Down by the river

I went running tonight.... down by the river. It was quite nice running... down by the river. I'm still in Daegu staying with my friend. Luckily it can't be for longer than a week so hopefully I won't drive him too insane.

My last day at work was pretty surreal, much like all my other days there. The funny thing was that even though it was my last day it went by just like any other day. Right down to the end of the day. Actually that part was a bit different. When it was time for my to leave Wonderland for good I said goodbye to everyone, well more a mass goodbye as I headed towards the door. They all smiled and waved goodbye like I would be seeing them on Monday. I mean, I didn't care about any of them either, maybe it was better that emotions weren't feigned. Matt came out of the office after I'd walked out and shook my hand, wished me luck with everything. Not even Renee gave me a proper goodbye. It was all a bit strange. Usually no one is there when I leave on Fridays.

I went home, finished packing up my stuff. Jupiter came and collected the key. He actually drove me to my friends place. I told him I was going to take a taxi but me standing in front of my building with my large suitcase, travel backpack, smaller backpack, laptop case, and 2 pillows 2 blocks from any place a taxi could be hailed, must have looked a touch pathetic. We actually had a better conversation than we had ever had before (which isn't saying much). Turned out the whole office went out for dinner after I had left. I was so beloved there. To be fair, I skipped out on the last office meal because I knew I wouldn't really be wanted there. Ah, so funny and a bit depressing. I ordered pizza for the last time and my pizza couple seemed much sadder to see me go. They made all these sad faces and were confused since I'd only been there for 6 months. Everyone must know how the hagwons work. Speaks wonders that my pizza man was infinitely more affected by my departure. The kids too acted like it was just another day.

I saw Karen's mother at the garage sale day. It seems like such a scam, this garage sale day. All the kids bring in some unwanted items, donations I guess. Then the school affixes price tags to everything and then a few days later the kids come and exchange real dollars (well, won)for phoney Wonderland dollars and their goods are resold to them and Wonderland keeps all this money. Anyways, Karen's mother told me how much Karen liked me and that she will miss me. I suppose I already said goodbye to Karen on the field trip. She didn't want to do the relay race and I picked her up and she kind of just clung to me. If I ever have a daughter, I hope she would be just like Karen.

Anyways, my Wonderland life and my days of going by Shawn Teacher are gone for good. I'm never going to let anyone give me a different name again. That must sound really strange.

My friend had to go into work tonight. I decided to do something active so I went running down by the river. I decided the only reason I like having longer hair is that it moves with the wind. Makes me feel like I'm part of nature, gives me fluidity. Anyhow, I ran a bit too quickly at first and shortly lost my breath. Walked right by the river along these stones that are really just decorative since they were much worse than the worst cobblestoned streets in Europe. I crossed to the other side of the river and jogged at a reasonable pace for quite a ways. I got back to the main street of where I'll be living for the next 4 days or so and sprinted to the corner. Then I sprinted some more. I like running fast even though I can't do it for long. I even chased a car for a bit. Then I was going to return to the apartment but and I almost did but then I went running again along the streets sprinting past pedestrians and dashing between cars between alleyways. Luckily the stoplights gave me time to catch my breath again. Maybe I should go running everyday. I probably won't but maybe I could. Rambling time is over, it's ramyeon time now.