So this is happening in my living room right now...

Seven space bags and Two large suitcases should be enough.. right?

You Been Quit!

So yesterday I received an email that startled me a wee bit.  While I had originally been told to expect to leave Canada around the 10th and was totally prepared to work for another 3 weeks and ferret away some much needed grocery/soju monies, this is not the case.  My recruiter asked me to be ready to go by the 5th of May.  It is the 20th of April.  That is NOT very much time.

I have been skirting around the fact that I have to tell my employers that A) I am moving across the planet, and B) I am doing this in just over two weeks.

Last night I decided to man up and tell my manager at Newlands.  Ali is a special fellow who I have a soft spot for, he is an older czech gentleman that wears suits even when the heat is cranked, and hides in storage closets or the kitchen to eat buffet food when he thinks none of us are looking. We are required to wear red or green aprons during the Christmas season, with matching Christmas themes reindeer antlers or santa hats.  He makes us move heavy furniture around, and never cuts anyone until the very last minute.  You could have three tables, and be cashed out before 7:30 but finish at 12:30 am if he wants.  He calls me Leslie, Laura, Leanne, or Laura.  He refers to Jordan as 'Girl'.

All of this aside, he is a very funny man with some incredible stories of former staff, life in Czech Republic, and he almost never takes a day off.  He's a character.  I felt bad quitting because the place can be such a gongshow especially on sundays - but sunday lunches are my favourite. Everyone sits around and talks for half an hour, you get to really know each other.  I have made a lot of really great friends there and will miss them very much.  I hope they check out this blog every once & a while ( leave me a comment!!)

I just started at the Thirsty Penguin and have only worked a handful of shifts.  I take so much time off for my courses in Victoria that I actually feel like such a derp going in today to give my notice.

I thought getting my contract organized would be the hardest part, but it turns out the most complicated step of this process is dealing with what I am flying away from..

Next Step:  Cancelling Gym Memberships & Phone Plan.

Wish me luck!

So I now know where I'm going to be living..

So the foreign teacher Claire that interviewed me for my teaching position gave me her email to contact her if I had any questions, the day before last she passed on the email of the girl who's apartment I would be taking over.  I asked her a few questions about the location etc, and this is the response I received:

Hey Lauren!
So the apartment is a block down from Dongseo University in Gaegeum. The closest
subway is Naengjeong on the Green Line (Line 2). The university and the apartment
are near the top of a big hill, the subway is at the bottom (it's pretty steep, but I swear after a month you kind of get used to it - and it's like a secret booty workout!). I think walking down takes about 5 minutes, up maybe 10 or so. 
The school is right between Gaegeum and Naengeong subway exits, so it's pretty close to the apartment. I would say about 10-12 minute walk! If you're ever running late you can get there by cab in less than 2 minutes :) 
The apartment is probably the best of any of the teachers - this year I had a
problem with u in my first apartment so I ended up moving to a new one in the
same building. Definitely a good call, this one is much bigger and more up-to-date. It's on the second floor with a rear-facing window so it's pretty quiet and private. The bed is an awkward size, maybe slightly bigger than a twin but definitely not a double - I use a double fitted sheet on it and then just my comforter. A twin fitted sheet won't fit. I have an extra one that I will leave for you, and couple other linens and pillows to get you started - I ended up buying all new stuff but will keep it because I am returning to Busan in July.
The kitchen area is teeny but fine for one person! :) It's separated from the
bedroom by a big door (also blocks out sound from the hallway really well). Other
bonus - walk in closet! Totally lucked out with this one, I put up a clothes rack
that I'll leave in there for you and it has a lot of space! There is also a little patio-ish area with sliding doors - it's nice to open the place up but the windows are small so I mostly use it for storage.
The landlords are a VERY nice couple, super quiet but really helpful. They live on the 6th floor of the building. I've come to them with all kinds of random problems this year and between them and Jerry things got fixed pretty quickly. Also they run a small convenient store on the first floor, it's the BEST... Like having a garage constantly stocked with anything you need but you just have to pay for it! haha The neighborhood is a college area, so there are definitely goods and bads. Kind of noisy but tons of good restaurants. Also being on the Green line is the best, no transfers to get to KSU or the beach!
I don't know if I covered everything there, feel free to email with anymore
questions you have! 

:)Laura

---

WALK IN CLOSET?!?! I'M SOLD.  I like restaurants. I like stores, and subways. I like college kids and patios.  I can handle noise.

CAN I GO NOW PLEASE?!

My closet is the door to Narnia's gay bar

So, I have spent my day going through my room trying to spruce the place up for my one year absence.. you know.. throw away everything incriminating, go through my clothes.. try and make it Mom proof, essentially, because we all know she's going to raid that room the second my plane takes off.

I have come to realize a few things about myself, the first of which being that I am an adult-sized child. Seriously! Everything I own is ripped, stained, animal patterned, sequinned, bedazzled, or some shade on the grey-scale.  Betsey Johnson circa 1985 threw up in my closet.  My closet is the glittery, cheetah printed entrance to Narnia's Celebrity's after the pride parade.  It's seriously scary.

I fear for my would-be students.  Mom is going to take me shopping for some "adult" clothing.  I'm hoping to sneak in some leopard prints or polka dots.. I'm not ready to grow up completely, let's be honest.  Kids like sparkles, right? .. Bosses might not.

I am going to have a hard time giving away a lot of my clothes, but I know when I come back in a year I probably won't like them anymore, and they are of no use to anybody sitting in my closet.  Actually, no, they're good space holders.  The last time I vacated my room I returned home to a storage room so packed that it took me 3 days to get everything out just to fit a bed in there.  I'm hoping my room stays a bedroom and doesn't turn into another extension of my mother's hoarding pile (sorry mom, but it's true. the "guest room" is seriously scary).  I don't know if I can justify my own hoarding just to keep someone else out of my hoarding spot.  Maybe only having two suitcases to pack my things into is a good idea after all.

The second thing I learned about myself is that I should never own a bed that has storage space beneath.  I have so many single socks, where are there mates? WHO IS TAKING ALL OF MY SOCKS?!  WHAT ARE THIS?!?!  I blame the underpants gnomes.

Finally, I learned that I am way too easily distracted to be trusted to clean my room out all on my own.  I watched this video probably 40 times today... ENJOY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4sXjJJjcWQ

My Inner Ninja

So today was a bit of a nightmare.

I have always been extremely organized up until when it matters, then I will do one small thing to screw everything up, like.. how I showed up for the LSAT with everything but a pencil that is sharpened (or sharpener), concoct the most amazing protein shake in the world and then forget to put the lid on my blender (Banana and whey do not make for a good deep conditioning treatment in your hair PS), or you know, the thirty million times I have tried to cut my own bangs (IT NEVER ENDS WELL AND I WILL PROBABLY TRY AGAIN NEXT WEEK).  I don't know why I do these things.. maybe deep down I enjoy the thrill?  I design obstacles just to kick them down & laugh in the universe's face.. until my next car accident, or fall down a flight of stairs, naturally.

For the past couple of weeks I have been gathering all my paperwork to prepare myself for my Asian Invasion.  I thought I was pretty well ahead of the game.. Yeah. Not so much.

I gather my contract, my notarized documents, my criminal record check, my transcripts, and my medical declaration of health thing - Have you been injured in the past 5 years?  How do you think the Korean Consulate would feel about accidental self-electrocution on multiple occasions, 6 car accidents, 3 concussions, and many incidents involving stairs.. uh.. yeah, I ticked "No."
I realized last night that I needed an additional copy of my CRC for my second set of documents, so I took the CRC out of my well organized envelope.  Did I put it back in after getting in touch with the RCMP?  Ofcourse not.

So I wake up extremely early by Lo standards, feed the dogs, get Gerald all ready for his car ride... send a few in car snap chat vids of Gerald basking in the glory of said car ride.. get all the way to the consulate and BAM no CRC.  Call my brother, and my mom in a panic.  Opt to drive home to fetch said CRC (which my glorious brother sifted through my hoarding pile to locate for me)... run back to car, realize pay station only accepts credit card.  By this time, I have had four coffees and really have to pee. I abandon my car (and a confused Gerald) int he parked, run up and down W Georgia until i find a public washroom.  Run and find a Seven Eleven, buy a prepaid credit card.  I think to myself "F@%! you, IMpark and F@#!$ you universe!"  Yeah.. it doesn't work.  I pocket said Visa gift card for future online shopping purposes and proceed to run around said parkade, chihuahua in my arms, like a crazy lady.  Eventually on my 3rd round of frantic "FUDGE FUDGE FUDGE FUDGE ** DOES ANYBODY ACTUALLY WORK IN THIS BUILDING" I find a guy who says he'll let me out if I pay cash, but he has to charge me a day rate.  Seeing no other solution, I pay the man.  He definitely pocketed the money.

As I am leaving the parked I turn the wrong way on W Georgia and get stuck in horrible single land traffic, ending up in North Vancouver.  Luckily for me, I was out there visiting my good friend Mo two week ends ago so I knew that I could get back onto Highway 1 Eastbound after I got off the Lionsgate bridge - it just took about 45 minutes to get there!!  I calmed myself down by playing Classified's new track "My Inner Ninja" on repeat for the majority of the ride home.  Gerald & I definitely had a traffic jam dance party.

Needless to say, I did not go back to Vancouver today.  It dawned on me that I would not get back to Langley on time for work.. I will have to do it all again tomorrow. I can get pretty worked up over little things, and trust me... high volume city traffic with me behind the wheel is not something I'd wish upon anyone.  Ask Karlee, or Sophie.  Sophie actually refuses to drive with me period.

Despite my little episode today, once I arrived at work a feeling of complete zen washed over me.. in less than a month I will no longer have to subject myself to the abuses of Langley's alcoholics.  Some other unfortunate underemployed graduate will have to take the reigns and pour the draught beer...  I wish them the best, but when I punch out after my final shift I will be running for the door

and hopefully not tripping on the doorstep!

Allons-y, Mes Amis!

As a historian, I have spent many hours pouring over travel journals.  I have spent years of my life studying the voyages of those who have lived to sail into the horizons in search of new lands, adventure , and sometimes even love.  I have always felt this yearning to abandon my comfortable place nestled in the stacks and archives and test out my sea legs.

My first taste of travel was at the tender ages of two, when I was undoubtably a terrible human being in the making.  My mother has always been close with her nieces Shelley and Wendy, so it was natural that my parents attend her wedding.  It seems pretty reasonable that where the parental units go, the children are carted along.  Under normal circumstances, this would be the case.. however baby Lauren was more than just a cute face.  She was... well.. she was a much smaller version of myself, which basically means easier to lose track of.  My dad encouraged my exploration of the larger world right from the get go, but my mother was the one we can credit with eventually harnessing that energy & directing it to projects that resulted in less mess (in most instances).  She may have saved the world from total destruction.  You should all thank her.

Anyways, my dad was in charge of watching me at this wedding, and as per usual he found himself distracted by all things joyful and wedding.  I found the cake, I pulled the table cloth, and in the nick of time said cake was rescued by someone with a much more keen eye than my father.  My plan was foiled, but I never gave up my quest for that cake. 

In my short life I have been unbelievably blessed to have had the chance to visit countries such as France, England, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Austria, South Korea, Japan, and Ammurka. I also spent a quarter of my young life living on Vancouver Island while I attended the University of Victoria.  I suppose one might say I've cut an interesting trail for myself across the globe.  If I remain in one place for too long, I find myself growing restless.  Regardless of how hard I try to avoid it, wherever I end up chaos tends to follow.  There really is no rhyme or reason for it, my friends have said many times that if I lived in a past life I was probably a terrible, terrible person.  Sometimes these events are incredibly funny, other times they have resulted in some harsh consequences.  I do my best to take these in stride, I've come to accept that there is little to do but laugh it off.  I try to think of ten reasons to smile everyday.  I enjoy making lists, sometimes I will share these with you.  

I promise this blog will be engaging, honest, and for the sake of my beautiful mother for whose love and nurturing I am so grateful, I will do my best to avoid using the word fuck.  

Okay, that one didn't count. Sarry mama.

In a few weeks I will be setting off on my latest adventure across the Pacific Ocean to South Korea.  I am hoping to bring my dog-child Gerald with me. I have some experience within the city of Busan, so I am not expecting to experience too too many cultural shocks right off the bat.  I am well aware that by going after this big piece of cakey adventure I will be leaving behind many people that I love very much.  The Korean Peninsula is in a state of political upset, so many people will worry.  It is my hopes that by sharing my day to day experiences with you all that I will be able to keep you up to date on my whereabouts, my safety, and my personal growth.  I invite you to follow along, and via interwebs share in this crazy adventure.

Much love

xoxo

L