|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
(Disclaimer for SC2 people: I used to be a photo-journalist covering SC and other eSports in Seoul. I retired due to health issues a couple of years ago. I'm now just a regular woman playing Ace Attorney, and avoiding the British rain.)
I've been kind of AWOL since leaving Seoul (and for a while before that.) but I finally made it back to my (new) home in England. It's a huge change after living overseas for five years, but it a few ways its a relief to be home. I've gone from living in the centre of a city, to a small town in the north of England.
Unfortunately, I don't have anything much to contribute to TL any more, but I'm lurking about checking out blogs (and being completely unaware of most of the SC2 scene.)
Things I Miss About Seoul:
~ (Almost) everything being open far later/more often than it is here. ~ Cheap and efficient public transport. ~ Having quite a lot of money at my disposal. ~ My students/job. ~ Certain foods. (Not silkworm llava though!) ~ Easy access to lots of Japanese items I wanted to buy. (Books, figures, etc.) ~ Comic World T_T ~ Special doujinshi and cosplay events. ~ Children's Grand Park.
Things I Don't Miss About Seoul:
~ Language issues. ~ Dodging puke/drunk people. ~ The smell of silk worm llava. ~ The pollution/smokers. ~ The weather! (Just the cold wind/humidity really.) ~ Feeling like a freak (aka. sticking out too much as a foreigner.) ~ The lack of availability of certain foods/having to buy them in bulk/the price of imports.
Things I Love About Being Back:
~ I can see my Mum (and our diva cat) every day. ~ The lack of language issues. ~ I'm living in a semi-countryside area with loads of lovely walks/scenery/nature. ~ Having a garden again. ~ My friends (although a lot of them are still overseas.) ~ Certain foods (Fish and Chips, cheap fruit/veg etc.) ~ Having an oven to cook with. ~ No worries about visas :D ~ Cozy pubs. (I don't drink, but my Mum is really into 'real ale' so I've gotten to visit a lot of historic/interesting pubs since I returned.) ~ Nature - we have a river running across the bottom of our garden which often plays host to ducks, moor hens, frogs and fish. ~ I blend in.
Anyway, I would recommend to anyone to try and visit Seoul/go there to teach if you can. As long as you do your research, and get a good job it can be a very fun/rewarding diversion for a few years. It's a shame the SC scene isn't as active as it was during my stay, but for everyone who is enjoying SC2 there's still plenty to do/see.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with this new section of my life ^_^;;; (Oh and trying to find some people who actually know what doujinshi means in England.)
   
|
United States7639 Posts
|
awesome to hear you're doing well I think the last blog I read of yours you seemed unsure of things so it's nice to see things work out for the better. I was in Menwith Hill for a few months and I miss the UK terribly. not the rain... but the people lol and also the fact that I was a huge Man U fan got me into a lot of heated debates. lol
Anyway I'm not really sure but as myself came from broodwar but know a lot of people who frequent TL who started with sc2 I think you'd be surprised by how many people recognize your ID on here haha. I think you earned a well deserved rest from TL xD Also I have to say a friend of mine loved those silk larva things and tried to convince me they were good... ever had one? I can't call his BS as I've never been to South Korea.
|
It was hard for me going home after 2 years for a few months... I don't know how it is after 5 Oo'''
I couldn't hack the UK anymore and had to move back into Korea......I just couldn't live with those high prices anymore!
|
Nice to hear from you again welcome back and thanks again for all the photos and coverage of BW always loved to see it through your lens.
Hope you settle in well. future plans are terrifying sometimes. I like to talk to older people about how they got where they are, cause it reminds me that no-one got there by planning their life out!
|
Netherlands6142 Posts
Good to hear you're doing well :D And surely you can be serious about preferring any weather over the Brittish one? >_>
Also pm me your new address please!
|
United Kingdom3685 Posts
I know what doujinshi means~
|
Sounds terribly nice. It seems like you've "been good" at travelling
|
Your garden sounds amazing, any pictures?
|
Ah man it must be so strange after being in Korea for so long, but it is awesome having family so close
|
NeverGG, Next year I am going to Korea for a 6 month internship. Is there any way I could contact you outside TL with questions and perhaps some pointers which I need to keep in mind if I go there? 
Thanks!
|
Doujins ftw!
Good to hear you're doing well. The access to Japanese items would probably be enough to get me to stay for quite a while.
|
Oh my god I can commiserate about the rain. First year as a grad student this side of the pond and it just doesn't let up does it...
|
On May 07 2012 20:08 NeverGG wrote:
Things I Miss About Seoul:
~ (Almost) everything being open far later/more often than it is here. ~ Cheap and efficient public transport. ~ Having quite a lot of money at my disposal. ~ My students/job. ~ Certain foods. (Not silkworm llava though!) ~ Easy access to lots of Japanese items I wanted to buy. (Books, figures, etc.) ~ Comic World T_T ~ Special doujinshi and cosplay events. ~ Children's Grand Park.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Ii0Lq.jpg)
Yeah I wouldnt miss that either
|
I think that looks awesome though sob3k 5/5 because I love Turnabout Jazz Soul, haven't played the games though.
|
Blending in is no fun for me though and hooray for cats. Never had a cat who thought they were a diva. Mine act like dogs because I have a dog.
|
Out of curiosity, as a person who got into SC during SC2's inception, and now plays it along with LoL, what were the health issues, i wasn't here to witness your magna opus of photography, but could you explain to a low post count noob what happened? Send me a PM if i'm just a very misinformed small minority 
|
^ hahahah! (@ the giant dramatic picture of silkworms)
Seems like you had quite an experience with those silkworm lava. They make excellent snacks with a bottle of soju, or that's just how my dad likes it. I used to like them when I was a kid, but now that I think about it, after living in Canada for past ~13 years, I don't think I can take them any more.
Good to hear you're doing well!
|
Glad you're doing well! Hopefully new lifestyle will sort itself out. Stick around TL!
On May 07 2012 21:01 Sayle wrote: I know what doujinshi means~ I'm afraid I do too... There are things I will not be able to forget no matter how hard I try. The imagination of some fans is beri scary.
|
Yay doujinshi! You should totally go to Cons then if you feel withdrawl~
So hard to find good asian food in UK though QQ. And yeah public transport not as good.
Hope you find a new direction in your life that works out for you! And once again, thanks for everything you've done for us for BW Coverage.
|
Hey hey neggie nice to hear from you :D If your ever near southampton, give me a poke! (I too know what doujinshi means partly due to your influence TT) Anddd I'm still as dyslexic as when we last spoke.
|
On May 07 2012 23:15 docvoc wrote:Out of curiosity, as a person who got into SC during SC2's inception, and now plays it along with LoL, what were the health issues, i wasn't here to witness your magna opus of photography, but could you explain to a low post count noob what happened? Send me a PM if i'm just a very misinformed small minority 
how is that a low post count...
i was here for the bw and you still have a much higher one than mine.
|
what the hell is silkworm llava :o
|
Great to hear you're doing well. Also, Ace Attorney is awesome.
|
United States7639 Posts
|
On May 07 2012 23:45 ToFu. wrote:Show nested quote +On May 07 2012 23:15 docvoc wrote:Out of curiosity, as a person who got into SC during SC2's inception, and now plays it along with LoL, what were the health issues, i wasn't here to witness your magna opus of photography, but could you explain to a low post count noob what happened? Send me a PM if i'm just a very misinformed small minority  how is that a low post count... i was here for the bw and you still have a much higher one than mine. 
Post counts don't matter.
|
It was good to meet you while you were in Seoul, all the best!
|
says small town, never reveals which town.
tease
|
I wasn't really around for the BW times but welcome back Fellow north u.k. person here! Glad to hear you're well.
|
|
GRAND OLD AMERICA16375 Posts
I ain't touching that with a 10 foot pole....
thanks for the work you done for us, neverGG!
|
You had to dodge puke? Tell me more about that
|
I dunno, the rain suits me as an Englishman. I always assumed the weather in Seoul was pretty similar to the UK.
|
Really Ace Attorney? What of Layton?
|
Pictures!
Oh, out of curiosity - was it hard getting all your things transported home? All the miniatures etc?
|
As a Korean who grew up there until my high school graduation a decade ago and having sinced moved to the US, I can definitely agree with many of your pro/con points, the main pluses being a) public transportation and b) NEVER having to smell that silk worm stuff again. Bleeeeeeech.
|
On May 08 2012 05:21 WArped wrote: I dunno, the rain suits me as an Englishman. I always assumed the weather in Seoul was pretty similar to the UK.
I think British weather is fine and 'stable' except between April and September. So much worse than my country's weather - Bulgaria. I guess it's because of Northwestern England.
|
What are you doing for the living?
|
~ The lack of language issues.
This is exactly the reason why I hate being back home.
|
On May 08 2012 04:59 Roe wrote: You had to dodge puke? Tell me more about that
I'm interested as well. Maybe write a sequel blog telling about projectile vomiting drunks puking in your direction?
|
On May 08 2012 07:19 beetlelisk wrote: What are you doing for the living? Good question :/ A lot of peopl have had trouble transitioning out of teaching in Korea.
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 07 2012 20:33 Kiett wrote: YEAAAAHHH ACE ATTORNEY
:D
I've been waiting since 2007 to play this damn game! It's so much fun, but I only got it two days ago and I've nearly finished ^_^;;;;;;
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 07 2012 20:34 OmniEulogy wrote:awesome to hear you're doing well  I think the last blog I read of yours you seemed unsure of things so it's nice to see things work out for the better. I was in Menwith Hill for a few months and I miss the UK terribly. not the rain... but the people lol and also the fact that I was a huge Man U fan got me into a lot of heated debates. lol Anyway I'm not really sure but as myself came from broodwar but know a lot of people who frequent TL who started with sc2 I think you'd be surprised by how many people recognize your ID on here haha. I think you earned a well deserved rest from TL xD Also I have to say a friend of mine loved those silk larva things and tried to convince me they were good... ever had one? I can't call his BS as I've never been to South Korea.
Yeah, lots of people do get pretty heated when it comes to the football. We've got a tiny little stadium here, and I can always hear everyone cheering really loudly whenever there's a match on. I didn't actually, but I know people who did (tourists) and I think they enjoyed them (but they were all drunk at the time.)
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 07 2012 20:45 Pholon wrote: Good to hear you're doing well :D And surely you can be serious about preferring any weather over the Brittish one? >_>
Also pm me your new address please!
I think it was just the humidity during Summer which did me in. I don't deal well with heat -_- I also found it annoying to have to be so careful when it snowed (I should've gotten a sled or something.)
|
What food you think you'll enjoy most in the UK and which Western dish did you miss the most?
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 07 2012 21:01 Sayle wrote: I know what doujinshi means~
I'm surprised more than just you has replied that they know what it means. I'm pretty much buried under piles of them at home right now :S
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 07 2012 21:39 Aelonius wrote:NeverGG, Next year I am going to Korea for a 6 month internship. Is there any way I could contact you outside TL with questions and perhaps some pointers which I need to keep in mind if I go there?  Thanks!
Sure, just message me whenever :D
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 07 2012 22:30 sob3k wrote:Show nested quote +On May 07 2012 20:08 NeverGG wrote:
Things I Miss About Seoul:
~ (Almost) everything being open far later/more often than it is here. ~ Cheap and efficient public transport. ~ Having quite a lot of money at my disposal. ~ My students/job. ~ Certain foods. (Not silkworm llava though!) ~ Easy access to lots of Japanese items I wanted to buy. (Books, figures, etc.) ~ Comic World T_T ~ Special doujinshi and cosplay events. ~ Children's Grand Park.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Ii0Lq.jpg) Yeah I wouldnt miss that either
It might've tasted nicer if it was like this :S
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 07 2012 23:15 docvoc wrote:Out of curiosity, as a person who got into SC during SC2's inception, and now plays it along with LoL, what were the health issues, i wasn't here to witness your magna opus of photography, but could you explain to a low post count noob what happened? Send me a PM if i'm just a very misinformed small minority 
It's pretty predictable tbh. After crouching down constantly during matches (with the added stress of my job where I had to sit on small chairs and pick things up all the time) my hip has a weird muscle cramp. I'm actually (finally) booked in to go to the doctors about it next week. Since it's gotten worse after my return to England. I also used to get migraines after almost every event which can't really have been healthy. They've stopped since I stopped working in eSports.
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 07 2012 23:33 Kittan wrote:Glad you're doing well! Hopefully new lifestyle will sort itself out. Stick around TL! I'm afraid I do too... There are things I will not be able to forget no matter how hard I try. The imagination of some fans is beri scary.
Whilst I'll admit that some doujinshis are definitely not to my taste I absolutely love seeing independent fan-artists creating new stories using either established characters/worlds or their own original content. I've gotten everything from Tiger & Bunny to original bishoujo art collections during my time in SK. The talent and creativity of some people just astounds me. For me personally, doujinshi (plus official works) are a wonderful outlet for these talents.
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 08 2012 04:59 Roe wrote: You had to dodge puke? Tell me more about that
Just the typical stuff you find in any city - street pizza all over the place and the regular sight of people up-chucking. I didn't usually go out late at night purely to avoid this part of it ^_^;
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 08 2012 06:17 Torte de Lini wrote: Really Ace Attorney? What of Layton?
I haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping to pick up one of the games second-hand in the near future. It looks just up my street :D
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 08 2012 06:36 Thrill wrote: Pictures!
Oh, out of curiosity - was it hard getting all your things transported home? All the miniatures etc?
Not at all. I got friendly with the local post office by where I worked, and I could send a massive box home via ship for about $50. The only issue I've had is that I didn't pack some of my figures securely enough, so they suffered paint damage.
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 08 2012 18:44 Azera wrote: What food you think you'll enjoy most in the UK and which Western dish did you miss the most?
Well, I've really been enjoying cooking again. I made a lasagne last week, and Mum is kind of addicted to my spaghetti too. It's nice for me to cook for her because she has a pretty hectic job at the moment. I missed fish and chips the most because I couldn't find anything which even came close to it in SK.
|
Nice photos, looks serene.
Any big plans now that you're back home?
|
From an old school brood war fan, thank you for everything you did, made the pro scene super super accessible and fun to watch and follow.
And welcome back to blighty it hasn't changed much. The media are still absolutely mad, 'Have I got news for you.' Is still going strong along with + Show Spoiler +eastenders.......ughhhhhh the game shows are getting increasingly mad but at least there is less Bruce Forsyth involved. Richard Branson has made it his personal mission to drag Britain kicking and screaming to at least an internet level suitable for an average country in the Bronze age. London is getting prepared for the olympics, and as a Londoner I can tell you that it is not looking good.... An Only fools and horses spin off was made in which Dell boy is still a kid, it went down horribly. Heathrow is as retarded as ever. Wagon wheels have gone AWOL, unless you know where to look. The price of stamps/perol/food/transport/accomodation have all gone up (inflation has been very large for some time).
But by now I imagine you knew almost all of this, so all I can really say is welcome home.
|
Weee sweet
You gonna come visit barcraft and show the noobs what broodwar is all about?
Also where in uk are you, anywhere near londonz? Come visit yeah
|
On May 08 2012 18:58 NeverGG wrote:Show nested quote +On May 08 2012 06:17 Torte de Lini wrote: Really Ace Attorney? What of Layton? I haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping to pick up one of the games second-hand in the near future. It looks just up my street :D
Good puzzle game, cute story, very nice game :3
|
Cool, youre still around. AceAttourney is *awesome* Did you eat live squid?
|
Welcome back! Glad you're doing well. (:
|
oo, I live in the UK. Didn't know you were from there, assumed USA. I am from Wales, though.
|
United States4796 Posts
Just glad you're alive. :D
|
|
Glad to hear you made it back safe and I agree with Kiett that ACE ATTORNEY IS AWESOME!
|
good to hear that you're back home. but i really miss all of your awesome pics....
T_T
|
haha
Guys, silkworm is edible, you can even eat it alive. They say its nutritious. Never tried it though, never will :s
I miss NeverGG's contribuitions to TL, they were so awesome, made us feel like being there in Korea.
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 09 2012 00:46 BrTarolg wrote: Weee sweet
You gonna come visit barcraft and show the noobs what broodwar is all about?
Also where in uk are you, anywhere near londonz? Come visit yeah
I quite far north, but I want to visit London on day trips in the future :D Barcrafting in the UK sounds like fun. It was good in Korea although I only made it a couple of times.
|
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On May 09 2012 03:40 Trozz wrote: Cool, youre still around. AceAttourney is *awesome* Did you eat live squid?
I've nearly finished it >.< I didn't, but not because I was scared or anything. I just hate seafood.
|
|
|
|
|