happy new years!

i am still sore from skiing two days ago. sad, i know... i don't know koreans do it though. so many women look so pretty on the slopes. i look unrecognizable on the slopes. it was so fun though...

new year's resolutions? i don't know, eat less? :P i do need to exercise some, maybe i'll start getting serious about taking ballet lessons. the best thing i love about new year's is the fresh start - no regrets, just a new year with so many possibilities. what does God have for me this year, i wonder?

merry christmas, everyone!

had a great christmas, ate sooo much and spent a lot of busy time with relatives, esp with my baby cousins! i had so much fun with them.

one lesson I learned: do not go out on Christmas eve. I went to Myungdong, and it was so packed that if I lifted my feet, I think I would have been carried with the crowd for a few blocks without any control of where I was going. It took me about forty minutes to get out of the subway station, I couldn't even see the stairs in front of me. It was so crazy... cultural connotations are a little diff for Koreans. Christmas eve and Christmas is spent with your boyfriend/girlfriend, not your family. I think I like spending it with family better. :P haha. Not only was it crowded and frustrating me, everywhere I looked, boyfriends were pulling in their girlfriends close because it was crowded. grr... (I'm not bitter :)

i only have a week left in korea! sniff. we might go to the army base today to watch stuck on you. it's not out in korea yet, but the only decent movie playing at the base (it's either that or texas chain massacre).

it is so beautiful outside, but deceptively so. i think the high today is in the 20's. so cold.

here's for a little christmas spirit from dave barry: sorry so long, but you can skip it if you're in a hurry. but it's vacation, there's no anatomy reading to do! :) so enjoy it~

"A Christmas Poem

By Dave Barry

(First published in the Miami Herald in 1995)


"'Twas the night before Christmas

Or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or whatever religious holiday your particular family unit celebrates at this time of year via mass retail purchases

And all through the house

Not a creature was stirring

Except Dad, who was stirring his third martini in a losing effort to remain in a holiday mood as he attempted to assemble a toy for his 9-year-old son, Bobby

It was a highly complex toy

A toy that Dad did not even begin to grasp the purpose of

A toy that cost more than Dad's first car

A toy that was advertised relentlessly on TV with a little statement in the corner of the TV screen that said ``SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED''

Which was like saying that the Titanic sustained ``some water damage''

Because this toy had more parts than the Space Shuttle

And speaking of space, Dad was now convinced that extraterrestrial life did indeed exist

Because the assembly instructions were clearly written by beings from another galaxy

And these beings insisted on Phillips screwdrivers

And Dad could not find his Phillips screwdriver

In fact, he was wondering who ``Phillips'' was

And why he needed a different kind of screwdriver from everybody else

That was the festive holiday thought that Dad was thinking as he took a slug from his martini and attempted to attach Part 3047-b to Part 3047-c Using a steak knife

But other than that, not a creature was stirring in the house

Although Mom was definitely stirring OUT of the house

Mom was at the Toys ``R'' Us store

In fact, this was the fifth Toys ``R'' Us store that Mom had been to that night

In her desperate quest to find the one thing that their 5-year-old daughter, Suzy, wanted this holiday season

It was, of course, a Barbie doll

But not just ANY Barbie doll

It had to be the new model Abdominals Barbie

The one who came with her own little pink stomach-muscle-exercise device

It was the hottest Barbie doll of all this holiday season

Every girl age 3 through 12 in the entire United States HAD to have it

Or her holiday season would be RUINED

And so of course the Mattel Corporation

Which is run by evil trolls from hell

Had manufactured exactly eight units of this doll

And the very last one in the world was in this particular Toys ``R'' Us

Which means that the odds were against Mom Because on this same festive night thousands of other frantic parents had converged on this same store

Kind of like the flesh-eating zombies in the movie Night of the Living Dead

Only less ethical

The store was a war zone

Mom had to fight her way into the doll aisle

Where, wielding a Tonka Truck like a club She claimed her prize

And then, trailed by a screaming mob of rival parents

She raced from the store, leaped into her car and roared out of the parking lot

Barely missing the Salvation Army person

She raced back to the house, burst through the front door and staggered into the family room

Where she found Dad

Actually she found Dad's feet

The rest of Dad was under the sofa

A strange gurgling sound was coming from down there

Dad, now on his fifth martini

Was trying to strangle the dog

Which, Dad was convinced, had eaten Part 8675-y

And just at that very moment

Out on the lawn there arose such a clatter

That Dad let go of the dog

And he and Mom went to the window to see what was the matter

And what to their wondering eyes should appear

But Santa Claus, yelling the names of reindeer

"Now Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Vixen! Now . . . Umm . . . Now . . . Dancer!''

"He already said Dancer,'' observed Dad

"He can't remember them all,'' said Mom

"I think one of them is Pluto,'' said Dad

"Wasn't Pluto the guy who was always fighting with Popeye?'' said Mom

"You're thinking of Bluto,'' said Dad

"Now . . . Umm . . . Now Flicka!'' said Santa

"Flicka was a horse, that I DO know,'' said Mom

"Do you think the reindeer are wrecking the lawn?'' said Dad

"They're going up on the roof,'' said Mom

"Like hell they are,'' said Dad, who had recently spent $875 on shingle repair

But before he could yell at St. Nicholas to stop Down the chimney the jolly elf came with a plop

He had a broad face and a round little belly

That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly

Which was pretty gross

"What's so funny?'' asked Dad

"You two,'' said St. Nick. "Why are you getting all upset about toys? The holiday season isn't about material possessions!''

"Do you have kids?'' asked Mom

"Well, no,'' said Santa

"Hah,'' said Mom

"But I am beloved by children the world over,'' said Santa

"Well,'' said Dad, "you won't be beloved by our son if I can't assemble this toy''

?쓂hat seems to be the problem?'' said Santa, coming over to have a look

"I'm stuck on Step 824,'' said Dad

"Who wrote these instructions?'' asked Santa. "Martians?''

"Apparently,'' said Dad

"I used to be pretty good with tools,'' said Santa. "Hand me that steak knife''

"Sure,'' said Dad. "Care for a martini?''

"Heck yes,'' said Santa

And so he went to work

And after a while Mom and Dad, exhausted, went to bed

Leaving old St. Nick in the family room

He said some pretty unsaintly words

But he eventually got Bobby's toy assembled

And although he spent so much time that he was unable to visit the rest of the little boys and girls in North America

Not to mention South America, Europe, Asia and Africa

This particular household had a very happy Christmas morning indeed

When Suzy came downstairs and saw Abdominals Barbie

And Bobby came downstairs and saw his incredibly complex toy

Which he broke in under four minutes

A new holiday record

But it was still a festive day

Especially when Mom and Dad told the fantastic story of their late-night visitor

Which, at first, the kids did not believe

In fact, even Mom and Dad were not 100 percent sure it had happened

Until Dad got out the ladder

And one by one they climbed up to the roof And there they saw it . . .

As real as life . . .

A Holiday Miracle . . .

Reindeer poop.

(And $1,097.36 worth of shingle damage.)"

my sisters came today! the house is so full, and my parents are so happy. it's nice having them around, we already went to myungdong and froze. sarah got a pair of pretty earrings there.

i saw another famous person today. man, i'm on a roll... at this rate, maybe i'll see jang dong gun by the end of this week. the trouble is, i don't know who it is! at the airport today, i was waiting in front of the gate to see when my sisters would come out, and this guy (with hoop earrings on both ears, definitely a korean singer) comes out with two beret-wearing security guys in army uniforms that said "SECURITY" on their backs. talk about subtle. there was a crowd of girls who came screaming after him, taking pictures with their digital camera cell phones. too bad i don't know who he was, altho his face looked familiar.

i had too much to eat, i think i ate enough for two people. and, on top of that, i had ho dduk. the ho dduk ahjuhshee is deaf and can't talk, but he worked so hard because it was a big order for our family. God bless him.

i also saw andre kim today! it was so strange, he has this entourage and everybody else is keeping their distance from him... he's an imposing figure, in all white, and he looks sick somehow. i think he may have gotten a cold, his eyes were red. he also had his hair slicked down, at first i thought he had a chinese hat on that sticks to your head and makes you look like you have a bowl haircut. it was weird, a celebrity sighting in korea! i guess he hangs out at hyundai dept store a lot.

my big plans: to watch Kate and Leopold tonight. Yes, it's another movie... reading my previous entry, I talk about all these movies. But I haven't had time to sit through and watch a movie from beginning to end, except for Love Actually which we saw in theatres. It is so cold outside to do anything else.

Jen and Sarah are coming tomorrow! yay.

what a day today! i feel like usually, I do nothing all day, but when I think about it, I'm always busy and am exhausted by night time. This morning, we had lunch with our aunt (second aunt removed?) and her husband and her cute daughter, taehyun. she is so adorable. after lunch, we met my mom and her sister (my aunt) and went shopping at Itaewon. then we came home and everyone watched Maid in Manhattan. it's such a sweet movie. ralph fiennes is ... (sigh)

i watched Love Actually with a cousin the other day. The Korean version cut out the porn couple! it was a little risque, but they were the cutest couple. I can't believe they cut it out entirely. They also cut out some other parts too, which were a little risque. i guess it didn't fit with the rating that they wanted to give it? I don't know why. I guess it's too much for Korean audiences' eyes.

hm, I haven't had ho dduk since that first night I spent here. the last time we checked, the ho dduk ahjuhshee wasn't there. where'd he go?

i woke up this morning, excited to eat. is that wrong? i think i have the reverse of an eating-disorder. my mom's coffee is so yummy, smells nicely of hazelnut. the spiciness makes it homey.

went to early morning church today. in church near stanford, they mentioned during service about the amazing prayer lives of korean churches. they mentioned the all-night prayer sessions and the daily early morning services. i actually got to experience it today. it was pretty crowded, too. it was nice spending some time in prayer so early in the morning. i feel like everyone around me these days is in need of prayer, so it was nice giving that up to God this morning. when i got home, i promptly fell asleep again.

it's so cold outside!! i can't believe it. when i'm outside, i'm afraid to touch my ears, because it feels like my ear will crack off, like ice. so different from the 50 degree weather in Davis, and I was even complaining about the 50 degree weather compared to LA where it's 70 degrees. i think it's about 30-40 degrees here, some snow on the ground. it's supposed to snow again this friday or so.

i am finally in korea! i love being here, esp after finals, i think the difference is even more pronounced. it was a long flight though, and i only got three hours of sleep the night before, packing and celebrating for finals. because my flight was delayed, i got here late last night. my poor dad, he was falling alseep. but it's so nice to be here... right outside my apartment and after i got off the airport bus, we got ho ddukk by a street vendor, warm off the grill. it was so yummy. and then after a very-much needed shower, i had my mom's gom tang. it was the epitome of comfort food.

i can already feel the holiday weight coming on. bring it on, baby.

going to see my cousins today! my three yr old cousin apparently brought out all her video tapes so she can show me when i come. :) i can't wait...

anatomy seems so far away, like a distant bad dream... :) it's amazing though, to go back and see how much i've learned in such a short time.

I am so sleepy!

making my morning coffee right now though. cafe verona, yum.

for biochem, it's memorizing random letters and numbers (E2F, EF2, eIF...) and now for psych, it's memorizing random words (Mahler and separation-individuation). i think i can pass...

'i think i can, i think i can...' -thomas the train (is that his name?)

"I can't believe you need me
I never thought I would be needed for anything
I can't believe my shoulder would carry such important weight
As your head and your tears
I can't believe you chose me, in all my fragility, me
It hurts so much when I love you, it makes me cry
Every time

You, you are, oh you are
The little boy made for me in the stars
In the star, that's why I can't let you go
The little boy made for me in the stars
That's why I love you more the further I go
And before this existence you were always there
Waiting for me
You are, you are the realest thing I know
Hands down
The realest thing I know

I am not used to being carried
Or being able to carry a pretty song
I have been bruised by my many trails
Sometimes my skin's so thick it's frail
I just need to be ignored 'til I wake up to the beauty that is yours
And it all comes to life so suddenly
This is a place so deep, the water's so deep I hesitate, cause

All the energy it takes to feel this power
I tend to run, I tend to hide, I tend to scream 'til I find you and I know I got you
I know, I know, I know

I'm sliding on the rainbows of my childhood dreams

When you carry me... It's so happy"

-Nelly Furtado, "Childhood Dreams"

it's such a pretty love song. is all love fated?

it's amazing what i will do in order to not study. i just had the best healthy dinner - haven't had one in ages. i had some baked asparagus wrapped in bacon, with rosemary, lemon, and butter. i also made some garlic chicken stew (the best!), and some leftover mashed potatoes. yum! haven't had fresh food made from scratch in a while.

psych is tomorrow!

finals week has officially begun!! biochem was this morning, SO glad it's over. i am getting very very good at cramming now. :P psych is on wednesday, and anatomy (the killer) on friday.

it is weird though. i remember seeing med students at ucsd during their finals week, woo, so scary. but it's so weird to be in the middle of it. i mean, i can't believe i'm in med school, esp during finals week! it feels like we just started too. i can't believe we're finished with anatomy lab! i will miss it though, i know. i'm so glad sam took pics of us in our groups, anatomy lab didn't last that long. we had such a cool group too! table number 1.

wow, that was a reminiscent paragraph. :p sorry, blame it on my 4 hours of sleep last night (which is really really bad for me, i need my 8 hours). i think i'm still stressed though cuz i couldn't take a nap. oh well, more time to stay awake and study.

need to study more! i'm too busy doing other things, like blogging. :P

in a few days, i'll be in korea, and our first quarter will be over!!!

i can't believe we only have one more anatomy lab day left! one more day changing into scrubs... for a while, at least, until i work in wards. one more day!!

i was in anatomy lab today til 10:30. I couldn't stay at school all day; we had a two hour break, so I went home for those two hours. i hit the sack for an hour and a half, sleeping through my alarm, and cramming nerve innervations in the leg for about 20 minutes. I also ate dinner and had coffee... I was a little wary, i never drink coffee that late. maybe that's why i'm up now. :P but I really wanted to stay awake for anatomy lab review. i think coffee helped, and our group finished most of the lab for tomorrow, so we can really prepare for our quiz on friday.

hm, need to go to safeway to get more ice cream.

i am a world class procrastinator. ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

hungry, but too tired to eat. but ice cream is tempting... i think i'll get myself a spoon. I discovered Ben and Jerry's "One Sweet Whirled" (is that right?). It is so yummy. Coffee, marshmallow, mm.

i used to think that ice cream scoops were such a luxury, but now my spoons are all getting bent out of shape. maybe i'll splurge and buy myself an ice cream scoop. a nice shiny one. it'll encourage my ice cream eating habits. :)