ohio!

it has come to my attention that this blog is in drastic need of an update. for starters, i am currently writing from a hotel room in milan, oh. i've completed more than half of my scheduled roadtrip back to good ol' upstate ny.

what else is new? oh, not much except for the fact that it is more than likely that salsa and i will be moving to nyc instead of seoul. turns out when melissa told p.b.loco of her korea plans, they used nyc as a tool of persuasion to stay with the company. and somehow i got into the deal. they've offered me to start 15 hours/week and hopefully as the company brings in more money (maybe winter?) i could be working full-time. so i would have to find a part-time job to supplement my income, but that is a small price to pay considering how madly in love i am with ny.

it's still not 100% definite because salsa hasn't told the bosses she'd do it, but the odds are definitely in america's favor.

and soon the headache of finding affordable housing around the city shall begin.

on the agenda for my first week home: camping out at the altamont fairgrounds in the family's new camper for the scottish games (lots of guinness and no driving = inebriated tanya) and then a week with celeste where we will do girly sister things.

in terms of minneapolis, i am sure i will miss it. i've become close with a lot of people there that i never quite expected, but sadly enough it was only in the past month.

but my last month has been a great one, consisting of many nights spent stooping in the front yard and chatting with the neighbors until 2. or 3. or 4.

also i've been thinking a lot about things i never expected my time in minnesota to bring me, such as:

1) renting a giant inflatable jumper which fit perfectly in the front yard.
2) sleeping in the jumper.
3) managing a store in the mall of america.
4) working for a peanut butter company.
5) having such "colorful" neighbors.
6) the decision to move back to korea.
7) changing my mind and deciding to move to nyc.
8) meeting al franken.
9) doing a photo shoot for a magazine ad.

i was going to round it out to an even ten, but i can't think of anything else and "don't tell mom the babysitter's dead" is on tv. could the night be any more perfect?

alive and well

for anyone who's watching the news, i want to assure you that i am alive and breathing. in case you don't know what i'm talking about, the bridge on interstate 35 west collapsed, which is the same interstate that i take every day. i honestly think there was some divine interference on my behalf because, while i usually don't travel on that section of the highway, i just so happened to be working from diamonds cafe in northeast minneapolis.

i generally know how to get back home, but i missed the exit because it was a few lanes over. i continued to drive through downtown, all the way to the metrodome thinking "eh, i may be going the long way and out of the way, but i kind of like exploring." it was when i hit downtown that police cars and ambulances and fire trucks were racing by all around me and i thought "wow, it must be a really big accident or fire."

i finally got home and had literally just stepped into my apartment when melissa called and said "thank god you're alive!" i had to ask what was going on and it was then that she told me that the entire bridge had collapsed. she knew that i was leaving the cafe right around that time and would be taking 35 so she called to make sure i wasn't there. i turned on the tv and sure enough every channel was featuring the story. while i was on the phone with her, celeste called on the other line and i thought, "wow i wonder if this has already gotten on the news back home."

instead, celeste started talking my ear off about an upcoming trip to nyc and i had to interrupt to tell her that my lack of direction could possibly have prevented me from serious injury. of course, celeste started freaking out and saying over and over that if anything ever happened to me or my mom she wouldn't know what to do with herself. i left her to call my mom so i could make other calls, and celeste proceeded to be hysterical. my mom had to tell her to stop because i was fine. it's nice to know she cares, though.

i made a call to chris, who was supposed to be meeting alisun, to make sure they were both ok. chris had apparently just crossed the bridge a minute or two before it happened and got stuck in traffic afterwards, wondering why there was a ton of smoke coming from behind him. alisun was still safe at work. the immediate people i care for here in minneapolis are all present and accounted for, thankfully. overall, it seems pretty amazing that there aren't more severe injuries/fatalities, though it's still kind of early. so there you are, my version of the story and proof that i am well.