The Last Major Hurdle

What a sigh of relief! I was EXTREMELY nervous all weekend about giving notice to my company. The reason is that they have been VERY good to me. I truly respect my manager - he is intelligent; fiercely protects, respects, and believes in his people; and most importantly, has a lot of integrity. I was truly sad today when I told my manager I was leaving. We both agreed we enjoyed working with each other...and were teary-eyed at the end! Even though I liked working for my manager, I got along with my team members, and I was getting a decent amount of responsibility, I knew that ultimately it is not where I want to be in the long term. To pursue what could make me happier in life, I had to take a risk. It is so easy to go along with the status quo but it takes a lot of energy and will to shake things up. I resolve to never be complacent in my life.

Informing my company was the last major hurdle in the Scheme to get to Spain. Now that I gave my resignation, it is becoming even more real! The last two weeks have been satisfying to see my plans take shape and become finalized. With confidence, I can say what the next two busy months have in store for me:

JULY
Sarah & Bobby's Wedding
Fourth of July BBQ's
IRIM'S Drunken Tennis Match / Street Fight / Dance-Off
My homey, Lisa "Me Me ME!" Kim, is back, Jack

2 weeks in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC for Spanish language school, visiting my UIUC-IV-snake-loving gal pal Sylvia Chungster, and hopefully trying new water sports (e.g. perhaps get over my fear of SCUBA diving and the DR is famous for watersurfing)

AUGUST
Watch Mocha-Treena get even more drunk on her birthday then she was at Galleria Marchetti ;)
Christine and Jae's Wedding
The highly-anticipated "Wicked" musical
Douple Dipper's Birthday Festivities?!?
Bears versus the Colts in Indianapolis hopefully
A Farewell Bash at quite possibly, Bar Celona (CUUTTEE eh?!)!
Pack, teary good-byes, kisses and I'm off...........to Barcelona, SPAIN (note to all...airport code: BCN) on Tuesday, August 23rd to nervously and excitedly embark on the next chapter of my life...

Rush Hour Funnies

Driving through the Northwest suburbs from work to get home in the Northern suburbs, there is very little amusement that I encounter. Except today! A car in front of me had bumper stickers with the following taglines which gave me a few chuckles:

MY KID
beat up your honor student

DON'T STEAL
the government does not like competition

THE PROCTOLOGIST CALLED
to say that he found your head in your ass

This billboard cracked me up:
The New Jetta is the Jetta, only Betta.

Now, a quick story:
The Drinking Tennis Duel
Nga-cita: My sister favors Carol.
Irim: Whaaaaaaaat? I can out do Carol in dancing, drinking, and tennis! I challenge her to a duel! Carol: Well, you can beat me in silly dancing, this is true but NOT in ballet dancing!
Irim: OK, drinking and tennis it is! First, we'll go play tennis and then we will go drink!
Carol: Nuh uh! You said, drinking and tennis...we will drink and play tennis at the SAME TIME!
Irim (all 'fraidy cat now): Oh no! I am going to wind up in the hospital! Mommeeeeee!!!

Thanks to Nga-cita, my fabulous agent, I have a promotional tour and merchandising in the works for the event. There will be hot ball boys and my own personal Latin towel boy. Stay tuned for details of the event soon. There is discussion of an Irim v. Nga-cita street fight and then an Irim v. Captain Fun Glenn dance-off. Irim is one busy challenger! Something tells me that at the end, she will be one drunk, beaten-to-a-pulp girl with a head wound in the shape of a tennis ball and feet marks all over her...

Promo for Proctor & Gamble

From IMs to e-mails to phone calls to text messages, I've heard from you expressing your concern about my situation. It's great to know that I have wonderful friends who genuinely care. I thank you again and say to not be too alarmed from my last blog entry...as there is more of a calm after the storm now. You have no idea how much it helps to know I have great support!

To relieve some of my stress, I've been more active. Thank goodness for stress relievers or I would be so tightly wound up I wouldn't be able to move!

I volunteered at the Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon last weekend. It took my mind off of things and I think I'm beginning to be a pro at painting! Not only was it good physical work but it was for a great cause. We painted the dormitory rooms of neglected and abused kids at the UCAN school. I was proud of myself for going because there is a 30% chance I won't show up to volunteer events I sign up for (yes, I know- bad Carol)!

I hit the golf range recently which is like going to the spa for me. There is great satisfaction as I mindlessly destroy each tiny ball and see it propelled high into the air. The golf range at the Skokie Sports Park is awesome because the balls pop up one after another without any manual intervention. As a truly lazy person, it's a fantastic convenience.

My first love is not some silly boy...it is tennis. I lived and breathed the sport as a kid, playing in the sun at high noon day after day during the summers 'til I looked like a "hok gwai". I lived for the grand slam tournaments, even recording matches on TV. It continues to be a part of my secret inner geekdom. I have played sporadically over the years and so, the passion has ebbed. I sucked so bad the last few times of playing - completely missing serves and forehands going array, I lost confidence in my strokes. Well, I decided to sign up for tennis lessons and went to the Intermediate 1 (out of 3) class. It felt good to get back into something that I truly enjoy. At the end of the first lesson, my instructor said to me in his Eastern European accent, "You underestimate yourself. You should be in the Intermediate 2 class". I was taken aback. It made me wonder, how often do I underestimate my abilities??

As a side promotion for Proctor & Gamble, I love these Crest White Strips I've been using. After 2 days of use, my teeth are whiter! I am so impressed with the little inventions. I supppose it's fitting that if I gotta grin and bare whatever stresses I have...I can do it with whiter teeth!

A Lesson in Unconditional Love

I am bloated and tired but relaxed for once this past week. I've been stretched beyond my limits emotionally as well as my tolerance for stress and worry. I've been paralyzed with indecisiveness and fear, but at the same time, I have not felt so compelled to action for someone else in a long time. For once, I wasn't solely thinking about myself or a typically superficial thing. My love has always been unconditional but it has never been tested to this magnitude. In a peculiar way, I'm grateful I do not have to doubt myself in this capacity. I had easily scoffed at the notion of being weak and vulnerable, but I know now what can completely unglue me and that I can't always be strong.

I open the door and there he is...sitting in the living room. So simple but it makes me want to cry for hours. I am so thankful and relieved.

Who knew that such a small, seemingly insignificant event like this would make me pause and count my blessings? Life is a beautiful thing really.

I've been finding my way out of a bad nightmare with uncertainty. The burden weighed so heavily on me. I even struggled with my plan to move to Spain. I know I will do it but it will be more difficult than I ever anticipated. The worst, at least for now, is over. My hope for the future lies in the hands of God and that things will work out the way they are suppose to. Having this faith, I can sleep peacefully...at last.