Typhoons, Poetry and the Case of the Vanished Basil Continues

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Typhoon Kompasu hit Seoul much earlier than expected – even before I went to work this morning. On my way to my office it was all too evident that a terrible storm had hit us, all unbeknownst to me. The campus is littered with leafs, broken branches and the odd uprooted tree.

This morning only five students showed up for the poetry class. Later the number of registered students dropped to six and I started to make my peace with the fact that I won’t be teaching it. Later the day the number changed back to seven students again. By 3pm it was still seven. I thought that would mean that everything is safe and that the class would not be cancelled. It turns out that the deadline was not 3pm today, but 3pm tomorrow. So the suspense continues.

As for the Case of the Vanished Basil, I sent the following little email to the other residence in my apartment building:

Dear Residence of Building 4,

This morning when I went to the department meeting all my herbal plants were still on the wall in front of our apartment building. When I returned an hour later, two of my little basil plants had disappeared and a new little orange pot plant stood on the wall.

If any of you had moved my basil plants could you please put them back, or if anybody you are acquainted with (i.e. movers, family, friends, etc.) took them, I'd appreciate it if you replace them. They may look a little shaggy but I am quite fond of them nonetheless.

Friendly regards,

It turns out that my email offended some of them, saying that I clearly accused two of them in particular. What can I say? If the shoe fits . . . In the meantime I’ve moved my remaining herbal plants inside to protect them from further storms or other mysterious raptures.

How does the accompanying image fit with this email? I'm not sure either.