Basking in Snail Trails

As winter keeps its watchful eye on the toes snow steppers, I am committed to the outdoor life. Braving the open skies for a weekend in Busan has never left me unsatisfied.

During the vacation period when the classrooms go silent for a few months, the intensive camps begin. Full of activity and English immersion, students are questioned and divided into levels. Teachers are then able to appropriately place students based on their English comprehension and speaking abilities. I had scored a quick job on the other side of the country for a day doing just this type of level testing. The school responsible flew Qasim and I out for the weekend. This was the first and most likely the last in-country flight I would take to the metropolis of the south, Busan, where the weather always tends to be a little warmer.

On Saturday night, we attended an art show at a local studio. Creepy like salad fingers, huge wrinkled heads were painted all over the room. The little creatures drawn so meticulously were cute in their own ugly way. In fact, I got a real sense of childhood nostalgia looking at the awkward fellas. The artist, Laura Heather Hobson, has quite the impressive resume! http://ldoubleh.blogspot.com/

That evening, we let our creative juices flow through our hands to the pen then to the Exacto knife and made stencils to print silk-screened t-shirts of our own designs. My creation was a snail and his trail as a quote I have so aptly identified with recently reminds me to take a little more time and pay attention to the everyday. Which is what more of us should do on a regular basis. (If you look closely, you'll see the blue guy on my purple sweater)

"Like slow snails, we soak up the details".



On Sunday morning, our good friend Robin and his local posse showed us a recently developed crag uphill on a mountain side overlooking swathes of apartment buildings in the rolling valley below. Some nice lines with impressively sticky limestone tickled our chilly fingertips all day long. Even in winter, the rock cannot hide from our slight obsession. It was a great day with great friends. How lucky are we to bask in something so simple yet so wondrous?

a film in 48 hours

A band of buddies and I took part in the 48 hour Film Project; Seoul Chapter at the beginning of November. In only 48 hours, a team of filmmakers must race to write, direct, act, edit and score a five to seven minute film. With all odds against us, including the loss of half our footage due to 'technical difficulties', the ubiquitous phrase used to blame any and all things associated with inadequacies of computer play, we turned our film in on time. To prove the films were made in the specified 48 hours between seven PM on Friday, November 5th and seven PM on Sunday, November 7th, some specifics needed to be included.
First, the genre was to be drawn out of a hat. Our team chose SILENT FILM.
There was to be a prop. This was the famously delicious KIM, or dried roasted seaweed that runs rampant on every Korean dinner table.
Also, a Character: Her name was to be Lee Hyo Jin, a musician.
And a line of dialogue: "I make my own Luck".
With all these elements combined, teams were sure to relinquish all pre-planned ideas. In fact, although a smart idea, pre-planning was strictly prohibited.

We called our Film, "Chicken Soup for the Post-Apocalyptic Soul". It takes place post-apocalypse (obviously) in a house where strangers, forced to become friends, have learned to cope and are still coping with what could be the end of the world.

When humans are confronted with the dire, our relationships are what have the power to stand the test of time and tragedy.

Last night was the award ceremony. Out of 20 odd teams, our team won two awards! BEST Sound Design and BEST editing went to us. (I can proudly say that my ukulele was one thing that added to the effect of the sound design!)

You can watch R.I.N.S.E Filmworks production of "Chicken Soup for the Post-Apocalyptic Soul" on Facebook.

It may take a while to load... but it is worth the wait.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1469427777606

"Mustache Fable" ransacks a haunted house

Just when you thought they were sane, the two lovely ladies of Mustache Fable explore an abandoned haunted house in the wild forest in order to get into the mind set of their upcoming show! Preparing for their on stage soulful sound attack that will go down this Saturday eve, they will teach you what to do "When Bears Attack".

Live in concert at Roofers in the neighbourhood of Itaewon in Seoul, South Korea, Danielle and Hannah will enlighten you and mesmerize you. Within the Seoul Encyclopedia show, their performance is sure to be entertaining!

Founded by Robbie Q. Telfer in Chicago, The Encyclopedia Show has sought to awaken the inner dork in all of us through simultaneously educating and entertaining audiences around the US and Canada. It brings wordsmiths and visual artists together to create a verbal/visual Encyclopedia installment on a given topic. This time around it is "Bears"

This past August, Lauren Bedard, Executive Producer and Curator of The Encyclopedia Show-Seoul, has brought this concept across the ocean to enlighten audiences in South Korea.

The pilot installment, Gravity, was a huge success. Through live painting, short film, performance art, and spoken word, audiences learned about the force that keeps our feet on the ground and the planets in orbit.

To get a taste of what The Encyclopedia Show has to offer, check out streaming audio of the Chicago show at www.encyclopediashow.com. Or better yet, come and see for yourself Saturday, November 13th.

CHECK HERE:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163347863685375&index=1

Mountains of my Mind: oh how i love thee!

After the the eleventh straight hour of moderate to strenuous hiking, with a quick pace at that, aimed towards the highest peak in Korea, my jello legs were looking forward to refuge in the Sesok mountain shelter. With only half an hour left to reach our sanctuary, the rain came in a pitter patter as the dense rolling white engulfed us whole.



Along the trek, small crags of rock tempted our calloused hands to fondle.
While reading "Mountains of the Mind" by Robert Macfarlane, I am overwhelmed by the intense reminder of my human relationship with the landscape I am walking within and upon. The geology I feast my eyes upon when lusting over rock I wish to climb, allows me to ponder a time when "rocks liquified and seas petrified, where granite slopped about like porriage, basalt bubbled like stew, and layers of limestone folded as easily as blankets". In the ineffable age of earth's history, I ponder my own mortality.

Sunny and I took on a 32 kilometre stretch of hiking trails in Jirisan National Park in only a day and a half. Adventurous, outrageous and down right fun, our bodies will be feeling the lingering effects for at least a few days I am sure. A few hours into such an undertaking, our bodies became used to the toil and pure elation took over. Despite the packed rest stops and crowded shelters, we were so lucky to hike the whole trail almost entirely alone.



What a unique experience for Korea. If any of you have ever ventured to Bukhansan National Park on a Saturday, you surely will have experienced the line-up of avid weekend hikers decked out in their name-brand gear glory snaking towards the summit like ants on a picnic. No line-ups here. It feels so great to work so hard to have the opportunity to roll our chilled fingertips over moss covered rocks and decaying tree stumps, to breathe in scents of rotting leaves and dirt and to open our eyes wide in search for indescribable breathtaking views. The rain intensified our appreciation to nature in its raw glory! Kuo Hsi, the eleventh century Chinese painter and essayist once wrote that the "haze and mist and the haunting spirits of the mountains are what human nature seeks".
  
  

Not looking at my face for almost 3 days, I was shocked at first glance. Two deep set wrinkles between my eyebrows had carved themselves a new home. My unconscious concentration with each mighty mile had indeed taken its toll on my face.  This allowed me to reflect upon age. As my birthday has once past again and I near the 30 years, I realize that the expressions we wear for long periods of time become permanently fixed. The wrinkles on our faces tell the stories of our lives. I hope when I grow really old my smile wrinkles will be the ones most visable!

The day to contemplate everything

So, once again, this special day arises. The one day out of the 365 cyclical pattern that allows one to contemplate life and their role in it. This particular day is my "golden birthday" - so they say (even though I was once told that you cannot quote "they"). I am 29 on the 29th of the 9th month. I woke up this morning with grey nail polish and my kitten, Soo Bak, cuddling my neck all to hear the testosterone filled grunts of the American Military who so happen to be my neighbours here in Korea. No worries. I have become accustomed to their energy charged relay races at 6:30AM as they are a sure signal that it is indeed morning and time to arise from slumber.
I am quite happy today. Out of the last 13 days, I have climbed 7 days - hard.
After a wonderful mid-semester thanksgiving break, I don't feel so bad eating vegan chocolate zucchini cake for breakfast. Although cooked in the toaster oven, dirt bag style, it is satisfying. (Hey sister Lauren, I think you need to teach me a thing or too about baking!).


We ended the Chu Seok holiday – Korea’s biggest, with a stout bouldering session in Bukhansan National Park. Notice the smallest crimpers in the world! Just like Thanksgiving in America, this holiday deserved thanks - especially for the 9 day reprieve from work. Myself, my kitty cat Soo-Bak and my friend Kris aimed high and climbed hard! While climbing in both Seonunsan and Yongseo Pokpo, I was amazed at the abundance of animalitos running, hoping and flying to and fro. From fireflies to fat assed toads to pin eyed bats and squalls of mosquitoes, we were inundated with nature in its finest. Complete with my humble tent and gourmet pocket stove, we dined in grand style. Each night I had a special set menu wherein the ingredients of veggies and lentils and fruits and nuts weighted down our packs not unlike other camping trips. Never did we go hungry.The rock in Seonunsan, with its overhanging jug festival teased and satisfied me. The abundance of limestone pockets plastered in white chalk confused the onsighter with tricky technical sequences. Pump-a-licious! After 3 days of the 40 minute approach back and forth, we took a day to travel and rest and stalk up on more edible treats (not to mention a few bottles of cheap red wine to rinse our pallets). When we arrived at Yongseo Pokpo – The Dragon Tail’s waterfall – we were greeted only by the distant hum of the intermittent train and a few droplets from the sky. All alone, we set up camp and blazed a fire that roared into the wee hours. Although it rained almost the entire next day, our near alpine start and slightly overhanging wall choice allowed us to climb five routes by one o’clock. Afterwards, the three of us sought refuge in a near abandoned min-bak. Not quite abandoned so much as that the owner wasn’t around. With the doors left unlocked, we took advantage of the opportunity to stay dry and warm. When a group of other friends arrived, we indulged in the sauce and each other’s sparkling company. The only near-death mishap that occurred the whole week was when I predicted the rock fall that scared the shit out of me in its forecasted omen. What I am about to describe, I am sure has happened to you. You know when your thought process happens so fast and links one thought to the next that what you began to think about and what you ended thinking about have little in common, so little that you would have to explain the entire thought process to someone in order for them to understand where the end idea came from in the first place. Well, it goes something like this…

I was just causally admiring the waterfall as we prepared for the day of climbing and wondered what it would take to make the water pour down full force. I realized that if there were fewer obstacles at the mouth of the fall, more water would be able to flow. Then I imagined a rock fall, then I imagined a rock fall on my tent that would squish my cat – I know – morbid, but I am sure that these kinds of thoughts have graced your consciousness too at some point in your life. Anyways, a hour later I heard a distant thud and down plummeted a softball sized rock, headed in a beeline for my tent! Busy belaying, I had to wait and see the damage done. Sure enough, this sinister rock sliced open my tent vestibule, mangled the tent zipper, destroyed Kris’s headlamp and even flattened its batteries! Thank the stars that Soo Bak, the kitty, was nowhere in the vicinity. She is still purring at my feet right now.



























And so the reflection goes. My students graciously presented me with a chalk board full of “congratulations” and a dozen yellow roses engulfed in baby’s breath. Congratulations? I guess I have survived yet another year in this hostile world. Although the clouds slowly roll in the sky this chill, crisp day, I couldn’t be happier. I think I am going to stop writing now and go and get myself a corner chug! (how I describe chugging a beer on the street corner!)







The contemplation begins with remembering that I am living in the present and as much as I want this day to last, it too will pass. Finite time. The ever present, ever changing river if you will.

The summer heat draws on.

Summer in Korea wouldn't be complete without an inundation of torrential rain typical of global climate trends. Our planet is surely at odds with our abuse and is fighting back. The power it has will always supersede our own human capacities no matter how powerful we THINK we are. Nature always wins and leaves in its wake, us dumbfounded.
So, the typical "on we go rain or shine" shall be heeded here. A few weeks ago in Chuncheon, South Korea, a smattering of international climbers amassed for the International Federation of Sports Climbing World Cup. With the likes of those currently headlining rock climbing flicks all over the planet, we endured the downpours together. A tense feeling of competition air was abated after the storms and the party ensued. What a great opportunity to speak Spanish and chat with some of the strongest climbers in the world! An event to be remembered. With the power of a felt pen, I gathered signatures from the usual suspects and will auction off a priceless cloth napkin to give proceeds to www.climbupsokidscangrowup.com. On the day of my mother's birth, September 18th, anywhere you are, climb and dedicate your passion to those who are at times forgotten.

I have branched out into the world of sound and song

Have you ever wondered when the Mile High Club was started?
or Why astronauts can't cry in space?

For all of those who like a little education with your entertainment…The Seoul Encyclopedia Show is here! * Inspired by the Chicago based Encyclopedia Show, the purpose of this show is to bring artists of all different backgrounds to create a verbal/visual Encyclopedia installment on a given topic.

Our first installment for this series is Gravity. We have an amazing line up of poets, songwriters, painters and performance artists to create an inspired description of the force that keeps our feet married to the Earth and the planets in orbit.

Indeed I have once again hit the big stage. By exploring other avenues besides rock climbing and working too much, I keep sane. A variety of hobbies and continuous projects on the go is one thing that drives me towards passion. To be able to share the final product of my creative process gives me the opportunity to find others who who have similar inspired imaginations. Thank you to all who take the time to hear me.

Hong Kong's humidity sticks to my thighs

All sweaty in our glory, we dodged to and from the slight shade provided by city trees while Hong Kong in its humid stealth threatened to suck the energy out of our drenched bodies. After 2 days flirting with the outskirts of a massive concrete jungle, I braved its innards. Luckily a Monday trip to the boulders beyond the high rise structures offered a break from the cancerous carbon monoxide thickness. The intervening monsoons hovered in the distant sky, but our gung-ho passion led us to explore regardless. A short walk from the Tai Koo MTR station, we were transported into the adjoining jungle; a mossy river way, our path. Thanks to June, we were able to have two crash pads, thus saving our delicate bottoms from haphazard landings to follow. The river was a welcome refreshment as the blazing afternoon sun scorched our shoulders pink. (I do however, use sunscreen – thus was saved from pinkdom). The rippling river also served as a free shower and with a scant line-up, locals indulged, fully clothed under the waterfall just beyond our first boulder of choice. Scents of shampoo drifted by as we attempted to man/woman-up with the rock problems in front of our faces. After some successes and near misses, heel hooks and crimps, pockets and lock-offs, V3’s and happy knees, we descended back into the thick sweltering city.

Along the side streets, a ripe, succulent fruit caught my eye, the biggest I have ever seen. This mango was the size of a football – the American style football or perhaps my calf muscle. Its mere scent coerced my mouth to water like a broken sprinkler. Not to mention its slippery syrup consumed in an inhale. (It actually took two days to eat due to its sheer size). Mmm. On to the food. In a smorgasbord of western and other worldly influence, I was bombarded with a plethora of choice. International supermarkets around each corner tickled my nostalgia as I piled the basket high.
<< Side note. If you haven’t noticed already, I tend to exaggerate. This gets me into trouble with my critical wordsmith friends. Justification: It is more fun to exaggerate and keeps my childlike imagination alive. >>

So, to clarify, I casually gathered just a few things for the airplane carry on; Red Thai Curry and Marmite to name a few. Through my many other efforts to save the world, the slight guilty conscience of the import-export game is defended in this example. Considering this multicultural hotpot, I was spoiled by Buddhist veggie stands and ethnic delights including this one particular Organic café with delectable quinoa salads and roasted eggplant tapenades. It inspired my cooking and sharing skills.