EPTIt's worth mentioning that I was sick for a few weeks. During this time I stopped going to taekwondo/the gym and learned that alcohol is not good for recovery. On the bright side, I learned about a product called Pan Cold A (판콜) which was super helpful in relieving some of my symptoms. I also usually don't feel like playing Starcraft or studying when I'm sick, so my work ethic was definitely subpar on all fronts.
A bunch of random things...
I ended up being placed in the Level 1 Korean class (oops...) but it isn't so bad. I really like my teachers and when I looked through the Level 1 syllabus I saw that we'll cover some things I never learned. I took a few friends to Proleague and got to see the game where sOs made carriers and tempest vs Journey. I went with a different friend (who I met on TL) to SSL and saw Patience vs. Classic (missed Byun's games). I've run into various e-sports personalities quite a few times now. I started playing Brood War. I made some good friends at taekwondo and now we go out for chicken and beer sometimes. I bought a guitar so I can finally start playing again! I planned trips to Hong Kong and Cambodia with a few friends.
Story time...
I've been going to a coffee shop in my dorm's building almost daily for the past few months and the baristas sort of know me now. When I went today they asked if I could help them. I was pretty confused at first (language barrier), but I got that they needed help opening something that looked sort of like an oil canister. So I went behind the counter to the back room where the two older baristas pointing and tried. I failed. So I knelt down and really tried. I failed again, and then one of them tried and failed. I thought about how embarrassing it would be if i couldn't twist the stupid cap so I tried real hard and they were just like "oh, it's okay" and then it twisted off. After some "wow", I went back around the corner kind of embarrassed because the ajummas were making a scene about my "feat". When my coffee was ready, the younger barista offered me a free lemon pastry. I thought it was a funny experience (and I'm happy I got a free pastry out of my 30 second struggle). Hopefully they'll remember me now.
On a totally different note, I've been hanging out with a girl who is pretty cool. I kept seeing her at a bar we both went to and after talking with her a few times she asked if I wanted to get coffee or something. We ended up getting coffee and talking about politics and our hobbies. I made the mistake of telling her I was trying to learn to sing and she immdiately checked to see if there was a place to go nearby. She took me to a small noraebang box for just a few people, I paid the 1,000 KRW for two songs, and embarrassment ensued. She sang pretty well and I sang horribly, so now I have to go practice for next time! Overall, it was super fun and I look forward to hanging out with her more.
The future...
This weekend I'm going on a hike with the taekwondo team. Then Saturday night into Sunday is MT (aka membership training aka drinking more than any human should) for the club I joined at Yonsei. Next weekend I'm going to Hong Kong. I also have to write an op-ed for CSL and, for some unknown reason, I decided to write about the resurgence of Brood War so be on the lookout for that!
Again, feel free to ask me any questions about Seoul, Yonsei or anything else and I'll try to answer. I'll also attach a few photos with brief descriptions after the "Goals" section!
Goals:
[ ] Win a game of Brood War...
Recently got into playing Brood War and I still haven't managed to beat a real human!
[✓] Go to live GSL, SSL, and Proleague events
Added a picture of me at SSL below! I've also been to Proleague a few times. I still need to get around to going to a GSL.
[?] Reach Masters with Protoss on KR ladder
So this one is coming soon, started playing regularly again right before season lock... Next season for sure!
[X] Place into the Level 2 Korean class
Oops... placed into Level 1. To be fair, they offered me Level 2, but said I would struggle and potentially fail and recommended Level1. So far it has been fine, lots of stuff I know but still some new stuff too.
[✓] Buy a guitar/start playing guitar again
Went to Nakwon Music Arcade to buy a guitar and got a pretty good deal! Check out the picture below!
[✓] Get back into Taekwondo
[✓] Write semi-regular TL blog posts!
[✓] Meet GTR, Tasteless and Valdes
[ ] ...I'll think of more later...
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/bqmY28x.jpg)
Insadong! There are a lot of cool shops/restaurants here and Nakwon Music Arcade is close by.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/GqxOcwD.jpg)
Nakwon Music Arcade. My friend took this picture because I think I deleted mine. There are hundreds and hundreds of guitars and other instruments throughout the whole building.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pzy7Tt6.jpg)
sOs vs. Journey at Proleague. In one of these games sOs built carriers and tempests on Dusk Towers (I highly recommend watching that game if you haven't seen it).
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/9GaLr51.png)
Tea! I think this time I got honey tea because I was sick.
