6 things you probably didn't know about me...

First off, I was tagged by the lovely Holly to do this, so I must oblige. Here's the rules...


Rules of the game:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
5. Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.

I've been thinking hard about my seven random/interesting facts, and it perplexes me that I must just not be that interesting! Ah well, here goes.

1. I've been living in South Korea since July 2007. I was awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English, so that's what I'm doing, at two very rural schools in the Southwest. I have a total of about 180 students, and I love them to pieces.

2. Before I moved to Korea I lived in Cork, Ireland for a little under six months, working for a non-profit organization devoted to ending homelessness-- the Simon Community. I worked in the Emergency Shelter, and it was easily the hardest thing I've ever done. I think it traumatized me a bit, and made me sure that social work wasn't for me. But I'm really glad I did it, because it was a real experience.

3. I love movies. A lot. I especially love really bad horror movies, but I'll watch pretty much anything that isn't a completely vapid romantic comedy. Going to the movies is my favorite date, and possibly my favorite pastime. I've seen 64 Korean movies in the past 9 months, which is, what? Just under two a week?

4. I've known since I was in kindergarten that I wanted to be a teacher. Not sure what it is... but I used to line my stuffed animals up at makeshift desks and lecture to them when I was tiny. I'm sure part of it is that I like to hear myself talk, but I also really like helping people, and seeing that first flicker of understanding when it starts to make sense. My career goal consists of teaching, probably high school, for the rest of my life.

5. I really want to write a novel. I wrote and finished my first real story during sophomore year of college, in my first Creative Writing class. I was majoring in Literature at the time, because I loved reading, but I knew I wanted to be a writer, and I think perhaps I was just waiting for someone to tell me I was good. Well, my first professor did, and I promptly changed my major to creative writing. But... I'm a writer who can't write without a deadline. I dutifully churned out two more stories in the next two workshops, but other than that, I haven't been able to produce more than a page with no assignment looming over me, despite the fact that I've been out of school almost a full year now. I'm currently trying to figure out if I'll be able to motivate myself, or if this is just a pipe dream.

6. I really love hip-hop music, for reasons I can't even really understand. I always have. It's strange, since I can't really identify with anything in the lyrics, but I love it. I love singing and dancing along to it. It gets me moving. But aside from hip-hop, lyrics are the most important thing to me in music. I used to read lyrics on the internet before I heard the music, and it was always a big disappointment for me when the music wasn't as good as the lyrics. I also like jazz.

7. Umm... I'm a 22 year old virgin.

I'm tagging: R Runner, HappyBlogChick, Cammy, Bikini Quest, Sybil, Valerie, and Marianna. If they want. :)


Now, let's get serious. What do two medium-sized soft serve cones, a mini snickers bar, half a pastry, a chocolate bar, and a donut hole have in common?


That's right, they all went in my mouth last night. Sigh, something is amiss with me, and I'm going to contemplate it further while pumping iron this morning, but I felt compelled to admit it. I also pulled out the scale this morning, and I'm not going to beat myself up, but the number I saw is definitely helping me to recommit to having the rest of a perfect April, TOM or no TOM. I'm feeling complacent again, so I need to get serious. I'm not stopping here.


My exercising hasn't fallen off at all, which is a victory. I just need to get the eating back under control and stop justifying unhealthy snacking. Off to the gym.