Pepper-Dongmin came by, though. My boy tried to ask me some questions, and I realized that he didn't know how to pronounce the word "how," when he attempted to read it. My Dongmin is pretty brave to try English even with those gaps.
Jaehee came by. He asked me which of my parents I like more. I replied honestly that I like them both equally. He says he likes his dad more. He also says that he has been golfing, which he describes as being "a little fun". I'm stunned at how charming Jaehee has gotten. Last year he was one of the grumpy, loud kids who was unpleasable. I could barely tolerate him. But now he's a well-beloved kid with a sweet nature and a clever mind; we joke with each other all the time.
Went to the special needs room. Only Dohyun was there, so I watching him do a clock puzzle and I answered when he asked the English words for morning, afternoon, and evening.
Been taking practice exams for the TOPIK test. They make my head hurt. I'm used to serious, hard study, but these things. Man. I had to call Yeongchang into the office to tell me the answer on one of them.
Last night, my treadmill was delivered. It's getting too hot and time-consuming to go run in the evenings, so I decided to buy my own equipment. Normally, I can't go run until 7:30 because that's the first time it's cool enough to go--and running between 7:30 and 8:30 most nights of the week absolutely kills my ability to socialize.
Sorry dear friend, no, I can't meet you. I have to run for an hour at a weird time of the evening. And afterward, I have to clean up because even running after the sun has set leaves me drenched in sweat. I decided that I needed to make a change to that schedule. An investment in a good-quality treadmill seemed like the ideal solution.
Monday night, my tutor helped me order one online. Last night (Wednesday), it was delivered. I had gotten a phone call in Korean, telling me the delivery man was coming, but when he called at 6:30 and said he'd come in the 'evening,' I assumed he meant before 8:30. Because I don't remember anything in America ever being delivered after 6 PM, if that late. Usually, they come earlier in the day.
So I had a friend over, for her to keep me company while the treadmill was delivered. Just as an extra piece of insurance; it's helpful for ladies to have backup in the odd event that something goes wrong. But when he didn't arrive by 8:30 I sent my friend off home. The delivery was obviously not coming today.
Lo and behold, at 9:40 I get another call--he's outside with the machine. I thanked the Lord that I hadn't gotten ready for sleep and that my apartment was still spotless from earlier cleaning. The delivery man came up and started to assemble the treadmill for me and I suddenly decided that my kitchen needed even more cleaning. Because where do you sit in a really small apartment during these circumstances? There is nowhere to be.
But I managed the interaction all in Korean, and the machine runs beautifully. I can't wait to get home today and try it again!
How lovely to have my own machine. This is severely pleasant.
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