Blurbbles.

We need more people like you.
Today I learned that one of the guys at work used to be a director at Coca-Cola in Australia and was making $300,000+ but gave it all up because the job didn't make him happy, didn't challenge him and the money wasn't satisfying. His words: "There was no where left for me to go in the company and I don't need that much money--no one needs that much money." So he works for himself now and he does what he enjoys. Not many executives would turn down that kind of pay these days. The world needs more people like Joseph. He is a white rhino in a sea of cane toads.

Expanding Your Horizons
I actually went to a corny conference in 4th and 5th grade under this title that aimed to encourage young kids to excel academically and take every opportunity offered to them. In truth, I can't remember anything other than that I made a friend from another school and that I really liked the t-shirt they gave us. But today I think my horizon got a little wider. I sent off an application today for a presentation program assistant at the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) in their television division. I think I'm a good fit for this job and I'm more than qualified to do it (it's also a good "in" for me as the ABC is a very reputable news source here akin to the BBC). Keep your fingers crossed for me because I need something more challenging that what I'm doing now. And I need full time work. If I get this job, it's completely possible that I pay off ALL my student loans in the next 6 months--yeah, um, it's that good of a job. Will the sun set or the sun rise on my horizon? Keep watching this space to find out!

My Biker Boyfriend
Actually it's a road bike but I like flattering him. Jeremy got a new bike last week. We had been talking about a new bike for sometime now and looking at this particular one since November, but ultimately decided to leave it until we got ahead on loans and stuff. But plans changed. Last week, while Jeremy was riding home, he lost his shifter which is kind of like loosing the clutch on a truck--riding is still possible but it makes for one horrible ride to work. So we dug into our savings--again!--and put a bit towards a new bike. It really was inevitable though as his old bike was pretty old and nothing on it could be salvaged. Luckily the price had gone down $300 since the last time we looked at it which made things a lot easier to swallow. He's very happy though. All he can talk about is how fast it goes! It's adorable.

Put 'yer money in a jar and bury it!
It seems like saving money is always two steps forward and one step back. Aside from the bike purchase, we also had to put down a sizable loan payment recently in case I run out of temp work before the new visa is approved. And in addition to the loan, I also had to invest in some better clothes because even though Thomson Reuters doesn't care if I wear t-shirts and capris to work, sooner or later I'm going to find myself working some place that does care and I'm going to look like a real bogan. Plus, my t-shirts are all getting holes these days. So we put $400 into my wardrobe which sounds like a lot to anyone in the US but here in Australia, that's like 4 shirts, a belt and a pair of pants (even when you're bargain hunting!). Geeze, life here is expensive! Sometimes I really wish I could just bury my money so I wouldn't touch it! But while we're speaking of savings, we're hovering just around the $2,300 mark which means we can pretty much buy tickets to fly home now. However, we're limited by my current visa situation which doesn't allow me to leave the country until my application is approved. So... No trips home anytime soon. We'll have to wait for the visa to be approved before we buy tickets (just to be on the safe side). In the meantime, we continue to save. Hopefully we'll have an extra $1,000 to go home with (wishful thinking, maybe?).

Take a picture--it'll last longer.
Not much happening on the photography front these days. I've been busy temping which has left me short of time to put together projects and job ads. Plus, my main focus these days is to concentrate on getting a website put together so that when I get residency I can immediately get my business license and start making this photography thing happen. I'm not really a computer person (not like Jeremy, that is) and all of the information out there is blowing my mind. I'm having a really hard time just trying to find a free web template that I like and then deciding which CMS system to use. I started investigating Joomla! the other day but was so overwhelmed after 10 minutes that I had to walk away. And then, to use flash or not? To incorporate a blog? What about indexing and SEO? How often do I need to update and change my gallery collections? How much is too much? Do I sell prints directly from my site? If so, which ones? And choosing a good host company! My brain is melting just talking about all this!! Small goals first, right? This weekend my goal is to find a host, purchase a domain, and find at least five photographer websites that I like. Tips from fellow web buildings would be appreciated in the comments section of this blog.

For Ryan and Lindsey
Monday is Anzac Day in Australia and though the day is meant to commemorate the sacrifice of Australian men and women who've given their all to the military, I'd also like to make a shout out for my cousins Ryan and Lindsey. Both of them are/where in Afghanistan fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others, the rights of women to determine their futures, world security, and freedom from religious extremism. I am so grateful for their live and their selflessness to move across the globe and offer their lives for people they've never known. It's a beautiful thing. And I also want to send out a big thanks to all the Australian troops deployed overseas too who don't know me but fight for my rights too. Happy Anzac Day everyone! 

Grocery Store Karma?

I dropped in to the health food store today to pick up some more organic soap and was approached by a woman (who I don't know, btw) who had revelation for me that I have a deep and wise soul. She said I feel things very deeply and that I should become a counselor/therapist. Crazy thing: I was seriously just telling Jeremy earlier this week that I'm interested in studying psychology to become a counselor. We constantly toss around career ideas but I really meant that one.

I've been really interested in counseling ever since I wrote an article about the counseling services at Northwest University where I met with one of their counselors for an interview and a couple sessions. Sara was her name and she was amazing. I started going just for the article but I stayed for the whole year because I soon realized how wonderful it was to get rational, unbiased advice when faced with difficult decisions (I later quite the newspaper--it was a good decision!). I've always been in awe of how loving and kind she was and how useful those sessions were for me as a healthy, rational, decision-making person, and ever since then I've felt a deep desire to do that for someone else. I've also always known that my life story and experiences were given to me for a reason--to share with other people as pearls of wisdom.

Anyway, it was weird to hear that from a stranger. She also perfectly read my situation this week assuring me that I am loved and that even though some people are sending me negative thoughts and energy, I shouldn't let them get me down (I'm still feeling a bit stressed by this whole friend dilemma). And as she finished she offered me a hug, calling out to me as I walked away, "Don't worry, you will make a great therapist. It's your life's path!"

Are the grocery store gods apologizing for the beating I got last weekend when that aboriginal woman attacked me in Harris Farm? Could this have indeed been divine appointment or just a coincidence? Or maybe she's crazy too and I just attract crazies like moths to a light bulb? If so, maybe I should be considering counseling... All jokes aside, it's got me thinking. What would you do with this situation? I'm genuinely interested in your thoughts.

Grocery Store Brawl!

Today I was physically attacked in the grocery store by a drunk woman.

Jeremy had ran back to the produce section to put back a pineapple and some mangoes while I waited in line at the check out stand and as I waited, I was approached by an Aboriginal (native) woman with two bananas who asked if she could go in front of me. The lines were long all over the store and I really didn't mind helping someone out, especially since we had lots of food and there was no need to make her wait (this store doesn't have express lines).

She didn't realize there was someone else in front of me though and when the checker-chick looked at her funny for cutting, she turned to me and said, "Isn't this your food?"

I said, "No, it's his," and pointed to the man in front of her.

She stormed out without saying anything and just as she left I called after her and advised her to try another line since it looked like it was just opening. Of course, she didn't listen and hopped in a long line two checkers away from us.

I was telling Jeremy what happened when he came back and as I was telling him he glanced at the aboriginal lady. There wasn't much to say though so we soon started talking about something else and minding our own business when the woman chucked some chocolate bars across the line between us, taking aim at Jeremy and calling him four-eyes. Jeremy was quite confused so he yelled at her to knock it off and leave us alone. Everyone was staring and gasping at the woman's profane mouth. Of course, she didn't stop so Jeremy went over there to tell her off but was getting nowhere, so I told him to just ignore her and come back to our line.

At that point I asked our checker-chick to please contact security or someone in charge to come get this lady under control. She didn't do anything though and kept saying there was nothing they could do. I was baffled. There is something you can do! Escort her out! Tell her she can't come back! Get your manager! It's bad business to let that sort of stuff happen in your store.

We just continued on with out groceries though, assuming the woman was gone, and just as I swiped our debit card the crazy woman ran up behind me and threw an orange at the back of my head!

It didn't really hurt but I was a bit surprised as I turned around to see her standing behind me, yelling at us saying something about us talking about her (which we weren't) and trying to antagonize me into a fight. Everyone was shocked by her unprovoked attack but no one did anything! Not even the checker or her co-workers! They all just stared! I yelled at our checker-chick to call the police or the security or something and she just said, "I can't!" *rolling my eyes*

Jeremy was the only one who did anything. He puffed up his chest and with a little height over the woman walked up to her, yelling in his most ferocious voice, "Get the hell out! You can't hit my girlfriend like that! Get the hell out!"

She was putting her finger in his face and trying to get him to hit her but he knew better and just got really close to her--so close that she kept having to step back--and kept yelling, "Get the hell out!"

Eventually he pushed he out the door that way but the whole place was just silent. I, on the other hand, started to cry and shake (I wasn't in pain, just shocked and furious) and our checker ran out to go get me some tissue and alert the manager. Meanwhile, some other employee came up to apologize on the behalf of Harris Farms and to make sure I was okay. Unfortunately, she too said there was nothing they could do. I was a bit worried because we had more shopping to do in the mall and I really didn't want to run into that woman again but she again said there wasn't anything they could do but that I could go tell security if I wanted too. What?! Not only was I insulted in their store by their failure to resolve and secure an escalating situation but I was also told that it was my job to take care of their problem customers!

It was ridiculous. Funny thing is that this isn't the first time I've seen a woman freak out in the grocery store at someone. One time we were just outside Bi-Lo (a Coles affiliate) and saw some Australian woman throw a Chinese woman's bagged groceries on the floor as she accused her of taking her cart! She accused the Chinese woman of all sorts of things and was really starting a commotion but at least the Bi-Lo people came out and demanded the woman return the cart, apologize and never return to their store. I have no doubt that whole thing was racially motivated.

But what was this Aboriginal woman's problem? Jeremy and the Harris Farm people thought she was mentally disabled but she seemed quite lucid when she talked and I think I've worked with enough mentally disabled folks to recognize one. But who knows. I'm leaning more towards drunk but then again, she did have pretty good aim for a drunk...

Anyway, I had to shower again when I got home to get the orange juice out of my hair and I still have a bit of a headache but I'm pretty much over it now. It was just a really crappy way to start the day. In the end, Harris Farm customer service is -1. Click here to read another story about a similar situation where I was attacked by an ajuma in the middle of the night while sleeping in a jimjilbang.

What would you do in these kinds of situations?

Mother's Day

Mother's Day around here was quite the event. It started with Eca (a friend of the Moschner's) coming over and a little bit of cake for breakfast! Yum! Then we all jumped in the car and headed up to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland to some sweet little villages in the rain forest for lunch.

This cafe, called Poet's, was really lovely and served up some fantastic fare! We all enjoyed our meal (especially since we didn't arrive until 2 pm and were all starved!).

Jeremy's paternal grandparents, Margaret and Norbert.

Jeremy's parents, Hanya and Ken.

Us. We're so cute. :)

And Eca (pronounced Ee-ka) who is a friend of the family that Ken met through playing Bridge (he is an avid Bridge player).

After lunch, we walked around to all the shops and looked for little treasures to take home. Along the way we walked under this giant bat made of car parts (cool, eh?) and I found lots of American candies like Hot Tamales, Sour Patch Kids and Sugar Babies! What good timing too because I got my first paycheck on Friday! Yay! (One thing that might interest you, most countries in the world don't do the whole cinnamon thing so trying the Hot Tamales was Jeremy's first encounter with really spicy cinnamon candy--he loved it!)

But I can't say all of us were so excited about the shopping... Seriously, this table was well stocked with "man magazines" about cars and camping stuff. haha. Jeremy was ridiculous. He was practically running in circles around me chanting, "When are we going? What is mom doing?" (She was looking at a craft shop and buying a quilt rack--important stuff!) haha.

On the way home we stopped off at a scenic viewpoint and took some family photos. It was so nice to spend the afternoon together and I think his mom really enjoyed her Mother's Day.

The beautiful view. This size just doesn't do it justice. Click on it to follow the link to a larger size.

Jeremy's family (l-r): (friend) Eca, (grandma) Margaret, (father) Ken, (mother) Hanya, Jeremy, and (grandpa) Norbert.

The mothers of Mother's Day.

I snuck this photo while they weren't looking. Such a cute couple!

The beautiful sunset. Every sunset here is beautiful but you can't always get a good look from J's parent's home (you can just see the colors in the sky).

Unfortunately, the only thing I could give my mom was a nice, long phone call but it was so wonderful to talk anyway. I hear that my brother is getting married this Saturday; I wish I could be there. I also heard that my Great Grandpa Ray died on Saturday so please pray for our family. I'm not sure if they will be having a service (there is some talk that they might have one on Saturday this week--my brother's wedding day!) but there is a good chance that they won't since my Great Grandma didn't want one. If so, pray that they will all have the closure they need.

I hope you all had wonderful Mother's Days with your moms (or your kids)! :)

A little bit of the last month...

Sorry there haven't been many photos in the last month or so but it's been pretty hard to upload. In fact, just to upload these 6 photos, I had to sit here for an HOUR! Torture. Anyway, I'm getting something up now with a little taste of what we've been up to since Georgia (but believe me, there are SO MANY good photos and stories to tell once I have the time to upload and write!).

This was taken at the Temple of Hatsheput in Luxor, Egypt this morning. This temple is a fantastic structure just below the Valley of the Kings. It was a long day on bikes in the scorching sun. We drank tons of water and ate pomegranates and oranges all day. So much fun!

This is by far the-most-amazing sunset ever. Take my breath away. Jeremy and I spent two days and two nights sailing down the Nile with 8 other lovely people for the bargain price of about $10 a day. Can you believe it? We had so much fun. Sometimes it could get a little boring but then you'd just lay your head back in the sun, close your eyes, and drift off along with the boat. It was magical. So many stories and photos to come!

This is an old market in Yerevan, Armenia. We spent a solid 5 days there and had a blast doing everything from touring a brandy factory to attending the ballet (woo hoo for date nights!). This market was full of fruit--dried and fresh. We had a great time going around sampling things and in the end walked out with some dried cherries! Yum!

Any single ladies out there? While at the old palace in Seki, Azerbaijan (pronounced Shekee), we ran into these hot young studs who wanted to take our photo. And you know, I just couldn't let them go without taking one for you too! So make your choice! Mail Order Husbands by Kortney! I take all major credit cards. :)

I iz watching you, bunniez.

Have you ever seen those Cheezburger photos? OMG, they're sooo funny. Sure to make you smile on a bad day... Well, while getting lost in the Islamic markets of Alexandria, Egypt, we found ourselves in the middle of an animal market with tons of tukeys, pidgeons, goats, sheep, geese, and rabbits. But I almost lost it when I saw this. This cat had crawled into an open rabbit cage and settled down on one side while all the bunnies cowered in the corner. I had to take a photo. So here it is--my Cheezburger photo!

After Alexandria we went straight to Siwa Oasis at the edge of The Great Sand Sea in the Sahara Desert. The Great Sand Sea is truly great--stretching over 1,400 km--and was once upon a time well under the real sea. Jeremy and I had been itching to get on a camel and so we headed out into the desert. Above are out trusty steeds!! On the left is Jeremy's and on the right is my beautiful boy. (You can see my go-everywhere Marmot bag on the sadle). We had such a good time! By the end of the two day adventure we were competing as to who had the better camel. I got the last word; his went straight for the food when we arrived at the ranch and refused to move. It was a stuggle to get J off. Hehehe...

MORE TO COME!!

Recent Weekend Adventures

I need to make a public announcement: my boyfriend is the sweetest man. Without second thought, Jeremy is the best thing Korea has given me. :)

So, we've been on quite a few outings recently in preparation for our big trips--Jeremy in Central Asia and me everywhere else. Mostly our weekend adventures are limited to hiking stores but on one rainy Sunday we ended up at the famous Namdaemun market, looking for a knife with a sheath, a pocket watch, a travel wallet, a ruler, a calculator with trigonamic functions, and a tripod. We didn't get it all but we had a great time wandering around!

Jeremy and the watch man. There's a whole lot of bling in that case...

"How about a safari hat?" (My pathetic attempt to look model-esque.)

A belt for every occasion.

Really strange meat... Pork of some kind... But tell me, what kind of cut is that?

More mysterious items of "The Korean Food Group."

I like this photo. The sunglasses are reflecting the staple multi-colored Korean umbrella used by every street vendor on the peninsula.

Jeremy, swallowed in a bottom-less pit of purses. In Korea, it's not just the women who carry purses... Men do as well and often show up the women in the accessory department. But don't worry, he was just looking at wallets. I couldn't date a man that carried a purse.

A celebrity photo shop. In Korea, teenagers go NUTS over their favorite pop groups or teen actors. You would never see one of these shops back home but here, this type of store is essential.

My ABSOLUTE favorite photo: Jeremy in a Lee Myung Bak mask. LMB is the Korean president whom the Korean despise almost as much as we despise our own. We were just on our way out of the market when I spotted this little treasure in a toy story and forced J to pose with it on. It's so real looking that I can't help but die of laughter each time I see it! :)

Another day in Seoul, we purchased Jeremy's new camera for his trip and took this lovely picture below on the train ride home (you can see the subway lights reflecting off the glass).

Later that evening, we went up on the roof top of his building to test his new camp stove. It was a little touch-and-go for a while but he figured it out! Once we got it working, we boiled some water (ooh!) and then roasted some marshmallows (ahh!). It was a good night.

The view from Jeremy's roof. You can see the subway train passing in a streak of light.

El Cartographer himself (inside joke) working on that stove.

More photos and stories to come!!

A growing list...

Things that are nearly impossible to find in Korea:
1. Matches
2. Deoderant--it's possible to find aerosal, but forget the solid stuff.
3. Liquid fuel for a camping stove--Koreans only like gas.
4. Pencil Sharpeners
5. Peas
6. Ranch Dressing

Adventures in Boyfriendland

I have become one of them. You know who they are. Those friends who disappear once they have a boyfriend and only surface once in a while to make sure the world is still spinning.

So let me tell you about our weekend adventures. Most of them you would hardly find exciting but a few are worth mentioning. :)

One weekend we ventured out to the Korean National War Museum to check out a special Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. We were both really excited to see real life copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls (I missed the exhibit when it came to the Pacific Science Center) but also more than a little disappointed by the blatant bias of the religion exhibit--there was almost no mention of Judaism, Islam, Samaritans, the Armenian Church, or Eastern Orthodoxy. But we had lots to talk about and that was good. After we finished the special exhibit, we went outside to look at all the Korean and American war machines. Very cool. We also had a little fun taking pictures. :)

Looking for North Koreans.

I have no words.

This weekend kept us a little busy. Saturday we met some friends in Seoul for a little Costco shopping. Some of them had been here for a long time and still didn't know where Costco was! We went and bought less than we thought we would; our friends bought more than they thought they would. The result: we ended up packing their groceries half-way home for them. But that's okay. :) We also wandered around Seoul, picked up some Haggen Daus, visited a piercing shop (I needed new nose rings and one girl needed a new lip ring), enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather, and then settled down that evening to watch a movie (Into the Wild) and eat homemade hamburgers! Yum! I did the cooking and J made watermelon shakes for dessert.

Sunday we went out to Seoul again to pick up J's pants (he dropped them at an alteration shop the day before) and do some shopping for trekking gear. Right now we're trying to figure out how the best way to purchase stuff for our respective trips and it looks like the best way is online. However, we all know that buying things online can be tricky, especially with clothes. So, we went out to try things on and look at what's on the market. We had some fun at the Arc'Teryx store and then wandered around some crazy neighborhood with tons of gear shops before abandoning our search of gear for a new search for food.

Heading back to Sinchon, we hit up a Mexican restaurant called On the Border (it's American but I've never heard of it; you?). Mmm, delicious! The biggest quesadilla I've ever seen. I only ate a fourth of it and was full! Then we walked to Ewha Woman's University (yes, I know it should be Women's but this is Korea and that's not my typing error) which contains a very large, very confusing network of clothing shops and shoe stores. There are probably more shoes for sale in Ewha than people in Jeomchon. We were looking for a specific store he found once called "Make Yourself Fucking Beautiful." Koreans come up with the most creative names! I wanted a picture of it for my blog but alas, looks like it's either been swallowed by the shoes or has been closed and replaced by some other cleverly-named shop like "Natural Laundry" (which does exist).

While out on our little tour of Ewha, we ended up sitting in a park/courtyard of some department store with hundreds of other couples silently cuddled under the moonlight watching a live woodwind band. It was cute. And a little cold. Eventually we got up and moved again.

That's when we found this little gem of a motel:

Motel Good Time: We give you good time, many time, any time, every time!

I think I've explained the Korean love motel before but if I haven't, let me do it once again. The Korean love motel is a place of dubious character. It's where young Korean couples disappear at all hours of the day along with married couples and cheating husbands. I don't think I need to tell you what happens inside; the term "love motel" speaks for itself. However, I will tell you what you can find inside: circle beds, mirrored ceilings, red lights, giant bath tubs, sex toy vending machines (sometimes in your room), and tons of prostitute calling cards. The cost: usually around $25 for the night but sometimes you can pay per hour. Unfortunately, I've had the displeasure of sleeping in a few love motels myself. They're just too cheap to choose a reputable one instead.

As it started getting dark, we hopped on the subway: Jeremy headed home, me headed to the bus station. Along the way we met this interesting character. He is by far the coolest man in Korea. He was selling sewing kits on the subway and tried to sell Jeremy and I one but we were way too distracted by his glasses to care about his product. His glasses had some gold rope holding them together along with maybe 60 yards of scotch tape. The lenses looked like the bottoms of wine bottles and his little beady eyes barely opened behind them. To top it off, he had a total of four teeth and lots of nose hair emerging from the black abyss. He was too cool for school. Jeremy told him he wanted to buy his glasses but the old guy didn't understand (or maybe didn't want to) and kept saying something like, "You make world peace and buy from me and I support my family." It was pretty cute. And then he went on to ramble off every English word he knew in some incoherent babble. We were laughing so hard and were over joyed when he agreed to let us take his picture. I bought a sewing kit just because he was persistent and I can't refuse an adorable old man. :) I guess later on that night Jeremy ran into him again and they became good friends!

Jeremy and his new friend.