drinking vinegar?

today i drank vinegar for the first time ever.

actually, pretty tasty – the blueberry was a little sweet and a little zingy! plus, it kind of burned, but in a nice, spicy way!

my korean friend drank it at my old work and said it helped digestion etc. and since my tummy’s been grumbly lately, i thought i’d give it a shot! oh, and she had really nice skin and other korean ladies told me it’s tops for healthy skin, so added potential bonus.

little did i know…VINEGAR IS THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!!!

see?

oops.

i swear, it’s not scary when it’s fruited up and diluted with water!

here we go:

(sorry i can’t post the video here)

i like when she talks about toxic crystals in your joints.
also, does she look like a potential cult member to anyone else?

i don’t know about these crazy-pants natural health things.
the guy next to me on the bus, a tattooed and bespectacled business professor from fargo, talked about some bizarre stuff like pumping oxygen into his water. he said it tasted weird and gave him diarrhea. which was not ideal for someone prepping for a marathon. so maybe sometimes health things aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. but vinegar? could lil ole vinegar really be that bad? i read that one woman tried to kill herself by downing a ton of really strong vinegar and her kidneys went nuts and she was in a loooot of pain, but didn’t have any real permanent damage.

hmmmm, oh blueberry vinegar. i like the way you zip in my mouth and warm my stomach and gross out my foreign colleagues and make me stop coughing and feel less stuffy in class. so i guess you maybe might get to stay in my life!

have you tried any natural remedies? do you believe in this kind of thing?

100 score

tomorrow i fly to osaka. 
it only takes 100 minutes and $230 to get there. 
that’s only $2.30 a minute! what a deal! :/
i will go with a coworker and so today with the help of peppermint tea and caramel coffee, a lonely planet, and free wireless, we decided that three sights are absolutely necessary:

1. Spaland – the largest spa in the WORLD and only about $10?
2. a traditional tea garden – tea is important for living
3. nightlife in the area described as a land of “survival of the flashiest” – hot pink pants, i knew you’d come through for me

you: well, that’s just fantastic! i just KNOW you will have a fantastic time!

me: oh, ha, you, you are so kind!

you: well, what have you been up to lately?

me: oh, noting much – reading and getting poked in the side by korean doctors at the gym.

you: oh yes, that sounds fun!

me: why, yes, it really is! the doctor told me that i’m in perfect health, but that i should lose 25 pounds! 

you: well, it looks like you already HAVE been losing weight lately. is 25 pounds really necessary?

me: why, thank you for asking! although my blood pressure, veins, heart health, immune system (cell count?), and stress tests are all top of the heap, and although i’m smack dab in the middle of my height’s healthy BMI, my legs are just too darn big!

you: your legs are too big?

me: why yes, i’m ordered to hault all possible strength training and focus on running in the morning without breakfast to burn all the huge leg mass.

you: well, that sounds like a very prudent plan of action!

me: i know! off i go!

(really, i didn’t listen to anything the gym “doctor” told me after he asked me to stand, got up from behind his little desk, poked my upper leg, shook his head, and frowned at me over his glasses. i feel very happy and healthy and i think i’m doing the right thing with my nutrition and exercise right now – i’m actually running further and faster, and getting noticibly stronger and slimmer as the weeks go by. so poopoo to you, korean doctor man!)

in other news, 
i finally laid down the cash for 1001 albums you must hear before you die, 
a tome of truly epic proportions which called to me every seoul bookstore visit in it’s rock and roll siren song.
(on this bookstore trip to pick up the japan lonely planet, i also met the young british dude who wrote the ENTIRE thick rough guide: korea, who told me exciting tales of adventure that made me feel like a serious lame-a-saurus travel weakling. “oh, korea is your ONLY asian country!? :chuckle: what an interesting introduction!” but then again, the guy was in a bookstore looking for his own book, so i shouldn’t have felt that lame.)

back to the 1001 albums! i plan on listening to one of the albums every week.
it should only take me about 20 years.
this week’s album was gary numan’s the pleasure principle.
it made me cut five minutes off my walk to work time, that’s how groovin those sweet synthesizers can be.
here’s a taste:

also, my man and i went to noraebang last night and i scored 100 on “purple rain.” admittedly, i drank a liter of beer before, but i think that only adds to my accomplishment.
it was an epic korea moment for me.
on his end, m-k sang a lot of korean ballads, and the boy can really belt them out!