Valentine's Day Card 2013

When I have the time, I like to create personalized cards for every occasion. Markus is the master of personalized cards. He's an illustrator, so his cards are always amazing. One Valentine's Day, he showed our love conquering Londy Town. On my 27th birthday, he illustrated what the world would be like if I "got my way". It was a wonderful world indeed. One of my favorite cards was the Tardis he made for me, it was even more special because there was a video that accompanied it. I always try to be clever with the cards I make for him. I might not be a great artist, but I think I get the job done. 

It should come as no surprise that Markus and I are big geeks. We spend a lot of our date nights at home watching Doctor Who or marathoning 80s movies. It's with this shared passion that I found inspiration for this year's Valentine's Day card. I definitely went for a time traveling theme and showcased three of our favorite things, Doctor Who, Back to the Future and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.  

Dear readers, I hope all of you have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your loved ones and remember, "Be excellent to each other!"

Snow Day

As a native Floridian, I've missed out on an essential part of life, seeing snow. I've never had the chance to make a snowman, ski at a resort, or have a White Christmas. It's been one of the things I've longed for since I saw Home Alone.

When we decided to move to Korea, we chose the only city that it never snows. Busan is like the Florida of Korea. So, I was resigned to never seeing snow unless I searched it out. This year it finally snowed for three hours. It didn't last and melted about two hours later, but it was a dream come true. Well, the heavens were looking down on me because the day we left for Cambodia there was a Winter Wonderland.

From inside my house, I was ecstatic and overjoyed. I couldn't believe that everything was covered in snow. I couldn't wait to go outside. What happened next traumatized me a little bit. Busan is not a city that is prepared for snow. The minute the white fluffy stuff covered the streets, the city shut down. The buses stopped running and there were very few taxis on the street. Apparently, the streets and sidewalks should be shoveled and covered with salt to make it easier to travel. Busan did not do any of this.

Markus and I live high up on a hill and there aren't any subways nearby. We would have to walk down the hill about a mile or so to get to a subway station. Since the buses, weren't running there was a mad panic and hordes of people started trekking down towards the subway. Markus and I had no other choice and followed. The sidewalks were really icy and slippery and we saw many people slip and fall.

Now, you have to understand, this was my first time being in this kind of situation. The last time I saw snow it stuck for two hours and disappeared. This time there was a substantial amount, at least two inches. Markus grew up in Chicago so he stomped through the streets like a pro. I, on the other hand, gingerly tiptoed around. I was freaked out. I didn't know how to walk on snow and was afraid I was going to fall and crack my head open. The sidewalks were dangerous and weren't safe to walk on. The snow had transformed to sleet and ice. I saw so many ahjummas, old ladies, clearing the sidewalks with dustpans.  It was a nightmare. Something that should have taken only 20 minutes, took an hour. 

I'll admit, I wasn't pleased when I finally made it to work. I was a bit horrified and didn't want to go back outside. Still, I was very happy to finally experience living in snow. Hopefully, my future experiences with snow are much better.

The Perils of Writing | Finding Inspiration

For the past seven years, I've been writing a novel. I know what you're thinking, "Seven years? Is the chick crazy?" To answer your question, Yes, I am 100% crazy. The story I've been writing has changed so many times. It began with too many characters and then too little. It was once set in America, then it changed to Korea. It began as a coming of age story, then evolved to a love story and now it's a combination of both.  I re-wrote the first draft more times than I could count. Then, sometime in my fourth year, I scrapped it and started a second draft. Up until recently, I was writing the second draft. In November, I tossed that out the window and started all over again. Currently, I'm on my third draft and its nothing like the original story, but I'm glad how it's progressed.

I have a very vague idea of what the story is about, but the when and how, is still to be determined. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. There are some nights where I've been very inspired and the story just flows out. It's such a euphoric feeling. I haven't written like this in years. It's like the story is already written and I'm trying to catch up. Then, there are other days where I can't put down a single word. Those days are the worst and come more often then I would like. Thankfully, I've discovered a few ways to spark inspiration and decided to share with all of you. 

1. Make a playlist of songs that resemble your characters.
The other day, I was sitting on the bus and my music was on shuffle. Usually, I don't listen to the words of songs, just the melody and the way it sounds. That morning, a song caught my attention. It's like the words broke through and reached inside me. The song resonated with me so completely that I almost started crying. The song was a perfect description of my main characters struggle. For those three minutes, I was my main character and felt the same emotions. It was an amazing experience and later I wrote about 1800 words.

2. Create Pinterest boards specifically for your characters. 
Sometimes, I can't visualize my characters. I know what they like and how they dress, but when I'm in the thick of writing a story and at my wits end, it's helpful to have something to look at. Then I can focus on the descriptive part of my writing. I can pin anything about the character on their specific board, their favorite books or what they would wear. It's a valuable tool that can expand and grow as your character is fleshed out.

3. Play your favorite films in the background while you're writing. 
I always listen to music when I'm writing. I cannot function without music, but sometimes I get tired of it. When I want variety, I play movies. I tend to put on Wes Anderson movies. I put the volume down low, but can still hear it. Since I know his films quite well, I can write while it's playing. When a scene that I particularly enjoy comes on, I can take a break and watch it. I get a visual overload as well as examples of dialogue. It helps to be able to take a break in the middle of writing.

4. Step away from the computer and go outside. 
I know that when I've been sitting at a computer for eight hours and nothing is flowing, a change of scenery can help. I tend to just sit and ruminate at my computer for hours. I don't know how to quit. I can work on things for a whole day and only get up to eat and use the bathroom. Although this can be a good thing, it doesn't mean the quality of my writing is good. I like to go outside, find a place to sit and people watch. Markus and I loved to people watch back home, but people watching in Korea is nothing like it is in America. I've gotten so much inspiration from experiencing a new culture.

5. Re-read your favorite books, but pay attention to the details.
I love re-reading my favorite books. One of my favorite writers is Sarah Addison Allen. Her books are very whimsical and much more than love stories. She's a great writer and she has a great writing style. Sometimes, I re-read books, but only the bits that I like. This year, I started re-reading my favorite books, but looking for the things that you didn't notice before. Like, how does the author describe their characters? What are the characters movement while they're talking? It's these little details that we sometimes read quickly, but are important to the story. 

So, dear readers, these are the ways that I spark my creativity. I hope that they helped you! Do you have any interesting ways that you find inspiration? If you do, please share in the comments!

Credits:
Cute drawing of Markus and I/ Hairy at the Heels

British Museum | London, England | 1 of 6

Seven years ago, Markus and I made our first trip out of the country to London, England. It was a very special trip because it was my first time out of the country and our first time as a married couple. It was one of my favorite trips that we've taken because it was the first, but it was also my number one travel destination.

During that first trip to London, we fit too many places into one day. We went to The Globe Theater, St. Paul's Cathedral and the British Museum. When we arrived at the British Museum, we only had 45 minutes til closing time. We were really gutted and spent those 45 minutes running around like crazy trying to see all the important points. We saw the Rosetta Stone and some mummies. We were really sad because we didn't think we would ever go back to the British Museum, to quote Justin Bieber, "Never say never".  

Gold medal from the London 2012 Summer Olympics

Left: Gold griffin-headed armlet from the Oxus treasure Right: Silver statues from the Oxus treasure

Left: Rectangular Plaques made of sheet gold from the Oxus Treasure  Right: Gold Armlets from the Bronze Age

Left: Egyptian Mummy Right: Egyptian wooden coffin with skeleton

The Lewis Chessmen from Scandanavia

The Lewis Chessmen are made of walrus ivory and whale's teeth.

Engraved Wall

Egyptian sarcophagus

Egyptian sarcophagus

Japanese ivory figurines

Japanese printed illustration

On our UK trip, we spent the final three days in London and spent the morning at the British Museum. We saw all the things we missed last time and more. The British Museum is unlike any museum I've been to and I've been to heaps. There are so many things to see from all over the world. I saw things that I might never see again. It was a fantastic way to begin our short time in London!  

Life of an Ex-pat | Sacrifices

Now that I've been away from home for over a year, I can say that I'm a true ex-pat. My feet haven't touched American soil in over 17 months. At first, I was really excited to finally be living in another country. My whole life, I dreamed of the day where I could say that I lived in some far off distant land. Recently, I've started to get a little homesick. 

Before we left for Korea, I was ready to go. I lived my whole life in Florida and always wanted to travel to some far off land. I spent so much of my life daydreaming about the day that I would be on a plane headed for those lands. However I think when we let our dreams and aspirations take over, we only focus on the big picture and forget the little things.

When I first arrived in Korea, it felt like coming home. It felt right. It never felt weird or awkward. It was perfect. Sure, there are days that I get annoyed because of the language barrier or because I can't eat at Chipotle, but it isn't anything I can't handle or overcome. I love living in Korea and thinking about the day that I have to leave makes me ridiculously sad.

Despite all of this, I've started to really miss parts of my old life. I still have no desire to return to Florida. That part of my life is over and has run its course. I spent 27 years there, I don't want to spend any more, but I still miss a lot of my previous life. All my dear friends and family have moved on. In the beginning, everyone was really interested in my new adventure. Now that it's been over a year, the interest has definitely lessened. Not just on their end, but on mine as well. Life definitely goes on, and just because I'm off having adventures doesn't mean that everyone's life stops and waits for my return.

As an expat, I've had to make huge sacrifices. I gave up the security of living in my own country. I gave up my home and my job. I gave up the ability to communicate in my own language. Most of all, I gave up time with my beloved family and friends. I can't even describe how many birthdays, graduations, births, and weddings I've missed in the past 17 months. At first, I understood that I would miss those milestones. Now, I'm starting to feel the loss of those memories I could've had, and I mourn the moments that I missed. Sometimes, I skip photo albums on Facebook because I feel a pinch in my heart. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true.

Despite my sadness for moments missed, I'm very thankful for the last 17 months. I feel that this has been an experience that has been vital to my growth, and I've learned so much about myself. If I was given this opportunity again, I would and will always say, "Yes." It's true that there are times where I miss aspects of where my life could've gone, but I will never ever regret the decisions that I've made.

Credits: 
Frame and Paper Texture/ Mellowmint 
Typography/ Handwritten by me