Monday, January 28, 2013

A thank you note for innumerable blessings

 Jeju City from it's newest apartment building

Now comes the part I've been waiting for.  It's still cold, cloudy and random (why thank you random kid on the bus who I've never met for giving me a piece of gum) in Korea but that doesn't matter because in less than a week, Vicky and I will be taking our first real vacation together.  We'll be going somewhere we've both never been, a place we can discover together.  It's a dream come true for me.  I couldn't be more blessed.  Fantastic family, great friends and a woman I love deeply.  Sometimes I just have to stop and say thank you Lord for the many, many blessing in my life.  I don't deserve them (no one could) but I'm extremely grateful.

To quote a song from Josh Turner that I very much like,
       I make it a point to thank the Lord
       When I got him on the line
       I'm feeling good
       And everything is fine.

A group of sunbursts (don't forget: click on any of these pictures to see it bigger)

And for that I say Hallelujah.  I'll be back with Philippines updates in about 2 weeks.

TTFN  (ta ta for now)

City Hall

Halla Mountain

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Where do we go from here?

sunset storm at Tap-Dong

Something I never realized growing up in Texas is that, for most places, winter brings outdoor activities to a halt.  When the temp stays around freezing or colder and it's dark early, most people don't want to be outside for long.  As the weather necessitates a winter hibernation, I naturally have less to write about here.  However I thought i'd lay out a bit of Vicky and I's thoughts for our future location plans.

Though we won't both be done working till late July, we've been considering what to do when our contracts end.  Our options are either return to the US or move to another country.  Much as I like Korea, neither of us wants to stay for another year.  I know this won't make most of you happy (though it might for a few you) but right now we're leaning pretty heavily towards another year abroad.  Another year in someplace like Taiwan or Hong Kong could leave us both debt free with some nice savings in the bank.  As an added bonus, Taiwan is warm year round and a lot more relaxed than Korea with about the same level of pay.  So right now we are very tentatively leaning that way.


There are, of course, lots of other factors in our decision of what to do next (does Vicky need to get ESL certified like me, which is both expensive and time consuming?  what might we do after next year?  how does money affect us?  how can we take the most cool vacations while we have the location and freedom to do so?, etc).

For now we're seriously looking forward to our Philippines vacation that's just over 2 weeks away.  To say I'm kind of excited would be like saying Niagara Falls is a little wet.  Trading long-underwear for sunscreen and a bathing suit is just what the doctor ordered to help a couple frozen Texans thaw out :)