Ice skating. It's really been taking up some time - a subway ride with two transfers, and a shuttle bus ride away, just to get there one way. But it's worth it. My dad came along with me on Monday since it was a day off for him, and the last time he took pics was my first day of skating. It's nice to know that there's a difference :D altho it doesn't feel like it sometimes. Check out the pic on the bottom right, of me jumping. 


 

This pic completely cracks me up. :D It looks so much worse than it really seemed. My teacher was watching me fall. ouch.

My new purse - after I saw it on the Apprentice - Kendra and Tana were carrying similar ones, and I thought it looked cute, and so of course, I went looking for it. I found it yesterday in Dong dae mun market, this really cute purse store.  


Went to the electronics market with my dad in Yongsan. It's so big there, we got lost. It was fun tho, I've hardly spent time with my dad. There are so many mp3 players in Korea that are about half the size of an ipod shuffle.

I found a store selling the sixth season of Sex and the City for $5. :D

pics of my honey bunny in vienna, austria. lovely setting.  

Did I mention that his new single's out? :) Check it out here. I can't wait til his new CD is out on July 26th.

feeling like i've been staring at the same thing studying all day. not progressing very well, but finally i sat down and set a schedule to finish pharm studying, in four days. woohoo.

saw tom cruise and katie holmes on oprah today. it was a weird show. tom cruise is acting a little too weird, seems suspicious, like he's hiding something (like, oh i dunno, his sexuality??). who knows.

i think i need to relax, the boards are really getting to me. maybe i'll make a trip to a mokyoktang soon, sit in baths of green tea, mud, or hot mineral water.

listen to jason mraz's new song! i love it~

an interesting BBC article:

"South Korean women have a reputation as the most striking in Asia... The Korean look, with high cheekbones and sculptured features is all the rage from Shanghai to Singapore.
...
The streets of Seoul are thick with impeccably groomed young women in miniskirts, seemingly immune to the sub zero temperatures of the Korean winter.

Women of marriageable age are under intense pressure to look their best at all times and one of the consequences has been an explosion in plastic surgery.

A woman's magazine recently advised its readers to spend 30% of their incomes on looking good.

The reason, you will end up with a better and richer husband and that has to be a sensible investment.

...
South Korea has just 1,200 certified plastic surgeons. Many thousands of others are operating without proper qualifications... One qualified surgeon told me he knew of psychiatrists doing liposuction and radiologists performing double eyelid operations.
...
And in the frenzy to look their best South Korean women, as well as increasing numbers of men, are still prepared to take the risk."

interesting article, here.

how funny! ambush makeover in korea. the host looked familiar. :)

went ice skating today. the punk speed skaters that barely come up to my hips are getting more and more annoying. they cut me off, they ruin my figure eights, they stare at me blankly with their mouths open (probably thinking 'someone that old can't skate?'), and worst of all, they skate MUCH better than me. grrr. it's embarrassing skating in front of them. at least they're in their funny streamlined outfits with their names written in ENGLISH on their backs, in case i ever want to track them down.

i figured that the one thing i can do better than them is that I can skate backwards.

an interesting link from mmonk's blog:

"While most of those marriages used to involve men marrying women with less education, studies have found, lately that pattern has flipped, so that by 2000, the majority involved women...marrying men with less schooling - the combination most likely to end in divorce."

eek. what does that mean for me? marrying some guy with an MD, PhD, AND another degree? my chances of finding an SO are decreasing by the day.

My new glasses

new glasses
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

what a fun weekend. too much fun. really starting to buckle down and study now. hopefully this will continue. ;) of course, aside from ice skating twice a week. i'm going again tomorrow. :)

met up with a college friend, whom i haven't seen since graduation. she's one of my five close girlfriends in college, where we were all middle children of exactly three-daughter families. we all get along well for some odd reason.

is star wars any good? might watch it on the army base tomorrow, it's free for ppl with army base passes.

rain rain go away... at least it's keeping the heat away.

Street scene in Seoul

Street scene in Seoul
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

An interesting scene I saw today, while waiting for my mom outside the subway station. Do you see the guy on the telephone wire that extends over the street? There's a guy sitting on it, fixing something. Crazy. Some things you'll never see in America, like this and guys wearing unflattering hot pink t-shirts.

altho fashion in Korea has come a long way. These days, some guys are wearing jean jackets and cargo pants, which look refreshingly casual. In girls fashion, a lot of girls are also wearing jean jackets and spring green is also trendy. The thing with trends is that, you don't see just a few ppl wearing jean jackets, like u do in America. you see about 80-90% of them wearing very similar things. There's this huge pressure to fit in. :D i wish i brought my jean jacket from home.

I've also found myself taking lots of pics of the view outside of our lovely apartment. My dad has made a final decision to move out of Korea, at least for a few years. I'm glad, but sad at the same time - I really loved coming to Korea. It somehow agrees with me - my skin has even cleared up. Or maybe that's just all the sleeping and eating I'm doing. :D

ahh need to study, can't seem to get past biochem. Tons to memorize. Talking about not studying, I started ice skating yesterday. SO much fun, i missed it a lot. my teacher said i improved a lot, and though I could start learning a salchow soon. i foresee a lot of bruised knees in my near future.

the humidifier's singing at me. what should i do? feel a little lost in this house, not sure where anything is. but it IS nice to be home.

i'm so sleepy. am i jet lagged, or just lazy?

Han River

Han River
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

The view from my room at 3 am, thanks to jet lag. It's very smoky this morning b/c of the rainy weather. Got my hair done today - love it! I guess I never feel like I'm in Korea unless I 1) get my hair done, 2) ride the subway, and 3) go to Myung dong.

You know how you're on the plane looking outside at the view, and you're always tempted to take a picture of the view, but are always disappointed at the resulting pictures? I hope Korea isn't like that for me. It seemed like a good idea to come here and "study", but hopefully the results won't be bad. D-day for me: June 22, from 9 am til 5 pm.

thinking of going to Angkor Wat with my parents after the boards.

i love upgrades to business class. :)

my seat was like a massage chair - there were massaging knobs massaging my back, the entire 12 hour flight. :P I couldn't believe my luck. i slept after two glasses of champagne.

two years of med school over... unbelievable. the last set of finals were pretty brutal, and everyone was feeling really burnt out. i feel like i barely made it, but SO glad it's over. wrapping up the loose ends of one part of my life, getting ready to start another... Monday's the last time our class will be completely together for our practice boards exam.

how do you study for a test that's six weeks away? it's going to be tough, feels like a vacation already. my dad told me to take a break. i will oblige him willingly. :)

i know i've talked about the altar boyz a lot, but one more thing: they challenged the backstreet boys to a sing-off! (or whatever it's called). hilarious.

In an open challenge to the backstreet boyz, the Altar Boyz sent them this message:

"Please contact us at your earliest convenience to discuss the details of the Battle. We have a number of questions: What song will you be performing? Would you like Ms. [Jessica] Simpson to judge the Battle? Will you be lip-syncing?

Should you not appear as requested, we will assume that you have forfeited"

eek that's going to be an awesome show. Altar Boyz will blow them out of the water with their singing, but the backstreet boys might have more stage presence (ego's? :P)... Altar Boyz probably aren't used to performing for huge crowds like the backstreet boys are. It should be really fun to watch.

rest of the letter here.

secret link to one of the ABz's songs. listen towards the end of the song, the tongue-in-cheek undertones of the closeted gay member. ;) (one critic said Mark may be in the closet, but the closet door's wide open). my previous obsessions on the ABz.

ah broadway's much more fun that studying gastric cancer.

talking about the most recent voting of American Idol, where Constantine was voted off, when a lot of people thought that Scott should have been voted off (Scott has a history of arrest for domestic violence, which the following quote refers to):

"“I am surprised that Scott is still on the show with his smug personality. I do not understand why they condone domestic violence, but kick off a woman for posing nude. I truly do not understand how the violence is not worse.” --Jenny"

good point.