I Must Confess My Crush on...

Leighton Meester.

I am probably the only New Yorker that doesn't watch Gossip Girl but if I did I would just to look at her face. She is perfection.

I also am so meh about Blake Lively and the fact that Ana Wintour is soooo trying to get her to be the new 'it' girl. Yes, Blake Lively is gorgeous but look at her face before her nose job and she is average at best. Her breasts are fantastic but they are also implants. So really, Blake Lively would be nothing without 2 cosmetic procedures.

Zeitoun

I finished the book Zeitoun in a day. It is a very quick and worthwhile read.

Eggers uses the story of a man named Zetoun to tell a tale that juxtaposes the failure of the Hurricane Katrina response with the current Muslim American experience.

All proceeds go to a foundation which is also nice and good of Eggers.

I started The Corrections today because Freedom is all the rage right now and I wanted to start with Franzen's first book before I went on to Freedom.

I tried to read The Corrections in high school but put it down because I either go bored with it or I got high (there was a lot of that going on in 11th grade). I read a few pages today and I am already getting bored with it. The writing is just so...not my scene (that's all I can say about it because I am no literary critic).

Also, this is a very superficial reason to judge a book but Franzen annoys me for the following non reasons: he looks like a bourgeoisie New England snob, he was too good to be part of Oprah's book club for his first book only to accept it for his second book, and he has an extremely tooley demeanor.

I will try to ignore my conceptions of him and make it through because everyone who matters says he's GENIUS and a writing god. I hate labels of genius also. So much hype.

I am the Worst Blogger

So....I tried to resize my photos and now my blog is a mess. Some pictures are way too big others are too small.

It now kind of looks like my target audience is those with early onset glaucoma.

Bear with me, I am learning!

For someone who worked in digital advertising, I am so NOT computer savvy. This maybe why I sucked at my job. Or..because I didn't care.

Pretty + Tasty = Pretty Tasty

These are rice cake gift sets. They were so soft and scrumptious.

Seoul Bird's Eye View at Dusk

Digital Graffiti on Cheongyecheon

Where's the Soap?

Soap at Leeum.

Seoul Sunset

Currently Reading: Zeitoun

So far it is really good.

The Times said:
“Imagine Charles Dickens, his sentimentality in check but his journalistic eyes wide open, roaming New Orleans after it was buried by Hurricane Katrina.... Eggers’s tone is pitch-perfect—suspense blended with just enough information to stoke reader outrage and what is likely to be a typical response: How could this happen in America?... It’s the stuff of great narrative nonfiction.... Fifty years from now, when people want to know what happened to this once-great city during a shameful episode of our history, they will still be talking about a family named Zeitoun.”

I will finish this by tomorrow so I will let you know the final word.

I gotta say as much as living in Brooklyn was inferior to Manhattan, I do miss my 45 hour commute to work. I got a solid hour and a half of reading done a day. Now I have to make time to read, sigh.

The Kindle version is only $6 Buy here

NY Times Kimchi shortage article

The NY Times says there is a kimchi shortage in Korea due to the high price of cabbage this season. While I do not disagree that the price has gone up, there has been no dearth of Kimchi here.

"Kimchi has become so expensive that some restaurants in the capital no longer offer it free as a banchan, or side dish, a situation akin to having an American burger joint charge for ketchup, although decidedly more calamitous here."

Blatant lie, this doesn't happen here. I go to the cheap cheap places also and I have never NOT had kimchi as a banchan. The NY Times is really cashing in on the Korean readership. Blowing this whole kimchi thing out of proportion.

The article was totally worth it though just for that woman's face alone. Have never seen such joy expressed over a head of cabbage.

Article Here

Horrifying Words to Hear When you Go to Check In To Your Flight

Me: I'm here to check into our flight
Desk Person: Itinerary
Me (passes flight confirmation): Going to Bali
Me to Peter: See aren't you happy I organized everything? You are sooo lucky you have me
Desk Person: Um, your flight was yesterday
Me: Um no the date is right there, leaving Tuesday
Desk Person: Tuesday was yesterday
Me: Uhhh really?!

That was the worst feeling knowing that:
-I am an idiot
-I was trying to confirm that I am a full functional organized adult worthy of being wified up but alas I am not
-I could have been in Bali sipping cocktails by a pool at that exact moment

Bukchon

Bukchon is a preserved neighborhood of traditional style houses. It is lovely for a nice walk around the little alley ways. Nearby is Samcheong which has numerous art galleries, restaurants, and cafes.

what....the....hell

Hate will.i.am. but love Nicki Minaj so I suppose this is acceptable.

Ugh, Korea/Koreans/Kpop is so TRENDY these days. I don't know how I feel about this. Like are people going to forget about us in 3 years or is it just the beginning of an established recognition of how ill we are?



P.S as much as Will.i.am sucks, "I Gotta Feeling" is THE best karoake song in history.

Sing this in norebang and every lyric will shock you on how dumb they are, in turn making the song actually brilliant.

I would love to hear William Shatner read these lyrics:
Tonight's the night, let's live it up
I got my money, let's spend it up
Go out and smash it like oh my God
Jump off that sofa, let's get, get off

I know that we'll have a ball
If we get down and go out and just lose it all
I feel stressed out, I wanna let it go
Let's go way out spaced out and losing all control

Fill up my cup, mozoltov
Look at her dancing, just take it off
Let's paint the town, we'll shut it down
Let's burn the roof, and then we'll do it again

My thoughts on Christine O'Donnell

So as everyone has heard, a man has come forward to Gawker and announced that he had a one night stand with Christine O'Donnell

Read the Story here

Ok so clearly this guy is a douche and a raging tool.

A douche because any person (Tiger Wood's numerous hoes, David Arquette, Jesse' James' Nazi girlfriend etc) who would name drop who they have slept with publicly is a certifiable douchebag.

A raging tool because he says, "When her underwear came off, I immediately noticed that the waxing trend had completely passed her by. Obviously, that was a big turnoff, and I quickly lost interest." A) You are describing a woman's public hair B)Women have public hair naturally FYI

As much as this guy is a slime for coming out with this story either true or untrue, I can't take Christine O'Donnell's side either.

O'Donnell's response was "This story is just another example of the sexism and slander that female candidates are forced to deal with....It operates as public sexual harassment. And like all sexual harassment, it targets not only O'Donnell, but all women contemplating stepping into the public sphere."

Bitch please!! I dislike when women play the women card to get sympathy. I agree that a woman's good name can be ruined by a guy claiming she is a slut however don't pretend male politicians are somehow immune.

Sex and politics have gone together hand in hand since the beginning of time. And yes, she is single so it is not as much of the public's interest as say Bill Clinton or Eliot Spitzer who both had commitments to people. The reason why it IS relevant to the public is that she has a holier than thou attitude which makes this supposed one night stand relevant.

She has described herself as chaste, anti-masturbation, pro-abstinence-only sex ed, anti-condoms and anti-porn. If you bring sex into the political debate and think you can legislate people's sex lives by being pro abstinence and anti abortion then your sexual history is fair game.

Her wiki states:
"She dropped her acting aspirations, began thinking about moral issues, and became an evangelical Christian, liking the moral certainty of that religion. She chose to live a chaste life, began espousing sexual abstinence, and joined the College Republicans.

O'Donnell has been described as a former Catholic turned evangelical Christian."

If you tell other people how to live their sex lives in a chaste manner and you are in fact not so chaste, then yes it i in the public's interest.

It is when people act high and mighty that the public loves to hear about their indiscretions.

Men are not immune:

Mark Foley:
Foremost opponent of child pornography--->sent sexual IMs to teenage boys

Ted Haggard
preached homosexual is an abomination--->did meth with male prostitutes

Eliot Spitzer:
Fought prostitution---> turns out he loved them hos

Larry Craig
voted against gay marriage---> tried to get a BJ from an undercover cop in a bathroom

Now we can add Christine O'Donnell
advocated abstinence---> huge slut just like the rest of us

While I do not put one-night stands in the same rank of smoking meth with prostitutes, hypocrisy is hypocrisy no?

Reason #18476 Why it is beneficial to be born a White Man

So I am looking for some part time gigs to supplement my 3 hour workday and I come across a lot of these:

F2/F5 CAUCASIAN MEN ONLY
We need Caucasian F2/5 men for sporadic 1,2 or 3 day sporadic day shooting dates between November and February
I will transfer the money into your account that day
Dates may change slightly but this is tentative so far
and additional days may be added
It is a Korean movie about the second world war involving the Russians,Germans and Japanese
We Need Caucasian men' as the era matches that
300 Thousand Korean won per 10 hour day,OT after 10 hours (Time starts after make up has been applied)

30 bucks an hour to stand there wearing makeup for 3 days. Seriously my bummy white friends with fake jobs should move to Korea and make a killing being an extra.

Eye Wrinkle/Ga-In

I Like Ga-in from Brown Eyed Girls because she has small eyes and is still cute.

She hasn't gotten the eye wrinkle surgery unlike 50% of Kpop singers and the rest of the Korean population (50% is fact, it is not even considered plastic surgery. my mom and half the women in my family have it).

To be clear here is a before and after:

So the eye wrinkle is a big deal in Korea, it is a little wrinkle in the eye lid that gives the appearance of a bigger eye and a more Westernized look. Everyone wants the western white woman's standard of beauty right? Black people want light skin, Asians want round eyes. Sad but it's truth.

When Earl's nephew was born the first thing the nurse said to the mother is "He has Ssangapul (the eye wrinkle)!!" Who needs 10 fingers and 10 toes when you have ssangapul lets be real.

I have known kids here as young as 12 who have gotten the surgery. One doctor told her mother that if the child didnt get the surgery now, her eyes would get smaller. Her mother then bribed her with a new cell phone to convince the kid to get it. Deplorable!

Anyways, I doubt Ga-in's popularity will make chinky eyes suddenly desirable but at least shes rocking it.

FIERCE

Four Loko

Have you heard of this?

It is a caffeinated alcoholic drink with as much alcohol as a six pack and as much caffeine as 5 cups of coffee. Where was this when I was in college?

Suffice to say it has been banned from numerous college campuses. It was responsible for 9 student hospitalizations in one Washington State party:
Authorities at the time said they did not believe incident was a result of heavy drinking, but that someone had surreptitiously slipped drugs, possibly date rape drugs, into people's drinks.

Police today said there was no evidence of drugs found, only the energy drink.

"It was really scary," Katelynn Allen, a Central Washington University freshman.

"Everything was going fine, the music was playing, people were having fun - and then all of a sudden all the girls were puking everywhere," she said. "Girls were outside on their backs."

Actually...on second thought perhaps I am still alive today because this was not around during my college years.

This Product has improved my Life by 15%

5 months ago I got Diorshow Eyelash Plumping Serum and I fell in love.

I didn't tell any girlfriends about it because I wanted the competitive advantage. I realized I should be more sharing because I got Bare Minerals from Mar and Ponds cold cream from Hyemi.

This is a eyelash primer and it makes a noticeable difference. It's the best alternative to fake lashes because if you are not from LA or Japan, wearing fake lashes looks dumb.

I told Peter I bought eyelash conditioner and he chastised me for spending money on what seems like the most pointless purchase when I should be saving money in Korea. But then I batted my long gorgeous eyelashes at him and all was forgotten.

If you are Asian and have no eyelashes you need to buy this.

I use this everyday with my MAC gel liner and voila! I look like I have eyes.

Better review:
http://www.beautygala.com/brands/review-dior-diorshow-maximizer-lash-plumping-serum/

BC Jess Loves Cl

CL doing Please Don't Go live.



I love 2NE1 because they don't suck live unlike other groups where I curse their producers for ever giving them a mike.
Like T-ara, my ears were bleeding at their concert.

So I decided my Wedding is going to be Ghetto

So I love weddings. I already know the color theme, wedding dress, venue, song list, walk in song, DJ, wedding band that I want for my wedding. Seriously, I kid you not (I have all these bookmarked in my browser). What can I say? Deep inside I am a girly girl and I like Disney movies.

Recently however, I have started to think about buying property before I turn 30. This is a goal of mine, but to buy a condo in Brooklyn you should have 15% of the price to put down which equates to at least $35K. I do not have $35K yet.


The average wedding in NYC costs $60K. I do not have $60K either.

So I have come to the crossroad in my life where I have to choose between an extravagant wedding or a modest home.

What's the good in having a nice wedding but living in a rented apartment right after?

So I decided I am going for what people call a 'casual' wedding. I will probably be baking my own wedding cake and making party favors and learning calligraphy for the invites. I should enroll in a flower arranging class when I get back. Be prepared for homemade wedding favors and a buffet cooked by my mother :-D

If my mother doesn't want to cook, White Castle can always do the catering.


Hopefully, I will still be able to afford a full dress unlike this woman:


Other NYC Apartments with Libraries

2ne1

2AM is such a downer. Let's party with 2ne1.

I wonder if T Pain has heard of 2ne1 because their autotuning would make him proud.

I like 2ne1 because they're not extremely pretty women (with the exception of Dara) and yet super fierce.

"Like Crazy" vs "Even if I die"

OK call me crazy, but these songs sound exactly alike.

Like Crazy:


Even if I die:

Saint O'Clock

2Am has a new album out! Seolong's acting is so funny.

More of Jo Kwon's faces yayyyyy.

Jo Kwon comes in at the 1:54 mark.

Also, WTF are they wearing around their white suits? Whites suits are all sorts of wrong alone but with that thing they're wearing around their waists. Travesty.



Link to download new album

I need Some Inspiration

So I only work 3 hours a day. I came to Korea to find myself, figure out what I want to do in life. Instead of figuring out my life, I find myself sleeping until noon and watching shows on the internet until I need to shower at 3 PM to get ready for work.

I need some inspiration/contemplation in my life and it helps to remind myself with quotes I saved in my diary from various sources, literature, rap music, confucius etc.

Paul Auster:
"The pressure was off, and without any pressure, nothing important can ever be at stake. "

Nawal el Saadawi:
" How is it possible to live? Life is so hard. You must be harder than life. Life is very hard. The only people who really live are those that are harder than life itself."

Shambhala :
-" You can never avoid death. Whatever you do, death occurs. But if you have lived with a sense of reality and with gratitude towards life, then you leave the dignity of your life behind you, so that your relatives, your friends, and your children can appreciate who you were."
-" We prefer to hide in our personal jungles and caves. When we hide from the world in this way we feel secure. We may think that we have quieted our fear but we are actually making ourselves numb with fear. We surround ourselves with our own familiar thoughts so that nothing sharp or painful can touch us. We are so afraid of our own fear that we deaden our hearts."

Oscar Wilde:
"Who, being loved, is poor?"

Jay-Z:
-"Life is for living not for living uptight."
-"We don't just shine, we illuminate the whole show."

Anton Chekhov:
"The lieutenant draws his plans and you sit in the kitchen all day longing for your homeland. Plans....it's a man's life that counts, not plans. Life can't be repeated, it must be cherished."

Confucius (says):
-"Great man is accommodating but not one with the crowd"
-"Great man neither worries or fears."

Weird Swiss Movie:
"I put up a facade and go about my day, but underneath it all I am crying. I cry because I can never be what I once was."

Coco Chanel:
-"There are people who have money and people who are rich."
-"There is time for work and time for love. That leaves no other time."

Hemingway from A Moveable Feast:
"We'll come home and eat here and we'll have a lovely meal and drink Beaune from the co-operative you can see right out of the window...and afterwards we'll read and then go to bed and make love."
"And we'll never love anyone but eachother."
"No. Never""

Limewire is Dunzo

Limewire is being shut down. Where will I illegaly download music? I am so internet illiterate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/technology/27limewire.html?hpw

Dream

I had a dream I quit my job at Ogilvy to be a publicist for Cash Money records. Lil Wayne met and fell in love with me. He proposed to me with a 16 carat diamond ring in the shape of a bird to represent how I am Birdman Junior's.

I need to stop listening to Lil Wayne all day long.

Back In Seoul

I am back in Seoul after 5 weeks of living out of a suitcase, 5 hotels, 2 plane rides, 2 boat rides, and 2 train rides later.

My new position at The Princeton Review entails only 3 hours of actual work a day and I am worried I will go stir crazy. I need to find a morning job I think.

I also come back to Seoul with zero friends :-( I am officially a loser.

My besties here all left for the states and now I am left cold and lonely.

I am kind of getting over Seoul, I miss NY so much. Cannot wait for end of February.

New Lil Wayne

I haven't bought an album in 7 years but the new Lil Wayne album was impossible to illegally download. I had to start a new iTunes account, how 1998 am I?

I know this album came out awhile ago but I'm still listening to the DJ DOC album from this summer, mad behind.

Some Notes from my Asian Tour

Bali:
Bali is truly an amazing place:

-Everyone is a cab driver/artist/tour guide in Ubud. You can literally ask anyone to take you around anywhere in Bali for 8 hours for about $40 US

-You can eat like a king, entrees at the fanciest restaurants in Bali cost $3

-The people are so kind (even the teenagers!), New Yorkers truly have a stick up their asses

-I want to move to this country

Osaka:
Despite the fact that the residents have a very limited knowledge of English unlike Tokyo or Seoul, Osaka was my kind of town. Seemed like a small city even though it is the 8th largest in the world. Also known as Japan's kitchen. The food was truly amazing.

-Japanese people are so nice and polite. I no longer resent them for the whole WWII thing.

-Osaka has great taste in American music. Heard great 90's hip hop everywhere.

-The Japanese are f in loaded, the dollar was worth nothing there when we went. Go with lots of cash.

-Osakans are less perverted than Tokyo resident (no used panty vending machines and things of that nature)

Love Her

Watch all 6 parts. Discovery Channel did a documentary series called "Hip Korea" This one is on Yuna.

Koreans love Steven Seagal me thinks

There are 35 stations on my Korean hotel room TV. Of those, 4 are English channels. Of those, 2 are playing 2 different Steven Seagal movies.

Do Koreans love Steven Seagal or do Koreans think foreigners love Steven Seagal?

I know for a fact my grandpa loves Steven Seagal so me thinks the former.