back from a move, and looking forward

My brother David's just about done settling into his new house. Last night and the previous night, I helped him out a little by assisting in the boxing and shuttling of a mass of his possessions. He was astounded to see just how much stuff he had accumulated over his several years in his apartment; I was pretty impressed, too.

Luckily, I didn't have to contend with the truly huge possessions: David had hired a team to take care of the very large, very heavy items a week or so ago. What I did with David was actually quite similar to what I had been doing, slowly but surely over the course of the past several months, here at home: you'll recall that I spent a great deal of time organizing, boxing up, and storing all sorts of household items that had been piled ceiling-high in our basement since 2008. All that boxing and storage is now done; all that's left is the tidying-up of the basement/family room and the laundry/utility room. I need to buy a couple more heavy-duty plastic storage shelves to complete this task, and once that's over, all that's left is the insect-bombing (sorry, little critters) and the carpet-cleaning.

Because there's so little left to do, I find myself slacking the pace. Right now, I'm in a strange liminal period as I wait to hear from my new employer about my work schedule. Once I earn enough money, I'll be leaving this house, but still haven't decided where I'll be going. I've had an offer to move down to Texas, which might be interesting, but would be a bit like moving into a whole new universe. I'm considering a move to Fredericksburg, should I eventually nab a full-time teaching position at Germanna Community College. I've also thought about moving closer to the Shenandoahs, since I love mountains, I love quiet, and I could do my current work anywhere that there's an online connection, be it satellite, FiOS, or whatever.

And of course, there's the idea of returning to Korea. Korea is where I lived for eight years. I know and love Seoul, whatever its faults, and immensely enjoyed my work at Sookmyung Women's University, where I taught English and, on occasion, French. Going back would be a pleasure, and finding a job would be easy. There'd be no question of getting used to the pace of Seoulite existence, nor would I have to worry about re-learning the language or the culture from the 101 level. Plus, getting another university position probably wouldn't be that difficult, especially now that I can slap "certified TOEFL iBT Essay Rater" on my resume.

What makes me happy is that all of these choices are pleasant ones. I can only hope that the future will hold more happiness than the past two years have.


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