Late night

The month of November have actually flew past too quickly. I guess the difference was that I went from being all alone during the weekends to having more friend(s) to hang out with.

Now that the Korean dream is coming to an end this Sat, I go with mixed feelings. On one hand, I really enjoy the person that I am when I'm here- full of energy and excited about everything. On the other hand, I do miss seeing close & old friends whom I've grown up with or share a familiar conversation with my family.

Looking back at all the pictures, I've certainly done ALOT the past 3 months...Traveling, friends, food testing, exploring, chatting, having alot of fun and just being free and happy. I honestly have alot to be thankful for. I've gotten to know another country much better, made some very good friends, known some very great people, and met up with my American friends.

It's probably part of our greedy nature to never want good things to end. I know this will probably be someone else's awesome experience, I guess I'm just not willing to let go of it once I had a grasp. But I know all these shall pass, and I shall need to venture on to the next chapter.

I shall miss many people. At the same time, it makes me frustrated once again at how I'm like a traveling merchant, making stops here and there trading goods, and never staying put at the place I like the most or with the person I like the most.

Good night world!

Dad visiting!

My dad got here on Monday for a 1 week visit!

Even though I can't take any days off this entire week with a ton load of work, we still get to have lunches and dinners together as well as some sight-seeing after that. He has been traveling on the subway going sight-seeing on his own during the day when I work and doing grocery shopping too! ahha

Heading to Seoraksan (Mt Sorak) again for a day-trip! It's gonna be cold!!! brrrrrrrrrr :)

Today!

It has been a restful day today. I watched brief footages of the beginning parts of "The Proposal" and "Up" before switching it off and just rest. I guess I was more tired than I thought I was because I had apparently forgot to switch off the lights and took off my hair clip before falling asleep.

I probably slept for 12 hours before waking up. Made peanut butter with banana sandwich, tried planning out my dad's visit initerary, and spoke to a good friend Fenella online. At 5pm, I decided to take another nap. I probably woke up at around 7 or 8pm. My cravings for Korean streetfood came again, and after a shower, I decided to take a walk up to Gangnam.

At 10pm, the streets were still pretty busy. The weather was just right, cooling but not chilly. I thought it would be a good idea to take a walk and just clear my head. Since I didnt feel like putting on makeup for my little walk and supper, my glassess did the trick!;) Anyways, on the way, I had 'mandu' (dumplings) at one of the street stalls, it came in a tray of 10 small pieces! I half regretted but ate all. Then, I wandered through the crowd and ate a plateful of 'soon-dae' (Korean 'sausage' aka. pig instestines with vemicelli) and 'o-deng' (fish meat paste). Soooo full.

Since I was determined to sit down in a coffee shop to read my book- something I've been wanting to do since LAST weekend, I went to Coffee Bean at 11pm and just started to read till they closed at midnight.

Today I really missed times spent with friends. It probably stemmed from the fact that a close friend was having a house-warming party. The first friend among a close group of us to move in to his own house. How cool! I wished it was taking place in another town where I could just take a cab or fly there to attend and come back. I guess the last straw was when I read an update from 'lemette world', tears welled up and I really miss good times spent with close friends!

I'm really looking forward to going to church tomorrow morning. I finally managed to wake up early enough on a Sunday morning to go to church last week and it was the best place to be!!:)

Choonghyun Presbyterian church in Yeoksam, it's only about 10-15 mins walk from my place...But since it's about 2-3 blocks from the mainstreet where I walk by everyday, I've only seen the top of the two towers from the concrete jungle. It was pretty amazing to see a big white magnificent structure emerging from the buildings as I got closer!


When I walked it, I was even more impressed. It was almost like walking into the UN assembly....ahaha.. There's the choir at both sides in white robes...and the orchestra at the front of the choir on the right. Quite cool.

See those little buttons? I get to choose which language I prefer, Japanese, English, or Mandarin. I chose English of course..ahah...so basically when the pastor is preaching in Korean, we 'foreigners' will be listening to the translated version. When we sing the hymms together, we'll sing in English together with the translator, while the rest sings in Korean. It all blends very well! :)

The week

My manager probably sensed that I work best 'under pressure'...ahaha, after knowing the ultimate deadline which is about 2.5 weeks away, my partner and I have been working hard for the past few days. One of the things I really feel blessed is the new friends that I have made.

Although I feel lost in conversation during group lunches, but the 1 on 1 dinners with my 'partner in crime' at work has been really fun. One of us would suddenly announce that we're hungry at about 6 or 7ish..head downstairs for some Korean good food...come back upstairs...wrap up our work..and try to leave before the security guard comes after us. Just yesterday night after dinner, we spent some time laughing and sharing stories! It's great to meet someone who giggles much more than me!! :P

Although the weather threatens to become chilly again after 2 weeks, I really enjoy walking on the broad sidewalks, listening to the harmonious orchestra of vehicles traveling back and forth on the main road, and just enjoying the cool night air. In Korea, one can also walk without worrying about the possibility of being robbed. The fact that you don't need to be defensive just makes you feel so much more relaxed!

As of yesterday, I have only 1 more month to enjoy the Korean bliss! sob sob...I feel kinda guilty when I instinctively answered 'no' when someone randomly asked if I missed M'sia! ahaha... I guess I won't miss it that much because I know I'll have to go back!!! Yay for the weekend!!

Dream List

Last week, I asked my cubicle mate, "YH, what motivates you everyday?". She looked a little surprised at first, but after I clarified that I was just curious...haha..she proceeded to open up a page on her computer and asked if I knew about a person named John Goddard.

Apparently, John Goddard is a famous adventurer and motivational speaker who listed down 127 things (link) that he wanted to do when he was 15, because he has heard of adults saying "if only I had done this when I was younger...". He figured if he had it all listed down, he wouldnt miss out and have the same kind of regrets next time.

My coworker YH then proceeded to pull out an A4 paper from her diary, it was a full page listed with Korean words. She explained that she has listed all the things that she wanted to achieve, including career goals, travels, personal development, and relationships. Every year on her birthday, she would review this list and pull out the ones that she would like to focus for that year. So far she has achieved a few, and they are highlighted in red font. She told me this list is what motivates her everyday - including coming to work!

After that inspirational conversation, a conversation with another coworker came to mind. One of the main goals for J this year and next year, is to meet Mr Right. Because of this goal, she has been on a mission to make herself more desirable - going to the gym, going on blind dates (part of the Korean culture), improving herself mentally by reading etc.

And another good friend of mine, is also working towards her dream goal - to pursue her post-grad at her dream school. She has also been doing alot of things to improve herself in order to bring herself closer to that dream.

Then I asked myself - what are my dreams? I feel like I had alot of dreams when I was younger. I was a super basetkball fan then, so my dreams then were mainly watching the Orlando Magic play in the arena, meeting my favorite basketball player Penny Hardaway, going to Florida where Penny and Shaq were at, study abroad, getting paid to play in Disney,work overseas, getting a scholarship, going on a hot air balloon, traveling etc.

So far, I haven't met my favorite basketball player Penny and haven't gone on a hot air balloon. But I have managed to work with Disney and visit the parks for free. Went to watch the Orlando Magic play, studied abroad, got a scholarship, and got to try out working in a real job here in Korea. I also had a few ticks on my traveling notebook...And so, what's next?

It seems as if these past few years, I have stopped dreaming and making new goals. It feels like my growth is stunted. In theory, being adults, we're definitely more capable than a young kid to achieve what we set out to achieve. But somehow, as my age increases, it feels like because I'm too aware of the current limitations, I stopped to think too far.

And so, I hope to start listing down the things that I want to do...and if I find myself not having enough things to do, then maybe I'll need to explore more!!

Falling into Autumn!

Some of the pictures to depict what I've been up to the past 2 weekends- traveling!! I just love Autumn!!

Last last weekend, I went to check out Apqujeong. The 'Beverly Hills of Seoul", basically the area where all the most expensive designer brands set their stores.

I also checked out Dongdaemun, the fashion place where the big shopping centers and night market is. I didnt stay long enough for the night market to open at 9pm, but did check out the umpteenth clothes stores. I must say Seoul has probably a few million stores selling clothes, accessories, shoes, pants...whatever you can put on and look good!!


Also last last weekend, I took a 1.5 hour ride out of Seoul to Gapyeong, and took a ferry from the wharf to Namiseom (Nami Island). It is the place that got really famous amongst tourists after the "Winter Sonata" drama back in 2001...it was such a phenomenal success that they now have a statue of the actor (Bae Yong Jun) and actress (Choi Ji Woo) on the island!!:P

Places where the drama was filmed had little signs, or a big poster like this!;P

This is the famous line of trees where Bae Yong Jun and Choi Ji Woo threw snowballs at each other during the winter time....I even played the theme song from the drama while walking through these trees...muahahaha :P

Golden trees!! I must say I really like Namiseom, because it's a place filled with families, couples and just people who came to take a relaxing stroll, cycle and just spend quality time with loved ones!!

After the fire broke out at my office building, I took a 10-15 mins train to Lotte World theme park to check out another filming spot for one of my favorite drama "Stairway to Heaven" in 2003/2004. My first ride was of course the Carousel!!! :))

Choi Ji Woo and Kwon Sang Woo in "Stairway to Heaven"- the SAME carousel :P

Lotty and Lorry on a float during the 'Disney-Spectromagic-look-a-like-parade" :P I must say it's my first indoor parade since all of Disney's parades are outdoor! They must have used Disney as their reference...too many similarities :P

Lotty during the Halloween parade.

The Magic Castle in Lotte World. Sure looks like Cinderella's castle! :)

Ahhh...the ice-skating rink, another must-see because this is another location where they filmed many scenes in "Stairway to Heaven"...muahahaha...Of course, apart from checking the drama scenes and going on the monorail like how the Kwon Sang woo did...ahha...I also went out to the outdoor theme park and got on a few rides...the only best ride in the theme park was the Atlantis roller coaster!!

And then last weekend, I took a 3-hour bus ride and headed east to Seoraksan National Park (Mt Sorak). It is the place where one can see the most beautiful autumn colors in Korea. I must say I've probably arrived 2 weeks late...but there were still pretty colors up in the trees!!

The good side about having all the leaves down on the floor is that when you trek through the national park, you constantly have to look down because you need to find your footing and navigate your way through the pathyway...and it was just awesome that the entire pathway was carpeted with the autumn colors!! :) Love it!!

On our second day, we took the Ulsanbawi rock course. It was a total of 4-hours worth of trekking. The most difficult part was the last part - a 30-min climb up the rocks through 880+ steep steel stairs. It was especially difficult because we had been trekking through the rain, and the journey up the stairs became very challenging when you're going uphill while the water is running down the steps...and the railing were ICY cold!! After every 10 steps, I had to warm my hands...haha... When we got to the peak, we didnt see anything because it was all covered with fog...lol...because of this, it makes me wanna go back again!!! The other good thing about fog is...while trekking, you'll suddenly get a peek to a new mountain range when it clears!!:)


If I ever come back to Korea in the future, I'll definitely come during autumn, and I'll definitely go to Seoraksan again!! Simply awesome!!!

Offer

This morning as I walked into the 'au bon pain' bakery to get my favorite chocolate croissant for breakfast, I heard a pleasing instrumental melody....and I started humming to it...coz it's such a wonderful song!:)

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All that I am, all that I have
I lay them down before you, oh Lord
All my regrets, and all of my acclaims
The joy and the pain, I'm making them yours

Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord, I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life.

Things in the past, things yet unseen
Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my heart, all of my praise
My heart and my hands are lifted to you.

- "I offer my life" by Don Moen