seagull

we have this laundry man who comes by our apt and shouts,
"seh-tak (세탁)" which means, "laundry" in korean.
but he tightens his nasal and distorts the sound of it
somehow, and john thinks it sounds like, "seagull" ???
he comes by every morning around 9:30, i think,
i'm usually asleep, and being the heavy sleeper that
i am, i often continue on in my sleep, but
i think john wakes up to him most days. so sometimes
when i way oversleep, jn'll come in and wake me up,
chanting, "seagull, seagull."
i really need to make use of this door to door service. i
have some pants i need shortened and dry-cleaned.
this is a very dumb entry. i don't know why i'm writing this. i
confess, i'm in class right now, and i
only have one student today in this last block, due to the
sickness that's been hitting students and teachers these days.
and so i had him write an essay, and listen to the audio of
the chapters we're studying in "james and the
giant peach." and we're on the part where seagulls are used to
lift the peach out of the sea of sharks, so i thought
about my mornings and john saying, 'sea-gull'...
and i just need something very mind-numbing right now,
ie. this blog. i feel like my head's
been spinning non-stop with all the preparation of prepping for classes,
last week's artmingle and this week's orphanage
christmas party. i look forward to some peace and
rest in 6 days!

yong jun's birthday

this past weekend, for yong jun's 24th birthday we took him to an
african (really it was mostly, if not all, nigerian food) restaurant
in itaewon. a couple weekends ago, john and i were going through
this waegukin (foreigner) city to find an ethnic place to eat,
maybe arabic, thai, or indian, we had thought,
until john saw a huge sign for an african restaurant.
and sure enough the menu included pounded
yam, egusi, okro, jollof rice and beans,
fried plantains, maltinas, fried chicken, all the best of nigeria. i
was ecstatic, we walked up to the second floor and it
felt like i had just stepped into nigeria, the entire floor was filled with
africans (i swear most of them were nigerian), and small stores that
sold vaseline, chin-chin, and baby powder, crackers, all goods
from the motherland. everything felt like home,
except, as yong jun pointed out later on, it was cold and everyone
was wearing winters coats and hats. you never see that where we
grew up. it felt so familiar and nostalgic, but the weird,
yet probably not so surprising thing
was that in some ways i felt quite awkward and out of place
there, with my caucasian husband, and my yellow chinese skin,
i guess it was like i had always felt in nigeria anyway.
anyway, we thought yj would like a piece of nostalgia for his birthday so we
came again, to find that the waiter was from jos, the city where we went to
boarding school,
and we enjoyed a yummy meal, though the egusi
didn't taste as delicious as i remembered, the jollof rice and
beans were salivatingly tasty. rick smith and his wife came, and steve
hammack, all friends of yj from kent academy.
we were hoping to catch a few minutes of a nigerian soap opera, but
distastefully, we were stuck watching an interview of joel olsteen,
i told my story about how my college roommates and i had literally
ripped every single page of his book and thrown it across our living
room, this was back when we had no room for phony 'christians'. oh he
still makes me rave though. but that's beside the point here.
i miss nigeria. john and i are planning and saving for a winter 09 trip to
my home. that would mean a lot to me for him to see my
origins. well, that was a bit of a tangent of a blog. all that to say,
we celebrated my brother's birthday. i'd say yj is one of best men i know.
it's so great to have him nearby.

(J)igur (T)os: the best Sigur Ros cover ever.

11 more days...

last night, while watching "strange brew,"
john taught me the origin of the phrase,
"you hoser!" (see picture)
we didn't finish the movie last night, i was so
tired and so was he. but it was entertaining, what
we saw. i think this is the 23rd time john's
watched it, eh. i look forward to lots of
beer and donuts, eh. mmm.
just 11 more days now and we'll be
on our way to his home. the other night i woke up
a bit stressed from active dreams and such,
and john asked me if i was nervous about going "home".
hadn't really put much thought to it, so much has been
happening over here. still so much left to do in just a week.
but come to think of it, it is quite a trip, first time seeing some of
his family, his home, his friends, i'm the new
wife. impressions. but to be honest, i feel quite calm
about it. i'm looking forward to seeing his life connections
over there. we're so ready for a vacation!
and then the reunion in oregon, with
katie, nicole, melissa, and caroline!
i can't wait to be on the plane again,
saying hi's and bye's.

best hat.

the other night we were out getting
christmas gifts and john found the
best hat ever. especially with that beard!

strange brew

we're going to watch 'strange brew'
for me to get ready for my trip to
canadia for christmas.

there's something going on every weekend....

what a weekend. nonstop.

um...

how many entries have i posted today? just dippin...

16 Truths.

John's 16 truths...
1. I love a Man. His name is Jesus.
2. I love a woman. Her name is Soyon.

3. I belong on a mountain.
4. I belong in Nepal.

5. A skateboard mini-pipe restores my youthfulness.
6. A skateboard mini-pipe will soon be built in my home.

7. I am terrified of shredded coconut.
8. I am terrified of materialism.

9. I spend too much time on Facebook and Fantasy Sports.
10. I don't spend enough time reading or writing.

11. I want to take Ju-jit-su.
12. I want to name our first child Moses Malone Thompson (but I don't think Soyon agrees).

13. My brothers-in-law Yong Jun and Drew are the two nicest guys I've met.
14. My mother-in-law and father-in-law are cute. They remind me of cartoon characters.

15. The music of Thrice draws me closer to God.
16. The music of Gwen Stefani murders my soul.

Soyon's 16 truths...
1. Nepal was maybe my most favorite country because it reminded me of Nigeria.
2. One day, I want to grow a huge garden or farm inside and outside my home, so I can live in dirt, eat all things organic, and paint wierd greenery.
3. The only time I ever vomited was 3 years ago, when I was drunk.
4. My dream: to have all day to do all things art.
5. I hated and loved boarding school.
6. I hate and love globalization.
7. I had planned to live in a commune with my four best friends from college (and our husbands) but I don't think it'll happen because of #6. :(
8. I think my brother, Yong Jun, is one of the sweetest guys in the world.
9. My husband, John, is the most stable and sizzling figure in my life, I love him more than I love mixing colors. I love his beard.
10. I love picking up random furniture-like things from the trash. I don't plan on ever buying any new piece of furniture, even if it means sleeping and eating on the floor for some time.
11. Last year, I finally said, "Yes," to Jesus and it's been so colorful since.
12. I used to want to be a famous psychologist that would revolutionize society, now I just want to love my immediate neighbors.
13. I used to obsess about the future.
14. I want to write songs.
15. I want to write a book about Loss someday.
16. I once said I'd run a marathon before I turned 35. umm....

i made cards.

"christmas movie marathon." a total of four guests out of 60+ invitees,
maybe a little disappointing. it sort of felt like 3 years ago,
back in college when my housemates and i
would host theme parties and 1-5 guests showed.
there was always something quite humorous
and entertaining about those flop parties.
anyway, it was fun, regardless. watching christmas lampoon (title?)
and charlie brown's christmas. tons of snacky food
and relaxed company.the best part of it was,
sara laue brought supplies for making cards,
so the girls made christmas cards. i liked making them so much,
that i might make a few more and bring them to the
artmingle. i haven't had time to work on anything else
for the 13th so i'll just make use of these.

drive to church

we woke up this morning, groggy like turkey legs,
until john peeked out our window and SNOW,
he did a jump jiggy of sorts. he said it was an
impersonation of me. ???
we cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, speckless like snow,
hung up more christmas lights,
and then drove to church, bubbling sufjan steven's christmas album.
these were some pictures i took from the passenger's seat,
while john sought every opportunity for an e-brake donut.
SNOW
was just one of the things that made us glee today.

happy birthday, 아빠!

i love my dad. and i love baking.

artmingle.2

an AGENDA:

4:00 Come and display/set up your work(s)
5:00 Mingle and Munch, "Let's talk about the YEAR!": Interactive Art (live portrait sketching, and other surprises, ongoing throughout the evening)
6:00 Live Sketching and Interview: Eric Stoddard, Hyundai Car Designer
7:30 Feature Performance: THE BREATHING. www.thebreathingkorea.com
8:30 THE BREATHING, second set.
9:00 Open Mic: lalala, shake it, and read. Your space to shine!
10:00 Wrap up the inspiration 'n take it home*

***Remember, the theme is BROAD! The word, YEAR, contains a million. So for this round, think big and let's come up with a diverse display of 'YEAR'. PAINTING, DRAWING, CERAMICS, 3-D, PHOTOGRAPHY, DIGITAL ART, DESIGN, POETRY, SHORT STORY, ESSAY, MUSIC, DANCE, DRAMA, COOKING, ANYTHING YOU'VE CREATED. Please let me know as soon as you can, how you'd like to participate! The more the merrier! Let's be merry this season...

wallpaste

we finally got some photos printed today, and

started filling in the empty frames that
have been hanging on our wall for over a month.
we also brought out the christmas trinkets,
something about christmas decorations didn't fit
my taste for a while but this year, john, ex-mr. scrooge,
and i both feel quite festive. we're gonna try to
transform our place tonight*

weekend fullness

what a weekend,
we went to go see quantum of solace friday after work.
we had an hour and a half gap of time
before the movie started to sit over mochas at starbucks
i love their christmas bulb wreathes.
we sat there and got inspired with juicy ideas for christmas gifts and more.
it's a secret till some fruit shows...

then on saturday
we went with my mom and brother, (my dad's in india for a week)
to see my very tall cousin get married.
it was at a church so it was a slight change from
the wedding hall weddings, i was glad to be there.
then in our dress clothes, the boys in their suits,
we marched into costco,
after 3 hours of brutal traffic,
with the herd of seoulians all
driving bulk carts through the warehouse aisles,
we said, 'never again on a weekend!' but now
we've stocked up, tortillas, granola bars,
kashi cereal, candy canes for our students,
chicken breasts, ground australian beef,
a poo-brown fleece overthrow,
and a whole lot more.
then with our rare pack of guinness and pizza from costco,
we invited yong jun to come over
and he slept over in our living room,
and we watched enchanted, the fairy tale.

sunday, church, learned about work in north korea,
launched the orphanage christmas gift fundraiser.
ate some leftover costco pizza for lunch and then
we were shuffling on the volleyball courts with friends
from church. so fun! wish we had a league for volleyball, i miss
playing, i know john would love to be in a basketball league or something
competitive.
then we made our way over to some smoothies with
dan and carrie,
and headed home, zonked tired from a
full weekend.

totally unrelated: i love being married to 존** love of my life.

flowery attempt

i had my students try to flower up some nouns today.

.their compilation:

the snow today=like an angel came and scattered cotton
kevin's eyes=like thread
alex's eyes=like kevin's eyes
water=as transparent as air
clock=like math
clock=clock always works. i want to study hard like clock.
map=lines on my palm

ok.

first snow

snow. we were going to run to the ymca this morning to
workout, i miss sweat and exercise.
but i was lazy, mornings are not good for me,
i'm not a morning person these days
john's at work now, so he'll go to the gym after work,
i'm inside, kind of wanting to be outside in the
snow.
but i hate the cold. so instead, i'm staying inside:
1. taebo, pilates
2. clean wash scrub
3. cook chicken and rice for dinner
(man, when did i get so domestic?)
4. draw
5. email
6. prep for work
7. work, teach, try to love the kids
8. home to john.
and meanwhile, it's our first snow of the year, and i'm not all that jazzed.
i just want to bundle up and read.
but i'll probably do all of the above instead.

big pot.

i'm eating ivy crackers and persimmon, something to tide me over till
we eat dinner tonight at 10. sprawled, bad posture,
on our hand-me-down couch. home from a day at mosaic.
every wednesday, i go to this cafe and play
coffeemaker.
today was full of dishes and hot lattes to ward off
the frigid weather outside. busy, for customers, mostly friends.
and i got to blend a bit with
a group of girls that came in. stephanie,
stopping in from the states on her way to england, said some
words. future. ambition. letting go of control. faith. let God control. leap. all within
context, those words were bread for me today. especially after the droplets john had to wipe off my cheeks last night, in conversing about taking leaps, now, or in the future. faith.
it's a hard thing sometimes. but it's what keeps us
moving. like cameras.
growing. like my tree.
meanwhile, my husband,
i could sneak peeks at him, sitting behind the conference room glass, soaking in some
discussion with the men. he loves wednesdays for that, i'm glad.
it was a full day, wednesday.
and not yet over as i head now to erc, my hakwon, to
teach some kids the life that's inside a book.
and then
i return home to my loving husband,
back on our weathered couch.
to eat crackers again, snuggle,
or maybe i'll have a slice of energy to cook
up something more
substantive. i love
life right now, because it feels
like a big pot of soup, eclectic and
boiling, hot for someone.

blog aspirations are real.

well, for a while, i've been meaning to plop out
an entry. but i'm not much of a blogger. i tried
a while back. but i get fidgety, i change, and get
distracted by other endeavors,
so then i forget i ever had a blog. but lately
i've been reading my dear friend, katie's,
and though a blog is
only partial and weird in communication
between friends, it's something.
and it's a form of creativity.

carrie buller shared this website with me,
www.illustrationfriday.com.
ooo, inspired i am, to try my
hands in a weekly sharing of
topic-based art! i think i'll use
this space for posting my art.

so here i go. i, is soyon.
i'll try to get john to blog now and then
but he also quit blogging last year:).

watch, i'll probably write two or three
entries today. then one or two
tomorrow.
one the next. and then after that,
once or twice every month, maybe less.
in any case, come by if you're bored.
and nose into our place.

all are welcome.

garden engagement shoot

click to see more photos:Hanbok of the Morning Calm, by Dana Sikkens

photographer and friend, dana sikkens, and her
husband, chris, the champion of all
trades, a human tripod on that day,
the couple, skilled and pleasant
in the art of photography, gifted us with the above
series of engagement photos. it was a luminous,
sweaty, and memorizing day.
thank you, dana and chris sikkens.

~soyon and john.

Wedding Photos Part 1 (by Charlie Viturawong)

click to see wedding album

charlie viturawong. one of our wedding photographers.
ask him anything about cameras, he can find every function
for your snapper. a skilled, helpful, pro. we were thoroughly
happy with his account of our wedding day, i think he captured
the joy and meaning of our marriage.
thanks, charlie!!

Videos Part 1, 2, 3 played at our wedding...

our invitation...

...to you

***click on the pictures for bigger/clearer view of text***

전 학진 선교사 부부와 William Thompson 부부는 저희들의 자녀 전 소연 양과 John Thompson 군의 결혼식에 여러분을 초대합니다.

오랜 기다림과 기도 속에서 하나님의 섭리 가운데 만난 두 사람이 이제 새로운 가정을 이루는 약속을 하고자 합니다.
주님이 주신 마음으로 사랑을 나누고 섬기는 아름다운 가정을 이룰 수 있도록 함께 자리를 하셔서 촉복해 주시면 더 없는 기쁨이 되겠습니다.

일시: 2008년 8월 30일 토요일, 오후 1시

our history...

we met in korea.


spoke in nepal.


grew closer together.


but that's not all.


we're getting married
we want you to come
and witness the two of us
become one