my midweek weekend

The boss saw how sick I was when I came in to work on Monday, and he declared that I should stay home on Tuesday. Having never taken a sick day before, I found my circumstances very strange. I'm not a workaholic, but it felt odd to have nothing to do. Nevertheless, not being one to argue, I spent all day Tuesday in bed, getting over my current cold, which is a "lite" version of the nasty mōmsal I had a short while back. I'm feeling better now, and the boss called to check in on me, but he decided I should take a second day off—this time not because he felt I was too sick, but because he was getting antsy about how many comp-time hours I had racked up (over 70). So I'm burning off 16 comp hours just to make the boss feel less antsy.

Sorry for the lack of blogging earlier. There are things currently happening in the office about which I am forbidden to speak, and those things are acting as a major drag on morale and esprit de corps. I might be able to write something at a much later date, but right now, the issue at hand is too sensitive for me to do any more than hint at it here. If you're really curious about the details, please email me.

Since I've got nothing but free time on Wednesday, I'll be heading out to get another dojang made. It's been a while since I've talked about dojangs, so here's a reminder to those who've forgotten what they are: they're red-ink stamps or chops, usually made of stone, that are used on works of calligraphy or brush art as a sort of artist's signature. Cheap wooden or plastic dojangs are also used by Koreans in modern times in lieu of a signature when certifying official documents. Dojangs are sometimes also called "seals" in English.

I'll be looking for a stamp shop that allows you to upload your own stamp design. Such shops abound in the Insa-dong art district, so I'll be heading there. I've got an old stamp design on a thumb drive; at the shop, I'll hand over the drive, have the artist upload the data, then use a computer-operated machine to make me a cheap dojang, probably out of plastic or wood.