Still here still

So, I am in South Korea, and my passport is in America, and Fed-Ex had it, and then they lost it, and then they found it again. I got my visa that I wanted (good for one year), but now Fed-Ex has me waiting, with a newfound lack of confidence in their professionalism, to get it back. One day life will calm down -- I hope -- and my carefree bloggy life can resume again. 

I am grateful for your prayers and thankful to God that He worked to get my visa. 

I'm ready for this to be over with though. I have a doggy waiting at home for me ... oh yeah, and many two-legged friends too!

Pansies, perfume, Pekingese and holidays

The last three days have been holidays here -- May Day. While everyone else in town is out soaking in the sunshine, I'm packing, upgrading computer operating systems, backing up hard drives and other tedious stuff. But pretty soon (next week) I'm going on a trip within this country, so that ought to be fun.

I suppose you think it is not safe to tell people when you are going to be away from home. However, (a) I only know one person who reads this blog who has any idea of where I live, and she's nice; and (b) I have a mean dog staying in the house with a dog sitter, so there is no vacant house to invade when I am gone. Trust me. My dog may look like an angel, and even act like one most of the time, but she will take a chunk out of your leg if you mess with her. Americans don't need guns to defend themselves. They just need some Pekingese.

I did break away from the house yesterday to go to a nursery to buy a new plant for my balcony. On the way there by e-bike, I was quite taken by the pansies planted in the median, so I decided to stop and take a photo of them. They plant pansies of varying colors pretty much all the time. This is one thing I didn't expect when I moved to this country. I expected drab dark bleakness. I had no idea that this country is into high-end landscaping. Everything looks beautiful where the professional gardeners have been. They must employ thousands of them. This city is gorgeous.

The azaleas and some other tree with white blooms are so fragrant right now that the air is infused with the smell of perfume. It's like walking through a perfume section of a department store. Wow, sure beats some of the other smells that are usually going on around this crowded country! :-)

The flight

I had three flights on my way back to the Middle Kingdom. The first two were relatively short. The long leg of the trip is always the one I am concerned with.

I could feel your prayers, because on the Pacific leg, I got two seats to myself, a window seat and an aisle seat. And you'll be glad to know that these two seats were connected to each other! It would have been hard to enjoy two seats that were located in different parts of the plane.

Very few others on the plane had two seats like I did! I felt really blessed.

When I get an extra seat like that, I say it is a seat for Jesus. I imagine him sitting there next to me, giving me a pre-flight pep talk. I feel his presence, and I thank him for being there.

Once into our flight, we hit a batch of turbulence, so, ya know, I decided to channel a little Carrie Underwood and I started SINGING to Jesus. Maybe you know the tune: "Jesus, take the wheel...." 

And he did! So at that point I imagined Jesus walking up to the cockpit to help out the pilots and letting me have his coach class seat for extra leg room for myself. He's generous like that.

I did all my talking and singing to Jesus quietly in my heart, because I didn't want fellow passengers to misunderstand and freak out, resulting in me being met at my destination airport with people wearing white coats.

We arrived at my destination airport an hour and a half early. My driver that had come to meet me was also an hour and a half early, and so I got back to my apartment earlier than expected -- and there I was greeted with a doggy celebration like none you've never seen before!

God is good.

Times flies, and so must I

Seems like I just got to the USA, and already it is time to leave. In a few hours, I head back overseas.

I had hoped to write more on my blog during the past few months, but it didn't happen. Maybe when I get back overseas I'll post more often. I hope.

It was good to see some of my friends, although I didn't get to see everyone I had hoped to see. It was nice to spend time with family too, and I thank God for them and their supportiveness.

I would appreciate your prayers for my journey. The plane part is 25 hours from beginning to end. I have a one-hour car ride on the front end and a two- to three-hour car ride on the back end. 

Feels like yesterday

I got to visit with several college friends in Texas recently. We graduated more than 30 years ago, but when we got together, someone commented, "it seems like the last time I saw you was yesterday." 

I'm pretty certain the last time I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. talking was during college!

This trip back, I've been blessed to see and visit more people than I did last time I was back. It's a good feeling to know that time doesn't rob of us our [most important] memories, and friendships endure despite years of separation. 

A mad loop and a to-do list

I'm back. My parents and I made a mad loop around Texas at the end of July, visiting places near Uvalde, Fort Davis, Pecos and Midland before heading back to the east on I-20. My dad did all the driving on the 8-day trip.

We saw lots and lots of friends from our past lives out west, and it was a great blessing to see so many!

Now, I'm busy taking care of matters like visiting the doctor, getting my eyes checked, getting my teeth cleaned, transferring bank accounts, updating other financial matters, breaking in new electronic equipment, visiting family and friends, buying clothes that fit, setting up insurance, getting a new passport, and all sorts of things. My to-do list is really long and I've hardly had a chance to catch my breath.

Did I mention that I work full-time while I am in the USA too? Yeah, lucky me. This is not vacation. Wish it was.

More soon!