Le Bien Bleu

This year has been quite the experience. Despite the almost impossible airplane trips to and from home, the slightly crazed class load and the huge shift in social dynamics, I’ve gotten through the loops and hoops that seemed to strangle me away from whatever the end of this year was supposed to accomplish.

First things are first. I’ve made my decision as of where I will be next year. I will continue to stay at Purdue University to finish my Doctor of Pharmacy education; so it’s another four years to get through, taking and making the best out of whatever comes my way. I think it’s quite easy to say that now, that I’m going to try my best since I’m not directly involved with the predicament. That said, I’m writing write now from the post-hardship phase – well, actually, my vacation hasn’t started yet – I’m writing this from Narita Airport. I haven’t arrived at my final destination yet: home. (Actually, I am writing from Incheon Airport, now.)

Since I’m on the subject of airports anyways, I’d like to lament about the unfortunate plane trips I’ve had since starting my college career. My first trip back to Korea, Chicago got a major snowstorm. Getting from Indy to ‘O Hare was no problem – leaving Chicago was. They made us board, and then we stalled for four hours! The worst part of it all was that they kept on saying that we’d be leaving in ten, fifteen, thirty minutes (keeping our hopes up, eh?) and wouldn’t let us go. Needless to say, I had missed breakfast because I had to leave at 5:30 in the morning from the big PU), and had not bought lunch because the plan was that the plane would feed me – so I was quite the hungry one. The return trip back from Korea was all right, but the snow storm hadn’t passed. Getting to ‘O Hare, once again, was no problem. The problem was that the luggage compartment had frozen over, and they couldn’t get out the luggage so we were stuck in ‘O Hare again. See my luck? The plot thickens, but all I’m going to say about this trip was that United Airlines did not provide even a blanket and it was delayed for at least three hours because a) the filter wasn’t working quite right, b) they messed up the legal work and c) the pilot was late. I think I’m going to start flying Delta or Korean Airlines again.

When we got to Narita, it was even more frustrating. Because of the Swine Flu that is apparently (and not really) ravaging the minds of clueless people, we got a bunch of confused looking Japanese health officials to poorly “inspect” us. They made us fill out paper work, and then provided masks. (Which, I thought silly again, because a mask doesn’t provide much protection from a virus. Viruses are way too small.) Whatever to my sarcastic point of view, and I put them on for my respect for even the dumbest of legal procedures, but what astonished me was that, they didn’t even have us wear it throughout the airport. In other words, they just had us wear the masks to communicate with the already air-filter/goggle, scrubs and et. al. protected people… Seriously? Seriously! Seriously. I mean, for real, people? They’re definitely not isolating a virus strain through some paper work and some flimsy fomite of a mask. All I’ve got to say is I love over-excited, over-reacting and overtly dumb public policies. In the mean time, I accomplished something that I would never do: I started reading the Twilight series (much to my own dismay, but I wasn’t really feeling Faulkner), and got a good laugh out of the self-important protagonists. I finished the first two books (Twilight and New Moon), and I think if I can acquire the other two books without cost, I may finish it.

So, it’s summer now. It hasn’t hit me now, but I suppose it soon will. It still hasn’t really hit me that school is out. I suppose it will become more obvious when I get accustomed to my work schedule and my summer life. I have two jobs (in a lab and as a tutor), but I wouldn’t mind picking up another at a hospital. I’m hoping to train for long distance running so hopefully in two years, I can run the Indy Mini-marathon in a reasonable time. On top of that, I’ll be picking up tennis again (more like re-learning) and learning how to drive… which, in all honesty, I’m not too excited about. We’ll see how it goes. This summer, despite all these plans, I want to focus on becoming more self-composed. I want to become more independent that before. I have good reasons for this decision. I’m quite the independent person to begin with, but self-maintenance seems to be an important quality to succeeding.

I’m starting pharmacy school next year, which means that classes are going to get harder, but most important, I’m a step closer to becoming a person that I wanted to, and I want to use that opportunity well. Like I’ve chosen to move on with my life, my two closest friends at Purdue University have, too. One is transferring to Pittsburgh University and the other is staring graduate school. I suspect this shifts some of the dynamics in my closest relationships, whether for the better or the worse. In order to maintain the academic standards, social security and healthy life style I want, it’s important that I know how to take care of myself well. I know I have wrap up the easiest part of my life – adolescence… and I definitely do not want to make this time an awkward phase of my life

Well, that’s it for now. I know I’ve been absent from the blog a lot, but school comes first. I hope I won’t get that bored over the summer ☺.

- the end -

*** that said, I do plan on watching re-runs of Grey’s Anatomy Season 5 and catch up on House M.D.

****** and read a LOT. I want to re-read Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, try the entire series of 토지, a lot of poetry, Jane Austen, and other great books, classics and otherwise alike.

******** and spend time with the family and a good friend. : )