3 years, 2 months and 11 days of prayer and waiting

I quit my job 8 months ago in November 2018. But behind the photos of me traveling and drinking and living my best life, what most people don't know is that I have been waiting and praying for my new job for 38 months... To be exact, it's been 3 years 2 months and 11 days...That's 1167 days. Here's where 38 months of prayer has led me.

counting the number of months...weeks... days.

Thank You to My Family For My 20s

I have mixed feelings about turning 30 this week. A bit anxious to enter a new decade... but also excited to be entering a new decade. It's weird because leaving your teens felt great, like you're finally going to be able to drink and enjoy the adult things. And then I did that for 10 years... and now there is 30.

What I'm Learning Through the Wait

I'm in my 7th month of (f)unemployment now... Which is CRAZY because time goes by SO fast when you're unemployed. Like you know when it's Friday and you're super excited that it's the weekend, and then all of a sudden you're sad because it's a Sunday and you're wondering where all the time went? Yes, that is exactly how I feel, except I don't get sad for Sundays since my life is a Friday, every day. Jealous? I know.

When every day is a weekend...

So what have I learned during these 7 months to myself as I wait for my next job??

What I learned from being a stay at home mom... except i'm single and not a mom.

One of the things I really looked forward to during (f)unemployment is spending time with my niece and nephews. It's crazy how fast kids grow up, and to only see them once or twice a year, for a week or two at a time... it factored into one of the reasons why I left my job. After all, when else would i have time to bond with them and cement myself as best aunt?? Not to mention, I was also on a time crunch because everyone knows that after 6 years old they stop being cute.

So after about 2+ months of hanging out with 2 nephews (age 1 and 3) and a niece (age 4), and all of their friend's kids, here's what I've PERSONALLY learned:

What Living in New York City Taught Me...

As I head out for my flight to Korea and really say goodbye to New York City (at least for now, unless I get a job here, then i'll be right back),  I can't believe that i've lived here for 4.5 years. It's actually the longest place I've lived in consecutively since  high school in Georgia. That's impressive given that it was never a city  I intended to move to. In fact, my sister lured me here with promises that it would be fun to live near family.... and it totally was until she told me a year later "we're moving to korea!" and then packed and moved in like 2 months, taking my niece away from me...

ANYWAYS.

As I spend my last 50 hours in the city that never sleeps and reflect back on how much i've stretched and grown, here are a few things the city taught me:

How Traveling Made Me Realize the Greatest Gift My Parents Gave Me...

My mom says I get all my bad traits from my dad 

There are many things I am so grateful to my parents for. For instance, every day, when I eat American food, I thank the LORD that He gave me Korean parents. Like hello... have you guys tried korean bbq? kimchee? soondubu jjigae (tofu soup)?? That's a combination of flavors that is unheard of in what I call "white" cuisine of meat and potatoes (no offense). Also, CNN just did a piece on Korean food.  And thanks to my parents, when I'm at a restaurant I never have to ask: "is this really spicy? Am i going to be okay?"

But the greatest gift they have given me (which I learned through traveling), and the thing that I am most thankful to them for is... * drum rollllll *

Cafe Tuin + Writing Postcards

Given the beauty of Amsterdam, I decided that today I'd walk around and get back into photography. Usually photography for me is mostly a summer time activity. That's because in the winter, by the time I get off work it's too dark to take photos. The weather also doesn't help because my poor fingers can't handle the cold and who really wants to be outside taking photos with the wind slapping against your face so hard that it makes your eyes teary?... Only super passionate photographers, that's who.

What Does Rest Even Look Like?! My First Monday in Amsterdam

As much as I talked about rest, and being excited about it...day 4 here in Amsterdam and I realized that I have no idea how to actually rest. Like... what do you mean I have an extra 8 hours to myself in the middle of the day now?! What do you mean that my weekends are just like my weekdays?! Wait, can I just watch an extra 8 hrs of netflix??? just kidding... (but in my defense, Netflix in Europe has shows and movies out that aren't airing yet in the US.) So this weekend I literally stressed about how I was going to rest. 

Taking My Sabbatical (Rest)

I officially jumped into "unemployment" this week. I put that in quotes because 1) I'm not officially done with my job just yet. There's still some close out things that need to be taken care of next week, but technically my desk is no longer mine. And 2) because apparently another adult term for unemployment is ... sabbatical.

Swimming with Sharks: the truth behind the pictures

Every new year or birthday I tell myself that this is it, i'm going to blog more consistently. And then life throws you into work and (mostly) netflix tv shows and creativity takes a back seat.  So this post is wayyyy over due but I wanted to share my experience swimming with sharks in Durban before the whole thing becomes more fuzzy and I start making up how brave I was. Because after all, better late than never, amiright??

(also can I please get some claps for "re-starting" this blog again for like the tenth time??) 

Trollin the Trumpers

Yesterday in NYC there was  a protest against Trump's recent immigration ban. Being that the protest was near me, I really had no excuse to not join... so I joined. Then when I came back home, I opened up facebook and saw that the protest was trending news. I clicked, and lo and behold, one of the first things to pop up was a Fox video clip of the protest in DC. I tried to X out as quickly as I could but then my eyes wouldn't stop wandering over to the comments section.... because seriously, it's like you know something is bad for you and that just makes you want to do it even more. And let me just say... I had a blast and even learned some things.
........

Why the Hell I'm Still in NYC

I think that everyone who comes to live in NYC can't help but at one point think to themselves... Why the hell am i here?

Sure, NYC sounds like an amazing place to live with all of its lights and glory (don't be deceived) but it's a tough place to live and every once in a while it  can really make you question your entire existence and why you decided to move to a city full of people and rats the size of cats and roaches the size of rats.

Dear America, We Deserved Trump and You Know It.

FYI: I usually don't talk politics on the internet because I don't feel qualified enough... but given that Trump just became president elect and he clearly has no experience, I feel more than qualified enough now to write a blog post on American politics. That, and I at least have my masters in public policy.... #overqualified

Dear America,

Now that its almost been 24 hours since I've had time to listen to others and reflect, I just want to know.... What. the. fuck. did. you. do. ?!

Less than 24 Hours in Niagara Falls

I've wanted to go to Niagara Falls for awhile.... I'm not sure why the Falls trumps places like Vegas or some other fun party city (well, maybe because i act like I'm 80) but if I've learned anything during these past couple of years, it's to always take opportunities and just go with it.

So when the perfect weekend window showed up and the weather was supposed to amazing, my friend and I thought, "why the hell not? we don't got no kids, we don't got no homework, and we don't got no responsibilities." She had points to help break the cost of a rental car and we had some $$ for a hotel room.... so... carpe diem, am i right?

Life as a New Yorker - Year 2

Today marks my 2nd year in New York City! Happy newyork-versary to me! It's actually the longest place i've lived since I moved out of Georgia. Yes, I was in college for 4 years, but before it turned 2 years in Baltimore, I studied abroad in Shanghai for a semester. Then, 1.5 years later I graduated. As for my masters, I moved out of Baltimore two months shy of two years.

So.. congratulations to me for living in a city for over two years! And i'll admit that not only have I grown spiritually, mentally, physically (like grown in weight), but also I've grown to become... well... more and more like a New Yorker.

Here are some changes I've noticed during my two years here... as illustrated with gifs of judge judy of course.

Saying "I Love You" Through Food

Growing up, my parents never really told me or my sisters "I love you". I actually didn't think it was weird that my parents didn't say it until I went to college and everyone would hang up the phone with, "bye mom. I love you too!" The way I end my phone conversations with my mom is usually, "okay, okay, okay" *click.

So of course when I told my friends that my parents rarely say "I love you" to me, they were all, "oh my gosh.... I'm sorry..." But then I realized that my parents do say it, they just say it in their own way. My parents version of "I love you" is..

Let's Talk Kakao Emojis

It's been a while since i've written a blog post. I'd love to credit my blog absence to having such a glam NYC life that I forgot about all of yall boring people not living in the Big Apple... but that would be a complete and utter lie.

....So let's just say life got in the way.

Anyways, I was talking with my best friend on Kakao today and we were discussing how awesome Kakao emojis were. And so I thought i'd share my favorite kakao emojis that I use on a daily basis.

The Classes I Wish Colleges Offered

My Alma Mater

The more I learn to be an adult, the more I realize I don't know what I learned from college or what skills I took away from my experience there (okay fine, learning to drink sort of counts, i guess...). I feel like in elementary through high school I learned so much - addition, subtraction, spelling, how to read.... and then I got to college and grad school and I'm not entirely sure what happened. I feel like college did a sub-par job in helping me transition to adulthood and get ready for the "real world". So I took it upon myself to draft up some classes, along with the course description, that I think would have been very helpful for me and probably that every college should consider a required course before graduation.

Learning to Trust Through My Strategic Hot Mess Life

As Easter suddenly decided to appear out of nowhere and then passby in March, I've been seriously reflecting over the last two weeks  about what Easter means to me. Yes, i know, it's about Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection three days later... but I've been reflecting on what that means to me as a 26 year old female, living in NYC, trying to figure out life and trying to figure out how to do this whole adult thing. In essence, what does the resurrection personally mean to me beyond the typical "He is risen and my sins are forgiven!" (which, don't get me wrong, is a fabulous thing).

And so i entered church on Sunday, excited for Easter sunday, but quite unsure in my heart. 

The Places I've Been in 10 Years

Yesterday, as I rummaged around for my passport, I realized that it's set to expire in June of this year. That means... it's been ten years since I've gotten my passport. TEN YEARS.

I actually quite clearly remember getting that passport photo taken. I had to take several shots because my hair kept falling over my eyes and I wouldn't follow the "don't smile" directions. Because honestly, if you don't smile you look fat and mad. In the end the lady gave up and printed out a picture to which I thought "oh. oh. ohno. i'm stuck with this photo for ten years..."

Now, in a blink of an eye, I'll be turning it in soon to renew it for another ten years...