Hi.

Welcome to Rob Hakimian’s website, collecting together the best of his writing from over the years.

So he sits down to write

korean visa.JPG

Welcome, one and all, to Rob Hakimian's brand new blog/website/ventspace! 

The main purpose of this here piece of internet property is for me to share my experiences of what I'm getting up to in my new life as a teacher of English in the city of Daegu in South Korea, but it will also (hopefully) include several other pieces of writing that I find myself inspired to write. 

The title of this blog is not only a reference to a David Bowie song from his classic album Low, but an obvious pun on my new whereabouts and my new job. I love a good pun as much as the next guy, but I've heard this one a hundred times already, so I'm hoping that by using it in my blog title we can all just leave it at the door.

The sparseness of the appearance of the site isn't so much by design as it is by ineptitude at creating something better looking. But I think it has a certain stylish charm to it, and I'm sure that it'll be an ongoing project that I'll keep improving over time. 

I have no idea what the coming days, weeks, months and years will bring, so I can't tell you what to expect entirely. But I hope that it will be entertaining enough for you to keep coming back to. 

You'll find that there are already a couple of things posted under the Fiction header. These were story that I started writing a few months back at a pretty low point in my life. In the last couple of weeks I found myself slipping back into a similar state of mind that had birthed those ideas, so I decided to channel those feelings into completing the stories 'Check Yourself' and 'Three Cold Baths' which you can read now if you so desire. I'm still constantly retooling them as more ideas come, but I'm happy enough with them for now to let people read them, and I'd love some feedback. My hope is that I will be writing more fiction like this, but hopefully some that's a little more positive! 

Right now I'm sitting outside the gate getting ready to board my flight to Seoul. From there I'll take a 4.5 hour bus to Daegu, where I'll be spending my year. Right now I'm not really sure how I feel. It kind of just feels like I'm going on holiday. I'm sure that's all going to change soon enough. 

Anyway, thanks for checking in. I'm sure there'll be much more soon. 

-Rob

Currently reading:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon - This is the second or third time I've read this. I've decided to read it again because it's my favourite book and it's been a long time since I last picked it up. I think it'll also be nice ot be reading something familiar as I go into unfamiliar territories in my life. Also, it's the story of two young men growing up and going through huge life changes, which I can relate to right now. 

Currently listening to: 

Braids - Flourish // Perish

Crystal Stilts - Nature Noire

Forest Swords - Engravings 

A song for this blog post: 

David Bowie - "A New Korea In A New Town" 

First impressions / First lessons / First hangover