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Life

Notebooks

I’ve been going through my old computer files and notebooks lately hoping to find some encouragement. It’s always interesting too look back, be it in a diary, an old collection of photographs, or even old posts on a blog. Pages and photographs fortunately have a stronger sense of permanency than timelines or twitter feeds, and even if you can find everything online, the nostalgia is physical when leafing through the old pages written in slightly different handwriting and in faded pencil or ink.

Aside from my newest Moleskine and a collection of my newest fascination as a writing medium, yellow A4 lined paper, I believe it’s called legal pad, I have all kinds of paper and notebooks scattered around the bookshelves and packed in boxes around the home. All of these have served some function in my scattered and impotent career as a Nobel laureate.


Family Holidays.

I’ve gone on many, many family holidays, but what I remember isn’t exactly what I originally sent any postcards home about. The novelty of a family holiday is a notion that has alluded me for a long time. I grew up the second eldest of five sons and it was what seemed to me to be a long time before I could enjoy my own holiday on my own conditions. Probably the fact that I was in that position in the family, where I seemed to spend more time on large group holidays than my other brothers may have, and this may have encouraged the sense of desperation to avoid a mass family fueled exodus I had as I was in my late teens and early twenties. I’m certainly more inclined to enthuse over a family holiday now.


November

I like November and I always have. The month just sits there, almost Christmas but still far enough away to be still kind of normal, and long enough after any summer holidays so any pining is well gone. Even though it can signal the true beginning of winter, a season I don’t shine too, with all the cold rain, wind, the leaves losing their leaves, I still look forward to November every year.

I think it’s one of those reliable months. I know it will be colder because the wind will suddenly pick up a notch and the temperature must drop a few degrees further. Despite this, I can prepare well. November is a great time for dusting out those heavy jackets, wooly jumpers, thick socks, gloves, scarves, and hats in warm, earthy colours of browns, burgundy, and dark greens to keep me cosy.


Questions Worth Answering

These are questions I ask myself regularly:


Letter from Korea, October 2012

Suwon, South Korea
October, 2012

Dear Ireland,

It has been a while, but as much as I want to blame others I don’t think it would do much good. Some people are just poor at maintaining a schedule. I wish the same could be said for a woman’s womb.

As you can probably imagine the experience over the past few months has been mostly revolving around the fact that in less than a month myself and Herself are going to be parents. It has gone beyond the stage where we can feign shock at the end of youth, as there is no escaping our fate now. Not that I’m complaining.


Osaka January 2011

Recently I spoiled myself and paid for a pro flickr account so that I can take full advantage of the service. I take a lot of photos and I’m always looking for somewhere to put them, and with the limit flickr has on 200 hundred photos, it kind of forces you into paying eventually, that is if you don’t know another service that’s free (please don’t suggest one in the comments section until at least a year from now).

With this, I’ve began to go through my various folders of photographs which I never got around to organising and sifting through. These are photos I’d always meant to go through, but for whatever reason they got the old reliable and famed long-fingered treatment that is my modus operandi.


Ahn nyeong from... Seoul!

I recently re-read my last post and laughed at my certainty for leaving Korea. The yearning for change was met with a giant whirlwind that swiftly picked me up and has yet to spit me out. But did I leave Korea? No. Well at least not yet.

I am not settled and for a long while, nor was I grounded. But luckily, after a much needed, restful Sunday filled with a whole lot of reflecting and introspection, I seem to have found something strong and sturdy to hang onto. It comes from within myself and despite this crazy vortex that is life, I have regained some stability, something that can be difficult to grasp when you are not settled.

So what's been going on lately? Here are some highlights!

Last month, I celebrated my last day of two years teaching at a public school in Anyang City. Some 900 students at this school will remain in my heart forever. 


Being a part of “the system”

Back in the states, one of our first priorities was to get insurance. With this little one growing inside of me, we thought it was pretty important to get coverage.

So, we began with medicaid. On Tuesday, when we arrived back in the states, I submitted the application. Since we are living with family, I had to ask them all sorts of personal information to fill out the forms ex. bills, income, social security etc.


Week 8: Kickin it up a notch!

This week was our final doc appointment in South Korea Lil. Week 7 and 8 were pretty busy times for you in there. You got some feets and hands and are about to lose that tail…sorry, but its less cool once you get out. You’re about 1.9 cm now and your super brain is now taking shape but thats not the only superness going on inside you.


Life..you are always changing.

First I have to apologize. I have been completely neglecting my blogging. Life has thrown us some interesting curve balls recently and I am just trying to keep my head on straight and get done the stuff that needs to be gettin a done.

10 years ago I thought I knew what my future held. (I was going to be a teacher)
5 years ago I thought something completely different. (I was going to be a rich sales woman)
3 years ago I had an epiphany and well changed my ideas for the future. (We was going to be expats and spend years all over the world in different countries)


Weekly Photo Challenge: Everyday Life

Walking through the streets of Rome we happened upon two street performers fully engulfed in their craft. The harmony of their dance against the iconic city street captivated and swept us away into an often neglected state of wonder. In this random instant, an idle moment of their everyday became a lasting image in ours.


Oppa Gerbil Style…photo essay by Eunee.

my first food bowl was a lunchbox….dad thinks he’s smart.

dad constantly spilled my water with his feet.

so…Mom and Dad bought me a new water machine…..


Korean Injected Muscle Car

icon/ˈīˌkän/

 A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something: “this iron-jawed icon of American manhood”.
In terms of iconic esteem and revere, there are few people that live up to the status of an iconic automobile…in my opinion of course ;) Seriously….if on some idle Thursday I happened upon Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey walking hand in hand down my street directly in front of a parked Ferrari F40….theres a good chance that my complete disregard for them would seem quite rude as my attention would be rightfully placed on the Italian. Like people, iconic cars transcend generations….but unlike people, you don’t need to know that much about them to appreciate their beauty. Well, if we’re talking swimsuit models I suppose my entire point is shot.

Pumpin’ Strong

,mHey lil E.

Today was a very momentous day. We heard your heart beat. This is the same heartbeat that will be pumping strong for the next century! It was an unbelievable sound. What was equally as amazing was that you were like a beautiful lightening bug blinking with every beat. Your heart at only 6 weeks beats at 119 bpm.


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