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?