(34) 2014 is the Year of Upgrades

I once heard that it's better to make a year of changes and improvements based on a yearly theme rather than set New Year's Resolutions that may or may not be doable. I've recently taken that advice to heart and have decided to make 2014, my 27th/28th year of birth and my third year in Korea a year of upgrades.

What this means is taking a look at my life, my goals and my current life situation and deciding to improve or upgrade the things in my life that will allow me to accomplish my short and long term goals. I am making this the year of upgrades with a strong desire to see all of my goals succeed but also keep in mind that they may lead to some spectacular failures, many of these things I am indeed thinking of or pursuing for the first time. 

That's the beauty of a "Year Of..." theme, it allows you to continually make changes and improvements without the limitation and disappointment of failing to meet resolutions. Every little victory leads to a better state of living, every little goal adds up to becoming a better person.

So, here is my list of things that need upgrades in my life. 

2014: The Year of Upgrades

1. My first goal is to improve the current employment situation I have in Korea. With my school ending my contract, I've spent time looking for different location and a different school to work at. As of now, if all goes according to plan, I could possibly have a better paying, better located job as soon as March this year.

2. In order to have an easier time getting jobs and participating in opportunities, I will also begin the process of obtaining an F4 Visa, which would allow me more freedoms (closer to a Korean citizen) than my current visa allows. Since I was technically born in Korea, it would be a shame to waste this unique opportunity and allow myself the closest thing to dual citizenship I most likely will be able to get

3. I need to improve my Korean language ability. I've been here long enough to have a basic understanding of the language and if I wish to live in a larger city and participate in more opportunities, a better grasp of the language is necessary. I am currently looking through language classes and deciding which one will be the best.

4. I need to have a solid workout routine again. I know myself and how difficult it is to motivate myself to workout, but I feel it is long overdue that I begin again. Despite lacking motivation, I need to be fit again. I want to feel like I did at my peak. 

5. If I do get a job in Seoul, this means having access to a larger expat scene and larger night scene where interesting stories and places lurk. I want to take advantage of this and enjoy these sights and places. As petty as it sounds, I want to experience some of those crazy "what happens in Seoul stays in Seoul" moments before I'm too old and crotchety to enjoy them any longer. 

6. I need to learn to relax this year. I often found myself stressing out over things beyond my control and often letting my negative emotions get the best of me and those around me. I need to learn/study/practice the art of taking it as it comes and letting things roll of your shoulder. I need to be less Donny and more like The Dude*  I need to realize what makes me tick and be more honest with myself and others when it comes to my limits. 

7. I need to get involved in more travel adventures. It can be somewhere in Korea, somewhere overseas or somewhere next door. I need to see more travel opportunities and be willing to leave my bubble in order to experience some adventures. By the time 2014 ends, I want to have gotten out of my comfort zone and have some travel stories to share.

8. I need to be involved with the writing scene and need to submit more articles and ideas. I'll be in the primary location of many foreign publications with much easier access to events. I need to get out of my writing slump and find more stories, get off my ass, knock on doors and write. I need to learn more about publishing and writing. I need to constantly be learning more about the ever changing field of journalism and its relation to media. I need to stay up to date with my peers and take advantage of that knowledge. 

9. If there are only two books I attempt to read this year (although I hope to read many), I want to attempt reading two books I have long put off: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and a comprehensive look at Korean history that's not "Korea's Place in the Sun". Reading more in general is always a good thing and I can easily think of several other books I want to read, but as of now, these two are the mains.

10. Finally, I want to gain more knowledge and appreciation with my hobbies and the things I enjoy. This means finding new music to enjoy, watching new films and hidden gems I might have missed and going through my massive backlog of games and classics from yesterday that I have yet to play. Having a rich, fulfilling and enriched enjoyment and understanding of your favorite pastimes is a reward in itself.

That's it. This year is a year of upgrades and changes I can honestly say I haven't been this excited by the future in a long time. Whether this ends up as a year for the history books or a year of crash and burn, I'm going at it full speed and seeing where it takes me. 

2014. This is MY year. 

*The Dude

How "busy" is busy?

How busy is busy? Is there a test for measuring how busy we actually are? It’s a phrase we toss around all the time, use interchangeably in our daily lives whenever something from our personal agenda happens to come up into conversation, or as a statement to let others know that we don’t have time for your wants and needs, I’m busy damnit.

It’s a phrase I notice I toss around quite often, even more so since becoming both a teacher and journalist in Korea. While this may sound like I’m about to unveil a shocking truth about me never actually being busy, it’s not. When I say I am busy, I really do mean it. I have a fairly full schedule that I manage to complete fairly effectively every week, while at the same time maintaining a healthy social life. The question is not if I am busy or not, but rather just how busy I am.

I’m more than willing to admit that I am fully capable of wasting copious amounts of time if need be. On days where I deskwarm* close to 80% of the time is spent browsing the internet, searching desperately for a digital tidbit to starve off my boredom for a few minutes more. The remaining 20% is usually spent writing, reading, or preparing lesson plans. Before you say how this looks bad on my part for taking such a short amount of time planning lessons, rest assured that most of my lessons are planned in advance at home (hence the busy part). I know I waste time at school when I’m not teaching, so the “how busy am I?” question is all but moot here. I want to know how busy I am when I actually say and acknowledge I am busy.

A typical busy night will have me going home at around 5 PM. I usually end up going to bed around 1 AM or earlier depending on the events that the following day will hold or how fatigued I am feeling. What happens between those times?

5:30 PM: Sit and read the news, watch YouTube clips, read comics, sit and stare ahead processing the events of the day.

6:00 PM: Start thinking about what I have to do tonight. Do I have to clean house? Meet someone? Make dinner? Write an article? Plan a lesson? All of the above?  Wow, I guess I better get started…  after I finish watching this video.

6:15 PM: Ok, now it’s really time to get ready. I should get started…. This video is part of playlist? Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if I went through all of them. It’s only about 12 minutes after all.

6:25 PM: Almost done…

6:27 PM: Finished, wow that was fun. It’s not even seven yet, I’m doing pretty well.

6:28 PM: Holy crap, it’s almost seven. I have to meet someone at eight.

6:30 PM: At this point, I’m frantically scrambling to get ready and change into new clothes, a necessity since the summers in Korea are so hot and humid that your clothes by the end of the day have soaked up more sodium and fluid than the Dead Sea.  How well do I know the person I am meeting? Am I friends? Are they judgmental?  Do they care how I dress? They don’t? Jeans and a crappy t shirt it is.

6:40 PM: Well I said I would meet them at seven and technically, I can make it if I walk, but since its hot as balls out, I’ll just end up looking like I slaved away in the salt mines so, taxi it is.

6:45 PM: I sure wish I had some cash in my wallet. This check card is super nifty with me never having to carry cash, but finding a cab driver that accepts a card in my town is like finding money on the street. Probable it will happen, but don’t count on it to pay the bills for you. That being said, time to stop at the bank.

6:50 PM: Well only ten minutes left until I have to meet up, thank God taxis are pretty fast around here. If one ever shows up… I swear I just saw an entire fleet of them a few seconds ago…

7:05 PM: I finally found a cab and am now on my way to the station. Sure I’ll be a little late but hey, it took a long time to find a cab, fate’s conspiring against me today. It’s not like leaving a little earlier would have made any difference right? Right?

7:10 PM: I finally show up at our meeting spot and apologize profusely for being late. It will never happen again you tell your guest, as long as I have no Youtube videos to watch**

8:13 PM: Wow, it sure was fun meeting up. I had a great time, we should do this more often. If you’ll excuse me though, I have to return home, I’m very busy you see (LOL).

8:15 PM: Since I have time to spare I’ll just walk home. I’m not in a rush (even though I’m busy) and who wants to spend 2,500 won anyway?

8:32 PM: Finally made it back. That was a nice walk, time to start writing and lesson planning.

8:33 PM: I sure am hungry though. I should probably eat first. I’m so tired though, I don’t really feel like cooking today.

8:35 PM: Why hello kimbap take out place only a few minutes from my apartment. Guess what I’ll be eating tonight?

8:45 PM: Glad I grabbed take out instead of taking time to cook, now time to eat this meal and get to work.

8:47 PM: I don’t really want to eat in silence though. I should have something to keep me entertained while I eat. Time to go to Youtube… again.

9:10 PM: Well that was pretty good, not great but considering I saved time cooking, it was worth it. I was finished eating about five minutes ago but, those videos are so…damn… addicting.

9: 34 PM: Ok, for real, all done now. I watched every single video this user has posted along with his favorites. I’ve watched so many videos about him I’m pretty sure I am now qualified to give a psychological evaluation about his life.  Maybe I will… but that’s for another day. Remember, I’m busy.

9:40 PM: Let’s start lesson planning. This should be easy. I know exactly what I have to teach my students and how I will do it..

9:47 PM: Hmmm, this lesson is a lot shorter than I expected. I should add some more.

9:55 PM: Holy crap, this is too long, this can last three classes. What was I thinking?

10:05 PM: This looks good, it’s a nice balance. I just hope it’s not too difficult but I guess I’ll test that as I go along. This is the first time I’m giving this lesson. Prototype baby!

10:15 PM: Now it’s time to finish my last task (not really) and write that article. I’ve taken so many notes I’m sure it’s a matter of just writing itself at this point.

10: 20 PM: I don’t like the way this sounds. I’m going to re-write.

10:30 PM: Still don’t like it.

10:40 PM: Still don’t like it.

10:50 PM: I like it a little better. It’s slightly above literature prose homicide and now just a steaming pile of vile words and awkward sentences. I’m getting somewhere.

11:00 PM: I still hate it. I give up. I’ll finish it tomorrow.

11: 10 PM: What’s that awful smell?

11:11 PM: (Make a wish!) Oh wow, that’s me. Looks like its shower time.

11:24 PM: I feel so much better. Refreshed, clean and ready to make it all for nothing tomorrow morning when I sweat my ass off on the way to school!

11:27 PM: It’s time for bed. I’m tired and tomorrow is another busy day. I feel good though, I finished everything I wished to accomplish. I’m pretty good at this. 

11:28 PM: I forgot to clean today. Damnit.

It looks like a busy schedule, in some ways it is. I notice though that in between the actual busy parts I tend to waste a lot of time doing meaningless stuff.  I have to wonder though, is this normal? Are we as humans programmed to always waste time in between? Is there anyone out there that has a 100% efficient work ethic?

I am busy. I do accomplish my work but I can’t help but feel the amount of time I waste, could be used for so much more. It something that I’ve struggled with and something that 

I hope to figure out. My goal is to have a perfect work ethic one day. It’s a goal that I will shoot for… tomorrow.

The desk of a busy man or a messy man? You decide.

*deskwarming is when teachers go to school and do not have any classes to teach so they spend the days sitting at their desk hence the term ‘deskwarming’

**As  long as the internet exists, this will never happen.

Chapter 7: The Problem Process

When a problem or conflict erupts in Korea, the process to resolving the situation is done in a much more structured way than I am used to. We are taught in America to go through a chain of command, to take our complaints to the appropriate party and allow them to contact their appropriate party until the problem reaches the right channels. This practice is taken to new levels in Korea and it is a method that at first tried my patience.

I never realized how impatient I can be about certain issues until having to take an extended amount of time dealing with them. One of the most eye opening lessons here so far is that while problems are unavoidable, the process to fix them takes time. Sometimes days and in the case of large problems, weeks.

While this was a major thorn in my side at first, the time it took to deal with the issues actually helped me to appreciate the situation from a new perspective. It gave me time to think about how I looked at my problems and how I looked at the process I used to deal with different issues.

Being patient and going slow was more beneficial than I initially thought. By the time the issue had come to resolve itself, the outcome was well thought of and was something all parties could have agreed on in the end.

One of the biggest changes in Korea is being patient during times of need and times of stress. Getting mad over many issues in Korea seems like a logical and natural choice in times of stress, but when looked at from another view I came to this conclusion.

I am a visitor in their country. Whatever preconceived or familiar notions I had in the way tasks were completed would have to take a backseat to the way tasks were actually completed. This is Korea. This was their country. I am a visitor and in many ways, a guest being entrusted with the education of their children and their future. I need to think differently. I need to play by new rules.

Some people learn Korean while spending their year in Korea. Some experience new foods, travel to new places or meet new people. We fall in love and we fall out of love with places, people and things. We leave with a slew of photographs and memories of a year in a new country.

The people will not be here forever. The pictures can become lost overtime. Even our memories can become distorted and clouded as the years go on. The lessons learned here, the ones that change your perspective and change your views on living your life will always remain. They become a part of you, ingrained in your being. These are matter the most, and will follow you everywhere.

I am lucky to take these lessons and add to them everyday. I live in a country and with a job that requires one to learn from their mistakes and realize the importance of becoming a wiser person.

Even during times of stress and worry. When I am angry and not willing to do a task due to exhaustion or apathy, I stop and think about why I am here, how lucky I am to be in such a giving and dynamic country and wanting to not waste a moment on negativity.

In the end, you tend to remember good times and the lessons that came with them. The bad times tend to fade much easier and become much harder to remember.

So I don’t waste my time on them, I go and live. Learning something new everyday, becoming a little wiser and a little more like the person I aspire to become.

Chapter 6: In the City

The weekend trip to Seoul was a trip that I had long thought of during the week. While sitting at my desk watching the clock slowly tick away as I planned my lessons for the week or when I stood in the classroom lecturing classes of students who most likely had a stronger desire to be anywhere but the classroom more than me. It was an event that was weeks in the making. It would be the first time I would be meeting with the people I met during orientation in quite a while. We were going to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style. We were going to laugh, travel and drink together in the largest city in Korea. Seoul could do nothing to hold us back. Good times were ahead.

Friday finally came and together my Friday traveling ritual of leaving the school as soon as the bell rang, finding a taxi and getting to my town’s train station as fast as possible began. 15 minutes later I was on a train out of my little town and on my way to bigger city of Daegu.

The plan was to meet in Daegu a large city that had trains that went all the way to Seoul. We would end up traveling a little longer than taking the speedy KTX but would end up spending less money in the end. I didn’t mind along as I was in good company, the train ride would most likely pass quickly.

We passed the time by talking about our teaching experiences, sleeping, staring out the window and walking around the dining car to stretch our legs. The dining car was where I found myself spending most of the time during the trip. Plenty of room to walk around and even a bar to sit down and have a beer. It was a places that was strangely peaceful and relaxing, more so than the cramped passenger seats. I sat down at the bar stool and stared out the window watching the city lights and other trains pass us by. As another train passed next to us and I caught a glimpse of the other passengers going about their business. A felt a smile creep across my face. Seeing so many random people, zipping along on a speeding train towards Seoul reminded me just how big Korea really was, and at any moment, the sheer number of people going thousands of directions doing thousands of things.

I felt comfort by this. For I knew that whenever I reached this point, this realization in a new places that I had truly become comfortable with my new surroundings. It’s the realization, the moment of clarity in which you understand how big the world is, how you are just a speck on its otherwise grand scale that you know how your experiences and expectations mean little if anything to the world. Your life, your experiences and how you experience them are all your own expectations. Like the poem Invictus said: “I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.”

Our trip was about to come to an end. Soon we would be in Seoul and resting for the night, ready to face the day tomorrow.

I was incredibly lucky to have this opportunity to see a new part of the world and to see it with great people.  My life and experiences may mean nothing to others, but to me, they meant the world. They were opportunities that I did not want to go to waste. They were mine.

So I wasted no time. I traveled and I explored.