lucky us

2012-02-08T19:15:00.001+09:00

To follow-up on my weird hive/allergies, it turns out I'm not gluten-intolerant nor have Celiac Disease. Hip hip hooray! Alternatively, I have a mild allergy to the following foods: beef, cow's milk, all tree nuts, chocolate, and spinach. When I eat a lot of these foods, or if I eat them in combination with one another, I get hives. Exercise, hot weather, and spicy food (basically anything that makes me sweat or feel hot) makes things worse.

Also, for the past few months I've had this weird feeling that my throat's closing up. I thought it was because of the hives, but I still get it now even without hives. AND also for the past few months I've been waking up with a throw-up feeling. It's not every morning or every night, but it's most nights/mornings. I googled it and it's most likely caused by anxiety, which isn't worth going to the doctor's for.

Maybe I should make a doctor friend or talk Sam into becoming one. The first is probably more likely.

Getting old sucks. I want my 17-year-old body back.

2012-02-01T11:31:00.001+09:00

test

happy thoughts

2012-01-23T18:51:00.001+09:00

jeanfood

things that make me happy these days:

1. Saving money and time by packing lunch or buying cheap food from Trader Joe's on the way to work. The Middle Eastern Pasta Salad has been my fav these days (thanks to a certain co-worker of mine for introducing me to it.)

2. Getting lots and lots of sleep on the weekends. I have this terrible habit of staying up on the weekdays and it makes me super lethargic by the time the weekend comes. Resting and lounging on the weekends keep me sane.

3. Amazon Prime. What will I do when you expire? Probably stop buying stuff on Amazon.. heh.

4. Milk chocolate kisses with almonds. I know I'm mildly allergic, but I love them so.

5. Doing my nails. I don't usually do my nails but I did them last week while watching an unfunny episode of SNL. It was very therapeutic.

6. LA restaurant week. I spent a few hours researching and deciding what I'm going to order.

7. Kirkland flavored green tea. I got a case of it this weekend. You should try it! I think it's superior to the Snapple flavored teas.

8. Running. It's especially satisfying knowing it's still only 9 when I'm done. I hate it when i'm home and kill time doing 쓸때없는짓 online only to find that it's midnight all of a sudden. (like right now.. sigh) Seeing my weight go down is pretty satisfying too.. and makes jogging kinda addicting~

9. Cheese.

10. Apple crumble 3 wick candle by my bed. Smells so good.

bowlin'

2012-01-13T11:57:00.002+09:00

Christians.

Resolutions

2011-12-28T16:58:00.000+09:00

The strangest thing has been happening.

Last Thursday (the last day of the work week), someone brought in doughnuts to work. Although I'm not really into doughnuts, I really wanted one that day. So I had a doughnut despite all my gluten free eating.

I waited hours for my hives to pop up to no avail.

I had cup of noodles and a hot pocket the same day and no hives!

The strange thing is that I did get one at Sam's house and my other friend's house that following weekend. Strange...

I hope I can find the culprit... having chronic hives is so annoying!

****

In other news... The past 2 years I didn't post resolutions because I didn't have any, but here are a few of my resolutions this year:

1. Exercise on a regular basis. Whether it's running after dinner or doing little exercises at home, I need to get into the groove of moving my body a little more. No weight goal.

2. Regularly tithe (biweekly). It's so hard to give away a portion of my money, especially with my random expenses recently. I always set aside cash to tithe on Sunday, but somehow I end up cornered into using it at a cash only place. These are only excuses and I just need to make it more of a priority. I wonder if my church has direct deposit. How great would that be!

3. Bring lunch to work at least 3 times a week. I brought lunch to work this week twice so far and it's saving me about half or more of my lunch money. And although the saving money aspect has always been obvious, it was just more convenient to go out and buy lunch. My motivation is getting out 30 minutes earlier since I take shorter lunches because I eat at the office. But then again, I'd be spending those 30 minutes preparing lunch for the next day...

4. Be quieter. There have been so many times this year where I said the wrong thing and relived it over and over at home while drowning in regret. This year I want to make an effort to be a tad quieter. Hopefully this will help me become more observant and sensitive to the feelings of others.

5. Budget my shopping. Working at an office that handles woman's clothing is no easy task. Every time I see something cute I want to buy buy buy! But despite how easily accessed these clothes are, there's no excuse for purchasing all these clothes that I kinda don't need. In 2012, I will set aside a certain amount so I can treat either myself or my lucky boyfriend to up to 3 new items a month.

6. Quit gloating. I don't know if it's because I lived in Korea, but gloating has becoming this terrible habit of mine. Bragging in Korea isn't really frowned upon because people don't think of it as showing off. People are usually genuinely interested and happy for you when something unimportant but awesome happens. Expressing this kind of excitement doesn't really translate well in the U.S. and many times I find myself gloating because most people just don't give a fk. Now that I'm in America, it's time to break this habit!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and have a safe and celebratory New Year's Eve!

fried food and burritos

2011-12-18T04:39:00.000+09:00

credit

This here is 파닭 (pa dalk - green onion chicken). It's basically fried chicken, topped with shredded green onions with this magical sweet, mustardy sauce poured all over it. It was my favorite way to eat fried chicken in Korea.

Since I got back from Korea, I've had a chronic case of hives. The first time I got it, it was REALLY bad. I had it all over my body (including the soles of my feet) and it lasted for an entire week. During that week I tried to go to the movies, but had to leave before it even started because the itchiness made it impossible to sit still.

The hives went away for a few weeks and appeared again in a more steady form. Over a course of a few weeks and a suggestion by a friend, I found that eating food with gluten (flour, wheat, rye) caused my hives.

At first I didn't really care and joked about it. "I guess this is God's way of telling me he wants me to be skinny." "Finally I have a permanent aversion to bready foods!"

But after eating gluten free for two weeks, not being able to eat certain things genuinely made me sad. Sam bought my favorite cake from Paris Baguette for our 1 year anniversary and after one bite, I broke out into hives. I was early to work one day so I stopped by McDonald's and ordered an iced coffee and a breakfast burrito. I had to cancel the breakfast burrito because the tortilla has flour in it. My co-workers and I went to this cafe near work and they all got these delicious paninis (including a BULGOGI panini) and I had to have soup and salad. I went out with Sam and his friends and I couldn't drink beer.

I like almost cried about the McDonalds and paninis. Actually I did cry about the McDonald's.

Luckily I'm able to eat corn tortillas (so Mexican food isn't completely ruled out... but no more all meat burritos) and corn meal is ok (yay corn chex and corn dogs!)

I'm going to an allergy specialist on Wednesday to get consulted and tested.

So with a gluten intolerance, you can either be just gluten intolerant or have this disease called Celiac Disease.

If you have Celiac Disease, eating gluten kills the villi in your small intestine, which will eventually causes malnutrition and etc. So I'm hoping that I don't have this disease and that I can just eat Claritin or Allegra and be able to eat bready food when I crave it. If I DO have Celiac's, the only cure is to eat gluten free for the rest of my life.

....

I told my grandma and she said that there's no such thing! And I told my mom and she said it's because I don't pray enough. -___-

Anyway I'll keep you updated. If it's confirmed that I DO have it. I will probably be sad, cry a lot, and have a temporary case of depression, so please be nice to me.

Holiday cubicle decorating

2011-12-15T13:02:00.000+09:00

Over the time I've worked at my current job, I've collected a giant stack of scratch paper and shopping bags. I really have no use for either one, but it felt so wasteful throwing them out. So I came up with an idea of how I can put these things to work.

My goal was to make my cubicle look like Buddy the Elf stopped by.

I suppose I could have put more effort into the bow, but I was originally going to put it on something else. The wreath in the center was made using this tutorial. I didn't have a clothes hanger handy, so I cut the inside of my drink lid out and used the outer ring instead.The brown bow was made from a napkin I had on my desk.

*Everything was done over a long period of time, just whenever I had downtime or breaks at work.

I made this snowflake using this tutorial. It was pretty easy, especially since I had all my scratch papers cut into squares (I was going to make 2-dimensional snowflakes, till i found the tutorial for this one.).

I still have A LOT of scratch paper left... So we'll see if we can get some more decorations up by Christmas! Any suggestions??

1 year!

2011-12-13T11:00:00.000+09:00

it was me and sam's 1 year yesterday! yay!

we celebrated with disneyland, california adventure, and food.

We ate at Napa Rose in the Grand Californian. Pictured is the Seven Sparkling Sins.

Seven Sparkling Sins: Spicy Beef & Cashew Roll, curried Crab Taco, Citrus Cured Salmon on Buckwheat Blini, Shrimp in Cucumber Wrap with lemon Dill Creme, Seared Ahi Nacho. Lemon Broiled Scallop (not pictured), and Grape Leaves with Pheasant.

My favorite on this plate was the shrimp, which looks the least impressive. I also really liked the Lemon Broiled Scallop. For entrees we had:

Sam - Red Deer Venison Chop served with Winter Squash Spatzle, hazelnuts, and Pomegranate Chimichuri.

(I ended up eating this though)

Me - Rotisserie Roasted Christmas Goose served with cider braised cabbage, sweet potato puree and cranberry merlot.

I loved the venison... the chimichuri went well with the meat and offset the heaviness perfectly. i loved crunch the hazelnuts gave this dish. didn't care too much about the winter squash spatzle, but sam seemed to like it.

The goose was ok. The meat was good and not too different from duck, but it was heavy and the sauce was heavy as well. I was expecting it to still be on the bone, which would probably have been more enjoyable.. the carrots were good! haha..

Napa Rose has hundreds of reviews on yelp and has 4.5 stars. butttttt i probably won't be going back there.

i forgot to take pictures of what i did for sam, but i'll make a post of it soon!

Day 9: Something you would like to change about yourself.

2011-12-10T19:40:00.001+09:00

I'm skipping Day 8 because I write about my guilty pleasures all the time. If you want to know them:

1. Twilight books and movies.
2. All things Kpop
3. Wedding.
and
4. (everyone does this, don't lie) go on the Facebooks of people I no longer talk.

If I can change something about myself it would be to complain less. These days I've just been on a roll with complaints, shifting blame from one thing to another. And although when i step back and observe that there really isn't anything to blame, it's really hard to see that when you're in it.

I would also change the way I say things and what I say. These days I put such little thought into what I say in person and sometimes this is reflected also on my blog.

I would also change my lifestyle. I haven't been exercising and it is totally showing up on my waistline. All those nights getting mad at Sam for making me exercising and with wrestling with my laziness.. all gone to waste. My waist.

Luckily (and unluckily) I've recently discovered that I'm allergic to wheat and flour (gluten). So I guess that helps somewhat. The less food I can eat, the better right? But this means no sandwiches, flour tortilla burritos, cheezits, froot loops, mac and cheese, macaroni salad, and more...

I was pretty depressed about it earlier this week, but then I weighed myself and thought maybe it's a good thing.

Anyway.. These 3 things will probably make an appearance in my post about 2012 resolutions~ But I'm going to try and get a head start now!

i love community

2011-12-01T13:06:00.001+09:00

Football

2011-11-28T12:54:00.001+09:00

Football. One of my biggest reasons for being homesick when I was in Korea this time last year.

Every year around Thanksgiving, I have the privilege of playing flag football with this great group of individuals. Though my teammates change every year with new additions and a few that sit out, the attitude of the team is always the same. We always play to have fun and emphasize the importance of good sportsmanship. When a flag is missed or a ball is dropped, it is never just that person's fault, we make adjustments as a team to be better. We win together as a team and lose as a team.

I wish everyone was like my team. No pointing fingers, no jealousy, no bitter feelings... only genuine happiness for each other when successes are made and working together through the failures.

I wish I was more like the girls on my team. I love them.

Day 7: Places I want to visit

2011-11-23T17:58:00.001+09:00

1. If I got to go anywhere in the world tomorrow morning, I would choose Korea again. I love that country and miss it so. I'd spend a week in Seoul, a week in Jeollado (Gwangju, Boseong, Jungmadong), and a week traveling to wherever else.

2. Canada. When I look at my Canadian friends' pictures, I'm in awe of how close they are to such beautiful nature. And I've always been really fond of Canadians even before I went to Korea and met a bunch of em.

3. New York. I feel like it's somewhere every American has to go at least once.

4. The dead sea. To see what it feels like to float in it.

5. Krabi, Thailand.

6. Sea turtle reserve in Singapore or Costa Rica

7. Brazil

8. ANYWHERE as long as it's not somewhre I can get kidnapped.

Day 6: 6 things from my wishlist

2011-11-22T15:56:00.001+09:00

1. A 14k gold bow ring (I'm not fancy, I just can't wear fake stuff.)

1. With one heart with a J.

3. Vitello Lux

4. When I get engaged, my wish is to have a save the date video as cute as this one
(my most favorite Save the Date vid to date!) :

Nothing else.

Day 5: Daily Routine

2011-11-20T18:31:00.001+09:00

I'm afraid I've fallen into a routine.
M-F

7:55am Alarm goes off. Press snooze.
8am Other alarm goes off. Also snooze.
8:05-8:20am Continue snoozing until it is time.
8:20-8:27am Bathroom: toilet, brush teeth, wash face with foam cleanser. Sometimes I wash my bangs.
8:27am Get dressed
8:29am Grab a yogurt and green tea, walk to my car.
8:30am Warm up my car for 30 seconds. Change my radio to KROQ because I like listening to Kevin and Bean in the morning. Sometimes if they're playing music I switch to KOST or KIIS.
8:35am Change station to AM 1070 to check the traffic.
8:38am Change back to KROQ or continue listening to news radio. Most of the time I zone out because I'm so tired (obviously not a morning person)
9 to around 11:30am Get to work, clock in, greet my fellow co-workers! Turn on my computer. Turn on Spotify and play "True Love's Kiss" from the Enchanted soundtrack or Claire De Lune. Check messages, emails, etc. Put green tea in the freezer. Eat yogurt while working.
around 11:30am I go on break and call Sam to see what he is doing and to greet him good morning! Check personal email and facebook.
10 min later go back to work.
Sometimes between 12 and 3 I go to lunch with my friends :)
Come back to work.
Around 3 or 4 take my green tea out of the freezer and drink it. Should be nice and slushy by then.
Go on break and call Sam or sometimes my grandma. Check email and facebook again. Sometimes reddit if there's time.
6pm Clock out, say by to my co-workers, drive home. Plug my ipod into car and usually start off with my favorite song (which I'm not going to tell you because I don't want you guys to steal it) or Someday by IU.
6:30 Get home, call Sam while walking to my house. Have dinner with my Grandma. Ask her what she did today, compliment her on how good the food is.
6:55 Wash dishes, put 반찬 away, clean table.
7 Inspect my hives for the day. This is usually the time for flare ups. Take shower with skin soothing Aveeno and hives usually subside by the time I'm done showering.
7:15 Wind down with games, Reddit, or TV shows.
Any time between 9:30 to 3 am, do a sad attempt of an exercise routine and go to sleep.

Rinse and repeat.

Saturday: Sleep and wake up somewhat worried that I slept into the afternoon, but it is only 10am.
Sunday: Sleep and wake up worried that I woke up too late for church, but it is only 10am.

capes

2011-11-19T17:42:00.001+09:00

Capes capes capes. I am in love with CAPES!

When I was growing up my mom used to have dinner get-togethers for her employees now and then. One night my favorite of the employees wore amazing wool cape with an enveloping hood. It was scary and pretty at the same time. (Scary because this look was paired with dark lip liner, which was a thing back then). Ever since then I knew I wanted a cape, but they never really made a big comeback, until now!

They're so triangular and funny looking, but I love them so.

I bought one in a dark camel color at work today. It's more like a trench cape than a cape cape.

I'm not sure how I feel about it, yet.

We'll try it out tomorrow at dinner with friends~

Here are a few of my favs:

sophia clothing on Etsy

I REALLY want a red one. And this one has a hood! I love hoods! It would look really little red riding hood-y, which can be a bad thing for some.... but I don't mind.

I realize I have a thing for red coats. I have one knee length and one short pea coat.

THIS CAPE BELONGS IN MY CLOSET SO IT CAN COMPLETE THE RED COAT TRINITY!

gmarket

AH you know how I feel about things with ears on the hood!! Or I guess they're more like "horns" (that's what they call it on the website.) When I give up bows and stuff with ears... you'll know that I've grown up.

gmarket

I like the color and collar on this one. so pretty~ Koreans really know how to outfit their models.

I'm also really into wrist-length gloves...

juhaszdora on etsy

These are the ones closest to the pair I have in mind... Except I wouldn't want leather.. especially if they killed a poor little lamb for a pair of these! But I do like the color combo... Dark enough to wear with camel or white, and not black like the ones that robbers wear.

And now to wrap up the post. This Simpsons and some lambs:

A great weekend

2011-11-14T16:41:00.001+09:00

I loved my weekend so much that I need to immortalize it on the internet, because I need to remember how blessed I am.

The fun started on Thursday night with Nancy's birthday. If you haven't caught on yet, Nancy is my roommate aka my grandma. It was her 78th birthday! To me, she looks exactly the same from when I was in grade school. I love her.. even though she pops in every Sunday at 8am asking me why I'm not getting ready for work and then proceeds to vacuum my floor.

Friday night had dinner with Sam at Olive Pit in Brea. I know he liked it because he went again without me.

This is actually somewhere else. but I wanted to include a picture.

Then met my friends for some 11/11/11 happy hour! Nights like these make me really thankful to have friends like these. Always a good time without having to do anything special.

James is obviously the most excited.

Saturday was pretty chill. Slept in. Took a morning shower :O. Yeah, I know. I'm a night showerer, but I love taking showers in the morning when I have a lot of time. Had lunch at Monora with Sam and his brother. Monora is one of my fav thai places now! They're newly opened in Cerritos and their pad see ew is solid. It's like... not good enough just to drive to Cerritos, but a good fix if you're in the area.

THEN the most amazing thing happened.

WE WENT SHOPPING AT CERRITOS MALL AND THERE WERE ALL THESE KOREAN STORES THAT IT MADE MY HEAD EXPLODE!

in the food court.

A GIANT Paris Baguette, I refuse to give you money until you bake some blueberry yogurt cake. until then. sorry.

All I need now are Etude House and The Face Shop and the trinity will be complete.

It was pretty awesome seeing these places at the mall. Especially in a mall so close to Sam's house. THIS MEANS WE CAN GO HERE ALL THE TIME!!! Or just me.

Seeing the grey leather booths at Paris Baguette really took me back. I miss Korea so much! Seeing all these Korean establishments made me squeal and almost pee in my pants. It was definitely weird seeing the Americans wearing the ridiculous promoter outfits. You know.. those girls in tutus and legwarmers that try to drag you into the store by bribing you with free cotton pads and face masks. Definitely weird!

GAH I miss Korea.

Anyway on to Sunday. It was GNC's 9th anniversary service, and also our football team's first scrimmage! It was so much fun playing a different team. Not to say I don't like playing against my own team, but it's just different. Got me PUMPED for Turkey Bowl! Can't wait!

And then right afterwards, I headed to Riverside for Diana's Bday!!

회덮밥, salmon sushi, and miso soup by my talented friends

Love hanging out with this group of friends, too. Times are always special with them because I don't see them as often (basically once a month!) We're all so different but I'm glad we can come together and have a good time! We watched Twilight and Eclipse. I didn't realize this before but I saw all the Twilight movies with them! Hehe. Can't wait for Breaking Dawn! :)

What a great weekend~ Fully charged to take on the work week!

Have a great week everyone!

Favourite movies/bands/tv shows/books/video games

2011-11-10T18:28:00.001+09:00

Movies

I generally like most movies I watch unless it exceptionally sucks.

The Lion King and Hercules are probably my favorite Disney movies because the soundtracks are so good.

I like movies that take real world characters to fantastical places (e.g. Alice in Wonderland, Hook, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Wizard of Oz, etc.).

A recent movie I watched and most enjoyed was Old Boy.

Bands

I listen to Kpop, but no favourite bands lately... I've been listening to a lot of Kost 103.5 (Soft Rock / Love Songs for you non-Californians)

TV Shows

I've been watching the Walking Dead, but I can't watch it alone because I get scared. I like Community but I like watching all the episodes at once, so I'm waiting for the 3rd season to be over so I can watch it. It's too much of a commitment to watch shows that have already aired for years, and I'm too scared I'm going to get sucked in and neglect life. I want to watch Once Upon A Time though! I keep forgetting to tune in.

There's a show I started watching in Korea because I had it on demand. It's called 생활에달인. It's basically a show about people that are experts at something at their workplace. Like, fastest noodle cleaner or if they'll be on if they have a really unique way of doing a task to make it more efficient. Very fun!

Books

Oh geez I haven't read a book in a very long time! The last one I read was probably the Time Traveler's Wife. I started reading the Alchemist but never finished. I have a lot of books to read: Life of Pi, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and I suppose finish the Alchemist. If you haven't noticed I only read best sellers. It's because these were all recommendations... once I get through these I can start choosing! I hate reading books that have crappy endings.

I do love the Harry Potter series. Each book is well-written and the whole whole series is a masterpiece.

Video Games

I used to think I was the best at Puzzle Fighter until I met Sam. I love all puzzle games. Right now I'm really into "7 little words" for iTouch or iPhone. It can be frustrating but it's really fun and kind of rewarding when you get all 7 words.

Day 1: Write some basic facts about you

2011-11-08T18:07:00.002+09:00

My name is Jean. I was born in 1986. I am Korean-American. I've lived in Southern California for all but one year of my life, in which I lived in Korea.... South Korea. It turns out that I absolutely love it there and that America gives me the hives.

I grew up in a really safe neighborhood, but now live in the ghetto. Today as I was walking to my apartment, these kids threw baseball sized rocks at me. TRUE STORY. It's a good thing their aim sucks and that I'm agile. I'll be ready tomorrow... I'm thinking silly string and a lighter or bricks with sharpened edges.

i miss 광주 시내

expect

2011-11-08T17:43:00.002+09:00

Uno Mas

2011-11-08T16:06:00.004+09:00

I just remembered another website I tend to frequent when things get boring.

1000notes! Basically anything that reaches 1000 notes on Tumblr qualifies to be on this blog. My goal for my ever failing tumblr was to be on this blog. I hope to bring my tumblr back once my camera is back in possession (it's in the camera hospital right now):

This isn't the best pic and you have to know a bit about tumblr to get the joke... but this is an example of what you'll find on 1000notes:

websites I love

2011-11-06T16:44:00.002+09:00

In case you didn't know... I spend A LOT of my time online. And although it's not something I'm entirely proud of, I wanted to share some links to brighten up your day.

1. Suri's Burn Book
Suri's Burn Book has been my only source aside from celeb news on morning radio. Whoever writes the posts for this tumblr is SO funny. I love it. I love how snooty they make Suri sound. I aspire to be like Suri one day. I am starting off with having the same hair as her. I'm not joking.

2. Reddit
I originally found reddit while I was on Digg.com. It is like Digg only better. I no longer go on Digg because Reddit updates so much faster, with a better community and subtopics.

You have to be a certain kind of person to appreciate Reddit fully. They are self proclaimed as the "Front page of the internet" and I agree, the best stuff that's online that day is what makes the first page of Reddit. And if you're wondering, this is where I get all my funny pictures/links.

I enjoy their IAMAs (I AM A or Ask Me Anything). They sometimes have celebs come on (Britta, Troy, and Abed from Community have all done an IAMA) and have a Q and A, or just regular people in unique situations (e.g. "IAMA my biological parents are both gay).

It's really fun, but easy to get lost in the mess of it.

3. Cracked
I found Cracked through Digg.com as well. The writers on Cracked are so funny and they often times have interesting articles.

4. Pinterest
If you don't already have a Pinterest, you are obviously not cool or you are a boy. I can't see Sam liking Pinterest, or having any use for it or maybe he does.. but I doubt it. I apologize to all the boys that use Pinterest... I just.. I suppose I just need to see what you use it for to decide if you're gay or not.

It's a great website to "pin" things you see on the internet instead of filling up your hard drive with a mess of pictures. The best part is that it links the website as well. So if you pin an item you like, it will also include the link you got it from so that in the future if you want to purchase/make it you can refer to the original site.

I feel like if Pinterest wasn't initially taken over by the Mommy/DIY people in the world, it could have gone to the dogs that are Redditors and turned to meme central. Thank God it didn't! Although.. I do see a few Reddit and Tumblr-esque posts once in a while.

I can't really think of more... SO. yeah. Good day!

my first acrylic painting

2011-10-24T17:21:00.000+09:00

San Diego

2011-10-24T15:42:00.002+09:00

I've been to San Diego several times, but this weekend was the first time I fell in love with SD.

I wrote a long description about SD for the Non-Californians, that read my blog... but erased it. You guys need to just come and see it for yourselves. I'm talking to you, Canada.

Anyway, for my friend's birthday, we went to SD. Ate good food and hung out.

My favorite part was painting at Balboa Park. It was nice being out in nice weather and painting to our heart's content. Can you guess which one is mine?

ALSO, I freaked out when I saw this... but there's an INVADER in the Downtown SD mall!!!! And we saw another one while we were driving around.. SO COOOOOOOOOOL. If you don't know what I'm talking about... you need to watch Exit Through the Gift Shop. If you're into art at all, you'll enjoy it~ It's on netflix... GO GO GO!

meow

2011-10-19T12:12:00.003+09:00

I don't know when or why it happened, but somewhere between July 2010 and now, my patience for people has diminished greatly.

I mean...most of the time I won't be outwardly mean/rude unless I really can't stand the situation, but I definitely don't have the patience for people I used to.

It's strange because becoming this type of person came naturally. And the more being mean/rude/blunt became natural for me, the less being genuinely nice became. (GOD WHY IS IT SO HARD TO BE NICE TO STUPID PEOPLE?)

And now... going back to being a nice person is going to be an uphill challenge. It's like trying to white out permanent marker.

I definitely am not happy when I have a short temper with people. In the past I just blamed them for being born without common sense and their parents for not teaching them proper manners... but in the end I should just really be more patient with people and have a good sense of humor about their flaws.

For me, annoying and hugely flawed children are still easy to love because they're so cute and they just don't know. I mean, you can't blame them for the way they are.. they're still learning! But maybe it's the same thing for some adults as well, sans the cute part. Some of us really just don't know (how to be a "normal" person)

And a lot of times I really don't know either.

Actually no. I'm just throwing that in there so I don't sound like I think I'm perfect. I don't think I'm perfect, but I also don't annoy myself like some people do. I am hugely flawed. And I should be thankful to those who have been patient and good humored about my shortcomings.

But it doesn't change the fact that some people are just straight up annoying.

a toast!

2011-10-17T11:41:00.001+09:00

just wanted to share a bit if brilliance with you.

Life now

2011-10-12T15:48:00.001+09:00

Work has been hard work, but it's also rewarding and fun. Which was the combination I've been hoping for~ It's pretty cool getting to see my friend(s?) everyday and be involved with something I'm somewhat interested in. Things that I've never experienced with my previous jobs, that made this job feel more legit were:

1. LUNCH BREAKS.
2. 10 min breaks every 4 hours where no one is allowed to make you work.
3. clocking in.

:) It's pretty cool, this clocking in thing. I like the sound it makes.

Anyway work is good. I thoroughly enjoy doing what I do and I think I was very blessed to have gotten hired when I did.

*************

The weeks have been pretty crazy, but fun nevertheless.

Derek, an American friend I met in Korea, is visiting LA this week, so we hung out with him earlier this week. He brought two of his friends to dinner, too. I forgot how fun it was to meet new people.

This morning Sam texted me to see if I wanted to eat at a "french ass restaurant" for dinner. I, of course, said "yes" because I love "french ass" anything and everything ("my little croissant!"). He took me to Maison Akira for LA restaurant week.

Maison Akira is a Japanese and French fusion restaurant. The pictures I shot weren't that great (my dslr's still in the shop... thinking of giving it to my brother and getting a new one that have video capabilities), but the food was delicious nonetheless. I had foie gras for the first time and I am an instant fan. It was delicious! My second favorites are tied between the vanilla creme brulee (they also had matcha or maccha) and the tuna appetizer. Pictures to come -- when I'm not feeling like a zombie.

It was our 10 month anniversary. We don't usually celebrate months (so far we've only celebrated 100 days -- only because we were in Korea and we wanted to be like everyone), but it was nice having something to celebrate. Getting together with anyone is much more fun when there's something to celebrate. ^_^

*************

Another day at work tomorrow. I am being reminded of how precious the weekends are.

Have a great week readers!

cyst-er cyst-er

2011-10-05T14:25:00.003+09:00

Dear Cyst,

You are one of the most disgusting things my skin has ever grown. Although you are much more entertaining than an everyday pimple and definitely have more personality than the hives, I will not miss you. I won't be sad when you're gone tomorrow, leaving but a crust of puss where you used to be.

Go bug greasy, high school boys like all your other cyst-y friends and leave me alone. Don't you dare come back. This is good bye.

Sincerely,
Jean

Dear shoe,

2011-10-04T16:20:00.000+09:00

gasp.

you are perfect.

except for the fact that you're $130.

and sold out.

but of course you are.

you pretty little thing.

you would be perfect for my feet.

i would make pretty little footprints with you.

and we'd have a fine life together.

one day... someday, somehow!

이렇게 좋은날

2011-10-04T14:12:00.001+09:00

HELLO! I had a fantastic Monday.

It's not that anything that great happened, but I just did things that made me happy.

1. Got a sufficient amount of sleep

2. Got to work early.

3. Had lunch with my co-workers, who are also my friends in real life.

4. Work went by quickly.

5. Walked with another friend to eat dinner. (Yay walking! Yay vermicelli! Yay pretty girl discount!)

6. Killed a craving I was having.

7. Got half and half. (Killed another craving)

8. Got home safely.

9. Chatted with my roommate Nancy (my grandma).

10. Sam called me and he asked me if I wanted to get half and half (he knows me so well) I told him I was already eating it.

11. And I'm ready to shower and sleep and it's already 10!

The only thing that would make me happier today is this dress:

It would be perfect if it came in a pale robin egg blue, with a red sash.

I am really into robin egg blue right now.

Which happens to be the color of the purse I used today.

And some girl at half and half went out of her way to ask me where i got it!

Too bad it's from Korea, as are many other pretty things (for just 10,000 won -- which is less than $10).

She was disappointed.

As am I right now.. for not getting more than one of this purse.

I was GOING to, but it just sounded outrageous getting 2 or 3 of the same purse.

But now I feel that it's outrageous that I didn't indulge in such a great deal.

It has so many scuffs and a cigarette burn now.

*Always follow your instincts.

I would have put them to good use too!

Shoulda woulda coulda (part 2)

Happy Monday *Night everyone!

Hope Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, FRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDAY are just as great!

wish

2011-10-01T17:12:00.003+09:00

I REALLY WANT A SLEEVELESS TRENCH DRESS.

This one by Burberry Prorsum is kinda too crazy for me, but i really want one like it!!!

(p.s. this model makes me want to be SUPER PALE. as if i'm not pale enough already. actually i'm not. i have an ugly tan right now. sigh.)

I thought the idea was so strange! why would you want a giant vest jacket??? But it's so so so cute to me now.. NEVER QUESTION KOREAN FASHION. It will come to haunt you a year later.

I want one... the one at Forever21 isn't as cute or as well-made as those in Doota! Wah~

Shoulda woulda coulda

http://saraq.cafe24.com//alan/Jacket/S1133037/S1133037.html

GMARKET.... i miss thee. so. much.

but maybe it's a good thing that we're apart.

because though i'd be saving loads of money ordering from you...

i definitely would still be spending more in general.

is anyone i know going to korea?

i will give you money, a giant suitcase, and my korean debit card.

please bring me back some korean clothes.

i am dying here.

AND SHOES. i wish i bought more shoes. it's so hard to find good, cheap, cute shoes my size..

last day of freedom

2011-09-28T16:35:00.000+09:00

Today was my last day of freedom before I start at my new job!

I've been itching for some dimsum ever since I went to Taiwan

(although, I learned that dimsum is Hong-Kong-inese)

We headed to New Capital in Rowland Heights for lunch!

1. Chicken Sticky Rice in a giant leaf.
2. Shrimp? Pork? Shumai,
3. Chow Fun with shrimp

I remember being really wowed by the Chow Fun last time I had dimsum, but I was totally whatevers about it. Maybe because I kept thinking... "man.. i can make this at home." The shumai, however, blew my socks off and I wish we had more of this! The Chicken Sticky Rice was good, too!

We didn't want to buy more paint brushes, so I used old makeup brushes/sponges.

After lunch and killing time at Tenren's, we went to Michael's because I had to buy some black thread for an amigurumi doll that I made (which I'll post as soon as I put its face on). I ended up buying watercolors and watercolor paper, too. Sam and I decided to paint pictures for each other's rooms!

....

ACTUALLY.. I decided and I made Sam do it, too. What a great sport!

Picture I drew Sam. He likes Alpacas.

3 paintings by Sam.
1. Scared turtle riding a whale.
2. A ninja in the forest going really fast.
3. Spilled coke.

I am nervous, but can't wait to start working and feel useful. :)

100 days

2011-09-27T03:53:00.000+09:00

--------------

A day of Art!

2011-09-25T06:40:00.001+09:00

I FINALLY got to go to the art exhibitions I've been meaning to see. Which were just two, Miranda July and Tim Burton.

Miranda July has an exhibit at the Pacific Design Center called Eleven Heavy Things. It's basically 11 Heavy Things (sculptures? installations? i need to learn some art lingo) out on the Pacific Design Center front lawn. You can see it from Melrose when you're driving past the place. It only takes like 5 minutes to see if no one else is there. (unfortunately we didn't know what to expect so we put 1 hour and 15 minutes in the meter!) I thought it was fun and thoroughly enjoyed it because I love Miranda July. I really wish I got to see The Hallway but they have a video of it online so whatevs.

Then FINALLY got to see the Tim Burton exhibit. It was really inspiring! And I couldn't believe that he kept so much of his work from high school! It was cool to see the how someone so creative started out. And it's weird that he had these really awesome pictures but they were just drawn with color pencils and pens on sketch paper.

Then I went asked where the yellow stringy things were so I can take a picture and be like everyone else in California.

Phuket Day 2

2011-09-25T06:22:00.000+09:00

So just to wrap up Phuket (because it's weird to just talk about one day), we went on another tour the second day. This time to the Phi Phi Islands.

This is the only decent picture I have because the camera's battery died. But let me tell you, I've never seen water so clean and so blue! I was truly amazed and can't wait to go to a beach like this again! And you know for some reason I thought that it would feel cleaner for some reason, but it's just as sticky and salty as the ocean water at the Cali beaches.

We went to a monkey beach, snorkeling, a beach where we had lunch, and a last beach to just relax. But unfortunately I don't have pictures of those! Oh noes! But if my friend ever uploads the pictures he has, I'll be sure to post!

The thing I was most amazed with was snorkeling. I've never gone snorkeling before and it was so fascinating! They dropped us off at this coral reef and just let us swim around. At first i got really really freaked out that I was near something so crazy. It's pretty scary swimming in the middle of schooling fish. But I think I was most struck by the beauty of it all. There were sea urchins and giant oysters and so many different kinds of fish! The one I recognized first was this fish:

Yes, I saw gill in real life! I freaked out the first time I saw one and drank water through my snorkel. It was amazingggg. Our tour guide said that the coral reefs used to be even better before the tsunami hit. It was also really cool to see symbiosis in action. There were tiny fish on bigger fish! So cool. I love marine biology!

The last beach was pretty nice. We got to relax, our tour guides cut us pineapples and watermelons, and we went snorkeling again.

I did not like the sand at these beaches though. They hurt because there were big shards of coral (probably caused by a tsunami).

Afterwards we went home. I can't remember what we had for dinner. Did we just order in at the hotel? We went to a ping pong show. It was the grossest thing I've ever seen in real life. But really fascinating at the same time. I probably won't go to see it again, but definitely very interesting! I only recommend it if you're not grossed out or offended easily.

I definitely want to go back to the beaches of Thailand. Phuket was definitely touristy and though I felt really safe because of all the foreigners, I didn't like the culture in Phuket. There's so much sin in Phuket that it made Vegas look tame. Next time I go I'd probably stay in Krabi and visit Bangkok, too!

mid september thank yous

2011-09-16T20:42:00.001+09:00

Things I am thankful for today:

First will always be having Christ in my heart. Whether it's apparent to you or not, the fact is that I am a Christian and nothing will ever change that. I am thankful every day for God's mercy and unfailing love.
I am thankful to have a place to live. Although it's not a somewhere I'm at all used to, I'm glad that I'm at a place in my life to welcome it and be appreciative about having a place to call home
I am thankful that my grandma is pretty healthy for a grandma. Everyone that meets my grandma comments on how she is the most "ungrandma-like" grandma they've met. And I know that her health will only last so long, but I'm thankful that she is healthy now. Also, she is the sweetest apartment-mate. She leaves the light on for me and checks in on me in the middle of the night to make sure I'm home. Sometimes she turns on the fan in my room because she doesn't want me to get hot in the morning
Nancy loves chicken wings.
I am thankful for my friends. I realize that I say a lot of ugly, not nice things. But they don't come out that way on purpose. I'm lucky to have friends that know me well enough to know that. Thank you friends for being understanding! I'll work on saying nicer things or to just shut up! :X
I am thankful for having a church family that cares about me. I know I complain about how people keep asking me the same questions, but I guess it's a good thing to be complaining about. It's better than complaining about people not asking me questions at all because they don't care. Thank you GNC for welcoming me back home. I wish I was better at reciprocating the care you've shown me. I'm just so socially awkward. Ngl.
I am thankful for all the people I've met in Korea. It's funny that I had only Asian friends for most of my American life and I finally made non-Asian friends in Korea. ANYWAY. My experience would not have been the same without the people that I met. Thank you for making the past year one of my most memorable years in my life. Oh the things I would to do to have just one weekend there with you all!
I am thankful that I met Sam. You are lucky to be dating a superstar like me. Always remember that.

My poor baby

2011-09-16T00:32:00.001+09:00

the camera repair shop has had my camera for 2 weeks now. i called them yesterday to see if there was any progress and the man said, "well, uh, i see that the battery is fully charged now. I just need to take a few pictures with it to see if it's working properly."
"it's been 2 weeks already! when will you know what's wrong with it?"
"at the latest tomorrow afternoon"

IT IS NOW the day after tomorrow afternoon. no phone call.
1. why does it take 2 weeks to charge a camera battery?
2. why did they charge me $20 to have it "shipped" somewhere to be fixed when they've had it at the store all along?
should have fixed it in korea. they would have fixed my camera like 5 times by now. they wouldn't have charged me $20 to keep it at their store. and after they fixed it they would have shipped it to my house for free.

This is why........................... I won't even say it.

Don't read if you get grossed out by blood

2011-09-15T08:54:00.000+09:00

Today has been filled with me writhing on my bed, loading myself with advils, and watching documentaries about North Korea.

Thoughts that ran through my head while watching:
1. What kind of pads/tampons do North Korean women use? They hardly have enough to eat, having pads/tampons seems like it would be a luxury.
2. Do they have medicine there? If I was in North Korea if I didn't die of starvation, I would surely die from period cramps.

But then I remember watching a documentary last week on how malnourished North Koreans are and how most North Korean women stop menstruating. :(

I used to wonder what women in the Holocaust did when they were on their period. In high school, I learned that when they were being examined, a lot of women used to put blood on their cheeks to make them look healthier (blush), I always wondered where they got this blood.

I also used to wonder what they did in Biblical times. But then I read the Red Tent and found out they sit on pots and just bleed it out. That must have been one stinky tent -- since all the women were on the same cycle.

Periods were probably the least of their worries, but I wonder these things! I mean, girls, when you go on a trip that is longer than 1 month, don't you 챙겨 your feminine products?? I'm sure it was the same back then, the issue just isn't given that much attention.

Anyway, just a thought I had.

oysters

2011-09-14T19:41:00.002+09:00

My index finger is really swollen. Probably bruised up from crocheting. I knew I should have stopped sooner. I just didn't think this was possible! Aging, I will never like you. Ever.

I recently had oysters for the first time. I didn't think I would like it especially since I'm not a fan of having 굴 with 보쌈, but oysters like this is a whole new thing. They're not as gooey and as phlegm-y as the oysters in bo-ssam... It has texture and it's quite firm! I can finally see why people like this! because I like this!

Anyway, this was taken at Redondo Beach, CA. It was my first time eating at the restaurant not on the pier. And I must say it's considerably nicer than the one ON the pier! I am all about granite table tops and nice chairs. AND the bell button on the tables. Yes. Greatest restaurant invention ever. Thank you, Korea. I love you.

People have been asking me if I miss Korea. Honestly, I do and I try really hard not to think about it.

I miss the food, the smells, the seasons (maybe not summer and winter so much...), the fashion, the shopping, the affordableness of everything, getting paid a lot and working a little, cultural trips, public transit, listening to my ipod on the bus, cheap casual piercings, free next day shipping, gmarket, homeplus, korean home goods, korean ice cream, korean culture, bathroom + shower all in one restrooms, students following me to the bus stop/home, 회식, air conditioned clean pc bangs with free water coffee tea and clean restrooms, walking everywhere because it's safe, cleaning floors with a lint remover, on demand tv of all korean shows and some movies (korean and foreign), nice co-workers, 친절한 시골 people, SERVICE, the faceshop, etude house, parks filled with families all the time, free zumba classes at night with 아줌마s 아저씨s 한머니s and their kids, 할아버지s drinking soju at the park and then proceeding to pee in the corner, 나는 가수다 songs playing EVERYWHERE even at the park, old people on scooters, cheap nights out, small towns, traveling, festivals, i miss it all. very very much.

If you want to help a poor girl in recovery, please do not talk to me about Korea until I am completely healed. It makes me hate life here.

Job on the side

2011-09-09T08:23:00.001+09:00

Upon coming home I was set on becoming an English as a Second Language Teacher. I would get my bachelors in Child/Adolescent Development, a teaching credential, and a masters in TESOL if there was money and time. But after watching Exit Through the Gift Shop, I'm reminded of something I REALLY wanted to do. I just want to draw.

If I didn't have to worry about making money or being constrained by the lack of, I would take art classes. Learn little tips and tricks in illustration. Be challenged to bring out the biggest baddest creative guns I've got and end it all with a graduation show.

THIS will always hang in the back of my mind.

I just want to draw. Draw on walls, draw on pictures, draw on anything. And if I had paint and a few brushes (Or any other medium for that matter) and was familiar enough with it, I'm sure I would be equally obsessed.

I haven't been able to draw lately because I've been quite lazy, and I don't have my large notebook anymore. And my hands/arms have been tingly for some reason. (pinched nerve? carpal tunnel? thinking of getting acupuncture. more pain and dull pain makes you stop thinking about the dull pain, right?)

It seems as though people these days are stuck at a job that they don't care for, and many of these people have a job on the side (baking, make up, wedding coordinating, etc). And though it is physically and time-wise more work on top of their full-time job, they still give up their free-time to do it because it's rewarding in a way their "real" job isn't.

I'm trying to think of what I will do with drawing. We'll see. Maybe you'll see me on the streets! (as in my art not literally me.)

Phuket Day 1 - Farm Tour

2011-08-31T12:57:00.000+09:00

Ok, so after lunch we got picked up by our tour people and went to this farm. They had a monkey show, atv tour, elephant rides, a dr. fish type thing, and a snake show. Let me tell you... the snake show was probably the most amusing for me. Monkey show was ok, and I've ridden an atv and an elephant before. I was intrigued by the dr. fish thing, but when it came down to it.. it was WAYYY too tickle-y.

King Cobra!!!! HUGE in person.

vroom vroom

he was pretty smart!

elephants are very strong!

the fish in this tank weren't very hungry

I'll upload a video of the snake show once I get a hold of it, but basically this man is in a pit with these venomous snakes and you just get to see them snap and hiss at him. They had a python (not venomous), this jumping snake, some other snake, 2 cobras, and a king cobra. OH MY GOSH. If you've never seen a king cobra in person... let me tell you.. it was frightening and amazing at the same time. Kind of like lightning. It was HUGE! And it can stand up pretty tall.

Overall, this tour package was worth! I definitely recommend doing this if you're in Phuket. Although I think it's a one time thing. Like you should totally go once to see the snake show and ride an elephant if you've never... but now that I've done it, I probably wouldn't do this tour again.

Phuket Day 1 - Lunch

2011-08-24T04:56:00.000+09:00

Just for memories sake here's what I did in Phuket, Thailand:

We were only in Phuket for 2 whole days, bookended by an annoying half-day each. We flew out from Incheon and had a 2 hour layover in Pudong/Shanghai. I didn't realize how communistic China was until I couldn't go on facebook/twitter/tumblr at the airport. Poor China...

We got to Phuket at night and luckily we caught our friend Chris, who took a different flight, in the ridiculous immigration line. SO LONG AND UNORGANIZED!!!!!!!!!!!

The hotel we stayed in Patong was $30 a night. CHEAP, right??? Although you kinda get what you pay for, it was clean enough and close to everything. The hotel looked really really nice on Agoda.com, we should have known.

The first full day we met our friends who were staying at the REALLY nice Kee Resort. (I dunno if I'd pay to stay there, but I'm glad we got to reap the benefits, too!) We met with a travel agency to set up some things to do.

After meeting up with the travel agency, we looked for a place to have lunch. After walking up and down the main road, we settled at Mr. Good's. I had the Pad Kee Mao. It tasted more like Pad See Ew than the Pad See Ew my friends ordered. The best thing we ordered here was the cashew chicken:

cashew chicken

I wrote out what we did after lunch, but it turned out to be really long. I wanted to just stop and post this after putting up the picture, but it seemed so incomplete. That's what I'm writing this explanation.

Visit: my food tumblr if you want to see what i ate!

lunches with Brendon

2011-08-23T07:28:00.000+09:00

My 11-year-old cousin, Brendan, came over today because his parents were going out to LA. I bought him a baseball glove because his old one had a rip and proved irreparable.

Brendon: I owe you one.
me: 어휴 언제 가풀꺼라구...
Brendon: I don't know when I'm in college?
me: haha ok, don't forget me when you're rich and in college.

Jean + Brendon + self-timer = unforeseen amounts of fun.

we only have each other

2011-08-23T01:29:00.000+09:00

mornings with nancy (my grandma):
she's staring at the dining table
me: 할머니 뭐해요?
grandma: 생각 하는 중이야.
me: 뭔 생각?
grandma: 머리가 아파. 우채국도 가야돼고.. 머리는 이롷게 생겼고. 파마 해야되고..
me: 누구하태 잘보일라구...
grandma: 너한태 잘보이라구.

cry baby

2011-08-22T16:04:00.000+09:00

I don't know why but in the year I was in Korea, I've become a huge crybaby. I've never been one to cry in front of anyone. I never cry in movies or tv shows. I MIGHT tear up over a really good episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (cuz that show is sad... and if it doesn't move you, you have no heart), My family only sees my angry tears. Most of my friends, even the ones I've been friends with forever, have not seen me cry more than once if at all.

But now I cry over the dumbest stuff ever. Movies/dramas make me cry. Undercover Bosses makes me cry. No strings attached made me cry. Just stupid things!!!!!!! It can be frustrating and embarrassing at times. MY IMAGE AND REPUTATION AS A HARDCORE GANGSTA IS RUINED! And I just feel bad for whoever's with me at the time, because, I mean, how do you deal with someone that's crying? You can't just ignore them! I think that's what's most annoying. The fact that you're crying over something dumb, but the crying itself makes it seem like a big deal.

Recently... actually it's not that recent now... When I was leaving Korea, I had a crying episode about something SO DUMB and I'm almost embarrassed to share it now.

There were 2 things on my mind on the day we were leaving Korea.
1. My lost Alien Registration Card
2. The free cultural experience

Sometime when I came to American in July, I lost my Alien Registration Card (ARC). Everyone needs to turn in their ARC when they leave Korea if their visa is up. So as soon as I got back to Korea, I asked to make one at the immigration office in Gwangyang. They said that it takes up to 3 weeks, so it's not worth making one. They said to tell the immigration people at the airport what happened and they'll let me leave.

Ok so at Incheon Airport, there are these cultural experience stations located all around the terminal. I think they might change the activity every year. 2 years ago I made a lantern:

When I came to America in July I decided not to do the cultural experience (which happens to be fans this year), despite the hours I had to kill, because I wanted to do it with Sam on our way out to Thailand. And I thought he would like it because he didn't get to go on the LOE (local school district) trip where they made fans. And we would be able to use these fans in Thailand and Taiwan because it is deathly hot in both countries. I'm so thoughtful, I know.

On the day we were leaving, I told Sam that we needed to go to the airport by at least 2:20 (2 hours before our flight leaves because that's normal... isn't it????). He was confident that we didn't have to get there that early and that it'll be ok if we get there just an hour earlier. We had lunch with his family and ended up actually leaving Seoul at 2:20. We got to the airport a little after 3, I think.

We went to check-in and they wanted me to give them my ARC card. I explain to them what the immigration office in my town told me, and they sent me to immigrant affairs or whatever. They charged me 40,000 won! I was really angry because:
1. GWANGYANG why do you do this to me.
2. I was already upset about leaving Korea.
3. I didn't want to give them my money when I did my part. It was the immigration office in Gwangyang's mistake.. not mine.

I started yelling at the lady at the immigration office, saying they were being ridiculous and what if i didn't give them 40,000 won and I bet a lot of people leave because they don't have that money and I told them that they were anuses. Just kidding about the last part. But I mean.. I was being dumb, because really who don't have $40.

The airline people came out to meet me with my ticket because by this time my flight had already started boarding. I started crying. Crying while I got my ticket, still crying during security check, crying walking to the shuttle, crying while running to the gate, crying while I sat down in my seat and put my seat belt on.

And you know when you're crying and when you're already upset every little thing makes you mad. I was annoyed that i had to run to the boarding gate, annoyed that I had a window seat and annoyed that the airline we decided to take had no individual tv's.

I cried myself to sleep like a little baby and woke and apologized to poor Samuel who witnessed the entire psycho fest. And in the end.. the thing that upset me the most wasn't that we almost missed our flight, but it was because I couldn't make fans with Sam so that we can use it in Thailand and Taiwan.

I fear for menopause.

school lunch

2011-08-20T08:57:00.000+09:00

When you work at a Korean school, you will most likely have lunch there. At my first school I had to pay about 3,000 won a meal, at my second school it was free because I only ate there like 2-3 times a week. For the most part, school lunches are pretty mediocre. At my first school we had an awful lot of 튀김 (fried food) and 볶음s... It was known that the lunch was sub-par at this school. I thought it was pretty good, until someone pointed it out. They always gave you too much and I threw half my food away most of the time.

The food was a lot better at my second school. We had different food every day. It helped that you can choose your own 반찬 (side dishes), so that you won't end up with sides you don't want. I especially liked that they tried to include fruit for every lunch. MMMMM.

Sam always raved about how the food is the best at his school. And honestly, I didn't really believe him 'cause come on.. how good can school food really be? Right before we left Korea I went to school with him. Sam's school lunch that day was better than any school lunch I've had at either of my schools.

감자탕 (Pork Back stew), 3 different colors of bell peppers with 쌈장, some kind of 송이버섯볶음, more veggies, and 미숫가루. The 감자탕 was DEEEELICIOUS. Everything tasted really fresh.

Fun fact: Have you ever eaten 감자탕 and wondered why it's called 감자탕 when they only include like one piece of actual 감자?? It's because 감자 has two meanings. 감자 is potato, and also 돼지 등뼈 which is pork backbone aka the star of 감자탕.

jeanfood.tumblr.com for more food pictures! :)

awkward family photos

2011-08-18T21:51:00.000+09:00

Recently I've been introduced to awkward family photos. it is exactly what it sounds like. for some reason there are a whole lot of pictures like these:

another fav:

drinkss

2011-08-17T15:17:00.000+09:00

nothing like sitting outside drinking 산사춘 and then getting 포장마차 afterwards~
we drank this outside of gangnam exit 5 and people watched till our friends got there. it was a good cheap night~ and sometimes i wished that public drinking was legal in america, but no.. i think i wouldn't like it because people will most likely abuse their right to.

example: Boryeong Mud Festival
I was so embarrassed to be American when I was in Boryeong. Not only were foreigners acting like obnoxious spring breakers (streaking and errthing) they completely trashed the beach. THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS. i wish i took a picture. it was so bad. the worst part is that they probably had 아줌마s and 할머니s to pick up after these fools.

Another super cute city hall wedding..

2011-08-16T08:20:00.000+09:00

As another one of my friends is in preparation to get married, I'm going back to my old ways as a wedding blog infatuant. i quit my ways when i was in korea... i actually don't know what i did with my time online in korea now that i think of it. i didn't really blog or look at blogs which is what i used to do with most of my time online... but anyway

Another wedding at SF city hall. Why can't our city halls look as cool?

i wouldn't mind a city hall wedding if it was this nice. ceremonies are so expensive!

B is for Bowling and Bonbons

2011-08-15T22:28:00.001+09:00

In Korea, we used to frequent this bowling alley. I think it was about 1,000 won a game and 2,000 for shoe rentals. Naturally, the owner started to recognize a few of us. After he heard that we were all leaving, he was pretty sad and gave us free drinks from the vending machine as a sort of good bye gift. hehe.

Tonight is gonna be the first time bowling since I bowled in Korea. Excited!

In other news... I REALLY WANT SOME BONBONS!

I want blue raspberry and apple flavor.. mmm I was going to order it on amazon today, but i stopped myself.

!

2011-08-11T04:33:00.000+09:00

Since not one of you followed my other blog... I'VE RETURNED!
and yes, i was bluffing when i said i was going to delete this one.
hohoho.

ANYWAY.
After a week of being internetless at home, I finally caved in a ordered it today.
meh.

be prepared to see regular posts from me again.

i'm moving!

2011-07-07T11:55:00.000+09:00

please refollow luckyouluckyme.blogspot.com.
i'm deleting THIS blog in a week.

see you there~

country bumpkin

2011-07-06T06:56:00.000+09:00

you know you've lived in the korean country side for too long when you start picking your nose in public.
just caught myself right now.
i'm so gross.

2011-07-06T06:45:00.000+09:00

things are much better now.

day 1 was disappointing and sobering. disappointing because it wasn't what i thought it would be and i didn't feel all that happy. sobering because this is what every day is going to be like when i come home.

day 2 was overwhelming. 교회는 가야되는데, i wasn't ready to see so many people at once~ even though everything was as i left it, i felt awkward for some reason. 일년동한 연락도 안했다가 갑자기 보니까 좀그러내..

day 3 기분이 좀 풀어졌다. had lunch with my friend and it felt really normal and i felt normal. i feel like i'm adjusting now and getting used to being here. unpacked/organized all my things. watched a disgusting amount of tv with my grandma.

life is getting better here. once i forget what else is out there. hahaha just kidding.

but i'm not gonna lie when i say that i was bored as helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll yesterday. i don't even watch tv, but i watched hours of it.

and my appetite is kinda like when i first went to korea. i lost 4 pounds already. probably because everything i eat gives me diarrhea.

so far i had coconut bay and in and out. both were not as good as i remember.. maybe we should have gone to banana bay! hehe.

rachel's coming today!

Miss Korea

2011-07-04T03:33:00.000+09:00

i don't know how i feel about being in america. of course i miss korea. i like america because it's familiar.. but...

before i went to korea i thought it was gonna be the best thing ever.
once i got to korea it was everything and more than i ever thought it could be.
going to korea only reaffirmed and strengthened whatever i thought about it in the first place.
being in korea was like having the most fantastic dream ever.
coming to america was waking up to a harsh reality.

and this is not to say that america sucks because it doesn't. i've lived here all my life. it has a lot of things that korea lacks and it's a great country in many ways.. and socal is an amazing place to live and i know i'm lucky to be here. but right now it's hard not to miss the easy life i had in korea.

i probably should have saved more money.

homeward bound

2011-07-02T05:07:00.000+09:00

thursday
bus from jungmadong to gwangju 1.5 hours
transformers 3d
motel

5 hours of sleep

friday
bus from gwangju to suncheon 1 hour
buy bus ticket for incheon
bus from suncheon to jungmadong 50 minutes
bus from jungmadong to school 30 minutes
school for 3 hours, say good byes take care of last minute things.
bus from school to home 30 minutes
shower
i want to sleep but repack instead
break a seam on one of my big luggages
F. M. L.
sew it close. took me like an hour. lots of sweating.
withdraw money
get dinner
want to sleep but decide to download 최고의 사랑
9:30 start taking my luggages down.
it takes me like 20 minutes!
sucks living on the 3rd floor with no elevator
sucks to your asthmar!
call a taxi.
he asks me if i'm running away from home.
i tell him i'm going back to california
he tells me to tell arnold to do a better job or else he's gonna come and kick his ass.
i tell him ok
get to the bus terminal 2 minutes
another taxi man helps me with my luggage
jungmadong to suncheon 50 minutes
bus drivers help me with my luggage and ask me where i'm going
suncheon to incheon 4 hours
BUS DRIVER DROVE LIKE A MANIAC.. i kept waking up... we almost got into like 4 accidents..
and alas i am here... at incheon airport...
coming here from jungmadong is such a btch. no wonder no one ever leaves.

see you soon california

2nd to last weekend in korea

2011-06-24T21:11:00.000+09:00

it's my last weekend in korea before i go home for a week next weekend.
i originally planned to go to pohang to see friends, but it's 7 hours on the train and 37,000 won on the bus.. so i voted against it. not to mention one friend who keeps asking me, "what are you going to do in pohang? there's nothing in pohang." (아 진짜.. 게속 그러면 한대 맞는다.. 짜증나 죽겠네.) it would have been one of the last if not last time i might able to see them, but i can't get myself to spend that much time on the train or that much money on transit. makes me feel sad.

also makes me feel sad that i've only been hanging out with a bunch of guys lately. it's fun and all, but i do miss my other friends whom i've grown apart from. i just wish we lived closer or had more common interests... or that they didn't get on my nerves.

today was the toughest school day that i experienced in korea. it was one of those days where you get hit in all the right places and at the end of the day you're just emotionally spent. it's tough knowing that you're capable of doing better if only the opportunity was presented to you. but instead of seeing the hardwork and enthusiasm you do put into whatever you're assigned, they only see that you didn't take out the trash or organized your classroom at the end of the day. sigh.. seriously school? you need to find better things to do with your time. or maybe come in and observe my class and see how i am actually really dedicated.

also today at dinner, the topic of cheating and college came up. and i hate the fact that people that cheat get away with it. maybe it's because i don't cheat in school. i write all my essays, take my own tests, do my own homework, etc. and if i don't study, or don't do the assignment... i'm ready to take the heat for it. it's just another thing that really pisses me off about the institution of school.

ugh today is justtttttttt ugh

proofreading

2011-06-22T02:51:00.000+09:00

mom: i feel very com

com what.... complex? com...puter?

she meant calm.
hehe she's so cute. it's crazy that this lady taught me how to read. i read the word again as (UH - GAYN) for the first year and a half though.

the screwtape letters

2011-06-22T01:02:00.001+09:00

"If I, being what I am, can consider that I am in some sense a Christian, why should the different vices of those people in the next pew prove that their religion is mere hypocrisy and convention?"

my friend sent me the screwtape letters in a word document a few years ago and i felt like reading it just now. so i pulled it up and started reading. i tried reading this book 3 times already and never finished or got past the 7th letter even. but i feel like it's appropriate to read now.

the devil is a liar. and makes me forget. and he is so good at deceiving me and handicapping me by destroying my mind.

let me know if you want me to email this book to you.

fear the pain

2011-06-20T17:28:00.001+09:00

my mom used to pierce ears at her store. she would tell me horror stories of how much cartilage piercings hurt and that i should never do it. a lot of my friends had this piercing and all of them said that it hurt and that it still hurt at times. i heard a handful of stories of cartilage piercings getting infected, growing extra tissue, and trips to the doctor. so of course with my mom conditioning me from a young age and these additional stories i had a healthy fear of getting anything but my ear lobes pierced.

another thing i was deathly afraid of was getting my wisdom teeth pulled. all the stories of not being able to do anything, eat anything, waking up and just screaming in pain... oh gosh... if i had the option of not pulling out my wisdom teeth i probably would have because of the fear.

but wisdom teeth was inevitable. out they came. and it wasn't half bad.
this past weekend i got my cartilage pierced and it was over before i knew it and it hurt less than getting a paper cut.

since that day.. i laughed in the face of pain.

hahahaha

and then the next day i got owned by cramps and mother nature put me in my place.

dirty

2011-06-16T02:41:00.000+09:00

i'm in the process of consolidating my korea pictures on facebook.
so, korea people, if there are any photos that you want that are in any of my facebook albums, you better snag them now in case they don't make it to the condensed version.

at first i posted all the pictures i took (minus the blurry ones or with blinking people) because i wanted people at home to know that i'm doing ok here in korea. but as it's nearing a year... i think they all got the idea. the past few months i kind of had this dirty feeling that i was bragging. and though it may sound like i am in my captions and even korea posts on here... i am only saying it out of great enthusiasm. i really believe that korea must be explored and experienced! especially if you're korean. there's a lot of culture, customs, and food to experience.

this experience makes me want to just teach english for a year in every country i want to visit. i wouldn't be able to have a family for a while or ever.. and i may never save enough to buy a home.. but gosh i really feel like just visiting for a few days or even a month isn't enough. there are so many things i experienced just by living here. and though there were times i got bored.. i feel like it was in those times i found the best reasons to get out of the house.

anyway... i apologize for ever coming off like i was bragging, i swear it was only like 5% bragging (on the back of my mind) and the rest is my enthusiasm for people to come here and see this.

wedding

2011-06-13T10:53:00.000+09:00

last night i had a dream that i was getting married. it was a set up wedding and i didn't even know the guy that well. the guy gave me this thick ugly ring with a diamond too small for the setting (i think it was glued in). i remember looking at it and thinking: at least it's gold... because i want a gold wedding ring in real life.

his family pushed the wedding to the following weekend. i remember his family crediting him on how he was being so assertive in proposing to me without having his family push him into it. i remember rolling my eyes in disbelief.

by the wedding day, the family looked at my ring and was shocked because i was wearing HIS ring. he didn't give it to me as a proposal, he gave it to me so i can give it to him at the wedding. my actual ring was crazy looking. it had so many diamonds on it and it was gold. so i was still considering this marriage worthwhile.

i was talking to this girl (who happens to be my friend's friend whom i've only met once) and i had this urge to invite her to my wedding because i had no one and there was no way i would be able to contact people to invite them to my wedding. she said she couldn't make it, but probably for the after party. i told her there probably won't be an after party. i remember feeling sad.

and then i was getting ready for the wedding. i didn't really think much about the wedding gown. it was just this plain white strapless ballroom gown. i was walking over to the venue when i realized i was wearing these strange looking black croc type flats. i asked my only friend in this dream if i should change my shoes and agreed that i should change into heels.

as i was walking back i got really sad that this is how my life turned out and that i don't even care about my wedding or who i'm getting married to. and sad that none of my friends were even invited to this wedding.

and then i kinda woke up in my dream and came to my senses. THIS GUY IS ALREADY MARRIED IN REAL LIFE HE CAN'T HAVE TWO WIVES! and then my dream crumbled and i woke up.

2011-06-13T09:47:00.000+09:00

google reader.. i have a bone to pick with you.

i rant about a lot of stuuuuuupid things and like 90% of the time i don't mean it 10 minutes later. most of the time i just need to get it out and make myself feel better because that's how i cope. it's not that i genuinely hate these things... it's just a temporary annoyance i have... and my blog rants get so ridiculous. and that's how you should know, reader, that i don't really mean it.

so most of the time i'll update a post and delete it soon after. BUT GOOGLE READER (oh you scoundrel) sets it in stone! never to be forgotten! i really wish that it didn't do that. i wish that once the post is deleted on the blog, it's deleted on google reader as well.

but i guess it serves as a lesson... once it's online, it's there forever.

no more rant posts from me.

a good day for mama

2011-06-01T15:13:00.001+09:00

me: how are you
soyoung: good
I fell down in the bathroom

2011-05-31T22:19:00.003+09:00

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

sad and true

2011-05-31T00:50:00.001+09:00

we are sinful people

fight!

2011-05-27T14:26:00.003+09:00

last night i woke up because there was a fight outside. it seemed like it was between two parties and there was a third quieter voice amongst the two.. so maybe the two louder voices were fighting over the the quiet one? they were going at it! and you can hear the quieter one trying to defuse the situation, but not being very assertive about it. maybe the quiet one was unsure of who was in the right? i don't know...but it was in the middle of the night and though it was quite entertaining at first (as most fights outside my window are), i was getting super annoyed because it was in the middle of the night!!

but there wasn't anything i could do. i couldn't just stick my head outside and ask them to shut up. i couldn't because they were cats.

7

2011-05-26T15:57:00.001+09:00

things i lost touch with:

though i brought some, i haven't worn heals since i lived in california. i'm pretty sure i'm going to break my ankles at Angie's wedding.
how old i really am. am i 24? 25? or 26? i don't remember!
how to cook
how to drive
how to do my hair
how to wear makeup
the correct amount of time each thing takes to warm up in a microwave

things i got better at:

bribing kids
cleaning floors
folding blankets in the most efficient way for sleeping
folding clothes and keeping them off the floor (kinda) this was a HUGE probably for me in the states
separating food trash
being punctual (those darn bus times really get you. especially if they only come once every hour at most)
asking strangers for directions
korean vocabulary (mainly school-related vocabulary)

merry christmas

2011-05-26T13:27:00.000+09:00

today's my day off from school
so i went to get my wisdom teeth stitches pulled out
the dentist i went to get them extracted is like an hour and a half away by bus so they suggested that i just go to any dentist around where i live to get the stitches pulled out.
so i went to the dentist down the street from me
it's called 크리스마스 치과 (christmas dentistry)
i got there, filled out my info, and got them pulled out straight away.
and for free!
they told me i can just go.
awesome!!!
i wonder if they do this in the states... but i feel like in the states they just nickel and dime you for everything... but i know it's not completely true.

anyway.. good bye stinky breath caused by wisdom teeth string!

짝사랑

2011-05-25T15:31:00.000+09:00

my fav old song everrrr next to 남행열차

http://blog.daum.net/winter1/15419893

LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE 김범수 and lena park singing this... ok and i guess 정엽 too.
http://youtu.be/BdEXelYhLGY

life of a cougar

2011-05-25T12:58:00.002+09:00

student: do you have a boyfriend?
me: yes
student: is he korean?
me: he's like me. he looks korean but he's american.
student: how old is he?
me: he's 2 years younger than me.
student: what! that means you guys can't get married!

2 month countdown

2011-05-24T14:53:00.003+09:00

i've got about 2 months left in this country and time is flying by quick!
i think i've done and seen just about everything i've wanted to.

things i want to eat before i leave
-명동교자- 칼국수 and 비빔국수
-냉면... like really good 냉면... is it strange that i still prefer yuchun and dr dre's over all the 냉면 i've had so far?
-한정식 the only thing that's hard to come by in america.
-찜닭 there's no restaurant that does 찜닭 right in america yet... but this could be done at home. but i'll miss the flat 당면.
-부대찌개
-무근지 감자탕 @ 감자탕본가
-도네누 for 볕집삼겹살.. my favorite 삼겹살 in the whole wide world
-homeplus!!! homeplus food is so good!
-korean pasta (i.e. solemio or 토마토 아저씨)
-FRIED CHICKEN! and 파닭! yuuuuum
-TOAST!!!! too bad chicken lady closed. she had the best toast
-포장마차
-짜장면 from 햇찬 BEST 짜장면 and 짬뽕
-광양불고기 from 시내식당
-만두전골 from 정원 (hmmm 정원 says they have good 냉면 i should try it soon)
-오리불고기 from 우리집
-onion popcorn and kettle corn at the movies
-lamb kebab from ankara picnic and the other place in itaewon!
-머리국밥!
-green tea ice cream from 녹차밭!

things i want to do before i leave:
-visit my old school. i love them and i need to drop by the green tea fields for some ice cream!!
-go to yeosu
-everland
-see all my talk friends... come visit socal
-see all my native friends ㅠㅠ
-go to gangwondo if there's time
-mud festival

and save money for...
THAILAND!!! and another mystery country we've yet to decide on.

i'll miss this period of my life so so much. i miss it already.

2.5 more months of this

2011-05-20T15:26:00.001+09:00

slept at 4am. headed to school late. called student to tell her to start their lunchtime role playing activity without me. she said her class can't come today because they have another activity. so i sit in my classroom and kill time till after school classes start. call my mentor teacher because his class is 10 minutes late. NO AFTER SCHOOL TODAY. jeez. could have called me or SOMETHING! i could have had a 4 day weekend. -__-

typical day in the neighborhood

2011-05-20T13:40:00.000+09:00

lunch at school is at 12:30
storytelling is 12:50
if i want to make it to lunch i must take the 12 o'clock bus.

but.. i got lazy and missed the 12 o'clock. so i take the 12:30.

i realize that i'm not going to make it by 12:50 so i call my student. she said there's no storytelling today because there's a lunchtime activity with their homerooms. so i take my sweet time walking to school.

stop by the family mart and pick up a 삼각김밥 (triangle shaped kimbap), microwave it for 20 seconds, and eat it as i lazily walk to school.

i stop by the hanaro mart (it's like a mini-market) and see if there's anything enticing. pringles are on sale and i buy a tube of spicy? flavored.

walk out and see my principal walking in! hahaha

i 인사 to him and he asks me if i had lunch and i said yes and we go on our separate ways. good thing he doesn't know what my hours are at school.

then i open the tube of pringles and THE PRINGLES ARE SMALLER IN KOREA! it is outrageous. but still good. i wish they had salt and vinegar flavored.

only 2 after school classes today.. then home to eat dinner.. then going out with the student teachers! exciteddddddd

btw. it is SO HUMID here and i am already getting devoured by the mosquitoes. i have a huge bite on the back of my knee. i thought my bone popped out or something.

a year's worth

2011-05-16T11:15:00.000+09:00

things to do when i go home
-see friends
-go to church
-eat an all meat burrito from king taco with red and green sauce
-knit/crochet: an octopus, hedgehog, owl... (taking requests!)
-go to sd
-see tim burton's exhibit
-eat something fresh out of the oven with melted cheese. ENCHILADAS? LASAGNA? i don't know. i hope my new place has an oven...
-eat shaved snow
-sew something
-take an art class??

kinda excited. but i'll miss korea. lately i've been going to the movie theaters just to eat popcorn. the past 2 months i've seen: red riding hood, my black mini dress, fast 5, thor, and source code. hahaha... i'll miss you onion and caramel popcorn.

also.. i've been REALLY into food shows these days. i was kinda into at home, but not really. lately i've seen and liked: hell's kitchen, kitchen nightmares, the f-word, top chef, bizarre foods, and i'm going to watch anthony bourdain's no reservations today.

sam: have you seen no reservations?
me: yeah.
sam: did you watch the vietnam one?
me: no. i didn't know they made one for every country!
sam: yeah we should watch it. the food looks good

i thought he was talking about the movie no reservations with catherine zeta-jones! ha...

i want to eat 순두부.

life is good

2011-05-11T12:19:00.000+09:00

i hate the rain. i enjoy everything the rain brings, but i do hate being in the rain.

i hate being damp. i rather be completely dry or fully immersed in water.

i do hope it cools down in Korea. the past few days have been humid, warm, and rainy. it's like the clouds came in to rain on spring's parade. hopefully it's not summer already. i'm not ready to live in the shower just yet.

i'm thinking of extending again. i should have been more on top of things with my apps at home, but i was caught up in the excitement here. i was very last minute with transcripts and it's not as easy to mend things when you're an ocean away.

of course i'm disappointed with myself because i'm getting old now and i should get things straight and secure. and it's not that i don't care or that i'm slacking, though it could easily be misconstrued as so. but i rather take my time and make for the best outcome than being hasty about it. but i suppose i don't have to worry about being hasty about anything now that i'm like 3 years behind. heh.

you know it's kinda strange being where i am. i see my friends that graduated "on time" and i see my friends that decided college isn't their thing or not an option at the time... and then i see me.. just taking my sweet time. and you know, the more i think about it the more i hate the mentality that graduating from college is everything. (fyi this isn't a rant directed towards my friends who graduated or are in school. it's our parents.)

i agree that it is beneficial to go, but i dislike the idea of superiority it comes with in society. even between the schools.

but i think overall, i just don't like it when people genuinely feel that they're better (or that their kids are better) than someone because of things like this. i didn't choose to go to a community college to bring my family shame or even because i'm dumb, but why do i feel that way? i feel like i could easily have been one of those people with superiority complexes had i gone to a really good school, but i guess taking the scenic route has definitely given me a slice of humble pie.

as of right now, all i know is that i'm happy with the way my life is, and i'm gonna do it my way.

ugh

2011-05-06T02:46:00.000+09:00

leadership, responsibility, passion... all things my mentor teacher lacks when it comes to being my mentor teacher.
and because i'm under this kind of leadership i feel these qualities in myself at a steady decline.

in korea, a teacher is only allowed to stay at a school for 4 years (same or less for principals and vps), and even less if it's a school in the countryside, because come on.. who wants to commute to the country when there are plenty of schools in the city in which you live. the mentor teacher i was supposed to have (who had a great relationship with the girl i replaced...) left 3 weeks after i got there. :(

the thing with the talk program is that not all mentor teachers that take on a talk scholar are educated in the talk program. so MANY if not MOST mentor teachers are at a lost as to what they should do with their talk scholar. luckily, for my noob mentor teacher... i feel like i know the program inside and out by the time he got me, i was forgiving about a lot of things.

a lot of these schools do not have their own head english teacher that oversees everything, and if they do.. most of the time the english program is secondary to whatever their role is at school.

that's what my mentor teacher at my new school is. he is the 5th grade homeroom teacher but also oversees the english program.

i do appreciate his effort in trying to speak to me in as much english as possible, but i would prefer that he speaks to me in korean. i feel like he doesn't want to communicate with me more than he does because using that much english is burdensome. i would much rather have a comfortable relationship with him... especially when it comes down to communicating dates and times i need to come in. i hate having to cancel plans. i would rather work double the amount all week long with PRIOR NOTICE, than coming into work 5 hours earlier on just one day WITHOUT NOTICE.

the problems i've had at this school are different from my old school. my old school had a much stronger english program, probably because of funding and especially because of the dedication of the staff. the problems i had at that school were more financial (housing bills were kinda expensive) and i worked a lot more without pay. BUT the staff made it worth it. the passion, the structure, and you can really see that overflow to the students.

not that this staff is not as dedicated... but i think they just dont know what to do with me.

my old school included me in everything. i attended every hweshiks for good byes, welcome, parents thanking us, etc. my mentor teacher and the other teachers at my school helped me feel welcome and comfortable. but my new school... i don't know why but i feel like they're all afraid of me. the one hweshik and the one sports event i went to.. i was bored out of my mind because no one talked to me.

anyway that's kind of a long tangent i went on... my new mentor teacher didn't really make clear what he expected of me... he doesn't really check up on me or monitor my class.

my vp dropped in once. i had a stack of notebooks that i had the students write in (which i was going to check at the end of class).. and he was pointing out all of their mistakes to me (DURING CLASS)... as if that's my fault! i mean yes, it is my responsibility to teach them proper english, but they're not going to be perfect sentence writers with perfect grammar, yet. and that's why i have them do that activity in the first place. ugh!

anyway... i know i can do better.. and my old school knows i did better. i just wish that my new school could see that, too. i wish i had the classroom and students i have at my new school with the staff, freedom with curriculum, and students of my old school... i miss teaching 1st and 2nd grade!!!! i only teacher 3rd-6th now.

chop chop

2011-05-04T02:10:00.001+09:00

haircuts are so addictive in korea because they're so cheap.

september 2010: my first cut. 7,000won in Jeonju. I just got a trim and cut my bangs.

October 2010: cut and dye in Gwangju for 45,000won.

December 2010: trim because i got bored 10,000won. at Audrey Hepburn in gwangyang

December 2010 (practically January 2011): dye cut and eyelash perm 45,000won. at audrey hepburn in gwangyang. (10,000won for the eyelash perm)

April 2011: cut and dye 50,000 at 이대.

and then i got bored today and got the fobbiest hair cut i've ever had in my life.
it looks like:
-jessica snsd in her gee days
-a fob
-one of my 5th grade students
-uma thurman in pulp fiction

i wanted it one length. and i realize that i have this weird need to cut my hair if the ends get all tangly (probably from the dying). so i cut the layers off and now im all one length. and now i look like everyone else in this country. but if i'm gonna do it, now's the time right? since it's not that weird to have hair like this here. 학생머리.

you'll see pictures of this soon enough~

i'm going to miss you cheap haircuts.. possibly the most...

also, there are like a bajillion different kinds of perms you can get here.. and a lot of people just perm their bangs.. and it's SUPER CUTE AND THE EXACT LOOK I WANT MY BANGS.

when i got my hair permed back in 2000whatever, i remember i LOOOOOOVED how my bangs looked. they were thick, wispy, and went the right direction with the right amount of curl every morning.

THIS CAN BE ACHIEVED IN KOREA

오예!

sighh sunny bangs, i've coveted you for so long.. and NOW YOU WILL BE MINE! i probably should have done this instead of cutting my hair today.

cliffhangers

2011-05-03T14:59:00.000+09:00

i hate cliffhangers.
i will often times watch tv shows and dramas after the whole season is done.
i watched harry potter 7 part 1 yesterday.. and it's killing me that i have to wait till... july? to see the rest of it. UGH i wish they just cut it at the "beach" instead of showing what Voldy's doing on his end.
it KILLS ME!
I WANT TO SEE THE REST!
ugh!

anyway. i've been watching old seasons of top chef (i recently watched 2 seasons of hells kitchen for the first time a month ago.. so addicting!). I guess old season (singular) is more accurate. People are so talented! i want to see what their food tastes like with all those flavor combinations~ mmmmm

visit my tumblr please and follow, reblog, and stuff.
jeanfood.tumblr.com.

it's a stretch but

2011-05-02T14:39:00.001+09:00

why were their names so similar??
ObAMA BIDEN
OsAMA BIn laDEN

conspiracy i tell you.

wisdom teeth

2011-05-01T13:35:00.000+09:00

i am half way through my wisdom teeth extraction!
it's only $50 here in korea... (I went to Boston Dental Clinic 보스톤치과 near homeplus in Buk gu, Gwangju, but supposedly i live near a dentist that does it for $20??)
it was a pretty good experience..
there was excellent customer service and they were pretty good at english.
saw a foreign couple there.

I got scaling (cleaning) done first.
the girl cleaning my teeth was the girl who took down my reservation over the phone and greeted me at the door.
she made me feel at home~
she said to raise my left hand if i feel any pain
i didn't have to raise the entire cleaning, although it hurt sometimes... but it felt really good other times because i knew some areas were extra gritty because i tried brushing out the tarter myself.
then it was tooth extraction time.

i had so many questions.
"얼마나걸려요?"
"얼마동안 아플거에요?"
"할떼 아파요?"
"약줄꺼에요?"

they brought out the needles and started shooting away at my mouth
the person that did it was some guy.
and i was closing my eyes (because when my friend chris went to the dentist they suggest him not look at the tools because it would freak him out even more)
and i was clenching my hands
and they were like, "wow she must have been really scared!" "긴장많이 했던거같에"
so they told me to relax my tongue and hands and to open my eyes.
and then the guy goes "i know i'm not that good looking, but you don't have to be nervous about this part." "내얼굴은 그렇게 잘생긴 얼굴안이지만, 긴장할필요 없어요. 아 해보세요. 따끈따끈 할거에요."
i laughed. like a barbarian. because their hands were in my mouth.
and then they left me to to my individual tv until half my mouth got numb.
i flipped through. watched an old ep of 영웅호걸 and a super old IU ep of 우결.. and then finally set it on 1박2일. i quickly became a fan of this show since i came here.. mainly bc my boyfriend's a fan.

then they came to take out my right tooth.
they said that because it's right next to a capillary it's going to be kind of a difficult procedure.
then they got cracking away..
first it was 시원해
then it HURT
she was drilling into the tooth (i think)
i raised my left hand and shook it like crazy because i thought they couldnt' see.
then the older woman dentist said, "yeah, i know. it's only going to be like this for a little bit. bottom wisdom teeth are different from top. it's going to hurt a little."
she was a little gentler after that.
like she drilled and gave me time to cope and drilled again. this lasted for like 20 minutes
and then there was a lot of head hold and cracking... which totally freaked me out, but it didn't hurt.
then we were done. all in a matter of like 7 minutes.
half my mouth was numb. nothing hurt. it was a bit sore. and there was blood everywhere.
on my teeth, in my mouth. around my mouth. i was a bloody hot mess literally. (it was pretty hot yesterday too)

then i headed down to the pharmacy. THANK GOD THERE ARE LIKE 2 PHARMACIES ON EVERY BLOCK IN THIS TOWN.
and the grand total of my cocktail of pills came out to $8?
this country is too good.

so i switched out the gauze like she told me and those were super bloody.
first meal i had was 감자탕
then i had popcorn because we went to watch Thor which was pretty good.
then we ate pizza at home

oh it hurt a lot when i took out the gauze. i think keeping pressure on it was good.

looks like i'm not gonna be losing any weight from wisdom teeth pulling.
because i just eat slower now. which means i eat more. :(

home bittersweet home

2011-05-01T12:16:00.000+09:00

i had a dream that i went home last night (like i do many nights)
but in this particular dream i wasn't upset i was at home.
it was weird.
all my friends from korea were there and as i walked on from them (we were at some sky resort) i ended up with my church friends that happened to join with a new group of people.
anyway i guess i'm pretty excited about going home for a bit.
but boy do i not want to stay there forever.
i love my friends at home, but i love korea too.
but i can't have both, wah.
but staying here realized how blessed i am to have the people i do have in my life.
i got to see my mom a handful of times, a lot of my friends dropped by, got letters, and my friends and i were always together on the internet haha... my friendsies are the besties.
which is what i'm looking forward to the most about going home. and food.. and my brother and grama... and going to church regularly... and doing propresenter (believe it or not... i miss that stuff.. i miss the hecticness).

see you soon california... i promise not to be a brat when i'm back.

이렇게 좋은날

2011-04-29T13:27:00.000+09:00

slept in
caught the bus
got to school in time for lunch
sat with a bunch of teachers and talked about cultural money i can spend on taekwondo or lessons or a hanbok.
said hi to a bunch of my students coming into lunch while eating
food was good
storytelling went smoothly.

it's gonna be a fabulouzzz day.

social media

2011-04-27T11:01:00.000+09:00

i'm going to try staying off facebook for a while.
not that i'm not involved in enough social networks already.
seriously why am i?
they all serve some kind of purpose though.
blogspot: maybe out of habit... too long for twitter, too uninteresting for tumblr.
tumblr: my avenue to fame. jk. but i do enjoy the attention my pictures get on tumblr.
twitter: for all my 1-2 sentences of annoyances, praises, joys, angers.

facebook does more damage than good. i need to turn it off once in a while.

anyway, there are important people observing my school. i REALLY hope they don't come into my class today. the 3rd graders here are THE WORST!

prettiest friend

2011-04-20T16:49:00.002+09:00

they got engaged?!?!?!?!?! ♡_♡

unblocked

2011-04-20T13:53:00.000+09:00

so what do you know~~~ blogspot isn't blocked at school anymore. which means i'll be able to blog more! not that i have that much down time at school.

it was early day at school and no one told me. good thing i was 30 min early today (not that it could be helped because that's what time the bus got me here.) i was on time for my 3rd grade class. my least favorite class of the week.

they are wild, misbehaved, little babies. strange because my 3rd graders were the best behaved at my old school. these kids have much to learn about respect and classroom etiquette, but that's not my job.. and i lack the korean language skills to correct them anyway.

my mentor teacher asked me to stay for staff sports after school today. it begins at 2. i told him i don't have shoes, but he said just stay. so i will say and see what the fuss is about.

what i appreciate about this mentor teacher (and my other one, too, actually) is that he really tries to use his english. though his sentences are fragmented and his word usage is incorrect at times.. i do appreciate his enthusiasm and determination. while overhearing him struggle through his words, the school nurse told him to speak to me in korean and that i understand everything. but he still speaks to me in english. he's very determined.

LOST!

2011-04-19T14:30:00.000+09:00

i lost my appetite. it's been missing since i got back from Andong. and i know it's only been 2 days, but i am already freaking out. although it should be a fantastic thing, i can't help but feel like a part of me has gone missing.

i want to be happy again. appetite return!

one of my fav renditions

2011-04-19T09:31:00.002+09:00

stupid

2011-04-18T15:58:00.000+09:00

i went to andong last weekend.
andong is in the gyeongsangbukdo province
they are best known for their 찜닭 although their 간고등어 is supposedly well-known as well.
both dishes are reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally good. 2 of the best things i've eaten in korea.
they are also known for their crazy masks.
they also have lots of hanok village 민박s in their famous 하회마을. it's actually pretty interesting.. and i hate folk villages.

this trip to andong made me realize each town has their own gimmick to get people to visit.
andong: masks and 찜닭
boseong: green tea fields, green tea food (that tastes like normal food but it's green....)
gwangyang: bulgogi
jeonnam province itself: lots of good food.

i went to gyeongsangdo the past 2 weeks.. and i noticed the shortage in 반찬s at the restaurants i ate at... in jeonnam almost all restaurants will give you 4+ 반찬s but in gyeongsangdo it doesn't seem as big of a deal

staying in gwangyang next weekend for soccer and then gwangju for a bday. it feels like it's someone's bday every week.

mynd

2011-04-18T15:19:00.000+09:00

i usually don't get stress. but i feel it coming on these days. stress is not good. because once you're stressed things that don't matter start stressing you out too. and that's when everything gets destroyed. when things that don't matter, start mattering.

quality time, quality rest, quality exercise, quality food... get in my body nowwww

and watch Max and Mary if you haven't.

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

2011-04-15T23:56:00.001+09:00

last weekend i went to the biggest cherry blossom festival in all of Korea.

i had my reservations about going...
1. it wasn't close and getting there would be a hassle.
2. travel all that distance to see flower trees? i can walk outside and do that at the park in 중마동 (my little town)

if anyone has tried to go from Jeonnam to Jinhae for this festival.. you all know you're just walking into a nightmare if you didn't plan it right.

so a few weeks before hand, i researched and found that the most convenient way with the least amount of transfers was:
bus to gwangyang
train from gwangyang at 10:30 to changwon
train from changwon to jinhae (this train only runs 4 times a day..)
eta 2:15
and then take the 6:20 train out of jinhae (the last one)
and take a 7:30 train out of changwon to go home

but this would mean only 4 hours of cherry blossoms... (later i would learn 4 hours is plenty if you want to get home the same day)

so the plan was to get there as early as possible and then come home that night.
we took the first bus instead because we thought it would be faster.
the bus plan was:
bus from 중마동 to suncheon
bus from suncheon to masan
city bus from masan to jinhae
eta before noon

unfortunately we missed the bus to masan... so in our determination.. we created a plan b
bus from suncheon to jinju
jinju to changwon
city bus changwon to jinhae
eta ~1

we successfully got to changwon (with little wait)
then we couldn't figure out how to take the city bus... so we ended up waiting for the train..
the train we would have taken even if we trained to changwon (comfortably without transfers mind you.)

sigh so getting to this stupid festival was a nightmare.

but it was worth it.
taking pictures is always fun and it's nice being such a beautiful place with people you like.

then getting out was another nightmare... and a half!

no taxi's were going out...
me and sam forwent trying to sneak on the last train out.. and tried to get on the city bus with our friends.. but they were packed... like sardines
so we gave up. ate dinner in jinhae
and took a bus to changwon later on when the crowd died (even though that was still a nightmare.. half our friends couldn't get on)

so we successfully get to changwon. our friends decide to call it a night and sleep at a motel. me and sam want to get out of this town asap so we stay up the entire night. (doing this every weekend is actually really tiring)

we walk to the bus terminal (which has a 24 hour homeplus close by). it was SO FAR! made me want to never trust samuel ever again. and my feet hurt because we were walking all day long. AND it was getting cold. and i was getting cranky.

we get to homeplus and i'm sad and cold and kinda wishing i was sleeping in a bed like my friends. but we buy chocolates and i feel better.

we walk to the terminal and set up camp there... we pulled up these random chairs and put our legs on it. the security guard grumbles something to us in korean, but we ignore. i slept for like 3 hours. and woke up at like 5am. then we went to homeplus again. by then it is FREEEEEEEEEZING. and i want to cry just running outside.

take another nap there... somewhere. hahaha try not to get kicked out. finally at 7 we took a taxi to changwon train station.. where we took the first train back home...

the first hour we were standing room... and there was no cafe car.. but luckily there was this area in the back of the car that had space to sit down on the floor... then when people got off.. we grabbed our seats and flipped the front chairs around so we can rest our feet

i feel like traveling comes with a lot of suffering... even more suffering if you don't plan it well... it was pretty fun in the beginning.. as the staying up all night till the buses start running was new and exciting and pretty common... but i feel like it's shaving years off my life... this last one especially... 고생너무많았어~~ ㅠㅠ

it was a little fun though... i was so excited to be going home i couldn't sleep the last hour of the train ride.

there's no place like home. or at least where you keep your underwear and your towel and pillow and blankets.

p.s. i haven't slept on a bed in months.

soccer

2011-04-13T19:27:00.002+09:00

lesson 1 (monday):
-basic passing

lesson 2 (today)
-more basic passing
-dribbling
-played with neighborhood kids

fun times with soccer. yay!

spring time

2011-04-13T15:00:00.000+09:00

i don't know if it's because it suddenly turned hot or because i'm done being sick or because i saw my mom last week or because my friends from home aren't really updating their facebooks... but i'm so homesick right now.

i've been feeling this way for a few days now, hopefully the feeling will shake off soon! i think i need to hang with my jeonbuk friends more... hallaaaaaaaaaaa

anyway.. i started going running this week.. and my ankle (the one i sprained) is really sore today! it feels really tight just sitting indian style.. hopefully it can go back to normal with time.

my mentor teacher invited me to play volleyball today.. but i 'forgot' and came home early.

i kicked 2 of my 3rd graders out today. one of the kids is such a smartass and thinks he can get away with anything.. and then he was acting like a brat the 2nd hour of class... sleeping and talking to his friends. he is evil!

other than that there is nothing new... just weighing my options for this upcoming weekend

green wedding shoes

2011-04-11T23:04:00.002+09:00

i was kinda over green wedding shoes, but this was a good post.
http://greenweddingshoes.com/bridal-shower-party-ideas/

viva la futbol

2011-04-11T21:02:00.000+09:00

sam is teaching me how to play soccer.
today we had our first lesson.
it was fun.
but strange in a way that when we started the lesson he was more like a cold soccer instructor than the samuel i know.
but it was expected because it's the same way when we play bowling or starcraft or anything else he wants to teach me or get better at.
i like it though.
i hope i get better at soccer!

2011-04-06T06:38:00.000+09:00

the pictures of the clothes will come soon my dearies.

in the mean time a post at 6:17am.

i couldn't sleep. i've been getting really crappy sleep because of this cold. but today it took my life to a new low... my air passages were like swollen or something so i couldn't sleep in fear that i would suffocate and die. i felt like when i leaned my head a certain way, the walls of my throat were touching.

inside i felt like a cranky baby. unsure of what to do. there isn't much to do except power through this cold. but i couldn't do it. webmd got me so paranoid, i took myself to the hospital. (good thing there's one in 10 min walking distance)

i was 찡찡거려ing like a puppy on a leash too tight.
-my throat hurts... and i can't breathe.. it feels like everything is really tight.... and i can't breathe.. and my throat hurts the most... it's been hurting for a week and a half... and i cough sometimes and my nose is running sometimes... but my throat hurts the most. did i mention i can't breathe?

the doctor told me that it's just the common cold and that if i have time to get fluids from an iv or get a shot.
i chose to get the shot. and i am now devirginized of the butt shot.

i feel like i'm a part of the koreans now. like i can talk about the butt shot like i know now. heh

now it's 6:30. and i have a bus to catch in 2 hours. then i teach 3 classes back to back. then lunch. then a movie for 30 minutes.

children better be good today. or i'm going to fake my death at school.

만원에 행복

2011-04-04T16:19:00.001+09:00

money can always be made
cute korean spring clothes and accessories, however, can only be bought in korea.

did i really buy a 25,000W headband? yes
is it made of gold and diamonds? no.
didn't you work at an accessories store and never wear accessories? yes
what happened? korea.

spring fashion is here! and everything is SUPER cute.
i can't help myself.
i hit the jackpot with 10,000W shoes from 이대, 10,000W chiffon dresses from 동대문, and 10,000W cardigans from 고소터미널.

next up is lace and maybe tweed...

good thing it's always warm in california.
i'm thinking of this shopping as investment for the future...
i don't shop much at home anyway ;)

만원에 행복!

koreans

2011-04-04T14:47:00.000+09:00

after telling him me and vicky are from america
taxi driver: 그러면 유학생들인가?
me: 아니오 저는 영어 선생님이고 친구는 놀러온거에요.
taxi driver: 그러면 미국에서는 뭐하는데?
me: 친구는 이제 대학원 다닐꺼에요.
taxi driver: 대학원? 대학교도 안조롭할나인것같은데. 몇살이여?
me: 26살, 미국에서는 24살.
taxi driver: 아이고 26살 이면 먹을만큼은 먹었네. 26살은 나이먹은거야.

-___-

from 마이블랙미니드레스
윤인나's character: 20대는 시운일이 있을수가없어.

i feel so old.
in korea i'm on the the 30 side of the 20 somethings.

me: 생명은 즐기는거다.
enjoy it while you can~

readying myself to go home already. packing up my winter clothes to send home with mi mamacita. i have 4 months left! i can't believe i was only going to stay here for 6 months. it's been 8 and it still doesn't seem like enough.

2011-03-30T15:25:00.001+09:00

fall: fall leaves
winter: snow
spring: cherry blossoms and other flowers
summer: not wearing leggings anymore

julie hong totally took the thoughts out of my head with her post.

summer was dreadful, but it helped me appreciate the weather when it cooled down. and naengmyun and all the hot weather goodies would not have been as refreshing if the weather was cold. and everything was so green and beautiful because of the monsoon rain.

fall was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the leaves do really fly around like in screen savers when they fall off trees.

winter was also dreadful. it was FREEZING. but all the 찌개s would not have been as soul warming as it would be if it were the dead of summer. and you get to wear coats. and everyone looks good in a coat.

and now it's spring. things are slowly turning green again. cherry blossoms are blooming in korea from the bottom up... there is a map with dates posted on when they are predicted to bloom and it literally starts from the bottom and goes up. and my city's planted pansies all over town. it's cardigan weather. and all most clothes have bows and flowers on them. meow

though summer and winter are terrible. i do appreciate things that i can enjoy in those seasons and do like the changes. i think it keeps things interesting... i'll miss the dramatic fall and spring the most when i go home, though.

nome

2011-03-15T11:23:00.000+09:00

the longer i stay here the more i realize i'm not a nice person and the more i feel ok with it.
3.5 months till i go home for a wedding. and i'm excited because i can go home for a bit and come back to korea for a few weeks till i'm home for good.
the more august draws near the more i don't want to leave.
kinda like when i was a kid not wanting to leave my friend's house... throwing a fit to play for another hour.
i need to be thankful that i even got to come here...
and though i'm very very grateful... i'm not thankful about how i have to go home now.
i feel like i'm stuck in inception because life is so easy and i can make it what i want it to be here...
but when i go up a level everything's real again and i'll have that lingering feeling that life could be better.

read me

2011-03-07T16:00:00.003+09:00

while walking through town the other day with my friend mae and we decided to make a bet.

person that loses bowling has to pay for bowling and a tarot card read.

so before you get all crazy on me, let me just state that the whole tarot card reading thing here is just as casual as getting your nails done...

anyway it was fun but a bunch of bs. this is my read:

i got the "couple" read because he kept insisting and he gave me a free 사주 (astrological psychic thing through your birthday) as service (isn't it funny how 서비쓰 rolls over to even tarot card readers?)

couple read:
before i was in the relationship i suffered from 짝사랑, always unsure of the guy's feelings, getting hurt from everything that comes with 짝사랑.
now that i'm in the relationship, my thoughts about it grow more logical than romantical. And also because of this I'm more cautious and holding back.
if i stay in the relationship and proceed to get married, there is no way we can live off of one income and i will need to work, too.

before he was in a relationship, i wasn't the only object of affection, but there were several he had his eye on.
now that he's in the relationship now, he gets lonely at times because he senses that I'm holding back even though he's all in.

if we get married, we'll be rich with dual income and be able to enjoy our lives together comfortably. (i drew a lot of coin cards.. MAKE IT RAINNNN)

tarot card reader: did you come to korea to teach english?
me: yeah
tarot card reader: to junior highers? high schoolers?
me: elementary school students

사주 read:
a lot of relationships with young children (i just told you this, sir.)
artistic or has interest in art
either has a paternal grandmother who was not a good person, distant relationship, or passed away early
2009 was a bad year for love.
this year is a very good year for love. and if there is someone i am seeing now, we will stay together into next year.
this year is a good year to marry if not wait 2-3 years
there are 2 people i will consider marrying. i will eventually marry someone of korean blood (not necessarily a native korean, but someone of korean descent. i was just happy that he foresaw that i was going to marry someone)
the first one has a really bold personality
the second one is smoother around the edges (부드러운 성격)
the career path i choose will be permanent from the day i choose it to the day i retire
and though i'll work hard at the job, there will be many good things that i will receive from it and there will be many fruits from my labor.

though this is all a bunch of bs.. it was just fun.. kinda like getting fortune cookies and reading your horoscope online.