personal

한 친구가 있다

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나에게는 오래된 친구들이 몇 있다. 지금 생각해 보면, 국민학교 친구, 중학교 친구, 고등학교 친구, 그리고 대학교와 대학원 친구. 성격이 까칠해서 많은 친구를 사기지 못했지만, 그때 그때 마다 오랫동안 남아서 여운을 남기는 그런 친구들이 있다. 그런 친구들 중의 한명을 몇 년전에 어렵게 해서 다시 만난 적이 있다. 일본에서 근무를 마치고 마침 뉴욕에 있는 UN 본부로 근무지를 … Read more

글쓰기와 장인어른에 대한 생각

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몇 일이 지나면 장인어른께서 세상을 떠나신지 벌써 일년이 되는 날이다. 장인어른은 평생 글쓰기로 삶을 보내신 분이다. 어려서 북한의 함흥에서 태어나셔서 해방무렵 남한으로 오시고, 우리 아버님과 함께 보성고등학교를 졸업하시고, 지금의 연세대학교를 다니셨다. 한국전쟁이 끝나면서 부터 기자생활을 시작하셨다. 그리고 나서 1967년에는 아시아 재단에서 주는 장학금을 받아서 미국 콜롬비아 대학교에서 고급언론과정에서 과학 언론을 공부하시고, 귀국 이후에는 한번도 옆을 … Read more

매미: Cicada

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Cicadas are fascinating. They live 7, 13 or 17 years under the ground until they become adults. In their final year, they come out of the ground and die only after 7 – 10 days. Its endurance, its transformation, and its short-lived “free life” make me continue to think about them. The thought about Cicadas has been with me since I saw an empty shell that a cicada had left on the ground during my visit to Osaka a week ago. A life of a cicada can be seen as a reminder of evanescent nature of life. But it is also a triumphant, victorious life, eventually fulfilling its dream after a long wait. No matter how short it may be, it’s worth the wait. Many people never get to do that. They never leave their ground. They never get to fly.
Below are few poems that I wrote, thinking about cicadas.

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A simple life in Japan

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It has been about 10 days since I came to Tokyo. Now, I have an alien registration card, a bank card, a Suica card and a faculty ID card. With these four, I feel like I am settled here. Except that I can’t speak Japanese. I manage to do most daily things without any problem … Read more

OMG, it’s complicated

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It is about my Kindle — in fact, Kindles. I have three Kindles at home. One for my son, and a Kindle DX and a Kindle 2 for me. I use Kindle DX for mostly for papers and articles, and Kindle 2 for my pleasure reading.

Although both my son and I really enjoy Kindles, we had defective screen problems with them. My son’s Kindle showed black mark on the screen twice. Each time, Amazon sent a replacement immediately as a warranty service. However, the person who processed the second replacement made a mistake and charged for it. I called Amazon to ask them to cancel the charge. Instead of cancelling the charge, the person that I spoke to process it as a refund. The problem, however, that he refunded a wrong Kindle — my Kindle, not my son’s, which was bought using my school’s account. So, they charged to my personal card and refunded to my school. God knows why he did it, but eventually, we sorted out this mess. Another Amazon person apologized for the inconvenience and I thought all the problems have been resolved.

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Sunday Posting

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Each Sunday, I will post some texts that touch my heart and move my soul. Today, it is from the Book of Jeremiah — an ancient Jewish prophet who predicted the desolation of Jerusalem and Judah Kingdom. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be … Read more

first day school

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No, it was not my first day of school, but, my kids’. As kids grow older, the first day of school is not anxious and exciting as it used to be. This morning, however, I was reminded how big a deal it used to be. As I was leaving my house to go to gym, … Read more