Along the way - some snaps I grabbed on just another bluebird winter Sunday

I've still yet to harness the awesome power of the bean within my cooking - not sure how they'd taste with grilled cheese and spam, but maybe someday I'll try my own soup.

Mystery fish in a daisy chain for only W40,000 - Word.

Well since the purchase of my guitar - alright, ever since the computer even - my self-directed Korean lessons have dropped off rather sharply. However signs like this make reading practice fun. Lets see how close it comes... Hah-ee-mah-teu. Hi-Mart. A simplified alphabet makes Hangeul (Korean) accessible to the peasantry, yet difficult to phonetically translate into English.

As its on the edges of Seoul, I'm able to longcut - skirt into the forest, escape the city for a few minutes and drop right in behind the Dangogae wall. Living along Seoul's jagged northern boundary, a walk in the woods and a jaunt down busy neon-lit thorough-fares might be the difference of a block. I love where I am.

A new acquaintance in climbing, Jae Il, Ko. When I'm 67, I want to spend Sundays chilling at climbing walls too. They sure know how to age out here.

As I've got plenty to look forward to, February has been just flying along. A long weekend on the East coast back in Sokcho, and a North Korean hiking trip in early March. More on both of these trips soon, but for now, here's a bit of Democratic People's Republic of Korea trivia you can impress your colleagues with:

Kim Jong Il is widely believed to control the weather in the North, and his father, having died more than a decade ago, constitutionally remains the head of state. Bananas!