Alex Finch

청소 아줌마(들?!)

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:24:52 +0900

As I sit here awaiting the marauding clan of cleaning ladies to knock on the door and destroy my apartment (in a clean, neat and tidy manner), I wonder to myself how I’m going to maintain the tense of this blog post. Will I be able to perch myself on the window ledge with my iPad and type as they clean around me? My Mac Mini is still awaiting my careful hands to remove it from it’s temporary prison (box).

*knock knock* It begins.

I’m back. I opened the door to find your standard, middle aged Korean ahjumma in a tracksuit and sneakers. She smiled kindly and I showed her in so that she could view the cleaning battle that awaited her. All the while, I was looking behind her and waiting for reinforcements. None came.

I won’t bore you with the details because quite frankly, how interested are you in knowing what she cleaned and in what order, but I will say that in the two and a half hours that she was present, she did not stop once for water or to rest. She was on her hands and knees, then she was atop the window ledge, jumping to clean as far up the ceiling height windows as she could. For the 50,000won that she charged, she earned every penny.

It is now time for me to venture forth into the unknown - CostCo. More to come.

개봉 투 강남

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:12:27 +0900

Good morning, Gangnam!

The first hurdle of the day has been cleared with relative ease and haste. The move was nowhere near as strenuous as I had envisaged and although I fear slightly for the wellbeing of my Mac Mini, I’m glad to be here. I owe Jiny쌤 greatly for arranging the truck and also for the second hurdle of the day - the cleaning ahjummas.

After a long night spent oscillating between adding to an ever enlarging pile of boxes and bags, to playing PES 2012, to keeping myself awake with tea, I feel pretty knackered. I should have started packing earlier and grabbed a few hours while I could, but anxiety and a strange hunger for PES caused me to spent the entire night (Apart from a twenty two minute window that I can’t account for. I think I just blinked for a really long time!) awake.

If I could do it again, and I don’t really want to, but if I could, I would have bought the 85L plastic containers from Home Plus and everything would have taken about twenty minutes. In the end, it took about two hours of solid packing and a lot of procrastinating, unpacking, then packing again to get it all done. I’m fairly sure everything arrived in one piece, so I guess that’s the mark of a successful move. Go, Alex!

Near the scheduled arrival time, I noted about six of these ‘one ton trucks’ coming and going in front of my apartment and finally, one arrived for me. It was a younger man, possibly in charge and an older gentleman and both were very pleasant. Straight to business, but still very pleasant. They were actually a quarter hour early and by the time we were heading down the main road, three of us crammed in the front seat, it had only just gone 8am. I’d much rather early than late. The younger guy asked me a few questions on the way, complimented me on my Korean and asked me why I was moving, while the older gentleman simply nodded and occasionally made an off the cuff remark towards one of the many poor drivers occupying the same stretch of road. Forty minutes after starting, we had arrived at my new apartment.

We were greeted by a stooped security guard telling us that if I was moving in today, I should first speak with the realtor downstairs. I assured him that I had already technically ‘moved in’, and that this was the remainder of my worldly possessions. He seemed confused, but maintained his smile and helped us to the elevators before returning to an open dialogue with another security guard. I hope that his first impression of me is a positive one because I will be seeing him every day and at some point next week, he’ll be taking delivery of my super king size mattress and possibly a TV cabinet. Time will tell on that matter.

Knowing that I had nothing in the fridge and that the cleaning ladies were not due for another three hours, I decided to venture out and seek breakfast. Somewhere that is both familiar and affords a nice view of the street is Tous les Jours. What I didn’t know as I walked upstairs to order, is that they don’t begin serving cooked meals until 10:30. This somewhat dented my plans and instead of finding another cafe, I ordered a coffee and sat down to write. Why is it that try as I might last night, I couldn’t write a single sentence, but here I am, running on six hours of sleep over two days and I’ve written this quite delectable little blog entry on the entire experience to this moment. Marvelous.

Number 3 ㅋ

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:18:18 +0900

Number 3 ㅋ

photojojo: Korean photographer Ho-Yeol Ryu made this digital...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 11:42:54 +0900

photojojo:

Korean photographer Ho-Yeol Ryu made this digital multiple exposure of planes taking off at Hannover, an airport in Germany.

It’s one of those project ideas that takes a lot of time but pays off in the end.

Multiple Exposure of Planes Taking Off

This is crazy surreal.

japancamerahunter: valerian: Brad Pitt with Leica Apparently...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:48:16 +0900

japancamerahunter:

valerian:

Brad Pitt with Leica

Apparently he is a rather hardcore collector.

The man is all good in my book.

Reasons Why G-Dragon is cooler than you

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:50:22 +0900

welcome-to-korea:

Not only can he moonwalk like a boss,

He can do it at your favorite theme park,

On the great wall of China

At Buckingham Palace

In your favorite movies,

While defying the laws of science,

This boy even has swagger on the moon.

지드래곤 is cooler than me. And you.

Check out @Mijonju’s mini review of the X Pro 1.

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:16:42 +0900

Check out @Mijonju’s mini review of the X Pro 1.

I want to be able to capture something like...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:24:19 +0900

I want to be able to capture something like this.

ilovemyleica:

elevator scene (by sparth) Leica M9

mijonju: photojojo: Infinity camera click! Courtesy of the...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:23:18 +0900

mijonju:

photojojo:

Infinity camera click! Courtesy of the anime, FLCL.

Olympus XA :)

KOREAN SNACKS ALL-STARS (VARIETY PACK -13)

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:58:13 +0900

talktomeinkorean:

Now, we have a special package of 13 different Korean snacks. Some of them might look familiar because you saw them in our Youtube videos or in a Korean drama. We tried to pick 13 different snacks in a variety of flavors including chocolate, cheese, potato and even shrimp. We hope you like this package, too!

Available for order at http://mykoreanstore.com/

Available for order at http://mykoreanstore.com/

It was graduation photo day yesterday morning, and thanks to...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:09:03 +0900

It was graduation photo day yesterday morning, and thanks to Ryan (@rysofunny), I was paying attention to the cameras a little more than I should have.

On the upside, I did get to shoot once with the Mamiya RB67. Nice.

Jang Geun Seok CODES COMBINE [haiker] Poster Giveaway - Winners!

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:48:17 +0900

Congratulations to winner, Grace Esmaya! You will soon be receiving your mahoosive Jang Geun Seok CODES COMBINE poster and leaflet. As a bonus, you, and runner-up, Aimee Olmedo will be given the chance for two free lessons with Arriane’s dance group (details to follow!).

Thanks everyone for taking part, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for news on the next giveaway :D

Shot these with my iPhone 4S on the long walk home from 서울대입구...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:31:33 +0900

Shot these with my iPhone 4S on the long walk home from 서울대입구 this afternoon. Edited using SnapSeed.

I would feel like such a pimp with this...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:36:18 +0900

I would feel like such a pimp with this camera.

ilovemyleica:

Leica M7 Hermès

원숭이띠 미혼남 (Feat. ZICO of Block.B) - Verbal Jint

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:50:36 +0900

원숭이띠 미혼남 (Feat. ZICO of Block.B) - Verbal Jint

Dear January,

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:04:57 +0900

I really need to start taking more footage like this.

seoulintranslation:

The great thing about having a new camera (with awesome video settings) is being motivated to use it to its full potential. Lucky for me, there are great tutorials online & amazing friends that have been helping me along the way. This is the first official video for 2012, so here’s January’s video celebrating a few of my favorite people, places, & FOOD in Korea that I will truly miss.

[watch in HD]

This is me, enlightening the masses.

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:54:57 +0900

This is me, enlightening the masses.

Before you watch this video, open iTunes, or the player of your...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:53:56 +0900

Before you watch this video, open iTunes, or the player of your choice and start up your favorite playlist. I’d like to clarify that I didn’t forget to add the music, but rather left it silent so as not to impede your own listening. Really.

tedxitaewon: 2nd TEDxItaewon Salon Event This past Sunday was...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:10:51 +0900

tedxitaewon:

2nd TEDxItaewon Salon Event

This past Sunday was TEDxItaewon’s first salon event of the third season and it was quite a success. We had talks from Curator, David Choo about Nepal and the work he has personally been involved in and also from member, Sabai Thien on the changes that have taken place in her native Myanmar.

The event was attended by around thirty people and was enjoyed by all. Videos to come!

raian: Red Leica M6 + Superia 1600 Shot number three is my...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:24:21 +0900

raian:

Red

Leica M6 + Superia 1600

Shot number three is my favorite.