hny 2015 :)

at a flower shop in Club Monaco, midtown

Since last year, I've also stopped making yearly resolutions. Instead I'm trying to live every day to the fullest. From somewhere, I heard that if you do something 21 days in a row, it becomes a habit. 

Some things that have become a habit are:

* reading a short part of the Word, drinking a cup of water, and praying for loved ones every morning

* jotting down what I was thankful for during the day and reading 10-20 pages of anything (essay, novel, New Yorker, short story, nonfiction) before falling asleep on less tired days

* posting inspiration on tumblr when weary and tired

* stretching before going to sleep

But I'd like to 

* find a sport that I enjoy doing every other day

* find the best venue of sharing my thoughts from travels to developing countries

* drink 2.5L of water a day

After this dissertation is in, I'd really like to take up French again!

merry new year my dearly beloved ones : )  to tell you the truth, i have almost given up on the idea of creating a list of new year's resolutions (there's nothing more disheartening than looking back on your year and realizing that you have not lived up to your personal standards), but i guess one last shot won't hurt. 

the following is a vague and hazy contour of what i want for my 2015: 

1> read  more (2 books per month sounds reasonable. one fiction, the other non-fiction)

2> write more (via starting a blog and actually posting on it)

3> eat healthier (ok but realistically, i cannot give up my love for bread)

4> publish a picture book (writer: me, illustrator: mijung)

5> spend less (best way: refrain from riding cabs!)

6> learn a new sport (indoor climbing/surfing/skateboarding/squash are possible candidates)

7> taking running seriously (aim to finish the half-marathon at nike run seoul 2015)

8> visit the UK

9> find a potential way out of Korea

10> learn to love me more

what do you have in store for twenty fifteen?

the news

Mandy bought the News by Alain de Botton in Seoul and recommended it to me. 

So I bought mine from Book Culture and started it with a cup of New Orleans Blue Bottle Coffee. 

The book is an attempt to "make this ubiquitous and familiar habit" of checking the news "seem a lot weirder and rather more hazardous than it does at present."

few real joys

that old feeling 

Today is more of a picture-and-phrase day, especially since my MacBook is in a time machine mode. 

Last Saturday, 10th graders (18th wave!!!) and teachers from high school came on a field trip. (I bet there's a batch heading your way Mandy ^____^) This group was even more dear to me, since our French teacher Mme Florence, and game over advisor Mr. Han came as supervisors. The weather wasn't as pretty as today's blue skies, but it didn't rain as forecasted! On Friday night, I had prayed that it wouldn't rain while we give a tour of the campus and have Q&A sessions with the college student alums and working alums. Rain poured down after they left. 

Whenever these kids come, I go through a set of emotions. The school that kindled faith in Jesus Christ, the school where I met lifetime friends, the school where I learned that you can become friends with teachers, the school where I learned how to study by myself, the school where I learned to appreciate nature. Some of the same teachers are still giving all their efforts to guide young ones to follow through in that same school, and the young ones are still choosing to go to that same school that I can't muster up the courage to go visit. It's been four years since I last visited. 

If I visit, I think I will be overwhelmed by sadness to see the school in a bit dilapidated state (considering that I don't think buildings are regularly renovated, or are they?), and my inability to help out. When I mentioned this to Mr. Woo, the English teacher who used to sing us pop songs whenever it rained on a Wednesday class, he told me that only when we are in our 40s, would we be even able to donate to school. He quietly told me that now is the time to focus on our careers. Mme Florence and Mr. Han told me that the vision trip is worth the effort and care, because they get to see us. Maybe this is why reunions are great, to remind ourselves of the dreams we had, people we invited into our lives, and why we chose to be where we are now. 

I'm helping out with the student production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The play is going to take place on a beautiful lake in Worcester College in early June. I am in charge of making the 'behind the scenes production diaries, short videos released every week to stir up some pre-performance excitement. 

Yesterday, we shot the trailer for the play. Actors dressed up in colorful Tudor costumes to reenact one of scenes of the actual play. Although it was physically exhausting (shooting from 7AM to 5PM non-stop) I felt energized and strangely at home. Nick Lory, our DOP did an amazing job capturing and blending in the gorgeous scenery with the ambience of the Venice. 

It's a lovely feeling, to be part of something bigger, something that matters to a lot of people, something that makes them happy. I'm very fortunate to work alongside passionate students who care and give the play their all; Oxford will become more dear to me because of this experience. 

This morning, I realized with utter dismay that it is Parents' Day tomorrow and thought shit, too late to send a basket of flowers to Mom and Dad -- not that I didn't try, but for some reason the credit card service was not cooperative and the website stated that they could not promise to deliver the flowers in time if ordered post-Tuesday work hours (Korea time). So binned that idea. On to Plan B.

Instead, I went to florist and bought these white carnations, took a bunch of staged photos of the flowers and myself, and basically made a customized card (inserted text: Happy Mother/Father's Day, etc) and sent them to my parents via kakao talk. Daughterly duty executed in fashionable manner I would say. 

In Korea, during this time of the year, you see flower baskets carpeting the streets of Shinchon and Gangnam and florist shops teeming with daughters/sons/students seeking out fresh carnations in various hues of red, pink, yellow, and white for our parents and teachers. The whole floral tradition does seem a bit forced and contrived at times, but it seems like a nice way for all of us to appreciate the sentiment certain flowers on certain days of the year. 

The carnations sit near my window, with wine bottles as vases.