Back in Portland

Nikki

     After a year of moving and traveling from Canada, to the Midwest of The States, to South Korea, Japan and back to America, this September I found an apartment to settle down-for a year- back in Portland. The month of September was filled with moving into my new place, rearranging the furniture several times and job hunting before classes started up. The week before school started I balanced job interviews and meeting up with friends. 

     My first day back in Portland Roy and I had our very first date. After getting the keys to my new apartment and of course checking it out with overjoyed excitement. Roy and I went to Buffalo Wild wings. Aside from Roy, Nikki was the first person I got to meet up with again in Portland. Her and I were both craving Bingsu and luckily for us, there is a food cart near my apartment that has it. After getting our food we took it back to my place to eat and spend the rest of the night catching up. Later in the week I met up with another one of my friends who lives in my building. We met for lunch and I shared my stories of Korea with him and made plans to see each other often as we are now neighbors. Now all moved in Georgie and her twin sister Sharmaine drove up from Salem to visit me in Portland.

Georgie and Sharmaine

Georgie and I reminisced about Korea and found it humorous that this was our first time meeting in America. With Nikki, Georgie, Sharmaine and I enjoyed a night of pizza, popcorn and seltzers. 

     For classes, they are of course, all online. My senior year at university is looking to be completely online. This term I have Research in Health Fitness, Physiology of Exercise and Health, Mind and Body. I was taking Korean as well, but after the first week of class I felt I would benefit more from studying on my own, also, I don't mind the extra time in my schedule now. Portland State University has already announced that winter term will also start online, so for the time being I can officially do my university studies from anywhere I want. My desk, the library, my bed... or anywhere in the world. If only I had the money to travel again. 

     My second week of school brought no excitements or new stories, but the interviews paid off and I started my first day at work the second week of October. With the pool closed at Portland State University, returning to my job at campus rec was not possible in the near future. I extended my horizons and now am working at Brain Rehab Network. An organization that works with individuals and families who are living with a traumatic brain injury. I work in the residential aspect, helping individuals in their apartments with cooking, cleaning and anything else they might need assistance in. 

    For now it is work and school; until the upcoming holidays bring more stories. 

  

Noah's Star

     "Another shooting star."

     Remi pulled blankets from the back seat of her car and walked over towards Noah's truck. The sun was still peeking over the horizon as the moon began to follow behind.

     The sky looked like a painting as the colors of the sunset created layers of orange, purple and a dark blue that blended into black. The stars were coming into view as though they were lights turning on in a warehouse.

     An hour outside of their small town, Remi and Noah had found the perfect spot to stargaze together before moving to New York; where the closest view of a night sky they would be able to get was the glow in the dark stickers Remi insisted on buying for their apartment.

     "Wait to put the blankets on until I finish blowing up the air mattress," joked Noah as he wrapped a blanket around Remi. Bundled like a child wrapped in a towel after a bath, Remi was just tall enough to keep the blanket off the ground. Noah grabbed her head and gently bent down to kiss he on the forehead. "I can't wait to move to New York," he rambles as he continues with the air mattress in the bed of his truck, "I finally get to display my discoveries at New York University and run their archeology department. And you! My perfect fiancé, finally get to have your own art gallery and display your art at The Met! Our lives are almost so perfect, someone might think we're characters in a movie."

     Still wrapped in the blanket Remi waddles behind Noah and rests her head on his back. "Shush! You don't want to jinx it," she chuckles, "but yes, I am ready to start our lives together in New York."

     With the air mattress full, Remi returns the blankets and pillows to their rightful place and crawls in the bed to cuddle. Noah followed behind her, laying down next to her and pulled her into his arms and let her head rest on his chest. The two of them fell asleep watching the stars. 

     The next morning Remi woke up with all the blankets. Still half-asleep she unwrapped one of the blankets from under her and threw it behind her to cover Noah up. Even after years of being together she still hasn't fixed her habit of stealing all the blankets, but then again, Noah never made any comments about it. She often woke up wrapped in all the blankets while he tried to cover his body with a throw pillow.

     As she threw the blanket over him, she felt it fall behind her. Rolling over to see why she missed, her arm searched the empty bed, looking for his body. After three pats on the mattress, her eyes shot open and she frantically looked for Noah. She leapt up from the bed, climbing out of the bed of the truck, her heart racing. She slipped her shoes on but didn't bother to pull the backs up. She ran around the mountainside with her shoes halfway on and only an oversized shirt on. Her car was still there, his keys and wallet were still in his truck. There was no sign that he had left.

     Maybe he's lost, or hurt. She thought to herself. She never even felt him get up in the middle of the night. She went back to her car and got dressed. Looking at her watch she tried not to panic. We have to have the cars packed and be on the road in three hours. She grabbed her phone and called Noah.

     "I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed..." she hung up and tried again. "I'm sorry, but the number you..." she hung up again. It was a long shot, but she tried their landline. "Hi! This is Remi. Leave a..." she hung up. 

     That wasn't their answering machine. They had a cliché couple answering machine. The one where they took turns saying every word. Their friends hated it, but they liked being that couple that was overly romantic.

     Next, she tried he best friend. "Hello?" a woman's voice answered.

     "Sarah! Thank god! Have you seen or heard from Noah? I can't find him this morning. He left his keys and wallet, and I can't get a hold of his phone!" Remi rambled. Not breathing between words, but trying to speak fast before her voice cracks from being frightened. 

     "Wait, who is this? Who's Noah?" Sarah asked.

     "This is Remi, Noah's fiancé. Your best friend!" Remi was practically shouting into the phone.

     "I think you have the wrong number. I'm sorry."

     "This is Sarah Alby right?!"

     "Uh... yeah, but I don't know anyone named Noah. I'm sorry. Goodbye."

     Remi let the phone fall from her hand as she braced herself with her car. Turning around she goes to search his truck again for any clues, but where was it? She didn't hear it leave. Walking all the way around her car, looking under her car-even though she skew it wouldn't be there, she began to panic. There were no tire marks from his truck leaving; or entering. It was like it was never there. She tried his phone one more time.

     "I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is no longer in service."

     Confused, and with no other options, she heads home. All the pillows and blankets were neatly folded back inside her car.

     Back at their one-bedroom ranch house, she ran up the front walkway hoping that he would be waiting for her. Unlocking the redwood front door, the throws it open. Revealing a barren house filled with her boxes. A slight knocking at the doorway interrupts her silence.

     "Ready to hit the road?" A feminine voice asks.

     "Mia!" Remi exclaims, "I can't find Noah."

     "Who?" the brunette girl asks. 

     "My fiancé!" Remi begins to cry.

     Mia walks over to Remi and comforts her. Holding Remi in her arms as Remi sinks to the ground in tears. For a short while, Mia sits with Remi and holds her, feeling her body sink into he lap with each deep heave. "Remi... baby... Noah... your fiancé." Mia pauses between each word.

     "You know where he is?!" Remi chokes as she lifts her head from Mia's lap.

     "He doesn't exist." Mia finally revealed after a long pause.

     "What?!" Remi jumps to her feet. "I just saw him!! I've been dating him for the past five years!" She pulls out her phone to show Mia pictures of them together, but there are none. Staring at her phone, she begins to aggressively scroll through her camera roll, but nothing. 

     Slowly, she lowers her phone and deeply inhales. "It must have been a dream. I guess I'm just stressed about moving to a big city."

     "Not just any big city! New York!" Mia reminds Remi as she begins to load the boxes into Remi's car. "Why wouldn't you be nervous? You shouldn't be though! You're opening up your own art gallery! And! And, you'll have some of your art displayed at The Met." Mia continues as she loads more boxes. "Plus we'll finally get to have the cross country road trip we've always dreamed about."

     Remi was able to force a small smile. "You're right! That part I definitely can't wait for." With the last box being loaded, Remi shut the back of her white SUV and walked around to the driver's seat.

     The ten-hour drive was filled with songs, gossip, and mindless chatter between the two best friends. Just as the city was transitioning from evening to night Remi and Mia pulled up in front of a brown brick building. Five cement steps lead to a black double door with golden embellishments. Remi's apartment was on the sixth floor, in a building with no elevator. The walk up the flight of stairs wasn't difficult, but she was regretting her decision after the third box. 

    After a night of unloading boxes and earning a new stair badge on their Fitbit watches the girls woke up on the floor with a box fort around them. After getting breakfast from a café next door Remi unpacked her speaker, connected her phone, and began the musical of moving in.

     Months after moving into her studio apartment in upper New York, the little furniture that she had was covered in art. Paintings in various stages sat on the couch while sculptures took over chairs, tables and the kitchen counter. Remi stood at the window with a grey cowl poncho draped over her shoulders. Her hands cupped around a homemade mug filled with a dark hot chocolate decorated with miniature marshmallows. Taking a sip from her mug she watched as the first snow of the year dusted the city around her.

     Tomorrow marked her fifth month in New York and she was already more successful than anyone expected from her. Two gallery showings have completely sold old, leaving Remi as a young millionaire. Today, she was using her new funding's to fly Mia into New York for her first show of the new year.

     In the distance, Remi could see the icon of New York, a yellow taxi, was coming into focus from the wall of cold and snow. Circling back in a store owner's driveway, the taxi flipped around before pulling in front of Remi's building. A woman with bright purple hair exited the taxi and pulled a matching purple suitcase from the cab. Suitcase in one hand, the other hand faced towards the sky in an attempt to block her from the snow falling down, the woman ran towards the front steps. Remi's bell rang.

     "So you're that girl now," Remi comments as she opens her apartment door.

     "Whatever, I've always wanted to do purple, even before it was cool."

     "That's what every girl says," Remi laughs as she outstretches her arms for a hug. "It's so good to see you, Mia." Wrapping her arms around Remi's shoulders Mia returns the comment. With the exchange completed in the doorway, Mia throws her suitcase on the beanbag Remi uses as a bed and gravitates towards a painting on the couch.

     "It looks like the overlook outside of town," Mia comments about the painting. The painting is an ombre background of purple, navy, and black. A rock fence built towards an extending balcony sits at the bottom of the canvas. In the sky were the figures of two people reaching out to hold each other. The masculine figure was a shadow in the clouds reaching up to hold a feminine outline in the stars.

     "And this one looks like the old highway." Mia continues as she points at a painting leaning against the wall. With a similar theme as the previous painting, this one showed two figures being pulled apart. The woman up to the sky and the man down to the earth.

     "The collection is called Noah's Star," Remi explains as she stands by Mia. Mia's body tenses as she walks toward the next piece; a depiction of the star figure walking down to earth.

     "What an interesting idea... where... did you come up with it?" Mia asked Remi. Remi shrugged her shoulders and began to wrap the paintings and sculptures before taking them to the van.

     The venue was filled with eager buyers and critiques waiting for an opportunity to have a moment with Remi. The walls were filled with her paintings and sculptures on granite pedestals offset the paintings. From the ceiling hung cloud lights and fairy lights. Camera flashes filled the spaces between the mob of people in the front. Remi and Mia stood arm in arm behind a large blue ribbon. Together they cut the ribbon and Mia took the buyers to look at the art while Remi answered questions from the press.

     The night was filled with slight chatter, drinking champagne, and enjoying expensive finger foods. The audience filled the venue all night. A gentle voice came over the speaker announcing that the last piece from the collection had been sold. People began to filter outside while others waited around to take their new collector's item. Remi watches as art student volunteers wrapped and prepped the art to be taken home. Remi stared at her largest piece; the one of the overlook, lost in though and saying her goodbyes to the are and a piece of her. 

     "I'm sorry," a familiar voice whispered. Snapped back to reality from her fantasy world, Remi's eyes widened. Her heart stopped and her feet felt as though they were stuck in cement. Fighting the weight of the truth she was about to face she slowly turned towards the voice. Closing her eyes and inhaling one final breath in a final attempt to brace her from the presence she was about to face.

     Face to face with her past and future she opens her eyes; "Noah?"

2020 in a Road Trip

     After packing the food, camping gear, and gathering our maps, Oceane and I left late Sunday morning for our week away from society. Two hours into our drive we got pulled over for speeding, luckily the officer let us off with a warning and we were back on our trip in no time. We spent the rest of the day driving down US 97 until we made it to Bend. Stopping in Bend for gas and food we enjoyed Panda Express for dinner. 

     From there we continued on to our first campsite in Newberry Volcanic Monument in Deschutes National Forest. I was nervous about camping there because we did not make any reservations. A sign at the entrance of the monument announced that as of this year, all but one campsite in the monument will be reservations only. The only campground that had walk-ups available was the furthest one on the East Lake called Cinder Hill Campground. Before looking for a campsite we drove up to Paulina's peek on a very narrow and very steep dirt road. The view from the top was worth it, but I recommend making the hike over the drive. 

    We ended our day by looking for a campsite in a very full campground. After finding one and setting up we went for a swim in the lake. The volcanic lake was refreshing and thanks to the thermal vents it was as warm as any outdoor pool with a beach made of pebbles that sparkles from all the obsidian pieces in it.

      Our first night ended with s'mores and drinks around a campfire, followed by an unsuccessful comet search and a successful obsidian hunt.

     The second morning was filled with exploring the rest of Newberry Monument. A mile-long loop on the obsidian flow gave both Oceane and I some great tan lines. Our tan lines, or rather burn lines, were deepened with a three-mile-long hike along Paulina lake to some thermal hot springs. The hot springs are holes dug out into the beach along the lake. The water was too hot to get into, but if you sit in the lake around the shore, some of the thermal vents keep the shoreline warm. For lunch, we made sandwiches on the hood of our car in the parking lot. 

     We filled up on gas at a little station just outside La Pine and made our way down the Oregon Outback Scenic Byway. For our first stop, we went to Fort Rock. Just a quick drive-by on our way to Derrick's Cave. Unfortunately, the road to Derrick's Cave was closed, so we were not able to go explore the cave. We continued on our journey to Crack in the

Ground. 

     The Eastern Oregon travel book I borrowed from my dad said that the walk in the crack
would eventually be filled with boulders and that we would be unable to continue on. We may not have reached the point the book was talking about, but we did reach a point that also could have been the mentioned boulders. We, however, found a way through. 

     The next point we came to in the crack was a part that came back up to the surface. We walked back along the ridge of the crack back towards the car. We continued along on the dirt road as we made our way towards the sand dunes.

     We were almost 7 miles away from the paved road when disaster struck. Not one, but two flat tires. We felt the back one hit something as we were driving so we pulled over, unloaded the back, and got ready to put on the spare. Just before I pulled out the jack, I noticed that the front tire was also flat. With two flats and one spare, we had no other option... but to call our parents and ask for help. From Pendleton, my dad helped me find the nearest tow truck and nearest Les Schwab. From there we had an almost two-hour wait for the truck. 

     While we waited we played cards and ate cereal. A few cars passed by us and offered us help, but we ensured them that we were okay. The tow truck took us back to La Pine in about three hours, the driver dropped the car off at the Les Schwab and took us to a cheap motel.

     The motel we stayed at was right next to a gas station-- with the same owner-- and the teenager that was working the front desk that night also worked at a restaurant in town and was able to get us burgers and cider at 11 o'clock at night. 

     The next morning we went to Les Schwab. The mechanic replaced the front tire with a new one and put our spare on the back wheel. He also warned us that another tire was not going to last long and that we should avoid dirt roads for the rest of our trip. With no spare and another tire that wouldn't last long, we decided to cut our trip short and go home. 

     We drove back up to Bend and took US 20 to Burns. From there we took the curvy US 395 through John Day, all the way back home. 

Camping at 21

Camping

     Since my last post was towards the beginning of quarantine I haven't had much to blog about with my adventures. I tried to fill some time by writing short stories and beginning to write a novel of my own. My novel writing took me to halfway through my rough draft, but a wall of writer's block mixed with online school pushed that project to the back burner of my to-do list. 

     My job working with the city came to an end and with the decision to keep the outdoor pool closed for the summer, it looks as though that job will not be continuing. So for now, my job at Dickey's is acting as my sole provider. 

     For the whole of quarantine, my schedule consisted of school, work, and massive amounts of sleep.

Now that places are starting to open up again, my travel itch is starting to become hard to ignore as I want to fill my summer with adventures and traveling. Unfortunately, social distancing laws and lack of finance are putting those adventures to a later date. However, I'm still managing to find a way.

      With our two days off from work this week, Oceane and I packed up the car and headed east for an

Oceane and I

overnight camping trip at Minam, Oregon. We left late Monday morning and made the two-hour drive to the campground located just off the high way. Making it to our campground at noon, we ate a quick sandwich lunch and then set out to explore the nearby area and take photos. For the remainder of our time at the campground, we had a few families stop by for a quick break, but we were the only two that were camping overnight.  

     This adventure only brought us to three in the afternoon, so we started a fire and began our long and large dinner of hotdogs, s'mores, and Mike's Lemonade. Four hotdogs each and endless s'mores later it was eight at night and we were ready to call it a night. 

     The next morning we woke up to a light rain on the tent and headed back to sleep until noon when the rain finally started to calm down. Packing up camp and enjoying s'mores pop tarts for breakfast we continued on our drive to Wallowa Lake before we made our way home.

     On the way home, we stopped in Lostine at the Blue Banana for coffee and smoothies. It was a small

little coffee shop with a bug parked in the side of the building and an airplane crashing into the roof. Oceane was excited to get coffee and a lavender lemonade she had had a few years ago. I got a four berry smoothie. It was very sweet and definitely tasty, but I was upset that the four berries were syrup flavors, not actual berries. 

     Lastly, our adventure ended back at home with a birthday dinner at Prodigal Sun followed by a birthday shot at the Rainbow Cafe back in town. 

     Hopefully, for July, my travel plans will come through and I'll have more stories for the end of summer. 

 

The Beginning of a Hero

   A dim light flickers against the cold stone walls. Smoke and embers dance from a nearby fire, filling the small cottage with an orange glow embraced in a smokey cloud. Paintings of men in battle amongst foreign symbols along the stone flare into view. Each with their own story; great wars, births of heroes and downfalls of evil are depicted from the ceiling to the floor. Crouching next to the fire, a young woman dressed in rags stirs the embers as a hog roasts over the flame. She hums a gentle melody to herself as she prepares dinner.
   Across the room, hidden behind a table filled with scrolls and books sits an elderly woman. Her face and arms covered with similar markings on the wall, the quill in hand scribbles across a paper as she screams; "No! No. No. NO! This can't be!" Mumbling an ancient language the drawings on her papers begin to appear on the wall. Skulls, flames, war, death begin to take over the other drawings. "The end is coming" the elder woman slowly breathes out as she drops to the ground.
   Rushing to her side, the young woman tries to bring her back to a sitting position. "Another vision Grandma?"
    Shakily looking at the wall the old woman replies in a hoarse voice, "Darkness is coming. A world burned black. Dark shadows cover the land; nowhere to hide." Leaning forward, she adds a star to the top of the painting. "There is a light! A child... your child." Looking at her granddaughter with soft eyes she begins to smile before her face returns to a panicked expression. "Quick! You must leave. He is coming."
   A loud knock raps on the front door; giving her grandmother one final hug, tears fill her eyes as she quickly sneaks out the side door. Jumping on a black stallion in the stables she rides away as fast as the horse can carry her. Heading up the hill near the cottage, she leaves her home and heads towards the Sacred Forest.
   A scream pierces through the valley, turning back, she catches a glimpse of her home being engulfed in flames. Three men dressed in black climb on the backs of wingless dragons and begin to head in the direction of the young woman. She kicks at her horse and races through trees, dodging branches as the wind runs through her chestnut hair. It was the last time she ever looked back.
   By nightfall, she came across a small inn on the edge of the forest. Cold and wet from the heavy rain that welcomed her she desperately hoped they had an open room. After settling her horse in the stables, she pushed open the heavy door leading to the tavern.
   The tavern was filled with men singing to lively music, drinking their money away and betting whatever remaining coin they had on their strength in an arm-wrestling match. Familiar scents of meat cooking and beer filled the tavern's thick air.
   Approaching the counter, a young man with curly brown hair turns from the bar to face her. His face had flour on the cheek and his eyes were a deep watery blue. Wiping off the sauce on his hands with an old rag he places it in the front pocket of his apron. "What can I get you?"
   "Just a bed for the night."
   "We're full for the night, but you look like you're freezing. You can come stay at my place for the night if you want. I'm just finishing my shift."
   She nods and he places his apron on a hook by the door before leading her to his cottage. A small shack behind the inn.
   Early the next morning the young woman wakes to a rooster crowing nearby; quietly she makes her way out. At the door, she turns back to the man sleeping and whispers a final goodbye. The morning air chills her breath, the dew on the grass cold on her bare feet. She climbs on her horse and begins her journey before the sun peeks over the horizon.
    For the next several months the young woman covers a lot of ground. Only stopping when she needs to. Almost at the end of her journey, she comes across a small red cottage on a mountain road. With the harsh winter winds blowing sharp ice against her skin and her now large stomach bringing pain to her back she trudges through the snow to the door. Asking for shelter from the couple whose lives there she is greeted with open arms.
   "Quick! Bring me a bowl of warm water and a towel!" Orders the lady of the house to her husband. "She's gone into labor."
   The next morning, the lady of the house holds up the new baby; handing the child to the young woman, she whispers; "It's a girl."

The River

     As he fell, he waited for the icy water to surround his body. Through the air, he felt the weightlessness of gravity pulling him towards the water's surface. On the river shore stood a group of friends, laughing, drinking, smiling and filming each other. In the air next to him, a girl. Her hair a dark brown with red highlights in the sunlight and beautiful waves that were about to be ruined by the water.
     Just as quickly as his foot had left the cliff, it was entering the cold river water. A brief glimpse of the group of friends on the shore followed by darkness as he went under the water's surface. Bubbles of air crawled up his body, trying to escape back up to the surface. Beginning to kick, he joins the rising bubbles of air to the top. Surfacing he regains his breath and looks to the girl by his side.
     Smiling and laughing she brushes her now wet hair out of her face and runs over to the group of spectators on the shore. The group plays back the video on a blue smartphone, the jump has already been immortalized on the internet.
     The rest of the afternoon is spent repeating jumps off the cliff. Some are simple, some include tricks and some jumps become competitions, but all give the teenagers the adrenaline rush that keeps them repeating the same jump. When the sun begins to set, the group begins to gather wood and logs, placing them in a fire pit near the shore. The rest of the night is filled with music, s'mores and more drinking until the sun comes up the next morning.
     The following morning the group of teens wakes up covered in ashes from the still-burning fire. Lightly brushing off the soot they begin to clean up and pack up their gear. Today they would be hiking to the next campsite.
     While the others woke up comfortably covered in soot, the boy woke up still wet. His curly hair dripping water and his skin cold from not drying off. His clothes still heavy. The fire was warm, but not enough to dry him off. He called out the leaving group to wait for him, but they didn't hear him. Frantically he looked for his dry clothes... his sleeping bag... his tent; all gone.
     Had he eaten breakfast this morning? Dinner last night? He couldn't remember. He calls out to the group again, but they're out of sight now. Still wet, he sits as close to the still-burning fire as he can, with hopes to dry off.
     Still wet, he hears voices in the distance, another group comes to the campsite.
     "Hey! Want to go swimming?" A cheerful voice shouts. The boy nods in agreement.
    Soon the waters are filled with a new group, this time they looked about college-age; only two years older than the boy.  The pattern repeated, an afternoon filled with swimming, jumping, and video filming, followed by a night of togetherness around a fire. Again, this group packed up and left the boy behind; still wet.
     For years the boy was struck in the same loop. Joining a group for swimming and campfire fun, to be left behind, and never being able to get dry. Until she came.
     A beautiful blonde girl. The last of the melting snow crunching underneath her hiking boots. Her pack was light and it became clear to the boy that she was traveling alone. She came to the edge of the river and crouched down to clean her face.
     After setting up a tent hidden in the trees she started a fire, gathered water and began to sketch in a small leather journal as she waited for the water to boil. Her sketchbook was filled with small sketches of flowers, trees, and natural scenery.
     With her water boiling now, the girl begins to make her dinner. A breeze brings a cold chill into the campsite; she knows she needs to prepare for a cold night. She was prepared for the cold, but she wasn't prepared for the rain that would come in.
     As she slept, a heavy rain came through the area. The girl woke up to her tent filled with ice-cold water. Panicked she desperately searches for dry clothing. Her tent begins to move as the ground underneath slides into the river.
     In her fluster of movements she unexpectedly finds herself outside the tent; standing on the shore as everything washes away. Cold and wet she looks around to plan out her next step.
     "Did you go swimming?" asks the boy.
     "No, my tent got washed down the river." she replies.

Settling in Before the Quarantine

WTF

   For the recent turn of events in the world, I thought it best summed up in this meme of J-hope from BTS.
   This past month I've settled into my hometown routine of work and school. This week I just finished up my winter term classes online with spring term also looking to be online.
   Before the social distancing rules were put in place I was able to work on several events. The first was the annual Daddy Daughter Dance. With a decoration theme of 50's drive-in. The fathers of the town bring their daughters all dressed up to this dance once a year. I got to help with planning, a little bit of decorating and working the door during the event. The next event I got to help with was our first Life Outdoor Show. It was my biggest project for the month of January and February, having spent those two months reaching out to countless businesses in hopes that they might want to be a vendor at our very first show. In the end, there were around twenty vendors for the show. It seemed to be a good hit for our first year and we've already begun some basic planning on next years show.

Daddy Daughter Dance

   After the Daddy Daughter Dance and the Life Outdoor Show, my two biggest events were over and I was looking at some downtime before another big event. On Monday nights I started to work as a gym attendant for our Rookies Soccer program. I even got to coach a little bit. My favorite activity, that all the children seemed to enjoy was teaching them to "protect their penguin eggs". I would demonstrate by holding the soccer ball with my feet and waddling with the ball between my legs. Whenever I wanted the children to stop and listen I would just shout out to protect their penguin eggs and they would all stand with the soccer ball between their feet. Sadly, I only got two Monday's of this fun before we had to cancel all programs.
    Last week I also started working at Dickey's Barbecue Pit again, but now I am wondering how long I'll still be able to work with the recent decision to close all restaurants in Oregon.
   For now, I'll be working as planned for as long as I can.

Madi

   For my personal life, I have taken up dog sitting.  I spent a week watching over this beautiful Newfoundland, lab mix and an Australian Shepard. It was up in the mountains so we got to spend a lot of time playing in the snow during the day and binge watching The Untamed at night.

   When I'm bored I have also taken up some more arts. Sketching or taking photos, but also more exciting, I've decided to take up writing and am currently working on a novel. I want to work on more writing, maybe some short stories, but I haven't decided where to start or how to go about it; but maybe you'll start seeing some short stories pop up on here! Any ideas or themes are welcomed recommendations if you want to see
something!

21

   Lastly, I just celebrated my 21st! The day of my birthday, I actually had to work and study for a final, but the Monday after I went out to dinner with my dad at my favorite restaurant in town and had a fiesta bowl with my dinner. Luckily I made it the day before the restaurant closure!

   For the time being, I'll be working, taking online classes and hoping that the BTS concerts do not get canceled, since I bought tickets for two concerts! 

Return Home

Last subway ride

   After being home for almost two months now, I have settled into my weekly routine. Living back in the United States is amounting to be much more repetitive and uninteresting than my life was in South Korea. 

   Still sick, I returned to the States on the Second of January. After a long flight, I met my parents and brother at the airport, and met my aunt and uncle for lunch. After finishing lunch, it was time to go home. The rest of the weekend was spent recovering from traveling and sickness (I later found out, that it was mono).
   Now, that I was back in the United States, I had the month of January to complete my senior capstone project. If you remember, while I was abroad in South Korea, my senior capstone was to connect an American high school to the life, culture and history of South Korea through weekly blog posts. My final requirement for this project was to visit the classroom and present one final lesson. I scheduled my trip for January 17th.

Snow

   On the 17th, I woke up to snow in my hometown, but made the flight to Portland anyways. I got to Portland and used my free time to go back to my old work to visit some friends. I was surprised to see my work wife had returned to our job! While I was in Korea, I had spoken with her on the phone about how we had both left working at the recreation center and were doing different things with our life now, but she was the first person I saw in Portland.

Read my blog post here

   After reuniting with her, I began to make my way to the high school, only to check my email on the
max to see that Portland high schools had a two hour delay due to weather. My teacher had originally asked to reschedule, but because I flew in, we were still able to make it work. I gave the class a short lesson on Korean names.
   After finishing the lesson, I made my way back to the Portland State University campus to meet with friends. I spent my weekend with my friends Isaac, Roy, and Haley, playing mini-golf, catching up and of course, sharing all the missed drama.
   It wasn't long before I was in Portland again. The very next weekend I drove back up to Portland to join the Seollal celebration put on by the Korean Student Association. I got to see me good friend Sunho and see many of my other Korean friends. I was very happy to be back in Portland, but I realized, that coming to Portland a second time in such a short time made it even harder to return home.
   As for the rest of my time, I am keeping myself busy between working at the local parks and

Bam.Bam Designs

recreation department and my human anatomy class. I have started to get back in to photography as I drag my best friend along to abandoned locations to take photos.
   Also, I was able to convince her to have a Galantines with me this year. My best friend, her two younger sisters and I all went to the local sushi restaurant for Valentines and then went and saw Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey afterwards.
   For now, I just have work and school planned, but in my distant future I have very exciting plans to go see BTS in concert at Fedex Field!!

The Final Stretch

Girls Night

   After returning from Tokyo, my last two weeks in South Korea were spent celebrating.
   My first day back in South Korea, I took the first subway home at 5:30 in the morning, making it to my place around 7:00 and promptly went to bed until the evening. In the evening I met up with my friends to attend the final SSC meeting of the year. With a small ceremony looking back at the semester and welcoming the new executives we followed our final meeting with a night of celebrating. Going out for dinner and enjoying some drinks, it was a great way to say goodbye to all of the friends we made.

Gimbap

   The following night my friends and I went to our friend Anjin's house for a girls' night and a sleepover. We enjoyed traditional home-cooked food and the next morning even tried our hands at making gimbap. I made mine with cheese inside.

   We left Anjin's house in the evening to go and get ready to meet more friends in Itaewon for a night of clubbing. We met at a popular bar for foreigners and Koreans called Thursday Party. The night was spent as a goodbye party for Nara; who left the next day. We stayed out all night and finished with a celebration of cake and breakfast at McDonald's the next morning. 

   For Christmas, I went to the theater with my friend. We went and saw a play about a man who can see and talk to ghosts. He helps the ghosts with whatever help they may need and helps a guy get to say a final apology and goodbye to his girlfriend. The night ended with, of course, going out and partying. 

   Every night for the rest of the week was the same schedule. Sleep all day, go out at 8:00 or 9:00 and stay out until the first subway home. 

New Years

   On New Year's Eve, my friends and I met at Coex Mall for the final countdowns. In an area best described as a smaller Times Square, we watched performers and counted down to the New Year. As soon as the fireworks ended we fought the crowd to get a taxi and make our way to Gangnam for clubbing. 

   We made it to Gangnam eventually and had chicken for dinner. We tried to get into some clubs, but for some unknown reason, the clubs were not accepting my friend's American ID. So we decided to head back to our area of town and celebrate with Soju and snacks. 

   The final day of my adventure was spent packing and trying to recover from two weeks of partying before I got on my plane back to the United States. 

Friends :)