The dreams are running rampant in my sleep.  Anything from getting into fights to protect Nicole’s honor to playing hockey and falling through the melting outdoor pond.  It’s been a while since I got creative with the writing, am still waiting for feedback from some of my trusted readers, am working this week on putting forth concerted effort on the pitch letter to the prospective literary agents, am looking to dust off the Spanish skills, yes, the Spanish skills.  Not only is the Spanish more useful throughout the world, I need to be able to impress Nic’s sister, Amber, when she comes to visit at the end of the summer (she studied Spanish in uni); nothing like being able to tease the girlfriend’s sister in two languages.  Nonetheless, I just the other day finally learned how to say, “Have a good day” (jo-un ha-ru dae-sae-oh) in Korean from the guy down at the 24 hour convenience mart in my building.  Two and a half years and that’s all you got, Mr. H?  Well, aside from ordering beer, food and taking a taxi, there’ve been other things going on.  For two and a half years, the mind-numbing cold and boredom has been thawing.  It continues on, thawed by life.  Nicole.  Burgeoning growth at every turn.  Great friends, decent wine, new dishes, new music.  Paul and SoYuan’s baby, Emily Jade.  The business of selling writing.  New writings.  New travel plans.

Dreams are abound here in the new season of Spring and I have been using the camera quite a bit lately.  A month and a half ago, I took a hike and saw the dormant buds tightly bound against the cold; now, the whole city and its mountains are a-flower; it snows pink and white petals everywhere.  Two weeks ago, Nic and I rode 100 km on the scooter, most of it with Punchy, on a tour out to a temple.  Sure, sure.  Seen a lot of temples here in this web commentary, but each has a little of its own character.  Besides, if you can mess around with the photos on your home computer, anything can look unique in its perspective.  Hoping to do another tour, this time with The Original Two, as Nic will be staying up in Seoul this weekend.

Just last weekend, Nic and I went on some beach/urban hikes in search of the buildings that would be most suitable for our eventual co-habitation.  Likely, this will be the largest and most affordable place I have ever lived in.  Ah, look at me, getting all domesticated.  Hey, now, I have cooked, I have cleaned, I have made my bed.  It’s just that I do it more frequently now.  The plans on the docket for me, (the 300,000 KRW bachelor) and the young Milwaukee vixen who snapped me out of the clutches of a Korean cougar at the bachelor auction back in December (taking the bidding from 220,000 straight to 300,000 scared that much older Korean woman away) are a visit from Ma to the Big Bu at the beginning of summer; after that, Nic and I will tour Thailand where we’ll explore and trek for three weeks before heading over to Cambodia for twelve days.  Ten days after we arrive back here and get our stuff into the new apartment and start the Fall semester (keep your fingers crossed for Nic getting a suitable job at a university; smart as she is, it shouldn’t be a problem), Amber will visit for ten days.  Then, buckle down and save more money for the N. America tour in January 2010.