Day 12:
So far in work, I've been given letters and essays to translate, and also had to stand as a translator for a family with speaking difficulties. Today, I put stuff on shelves.
The reason for this sudden menial task was that the Summer camp for adoptees had just begun, and with a good chunk of the staff being away, there wasn't much to do.
So asides from a few letter translations here and there, I spent most of my time putting documents on the right shelf. Not that I minded - it was kinda fun; you had to find the right year and number folder to put in adoption documents, and the storage shelves were impressive. It was rather like finding books in the library, which is an enjoyable task from my perspective. Even after all that I was let off an hour early because "really, there isn't anything to do" as all the workers told me. Well, I don't mind that either.
On another note, I found out that Philippe, a Korean-French guy and only male worker among the staff, is sort of a celebrity, having appeared on this TV program where you travel around Korea, released an album, and also shot a milk commercial.
...Damn. Having not lived in Korea most of my life, I never watched or knew about the TV show he was in, but still, that's kind of awesome. He seems like a nice guy, too, offering snacks and teasing people all the time so they can loosen up. Yeah.
When I came home, my aunt was watching TWILIGHT. She's never seen it before, and while fipping channels, decided to stay on it to see why so many of her little girl students were crazy about it. "Oh god," I thought, but I decided to watch along as well, just to see how it was ACTUALLY like. I don't know about the books, but the movie was a big, long, "meh". The characters weren't too convicing, but it wasn't THE WORST SHIT TO EVER EXIST EVER. It was just... really dull and immature. My aunt, however, was all, "Oh, it's a fantasy! I can see why the girls like it, it's kind of interesting."
WHAT.
My aunt is like a younger and more outspoken version of my mom, and since my mother is a reasonable and respectable woman, by default my aunt is also a reasonable, respectable woman. And she just said Twilight was interesting. I felt a corner of my mind implode and create a black hole, like somebody just divided by zero. It didn't make sense. Though if I were to defend her sanity, I'd say that when the general Korean public were exposed to Twilight, they heard taglines such as, "Bestselling international romance novel", "Fateful love between a girl and a vampire", "Made into international box-office hit Hollywood movie" instead of, you know, "Edward the glittery stalker and Bella the Mary-Sue male-dependent doormat". It's natural that foreign audiences are more receptive of this mega-popular work that they keep hearing about... right? RIGHT???!!!!
Day 13:
As I was getting ready to leave for work once more, one of the staff called me. Since everyone was out for the Summer Camp today, there would be nobody in the office, and therefore, I got a day off. Although I'm only doing this work for the month and I like my work, being human, unexpected days off work are always welcome, especially when said work is a three-hour commute total. Yipee!
So I had lunch with my aunt, chilled, and looked after my little cousin, etc etc etc. Later in the day, when my aunt had tutoring class, I left for E-mart to see if I can buy some shirts and cosmetics, as well as running errands for family.
I know I am really indecisive when it comes to buying not-essential-for-basic-survival stuff for myself, but GODDAMN I'M ABSOLUTELY HOPELESS. During the two and a half hours of shopping, I've tried on multiple shirts and saw multiple lipstick samples, but I could not for the life of me bring myself to say, "Okay, I will buy this." There were some shirts that I liked, but I wondered if long shirts weren't fashionable, or if it was the smartest choice considering the weather, if it would go well with my other clothes. What if there were better shirts out there and I regret my purchase?
Lipsticks were even worse. I've already decided that I only need a coral-colored one and a peach-colored one to use for all times, but this one was too glittery, this other one looked too obvious, that one was too subtle, that other one seemed nice but it was expensive... meanwhile, I felt the stares of the store staff, looking at me in exasperation, as if saying "FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE IS SHE GOING TO BUY SOMETHING OR NOT?! SHE'S BEEN THERE FOR HOW MANY MINUTES AGAIN?!"
In the end, I only bought the things I were asked to buy, and my aunt made fun of me for it. "Two and a half hours of shopping to only buy a laundry net and orange juice!" I know, I know, I'm overly indecisive, but, I just want to make sure I buy the right thing! What if it wasn't refundable? I don't want to use my money if it meant not using the said item in the end and putting it away somewhere! I need to be sure I am absolutely satisfied with it! At least I don't waste any money, Right? ... RIGHT???!!!
...and this is why I hardly buy anything when shopping with friends, and why I prefer shopping alone. So as to not annoy the hell out of anybody accompanying me.
My little cousin is impressed with the amount of writing on this entry. I should end it about here now, too.
