Simplify, simplify

My new life mantra = simplify. From blog headings to weekly menus to organization systems to my morning routine. This is how it's gonna be from now on. See what living in another country can do for you? In Korea, my existence was very simplified; my living environment was simple, my routine was simple (but never boring). My mind was able to focus and I was able to do everything I needed and wanted. I also felt more at ease with things in general. There was no inner strife and conflict with "I want to do this, but I hafta do that; I need to do that, but I wanna do this." I just did what the moment called for and didn't get stressed over it. Because why stress over things? Nothing's accomplished that way. Heck, even when my travel plans were in the balance and I needed help, I only panicked for a little while - then realized there was no point in hanging on to that feeling. I asked for help, and I got it. Nothing to worry about, really. And that's all about keeping it simple, and trusting the 'Verse.

So...how long can I maintain this outlook on my life? Hopefully it'll be a running theme that will continue to manifest, rather than get buried in the pressure of work and external obligations. Those are the most important times to remember this mantra, in fact. So do me a favor and remind me of this post when in two months I get whiny...

Back on the couch

I have returned from Korea, which you know if you've followed my lame-ass blogging attempts on Adventures of the Jade Monkey. I'm still posting photos of my trip there, so keep checking back.

Today (Sunday) I'm catching up on electronic media consumption and production. This means blogging, organizing photos, and catching up Doctor Who and Mad Men. Re: Doctor Who: OH. MY. GOD. Absolutely stunning. Re: Mad Men: That is some awesome writing. Don Draper is so twisted and pathetic that he's somehow almost sexy. Rodger Sterling is hilarious because he represents a pre-P.C. sense of humor. Still to come: Leverage and the last few eps of Night Gallery that I haven't seen. Bizarro and I started watching the entire series back in the winter/early spring. We're planning to do presentations at the next Rod Serling Conference about Night Gallery, so right now we're watching and re-watching eps for research (and for fun).

Tomorrow I will start attending to business as usual... slowly. One thing at a time, beginning with finances and figuring out who I need to call and what I need to put on the agenda for the week. Writing is #1, of course. I have 2 weeks before I have to return to work, so I'm making the most of the time.

I still have some unpacking to do, still laundry to do, and of course I have to have my ankle looked at (I sprained it AGAIN my last week in Korea). Processing my notes and thoughts will be essential before work starts and my brain becomes too filled with other people's work and concerns to develop my own. I did some work on the film while in Korea, which was really wonderful. Now I'm in a better place to start editing once I get a tutorial in Final Cut Pro. A very simple thing I realized: part of my procrastination has been my discomfort with the tech end of it. What a silly thing! I've got a filmmaker friend and colleague who's going to help me with that end of things.

I'm still dealing with some jet lag, though today I'm feeling much better than yesterday. Hopefully tonight I won't wake up at 3:00 a.m. in a cold sweat, totally disoriented, like I have the last 2 nights. It's all good - just a mild transition, that's all. I prepped myself for getting through jet lag via EFT before I even got on the plane. Nothing like pre-emptive EFT!

I'm uploading more photos to Adventures of the Jade Monkey now, so why not head over there and check them out?

Singin' in Korean

Don't forget I'm in Korea - follow me at Adventures of the Jade Monkey!

Lady Gaga = Ace of Base + Madonna + Steam punk surplus store liquidation sale

Today's title sums up the morning's revelations about life in this modern world.

The last couple days have been fairly obnoxious. More summing up:

1. The Korean university kindly informed me Monday morning that I'd be needing a C-4 visa, which left me with less than 2 weeks to procure said visa.
2. The ENT guy has no idea why I can hear my pulse pounding in my left ear, but assures me my head won't explode on the plane to Korea. At some point when I get back, I'll need an MRI of my head.
3. It's been 60 degrees and/or raining here.
4. I burned my dinner of flax waffles last night.

At least I'm working a roller derby bout Saturday night (although it's a 2-hour drive), my new writing group is going well, as is my curriculum planning for Korea, and my writing projects are kicking some butt. These things are not to be overlooked, because they're keeping me sane right now.

Though she's not around these parts much any more, welcome home to the U.S.D.A., Salty Miss Jill.

The Jade Monkey Rides Again!

I've dusted off my travel blog in preparation for going to Korea. You can follow my exploits there: Adventures of the Jade Monkey. This blog also includes my adventures teaching in China in 2004. Keep checking back there for updates in June!

Sorting

It's summer, which mean there are so many projects to get to, not the least of which is I'M GOING TO KOREA IN A MONTH. I've decided for the time being to go for the "low hanging fruit."

1. Novel - The publisher is going to publish it. All I have to do is write it. And I am. Every day a couple more scenes.

2. Screenplay - My "paranormal rom-com" is in progress. I have a new writing group (we'll see how this one goes) and I'm hoping to get some solid potato salad critique from those homies.

3. My film - the doco on life as an expat EFL teacher in Korea is coming with me to Korea and I will be finishing it (editing) with the help of Chang, my production/doco colleague who is full of Awesomesauce.

So there you have it and there it is: Summer 2010.

In between all that is planning my curriculum for Korea, "reducing" as my Filipino mother-in-law would say (that means exercising and getting fit, losing some inches along the way), and working the penalty box for derby games.

Speaking of "reducing," can I just say that my knee really needs to just get its act together so I can do martial arts and roller skate again. I'm tired of babying it. I want to join Planet Fitness so I can get on that machine that pumps your quads. Since I'm sorta on a budget for the summer, I'll just do T'ai Chi in the park and bear all the Chinese people in my apartment complex laughing at me. WHAT?

Time to hit my day. PMP is in town for a visit, I'm getting my car back at some point, and I have to do some hauswerk. And of course, spend the morning writing.

Korean food makes me glisten

Tonight Bizarro and I went to a Korean BBQ restaurant in "college town." My Korean film maker/professor friend cooks there as a favor to his friend the owner. Tonight we had spicy pork and chicken with the MOST delicious side dishes (cucumber kimchi, regular kimchi, fish cakes), and freebies (mandu for appetizer, rice drink and some kind of tiny icecream balls for dessert). Wow. That was a lot of food. But more than that, it was a taste of my upcoming month in Korea. Real Korean food, and cute little sweet things for dessert. Cuz in Korea, it's not good unless it's cute.

-^^- kk

I cannot frickin' WAIT to get to Korea. The saunas, the kimchi, the noraebang, the soju, the random pick-up badminton in the streets. One month from now I'll be in NYC, heading to the airport for my long-ass flight on a big-ass plane.

Speaking of big asses and saunas, I have to start exercising every day so I can feel slender and sleek in the all-nekkid bath house.

Nekkid.

aaaand we're back

Semester nearly wrecked me. Just have grades to turn in and one more frakking "retreat" to attend, then it will be over. I've already begun working on summer projects, including prep for teaching at Hanyang University in Korea. Oh yeah, I spent hours last night and this morning searching for my passport, which I found in the same box I'd looked in four times, at least. I finally had the bright idea of lifting the see-through plastic box and looking through the bottom, and there it was, buried in all the crap I'd thrown in over the last 3 years.

And now this:


see more Political Pictures

I'm feeling a bit out of sorts today. I don't know if it's actual cold or simply exhaustion. Yesterday threw me for a loop. I was supposed to go to a retreat for work that was supposed to end at 1:00. My coworkers decided it should go until "whenever" but neglected to tell me this, so at 1:00 I was pumped to jump in my car and head back to civilization. We'd had our meeting at someone's lovely country house but godDAMN people, how do you live in the middle of BFE? I don't understand how you even get out of your f'ing driveway in winter! Anyway, imagine my embarrassed fury when I was informed that the others were heading back to campus to "finish" our retreat. WTF? No one bothered to apologize, but someone did have the presence of mind to admit "This is the worst-planned retreat, ever." Yeah. Something like that. All that is to say that what I'd planned for the rest of the day was thrown out the window, and I arrived home after 4:00 feeling like a piece of over-cooked spaghetti. I have a feeling that that, coupled with the extensive rip-apart-my-apartment search for the passport, has left me feeling less-than today.

Which is really inconvenient since tomorrow I am going to be time-keeping in the penalty box for the local roller derby league's bout. It's my debut, and I'm pissed that I am not feeling well. I can only hope and pray that all the remedies I've shoved down my pie-hole all day and a good night's sleep will mend me for tomorrow.

Will let you all know how it goes.

Making waves

A bamboo forest reminds me in many ways of water. There's a flow to the strong yet flexible stalks, and a sound very much like waves on the shore. The new header on this blog is a shot of a bamboo cluster I took on a mountain top at a Korean Buddhist temple. I thought it an appropriate image to use for a couple of reasons: first, I'm going back to Korea this summer, and second, life in bloom is a welcome sight next to all the snow and gray ouside my window.

Korean Puppy Threat

Writing Retreat - Epilogue

Remember when cop shows in the 70s had "epilogues," and they'd actually say it across the screen: "Epilogue." Are you old enough to remember cop shows in the 70s?

So I'm home now, in the freezing tundra that is our apartment. When it's -4trillion degrees outside, it really doesn't matter how high you crank up the antiquated "radiant heaters." It's gonna be cold no matter what. The last couple nights Bizarro and I have been sleeping on the futon in our living room because the bedroom might as well be out in the parking lot, it's so damned cold in there. It's been fun, though, like a sleep over.

So I finished the day working on the Korea doco. Still am struggling with the script but I'm getting closer - I can feel it. My goal is to be ready for rough cutting in March when I go back to the artist colony during spring break. Which is right after we go to Splash Lagoon!

This was a remarkably productive retreat. I was in a different studio than the last few times I went up there. This one is actually called a "writer's studio" rather than the painter's studio I had before. It's warmer, for one thing, and is right next to the full kitchen. And there's carpeting. The writing desk faces the sun all day - so lovely and warm!

Know what I wish I had right now? Ondol flooring like they have in Korea. Heating THROUGH the floor. What a simple, amazing, brilliant concept. Instead we Americans slap wall-to-wall carpeting on top of concrete can call it done. Sheesh.

I am SO READY to find out who the Final Cylon is tonight! And what the frak is up with "Earth?" and when will Apollo and Starbuck just DO IT for gods' sake!

"Ghosthunting for Frat Boys" (aka Ghost Adventures) is on now. Fools. "Paranormal State" starts back up on Monday. Looks like it's another demon episode. Those folks better be careful what they're messing with.

That's all my ranting for now. Time to go curl up in a swaddle of blankets and my corn warmer.

WATCH THIS

If you don't think you'll ever get to Korea, just watch this. If you HAVE been to Korea, this video will make you laugh and cry:

Some new sites to dig...

WannaSurf includes a surf atlas, member profiles, forums (fora?), ratings, surf spots & sessions, etc. Fun graphics with UFOs!

TaraPopp's blargh on Korean media, part of a larger blog on Asian media. Lots of manga, gaming, geekery and fun stuff to peruse.

P.S. I think I'll eventually have to do something about the morass that is Places & Faces.

Thanks to Gavin Elster over at Sequoia Sempervirens for this nugget of Korean TV goodness:



Believe it or not, that ad makes me miss Korea!

Happy Fourth (or, SUCK IT YANKEES!)

Two weeks down, four to go. So far I am well-pleased. My boss is great about recognizing the teachers' abilities and responsibility to tailor the workload to our students. This year we have a lot of 16-year olds (just out of sophomore year of HS) who are really struggling with all the academic vocab that is being thrown at them. I have mostly 16-year olds, as do a couple of the other teachers, so I have had to amend parts of the schedule. It's nice to know my professional judgment and expertise are appreciated and trusted.

Also nice to know - I have a teaching gig for the fall semester! The screenwriting program at the Other School on the Hill needs me, and I have heeded the call. I'll be teaching advanced screenwriting, as opposed to the intro class I've taught for them before. This will be fun - all or most of the students are screenwriting concentrations, and they will work on one project all semester. I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to getting myself back in the fold.

I've been trying to work on the script for the Korea doco. It's hard. Hm... I'm starting to lose focus and wonder what it is I'm trying to say... I re-read some of my journal entries from that year and it's uncomfortable to remember some of the shit I went through, personally and professionally. I actually endured a lot of hard times, and if I've realized anything, it's that my memory sure has romanticized a lot of that year. I remember all the good stuff, not the shitty stuff. I suppose that's a good thing - but at the same time, will my film be honest without the dark stuff?

Tomorrow we're both getting massages, then I have to get some work done for school. Going to MZ's on Sunday.

And can I just say that I don't know how to feel about the new X-Files movie. Bizarro says with copious levels of scorn, "In this day and age, who gives a shit?" But there's a part of me that wants to see it... I suppose that's what they're counting on. Sentimental schmucks like me who can't get enough UFO-conspiracy theory and will they/won't they?

Oh, and for the record, Coco Crisp DID catch that ball in the 9th inning and Jeter should have been out. Red Sox should have won 6-3, not 6-4.

Logging and Slogging

I finally created the space in my head and on my desk for logging the footage from Korea. The good news is that the B-roll is fantastic; bad news is half the interviews appear to be unusable for technical difficulties. But that still leaves 5 great interviews that are very usable. I'm hoping some of the technical stuff might be fixed up a bit in post. We'll see.

I am thrilled with most of the footage, though, and I am ramped up to see this thing through despite all the delays and mom's situation weighing in.

A small victory - had the A/C recharged in my car this morning. Woo hoo! No more driving around saying "how 'bout this heat?" (Name that reference! Bizarro, you can't play, it wouldn't be fair.)

Sun in my eyes

...is preferable to rain clouds and cold damp.

Thankfully, this weekend has been beautiful, and I am enjoying my respite at home. Yesterday I performed "nesting" activities such as: putting new wheel covers on my car, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and clearing off the patio. Also did general clean up, finished my latest Space: 1999 read (review coming soon), watched a really awful movie on Sci Fi Channel (Russel Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy starring Jason Scott Lee, Christopher Lee, and a bunch of other people who should've known better than to be in this craptastic movie), and grilled out burgers on the hibachi. Also went to the Farmers Market and bought a cool hand-made silver hair barette, then went to Staples and printed off the latest draft of my own 1999 novella. Also talked to my nephew and made our plans to hang out for the coming week (yay!).

Today I will put away the clean laundry, pack my stuff and the car for my trip tomorrow, and run through my afore-mentioned novella with a fine-toothed comb.

Today happens to be graduation for the big school on the hill, which means I'm not going anywhere near downtown or campus. If anything, we might pop over to the Borders cafe later for a browse and a hot beverage, but that's it.

I am looking forward to my visit to Massachussetts, of course. I'm trying to decide which writing projects to bring with me. This morning it hit me that I should bring my notes for the Korea film to start penning a proper script (which will be very helpful before I'm logging footage and editing when I get back). Plus it will help me feel less guilty about taking a week off when I have a film to make. I may give the 1999 story a rest (which is good to do going into a final draft, IMO), and work on the first draft of "Beauty Is..." (the young adult mystery set in the '50s). That's been calling to me for a couple weeks, so I think it's time.

And now it's time to make breakfast, which on Sunday morning comprises pancakes, eggs and sausage (for Bizarro).

Colbert-via-KPop

"waiting is the hardest part"

I'm circling over the Airport of Life in a holding pattern, waiting for clearance to land.

What am I waiting for, you ask? What, indeed.

1. I am waiting to hear from the selection committee of a conference held in Korea every year, to find out if my proposal to present in October has been accepted. If it is, I will screen clips from my work in progress documentary about EFL teachers in Korea. The wait is particularly annoying because I have to apply for a grant to help with the airfare, and the deadline for that is the end of this month. I need a confirmation of the invitation to apply for the grant, and since it would have to come from Korea, this puts a time crunch into effect.

2. I applied for a large screenwriting grant from a local-ish arts colony, and they were supposed to have their announcements ready be end of April (yes, it's May 1st). It's a large grant, too, which would make life easier for the rest of the year in that I could make writing and filmmaking my first priority instead of trying to find another teaching job for this fall.

Speaking of May 1st, happy Beltane/Labour Day/May Day/Lei Day (in Hawaii, natch)!

Spring Look

I've changed things up a bit. It's spring (even though Ogreville is now experiencing "normal" temps in the 50s which seem frigid compared to the 80+ degrees we had a week ago). And because it's spring, I thought some earth tones with a bit of blue sky were appropriate. Also, check out my new avatar. Appropriate, don't you think?

To the left is a gorgeous shot of cherry blossoms, the symbol of spring in Korea and Japan.