Blurbs From Eunee's Mind (and Life)

The end of a year, and the beginning of another - the end of opportunities past and the beginning of new ones. What do you do at the end of every year and as the new year starts? Reflect on what kind of year it's been and then make resolutions for the new one? As for me, yes I reflect on what kind of year it's been and what I've learned. I also pick an area that I want to try and improve in the coming one - but yeah, just like resolutions, it's hard to improve dedicatedly throughout the year. But I've learned that while some years are tough and others are just jam-packed with events, the most important part for me is whether or not I have grown. And as I look forward to the new year, rather than drawing up a list of resolutions, I look forward to new things with hope. So as I look back on 2006, I see where I've grown and where I've faltered. While personally there are many things on which I could reflect, I also think about what's going on in the world a

This past weekend I went to see the movie "Blood Diamond". I recommend that everyone see it. Beyond the entertainment factor is the awareness factor that this movie contains. Whilst I already knew some of the atrocities associated with diamonds, particularly those diamonds from Africa, this movie raised that awareness from somewhere in the subconscious to the conscious level. The First World's desire for these precious stones has fueled the Third World's wars and conflicts over the mining of these stones. Countries have gone through conflict and suffered terrible losses - their villages, cities, families, children - all affected by conflict arising over the opportunity to mine these stones and sell them to others. Though measures have been taken to decrease these situations, it is still something we ought to be aware of. In actuality this large scale conflict brings a conflict of sorts close to home for me. Personally, being single and watching people around me get ma

Thanksgiving season came and went. What did you find yourself thankful for? The little things? The big things? Many things? Few things? Material things? Priceless things? So much to be thankful for, and so much we take for granted throughout the year. But at the center of it, I realize as the year draws to an end, that underneath it all - the primary thing I am thankful for - is hope. And thus, for me, Thanksgiving marked the renewal of hope. I am thankful that I can hope - hope for the continued health of my family and friends, hope for a different career, hope for peace in more places tomorrow than there are today, hope that an empowered individual can in turn empower others, hope that happily ever after indeed exists. And as Christmas approaches, my hope continues to be renewed. Hope that amidst darkness there is light - light in the form of Christ who is the true reason for the Christmas season.

I just saw "March of the Penguins". In a utterly desolate and freezing landscape, the emperor penguins survive and live. Amazing! I mean, you would think that there was no way any life form could survive in such a cold climate, particularly when the winters of Antarctica come. Can you imagine winter in such a cold place???? The winds, the air, the blizzards - they're all so ferocious and harsh. Eggs freeze in an instant and crack open when exposed; people have to bundle up in 6 layers of clothing and still manage to get frostbite when out there too long. Yet it is an incredible testimony to see the emperor penguins' life in such a place - feeding, mating, watching over their eggs, watching over their young ones, until the young finally return to the sea to begin their own such rituals at a later time. Amazing. Just utterly amazing.

Do you remember how to skip? And when was the last time you went skipping down the street? Skipping down our driveway this morning, I just realized that as an adult it might be a silly thing to do, but it instantly returned me to feeling like a 4 year old little girl who had just discovered how to skip. It was an immediate return to childhood and immediately brought a smile to my face. I must admit that there have been days when I've been out in public and had to fight the urge to skip across the street. What is it about adults that place the actual task of skipping into the dark recesses of our mind, never to be brought out into the open again? Perhaps it doesn't serve a function for us anymore. Walking, running, tiptoeing, jumping all are skills we still continue to use; what is it about skipping that gets excluded from the motorical activities of an adult? I don't know about you but I want to skip more often than once or twice a year; and when I have kids, you can be sur

Today is a Day for Darfur. Around the world, thousands have been gathering to call for international action to stop the violence in Darfur. Gatherings include vigils, prayer meetings, and rallies - such as one in New York City today. The international community's response was slow, if not practically non-existent, to the genocide in Rwanda. It cannot happen again. I sincerely hope today that the response, slow as it is, will not be the same as it was in 1994. We are faced with the same situation, but I hope that the outcome will be a different one. Join in the vigil, raise your awareness, and the awareness of those around you. Be a voice for Darfur today.

In the arena of human rights, Africa should be center stage. Not to minimize any of the other human rights situations going on at the moment, but do we as a collective society here in America really know what's going on in Africa? Our news is filled with politics, with Iraq, with Iran, with Afghanistan, and granted that those are important to us, what of the continent of Africa? Darfur.... I never knew where Darfur was until less than a year ago. And the conflict and genocide? It has been going on since February of 2003. I ask my friends, my colleagues, my peers, and most of them have no idea where Darfur is or that there is a conflict there, let alone an escalating genocide. I don't blame them. It's not like I was that aware of it, even though I have close ties to Africa - being born there and raised there for 11 years before moving. To learn more about Darfur, click here . Apparently there are thousands of people who are aware of these events and have put together a coali

Anniversaries.... I don't know if that's the right word for the two events because usually those are filled with joyous celebration. Or perhaps it is the right word, in the sense that you can look back at all the hard times and see how they built you to bring you this far. So I take that back. I'll have to ponder that a bit more. In any event, one anniversary just passed - one year after Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it caused; and one anniversary comes upon us - five years after the horrific event in NYC. Events that we could not and would not ever forget. Each event is covered in politically-stained shrouds, but to me, the heart of the issue is humanity, or more specifically, lives lost and strength gained. Those who weren't able to make it out, and those who didn't come out because they went back in to rescue others...and those who live each day in determination, with strength, to remember this event, to carry the memory of brave souls in their hearts, an

  One of my favorite places and favorite memories of Lebanon - from last summer. 

I once read this article that Anderson Cooper wrote about how parents still hold power over us no matter how old we get. I really enjoyed it because he so adeptly captured it all. I laughed and nodded while reading this. And then I wondered how he could do that? I mean, he comes from a wealthy family, wealthy and Caucasian. (If you don't know about Anderson Cooper, do a Google search on him. He has a show on CNN.) Yet surprisingly, we could relate to what he was saying - we meaning my 2nd generation Korean-American friends and myself with working class parents. And here I am, at age 30, still experiencing those parental controls that I thought I could throw off after my 20s. Apparently, that's just a myth. Sometimes it's just terrible - of me, really, not my parents. No matter how my parents try to let go of controls, I guess as long as I'm their daughter those controls will always be there, attached by invisible strings that get yanked once in a while. I, on the other

I wonder what it was like for Abraham to heed God's calling to leave everything he knew and go somewhere else - a foreign land and a foreign situation. Basically, he was going from the known to the unknown. He was settled, married, and probably comfortable where he was. But on a promise from God, he uprooted himself and his wife and left. He didn't know where, or why, but he went. All he had to go on was God's promise that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I'm sorry, but does that sound like logic to you? Say what? He was old, had no kids, and a vague message from God. But he went.... That's what I call faith - faith in God himself. Forget about common sense. Logic? Out the window. This is what faith looks like. This is what dreams are made of. This is the miracle that God brings about. You know, I can't help but think of Abraham because his situation seems like mine, only amplified several thousand times. And still, I'm not sure

It's the small things that make life richer and fun, such as: A friend's phone call just to see what you're doing. A cold drink at the end of a hot day at work. Ice cream on any day - hot or cold, especially if it's Rocky Road or anything coffee. Hearing a song on the radio that I really like. A cool breeze to break up the sweltering heat that's enveloping me. A day off from work. Having the freedom to sleep in. The fresh crunch of a cucumber. My dog's cute face staring at me. The smell of a cake baking in the oven. The smell of freshly mowed grass (granted the remnants don't get in my car vents). Laughing, at anything really - even if it's myself. Blowing bubbles. Watching my dog dig a hole in the ground even after we've told him many times not to. Listening for the "clink" "clink" of my dog's collar when I call him. Standing on a vantage point feeling the wind sweeping over my face and through my hair. People not knowing how

I'm watching the news and reading the internet news. It seems I can't get enough these days. But at the same time, it breaks my heart to watch it and I don't know why I'm so stuck to it. Every day I pray for my friend, and every day, I hope for some sort of cease-fire to ease the suffering of innocent people on both sides of the border. I worry about my friend, some days more than others. And now, 27 days into this crisis I see that supplies in Lebanon are dwindling. Surprised? No. It was inevitable. But again, my thoughts turn to those we know in Lebanon. I need to find out. I will try to find out tomorrow. Today I plan to donate to the ICRC. I feel like I need to do something more than just pray. I've asked members of my church if they're willing to donate with me. Hopefully we can make some sort of contribution altogether. Stop by the ICRC website at www.icrc.org and take a look; make a donation if you can.

I felt a need to post this in light of recent events.... This is a view of the old and new in Sidon, southern Lebanon, when I was there last summer. Standing on an old fort, accessed by a bridge across the water, looking at the city, I remember the quiet of that hot summer day. The skies were clear and so blue; the water was clear too, and just as blue. Today? I'm sure, unfortunately, it is a very different situation.... 

And more of the ocean blue at Eagle Beach in Aruba. "Dive in!" was always a call I heard when staring at this lovely water. 

Alto Vista Chapel in Aruba. Very cute and quite small. It is a chapel after all, not a church. Anyway, it took us what seemed like forever to find this chapel but we were so excited when we did. It's like looking for treasure, almost.... We started out in the city and drove around, returning to the city center at least once, almost twice (I say almost because we recognized which way we were going before we actually hit the city center).  

Dig your toes into this... :) Sand on the beaches of Aruba. 

I find myself at some unusual crossroads. Most of it is a similar experience to what I've encountered before - transitioning from one place to the next, from the end of one thing to the beginning of another, from the known to the unknown. Usually I've been transitioning from being a student to starting a job. But this time, things seem to be slightly different. I'm transitioning from a job to no job.... My mom worries, she told me, because I'm leaving a perfectly wonderful, well-paying job for no good reason at all. I mean, where else can you work 11 months out of the year, be paid pretty well, and find time to travel? Why do you want to give that up? My mom has often asked me these questions hoping that I might come to my senses and change my mind. I don't admit it to her but I understand her perfectly. I mean, it doesn't make sense - from the surface. I question myself sometimes because I am, truly, leaving my comfort zone. If you look at it, at age 30, why wo

Sunset sky in Aruba 

My trip to Aruba was a celebration of my 30th birthday! Yes, me... 30. I hardly look it. I got a few puzzled looks when people asked me what school I went to and I said that I have been out of school for a while. At the airport, a lady was taking statistical surveys and asking some questions. When it came to the age question, she asked me to point to an age group. I pointed to the "30 - 39" since I turned 30 a couple of weeks ago, and she had this look on her face, fleeting but there nonetheless, like I had chosen the wrong age bracket. But she had enough calm and poise not to question my choice. Anyway, our trip to Aruba was great! It was quite an adventure, with bumpy rides, mysterious roads, quiet towns, blue and beautiful beaches, windy and humid weather, laughs, tans, sunburns, and much much more! There will be several more posts to come with respect to our trip, be sure! :)

The blue waters of Aruba 

It is a terrible thing to watch this war unfold between Israel and the Hezbollah and to watch the innocent people caught in the crossfire. Casualties arise on both sides and I'm sure that both are equally as heartbreaking. My heart breaks, though, mostly for the beautiful country of Lebanon that I have fallen in love with. I was there last year and I cannot help but think about the people I have met and the places I have visited. I pray for the safety of those I met in Lebanon last year and their families. Pray....that's all I can do as I check my email day in and day out for news from my friend....or stare at my phone.....

World Cup Football (Soccer for the Americans) gets exciting by the minute! Are you watching? Of course the team I was rooting for - Korea - has been eliminated, after what was a frustrating and heart-breaking match against Switzerland, no thanks to the ref. Still, what great football is being played day in and day out. Now that my team is out, who I root for changes on a match-by-match basis. Today I had hoped Mexico would beat Argentina....alas, that was not the case. I really had no preference between Germany and Sweden, but Germany moves on. Tomorrow? Well, we'll see. I have no particular favorites. I'd like to see Australia go far mostly because of their head coach; I would expect Brazil to go far; Germany appears to be doing extremely well on their home soil; and then of course, way to go Ghana! I'll be watching as much as possible.

Okay, I have never really watched American Idol or been really interested in it unlike those who have to be home to watch it all go down. I mean, I know that Kelly Clarkson was the first American Idol; I know Ruben Studdard was another American Idol; I know that Clay Aiken was on American Idol. I've also heard about Fantasia (but I did not watch that time around) and I didn't watch it the other times - not devotedly at least, voting and all. I used to think to myself, "Big deal." Besides, I'm not much of a TV watcher to begin with. The only time I voted was when my friend said she wanted to vote but was too slow in picking up the phone; so I dialed for her. I used to think that Simon was a terrible person, Paula was .... well, Paula.... and Randy had some interesting comments. Ryan Seacrest? Well, all of a sudden his name is big in L.A. and somehow he was no longer doing the afternoon show on Star 98.7 fm but instead had moved to the morning show on KIIS FM inste

Today I watched the movie "Gandhi". Ben Kingsley was fantastic! But additionally, I was amazed by Gandhi. I am amazed that one man can possess so much faith in truth and love. But then I remember that it is not how much faith we ourselves have but in whom we have that faith. It makes me wonder where the source of my faith is: is it in the quantity of faith I have or the quality of faith? Do I rely on how much faith I have or in whom I have faith? And I wonder if I will really stand resolute in the face of oppression like he did. Another thing: it is sad to see how politics and the greed of men in power can divide and affect people at large. Countries are torn, people are separated, and times grow dark. Surprisingly, it is just one incident, just one tiny incident, that can inflame such massive atrocities. And it happens now: with one cartoon from a Danish paper, massive atrocities have been ignited in the Middle East. And who suffers? People.

Not that anyone really is interested in my point of view, but there are so many things I learn - working, traveling, and interacting with people. Additionally, I watch things, read things, and hear things, so the wheels of my mind turn and I start to analyze things, think about things, and realize certain things. Thus, this site contains basically things that my mind has churned over and produced. Good? Bad? Crazy? Idealistic? Out of this world? Interesting? I'm sure it will be all of the above and more. Bear with me please as I edit and re-do, fix, and make mistakes. Thanks!