Category Archives: Life

One year ago…

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As the sun rises half a world away in the West (Eastern Daylight Time zone), Jennifer and I recall that one year ago we left the Cayman Islands.

It’s not lost on us that we were fortunate to leave somewhat on our own terms as I was three days away from being in violation of the Immigration Policy at the time, she landed a job, and that was that.

Given the ever-changing climate when it comes to expats in the territory, we were not confident that we would have been safe to stay much longer and at least we were getting out with an opportunity, albeit physically halfway around the world (and in almost every other way light years) from those things that make up the kind of life we enjoy.

We left our home, our friends and de facto family and almost none of the advice and things we were told about Korea applied to our situation. Even the information we received about life under the umbrella of working for an international school was complete. Maybe that’s just how it is.

But we continue to make the most of the situation; I did land an amazing job in my field that pays well and both of us are growing and adding to our lives and gaining valuable professional experience.  We are challenged possibly more than others who have never tried to make a go of it this far from home, and if nothing else, the stories we can now tell will surely entertain.

Oh, and we added the sweetest little Korean dog in the world to our brood.

So we got that going for us…

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Pretty much sums it up

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Today we featured British singer Ella Henderson’s new song “Ghost.”

During the setup, I read how she described her feelings after being signed to Simon Cowell’s record label a few years ago:

The most important thing I was looking for was to be involved creatively, and [this group] presents me with the best team to bring the best out of me.

New aircheck coming later tonight.

Oh shut up and keep it to yourself…

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First of all, there’s no magical light at the end of this post. This doesn’t end with some flowery recipe for happiness or gem of appreciation and learning. It’s out-and-out bitching.

Whenever I feel like getting something that’s been bothering me off my chest, I always here this voice saying “Oh shut up and keep it to yourself.” Because who really cares what you’re feeling and what troubles you’re going through. Certainly nobody on Facebook. This even happens to some degree when there’s good news to share. It just feels like nobody really gives a damn and you ask yourself, “Why should they?”

I realize this could come from low self esteem and negative self image but even typing those words now seems like pandering and begging for pity.

So, again, “Oh shut up and keep it to yourself.”

I’m almost constantly in a state of envy and jealousy over what I perceive my Facebook friends have going on, and with whom they’re doing it. It always seems better than the life we have. I’ve contemplated dozens of times to get off the damn thing and can’t bring myself to do it. It’s one of the only things connecting me to my friends B.K. (Before Korea). Because most of the people that are my ‘friends’ here, clearly aren’t.

I think we thought Korea would be a fun, interesting, exciting adventure that would be great with new friends and wonderful moments and fond memories of doing exotic things. And wondering what fun stuff we’re going to do and where we are going to go next with a new group of similar-minded people.

So far the only thing we wonder is when is this place going to stop sucking so bad and when are we going to start liking it.

Airplanes

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Hayley Williams once asked “Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now…”

And then B.O.B. and Eminem chimed in with some stuff, but for this post I think I’ll just stick with the airplane thing.

For as long as I can remember, seeing airplanes take off has been a thing for me. It represents excitement, adventure… and for some reason that I’m trying to figure out, the greener grass.

No matter how good I feel I have it (and trust me, all things considered I have it really good right now) seeing an airplane flying over the Han River last night on the bus home from work got to me like it always does.

Even when we lived in the Caribbean, with the sun, warmth, and all that stuff, I felt that way.

I love the idea of travel, but in practice it’s not so glam. Probably like most people, I hate traveling on planes nowadays. It’s always a hassle more than an adventure, but I was still envious of those folks as they made their way to cruising altitude last night. And I wondered if the sun had set enough for me to mistake the jet for a shooting star…

So what do you like to do?

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Earlier today I was speaking to someone about the stresses of living in Korea and I mentioned that I was waking up in the middle of the night every night at around the same time.

In the course of the conversation, they asked “What do you like to do to relax?”

It’s funny because this question has come up a few times recently.

My answer was that although I like watching movies and tv (sometimes really bad sci-fi) I really enjoy relaxing with a cup of coffee or dinner or brunch with good friends.  Just being social and chatting about random (and sometimes not so random) stuff.

The activities themselves are made (and made so much more meaningful) when shared with people you love and people who love you.

This is what it comes back to for me (and us) in Korea.

We haven’t had many of those experiences and because of that, I think we feel incomplete.

On a slightly related note, I searched the internet for the issue and ran across this item from Holistic By Nature that describes the Chinese Medicine ‘Meridian Clock,’ and what it allegedly means when you wake up at the same time every night.

Pretty accurate, no?

Changes In Longitude, Changes In Attitude or OMG, REALLY?!

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Yeah, so this apparently happened the other night:

Squat poppin...

Squat poppin…

That’s just not right, man.  I don’t care where you live or what so-called ‘cultural differences’ exist… Taking a dump in public is absolutely unacceptable.

Especially, as it turns out, there is another adjuma trying to run interference by standing in front of you, trying to block peoples’ view..

I mean, seriously, I know it happens that one can’t control their bowels all the time, but really.  You can’t be that far from home if you’re walking on a path surrounded by apartment buildings.  And it’s freezing cold.

The scariest part of this entire thing is that upon further reflection, it’s not all that surprising.

Everyday…

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… is a winding road, isn’t it?

Who would have thought that Sheryl Crow would have been so right.

In my case everyday is a slippery winding road…

Backtrack a bit

Yesterday that road was lightly dusted with snow. The dog freaked out during her morning walk, running back and forth in the less-than-an-inch dusting we got here in Suji. Meanwhile, I struggled not to slip and fall during my afternoon walk to the bus stop. And then again walking up and down the Myeongdong Cathedral hill and then the next one up to the station in Jung-gu.

Show went off without a hitch and based on the previous day’s experience with the subway, I headed for the bus stop.

Took the express bus toward home and then on to our favorite BBQ joint which was bought out for the evening. Major bummer.

Today I got into the city a little earlier as snow was expected. As I was sipping my Americano at a windowside table at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Myeongdong (a place I choose more for this amazing view of the shopping street below), the white stuff began in earnest.

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And as I had predicted a few months ago, the hill toward the radio station got me. At one point while walking up, I lost my footing a little (boot slipped) and knew that it was inevitable. I was gonna drop. I tried fruitlessly to adjust my feet but it was too late. I was all Paul Simon. I vaguely remember my school science: The road had warmed the dusting that had fallen maybe thirty minutes before and then when more snow fell, it froze up quite nicely.

I landed on my left side soaking my jeans but barely making it thru the ‘military-grade, fleece-lined’ thermals I had on underneath. In truth I’m sure my pride and ego was more bruised than any part of my body but I’ll know tomorrow for sure.

I told the barista at the in-house coffee shop at the station and after I confirmed I was okay, she chuckled. I told her we were thru and that I wanted a divorce.

On the bright side, Rooney seemed to love the snow on her afternoon walk.

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From a walkway over the Hannam-daero looking north into the heart of Seoul.

Successful bus trip, finally

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I wouldn’t exactly call myself dumb, but why it took me more than a few days to successfully navigate a bus trip in SoKo, I have no idea.

It all started last week when I was supposed to meet Jenn at her school via the 5500 bus north from practically one block from the apartment.  Instead of being there early, I arrived a little late because I missed the stop.  I should point out that the stop I missed is the second to last stop south of the Han River and into Seoul proper.  So it was another 25 minutes up the road, over the river, out of the bus at the first stop, across the street, waiting for 20 minutes and then back down to where I should have been.  Except in my haste, I got off one stop ahead of where I should have been.  Perfect.  I did what any other person would have done in my position, knowing exactly how far away I was from the school and the fact that a walk up a big hill was coming.  I hailed a cab to take me 5 minutes away (10 via walking).

I’m not ashamed to admit it.  The SoKo public transit system almost had me beat.  A few other mishaps occurred since then but finally, with Jennifer’s help, we managed to have a perfect experience coming back from Cafe Street to Samick.

Being without WiFi has now become crippling.  Once we get our ARCs (Alien Registration Cards) and are able to get our mobile phone plans set up, everything will be better.  That’s if my old carrier in Cayman is finally able to do what they said they’d do with the CI$500 I paid them for my unlock.

But I’ll save that story for another time, when it’s hopefully resolved.

 

Home again?

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Jenn says to me, “Not only did we leave Philly behind, it left us behind.”

If home is where the heart is and pieces of your heart lie with the friends you make, and keep, then you can always go home again. As long as you’re surrounded by your friends.

The challenge is that your friends change. At least those in the Circle of Trust* change. And that’s just a normal part of life.

People orbit in and out of the Circle of Trust at a period somewhere between a calendar year and Haley’s Comet being visible from Earth with a minimum of effort.

So I think what Jenn was saying is that although we have some terrific friends here in Philadelphia whom we love, due to the Tyranny of Distance**, our orbits have elongated.

It’s okay tho, because just like Haley’s, we’ll circle back around eventually. Here’s an interesting thing maybe… Do you think that when this happens, both people will look at the other as the comet; looking at the perceived frozen alien surface and wonder what sights the other has seen and what other celestial bodies and weird elements they’ve come in contact with?

Or has Facebook ruined that, too?

*A special round table that existed at Mezza Restaurant in Cayman upon which shots were drunk, oaths were sworn, and secrets revealed never to spoken about again.

**Special thanks to my friend and fantastic chiro Liam for the coinage of this term.

Leaving Grand Cayman

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Today Jennifer and I left Cayman. We divested ourselves of everything seven years of living in the Caribbean brings with it except seven bags of luggage, nine 22lb boxes, and two pets.

I write this onboard the airplane at altitude and location unknown. When we left the USA the Internet hadn’t gotten to airlines yet. That’s weird.

Hopefully we left a positive mark on Grand Cayman. Lord knows it made a mark on us…

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Hopefully we left the island a little better than when we found it. Maybe some people were entertained and/or amused by my radio performances over the years. And maybe some of Jenn’s students are a little smarter and/or have a better awareness of our animal friends that inhabit this planet.

Godspeed Cayman and good luck.