Another Friday, and another week gone by. Each passing week brings unfulfilled desires on opposite ends of the spectrum. On one end, it is the desire to complete my contract as quickly as possible and move on to bigger and…
Author: Zachary A. Marx
Zachary Marx is currently living and working in Munich, Germany. He graduated with a degree in Political Science in 2006 from the University of Tennessee, and continues to bleed orange. So far, his vagabond lifestyle has brought him to five continents, and twenty-eight countries, with extended stays in China, Japan, and Korea. He started 80couches.com in February of 2011, with the ultimate goal of using it as the premise for couchsurfing around the globe. Your feedback and suggestions are welcome. He can be reached by carrier pigeon, smoke signals, telegram, and via the Interwebs, at zachary.marx@gmail.com.
2010: A Retrospective
A PrimerWith the full realization that the New Year is, by in large, completely arbitrary, I believe it is nevertheless important to look back at where I was a scant one year ago. All to often we get caught up…
"Cold Water in the Face, Brings Us Back to this Awful Place"
My brief foray into freedom and positivity came to a crashing end on Monday morning with the first day at our new campus. At this point, the only two reasonable conclusions could be that KPS management are either a) astonishingly…
What a Difference a (Couple of) Day(s) Make(s)
On your average Wednesday evening, around 5 o’clock, I would be stuck behind the ever oppressive walls of my school. Thankful, I have this week off, so instead of looking longingly at the window (not out the window, because all…
Top 5: Things I Want to Accomplish Before 30
So, y’all might have heard it’s my birthday. I have very mixed feelings toward the day. I like its wonderful symmetrical nature: 12/21. It is a cosmically significant day–the winter solstice–the shortest day of the year for those of us…
Of Doctors and Vets
Following my bitter disappointment on Thursday, I am happy to report that the sun did, in fact, rise. Well, I assume it did, behind the heavy cloud cover and snowfall. At least Sydney was excited about the snowfall. She stared…
Gutted
So, I thought I had been very close to landing a job in Daegu. I had a phone interview on Tuesday that went very well, and another in-person interview lined up for Sunday afternoon. After my contact e-mailed me yesterday…
Top 5: Methods for Time Travel
Who wouldn’t want a chance to travel through time? Whether you’re revisiting the past, fixing mistakes, or just going to see what it was or will be like, it seems like a great time. Unfortunately, science hasn’t quite gotten us…
A Lesson in Education
I read an interesting opinion piece on CNN today, “The U.S. must start learning from Asia.” For many years, Asian companies–first in Japan, then Korea, and now China and others–have been accused of “reinventing the wheel” when it comes to…
Please Fasten Your Seatbelt…
…we are expecting some mild turbulence ahead. Been awhile since my last real update, so here we go. Suddenly, job security has become iffy around these parts. In addition to moving to a new school, we’re losing at least 100…
World Cup Bids
This is an elaboration on a rant I started on Facebook: Bullshit. Russia and Qatar were the least deserving of the tournament for a variety of reasons. Lets start with the 2018 group: England: Invented the game and has the…
Top 5: UT Memories
Well, the regular season has come to a close for my beloved Volunteers. Needless to say, it was a tough one, but we knew it would be as soon as That Last Guy ditched in the middle of the night…