Spring fantasies.

It's officially Spring, and I just couldn't wait to get on the road again. Chris and I are planning a weekend trip, and this thought makes me fidgety, and gets me into a dizzy spin of daydreaming. It's actually a peace-offering from Chris for not being able to celebrate his birthday with me. I was totally miffed when he left me home-alone last weekend, while he drank his guts out in a party of some sort. For 3 days now, I've been unexpectedly immersing myself into making plans for this trip. I'm thinking bonfire, barbecue, and a nice beach-front accomodation, and it's his job to make it happen. Right now, we haven't gotten to the 'where' part yet, I'm still looking for the best place to have our weekend-getaway. It shouldn't be that far cause we only have 2 days...

Last Spring, I got to visit Cheolla-do for the first time.. It's was the perfect time to go there. Everywhere I looked was worth snapping a picture. But Spring is their peak season, so be sure to shell out twice or thrice the normal price if you're planning to go there.



This is a view from where we stayed, and it's not even a tourist spot. It's just a place where people have barbecue...



Since we only had 3 days, we didn't get to visit a lot of places. Good thing I was able to include Boseong green tea plantation in our scrimpy itenerary..



Here's a view from Wando...




The three-day day trip to Cheolla-do was too short, and there are still a number of places I wanted to visit. So a couple of months later, we came back. Summer is not really a good time to travel in Korea, not unless you're in for a heat-stroke. But it's the only time Chris could get a long vacation. For 5 days, we were on the road, exploring every tourist destination we heard of. The trip was a blast, and I'd say it was the best 5 days of my life.

Of Wallowing and Weddings.

I was chatting with my sister a while ago, and I noticed she seemed really perky these days. She must be excited about something, so I suspiciously asked if she's pregnant. That question made her answer "I'm so~ not", in her most defensive tone. We talked about visiting Palawan together when I come back home next month. It must be fun cause we never really 'bonded' for the longest time. Like I said in my previous post, she and I are really different but we're surprisingly close. We were inseparable before, even sharing the same condo when my parents decided it's about time for us to move out of the house. She's more like a bestfriend to me, a constant shopping buddy, and my very own fashion critic, so I kind of miss her a lot. While we were growing up, I hated her so much and even called her my 'evil sinister sister'. There was a lot of sibling rivalry going on between us. I was my father's favorite and she was my mother's. She's more of the 'intelligent type' being the class valedictorian from elementary to highschool, and graduating cum laude in UP. I was more of the 'academically challenged' like how my father likes to put it, no special awards or anything, just mediocre grades. What's the point of studying when you'll just be compared to someone like her? And besides, I thought school is about having fun, being with friends, and having a hell of good time. Our difference doesn't stop in academics, and it's very much evident by how our rooms look like (mine is loud purple now, and although I haven't seen her new flat, I'm guessing it's peach). I'm a neat freak and I like things ridiculously organized, she's anything but neat and organized. I like black and pink... and she adores lemon color, mint green, and peach tones which happen to be the top 3 colors I'm never gonna be caught wearing. Physically, our differences can fill up a whole journal. She's three inches taller than me, fairer by several shades, and has that distinct chinita look. I, on the other hand was always referred to as the smaller, darker, and relatively the non-chinita uglier one which totally defies our strong chinese surname. But as we got older, our similarities became more evident. We like going to the same salon, shopping at the same places, reading the same stuff. Both of us love traveling, going to the beach, and having family picnics.

I wasn't used to hearing her talk about boys, so I was startled when one day, approximately 2 years ago at age 24, she came home saying somebody's courting her. After a couple of months, she had her first boyfriend ever. I first met him when I came back home in 2007, he was there at the airport together with my whole famliy. He kept on calling me 'ate' which creeped the hell out of me considering he's a year and a half older. But he was nice, polite, and awfully quiet. But then, for some profound reason I felt exactly the way she felt when she saw Chris for the first time.. She thought Chris was geeky with a creepy sense of fashion, and that's exactly how I felt with her bf.. I have issues with guys wearing plaid polos, I think it's specifically worn to annoy people.. and plaid happens to be his favorite pattern and he wears that most of the time. ^^ I heard they met in the church where both of them are active members. I also found out that my sister was his first gf ever, and for some strange, unspoken reason, that thing bothered me. And just like how my mom hated Chris, she also hated my sister's bf, but since we're way over the legal age, she couldn't do anything about it. It didn't take long before he finally proposed, and fast-forward to 15 months, they got married. Now that little sis is a married woman, she became more practical. She has cut back on her weekly retail therapy and saved instead. I heard she even enrolled in a cooking class. I've never seen her cook anything besides fried egg and Lucky Me pancit canton, so the whole marriage thing is doing wonders in domesticating her.. One thing I'm kind of regretting is the fact that I wasn't there when she was doing the whole wedding preparation thing. She actually asked me to be her wedding planner right after she got engaged, but I wasn't able to fulfill that duty. But even without me, her wedding turned out nice. It was very simple yet memorable, like how she always dreamed. She's moving to Australia sometime next year, and this saddens me to the point that I'm wallowing cause I'm not used to not seeing her for a long time (we were never separated for more than six months). But now that our separation has some degree of permanence, I feel bad that I took her for granted. I should have been nice to her when I had the chance...

I'm posting some photos from her wedding last December...



Bridal Car.




The Aisle.




Happy.




The Rings.




Cake and Cupcakes.




The Centerpiece.




Floral Girls.




With Mom and Francis.




The Lake at night.




Newlyweds.

Of teeth and insecurities.

I've had my braces since 2006 to treat my malocclusion. The upper part of my teeth are so crowded that my teeth moved into a crooked position. This is my second gig with braces, the first time I got it was several years ago. I don't remember the year exactly, but at that time, the dentist failed to fix it. It gave me constant migranes and my mouth were all swollen so I had it removed after a couple of months. The next time around, it went perfectly well and results were evident after the first month. My case was a bit difficult than most, so it requires longer period of treatment... My sister also wore braces the same time I did, only she's ahead of me by one year. She had it removed, and continued with the standard retainer procedure for a year. She finished wearing retainers just before her wedding. I was really curious then to see her, cause for the longest time I've seen her with braces that I already forgot how she looked like without one. I remember asking her how was it like after the dentist removed everything. She said she felt 'exposed' cause her teeth were all naked, whatever that means. I'm going to remove my braces soon and I'm dead-curious how I'd look like. Hopefully I wouldn't be needing retainers after... I don't plan on wearing one cause I heard how uncomfortable it is to wear them. I really miss the time when I still didn't have braces, my teeth were all simple then ^^ I smiled a lot eventhough I felt really insecure about my teeth. Right now, I'm not really comfortable smiling. It's like I developed a complex to constantly hide it cause I think it's hideous. A few more months, and hopefully I get to smile the way I did before.

Sushi Nights.

Preparing Korean meal is so tedious, so I'm always on the lookout for things that are easy to make. A typical Korean meal has rice, soup, meat, and several side dishes. It usually takes me about an hour to prepare everything, sometimes even more. I remember a time when I still prepare breakfast for Chris early in the morning. He normally wakes up at 7 am, and I was expected to wake up at 6 and start cooking. It was so tiring! After I'm done cooking and cleaning up, I was drained, and I didn't have energy the rest of the day. Then I discovered the wonders of cereal. I buy 3 boxes of cereal at a time in HomePlus, just in case he gets tired of eating the same thing. Sometimes, I'd make him a sandwich at night, put it in a ziploc bag, and it's ready to eat in the morning.

This season, he's not that busy at work so he comes home at 7pm to have dinner with me, and it's necessary that I prepare the typical Korean meal for him. But when I'm feeling sluggish, I just buy 2 boxes of sushi for our dinner. Chris doesn't usually complain about the food I serve, as long as it's healthy. And what could be heathier than Japanese food??

Lesson learned.

I was raised to believe that older people equals respect, and this might also be the case for most kids growing up in a standard Filipino household. But does it really have to be that way? I think just because your older and you've been in this planet longer, that doesn't give you the right to be mean, disrespectful, and insensitive to the feeling of others younger than you. Age doesn't work like a badge entitling a person to lash harsh criticsms, verbal diarrhea, and what not... something they couldn't be comfortable doing with people their age, but they find surprisingly easy and instinctive, almost reflex-like to younger groups. Why can't they just mind their own business and stop being nosy? Why do they have to be pesky, grouchy, and plain irritating? And above all, why do they tend to do things that are annoyingly irksome (they're probably aware of that) thinking they could easily get away with it? Respect is earned, and should never be obligatory.


At age 27, it's tempting to use my age as a leverage to my younger peers, but I don't do that and I don't think I ever will, cause yeah~ I know exactly how it feels. I've encountered a lot of those plain 'nakakainis' kind of older people who deluded themselves into thinking they're better, smarter, and all adjective in it's comparative form. And did I do something? Nope, cause sadly, my upbringing gets in the way. I still have that familiar fear that if I say anything rude to people older than me, I'd be punished. But I learned a valuable lesson in dealing with them, and staying out of trouble. And that is 1. BE QUIET, 2. PLAY DUMB (they like that), and 3. JUST WISH IT'LL BE OVER SOON.

Yet another birthday...

Chris is celebrating his lunar birthday today, and for some freakish coincidence, so as his father. Both of them were born on 11th of February (how convenient), but like most Koreans, they celebrate it using the lunar calendar. I couldn't find a family picture of Chris, so I'm just gonna use his grad photo for all intensive purposes. Just don't ask me why his mom is the one wearing toga.. It's meant to be funny, although I'd say in a very peculiar way.



His dad is hosting a party today at their residence for his staff and other people who works for him in his company. Tomorrow, he'll be hosting yet another party for his friends, associates, and golf buddies. I feel sorry for Chris cause they share the same birthday, and he's obliged to participate in a party where he's the only young person. He'll be forced to drink soju with them, and I know just how much he hates the taste of soju.

Felt guilty as I wasn't able to get him a birthday gift last February 11th, so today I bought this long-sleeved shirt for him. The shiny collar buttons bothered me so much, but I thought the shirt will look good on him so I ended up buying it anyway.



Last night, we were having the whole birthday talk, and I asked him what his birthday wish is. I was eating sushi then, and I almost gagged when he answered me. He actually wishes*** not to get fat, lose his hair, and have wrinkles. I laughed so hard cause I've never heard a birthday wish vainer than that in my entire life!

In my case, I wish him good health this year. Career-wise, I know he couldn't wish for a better career than now (I could actually kill for a job like his ^^). He works under the procurement division of Samsung Electronics. There is no striking difference with regard to his paycheck to other employees of the company, but his position gives him great benefits. He deals with mostly CEOs and Presidents of manufacturing companies that supplies certain parts that Samsung needs. For some specific item, he's the one who gets to decide which company they'll do business with. This could mean a very big income for the company who'll get chosen, so they suck up to him with expensive liquors, cigars, chocolates, teas, pastries, toiletries, and other gift items. Except for liquor and cigar, I'm the one who conveniently takes advantage of all those stuff. It doesn't end there, he gets to travel a lot, eat and drink at the most expensive places for free, and that is what he likes the most. The last time he went on a business trip to China, there was a limo waiting for him courtesy of a CEO he's dealing with. So for four days, he got to move around China in a limo, ate as much sharksfin, bird's nest, and lobster as he wants to, and he got a lot of stuff for free to give me.





His job didn't come easy as he had to work really hard for it. The job appeals to a lot of applicants, therefore the competition was really stiff. In their team of 8, 4 graduated from American Universities, 2 from Seoul Nat'l University, and the other 2 were from Hanyang (which includes Chris). The job calls for excellent command in English, so having a Filipina gf works for his advantage as he gets to pratice his English a lot. I'm not giving myself entirely the credit, cause he got accepted there even before we met, but I kinda help him 'stay' in the competition. Out of all the negative effects of our interracial relationship, I'm glad there's one good thing that comes out of it.

I did a bit of shopping for seafood cause I'm going to cook Haemultang for him tomorrow when he arrives. It's his favorite dish and I'm dead worried that it might taste anything but Haemultang. So I'm preparing the cookbook and some internet stuff I printed on standby, just in case.

About music and my sister.

For some inexplicable reason, I had a really hard time sleeping last night so I listened to songs till all my anxieties dissolved. I actually have a lot of frightening and unsettling thoughts running through my head... I found myself repeatedly listening to these 5 songs. I'm particularly drawn to the alternative genre (although not exclusively), it's kind of a mood-setter for me.. But if my sister gets to read this, she'll probably roll her eyes on me.. I remember a time she blurted, "From Seether to THIS"? She's referring to a Jesse McCartney album.. She meant to be sarcastic cause she obviously had issues with him though I can't understand why.

My sister discovered this bizaare theory (thru a magazine I suppose, she likes reading 'em a lot) that a person can be 'read', not exactly read but 'assessed' through the kind of music they listen to. I know... she reads a lot of Cosmo magazines but I'm dead curious what was her assessment with me. Sis is entirely the opposite of me. She likes the typical chick flicks and chick music.. I like conspiracies, tragic endings, and the unpredictable. She'd always say she exactly knows what kind of music I like.. Like if she hears a certain song, she'd know if it's 'my' music or not. I don't know how she does it cause most of the time she's right. Is there some sort of distinct rhythmic pattern that she unraveled, something that draws me but I wasn't aware of? I don't like EVERY alternative song there is... I'm a bit more choosy that what she gives me credit for.




I don't know why but whenever I talk about music, I always associate it with my sister. Probably because she loves music as much as I do. Or maybe I just miss her.. We're so different in so many ways, but we're pretty close. She's always the first one to know if I'm troubled or if something's bothering me.

It's tedious to create links for all five of them, but I'd really want to share it with everyone. I think it's pretty great.


Faber Drive - Tongue Tied

Fuel - Wasted Time

Skillet - The Older I Get

Graham Colton Band - Best Days

Twelve Stones - Running Out of Pain

Those are new links. I tried to fix it cause the previous ones didn't seem to work. Happy listening!!!

The juk.

For some strange reason, I was craving for my mom's arroz caldo last night... It's weird cause I never liked eating it back home. I thought 'juk' is good substitute as it's the closest thing to arroz caldo here, so I called up Chris to buy me some on his way home.




He got me the Beef and Mushroom porridge, which isn't the one I ordered. I specifically instructed him to get me the Mixed Seafood juk, but he must have forgotten what I said. The serving was huge, like it's impossible for one person to finish all of it. As always, I skimmed the powder-like seasoning they sprinkled on top, never did like it. The 'juk' has a lot of mushroom but none of the beef (didn't see a single piece of it) like advertised. But I'm positive they used beef in it cause I could taste it. Broth perhaps? But then, they should have named it 'Beef Broth and Mushroom juk', you know... just to be clear.




I saw the ever ubiquitous F4 boys and Geum Jan Di in the paper bag they used. Aren't they just 'EVERYWHERE'?

Forgetful Chris...

This is an excerpt from our interesting conversation last night.


Chris: My head hurts...

Me: Of course, you've been playing Starcarft for more than 3 hours now. Take a rest.

Chris: Ah! What do you call this in English? This... (motioning something and making weird faces). I forgot the word.. Come on, I'm sure you know it.

Me: My head doesn't work that way. I need details..

Chris: They look like this and they do this (again, making those weird moves and faces). Don't you know...?

Me: I don't know what you're talking about.

Chris: A-b-o... Don't you know? Give me a word.

Me: Abolish? Abode? Aboard? What??? Is it a verb or a noun?

Chris: No, I forgot. Wait, I have a picture somewhere. I saw them in Canada.




Chris: A-b-o....

Me: A-b-o-r-i-g-i-n-e?

Chris: Yeah, right! Good call.

Me: Why did you suddenly ask?

Chris: Huh?! Ah... I forgot already (going back to playing Starcraft).

Me: You know what? You seriously need help.



*******

Of Neutrogena and my sensitive skin...

The Neutrogena products I ordered last week was delivered here yesterday. It's cheaper to just order it online than buying it in stores.. I have really sensitive skin and it's difficult for me to find a product that suits my 'sensitivity-level'. I find Korean products too strong and too heavy for my skin. This rationale didn't come from a person who only tried a thing or two... cause if there's one thing I love splurging on, it's got to be skin care stuff. I've lost count how many different products I tried before, and my review would always be the same.

During a trip to Manila, I visited my sister's dermatologist/friend. I consulted my problems with her, and she offered to get my skin care product tested by their chemist. I think I was using DeAge at that time. My itsy-bitsy-tiny-little 'hunch' proved to be correct. It has very high alcohol content that makes my skin feels raw and red. Their moisturizer uses a lot of oil which blocks the pores, hence the annoying pimples. I cant remember the other stuff she mentioned cause she used a lot of 'medical lingo'. Since the product they were exclusively selling cost $80 a month (way too expensive), I asked her advice for a cheaper alternative available in the market. She said two things, Cetaphil (my sister is their biggest fan^^) and Neutrogena, whichever works. I chose Neutrogena and it clearly works. That's how my love affair with Neutrogena began, and I never tried any other product since then.



It glides on smoothly and it's absorbed quickly. It doesn't have that oily-sticky-icky-feel that I usually get from Korean products, which is a total hassle when you're applying make-up after. It's very light, and it doesn't give me that 'raw-skin' feeling. None of the paraben and other evil stuff that cause blocked pores and allergic reaction. Ok, I should stop right here.. this post is beginning to sound like a blog advertisement which is so not the case.

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World sucks.

Ok, I'm so done with Heroes... I'm never gonna watch a single episode again. It's too much of a jigsaw puzzle now that it doesn't make any sense. The plot doesn't have the 'oomph' like before, and excuse me if I say it's totally outrageous and ridiculously unbelievable. It's a far cry from the first season that totally gripped me breathless with their wild and unexpected turn of events.

I'd rather watch "How I met your mother". I just love how Neil Patrick Harris plays that heterosexual, womanizing Barney. He exhibits this unique vibe that makes him so believable. I was a bit skeptic at first cause he's one of the most openly gay celebrities in Hollywood, and for me that's one tangible reason that should hinder his believabilty as a performer (only for that particular role of course). But I was wrong cause he delivers the 'punch' unlike any other. To me, he's unmistakably one of the best actors on television right now. And no matter how idiotic, pugnacious, and obnoxious his future roles may be, I'd still be a fan... just like when he was still playing Doogie Howser M.D. ^^

"The Machiavelli Covenant"

Even with all those newly-formed callous on my feet, I somehow managed to go to Kyobo bookstore and check their wide selection of books. I was looking for some good history books like what Chris suggested, but I figured after I'm done with the first 10 pages, there's a very big chance I'm gonna get bored and the next 10 will be hard to endure.. So I opted for a good novel instead. I'm not really a book collector by any chance, I only have a couple sitting by the bookstand. But since I have a lot of free time in my hands, reading can be a good diversion. So I got "The Machiavelli Covenant" cause government conspiracies have always been interesting for me. The synopsis is good, promising I should say.. I just hope it delivers.

COEX.

After leaving the restaurant, I braced myself for the long and tiring walk we promised to subject ourselves into. It wasn't hard at first, not till we reached the 30-minute mark (and a couple of road under construction) that my feet started to hurt, and I blame my shoes for that. A sad realization dawned to me that cute shoes are ALWAYS bound to hurt, and those you would NEVER consider wearing for a date will ALWAYS feel so damn comfortable.. Now where is justice in that?!

After the long and painful walk, we reached COEX Mall. We went straight to the Aquarium like what we planned... Ticket costs 13,000 won.






A giant catfish.




I don't know this fish, but the tank is cute...




Ready for some fish lovin'?




This tank creeps the hell out of me. It boggles me why those fish inserted themselves in a very cramped and narrow space and stayed there.. still as a rock.




There's also a cute mini Koi pond...




Yup, those are fishes too...




A fish tank in the ceiling...




A phone-booth fish tank..









Apart from all the fish and creatures I saw in the Aquarium, this one takes the cake! When I first visited there last 2006, those Piranhas were still babies. But now, they're in their adult form... It would've been nice to see them eat.

The Date.

The weather was really nice yesterday, so Chris and I decided to go on a date in Kangnam. Saw a lot of good restaurants there, mostly serving western and fusion dishes. After a long walk, we finally decided to go to Carne Station (our favorite meat buffet restaurant).

There weren't a lot of people at that time... only a few couples and a group of Americans. But after we got our first serving, more people started to come and all the tables were filled.

Chris went straight to the meat section, and started grilling right away!




I opted for something light like sushi... This was my first entrée.



I love the salmon salad so much that I kept on coming back for more!




We also tried the shrimp and baby octopus...




For desert, we had a plate filled with fruits and other delicious treats. Chris love their rambutan so much, he ate a lot of those.



Food was great, but all too filling. The thing I don't like about buffets is that we tend to eat more than what we could handle. And that's always a bad thing... Just before we left, we made a pact to walk till our feet hurt to burn those inacalculable amount of calories! ^^