Places | Surviving Jonas

After a full week of hype, Winter Storm Jonas hit the DC area this past weekend. We ended up getting a bit over 2 feet, and the entire region shut down for about four days. So this week's "place" is my own house :)

Following a very emotional few days dealing with a loss in the family, it was perfect timing to hunker down and spend a few days Netflix-binging and snuggling with CJ and two adorable doggies.

1.24 | Just Life

As I start to try to shape what I want this space to look like and what I want to write about, I settled on having a weekly recap with a dump of pictures and short musings. I'm thinking this will serve as a time capsule to look back on, and hopefully not too self indulgent.

This week was definitely an emotional one and although I experienced loss and sadness,there was plenty to be thankful for too. Like lots of snuggles, doggie kisses, and Netflix-binging.

Back to last weekend - CJ and I finally took the time to explore parts of Baltimore we haven't visited yet.

We went to the Baltimore Museum of Art - which was much larger and more interesting than I imagined. There was recreated rooms from old Maryland homes, an Andy Warhol exhibit, and a really cool collection called "Imagining Home".

This Blogging Thing

I've always been a pretty low-achiever when it comes to this blog. Or maybe more like someone with lofty goals who just doesn't want to put in the work. I spend way too much time reading blogs, but haven't really gone after making this space of mine something I'm proud of or worked to build it.

My main intention of starting this site was to chronicle my trips - mostly for myself, but also for a few of my family members (Hi Grandma!). To be able to look back in a year or two and remember all of the little things about each one.

In doing that, I've realized that even though trips are awesome, there are millions of little things in between each one that actually end up being the big things. Like studying at coffee shops, eating gyros in the park, and binging on Netflix with CJ and the pup.

Unfortunately, I don't get to travel all of the time (some day!), but do care a lot about a few other things that I'd like to write about: running, cooking, reading, and working through my MPH program.

Long story short, I want to make an effort to make this blog a priority. Not just another item on my insanely overambitious Type A to-do list, but something I actually enjoy. My goal is to post regularly and making an effort to:

• Enjoy the everyday moments between big trips
• Interact with other bloggers I "stalk" and learn from them
• Take time to make writing/journaling/listmaking, which I do constantly anyways, an actual hobby and stress reliever
• Hold myself accountable to take chances and do big things

Main Street USA Tour: Evansvlle, IN

Not sure where it came from, but I have a slight obsession with what I classify as  "Small Town America". I like walking through main streets that are slightly past their hey-day and imagining what they used to be like, and I love exploring all of the new stores and restaurants that have taken the place of businesses past. I have dreams of doing a "Main Street USA" road trip one day - this Travel & Leisure article showcases some great ones. Maybe with some bribery I could convince CJ or a sibling to come with...

 

Anyways - I'm not sure if it can be considered a small town, but  I've been traveling to Evansville, IN for work about every six weeks for the past year and have grown pretty affectionate towards it. This week was my last trip there for the foreseeable future, so I took some time to document my favorite parts of the city.

What I Learned from Korea

My trip to Korea was my first time in Northeast Asia. Even though we were only there for two weeks, I got to step out of my comfort zone and learned a lot from my short time there. Here are my top 15 lessons learned:

1. When you don't have a clue what you're doing, following the crowd is a great strategy.
Between my Lonely Planet guidebook and the wonders of Google and Trip Advisor, we generally had a good idea of where we wanted to go and how to get there. After that - the details of what to see at any given attraction or significance it were usually unknown. Not wanting to miss out on anything, Kim and I adopted the strategy of just following whatever the crowd seemed to be interested in.

Not sure where to go out at night? Just follow groups of well-dressed young people getting off the subway.

See a bunch of people taking pictures of someone in a restaurant? Take his picture too - he's probably important. (It was Noh Hong-Chul, if you were wondering)

Want to go to a sunrise festival on New Year's Day but don't know where the best view point is? Just walk with the largest crowd of people - you'll end up somewhere good.

Days 10 and 11: New Years in Seoul!

We arrived in Seoul early afternoon to spend our last full day in Korea with Ryan, but I quickly found out that my international cell phone plan was no longer working. Luckily, there is free WiFi almost everywhere in the city, so we were able to park at a coffee shop to get in touch with Ryan. After a few failed attempts, we finally found each other and grabbed some chicken, rice and egg for lunch.

We checked into our hotel near Namdemun market, a huge outdoor and indoor market selling everything from souvenirs, to clothes, to groceries, to fresh street food. It was a little overwhelming, but we managed to do some browsing and souvenir shopping.