Quote of the Week: Every choice we make is the beginning of change. ~ Kim Namjoon

MONDAY

Is there even life beyond BTS?? I think not. Sorry. They just keep doing things Every Day.

Today was their address at the UN. This is the first time they’ve all spoken. The past two times they were there, Leader Kim Namjoon gave an address…in English. This time, they all spoke, in Korean with subtitles. They were so good. I don’t know if they write their own “speaking” content, I suspect they do, as it sounds sensitive like the lyrics they write. Anyway, they shared messages about today’s youth, the environment, covid, and getting vaccinated (they’re pro-vaccination). They spoke confidently and eloquently, and I Was So Proud! The UN YouTube livestream had over a million views…they NEVER have that kind of viewership. And you can say, well, it was just people to watch BTS live and then they probably turned if off. Well, I turned it on at 8am and listened for 40 minutes til S Korean President Moon spoke and then introduced BTS…and I heard more than I have ever heard before…have I ever even WATCHED a UN anything? No. And now I’ve watched SOME. And heard SOME. And have things in my mind. Reminders. About covid…climate change…youth as the future…things I would not be thinking about now if it weren’t for BTS speaking there as Special Envoys…and all their follow-up interviews. Some really good ones from ABC. Respectful of their different culture and language. I hate when they’re interviewed in English, asked silly questions, and are expected to respond in English.

Then, on Sunday they had recorded them singing and dancing to Permission to Dance inside and outside the UN buildings, and that video was shown at the general meeting right after their address. It was very cute.

THEN later that evening, they joined the Korean First Lady, Kim Jung-sook, at the Metropolitan Musem of Art (Namjoon is a big art buff), where Namjoon spoke and together they presented Chung Hae-cho’s “Rhythm of the Five Color Luster” as a gift to the museum. These will be displayed at the museum from December. I see a field trip in my future!

When they were all doing their little speeches outside, there was a video clip and it showed the First Lady watching Namjoon speak at the lectern…and her eyes above her mask were so filled with emotion. She could not have looked more proud!

Kinda like how I look when I watch them do ANYTHING.

One last comment and then I will TRY to move onto other topics…I saw on Twitter where the Executive Director of Unicef-Korea, said, “South Korea has made 2 major achievements over the last 60 years, first one was its democracy and economic development…and the second one was BTS.” That’s a pretty big statement…and I do not question it.

TUESDAY

Prepared for the upcoming rain. Or am I? (Spoiler Alert: I was not)

Work. What can I say. It’s intense.

WEDNESDAY

Janey the Upside Down Snail

Work. What can I say. It’s intense.

I even slept through my Korean class! Ugh!

THURSDAY

Janey the Cat Creating the Shadow of an Upside Down Snail

Work. What can I say. It’s intense.

Second tutoring session, all good.

FRIDAY

Tonight was the amusement park event we’ve been focused on all week. Selling 9,234,751 tickets over the phone, just the two of us. I now hate people. Present company excepted. And I will never answer the phone again as long as I live. The telephone is the devil’s work and must be destroyed.

On a bright note, me and my office partner-in-crime went to Happy 45-Minutes between work and the event. I can’t THINK of the last time I sat at a bar. And had a fun cocktail. And flaming cheese.

OH THE WORLD STILL EXISTS.

On a more painful note, I am crippled. I walked 2.5 miles at the amusement park taking pictures. My hips are so done with me. But they recover pretty quickly once they are relieved of their duty. My BACK on the other hand, is not so generous. The lower-back pain I was rewarded with after my month of kidney nonsense and extended vacation (which means Too Much Time Spent Sitting) has increased…and is especially bad after a lot of walking.

Good night.

SATURDAY

The Estate Sale and the ALS Walk That Wasn’t.

I had planned to join my friend Mochi, et al, for the ALS Walk this morning, but when I got out of bed my back screamed OH HELL NO. I took a quarter cup of pain things and got back in bed. A little later my sister-in-law texted me that there was an estate sale today at her mother’s (my mother-in-law who passed away many years ago) house and there were still things of theirs in the house. It’s a long complicated disappointing heart-breaking story that I won’t go into here….but I got myself up and over there to see if there were any personal items they (my ex and his sisters) would want. The estate ladies were very accomodating when I shared my connection with the house and they helped me find family pictures, even taking apart some shelves to access some photos that were under glass. I was very appreciative.

It was strange being in the house after…25ish? years…and seeing it look…pretty much exactly like it had when I was still married and going there.

But it was nice to do something DIFFERENT this morning. Not studying. Not working on the blog. Not taking pictures. Not staring at the computer or phone. Not lying in bed and thinking (aka OVERthinking)…which is what I was doing when my sister-in-law first texted me.

My mind had been going in SO many different directions, it felt like that day I’d had 73 different internet tabs open on my computer…what should i do today…i should make a list…re-organize my notes from Korean tutor the other night…make a study schedule for the week ahead…how is my “speaking” going to get better when I have no one to speak with…there’s that Hello Talk app but I’m not ready for that…I really need to clean up in here…what am I going to wear today…do I have an outfit to shoot for a blog post this week…did I return those pants to Old Navy yet or are they in a pile here somewhere…I really want to do a collaborative post series with some other bloggers, I have an idea and mostly know who I’d ask to do it with me but really they’re all better at it than I am but HEY it was My Idea so I get to play too…I’m thirsty…I need to print that list of stretches for lower back pain…if only printing helped solve lower back pain I’d be golden…when am I ever going to get to the laundromat…maybe if I put electrical tape across the top of the windshield that will stop the leak in the car…i should put that on the list. I should make a list. Of what I should do today.

Crap. I lost my sunglasses. I had them tucked into my shirt at the park last night cuz it was sunny when we got there and dark when I left. I know they were there most of the evening cuz they kept getting tangled up with my mask lanyard thingie.

I fished them out of the fountain in Central Park…and rescued them from the flamingo pit at Sunken Garden in Florida…but now I’ve lost them for good at a little amusement park on Long Island?? What a disappointingly undramatic way to go. I’ve had them for like 5 years. They replaced the ones I’d had for THIRTY YEARS (since 1985). No lie. Literally. Not A Bettye Exaggeration for Dramatic Effect. And THOSE finally had to be retired cuz I’d dropped them loose into my purse…and an emery board had escaped from the inside pocket and scratched the lens all up 🙁

Sigh.

SUNDAY

Had a conversation with a friend about QTL. Quality of Time Left. This is kinda like my birthday bucket list…considering the time that is left and prioritizing to make sure you’re spending time the way you want. As much as I think about this (and I think about this a LOT), i need to keep pushing myself to ACT on things…and not just THINK about them. I’m a big THINKER, not always so much a DO-ER.

A quiet day. Breakfast. Blogging. Studying. Reading at the park.

It’s one of those nice “on the cusp of fall” days. About 70 degrees, blue sky, sun, with a light breeze and a slight coolness to the air. It’s cool enough in the apartment that I’m LAYERED, hallelujah.

WHAT I’M READING

Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It by Gabriel Wyner. I’m in the process of reading this with my kpop Discord “Korean Learners” group. We read a chapter a week and then discuss. So far it’s very interesting in talking about a very different language learning method. It’s not language-specific, so it’s useful for any language you’re learning. I’m trying to figure out if it’s useful for learning in general…not just language. Will keep you posted 🙂

WHAT I’M WATCHING

I loved this story…

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

Do you know Coldplay??

Coldplay and BTS just released a single – My Universe – they collaborated on and it’s So Good. It’s like a warm, happy hug.

It makes my heart so happy to see such a huge western artist not only work with a Korean group, but to include Korean language in the lyrics…and even some K-rap. Because of the western acceptance of Coldplay this song is bound to get TONS of radio play (as opposed to the vast majority of popular Korean music) and more people will hear and come to know BTS in their native language…and not just their past few English songs. And I think for many, BTS is a gateway to other Korean music..and other international music. And sometimes it just takes one small thing to look at others…who are different than you…as “fellow humans” and not just “those kinds of people.” Cuz really…we’re all just fellow humans.

Yes. I’m saying a BTS song can change the world. Every choice we make is the beginning of change.

Listen to the song…

Watch a short documentary about the making of the song…

Cut. That’s a wrap.