The View Up Here

not an ad for Delta Today is my first full day in Ulsan, my new home. And by "new" I mean the 2nd time around. I lived here from 2002-2003 and visited twice more. Then in 2024, I made a pilgrimage to the sites of the Korean Catholic martyrs  which included a week in Ulsan. It was then that I realized I could easily call this place home. (You can read about my Korea Dreambus film screening here!) The process of getting ready to apply for a visa began months before I even had a job offer. The job search was also months long, and the position I accepted came out of the blue. I'd applied for several teaching positions at a variety of institutions and programs, and even interviewed for two university jobs. None of that worked. But the job I took was exactly where I want to be, and although it's teaching in a hagwan (private after-school academy), the conditions are exemplary and the couple that owns the academy are solid. So here's a bit of a rundown on the last 48 h...

Walkway in Fairport, NY I know I haven't been writing here as much.. mostly I'm working on my Korea Dreambus site and my new Patreon page .  I have to admit that the Patreon is new for me, so I'm still trying to figure out how to best utilize it. But the good news is that I have a lot more of my itinerary nailed down, I've made a good connection to help me on the ground in Korea, and I've raised $1,300 to help me with this pilgrimage and film project. Head over to the website to catch up with my updates and musings, and then to my Patreon for a membership to see videos and other content! If you have prayer intentions you'd like me to bring with me to Korea, please contact me with those or leave in the comments. Half way through summer... please, God, let the second half of summer feel as gloriously long as the first half has done!

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and the Strawberry Moon! What a glorious time to be alive. I have a few sweet as strawberries updates for you, my dear reader. And so it begins: summer produce! First -- you should go to my new site that details my upcoming pilgrimage and personal documentary film in Korea! Yes, I'm going! It's happening! https://koreadreambusdocumentary.blogspot.com/ Second -- I ended up leaving the secretarial half of my job, continuing on with the staff writer post. I will also add teaching theology part time this fall - this time to high schoolers. I am very pleased with the combination of writing and teaching. And yes, both jobs have cleared me to be gone for three weeks to go to Korea.  Third -- My short film, renamed "Souled," is now very close to picture lock (final picture edit). I've hired a composer, a sound mixer, and a color correction guy. Post production is in full swing, and boy am I excited to get that pic...

A month has slipped by, but before we head into Thanksgiving et al., I want to post a few thoughts about my pilgrimage last month. First off, I have to tell you that I don't have any pictures of the pilgrimage. Why, you ask? Because my phone had a major malfunction a little over a week ago, and I lost all photos since June (which hadn't been backed up - my bad). So you'll just have to take my word for it when I say the beauty and peace of the North American Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, NY was worth the 6-hour round trip in the bus with 35 middle school students. The Shrine's grounds comprise what was the 17th century Mohawk village of Ossernenon. The Shrine itself is a massive Church built in the round and named the Colosseum, inspired by the Colosseum in Rome where so many Christian martyrs were maimed and killed in the persecutions. The museum there also provides information about St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American named a saint by the Catholic Church...

Ah, the month has already started to get away from me! God has sent amazing opportunities and experiences in these last two weeks: 1. Seeing Old Blind Dogs in concert . A long-standing Scottish traditional (with a twist) band that comes to Rochester as part of their N. American tours, this band was last here in 2019. When they're in town, they come to Lovin' Cup at RIT (my alma mater). The show was intense and engaging; absolutely spellbinding. So much talent, passion and always with humor. I went with a group of old friends of mine, and together we were a rowdy crowd. Good vibes. You can stream OBD's latest album here . 2. Having a 30 minute lesson with my fiddle hero Jonny Hardie of OBD . After the concert, I asked him a couple of questions, including whether he ever does workshops. To my great surprise and amazement, he offered to give me a lesson before the next night's concert. I drove home that night in the clouds, but the next day at school my stomach was all bu...