Come back with a medal and come back closing the show

"Come back home with a medal," she says.
"Come back home closing the show," I say.

For B, the main highlight of Sunday will be her performance for the Korean Student Association's "K-Night". For me, it's the final taekwondo tournament of the school year. Both of us unable to attend each other's major event. But we will be rooting for each other in spirit.

But before all of that, we both performed our final taekwondo demonstration at Relay for Life. We did an overall great job with our performance.

In the end the senior instructor and captain of the demonstration team lay down on the ground, seeming as if he was reflecting on how he completed his final accomplishment before he graduated. All in all, we did it for him. To make memories last.

It is currently 11p.m. and the call time is 4a.m. Perhaps some sleep should help. But meanwhile, please enjoy this Haiku I wrote on the fly based on my past experiences of waking up early to go to tournaments.

Wee Hour Blues

Sun beneath zenith
Hushed and ambient chirping,
Breeze awakens eyes.

The taekwondo semi formal was held last night as everyone dressed fresh. We mingled, played a couple rounds of billiards, and had a blast. I came home with the best kiyap award. I take this as a personal accomplishment.

During my childhood taekwondo days I had a fairly weak kiyap that nobody could really hear. When I was still around a blue belt I did have some role models at my school. I mimicked their kiyaps, twisted it on my own, and fashioned a kiyap like no other. It's similar to an extended, Bruce Lee-like yell that starts sharp and fades out, silently. It all came naturally.

During the ECTC all star-trip one of my teammates even made a comment about it. "Once I hear the kiyap I'm scared."

A kiyap-- or, a yell-- is a personal expression. Don't be concerned about how foolish it sounds. What matters is that you let out your energy.

Now some blacked out at the semi formal after party. One of my friends even made out with a girl. People did not expect this pairing and thus were fairly surprised. Another girl who happened to like the guy plopped herself down adjacent from them and started crying.

So much drama yet so much fun.

EDM and rap songs were flowing throughout the party. We all danced and had a damn good evening no doubt.

As soon as we got back, B and I knocked out on the bed as the positive party vibes still resonated in our heads.

**

There's something about this dorm that I am loathing more and more. Since last year I've lived in very poorly constructed dorms. Last year at my previous college the showers clogged, the toilet did not flush, one of the handles for the sink broke, the lights went out to leave a hall of darkness, there was a broken light switch with intricate wires dangling and last but not least, most of the laundry dryers failed to operate.

Fast forward to today, where I am at a new university. Conditions are slightly better but not all of the laundry dryers, once again, work and I am infuriated. Is this what I get for the tuition fee? Each time I do the laundry it gets on my nerves. Ugh.

It's been an alright week so far, thanks to the two days off.

Some big news. It snowed. We went from beautiful 78 degree, summer-like weather to a snow storm... What the fudge.

From the window I heard snowplows clearing the path. Sheets of white were covering the ground. The weather was catching a cold.

On a early Tuesday B and I spent the night at a friends place. We stayed up until four in the morning hoping to see the lunar eclipse, but failed. Instead we saw it on the live camera courtesy of NASA from the computer.


I had a sense that the subject material for most of my classes were reaching the homestretch, as the semester's end was near. Attending my last class got me as I became extremely sleepy and couldn't open my eyes midway through the lecture on sentencing. Not that it wasn't the most intriguing, but I just couldn't. I took down some general notes but suddenly midway through the sleep fairy casted a spell on me.

The next day called for a busy day. After class I would teach taekwondo with a peer of mine who usually did all of the teaching. Not that I didn't want to teach; just that he seemed to deliver the drills and directions much more clear than I did. After that class I would head to a Japan performance event. And after that I would practice with the taekwondo demonstration team.


On a relatively early morning I got up from the birds humming by the branch near my window. I went downstairs to get some breakfast. The dining hall always consisted of the same menu: scrambled eggs, sausages, potatoes, and occasionally pancakes. There would often be long lines for omelets and I usually didn't have time for those. I grabbed some scrambled eggs, a glass of O.J. on the rocks and some Cheerios. Right then I bumped into a friend I haven't seen in weeks, months perhaps.

"Hey," he said, waving.

He was an international student from Fukuoka, Japan, majoring in linguistics. We grabbed a table by the window and had a quick meal. He was wearing a grey cashmere sweater with a black dress shirt underneath. Studious, black-rimmed glasses placed above his forehead. Dorm keys and I.D. card hung on his neck. We always had a peculiar form of communication. I often spoke in English, hoping that he can improve on the language. But sometimes I'd feel as if he didn't understand some words and phrases. And sometimes, I wouldn't know how to say it in Japanese. So there's this dilemma in the way we spoke to each other.

"How was your mini-break?" I asked, in English.
"It was alright," he said, looking up towards the ceiling trying to recount what he did. "I got new shoes."
Casual, grey sneakers.
"Well that's good to hear," I said. "I pretty much in a nutshell went to a friend's house, had some barbecue, and relaxed."
He nodded, taking small bites of his cake and sips of his French vanilla coffee.
"What are you doing for the summer?" he asked.
"Not sure yet. Probably going to find a reasonable job."
"Internship?"
"Perhaps."
He nodded.
"Are you going back to Japan for the summer?"
"No," he said immediately. "I'm going to take summer classes."

Summer classes, I thought to myself. Brutal, but a good way to get some credits.

The dining hall was filled with students in their pajamas and sleepwear. Nobody gave a damn about how they looked in a college dormitory dining hall on an early morning. To hell with that! they seemed to express in themselves. The only ones who seemed to be wide awake and enthusiastic were the kitchen staff. As soon as you walked into the dining hall, they would greet you with the pleasing "good morning". Without them here, the dining hall was as depressing as can be. They worked the morning shift. Only.


I went back to take care of my hygienic duties. Then I changed into my clothes for the day. A blue flannel with a light, grey cardigan, denims and brown shoes. What can you say I was feeling a bit preppy. I packed my bag and filled it with the necessary materials for the day. I did my best to carry light. I shoved in a book of narrative reportages for my recreational reading, half-eaten bag of chips, my typical notebook and textbook.

It was another day.

Happy Half-year!! It's been six months and we are going strong!!!!  She showed me a video montage that she made of us together from the day we met to the present. It was so wonderfully made. So so so many memories that I started crying. We both cried. The video was so touching. I love her so much.


Thank you, B. 

Do not forsake me oh my darlin'

The weather is finally admirable as spring has finally made its way. A beautiful 70 degrees, expected to reach  79 by tomorrow. With an extended weekend for Easter Holiday, this feeling is great. The bulk of my tests and quizzes mostly occurred last week thus I don't have much work either.

I went on a little stroll with B around campus with ice cream cups in our hands and we sat down outside. Walking around campus in this  warm weather made me flash back to the summer days of '13: the first day of school, where I wore just a t-shirt and shorts, with not much friends, just trying to get accustomed to the campus. Thinking back, I realized that I've come a long way.

There were no winds, as the two flags attached to the long silver poles in front of campus did not flutter even the slightest. In the lawn a group of students were playing catch, frisbee, and the like.

B lay down against me and rested her head on my thighs.

"From this angle you look like a sailor at sea," she said.

I pictured myself navigating the seas, mesmerized by the vast pigments of blue. The unpredictable tides would shift its way eventually towards the nearest shore and crash against the sand. At the faint distance, a line separated the ocean and the sky. A chilly breeze would come across every now and then.

Escaping from my imagination of being a sailor at sea, I looked at her and realized that she had been taking pictures of me.

We played along as she hid my phone from me while the theme of High Noon played from her phone. I watched the movie for class back when I was in high school. She watched it for one of her classes on campus. The theme took me back to those days in high school where I still didn't know how to write a proper essay.

"Do not forsake me oh my darlin'!"

Those lines stuck with me for the longest time.

We went to the campus center and got ourselves some subs. Barbecue chicken sandwich for her, an Italian Kawacombo for me.

"This is my trademark sandwich," I said.
"Since you built your sandwich on your own, what would you name it?"
"The Italian Kawacombo."
She nodded in approval.


My weekend was pretty much packed, leaving me no time to go back to my dormitory. I watched B practice her dance for her upcoming performance in a few weeks, performed a demonstration for taekwondo which went subpar for the most part yesterday, and went to a taekwondo barbecue party at a friend's house in the outskirts of campus just today.

The barbecue was great, as we all had a blast enjoying the great weather and hanging out. We had some hot dogs, grilled chicken and played with her two toy poodles. It took me a while before I realized that I was allergic to certain types of dogs, as I began to sneeze and get a runny nose the moment I walked in the house.

The house was located in the outskirts of campus, a ten minute bus ride away. It was an extremely quiet, little suburban neighborhood with not much cars passing by the block. House after house after house, most of them in alright condition and do not seem to be occupied.

Before I headed downstairs to the exit to leave, I looked behind me and saw one of the toy poodles staring directly at me. I waved it goodbye before heading down. The dog remained there, staring. I went downstairs.

B and I came back around the late evening as she then practiced for her dance performance. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend because I'm expected to compete at the final taekwondo tournament of the year. We both cannot root for each other but we know that we will be there for each other in our heart and will do our very best.

Do not forsake me oh my darlin'

Hectic amount of tests, J. Cole, TKD

Seems like the week should be over already. I haven't seen my roommate for the entire week so far. When I'm in the room he's on campus, and when I'm not he's there in the room.

"I forgot your face," he says in a text.


Getting up early is something I thought I needed to pursue again. There is something about breathing in the fresh, morning air listening to the birds harmoniously hum. I open the blinds and the bright sunlight splatters through the window. It is the peak time of day, where the sun and the birds are ready for another great day. It's soothing to the senses.

Congrats to my taekwondo teammate who placed first in the National Taekwondo Collegiate Championships last weekend. He made it in the National Collegiate team and will be traveling with them to China to represent U.S.A.

While he earned a huge accomplishment, I was at a J. Cole concert.

Lining up for that was as hectic as can be. As soon as the doors opened for entry, students pushed and shoved each other, spurring a commotion. And when B and I were standing in front of the stage, it was as if I was involved in a mosh pit. Students continued to push and shove each other. I got my foot stepped on several times and I was squeezed so tightly that I almost couldn't breathe. B and I eventually were able to escape from the craziness. The place was hot, our throats dried up, and I got a headache from the constant EDM music. Frustrated that he did not perform "Power Trip", the only song we knew that was sung by him, we left early. According to friends, he performed the song dead last.

This week I had four quizzes, two exams. Supplementing those are tedious Japanese assignments. And I breathed a huge sigh of relief after I finished my last quiz on a Friday afternoon.

Glad that I got enrolled in the classes of my choice. Recently I've been gaining interest in the field of criminology. Considering that as a minor.


The school's taekwondo club is pretty solid, as the demonstration team is set to perform this Saturday. Both B and I are part of the team as we both have several roles.

Excited to attend C-Night and see B sing. C-night is where students sing and perform while maintaining China's culture... I think.

Members of the tkd club after a successful make-up test. Credit to S.J.

Spring Weather and all

Appreciation of the spring weather. Cred to BabyTing

Spring has finally arrived, as the weather today reached a beautiful 61 degrees with not a cloud on the sky. Sprawled out on the campus field were students playing frisbee and catch. In the softball field a casual game going on. This beautiful day seemed to uplift everybody's moods-- mine sure did. The campus was lively during the afternoon. I've never seen this many students playing catch on the fields. This was probably the nicest weather this university has had since last August.

For me it was a moment of leaving aside the stack full of work I had and cherishing the wonderful weather.


However during the night it was all about the library, which became the bane of my existence. My baby Ting keeps me motivated. One night I come back around midnight and catch my roommate sleeping with the lights off.

"What's up," he says.

"Didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay I wasn't sleeping I just..." a lull falls. "Turned off the light."

"So you were just..."

"Yeah"

"You just turned off the light and.."

"Yeah"

"You just.. Yeah."

"Yeap." 

Ice cream for both her and I

In other words he couldn't find the right explanation for preparing-to-sleep. But it was alright since both of us knew what he was trying to say... I think.  An international student, his name means 'star' in Korean. He served in the military, as all men are required to for two years before they reach the age of 30, and published several novels. An organized twenty-something global studies major, he is almost always prompt and to the point. In his world there are no maybe's and I-will-try. He'd always show up at 1:30 sharp and not 1:31. He'd always respond to texts within seconds.


During one of my journalism classes the professor mentions the visual reactions we tend to have when deciding on certain objects. How we see things alter when we see them another way. The most simplest of examples is trying on clothes before we buy them. How we see them on ourselves can be different from how we initially see them, hung on the clothes rack on display. Same thing with objects like, say, pens. If you really cannot decide between the two, hold them up in front of the mirror one by one, and then you will immediately know which one suits you, he says.

That is certainly interesting.

My Japanese professor the other day asked me after I handed in a test,
"Sean, do you want natto?"
For those who do not know, natto are fermented soybeans, generally eaten on top of rice in Japan. Many people, including the Japanese, have a distaste for it due to its distinct odor and stickiness. But I've always thought it was delicious and had no problem eating it.
"Natto?" I asked.
"Yes, natto. My friend who makes natto gave me a huge box full of them the other day. One packet is sold for 3.50$, if you're interested. You have a roommate?"
"I do," I said.
"Well I'm not too sure then," she laughed.

I wasn't too sure either.

the struggle of choosing classes

Each time I look at the schedule of classes for fall 2014, I get more and more stressed. Most of the classes I had in mind are pretty much decreasing in the number of available seats. At first one class went from 25 to 15 in just a matter of days. Some hours later it went down to 14. I really just hope they don't fill up by the time I register, which is next week.

Choosing classes is by far one the most stressful times in college, as seats fill up pretty quick, especially those classes that are intriguing and or taught by high-rated professors according to that subjective website Ratemyprofessors.com.

I pray that I get my classes. PLEASE.

It's as if it was a countdown timer. The less the number, the more I start to worry and freak out. Each time the number of seats decrease it shreds a part of my hope and spills it down the abyss.

I pray that I get my classes.