Happy Chuseok!

Today, Thursday, is Chuseok—the actual day. Thor's Day. Does Thor celebrate the harvest moon? I wonder. Given the sad finitude of the Norse gods, he probably just sits upon his throne and broods about the upcoming Ragnarok.

So where am I on my list of things to do this holiday?

1. Tend to my eye infection and sore throat. Am still gargling, a little, and my eye infection seems already to have gone back down thanks to that antibiotic ointment.

2. Get a haircut. I tried to go out and do this last night, but I went out too late, and everyone was closing or closed. The one hair shop I did go into wanted W10,000 for a cut, so I smiled and got the hell outta there. I'll try again in an hour or so.

3. Watch some movies. I had to ask Apple for a refund since "Star Trek Into Darkness" didn't successfully download into iTunes. I watched "Trek" via Amazon Prime Instant Video instead. The movie was still OK; I caught some details I didn't remember from before, such as the "Kelvin Memorial Archive" sign at the street-level door for Section 31's secret offices.

4. Shop for kitchen stuff, and for other household stuff. I went to Daiso and bought large soup bowls, medium cereal bowls, small rice bowls, and tiny dipping bowls, along with two funky-looking, rounded-triangle dinner plates, some Western forks and knives, and a huge plastic serving platter for more fulsome meals. I also went to the local Point Mart and bought a large pot in which to boil some budae-jjigae, a stew of which I never tire. Still to buy: wipes for my sweeper mop, a tall bookshelf for kitchen storage (this might not happen until after Chuseok break is over), and some more clothes hangers.

5. Construct gnat and fruit-fly traps. I constructed one trap and left it in the kitchen all night. Not a single gnat went in. I think there might be a design flaw: the Pepsi bottle that I used is both ribbed and scored with weird, wavy lines. As a result, the "cap" of the trap doesn't fit perfectly inside the cylinder. This has the effect of allowing the delicious vinegar fumes to escape around the trap's sides, which means the gnats and fruit flies don't actually fly into the trap's mouth. (I moved the trap to my computer desk and watched as a gnat crawled along the trap's outside, breathing in the lovely vapor inadvertently emanating from the trap's neck.) I'll need to seal the circumference with tape or something—preferably clear tape, so I can see the little critters once they're trapped.

6. Do a walking tour of my campus. Nope. Maybe later today. Or tomorrow (Friday).

7. Visit Daegu proper. Again, no. I'm not even sure whether any of the sites I'd like to visit will be open today, it being Chuseok Day.

8. Meditate. Alas, no. Maybe tomorrow or Sunday.

9. Find a local mountain to hike. No, not done yet. I have a feeling this will happen last, given how big of a project it is.

So that's where things stand as far as my list of things to do goes.


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