(enter witty subject here)

i really should just turn this entire blog into a food diary, because i feel like that's all i really write about. i went to dinner last night with rika and kelley, who both work right next door to me, to get samgyeopsal, which rika had raved about before. she says it's her favorite korean meal. basically what you do is grill marinated strips of pork, along with the various veggies they give you- we had tofu, potatoes, garlic, onions, kimchi, mushrooms, plus some greens that were sitting in a marinade. once everything is good and grilled, you take 1 or 2 leaves of lettuce, put a bed of the greens on that, follow with pork and whatever toppings you want, and of course i had to top it off with red pepper paste... a korean meal just isn't the same without it. next comes the fun and messy part- you fold the leaves up and make it as small as possible... and shove the entire thing in your mouth. no girly bites allowed- this is an all or nothing deal. didn't realize that at first though and rika had to correct me! i'm so glad you don't need proper manners for this meal, because i am one of the sloppiest eaters ever- i felt right at home just shoving the food into my mouth. good thing i had plenty of practice packing those little debbie swiss cake rolls into my mouth in junior high (oh who am i kidding- i probably did it in high school too. and maybe a few times in college. but i am NOT ashamed to admit it). i remember the lunch table used to just sit and watch as i shoved as many of those rolls as possible into my mouth, and then mrs. bassett, the lunch lady, would walk by and roll her eyes and say "oh, nice..." ahh, memories.

anyway, samgyeopsal... i didn't take any pictures of the meal (you can all bring your jaws back up to normal position), but never fear, i googled for images of samgyeopsal and found a picture that pretty much looks like what we had, give or take a few side dishes... oh, and our grill didn't really look like this either:



yeah, so i kind of think of it as korean tacos, may not be the same ingredients (obviously there's no cheese or sour cream or tortillas involved), but the idea is the same- meat and veggies folded together to create flavor bliss. seriously, there must be something in the chemistry of the spices or something, because when it all comes together it just tastes so good.

oh i had my first real "duh" moment today... but i blame it on my head cold. today was going smoothly to start. ran about 4 or 5 miles (i wasn't timing myself too well), was feeling pretty good about the day because i love my tuesday kids. i even wrote an email home saying "hooray i think i've conquered my cold." left at 4:10 to walk to school, got there at 4:30, sat down and did some planning. started to feel my cold take over again, this time a lot of pressure in my ears. then 4:40 rolled around and a few minutes later i started getting confused and felt really out of it. wait, don't i have class at 4:40? what time do i start on tuesdays? how long have i been here and why do i have to go to class so soon? i was just about to get up when i heard a voice from behind me... "teacher, it is time for class." good ol' martin, came to get his teacher who was at the moment a lost cause. i looked at the clock- a little past 4:45. so yeah we're supposed to be there a half hour before our first class starts, and i got there 5-10 minutes before class. oh, that's right, i leave at 3:50 on tuesdays and thursdays! not a whole 20 minutes later at 4:10! oops, i hope the office people didn't see that. i played it cool and said "i know, i am coming" and followed him into my classroom, avoiding eye contact with the secretaries and vice-principal at the front desk. i hate being late and i hate disappointing employers so i hope that went unnoticed. i already felt bad enough because last week one of the powers-that-be must have sent one of the secretaries in to remind me it was time for class- i wasn't late, it was still about a minute until class was supposed to start, but i usually go to my classroom right when or just before class starts (in my defense, i'm not the only teacher that does it). i'm not even sure why i do it- i'm not late, but not exactly starting on time. and generally i'm a very punctual person. whoa that just reminded me of aladdin... "you're very.... punctual." "punctual?" "punctual." anyway, i always keep an eye on the clock but for some reason i always get really focused on planning at the last minute and forget my time.

but the important thing was that my classes went smoothly today and as soon as i started i no longer felt out of it, which is good. but right now i'm playing doctor for myself (if kate can do it for a ton of african children, which can't i?) and drinking green tea, figured it'd be good for my throat. too bad i'm going to bed after this and green tea contains caffeine. just don't tell my body, maybe i'll forget that caffeine keeps you awake and i'll get to sleep easily. at least oprah's on and i can keep myself entertained until i get drowsy. man i'm really babbling... yeah that means it's time to post this mo-fo.