What an exciting day!!!

2/22/2008

After I got up, I checked my email and went to my (Korean) blog to do the usual daily update. I was surprised at the number of visits. I got almost fifty thousand visits yesterday! How did it happen? I soon found out that one of my entries was selected for a main section of NAVER, which is South Korea’s leading search portal, much like Google. Also, another blog entry was selected for the same portal and put in the recommended open dictionary section, a user-generated online knowledge archive. I was very excited!! My blog is now only less than a month old. Blogging certainly brings us an amazing opportunity to communicate with a lot of new and interesting people. And, the more people that visit my blog the more excited I get about developing new content.

After I finished a big project on February 19, I have been working at a more relaxed pace. Being a freelancer has both bright and dark sides, but having control over my own schedule is one of the greatest advantages. Of course, that is not the case all the time because I have to reorganize my schedule depending on client needs. Anyway, around lunch time today I watched a television show called “Little People, Big World.” This is the only show I watch regularly. It is definitely my favorite! It is a reality show about the Roloffs, a dwarf family.

Actually, they don’t call themselves dwarves, but “little people” (or LP for short). LP is considered a more appropriate name for both dwarves and midgets. Dwarves and midgets are also different. Midgets are smaller than average people, but normally proportioned, whereas dwarves have different body proportions. In the Disney animation, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, the dwarves have different body proportions than Snow White. They have short limbs and heads that look bigger than usual for the size of their body (disproportional).
The Roloff family is an average American family in many ways, who live an ordinary life, but just face different challenges than taller people. I like Mr. Matt Roloff, the father of the family. He is a little person and is an extremely passionate and capable man. He is always dreaming about new projects, and makes those projects happen with amazing courage and tenacious effort. He works in the computer industry, and owns a farm called “Roloff Farms”, a place I really want to visit someday. I respect his personality very much, and even though I am not a little person, I consider him one of my greatest role models.

Busy, busy, busy ...

2/20/2008

The last few days were very hectic. On the morning after Valentine’s Day, I got an emergency project from a client who needed some work finished by February 19. The client is a well known Korean organization that needed research on how English language websites represent their organization’s issues of concern, and also consultation on how to develop content for their own English language website. It was quite a big project, probably needing at least 1 week, but the client was in an emergency situation so I got only 4 days including the weekend. I’ve worked all day every day since I got the project. On Tuesday, I worked for over 24 hours straight until 5 a.m., slept for 3 hours, and then restarted. I finally got it done and sent it out to my client yesterday.

I really enjoy doing analysis and developing communication and PR strategies in both Korean and English. The most time-consuming part of providing this kind of service is translation, because I insist on studying each specific topic of my client’s material in both languages, so that I can produce a high quality translation. I wrote a 19-page report in Korean for the client, including the results of the analysis of the English content, a translation of the results from English to Korean, and suggestions for how to develop their English and Korean content. I worked so hard that I felt slightly sick after I completed the project. Due to my crazy work style (no break until my work gets done), I usually get some side effects. However, a client’s appreciation of my work always gives me great happiness and makes the work worth the effort. Now I can rest a little bit…until the next big project that is coming soon!

Happy Valentine's Day

2/15/2008
To celebrate Valentine's Day, we went out to dinner last night at an Italian restaurant called Tucci’s. The restaurant was very crowded. Valentine's Day is probably one of the busiest nights of the year for restaurants. Every time people came into the restaurant, a waiter repeated the same sentence to them, "You're looking at about 45 minutes." I guessed it meant that they should expect to wait for that amount of time, but I couldn’t understand why the phrase 'looking at' was being used. Looking at what? So I asked my husband, "What are those people looking at?" He answered, "It means you will experience waiting for 45 minutes. You are looking at the experience of waiting for 45 minutes."


As the waiter said, we waited for 45 minutes until we were seated. We both ordered pasta with a light sauce. I love this restaurant because the salad is so fresh and light without heavy dressing, and the pasta sauce is also not as heavy as many other Italian restaurants. The food just tastes perfect for me, and the service is good as well.

After dinner, we got home and had our small personal Valentine's Day party with chocolates, Kahlua, and a Valentine's Day balloon. My husband made a delicious drink blending Kahlua with milk and vanilla ice cream. He brought the drink to me and said in a really sweet voice, "Happy Halloween." Halloween? It’s almost 8 months away (October 31). I was a little confused, but just replied "Happy Valentine's Day." He realized that he made a mistake, and started laughing. He said, "It must’ve been the sweetest 'Happy Halloween' anyone has ever said! I mixed up Halloween and Valentine's Day because they are kind of similar. They are both commercialized holidays celebrated by a lot of people, yet people don't get days off from work." We had a great Valentine’s Day!

Today's word from Diary: nudge

2/13/2008
I went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant tonight. I love shrimp fajitas. Shrimps are grilled with onions and bell peppers in a spicy and sweet sauce. Actually, fajitas were the first meal my husband made for me at the beginning of our relationship. Before he was introduced to Korean food such as Samgyupsal and Jabchae, tacos were his favorite food. Mexican food is deeply integrated into American cuisine.

After the meal, I got a cup of dessert coffee called a 'coffee nudge', and my husband got fried ice cream for dessert. I usually don’t get dessert, but I wanted to try the 'coffee nudge', which was described as hot black coffee mixed with Kahlua, brandy and whip cream. Kahlua is coffee-flavored liquor, and it is the only kind of alcoholic drink I like. Starbucks also produces a similar type of coffee liquor, but it is not as good as Kahlua. I liked my dessert, but I started getting curious about why the drink was called a coffee 'nudge'. Nudge means to push slightly. I guess it got the name because Kahlua, brandy, coffee and whip cream are gently mixed together.

My experience at American Democratic caucus

2/9/2008

Today at 1:30 I attended a Democratic caucus held in a middle school. It was the first time I've seen a caucus in the United States. As people came into the school, they were assigned to classrooms depending on their home address. In the room I was in, there were around 30 people. When people entered the room, they wrote their names, addresses and phone numbers, and their choice for Democratic Presidential nominee on a sign-in sheet. Some people came in and wrote on the sheet that they were uncommitted, and so had not decided on a Presidential nominee.

An older man was organizing the procedure. Everybody in the room was given a chance to speak for a minute to convince people to vote for their favorite candidate, and to discuss issues related to the choice of nominee. Most people, including my husband, actively engaged in the discussion. The most prominent issue was which candidate would have more of a possibility to defeat John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Of course, all the people in the Democratic caucus were critical of the Republican Party because of Republican efforts to cause the Iraq war and damage civil rights.

The main argument for choosing Hillary over Obama was that she has more experience in politics and knows how to negotiate. On the other hand, Obama supporters argued that Obama has a better capacity to appeal to swing voters than Hillary, also Hillary has a large group of opponents that have formed for the last 16 years since she became the first lady of ex-President Bill Clinton. Some also argued that Obama has the ability to make apathetic young people get involved in politics. The choice of swing voters is crucial because Democrats and Republicans tend to have a roughly equal amount of support in American politics.

My husband and I were sitting at a table with a 20-year-old man that was one of my husband’s former students. The man frequently made funny jokes, saying that he did not want to have a cry baby as president, referring to when Hillary was crying in public, he also said that he didn’t want America to turn into a monarchy ruled by a family for a long time. At the end, people in the room got the chance to change their presidential preference after hearing different opinions. The participants who chose uncommitted at the sign-in made their decision. After everyone made their decision, they were split into groups supporting each candidate. Hillary supporters sat at tables on one side of the room, while Obama supporters sat at tables on the other. Seven people sat on the Clinton side, and 23 people sat on the Obama side.

Interestingly, most of the Hillary supporters in the room were senior ladies, whereas the Obama supporters were more varied in age and gender. My husband also supported Obama. After the split-up, it was time to elect our delegates to represent us in the precinct. Based on the ratio of the number of supporters, Hillary supports got 2 delegates, and Obama supporters got 5 delegates. Then pledge sheets and envelops were distributed to asking the participants to donate money to the Democratic Party. The caucus ended around 2:45 p.m. Later, we found out from the television news that Obama received more than twice as many votes than Hillary in Washington State (Obama 67%, Hillary 32%). That was about the same percentage we had in our room. It was a very interesting experience to see how a caucus worked.

Today's word from Diary: Toss and Turn

2/4/2009

Today is the last day before 'Super Tuesday.' It's the day when 24 states out of 50 states in the U.S. hold caucuses and primary elections. The television news is covered with stories about who will be each party's nominee for president. The star of the movie Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, now governor of California, made an endorsement for Republican Senator John McCain, while his wife endorsed Democratic Senator Barack Obama. Even the Korean news media shows a big interest in what is going to happen on Super Tuesday. One of the main news stories on Korean internet news was "Hillary Clinton tears up again. Will it work again?"

My husband is also very interested in tomorrow's elections. After he got back from school, he watched the news while eating lunch. He looked a little tired, and said "I was very tired last night when I went to bed, but I was tossing and turning for a long time." Toss? That's the word I heard when I played dodge ball in middle school. "Does tossing mean you throw your body around?" I asked. He answered, "When you say tossing and turning, it means you move your body around a lot trying to make yourself comfortable because you can't fall asleep."

I also have a hard time falling asleep at night because I am really a night owl, and have been since my childhood. I am more creative and productive during the night than the day. So even when I had to work from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. at my previous job, I often stayed up until 2-3 a.m. to generate more creative ideas. It could have made me tired during office hours, but I was fine, except that I was exhausted during the weekend. My body doesn’t seem to need as much sleep as average people.

Today's word: fumble, mumble, stumble

2/3/2008
I watched the Super Bowl between the Giants and the Patriots on TV tonight. I've never watched an American football game even on TV because I am not a sports fan. Even during the 2002 Korea-Japan world cup, when a huge crowd of Koreans went out into the streets in red T-shirts, I was still not interested in any of the sports events. However, this time I decided to see what an American football game was like. I was curious about why people are so crazy about it.

While watching the game, I asked my husband whether players fought over the ball. He answered no, unless a player fumbles. Fumble? I remember he used the word when he dropped an incense stick the other day. I teased him for being clumsy. I looked up the word in an online dictionary, and found that to fumble means "to touch or handle clumsily or idly" or "to drop a ball that is in play" (in football) [American Heritage dictionary].

This word reminds me of another word "mumble". As a non-native English speaker, I really dislike it when a person is mumbling because it makes it hard to understand. I think mumbling is kind of like being clumsy or idle when making a sound. To me, mumbling is like eating your words inside your mouth. In a dictionary, it means "to utter indistinctly by lowering the voice or partially closing the mouth" [American Heritage dictionary].

Another word that comes to my mind is "stumble", which means "to miss one's step in walking or running; trip and almost fall" or "to act or speak falteringly or clumsily"[American Heritage dictionary]. All three of these words ending with '–umble' seem to mean 'to do something clumsily.' Interesting coincidence I found!

Today's word from Diary: Snow Day

1/31/2008
I got up early today to start working and was planning to go out to breakfast. However the scenery outside the window told me that it wouldn’t be possible. "Look at the roof!" I said to my husband in slight shock.

"So much accumulated snow can be dangerous" he said, "Snow can become so heavy that it can make a roof collapse. Snow can also be dangerous for trees. Snow can accumulate in trees and snap the branches." An hour later, I actually saw a big tree branch break under the weight of the snow and fall to the ground. He continued "On days like this, classes are sometimes cancelled in school. It is called a 'Snow Day'. It is probably time for a snow day." Soon after, a text message arrived to inform that school was closed for today, and tomorrow.

Snow Day from the News
Area schools may be closed tomorrow, and while kids love a snow day, parents are left in the lurch. So who's going to watch your kids if you can't be there?
(Fox2 News from http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5643095&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1)

Today's word from Diary: zesty, tangy

1/30/2008
It snowed a lot yesterday, again. When we went out to our car we found an unbelievable amount of snow packed on top of the car. My husband said, "It's like six inches. I've never shoveled off my car before." We had to spend time clearing the snow off the car and making a path through the snow to get the car out of the driveway. We finally managed to get out of the snow and drove to Denny's. Denny's is a fast food restaurant open 24/7. We go there frequently when we have some work to do until late night. I ordered top sirloin steak with a side of cinnamon apples and onion rings. I have my own way of eating onion rings. I remove the crust off the onion rings, and just eat the onions inside. So even after I finish eating, it looks like I still have something left because of the piled-up crusts. Servers often ask me if I need a box, even though I actually have nothing to take home.

After the dinner, I decided to get some dessert. While I was looking at the menu, I encountered two unfamiliar words, zesty and tangy. "Zesty nachos" and "mozzarella cheese sticks … with a side of our tangy marinara sauce". I said to my husband "I don't know these words, zesty and tangy." He answered, "They are just marketing terms. Usually only marketers and advertisers use them. They just want to emphasize that their products are good." After I got home, I searched for the words in online dictionaries. Zesty means "sharp and pleasantly stimulating to the mind or senses (bland pasta that needs a zesty sauce)" [Merriam Webster Dictionary]; tangy means "having a sour, acidic or citrus taste" [Allwords.com]. Despite those fancy words, neither nachos nor cheese sticks were appealing to me. I just got a slice of cheese cake with strawberries.

Today's word from Diary: snow plow

1/27/2008
It has been snowing a lot. To go out somewhere in this weather is tough. Not only is it dangerous to drive, but there is also heavy work required to clear the packed snow off a car before driving. I saw a truck removing snow from the road. It is called a 'snow plow' - a vehicle or piece of equipment on the front of a vehicle that is used to push snow off roads, railways etc (Longman Online Dictionary).

I am surprised that main roads for cars are always clean even when there is heavy snow. Yet most pedestrian areas are still covered with snow and ice, thus quite slippery, except for parking lots for restaurants and stores. I heard that one of the differences between adults and children is whether one likes snow or not. When I was little, I loved snow. It was not only because I could make a snowman or have snowball fighting, but also because I just loved the prettiness of the snow. However, I am not as happy to see snow as I was as a child, though I still do like to build a snowman. Maybe I am growing up.

Snow plow from the news:
A pedestrian was killed in a fatal crash with a snow plow early Sunday morning, according to the state Department of Transportation. The DOT vehicle was clearing snow off the shoulder of State Route 26 just east of Othello when the person was hit just after midnight.
(KOMO TV.com from http://www.komotv.com/news/local/14467852.html)

We are on a local newspaper!!!

Today's word from Diary: Jittery

1/26/2008

Today I was a bit tired, and slept until 10 AM. After taking a shower, we went to breakfast and got a couple of newspapers. I ordered a vegetable omelet with hash brown and toast. My husband got strawberry crapes and bacon. We also had coffee.

After breakfast, we went to a coffee shop. We love to study and talk about different topics that interest or inspire us in our favorite coffee shop hangout. He got a triple shot iced mocha. After a while, his hands started getting shaky. He said "I drank too much coffee. I am really jittery now." Jittery means "shaky and slightly uncontrolled" or "nervous" (Cambridge Dictionary Online)

Jittery from the News:
Scary movies are supposed to leave patrons feeling a bit scared and jittery, but the newest horror flick is leaving Oklahoma City-area moviegoers with a different feeling – nausea.
(Local 6.com from http://www.local6.com/entertainment/15118651/detail.html?rss=orlpn&psp=entertainment)

Korea's plan to teach classes in English

Korea's transition committee for the president-elect announced plans to have all high schools teach English classes in English and possibly other classes as well, starting in 2010. Improving the language skills of Korean children is certainly important. However, an equally important issue is providing support to teachers to help them get ready for teaching in English. Even teachers in foreign language high schools, relatively better-equipped with foreign language skills, do not always feel comfortable teaching in English. In fact, an increasing number of students in those schools have experience studying, living, or visiting English speaking countries and complain about the English proficiency of their teachers.

To help these plans be successful, the government needs to provide professional incentives to teachers and support the development of training programs and materials for teachers about how to prepare classes in English. This can also include bringing in native English speakers with classroom teaching experience to act as advisors and consultants to the teachers. Several Korean universities have already started recruiting foreigners to help their faculty develop lectures and class materials in English. A good policy aimed at increasing the language skills of Korean students needs to also provide support to increasing the language skills of Korean teachers.

Today's word from Diary: Bloated

1/24/2008

My husband and I went out to dinner at a Korean restaurant. The Korean restaurant we often go to serves Korean and Japanese dishes. Although many Americans like to have Japanese sushi, some try Korean dishes, such as Bulgogi (seasoned beef) and Bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables). My husband loves Bulgogi especially with Kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage). Today was no exception. He ate a lot of Bulgogi and Kimchi and got very full. After dinner he said "I feel bloated." "What does it mean 'bloated'? ", I asked. He said "it means to be inflated, swollen, puffed up, or full."

The dictionary defines it as "swollen and rounded because of containing too much air, liquid or food (e.g.) a bloated (=uncomfortably full) feeling" It also can be used to describe something unnecessarily large." [Cambridge Dictionary Online]

Bloated from the news:
While a decrease in home prices is likely to help shave some excess from the bloated inventories of unsold homes and eventually bring the housing slump to an end, economists warn that falling home prices could cut into consumer spending.

(Reuters from http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN1549913820080124?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true)

Korea to take English education as a national task

Korea just elected its new president, and the transition Committee for the president-elect has been suggesting many ideas about new policies. The chairwoman of the committee said on January 22 that the new government regarded English education as a national task, and would consider teaching classes in English starting from elementary school. The president-elect had said on January 18 that he would consider changing a law to allow the hiring of foreign citizens to public service sectors, even to be a minister. (See related article: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2885383)

I agree with the importance of following the trend of globalization, and of English education in public schools. However, if the purpose of English education is raising the competiveness of Koreans and Korean national brands in the global market, the new government should also be concerned about the English websites of its local governments and Korean corporations that are trying to expand their market to the world. Most foreign audiences, including foreign governments and corporations, view Korea through those websites, but very few of those websites represent their governments or corporations with an effective use of English.

Today's word from Diary: Perishable

1 /22/2008

I got up, brushed my teeth, and had cereal in the morning as usual. While preparing my cereal, I was reading the cover of the milk carton. I found the phrase "Perishable. Keep refrigerated" As a learner of English as a second language, I am always curious about the meanings of new words. So I asked my husband "What does perishable mean?" "Perishable means food that goes bad relatively quickly, thus should be refrigerated."

After I was done with breakfast, I started writing this diary, listening to my favorite Korean popera (pop+opera) singer Lim Hyung-joo. His voice is so clear, and makes my mind calm to help me start a new day. I looked up the definition of perishable on an online dictionary. It says "liable to perish: liable to spoil or decay (such perishable products as fruit, vegetables, butter, and eggs).[Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online]

Perishable from the news: Restaurants are currently reluctant to donate unused, perishable food because of the fear of being held liable. As a result, a lot of food that is still fit for human consumption is thrown out.
(WMBB-News13 From http://www.wmbb.com/gulfcoastwest/mbb/news.apx.-content-articles-MBB-2008-01-21-0010.html