Tuesday, July 31, 2007

인연설

- 한용운

함께 영원히 있을 수 없음을 슬퍼 말고
잠시라도 함께 있을 수 있음을 기뻐하고

더 좋아해 주지 않음을 노여워 말고
이만큼 좋아해 주는 것에 만족하고

나만 애태운다 원망치 말고
애처롭기까지 한 사랑을 할 수 있음을 감사하고

주기만 하는 사랑이라 지치지말고
더 많이 줄 수 없음을 아파하고

남과 함께 즐거워한다고 질투하지 말고
그의 기쁨이라 여겨 함께 기뻐할 줄 알고

이룰 수 없는 사랑이라 일찍 포기하지 말고
깨끗한 사랑으로 오래 간직할 수 있는
나는 당신을 그렇게 사랑하렵니다.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

First Night of Partying in Korea

The cafe I work as a staff member (www.culcom.co.kr) had a big party last night. Supposed to be a singles mixer, but I don't think it really mattered. Anyway, I met a bunch of pretty cool people, but some lunatic/sketchy ones as well. It was good to get out and mingle with people (and dance a little) though. It really reminded me of those nights back in Ithaca, starting out with lots of beer, learning 40-50 names, a few games, then just hanging out, moving onto more serious, real-life topics.

Even though I knew of it a little bit, it struck me hard last night how desperate or immature some of the Korean girls could be. Just because someone's a decent-looking English-speaking foreigner, these girls flock to them and try to get their numbers with their broken English. There's a huge difference between socializing/(classy) flirting and ridiculous, self-degrading forwardness. I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Also how lame and sketchy some of the old guys could be! They think they can win over a girl or at least get their attention by bragging about their career, connections, money, etc. It is the lamest and most ineffective way ... ugh.

Regardless of those people, I had a really good time with 민수, 수아언니, Brian, Rizwan, and a couple of other people I met last night. I hope to eventually get some sort of a group together to hang out, go watch a movie, etc. on a regular basis.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Cornell within SNU

I've been exploring the campus of Seoul (National) University a little bit during my lunch breaks, and there is so much resemblence of Cornell here. I really do think that one of the truestees for this school is a Cornell alum.

This is their main library. May I say ... OLIN?!









Some of their college names - identical to Cornell's CALS and CHE!

Monday, July 23, 2007

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Family Time! (Birthday 2)

Grandpa and grandma :)

Had a late lunch with my mom's side family. I always come home feeling very relaxed and warm after family gatherings with them. My grandparents are both in their 80s now. I really hope they stay around for a long time. By the way, we made a unanimous decision on Matt's Korean nickname. lol.

Birthday 1

Met up with the 5th grade group for my birthday. Kwan's birthday was the 11th, so it was more like a joint bday celebration. Of course, ton of catching up, good food, cake, presents, cards, and laughter as usual. Some pictures from tonight (click on them to zoom in):










Yay birthday cake!










Serious discussion on life, haha. Love 동령's face and genuine smile in these pictures.

On another note, I can't take more than two drinks now! I could take more, but I stop enjoying it after a couple of them. This is a big loss for our winos group. I think that night before the spring break will probably be the first and last night we'd ever kill more than one bottle of wine per person (or not?). How sad.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Back and Forth

People always want something they don't have, even if they had it before and chose to let it go.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

A Relaxing Day

Today was a national holiday - constitution day, haha. I slept in until noon, made some french toast, went running with Sae Jun, had a good dinner, studied some more Mandarin, wrote a letter, and watched The Illusionist with Edward Norton. I had waited to see this movie for over half a year and was somewhat disappointed, but overall, it wasn't too bad.

A fantastic view from our 19th floor apartment!



Sunday, July 15, 2007

Transformers

Amazing graphics. Hot girl and men. Super
corny lines. Autobots. Bernie Mac. Late summer
night with cool breeze. A great movie night!


















Thursday, July 12, 2007

Real Work Life

I started working this Monday and it has been a very eventful, stimulating week. I'm doing a lot of work that I like, and from today and on, I'll also be maintaining the website and take responsibility for all the print/design materials. I'm always busy creating various organization systems for all different parts of the conference. Creative organization is far more exciting and motivating for me than the process of pure creation. I like playing with some given parts, adding a system to it and organizing things so they work better together.

But there also have been some upsetting or frustrating moments. Because I'm working with a bunch of professors, most of who have never had to compromise or collaborate while working with others, I have to be the liaison for these noncooperative, stubborn men :P I also had a small argument over email with one of the professors because of his extreme sarcasm and ego :P

Overall, I've been having a lot of fun. I cannot say I love it yet because I'm still getting used to the fact that I don't really have a lot of authority and need to wait or chase down the professors for the final decisions on projects. For Senior Week, I pretty much made all the decisions, haha. I miss that a little bit, but I do feel a slight relief since I wouldn't be responsible for most mistakes ;)

Anyway, just an update on my first real job in the real world.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Long Distance Relationship

The most difficult parts of a long distance relationship (to me) are:


  • to try to sleep off the heartache from separation pangs at late nights;

  • to suppress the desire to share all of today's details and wait until next time when the other person is less busy;

  • and to realize that it's taking ten hours to feel better instead of ten minutes because thousand words aren't as effective as one hug.

But when the other person actively follows up and reminds me of his feelings and that he was thinking of me while I was asleep (even though I already know that in my head), it is incredibly heartwarming and gives me so much faith and hope.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Some Culinary Action

Everybody knows how much I love cooking, but I hadn't stepped into the kitchen until today since I got home about two weeks ago. I made some mochi stir fry in spicy sauce - called Duk Boki (떡볶이). Also can be made in a soy based sauce (kind of like teriyaki). A very simple snack dish popular in Korea. The mochi here is just plain chewy sticky rice paste sticks.











First, Duk and flat fish cakes (same thing as fish balls at Asian Noodle House in Collegetown - fish, flour, seasonings, etc.). Cut up veggies - carrots, cabbage, thick scallions and onions.

Then prepare the sauce - red pepper paste (4 Tbsp), red pepper flakes (1), sugar (1), and a little salt. Add in four cups of water and mix well.
















Bring the sauce and Duk to boil and simmer for 15 minutes at med. heat. Add in veggies and cook until the veggies are cooked and the sauce simmers down to thick consistency.

It's typical to "garnish" the dish with hard boiled eggs to add some protein.












On a site note, I got all my furniture delivered today (got here in one day). I'll take some pics after I finish unpacking.

Snail Mail

Whoever reads this and is not in Seoul, please leave me your mailing address or email it to me at ja257@cornell.edu as I'm trying to make me being in Korea a good excuse to write more letters.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Post-College Life - Pretty Exciting

I met up with a friend of mine to catch up after not seeing each other for about four years. We had really good dumplings (mandoo) and also found this small, cozy cafe that sells brewed quality coffee and has WiFi (my new hangout place)! While I was talking to my friend, I realized how blessed my life was and how happy I felt for a number of reasons.

First and most importantly, my family is really together, with a lot of respect and appreciation for one another. After my dad regained his health, there's no more tension between my parents that used to bring intense arguments and slamming doors every other night. My dad and I get along very well, him actually listening to what I have to say and me actually respecting his opinions. And Juni always makes us happy, haha.

Another reason is that I'm full of enthusiasm and optimism to
do things: exploring more wine, keeping up graphic design, learning Spanish (then French) and Chinese as well as brushing up my Japanese, doing more advanced cooking and baking, keeping up my blog, participating in tons of different programs relevant to social responsibility (more specifically fair trade, environment etc.), educating myself on economics, and anything else that engages my interest and pushes the boundaries of my comfort zone.

And the last major reason is that I've found someone who I love and trust but also motivates me to be someone I strive to be in the long run. It took me a while to realize and admit that someone like him is a great fit for me, but now that I have, I am very content and happy. The distance overwhelms me at times, but I'm reminding myself that, last semester, I thought I'd be grateful even if we just got to share ourselves a few times before graduating.


:D

Wine makes me sleepy

Having my first glass of wine in Seoul!

I was feeling all ambitious to write a good entry on relationships, love, trust, etc. but I'm falling asleep after a glass of this nice, smooth ordinary red wine from Spain.

Maybe tomorrow ...