the straight dope.

very exciting news...at least for me it is :)

2007-05-02T00:54:00.000-05:00

hello my wonderful blog readers,

as mentioned in the previous post, ellelmarry.blogspot.com will be moving to ellenelmarry.com. that's right, i have my own website - i feel so powerful!

currently, the blog is pretty plain jane but soon enough it'll be rivaling the popularity of myspace.

get it bookmarked now and check back often. see you at ellenelmarry.com :)

blog update/sabbath post

2007-04-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

i'm very happy to share that some new blogging goodness is brewing. it started with the need to change from what i think was quite a wintery look to something more springy. if you use blogger then you already know there are like five different blog templates (six if you count blue WITH dots). how frustrating! in my quest across the world wide web to find something new i came across a blogging treasure: WordPress! it looked like gold but i had no idea what to do with it.

that's when i called my mac genius. while multitasking with 15 other projects before leaving on a business trip, he first verbally abused me for not taking his advice earlier and then assured me that WordPress was the way to go. soooo, after a few sweet hookups and some elbow grease, i hope to have something new running within the next couple of weeks! in the words of borat, "Wow Wow Wee Waa!".

----

sabbath post:

on occasion i give the 'ole adventist news network a glance to see what's happening amongst my peeps. reading through the article on Paulsen's chat with Let's Talk PUC, i found a great, great quote on our involvement in the community:

Specifically referring to the worry that community engagement may somehow compromise a person's Adventist values, Paulsen said, "You know who you are, you know who you worship, you know where you belong and what your values are. So allow yourself to be drawn--with a sense of security and strength--into the lives of others."

when coming back to korea minus the SDA, i worried about my personal faith without a religious group to support me. i also thought about what my impact would be without the "mission" that i was doing through teaching at those schools.

personally, i'm feeling great right now. attending church at the school i used to teach at. volunteering sabbath afternoons to help youngsters get involved in learning in a christian environment. doing my best to have daily worship. its all so nice and fuzzy.

now in terms of reaching out, i'm praying about that. i hope that where i'm involved with coworkers and students, i can show a real Christ-like attitude in our everyday work. believe me, this isn't easy with 13 5-6 year olds screaming their heads off in a different language. so i pray :)

but i like paulsen's idea that we shouldn't be afraid to reach out and join in with people that aren't christian or adventist. its not 'us vs. them'. sometimes mission can be as easy as the "salt theory":

Matthew 5:13 - You are the salt of the earth.

new look

2007-04-25T08:50:00.000-05:00

i need a new look for my blog. i think that'll inspire me to post more... anyone have good links for templates?

poeTRY to be cultured

2007-04-16T04:08:00.000-05:00

today NPR featured a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks.

the eye catching tag line reads :

"Gwendolyn Brooks Captures Chicago 'Cool'"

can you guess why i read it :)

after a little link searching i found a clip of her reading. it sounds so incredibly 'chicago cool'.

interested? check it oot.

quote of interest

2007-04-15T22:50:00.001-05:00

We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while.
How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about
something real? - Ray Bradbury

oh boy...

2007-04-15T08:27:00.000-05:00

a great reason to snap pictures: a super special visit from my friend rachel.

check out my flickr to see all kinds of self-humilating goodness :)

happy birthday pawel!!

2007-03-24T06:53:00.000-05:00

happy birthday!

to the coolest guy to have ever immigrated :)

ellen lives on!

2007-03-21T22:58:00.000-05:00

well, it took a little nudging:

"dude where the hell are you?...no calls, no updates on the blogspot...what
in
the hell is going on???... "
-comment left by my brother on myspace

but i'm finally sneaking a minute on the internet to post. i started off in korea by ganking wireless service from a neighbor. god bless "tortoise" wireless. unfortunately that signal has died off and i'm forced to pay about 40 g's for internet.

but its worth it, right? right? gah, i hate spending money.

in a quick minute before i get back to teaching, i'll fill you in on what's gone down in the past couple of weeks:

way cool soccer game
a lot of jet lag
catching up with homies (yeah dayleen & jamie!)
setting up my apartment, aka room
getting used to the kindy kids

i've got some pictures i need to upload as soon as my internet gets set up. be patient youngs ones, i shall return!

i love and miss you alllllllll. give me a ring sometime: +011 82 10 3184 1545

birthday pics

2007-02-20T23:55:00.000-05:00

Check out the pictures from my birthday party this past weekend. It as awesome to have friends and family celebrating a very special common theme...ME! :)

BIRTHDAY PICS

All pics were taken by the super talented Vaughan Nelson. Sneek a peak at his other awesome stuff while you're there.

birthday, there's something i have to tell you...

2007-02-15T00:11:00.000-05:00

dear birthday,

technically you are only 24 hours away - woot! woot!

but i kind of accidentally/surprisingly celebrated you today. it went down like this:

andriy: lets get coffee after work.
me: sure, ok.

me(post coffee): can we get something to eat?
andriy: no.
me(suspicious)

*walk into the nelson's. found nunz coming in after us*

nadine, justin, shanna, vaughan: surprise!
me: this is awesome

*soon to follow: a bunch of really cool people and nadine's amazing haystacks *

so you see birthday, it's not MY fault i celebrated early. but i'm not gonna lie it was really, really cool [and somewhat inappropriate due to risque scenes in 'love actually']. and i already jumped the gun on my birthday list; flickr renewal and some itunes love already in hand!!!

now its late and there's an 85% chance i have to work tomorrow so i'm going to try an calm all the serotonin and gets ta sleepin'.

letter to birthday

2007-02-10T14:06:00.000-05:00

dear birthday,

you are less than six days away. i'm excited! i haven't really thought about you that much. i mean, come on...i used to prepare for you about a good month in advance.

the truth is, i still care about you just in kind of a different way. for example, we're not 21 anymore so the idea of legally getting into a dance club, which by the way really didn't hold up to our ideals, is a thing of the past.

i guess this year i'm more excited about us spending the time with family and friends...perhaps this is just my current flu state talking, but i really think that the idea of getting all dressed up just to go out and attempt to avoid creepos is tiring. i'm more excited about the possibility of stuffed spinach pizza from giordano's while listening to my dad gripe about how expensive it is and why couldn't we just heat up frozen pizzas that were 2 for $5 at jewel. then there's the cake which has always said 'happy birthday elenka' since i can remember. although this year it might say 'happy birthday sonia' thanks to my dad's moment of genius and realizing that its easier to call me sonia than ellen since my mom's name is helen.i'm sure we all look forward to laughs from my mom's inappropriate jokes and i'm sure we're going to see her belly at some point (still think i'll be grossed out by it.)

but you know what birthday? i'm really hoping for those good times. know what else i'm wishing for? a pro account renewal for my flickr photo site, an arm band for my 30GB ipod, itunes gift cards are always well appreciated, target gift cards are always da best.

so with the flu taking its course i hope that in the next six days i'm as fresh as richard simmons at the beginning of fat camp. see you soon!

love,
ellen/sonia

flu?

2007-02-07T11:27:00.000-05:00

i think i might have caught the flu?? i don't know even know what the flu is... i'm looking it up as we speak...

Influenza

Symptoms

The symptoms of influenza (flu) appear suddenly and often include:

* Fever of 100 °F(37.8 °C) to 104 °F(40 °C), which can reach 106 °F(41 °C) when symptoms first develop. Fever is usually continuous, but it may come and go. Fever may be lower in older adults than in children and younger adults.
* Shaking chills.
* Body aches and muscle pain (often severe), commonly in the back, arms, or legs.
* Headache.
* Pain when you move your eyes.
* Fatigue, a general feeling of sickness (malaise), and loss of appetite.
* A dry cough, runny nose, and a dry or sore throat. You may not notice these during the first few days of the illness when other symptoms are more severe. As your fever goes away, these symptoms may become more evident.

When fever is high, other symptoms usually are more severe.

that sounds on point. sleep last night was scarce and when i was drifiting in and out i was super achey and had big time chills.

what to do now...

go veg!

2007-01-28T22:08:00.000-05:00

i believe anything that wu-tang clan preaches:

babysitting

2007-01-26T11:45:00.000-05:00

while my nephew watches some baby einstein, i thought i'd jump to my happy place, the internet.

here's some goodies for today:

Word of the Day for Wednesday, January 10, 2007

coxcomb \KOKS-kohm\, noun:

1. obsolete. A cap worn by court jesters; adorned with a strip of red. (Now cockscomb).
2. archaic. The top of the head, or the head itself.
3. Obsolete. A fool.
4. A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a dandy; a fop.

i wondered why i didn't hear from dr. dictionary on 1/10. COXCOMB...totally blocked from my inbox. number 4. is a great description for a few guys i knew in college...

a neato animated video of radiohead's creep

http://www.lowmorale.co.uk/creep/flash/lm_creep_(FLASH).swf
courtesy of nunz

uh-oh! dominic's video is duuuune.

DA BEARS!!

2007-01-21T18:39:00.000-05:00

the bears are totally going to the super bowl!!!

Runnin' the ball is like makin' romance

today...

2007-01-07T09:50:00.000-05:00

...was a nice little day. it started off by spending some QT with a couple of my bestest friends. we ate some homemade tortillas and then walked over for coffee in the ever increasingly trendy, yet still keeping it real, humboldt park area of chicago. on the way out of the coffee shop i picked up a copy of the most amusing city papers, the reader (which lead to a later adventure).

ending the time with buds i made my way over to the south side to check out my brothers new dodge charger a.k.a. i keep it real and classy at the same time. the windows were tinted and the ride was smooth. its about time this guy got a new ride. otherwise i was going to have to call Xzibit...

i got back home aroundddd 2 and immediately started a gazillion hour clean fest. laundry, dusting, vacuuming, organizing, and unpacking my weekend bag a.k.a a laundry basket. i think i secretly like cleaning but i would never admit that to my mother. the best part about cleaning is that i always reward myself afterwards with some chill time. the activity of choice today was to sift through my newly acquired 'reader' and clip some things i'd like to try out. curious what i chose?

Podhalanka Polska Restauracja - can't get enough polish cookin'!
Tribute to Trane at the Velvet Lounge this week
The Handlebar Restaurant (2311 W. North) - a place i've never tried but has good reviews
Adler Planetarium - in an attempt to become better acquainted with Chicago's south
Brew & View showing of 'Little Miss Sunshine' - i've already seen it but it never hurts to kick back and enjoy the flick and hilarious commentary from the kids who enjoy a good laugh.
Bongo Room (1470 N. Milwaukee) - an old favorite for brunch
jetblue.com - who knows? with such low rates maybe a u.s. trip is in my future...
Beginning Polish - i'd love to formally learn the language
Whole Foods Market presents A free nutrition workshop - Nunz and I decided I should launch the "Ellen G. Weight Training Program" (myspace account possibly in the making). if i'm supposed to guide the lost/slightly overweight sheep, i've got to know my stuff.

hmmm, if i would've cut one more clipping i could've had a top ten... maybe next week.

no words

2006-12-26T02:06:00.000-05:00

internet: the end

2006-12-16T03:29:00.000-05:00

i have just run out of sites to look at. well, not entirely. i've gone through every site i have bookmarked. there is nothing else of value on the internet besides my friends blogs and myspace (and maybe some you tube every now and then). that means its time to give some straight dope:

today is my sabbath and i've decided to tap into 'patriarchs and prophets.' this book is a primarily sda read supplement to the bible. do other religions read e.g.w.? well anyways, i've never read it but its highly recommended by my roommate to enrich my sabbath school lesson study.

as i'm typing this i laugh at myself because whenever i don't know something about the bible i just tell people "i was raised catholic" and they're like "oh, ok." but i've been studying a lot for the past three months and now its time to tap into the additional resources. i'm guessing it'll make things a little bit more interesting and a lot more understandable.

no theme

2006-12-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

"hey my friend, it seems your eyes are troubled... care to share?"

i have many things to say but i'm too tired to organize my thoughts. so here we goooooo:

main thing: i'm coming home on the 22nd. mainer thing: i'm not planning to return to Korea (at least not right away). this was a really difficult, but at the same time not, decision. you see, the thing is i prayed A LOT about it. so i was a little sad to accept the choice God showed me but at the same time i wasn't. i have faith... i want my faith to be stronger and the only way i can do that is by walking through the doors that God opens for me. so far, i think only my family and maybe a couple people that i've recently chatted with are in the know about this one... but soon this little traveling friend will pay a visit to all!
i'm thinking about creating a picture diary of my last week here. i know some photo documentary was asked for by jael about six months ago when i arrived, but now it is time :)
i think somebody has been eating my peanut butter m&m's...mind you it was imported from america! they've been in the freezer and when i pulled them out for some blogging/m&m love, the bag seemed suspiciously lighter.
falling asleep is hard because i'm so excited to come home...
God calls some people to mission work to create change. others he calls to change. i think i fall into the latter category. i sincerely hope that everyone can see the difference.
something to confirm that my maturity level here hasn't changed: koreans use terms like "s-line" and "t-panty". use your imagination...
i'm going to see my best friends and we will spend new years together!
i'll be leaving one really great person in korea but God only knows what will happen with this one...

i think that's enough pieces of mind pie for one night. time to catch some of the last few korean zzzzz's...

hongie kongie

2006-12-03T02:55:00.000-05:00

today i find myself sitting in an apartment overlooking the green hills of hong kong (technically tai po, a suburb of hong kong). the sounds of trains and children underneath my 5th floor balcony are both disturbing and comforting at the same time.

sleep is never easy with sneakers squealing on multiple outdoor basketball courts. who knows, the next xiao ming could come from these very games...but i want to sleep. then there's the sound of trains passing as though i'm sitting in a cafe next to an 'el' stop (that's some chicago terminology for ya).

and while i'm sitting here in an unfamiliar chair, typing on an unfamiliar computer, drinking coffee from an unfamiliar mug (dont' worry, i washed it) i think to myself 'why am i here?'. why am i here in hong kong instead of being at 'home'? why have i been away from comfort for five months? living in lands where i can't communicate, eating foods i can't recognize, and smelling odors i can't distinguish (although now i'm getting very good at picking up on the scent of kim chi). why am i here and when should i go home? the answer came to me last night.

one of the teachers from the adventist school where i'm visiting took me for dinner after a long day of traveling. she asked me if i prefered japanese or chinese... since we all know how much i love chinese (especially after the barfing incident of last month) i quickly answered japanese. we then proceeded to a small restaurarnt where our choices consisted of noodles and sushi. and let me tell you, the sushi was amazing - the best i had ever had!

it was just your basic ball of rice topped with a slice of salmon but the fish was seriously fresh and you could tell how good the quality was just by looking at it. later we stopped by the supermarket to pick up some things for breakfast and again, i saw some salmon on the ice displays that looked amazing. and it was at that point that i realized i had found the best salmon in the world. i mean, i've had salmon sushi in chicago, san diego, japan, and korea and none of the can compete with the catch from hong kong.

so going back to why i enjoy being abroad, i think its because of the salmon. ok, not really... but i think it has something to do with the adventure of finding the best. i mean, hands down best. when by experience, you can compare a single good from five different cities around the world and know where to find the best. and you know what? my discovery will not do a single good for humanity. for example, if i tell andriy, 'hey dude, the best sushi is in hong kong!' he'll probably be like 'right, like i'm going to ching chong chow to eat sushi.' but the point is that i know, I know. and someday there will be someone else that knows it too and then we can talk about how good it was and the memories from those kinds of trips. and the sheer enjoyment of new advenutres and the idea of someday sharing them, that's the reason why i do this. that's the reason i drink out of unfamiliar mugs.

p.s. see future post to the answer of when i'll be going back :)
p.p.s. hey jael, let's see you top that!

she gym farts and she's not afraid to blog about it

2006-11-21T02:05:00.000-05:00

this girl is my hero... NegraFlaca

how to save a wet cell phone

2006-11-15T07:13:00.000-05:00

its about time...

2006-11-14T08:08:00.000-05:00

here's the long anticipated china post:

CHINA SUCKS!

top ten reasons why china eats turds:
10. thanks to all the factories there was a regular waft of pungent smells.
9. EVERYONE in china is ugly
8. the commie bastards of their government make for really crappy living situations for most of the country (except for like the 5% that are wealthy)
7. the tour guide made us go to a few really lame places like the jade factory, pear. factory, and silk factory. its a part of every tour itinerary per commie government regulations.
6. our four star hotel room had doo-doo stains on the carpet
5. city beef (pronounced with a chinese accent is exactly what it tastes like)
4. thanks to horrible food, i didn't eat for 3 out of the 4 days we were there (maybe that's a good thing... it was kinda like fat camp)
3. i honestly wondered if the things i emailed from china were getting read by 'the man'. i know that's all conspiracy theoryish but you never know...
2. there was a freakin' starbucks in one of the ancient temples!
1. the food is so oily that i ended up barfing on tiananmen square

there you have it friends... honestly if i had to do it over again i'd head straight to the great wall, snap some picks while flashing the ever so popular peace sign, and gets to steppin' out of that country. check out my flickr for some shots.

stickers 4 da world

2006-11-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

i just gave my 63 year old student a pink metallic star sticker...

what? he did a great job!! he was really happy about it, too...

*still planning to post on china but this totally had to interrupt the regular scheduled program*

purty

2006-11-07T09:39:00.000-05:00

60 minutes of toiling over html and a new blog look has been created!

now i can blog about china. i mean, come on, i couldn't post with the old look. i just couldn't...

here's a teaser: