iamtonyang.com

i biked to the cambridge library this morning to pick up a reserved book that had arrived from the winchester library. i discovered another shortcut that connects cambridge street to broadway, a paved path that runs behind the rindge and latin school directly to the library itself. this new way saves me the hassle of going around the block and having to do a dreaded left turn onto a busy street. the book i was getting was the skyscraper and the city: the woolworth building and the making of modern new york by gail fenske (university of chicago press 2008).

i've been on a manhattan history kick recently, and i'm almost finished with the island at the center of the world. the skyscaper and the city is a surprisingly heavy book (must be the paper it's printed on) and filled with all sorts of historical photos, drawings, and blueprints. i already read a little bit (the writing is a bit scholarly, but still readable), regarding the original history of the woolworth stores. i'm of the generation that can still remember the woolworth that used to be in central square (went out of business in 1998 i think).

coming back from the library, i made a detour to market basket to pick up some milk and cereal (corn pops). from that point on i didn't leave the house the rest of the day. by the late afternoon i received some more content from client N and made the necessary edits to the 2 interactives.

must be something in the air but seems like everyone is going on vacation this week. john and is family are in mexico while alex and his wife arrived in hawaii today. my vacation? my rest and relaxation? maybe a nice hot soak in the tub before i go to bed.

finally, this weird dream i had last night (managed to write down as much as possible before i forgot it). what does it even mean?

i'm applying for an english teaching job in korea. for some reason it takes me 10 days to get to the korean embassy. there are mexican gangs roaming the streets, shaking people down for money. i hide whenever possible in order to avoid getting mugged. i arrive at the embassy, but nobody is there to greet me. an african-american woman sits behind a counter and an asian woman is also seated in the front row of what appears to be a lecture hall. i wait for a while but eventually i go and talk to the woman behind the counter. before i can even say anything, she says "mister yang" like she's expecting me and pushes a sign-in sheet for me to write on. i take a seat right in front of her counter. moments later a korean man comes out. he's tall and thin, and sports large aviator sunglasses with a short blue military-style coat. i think he's going to call my name so i stand up. that's when i notice the name on top of the sign-in sheet. i assumed i was interviewing for a south korean position, but it said "north korean" on the form. i panic. i don't want to spend 3 months in north korea. "yang?" the man says in his thick korean accent. the seated woman stands up as well. i'm confused. she must also be named "yang." the man says "yang" again and we both approach the counter. the woman behind the counter seems embarrassed and the man quickly go back to ask what's going on before coming out again. apparently there was either some screw up with the schedule or i got there late, because it seems like my interviewer had already left.