Photo Finish

Korea is obsessed with perfection.

 Men and women slice and dice at a rate that would make Brazil proud.

 For many it is disturbing and alarming.  

Of course, it's also true that this obsession has it's benefits for even the most conservative among us.

You see, because "everybody's doing it" beauty procedures are cheap.

If means laser hair removal, photo facials, chemical peels, and other 

gateway procedures are roughly the same cost as a nice new pair of shoes.

Not only that, but clinics are everywhere.  

Many of which cater to a foreign clientele  - like me -

who are more than happy to throw down for these 

less invasive vanity treatments.

It really is lovely to no longer need to shave or pluck or prune.

It Stays The Same

No matter how much one tries to prevent it, 

culture is always changing.

Fruits Basket

The price of fruit in Korea.

And I Would Walk 5,000 Miles

Apparently Harri-bou and I are are joined at the fashion hip, even with 5,000 miles between us and nine months apart.

We sent each other pictures of our new kicks today.

Cloak of Invisibility

When life is more then one can handle.

There is a safe place for me to hide in plain sight.

I close my eyes and disappear right in front of you.

Part of me wants to stay there, but it's just not in me to hide forever.  It's always just a matter of time.

And when that time comes,

instead of looking in the mirror,

I search inside myself for the things worth seeing.

Like an archeologist, I brush the dust away from the relics:

wit

humor

sarcasm

As pain is replaced by laughter my cloak slips slowly away.

Maybe I should go on complicated diets.

Maybe I should do self flagellating workouts.

Maybe I should make myself suffer for wanting to be invisible,

but I just can't commit to these things.

Sometimes being beautiful just isn't the most important thing.

Sometimes being fat is just what I need.

A safe place to hide until the storm clears.

A place to be left alone until I learn to smile again.

Sometimes a girl needs a cloak of invisibility.

Let It Ride

The air hangs thick around me like a heavy blanket.  It feels hard to breath.

Part of me wants to lay down and turn on the TV until I forget the clear, salty water lapping against black rocks.  I want to plug-in and tune out the silence of the mountain canopy, the smell of salt in the morning air. 

It’s been a habit for years.  Take the cords, plug in the brain, escape.  But not tonight.

Instead I’ll ride.

My bike will sway back and forth like the waves.  The wind will be both a blanket and a bath that warms and washes my memories for storage.  The darkness of the night on the country roads will by my ocean and my sea. 

A Home for the Holidays - Gageo-do

Chuseok Dinner

A day of rememberance, a day of harvest, a day of thanksgiving.

It was a feist of simplicity and generosity:

gathered, prepared and shared.

It tasted of like forgotten things.

It smelled like a love song on a clean night.

It filled me to the brim,

 and satiated my hunger for things both edible and intangible.

It was a home for the holidays.

Gageodo-ri: Perfection

 

 

Pretty Princess

Like a duck to water. 

I found Korean traditional dress delightful.

Hanbok

This is how we roll.

Pretty Princesses All in a Row

Little Boy Dreams

Hearts As Bright As Their Hanboks

Keep'n It Real