Feverish and giddy, I woke up to see my son smiling down at me. He whispered softly in my ear;”I have something for you”. He gave me a kiss and  held up a shiny gold medal in front of me. He explained how he got it. “I won first place in a school math quiz contest”. I gave him a hug of approval. I told him that he’s a brilliant kid; and that I am proud to be his mom. Even though I was down with flu the whole day I felt joyful. My son knows how to lift my spirits up.

He never fails to amaze me. This is his third achievement in his first year in elementary school. A month ago, he took a Mathematics Aptitude Test and he aced the exam, ranking 1st. Then weeks before, during the school’s recognition day, Mi-Kha received a citation and certificate for BEST in Science. And now, this  — a gold medal in a math quiz bowl.

Like any other parent, I sure would like my son to ’shine’. To see it through, I will give him the opportunity to shape his life.

I will let him have a freehand in deciding the path to his dreams so that he may be happy. Because if one is happy it’s much easier to navigate through life towards success.

Most often than not, people misconstrue the fundamental ideas of respect. Well-bred, educated folks, young and old, know that respect is something that is borne out of respect. It is a moral obligation of everyone and not an exclusive right nor privilege of the aging members of society. Needless to say, the young is expected to act courteously. Accordingly, the seniors ought to act graciously because it is their inherent duty to model good behavior to the youth. How can the youth learn lessons of propriety when the elders are guilty of impropriety? The youth can only be as good as their role models.

The elders are viciously vocal about the misgivings of the youth towards them and yet they are in constant denial of the moral infractions they commit. I find this odd. And I am very much disturbed by it.

It seems that some elders ignorantly assume that they ‘deserve respect’ simply because they are showing a lot of gray hair. Some use their years indecently to force upon the young– rude impositions. Now, is that ethical? A number of you reading this would give a resounding opposition to what I have just described. You may even be saying that this does not happen. And yet it does…happen…everyday…in every part of the globe.

Here in Korea, my observation is that the elders have a habit of soliciting

help from younger people which is often voiced out in a manner that is impertinently rude and condescending. A request coming off like a command is not a request. And yet, the Korean elders expect compliance. Who would comply to a rude imposition? Would you?

Reprimanding a kid using words that psychologically damage a child’s

self-esteem is hardly an appropriate behavior for an elder. When the child mirrors such an example, the elders are shocked out of disbelief. It seems to me that Korean elders feel that they have the right to act with impunity. So they bring all hell out without no remorse whatsoever. Elders and adults commit petty and grave misconducts all because they have a ‘free jail card’ — their ‘age’.

It is ok to engage young people’s help and I believe that they are willing to be of service to anybody. Young people are malleable. It is ok to reprimand a kid if the purpose is to help the child and not to merely let off steam. If the elders learn to respect the young for their self-worth, then there’ll be less conflicts owing to generation gaps.

The youth have to be treated right. They are no less an individual than we are. They are God’s creation with equal rights. They are given unto our care to love, to nurture and to mold. We are not to damage them emotionally, physically and psychologically.

The elders are the foundation of society. From them, the youth draw notions of justice, righteousness and morality.  If the elders are practitioners of impropriety, they are subtly yet effectively indoctrinating the youth to be loose in morals.

People say that it is politically incorrect to speak ill of the elders because it is disrespectful. However, if we let this go unnoticed it will create a vicious cycle.  And soon everyone in society will be modeling an ill behavior and the generation after them will have the notion that it is the right behavior simply because it is the current practice of adults and elders.  Now, is that politically correct?

The elders are the moral compass. They monitor the young, but who monitors them? The world is witnessing an increasing number of delinquent youths. We don’t need to wonder why. The youth can only be as good as their role models.

I got a couple of things that I cannot live without simply because I need them in order to go through the normal course of my day to day life. In the information age, these are the must-haves for a professional woman on the go.

As I am always in the middle of several projects and constantly on the move, I need all my work files to be at my fingertips any time of the day. So I got myself a Samsung Notebook…I bought the same model as hubby’s so we sort of have a ‘couple PC’ instead of a ‘couple tee’…hehehe. Hubby has a black one.

We decided to get one at the time when Hubby was busy compiling his manuscript for his first book. I was helping him.I wrote a couple of sections in English. We were cramming to meet the publisher’s deadline. At home it was just impossible to use the PC with my son guarding it like a hawk. So hubby ended up going to the internet cafe, commonly known here as "PC Bang". For my part, I could only work on my writing when I have spare time at the office. Hubby is a patient man, but when it comes to completing a project at the time when his passion for it is at its peak, he simply cannot wait. So, one day he announced, ‘honey, why don’t we get a notebook?’ My response was a reassuring smile. We got the notebook and we finished the book.

This is my Sony MP3 player which hubby bought for me during our holiday in Japan. What’s the story of the i-pod? Well, we often travel to Busan to visit our branch office there. Since long trips can be dreadfully boring and tiring I thought I should get one. So I bought a cheap one. I brought this with me on our trip to Kyushu. Hubby saw it and was a bit disatisfied with it so he bought me a better one–a Sony MP3.

Ah, my original DAKS purse — one of my personal favorites (but I must say, it cost me an arm and a leg). I bought it last year in London at Gatwick’s Duty Free Shop. At the time, hubby and I were waiting for our flight to Dublin, Ireland. This is of course not as important as the other stuff but it is an image maker. Superficial it may seem but in the world of business, it is necessary to project the right image. At the time, we were marketing our agency’s consulting services to schools in Europe. We needed to project the ‘right image’.

Do away with trifles, sensible people say…but I have learned that even the superficial things serve a significant purpose…

My son turned 7 last June 9th. The child that once nestled in my bossom is now entering his early boyhood. (sigh) … We celebrated this special day with the usual Korean family tradition. Grandma prepared a wonderful feast for the family and Grandpa gave a generous cash gift for Mi-Kha’s account.

Daddy’s gifts include a fluffy knapsack from Australia and a video cellphone that he can use in case of emergency. I got him a motley assortment of things that a boy his age might need (i.e. Landrover soccer shoes, Ralph Lauren- Polo sunvisor and cap, leather belt, cotton polo shirt and of course his request– a science factbook based on the hit program called NUMBER 1). Mi-kha jumped for joy when he saw the book, thanked me with a hug and a kiss, then he retreated to his room to read. The same wonderful gesture he had accorded his Dad when hubby first presented his gift. To show appreciation to his grandparents, he feasted on his grandma’s ‘kalbi’ with gusto.

That night, Mi-Kha thanked everyone for making him happy on his birthday. Little did he know, that it was he who opened a fountain of joy for us. We will be forever grateful to the Lord for entrusting a precious child like Mi-Kha onto our care.

Whaaa…it’s 2008 and I still got old news here…hehehe. It’s not that I don’t have new materials to write about. In fact I’ve been busy doing stuff –both fun and serious… I’ve been meaning to document each of my activities, but I haven’t gotten around to doing so cause I’m swamped. I’m still in the middle of an important project… and I’ve got another one coming.  I don’t know how I manage to have my activities overlap.

Here is a preview of my upcoming blog entries:

1. My family’s  yuletide holiday in Hainan, China –I’ve posted some photos already. The article –to follow (hopefully, soon)

2. My promotion at Ewha Girls’ High School — I’ve been promoted to the rank of a full-time senior foreign teacher. I have outranked my NS colleague. My duties: supervise my NS colleague and design ESL modules for 2nd Graders.

3. Our company ski trip — slated this weekend (1/19-20). I pulled an all-nighter last night preparing our stuff for the trip. I had to pack two separate traveling bags cause I will also be away on an out-of-town English Camp the day following the ski trip.

4. Winter English Camp — I’ve been outsourced by Baemoon High   School to do a lecture series. Joining me are two American teachers. (1/21-23) .

5. My business trip –tentative (still have to plan). I should leave after the Lunar New Year (cause I have household duties to fulfill).

6. March 2008 marks the new height of my professional achievement at Ewha Girls’ HS. It also marks the beginning of my son’s introduction to formal academic schooling (he enters Elementary School this year…He got accepted to a school that is exclusive to Samsung Remian residents…hihihi^^)

7. This year also marks a bold venture for me —2 words: passive income.

MY YEAR ALWAYS BEGINS WITH A SPIN…

And I love it! Wouldn’t have it any other way.

It seems that the plight of the modern woman hasn’t improved much since the days of antiquity. In Korea particularly, everyone is an enemy of a modern woman — the patriarchal society, the filial hierarchy, even elder women are antagonists too. For generations, they have been preconditioned by tradition to devote a life of servitude to men.

But God did not create woman to be man’s slave. He created woman to be man’s counterpart. Counterpart means similitude, a species of equal character and strength, and therefore entitled to the same dignified life as man.

If there’s no exit to our present situation then we, the women of the world, must take it upon ourselves to change it. THE WORLD WILL NOT IMPROVE IF WE JUST QUIETLY ENDURE. Our part as mothers to a son — is NOT to RAISE A MAN,  but to RAISE A GENTLEMAN.

I took this photo while strolling along Kangnam Avenue. (Kangnam is the posh business district in Seoul, like the Makati Business Center in Manila).

Our head office is located here, about 100 meters from this Meritz Building. This district glitters at night but instead of the cheery spirit, it invokes a nostalgic somberness.

Enough of the winter gloom…hehehe.

I wish all those who are close to my heart a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year. May 2008 bring us peace, love and bountiful blessings.

My family will be celebrating New Year in China’s famed ‘Hawaii’ called Hainan. We want to have a restful yuletide holiday this year.

This is what’s keeping me preoccupied these days…

The final term is coming to a close and so a teacher’s typical day at school is, in a nutshell, "AAAAhhhhhhhrrrrgggg!"

The paperwork can be overwhelming but I still love the job. To me, teaching is a vocation not simply a means to an end.

I am a feminist –not a hardline extremist, but a believer that women deserve more than what the patriarchal society accords her.  So I work for a school that reflects one of my ideals– women emancipation.

That is the very reason I love working there. I get the chance to repay a debt by paying it forward. A debt of gratitude to the women who came before me, to the women who shared their wisdom.

This is YUHAK TIMES–Kangnam Center (our head office). This is where I and my husband, Company President, hold office. It’s usually quiet and calm in the morning . It gets busy around mid afternoon till evening. We often finish around 9 pm.

Our ‘mangne’ staff, Tae-Rim, took this snapshot of the office before he flew off to Melbourne. We won’t be seeing him until Jan. 2008. He is such a jolly person that practically everyone in the company misses him, even the staff from our other branches–Shinchon, Jongro and Busan.

Even though, I occasionally run into people who disappoint me, I am still thankful that the Lord placed good folks on earth. And I am happy that some of them are with us at Yuhak Times. As I always say, THE KIND OF PEOPLE YOU HAVE IN YOUR TEAM, DEFINES THE QUALITY OF SERVICE YOU DELIVER TO THE WORLD!

It is also true with social ties. Developing social circle is human nature, motivated by our need to belong. These social circles are held together by a particular social culture that brought the individual members to the group.Therefore, THE KIND OF COMPANY YOU KEEP REFLECTS YOUR TRUE COLORS. It is wise to be very selective with your social network. Understand too why you simply cannot belong to a particular group.

As Emily Dickinson eloquently puts it :

"the soul selects its own society and shuts the door; to her divine majority presents no more."

Taewang SaSingi —this is a legendary story of the birth of the Korean nation. The story unfolds into the historical time of the 3 Kingdoms. The story is set during the reign of the Kokoryo dynasty.

To see the full OST-Trailer go to my minihompy-video page at www.cyworld.com/mikha21

For more photos to go www.taesagi.com