In The Dog House

Picked this from some Korean user submitted site.

Moose

I recently got an email from someone asking about dogs in Korea. I wish that I could have my pal Moose here with me. I don't really see Koreans with big dogs.(I know you are probably waiting for a boshingtong aka dog soup joke, but there will be none) I guess with the housing situation there really is not room for big dogs. I have seen plenty of ankle biters and even a good number of medium size dogs, but alas no larger breeds. I guess if I spent some time in the country side where people actually would live in houses as opposed to huge apartment buildings I would see more of the larger dogs. I really wanted to bring Moose over here just for the attention that he would get walking down the street.
I spoke to the parents the other day and they told me that Moose has been in mourning since we left. Jaeyoun was their milkbone dealer and gave them their regular fix 2 to 25 times a day. I swear those dogs put on more weight than I did.

Christmas Photos

Christmas 2007

Christmas Morning

The Hat and Hair Post

The Nog sets in

More Christmas Eve Party

Christmas Eve Party

Christmas Mass

The whole "Fam" attended Christmas Eve Mass. We decided to attend the Mass that was held in the local convention center. It holds quite a few more people and it was nice to see so many happy faces.

We left Mass and Jenny, Sarah, and I went and picked up Chinese food which is a family tradition. We then came back to our house and ate and drank for many hours.

Baby Austin

Jenny is looking a little to closely. I kept joking with her to not get any ideas. Those plans are najungae najungae!

Christmas Tree

This Jenny's first tree. It did not take her long to get into the spirit of things^^ The last picture she is adding the personlized ornament that was given to us by some friends on our trip to the Mountains.

Short stop in Madison

So much has been going on. We are currently getting ready to return to Korea. We have a little more than 1 week. Jenny and I are both ready for Christmas, but on the other hand that means it will be time to return. I have two schools that are recruiting me now, but one of them just edged into first place night. I got to speak with an employee of the institute and everything sounds very cool and it is in a great city too, more later

Goals for 2008

Yes, it is way too early, but I want to go ahead and get this written down. I figure if I put it out here and people know what I am trying to do then I will have added some pressure to accomplish these.

1. Lose 35lbs--------I stopped working out and watching the diet about month before we came to the States and on top of that I got back and ate like a mad man. My goal is to do cardio 4 times a week and lift weights 3 times a week. I may have to wait on the weights, since I can't join the gym until I get my ARC.

I will also go back to eating healthy. That means no more fried food, pizza or any other fast food. Jae Youn and I will will be backing a trip to Costco to stock up on healthy food

I am sitting about 230lbs or 104 kg. My goal is to be back down to 195.

2. Study Korean for 1 hour every day.------I have been so lazy when it comes to learning this language. I have been embarrassed when someone asks me how long I have been in Korea and can't even answer them in Korean and have to hold up 2 fingers.

Also, Jae Youn's father has started to ask me how I am studying everytime I speak with him. I figure we have about 1 year and half left in Korea and if I really hit the books, my level and confidence will increase.

3. Stop sleeping so damn late----Working evening at a Hakwon can really get you on the wrong schedule. In order to accomplish both of the above goals, I will need to get up at a decent hour. I am not talking about 6am, but at least my 8. This would be about 2 to 3 hours earlier than I usually wake up.

4. Stop spending so much money-----I don't usually make big purchases, but I am too quick to spend small amounts. I will probably spend less time in the bars to make this work. The main reason for this is to pay off this trip that we are on now. We have gone through a lot of money and will need to replenish the savings account. 3 months of not working have really taken their toll on us.

5. Get involved--(More to come on this later) I am currently looking into volunteer organizations to get involved with. I don't know what exactly I am looking for yet.


I may have to repost this every month, so that I will follow it.

Mississippi Weather

Jenny and I are sitting in the den with the door and the windows open. There seems to be no winter here in Mississippi. I put my jacket back in the closet. The weather is great, but it does kind of put on damper on the Christmas spirit. Listening to Silver Bells is just not the same when you are sweating. Today, we have plans to go to the park with the dogs and take them for a run. We have less than 3 w
eeks to go before we return to Korea. We are both looking forward to going back, but at the same time will miss all the family and friends here in America.

Last week was really nice. We did not travel at all and had some time to chill out and relax. I believe that this week we will make a trip to Jackson and probably do some rabbit hunting closer to home. It also looks like that I will be going to New Orleans with some friends this weekend. Much more later!!!