A Day of Simple Pleasures and Reflections
I turned off the air conditioner. Thanks to my energetic husband, we'd been running it since May, so it's been about four months. The fan is still a necessity, though. Because my husband felt the bed was too hot and slept on the floor, I got to stretch out and sleep sprawled across the bed for the first time in ages. It makes me wonder, am I just someone who can't sleep well with another person? I slept like a log all alone. Just like when I lived alone. There are a few things I miss since getting married: not having my own desk, my own workout space, and not being able to stretch out on the bed. Oh, and the messiness of the house... but I guess that's inevitable unless I take on all the housework myself. And the silence is gone. Living together requires some adjustment, but sleeping sprawled out and getting a good night's sleep brought back old memories and felt great. I wonder what I'll have to give up when we have kids. Of course, I'll gain a lot too, and I know that gaining and improving is definitely more valuable, but it's a little sad that some of my favorite moments will disappear. Nothing lasts forever, but why don't we appreciate things until we lose them? I should write a gratitude journal.
The weather was clear and sunny, so my husband and I went up to the rooftop to look at the sky. Lately, I've been wanting to write, have a morning routine, and have my own space and time again, so we had a casual conversation about maybe putting a desk up on the roof. We also looked at the weeds growing in the flowerpots and then came back downstairs. The sun was blindingly bright. Since the weather was so nice, we decided to go to the next neighborhood for some jajangmyeon (black bean noodles).
Oh, my knee has been hurting since yesterday. I only stretched my neck and shoulders before bed, but the next day, the inside of my right knee hurt, so I put on a pain patch. Today, the outside of my right ankle hurt. The muscles I use to press the accelerator must be muscles I never use, because by evening, the muscles on the outside of my shin were throbbing so much. My husband gave me a massage. It hurt so much. I don't even know when the last time I felt such throbbing pain was. I have no idea how much I overworked it. I'm left-handed, so my left leg is much stronger, and my right leg has been injured before, so it's weaker. I never realized that driving would require me to use it so much. We both exclaimed how lucky we were that it rained yesterday. If I had practiced driving for two days in a row, I probably would have been sick enough to go to the hospital. So, even though the weather was nice today, I didn't even think about practicing driving. When we left for jajangmyeon, it didn't hurt that much. Now that I think about it, walking probably made it hurt more...? Ahem.
Since I need to look pretty in photos when we go on our trip, I put on makeup, thinking about how to apply the new makeup I bought. I walked very slowly. The sun was so strong, and I didn't bring an umbrella, so I walked mostly on the back streets. The streets all connected, so I was able to get to the restaurant without going too far out of my way. Thanks to that, it was fun to explore the new neighborhood. Everything looked great because the weather was nice. I walked past a quiet elementary school, well-maintained landscaping, trees in the apartment complex that had grown to be 10 stories tall, and students on the high school sports field.
We arrived at the restaurant, but it was break time. It was supposedly a restaurant with no break time, so I wondered when that had started. They were only taking a one-hour break, so I thought they were trying to save on labor costs by giving employees a break. We had no choice but to go to a nearby cafe. We went into a pretty cafe that looked like it had delicious bread. I didn't want to get bloated from milk and not be able to eat, so I ordered an iced tea. I got peppermint, and my husband got rooibos, but I started getting gas after drinking it. Why? I don't know if it was because I was tired from walking and the ice water shocked my stomach, or if it was because the cafe was cold. My husband was cold too, so we left quickly. When we got to the restaurant, there were already two couples sitting down even though they had just opened. They must have turned off the air conditioning during the break because it smelled musty. The tables were already falling apart, so I usually turned a blind eye, but today, I felt like the owner was being stingy. My husband has been a regular at the restaurant for a long time, and he said that the owner used to be nice when he was younger, so he was surprised that he was running the restaurant so frugally.
But the food was amazing. It was probably one of the best jajangmyeon I've ever had. Noodles are usually too much for me, and I stop after a few bites, but today, I put some on my plate and slurped them up like a Japanese person. I wanted to order jjamppong rice (spicy seafood stew with rice), but the jajangmyeon was so good that I ate more jajangmyeon. It was a double serving of ganjajang (jajangmyeon with a thick sauce), but even that had gotten smaller. The portion used to be huge. I guess they're trying to cut costs due to inflation. But it was delicious. It was the first time I didn't order tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), but the two bowls of noodles were enough. I usually eat so well that I don't really crave protein.
On the way home, we decided to stop by the park. My husband was worried about my knee, but I said I felt okay. I think I was excited because the weather was nice. I wanted to see some green trees. We walked past the restaurants and looked at the people. One of the best things about my husband and I is that we have a similar way of talking. We can start a conversation about anything. We were looking at a pho restaurant and said, "I don't think a local owns that restaurant, do you?" and we talked about it for a long time. Then we'd look at a studio apartment and ask, "Would you buy that if it came out for 100 million won?" and we'd talk about that for a long time too. We talk about whatever we see, and we lose track of time. As we were approaching the entrance to the park, we saw a couple being led down an alley by a real estate agent. I was curious about that neighborhood, so I decided to follow them. We walked and walked and walked down the alley, even had to go up some stairs and turn left and right, and then they were led to some strange villa. I wonder how much that property costs. Is it just bait for the next property? What are that couple thinking? Will they make a deal with that real estate agent? We talked about all sorts of things as we explored the neighborhood. There was a temple nearby, so we went to look at it. The temple was well-maintained, so it had a lot of good energy. There wasn't a single withered plant, and the space was full of life. It was nice to see the bright blue sky, and I loved the sound of the trees swaying in the breeze. There was a childcare center nearby, so there were kids playing outside. It was fun and strange to see the houses packed together and stacked on top of each other.
And when we went into the park, we saw a path we hadn't seen before, so we went exploring. The sun was starting to set, and the golden sunlight was streaming through the leaves. It was so beautiful. Peaceful and so nice. Birds were constantly flying around, probably because they had nests in the trees. We went into the park and rested. I was sad that I was so tired that I had to rest on benches every so often like an old woman. But after stretching my legs and resting, I quickly felt energized and went back to walking. Lotuses were blooming. I wanted to go see the lotuses in Siheung, but I don't think I'll be able to go this year because we're going on a family trip.
We rested again near the lawn. There was a forest exhibition space, so we tried it out. They showed a video of a winter forest. The sound of walking through a snowy forest was so quiet and peaceful that I teared up. I don't know if it's because I haven't been resting well, but I get emotional when I feel this sense of relief. My counselor, my parents, and my fortune teller all say that I've been putting up with stress for a long time, but I just thought I was having a hard time every day because I couldn't digest food well, or I didn't have the energy because I couldn't eat. I never thought I was stressed. The fact that I teared up from a sense of relief makes me think I've been living in a state of tension. I guess I did need a break. I should go to a temple stay by myself, away from my husband. It would be nice to experience the comfort that extreme silence provides. I should go with my sister before it gets too cold in October.
After seeing the photos, I realized that it wasn't my makeup that was the problem, but my haircut. I made a hair salon appointment for tomorrow and collected references for how I wanted to cut my hair. I can't stand the weight of my hair and how droopy it gets, so there were a lot of photos that looked similar to hime cuts. While looking for photos, I ate a milk bread I bought at the convenience store. I've been craving bread lately. I'm craving sugar and carbohydrates, so I think I'm going to gain weight. I need to be careful. But it was so delicious. I want to eat it again. I also grabbed some sweet and sour chicken and turned on the drama "Fragrant Flowers Bloom with Dignity". It felt slow-paced because of "My Demon", but I managed to watch it. But the main character was so incredibly strange that I couldn't stand to watch it anymore, so I turned it off. My husband was playing a game in the room, and he was dumbfounded and laughed when he heard the main character's lines. Why do Japanese people think that kind of personality is ideal? I quietly turned it off after watching the main character apologize so much and blame herself for everything, even for showing her emotions. Jang Wonyoung is watching it these days, and the artwork is pretty, but it didn't suit my taste at all.
Instead, I prepared for after the trip. A return to normal, so to speak. It's the end of carefree resting. After the trip, there will be the Chuseok holiday, and then I'll be back in the office soon. I'm not stressed, but I really want to continue my current recovery. I don't want to live in a state of constant fatigue from work, so I've been thinking about how to live, what to take care of, and so on. So, I bought a diary. I ordered a Leuchtturm monthly diary at the right time. It's expensive. It's expensive, but I love Leuchtturm notebooks, so I got my husband's permission and pressed the purchase button. I asked my husband if I could buy a diary, and he immediately said yes, saying that a diary is a good thing to buy. Thank you. I love my husband, who always supports and encourages me. (I hurriedly bought the diary because I thought I could start using it in October, but it starts in November. Oh well, I plan to fix February and use it. I think I misunderstood the content that everyone is rushing to buy the desired product to mean that I can use it from October.)
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