a little motivation for your daily grind

I went for a run tonight and was surprised that I was able to go for an hour! For those of you that have been witness to my love/hate relationship with running, you'll understand that this is a major breakthrough. I am, by no means, a long-distance athlete. I prefer the quick and easy way to stay fit. I get bored and often move on to something else. So a. there's no commitment and b. there's no motivation. I'm a lazy, lazy bum.

HOWEVER, I told Katie and Michael (my married friends that are moving to Korea in two weeks - you can find them at: http://wafflesnkimchi.blogspot.com/) - - that I would train for a half-marathon with them. I'm so excited to have something to do in my spare time that is working towards a goal, making me happier (hellllooooooo endorphins!) and forcing me to see more of my city. Again, I get so lazy that after work I just want to veg.

What I want to say to all of you - - if you're becoming bored with the monotony of your schedule, get out and find a type of exercise that you like. I've got some coworkers that have tried hot yoga (where you sweat your rear off because the room is about 100 degrees) and swimming. Anything to get your body moving! You'll only continue doing it if you like it. And please don't put restrictions on yourself. A year ago I couldn't run for five minutes without getting winded. I thought 'no way can I run for a half hour!!' It seemed so far away and here I am, jogging away for longer than that! I will say that I probably look like I'm about to keel over with my style of running. It's reminiscent of a 5-year-old doing an egg-beater with their legs and someone that's woozy from over-exertion. But back to motivating YOU: You can do it and it will give you a happy-high. Also, it's a good idea to talk to Jesus because he keeps the joy grounded.

Cheers!

Sometimes God is creepy...

...in a good way. I'm just constantly amazed at how he not only takes care of me, but cares for my desires too. I suppose he should since he gave them to me ^_^ I was listening to a song recently ("The Cure for Pain" by Switchfoot's lead singer, Jon Foreman) and I knew that I needed to sing it in church. However, I didn't want to march up to the worship leader and say, "Hey there, Mr. Jay, wouldja mind if I sang this for y'all??" Eesh. Nightmarish to act that way. So I prayed that God would give me the opportunity if he wanted me to do it - - and the assistant pastor emailed me and asked me to share a song - any song I would like, but that it would have Christian connotations, preferably.

:-)

I've got a stony heart

And I can't melt it on my own. God, light a fire somewhere and burn away this wall.

It's rainy today, and somewhat chilly compared to the recent oven-like temperatures we've had in Gwangju. It's smells like a new world. When I stuck my head out of my window this morning to assess if it was middle-of-the-day-running-weather, I was pleasantly surprised with the change.

God has given me a vision but I have no clue where to begin.

Salt and Pepper

She's COMMMMINNNNGGGGG. My best friend (the first best friend and catalyst/standard for all other friendships) is arriving with her husband in 2.5 weeks! -To work and live 2 hours away from me! Which is a heck of a lot better than 14 hours.

When we first met in New Bern...

Last year at her wedding. This woman - - oh man, she's a keeper :-)

The House of the Rising Sun

Came on the radio in bus 25 tonight. :-)

Alone again

But it's really ok. Because this time, I'm not struggling to survive in a place that is totally unfamiliar. And I'm not averted to the idea of being alone. I'm glad that it's been almost 6 months. I'm glad that I'm comfortable with my surroundings, that I can communicate what I need when I go out to the store. I'm glad that my mom could come and visit, experiencing something totally different. This was her (probably) only time to visit Asia. I hope that her stay was enjoyable and that she didn't mind the rock-hard mattress.

I am glad that I have the rest of the weekend to relax.

4:30. AM.

That's what time Hostel dwellers in Busan call it a night. From the streets, that is. My mom and I got a private room (because that's all there was available) and now I'm thankful that we could have some form of seclusion. 4:30 IN THE MORNING, some guy with no hair and no shirt opened our sliding doors and let the light from the hallway rush in. "There's two in here!!" he shouted triumphantly. Yep. You found us.

I walked out to the living area three times to tell them to quiet down. One girl gave me a death look and I wanted to punch her in the ovaries AND in the face, simultaneously. I didn't, because I wasn't in the mood for multitasking. But man, she could have gotten it.

Things calmed down around 5:30 and I was able to sleep until 8. Oh. My. Goodness. Are hostels always this noisy??