Korean Proverbs and Klingons

Dr. Kon is renown at our seminary for his Korean proverbs, of which my favorite two are:

1) “When the whales are fighting, the shrimp’s backs are broken open” (translation: when the big dogs are fighting, the little guys suffer. And I'm not sure if that's a threat to the big dogs or a consolation to the common folk).

2) “When in tiger’s teeth, don’t move. And you will stay alive.” (This gem is my favorite and it was given during Hebrew studies, of which I was frustrated over translating a word which, in the end, amounted to "he.")

This week I have clocked about 60 hours of study. That’s right. Work. Sleep. Eat. In that order. What has taken me 80 hours to accomplish could have been completed in 40 or less hours. That’s really sad. I’m tempted to blame it on Tony Furtado and his wicked guitar/banjo skills, which call out to me, “Take another break. Behold the awesomeness of a brilliant musician.”

Or I could blame the scent of our undecorated Christmas tree in the living room, which I swore I would not decorate until finishing my two big projects. Epic failure there. At precisely 1am last night, I popped in a xmas movie and basked in the glory of tree sap and ornaments. So desperate was I that I even made room for Bruce’s Star Trek ornaments. Nothing says “peace on earth” like seeing a Klingon ornament hang two branches away from baby Jesus. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a branch strong enough to hold up the Borg.

This morning another Dr. Kon proverb came to me, “Wherever you are, be all there.” Today I’m resolved to focus on my remaining projects. No more distractions. No more facebook, ipod revamping, youtube watching, Furtado groovin’. Time to focus ... after I rearrange my study area. Again. (Does it count if I listen to Furtado while I rearrange stuff and eat lunch?)