2011 New Year Resolution

여러분, 안녕하세요. 크리스마스 잘 보내셨죠? 2010 is already coming to an end and 2011 is near. Have you thought about your 2011 new year resolution (or just go with the flow)? Well...I've already planned my 2011 new year resolution. I hope you are, because it's just good to make plans and goals. And sometimes even though it never happens as you planned, don't worry too much because you have another year (hopefully 2012 isn't true). Yeah! So don't worry and just relax. Do what you need and want to do. So shall I reveal my 2011 new year resolution? Maybe on January 1st, 2011 I'll reveal them. :) Until then, I hope everyone have a nice break if you do or spend time with those around you even if it's just for 1 minute or 1 second with that person until 2010 comes to an end. That'll be one great ending...T^T; *sniff sniff* I still remember on the same day of today and at the same time what I did at this hour. So it would be great to have memories although it can be bad or good it's part of life's reality (I think).

메리 크리스마스!

이미지출처 : crazy-frankenstein.com

Merry Christmas everyone! Christmas isn't just about the gifts, to me, it's about sharing warmth and be merry for the holidays with those around you. I hope everybody enjoy their winter "holication" (holidays+vacation) XD and spend time with friends, neighbors, and importantly...family. :) Sing carols, drink hot chocolate in front of the fireplace, stay warm and have FUN! By the way, it must be cold where you're living, so please stay warm and take good care of yourself. Today, other than just saying "Merry Christmas" I want to share a story of my first Christmas, because I don't have a gift for everyone but a story.

When I was a kid, about 12 years ago(6-years-old?) my family never knew what Christmas was. We didn't have a Christmas tree or presents or anything related with Christmas. I'm guessing I never knew holidays like Christmas existed. (How ashamed.) Well I was small and my parents never explain to me about it. One day, I finally noticed Christmas existed, when I went to a friend's place to play. I opened the door, came in and found a big tree with colorful lights and decorations. At first, I was confused why they were growing a tree inside their apartment. In addition, I also thought that it was beautiful, because I've never seen something so pretty and glittery. I had to ask my friend. I remember her saying "Don't you know? It's going to be Christmas." "Christmas?" I said. "What's Christmas?" My friend responded "It's when Santa comes down the chimney when you're asleep and he leave presents for you." I wasn't sure what Santa was so I asked "Who's Santa? What does it look like?" My friend got annoyed and ignored my questions, so we played instead. When I got home, all I could think of was the wonderful Christmas tree, because it's so beautiful and it gave me warmth. That was when I knew that Christmas existed. 메리 크리스마스 여러분!

Lunar Eclipse

Yesterday, I just found out that the Lunar Eclipse was going to be during the early night in California. However, it was too cloudy for some of us Californians who live in the cities. I ran outside to find the moon, but could only see foggy gray clouds which covered the moon. Thus I watched it live online Eastern time and had to stay up the watch it since I couldn't see it and missed it. Anyways, it was better watching the moon live online. XD I even had to print screen the changing phases of the moon every 30 minutes or so. Here is what I saw on screen LIVE.

Below this was when it was the beginning of a total eclipse.

Total eclipse ending.

Isn't it pretty? I stood up until around 1 AM.

Daeji Bulgogi (돼지불고기)

Awhile ago, my sisters and I decided to make 돼지불고기 which is spicy marinated pork. It turned out to be super delicious and quite spicy! It's easy to make with the help of Maangchi from YouTube. Watch her video if you would like to cook 돼지불고기.

This is how ours turn out to look like. Actually, because I used my webcam to take this picture, the lighting of the picture was not good, which is also why it's blurry. I haven't got my camera back. umm...맛있어요!

Making Kimchi (김치) for the Winter

So today, my sister and I walked to the grocery store to buy ingredients to make kimchi. Despite the fact that it was raining, we just had to walk to the store to get the ingredients so that we could make kimchi. I couldn't drive yet because I don't have my license and I didn't want to drive illegally. Besides, the grocery store is near, like a mile of walking. We had our umbrella and wore warm clothes, I'm sure we are healthy enough, so we won't get sick easily.

Last year, I made kimchi. However, it was a total failure! Because I didn't have the right ingredients and the powder pepper I used was Thai chili, which is super spicy. It didn't look like kimchi at all. LOL And days later it smelled bad and got spoiled easily.

It's winter and most Koreans will likely make kimchi to preserve during the winter. I heard that homemade kimchi is the best and I would have to agree even though I haven't tried homemade kimchi yet. Why? Because I believe that while making kimchi, we put our love, strength, and proud-ness into making it. And it's hard to make good kimchi from scratch. This is why I think homemade is the best. Plus, it reminds me of 할머니와 엄마의 요리 (grandma and mom's cooking).

But today, I felt confident making kimchi after watching a lot of tutorials online. So I'm sure it will turn out to be edible kimchi. ㅋㅋ XD It was easy and fun making kimchi. We planned to let it ferment for a very long time, because the longer time it has, the better. Until then, I can't wait to eat it! I will have to wait patiently. Our kimchi looked fine, so I hope it turned out to be a success. When I get my camera back, I will definitely have to take a picture of it! Instead I'll use my webcam to take a picture of it. It's not the best quality camera. I had to use photoshop to make it look like it really is because my webcam can't flash and I needed lights. Isn't it tasty! XD

Please visit again! ^^ Thanks for reading! 고마워요.

It's finally 겨울 방학!!

I took my finals already. I think I fail Anthropology because the stuff my professor told everyone to study wasn't even on the test, some were, but most weren't. I wasted my time staying up the entire night studying for it. >:( But I'm sure I passed my Communication final (it was easy). Yeah it's finally winter break! I'm so happy. I haven't plan to go anywhere yet, because I'm a broke college student. :/ But it's alright, I enjoy being with my family, cook, eat, and do random stuff. XD Let's chill. ㅋㅋ It's become so cold these days. I heard it snowed in Seoul. I want to see the snow in person, but I also want to stay warm. ㅋㅋㅋ I hope everyone stay warm during the winter season. Don't get sick! Enjoy your break. Anyways, I'm excited for tomorrow. I won't tell you guys about it. Just wait for my post tomorrow. Until then, I hope to get more views. :D 여러분...잘가요~!!^^

By the way, don't forget about buzz Korea! Check it out! The deadline to join and/or promote ends on January 10, 2011 whereas the sign up ends on January 15, 2011. Let's do our best! 아자아자 화이팅! XD

buzz KOREA

I know that I have a final tomorrow, but I'm confident that my grade will be good. I even had a plan set up. My plan was sleep in the afternoon evening until 10 pm then wake up to study for tomorrow's test then leave and take the exam in the morning. I'm having coffee right now. This may not seem to be the best plan, but I'm giving it a try. Honestly, during my high school years, I never study for a final. All I did was depend on luck and luck did helped me a bit. This time, I'm serious about my studies. So before I study I just had to check my emails, blogs and everything before I tackle on my studies. This way I don't feel like I forgot something.

Sharing ideas and stories about travel in Korea Just sign up and enter for a chance to win a MacBook Air http://www.buzz-korea.com and tweet #ibuzz

On to the point. I checked my email and I received an email from visitkorea.or.kr it's a site that promotes traveling to Korea and Korean culture. I saw an organization called buzz KOREA, so I just want to inform everyone about this event. If anyone wanted to enter for this, feel free. Just sign up and talk/inform your friends about buzz KOREA. Here's the site: http://www.buzz-korea.com/ So go check it out if you're interested and enter to see if you're a winner.

I've never traveled to Korea before, but it's the first country on my travel list when I have a lot of money to travel. Why? Because I loved the Korean culture when I was younger than 8 years old. All these times I've dreamed of going there someday. The first time I ate kimchi was when I was in middle school. It did not taste that well when I first attempt to eat it. However, I noticed that as it ages it taste better. I've also learned how to make kimchi by myself with the help of online tutorials. ㅋㅋ Sometimes when I have kimchi, I like to eat it with 라면. If I can drive, I'll definitely have to go buy Korean ingredients from Asian stores near my city, to make Korean foods that I've always craved for. The list of Korean food I've been craving for: ddeokbokki, jjajangmyeon, kimchi jjigae, bibimbap, galbi, jangeogui, samgyeopsal and so much more! 한복 pronounced hanbok, are Korean traditional clothes. I really want to try it on because they look so pretty and cute. If I have enough money, I will definitely buy a hanbok outfit. :) Saving up! When I see hanbok, I think of the wonderful age of Korea. So graceful. I like to watch old historical Korean dramas, because it makes me feel like I am in the historical age how the people wear hanbok and the king. WOW! XD So far I've seen, Iljimae and Sungkyunkwan Scandal, both of those dramas take place in historical times. I heard of Chuno, but haven't got the time to watch it. However, it's next on my list of Korean dramas. If there are more, please recommend it to me. I'll definitely have to watch them. In addition, Korean music are wonderful! Have you heard of 아리랑 Arirang? It's a very famous Korean folk song. Honestly, I don't know the meaning of the lyrics word by word, but I remember that it is about passing the mountain but that mountain is a dreamland where lovers unite. It's also about a maid who was killed by her lover. I forgot, but it's somewhere like that. I really appreciate this song because it is the song between the North and South Korea. This song bonds them together even though Korea is separated. Check this song out on YouTube. :) My experience with the Korean culture is endless, because I still want to learn more. By the way, don't forget to appreciate the Korean language! I've been learning it by myself for more than 2 years and I'm still a beginner. If only I have a lot of time and determination, I think I would have improved to be on the intermediate level. But taking time to adjust to the language is not bad. So far, I've learned basic greetings and sentences. Still have to learn and memorize vocabs, sentence grammar, and structure. I also need to practice pronouncing them correctly and efficiently. The alphabet known as 한글 pronounced hangeul is very easy to memorize. Once you mastered it, then your can read Korean! The difficult part is that you don't know what it means until you learn the language that's what I realized when I first learn Korean. Lastly, I'm majoring in teaching and English. I'm hoping to teach English abroad in Korea after I get my teaching credential and/or master degree. That would be great right? :) So this is all my experience with Korean culture so far. I'm still learning. Practice makes perfect. Someday, my dreams will come true. I believe.

Let's share our experience on the Korean culture. Even if you haven't traveled to Korea yet like me, what is your overall experience on the Korean culture? Let it be food, music, clothes, Korean films, etc. I would like to read your experience. :) Feel free to comment.

I thank

everyone who views and read my blogs. Thank you so much! Viewers makes me super happy! :D Somehow, I feel excited even though I'm having final exams tomorrow. Maybe it's the coffee? I'm an awkwardly unique person. XD Have a nice day.

Fluxus Voices - 우리의 밤은 당신의 낮보다 아름답다

These days, the song I'm addicted to is "우리의 밤은 당신의 낮보다 아름답다" translated to "Our night is more beautiful than your day" by Fluxus Voices. It's so warm and soothing, really. It reminds me of Christmas. So I plan to play this song on Christmas day. Their voices are great! Especially Alex :) from Clazziquai. I love that group. So here's the song from Fluxus's youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LYTk3ho82M

I put the link here so that you go there to view their song so that they can get views on youtube. And if you're too lazy to click on that link then just watch it here.


Isn't it great! :D

Good news! Bad news...?

I have good news! I don't have math final tomorrow, because I passed that class so I don't have to take it. Sweet! :D So I just have 2 finals to worry about. I'm sure next semester I'll have a lot more finals than this year, because I enrolled in a lot of classes. I'm trying to not worry right now. I'm also thinking of enrolling in choir. I feel like I lost my good voice tone after I quit singing in choir since 8th grade. That's about 5 years ago. Now I realized that my voice is so bad. So yeah I PLAN to enroll in choir at my college. Another good news is that after finals then it's winter break! That means I get more time to do other stuff than to worry about college stuff. So this vacation, I plan to study Korean as much as I did before. For next semester, I'm looking for a Korean tutor/speaker to help me with Korean. I'll pay between $8-10/hour for 3 hour lessons per day on weekends for 3 months. I have the books, my tutor just needs to know Korean so that I can ask him/her questions and do some conversation exercises so that I know how it read/speak Korean normally. I'm still a beginner, but I know the hangul alphabet. MSN messenger would be great, so if you want to be my tutor then just comment on here and I can send you my email. We can talk about this and introduce each other. Oh! And I plan to exercise more, because ever since I graduated from high school, I've stopped exercising. However, I still look the same...I think.

I also have bad new. And maybe this is bad news or not. Let me tell you the story. So my mom woke me up to cook and I did. While I was cutting the chicken to fry it, I accidentally cut my middle finger! I mean not cut like amputate but I guess I should say I cut the skin of my middle finger and it almost got to the bone. It was a deep wound. huh I guess it was just too early for me to be cooking. So right now, I'm typing with my middle finger wrapped. LOL. It hurts a little, but it's not a big deal. So yeah that was the bad news (I guess it's not that bad. LOL.) If only I had my camera, I could show you guy how bad it is. I have a webcam, but it's pixel is too weak so it won't how clearly.

Do you have any good/bad news? Share them! :)

College Finals & My Rant

Finals has already come. I really hate this week, because it's not going as I planned. I planned to study and submerge myself with books, but there's always have to be obstacles. Well, let me explain these obstacles. This week, I had to baby sit! >:( It interferes with my studies. Seriously, I hate my parents because they know that I have finals coming and this is what they do to me. Every moment when I come to my room to study, they just had to yell at me to do something. Isn't this annoying? What parents does that to a child who is concerned with her education? Irresponsible! And I had to baby-sit my nephews because their mom is sick and their dad is doing nothing but sleep! Really irresponsible parents! They are young too and I blame them for having too much kids at a younger age when they can't even manage to take care of themselves and their children. I'm really angry so I just had to rant it on here. I don't care if they see this or not, actually, it would be great if they see this post rather than me explaining to them directly. They have to realize that other people have important stuff to do. They can't just come and say "here's the kid, help take care of them while i sleep." Seriously WTF?! their kids were so troublesome! Now I just hope they leave already. Really. I have a headache babysitting them more than studying for my college finals. If they stay or I have to babysit them again tomorrow and had to skip my studies I will seriously explode into anger. Who wouldn't be angry at this when their finals are just around the corner (and I mean I had 1 day left to study). >:X I'm furious. So now I'm trying to avoid them since my sisters came back from school so they can just take care since they don't even care about their education. Hey, I value education more than going off and have fun. Education first!

(Sorry I can't provide a picture at the moment because my bro-in-law is borrowing it forever.) Maybe next time. Until then, please cheer for me.^^ 화이팅!

2 Weeks Before Finals and End of Semester!

The Korean SAT a.k.a. 수능 was past weeks ago. I hope everyone did great and the outcome result is a success! I know I'm praying for my Korean friends. They have big dreams of becoming successful.

So yeah you know what I'm going to say right? (Read the title.) So finals are coming and I only have two weeks to study for all my college course finals. I'm positive I'll do well in my math final, because it's algebra! O.O LOL that's easy right? Even a 7th grader can do it! Now I just have to worry about my Communication and Anthropology finals (I think I have English final too.) T.T; Those class can be so difficult at some point. Especially Anthropology! Now I'm trying to submerge myself into focusing more in studying to pass the finals... I really want to get over this real quick, but I also want to learn instead of just memorizing them for the test. If you agree, I think that learning something is better than memorizing because you can lose what you memorized for the exams. However, when you actually do learn then you know and you don't have to worry about losing your memory on the exam. 맞지?! ㅋㅋ I really want to study hard so that I can maybe transfer to a UC. Hoping to!

Later on after my class, I'll be submerging myself with a bunch of books, notes, and homework papers to keep myself focused! I'll upload a picture to let you know I'm serious. :D Okay! To those who also have finals coming up...화이팅! :)