I'm not a cat lady...

... but I do love my new kitty (thanks to Anthony and Violet for allowing me to take him as my own!)  He's starting to finally become accustomed to living with me and has found all his favorite hiding spots!  I've come home from work the last couple days to find him asleep under my bed covers!  

Last night I followed him through the apartment, snapping pictures, so I could share with all of you, and document the progress of his diet!  Yes, he's on a diet! 
This cat is F-A-T (which I secretly kind of love)!!!

He loves to sleep on his back with his paws up in the air...  I snapped this as he was starting to fall to the side!  Usually, he's perfectly straight on his back!  I love it!

He loves to follow me from room to room, and is usually rubbing up against my leg or arm, looking for a good head scratch, which I'm always willing to give! :)

This is his favorite toy.  It's a little squeaking rabbit/bear stuffed animal.  I see him stomping on it with his hind legs once in a while, trying to make it squeak!!  Violet and Anthony said "it's his oldest friend in the world, and he can't live without it!"   

He's curious and smart!

... and he's almost perfectly symmetrical!  He has a target shape on both sides, and stripes that run parallel to each other, all the way down his back!  My favorite is the heart right smack dab on the top of his head!  

He loves, loves, loves treats!  What cat doesn't?!  But he only likes to eat them when they're hand feed them to him!  Not sure why, but I don't mind! 

I just love him!

Overwhelmed!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit overwhelmed this year with my teaching schedule!! I'm teaching 24 (40 minute) classes a week, and when you're teaching ESL, that means you're basically performing all 40 minutes of every class!  There isn't ANY downtime, and I never sit down during my classes here!  In fact, sitting down is a big no-no in the Korean teaching culture!  

Whenever I feel overwhelmed about something, I make a list... It's the OCD in me!  This time my overwhelmed-ness transformed itself into a lesson plan chart!  If any of you are teachers in Korea, I highly recommend making yourself one of these!  I have a print out for each week, with my class schedule, the grade and class I teach, and who I teach it with.  After it's printed, I write notes in each class box so I know what to do, and can look back to see what I taught the last week or the week before that!
It's the only way I feel like I can stay on top of it!!

You can easily make the template in Microsoft Excel, and if you're like me, it'll give you a piece of your sanity back!  Here's hoping I have at least 1 class cancelled this week!

Happy Monday everyone!

Hello Kitty!

I don't know if it was going to the cat cafe that reminded Aaron and I of how much we love animals, but when our friends Violet and Anthony wrote on facebook that they needed a new home for their beloved cat (since they're moving back to the US and can't take him) Aaron immediately messaged me and asked if I was interested in having a cat?!   I was a bit shocked, to be honest, since Aaron is much more of a dog person, but I went with it!  Next day, we were at Violet and Anthony's apartment and they were handing "Ninja" over to us.  You could tell they really loved him and that it was hard for them to say goodbye.  They have raised him since he was a kitten.  He's now 2 1/2!

Aaron took "Ninja" back to my apartment while I met up with Ashley and Meagan in Centum City for some laser hair removal (OUCH!!!!) and Mexican food!

I excitedly returned home around 10:30pm to find Ninja hiding under the bed.  He came out a couple times to give himself a tour of my apartment and to check out all of the nooks and crannies that he could hide in when he got scared!

When I picked him up and set him on the windowsill to see how he liked it, he went and hid behind the curtain!  He was obviously terrified and very confused! Poor lil guy!

He spent most of Saturday and Sunday afternoon hiding under my bed!  It was almost as if I didn't even have a cat!  I went along with my business, and attempted to design our wedding invites!  I thought about hand writing each one, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of endeavor!!

It was about noon on Sunday and I had only seen "Ninja" who I now just call "Kitty", a few times in the last 48 hours!  He had found his new little comfort spot under my bed!  So, with Aaron's help, we took apart my bed and threw the frame out on the street, leaving my mattress on the floor of my apartment!  Poor Kitty didn't know where to hide anymore!  It was kinda sad for the first 5 minutes or so, when he tried to nuzzle his head under the mattress!  But, then... after an hour or so, he calmed down and found his new favorite place on my windowsill. 

Look at that face!!!

It was about this time on Sunday night when I knew Kitty was getting more used to me, and was starting to feel more relaxed and at home in his new abode! 

I fell asleep at about 11:00pm last night and woke up about 30 times to Kitty playing with his toy, jumping all over me in bed, scratching at the carpet, meowing, batting at my feet which were peaking out from under the cover, and just being a little terror!  Loola told me this morning that Kitty is good practice for when I have a baby!  LOL!  I'm hoping I can get him on my sleeping schedule somehow so I can get a good nights rest soon!  Cheers to being the mommy of a cat!

mmmm Curry!

Aaron, Me, Loola and Okk had a little dinner party after work last night at our favorite Indian curry place in Gukje Market.  It was so fun to introduce Aaron to Loola and vice versa.

It's not often that foreigners have a good relationship with their Korean co-teachers... 

But, I like to think God hand picked these two for me! :)

Love them!

Yang Yang Cat Cafe

In a country where people live in tiny studio apartments with no front or backyard for pets to play in, a cat cafe is, as far as I'm concerned, genius!  Meagan found this gem of a cafe last night and texted me right away with pictures of her, surrounded by darling felines!  One picture was all I needed to be convinced that I, too, needed to go play with the kitties!

So, tonight, Meagan, Ashley (who I met tonight and already love) and I met for dinner in Nampodong...

...and then headed to Yang Yang Cat Cafe, which just opened this week (or maybe last)!  Anyway, it's on the 4th floor, between McDonalds and POPCORN...just look for the blue and white sign!  When you open the door, you'll be met by a small shoe room.  Here, you take off your shoes and slip on some comfy slippers, then open the next door and you're IN!

There were about 15-20 Koreans spread out around the cafe, most of which had a cat in their arms or lap!

We ooed and awed for at least 10 minutes before settling in and ordering some tea (7,000 won)! 

It's the only thing on their menu.

Meagan is the epitamy of a Cat Lady!  haha.  She's going to kill me, but it's true!  She loves, loves, loves cats!  I may or may not be right behind her on the cat lady scale! 

This little schmooch was one of my favorites!  It just cuddled up on this blanket and minded it's own business all night, but he/she had the sweetest face and softest fur!

We joked that this one was the AJUMA of the cafe!  Ajuma is the word Koreans use for an older, kind of rough around the edges type of woman!  This cat was the only scary one in the place!

"Cat Ladies!" *

There are 21 cats in total and they're all allowed to roam around and do as they please!  There are currently 3 gorgeous white long haired, blue eyed, kittens who love to play hard and cuddle after!

Meagan and I spent at least 15 minutes with this awesome hairless cat sleeping on our laps!

Ashley and her siamese baby!  It had slept in her lap for about 20 minutes and when we got up to leave, she set it up in her lap and it just sat straight up in her arms!  Classic! 

If you love cuddly cats, live in Busan, and like to drink tea, this is the place to go! :)  I'm planning to take Aaron here soon... hoping to convince him that we need a kitty after we get married!  lol

 

With my luck, he'd only want the hairless kind! 

Thanks for a great night Yang Yang!  See you soon!