Cookin with the King

Hey guys and gals,

Just a short update, since I reformatted my computer, all my internet codes have been lost and I'm not really trying that hard to get them back, so things will be a little sporadic.

And just a note: I really, really, REALLY love cooking to Elvis Presley music, and I have no idea why.

More to come at a later time/date/soon-ish!

J

Now why can't I have an acting agent like this!...or you know, at all.

Greetings Bloggers.

Well I'm sitting in the coffee shop in rainy downtown Fredericton, the first part of my last stack of comics sitting beside me (The new shipment just came in when I got there, I asked Derrick to put my regulars aside for me one last time) and enjoying a nice cup of green tea. I know I should really be sorting through my belongings and getting rid of as much as possible, but I've always been a bit of a procrastinator. And I really want to enjoy the things that I find enjoyable or important in this city while I can, and reading comics in Read's is definately one of them.

I'll be honest, I'm not really in a mood to write anything right now. I want to write a bit about how long I plan on going to Korea for, but not right now. And I want to take the time to write about my experiences getting to this point, but that's going to take awhile and I just don't feel like writing it all out, maybe later tonight.

But I would be absolutely remiss if I did not take the time to throw a huge thank you out to my recruiter, Dan Henrickson, and his company: Teach ESL Korea.

This is the deal: If any of you ever think about following me across the world then you must go here: www.teacheslkorea.com

Dan has been helping me through this since the start and I really don't think that I would be here without him. His website is one of the most informative I've read through and he's always ready to help and answer any questions whether they are important or not. He is there for you 24/7 and always with a smile in his voice. Even if you accidentally call him at 5 in the morning...(Sorry Dan!!)

He taught me how to count in Korea after I expressed a frustration at trying to learn the system, and he pulled it off when no other site I found could make it make sense to me.

Any time a job fell through for me, and let's be honest, this happened a lot. Dan was always there with advice, words of comfort and most importantly another job offer. He never pushed me to take a job I didn't want or was uncomfortable with, he even offered to proof read my resume when we found out a company almost turned me down because they thought my british spelling meant I had an accent.

But the icing on the cake came yesterday. I had promised Dan in an earlier email that when I made this Blog I would toss the address over to him. Well I did and received a prompt email later that night. Now as I've said Dan is a really nice guy so I was expecting words of encouragement, "great Job James, Looks good, keep it up" You know the general stuff. Which was there. But on top of it Dan sends me website links and advice on how to try to get pizza with Hamburger and Bacon in Korea! Admittedly with the footnote that neither of these meats are plentiful, but still!

So in honor of Dan I have a mission now. Whereas before I resigned myself to being cut off from my pizza of choice, I now swear that before I leave Korea I will eat a pizza with hamburger, Bacon and extra cheese!

Until next time guys.

J

Are you excited yet?

Hey everyone,

If there is one question that I am asked over and over again by just about everyone that I bump into, run across or stumble by, it is this: Are you excited to be going?

My answer is always the same, "Sometimes I'm excited and other times I'm terrified." I figure that this is a pretty normal response because of course I'm excited, there are days where I can not wait to get onto the plane and get this adventure started. There are other days where I think that I've lost my mind for even consider this and want to call the whole thing off, I mean I'm moving across the world!

Its the little things that make this fact sink in. Take pizza for example. Anyone who has been close to me for an extended period of time knows that my pizza order never changes: Hamburger, Bacon and Extra cheese. Sausage if they have it. Sure I'll get peperoni or meat lovers if I'm lazy and buying by the slice or for a bunch of us, but if its just me then I will always order the same. This is an order that has not changed since I was at least 4 years old, probably earlier. Just the other day I was reading through my favorite blog that's being written by a couple over in the city I will be moving to. They were commenting that their co-workers had ordered pizza for lunch again and the topings of choice were shrimp or squid. "That's gross," I mused to myself, "But I can always order my...oh poop"

You have to understand that I had certain requirements when I chose to make this move. I wanted a city with a large enough expat population that I wouldn't be entirely lost in translation, but a city where I could really experience Korea and its culture. I've promised myself that I will try everything! Someone puts fried scorpion in front of me, I will eat it. Someone drops a plate of octopus down on my table, I will take a bite. But I always had the comfort that if I really missed home I could splurge and grab a burger or a pizza. I've realized that While I can, it might not be the pizza I expect.

I'm sure this seems like small potatos but for me its a pretty serious deal. I've always lived a transitory life and so the few things I look to for grounding are important to me. But as always I'm sure I will adapt.

I have another thought process on how long I'm going for, but I'm afraid that will have to wait for later.

See you!

J

Welcome to CTG, version 2.0!

Hey everyone, Jamie here!

I would like to welcome you all to the newest edition of my blog: Comedy, Tragedy, Geekery.

I'm sure those of you who have been following my online livelihood are wondering why I decided to start up a new blog when I already have two others floating around the net, that I never update. Furthermore why I'm using the same name as the last one.

There are a few reasons for this, the first is that this rendition of CTG is most likely going to be viewed by a much larger group of people then the last because it will be my space to write about my upcoming adventures in the Land of the Morning Calm. So I wanted a fresh start and I wanted a URL that was easier to remember, or at the very least made sense in the context of the site.

For any newcomers here, this blog isn't my first. Comedy, Tragedy, Geekery originally started early this year in March over at wordpress.com and was a blog on my life as both an actor and as an avid member of the gamer culture. Hence the name of the site. If you aren't aware, Comedy and Tragedy are the names of the smiling and sad mask that you see in theatre all of the time.

So CTG has moved to its new virtual home, and soon I'll be moving to my new home as well. I leave for the city of Gwangju South Korea on the 13th of December.

I'm going to try to update this blog regularly in the coming weeks so that I can get myself used to it and to let everyone know what getting ready to move to another country is like. I'm curious what you all think of this? Any advice to give? Questions you might have? Please ask away and I'll do my best to answer.

If you're at all interested in the earlier portions of my life, they can be found at CTG's first home, located at: rennick.wordpress.com and at my old livejournal account: ookamishadow.livejournal.com

I warn any who dare brave the LJ, the further back you go, the more sappy and emo it gets.

I think that will be all for the first update to CTG in Korea, talk to you guys soon!

J