me, myself, and my wallet...cry

today, i've just finalized and fully paid my plane tickets to a multiple of destinations.
So..within 3 months, i'll be travelling to 3 destinations, not including my november trip to Fred's wedding in Florida.
i will now avoid my bank account statement...

i don't think, in my wildest dreams, i could be travelling so much during this time in my life.
I mean...less than a year ago, i was living in utter poverty..
having travelled nowhere out of north america that's within a day or two driving's distance.
I envied the individuals who were able to even afford flying to vancouver or down to south america.

But now, within these past few months and upcoming months, i would have touched into more countries i've ever gone to than the number of countries i've gone to for my past....23 years?

It's just unbelievable and i'm extremely grateful for having this opportunity to do the travels i've been thirsting to do for the most of my life.

Within 3 months, i shall be visiting Japan, Jeju Island (a S.Korean Tropical Island), and Malaysia.
The destination after Malaysia and Fred's wedding, I think, might be Vietnam..cambodia..mangolia...bali... i don't know, I haven't decided yet....
and i LOVE it! THIS is the type of indecision i absolutely love!

These past few days, i've also realized that my birthday is coming up.
It also took me a few minutes to realize that i was not turning 22...but rather, 24.
Where shall i be during my birthday?
In Japan.
Yup, i plan on finding some serene area in Japan and to..well...
be in awe of what has happened to me this past year and to feel excited for the upcoming year.
yeah, boring for you..i get it XP
i really don't feel anything special during my birthday.
It's just like any other day.
I just like to spend that day either mulling over another wasted year and what is to come or to just reflect what i'm supposed to do with my life....
and...i'm going to be f***ing 24!!
i don't even FEEL like i'm 21!
it's absolutely insane.

Lastly, tomorrow, i'll be joining the SLP food club (my bosses, Elisa, Evelyn, D.b., and i) on a trip to one of the best beef places in Seoul/Korea.
I'm stoked!
Elisa and I were complaining on Friday about how this week should be done with and how we need some friggin' beef in us pronto.

A lot of things will be happening in these upcoming months
and i'm absolutely exhilarated, i *just* can't wait!
And i haven't felt such exhilaration and excitement for....
well....since i was 7, when my family still went on fishing and skiing trips.
(i was such a little geek...i would sleep with all my clothes on so once the time arrived, i'd just run straight to the car)





Thank you for understanding that this is what I need to do
and not a 'want'

tough love

things are failing you now.
what you've become is total, utter shit.
It's really sad.
Before, I saw so much potential in you;
you could have done such amazing things;
risen to great heights...
and what have you done?
you've wasted it and ruined something that could have been so beautiful and satisfying b/c you just had to dive too much into hedonism.
You're pathetic
All now that i can do is watch from afar and shake my head.
Before, I used to feel that i was responsible for your failings,
but then i realized, i could only do so much.
I can only nudge you to which path you should have gone,
i'm not the one who actually chooses and walks down it.
It wouldn't have worked if i dragged your ass down the path you should have gone
b/c it would have benefited none.
Besides, I am not you, I am not your parent (even though a parent shouldn't have such a responsibility as well)

You're an utter waste.
Until you realize and change your ways,
you will be one of the most pathetic individuals i have ever met;
to have had so much and thrown it away due to your own damn ignorance and pessimism of yourself.

Congratulations on being your own saboteur,
now start becoming your own savior
instead of waiting for someone or something that will never come.
Help only comes to a person who helps themselves.

Hurtful? good.
Deal with it by getting yourself out of your self-made crap hole
and finally become that person you were suppose to be YEARS ago.

mission

currently i'm in a starbucks at jong gak.
I've intentionally lugged over my laptop here just to at least make a quality post...
and to later read.

These past few weeks have been interesting,
for the better and the other thing.

On Friday, it was Evelyn's birthday, so after work, we went to VIPS (a spiffy all you can eat place near work and my place).
I splurged (actually, these past weeks i've been splurging...despite the cries of my bank account) on a whole rack of ribs.
maan...was it good!
We had fun talking and joking around,
and it was my first time actually interacting with Evelyn outside of the school/workplace.
We all went home with our guts a hanging and sooner or later, our toilets a clogging.

Saturday (yesterday) we, Me, Lauren, and Hoj, met up with Melissa and she gave us access to the army base at Yongsan.
I dragged hoj with me to get a back massage, while Melissa and Lauren got their pedicures and facials.
Hoj got a haircut too, which kinda resembles my new do.
As for the back massage, it was good and brutal at the same time.
The first thing the lady did on me was to stand on my hips and then step on certain parts of my spine...
and then knowing my neck and upper back is extremely tensed, she put extreme pressure on those points...
as i muffled my screams of pain.
Hoj, on the other hand, muffled nothing.
Lately, she's been having a lot of back problems and I thought perhaps this might assist her...
even with a little touch on her back by the lady, she yelled in agony.
The lady informed me that not only was hoj's back all tensed up..but her arms, and legs as well.
Not good..not good at all. Although, Hoj has been and is going through an extremely stressful time and has been supposedly sleeping on a broken mattress.
*aie*

Anyways, back to the day, my back massage and face waxing only cost me 24 bucks...
awesome.
After our little pampering, we went to a pretty fancy restaurant on the base, called Dragon Hill.
While Melissa, Hoj, and Lauren went for the lunch buffet, i opted for the special of 2 maine lobsters for 49 dollars.
I couldn't help it. I haven't eaten lobsters for the longest of times, AND it was MAINE lobster.. it was soooo delicious and i ate 2 somewhat largish lobsters all by myself, we later ordered creme brulee that had way too much creme in it although it was an extremely generous portion.
I ate only half of that and yes, I do realize how gluttonous I am.
I'm trying to do a little detoxing today and this coming week...
to compensate for my piggish ways these past few days.

After our lunch, in which all of us pried ourselves off of our comfy seats and waddled our way out of the restaurant and base,
we made our way to the Korean National Museum.
We all got into a taxi and told our taxi driver (who was a woman! my first time ever) to go to the Korean National Museum...
she did not understand...and started to make her way to Itaewon (An area known for foreigners) So we tried calling the "free interpreter" number, and the lady did not understand me (what?!) and hanged up on me.
So in the end, i called up Sarah (one of my korean co-workers and friends) to interpret it for us.
Sarah had no idea what we were talking about and with much discussion, she deducted that the strict translation for "Korean National Museum" does not exist and therefore, the museum we wanted to go to must have been called something else in Korean.
She figured that it was a museum called Seoul..something something in Korean..that I don't remember. Either way, i gave the phone to the lady taxi driver and she drove us to the place.
The entrance fee was...FREE!! yay!
and the museum was absolutely magnificent, large, and beautiful.
However, i must say that the organization and the use of space was...something to be desired (where's an interior designer when you need one?! ;) )
From the post before, you should have seen a few pictures of my little trip.
It was mostly good fun. I bought a few knick knacks for my family to send back home.
one of'em is this really cool..plastic bag thing that's in the shape of a vase.
It's really neat and practical to put in flowers,
which i'm sure my parents will thing is pretty nifty too.

Near the end of our museum trip..it kinda got a little dramatic between Melissa and Lauren b/c they had a tad of a ....disagreement.
And in the end, Lauren and the Hoj left on their own.
However, Melissa and I had some fun before we realized the exit of the other two..
including a running joke of us repeating in an overly dramatic voice:
"the power of the turtle dragon!!"
we were making ourselves look like total fools...and really didn't care as we
keeled over laughing from our stupidity.
But now we have mad respect over the...POWER OF THE TURTLE DRAGON!
We eventually left and went back home.
I immediately collapsed into my bed and slept until 10 something.

Today, I was suppose to go to LotteWorld with L and her friend, Greg,
but i was way too sleepy to wake up any earlier than 1pm..
and i needed to buy myself a wallet from the same store i bought my old one (that in the end, i found out they no longer sold my old wallet..so i had to buy a different one)
had lunch and now..chillin' at starbucks.

These next few weeks and months shall be financially...draining, but absolutely fun.
With my summer vacation coming up, going to Japan, Jeju, finishing up my SCUBA open water certification; after my summer vacation, there's the OLYMPICS...that i'll be watching from the TV :*( well, at least there's no time delay..being that i'm close to Beijing (bittersweet..so close yet so far); i'll be getting my artwork done; then a few weeks later, Chuseok! where i'll hopefully be visiting Bali or Vietnam..and then immediately after...one of the best things will happen...MY BROTHER WILL BE COMING TO KOREA!! yay!!!
stoked? just a tad.

Alright, i'm gonna end this entry...this has been taking me far too long
and i'm chatting with E at the moment,
her grandma has passed away and E's overseas..*Sigh*
i'm just glad i was there when my grandpa passed away..
or else i'd be in worse condition than i already am.

06091915-010706
love you

the POWER OF THE TURTLE DRAGON!!!!

Trip to the Korean National Museum

Pictures of my trip with blog coming eventually

password is: immaho

Chivalry...you do not have, Korea

here I am, w/o an umbrella...it begins to rain heavily
I'm obviously lost and now i'm getting all wet from the rain..
and i'm waiting at an incredibly long stop light.
A man with an extremely large umbrella walks beside me,
looks at me, stares infront..
and takes two steps AWAY from me.
thanks arsehole, thanks a lot.