Blurbs From Eunee's Mind (and Life)

I didn't know it would be this complicated, but I guess I should have known - considering I'm doing a cross-country move. I'm moving from Los Angeles, California to Stony Brook, New York. Why? Yeah, I've been asked that many many times, even after I tell them my reason. I'm going back to school. Why? Why indeed. That's a whole 'nuther post. :) So, I've been browsing websites like crazy lately it seems - Craig's List primarily, and some others - to look for housing. I've chosen to live off-campus for several reasons - one of them being a strong desire to live on my own, sans roommates. On-campus housing doesn't offer that option for me as a graduate student, unfortunately. I've finally decided that I can't just do the internet thing; I have to go and visit, check out the apartments, settle on one, and then come back to ship my stuff. But even that visit to NY seems to bring with it complications. Ah well....all details to sort out. Fun...

I don't know how busy travelers do it. I know it's a bit crazy but it turned out that I had an almost back to back trip. I had made plans to go to Washington, DC last Thursday through Monday even before my decision to go to Korea. So, I returned on the 11th and then was in the air again on the 17th. I thought it would be alright and for the most part I was. But sleep still eludes me at the right time and finds me at the wrong time. I guess there really isn't a "wrong time" to sleep when I work from home, but it doesn't help when I find myself wide awake at 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. but sleepy at noon and 5 p.m. Melatonin? Well, it helps to a certain degree....once ingested. But I have not been taking it these past few days....Perhaps I should try it again. But anyway, my trip to DC was so much fun! I met up with old friends and enjoyed the entire weekend. It reminded me that sometimes old friends are those comfortable friends that have known you forever - the good an...

I'm home again - in Los Angeles. It is good to be back home, in my own bed, in my own house. It's also good to have access to my own car and all the things one leaves behind when traveling. But I do miss my family, immediate and extended, who live in Korea. I also miss the food and the shopping. I don't miss the crowds, and I sure am glad to have my personal space back. My body hasn't adjusted to the Pacific Standard Time Zone yet and so here I am, wide awake at 1:40 in the morning. I was sleepy at about 8:00 p.m. but sleepiness has since left me. Maybe I should find some melatonin..... I don't want to be jet-lagged for too long.

Minus about 3 hours on the subway, I spent an afternoon in the city of Seoul walking around the Deoksoo Palace, Myeong Dong, and Namdaemun Market. Even though I'm Korean, being in Korea is always an interesting experience for me as I have never lived here before. My longest stay was about a month and a half - and that was when I was 9. The sights, the sounds, the smells - all so fascinating. The food and the shopping are always my favorite as there are so much one can't get in Koreatown, Los Angeles. :) I took dozens of pictures at the old Korean palace - too many to put up here. If you want to see more, go to my Google album .

What horrifying news I watched unfold beginning yesterday. A gunman on a university campus shoots and kills 32, and then kills himself.... And then today we discover his identity...the one who decided to end 32 promising lives...... And to my shock, he is Korean.... It is always terrible to hear of these things, but it seems to shock us more somehow when it turns out to be someone of the same ethnic background as oneself - and being Korean myself, you can imagine how shocked I am. I don't know any of those killed, but my heart goes out to their families and friends. I pray for their comfort and their peace in the midst of this chaos and hurt....

Yes, I can say that it is a happy ending. What a difference a day can make! Yesterday I was incredibly sad at the prospect of not seeing my cute dog ever again. My blog posting yesterday might have provided enough evidence of my sadness. But today I am elated because we have found him and he is at home with us again! Where was he found? Someone finally called us to say they had our dog. He was in someone's yard in our neighborhood - maybe about 8 or 9 blocks away. I wasn't there to receive the call but someone else in my family was. When they went to pick up Snoopy and inquire as to where he was when they found him, they were simply told that he was sitting outside their fence and so they brought him inside. My sister-in-law told me she was inclined to think that they wanted to keep him but may have either listened to their conscience or seen the flyer that I had posted at the grocery store less than a block away from the house where Snoopy was found. Either way, I am just than...

This is my dog Snoopy. I should say, "our" dog, but often I feel like he's mine really. Bathing duties fell to me, usually, and since my parents moved out, I usually fed him. But above all, he was the first one to greet me when I came home and the last one who would look at me with that "You're going out?" look when I would leave the house. But why is most of this in the past tense? My beloved dog has been missing for 3 days now. He ran out of our yard while a visitor pulled into our driveway and the family members who were outside did not keep an eye on him or close the gate behind the car that had pulled in. So, although he's about 8 and a half, almost 9 years old, I'm told he took off down the street quite quickly. I suppose he's not ready to be a senior dog as of yet. It has been a sad weekend for us, walking the neighborhood and driving around, and then today we started posting flyers. The hardest moments for me are when I come home and nigh...