Currently Watching Heroes - Season 1 By Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Milo Ventimiglia see related

as i sit here, our belongings are being packed into countless orange and white and black boxes.  well actually, at the current moment the two packers are standing 10 feet away from the open door of our apartment in the stairwell smoking.  yeah, korea hasn't yet jumped on the western "smoke is awful" bandwagon.  this country is still under the impression that if you have a smoking side of a restaurant, it magically keeps all the effects of second-hand smoke away from the people on the other side of the restaurant.  amazingly this also applies for the tables that actually hug the line.  well now that i think about it, smoking in restaurants in korea is generally determined by the type of restaurant.  noodle and sushi restaurants do not usually allow smoking, but restaurant where you grill your own meat do.  coffee shops are split.  large chains are no smoking and individual shops allow it.  i really don't notice it anymore, but the smell coming from the two packers made me consider it more.

its strange seeing what you accumulate over the years; wondering why you decided to keep one thing over another.  packing makes you reevaluate what you've collected and decide what's worth keeping and what is just unnecessary baggage.  i tend to be a pack-rat, but when it comes to moving, i'm all about throwing everything away.  (except for yearbooks and that drives laura jo crazy)  it might sound rather cold, but moving makes you got through the same process with your "friends".  i would say that i'm friends with alot of people here in korea.  moving to me is kind of a "gleaning" process (i use the word gleaning to mean that you separate worthwhile material from unwanted material...i'm not a farmer or natural cultivator in any way so i may be way off on the use of this word).  back to relationships, i never really get sad saying goodbye to people, because i see the world as a small place, and if the relationship is worth crying over then most likely we'll stay in touch and our paths will cross again (no need to cry then).  the relationships that will end here and in the future may amount to a total of 3 facebook comments and 1 email really don't deserve a cry either.  there's nothing bad about those relationships, they're just temporary mutual accomodations.

do you see how i have made the emotional side of moving and leaving into a cold, intellectual calculation?  many psychologists would probably tell me that this method is not very healthy but hey, it's got me this far and i seem to be fine.

what i do get somewhat emotional about is the place i'm leaving and the things that i'll most likely never experience again.  after tomorrow i won't ever drive my scooter to dunsan dong to get my hair cut at mister by miss pak.  i won't ever coach a volleyball game at the TCIS gym.  i won't ever have my arms pet by korean kids who have never seen so much hair on a person.  the list goes on and on.  the past month i've been doing things, everyday things, with the thought in the back of my head that i may not ever experience it again.  that part for me is harder than leaving the people.

so for the last fews days we'll be living like we were for the first three days we were here.  all of our personal creature comforts are gone and we're living with what came with the apartment in the first place.  the old dishes and the old phone are coming out for one last hurrah.

a bientot