...and it's the effing weekend.

Weekends are exhausting. At least kind of.
Today I went to Lotte Mart on foot, walked around for a long while, and ended up leaving with all sorts of cool stuff. Including computer speakers and CD-Rs, excluding bedding.
I know, I know, I know. I went there for bedding. But anyone who knows me shouldn't be surprised by this at all.
The best thing was that they accepted my American credit card.
It's been pretty easy distributing my expenses over my different methods of bringing money so far; I brought traveler's checks, my debit card and my credit card. There's an ATM at a convenience store just down the street that will let me withdraw money from my bank account without a charge. There's still a bank charge, of course, but it's nice that the ATM doesn't double-dip. That was always a gripe of mine back home.

Joel and Tom came by this afternoon after my Lotte Mart adventure and we ordered a few pizzas from Domino's. Which is right by my place. Like, right next to it. To the point that I use it as a landmark if I'm venturing South of my place, around the Suribong intersection (large four-way intersection, lots of cars- I cross this to go to work or anywhere South of me, really). It was nice to kick it with them for a bit- we went back to Joel's to eat. Those two are characters, they really are... they picked up some toy guns from E-Mart and got into a few heated standoffs here and there, hilarious to watch. Joel's internet is hooked up, so he grabbed a subway map and threw it on my flash drive. We also watched Bruno from a streaming site and, oh man, anyone who hasn't seen it isn't missing much at all. We stopped about a fifth of the way through to save ourselves the headache.

Tom also showed me how to get hot water in my apartment. It's really easy- you just push the button to activate the thermostat and the hot water heater kicks on instantly. Everything's gas powered, so that's why there's just one button. No more frighteningly cold showers for me... now I have control over that aspect of my life once again. It's quite a nice thing to have control over. Trust me, you don't know what you got 'til it's gone.

What else... oh, I got my first lesson in Korean fashion today. When I went to Lotte Mart, I was immediately drawn to the men's formalwear department. It was easy to see because all of their ties are SHINY AS HELL. Seriously. Shiny. Glittery, almost. It's something else. I didn't buy one today, but I'm sure I'll end up back there at some point. Just don't laugh if you see me wearing a glittery, pastel pink tie. I know nobody will because I know I can pull it off. ;)

I also ran over to a local convenience store today. Went for more hangers, a clothes drying rack (because nobody really uses dryers over here) and a bunch of bottled water. That was fun to carry home. :P

Sounds like Tom and Joel will be stopping by tomorrow to take me to the nearest train station so I can buy a T-Money card for the public transit system. These cards are great- they're refillable transit cards that also give the bearer a discount on tickets, transfers and even taxi service. So if you ever forget to bring some money when you're heading out somewhere, it's no problem so long as you've brought your keys. Yeah, your keys. The card's really tiny to the point that it's an acceptable keychain or cell phone accessory.

Anyway, Joel tells me that there's a huge electronics store at the station two stops North of here. Huge. Keyboards, CD and Vinyl tables, guitars, speakers, you name it. I'd love to check it out tomorrow- I'm a little upset that I bought computer speakers today, but I do tend to jump the gun. I might just put them up on Craigslist - Seoul and see if I can get a decent bit back. I'll lose money, but so is the price of being reckless.

I'm also familiar with how to get to Seoul using the subway system thanks to Joel's map. North to Bupyeong (붑영), transfer to the Eastbound 1 line, take it to Seoul. No problem.

Now that I have a subway map, I'm really anxious for Global Gathering in September. Huge electronica festival held in multiple countries. And piss, I've missed the Jisan Valley Rock Festival which featured Basement Jaxx and Dieselboy... that was today. Son of the bitch. Best case scenario they both show at Global Gathering, I guess?

Damn it. I was excited about that. But it's probably more important that I get settled in and get everything together right now. By September I'll be more than prepared to venture off to wherever Global Gathering is being held. I'm way way way excited for it. You've no idea. Not only is it a huge electronica festival but I'm pretty certain that it'll be one of the most amazing days, if not the most amazing day, that I've ever lived. Excitement.

It's getting late here and I've had a long day. Going to poke around on Craigslist - Seoul for a bit, pay my Won and get to bed.

Bones.

-토맛