Family and Just Like Family

So, I have been feeling really grateful for being here lately-- perhaps because of the holidays, and the unfamiliar ease with which that meant I got to see family this year. Our traditions have shifted away from presents entirely to annual handmade Christmas cards, of which I am posting a tableau of this year's bounty. It was so great to be in Eugene with the fam, enjoy a nice meal, and enjoy the act of giving someone something you've thought about and concentrated on just for them.

In my apartment, the art and photos have started to go up. I realized recently-- I don't have any art for art's sake. Not one piece. All my decorative wall hangings are of sentimental value-- made by friends, painted by family, photos, pieces brought back from far off places. At first, it occurred to me that this might be seen as bad, since I am not putting things up because they are great, I am putting them because they are important to me. Then I thought I about something I heard recently-- that when you own art and put it up, you cease to really look at it. So then I thought my sentimental collection of the decorative arts might not be such a bad thing afterall....

Here's one example: the yearly group photo from South Haven where my family spent the summer each year since before I was born (this one taken in the summer of 1972 predates me-- my mom is in the black scoop necked shirt with my father standing slightly to the right of her). Once I came along, these folks become my aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. I love this picture because it reminds me of those days, and the many of the extended families that have been so important to me in the various places that I have lived since then. So, although I am very, very happy to be near my family family, the many kind people I have met in Portland so far are just as clutch for my happiness-- I am grateful for both.

Like a Phoenix

Schaackmobile (the blog) triumphantly returns. Schaackmobile (the lifestyle) is still on hiatus, as I slowly spread the tentacles of my existence from the smallest room in my apartment. Schaackmobile (the album), like Wilco (the album), is still just a glint in its mother's eye.

As of late, I have taken over more of the apartment, and even have all the art and photos unpacked and perilously leaning against boxes and walls as I figure out what half of my colorful collection will decorate the homestead and what half will decorate the other homestead: my office. Ahhh, the office. Where have I been this semester? In my office. I decided to trim the hedges in terms of activities so as to optimize the chance of survival this semester, and guess what-- I am giving the final on monday! That means I have survived intact and that blogging, and other highly superfluous activities, might be okay to re-introduce into my daily regimen, one by one.

Back to the inaugural comeback blogpost: I am excited to share the revival of yet another long-dormant pastime: Hwatu! (pronounced like it's spelled)
I threw a party last night, and a colleague in the Chinese department who is actually Korean brought me a gift! A set of cards to play the Korean card game Go-Stop-- a very fun gambling game that I learned from an old friend, Franklin, many years ago in Spain before the abandonment of the peseta for the euro (pesetas were great for very low-stakes gambling as they were worth a fraction of a penny and you could end up with quite the jingle-jangle in your pocket by the end of the night if you played your cards right.) Playing your cards in the game of Hwatu, however, involves animatedly slapping them down on the table and yelling expletives in Korean. Or at least that's what Franklin told us. And so we did! Not having any real idea what we were saying and horrifying Korean-Americans who would overhear our exclamations when we played the game in cafes to pass the time... I am eager to re-learn the rules and host a game soon.... the cards are beautiful (pictured here, with my latest coffee table book) and the fact that I am actually thinking about using the living room means my case of Stockholm's is almost cured. Wanna come play?