A White Christmas

Non-Coloradans may assume that it snows every Christmas in Denver. This is not the case, however. In the past 106 years it has only snowed 13 times on Christmas Day in the Denver area. It is not extraordinary, then, that this Christmas was my first "white Christmas" ever, having moved here from Texas in 1999. Katie and I spent Christmas Eve night at Mom and Dad's house in the canyon, and woke up to steadily falling snow that continued for the rest of the day. By the end of the day, Coal Creek Canyon had officially received 13.6 inches.


For Christmas dinner this year, the Archers had spaghetti. We've had spaghetti on Christmas several times over the years, which is not terribly surprising when you consider my Mom's Sicilian heritage. I made about 37 meatballs on Christmas Eve, and Laura and I made the sauce Christmas morning. While the sauce was cooking, we all opened presents by the tree.


Here Dad is opening his back massager, a gift from Mom and Laura. He was very excited, and immediately affixed it to a chair, which he then sat in during dinner.


Laura got me some pipe 'baccy and cigars. I felt kind of like a Grandpa, though the gift was right up my ally.


Benjamin, my parents' dachshund, is the only dog I've ever known that watches television and reads books. He's been known to lay on the couch and watch entire, feature-length movies. It is commonly said that dogs cannot see in two dimensions; however, Ben specifically looks for (and recognizes) pictures of dogs in books and on TV. In the above photo, Ben is looking on expectantly as Katie turns each page. Unfortunately for Ben, the book is about mountaineering, a subject for which he has no interest.


Here, Laura's boyfriend, Gabe, opens a present from my parents. Gabe, and also Jessica (a family friend) had dinner with us. After dinner, Katie and I went to Katie's parents' house, where we visited, and eventually had dinner with Bruce, Julie, Eric, Mindy, and Dave.


Jasmine pulls a goodie out of her stocking.


Katie was trying to get a shot of the tree at her parents' house. As you can see, Mindy leaned in for a last-minute cameo.


Jasmine and her Aunt Kate. Jasmine received some clip-on kitty earrings from Pappy (aka, Bruce), which is what she is fiddling with in the pic.


For dinner we had turkey, ham, potatoes, veggies, croissants, and strawberry salad. Afterwards we opened presents, then watched "Napoleon Dynamite" and ate candy canes and apple pie. Katie and I finally had to leave, fighting our way out of the canyon and braving icy roads all the way home. It was a fun and beautiful White Christmas.

Jasmine

Our five-year-old niece, Jasmine, was in town for Christmas. I was amazed at how much she has grown in the past year, and even more impressed by how smart she is. As is evidenced by the above photo, Jasmine is also remarkably cute and has a magnetic personality. Not surprisingly, her presence helped make our Christmas especially enjoyable.


Thursday afternoon she hung out with her Aunt Kate, and the two of them had a tea party at our apartment. Jasmine remembered her aunt's special tea dishes from the last time she was here, and insisted that tea be served promptly at 4 PM, in accordance with British custom. Okay, not really, although I think it happened to be around 4 anyway.

She spent Thursday night with Katie and I, and we all had fun playing Candy Land and watching Anastasia. We ordered pizza, and after eating copious amounts of it, Jasmine promptly suggested having a "snack". She is definitely our kind of people. Being accustomed to the more humid climate of the Pacific Northwest, Friday morning Jasmine woke up with a series of very specific requests: "Chap stick, water, and a show."


On Saturday morning, Katie and I were able to see a Christmas parade in downtown Golden with Bruce, Mindy and Jasmine. It was absolutely freezing, but we had a good time. As you can tell, Jasmine is much loved by her two aunts. It's not hard to see why.

Aunt Kate made sure that Jasmine had a hot, holiday beverage to sip while we watched the parade.

These carolers show up at each and every Christmas parade in Golden (hosted each Saturday throughout the month of December, annually). Katie is convinced that they are, in fact, "plain" folk (e.g., Amish, Mennonite, Shaker, etc.). I must admit, it's difficult to imagine them dressing or acting any differently than you see here. The mutton-chops on the one fellow are almost certainly genuine, a factor which lends credence to Katie's theory.

Jasmine is so irresistible that the Golden Fire Department's dalmatian mascot couldn't resist giving her a hug.

We were sad when Jasmine had to go back home, but she certainly brightened our Christmas. We hope to be able to see Jasmine and her mom (Amy) again before going to Korea. Hopefully we'll have an opportunity to fly out and see them in January or February.

Interview

Yesterday we received our Korean language CD-ROM. We've been learning to count in Korean: il, yi, sam, sa, o...

My interview with the recruiting agency went very well yesterday. I received a phone call at the exact time I was told, and the interview took about 45 minutes. At the end, I was told that I have been officially accepted to the program. This morning I received an email from the guy who will be my direct contact with prospective schools.

So far I've been impressed with this recruiter. As I see it, they've scored two points so far: 1. They sent me an email the week of my graduation, asking me to call them because my desired departure date was approaching. When I called, I was able to speak with a real person who scheduled a phone interview for me. 2. I was called at the precise time I was told, on the date specified, and the person who interviewed me was extremely personable and even answered some questions for me at the end.

The next step is to see if they present me with positions that meet my specifications (which are really just private housing and working in Busan). Most of the negative things I've read about recruiters on "Dave's ESL Cafe" seem to revolve around candidates being offered positions outside their specifications and/or being presented with bad contracts. During my interview yesterday I specifically asked if my two criteria were "reasonable", and I was told that they are.

I have one concern that has nothing to do with the recruiter, however. As of December 15th, the Korean government is requiring E2 visa applicants to conduct an in-person interview at a Korean consulate before being approved. Apparently this step was added after a pedophile turned up at a South Korean English school. A criminal background check is also now required, though that should be easy to obtain. But the nearest Korean consulate to Denver is located in San Fransisco. I guess I'll be taking a trip to California before we leave...

Blossoms of Light

Last night Katie and I went to "Blossoms of Light" at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It was very pretty, though much of the grounds were roped off. It wasn't really very cold. We got some hot chocolate and roasted peanuts and walked around for perhaps an hour. Yesterday was my first real "day off" since graduating. It was very nice, to say the least. It feels as though a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I have a phone interview scheduled with a recruiting agency on Friday morning. I applied with them back in June, but explained that I wouldn't be ready to leave for Korea until February. I called them last Thursday, and the next step in the process is this interview. As with every other recruiter (and recruiters in general, for that matter) I've read mixed reviews about this one on Dave's ESL Cafe. For the most part the feedback seems positive; the people who have been unhappy seem to be those that had very complicated expectations regarding their placement. In addition to the "standard" things (like housing, airfare, salary, etc.) my only two caveats are that I'm married -so no shared housing- and I'd like to teach in Busan. I don't think that will be an unreasonable order to fill. The interview on Friday will be as much of an opportunity for me to get a first impression of the recruiting agency as it will for them to get to know me.

A Long-Awaited Day

The "big day" finally arrived yesterday. Over 1,000 students graduated at the Denver Convention Center, including yours truly. Here I am, shaking hands with the college president, Dr. Stephen Jordan, after receiving my diploma.

Katie, Mom, Dad, Laura and her boyfriend, Gabe, were all there. My sister-in-law, Mindy, and her boyfriend, Dave, also came to root for me, as well as my pals Kyle and Renick. If you play the video below, you'll see what a fantastic job they all did of cheering for me as I walked across the stage, although I think Katie screamed the loudest. But to be honest, I was in such a stupor I didn't even hear them announce my name, let alone the cheering! I guess it's a good thing Katie videoed it.

Afterward we went out to eat and got ridiculously stuffed on burgers and malts. We all then headed back to our apartment, where we ate cake (one that Katie ordered, and an Oreo-chocolate cheese cake that she made herself) and had coffee. We were joined by Kyle's wife, Windy, and their two boys, Cade and Heath.

It was a busy and very exciting day. It represented one of the biggest goals that Katie and I have been working toward for the past couple of years, and we couldn't be more relieved that we've accomplished it. My parents were always supportive of me going to college; and Kyle's example, along with his motivational "pep talks", kept me plodding ahead, even when I was certain that what I was trying to do was not humanly possible. But ultimately Katie played as large a role in the completion of my degree as I did; if it wasn't for her, I don't know when I would have ever finished it. She never once suggested that I give up, even when it might have seemed easier on us both. She is truly the best wife ever.

Fortitudine Vincimus

At long last, I have completed the work on my degree. On Wednesday I turned in the last of my papers/take-home finals, and took my two remaining in-class finals. I'll officially graduate this Sunday, and will receive my grades next week.

It is difficult to express the relief that I feel, knowing that I won't have to resume classes again in the Spring. Please understand, this is coming from someone who genuinely enjoys school. However, working while taking an excessive number of classes has tested the limits of my endurance. I'm sure I'll get the scholastic bug again soon, but for now I'm content to be free.

Cooped Up

That's me today. The roads were so terrible this morning that in order for Aaron to get to school, he had to take the Subaru. Both our cars need new tires but the Subaru has all-wheel drive and the Honda just doesn't fair well in the snow without good tires. Today is my day off anyway, so I guess it's okay that I'm trapped at home. Lately I've felt so much pressure with all the planning we have to do in order to leave the country, and well, having to work just complicates things :) Sometimes I feel like I don't have the energy to exert, but I know in my heart how important it is that Aaron and I both finish strong at work.
A few nights ago when A was taking a break from his studying, we took a look at our finances to see where we stand on our savings. We have it in our heads to have at least $3ooo with us when we leave the country. This covers emergency flights home and money to get us through the first month until Aaron gets paid. We shouldn't have a problem saving that, and much more. Thankfully, we have no c.card debt, and only a few bills, so most of our money can be saved. In addition to the money for Korea, we would like to have enough to make it to Seattle to see my mom and sister for a week or so before we leave, and also maybe a weekend trip to our favorite mountain town, Estes Park. This is all contingent upon when Aaron gets hired and when they need him to start. We may find ourselves leaving sooner or later than our target date of March 1.
Other things we need to set up are:
A storage unit
Travelers insurance
Homes for our vehicles (our parents will likely watch our cars for us)
Canceling or suspending phone service, car insurance
Getting Visa's
Setting up Skype or some other internet phone.
-the list goes on, but besides packing issues, these are most prominent.
We're still waiting to get our TalkNow Korean language tool. Amazon has delayed this for about 3 months so I'll probably start looking for another website to order it from. Learning basic Korean is crucial to me. I don't want to arrive totally in the dark.

So today, I'll be reading up on whatever pops in my head. Any research that I can accomplish on my own is super. We might be going to the Botanic Gardens this evening to enjoy the lights. It all depends on how tired Aaron is.

Snowbound Scholasticism

As you can see, it snowed last night, and continues to snow this morning. Poor Katie had to go to work early this morning, but fortunately her Subaru is ideal for this kind of weather. My Civic doesn't fare so well in the snow. It's lucky for me I don't have to work or go to school. The trade-off, however, is that I have will be totally snowbound today as I finish up my school work.

One day of finals is over, and I have just one more to go. Today will be spent completing a long research paper on Truman's decision to use nuclear weapons against the Japanese. I'll also be studying for two exams: The Court in Crisis and Rome & the Caesars. By late this evening I should be finished with everything.

On the Korea front, I've recently been contacted by one recruiter via email. I'm pretty sure the message was sent to me automatically; I must have told them several months ago what my target date was to leave the country. They're hiring for a number of public schools all over Korea, with start dates in February. In order to initiate the process I'll need to call the recruiting agency and participate in a phone interview. I plan to start contacting recruiters and schools Thursday, though I'm not sure how far I'll get until I receive my diploma a couple of weeks from now. As I understand it, schools often want to see a facsimile of an applicant's diploma as part of the process. Still, I think it's important to "get the ball rolling".

Alright, enough procrastinating about this paper. Time to get cracking...

Finals, Finally

Here I sit, surrounded by piles of books. Three of my final exams are in the form of "take-home" tests, which is often another term for "research paper". Throughout my undergrad career I have had a love/hate relationship with take-home tests. On the one hand, it's nice not to have to study for a formal exam. Also, the take-home format eliminates the stress of the exam itself, which would normally involve getting to class on time, various classroom distractions (food-related noises are the best), and a strict time limit.

However, instructors usually mitigate for what they perceive to be the "added bonus" of getting to work on the exam at home. Generally, the exams manifest themselves as essays or short research papers. The following is a genuine example:

"Please respond to TWO of the following questions (one from each section). Each response should be at least four, but no more than seven pages in length..."

Translation: 8 to 14 pages of detailed answers to two, multi-faceted questions, substantiated by information from lecture notes as well as several books. In reality, if I were not such a perfectionist, this type of assignment might seem much easier.

Still, somehow I will wade through the sea of final exams (two exams are in the traditional, in-class format, and for one class I have a 25-page research paper due, in lieu of a final). I keep reminding myself that by this time next week I'll be fondly recalling my days as an "undergrad".

Holiday Happenings

I'm still getting over this nasty cold. I seriously haven't had one like this since I worked with pre-schoolers. Luckily, Aaron hasn't gotten it although he had some symptoms the other day and we were positive he had. It's likely he was just worn out. But, IT'S ALMOST OVER! We have a few fun Christmas/holiday season/celebrations coming up that are sure to be fun :)
Aaron's long awaited graduation is around the corner, (the 16th), so we've sent out announcements to close friends and family and we're hoping they can come to the ceremony. I'm ordering him a delicious cake and will allow him to eat almost all of it if he wants to. I'm so proud! My dear friend Julie is also graduating that day so I get to cheer for two!
That same week, we've been invited to a party. My boss's boss is leaving the company after 26 long years of dedication and hard work. She's been such a fun friend to work with, I'm excited to share in her celebration of achievement:)

We may also check out the Botanic Gardens Blossoms of Light this year. I've heard that it's really beautiful!!

Christmas will be wonderful! My niece and her dad are flying in from Seattle on the 20th to visit with his family but he's sharing Jasmine with us through Christmas Eve. I can't wait to see her!! My dad will be so happy, too :) My mom is also coming out for Christmas and staying through the 28th. It's been a few months since I've seen her (the longest time I've ever gone without seeing her) so I'm really looking forward to that as well. We'll probably share the day between both our families so that we have a chance to celebrate Christmas with everyone.

Aaron and I are also anxious to get back to our church. We haven't been able to attend for a few months because of our crazy schedules. I miss everyone there and being a part of our church family.

After the new year however, we have A LOT of work to do. Lots of preparation for Korea... I feel that time will pass very quickly after December.

I should also mention how sad I am that I'll miss Julie's wedding in June. She is a wonderful friend and it devastates me that I won't see her take the plunge. :(

John Dowland on Retail

Fine knacks for ladies, cheap, choice, brave and new,
Good pennyworths but money cannot move,
I keep a fair but for the fair to view,
A beggar may be liberal of love.
Though all my wares be trash, the heart is true.

A lot has changed since the 17th century, when John Dowland strummed his lute to these words. Romantic notions of merchants calling out to passers-by, enticing them with Elizabethan descriptions of their "knacks" and offering idealistic axioms regarding love, is now several centuries outdated. Clearly, Dowland had no business sense whatsoever. (Though, what might you expect from a guy who persistently wore a frilly collar and tights?). If Dowland were in retail today, he would have his District Manager ripping him apart faster than he could say "William Shakespeare". Speaking from the perspective of the modern retail establishment -that great machine, of which I can proudly say I am a cog- I can tell you that Dowland wouldn't last a day in retail, and here's why:

1. He has the right idea in marketing his merchandise as "fine knacks for ladies, cheap, choice, brave and new", but might have said instead, "A fantastic line-up of womens accessories, discounted, name-brand, and the hottest new styles around." Dowland is sorely out of touch with his customer base.

2. Again, he was on to something when he described his merchandise as being "good pennyworths" (though the phrase "more for your money" might be more appropriate), but everything falls apart from here. "Money cannot move"? Of course it can. Just consider how many people it moves on Black Friday.

3. "I keep a fair but for the fair to view" - One look inside a department store during the Christmas season would be enough to convince the most deluded idealist that customers are not fair in any possible sense of the word. However, ours is not to judge. Rather, ours is to ask, "is the shoppability of our store top-box?" and, more importantly, "what opportunities can we resolve in order to provide her with a better shopping experience?", and most important of all, "would you like to save today by opening a charge account with us?"

4. A beggar may be "liberal of love", but we are liberal with our sales. Consider that we have them on every conceivable holiday, even the less popular ones: Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Presidents Day, Boxing Day (Canada), May Day, Pearl Harbor Day, Tax Day, el Dia de los Muertos...

5. Regardless of how "true" your heart is, you should never divulge the fact that your wares are trash. If you do, your clientele might grow savvy to the fact that when you mark up an item to 400% of cost, you can still rake in a hefty profit when you run the item on sale at half-off. And besides, is "trash" really a fair word? You'd be amazed at the high quality that third-world sweatshops are capable of producing.

If he were alive today, and it were up to me, I'd require Dowland to complete a personal evaluation of his strengths and weaknesses in order for him to identify his opportunities. After that, if he persisted in making stupid opportunities, I could always simply leave the jerk suspended in middle-management indefinitely, hoping he eventually burns out.

where i spend most my life...

Today is December 2. It's hard to believe how quickly it came! It feels like we just had September and now we're already at Christmas. I'm fighting a nasty cold that I caught from one of my tellers. HE shall remain nameless... (there's only one guy on the teller line... NATE!) I can't really blame him though, being a teller is like working straight from the commode anyway. You never know where all that money has been *shudder*. It's possible that I got sick from the little old lady who came to my window and told me that she's a "SNOT NOSE" today. Freaking great, thank you. It's no wonder why we keep Clorox wipes at EVERY corner. Anyway, I thought I'd reflect a bit on my job, since Aaron has given all our readers a healthy dose of his daily duties.
I really love lots of things about my job. I currently hold lead teller position at a credit union and I work directly under the best boss in the world! Lyn is really terrific! She's the most patient and understanding person I've ever worked for. Then there's the tellers. They are a hard working group of people of all ages and personality. We really have a fun time together :) There are many other individuals who work in other departments that I have gotten to know and really adore. My day is never boring.
The members are hilarious and there's a few that really light up my day when they come in. A few of my favorites include, Ron- an older gentleman who refuses to show you his i.d out of fear that you will "know his business" (I can see all the same info on the computer but OK, Ron.) He's sweet though, and likes to open up about his life. I happen to know that he has a cat named Flash that he has shaved to look like a lion... Then there's Randy. He waltzes in about every day and greets EVERY teller and the receptionist, AND whom ever he can catch a glimpse of walking by. He's very friendly :) And who can forget Clarence. He's my 7 am ray of sunshine... okay not really, I'm not that excited to see them all but they have such predictable personalities, I feel like I know them :)
Things aren't always like a bowl of cherries, there are some lemons in there too, but for the most part, I've enjoyed my job. Coming from retail, this position truly was a breath of fresh air.
I'll miss my routine and my friends, but I'm ready for a change. I need Korea. I need a break in the pattern we settled into. Aaron's graduation is just as much of a gift to me as it is to him. I get my husband back.... :)We get to start this amazing journey together, growing more deeply in love and seeing what God has in store for us. I couldn't ask for more.

Joe Moves On