oh yeah.

i have forgotten so many funny/strange things about this country that i used to love.
i like the part when the bus driver gets off the bus at a red light to smoke a cigarette in the middle of the street.

Facebook, you're messing me up

Every time i read things on the internet i want to "like" them and i don't understand why i can't.  i actually move the mouse looking for the "like" button. 

future news to come of the big move post holidays. for now, i am safe. and sound. and happy.

FACT

there is a movie coming out called "cowboys and aliens".   it is about COWBOYS AND ALIENS.  seriously. 

truck balls

i have a lot of things to say. which, if i know anything, means i should say less.

1. congrats to shiv who had a baby last night.  eliose harper. welcome. your mom and dad are so attractive, you're a sure thing.

2. no matter how different things are. they are almost always the same.

3. last days are the best days. and sometimes they come with a lot of unexpected surprises!

4. i can't wait for the teeth!!

ONE WEEK!

today is the big packing day.  i've got more clothes than room for and it's really hard to decide to just get rid of things. what if! what if! what if!  i pretty much got rid of three grocery bags full of clothes and packed everything just barely (sitting on luggage and zipping shut involved) and then realized i forgot half my shoes, my electronics, and everything that keeps me clean and pretty. where do i go from here?   i don't know.  i just don't know.

keeping talking

i used to like hanging out in small groups; having dinners, playing games, chatting. it was nice. at some point over time people were upset and feeling left out when they weren't invited each time we ate, played or talked. so we started making everything party size.  it was roommates only or parties everyday. when my brother and i stopped being roommates, i lost the only person i had serious conversations with. i mingled for years.  there is only so much of myself i can reveal to people who don't have the context of a lifetime to understand it against. i didn't want serious conversations as much as people didn't care to ask me serious questions.  i mingled. it was nice, happy, fun and ultimately left me wanting. korea got me back to serious conversations. and for that, i am grateful.   
yesterday, i was moving the things from my apartment that i want to own post korea. my two brothers and i drove to our oldest brother's house in virginia. six hours in a car with two brothers who studied theology. oh boy.  the three of us have come a long long way.  there was a point in time when this car ride would have been a lot of yelling and hurt feelings. it was however, the farthest thing from that.  the conversations i have with my brothers are some of the greatest i've had in life. we all think and communicate so differently and sometimes there are missteps from one of us to another but the combination of us together - filling in gaps for one another and explaining things in ways that one can understand and another can't convey is beautiful to watch and be a part of.  thanks to my sister in laws who every now and then lend me their husbands and in doing so, breathe life back into me.

looking forward to the past

So, when i was in korea i kept two blogs.  One was essentially the same as this and the other was a list blog. i really liked writing it (because i'm a natural/compulsive list maker) and i plan on reviving it when i get there/have less moving and packing and working in my life.  Today i was reading it for the first time in over a year and came across an entry that i find really funny and a good reminder of what i'm getting back into.
(fyi - my students ranged in age from 5 to 17. and some of these things were said sarcastically. some of them)

Things i’ve said this week [it was a rough week]

1. please, for the last time, take your hands out of your pants
2. well i hope your grandpa has a great birthday next week
3. you can only tickle yourselves
4. no dogs allowed in my class, stop barking
5. i’m not white? what color am i? oh yes, i guess i am a little pink.
6. why are you acting like a monkey too, you should be making fun of  him for being weird
7. stop touching each other under the desks
8. do you not think i am a person
9. i was a bad student too, i know this game and i’m gonna win, i promise.
10. do you honestly think you’re smarter than me?
11. you’re an only child aren’t you
12. can you not say ‘teacher’ for three minutes? seriously, if you can all be silent for three minutes i won’t make you write an in class essay today
13. can you stop touching me please
14. no i will not buy you pizza
15. do i look your mother?

t minus two weeks

so. after a year of america i'm off to korea again.  don't get me wrong, philadelphia, you've done a great job at staying old and having beautiful buildings, having less crime in my neighborhood, getting trash cans on the sidewalks (that really made me proud!) and getting your cheesesteak lines out of the streets more often than before.  it's not you. it's me.  i just want green mountains in the backdrop of my city, less vacations to familiar towns and more to foreign beaches. i want bbq, tiny asian kids yelling for me all day, adventures, less student loans, and more friends on the same page. 
So. if kim jong il stops flexing his muscles for now, and i don't die or get seriously injured in the next two weeks then i'll see you soon, bundang.  please have lots of galbi and attractive friends waiting for me.

love sarah.

ps. maybe we could have snow for christmas this year?

highschool skaters at heart

i've been purse shopping for a few weeks now.  (side notes: 1. this post really is just about a purse - feel free to skip it. and 2. i don't online shop because i think i would get addicted so i do things the old fashioned way, the hard way - i walk. i walk to every store in center city on my days off and look for the purse i wish i could just sit down and sew for myself) so i've been close to finding what i want but then it's always either a million dollars (because its designer) or i love it but then i turn it around and it has some dumb giant leather flowers sewn onto it or a million grommets on one side.  anyway, it's been frustrating. but today that all changed.  i found it. not black, and not what i was imagining, but every time i looked at it i envied the imaginary owner for having what i wanted.  it's a little bit like love.  (maybe?)  and this time - when i turned it to see what stupid things were on the other side...instead...it had a volcom tag.

back at blogging

i'm back to blogging for two major reasons.
1. i'm moving to a place where there are tons of things to tell and family and friends far enough away to need to know them via the internet.
2. no tv.

comcast got wise to the fact that they've been giving me free cable for a year. this means i'm out of my house shortly after waking and don't come home till late at night. it's the best. i forgot how much i like bookstores and aimless walking. i mean, i do this late at night when i can't sleep/turn off my head - but in the day i get to see the buildings i pass everyday and never notice.

a lot of really nice things happened today. the movies with nachos. the grossest popsicle ever. discovering that christian guilt keeps you from becoming an addict (thank god!) (get it?). a lot of laughing. one scary cat and one cute cat, good food and really good conversation.

i am excited to go, but i will miss days like today.

ps. no one should ever have tv.