New year fitness unoriginality

So it's a new year, and like everyone else, I want to be in better shape.

To this end, I've found a couple of belly dance classes around Seoul and will bounce around those until I settle on one I like. I took lessons for a semester four years ago but have not had time or money to do so since then, and thus have failed to improve appreciably. Yesterday I attended lessons from Belynda and the zills (sp?) made me feel dumb and the veil work taught me I need to lift weights more regularly. Can't afford finger cymbals of my own at the moment, but I hope to get some soon because I intend to practice. It was great, though, because I learned lots about the minor differences between styles that I hadn't been taught before.

I also want to check out lessons with Eshe. A woman I met in lessons yesterday said she'd taken lessons with Eshe but didn't care for them because of the tribal fusion focus, something which I would love to learn. I hope to go next weekend.

Also, I thought I'd share the five tips/rules I've been following that seem to have been working.

1. Be a grandma: I don't know about you, but my grandma always has candy or crackers in her purse. I carry a nutrition bar in my pocket whenever I go out so I don't have to stop in at McDonald's or Lotteria for a cheeseburger. Mmm...cheeseburger.
2. Be a 5-year-old: Last year I drew smiley faces on my wall calendar for every day that I worked out. Seeing them add up gave me both a sense of accomplishment and the motivation to at least go for a walk on a blah day. Today I purchased ridiculously cute stickers to put in my planner for the days I work out. Hey, if it works for 5-year-olds...right?
3. Hoof it: Anything I need in Ansan is within a 30 minute walk. Sure, walking in the cold sucks, but less so than standing 20 minutes in the cold waiting for a bus. Also, I take the stairs as much as possible.
4. No lollygagging: I hate people (read: Koreans) who walk slow. Even without time constraints, what would possess a person to walk slowly in subfreezing temperatures? Aside from burning a few extra calories by walking quickly, I warm quickly, too.
5. Go to the grocery store often: When the apartment is stocked, I don't have to eat at the bakery, at the burger joint, etc.

I took a "before" photo of myself at the beginning of the month and will post it alongside a "progress" photo at the end of the month. Since my arrival, I've lost 3 inches each from my hips, waist, and bust. Yay! I don't have a scale, though, so I don't know my progress in kilos. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to buy some new pants before long; there's only so much a belt can do.

New Year recap

Dec. 31- I went to the COEX and spent 15 minutes trying to find the exhibition hall. For W10,000 I got to see the Seoul Doll Fair. It was like nothing I could have imagined- there were fashion dolls, baby dolls, Bisque dolls, vintage dolls, sculpted dolls, exotic dolls, cutesy dolls, dolls based on historical figures and paintings, paintings and photographs of dolls, anthropomorphic dolls, figurines, celebrity dolls and busts, military dolls galore, movie dolls, cloth dolls, teddy bears large and small, life-sized in traditional Korean clothes, teddy bears in scrubs in an operating room, dollhouses, miniatures, and zombie dolls! There was even a collection of mechanical roller skating baby dolls just like the one I used to have as a child. Try as I might, I simply could not hold back my gasps and squeals of delight.

I got to stuff my own teddy bear and gave him eyes and a face.

I got business cards for every exhibit that I could, most of which have web sites. And with a little luck I may manage to navigate them in Korean. Sorry Mom, but I think my collection may explode after another paycheck or two.

Remembering it had been 17F during the day and was dark by the time I left the exhibit, I scrapped the ice skating idea yet again and bummed around the COEX mall for a bit. I decided around 8 that I was too tired to stay out all night and caught a train home around 9. Only I caught it going the wrong way and did not realize this until the last stop. This effectively tripled what should have been about an hour ride home, so that I was traversing a mile of icewalks when the clock struck midnight. Bah freaking humbug.

NYE Itinerary

As excited as I am about everything I plan to do this week, I'm pretty bummed out about not being able to spend NYE with my friends. Thanksgiving and Christmas away from home didn't bother me any, but I have a tradition of hosting rockin' NYE parties, and I'm really going to miss that this year. I think maybe I'm missing my friends more than my family because I'm more used to time away from my family. *Le sigh*

1 p.m.- Take the train (green line to Samseong) to the COEX for the Seoul Doll Fair. The more pictures I see, the more I think my head may explode. I am SO excited for this exhibit. Squee! (I've been collecting teddy bears, Barbie dolls, and dolls from around the world my whole life. There are way too many boxes of these things in storage in the States right now.)

After that- some train hopping to Gwanghwamun Plaza (purple line) for a second shot at ice skating. I have no time constraints, so I can stand in line until I freeze to death, if I so choose.

Before midnight- some more train hopping to Hongdae (green line) to rock in the New Year.

6 a.m. Saturday- must find food and something to keep me occupied for a few hours. Mayhap a nap in a warm coffee shop?

12:30 p.m.- Pick up at Hongik Station for ski trip! I only found out about this Monday, checked with my stepmom to see if the price was as good a bargain as it seemed, and wired the money this afternoon.

I got a wicked cute magenta shell-style ski jacket for W39,000 ($35USD) and am totally psyched for 3 days of skiing, swimming, and drinking with a big group of foreigners I've never met. I almost bought a fancy ski mask for W19,000, but thought better of it and got a black knit cap that will stretch to cover my whole head for W4,000. All I need to do is cut some face holes.I spent a little more than I intended on ski pants, but the shop had one pair in my size, discounted by 70%. In total, I got ski pants, ski jacket, neck warmer, and ski mask for < $100USD. I figure it's a good investment as long as I don't gain more than 10 pounds or so for several years, and you really can't beat that price. (Bargain-hunting is a Paullet family pastime.)

Not a day goes by that I don't want to rage quit this crazy country for some new reason. Today it happened while I was looking for sunblock. W9,900 for 125mL of weak-ass 35 SPF. That's less sunblock than would fill a cup of coffee. Fortunately, I made my way to the fancy, high end beauty products and found a small bottle of "olive mild FLOWER sun cream" 39 SPF broad spectrum sunblock for W4,900. Winna.

I'm hope everyone else in attendance will have a camera, so I can trade emails for photos.

I'll let you know how awesome it was when I return Sunday.