Fun Times

Must. Must. Must not eat cookies. 

Yesterday, Spring felt here. I walked home from work- a brisk two hours. Today was so chilly I stayed in my room and watched The Bucket List while eating a giant place of spaghetti, followed by cookies. 

I AM A CREATURE OF THE WARMTH! PUNISH ME NOT, LINGERING WINTER GODDESS!

Hi everybody! How's it going? I'm pretty good. Peggy,  "living well is the best revenge" became my mantra as I went through Southeast Asia with my mom and best friends, and every time I would feel down about anything it would really lift me back up. When I started to feel bad about something I just thought, live well. It made me notice where I was and how awesome the life I lead is, and it kept me from getting sad about anything. I think I'm going to adopt "live well" as my life mantra. Revenge or not, it's definitely a truism I can get behind. Thanks for that bit of advice.

Travelling with my mom was a ton of fun. She is my go-to for advice and my unpaid therapist. We get along so well, and I feel grown-up enough now around her that the problems we had during my adolescence (I get mad and snippy easily, she gets offended easily) were resolved with practically no tension. It's nice to have that relationship as adults. Out of the three places- Saigon, Seam Reap and Bangkok- I have to say that I really only loved Seam Reap. Angkor Wat absolutely lives up to the hype. That's one of the places I can say that I've genuinely always wanted to see but never thought I'd get to. That list included Tokyo and the Great Wall (yay!) and someday I hope I can cross off climbing Mount Fuji, seeing the volcanoes in Hawaii, and seeing the ruins of Machu Picchu. Wanna go? 

Bumming around Thailand with Sonja and Steve was delightful. I'm so glad to have them as friends. Chiang Mai, the historical capital of Thailand, made me forgive Bangkok for being such a terrible city. I went shopping crazy. Look for a springtime Jessica wearing a Thai sarong, one hopes not in a way that looks particularly silly.

I've been doing some more stand-up, which is fun. Rob, whom I think of as my best GChat friend, is someone I really only see when I do comedy events, so we've been connecting again. He recently said that he wants to do a set "making phone of poets" which I think is far more adorable a malapropism than the ones those dudes at The Family Circus make. I like the folks who do stand-up. I recently did one that included a satirical poem about whales and dolphins. I've also been going to a couple of meetings with the rival improv group, hoping to get their member support for upcoming rehearsal. We'll see how that goes. They've got some cute guys in their group, which is always incentive. :) 

I'm auditioning for a musical soon! That would be fun.

We're supposed to get Japanese food tonight. I was planning to hit the 7:00 yoga class afterward, but if we don't start eating right this moment (not going to happen) I won't make it. Oh well. I'll jog. I'm pretty much back on track for tha fitnazz, which is good.

I had my second voice acting letdown today. The first was when I went to record some stuff for a Korean study guide that they said wasn't right for me and the guy the had me reading with. That sucked, but not so bad since it turned out they just didn't want HIM. I was okay. Mr. Stutter O'Mumbles wasn't what they were looking for. It still wasn't so great, since it takes so dang long to get to these studios, but it wasn't personal. Today was. I'm not a bad singer, but I couldn't do what they wanted me to with this children's music I was to sing. I'm just not much of a sight-reader. I need to hear something a couple of times before I can reproduce it. Maybe sight-reading is something I can learn to do, but I've never tried. Anyway, they had booked the studio for five hours, and it quickly became apparent that I wouldn't be able to get twenty songs finished in five hours. I was politely asked to leave. Big sigh. I took half a vacation day for that. On the plus side, I think my agent felt pretty bad about it, which means he might go out of his way to get me weekend work. He asked if I'm available for filming this Saturday. Nice.

I have to think about what I want to do next year. Maybe... SMOE another year, switch schools, live in Hapjeong? Maybe... take a Korean class so I can get a student visa, do lots of voice acting to pay the rent, do my grad program?

I am leading toward option 2. I think living in Korea for a while longer is one thing, staying longer and doing the same thing is another. I need some kind of change.

Ho Chi Mihn City with Mom in 2 weeks!!! I'm so excited!!!! I hope all my flights work out and nothing terrible happens. Fingers crossed!

I thought that going on the pill took away PMS symptoms?

Anyway, I'm hungry and I hate the world. Know that it's probably due to my hormones (aren't they supposed to be regulated?!) does not help.

Sssh... Sssshhh... Jessica, it's just your body trying to destroy you for no reason. WHAT EVOLUTIONARY PURPOSE DOES THIS SERVE?! Is this just to try to get me praaaagnant?

Brief life update:

- eating a lot, not exercising.

- part of that is because I've been voice acting all the time. Made about $500 this week. Not bad for a part-time job. It is amazing. I love it. Today I did chanting for an hour and a half in my text book voice and as a little girl. My little girl voice is very silly. The other day I played a fairy for a computer game.

- talking to another soldier. wtf, Jess. On the plus side, he is an officer and a college grad. Whew. Date set for next week some time.

Children are the best thing when you're sad.

My 5th and 6th graders get me down in the dumps a little bit. It's not that their English levels are abominable - they are - it's that they don't want to play games (come on, English jenga and apples-to-apples) and basically are only biding time until I get frustrated enough to put on a movie for them.

My 3rd and 4th graders aren't much better at English. Of course they aren't. But they love me and love games and love coloring and love making things and are happy, happy, happy. One of my girls, who calls herself Katie, positions herself next to me whenever we play the zoo game (thanks, cousin Julia) and holds my hand or gives me a side hug. Nora and Eugine makes every sentence in the jenga game about me- Jessica teacher is pretty, Jessica teacher studies English, Jessica teacher is a zombie. Nora spends 5 extra minutes writing her sentences so she can color a giant hamster.

I haven't even shown the little ones half of Happy Feet, because they just want to play with me.

When people say they don't like kids I understand on one level, because they can be a pain in the ass and scream and make messes and fuss over their small cuts and bruises and sneeze directly in your face, but there's nothing like a group of kids craning to see you, hanging on your every word to see if you'll do the giant voice again, inching closer so they can be the one sitting closest to you, to make you feel okay.

Thanks, kids. Especially Katie, who just wants a hug.

Grad school applications.

They're due in less than a month. That's not really a problem, but I need to get letters of application from professors during the Christmas season, which is a problem.

What's MY problem that I let it go this long?

Sigh.

I might miss the deadline. I was really thinking of going in the fall of 2011 anyway- doing a 6-month extension, traveling and working to save the last scaps of money I have until I give it all to my education. I plan on having between $25,000 and $30,000 to my name by the time I'm finished here (although with Vietnam, Japan, Thailand and Cambodia, that might not be so very likely) to travel before I settle down into Washington, DC. I'll be 26 years old.

I'm applying to George Washington, George Mason and the University of Washington.

Really... how did I let it get this late?!?

My "to do" list looks like a crazy person made it.

-Transcript
-Flockerzie
-Can I defer entry?
-How long are GRE scores good? Can I apply for Fall 11?
-Email that Korean lady
-Candice
-Supervisor
-MAIL PRESENTS
-Secret Santa WP

Siiiigh.

Who are these Mumford and Sons?! How is their music so splendid?!

The feature on iTunes to change your setting to nearly any country in the world and looking at their top 100 downloads is the best thing I've discovered lately. I hereby renounce all other methods of finding new music!

Anyway, where do these English dudes get off being the best folk band of which I've ever illegally downloaded entire albums?! I think I may have to actually buy their CDs to make myself feel better!

Christmas is coming up. I'm asking for Kiva gift certificates from those people likely to give me presents (other than those 3 people I will be spending Christmas with, because I appreciate the significance of opening gifts on Christmas morning) and I'm pretty psyched to start lending. Woohoo!

I spent today at the museum by myself. Boy, do I ever not care about Korean history. Sorry, ROK, I just don't give a damn about your three kingdoms. After that I went shopping and bought myself what absolutely must be the last clothing purchases I make during my stay in Korea.

I have no more hangers left. Or room for my shoes. Or drawers.

I have a problem.

STAPLES COME OUT TOMORROW! I GET MY LIFE BACK! ASSA!!!

I'm angry at myself. I took too long to get ready so I was late, which meant I ran up the escalator to get the bus. Rather than being 10 minutes late for work as I would have been if I had missed the bus, I was an hour late, as I had to go to the hospital to get 2 staples in the little hole in my knee.

No big deal. Embarrassing, annoying, frustrating, but no big deal. It doesn't even hurt that much. It's like a big bruise. But with these staples in, it's tough to move. They're coming out tomorrow, thank goodness. I kind of doubt I even needed them. It would have left a little scar, I guess. Whatever.

I spent today inside. I absolutely hate that amount of free time when I have to spend it cooped up. Whenever someone suggests that I'm overcommitted, or that I don't know how to enjoy free time (Robert, mostly) I think to myself- this is what you want? Lying around, hanging around yourself, watching movies and reading and generally getting sick of yourself?

Too much free time is bad for me. I read books on the subway. I watch movies with friends. I want my evenings booked with something- class, exercise, improv, you name it. It just has to be filled.

I'm going to very carefully go to my theater workshop tonight. It's at 7:30 and I wish it were 6:30 already so I could justify leaving with enough time to get myself a new bandage and head over to Itaewon, which in my quickest walking time is a half hour away.

When I'm alone, all those stressful thoughts that I try to keep under control bombard me. Silly, mundane things like that I have to buy Christmas gifts and a gift for my Korean teacher- did she say we were meeting at 7:00 or 6:00 tomorrow? I have such a hard time with Korean numbers. What about the WP Christmas show?

And then there are the more important thoughts. What am I going to do next year? Am I going to be single forever? How does Lily Allen know how I feel all the time? What happens if I go get my Master's in TEFL and I have no more time for theater and I regret everything?

Too much free time short-circuits my brain. Maybe I'll go eat some shrimp salad by myself before the workshop. Maybe I'll put some makeup on first so I don't scare the Koreans. I'm already wearing sweatpants and my UD sweatshirt- the Korean equivalent of a burlap sack.

Edit: The staples didn't come out today! Let's hope they come out tomorrow! Aaargh!

 Hi, everyone. Mostly, hi myself, since aren't these mostly for ourselves?

Okay, I'm very tired. That might not have made sense. 

I had an easygoing weekend. Shopping, Cambridge Day, board game cafe, hot yoga, 48 Hour Film Festival. Cambridge Day was pretty cool! I got a free book because the organizer asked which company's books we were going to use in our classroom and I have a very loud voice. 

Hot yoga was not cool. (HoHO!) I didn't drink enough water before class so I overheated and almost passed out. I had to leave class an hour early. Faaaail. I'll be better next Sunday. 

I've been having so much trouble sleeping lately. My OCD has been acting up again. Friday night I was up until all hours, just listening outside my door to my loud neighbors. My cough is also helpful in keeping me up. 

So tired. Tomorrow includes: 

School
Moving to the 13th floor (gosh damnit) 
Voice recording
Improv rehearsal

The rest of the week includes

School
Korean class x 2
Theater workshop

I think I'll try to sleep...