Finally a little justice for the SK Coasties.

The Captain of the Chinese fishing boat that murdered a Korean Coast Guard officer last year was sentenced to 30 years in prison and a 20,000,000 Won fine. The prosecution was seeking the death penalty. Nine other members of the crew were sentenced to terms of 1.5 to 5 years.

Not surprising anyone the Chinese government doesn't accept the verdict. What remains to be seen is if the South Korean government doesn't roll over and set the Captain and others free to appease the Chinese government.

What the ... slight?!?!?!?

One of the favourite slights used by apologists and assholes when they attack those teaching ESL in South Korea is to say

"You teach ESL here because you can't get a job back home."

or some variation of this.

Talking with Audience in a previous thread and thinking about an internet asshole I recently dealt with reminded me of this. My current situation actually puts the lie to it.

I am currently working part time and making as much money as I did teaching ESL in South Korea. Actually, if you look at the fluctuating rate of Won to Canadian Dollar, I am making more now than I did the last year or so that I was working in South Korea.

In a few months I will probably be full time and making more money. I will also have benefits. Some of which I had in South Korea but they were either grudgingly applied, ignored, or applied badly.

Like paid vacation time. Here, I can book the time off long in advance. I get the actual time I am supposed to get. Even with the best boss in South Korea vacation time was given last minute and it wasn't always the time that you were supposed to contractually get. At Ivy School 5 days off, around a weekend, twice a year, was screwed around with enough that it actually became 3 days and a weekend and in the end they actually tried giving 1 day plus the weekend.

Hell, I could have had a job out west making a lot more than I do now. Double it counting over time, which they get a lot of. Any Canadian teaching ESL could easily find work in Alberta even as a basic labourer making more money than they do in South Korea, and have benefits. Money isn't always the most important thing in life. I would rather have a job I am happy doing.

Guess what bitches, you were WRONG yet again. While I miss teaching I enjoy my current job a lot and it pays better part time or full time, with or without benefits than teaching ESL in South Korea. So, in the immortal words of John Stewart, I have something to say to the apologists and assholes who spout that bullshit.

Go fuck yourselves. :)

You know ...

... we have it pretty good here.

That is a direct quote from my friend Aussie. And you know what? For the most part, he was right. Yes, there was some BS to deal with. Ok, a lot of BS at times. However, overall, it was good.

As Aussie would say, we weren't really worked that hard. We had a lot of disposable income. We could enjoy ourselves. For the most part he was right.

My sort of last boss was GREAT! Someone who could actually be trusted. Sure the usual BS popped up, lack of communication, but you could talk to him and he wouldn't knowingly fuck you over. He would actually stand by his word! Unlike most hagwon owners. (Which for me meant 1 in 6 hagwon owners.)

While I am enjoying my current job and being home ... I miss that job. I miss teaching.

I never watched more hockey than when I was in South Korea. I love hockey. Ask Stig, I think I drove him nuts with hockey talk sometimes. I didn't work until the afternoon and because of the time change hockey was on in the morning. :) I miss watching that much hockey. :(

Life was pretty good then. :)

What the ... rejection ?!?!?

Damn I have really stopped writing and posting. There are things I started writing months ago and never finished or posted. What can I say, life keeps me busy. The following is something I wrote and never got around to posting.

*********

Uh oh ... I guess the news hasn't hit Korea yet. I wonder how the netizens will over-react if it does? The LAPD has REJECTED using Jindos as police dogs.

A google search I ended after 10 pages only turned up a link to Korea Sentry that talked about the "issue". Nothing from Korean papers or sites. At least not in English.

I couldn't help but laugh and think of my time in South Korea when I read the following.

They pretty much mastered the task, but once they got out of the training environment, they got distracted in the real world.... A leaf would blow, and they'd go chase it.

It reminded me of ... Koreans. I can't remember how many times Stig and I would comment on how easily distracted Koreans are. A kid wears a short sleeve shirt in the spring? Class is disrupted until they calm down. Someone draws a pile of dung on the board? Total distraction. Korean is walking down the street and sees a foreigner ... distraction.

I miss ...

I miss online shopping! I never really thought of it until the other night when I was talking to a co-worker. We were talking about ... well just shit ... and all of a sudden I blurted out that I missed online shopping in SoKo.

There was MUCH more variety than here. And if it took more than 2 days to get to you it was strange.

My CW mentioned that when she shops online she likes to buy from Asian sites because it still works out to be cheaper than Canadian ones. Even with delivery factored in. That is pretty sad.

What the ... impetus to continue?!?!?

I had been meaning to post this for a while. Months actually. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I have been busy and it got forgotten. Clearing out some stuff today I found the email again and decided it was time to post about it.

The email. It arrived right around the time that someone emailed David Theissen to try and get him to attack Burndog. Nine days after my last post about Douchey Dave. Coincidence? Who knows. Mind you I am not a big believer in coincidence.

***

Subject: retard

From: ersgserfew feadfawfeaw <7thseal8050@gmail.com>

To: wtKimchi@gmail.com

Can you please remove yourself from the gene pool? Preferably in the most painful and agonizing way possible? Retard

Die painfully okay? Prefearbly by getting crushed to death in a garbage compactor, by getting your face cut to ribbons with a pocketknife, your head cracked open with a baseball bat, your stomach sliced open and your entrails spilled out, and your eyeballs ripped out of their sockets. Fucking bitch

I really hope that you get curb-stomped. It'd be hilarious to see you begging for help, and then someone stomps on the back of your head, leaving you to die in horrible, agonizing pain. Faggot

Shut the fuck up faggot, before you get your face bashed in and cut to ribbons, and your throat slit.

****

Interesting piece of prose, eh? Psychotic. Anti-Homosexual. Ultra-Violent. So many symptoms of a disturbed mind in one piece of writing. It reminded me of a tosser who used to post on Toad Man's original blog urging him to fellate a shotgun. Although this fucktard is much more graphic.

I replied to the sender and dared them to meet me. They declined to even respond. Just another Internet Tough Guy who probably pisses his, or her, pants at their own shadow.

Now, anytime I think about not blogging any more, I harken back to this email. The ability to rile someone up this much is too good to pass up. 7thseal8050 thank you for giving me the impetus to keep blogging. If just to piss you off. :)

What the ... statue?!?!?

A tip of the hat to Korea Beat for this one. My only thoughts ... too fucking bad Japan. You did it. Stop trying to gloss it over. Own it. Sincerely apologize for it. And then you can move on. There is a reason most of Asia hasn't forgiven you. Until then ... in the immortal words of John Stewart .. go fuck yourselves.