Waiting to Hear Back from TaLK * Christmas Grief * Baby, It's Cold Outside *

I am eagerly waiting to hear back from someone in the TaLK program.  It has not been long since I've turned in all of my necessary documents but I'm in a hurry to find out what I'll be doing with my life for the next year or so.  I'm banking on going to teach in South Korea yet there is this tiny voice that whispers to me that I may not get in the program.  The problem is that I have no real backup plan.  I could get a crumby minimum-wage job for six months and then reapply for the TaLK program in the summer but I'd rather not work another low-paying, no respect, soul-sucking job.  I've had too many of those and I'm hoping that I'll never find myself in a situation where I'm forced to work one of those thankless jobs again.  I'm too educated, too intelligent, too cultured, and frankly, too flippin' old to be putting up with that sort of crap.  It's on to new, fresh crap for me! 

Part of the reason I'm looking forward to teaching in South Korea is that I'm excited to learn more Korean.  I've formally studied French, German, Spanish and Arabic and I've dabbled in Italian, Urdu and Korean.  In case you didn't know, I'm a language geek.  I always have been.  Assuming I get in the program and spend a year in South Korea, when I come back to the states, I will be somewhat fluent in Korean.  That geeks me out.  I am also tossing around the idea of teaching in other countries when I finish my year in South Korea.  Among the countries that I'm considering are China and Saudi Arabia.  This is a long way off so for now I shall only focus on the present and near future.  

There are plenty of reasons why I want to teach in South Korea but another little reason is that I may not be allowed to legally drive in the USA for awhile.  See, the thing is...I was pulled over by a police officer yesterday for allegedly passing a stopped school bus.  I am pleading "not guilty" but if I am found guilty at my hearing, my license could be taken away for six months, I'll have five points on my driver's license and my car insurance will sky-rocket.  All of this would be more palatable if I were living out of the country for the duration of my license suspension.  This is a giant headache.  The fines associated with allegedly passing a stopped school bus are astronomical.  Have I mentioned that I have no money?  I haven't yet?  Oh, then read on...     

Even though I am incredibly poor right now, I treated myself to a buffet lunch at Misaki.  With each bite I felt guilty for spending the money on lunch when I should be spending it on Christmas presents.  Each year I am obligated to buy for my 22 closest family members.  I come from a big family with step-parents, half-siblings, grandparents who are like parents and uncles and aunts who are like brothers and sisters.  Then there are the children of the uncles and aunts.  Christmas stresses me out more than anything.  Each year since I can remember, I've stretched myself too thin in order to buy presents for everyone.  For at least a decade, I've been dying to tell everyone not to buy me any presents because I just couldn't afford it.  "But you have to buy for the kids," my grandma always reminds me.  Well, if I have to buy for the kids, then why not buy for everyone else?  It's surprisingly not that many extra people to buy for...  My blood pressure will not lower until after Christmas.  The meaning of Christmas is so lost beneath the tons of stress, mandatory gifts, greeting cards and fattening foods.  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against fattening foods.     

I'm not good at Christmas.  I've never been a good gift-giver.  My presents are often re-gifted to other unsuspecting victims.  You know why I think I'm a bad gift-giver?  I think it's because it's darn near impossible to find the perfect gift for under $20.  Seriously.  What unforgettable gift costs $20 or less?  If so-and-so really wanted it in the first place, well, they would have already purchased said item.  Want to know what else I'm bad at?  Writing "thank you" cards!  It has been over a year since our white wedding and I still have not sent out the "thank you" cards yet.  It's not that I'm not grateful.  I am extraordinarily grateful, in fact.  I just don't show it by sending "thank you" cards.       

It's 63 degrees in our apartment right now and I'm chilly.  Our landlord has been avoiding paying the heating bill (our rent is so high that it includes the cost of heating) and then when he finally paid it, the apartment building's heating system broke and he refused to fix it for about a month.  My husband, our cats and I survived a harsh and cold storm with no indoor heating for weeks.  Even though we all huddled together, I still could not shake the chill. I slept with two blankets, a husband and several cats and I was still cold.  Eventually he fixed the heating system but I'm not sure what is going on right now.  Perhaps he's just too cheap to turn on the radiators today.  I shouldn't be complaining that it's 63 degrees because we lived with the apartment being much colder.  

I take care of one stray cat in particular but the food that I put outside gets eaten by other cats as well.  "Mama Cat," we call her because she's birthed so many litters of kittens, has been under my supervision for a couple of years now.  My husband and I trapped and spayed her months ago so that she could focus on keeping herself alive and not constantly worrying about her brood.  She's feral but she lets me get about a foot away from her when I'm bringing her food at night.  When the weather is bad, I feel really sorry for her.  Even though we've supplied her with a make-shift home consisting of a cardboard box and several items of clothing, she still must endure the harsh temperatures.  I wish we could do more for her.  

Hello dear family, friends and total strangers!   I am pleased that you are reading my blog.   I hope that you find a modicum of amusement within the confines of my postings / rants / informative musings. 

I am nearly finished with my degree at Point Park University and I have decided that my skills would be best suited for teaching English as a second language in South Korea.   I do have ideas for future plans beyond South Korea but I would rather not discuss them at the present time.  

I have been temporarily accepted into my program of choice, TaLK.   I have had some issues with sending in paperwork to the proper authorities and so I am accepted but other people who have turned in their paperwork on time will be given priority.   If, for this reason, I cannot get in to South Korea then I hope to find a mediocre job that I can put up with for at least six months.   My "current" boss has not offered me any work in over a year so I shall assume that I am unemployed.   This is unfortunate because I enjoy having money and I do rather enjoy spending said money as well.   If anyone would like to send money to me out of the goodness of their hearts, I shall graciously accept that money.   (Insert "smiley face" emoticon here.)

As long as I am not overwhelmed with other things, I will keep you apprised of my situation.   Please wish me luck.   I would love to have this opportunity to teach children in South Korea for one year.