Risa Land

Way too long overdue

2011-12-11T06:06:00.000-08:00

Hello! Well, it has been about half a year since my last post. Much has happened since then. Let me give a bit of a recap of the last year or so. I don't have a lot of pictures to accompany the events, but so it goes.

In April I went with the fam to the Arches National Monument in Utah. It is one of my favorite places in the world. I have a deep and abiding love for sandstone. I was looking through my pictures and I realized I took hardly any and only 1 with me in it.

That was an awesome trip. I could go there more often than every 10 years.

Then, the great surprise of the year, I moved to North Carolina for work purposes.
Again, shamefully few pictures exist of my time here so far. My current apartment had a horrific smoking habit. I spent the first few days trying to clean the smell out, but to no avail. here is a picture of the cleaning efforts:

Hm, then, glory of glories, I met a most incredible man and started dating him. We have now been together for almost 6 months. Super cool. Here's a pix of us:

This fabulous man, Mark is his name, included me in his family trip to Disney World this past October. It was awesome!! Of course, I grew up going to Disney Land in California and I couldn't help but compare the two. I have to say both have their good points and I like both equally. Again, I am a crappy picture taker so here isn't much visual documentation for this event, alas. Here is one with me and Mark entering the Magic Kingdom. Then one from the Beauty and the Beast show and the live Indiana Jones performance. Pretty cool all!!

I then got to visit home at the end of October because my brother Nephi was visiting from japan with his family. This was the first time my entire family has been in the same place in years!! I completely failed to take any pictures of my brother or his family or the friends that came with them. (You can check out my sister's blog, she documented it well, including the family picture we took!)
But, I did get a picture of my new nephew twins!!

I also got Phineus and Ferb t-shirts for my older nephews, and I got one to match. Here's a picture of us looking fabulous!!

Then we spent Thanksgiving with friends from the ward and we're planning to travel to AZ for Christmas. I am super excited to get back to a desert environment with dry air and warm sun and the loving arms of my beloved family. I am also super excited for Mark to meet the peeps! I think he and my family are going to get along quite nicely. I'll try to take pictures to document it all.

Welp, hope this gets it all caught up. More to come, eventually:-)

Moved to North Carolina, been here 2 weeks

2011-06-04T05:58:00.001-07:00

Hello lovely people of the world! Well, I up and moved to North Carolina almost exactly 2 weeks ago. My company needed someone to take a position here for a new client, and I was the luck recipient of said position. It has been an interesting adventure so far. Foremost is that my apartment smells horribly of cigarette smoke. I am most heartily disappointed by this and have tried numerous methods to eliminate the smell, but to no avail thus far. I am dedicating my Saturday to further efforts, but I do have the backup plan of moving to a different apt as soon as one is available. Right now that is not until July 8th. If I can success in getting the smell out before then than I will probably just stay put as it is rather costly to move. Suffice it to say, I am not impressed with this apartment complex and I will not be renewing my lease.

Otherwise, I am doing wonderfully well here. I am getting to know the streets and getting used to the overwhelming green all around me and the fact that none of the streets are straight, meet at right angles, take you anywhere directly, or keep the same name from one mile to the next.

I went to church on Sunday and I can say with confidence that the church is the same everywhere you go. Mormons are great and I love the continuity it provides for those of us crazy people to randomly move across the country for no particular reason. I had a little chat with my Bishop, introducing myself and letting him know that I am a wonderfully capable individual and I think he should find a use for me. I am still miffed that my previous ward had absolutely no use for me whatever. Pretty lame.

Um, the bugs haven't been too bad, but I have seen (and eliminated) a lot of spiders. There are oodles of slugs that come out when it rains and there are weird white floaty things that drift about on the air when its sunny. I don't think the floaty things are bugs, maybe seeds of some kind. It's kind of like that part in the movie Legend where the chick is innocently roaming the woods and the sun is shining down and the air is full of..stuff..that floats and makes it looks all mystical and fantasyish.

Anyhow, I have a rigorous day of cleaning and battling old cigarette smell. Wish me luck!

Maybe someday I'll take some pictures and let y'all see the new digs. I'll work on that :-)

The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs

2011-03-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed this book soooooo much more than the last two. It takes place, as expected, in a lovely sea side location called Windy Hill. Its a story of two youngsters, 16 and 14 ish years old who are visiting their wealthy cousin in the country. This cousin, Jasper, seems uncharacteristically troubled about something, but is not forthcoming with the details. Oliver, the 16 year old, gets bent out of shape because his cousin Jasper wants him to meet a young lady that lives nearby named Elanor. So, to avoid this meeting he plans to walk to the train station and leave. On the way he meet this guy who is tending bees with his daughter Polly. Oliver stays to help and gets roped into listening to a story that the bee man tells his daughter about the history of the area. Th long and short of it is: Oliver stays, returns to his cousin Jasper's house, keeps meeting the bee man and Polly (who of course turn out to be the dreaded Elanor and her father), learns the history of the family and the Windy Hill, and also solves the mysterious trouble that was upsetting Jasper in the beginning.
The main story wasn't particularly brilliant or intriguing, but the stories the bee man told were what made the book so enjoyable. The first story was about the settling of America, told from the perspective of the Native Americans that first lived in the Windy Hill area. (It is interesting to note that the book makes a point of explaining that the land was obtained from the Indians legally and at a fair price.) The second story was about a family that owned a shipping business during the war of 1812. The third story was about the gold rush in California and what a young man learned during the long and difficult journey across the US.
What I really enjoyed about this book, besides the stories, is the simplicity of it. If feel that a lot of books I've read over the last year or so have been heavy, complicated and concerned with the entire state of civilization. (For example: Hunger Games, The Unincorporated Man, the Mistborn trilogy, The Ugly Duchess, etc.)
The Windy Hill was a simple story of family and honesty and how hands on labor solves a lot of ills and brings you back to what is real. It was refreshing and enjoyable. I have to admit that I am a sucker for a happy ending and a good moral, and this book has both.
My next book is The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum. After that its Cedric the Forester by Bernard Marshall. Then I will be done with 1922.

The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure by William Bowen

2011-02-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

So glad to be done with this book.
It starts out with this 'adorable' little boy whose dad sends down the street to buy some pipe tobacco. The book never actually says, but it gives the impression that this boy is only 6 or 7 years old. So, he goes to get his dad's tobacco, and makes friends with the shop owner and the owner's aunt, and in a fit of naughtiness and curiosity smokes this special tobacco that is kept in a jar shaped like a China man's head and ends up summoning this able bodied seaman who takes them all out to sea in quest of this island called Correction Island. The appeal of this island is that anything that is amiss in someone (physically, emotionally, ideally) can be corrected there. On their way their ship dissolves because the jar shaped like a China man's head gets thrown in the water, but they fortunately make a raft out of the mattresses from the ship (why the mattresses didn't dissolve with the rest of the ship did is beyond me). The mattress raft gets stuck on top of a giant fish, that pulls them night and day until they wind up mattress wrecked on a tropical island. They meet blood thirsty pirates that plan to kill them, but then don't, and then discover that the pirates are actually just ghosts and a committee from the distant city have been looking for this group of pirates to research them because they're so darn fascinating. The Committee for Piratical Research takes the group of travelers to the city were they hunt down the sorcerer that is supposed to make all their wishes come true (because it turns out they have ended up on Correction Island). They find him, and they get their wish and it turns out that Aunt Amanda is a queen, and the little boy is a grown up, and the shop owner has a brother, an a few other things for a few other characters that are very unimportant. We'll in the end it turns out that the sorcerer enchanted them and they were really actually what they were all along. So some random old man from the mountain comes and sets things right and they all wind up back home safe and sound as if they never left. The little boy's parents don't seem to have noticed that he was gone for such a long time, except that they think twice before sending him down the street to buy his dad's tobacco again.
Hopefully the next book will be better. Currently reading The Windy Hill, and its at least written in a style that doesn't make me want to skip entire pages and roll my eyes half the time.

The Great Quest by Charles Boardman Hawes

2011-02-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

So, I wonder if there was a fascination with ships and sailing back in the 1920's as so far 2 of the Newberry books from 1922 have been along these lines (the one I'm reading right now: The Old Tobacco Shop, is also a sailing adventure.)
The Great Quest is pretty much a high seas adventure with all the trimmings. The story is about a young man whose uncle gets manipulated into selling his store and his house to buy a ship so this old 'friend' of the uncles can take them to Africa to claim some amazing treasure. In the end it was a story of betrayal, deceit, an attempt to turn the venture into buying and selling slaves, and I think an attempt to retrieve diamonds. The characters were interesting enough and the story did keep my attention in so much that I wanted to keep reading so I could see if they were able to escape the angry natives and return safely home. Yes, to both.
All in all not a book I would recommend or read again. I found that the style of writing in this book did not enhance the enjoyment of the story for me. It was first person but had a kind of rambling disjointed feel that compelled me to skip entire paragraphs because I couldn't care less about the details that were being provided at the time. I wonder if today's readers are just a lot more impatient and savvy.
I mean, I've already read several books about Africa and slavery and young men who leave small towns and have heartbreaking adventures in foreign lands and find true love in unusual places. I didn't need another 500 page book on these topics.
But, I have to say that The Great Quest was better than the book I'm reading now. Ug! Again, the style of writing makes for rough going and the story itself is not very compelling. But more of that when I actually finish the book.

On a completely different un book related note, I got a Bath and Body Works gift card for my birthday and purchased some smelly lotions with it. The Apricot Vanilla is magnificent and works with my body chemistry splendidly. The P.S. I Love you is foul and smells like old lady and butt. Do not recommend.

Story of Mankind/ Gay Neck

2011-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

First of all, I just disclaim that I had a migraine this morning. As such, my brain isn't functioning entirely correctly. I may misspell some things more than usual or word things strangely. Be ye warned.

I didn't actually finish reading "The Story of Mankind." I just couldn't drag myself through it. Very long and rather tedious. If I had no better education in the generals of history the book might have kept my interest, but it was just too little too late for me. It wasn't a bad book though, and if you want a very western-centric version of history that was mildly inaccurate, go a head and have a go.

Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon (by Dhan Gopal Mukerji), was much better. I read this out of order as I was unable to get my hands on any of the 1922, '23, '24, '25, '26, or '27 books. Gay Neck is the 1928 medal winner and the first one I could actually check out of the Phoenix Public library. They did have a few runners up from previous years, but it was forbidden to actually check them out. Guess they were kept on hold as reference materials or something.
This irritating set back has been remedied though, in that I treated myself to a Kindle for my birthday, and so far I have found all the Newberry Medal and runner up books form the 1920's there. Hooray!

But, back to my review of Gay Neck. Let me first start with saying that I don't like stories about animals. I am not an animal lover by any stretch of the imagination, so reading novels about them doesn't really tickle my interest. That being said, Gay Neck was easy to read, and the story was pleasantly engaging. It is about a carrier pigeon and his adventures. The pigeon was raised in India, so the reader gets some pleasant insight into another culture, and gets some basic and interesting vicarious experience on pigeon raising. The events of the book take you to the Himalayan Mountains and to the battle fields of WWI. There are also a few poignant moments where Hindu ideals are utilized to help the pigeon work through the negative effects of his experiences. All in all I'm glad I read it, but I would probably never read it again, nor particularly recommend it to anyone, unless they were an animal enthusiast.

I am currently reading 'The Great Quest' by Charles Hawes. I am enjoying it. It is very Treasure Island'y in that it's told from a first person perspective, is about adventures on the open sea, and will probably involve pirates.

2011 Endeavor

2011-01-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't really make new years resolutions, but I do set goals. This year I have decided to read all of the Newberry Award winning books, winners and runners up. So far I have gotten my hands on one book, and I foolishly left it at my parent's house last week, and its a library book. Fortunately my parents are visiting this coming weekend, so I'll get back on track.
The biggest challenge I've faced in this endeavor so far is that most of the early books are out of print. They started issuing the Newberry Award in 1922, and so far on the winner seems to be in circulation. I was able to get it at the local library.
Most of the runners up are available as an ebook. I have asked for a Kindle for my birthday and that will help in reading the ebooks, since I think its lame to have to sit at my computer to read books. There is only one book in the 1922 group that is not available to download, but I found a web site that will let me read it, so I guess I'll be reading at least one book on my compy, but that's not too bad.
I'll try to keep a running commentary on the books as I read them.

Currently, I am reading 'The Story of Mankind', by Hendrick Willem Van Loon. It is basically the history of man from the beginning of the first amoeba in the ocean to I guess the 1920's. So far, not very fabulous. Its amazing how much the social consciousness of the world has changed in the last 90 years or so. The book is very western and US centric. Some of the history seems a little inaccurate and pretty rushed. But, for the time it was written and the fact that its Juvy Lit, its not too bad. I do enjoy history, and it is fun reading an extremely abbreviated version of historic period that I have studied fairly thoroughly. If I were a school age child I think this book would teach me interesting things, and broaden my world view in a useful way.

I'm curious to read some of the other books just to see how different they are and to get to know the 1920's a little better though the children's literature of the time.

A good moment in the human race

2010-06-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

So, first of all my morning was delightful because I got to go into work an hour later than usual because I spent an hour longer working from home last night.
On the way to work this morning I encountered two stop lights that were not working. The first one was a small one, not a very busy intersection, so most of the few people that passed through just treated it like a four way stop and traffic moved along pleasantly enough. The second stop light, however, was very busy - several lanes of traffic wide in both directions, and many cars in each lane equally eager to get to their various destinations. Since the light was out there was some substantial piling up behind the intersection. I actually didn't realize that this was because the traffic light was out until I got close enough to see that the light wasn't on. I have to admit that I was so impressed with how orderly traffic continued to move without the ever powerful light of the traffic signal to tell all north/ south, east/ west bound vehicles when to go and when to stop. Again, since the light was out everybody treated the intersection like a four way stop. True, there were a few cars here and there that went a little out of their turn, and some cars that took too long to go so more eager cars went ahead, but for the most part it was very civil and orderly. I also should add that there was no traffic cop on the scene to organize the effort. He actually showed up just as soon as I was going through the intersection (after cordially and politely waiting my turn, mind you).
Anyhow, I was very impressed that humanity still has the natural cooperative instinct in times of 'crisis', when there have been breaches with the normal status quo people can still manage to keep on keeping on without being crazy. Yay people!

Time to pull my head out of the Butt of antisocialness

2010-06-18T19:10:00.001-07:00

I don't think my title is very grammatically sound, but I think the image holds true. Yep, I've been skulking in corners and hiding from social settings of late. It's been really nice not having a lot of commitments pulling me every which way. I recently changed jobs - went from dull grueling psychologically damaging 10 hours a day job of boredom and doom - to less grueling less dull slightly more intellectually stimulating and not quite as soul sucking job of suitableness a few weeks ago. I can already feel the change. I don't fantasize about the next time I get to turn my brain into goo by shutting off all conscience thought process as soon as I get done muscling my way through the work week, and I have even started exercising with my sister in the morning and staying up past - can you believe it- 9:30 at night. My entire psyche breaths a hearty sigh of relief.
I've been batting around the idea of starting up with creative writing again. I'm trying to ease myself into the act by keeping a journal again. I am very sad to admit that I have not faithfully kept a journal for the last 3 or 4 years or so. So much of my fantastic life is utterly undocumented. As those of you who know me well know, only about one third of what I experience in life actually gets stored in my personal memory files. The rest used to be faithfully stored by my delightful friends and family, and sometimes my journal. Alas, now 'tis lost to the wind and the memory of the trees and bushes. (Nah, that's not supposed to make sense. US air signs don't usually, if we can help it.)
Um, I'm in the market for a new car. I love Sir Reggie, don't get me wrong, but there are not luxuries about him. I don't believe that he's gonna get me everywhere I need to go as efficiently as I would like to get there. He's old, for a car, and not very well maintained. I love him, but I think I'm a little too much woman for him. So, suggestions on good cars that can be had for about $5000 would be appreciated.
Love the new Emma mini series. Watched The Box. Very Sci Fi. Would have preferred reading it though. Watched the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Weird. Don't know if I liked it or not. Again, would have preferred to read it. The written word is so much better at making weirdness palatable. Unless its the Trial by Kafka. Ug. Don't try if you don't have to.
Love ya all! TTFn.

I am nothing without my car

2010-01-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

So, funny story about my car. I got ready in the morning like I usually do, prepared my self for the grueling 10 hour day of listening to inane ringback tones and unimaginative voice mail messages (at my fantastic and exciting call center job), walked out of the house to enter my icebox of a car in which the heat still doesn't work because I don't have the five Benjamins needed to get the atmospheric comfort fixed, opened the door and softly, but dreadfully, exclaimed 'oh no'. Why you ask? Because, when I opened my car door the dome light did not jump into bright and cheerful existence. Only one thing deprives the dome light of warm and cheery illumination, and that is a dead battery. Yes folks, this morning the battery in my car died. He was much mourned, as Tev and Bret tried valiantly to resuscitate him with jumper cables and the life force of their intrepid green Dodge, but there was no hope. Rigor mortis had set in and all was lost.

Fortunately, Bret most generously let me take his car to work, so I was only 10 minutes late. Then, it ended up being a fantastic day on the job, as I think I was one of the top performers for my super group. ('Top Performer' and 'Super Group' are very specialized terms used at the good 'ole U of P, meaning - he/ she who does the best, and a large group of people at a certain location, respectfully. Very elite terminology, very hush hush.)

I got home safely, and warmly, as the heat in Bret's car works fantastically, and opted to put off dinner in lieu of getting the battery kufluffle rectified. I then traipsed to Auto Zone, plopped down way more cash than I would have liked to, obtained a new battery, and spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out how to tighten the bolts on the terminals of my battery regardless of how awkwardly they were positioned in relation to the battery itself and its position in my trunk. (Yes folks, my battery resides in my trunk. Very surprising for me this morning when I looked under my hood and failed to find the battery. Thank goodness I am an 'out of the box' kind of person or I might have freaked out when no battery revealed itself in the usual spot.)

Once the battery was safely and satisfactorily secured, I washed my hands, ate a marvelous dinner of bean soup, and chatted with Bret and Tev for a bit. Then I got to read a few stories to my cute little nephew Enok, and now I'm just kicking back enjoying the down time between the long ten hour shifts of my job, by messing around on my trusty computer.

All in all, a pretty good day.

Living Gratefully

2010-01-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

So, I have been hesitant to actually commit to New Years resolutions. I am actually always working on self improvement goals and I usually feel that resolutions on the new year just add to an already heavy list of self expectations.

But, I have been reflecting of late on how I feel about and treat my 'fellow man' and I recognize that there is more room for refinement within my usual endeavors.

So, this year I have decided to strive to live gratefully. What I mean by this is that I am going to seriously look at the things I do, and the things I don't do, and question myself to see if these behaviors are sincere and express my gratitude for the wonderful blessings I receive from the kind and loving people in my life, and the tender mercies that flow from the bounty of the Lord.

I hope that if I come at it from this angle I will more willingly share my time and affection as I truly appreciate genuine gratitude, and I want to be a grateful person.

So, by sending this out into the universe, I hope it will write this desire and commitment into my heart and help me achieve a true sense of Zion in my heat.

Short Story Bit - Articulate

2009-11-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

So, my sister and I have been doing a writing exercise where we give each other a different word each day and we have to write for a minimum of 5 minutes and use the word we were given. We have been doing this for a few weeks and the goal is to continue for 28 days. Well, I decided that I wanted to post one of my writings as my blog for this week. I asked Tev which one she liked the best, and she liked what I wrote when she gave me the word 'articulate'. Here goes:

Sixteen fingers and four thumbs clung desperately to the sharp rugged edge of the cliff. Hot steam and disconcerting brightness swelled from the widening gash in the Earth below.
Jim looked over his right shoulder at Sarah.
"Um, when did you say they would get here?" he half asked, half yelled, trying to be calm while trying to be heard over San Francisco's noisy descent into the open magma pit beneath them.
Sarah rolled her eyes and tried to adjust her hands for a better grip. She didn't try to meet Jim's earnest stare. "I don't know! They said anywhere from ten to thirty minutes."
Jim slowly craned his head back to get a better look at the widening canyon. The ground had split much more quickly than anticipated, and the rushing lava flow was completely unexpected. Even their most outlandish, worst-case-scenario-hypothesis didn't presuppose the dire situation they were now in.
Jim took a deep breath, attempting to keep himself from flying off the handle. How, he wondered, could he best articulate his concerns so Sarah could appreciate the magnitude of the fix they were in?
"Listen, little girl. If the extraction crew is not here in .03 seconds I'm going to use the last ounce of strength in my already numb, bleeding and very exhausted fingers to strangle you as we both plummet to a painful and fiery death!"
Sarah rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. Scientists were always over emotional when they were nearly blown up by a failed reconstruction project and left dangling over fiery pits for long periods of time. She needed a better partner.

This Weeks Goal

2009-11-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

So, I really don't have anything interesting to say this week. Halloween was nice, but I didn't take any pictures, AND I had a migraine. Stupid migraines. It was very unexpected since I have been pretty much chocolate free for months. But, I have been under more stress than usual since I am still unemployed and reaching the end of my money reserves. I am still working on getting a job and I am hopeful that something will come my way, but I am nervous for the day when the money runs out and bills come due.

But, this is not a blog for whining.
This week I have deiced to be more diligent in taking pictures of things. I enjoy reading other blogs so much more when there are pictures to look at, so to facilitate the sharing of my self I hereby commit to keeping my camera with me and taking pictures of my life.

So there..

Also, I have been reading a lot of Sci Fi. And me and my sister have been writing a lot. I think I'll post one of my short bits next time around. I think some of them are pretty good.

TTFN.

Busy weekend with some adventures

2009-10-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

So, I had a busy weekend. One of my very good friends got married on Friday. I got to go to the ceremony in the Mesa Temple and is was lovely. All the old roommates were there to support our beloved friend. The bride was radiant, but it was the groom that cried:-) After the ceremony there was a luncheon. Ok, so one of the questions I have for the universe is: why do the bride and groom always take sooooo long to make it to the luncheon? Seriously! How long does it take to change out of your wedding clothes and walk across the street to the chapel where the food is? Almost every luncheon I have gone to that was held right after the ceremony was delayed at least a half hour to an hour because we were waiting on the bride and groom. If I have an after wedding luncheon I am going to leave explicit instructions to start at the time appointed and sod the bride and groom. If I can't make it on time then I deserve to have people start without me. Humph!

So, there was the wedding, then the luncheon, then a few hours of enjoying not being in a dress, then the reception. I didn't really want to go to the reception because I'm pretty much dead broke right now and didn't have a gift to bring. But, several of my friends weren't bringing gifts either, so I was in good company. The reception was fun in that I got to see several friends that I hadn't seen for a while, and there was some good conversation had that evening. The only snag in the enjoyment was the inevitable tossing of the bouquet. Ug!! My philosophy on bouquet tossing is this: I caught my sisters bouquet 13 years ago when I was 17, and I'M STILL NOT MARRIED, so it's all a bunch of hooey and I refuse to stand in another group of sadly unmarried females in some stupid archaic fertility ritual that's supposed to mean something but only ends with disappointment and vexation.

Saturday I helped my friend Cheryl move into her new house. It is a way cool house and I am delighted that she got such a lovely place as her first home. She didn't have too much big bulky heavy stuff, but the stuff that she did have was a bit beyond me. For those that know me I am a weakling, physically. Fortunately Cheryl and Kristin are pretty fabulous and between the 3 of us we managed to haul a lot of stuff from one house to the next.

Kristin and I had a interesting adventure during the second trip from the old house to the new. Kristin was driving the Uhaul truck and I was in the passenger seat keeping her company. Cheryl was ahead in her own car, as we loaded stuff in in there as well. Well, right as we were passing 35th or 39th ave we hear a police siren. My first thought was, 'is an emergence vehicle behind us and is squealing it's siren at us because we didn't get out of the way'? But, then Kristin looks out the window and confirms that we are being pulled over! We both were very perplexed by this since Kristin was NOT speeding or doing anything else illegal that would warrant our being pulled over. So, perplexed, confused and a bit daunted, we pull over and wait to see what the policemen will do. Next thing I know I hear a police man yelling "Get out of the vehicle! Put your hands in the air and step away from the vehicle." Needless to say we both got out of the truck, put our hands in the air and stepped away. As I was getting out of the truck I looked in Kristin's side view mirror and saw that the policeman on her side has his gun out, pointed at the truck. The officer on my side of the truck had me put my hands on my head and step back slowly. I couldn't see where Kristin was or what she was doing. Once I got close to the officer he took my hands down and pulled them behind my back as if to handcuff me. Fortunately they didn't handcuff me, but they also didn't tell me anything. I just stood there for a while looking confused. Finally, an officer started asking me questions and the word 'theft' was dropped, so my next supposition was 'did Uhaul call in the truck we were driving as stolen?' After more standing and being confused (I finally located Kristin, she was handcuffed and put in the back of the police cruiser) one of the officers let me sit on a nearby bench. I asked if I could call Cheryl so she didn't worry about where we were, and the officer said no. Then more waiting and a few more questions: "do you know so and so, what is the address of the house you left from, where are you going, what is your name, what is the name of the person whose stuff is in the truck...blah blah blah." Finally the officers tell me that they got a call from this guy whose house was robbed by someone whose name was affiliated with the address of the house we were moving out of. The victim saw us pulling out of the house in the Uhaul and concluded that we were the criminals making a getaway with the stolen goods. So, the police were called and the truck was stopped and we were questioned. The victim was there and when he realized that we were not associated with the criminal he apologized profusely, as did the officer. I was ready and happy to go on my way when Kristin came up and very adamantly and teary eyed said it was time to go. I was concerned for her, as she had a much rougher experience - having a gun pulled on her and being handcuffed (she said that they put them on really tight and they hurt pretty bad) and having to sit in a stuffy hot police car for a good 10 minutes. She was mostly upset by the rude police officer that wouldn't tell her why we were stopped and told her very rudely to be quiet just get in the car. The victim and the officers apologized to her as well and she suggested that next time he have more of his facts straight before calling the police on innocent people. Well, Kristin ended up riding with Cheryl (who had come looking for us after we didn't show up at her house and didn't answer the phone when she called), and I drove the Uhaul to its destination. All in all it was a singular experience. I think I got off the easiest, and I have to admit that I enjoyed checking out the good looking officers. They were niiiiccce! And mostly polite.

So, for me, life is still going on. I had a sort of job interview today that I'm still not sure how I feel about. I have another meeting thing on Tuesday and maybe I'll know more about whether I want to embrace the offered 'business opportunity' or just keep looking for a regular 9-5. Those of you that care, please keep me in your prayers as I really need a job:-)

I guess that's all for now. Glad to share this bit of my life with you. Until next week: TTFN!

Being Present

2009-10-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been thinking a lot, because that's what I do, and because I'm still unemployed, and I realize that I am just so not present in so much of my life. This is something I've encountered often in myself and I'm still at a loss of how to really weed this tendency out of myself. I just finished reading a post on Orson Scott Card's blog "Hatrack River" and I was just struck by how he manages to experience so much and learn so much and share so much of himself. I am soooo stingy with me. I don't talk freely or look for opportunities to let people know me better or confide in people or allow myself to be vulnerable (at all! both good friends and perfect strangers must wait a long long time before I really open up and share the things that trouble or concern me. even when I do it is only little tiny bits at very long intervals.) I have been pursuing more actively this idea I've long had of becoming a writer and I sometimes wonder, 'how can I possibly presume to want to become a writer if I can't even get the basics of myself out there?' So, here I am, communicating...I think. I don't know if a blog is really communicating, but I guess it's a start. I will commit to myself to write something in my blog once a week until the end of this year. Hopefully if I get into the habit of writing my thoughts, especially in a public setting like this, I'll start easing the strangle hold I have on me and start allowing myself to..be...here. Yay!! hoping I've taken a positive significant step forward, I am ever - Risa

Random Photos I love

2009-09-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

So, this whole being unemployed thing gives me a lot of time. I've been just killing some of the time by browsing my photo library on my computer. I rediscovered some fantastic pictures that I've taken over the last few years, and I thought I'd share. I wish I could go through and make comments on all the pictures, because some of them are positively marvelous, but I leave it up to anybody's creative imagination to concoct the various stories that go with these images:-) Enjoy.

Sir Reginald, Duke of Chutney

2009-09-29T15:54:00.001-07:00

Yep, that is the name of my new car. I've actually had it for more than a month, but I've been remiss in posting about it. So, for all intents and purposes it's new. He's a 1990 BMW 325i with 6 cylinders, 4 doors, power windows, pretty good AC, and a lot of fixer upping.
Among the long list of things that need fixing are: new tires, new motor for drivers side back power window, new tubes and belts, new electric cluster, at least 5 new sensors, had to fix coolant leak, needs new front shocks, new upholstery in front and back, did already replace windshield wipers, and brake pads are squeaky.

But, I LOVE my car. I have wanted a car like this for a loooooong time. It is a dream come true, even if the dream comes with a lot of maintenance bills.

Home Again Home Again, Jiggidy Jig

2009-08-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

So, I'm back in good 'ole Phoenix Arizona after a month of traveling and visiting family. It was pretty sweet. I spend 4 days in England visiting my good friend Florence.

I ran into an old friend/ co-worker, Dan, and met up with Rebecca as well. Hooray for the fantastic people in England!!

I got into Phoenix on Friday, went to see Wicked at the Gammage Theater on Saturday (with my beloved long time best friend Cynthia) then hopped the border into Mexico with my family on Monday.

Mexico was awesome. I FINALLY got a bit of a tan on my pasty skin. We swam and ate tons of Mexican food and lounged around and chatted and all the usual things you do on vacation in a tropical area.

Every year we eat at this chicken place that is scrumdiddlyumptious. This year they had a guy making balloon animals. He made a cute white poodle for me.

After Mexico I spent a week with my folks in Pinetop/ Lakeside, then a bout 5 days with my brother and his family in Utah. I made it back to Phoenix this last Monday (the 24th).

I also got a new car, which I LOVE, but I have to dedicate a separate blog to it. I have to take some snazzy pictures of my baby first.

Anyhow, it's GREAT to be back. Yeayyyyyy!!

There are Some things you Never get over

2009-07-19T05:32:00.001-07:00

Number one is the desire to look good in a swim suit.....sigh
But other things I am thinking of:
you never get over the need to wash your face 100 times after you've been out in the wretched humidity that makes your face feel like a 90 year old frying pan that has seen it's share of greasy eggs and bacon.
you never get over how good it feels to get utterly drenched in a ferocious monsoon, then go inside, strip down, shower for about a hour, put on soft fluffy clothing and curl up on a squishy sofa with hot chocolate, a good book, and a warm blanket.
you never get over the comforting feeling of having enough money in your bank account to get that fantastic pair of shoes, see a movie, eat out with friends and loan $20 to a sibiling on a whim.
you never get over how good it feels to get the most bearest of bear hugs from the best hugger in the world.
you never get over the insatiable desire to make yummy sounds when you're eating food that you love and haven't eaten for about a year. (Mom's cooking and La Casita, here I come!!)
But, most important of all, you never get over the wonderful feeling of anticipation as you prepare to embark on a long but glorious journey that will lead you to all you favorite and beloved people, and ultimately, home.
*huge sigh of contentment*

Yeah, you never get over that:-)

Keeping Busy

2009-07-07T05:01:00.001-07:00

Well, I have been living it up here in Korea these last few weeks.

First of all, I caved in and joined Face Book. In my defense, I must say that I have way too many people to keep in touch with. Face Book was the quickest, easiest and most efficient answer. So, even though my innermost sentiments still rail against being a part of such a cheap sociological convention, the people I love and would leave behind are worth the compromise.

Hmmm, well, I have been busy and there is a lot to relate. I guess I'll start at the beginning.

The adventures started two weeks ago when some friends and myself traveled to Busan. It is a coastal town on the southern tip of Korea. It is about a 3 hour jaunt in the KTX (an express train that goes from Seoul to Busan). I do so enjoy traveling in trains. It is so nice not to have to worry about directions or how to get somewhere. You just get to sit back, have good conversation, play cards, read books or just sleep.

We got into Busan safe and sound. Our first stop was our hotel. We dropped off our bags and then headed out to the beach. We walked around and ate some of the strange local cuisine - namely boiled hermit crab and silk worm larve (benodegi in the native lingo). The former is salty, the latter tasted like dirt and tree bark that was flushed through the digestive tract of an earth worm. Ug.

We then took a boat out to some islands. The weather was lovely!! It was a bit nippy on the boat, but it was worth it.

After the boat we took a long walk and ate dinner at Papa John's. It was most refreshing to eat such familiar food.

The next day, early, we went to the largest sauna in Korea. It was on of those group bathing experiences. The men and women were separated, but all the women were naked together, as were all the men. This was my first time with group nudity, but I found it to be interesting and liberating. I was there with 3 other friends. We are now exceptionally close, now that we have seen each other naked:-)

There were several different kinds of baths you could sit in - a regular hot bath, several (very) cold baths, an herb bath, a salt bath, an old lady's bath, an outdoor bath (hot and cold), and a half bath. The half bath was simply that - a bath that was so shallow that only half of your body was immersed. There were also several massaging waterfalls, a hot tub, and, most glorious of all, the option of several kinds of massages. The most expensive was an exfoliating one, the cheapest was a face massage. Me and 2 of my friends went for the standard massage: elbows and feet digging into every place a knot could possibly hide. One friend went for the exfoliating one, which was the same as the standard massage but included a 10 minute rub down with exfoliating stuff. The interesting thing about the massage was that it was all done completely nude. THAT was a new experience for me. They chuck you on a table, throw a hot wet towel on the part of your body they are going to work on first, smack you a bit, massage vigorously, then throw another hot towel on the next part and so on and so on. After they get the back side of the body done they flip you over and go at it on the front side. Mind you, they massage EVERYTHING. At one point my masseuse climbed on me, straddled me and elbowed the knots in my back like crazy!! It hurt like the dickens, but it felt oh so good. After accosting the knots in my back she STOOD UP ON ME, braced herself up by putting her hands on my shoulder, then used her feet to 'massage' my legs. It was a singular experience. Effective though. I was sore for days. I recommend it to anyone.

As an afterthought, here is a picture of the friends I went to Busan with.

After the sauna we ate some fantastic food, then headed home. Very satisfactory.

The next weekend I took a visit to the fish market with some friends. The trip to the fish market was inspired by our trip to Busan. I was hankering for some fresh crab and we never found a good place to eat. So, my friends suggested that we go to the fish market and buy a fresh (live) crab and eat it at the market. (They have restaurants right there that will cook your fresh caught sea fare for a small fee). So, we walked around and looked at the cool live sea animals that people eat. Here are some pictures:

We then picked out a crab, and some shrimp, and had them cooked. It was sooooooo good! We pretty much just ate the shrip, crab and rice, but no better breakfast could be imagined.

Also, one of my friends decided to get some shashimi. They fished out the live fish, gutted and sliced it up right there for us. I had a great video of this but it was taking too long to upload, so maybe next time.

Well, that's all for now. This upcoming weekend is already busy, as is next weekend. I'll try to post more regular so they're not so long.
TTFN

Personal Conditioning

2009-06-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

So my question is how do I overcome the things I have conditioned myself into? Yesterday I had a very good conversation with a friend. We were both lamenting certain circumstances we have in common and shared the experiences that led us to those circumstances (yes, I am being cryptic on purpose). In the course of our conversation I realized that I am experiencing these circumstances because I have conditioned myself to recognize certain situations and react to them a certain way.

I recognize that it is a very big and important step to realize one's self destructive patterns, to identify where they come from and own personal responsibility for their existence, but, I don't know how to uncondition myself. I don't know how to suddenly start feeling good about things I have trained myself to feel bad about. I don't know how to be happy about things I that I have tried so hard to be miserable about. I don't know how to want things that I believed I couldn't want and didn't deserve.

Also, if anyone has any advice about creating an path between the logical and emotional side of things, I would love to hear it.

For All Of You Who've Ever Wanted To See Me Naked

2009-05-31T06:43:00.000-07:00

So, my students crack me up. I have put together a few pictures so you can get a sense of how fun my classes sometimes are.

This picture is of a drawing that a student did when we were discussing ocean creatures. Please note the pile of do-do in the bottom right corner. Also, take a close look at the whale. Is he farting?

This next picture is from my 6 year old student. I teach him in a class all by himself. It's just him and me every tuesday and thursday for an hour and a half. We play a lot of games and he is learning very quickly. Last thursday we did a work sheet where he was supposed to draw a picture of a family member. He didn't want to draw someone from his family, so I said it was OK to draw me. This is the picture he drew. I do much wonder why a 6 year old would be so familiar with the female anatomy. I had no idea that I so closely resembled such a disgruntled shark.

These last pictures are from 2 of my more advanced classes. I brought my camera to school for kicks and let the students take the pictures. One of my classes was very excited to be in a picture, and one was very shy. Some of the pictures of my students hiding from the camera. The funny thing was, they all wanted to get the camera and take the pictures, but none of them wanted to be in them. Silly kids.

Korea Is Beautiful

2009-05-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures I have taken over the last year of Korea of the beautiful sights I have seen. Sadly, I'm not much of a picture taker so there aren't many. Enjoy!

View all

Get your own

Being Productive

2009-05-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I have spent my morning being more than usually productive, and I think I should keep it up for fear that I will turn on my DS and spend the next hour trying to get gold medals in the computing and thinking categories of the game Big Brain Academy.

According to this game I am not a strong thinker or doer of math.

Actually, I always knew the math bit. Me and Math are not good friends. We have a congenial social understanding that consists of limited interaction and even less intellectual discussion. We both agree to stay out of each others business and it has been working so far.

However, I would really like to succeed at this game and Math is really giving me a hard time. Stupid math. So, I have been spending too many hours trying vainly to improve my computing abilities. I did manage to finagle a gold medal on the easy levels on all the computing games, but more than that is beyond me right now. I'll have to think of some sneaky convoluted way to get around these categories.

In the Memory, Analysis, and Identifying sections of the game, though, I am excellent. This doesn't necessairly give me satisfaction though, since every time I take the 'test' it tells me that I have the brain of a museum curator. I don't think that's particularly flattering. I don't know anything about what a museum curator does, but I don't think its very glamerous. Once I was told that I had the brain of Michaelangelo, but I think that might have been a fluke.

Anyhow, I have good news. I now officially know when I am leaving Korea! The head teacher informed me yesterday that I will be leaving on the 20th. HOORAY!!

So, I will go from Korea to England where I will visit a dear and delightful friend who is studying in London. I will probably spend 3 or 4 days there, then head to the good ole US of A before the next weekend starts.

I am utterly delighted to have the opportunity to visit one of my favorite countries and spend time with one of my favorite people. If I have to admit of having any ambitions for my time in England beyond breathing the delightful air and enjoying good company, I hope to see a play at the Globe theater and get some good authentic Dr. Who memborilia. Preferrably a sonic screwdriver and a t-shirt that communicates something cool about the show. I do love The Doctor. What is not to love about a completly emotionally unavailable man that goes all over the universe saving everybody from themselves? Fabulous.

As far as my day to day goes I am making it through. My Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes are getting pretty easy. I have a comfortable repore with my students and each class pierod goes by smoothly and pleasantly. Tuesday/ Thursday is not so nice. I only have 2 classes, but they are an hour and a half long, and let me tell ya, the extra half hour is brutal. My Tu/ Thu classes are basic level English, and that is brutal too. I am not a 'grass roots' type of person. I don't do things on a basic, simple, 'building a foundation' level. It drives me crazy! None of my students on Tu/ Thu can say much, let alone have a conversation. They are also very young, and very few. My first class consist of 3 girls, my second class in only 1 boy. The boy is 7 years old by Korean recconing, which means that he would only be 5 or 6 in the US.

How is this, you ask? Well, when Koreans are born they are automatically considered to be 1 year old. Then, when the Lunar New Year comes around, everybody advances to the next age up together. So, someone born in December could be 2 years old before they ever actually encounter their first birthday. It's strange and rather pointless to me.

From what I have observed, birthdays in Korea don't seem to be very much of a big deal. My students tell me that their birthday is coming, but there doesn't seem to be any anticipation of partys or gifts. Indeed, the gift giving seems to be focused on the Korean holiday of 'Children's Day'. Childrens Day was May 5th (Yep, Cinco de Mayo!! We actually got that day off. My first day off since Lunar New Year in January.) All of my students were very excited about this holiday. They enthuasitically talked about the many many many gifts they expected to receive on this day. Then, on the 6th, they talked about the many many many gifts they actually did receive. Most of the gifts were rather pricy - new bikes, Nintendo DS's with several games, new shoes, etc. I sort of wonder if this is the big gift giving bonanza that Christmas and Birthday are supposed to be.

One thing to note about Korea is everything is done en masse. Things are done collectively. If one student has something, every student expects to get a piece or a part or one of their own. If something is going to be done, everybody does it together. So, I guess the mass giving of gifts on the same day is very in line with the culture.

Being raised in an individualistic socitey this idea of everybody trying to be in line with everybody else is rather unpleasant to me. I don't like being a part of the crowd, I don't like being copied, I don't like doing what other people are doing, or thinking or wanting. Of course, this could be just my general dislike for blending in, which has been an intergral part of my personality from pretty much the beginning.

Well, I guess that about does it for now.

I am going to the Korean Folk Village this weekend and hopefully I'll take some pictures to share. I am excited about this trip as I like things that are provincial and traditional. I'll let you know how it goes:-)
TTFN!!

Three Months and Counting

2009-04-30T05:36:00.000-07:00

So, I've been meaning to have a nice long ramble, and I think today is as good as any.

As it is a Thursday, I had a fairly leisurely time of it at work. I only teach two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Combined there are only a total of 4 students - one class has 3, one has 1. Brutal, I tell you. Both classes are very low level. None of the students can actually converse in complete sentences. But they are soooooooooooo sweet. I absolutely love these kids.

All my students are pretty great. Some don't know how to sit down for 5 minutes together to save their lives, and some don't know how to make a sentence without using the word poo, but all in all they are great kids. I am very grateful to get to know them.

My co workers are pretty swell too. Today I came into work and there was a lovely ice cream thing on my desk from one of my fellow teachers. It is the custom here to share things, pretty much everything. So, if you bring something in to snack on, everybody gets a piece. I kind of like it. I often come into work and find some tasty treat on my desk from one teacher or other. I also try to contribute to the yummy enjoyment from time to time. Good way to build the teacher skills.

Let me talk a bit about eating in Korea. Well, eating Korean style. I've been meaning to post on this subject for a while and keep putting it off.......
Anyhow - it is a very interesting experience. I have only had Galbi and Shabu-Shabu, but both, I think are good examples of the eating customs here. First of all, there is the central main dish that everybody picks from. In Galbi you have a central grill thing that you cook marinated meat on. They also give you other stuff to throw on the grill - like whole cloves of garlic, mushrooms, and dott ( a yummy rice thing that is delicious with Galbi). While your meat is a fryin' they bring in all kinds of bowls of stuff. It is mostly pickeled or kimchie-ified, or onions. They LOVE onions there. I have seen people eat whole salads made entirely of onions with a small drizzle of some kind of vinigery dressing.
(I must digress here for a second. The most horrifying consumption of onions I have wittnessed was at Costco. I was there with friends having a snack. I noticed that there was a lot of action at the condiment stand. Wondering what all the fuss was about I watched for a while. The condiment stand has a huge dispenser that is filled to the brim with diced onions. The koreans would get an empty plate and FILL it with onions. Then they would go to the ketchup dispenser and smother the onions with ketchup. THEN they would do the same at the mustard dispenser. Then they would take their foul plates to their tables and EAT THE ONION MIXTURE WITH A SPOON!!! They didn't even put it on a hot dog or anything. THEY ATE IT LIKE IT WAS A SALAD. I about died. It was a singular experience......)
Back to Galbi though. In the end your table is literally covered with small and medium sized bowls and plates with various stuff in them - dips, veggies, different kinds of kimchie, pickled radishes, tofu, seweed, and salads. It is actually fantastic to wittness. I personally don't eat 98% of the stuff that is brought out because I #1 hate onions, #2 hate anything that is sweet pickeled (which seems to be the only kind of pickeling they do here), and #3 hate kimchie with all the burning indignation of my soul. I mostly eat the meat, the lettuce leafs, the dott and the wonderulf dip made out of soy beans. Everybody goes at everything with their chop sticks and had a great time chatting and drinking and gossiping about our stupid boss who still hasn't decided whether we're going to get a summer break or not. Oh, a note on the drinking bit. While eating the Galbi it is custom to consume the native alcoholic drink Soju. My Canadian and English co-workers tell me that it is an alochol that must be pretty roughly distilled as they have the most wretched hangovers in the morning. The Korean's don't seem to mind it though. There is also a lot of beer that is drunk, and a little cider (the equilivent of sprite in the States). Since this is a more collective oriented society nobody gets their own bottle of anything. They order 1 or 2 large bottles of the stuff, then pour it round into everybodys cup. Apparently it is not polite to serve yourself liquids, especially Soju. Soju must be served to you, and with both hands. It is very inappropriate to use only one hand to serve Soju.....

Enough about eating. So, those of you who have been keeping up will know that I cut my left hand in March. Stupid accident, really - a knife and an apple conspired against me, and I lost. Well, last week, I was washing dishes when my kitchen utinsils conspired against me again!!! I was putting my right hand into a glass cup, and WHAMMO! it broke and cut a long gash in my right index finger. Another trip to hospital and another 7 stitches ensued. How ridiculous is that!?!? Who cuts themselves twice in 2 months????? This cut was deeper than last time and required 2 internal stitches. It also got a little infected from the cup, so I had a grueling 7 day regimin of antiboitics to take. (Mind you the pills were in addition to 2 butt shots of antiboitic I got at the hospital after the stitching was finished.) I handeled this cut much better than last time. I didn't almost pass out, or cry or have to miss work. I was feeling so not crappy, in fact, that I watched them put the stitches in. It was pretty cool. I didn't watch them numb my hand (I still hate needles almost as much as I hate kimchie) but the stitching was pretty awesome.

Let me take a second to say that the Korean hospitals I have been to are stellar. They get you in and out quickly, they give you good service while you're there, and they don't charge you and arm and a leg. My stitches cost only 56,000 won - which is about $35 US. Not too shabby.

Hmmm, what else can I ramble about. Well, I'm fairly busy still. One of the reasons to come to Korea was to escape the business and social responsibility of my life in the states. I wanted to drop off the face of the planet for a while and just coast in a life of solitude and reflection. Alas, it has not been as I expected. I am very busy with church, having 2 callings that keep me constantly involved in the branch, and I have fantastic friends that keep inviting me to stuff that is fun to do. So, my hopes of a hermit-esque existence have been dashed. Ah, well. I can't really complain. The more I am busy the more I think I enjoy it. I really like seeing how I can affect people for the better. I like weilding the power of easing social awkardness and conversing with those that don't find it easy to meet new people. I find that I am rather dynamic in a group, when I'm feeling good anyway. When I'm not feeling particularly social I just sit back and watch the human parade and enjoy the idyosyncracies around me. People are always amusing.

Other stuff. Well, every month or so one for the military guys has a 'party' at his house. He calls it "Bob's House of Blues'. Its a 'party' where people come to contribute some kind of performance skill they have. There are a lot of talented people in the branch and we like to exhibit our talents. There is lots of guitar playing and singing, but there is also some poetry reading and stuff like that. Last BHOB's I actually got up and read some bits of short stories I am working on. They were favoribly received, so I think I'll share some more. I am almost finished with one. I may post it on Tev's blog "In A Flash" when it's done, so keep a eye out, eh? I also sang a few songs, but my guitaring is rusty since I left good 'ole Bruno in America. My left hand especially feels the lack of practice, since it has been gimpy for the last 2 months from the stitches. I pulled off 'Snow Bird' pretty decently though, I think.

Ok, I think that is enough self indulgence for now. If anybody actually made it to the end of this intolerable ramble, my hat is off to you. Thanks everybody who has kept in touch and validates me as a person by commenting. I love to hear from y'all. I would love to say that I'm going to be better at posting in a more consistent manner, but that would be lying:-)

So, I'll finish by saying that I am very happy here, albeit deprived of the full pleasure of eating food that acutally tastes good, and that I wouldn't trade my experiences so far for anything. Please keep the comments coming.
Adieu and hugs and kisses

Nephi's Reception

2009-04-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

So, I went to my big brother's wedding reception last Sunday, in Japan. It was pretty great. It was awesome to see my brother and his new wife and his great kids. I really love visiting them. Japan has better food than Korea too. Big plus in my life:-)
So, I took a few pictures of the happy couple, and a short video. The video is of the cake cutting part of things. I thought it was very sweet:

I also took pictures, but upon review, I realize that I just take crappy pictures. So the video will have to suffice for now.

The reception was very small. There were about 20-25 people. Just some close friends of Nephi and Naomi. There were also a lost of kids there. Nephi and Naomi love kids.
Nephi's 2 kids were there: Elijah and Alisha. They are wonderful. Elijah understands some English, so I got to chat with him a bit. Alisha doens't understand as much, but she is still great to be around. I can't wait until they are older and can come and hang out with me in the US. I really hope that someday they can come stay with me and maybe do a year of school in the US. Elijah really takes after our side of the family in behavior and attitude. He is mostly happy and easy going and jokes around a lot. I don't know who Alisha takes after, but she is lovely and very much aware of it. She is so good though. I enjoyed every minute I spent with them.

They also had gifts for everybody that came. I got a pretty handkerchief from Naomi's mom, and a beautiful scarf and a FANTASTIC shirt from Nephi and Naomi. I get the biggest kick out of the English words Japan and Korea (and probably China) put on their clothing. It is hilarious! The grammar errors and convoluted thoughts that are printed and sold in the stores here just crack me up.

The reception was very touching as well. There were many tears shed as friends talked about Nephi's and Naomi's relationship and the friendship they both offer. I lost it and blubbered a little bit during Nephi's speech. It was just so great to see the love that everybody in the room had for my brother and it was comforting to be reminded that he is being taken care of. Sometimes I worry about him all alone in Japan - no family for hundredes, nay thousands, of miles. I was so grateful to see his friends and know that he is loved.

I was happy to fill in for the family and represent the Webb clan. I also got to welcome Naomi into the family and give her a big hug for loving my brother. Us Borrego/ Webb combos are a bit much at times and I honor anybody that is willing to take any of us on.
All in all, it was a great way to spend my weekend. Congrat's big bro and new sis!!

How Do Hypocondriacs Do It?

2009-04-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

So, I got my stitches out on Thursday. Glory Halelluiguah!!! (Yeah, I know I spelled that wrong...I forgive myself). So, now I have the use of my left hand and that makes life so much better. I still have to keep the cut area taped for a few weeks, just in case, but at least I'm functioning at 95% of the level I used to function before.

But, my comment abou Hypocondriacs. When I got my stitches I was shot with 3 different needles and almost passed out twice. When I got my stitches out it was moderately painful, but tolerable. I also had to get a shot to be immunized against Hep B, since I apparently didn't have any antibodies when I first came to Korea. This was my thrid injection, and hopefully final one. But the injecion made my arm sore for 3 days. Ug.

So, what I don't understand is why would anybody want to go to a hospital hoping to be sick. Taking tests is miserable. Getting poked with various needles sucks. I don't know why anbody would want to give a doctor full range of their body trying to find something wrong.

Anyhow, I don't want to gripe. I am happy to have my hand back. I am happy to wash dishes and open cans and clean my hair with both hands. So satisfying.

7 stitches

2009-03-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

so, i was cutting an apple this morning and the knife slipped and cut a nice long gash in between my thumb and forefinger. ug. i had to go to the hospital. i got 7 stitches. i almost passed out twice - both times were when they cleaned it. i actually watched the doctor put in the last 2 stitches. it was pretty cool. i just couldnt stand the cleaning. it really hurt. i hate the way it feels to almost pass out. yuck. but, i got the day off, and slept for most of it. i am on the mend. i am excited to get the use of my hand back though. it is hard onlt having one hand (like, right now i am typing with one hand. very laborious process.)
here is a picture of my bandaged hand, and a picture of my meds. i think its funny that they are pre packaged in convenient individual bags.

Songs I really like, and why

2009-03-06T05:47:00.000-08:00

So, I was listening to my ipod at work, and I was thinking about some of the songs that I really really like, and the reasons that I like them. I figured I would pick some and share.

1. The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice - First off, almost anything by Damien Rice is fantastic. I like The Blower's Daughter especially because it very thoroughly captures the way you feel when you encounter somebody that so completely fries your brain that all you can do is repeat simple but meaningful phrases over and over and over again, hoping that your constant mental mumbling will wear the words down to their very essence, allowing you to inhale deeply and assimilate them into your soul.

2. Ain't Nothing Wrong With That by Robert Randolph and The Family Band - This song downright just feels good. It has a fantastic tempo, clever catchy lyrics and an overall vibe that makes you want to smile and sing and choreograph amazing routines. This is one of the few songs in my musical library that I have never skipped and am always in the mood for.

3. Amsterdam by The Dresden Dolls - I have to admit that I don't listen to this one very often, but I love it when I do. This song is gritty and raw. It is earthy and carnal and base and unsophisticated, but deep in a perplexing and captivating way. The images from the song play in my mind as if shown on an old projection screen. Kind of like a silent film but more so. Good stuff.

4. Danny's Song by Loggins and Messina - Ah.....A deep sigh of contentment and peace, please. This song is sitting by a window with a warm patchwork quilt and hot tea on a rainy day in the mountains. This song is the scratchy faded memory of a week long road trip to the best place you've ever been with the best people you've ever known. This song is the moment that you look at all the chaos in your life and realize that none of it matters, so you take off your jacket, throw it over your shoulder, and mosey into the surrounding nature to watch the sun set.

5. Tennessee Wedding by Jim Bianco - This song is a great cross section of the human condition. It is so very visual that you are practically there watching the show, smelling the sweaty heat, the food, the lies; hearing the mosquitoes, the laughter, the cheap backyard band, tasting the flat champagne, the meaty smoke, the warm pasta salad. You just have to listen to it to know.

I don't know how to put music on my post, but if I could I would post these songs for your listening pleasure. Alas, my ineptitude of computery things.

And now for something completely different - A man with a stoat through his head.

When I Die

2009-03-03T04:27:00.001-08:00

Several years ago I took a class at ASU. It was a 3 hour class that met every Wednesday. It was called Literature about Science and Nature by Women, but really consisted of damming everything that didn't hail women as the be all end all of everything and condemning all customs, norms, religions, and cultural practices that didn't think men were the devil.
Anyhow, on the course of this class there was a discussion of death that arose. Several of the students talked about what they wanted to happen to their bodies after they died. Most were in the camp of cremation or regular casket burial. One fellow though said that he didn't want any pomp or circumstance with his body. He just wanted a hole to be dug and his body thrown in. He wanted to molder in the earth and return to the nature from which he sprang. I thought that was a very interesting thing to want for your body and have often pondered on it since.

I did not contribute anything to the discussion at the time as I had no opinion on the subject. The standard cultural method of disposing human remains was perfectly adequate and I needed all my brain power to make it through that class without loosing my temper.

But, sometimes I do sit and think about what to do with the 'ole girl when I've passed on. I believe I have finally come to a conclusion.
I want to be burned on an old fashioned funeral pyre. I think its a great way to go out. Wrap my body in white linen, stack the logs good and high, douse it all in something fantastically flammable and let 'er rip! How cool would that be?

A Glimpse into the Crazy

2009-02-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

So, I think I've made some progress, psychologically speaking.

For those of you that don't know, I regularly have 2 different recurring dreams.

One is that I'm either married (or being compelled to marry) someone that I don't love, or that I have (through my feminine wiles) coerced someone into loving me that I don't feel anything for....I know, creepy, and fairly obvious as to the subconscious meaning.

The other recurring dream is that I am trying to take a shower, and through various circumstances am constantly prevented from doing so. There are two interesting things to note within these dreams: #1 The shower I am trying to use is always located in a strange place - almost never in a bathroom. The last 3 locations were in the living room of a tiny apartment, on the back porch of a very large country house, and in a rotting shack attached to the 2nd floor of a business office. #2 In these dreams I am always naked (or wrapped in only a towel). There are always people around (which is usually why I can't get into the shower in the first place) but I am never troubled with the whole 'naked in public' thing. The only time I feel a little uncomfortable regarding my un-clothed state is when I consider that the people around me may be a bothered by it.

So, where does the psychological progress come in? Well, last night I had one of the shower dreams, and I ACTUALLY GOT TO GET INTO THE SHOWER!!!! It was amazing! I don't think I have ever gotten into the shower in my life. True, it was in a dilapidated shack where the floor was full of gaping holes and the water was barely trickling out of the shower head, but progress is progress. I don't really know for sure that this means since I don't really know what the shower dreams mean, but I know it's progress because for once in my life I didn't wake up extremely frustrated and annoyed with the human race.

Deep breath of satisfaction.
As much as I don't like the country, I think Korea has been good for me.

Self Conscience Ego

2009-02-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

So, what do I write when I know what I write is being read? I would love to be pithy. Profound and pity. These are two of my favorite things to be.
But, philosophical is also a favorite, as well as ironic, cryptic and melodramatic. All good adjectives. All relatively unaccessable states of being.
Maybe I've just been watching too much House. Gee Wilikers, I love that man. Why do the Brits keep on making the good ones? Jeremy Irons, David Tennant, the Beatles, Hugh Grant, .....some would add Sean Connery, but he's not a favorite of mine. I cant respect an actor who can't modify his accent. Which is why Anthony Hopkins isn't on the list. I'm also going to have to give Australia honorable mention for Hugh Jackman. I know many do like him, but glory halleliugah, have you seen that man?!?!

Enough of the man lovin'.

I have officially been in Korea for over 7 months, and I will be leaving in less than five. What a thought. What a happy, glorious, pinto bean laden thought it is. I am hurting for some good Mexican food, hence the pinto bean comment. I was fantasizing about the restaurant Carolina's just a little while ago. I miss the burritos, and the horchata, and the close proximity it used to have to my abode. But, if I really want to get hot and bothered about Mexican food, I only have to think about momma's cookin', and the goodness that is La Casita. But, if I let either of those two sources of edible ecstacy enter my mind for too long I will truly feel tormented, and nobody likes that.

I'm reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and enjoying it very much. Although, I have to say, that a lot of the stuff that Covey talks about, I am already implimenting. At least, as far as the first two habits go. But, the third habit, I think, will be good for me. This whole idea of first things first is really needed in my life. I realize that I have struggled with that always. Thank gooness for rational people that know how to put good ideas into words.

Umm, I really want to go on, but my brain is dry. I think I'll have to sleep on it. Maybe put my photos on my compy and share, later.

Well, ttfn, I guess:-)

2009-01-25T05:57:00.000-08:00

So, this last Friday I had the singular pleasure of participating in a Murder Mystery game with a few friends. It was called "Pistols, Passion and Pasta". It was the sordid tale of the murder of a semi wealthy restaurant owner. We, the family/ friends of the murder victim met to discuss the murder and try to weed out the guilty party

I, probably obviously, was the gypsy best friend for the greiving widow. Straight off the bat it was determined that I was not the murder, but I gave a lot of vital information via visions and prescient dreams. My character name was Clair Voyant (ha ha!!)

This game was soooo fun! The group of people participating was pretty awesome as well. I would do this again in a heart beat!

Needless to say, the guilty party was after money, even though there were lots of romantic entanglements that could have sufficed as motive for murder.

Everybody participating did their utmost to emulate a faithful Italian accent. I, however, opted for a mysterious and raspy Russian accent. It was delightful to attempt a consistent accent for an entire evening. I am happy to report that I did pretty good. Not perfect, but as faithful as possible under the circumstances.

Anyhow, I hope the photos provide some viewing enjoyment for y'all.

The photos were provided courstey of my dear and beloved friend Rebecca. Thanks girl!

Days Like This

2009-01-22T03:33:00.000-08:00

So, I really love days like this. Days where everything you were expecting to be dismal and unbearable ends up being tolerable, surprisingly fun, and even a little rewarding. When you expected time to drag and torment you, but ended up slipping by like a warm spring zephyr. When you expected to have a cold dreary walk home, but actually felt the wonderful prelude to a hopefully not too distant spring in the balmy, moisture laden air that kissed your cheeks as you stepped outside.

Yeah, days like this make life all that it is and more.

I wrote a poem once called "On Nights Like This," that I can't quote because it's too long, but had a recurring phrase at the end of certain thoughts. The phrase was "you really feel the breeze." Well, I have to say that tonight was one of 'those nights.' There was a soft, tender breeze dancing a Viennese waltz around me all the way home. There was rain in the air and the sky had that slightly red hue to it that you get in big cities with lots of lights when its cloudy. There was the slightest bit of wet coming from above, every few steps or so, and I could almost smell a hint of wet earth as I walked over the bridge of the river I live by.

On day's like this I don't mind that I'm turning 30 next week. I don't mind that I'm stuck in a country that doesn't understand good food, on any level. I don't mind that I somehow manage to pile stuff on my bed every day before I leave the house that I have to pile off in order to go to sleep. I don't mind that I have to walk 15 minutes to get to the subway stop, usually ride the subway for at least an hour to anywhere, and walk another 15 or 20 minutes before I've actually made it to my destination. On day's like this I don't mind that the office culture that I work in requires you to give 10,000 won (about 10 bucks) to the head teacher every time someone has a birthday because it is the custom to give the birthday celebratee money (meaning, in essence, that everybody gets the same amount every birthday, so by the time the year is up you've all 'donated' the exact same amount you receive....). And I don't even mind that we were also all required to 'donate' 10,00 won to get our ridiculous, money grubbing, poorly-minded -for-business-management boss a gift for Lunar New Year.

I am currently at peace with all this because it was a glorious 46 degrees ouside on my way home tonight.

I actually took some time to stand by the stairs that lead to the river and just look out over the pleasing prospect.

It is night and the river is black and very cold, but it is still alive. As it is winter it mostly just sloggs through the dead underbrush and over the weary stones, under the various bridges, around the many footpaths, through tunnels, and beside tall edifices of modernity; but it carries on and meets up with the Han River where it tells a friendly and innocent tale of its daily travels before losing itself in the great solem droll of the larger water. I like to think that the stories my river tells are the favorites of the Han. I think the Han writes them down in the annals of history and thumbs through them when he needs a little pick me up after a long day.

Well, that's enough for now:-)
TTFN!!

Experiences on the Subway

2009-01-11T05:32:00.001-08:00

So, I recently had some interesting experiences on the subway.

Firstly, I was on my way home from visiting some friends. (We just had a lovely dinner at a Lebonnese restaurant that was FANTASTIC, then we walked to Itaewon and had some desert and some fabulous dessert.) I walked down to the subway platform and was walking to a spot that was less peopled when I passed by this guy. I had the strangest sentation that he wanted to talk to me. So, I turned around and casually moseyd back in his direction and nonchalantly stopped about 3 feet away. As soon as I stopped he turned to me and started talking! It was so interesting. We talked about what brought us to Korea and stuff like that. We were only on the subway together for about 3 stops (about 7 minutes) but it was nice to chat. He gave me his address before he left.

Secontly, on the same night, (same journey home, different subway line) I was sitting reading my book (Shadow of the Giant, very good) and these two Korean guys, both older so they should know better, started arguing up a storm. They were really going at it, verbally. Since I don't speak Korean I had no idea what they were so mad about, but I was very surprised at the ferocity of the debate. The strangest thing was that I'm pretty sure that the two guys were strangers. I don't think they knew each other, yet they were so determined to hash out their disagreement so publically. It took a long time before they stopped yelling, and then only at the clam and patient mediation of another stranger on the subway. He was very calm and careful in how he handled the irate fellows. It was an interesting show in the human drama.

My third experience on the subway was this morning. I was on my way to church. I was, again sitting and reading when I happened to glance up at the people sitting accross from me. They were a mother and son. The son looked to be about 10 or 11 years old. He was reading a comic book and listening to something on a portible music device. The mom was sitting right next to him, trying to desperately to interact with him. He was determinedly focused on reading his book and wouldn't give his mom the time of day. She tried poking at him playfully and putting her arm around him, but he just kept rebuffing her. Each time her attempts failed she looked around the subway with a look that seemed like she was trying to justify his behavior and explain why her son had not interest in her attentions. It was very sad.

This third experience made me very glad to have grown up in the culture that I grew up in. I wonder if the Korean obsession with putting their kids in every 'educational' instutuion from the moment they start walking might cause such rifts between children and parents. (To be fair there are lots of other things that cause rifts between people, but the current culture I live in compelles me to make the connections I have.) At any rate, I am very happy that I actually had a childhood.

Right Now

2009-01-07T05:05:00.000-08:00

So, the question is, what do I want? The current answer is, I have no idea. Happiness is too vague. A nice long make out is too short sighted.

I have been struggling internally with this question for the last week or so. I don't like Korea, but there is no actual logical reason to leave. I don't like socializing, but it doesn't make me happy to be alone. I have the opportunity to learn anything, but I don't know what to do with all the stuff that is already in my head. I actually have all the time in the world, but I'm not available for anything.

Hmmmm......how does one make sense of the quandary, of these peculiar paradoxes? I'm hoping that by putting my thoughts and struggles into words I'll be able to comprehend them better. I'm also hoping that by making them 'public' I'll be committing myself to a course of contemplation and action that I generally avoid.

So, here goes: I need to be present. I need to be available. I don't know how to do either of these things, but I'm gonna work at it.

I realize this is cryptic and random and probably too much. Eh......

Just Got Back from Japan

2008-12-28T04:59:00.000-08:00

In all my life I never thought that I would be taking weekend trips to Japan. Since my stupid school decided that none of its employees needed a winter break, my intended multi-day visit to Japan had to be cancelled. However, I did promise my big brother that I would come and see him for the Christmas holiday, so the only option was to go to Japan on the weekend.
So, I got a plane ticket that took me to Japan on Saturday and returned me to Korea on Sunday. It was a very short trip (barely exceeding 24 hours) but it was very nice.

A well organized an logical person would have put her pictures on her computer before starting a blog post in order to have the pictures ready to put in her post as she wrote, but I don't think I have ever been accused of being an organized or logical person. And, anybody who may have accused me of such in their heart is sadly mistaken:-)

So, pictures will have to wait till later because I'm too lazy to get off my butt and fish my camera out of the pile of stuff it is sitting in right now.

All I can add about Japan is that it was absolutely wonderful to see my brother and his kids and Naomi. OH!! Also, the coolest coincidence happended on the flight out. My brother's x-wife was visiting in Korea during Christmas. It turned out that we were taking the same flight to Japan on Saturday. When I was at the ticketless travel kiosk getting my bording ticket I was offered the option of picking my seat. I chose a seat that looked like it would give me some good leg room and then moved along. Then, when I got on the flight the seat that was on my boarding pass was not the seat that I picked. I didn't worry to much about it though. I just went about my business getting my book out and preparing to read for the next hour an a half when this little boy sat next to me. I didn't think much of it until he kept looking at me and then decided that he needed to poke me. So, I turned and looked at him and it was my nephew Elijah!!! How crazy is that!?! So, I got to sit next to my nephew on the flight. It was great because the plane was showing a funniest home video show and Elijah was laught so hard that I couldn't help but laugh with him. I also go to see my x-sister in law Misaki and my neice Alisha. It was grand to see them.

Well, I don't want this post to get too long. I always get a little itimidated when I go to read someone's blog and it looks like its pages and pages long. I am trying to keep mine a managable length.

As such, I am off!
TTFN
Risa

Hell is Cold

2008-12-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

So, I read once that there is a very fitting argument that Hell really isn't a burning inferno where people are torched in brimstone and fire. It is more likely that Hell is cold and barren and stiff.

Well, to definitely be dramatic, the cold I have experience so far here in Korea is Hellish. I feel like one of the frost giants in the Norse creation myth. Nothing but ugly and ice.....

Anyhow, I have often pondered on my consistent lack of keeping my loved ones updated on my sojourn here on the opposite end of the world, and am attempting to make amends with this short and slightly cryptic blog.

I am currently listening to Shrek the Third (I do love me those Shrek movies). I have been home since 8:15, which is roughly 3 hours ago, and I have spent the majority of that time sitting on my butt watching the 6th season of Scrubs. (I am excited to finish the series just to see how it ends, but I have to say the 6th season isn't one of the best.)

I am sorry to relate that the sitting on the butt scenario is my typical behavorial pattern during the week day. Weekends are usually more thrilling, and definitely more busy.

This last weekend I met up with a friend and we went to a massive out door market in Namdaemun. It was everything an outdoor market should be, right down to the long row of army surplus stuff. I got a pair of army socks that are FABALOUS! Very thick and warm and hideously green. Yummy!
I also got a few more things that are happiness to me. I do truly enjoy spending money on frivilous things that are comforting:-)

I have made several observations about Korean culture that are worthy of note, but I can't remember very many of them right now.
I guess the first and foremost is that the people here REALLY love onions, which is horrifying to me. I went to Costco the other day and ate at the food court they have there. No lie, but there is a huge machine that dispenses chopped onions. I was seated unfortunately close to this machine and watched in disbelief and horror as Korean after Korean loaded plate after plate with heaps of onions, then doused them with ketchup and mustard. It was condiment sacrelidge. The smell of onions permiated everything, and I was almost tempted to burn every item of clothing I was wearing at the time.

Well, I hope this tidbit suffiecs for the time being. I must make it a point to state that there is a lot that I like about being here. I am definitley happy a good 97.5 % of the time. I really wouldn't give up this experience for anything.

I will try to do better about 'connecting' via the blog more often. I might even get some pictures of my student to share. They are fantastic and I do love them.

TTFN!
Risa

Persimmons, Weekends, Isaac & Rebecka, and Mr. Tilney

2008-10-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

Hello! Well, another week gone by. Thank you all the wonderful people who commented on my last post. It is delightful to hear from you!!!

I had a mostly pleasant week. We were notified on Thursday that our teaching schedules were going to change. We are going from 40 minute classes to 1 hour classes, and the Native speaker teachers are going to be taking over the listening tests and the story book stuff. Up to now we've been struggling to facilitate 40 minutes of speaking while using only 2 pages from the speaking books we use. Sad to say, I am not impressed with the 'speaking' books we have to use.

Anyhow, the change in the schedule was very good news to me, because now each class actually has some structure and I don't have to try to pull a rabbit out of a hat to keep 12 8 year olds talking about how may arms or hands they have.

I don't know how vocal I have been about the food here, but for the most part I have found very few things I can enjoy in this country. One of my co-workers gave me a piece of the fruit called a Persimmon. I love it! I am so happy to love something edible. I have had several in the course of this past week, and I assure you, I will have more:-)

I had a very nice weekend. Me and some friends went to the royal palace here in Seoul. It is apparently just down the way from the 'Blue House' (Korea's equivalent of the White House. It is apparently called the Blue House because it has a blue roof.) The palace was lovely,but it rained the entire time, and it was very cold. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I have no pictures to share. We do plan on going back in a few weeks, so hopefully I will be less scatterbrained and have pictures to share.

After the palace one of my friends took me shopping and I was able to procure myself a hair dryer, a hat and some gloves. I am happy to have these things. I have missed blowdrying my hair. I am surprised that I missed it so much.

After shopping we went to the church for the branch Halloween party and a chili cook off. I was so happy to eat chili!! I miss chili. None of it was as good a mom's chili, but it was quite good in its own right.

We decorated rooms upstairs for the kids to go around from door to door trick or treating. It was fun. I decorated my door with a vampire face. I didn't have a lot of materials to work with, but the face was scary enough:-)

Sunday was good. I was blessed to give a talk on Sacrifice. It was nerve racking, but I lived through it and was even told that the talk was suitably worth listening to.

On my way home from church I was accosted by a cute older couple. I think the guy just wanted an opportunity to practice his English, but him and his wife were very pleasant to talk to. I have found that anytime a Korean wants to talk to me they holler "Where you from?" Very funny. Anyhow, the cute older couple were named Isaac and Rebecka, and I thought it was lovely that they had such classic bible names. Another question I have been asked often by Koreans (randomly) is "Are you Christian?" I guess Christianity makes up 30% of the religious population here. There a chapels everywhere, each of which are topped by a red neon cross. Interesting.

One last bit about my week. I have downloaded the movie Northanger Abbey. Northanger is a Jane Austen book, not one of my favorites. But, I am always trying to give things second chances, so I was looking to see if the film industry got around to making a better movie from the one I saw a few years ago. Well, I found a version that was made in 2007, and it is Fabulous! Mr. Tilney is spectacular. Anybody who enjoys Austen men will find ample delight in this rendering. I recommend it especially to those friends of mine that have enjoyed Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightly over the last decade or so.

Well, it is getting late for me. It has been a good week and I have high hopes that the weeks will start flying by with the new/ better structure for my classes.
Will keep y'all posted:-)

Also, for those who care, I tried to listed to the opera Carmen and was dissappointed. However, I was listening to it in french, and I think much is lost in the fact that I have not idea what is going on. I will have to stick with The HMS Pinafore until I can find an English version of Carmen.

TTFN!!

A Day in the Life

2008-10-21T04:23:00.001-07:00

So, I realize that I don't talk about my day to day, hour to hour activities very much. Anybody who wanted to know what I"m actually doing in Korea, besides occasionally taking a trip here or there, would have no idea.
So, here is the post that talks about my day: what it is actually like (for me) living in Korea.

To start with, every morning I intend to get up at 7:30. I actually get up sometime between 8:30 and 9:30, depending on how prepared I am for my classes. If I'm prepared, I get up later.

After dragging my butt out of bed I either go for a walk/ run along the lovely river right outside my apt, or I do some yoga. Sometimes, though, I am lazy and I sleep in for another hour.

After exercising I eat breakfast, shower, get ready for the day, then either finish my lesson plans or listen to music, or play a game on my Nintendo DS. My favorite is Makhi.

I leave the house at 12:30 pm to walk to work. The walk usually takes about 15 mins, so I'm usually arrive a little ahead of my 1:00 start time.

My first class starts at 2:00, my last class ends at 8:00. I have two 40 min breaks while I am at work, during which I either prepare for my later classes, or read a book. I am currently reading Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus at work. Its good, interesting, but stupidly repetitive.

Then, at 8:00 I walk home and usually enter my door no later than 8:15 pm. While at home I try to be productive, but I mostly just end up eating and watching some show online.

I just finished the 2nd season of Heros, and I have to say I'm not impressed. I really enjoyed the first season, but season two became a ridiculous soap opera. So, I'm not even going to try to watch season 3.

Well, that is my day, in a nut shell. Not too much to it. Pleasant. I really like the time I have in the morning.

Ok, I am boring myself by writing this. I hope this will be my only boring entry.
TTFN :-)

Seroksan National Park - Weekend Trip

2008-10-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

This last weekend me, Kristin and Dave went to Korea's Seroksan national park. It was beautiful!! Here are some pixs from the journey.

Mt. Bukak - Hiking with friends

2008-10-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

On the weekend of the 27th of September I attended an enrichment activity hiking up Mt. Bukak in Seoul. There was a limit to the pictures we could take and the mountain is very close to the Blue House (Korea's equivalent to our White House) and security was pretty tight. We were told that we could only take pictures in designated pictures areas. Unfortunately, the designated areas were not marked. I tried to take some pictures early on and boy-howdy, did they put a stop to that quick. I was told to delete the inappropriate pictures.
Once we got on the trail though, they seemed to ease up on the picture taking thing and I got a few good ones. These are of the wall we hiked along and some of my new firends here in Korea. We also stopped in to a Buddhist temple on the way home, so the last few pixs are of that. Hope you enjoy!!

Sentimental Poetry

2008-09-16T19:06:00.001-07:00

I was cleaning my apt this morning and came across one of my poetry books. This is a book I started back in 2003 and then lost. I found it again last year and am now attempting to use it again for my forays into poetry land. I was reading some of the old stuff and thought I would share some of my sentimentality. Keep in mind that I was a little boy crazy at the time and a little bitter. I think the method is sound though, even if the content is sappy:

Here are some Haiku:
I. Vent your vanity
Leave your footprints on the way
Who cares, you're happy

II. Small boys with big minds
Touch deep in trusting girls and
Leave wounds that fester

III. Trust this once and breathe
My potential down your lungs
Exhale none unused

IV. I want and want but
You don't, so my fingers bleed
From scraping your walls

Here's some free verse:

I. The sun slides through the nickel-slot
Of time, and clothes the evening
In amber syrup, dripping through my
Finger shadows on your skin

II. How tempting is the wine
From your mouth I drink -
Deeply, drunkenly,
Gluttonous drafts from the sacred pool

III. I wanted to write a song for you
So I could remember
What it was like
To feel you in my mouth

Hope you enjoyed:-)

Chuseok and Hep B

2008-09-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

Apparently it is Korea's national Thanksgiving holiday this weekend. I am excited because I don't have to work on Monday in honor of the holiday:-) I plan on going to Costco and stocking up on all the glorious American-esque food that I have been desperately missing for the last almost 6 weeks. I am especially lusting after saltine crackers and good ole honest ground beef. Mmmmmm.

Today has been suitable. I got up earlier than usual so I could make it to the Gangdong subway stop by 11:20 am in order to meet with the Korean person who is assigned to help the native English speakers at my school with all things immigration. I had to attend an appointment at the general hospital in order to receive the second installment of Hepatitis B shots that I am required to have since I apparently do not have an antibodies for it. Ug. I don't like shots. This one is particularly nasty and has made my arm sore for the better part of the day.

But, the day looked up after I returned to work. Both of my Thursday classes went surprisingly well (despite serious expectations to the contrary) and I was able to prepare all but 2 of my lesson plans for my classes tomorrow in the 2 and a half hours that remained of the work day. Very satisfying.

Thus far, my experience has taught me that I am way out of my league teaching little children. If I had to do it over again I would have to insist on older students, preferably high-school or adult age. Don't get me wrong, the little kids are positively adorable and I am enjoying them immensely. I just don't have any idea how to teach at this low level. It is very awkward and frustrating for me to have to share my love of my native language at such a 'motor skills' level. I guess it builds character, eh?

Well, this is all for now. I am going to try to put a few photos in with this post. Hope ya like!
TTFN

Migranes

2008-09-07T07:01:00.001-07:00

So, i have had an 4 day long run of migraines. Ug, hate them. I don't usually get them often and I have been a little horrified over the frequency of them this last week. Well, I decided to see if the good ole internet could shed some light on this problem.
What I found was interesting. Apparently there are foods that can trigger a migraine. The strange thing is, I shamefully gorged myself of chocolate 2 days in a row earlier this week and woke up with migraines both days. In my research it says that chocolate could be a food trigger for migraines. Well, looks like I am going to have to lay off the good stuff.
My reading also mentioned that sleeping badly can encourage a migraine, and that migraines can be hereditary. I wonder who I got them from. (?)
Well, just wanted to share. No more chocolate for me. At least not in disgustingly high binge like doses.
To be utterly random, i am not getting ready to go to be and I am going to be serenaded into sleep by the movie Alice in Wonderland. I figured out how to download it and I am soooooo excited to see it. For some strange reason I have been aching to watch the movie ever since I got here. Go fig.

Ceaser

2008-09-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

So, I'm reading a book that a co-worker lent to me. It is called Ceaser: Live of a Colossus. My co worker is a history major from Australia. He thought this was a great book about Ceaser, and since I have a persistent interest in ancient Rome, he thought I might enjoy it.

Let me tell you, I love this book. I am sooooo happy to get to know ancient Rome better. This book talks a lot about the actual process of the Roman government and the ideals behind what motivated the senators. It is marvelous to experience this sliver of history from the perspective of Ceaser since he was such an interesting guy anyway.
I have to admit. My abundant ignorance of history is amusing me as I read this book. First of all, I did not know that Ceaser and Cicero were contemporaries, or that Ceaser became emporer because of a civil war that took down the republic government of Rome. There is a lot more that I didn't know, but I am pretty sure I would bore anyone reading this blog if I went into further detail.

Suffice it to say, I now have a greater desire to visit Italy and walk the paths of the ancient greats.
*sigh* someday

Hooray!!!

2008-08-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Yeay! I finally have internet at my apartment! It only took 4 full weeks of waiting and waiting, but now I have joined the ranks of humanity. Now all that remains is for me to get my act together and update my blog with pictures and brilliant antic dotes of my time in Korea, so far.
Rest assured, there will be more to come:-)
I am just happy that I am now connected to the world.
*satisfied sigh of happiness*
ttfn

Not Gone Yet

2008-07-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

So, It is officially almost 2 weeks past the time that I expected to be gone. I am not complaining though. I already miss America and I'm not even gone. Mostly, I miss a place to put everything. I have my suitcases packed and I am finding it challenging to keep them packed as I use stuff out of them.
It is hard having everything in a suitcase. *sniffle*

But, I am hanging out at my sister's house until my visa arrives, and I am loving the time I get to spend with her and her kids.
Her boys are great kids. I am really, really going to miss them.

So, my leave status is thus: I have applied for my visa and had my consulate interview (fortunate for me, the Korean consulate will issue an E2 visa after a phone interview, instead of an in person interview). The consulate confirmed that they will send my passport back to me with my visa today, and I should have it before the end of the week.
I am expected to start work on the 4th of August, so all should work out well regarding timing.

I can't wait to go! I am so excited to live in Korea and teach English!! I really hope I love it.

Well, that is all for the time being: ttfn :-)

In the beginning....

2008-06-27T16:51:00.001-07:00

So, I officially have my contract and my visa has been submitted. Now it is only a matter of getting the visa approved and obtaining a plane ticket. Thus, the adventure has begun and the Blogging will commence.