littlewonderlog

I was writing about the spacing rules of the Korean word, “Cham-na” (참나). Is it supposed to be “”Cham Na” (참 나) or “Cham-na” (참나)?

But then, I realized that I don’t even know the correct meaning or origin of that word. The meaning we typically use is basically “Unbelievable!”, or “How ridiculous!”. The origin that Gemini or ChatGPT told me is not convincing enough. It’s not in the official Korean dictionary, so the National Institute of Korean Language can’t offer any guidelines on it.

Unbelievable. At this moment, I’ve decided I am going with “Cham-na” (참나).

 

When playing catch, my mind is only on the ball. Of course, I get busy getting mad at the pitcher (my husband) when he’s not throwing the ball right, and I get busy running around when he’s not throwing the ball right (well, full disclosure, it’s actually my excuse a lot of times). Still, most of the time, I only focus on the ball. How liberating it is. I don’t really care about the person playing catch with me (maybe I should), the ball and I only exist in that world. Sometimes, I feel muscle tightness on my right middle back (Did you throw the ball a hundred times or what?), and other times, my left knee makes a squeaky sound (Did you throw….). Still, when playing catch, it feels like a meditation in motion. How good it feels.

So when you feel blue, go play catch.

It wasn’t actually that I was feeling blue or something, yet I just wanted to use that phrase.

A few months ago, I was reading Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People” but tossed it aside after a few pages. There was something about that book that just didn’t intrigue me. Sentences were woven in a strange way, it wasn’t really fun and almost felt like I was dragging myself through those pages. That was strange, because I think I enjoyed reading the Korean translation a long time ago. Then, after reading some other books, I picked it up again, and voila. It reads smoothly, it’s fun and I find myself nodding a lot of times in agreement with the contents.

I don’t know the reason of this, but I know this – The perfect moment to read a certain book is when it reads effortlessly.

 

It was the blink of an eye. It felt like only a few days ago when I told myself, “Ah, now trees are getting light greenish”, but now the park is covered with greenery. It’s not like the green shades of June or July, yet it’s full of green. When did that happen? Maybe they all grew quickly after a rain shower.

It’s the season of the green leaves almost embracing us with their big arms. It’s a good season for taking a walk. Nothing is really different since I walk all the time, but it feels much better as I can walk enjoying the greenery.

It feels great that there are many things I can feel great about.

It’s strange.

Like a ghost, my body just knows. Once the weather gets a bit warmer (or hotter), suddenly, I want something cool and something sour. A bowl of Makguksu (Korean buckwheat noodle) would do the trick, yet buckwheat noodles that usually contain some portion of wheat is out of the reach of someone on 10th month of cutting out wheat (already!).

Then my husband pulled it up (that’s my man). There is pure buckwheat Makguksu which is made from 100% of buckwheat. There are actually quite a lot of places selling it. The pure buckwheat noodle is not coarse or crumbly as I expected. It’s got its character and I liked it.

It would be great to go on some pure buckwheat Makguksu quest. Hahahaha. I am very good at finding excuses to eat.

“Are you an idiot? I told you not to do that.”

In our 11th year of marriage, I realized again that there isn’t much to fight about if we manage not to say those words. There are so many times that I want to say it, but somehow just swallow it down. Yumyum. Phew, I feel full.

From the look on my husband’s face, I guess he feels pretty full too. He must be swallowing a lot too. Well, is this what people mean when they say married couples start to look alike? (Not really).

When everything just clicks unintentionally, it feels so great. On a sunny day, on the way to the East Sea, when the Jeongseon traditional 5-day market opens, it feels so great. Oh, what is all this? Everything makes my eyes pop. There are cross-shaped long streets filled with stalls. You can see so much corn, wild greens (such as Gondre), mushrooms, and Korean rice snacks (Hangwa). I almost bought all that stuff. Phew. I pulled myself together. Nicely done.

In every market, there are distinctive characteristics of the region.

I enjoyed the full Jeongseon vibe. When the market opens on your journey, it feels so great.

“Do you think we can see the sunrise tomorrow if we sleep now?”

“Who knows? Let’s wake up at 5 am first and then see.”

We woke up at 5 am, splashed some water on our faces, and strolled down to Sokcho Beach.

“Do you think the sun will come out?”

“We’ll see.”

Walking through the ocean pine forest, we waited for the sun we might not see, while wondering whether or not to get a decaf coffee afterward.

It was 5:45. It was supposed to be sunrise, but we couldn’t see it.

“Today might not be the day.”

“Well, let’s just walk for a bit and then head back.”

But then, a small, blood-red circle began to come up through the clouds near the horizon, painting the whole sky with warm colors.

“Nice.”

“I like that the ocean breeze isn’t so cold.”

We took some photos, staring blankly at the sun for a moment, then grabbed a hot decaf coffee from the café that already opened at 6 am, and went back to the hotel.

It wasn’t New Year’s day, yet the sunrise was beautiful enough and the start of our day was perfect enough.

My friend whom I’ve known for about 20 years said that she is a fan of a boy idol. She wanted to join his fan club, but she couldn’t do it since it might upset her husband. I never imagined her falling for a boy idol. For a minute, she just felt like a different person.

An old friend often feels like someone completely new.

The new side of someone I thought I knew very well can be a source of pleasure.

Today, I start again with a new mindset.

Whatever I did wrong yesterday, whatever I lacked yesterday, I shrug off the past and move forward with a new mindset. Yesterday’s failure becomes a trial and error, and yesterday’s trial and error becomes an asset today. Today, as I have learned more than yesterday and am wiser than yesterday, I move forward again. No reluctance, no regret. I am starting anew today. Every day, today, I start again like this.

Today, I start again with a new mind.

And I will do the same tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and always.