I think I should take my camera around with me more, and go “blog crazy”. I really like seeing pictures on people’s blogs. It’s fun to go through them.
The Wilds came and stayed with us for their spring break – well, Lauren’s spring break. It was really fun to have them at our house.
Nathan, the youngest, has been sick since he got here though – the poor guy was up all night when his parents were out of town for their anniversary. I stayed up with him to wipe him down with a washcloth – he had a really high fever – 102.8 degrees. He was burning up – his cheeks got so red, the poor guy. He looked like a blushing peach. Now, he’s gotten a bit better – I’m sure he’ll be cured from his fever when he goes to Disneyland today! 
Ahh, I really want to go too…but I can’t. I recently got a job, so now I’m busier than ever. It’s good though! I’ll finally be able to afford gas.
Thats all. Now I need to work on my typography projects.
Hello everyone. How are you?
Today, I questioned my morals and how I stood against the world. After several minutes of thinking, I came to a blank. It is a bit alarming in a sense, because I proclaim to be a Christian, and yet, if I do not know where my moral guidelines are, that is something that needs to be seriously considered.
And another thing – I have realized that I have become comfortable. This is good and bad in many ways. It is good, because I have accepted my character, my surroundings, my place in the world, and what I must do from here on out.
It is bad because it lacks the drive for change, for improvement, and allows me to be complacent and lazy. I used to be completely convinced that I had to change everything about myself, but then I realized that I actually like some aspects of who I am. No longer do I feel extremely tormented that I do not look like the usual skinny, petite Asian girl. I had such a complex about my body during high school that I wore guys shirts and hooded sweaters every single day. Even when it was a roasting 90 degrees outside. I felt completely inferior, and I figured that I wasn’t pretty nor skinny enough to date anyone. So I didn’t. I charged the opposite way instead, and became one of the guys. I also figured that my mom would be completely against me dating anyone in high school as well but it turns out that I was very wrong about this.
My low self-esteem from back then has left some lasting scars on me, but it doesn’t torment like it used to. I still have a hard time acknowledging the fact that I am a girl, but at least I know how to dress up a little better now.
Now I’m a 4th year in college, and holy crap, I’ve turned into an introvert. I prefer staying at home rather than going to parties. I don’t know how to act at parties. I don’t know how to interact with people who like to go to clubs, smoke, and do beer pong until three in the morning. I used to love crowds, but now I find them too noisy. I like being on my own and collecting my thoughts, doodling away, and content with the little bit of space that I take up. Does it sound pathetic? Perhaps. But I’m happy this way.
I wonder. How will my character change from this point on?
I dont’ know what it has been for the past couple of weeks, but I have been an absolute loser, school wise.
I don’t turn in homework assignments, I skip classes all the time, and I’m just finding that I don’t give a damn. I mean, hell – after I realized I slept through the begining of my computer class in my car (by 15 minutes), I used it as an excuse to skip it – and went to Disneyland. I didn’t even ride any of the rides – I just went there to go look around and draw. I sat inside the “Off the Page” store for about 2 hours, just looking at the movie screens, and drawing. I had a lot of fun, but I know I shouldn’t be doing this.
And don’t get me wrong, it’s not just yesterday, it’s been like this since the start of the semester. Yeesh.
I feel like I’ve run into a wall and I’m smashing my head against it. I really need to get my act together.
The only class that I’ve been staying on top of is my Anatomy class on Friday. I’m doing okay in my 3-d design and Typography…but my Korean Pop Culture Class and my Japanese Class, my two EASIEST CLASSES – I’ve been really slacking off on. I have stopped turning in homework assignments for Japanese. And, I have yet to turn in a paper for the kpop one…blah.
Wow. I really need to get my act together.
Okay, it’s no secret that I have a love for Korean Boy bands. And that I thoroughly embrace its crazy pop culture. However, going through the motions, what I find especially interesting is how Korean pop culture is constantly referring back to things that have happened in the U.S./elsewhere, and that in turn gets me interested in what is happening back on my home turf. A roundabout way of discovering things, but that’s how it goes. For instance, I listened to Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” song not from the radio, but because Tohoshinki recommended that song on a Japanese Music Show. Wow.
Anyhow, this time around, I was watching a show called “Family Outing” that I absolutely love. I initially started watching because of Daesung, a member of the famous Korean hiphop group Big Bang (he also happens to be my favorite member). Because of his multiple talents, the hosts of the show kept on referring back to his role as Rum Tum Tigger in the korean version of the musical Cats. On one of the segments of the show (the ranking decision they do to determine the sleeping order), he sang a portion of the beautiful song, “Memory”. Now, he sang it wonderfully, and I was gettting goosebumps all over, because I really like his voice; it drove me to a point of frustration, however, because I couldn’t remember the lyrics (the English version) and thus went on a Youtube searching frenzy. (I have watched this musical before on tape, and enjoyed it immensely. I should watch it again.)
So, I found the tape version of the London Cast, with Elaine Page singing memory. It was such a beautiful rendition that it nearly made me cry.
It’s slightly different from other versions, so I typed up the parts that have been altered/changed from the original. Here are the lyrics.
——-
Daylight
See the dew on the sunflower
And a rose that is fading
Roses wither away
Like the sunflower
I yearn to turn my face to the dawn
I am waiting for the day . . .
Now, All the Deuteronomy
just before dawn
through a silence you feel that you could cut with a knife
announces the cat who can now be reborn
and come back to a different Jellico life
*Memory
Turn your face to the moonlight
Let your memory lead you
Open up, enter in
If you find there the meaning of what happiness is
Then a new life will begin
Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again
* Burnt out ends of smoky days
The stale cold smell of morning
The streetlamp dies, another night is over
Another day is dawning
Daylight
I must wait for the sunrise
I must think of a new life
And I musn’t give in
When the dawn comes
Tonight will be a memory too
And a new day will begin
*Sunlight through the trees in summer
and as masquerading
Like a flower as the dawn is breaking
The memory is fading
Touch me
It’s so easy to leave me
All alone with the memory
Of my days in the sun
If you touch me
You’ll understand what happiness is
Look
A new day has begun
—–
I really love this song. It’s full of sorrow – and power. It stirs something deep within the aches of my heart.
I love it as much as I love Rachmaninoff’s music – and that’s saying a lot.
Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!
To celebrate Valentines day, I decided to make brownies out of the box in the cupboard. I thought it would be a nice gesture for my parents, since my mom and dad left me roses and a card, with fervent wishes that my “Mr. Valentine” will come someday, lol.
While I was getting the ingredients, my best friend called me up and wished me a happy Valentine’s day, and we were chatting and catching up on how things were going. I was stirring the brownie mix at the same time and poured the mixture into the pan, and realized that the brownies smelled…a little funny. I took a quick sample to see what was wrong, and sure enough, it tasted very, very off. And then I remembered something crucial, something that I should have remembered before: My mom likes to save her vegetable oil. To be specific, when she fries fish or eggrolls, she likes to strain the oil, clean out the gunk, and pour the stuff right back into the bottle. I took the vegetable oil bottle and sniffed. It smelled overwhelmingly like FISH. I balked. And then laughed, really hard. I cut my friend off in the middle of her story and told her about what had just happened, and she couldn’t believe it either. Fish Oil Brownies. GROSS.
Needless to say, I didn’t bake the brownies.
Currently I am listening to orchestral versions of theme songs from final fantasy on youtube. Yes, like a giant nerd. I also decided to change my blog layout, because the lightness of the background was irritating. I might change it again soon, but for now, this will do. By the way, why do the fonts on the themes are all miniscle? Really, it’s bothersome and annoying. And they don’t pick fun fonts to use either. What jerks.
Anyhow, I went on an outing yesterday with my Aunt to Chinatown in LA. She requested my presence because 1.) she didn’t want to go alone, and 2.) if there was anyone there to mug us, she was relying on me with my knife to take out the offender. She tells me that she feels safer with me around XD.
So, I get to her place around 12:30 pm, and we headed out a few minutes later. I gave her the keys to my car, because she said she always had fun driving stick shift. That was all fine and dandy, until she told me that she had to do a little practicing around the neighborhood to get used to it. It wasn’t completely nerve-wracking, but she did stall three times on the road. That made me feel a little unsettled.
On the freeway, I was trying to get the GPS navigator to pinpoint how to get to Chinatown. I was having a bit of trouble, because I didn’t know what street it was located on, and the GPS didn’t show what city Chinatown was located in when the list first pops up. I accidentally picked “Chinatown Gate” in San Francisco, and the results showed us that we still had 355.6 miles to go, lol. After I set it to the appropriate Chinatown, we had some difficulty following the directions because we could not get onto the freeway it directed us to go to. By the way, did you know that the voice for GPS systems are really soothing? I suppose they make it that way in order to calm down the driver when it dumps you in the middle of nowhere (that’s happened to me a lot).
There was construction work being done on a majority of the ramps to the 710 freeway, so the traffic jam that was built up on the surface street was monstrous. After taking several detours, we thought that we would be able to get onto a ramp to finally get onto the 710 freeway, but my aunt saw the “no entrance” sign near it. She was about to go somewhere else, but I realized that the ramp wasn’t blocked off with cones, so I told her to go for it. I didn’t care if there was some gaping hole in the middle road – she could have taken my car off-roading for all I cared. She didn’t need to though; the ramp was fine – they just forgot to remove the sign.
Once we arrived in LA near Chinatown, we realized that a majority of the roads were being blocked off. We both had no idea what was going on, and it took a phone call to my friend in Berkeley to help us look up on the internet what the heck was going on. Turns out, we arrived on the day of the Golden Dragon Festival. Thousands of people were parking along the streets and walking towards the main street of where the parade was going to happen. We both got really excited because it was our first time experiencing it; she initially wanted to just get a chinese style dress and some fans to show to her class, but we decided to take many pictures of the event. I took many photos for the sake of her class, and for my parents, who don’t go out often. Or at all -_-.
Photos under the cut.
It has already been 22 days since the new year has started.
I felt it necessary to post something, to inform everyone that I’m still alive, and of my goals for this year.
For those who didn’t know, I’m about to start my second semester at California State University Long Beach. This will also mark the end of my fourth year in college in general, but because I’m a transfer student, I still have Junior status. However, due to my labor-intensive major, I will probably see another two years at CSULB, if things go according to plan. Maybe even three years. (That being the case, I don’t even pay attention to class titles such as “junior” or “senior” , because I will be in school long past that ^_^)
So, recently, I had the most spectacular Winter vacation. “Spectacular” in my vocabulary actually means “eventful” – it wasn’t a getaway trip to the Bahamas or anything like that. It was more about making many memories. Many good ones. For one thing, I can say that this is one of the best Christmas’ that I’ve had (so far). The enormous Christmas tree that was brimming with presents, the cookies we made, all of the cousins running and playing together, and having Christmas dinner with game hen, holiday ham, and enough pastries to feed Santa Claus until next year – it was all wonderful. 2008 ended on a very good note.
Unfortunately, it was so not-so-wonderful for my diet, and my disappearing figure.
My Uncle had mentioned that he recently got into running marathons. While he was staying over at our house (with his family), he would go for his run in the morning, and would dedicate a portion of his time to stretching and cooling down. Because there are biking trails and running paths specifically dedicated for runners, he encouraged me to consider trying out a marathon.
In my whole life, I never would have considered “trying out a marathon.” He said it so casually too, as if I were to put on a new pair of socks. I don’t know how on earth someone can casually “get into” running marathons, but if anyone can do it, he can. But somehow, he made it sound really appealing, and now, about a week after training, I feel like “trying out” the 5k.
Just so you know, running is something that I’ve always loathed. If I was faced against a charging bull and had my adrenaline rush of a “fight or flight” response, I’d rather fight the bull. Well, this is an exaggerated statement, but that’s how I feel, anyhow. So, in 2009, my goal is to be able to run a half marathon in September. I have a very long way to go, but I hope that I’ll be able to overcome my personal obstacles and get through it.
Then maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to try out a marathon.
Haha, honestly, I was in the middle of writing a ranty-like post before I decided to save it as a draft and start a new one. By the way, did WordPress get a new dashboard layout again? I like it!
Well, my computer has gotten infected 
. It only affects my internet-using abilities at the moment, but it is kind of important for me since I need to turn in my essays online. I’m using my mom’s laptop right now, but I can’t keep on using it, since she has to do work on it. And watch her Thai Lakorns, lol.
Currently, it’s FINALS week! So, everyone is revving for battle simultaneously at CSULB. I had 2 finals on Monday and one final today. I have two finals tomorrow, and an essay due on Thursday (which is the final. And we can turn it in early, which is AWESOME, but I have a feeling that I will not be able to get it in early.) My most worrisome final is the one that is tomorrow – it’s for my Asian American studies class, and my professor is a really nice guy…but he’s extremely detail oriented. He gave us a study guide, and there are 51 things to study for O_O. The other professor gave us a sort of outline sheet with only 12 things, and they come with some notes and tidbits, so his is a lot easier. Usually, terms are pretty easy to look up and research for…but I sorta don’t know how these terms will fit in context with the class. Stuff like “Lau v. Nichols (1974)” , “Middleman”, etc. I have my work cut out for me…
anyhow, I have been contemplating about my next semester. I met with a counselor today, and honestly… it was a bit depressing. What happened to finishing college in 4 years? The earliest for most is 5 years now. I still have 15 more studio classes to go…that is, IF I get into the animation department. It made me seriously think about the major that I was pursuing…if it was worth it. And, if that classes that I’m taking will help me get to my goal.
One class that doesn’t really fit the criteria is my Japanese class. I’m taking it mainly out of interest – but it will be a bit of a burden to do. I don’t want to let it go though…I spent two years of my life already trying to learn the language. I don’t want to give it up now.
So, I’m working my way around that, along with three studio classe. I’m seeing if I can add another class to the mix… -_-. I wonder …will I have time to sleep next semester? Or use the bathroom? Burning questions.
Onto more pleasanter things: Our christmas tree is awesome. It is a 9 foot tree! I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN WE BOUGHT IT. And, for the first time, we actually hung up lights outside of our house. Granted, it’s only on the palm trees, but WHO CARES. WE ACTUALLY HAVE LIGHTS OUTSIDE! This is monumental in our family because we haven’t hung up lights outside our house since we moved here. Which was 10 years ago. And even before then, I don’t remember any lights being hung up at the old house either. So, that makes these lights all the more exciting .
I’m like an idiot, huh? 
Christmas is coming soon guys! I hope you have a wonderful time!
Edit: Here’s a the same clip with subs, lol. I’m not going to take down my translations though – I was pretty accurate at most parts, see?
You know, I’ve been posting rough translations of THSK (aka DBSK) on spazzes website from time to time, and now I’m thinking, “Why not post them here too!?” LOL. It took me a while to catch on, .
It’s funny to see how hyper they all are. Plus, that Takoyaki looks REALLY GOOD.
Anyhow, here’s a disclaimer: Yes, I love korean boy bands, and THSK/DBSK/TVXQ is no exception. I’ve been a fan of them for nearly 2 years now, and it’s still going strong. XD Go ahead and kick me if you want, lol.
Anyhow, onto the translation! It’s very rough, since I’ve forgotten a lot of my Japanese, so there are inaccuracies. I hope that I’m right most of the time .
When they started the segment, the host points out the ingredients and says, “Over here, we have many toppings~” and then asked them to make their own Takoyaki using the ingredients on the table. The boys were all crowding to get to the table before she even said “Start”, lol. Junsu had Natto and Seaweed, Yoochun had two things that I couldn’t recognize…I think one of them were chopped onions? Jaejoong had chocolate and wasabi (!!!!), Changmin only had cheese, and Yunho had kimchi and tuna. (There were other ingredients like Bananas and Avocados and I think curry spices, lol. And then there was “konyaku”? I forgot what that is…some sort of potato, I believe?)
Then when Yunho was by himself at the ingredients table, the host said, “Yunho, you’re last to chose, huh?” And Yunho replied, “Yeah, I think I’ll just take this- kimchi”. As he started to walk back, she said, “You can choose more than one, you know.” To which Yunho replied, “Oh really?” and went back, much to the laughter of the staff.
They all started to laugh at Junsu because right from the get-go, he’s making a huge mess, LOL.
Host:“What the heck is he doing?”
Yoochun: “Junsu is a little…[strange]”
Yunho: “THAT’S A PANCAKE!!!”
They show him just dumping the natto over the entire takoyaki pan, ROFL, instead of putting it individually into each ball. Oh Junsu XD.
Next, I think she asks that among the 5 of them, who can make takoyaki the prettiest? (I’m not sure about this part). Then she compliments Yunho’s skills, saying that he makes it really well, the way he turns over each one carefully. Yunho gets a little embarrassed and replies that he thinks that Yoochun makes it really well. ( And Changmin agrees with him.) As the host is walking over to Yoochun to look at his, Junsu butts in and says, “Mine are pretty too! Look at mine! REALLY!” ROFL. Again, everyone starts laughing at him, LOL. Then I think he says “The staff knows that I’m really good at rounding off (the takoyaki)”, so the host looks at it and says, “Oh really – you’re good at-“ Junsu cuts her off, “BECAUSE THEY”RE NOT COOKED, I can’t show you yet!” ROFL.
Yunho calls to him “Junsu, you’re not making takoyaki, more like okonomiyaki!”
Junsu calls back, “No, it is takoyaki!!! This cooker is weak! WEAK!”
(Then the subtitle says: “All 5 takoyaki-pans are exactly the same…” LOL)
Host: “Wow, you’re takoyaki looks so good! Everyone is really good at this!”
Yoochun: “JUNSU IS USING A SPOON!”
LOLOLOL. Junsu is frantically trying to round off the takoyaki using the spoon and the stake, lol.
And Yunho turns to the camera, “Music Japan views, today Junsu is not feeling very well today, so please bear with him and continue to watch,” LOLLL.
Host: Wow, it looks like all of you are almost done…except one person…
Yoochun: Aaah – Junsu! What are we going to do! (with you!)
Subtitle: THIS IS TAKOYAKI!?
It shows Junsu’s takoyaki as a heaping mess, rofl. He makes an excuse like, “Because it’s my first time doing this…let’s cut this part out and do it again! I have time in my schedule!” LOL.
He then complains about his batter being the only one that is…murumuru? ROFL – I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is. Then it cuts to the other members already putting the takoyaki on plates.
Once the takoyaki finally started cooking, he’s like, yelling at the takoyaki “Okay okay okay okay okay! You’re SLOW~~!!!”
The host compliments them on how they’re finishing off their takoyaki, and Yunho says, “I really focused on the taste.” And Junsu calls out, “I DID TOO!” ROFL, he’s such a baby! XDDD
In the 4th video that startprince13 had uploaded of the THSK special (at 5.40 minutes), they actually try the takoyaki. HILARITIES ENSUE. They try Yunho’s takoyaki first, and Junsu complains that there is not enough kimchi. For Changmin’s, everyone’s expression is a bit neutral, and they don’t say anything for a long time, LOL. Then Junsu says, “Compared to Changmin’s, Yunho’s takoyaki is delicious!” LOL. For Yoochun’s, they have good reactions to, and then they get try Junsu’s. ROFLCOPTER. Junsu immediately says, “AH! IT’S DELICIOUS!” while everyone else is having a really hard time swallowing it, LOL. [Yunho and Changmin sorta bow their heads as they’re trying to chew, LOL.] The host comments that it had a really strong taste (of Natto).
Then they get to Jaejoong’s infamous wasabi/chocolate takoyaki. Jaejoong takes his plate and places them carefully on everyone else’s plate, and gives Junsu is piece last. They all try it together, and they all realize that they all got the chocolate takoyaki, while Junsu was the only one with wasabi, LOL. His facial expression is priceless!!! XDDD
—-
I apologize for the amount of “XD” and “ROFL” and “LOL”’s that I’ve put in this post, hahah. I’m usually very spazzy when I write at spazzes.wordpress.com.
And, speaking of utterly spazzy and cracktastic:
“Noky” brothers:
All of DBSK:
credit goes to mickytoho for uploading and subbing these videos.
My initial thought was, “What the hell?” lol.
Apparently, it’s a Public Service Campaign run by Samsung to spread happiness through the internet. It doesn’t make much sense, but I have a feeling that this relates to all the internet-related suicides that have been going around in Korea lately. It’s been a terrible year for that.
So, to cheer people up, apparently they go out and sing to them like huge dorks. Nice .
EDIT ON 12/01/08: I couldn’t upload the video onto youtube, but I had more success uploading to megaupload for you guys to download yourself. I’m sorry it took so long!
Se7en performing “Can’t buy me Love(?)” (only got half of the performance): Download it here.
Very short clip of Se7en talking about the ballad: coming soon!
Se7en performing a korean ballad: coming soon!
Se7en performing “Girls”: Download it here.
One phrase: HELL YEAH!
Wow, what a pleasant treat and surprise. I went to this event with a good friend of mine, and it was a very star studded event. They presented numerous awards to different Korean Americans who have done major accomplishments in Journalism and Film (acting as well). I saw a lot of celebrities!
G.O.D. fans, recognize this guy? . I…uh, don’t know his name…but he’s the oldest one, and he has a role in Dragon Ball Z the movie, etc.
AND ALSO….
SEVEN WAS THERE. ENOUGH SAID.
I mean, he’s the guy who got me into Korean Music in the first place. And the fact that he was just hanging out at the after party with other people was pretty surreal, especially since I got to take a picture with him (after much convincing from my friend and her friend who happened to know a friend who knew Se7en – confusing, ya?). And that we were watching his past music videos on the screen. Very surreal.
There were also other Korean actors there as well, such as John Cho, Leonardo Nam, etc. Margaret Cho was the host – and she was hilarious. Things got a tad bit messy towards the end, thanks to the Soju and beer that they were passing around, but overall, the event was fabulous. Really. We had dinner, courtesy of Larry’s Steakhouse (EXPENSIVE), and it was very tasty.
It was a really fun night. I”m kinda too tired to talk about more about it, but I’ll come back and edit later!
Second Edit: Ah, so I forgot to mention this. I know this sounds outlandish, but because of my friend, I got meet lots of people with connections and such – and one of these people so happened to be in charge of KoreAm Newspaper. This same newspaper company hosts the Korean Music Festival. We started talking about the Korean Music Festival, and I told him how much fun we had last year and such. I asked if he knew who was going to be performing next year, and he said that he didn’t know, they haven’t put together the roster of performers yet.
VIP fans, this is for you: I asked him if he could invite Big Bang to the Korean Music Festival this year. He replied he didn’t know what would happen, since everything hasn’t been planned yet. I informed him that since Big Bang will be in America at the start of the new year to study English, it’d probably be easier for them to go to the Korean Music Festival XDDD (I already know they’re not going to be in America until May, but still ). He seemed to like the idea, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
I know it’s a super long shot – there’s a super long process and wait ahead, and there are many factors that can go wrong, BUT STILL. I ASKED XDDD. (I was going to ask about DBSK too, but I didn’t think it’d be possible, since they were already here this year. Darn. XD)
Edit on 11/28/08:
Hello everyone! I know that I mentioned earlier that I would upload those videos ASAP, and, believe it or not, I really have been trying. However, all of the sites you guys have recommended (in the comment section – hiya!) have either not worked for me or sorta crapped out. And with one of the 4 files being 376 MB, I don’t think sending it by email is really a good option ^_^;;; The one I’ve uploaded onto Veoh has mysteriously disappeared; the ones that I’ve uploaded onto IMEEM never sent me the confirmation email after 5 days, even though it was supposed to be after 15 minutes, and youtube takes forever. I’m really sorry to keep you waiting like that -_-’. It could be that my internet connection is really wonky too, so that puts a damper on things.
I’m still trying though! I’ll see what I can do.
heliodus