last night mel took me 2 experience a little bit of home in a fancy seoul shopping centre. she said nothing other than the fact that we were going 2 “irish potato,” her frugalness with the details leaving me free 2 dream up a vision of utopia; a sit-down restaurant with a menu dedicated 2 everything potato: boiled potato, diced potato, mashed potato, steamed potato, roasted potato, scalloped potato, chipped potato, sliced potato, fried potato, grated potato, potato skins, potato wedges, sweet potato, seasoned potatoes, baby potatoes, potato salad, hash-brown potatoes, sour-crème & chive potato, potato latkes, potato pancakes. oh boy, it was going 2 be good & certainly a night 2 remember. so good in fact that even before i’d laid my eyes on the nirvana of starchy goodness that i, being the optimist i am, assumed we were approaching, was cursing myself for never having graced its door previously (& i was anticipating 'irish potato' surpassing nuri (dirty) bar as my new favourite place in seoul).
well, rarely before have i experienced the magnitude of let-down that i experienced upon seeing/experiencing ‘irish potato,’ somewhere only irish in name. if 'irish' is chips/french-fries served in a tub, doused with overly sweet chilli sauce (my choice; there were other topping options, none of them overly irish) & consumed on a bench, albeit a nice bench, in a shopping centre hallway (the door i was so looking forward 2 gracing didn't actually exist), with a stellar view of an indoor car park then... then... then i’m mr. tayto himself. was i expecting 2 much? obviously. will i be back gracing irish potato’s counter any time soon? not likely. but i do know where 2 go if i ever need cheap beer; cafri sells for ₩1,020 (€0.57) in the same shopping centre. so the night wasn’t a total loss after all. ‘livin' with seoul’ anniversary
this saturday, the 31st, marks my 1-year anniversary of arriving 2 work full-time in seoul. 1 whole year. the fact that it - the anniversary - falls on a saturday is convenient. the fact that i’m working on the same day isn’t. oh well.
‘livin' with seoul’ photo album
check out the latest pics, including those taken on the ck team-building/drinking ‘workshop’ last weekend & that of an irish proverb i’d never before heard of.
speaking of photo albums. mel has her own on-line photo album (she actually has 2 albums... the 2nd one, a picture from which is shown above, is mel's "mucking around with photoshop album" to use her words). both albums showcase her growing photographic skills. she’s keen -very keen - & even has plans 2 buy a dslr. all this coming from someone who doesn't, yet (as i said she's keen) know iso from f-stops from depth of field. hell, she didn’t even own a digital camera of any kind until earlier in the year. on-line photo albums & a dslr. & they say imitation is the highest form of flattery.
what I’m listening 2 right now
i'm actually watching, & thus listening 2 commentary, of an on-line feed of the 1st game of the world series. you gotta love the internet. go yankees!
