got aloha?

(i found this shirt at a pool hall)

some aloha might be nice, for those who are fed up with the cold weather.
granted, it's just now getting good and cold.
but the snow has been stuck to the ground for the last few days.
something to which i'm not accustomed, but my balance will quickly improve.

and snow stuck to the ground/trampled down to an icy snow pack makes for interesting running.
difficult, i must admit.
and we're supposed to get a couple more inches of snow overnight.
hmmm....
i was planning on a 32k/20 miles tomorrow.
it's looking like a cold 32k.

i might need some aloha after tomorrow.
maybe grab me some of the korean sauna/jjim jil bang.
some of that steamy, sex-segregated, public hot tubs and showers.
but not just hot tubs (of varying temperatures and ingredients) and showers.
for the few dollars it cost to enter you can almost assuredly find:
complimentary soap and shampoo.
towels.a change of clothes lent to you to wear around the place.
blow dryers.
combs.
hair product.
television sets to watch while you relax.
massages (for a fee)
on the guys side you can get your shoes shined.
or even get your haircut for a couple of bucks.

initially, an awkward and slightly uncomfortable experience, of course.
i think this is comes from my western point-of-view, because if you were to visit a jjim jil bang, you'd find small children, so i believe koreans grow up frequenting the sauna.

but you should also know that these rooms full of flesh and fog are infinitely relaxing little islands of release scattered across this stress-laden land.
god bless the jjim jil bang.

i'm not even sure why i'm writing about saunas right now.
maybe i'm destined to visit one soon.

i need to hit one up before the year ends.
that's one thing i'll take out of this year:
the great value that is the jjim jil bang.

of course, i've learned a lot more, too.
maybe this post will be a part of a mini-series of posts to close out the year.
a sort of 'tip of the hat' to KO.
i feel it's at least appropriate for this year, my most revolutionary yet, i'd say.

so as i sit in my friends apartment, i'm gazing at the paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling.
and as i thought they merely hung from the ceiling, drawn taut by gravity, i'm proved incorrect.
i'm reminded of ben folds's lyrics in his song 'still.'

'even the things that seem still are still changing.'

i think that is one thing i'll take from this year.
thanks to so many giant leaps forward in my life, i'm starting to be able to see this thing called change.
i feel like i'm beginning to see change and understand it a little more, comprehending only in retrospect.
after seeing my life move from leader and student to graduate and bum to ex-pat and teacher, i see how much life can change so quickly.
and is still changing.

let me put it in terms of high school classmates (approx. 70 in my class):
some are still close
some have gone far
some have passed
some have brought new life
some are married
some are engaged
(thank you, facebook)

i graduated in 2005, for those who forget.
in 4 years all this has happened.
maybe it just seems fast to me; four years is a fair amount of time for things to happen.

of course, there is positive change and there is negative change, both of which i've experienced.
but, always remember: without the bitter, there can be no sweet.
many things i can change for better or worse.
unfortunately for my invicible me that exists somewhere not so deep inside, i'm beginning to see there are some things i cannot change.
but that's okay, even for me, a control freak at times.
somethings are just meant to be, if you know what i mean.
somethings are destined.
somethings are written by a pen larger than any of us could imagine.
somethings are typed by a keyboard bigger than you or me.

but conceding inability to change some things reveals a big part of me:
i may not be able to change something and i may admit i cannot change it, but why the hell can't i try?
i'm sure as hell going to do my damndest to try, right?
call it overly-optimisitc or a sense of false hope or stubborn or crazy or stupid.
but i think that's an inherent part of me.
at least, a part of me at this point in life.
who knows if that will change?

maybe i can go ahead and call it this:
'joe cundiff's 2009 = the year of change.'
does that rule out the possibility of other years presenting more change?
maybe not, since i've no idea what the future years hold.

this week of hoiday was desperately needed.
it couldn't have come at a better time.
one healthy reflection of the year down, umpteen to go.

aloha,

jo