Unexpected responses

I sent the images from my papermaking field trip far and wide and have been heartened by the response. It reminded me that I am not done w/my documentation! Just getting the pictures edited and online was enough to wipe me out in this heat. But I forgot about the videos! This is probably b/c somewhere in the back of my mind I was wishing for an editing fairy (one that closely resembles my rock star sister) to relieve me of the burden. But that's not going to happen. It's time for me to finally start learning how to use the software that has been sitting in my computer, gathering dust. My goal: piece together all the footage and clean it up for one big file, to be ready by the end of the weekend. If it gets all hot on me again, I'm letting myself off the hook.

I had lunch and then went to a cafe with Kelsey today, which was nice. I really enjoy spending time with her, likely b/c she's super smart and articulate. I'm thankful that she'll be in Korea for the entire time that I will be here so there's one friend in sight! The downside was that I was all dizzy after lunch. I suspect the F-Killer mosquito spray. I can't think of anything else, since the dizzy symptoms are similar to earlier vertigo incidents related to solvent poisoning. I had planned to visit a gallery today but the heavy rain prompted me to just hang with Kelsey.

I've been emailing Maria and a few other people to quickly mobilize forces. It's that time. The time when you know that you have to get your support team together before you become a casualty. I have a SWAT team for instant response, a special squad trained in all things Korean so that we can communicate w/o lots of lengthy explanations about Korean culture, and a general battalion of those who continue to remind me that I'm not an old, fat, ugly spinster wasting my time in Korea and bringing shame to my entire family. Yes, this is the war that I have been fighting since Day One. The battle has escalated after some horrid comments by a 7-yo family member this past weekend about how imperfect my body is, and tonight the concern about me being unmarried escalated to new heights; my uncle takes no prisoners when he yells at me daily about my choice to be an artist and accept a Fulbright rather than tie the knot and pop out kids.

To counterattack, I'm sharing some video from the countryside: two women beating fiber to make hanji. When I set up studio stateside to make hanji, I'm totally using logs like this to beat fiber. Forget the little mallets we used in grad school. This method seems much more efficient, satisfying, and excellent for exorcising demons.