In answer to those questions I'm sure you have

Are you wondering:

a) Where the hell has Joel been?
b) What the hell has Joel been doing?
c) Why the hell haven't I talked to Joel lately?

If so, I have some answers, albeit brief and not very detailed. And if you have other questions, you're screwed, because those questions are not what this post is about.

I have moved. Yes, my school in Korea which I had taught at for approximately 6 months, went out of business. I'm currently sickling (not really a word, but you get the point) through the bullshit known as immigration. See, my visa was for my old school, and now I have to get one for my new school. Usually, this is pretty simple, just a transfer of the visa, no (or very few) questions asked. But since a) I only completed half my contract, and b) my school is closing, this process has gotten infinitely more confusing.

How confusing? Enough that I have no idea what exactly I will need to do to get my visa corrected for my new school. And I've been trying for a week. Today I learned I might have to go to Japan -- just for one day -- while they process the visa. This would be a pain in the ass, as it's not cheap and is wholly inconvenient. The simplest solution to my dilemma is that the immigration office only needs a form from the tax office that shows my school closed, and then they can transfer my visa to a new school.

Sorry for all the swearing. Believe me, this is less than I was using when I learned all this information.

Oh, and yes, there is a new school. I work in Bundang now, just three subway stops from my previous job. Things are hectic. Monday was the beginning of a new school year, and the school is, for the moment, one teacher short (he's coming later this week) -- so all of us were rushing frantically from one class to the next, covering each other's classes and pretending as if we had a grip on the requirements of the textbooks. We also had to remember all the new students' names.

But it will get better. I'm positive. In the meantime, I can delight in my new apartment -- which is awesome. And I can delight that there is a food shop just down the street from my building that serves Western style sandwiches. Yes, that is indeed a hard thing to find here.

As for other news, I just finished reading a book by Jean-Paul Sartre. That was fascinating. I have to say Sartre was kind of half-assed, though. He couldn't see anything beyond his own ideas. On the surface, I agree with him. He would say there is only a surface, and anything below that is an illusion. Maybe. But then what is the illusion?

That is not a good critique. In fact, it's laughable. And Sartre would probably surprise me with a few things. In fact, I have to say there was a whole lot I agreed with. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the only way a philosopher can never get anything wrong is never to speak. Which I think says more about the futility of words than about the fallibility of rational discussion.

I digress. I have shit to do. Goodbye.