foto fun ...

I'm learning to whine.

And it works. The technologically advanced Mr. Lee has finally showed me* how to upload pics from my cell phone. The pixel quality is not as good as my camera but the photos are often funnier/more meaningful because I never have to fumble around with camera bags, settings and flashes. And sometimes the results are pretty.

And speaking of pretty. My friend Jill Hawkins, is very, very pretty. She's also funny and nice, and I'm sure I don't need to pontificate on how rare it is to find someone with all three of those star qualities. Among other things, Jill is responsible for drawing me my first (and only) map of Fukuoka, Japan, teaching me the expression "this too shall pass", teaching me that not everyone who smiles a lot belongs in a cult - and for proving that dancing on tables is not only for drunk people. I was 22 when I met Jill and back then I was much more suspicious of Joy and Happiness.

My point is this: more recently, Jill has been operating her own enterprise called called boldsimple and is responsible for some of the most striking jewelry designs I've ever seen. But as they say on Reading Rainbow: you don't have to take my word for it. Take a look at her designs yourself. And then send something to me . Ahem. I do love me some silver tangles, that's for sure.

And! Another friend has been riding the creativity wave, albeit in a much different way, and has made a music cd! My friend Rusty (or Lusty, in Korean) can be found at My Space here and although he calls his music "profoundly retarded" - and I confess to being not entirely sure what he means by that - I would like to direct anyone who is interested in homemade rock music, old fashioned irony and/or DIY artistry to check out his page as well. Rusty is A doubleyou E SOME!

And, well, since I'm telling you all where to go - you can check out my friend Dups here. He takes amazing photos. My friend OM has a cute story about her young man and his vacuum cleaner here and my friend Adam has a great u tube video posted here.

So. Now you know. I'm not friendless ... but I *am* lonely because everyone I love lives far, far away. Please, feel free to befriend me, come visit me - or just send me shiny jewels via Korea post. Wink wink.

*again

perpetratin' the regionalism, sorry ...

I might have been misleading when I said that Daejeon was a great city. Don't get me wrong - I suppose it IS - but what I really meant was that Daejeon is an easy city to live in.

When I talk about Daejeon being a good place I can only compare it to the other Korean cities I've lived in - almost all of which are in nestled firmly in the bosom of Kyeongsangnam-Do, a province well known for extra spicy food, extra thick dialect and extra manly men. Stamina food is !hot!, machismo runs rampant and the swagger and spit is a little more prominent. In my opinion.

Down in that part of Korea, halmonis and children and even small animals smoke cigarettes in the streets, a red light is just a suggestion*, and not speaking Korean is NOT an option. Many of the taxi drivers knew my name. And where I worked. And that, no, I would *not* have a drink with them. And blah blah blah - I had to walk 15 thousand miles through driving rain just to get a bite of cheddar cheese or decent beer. You get the point. There are no Outback Steakhouses, BIPS (sorry, VIPS) or Starbucks in Masan.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing (meat? booze? cheese?) but if I consider Masan and the surrounding wee towns to be Korea Xtra Strength then Daejeon is certainly Korea Lite. And at this point in my life (asa32yearoldnewmomwithadissertationtowriteandafulltimejob and notmuchfreetime) I WANT Korea Lite. Allow me to divulge a dirty secret:

I'm tired. I feel like I've earned my stripes. I do love Korea but - with the exception of my next cup of coffee - I want the watered down version. Just for a while.

Without further ado:

1) Oh, the traffic. Yesterday a car STOPPED and let me cross the street at a crosswalk. The red lights seem to function and drivers seem to mostly obey them. So far. I have not seen one car accident and absolutely zero bodies. It's an auspicious beginning.

2) It seems that people can ride bicycles safely. I see people riding bikes here on BIKE PATHS and cars do NOT use them as short cuts. I like it. Mr. Lee has eased up on his Car Campaign and is mulling over buying something with a basket instead.

3) Food. Korean food is, in my opinion, the best in the galaxy. But it's nice to have a change sometimes. Last week I bought rainbow trout!

4) There are no ants in my new apartment. Back down South from Whence We Came, our whole building was infested with gazillions of teeny, tiny, biting, vicious red ants. And there was no way to get rid of them. Everything edible or not vacuum-sealed had to be put in the fridge and after three years of squeezing semi-solid honey into my tea, I have a right bicep that could rival that of a diskus** thrower. But finally. Our Bran Flakes are not frozen and I've stopped peering fearfully into the cupboards every time I hear a strange noise.

5) The campus here, as our new home, is refreshingly flat. And green. And quiet. Our last apartment (situated on a mountain) was surrounded by a soccer field, a music building, a military training building and a busy street - and tended to catch on fire. I'm not kidding. It was not quiet. It was not good. Here is quiet. And good. There are birds, readers, birds.

6) People here stare much less. In Korea I'm a "foreigner". But my husband is Korean. And he looks younger than me. MY GOD HE IS YOUNGER THAN ME!!! And we got married just because we wanted to! And now we have a wee fusion baby. And she has BIG EYES!! Our marriage is an anomaly that causes much shock and intrigue. In Masan this meant having an intense conversation about nationality & age and marriage and love and babies with complete strangers about 6 thousand times a day. In Daejeon people just ignore us - or simply exclaim at Hayden's extreme cuteness. It is refreshing.
...

I just re-read this and wondered about myself what you're probably wondering: why the Eff You Cee Kay did I stay in such a Crap Hole for three years?? It sounds so terrible when I compare it to Daejeon. The truth is that SE Korea has some amazing history and sights and foods (and islands and mountains and beaches and people) but .... maybe that's a different post. Tune in this time next year for "Why I Miss Dream Bay Masan".

For now I'm just going to sip an imported beer, nibble a multigrain cracker and watch all the bicycles go quietly by my window. Wish you were here ~

Camera Obscura - shine like a new pin
The Concretes - miss you

* or a district.
** did I spell that correctly? Is that even a real sport?

no, lee(n) on her ...

... because she stands! Without any help. All the time.

Dear Eskimo - pretty

In fact, it is difficult to get her to sit. Or lie down. We expect she'll start jogging sometime tomorrow morning.

And: Daejeon - it is a good city. And I'll tell you why ... soon.

As soon as I get those boxes unpacked.

Vetiver - i know no pardon

~ werd ^^

lee(n) on me ...

There's a bit of talk going around Blogsville about names and thangs, and about how we refer to our partners/husbands/wives and family members. Beloved has a nice post up on this very topic as she's trying to find a new way to refer to her husband on her blog. One of her concerns is anonymity - as it is for a lot of people - as well as relevance and compatibility. It really is an interesting topic and it got me to thinking about the illustrious Mr. Lee and how I came to call him that.

Since almost everyone who reads this blog actually knows me and knows where I live and what I do and what I wear and what kind of whiskey I drink*, etc - I'm obviously not too concerned with protecting my identity. Or my husband's. But he's called different things by different people: Dong Jin, Jin, DJ ... That Korean Guy Melissa Married and, from my own mouth, occasionally, i admit: Mirthless Bastard .

But mostly, in my head, I think of him as Mr. Lee. Or Mister Lee, actually. With my eyes lovingly (and secretly) rolled on the "Mister". Because he IS. He is *such* a Mister. As evidence I submit the following photo of him as a child. See those shoulders? All stiff and squared? That's the weight of the world you see. And he's trying to hold it all up. After this photo was taken I'll bet he ducked his head like he was really embarrassed, smiled a crooked little smile and then hastily set off complete a To Do List which probably read something like:

do 5000 push ups
save stray dogs from soup bowl
do homework
do friend's homework
prepare for next week's homework
prepare for potential flood
save starving orphans
scold rude people
scold idle people
keep shoulders squared!
do NOT smile

Do I sound like I'm being mean? I hope not but even if I do sound nasty there is at least one advantage to all this funnery. The snooping Mr. Lee, who is standing behind me and reading over my shoulder is ... laughing.

And that's a right good rarity, that is. Ah, marriage.

Coming next time: Why I LOVE Daejeon!

The Bobbettes - mr. lee

*Irish, single malt. For those of you traveling through duty free. Mike.