I am 30!!!

Koreans celebrate their birthdays at the New Year. Since babies here are considered a year old at birth, that makes any Westerner a year older when they arrive here. My birthday is in March, yet it's not as important in Korea. Nevertheless, the birthdays are still celebrated. If I am in the West in 2010 I can turn 30 twice.

Following God's Plan

I recently returned to Korea after two years away. I did it because I missed the place. I also felt that most likely God wanted me to come back. I am hoping I got that right.
So much confuses me about what to do with my life. I had been an English major. There's not a whole lot anyone can do with that degree alone. I wish I had another major or a master's degree already. I would feel much better.
A few weeks before I came back to Korea I was starting to have second thoughts. I was asking myself just why I was going back. "Is this a dead end?", I was telling myself. I was then wondering why I wouldn't just get on with my life.
Yet, if God wants me somewhere, it's not a dead end. It's just part of God's plan.
I have thought of going back to Andrews University later in order to finally get my master's degree. So much I have also thought of other things. For years I have thought of moving to another Western country like England or Canada. I am open to many places though. I just want to find out where God wants to lead me. That's what I should do, I shouldn't be anxious about anything.

'Many are unable to make definite plans for the future. Their life is unsettled. They cannot discern the outcome of affairs, and this often fills them with anxiety and unrest. Let us remember that the life of God's children in this world is a pilgrim life. We have not the wisdom to plan our own lives. It is not for us to shape our own future. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went" Hebrews 11:8
Christ in His life on Earth made no plans for Himself. He accepted God's plans for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded HIs plans. So should we depend upon God, that our lives may be the simple outworking of His will. As we commit our ways to Him, He will direct our steps.
Too many, in preparing for a brilliant future, make an utter failure. Let God plan for you. As a little child, trust the guidance of Him who will "keep the feet of His saints". 1 Samuel 2:9. God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.'
--Ministry of Healing, page 207

Back in the Land of Morning Calm

Today I returned to Korea. I flew out of Hartford, Connecticut and then to New York City, and from there I went to Korea. I am now temporarily staying in the SDA apartments near Sahmyook University. I have already gone to the supermarket and then started seeing many familiar groceries I used to get two years ago. I had forgotten some of those already. I had some pizza with corn on it. I never had that before Korea, but it doesn't taste bad.
Well, hello again Korea, I love you. I will see how long I'll stay by seeing how things go. A year or two will be good. Part of me doesn't want to ever leave, but yet I do tell myself that eventually I will have to move on.

Corn Chowder (a popular New England stew)

6 ears of fresh corn or 3 cups frozen whole corn
1/2 cup chopped onion (medium)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 TBSP cooking oil
1 cup cubed, peeled potato (1 medium)
4 TSPS all-purpose flour
1/4 TSP salt
1/4 TSP black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
2 TBSP bacon (fake for me)
2 TBSP fresh parsley (optional)

In a large saucepan cook onion and sweet pepper in hot oil until the onion is tender, but not brown. Add the potato. Bring to a boil. reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for ten minutes. Stir in corn. Cook, covered, about ten minutes more or until potato and corn are tender, stirring occasionally.
In a small bowl combine flour, salt, and pepper. Stir milk into flour mixture, add to corn mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for one minute more. Add crumbled bacon, beat through. If desired, garnish each serving with parsley.

I have had corn chowder without bacon pieces before, so I don't think they are always necessary. The imitation bacon bits are good though.

Fortune Cookie Fortune

I received this one: "Be mischievous and you will not be lonesome".

Saying Goodbye to My Church

This morning was very snowy. The snowstorm started yesterday and dumped a lot of snow on the ground. I had to shovel the driveway. Both cars were buried up to the wheels. I was sure church would be cancelled. The phone call from one of the church members said that church would start at 11 am. I was glad that there will still be church because it is the last Sabbath before I go back to Korea. When I arrived at church there weren't many people there. It was very cold outside but the inside was warm. We were going to watch a Shawn Boonstra video, but the church members decided there would be only Sabbath School. I was tired from all the shoveling and daydreamed a bit during the lesson. I also couldn't sleep well last night.
After dinner the church decided to have prayer for me in the sanctuary. It was nice of them. I felt sad and nearly cried, yet I know things will work out well. Betty, my adopted grandmother held my hand and Roy, the head elder held my other hand. I hugged people and said goodbye. It was nice to have a little group there. One woman, Sharon, is moving to Florida and I don't know when I'll see her again. I wished her a nice life there.
I know I will miss my church family, but life will go on as it has before each time I have left my home church. It was always hard to leave, but afterwards I would only hear from a few people. That's the way it is.

Neuroscience of Creativity

This is the first of 7 videos of a talk on neuroscience. It doesn't speak about creativity right away. It says that the more enriched an environment is, the more dendrites and connections the brain has. I remember that sort of lesson in high school. That's why I think that someone's I.Q. isn't completely genetic, and the more enriched their environment is at an early age, the better brain they will have. I do think that people can raise their own intelligence, yet not drastically.
The speaker said that those people with AD/HD are often that way because they are subject to many hours of television and video games. The constant flashing colors and changing scenes cause their brains to want constant change. The main reason is that they are watching a scene and not being directly part of it. Reading a book isn't the same because we get more absorbed in it. I do think having a screen culture has made our brains different than people's before.
I have wondered if something such as AD/HD exists. It's not a real condition, but something as a result of other things. Too much stimulation and anxiety reduce attention spans. People of above average intelligence are always seeking stimulation and get bored easily when something doesn't interest them. I think that it's sad that so many children are put on drugs for AD/HD and they have other conditions or are even gifted.

Prize Pigeon

This pigeon was "best of show" at the 199th Brooklyn Fair last summer. It seemed to know it too. It was strutting around proudly and eventually started pecking at my camera.

"The Road Not Taken"
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leave no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost

This poem made me think a lot before I went to Korea. The part that reads "yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back" stands out. What should my next adventure lead me to? Where will it take me beyond Korea?

Nathan's anniversary

Today is the anniversary of Nathan's death. He died in a car accident nine years ago today. He wasn't a boyfriend of mine, but I had wished he was one. I liked him a lot. He was a very kind person and very fun. I don't believe he ever realised how much he was loved by many people. He was very intelligent and I could talk to him about many subjects. He studied computer technology at Andrews University. He wanted to go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study robotics. Nathan also liked to do many outdoor activities.
On the day he died there was some snow and ice outside and he went out to run an errand for a friend. On the way back his car slid into a bus and he was killed instantly. I didn't find out about his death until later that night because I had been so busy writing exams. I must have cried for two hours. I took a rag that I had been cleaning my dorm room with and put it to my face to soak up my tears. He was supposed to go home the next day for the Christmas holidays. There must have been at least 300 people at his memorial service which was held on Dec. 31, 1999. My tears still stain the bulletin from his service that I saved in my yearbook. I can't wait to see him again in Heaven. I know he loved Jesus. I will put the photo up here soon.

18th century gravestones

I've bid the world adieu, and you my friend. Here I sleep and my instruction ends.
Behold this pious soul has fled and now is numbered with the dead.
I noticed they are the graves of Ebenezer and Lucy Grosvenordale. I wonder if they had anything to do with the nearby villages of Grosvenordale and N. Gros.

Church today

Today I went visiting another SDA church. I went to the church at 2 Airport Drive in Worcester. There were few people there because of this week's ice storm. I used to attend that church when I was a kid. I also went to the church school there for first and second grade. I went into my old classroom. Suddenly memories started coming back. It looked so different, yet I could see how it was twenty years ago in my mind. There were a few computers in the room. When I was a student there were none, and only one in the other classroom - good ol' Commodore 64 with floppy disks and a square mouse.
The old set of encyclopedias from 1988 were still there. I used to look at those a lot during my free time. The old reading books were also still there, the same ones I used. They were very worn. There I was, a small child and reading encyclopedias for fun when others were still learning how to read.
I took a walk behind to the church to the stream. I used to go there alone during recess sometimes. I liked to watch the water. I couldn't get to my exact favourite spot because there was lots of ice and some thorns had overtaken the old pathway.
I will be going to Boston to pick up my visa next week. I can't wait.

Misconceptions I Had About Korea

Before I went to Korea I had some ideas on what it would be like there. There were some ideas that were wrong.

#1. I thought there would be lots of vegetarian food. I found out that vegetarianism is only common among monks. The diet is heavy in seafood (which didn't surprise me) but also in pork, beef, and chicken.
#2. I thought I wasn't going to be short. I thought that most Korean women would be about my height. In reality, nearly every adult student I had was taller than me. Only the older ladies are shorter than me, and I think it's because of the lack of nutrition they had during the Korean War and Japanese occupation. I think I am the average height of most Chinese women.

Einstein Quote

I believe that the horrifying deterioration in the ethical conduct of people today stems from the mechanization and dehumanization of our lives--the disastrous by-product of the scientific and technical mentality nostra culpa. Man grows cold faster than the planet he inhabits.
I do think that being away from the natural world has been making people grow colder to each other. I think that being in nature reduces stress greatly. Exercise makes our minds clearer. Fresh air does the same. I remember going to teach in Kwangju, Korea after being in Seoul for over a year. The change in the air was different, it suddenly made me sleepy. My then-roommate Mimie told me that when her friends went to visit her from Seoul, they also felt sleepy. The instant fresher air had a calming effect.
I know that colours have an effect on people's moods. Green and blue are calming colours. Greys are depressing. Could it be that is the reason why so many people are chronically depressed, especially during winter months?
About four years ago I went to visit the Amish in Pennsylvania. The tour guide said that being in their valley will make us feel more tranquil. It was true. There I saw hard-working people with large families who were cheerful. The children were rambunctious yet still polite. In the culture I was raised in, people with one or two children were very stressed out with balancing parenthood with jobs. It makes me wonder how our way of life has to do with stress levels more rather than the amount of responsibilities we have?

Handel's "Messiah"

Yesterday I went to church. The guest speaker was a senior theology student from Atlantic Union College. He did seem to have his heart in the right place, but I couldn't get into his sermon well. He started talking about baseball in relation to someone named Elias and I tuned him out. I don't understand baseball all that well. What was he talking about?
I later sat near him and his girlfriend and other people at the dinner table. His girlfriend was interesting. She was pretty, with coffee-coloured skin and dark hair. She was born in Mozambique to a local mother, lived in Johannesburg in SA, also in Italy because her father is Italian, and studied in Brazil for five years. She is now at AUC and dating her handsome red-haired man from Vermont. I do think it is awesome for her to be so cultured. I am glad for the exposure to other cultures I have had in my life.
After church I took a nap and then went to Victoria's Station after sunset. I read some more on my Einstein biography. He fell in love with Mileva Maric mostly because she was someone who shared his interest in science. His family was angry at him for liking her because she wasn't pretty and was sickly. He loved her because he loved her mind. To me, that made enough sense. I think romantic love should be a sort of higher friendship and do we not choose our friends based on common ground?
I later walked down the street to the Congregational church to listen to Handel's "Messiah". I hadn't listened to the entire thing live before, and I was in for a real treat. It was lovely. The church was crowded, yet I shared a pew with only one person. The organ sounded like a harpsichord and was accompanied by two violins and an electric cello. I loved that cello, I am not sure if I've heard an electric one before. It was great.

Going to the dojang

Last night I went over to the local dojang to learn some moves before going to Korea. I learned some very basic blocking, kicking, and punching. I need to work on my flexibility some more. I have basically good flexibilty already, just not excellent. Everything seemed awkward, but everything is awkward at first. I am planning on studying Taekwondo while in Korea. I will do the best I can and move up through the most levels I can while abroad.

Thanksgiving

"If you read too fast or too slow, you will understand nothing".
"A mere trifle can console us because a mere trifle can distress us".-- Blaise Pascal
I went to the cafe today and did some crochet and reading. After reading a few chapters of the book on China I borrowed, I picked up one of the Harvard Classics on the bookshelf. It was on Blaise Pascal's writings. I like the quotes in there. There are many of those volumes of Harvard Classics and it's too bad that I won't have time to read them all before I leave for Korea.

Here are some photos of myself on yesterday's Thanksgiving:

Museum of Fine Arts

Today I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It was the second time I went to an art museum this year.
I first went to a special exhibit on Assyrian art. The Assyrian empire was one that was mentioned in the Bible. I knew they were a people that were feared and the art showed why that was true. There were many relief sculptures that showed battle scenes. There were some winged lions, symbols of Babylon there. The Assyrian empire had existed in the area of Babylon for a while.
I also saw the medieval art which was mostly religious stuff. There was a wall and dome from the twelfth century one the end of one wall. Christ and his disciples were depicted there. I couldn't make out all their names, but I saw "John" spelled as "Ioannes" and "Matthew" as "MVTHU".
I enjoyed the impressionists the most. There were paintings by Degas, Monet, and Renoir there. A large Gaugin painting was there, it showed a number of Tahitians on a beach. I like his style, but not all his personal views.



There were also many Renaissance paintings, some by Velazquez the court painter for Philip IV. There was a large painting of St. Francis of Assisi that I really liked by another painter named Zurbaran.
I saw a minimalist exhibit by Rachel Whiteread. I don't particularly care for minimalism. Many of the things in there looked like a ten year-old did it.
Of everything I saw, "The Seventh Plague" by John Martin is a close favourite:



The part that I enjoyed the most would be the photography exhibit on Karsh. There were many portraits of his all around the room. Many of those were familiar. The story of Winston Churchill's portrait made me chuckle. He didn't know his portrait was to be taken and he growled and chomped on a fresh cigar. He finally got talked into it and reluctantly put his stub down.

Trying to get my visa

This morning my sister and I left the house to go to Newton, Massachusetts. We were to go to the Korean consulate to get my visa. We first got gas and some snacks for the ride, then we went on the interstate. After about 15 minutes there was a loud popping sound and the car was dragging. She pulled to the side of the road and I got out of the car. The right front tyre was flat. The roadside assistance was called. We started cleaning out the back of the car. It was filled with lots of stuff. My sister is an art major and she had many projects stowed away there. There was also other stuff since she recently moved and didn't take everything out yet. I found a DVD of "Spirited Away" among the things. I found it strange since I was posting about the movie on another blog this morning. After enough things were out of the car I pulled the spare out.
Just before the man came, my sister turned the key and found the car was dead. She called the service again. Soon the man came and put the new tyre on. She was still on the cellphone and the person on the other line asked if he would jumpstart the car. The repairman was on the ground and heard the phone and started laughing. He said "No, I think I'll drive off and then wait for another call and the come back to jumpstart the car". My sister started laughing. The car started again.
We then went to Jiffy Lube to see if they would put on a new tyre. We waited in line with Poulenc's organ concerto playing in the car. I didn't recognise the music. My sister informed me that it was the same music we listened to while at a concert over a year ago. I remembered then. I went there to meet a man I met on an Adventist singles website. He had gone to Atlantic Union College as a music major and studied under William Ness, who was the organist. Dr. Ness was the minister of music at that church now. The man made it a point to go to every concert Dr. Ness put on, even if it meant he had to drive a few hours. I admired the deep respect he had for his former teacher. The concert also included the AUC orchestra. I liked watching Dr. Ness

News on Einstein

I recently took three books out of the library: Ballistics by Billy Collins, Shakespeare by Bill Bryson, and Albert Einstein by Walter Isaacson. Yesterday I returned the first two and renewed the last one because I didn't get around to reading it. It looks very interesting and it even has an epilogue on Einstein's brain. Today I took out Lost on Planet China and sat in the cafe to read the first chapter. Today I found this article on Einstein:

PARIS (AFP) – It's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been corroborated, thanks to a heroic computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists.

A brainpower consortium led by Laurent Lellouch of France's Centre for Theoretical Physics, using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, have set down the calculations for estimating the mass of protons and neutrons, the particles at the nucleus of atoms.

According to the conventional model of particle physics, protons and neutrons comprise smaller particles known as quarks, which in turn are bound by gluons.

The odd thing is this: the mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks is only five percent. Where, therefore, is the missing 95 percent?

The answer, according to the study published in the US journal Science on Thursday, comes from the energy from the movements and interactions of quarks and gluons.

In other words, energy and mass are equivalent, as Einstein proposed in his Special Theory of Relativity in 1905.

Blue Heron

This is at Cargill Falls in Putnam, Connecticut.

I have my visa number

Thank God! I have my visa number, now I can finish the process to get back to Korea.

Cambodia 2005/2006

It's hard to believe that it's been 3 years since I went to Cambodia. That's the place where I learned how much I like doing photography. I have always enjoyed taking pictures, but there was where I finally fell in love with doing the art. I filled up my memory card. Angkor Wat was great with its ancient look and character.

Church

Today the union youth director came to church. He preached the sermon. His topic was on "ice". ServICE, SacrifICE, etc. I thought it was a good sermon. It was mostly aimed for adolescents, yet I still enjoyed it. I think it's important that SDA youth get interested in serving God while they are young. I later talked with him and his wife. They are nice people.
It was funny that he mentioned Facebook at the pulpit. He had joined two days before and was amazed at the amount of people he came across that he knew. Many of them were people he hadn't seen in years. I was trying not to laugh out loud because I had actually found him on Facebook that very morning and added him as a friend. He said those sites are addicting and I agree. I have Myspace and Facebook, but I use the latter more. It's mostly because many people I met in Korea are on there.

a polka by "Weird" Al Yankovic in anime!

"Weird" Al Yankovic is known for making polkas out of popular songs as part of his many parodies. This is one of them put to anime. It's funny.

Gallery Near the Falls

Tired.

new puppy

There is a new puppy at the house. It's so small that it fits in the palm of my hand. It's a miniature poodle. It's cute, yet I am so afraid of stepping on it. I have had it outside on the leash and it hops around my feet. I was calling it "Caedmon" before, for the poet, but my mother and aunt dislike the name. It will probably be "Rusty" or something like that later.

Sea Turtle

I saw this sea turtle in Newport, Rhode Island a few months ago. It's rare to see those so far up north, yet some of them get caught up in the warm currents from the Gulf of Mexico.

I love Fuare's Requiem! It is so beautiful. I have the music to a few requiems. I think I like Fuare's and Mozart's the best. This piece can make me visualise angels singing it.

Stephen Hawking Gets Sarcastic (funny)

Here Stephen Hawking gets interviewed and is constantly asked questions about his handicaps and wheelchair. I do think it was uncouth for the interviewer to keep bringing that up. Hawking was funny in his comebacks.

Obama wins the presidency

I went out and voted yesterday. While in line I was interviewed by a news reporter for the Norwich Bulletin. I just said why I went to vote. I said I felt it was my duty to vote because people fought for my right to do it. I wondered if it would be in print later on. Journalists don't use everything they gather.
I watched the election coverage until nearly midnight. At 11 pm, after some states already gave their winner predictions, the announcer said that the media felt it was safe to release the fact that Barack Obama would be the 44th president. He mentioned a line from the Declaration of Indepdence that was penned 232 years ago, that all men are created equal. The country hasn't always treated everybody equal. This is a historical event.
I didn't see too many differences between Obama and McCain. Yet, I do think that an Obama administration would make a bigger difference than with a McCain one. McCain would be a lot like G.W. Bush. I do hope that his presidency does make foreign relations better. I think Joe Biden was a good choice in a vice president because of his experience with foreign relations.
Yet, I do know that the future will be rocky, and I do know where things will eventually lead. I am not worried about the future. God has it in His hands and I know things will be all right.

Korea, snags

I was supposed to have returned to Korea a week and a half ago. I was told on Oct. 14 that I have to wait until December to go because the two current teachers won't be leaving until later. Their new job isn't ready for them. I was supposed to leave on the 23rd of October.
That's OK, I am sure there's a reason for it. I can also have some more time to see some people before I leave. It's not easy to make appointments with people because most of the people I know are very busy. I also have stuff to do. I can also have more time to go through my things. I would like to sell a few things and give some other things away.

I am an "Ingrid"

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are an Ingrid!

You are an Ingrid -- "I am unique"

Ingrids have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me.


• * Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value myself.


• * Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision.


• * Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy, I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little.


• * Don't tell me I'm too sensitive or that I'm overreacting!

What I Like About Being an Ingrid

• * my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep level


• * my ability to establish warm connections with people


• * admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life


• * my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor


• * being unique and being seen as unique by others


• * having aesthetic sensibilities


• * being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me

What's Hard About Being an Ingrid

• * experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair


• * feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved


• * feeling guilty when I disappoint people


• * feeling hurt or attacked when someone misundertands me


• * expecting too much from myself and life


• * fearing being abandoned


• * obsessing over resentments


• * longing for what I don't have

Ingrids as Children Often

• * have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in original games


• * are very sensitive


• * feel that they don't fit in


• * believe they are missing something that other people have


• * attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc.


• * become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood


• * feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents' divorce)

Ingrids as Parents

• * help their children become who they really are


• * support their children's creativity and originality


• * are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings


• * are sometimes overly critical or overly protective


• * are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Autumn

What your taste in art says about you.

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

24 Impressionist, 11 Islamic, 7 Ukiyo-e, -16 Cubist, -28 Abstract and 3 Renaissance!

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Musings

Success is liking yourself,

liking what you do,

and liking how you do it.--Maya Angelou.

I have decided to go back to Korea. I will be there later this month. I will be working in eastern Seoul this time. I am looking forward to being back there. I left there two years ago. I can't believe that so much time has passed. So many fellow expatriates I met there are still living in Korea. Some of them have been there before I arrived in 2005. Friends and family of many English teachers there often can't understand why they want to be in Korea for so long. The place just grows on people. Many people plan on staying there for a short time and then stay longer than they thought they would be there. They stay for various reasons. So far I am planning on staying there a year, but I may stay there longer if I feel that I have a good reason to stay longer.

When I am over there, I hope to do lots of hiking, looking at museums, going to the theatre and orchestra, and hanging out with friends. I am glad I know of two good book stores in Seoul: "Bandi & Lunni's" at COEX and "Kyobo" at Gwanghwamun, which have great English sections. Incheon has a Kyobo near the bus station, but it's not as good. I will also buy books from Amazon.com. I do hope to get lots of reading done at home and on the subways. I want to read books on neuroscience and neurobiology, like Ramachandran and Oliver Sacks. I am planning on getting the complete works of Oliver Sacks once I get to Korea. I am also interested in Alaine de Botton's works and much more.

I have thought of studying in Korea. Sahmyook University and Seoul National University are possible choices. I will have to check out the various programmes, see what they entail, and then make a decision on what to do. Studying there would make my time there more worthwhile and I can also fund my education. It's cheaper to study in Korea than in the USA.

Theological existentialism conversation on MSN

What the age needs is not a genius - it has had geniuses enough, but a martyr, who in order to teach men to obey would himself be obedient unto death. What the age needs is awakening. - Soren Kierkegaard

I never forget how God helps me and it is therefore my last wish that everything may be to his honour.-Soren Kierkegaard
***if only we lived our lives like this... a truly human, living sacrifice on an altar of love
*** says:
built to give Glory to God in the highest, bringing peace and good will to all people of the world, and giving us the meaning we crave so much for the world.
This is from a MSN conversation I had this night. A friend and I were talking about existentialism. I mentioned Jean-Paul Sartre, who was an existentialist and athiest philosopher. He felt that all humankind is left to define themselves. I think that Sartre had his good points, but to say that we are alone in this world is a fallacy. He eventually studied Jewish metaphysical theories, but still called himself an athiest. He simply admired Messianic Judaism. It is sad that someone with such a great intellect like his didn't use it to learn about God. He chose to follow the humanistic idea of non-theist existentialism.
The opposite of that is theological existentialism. We are here because God intended us to be so. God is in charge of our lives. We make our own plans, and God guides us. Our job is to surrender ourselves to God; and to develop our talents and gifts to God's glory. Everything we do must be for God's glory. We are here to win souls and to keep the faith so we can go to Heaven someday. May Jesus come back here soon.

New T-shirts

I got three new T-shirts in the mail last week. They were reasonably priced. I got them off www.thinkgeek.com. One says "Schrodinger's Cat is Dead" on the front and "Schrodinger's Cat is Not Dead" on the back. Another one says "I'm With Genius" and has an arrow pointing upwards. It's a parody of those popular shirts that say "I'm With Stupid" on them. I now have one that says "Roses are 'red', Violets are 'blue', all my base are belong to you". It's a geek love poem. The colours are actually written in hexidecimal code. The poem is about the old game "Zero Wing", which was poorly translated from Japanese. "All your base are belong to us!".

Gifted Education

I met up with a former classmate from high school last Sunday. I was glad to see him because he's a nice guy. I was with my sister. I know he became a math teacher at Windham Tech. I hadn't seen him in a few years. We started talking and he said that he just finished a master's degree in special education. He said it would have been more interesting than a master's in math education. We both agreed. My sister and I said that special education is interesting, it has so many fields. I mentioned gifted education. He said that is one field that gets largely ignored. I agreed. It is very necessary. Some of the troublemakers in school are actually very gifted students that aren't challenged enough. We didn't talk for long because he said he had to get home to his girlfriend.
The short conversation left me thinking. I remember when I was taking my special education class in college, that it was said that gifted education was actually something that wasn't allowed. It was said that if the gifted people got ahead, they may become a group of people that would take over. It wasn't until Sputnik was in the air and the Space Race began, that the United States wanted to use its most gifted people in the best way.
When I was in high school there was an English teacher who had just graduated at the top of her class from UConn, where she had double-majored in English and special education with an emphasis in gifted students. I never had her as a teacher because she arrived as I was leaving. I heard she had gotten fired. I don't know why. Very intelligent people still make their mistakes, even if they are so smart. High academic achievement and intellect don't always ensure good interpersonal skills or organisation of tasks.
I do think one main problem with gifted children in schools is the fact that many are outcasts. They exist on the fringes because they don't think like the rest of the class. Gifted people don't have the same interests that average folks have. Students can get jealous of them as well and want to bully them. I can see myself in some of those situations.

What I look for in a man.

Recently my family and I went to the town green for a local event. We later took a walk down Main street after leaving the green. We then went into a shop just to look around. The shop was new and my mother and aunt hadn't been inside before. It was one of those shops that specializes in health and new age things. It had perfumes, incense, hand lotions, fancy clothing, and purses. There were also tarot cards, books of spells, and feng shui books. Some of those things I would buy, some I would never buy because I am a Christian.
The store owner asked us if we came in from the theater, we said we had come from the town green. She said that she missed many things because she had to tend to her store. She said she needed to get out more so she could find a boyfriend. My mother said to her that I had been looking for a boyfriend for some time.
The lady then decided to give me some advice. She said that I need to get out and meet people. I can't expect them to come to me. That made sense. She then said that I should set up a corner in my bedroom and call it my "relationship corner". I should set up something that would keep reminding me of what I want in a man and focus on it. I need to get a card and write down on it what I want in a man, from the eye color to the height. I can then get what I want. I was also invited to attend one of her workshops that she had in the shop. I knew she was talking about feng shui. I thanked her politely and then we left.
I can't agree with feng shui at all. It's mysticism and I don't believe in that stuff. I also believe that asking God in prayer for what we need is more effective than trying to "channel energy" into getting what we want.
Anyways, what do I want? First, I think that the color of someone's eyes and hair do not matter at all. I also don't think that someone's height and size are very important. What matters is what is inside, not outside. I want someone that has a good character and to love Jesus.
As for other things, I want someone who likes the outdoors. I like to spend free time outdoors very often. I want to do hiking, swimming, camping, and travel with a partner. I also want to be able to talk about intellectual things. I want someone who is very intelligent and knows a lot about different subjects. Someone with a mind that they feed with books and doing cultural activities is someone I like to be around. Smart is attractive. Someone with a great mind is sexy.
I hope to be soon be spending time with that special someone. For the time being, I have to be satisfied with being a single person