Mon, Dec 9

So. I don’t know if it was the good break or what, but I have been uncharacteristically (wow, that word’s a lot longer than I remembered) motivated and productive.

Class was good. I’m keeping up. I partly (partially?) understand what the teacher is saying.

I’d intended to go out after class to a lake with Christmas lights all around it…I came home, ate quick dinner, changed into walking around in the cold at night clothes, packed my camera bag, was headed for the door and…oh. My Stomach.

Sometimes I feel like my stomach rules my life.

I decided to wait just a few minutes before I headed out and got on a bus. I sat in the desk chair, still in my coat…leaned my head against the closet…and was OUT. For almost two hours! Ha.

Oh well. I can go out another night.

Still fighting with my computer. I took the video editing software off and immediately things started doing what they’re supposed to be do again, but…Really Slowly. I think I’m going to have to bite the bullet and upgrade my computer. It did occur to me, though, that maybe Phil the Korean Computer Guy could just add memory and RAM to this computer…and change out my keys to Korean/English keys…and that could be much less $$$ than a whole new machine that will still not be exactly what I wanted. It’s worth an email. Anyone have experience with something like that?

Tue, Dec 10

The lake is a little icy…

…while right across the road the fall foliage is still foliaging

Returned to tutoring this morning. I keep trying to tell him I need to cut back to only once a week…but it’s hard! Tutoring was never in the budget, as was (or wasn’t) medical bills…or two phone bills…or ubering and eating delivery every night when I was on crutches. *I’M* doing better…my finances, not so much :-\

Class was fine. Came home, did remote work, studied.

Wed, Dec 11

We’re almost to the shortest day of the year

Test today so I just studied. Then got to class and was surprised with a writing test, ugh. The writing tests are very stressful. They’re timed. There’s a minimum of words you need. There’s specific grammars you have to use. It’s too much! Ha. Plus, who needs that stress right before a test? UGH.

The political drama continues. Now they’re mad at the soldiers who were ordered to go out that night to “drag out lawmakers” and arrest them, who not only did not do that, but it was like that slogan in the 70s “suppose they gave a war and nobody came.” I had a “psychedelic” (is that spelled right??) button with that slogan (where did I get that from??) and a military rifle with a daisy sticking out of the end. The military police that night reminded me of that. They weren’t going to drag anybody anywhere. They knew this was a bad mistake and they weren’t having any part of it. Also, the ex-defense minister, who supposedly was the one who told the president to do this in the first place, tried to commit suicide while in detention, but his attempted was interrupted and now he’s being closely watched.

And through it all, Korean citizens are hanging out in the streets having a big Kumbaya sing-along, people who can’t attend the rally/protests are paying for coffees at local coffee shops for protesters, people are sharing food, blankets, and hand warmers. To me, this the historical moment. Politicans do stupid things all the time. But seeing people come together like this, really being in community with one another, that is something you don’t see every day.

Why can’t they just let me stay here??

Thur, Dec 12

I got a new correction pen. Good times.

Tutor, study, class, study. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Fri, Dec 13

I heard there’s a place in one of the malls that has PASTRAMI SANDWICHES! Be still my heart.

My leg has been weird and uncomfortable the past two days and keeping me awake at night, so I’m running on very little sleep. It’s my bad knee leg but I can’t tell if it’s related to my knee or not. The back of my calf, knee, and thigh are very tight, like muscle tight…the back of my calf is hard as a rock and very tender to the touch…my foot, ankle, calf are really swollen. Like my pants leg is tight they’re so swollen. I’ve done a little stretching, but I’m afraid of doing anything really deep for fear of retearing the ligament. It’s slightly better today than yesterday, so hopefully tomorrow will be even better, but…it’s weird and very uncomfortable.

Now Korean psychologists are saying the president might be just a bit off his rocker, his narcissim and god-complex could be responsible for his actions. Yesterday when he got back on tv and spent like 20 minutes explaining how the whole martial law thing was not his fault, and he named a bunch of other people, offices, etc., who he was just trying to protect the Korean people from (aka passing the blame). The new impeachment vote is Saturday at 4pm, and it’s seeming likely that this time the vote will pass.

Interesting times.

Sat, Dec 14

Foreshadowing

So, after three days of the mystery leg issue, this morning I woke up and all of a sudden thought BLOOD CLOT. I had a blood clot in this leg once before, when I was in the hospital for the hysterectomy when I had cancer in 2017. And my father died from a blood clot to the lung…so blood blots are really the one thing that will send me to the ER immediately. I consulted Dr. Google and my blood clot suspicion was confirmed…and I toodled right over to the hospital on campus.

At the main registration they were saying (as far as I could tell, she didn’t speak much english) I first needed to go to another hospital to get a referral, and then I could come back and see a dr. I was like BLOOD CLOT. I’m not trotting all over Seoul to get a referral, so I just walked out, around, and into their emergency room. Where they took it a tad more seriously. They did blood work, an x-ray, and a contrast ct-scan, then I spent the rest of the day waiting for results, going through two iv bags of fluids.

The good news is the scan showed no evidence of a vein thrombosis (blood clot), and through a tranlsator app the dr said maybe it it was lymphadenitis or cellulitis. Neither of which Dr Google agrees with, but…something might have been lost in translation…plus, no one was able to really hear/understand my explanation of what was going on. Anyway, after 7 hours I was released…and I go back to see a dr on Tuesday.

It’s actually a bit better today…the heat and redness are gone, the calf is little less rock-like and the swelling might be down a little bit, but it’s still not normal.

AND…the Korean president was impeached today. There were literal parties in the streets. Now I think the prime minister will hold the interim position and they will do a new presidential election in not more than six months. Now the news stories are all – will North Korea attack while they know we are in a, let’s say, less controlled situation. Verrrrrrrrry Interesting (#namethatreference).

Sun, Dec 15

A blobby day. I walked to the convenience store for milk for cereal in the morning. Read. Studied. Did remote work.

It was sort of a blobby boring week. I think I thought about doing things but never did.

It’s now cold enough out that staying home seems preferable to just about anything.

I have tentative plans for the coming week. Let’s see if I’ll actually do any of them.

See ya later love ya bye.