It's Official

I am now a free agent.

Due to various circumstances, I have left my job.

It was on good terms though.

My boss said "If you need anything, if I can help you in any way, please let me know."

I have had people say this to me before and I'm always befuddled by their offer.

What are the boundaries of what I can ask of them?

Can I just ask them to give me another job?

Can I ask them to magically find something for me that will let me use my intelligent and witty repotoire (I have high self esteem)to be a useful and contributing member of society? With health insurance!?

I wish things weren't so murky.

On the Road Again

 After Friday, I will no longer have a job and my head is just spinning with excitement over having these next few months free to travel.

First things first: M. Mo in Colorado!

Next, a picture retrospective of my final days in Seoul. I'm missing it pretty hard right now.

The sky outside my apartment...Photoshopped, obviously ;-)

Buddy that I miss!

View of Namsan Tower from the Noksapyeong bridge

Kimchi pots on the way to HBC

Misfortunately named Brunch place in Hapjeong

Wine and European cheese party in Sven's art den

Sven has a car for the night!

Cruisin in the Mok-dong

Self-portrait in the subway

Some favorite buddies

Me and Ms. Nam at the symphony- Beethoven

The building where we saw the symphony

Moving to Itaewon

Yum Yum Yum

View from M. Mo's ap-pah-tuh (apartment)

The Evolution of Diwali

As a kid, Diwali was always kind of a pain.

Months of dance practice and awkward partnerings with boys from the community. Getting the right dress for the dance, or each dance, depending on how many dances we were in for the year.

It was all for them. We were put through this torture to entertain our parents. Diwali was their holiday and after 8th grade(ish), I wanted no part of it.

They could go and celebrate it with the India Association of Peoria and I would go and hang out with my friends.

Now...Diwali seems to be seeping into American culture. Perhaps, most notably, thanks to the "Diwali" episode of The Office.

As an adult, Diwali is glaringly mine to carry on and celebrate in the best way I know how. Last year the aunties would complain about celebrating Diwali in the States and how it wasn't as fun here. I've never celebrated a Diwali in India. I feel like I'm missing out on something.

However, there has been a sharp shift from the childhood associations of torment I used to carry from the festival, to a feeling of  family,warmth, light and love.

I think those two years alone, cold and hungry in Korea helped reinforce these warm, happy Diwali feelings.

So, for that, Korea, I thank you.

Also, I guess I have Obama's America to thank as well. More Asians were elected to political office this year than any other year.

Tulsi Gabbard, freshly elected to Congress, will be taking her oath on the Bhagavad Gita.

Thanks to her and many others "this pesky Hinduism thing" that I've always had to tend to is filtering into the mainstream American landscape.

What a relief.

I will leave you with this:

I don't know whose cake this is or why I'm blowing out the candles.

The captivated audience

Months of practice

Pre-show channeling of Stevie Nicks, even though I didn't know who she was then.

Friday Shout Out

I would like to take this time to give a shout out to my Israeli fan(s).

I've had a sudden uptick in hits from Israel on this blog as well as my Korea blog.

So, keep reading my lovelies.

I will try to deliver.

Dancing Around the Elephant in the Room

Every Tuesday I run the company Brain Trust meeting.

This is where the executives get together to asses the health of the company. It's jolly good fun.

This morning, I got to dance around the topic of the Election with one of the Suits.

"I voted this morning. Did my civic duty. It only took five minutes" he said. "I feel sorry for the people who will be waiting in line for 4 hours later."

"Oh, great!" I replied.

"Did you vote yet?" he asked.

"Yep! I voted early."

"Oh yeah? I should have done that. I just hope that whoever wins, they figure it out quickly tonight."

"Yeah, me too. Hopefully it doesn't become a mess and go on for days," I said.

"My daughter is voting in her first presidential election today," he said.

"Oh! That's exciting!" as I almost told him about how I disappointingly voted for Kerry in my first presidential election back in '04.

But that would have ruined our delicate dance around work-appropriate political conversation.

Recluse Nation

I came across this Rolling Stone article yesterday in my Twitter feed.

The intro paragraph:

The Nineties as a musical era started late and ended early — kicked in by the scritchy-scratch power chords of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," ushered out by the doomy piano intro of ". . . Hit Me Baby One More Time." Anti-pop defeated by pop — full circle, all apologies. You've heard the story.

...struck a proverbial chord about the nineties and the pre-Napster era. My generation is the last generation to know a world without the internet and pirated entertainment. I feel pretty lucky, as I consider those born after 1989 to be generally entitled, self-absorbed and somewhat useless. 
 

Being a music fan back in the pre-digital age took a certain amount of dedication. Going to a record store in a new town was filled with possibility and mystery. Finding that rare imported single with the scarcely heard b-side was a thrilling prospect. 

Each record store held that mystery.

It made being a pretentious hipster a full time job and legit if the effort, money blood, tears, and sweaty obsessive fan dedication to scour the depths of the music bins to find that rare gem to round out your personal music collection. 

Today's music lovers are have it much easier. Now its all about who can use the torrents and find new sites after the old ones get shut down.

If you miss a concert, it's probably uploaded on YouTube. Between that and various music blogs, a fan can not feel like they missed anything by not going to the show. This, I suppose, contributes to the recluse culture that seems  to frustrate my roommate.

I wonder if this digitization of culture, being able to get everything online, either live or after the fact, has contributed to the reclusing of young people.  

Life Stuff

I've been informed that I should start looking for another job.

This is a bummer and kind of makes me want to die.

But it's also exciting and I'm glad I'm being pushed out of my comfort zone.

However, right now, the bummed and dying feeling is overwhelming.

I kind of feel like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill when she drags herself into the Pussy Wagon and is staring at her atrophied legs and says "Wiggle your big toe," and she eventually wills her legs into working.

That's kind of how I am right now. Even though I want to curl up and feel sorry for myself, I have to will myself to do things, like make lunch, walk to the car, do my work while I still have a job.

Fun fun! Can't wait to be past this phase.