Well, for those who aren't up to speed, which at this point is those not in the family, or otherwise just not in the know, I'm back. Done in Korea, and I was home for the holidays, which really was a wonderful experience. On to the business of moving on with my life, which, as I had imagined, is a job which is just beginning. There's still a massive amount of redevelopment to be done, mountains to move, and all such things. But it's all gonna happen. I still hate the feeling that I'm paying for having been, well, just not that motivated for a long time. And, now it's comin' back to bite me. Ouch. That's not the only ouch, seeing as how since having my cholesterol checked, it's running at an all-time high. Then, too, there was the little incident in the bathroom the other night. As any hard-core Yank might remind you, lots of nasty bugs float around in the winter in Michigan, and after a few days, Gastroenteritis grabbed me and squeezed the fluid outta me. It's never a good thing, made worse because it was the first time Martha ever saw me as such, passed out briefly in the bathroom from dehydration. To her credit, she didn't panic, and after a little while in the St. Mary's ER, (the same place I ended up after my appendix rupture finally dropped me, after being in the same bathroom in my dad's house.....) and the requisite meds, I'm okay now. I'm back on my Adderall, too, thank God. But overall, something is different. Maybe it's my confidence level, in the face of having done something that never would have even remotely appeared on my radar before; maybe in the face of all this, and having jumped off that metaphorical cliff and survived, I can manage my stress a bit better, having had to do it for so long MINUS my drugs. However it works, nothing is screaming inside my head still. Endless ambling over how things are going to get done, but things seem to be on the right track. Hell, everyone, almost to a person, even seemed to like their Christmas gifts, and other little miscellanious chachkis, or however you spell it. I'd probably spell kitsch wrong, too. Some words just don't come across the screen often enough.
Anyhow, what matters most is that I'm no longer staring at the keel of a capsized existence, wondering what to do next. Action has been taken, and will continue to be taken, and God willing, before the time my daughters are actually ready to go to college, I'll be ready to help them without sinking myself in the process. The process of reattaching to everyone in my midst is going to take some time, too, not to mention resetting the ground rules, making the necessary new ones, and other such madness. Noone has been spared from this process, not Martha, not the girls, not anyone. Noone will be. (Jaws theme here.)
And it is good to be able to read signs without having to study them. It's kinda crazy too, all that time I studied, all the time the pressure was on, it seemed as though the language was barely sinking in. Wrong. I got in the Inchon Airport to come home, and all of the sudden, ALL my Korean language skills, informidable though they are, began to come to me, like some crazed Golden Retriever. Would I do it again? Not in Korea, probably not in Asia. Am I glad I did? In ways noone knows, sometimes, it would seem, least of all me.
Kudos here, first of all, to Park Younghee, my former boss, for ultimately being more of a sport than anyone should have called upon him to be. It was a test of his not-legendary-but-nonetheless-extensive patience dealing with a rookie like me, particularly minus the meds. Russ, Ed, Scottish Neil and the rest of the Iksan ESL teaching posse, thanks for giving me something to connect to, and helping me stay sane. Speaking of connection, thanks too to Xsports, for broadcasting all the games of the '06 World Series, even if the Tigers did lose. Ah well. To my former students, all of them really, but especially Sharon and Livy (The Inseperables,) Wendy and Amber, (The Inseperables, Part II,) Jeddy, Jason and Brad and most of my middle-schoolers, you guys were (and are,) awesome. I fully expect to see at least one of them on this side of the pond in 15-20 years. And I expect to be as proud as I have ever been of them. But you buy your own chocolate from now on.
The best moment? There's a lot of them vying for that title, but Troy, who I admit tried my patience on more than one occasion, made everything I had ever experienced in Korea WORTH IT when, as I announced to him he would be getting a new teacher the week after I left said, "I don't want a new teacher! I like YOU!" Damn. Talk about stickin' the dismount. There's much to like and admire about Korea, although admittedly I will never again delve into the Silkworm Larvae.
My daughters made a heroic effort in dealing with dad being 7,000 miles away, and, Bev and Larry, Carol and Donn and all the rest of the Detroit Tip Toppers, it really was nice to hear from you all when I was there. Special wishes, still, to Joanna and Jerry, some special Tip Toppers friends who were married in October. And, sorry to everyone in the Tip Toppers about the delay in my return. I'll make it up, I swear. Lots of people did their part in supporting me, or Martha, or both, mostly my dad and Cheryl, but mom, my good friend Pat Kemp, and many, many others also made a difference, usually with mail. Which is invaluable at that distance, as anyone who has ever done such a thing will tell you.
Finally, Martha, sweetheart, thank you for being more of a woman than anyone should have ever called upon you to be, least of all me. I trust you. I OWE you. But I'll be there, count on it.

The simple rules of a good relationship have started to come to me, though; they are as follows:
1) Under the covers in bed is for sleeping and sex, and that is all.
2) No problems in the rest of your life will ever be solved under the covers in bed, so leave them where they belong, and handle them in their place, time and fashion.
3) Talk. Laugh. Learn. Compromise. And don't be afraid.
4) Take care of yourself. Hope for everything, and work towards all of it; but don't speculate about the amount of time God will have you on this Earth, because the bottom line still remains--you don't know.
5) Whatever isn't covered by the above somehow is probably just window dressing anyway. Which is not to say that fun doesn't matter, sincerely, it does. Just not as much as other things.
6) Strive for balance in life.
7) YIKES AND AWAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!