UNDERNEATH THE STARS

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED.

2011-08-14T14:29:00.000+08:00

I HAVE OFFICIALLY MOVED

VISIT AND FOLLOW MY NEW HOME

WORDPRESS

http://underneaththestarss.wordpress.com/

Will continue blogging @ wordpress :)

THANK YOU.

2011-08-13T01:24:00.000+08:00

I have received over 20 mails in just one day because of my post for language exchange. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

But as of the moment, I only chose three so that I can keep up with the mails and study schedule. :)

Thank you to those who have expressed interest for a language exchange. I know this will be a very good way to learn a language. If I could be of any help, you can still send me a message and I'll see what I can do. Don't give up on learning the language. There are a lot of people who wants to study Korean that are also willing to have a language partner :)

앞으로 더 열심히 공부할게요. 너무 너무 고마워요!

언어를 교환할까요?

2011-08-10T05:31:00.003+08:00

LANGUAGE EXCHANGE, ANYONE?

I have posted this in Lang-8 and have been receiving quite a number of interested language partners! (Thank you so much you guys! Makes me want to learn Korean more :P

_____________________________________________________________________

안녕하세요 여러분!

저는 지금 한국어를 공부하고 있어요. 공부하다가 좋은 생각났어요. ㅋㅋㅋ I can't really explain it well in Korean, and I can't waste any more time to tell you about it. So I'll just do it in English instead. :))

I've met such wonderful Lang-8 friends who helped me correct my journals and I'm very grateful for that. Now, I want to take it one step further so instead of just asking you guys to help me with my grammar and stuff, how about actually having a formal and more personal language exchange through emails, skype, etc

I think in Lang-8 all I do is write journals, but I am not able to practice actual conversations. This way, we both can practice and who knows, we might also become really good friends! :) We can exchange emails and have a schedule on skype or any instant messenger to also practice speaking. I can teach you English and you can help me in learning Korean. (We can negotiate about the arrangements later) Hah

If you're interested, drop a comment or a personal message telling me why you wanted to learn English and you can also include the language exchange plans you prefer. I'll surely get back to you as soon as I can.

****Only for serious learners who'll really take time to reply and learn the language. And for now, I'd choose only 2-3 language partners.****

Thanks! I'll wait for your replies until tomorrow, August 11 (Thursday), 6pm KST. Hope to hear from you!

_______________________________________________________________________________

I think this is really a great way to learn more about the language. Not only that, it can also give us a glimpse of Korean culture (or any country's culture if you're learning another language) and gain friends! I've been blogging in Korean for quite a while now, and I feel like I have been locked up in that level. So I decided to take another step forward by allowing myself to go out of my comfort zone. I want to challenge myself by engaging in real Korean conversations and other things. That's what learning a language is all about, it's a constant and never ending challenge. It keeps the fire burning. Everyday we wake up and learn new things. We allow ourselves to make mistakes, have friends to correct us and learn from it. This is what I love most in learning languages, Korean in particular, there would always be something new every single day. I'd always discover amazing things -- may it be about grammar, new word, tradition/culture -- and it makes me excited to learn more. It keeps me going :)

Anyway, for my fellow bloggers and language learners, this is a nice idea isn't it?

(Audio Blog #3) 부탁좀 해도 돼요?

2011-08-08T11:39:00.000+08:00

TheKatecdet

여러분 다음번에 뭐에 대해서 이야기할까요?

마지막 춤은 나와 함께/시크릿 가든

2011-08-08T11:03:00.003+08:00

어제 Lang-8에서 여러분에게 "어떤 주제를 다음에 얘기할까?" 물어봤잖아요. 그 블로그에 친구는 본 드라마중에 하나를 골라서 그 것에 대해서 써 보는 거라고 대답하셨어요. 그래서 오늘은 제 제일 좋아하는 한국 드라마에 대해서 말해 줄까요?

사실은 몇달 전에 똑같은 주제를 벌써 얘기했어요. 그래도 그 친구위해 다시 해볼게요.

어렸을 때부터 한국 드라마를 아주 많이 봤어요. 진짜. 너~무 너무 좋아해요. 몇 시간 동안 TV나 컴퓨터 앞에서 그냥 앉자 드라마 보다가 과자를 먹고 이런 모습을 많이 했어요. 요즘도 그렇게 쉽게 하고 싶은데 너무 바빠서 옛날처럼 이제 못 하겠어요. ㅠㅠ

아무튼 오랫동안 제 제일 좋아하는 드라마가... 마지막 춤은 나와 함께인데 작년에 본 시크릿 가든도 좋은 것 같아요. 그 둘이 짱이에요. ㅋㅋㅋ 준 느낌에서는 어떤 드라마도 마지막 춤은 나와 함께와 비교가 안 된다"라고 했던 말인데 시크릿 가든 봤을 때 그 생각을 갑자기 변한 것 같아요. ㅎㅎㅎ 시크릿 가든 보면서 다양한 느낌을 들었어요. 웃기를 하고 마음을 아프고 눈물도 흘린 거예요.

제 생각에는 요즘 드라마들은 좋은데 잊혀지지 않은 느낌이 없어요. 지금 그냥 보고 나중에 다 잊어버리는 편이에요. 내 생각에는 오랜 인상 남길 할 수 있는 드라마가 완전 짱이에요. 그 이유가 드라마의 성공의 비결이에요. ㅋㅋㅋ 마지막 춤은 나와 함께나 시크릿 가든처럼...

한국 드라마들이 일반적으로 좋아요!

(여러분 다음번에 뭐에 대해서 이야기할까요?)

다시 다시 다시

2011-08-07T02:53:00.003+08:00

지금은 벌써 새벽인데 잠을 못 들어서 대신 한국어를 공보하고 있어요. 한국 드라마를 보는 거, 노래도 듣는 거, 한국어를 공부하는 거, 이런 재미있고 마음을 느긋하게 해 줄 수 있는 것들을 너무 좋아해서 옛날에는 자주 했었는데 요즘엔 학교 일 때문에 그런 것들을 많이 못 해서 정말 아쉬워요. ㅠㅠ 해야 하는 것은 학교 일만 아니고 학교에 있는 사무실에 비서로 일하고 있거든요. 아! 그리고 집에 돌아오자마자 알바를 해야 돼요. 그 알바에 대해서 조금 얘기해 줄까요? 음... 그 알바는 인터넷 통해서 일본 분들에게 영어를 가르치는 일이에요. Skype으로 수업을 하고 영어로 대화를 많이 연습하고 그런 일이에요. 그 다음에 숙제를 하거나 다음 날에 시험 공부를 해야 돼요. 그러니까 매일 매일 바쁘고 늘 아주 피곤해요.

그래서 나중에 해야 할 것들을 하기 전에 지금 잠시 동안 편안하게 시간을 보내고 싶어요. 그래서 이 블로그를 쓰고 한국어도 배우려고 해요.

한국말로 녹음도 하고 싶지만 이제 충분한 시간이 없어서 나중에 꼭 할게요. 만약 할 수 없으면 이런 블로그를 만들게요. 근데 여러분에게 부탁좀 해도 돼요? 이런 블로그를 쓰는 것을 너무 좋아하지만 가끔 좋은 주제를 잘 생각 안 나서 다음번에 어떤 주제가 좋을지 말해 주세요. 아니면 아무거나 물어보세요. 이렇게 계속 하면 한국말 기능을 조금만 갈고 닦을 수 있을까요? ㅋㅋㅋ

여러분 잘 부탁드립니다. 감사합니다. :)

LALALALALA.

2011-08-04T03:05:00.000+08:00

HAPPY. LALALALA

I bought the shoes I saw last month. Thanks to my very very sweet brother :)

See related post: BLESSED WITH THREE

*Privileged, Brown, S-7

RANDOM PHOTOLOG #4

2011-08-04T02:52:00.000+08:00

Source: Simple Little Joys

Source: pattylaurel

BITTEN BY THE TRAVEL BUG.

POTTERMORE

2011-08-02T03:09:00.003+08:00

Let's start August right with POTTERMORE! :)

UNTIL THE VERY END.

2011-07-26T01:10:00.001+08:00

It may not be very obvious but yes, I'm a potterhead. Not really that huge of a fan like the others but I was definitely one of those who said goodbye to my childhood when this wonderful series ended. Had my first ever Harry Potter book when I was 9 and I could barely understand it. Watched and waited for the movie releases every year or two for the past ten years and now, I just can't digest the fact that I won't be waiting for anything anymore from this wonderful installment for the years to come. It definitely was part of me growing up.

Before watching the final movie, I had a chat with my high school friend who's a diehard fanatic of HP. I remember watching Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix with her. And we had this notepad freebie we got from the cinema so she took a photo of it and I did the same. Fortunately, I brought it with me when I moved here in Manila more than 3 years ago.

JULY 18, 2011

Usually, I just wait for movies to come out on DVDs since it's a lot cheaper. But this time, April and I went to watch Deathly Hallows Part 2 on 3D since I told her I will never let the end of my childhood pass just like that. And guess what, the whole cinema was ours (well, almost) and we got the best seats! Hahaha! Great way to watch the end of this epic series.

We technically grew up with the entire cast of HP. lol. TEN YEARS. THAT'S JUST.... TEN YEARS!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?

And for that, I don't really know how to end this entry, so I'd just post some photos/gifs I got from TUMBLr and nothing are mine. Disclaimer: All of the photos below belong to it's respective owners which I got and reblogged from harrypotterforyears.

THE GOLDEN TRIO. THROUGH THE YEARS.

ALWAYS. FOREVER.

THE BEST.

PRACTICON 2011

2011-07-26T00:29:00.000+08:00

July 15, 2011

LATE BLOG.

Our practicum conference was a huge success! After all the things that happened and all the misunderstandings and sleepless nights, we've finally conquered the "practicon challenge" -- one of the most difficult requirements we ever had in our whole DevStud life. But everything was absolutely worth it. SOBRA. We all had fun. The AVPs were all great (many thanks to our adviser :P), Caresse's rendition of Buhay at Bukid and Rosas ng Digma was superb and ofcourse, I totally ROFL-ed at Ken, Eka and Kim's impromptu skit. AMAZING DAY.

So let me present the people who made all of it possible -- DEVELOPMENT STUDIES CLASS OF 2012 with Prof. Ponsaran.

LETTING GO

2011-07-21T04:58:00.006+08:00

3:40am

I slept the whole day yesterday no wonder I can't sleep right now and I wouldn't really dare to if I want to attend my 7am class later :/ I don't really know what got into me when I actually enrolled in such an early sched to think I'd have to put up with it the whole semester. Ugh. Getting up early is one of my most dreaded tasks. I just hate it, but I know I have to get used to it more so because I'm graduating soon (hopefully) and who knows what kind of sched my future job would demand from me.

Anyway, I didn't blog today to rant. Sorry. Hahaha. Not being able to sleep tonight made me realize a number of things about myself, the people around me and my relationship with Him. I know this blog has been full of different things and has jumped from one theme to another -- my fandom 2 years ago, language learning, travels, etc -- but I have stopped somewhere at some point writing about kpop and fandom and such. I don't exactly know why but maybe I just woke up one day and realized I can't live like that forever. There's much more to life than bumming in front of my computer. Reality just came knocking on my door one day and boom! I knew what I had to do -- I have to live life, the real one. However, I don't intend to delete those entries as it was part of who I was and it was part of the childhood I dearly cherish 'til now. I may still post some from time to time and look back on those memories when I was still a crazy little fangirl so innocent of this big, wonderful world. So yeah, the "ENTERTAINMENT" tab would stay there :)

Now, what's left is about my everyday life which mostly includes my travel adventures and language learning journey. And yes, I'd definitely be updating in those areas.

Talking about my everyday life and personal thoughts, the past weeks have been really crazy for me. School stuff piled up. There were so many things to do with so little time. I've tried to keep up and it drained me. I got stressed out, depressed, frustrated which affected the way I take care of myself, how I connect with the people around me and most importantly, it affected my relationship with God. Still, I tried and tried. But seemed like I wasn't doing it the right way. Though I was happy, I was still feeling empty. Things didn't make sense. But looking back after that very tiring and energy-sucking period, I realized why I acted like that. Why I felt so weak that there wasn't even a day I looked forward to. Mornings have been dull and nights are nothing but school, work and STRESS!!! I actually thought I can do it on my own, I will have to do it on my own and finish everything! I was too focused to get to the end as soon as possible. I was too focused that I forgot to stop and breathe. Then sacrifices were made and I sincerely regret to say this but unfortunately, I skipped Sunday services, quiet time and lifegroup activities were cancelled just so I can finish the things to be done. :(

And now it dawned on me why I have been such a mess. I was too caught up with everything that I needed to do not knowing I have actually neglected the most important thing. The only thing I needed and was actually craving for this whole time -- my relationship with God. I've been so distant with Him lately and that's what kept me from feeling the real joy of accomplishing those things. I tried doing things on my own when I shouldn't have. And it could have been a lot easier and much more fulfilling if I only chose to take that walk with Him. But I didn't. I chose to handle it my own. I thought I was in control of my own life. Apparently, I was wrong. Completely wrong.

Now, as one of my favorite song to listen to these days say:

I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
I’m losing control
Of my destiny
It feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go
-I'm Letting Go, Francesca Battistelli

This morning, I lifted it all up to Him. I will let go of all my worries and doubts about tomorrow. Whatever the future may bring, whether it be different from what I expected or not, I will hold unto my faith and believe that He is in full control, I need not worry. I just have to live everyday with His grace and the thought that everything I do should be for His glory and it will eventually lead me to the right direction.

I prayed and asked Him to hold my hand and my heart and never let go of me even if there would be this kind of challenging times again and I might actually loosen my grip. A few years back, I have forgotten Him, turned my back, had my own life and left. When I came back, He was there. Now I have lost my way again and came back and He's still there. I picture Him standing there, right there where I've left, faithfully waiting for my return with open arms. He proved time and time again that He is and would forever will be our faithful Lord and Savior. How could I not fall in love with Him more and more each day and be amazed by His unconditional love for all of us?

My eyes are now welling up with tears as I write this. Such a wonderful realization. Such an amazing way to start the day and I intend to start every single day from now on with You, Lord :)

I'm a happy Christian full of God's undying love for all of us.

**Okay, I have to cook and prepare my brother's packed lunch now.

PATTY LAUREL + TRAVEL = LOVE

2011-07-14T02:03:00.003+08:00

I have always been a constant visitor of Patty Laurel's blog. And I am just so glad she already made a new one. I missed her travel blogs. Her photos are so pretty (well, she is) and yes, kainggit!!!. lol. tsk. Honestly, I stumbled upon her blog while searching for Atom Araullo online more than a year ago (excuse a fan here haha). Right there and then, I fell in love with the couple -- match made in heaven, that's what I first thought looking at their travel photos together. It's been my dream to travel with that "someone". But whether together or not, I still love her and her blog. Hahaha. When I read her travel adventures I totally got inspired to travel more! This world has such beautiful places so how can I ever let the time pass without having a glimpse of all God's wonderful creations? Yeahhhhh.

I scrolled up and down and back again through her blog. Not getting sick of all the shots (and now, with videos too! Bonus luck for me!). Reading and re-reading. lol

And this.... I totally agree (from Patty Laurel's blog)

But now, I get it. I understand why my parents placed such a premium on TRAVEL. Some people dont understand it. Why be a slave for months, save and save, then blow it all off on a trip. I've emptied my bank account numerous times for trips, but I tell you it's so fulfilling! My travels have shaped me into the person I am today. Aside from being immersed in different cultures, reliving history, enjoying art and food...the best thing traveling has taught me is HUMILITY. You realize that you are but a small entity in this big,big universe. It's just so wonderful to be a witness to God's creation! Ang tendency kasi kapag dito ka lang sa Pilipinas, you become complacent. You know your environment so well, you feel you can go through life blindfolded. you stop asking questions, you stop trying new things, you stick to the cycle. But when you're in a new place, every person is a stranger and everyday is a new adventure. Travel is the best life teacher."

I've only been to 5 countries so far but I can say, it taught me a lot of things -- to be responsible and independent especially when I tried traveling alone, how to live within my budget, how to save up money, etc.

Still got a lot on my list of countries to visit. And right at this moment, I'm actually looking for some budget trips as I plan to travel after graduation (hopefully. keeping my fingers crossed).

Thinking of Hongkong then a bus or boat ride to Macau. Two places at a lesser cost. Woooot! (Sorry, kuripot talaga ako). Some people say traveling by bus is not good, but I've actually tried it when I went to Thailand and Laos last year. The experience of going through land borders is amazing! :)

Any suggestions?

PRACTICUM CONFERENCE 2011

2011-07-13T04:31:00.000+08:00

Sa loob ng isang buwang pamamalagi sa kanayunan at pakikipamuhay sa masa, inihahandog ng mag-aaral ng Araling Pangkaunlaran (Development Studies) ang PRAKSIS. Tampok dito ang 13 dokumentaryo ukol sa iba't ibang sosyo-ekonomikong isyu na kinakaharap ng mga magsasaka, mangingisda at katutubo sa mga probinsiyang aming nilubugan bilang bahagi ng aming praktikum.

PRAKSIS - ang dialektikal na ugnayan ng teorya at praktika o ang dialektikal na tambalan ng repleksyon at aksyon.

PANGASINAN

AMAGA: Ang Buhay sa Gitna ng Tagtuyot

sa Lawa ng Mangabul

Nakakita ka na ba ng isang ”lawang sakahan”?

Ang erya ng Mangabul sa Bayambang, Pangasinan ay napupuno ng tubig at nagiging isang lawa tuwing tag-ulan at nagiging isang malawak na lupang sakahan naman tuwing tag-init. Dito matatagpuan ang pinagkukunan ng kabuhayan ng mga magsasaka sa lugar at isa na nga rito ay ang produksyon ng sibuyas.

Ating sundan ang produksyon ng sibuyas sa lawa ng Mangabul at ang mga problemang kinakaharap ng mga magsasaka sa buong proseso na nagiging hadlang sa pangarap na masaganang ani -- ang problema sa lupa at kagamitan, ang pagdagsa ng mga imported na sibuyas, ang pagbubukas ng San Roque Dam, at ang pagpapatayo ng diversion canal ng lokal na pamahalaan upang gawin itong isang ecotourism zone.

PHOTO EXHIBIT @ LT WALK

GROUPS:

PANGASINAN

Amaga: Ang Buhay sa Gitna ng Tagtuyot sa Lawa ng Mangubul sa Pangasinan

Detros, Altavano, Padilla

AURORA

Sigwa: Ang Pakikibaka ng Batayang Sektor para sa Kabuhayan at Kalikasan sa Casiguran, Aurora

Bejasa, Fabros

PALAWAN

Balat-kayo: Ang Banta ng Ekoturismo sa Taytay, Palawan

Ciriaco, Daquis, Rojo

KTK:

Kabalintunaan: Silang Nagpapakain sa Sambayanan ang Siyang Nagugutom (Isang dokumentaryo ukol sa Bentahan ng Palay sa Victoria, Laguna)

Daradal, Garcia, Lapena

TARLAC

Kalbaryo: Ang Banta ng Balog-Balog Dam sa Buhay ng mga Katutubong Aeta sa San Jose, Tarlac

De Guzman, More, Nartea

LAGUNA

Tulos: Ang Paghihikahos ng Industriya ng Gulay sa Laguna

Arquiza, Cruz A, Del Rosario

BINANGONAN

Huwad na Katig: Ang Nakakubling Banta ng Agresyong Pangkaunlaran sa Lawa sa Laguna

Acharon, Reyes, Sims

QUEZON

Luoy: Ang Epekto ng Sabwatang Lokal at Globalisasyon sa Industriya ng Gulay sa Quezon

Coronel, Cossid, Domingo

MONTALBAN

Hawan: Ang Pampulitikang Ekonomiya ng Dislokasyon at Karalitaan ng Uring Magsasaka sa Montalban, Rizal

Baltazar, Duhaylungsod, Fernandez-Cuervo

ISABELA

Monoculture: Ang Masamang Epekto ng Laganap na Kumbersyon ng Tamin sa Isabela

Cainap, Du, Yanit

NUEVA ECIJA

Kontradiksyon: Ang Mapanghating Iskema ng Huwad na Reporma sa Lupa sa Guimba, Nueva Ecija

Arnanta, Bautista, Cruz D, Peji, Fernandez, Gregorio

CAVITE

Sementadong Bukid: Ang Pakikibaka ng mga Magsasaka sa Cavite Para sa Lupa, Kabuhayan at Karapatan

Gamara, Ingeniero, Rendon

BULACAN

Uma: Lupang Kinamkam sa Ngalan ng Agresyong Pangkaunlaran sa San Jose del Monte, Bulacan

Domagsang, Padilla, Blancaflor

RANDOM PHOTOLOG #3

2011-07-13T03:57:00.001+08:00

My brother never fails to ruin my diet all the time.

One day he brought me chocolates from work and also bought me

Vanilla Almond mini the next day. sweeet :)

Been trying to change my diet plan for almost 2 months now. No softdrinks and junks. No rice (or maybe just less lol). This is in line with my yoga activities which I've been doing for almost a year. Wanna be a lacto-ovo vegetarian* but just can't give up meat that easily so maybe I'd just go for flexitarian** for now. haha Don't wanna overdo it so I'm just taking one step at a time. Gonna get there soon. Hahaha

*Lacto-ovo vegetarian - excludes meat, fish and poultry but eats dairy products

**Flexitarian - mainly eat vegetarian food, but will occasionally make exceptions

Some people are just rude (but funny) tsk. Dunno if I should post this up. But it's HILARIOUS.

:/

2011-07-01T07:15:00.004+08:00

Yesterday was ... a little depressing and frustrating. Not really the best way to end the month of June.

For the past four days, I've always stayed up and pulled all-nighters to finish a requirement. But all the efforts seemed unappreciated. Nanliit ako.

I know criticisms help us improve and even strive harder to do things right. And I've always been open to such. Honestly, it even made me realize my mistakes and shortcomings during our practicum -- maybe I should've done better, I should've prepared better. But still, our situation then hindered us to actually do things which can help in some of our present activities. I got answers if asked how come we lacked documentation for our AVP. It may sound as an excuse, but it's the truth. And it was inevitable while we were in the area.

I should take this as a challenge then. But I still believe that one can get the message across without hurting anyone.

I'm sorry but I can't help but feel bad about what happened.

This too shall pass. I hope so. SOON PLEASE :(

정말 오랜만이에요

2011-06-26T00:03:00.002+08:00

우아. 블로그를 못 만든 지 2개월 쯤 됐네요. 좀 오랜만이에요.
지지난 달에 인턴직을 하게 되면서 그 동안 한국어 공부를 못 했더니 한국어 실력이 나빠진 것 같아요. 아쉬워요, 정말. :/

아는 문법이나 용어를 다 잊어버린 것 같아요. 아니면 잠깐 까먹는 걸까요? 그러면 좋겠어요.
여러분 나랑 언어 공부하는 것을 할까요?
멘트를 남겨 주세요.

좋은 날 되세요.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

지난 목요일부터 우리 수업들이 모두다 중단되었어요. 그때부터 지금까지 비가 계속 내려서 뉴스에 따르면 아무곳이나 다 침수되었대요. 제 친구들의 집 근처도 다 침수되었대요. ㅠㅠ 이젠 강한 태풍입니다. 그 것(태풍) 때문에 수업이 없어서 너무 좋았는데 매일 이렇게 밥 먹고 자고 영화를 보고 하니 심심하게 됐어요. 집 밖에 나갈 수도 없어요. ㅠㅠ 그리고 다른 수해지에 있는 사람들은 힘들 것 같다고 생각하면 이런 상황을 어떻게 하면 좋죠? 그래서 이번 잠시 "방학" 동안 한국어를 공부하고 숙제를 하고 시간을 그냥 쉽게 보내고 있어요.

필리핀에 있는 사람들이 모두 조심하고 건강하세요 :)

SBP REUNION

2011-06-24T19:05:00.003+08:00

Before officially entering UP three years ago, I had to take up a summer bridge program (SBP) for almost two months. And after that ended, I hadn't been able to go out with my SBP buddies like we used to. Well, except for Kim and April, who I spent almost every single day the past 3 years since we luckily became blockmates after the summer program! But everyone else are on different colleges in UP Manila so we see the rest of our SBP friends only in the hallways or at the cafeteria.

They were my first friends when I got here in Manila. And it was really great spending time with them after three years. Unfortunately, our scheds don't really match so other SBP friends couldn't join us for the lunchdate we had.

L-R: Yves, Kim, Kat, April, Ness

Henessy (C.Pharmacy) and Yves (C.Dentistry).

LUNCHDATE @ GUMBO

Garlic bread while waiting...

Seafood Jambalaya

Spaghetti Carbonara

I totally love this!

(and it won't be complete without the parmesan cheese!)

DESSERT @ CARAMIA!

I have always loved having dessert at Caramia.

SBP LADIES I ABSOLUTELY LOVE.

I MISSED YOU HENESSY!

L-R: Kat, April, Henessy

The date won't be fun at all without Kim!

L-R: April, Kim, Henessy

I hope our Bohol plans will push through. Someday :P

Photos by Kim Peji

RANDOM PHOTOLOG #2

2011-06-24T18:37:00.000+08:00

I am totally back kstudying. But got lazy the other day and

had to review while comfortably lying down on my bed :P

June 21, 2011

It was my brother's first day at work so I decided to buy him a congratulatory gift.

Bought him a silver necklace with a cross pendant. I always tell him that as he start another chapter in his life,

he should never forget that he will never walk alone as God will always be beside him in this new journey.

(I also bought one for myself. Brother-Sister necklace.

Who said only couples can have matching stuff? LOL)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

2011-06-19T16:23:00.116+08:00

I bought an ice cream to celebrate father's day. (And yes, I can eat that much.)

I remember my dad always buying me one whenever we had to go on a 2-hour drive to our province. We'll stop by a gasoline station and after filling the tank, we'll go straight to the convenience store to buy an ice cream pint -- cookies and cream and double dutch were my favorite those days.

In the middle of all our random chats and his classic Bon Jovi, Air Supply and Elton John music (and we still use casette tapes back then), I was already able to finish and eat everything half-way through the drive. :))))

But we stopped doing these things since 4 years ago. I've graduated from high school and had to move out from our home in Davao, live with my brother here in Manila and pursue my college education in UP Manila. I've actually missed the times I usually spent with my dad -- all the corny jokes he randomly cracks, the mushy father-daughter talks and the long drives together. I even missed our moments of no-talk because of some argument we had. Hahaha.

There are a lot of things why I always feel like wanting to go back to my hometown. The life there is very simple. Davao is the cleaner and more peaceful version of Manila for me and I can never be as at ease and as happy when I'm "home". Whatever childhood memories I had there, even those not worth remembering, are all part of who I am right now. I just love my hometown so much especially because my family is also there.

However, I also have my dreams and responsibilities I can never turn away from. And to be able to reach those goals, sacrifices had to be made. But I know, whatever I do and wherever I may go in the future, it will always lead me back to where I really belong -- HOME. :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!

REUNITED

2011-06-14T00:05:00.006+08:00

Before After

The "before photo" was taken almost 5 years ago. And the present one was taken yesterday, when she finally visited me here in Manila.

And here's our very brief story from one of my past blogs:

KC and I were classmates during the 2nd grade but we weren't really close then. I can't even remember her being my gradeschool classmate. LOL. Then she transferred to another school and the next time we met was during high school. We were in different sections in the first year of HS so we didn't even say 'hi' when meeting in the hallways. She was this girly snob I see every quarter on stage to get her 1st honor award. Yez. And I have always been the boyish type. We didn't really clicked right there and then.

Second year came and we got into the same class. I dunno how it all started but we just suddenly found ourselves staying up all night over the phone talking about super random things. Then we hang out at school, etc. And tada! We became best friends! :))))

I was there during her heartbreaks and "love is in the air" moments and witnessed almost all the dramas of high school together because that's what HS is all about, right? Haha. We usually go home late because it's the only time she had to talk with her then boyfriend :)

During our final year in high school, we were super active and busyyyy. We were both CAT Blueswords Student Leaders (I was the Corps Commander and she was second in command) and we were also Student Body Officers. Talk about toxicity of our HS life. Hahaha. But though were supposed to be 'role models' in school, we were one of the best pasaways! :))) Example?

No double earrings. But I got three on my right ear and two on my left. KC has also 2 on both sides, I guess.
Skirts should be 2-inches below the knee. Mine was 4 or 5 inches!!!
No accessories. We were CAT officers right? We confiscate others' accessories. But we have and wear our own :PMANY MORE.

To summarize everything:

We've been friends since elementary (grade 1 and 2). Then she left and transferred to another school.

Met again during high school and basically spent almost all our high school life together. But after our high school graduation, I had to move to Manila for college (UPM) and she transferred to Lipa, Batangas and studied at La Salle. Though we're only two hours away by bus, we didn't really get the chance to see one another. We just kept in touch through phone calls and emails for the past three years.

And after thousands of attempts... yesterday, June 12, 2011, I was FINALLY reunited with my bestfriend. :)))

Had dinner at Shakey's and went home. We stayed up ALL NIGHT going down memory lane, calling our high school friends and talking (through skype for almost 10 hours) with one of our closest guy friend, Joseph, who is now in Oregon. Took silly photos and recorded a video shout out to all our HS friends. CRAZY. Just like the good ol' days.

Missing her already :/

MYANMAR TRAVEL PHOTOS

2011-06-10T23:38:00.000+08:00

TUMBLR

Burmese Food:

Random Views:

RANDOM PHOTOLOG #1

2011-06-09T14:26:00.007+08:00

One of my favorites!

June 3, 2011

Went out with my brother last friday. So random of us.

Got bored and decided to go shopping and eat!

And this was his idea of a friday-night date.

LOL. Craved for some simple streetfood :)

June 6, 2011

Here it is!!! Last monday, it took me around 30mins to finish my registration.

Which is really RARE btw. Enrolment for us is usually hell -- lasts for a week

with all that long lines and confusing process if you unfortunately run out of slots in your preferred subjects.

Not to mention the not-so-good encounters with the registration staff. LOL

OHYEAH. NEARLY CRIED WHEN I SAW THIS ON MY FORM 5A.

I'm on my final year in college! *fingers crossed*

June 10, 2011

And earlier, around 3am, my brother and I decided to get these chillz from a nearby mini-stop

to complete our movie-bonding. lol. T'was crazy.

Sorry for the crappy photos again. Just using my camera phone :))

MORNING TASTE

2011-06-04T21:01:00.000+08:00

I totally love fresh milk and pancakes for breakfast. :)))

Uhm actually , I love this combination any time of the day particularly when I'm too lazy to cook any decent meal for myself. Hahaha

BOOTS

2011-06-02T00:54:00.001+08:00

*Janilyn, Navy Blue, S-7

Bought new boots yesterday.

Can't wait for my next out of the country trip :)

I'M BAAACKKK!!!

2011-05-26T14:58:00.000+08:00

Yes, yes. I'm finally back! After our month-long practicum in Pangasinan, I'm back to my old life -- blogging, language studying, blogging again :))) Yeah, pretty much my cyber life.

Anyway, I really had fun during our practicum and it really was memorable. Loved our group and our guide and our foster families and just everything about it.

**something's wrong with my menu's layout. Imma deal with that later. Still got a lot of post-practicum outputs to do :/

TRIPLE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

2011-05-26T14:28:00.000+08:00

L-R: Anna, Kat, Marian, April, Kim

Kim and I have the same birthday and April's birthday is a week after ours so before our practicum started, the three of us decided to have a triple birthday celebration at the Ravioli. Awesome pasta and pizza treat! :D

PRE-PRACTICUM BLUES

2011-04-20T04:26:00.000+08:00

Anyway, I will soon be deployed in Pangasinan with my groupmantes for our summer practicum. It's a very different kind of practicum compared to other courses. And I'm so proud of it. Hahaha. To give an overview (for non-Filipino readers of my blog, I'll try to explain it in English though I'm more comfortable in explaining it in Filipino. LOL), we will have our assigned areas/provinces where we will actually stay there for over a month and live with the masses. This way, we will not just base everything on books but have an in-depth personal experience and gain more understanding about their real situation and their lives -- their source of living, how are they being exploited by those in power, what can we do, etc. (I feel I didn't do justice in explaining it but anyway, there's more significance to it than what I have just said. lol)

I think I won't be having a difficult time adjusting or figuring out how things work in provinces or in farms since I came from the same place. Also, having to live with the people there would be a great experience for me. I believe people in the provinces are the best and most accommodating people in the world. :) They give you their best and treat you like a real guest even if you insist that you're not. I should know, all of my relatives and even my dad and older brother live in the province and I spent almost all my younger days there. So if talking about chores, farm works or things like that, I think I'll be fine. What I'm quite worried about is the actual data analysis and reports we have to do as our final output. Others say I should do well since my family's inclined to social work (my mom has been part of an INGO for the past 20 years, my brother also worked in an NGO and the other one is a researcher) but actually I'm not really confident if I could actually do well. LOL. I still have a long way to go, there are still a lot of things to learn and a whole huge space for improvement. And so this practicum would certainly be one of the most important part of this course -- actually doing what we learned at school.

Wish us luck! :)

** To all my batchmates, please be safe always :)

GROCERY SHOPPING!

2011-04-20T04:08:00.001+08:00

These days, I sleep, wake up, cook and eat alone. To put it simply, I live alone :) I certainly enjoy the freedom and the feeling of independence living alone. I have to do everything by myself from preparing or cooking my own food, washing my own clothes, etc. I'm used to these chores since I've been living alone with my brother for the past three years and since he just left around 4 days ago to visit our hometown, I'm left alone and I quite miss nagging him to do the things mentioned above. Hahaha.

I went grocery shopping yesterday. I actually love doing it. I feel like I'm a real grown-up in my own real world. So when I finish college, I won't be someone ignorant of these things and the feeling of having my own life -- technically. LOL. So maybe this is also why I can already see and dream how I'd be living my life years from now. I'm loving this a lot! Exciting!

Bought veggies for my breakfast (salad, sandwiches, etc)

Fruit love... if not expensive. But they are, so I didn't buy any.

Have to follow my budget. LOL

Ooohh. My favorite -- CHEESE!!!

Other people, particularly my brother, hate cheese. But I LOVE THEM.

Seriously, I'm addicted to cheese -- SO MUCH. Haha.

I was tempted to buy one of these, but then again, it was tooooo expensive. tsk.

So I just bought the cheaper one and there goes my dream cheese. T_T

BANGKOK BUILDINGS

2011-04-20T03:06:00.000+08:00

TUMBLR

Photos by Kitz Kaizer Detros

I just edited them :)

BANGKOK STREETS

2011-04-20T03:00:00.003+08:00

TUMBLR

Photos taken by Kitz Kaizer Detros

I just edited them :)

STREET FOODS @ KHAO SAN RD., BANGKOK

2011-04-20T02:55:00.000+08:00

TUMBLR

Photos taken by Kitz Kaizer Detros

I just edited them :)

운전하는 법을 배우고 싶다

2011-04-19T12:21:00.005+08:00

NAVER BLOG

요즘엔 너무 바쁜 날이었다. 우린 학기가 끝냈지만 해야할 것들이 엄청 많다. 왜냐하면 여름 인턴직을 시작해서 어떤 조사 자료를 수집해야 한다. 여기 저기 정부관계기관에 가야 하니까 너무너무너무 피곤해서 죽겠다. 어제는 너~무 더운 날인데 반 친구들과 여기 저기 걸어다녔다. ㅠㅠ 진~짜 피곤한 하루였다. 우와..

이럴 때는 차가 있었으면 좋겠다. 아! 아직 운전을 못 해서 일단 배워야 겠죠. ㅋㅋㅋ 배우고 싶지만 시간이 없어서 못 한다. 음... 다음 학기에 꼭 자동차 학원에 다녀야 겠다고 생각한다. 운전하는 것이 재미있을 것 같다. 그리고 우리 일상생활에도 중요하고 유용한 능력이라고 생각했다. 특히 출퇴근할 때...근데 교통이 복잡하면 운전하는 것보다 지하철을 타는 것은 더 낫다. 맞죠?

지난 주말에 우리 엄마와 오빠는 방학이라 고향에 돌아가서 우리 아파트에 나는 혼자 남게 되었다. 좀 심심하고 쓸쓸한다. 그래서 이렇게 그냥 한국어 공부하고 블로그도 쓴다.

여러분, 이야기할까요? ㅋㅋㅋ 트위터나 Skype으로 얘기하자! 아니면 여기도 코멘트로 남겨 주세요.

2011-04-17T04:55:00.002+08:00

HE CHANGED ME :)

HAVE A BLESSED SUNDAY EVERYONE.

CONGRATULATIONS

2011-04-17T01:19:00.002+08:00

KEITH C. DETROS

MAGNA CUM LAUDE

2011 MOST OUTSTANDING GRADUATE

BA POLITICAL SCIENCE CLASS OF 2011

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES MANILA

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Pinakamaalab na pagbati at pinakamataas na pagpupugay

ang nais kong ipaabot sa lahat ng Iskolar ng Bayan na nagtapos.

Padayon!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

WAITING...

2011-04-17T01:13:00.003+08:00

Vanity while waiting for mom trying on a number of clothes.

UPDATES SOON.

2011-04-17T01:03:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. The past week was jam-packed with activities that I really didn't have the time and energy left to think and blog. But anyway, my mom and brother already left for Davao early yesterday morning so I'm really bored and sad right now. Yes, I'm kinda missing them already. When I got home earlier from a meeting with our practicum guide, I suddenly felt a rush of emotions realizing that I won't be expecting someone to come home and bring or cook food for me. For a week, I have to do everything by myself. For a week, before I get deployed to Pangasinan for our more-than-a-month-long immersion, I can't have the pleasure of nagging and annoying my brother. I should be used to this already but since I've been leaving alone with him for the past 3 years, the house really feels empty. Plus the fact that I can't go out with my friends since they're already deployed in their respective areas as well adds up to the "heartache". LOL. So technically, I don't really have anywhere else to go this weekend. Just have to wait for Monday and get myself busy with our data gathering activity in preparation for our deployment next week. Really feeling down right now so I'll be drowning myself with food, blog updates and kstudy. :)

우리 결혼했어요 || WE GOT MARRIED

2011-04-06T06:00:00.003+08:00

Now, I want to compare the two seasons of We Got Married. I've honestly been wanting to do this for a long time but too lazy to do so. But since, I've brought up the topic in my recent post about Kstudying, I might as well write a blog about it now.

I've been watching WGM since the program started with the original couples of Season 1. At that time, I still wasn't studying Korean, I watched it just for fun and I really fell in love with the couples, especially the ones on the photo below.

(L-R) Crown J & Seo In Young || Alex & Sinae || Lee Hwi Jae & Jo Yeo Jeong

Solbi & Andy || Hwang Bo & Kim Hyun Joong

Honestly, I like the first season a lot more than the current season. Why?

1. They really did great in portraying a married life -- it seemed REAL.

2. Every time each couple had to "break up", you can feel the sincerity and just can't help but cry with them. In season 2, they do have their last missions but yeah, it's just like that :P

3. Compared to the second season of WGM, the season 1 couples had a shorter time together. The longest running couple of the first season were the Ant Couple (Crown J and Seo In Young) who got to live together for 10 months. But in season 2 they actually last over a year before they leave the program, like the Adam Couple (2AM's Jo Kwon and BEG's Ga In) who spent a year and a half. However, though season 1 couples had shorter time together, I've felt a deeper connection with and between the couples. I dunno why but the season 2 couples just didn't have that kind of 'magic' or 'spark'.

4. Husbands of the first season did greater and more touching events for their wives.

5. You won't feel it was just a "fake" marriage for the sake of the program.

6. Season 2 couples failed to give the feeling of a "married life" which is what the program's all about, just the dating phase, I guess. Maybe because they're idols and younger compared to the first season couples. I still enjoy watching them though. Hahaha

7. I've mentioned this in one of my blogs written in full Korean and I'd say it again. I think the key to a program's success is when it connects to the audience and would leave a special feeling that would linger even when it ends. And the season 1 couples really had that kind of impact -- well, at least for me. I never got over the program easily when it ended. LOL.

8. The season 1 couples can make you fantasize the kind of married life you'd want and wish you can also do the same things they did :) Sweeeet.

2AM's Jo Kwon & BEG's Ga In

CNBlue's Yong Hwa & SNSD's Seo Hyun

2PM's NichKhun & F(x)'s Victoria

I'm not saying the second season is a total fail, but having seen the first season, I felt like there's something lacking. But anyway, I still love the couples and the show itself.

My favorite couples? (reminiscing.... lol)

Season 1:

1. Hwang Bo & Kim Hyun Joong

One word to describe this couple: FUN.

They did a lot of activities together and compete with each other all the time.

2. Solbi & Andy

The couple who'll get you confused between the reel and real thing.

They eventually had to exit the program for this exact reason.

3. Alex & Sinae --

Romantic. The efforts of Alex to make events for Sinae are the best!

Took a lot of polaroid photos together :P

The flowerpot.

4. Crown J & Seo In Young

HILARIOUS.

They fight a lot which makes it a lot more interesting and seem real.

Love shoes and shopping!

Season 2:

1. 2AM's Jo Kwon & BEG's Ga In

Childish and funny but romantic at times :)

A combination of Crown J-Seo In Young and Hwang bo-Hyun Joong

I like their duet song a lot -- 우리 사랑하게 됐어요 (We Fell in Love)

2. 2PM's NichKhun & F(x)'s Victoria

They still can't give off the feeling of a married couple (maybe just "dating")but I still enjoy watching them.

3. CNBlue's Yong Hwa & SNSD's Seo Hyun
update: (I forgot to include this couple last night while I was making this post since I was too sleepy already. Hahaha.
Thanks for Jeannie's comment which reminded me of updating it today)

I love the progress of the Yongseo couple's relationship throughout the show.
From a very awkward stage to a very natural skinship stage. Hahaha. Cute!
And just like the Adam Couple, i also love their duet
or Yonghwa's single, 처음 사랑하는 연인들을 위해 (반말송)

That's all for now. Hahaha. Really love this show :D

우결로 한국어를 배움

2011-04-06T05:51:00.003+08:00

Since I resumed studying Korean after the semester officially ended last week, I've been watching a lot of korean variety shows particularly 우리 결혼했어요/ "우결" (We Got Married). I prefer learning from variety shows not only because it's really fun to watch but more so because the conversations are more natural. I learn a lot of new words and everyday expressions. I think it helps a lot especially if you want to learn how to speak like a native Korean. LOL. And through these variety shows, I can also practice my listening skills since I watch them without subtitles.

What I like about this method is the fact that I can pause the video to read the korean subs (which PDs really love to add in most korean variety programs) or go back to the part I didn't understand and replay it over and over again 'til I get what they're saying. I absolutely enjoy this kind of method in learning Korean.

I find Khuntoria couple's episodes easier to understand. Though I watch them without subs, I can understand almost everything and I don't need to pause or replay as much as I do with the other couple's parts. Maybe because they're foreigners (Khun's Thai and Victoria is Chinese) and they're also not native speakers. But even so, they're still fluent in speaking Korean so they quite inspire me to go on and study harder to attain the level of fluency I want. When I watch them I keep thinking "Ah, people can really be fluent in a language. Must try harder and not give up!" Hahaha.

Will have to write a separate blog about the two seasons :D

CLICK HERE TO READ.

BRATPACK

2011-04-01T20:07:00.000+08:00

Bought a backpack earlier. Well, it was on my checklist of the things I want but I guess it'd be more of a "need" now since it'd surely be useful for our upcoming practicum. LOL.

SHOP FOR YOUR RIGHT -- Bratpack

I have to agree.

I agree for the reason that I don't use my parent's money to shop rather I use my own to splurge (from my part-time teaching job).

SEM ENDS = KSTUDY RESUMES

2011-04-01T19:36:00.003+08:00

Hey blog, how I missed you so :)

I sincerely apologize for the shameless vanity right there :))) I am just soooo happy that the semester's officially over. Though we are not really gonna have a real summer vacation because of our practicum which is only 2 weeks away, but 'til then, the thought that I'd be able to Kstudy all I want excites me :D

FINALLY.

I'm now back kstudying and blogging after all the sleepless nights doing papers and preparing for bloodshed final examinations. But then again, two weeks from now I'd be deployed somewhere I am yet to find out next week during our practicum orientation and this blog and my kstudy will be put on hiatus for over a month. tsk. :|

For now, Kstudy resumes.

대학교에 찍은 사진

2011-03-28T05:51:00.001+08:00

필리핀에 가장 좋은 대학교 University of the Philippines Manila. ㅋㅋㅋ

뭐 할까?

2011-03-27T03:21:00.001+08:00

머리 속이 복잡해서 잠을 못 잤어요. 어떤 생각인지 잘 모르겠어요. 그냥 다른 일을 생각하고 있어요. ㅋㅋㅋ 네, 저 가끔 좀 이상하죠? 알고 있어요. 아이고~ 이제 뭘 얘기할까? 음...

이 블로그를 쓰기 전에 한국 영화 "천국의 우편 배달부"를 봤어요. 사실은 그 영화가 시작했을 때 좀 재미 없는 것 같다고 생각했었어요. 근데 주인공들이 (TVXQ/JYJ의 멤버 영웅재중이랑 한효주) 너무 좋아해서 계속 보고 있었거든요. 그 영화를 볼수록 재미있었어요. 그리고 재중이 진짜 잘 생겼고 멋있는 남자 아니예요? 멋있죠? ㅎㅎㅎ 아무튼 천국의 우편 배달부 좋은 영화라고 생각해요.

본 후에 난 그냥 컴퓨터 앞에 앉아서 "뭘 해야 할까" 생각했어요. 잠이 안와서 시크릿 가든 대본이나 노래 가사를 번역해 볼까? 아니면 한국어로 블로그를 쓸까? 그런 생각이 떠올랐어요. 뭘 할까요? 아... 분명히 이 블로그를 쓰고 있죠? ㅋㅋㅋ 근데 더 한국어를 연습을 위해 번역하고 싶은데 지금 벌써 새벽이라서 자야 할 것 같아요. 그리고 이번 주에 시험도 많아서 한국어를 공부할 충분한 시간이 없어요. ㅠㅠ 아쉬워요 진짜 ~~

다 끝난 후에 꼭 많이 블로그를 쓰고 한국어를 연습하고 공부할게용~ :)

** 아... 잠 들기 전에 시크릿 가든 대본의 한 부분을 번역해 보고 싶어요 :P

I MISS KSTUDYING :|

2011-03-22T04:15:00.002+08:00

It's been almost a week since I last studied Korean. I've been too caught up with my school responsibilities -- trying to meet the deadlines, doing projects, fulfilling course requirements and studying for possible graded recitations and exams. Last week was a tough one for me. It was too stressful and there were so many things to do with so little time. So I had to prioritize and choose which one to accomplish first. Of course, as a student, I had to choose my acads-related stuff. I can't really just neglect my acads and focus more on language studying at critical times like this. LOL. And I don't feel satisfied if I only have an hour or two for studying languages. I prefer to study in one go. An hour-a-day type of schedule doesn't really work for me. So as you might have guessed now, I spent my weekend reading Hunt and Sherman's book which is said to be the coverage for our final examination in our Econ class and finishing other major requirements in other subjects as well. Still happy that I had a productive weekend :)

Now, I finally got to steal some time with my blog and I decided to Kstudy after this :P

Yes, it's 4am but I'm gonna study Korean 'til around 10am before going to school later. The problem is I don't really know where to start again. :(( It's frustrating that I've actually forgotten a lot of words and grammar points I've already gone through before. Aysh! But anyway, I'm still all hyped up thinking I'd finally be Kstudying again :P

어제는 어떤 하루 였어요?

2011-03-15T04:25:00.005+08:00

오랫동안 이런 블로그를 못 만들었죠? 학교에 해야 할 것들이 너무 너무 많아서 매일 집에 돌아왔을 때 피곤하고 정신이 없거든요. (그리고 요즘은 자주 배 고파요 ㅋㅋㅋ 왜 그렇게 되는지 잘 모르겠어요. 그냥 항상 먹고 싶은 것 같은 느낌이 있어요. 와... 삽시간에 돼지로 바뀔 것 같아요. ㅎㅎㅎ 그래도 먹고 싶은 것을 좋아해요.)

음... 바쁘지만 반드시 한국어를 공부할 시간이 내도록 최선을 다해요. 근데 시간이 있으면 그냥 문법을 배우고 새로운 어휘를 외워요. 요즘엔 블로그를 만들지 않고 녹음기도 안 했죠? 나 게으른 여자로 된가요? 안닌 것 같은데... 그냥 ....

그런데 이제는 블로그나 녹음기로 연습하는 것은 언어 공부에 정말 중요하는 것을 알아차렸으니까 지금부터 블로그를 많이 써 볼게요. 꼭 노력할게요.

오늘부터 다시 시작할까요? ㅋㅋㅋ 어제 무엇을 한지 알려드릴게요.

어제는 교수님께서 말씀할 점 있으니까 학교에 가야 할 거라고 했었어요. 그래서 일찍 일어나서 준비하고 곧바로 학교에 갔어요. 학교에 도착했을 때 반 친구들도 벌써 있었어요. 저희 교수님의 사무실에 같이 갔어요. 교수님께서 저희한테 숙제를 다 돌려드리고 편집해야 할 거라고 바로 다음 날에 또 보내야 할 거라고 말씀했어요. 와!!! 우리가 "뭐예요? 다음 날? 벌써?!"라고 생각했어요. 어떻게 하죠... 그 숙제가 넘넘 어렵던데... :(

앞서 말한 이유 때문에 어제 그 숙제를 끝내려고 하루종일 학교에 있었어요. 다행히 집에 돌아가기 전에 다 했어요. ㅎㅎㅎ 드디어...

위 있는 사진은 우리 전공 부서에 찍은 사진이에요 (상당히 지저분하네). 제 친구가 그 부서에서 학생비서로 일해서 저도 언제나 있을 수 있어요. :P

NAVER BLOG

i Tour Seoul

2011-03-12T12:25:00.000+08:00

I was at awe the whole time I was watching this.

I can't believe it's even possible to balance those things.

AMAZING.

WILL NOW START MY JAPANESE JOURNEY

2011-03-12T04:10:00.001+08:00

I've finally decided to start on Japanese so I bought a new notebook for my Japanese self-study (and a small one for my everyday to-do list, I just can't live without one -- my old one's already full). I'm excited on starting on a new language and relive the feelings and frustrations when I first started Korean. All the confusions about the characters, the grammar, pronunciation and just every challenge a beginner would possibly encounter. I'm a COMPLETE beginner once again -- will be starting from an empty page, not even a scratch. LOL I seriously don't have the tiniest idea about the Japanese language, that's for sure.

Special thanks to my friend, Miya, who lent me her materials so that I can finally start on this language. Yay!!! Will update about my progress as much as possible. But ofcourse, Korean would still be my first priority when it comes to studying languages.

Slowly, day by day, I'm starting my journey to my dreams of becoming a multilingual. I'm getting there, maybe not as soon as I wished for, but I know someday, I'LL DEFINITELY GET THERE :)

파이팅!

THE FACE SHOP (AGAIN)

2011-03-12T03:33:00.000+08:00

Just rewarded myself after a week of sleepless nights -- AGAIN. I usually sleep after the sun says hello. And sometimes I don't sleep at all just to finish everything that needs to be done (when will this kind of lifestyle end, seriously?) Anyway, went shopping, bought a dress and THIS. :) Love the new shade. Shall try it sooon.

WHAT MY DESK LOOKS LIKE

2011-03-11T22:23:00.002+08:00

Random blog.

Well, that's my super crowded little table. I have my laptop at one side with some headbands and hats hanging on top of it and headphones (which I got around 3 of 'em since I need it for my online teaching job) and some mini-notebooks beside it (I love collecting notebooks even though I don't really use them. If I do, just for random nothings), then a Bible. Yes, I do have one. LOL. And I try my best to read it every night. I also have a mirror for my vanity and a pen holder behind it. And a corkboard where I post photos of friends, letters, notes, updates and list of my things-to-do. Just random things, really. Hahaha. And also some high school photos of me and my friends back in Davao. The drawing at the top is a Super Junior cartoon art I made way back in 2009. The original drawing's not really mine, I just copied it somewhere and drew my own. :)) That's it :P I seriously need a larger desk.

QUESTIONS AND REALIZATIONS

2011-03-11T20:46:00.005+08:00

Because of all the things that are happening nowadays, a lot of questions suddenly came up along with some realizations about my life and how I lived it so far.

Will I be able to spend more time with my family? Was it ever a good decision to live away from them to pursue my studies? Or I should have stayed together with them? At times like this, I wish I am with them -- all of them.
Am I ever gonna graduate? And have a job? Fulfill my dreams?
Will the looooong years of studying be put to waste in just a split second?
Will I still be able to travel and see the world? Like I have always dreamed of doing?
Will I still be able to make my mom's dream of establishing a school for the poor and building an orphanage come true? Will I still have the chance to continue my mom's work and passion of helping the poor? Please let me do that. That's why I am majoring in Development Studies, y'knoww. Even though I also wanted to study Linguistics, I pursued DevStud because of that motivation/inspiration -- I'll have the opportunity to make more people happy.
Will I still have the opportunity to serve and give back to my parents and siblings the same kind of love, care and happiness they have given me?
Will I be able to get married? Have kids? Build my own family?
Oh, scrap that. This goes first : Will I ever even have the chance to fall in love?
How much time is there left to live? 2012, is it real? Hmmm. Makes me think.
If it's tomorrow or whatever, I think I'm still not ready. But I'll accept.
I'm still on the process of trying to lower my pride even just a bit and apologize to all the people I've hurt.
I still got many plans on my list. Please give me more time to accomplish those.
Am I gonna be fluent on the languages I'm learning? LOOOL And become a multilingual. HAHAHA
Were my family, friends and the people who know me happy that they met me? Or not.
What have I done good for other people so far? Hmmm.
Was I ever kind? Or was I always a b*tch? Especially to my brother. Hahahaha
Did I live my life the best way I could?
A LOT MORE. Confuses me already.

Things are REALLY starting to scare me. I know being a paranoid can do no good. But at times like this, it's also not bad if we reflect on how we lived our life so far. I'm just imagining the kind of life that I would still want to have in the future as well.

Let's all pray for everyone's safety. It's the best thing we can do.

PRAYERS CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS. Hopefully they move waters too. I believe they could. -- Monic del Rosario (via Twitter)

Whatever tomorrow may bring . . . .(this is one of my favorite movie quotes)

Do not fear death, but rather the unlived life. You don't have to live forever. You just have to live. -- Tuck Everlasting (Movie)

TRAVEL IN BLUE

2011-03-11T03:51:00.000+08:00

Simple but a very comfortable look and outfit for the long walks required in going around Angkor Wat.

한글 VS HANGEUL

2011-03-10T15:43:00.001+08:00

I don't know if this goes with everyone but when learning a new language we definitely should learn their writing system first, right? Especially studying languages which involves unique characters aside from the normal alphabet.The Korean, Japanese and Chinese writing systems are the best examples. (Or am I just biased because they're my target languages to learn as of now. LOL)

When I first started studying Korean and learn their writing system, I avoided romanized words or resources so much because I think it would not really help in our progress in writing, reading or even understanding the words/sentences. This tendency of relying on romanizations would slow our learning progress.

In Korean, the pronunciation of each character or syllable is different from how it is romanized. For instance, 해 is actually pronounced as "he", with the soft 'e', but in normal romanizations it will be "hae" and is wrongly pronounced as "hey" sometimes. Even the romanization "he" will be said wrongly as 'he' which refers to a boy. I dunno if I am making any sense right now, but it's difficult to explain how Korean pronunciation works through just writing and not actually speaking. LOL. Another example would be the Korean pronunciation conditions and exceptions. The pronunciation of some characters would depend on the last or the following character. For example, 음료수 is pronounced as "eumnyosu" but when romanized it will be pronounced as "eum-ryo-su". Also, people tend to pronounce the romanized first syllable "eum" as "eyum". Get it? HAHAHAHA.

But anyway, it all boils down to the point that romanization may help for those who are still new in the language in some ways but actually using it throughout the learning process would really not be a lot of help. I realized this things when a friend sent me a message and asked about the meaning of a particular Korean word but she wrote it in romanji that it actually took me some time before I was able to understand it. Another point that I was able to see my progress in the language :) So I think it would really help if you immerse yourself to the writing system as much as possible from the very start.

NEW LAYOUT :)

2011-03-10T06:04:00.000+08:00

Finally finished adjusting the template and updating all labels on each blog post to work on the newly added multi-level drop down menu. And I got almost five hundred blog posts already! WOAH. Yes, it's really tiring but that's how much I love this blog -- I'm willing to spend hours and hours for it to at least look decent. Hahahaha. And now, I'm absolutely lovin' the drop down menu. Now, my posts will be more organized and easy to find.

But anyway, why did I decide to change my layout and add more menu? Well, I just thought that since I'd be starting on Japanese soon and I don't want to manage another blog, coz I want everything just in one place, I decided to organize it like this. Isn't it more convenient? Yeah, so that's mainly the reason why I changed my blogger layout. And I'd be adding more and more and more languages under the LANGUAGE STUDY tab -- Chinese, French, Thai, Spanish, etc (daydreaming to become a real multilingual). Hahaha Why not? And ofcourse, the TRAVEL tab :)

So go on and don't hesitate to explore the links above : )

THE FACE SHOP

2011-03-06T23:38:00.002+08:00

TUMBLR

Bought this last week. Lovin' it so far. :)

TFS nail polish. Except for the red Elianto in the middle. LOL

서강 대학교 온라인 숙제 #2

2011-03-06T11:50:00.003+08:00

우와~ 진짜 오랜만이네~~

나는 요즘 학교에 해야 할 것들이 너무 많아서 이런 한국어 연습 블로그를 못 했다. 여러분 그동안 잘 지냈죠?

오늘은 평소보다 일찍 일어나서 많은 것을 할 수 있을 것 같다. 아까 일어나자마자 또 자고 싶었지만 바로 컴퓨터 앞에 앉아서 한국어 공부를 시작했다. Talk to Me In Korean 오디오 레슨을 먼저 듣고 서강 온라인 숙제를 찾아봤다. 그 다음에 우리 결혼했어요 버라이어티 쇼도 봤다. 그리고 이제는 이 블로그를 쓰고 있다.

음.. 오늘 질문은...

"여러분은 건강을 위해 어떻게 노력하고 있어요?
여러분의 특별한 건강 관리법을 정리해 보세요."

사실은 특별한 건강 관리법이 없다. 왜냐하면 요즘은 너무 바쁘니까 그런 것에 시간을 못 낸다. 그래서 운동을 할 수도 없다. 난 그냥 아침에 일어나서 준비하고 학교에 간다. 그리고 수업 끝나고 나서 친구와 놀러 백화점에 가거나 아니면 곧바로 집에 돌아간다. 근데 운동하는 거 대신 가끔 춤추는 연습을 한다. 그리고 야채, 우유, 등 이런 영양가가 높은 음식을 많이 먹고 (그런 음식들을) 너무 좋아한다.

엄마가 있으면 매일 아침에 가까운 공원에 같이 조깅한다. 운동하는 것은 아주 좋아하니까.... 암마가 ㅋㅋㅋ

건강은 너무 중요하니까 건강을 유지하려고 많은 것을 해야 할 것 같다.

여러분 건강하세요 :)

NAVER BLOG

한국 드라마 - 제일 재밌다

2011-03-05T20:26:00.002+08:00

얼였을 때부터 한국 드라마를 아주 많이 봤다. 텔리비전이나 컴퓨터 앞에 그냥 앉아서 드라마를 보고 있었다. 평소에 틈틈이 난 그렇게 한다. ㅋㅋㅋ

뭐가 특별한 점이 있는지 왜 한국 드라마들은 이렇게 너무 재미있는지 잘 모르겠다. 한국 드라마 보면 웃기를 하고 눈물도 흘릴 건다. 전에 마지막 춤은 나와 함께는 본 드라마 중에 제일 좋은 드라마를 생각했다. 지금까지 그 드라마를 너무 좋아한다. "준 느낌에서는 어떤 드라마도 마지막 춤은 나와 함께와 비교가 안 된다"라고 했다. 왜냐하면 요즘 드라마들은 좋은데 잊혀지지 않은 느낌이 없다. 지금 그냥 보고 나중에 다 잊어버리는 편이다. 내 생각에는 오랜 인상 남길 할 수 있는 드라마는 완전 짱이다. 그 이유가 드라마의 성겅의 비결이다. ㅋㅋㅋ

작년엔 여가 있으면 무엇보다 한국어를 공부하고 싶었다. 그래서 평소보다 한국 드라마를 못 봤다. 근데 시크릿 가든은 시작했을 때 ... 모든 것은 변했다. 매주 새 에피소드를 항상 기다렸다. 시간도 느리게 지낸 것 같다고 생각했다. ㅋㅋㅋ 우와 진~짜 재밌다.

전에 "마지막 춤은 나와 함께를 능가할 수 있는 드라마가 없다"라고 했는데 사실은 지금 시크릿 가든은 제일 좋아하는 한국 드라마를 된다. ㅎㅎㅎ 시크릿 가든은 내 기대를 정말 능가했다.

NAVER BLOG

(Audio Blog #2) 전 어떻게 한국어 연습하는

2011-03-02T21:37:00.003+08:00

My second audio blog!!! I dunno why the last part always get's cut. I mean the "요(yo)" part in "봐요(bwa-yo)".

I might have some mistakes in my pronunciation and grammar so kindly tell me :) And just like the first one, I am not reading anything while recording this. I actually just blurt out anything that would come to my mind. Hahaha. I find it really difficult though. In learning the language, I guess, speaking in Korean would be the last skill I would be able to master since I don't really have any way to apply/practice it in everyday conversation/situations. That's why I'm doing these audio blogs.

Just like what I've said in the audio and in my previous blog, I've been watching Korean variety shows without subtitles these past few days. And I'm so glad that I can really understand what they're talking about. Yey!

For the next audio blogs, I don't think I would include any more English translations since translating it to English makes it sound very awkward and out of context. It's really difficult for me to find the right translations (weird) that wouldn't be so literal. :)))) Have you guys ever felt that way, too? Hahaha

What do you think? Should I or should I not? Hahaha

Anyway, will do more audio blog practices soon. Any suggestion on what to talk about next?

RANDOM QUOTES

2011-03-01T05:34:00.001+08:00

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her."
-- Max Lucado

"Never settle for someone who is less than what God meant for you."

"You cannot love someone else if you yourself are not whole."

QUICK UPDATES (K-STUDY)

2011-03-01T05:28:00.002+08:00

Time really flies. It isn't a long weekend after all. Will have to resume school tomorrow and I'm not yet ready. :(

So just for a quick update on how I'm progressing with my Korean language skills and how I've been studying during the past week, I thought I'd write a short blog about it.

I have a whole new everyday routine written for my language study. I just thought I should refresh my usual language study habits every once in a while to keep the fire of excitement burning. I don't want to find myself get bored or frustrated as I continue. I've also posted an audio on Youtube. There you can hear me talking in Korean (even sing in Korean). Hahaha. That was my first and I refuse to show myself. LOL. Not ready for that yet but we'll see in the future I might work on that. Hahaha. In my new K-study schedule/arrangements or whatever you may want to call it, I added up the "variety show practice". It's the time I allot for me to watch any variety or reality shows without subtitles. From there, I can test my listening skills and also be able to pick up some new words. I think variety shows would be a great help since they tend to talk "normally". And by that I mean they would act or talk the way they do in everyday situations. Right? Some of the variety shows I practice with are 우리 결혼했어요 Season 1 and 2 and 강심장. TTMIK 이야기 and Walk and Talk episodes are also great for study. As for 우결, I completely understand the Khuntoria cuts compared to the other couples'. LOL. Could it be because they're also foreigners who also just learned Korean like me (though they're already fluent)? I can't explain why this is so, but yeah, it's like that. (I'm not making any sense at all. haha)

Unfortunately, I had to quit learning with Pegasus Society. I'm currently in my junior year so this summer, we'd be going to provinces to have our practicum. We will be deployed there for over a month and internet connection would be really difficult for me so there's no way I'd be able to finish the Push It! Classes. I really liked the class so I might just be joining the third series. :P

I've also been trying to translate songs and other stuff from Korean to English and vice versa. It sure takes a lot of time and effort but I enjoy doing it. Hahahaha.

So I guess that'd be all for now. Will be posting more soooooon.

(Audio Blog #1) 한국어 연습 with the three bear song

2011-02-27T18:33:00.001+08:00

(곰 세마리가) 한 집에 있어
아빠 곰 엄마 곰 애기 곰
아빠 곰은 뚱뚱해
엄마 곰은 날씬해
애기 곰은 너무 귀여워
으쓱 으쓱 잘한다

Audio Recording:

Taking a break from studying Korean and recorded this audio blog. :D

I've noticed that I have misused a particle at one part when I was listening to it again.

So just don't mind it. Hahahaha

Will do more next time! :)

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

2011-02-26T03:01:00.006+08:00

Let's go for a ride around Siem Reap shall we? YAY!

November 2010

Traveling through bus is the best way if you want to go to many places/countries with a lesser budget since its both cheap and convenient. That's what we usually do. LOL. Going through land borders of Laos, Bangkok, etc was really fun.

We rode the Mekong Express Bus to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh which only costs around 10-15USD per person including a meal/snack. :D Good thing about this bus line is that they ask the passengers whether they already have someone to fetch them when arriving in Siem Reap, because if there aren't any, they will contact a Tuktuk driver for you to avoid foreigners getting fooled of expensive fares and such.

Travel tip: Befriend a tuktuk driver who can drive you around town during your stay. With this, you can easily ask him to drive you anytime and even get a discount! And as for the language barrier, no need to worry as most of the tuktuk drivers in Siem Reap can speak English :)

There are a lot of budget hotels at the downtown area of Siem Reap. Our tuktuk driver brought us to a hotel near the night markets and restaurants. Niiiiice! We can easily shop and eat anytime. hahaha

We arrived there during the night so we had dinner and on the way back to our hotel, we saw a very cheap fish massage which only cost a dollar per 30mins. Fish massages are very expensive in Bangkok. It's around 150-200baht or 5-7USD for 30mins. So my mom and I decided to try it but we still weren't satisfied that we bargained for a dollar with unlimited time!!! HAHAHA.

The next day was the start of our real adventure :D

ANGKOR WAAAAAATTT!!!! :D

Warning: PHOTO SPAM AHEAD. :))

It was reallyyy hot that day and we had to walk endlessly from one temple to the other. I'm glad I wore something loose or else my sweat would have left a not-so-nice-to-look-at marks all over my back :))) But still, everything was just amazingly beautiful that I didn't really mind the weather.

The drive to Angkor Wat was absolutely refreshing. It was a drive through rows and rows of huge trees (forest? lol) which is why the wind was really coooool. And after all of those, we also passed through a lake! Being so close to nature is the best :D

Arriving at the gate, visitors had to buy tickets worth 20USD per person for a one-day pass. There's also a 2 and 3-day passes but they cost a lot more, of course. Haha. It's actually more of an ID card since they'll take your picture on the spot and print it out in your ID. Interesting and fuuuun! :)) You have to always carry it around with you and never lose it since from time to time, there are people who check it in every temple :) But locals have the advantage of having free admission. They get to see all the wonders inside the heritage for as long and as much as they want :)

Fooled around at one of the "secret" hallways my mom found. Hahaha. And at the south entrance of Bayon.

Photoshoot with mom. We both loved the lighting here and we took more than 10 photos at the same spot. Hahaha.

More photos:

LOVE THIS PIC.
It was kinda scary right there (though it doesn't really show. LOL)
We were overlooking the whole place and there weren't any chains or anything just in case of any accidents. But I guess, it is still a good thing as it preserved the ambiance of it being a historic place. If you know what I mean. LOL

BIIIIG TREEES!
I've always been wanting to take a photo like this but I just can't find the perfect tree -- not until I went to Angkor Wat, that is. LOL. Though Mr. Sun was really shining very brightly that day, these trees helped so much to keep the place cool. I just so love being close to nature :)

All of these stone places and views might seem boring to some of you. But I swear, if you were there, you'll just stare at it's awesomeness. LOOOL. I wonder how they ever built it. It was just simply amazing.

This is my fave pic of mom. Doesn't it look like she's somewhere in Barcelona, Spain? I dunno why I get that feeling when I see this photo. Hahaha. Is it just me?

Anyway, I also wanted to take a photo at the same spot but our SLR battery failed already. So we had to go back to our hotel and recharge the battery and also ourselves. Mom went for a massage and I had a power nap. The one-day pass is obviously valid for the whole day no matter how many times you go in and out of the area. Okay. Get it. Hahaha

Trivia: I was wearing my mom's top and my mom's wearing my dress. Uhuh, it was supposed to be a dress :)))

When we got back, we went straight to Phnom Bakheng temple which is located on top of a hill. Tourists can choose from two ways to get there. It's either going there on foot -- yes, you have to climb up a hill -- or ride the elephant!!!

And we chose what?
OFCOURSE.

WE WALKED. HAHAHAHAHA.

Riding the elephant was toooo expensive okayyy. It costs 15USD/person. Seriously? Eff.
Don't be deceived by the photos ahead, I just bargained with the people-in-charge there if I could ride the elephant and take photos for a just a dollar or two. Ohmy, guess what? My charm worked! LOL. I swear, when traveling, you have to use different charms to experience stuff without spending so much money. As the saying goes, the best things in life are for free -- well for me, it's almost free. But still. Haha. So I got to ride the elephant for like 10mins just around the area while my mom took photos of me.

Kinda scared kid right there. They're realllyyyy HUGE!

Yo, watcha lookin' at, huh? HAHAHAHA

Looking at this photo, felt like a princess. Errr. Sorry about that. Haha

Anyway, we then started to hike our way to the top of the hill where Phnom Bakheng is located. Why I really wanted to go to that temple even though I had to ~~crawl~~ climb my way up is because of the sunset. I always do a research before I visit places to know the things that MUST be done, the food to try or places that SHOULD be visited. And Phnom Bakheng is known for beautiful sunset views of Angkor Wat.

Phnom Bakheng

Take note of the stairs.

Why? Because those felt like nothing close to what "stairs" in my own vocab meant. It's just like a set of walls at each level with veryyy narrow steps. YES, A WALL. I almost died. Hahaha. And the way down was thrice scary and challenging than going up. I loved it though, I love adventures, y'know :)

You really have to go there as early as possible if you don't want to make your way up with all these people at the same time. And most especially if you don't want to miss this breathtaking sunset:

What more perfect way to end a perfect day than a perfect view of a perfect sunset with the perfect mom?

It was nothing but PERFECT.

KEEP GOING

2011-02-24T02:27:00.004+08:00

I have found this on Tumblr and it reminded me of studying Korean as a foreign language.

What the photo tells us is indeed true. In learning a foreign language, I would consider the beginning as the hardest part of the whole process. Trying to familiarize all those alien-characters at first, trying to decipher each and every syllable when reading, getting frustrated on how slow-paced I was when reading even the simplest sentences, forgetting words over and over again and getting confused on how the grammar structure works. Why would I really waste my time and effort on something I'd never be good at? Would that even make any sense? I don't know how many times I asked that to myself. Yes, it's tiring and frustrating. It made me want to give up. But I'm glad I did otherwise :D

It all paid off. Everything was worth it. When I think of how I started and how I'm doing right now, I just can't help but smile and be proud. Though I know I still have a looooooong way to go and I'm still too far from being fluent or anything, still there has been a huge difference. I'm now in the stage of just enjoying the learning process. Like what Shanna tweeted a few days ago, it's good that we don't have to wait for subtitles anymore. LOOOL :D

All of us will get there. Soon enough.

DON'T GIVE UP, THE BEGINNING IS ALWAYS THE HARDEST PART.

Indeed.

And this is true to many instances in our lives :) Keep going.

GLITCH UNTAMED PARTY

2011-02-21T23:22:00.001+08:00

Me, Anna, April, Eka

After a whole week of sleepless nights and toxic days, we finally got to detoxify, breathe and go wild last weekend. FINALLY. We were able to spend at least two days without thinking about anything acads related.

The (real) party started around 10pm already at Fiamma Bar in Makati. Though there weren't really a lot of people present and most of the people who attended were from our university as it was sponsored by one of the organizations in UPM, we still had a blast! Free-flowing drinks + party music + friends = PERFECT PARTY!!!

However, one of our friends ended up sleeping during almost the whole time we were at the bar because she got really drunk. HAHAHA :))) And I ended up helping my drunk friends. LOL. As usual. That's my fixed duty I guess.

It really was a fun-filled night of dancing and drinking.

Me, Veronix, Tin

PARTYYYYY. Let's dance!

After the party, we went to Highstreet to grab some coffee and donuts at Starbucks and finally went home around 4am. But the weekend didn't end there. We weren't able to sleep enough since we had to catch an early bus to Tagaytay by 7:30am to visit a friend. It was a 2-hour trip and we had to go back to Manila by afternoon of the same day. WOAHHH.

It was really an exhausting weekend. I was really drained. But I was hella HAPPPYYYY!!!

JUST TAKING A BREAK

2011-02-16T06:17:00.004+08:00

Timecheck - 6:00AM

For two days, I think I only slept for about 5 hours or less. It's a very toxic week for all of us -- have to study for exams, do papers and meet deadlines. ugh. I seriously don't know how to survive this week. :(

I have two exams in my major subjects later today -- Economic Doctrines (Econ109) and Statistics on Social Science (SocSci192).
진짜 죽겠다

I'm just taking a break for a while just so I could rest my mind even for a bit. INFORMATION OVERLOAD WILL DEFINITELY KILL ME SOON :((( I hope this week's gonna end alreadyyyy. I'm too drained to do anything else. And I'd really rather spend hours and hours studying foreign languages (Korean in particular) than these theories. LOL. But I know I have to straighten up my priorities and for now, acads go first. Yes, for now. :P

BEING A FANGIRL AND A LANGUAGE LEARNER

2011-02-15T06:30:00.003+08:00

This blog's inspired by one of Lyrynne's recent comments on one of my posts.

I must admit I first started out learning Korean because I'm a fangirl of Kpop -- Super Junior in particular. And I've also been an avid fan of Korean dramas since elementary school. Haha. I wanted to understand the songs so much without having to search it up on the internet and I felt so tired and annoyed on how poor the English is on the 'subtitles' of Kdramas I watch. Even with subtitles it was really hard to understand. :))) One more thing that pushed me to study Korean was when I started hearing comments like "fans of Korean stuff are fools who sing and dance to songs they don't even understand a single word!". I wanted to make a difference and break that stereotype idea of fangirls. So from there, I took a step forward and started learning the language itself. It was all for the sake of entertainment at first.

But now, as I progress on learning the language I suddenly realized that I became less and less of a fangirl and I just grew more as a language learner. Fangirling is still an important part of my Korean learning journey as it still served its primary role of being my motivation and source of interest throughout this whole process. But unlike before wherein I watch Kdramas or listen to Kpop purely for entertainment, I do it now as part of studying the language. I fell in love in studying the language not only for entertainment but because of deeper reasons which is beyond that of simply the current wave of kpop and boybands. I fell in love with the language because of its unique and interesting nature which keeps me going everyday. There hasn't been any dull moment (except when I get too lazy. The problem's on me not the language ㅋㅋㅋ). I study it now because of the language itself which keeps me wondering "how and why" certain things related to it came to be. And it keeps the fire of my passion to learn burning. I study it now for personal growth and dreams of becoming a multilingual speaker.

Did you ever felt the same way?

HAPPY HEARTS DAY!!!

2011-02-14T23:25:00.090+08:00

Oh wow, I've blogged so much but I almost forgot to post a blog for Valentines Day! Hahaha. I'm so sorry cupid, I almost forgot you and it's almost midnight so I'll make a quick post.

This poem's from my high school friend, my seatmate. I find it really uhmm... for the lack of words, "NICE". So I decided to try translating it to Korean. Hahaha

CERTAINTY

확실성

JC Louise Bandala
Translated by Kat Detros

I wish you never came.

너가 오지 않았기를 바래.

I wish we haven't met.

우리가 만나지 않았기를 바래.

I wish it never happened.

그 일이 일어나지 않기를 바래.

I wish i could forget.

잊어버릴 수 있기를 바래.

I wish i couldn't mind,

상관 없기를 바래.

but you never fail to show me how much you care.

근데 항상 날 얼마나 생각하는 지 보여줘

I might have misunderstood you somehow.

난 널 오해한 것 같다

Sorry but I just don't know you that much.

미안하지만 널 잘 몰라

Is it just me?

나만 이런 거야?

or there's something more, there's something else.

아님 더 있어?다른 것도 있어?

Are you really like that?

넌 정말 그런 거야?

or just to someone like me.

아님 나같은 사람한테만 그런거야

CERTAINTY.

확실성

please. that's all im asking.

제발, 그만 필요한 거야

I never had this feeling from the very beginning.

처음부터 이런 기분은 아니었어.

But you never fail to surprise me.

근데 넌 날 항상 놀라게 했지.

I know.

잘 알아

That's what friends are.

그게 친구라는 것을.

But I keep on having this tingly feeling in my tummy.

근데 난 항상 설레는 마음을 있어.

You made me smile. You made me laugh.

넌 날 미소짓게 하고, 넌 날 웃게 해

No one has ever been like that to me.

나한테 그러는 건 오직 너 뿐이야.아무도 나한테 그러지 않아.

Why you? Why now?

왜 너야? 왜 지금이야?

Why all of a sudden?

왜 갑자기?

I never planned for this to happen.

난 이런 일을 계획하지 않았어.

I keep on asking myself why but answers never came.

항상 스스로 물어봤는데 답은 나오지 않았어.

WHY?

왜?

Help me that I may understand you better.

널 잘 이해할 수 있도록 도와줘

Tell me. Tell me you are just being friendly.

말해줘, 넌 단지 친절해지는거라고 말해줘.

Tell me I'm wrong.

내가 틀렸다고 말해줘.

Its a misunderstanding, right?

다 오해지?

........

CERTAINTY.

확실성

that's all im asking now.

그게 지금 내가 필요한 전부야.

------------------------
not sure about the translation at some parts. But I tried :)

FIRST PUSH IT! CLASS

2011-02-14T23:04:00.002+08:00

I know I should be studying right now for my upcoming examinations this week, but I've actually been blogging more than usual these past few days. Hahaha. But anyway, let me just finish this blog before I do my acads. I promise, I will. LOL

I blogged a few days back that I've enrolled in the Push It! class or the Higher Elementary/Intermediate class of Pegasus Society for Korean Studies and we just finished our first lesson via skype headed by Allan Simpson. I was a little nervous and uneasy at first since it was my first time to join this kind of activity. Good thing I already know one of my classmates, Dia, and I got to talk to her for almost an hour last night. We were able to find each other's blogs through Shanna's page and we were both delighted after realizing that she was "My Korean Corner" and I'm "Underneath the Stars". LOL. We literally called each other like that instead of our real names. Funny. :)

Anyway, Shanna particularly asked me to blog about how the class went since I also informed her about Pegasus Society and she enrolled in 왕 class. So here it is...

(Sir) Allan -- he said we can just simply call him Allan instead of anything formal -- started the class by introducing what the Society's all about and how things work. We were given a copy of the lesson ahead of time so that we will be able to read/review it before the class starts. There will also be assignments and activities which will be given every class and it will be posted on a particular site.

When it was time for us to introduce ourselves, I did my introduction in Korean but I guess I was too nervous that it seemed like I just babbled random words :)))))) I can't even remember what I said. FAIL. Hahaha. During the discussion, we were all given the chance to participate and answer questions. For me, this is very important since we can actually practice speaking in Korean as well as listen to the other students. Allan was also very polite and patient and he conducted the lesson very well. And aside from the usual grammar points and vocabulary words, Allan also included additional tips and information about Korean culture and such things which we can't usually find if we focus on learning through books :)

Overall, it was really fun, interesting (not to mention it's for free! Thank you so much to Allan for providing us with this opportunity) and I'm still looking forward to our next lessons! I was so glad that there were 3 of us from the Philippines and so I'm thinking of also having a language meet-up like what Shanna did in Singapore :P Will think about that later after my exams. Hahahaha

HOW I STUDIED KOREAN

2011-02-13T16:38:00.002+08:00

It takes a lot of time and effort to be able to learn another language. There will be times that you give up half way through thinking that you'll never actually get far especially when you are just self-studying. However, I've met friends through blogging who have been self-studying Korean as well and many of them are actually really good in the language already. I have also proved this to myself as I can see the progress on my level of fluency (ahem not really YET haha). Anyway, as the title of this post says, I'll be sharing how I studied Korean for the past couple of months. And I hope it'll spark interest to those want to study the language or be a motivation to those who are currently learning the language to continue.

I've always been a fan of Korean dramas and songs since I was in elementary school. But ofcourse, I was too young then to want to learn the language. All I wanted was to see all those beautiful places and ahemmm, the cute lead actors! HAHAHA. Anyway, I've actually started studying Korean last September 2009 and went on for just a month. As I mentioned earlier, I also went through the stage where I thought "why would I actually waste my time on something I'll never be good at?". But my interest on Korean-related stuff made me want to learn the language more. So I resumed studying in June 2010. I'd advice that if you started learning any language, it would be best if you won't stop since you'll almost, if not completely, lose everything you gained before and have to start from scratch once again. It was really a waste.

I then enrolled to a short-course language class but I liked self-studying a lot more. I studied almost every night trying to squeeze it in and find time between my very toxic academic schedule and responsibilities. At first, I find it really difficult to read the characters, remember the words and understand conversations so I focused more on the grammar points and most technical parts. I know, this is the MOST boring part of learning the language and this is where most of us give up. But I swear, it will all pay off after a great deal of hardwork. I don't own any language learning books or whatever because it's too expensive and we don't have a wide variety of language books here so I rely a lot on internet. Self-studying is really difficult, we have to double or even triple our effort compared to those who are fortunate enough to be able to have formal classes. Nevertheless, it's still fun and I love doing it.

HOW TO PRACTICE

-- Here's a separate blog I wrote a few weeks ago on how I practice Korean.

It's been eight months now since I started studying Korean seriously and I finally managed to see improvements on my skills. I can now understand KPOP songs and watch variety shows or dramas without subtitles though there are still certain parts I still can't understand that I have to look it up on Naver dictionary. Hahaha. There's still so much to learn. There will always be a space for further improvements. I guess, learning a new language takes forever. Though you attained the level of fluency you want, you will still encounter new information everyday. It may be new vocabulary words, slang, grammar use or even the country's culture. It's really an interesting and never-ending process of gaining knowledge.

For a more effective way of learning a language, you have to have INTEREST AND COMMITMENT. These are two of the most important factors to be able to achieve our goals. They always go hand in hand.

INTEREST

This will serve as your motivation to continue learning the language. For me, what sparked my interest on Korean language is my fondness of any Korean-related stuff like dramas, variety shows, songs, etc. The more you want to understand your favorite stars and songs, the more you would want to study. And everytime you listen to them, you'll surely get a new word or two.

COMMITMENT

The level of fluency you will be able to attain in a certain period of time depends on the level of commitment you have in studying the language. I know it's difficult to find enough time to study a language especially for students like me who have academic priorities and obligations to attend to. But I do always find time to at least sit down for even an hour and study or blog in Korean.

But most importantly, you have to not only like what you're doing, YOU HAVE TO LOVE WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

KOREAN SLANGS

2011-02-13T14:08:00.003+08:00

I've been reading Shanna's blog recently and I've found this interesting post about Korean slangs which she got from Koreanclass101.com. So I thought it might be good to re-post it (thought not entirely) here on my blog as well :)

This may not be part of the 'official' Korean language but I think it's a good start for a more natural conversation in the future. Hahaha. I'm again daydreaming of being able to go to Korea myself and apply whatever fluency I've gained throughout this Korean language learning.
_________________________________________________________

1. OTL: suffer a shock, hit 深受打击

My friends keep on using this and not 'til now did I understand what it really meant. Hahahaha.

O –> represents the head
T–> represents your arms
L: represents kneeling on the floor
So.. it supposedly represents how people look like when they are crumpled to the floor after they suffered a shock. hmmm do you see any resemblence? -tilts head and stare-

Example sentences:
이번 시험 망처서 완전 OTL이다!
or you could simply add OTL to the end of the sentence.
아.. 오늘 시간 없어서 숙제를 다 못했어! OTL ㅠㅠ

2. 쏘다: to treat, it’s my treat

Example sentence
오늘은 내가 쏜다!

3. 단무지: naive, no brain, crazy/hyper

단무지 originally means a radish used as an ingredient in making 김밥 (korean sushi). In this case, it is actually an acronym for ‘단순,식 지랄’, which corresponds to English’s ‘naive, ignorant,crazy’. It is a word used to insult people (:

4. 페프: Best Friend

Again, another short form derived from 페스트 프랜드 / ‘BF’. I've heard this a lot when I was watching 내 여자친구는 구미호.

NAVER BLOG UPDATES

2011-02-13T03:20:00.001+08:00

NAVER BLOG UPDATES

February 13, 2011

Series of posts on my Naver blog.

You guys can now check 'em out :D

Most of 'em are Korean translations of my recent

blog entries here which are written in English.

FIRST EVER!

2011-02-13T01:50:00.003+08:00

It was my first official "performance". LOL. I just can't believe I really did what I did. During the brainstorming days for the musical play, we agreed for all songs to be recorded but then plans were changed and so I had to perform it LIVE! I was a little hesitant at first since I never sang in front of a large crowd before. NOT ONCE. NOT EVER.

But the song was my original composition about youth empowerment and it felt like it'll give a greater impact to the audience if it's performed live. So I agreed to do it. And for a greater effect, I decided to make it a group performance than for me to sing it entirely by myself. I did sing the stanzas alone, but the chorus, which we all sang together, was the best part. Can't express it, so I guess, we'll just have to wait for the video :D

This was actually part of the musical play we performed last Thursday at the UP CAS Little Theatre.

It was a great moment for me. I received so much compliments for the song and had others ask me to write a song for them as well. I was kind of shy about it because I never thought anyone would actually like it :)

Well, I gave it all for DEVSTUD! :D
Will post the video and lyrics in a separate blog soon.

PEGASUS SOCIETY VIA SKYPE

2011-02-13T01:28:00.002+08:00

PEGASUS SOCIETY FOR KOREAN STUDIES

Found this wonderful opportunity to study Korean :D It might take a lot of time, but I'm so much willing to try this out and see how it goes for me :P I was accepted for the PUSH IT! class which will be starting this Monday, February 14. I am sooooo looking forward to it. Will post another blog on how the first class went :D

For those interested, here's the rest of the information:

_____________________________________________________________________________

Hello! 안녕하세요? ^^
The Pegasus Society for Korean Studies will begin its second series of Korean classes for FREE via the popular internet calling programme Skype. The Pegasus Society has been teaching Korean to local and international students since July 2010. As well as teaching over Skype, we have also taught in a college, privately and via YouTube. We also organize regular meet-ups in Seoul for people to practice their Korean in a casual environment. Do you have Skype? Do you have an interest in Korean? Do you have a mic? This is all you need!

We will be running three classes:-
Gogo (Beginner'sElementary Korean) (starts 27th of Feb. 2011, Sunday 8pm local Korean time)
Push It! (Higher ElementaryIntermediate Korean) (starts 14th of Feb. 2011, Monday 8pm local Korean time)
Wang (Higher IntermediateAdvanced Korean) (starts 13th of Feb. 2011, Sunday 10pm local Korean time)
Those wishing to join Gogo can do so automatically, however if this is your first time to study with Pegasus and you wish to join Push It! or Wang, you should complete a quick Fast Track Placement test which will assess whether you're ready for either of the two classes ^^

Please browse our curriculum below and, after deciding which class is best for you, send the brief application below to tee.namja@hotmail.com

Application Form:-
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Nationality:
Desired class:
Skype ID: (also add the ID Uk2rok to be added to the class)
Level of Korean:
Level of English:
Other:
(Gogo and Push It! are taught in English, whereas Wang is taught in Korean)

View the curriculum after the break:

고고 (Gogo), Push It! and 왕 (Wang) Class Curriculum Information 2011

Gogo :- Average class size:- 4-6 and a duration of 1 hour per class per week
Homework, assignments and examinations:- 3 pieces of homework oral presentation writing assignment listening examination reading examination oral examination
Paper One
• Basic introduction to the Korean language
• The alphabet and Romanization of Korean
Paper Two
• Greetings
• Discussing age
• Numbers
• 저나 pronouns
• Countries
• Talking about where one comes from
• Likes and dislikes
Paper Three
• Discussing 우리
• Basic family member names
• Basic adjectives
• An introduction to verbs
• Discussing the number of people in one’s family
• Present progressivecontinuous present (-고 있다)
• Honourable verbs
• Love and relationships-related vocabulary
• Expressions used with the first person pronoun (저나)
• The copula (있다없다)
Paper Four
• Restaurantfood-related vocabulary
• Using ‘please’ when asking for things
• 이가 particles
• Ordering things in the restaurant
• Saying that there is or is not something (use of copula)
• Further practice of numbers
• Expressions used in the restaurant
Paper Five
• Using the interrogative
• 반말 and 존댓말
• -씨 and using the –시셔세요 in honourable verbs
• The past tense
• The future tense
• Telling somebody to not do something (introduction to imperative)
• The affirmative
• The –고 ~ conjunction
• Using ‘but’ in the conjunctive form (-지만~)
• The –지지요! ending
• Occupationsjobs vocabulary
• Useful verbs
Paper Six
• Travel and means of travel vocabulary
• Revision of present progressive
• -에 and –으로 post-positions
• Introducing adverbs
• Talking about necessities
• Orientation vocabulary
• Further study of countries
• Post and pre-modification of nouns and pronouns
• The ~(으)면 좋겠다 structure
• Discussing Korean culture
• Question words
Paper Seven
• Clothing vocabulary
• ‘Wearing’ verb variations
• Basic colours
• Using the verb stem and 아어여 보다 (‘try~’)
• Pronouns and possession
• Shopping vocabulary and phrases
Paper Eight
• Extended study of Korean tenses and sentence forms
• Revision of 반말 and 존댓말
• Hometown and the home vocabulary
• Recommending
• The working life
• Telling the time
Paper Nine
• Love and dating vocabulary
• Discussing personality and characteristics
• Pronunciation
• Expressing one’s opinion
• Discussing one’s ‘ideal type’
• Song listening exercise
Paper Ten
• Basic anatomy vocabulary
• Expressing pain, injury, aches etc
• Health and lifestyle-related vocabulary
• Discussing what is good and bad about one’s lifestyle
• Discussing what is good for certain parts of the body or aspects of our health
• Suggesting solutions for an unhealthy lifestyle
• Healthy activities and choices
• Topic-relevant verb study
• Expressions used at the doctor’s
• Grammar points:- -(으)로, -마다, and (으)ㅁ

Push It! Average class size:- 2-3 students duration of 2 hours per class per fortnight
Homework, assignments and examinations:- reading and writing examination oral examination listening examination nine pieces of homework writing assignment

Paper One
• Re-cap of ‘elementary’ Korean
• Introduction to translation
Paper Two
• Unit words
• Combined revision of time and numbers
• Onomatopoeia
• Intermediate use of description (colours)
• Continued family study
• Academic studies
• Places and finding the way
• Further expression of opinion
Paper Three
• ‘Even if~’, ‘even though~’
• Comparative study of standard and honourable styles
• Discussing the weather
• Further study of adjectives and adverbs
• Plans and decisions
• -(으)려고 하다 – expressing one’s intention
• Natural disasters
• Travel
• Verb conjugation
• Animals and their habitats
• Cooking and cuisine
• Causative verbs
Paper Four
• ~더라고
• (으)ㄹ 정도로
• Imperativecommand endings
• Suggestive endings in 반말
• Proposal interrogative
• Propositions and directions
• Discussing taste
• Determiners
• Emotional expressions
• Discussing Korean culture
• Revision of the body and clothing
Paper Five
• ~(으)ㄴ는 김에
• ~잖아(요)
• ~면서 and ~는 사이에
• The use of –기
• ~(으)ㄹ 때마다
• Contracted tenses
• ~기만 하다
• 그 만~
Paper Six
• ~에 따르면, ~에 의하면
• ~던
• ~것으로 드러나다
• ~았었더라면, 았었으면 좋았을 텐데
• Houseworkchores
• Further study of verbs
• Further study of adjectives
• 곳, 데 and 장소
• ~쯤
Paper Seven
• 무렵
• ~고는 하다
• -은는 커녕, ~기는 커녕
• ~아어여 보니
• ~다시피
• Semantics
• Further study of adjectives and adverbs
• Further verb study
Paper Eight
• Dialogue practice
• Tourism
• (으)ㄴ는 것 같다
• (으)ㄴ는가 봐(요)
• (으)ㄴ는가(요), 나(요)?
• ~(으)려다가
• Speaking practice
• -니 반말 interrogative
• A대신에 B~
• Further expressive study
Paper Nine
• Voluntary work
• Improvisation
• Further translation practice
• Introduction to 한자
• Speaking and pronunciation practice (야말로)
• 그렇게이렇게
• ~는(으)ㄴ 데도
• ~느라(고)
• Reading comprehension
Paper Ten
• ‘왕’ class-style reading comprehension
• Song listening and translation exercise
• 마무리Course Review

왕 (Wang class) :- Average class size: 1-2 students (duration of 2-3 hours per class per fortnight) Homework, assignments and examinations:- 9 pieces of homework writing assignment literature examination 1 analytical report 1 speech translation and dictation examination oral debate examination intensive listening examination
Paper One
• Advanced anatomy
• Disease, conditions and treatment
• Exercise and sport
• Physique
• Mental abilities and illnesses
• Health supplements and lifestyles
Paper Two
• Donation, voluntary and aid work
• The United Nations
• World charity organizations
• Local and neighbourly activities
• Disaster relief case study
Paper Three
• Languages of the world
• Globalisation
• Demographic studies
• Continental cultural distinctions
• The Internet
• Less and More Economically Developed Countries
• Comparison of modern youth by country

Paper Four
• The intricacy of colour
• Expressing specific feelings in specific situations and contexts
• Korean perception of the foreign world
• Etiquette, manners and modesty
• Abbreviations and expressions used in Korean entertainment media
• Blood type personality studies
• Aspects of Korean culture considered ‘traditional’
Paper Five
• Job types and career paths in modern Korea
• The typical officecompany hierarchical structure
• Traditional and modern ‘after-work’ culture
• Pre-university preparations and the education ‘fever’ in modern Korea
• University life
• The perfect jobschool interview
Paper Six
• Internet slang
• Single character expressions
• Offensive expressions and their origins
• Euphemisms and affectionate expressions
• Regional dialects and their differences
• Idioms
Paper Seven
• The cast and crew
• Traditional Korean art
• Modern literature
• Photography and urban expressive arts
• Martial arts
• Calligraphy and advanced study of 한자
• Music of the world
• Magic and fantasy
Paper Eight
• Korea: the Three Kingdoms Period
• Unified 신라
• The 조선 Dynasty
• The Japanese Occupation
• The Korean War
• Modern European History: The Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment
• A summary of North American history
• The Ancient Egyptians
• Africa case studies
Paper Nine
• Sales and consumer trends
• Korea and the Asian Economic Crisis
• Korean products and brands
• Saving and banking
• Survey and analytical report on a chosen relevant topic
Paper Ten
• Traditional Korean games
• Board games and their rules
• Korea’s online game culture
• Popular music
• Modern film and acting
• Drinking games
• Popular hobbies and interests

SOCSCIYAWAN

2011-02-13T00:45:00.003+08:00

SO PROUD OF OUR DEVSTUD FRESHIES.

WOW. So this is how it feels like.
I remembered, when we also performed three years ago, when we were the freshies, our seniors told us that they were so proud of us. And now, I finally understand them. So, this is how it feels like, huh? YES. I AM SOOOOO PROUD OF OUR FRESHIES.

I don't have any pics of 'em so I'll just post our own group photo here after the event :D

Development Studies Batch 2008, Class of 2012

HEPA PARTY

2011-02-13T00:36:00.001+08:00

After the musical play activity, we all got together at Greenwich and had merienda together. But that's not the highlight of this particular blog post :P

It's what happened AFTER that.

I've already mentioned that I've always liked spending time with the shiftees. And yes, this time is no exception. Thinking that it's a stress-free night and for sure, after that, we'll get killed because of the exam-loaded week up ahead, WE DECIDED TO GET WILD :DD

**I didn't get drunk. I actually DON'T. Ever. Good thing :D

MUSICAL PLAY

2011-02-13T00:26:00.001+08:00

HEPATITIS P: ANG NANINILAW NA KATOTOHANAN

Finally. DONE.

We've been practicing and preparing for this musical play for over a month and finally, we did it! :D It was a success and we were all happy. We're all very grateful to our professor, Doc Ed Villegas, who has been very supportive throughout the preparation. Not to mention his ever so fun and one of a kind special performance at the end of our play :D

There were a lot of things that happened because of this activity, some had misunderstandings but on a much lighter note, many of us got to become closer as well, which really is a good thing since we got to bond every practice :D

CONGRATULATIONS DEVELOPMENT STUDIES BATCH 2008, CLASS OF 2012.

TALK TO ME IN KOREAN

2011-02-12T19:42:00.001+08:00

TALK TO ME IN KOREAN

I've known this site since I started learning Korean, but I haven't really tried it yet. Well, not 'til now that is.

Learning a new language should be fun and interesting, NOT a burden. And 현우 씨's Talk To Me In Korean is a site where you can literally have fun while learning. They provide PDF files which goes with an MP3 audio lesson. In the audio lesson, you can hear the teachers talk to each other while discussing the particular grammar point for that lesson and also teaching the correct pronunciation of words. I started with Level 4 today and was very impressed on how they conduct each lesson. I actually enjoy listening to them. There are certain things that the teachers point out (about grammar, word usage, etc) which can't be found in text books, especially those used in colloquial language. I think this is one of the strengths of this Korean language learning site.

There's also a place where you can interact and discuss with fellow Korean learners.

The teachers are also very kind and approachable. They try the best they can to answer all the student's queries. Especially, 현우 씨 whose videos and blogs I've been following since I started learning the language. He's been a lot of help to me :)

그남자 -- 현빈

2011-02-12T17:34:00.004+08:00

노래를 번역하자! #1
As part of learning Korean, I decided to start translating Korean songs to English and I must say it's one of the best ways to learn/practice another language :D However, there are certain parts which is difficult to translate (literally) because there might be changes in meaning.

**Secret Garden fever refuses to die :P Who's with me? Hahaha
I really love this song because of the wonderful message and of course, because Hyun Bin sang this :P

그남자 -- 현빈

That man -- Hyun Bin
시크릿 가든 주제가

Secret Garden Theme Song

한 남자가 그대를 사랑합니다

One man loves you
그 남자는 열심히 사랑합니다

That man loves you diligently

매일 그림자처럼 그대를 따라 다니며

Everyday he follows you like a shadow
그 남자는 웃으며 울고 있어요

That man is laughing but he is crying inside

**얼마나 얼마나 더 너를

How much more?
이렇게 바라만 보며 혼자

Would I have to look at you alone?
이 바람같은 사랑 이 거지같은 사랑

This love like a wind, this worthless love

(literal trans: this love like a beggar)
계속해야 니가 나를 사랑하겠니

If I continue would you also love me?
조금만 가까이 와 조금만

Come closer, just a little closer
한 발 다가가면 두 발 도망가는

When I take one step towards you, you take two steps back
널 사랑하는 날 지금도 옆에 있어

I, who loves you, is right beside you now
그 남잔 웁니다

That man is crying

그 남자는 성격이 소심합니다

That man is shy/timid
그래서 웃는 법을 배워봅니다

So he tried to learn how to laugh
친한 친구에게도 못하는 얘기가 많은

Even to his closest friends, there are a lot of thing he can't say
그 남자의 마음은 상처 투성이

That man's heart is covered with scars
그래서 그 남자는 그댈 널 사랑했대요 똑같아서

So that man said he loves you because you're the same
또 하나 같은 바보 또 하나 같은 바보

Just like another fool, just like another fool
한번 나를 안아주고 가면 안되요

Is it wrong to ask for you to hold me?
난 사랑받고 싶어 그대여

I want to be loved by you
매일 속으로만 가슴 속으로만

Everyday inside, just inside his heart
소리를 지르며 그 남자는

He shouts
오늘도 그 옆에 있데요

that man is still by your side today

그 남자가 나라는 건 아나요

Don't you know that man is me?
알면서도 이러는 건 아니죠

If you knew, you wouldn't be like this.
모를거야 그댄 바보니까

You wouldn't know because you're a fool

Repeat **

IU -- 좋은 날

2011-02-10T03:32:00.006+08:00

어쩜 이렇게 하늘은 더 파란 건지
오늘따라 왜 바람은 또 완벽한지
그냥 모르는 척 하나 못들은 척
지워버린 척 딴 얘길 시작할까
아무 말 못하게 입맞출까

눈물이 차올라서 고갤 들어
흐르지 못하게 또 살짝 웃어
내게 왜 이러는지 무슨 말을 하는지
오늘 했던 모든 말 저 하늘 위로
한번도 못했던 말 울면서 할 줄은 나 몰랐던 말
나는요 오빠가 좋은걸 어떡해

새로 바뀐 내 머리가 별로였는지
입고 나왔던 옷이 실수였던 건지
아직 모르는 척 기억 안 나는 척
아무 일없던 것처럼 굴어볼까
그냥 나가자고 얘기할까

눈물이 차올라서 고갤 들어
흐르지 못하게 또 살짝 웃어
내게 왜 이러는지 무슨 말을 하는지
오늘 했던 모든 말 저 하늘 위로
한번도 못했던 말 울면서 할 줄은 나 몰랐던 말
나는요 오빠가 좋은걸 (휴~) 어떡해

이런 나를 보고 그런 슬픈 말은 하지 말아요
철없는 건지 조금 둔한 건지 믿을 수가 없는걸요

눈물은 나오는데 활짝 웃어
네 앞을 막고서 막 크게 웃어
내가 왜 이러는지 부끄럼도 없는지
자존심은 곱게 접어 하늘위로
한 번도 못했던 말 어쩌면 다신 못할 바로 그 말
나는요 오빠가 좋은걸 (아이쿠, 하나 둘)

I'm in my dream

It's too beautiful, beautiful day
Make it a good day
Just don't make me cry

이렇게 좋은 날

_________________________________________________

다가오는 월요일에 발렌타인 데이인데요. 방금 어떤 사이트에 읽은 소식에 따르면 아이유의 "좋은 날" 노래는 사랑하는 사람한테 고백할 방법이 제일 좋다고 해요. 그래서 인터넷에 찾아봤어요. ㅋㅋㅋ

저는 몰래 좋아하는 사람이 있는 거 몇 제일 친한 친구들 밖에 아무도 모르겠어요. 그 사람은 이 비밀을 알게 되면 진짜 안 돼요오오오오!!! :))))) 그래서 이 블로그와 이 노래도 통해서 하고 싶은 말을 처음으로 고백할게요.

오랜만에.... 드디어 (?) ㅋㅋㅋ

사실은 지난 학기부터 그 사람이좋아했어요. 우리가 같은 전공은 배우고 있는데 처음 만났을 때 너무 어색해서 그 후에 어디든지 만나면 언제나 서로 그냥 무시했거든요. 그 때는 제 기분을 아는 친구가 아무도 없으니까 아직 괜찮아요. 근데 이번에는 모든 것은 변했어요. 왜냐하면...

요즘은 우리 음악극 프로젝트 위해서 매일 매일 연습해야 하고 늦게 집에 돌아갈 수 있어요. 이번 동안 기다리면서 우리가 자주 이야기 하고 서로 시간을 많이 보낼 수 있어서 친하게 되는 것 같아요. 이 건 별로 나쁘지 않지만 다른 친구들이 늘 장난해 있잖아요. 진짜 창피했군요!

아무튼 그 사람이랑 친한 친구처럼 됬으니까 마음이 좀 들어요. ㅎㅎㅎ 계속 이 비밀을 모르면 좋겠다고 생각해요. 근데...

오빠가 좋은걸 어떡해. ㅋㅋㅋ

___________________________________

다른 언어를 알면 이런 당황스러운 생각은 말할 수 있어요. 아... 다행이다. 제 친구들을 중에서 아무도 이해할 거예요. ㅋㅋㅋ

서강 대학교 온라인 숙제 #1

2011-02-09T11:49:00.002+08:00

오래전부터 서강대학교 온라인 사이트를 통해서 혼자서 한국어를 공부하고 있거든요. 이 많은 도움이 되는 사이트에는 문법이나 용어 외에 연습해 볼 수 있는 숙제들이 있어요. 그 숙제는 작문을 쓰는 숙제를 포함하고 있어요. 그래서 이제 연습하기 위해 하나씩 대답하려고 해요.

숙제 #1

"여러분은 앞으로 한국어를 어떻게 공부할 계획입니까?

저 는 한국말을 공부한 지 거의 7개월쯤 되었는데 아직 잘 못 해서 앞으로 더 열심히 공부해야 할 것 같아요. 그래서 앞으로 하루에 한 번 더 공부하고 연습도 할 생각이에요. 그리고 또 하나의 방법은 언어 파트너도 있으면 좋겠다고 생각해요. 음... 연습하러 이런 블로그를 만드는 것은 재미있는 방법이라고 생각해요.

근데 요즘 대학교에서 해야 할 것들이 좀 많아서 참 바쁘고 집에 돌아오자마자 피곤해서 대체로 그냥 바로 잠들어요. 앞서 말한 이유 때문에 이 계획들은 좀 가능하지 않을 것 같아요. 어떻게 공부해야 할지 잘 모르겠어요.

혼자서 공부하는 거 힘들지만 계속 노력할 거예요.

NAVER BLOG

SUPER DRAINED.

2011-02-07T23:44:00.002+08:00

Our musical play presentation will be in 3 days so we have to make use of all the available time we got to rehearse so we all stayed til 8pm at school earlier. The practice went well. I must say it's the best practice we ever had since we were close to being complete and we were also able to do two rounds of practice. LOL. However, it really was veryyyyyy exhausting. And going home, I had to carry my guitar and Marian's beatbox by myself. Pfft.

I was so tired and hungry when I got home. Then I realized I still have work to do -- my online English tutorials. Good thing my brother already prepared dinner so I just ate, checked my work schedule for the night and had a 30-minute nap. I woke up and spent 2 hours teaching English online. And now I'm blogging. WOAH.

Headache. :|

But I'm still planning on finishing my unedited blogs and study Korean later :)

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA

2011-02-05T04:15:00.005+08:00

The park near our hotel where we jog every morning.

After months of delay, will be posting a series of travel blogs about my Cambodian adventure! :D

First off, PHNOM PENH.

November 2010

Before going straight back to the Philippines, I went with mom to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for her work and studies. She had her thesis defense there for her second MA degree so I had to go around town alone with the Tuktuk driver she helped before, Sarouen.

Just a little info since I already mentioned it. Inspired at the sight of poor school children going to their dilapidated school in a remote village, under a hot, scorching sun, walking on a sandy road barefoot, mom founded Giving Hope, Helping Lives Foundation way back in 2004 which mainly focuses on giving scholarships to students and livelihood support to the poor. And Sarouen is one of the beneficiaries of this foundation.

So anyway, here are some photos of my tour around the city.

REALLY AWESOOOOME.

It's the park where we usually jog every morning since my mom's a very athletic kind of person. LOL. She wants to be fit and healthy all the time. Of course, with the work she's doing, she should really be. hahaha.

Then, here we go. I also went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which was a very significant part of Cambodia's history. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was once a high school which was converted into a 'human slaughterhouse' called the Security Prison 21 (S-21) during the Khmer Rouge communist regime. This is where a lot of people, regardless of age and gender, were tortured and killed.

Walking around the area and inside the (class)rooms where you know people were tortured and killed will really send shivers down your spine. It was a really weird feeling passing through all those prison cells made of bricks which is as small as the smallest bathroom I'd ever seen in my life. And they said 10-20 people were kept there before -- dead or alive. I don't really know what to say.

There were also hundreds of photographs of the victims (which I dare NOT to look at because it felt like they were staring at me, NOW IMAGINE THAT!) and some paintings on how they were killed. The actual equipment used to torture the prisoners were also there. Not only that, there were also skulls and a cemetery! Yes, right there inside the former school turned prison turned museum. They say it is where the bodies of the last victims were buried. Their bodies were found just after the fall of the regime. The other bodies were buried at remote areas where a huge hole was made to put all the bodies together at once!

Okay, I'll stop there. Here are the photos, don't worry I didn't include the disturbing ones :) But you can still see the map of Cambodia made of human skulls.

Overall, this trip was very amazing and educational. Learned about another country's history and culture. Just, wow. :D I wasn't able to go to the Killing Fields though since it was quite far :| Maybe next time.

For more info about Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, you can read HERE.

WEDNESDATE -- AGAIN!

2011-02-05T02:55:00.001+08:00

This week has really been hell for me. Two reports, two exams and very tiring practices for our musical play next week. Ugh. Thought I won't be able to survive. But still I wished for this since I know that it'd be a lot more toxic at the end of the sem and I don't want all the reports and exams happen at once. At least, if I finish them now, it'd be most likely to be easier for me when March comes. :)))

Anyway, another Wednesdate with April.

This time we spent almost an hour deciding on where to eat. LOL. We don't want to go to the usual fast food places as we want to try something new. So we ended up at Almon Marina. Yuuuum.

Where would be our next stop? Hahaha. Any suggestions? :P

PRACTICUM SCHED

2011-02-05T02:22:00.001+08:00

Uh-oh. This is it. Shooooot! Here we go DevStud!!!

Practicum will be in two months and when I saw this posted in front of our department, I just can't believe that it's already our turn. Felt like yesterday when I first entered UP and in months time, we will already be in our fourth and final year in the university (well, hopefully so. :D)

Mixed emotions. That's what all of us are feeling right now for sure. Looking forward to a great experience of living life with the masses for more than a month.

But sadly, I'd be missing on a lot of events this summer. ugh. Of all summers, why noooowww? Especially because my brother's graduation would be on April 15th but we'll be deployed to different communities in separate groups on April 14th. Darn. :(((( Then another one is our clan reunion back home in Davao. It's a once every two years occasion and I'd be missin' it -- AGAIN.

I'm really disappointed about this, I hope I could find a way.

A CHANGE :D

2011-02-05T01:57:00.001+08:00

Just a very random update. I've removed my keyboard accessories! LOL. No reason in particular I just though it's time to finally get 'em off my laptop for a more professional feel. :)

So I transferred it on my desk. The best idea I got since it'd be such a waste to just throw them.

우리 집

2011-01-30T23:12:00.001+08:00

우리 집의 어떤지 주변이 어떤 환경인지 좀 알려드릴게요.

저는 3년 전부터 대학교에 가야 해서 다른 곳에 살았어요. 그래서 1년에 한번만 고향에 돌아갈 수 있고, 그때만 가족들과 함께 지낼수 있어요. 이런 것은 생각하면 너무 아쉬워요. 그래도 하루 하루 시간이 가면서, 새로운 생활에 잘 적응했어요. 왜냐하면 전 1학년부터 같이 사는 오빠가 있거든요. 제 오빠가 많이 도와줘서 정말 고맙게 생각해요.

우리 첫 번째 아파트는 좋아하긴 하지만 교통이 좀 복잡해서 학교에 다니는 것은 너무 힘들었어요. 그리고 이웃들도 가끔 시끄러운 편이에요. 그래서 이사를 해야겠다고 생각했었어요.

요즘 우리 새로운 이사한 아파트는 아주 좋아요. 학교로 쉽게 걸어갈 수도 있고 백화점도 멀지 않아서 정말 편해요. 그리고 우리 아파트는 지하철역 근처에 있고, 아침에 운동할 수 있을 공원도 걸어갈 수 있는 거리에 있어요. 그래서 제 친구들은 이런 곳에 살고 싶어해요.

만약에 이런 같은 생활에 제일 좋아하는 점이 있는지 물어 본다면, 아마 학교에 가려고 일찍 일어 나지 않아도 되는 점이라고 대답할 거에요. ㅋㅋㅋ

11.01.29

2011-01-30T04:03:00.001+08:00

어제 이침에 9시부터 수업이 있어서 학교에 갔는데 도착했을 때 제 친구가 수업이 끝났다고 했어요. ㅋㅋㅋ 사실은 그저께밤에는 늦게 자서 일찍 못 일어났어요.

아무튼.. 아침에 학교 가기가 어려워요. 왜냐하면 저희가 다다음 주에 활동이 있는데 수업 다음에 늘 연습해야 돼요. 그래서 어제도 반 친구들하고 제가 11시부터 5시까지 줄곧 연습했어요. 너무 힘들었지만 재미있었어요.

HOW TO PRACTICE?

2011-01-28T03:59:00.003+08:00

In learning a foreign language, there are a lot of things to consider before you can finally claim that you've become a fluent speaker of a particular language. It would take a lot of time and effort to reach your desired level. Some people are lucky enough to be able to attend formal language schools, especially those who have the opportunity to be fully immersed in the language and the country's culture. They would have more time and ways to practice. However, for language learners like me who are self-studying, it would be a lot harder and we have to double our effort in learning the language.

It's been quite some time since I've started learning Korean. Self-studying is indeed a challenge since you need to be more creative in finding ways on how to practice your listening, writing and most importantly speaking skills on your own. I've been using different ways in each aspect for quite sometime until I found the most effective way for me.

1. BLOG. Write a story or simply tell what you did on that particular day using the language you are learning then find a site where you can post it and native speakers can help and review your grammar mistakes. I do this often. I blog in Korean and post it on a particular site where native speakers would help correct my grammar. It's actually interesting, it's just like making your online daily journal -- but in another language.

2. VLOG. Or video blogging. Record yourself while speaking the language you are learning. This is a very helpful way to practice your speaking skills. I actually do this but I never post it online since I'm really not comfortable about the idea. But a friend told me that it's okay since native speakers can also help you correct your pronunciation. So I guess, I might just try it one of these days. Hahaha.

3. Immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. This will surely help you widen your vocabulary and learn the way they speak (intonation, etc). Since I'm studying Korean, I've been watching Kdramas and variety shows, I listen to Kpop and read Korean articles/blogs, too. I may not understand everything at first but after some time, little by little, I've seen improvements in my level of fluency.

4. Don't stress yourself too much. Just work at your own pace. The more you force yourself to absorb all the grammar rules and vocabulary, the more you'd be likely to forget all of them the next day.

5. Make friends! Language exchange is the most interesting and fun part. He/she may be a native speaker or someone who is also learning the same language as you are. It doesn't matter as long as you both can practice with each other's help. It's a win-win strategy.

Honestly, in learning a language, I think there's no exact or perfect technique to follow. It varies from every individual. What's effective and comfortable for me may not be the case for other people.

You can also visit Shanna's blog HERE She's the first Korean language learner I met through blogging and she's really great!

MY NAVER BLOG

내 블로그 사이트

2011-01-26T00:42:00.001+08:00

안녕하세요!
저는 블로그가 있는데요.

http://underneaththestarss.blogspot.com/
-- 이 블로그는 제 일상생활에 대한 것을 쓴 사이트예요. 이 블로그에 영어로 쓴 분문이 있어서 여러분에게 도움이 되는 것 같아요.

http://blog.naver.com/katecdet
-- 전 네이버 블로그도 만들었어요. 이 블로그에 한국어를 연습하고 있어요. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

궁금한 거 있으면 comment해 주세요. ㅎㅎㅎ

여러분도 블로그 있어요?

피곤하다

2011-01-25T19:20:00.003+08:00

저는 요즘 학교에서 해야 할 것들이 너무 많아서 집에 돌아오자마자 자고 싶지만 숙제를 해야 하느라고 잘 못 쉬고 너무 피곤해요. 예를 들면, 어젯밤에 공부를 했고 숙제도 했는데 잘 시간이 없어서 아침엔 그냥 준비하고 나서 바로 학교에 갔어요. 힘들었지만 그 것들을 해야 돼요. 전 아직 대학생이니까 ... ㅋㅋㅋ 우리 인생에서 성공하려면 매일 노력해야 되지 않아요? 제가 보기엔 이런 일이 생기면 생각보다 별로 나쁘지 않아요. :)

지금까지 아직 안 잤어요. 내일도, 모레도 이렇게 된다고 생각해요.

파이팅! ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ

NAVER BLOG

SECRET GARDEN (Review)

2011-01-25T01:25:00.007+08:00

Just finished watching this drama, I know I'm kinda behind about this but it's all because I really tried to abstain from watching even a single episode of it before it's done. I heard and read a lot of reviews on how great this drama is, so I thought it would be better if I can watch it continuously to maintain and hold the emotions in every scene. LOL. That's how I like to watch Kdramas. And guess what, it worked! BIG TIME!

I can't say I can give a very good review (based on my writing skills LOL) about this drama but I can give you an honest one and I'll try my best to write the kind of review that it deserves. I've seen a lot of Korean, Japanese and even Taiwanese series so I might as well claim that I know when to say that a particular drama is worth watching or not. Or simply, when to say it's good or not.

I have still continued watching and collecting dramas and sadly, since the time of "Save the Last Dance For Me", "Full House" and "Endless Love 1-4", for a very loooong time, I've not seen any new dramas which exceeded the ones mentioned. Or maybe there was a few which I liked, but I just can't remember because it didn't really caught my inner thoughts and feelings -- which is very important for a drama. The connection the actors make, not only with each other, but most especially to its viewers is what makes and breaks a drama. It completes everything. If they can't capture that, then it's likely to say, it failed.

The ones I mentioned above are just some examples of something which up until now, if asked to watch again, I WOULD. I've seen them more than a couple of times and each time, the feeling still keeps coming back. That's how great they are. And yes, if asked to watch every single episode of Secret Garden, I'd happily say "You really don't have to ask, I'd definitely gonna watch it over and over again -- RIGHT NOW!". Hahaha

The latest dramas I've watched were Gumiho, You're Beautiful and Sungkyunkwan Scandal. They're good dramas especially Gumiho but still, the admiration just lasted for a few days and then.......gone. So now, let's go to the most recent one, the one this blog's really all about.

SECRET GARDEN.

I'm not really into writing reviews about the dramas I've watched but Secret Garden made me do it. Imagine? Amazing. LOOOL. Well, it is for me since I'm really lazy writing reviews about movies or songs or whatever. Now, I'm actually doing it. Ugh, the aftershocks of this drama -- unbelievable. Hahaha.

Anyway, the overflowing chemistry between Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won and their award-winning acting and character portrayal made this drama a real win. The story line's a bit common -- you know the rich-but-annoying-and-arrogant-guy-falls-for-the-poor-but-kind-hearted-girl kind of story -- but the twist was very funny and interesting, their switching of souls. Thinking about their scenes during their switch makes me ROFL all over again. Hahahaha.There were also scenes which can make you cringe, hold your breath and make your heart beat faster as if you were actually there (you'll know what I mean when you watch the sit-ups scene). And in their blackroom interviews which was revealed during their special episode, the other casts who were able to watch the shoot also felt the same way. There would also be times that you'd smile unconsciously. I swear, I caught myself many times doing this (felt like a fool). But t'was really cute. The heavy scenes, the serious ones, gained my respect for this drama. Woah. For a looooong time, another Kdrama finally made me cry -- again. I admire the lead actors for being able to capture every detail of every emotion they portray -- Hyun Bin for the elevator and letter scene and Ha Ji Won for the confrontation scene with Joo Won's (Hyun Bin) mother. There are a lot more scenes to anticipate from this series. Had a good laugh and a bunch of tears with this one. A rollercoaster ride of emotions. Sooo worth watching.

There are two indicators for me to say that I fell in love with a drama:
It's when right after I finished watching it ...

1. I still go on and search for NGs, behind the scenes footages and other related videos,

and most especially, it's definitely when ...

2. I ACTUALLY PRAY (not only wish)FOR THE LEADS TO BE DATING IN REAL LIFE.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. And Secret Garden completed that checklist. That's how great it is. Though we all know Hyun Bin's dating Song Hye Gyo :|

I've never fangirl-ed over a drama for years now but this one really got me so much that I spend so much time looking for interesting videos on and off cam and even articles about the lead actors. Anyway, just to get you started on this drama, a video of the cutest ringtone for incoming text messages. (I am actually using that tone :P Hyun Bin's version, that is)

SPOILER ALERT!

It's during their soul-switching episode when Joo Won copies Ra Im's message tone :P He did it a couple of times throughout the series. Cute act!

Disclaimer: I do not own the video below.

KUDOS TO THIS DRAMA AND ITS AWESOME WRITER. IT BROUGHT BACK THE KIND OF KOREAN DRAMA I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YEARS -- TEARJERKING YET FUN AND HEARTWARMING. FINALLY, A DRAMA WHICH MET THE STANDARDS.

Well, honestly, it surpassed my all-time favorites like the ones mentioned above. :D

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED :D

That's it for now. And since, I'm so into it I'd possibly post more about it later :))))

WEDNESDATE W/ APRIL

2011-01-19T20:20:00.025+08:00

Is it just me or Tuesday nights and Wednesdays are really stressful this sem? I just can't sleep (peacefully, that is) during Tuesdays thinking of the things that might happen the next day -- being called by the prof but you can't answer a single word, for instance, which can make a student like me wish the earth would just open and eat me up right there and then. But anyway, today maybe is an exception. After our 3-hour morning class, we had our lunch and came up to the room almost half an hour late. At lunch, we were kinda pushing on each other whether who should ask our afternoon prof if we can just attend the forum instead of having the usual discussion. To our surprise, we actually don't have to since he's really requiring us to attend. Phew. Finally, we were able to breathe :P Ask even just a single student in our class why.

After spending another three whole hours in the forum, April and I decided to spend the rest of the day at Robinsons. We weren't planning anything to do in particular. It's really been a while since we splurged money to relax after school so I guess we deserve that shopping + food trip bonding. LOL. We tried on some clothes and went to KXP for dinner.

And for dessert? CARAMIA! YUUUUM!

Ordered Choco Sans Rival and Guindia. Mmmm. Mouth-watering.

We're planning on trying ALL the flavors if time and our financial capacity allow. Hahahaha

'til our next WEDNESDATE! :D

SHOP TIL YOU DROP

2011-01-18T03:02:00.001+08:00

Went shopping with mom yesterday -- our favorite way to spend time with each other aside from just sitting around, talking and catching up with the "lost" times. Hahaha. We only see each other once or twice a year because of her work so we do the best we can to spend time together as much as possible.

She bought an Elle bag for her handcarry and another Wenger luggage. And for me? Just this (but I'm so much satisfied and happy hahaha )

My favorite Candy Corner yums

Sourysweeeeeet! mmmmmmm

Then went to dinner with Kuya and his gf and Tita Yollie, mom's friend. Where? In our super favorite Chinese Restaurant -- Shanghai Cuisine! Yay! Mom loves Chinese food and so do I. LOL. T'was a great meal. But I guess I ate too much, though I know I'm already full, I still continued eating. I felt like I was obliged to eat that much at that moment. Hahahaha. But anyway, really had a greaaaat day! :D

UNDENIABLY FOREVER

2011-01-17T14:10:00.001+08:00

I knowww. Too old school. But hell, they're actually my fave celeb couple.

Been reblogging too much Zanessa lately at Tumblr.

A perfect picture of true love.

IT STILL ISN'T OVER

2011-01-17T14:01:00.002+08:00

“I mean, God bless The Notebook… It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life. But people do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that.” —- Ryan Gosling”

Just a really random post because Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling are one of my fave celebrity couples. LOL :D