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This has been a beneficial experience to be updating so many times since I had been in constant update mode. I am about to commence Round Ten, and then I will have just one more to go after that and be able to blog about PRESENT DAY on a daily basis. I'm so excited!
One of the reasons I'm so pumped is that my doing this is a big deal. I've mentioned before that I don't like having to subject my readers - if there are any - to such long posts, but there's nothing I can do short of skipping it. I've let almost everything - if not every - sizzle out in time, no matter how excited I was in the beginning. My dad strongly encouraged me to keep it up since I'd made the one-year commitment, and I rose to the occasion because I knew he was right, and that it would be a wise move. While I was once over a month behind, I am now only a week behind. It's been kinda crazy documenting all the stuff that has happened. Not-so-secretly, I love that sort of thing, so it wasn't torture in any capacity. It's just been...busy work, I guess I would say.
So, here goes Round Ten:
Day Eighty-One (Monday, May 3)
Shortly after I woke up, I saw that Andrea had sent me a text message. She sent a text blessing my day and said she was grateful for all the amazing women God had brought into her life and that she loved us all. (I don't mind mass texts at all. I send out enough of them to people to know that being included can be one of the highest honors, haha.) It was a great way to start the day. Not being one to like texts going unreturned, I sent her one back, telling her how highly I thought of her and how grateful I was that God brought us together. She soon sent me one back saying how much she'd needed to hear that. I mention it because it's a good reminder of how important reciprocation and encouragement is to us all. (I know I've been ministered to whenever people have done that sort of thing to me.)
When I woke up, I spent some mother-daughter time with my...well, my mom, and then spent some time reading from Exodus about the parting of the Red Sea while on the balcony. It was SUCH a great way of starting my day.
Another seemingly mundane moment was one that made me really happy. I follow one of my favorite author's blog, and on her post for the day, she asked, "What makes you happy?" which I commented on. In response, I wrote,
"I love the making lists thing! There are so many things, like Kathryn [wrote], that make me happy! Family reunions in IL (or anywhere really), eating healthy even though I kinda hate it too, getting personal email, pictures, clicking with new people, loving confrontations that end well even if not at the moment, nostalgia, scrapbooks, text messages, the word "book," flirting, living in Florida, gorgeous weather, the sound that typing makes, good hair days, massages, laughing til it hurts, good music, new episodes of Glee, Hulu which allows me to watch favorite musical numbers (in Glee) over and over and over again, hunky men who are in love with God, prayer, people who make me laugh, guys who wear hats well, weddings, pretty dresses, the sound of the ocean and breeze, justice, Christian authors, conviction, the color yellow, and more than I have room to add."
It's the little things.
Other than what I've already mentioned, a large portion of the day is a blur, until later on when I left to meet Liz for our 7pm dinner at Tijuana Flats. That is, until Eric called to say his class had gotten cut short and would we be interested in meeting him and Jon for dinner at Chilis. I'm not a huge Mexican food person so that definitely appealed to me. (Ugh, everyone here really likes it. Admittedly, I like it more now than I did before, but it's definitely not my first choice.) So, I called Liz and we all drove to meet at Chilis. I was the last one there, and was happy to see that Erin was also there! The only bad part is that I couldn't hear Jon or Erin at their end of the (small) table so I missed out on a lot of the conversation. (There's only so many times a person wants to say, "Wait, what did you say again?") By the end of our 2 hours there, I definitely wanted to take a road trip with some friends, complete with one of Erin's roadtrip mixes.
As we walked out, Liz and I got in contact with Andrea who had just finished up with Love Bags. (It's a ministry that, from what I understand, puts together bags of daily essentials for the homeless.) She and some of her team were at an Irish Pub in Fort Lauderdale, so we both made our way there to hang out a little more. It was so good too, because despite being in a (small) group, I still got some one-on-one time with both Andrea then Liz who were each sitting on either side of me. We were there from about 9:00 to 11:00pm. Afterwards, Andrea brought me over to her car and gave me a present she got for me in Mexico when she was there for her job. She told me that's one of the ways she likes to show love for the people in her life. I really appreciate being one of those people.
It was such a good, and even necessary day of socializing. I am so blessed to be here. I love the people God has brought into my life and the various life changes He's brought on for me here, though some of them have been frustrating to go through at the time.
Day Eighty-Two (Tuesday, May 4)
There were so many great moments throughout the day, from the moment my mom listened to a radio program from WGNN that featured a family friend telling her testimony of how God saved her, to conversations before, during, and after Bible Study group. Oh man, and I was SOOOO blessed when my dad decided to put on the A/C after not having done so in MONTHS. It's not cheap to have it, but man, I've hated how whenever I'd put on makeup, I'd sweat it off seconds afterwards because it was so hot in the condo. (That stands out among other things, of course.) I hadn't dared ask that we do that, but was so thrilled when it happened anyway! I truly appreciate it, though the one thing I miss is the sounds of the ocean from our open balcony doors. Still, it's totally worth it, especially as summer approaches.
I got a very sweet email from one of my new freelance employers, Rosina the photographer. She said she appreciated my enthusiasm from the Bat Mitzveh because she said her clients had been draining her lately. (I am genuinely excited too!)
Bible Study was really great as usual. Some of my favorite things that we focused on were:
"It's not enough to affirm certain things in Christianity (i.e. baptism, speaking in tongues, etc.) but to also RENOUNCE certain things too."
"When we love God, we aren't burdened by obeying the Lord. It's like when we're in any relationship (romantic or platonic); we know the things that pleases the other person and we want to do them. It's not a hassle/burden."
"Some people fall back on Christianity just in case they're wrong. If wrong about evolution, they return to dust, but if wrong about God, they go to Hell."
Prayer was especially a blessing afterwards. People were more real in what they wanted prayer for. One person even asked that we pray for him because he's not even sure why he's there because he's going through some major doubts and anger with God. Wow, I really appreciate that kind of honesty. Another person even asked if it was alright for us to pray over him, which he said yes to.
Afterwards, I usually take off pretty quickly, but this time, I stuck around and talked with Jaclyn, as well as stayed around while she made cupcakes for her students (and had extra leftover). I also got to help her out by doing some dishes, which was nice since she's the kind of person who tries to do the same for other people.
Still afterwards, my friend Val and I left together then talked for a good 30 or more minutes in the parking lot by my car. It was sooooo good! We hadn't had a lot of one-on-one time before, so it was good to finally be able to do so.
Lastly, I got a really sweet text message from my college friend Brandon telling me how much he appreciates about me. It was completely out of the blue but touched my heart to no end. It's a rare thing to get a text from him, and to get one so sweet as that was especially sweet. What a wonderful end to my day!
Day Eighty-Three (Wednesday, May 5)
I have never celebrated Cinco de Mayo before, but when Andrea invited me to come out with some people in honor of it, I happily accepted the invitation.
Before then though, it was a major catch-up day in terms of spending some much needed time with God. That felt amazing! I'll admit that I don't always spend time with Him and I always wonder why I don't do it. It's just better when I do spend time with Him.
On a slightly less wholesome note, I watched and became obsessed with the newest episode of Glee ("Bad Reputation"). The main song I was obsessed with was at the end ("Total Eclipse") but they were all pretty amazing. But leave it to Glee people to make Vanilla Ice's song, "Ice Ice Baby" actually cool LOL. Oh man, and of course it was so great to hear them do "Can't Touch This" too. (The theme was making uncool songs cool again.) The plotline and character development was phenomenal as well, and we even got to hear some people sing who usually don't. (I love Arty's voice!) Sue Sylvester is probably my favorite character, oddly enough, and I loved seeing her interact more with her down-syndrome sister in the nursing home. I love that the writers have chosen to make her a whole character, rather than just a bad guy. And I can definitely say that this was the first time I actually liked Emma's character since for once, she wasn't just fawning over Will Shuester. Definitely a great episode.
As for kind things others did, my friend Risa texted me that I could have a 1/2 off massage! (And they're already cheaply priced to begin with!) She's in school to become a masseuse and let me tell you, she is GOOD!!
So, when I took off for Eric and Gabe's house (as the meeting point for Cinco de Mayo festivities), my GPS said that it was an invalid address. I've been there, but I was riding with Andrea so I didn't know how to really get there on my own. Gabe had typed in Delray Beach, but as I found out from Danny, it was Boca, as I'd suspected. I couldn't ahold of the 2 people I called before Danny (who lives near Eric), so I was especially grateful that he was available to help me figure out how to get there. After we figured out the mistake, he told me how to verbally get there, which is good since my GPS actually died before I got off the highway. The best part? I was early even. A guy named James who I haven't interacted much with was there, and it was fun getting to know him a little bit throughout the night.
After Liz and Andrea got there and we watched some of the Red Sox game, we took off. Liz drove both Andrea and me as we followed Gabe. On the way there, I texted my friend Alli who is on vacation. I've missed her a lot and texted her as much. She texted back saying she liked my last blog entry! Awww so sweet :) That made me happy. I can't wait for her to get back!
To celebrate the day, we were going to hear Gabe's old band play at a lounge. They had a delay, so we met up with the other half of our group at Coffee District. I ordered an AMAZING new drink which is now my favorite new drink! Trust me, if you like sweet drinks, you need to order the Woodchuck Pear Cider. Oh wow, so good. I also ordered a chocolate chip scone in order to be sure I didn't get woozy. When it struck 10:30, we took off, but not before the guys paid for drinks. Aww.
Afterwards, we went to hear Gabe's (former) band play. Before then though, we weren't too excited about the half-mile (or more) walk back, so 3 of the guys gave up their seats in their cars and let us women ride in James' car. Awww! I love chivalrous guys. Shortly after we got there, we enjoyed some free food and the band play. The lead singer can sing! Wow those pipes had me jealous. The coolest part was hearing Gabe "guest" on the drums. He was so good! (I personally think he was better than the new drummer.) We were there until around midnight. It was awesome, but I was tired. That is, until Liz and Andrea put on some N'sync lol. It was so fun singing along and I had no idea that I knew so many of the lyrics to some of those songs! Haha, we agreed that some of the guys in our group need to let Andrea choreograph them in a boyband song. (She did that back in college or so.)
So, happy Cinco de Mayo (now 5 days ago).
Day Eighty-Three (Thursday, May 6)
It was the National Day of Prayer, as well as my Aunt Kira's birthday. I hadn't realized that when I called her the first time that day. We talked about photography and briefly caught up before saying goodbye. She was so sweet! She's an incredible photographer who, if we lived nearby, I would ask her if I could intern with her or something. She told me that I'm doing well by working with multiple photographers and getting trained by them on the job. She said she thinks going back to school is somewhat a waste of time because I can learn so much more this way. That helped to hear. She told me the sweetest thing too! Aunt Kira told me that if it were her, she would hire me in an instant because I work so hard and have always had an affinity for photography. Wow, that meant the world to me. You would think it was my birthday! It wasn't until after we hung up that I remembered it was actually her birthday! So, my folks and I later left her a voicemail wishing her a happy birthday.
Another wonderful phonecall was from my brother. We hadn't talked in awhile so it was especially good to hear from him! I love when people call me and aren't just returning my call. It was cool catching him up on my end, as well as hearing about his not-even-2-months-in-California life. He sounds legitimately happy and is doing so well there! I mean, he has a job as a waiter, is doing an internship in which he's the Assistant Production Manager, and is part of a new show called Team Spitz which will air sometime this summer or in fall. He loves his roommates and I think he's auditing some acting classes. Wow, he's really doing it and I am so inspired! I miss him so much, but it helps knowing he's doing so well and making things happen.
Another hugely wonderful part of my day was getting started on a book project with my Mom. She's translating my Grandpa Kwon's book while I edit. We've been talking about doing this for awhile, and it randomly came up again. We finally decided to just do it! Oh wow it's so fun learning more about him. I've heard a lot of stories from him but they never quite the full version, so it was actually enlightening and so good to finally hear the full stories. When there was a missing segment, Mom took time out of her schedule to help me figure it out. I am so excited to get this book published.
I don't spend enough time outside, so I decided to go out on the balcony to read my Bible and talk to God. Afterwards, I took a nap for awhile. I guess I needed it because soon after, I got really sick. I actually went to bed at midnight, so it was almost good in a way, haha. (I can't ever seem to go to bed before 3am.)
Day Eighty-Four (Friday, May 7)
Yeah, so it was a way too laid back day. I woke up at 8am, which NEVER happens. (Though I napped later on.) Soon after, my mom showed me her idea to help me get more done, since being jobless tends to make me more lazy. It really seemed to help her since she's her own employer, so I decided to try it out on the following weekday.
I later texted a friend who was going to a very important meeting. I asked her how it went and she said really well since she got to tell this person about God. (He's Jewish.) Wow! That impresses me so much. It wasn't the funnest of meetings for her, so to be able to tell someone about God in the midst of it is really cool.
The rest of the day was largely spent in front of the computer catching up in blogs and other such things. I posted about 3 blog posts that day, which felt good, but was kind of exhausting. In the background, I watched D2: Mighty Ducks and D3, lol. The first one is definitely superior, but I still enjoyed it since it's such a nostalgic set of movies for me.
Furthermore, I finally got back to Risa about the massage and am so excited to get my 50-minute session on Wednesday (the 12th). Oh. My. Gosh. I'm so excited.
Oh, and I really appreciated when Andrea asked what I was doing that night and did I want to go to Veer's to watch some Bollywood movies. I turned it down because I had decided to use that day as my catch-up day. But it's always nice to be invited, for sure. It never fails to make me feel loved, I know that.
