LIPSTICK INDEX

Lipstick Index is a term they use out here when talking about the economic situation. Basically when the economy is suffering and consumer confidence is low, the sale of lipstick goes up as women still wish to shop and look good, but can't afford the usual clothes, handbags, accessories, etc. I thought that was kind of funny. But maybe it is also said in other countries and I've just never heard it.

INSADONG SNAPS

FROZEN SPLASH

It's cold here. Really cold. Even the Canadians I work with are complaining about "the cold". It regularly drops below -8 Celsius.
The other evening it was -8.5. I bundled up and went to the gym on my dinner break. On the way, I passed a frozen splash. I guess a car or something had driven through a puddle in the street, but before the water had time to flow from the street back into the pothole from which it had came, it froze solid. This glassy, frozen splash reflected the neon lights of the bars on the dark street and was quite mesmerizing. I've never seen anything like it before.

HAVE YOU SEEN GATTACA?

Have you seen the movie Gattaca? It's an old (1997), but good movie about the future and which genetic direction we may be headed in. Judging from this BBC article it looks like this movie may have predicted things right.

MIXED SALAD

Last night in a bar along with our beer we were served a 'fruit salad'. It consisted of kiwi, watermelon and banana. And of course, tomatoes, peas and corn, all mixed together and covered in strawberry yoghurt. Delicious! Thanks Korea.

ORANGE

MY BABY

SEOUL TOWER

I recently visited Seoul Tower, or Namsan Tower as it's also known, with some friends. This centrally located communication tower is a tourist attraction because of the great nighttime views of Seoul and also because of a recent fad for young couple. Following the actions of a celebrity couple, it has become trendy for couples to buy a lock, attach it to the tower's fence and then throw away the key as a symbol of their everlasting love. But as this Korea Times article highlights, this trend is causing some problems.
I have no one to share a lock with (ah, poor me :(), but visited for the views and to see what all the fuss was about. And it is a really nice place to visit hosting four observation decks, a revolving restaurant, some cool hanging art/scuptures and a teddy bear museum.