It's been a while...

Hello everyone...

It's been a while (as the title suggests). I'm sitting in my apartment...buzzed, and smoking away from my hookah, and thinking, WOW...I haven't updated my blog since before Christmas. Let me see how well I can do with updating the past 2.5 or so months. Here we go...

Christmas break was everything I could have hoped for...and more. Seeing Lauren, Roann, and everyone else in NYC was fantastic. I loved the Disney Meet in CT seeing Laurie, Ashley, Shawn and Tina. As mentioned on my facebook profile, I am in complete Disney withdrawl, and having the chance to talk Disney for 4+ hours was amazing! Seeing my family was also a treat. I really miss Amanda, and seeing her, and spending some quality time with her was great. Although it was too short, spending a few hours with Claire was also really great. I miss her a lot, and her judgement and overall amazingness are just a few of her amazing qualities, and we had a great time together. Another highlight was spending New Years Eve with Jess Aker. We are truly "BFFs" and I love her to death...and having that time together was priceless. Another amazing night was when my dad and I spent some quality time together seeing YOUR Boston Celtics TOTALLY TROUNCE Washington. We had a great time together. Also seeing my aunts was refreshing, instead of just talking to them on the phone from 8,000 miles away weekly. I miss everyone at home terribly now...but I know they all miss me too, and it's only a couple more months (ok...5!) until I see them again...for a week or for good is still up in the air...more on that within the next month or so. Stay tuned...
The last stand-out was seeing Rita in CA on my trip back to Korea. She is a truly amazing person, and spending a few hours with her was great...as was the breakfast food!!! hehe.

Flash-forward to coming back to Korea. I arrived, and immediately went back to work, and found myself with the busiest schedule of all the teachers! PS...nothing has changed since in that regards...I STILL have the busiest schedule...with MANY students, and a TON of classes. But it makes the days go faster...and I have to admit. I love it. Most of the time. January was a mess though...getting back onto "autopilot" mode (as I call it) took almost a month, but it was worth it. February generally sucked...mainly because I had an issue within myself...whether to be the fun, more REALAXED teacher, or strict MEAN teacher. Overall, I settled for a bit of both...and it seems to have worked. The kids are learning, and they seem to enjoy me as a teacher, and I like teaching them for the most part...so no complaints currently. *crosses fingers*

Another update should be Lunar (Chinese) New Year. I went to Hong Kong...solo, to enjoy Hong Hong Disneyland. The weather wasn't the best, but HK Disneyland was awesome. I enjoyed the park, even though it was rather small, and the food was great! I loved being able to get re-charged Disney style on my own time! Highlights of the trip were my room...seeing the fireworks from my balcony...the food (I already mentioned), the live shows (specifically Festival of the Lion King), and the special events for Chinese New Year. I saw a traditional Lion dance, a traditional parade down Main Street, and collected "good luck" stickers with characters on them...really cool. I also DID NOT go overboard with trinkets and gifts...just enough to satisfy myself, and a few chosen others *cough LAUREN CHECK YOUR SNAIL MAIL *cough* HAPPY BIRTHDAY *cough*. It was a memorable time, and definitely worth the money and time to go.

Fast forward to now. It's March. As mentioned, I'm very busy...all the time, but I have to say I'm doing well. I'm stressing out about the decision to stay vs. go after 1 year, but honestly in my mind, right now it's a win/win situation. The new teachers are here, and they're great...very friendly. One more teacher will be coming at the end of the month. I'm told by Amy (my supervisor) that the new girl will take one of my classes which would be great). Amy is also supposedly leaving, which stinks because she totally has my back. But I'm holding out hope that she stays, and you can bet I'll ask her for a reccomendation before she leaves. She's a great woman, and a really good friend to me. My new partner teacher is also a great girl, and for the most part, I get along with everyone at work (can't ask for much more than that, right??). I still frequent the Seoul Arts Center...I'm seeing an Opera on Saturday, and a ballet next Saturday. I got a year pass for Everland, the really cool amusement park/zoo outside Seoul. I saw Chris a couple weekends ago, and had a GREAT time catching up with him.

The BEST news of all is MY MOM AND MY AUNT are coming to visit. My mom is coming April 28, until May 6, and my Aunt arrives the next day (May 7) and we'll be going to Tokyo Disneyland together on the 9th-11th. I'm really excited. Jeong is also supposedly still coming out in mid-April. And also, the headmaster of CHCH (my high school) is coming out towards the end of April, and he wants me to speak at his meetings with alumni and perspective families. So yes, my life is CRAZY busy, and come a month or so from now, it will be even CRAZIER. And yes, I'm TOTALLY looking forward to it.

As the people who know me best know...I live my life to the fullest. I seek adventure and fun at all times. I can honestly say I'm happy...nervous about the future, but truly happy for what I have, and for what will come. Let's just wish for a girlfriend, a steady FUN and challenging job at home, good health for me and my family/friends, and a lifetime pass for all the 5 Disney Parks, and I'll be set for life...lol.

~Greg :)