Hey guys!
I'm in the middle of an attempt to get myself writing again. As part of this attempt I am moving my blog. My new site will be www.karylmichaud.wordpress.com. so I would LOVE it if you checked that blog out. I'm not sure when, but I'm planning on deleting this blog once i have the new one up and running and once I have figured out how to move my posts from here to there. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you more on the new blog!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Trying to revamp
I haven't written in this blog in almost a year and even then, I was staggering on writing in it. I have no idea if any of my friends and family even read this anymore or know it exists. But recent events and thoughts have made me want to get back into writing. I miss writing. I used to write every day. I would write journals, I would write stories, poetry. I would even write simple update emails to my friends. However, I have trouble even keeping up with these update emails these days. If I can get back into writing in this, it can be more of a central place where people can know what's going on in my life. Also, with all the travelling I have been doing, I have become more and more aware of current events and politics of countries. I want a place where I can share these opinions and possibly get others feedback. So some of my posts will be more personal and some will be opinion based.
I guess one way to start off is explain were I am and what I have been doing since I last posted about ten months ago. I ended up leaving Korea at the end of February 2011. I continued working for my school until then. But they created so many issues regarding overtime pay and the completion of contract monies. They made me so scared for payday because I wasn't sure whether I would walk into work and have to argue with them about the correct way to pay me based on my contract. On my last day I had a huge explosion on the head teacher. I told her that that school had made me want to leave Korea and think very terribly of the country. I really was miserable. Stuart, my English boyfriend, helped me get through it a lot. I thank him a lot for that.
When we left Korea, we left together. We went home (my home) to America for about a month. It was great to see my family and friends. But it was certainly a hectic and expensive month. When we went there, we celebrated my birthday a month and a half early where my brother and Stuart bought me an ipad. I was so shocked to get the ipad and I didn't know what to do with it at first. To be fair, now Stuart and I use it equally. But it was good to see people. I wasn't able to see everyone i wanted. Next time I come home, I will definitely make an evening where everyone can come see me and give lots of advance warning. It became so hard to meet up with everyone.
After America, we headed off to England. There we stayed with Stuart's family. I met some of his family and friends. They were all pretty good. They were so nice to me and always looking after me. I enjoyed England. For it being April, it was not as rainy as one would expect. It was so green compared to America. There were so many fields. And it's just has a different color green to it. Stuart and I left England for a week to go to Venice, Italy. It was my Christmas present (well, just the hotel was the present). It was great to such a historical city. There was so much walking to do all over the city and there was so much to do. I disliked the fact that they didn't seem to believe in drinking in tap water. But the pizza was amazing! They bring you a whole pizza not sliced up. It was so delicious. Stuart loved the bruschetta over there. After Italy, we went back to England for a bit more.
We headed off to Australia for our new adventure in May. We both have Working holiday visas. How they work is , the visas allow us to live and work anywhere in Australia for a year. The restriction on jobs is that we can only work in the same job for 6 months. After that, we must change jobs. Also, if we work in an agricultural capacity for at least 3 months, then we can extend the visa. So we came here with very little moeny as we hadn't worked in a couple months. And we were desperately looking for jobs. I tried a marketing job, going door to door for a charity for a week. But I decided it was not for me. I decided that anything commission based for a job will probably just stress me out more than pay the bills. So, I was back to job searching. Currently, I found an ESL school that gives me 16 hours a week paid teaching. Unfortunately, I don't have a CELTA qualification which is more recognized outside of Korea for ESL teaching than the previous one I had done. I have looked into getting my CELTA. However, the cost is roughly $2,750, so I am not sure if I could pull off the cost at the moment. I am also working at a bowling alley called Strike Bowling Bar. It's got laser tag, bowling, karaoke rooms, arcade games, and two bars. It's pretty fun to work at, but it is a lot of on your feet work. I am proud to say that my bar skills are getting better. So right now, it's kind of working in the job aspect, although there are other options I would prefer. Stuart has taken a different approach. He's been finding work through temp agencies. The work gives him a lot of full time work weeks. But then weeks like this week he has not had any work to do because there are no temp jobs. He's been interviewing for a few things today. The amount of friends we have made in Australia are minimal. It becomes hard to go out and make friends when you have very little money. But we have made a few nice friends. At this point, we are undecided on how much we like Sydney. I think there are good days and there are bad days. It's just a little bit harder settling into something than it was in Korea. It's quite a big change. We're hoping for some luck. I bought a powerball ticket. Hey...maybe I'll win the powerball. ;)
I guess one way to start off is explain were I am and what I have been doing since I last posted about ten months ago. I ended up leaving Korea at the end of February 2011. I continued working for my school until then. But they created so many issues regarding overtime pay and the completion of contract monies. They made me so scared for payday because I wasn't sure whether I would walk into work and have to argue with them about the correct way to pay me based on my contract. On my last day I had a huge explosion on the head teacher. I told her that that school had made me want to leave Korea and think very terribly of the country. I really was miserable. Stuart, my English boyfriend, helped me get through it a lot. I thank him a lot for that.
When we left Korea, we left together. We went home (my home) to America for about a month. It was great to see my family and friends. But it was certainly a hectic and expensive month. When we went there, we celebrated my birthday a month and a half early where my brother and Stuart bought me an ipad. I was so shocked to get the ipad and I didn't know what to do with it at first. To be fair, now Stuart and I use it equally. But it was good to see people. I wasn't able to see everyone i wanted. Next time I come home, I will definitely make an evening where everyone can come see me and give lots of advance warning. It became so hard to meet up with everyone.
After America, we headed off to England. There we stayed with Stuart's family. I met some of his family and friends. They were all pretty good. They were so nice to me and always looking after me. I enjoyed England. For it being April, it was not as rainy as one would expect. It was so green compared to America. There were so many fields. And it's just has a different color green to it. Stuart and I left England for a week to go to Venice, Italy. It was my Christmas present (well, just the hotel was the present). It was great to such a historical city. There was so much walking to do all over the city and there was so much to do. I disliked the fact that they didn't seem to believe in drinking in tap water. But the pizza was amazing! They bring you a whole pizza not sliced up. It was so delicious. Stuart loved the bruschetta over there. After Italy, we went back to England for a bit more.
We headed off to Australia for our new adventure in May. We both have Working holiday visas. How they work is , the visas allow us to live and work anywhere in Australia for a year. The restriction on jobs is that we can only work in the same job for 6 months. After that, we must change jobs. Also, if we work in an agricultural capacity for at least 3 months, then we can extend the visa. So we came here with very little moeny as we hadn't worked in a couple months. And we were desperately looking for jobs. I tried a marketing job, going door to door for a charity for a week. But I decided it was not for me. I decided that anything commission based for a job will probably just stress me out more than pay the bills. So, I was back to job searching. Currently, I found an ESL school that gives me 16 hours a week paid teaching. Unfortunately, I don't have a CELTA qualification which is more recognized outside of Korea for ESL teaching than the previous one I had done. I have looked into getting my CELTA. However, the cost is roughly $2,750, so I am not sure if I could pull off the cost at the moment. I am also working at a bowling alley called Strike Bowling Bar. It's got laser tag, bowling, karaoke rooms, arcade games, and two bars. It's pretty fun to work at, but it is a lot of on your feet work. I am proud to say that my bar skills are getting better. So right now, it's kind of working in the job aspect, although there are other options I would prefer. Stuart has taken a different approach. He's been finding work through temp agencies. The work gives him a lot of full time work weeks. But then weeks like this week he has not had any work to do because there are no temp jobs. He's been interviewing for a few things today. The amount of friends we have made in Australia are minimal. It becomes hard to go out and make friends when you have very little money. But we have made a few nice friends. At this point, we are undecided on how much we like Sydney. I think there are good days and there are bad days. It's just a little bit harder settling into something than it was in Korea. It's quite a big change. We're hoping for some luck. I bought a powerball ticket. Hey...maybe I'll win the powerball. ;)
Sunday, October 17, 2010
To Mr. Parks
For those of you who don't know, Mr Parks was my college band director. But he was more than just a director. he was an inspiration and motivator. He lived his life the best way he could and taught all his students to do the same. In the marching band world, he was a God. On September 16th he died of a heart attack. The band was on a trip to Michigan state for a football game. They had performed at an Ohio high school game and shortly after the heart attack occurred. I was called by Stephanie Chueng in a matter of hours after it happened. Luckily, it was a Friday at work and I had very little classes so I was able to pick up and talk to her for a little while. I thank her so much for that call.
I've been struggling with myself how to feel about this event. I know I am sad, but the best way to celebrate him? memorialize him? In Korea, I've finding it quite hard. No one else knew who he was or what kind of an impact he had. Those around me, especially Stuart, are trying to be helpful. However, no matter what they don't know the full of it and will never know all of it. I miss my band family, my sisters, my color guard. Marching band helped fully shape 8 years of my life. It helped me to grow into a leader. It helped me to stay motivated. Yes, it will still exist without Parks, but he was the biggest influence in my knowledge and love of marching band. he influenced many of those who influenced me in high school. he influenced my mentors, my friends. Personally, I don't know if Parks knew how much of an effect he had on my life. I only hope I can pay it forward to those who I've been teaching and those who I encounter in my life. I will take his influence and continue to do it "My Way."
This weekend was the homecoming where there was a two hour memorial service. I was able to watch online here. http://www.umass.edu/umhome/parkscelebration/
Thank you Allison Norton for the link.
I guess my thoughts for right now are thank you to everyone who has had even a remote impact of my life. Also, I miss you. All of you.
I've been struggling with myself how to feel about this event. I know I am sad, but the best way to celebrate him? memorialize him? In Korea, I've finding it quite hard. No one else knew who he was or what kind of an impact he had. Those around me, especially Stuart, are trying to be helpful. However, no matter what they don't know the full of it and will never know all of it. I miss my band family, my sisters, my color guard. Marching band helped fully shape 8 years of my life. It helped me to grow into a leader. It helped me to stay motivated. Yes, it will still exist without Parks, but he was the biggest influence in my knowledge and love of marching band. he influenced many of those who influenced me in high school. he influenced my mentors, my friends. Personally, I don't know if Parks knew how much of an effect he had on my life. I only hope I can pay it forward to those who I've been teaching and those who I encounter in my life. I will take his influence and continue to do it "My Way."
This weekend was the homecoming where there was a two hour memorial service. I was able to watch online here. http://www.umass.edu/umhome/parkscelebration/
Thank you Allison Norton for the link.
I guess my thoughts for right now are thank you to everyone who has had even a remote impact of my life. Also, I miss you. All of you.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Knees and quick Hong Kong update
So I finally went to see a specialist for knees.. well, i'm not sure exactly what he was..some doctor, but he was recommended by a fellow employer. He looked at my knees. He kept pressing different points of the knee. At one point he pressed a part and it hurt so much I started tearing up in a second. Well, he decided the left knee was worse and decided to only get x-rays of that one. He looked at the x-rays. He diagnosed it with patellar tendonitis or Jumper's knee. I've been reading about it and most of the exercising I do pretty much can be a cause of it. Well, basically he prescribed me acupuncture for the knee, then physiotherapy and then some pills (there's 2 in each bag which I have to take 2 a day for the next 3 days). Unfortunately, he didn't tell me the pills. The guy who did the physiotherapy to me gave me some stretches to do and told me to ice if a I need to. He also told me not to do a bunch of things for about a week and when I do start them again go very slowly. It screws up any workouts I have, but I guess it is better than anything else which could be getting worse down the road. Definitely an interesting time.
Hong Kong was amazing. It was a big little country which was the perfect getaway from Korea for the time-frame I was faced with. I definitely recommend going to Lan Kwai Fong, SoHo, and the Ladies Markets for anyone choosing to go.
Hong Kong was amazing. It was a big little country which was the perfect getaway from Korea for the time-frame I was faced with. I definitely recommend going to Lan Kwai Fong, SoHo, and the Ladies Markets for anyone choosing to go.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
I'm sorry Gym..We're suffering a bit
I've been having some issues with sleep and working out lately. I want to work out, but then again sleep takes over sometimes. it all started around the time my schedule became a bit busier at school. We lost a part time foreigner teacher and instead of hiring a new teacher, they decided to spread his classes around to the rest of us. Well. The schedule is a little rough. Not everyday, but I can feel it taking a toll on me. I want to go home and sleep a lot more. I have less time before the gym just to relax. There has been almost one day a week where I have just fallen asleep and not woke before I make aerobics class. I feel guilty quite often for skipping out, but I almost always realize I must have needed it.
The other issue is I think I was overdoing myself. I was doing aerobics 4 or 5 days a week. running for 3 days and latin dance class one day a week. When I would run.. I would run 10 km ( a little over 6 miles) right after doing aerobics. My knees have been acting up more lately and I just think all of this added to my exhaustion.
So I decided to back down. But the problem is, I'm having trouble backing down. I'm scared of becoming fat. I'm scared of changing my routine. I'm scared of any bad consequences of backing down. But I need to do it. So, I've been working on it slowly. I stopped running so much at one time. I've also started cycling as an alternative. But I still haven't found a perfect workout. I need to find something I can do and something which would enable to change up intensities and also make me feel accomplished after the gym. I'm on the search.
For next week, there will probably be no gym as I will be in Hong Kong. Definitely excited. :)
The other issue is I think I was overdoing myself. I was doing aerobics 4 or 5 days a week. running for 3 days and latin dance class one day a week. When I would run.. I would run 10 km ( a little over 6 miles) right after doing aerobics. My knees have been acting up more lately and I just think all of this added to my exhaustion.
So I decided to back down. But the problem is, I'm having trouble backing down. I'm scared of becoming fat. I'm scared of changing my routine. I'm scared of any bad consequences of backing down. But I need to do it. So, I've been working on it slowly. I stopped running so much at one time. I've also started cycling as an alternative. But I still haven't found a perfect workout. I need to find something I can do and something which would enable to change up intensities and also make me feel accomplished after the gym. I'm on the search.
For next week, there will probably be no gym as I will be in Hong Kong. Definitely excited. :)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Busy busy busy
I haven't written in awhile because life has been a lot more busy. The weather has gotten much nicer and therefore I have spent more time outside. Things are going really well in my life, full of people who care about me. I think I have found a happiness in my life I was missing for a while. But it's back and in full force.
Updates. I passed my TESOL course last week with a 93. I am now officially certified. I have not received the certificate, but expect to soon. This course was definitely worthwhile to me. I am so glad I took it.
In September is Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. This year it is 3 days long. I asked for the Friday off as well. I will know be going to Taiwan in September. I'm excited. I have been feeling a need to visit another place soon.
I know there's more to say, but I'm not quite sure what at this moment. For now, I'm alive and well and happy. Life is wonderful
Updates. I passed my TESOL course last week with a 93. I am now officially certified. I have not received the certificate, but expect to soon. This course was definitely worthwhile to me. I am so glad I took it.
In September is Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. This year it is 3 days long. I asked for the Friday off as well. I will know be going to Taiwan in September. I'm excited. I have been feeling a need to visit another place soon.
I know there's more to say, but I'm not quite sure what at this moment. For now, I'm alive and well and happy. Life is wonderful
Saturday, April 24, 2010
blogging
With my e-reader that I got for Christmas I have been reading a lot. Also, my friend has a website he's trying to work onto to convince people to be motivated to stay informed and discuss issues in society. I asked him to write a guest article. Here goes.
http://www.informedinstigation.com/viewpost.php?p=92
Currently, he doesn't have comments available on the site. The comments instead are on facebook notes. If you have any opinions, please let me know. I'm curious.
http://www.informedinstigation.com/viewpost.php?p=92
Currently, he doesn't have comments available on the site. The comments instead are on facebook notes. If you have any opinions, please let me know. I'm curious.
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