melinda merola

Pre-departure visit to the ADC Travel Clinic. So many punctures! Warning about MONKEY BITES in Thailand…

Visiting with the doggies at Mom’s in Houston. Try not to mind my silly voice when I talk to Diesel.

My sister came to visit last weekend for her birthday. I got her a new backpack (and one for myself) for travel purposes. Showing her my new camera and goofing around in my apartment.

Sometimes I realize I’m about to be a teacher. My inspiration:

Fourth of July just ended. I can’t sleep. There are still fireworks blowing up in my head.

When I got back to my Mom’s tonight I had an email with my flight confirmation. Looks like I leave August 7th. Early early early in the morning. Singapore Airlines. I think they had a beautiful ad once that I noticed in a magazine.

I wondered earlier this year how people decide to stay in a city. I mean long term…for more than a year or so. I thought about myself. I stayed in Austin four years because of school. Then I stayed here because I got a job. It was supposed to be temporary. I sort of intended to move since 2008 but I just now got around to making it happen. I’ve been here six years total. Too long. And it’s not about disliking Austin. I think Austin is a great town. How do you know when it’s time to move on?

I couldn’t understand how it didn’t get old. The same restaurants, bars, stores, same people, same incestuous social circles, same roads every day, same events each year, same job, same place to live. It’s obviously my thinking that proves to me that Austin was not fitting right anymore. There must be a place somewhere that doesn’t get old. I realized though, it’s not all about the place anyway. It’s about what you’re doing in the place and who’s there with you. When you’re not doing what stimulates you and you don’t feel strong attachments to the people around you, the place can’t feel like home. Is this right? It starts to feel like going through the motions. I shouldn’t be going through the motions at age 24. That’s just not acceptable.

Granted, I’ve been able to do such interesting stuff the past year-ish. Probably in some effort to distract myself. Lots of mini-travels. Shows. Walks. Dinners. Guests. Tents in the living room. Minor league baseball games. Caving. Swimming.

It’s wanderlust. Escapism.

One day I’d like to feel settled. But I can’t imagine it now.

I have been issued a visa! This is my freaky pre-interview self from two hours ago…

Maybe this is off topic, but I just want to show off my SASSY sister. Her friend took this photo and I stole it off Facebook. I think she looks gorgeous. Such beautiful eyes! I’m proud we share the same genes. : )

Since I’m almost done with the job and visa acquisition process I thought I’d go over what it’s like in a little more detail. Parts of it were confusing. I had SO many questions along the way.

Interview with recruiter – There are tons of them out there. I started working with Korea Connections back in March at the recommendation of someone I knew. Usually recruiters would like you to fill out a brief application on their web site and do a phone or Skype interview. I think it’s mostly to make sure you’re not insane. And to see what your preferences are for the job…where you’d like to work, what age group, public/private, etc.

Recruiter sends you job opportunities – I started looking for a job pretty early. Even so, I began to receive viable job opportunities about a month after first speaking with a recruiter. You tell them which jobs you want to apply for and they set up an interview with the school. I’d typically do as much research as I could about the school before setting up an interview. I found blogs of teachers who had worked at both of the schools I considered accepting a position at. Quite helpful.

Start paperwork preparations – The recruiter normally asks you to start doing this right away. It can take some time to gather paperwork for the first round of documents you have to send to South Korea for an E-2 visa. Specifically the criminal record check, transcripts, diploma and passport. More about this later.

Interview with a school - I’ll just discuss the interview I did with the school I am going to work at. The recruiter set it up for me in the evening. A representative from Alphabet Street (school  I will work for) called me. There was a slight language barrier in addition to my phone’s crappy reception, which made it a little hard to completely understand everything. The interview was very much “question” / “answer” which made me nervous. I tried to be more conversational, but I felt like some of my remarks were lost in translation. They will typically ask you why you want to live in Korea, why you want the job, what teaching experience you have, what you do in your free time, if you have any questions. Ask questions! I didn’t says I had any and it made me look bad. I didn’t feel very confident when I got off the phone. I really wanted the job! It took a couple of weeks before I found out I was being offered the position. This was at the exact same time I was reviewing an offer for a different position at another school. Which brings me to the next step…

Get a contract – Once a school decides to hire you the first thing they should send is a contract. I felt pressure to give verbal acceptance quickly, but it’s worth taking your time to make sure the contract is sound. Overall, I looked for anything that was either missing, too vague or not fair. Though, it’s hard to know what could be wrong. I looked at one site that was helpful in laying out the contract and what to look for.

Send documents to Korea for visa processing – At this point, CONGRATS, you have a job! Obviously you must have a work contract to get a visa, specifically an E-2 work visa for teaching. These are the things you typically have to include in the package you send to Korea:
-signed contract Read it carefully!
-criminal record check (CRC) Here in Texas it only took 24 hours to get it (longer if you need it mailed). I’m pretty sure it’s just for the state and it costs about $25, plus make sure it’s notarized. I went to the DPS office at Airport and Denson here in Austin. The catch is that you still have to take it to the Secretary of State, also located in Austin, where they must apostille it. It seems like a fancy notarization. I think it costs $15-20 and they can do it right there while you wait. You can also do this by mail but it takes longer. Whatever you do, don’t remove the staple that attaches the apostille to the CRC. Apparently your documents can get rejected if you tear them apart. Mind were detatched, but I suppose I got lucky. I knew other people that paid $90-something for an FBI background check that can takes months for them to send you. I don’t think this is necessary for most jobs.
-4 passport photos I just paid Walgreens to do it. Cost about $18.
-passport copy Duh.
-transcripts It may take a week or two to have them sent to you. Korea is particular about having them sealed/signed/official. Costs about $10/transcript.
-health form Form you fill out saying you’re healthy and not on drugs.
-diploma Some schools will ask for an original diploma. Other will allow you to send a copy. However, sending a copy means getting it notarized and  aspostilled. My school really encouraged me to send my original, so I did. I didn’t prefer this but I figured out it’s only $10 to replace it from my university. They’re supposed to return it once I get to Korea. I think you’re supposed to keep it with you there because they can ask you to produce it at any point.

So how much did it cost to express Fed-Ex all of this over to Seoul? SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS. Blarrrhhhgggghh. Felt like a chump, but it’s all for the bigger cause.

Receive visa confirmation number from Korea – Usually takes 2-3 weeks for the government to process your documents in Korea. They send your Korean contact (school/recruiter) a visa confirmation number that basically “okays” your paperwork on the Korean end. You need this number to complete your paperwork on the USA end.

Send documents to US Consulate for visa processing – Another package of paperwork to send off to the nearest consulate. Typically includes:
-passport I was so scared to send it in the mail.
-visa application with visa confirmation number and passport photo I definitely had questions about the application. I did some Googling and checked with my recruiter for answers.
-consul’s checklist Asks for basic school, medical, criminal, employment information.
-transcript
-$45 application fee Sent in a money order.

This time around I mailed my documents USPS overnight mail. It cost about $18. They give you a tracking number which made me feel much better about it.

Interview at US Consulate for approval - My documents were received by the consulate on a Friday and they called me on Monday afternoon to tell me my interview time. I thought I could get it changed for convenience purposes (because I still have a full-time job), but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The woman told me I could come THAT DAY or two days later. Then hung up. I feel bad for anyone who lives far away from their consulate. I hear they’ll allow Skype interviews sometimes. This is where I am now. I might do a pre/post visa interview video blog tomorrow.  My recruiter says they just check to see if you are physically and mentally okay to be a teacher. Since the schools are unable to interview you in person they rely on the consulate to some degree to make sure you’re okay. Then…

Receive visa - I think they mail it to you a few days later or you go pick it up in person.

Receive airline tickets!

As a result of my recent interest in Asian culture, I decided to watch Spirited Away with a friend last week. I like to think of it as an anime movie for people who don’t think they’d enjoy anime. I first saw it after it came out on video. My whiny high school self  had to be convinced to even give it a chance. I thought anime was so silly (Pokemon / Dragonball Z / I don’t know). I still don’t particularly like cartoons or animated movies. However, I was completely impressed. And I think I appreciated it even more this second time around. Vanessa and I squealed with delight when we saw Lin feed colorful stars to the adorable dust bunnies!

My curiosity caused me to do some Google research on these dirty dust balls. I realized they’re actually called Soot Sprites or Susuwatari, meaning “travelling soot” in Japanese. Look at :45 to see the scene where I fell in LOVEEEE!

Besides Soot Sprites existing in Spirited Away they’re also featured in Totoro, which I have not seen.

The reasons I like them:
-lanky
-curious
-adoring
-minuscule
-modest
-fuzzy
-loyal
-shy
-frightful

They’d make great pets and I don’t even prefer pets.

Also, I found these awesome shoes. I want to make some!

I recorded this video about a week ago but wasn’t sure if/when I should post it. And I just realized the video quality is kinda gross…and it’s kinda lengthy, but I promise I’m going to improve! More coming soon!

tl;dr I’m moving to Seoul in six weeks.

EDIT: I tried replacing the video with one that’s better quality. Hmm…waiting for my cute HD camera I ordered on Amazon. Hopefully the next post looks 1000% better!

A few weeks ago I got the idea to build a fort. Like, the kind you build with friends or siblings when you’re small. My sister and I loved creating forts, though sometimes Mom would get irritated that we took our beds apart and rearranged a bunch of furniture. More than 15 years later I almost thought I lost the skill when I tried to build one last week. I couldn’t get any of the edges of the blankets to stay in place. Scarves became handy. I had to incorporate my computer, TV and speakers so I could watch movies and listen to music in the fort. The overall result was satisfactory, not excellent.

I left it up Thursday through Sunday. Had to take it down because I couldn’t use my couch. I don’t think I’ll build another one for a while. Got it out of my system.

This weekend made me realize how much and why I’ll miss Austin. I spent two whole days laying around at the pool with friends. This city has such a great summertime culture. The Greenbelt, Lake Travis, various pools, kayaking, Tex-Mex and margs, grilling with friends, biking around, shaved ice, hanging out on porches and patios in makeshift chairs. Summer has never been my favorite season, but there’s an appeal when you spend it here. There’s a lot to appreciate about this place, but sometimes the memories get too heavy and you start to see the same scenery too many times. Doesn’t mean I won’t miss it.

—Some recent bodily thoughts—

Teeth: Lately I’ve become phobic about my teeth falling out. I was eating some Milk Duds last week and I swear I felt a tiny bit of my filling come loose. I saw a tiny spec of porcelain on my finger. My face turned red and my heart raced. I had a flashback to the time my tooth cracked off in San Francisco. Now, every time I get a weird bite of something tiny and hard I panic. It’s usually just a little seed or bit of grain. Fortunately I see the dentist in two days.

Feet: I’ve officially given up. I used to occasionally get pedicures with my sister in Houston. I’d paint the little piggies myself sometimes. I’d make attempts to scrub with pumice in the tub. I don’t care anymore. Feet are for transport. Sure, I’ll keep the nails clipped. I’ll do the bare minimum, but that’s IT. No more foot frills. I don’t care.

Hair: I have no desire for short hair. It’s finally the longest it’s been since the compulsory trauma chop in 2006. I want to keep it growing. I want my hand to get stuck in it. I love my long(er) hair right now!

On a totally silly and unrelated note, I found this next to my garbage can under my sink. Made me giggle.

ANXIETY
Definition: worry, tension
Synonyms: all-overs, angst, ants in pants, apprehension, botheration, butterflies, care, cold sweat, concern, creeps, disquiet, disquietude, distress, doubt, downer, drag, dread, fidgets, flap, foreboding, fretfulness, fuss, goose bumps, heebie-jeebies, jitters, jumps, misery, misgiving, mistrust, nail-biting, needles, nervousness, panic, pins and needles, restlessness, shakes, shivers, solicitude, suffering, suspense, sweat, trouble, uncertainty, unease, uneasiness, watchfulness, willies, worriment
(thesaurus.com)

I’m having the worst anxiety ever. It’s a nervous worry with a shaking heart. Does NOT help that I took Excedrin this morning to alleviate headache from staying out too late last night. I can’t stop wringing my hands, fidgeting and glancing around.

BUT…I should know very soon what the future holds! And I’m EXCITED!

It’s happening quickly now. Content-wise, I expect a major change to my blog in the next month or so. Until then things may be a little sparse.

Life’s taken a busier turn lately. Totally welcome by me. Meeting new people, seeing new places, re-discovering places I already know. There’s a sense of amusement with life that was previously absent.

Ha! Maybe it’s the weather…sunnier skies ahead. Looking forward to playing in the water and laying around in the sunshine. Eating tons of sno-cones and wearing the same cutoffs all weekend.

There have been some recent jokes that resulted in deeper conversations centering around my general lack of belief…in anything (or so I thought). For example, I don’t believe in astrology, palm reading, numerology, energies, etc. I think hand sanitizer is a racket. I’m skeptical of “green” products. More seriously, I haven’t believed in any sort of higher power since I was in early high school.

I’m a critical person. The rest of my family is pretty critical. Many of my friends are critical. I studied journalism, which probably added to my skeptical view of the world and other people. Looking at the more positive side I’m very curious. I like to research, observe and think about everything I come across in life.

So the big question that resulted from all the talk and jokes is:

What do I believe in?

What does it mean to believe? What can you believe in–ideas, objects, people?

Mostly, I believe in ideas–philosophies regarding the way a person conducts their life and relationships. Off the top of my head I’d say I believe in living simply. Not owning too much stuff, managing relationships with other people respectably and fairly, taking time to enjoy meals and travel, maintaining general health. Everything in moderation, right?

I’d say I believe in creative expression–art, music, film, crafts, cooking, writing, design, fashion. It seems like a healthy outlet for a person’s mind and can be enjoyed by other people.

I believe in news. To me, it’s important to know and attempt to understand what’s happening in the world.

Tacked onto that, I believe in VOTING : ) Vote in elections or don’t complain.

This is kinda picky: I believe in looking your best. Not to argue that appearance is everything because there’s no hiding an ugly personality, but I think people should take pride in how they present themselves to the rest of the world. I don’t necessarily mean people need to appear polished perfect, because that’s boring. Maybe it’s just about confidence and carrying yourself respectably.

Above all else, I believe in respecting other peoples’ beliefs.

What do you believe in?

Last week I ordered some Egon Schiele prints on Amazon. I’ve been telling myself not to invest too much time or money in apartment decorations since I’m moving out in July. But one last blank wall in my apartment became too bland.

I first knew of Egon Schiele when I lived in Barcelona. I went to an exhibition at Fundació Joan Miró, a museum of Miró’s work. Besides his own stuff there was a traveling exhibition called “Un cos sense limits” (A body without limits). I’d always appreciated nude artwork, but this one made me want to start a collection. There were paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Miró, Magritte, Basquiat and, of course, Schiele. His painting was used on the front of the brochure for the exhibit. I looked at more of his work online once I was back at home and found his gaunt, watery and kinda craggly characters appealing. He was a protégé of Klimt, another artist I generally prefer.

So these are the prints I have hanging in my living room now. My friend and I had a hell of a time trying to hang them evenly. For each hole with a nail in it there are at least two others where we made a mistake. And I hope the realtors are happy to find a vagina on the wall when they show my apartment night and day.

:)

It’s Selena Day in Texas! She would have turned 39 today if she were still alive. ¡Viva Selena!

Her best song…

Como La Flor

Yo sé que tienes un nuevo amor
Sin embargo te deseo lo mejor
Si en mí no encontraste felicidad
Tal vez alguien más te la dará

Como la flor
Con tanto amor
Me diste tú
Se marchitó
Me marcho hoy
Yo sé perder
Pero ay…
Cómo me duele
Ay…
Cómo me duele

Si vieras como duele perder tu amor
Con tu adiós te llevas mi corazón
No sé si peuda volver a amar
Porque te di todo el amor que pude dar

Legendary performance in February 1995 at Houston Astrodome. Broke attendance records. She was killed just a month later. RIP

Every time I try to lie, sneak around or do anything I’m not supposed to be doing I get caught. I can’t get away with anything. It’s an unfortunate fact of my life, but I like to think it makes me a better person…a more upstanding citizen maybe. Today I got a ticket for my inspection sticker! I knew it was going to happen. I’ve been worrying about it for a couple months but kept telling myself the chances of getting caught were so slim. But I knew all along, for me, the chances were high. And I’d just called my mom yesterday to tell her I’m coming home AGAIN this weekend to get it taken care of. Then the next day I get a ticket. If getting a ticket didn’t suck enough, my BOSS was in the car with me. It was actually okay because she made me feel better about it. It was comforting to have someone else there. And the cop was actually super nice about it. He didn’t try to give me a ticket for any other violations. Oh well. Stanks, but could be worse. Hopefully I can get out of it.

***

The other badness that’s been on my mind is the case about a little boy who went missing and was found dead in a neighborhood a couple miles from his apartment a few hours later. This forum covers most of the nuts and bolts of the incident. It includes stories and follow-ups from most of the major news outlets in Austin.

I keep checking the news to see if they’ve released any new information. It upsets me badly, probably because it’s an innocent kid. More than anything I want to know WHY. He was left with his dad’s girlfriend and hadn’t seen his dad in a week. Hadn’t seen his mom who was separated from his dad for a month. I want remain open-minded, but it seems like the kid had rotten parents. If you live in the same city as your child why do you go a whole month without seeing them? I don’t have any idea what it’s like to be a parent or even have parental type feelings…but I know most parents are CRAZY about their kids.

And he disappeared in the middle of the night. The girlfriend noticed him missing at 5:30AM and the door was unlocked. How would he just get out and walk a mile away? And then get killed. His autopsy said he had internal injuries but I think one of the parents said his body was “all bruised up.” I get a really bad feeling about it. Makes me angry. How could anyone kill a child? How, how, how?

I started putting together theories in my mind based on info I read and other people’s comments. It’s unlikely, but he could have somehow left the apartment on his own and gotten hit by a car. The girlfriend could have shaken him to death (or beat him if the bruises were true) and then dumped his body. Maybe she was taking anger out on the kid if the dad hadn’t been there in a week…? There could have been an intruder who entered, snatched him, killed him and left him. Though the intruder would have had to know family or the girlfriend somehow. I have the strongest feeling that the girlfriend is either to blame or knows the person to blame. She his been absent from the situation since it happened. Reports are saying she’s cooperating with police. But she didn’t call anyone about the missing child till 90 minutes after she noticed he was gone. She said she was looking for him on her own…but there were two other children at the house…who was caring for them at that time? It’s weird and bothers me.

There been at least five homicides in Austin since the beginning of this month. : (

***

And now for more dreams…

I was invited to the home of a cryptic character in my real life. However, I was invited at night and had to let myself in. The person I sought was in a private office with frosted glass windows in the back of the house. I tried to get a glimpse of the mysterious person through the cracks separating the window panels. I could see a man with short brown hair, almost shaved, with a very slight receding hair line. He was thin, dressed in business clothes and paced around his office on a cell phone. I sat down to work on business in the living room but it was awkward, dark and I didn’t want to turn on the lights. The man comes out and sits down to eat at table behind me. He doesn’t turn on any lights and doesn’t say anything. I am trying not to look but I am plagued by curiosity. Finally we end up discussing business and the mystery man reveals that he is a cop. I am shocked because I spent so much speculating about his possible professions and had never considered this. I woke up from the dream very suddenly and startled. It was 1:30AM and I fell back asleep quickly.

Later in early morning I dreamt I was at a morphing house. It started out as the house of the grandmother of someone I used to be very close with in my real life. I was house-sitting while she was away on a vacation. Before she left she’d shown me through the house and was upset because parts of it were run down or falling apart. She told me she was too elderly to fix the problems herself and did her best. Other parts of the house were immaculate. The house itself was maze-like and hard to maneuver though. There was a pet that I was responsible for…a dog. I was there one afternoon and someone knocked on the door. My paranoid dream-self freaked out. I convinced myself I was hearing things but went to the front door anyway to check. I peered through the blinds and saw a man’s torso. He was tall, wearing a salmon colored shirt. I didn’t even look at his face and BOLTED toward the back of the house. It was difficult because of the maziness of the home. I ended up outside in an old garage or shack type building. I could see into the kitchen from where I stood. The man had entered. It was someone I work with who inexplicably creeps me in my real life. I wasn’t pleased to see him in the house, but knew he wouldn’t kill me so I went inside and talked to him. He had permission to be there and I hadn’t been told. He was bent over feeding the dog. I wanted to GTFO.

Then the house morphs from the grandmotherly house into a house filled with people. My dad’s wife is having her huge Filipino family stay while her and my dad are renewing their vows or having some kind of belated wedding party. Everyone is friendly, busy and milling around. I don’t really know anyone and am trying to stay out of the way. It was exactly like the tone of the house in “Home Alone” right before they leave for France. Dad can’t find Lovenieh (his wife) anywhere. I notice her on a couch crying in another room and tell my dad. She comes out of the room in fancy clothes wiping her eyes. I go to a bathroom upstairs to apply lipstick for the event. As I’m carefully applying the salmon colored lipstick (not normal for me) my dad walks in. He starts talking to me like we’re best friends. Then I drop my lipstick and have to crawl around behind the toilet to get it. Then it’s time to leave and I wake up.

Hedgie with bagpipes riding a rooster!!!

I took a few fashion magazines from Mom’s house back to Austin with me the other weekend. I finally flipped through them this past week and I have a strong feeling that tribal prints are going to go wild this summer. I foresee a trend…if it’s not a hardcore trend already. I haven’t been clothes shopping in a while.

It makes me think of 2007 when M.I.A. was all the rage. Paper planes, bright album cover and crazy outfits.

It’s a perfectly acceptable trend, I just hope it doesn’t go the way of the gladiator sandals and maxi dresses. Overdone blahhhh. The trend’s probably already come and gone with people in the fashion industry…but this summer it’s for commoners.

***

Tonight I cooked dinner. I’m proud of the tastiness. Salmon helps me to believe I can cook. Besides the baked salmon I sauteed broccoli with olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper. And sourdough bread goes surprisingly well with salmon, too. Satisfaction and full stomach.

The strange dreams continue but I’m just remembering bits and pieces. A few nights ago I dreamt I was shooting a drug into my veins and I lived at my office building. An overweight co-worker got in trouble for wearing gigantic platform shoes made from steel. There was a crazy teen in the parking lot driving recklessly. When we stopped to find out what the heck he was doing we noticed young children in the backseat. Then we yelled at him. The next night I can only remember part of my dream where I was in my car with someone else…kind of like a mixture of a few different people I’ve dated. We were trying to get to an island not far from the coast. The car was driving on thin patches of sand/dirt barely above the water. My car is low to the ground and we didn’t make it to the island because the water got too high and my car was in danger of flooding.

***

This past week I became inspired by paint chip art. I decided I was going to try myself this weekend. Of course it didn’t turn out right because I’m no artist…I’m more of a crafter. I hung it on the wall despite my frustration. I might add to it or just learn to accept the big bright mess. Formerly my bedroom was completely white and I’ve been meaning to add color. I would have just painted the walls but I rent. Too much pain and suffering. Anyway…see below. (Sadly it looks better in the picture, hahahaha.)

***

I get a lot of bruises on my legs. Mom is always first to comment about how awful they look. Though I think the reaction is kind of funny and sometimes I provoke it. : ) Most people ask, “What did you dooooooo?” [to get that ugly bruise?] I wish there were great stories behind any of them. There never is. I’m always running into stuff. Mostly cabinets and the edge of my bed. I forget stuff is in the way. I have a low sense of body awareness. Which would also explain why I’m a pathetic dancer. I currently have a couple bruises on my left upper thigh. I think the faded one is an airplane travel bruise and the other is from the bed edge.

I was scoping them out in the shower yesterday thinking how funny they looked. In the midst of that I fell over into the soap holder thingy, hahahahaha. What a mess. I have a new bruise and a half from it.

Geez. I need to take it easy.

Last night I dreamt my sister and I survived a tornado. Dreaming about tornadoes can’t be good according to the dream dictionary. At least we knew it was coming and had time to prepare. We were in a hallway with a many other people in a public building close to my apartment in Austin.

***

I had a semi-stressful weekend in Houston trying to deal with gross adult problems like my car and taxes.

My car needs a new catalytic converter to pass inspection. It’s already overdue. A new catalytic converter from Honda is going to cost me $1200 for parts/labor/inspection. Can’t seem to use an aftermarket catalytic converter on my car and get it to work right. Has to do with the specific type of car I drive. So right now I’ve devised an alternate plan. This car…it’s like an adorable child that’s usually well-behaved. Then occasionally it acts up and makes a big scene but you can’t stay mad because you love it too much.

I did my taxes after Easter church services on Sunday. I cried (only for about 30 seconds) because I realized I owed more than $1000. Stupid exemptions ruined me! My dad helped me lower it slightly because I opened an IRA. Learning about $$$ but it comes at a costtttttt.

My mood improved because we ate lasagne for Easter dinner. Then my sister, dad and I all laid on the couch and fell asleep listening to Italian music. Mom gave me some Easter candy and promised to help me with my car situation. My family is what saves me, love them!

Glad to return to Austin–welcomed by 100% marvelous balcony weather. Every day I’ve been arriving home from work and sitting outside. A time to leave the doors and windows wide open. I have to enjoy this while it lasts. Then it’s time for pools, rivers and bathing suits.

The strange dreams continued over the weekend.

Friday night I dreamt that my sister and I were exploring in East Austin. We came upon a man sitting outside run down concrete coffee shop reading a newspaper. He looked like a mix of Terry Richardson (creepy hipster photographer) and one of my sister’s ex-boyfriends. My sister talked to him and somehow after that we had multiple guns. I’m not sure he gave them to us. I had a long rifle/shotgun type weapon and my sister had at least two pistols. ***In reality my sister and I don’t know anything about guns and we’re not violent people.*** We started shooting. My sister wanted to shoot at people. I told her to at least try to shoot them in the arm or leg and not the face or chest. I told her we shouldn’t try to kill anyone. She didn’t seem to hear or care. Then we were standing in front of a large brick residential building, recently built. My sister insisted on running upstairs to the roof so she could shoot people like a sniper. I refused to go with her. Within minutes I saw her on the roof aiming her gun at me. I started screaming, “It’s Melinda! Don’t shoot me!”  She came back down and I gave her my guns because I didn’t want to be involved anymore.

The next night I dreamt that I went to Asia to teach English. It was supposedly South Korea, but it didn’t look anything like the pictures. It was poor, tropical and had terrible infrastructure. I was given my housing assignment and forced to live underwater without an oxygen tank. We had to hold our breath. There was an area above water, but it was more like a public park where other people came to hang out. I tried telling my superiors that I needed a different apartment because I don’t have a very good lung capacity. No one cared. I had a male roommate who knew what a coocoolooloo was. (The hair that sprouts from a little bow on top of prissy dog’s head.) I told him he was perfect.

Today Nickie told me about the new America the Beautiful Quarters that are coming out this year. I thought we were ending with the state quarters. There are going to be 56 quarters coming out through 2021. They commemorate national parks and other national sites in the states and U.S territories. I thought Texas’ coin would surely be Big Bend…we only have a couple of national parks: Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains. Instead they chose the San Antonio Missions “Historical Park”…I guess they’ll use a picture of the Alamo or something. I vote for Big Bend with a picture of a gigantic cactus, but it’s too late. Timothy Geithner got to pick the sites.

From US Mint: “The five quarters to be released in 2010 will honor Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon.”

Yosemite Coin, 2010

I started looking at the list of National Parks.  There are 58. I’ve only been to four: Arches, Canyonlands, Great Smokey Mountains and Joshua Tree. I **WANT** to visit Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton and Redwood.

Visiting Arches National Park in 2007