So it is late Tuesday evening - although I guess late would be a relative term. I figure I should contribute when I can for fear that once school starts I will no longer have time to post my random musings. Although this assumes that anyone is reading these postings. Having said that - there seems to be something about just putting it out there.
Today, Zeus my Pekingese/we-dunno, King Charles Spaniel maybe? son that is covered in fur and runs on four legs did something rather intriguing. He found a spider on the ground and began to follow it. He didn't eat it, mind you - just, well - looked at it. When it kept running away he decided that he would continue to snuff at it. Having said that, I now wonder, what happens should the spider (which it wasn't) turn out to be something like a black widow or a brown recluse? What should I do (other then flip out) if he were to be bitten? Do dogs get bitten by spiders? That was a rather odd thought that occurred to me. Which I hope will be answered in my studies and future work as a vet tech. I began reading for one of the classes that I hope to get in to next week, Introduction to Animal Science by Shapiro (who is also the instructor). The first few chapters feel like a review of general biology - what with the discussion of Punnett squares and cells. Reading this chapter also made me realize how little I knew about the cattle and farm aspects of animals. He points out that most urbanites (me included) only interact with animals in a pet-parent relationship or the like. Very true. In a future posting I have some musings about the two sides of the animal rights/welfare/research debate.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tribute - Heath Ledger
Having watched him in A Knight's Tale and Brokeback Mountain, I have to say, I found him to be one of the most budding actors of our time. I am truly sad to see him go and know that he probably would have been one of our generation's great actors. My prayers and thoughts go out to his family, especially his little girl. Early toxicology reports say that he most likely died of sheer exhaustion leading to a heart attack. With so much going for him, it seems unlikely that drugs would be involved. He will be missed greatly by everyone who watched him on screen and I look forward to seeing him in the new Batman film - even if I can't recognize him under all that makeup.
Christopher Nolan's fitting tribute click here
Picture is a screen shot from the movie, Brokeback Mountain.
Welcome to my blog
I believe that my life has - meandered, sometimes without direction and other times with direction - but resulting in the need for a u-turn. Discovering that the best way to exorcise demons (so to speak) is to journalize the experiences and hopefully gain some feedback on them - I have begun this blog at a new juncture in my life.
To tell you a little about myself, I was born in a hospital in Flushing, NY. Initially there were only two children and then when I was nine, my second brother, Paul was born. The first nine years of my life I spent in various parts of New York City, Long Island and New Jersey. Being Korean, my mother did what all good Koreans parents do - and sent my older brother and me to Korean school. I distinctly remember thinking - "why do I have to learn this language? Its not like I'm ever going to need it." Well, six months after I made that comment, my brother and I boarded a plane to Seoul, South Korea and my mother stayed behind to have Paul.
Living in Korea had its ups and downs. I attended foreign schools and Korean schools. I learned Korean and cursive writing in English. I spent approximately 8-9 years in Korea. I graduated from Seoul Foreign High School and my parents decided that I would be best served to attend school in the United States. By this time, I had no experience or particular connection with the US. As such, I resisted the idea and truly wanted to attend a college in Korea. Looking back, I am glad that I made it back to the US after all. So, despite the fact that I am a US citizen, according to the people at FAFSA, I am out of state no matter where I go (no residence in the US) which resulted in me looking for a small school.
Small, Christian and in the middle of nowhere - that was my criterion. And that is how I ended up at Freed-Hardeman University. College turned out to be one of the best years of my life. I attended classes, went on missionary trips, made some life-long friends and even dated a few people. I graduated with Honors as a World Cultures major and Spanish & Missions minors. This basically meant - "So Sonia, what grad school are you going to?" It turned out to be one of those majors that one loves to have, but has practically no market value. They even took it off the official majors roster in my last year.
Everyone (meaning mentors and parents) thought it would be a great idea if I got in to law school. So, my mother, who had moved to California by this time, helped me move in with her and my brothers (my father remained in Korea) and I prepared for the LSAT. I made a decent score and applied to various school in California. Pepperdine and Loyola accepted me. I initially decided on Pepperdine but I had to wait something like 8 months to begin. In the meantime, I started a job at OfficeMax, working as a CopyMax associate.
During this period I dated a man much older then me and I at one point, thought we would be married. We met while I served as a missionary assistant in Korea during the summer after my first year of college. He was in the military and I was... well young. Anyway, suffice it to say, our relationship did not work out and instead he gave me the bright idea that I would do great in the military. By this point, I realized I truly did not want to go to law school. So I decided this would be a better deal.
I signed up with the California National Guard as a 97B. I figured I could do my part for God and country. During my training I busted an ankle and they decided that I was unfit for duty and discharged me. I have some good and bad memories of my military experience. However, the best thing that has ever happened to me happened while I was in - I met my husband, Gabe, in my unit. We met, dated for 5 years and then married earlier last year.
In the meantime, I decided to go back to law school. But this time, I chose Loyola Law School instead. I hated it. To be fair - I loved learning about the law and find ways to apply it often. However, with Gabe in Iraq at the time and realizing that I did not (nor ever wanted) to be an attorney, I had a miserable time in law school. The best part became my part-time job in the library. This helped me decide that I probably wanted to be a librarian. So, in my final year of law school, I took one class per semester at San Jose State University's library program. It seemed the logical way to incorporate my law school education and my love of reading.
But in another turn of events, I discovered that I found library work - monotonous. I accepted a job with my school's library after I graduated from law school. Perhaps due to the lack of cohesion with my co-workers or maybe due to the difficulty of maintaining an interest in things that began to bore me, I became very unhappy and depressed. Don't get me wrong, I got along very well with most of the staff. There were just a few persons who seemed to find ways to make my life difficult. Anyway, becoming very dissatisfied, this past Christmas, Gabe and I sat down and thought long and hard about what else I could be doing to have a more nourishing career...
Recently, about a year ago this month, we came upon a puppy (which I will have to post another time) and decided to keep him. We named him Zeus, and he is our baby. Having him reminded me that I loved pets very much. So, that is how we came upon the decision that I would probably be happier (and have a more interesting day) working as a veterinary technician. Thus, my meanderings this far have led me to this point. I begin the RVT program at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills, a week from today. My goal is to finish all pre-requisites for the program between now and the summer. Then, hopefully I will accepted into the program proper and be able to begin that in the fall. If all works out well, I will be done with the program in the Spring or Summer of 2009. At which point, I hope to begin a career in a mid-large animal hospital.
Hopefully, my posts will not always be this long. Just updates and perhaps stories that I do not mind sharing with the world. If you have any comments, questions or concerns - please feel free to post them. As you can see, it has taken me a long time to get to where I am - but hopefully that means that I will have a surer footing for the future.
To tell you a little about myself, I was born in a hospital in Flushing, NY. Initially there were only two children and then when I was nine, my second brother, Paul was born. The first nine years of my life I spent in various parts of New York City, Long Island and New Jersey. Being Korean, my mother did what all good Koreans parents do - and sent my older brother and me to Korean school. I distinctly remember thinking - "why do I have to learn this language? Its not like I'm ever going to need it." Well, six months after I made that comment, my brother and I boarded a plane to Seoul, South Korea and my mother stayed behind to have Paul.
Living in Korea had its ups and downs. I attended foreign schools and Korean schools. I learned Korean and cursive writing in English. I spent approximately 8-9 years in Korea. I graduated from Seoul Foreign High School and my parents decided that I would be best served to attend school in the United States. By this time, I had no experience or particular connection with the US. As such, I resisted the idea and truly wanted to attend a college in Korea. Looking back, I am glad that I made it back to the US after all. So, despite the fact that I am a US citizen, according to the people at FAFSA, I am out of state no matter where I go (no residence in the US) which resulted in me looking for a small school.
Small, Christian and in the middle of nowhere - that was my criterion. And that is how I ended up at Freed-Hardeman University. College turned out to be one of the best years of my life. I attended classes, went on missionary trips, made some life-long friends and even dated a few people. I graduated with Honors as a World Cultures major and Spanish & Missions minors. This basically meant - "So Sonia, what grad school are you going to?" It turned out to be one of those majors that one loves to have, but has practically no market value. They even took it off the official majors roster in my last year.
Everyone (meaning mentors and parents) thought it would be a great idea if I got in to law school. So, my mother, who had moved to California by this time, helped me move in with her and my brothers (my father remained in Korea) and I prepared for the LSAT. I made a decent score and applied to various school in California. Pepperdine and Loyola accepted me. I initially decided on Pepperdine but I had to wait something like 8 months to begin. In the meantime, I started a job at OfficeMax, working as a CopyMax associate.
During this period I dated a man much older then me and I at one point, thought we would be married. We met while I served as a missionary assistant in Korea during the summer after my first year of college. He was in the military and I was... well young. Anyway, suffice it to say, our relationship did not work out and instead he gave me the bright idea that I would do great in the military. By this point, I realized I truly did not want to go to law school. So I decided this would be a better deal.
I signed up with the California National Guard as a 97B. I figured I could do my part for God and country. During my training I busted an ankle and they decided that I was unfit for duty and discharged me. I have some good and bad memories of my military experience. However, the best thing that has ever happened to me happened while I was in - I met my husband, Gabe, in my unit. We met, dated for 5 years and then married earlier last year.
In the meantime, I decided to go back to law school. But this time, I chose Loyola Law School instead. I hated it. To be fair - I loved learning about the law and find ways to apply it often. However, with Gabe in Iraq at the time and realizing that I did not (nor ever wanted) to be an attorney, I had a miserable time in law school. The best part became my part-time job in the library. This helped me decide that I probably wanted to be a librarian. So, in my final year of law school, I took one class per semester at San Jose State University's library program. It seemed the logical way to incorporate my law school education and my love of reading.
But in another turn of events, I discovered that I found library work - monotonous. I accepted a job with my school's library after I graduated from law school. Perhaps due to the lack of cohesion with my co-workers or maybe due to the difficulty of maintaining an interest in things that began to bore me, I became very unhappy and depressed. Don't get me wrong, I got along very well with most of the staff. There were just a few persons who seemed to find ways to make my life difficult. Anyway, becoming very dissatisfied, this past Christmas, Gabe and I sat down and thought long and hard about what else I could be doing to have a more nourishing career...
Recently, about a year ago this month, we came upon a puppy (which I will have to post another time) and decided to keep him. We named him Zeus, and he is our baby. Having him reminded me that I loved pets very much. So, that is how we came upon the decision that I would probably be happier (and have a more interesting day) working as a veterinary technician. Thus, my meanderings this far have led me to this point. I begin the RVT program at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills, a week from today. My goal is to finish all pre-requisites for the program between now and the summer. Then, hopefully I will accepted into the program proper and be able to begin that in the fall. If all works out well, I will be done with the program in the Spring or Summer of 2009. At which point, I hope to begin a career in a mid-large animal hospital.
Hopefully, my posts will not always be this long. Just updates and perhaps stories that I do not mind sharing with the world. If you have any comments, questions or concerns - please feel free to post them. As you can see, it has taken me a long time to get to where I am - but hopefully that means that I will have a surer footing for the future.
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