Blogging with ease

my room. :)

I was on twitter when someone linked an announcement from blogspot that there is now a blogger app! :) with this app I'll now be able to blog with ease and without the complication of going on the Internet and uploading all the pictures from my personal files. Well, my 2nd year of college has been nothing but enjoyable. It sucks to be taking organic chemistry while also taking biology 197, calculus, and women studies! It's very difficult to balance all these classes but what can I say. I put myself in this mess. I should be studying right now but it's hard to concentrate with the rain and thunder. It's really rare to see rain here in the desert, so when there actually is one, I can't help but stop what I'm doing and just glance out through my small window and watch the rain slowly hit the pavements of the street across from me... Now I should get back to listening to sondre lerche and study for my chemistry class! For now, au revoir~!

gloomy weather

farewell. au revoir. sayonara.

bright sunny day at my previous home

I know this is really late, but I've moved to a new place! It's weird to be living in a different house and in a different neighborhood. To tell you the truth, I miss the friendly atmosphere in my neighborhood at the previous house and the bright sunshine shining down in my bedroom windows. It's weird to have a room lacking windows but hey, at least I have a bigger room now. :) Since summer break has already started (it's been a week now), it's time to get off my lazy ass and start blogging! :)

i'm not from here

blouse from zara, abercrombie jeggings, forever 21 wool knit sweater

You know those days when you feel depressed and the once, bright world suddenly dims and seems like a cruel and unforgivable place? Well, yesterday was one of those days...one of those days that I felt really depressed and felt a pang of loneliness and a sudden longing for a company..any kind of company. I'd like to claim yesterday an experience where I felt like I had been pushed into a deep, vast ocean of despair and shame. An ocean, not a small lake or even a puddle. For the 100th time, I felt powerless and frustrated at myself for not being able to stand up for myself and it was during this time and day that my friends came to the rescue. I'm very grateful to have such caring and loving friends whom I can rely on immediately without being rejected. I know that on a single call, my two best friends will be able to come out flying, running, driving, or even teleport in an instant to help me. Yesterday started out with me feeling like an empty shell, but after spending the rest of the day was spent with me and my friends shopping and fooling around, I was able to revert back to my original, cheerful self. I'm really not the type to dwell on something for that long or break down and cry.. but today was an exception. It's pretty embarrassing to look back on how ugly I must have looked sobbing as I shared a heart to heart talk with my best friends, but it was all worth it in the end. Bunny and Jessica. I love you all very much. :) You guys are like the peas to my pod, the cocoa to my hot chocolate, the shining existence of my life.

kisses to my besties

snow snow snow

Winter break is almost over and I am already trembling with anticipation for my spring classes. I've already bought most of the books needed for my classes and ended up spending a total of 400 bucks. Not bad not bad. Speaking of winter break, it snowed here in Las Vegas just yesterday. Since Las Vegas is a desert, we rarely get any snow out here. Although it stopped snowing and quickly dissolved the moment I woke up from my slumber, it was still a nice change to actually experience this moment of a true winter wonderland. This week, I'll be gone for ten days on a cross country trip with my father and seven other middle school kids. My father's the one who's planning the trip, since he works at a traveling agency, and I get to go for free. :) We'll be visiting various states such as Arizona, Utah, New York, Washington, etc.,. Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy this trip and spend some quality time with my father. Sorry if this post is a bit choppy and underdeveloped...It's midnight and I'm already tired.  I'll try to update more before I leave on Friday. :)

friday morning

UNLV campus

I took this picture right after I started to notice the gradual changes from the bright green leaves of the trees to a a more subtle yellow/orange color. After my Friday class finished, I walked around the campus with my friend wondering in amazement on how fast autumn is approaching.

making kimchi

my aunt, grandmother, and mother washing the lettuces

Every winter, my family makes huge batches of kimchi to eat  for the rest of the year, and until next winter. We usually make enough to last us a whole year. Although I didn't help out with my mother,aunt, and grandmother in washing,preparing, and seasoning the kimchi, I did help them with small tasks like moving the huge crates of radishes and lettuces and picking up little scraps of unneeded lettuces. The process of making kimchi is very long and arduous which leads to many people just buying industrial made kimchi. Although there's nothing wrong with buying kimchi from stores, it's always nice to have a home made kimchi seasoned to your taste. Fortunately, the day was warm and pretty hot for it to be called winter. My family is very loud and very... tough. :) Even though there were a few strangers and neighbors glancing at us and even just standing in front of us to watch us clean the lettuces, we continued our tasks in washing the kimchi without caring about the bystanders. 

the view from the streets

Still a lot to wash/cut/prepare.

chili's

chatting with my friend

This picture was taken on November 23rd. After a long day of studying, my friend decided to venture on into the night and get something to eat. Bored with spending the whole day doing absolutely nothing, I agreed to her sudden request and accompanied her to chili's. It's always nice to end the night with having a deep conversation with your best friend.

fright at the bonnie screams

heading to bonnie screams

For the first time, I spent my Halloween shut inside my room studying and doing my homework instead of trick or treating with my friends. Just a year ago, my friends and I would never miss the chance to trick or treat and would stuff ourselves with free candies while excitingly looking for other houses with their lights on. With the sudden change of status from being a high school student to a college student, I suddenly lost my childish motivation to do the things I used to enjoy with my friends on one of the most important holidays. Thankfully, I was still able to hang out with my friends at the Bonnie Screams, which is located in the middle of nowhere in the Nevada dessert, and have our share of fright and enjoyment of Halloween as an adult. In the late evening, my friends and I drove in the dark for more than 20 miles to reach Bonnie Screams. Once we arrived in the small ghost town, we were surrounded by the eerily atmosphere of the so-called haunted town and boarded a small train that led us to the deeper part of the town. Once we got off the train, we began to line up for 4 different haunted houses, each with their own chainsaws to scare people. Waiting in line for 40 minutes just to get scared for a minute or two was dreadful and a bit pointless, but it was worth it. With the last scare, I ended the night with a sore throat but with an exhilarating feeling of excitement and exhaustion. :) Although it would be a bit risky to go trick or treating with my friends with my current age, I will never miss out on getting scared at Haunted houses on a Halloween night.  

monday morning

I need to invest in a better camera

Opening my eyes in the early morning, the bright sun seeped through my curtain and shined down on my awakened form. With the sun as my signal to wake up, I pulled myself out of the thick, warm comforter and groggily walked over to my closet. Realizing that my class didn't start until 1 p.m., I became determined to not waste the day sporting my lazy casual wear and instead pulled out my recently bought blouse from zara. With the sudden pick, various inspirations of different outfits came to mind and thus I ended up picking a bit of an indiana jones-esque outfit. Sadly, I didn't check the weather outside and was immediately embraced by the chill, cool breeze around my bare legs and thin blouse. In the end, I became a person with style but one without a common sense.

Steve madden boots, H&M blouse, Zara blouse, abercrombie shorts, betsey johnson belt

jackass 3D

shirt from UO

With the chilly autumn weather, my friends and I decided to spend the day watching Jackass 3D. It was my first time watching a Jackass movie, and I am definitely glad I watched it. A movie containing violence, brutal pranks, drinking others sweats, being covered in feces,annoying laughs, and getting hit in the penis is what I would like to end my day with. After the movie, my girls and I went to Hooters and ordered the classic hooter wings, which was absolutely DELICIOUS.

october and midterms

Kristen playing with Jake and Russ

During the past few weeks, college has been occupying me 24/7, and instead of blogging, I have been studying, doing homework, completing projects, and trying to ace quizzes. Although I realize that college is a MUST in order for me to get into the medical field, it makes me wonder if I'm making the right choice on studying to become a pharmacist. Writing is my passion and I absolutely love reading in my free time, but the constant pressure in getting a good job and making decent amount of money clouds my mind and heart from setting out to do the things I really want to do. Even though I have been interested in art and writing since my younger days, the pressing matter in having a successful job made me interested in becoming a pharmacist. I’d like to say that my determination in becoming a pharmacist isn’t half-assed or something that I’ve thought out of nowhere and I understand that becoming a pharmacist takes a great deal of effort and willingness. Although I am quite set on studying hard to become a successful pharmacist, there are times when I want to continue to relinquish this small hobby of mine and just wander off to a quiet park or an isolated field of grass and just continue to write about the things I love and hate. Which is why I have my blog to continue this small passion of mine. But without it, I would be lost and enraptured by this boring and stressful life of mine. Although I won't be able to update my blog regularly, I would still like to keep this little diary of mine lively and interesting enough to capture my future audience. I’ll try hard to update a bit more frequently since it is, after all, my love and desire to do the things I like to do. Enough said, I should start updating the last of my trip to Korea pictures.

october

At 8 a.m. in the morning, I woke up to a sharp alarm of a text message from my friend. Still half awake, I groggily got up and opened the balcony door expecting a bright sunny weather, but instead, I was met with a cloudy, windy day. Listening to the soft breath of the wind as it enraptured my whole body, I began to smell the slight change of season. Smiling as the cool wind greeted my body, I listened to the squeaking of the swings from a nearby playground and opening my eyes, I witnessed the slight change of leaves on the trees in front of my house. Goodbye summer and hello autumn. I now have an excuse to replace my summer wardrobe with something that would fit with the theme of fall.

train tracks admidst a forest

train tracks amidst a forest

As you can see, the heat in Seoul is just UNBEARABLE once it hits the month of July and August. I'm still amazed at how my grandmother convinced me to go walk outside for a breath of fresh air, but I am glad I did. Once we stepped outside of her little apartment, she led me to this beautiful scenery where a single line of train tracks were found in the middle of a forest. BREATHLESS is the word I had used to describe my astonishment in seeing such a landscape. Again, I would use this image as something found in a miyazaki film, but OH. You should know by now at how obsessed I am with his works. :)

say hello to moi.

Please excuse this vain picture of myself, but I must insist that this was not posted out of greed or selfishness :)

Waking up early to bid goodbye to my dear father was a total failure, but I was able to wake up with a refreshing mind and outlook to another bright day. "GOOD MORNING my dear readers" was what I was supposed to say, but I guess it won't be a bad idea to bid goodnight either. "GOODNIGHT."

antiques sold in insadong

I truly regret not getting anything from this little side store. The little dishes, sculptures, and other artifacts were just beautiful.

reliving korea.

the sweltering heat

My summer at Seoul, South Korea was a great experience. After not seeing my family in Korea for 7 years, my parents and I both decided that it was time to visit them... by myself. During the long flight to Korea, I was able to finish reading eclipse by stephen meyer, after it was on hold for 2 years in my *books to read list. Once I stepped out from the plane, I was able to immediately notice the cultural difference between America and Korea. Walking around in the big airport, I was exhilarated and yet exhausted at the same time. After walking and waiting in line to get through the immigration gate, I was able to see the bright smile of my grandmother and the rest is history. Tight streets, heavy traffic, humidity, amazing foods, kimchi, cute stores, antique shops, shopping galore, subways, trains, ancient artifacts, cute cafes, the heat, rain, mountains, trees, GREEN, GREEN, AND MORE GREEN. It was a delightful experience meeting with my family and being able to venture around in Korea as a young adult and not as a little kid. If I were to go again, I would definitely bring my friends with me.

first week of school.

 studying.. or trying to study

 the enormous campus of UNLV

With the summer break ending, school has officially started. Although school started early for us "rebels", attending UNLV, I was still grateful at the fact that I would be able to face the real adult life as a college student. No more late nights watching House and Will and Grace re-runs. No more late night snacks. No more doing nothing but laze around in the house. And no more hanging out with friends until midnight. My first day of school was pretty hectic. The unbearable vegas heat and the hours of walking from one class to another was pretty unimaginable, but I managed to go through with the day. Seeing old friends from high school and middle school was nice, but meeting new people was what made me realize the new life of a college student. Hello professors who I'll be seeing only twice a week. Hello trying to find a parking space in the enormous campus. Hello walking for 30 minutes to reach my class. Hello gigantic library. Hello strangers. Hello freedom. and Hello college life.

me and sasha

the beginning.

the view from my balcony

The wind is blowing ferociously outside of my window but as I step outside of my balcony, I embrace the soothing wind and the scent of fall mixed in with a smell of pumpkin pie and gingerbread cookies from my neighbors. The chilly wind and the sunny weather makes me think of the transition from summer to fall and my head is suddenly filled with exciting thoughts of changing my current wardrobe, filled with bright colored t-shirts, shorts, sandals, flower printed sundress, to beige colored pants, knit wears, khakis, furs, leopard, and coats. Today marks the beginning of my new blog and today marks the beginning of fall, where the green leaves sitting on trees may turn to a beautiful shade of brown, orange, yellow, and red. Hello everyone, this is the first post from every single day.