Late night rambling odes to Sofia Coppola

I re-watched Lost in Translation with a friend recently, and discovered I hadn't really watched it the first time. Whether it's a superb movie or it just poignantly reflects my current state of affairs, I can't tell. The female lead (Scarlett Johansson) is in a highly enviable rut- directionless, accompanying a partner abroad and nearly going batty in the empty space and time while friends back home cheep, "Have the most amazing time!" She and a washed up actor on a promo tour (Bill Murray) connect when they are overcome with loneliness.

While the movie itself isn't powerful, epic or stirring... it is so right. It's also sweetly ironic and good humored at the ridiculous situations being abroad presents. Great quotes from the film here.

After quietly escaping bed without waking the sleeping husband, I've been sitting in the similarities between me at the moment and LiT as I dawdle online and try to occupy my brain until I finally become sleepy. And because it's 2 am and the neural channels think they're clever at this hour, this popped out.


ScarJo, I feel your pain
though I wish I didn't know
nothing warm and real
just far and steel
watching alone a city passes by
too alone to cry, void inside, no way to smile

overseas, unseen
can't relate to my old scene
language ain't the only barrier
had true ground, life bit and shook me like a terrier
no role, just expat and attached
glamorous skyscraper life, girl just along for the ride
only so many hours a day can be slept away
nightly stealing from sweet's embrace
to stare again at space
laptop games and rhymes lame
hoping to keep me entertained
just numb the pain of the novacaine
hating the lack of feeling
cold and reeling

on the other side of the world
not just the street signs are foreign
lofty dreams fade under the torrent of
days lost inside or wandering
stuck inside my head, never more than pondering
what's become of my life
what's become of me
who's this person who sits gazing blankly?

why am I not fluent?
language, work and life?
what happened, what part dried up
offering only sighs up
but watch out
I'm going to size up
ocean-sized competition
throw down what's left of my ambition
I may not recognize the expression in the window
it may be a chance to reinvent myself though

Year of travel in pictures

Blogger stats just informed me that ironically (and totally unintentionally) my last post, which I worried might keep me from ever getting hired again was post #69. I swear I'm an adult, really.

For something much more universal (and since I wrote about all the delightful travels we've been able to take in the last post) and upbeat I figured I'd do a little sum-up. Go!


England:(St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tate Modern)

 Japan: (fantastic ads for cigarettes and Nijo castle)

 Boryeong, Korea for Mudfest (beach and "Mud Prison)

 Sonyudo Island, Korea (our tent and playing on the beach)

DMZ tour/Panmunjon: the blue buildings are negotiation rooms, far building is N. Korea, then inside the negotiation rooms with a ROK soldier at "ROK ready" posture

Dr Fish in Korean beauty salons: These little guys eat the dead skin off your feet. Horrifying and ticklish.

 Seoul Tower: why is Social Security Number always in his/her heart?

 Malaysia: Golden Palm resort pool flowing into the ocean and KL Bird Park

Philippines: awesome guard at Fort Santiago in Manila who gave us a secret tour of the dungeons and our amazing motor-tricycle driver who saved us from a fate worse than death. Sitting up straight is overrated.

Hong Kong and Macau: Top of Victoria Peak and seahorses for sale at the local grocery store

Upcoming... Guam!



Vocab of the day: 
Korean: 모험 (moh hohm) =  adventure
Military: LICWOT = leave in conjunction with official travel

Job porn (No actors hired for this post)

No, not as in I'm working in the adult industry. Not at all. But I am getting quite addicted to a certain website...

While I hypothetically have 2 working positions at present and just recently lost another last week (in the words of Lil' Wayne, they're down[sizing] like the economy), I'm rarely working these days and I burn for a "real job." It's ironic when I think that during my graduate work, my current life would sound like nirvana.* Hack together some part time work, travel Asia, have lots and lots and lots of free time to... learn Korean? practice guitar? work on my opera training? However, in practice this free time often goes to one of three things: 1) Things online that mostly pertain to jobs and job hunting. Mostly. 2) Catching up on the last 4 years of sleep deprivation- probably about there and 3) Being Betty Crocker-ish, watching tv online or doing both simultaneously.

photo credit

Now my new obsession is LinkedIn. It's horribly addictive. I used to feel accomplished when I could go through my "suggested friends" and find another handful of middle school friends, acquaintances from conferences or the like to "broaden my networking potential" as lots of the job hunting blogs/books/etc I follow have compelled me to do. Nearly a year ago while looking, I was consoled by the number of friends who like me had grad school as the last item listed even though we were several months past graduation. However, LinkedIn has gotten only more addicting as people elsewhere have managed to find fantastic work. "Ooh, she got a job at [prestigious consulting firm]?" "He's working at [high-profile public office]?!" "Seriously, he books logistics for the President?" (I kid you not, we went to high school together). You get the picture. The more I look, the more I find friends who have scored amazing jobs. And I'm truly happy for them. I merely wish I could join the fun.

So for another day, I'll fight the addiction to look at just a few more pages that makes me both feel warm and hopeful and at the same time crushed and voyeristic. I have four resumes to spiff up and send off. Perhaps it's the 78th time that's the charm.




Vocab of the day:
Korean: 일 (il, which is also the word for one... hrm) = job
Military: MOS = military occupational specialty


*And I must say that I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to spend time looking for a job that fits (and doesn't torpedo my resume) instead of needing to flip burgers to keep food on the table. I do realize this is a great luxury and makes my rant quite spoiled and unenlightened.