R.I.P., My Nokia N8

I have been using Nokia phones for years now. If I counted right, I have used four Nokia phone models on my Globe Handyphone account long before I left for South Korea.  


And when I moved to Seoul, I decided to keep my post-paid Globe Handyphone account so that I could still keep in touch with family and friends even when I am out of the Philippines. I just needed to have my line's international roaming services activated.


But on November 5, 2010, my Nokia 6600 conked out on me; it just wouldn't turn on anymore. It just died! I called Nokia Korea and asked whether they have a Nokia smart phone model available here. They had none, at that time.


So, I asked my friend Jeannie, who lives in Hong Kong, to purchase for me, a new Nokia N8, a 3G-capable model which I could use in Korea, which was recommended by another friend, Manny (in Manila). And when Jeannie flew back to Seoul, she brought my new Nokia N8. I paid and thanked her for the favor.


And it's not yet even a year. Today, after I finished charging the Nokia N8, it stopped responding. I pushed its buttons, I touched its screen, I even prayed over it! It just died, too!


I called Nokia Korea again to ask for help (through my office phone). And the English-speaking girl from a call center in China (based on the country code on my phone caller ID) returned my call. I told her what happened, and she promised that somebody from Hong Kong (I told her where I bought the model) would call me back. 


Until now, nobody has called.


Dear Nokia, if you're reading this, I badly need my phone working again. Every now and then, my Mom would text me, and her messages range from words of concern (during the Yeongpyeong Island bombing of North Korea), to birthday greetings (just last month!), and to the most frantic (reminders that I don't forget her deep-red Estee Lauder lipstick and Elizabeth Arden 5th Avenue perfume!). You wouldn't want to catch my Mom's ire. She was  a barangay captain for 22 years, you know. You wouldn't want her knocking on your door with her ever loyal legion of barangay tanods. 


I could not access my appointments calendared on the phone, I could not access my contacts, I could not use the camera nor access the photos I took, and worse, if I miss my meetings and appointments, my boss and friends will kill me!


So, Nokia, do let me know what I have to do with a dead Nokia N8. Should I bury it? Cremate it? Are you sending a representative to the funeral? I so trusted your technology. Don't fail me again.

                       (my Nokia N8, during happier days)


Please don't disappoint me, Nokia. I have been your faithful customer all these years. On Nokia Korea's website, Nokia X6 is available in Seoul, which means after-sales service is available for this model.



R.I.P. means...Replace Immediately, Please. 

            (my Nokia N8 whose clock stopped at 10:57AM, 
                               its time of 'death')

The Cakes Of the Moon On The Day of the Sun!

I wasn't sure whether they're exactly of the moon. But the news that the mooncakes sent by my very thoughtful friend, Jeannie from Hong Kong, have arrived sounded yummy just the same!

I had to wake up early today, a Sunday, to pick them up from her sisters' home in Haebangchon, a residential neighborhood near Itaewon, popular to expatriates including Pinoys.

                                    (kimchi pots!)
So, I took my favorite Blue Bus 110 from Hannam-dong, got off at the Noksapyeong Station bus stop, and continued my crusade on foot.

Even though it's still summer, moving around in the early morning when the temperatures are still cooler and the breezes are still generous is a better idea than going outdoors at the time of the day when you can actually read  the words 'global warming' written on the face of the sun. Ha-ha-ha! In italics!

                         (the very helpful village bus)
Without sweating, I made it to Jeannie's sisters' home, which was situated on an alley with an amazing view of the Seoul Tower! They are living right under shadow of the iconic symbol of Seoul! I can just imagine the view they have every night when the tower changes colors. Perhaps, a night visit to this alley with my camera would be an interesting photo walkabout.

                                 (the Seoul Tower!)
And since most of the weekend clouds were still relaxing on their corner of the sky, I actually had a good walk around Haebangchon, taking photos of the main road with my mooncakes on hand.

                                  (a Pinoy store!)
A pile of kimchi pots, a village bus, early morning joggers and early risers on their way to their weekend jobs all shared the Sunday morning walk along Haebangchon with me (and my mooncakes!).

Thanks to Jeannie (and her sisters), I was able to enjoy the cake of the moon at the end of my walk on the day of the sun. 

                        (mooncakes crossing the street!)


Maybe a hopia next time? Ha-ha-ha!

                             

The Village Bus For The Village People

Only for the second time in my years in Seoul, I rode the village bus!


The village bus has its route around a certain neighborhood, making it convenient for people and students to move from home to market, to school, to the next city bus stop, or to the nearest subway station. And since its route is short, it's also smaller and the fare cheaper!

And today, the first Friday of the month, I had to run to the Philippine embassy to catch the First Friday Mass that will be celebrated at noon.

Luckily, and conveniently (!), there's a village bus in my neighborhood whose route runs up to the Hyatt Hotel at Nam-san, next to the Philippine embassy! 

Since this bus is smaller, I was worried whether there would be enough space for commuters today. And that I'd be standing all the way with my head hitting the ceiling during a rough ride! (But an empty seat saved my head from the torture!).

This is what I like about Seoul. The convenience of moving around: from the city bus for city people, to the village bus for the village people (this is where we sing...Y-M-C-A! Ha-ha-ha!).

With the help of Yongsan's Green Village Bus 03, I was able to catch the First Friday Mass (and the Pinoy lunch after!).

(after the Holy Mass, an even holier lunch of kare-kare, pancit molo, lengua, bihon, fish fillet and Coke!)


Until the next first Friday...and village bus ride!

Buddae-Jiggae: The Messiest Korean Food To Eat

And it's because of the small eating bowl! Ha-ha-ha!

Buddae-jiggae is always cooked on this oversized, round shallow pot, right on the table. It should be big so that all these various ingredients of Spam (my favorite ingredient!), noodles, beans, slices of sausages, tofu and vegetables would be able to swim on the boiling spicy broth, while its steamy vapor tries to induce you to salivate while it's still cooking. 

And when everything's cooked, rice on a small tin container and a small empty (and shallow, too!) bowl, are what you need to help you chow it down.

But I need a big plate! After all, those ingredients came from a cauldron! Ha-ha-ha!

And as if eating from the small bowl isn't torture enough, the clumsy splashing of the red broth would require you to ask for an apron from the ajumma, so that your shirt wouldn't end up turning red with the spicy buddae-jiggae broth.

Although it's that messy to eat, buddae-ji-ggae always gives me a memorable time on the table...complete with a spicy torture, a shallow bowl and an apron.

And The Answer To A Hot Summer Night Is...

I was planning to head home early and hit the gym, but with the warm temperatures even in the early evening, transferring on foot from Line 4 to Line 6 at the Samgakji Station already felt like a workout.

So, after getting off sweaty and hungry at the my favorite subway station, Itaewon, I decided feed myself and regulate my boiling body temperature. I told myself that I already had my workout that night. No more gym, and no need to hurry home.

And after grabbing a taco and a burrito at the nearest fast food, I still felt like the evening was still incomplete. I didn't have yet the answer to a hot summer night. An icy delight was missing.


And here was the answer!

A cup of Cake Batter flavored ice cream from Coldstone, being enjoyed inside an air conditioned room while watching the Itaewon crowd by the window.


So, this ice cold delight (plus the perfect spot to enjoy it!) will always be the perfect answer, no matter what the question. Ha-ha-ha!

The Question On A Hot Summer Lunch Time....

I asked myself whether it would be a good idea to venture out into the hot weather just to visit the building manager's office just to pay my monthly dues.


A stupid question with an obvious answer.

So, I went. I got into the subway station and headed to my neighborhood during my lunch break. Unfortunately, the office was closed when I got there, but I wanted to make sure that this trip out of my cool office and into the scorching pavements of Hannam-dong would serve its purpose.


I knocked on the glass door until somebody got irritated with the noise, stood up and welcomed me into her lunch break.  Ha-ha-ha!


I was able to pay my debt, and the trip was a success. But with the heat and the hunger clocking in at  noon, it was time to seek shelter and a meal.


The small restaurant in my block was an interesting option. I always pass this by as I make my turn home every time. Now, it's time to pay my respects.

I went in and ordered the less fatty from the menu: Japanese curry. A Japanese curry? Is this Japanese or Indian?

Well, it was curry and rice, and I could not tell whether it was created in Tokyo or New Delhi. Maybe it was created in Hannam-dong. Ha-ha-ha!


I didn't care. I was hungry, in a hurry and needed a cool room. 

(the coffee artists)

After I was done, I headed to my bus stop. But the cheaply priced iced cafe mocha (only KRW2,500!) from a cooperative coffee shop run by Korean ajummas looked like a sure complement to my confused curry lunch.  I ordered and two middle-aged ladies, with their four hands, brainstormed just to create the iced masterpiece for me. 

(iced cafe mocha, an R16 fan and a Nokia)

And just in time for the bus, their debt-free, curry-full and coffee-holding customer got into the bus and rode back to earning a living....

(at the bus stop)

BBB Korea And The Hallyu Train!

                          (the BBB trip participants)
There must have been hundreds and hundreds of people who applied to join BBB (Before Babel Brigade) Korea's 5th International Friends Day last July 10, 2011. And luckily, I made the list!

                            (at the Seoul Station)
BBB Korea, an organization 'of volunteers who share a common vision of a society free from cultural and language barriers,' held a day-trip to Nami Island (yes, the holy land for Winter Sonata fans!) , to the poet Kim You-Jeong's home, and to the Chuncheon Makguksu Museum, all in the Gangwon Province.

                                                      (the hallyu train)

More than 200 Koreans and foreigners on the trip, including the BBB volunteer staff, assembled at the Seoul Station that morning for train seat assignments and registration.  

I think the reason why there were hundreds of applicants for the trip was the interesting places the trip would cover and the cost!  Each of us only had to pay KRW10,000 which included the train ride from Seoul Station to Chuncheon and back, the ferry ride to Nami Island, bus transfers, a packed lunch (from Outback Steakhouse, no less!), an orange BBB t-shirt and of course, the free makguksu-making tour! 

Who would pass up the chance? If you break down the whole cost, it would easily sum up to more than KRW70,000!

And lucky us! We were able to ride Korail's hallyu train!


If I remember right, the hallyu train has about eight cars, and even includes one 'event' car, where there's a DJ and a space where people can have fun! The train is even painted on with fun colors and drawings.

The train ride from Seoul Station to Gapyeong Station in Gangwon Province, was about an hour and 15 minutes, most of it you can while away by chatting with your seatmate or by watching the Korean countryside from the window.

                       (the view from the train window)


And all the happy travelers arrived safely and on time at Gapyeong Station.

                                        (arriving at Gapyeong Station)

                                                (the orange BBB tee)

(Mr. Yoo, the BBB Chairman, welcoming the participants through the hallyu train's TV)

Thanks to the BBB for the whole trip!

Next stop....the Naminara Ferry Ride!