Filling the Silence

 

I’ve become addicted to Dateline crime stories. There’s nothing on television other than Boardwalk Empire that I’m interested in following at the moment, so I find myself watching/listening to crime stories to fill the dead quiet. I’m trying hard not to start watching garbage reality shows, although one could argue the almost voyeuristic nature of crime shows outs it in the garbage category as well. Keith Morrison’s voice just has this anesthetizing effect on me.

Speaking of voices which amuse me, to this day, I’m still oddly upset about Eric the Actor dying. He died over a week ago. I listen to Howard Stern regularly and he was one of those characters that I love to hate, yet still admire. It was amazing how such a small person with so many health problems could sound like such a privileged prick. It’s sad. It’s sad how he’ll never call again. And it’s quite odd how I’m affected by someone that I don’t even know, someone that annoyed me the same amount of time he amused me. I guess it’s because he was a big part of a show I enjoyed, and now he’s forever gone from it. It’s almost like the same sense of loss I felt when Artie Lange left the show for good. If you don’t know who Eric the Actor is, I’m sure someone has a collection of his calls on Youtube if not the Howard Stern show Website.

Dental Fun

 

If you have dental coverage, proper dental coverage, thank your stars.

I used to not think too much about it, but after being applied scare and sale tactics while sitting on a dentist’s chair, having procedures done that I might or might not have needed, paying an exorbitant amount for them, and having more procedures scheduled, I think it’s just as vital as proper medical coverage.

Technically, I have dental coverage… coverage that barely pays for anything. Sure, we’ll pay for your root canal, but your dental crown, which arguably is the most vital part of the procedure, is not covered. So much for that! And as for dental fillings… that’s not covered as well. So yeah… I got dental coverage only if I’m dying from something in my mouth.

Oh and when I said I had procedures that I might or might not have needed. I believe dentists here, much like regular psychologists, are incentivized to find problems even when there’s none. I went to get my teeth cleaned in the morning. I also had fillings done. The dentist was selling me another procedure to be done on a molar, but it was too expensive, so I opted out and decided I needed a second opinion.

I went to another dentist in the afternoon. They gave me a cheaper price for the procedure I needed. Perfect! However, the dentist said I had minor problem areas which needed to be filled and/or cleaned. This, after coming back from another dentist in the morning. The place was cheaper, but it’s still a tad shady.

And as for medical. South Korea has fifty percent medical coverage. It’s better than nothing, but definitely much more expensive than proper full coverage I used to enjoy back in Canada. South Korea is not like the United States, but medical procedures could certainly still cripple people financially.

I miss Canada.

No English For Me

I’ve been trying to learn Korean on and off for the past few years. I’ve taken Korean classes, listened to tapes, did the whole Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur thing. My problem is there hasn’t really been many opportunities for me to practice speaking Korean, and my level remains pretty low. My wife and I speak English to each other, and I don’t need to use any Korean at work. I suppose it would be easier if I was interested in any Korean media, but there’s really nothing on television that interests me at all. As for K-pop, no. No, just no.

So what’s the plan now? From now on, the rule will be to use Korean exclusively whenever I’m home. It will be a frustrating experiment but it will hopefully force me to learn more Korean and get used to speaking the language, or at least get me used to speaking key phrases that couples use all the time. People on average use 5000 words out of the 50,000 to 250,000 words in their personal vocabulary. I figure most of those words combine to a handful of routine conversational phrases which I really should be practicing more (I guess that’s a bit of a sad state of affairs regarding conversation between married people).

Well, good luck to me, I guess. Hopefully I don’t get too bored, lose my sense of humor and personality, or just stay quiet the rest of the time I’m home.

I actually think my wife has a crush on one or two of the foreigners on Korean talk shows who speak fluent Korean. I suppose that’s natural, and I really can’t fault a person for that. It just boggles my mind however the extent that the foreigners on television who speak Korean fluently also pander and adopt behavior that for lack of a better word, is so alien to their home country (at least in my opinion) They also entertain topics of conversation that would at the very least get my eye rolling and at most, enrage me. Is this what happens when you learn Korean? Or at least when you learn Korean for Korean television?

Schadenfreude

I took this shot years ago. The comments are genuine and the only photoshopping done was to protect the authors. See, I’m  interested in tragedy, but I’m not mean. The comments are from an old, racist co-worker who hated my guts. This, despite me being the friendliest and most generous guy to him, if I do say so myself.

Facebook has fueled its empire with people’s desire to look at their exes and people they hate… an empire built on schadenfreude and regret. This time around, it’s schadenfreude. I have reason to believe the idiot is still single, and that woman is not stuck with a husband who thinks she’s inferior to her younger sister and looks down on her family.

I’d smoke if I didn’t quit years ago.

Carnival