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Cutting through the Capitol grounds to get back to my car from the office This month has become an exciting, life-changing one. I started my first full-time job in the US, and it's far closer to my career interests than my previous. It's different in so many ways from teaching in Korea, but somehow my first week has been significantly easier. Everyone has been awesome so far, and the company has a sort-of cool, Austin-chill vibe. Working downtown means a longer commute, but it's fun being there five days a week! Speaking of Austin, it's official, I'm staying here for the foreseeable future. I am buying a house! How it all came to be is a long story, and a series of events (unfortunate for some, but fortunate for me!). It's brand new and absolutely adorable. The moment I walked in, I was in love. It's light and bright, and just has a happy feel. The cats and I move in next month. It's in area I wouldn't have considered, but the house is just so,...

Autumn is my favourite time of year, I love the crisp weather, I love sweaters, and it's probably the time of year I am most outdoorsy. I am going to miss these colours this year So, since autumn officially started a week ago, here are some of my favourite things: Candles ~ I LOVE the autumn scents that come out. My particular favourites that I re-purchase every year are Bath & Bodyworks' "Autumn" and "Leaves." Walking/hiking ~ I basically don't go for walks, and especially not hikes, all summer. Heat and I are on bad terms. However, once the cooler weather starts, I tend to go for walks everyday, and hikes when I can. Pumpkin ~ Why is this such a thing now?? I hate dislike pumpkin spice lattes, but pumpkin baked goods? Delicious, how come it now feels wrong to have them any other time of year? (I do anyway, but it's less common to see items for sale other times of the year.) We need to move past this. Foliage ~ Everything is so ...

- Mochi and Pekoe continue to be absolutely adorable and sweet, but my gosh, have they grown. Both were just over two pounds when I got them and are now close to seven. Pekoe in particular, he now has giant paws and quite a big noggin. Mochi remains my delicate little lady. - August was a great reading month for me, and I somehow managed to read 13 books (one is not pictured. The Selection series takes the spot of hardest to put down. However, the one I most enjoyed was probably "Saint Anything" by Sarah Dessen. In an effort to save money, I've been re-reading quite a bit recently. It seems I'm going to run out of books to do that with soon. My Dad gave me "To Kill a Mocking Bird," which I haven't read since grade eight, and "Go Set a Watchman," which I'm halfway through and will most likely post about on Monday.  All up for adoption! My pal Dafney sitting on my lap (left)   - Planning seems to have become trendy recently, and...

 I recently started volunteering in the cattery at Austin Pets Alive! (APA!). Naturally I knew it was only a matter of time before I found the perfect kitten to take home. Actually, it was my second time going there when I got my first kitten. L: Pekoe, the boy - R: Mochi, the girl I saw her profile online first and knew I had to meet her. She turned out to be the perfect sassy, but super sweet kitty. I adopted her that day and took her home. What I didn't know when I read her profile was that she only had one brother, whom she'd never been apart from. I did meet him too, but I was worried about getting two. So, I didn't adopt him. She did really well when I was around, but found it hard when I wasn't in sight. After two and a half days of regretting not getting her brother, I decided to call and ask if he'd been adopted. He hadn't! He had been moved to one of APA!'s offsite catteries, though. It was a bit far, but I drove out and picked him up that...

Most of the peacocks were up in the trees Yesterday my family decided to go to our favourite special occasion restuarant in Austin, Green Pastures. I love the historic home it's in, and the food is always delicious. Although, I think I've always ordered to tofu and roasted veggies as my entree. It's just so tasty, I don't want to deviate. Above all, possibly my favourite part of going there is the peacocks that live on the property. Those birds seem to have run of the whole neighbourhood, too. You can see them on the neighbour's lawns when they wander off property. June marks a lot of new starts for me, which I'm excited for. Most of May has been spent getting my feet on the ground here. Somehow, the move here has been harder than I thought. Thinking on it, I've probably had reverse culture shock . I experienced it when I returned after four months, so it should come as no surprise it happened after eight. Also, Austin feels like a much larger jump bac...

Sunset after a storm is gorgeous, though. I seem to be a curse whenever I come to Austin. The city experiences just the absolute worst weather when I'm here. In the winter I always manage to arrive just as the temperature dramatically drops. It also rains just about every time I come here. Since I arrived at the start of May, it has rained most days over the past few weeks. Just this past weekend there were tornado warnings for hours throughout the various counties with several touching down. There was major flooding, including downtown Austin. It's crazy, really. My friends and family say I brought this weather and really should not move here. I swear I am not the "Elsa of rain," I can't make it rain. That's ridiculous, but I do feel Austin and I have an unlucky relationship when it comes to weather.

Leaving the school and Korea was heartbreaking in some ways. The kids were upset, I was upset, but I know we'll all be fine. I read "The Armadillo from Amarillo" with one of my classes last year. When they asked where I was going in the States, I referenced it in my response. I'm pretty sure I won't be traveling all of TX or going into space, though. Anyway, I've been back for a week and things are just starting to feel normal. I'm picking up my new car tomorrow, which means FREEDOM. I'm also no longer waking up everyday at 4am, and recovering well from my plane-caught cold. I miss Korea, and I think at some point I will live there again, but not right away. If I go back, I don't want to re-entering the 학원 circuit. ^^

It's finally starting to look and feel like spring in Korea. I am thrilled! My next few posts will probably all be cherry blossoms. No guarantees, but do expect at least one or two. I went with a friend to Yeouido yesterday and those photos will be my next post. I just need to finish editing them. It was cloudy and even rained later in the day, but it was still gorgeous. This one didn't really match with the pinks and whites of the cherry blossoms, but these yellow flowers are also everywhere right now.

It's been almost two months since I last blogged anything. So far, I'm not doing that great on my resolution to blog more, am I? Life is incredibly unpredictable, which brings me to my next topic. I have a little less than two months until I leave Korea. It's both sad and exciting, as all major changes are. And some fun updates... Dracula's Lounge is an awesome Romanian restaurant in Seoul that you should 100% check out. Delicious food, great atmosphere, all-in-all excellent. I went with friends and a Meetup group for Valentine's Day dinner. How awesome are the handmade mugs? Mine's expression was a bit "ugh," but my friend's just looked insane. Also how cute is that dessert? I went skating for the first time in ages. It was not as big a disaster as I thought it would be. I didn't fall once, and therefore feel very accomplished. It doesn't matter that I spent the entire time no more than two feet from the wall. Besides, I was nev...

I've always done better when I have a schedule, it keeps me organized and productive. So, naturally I've decided to apply that to writing/blogging, too. I'm always optimistic, which means I'm thinking this will work. Anyway, I've been absent from here quite a bit over the past few months. I actually had photos and posts I meant to write, but are now untimely. So, instead here's a brief look at some random moments. Admittedly taken from my Instagram, in reverse chronological order (newest -> oldest) 1. My brother came to visit for Christmas and the week after, which I had off. We went to Lotte World to walk around one day. It was my first time going, it's what it is. Not Disney World, but fun. 2. Tree at AK Plaza in Seohyun. I love Christmas decorations, and this one was gorgeous. 3. I went to the Lantern Festival at Cheongyecheon. It was a fail trip, but a fun one. 4. Some of my kids were sweet enough to give me goodies on Pepero Day. 5,6....

새해 복 많이 받으세요~  2014 was another amazing year, and 2015 has quite a bit to live up to. I don't have such clear-cut exciting plans as I did in years previous, but I still think there is potential for 2015 to be just as amazing. In 2014 I... ...graduated from university, with honours! My last semester was so much better than I ever could have imagined. ...moved out New Jersey, possibly permanently. I spent most of my life in NJ, but with no family, or school, it seems unlikely I will live there again anytime soon. ...moved to Korea and started working! I also am loving both, for the most part. Those kids can bee annoying at times ;) In 2015 I... ...will continue to live in Korea and work as a teacher, haha. ...blog/write more. I seriously miss it and feel out-of-practice, which I don't like. ... ... Like I said, I don't have specific plans, so I'll keep it open-ended for now.

It's been almost a month since I arrived in Korea and started working. I had the most insane first week. Looking back on it I can laugh, but at the time I cried. Long story short, the school was put into a difficult situation when a teacher left suddenly. The result was that I had to start the morning after 24 hours worth of straight travel (during which I only had about two hours worth of broken sleep). The level of pure exhaustion was unreal. In some ways it might have been good, I was numb from lack of sleep and jet lag. I couldn't feel nervous, or anything else, really. The third day in this state was the worst, and I cried at work. Not my ideal situation. Luckily, my co-workers, foreign and Korean, are all awesome people. They helped me so much more than I can express. My director is very nice, too. She even had a cleaning service come to the apartment (that's for another day). So, despite the rocky start, I never doubted that this is a hagwon that treats its teach...

After my experience as a student in Korea, I knew that I wanted to go back and teach English after graduation. It was an idea I already had in mind, but being there shifted the idea into a plan. I am so excited to be going back NEXT WEEK! Soon, eh? I didn't want to post anything until everything was confirmed. I've been under contract with the school since the start of April. Getting all of the documents for the visa together was a lengthy and stressful process (mostly due to my university), but I can happily say that I now have my visa and am already to go! I won't be in Seoul this time, but I won't be far either. I wanted to try living somewhere new, but still close enough to hop on the metro to visit friends and familiar places.

I am done with university. That is crazy. The last two years of uni were whirlwinds, especially this last semester. Although I do count studying abroad as one of the most awesome parts, there was so much more than that to make my last year amazing. I took great classes with professors I hold a ton of respect for, and I was a reporter/editor for the school paper. I was so hesitant and nervous going in, I never could have imagined I would end up holding two editorial positions, or that I would love it as much as I did. It changed the way I looked and felt about school, for good and bad. I went to a 90 percent (or something like that) commuter school, which makes it hard to have that sense of 'belonging.' We actually ran opinion pieces on the lack of community at the school. As a part of the paper staff, I was lucky to have a place I could go and an amazing group of people. I'll miss it to be honest! I am now onto the next chapter and am living in TX for the summer with ...

Last week we experienced the first signs of spring. It always starts the same way here in NJ, you get a couple of nice days surrounded by frigid ones. However, those two or three days are all that's needed to give a little hope that we will exit the days of 20-something degree weather. A friend and I decided that nice weather meant we should be outside. Initially we planned a trip to a local park, but it was closed. Being the determined type, we decided to drive and chat until we could come up with an alternative plan. That alternative was going out to a trail on the NJ-PA border of the Delaware River. This was not our intention, and it showed. Neither of us was dressed to go hiking, and we were both wearing full make-up. The path was either still slick ice, or mud. So, we pretty much walked a little, sat down on a fallen tree to chat and just enjoy being outside. If there's one thing I've learned over the past couple years, it's that spontaneity can sometimes...

I find February to be a funny month, it either feels extremely long (like last year) or extremely short (this year). I'm finding it hard to believe that it's already the second week of March. Anyway, here's a bit of what I was up to: Jiji, my little trouble maker - The twelfth marked two years since my cat literally walked into my house. Despite all the time that's gone by, I still feel mystified as to how she came to live with me. - There have been so many snow days that I've had two of my classes 4 times. The semester started in January. - Last month marked a year since I first went to South Korea and met some of my most amazing friends. I still miss Seoul and them, but I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be. From June of last year, Gangnam Office Station - Somehow, despite the snow, we managed to get a decent first, and second, issue out. I'm in a couple of editorial positions on my school paper, if I hadn't mentioned it before! I ca...

Last spring my professor likened Macbeth’s fatal flaw of ambition to my own flaw of procrastinating on everything. However, procrastination is really just a symptom of my “Macbeth” flaw – over thinking. I wrote in an op-ed for my school paper that I am a perpetual over thinker, and it’s true. I can spend so much time just thinking over a decision. The op-ed was on studying abroad and just going. What if I had taken my usual decision time? I might have changed my own mind through over-research. Luckily, it was one of those rare moments where I acted. Now, I did have the basics down – I wanted to go to Korea, I wanted a semester (not summer) program and I was financially able. Also I applied to Uni knowing that I was going to study abroad.   I didn’t write it as a goal for the New Year, but I’m now adding this as a personal goal to work on. I don’t want my habit to prevent me from doing things I enjoy. My problem is I overthink, which leads to ...

Today was actually supposed to be the first day of school, which is exciting because it's my last semester! However, it snowed and classes were cancelled. Not that I'm complaining, I love snow!   When it's snowing, if I don't need to drive, I won't. And since I'm within walking distance of nothing, I generally stay in comfy clothes and do things that need to be done around the house . My snow-day essentials: 1. Sweatpants, I just think these are cute 2. A loose top because I pretty much live in over-sized tops 3. Slippers 4. My favourite Earl Gray in a cute mug, because I've an obsession with mugs 5. TV show marathon - currently I'm watching Merlin s.3! 6. A good book  Other than that, it's tea, tv and good book weather! I've been marathon-ing s3 of Merlin on Netflix, which is perfect because I can have it on in the background. I LOVE this show, I watched the first couple seasons a long time ago. Actually, I remember that I watched ...

This year has some guaranteed excitement ahead, but it has a lot to live up to when I look at 2013. As I said the other day, 2013 was a pretty awesome year for me. So, here are some of my 2014 plans/goals!  Happy New Year!!! Different type of selca this year ^_~ 1. I’m graduating university in May. This is the single most thrilling and terrifying thought for me. I have been a student for so long that I’m a combination of sick of it and uncertain what it will be like without that identity.  2. This spring I will be coeditor-in-chief of my campus newspaper! It’s something I said I wanted to become when I was intro to journalism. At the time I was half joking, but later realized it was true. So, this is extremely exciting for me!  3. Applying to teach English in Korea. Teaching overseas is something I’ve wanted to do between undergrad and grad school for ages. It seems unreal that I now will actually be applying to do so. It’s even crazier to think that I will ...

Last year I did a quick round up of some exciting moments from 2012, and reading them now is quite fun. So, here are five from this year. ^^ Just like last year, a sunset shot. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera to TX this year. 1. I finally studied abroad in Seoul! And it was one of the best experiences of my life. I learned so much during the months I was there, tried new foods, new experiences and met amazing friends, whom I still miss tons.  2. Academically, the semesters of this year were opposites. In the spring, I waffled through the easiest one of my college career. In the fall, I had my hardest, with six challenging courses that kept me extremely busy. However, my confidence in my work expanded a great deal this fall, which is why this is here. 3. I won an award for feature writing from the New Jersey Press Association for two of my articles. I didn’t even know I was entered in the contest until my professor emailed me to say I’d won. Very exciting!  4. I w...