i'm in korea!! i got to surprise my dad, who had no idea that i was coming. i could tell by his expression that he was totally caught off guard - he stared at me blankly for about 30 seconds. For the first 15 seconds, he thought i was my twin sis (terrible, terrible) and was wondering why i was staring at him for a reaction, and the next 15 seconds was confusion on "i thought she was going to LA for spring break, is she part of my imagination?" sooo funny! we thought that my sister blew the surprise, but found out that that wasn't the case. i love my family! it's been really fun hanging out with my sis. I've been taking my video camera with me (sacrificing good pics for video footage, which isn't as portable but then the memories are more lasting) and recording my journey throughout seoul, to all the familiar places i always go to. and some new ones too! we've been discovering some more restaurants in apkujong, like we discovered that a coffee bean was there, a five story 24 hour fitness (i wish you guys could see it! it's pretty amazing), finally got to go to a famous jazz club once in a blue moon (amazing, amazing jazz singer! have no idea what her name was, but so so good), and a good yogurt soju place :D, a gelato place that when we passed by it, looked like the ones in rome! it was a lot of fun.

today's plan: either mokyoktang (korean bathouse) or go to Itaewon for some bargain shopping (depending on my second cousin), and then meet up with another cousin for some yummy galbi sal for dinner and maybe some drinks. it's gonna be a late night tonight, so i need to get over my jet lag so i can stay up. cuz of my jet lag, it's been waking me up at 5:30 am and i've been dead asleep by 8 pm. haha, i guess that's not too different from my usual schedule except that i wake up at 9 am. :D

is this finals week?

yes. anyways, for sure I passed one final, my physical exam final, yay! I had to give a classmate a physical exam. It was fun, a nice break from studying biochem.

three down, one more to go. honestly, this week could have been a lot worse. i went on a quick cleaning spree today. i'll do anything in the name of procrastination.

can't wait til spring break, it's so close i can smell it! oh wait, that's my kimchee chigae.

on my thoughts: old friends and old loves, gaucher's disease, cooking at home, chanel tweed jackets, soy milk, journey of desire by john eldredge, farmer's market, an old dress discovered like an old friend, lavender sachets, the possibility of green beer (ew!), love personality tests, who is my type anyways?, renal physiology, msn messenger emoticons, my dad, allergies, pretty flowers, my sick cousin yunji, plans for spring break.

open the eyes of my heart, Lord.

a statement to feed the desires of my soul.

enjoying my coffee this morning (actually afternoon :) and listening to praise songs before i plunge, once again, into finals studying. it's food for my soul to focus on God for a little bit.

looking forward to a huge surprised look on someone's face in about a week... i miss you guys!

a word from margaret cho: "Try to be kind, because there is such a lack of kindness everywhere, and if you could generate just a little, it would mean everything to someone else. You may never know how much it would help, because we cannot measure the amount of joy we give one another. Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else's life forever. You never know, which is both beautiful and maddening. "

how come eight o'clock classes are so hard to make? we have an eight o'clock class about once every two weeks - usually classes start at 10 am. but it's soooo early. even 10 am is hard to make. :P i think 11 am is perfect, enough for me to wake up, eat breakfast, and go.

i actually worked out today!! so proud of myself. I haven't worked out since... college? No, I actually worked out once at Caltech during the two yrs i worked there. :P how sad. but it's fine. i'm feeling a bit sluggish and it was so beautiful outside. i think next time, i'm going to take a dip in the pool afterwards. i usually don't like the gym, but i felt really great afterwards.

what a beautiful day today! almost makes me forget that finals are next week.

next week! (stress levels soaring)

two days ago, it was cloudy and wintery, and today, it turned into spring! sandals and skirt weather. amazing.

i had a great weekend with my sister, who showed up at my door with two hours warning that she was coming. it was a perfect weekend - we ate a lot, slept a lot, watched Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and went shopping. What more could I want?

Diego Luna is my new man... *swoon* He is reason enough to watch Dirty Dancing, which actually had a horrible script, but watching him was worth the price of admission. It was so cute when he was dancing with the baby. I could gush about him some more but I will refrain. :)

i should change my nickname to drama queen. some ppl seem to be able to just avoid drama. i'm definitely not one of those people. what's your secret, guys?

in the midst of falling behind my classes, i got a nice compliment today from a prof that i was "on top of things". i guess i give a good illusion that i'm doing not so behind. i needed it though, it's been a tough couple weeks. i've missed so much lecture b/c of a virus, but now i think i'm well enough to venture to lecture tomorrow.

off to the library, my sweet? yes, i think so - the only way i can get myself to study. it's too comfy at home, and i need to get out of these pj's. praise God for the rare wednesday afternoons off so that His child can catch up on renal physiology.