How to lock your iPad screen with iOS 4.2

Apple changing the screen lock switch to a muting switch was a pretty weird decision. I turned off my iPad twice thinking something was just wrong with it. After an irritating few minutes struggling with a screen that kept rotating while I was laying in bed, it turned out to be pretty simple.

1. Double tap the home button to pull up the multitask bar
2. Swipe your finger to the right on the bar
3. The screen lock is that button in the left corner

I hope this saves someone some trouble.

They call me Mario Lopez.

I started training at cooking.com today. I knew how to most of the stuff that we were doing so it was all pretty repetitive, but at least I'm getting paid. It's been two years since I've worked there but there are still a few familiar faces. A lot of the crew that was there when I worked there before actually remembered me but they remembered me by my nickname Mario Lopez. No one could actually remember how I got that nickname. Most likely I made a Saved by the Bell joke or something like that. It sounds like something I would do. I don't really mind the nickname, but since there's another Joseph in the office, more people call me Mario than by my actual name. Oh well, at least I have a job.

As a side note, a dude at training wore leather pants today and I thought that was a pretty bold statement to make on his first day of work.

I just installed iOS 4.2 on my iPad.

I have been waiting for it the whole month and now it's finally here. Now I can finally multitask and organize all my apps into folders. The fact that I couldn't do this before didn't particularly bother me, but now that i have the option it's just so much better. The best part is that I can check my instant messages while writing blog posts and not have to go through the trouble of saving drafts. Another added bonus of the update is the language support so now I can type in Korean on the iPad keyboard instead of having to use an app for it. 아섬!

Tekken makes me angry.

I know it shouldn't, but it does. Xbox Live is free this weekend so I've been playing online against other people. According to my match record, I win only 38.72% of my matches. Even though thats a losing record, it might sound like a lot since I've only been playing the game for four days. However, I've only been playing unranked games so the competition will step up once I do start playing ranked matches. It's just so frustrating losing because I really am working hard on this. I have been spending a lot of time watching videos and working on combos. I'm probably going to buy a joystick in the next week too. The ultimate goal is to dominate the Korean arcade scene under the player ID "The Waygook."

It's Black Friday.

It's 4:30AM and my brother is out standing in the cold with a friend waiting to buy a TV.  It's a little ridiculous when I think about it.  I actually just heard that someone was shot while shopping at the mall near my house.  That shit's fucking crazy.  It makes me a little glad to say that I won't be participating in today's shopping.  I wish I had a good reason like that I think it's an unnecessary and materialistic part of our culture, but I just don't have any money.  If I did have some, I would probably be outside in the cold right now waiting to buy a set of joysticks for Tekken 6.

I've started playing Tekken.

So my buddy B-Wang got me a copy of Tekken 6 yesterday and I decided that I'm going to get good at it. This might sound like something that I just decided, but I actually have been thinking about this for quite a while. I'm not too to the fighting genre. I was really into Street Fighter 3 and I wqqs getting into 4 before I left for Korea, but I never got to spend much time on it. One of the reasons is that Korean arcades never have it. In all the arcades in Incheon, there was only one place that ran Street Fighter 4 and it was a bootleg setup using an xbox 360, two joystick controllers and a makeshift arcade box. I'm not sure why it isn't big since the rest of the world plays Street Fighter, but Korea really is Tekken country. There are tournaments on tv along with Starcraft and every arcade has one or more machines fully equipped with card readers that save your stats. However, whenever I decided to hop on, some other dude would come on and challenge me and beat the shit out of me, so I never got the time to practice. Now that I have it on console, I'll be able to start working on upping my game until I eventually return to Korea. Currently, I'm practicing with Kuma since I think it's funny to play with a big bear. I'm also thinking that I'll be using Hworang as an alternate because I like his play style and he's a Korean Tae Kwon Do master. Anyway, it's going to be while until I'm any good. Tekken is pretty different than Street Fighter. There's a lot more juggling and combos go on forever too. I'm even a little tempted to buy a subscription for Xbox Live just so I can practice against other people.

Long story short, I'm geeking out again.

I am now an employee of Cooking.com.

I just got the call today that they decided to re-hire me at cooking.com. Training sessions start on Monday, which should be a breeze since I've worked there before. So next week I will officially be a customer service representative at one of the largest online retailers of cooking supplies, but more importantly, I will be getting that money yo. I'm not sure how many hours I'll be getting but anything is better than sitting idly at home for hours on end.

I thought I was done writing essays.

So I'm working on a job application for Chungdahm Learning in Korea and I have to write an essay as part of the evaluation.  This will be the first essay that I've written since graduating.  I'm not complaining about having to write one, and I'm not really worried about it either, but the topics they gave me are absolutely ridiculous.  I have to write on one of these:

1. With respect to the nature versus nurture debate, compare and contrast the roles of intrinsic
   and environmental factors in human development.
2. Do you believe that the United Nations still has a significant role to play in world affairs? Support with details and examples.
3. What is the most significant novel of the twentieth century? Justify your answer with specific
   examples.
4. Describe a historical turning point and explore either the causes or the effects of that turning point.
5. Explain and defend your position on euthanasia.

I was really thinking about doing the first topic, but I'm not sure if I'd have enough to talk about.  That's probably the same thing for the second topic too.  Besides, discussing my own views on international relations for a job in another country doesn't seem like an especially good idea to me.  The third topic is the most ridiculous question of the whole list.  How is anyone supposed to really answer that question?  But whatever.  The fifth topic isn't very wholesome, so that leaves me with the fourth.  It's nice that it lets me talk about anything I want, which is a problem on its own.

However, the real point that I'm trying to get to is that I should have finished the essay over the weekend, it's past 4:00AM, and now I'm blogging about writing an essay instead of actually doing it.  Some things never change.

Not to be insensitive or anything...

I mean the threat of North Korea is really something to joke about, especially when the recent attack took someone's life, but it does probably mean that there are going to be less applicants for teaching jobs. That means I'll have an easier time finding a job in a good location.

Stringer Bell is still a badass.

Since I am currently unemployed, I spend a lot of time watching television. I am just finishing up this show Luther on BBC America and I have to say that it is one of the best shows that I've seen the entire year. If you've watched The Wire, then you know that Stringer Bell is one of the best characters in the entire show. The same actor, Idris Elba plays John Luther, a detective that's fucking badass.

I went to a midnight screening of the Harry Potter movie.

There was a shit ton of people there, but I sort of expected that. Anyway, I have to say that it was a pretty good movie. I'm not going to spoil anything on here, but just look out for some side-boob action.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

It looks like my income issues might be solved. I was in pretty bad mood yesterday with the whole tutoring gig not working out, but I got a call back today from cooking.com, where I used to work. I'm trying not to be too optimistic about this, but I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow. If I do get the position, it would be seasonal which works out for me since I'll be leaving in February.

Some good news and some bad news

Good news: My recruiter from the phone interview I had the other day got back to me and I am approved for the second level application process. It should be smooth sailing from here on out. I'm just hoping that they have a good location for me.

Bad news: it looks like I can't take the tutoring job since it starts in January for all the places I can tutor. If I'm leaving in February, then it just doesn't make sense to start a job for one paycheck and then leave.

So, it looks like I'm set for Korea in February but I don't have any income until then. It really sucks because I thought I had this job in the bag.

Farewell, long hair.

I just finished cutting my hair. It's now back down to one inch, which is how long it was before I left for Korea. I'm a little sad that it's gone, but I have orientation tomorrow for my tutoring job so it had to go. Now I can fake looking like a responsible adult.

Hello Kitty chicken!?

A Hello Kitty chicken!? Fucking classic. This is the last one I'm going to post from Small Gift L.A. but you can check out the rest of the photos I took on flickr.

Sanrio Supper

I had a phone interview yesterday.

A recruiting agency for Korea called me today for an over-the-phone interview. I think it went pretty well. There were a few awkward situations though. There was a short role-play part of the interview where she expected me to believe that she was a twelve year old Korean student named Sung-joo that used the word "situation." It also got awkward when I tried to explain that I felt the multiple choice segment of the written assessment wasn't written very well. There were a lot of situational questions with no answers that I would ever say, but oh well. I know for sure that the interview went better than the one I had last year so hopefully things turn out for the best.

Sanrio is celebrating their 50th anniversary in L.A.

In their 50th year, Sanrio is currently having an event in Santa Monica in Hangar 13 and goes on until November 21st. You can check out the actual site here for more details. I just found out about the event yesterday so I went to check it out today. Here’s the map so you sort of get an idea what it’s all about.

The entire thing is aimed at young children, but there’s still a lot of stuff worth checking out. The golf course and the ferris wheel are pretty neat, even though I wasn’t going to get on either. The coolest part though, is the art gallery with Sanrio inspired pieces. I’m working on getting some of those pictures up right now, but you should go check them out for yourselves if you can.

I've been working on a rap about having an English degree.

Heres what I got so far:

I studied English
so I could serve you a life sentence.
I'll put you behind bars
like this is San Quentin's.
You're pretty stupid
and fucking illiterate.
This is my dick
and I'll fill yo' girl with it.
I've studied the greats
like William Wordsworth.
When you listenin' to me
you'll get every word's worth.

I'm still working on it.

Math still fucking sucks.

It turns out that I have to take a few tests for my new job. I just completed two of them for the tutoring position that starts next week. The tests are all done online so I was able to take them from the comfort of my own home. The first test was reading comprehension, which was so ridiculously easy that I had to make sure that I wasn't overlooking some sort of deeper symbolism in the passages. The math test was a little more difficult. I'm not a complete idiot when it comes to math or anything. There was a lot on the test that was easily manageable, but since the tutoring position is for K-12, there was some parts that I had to struggle through. I sort of forgot that some students in high school might be taking calculus. That's a problem since I managed to fail pre-calculus twice in high school, then I took a stats class in community college and never took another math class. I'm also worried that the test was timed. It didn't say anything about it, but I did stop in the middle of it to watch an episode of Law & Order, so I'm desperately joking it wasn't.

The Pacific Media Expo is this weekend.

After ignoring the e-mails they've sent me for the past few months, I just realized that PMX starts tomorrow.  If you're unfamiliar with it, it's an Asian culture convention.  This year it's at the Pasaden Hilton from Friday to Sunday.  I've been before ('07 and '08).  I only remember it because it's one of the conventions that a lot of anime fans go to.  I'm not sure if I'll make it out this year though.  I missed pre-registration rates and now it's $20 for just one day, which is a little much for a man on a budget.  I did miss last year's Anime Expo and I'll be missing the next one, so I might just settle for this convention.  At least it will be a good opportunity to make fun of geek culture.

Man, it's Pepero Day in Korea.

I'm stuck out in America with no Pepero and an empty bag of McDonald's at my feet.  I guess that I'll have to console myself with the fact that I have Thanksgiving around the corner.

My troubles managing a fantasy basketball team

So I joined a fantasy basketball league this season with a few friends.  I'm not a total stranger to fantasy sports.  I've done a few fantasy baseball leagues intermittenly since high school, but I wasn't as into it as I am right now.  I find myself checking stats throughout the day.  I'm doing alright with the horrible draft I had.  My highest ranked player is Rajon Rondo, who I'm okay with since he can win me the assist category singlehandedly.  I really just wish I had a more productive big man.  I'm currently trying to see who I can get for Steve Nash and KG.  Unfortunately, my friend, Laksen is being a HUGE DICK by not giving me Kevin Love for anyone.  That's right, Laksen.  I'm calling you out.

Today's been a good day.

Last week I was woefully unemployed and unsure of what I should be doing. Today, I've successfully secured a part-time job that starts next week and scheduled a phone interview with a Korean job recruiter later this week. It's a hour load off my mind knowing that I'll be having some income to hold me over until I leave for Korea. The only bad part about all this is that I have to cut the 'fro, but I guess that I need to look like a responsible adult at some point.

Justin Beiber hates Koreans.

I can't believe that I'm so late on hearing this, but apparently this fact was established back in July. Here's how:

1. Justin Beiber made a poll on his website asking his fans which country he should tour next.
2. North Korea won the poll.
3. Justin Beiber didn't tour North Korea because he hates Koreans.

Man, I love the Internet.

Some more real talk.

So it turns out that I won't be headed back to Korea until February with the next EPIK class. It was pretty tough decision, but i can't sit around waiting for a job. I'm currently looking for work here on the States to hold me over until then. This isn't what I originally planned on, but it does seem like the best possible situation for me right now. There is still an off chance that I might be headed for Korea before 2011 if one of the recruiters I talked to gets back to me before then, but right now, this is what it's looking like.

Only victors are allowed to author history.

Let it be recorded in the annals of history, that on this day, November 6th in the year 2010, Joseph Gutierrez has defeated his younger brother, Christopher Gutierrez at Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

Some real talk.

As of today, I have been in America two whole months. I have really enjoyed my time here but I desperately need to get back to work. I also just miss Korea. I didn't intend to be back in America so long, or at least not this long without a job lined up. I really have been trying to get a job though. Now that it has been so long without any real success applying for hagwon jobs, I'm considering just coming into Seoul in February with EPIK. I have to decide pretty soon because if I do end up doing that, I can take a job here in America while they're still hiring for the Christmas season. It's a real possibility that I could go back to my old job for the season, so I have to really consider the option. The only problem is that is that I have to decide what I'm going to do really soon before the spot is filled. I'll probably give it to the middle of next week to see what pans out.

The McRib is back!

I saw the sign on the side of a bus while driving.  I haven't had one yet, but you can expect me to tell you about how I ate one by the end of this week.  It's things like this that make me proud to be an American.

A Korean drama from the Philippines!?

I stumbled across this while my mom was watching the Filipino Channel.  It's not really a Korean drama, it's a Filipino drama (which are just as cheesy).  The whole centers on Korean nationals in the Philippines.  Here's a bit from the series's Wiki:

The story of Koreana begins twenty years ago when Nerissa (Angelu de Leon), a Filipina caregiver falls in love with Philip (Marco Morales), a wealthy Korean national based in the Philippines. Defying conventional Korean standards, their relationship earns the ire of Chang Hee Jung (Eddie Garcia), Philip’s father who strongly resents his son’ decision of falling in love with a non-Korean.

Philip and Nerissa will soon bear a child causing Chang Hee Jung to set aside his misgivings, and to open his home to Philip and his family. But their happiness will be cut short as Violeta (Eula Valdez) Chang Hee Jung’s adoptive Filipina daughter, sets off an evil scheme against Nerissa. She will be thrown out of the house but secretly takes her baby with her.

To add on to her misery, Nerissa will be separated from her daughter after being involved in an unpleasant bus incident. The baby ends up in the arms of Josefina (Lotlot de Leon), an old maid who works as a cashier in a local beer club. Believing that the mother has already abandoned the child, Josefina takes her home, and names her Jenna (Kris Bernal).

Jenna, despite being raised in an unconventional neighborhood, grows up to be a sensible and cheerful young woman. Aware of her Korean heritage, she acquaints herself with all things Korean, particularly their cuisine. And while in the midst of fulfilling her dream of becoming a chef, she unexpectedly ends up in a Korean restaurant, unaware that the place she works for is actually owned by Chang Hee Jung.

After twenty years of living an incomplete life, how will Jenna unmask the secrets concealing her true identity? How will she take back what is rightfully hers? Will she end up neglecting her roots or embracing it all the more?

I'm not sure if I'll actually follow the series.  It sounds like they could be touching on some pretty heavy stuff with the different cultures and all that.  It'd also be interesting to see how Filipinos view and portray Koreans, but  I'll proably just end up asking my mom about it since she watches every drama out of the Philippines.

I just watched episode one and two of Stairway to Heaven.

So I decided to watch this Korean drama because it was recommended to me and it's one of the top rated dramas on crunchyroll. Since this is only the second drama I've gotten into, I really don't have much to compare it to. I can tell that it's been some time since the drama originally aired. The video quality, the way the characters dress, and the way Korea looks in the background all give it away. I sort of like it. Another thing i can tell from the first two episodes is that it's the entire series is going to be SAD AS FUCK. Coffee Prince was a little dramatic at some points, but it was pretty lighthearted, at least for the first two episodes. It definitely wasn't anything like this though. Seriously, SAD AS FUCK. I like it though. It's more along the lines of what I previously imagined k-dramas to be like. Anyway, I probably won't take as long to finish this series since I have a lot more free time on my hands now. I also made this contract with myself where I apply for two jobs in Korea before starting an episode. If I stick with it, I should have twenty applications sent in before the end of the week.

So the Giants won the World Series.

Everyone knows this by now. However, what you guys might not know is that the SK Wyverns of Incheon, my favorite Korean baseball team won Korean championship this year.

I'm not a huge fan of the Giants or anything, but I don't hate them. I actually like Tim Lincecum, so I'm glad he won it. He just seems like a guy I could be friends with. I bet that my mom is going to hear about it on the Filipino Channel since they've been hyping up the fact that Lincecum is part Filipino.

It's Monday.

Now it's time to start hitting the job boards again.  I really have been looking for a job back in Korea and so far no luck.  I have a good feeling about this week though.  Let's hope that everything works out.

Law & Order: UK is pretty cool.

I've mentioned Law & Order: Los Angeles a few times and I really have been enjoying it for what it is.  However, I also just discovered Law & Order: UK on BBC America and I have to say that I like it a little better than the L.A. iteration.  It follows the same formula as the original L&O, with the first half of the show focusing on the detectives and the second half on the prosecution.  It even has the same speech at the start of the show except "district attorneys" is changed to "Crown Prosecutors."  There are a few differences though:

• Them English sure do talk funny.  Just kidding.  The show is easy to follow but the slang is a little tough to follow sometimes.  It's only bad when they're talking to hoodlums and hookers on the street.
• Apparently, Crown Prosecutors and Judges wear powdered wigs during their court proceedings.  I found this extremely funny.
• In the original, a recurring theme was Jack McCoy's liberal streak and how far he would take it.  In UK, it focuses a little more on how the prosecutor is torn up about his work, a little like the detectives on SVU.
• There's less science on the show.  I'm not sure if it's because CSI isn't popular in the UK or not, but there's just less of it.  There's also not a regular coroner either, so that might be part of it.
• I've also noticed that there are less guns on the show, which makes sense, but it's still interesting.  I've seen five episodes now and there's only been a gun that I've seen.  There hasn't been any looking for the gun, ballistic tests, gun shot residue tests, or finding where the shooter was standing.  It's a little weird.

All in all, I really like the show.  I've been looking it up on Wikipedia right now and it looks like I should try to see if I can illegally acquire this somehow.  Just kidding.  I pay for all the shit I watch.