me the vinegar, so I didn't, which I regretted as I craved a glass all night.

So, not a nightmare, but a truly trying day nonetheless.

It's Sunday night here, and tomorrow's a holiday, and after Nathalie & I found fresh mint, basil, & cilantro (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) at Emart on Thursday, I made mint & am trying cilantro syrup for a little cocktail party tomorrow. I'll let you know how the cilantro turns out, though I'm not really optimistic, as cilantro needs to be fresh & added after cooking. But we shall see.