Going to the Doctor

The doctor said that I have mild hyperthyroidism. It's not extreme, but I do think it has been the cause of a lot of my problems. I have had some insomnia, anxiety, hair loss, etc. Thankfully my hair loss has finally stopped. I also am thankful that some anxiety has left me too. I do think I need to take it more easy and get more rest and relaxation when I am not working.

A Day at the Resort

I went to the Vivaldi Resort yesterday with other faculty from the high school. I had the choice to either go skiing or swimming. I chose to go swimming. I didn't have a swimsuit so I went to buy one on Monday night. At Lotte Mart I found a funky 4-piece white swimsuit with black and gold designs on it. It is a bikini that comes with a tank top and a skirt. Korean swimwear is a bit different than Western wear. Koreans also require people to wear swimming caps in the water, so I got a bright pink cap. I should have gotten a dark one because it clashes with the swimsuit. I also got a pair of pink goggles. Yes, I felt like such a dork in my swimming get-up. It didn't help that I still have marks from psoriasis on my legs. I do think that the marks should be gone within a few months.
I got in my swimwear (everyone changes in front of everyone else) and headed for the pool room. The pools were all crowded. It was nice that there were jets for us to sit near. We could hold on to some rails and let the jets massage our backs. I put the bottoms of my feet near some and let my feet get massaged.

Should I Stay in Korea or Not?

This is a question I have been asking myself. "Should I stay in Korea or not?". I love Korea a lot, yet I have been having my doubts about staying here. I love the friends and acquaintances I have made here. There are still many places I want to see that I haven't seen yet. I have my favourite haunts. I like the dojang I attend.

Yet, I also feel that I want to move on. I only have a degree in English, just a simple bachelor's degree. It isn't worth much at all. I love books and I am greatful for many things I learned while getting the degree, yet I wish I studied something else. A degree in English can get someone a teaching job as long as they have teaching certification, which I don't have. I don't want a career as a middle or high school teacher anyways. A master's degree or higher can get someone a job as an editor or a professor. I have neither of those degrees.

I also am dissatisfied with the jobs I have had in Korea. My first job involved teaching both adults and children. I liked the job itself. My problem was that I had a certain coordinator that was very cruel to me. She offered me no help and constantly badmouthed me. I would only hear about issues with my teaching after the head directors of the company would tell me about them. It wasn't fair.

The next job I had was at a hagwon (kid's school) I had for six months. I hated it. I hated, hated, hated, hated it. I never hated doing a job so much. I hated every minute of it. I have vowed to never work with children again when I have to be with them by myself.

My current job is at a high school. The other teachers here are very nice to me. I can see that they care about me. I just have a lot of trouble keeping the students motivated. No matter what I do, I can't seem to keep most of them interested in the class. I am frustrated most of the time. I have been very depressed with the whole situation. I shouldn't take it to heart, students rarely want to learn.

I do feel that I should go back to school and study something else. There are study options on Sundays at the nearby Seventh-day Adventist university. I did sign up for religion but dropped out after a few weeks because I found one of the lecturers to be extremely boring. I didn't want to spend my Sundays indoors listening to him when I could be outside either hiking or touring Seoul.

There is another graduate programme that's available in Public Health. I find it to be interesting, but I have worried that the degree may be worthless for me. I am an American citizen, and if I choose to ever go back to the USA to live, it may not be able to get me a job. The degree is supposed to be useful for a test that can be taken in the USA, yet I am still skeptical. I know that the USA is an arrogant country and deems many foreign degrees to be useless. And again, I don't think I want to spend my Sundays indoors when I could be outside taking photos, visiting museums, and hanging out with friends.

This all brings me to realise my first love: the great outdoors. Ever since I was a small child I have been fascinated with plants (especially flowers), animals, biomes, geography, and just anything that has to do with biology. When I was in primary school I would spend time in the meadows and woods and could identify many wildflowers. I picked up salamanders, rocks with mica, caught tadpoles, and ate edible plants. I poured over books on flowers, birds, rocks, and fungi. Later in life I have backpacked on the Appalachian Trail, gone to Korean flower festivals, and visited botanical gardens and flower shows worldwide.

So, I now ask myself, why not try to study what I really love? Why not just go back to university and study Biology? My main interests would be in Botany and Environmental Science. If I can spend my life studying and preserving what I love the most, I know I will be very happy.

Truly, such things are offered in Korea, but I would have to learn enough Korean to study those things first. It would be much easier to go to an English-speaking country for study. I have been looking at Andrews University, where I used to attend from 1999-2001. Yet, going back to an old place may not be a good idea, as things won't be the same as before.

I am going to be 30 years old in less than two weeks, and I do need to be thinking about my future. Staying in Korea can let me spend more time with my friends here, I can spend more time in the dojang and go to next year's tournament in North Korea, and I can save more money. It is all something to think and pray about.

Garden of Morning Calm on Feb.19

Jasmine and Suzy getting fixed

My mother scheduled Jasmine and Suzy to be fixed on Feb. 16. They are the two kittens I rescued here in Korea and brought to the USA when I visited my family on Christmas vacation. When they were brought over they had to spend 24 hours in their carrier because two of the three flights we were on were delayed because of weather. Thankfully they came to their new home safely.

Recently the poor tiny kittens had already been in heat and were up at all hours making a racket. They are about 7 months old according to the vet.

My mother caught Suzy and put her in the carrier. When Jasmine saw Suzy in the carrier she quickly panicked and ran all around the house. My mother and aunt tried in vain to catch her. My mother gave up and drove only Suzy to get fixed. Jasmine is rescheduled for Feb. 22. Suzy made it through the surgery well and will go home in the morning.

Lunar New Year

I went to Itaewon on Saturday night. I had some food at an Indian restaurant. It was OK, I had some curry with nuts and potato. The food wasn't spectacular, if I ever eat there again I'll try another dish.

Twenty-five Random Things About Me

This is a challenge going around facebook. I do challenge any of my blog readers to do the same if they wish:

1. I once observed a bolt of lighting striking my home while I was inside it. There was no fire or mark left behind. That was weird.


2. I have broken two bones in two separate incidents.


3. I have always been a vegetarian


4. I have been enrolled at ten different schools


5. I have type O- blood.


6. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are gods of cinema!


7. I grew up near the lake with the longest name in the world: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg


8. I HATE ONIONS


9. I am very interested in botany. I would love to be a botanist, even as an amateur.


10. I can't dance!


11. I am the owner of a flute, glass flute in D, tin whistle, guitar, mandolin, and soprano ukulele...


12. I taught myself how to crochet


13. I love reading travel narrative and wish I could be the next Freya Stark or Rebecca West.


14. I have been a fan of National Geographic magazine since I was 6 years old.


15. I have never ordered anything from Kentucky Fried Chicken.


16. I own at least 500 or 600 books.


17. I can pick things up with my toes


18. I like almost any genre of music or film.


19. I am a big fan of post-impressionism


20. I wish I were in Paris during the Roaring Twenties


21. The best food in the world hails from the Mediterranean.


22. I was once stuck in an airport for 32 hours. I passed time by buying a copy of Warped Passages by Lisa Randall. That is how I became interested in pop-science literature and physics.


23. I generally don't wear orange, yellow, or brown.


24. I have no loyalty to name-brand clothing.


25. I am allergic to bee stings

Scary Dave on "Don't Let the Bastards Keep You Down" *EXPLICIT*

This man calls himself "Scary Dave". He has a Youtube channel called "The Church of Dave". He has many videos where he has his rants. They are fun to watch because he's so enlightened. Yes, his videos do have lots of swears and yes, I'm not much into cursing, yet well, that's his style and that's the way it is.



I do wish I took this man's advice in this video a long time ago. I shouldn't have listened to people who told me I couldn't do things the way I wanted to do it. I kept being told "don't spend your money on another university", "don't go abroad, establish yourself in the United States", "get a job that's in lots of demand, even if it's boring", and so on. What for? I wasted a few years of my life because I listened to that stupidity. Never again am I going to listen to people's negative talk. I am proud of myself for breaking conventions, getting out of my home country so I can experience the world, and finally doing things I want to do.

Some of My Favourite Music Videos of ALL TIME!!!

When I was a preteen and young teenager, I was hopelessly addicted to VH1. Here are some of the best videos of that time period, in my own opinion:

#1 Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer"
This music video is so trippy. Gabriel had to sit still for an entire day to have that stop-motion animation done around his head. I love the dancing poultry.

#2 Madonna's "Take a Bow"
This video was filmed in Spain. The matador is so sexy. :D

#3 Queen's "Save Me"

This was the first music video to combine animation with real footage.
#4 Jon Secada's "If You Go"
Every jilted lover's fantasy. You can somehow "rescue" the object of your affections from that other person.
#5 Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do Without You"
This features two male models.

#6 Celine Dion's "The Power of Love"
Celine Dion's sensual video at the start of her career. Too bad her work later became hackwork.
#7 Elton John's "The Club at the End of the Street"
A fun animated video. It was animated because Elton John was spending his time with the family of AIDS victim Ryan White.

#8 UB40's "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You"
This is a beautiful cover of Elvis' famous song.

#9 Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More"
This Alice in Wonderland set is fun.

#10 Blind Melon's "No Rain"
The Bee Girl is laughed at, goes around trying to be accepted, and then finds peace and happiness when she arrives in a field full of fellow bees. It is a metaphor for the lives of lots of us.

Phone Call

My mother called me early this morning at about 7 am. She told me the kittens have been in heat. Suzy was already in heat and Jasmine is in heat now. I could hear her yowling in the background. I do miss the kittens, but I think they are doing better in their new home. I live in a one-room "box" here in Korea. They have much more space where they are now and they are getting along with the other three cats and two dogs. I am glad I am not putting up with their heat cycles now. My mother said she will have them fixed soon. Lately I have been wishing I could cuddle them, yet I think I did the right thing in giving them to my family.
I am greatful my mother called because my phone died last night. My cellphone had little power and I made a few calls and it went kaput. It's my only alarm. I will have to bring it into the shop.

Our Perception of Things: a forwarded e-mail

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.


4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition..

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?


One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.

How many other things are we missing?

How many special persons pass us by and we do not MAKE ANY EFFORT TO get to know them?