Ailana’s Journal — 2026-02-15 (Patreon)

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Ailana and the others are leaving Korea and the fifteen hour time difference! The Journal post for the 16th will go back to its normal time (4:00 a.m. New York time / 3:00 a.m. South Padre Island time).

THIS post crosses the International Date line. In essences, it includes the beginning of the 15th in Korea AND the beginning of the 15th in L.A. plus the rest of the day.

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All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.

HEADING HOME

It has been a great week. Sasha being able to speak the language (which I just realized I never mentioned) made the trip a lot easier for all of us. Now we’re heading back to the US.

We should be in the air by 9:00 a.m. Korea time. The time in the air is something like five weeks, but there’s a bit of a plot twist. I’ll share that when we get to L.A.

When I think back on the time here in Korea, I feel a mix of gratitude, wonder, and quiet growth. From mountain trails and city skylines to long planning talks over breakfast tables, every day held something new. We gathered stories, images, and ideas—but also perspective.

Slowing down enough to notice small details, to listen, to learn a place rather than just pass through it, changed me. This trip gave us more than content. It gave us renewed vision, deeper focus, and a reminder that meaningful work starts with paying attention.

When I think about this trip in regard to being with Jason, I realize how much of our connection lives in the quiet in-between moments. Long walks, shared meals, planning sessions, and tired late-night talks knit us closer than any big event could.

Traveling stretches patience, reveals strengths, and builds trust. Korea gave us time to move in step, to support each other’s work, and to be reminded that partnership is built day by day, choice by choice.

So, as I head to the plane, I’m taking a lot of good memories and thoughts with me.

The time I normally make my next post will find me in the air. I’ll check in though, so see you then.

See you then!

GOOD NIGHT

Back home it’s 7:00 p.m. I have no idea what time it is here. I also have no idea where I am.

Well… let me clarify.

I’m on an airplane flying very fast over the Pacific Ocean. We’re heading east.

Having a lot of time and being confined—for the most part—to a seat, I looked up some stuff about the Pacific Ocean. Yes, I did.

The flight from Seoul to Los Angeles crosses roughly 5,500 miles of it. At its widest, the Pacific spans more than 12,000 miles from Southeast Asia to the western coasts of the Americas.

At most points, it doesn’t really “narrow” much overall, but far to the north, the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia is only about 53 miles wide.

The Pacific covers about 46 percent of Earth’s water surface and touches the shores of more than 40 countries and territories, making it the largest and most far-reaching ocean on the planet.

Now, having proven how my brain chases after obscure things, I’ll wrap up the post.

May your curiosity always lead you to great discoveries—and may they sometimes be useful and full of meaning.

Good night.

CHECKING IN

It’s 4:00 a.m. here on the 15th. This means we landed two hours earlier than when we left! That happens when you fly east and go very fast across a lot of time zones!

We got here around 1:30 a.m., which is 3:30 a.m. back home. According to Jasmine, we actually checked in on the afternoon of the 14th because of check-in times and all that… She didn’t want us stuck in the hallway until whatever the check-in time on the 15th (today) would be.

We’re at the hotel for a few hours (really), then we’re going to church. I’ll tell you our plan for that when we get to it.

That’s probably enough for now, so I’ll wrap up the post. I don’t know about you, but I feel like it’s nice to be doing a good-morning post in the morning.

See you soon.

SUNDAY SERVICE

After we all got to our rooms, rested a little, and cleaned up for the day, we decided to do something different for our Sunday church time. We found a Salvation Army church and went there.

It was exactly what my heart needed. Folding chairs. Soft daylight. Ordinary people showing up with whatever they had left from the week. No performance. No pressure. Just space to breathe.

I love that the Salvation Army isn’t just thrift stores and red kettles at Christmas. It’s a worldwide church and relief organization in over 130 countries, built on practical mercy—meals, shelter, disaster help, and worship for people who don’t always feel like they belong anywhere else.

Sitting there, jet-lagged and quiet, I felt something settle inside me.

Not excitement. Not hype. Peace.

The kind that reminds you that life isn’t only made of big moments in foreign cities. It’s made of simple Sundays. Of choosing to show up when you’re tired. Of letting God hold the parts of you that feel stretched thin.

Korea was growth.

This morning was grounding.

And I think I needed both.

I’ll check in later for a goodnight, so see you then!

AFTER CHURCH MEETING by Jasmine Banks

Micah and me stayed on the island today, so we went to Chapel by the Sea for church. We’d barely gotten in the door when a young man and his wife came up to us.

“Hey, Micah… This is Kaylee, my wife.”

His name was Isaac, and he’s the guy who went to lunch with Micah earlier. We sat with them, and after the service, Micah asked me if we could invite them over. I said yes, of course.

Well, when they got their son Hudson from the nursery, he was so cute! He saw me and reached for me.

“Well… that’s something…” Kaylee laughed and let me hold him.

I think I melted a little. After four or five minutes, he reached for Isaac, so I passed him over.

Micah suggested we make burgers, so he and Isaac are out on the driveway with the grill. Me and Kaylee are watching Hudson play on the floor.

They are both a year or so older than me and Micah, but if today, so far, means anything, I’d say this won’t be the last time we hang out.

At least, I hope not.

GOOD NIGHT

Rain changes Los Angeles. It softens the edges. The city that usually hums and flashes suddenly feels like it’s exhaling.

We ducked into The Last Bookstore just as the drizzle turned steady, and the sound of traffic faded behind paper, wood, and quiet footsteps. There’s something about rows of books that makes time loosen its grip on me. Stories stacked floor to ceiling—lives I’ll never live, places I’ll never stand—yet somehow they all feel close enough to touch.

As a writer, this place feels like DNA. Stories that came before I ever thought of my first scene… A building full of ideas, facts, characters, and details, all of which are the soil from which creativity grows…

I didn’t come in looking for anything specific. I just needed a pause. Travel, movement, noise, planning—it all builds up like static.

Sitting there by the window, watching raindrops chase each other down the glass, I felt the kind of stillness that doesn’t come from silence but from being exactly where you are. No rushing the next thing. No rehearsing tomorrow. Just breathing in a moment that asked nothing from me.

Jason wandered off toward art books, of course. I smiled at that. We move through spaces differently, but we always end up in the same place. I traced the spine of an old novel and thought about how many hands had held it before mine. How many rainy afternoons it had survived.

Cities can be loud about who you’re supposed to be. But tucked into a bookstore on a gray afternoon, I remembered something simple: I’m allowed to just be here. Not performing. Not achieving. Just present, warm, and quietly grateful for a chair, a window, and the steady rhythm of rain.

Good night.

Be your best you!

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