deery-lou.
the signs keep coming my way. after 2 and half years taekwondo has come to end. at least for now. my kwanjangnim sold his school. both him and sahbomnim are leaving and a new master is taking over. so with that i decided to take a hiatus until i figure out what i want to do. its funny how things work out. for awhile now i've been thinking of a way to quit but never did. i knew that telling kwanjangnim i simply wanted to quit wouldn't fly. and since we had formed a friendship i found it harder and harder to just leave. there was always some amount of guilt lurking in the background, so i stayed. i'm glad i did. even though it took alot for me to show i always felt good afterwards. now my need for an excuse is gone. sure i could stay on, but i never really made a connection with the new master. plus i accomplished what i originally set out to do and that was get a black belt. i tried to talk to kwanjangnim about selling the school. there was a part of him that seemed to regret it. he mentioned how once the papers were signed the new master seemed to change and not in a good way. that was another reason for me not continuing. i mean, if kwanjangnim didn't think much of him as a teacher why would i stay on. kwanjangnim told me to call him if i ever head into seoul and we can catch a movie, have some drinks, etc. we'll see what happens. sometimes its hard keeping in touch with folk. hopefully we will. i wish him all the best in whatever he decides to do next. i did ask him to set up a workout schedule that i can do at home. i'm still waiting for it though. in the meantime i'm gonna take a month off and figure out what i want to do. i feel like i need some form of exercise and i know that if i join a gym i'll never go.
at school today we had "about me" book show and tell. the teachers participated as well. i threw mine together late last night. it was fun looking at the students pictures and hear them talking about themselves. it basically took all day and by the end it was like pulling out your hair. i kept looking for hot dads but there weren't too many of them. the scary thing is that i'm as old as most of the parents. no wonder the kids keep asking if i'm married. i told them that i wanted to be a ninja. hehe. tomorrow is another field trip. we are going to the movies to see spiderman 3. oh the joys of teaching kindergarten.
stay gold & be well…
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
capturing moods
deery-lou.
* this is a rather old rant that i've been waiting to post. better late than never
ever since the arrival of our new teachers back in august, whom i'll refer to as kazilla, the two-headed monster, our school hasn't quite been the same. they brought with them an air of negativity, disrespectfulness, immaturity, and blatant laziness. kazilla seems to be of the "me" generation. not really concerned with others except themselves. being a fellow american, their actions were often quite embarrassing. on several occasions the koreans have asked if their behavior is typical of americans. to which i had to answer no. kazilla is of the sort that love to hear themselves speak. no matter how inappropriate it is. a needy being. kazilla was looking for anything out there to make itself feel good. its a needy creature. i was quite happy when kazilla quit my taekwondo class. they often treated my master with disrespect and would run its mouth about inappropriate things. once kazilla was discussing how it was going to please her man over the weekend. i don't care if the kids understand english or not. that kind of conversation should not be discussed in a class with children. kazilla's antics didn't stop there. even at school it often treated the job with discontempt. kazilla came in late, spoke in a language unsuitable for school, and discussed personal matters in the classroom. i got word that kazilla told her students she had over 50 boyfriends. then she went on to discuss the private lives of other teachers including myself. mainly how this teacher liked that one and how i liked boys. i'm not ashamed of being gay but there are certain things about my life especially being in korea that just aren't meant for the students to know. i have sat back for the past five months holding my breathe. it got to a point where my boss asked me not to speak to them. it blows my mind that people don't know how to behave in a professional manner. during our halloween party i had to ask kazilla twice to get off the computer [she was on msn] and stay with her class. had kazilla been working back in the states they would have long been fired from this job. but seeing that this is korea and the stakes for the koreans are much higher its just not that simply. this past week kazilla quit. needless to say i was thrilled. hopefully now we'll get back on track.
update: there was a brief moment when my boss tried to convince one of them to stay longer. which i couldn't believe. i think that was the point where i lost complete faith in the school. even though she said she would she left that weekend leaving a note telling them. kazilla is definitely going to have a rude awakening back in the states. but good riddance.
stay gold & be well…
* this is a rather old rant that i've been waiting to post. better late than never
ever since the arrival of our new teachers back in august, whom i'll refer to as kazilla, the two-headed monster, our school hasn't quite been the same. they brought with them an air of negativity, disrespectfulness, immaturity, and blatant laziness. kazilla seems to be of the "me" generation. not really concerned with others except themselves. being a fellow american, their actions were often quite embarrassing. on several occasions the koreans have asked if their behavior is typical of americans. to which i had to answer no. kazilla is of the sort that love to hear themselves speak. no matter how inappropriate it is. a needy being. kazilla was looking for anything out there to make itself feel good. its a needy creature. i was quite happy when kazilla quit my taekwondo class. they often treated my master with disrespect and would run its mouth about inappropriate things. once kazilla was discussing how it was going to please her man over the weekend. i don't care if the kids understand english or not. that kind of conversation should not be discussed in a class with children. kazilla's antics didn't stop there. even at school it often treated the job with discontempt. kazilla came in late, spoke in a language unsuitable for school, and discussed personal matters in the classroom. i got word that kazilla told her students she had over 50 boyfriends. then she went on to discuss the private lives of other teachers including myself. mainly how this teacher liked that one and how i liked boys. i'm not ashamed of being gay but there are certain things about my life especially being in korea that just aren't meant for the students to know. i have sat back for the past five months holding my breathe. it got to a point where my boss asked me not to speak to them. it blows my mind that people don't know how to behave in a professional manner. during our halloween party i had to ask kazilla twice to get off the computer [she was on msn] and stay with her class. had kazilla been working back in the states they would have long been fired from this job. but seeing that this is korea and the stakes for the koreans are much higher its just not that simply. this past week kazilla quit. needless to say i was thrilled. hopefully now we'll get back on track.
update: there was a brief moment when my boss tried to convince one of them to stay longer. which i couldn't believe. i think that was the point where i lost complete faith in the school. even though she said she would she left that weekend leaving a note telling them. kazilla is definitely going to have a rude awakening back in the states. but good riddance.
stay gold & be well…
Friday, April 27, 2007
aisha
deery-lou.
yesterday two of my students were struck with a need to create art. have they been watching shear genius [the project runway for hairdressers]? i know i have especially since former angel jacyln smith is the host. anyway, i sat back and let them create their master piece using crayons and my hair. here's what they can up with:
the final creation
top view
lily, one of the artist
stay gold & be well…
yesterday two of my students were struck with a need to create art. have they been watching shear genius [the project runway for hairdressers]? i know i have especially since former angel jacyln smith is the host. anyway, i sat back and let them create their master piece using crayons and my hair. here's what they can up with:
the final creation
top view
lily, one of the artiststay gold & be well…
you better run
deery-lou.
it's 4:39 pm, friday, april 27 in california. coachella officially started at 2pm. my friends have rented a pad in palm springs and most likely spent the morning sitting poolside. this is the third year i've missed and i must say that this year's lineup looks awesome. not a huge fan of giant concert events, coachella is quite unlike all the others. a day spent in the sun, listening to excellent music, drinking beers, and hanging with great friends. but the best part is chillin at the house before and after the day's event. the one thing i can say is that i've never been bored there. about to take to the various stages are: silversun pickups, of montreal, david guetta, tilly and the walls, and gillian welch. what i wouldn't do to be there. the one thing i truly miss about being home besides the obvious friends and family is the music. since living in korea i feel so out of touch. thankfully though i have my friends and bagelradio to keep me updated. perhaps 2008 will be my return to the music festival.
this week i've still found myself in a constant struggle. that is basically motivating myself to teach. the kids are great but i feel like i'm burnt out. teaching non-stop from 9:30 to 5:40 on monday, wednesday, and friday has definitely taken its toll. then throw in the disorganization of the kindergarten school and you've got yourself a mess. i keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel but its barely flicking. for now i'm just trying to get through until vacation comes in july. the one thing i don't want to happen is for my negative attitude towards the school to reflect onto the children. so everyday i try my best to put on the "happy" face for all the little faces. amongst the teachers and staffers i feel like an outsider. its come to my attention that some things have been said about me. granted i know people talk crap and that doesn't really bother me its more of how this particular individual has a way making it appear like "poor me". i can't help it for you can't do your job. and believe me i'm not afraid to tell you so. from my experience the korean teachers at my school don't like confrontation. so instead of talking to you about a problem they might have they'll just whine and complain to each other. i guess the charm had to wear off sometime. i had a good two and half years there so perhaps the cards are telling me to start a new game.
its been 14 days since "the bf" [can i even call him that anymore] told me he needed a week to reflect on his life. which leaves me to contemplate my next move. do i call/contact him? or just wait to see if he'll do it. the hardest thing about this whole situation is how he kept telling me he needed to talk to me when he got back to korea and since he's been back he's barely made contact. sometimes you need to grow a pair and face things head on. at this point i just want to know where we stand. but i have a feeling, due to the lack of contact where its going. now its just a matter of hearing it for myself.
stay gold & be well…
it's 4:39 pm, friday, april 27 in california. coachella officially started at 2pm. my friends have rented a pad in palm springs and most likely spent the morning sitting poolside. this is the third year i've missed and i must say that this year's lineup looks awesome. not a huge fan of giant concert events, coachella is quite unlike all the others. a day spent in the sun, listening to excellent music, drinking beers, and hanging with great friends. but the best part is chillin at the house before and after the day's event. the one thing i can say is that i've never been bored there. about to take to the various stages are: silversun pickups, of montreal, david guetta, tilly and the walls, and gillian welch. what i wouldn't do to be there. the one thing i truly miss about being home besides the obvious friends and family is the music. since living in korea i feel so out of touch. thankfully though i have my friends and bagelradio to keep me updated. perhaps 2008 will be my return to the music festival.
this week i've still found myself in a constant struggle. that is basically motivating myself to teach. the kids are great but i feel like i'm burnt out. teaching non-stop from 9:30 to 5:40 on monday, wednesday, and friday has definitely taken its toll. then throw in the disorganization of the kindergarten school and you've got yourself a mess. i keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel but its barely flicking. for now i'm just trying to get through until vacation comes in july. the one thing i don't want to happen is for my negative attitude towards the school to reflect onto the children. so everyday i try my best to put on the "happy" face for all the little faces. amongst the teachers and staffers i feel like an outsider. its come to my attention that some things have been said about me. granted i know people talk crap and that doesn't really bother me its more of how this particular individual has a way making it appear like "poor me". i can't help it for you can't do your job. and believe me i'm not afraid to tell you so. from my experience the korean teachers at my school don't like confrontation. so instead of talking to you about a problem they might have they'll just whine and complain to each other. i guess the charm had to wear off sometime. i had a good two and half years there so perhaps the cards are telling me to start a new game.
its been 14 days since "the bf" [can i even call him that anymore] told me he needed a week to reflect on his life. which leaves me to contemplate my next move. do i call/contact him? or just wait to see if he'll do it. the hardest thing about this whole situation is how he kept telling me he needed to talk to me when he got back to korea and since he's been back he's barely made contact. sometimes you need to grow a pair and face things head on. at this point i just want to know where we stand. but i have a feeling, due to the lack of contact where its going. now its just a matter of hearing it for myself.
stay gold & be well…
Thursday, April 26, 2007
girl afraid
deery-lou.
some days you just need a little rainbow connection.
debbie harry rocks!!
stay gold & be well…
some days you just need a little rainbow connection.
debbie harry rocks!!
stay gold & be well…
Saturday, April 21, 2007
mr. kadali
deery-lou.
what do you get when you load a bunch of teachers onto a bus to head off for an office workshop? a disaster waiting to happen. we were literally on the bus for ten minutes when my boss busted out the soju and everyone started doing shots. well, everyone but me. i had decided early on that this would be an alcohol free workshop for me. from that moment i knew things could only go down hill and they did. our workshops always start off with good intentions. namely to discuss whats happening at our school. but somehow they never seem to accomplish their mission. instead we end up with a bunch of drunk teachers who are suffering from hangovers the next morning. we have 4 new foreign teachers at our school and unfortunately two of them suffer from extreme frat boy mentality when drunk. by the time we reached our destination people were already drunk and the drinking continued. now don't get me wrong, i do enjoy having a few cocktails here and there but there's a time and place for everything. being completely drunk and acting like an ass at your company workshop is not one of them. i was quite surprised and embarrassed by their actions. back in the states i make it a point to avoid the loud abrasive drunk. its not my idea of having a good time. the disrespect they showed to complete strangers and fellow employees was appalling. one of them who i'll refer to as teacher x was full on flirting with one of the korean girls who work at our school. teacher x made it a point to tell me how he was using her just like she was using him. how he like that he had her. he seemed to get off on how submissive she acted toward him and kept asking her to get him things. its clear that she likes him and i can't quite figure out if teacher x is playing her or not. teacher y on the other hand was just your typical frat boy drunk. we had to tell him a couple of times to keep his voice down and to stop saying fuck so much in front of the females. he ended up falling down at one point and thats when one of the bosses told both teacher x and teacher y they needed to go to bed. i had a slight confrontation with teacher x when i tried to go upstairs to get my stuff. he shoved his hand into my chest to block me from going up the stairs and told me that i couldn't go up. he said we all needed to stay downstairs. i pushed his arm aside letting him know that i was going up to get my stuff. when i entered the room teacher y had climbed out the window and was now laying on the roof. a korean teacher was talking to him from the window. i didn't bother to involved myself. as i left the room teacher x was still on the staircase. i told him to never speak or act like that again. through out the night young teacher had to go up to the room to tell teacher y to keep the noise down. not only was he talking extremely loud but he was punching the closet door. eventually things seemed to calm down upstairs and sleep finally overcame me.
when we arrived at the resort that night there a korean film crew there working on the drama witch yu hee. according to the the korean teachers it was a very famous drama right now. aren't they all. it was cool to watch them film scenes. although we had to be quiet for most of the evening which was quite hard for the two drunk teachers. all the female korean teachers were so excited especially because one of the actors was dennis oh, who they all think is so handsome. it was actually quite cute to see them act like school girls. in the morning the filming continued so we got to watch a few more scenes being shot before our meeting. of course due the nature of all the drinking being done we didn't start on time. then again we never seem to. by the time the meeting started we didn't really have much time and it felt like we didn't get much accomplished. there was far too much outside talking and he often seemed to get off the subject at hand. i still have no idea what we were suppose to talk about. i did notice that teacher x and teacher y like to talk and talk loudly which seems to intimate the koreans. i will say this about them though. when they are sober they are quite respective and kind. it's the alcohol that seems to set them over the edge. so i don't think i'll be going out drinking with them anytime soon.
we packed up and cleaned up then headed off for yongmunsa. we spent the afternoon there. the weather was fantastic. a shorts and t-shirt kind of day. we hiked up to a temple. there was nothing really special about the temple. i think that i've seen so many now that they've lost their awe for me. i was just enjoying being outside and taking in the fresh air. on the was down we stopped by the stream. i wanted to get my feet wet. the water was ice cold but felt invigorating. i splashed around for awhile until i could no longer feel my feet. before heading home we went to a tea house. it was dark and cool inside. the decor was quite cool. the benches and table were made out of wood and there were lots of lighted screens. i could have sat in there for hours drinking coffee, smoking, and relaxing.
pictures from yungmunsa here.
stay gold & be well…
Friday, April 13, 2007
dashboard
deery-lou.
we filed out of the building in pairs of two like the animals did for noah. instead of boarding an ark we shuffled onto a light purple bus. one that i'm sure would belong to the joker if he drove a bus. the loud print of the curtains would keep anyone from sleeping. the plastic flowers toward the front added that special touch. i quickly grabbed a solo seat. on the television pinocchio was playing in korean. i opted to drown out all the noise by listening to my ipod. the day's selection we were dead before the ship even sank by modest mouse. an album i'm thoroughly enjoying. although the lyrics are often dark, his voice rather husky and deep, the music fills me with a feeling i can't quite explain. and in a good way. every once in a while a child would tap my arm trying to get my attention. you could sense their excitement. we were on our way. the destination…mulhyanggi arboretum.
it was a rather short jaunt to the arboretum. a little shy of an hour. this was our first field trip of many to come. that's the one benefit to teaching kindergarten—the field trips. it reminded me of when i was in school. field trips were always fun. whether it was to the colonial village, john young's planetarium, or saint augustine the best part was always the frozen soda my mom packed in my lunch. a field trip as a teacher is a new experience. it was a blast to watch the children enjoy themselves. although i realized that we could have taken them to a giant dirt mound and they would be just as happy. it the whole notion of being able to run around outside that they like. the arboretum itself was all right. it was bit too early for a visit. the trees, plants, and flowers were still in their winter state so it was mostly bare trees. the hues consisted of browns and greens. there were a few flowers in bloom but overall not much to keep your attention. especially for an adult. like i said, it didn't matter to the children. i'm sure its beautiful in the height of spring. we stayed for a few hours walking the grounds. before heading back we had lunch by the lake. missing were the sandwiches, chips, and soda. instead they had variations of kimbop, grapes, water, and juice.
caleb
andy
davis & me
future angels [esther & irene]
ladies by the lake
joanna
and then there was this sigh by the bridge…
now i know the cars here are small but they aren't small enough to fit on a foot bridge.
for more pix of the trip to mulhyanggi arboretum go here.
the cherry blossoms are in bloom. walking around town you can see them everywhere. there's something about cherry blossoms. they make the bleakest, coldest rainy day more beautiful. you can't help but feel enchanted by them. they have a mystical quality about them. i often find myself lost in their power. i could wonder around under their protection for hours. and during that time all is good.
i had dinner with my taekwondo class on wednesday. i kept teasing my kwanjangnim about having a pizza party. he finally took me up on the offer. although we had pork instead of pizza. i always myself hanging out with him and sahbomnim. i tried to get sahbomnim to speak more english but it was useless.
lately i've been somewhat in a funk. its been over a week since daniel has been back and i haven't seen him yet. some family stuff came up which kept us from meeting last saturday. i finally got to speak to him on friday. the conversation didn't go as well as i hope. his going through some stuff and needs time to think things over. so currently we are on a break. although i completely understand and respect that he needs this time its hard. we spent so much time together before he left that i feel there's now a void. so for now i'm giving him his space and hopefully next weekend when i return from my office retreat we'll be able to get together and sort things out. i'm not quite ready to give up yet.
stay gold & be well…
we filed out of the building in pairs of two like the animals did for noah. instead of boarding an ark we shuffled onto a light purple bus. one that i'm sure would belong to the joker if he drove a bus. the loud print of the curtains would keep anyone from sleeping. the plastic flowers toward the front added that special touch. i quickly grabbed a solo seat. on the television pinocchio was playing in korean. i opted to drown out all the noise by listening to my ipod. the day's selection we were dead before the ship even sank by modest mouse. an album i'm thoroughly enjoying. although the lyrics are often dark, his voice rather husky and deep, the music fills me with a feeling i can't quite explain. and in a good way. every once in a while a child would tap my arm trying to get my attention. you could sense their excitement. we were on our way. the destination…mulhyanggi arboretum.
it was a rather short jaunt to the arboretum. a little shy of an hour. this was our first field trip of many to come. that's the one benefit to teaching kindergarten—the field trips. it reminded me of when i was in school. field trips were always fun. whether it was to the colonial village, john young's planetarium, or saint augustine the best part was always the frozen soda my mom packed in my lunch. a field trip as a teacher is a new experience. it was a blast to watch the children enjoy themselves. although i realized that we could have taken them to a giant dirt mound and they would be just as happy. it the whole notion of being able to run around outside that they like. the arboretum itself was all right. it was bit too early for a visit. the trees, plants, and flowers were still in their winter state so it was mostly bare trees. the hues consisted of browns and greens. there were a few flowers in bloom but overall not much to keep your attention. especially for an adult. like i said, it didn't matter to the children. i'm sure its beautiful in the height of spring. we stayed for a few hours walking the grounds. before heading back we had lunch by the lake. missing were the sandwiches, chips, and soda. instead they had variations of kimbop, grapes, water, and juice.
caleb
andy
davis & me
future angels [esther & irene]
ladies by the lake
joannaand then there was this sigh by the bridge…
now i know the cars here are small but they aren't small enough to fit on a foot bridge.
for more pix of the trip to mulhyanggi arboretum go here.
the cherry blossoms are in bloom. walking around town you can see them everywhere. there's something about cherry blossoms. they make the bleakest, coldest rainy day more beautiful. you can't help but feel enchanted by them. they have a mystical quality about them. i often find myself lost in their power. i could wonder around under their protection for hours. and during that time all is good.
i had dinner with my taekwondo class on wednesday. i kept teasing my kwanjangnim about having a pizza party. he finally took me up on the offer. although we had pork instead of pizza. i always myself hanging out with him and sahbomnim. i tried to get sahbomnim to speak more english but it was useless.
lately i've been somewhat in a funk. its been over a week since daniel has been back and i haven't seen him yet. some family stuff came up which kept us from meeting last saturday. i finally got to speak to him on friday. the conversation didn't go as well as i hope. his going through some stuff and needs time to think things over. so currently we are on a break. although i completely understand and respect that he needs this time its hard. we spent so much time together before he left that i feel there's now a void. so for now i'm giving him his space and hopefully next weekend when i return from my office retreat we'll be able to get together and sort things out. i'm not quite ready to give up yet.
stay gold & be well…
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
iou
deery-lou.
it's night. i'm standing on the corner waiting to cross the street. "iou" by metric is playing on my ipod. as i look around i notice that i'm surrounded by uniformed high students. i catch them sneaking glances at me. will the novelty ever wear off. oh, and its my birthday. i'm spending a rather quiet birthday. taking a page from my dear friend bc. sure i could go to a bar and drink vodka tonics—been there, done that. besides i've yet to find that place that sells pint-sized vts. instead i spent my evening working out in my taekwondo class. and i definitely got a workout tonight. my legs ache. i'm exhausted. but its a good exhausted. overall i had a pretty good day. i got a call from bc in the early morning. it was great to hear her voice. also got a chance to chat with kate during one of my classes. before hanging up i had my students all say "goodbye kate". got some birthday greetings from friends and family. plus had a mini party at school. besides the teachers some of the kindergarten students were there to sing and eat cake. it was a frozen yam cake. yes, i said yam. it had the consistency of a cheese cake minus the cheese cake taste. actually it wasn't that bad. watching the children sing to me was the best though. they are so cute. they get excited about the littlest things. all their hands were going into the cake, licking the icing before i even had a chance to cut it. my sister sent a box of goodies, a sunprint kit [which is awesome], and an aquaman t-shirt. score! i think i'm going out with a few peeps on friday so i'll squeeze in a few vts then. i did buy myself a new pair of shoes which my sis will be shipping to me. thought it was time to change up the old style here. afterall i'm a little shy of 40. all righty, time to eat the chocolate ball i bought myself as b-day treat. nite nite.
stay gold & be well…
it's night. i'm standing on the corner waiting to cross the street. "iou" by metric is playing on my ipod. as i look around i notice that i'm surrounded by uniformed high students. i catch them sneaking glances at me. will the novelty ever wear off. oh, and its my birthday. i'm spending a rather quiet birthday. taking a page from my dear friend bc. sure i could go to a bar and drink vodka tonics—been there, done that. besides i've yet to find that place that sells pint-sized vts. instead i spent my evening working out in my taekwondo class. and i definitely got a workout tonight. my legs ache. i'm exhausted. but its a good exhausted. overall i had a pretty good day. i got a call from bc in the early morning. it was great to hear her voice. also got a chance to chat with kate during one of my classes. before hanging up i had my students all say "goodbye kate". got some birthday greetings from friends and family. plus had a mini party at school. besides the teachers some of the kindergarten students were there to sing and eat cake. it was a frozen yam cake. yes, i said yam. it had the consistency of a cheese cake minus the cheese cake taste. actually it wasn't that bad. watching the children sing to me was the best though. they are so cute. they get excited about the littlest things. all their hands were going into the cake, licking the icing before i even had a chance to cut it. my sister sent a box of goodies, a sunprint kit [which is awesome], and an aquaman t-shirt. score! i think i'm going out with a few peeps on friday so i'll squeeze in a few vts then. i did buy myself a new pair of shoes which my sis will be shipping to me. thought it was time to change up the old style here. afterall i'm a little shy of 40. all righty, time to eat the chocolate ball i bought myself as b-day treat. nite nite.
stay gold & be well…
Friday, April 06, 2007
most of us prizefighters
deery-lou.
on friday we had our easter party. in preparation for the big day we decorated eggs and hid them throughout the school. seeing that white eggs are almost impossible to find we had about 30 brown eggs to decorate. i came up with the idea to just put stickers on the eggs. i mean, who wants to sit there and paint stencils onto the eggs like they wanted too. not me. so off i went to the stationary store to find up some easter-like stickers. in addition to the real eggs we also had some chocolate kinder eggs that were filled with jelly beans and some little toys in an egg container. someone had the bright idea to wrap all the eggs in tin foil. that way the kids wouldn't be able to tell the chocolate ones from the real ones. as if it really mattered. so after class i found myself wrapping eggs. boring!!!
easter eggs hunts were always my favorite part of easter. i could do without the chocolate and candy. tearing through my house as a child in search of the those eggs was always the thrill. my sister and i made my parents hide eggs up until we were in high school. of course by this time the plastic eggs were filled with pocket change. when i was three my pops took my sister and i to an easter egg hunt hosted by the city we lived in. children were separated into age groups. my father not knowing my age signed me up for the five year olds group. needless to say i didn't get any eggs that year.
the egg hunt was a big hit with the kids. they ran around the school in herds searching them out. it took them awhile to figure out that it would be best to go off on their own. aferall 16 kids in one room only the strong would survive. it was fun to watch them. they'd run up to us saying "hint, hint". i tried to give them the old "you're getting hot or cold" but that was lost on them. my hints turned into me actually showing them where the egg was. prizes were given to all the children depending on how many eggs they found. they all found one at least one. the rest of the day was spent making crafts. the kids were separated into age groups: 7 year olds & 5-6 year olds. in my class we made bunny head pencil toppers. which really meant that claire & i did most of the work.
bunny pencil topper
5/6 year olds
7 year olds
it seems like the days when we have parties are so much harder than normal days. its probably because we are constantly on the go. the easter party was no exception. to make matters worse our head teacher didn't show up until 2pm. thats when kindergarten ends. she never bothered to call either. let's just say i was slightly pissed. especially since it meant we all had to do more. when she finally arrived it looked as if she had been drinking all night, which was probably the case. i think she spent most of her classes watching movies. hmm. at point during the day i found her asleep. two students noticed her sleeping as well. now that's a great example to set. her class was about to start so i went up to our director and told her that someone needs to wake her up. come on! of course by the time school was over she felt well enough to go out again.
teaching is H.A.R.D
as i've mentioned before i've been teaching overtime until we get a new teacher at the junior school. one of the classes i have are these two boys hyeong-joon and tae-gon. these two are definitely a handful. they spend most of the class time making spit bubbles and getting into trouble. but they are definitely smart boys. just a little spoiled. for some reason they seem to respond to me. i told my boss that i thought it was a mistake to give this class to the new teacher. always up for a challenge i told him that we should switch my 3:30 class with this class. that way the new teaching can have the zombie students i teach. not sure if they're gonna do it or not. i'll just have to wait and see.
hyeong-joon
tae-gon
young teacher and i went out for dinner to have a bitch session. as great as my school is, it does have its problems. after three years of no change i think i've finally have had it. there's something definitely going on there with the upper management and owner. i mean we have people there that are definitely not doing their jobs yet nothing happens. my boss will say things like "she's through" or "i'm gonna fire her" but he never does. i don't even think our head teacher got in trouble for missing most of the day. meanwhile there are those of us working our asses off and don't get recognized for it. instead they gives us more to do. all of this has gotten me to think about how much longer i'll stay in korea. however, if i do stay i do know that it's my last year at this school. i have a verbal agreement to stay there until february 2008 but my original/written contract ends in sept 2007. i'm thinking about my options.
stay gold & be well…
on friday we had our easter party. in preparation for the big day we decorated eggs and hid them throughout the school. seeing that white eggs are almost impossible to find we had about 30 brown eggs to decorate. i came up with the idea to just put stickers on the eggs. i mean, who wants to sit there and paint stencils onto the eggs like they wanted too. not me. so off i went to the stationary store to find up some easter-like stickers. in addition to the real eggs we also had some chocolate kinder eggs that were filled with jelly beans and some little toys in an egg container. someone had the bright idea to wrap all the eggs in tin foil. that way the kids wouldn't be able to tell the chocolate ones from the real ones. as if it really mattered. so after class i found myself wrapping eggs. boring!!!
easter eggs hunts were always my favorite part of easter. i could do without the chocolate and candy. tearing through my house as a child in search of the those eggs was always the thrill. my sister and i made my parents hide eggs up until we were in high school. of course by this time the plastic eggs were filled with pocket change. when i was three my pops took my sister and i to an easter egg hunt hosted by the city we lived in. children were separated into age groups. my father not knowing my age signed me up for the five year olds group. needless to say i didn't get any eggs that year.
the egg hunt was a big hit with the kids. they ran around the school in herds searching them out. it took them awhile to figure out that it would be best to go off on their own. aferall 16 kids in one room only the strong would survive. it was fun to watch them. they'd run up to us saying "hint, hint". i tried to give them the old "you're getting hot or cold" but that was lost on them. my hints turned into me actually showing them where the egg was. prizes were given to all the children depending on how many eggs they found. they all found one at least one. the rest of the day was spent making crafts. the kids were separated into age groups: 7 year olds & 5-6 year olds. in my class we made bunny head pencil toppers. which really meant that claire & i did most of the work.
bunny pencil topper
5/6 year olds
7 year oldsit seems like the days when we have parties are so much harder than normal days. its probably because we are constantly on the go. the easter party was no exception. to make matters worse our head teacher didn't show up until 2pm. thats when kindergarten ends. she never bothered to call either. let's just say i was slightly pissed. especially since it meant we all had to do more. when she finally arrived it looked as if she had been drinking all night, which was probably the case. i think she spent most of her classes watching movies. hmm. at point during the day i found her asleep. two students noticed her sleeping as well. now that's a great example to set. her class was about to start so i went up to our director and told her that someone needs to wake her up. come on! of course by the time school was over she felt well enough to go out again.
teaching is H.A.R.Das i've mentioned before i've been teaching overtime until we get a new teacher at the junior school. one of the classes i have are these two boys hyeong-joon and tae-gon. these two are definitely a handful. they spend most of the class time making spit bubbles and getting into trouble. but they are definitely smart boys. just a little spoiled. for some reason they seem to respond to me. i told my boss that i thought it was a mistake to give this class to the new teacher. always up for a challenge i told him that we should switch my 3:30 class with this class. that way the new teaching can have the zombie students i teach. not sure if they're gonna do it or not. i'll just have to wait and see.
hyeong-joon
tae-gonyoung teacher and i went out for dinner to have a bitch session. as great as my school is, it does have its problems. after three years of no change i think i've finally have had it. there's something definitely going on there with the upper management and owner. i mean we have people there that are definitely not doing their jobs yet nothing happens. my boss will say things like "she's through" or "i'm gonna fire her" but he never does. i don't even think our head teacher got in trouble for missing most of the day. meanwhile there are those of us working our asses off and don't get recognized for it. instead they gives us more to do. all of this has gotten me to think about how much longer i'll stay in korea. however, if i do stay i do know that it's my last year at this school. i have a verbal agreement to stay there until february 2008 but my original/written contract ends in sept 2007. i'm thinking about my options.
stay gold & be well…
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
lord, let us shine
deery-lou.
so one of the classes i teach is art. which is funny since an artist i'm clearly not. anyway, i've been having a blast exploring my inner artist. and the best part is that my students are all amazed at my handy work. oh, if they only knew. i will admit i am enjoying their praise.
here's my lastest: clown
stay gold & be well…
so one of the classes i teach is art. which is funny since an artist i'm clearly not. anyway, i've been having a blast exploring my inner artist. and the best part is that my students are all amazed at my handy work. oh, if they only knew. i will admit i am enjoying their praise.
here's my lastest: clown
stay gold & be well…
Saturday, March 31, 2007
das lied vom einsamen madchen
deery-lou.so i was watching the bionic woman this morning when i realized that sometimes you shouldn't revisit the past. or at least if you do be prepared for a let down. when i was growing up i absolutely loved this show. while most boys my age thought steve austin was cool, i secretly admired jamie sommers. i desperately wanted the bionic woman doll. instead for christmas i got steve austin, oscar goldman, and big foot. which of course lead me to sneak into my sister's room to steal a barbie so that i could have a jamie, too. barbie made a much better jamie than the actual doll which looked like a man in drag. my parents however did give me the bionic woman game. that made me a little happy. anyway…so i'm watching the episode "kill oscar part 1-3". this is the episode that first introduces us to the infamous fembots. what a great episode it was back in the day. unfortunately most shows from the 70s just don't hold up. exception to the case charlie's angels. yes, i'm a bit biased. my problem with the bionic woman is that it just didn't have the action that i once thought it did. i mean the first 5 minutes of buffy the vampire slayer has more action than 3 episodes of the bionic woman. and is it just me or does jamie sommers whine and cry way too much for an action hero. as i sat there watching i couldn't help but notice all the inconsistency in the episode. and i'm not even referring to the very bad stunt doubles. here's some things i noticed:
1. jamie whines [as mentioned early]
2. jamie's bionics always seem to be faulty
3. the time of day during the episode is all over the place. one minute a character is leaving for the day and seen speeding out of the parking lot only to return back to the office as if she never left.
4. while jamie has a whole outfit under her wetsuit, steve only has a pair of tan shorts on and must remain shirtless.
5. steve is shown without shoes, then with shoes, then without shoes again. make up your mind.
6. jamie is heading into the jungle wearing a pink jumpsuit. camouflage anyone!
7. after throwing what looks like a coconut at the fembot causing it to ignite and burn a hole in the fembots back, jamie is seen seconds later in the fembot's black jumpsuit sans giant hole.
8. jamie is wearing fembots outfit complete with shoes but when she is shown kicking steve she is barefoot. hmmmm.
9. it seems like when jumping they can only jump straight up.
10. why didn't steve use his bionic eye to see through the fembots. i mean if you have it, use it.
whew. that felt good. with that said, will i stop watching. of course not. but i will lower my expectations of my childhood shows and enjoy them for what they are.
stay gold & be well…
Friday, March 30, 2007
not your bottle
deery-lou.
so i think i had a date this week. hehe. it was with a seven year old girl, sarah. she's not one of my students but she decided to eat lunch with me. she was the only student in my classroom. when i sat down she decided to move right next to me. she asked me all sorts of questions. she loves salad. i think she went back for thirds. she thought everything was yummy. even the potatoes with tiny fish. i had to pass on that one. i played some music during lunch…it was kristin hersh. she likes music, too. we were later joined by elizabeth, one of the korean teachers. she told me that sarah keeps talking about me at home. i'm not quite sure, mostly due to the translation, but i think sarah has been making snacks for me. i have yet to see any of these so called snacks yet.hehe. every time i see sarah she is always saying hi and hugging me. kids are so cute.
friday we celebrated the march birthdays. we had three birthday kids: heather, andy, and esther. the morning was spent singing songs, passing out presents, and eating cake and snacks. needless to say the rest of the day was quite unproductive. i had a little dance party with one of my classes. every time i stopped the music they had to freeze. i was hoping this would counteract all the sugar. i think it only made it worse. they seemed to have a blast even though ethan teacher was worn out. next friday we are having an easter celebration. i'm hoping for an easter egg hunt. we'll see if that happens.
here are a few shots from the birthday party. i only got three cuz my battery died. hmmm. me thinks its time to replace it.
heather, esther, & andy
esther
me & caleb
stay gold & be well…
so i think i had a date this week. hehe. it was with a seven year old girl, sarah. she's not one of my students but she decided to eat lunch with me. she was the only student in my classroom. when i sat down she decided to move right next to me. she asked me all sorts of questions. she loves salad. i think she went back for thirds. she thought everything was yummy. even the potatoes with tiny fish. i had to pass on that one. i played some music during lunch…it was kristin hersh. she likes music, too. we were later joined by elizabeth, one of the korean teachers. she told me that sarah keeps talking about me at home. i'm not quite sure, mostly due to the translation, but i think sarah has been making snacks for me. i have yet to see any of these so called snacks yet.hehe. every time i see sarah she is always saying hi and hugging me. kids are so cute.
friday we celebrated the march birthdays. we had three birthday kids: heather, andy, and esther. the morning was spent singing songs, passing out presents, and eating cake and snacks. needless to say the rest of the day was quite unproductive. i had a little dance party with one of my classes. every time i stopped the music they had to freeze. i was hoping this would counteract all the sugar. i think it only made it worse. they seemed to have a blast even though ethan teacher was worn out. next friday we are having an easter celebration. i'm hoping for an easter egg hunt. we'll see if that happens.
here are a few shots from the birthday party. i only got three cuz my battery died. hmmm. me thinks its time to replace it.
heather, esther, & andy
esther
me & calebstay gold & be well…
the have nots
o-town gangdeery-lou.
didn't take a whole lot of photos during my brief visit to the states. my mind was clearly on something else. but here are the few i did manage to take:
click here for florida pix
stay gold & be well…
Sunday, March 25, 2007
feeling good
deery-lou.
wow. i'm not even sure where to begin. my whole trip home feels like a distance dream. i'm not even sure what day it is. all i do know is that i'm really glad i went. attending my grandmother's funeral and being with family was something that i needed to do. and it felt right. its unfortunate how circumstances like this brings family together. gone are the days when families live relatively close. we are now scattered across the u.s. and beyond. it great seeing my aunts, uncles, and cousins. i haven't seen them for over eight years. it was especially nice to see uncle jim and his family. i had become quite close to them when i lived in baltimore. i usually spent my weekends with them. they were always good to me and invited me to join them on their family outings. i had many dinners with them, went to a few of david's soccer games, and spent many afternoons drinking beers and chatting with jim. for that i'm truly grateful. i wouldn't trade that opportunity for anything. i'm also thankful that i got to be there for my mom and sister. my grandmother's death is going to be especially hard on my mom. she has taken care of her for so long now. not quite sure it has really sunk in yet for my mom. she appeared strong. i'm sure that day will come and i hope she knows that i'm only a phone call away if she needs to talk.
the service we had for my grandmother was nice. its always strange looking at a body just laying there. there are times when you expect her to just sit up and start talking. there's also a strangeness to how cold and hard the bodies are. when my lips touch my grandmother's cheek a chill ran through my body. standing over the coffin and said a few words to her and then tuck a note i had written her under her arm which cradles a stuffed seal i had given to my sister so many years ago. apparently my grandmother had become quite fond the seal and carried it with her. and now it would be going with her. it was hard watching my uncle jim speak at the service. it was the first time i had ever seen him so emotional. he spoke so elegantly about my grandmother. and every once in awhile stopping to collect himself. i could tell it hard for him and i was glad to be there to support him. the hardest and most emotional part was watching my sister speak. she had asked beforehand to read what she had wrote. it was tough for him to read it to myself yet alone to hear her speak the words. i knew it took a lot for her to get up there. i'm so proud of her. we spent the rest of the day back at the hotel catching up with everyone. beers were drank. food eaten. it was all quite nice.
on thursday everyone left. my friend tracy picked up in the morning and took me back to her house. i spent the day there watching the style channel. i too exhausted to do anything. although i did manage to get out and get some chick filet. a chicken sandwich never tasted so good. that night we headed up to st. andrews pub for some cocktails. we were joined by jay, karen, and hillary. it was great to see everyone. even though it was somewhat of a tease for on friday i'd be heading back. its always nice to catch up with old friends. especially the ones i know would do anything for me and these guys would. i'm so lucky to have them in my life and look forward to longer visit with them next time.
on my way to orlando, while sitting in the tokyo airport i watched all the people milling about. there were couples, friends, families, and those traveling solo. it made me yearn for that time in my life when i have a chance to take a trip with a partner. as i sat there i started to become absorbed with the people around me. wanting to know their stories and often times inventing my own for them. before leaving seoul i had my hair product taken. not realizing there was a 100ml rule on liquids i tried to smuggle a 200ml onto the flight. i tried to argue that it was half full making it 100ml but they wouldn't budge. not sure why i cared so much except for the fact that it works real good in my hair. needless to say i didn't was my hair for the next three days. hehe. during this trip i also noticed that flying makes me extremely hungry and thirsty. its as if i can't get enough. on the way back to korea i ended up dropping $20 on snacks. sad. then there's the lack of sleep i encounter. i can seem to fall asleep for any length of time. my favorite time to sleep is right before take off. then i'm up for the rest of the duration. could it be i'm afraid i might miss out on that delicious meal they are going to serve? who knows. however, i did manage to catch a few more winks then normal on this trip. a lot of that could be due to the fact that the movie selection sucked and i finished my book on the way there. i did manage to read both interview and entertainment weekly from cover to cover. overall it was 3 planes to orlando and 3 planes back. thats a hell of a lot of planes if you ask me. on the way to orlando from newark we literally sat in the plane for an hour before leaving the runway. apparently we were waiting for some flight attendants. once they came we had to taxi for quite awhile before taking off. to make matters worse i was surrounded by high school students returning from spring break. at one point the girl in my row asked if i was all right. she said she thought i was about to freak out. i laughed and told her not to worry. there was no freak out coming. at least not yet.
i got quite a few comments about my glasses. besides my family one of the flight attendants said they were cute.hehe. my nephew who's 4 told me he liked my shoes, shirt, and hair. meanwhile his sister said my hair looked funny. what cuties. i can't believe how big they are getting. the children were very well behaved. my nephew got his hands on my cousins cell phone and keep taking pictures of everyone. then he tried to make a few calls.
while sitting in tokyo waiting for my flight back to korea my shoe broke. the back part of the sole came off. so when i walk it was like wearing a clog or something. i tried securing it with some rubber bands i had but it didn't work. i'm just thankful they managed to stay together so that i didn't have to walk barefooted home.
Feeling Good
Nina Simone
Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Reeds driftin on by you know how I feel
Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom in the tree you know how I feel
Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
That's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
stay gold & be well…
wow. i'm not even sure where to begin. my whole trip home feels like a distance dream. i'm not even sure what day it is. all i do know is that i'm really glad i went. attending my grandmother's funeral and being with family was something that i needed to do. and it felt right. its unfortunate how circumstances like this brings family together. gone are the days when families live relatively close. we are now scattered across the u.s. and beyond. it great seeing my aunts, uncles, and cousins. i haven't seen them for over eight years. it was especially nice to see uncle jim and his family. i had become quite close to them when i lived in baltimore. i usually spent my weekends with them. they were always good to me and invited me to join them on their family outings. i had many dinners with them, went to a few of david's soccer games, and spent many afternoons drinking beers and chatting with jim. for that i'm truly grateful. i wouldn't trade that opportunity for anything. i'm also thankful that i got to be there for my mom and sister. my grandmother's death is going to be especially hard on my mom. she has taken care of her for so long now. not quite sure it has really sunk in yet for my mom. she appeared strong. i'm sure that day will come and i hope she knows that i'm only a phone call away if she needs to talk.
the service we had for my grandmother was nice. its always strange looking at a body just laying there. there are times when you expect her to just sit up and start talking. there's also a strangeness to how cold and hard the bodies are. when my lips touch my grandmother's cheek a chill ran through my body. standing over the coffin and said a few words to her and then tuck a note i had written her under her arm which cradles a stuffed seal i had given to my sister so many years ago. apparently my grandmother had become quite fond the seal and carried it with her. and now it would be going with her. it was hard watching my uncle jim speak at the service. it was the first time i had ever seen him so emotional. he spoke so elegantly about my grandmother. and every once in awhile stopping to collect himself. i could tell it hard for him and i was glad to be there to support him. the hardest and most emotional part was watching my sister speak. she had asked beforehand to read what she had wrote. it was tough for him to read it to myself yet alone to hear her speak the words. i knew it took a lot for her to get up there. i'm so proud of her. we spent the rest of the day back at the hotel catching up with everyone. beers were drank. food eaten. it was all quite nice.
on thursday everyone left. my friend tracy picked up in the morning and took me back to her house. i spent the day there watching the style channel. i too exhausted to do anything. although i did manage to get out and get some chick filet. a chicken sandwich never tasted so good. that night we headed up to st. andrews pub for some cocktails. we were joined by jay, karen, and hillary. it was great to see everyone. even though it was somewhat of a tease for on friday i'd be heading back. its always nice to catch up with old friends. especially the ones i know would do anything for me and these guys would. i'm so lucky to have them in my life and look forward to longer visit with them next time.
on my way to orlando, while sitting in the tokyo airport i watched all the people milling about. there were couples, friends, families, and those traveling solo. it made me yearn for that time in my life when i have a chance to take a trip with a partner. as i sat there i started to become absorbed with the people around me. wanting to know their stories and often times inventing my own for them. before leaving seoul i had my hair product taken. not realizing there was a 100ml rule on liquids i tried to smuggle a 200ml onto the flight. i tried to argue that it was half full making it 100ml but they wouldn't budge. not sure why i cared so much except for the fact that it works real good in my hair. needless to say i didn't was my hair for the next three days. hehe. during this trip i also noticed that flying makes me extremely hungry and thirsty. its as if i can't get enough. on the way back to korea i ended up dropping $20 on snacks. sad. then there's the lack of sleep i encounter. i can seem to fall asleep for any length of time. my favorite time to sleep is right before take off. then i'm up for the rest of the duration. could it be i'm afraid i might miss out on that delicious meal they are going to serve? who knows. however, i did manage to catch a few more winks then normal on this trip. a lot of that could be due to the fact that the movie selection sucked and i finished my book on the way there. i did manage to read both interview and entertainment weekly from cover to cover. overall it was 3 planes to orlando and 3 planes back. thats a hell of a lot of planes if you ask me. on the way to orlando from newark we literally sat in the plane for an hour before leaving the runway. apparently we were waiting for some flight attendants. once they came we had to taxi for quite awhile before taking off. to make matters worse i was surrounded by high school students returning from spring break. at one point the girl in my row asked if i was all right. she said she thought i was about to freak out. i laughed and told her not to worry. there was no freak out coming. at least not yet.
i got quite a few comments about my glasses. besides my family one of the flight attendants said they were cute.hehe. my nephew who's 4 told me he liked my shoes, shirt, and hair. meanwhile his sister said my hair looked funny. what cuties. i can't believe how big they are getting. the children were very well behaved. my nephew got his hands on my cousins cell phone and keep taking pictures of everyone. then he tried to make a few calls.
while sitting in tokyo waiting for my flight back to korea my shoe broke. the back part of the sole came off. so when i walk it was like wearing a clog or something. i tried securing it with some rubber bands i had but it didn't work. i'm just thankful they managed to stay together so that i didn't have to walk barefooted home.
Feeling Good
Nina Simone
Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Reeds driftin on by you know how I feel
Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom in the tree you know how I feel
Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
That's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
stay gold & be well…
Saturday, March 17, 2007
margerine melodie
deery-lou.
daniel left for australia on thursday. he'll be gone for two weeks. it was weird spending a weekend alone. i do miss him. i got quite use to having him around. i met up with him in suji on tuesday for dinner. his mom joined us. i kind of wanted to have some one on one time with him but the evening was still good. at least i got to know to his mom a little better. after dinner we headed off to a hof for some beers. daniel's dad meet us there. after his parents left we walked around e-mart some then i hopped on a bus back to ansan. it took me forever to get home. at suwon station every bus back to ansan was packed. people were literally pushing and shoving to get on. one girl got knocked to the ground. finally three buses later i was able to shove myself on. i know many of you have been asking for pictures of daniel. honestly i haven't taken any yet. oops. however i did have him send me one. so, here he is…
i received some bad news this weekend. my grandmother died. after some major deliberating on my part i finally decided to go home. i realized that i need to be with family and to say my final goodbye. speaking with kate helped me alot. she has a way of making things seem all the more clearer. so i'm jumping on a plane tuesday for orlando and returning on friday. short and sweet. it looks like i'll have one day to see some friends, too, which will be nice. hope all is well with everyone out there.
stay gold & be well…
daniel left for australia on thursday. he'll be gone for two weeks. it was weird spending a weekend alone. i do miss him. i got quite use to having him around. i met up with him in suji on tuesday for dinner. his mom joined us. i kind of wanted to have some one on one time with him but the evening was still good. at least i got to know to his mom a little better. after dinner we headed off to a hof for some beers. daniel's dad meet us there. after his parents left we walked around e-mart some then i hopped on a bus back to ansan. it took me forever to get home. at suwon station every bus back to ansan was packed. people were literally pushing and shoving to get on. one girl got knocked to the ground. finally three buses later i was able to shove myself on. i know many of you have been asking for pictures of daniel. honestly i haven't taken any yet. oops. however i did have him send me one. so, here he is…
i received some bad news this weekend. my grandmother died. after some major deliberating on my part i finally decided to go home. i realized that i need to be with family and to say my final goodbye. speaking with kate helped me alot. she has a way of making things seem all the more clearer. so i'm jumping on a plane tuesday for orlando and returning on friday. short and sweet. it looks like i'll have one day to see some friends, too, which will be nice. hope all is well with everyone out there.
stay gold & be well…
Saturday, March 10, 2007
37 hours
deery-lou.
well, i survived week one of kindergarten. by the end of the week i was completely exhausted. way too much teaching. especially since i'm covering over at the junior school as well. my throat is pretty much spent from talking/yelling so much. saturday was my last day of privates. they decided to stop them. i'm gonna miss the extra money but am quite glad to have my weekends back. after class on saturday i spent the day in bed watching tv and napping. i felt much better this morning. i actually got some things done like cleaning my apartment which looked like a tornado had struck it. will be meeting up with daniel a little later which will be nice. since i don't really have much to post i thought i'd share a little something with my peeps in cyberspace. this is something i wrote while on the plane heading to florida for bonnie's funeral back in 2001.
untitled
looking down on mother earth
i saw a sight that moved me so
the red clay ground filled with black masses of water.
a perfect rainbow followed my path leaving me breathless
i flew many times before but never had it
affected me as it had today.
the complexities of life now seemed so trite
the untouched ground below me
calling for me to come touch it.
i stared for hours
looking out at this vest land
wanting to be lost.
to forget all that has happened
yearning to be untouched, natural, and lost
like that of a child who is experiencing life for the first time.
never had i enjoyed such a site as this
some 30,000 feet above
realizing just how beautiful this land of ours is.
stay gold & be well…
well, i survived week one of kindergarten. by the end of the week i was completely exhausted. way too much teaching. especially since i'm covering over at the junior school as well. my throat is pretty much spent from talking/yelling so much. saturday was my last day of privates. they decided to stop them. i'm gonna miss the extra money but am quite glad to have my weekends back. after class on saturday i spent the day in bed watching tv and napping. i felt much better this morning. i actually got some things done like cleaning my apartment which looked like a tornado had struck it. will be meeting up with daniel a little later which will be nice. since i don't really have much to post i thought i'd share a little something with my peeps in cyberspace. this is something i wrote while on the plane heading to florida for bonnie's funeral back in 2001.
untitled
looking down on mother earth
i saw a sight that moved me so
the red clay ground filled with black masses of water.
a perfect rainbow followed my path leaving me breathless
i flew many times before but never had it
affected me as it had today.
the complexities of life now seemed so trite
the untouched ground below me
calling for me to come touch it.
i stared for hours
looking out at this vest land
wanting to be lost.
to forget all that has happened
yearning to be untouched, natural, and lost
like that of a child who is experiencing life for the first time.
never had i enjoyed such a site as this
some 30,000 feet above
realizing just how beautiful this land of ours is.
stay gold & be well…
Thursday, March 08, 2007
corners
deery-lou.
all righty. this was like the longest week of my life [and its still not over]. haven't quite gotten a handle of things. it feels like i barely have time to eat let alone blog. i'm hoping that i'll adjust rather quickly to this new schedule. what i have realized is that i'm so not a morning person, especially when i'm staying up way too late. we are still in need of two teachers which means i'm pulling three 10 hour days and two 8 hour days. yeah, not so fun. overall though i do enjoy the little kiddies. today one little girl thought she could spill her yogurt drink and then just take mine. i don't think so. the best part is all the random conversations you can have with them. they laugh at anything. been spending alot time with daniel which has been great. last saturday i met up with him in suji. during dinner his mom and auntie joined us. it was a bit awkward at first especially since there is a language gap. however, the more alcohol i consummed the less i cared. when we left the restaurant we ended up at a noraebang. that makes number 3. meeting someone's mom is always a bit strange the first time, but throw in singing and it takes on a whole new experience. his auntie asked me to sing yellow submarine with her. i sounded dreadful. then again i always think that. both his mom and auntie said i got better the more i sang. not really sure they enjoyed my 70s rock i bombarded them with. the noraebang madness came to an end around 2am. sunday was spent eating, resting, and tv watching.
stay gold & be well…
all righty. this was like the longest week of my life [and its still not over]. haven't quite gotten a handle of things. it feels like i barely have time to eat let alone blog. i'm hoping that i'll adjust rather quickly to this new schedule. what i have realized is that i'm so not a morning person, especially when i'm staying up way too late. we are still in need of two teachers which means i'm pulling three 10 hour days and two 8 hour days. yeah, not so fun. overall though i do enjoy the little kiddies. today one little girl thought she could spill her yogurt drink and then just take mine. i don't think so. the best part is all the random conversations you can have with them. they laugh at anything. been spending alot time with daniel which has been great. last saturday i met up with him in suji. during dinner his mom and auntie joined us. it was a bit awkward at first especially since there is a language gap. however, the more alcohol i consummed the less i cared. when we left the restaurant we ended up at a noraebang. that makes number 3. meeting someone's mom is always a bit strange the first time, but throw in singing and it takes on a whole new experience. his auntie asked me to sing yellow submarine with her. i sounded dreadful. then again i always think that. both his mom and auntie said i got better the more i sang. not really sure they enjoyed my 70s rock i bombarded them with. the noraebang madness came to an end around 2am. sunday was spent eating, resting, and tv watching.
stay gold & be well…
Friday, March 02, 2007
no parachutes
deery-lou.
wow. i've just realized that it's been 12 days since my last post. can't really blame it on being on vacation because i wasn't. i guess you could say i've been a bit preoccupied spending time with a certain someone. so now it's time for me to play catch up. i'll try to make it quick…
on life
during the lunar new year holiday i met someone. his name is daniel. he's a cutey. we spent most of the holiday together which was really really nice. for those of you who know me, you know i haven't dated much so its kind of a big deal for me. even more so for me to mention it here. anyway…we hit it off really well. it has been some time since i've had a connection with someone. he makes me laugh. i feel very comfortable around him. almost as if i've known him forever. and the best thing is that i really enjoy just being with him. it scares me a little cuz i find myself liking him more and more each day. i mean, come on, so far he's managed to get me to a noraebang twice. you all know how i feel about karaoke! so these last 12 days i've spent either with him, or talking to him and haven't given much thought to blogging. especially when we had more important things to do like lay in bed watching tv and eating. hehe. it definitely does feel nice having a bf. i could so get use to this.
on work
it's been a bit chaotic there. the kindergarten school opens march 5, so everyone has been focusing on that. i'm still a bit in the dark about things over there. no one has really bothered to tell me much of anything. thats the one thing that bugs me about the school. it looks like i'll be winging it on march 5. we had a preview class on wednesday. they told me about it on tuesday. so i had a few hours on tuesday to prepare. it went pretty well. the moms sat in on the class which made it a bit nerve racking. that was until i realized they probably don't understand me. the little ones are so damn adorable. i'm glad i decided to make the switch. my hours will change to morning plus i'll get free lunch. yum.yum. spent the rest of the week moving things to my new classroom. i'll let you know how it goes. wish me luck.
on taekwondo
class has been kicking my ass. now that there are no more children they are working us hard. i must say i do feeling pretty good when the class is over. its the whole trying to get through it thats killing me. however, i did manage to score a massage this week. on wednesday night my tkd class went out to dinner to say goodbye to russian sahbumnim. all i have to say is that kim sahbumnim is the devil. i've never seen anyone drink so much soju. of course, i had to try to keep up with him and it cost me dearly. once i got home my evening was spent on the bathroom floor. i'm so not 16 anymore.
on friends
it seems like every month i've had to say goodbye to someone. this time it was princess. she had a little going away/house party last saturday. i still can't believe she left. sadness. i did have an awesome time at your party. daniel came with me, so at least he had a chance to met princess before she departed. met a few other cool peeps. naomi made a cake. most likely a box cake from the states. however, it was so freakin good. i couldn't stop stuffing it down my throat. hi, fatty. of course the evening turned into an all nighter. didn't get back to ansan until 7 a.m. it's been awhile since i've done one of those nights and now i remember why. i'm absolutely useless the next day.
that pretty much wraps up the last 12 days. i promise to be a bit better with updates. oh, i'm still very much enjoying the new kristin hersh cd.
stay gold & be well…
wow. i've just realized that it's been 12 days since my last post. can't really blame it on being on vacation because i wasn't. i guess you could say i've been a bit preoccupied spending time with a certain someone. so now it's time for me to play catch up. i'll try to make it quick…
on life
during the lunar new year holiday i met someone. his name is daniel. he's a cutey. we spent most of the holiday together which was really really nice. for those of you who know me, you know i haven't dated much so its kind of a big deal for me. even more so for me to mention it here. anyway…we hit it off really well. it has been some time since i've had a connection with someone. he makes me laugh. i feel very comfortable around him. almost as if i've known him forever. and the best thing is that i really enjoy just being with him. it scares me a little cuz i find myself liking him more and more each day. i mean, come on, so far he's managed to get me to a noraebang twice. you all know how i feel about karaoke! so these last 12 days i've spent either with him, or talking to him and haven't given much thought to blogging. especially when we had more important things to do like lay in bed watching tv and eating. hehe. it definitely does feel nice having a bf. i could so get use to this.
on work
it's been a bit chaotic there. the kindergarten school opens march 5, so everyone has been focusing on that. i'm still a bit in the dark about things over there. no one has really bothered to tell me much of anything. thats the one thing that bugs me about the school. it looks like i'll be winging it on march 5. we had a preview class on wednesday. they told me about it on tuesday. so i had a few hours on tuesday to prepare. it went pretty well. the moms sat in on the class which made it a bit nerve racking. that was until i realized they probably don't understand me. the little ones are so damn adorable. i'm glad i decided to make the switch. my hours will change to morning plus i'll get free lunch. yum.yum. spent the rest of the week moving things to my new classroom. i'll let you know how it goes. wish me luck.
on taekwondo
class has been kicking my ass. now that there are no more children they are working us hard. i must say i do feeling pretty good when the class is over. its the whole trying to get through it thats killing me. however, i did manage to score a massage this week. on wednesday night my tkd class went out to dinner to say goodbye to russian sahbumnim. all i have to say is that kim sahbumnim is the devil. i've never seen anyone drink so much soju. of course, i had to try to keep up with him and it cost me dearly. once i got home my evening was spent on the bathroom floor. i'm so not 16 anymore.
on friends
it seems like every month i've had to say goodbye to someone. this time it was princess. she had a little going away/house party last saturday. i still can't believe she left. sadness. i did have an awesome time at your party. daniel came with me, so at least he had a chance to met princess before she departed. met a few other cool peeps. naomi made a cake. most likely a box cake from the states. however, it was so freakin good. i couldn't stop stuffing it down my throat. hi, fatty. of course the evening turned into an all nighter. didn't get back to ansan until 7 a.m. it's been awhile since i've done one of those nights and now i remember why. i'm absolutely useless the next day.
that pretty much wraps up the last 12 days. i promise to be a bit better with updates. oh, i'm still very much enjoying the new kristin hersh cd.
stay gold & be well…
Saturday, February 17, 2007
pi
deery-lou.
my friend leta, back in the states, who is an amazing photographer has now added jewelry making to her resume. she has a unique line called bent which is available at some shops in seattle and i believe online as well. if your looking for something a bit more edgey, cool, and handmade be sure to check out her site. you definitely won't be disappointed.
leta, you rock girl. still waiting for a ring. hint.hint. luv ya. beware of the wild coons.
stay gold & be well…
my friend leta, back in the states, who is an amazing photographer has now added jewelry making to her resume. she has a unique line called bent which is available at some shops in seattle and i believe online as well. if your looking for something a bit more edgey, cool, and handmade be sure to check out her site. you definitely won't be disappointed.
leta, you rock girl. still waiting for a ring. hint.hint. luv ya. beware of the wild coons.
stay gold & be well…
these days
deery-lou.
well tomorrow begins the lunar new year [aka chinese new year]. the year of the pig [ding hai]. so long to the dog, what a bummer of a year it turned out to be. here's to hoping for all the best in the pig.
to start the new year off on the right foot i decided to clean, and i mean really clean, my apartment. fresh start, fresh year. my boss gave me some wine for the holiday. i also got a box of asian pears and some socks. oh joy more socks! i passed the socks off to one of the new teachers. this week was also valentine's day. i scored numerous amounts of chocolate from the kiddies. as well as some from the teachers. score!!
this week my ipod has played nothing but learn to sing like a star by kristin hersh. i can't get enough of it. i keep finding new favorites. then today i stumbled upon her video for in shock on youtube. oh, how i love youtube.
stay gold and be well…
well tomorrow begins the lunar new year [aka chinese new year]. the year of the pig [ding hai]. so long to the dog, what a bummer of a year it turned out to be. here's to hoping for all the best in the pig.
to start the new year off on the right foot i decided to clean, and i mean really clean, my apartment. fresh start, fresh year. my boss gave me some wine for the holiday. i also got a box of asian pears and some socks. oh joy more socks! i passed the socks off to one of the new teachers. this week was also valentine's day. i scored numerous amounts of chocolate from the kiddies. as well as some from the teachers. score!!
this week my ipod has played nothing but learn to sing like a star by kristin hersh. i can't get enough of it. i keep finding new favorites. then today i stumbled upon her video for in shock on youtube. oh, how i love youtube.
stay gold and be well…
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
winter
deery-lou.
the beauty of korean commericals. thanks to burning seoul for bringing this jem to my attention. it'll definitely be a good thursday now.
stay gold & be well…
the beauty of korean commericals. thanks to burning seoul for bringing this jem to my attention. it'll definitely be a good thursday now.
stay gold & be well…
Sunday, February 11, 2007
warm and sunny days
deery-lou.
sunday was spent strolling around the jongno area with princess. on our quest for food princess took me to this area of jongno she had discovered the previous week. it kind of reminded me of the marina in sf minus all the white people and their attitude. the restaurants were much more upscale then most korean hoods. this was first date mecca. there were lots of cafes, galleries, and museums along the street. as we wondered about looking for food we stumbled upon this great find:
welcome!
people sure do love owls. we didn't go in. i'm not that much of a fan. however it did make me think of the owl tree/the owl bar [i forget the name] in sf. this bar is completely decked out in owl crap. it was like being at home. my mom was a huge owl collector. she's not so much anymore. we also saw a sign for the chicken art museum. chicken art! how fantastic. we never found it although later in the day we'd see a poster for it. instead we ended up in some neighborhood area that had awesome old style houses. i so want to live there.
my dream house
by the time we found our way out of the maze-like neighborhood we were near insadong. still no food and by now completely hungry. princess remembered that our favorite indian restaurant namaste had opened up a new one in the millennium mall complex. the quest had ended. as always the food at namaste was waaaay good. with full bellies we headed off to gyeongbokgong palace. here's a sample of what i saw there:
sexy guard
inside the palace gate
the rabbit
aren't we fab
a very friendly korean stopped me to snap his picture. he commented that he liked my hairstyle then proceeded to give us a brief geography lesson in 30 seconds naming all the countries he likes but has never been to. which lead to all the expensive countries and so on and so on. it was like he was so excited to practice his english. i basically nodded and smiled a lot. princess was pulling out her hair.
to see more exciting pictures of jongno & gyeongbokgong go here.
feeling exhausted and needing a pick me up we went in search of a coffee shop. seeing that we saw so many earlier we didn't think it would be difficult. however, we were wrong. the first couple of cafes we went into were completely packed. one of the places told us they had no seats and we'd have to put our name on a waiting list. oddly enough they had a few open tables that we could see clearly. coffee was a bust for now. we opted to hit toykino our main reason for being there. here's a glimpse into the beauty of toykino:
toykino sign
the bat-e
supergirl
smurfs
egging it
sunday was spent strolling around the jongno area with princess. on our quest for food princess took me to this area of jongno she had discovered the previous week. it kind of reminded me of the marina in sf minus all the white people and their attitude. the restaurants were much more upscale then most korean hoods. this was first date mecca. there were lots of cafes, galleries, and museums along the street. as we wondered about looking for food we stumbled upon this great find:
welcome!people sure do love owls. we didn't go in. i'm not that much of a fan. however it did make me think of the owl tree/the owl bar [i forget the name] in sf. this bar is completely decked out in owl crap. it was like being at home. my mom was a huge owl collector. she's not so much anymore. we also saw a sign for the chicken art museum. chicken art! how fantastic. we never found it although later in the day we'd see a poster for it. instead we ended up in some neighborhood area that had awesome old style houses. i so want to live there.
my dream houseby the time we found our way out of the maze-like neighborhood we were near insadong. still no food and by now completely hungry. princess remembered that our favorite indian restaurant namaste had opened up a new one in the millennium mall complex. the quest had ended. as always the food at namaste was waaaay good. with full bellies we headed off to gyeongbokgong palace. here's a sample of what i saw there:
sexy guard 
inside the palace gate 
the rabbit
aren't we faba very friendly korean stopped me to snap his picture. he commented that he liked my hairstyle then proceeded to give us a brief geography lesson in 30 seconds naming all the countries he likes but has never been to. which lead to all the expensive countries and so on and so on. it was like he was so excited to practice his english. i basically nodded and smiled a lot. princess was pulling out her hair.
to see more exciting pictures of jongno & gyeongbokgong go here.
feeling exhausted and needing a pick me up we went in search of a coffee shop. seeing that we saw so many earlier we didn't think it would be difficult. however, we were wrong. the first couple of cafes we went into were completely packed. one of the places told us they had no seats and we'd have to put our name on a waiting list. oddly enough they had a few open tables that we could see clearly. coffee was a bust for now. we opted to hit toykino our main reason for being there. here's a glimpse into the beauty of toykino:
toykino sign
the bat-e
supergirl
smurfsthe guys at toykino 2, yes there are two of them within seconds of each otehr, was quite friendly and spoke english very well. he chatted me up a bit and mentioned that he liked my shoes. tk2 had mostly old-style toys. tk1 was where it was all at. i thought i had died and gone to heaven. at least my version of heaven.
for more images of teh goodies inside toykino go here.
on our way back to the station we stopped in at egg cafe for some coffee. it was very cozy cafe. we spent the rest of the wee hours just chillin. it was a grand end to a grand day. princess took some good snaps of me at egg. here's one:
for more images of teh goodies inside toykino go here.
on our way back to the station we stopped in at egg cafe for some coffee. it was very cozy cafe. we spent the rest of the wee hours just chillin. it was a grand end to a grand day. princess took some good snaps of me at egg. here's one:
egging itstay gold & be well…
p.s. this ones for you hugel…
p.s. this ones for you hugel…
Saturday, February 10, 2007
under the gun
deery-lou.
…and sometimes a little bit of happiness comes our way.
i purchased the new kristin hersh, learn to sing like a star the other day. my immediate thought was "why did i wait to do so?" like instant pudding, it was instant love. granted i'm a bit biased when it comes to kh and anything she does [throwing muses, 50footwave] but this cd definitely struck a nerve with me. it's amazing how an artist and their music can invoke such emotions from you. this is what the songs on learn to sing like a star does for me. it came just at a time when i needed it and its a most welcomed gift. kh is truly one of the most talented and underrated artist out there. it's such a shame to think that an album as solid as this will probably get lost in the shuffle. as for myself i will treasure it dearly.
Pinned by a dream state
You are fearless
And your empty arms
Waiting for no one
You wanted to be wanted
— In Shock
stay gold & be well…
…and sometimes a little bit of happiness comes our way.
i purchased the new kristin hersh, learn to sing like a star the other day. my immediate thought was "why did i wait to do so?" like instant pudding, it was instant love. granted i'm a bit biased when it comes to kh and anything she does [throwing muses, 50footwave] but this cd definitely struck a nerve with me. it's amazing how an artist and their music can invoke such emotions from you. this is what the songs on learn to sing like a star does for me. it came just at a time when i needed it and its a most welcomed gift. kh is truly one of the most talented and underrated artist out there. it's such a shame to think that an album as solid as this will probably get lost in the shuffle. as for myself i will treasure it dearly.Pinned by a dream state
You are fearless
And your empty arms
Waiting for no one
You wanted to be wanted
— In Shock
stay gold & be well…
Monday, February 05, 2007
sunset
deery-lou.
in december 05 i went to see a fortune teller. he told me that the year of dog, which i am, was currently in a 3 year rut of bad luck. apparently 2006 was the third year of this bad luck. the teller couldn't have been more right. with only 12 more days until the lunar new year the last month of the dog has been nothing but grim. it first started with stomach problems. granted in the past i've been struck with such problems but they only seemed to last a day or two at most. this on again, off again problem has seemed to last well over a month. yesterday, i went and got more magic pills/powder from the pharmacist. they seem to be doing the trick. although the power stuff tastes awful. then there was the news of my friends death which i spoke about it a previous post. i received her obit this morning. as i read it, there were things i didn't even know about her. it didn't really sound like the shortcake i had come to love in sf.of course it was written from her parents perspective so perhaps they had a different vision of her. whatever the truth may be, it made me sad to read it. for it only confirmed that which i had hope was all a bad dream. as if these two things weren't enough, on saturday i got word from misty that my kitty wasn't doing well. misty's been taking care of aikea since i left for korea. at the time i left, aikea was ill. she had stopped eating and was hiding in my closet as i packed. at the time i figured it was because she knew something was up. that was three years ago and with some fluids and love from misty and ted she seemed to be doing much better. when i was sf back in august last year she seemed to be her old perky, bitchy self. meowing as i tried to hold her and only coming to me on her own terms. i felt happy because i knew then and there that aikea had adjusted to her new life with them and was doing fine. but as life goes on, things change. during my conversation with misty on saturday she informed me that aikea had stopped eating again. they took her to the vet but the x-rays turned up nothing. the vet suggested doing an ultrasound but misty held off wanting to speak with me first. we came to the decision to wait and see if the anti-nausea pills would do the trick before having an ultrasound done. i didn't really want to put aikea through much more. she's never enjoyed going to the vet or anywhere in the cat carrier for that matter. we also discussed future events. i told misty my thoughts on everything and let her know that whatever she and ted decided was fine with him. after all we needed to think of aikea. i always knew that i didn't want her to suffer and i believe they feel the same. on monday misty informed me that the vet had gotten back the blood work. aikea's kidneys have completely failed and there's nothing that can be done. sadly this lead to only one solution: putting her to sleep. putting one's pet to asleep is always a difficult thing but when you have to do it for a friend it must be extremely tough. i feel bad that my dear friend has to deal with this matter. i know it's hard but i completely support her. after all i'd be doing the same thing if i was home. aikea's live a great life and there's no way i want her final days to be in pain. knowing that aikea gets completely traumatized when going anywhere, misty has arranged for a vet to come to the house. i'm thankful for that because i know that her final hours will be in a place she feels comfortable and with people who love her. i only wish that i could be there with her to say one final goodbye. i will surely miss her screaming, bitchy self. she's truly one of a kind.
about two weeks ago ted sent me a video of aikea. its hard to imagine so much can change in such a short period of time. i'd like to share that video here.
stay gold & be well…
in december 05 i went to see a fortune teller. he told me that the year of dog, which i am, was currently in a 3 year rut of bad luck. apparently 2006 was the third year of this bad luck. the teller couldn't have been more right. with only 12 more days until the lunar new year the last month of the dog has been nothing but grim. it first started with stomach problems. granted in the past i've been struck with such problems but they only seemed to last a day or two at most. this on again, off again problem has seemed to last well over a month. yesterday, i went and got more magic pills/powder from the pharmacist. they seem to be doing the trick. although the power stuff tastes awful. then there was the news of my friends death which i spoke about it a previous post. i received her obit this morning. as i read it, there were things i didn't even know about her. it didn't really sound like the shortcake i had come to love in sf.of course it was written from her parents perspective so perhaps they had a different vision of her. whatever the truth may be, it made me sad to read it. for it only confirmed that which i had hope was all a bad dream. as if these two things weren't enough, on saturday i got word from misty that my kitty wasn't doing well. misty's been taking care of aikea since i left for korea. at the time i left, aikea was ill. she had stopped eating and was hiding in my closet as i packed. at the time i figured it was because she knew something was up. that was three years ago and with some fluids and love from misty and ted she seemed to be doing much better. when i was sf back in august last year she seemed to be her old perky, bitchy self. meowing as i tried to hold her and only coming to me on her own terms. i felt happy because i knew then and there that aikea had adjusted to her new life with them and was doing fine. but as life goes on, things change. during my conversation with misty on saturday she informed me that aikea had stopped eating again. they took her to the vet but the x-rays turned up nothing. the vet suggested doing an ultrasound but misty held off wanting to speak with me first. we came to the decision to wait and see if the anti-nausea pills would do the trick before having an ultrasound done. i didn't really want to put aikea through much more. she's never enjoyed going to the vet or anywhere in the cat carrier for that matter. we also discussed future events. i told misty my thoughts on everything and let her know that whatever she and ted decided was fine with him. after all we needed to think of aikea. i always knew that i didn't want her to suffer and i believe they feel the same. on monday misty informed me that the vet had gotten back the blood work. aikea's kidneys have completely failed and there's nothing that can be done. sadly this lead to only one solution: putting her to sleep. putting one's pet to asleep is always a difficult thing but when you have to do it for a friend it must be extremely tough. i feel bad that my dear friend has to deal with this matter. i know it's hard but i completely support her. after all i'd be doing the same thing if i was home. aikea's live a great life and there's no way i want her final days to be in pain. knowing that aikea gets completely traumatized when going anywhere, misty has arranged for a vet to come to the house. i'm thankful for that because i know that her final hours will be in a place she feels comfortable and with people who love her. i only wish that i could be there with her to say one final goodbye. i will surely miss her screaming, bitchy self. she's truly one of a kind.
about two weeks ago ted sent me a video of aikea. its hard to imagine so much can change in such a short period of time. i'd like to share that video here.
stay gold & be well…
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