Well, I officially have a living room! I ordered a rug, a couch, and a bookshelf and they are all now situated in my apartment. It really makes the place look better. The couch I got was pretty cheap too, only about $70. I did have to pay a $35 delivery charge though which sucked. But I came home one day last week and there it was, waiting at my door. It wasn't quite like the picture online, but its good. A few other people at work ordered couches as well, but theirs are smaller than mine. John also left me that little coffee table (technically I think its a sacrificial table), so now I can put all my clutter on there, and have my other table free as a dinner table or use it as counter space since I am lacking in that.

Dexter got neutered last week. I was really hoping that it would calm him down instantly, but I guess not, he's still crazy. In fact, I think he is more crazy. He's now trying to get into any bag or cat carrier I leave on the floor and destroy it. He has also taken his first leap from the upstairs loft. Although it wasn't a completely unaided jump, he broke his fall halfway down by jumping off my back while I was standing in the kitchen cooking. A coworker recently adopted a Korean kitten as well, and apparently she is having the EXACT same problems I had with Dexter a while ago: the constant biting, sneak attacks on the face while trying to sleep, meowing, overall crazy attitude. So I guess Korean cats are just psychotic in general, which is probably why they are not very popular here.

My afternoon classes had their first tests. The teachers are in charge of making, grading, and writing evaluations for the tests. Dear lord, I hate test day. It was seriously 2 hours of "Teacher, what does this mean?" "Teacher, what do I write here?" "Teacher, I don't understand". There was one part on the test where they had to spell about five numbers, and half of the asked "Teacher, how do you spell twenty?" that's the freaking question! I can't tell you the answer! The number twenty wasn't even on the test! Some of them didn't even read the question before the asked. One question said "place a or an in the blank spot before each word" yet many of them still came up to ask me what to do. One girl came up for every reading comprehension question saying she didn't know the answer, but when I read it out loud for her she could think of something (and yes this girl can definitely read). Next time around, I am definitely refusing to answer mundane questions, and it's going to be way more multiple choice.

I'm going to a wedding in a few weeks, so I went dress shopping. Daniel is going to be the best man, so I figured I had to look good. I only brought one dress with me (because I only own one dress) and I'm pretty sure it's not very flattering for my body shape. So out with Mr. Jackson I went to try to find one. I finally found the dress but of course it's not in my size. But the store did do custom dresses of certain styles, and I found one that Tim and I both liked, so I got measured and ordered the dress. I thought the wedding was in May, so I told her not to rush, but then Daniel told me it's in fact in two weeks. So I frantically called the next day, but the woman assured me it would be ready in ten days. I certainly hope it looks good on me, it's an A-Line, and I told her to make it flair out a little more to help hide them birthin' hips of mine. Here is a picture of the display one in the store. I chose a silver colored silk for mine though.

I did get some sad news. Daniel's visa is being revoked and he has to leave the country in two months. He was originally planning on leaving at the end of August anyway to go back home for his sister's wedding and to visit family members. So we planned on going to China together since I have a break at the end of July. But now I guess that's out, and he has to leave at the end of May. When he goes home he's going to get the proper paperwork and funds together to come back on a business visa, and start his own company. But it will mean that he will be gone for at least 3 months. So to make up for China, we planned a trip for a three-day weekend I have in May. We rented a really nice hotel in Busan, one that is right on the beach, and that I got for almost 50% off the listed price. So we're planning on making it a nice romantic/going away weekend for the two of us. It's going to be hard to be without him for 3 months, but I'm really hoping that when he comes back he will move closer to Seoul. By the way, check out the great purse he got me the other day, just because he is so amazing.

I've been cookin' up a storm lately. Last weekend I made great bacon, cheddar muffins and chocolate chip cookies. Ps cookies are really hard to make if you do not have beaters! Especially because Korean butter is a little strange and doesn't quite get as soft at room temperature as regular butter. This weekend I made french toast, homemade mac and cheese (which I still prefer the Kraft kind too. I really miss cheap mac and cheese **hint hint wink wink in case anyone ever wants to send me a few boxes, I would be eternally grateful), and sugar cookies. I would like to be able to make more intricate items, but it's hard when you don't have a house full of baking supplies and spices. Or when you're in another country and can't read the labels or even know what kind of apples you're getting at the store, and when you can't ask for help either. I really want to make pie, but I can't find pie crust, and it's hard to make it by hand if you don't have a processor. Also no graham crackers for cheesecake crust. Hopefully I will learn soon about appropriate substitutes.