Some of you may have been wondering about the lovely cuddly teddy bear noted in the picture above. Wonder no more! It was a gift from a good blogger friend of mine, who claims to be from some "Old Country" and shares the same sick sort of taste in black horror/gore comedy movies, such as "Sean of the Dead" and "Lesbian Vampire Killers" (it's not what you think!)and numerous other such rib-tickling/hide-behind-the-sofa movies.
I simply suggested another couple of titles, the likes of "Black Sheep", "Dog-Soldiers" etc and for my hard-pushed effort, got rewarded with his nibs above. Normally, this is a very prestigious award, only given after numerous commenting on his blog - I posted once with my suggestion, and Bingo! Cute isn't he? I shall name him Fred - as a tribute to my Uncle, who had the tenacity to tell me a joke about 'Fred Bear! I cringed.... I was 35 years old.
Monday, 15 February 2010
Why I dont blog every day...
A couple of my friendly American readers (Hi, S and B!) pointed out that I don't blog often enough! Fair point, although sparks of creativity do take a little time to mature in my greying faster than before matter.
If I was so inclined, and wanted to write every day, I could write up a whole load of negativity about Koreans and Korea, but that would just be poisonous to both myself and the country who has welcomed me with open arms. Besides, there are a number of other "bloggers" who do that very well. Therefore, I write about my more pleasant and humourous adventures in the land of the morning calm. Please be patient!
Korea has celebrated Lunar New Year, AKA Chinese New Year. This takes place dependant on moon phase (as the term "lunar" applies) and is celebrated by many Asian countries along with their expat's in a huge number of others. In Korea, it also means that each person becomes one year older!
Let me explain: When a Korean is born, there are officially one year old. When New Year happens, they then get another year older. This adds another year onto their Western age, so when the are Western aged 1, they are actually 2 or 3 years old depending on when New Year falls. Understand? No, neither do I. One of the more interesting but common questions you will be asked when in Korea, is how old you are. This as previously blogged, will determine the both level of respect you deserve, along with pecking order. It also proves interesting, when you ask back, and are asked in response "proper age or Korean age?" It has a couple of benefits, including one for which my Son was very worried about, as he was due to come over for a vist: the national drinking age - which is 19 here. It's Korean age, so he would have been ok for a small glass of Soju when out with us at night!
So Happy Birthday to all Koreans! You'll be over the hill at least one year before me!
If I was so inclined, and wanted to write every day, I could write up a whole load of negativity about Koreans and Korea, but that would just be poisonous to both myself and the country who has welcomed me with open arms. Besides, there are a number of other "bloggers" who do that very well. Therefore, I write about my more pleasant and humourous adventures in the land of the morning calm. Please be patient!
Korea has celebrated Lunar New Year, AKA Chinese New Year. This takes place dependant on moon phase (as the term "lunar" applies) and is celebrated by many Asian countries along with their expat's in a huge number of others. In Korea, it also means that each person becomes one year older!
Let me explain: When a Korean is born, there are officially one year old. When New Year happens, they then get another year older. This adds another year onto their Western age, so when the are Western aged 1, they are actually 2 or 3 years old depending on when New Year falls. Understand? No, neither do I. One of the more interesting but common questions you will be asked when in Korea, is how old you are. This as previously blogged, will determine the both level of respect you deserve, along with pecking order. It also proves interesting, when you ask back, and are asked in response "proper age or Korean age?" It has a couple of benefits, including one for which my Son was very worried about, as he was due to come over for a vist: the national drinking age - which is 19 here. It's Korean age, so he would have been ok for a small glass of Soju when out with us at night!
So Happy Birthday to all Koreans! You'll be over the hill at least one year before me!
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Phew...
Here comes the weekend, and not a moment too soon!
We have just finished a tough 3 day Quality audit from one of our customers. This is not an audit where they come and look at the books, and balance the chequebook - Oh-no, this is a kill-or-be-killed approach, where the auditors pour over the Quality system and documentation to international accredited standards, such as ISO9001, ISO14001, OSHAS18001, TS16949 etc (Yes,we are accredited to all of those standards!.
We have to first say what we do in a rather large and cumbersome manual, of which ours is database type but still no eaasier to access, and then prove we do what we say. Sometimes there is a mismatch between the two, and this upsets auditors big time!
Think of auditors as small rat-like dogs, the kind, which if allowed to get hold of your trouser leg between their teeth, are unlikely to let go until they either get booted off, or get a taste of blood.
What makes the audits intense, is that even if you dont have a particular clean answer for them, you can usually bull-shit your way through to an compromise (I am told I'm good at this, but I dont beleive a word!) , but in Korea, getting a straight answer from the shop-floor operators or even the managers can be vexing! Remember some blogs back I talked about how the Koreans LOVE to tell a little story, before you actually get anywhere about what you actually asked for! It becomes even more complicated because I have to use a translator to work between us all. A non-technical translator can be a nighmare!
So, audit over, and a few minor non-conformances to deal with, we can now suply all global locations of our customer. A small headache has appeared in my frontal lobe, and I can feel the muscles in the nape of my neck tensing. Methinks a tot of nice Famous Grouse will help remedy those tonight - if I had some! Damn you Korea - where can I buy my favourite tipple?...
We have just finished a tough 3 day Quality audit from one of our customers. This is not an audit where they come and look at the books, and balance the chequebook - Oh-no, this is a kill-or-be-killed approach, where the auditors pour over the Quality system and documentation to international accredited standards, such as ISO9001, ISO14001, OSHAS18001, TS16949 etc (Yes,we are accredited to all of those standards!.
We have to first say what we do in a rather large and cumbersome manual, of which ours is database type but still no eaasier to access, and then prove we do what we say. Sometimes there is a mismatch between the two, and this upsets auditors big time!
Think of auditors as small rat-like dogs, the kind, which if allowed to get hold of your trouser leg between their teeth, are unlikely to let go until they either get booted off, or get a taste of blood.
What makes the audits intense, is that even if you dont have a particular clean answer for them, you can usually bull-shit your way through to an compromise (I am told I'm good at this, but I dont beleive a word!) , but in Korea, getting a straight answer from the shop-floor operators or even the managers can be vexing! Remember some blogs back I talked about how the Koreans LOVE to tell a little story, before you actually get anywhere about what you actually asked for! It becomes even more complicated because I have to use a translator to work between us all. A non-technical translator can be a nighmare!
So, audit over, and a few minor non-conformances to deal with, we can now suply all global locations of our customer. A small headache has appeared in my frontal lobe, and I can feel the muscles in the nape of my neck tensing. Methinks a tot of nice Famous Grouse will help remedy those tonight - if I had some! Damn you Korea - where can I buy my favourite tipple?...
Monday, 1 February 2010
There's cheap...and then there's me being cheap...
Remember my cheap find of the century a few posts back? The one where I found the Queen size sleigh bed? The one which cost not a bean? Well, It's about too!
I have been looking around for a nice comfortable but cheap-ish Queen sized mattress to go with it, but on-line shopping with free delivery turns up only full size beds complete with mattresses - not what I want! I have tried local shops here in Ansan, but again, only full beds complete, or Korean style mats for the floor. I want whoever sleeps in it when they visit to sleep comfortably, as they are all used to Western styl-ee sleeping arrangements. I also dont want second-hand ( I dont know what shennanigans heve been going on someone elses mattress, and I certainly dont want to lie on it either).
So, although a little off-topic, does anyone know where I can get a good quality Queen size mattress for and pay as little as possible? (delivery included)
I have been looking around for a nice comfortable but cheap-ish Queen sized mattress to go with it, but on-line shopping with free delivery turns up only full size beds complete with mattresses - not what I want! I have tried local shops here in Ansan, but again, only full beds complete, or Korean style mats for the floor. I want whoever sleeps in it when they visit to sleep comfortably, as they are all used to Western styl-ee sleeping arrangements. I also dont want second-hand ( I dont know what shennanigans heve been going on someone elses mattress, and I certainly dont want to lie on it either).
So, although a little off-topic, does anyone know where I can get a good quality Queen size mattress for and pay as little as possible? (delivery included)
If I jump, I rattle....
Many bloggers, including my self have written about trips to see their local Korean doctor's to assist in minor ailments, such as back pain, twisted knee's, Man-flu disguised as H1N1 (how do you know it wasn't?) etc. The first reaction of the doctor is to stick needles in draw blood (but I only came in with a bad knee!) spend several thousand Won on tests you never knew you needed, then tell you about high cholestorol, no Hepatitus B immunity yadda-yadda-yadda... The second reaction is to fill you full of pills.
Take my own case in point - I went to said doctor at the beginning of January with a badly twisted knee, the story of which is a long one, but suffice to say it involved our Canadian friend from across the way. I was helping to lift some furniture, and I found my self on the heavy end of a rather large wardrobe defying gravity whilst his end was carefully on the ground. He shouted at me to drop it as he couldn't hold on any longer, but with 6ft of solid wood between him and me, I kinda lost the message and wondered why it was bearing down on me like a giants boot onto a pesky 'roach. It didnt hurt at the time, but next day I was hobbling for the Olympic Gold medal.
Doctor feels up my leg, and suggests a needle plus meds for the pain - "no thanks" said I am hyperdermic-phobic, and would prefer just the tablets. I get a prescription for 5 days of anti-inflammatories, and pain killers. I take 'script to chemist and get presented with 15 individual little sachets each with 4 different tablets inside. Looking at the tablets gave no clues as to the type of medicine, nor tha manufacturer. I suspect due to the "low" cost of the meds, that they were of Korean origin, as Western meds are "very" expensive from the chemists.
6 days later, the knee was no better. I left it for another week just to see if it would improve. No. Back to Doc's for second try. Another 5 days meds, same types. day 6 no better, back to Doc's and another feel-up session. try another session for 10 days he say's, but with different meds. Much better now, either that or the pain meds are working better than before. We'll see how it feels in 8 days time.
Anyway, my point is, I am endlessly amazed at how the health professionals just chuck a general course of meds at you - it's the scatter gun approach to health care in Korea, hopeing that one bullet will hit it's target. Those, my hypertension and Cholestorol tablets each day, are making me sound like I'm rattling! Listen carefully for me coming round the corner....
Take my own case in point - I went to said doctor at the beginning of January with a badly twisted knee, the story of which is a long one, but suffice to say it involved our Canadian friend from across the way. I was helping to lift some furniture, and I found my self on the heavy end of a rather large wardrobe defying gravity whilst his end was carefully on the ground. He shouted at me to drop it as he couldn't hold on any longer, but with 6ft of solid wood between him and me, I kinda lost the message and wondered why it was bearing down on me like a giants boot onto a pesky 'roach. It didnt hurt at the time, but next day I was hobbling for the Olympic Gold medal.
Doctor feels up my leg, and suggests a needle plus meds for the pain - "no thanks" said I am hyperdermic-phobic, and would prefer just the tablets. I get a prescription for 5 days of anti-inflammatories, and pain killers. I take 'script to chemist and get presented with 15 individual little sachets each with 4 different tablets inside. Looking at the tablets gave no clues as to the type of medicine, nor tha manufacturer. I suspect due to the "low" cost of the meds, that they were of Korean origin, as Western meds are "very" expensive from the chemists.
6 days later, the knee was no better. I left it for another week just to see if it would improve. No. Back to Doc's for second try. Another 5 days meds, same types. day 6 no better, back to Doc's and another feel-up session. try another session for 10 days he say's, but with different meds. Much better now, either that or the pain meds are working better than before. We'll see how it feels in 8 days time.
Anyway, my point is, I am endlessly amazed at how the health professionals just chuck a general course of meds at you - it's the scatter gun approach to health care in Korea, hopeing that one bullet will hit it's target. Those, my hypertension and Cholestorol tablets each day, are making me sound like I'm rattling! Listen carefully for me coming round the corner....
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