LIFE IN THE OXYGEN TENT

a good evening to you, my bloglets
your faithful fireseed checking into the cyber motel once again
at your fave cyberport
'the art of living'
cheers for giving me a few mins
of your preshus day, my seeds...
tonight is chuseok eve
that time of year when the thoughts of kindly korean son-in-laws
turn to presentation packs of spam
a thoughtful gift for their dear mama-in-laws
(needless to say one that this seed's m-i-l shall go without)
a bright harvest moon waxes high in the seoul sky
lighting the way home for many a cheerful beerful drunk
fireseed treating hisself
to the remainder of a bottle of aussie white
chez moi
had a lovely day
invited some friends round for lunch
kris and gulcin
ate heartily
lentil curry & couscous
olive oil and balsamic vinegar
bulgar wheat and berkera
a tasty aussie white
fine jasmine tea and good espresso
sat out on our lovely roof terrace
as the sun sank over seoul
balmy temperatures for october
h having a good time riding her trike
and showing off for the guests
pretty as a picture in her summer dress
took her to the playground afterwards
to burn up some of that energy
that only 3-year-olds have
(i wish i had it)
now h asleep on the couch
j out with a pal...
don't know bout you guys
but this seed been enjoying some much needed r 'n' r, friends
some productive internet surfing
unearthed this little gem of an interview
off tony dushane's pirate cat radio show
a chat with 'the man':
steve kilbey
lead singer-songwriter of 'the church'
a big musical inspiration
since i discovered em over 20 years ago
monsieur kilbey is one cool druid
(and it turns out he's a vegan too!)
just listen to what he's got to say about
ageing rockers
ageing gracefully
playing acoustically
artistic integrity
nurturing creativity
etcetera, etcetera
i could listen to that cat all day...

life in the oxygen tent
cut off from reality
the boy in the bubble
that's how it feels for fireseed
living in sk most of the time
staying in the comfort zone
home to work
work to home
on the #9 bus
off the #9 bus
on the #271 bus
off the #271 bus
past the parades of slim, mini-skirted, sleek-haired agassis
holding hands
gawky four-eyed teenage boys
in their under-sized school uniforms
puppy fat toilet brush-haired girls
in their ankle socks
in the shower and iron a shirt
espresso n toast for brekky
(clunk!!!! h falls off sofa in lounge
and lands on floor
daddy picks her up
and nestles her on lap
in front of computer
then thinks better of it
and puts her into bed)
...rewwwwwwwwiiiiiiinnnnnddddddddddd...
espresso n toast for brekky
another espresso in the local cafe
no lunch as a rule
mushroom pasta or bean paste soup for dinner
speaking ze english all day
except for trotting out the survival korean
"ah - hangungmal chal hashineyo!"
"what good korean you speak!"
(embarrassed chuckle) "komapsupnida"
"thank you"
('ive only been living 'ere 5 years -
you should hear my feeble attempts to extrapolate
on the political and economic injustices
of corporate-lead globalisation',
thinks fireseed, grinning nervously)
"so big deal," you say
i guess we all got our own comfort zone...

speaking of the old CLG
fireseed knocked out once again
by the contrariness
of the twisted world we inhabit
went to buy some kimbap the other day
rice rolled up in seaweed - the 'korean sushi'
normal price 1000 won
ham, egg, maybe some fishcake or crabstick,
pickled radish, pickled root vegetable
of course fireseed asks the disapproving ajumma for 'salad kimbap'
take out the ham, egg, fishcake and crabstick
(that's most of the main ingredients)
add a bit of mixed salad
and what is the asking price for this downsized veggie version?
a whopping 2500 won, that's what
- only a 150% premium!
never mind the unsavoury practice of eating dead pigs and sea creatures
but where's the incentive
to avoid supporting the hugely wasteful business
of producing feed for export
chucking subsistence farmers in poor countries off their land
to make way for huge cash-crop farms,
then transporting the stuff thousands of miles
and feeding it to unfortunate creatures
crammed into tiny inhumane spaces
so that we can 'enjoy' a little bit of third-generation protein
which took a catastrophic amount of the earth's resources to produce?
not much incentive at all, is it, my seeds?
...ok, rant over
been good communing with ya as always
here's the key
i'm checking out
a very happy chuseok to you and yours
love
f