The Glass is Half Full

I officially (as of Saturday) am halfway done with my tour in Korea. I must admit, the time has gone rather quickly, and I expect the second half to do the same. I am sad that my time abroad will come to an end, but I am overjoyed at the thought of living with Ryan again (and being closer to family)! My hope is that we will one day come back to Korea or live in Europe TOGETHER.

Kerri, my sister, will be sad to not get any more confused voice messages from me when I leave Korea. For some reason, the change from Daylight Savings Time made me more confused about the time difference than I anticipated. She told me just this past week that she saved one of my messages to listen to again. I guess I humored her with my time confusion :)

I have 3 things I am looking forward to during my last 6 months in Korea: Crystal (my girlfriend from Hawai'i) will have her baby sometime in late May or early June, Mom is coming for almost 3 weeks in July (and I have vacation days the entire time she is here), and warmer weather!!!

What do you have to look forward to in the next 6 months???

Decisions, Decisions

After much prayer and thought, I have finally come to a decision about my life in the Army. My original plan was to stay in the military until December of this year and cut my ties by Christmas. However, my heart has ruled, and I am heading back to Ryan at the end of September. I miss my husband and puppies too much.

My branch manager (the woman in charge of where I get stationed) has no problem assigning me at Fort Campbell to join Ryan. I will incur a one-year obligation from the day I sign in to Fort Campbell, which will likely be mid-October. When I look at the Army side of things, I will only have 2 additional Physical Training (PT) tests (push-ups, sit-ups, run). When I say it out loud, it doesn't sound that bad. Being apart from family is what I dislike - not the military.

So here's to another year of active duty life as a dual military couple. Please keep us in your prayers!!!

A Little Confused...

I have been confused for the last three-plus years, and it's not getting any better. For those of you that have ever worked shift work, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Many days, I go into work not knowing what day of the week it is. I can tell you it's the 9th, 20th, or 31st (I have to date EVERYTHING at work in the patients' charts), but Monday, Thursday, or Sunday - NO WAY! See, when you work weekends and holidays, the days just don't seem to matter. I no longer have Mondays to dread or Fridays to look forward to. I usually have to put quite a bit of effort into figuring out what day of the week it is - and sometimes I give up and just ask someone else. Yes, I know, in the end it really makes no difference, but the constant state of confusion is a little annoying...

Recycling Korean Style

It is so refreshing to be in a country where recycling is regarded as a must and not a maybe. I must admit, I was stunned (in the good sense of the word) to discover that Korea has a mandatory recycling program (and they take everything - styrofoam to the hard-to-recycle yogurt containers). Growing up in the States, recycling is not as accepted or practiced, and I have never understood why.

Thanks to my mom, I was raised with a "green" mind. I don't remember a time when our family did not recycle, thanks to Mom's efforts. She ensured that anything and everything recyclable was not wasted. I was shocked when I went off to college in Columbus, leaving home for the first time, to find that no recycling program was available on or off campus. Luckily, my roommate, Genevieve, is as green as I am. We saved all of our recycling products, and whenever one of us went home, toted them off to our parents. I'm sure our moms loved the extra work to take it curbside come trash/recycling day! However, Gen and I felt good about our efforts, knowing we were doing a small part to ensure a better life for tomorrow.



I am a true believer that Americans need to be more self conscious about trash production. My realtor explained the Korean trash and recycling pick-up, but then interjected that most Americans living in Korea just take their trash on-post to a dumpster. I guess separating trash from recyclables is too much work for some. I felt so embarrassed when she told me this! No wonder other countries form opinions that we are wasteful!




I read some disturbing news while in Hawai'i about plastic and trash in the ocean. I get sad and very upset when I read/hear new like this: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/10/19/SS6JS8RH0.DTL&type=politics
I took action and invested in some "green" grocery bags. They are reusable cloth bags, and at least I know I am doing my part to reduce plastic garbage. Plus, they are so much stronger. They hold 2-3 times the amount of groceries, and for $.79 apiece, they were a great bargain! I highly recommend you try them :) Plus, I recycle EVERYTHING here. Recently, I filled up two 13 gallon-sized bags with recyclables and only one with trash. I saved 66% of my "trash" from going to a dumpster! Think if we ALL did this!



There are still improvements I want to make in my "green" life. I want to drive less, walk more, use public transportation more, and take shorter showers (for those that know me, this will be a HUGE sacrifice). Plus, I recently looked at the Honda website, and a new hydrogen-fueled car is for sale. The car's emissions are clean and clear water. I am so excited for the things Honda is doing to improve the planet! I hope other companies follow in their footsteps.



I challenge you to think and be "green." I know we can make the world a better place for tomorrow if we change our lifestyle. Think of the impact - especially on and for our children!