Papa

I've decided to take a moment out of my crazy Thanksgiving weekend to remember someone very important in my life. I can't even believe that it's been a year since he left, but the calendar doesn't lie.

For some reason, it hasn't quite hit me that Papa is gone. Probably because I'm still in Korea and hadn't seen him for about five months prior to his death. To me, it still feels like he's not really gone. I sometimes forget and almost slip up and say something about him when I talk to my family. But I always catch myself.

But I worry that the second I step foot back in the US to stay, that's when it will hit me that things are different. And Papa is gone.

But let's not get into that now. I'd rather think about him at the beach in Florida, collecting shells. Or flying a plane. Or dancing the jitterbug at airshows. Or telling me how proud he was of me living in a foreign country by myself. Those are the things that I think about. And how I wish he was still here so that my children could have had the opportunity to have fun memories with Papa Rex, the original Papa, as my sister calls him. ^_^

He encouraged me to write and influenced my love of flying, though sadly, in the past few years I haven't had the chance to indulge that. He gave me a love for history and taught me to respect veterans as well as to learn from them.

He taught me how to fly the Canadian Queen, even though it scared me to the death the first time. He introduced me to the wonderful people in the Oklahoma Wing, that I have so many great memories with. (I'll never forget the funnel cake fights. ^^)

And he's the reason why I stayed in Korea when I thought I was almost ready to come home a year ago. I was ready to just give up when things weren't going so well, but I remembered that he was so proud that I was here, so I kept going and kept trying.

So... here's to Papa. I miss you, but I know you're in a better place.

Drama and Craziness

So, this weekend has been one insanely crazy mess of I don't know.

I haven't heard from my boyfriend for about two weeks and since this is not the first time he's done this, I've decided the best thing to do is to end things. He obviously doesn't have the time for a relationship, and I'm questioning whether he really cares about me. He doesn't know about my accident, he hasn't messaged, emailed, called or anything. I know he's busy, but it takes 30 seconds to send a message. And I've sent him several and received no response. In short, I think this is the best thing for us since he needs to focus on his work and finishing his apprenticeship right now.

Also, I'm working on a huge writing project that will take a lot of time and energy for the next 6-9 months. It's imperative that I focus on completing this since my partner has hired me to finish it and already has contacts who are waiting for a finished product. I spent the last couple of weekends mucking around, and it's time for me to really focus and stop goofing off. And stop wondering and worrying about my ex. The less distractions the better...

Although... there is another distraction popping that I will have to keep under control. Thank goodness that distraction lives outside of Seoul during the week...

In conclusion... there are a lot of crazy things going on right now, and I sort of feel like I'm fighting to keep my head above water. I just had a week off from work and I don't feel rested or anything. And the whole point was to take some time to rest and relax and focus on writing and that didn't happen. Ugh...

The Saga of the Could-Be Fractured Nose

Okay, so here's the full story- with pictures- about my nose...

Friday night, Jung Min and I went out for what was going to be a couple beers after I got off work. After that, she decided that she wanted to really go out. I told her that I would go along with it. So we went off to one of our favorite bars near Seolleung Station. We went in, ordered a bottle and settled in. We ended up staying for about four hours. It got late, and we decided it was time to head home. I had to get up for a wedding on Saturday evening on top of all the Halloween party preparations.

So, we get up to leave. A couple of the bartenders were going to walk us out to catch taxis. One of them was a bit drunk and wanted to give me a piggyback ride. This did not seem like a good idea to me because we were in the basement of the building and there were only two ways upstairs: a.) the elevator (which Jung Min was waiting on) and b.) the stairs. So I said no. He said it again. I said no. He said it a third time and I gave in, thinking he would get me up, decide I was too heavy and I would hop down.

He was already bent down, so I hopped on his back. But instead of standing up, he pitched forward and threw me into a door. I lay on the floor for a bit, dazed. My ears were ringing and I felt lightheaded. Then the blood came. I had a giant cut on my nose and it was bleeding from within. Jung Min got me up and rushed me to the bathroom. We cleaned up my face, but I was still lightheaded. I dropped to the floor, because I knew I was going to pass out. After putting my head between my legs for a bit, I felt better and my ears stopped ringing. Jung Min got me up and with the help of a different bartender, I got back inside and laid down in one of the seats. They got me a blanket and some ice.

I'm not sure how long I laid there, but people kept looking at my forehead, which was already starting to swell, and my nose. They sat me up and the bartender responsible started cleaning some of the blood that was leftover on my face and sticking paper towel up my noise. He poked my nose a few times and declared it wasn't broken. Jung Min and the other bartender wanted to take me to the hospital, but I said I was okay. I was just incredibly embarrassed and wanted to get out of there. Fortunately or unfortunately, the bartender responsible was just as eager to get me out of the bar. I think he literally pushed us out because he was worried Bartender 2 would finally convince me to go to the hospital in which case he would have to pay. (Jerk.) Jung Min looked like she wanted to break his nose after the whole ordeal.

Anyway, Jung Min and Bartender 2 got me home. Though, again, looking back it was kind of stupid of me to insist that I go home and not the hospital... definitely could have had a concussion...

And here's how my nose progressed...

This is what I looked like on Sunday. Still swelling... but no bruising... that came on Monday...

Here's a nice shot of the swelling. A light bruise started on my forehead and those actually aren't dark circles under the eyes... those are bruises...

As you can see... it looks better today. The swelling is down, but it still hurts. Bleh.

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and was told that it wasn't broken (but then was later informed that Korean doctors don't believe in hairline fractures. We didn't do a CT scan, so there is a possibility that it is fractured slightly) and there were some lacerations inside my noise as well as some inflammation. They gave me a shot and a day's worth of antibiotics. The swelling is pretty much gone, however I'm still congested because I have a cold on top of dealing with my nose. Yeesh... can't catch a break...

Oh... and still never got an apology from the bartender...