Thursday, August 05, 2010
Just Dropping In
So, yeah, I'm in class a lot these days, meaning there's no time for blogging. Probably won't be for awhile, either. But Jeoak is still at it, and I can't really pass this up.
"Asian gonorrhea," we said!
He's a machine.
"Asian gonorrhea," we said!
He's a machine.
Labels: humor, Life Updates, music
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
North Korea Watch: What's Next?
I haven't posted at all lately, largely because my new role as a guest on the Evening Show at TBS eFM keeps me even busier than usual. Another reason is that I don't really know what to say, particularly regarding North Korea.
About a year ago I began trying to explain to people why they shouldn't worry about North Korea. I mostly did so for the benefit of friends and family at home, who only see news regarding this peninsula when the North is causing a diplomatic skirmish, and who have therefore been led to believe that war could break out at any moment.
Whenever I wanted to reassure myself regarding the future of this country, I could always look to actual Koreans to see what they thought. Without fail, their response was that North Korea was something they had always lived with, and would for the foreseeable future. And it made sense; the North is ruled by a family that has for years been teaching its people that American imperialists were waiting to conquer its people, and that the South was the tool of those Yanks. The North had to maintain that position or its people would know they were being lied to, but an actual war was not what anyone wanted; not the South, because it endangered their rapid economic growth, and not the North, because they faced long odds of victory.
With that dynamic in place, the North's belligerence seemed the status quo.
The sinking of the Cheonan has changed that. Now, while I don't see people panicking in the street or issuing warnings to run to bomb shelters, this is the first time I've seen real concern about the North's actions. The Cheonan sank, and now South Korea has vowed to cut trade with the North and resume its propaganda broadcasts at the border. The North has responded by cutting all ties with the South and threatens to shoot the speakers that broadcast the South's propaganda.
We're all waiting to see whether they follow through. War won't be the next step, but we don't know what the next step will be, or whether one side will back down. From a logical standpoint it would seem that one side would have to, but sinking the Cheonan had a logic that only Kim Jong-il and/or his defense council understands. One day the reason for this will be revealed; the only question is how much pain the country will have to endure to reach that answer.
About a year ago I began trying to explain to people why they shouldn't worry about North Korea. I mostly did so for the benefit of friends and family at home, who only see news regarding this peninsula when the North is causing a diplomatic skirmish, and who have therefore been led to believe that war could break out at any moment.
Whenever I wanted to reassure myself regarding the future of this country, I could always look to actual Koreans to see what they thought. Without fail, their response was that North Korea was something they had always lived with, and would for the foreseeable future. And it made sense; the North is ruled by a family that has for years been teaching its people that American imperialists were waiting to conquer its people, and that the South was the tool of those Yanks. The North had to maintain that position or its people would know they were being lied to, but an actual war was not what anyone wanted; not the South, because it endangered their rapid economic growth, and not the North, because they faced long odds of victory.
With that dynamic in place, the North's belligerence seemed the status quo.
The sinking of the Cheonan has changed that. Now, while I don't see people panicking in the street or issuing warnings to run to bomb shelters, this is the first time I've seen real concern about the North's actions. The Cheonan sank, and now South Korea has vowed to cut trade with the North and resume its propaganda broadcasts at the border. The North has responded by cutting all ties with the South and threatens to shoot the speakers that broadcast the South's propaganda.
We're all waiting to see whether they follow through. War won't be the next step, but we don't know what the next step will be, or whether one side will back down. From a logical standpoint it would seem that one side would have to, but sinking the Cheonan had a logic that only Kim Jong-il and/or his defense council understands. One day the reason for this will be revealed; the only question is how much pain the country will have to endure to reach that answer.
Labels: Korean Society, Life Updates, north korea
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Resolving to be Resolute
I have a wife that I adore. I am one of the few people to graduate from Southern Adventist University's School of Journalism & Communication to actually have a journalism job. This year my wife and I added a new addition in Daniel, a little man whose resemblance to me left even me surprised.
And yet at the moment so much feels wrong: When I married my wife I married into her family, and that meant marrying into the debts her late father incurred through a combination of bad luck, poor choices in business partners and a continent-wide financial crisis about 12 years ago. It also meant the problems that my brother-in-law has (he has lost three jobs in the last 18 months) would become my problems.
As a result, all five of us live together in an apartment with four rooms, one of which is a bathroom and another of which is a closet. My job has its enjoyable factors, but they are often the backhanded sort of pleasure and workplaces in Korea are based less on what you can accomplish and more on who you schmooze (yes, American workplaces are also like this, but at least they pretend otherwise).
Things were pretty tolerable until December, when I got sick. It happens every winter, and probably will continue to happen until I have enough money to move to Fiji. My mother-in-law means well, but was already paranoid about germs even before I started coughing convulsively. She now closely monitors my diet and wardrobe, which has angered me, which has in turn angered my wife, which has then angered her mother, all of which has made my home one that I often don't want to go to at night.
My wife works a three-shift job, which keeps her schedule erratic. Last night and tonight, for example, she is on the 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. shift, which means she'll be asleep all day today until she has to work tonight. The time she's awake will mostly be spent feeding the baby. If she and I are lucky, we get one day together each week.
I have long turned to role models and hoped to derive inspiration from them. What can they teach me about my current situation? For example, Pete Sampras: When Sampras fell behind Richard Krajicek in the 2000 US Open, it appeared that the Dutchman's head-to-head advantage over Pistol Pete was about to get even better. Sampras, however, had other ideas.
But unlike Sampras here, my goal, to create a better environment for my family, can't be accomplished in one night. Maybe I need a role model who is closer to me in terms of my skill set.
In the field of modern journalism, I think that one of the few people doing really good work is Matt Taibbi. Along with Glenn Greenwald and Jon Stewart, Taibbi is the boldest journalist who actually has a wide audience, and such is his boldness that he has no fear of taking on those whom he believes control our government and our economy.
That mentality would serve me well. What's more, within a couple of years I have a reasonable chance of accomplishing my goals; when two years have passed, no matter how popular Taibbi gets, our government and both its parties will still be corporate owned.
And so my resolution is that, by this time next year, my family will be in a better place, hopefully physically but I'd settle for emotionally. If that means finding a new job, I'm willing to try that, though I'd rather make this one work. I plan to study Korean this spring at Yonsei University, which should be good for my career, particularly if I have to stay here.
But mostly I will believe that God has something planned for me, and for us. I have believed that in times past, and it has carried me through hard times before.
Go with me, God.
And yet at the moment so much feels wrong: When I married my wife I married into her family, and that meant marrying into the debts her late father incurred through a combination of bad luck, poor choices in business partners and a continent-wide financial crisis about 12 years ago. It also meant the problems that my brother-in-law has (he has lost three jobs in the last 18 months) would become my problems. As a result, all five of us live together in an apartment with four rooms, one of which is a bathroom and another of which is a closet. My job has its enjoyable factors, but they are often the backhanded sort of pleasure and workplaces in Korea are based less on what you can accomplish and more on who you schmooze (yes, American workplaces are also like this, but at least they pretend otherwise).
Things were pretty tolerable until December, when I got sick. It happens every winter, and probably will continue to happen until I have enough money to move to Fiji. My mother-in-law means well, but was already paranoid about germs even before I started coughing convulsively. She now closely monitors my diet and wardrobe, which has angered me, which has in turn angered my wife, which has then angered her mother, all of which has made my home one that I often don't want to go to at night.
My wife works a three-shift job, which keeps her schedule erratic. Last night and tonight, for example, she is on the 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. shift, which means she'll be asleep all day today until she has to work tonight. The time she's awake will mostly be spent feeding the baby. If she and I are lucky, we get one day together each week.
I have long turned to role models and hoped to derive inspiration from them. What can they teach me about my current situation? For example, Pete Sampras: When Sampras fell behind Richard Krajicek in the 2000 US Open, it appeared that the Dutchman's head-to-head advantage over Pistol Pete was about to get even better. Sampras, however, had other ideas.
But unlike Sampras here, my goal, to create a better environment for my family, can't be accomplished in one night. Maybe I need a role model who is closer to me in terms of my skill set.
In the field of modern journalism, I think that one of the few people doing really good work is Matt Taibbi. Along with Glenn Greenwald and Jon Stewart, Taibbi is the boldest journalist who actually has a wide audience, and such is his boldness that he has no fear of taking on those whom he believes control our government and our economy.
That mentality would serve me well. What's more, within a couple of years I have a reasonable chance of accomplishing my goals; when two years have passed, no matter how popular Taibbi gets, our government and both its parties will still be corporate owned.
And so my resolution is that, by this time next year, my family will be in a better place, hopefully physically but I'd settle for emotionally. If that means finding a new job, I'm willing to try that, though I'd rather make this one work. I plan to study Korean this spring at Yonsei University, which should be good for my career, particularly if I have to stay here.
But mostly I will believe that God has something planned for me, and for us. I have believed that in times past, and it has carried me through hard times before.
Go with me, God.
Labels: Faith, Life Updates
Monday, November 16, 2009
Three Stages of the Flu
So, long story short, my wife had swine flu this past week. Daniel and I were also sick, though we didn't test positive for it.
Click here to read about it. I tried to have a fun time with the experience, but it was a hard tone to maintain throughout.
Click here to read about it. I tried to have a fun time with the experience, but it was a hard tone to maintain throughout.
Labels: Expat Issues, humor, Life Updates
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thanks!
Just so you know, I'm thankful for all eight of you who follow here.
Why? Well, according to this, I break pretty much every rule of popular blogging.
I suspected as much. Maybe in my next incarnation I'll narrow the focus a bit. Maybe the politically satirical musings of Korea's tennis pros.
Why? Well, according to this, I break pretty much every rule of popular blogging.
I suspected as much. Maybe in my next incarnation I'll narrow the focus a bit. Maybe the politically satirical musings of Korea's tennis pros.
Labels: humor, Life Updates
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Daniel's 100th Day Party
This past Sunday night was our party for Daniel's 100th day. Not so long ago Korea was a very impoverished country, and for a child to survive until his/her 100th day was a pretty big deal. Now that South Korea has the world's 15th-ranked GDP that situation has changed, thankfully, but the tradition is maintained.
So, Catherine, her mother, brother, myself and Daniel played host to several of their closest relatives in Seoul at an Indian restaurant. We received several gifts, though most of them were clothing for Daniel. Should be useful for a time.
To see more photos from the evening, click here.
Labels: babies, Life Updates
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Daniel's First Swimming Lesson
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Breaking Out the Carseat
Mom's arrival to Korea coincided with Daniel (and Catherine's) first trip to church. This meant using the carseat for the first time, which was an ordeal in and of itself.Labels: babies, Life Updates, photos
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A Point of Tension
Sometime last July (the exact date escapes me) I attempted to bench press 210 pounds four times. Well, I didn't just attempt, I succeeded, but I've never been the same since.
The next day a pain in my upper left pectoral began to throb, and soon it had spread all over the shoulder area. It lingered mostly in the region where the arm and the shoulder connect. At first I decided to hold off on the lifting for a few months.
In October I tried lifting some light weights at home, and after a few times it started acting up again. I went to a doctor at the hospital where Catherine works, but he mostly dealt with spinal problems and didn't have much to tell me except to rest (a very common suggestion among doctors, I find).
There was another doctor at her hospital who was an orthopedic specialist, but I had trouble arranging appointments with him because of my schedule, in which I traveled from Chuncheon to Seoul and back almost every day. When I finally did get to see him in March, he said there was a bit of fluid between the arm and shoulder bone caused by repetitive exercise. He advised me not to lift (except leg exercises, plus bicep curls were okay) and also to avoid putting my left arm above my head or behind my back.
He seemed confidant that within a month it'd be okay.
Well, I can't say I followed his advice perfectly (do you ever really think about how often you put your arm behind your back over your head?) but I followed closely enough that it should've gotten better, I think. It hasn't, though, and I've had recurring painful inflammation in that area every time I've been required to lift something, even a relatively light box over my head while working around the house.
I saw the same doctor in early June, and this time he gave me some plastic bands for exercises designed to strengthen my shoulder muscles. I used them for about three days, after which I could tell that if anything they were making it worse.
This drove me to consider acupuncture. I've had it done before; first when I was really sick in Suncheon about three years ago, and then last year when I severely sprained my ankle and it swelled up like a water balloon. I could see an obvious effect in terms of how the swelling diminished, so I figured it would be worth a try in this case.
I first went yesterday, and found it to be nothing like the acupuncture I received before. Usually they put lots of needles in the point of injury and in a few other places. This time, after I told the doctor the problem, he had me lie on a bed with a heating pad over my shoulder for about 10 minutes. Then he came in and poked me several times with a needle on my shoulder, back, arm and side. Didn't leave it in, just poked.
Then, he poked the spots on my shoulder seen above with a smaller needle, drawing blood. His assistant attached small bottles to the sites he poked, catching the blood while leaving me with the bruised areas you see. After leaving the bottles attached for several minutes, they then attached a kind of electronic massaging device, which left a pair of lesser marks, one of which you can see in the pics if you look closely enough.
After that, I was done, and he told me to come back the next day if it still hurt.
As of today the pain had diminished, but some remained, so I returned to the acupuncturist again. I received the same treatment, except this time the electronic massage came before the stabbing with the small needle. I feel a little soreness in that area (and quite a bit from the poking with the needle), but we'll see if it continues tomorrow. I don't know how any of this is actually supposed to help, but I didn't know last year and it seemed to then.
I would like to begin exercising more vigorously again, though I doubt I'll ever attempt to bulk up through lifting heavy again. Right now, I'd settle for being able to lift a box over my head without feeling it for three days afterward.
We'll see how it goes.
The next day a pain in my upper left pectoral began to throb, and soon it had spread all over the shoulder area. It lingered mostly in the region where the arm and the shoulder connect. At first I decided to hold off on the lifting for a few months.
In October I tried lifting some light weights at home, and after a few times it started acting up again. I went to a doctor at the hospital where Catherine works, but he mostly dealt with spinal problems and didn't have much to tell me except to rest (a very common suggestion among doctors, I find).
There was another doctor at her hospital who was an orthopedic specialist, but I had trouble arranging appointments with him because of my schedule, in which I traveled from Chuncheon to Seoul and back almost every day. When I finally did get to see him in March, he said there was a bit of fluid between the arm and shoulder bone caused by repetitive exercise. He advised me not to lift (except leg exercises, plus bicep curls were okay) and also to avoid putting my left arm above my head or behind my back.
He seemed confidant that within a month it'd be okay.
Well, I can't say I followed his advice perfectly (do you ever really think about how often you put your arm behind your back over your head?) but I followed closely enough that it should've gotten better, I think. It hasn't, though, and I've had recurring painful inflammation in that area every time I've been required to lift something, even a relatively light box over my head while working around the house.
I saw the same doctor in early June, and this time he gave me some plastic bands for exercises designed to strengthen my shoulder muscles. I used them for about three days, after which I could tell that if anything they were making it worse.
This drove me to consider acupuncture. I've had it done before; first when I was really sick in Suncheon about three years ago, and then last year when I severely sprained my ankle and it swelled up like a water balloon. I could see an obvious effect in terms of how the swelling diminished, so I figured it would be worth a try in this case.
I first went yesterday, and found it to be nothing like the acupuncture I received before. Usually they put lots of needles in the point of injury and in a few other places. This time, after I told the doctor the problem, he had me lie on a bed with a heating pad over my shoulder for about 10 minutes. Then he came in and poked me several times with a needle on my shoulder, back, arm and side. Didn't leave it in, just poked.
Then, he poked the spots on my shoulder seen above with a smaller needle, drawing blood. His assistant attached small bottles to the sites he poked, catching the blood while leaving me with the bruised areas you see. After leaving the bottles attached for several minutes, they then attached a kind of electronic massaging device, which left a pair of lesser marks, one of which you can see in the pics if you look closely enough.
After that, I was done, and he told me to come back the next day if it still hurt.
As of today the pain had diminished, but some remained, so I returned to the acupuncturist again. I received the same treatment, except this time the electronic massage came before the stabbing with the small needle. I feel a little soreness in that area (and quite a bit from the poking with the needle), but we'll see if it continues tomorrow. I don't know how any of this is actually supposed to help, but I didn't know last year and it seemed to then.
I would like to begin exercising more vigorously again, though I doubt I'll ever attempt to bulk up through lifting heavy again. Right now, I'd settle for being able to lift a box over my head without feeling it for three days afterward.
We'll see how it goes.
Labels: Life Updates
Friday, June 26, 2009
That's My Boy
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Change Has Come
I picked up my mother-in-law from the train station about three hours ago. My wife told me to take her to the apartment so that she could "arrange something," then take her to the hospital to stay the night.
Apparently "something" was equivalent to "the entire house." In less than three hours, I'm not sure she has left anything where it was originally sitting. If she can ever stop herself, I'll take her to the hospital, then come back here and sleep alone, probably for the last time in a long while.
Tomorrow they all come home to stay. Tomorrow I also start working from home, editing materials on my home computer rather than traveling to Seoul. It should give me more time to spend with my wife, as well as with the little guy.
I don't how I'm going to adjust to living with him, but frankly speaking, living with her is more an object of concern for me. Woe unto any who would stand between an ajuma and a clean house.
Apparently "something" was equivalent to "the entire house." In less than three hours, I'm not sure she has left anything where it was originally sitting. If she can ever stop herself, I'll take her to the hospital, then come back here and sleep alone, probably for the last time in a long while.
Tomorrow they all come home to stay. Tomorrow I also start working from home, editing materials on my home computer rather than traveling to Seoul. It should give me more time to spend with my wife, as well as with the little guy.
I don't how I'm going to adjust to living with him, but frankly speaking, living with her is more an object of concern for me. Woe unto any who would stand between an ajuma and a clean house.
Labels: Korean Society, Life Updates
Friday, June 19, 2009
Me & My Boy
I haven't had much alone time with him yet, but when I have, I'm overcome by two feelings. One is that this person in my hands is a marvel of nature and God's handiwork. Two is that I'm in way over my head right now.
Fortunately I haven't had time to dwell on the latter. I know I want him to have more chances than I did, but the most important thing is that he feels the same kind of love that I did from my family. I have to concentrate on that, and hopefully the chance to provide him with all those opportunities will come later.
Fortunately I haven't had time to dwell on the latter. I know I want him to have more chances than I did, but the most important thing is that he feels the same kind of love that I did from my family. I have to concentrate on that, and hopefully the chance to provide him with all those opportunities will come later.
Labels: babies, Life Updates, photos
An Eye-opener
Today my son finally opened his eyes long enough for us to get pics of them. To see more, go see them on Facebook here.
Labels: babies, Life Updates
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Daniel's Second Day
On Wednesday I was allowed to see Daniel through the glass door while the nurse held him. I took as many pictures as I could from as many angles as possible. People have already told me he looks like me, and this was the first time I really saw it.
Labels: babies, Life Updates, photos
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Daniel's Pics
This is as close as I've gotten to Daniel so far, but I have more photos on Facebook, which you can see here.
Labels: babies, Life Updates, photos
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