Another great little post that I've dug up from the 6th of January...
"It snowed today.
In the waking hours of my day, scooting from one student's house to another on my motorcycle, I recall an interesting moment when I found myself making an awkward jesture at a stoplight: I pushed my helmet screen above my head to gaze at the cloudy sky, when surprisingly, my eyelashes met several clumps of snowflakes, clinging frantically to them. Then a snowflake fell in my eye. What a strange way to say hello.
Surprising was an understatement, actually. I looked around as the light turned green, watching the people hurriedly walking to their destination, obviously unprepared for a little bit of snow fluster. The last time it had snowed, even a sprinkle, was actually just about a week ago, when I woke up at the crack of dawn clearly from sleep deprivation. The morning began as yet another, waking up well before my alarm because my lungs were gasping for air: surely, it was the new resident chainsmoking ajumma (grandlady) that lives below me (again, another interesting and dispicable way to say, "good morning" if you ask me...) Nevertheless, seeing the snow made me sucking in the smoke, all the more worthwhile."
Perhaps the next few weeks will prove to be interesting with the possibility of skiing... oh, that shall be fun: it's been more than 3 years since I've skiied! And then, well, what beautiful skiing resort could one compare that of Chablais in Switzerland? I have yet to find a comparable paradise!
I finally recieved an itinerary for my trip. As per the last post about my vacation, which definitely looked like a rock-n-roll time to be had, I ended up making lots of changes along the way! It looks like, and I tear as I say this, Ahsan and I won't be going to Switzerland this time. There's simply not enough time in one month! So, we'll be heading off to his country of origin Pakistan (boy, what am I getting myself into, I have no idea!) for about 12 days.. and then I ride the long boat to China... joking. I take my flight mid-February and head over to the States: New Orleans, and then up to Seattle to visit the families~ about equal time I guess.
The month of February would have been gruelling trying to make a roadtrip either way~and since my trusted travel companion JuYeong will be starting school in February, I'm off to venture back home alone. Yes, yes.. you ask, why doesn't Ahsan go with you? Alas, my friends, we did intend for a miracle, but the US Embassy wouldn't issue Ahsan a visa because of his 'possible intention to immigrate to the US'. What a load of bologny! Grr.. it's always the good guys who get their throats slit on a reasonable attempt to visit the States. On the positive side, though, we'll be together in Pakistan for nearly 2 weeks~ and if luck may have it, I'm hoping to meet up with my pop, Roger, in Delhi (since he'll be backpacking in India for 3 weeks or so!) Fingers crossed!
Ah.. another good morning, and I'm off to trek up to Yeungjin. It's English camp again, folks.. and I better get to hacking up this cold's phlegm to get my teacher's voice prepped for screaming kids! Ack! ;)
~ Later!
Showing posts with label switzerland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label switzerland. Show all posts
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Monday, November 27, 2006
Switzerland... the most beautiful country on Earth!
Travel plans. I'm currently making travel plans for next February. I'll have a month vacation, grâce à Yeungjin College, my wonderful work~ which means I need to pack a years' worth of plans in 30 some-odd days. Here's what the itinerary looks like so far:1. Week 0-1: Fly into New Orleans from Seoul with JuYeong. Spend roughly a week visit family and friends in Alexandria, LA and Birmingham, AL.
2. Week 1-2: Ahsan flies into New Orleans, and we take a road trip up to Seattle, WA ~ taking the Pacific Coast route. Rental car baby! Spend approximately 6 days up the cost.. yeah, it's called doing some major driving and speed site-seeing!
*UPDATE: Something which I believe I have forgotten to mention THOUGH THEY ARE IN THE PLANS (!!!!!)(thanks to some lovely readers out there...) ~ One HUGE-mega stop to a hokey urban neighbourhood in the middle of Dallas to pick up Paul and schoot up to Washington!
3. Week 2-3: Visit the family in Seattle and sitesee ~ imagining wild family parties and good grub face-plowing! Oh, and if they're is snow, you know we'll be going!
4. Week 3-4: Fly over to Switzerland about 10 days (time permitting) and see what havoc we can wreak!
Alrighty.. time for a little bit of Taekwondo (see YouTube vids here and here!) Still working on that 1st Blackbelt test, dated for December 10th. ARGH! Check out what I have to KNOW (Poomae's 1-8 on YouTube.. mind blowing indeed!)
Check back to this link for updates!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
"Space-time displacement" in the wee-hours of the morning...
It's already 4:00am.
I expect the sun to rise here in about 2 and half hours from the East, and hopefully by then, I'll be fast asleep.
The sound of the floor heater rumbles in the background, and my love is sleeping soundly---weezing occasionally. It's soft background noise apart from my computer fan, rumbling to the waves of fatigue that are starting to hit me now.
I've felt this strange sense of urgency lately to make change; and while much of my life here in Korea is a constant adjustement in acclimating myself to that change, part of me is displaced between the boredom of daily life and the speed of light with which the events in my life are taking place.
Parts of my daily life are becoming a little ritualistic--motorcycle it to Taekwondo, then put on a happy face for gruelling work and kids, off for tutoring, coordinate dinner, feed the rabbit, shut eye bed-time. On the other hand, so much change is taking place that I cannot keep up: thinking primarily due to this guy that I'm totally enamoured with, combined with ballistically learning Korean so we can communicate better (mind you, he's not Korean, but he sure does speak like one~ more on that subject later!) So when the weekend hits, I usually end up stairing at the ceiling Monday morning, wondering where the weekend went! Where did the time go, and why do I feel bored with I'm moving faster than I can remember?
I think back to how I dealt with this strange occurance of what I call "space-time displacement" in the past; college life set me somewhere in the middle of this madness, so this feeling is nothing new. However, the difference between then and now, is simply how I'm gonna deal with it this time! Sure, being proactive is the key. But it's interesting to note, though, that it took me some 5 years to come up with a shortened explanation of this phenomenon. Actually, it was apart of my French thesis in college, stemming way back into the studies of Freud and Le Refoullement, or repression, and my stance that everyone stands on a fine line between repression and sanity, and it's up to our creative side to filter that madness; creativity is the transferring medium with which we materialize that energy or substance, from the organic to the concrete or inorganic. We have to materialize those repressed feelings and thoughts into a concrete resolution in order to maintain that balance; and the only way we can do that is to make that transfer from repression to material through creation. So it's not so much the end result, but the transferrence process that one goes through...
Okay, okay.. it's too dense. And it's too late to remain on that awefully weighty subject. GAWD!
Anyway, the acronym I've coined is called ACME, which stands for analyze, create, materialize and enjoy. So in other words, you assess your situation, realize you need to do something about it, create something (like an art piece, a song, a new danse move, write a book, etc.) and materialize it, making it real, and thereby enjoying the process, culminating with the end result.
Ta-da. Wow, talk about reliving your thesis... way too many nights, did I spend typing page after page, in French for Christ's sake, over a bottle of good port or red wine. Ahh.. those were the days.
Earlier, I spent a good part of 2 hours searching the internet on Switzerland, thinking of all the places I visited, remembering how fast the year flew by as I traveled the country and watched the seasons change working as an au pair. Another mental note: finish writing my story on my Swiss travels, and somehow manage to put up the 3,000 some-odd digital photos I have of my year there on Flikr. Ahhh.. alright, so the prospect of me achieving this by the new year is, well, slim. But it's food for thought.
Closing in on 5:00am. The eyes are drooping. The floor is cold and I know the bed is warm next to my sound sleeper. What's in for tomorrow? It's Sunday. Weather willing, a little trip to Woobang Towerland and the sports park. Wooppee! Time for a little picture-taking, park walking and... a spin on this super cool 2 wheel skateboard. So check back for flikr pictures.
Until then, happy dreaming ~ sheesh, this is NOT the time to be thinking about FREUD! :)
I expect the sun to rise here in about 2 and half hours from the East, and hopefully by then, I'll be fast asleep.
The sound of the floor heater rumbles in the background, and my love is sleeping soundly---weezing occasionally. It's soft background noise apart from my computer fan, rumbling to the waves of fatigue that are starting to hit me now.
I've felt this strange sense of urgency lately to make change; and while much of my life here in Korea is a constant adjustement in acclimating myself to that change, part of me is displaced between the boredom of daily life and the speed of light with which the events in my life are taking place.
Parts of my daily life are becoming a little ritualistic--motorcycle it to Taekwondo, then put on a happy face for gruelling work and kids, off for tutoring, coordinate dinner, feed the rabbit, shut eye bed-time. On the other hand, so much change is taking place that I cannot keep up: thinking primarily due to this guy that I'm totally enamoured with, combined with ballistically learning Korean so we can communicate better (mind you, he's not Korean, but he sure does speak like one~ more on that subject later!) So when the weekend hits, I usually end up stairing at the ceiling Monday morning, wondering where the weekend went! Where did the time go, and why do I feel bored with I'm moving faster than I can remember?
I think back to how I dealt with this strange occurance of what I call "space-time displacement" in the past; college life set me somewhere in the middle of this madness, so this feeling is nothing new. However, the difference between then and now, is simply how I'm gonna deal with it this time! Sure, being proactive is the key. But it's interesting to note, though, that it took me some 5 years to come up with a shortened explanation of this phenomenon. Actually, it was apart of my French thesis in college, stemming way back into the studies of Freud and Le Refoullement, or repression, and my stance that everyone stands on a fine line between repression and sanity, and it's up to our creative side to filter that madness; creativity is the transferring medium with which we materialize that energy or substance, from the organic to the concrete or inorganic. We have to materialize those repressed feelings and thoughts into a concrete resolution in order to maintain that balance; and the only way we can do that is to make that transfer from repression to material through creation. So it's not so much the end result, but the transferrence process that one goes through...
Okay, okay.. it's too dense. And it's too late to remain on that awefully weighty subject. GAWD!
Anyway, the acronym I've coined is called ACME, which stands for analyze, create, materialize and enjoy. So in other words, you assess your situation, realize you need to do something about it, create something (like an art piece, a song, a new danse move, write a book, etc.) and materialize it, making it real, and thereby enjoying the process, culminating with the end result.
Ta-da. Wow, talk about reliving your thesis... way too many nights, did I spend typing page after page, in French for Christ's sake, over a bottle of good port or red wine. Ahh.. those were the days.
Earlier, I spent a good part of 2 hours searching the internet on Switzerland, thinking of all the places I visited, remembering how fast the year flew by as I traveled the country and watched the seasons change working as an au pair. Another mental note: finish writing my story on my Swiss travels, and somehow manage to put up the 3,000 some-odd digital photos I have of my year there on Flikr. Ahhh.. alright, so the prospect of me achieving this by the new year is, well, slim. But it's food for thought.
Closing in on 5:00am. The eyes are drooping. The floor is cold and I know the bed is warm next to my sound sleeper. What's in for tomorrow? It's Sunday. Weather willing, a little trip to Woobang Towerland and the sports park. Wooppee! Time for a little picture-taking, park walking and... a spin on this super cool 2 wheel skateboard. So check back for flikr pictures.
Until then, happy dreaming ~ sheesh, this is NOT the time to be thinking about FREUD! :)
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