sampling the new Makkeoli jips, must get ARC, upcoming Chuseok weekend

well a bit of a mixer as I'm trying to get a few things done in one blog :)

First off, I had been meaning to go to the "new" Makkeoli 3000 in Sangin for some time (I say new in that it is almost a year old now) and finally went last night with my friend Youbin for a kettle and some food. Makkeoli 3000 is a chain franchise that a few of us have named "Gangnam Makkeoli" (Gangnam in the area of Seoul where the VERY rich and trendy of modern Korea live. All the K-pop and film stars, along with fashion designers and industrialists live there) because of its fruit flavoured makkeoli's and other rather trendy add-on's. It's big thing is that a kettle of makkeoli is 3000 won. Well anyway my verdict is: it's not bad. Certainly no replacement for Sangin Makkeoli or Keimyung makkeoli but it certainly had it's pro's, especially the extensive food menu. If I were downtown I'd take the downtown branch over the plethora of western run bars in a heartbeat.

I have also been extremely lazy in going to immigration to get my ARC (Alien Registration Card). Normally I'd need to it get phone and internet but because I have both already, I've been lazy in getting it. Now I have 90 days to do it legally, but I really should have done it by now. This weekend is a holiday weekend so I will probably have to do it on Wednesday now, which is fine. Still, I feel that by writing it down I'll be forced to actually do it :) So if I don't go Wed am I will have to write back here showing how lazy I am, which I don't want to do :P

Speaking of that holiday weekend. This weekend is Chuseok, which is loosely translated as Thanksgiving (very loosely). Koreans get together in their extended families to cook, eat and repeat. I get the feeling that it's a bit like Thanksgiving in Canada, where some people are excited to have a big family party and others are dreading the work or family dynamics associated with a family gathering. Some things really are universal :P. For westerners it's a four day weekend. However, being that I just had a two month holiday in Vancouver and payday comes after the holiday I'm kinda broke and so will probably stay in teh Gyeongsan region. Others are having more fun as Geoff is off to Osaka/Kyoto for a week and other friends are off to Jeju-do, Seoul and even Hong Kong. For me I think a weekend in Seochang with Paul and Monday hanging out with Hae Mi and later Barry and Drew will make up my holiday. My next holiday is January and I've already got Nagasaki/Fukuoka Japan in mind but for this one I'll keep it in Gyeongsan.

Anyway, time to start my day.