Steady work flow this week has meant that my entries have been very piecemeal in the forming, and perhaps awkward in the reading. I should think about getting a connection in my hasook jeep, so that I can sit in my 7x7 room and comfortably compose blog entries. I do get to feeling sorry for myself at times - woe is me, I don't have enough time to really focus on my writing, but then I am reminded of Wallace Stevens, coming home after doing vice presidential things at his insurance company, and writing poems at home.
You think maybe Wally wrote during his commute? Did he take a train into the city, or a car, or a bus? I remember watching the Hepburn-Bogart version of Sabrina and being surprised that Bogey rode to work in a car with a telephone of some sort in it. Maybe Wally had something similar? Or was that only for company presidents? My ride on Tuesday night with the KF president reminded me of that scene in Sabrina. I didn't know that people had drivers anymore, though it's certainly understandable in Seoul - I am amazed that there aren't more accidents in this city. It's a madhouse! My dad tells me it's much worse in other countries, but I am still pretty goggle-eyed at the scene here. Returning home from a concert last week: there are cars for a couple hundred feet lined up in the left turn lane outside the Seoul Arts Center, waiting to turn around. But the oncoming traffic doesn't let up long enough for more than two or three cars to U-turn at a time. So after a while, during a red light, the dozen or so cars closest to the light just make the U-turn where they are. This might all work out fine, except that there are still lots of cars in the opposite lane, so there's no place for any of the turning cars to go!
I'm glad I don't drive here. But the subway has its own charms. Rule number 1: You will be pushed. Rule number 2: You will learn to push back. Rule number 3: You will learn to look around for older people in order to offer your seat to them - but apparently only if you are a woman. If you are a man, you will (usually) calmly remain in your seat, ignoring the grandmother holding on to the handgrip with great difficulty. Rule number 4: You will learn to sleep without falling over.