So I'm on my 5th Kdrama series and I've noticed that all of the dramas have some interesting similarities. I'm not talking about the girl-meets-bad-boy-falls-in-love-triangle!-girl-and-boy-get-together storyline -- most dramas in all countries follow this model. I'm talking about things that seem to be particular only to Koreans. For example:
Diarrhea, farting or the urge to take a crap at a very inconvenient time: In every drama there has been at least one scene that involves having to go to the bathroom or passing gas. Most of the time, these scenes involve the two main leads. Romantic... and usually HILARIOUS.
Piggyback rides: Most of the time, heavy drinking and passing out precedes the carrying of another person (the rider typically being the heavier of the two). Sometimes piggyback rides are given after one of the characters falls down and/or passes out during a fight. I can only presume that Korean women are not only very pretty, skinny and pale, but also take steroids.
DOO DOO Fashion: Strange colors/fabrics/patterns worn by men ONLY. 'Nuff said.
Going or returning from a trip to America/Europe/A White Country: This seems to be a rite of passage for young rich Koreans who have really cool creative jobs (patissier, music supervisor, toy designer, artist, etc.) and a good way to a. Begin a drama or b. End a drama. I guess moving to Jeonju just doesn't create the same amount of dramatic tension.
Someone small (typically a girl) being able to eat a large amount of food: This is used, of course, to show viewers that the girl is not the refined specimen that most males (except for the lead) fall in love with. And because she is small and can eat a lot, the guys want to feed her. A couple of meals later... love!
Shoes as gifts: Thanks to kdramas, I now know that giving shoes to your lover will drive them away. But I still can't figure out why every drama involves the gift shoes. Do Koreans like being abandoned by their lovers? Or maybe they're just a bunch of love risk takers? Shoes ruin love!
Alright, back to my "research"...
3/24/2009
3/16/2009
just another day in LA?
I went to the premiere of Fast&Fur1ous last week with Minsoo, who makes a *very* brief appearance (read: his photo is in one of the shots for 1.5 seconds). We also know the director who's done a bunch of indie Asian Am films.
The premiere was at the G1bs0n Amphitheater, which is attached to Un1versa1 C1ty Walk. To get to the theater, you have to walk through city walk. And to walk through city walk, you have to walk on the red carpet. Yes, *THE* red carpet.
I envisioned that the red carpet would be a little 10-footer at the entrance that was just for the VIPs to stand and be photographed. I got a little bit dressed up (read: I wore hip jeans, that top from f0rever21 and heels) just in case I stepped into the background of a photo on my way in.
So I was stunned when the red carpet turned out to be HUGE. It stretched practically from where we exited the parking garage through the main part of city walk. And lined up next to the red carpet were not just photogs snapping the stars -- a hundred people (or so it felt) were lined up against the barriers, waiting for the stars to arrive. There we were, nobodies, walking the red carpet... All eyes on us... For no good reason other than we were going to watch a movie. I felt so uncomfortable and very self conscious.
There was an elderly couple in front of us walking like turtles so it must have taken us 10 minutes to finally get to the end of the carpet. I wanted to cut in front of them, but I also felt the need to walk slowly and gracefully just to show the gawkers that red carpets are no big deal for a big deal like me (ha!). I also didn't want to stare at them staring at me.
Later on that evening, I'd learn that I was sitting two seats away from a famous female supermodel who'd previously dated Ange1inaj01ie. I'd also see Ba1L1ng and that Asian dude from 21jumpstreet. Oh yeah, and I'd also be hanging out with the director in the VIP section.
So maybe I'm a big deal after all. Yeah, right. I guess *this* is what it's like to live in LA. Surreal.
The premiere was at the G1bs0n Amphitheater, which is attached to Un1versa1 C1ty Walk. To get to the theater, you have to walk through city walk. And to walk through city walk, you have to walk on the red carpet. Yes, *THE* red carpet.
I envisioned that the red carpet would be a little 10-footer at the entrance that was just for the VIPs to stand and be photographed. I got a little bit dressed up (read: I wore hip jeans, that top from f0rever21 and heels) just in case I stepped into the background of a photo on my way in.
So I was stunned when the red carpet turned out to be HUGE. It stretched practically from where we exited the parking garage through the main part of city walk. And lined up next to the red carpet were not just photogs snapping the stars -- a hundred people (or so it felt) were lined up against the barriers, waiting for the stars to arrive. There we were, nobodies, walking the red carpet... All eyes on us... For no good reason other than we were going to watch a movie. I felt so uncomfortable and very self conscious.
There was an elderly couple in front of us walking like turtles so it must have taken us 10 minutes to finally get to the end of the carpet. I wanted to cut in front of them, but I also felt the need to walk slowly and gracefully just to show the gawkers that red carpets are no big deal for a big deal like me (ha!). I also didn't want to stare at them staring at me.
Later on that evening, I'd learn that I was sitting two seats away from a famous female supermodel who'd previously dated Ange1inaj01ie. I'd also see Ba1L1ng and that Asian dude from 21jumpstreet. Oh yeah, and I'd also be hanging out with the director in the VIP section.
So maybe I'm a big deal after all. Yeah, right. I guess *this* is what it's like to live in LA. Surreal.
3/15/2009
where to get skanky sweaters
Lately I've been going to a lot of special events where everyone is beautiful and dresses hip. So last week I headed over to my local f0rever2I to pick up some hipster fashion.
[In case you're not familiar, f0rever2I is chock-full of cheap clothes, mostly geared toward the club-going college/high-school crowd. Since it's so cheap, it doesn't matter that half of the clothes disintegrate after one wearing.(They also stock some "doo doo fashion".)]
I had forgotten how skanky the fashions can be at F0rever2I. I picked up a cute looking shirt and then realized it was a dress -- and it was size "large". They sold "jackets" that didn't have sleeves and only covered a portion of what should be covered by an item of clothing. Everything was shiny and sparkly and tight. Even the cardigan sweaters were skanked up. I know, how do you make a sweater look slutty? Ask the people at this store.
I also saw a bunch of mothers and daughters shopping together at this store. A woman who looked at least in her 40s was shopping with her teenaged/colleged aged daughter and they were both buying the same slutty sweaters and mini dresses. I guess that's LA for you.
After a quick scan of the mostly slutty merchandise I bought the least-skanky shirt I could find and got the heck out of there.
[In case you're not familiar, f0rever2I is chock-full of cheap clothes, mostly geared toward the club-going college/high-school crowd. Since it's so cheap, it doesn't matter that half of the clothes disintegrate after one wearing.(They also stock some "doo doo fashion".)]
I had forgotten how skanky the fashions can be at F0rever2I. I picked up a cute looking shirt and then realized it was a dress -- and it was size "large". They sold "jackets" that didn't have sleeves and only covered a portion of what should be covered by an item of clothing. Everything was shiny and sparkly and tight. Even the cardigan sweaters were skanked up. I know, how do you make a sweater look slutty? Ask the people at this store.
I also saw a bunch of mothers and daughters shopping together at this store. A woman who looked at least in her 40s was shopping with her teenaged/colleged aged daughter and they were both buying the same slutty sweaters and mini dresses. I guess that's LA for you.
After a quick scan of the mostly slutty merchandise I bought the least-skanky shirt I could find and got the heck out of there.
2/18/2009
a personal best
Some interesting statistics from today (because I am allegedly a researcher):
Days since crying at work: 0. *sigh* And I was doing so well...
Records broken today:
1. First time crying in the bathroom at work.
2. Most cough drops eaten during a meeting to prevent me from crying at the meeting (5 in 1 hour)
3. First time leaving a meeting in progress so I could cry in the bathroom.
4. First time crying at my desk while telling my coworker why I was crying in the bathroom.
I went to starbucks to get myself a donut to reward myself for another humiliating day at work.
And it's only 3pm -- the day's not over.
Days since crying at work: 0. *sigh* And I was doing so well...
Records broken today:
1. First time crying in the bathroom at work.
2. Most cough drops eaten during a meeting to prevent me from crying at the meeting (5 in 1 hour)
3. First time leaving a meeting in progress so I could cry in the bathroom.
4. First time crying at my desk while telling my coworker why I was crying in the bathroom.
I went to starbucks to get myself a donut to reward myself for another humiliating day at work.
And it's only 3pm -- the day's not over.
2/16/2009
warning: whiny post about my job
It's during work holidays when I reflect on my work situation. And what I've concluded is that I pretty much hate my job, and have hated it for quite a while.
Okay, so it's not that straight-forward. I like the mission/goals/politics of my job and I could talk for days about the work that our organization does, but the day-to-day pretty much sucks. This is because of several reasons:
1. Our current policy campaign topic isn't something that I have any expertise/interest in, yet I'm supposed to be the main researcher/expert on the topic. Yes, green retrofitting/manufacturing and workforce development is not my first love - shocking. To have to work on this policy issue for almost 4 years (and on a non-profit salary) makes me want to physically harm myself.
2. I'm a 1-woman department. Since my boss got promoted and our new exec director instituted a hiring freeze, I've got no one to help me managed my own research plus 6+ other project I'm managing. Talk about a morale problem.
3. My new executive director doesn't know what I do. This is problematic because she's supposed to be raising money for our organization and if she doesn't know what our department does, I don't see how she's going to be raising any money for us. This brings us back to reason #2.
4. Some of my co-workers are alpha females (is that even a real term?). I know, I know, I can also be highly type A, demanding and a perfectionist. But I'm considered "passive" at work. My old coworker used to refer to my current coworkers as "the bitches". (note: I like a lot of my coworkers as human beings, I just hate them as coworkers) This makes it very stressful during work meetings when I'm being grilled about a policy campaign I have no interest in.
5. I could go on. But I won't.
So it really sucks because there are no jobs out there. I should be just glad I'm employed, right? This is the longest I've ever been at a job, so it's probably just job restlessness, right? I'm generally a hard worker and since the economy is not doing well, I'm forcing myself to work my ass off at a job I totally hate. I've come to the point where I don't cry over my job anymore -- I'm just sort of numb.
Sorry for unloading all of this. Just had to get it out. I need to find some inspiration -- fast.
Okay, so it's not that straight-forward. I like the mission/goals/politics of my job and I could talk for days about the work that our organization does, but the day-to-day pretty much sucks. This is because of several reasons:
1. Our current policy campaign topic isn't something that I have any expertise/interest in, yet I'm supposed to be the main researcher/expert on the topic. Yes, green retrofitting/manufacturing and workforce development is not my first love - shocking. To have to work on this policy issue for almost 4 years (and on a non-profit salary) makes me want to physically harm myself.
2. I'm a 1-woman department. Since my boss got promoted and our new exec director instituted a hiring freeze, I've got no one to help me managed my own research plus 6+ other project I'm managing. Talk about a morale problem.
3. My new executive director doesn't know what I do. This is problematic because she's supposed to be raising money for our organization and if she doesn't know what our department does, I don't see how she's going to be raising any money for us. This brings us back to reason #2.
4. Some of my co-workers are alpha females (is that even a real term?). I know, I know, I can also be highly type A, demanding and a perfectionist. But I'm considered "passive" at work. My old coworker used to refer to my current coworkers as "the bitches". (note: I like a lot of my coworkers as human beings, I just hate them as coworkers) This makes it very stressful during work meetings when I'm being grilled about a policy campaign I have no interest in.
5. I could go on. But I won't.
So it really sucks because there are no jobs out there. I should be just glad I'm employed, right? This is the longest I've ever been at a job, so it's probably just job restlessness, right? I'm generally a hard worker and since the economy is not doing well, I'm forcing myself to work my ass off at a job I totally hate. I've come to the point where I don't cry over my job anymore -- I'm just sort of numb.
Sorry for unloading all of this. Just had to get it out. I need to find some inspiration -- fast.
1/25/2009
abc
I remember when I was a kid, my "friends" at church used to insult me by calling me an "ABC" -- American-Born Chinese -- as if me and my kind were the most disgusting type of Chinese person. Growing up, My parents hadn't forced me to go to Chinese school and because we lived in a predominantly white area, didn't feel the need to make us learn "Public" Cantonese. Instead, my Cantonese consists of key "private" phrases meant to be shared among our family when we're out in whitey-town. Some examples: "Stomach hurts, need to go to the bathroom" or "Expensive/cheap" or "Time to eat" or "Hurry let's go"... you get the picture.
So despite the fact that my parents are both fluent and my dad reads/writes Chinese, my sister and I were left out in the cold. However, I always wanted to learn so I used to try to learn by listening to my parents talk to our extended family at gatherings, their Chinese friends on the phone and at church (it was bilingual). I imagined it being own ghetto Chinese school -- one that produced minimal results. I've always considered this HUGE oversight one of the main mistakes my parents made in raising us... this and not properly teaching me how to ride a bike (that's for another blog post).
Anyway, last night Minsoo & I went to a friend's house to have hot pot and celebrate the new year. I was surprised when almost everyone at the table (except for Minsoo) was of the Southern Chinese persuasion. Cantonese phrases were being bandied about, familiar foods were introduced in Cantonese and weird Chinese Americans names were discussed and compared (Did you know there's more than one guy named Waymond!?). It was so nice to be in the company of "my people" -- something I hadn't done in what feels like years (minus family gatherings).
For the first time in awhile, I remembered that I'm an ABC (in the very worst sense of the word) and there are a lot of people out there like me. I kind of wish I could go back to those punk-ass kids at church (one of them being the aforementioned Waymond) and tell them to suck it. Or maybe it should go something like this: "Gung Hay Fat Choy, bitches, I'm Chinese just like you." Just kidding (kind of).
Happy year of the Ox people. I'm going to go munch on some yummy neen gow.
So despite the fact that my parents are both fluent and my dad reads/writes Chinese, my sister and I were left out in the cold. However, I always wanted to learn so I used to try to learn by listening to my parents talk to our extended family at gatherings, their Chinese friends on the phone and at church (it was bilingual). I imagined it being own ghetto Chinese school -- one that produced minimal results. I've always considered this HUGE oversight one of the main mistakes my parents made in raising us... this and not properly teaching me how to ride a bike (that's for another blog post).
Anyway, last night Minsoo & I went to a friend's house to have hot pot and celebrate the new year. I was surprised when almost everyone at the table (except for Minsoo) was of the Southern Chinese persuasion. Cantonese phrases were being bandied about, familiar foods were introduced in Cantonese and weird Chinese Americans names were discussed and compared (Did you know there's more than one guy named Waymond!?). It was so nice to be in the company of "my people" -- something I hadn't done in what feels like years (minus family gatherings).
For the first time in awhile, I remembered that I'm an ABC (in the very worst sense of the word) and there are a lot of people out there like me. I kind of wish I could go back to those punk-ass kids at church (one of them being the aforementioned Waymond) and tell them to suck it. Or maybe it should go something like this: "Gung Hay Fat Choy, bitches, I'm Chinese just like you." Just kidding (kind of).
Happy year of the Ox people. I'm going to go munch on some yummy neen gow.
1/20/2009
Obama is left handed
He is signing documents with his left hand. Go lefties!
I should probably stop blogging and get ready for work.
I should probably stop blogging and get ready for work.
sexy shoes
I just now noticed that Michelle's shoes are awesome. Green!
Biden's wife is also rocking the sexy knee boots. Rawr!
Biden's wife is also rocking the sexy knee boots. Rawr!
hard act to follow
It must be an honor for Elizabeth Alexander to write a poem for this occassion, but man, how do you write a poem that follows the President's speech?
new pres
Apparently Obama becomes president automatically at noon. It's noon. YEAH!
Yo Yo Ma is a badass.
Yo Yo Ma is a badass.
ms aretha
Sweet hat. You go Diva!
There are so many people there. Hannah says she's behind the first jumbotron on the left. Crazy!
There are so many people there. Hannah says she's behind the first jumbotron on the left. Crazy!
obamania
I changed into my Obama tshirt and have been trying to take a pic of myself in front of the tv with Obama on the screen. It's hard.
i see him!
He's here! Obama's here! i know it's weird that feel so excited, but i can't help it.
Am I going to cry? Hell to the yes. I think I'm going to go hold that Obama sign I got from the DNC.
Am I going to cry? Hell to the yes. I think I'm going to go hold that Obama sign I got from the DNC.
cnn
I'm watching cnn and it's pretty rad because it tells you the schedule. I like organization, even when I'm watching tv.
Ooh, just got a look at Obama's brother-in-law (Chinese) sitting behind Michelle. RAD!
Cheney in a wheelchair. I don't believe in Karma, necessarily, but if I did, I'd say it's a bitch.
By the way, I saw Elaine Chao walk in and I wanted to throw something at the tv. She's the former Sec of labor and helped to undermine a lot of policies protecting workers. She's on my list alongside Michelle Malkin. BOO.
Ooh, just got a look at Obama's brother-in-law (Chinese) sitting behind Michelle. RAD!
Cheney in a wheelchair. I don't believe in Karma, necessarily, but if I did, I'd say it's a bitch.
By the way, I saw Elaine Chao walk in and I wanted to throw something at the tv. She's the former Sec of labor and helped to undermine a lot of policies protecting workers. She's on my list alongside Michelle Malkin. BOO.
obama's fam
They keep showing the Obama girls. Behind them is an Asian lady -- she's Obama's sister and she's Asian. That is exciting. Her husband (Chinese Canadian) is a fan of aam, too!
Also, Michelle Obama looks amazing. I want to be like Michelle when I grow up. I actually think she's a little bit more amazing than her husband.
Also, Michelle Obama looks amazing. I want to be like Michelle when I grow up. I actually think she's a little bit more amazing than her husband.
live blogging the inauguration
I'm going to start live blogging because I'm sitting here on my couch, by myself and have no one to talk to about this. Minsoo went to work early to get work done (while watching it on the flat screen tvs stationed around his office) so it's just me.
1/11/2009
doo doo fashion
My father-in-law was in LA this weekend to play golf with his friends. He came home last night bearing gifts for all of us from his friend who works in the garment industry. I was in the bathroom while he was showing off the gifts when I heard Sarah and Minsoo roaring with laughter. Minsoo was shouting through the door, "Oh you gotta see what they got you!"
When I came out of the bathroom, on the floor, layout in all its glory, was a creme-colored rabbit fur coat with matching leather belt. Minsoo and Sarah were cracking up. I was horrified. Fur!? Where the heck am I going to wear fur? I could already envision the fury of the PETA folks (cue the red paint).
I had to take the coat because it was a gift (and Minsoo's dad said it costs like $200-300) and it was so small that I'm the only one in the family that can fit it.
Also, I have to admit -- it looks pretty freaking awesome on me, in a FOB-chic sort of way. Despite my horror at wearing fur, get me a pair of oversized dark glasses and call me an Asian pop star.
So I've decided that I will keep that jacket for when I leave the country in the winter or when I become a famous Asian pop star, which ever one comes first.
Our family has a nickname for FOB-tastic fashion, named after a clothing store in Ktown that my father-in-law saw circa 1988: "Doo Doo Fashion" (Fashion pronounced "passion"). The coat is the epitome of Doo Doo Fashion.
When I came out of the bathroom, on the floor, layout in all its glory, was a creme-colored rabbit fur coat with matching leather belt. Minsoo and Sarah were cracking up. I was horrified. Fur!? Where the heck am I going to wear fur? I could already envision the fury of the PETA folks (cue the red paint).
I had to take the coat because it was a gift (and Minsoo's dad said it costs like $200-300) and it was so small that I'm the only one in the family that can fit it.
Also, I have to admit -- it looks pretty freaking awesome on me, in a FOB-chic sort of way. Despite my horror at wearing fur, get me a pair of oversized dark glasses and call me an Asian pop star.
So I've decided that I will keep that jacket for when I leave the country in the winter or when I become a famous Asian pop star, which ever one comes first.
Our family has a nickname for FOB-tastic fashion, named after a clothing store in Ktown that my father-in-law saw circa 1988: "Doo Doo Fashion" (Fashion pronounced "passion"). The coat is the epitome of Doo Doo Fashion.
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