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.

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.

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 ...