the basket truck.

I know it's going to be a good day when I walk out of my apartment and this is the first thing I see.

Life. Always interesting.

running. running. running.

This weekend I ran in the Marriot Family Marathon (which was really a 5k and 10k race) and am still alive to tell about it! My good friend Julie works for one of the major hotels in the city that was sponsoring the event, and she signed me up knowing that I like to run. It was actually my New Year's resolution to run a half-marathon, but after running the 10k I am ridiculously thankful I didn't start with such a long event. I run about 40 km a week at the gym on a treadmill, but running outside in the heat and humidity left me feeling completely unprepared. Regardless, I finished in about an hour and 5 minutes, placed 3rd in the women's division (the number of women competing is irrelevant. ha), and won a 35,000 won ($35) gift certificate to the bakery at the Renaissance Hotel!

The event was held in the south-eastern part of the city along a stream that flows out of the Han River. It was a really beautiful place to spend a spring morning. I showed up at the race after only sleeping 4 hours the night before (its hard to go to bed early on a Friday night when there's so much going on in Seoul!) and was given a towel, tank-top, and number. Over near the starting line everyone was led in tai chi meets tae-kwon-do warm-up exercises. It wasn't really my style, but "when in Rome..." Shortly after the strange stretching routine ended the 10k runners lined up and were off. As soon as I started moving I realized that it is a hundreds times harder to run on pavement in the humidity than it is to run on a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym. Hmmm...I should have figured that out sooner. Regardless, of the mild heat exhuastion that set in after the 6th kilometer I pushed myself to continue running. I turned up my ipod as loud as the sound would go and zoned out to an upbeat Death Cab song for the remainder of the race. I was too tired to even search for a new song so I kept listening to the same thing on repeat over and over again. When I finally crossed the finish line I was told that I had placed 3rd in the women's division! I was seriously confused because I thought that I was near the end, but it turns out one of the women ahead of me had cut a corner and was disqualified. Asa! More than anything I'm just happy that I pushed myself and finished the race. It was a good day, for sure.


me and julie after i ran the race.


working the registration table.

To all of you marathon runners out there...I dont know how you do it. I wont be joining you anytime soon.

the secrets we keep.

Every week people from around the world send in anonymous postcards with secrets written on them to www.postsecret.blogspot.com. Each Sunday morning new cards are uploaded and shared with the intent of helping people to feel connected and less alone. Over the past year or so I have saved dozens of postcards that inspire me. Here are a few of my favorites...

music and rain.

"Simple Life" -The Weepies.

Can I get up in the moming
Put the kettle on
Make us some coffee, say "hey" to the sun...
Is it enough to write a song and sing it to the birds?
They'd hear just the tune
Not understand my love for words
But you would hear me and know

I want only this, I want to live
I want to live a simple life.

I dreamed you first
But not so real
And everyday since I've found you
Such moments we steal
Like little thieves, we rub our hands
We hold our hearts between them.
But will you hear me and know?

I want only this, I want to live
I want to live a simple life.

Move on, move on
Time is accelerating.
Drive on all night
Traffic lights and one-ways.
Move on, move on
Parking violations waiting
Turn off the car, breathe the air
Let's stay here.

I'll kiss you awake, and we'll have time
To know our neighbors all by name
And every star at night.
We'll weave our days together like waves
And particles of light.

I want only this, I want to live
I want to live a simple life.
.....................................................................

It's a rainy, slow-moving Sunday evening. After church I spent a few hours at a coffee shop writing and reading and listening to music. I love those rare moments when you find an artist whose lyrics make the rest of the world fade away and inspire introspection and thought. Today I am thinking about where life has taken me and the dreams I have for the future. Today I want to do something creative and I want to find beauty. I want to find a way to make a real difference in the world. I want to start living and doing rather than just dreaming and saying. I want to live a simple life... but I'm not sure where to begin.

prayers for the middle country.

Over 50,000 people have already been confirmed dead from Monday's earthquake and the number grows higher every day. Today I feel like packing my bags and boarding a plane to China. I don't want to sit in my comfortable apartment reading CNN articles online and scrolling through photos of collapsed schools and children trapped beneath the rubble. I want to help. A part of my heart still remains in China.

And somehow, hope was in the midst of them.

saunas, wine bars, and bike rides.

Life is never dull.

Friday: Awake at 6:30 am. 3 mile run. Work til' 7. Dinner in Sinsa. Coffee. Good food and good company. Sleep at 2 am.

Saturday: Awake at 9 am. Shopping in Myeongdong. Dinner w/ Eva at On the Border (mexican food!). Bought tickets to a movie. Found out the movie is in French. Returned tickets. Vintage shopping in Ewha Women's University area. Wine bar and photography books with friends in Hongdae. Thought-provoking subway ride home while listening to Imogen. Sleep at 2 am.

Sunday: Awake at 10 am. Latte and journal writing at the Coffee Bean. Church in Seobinggo. Jimjilbang and sauna w/ girl friends. Great conversation. Subway home. Sleep at 1 am.

Monday: Buddha's birthday=no work! Phones calls to friends and family. Clean apartment. Bike ride along the Han River (wonderful!). Nap on a park bench. Shower. Thai coconut curry. Movie (The Great Debaters). Bedtime.

A few photos from the weekend:


jess and i at the jimjilbang. sarah joined us not long after this photo was taken. amazing friends!


myeong-dong. easily my favorite area in the city. i could sit on the second floor of the coffee shop here and stare out of the window for hours...i often do.


my new bike and the han river. i took an hour-long nap here this afternoon while death cab sang to me. i think its going to become a regular activity.

please give it back.

I woke up this morning at 7 am to go for a run at the gym, and as soon as I rounded the corner of my apartment complex I realized that my bike wasn't where I had left it the night before. I kept thinking maybe I was just going crazy and that I had locked it up somewhere else. Nope...someone stole my bike! No more morning bike rides through Olympic Park. No more quick trips to the coffee shop to grab a latte before school. Ugh. I can't live here without my bike. I feel trapped in my own neighborhood. I think I'm going to get a new one tomorrow, but this time I'll bring it inside every night.

If you stole it, please give it back.