An Inspirational Story

If you haven't heard about this yet, you will very soon. It is a story that inspires me, about a man and his dream. Okay, it's a long, mostly scientific article that could be a real snoozer for some so I'll give you the gist: this guy takes 11 years and half a million dollars to realize his dream: colored bubbles! Anyway, the story came at a perfect time for me because it gives me the hope that eventually I will achieve what I want out of life and be happy ... and bubbly.

Until then, this is my favorite activity to pass time while I work on my Plan B. Some options (in no particular order):

1. Go back "home" (where ever that is; I guess it's Virginia; that's where my last home was anyhow) and lick my wounds, rent a room maybe of a nice family (without kids) and try to get my old job back. I have a few really great friends in the area that I miss very much.
2. Live with my sister and my soon-to-be brother-in-law (two extraordinary people that I look up to) in South Park, PA and find a new job doing who the hell knows what. Maybe a job that includes my interests in animals, or plants, or nice weather (woops - that may conflict with PA).
3. Live with my mom and dad (Dad, don't worry, this is an 'if-all-else-fails' idea.) and try to get a job delivering mail for the USPS in rural Va. They are hiring for $14$15/hour.
4. Find some other town/city in Va (would like to be close to family and friends) and try starting from scratch.
5. Remain in Korea on a tourist visa. It is possible. The catches:
   • I have to leave Korea every 90 days in order to remain in compliance with my C-3 tourist visa rules. My 90-day tourist visa is a multiple entry visa, which doesn't expire until 2010 so this means that every 90 days I must leave the county (for any length of time such as a quick round-trip flight to Japan) and then upon reentry to Korea the 90-day countdown is reset.
   • I cannot make money (i.e. hold a job) on a tourist visa. In addition to coming to Korea to try to figure out my life, I did have the intention of making some extra money. However, since I'm not your proverbial 'starving college student' I'm not yet sure how crucial this point is and what its influence on my choice will be. I have money squirreled away for an adventure such as this but I have to think about whether it would be worth the money. Through SIWA and the USO there are several opportunities for volunteer work and of course there is still lots more to see and explore in Korea and maybe spending a few days in neighboring countries every 90 days isn't such a tough rule to comply with. (Australia can't be that far from here!?)
6. Go back to corporate America. On my 3rd day in Korea I received an email from an old boss that offered me a job for triple digits in Greenbelt, MD. I told him that I was in Korea for a year and, essentially, not to forget about me. Corporate America: the money is great but the job kills the spirit = triple ugh!

So, that felt good, getting all that out on blog space. Now I can get back to my puzzle marathon.