Blackberry Fever

I've been without a phone for a while now. My days are all confused from the time change that I don't have an exact number. That's not true it's been one week and five days. Addicts can always remember the last time they used, and that's exactly what I am. There's a reason why a Blackberry is called a Crackberry, and I'm living proof. I only wish there was some sort of gum I could chew or patch I could wear to ease off these cravings.


Let's be honest here, I am what we would call a technology whore. I love all sorts of electronic devices but I'm quite monogamous when it comes down to it. Once I find that lovely device that I deem a perfect fit I'll be forever faithful. That's not to say that I won't trade up when another more appealing member of the family comes around, but I'm brand loyal. I was like that over the Mac. I feel dirty every time I have to use my husband's laptop, or any other Windows based computer. It just feels so wrong. It's sitting in the corner giving me the evil eye right now. I suppose it needs love too, but it won't be getting it from me. My love for my Mac is a story written for the ages. And my love for the Blackberry is one in the same. Our love was a match made in heaven, and suddenly a move around the world has left me heartbroken.


Sure, there are Blackberries available here. Those suckers cost around $600 after a contract. $599 for a one year contract and $569 for two years. I can't even get the one I already own activated here. What are these Koreans trying to do to me? I bought the Blackberry Tour back home for $149 back in August. $149 isn't even enough to get me a phone with a keyboard. All I can get with that is a good laugh and a ridiculous flip phone that makes me feel like I'm back in 2006 with the Motorola Razor which was the must have phone of the year.  I can't go back to a phone that requires me to repeatedly tap a number to make a letter appear, not after I've experienced the greatness of a full keyboard and internet at my fingertips. I'm not trying to complain or be a big cry baby, but I have a disease. A real honest to goodness illness. I'm one step away from carving out my own kidney and selling it out in the Ville to buy this thing. Well, not really. Even I have my limits, and I draw the line at bodily harm.


So, here's where the plot thickens, obviously not owning a Blackberry is the original dilemma. Apparently iPhones are available for free with a two year contract. That sounds great and wonderful and all of that but it's not a Blackberry. I mean it does a lot of the same stuff and the iPhone probably has a million more apps, but it doesn't have bbm (blackberry messenger) and that's a problem for me since a lot of my friends have Blackberries. Oh, what's a girl to do, I mean I've detailed my love affair with Apple and all things Mac, so do I give in and try the iPhone? Decisions..decisions.

Out and About

Well, I've been in Korea for about a week now and I've already had several misadventures. Sadly, there are no photos to document some of these events since the great outdoors isn't always camera friendly (damn rain), and I don't really trust myself enough just yet to fumble around with the camera while wearing gloves (damn cold). Oh, how convenient it would be to have a cell phone that, I don't know, takes pictures and uploads them to various social networking sites with the touch of a button. One with a pink protective silicone cover that would bounce if it were to fall to the ground. Those were the good ole days. I remember them as if they were just last week. I'm sure you can tell I have yet to find a phone, and that has become an adventure in and of itself. But, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself that issue is going to need its own post. So here's a little recap of the few outings I've been on.


Tuesday night, after we made it back to town from the airport we went out to dinner at the Korean Meat Market out in the ville. The ville is this area of shops and restaurants located outside of the main gate to the base and it's about a twenty minute walk from my apartment. It's safe to say that whatever you're looking for you can find it out in the ville, unless it's a cell phone contract (yes, I'm slightly bitter). At the Meat Market you pick out different types of meat and you sit down and cook them on this little grill in the middle of your table. There was something oddly comforting about that place, it must be because it reminded me of the several beach trips I had been on with Avon and her family. 


The next morning we had to head to the base so I could be entered into the system over here. Unfortunately it was raining. It seemed like it was just a little drizzle, but a little drizzle in the cold could be a problem. Not wanting to be a complainer I walked happily along with J, too bad that drizzle started to pick up and by the time we got to the office I was soaking wet and had about an inch of water or so in each of my boots. Apparently those suckers weren't waterproof, and I learned a very valuable lesson: Always make sure there's enough room for rain boots in your luggage. Oh, and the computer system was down, so we walked all that way for nothing. On the bright side I bought two Coach bags and wallet from out in the Ville, and J treated me to lunch at Chilis and a cab ride on the way home. Even though I was cold, I was far from miserable.


Friday night we went to dinner with J's captain and his wife. I've honestly never met anyone as nice or friendly as they were. We ate at this little restaurant a few blocks from our apartment. It was a really cute place. Before you walk in you remove your shoes and put them on a shoe rack and enter in your socks. Once inside you're seated on a little pillow on the floor  and your food is brought out to your table where it's warmed up on a burner similar to the one used at the meat market. We ended up eating Ox tail soup for dinner. It sounds terrible, but it wasn't gross at all. It had a lot of vegetables in it and it was served with two types of kimchi, turnip kimchi and the classic cabbage kimchi. Dinner was a great experience, and I can't wait to find more amazing places to eat at. Hopefully, those places have menus with pictures.


By the time Saturday came around I could hardly contain the excitement I was feeling. This was the day that J was taking me to a nearby Thai restaurant, so I could have food from the motherland. It was a sweet gesture since he knew it would be a little something to remind me of my mom. It really worked too, from the moment we walked in I felt like I was back home. All the little Thai ladies yelling in the kitchen and a menu full of my favorites. It's safe to say that this is my favorite place that I've been to so far. I ordered the chicken panang which is a Thai red curry full of deliciousness and J ordered the cashew chicken something or other. What can I say, I love the motherland, but I hate nuts so why would I remember the name of that? I probably should have remembered though since my husband is usually so picky about trying new food, even when I'm there nudging him along. I was so proud of him though, he really impressed me with his chop stick skills. He really does belong in our little Asian family now. <3

I Made It..

It's true, I'm finally here. I'm actually in Korea, right now, sitting in my very own apartment (on my heated floors). I can't believe I'm really here, mainly because it took so long, and that 15 hour flight from Atlanta seems like nothing but a dream now. Ok, more like a nightmare, but a dream nonetheless.

We all know how extremely nervous I was to be flying across the world alone, but once I got on the plane all of those insecurities seemed absolutely ridiculous and I remembered that I actually do enjoying flying, just not alone. I mean it's so awkward to talk to the stranger sitting beside you on the plane. Lucky for me on my flight to Atlanta I was sitting in between an old man working on some business crap and a younger guy who kept hacking all over the place. Eww. And there I was sitting trying not to catch those germs with my carry on bag shoved under the seat and my purse in my lap since the flight was so full. Thankfully that only lasted for about an hour.  Once I was in Atlanta I had to play the waiting game and navigate my way to my next gate. I was so glad that I'd been in there a few times so I didn't get lost like some people thought I would (J's mom has so much confidence in me). When I found my gate this is what I saw waiting for me at the window.

Super cute plane, right? So, the flight to Seoul was crazy. Or maybe I was crazy. There's nothing like being halfway through a fifteen hour flight and trying to remember if you packed your hairbrush. I mean I couldn't even reach the overhead compartment to put my bag up there. I was climbing on the seat and still couldn't reach. I quickly learned from the earlier flight that overhead bin space was a hot commodity and I was going to let someone take it away from me. I was so glad when the guy sitting next to me put my bag up. I felt bad for him, he was fresh out of AIT and heading to Korea, leaving his fiance' back home. Hmm that sounds kind of familiar. I have to say that I was pretty much miserable on this flight. I mean the whole flying thing wasn't so bad, but having a wild child sitting behind you kicking and punching your seat nonstop is pretty awful. I'm pretty sure I was sitting in the screaming baby section of the plane. And it's safe to say that this spot was reserved for me for laughing at that baby that fell down the stairs at the movie theatre, when I went and saw The Lovely Bones. In my defense, that kid was like 2 and screaming and babbling during the whole 10 o'clock movie. Why would you bring your child to a movie that late? That's not the point though. I understand that kids are uncomfortable on planes and what not, but it was really unnecessary for that little rugrat to abuse my seat. I could've slept peacefully if it wasn't for the "massage" setting on my seat.

There was a shining moment on this flight unlike any other. A male flight attendant I like to call "The Enforcer."  That's such a Jersey Shore nickname, it must have something to do with watching reruns at three in the morning before I left home. What can I say, it was three a.m. and I was lonely. (Nice matchbox twenty reference right?) Anyway, The Enforcer was awesome. He came by and yelled at the kid kicking me and told the parents of the screaming to children to walk them around the plane, saying "You take care of baby. Walk now, walk now. People need sleep." He was my own personal hero. The rest of the flight was kind of hazy since I spent my time watching the free movies on the headrest tv and sleeping.

When we finally landed I couldn't have been happier, or more terrified that Jason might not be there when I got off the plane. I loaded my bags onto a cart all by myself. That was a struggle because my bags were so heavy. Heavy, but not overweight since I had pulled some things out before I left Raleigh. I wasn't trying to pay for that extra weight. I made it through customs which was confusing because I came on military orders without my actual military sponsor. So I still had to go through the military/contractor section instead of the regular section for everyone else. Once, I made it through I had to walk all the way back to where I could've exited earlier. That's when I saw a Baskin Robbins and no Jason. I was so tempted to just buy an ice cream and sit on my bags and cry. There was no way I came all this way only to be stranded at the airport and no way to tell anyone where I was supposed to be going. Mainly because I don't speak Korean, and I didn't know where I needed to go. So, I kept walking and there he was. Only he wasn't looking at me, so he didn't see me. And my cart was so long I ended up hitting him before I could pull it to a stop. That wasn't exactly how I pictured this moment going, and it definitely wasn't like in the movies, but it was still perfect nonetheless.

So Happy I Could Fly?

Eh, not exactly. It turns out the closer I get to having to get on this plane the more nervous I'm getting about flying alone for fifteen hours. Oh yea, I'm leaving Monday, by the way, so it's not leaving me with a lot of time to suck it up and get over it. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely ecstatic to finally be with J again. I probably won't even be able to put into words what it will be like to see him in person and know that he won't be leaving anytime soon. It's just the whole lack of time thing that's getting me. I mean I've had exactly one week to pack my belongings, myself, ship a car, and finish season 3 of House. Let's just say that my goal of completing House is coming along more nicely than anything else.


As of today, my suitcase is packed, and I'm halfway done with sorting through the clothes that will be shipped to us. And in about an hour our cell phones will be turned off (how Cinderella of me), and I've given up on the whole car thing. In order to ship our car I needed to drive it to Portsmouth, Va so that it could be inspected and I suppose shoved on a boat to be brought over to Korea. Can I address the fact that there are pirates out on the ocean,  what would've happened if one of those pirates tried to steal my car off the ship. This whole concept was enough to make me regret never putting an ECU sticker on my car. At least that way I could signal to the pirates that I was one of them, granted not exactly the same thing, but perhaps it would be enough to spare my car. I suppose it doesn't really matter now since that whole needing someone to follow me to Virginia on no notice to drop of my car was a no go. I mean I don't even have a pick up date for my items that are being shipped. So for the time being we'll be car-less. I suppose I can always do it old school and have a little Korean man pull me around on a rickshaw. But who am I kidding, they actually have cold weather there, so it's safe to assume I won't be leaving my apartment anytime in the near future.


This whole packing issue has turned into its own little fiasco, especially since when you move with the military the movers come and pack your belongings for you. How I forgot that little detail I'll never know, especially since it was one of the things I was most excited about. Most of our stuff is still packed up from when we had moved out of our apartment a year ago, so unfortunately for my movers they'll have to open up these boxes in order to do their inventory. At least I realized this before I had boxed up all of our DVD's. Once they actually come and pick this stuff up it will take about 30 days for it to be reunited with me. I'm so thankful it's only 30 days compared to the 45-60 it would be if we were shipping furniture, thank goodness our apartment is already furnished.

 That thing looks heavenly, with the exception of the need for slip covers for my couch. All of the apartments in Korea have heated wood floors, and ours comes with a security monitor to see who's at the door, and a remote controlled toilet. What exactly the purpose of that is I don't know, but apparently it heats the seat and you can flush from another room. How futuristic. You would think with all of that random technology I'd be able to use my Blackberry on a Korean network, or at least get my shows on American satellite. Sadly that's not the case, but at least there's a Dunkin Donuts around the corner from my home. And our apartment building has it's own gym, daycare (this has no use to me but still), parks, and tennis courts. I really won't have to leave for anything.


Since I might not be on here again until after the move, wish me luck.

You Can't Always Get What You Want..

You get what you need. And what I needed was a plane ticket to Korea, and low and behold after 3 months of complete aggravation over the subject, and trying to declare myself as a charity in order to collect donations, my orders came through on Friday. Yay!! Unfortunately, life's a trade off so instead of waking up to the winter wonderland that I just knew would be waiting for me outside, I woke up to the ground just as a bare as it was when I went to bed. In the end, the whole no snow thing wasn't so devastating given the fact that A) I can't drive in the snow B) I got orders to freakin Korea and C) I'll get be with J very soon.


Just how soon, you ask. Well, that's the thing..I still don't know yet. I'll find out on Monday when he heads to the travel office to plan out my trip. In the meantime I need to finish packing. I also need to get boxes to finish packing. But, that's a job for another day. 2010 is definitely looking up. 

Brick By Boring Brick

As the days continue to drag on, I'm starting to notice that I might be turning into that inappropriate person that shares way too much personal information with strangers. Yesterday while standing in line at CVS this old man started talking to me. Apparently they had lost his prescription that was just faxed over from the doctor's office. I, too, was feeling his pain as the lovely employees had no record of my call-in refill when my doctor's office had called it in over a week ago.  Anyway, the man turned and made some comment to me about how it's all "hurry up and wait around here." As soon as he said it my immediate thought was the whole Korea situation. I nodded and politely mumbled something about that being my new theme for life, before I cut myself off and whined and cried to this poor man about how much I'm missing J. Thankfully, I have excellent self preservation skills, and the lovely woman that always wears a ridiculous ribbon in her hair was ready to wait on me. When she finally found my prescription I let them all know how lucky they were that my stuff was ready. I mean I was nice about it, but the fact that they told me it would take up to 2 hours for my don't get knocked up pills was slightly ridiculous. Especially, after they were the ones that screwed it up. Oh, well.


I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be a happier person in 2010, or at least fake it better. So, I have to say that today was an improvement over yesterday. J showed me this amazing gift he had made for our anniversary. It's a photo from our wedding burned into a piece of wood.

We do look slightly Asian, but I'm ok with that. I'm half Asian and J just wishes he could be that cool. 

2010

 2010 is finally here, and I spent my New Year's Eve celebrating with Miss Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper on CNN. CNN really knows what I'm looking for in a New Year's Eve special: Kathy mocking celebrities, embarassing Anderson, and a drag queen being dropped in a shoe at midnight. Yes, my dears it was truly wonderful. Last time, they had Lady Gaga, and I was slightly disappointed that she wasn't there last night. I guess I'll just have to settle for listening to The Fame Monster while finishing up some laundry today.


 On another note I want to say Happy Anniversary to myself and my wonderful husband. We've been married for a whole year as of today, so yay for us. I have to say this past year was not anything that I had expected it to be as far as our marriage goes. We've been through so much in our relationship leading up to the whole getting married thing, and I guess the only thing we never really experienced was separation..until now. But that's the way life goes, especially with the whole Army/military thing. And the only thing I can really ask for out 2010 is that we finally get to live together. I'm just saying, if it doesn't happen soon I might have to hitch hike my ass over there. =)


So along with that major goal for the new year, I've decided to set some smaller ones for myself too, like trying not to cuss so much. I'm just saying, sometimes it seems like every other word out of my mouth is a profane one, but hey that makes me unpredictable. It can be an endearing quality, and you never know what I'm going to say next. Sometimes you can't really find the words to express what it is you're really feeling without a nice little four letter obscenity. My other goal is to try to not spend so much money. If I can live without it, then I don't really need it, and can't justify buying it, with the exception of those bras from Victoria's Secret. I mean underwear is a necessity, so I have to have them, therefore I need to buy them from Victoria's Secret, because they have a super cute Army hoodie and it's cold in Korea. So after spending fifteen minutes trying to convince my husband of these necessities he relented and said I could buy these items. Now, I kind feel like I'm defeating the purpose. Ugh..oh well, at least I'll be warm and have cute undies =)


As you can see, this is going to be quite a challenge. I have a feeling I'm might be giving up by my birthday, and by giving up I mean forgetting all about it. Maybe I'll just use this lovely little post as a reminder. So yea, Happy New Year! I"m off to watch the Criminal Minds marathon.