ohappydays

I've been standing at the edge of the waterLong as I can rememberNever really knowing whyI wish I could be the perfect daughterBut I come back to the waterNo matter how hard I tryEvery turn I take (from ‘How Far I’ll Go’) I spent my childhood near the sea but didn't see the night sea until I was an adult. On my wedding night in the early winter of my 28th year, I spent the first night in a somew..

A few days ago, I watched the movie "90 Minutes in Heaven." It is based on a book written by Pastor Don Piper about his near-death experience right after a car accident. I wasn't drawn to the movie because of the word "heaven" in the title, but because of the mention of a car accident. I felt that his pain might be similar to my own experience. Here is the plot of the movie: On January 18, 1989,..

"Whenever I make young radish kimchi, thoughts of my lover naturally come to mind. Easing the worries of those with many concerns. Hey Manggong(a small round frog), why are you crying and comforting those with many worries? Oh my, Manggong, what can I do?" These are the lyrics of Park Jae-ran's "Manggong" song. I don't know the details of what happened to her lover, but it seems that her lover r..

A few days ago, two things I had been eagerly waiting for finally arrived on the same day. One was the posthumous collection of essays by the late Professor Jang Young-hee, titled "Like a Blessing, Flower Rain in the Morning," which her brother in Korea had told me via email he would send to me before its official release. The other was a set of components and software needed to convert and burn..

The incident with an unexpected "guest" at our house occurred about 40 years ago when I had just crossed the age of thirty. At that time, I was working as a manager at L Electronics Company, overseeing six service centers in the Chungcheong and Jeolla regions. I was based in Daejeon, with service centers and various agencies in Chungju, Cheongju, Jeonju, Gwangju, and Suncheon. My schedule was pa..

A few years ago, while searching for a house to retire in through the New Jersey Housing Department, I received a call one day informing me that there was a suitable house in Marlboro. Marlboro? It seemed to be somewhere in the central part of New Jersey. Looking at the map, it was a bit concerning that it was about an hour away from the Korea town, but the low crime rate, clean air, and proximi..

At the beginning of one of my favorite movies, It's a wonderful life, the 12-year-old protagonist, George Bailey, is sledding down a snowy hill to a frozen lake with his younger brother, Harry, and their friends. When it's his turn, the younger brother says, “I'm not scared,” and slides down the hill and onto the ice of the lake, only to break the ice and fall into the water. “Boys, make a human..

In the alley next to our house where many students passed by boys carried folded wrapping cloths slung over one shoulder, girls carried neatly folded wrapping cloths, and middle school and high school students with book bags passed by. As the children rushed home after classes, there was the sound of lunchboxes and chopsticks colliding at their waists. On the day report cards were issued, idle y..

Last June, we decided to take a family vacation by the lakeside, about an hour's drive from Toronto, Canada, in a place not too far from our daughter’s home. While planning the trip, I thought it would be a good opportunity to drive back and forth, even though it meant a long journey. Although I was worried about whether my wife, who would be driving, could handle the trip, I thought it wouldn't..

Occasionally, I watch electrical engineering lectures on YouTube. The handsome instructor, who is about the same age as my children, explains difficult topics so easily that I can understand them effortlessly, even when I listen infrequently. Recently, I listened to a lecture on fundamental electrical engineering laws such as Kirchhoff's Law, Ampere's Law, Coulomb's Law, Fleming's Law, and the B..