Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Back in the South...

I have been in Atlanta for two weeks now. You know, I have to laugh at how life works. Six months ago if you had told me that I would be back in the South working in Atlanta, Georgia, I would have laughed in your face. How do we know what life is going to bring? Why are people still in search of someone who can tell them their future? Would they even be able to handle it if they knew? I know I wouldn't.

The move to Atlanta went like clockwork. I was a bit surprised at how easy it was to get the dogs through both ends of immigration and customs. The customs offices in Seoul and Atlanta didn't even ask me to take the dogs out of their carriers. For all they know I could have been carrying over-sized field rats. That just goes to show me that all the worry before was for nothing. Why do we worry so much? Anyway, the most difficult thing about the transition was finding the car in Atlanta. Mom and Dad had written down the area and number of the space where they parked. Little did they, or anyone for that matter, know that all sides of the Atlanta airport have areas that contain those same coordinates. It was humorous, I am sure, for those waiting in the airport to see this family with two dogs cross the middle of the airport as we searched in all directions for our car. And the airport staff were of little help as they didn't know how to direct us when we were missing one coordinate of our space...South D 69. We had D 69, but all directions had a D 69. The staff there was at a loss. In the end we all had a good laugh as we passed onlookers in the center of the airport for the fourth time in search of our D 69.

Once we found our car, the dogs had their long-awaited release from the carriers, and we headed to Norcross to the hotel. The weather here was really welcoming after leaving the rather frigid Seoul. The sun was shining and there was a warm breeze blowing, and I was waiting for it to hit me that I had finally returned to the US to stay. And you know, until this day, nothing has hit me, except the fact that life is still beautiful. As a child I used to watch movies where the main character would go through some conflict, hit the climax of being forced to make a decision, and then sit after it is all said and done with a slight smile just shrugging off all that had just transpired. I, on the other hand, would be a blubbering idiot watching his/her nonchalant shrug thinking, "what are you doing? Go after him!!! You can't just let him walk away!!! What are you doing??? Are you out of your mind???" Then, indignantly, I would get up and give my own nonchalant retort, "Hollywood, hmph!"

Now, I can empathize with all those characters. I now know what they were thinking. I, too, just today, sat at my desk listing to Eva Cassidy singing a sad, heartfelt, meloncholic tune, with that same slight smile on my face. So many things have come to light to me. For example, why would I want to be an actor portraying others' lives when my life is so much more interesting? Why should I struggle to feel what that main character is feeling during that smile when I already know what the main character in my own life is feeling? That is when life becomes beautiful. And the beauty shines on...