My birthday is in a little over a week, and this particular birthday is special, because it's when my driver's license expires.
All right, notable, not special. But you get the idea. That meant I had to go get it renewed. It's a bit of a faff considering all of the pandemic-related restrictions still in place, and I don't mean the whole "do everything online" thing. That should be easy enough, but the government still believes in doing things in person, at the expense of the whole "do everything online" thing they rushed into place.
Did you know that, in theory, you're supposed to be able to set an appointment for your license renewal online? That, once you've passed the (online) continuing driver's education test, you can apply for an appointment the same way you do with your passport? But the LTO website will ask for a medical certificate. Insist on one, actually, to the point that you can't progress past the first step without handing one over. But you can't just get that certificate anywhere. It has to be at an LTO-accredited clinic, meaning it has to be at one of those clinics near the license renewal centers whose sole purpose seem to be handing out slips of paper that say you're medically fit.
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My adventures as a K-pop listener are well-documented, sparingly here, but more often on the old music blog.
It's been six years, come to think of it. It was six years ago when we flew to Seoul for the final week of 2015. Between our first snow (which wasn't much, considering how it was a warmer-than-usual winter, supposedly) and our many adventures with street food, I asked Shalla to compile me a playlist of Korean songs to accompany the trip. She ended with roughly 900 songs, a good mix of idols and indie obscurities.
Come to think of it, my adventures have gone longer than six years. Nine years? Shalla introduced me to K-pop before we officially started dating. I have said I listened in part to generate content for the music blog - that first entry was about Lee Hi - and, arguably, that openness led to us being together all these years later. But maybe it's too cheesy for the vibe I'm going for with this entry. Also, I digress wildly.
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It's always weird, how we get images of a snowy, chilly Christmas despite being in a tropical country.
Take today. Anyone who (still) plays Animal Crossing would know that today is Toy Day, which boils down to a reindeer character enlisting you to distribute gifts to the folks you have so meticulously curated on the island you have so meticulously curated. Now, sure, toys are universal, but today is also a really snowy day on the island, which makes sense until you look out of your real-life window and realize it's, like, really sunny. Like, blindingly sunny.
Sure, we could perhaps rip a page off the folks in the Southern Hemisphere, where Christmas happens in the summer and - at least judging from the Australian and Antipodean examples - the day itself is punctuated by barbeques and beer by the beach. But it doesn't quite work either. The beaches are far away (I say this as a city dweller) and we pride ourselves on being a family-oriented culture, so we all instead gather in a big house and deal with distant relatives and their inappropriate remarks.
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A new supermarket opened a month back, and it's on the building right beside mine. A two-minute walk.
It couldn't have come in at a better time. I'm getting tired of driving a relatively short distance to my usual grocery, but don't want to walk that far anymore. I don't think my body can take it. But I also need my exercise. Oh, and I may need to stick to my budget more, what with my pay shrinking in real terms and all that.
That also means the unexpected convenience of being able to get away with going to the grocery without having to prepare like I'm going out. I mean, it's literally next door. I have done my weekly rounds wearing my home slippers. Without having taken a shower, even. I mean, I'm sure I don't smell that bad. I also still brush my teeth.
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Apparently there's a term for this thing I do when I listen to radio stations from other parts of the world: "radio tourism". Leave it to the cool kids to devise an implicitly derisive name for something that other people enjoy doing, no matter how weird it initially sounds.
Sure, who actually takes the time to listen to radio stations from elsewhere, especially if those places don't speak English? What pleasure does one get from it? But then, those questions remind me of how people scoffed when I began getting into K-pop, only for them to really get into it when it became cool and/or convenient and/or profitable for them. And then they say they've been there first?
But I digress, extremely. "Radio tourism". That's my starting point. Apart from potentially discovering music - that's how I powered a music blog - it allows me to live vicariously, somewhat. I can't leave this island for the foreseeable future, so listening to radio stations from elsewhere is the next best thing, never mind that I haven't been to a lot of places. Right now I'm listening to a station broadcasting from Los Angeles, and there's honestly no chance of me going to the United States. (Not that I dream of going there now.)
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