Time in a Bottle

[I was so busy with my thesis that posting every day seems to be quite a task rather than a painless, cathartic activity. -_-""" I need to graduate this summer. I need to finish my research! 화이팅!]

This compulsion to break away from the comforts of university life has never been more intense than two days ago. It was UP's centennial graduation. As I hear the graduates' names being called, receiving their diplomas with oozing pride...There I was--far from the stage, standing on dry grass, containing the green eyed monster within with the taste of Kimchi. "The delay was worth it", I easily convinced myself. Being an exchange student in Korea has given me an inexhaustible well of joy and pride and strength from where I can draw esteem to keep my ego running unfettered. (Ego, as one of the things that keep you sane, is good, so long as you keep your head from plowing into others.)

(pics: The Stage with UP seal)










I gave my friends a very special hand-made gift that I hope they'd appreciate. When I arrived in Korea, I thought that I should collect four season leaves so that I can preserve the passing seasons with something that breathed them in. So starting from March till December, I started collecting flowers, leaves, grasses, etc. and squashed them in between pages of my book Count of Monte Cristo. I also brought home snow from the peak of mount Sorak, one of the highest peaks in ROK. The snow was so clear and pristine that you could actually boil it and use it to cook instant noodles, which was what we did. ^^; Considering all the mementoes I gathered from Korea, I thought of making something whose meaning can't be surpassed just as easily.

And that thing is the gift I gave to my graduating friends. (pic: a vial containing 'snow', dried leaves and flowers collected throughout the year--cherry blossom petals included--some colored sand and beads I bought from National Book Store. )









The four season leaves:









Colored sand and colored beads: