postmortem

lost power,

and the area around home lost cellular reception.

apparently it will take at least 3 days to get power back..

I'm hoping that day 1 was the night we lost power,

but I'm pretty sure they don't count that way.

there's still running water,

but it's colder than the weather and is rich in chlorine.

there's still gas, and I was able to cook,

but I'm afraid yesterday was the last day I could use any of the food in the fridge

without worrying about spoiled food.

work wasn't mandatory today,

but came anyway since it's better to work than to roll around at home without power.

subways are also not functional,

and the buses that began to run today have been packed.

traffic is not much of a relief.

but all is well.

I am fine,

and the people I know are fine.

hurricane sandy

working from home tomorrow.

not really fully stocked with food, 

but I'll be able to go through about 2 days as long as there's power and water. 

went out for a walk around town with my roommate,

and the place is pretty empty.

news says it'll be pretty strong. 

hope it's not too much.

saturday

during practice,

the leader told us that

with his own will,

he would not be able to put up with the time spent on the church activities he serves.

it is only because God makes him able

that he is able to do all of this.

he is therefore thankful to be doing all the service he does for the church.

I also am able to do this only because God allows me to do it,

and I am grateful.

freetempo

house music,

up-beat, and no lyrics for me to be distracted with 

(there's times when my brain just constantly tries to listen to the lyrics)

when working.

found a couple of albums from this artist in the pile,

so here goes. 

loveholic

vocal's voice is so soft and milky.

ah.. music and coffee spike is a good combination. 

peanut plain

you can't call something

cranberry almost delight

then put more peanuts than cranberries and almonds combined.

weekdays

mondays aren't as undesirable as it used to be

since the weekends are busier than the weekdays.

taking of pelham 123

movie with a plot about the hijacking of a 6 subway train,

right between Grand Central and 51st St.,

where I get off to work.

interesting to watch a movie when it shows places that you pass by almost every day.

in-state rivalry

michigan 12 - 10 michigan state

we finally beat little brother after 4 years of embarrassment.

gotta watch the highlights when I get back home.

Go Blue!

matthew 15:21-28

the story of the canaanite woman 

who asks Jesus for the cure of her possessed daughter.

when Jesus signs a cold shoulder with 

"I was sent to the lost sheep of Israel"

and

"it is not right to take the children's and toss it to the dogs",

the woman, 

with humble wisdom and faith,

replies

"even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."

she had the humble faith of

knowing that we do not deserve anything

and grateful that despite that,

God will give us everything that is good for us. 

future

not so much being rich,

just want to be in a position

to have a say in a decision that affects society/culture.


not on things I have no right to make decisions on

but on things I am to be considered knowledgeable.


let's keep fueling myself.

vote

politics is interesting indeed.

wish I can vote..

heavy lifting

[after finishing giving blood, to nurse]
lady: "so, heavy lifting, running around, no liquids--am I right?"

[giving her the "haha, funny" face]
nurse : "exactly the opposite"

lady: "oh, of course. but can I drink? you know, drink?" 

either I didn't hear the nurse's reply, or she just didn't.

goldilocks

24 is

not that young an age,

but also not old.

so,

is this the "just right" age?

dream

I was asked what is my dream,

and,

indeed having one,

said what it is.

then the next question was

"what are you currently doing

right now

that will get you closer to it?"

and then I couldn't answer.


I feel like I'm so far from it right now,

but I should at least do something,

that will keep me facing that direction at least.


but grad school is an almost necessary step for this..

let's do things that will keep my options open.

weekend

great to see some faces,

but goodness,

my weekend is going to be pretty sad for a couple of months..

bells

never was around home during to day

to notice that the church in front of my place

rings its bells every hour.


something about hearing it in my room

while sipping on some homemade coffee

is noticeably calming.

another find in the pile of music

the shuffle today has led me to someone named

priscilla ahn.

musical style not unlike jack johnson

and an amazing voice.

now that I think about it,

this must be the kind of voice I like.

coffee

coffee becomes from best friend to a dick

when it gets on your hand.

and the day starts.

salty eyes

once again riding the wave of shuffled music

thanks to the cacophony of my surroundings.

this time,

bumped into a song that I listened to during high school.

"salty eyes" by the matches.

emo, punk-y, upbeat with a "I'm hanging by thread" lyrics.

ah, high school.



do you belong to a song--
does it drag you along by the tongue
at the top of your lungs?
are you drunk--have you been drinking?
do you, below the overpass, go
with a fifth in your fist
reminiscing the kiss of a love
that just didn't love
as much as you did?

please don't give up, dear walls
don't let the ceiling fall
when you belong to a song--salty eyes,
you belong.

and so on.

vodka rain

found out that my pile of random songs

had a handful of songs by vodka rain.

such a great band.

songs that make me want to feel exactly what they were feeling when they wrote the song.

random impressions of this trip

you know,

those images/things/names that you unconsciously assign to a certain event/timeframe,

so that when you approach them again

you suddenly remember it. 

I think for these couple of weeks,

it's these:

what I'll remember if I think about this trip:

- cafe bene (they were everywhere..)

- anipang (this smartphone game that everyone--everyone--was playing) 

what will make me suddenly remember this trip:

both songs, actually. I think music has always had a strong impact on these kind of things for me.

- g.dragon feat. kim yuna - "maybe I'm missing you"

- psy feat. park jung hyun - "어땠을까"

the first song was very catchy. had a very smoothing melody (chorus was stuck on my head while there), but it seems the lyrics doesn't reflect that.

the second song I just heard once on TV while there, but something about it (probably the chorus again) made me like it, and it stuck also.

I guess I'll attach one of them.

jet lag

overcoming jet lag in a day is more challenging than I thought.

in the plane

solitude.

remembered how great a companion it is

when you're armed with a book.

read for a first time in a while.

and it felt great.

the immersion into the text transcends that of a movie.

day 15 + last day: wrap

day 15

went to an outlet and bought a couple of jackets.

met my brother who came up to Seoul and ate dinner.

bid farewell at the bus terminal.

felt fine until the bus terminal,

then teared up a bit as I saw him being driven away.


last day

church,

then airport.

barely got in time to check in,

but all was well.

missed the connecting flight in San Francisco,

but I was able to get another flight in the same day.

arrived late at night in Newark due to the changed flight,

somehow managed home.

and the trip was done.

이제 회피하지 않고

I'll settle this.

day 12 ~ 14 - trek back up

got too backlogged,

so I'll have to wrap this up

in stone-cold report format.


day 12,

spent time with relatives,

also was able to meet a college friend who lived in Busan,

left on the night train to Daejeon with my brother

and spent the night in his dorm.


day 13,

ate lunch with brother and girlfriend

then got on a train back to Seoul.

put luggage in the Seoul station lockers

and walked around the city a bit (Myeongdong (명동) in particular).

ate dinner in Gangnam with the hometown nuna I met last week

and got back home.


day 14,

walked around Insadong (인사동) by myself,

(ain't the most exciting thing)

met college church people I met last week again

and ate dinner at Jongro (종로).

walked around the area

and went back home.

ah

now I understand--

I don't really want to leave this place. 

day 11 - busan

started to get really backlogged with these trip updates--

been moving around a lot.

besides,

I think I enjoy writing thoughts more than reporting happenings.


but I have to finish what I started.

then again,

I don't have the pictures for this day uploaded to the computer.

sigh.


headed to Busan after lunch,

said my good-bye's to my grandparents.


now,

I've been to Busan every time I visited Korea,

but I realized that I had spent most of the time indoors,

because wow,

I only now realized how beautiful a place Busan is.

first went to the Haeundae beach (해운대 백사장),

and the water was much bluer than expected.

[ picture of a part of the city overlooking the beach ]

having not much tourists definitely helped keep the water pristine.

next stop was Dalmajigil (달맞이길),

which had a breathtaking view of the city and the ocean.

[ panorama of above statement ]

we had dinner in the Chungsapo (청사포) area

[ picture of the Chungsapo lighthouse? ]

then went to Igidae area (이기대) and saw the night view of the Gwangandaegyo (광안대교).

[ picture of Gwangandaegyo ]


with the winding roads up and down hills,

and an iconic bridge,

Busan can be very much like San Francisco.

and I'd say it would be a very pleasant city to live in.

day 10 - eating business

[pictures issue resolved, will replace placeholders when possible]

ate breakfast,

table getting ready

more sit-down-talking with the uncles until lunchtime,

eating side food during all the conversation.

still proceeded to eat lunch.

soon after, one of my cousins decided he wanted to eat chicken intestines (닭똥집)--

apparently Daegu is known for it.

I think I tried them before but didn't remember the taste.

it was great.

maybe because it was fried, but it was great.

that was pretty much dinner,

but later at night,

same cousin decided that he also wanted to eat pork stomach (막창) before leaving Daegu.

and off we went to eat.

 place had a retro theme,

old electronics

old movie posters

and the food was great.

first time trying 막창,

it had a rich flavor that made it good.

add to all this a good conversation,

and all was well.

day 9 - chuseok

ate a good breakfast.

also have to add that in between meals,

there were a constant serving of fruits and songpyeon (송편, rice cakes eaten during Chuseok).

[probably a picture of food]

visited our grandfather's grave once more,

this time with the whole family.

(yesterday was just grandma, me, brother, uncle)

[picture of the area around the grave]

came back home and ate lunch,

after which my brother and I packed up and headed for the city of Daegu,

where our mother's side was.

rode the bus again,

and considering it was Chuseok,

the traffic wasn't too horrendous.

[picture of scenery from the bus]

arrived in Daegu and was greeted by a large family that was my mother's side.

first spoke with my grandparents.

it was good to see that they appear not to have aged since 4 years ago,

and they were glad to see me again.

I then sat with my uncles and talked.

we talked about work and life in New York,

and they gave me good life advice.

my little cousins were not so little anymore.

goodness,

the little squirt that barely connected words the last time I saw her

was now quite the witty kid.

my aunt's family that I stayed with in Seoul came pretty late,

so there was more talking once they arrived.

[probably some pictures in between. probably didn't take much during this time]

day was full of meeting loved ones and talking to them.

day 8 - uncle (작은아버지)

stayed home until lunchtime,

and uncle's family came.

Dad had one brother,

so this completed our father's side of the family.

one of my cousins couldn't make it because he was getting ready for college entrance exams.

ate a hearty lunch,

[do I have a picture?]

and went to our grandfather's grave to cut the grass.

came back home pretty tired,

fell asleep until dinner,

in which we ate another full meal.

at night, went to the theater and watched a movie.