magnetonic

Do you ever get that feeling, when you have a large sum of cash in your immediate possession, like you must go out and buy something? Cash in the bank, credit cards, loans, lines of credit, GICs, RSPs, RRSPs, stocks, cheques, money orders, Canadian Tire money, any other financial products—they don't compare to a handful of cold, hard cash.

I have in my immediate possession ₩2,205,000, or just about CA$2500. I could buy any number of things with this amount of cash.

I could buy a brand spanking new iMac. I've had my eye on this ever since it was announced. And goshdarnit, I'm gonna buy one.

I could buy 2,205 lines of 김밥 (gimbap; tasty things wrapped in rice and seaweed, like a sushi roll).

I could buy a used car.

I could buy a bottle of 소주 (soju; a rice-based liquor, which is readily available anywhere for just over a dollar a bottle) for every child, woman and man in Daejeon.

I could buy a lot of things...

...but not with this money. This money is in fact my salary. A good portion of it has to cover my rent, cellphone, gas, building maintenance fee, and internet. Another chunk has to go into a savings account that requires a set deposit every month. Another chunk has to go home to Canada to pay off my student loans and credit cards. I'll be left with nary a won to even buy a larger hard drive for my poor Xbox.

Oh, and since the largest denomination of Korean cash is 10,000, I've got over 200 individual bills to count. (Think of carying around $2200 in tens.)

I'm finding it difficult to end this post.