A Semi-Adult Kind of Life...

A Bad Day...

2011-07-08T05:25:00.000-07:00

-Sigh- I hate everyone today.

My students pissed me off so much I gave them worksheets to sit quietly and complete rather than doing out fun activity.

Some old lady gave me the damn stink eye at my favorite coffee shop.

I feel nauseous and sick. I want to throw up. My head hurts….-sigh-

I hate everyone today….

…..but I love you guys^^

A day in my life..

2011-07-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

After being repeatedly drowned in a pool by 7th-8th grade Korean gangsters (aka my students), oh and my fellow teachers, I now hear water in my ear every time I turn my head…

….that’s NOT normal right?

My life has so many interesting points to it sometimes. For example, one of my 6th grade students has decided we should get married. Now, this isn’t the first time I have had a student crush on me. Only thing different this time is the fact that my student is a girl. I informed her that in Georgia it is illegal for two women to get married (not to mention she is waaaaaaaaaay younger than I go for), to which she calmly replied…

“We’ll move to New York.”

I’m proud of her for keeping up with current events but……So I told her it is also illegal for me to marry more than one person at a time. Her response:

“By the time I’m 18 you will divorce. Then we’ll marry.”

Hahaaa, persistent one she is. Always an interesting development when a student crushes on you. Even more interesting when they come with a thought out argument. I suppose that means I’m doing well with teaching my ESOL class and I should keep up the hard work.

*^^*

Enagagement Photos

2011-06-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

So I normally am on tumblr but I decided that I will start updating both my blogger and tumblr simultaneously. I have people I follow on blogger that I can't follow on tumblr and vice versa. But both blogger and tumblr have their good points.

So yay! I am coming back to blogger as well. More updates to come^^

Begin Anew...

2011-02-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

So I have moved to a new blog chronicling my life as a fiance and new mom to two rambunctious Korean boys. Feel free to drop by!

http://blasianlovebox.tumblr.com/

October 1, 2011

2010-12-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

So FINALLY we have a set date for our wedding. It was craziness trying to find a venue that still had open Saturdays for us to get married on AND THEN Oppa's uncle is apparently getting married on the day we had chosen...the second time. Our wedding day went from Sept. 10 --> Sept. 17--> Oct. 1st(it's staying here). I swear of someone tells me they are busy on that day I WILL crack skulls and bust a few caps in a couple asses...seriously...

In other news I found my wedding dress last weekend. It is gorgeous. I'm not going to post it on here because I'm afraid Oppa might accidentally see this blog and see the dress and then all will SPOILED. So alas, you all will have to wait.

And sorry for once again being MIA. I actually have my final presentation for my Master's degree tomorrow night so I have been editing like a mad woman! All I know is that I better find a decent teaching job next year otherwise I might have to....cry...loudly....snot and all.

So...

2010-11-08T15:58:00.001-08:00

....one of two things that I said would happen will no longer be happening....

Still getting married of course, but the move to Korea has been put off for a few years at least due to lots of forms to file and military service and and.....gahd a lot...

Missing you...

2010-10-26T10:38:00.001-07:00

Exciting news!!!

2010-10-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

A lot of changes are coming up on the horizon that has me sooooooooo excited!!!

The first piece of news is that I'm getting married in February! It's funny. I never really thought I wanted to get married. I was never one of those girls who planned my wedding since I was a little girl. Yet here I am...getting married. I'm not even the least bit scared....yet....^^

The second news is that I am moving back to South Korea next May. The hubby, his kids and his mom and I will be moving back. The first few months we'll be living with his siter and her husband in Myeongdong before finding our own place. Currently we are looking at schools for the boys and jobs for Oppa and I. His sister and borther-in-law are actually in the Army stationed at Yongsan so they are going to be helping me possibly get a teaching job on base. If not then I'll probably go back to Chungdahm if I don't find a better teaching position. Chances are we will move to Korea first and then I'll be hardcore looking for a job. Because most of his family is over there we are getting a lot of help from his cousin who is crazy excited for us to move to Korea and meet me.

It's going to be a huge change and it makes me nervous but in a good way. I'm excited to begin my life with the man I love in the country that I enjoyed so much. I'm excited to go back and be with friends who have also decided to make Korea their home for the next few years as I have. I'm just excited about life again....

Blah Blah

2010-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Met Oppa's mom last night and it seems that she likes me. I stopped by after work and she actually had some dinner left over for me to eat (samgyeupsal, rice, kimchi). Apparently she really likes the fact that I eat Korean food so well where Oppa's Korean-American brother in law is having a tough time adapting to eating mostly Korean food in Korea.
Working is picking up and I'm having a tough time deciding between working 5days a week or focusing mostly on school work. The problem is that next spring I have 15weeks of student teaching Mon-Fri which means I won't really have time to work except for nights and weekends. I probably won't get much money then either which means paying bills will be extremely tough so I had planned to work as much as I can to save it now. But it also leaves me less time to focus on my paper(s).
.....ugh...

The Weekend

2010-09-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Had classes on Friday night and Saturday morning which usually means my weekend of nerdiness. Realized that although I started my article response paper back in July I hadn't really touched it. Unfortunately that means the paper that was due at 11pm on Sunday night was not completed until 10am this morning....I'm such a procrastinator.
Upon completing my article response I sat back to relax in my chair before realizing I have two more papers to finish and edit before October 2....fauck!
Went to dinner and bowling last night with Oppa and his kids. It was an all around enjoyable experience. This isn't the first time that I have ever dated a guy with a kid. However, this is the first time I have dated someone whose kids actually understand sarcasm. It's definitely a different experience as they are the same ages as the students I substitute teach. But it was a lot of fun and they seemed to enjoy bowling with me and the Mongolian meal we had after.

Bowled a 201!!! That's right....I'm awesome...

2010-09-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

So I realize that other than a few random photos I haven't updated much. Sooooo sorry-uh. Really things have been so crazy and busy these past few weeks that I haven't really had time to do much of anything. Poor Bella is feeling neglected too. I think she has decided she likes my mother more than she likes me...-sigh-. The cons of working two jobs while going to school, while trying to have some kind of a social life. Actually I've been wanting to update but as soon as I think I have time I get a phone call and someone needs me for something.

Today....ok yeah, today I had planned to sit down and write out a real blog post and guess what happens.....blogger freezes and deletes most of my post.

Damnit.

And now I don't feel like re-typing out the whole thing again. I'm not even completely sure what I had written. Perhaps I can do it in bullet point fashion.

Oppa and I are doing well and have been together for a little over a month. He introduced me to his mother and two sons last week which was a bit of a nerve wracking experience. However, it makes me feel better knowing that he isn't just blowing smoke about wanting to be with me.
As much as I love studying about other cultures and languages on my own I dislike actually having to study/read/write papers only to have them ripped apart by my professors. Don't get me wrong. I know that no matter what there will always be someone out there who will judge my thoughts, words and actions. I actually enjoy constructive criticism as I am still young and learning how to better myself. I just hate getting my papers back and seeing red...red....scaaaaary. Thankfully I only have 2months left of actual graduate classes.
Life at home does not stop simply because you are not there to witness it. Other than being financially a good idea to pursue my graduate studies back here in Nashville this isn't a city I see myself living in long-term. Quite frankly I am BORED! You can only go to the strip club so many times before you get bored...
I'm just kidding about the strip club part but the boredom is very real.
I am cute enough to get out of a speeding ticket but I will try not to push my luck more than once. No matter how badass I pretend to be the sight of blue and white lights in my rear-view mirror makes me so terrified I might retch.

So I have very few other updates in my life for today.....maybe tomorrow...

Oppa...

2010-09-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

So it's hard to get pictures of Oppa as he tends to hide from my camera. I managed to snap a quick picture though on our trip to Gatlinburg before he noticed what I was doing....muahahahaa...I'm so sneaky*^^*

Ch-ch-changes....

2010-09-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

...are on the horizon...

Lady Liberty and I

2010-09-11T13:41:00.001-07:00

Korea reunion...

2010-09-09T10:40:00.001-07:00

So last week I took a trip to DC/NYC/Gatlinburg. While in NYC I got to see two friends who I hadn't seen since we all left Seoul, South Korea at different times. First I met back up with my friend from university TY.

I met TY when we were both attending college in Tennessee. She graduated the year before me and together with our mutual friend she moved to Seoul and started teaching with Chungdahm. She was one of the major reasons I came to Seoul thanks to her prodding^^ She left months before my contract ended and moved back home to NYC. I hadn't seen her since then and it was great to finally meet up. The chemistry of our friendship hasn't lessened at all. I stayed with her and her family in Chinatown for the two days I was in NYC.

Then there is Medina.

She is the first black friend I made in Korea and we totally met by accident, lol. We just happened to be sitting at the same coffee shop in Gangnam and the friend I had with me started talking to her. After a few months we became really really close and still communicated a lot. She also moved back home to NYC. She's planning to possibly come stay with me for the Christmas holiday....I hope so.

It was awesome getting to have a reunion with some of my Seoul friends. It's crazy to think that I woudn't have known Medina had I not gone to Seoul. And now she is one of my closest friends. That just gives me hope that friendships can definitely survive distance. I have lots more pictures from DC and NYC and posts to upload but for now I have to get ready for work. Perhaps next time I'll even post a picture of oppa and I from our trip to Gatlinburg for Labor Day weekend *^^*

Picture memories...

2010-09-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

An awesome picture of some kind of fruit bearing tree. It had heart shaped fruits and seemed to show how most of the people on the mountain (including Oppa and I) were feeling...love was in the air *^^*

While the boy is away...

2010-08-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

...the girl will finish tons of work. So the headache that I said was around the corner decided to show up last night. I had to leave work early as I was hit with a migraine that had me grinding my teeth in pain. Driving home, in the rain at night with bright lights everywhere had tears running down my face. I literally just wanted to take a fork to my brain. But thankfully I made it home in one piece so I could swallow a few pills (just pain reliever) and crawl between my sheets. I was asleep by around 9:30pm and woke up around 8am this morning. The headache isn't completely gone and so I've had to take a few more pills but I'm feeling better than yesterday. I think just all the stress of working, finishing schoolwork and figuring out financial aid was a bit too much for my brain to handle.

So it's funny how things go. I leave Korea but it seems that Korea hasn't left me. The new guy in my life is actually Korean. He was born in Korea, grew up in Jamsil and moved to the US when he was 16yrs old. It's kind of funny, chances are I probably had seen him sometime in my life and vice versa. We actually met online and had a few dates before deciding to be exclusively together. I was actually a bit worried being that I am black and older Koreans definitely have this aversion to their children dating a black girl or guy. It's the same for many other ethnicities as well. It's like this "anything but black" mentality. However, apparently he told his mother about me and she gave him the 'ok.' I think it helped that he talked up my accomplishments (went to Vandy, getting my Master's, lived in Korea, no kids, not on welfare, etc.). Anyhoo, so she wants to meet and have dinner sometime soon which makes me a bit nervous as she doesn't speak much English at all and my Korean still isn't the best. It does make me feel better to know that she has, at least for now, approved of me seeing as he is the first son...

This weekend he had to go to Atlanta for business so I'm home enjoying work, school work and the elephant tap dancing in my skull....I'm not sure who got the best deal...

p.s. Neither I nor the boy (who I will call Oppa) are in the picture above...

How I'm Feeling...

2010-08-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

...I think that photo says it all. I've been in a pretty good mood lately thanks to...well a lot of things. My papers for the month are finished, I had a great dinner and things are officially official with a new guy in my life. Work is picking up as well which means I don't have to live paycheck to paycheck anymore (thank the gods) and I'm taking a small vacation up to D.C. and NYC to see some friends and have a little fun before fully immersing myself in the craziness of school and working two jobs. But even with that headache looming around the corner I can honestly say I'm not too worried. I feel like things have finally started getting better and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel....

Update...

2010-08-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

So things here have settled into a routine the past two weeks or so. Work at my retail job has slowed WAY down so hours have been cut. I find myself with 5 free days this week for....well anything really. So I've rededicated myself to going to the gym, studying Japanese and finishing schoolwork. I'll just say that only 2/3 of those dedications have stuck. You can guess which ones.
Other than that I've really just been bumming around the house and being all domestic like. It's so gawdafully hot outside that I hesitate to go out there for longer than the 10mins or so it takes to walk my dog. Even she sometimes refuses to go outside...smart girl.

Substitue teaching is about to start and i am excited. I need to be making some $$$ so I can start saving up money for trips I will be taking this year/next summer to visit people. One thing I do regret is leaving the country so fast that I didn't have time to visit friends that I love and missed dearly. So I've decided, finances willing, I'm not going to leave the country again until the end of July/Beginning of August at the earliest. I'm still torn between going back to Korea to teach or going straight to Japan. My friends in Korea are all like "COME BACK NOOOOOWZ!!!" and I miss them dearly. On the other hand Japan has always been my first love and when I went there for a small vacation it was like "aaaah, so this is what I was missing." I was in heaven as soon as I stepped off the plane. So it's a struggle. I might just fly to Korea and stay for like 2weeks and then head over to Japan to find a job.

So now that I'm getting back in the groove of having a life and actually wanting to write about it, I will be posting more often. I tried to get the blogger thingy to work from my phone but...yeah I'm technologically retarded so the chances of me getting it to work are slim.

Oh and looking at my comments section....why are they all in Chinese?! Guys I don't read Chinese so wtf??? I might have approved comments before I let them post since I have no idea what they even say....

jjajjangmyeon!!!

2010-08-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

It took me nearly 10months of searching but I finally found this tasty dish at H-Mart in Atlanta...
...my happiness knows no bounds. I also found a Tous Le Jour bakery there along with free samples of just about EVERYTHING!!! I was in heaven. That is definitely one thing I missed about E-Mart. Kroger just doesn't have any free samples....no bueno. I ended up buying two loaves of a tasty butter cream bread they had....but I ate it all before I could think to take a picture. Planning another quick trip down to Atlanta in the next few days though....so...yum^^

Hmmmm....perhaps true?

2010-07-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

"The Good Wife's Guide"

2010-07-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

So I was watching a documentary tonight about the mail order bride industry that comes out of Thailand and a lot of it stopped and made me think about the state of marriage and married life in the world. I started googling mail order bride and found an interesting article on what a good wife should be. This article might actually be a fake and not really from Housekeeping Guide 1955, but it still made me stop and think about my own take on a wife's place in the marriage and why some men feel the need to look internationally for wives. The text in red is the article and the green is mine is my own opinion about what is written.

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed. (I don't know about planning days in advance but I do enjoy cooking. I like to cook for friends, family and I would definitely enjoy cooking dinner for my husband. Realistically will I have dinner on the table every night? Doubtful. Heck sometimes I'd like a hot meal ready when I get home too. I don't plan on being a housewife so I'll definitely be working as much as my future husband. Even if I was a housewife, an occasionally break is needed. Otherwise it would no longer be special and I think it would be easy to take it for granted.)
Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. (...how about I take that ribbon and shove it up your...-cough-...excuse me. Now see here. I have no desire to get fat and frumpy and "let myself go" after I get married. I want to stay in good shape for my husband, family and self. I'd like to stay healthy so I can continue to enjoy my life with my family as long as possible. I like being physically able to have and enjoy sex if I choose. However, there are days when I am exhausted and make-up/looking better than some harpy at the office is the least of my worries. Love me, love my sweat pants.)
Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it. (I'm always interesting. I'm not going to be fake...scratch that. I will purposely be goofy just to make someone smile and lift up their day. But asking me to be on ALL THE TIME is a bit much.)
Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables. (Psh, my house should not and will not be cluttered to begin with so this one is moot.)
During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction. (Catering to someone....it sounds so...submissive. I don't do things for people because I'm a submissive person. I do things for people because I care for them and want to make them happy. If I have a fire place and it's cold outside heck yeah I'll turn it on....)
Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet. (That stuff, yes I called kids stuff, makes my head hurt anyway. I'd minimize it for my own well being.)
Be happy to see him. (As long as my husband hasn't pissed me off in some way, which considering I don't get mad often is relatively hard to do, then I would always be happy to see him^^)
Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him. (See above.)
Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours. (Ok, you had me nodding in agreement until the value judgment of my topics in comparison to my future husband's. I know I wouldn't want to be bombarded with questions and problems as soon as I walk in the door. I want time to relax, shake off work and feel more like myself. However, I bristle and gnash my teeth at the thought that my ideas are worth less than my husband's simply because he's got something dangling between his legs.)
Don't greet him with complaints and problems. (...see above damnit!)
Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work. (If I take the time to cook then he better damn well eat it! With drunk drivers and crazy homicidal people out there, if my husband came home extremely late or not at all without calling me...ho ho, you bet I would complain. Unless he's on a business trip, notice there were no quotations there, then there is no real reason for him to not come home. Che, it may be minor compared to his work but his work is minor compared to the ass whoopin he'd get when he showed his face.)
Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. (Like said before, I would love to make my guy comfortable and relaxed. Of course I'd offer him something to drink. It's only natural.)
Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice. (See above and note that my voice is always soothing and pleasant unless I'm angry^^)
Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. (We are all human and therefore inherently flawed. Making mistakes are human nature as is learning from those mistakes once we are aware of them. I have every right to question someone. If someone gives me an answer with evidence then I have no problem accepting that decision. However, I will not blindly follow someone into the ground.)
A good wife always knows her place.(Beside her husband. Not in front, not behind, not above, not below. We walk equally together into the rest of our lives. I support him, he supports me. That is what should be taught to our children. To love, cherish and always respect your partner.)

Family Fun

2010-07-17T22:25:00.001-07:00

4/7 sisters together (From left: Nikki, Adrianne, Me, Jordan)
My niece Bella braiding my hair....an all around painful experience...
...the finished product...
...and the little devil...
...a good day...

Korea House/Sweet CeCe's Frozen Yogurt...

2010-07-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

kimchi bokkeumbap

side dishes

Keshia eating bokkeumbap

Keshia @ Sweet CeCe's

Lexie @Sweet CeCe's

MMMMMM...me^^

A great hot-ass day full of food, friends and fun...

Summer photos...

2010-07-14T10:58:00.001-07:00

Just some photos I've taken over the past week or so...

Raaaawr...

2010-07-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

Today BellaMuse decided to try life out in the jungle....

...GRRRRR watch out. She's on the prowl and ready to strike!!!

New camera and my muse is...

2010-07-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

...my baby girl Bella...

Thoughts so far...

2010-06-30T07:36:00.001-07:00

So I have been home for almost a year. In all honesty the time has seemed to rush by so quickly. So much so that today I decided to sit and really think about what has been going on so far.

1. For the most part I have re-acclimated myself back to living in the USA and how things work here. It's great that I can walk into any grocery store and immediately find my favorite items. It's also wonderful that said items don't cost a bundle. I've realized how much I enjoyed living somewhere that I don't speak the language. I already have selective hearing (otherwise known as ignoring people) and it works even better when living in a country where English isn't the native language.

2. Starting school was much easier and expensive than I thought it would be. I've got roughly 6months left of actual classes before I start my student teaching in the Spring. I've got quite a few state tests to take before December and I still have to get all of my research done by August so that I can get it turned in and begin the writing process. I've learned a great deal about educational theories and pedagogy. Unfortunately I've also learned how inept a lot of institutions are at educating students academically and socially. It reaffirms my decision to move back abroad upon graduation while at the same time making me want to stay and fight for the changes that need to happen. Changes that should have happened when I was a child growing up in the same school system I now teach in. It's at times saddening to think that the same issues remain after all this time. It just shows that not everyone making decisions remember or have actually taught in a classroom to see what does and doesn't work.

3. Dating life sucks...pretty simple, lol. I don't really enjoy dating casually. I'd rather find one person that I really like and end the whole dating game. Actually, I've pretty much stopped going on dates as it is. I'm trying to stay busy working and studying and teaching myself how to cook. I've also began reading again as I feel like my brain has atrophied from the lack of use.

As quickly as the year has gone by I hope it continues to do so. I'm finding that I'm getting bored here and am itching to get travelling once more. I know once I get my certification even more doors will open for me. I'm not just trying to just drink or sex my way through a country and using teaching English as a cover up. I love teaching and I find the many theories about teaching intriguing. I'm also looking at going back to school again for a second Master's but in Global Studies, perhaps in Japan this time...

The Alphabet song I made for my ELL students...

2010-06-28T09:49:00.001-07:00

World Cup Conversations...

2010-06-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

"it's like i don't get it. koreans and japanese they somehow just make us look bad. they do so well and i don't know why we can't. we've got shit load of ppl and we can freaking make shit load of math geniuses and make rockets and stuff. we can't freaking figure out how to play a dumb game called soccer..."- my Chinese friend while watching Denmark vs. Japan...

Dayumit....

2010-06-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

So my trip to South Korea to work at an English Camp and visit my friends still there has been cancelled. Why you ask? Because my final presentation for graduate school, the last thing I need to ace to get my Master's degree....has been pushed forward by an entire MONTH!!! Pretty much if I leave the country this summer I will only have roughly 3months to finish my massive paper, additional assignments and my final research presentation big mamma jamma gotta pass this shiz assignment....

Needless to say I'm kind of freaking out and trying to re-plan my summer around getting all of my research done and start writing because the first two parts of my final paper are due mid-August. I was going to try to find a second part-time job for the month of July but now I'm not even going to worry about it. I'm going to spend most of my July in the library gathering research and forming my paper somehow...

....efff....

Because I have the sense of humor of a 12yr old...

2010-06-16T20:21:00.001-07:00

FIFA World Cup 2010

2010-06-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

Of course I love me some soccer. I will be watching the matches pretty much everyday. It kicked off today with a match between South Africa vs. Mexico. I love my Mexicans. They held out thankfully but still they should have done better (in my opinion) against South Africa. The world cup will more thank likely take over my blog for the next few weeks as all I'll be doing is going to school, working and watching the world cup.

My 5 Top Picks
1) Brazil
2) USA
3) Argentina
4) South Korea
5) Mexico

Anyone else watching? Who are your top picks?

Online Dating...fun...

2010-06-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

"How are you doing babygirl? I hope you don't mind me stopping by your page but when I seen the picture I had to kiss the ring twice...lol Yea I'm married in which you probably don't hear most guys say to you because they don't keep it real. They would rather lie to you just so they can hit something but that's neither here nor there. I just wanted to stop by to let you know how beautiful you look and I'm going to keep it moving before I fall in love at first sight..."

Really dude? Thanks for letting me know I'm beautiful....but seriously....why are you on an online dating site in the first place???

Decisions....

2010-06-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

I've begun to really think about what my plans are for after grad school. Actually I'm wondering if I'll finish at all. Don't get me wrong, I love school. I love everything that I am learning about teaching and I want to finish my PRAXIS tests and student teaching. I want to be able to teach in the USA eventually; however, the situation I'm in right now isn't the best. There's a reason why I moved out of my mother's house. There's a reason why I sought out a job abroad. Times are tough right now and I just have to keep reminding myself that things could be so much worse.

I actually had a phone interview today with the owner/director of a summer English camp in Korea. I'm really excited and working on getting my paperwork in as soon as possible in hopes that I will be able to participate in the camp this July-August. It is located in Yeoju Korea which is in the southeastern part of Gyeonggi-do. I'm excited to see another part of Korea that I didn't see while I was there the first time. I'm working on getting all of my paperwork sent so that I can find out quickly whether I'm being offered a position or not.

Even though I will only be in Korea for about a month I think it's definitely worth it. I need a break from Nashville to get myself back excited about what's coming in my future. I think it is so easy to feel stuck and stagnant right now. I need to remember why I am back in the U.S. and what I am working for...

One reason why I love Japan...

2010-06-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Summer Session Day 1

2010-06-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the first day of my month long summer session classes. Pretty much the entire month of June Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm I will be in class. It cuts into my work hours but it helps me graduate faster than if I didn't have the month long classes. And the subjects that we are going over are actually quite interesting(hence why I'm in grad school in the first place).

Yesterday was opening day in that we spent more time watching a few videos and doing group assignments. They had a nice little breakfast available for us(which I missed from being late) and we got to meet with all of the other cohorts that we will be graduating with either this winter or next spring. We watched a documentary that really got me thinking titled "Two Million Minutes." It's about 13mins long so I figured I'd post it on my blog for anyone who wanted to watch it. It gives an interesting perspective on education and what it means for teens in the U.S., India and China...

Part 1

Part 2

Anyway, there will probably be more posts about education this month because of the month long classes. But it's interesting to see what I'll be getting into if I do decide to stay in the U.S. for teaching though it is rather unlikely....

My Lunch....

2010-05-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm, I made some yummy doenjang jjigae^^

Sometimes...

2010-05-26T20:32:00.001-07:00

Sometimes being back home feels so incredibly stagnant it makes me want to stab myself in the foot. Or other times I'll walk around and wonder why everyone speaks English...

...yeah, I think I've reached my Nashville limit for the month. It's time for me to stop what I'm doing, get in the car and just drive. Sadly as the summer session classes start next week and I work aaaaaaall this weekend, I don't see that happening anytime soon...

...I should hide all of the pointy objects from myself. Though happily things with the jobs are picking up. It's amazing how difficult it is to save up money here in the states. Abroad I pretty much paid off a third of my undergrad loans in a year. I could have paid off more but I enjoyed partying. Not to mention the serious won I threw down to foster and take care of four animals and my penchant for across Seoul cab rides.

This thought process inevitably leads me back to the reasons why I am back in Nashville in the first place. I have to confront the real reason I returned home. Love.

I was never one of those girls who fantasized about marriage and life with a husband and kids. Hell, I'm still not. Companionship sounds great but I don't know about the actual act of getting married. And I love children. I couldn't be a teacher...well, a good one...if I didn't. I plan to adopt in the future. I'm just not too sure about the whole pregnancy and child birth. And the screaming nights...diapers...spit-ups...yeah. I've got a gajillion neices and nephews and younger sisters so I remember how it was when they were born and I'd stay over to help out. I was not impressed. But alas, I did think I had found my prince charming and so I returned leaving comfort, friends and a stable job behind...epic fail...like seriously.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm in grad school and getting my degree so that if I do decide to live out my life in the states I am certified to keep teaching. But I never imagined myself staying in Nashville or voluntarily moving back for anyone.

So...I forgot where I was going with all of this. Whatever. I'm here. I've been back for almost a year. I only have a year left of grad school and then I can peace out again. But for sure I'm never moving into an unsure situation just for love ever again...(I hope)...

Sea+Men=...ew?

2010-05-12T07:51:00.001-07:00

Via: Online Schools

....um, ew....

Guess who....

2010-05-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

.....is kickin' so much ass in grad school....

......ME!!! Rockin' it with a 4.0GPA...

...yeah....I'm awesome*^^*

2010-05-07T11:21:00.001-07:00

Play more free flash games at 1Cup1Coffee.com!

Flooding cont....

2010-05-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

This video shows a mobile structure floating down the interstate not but 4miles from my house. It somehow managed to get lifted off of its base and onto the interstate where it pushed a few cars before being literally ripped apart in front of your eyes...

I found out that two of my classmates who parked their cars down the street from my house to carpool returned to find their cars under water...yeah...

As I type the rain has once again started it's relentless pummeling of my town...

This is all a nightmare. I can't even begin to think of how this will all get cleaned up when this over and by whom...

Flooding...

2010-05-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

Today Davidson Co. and the surrounding areas plus most of TN experienced heavy rain and T-storms. This rain was so heavy that many parts of town, including my own ended up being flooded. We're talking cars floating away, over 50 people needing to be rescued, a few deaths, mobile homes floating down the INTERSTATE and people being displaced from their homes because of flooding. Myself included. My mom called me around 3pm today to tell me my town's roads had been shut down as had the interstate I use to go home. So right now a girlfriend and I are staying at my grandmother's along with my cousin for the night. As for right now the water isn't receding so I will more than likely have to stay at my grandmother's for another night. Thankfully my mom made it home ok before all this mess went down. However, my neighborhood is currently under water so I have no desire to try to go anywhere anytime soon...

I'll leave you guys with a few pictures I swiped from the local news station here...

Interesting weekend roadtrip...

2010-04-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

So this weekend my older sister and i decided to drive up to Illinois and visit my parents. Unfortunately not everything turned out as expected when we were attacked by a 18-wheeler truck part in the middle of the highway...

Both the front and back tires were destroyed...

This is what the front tire looked like after whatever it was in the road got done with it...

I'm definitely not the kind of girl afraid of a little work...evident by the grease on my hands from loosening the nuts from the tire so we could put on the donut and get to the tire shop...

Thankfully we found an amazing tire shop in podunk Illinois that had both tires that we were looking for....

After my dad got a rental car I finally made it back home in time to get ready for another day of work...

....such an interesting adventure...

...effff....

Substituting...

2010-04-15T14:16:00.001-07:00

Interesting incident of the day: getting bitten by a 5year old and then having to wrestle him to the floor so he'd calm down...

...yeah...

Seriously...

2010-04-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

I really dislike when people tell me that they don't like never knowing how I really feel about things, only to get upset with me when I finally do tell them...

...nvm, I'll just keep my feelings to myself...

...sigh...

Weekend Pt. 1...

2010-04-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

So last night my friends and I decided to have a little get together for Korean food. I decided to get some good ol' dolsot bibimbap.

My friend Mari decided to get some edamame which she completely destroyed...

And Sung-In got kimbap...do you notice anything special on our table....
...heehee, SOJU!!!
Both Sung-In and I enjoyed a bottle of soju together. It definitely made me miss my friends back in Korea...
Afterwards we decided to do a little cosmic bowling. Needless to say we all sucked, lol.
It was good times and we decided to head home after a short time. Plus we had to get ready for today...I'll post about that later^^

Govt. pulled plug...for now...

2010-04-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

So I found out today from my lead tutor that until further notice tutoring will be suspended, because I am with a private company that is federally funded to provide tutoring for students who may not have a lot of money...

This sucks for 2 reasons (that I can think of):

1. TCAP testing is coming up and there is a reason these students need tutoring. Most of my tutees are ESL students who are still struggling with understanding English. Although the wording on the TCAP has been simplified, it is still really difficult for a lot of students. Yesterday I was going over word problems and one of my tutees still had trouble putting everything together. Numbers were easy. It was the wording that left him confused and just guessing answers.

2. Truthfully tutoring is part of my already crappy income. The recession has hit everything hard and I'm even finding it difficult to get hours at my retail job.

So now you've got the kids who need help not recieving any, and qualified people who need jobs not getting any...

...nobody wins today...

Zumba

2010-04-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

So last week I joined the YMCA so I could work on getting back in shape. One good thing about joining a big gym is the fact that they have so many unique workout classes. I find myself getting bored with the same workout routine everyday. So I've decided to try out a range of different classes offered starting with zumba. Monday I had 2hrs of straight zumba class.....wow. I was sweating like a pig the first 20mins. My thighs were burning, my abs and lower back are sore and my abs and shoulders were singing.

Zumba is: "a program that fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves to create a one-of-a-kind fitness program that will blow you away. Our goal is simple: We want you to want to work out, to love working out, to get hooked. Zumba Fanatics achieve long-term benefits while experiencing an absolute blast in one exciting hour of calorie-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements meant to engage and captivate for life!" -About Zumba

It's definitely easy to forget you are exercising until you realize that the moisture flying around is indeed from you^^ In fact I'm heading to my next zumba class in about 45mins. Should be a blast!!!

Spring has come...

2010-04-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it makes me...
....just stop and breathe...

...makes me feel like everything is ok....

...that the world is beautiful....

...and miracles do exist...

...although it makes the back of my throat tickle...and I can't breathe*^^*

Cupcake catastrophy!!!

2010-03-31T17:59:00.001-07:00

So today my friends Kat, Parul and I were sitting around watching "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" when we got the greatest idea in the history of great ideas...getting Gigi's Cupcakes.

Now I don't know about you, but a good cupcake can rock my world better than...well...a lot of things that rock my world. Today was going to be no exception. So we hopped in the car with my dog and drove over to check out the deliciousness. Talk about your hard decisions. Eventually the three of us made our choices. For Parul it was a chocolate turtle...For Kat it was the White Midnight Magic...
And for me it was the Midnight Magic...However, an accident befell our splendid cupcakes...they were dropped before their time...

...but still damn tasty...*^^*

A Friday afternoon...

2010-03-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

...yeup, I officially have no life...

2010-03-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Wow another post so soon...get used to it^^
I've decided that even though my life is filled with boredom (usually) I'm going to try to post more often. If not for anyone else then to get my own thoughts out of my head so it can be filled with more useful(-less) information.

So today I have taken the day off. No subbing, no tutoring, no working at the mall. I have devoted myself to finishing up the two papers...that should have been finished last week. Procrastinator strikes again!!!

It took me about an hour to finish editing the old paper on behavior management that I need to build upon when I write the last part of it. This final part is the classroom management strategy that I'm going to (possibly) use in my own class....whenever I get one. I have to talk about the rules and tenants I would use in class, as well as how I would go through the rule making process for students who have little to no English capabilities. I have to somehow get all of this information into APA format...I hate APA... and be sure not to have too much casual speech, or use 'you' all the time. Well the last part shouldn't be too hard since I have to talk about my own strategies in first person. But still...I hate it.

The second paper I have to finish is more of a reflection piece based on my experiences of learning language over the years. I started from middle school when I actually became interested in other cultures thanks to an awesome Spanish teacher, and went all the way up through my experiences in South Korea. I took a few posts from my other blog 'Kristen in Seoul' and used them in my paper. I have most of that paper written and really just need to go back over it with a fine eye. I'm spending all this damn money for graduate school I better graduate in high standing.

Now that my working schedule has kindly sorted itself out, I find myself with time to do other things. I'm hoping to resume Taekwondo 3 nights a week and am planning on joining a the YMCA since I quit my old gym. The YMCA is right down the street from me so there would be no excuse not to go. The weather has started warming up so I can enjoy being outside once again...

2010-03-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

So today finds me completely and utterly exahusted. This morning I took time off from substituting to work on lesson plans for my after school tutoring. Lesson plans that completely got derailed with the lack of time truly available to help my students. So now I need to come up with a better game plan. I think tomorrow we will start out with a Reading lesson and finish up with just two math problems to test if they have retained any of what we have gone over. Said I was going to take tomorrow off as well to finish up my own school homework but I golden opportunity popped up at an elementary school I really enjoyed and as I need the money I jumped at the chance.

Although I've been playing the dating game lately I've only been going out with one person really. Sure, I talk to other guys online and sometimes by phone. But honestly I'm too lazy to actively pursue anything to the fullest. The fact that I want to hop back across the pond ASAP also keeps me from being gung-ho about dating. Not saying that I'm a particularly fantastic catch but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up only to trample on them at the last moment. Mmmm, I've been honest about my plans so perhaps I'll be able to make friends without hurting anyone.

I had a really good post in my head not but an hour ago and now it's gone. And I'm also starting to get another headache....joy. Thanks to lovely kiddies I found my second gray hair yesterday....

...aigooo

Thida Thai Experience

2010-03-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my friend Kat and I discovered that our little town of Smyrna was blessed with a Thai restaurant right down the street from us. Being adventurous people, we decided that we had to come back and give it a try....so we did last night. I have to say it was an all-around awesome experience. First off because they had BUBBLE FRIGGIN TEA!!! I go the melon flavored which had just the right amount of sweetness, and Kat decided to try the Taro flavored one. Because I had no idea what the hell taro was, I decided to wiki it:

"Taro (pronounced /ˈtɑroʊ/) is a tropical plant grown primarily as a root vegetable for its edible corm, and secondarily as a leaf vegetable. It is considered a staple in Oceanic cultures. It is believed to have been one of the earliest cultivated plants.[2] It is known by many names, including dasheen in the Caribbean and arrowroot in East Africa (which could easily be confused with the arrowroot plant Maranta arundinacea); it is one of several plants called cocoyam,[1] and when grown as an ornamental plant it is sometimes loosely called elephant ear together with the closely related Xanthosoma and Caladium."

Unfortuntaely I didnt get the picture of hers but it tasted kind of like Kettlecorn. It was almost salty sweet. Kat decided to get a mild chicken dish with mushroom and babycorn. It was delish as evident by the happy smile and two thumbs up...

My friend Thomas decided to get a green curry that was just a tad spicy. No where near the spiciness though of kimchi.
And I decided to get the yellow curry with chicken. We all decided that my choice was by far the best...and they tried to steal bites when I wasn't looking! All the entrees were also served with a heaping bowl of rice.

I didn't take pictures of the entier restaurant because I didn't want to act too much like a FOB. But the lighting was very peaceful with a few candles at every table. Our waiter was really nice and gave us some suggestions. All in all it was a yummy experience that will definitely happen again^^

Graduate school frustration...

2010-03-18T13:20:00.001-07:00

So the more I go through my graduate school education the more FRUSTRATED I feel back the lack of information given to us. There was an assumption made that most if not all in the program were currently teaching in their own classrooms. This was an epic fail on the part of my institution. In addition, for those of us who have to complete student teaching, we weren't notified of having to send in an application for student teaching last semester if we wanted to have it completed in the fall of 2010. So now I am grossly behind and am having to scramble and probably outright beg to be possibly allowed to student teach this fall in order to graduate this December. It seems my hope of doing so has fallen by the way-side leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

My desire to graduate within the year is driven partly by my desire to return abroad, more specifically, to return to South Korea. However, it is also driven by the fact that I am having to take out loans for every semester I spend in my given program. I am sorely tempted to transfer programs except for the fact that it would mean more paperwork and more frustration for me.

So now I begin the mad dash of finishing up Praxis testing and all out begging to be granted the right to finish a semester earlier before I end up going broke or crazy...

...I'll probably go crazy first...

Too Much Cuteness...

2010-03-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

Picnic in the park...

2010-03-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my friend Mami and I had a lovely picnic in the park. It was a beautiful day so I brought Bella with me to enjoy the rare warm day we have ever so often...

Taekwondo...

2010-03-01T20:19:00.001-08:00

So today was my first taekwondo class. Let me just say....WOW. After about 15mins I was sweating like a stuck pig and huffing and puffing. I loved it. So much that I'm going back tomorrow. I've really been working on getting myself into new hobbies and activities so I'm not just sitting on my ass all day. In fact I feel so much better after taekwondo today. I love working out and exhausting myself.

I really didn't have to much to write about other than the fact that I found a great new activity. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up and move forward with it. If I keep going like I plan to I might be able to test for the yellow belt in a few months time. Right now I'm at the beginning level which is white belt. I'm crazy excited and tired as hell so I think it is time to enjoy the bed before work tomorrow. I'm sure I'll sleep damn good tonight*^^*

Samgyeupsal night...

2010-02-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

So last week my friends Maricelle, Sung and I decided to have a samgyeupsal night at Sung's place. After living in Korea I really miss going out with some friends and having samgyeupsal and soju before hitting up the noraebang room. Here open grills aren't really allowed unless it is a hibachi grill. So we improvised by using our own small grill to cook the meat. It was incredibly tasty and we capped it off by hanging out for a few hours at a hookah bar. All around a very enjoyable way to spend the evening. Next weekend we're planning a trip down to Atlanta to get some food, do some shopping and hopefully find a noraebang place. I'll make sure to post pictures from that.

I'm really trying to post more often. I just get incredibly tired from working two jobs and going to school on the weekends. BUT...I will be better about it*^^

New Music...

2010-02-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

In Korea I was known as an authority on kpop music in many ways. I follow kpop and jpop waaay more than music from the USA. That fact hasn't changed even though I'm back in the USA. Now it just means that I have to once again try harder to listen to new music rather than being able to walk down the street and hear whatever the newest single is. Today is one of my massive music research days to see what some of my favorite artists have released in the past few months.

So starting with SNSD(소녀시대). I've been enjoying their single "Chocolate Love" although it has been out for a little while now. Mostly I think I like it because...well I'm brown and kind of chocolate-y*^^* Anyway the video is cute-sy and the song is very catchy. I can dance to it and enjoy listening to it loudly as I drive down the highway. Listen for yourself...

Another always favorite of mine is Kwon BoA. I've listened to her since she debuted back in 2001. Yes even back then I was in love with asian music and used my pitiful dial-up connection to its fullest (it often took 3hrs to download one song*^^*) Anyhoo lately at the gym I've been listening to her song "Energetic". I used to listen to this song when I worked out at the gym in Korea and back home is no exception. It's very upbeat and definitely gets me motivated to work out for just a little bit longer...

My last one is 2NE1's "Try to Follow Me". The digital single was released just a few weeks ago and they are in the process of getting a music video for the single. It's another great song for pushing me to work out just a bit longer than I may have without music...

Still a winter wonderland...

2010-02-17T18:08:00.000-08:00

So for the past 4weeks here in TN we have had 1-2 snow days each week...very unusual for TN and holy balls is it ever cold...and poor Bella, she just has no idea what to do about her first snow. She's not sure whether to pee on it or eat it...

Reflection Time....

2010-02-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's nice to just stop and take a moment to reflect on the things you've done and where you want to go/what you want to do next...

I definitely find myself in that stage now. I have nothing to write...just thinking....

Definition of my name...

2010-02-04T19:15:00.001-08:00

So this is a fad that has bitten my friends on facebook. Go to urbandictionary.com and look up the meaning of your name. Now if your name is as common as mine (my first name is Kristen) then you will have quite a few different definitions. Personally my favorite is this:

(V).To sha...ke a body part in a quick, spasmodic movement. Ie. "Her ass was kristening about."

Pretty much describes me....yeup=^^=

JLPT

2010-02-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

So now that I am once again back into study mode MAJOR, I have begun to once again prepare to take the JLPT otherwise known as the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. I was poised to take this test two years ago but decided instead to move to Korea and opt out of testing for another year or. Truthfully I didn't study near as much nor did I speak enough Japanese when I was abroad in Korea for fear of retribution from the locals. Japan is a sore spot for many Koreans, even some of my dear friends who were as western as they come. Therefore most of the time I spoke English and the smidgen of Korean I happened to pick up or learn. So I decided that instead of wasting my money and taking the test I would wait until I had enough time to study up and then take it.

That time is fast approaching...

...ok so maybe December 5, 2010 isn't necessarily close but it is close enough for me to begin to worry and carve out time in my busy schedule to sit down and study.

So for those of you who have never heard of the test it is used similar to those students of English have to take to get accepted to American universities. There are now 5 different levels the highest being level 1. Passing that means you have native-near native grasp of the Japanese language. The test scores can be used in a variety of different settings and can assist future employers in knowing a person's level of Japanese language ability.

As I hope to continue my journey abroad in Japan I am planning to take this test and hopefully pass level 2. I studied Japanese for 4yrs in university and love speaking it when I have the chance. Luckily there is an international language academy that offers Japanese so once I have the money I plan on applying for tutoring. There are 6-8week programs offered there so hopefully within the next 2months or so I'll have enough money to pay for my private lessons.

For more information about the JLPT you can follow the link here...
There's also a KLPT(Korean Language Proficiency Test) for those who are interested though there are no testing locations in the U.S. so the link for that particular test is here...
I haven't decided yet if I'll take the KLPT within the next year or two. Perhaps once I'm done studying for one I'll begin my Korean lessons again...

How time flies...

2010-01-27T10:19:00.000-08:00

It's funny how time flies when You're living your life. It has been 4months since I moved back to the US of A and things are steadily improving. I moved back in with my mom to save money and now I've begun to substitute teach during the day as well as working a part-time job at nights. I'm still not making as much money as I did when I worked in Korea but it is what it is. I'm also now in my 2nd semester of graduate school and things are going well. I'm enjoying learning new teaching techniques that I hope to put in play once i get my own classroom once again.

There are still plenty of time when I miss life in Korea. I can't wait to go back to visit good friends and see new things. I am also looking forward to possibly moving back abroad if life doesn't decide that here is where I should stay.

I do have a lovely reminder of Korea in my life which is my dog Bella 'Boshintang' Walker. Next month will be her 1st birthday and I'm planning a little doggy celebration for her and her 4legged friends. It amazing to see how much she's grown...

Bella June 2009: 4mnths old 0.9kgsBella January 2010: 11mnths old 3.2kgs

July 1-23, 2010

2010-01-20T22:02:00.000-08:00

So I've decided on a date that I'm going to go back and visit friends in Korea. I'll be going to school for pretty much the entire month of June and I'm going to need a break. This means I need to save up about $2500 for a plane ticket and various activities there.

I'm excited and am working on a budget for how much I need to work in the next 6months...I'm going to be super busy and probably a bit cranky but it will all be worth it=^^=

Gym Diary....

2010-01-19T12:31:00.001-08:00

So today was the beginning of my slim-down to summer. Coming back to the US(land of bigger portions) has negatively affected my waistline....or maybe I should say positively affected as it is growing out of control. In Korea, I didn't really eat sweets or bread because it was a bit expensive. I wasn't always at Paris Baguette or the other random bread shops. Also I was walking a ton more than I am able to do now. The neighborhood I live in now has sidewalks which is a definite plus. Now if I can't get to the gym during the day I can at least jog/walk outside with my dog Bella without fear of getting run over.

So I'm making a conscious effort to work out at least 5 times/week and eat healthier. It helps that my friend Min is also wanting to get back in shape. We also have set a specific goal timewise. It helps to have a buddy to keep you on task so hopefully I will be able to get back in shape and become healthier. I'm not going to post my weight here...at least not yet. Perhaps when I start seeing progress I'll post the progress I see.

On another note...why is it that guys want to approach me when I'm at the gym?! I mean, here I am sweating and grunting like a wounded animal, and this guy is just chatting me up. Then comes the inevitable, "Are you married?" which I reply, "No but I have a boyfriend." Usually then guys tend to nod and turn away, but no. This guy had some serious balls and replied, "Shame you should be married. Call me if you want to be."....wow dude. Wow. I admire your balls...but not really...

After that I decided to get back to my regularly schedule work-out. Jogged for 45mins, Elliptical for 20mins and then weights for about 20-25mins. It's always good to get some weight training in there rather than just doing cardio alone since adding muscle can help boost your metab level. Hopefully tomorrow I can get in an un-interrupted workout...=^^=

Interesting convo...

2010-01-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

"i feel like you are soooo chill

and neutral

like if you were a chemical material

you'd be something with a ph of 7"

It's interesting sometimes to find out what your friends think of you. Sometimes I wonder what my personality is like to others....I guess now I kind of know? In general I tend to not show a ton of emotion. I don't really do it on purpose. It just exhausts me to try harder to show more emotion. It has led to some issues with friends who think I don't care at all. I care. I just keep it inside normally unless I feel something is a major issue. Though truthfully, even then I'll sometimes keep it inside as I hate confrontation...

Military Ball and New Years...

2010-01-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

So my New Years was pretty damn awesome. I stayed home and 3 friends came over and we partied like rockstars before hitting up the outside fun. It was pretty cold that night and with all the cops, drunk people and taxi waits we decided we wouldn't go downtown but instead....go to a.....strip club.....-GASP- Yes, my first one EVER. Now in my defense it wasn't my idea but I decided to go anyway because I had never been and I wanted to know if it was as seedy as my mind thought it would be....and really....it wasn't. I mean yes there was an ATM, yes there were neon light, and poles, and naked women. But I guess there with my other friends it didn't seem so bad. I doubt I'll be going again but I can check it off in my notebook of things I've done in my lifetime.

After that I headed up to Clarksville for a New Years dinner that was KOREAN!!!! My friend Min's mom cooked a Korean meal of deokmandugook and I had some galbi, homemade kimchi, seafood pancake...-sigh- I was so happy. It was great to hear and get to talk in Korean again. Min and I talk a little in Korean...mostly in his sleep he starts muttering in Korean "Just let me sleep a little more" and something else I can't remember. His mom even knew where Pyeongchon was!!! It made me sooooo happy which lets me know that Korea is most definitely in my future, one way or another.

The next weekend was the military formal in Kentucky where the snow was seriously coming down. Now, it wasn't as much as Seoul...actually not even close. But for the south it was a substantial amount. Plus it got so damn icey at night making it hard to walk in 3-inch heels. But I had a good time dancing, eating and meeting some down to earth Army men. Gotta say....I think I have a thing for Army men now....-sigh-...those arms, stature....loving it, lol. Who knows, maybe a Korean Army man is in my future, LOL.Well anyway, other than financial issues that have been plaguing me I've been having a pretty great 2010. I've got 2 job interviews and orientation for substitute teaching this week so hopefully things are starting to look up for me. Hope everyone is having a great year so far!!!

Sigh...

2010-01-06T08:30:00.001-08:00

Farmville is down on facebook....I don't know what to do with my life. Now I actually have to work on my homework...-cry-...

Avatar...or...Pocahontas???

2010-01-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Pics 2009

2010-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

So I finally got some of the pictures from my friend Sung Min from the past couple weeks I've been hanging out with him in Clarksville. These are some pictures taken at the Riverfront area near the Cumberland River.The Cumberland River goes through Kentucky-Tennessee-and then back up into Kentucky. It goes through downtown Nashville as well as going around downtown Clarksville where I was. But anyway This post isn't about the river per se. It's about the spectacular lights that were on the river...

So we started out crossing the elevated pedestrian bridge to get across the street since there was no parking on that side. It was a chilly night but so clear and it really made the lights sparkle. Unfortunately I couldn't manage to take a non-blurry picture. I was shivering a little too hard for that.After that I took a few pictures with some lighted friends...An awesome ferry boat. Unfortunately it was so large I couldn't get the whole thing in one shot without climbing a slight hill and I wasn't going to try that hard...An ice-skating area...Lighted walkway. It was so pretty to get underneath and look up...
"HO HO HO" Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you all!!!

Update...

2010-01-01T20:09:00.001-08:00

Sorry all. I have pretty much taken a break from my vomputer in general and so haven't been posting. Granted I can post blogs from my iPhone so I will try to start doing that. My friend Min just returned from his tour in Afghanistan and so I have pretty much been out of town with him for the past few weeks. Other than that just on the job hunt once again and pretty much striking out...ugh...hopefully I'll have something more to write about in the next few days...and preferably from my own computer. Posting on someone else's computer just doesn't feel the same.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Cooking Lesson 2: Seolleong-tang

2009-12-26T11:10:00.001-08:00

So I've decided my next cooking challenge will be to make seolleong-tang. My friend Heather and I looooooved this soup. There was an awesome 24hr place in Pyeongchon that served it. The service was always great and they even took pictures of us and put on the wall.

Anyway, as it has gotten colder here I've missed having this soup to warm me up. So obvio I'll just have to learn to make it myself. Hopefully my next post will be one of triumph that I have learned this particular dish...

Lunch break sightseeing....

2009-12-12T19:49:00.000-08:00

So although I know I broke my promise to post last week I finally have time to sit and do one now. Working two jobs while going to school full-time is exhausting. Most days when I get home all I can do is shower and crash. Therefore, on my hour long lunch break I decided to get out and actually spend time in the sun for once and get pictures of the area that I live near.

Unfortunately because it is winter there were no people selling goods at the local Farmer's Market. However I did get to walk around the park and take pictures of Nashville's WWII Memorial that is literally a 2min walk outside of downtown.

Although I work close to the park I decided to drive there to save myself time and because it has gotten pretty cold in Nashville. It was still a beautiful walk to get to the memorial. Clear skies, a slight breeze...it was the first time I have truly enjoyed my time back home.

After a brief walk I got to small area that talks about WWII and has various statues and plaques dedicated to the men and women who served, assisted and/or lost their lives in the various battles that took place around the world.This globe is in honor of the Tennesseans who served in various areas across the globe and shows where they may have travelled. It really made me appreciate how large the world is and how many more places I want to go and experience.Unfortunately because I was taking pics with my iPhone they aren't the best quality. This plaque showed the mass headstones for those who lost their lives to the war. All in all there are many good things that Nashville has to offer. It is growing at a fast rate with new homes, dining, clubs, bars, etc. We have some great schools and universities. If I were to raise a child Nashville would be a great place to do it. However, I'm not. I'm a 20-something with a thirst for travel. Now that I have had a taste I am addicted. I still regret in many ways returning home after only a year abroad. But now I am here and trying to make the best of it and get my graduate degree. But after that....good-bye Nashville...

MIA....again...

2009-12-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

So I've realized that working two jobs while going to school=not much time to blog...actually not much time to do things to blog about. But now that I'm getting a routine down I should be back in the swing of things SOON. I'm going to write that on the back of my hand, "Post to blogger today." Will have a post tomorrow...PROMISE=^^=

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!

2009-11-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

To a new day...

2009-11-22T09:49:00.001-08:00

Had one of the most god awful nights last night. I was supposed to go to a club and meet up with someone I met online. No not for sex or anything like that. Just for a "Hey let's hang out with our friends" kind of deal. I did see the guy but I was too chicken to actually approach and say hello. I'm quite a bit more shy than most people believe.

So before we even get in the club who is there....seriously, take a wild guess...

...my ex. Yeah, saw him and all my feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem, sadness, anger, everything just came bubbling up and I couldn't handle it. The girl who used to pride herself on being able to keep it together fell apart at the seams. Granted I kept it in until I got to a more private place. It just really hurt seeing him there. I thought that I had gotten over it all but I guess I need more time before seeing his face or someone who looks like him stops becoming so painful. How long should it take you to get over someone you were in love with?

I'm trying hard to figure things out, figure my life out. I guess a part of my problem is that I'm always looking for the bottom to fall out. I'm always waiting because then if it doesn't then I'll have a good surprise at the end. But that's obviously not a good way to be....

Cough Cough SNEEZE...ugh

2009-11-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

So unfortunately the change in weather has helped contribute to my present sickness...which is why I haven't put up anymore posts. Trying to work, go to school and find a second job while sick leaves little time for anything else other than sleep. I should be back in action in another few days though...ugh...

Sigh...

2009-11-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

...every time I see a picture of Seoul I feel sad inside...same with Shinjuku, Japan. Graduation can't come fast enough. I miss being abroad...

Interesting Convos...

2009-11-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

So today I had a very interesting conversation with one of the guys I had been talking to through email. It began strangely. I was linked to a conversation with another woman from Europe who was not happy about the experience at all. After mentioning that I did not need a play by play of the strange conversation he was having with her I was rebuffed as a narrow-minded American who has no concern for others when the other woman could be someone fun to toy with...

...huh? Then came the inevitable "All Americans are the same; You are a typical American; yadda yadda ya." When I mentioned that all Americans are not the same since many come from outside of the U.S. to begin with, I was called a kid and aggressive...once again, huh? After that I pretty much decided to end the conversation there and move on to talking to someone else when I got a question that literally sent me into a giggle fit..."Is it painful being black?" I couldn't even be offended I was too busy laughing. I responded with how it isn't since I never sunburn or something and promptly said good-bye.

Shame. I was beginning to enjoy the conversations with him, granted we hadn't been talking for that long. I'll chock it up to meeting new people, some of them strange, and hope that my next few conversations are as interesting but a good deal more productive...

Dating and the Single Life Update

2009-11-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

So I have hit a lull in my dating life. Actually, I haven't been enjoying it very much in all honesty. The guys that have been interesting me aren't even in my same state.

I was looking forward to this guy Y. I mentioned him in a previous post. He was living in Virginia and had made plans to come visit me. We had great conversation and all seemed to be going as planned...if you can have a plan. Fast forward a few weeks and then comes a strange conversation about getting married for a green card. After I mentioned how I doubt I could do it(I already have a pessimistic view of marriage to begin with) a few days later he disappeared. Like truly disappeared off FB, UB and is never online anymore. Very strange experience.

So I guess time to begin again. I find it very taxing trying to keep up with many people all at once but I'm making myself get used to it. Perhaps I'll be able to expand upon the guys as I go along...

Self Cooking Lesson #1: Kimchi bok keum bap

2009-11-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

So I have decided, because I seriously doubt I'll even come close to being a submissive wife I've decided that I will at least be one that can cook extremely well. Since the first person that will really be sampling my cooking is my Korean-American friend S.M. I've decided that I will teach myself how to cook Korean food. From living in Korea I'm familiar with lots of different foods and seasonings but I've rarely tried to cook them for myself. I've always just improvised and made whatever came to mind. No more. I'm going to begin learning to cook specific dishes and decided to begin today...

1) Gathered my ingredients: kimchi, rice, onion, red pepper paste

2) Cut onions and grill them in a pan. I used olive oil since I am out of sesame oil...
3) Because my kimchi wasn't pre-cut I cut it into strips myself and added them to pan of onions. I also added a little bit of salt since I am a sodium freak...
4) Add rice, red pepper paste and sesame oil if you have some (I added extra virgin olive oil) and stir together...
VIOLA!!! You have made your very own kimchi bok keum bap. Unfortunately I realized I was out of eggs which I put on top but otherwise it tastes damn yummy=^^=
Stay tuned for my next meal: dwenjjang chigae!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2009-10-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

Dating and the Single Life...

2009-10-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

So being single I have begun to think about dating. I've gone on a few dates since I got back home to the U.S. However, I haven't been putting too much into it since I have been more worried about getting a steady stream of income and completing schoolwork.

I'm in a slightly weird place right now. In Korea it was fairly easy to meet people. Making new friends kind of followed a pattern of "You speak English? I speak English! Let's be friends!" But here in Nashville that isn't really a valid way of meeting people. So I decided to do something that I had kind of tried before. I went online. So there are those well known sites like eharmony or match.com but you also have to pay for those. I'm not willing to do that, lol. I found a few other sites that you don't necessarily have to pay for a subscription to get in touch with people. I haven't made a ton of connections because I'm way too cautious for that.

Regardless I have been talking back and forth with one guy who I will name 'Y'. He is, surprise surprise, Korean and getting his Master's in Virginia so he's a bit far from me but it's not impossible. We've been talking back and forth and recently moved to phone talking and will perhaps be meeting up in a few weeks for the first time. This is not a completely new experience for me but it is still an interesting one. Now that dating is going cyber it's a bit easier to meet a ton of people at once but it is harder to know the true deal. Pictures can be faked, credentials can be faked so we'll see what's real when the time comes...

My new digs...Pt. 1

2009-10-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

So I have moved into a new home complete with pretty sweet roommate, 2 dogs and an awesome fireplace that I can't wait to light up. However, I am still living out of two suitcases...PROBLEM!!! So a few days ago I went out and bought a stand-alone closet that you can assemble yourself.Ok, so just for the record I am not a DIY type of gal...I break things...on accident though...BUT I figured since I didn't have to hammer or screw anything together I could do it.

So to start the box has a picture of what this thing is supposed to look like:

Directions:

And pieces:

So I had an idea of what look I was going for and what I had to accomplish the deed. I began simple enough with the base...

And then moved on to trying to make the mid part and then the top...

End result looks like the box yes?

Oktoberfest

2009-10-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

So sorry this post is so late. I uploaded my photos to my laptop and then couldn't find them again. That's what I get for cleaning of my desktop. Such chaos, but anyhoo so October 10 was the Oktoberfest celebration here in Nashville. Pretty much it's a day to listen to music, buy crafts, eat tons of food and legally walk around with a pitcher of beer in your hand(for those who don't know, unlike Korea it is illegal to walk around in public with open containers of alcohol AND if you are clearly inebriated you can be arrested for public intoxication...)My friend Sung and I decided to brave the cold for the not-so-free beer and food. First thing first we were STARVING so we decided to get a couple of gyros. The festival had tons of food to get like funnel cakes, turkey legs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, etc. You could also get a lot of different drinks, some of which contained assorted alcoholic substances...We clearly enjoyed the wine tasting and assorted beers that were for purchase...GO SUNG DOUBLE FISTING!!!Afterwards we sat and enjoyed some of the live music areas and let our stomachs settle from the alcohol before heading out...I managed to get one of the performances and some dancers on video. Sorry for the poor quality, it was shot with my digital camera...

All in all it was a great day and a pretty fun experience. Hopefully I'll be able to go to many more festivals in my state and elsewhere. Once I start working it will be a bit more difficult but at least I'll have a few weekends free a month to have good times...

HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

2009-10-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Options...

2009-10-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

So although I've just started graduate school and working I'm already thinking about my future plans. I finish my graduate program May 2011. If I am unattached then I am thinking about going back abraod to teach, this time I might aim for Japan. It was always my wish to live in Japan and that wish hasn't gone away. I need to continue studying the language and culture like I enjoy.

I figure if I start looking now and continue researching I could find a pretty good position, especially after I get certified. Hopefully Japan will still be in my future...

Beer+Bowling= A damn good Thursday night...

2009-10-16T09:28:00.001-07:00

...a great night indeed! Next post, pics from Oktoberfest=^^=

Funny Korean Commercial of the Month...

2009-10-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Sung I found out about this awesomely funny(and slightly disturbing) Korean commercial. It sent me straight into 'holy shit' laughter mode. Let's see what you guys think about it...

Things I Miss #1...

2009-10-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

So every now and then I find myself thinking about some aspect of Korea/Korean culture that I miss. Tonight what I miss from Korea is....-drumroll-.....

TV COMMERCIALS

It's strange, but one of my favorite pasttimes in Korea was watching commercials. If you asked many of my friends they would tell you that I was quite good at memorizing and repeating tv commercials. The music, the words, I would remember them all. So I decided to show you guys a few of my favorite commercials...

1) Corn Silk Tea starring Kim Tae Hee
- I tried this tea, not because I wanted a V-shaped face, but because I love tea. However, this tea tastes like burnt corn. I couldn't finish even half a bottle. Maybe if I had finished it all I would see some results on my face...

2) Vita 500 starring Wondergirls
- I actually drank this quite a bit. Not sure if it helped me get sick less than I would have but at least I got my days worth of vitamin c.

3) Soju(forgot the brand) starring Lee Hyori
- Soju...nuff said...

4) LG Lollipop starring BigBang and 2NE1
- Love both of these groups. Kind of wished I could have bought one of these phones.

5) 17Tea starring Jeon Ji Hyun
- A tea I actually really liked this tea, especially ice cold on a hot as hell day.

I'll continue to bring you guys different things I miss about Korea and of course posts about life after...well, life at present. I'm also currently looking up different events going on in my town that I can show you. There are a few events coming up that I hope to go to. For example:

-Oktoberfest October 10
-Music Molasses Festival October 17-18
-Flea Market October 23-25
-Annual Jack Daniel's Invitational BBQ October 24
-Cirque d'Or performed by Golden Dragon Acrobats October 29

An emotional rant of sorts...

2009-10-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

At different periods throughout my life I have dealt with depression. Sometimes I can tell when these feelings of sadness or even worse nothingness are about to occur. Most times however they come without warning. Those are the times that are the worst. Because sometimes I can't do anything about them. I'm having one of those moments now.

The day didn't start off terrible. Went to class. Enjoyed our discussion on reasons why the Latino/a population drops out of school and the different types of English education for non-native speakers in the U.S. However for the last few hours I have just been feeling blah. I decided to do some shopping. It is the vice I use when I feel this way. I set a limit and focus on seeing what I can find and still not hit that limit. Kind of like agame with myself to keep my mind occupied on other things. But today it didn't work. I felt even worse. I just feel...

Empty. Completely and utterly unfulfilled...and I know a bit why.

Despite what I say, this last break-up has hit me hard. The reasons he gave just sent my head into a nosedive. Combine that with coming home...well coming back to the town you used to live in and finding things changed doesn't help. Who are my friends? Who am I important to? I suppose these are questions everyone thinks about at one point in time. Everything going on is just getting compounded all at once and I don't feel like I have a safe place to hash out these feelings. Feelings of sadness, shame, ANGER...I am so angry. At him, at myself, at people who I think are my friends...

I just need someone who I can talk to about everything without feeling as if I have to sugarcoat things or worry about offending...

And So it Continues...

2009-10-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a new blog because unfortunately I am no longer in Korea. Hell I am no longer in Asia period. Therefore I figured I would begin again and chronicle the ups and downs involved with transitioning back into living life in the U.S., continuing my education in graduate school and being newly single scoping out whatever kind of dating scene Tennessee claims to have(pessimistic about that one).

I can't say I am 100% happy about being back in the US of A. I'm happy to see family and catch up with old friends. But I miss having a job, and feeling like I know where I belong. I still feel like a fish out of water even without the language barrier. Not to mention I am currently homeless. Yes people..HOMELESS. Oh don't get me wrong I have a place to stay. I'm currently living with my grandma at her house. It's not uncomfortable or anything. I love her dearly and she I. But after living on my own for 1yr+ I like having my own space to do with as I please. Hopefully within the next week or so I will be able to show everyone my new digs...

However, today my mind wasn't worried about my lack of a bedroom. No. I was more focused on school. Because of my quick decision to try to get into grad school by the October session I had less than 3 weeks to apply, get references, get transcripts, write a personal statement, do an interview, take the MAT(Miller's Analogies Test) and figure out financial aid. BUT....I pulled it off. I was accepted last Friday and I start today at 5pm sharp. In fact, today I could finally register fully and check my financial aid status. I'm going to come out of this more in debt than before...but I'll worry about that on another day. Today is the mad dash to get books, binders and try not to be nervous that I'll probably be one of the youngest in the program. I'm really excited as well so I will focus on that...well...I'll try...