Riding Korea around the Sun

     It's funny how as you get older, time seems to go faster and faster. In fact, it's quite funny how time itself seems to bend and warp with age and whatever activity you are engaged in. I remember living in Ohio and Dad calling my brother and me to come out and help him sweep the garage, a task that probably took 10 minutes. He'd poke his head in the house and not immediately seeing us would yell, "Boys....Front and center!" These words were never welcome to us because they meant one of two possible conditions--either we were in some kind of trouble, or there was some brain-deadening job that dad wanted us to do (mowing the lawn, raking leaves, and picking up dog poop are other examples).
     During the 10 minutes it took to sweep out the garage, it was like time stood still. My brother and I would push our brooms up and down the garage, moving dirt and leaves and anything else that had made it's way to the ground to a growing pile in the center of the concrete. This was always one of the worst jobs for me because, well, I really don't know why. I hated it. That's all that matters. And for me, the few minutes I spent sweeping the garage instead of riding my bike or playing football with friends or messing with the dog felt like swimming through mud. Other times I felt this way as a youngster include sitting in a boring class and watching the clock, doing homework, waiting for mom to stop talking to yet another person she knew at the grocery store, and sitting in the car while dad took "the scenic route".
     But with age, the time spent doing things I'd rather not be doing has sped up some. Now, it's things like doing taxes, waiting for Ami to get ready to go out, sitting on a trans-Pacific flight, or sitting through boring conversations with people I'd rather not be talking to (this doesn't include anyone reading this, of course). But while these activities may not be fun, they don't seem to take the eternity that sweeping the garage did. Twelve hours on a flight goes by quicker than those 10 minutes ever did. I imagine it's my attitude that has changed, of course, but I often wonder if there is some real cognitive changes that happen in the brain as we age to sort of even out the extremes we used to feel when we were younger.
     So with all that in mind, I am marking the end of my first year in Korea. At the risk of sounding like an old lady, I can't believe it. Seems like just yesterday I was sweating it out while waiting for my visa to come through while living at my aunt and uncle's place. Also seems like just yesterday that Andrew met Ami and I at the airport and escorted us into Seoul. I think overall the year has gone by rather quickly, but when I think of all the stuff I've accomplished in setting Ami and I up here, and all the stuff I've learned at work, and all the people I've met be they co-workers, students, the Korean family, or the random people that make up my day (like the lady at 7/11 who always smiles at me or the security guy in our building at work who never does), I am able to mark parts of the year and slow it down and say "Yup, it's been a year".