My Blog Is really Ugly

Whenever I hear people are reading my blog I get happy and feel like my countless hours of being a nerd has been worth it.

But then I see blogs like Jess C's and I get depressed. So clean, so beautiful!

Ugh, why can't my blog look like this. Oh I know why, because Jess had to spend 15 minutes teaching me how to make my pictures bigger.

Jess' Blog here:
http://bitnubs.tumblr.com/page/1

The Yearning for Whiter Skin

An article in the Chosun Ilbo talks about how Koreans want whiter skin (stating the obvious).

Article Here

It says:
"White skin has always been a symbol of wealth and status and therefore a powerful standard for beauty."

I get that back in the day dark skin meant that you were a farm worker but in todays world dark skin means you could afford to go to Bora Bora for vacay no?

I am all for a porcelain complexion as much as the next guy but the girls here take it too far. They look sickly and its not hot.

12 Year Old on Lady Gaga

JY: I hate Lady Gaga.
Me Why? She's amazing.
JY: She dresses so ugly and weird.
Me: Fashion isn't about dressing pretty, it's about making a statement. You will understand when you are older.

I feel like I make a difference by teaching her stuff like this.. Grammar schammar.

Sometimes My Friends Are So Considerate

Dan brought me 2 Vita Cocos when he came to visit.

I have been craving Vita Cocos since I got here. There is nothing like having a soju hangover and nothing to cure it!

He is such a sweetheart sometimes and he knows it.

Really sad Santa Doesn't Exist

Because I really want one of these. Seoulites love nice cameras, it is almost like a fashion accessory here. It is very weird because they will wear a fake Louis and then have a 600 dollar camera around their neck. Prob should have saved up for the real Louis first.

A Christmas Carol

I am teaching "A Christmas Carol" at work. I always hated Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities" was the bane of my existence at once point in my young life. He is the worst, why is it always required reading? There are so many other good writers!

Thankgiving

Being outside the States for Thanksgiving is the worst. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday by far.

When Halloween rolled around I barely missed it. I didn't even have a desire to go to a Halloween party in Seoul even though there were a ton. Partially because it is not as fun in Seoul and partially because I didn't want to walk home looking like an asshole in a Halloween costume late night when no one else is dressed up.

Thanksgiving though makes me heart pine for the states. I wouldn't even have a normal Thanksgiving even if I was in NY being that my folks live in Cali so I wouldn't even have been with them and the aunt that always cooks for my extended family is in Seoul right now. But I still wish I was still there being with loved ones.

Yesterday I had an extreme craving for the turkey and all the works and called 5 different restaurants in Itaewon to ensure I wouldn't miss Thanksgiving in its entirety. Mission accomplished, Sunday I will be eating a 3 course meal (which really isn't sufficient because real Thanksgiving is all day eating) with my old roomie Yona. I know I wont be satiated unless they serve me 15 sides which I already know they won't. So yeah poor man's Thanksgiving on Sunday for me.

The boyfriend says "well you know the food is only half of Thanksgiving right? It's about being with family and friends, so you still won't have a real Thanksgiving."

Um yeah, thanks for bringing it to my attention. Excuse me while I go cry in the bathroom.

How to Cope with Impending Death

Me: So are we going to die?
K: Yes, so let's drink.

Texas Bar

I live behind Texas Bar. I have to endure Maroon 5 songs blasting at night into my window. Ugh Maroon 5 is the worst!!

My Mom is Scaring Me

My mom calls me to urge me to come back to the States immediately. She offers to buy me a plane ticket. I already have one and simply can bump up the date. Also, I told her an American passport is a golden ticket out of here and if stuff really went down I could run to the embassy and be jetted out of here.

I assure her that this isn't a big deal and North Korea wouldn't be as dumb to attack Seoul because Seoul is South Korea's bloodline. She says they not dumb but they crazy! Mom speaks truth.

I wasn't really worried until I read the South Korean president's response and he seemed understandably kinda pissed. Is this situation going to escalate? Is Kim Jong Il going to nuke me?

What is even worse is that my paychecks paid in won is going to be even more useless because this situation will inevitable weaken our currency even more. Maybe I should just leave for NY tomorrow to go make some dollars.

My Dad is So Whitewashed

Dad: Did you hear the shots today?
Me: You do realize, I'm in Seoul right? Do you know how far Seoul is from Yeonpyeong?!

He really forgot many things about Korea. He is officially more whitewashed than I am.

North Korea is Starting Shit...Again

article here
North Korea just fired some artillery on a S. Korean island killing one soldier and injuring 15.

Usually when I hear of NK SK beef I think, oh here are Koreans being drama queens again. It always seems like they start something once a year for attention.

This time I am slightly worried being that this is happening right after NK already torpedoed one of our ships, a little too recent in the government's mind I feel.

Now I am getting text messages from friends reminding me where the embassy is and telling me to carry my pasport at all times. Times like this make me really happy that I am an American citizen. Not that Americans are immune from war (obviously we love to war out) but we prefer to fight on other people's turf.

I mean North Korea can't be so dumb as too attack Seoul right?! Because South Korea will, if I may put in historical terms, "fuck them up".

I feel like non Koreans have this perception that South Koreans would want to be one big happy family if North Korea wasn't under the rule of such a psychotic leader. Yes, I think South Koreans sympathize because North Koreans are our brethern and we are cut from the same cloth. But really, logistically it would be difficult to take on a country that is severly malnourished, under developed, and uneducated.

Not to say it can't happen. If Kim Jong Il's son was somehow benevolent and decided to un brainwash his people, maybe? I mean anyone who looks at Seoul now and thinks about how this city was in ruins 60 years ago will believe in the possibilty of anything. We went from 1.5-3 million (total) Koreans killed and a country in total ruins to becoming the world's 13th largest economy and the producer of everyone's LCD TVs. The North Koreans unfortunately have not been as lucky.


If you are interested in how North Koreans live, I highly recommend the documentary "A State of Mind" which follows the lives of North Korean girls preparing for the Mass Games. The Mass Games are sort of awesome and supremely creepy at the same time. That is a different post altogether.

The film is available on netflix instant watch. It really captures the extent of how brainwashed these people are and how dire their circumstances are without being preachy nor from the POV of South Koreans.

A family of 4 gets a ration of 2 chickens a month! I do realize there are people in this world that don't get to eat any chickens at all but to a foodie like me this is horrible. Especially when you see how South Koreans eat. I remember thinking North Koreans probably don't eat too much Samgyetang (stuffed whole cornish hen soup).

Besides the whole starvation, torture, work camps that exist there, the worst has got to be the brainwashing and the ignorance. There is a great a scene where the girl visits a NK mountain for the first time and thinks it's so beautiful (she may or may not have cried, I forget). Then the viewer sees this mountain, and yes the mountain is pretty but nothing mind boggling. She will never be told of Mount Everest, the Great Barrier reef, the ruins of Machu Picchu, the pyramids of Egypt, the Victoria falls. She will live and die and never know of the beauty outside her borders. The tragedy is overwhelming.

Anyways this post was way longer than I intended, I highly recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456012/

Ice Cream Truck>Vegetable Truck

Every morning at 11 AM, the onion man wakes me up. Yes, I wake up at 11 to noon every morning, I am a bum. That is a different post entirely.

In Korea, we do not have ice cream trucks, we have vegetable trucks. These trucks do not have merry songs like Mr Softee but instead have a looping recording of the seller screaming "Onions Onions Onions for 10,000 Won" on a loudspeaker. This onion guy has become my alarm clock.

In my old hood, the vegetable guy sold many different veggies and also I could rarely hear him since I lived on the 7th floor a little away from the street.

Do people actually hear the onion guy coming and then put on their shoes, run downstairs and flag him down? Koreans use as much onions and garlic in our cuisine as Italians but this onion guy needs to take a rest. I thought there was a reason why ice cream trucks worked, reason being that kids are the only sugar crazed beings to actually flag down a moving vehicle for a treat.

I suppose he does eliminate my need to set my alarm every day. Thanks onion guy?

Spanx

I just bought a pair of Spanx because I bought a dress 4 months ago that needs to be worn.

I love this dress. It is a sparkly gold number and I had plans on wearing it numerous times but my plans have been foiled by my gut. The day has come where I can't wear anything I want anymore. I knew this day would come eventually, but I thought maybe I would be 35...not 26.

This gut may be caused by the fact that I work until 9:30, get home, eat cup ramen and drink beer. I am basically a Korean Al Bundy.

Priss

So my 12 year old is really bad at flying airplanes. She vomits in the bathroom for the whole duration of a flight. This happens on every flight she goes on.

She says to me: "If I don't fly first or business class I die!"

She learns quickly

So one of the vocab words yesterday was macho. My 12 year old learns quickly.

"Macho means the way a man acts when he is very manly. When a guy sort of walks with his chest out and doesn't act girly at all. That is a macho man, can you use it in a sentence?"

"Jo Kwon is not macho at all."

Amazing.

Das Racist

I know Das Racist has been the buzz for a bit. Much media hype about "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" but I really like this song.

Hot Enigma Beat.

Child of The Funk

Erykah Badu shared with NYMag the songs that made her a child of the funk. Great artist, great taste.

Her captions are great too, on Chaka Khan:
"Oh Chaka Khan, she is our queen. Anyone who sings soul and funk goes through the school of Chaka Khan. She has so many gorgeous songs but ‘Sweet Thang’ is the one — she sung that song from the vagina, from the bottom of her stomach, you can hear it all in her throat, she felt it."

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/erykah_badu_slideshow.html#photo=1x69226

Top 5 Ways Korea Has Changed Me

1) I have been substance free for 6 months now and I rarely go out. I also stopped drinking soju. The first month I projectile vomited every night from soju and now I just quit trying. It is disgusting.

2) Boiled eggs entertain me. I was skyping with Peter and was overly excited by how my boiled egg split perfectly in half and felt the need to show him over video this miracle. Reasons why this is all sorts of wrong:
a. This should not excite anyone by any amount let alone overly excite.
b. I sit around and eat boiled eggs which are about the most boring and geriatric food ever.

3) I had the brilliant idea of starting soap making as a hobby when I get back to NY. When you have a lot of time you think, you make inner discoveries like realizing your preference for bar soap over liquid soap. Discoveries like this lead to ideas of creating handmade bar soap.

You smirk now, but in a few months you will be begging me for a bar of my homemade Savon De Marseille.

4) I listen to KPop....a lot of Kpop.

5) In NY I was not cool, if anything just chill and at times dorky. But now I am just a huge tool as indicated above.

I Miss Dancing To This at The Club

I haven't gone out in a really, really long time.

Urgent News Updates from Friends Make me Smile

I wake up in the morning to find this urgent news update from Kristen:

Lia Prince William got engaged. Now what am I going to do?!

Love it. It resonates with every girl on the planet born between 1980 and 1990. Who born in that decade didn't have a secret dream to marry one of the princes? Kristen, don't worry you still have Prince Hot Ginge on the market.

Passengers Push for Child-Free Flights

This article is written about nothingness because no airline is even thinking about implementing this idea. A girl can dream though!

Article Here

Life Lesson Learned

When homesick for NYC, watching Sex and the City is about the worst idea ever.

Explain to me the McRib Thing

I don't get this McRib craze as of late. They were gross 10 years ago and I assume they are still gross now.

There is a reason they were discontinued no?

My Dream House

Would be to buy one of these mod homes and plop it down on a 40 dollar plot of land in Bali.

Link to Modular Housing

NY Times Seoul in 36 Hours

I did my list and found that NYTimes just posted a to do list of Seoul in 36 hours.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/travel/14seoul-hours.html?src=dayp

The Tea Tree Hotel at the end of the article always looks cute and I have always wanted to stay there. Couldn't find a website though and alas the link that the NY Times posted is broken too :-T

God I hate Rachel Ray

THe Food Network is so low brow it is ridicuous. It used to be OK but now Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee, and Guy Fiori are their biggest stars. Gag.

So Rachel Ray posted this recipe on their website and the comments are so Three Wolves Tee shirtish.

Late Night Bacon Recipe:
Ingredients
8 slices bacon

Directions
Place 2 sheets of paper towel on a microwave safe plate, lay the bacon out on the paper towel not over lapping the slices. Place 2 more sheets of paper towel on top. Place in the microwave on high for 6 to 13 minutes.

Some comments:
"I can't believe it! I can't print it out fast enough!My Great-Great Grandmother used this recipe and it's been passed down through the generations and mine was lost to a kitchen fire. YEARS I have been looking for this. YEARS!!!!! I'm just, I don't know what to say.......(sniffle I have to call my mom........she's never going to believe it)."

"This recipe saved my marriage."

"YUMMO!!!! I am a little concerned though because you haven't listed a prep time. "

"A picture to show exactly what it's supposed to look like would have been rather helpful."

"This looks so good and easy, but I don't have paper towels. Can I use aluminum foil instead? Please advise. "

Apparently my Loneliness is Worrying My Friends

So I sent my fake boyfriend Brian this music video telling him I missed him. This is actually one of my favorite songs off the 2ne1 album because I have a thing for mid tempo songs. Case in point Beyonce's Halo is one of my favorite songs of all time. Weird I know.



Brian then sent me an email saying:
um. are you okay? i saw your latest blog about you being ronery. you're the guy in the wheel chair and i'm bom with the horrible plastic surgery. i need to take care of you :(

It's weird, I used to be the type that could never be alone. I sort of came to Korea to learn how to be alone on occasion. Perhaps I have taken it to the extreme like everything else I do in life, but being alone has been refreshing. Knowing I don't need to constantly be with others to be happy. To have time to read, emote on my blog, and think...it's new and not so terrible.

I think my friends get concerned because I am such a social butterfly usually. Does this mean in Korea, I am a total loser? Perhaps.

I swear I am not in denial and saying this because I am secretly going to throw myself down a flight of stairs like the guy in the video.

Although Brian was def right about one thing, Park Bom has terrible plastic surgery.

Best Neighborhoods in Seoul

My top favorite neighborhoods in Seoul in order:

1. Garosugil/Sinsa: Fashionable like apgujeong but smaller (more manageable) and with many great restaurants. Garosugil means Tree lined street, hence the trees.


2. Hongdae: I am from Brooklyn and Hongdae is a Korean BK so I am biased here. Hip, not trying too hard like Apgujeong and a college town.


3. Apgujeong: The Soho of Seoul with one of my top 2 favorite stores: Boy by Supermarket and Aland.



4. Itaewon: Used to be an army hangout but recently has transformed itself into a very cosmopolitan area of the city due to the proliferation of chic foreign restaurants. Left: IP Boutique Hotel Top and Middle Right: the new Commes Des Garcons store Bottom Right: Samsung Leeum Museum

Itaewon is also home to Passion 5, Homo Hill (the best area to dance to 2ne1), and Tranny Club (if you are into that thing).

3.1 Phillip Lim

Ann Demeulemeester

5. Cheongdam: Super fancy and bourgeoisie hood with beautiful cafes. Also home to Gucci, Louis, D&G, 3.1 Phillip Lim,and Ann Demeulemeesterand all the other top names. These retail shops are doing some cool architecture in the city.  I can't afford that stuff but I like it because it has Corso Como, the best store to browse at, and Cafe Mou, one of the most beautiful and elegant cafes around.



6. Myeongdong: Hate shopping in Myongdong in general because it is CRAZY PACKED but gets points for having my favorite location of the best store in Seoul: Aland. Aland also has a Doughnut Plant, 2 for 2! Aland has 4 locations in Seoul but the one in Myeongdong is by far the best. If doughnuts arent your thng, Myeongdong has a wide selection of shopping fuel including: dried squid, these fried potato swirls on a stick, fried sweet potato sticks, and yogurt cones the size of your head.



7. Sinchon: When you are in Sinchon you feel like you are in Korea for damn sure. Bars, restaurants, norebangs, love motels abound!



8. Bukchon/Samcheong dong: I love the traditional feel of this hood as well as the abundance of small art galleries, unique cafes, and restaurants. It blends old and new Korea very well.


9. Gangnam: Gangnam is last only because I don't really drink soju anymore. This may have been top 5 for me 3 months ago. I do still enjoy going to Tree Hof, Angus, and NB on occasion. The fake shooting range for stuffed prizes is unbeatable at 3 in the morning.



10. Insadong: Great traditional souvenirs and a wide selection of Korean food, tea houses and rice cake cafes.

Quotes from 12 Year Old

Today:
"What did you learn in science today?
"Nothing, we had a new girl in class so the teacher was off the hook."
"What? Do you know what that means?"
"She was very busy?"
"No."

Yesterday:
"So this girl in our clique was being a bitch"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? That is a very bad word JY Lee"
"Doesn't it mean brat?"
"No."

Comes in wearing pink Uggs
"Look at me I'm a fashionister"

Top 5 Cuisine in the World

Oh Ok after further research, this is what I found.

Culinary Diplomacy with a Side of Kimchi

The gov't is trying to quadruple the number of Korean restaurants worldwide starting with NYC and enlisted the help of some famous names to promote the cuisine.

"Jean-Georges Vongerichten showed off his one-handed pajeon-flipping abilities. “I’ve been teaching him some sauces and marinades,” said Mr. Vongerichten’s wife, Marja, who is Korean-American. “I think he would do great things with gochujang,” she said, referring to the spicy, fermented paste of ripe red chili peppers that is one of the basic seasonings of the Korean kitchen."

Really, David Chang is the best, free promotion Korean cuisine has.

But I do agree on the efforts to quadruple the number of Korean restaurants. I hope Korean restaurants are more ubiquitous outside of Ktown. Also, why is it still so hard to get a decent bowl of jjajjangmyun in Manhattan. Do I really have to schlep to Flushing? Please don't say Hyo Dong Gak because that place is just OK, not great.

Obama is at Coex!!

and I am packing in my apt :-(

I so wish I was stalking him out instead.

We are hosting the G-20 summit (the first asian country to do so f yeah!) and NYTimes wrote a great article about it.

Article Here: G-20 Event to Showcase South Korea’s Arrival

"Koreans are famously fond of lists that show where they rank in relation to other countries. The topic hardly matters. First in patent filings per gross domestic product. Lowest unemployment rate among all G-20 countries. The Olympic gold medal in baseball. The world’s highest rate of Internet penetration. The No. 1 maker of computer chips and flat-screen televisions. A government-backed plan that intends to lift Korean food into the “top five rank of world cuisines” by 2017, whatever that means."

They should have also said Korea birthed the best figure skater in the history of figuring skating.

My friend Brian pointed out that the top five rank of world cuisines makes no sense. Is it tastiest? Most widespread? What does it meannnnn??

According to this subjective list of most tastiest cuisines, we do not make top 10

2NE1 Concert

2ne1 is having a concert in December with DJ DOC.

Both their full albums have been on my ipod on repeat.

I am just blah about Korean concerts because you sit, next to a 12 year old and can't dance! What good is a concert if you can't stand and pump your fists (ala the unforgettable Gaga concert I went with my high school besties, we're from LI we pumped our fists, so what?).

Perhaps I will still go because 2ne1 is the fiercest.

Happy Pepero Day

11/11 is Pepero day. It is on 11/11 because 11/11 looks like 4 sticks of Pepero. It is sort of like Valentine's Day.

Pepero is Korean Pocky.

Yesterday my student gave me Pepero and was carrying 40 boxes of Pepero to give to her classmates. I said "Why are you giving all your classmates Pepero, whats the occasion?"

"Because I am the new girl in class"

"You started your new school 2 months ago."

"Just because."

Then on the way home I noticed stores with huge Pepero displays outside and find out that it is Pepero Day.

I really need to teach my girl how to answer a question properly and with a purpose. She is getting endless shit from me today.

I like Pepero day because it is not coy about the blatant product placement. Easter should be called Peeps day. Valentine's Day should be called Godiva chocolate day. Christmas should just be called Unabandoned Consumerism Day.

Karoake

Or as Koreans call it Nore Band (Sing/Song Room)

I have sang karoake once in my life and that was my 25th birthday because I decided people can't complain about my horrific singing on that day. I have been to karoake many times, but I dance. No singing for me thanks.

Living in Korea, I have sang karoake a few times but only with my boyfriend because he is the only one who wouldn't banish me for life after hearing me try to hit a note.

Songs I am amazing at in karoake:
Hey Ma -Camron (apparently I can do this without looking at the screen, I never knew I had it in me)
Zombie -The Cranberries
Life Goes On -Tupac

Songs I am horrible at:
Surprisingly every Jay Z song (I always thought I knew more words)
Smooth Operator -Sade
This is a Man's World -James Brown (seriously one of the hardest songs to sing ever, try it I dare you)

Also, PS why are people bad at singing called tone deaf? It is insulting. I know perfectly well I am not hitting the intended key, I just can't manipulate my voice to do what I want, sheesh.

WSJ Writer Calls Korea Fast Paced

This article was written by a guy who fell in love with Korea. One of the reasons he mentions is the pace:
"What's so special about Korea? By now, it's a cliché to talk about how dynamic Korea is. But it's even truer today than when I first arrived. The country has a constant buzz, sustained by its famously in-a-hurry population. There is a reason why the words ppalli-ppalli, meaning "fast fast," are among the first words that nearly all foreigners learn soon after arrival."

I scoffed reading this because one of the things that kills me about Seoul is how slow paced everyone is here. No one seems to be in a rush in the subway even during rush hour. There can be a subway audiably about to come and no one on the stairs will quicken their pace to catch it. In their heads they are going, "Oh I'll just catch the next one....in 9 minutes".

As a New Yorker this is sacralige. We will full on sprint once you hear that train coming. We know the next train comes in literally 2, but that is 2 minutes wasted on the platform. If it is not your train to catch you will still move the fuck out of the way knowing that some guy is trying to catch it behind you. None of that going on in Seoul.

I know this is unfair judgement since the writer is from somewhere in Canada and I have been a New Yorker for 8 years now. New York is afterall the fastest city in the world so it is hard to be subjective about this. I am sure Seoul is fast paced compared to other places.

What I have come to realize now that the novelty of living in Korea has worn off is that New York truly is the greatest city in the world. I knew this of course living there because every New Yorker is so damn smug about it. But living here has really confirmed it for me as I compare every single thing back to NY.

Even the fashion here kills me. Korean girls always want to look pretty or cute. No one is fierce here. There are Seoul fashion blogs and I wonder why bother?! There is zero fashion scene here. Case in point, skulls are still 'in' here.

Only 5% of the population really knows how to kill it on the streets and that 5% just looks like a NY girl who is fairly well dressed but trying to be 'pretty'. 'Pretty' is so 6 years ago. A well dressed Tokyo woman has a distinct look. A Parisian woman has a look. A well dressed Korean woman lacks a look. The remaining 95% look like shit. I love my fellow Koreans but they don't know how to coordinate, sorry I said it.

Don't get me wrong, Korean fashion designers on the other hand are killing it in the fahion world. I give credit when credit is due.

I admit the food in Seoul is good and you can eat anything that is found in NY here. I had prosciutto and melon in Itaewon and it was one of the top prosciutto and melons I have had. But I still miss walking down a block and having the choice of Thai, Indian, French, Italian, or dirty Chinese.

I miss the individuality of American culture. Korea is a very collective society and while I do think there are many social benefits to being one in a crowd, I miss the weirdos, the eccentrics. the crazies.

I know this quote is over quoted but it is one of the rare things that is not overrated.
“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”

The mad ones apparently all flocked to NY in the 70s.

John Updike put it best when he said, "The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding."

And while I am not smug enough to think that NY is right for everyone, certainly not this guy, for me there is no where else.

Tracy Morgan's TimesTalk

"I was angry because my parents broke up. My father wasn’t there," said Tracy. "My older brother was born, who was a cripple, then I was born, and my sister was born, the only girl. So I was between the only girl and the crippled guy. I was the middle guy. I was like Tito. I was sensitive. I had a rat named Ben and everything." Really? "Well, he was a roach." Every day in middle school he got on the subway at 7 a.m. to go from his father's house in the Bronx to his school in Brooklyn. "It was hard," he said. "I was like a young Harriet Tubman."

Read The Rest Here

Korean Nostalgia

I moved here partially to connect with the time when I was young and lived here with just my grandparents. Those were happy days.

I have the same haircut right now as the last picture. Fashion truly repeats itself.

Whenever I see a grandma with her grandchild on the street (very common sight here), there isn't a time I don't think of my own.

Packing is a Universally Annoying Task

I am moving Friday and packing is overwhelming.

I am moving to Yuksam to a work sponsored apartment. Goodbye to my beautiful, luxurious, spacious apartment with amazing views overlooking Seoul. I suppose I had no business living in an apartment so nice, I did live in Bushwick prior to this. Ghetto was starting to suit me.

Mind you, I dont even have furniture only clothes and shoes to pack. I have doubled my shoe collection in Korea and the thought of hauling all my new goodies back to America is starting to overwhelm me.

Because I did not bring any of my winter clothes to Korea (thinking idiotically that I would never fall in love with Seoul and would leave for sure in September) I anticipate buying a lot of sweaters to add to my haul. Perhaps I should just bear it and freeze for a few months.

Korea Reminds me of My Grandpa

Korea reminds me of my grandpa and thinking of my grandpa always reminds me of the scene in Little Miss Sunshine.


Olive: Grandpa, am I pretty?
Grandpa: You are the most beautiful girl in the world.
Olive: You're just saying that.
Grandpa: No! I'm madly in love with you and it's not because of your brains or your personality.

A grandpa always understands.

Koreans Don't eat Dogs Contrary to Popular Belief

...but we do eat bugs.

Bundaegi is silkworm larvae.

They are sold on the streets as a snack.

Don't get me wrong, I am not sure if this is going to be a thing that Koreans eat in 100 years being that any Korean I have talked to under the age of 18 has never tried it and thinks it is disgusting. Somehow it doesn't have the same appeal as Korean BBq, call me crazy.

If I must let you in on a secret, I ate these up until I was maybe in 7th grade. My dad would eat them as a drinking snack (they come in a lovely can) and he would give me some. I, being very porky and not picky in culinary matters, would eat what I was handed.

One day, I asked my dad what these nutty snacks were and he told me. I never ate it again after that. I should have known being that they look like insects but I was probably too busy shoveling them down my throat to notice.

What Autumn Should Look like: Naejangsan

Naejangsan is the second biggest national park after Seoraksan. It is in the Jeolla-do province which is famous for its bibimbap.

The residents here seem to have a complex about it being the second biggest park after Seoraksan because every cab driver we had felt a need to mention how Naejangsan is underrated but more beautiful than Seoraksan.

I wanted to see the Korean foliage in Soeraksan however the peak colors have passed 2 weeks ago since it is higher north.

I def plan on going to Seoraksan before I leave Korea because my parents met on a camping trip in Seoraksan with mutual friends many years ago. tear :*)

Anyways, Naejangsan was very beautiful and they say it is the best place to witness the spectacular foliage in Korea.

My Endless New York

Article in Times

"We are experiencing the decline of the American age. But how does national or imperial decay influence the lifecycle of a world city? Modern-day Berlin is a cultural metropolis on the make, despite being the capital of a medium-sized and rather self-absorbed nation. Meanwhile, Paris retained its allure for nearly two centuries after the onset of French national decline.

New York — a city more at home in the world than in its home country — may do better still. As a European, I feel more myself in New York than in the European Union’s semi-detached British satellite, and I have Brazilian and Arab friends here who share the sentiment.

To be sure, we all have our complaints. And while there is no other city where I could imagine living, there are many places that, for different purposes, I would rather be. But this too is a very New York sentiment. Chance made me an American, but I chose to be a New Yorker. I probably always was."

I Really Want a Bucket of Chicken...

and buttery biscuits and coleslaw and a chocolate chip ring cake and mashed potatoes and gravy.

I really want KFC. While there is a KFC 2 blocks away from me I have come to the realization this year that I am at the age when sadly, I must watch what I eat.

In my prime I could eat whatever I want, in whatever quantity, and still weigh 110 on a fat day.

White Castle, Wendy's, McDonald's, KFC, Popeyes, Pizza Hut. I love them all!

Now I am cursed with a predilection for fast food but an inability to eat it. Getting old sucks.

Korean Chrysanthemums in Central Park

The Central Park Conservatory Garden (North Garden) has 2,000 Korean Chrysanthemums in full bloom right now. Sad I am not there to see it.

I love seeing the tulips there in the spring but I have never seen these Korean flowers. There is always next year.

More Info

Amazing Arcade Fire Interactive MV

Type in your address and get an interactive music video using google maps technology.

It is slow and by far not perfect but super cool and a taste of what videos in the future may be like. Also, the new Arcade Fire song aint half bad either, love them.

Thanks Gersh!

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

My dad is a Fob

So my dad is a relatively chill guy, my friends think he's funny and want to party with him.

Despite this, he is super conservative. I wasn't allowed to sleep over my friends' places in high school (this somehow did not stop me from going to Exit) and he ran our house with an iron fist. Now that I am an adult and don't need to ask him permission for things, I forget that he is still a fob.

Conversation with dad:

"So I was wondering how you feel about me and Peter living together when I get back to NY"

"What is the point, why don't you guys just get married?"

"Well...in America you know, people like to see if they like living with each other. You know, testing the waters."

"If you want to live together, you might as well get married."

"Well dad, how do you know you can like being married to someone if you haven't lived with them?"

"I don't know Lia. Your mom and I did not live together and look at us, still married!"

"But dad I really really like him and you really really like him, what is the big deal?"

"I will think about it. You know I am a nice guy, but I am still an Asian man."

Autumn in Seoul

I went to Namsan to try to catch the amazing foliage in Korea but it was not as fire and ice as I expected. I am taking a 4 hour bus ride this weekend to go south and see autumn in Korea in its full glory.

You Rook Rike...

Dan: So did you get any special treatment or recognized as Korean when you traveled around?

Me: Um no, in Japan people kept telling me I looked Japanese, they thought that was a complement, um not.

In Bali, a waitress said to me "What are you? Your face look like China"

Dan: hahaha You pase rook rike china?

Me: Yeah, apparently my face looks like the country of china. Who knew?