koreankatie

i'm moving....

2007-06-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

Well, not to Tokyo (at least not YET! *wink, wink, wink)

It's the middle of 2007 already. And after a sleepless night, I've decided to move... my blog!

tour guide on duty

2007-05-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, I finally had a chance to meet another blogging friend, Mina for the first time in real life.

Since Mina was only here for a couple of hours (she had a stopover going back to Seattle), we had to cram as much of Seoul as we had to. The weather was horrible. The skies were gray, threatening to rain all day. But luckily, during the few hours she was here, it stopped raining.

As usual, I made my "tourists" walk. LOL! From City Hall, to Cheonggye Stream to Gyeongbok Palace to Insa-dong to Myeongdong! Whew! Too bad there were no real RAIN sightings, if you know what I mean!

(I never get tired of GyeongbokPalace... and I miss it now that we moved!)

(And you all know where my next destination is, right?)

It was really fun meeting Mina, who is now back home. It's great to meet blogging friends for real!

she read my mind

2007-05-21T00:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she could have read me so easily. It's creepy at first, but then again it's good that she can see through me. Finally, someone who understands what I'm thinking.

She is a sort of life coach, but she doesn't actually want to be called that. She's a very interesting woman to say the least.

I could go on and on about what she told me, but I'm saving that for the real article.

It's really amazing just after I met her, I felt so rejuvenated. Like my head was clearer and I felt more positive about everything. Only a few hours before, I was down in the dumps, sulking like a kid who didn't get any candy.

She told me stories about coincidences and odd things happening to her... Something I could totally relate to. But she says it's not LUCK. I told her about my seeming "lucky" streak. But she says it's not LUCK, "you created your own reality."

She told me a lot of stuff and I'm still processing all the info.

But I'm still amazed at how she read my mind.

That's just cool.

"I got it."

what???????

2007-05-20T03:20:00.000-07:00

I was just supposed to interview this designer. Who knew a Tv crew was there to do a 'sketch' of her?

So I was just sitting there, sipping my tea and wondering if a 1.4 million won black silk shift dress is a 'good deal' (my brain is getting warped covering all these 'luxury' stuff)... when the PR girl asked me if the Tv crew can film my interview.

I was like, what??????

But I didn't want to be all prissy, even though I mentally cursed myself for not putting on enough makeup! Hahaha! Yun pala ang concern.

So I thought that was the end of THAT.

Then, the TV guy comes over and asks me again if I could say a few comments about the designer.

I was like, what??????

The PR girl kept assuring me it's just a teeny tiny comment about the designer's gowns and stuff.

So, typically me... I said, sure.

It's a good thing it's only on a little known cable channel. Hopefully my portion gets edited out.

And believe me... I'm not just saying this as a twisted way to get compliments, or false modesty and crap like that, but I honestly don't like seeing myself on TV period. I'm weird in that way.

Godknowswhy I keep getting into these kinds of situations.

a seoul sunset

2007-05-20T02:58:00.000-07:00

I was busy backing up my files the other day (my Macbook is in the shop... boohoo SteveJobs!), and I came across some pics I took during the wine cruise.

A lovely sunset in Seoul. Not something you see everyday.

Now, if every day looked like this, I wouldn't complain so much!

crazy me

2007-05-17T02:48:00.000-07:00

I am utterly mortified to read some of my first entries on this blog. Especially on WHY I wanted to come here in the first place… CRINGE to the NTH degree. It's enough to make me hit the delete button!

It's funny though, that most of what I wrote I wanted to do... I already accomplished. (I can't believe I wrote: I would die if I saw S.hinhwa in concert... Well, I've seen them in concert 3x and once extremely upclose and I'm still alive.)

Just so you know how I'm so totally over K.pop now, I have a hard time thinking of a favorite now… only EpikHigh and S.e7en come to mind.

Well... time just zipped by and I just realized familiarity really does breed contempt.

BUT I don't regret coming here at all. If anything, I'm immensely grateful to found the ultimate Asianpopaddict's dream job. I always dreamt about it. I always thought about how cool it would be to work as a journalist covering pop culture here. But who knew it could actually happen right?

Two years and counting... I've gone from being K-crazy to J-crazy.

This really just proves I'm crazy period.

positivity check

2007-05-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

I needed a good dose of positivity in my life. So I was watching Oprah last night and she's the queen of positivity. And it's kinda infectious.

Even as I have a lot of angst about my life here, I realized I have so much to be grateful for. I can't count the times when I've blogged about being thankful for the things I have, but I think it's a good thing to step back for a while and just think about all the wonderful blessings in your life.

I have a family who I love to bits, and who love me back (even though I'm far away!).

I have a job. Okay, so I have a job I like, if not love. When I was a kid, I dreamed about having a job like this. So who knew it would happen?

I have lovely friends who cheer me up, give me a reality check, make me laugh, help me sort out my problems, cut me some slack and endure my quirks.

And oh, I have certain obsessions that keep me sane.

If I think hard enough, It's not really the money that makes people happy. Of course, money gives you a chance to buy what you want. Like I get to buy all the Jpopstuff I want, but the buzz is only temporary.

I think finding something to be grateful for every day helps calm me down. I end up releasing the negative energy I have stored up, and replacing it with positive energy.

Let's hope this positivity lasts.

a letter from Tokyo

2007-05-14T01:13:00.000-07:00

Someone handed me a letter envelope, you know the kind with red and blue stripes at the side?

I wondered who would send me a letter in such an old-fashioned envelope? And postmarked Miyama to boot! (wishful thinking it was one of the Jboys!)

So who was the letter from?

FSionilJose.

He actually wrote me a letter thanking me for the story I wrote. He was still in Tokyo and he used a typewriter to write me a letter.

I nearly fainted.

What a nice old man.

I can't get over it. Honto!

POP or ROCK?

2007-05-13T01:53:00.000-07:00

My friend an I were literally skipping with glee when we found out MUSE is coming back to Korea for the PentaportRockFestival.

Not just MUSE, but DAMIENRICE, CHEMICALBROTHERS and ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. Okay, I'm getting all hyper already... DamienRice? Omg... I love his voice! AsianKung-fu Generation? Accckkkkk...

I promised myself this year, I would not miss out on Pentaport, like I did last year.

Then my friend mentioned that it was too bad the FujiRock was at the same time as Pentaport.

Of course, if we had a chance... FujiRock anytime!

FujiRock's lineup is already confirmed... and its so OMFGood! Aside from the top groups who will be in Pentaport, FujiRock also has JOSS STONE, KAISER CHIEFS, LILY ALLEN, THE CURE, ATARIS, MIKA and of course, a whole bunch of Japanese rock bands...

But guess what?

Pentaport and Fuji Rock are both being held on July 27-29.

Fine, right?

The problem is...

The ARASHI natsucon starts on July 29, 30 and 31.

ARGH.

So, will it be ROCK or POP?

Let's wait and see...

walk on

2007-05-13T01:50:00.000-07:00

I walk too much.

I really should tell people that I love to walk, before I offer to be a tour guide.

Something like: Warning: this unofficial tour guide loves to walk until your heels hurt like hell.

I think I walk too much partly because I'm too cheap. But it's mostly because walking is a good, and again, a cheap form of exercise. (See... despite my penchant for shopping, I'm actually quite cheap).

I remember when Reena came over nearly a year and a half ago, I made her walk from the bus stop and five blocks with her luggage to go home. Then the next day, I made her walk again... her description of how far I made her walk? Ortigas to Makati. Needless to say, she spent the rest of the trip asking if I was gonna make her walk again.

I also made my parents walk a lot in the downtown area, even when temperatures were hovering just above zero.

On Saturday, I met up with Mina. She who was only in Seoul for a couple of hours, on a stopover back to the US. Too bad the weather was gloomy and cold, but thankfully there was no rain when we walked around. We did see a lot of RAIN, if you know what I mean. *wink wink

And yes, I made her walk all around the downtown area. I hope she didn't get too tired! (See ya in Seattle, soon I hope!)

It's really fun to have actually meet peope from the blogging world. It seems like they're old friends because you get a glimpse into their world through blogs. I've met a lot of goodfriends through blogs. The world is getting smaller and smaller, and that's really good.