Reggie Thomson’s Diary

I needed some proper nourishment. I thought about going to Kentucky Fried Chicken. On the way, about twenty yards from the end of the tunnel to my hotel, is a Barbecue shop. I went in and was handed a menu. I chose the chicken-with-everything burger at 1900 won. It seemed to take ages to make. Someone gave me a small glass of cola to go with it. I scribbled a few words of songs as I ate. Later, I saw that the convenience stores stock burgers that you can heat up in their microwaves for only 1500 won.

I went for another whistle this evening. I wonder if whistling is illegal in Korea, the way it is banned in Japan? I don’t hear anybody else whistling.

I can’t tell if my whistles are original or copied. I seem to have so many tunes inside, and I don’t know where they all come from. My music seems only to have a four bar tune, but the good stuff has eight bars. I have a long way to go.

In the evening, I downloaded some midi files from the web. I guess I’ll have to start at the beginning by looking at other people’s works.

I went to the park beyond the tumuli this afternoon, and just sat in a tree, thinking about the tune for “I just want to live in a beautiful world.” It was a beautiful day.

On the way back, I collected some litter. Not a lot, just a bag. If only there were real reasons for being laughed at, not superficial ones. If only people were laughed at for walking by on the other side of the road. No! That wouldn’t do. It would make litter collectors into horrible people. It would be like the so-called “anti-abortionists” in America, who want to kill doctors who murder unborn babies. Or, like the “animal rights” protestors in England who trample on and pay no respect to “human rights.”

At last I am getting round to catching up on my month-and-a-half out-of-date diaries.

I started thinking about a new song - well, one that has a title and a couple of lines, but nothing more. The title is “I just want to live in a beautiful world.” The tune started to form, so I went for a long walk right to the other end of town, half-whistling to myself. My hair is too wild for Koreans. They stare and smile as they go past, then double up. They can’t control themselves. I checked in my mirror when I got back home. It’s a bit wild, but not that bad. There isn’t a mirror in the room. I have to use my computer, and set NetMeeting going with the video enabled.

I’m a bit disappointed with Koreans. I don’t have the freedom to just be myself. It’s just as bad in England, though. England is worse. Koreans have no freedom to be as they are in Korea. Here, they can hold hands, or put their arms round each other. Try that in England! It is pre-programmed into the English brain that such actions means “gay” or “lesbian”. You are liable to get arrested for debasing the public morals. I wish there were more courageous Koreans, who would disregard the self-righteous judgementalism of the English public and walk hand-in-hand in England. I think most of them just give in and give up. There is no freedom in the world.

I don’t know why I’m doing this. I’m trying to make a users class that will be capable of extension if ever I want postcards on my homepage. It’s something I really would like to get going. It might help to popularise my site. Mind you, I would probably have to reduce the image sizes to prevent information overload.

Church was packed. It was a different kind of service, for visitors. I was squeezed in at the back. I didn’t have a translator today. There was a talk and some hymns. At the end, the students group performed a small mime to music. At first I didn’t understand the message. It was done well.

I wondered at the ability to remember movements. Of course, it is my Western pre-programmed belief in Words that limits my thinking. Memory is magnitudes better when combined with actions and images. Here I am trying to remember what happened on particular days. Some of these entries are getting very short, and it’s only two weeks since the event. Yet this morning, when I write this (Saturday 15th June), I plugged in my water heater. Suddenly, I remembered that I had some difficulties getting the heater to work in the first week I was here. I don’t know why it was difficult, nor what it was that corrected it. Now it works fine each time.

Back to the memory. I didn’t remember to write this in the diaries for that week. I even wrote about the water heater on the 8th May, but my memory didn’t remind me of the problem. Yet, this morning, the action and image of plugging in my water heater brought back a memory. No wonder Jesus spoke in parables! And here we are, still with big churches, and still Preaching (with a few illustrations thrown in.) Is it surprising that I can’t remember many sermons? Hmm. It might help if I could understand Korean!

Afterwards Cho Yeon had to talk with some other guys she had invited along, so I went downstairs with Juliet. We had a nice meal, with makizushi. There was a talk by the student’s pastor (yes, I think the church has a pastor just for the students.) Then some songs, then we played a game. Someone went in the middle and chose a victim. “Do you love your neighbours?” If the answer was “Yes!” then the two people either side had to swap places, but the person in the middle could try and take one of their seats. If “No!” then the next question was “What kind of person do you love?” The answer could be, for example, “People with red shirts.” All those people would have to change seats, giving the person in the middle a chance to sit down, and someone else to ask the questions.

I was disadvantaged, not having a clue what was being said. Ye Do-Kyoung came to my rescue, translating into Japanese. When I found myself under interrogation, I said I would like someone with money in their pockets! The way I’m going, though, I’ll end up a pauper. It was fun.

I almost forgot to mention the cake! I was given a whole roll of delicious cream cake and lived off it for the next two days!

I continued with the computing as always, later on.

I think I’ll put the hrefs into the common file. That way, they are all in the same place.

I seem to have done a lot of duplication with my href references. Every class has its href function, which means that if I wish to change the names of the variables in the GET part of the URL, I have to look in every file.

The final conversion to classes is underway.

I was feeling pleased with progress. I went for a longer walk at lunch time, and started thinking about the fuzzy wuzzy bear song again.

I made a phone call to Cho Yeon. It was a bit confusing. She was working early this evening, so I walked all the way (it’s about 45 minutes from the station.) She was eating with her boss when I arrived, and invited me to join her. Her boss wanted to know how old I am. Too old. I’m forty. “Are you married?” “No, I’m still single.” “I think single people are selfish.” I had no reply.

Yes, that’s it. On the final judgment day there will be a loud “Get out of my sight, all you single people. Your selfishness stinks!” Only married people, who have shown their complete absence of any selfish thoughts by walking down the aisle, will be submitted into paradise.

Of course, I am a cynic. Marriage is a state of complete bifishness. English doesn’t have a word for selfishness that involves a pair. Only singles can be selfish. Once you are paired up, you are pleasing each other, which is nothing more than selfishness on a scale of two - but pairs don’t believe this.

I guess I don’t really have much to talk about. The boss did mention that she had met so many men through Cho Yeon. Hmm.