ohappydays

Living in the United States for a long time tends to change one's appetite. It's unlikely that many households here have three square meals a day consisting of rice, soup, a few side dishes, and kimchi in the traditional Korean style. Breakfast usually involves coffee, bread, and fruit, and it's common to opt for something other than rice for lunch. Even when dining out, there's often no insiste..

김형석 교수를 언급한 페이스북에 올린 내 글에 어떤 분이 댓글을 올리며 김교수가  강의하는 최근 사진을 올렸다. 그 사진을 보니 104세인 현재의 모습이 57년 전 내가 대학교 1학년 학생일 때 철학개론을 강의할 당시 47세였던 내 기억 속의 모습과 크게 다르지 않아서 놀랐다. 반년 동안 그분에게서 강의를 들으며 수많은 철학자의 이름과 철학 이론을 들었건만, 아직도 기억에 생생하게 남는 건 제논이라는 고대 그리스 철학자와 그가 제기한 화살의 역설뿐이다. 구글을 통해 내 기억을 보완해 보면 그날 들은 ‘화살의 역설’은 다음과 같다. ‘화살이 날아가고 있다고 가정할 때 시간이 지남에 따라 화살은 어느 점을 지날 것이다. 한순간 동안이라면 화살은 어떤 한 점에 머물러 있을 것이고, 그다음 순간에도 화살은 어느..

This morning, while reading the Bible, I came across a verse that deeply resonated with me. "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts but the word of the Lord remains forever." (1 Peter 1:24-25) It's truly a profound expression, and upon further investigation in the commentary, I found that this passage is quoted from the bo..

As I went to church, I noticed a significant decrease in traffic on the highway. Perhaps, many people had gone to the mountains or the sea for the holiday. After Mass, as I finished lunch and was in the parking lot, I happened to run into Michael, who had nothing to do and suggested going to Paul's house for some pork belly and drinks. He didn't even leave alcohol or snacks at Paul's house nor w..

I sometimes stay for a few days in a seaside village in the southern part of New Jersey. Every time I do, I wake up early to watch the sunrise and take pictures of it. I recently looked at some photos I took there and couldn't tell which were sunrises and which were sunsets. The two photos were almost identical, so that's the only reason I could tell. Twilight is the time between sunset and comp..

I received news that my distant cousin, Sister Park Jeong-ja Remigius, passed away on December 16th (Friday). Although her face is not vividly remembered, the youngest sister of the nun, who has been in constant contact with me through Facebook, conveyed the news of her passing. She mentioned that the funeral Mass held on Saturday at Myeongdong Cathedral, attended by nearly 300 nuns from the Sis..

In late 2005, about half a year after I had a car accident, one evening just a few days before Christmas, I was lying in my hospital bed when I heard faint singing from down the hospital corridor."Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright." As I listened closely, I realized it wasn't just one or two people singing. It seemed like a church choir from a nearby church had come to visit. ..

A few days ago, Mr. C posted a congratulatory message on Facebook for my birthday. Being someone who is laid-back and never rushes into anything, it was still a week before my actual birthday, but he went ahead and wished me in advance. Anyway, since I've received early congratulations, let's consider it as receiving advance credits. When I thanked him for the early wishes, he said he would wish..

What did office desks look like in the 1970s? There were no personal computers or mobile phones back then, so desks typically held a desktop telephone, writing utensils, and a few work-related reference books. There were also various forms for daily work logs, draft sheets, and communication forms as per the manager's instructions, as well as carbon paper for making copies. Most work was done vi..

The event that led me to register as a member of the JCC Metrowest in West Orange, New Jersey, and ultimately meet Allison was a horrible car accident. I had been retrieving something from the trunk of my parked car when a speeding car swerved into the line of parked cars along the narrow street and crushed my body between two cars. My legs were crushed. After a long hospital stay and intensive ..