Lessons Learned 2010

2010 - Good riddance. I will not miss you. Everyone has their own rock bottom and the first four months of this year were exactly that. The following five months can only be described as Purgatory,  and the final three most wonderfully feel like Recovery.  Unlike last year, these are almost all rooted in my life somewhere. It was less educational than 2009 (which I am more than happy with) but with any luck this will be the hardest year I will ever live through…

 

#1 South Korea rocks.

 You can get along quite well in a foreign country knowing only the words “Hello” and “Thank you”.

Wiener dogs don’t like elevators.  At all.

I very much enjoy my own company.

Maybe finding love isn’t about butterflies and backflips. Maybe it’s about finding the one that always makes you smile and never causes your tears.

I’ve spent my life chasing butterflies.

I’m not a coffee drinker, but I am a tea latte kind of girl.  Chai, black tea, green tea and even sweet potato tea lattes!  Yum.

Ps.  Sweet potato pizza is also amazing.

It’s perfectly acceptable for a grown man in a three piece suit to relieve himself on any sidewalk in Korea. But they pee pad train the dogs.  I don’t get it.

On that note… “Male self-improvement ends at toilet training.”  (Gerard Butler in The Ugly Truth)

I’ve lost my belief in love. And that makes me sad.

Life is better on a cash only basis.

If you see people using umbrellas in the snow, hold your laughter until you try to walk in the same snow without an umbrella. Then remember your umbrella next time.

Korea may be a country built on a religion of respect, but it’s completely acceptable for them to push, yell, and stare as they see fit.  And they are entirely incapable of forming lines. 

American media cannot be trusted.  CNN and Fox News are no more factual than Us Weekly and TMZ.

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”  Maya Angelou - If they lie to you, they are a liar.  If they cheat on you, they are a cheater.  It’s easy for anyone to apologize when they’ve been caught.  “Believe them the first time.”

I’ve unforgiven you.  Sometimes forgiveness just isn’t an option.

Korean elevators are smarter than American elevators. 

America’s Next Top Model is actually a really good show.  Weird.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Maybe that’s what happens when a tornado meets a volcano. - Eminem

Throwing yourself a birthday dinner is genius. 

Eat Pray Love provided better therapy than I think any licensed therapist could have offered.  My personal gratitude to Elizabeth Gilbert for writing such an amazing book.

And my sincerest apologies to her for the catastrophe that Ryan Murphy created when converting it to a screenplay.

When you are completely at rock bottom and don’t know what else to do… Read.  And read some more.  And keep reading until you find daylight again.

I was born to be a popstar.  I’ve always known this, it just gets more obvious every year.

A 5-day cruise with your dad can be the coolest vacation you’ve ever taken.

Leo’s need not apply. I can’t go through that again.

Your twenties are completely overrated.

Korean Q-tips hurt.  I buy the infant Q-tips in the children’s department.

The life of a foreign teacher in Korea is so easy.  No drama, hardly any bills, and more cash than you can possibly spend in a month.  It’s awesome.

I am a sucker for a good apology.  I need to work on that.

Trying to teach yourself a foreign language is like trying to put your pants on head first.  Totally not possible.

When you order a pizza in Korea it comes with a side of pickles.  That makes me laugh every time.

Perception is reality and people will make up whatever they have to so they can justify their reality. Accepting that and moving on is the hardest part.

If someone isn’t intelligent enough to realize that law enforcement has been involved in each of their partner’s last three relationships... I can’t help them.  Be it six months or six years, their time will come too.

…Anger, in it’s truest form, is almost impossible to let go of.

"I have a history of making decisions very quickly about men. I have always fallen in love fast and without measuring risks. I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. …  Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism." — Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

Checkmate.

A good pumpkin cheesecake will make your eyes roll back in your head. 

When teaching a classroom of 12 year old Korean children, special attention needs to be paid to the correct pronunciation of the word “sheet”.

There’s an awful lot of unnecessary hype about the process involved in getting a passport.

I think we have to experience our own tragedies just so we know how to help our friends get through theirs.

Sometimes running away and starting over is the right choice. 

Buying stuff on Craigslist - Awesome.  Selling stuff on Craigslist - Not so awesome.

PMS is going to be a leading factor in my cause of death one day.

It’s actually possible to not be Irish enough to teach in South Korea.  Who knew?

In Korean restaurants they use scissors instead of knives.  Good idea, I think.

You really do have to experience the bad (and the awful) to truly appreciate the wonderful.

“The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.”  JK Rowling

My  silliness is my favorite quality.

Thank God for wiener dogs.

I’m starting to feel like me again.  Real me. Silly, fearless, sincere yet unapologetic.  And I really like me.

What happens when you realize the right answer was in front of you the whole time?

Final words - 2011… Bring it.