expect strangeness for a bit

Slowly but surely, I'm settling into my new place. I have a ton of unpacking to do, but not much energy with which to do it. Today, I worked for four hours at the Golden Goose in Daechi-dong, but Daechi-dong is now a full two-hour commute away from where I live in Goyang, so this was more like an eight-hour day.

There have been some hitches. The adjustable table that I'd bought doesn't have any metal pegs to allow adjustments to happen (the table has extendable legs; the legs have holes in them, and you stick metal pegs inside the holes to prevent the legs from collapsing). The pipe under my bathroom sink decided to collapse and spew water the first time I used the sink; I had to text the landlady, who sent her son to fix the problem with a roll of weird, green duct tape. I'm not sure that that's going to hold for very long; it might be better to use some sort of sealant, but I don't think the landlady's son is much of a handyman, which means it's probably going to be up to me to do something about the pipe if and when it falls apart again. Another bathroom problem: the shower attachment is a mess: the hose leaks along its entire length, gushing out so much water that almost none of its comes out of the shower head. So that's another problem needing fixing, and I'm probably going to fix that myself as well.

I've got some pics of my yeogwan, as well as pics of my boxed-up possessions. I'll stick those up when I have the time and mental energy to do so. I have no bed yet: am currently sleeping on the floor. This state of affairs won't obtain for long, though, as I've finally mastered the We Make Price app and managed to order a bed, linens, and a nightstand; those ought to be arriving early next week. The way it works with WMP is this: you order from the online catalog; a text message is sent to you with a bank name and bank account number; you then have twenty-four hours to wire money to complete the transaction. Once the money is wired, you receive both texts and emails confirming the finalization of the purchase, after which it's just a matter of waiting for your items to be delivered. I find the payment method to be cumbersome and primitive; with Amazon.com, the site simply debits your credit card or bank account or whatever, and shipment happens right away, without twenty intermediate steps. Korea has a lot to learn about how to make online shopping a smooth experience, but I'll grant that my friend Tom is correct: We Make Price offers products for much, much cheaper than what you can find at regular brick-and-mortar stores.

So things are going to be a bit strange, blogging-wise, until I get my place squared away and find myself with a comfortable bed, sleeping like a human being again. Expect photos of the new place once things are in order.


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