Monday, August 26

I took it easy today after my weekend of heavy bussing, walking, and sweating. In the morning I did laundry, got all my trash out, finished last week’s blog post, did my remote job work, and worked on vocabulary.

Tuesday, August 27

Today I met up with most of the group that I went souffle pancake and painting with last week…but this time we went to like…a petting zoo? Indoor? With no petting? You could feed the animals, but like with a long ladle-type thing, so no contact.

First off, it was FAR. And there was no bus that went anywhere near there. So it was train (aka STAIRS) for me…and then lots of walking from train to place. Then the “zoo” itself was quite large…we were there for several hours. I enjoyed the company and the animals but it was a lot for me. I DID get to see capybara in person, one of my two new favorite animals (the other being wombats). In the finch room the birds liked landing on my head – I think they thought my hair was straw for building their nests (#finchinsults). Afterwards we got a little dinner and then I headed home. Back by the stairy subway…and then I managed to get off the train a stop early but walked a ways (in the wrong direction) before I realized it…and then I was so far from home and so exhausted that I gave in and called an uber.

I’d looked at the weather for Sokcho, which is where I was going for a few days. It’s a beach town on the east coast of Korea…2.5 hours by bus. Anyway, Weather Kitty said rain rain and more rain there for the next two days..and as exhausted as I was…the thought of making all that effort to stay inside for two days…I almost bailed. Instead, I packed (could not find my bathing suit anywhere! Did I leave it in Busan in May??) and reserved an Uber for 6:45am and went to bed.

 

Wednesday, August 28

Put myself on auto pilot to Just Do It. Uber came on time. The express bus station was confusing and it was a while before I felt comfortable that I was in the right spot and getting on the right bus. I got the “excellent” bus for $5 more…and it was excellent, indeed. Nice high, wide seats with usb chargers and little tray tables and cup holders and privacy curtains. The ride was very nice.

Korea is very lush and green right now – thanks to the 6 weeks of rain we just had! But there are a LOT of LONNNGGG tunnels just out in the middle of nowhere, I don’t really understand it. I’m pretty sure they’re not under water. I’m going to have to look into that. But I feel like at least half the ride was underground. Well, “in tunnel.” Which sort of kills the whole looking out the window experience.

Anyway, the ride went quick, we arrived in Sokcho right on time to their very small bus station. I went out to the taxi line and showed the airbnb address to the first driver in line and he was like no no no. No no no? Huh? He was pointing  down the street and kept repeating something over and over…and finally called another driver over to also point down the street and say the same thing over and over. FINALLY I realized they were pointing at The Airbnb Building, which was just a short distance away. They were like Just Walk There, You Lazy American! Ha. I really would have preferred the ride, in the heat and humidity with the suitcase, but they weren’t having it. So off I went.

It took two tries to get into the right building (it’s a condo complex with multiple buildings) but finally I got to the right place, tossed my suitcase behind the desk where the airbnb host had told me I could drop my luggage off early (I couldn’t check-in til 3 and it was only 11am), then headed off to find someplace to eat and sit. The building actually had a nice covered area with tables…it might have actually belonged to the 7-11 next door, but I sat there in the shade for awhile while I waited for some lunch places to open up. I read my book, there was a nice little breeze…it was actually a lovely wait.

Eventually I ended up at a pizza place for a gorgonzola pizza with honey – which I LOVE. It’s not “Korean” but I’ve never seen this in the US. I first saw it on a Run BTS episode a few years ago…and have had it a few times since I’ve been here. So Good!

Finally it was time to check in…and I was POOPED, so I turned on the ac and took a little nap. The room was very nice. Your basic officetel layout, with a comfy bed and comfy pillows and a balcony and a western shower.

I made myself get up at 6pm and walk over to the beach…and I wanted to go on the Sokcho Eye, a giant ferris wheel right on the beach. Unfortunately, there was a ton of stairs going up to the loading area…but I didn’t realize that til after I’d bought my ticket.

All the stairs and walking of the past two days have made a familiar but unwelcome tightness in the back of my right knee, which I recognize as the feeling I had Right Before my knee got so bad back in February…so…if at all avoidable, no more stairs for me for awhile.

Anyway, the ferris wheel was nice. You ride in like a round capsule with seating for probably 6-8, with a center table and windows all around. I’d planned to be on it right at sunset…but with all the darkening clouds rolling in, there wasn’t much sun to see. It was still nice.

Afterwards I sat near the beach for awhile, just watching people. And resting. Before heading home and to the 7-11 downstairs to grab some chicken and a drink. I planned to find a nice restaurant for the following night, but now I was tired and just wanted to get comfy at home to eat.

Thursday, August 29

I woke up pretty early, felt a little not quite right, but went out on the balcony for some sunrise pictures. It was cloudy and drizzly so no great pictures. I’d planned to get on a bus in the morning for the hour-long ride to Saroksan Mountain to go up in a cable car to see a) the view and b) an old Buddhist temple…but with the morning driizzle and the forecast (the cable car doesn’t run in bad weather) I decided to get back in bed for a bit.

Zonked out immediately…and woke up a few hours later with aches and chills and a fever. UGH. Fortunately I had some tylenol with me…and a thermometer…it went up to almost 102 over the course of the day…which was not fun…and a little stressful. Now I was REALLY in a strange place where I knew no one, I don’t even know if Sokcho HAS a hospital…I had no food, just the water bottle left from last night…and I knew I had to get back on a bus the following day to come back home. I really just slept on and off all day and night. Grateful for a softer bed than I have here at home.

Friday, August 30

And when I woke up in the morning the fever was gone, I was just wiped out. Again, I’d planned to get up early this last morning and go to a local lighthouse but…nope. Pass. I just took it easy til checkout at 11 and my bus home at noon.

Going home I only had the “premium” bus (I might have those two terms – excellent and premium – transposed), which was nowhere near as nice as the one from Seoul to Sokcho. Still, I managed to sleep most of the ride home so it was fine.

Bus to uber…was home by 4 and just crashed. Wanted to order fried chicken but it kept telling me the chicken place I wanted closed at 5pm on Fridays (which makes no sense but) so I ended up with pizza again.

And got in bed to watch kdramas til I fell asleep.

Saturday, August 31

Slept in, did some remote work, unpacked and straightened up…walked to the bank in the mall for rent money late in the afternoon. It feels a little less hot than it has, but it is still hot and humid and I am drenched by the time I get home. Had a bagel with tomato and melted cheese for dinner.

Wow, this is an unexciting post. Sorry for all the blow-by-blow accounts of my boring days. I might go back tomorrow and tighten it all up.

Sunday, September 1

WHAT?? SEPTEMBER? NOOOOOOOO!!!! I feel like I didn’t even summer yet. I had the heat part but not the fun part ;-( Sunset is already at 7pm, ugh.

I spent all day convincing myself to go that night to a thing I’d wanted to go to LAST year but chickened out on. I almost bailed again this year but I was like GO GO GO DAMMIT JUST GO. And I went. It was a light show projected onto the Dongdaemun Design Building, a very distinctive modernistic looking building. It was fine. The best part was I got myself there and back by bus, in the dark, with no mistakes.

So Proud.

But it was one of those things that didn’t really live up to the hype, BUT…you know if you HADN’T gone, you’d have regretted it, imagining that you were missing The Greatest Show on Earth. So I’m glad I went. It would have been more fun with another human as we would have then gotten dinner in the area and shared the hour-long bus ride together.

I’m not LONELY, per se…I just miss having someone to DO stuff with.

School starts on Wednesday. I’m getting a little pre-anxiety already. Good thing I have an appt with the psychiatrist tomorrow to renew my wellbutrin prescription. I’ve been on half dosage for a week cuz I was almost out – wasn’t able to make time with the trip last week.

Anyway. It’s been a good break. A long one. A little longer than most. I feel I did a pretty equal split of Doing Stuff and Doing Nothing, which is good. But I still don’t want to to go back to school. My most fervent wish is for my time, all my time, to just be my own.

Someday.