Christmas is Always Crazy

As usual, I've stuffed my Christmas holiday with tons of stuff, half of which requires prior preparation. And, of course, I'm working like crazy up until tomorrow.

Roomie and I have decided to have a small get together on Christmas Day at our place. It's nothing huge; just her, her boyfriend, our friend, me and the guy I'm dating. Another friend of mine might stop by for a bit before going out clubbing. We're just planning to have Christmas-y cocktails, with cookies, pie and maybe some cake and watch movies. Not a whole lot of prep, just a trip to Costco and picking up/cleaning the living room/kitchen. However, we've planned to do this Friday morning and afternoon, which will kind of cramp what I had already planned for Friday.

Friday night, I'm covering two concerts for the website, starting at 7ish. Before that, I had planned to go to the laundry mat (which will take about an hour to an hour and a half), go get the rest of Roomie and Best Friend's Christmas presents and go buy The Boy's present (two stops, but they are both in the same area). But now, we're planning to get to Costco around 10 am when it opens, then cleaning when we get back. I don't foresee Costco and cleaning taking too long (maybe 1-1.5 hours for Costco, an hour at most for cleaning) but I can't be absolutely sure that it won't take all morning and afternoon.

Which means, I now have to fit in what I planned to do on Friday sometime tomorrow, just to make sure it all gets done. Plus, I should probably pick up my bedroom a little, since I'll be embarrassed as hell if anyone peeks in there during our party. (It's pretty messy...)

So, my new schedule...

Tomorrow, I have to get up early and go take care of the Christmas presents before I go meet my friend for lunch at 12pm and then go to work. Tonight and tomorrow night, I'm going to work on picking up my room. (Half of which is just dirty clothes on the floor.) Tomorrow night, as soon as I get back from work, I have to go to the laundry mat. Since I get home at 11 pm, there is a high chance the buses will no longer be running when I finish, so I'll either have to walk 20 minutes back home or try to catch a cab back.

I might try picking up the living room and kitchen a bit now and then go do laundry on Friday. Honestly, with two of us, the cleaning shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes, but there is always the possibility it could take longer... And a HUGE possibility we'll be at Costco for a long time, since Roomie's boyfriend is going with us to do some shopping as well.

I'm planning to talk to Roomie tonight about how long everything will take on Friday, because honestly, I really need to do laundry and I don't want to have to do it late tomorrow night. Especially since I can't remember if the laundry mat is 24-hour or how late it stays open if it isn't...

Bleh, I'll just be happy when I can sleep in and rest (Saturday morning). Isn't that what holidays are supposed to be about? Thank goodness our party on Saturday night is all about comfort...

Holidays Are Meant to be Crazy

I finally got my December work schedule nailed down, and the week of Christmas is looking a bit crazy. But I suppose it's okay since holidays are supposed to be crazy, and I'll be making extra money.

For about three weeks I'm covering the morning editing shift on Mondays and Fridays starting today. Unfortunately, I was already scheduled to do the evening shift, which means a 12-hour day with a tw0-hour break in between. I'll only have one other double shift day on the 17th, so this arrangement isn't too bad, other then I'll be coming in three times on my day off for three hours.

The real kicker will start on Dec. 24. I've agreed to cover for the morning weather girl for about two weeks while she goes on vacation. This means from Dec. 24- Jan. 7, I'll be coming into the office at 5:30 in the morning to write my script, do hair and make-up and then give two live weather reports for our morning broadcast. Which means during the first week, I'll be working 5:30 am to 10 pm with a two-hour break for three days, and the second for two days. That equals to five 14-hour days in two weeks.

I'm staying positive and trying not to let myself get overwhelmed three weeks before I even do anything. I get Christmas Day off. I get to go to a JYP concert for free on Christmas Eve. (Technically, I'll be working at it, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it at the same time.) And it's extra money that I can put towards a number of things. A new camera. Or a new net book and external hard drive since I'm terrified my lap top could die any day now from old age. (It's working fine, a little slow, but okay.) Or a vacation. There is a possibility I could lose my Thursday morning appointment forever, but we'll see.

So, in short, my motto for this month is: Stay positive. I'm getting a fun opportunity to do live TV that I wouldn't get anywhere else. And I already had one person recognize me from doing the evening weather for a week. Maybe I'll get more from this. ^_^

Back in Seoul

So, I'm back in Seoul and back to work. Going home for a week and a half really re-energized me and helped me get my center back. Work is going along much more smoothly and I'm not so cranky anymore. Also, I'm hoping this going to bed early and getting up at 6:30 am thing continues (jet lag, gotta love it). I was very productive this morning and washed all the the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Normally, this isn't much of an undertaking, but my roommate didn't really do dishes (at all) while I was gone and there was quite a mess greeting me when I walked in last night. She did say she would do them, but I wanted to cook this morning and to do so, I needed access to the stove, which meant washing dishes...

But back to my trip...

I spent most of my time with my parents, sister and little brother, but I got to see extended family on Thanksgiving and some old friends from college. I also went down to Chandler and saw my old high school teacher that I haven't seen in about five or so years. She was excited to see me and I ended up doing an improv lecture/Q&A on living in South Korea. It was fun and the kids asked some good questions. And, not gonna lie, it was cool being treated a little bit like a rock star. My teacher kept mentioning that I, too, was a Chandler grad and proof that Chandler grads can get out of Oklahoma and do great things (not sure how great editing is, but I let her run with it).

But more than anything, I hope I was able to spark an interest in some of the kids in exploring the world a bit more. So many people from Chandler end up never leaving Oklahoma and getting married and having kids right after school without going out and trying new things. So, I hoped that talking about my job and experiences showed them that they have access to a whole world of opportunities. A bunch of them had more questions about what kind of jobs you could have in Korea and what you should study in college to do them, so I think I encouraged a few. ^_^

We also did a family photoshoot. Here are some of my favorites!

Home Sweet Home

I'm home in Oklahoma.

I love it.

But it's still odd to be surrounded by a bunch of people who speak English and be able to read everything in the grocery.

I still love it.

Leaving On A Jet Plane!

But I do actually know when I'll be back again. December 1st, to be exact.

I'm so ready for this trip home. It finally hit me today that I will be seeing my family for the first time in two years in just two (really want them to be short, but will probably be long) days. And I'm feeling quite accomplished, since my list of things to do before I leave is quickly disappearing. The cable company is coming tomorrow morning. I got my presents purchased yesterday. With the help of my fan, my clothes should be dried and ready to pack by tonight, and I bucked up and called YG today. However, can't cross that off yet, since I'm now waiting on a response, but hopefully I'll get one before I leave for the US. Crap. Probably should have mentioned that on the phone today... I'll call again tomorrow if I don't hear anything...

All that is left to do is to buy some makgeolli, soju and maewasu to take home so that my family can try some traditional Korean alcohol. (Can do after work.) Pack. (Again, after work.) And pay rent. (Can do anytime before Friday.)

I did tell a friend that I would go out with her Thursday night, stay at her place and leave for the airport from there, but after some thinking I've decided not to. First of all, I would have to take my stuff to work with me and then go up to her place. I live in Gunja on the northeast side of the city. I work in Seocho on the south-central side. She lives in Eedae on the northwest side. I have a really large suitcase that I do not want to drag around the city because I'm too cheap to use taxis.

Secondly, I'm running out of money alloted for spending in Korea.

Thirdly, while my flight isn't until 11 am, I really don't want to stay up late or drink the night before I'm supposed to leave. I don't want to miss my flight (since I'll have to leave for the airport by 7:30ish) and I really don't want to uber tired and hungover while traveling for nearly 24 hours. I have an insane amount of transfers to make, which will require me to be alert. Don't believe me?

11 am- Leave Seoul

1:20 pm- Arrive in Tokyo

3:30 pm- Leave Tokyo

7:30 am- Arrive in Portland

1:15 pm- Leave Portland

4 pm- Arrive in Salt Lake City

7:54 pm- Leave Salt Lake City

11:17 pm- Arrive in Tulsa

I feel tired just looking at that...