Holy Bloggerton Batman! It's another post!

Greetings Dear Readers!

It's the first day of December and I'm feeling rather chipper--I finished my grading earlier than I had anticipated, worked on a few more projects for school, and have had a great amount of coffee! Carpe Diem? HA! Carpe Caffeine!

But here I am, on a glorious Thursday morning...ish...drinking coffee at my local Starbucks (as if I'd be any place else) and Fleet Foxes has come on the sound system. Sounds like a good day to me.

What's going on with the book, you ask? Oh...you didn't ask? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway.

Things are moving along--I had a meeting yesterday with my team and we are considering splitting the novel into two books for marketing purposes. This will also give me more time to write the second (or really, if the split happens the third) installment of the series, making the series longer. There are a lot of pros and cons that need to be weighed but ultimately we will decide what's to happen soon. I'll keep you posted.

It's getting colder these days (you know, December and all that) and it seems that Fall fell flat on it's face. Too much soju, I presume. But with winter upon us, I'm doing my best to stay warm. I don't generally get cold very easily but the word around the campfire is that this one is going to be a doozy---a frozen doozy. Hopefully my winters spent in Chicago will have prepared me for it--God knows Florida didn't. Hehehe

Considering the fact that I haven't written here in quite sometime (save for my election post last month), allow me to briefly catch you up on my 2016...

January-- I had the worst sinus infection of my life while I was visiting Florida. But I got to see my family and even the extended family from Massachusetts came down for a spell.

February--Not much happened here save for a conversation with Kat that sparked something big: A European Vacay! I was lamenting to Kat that my birthday was going to land ON Chuseok day (Korean Thanksgiving for those outside of the ROK) this year. It went a little something like this:

Me: OMG! My birthday is going to be on Chuseok day! No one will come to celebrate my birthday this year because most of my ex-pat people will probably travel and both you and Annie will be with your families."
Kat: Actually I'm going to be in Europe.
Me: Well, fine. You're going to be in Europe.
Kat: Yeah. I'll be on a cruise and I'll be docking into Rome on your birthday--it's the final destination.
Me: ...Cool...
Kat: Hey! You have vacation time, yeah? Come meet me!
Me: OKAY!

March--Hey! Wrote the second blog post of the year... Go read it if you haven't. It's cool. I'll wait.
Around this time I started helping my cousin's boyfriend's father (Mike) with a story he wrote. Just wanted another pair of eyes and some small editing and it rather rejuvenated me after finishing the book back in December '15. He and his family live in Athens and offered to treat me if ever I was in the area.

April-- Talked with Kat about meeting up in Rome. She asked where else I wanted to travel and of course I said a Greek island. My mother would disown me if I went to Italy and not anywhere near Greece. Since Kat had already been to Santorini, I suggested Crete as I have friends who frequently travel there from England, and my mom has been there once before.

While I was in Chicago for Christmas, I met up with my dear friend h. and she and I had a lunch date. Since she is a writer, I poured my heart and brain out to her about how I was at my wits end with the ending of the novel. In just talking to her, I was able to figure out a new ending by shifting things around and BOOM! I had my ending. I am eternally grateful for that lunch date and her--but I realized that something was missing. I didn't have writer friends in Seoul. I had joined a writers group called Seoul Writers' Collective back in July of 2015 but only went to one meeting because I was incredibly busy editing and couldn't devote the time.
Once I came back to Seoul, I decided it was time to get active again. I saw two announcements for workshops with the group but for some reason couldn't make it to the meetings. Finally, a message was sent out to all of the members of this meet up group in April--the organizer was stepping down and unless someone took it over in ten days, the group would be finished.

So, after attending one meeting prior, I stepped up as the organizer.


May--Itinerary was on it's way to being finalized--2 full days in Rome, 5 days in Crete, 1 day in Athens, and then back to Seoul.

Also, had my first meet up with the Seoul Writers' Collective (SWC). Boy was I ever green, but I put on my game face and powered through. ^^

I believe this was when I finally came to Wordsmiths to perform--and boy, that was amazing. I've performed twice now and the reception has always been so positive. ^~^


June-- Mindset: SAVEMONEYSAVEMONEYSAVEMONEY. Also: WORKWORKWORKWORKWORK

July--Robyn came to teach for the summer! I had a great time reconnecting with her and trying to dodge the heat. I met some really amazing people in Chungcheong and we bonded over good food, writing, and copious amounts of laughter.

August-- Mindset: OMGOMGOMGIMGOINGTOEUROPE! Also: SAVEMONEYSAVEMONEYSAVEMONEY! And then of course there was: WORKWORKWORKWORKWORK.

September-- Happy Birthday to MEE! Had a fabulous few days in Rome, an AH-MAY-ZING time in Crete, and connected with my roots in Athens. Kat and I finally got to meet Nathalie's husband, Drew, on our last day in Rome and he is just such a delight. The architecture and city of Rome is just breathtaking. I will return for sure and dive deeper on my next visit.
We flew from Rome to Crete but had a 7.5 hour layover in Athens. So Mike, my cousin's boyfriend's father (can there be a longer identifier? yeeesh) offered to pick us up at the airport, allow us to freshen up, have a light Greek lunch and then relax until our flight for Crete. A. Light. Greek. Lunch. LIGHT. Mike's family went all out for us--homemade moussaka, Greek salad (with olives from their groves and made oil they made), sausages, pork chops, rice, AND dessert. LIGHT. GREEK. LUNCH. He said. Aiiiigooo! Incidentally my cousin Kathryn (who lives with my mom and stepfather in Chicago) was visiting Andreas (the boyfriend) and they picked us up from the airport and I got to spend time with my family in another country, which was weird but very cool.
Crete was absolutely beautiful and much needed after all the traveling and running around we did in Rome. Nothing was planned save for a winery tour and a trip to Elafonissi Beach. We stayed in Chania (pronounced Han-ya, because Greek) in a house from AirBNB that was super close to the port. Kathryn and Andreas came to Crete a few days later and we all hung out again, so that was nice.^^
Once we reached Athens, I was kinda surprised at how dirty the city is. But when I saw the ruins, I was overcome with emotion. They were absolutely stunning. I won't lie, I cried a bit--I thought about how long it took me to get to Greece and how I made it happen by myself, for myself. And I released those tears because I knew I had given myself a great gift.

I got sick when I came back from Athens--too much flying about in metal tubes, I assume. But I nursed myself back to help rather quickly. Here are some photos from the trip.. ^^

October-- After the culmination of going to Europe, everything seems to pale in comparison. I continued organizing the SWC and have been improving in my leadership skills. Yay for professional development! ^^
Also--Yay for the Cubs! Who knew!?

November--Ahh...And then there was November. Which to be honest, kinda sucked, save for Thanksgiving. The election really sucked a lot of positivity out of me and I'm doing my best to recover, cuz I gotta be on my grind, as it were. In November, the book team proposed that we split the book and now we're in deep consideration. We'll probably know the definitive answer come December.

In other writing news, in November I took on the role of Editor-in-Chief for Nexcite Magazine, a new community magazine that will have its first issue out in January 2017. If you're in the Yongsan area during January, pick one up and read my editorial page! tee hee hee


And December! Here we are. On the 10th, Annie--THE bestie, will be celebrating her birthday at Bennett's Bar in Itaewon and also holding a female empowerment event called #THATSMYBAG Exhibition. I'm super pumped about it! Basically, 130 blank canvas eco bags have been given to women all over Seoul and they are going to decorate them in the theme of "Female Empowerment."
At 8 pm on December 10th, we are displaying the bags so everyone can see them. Then we head to Ming for the afterparty. It's gonna be a good night. ^^ If you're in Seoul, Please come! It's not just an event for women--men are always invited. Empowering women doesn't take away power from men--but actually frees us all of a patriarchal mindset of what we HAVE to be. Allies and partners are the way to succeed in this ^~^

Also, Christmas. I love Christmas! As I said in an earlier blog post, it's a reminder of good things that are coming. And I can't wait for the good!


So there you have it folks. The year in review--there was a lot of growth for me, both professionally and personally. I've gone from completing the novel, organizing a writing workshop group, traveling, becoming an editor AND being a senior teacher/community liaison at my hagwon.

So yeah...things are good.

How are you? ;)

Love and Light.

CM

Wanted: A Ray of Hope

In the wake of this election, I have been going through a lot of emotions. I'm a teacher, so I have to keep up a happy face at work, when all I want to do is kick, and scream, and shout. My friends have been a God-send to me but ultimately they cannot take away the burden of what I'm feeling.

I'm afraid. I'm really afraid. I'm afraid for my brothers and sisters throughout the world who are LBGT+, Muslims, and minorities. I'm afraid for women. I'm afraid for anyone who is going to be on the list of Trump's agenda. The whole rhetoric of "First they came for the socialists," keeps ringing in my ears. These are terrifying times.

And I really, really want to give you hope, dear reader. But I'm looking around and I'm not finding anything to give you that will satisfy the hunger in your belly. And I'm sorry.

Aside from the American political hole we're in, Korea is also dealing with their own presidential woes. If you haven't read about it, you can do so here. So yeah, it's been a very edgy few weeks, to put it mildly.

And yes, I always tend to get tremendously homesick around this time of year. Thanksgiving was always a great holiday for my family and I miss them. Maybe next year I will finagle a trip home for Thanksgiving--we'll see. ^^

So yeah.

I've been a little depressed, to say the least. And I've been keeping myself there because I was just so exhausted. I even told a friend this: "I'm sad for this election. I'm sad for Korea. I'm sad because I'm trying to find something to be hopeful about. I'm sad because I'm lashing out at people for stupid things. I'm sad because I feel too much and if I begin to express any of it, I'm told to toughen up. I just need time to deal with it all, I guess. And I'm not afforded that."

Yeah... you were guessing that was coming, huh?

But you know, I'm just exhausted from feeling this way. And I've been looking for hope in any place I could find it.

And then my dear friend Yv posted something on IG:

Randomly walking home. Saw all these police lights down the road. Then out of nowhere I hear "Out of the way! Christmas Tree coming through!" I thought I was losing my mind. Nope. #rockerfellertree #IntheHeights

A video posted by Yvonne (@whyvoni) on Nov 11, 2016 at 8:17pm PST

And I was reminded. Christmas is coming!

When I was a little girl, I would tell my mom that I wanted something and she would respond in a sing songy voice, "Christmas is Coming!" And yeah, maybe it was not so satisfying hearing that at a young age because I really wanted whatever it was that was going to prove my worth to my peers. But now? Hearing it reminds me that something better is coming.

Seeing the Rockerfeller tree coming down the street on a big semi, it reminds me that no matter what, there is goodness. There is connection. There are families. There is a city that will come together and sing songs. And for me personally, it's a reminder that I have a Savior and I will celebrate His birth. And in times like these, my faith is what I need to cling to.
So there it is, my ray of "hope." My "yes we can." My "change I can believe in." And that's how I can move "forward."


Love and Light to you all.

Hello From the Other Side. . .

Hello . . . It' me . . . I was wondering if after these ten months you'd still be reading.

Yes. Hello from the other side indeed.

So yeah. It's been ten months since I've written to you, and I promise it has been for good reason why I've been away. Teaching took a lot of my time, as it usually does, and I met a plethora of amazing people last year who have kept me busy. I spent most of my writing time simply editing the final draft of the novel, and I went home for the holidays. That's simply the overview--let's dive deeper, shall we?

I had amazing students last year and they really helped me to learn so much more about education. I've found that I become better when I simply ask questions and listen to my students--at all ages, they are truly brilliant and are honest in how they feel about their lives. I have always been fascinated by peoples' stories--who they are, why they are, where they've been and what they will become. I love it! Perhaps thats one of the reasons why I listen to so many story based podcasts (This American Life, Snap Judgement, etc). I love those snippets of human existence--especially for the connection found through stories. I recently discovered Alec Baldwin's podcast entitled "Here's the Thing." I really like his podcast because he interviews really interesting people (celebrities, policy makers, writers, etc) and has real and open conversations with them. Plus, hello, it's Alec Baldwin--King of voices!

Speaking of stories (Nice transition, eh?), I FINISHED IT! I FINISHED THE BOOK! Okay. Sorry. Yes, so I finished the novel I've been writing for four and a half years. I completed it on December 31st--as was my deadline and I would be remiss if I didn't thank Holly (h. Anne Stoj) for her help on the final part. I was struggling (as all writers do) with how to end the first book and while having lunch, I finally figured out how the book was supposed to end. Through this whole process, I of course have to thank Ben Hauser, Lee Rose, Jeff Yu-Cho, Mee Joo Rose, Dan Ryu, Marilyn Rose and Bill Hauser for their guidance and expertise in this. It's been quite a journey of self discovery that was not without a lot tears and gritting of teeth.

Writing a book is not easy--and anyone who says otherwise is either selling something or fooling themselves. It is a journey that many never finish, but when you do, you realize how greatly you have dared and you hold your head high yet low enough to remain humble. It's like nothing else I have ever felt--and before I finished this book, I would have never imagined it would feel this. I assumed I would feel relief, resting in the fact that it is done. But quite the opposite. I feel invigorated. Now it's just a last run through of grammar spot checking and making sure the plot flows. I'm excited to think about how I will move forward into the next book, but I am still happy about enjoying the time that I have to write to you here.

I realized a few things while writing this book--and if I could give you unsolicited advice, it would be to make sure you have a support system. Fill it with writers as well as readers. Lean on them and support them too. Now that I finished the first book, and before I go into writing the second book, I am going to make more of an effort to find other writers in the expat community and really make some strong connections. There is a writer meet up that happens in Seoul every few weeks so I plan on being more involved with that group to bounce off ideas and be a resource to them as well. You never know were inspiration will come from--you just have to put yourself out there and work hard to make something happen.

All in all, 2015 was a year of strides for me, and I hope it was for you as well. I feel like 2016 is going to be even more exciting and i'm excited to see what I will write in each month/chapter. ^~^

Happy 2016, my dear readers! Love and Light to you all!