Things have happened since I was in China... Shocking, I know. An entire semester of school passed by. It was a good semester, and I learned a lot. Speaking of learning, I've progressed in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean... There are positive benefits to enjoying Asian tv, especially when there are subtitles.
I've also learned about being a parent. For those of you who don't know, I work at an aftercare during the school year. Many of those children are poster kids for "I don't want my kids to turn out like that" and they're only in 1st grade. I've also been babysitting during the summer, and have experienced the triumph/relief when a little one finally (!!) falls asleep for a nap, especially if they were being fussy... When 1 year olds are tired, everything becomes a dramatic tragedy. Lord willing, I will be a parent someday, but I definitely am not ready to be a parent now.
Also on the whole "parent" topic, my brother is going to become a daddy in December... The whole family is really excited. He and his wife will be great parents. It's slightly weird that my brother is going from "Dr Martin's son" to "So-and-so's dad." (Of course, he's also known as himself, so it's not a complete long jump, more like stepping stones...) It kinda means that it's not that far off for the rest of us. (Relatively not far off... I'm in no rush.)
Around March, I started to listen to Korean pop music. It's fun stuff, and an extra plus side is that if I don't really like the lyrics in translation, I can ignore the lyrics and enjoy the music, 'cause I can't tell what they're saying! One song I could listen (with a completely kosher translation) to forever is Smile by KyuHyun - listen here.
I'm planning to conduct some experiments this summer: Bleach and Color - how far does it go? I'll be testing some cheap (colored) fabric with different solutions of bleach and water. When I feel confident regarding the different outcomes, I'll have some fun with some clothes I got on clearance. I'll probably act scientist and create a report on the effects of the solutions, as well as my finished products.
I went to Scotland in May. It was pretty. It was cool. I enjoyed the rainy weather, most of the time. One of the outstanding benefits from the trip was afterward: I had to read short stories by Scottish authors for the Lit. class connected with the trip, so I elected to re-read stories from The Golden Key and Other Stories by George MacDonald. Wow. The Golden Key is officially now my most favorite fairy tale... It's certainly not a Disney fairy tale, but the layers of brilliance and insight are untold. I wrote a paper for the class about the subject of Death in The Golden Key, I'll just say, in light of The Golden Key, and the Christian perspective that it is written from (and I share), I'm ready to die. It might sound morbid, and I assure you I do not in any way wish to hasten my death, but The Golden Key presents an outstanding perspective on death which is rare, especially in fairy tales. Look it up, the copyright has long expired, so it's easy to find under public domain. The Golden Key by George MacDonald. (By the way, his other fairy tales are certainly worth reading, as well.)
Life is slow right now, but I'm content. It's nice to not have an alarm clock buzzing under my pillow every morning.
I have waxed eloquent long enough. Signing off for now.
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