Changing Seasons – It’s gonna be MAY

I’m sure May had its moments of annoyance and stress, but looking back at my colored calendar, I can’t really remember them. All I see are doodles of the nice things I did with nice people in nice places. I don’t know if keeping up this calendar made me intentionally seek out all of the nice, or if it was just a nice month, but either way I’ll take it!

This month I…

• Went mugwort picking with my relatives in a hidden mountain spot by the sea. It was glorious but also back breaking. I was the youngest of the crew by a generation and also the slowest.
• Made a library card at my local library and found a new place for laptop time. It also has a decent selection of titles in English so double yay.
• Went hiking with friends and by myself a few times. One Sunday morning as I headed up my usual route to the trail head, I noticed an unusual number of people also walking that way. Only then did I remember it was Buddha’s birthday (there is a temple in front of the trail entrance) and I got to observe Buddhists celebrating the holiday. It’s also where this public sauna is, which I wrote about a while ago. (It’s actually my most viewed post, and I always wonder what keywords people are searching for that lead them to it.)

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• Took a course on self publishing and got the first print of the book I made for the course today! I put in the order at 1 AM today and it came out at 6 PM. If nothing else, Korea is fast fast fast. (Post on my book forthcoming)
• Watched Game of Thrones with friends every Monday night.
• Went to a ton of independent bookstores this month and also spent a lot of money on self-published books, partly because I felt like I should buy something from each store, partly for reference as I put together my own book, and partly because I just wanted them. I care not for shoes, I don’t own a nice handbag, but I am a compulsive postcard/stationary buyer and now, apparently, also self-published book buyer. No more new books in June… at least not until I’ve finished this pile.
• Saw a play with a friend, went to a Disney exhibition and a handicrafts fair. Sent some snail mail, made some more collages and things (May the fourth postcard, Dandelion book, Parent’s Day flowers, Subway sardines postcard, Mother’s day card) including my first pack of stickers based off one of my cut paper collages. Ate some good food, drank some good drinks, chatted some good chats.

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• Enjoyed the flowers around town and explored different parts of the city. Saw Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf at the Seoul Eco Film Festival and left the theater both in awe of the beauty of Piet’s gardens and convinced that my true calling in life is to be a garden designer in the “New Perennial” movement.

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Thank you for a good month, May. You’ve set the bar high for June.

To see other bloggers months in review, check out the Changing Seasons post by Zimmerbitch

EDIT: Actually one low point of the month was the passing of my friend’s mother, the day after parents day actually. I hope I can be a good friend to her as she tries to resume work and daily life without her mom. And I hope I can keep expressing how much my loved ones mean to me, because life is fragile.