Red And Tired: The Weekend: Sunday

Right, while I've got a little time, I'll catch up on Sunday.

I woke a little groggy on Sunday morning, 9ish, after having been medium drunk till 3am the night before. I didn't want to get up but had to meet Matt at the subway an hour or so later, to get a bus to the Catholic University where an orphanage fundraising football tournament was taking place at noon.

This I did, and Rebecca was with Matt too. We then waited around a while for a friend of Rebecca's called Kate until I started getting very restless and impatient because I hate hanging around and being late. We finally gave up - 20 minutes after I wanted to - when it transpired that Kate was still on the other side of the city.

The Catholic University was about 40 minutes bus ride away, but only 700 Won (35p) thankfully. As we walked up its main road I began to get rather nervous at the prospect of being surrounded by hundreds and maybe thousands of Catholics, which being from a Protestant background has taught me to be extremely wary of. Catholics are people, yes, but perhaps that's the only good thing to be said about them. It was drummed into me from a very young age to avoid Catholics and even though I am now a confirmed atheist, these instincts are still within me.

I said some of this, only to then discover that Rebecca was Catholic.

Anyway, it was a scorching hot day, glorious blue sky, and the university was quite a bit away from the filth of Daegu city and so the air was clear, and bouncy green hills smiled at us. The football pitch was in a dusty oval surrounded by rings of conrete seating. Quite a lot of people were there and some of them looked quite serious about their football. At which point I got nervous.

I've told you before, but after letting in over 60 goals in 8 games while at university myself, playing football at an even vaguely competitive level (i.e. against people who are not: children, old, crippled or female) scares me. And the fear came back today. Fortunately, I had no team assigned to me so did my very best to avoid Mariano finding one for me.

Other people joined myself, Matt and Rebecca, such as Laura, Kristi, John, Greta and this girl Kate and a friend of hers called Yesania (Spanish apparently, though she looked Indian). After Kate had made me late, I'd made up my mind not to like her, even though she was very attractive, so did my best to ignore her or be fairly abrupt with her, but it unfortunately turned out that she was a very lovely girl. She was fun, attractive, friendly, didn't mind or notice my rudeness, and I'd happily have given her a poke. However, as she apparently has a boyfriend, I would of course not be so ignoble.

I enjoyed sitting in the sun for a while, and me and John also gave a couple of orphanage boys a kickaround with a ball, which made me feel better about my skills. So much so, that I agreed to take part in a makeshift team of me, Matt, John, Kate and Yesania. Not against proper people though, but against some small children.

I didn't have any proper clothing, so just had to play with my trousers and rubbish shoes, but it'd be a lie to claim that as reason for my poor showing. I ended up playing in a kids team of an uncertain number against another team of an equally uncertain number, but both with a sprinlking of adult players. My team had Mariano however, who was once offered a scholarship for "soccer" in America but turned it down, but is very. very good. Hence, our team won, 4-2 I think. I almost scored a goal too. I was like lightning down the right wing the entire game, and found myself in a great scoring opportunity. The shot was like a rocket, a fat beast of a rocket, but the goalkeeper found himself stuck in its path and the shot bounced off him.

Anyway, after our great victory against children, I was comprehensively shattered and had to lie down for a while. A troubled lie down though, as I'd been given the news that due to this victory we would now progress in the championship, to play a proper team.

This troubled me, until I realised that also in my team would be two girls, Kate and Yosemite, or whatever her name was. Thus, no way could I be the worst player. And I wasn't - Yosenya turned out to be worse, and Kate was about the same. Our team only lost 4-2 and it was a good game. Because I was vastly outclassed on the field, I didn't have to run about as much so was far less tired.

We all sat about for a while, enjoying the great weather, and having some ambient chat, until it was about 6pm and we decided to get some food in town. The group I ended up with were Matt, Rebecca, Kate and Yoesenyua. We found a great Korean chicken restaurant and ate there before going to a DVD room and watching an entertaining enough film called "School of Rock".

We then went to an arcade room where I played shooting games and the rest attemped the rubbish dance mat machine, in which you have to put your feet on the right zones in time to the music. Fun in 1985.

Then a bar for a drink to finish off our evening, about 12.30am. After my cynicism from the day before about not really being fussed about seeing my friends and also the highly complacent feeling of late that I can't be bothered making new friends, it was good to have an enjoyable day with friends new and old. Kate's the only person in months that I've not only got on with but would hope to see again. I'm such a lazy sod of late that I'm content just studying Korean, watching wrestling and popping along to the orphanage. Every time I meet new people, I'm perfectly happy to have a very casual chat but I don't care if I ever see them again. A poor attitude, I suppose. But I got on really well with this girl Kate, who I'm aware I'm raving on about. Maybe I'll have to kneecap this boyfriend.

Anyway, as a result of the weekend, and the Sunday especially, I'm now very red. Face and arms and neck. All my kids have commented on it, because it makes a change from the paleness I usually radiate. I should have been quite burnt but I wasn't really, it just stung mildly.

Also as a result, I've been forced to wear my final emergency pair of trousers. I only took three to Korea with me. On Saturday I somehow ripped a pair at the Korea match, and my pair from Sunday are covered with dirt and dust. Thus, I'm wearing a pair of trousers that are approaching ludicrous levels of tightness (little is left to the imagination) and also happen to have a burn mark in the crotch area.

I'm going on a big clothes shopping soon.

Anyway, that's the weekend caught up with. Today is my easy day at work, although I do have the double header of F2 and M7 at the end - cheeky, whiney, fat Jenn followed by wirey, whiney, screeching Annie.