We just stopped by the space needle and now we're at starbucks taking
a quick break before we get rolling on the next 17 hour leg if our
journey. I've got so much I want to blog about and while the iPhone
blogging is super useful and allows me to throw down my ideas as they
come, i don't think its best for really throwing down oceans of
thought, just the occassional puddle or lake.

I was talking to a good friend the other day and she asked me what I
had hoped to get out of this roadtrip, I had to think about it for a
few seconds but I finally out some thoughts to sound and said that
hope to get the following:
1. Inspired
2. Relaxed
3. Provoked to thought
4. Motivated
5. That the guys and I would find at least a couple of answers to the
tens and possibley hundreds of questions that we wrestle with daily...

While I don't think anyones had an epiphany, I definitley see the
storm clouds forming....

Until next time,
Tim

So we were planning on being up at 6am this morning; our theory: a
good nights sleep on a heavenly bed versus in the fetal position on
the backbof the seibring should equal less sleep needed... Nope.
Slept till 9 and now we're at pikes peak bar& grill enjoying their all
you can eat blueberry waffles. Since we have a long drive down to LA
to meet up brad we're just gonna hit a few of the major sights before
the next 17hour leg of the journey.

Until next time,

Tim

The one hour drive to Seattle took almost two. I don't think joe of I
have ever been scared driving. (except maybe the time I fell asleep on
the I-10 for a quick second and moved over 4 lanes) well we finally
made to Seattle and decided to treat ourselves nice for the ridiculous
1600 mile (2400km) drive. We found the westin Seattle and I used some
points to secure the room for $0... What a view, now its time to to
find a place for dinner.

Until next time,
Tim

We're an hour outside of Seattle and in the middle of a blizzard. A
foot of snow expected tonight, ice slush and snow on the freeway. We
all just said our prayers again, next update from Seattle!

Tim

Sent from my iPhone

We just pulled into a has station in Oregon after visiting the Oregon
trail and having a snow ball fight ( and making a snow angel; pictures
to come) just found out that in the entire state of Oregon you're not
allowed to pump your own gas! Anyways we're gonna grab a quick bite
at a&w and then next stop... Seattle

Just over 1000 miles under our belt we decided to grab some coffee. I
got to sleep about 4 hours last night after pulling over around 11
pm. I was exhausted, wiped out, and getting delirious. Joe and
elliott took the helm and I got some much needed sleep in the back
seat of out 2 door seibring; quite possibly the smallest rental car
back seat! I lay curled up in the fetal position, but was able to
sleep. Took back over in twin springs this morning and will prob
drive the rest of the way to Seattle. Eta: 2:30pm. Coldest place so
far: mountains of Utah, a chilly -11.

Until next time,
Tim

We're about two hours outside of salt lake city and we decided to pull
over for a quick break. About 30 min back we ran into a nice little
snow storm that had us praying a second time. We just talked to the
cashier at the gas station and she said there are reports of a pretty
bad snow storm just outside of salt lake. Guess we'll just drive
until we can't. By the way, its 18 degrees out... Joes frozen stiff
and elliotts on the verge of cursing. Me, I'm just reminded of Seoul.

Until next time,

Tim

So joe won a few hundy at the tables, elliott cruised the strip, and I
got a few hours nap... Now we're off on the next leg: Seattle, WA.
1255 miles to go...

Tim

So we made it to vegas round noon, and joe found the video poker
tables. Elliott and I walked around a bit and then we all met up for
lunch. I'm feeling pretty beat abs we've got a 17 hour drive ahead of
a tonight so I think I'm gonna take a power nap while joe tries his
luck again and elliott ventures out to discover vegas. I warned him
to stay away from the girly shows... And joe warned him to stay away
from the boy ones...

Until next time,
Tim

So we've made our first pit stop and it was at burger king so joe
could take a little bathroom break. We got a bit of a late start due
in part to joe sleeping in, breakfast at mcdonalds, picking up road
food at Fry's and the rental company not having our requested vehicle
in stock. But we're on the road now, well we were, and vegas is about
2 hours out. Plan for vegas: a little lunch and a little poker
( maybe we'll Mme enough to pay for the trip, or not.) Until next time,

Tim

It's 1:30PM and Christmas is half way over. It'll be another year before this day is here again. I was talking with a friend from Korea last night, and for some reason I had a thought. How cool would it be to one Christmas, charter an aircraft and start at the international date line and from there fly around the world and for once, enjoy 48 hours of Christmas... My friend reacted by asking me why in the world I was talking about that and why I decided to mention that in the middle of our conversation... I can't say that last night I knew why; today I might have a little glimpse.

Wonder. There is no other day in our calendar that expresses the idea and concept of wonder than Christmas. We live lives filled with schedules, tasks, alarm clocks, commitments and daily routines. So often we jump from static day to static day without taking a moment to sit in awe, to sit in wonder. Wonder lives all around us, from taking a moment to sit and be overwhelmed by the vast night sky and countless stars that were placed with intent and purpose, to meeting friends, old and new and then just sitting back being in awe, practically paralyzed at the amazing set of events that brought us together. I was talking to Brad yesterday while we were running errands and we just started thinking about the sets of circumstances that brought us together and brought us to where we are today. We talked about rockstar and I and the no less than a hundred specific and unique events that all had to happen in order for us to be friends. For Loui and Vic and the sovereign set of events that not only brought them into friendship but even recently into marriage. And even how I recently made a new friend in Korea and found out that some 27 years ago we were born in the same city in Korea. Then a few months ago, through a crazy set of hundreds of specific actions we were both unaware of, ran across each others' paths and are now building a remarkable friendship.

Joe mentioned in his blog that he's never quite gotten used to the "Phoenix Christmas" and I can't say that I have either. I'm staring out the living room window and watching a pair of green palm trees swaying in the 65 degree breeze, with a blue sky in the background and a swimming pool in the foreground. Hmmm...

I'm learning so much about myself everyday, and for me it's a difficult process. I feel challenged, sometimes moment to moment, to discover that about myself I have yet to know, to develop those traits which already exist in me, and starve out that "nothing good" that lives in me. And while I can confidently say that I have very little idea what I will look like 5 years, I am more so confident that the person I am on my way to becoming is fearfully and wonderfully made.

Woke up this morning at 3:00am, had a hard time sleeping tossing and
turning, waking up every 20-30 minutes . Don't know if it was
"roadtrip anxiety" or just something else. Either way we're on our
way to the airport to pickup the rental car, then pick up E and we're
off to Vegas! Next post coming soon!

So much has happened in the past 96 hours since I've been back in the states. I've had breakfast at Parsons three days in a row, been to starbucks twice, and the mall once. It doesn't seem much like Christmas this morning...as a matter of fact yesterday felt more like Christmas; yesterday when I was on the phone with my cousins and friends from Korea. It's interesting how much things change in a short span like four months. I was having coffee with rockstar the other day and telling him that for some reason I don't feel like Arizona is my home. Don't get me wrong, my family is here and perhaps someday I'll be back here to settle down but, in the mean while I feel like I'm a traveler, as if there's so much for me to learn and explore.

My experience in Korea seems to change more everyday than I could have imagined in the whole of the year I'm supposed to be there. I've made a new little sister, Gong-Shan from China, I've made a slew of good friends and even a really great friend. I've met amazing family like Do Yoon and Peel Ju and Hyun Ju; my uncles, aunts, and other cousins have blessed me and introduced me to an aspect of my life and heritage that I could not have imagined possible in a hundred years... and for this I am greatful to God.

In the past week, I've also had an amazing time getting to see the working of a soveriegn God in ways that I had forgotten that He works. I hope to blog more on this topic later today. But right now, Christmas brunch is about to be ready and I should go get ready...

Merry Christmas and Happy Advent.

I'm tired... I've slept a combined 10 hours in the past three days trying to reconfigure my sleep to match the U.S. In less than 12 hours I'll be on a Boeing 777 from Inchon to S.F. where I'll have a 4 hour layover (which is good because hopefully I can get my iphone reactivated) and then it's on to Sky Harbor. In the past month I've really started to feel like Seoul is my home. I'm familiar with the surroundings, I have my favorite restaurants, I've made some new amazing friends and finished up a semester of school. I'm a little nervous about going back, so many things to do and so little time to do it in. I'm sure the three week Christmas/New Year break will pass in a blink and then I'll be back at KLI for another serious of 4 hour a day intensive courses..

I have to say that while learning Korean is a great reason to be here, the challenges that I'm facing and the growth they're requiring of me are alone well worth the journey. I'll be taking the iPhone on the plane and I'll try to send updates when I can... Maybe I'll go shower now? Or talk to rockstar...

Don't take this too personal, I mean unless it applies to you, then take it how you will. Let me start by saying that I'm not writing this from any position of authority or a pulpit from which to glare down and point my finger... I simply wanted to climb on my little soap box today and yell for a minute so here goes...

What are friends for? I mean, what is the true definition of a friend? While I haven't committed to a full meaning of the idea of friendship, I feel like I'm well on my way. Jesus said that there are such friends that stick closer than family. I think that there are two parts to friendship and as the theme of Married with Children states.. "you can't have one without the other" First, there's the part that makes you feel all giddy inside, you know, the part that people most often dream about when they think of best friends. This is the "marshmallowlly goodness" of friendships. It's the having common interests, having someone there to talk after a death in the family or a glowing first date. It's having someone who plans your surprise birthday parties or writes you a farewell card that you leave on your desk and read when you need to be inspired. It's having someone there to smoke a cigar with just because you didn't want to be at home, or having someone to laugh at you and give you nicknames like "baby huey." Then there's the "burnt outer crust" of friendships. These are the parts that most people don't enjoy, as a matter of fact they avoid them all together. This is the part when it hurts to be a friend; the part of true self sacrifice, the part where unlike most of our daily routine, we take a moment and put aside our goals and priorities and make the friend our only priority.

I've never been good at the "burnt outer crust" but rockstar always has. I was talking with him today about a particular situation that brought me heartache. While often I think that he and I are so different occasionally something simple yet profound happens and it reminds we why we've been friends for well over a decade.

It's true that we're more and more becoming a world of I's My's and Me's, and that hurts me. Why do we expect to find anything, especially in the dealings with another broken human being, with no burnt outer crust? It amazes me. I wish that on occasion we would forget about the importance of ourselves and our feelings and for that moment give to a friend. As I was telling rockstar today, if I'm struggling through something and he's my friend, he'll do whatever is within his power to help me, even if it hurts him at the same time. Too often, we call ourselves friends and yet are not willing to hurt with the other person, instead, we simply tell the other person to continue to hurt for our sake.

On a high note, I just got a phone call... ;)

"Are not all lifelong friendships born at the moment when at last you meet another human being who has some inkling... of that something which you were born desiring, and which, beneath the flux of other desires and in all the momentary silences between the louder passions, night and day, year by year, from childhood to old age, you are looking for, watching for, listening for? - c.s. lewis.

So there has been quite a bit of debate about human caused climate change, or so I would like to think. Granted, there are those that would argue that the debate is over and now it's time for action, of course I disagree. While I don't disagree that "greener" companies, less dependence on nonrenewable sources of energy and less pollution in the air are all good things, what I am skeptical about is the fervor with which the "blame humans" crowd telling tales of impending doom of the globe into a boiling planet flooded by melted polar ice caps if we don't immediately change our ways. Before you totally and likely ignorantly come to a decision based on the flyby media and "an inconvenient truth," take a quick sec and check out these recent articles:


Did you know that temperatures since 2001 have actually been declining?

"Carbon Emissions Don't Cause Global Warming" - Dr. David Evans

"Climate scientists at the University of Rochester, the University of Alabama, and the University of Virginia report that observed patterns of temperature changes (‘fingerprints’) over the last thirty years are not in accord with what greenhouse models predict and can better be explained by natural factors, such as solar variability. Therefore, climate change is ‘unstoppable’ and cannot be affected or modified by controlling the emission of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, as is proposed in current legislation." Press Release- Dr S. Fred Singer

Did you know it was actually warmer during the midevil period than it is today?
"Medieval Warm Period Reinstated" - Dr. Craig Loehle

Did you know that one of the founding members of the expert reviewers panel of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN IPCC) is calling for the abolishment of the panel?
Article - Dr. Vincent Gray

Did you know that CO2 contributions to climate change are considered negligible?
"Heat capacity, time constant and sensitivity of Earth's climate system" - Brookhaven National Laboratory

Did you know that "world climate predictors" admit they're only right about half the time?
Article - The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition

Did you know that many of the climate models used by forecasters are built by "unlicensed engineers?"
"Unlicensed Engineers" - Dr. Hendrik Tennekes

Did you know that less than half of all published scientists actually endorse human caused climate change?
"Comprehensive survey of published climate research reveals changing viewpoints" - Michael Asher

and Finally,

Did you know that Carbon Dioxide did not cause the last ice age? (contrary to popular belief)
"Deep-sea temperatures rose 1,300 years before atmospheric CO2, ruling out the greenhouse gas as driver of meltdown, says study in Science." - Terah DeJong, USC

Needless to say, the debate is still thriving... Perhaps we should wait a bit longer before buying into possible carbon credit schemes and funding more week long seminars on climate change, which themselves, create more pollution that 20,000 automobiles... but that's just a thought.

Well the first half of my study in Korea is coming to an end. As a matter of fact in 12 days I'll be in Phoenix probably eating breakfast at Parsons' with good people. In an effort to go out with a bang, I decided to take my classmate up on his offer to introduce me to some "authentic" korean food. So last night my one classmate and I, (JweeBong, He's Chinese) decided to go to Oh-Jo-Doe's house (He's from Uzbekistan) and share in some good food and conversation. 

I got a text message from a friend of mine the other day; it was his 26th birthday.  The message: I feel so old.  How could I respond?  Lately, I seem to be the vent for several of my friends who have been awakened to the fact that they're getting "older" and I'm already there.  Most of their venting and uncertainty stems around the fact that they don't know what they want to do with their lives, or they've woken up one morning and found out that they've graduated school, been working in a mundane job and don't know where the road they're on will lead.  For me it's a bit different.  I don't wake up in the morning wondering what the road holds ahead or if I'll be ready for it.  For me, the challenge is not what will I do but more how will I do it all?  I was talking to rockstar the other day and couldn't help thinking about how any one of the dozens of things I want to do could consume a lifetime.  Do I have to chose?  A career?  Serving God?  Having a wife?  Raising a family?  Caring for friends and family?  Spending time with loved ones?  Seeing the world? To anyone of these I could devote my entire life and find not enough time... Dare I tackle them all?  
Those of you who know me, know I often struggle with priorities. I want to change the world, and yet I'm uncertain of how to go about it. At times I'm 70% sure, other times I'm not sure at all.  Perhaps it's old age, or perhaps it's wisdom (which in essence is old age, but an easier way of dealing with it.)  I think my priorities are setting themselves, and for the first time, I feel like I might hit that 80% mark of surety.

I'm not sure. But once you register with the Law School Admissions Counsel, there seems to be no end. Had a few people ask which law schools had given me fee waivers and sent solicitations and I've never had the time until this morning, when I should be studying for finals. (isn't that always the case?) So I did a quick search in Gmail for "law school" and these are the names that turned up... glancing through them, most included fee waivers, if you want to know specifically just ask...

Washington University New York University
Chapman University Duke Law
University of Virginia Notre Dame Law
University of St. Thomas New College of Law, Ca
University of Detroit University of Michigan
University of Arizona UST School of Law?
University of Miami Arizona State University
Tulsa College of Law Texas Weslyn University
University of Akron Lewis and Clark
Southwest University Santa Clara University
Southwestern Law, LA Washington and Lee
St Luis University University of Iowa
Vanderbilt Loyola University
Pierce Law Washburn University
Phoenix Int'l Law Temple Law
Oklahoma City law Boston College

Hmmm. rockstar's not surprised, "I knew it would happen, it was just a matter of time..." or so he said. And no, I'm not talking about that which he presumes I'm talking about, what I'm really talking about is the "finals" atmosphere that seems to envelope everyone and every thing around here. I mean finals week in the US is one thing, but here they've taken it to another level. You have to show up before 9:00am if you plan on getting one of 2000 electronically reservable study desks at the library on the weekend! My cousin spends hours a day at the library while my housemates do the same. Me? Finals start next Tuesday and yes, tonight, a Friday night, I could be found at Starbucks...studying. And while it's not the school library, I consider it just as bad. What's even CRAZIER is that I'm up past 10PM!!! (I wonder just how Korean I'll become? )

On my way to school this morning besides being 18 degrees (F) and windy, I noticed that the hill I usually walk up had undergone quite a change. I decided to snap a quick pic with the old iPhone to do a little compare and contrast!

Been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days, so I decided to come home early, get most of my homework done and rest. After sleeping for some time, I was awakened by a text message from my cousin, "Happy first snow." Being the crazy kid from Arizona, I threw on my jacket and scarf and ran downstairs, shouting, "happy first snow" on each floor as I went down! Although one of my housemates GongShan didn't quite understand what I was so giddy about, Hiro understood quite well, for he was out with his camera too! So, under the weather or not, here's to the first snow fall of the year!

Just got home from an afternoon with the cousins and aunt/uncle. Dinner was great, my aunt's a phenomenal cook and my cousins are pretty rad. So most mornings I wake up and check my inbox for any email coming from a law.edu address in hopes that it might be another application decision, normally I don't check on Sundays and Mondays because the it's the weekend in the States and I don't expect much... However, tonight I got home and found a congratulations email from a small virginia law school I applied to as a fall back: William & Mary School of Law, located in Williamsburg. W&M ranks 31st of US News and World Reports 08 ranking, but that's only half the story. They small class size (around 220) and location near the nation's capital make it a great campus if you're looking to get into the govt sector or work in the DC area. As a matter of fact, a law firm I've been keeping an eye on even does campus recruiting. So I've got 2 down and 7 schools to go... Hopefully, this is just the spark to a slew of "accepted" emails coming my way soon... Keep updated at lawschoolnumbers.com

Not much new going on lately, between "normal" classes, Korean classes, and hangin with family most of everyday seems to be consumed. Hung out with my cousin yesterday, pretty fun, had Chinese food and then I had the opportunity to introduce her to Cold Stone! Her expression was priceless! (Side note, she's never tasted coconut!?) Christmas starts a little early in Korea, primarily because their Thanksgiving is in October so right after Peppero day (or pocky day as Steph calls it) it's right on to Christmas.

Korean class is going well; KLI switches up the teachers after midterms to help mix things up. The new teachers are pretty good, and the pace seems to be just right. I'm headed to the DMZ tomorrow, really looking forward to it. (Although, I'm not quite sure what I'm hoping to see?) I'm sure I'll snap plenty of pictures and hopefully get in some more Atlas Shrugged (ML's kick'n my butt!)

Now this is marketing!
Have you ever looked at a magazine ad or watched a commercial and thought, "man, now that's come clever marketing?"  I know that in the US, we pride ourselves on our innovative marketing skills.  Take Hersheys for example: Of course we're all familiar with the "Hershey's Kiss."  How brilliant was that?  Name a chocolate after something that boys and girls have pursued since the beginning of time and you've got a hit.  But they didn't stop there!  What goes better with kisses than hugs?!  And while I thought that the height of candy marketing genius, last week I found out that US companies might learn a thing or two from Lotte (롯데).  Lotte makes this cracker called Pepero (빼빼로).  They're basically thin cookie sticks covered in chocolate.  Well guess what November 11th is?  National.. YES NATIONAL Pepero day.  Why might you ask?  Because November 11th is 11-11 and that looks like 4 Peperos!  GENIUS!  Can you imagine if there was a National Kiss Day? or National NutterButter day?!  Where the entire point of the day is to buy people _____ (fill in the blank).  



http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/health/07fat.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1194438040-WQ8KzBIizxq%20luYBavokrw&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

How can I be expected to in class and concentrate on learning Korean
while I'm being taunted by the calls of autumn outside the window? As
far back as I can remember I've never seen a fall like this. I snows
in Seoul, I've never woken up snow covered ground, it's an experience
i can't wait for.

Lunchtime: lunches at KLI are always hectic. If you arrive to the
cafeteria even a minute late it could mean a 20 min delay in getting
your food. Fortunatly I got here 5 mind early today so I'll be
finished before these poor kids even get a peek at their lunches...

So.. I should be studying for midterms, but instead I'm blogging. And of course it has nothing to do with not wanting to put my nose in the books.. but more because I care about everyone who's interested in "all things, me and korea." So here goes.

First, I had a chance to go to 용산 (Yong-san) a few weeks ago. It's a huge 8 story mall (of sorts) that specializes in everything electronic. I picked up an HP printer for $48 while my housemate - Hiro picked up a new cell phone. You'll also see that there was a car display in the court of the mall. YES that's a DAEWOO sign.. and YES, the red car is a DAEWOO... (hmmm, never seen that in the states)







Here are some pictures of my Korean Language Institute class... There are 14 of us, when everyone shows up... It's always a good time.





I mom and grandma are in town this week... so we visited a bunch of family in 강릉 (Gang-neung) which is my mom's hometown. My grandmother's oldest brother's widow was there (86) with her son (who's youngest son is getting married in two weeks), my grandmother's youngest brother (65ish?) and his wife, her youngest sister (74ish?) her next younger brother (78ish), his wife (68ish?) and then my grandmother (81) my mother and I were all there... We ate a lot, drank a lot, and I sat around clapping while all the older folk sang traditional songs from their childhood.. All in all it was a good time.



On a side note... my grandmother was pretty upset about my attempt to grow some facial hair.. and barely spoke to me on the 2 hour drive from Suwon to Gang-neung. (except to tell me I looked like a homeless old man). When we got to her younger brother's house (where we stayed) first thing she told her brother was to grab me a razor... So much for attempting facial hair for the next 3 weeks... Oh well... I'll just look like I'm 12...


Until next time...