Recapping Last Week

The past seven days was nothing but a full of events and this is why I have been able to update my blog. And from now on, I would like to narrate some of the memorable occurances of mine. So, hear me out-

19th August

It was my birthday. 32th. So, I gave myself a little treat by taking a day off. I haven't taken a single yet since I would like to take a long vacation at the end of this year.

It was mine but 16th was my dad's 60th. Since I could not go home to celebrate it, my family decided to throw a consolidated party. Well, it was not a party perse in actuality. I arrived home around 6pm and we went downtown to go to a fancy restruant. The food and the service was, sadly, terrible but we had a good time. I felt like it has been forever sine I came home last time. I should visit my folks more often. They are not getting younger. Afterwards, we did the whole cake thing and just chilled out in the living room all together. It was very nice. I gave my dad some cash. Cash is always the best gift for parents, believe it or not :) I forgot making a card for which I feel guilty :(

20th August
The next day, I said goodbye to my folks and headed back home. Then, straight to the gym where I worked on my legs. Geez.. doing squats and leg press is always killing me and the most exhausthing leg of the routine. By the time I came home was around 6 and I hit the road again to go up to Apgujeong, Gangman to participate in the gathering amongst my military buddies. As a matter of fact, one of them is leaving for the U.S. to pursue Ph.D at the University of Washington - Seattle in two weeks. But, going up to Gangnam wasn't easy at all as much as I thought it would be. It rained and I did not have an umbrella so I had to just wait about 20 mins at some building which resulted in missing some friends :( So, it took me about 2 frigging hours to arrive. But it was worth it.

Everyone was the same as I saw them last time. We talked about life, kids, marriage, family and work. Somewhat I felt lagging behind since I am single. Well, I don't intend to marry yet. Not now. At any rate, I was good to hear them do excellent on many levels. One of them is going to work in Paris for three years as of October. I might go to Paris sometime. Who knows? My ex rommmate complained about having 8 minions under him and their not living up to his expectations. Wow 8 subordinates.. sounds awesomme. After two hours, he (my ex rommate) took me to the Gangnam station and bought me a green tea latte at a startbucks. We chatted a while and he took off to his lovely family while I stood in the queue for the bus back to Suwon. It was almost midnight when I came back.

21th August

Because of the gathering last night and because I indulged myself on some last night Soju and Samgyupsal, I felt beloated. Thus, I went running and doing some pullups. The Sun was beating down on it and the weather was fantastic. Coming back home, I ate a little and ended up taking a nap. Around 5pm, I was ready to go up to Seoul 'again' in order to participate in the weekly volunteering. Today was very special because it is the last time that my good friend Sarah, host of the event takes part in with her boyfriend Matt who is also leavinng the country for good. We did the usual thing together, buying, bagging and giving out food to the homeless. And I made some friends with new people so it was pretty good.

Anyway, as a token that Sarah and Matt will remember us by, I asked the participants to fill in a piece of paper with messages. Both the couple and the participatns loved the idea so I felt great. Well, after all, Sarah was all welling up when I was presenting the paper to her at the end of the event. We have been good friends since 08, have some commonalities e.g. the passion for the show the Office .. haha I know. But she was kind enough to bring back some memorabilia of the office when she visited her hometown Scranton years ago e.g. a t-shirt and stickers. And that was in return of my bringing back some Muslim-related items when I visited Malaysia back in 09.

After saying goodbye, it was 9pm. I cancelled my train ticket at 10:15pm and decided to hop on the bus to Suwon. And as soon as I neared the bus stop, I hopped on the bus and there was one seat left! I felt darn lucky.

22th August
As soon as I woke up, I felt something was wrong. I was very much tired. And my coworkers wanted to throw me a lil birthday party after work. I could not say no.. no matter how tired I was. So we all hung out until 9pm. I even skipped the gym.. it is such a RARITY for me to do such a thing of nature. Anyhow, the party was fine and I appreciate my coworkers. They did the cake thing and gave me a 50,000won worth gift certificate. How nice!

23th August

Aftering being a meeting 4 and a half hours to discuss next year's budget plans, I felt drained. A quick run to home for lunch was the only solace. It was about 1:30pm and the weather was fantastic. The streets were brimmed with boring and exciting looking housewives with or without babies in strollers. I miss those days when I drove around the region in the middle of day. I can't do it here thus can't not wait to go back to my company at the end of this year.

The gym was usual. It is always packed. I gained 2 lbs. I think this is because my nibbling at nuts that I brought home this past weekend. I feels awesome hitting the gym after recovering from the fatigue yesterday. My trainer advised "Your body needs rest. It always does." Ended up going to bed around 11:30pm. The bed ilterally absored me. It is always a good feeling.

Weekend

Where to begin. This past weekend was eventful.

To begin with, I decided to visit my folks' home in Gwangmyeong near Seoul and I did. It has been a while since I paid my last visit, I felt I should have earlier. It is mostly my parents that come to my place, not the other way around. So, yeah, although it takes ONLY an hour and a half, on Saturday, I hopped on the subway home.

As usual, my folks were home. My father was watching tv whilst mother was cooking. We talked about this and that a little, ate the food and watched tv. Nothing special. Well, this.. just having a conversation and catching up is special since we live separately and don't see each other that often.
Then, as usual, mother went to bed not even before 10 and my dad of course fell asleep watching tv in the living room. Subsequently, I went to my room, turned on the computer and later fell asleep. I had to sleep on the floor because my room does not have a bed. So, it was, although I am Korean, tad uncomfortable.

Next morning, we had breakfast together. Then, the same thing, father watched tv and mother read some paper in the master bedroom with me doing some computer and dozzing off on the floor due to the uncomfortable night. The, I wanted to buy my folks a new keyboard and a mouse. The ones that they have were old and not working properly. So, my dad and I went to the Emart near my house. He is very much introvert and I think I inherited that aspect from him to a certain degree. Still, we talked about this and that, bought the items that mother asked us to purchase e.g. fabric softner, detergent and salt.

After we came back, it was around 4pm. I deicded to stay one more night since the next day is a holiday. Also, I was going to the weekly volunteering at Seoul Station. By the time I will be done would be 9ish. So, it would be better for me to come back and stay since it takes only about 40 mins to Seoul Station.

So, the volunteering was also fun. Since it was a three day weekend, not many people showed up. Still, there were almost 15 volunteers. The number of the homeless seemed to increase since I guess there were less Koreans at the station. Next week is Sarah's last week. Sarah has been spearheading the event and a good friend of mine. She is leaving Korean for good in about 2 weeks. They are looking for her successor, but it seems like no one wants to step up and take charge. I would if it were in Suwon. It is sometime just too far.

Anyways, the next day, by the time I woke up, father was already gone to work even though it was a holiday.. so, I had breakfast with mother and got ready to go back down to Suwon. After saying good bye, I left the house and came back to my place. It was lunch time but I just grabbed some cereal, milk and an apple. Then, I went for running and some pushups and sitsup since the gym was closed.

Feeling pretty fatigued, I took a nap and it was 6 pm when I opened my eyes. I was out about 2 hours. Afterwards, I hit Homeplus, Kims Club and Lotter Mart near my house to do grocery, ended up buying ton of things like canned tuna, more milk, spagehtti sauce, bread, chips and bananas.

Phew--

Wednedsay is my dad's 60th birthday and friday is my 32nd. I am going back to my folks house again on Friday to celebrate it. I don't know what to get my dad. It is not just a birthday.. his 60th.... It is just going to be just three of us celebrating. I will probably buy a cake.. maybe give him some cash and a card? Or something special? I don't know. I don't like it he is getting older and older. This year he is retiring after 28 years with Kia Motors.

Driving

Two days in a row, I was on the road, visiting more museums in the province while making sure the customer's suvery people were not slacking. Well, I had not much to do at work, so as a way to make myself look busy, I asked the team captain to allow my lil trip.

And totaly I drove about 350 kilometeres on the road. That is, about more than 200 miles. I don't really mind driving. In fact, it is very nice to get out of the office once in a while and get some fresh air. Sometimes, I sneak out and go shopping in the middle of my trip :)

The best part would be having a little bit of 'me time' and listening to whatever tune I would like to. Nine out of ten times, it happens to be American Fornces Network that delivers not only contemporary but also oldies and goodies hits here and there. Above all, singng top of my lung is the best part.

After being in a very traumatic accident about 10 years, I pay extra attention while I drive. There are many ways in which people pass and getting in a car accident is probably one of the most tragic.... At any rate, I look forward to hitting the road again sometime soon. After all, it is summer break. Well, I am not on it tho.

An Outline of American History

When I was in college, my roommate Jeremy left this book to me. He was going back home and I am not quite sure if I asked for it or he just did so to jettison some of this stuff. I have had kept the book in the small bookshelf in my room for years and finally sometimes in June or July I mustered up the courage to visit it. And on my way home from the volunteering on Sunday, I at last finished it.

Knowing fully well about the current economic turmoil that the U.S. has been going through, I have found the book very much informative and topical. In particular, the exit plan... the answer(s) to the current crisis might be able to be found in the history of itself because, after all, the history is bits and pieces of the repetition of what happened. Therefore, I. kindly enough. decided to write some the memorable excepts from the book. Think long and hard what they mean and how we can graft them to the reality.


(p.32) As mixed as the people were in PA, NY best illustrated the polyglot nature of America. By 1646 the population along the Hudson River included Dutch, French, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, English, Scots, Irish, Germans,  Poles, Bohemians, Portuguese and Italians-the forerunners of millions to come.


(p.128) By intervening in countries where popular movements threatened monarchies, the Alliance -joined at time by France - hoped to prevent the spread of revolution into its dominions. This policy was the antithesis of the American principle of self-determination.


(p.219) An old immigrant saying is that "America beckons, but Americans repel." As the current wave of immigration spills into the American mainstreat economically, politically and culturally, the debate over immigration has sharpened. Deeply ingrained in most Amerians, however, is the conviction that the Statue of Liberty does, indeed, stand as a  symbol for the United States as she lifts her lamp before the "golden door." welcoming those "yearning to breathe free," This belief, and the sure knowledge that their forebearers were once immgrants, has kept the United States a nation of nations.


(p.370) A recession marked the early years of Reagan's presidency, hiting almost all sections of the country. Real gross national product (GNP) fell by 2.5 percent in 1972, as the unemployment rate rose aobve 10 pecent and almost one third of America's industrial plants lay idle.


(p.371) Under Reagan the national debt nearly tripled. Furthermore, virtually all the growth in national wealth took place in the highest income group. Many poor and middle-class familes actually lost ground, as low- and semi-skilled jobs were eliminated from the economy, or failed to keep pace with the rest of society.


(p.388) The United States is often the harbinger of the modernization and change that inevitably sweep up other nations and societies in an increasingly interdependent, interconnected world.

Art Weekend

Since my job description is to survey customer's satisfaction, I thought I would pay a visit to the museums and gallery where the surveyors that I farmed out the project were conducting the survey this weekend. I was a bit excited to go since well I get to drive and get out of town and relax. I get paid (both for OT and per diem) and get a chance to appreciate some art. So what would be a more perfect way to spend the weekend?

Anyhow, first, at Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, there was an exhibition on Advertisement where they were showing the selected works from the One Show Awards.

There were more than 40 works on display. The essence of ads is, I believe, how well you can get your point across..that how pithy it is.. and how succint it is so that people, at a glance, would understand the gist of the work. And as I expected, the works were nothing but pithy and amazing (and very satrical as well to some extent)

And here are some of the work that I think are the cream of the crop.

Then, on Suday, I went to Nam June Paik Art Center and Gyeonggi Provincial Museum. First, I need to address who Nam June Paik is. He is a Korean-American artist who majorly was renowed for his post-modern works in the late 1970s until his passing, 2006. His works were majorly centered around video arts, employing a plethora of props e.g. tvs, screens and so forth. Since it is post-modern, to me, it is hard to fully understand what he wants to deliver or talk to about. An arbitrary pile of tvs and an arbitrary reel of montage of images is simply esoteric.. well, at least to me. And yet, Koreans still praises his works and his passion for art since, well, probably he is the one and only Korea-born artist whose fame and reputation is second to none in comparsion to other Korean artsts in general. Anyhow, let see some of this works.

And finally, I moved to Gyeonggi Provincial Museum which is only 5 min walk from NJP Art Center. I have been there several times before, so nothing was new so to speak. And yet it was nice to see many families enjoy the local culture and have a good time. Of course, dads looks tired whilst moms and kids were excited and running around. Whenever I see a Korean family in certain settings e.g. restraunts, amusement parks, museums, etc, I somewhat feel bad for them. Not because they all look tired and somewhat jaded.. well I can't wrap my head around the idea that I will have kids. Well, the idea always has been lingered somewhere in the back of my head. But not immediately. Seeing my friends, colleauges occasionally complain about raising kids, I tend to think that getting married is what I will eventually do, but having kids is something I would feel somewhat hesitant to say 'yes, of course' to if asked.

Anyhow..

The weekend was nothing but relaxing and fun... Hope yours was as well.

Love Hurts

Incubus played this song at Jisan Valley Rock Festival last sunday. I did not know this song, so just stood there and listened to it. I wish I had known it before since this is such a beautiful song. It really sumps up the essence of what love is all about, borrowing metaphors, simple words and sentences. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.


Incubus - Love Hurts by liezl_aileen

2011 JISAN VALLEY ROCK FESTIVAL

Believe it or not, this is Incubus

When I openend my eyes, I immediately sensed that it was early in the morning and I needed to go back to sleep. But I simply could not because I was so stoked already. Looking at the cell phone with a digital clock on it, I, as always, turned my lap top on and started to get ready.

Around 10 am, it started to drizzle. Not a good sign. Oh well, what can I do. I left the house, picked up some water, chips and bread for my entourage. Then, my buddy Insun picked me up and headed to pick up others. And of course, someone was running late.

We finally arrived. Dirty. It was my first impression. Koreans.. where is your common sense. Grant it, it was raining and all muddy. but seriously. Bring your own trash and just toss it in the trashcan near you.

The place was packed with not only Koreans but also foreigners. The mistly atmosphere gave the whole thing a very mysterious and calm ambience. I liked it. It was not too hot. Five of us aimlessley wandered around, checking out some bands' performance. Graudally we were getting ready to rock and roll.


Jimmy Eat World.
Jangkiha and Faces
Incubus



Jang Ki Ha and Faces



The whole time it poured (mostly) and at one point, I found myself shivering. But it failed to stonewall my excitment and passion for the music being played before me. Even if we all were standing on the front row and surrounded by many people, I think in a way, in a concert, the crowd creats his or her own zone. The room where an individual sings, dances, jumps and just throws him/herself off in whichever way one hopes and wants. The room that no one can invade. The place of utmost excitement and yet inertia.

I wish I could describe what I experience that night, but rather I not. It is beyond my description- You just have to be there.

Sadly, this event is something that I have lived for this summer and it is over now. I am aimless. What now, then?