A NEW REVELATION
I came back from Japan on the 26th and shortly afterwards, it dawned on me what bothers me about Korea. Aside from just plain being too cold all the time, there is not sun! It's always dark, always overcast or cloudy, and that's depressing. I remember on one of the papers for our travel to Japan, they made a point to warn Korean customers to bring their sunglasses. I didn't think much of it at the time, except to wonder why. When I arrived in Japan, it hit me. It was bright!
I had not really seen the sun for almost three months and while I was sure something was wrong, I wasn't aware of what exactly it was. You see, even when I was in sunny California, if we had a long stretch of no sun, I would start to feel down. I like heat and I like sun. I think that's why I was happy in the Philippines, whether things were going great or not.
You may remember an old story from Book I about The Mist and the Ordeal. It was dreary for a stretch of days then too. It wasn't long enough to cause any real negative feelings, even though things were going so bad around me, but that's what it is like all the time here in Korea.
Now that I know that, and considering other factors involved in life here, I decided the only solution is to go back to the Philippines. I currently plan to, if possible, use the ticket I have back to Cebu City, but change it to direct me to Manila where a long time friend of mine lives. This time, I will remember some original mission parameters that I had initially forgotten while being caught up in some of the drama back then, and do things right.
In the time of that ordeal, a friend of mine wrote a comment which said, " I can appreciate you trying to settle and go all out...but why put yourself so close to the brink financially? Why not live in a hut and drink $1 rum until the bank account is stuffed with cashes again? You're spending a lot of money without any guarentee of filling it again." This time, that is pretty much what I am going to do. While not a hut exactly, the cost of the place I am considering will be in that vicinity. The idea is to live cheap and start accomplishing some of my original goals.
In my first ever post on this site, in June 2008, I wrote, "I chose to take my chances, hop on a plane and head to South East Asia. With few exceptions, many places in Asia have a cost of living as low as 20% of what it might cost to live in Southern California. There I could conceivably sustain myself on my internet endeavors and have some real adventure to boot." The problem was, when I got there, I went a more expensive route. I went to places that, while cheap compared to the outrageous prices in L.A., were not really cheap. I knew of guys living in places that cost in the range of $120 a month fo rrent, but I didn't do that in the end and it cost me.
Korea, in the end, is not really cheap either. Yes, it is possible to live very cheap compared to outrageous California prices, but that doesn't mean it is truly cheap if you want to save as much as possible. There are guys in South East Asia who are living on less than $300 total, and living good lives. I am not saying that is ideal, but it has its advantages. I can relax again, which feels impossible here, and settle into really working on my internet endeavors and build up some serious cash for further adventuring. Although there are ways to make more money in Korea, I feel like I have no time for anything I want, and the money vanishes quickly just moving around and living, especially playing with friends. Considering that side of things, the Philippines has advantages in every respect. In another post, I wrote, "I am really starting to see the potential for what devoting just a few hours per day to internet business can do for creating an incredible lifestyle here." That sounds like good advice.
So there you have it. I will try to call the ticket office tomorrow and hope they have someone there who speaks English. If I can achieve this, I am on the next plane out!
I had not really seen the sun for almost three months and while I was sure something was wrong, I wasn't aware of what exactly it was. You see, even when I was in sunny California, if we had a long stretch of no sun, I would start to feel down. I like heat and I like sun. I think that's why I was happy in the Philippines, whether things were going great or not.
You may remember an old story from Book I about The Mist and the Ordeal. It was dreary for a stretch of days then too. It wasn't long enough to cause any real negative feelings, even though things were going so bad around me, but that's what it is like all the time here in Korea.
Now that I know that, and considering other factors involved in life here, I decided the only solution is to go back to the Philippines. I currently plan to, if possible, use the ticket I have back to Cebu City, but change it to direct me to Manila where a long time friend of mine lives. This time, I will remember some original mission parameters that I had initially forgotten while being caught up in some of the drama back then, and do things right.
In the time of that ordeal, a friend of mine wrote a comment which said, " I can appreciate you trying to settle and go all out...but why put yourself so close to the brink financially? Why not live in a hut and drink $1 rum until the bank account is stuffed with cashes again? You're spending a lot of money without any guarentee of filling it again." This time, that is pretty much what I am going to do. While not a hut exactly, the cost of the place I am considering will be in that vicinity. The idea is to live cheap and start accomplishing some of my original goals.
In my first ever post on this site, in June 2008, I wrote, "I chose to take my chances, hop on a plane and head to South East Asia. With few exceptions, many places in Asia have a cost of living as low as 20% of what it might cost to live in Southern California. There I could conceivably sustain myself on my internet endeavors and have some real adventure to boot." The problem was, when I got there, I went a more expensive route. I went to places that, while cheap compared to the outrageous prices in L.A., were not really cheap. I knew of guys living in places that cost in the range of $120 a month fo rrent, but I didn't do that in the end and it cost me.
Korea, in the end, is not really cheap either. Yes, it is possible to live very cheap compared to outrageous California prices, but that doesn't mean it is truly cheap if you want to save as much as possible. There are guys in South East Asia who are living on less than $300 total, and living good lives. I am not saying that is ideal, but it has its advantages. I can relax again, which feels impossible here, and settle into really working on my internet endeavors and build up some serious cash for further adventuring. Although there are ways to make more money in Korea, I feel like I have no time for anything I want, and the money vanishes quickly just moving around and living, especially playing with friends. Considering that side of things, the Philippines has advantages in every respect. In another post, I wrote, "I am really starting to see the potential for what devoting just a few hours per day to internet business can do for creating an incredible lifestyle here." That sounds like good advice.
So there you have it. I will try to call the ticket office tomorrow and hope they have someone there who speaks English. If I can achieve this, I am on the next plane out!
posted by - Terrence at
3:01 AM
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