How to show a fob around in San Francisco

SF in a nutshell.

Step 1: this is the tough one. find the time and money to fly (or drive) to SF. In my case, my office flew me there for work. fortunately, my hometown is located in the vicinity of SF so my family got to see me in action. SWEET!. The bf got his plane tickets paid for through a special travel abroad program offered through his work. some office obviously have better perks and benefits. 

Step 2: After you get work out of the way, feast on in-n-out burger. it is a staple fast food must-eat on the west coast. it's delicious. ask to have your buns extra toasted, fries extra crispy, animal style fries and burgers. a milkshake too - esp if you know you wont be eating there again for a very long time. Also, after that go to the nearest jack in the box and over-order tacos (2 for 99 cents!) i think 10 is the right amount. they keep well. seriously, they do! i flew two to my sister in nyc and she ate it.

Step 3: Now you can get started on your day to tour SF. first of all, it always helps to meet up with a friend that lives in SF and knows her way around. Thanks WANDI!

Step 4: if you dont feel like running around like a chicken with its everything cut off, take a double decker tour bus around SF! it's totally worth it... esp if you bargain for child admission fees. yup thats the full house house

Step 5: Get off at the SF bridge stop and take a cliche jumping picture. be sure to have your mouth hanging wide open. 

Step 6: get back on the bus and take pictures of everything. here is a couple making out. photo credits go to my fob bf. NOTE: he took pictures of everything. I do not know how many times i caught him taking pictures of trash cans. 

Step 7: Teach your your bf how to drink beer like a real american RAAHHH

Step 8: Let the fob loose at the club. in my case, let him snap a bunch of pictures of people with his SLR... lucky for him people perceived him as a club photographer, not a curious tourist. get your freak on. 

Step 9: Meet up with your cousins (yes the white people are my cousins, and yes we are blood related.) and have a sloppy time. Also hang out with your bff who drove up all the way from LA to swap spit/hang out for just a few hours.. 

[Edit] Picture credit to Kenny, thanks for the masterpiece! 

Step10: (sorry no picture) on your ride back home in the middle of the highway, ask the DD to pull over so you can yack your brains out. 

My personal story: So it all starts at Pakwan, an awesome Indian/Pakistani restaurant in the mission district of SF,  why it's awesome (besides the food)...no cork-age fee! My cousins brought over bottles of wine, champagne and beer. After a while we were getting pretty rowdy and  crawled over to a few bars. We end up having a really hilarious time, we really are a funny and sometimes cooky bunch. We proceed on our separate ways.  [Shout out to the cousins! Kristin/Jake i'm going to scheme somehow and make it back for your wedding! i'm working on my master plan *cue dramatic music*]

During the car ride home i start to feel a little less than 100% so i fall asleep. I wake up and begging my sister to pull over, at this point we are on the middle of a dark highway, and right after pulling over - instead of getting out of the car, I unbuckle and crouch outside of the window. I'm yacking up a mountain and painting puke streaks on the side of the car. Meanwhile on the other end, my sister and bf are politely sitting in the car enduring the sounds of my heaving and all of the farts in between. my heaving and farts are nearly in sync. 

Note: I had been farting all night and they were not the strawberry and roses type. 

After i finish i wipe my mouth with my sleeve and looked up and mentally put aside everything that had just happened and said "look at the stars. HEY GUYS LOOK AT THE STARS!" (it had been a while since i last looked up to a black sky full of bright stars.. figures.. korea) I get back in the car and my sister turns to me and says "you know you were farting... A LOT" 

My bf is unphased. 

We drive home into a purple sunrise.

The end.

Ktown LA: The Korean Jersey Shore

Oh goodness...

i'm pretty sure after each episode viewers will feel drunk off of soju and full off anju that tastes like embarrassment. Now i wonder if they will air this debauchery on Korean MTV. 

1.     Why did they have to copy jersey shore down to the little snooki, “situasian” and overly beefy Asians? Is this what ktown people are really like? I think not. I'm pretty sure that all asians know that these folks are not a representation of the typical asian bunch. How will the rest of the nation around non-asian populated regions react? Oh god, I don’t even want to know.

2.     I went out to a bar and club in ktown in nyc just a few days ago and it made me realize how different Korean-americans are. How did we evolve in such a way?

3.     Lets forget that I ever applied for the show.

4.     Please don’t embarrass not only Koreans, but Asians. Possibly too late for that. 

oh god.  http://twitter.com/KTownRealityTV


All i have to say is thank you to Jeremy Lin for putting a good face to the Asian race.

Fun fact: Jeremy Lin, James Franco and I attended the same high school. just to add a stalkerish twist, i know where james' home is. two blocks away from mine *creepy*

Cartoons

After making a reference to Anamaniacs and Aladdin

"why do you always talk about cartoons?"

hrm, didnt realize how often i did that. lets just say i had a very imaginative childhood that i filled with imaginary friends and a functioning TV since i lacked the proper social skills to have real friends. haha

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

I’m self diagnosing myself and I think I might have a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

After my self-diagnosis, I have concluded that I have a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. Last night I was trying to get some work done and stayed a little late but then CTS kicked in and every time I would hover my hand over my mouse I got a sharp pain shooting between my thumb and pointer finger and then my arm would zone in and out of this numb feeling, kind of like an out of body experience. It was almost as bad as when you sleep on your arm and it becomes completely numb and you throw it around lifelessly until it gets feeling again. Come to think of it, that’s pretty scary and strange. Imagine one day waking up with both of your arms numb. Or your whole body. I wonder what it’s like to become paralyzed... did Christopher Reeves pee on himself a lot? Could he procreate? And if so, did he feel anything? Anyway, that’s really messed up, irrelevant, and perverted. I shouldn’t be talking about the deceased legends in that way anyway.  

Now it is only a matter of time before the CTS becomes severe and I will be unable to work. Ever again. I’ll have to become like the toe lady and type/use the mouse with my toes. (another messed up tangent) so I’ll seek help and hopefully get back to normal.

Until next time do your stretches! 

Day 1: Back from my glorious vacation

Hello!

It feels like it’s been a while. I read through some of my entries and thought, WOW did I really write that?! Not because I thought it was good/funny/awesome but because I have all of these grammar and spelling errors everywhere, oh and bc I pretty much purely write about things that 13 year old boys like to talk about. But that’s just me. It’ll be a few days before I can nuzzle back into mental poo mode.

Not too long ago I went though a severe 48 hour depression after returning back from hong kong, and since then have feared how I would feel today. Today being, the day after spending over two glorious weeks in the US. It has only been around 10 hours since I landed so I may be speaking too soon, but I think I’m OKAY. No depression here yet.

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So I wrote the above at roughly 10 am, now it is 6 pm. Not depressed yet. This is SUPER! I am tired but not tired enough to sleep… just tired from landing at 3:15 am – and then going straight to work after dropping off my shit at my apt. I’m sitting in the cube watching a sea of beautiful clouds quickly float away. I wonder where they are going, I’d like to go too.

How do you think clouds sound like when they talk? I think they have really deep voices. Why do I personify everything? I do not know.

There is so much to do but I’m no longer in work mode. Rather, im in the mood to sit at home and eat an entire loaf of green olive bread that I acquired from NYC thanks to my unni.

I have so many updates lined up in my head. I must organize.  

Vacation

It's been a rough week. My "vacation" officially starts in one minute though i'll be stressing about work the whole time and i'll probably be constantly doing shit and following up etc.

anyway, i'll be back on july 26th. 

ps i just killed a spider with my bare hands. 

SETTLERS OF CATAN & SAN FRANCISCO

HEYYY!!

i discovered the game SETTLERS OF CATAN!!! ohhhh myyyy goodness. i think i've played that game for 9 hours combined since ive been back.

seriously, go out and buy it. then play it forever. 

Beautiful SF - where i'll be for the week. 

Shout out #1 to my "admirer" that i met on sunday!! let's hurry up and make that creepy itinerary. 

shout out to all of my relatives who i played with today, esp loda, who i hung out with between work and who just left my hotel room. it's so nice to be with/joke with cousins who understand... me and my ways. 

Norcal is the same but its cool. 

cannot wait for THURSDAY NIGHT. THAT IS WHEN MY VACATION OFFICIALLY BEGINSSSSSSS. AND THEN FRIDAY FOR MY BFF AND BF. IT'S LIKE CHRISTMAS!! AND THEN FOR NYC WITH MY SISTER. scream? SCREAM!!!!!!!

i miss la, i want to visit you soon. 

Sorry i do not have consistent internet access. it'll be hard to update while im traveling.

Airport blues

Chilling at the Incheon Airport. Ready to be back in the states.

Things to note:
1. i am lugging 3 laptops and two carry on bags on top of that. i'm confined to this seat because it's too heavy to move everything and im at one of the few outlets in the area.

2. I have three checked pieces. one is my own 38kg bag, one 40 kg bag and another 6kg bag. i paid the extra 100,000 to get it all checked.

3. i checked in at the terminal at coex so they took care of my bags and got my ticket. it makes life so much easier. i only wish we could check in laptops so i could spare my shoulders.

4. Instead of eating lunch, i figured that skipping lunch would be productive, now i am starving (it's 5:40 pm)

5. my flight has been delayed from 4:20 to 6:20 ugh

6. once i land, i do not know how the hell im going to lug all of my shit with me.

7. The first thing my sister and i will do after she picks me up is go straight to jj&f for the best sandwich in the world, gyro gyro and then eat a monster taco at jack in the box. Then go home and feast on avocados and peaches. mmm luscious peaches. ripe avocado sandwiches. Then go on a hike. woot.

8. i'm going to the states for work and then play. i am so excited for the play part.

9. time to board the time machine! i'll talk to you in a minute.

Elbon in Shinsa - a good date place in seoul

 I went to Elbon last night which is a cool restaurant in Shina. It's two parts a style showroom of high-end brands, one part restaurant called "The Table" and one part garden on the top floor. I didnt make it out to the garden and im not exactly sure why they have that there.. but next time i'll check it out.

i imagine that it looks like a fairy wonder-world. i walk inside and immediately lay down. I make angels in the grass and sprawl on a bed of lilies while blue birds braid my hair. I'll coax one waiter to blow a sea of bubbles in the air and have another one drizzle rose jello on me and I giggle. A happy cloud comes around my way and lifts me up to the ceiling. i write "mental poo was here" out of balsamic vinegar. The cloud and I float away into oblivion. why do all of my fantasies end up in oblivion?

anyway,

i love open kitchen restaurants

Don't they look like weird dead baby chickens dressed in costumes? yeah, thats exactly what i thought at first too. but it was very delicious esp the first one on the left. 

Rose lobster dish. starting from the left, caviar, foam caviar, cream something, rose jello

the lobster was raw and it was delicious. E got a bad allergic reaction haha. 

 

We were stuffed. we dont play around. 

Rose, green tea, orange, pepper, coffee flavored salt for the steak.
I tasted them all and to be totally honest, they all tasted the same. like salt. 

creme brulee, lemon meringue, chocolate torte

 The lemon meringue was so so good. i'm a creme brulee snob, Le Saint-ex in itaewon has the best creme brulee i've had in seoul. dont forget to ask them to make it extra crispy. 

I'm not sure how many restaurants to this, and why this restaurant bothers to do this in the first place, but on the top of the receipt they blatantly keep track of whether the guests are locals or foreigners. they pegged me right away, i guess it's that obvious. 

Demographic notes: the demographic of the restaurant is an older crowd, the table next to us were a bunch of rich ajumas and behind us was another table of 6 ajumas. in front of us was a family of 8 and directly in front of us was a young couple on a date. 

Remember: if you are a girl, be sure to get to shinsa before your reservation so you can do some shopping.

Price vs. Quality:  bill came out to 130,000 ish. so its kind of pricey if you're zealous like me [appetizer, pasta, steak, 2 desserts, 1 perrier, 1 wine] but you can def keep it under 100,000 if you're practical about ordering. the place is run by a famous chef and you can watch them cook your food. the quality is good, the decor is awesome. the salts were not that necessary but it was a cute touch to the meal. good presentation and i could taste the love in the food.  is the price worth the quality? yeah - for Seoul.

The bottom line: it's good, pricey, great wine selection, olive oil selection for the bread, their bread was delicious [my only complaint of the whole meal:  whenever they gave us extra bread, they would only give us two pieces at a time. this made made me cry on the inside. i am the queen of carbs] their water was delicious, would i go back again? yes. Especially if youre paying. haha.


If you say the secret code,  "Mental Poo" at the register you'll a 15% discount and a complementary gift bag!
just kidding, but wouldnt that be cool? haha.

Park Ji Sung - call me!

I have a slight obsession over Park Ji-sung. Maybe it was the windmill dance that caught me, but nevertheless, there is something about him that makes me want to hold him. Stare at him. Caress him.

I read an old article about him written in 2007 about how he is lonely in London, doesn’t go out much and is looking for the right girl. Then I youtubed him giving an interview in English granted the video was from 2008, his English was not very good but I’m sure its improved since then.

He’s super famous and pretty much the face of Korean soccer, but is rather unknown outside of these boundaries. He endorses a bunch of stuff here, to name a few, Nike, Gillete razors, Hite beer, Powerade.. or is it Gatorade? and many more. In London he stays rather quiet. Though I have seen him in an international ad on youtube, I had no idea what it was advertising though.   

Not that I’m the right girl for him, bc I think he would want to have a Korean-speaking gf, but I always find lonely people interesting. Maybe because I am and always have been lonely despite always having good friends and being surrounded by many people. That’s just me. 

I want to be his friend and do nothing together. We'll stay in his flat in London  and play video games together and watch the sunset from his balcony. While wining and dining one evening we both reach for the same piece of bread and right when our hands touch, the fire in our eyes  ignite into passion the size of the sun. We accidentally fall in love. We throw everything off the table like in the movies but the sound of the shattering plates startles us. We pick up some of the pieces and sweep the shattered pieces of glass away and then resume back to our pre-passionate make out session but the moment has passed. No swapping spit with jisung today. we have an awkwardly silent moment and decide to be friends again. I consider maybe making him my first husband. 

So back to reality...

My new quest is to find his address so I can write him snail mail. I want to write him one daily or weekly until he responds. First I must plan this out and try to make it non-creepy or stalkerish. Don’t bother going to his new website, http://ji-sungpark.com/, I already emailed them and it seems that their email is inactive, fake or just not working today because I already got a delivery failure. I’ll stalk him more when I have some spare time. Until then, you can stalk him yourself!

This is a documentary that aired last april about him, its called "Do you know park ji sung?" 

Ok yeah, parts of it seem staged like his "surprise" birthday party but he's still very cute. i want to eat him up for dinner and use his bones as toothpicks, and weave a basket out of his long shaggy locks, dry out his skin for a carpet and then use his skull as a paperweight. maybe i took that too far. 

part 1 of 8! (subtitles-kind of)

A new documentary on him (in Korean)

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[Edit] in other soccer news, Peter posted this funny link of Germany's coach shamelessly eating his booger. i like how he acts like nothing is happening as he is talking to the guy next to him and rolling his booger in his hands.

Another 4th of July in Korea

Happy 4^th of July everyone! It is my third consecutive 4^th of July spent in Korea and I feel like I’ve been missing out on some serious BBQ-ing and firework shows. 


2008: i vividly remember spending the 4th of july drinking straight out of a soju bottle while sitting on the beach at Busan (Southern part of South Korea)


2009: Must have been uber uneventful because not a single thought comes to mind


2010:


I spent part of my weekend in the countryside and made my family’s secret spaghetti recipe and boiled king crab it was so delicious. I went to the store intending to just buy peaches but ended up buying 100 bucks worth of food that I ate up in two days.

Dinner. Thanks jong for the tips. 

mine.

Besides that my weekend was filled with drinking jager amongst short bboys for the R16 preparty, hanging with family and working on this damn project which is taking up all of my time.

Best postsecret of this week:

Countdown until California: 5 days

Countdown until I watch Eclipse: 4 days

young, supple, doe eyed INTERNS

Another day. Another personal struggle to conquer. I've been relapsing lately. Only one more week until I get to visit home. Almost there!@##$%^&

On a wildly different note:

There’s a fresh batch of new interns flowing into the office. I’m not quite sure how many are joining the company for the summer but so far so good. Within my own dept it seems like we’re getting 2. One came in and out this morning to file paperwork – a 1.5 generation college kid. He was super cute. My main interest is that he can help translate for us...  So tall. So young. So supple.

Another girl showed up after him and started today. I’m keeping track of them and I get so excited when a new one comes in. it’s like watching a dog give birth – the puppies just keep coming and I’m not quite sure when it’ll stop. i remember my first batch of 10+ interns from last year. i gave the English names, and named them after twilight and harry potter characters.