Life Changes

i was reading drew magary's funbag column on deadspin today and i found the first question totally captivating.  a reader named kyle asked, "What five things take the biggest dive from awesome in your teens/early 20s to terrible in your late 20s/30s?"  i mean... isn't that a FASCINATING question?!?!?!  i read kyle's list of 5, then stopped reading for a few minutes to think about my list of 5 things that were cool when i was younger and now it sux.  so here it goes.

1. snow.  don't get me wrong, seeing snow falling is nice and all, but everything else that comes with it is awful.  driving in it (and possibly getting into an accident), cleaning it up, watching it turn that disgusting gray, etc.  and do you know what the upside to snow is when you're in your early 30s?  nothing.  unless there's a blizzard, you still have to go into work (unless you're a teacher).  i bet people who have kids that stay home b/c of snow hates snow even more.

2. going to the mall.  when i was in middle and high school, going to the mall was the cool thing to do.  my friends and i had no money, but we'd go and spend HOURS there, looking at shoes, checking out record stores, etc.  from my neighborhood to the nearest mall (i'll call it wheaton plaza until i die) was a good 90 minute walk, which my friends and i made on a regular basis (especially during the summer), b/c not every one of us had bikes and loyalty was one of the most important virtues back in those days.  these days, when i realize i have to go to the mall for anything other than to watch a movie, it makes me move like 10 times slower as i get ready and fills me with such a sense of dread.

3. fast food.  in high school, eating fast food was a luxury.  not b/c of the cost, but b/c of the opportunity.  i didn't have a job, i didn't have a car, so i took advantage of every opportunity to eat fast food, which wasn't often.  now... i still eat fast food, but it's usually more out of necessity than anything else.

4. driving.  in the interest of full disclosure, i must admit i have road rage.  but in my defense, you'll never see me lose my cool in any other situation, so... let's move on.  i hate driving.  it used to be fun, but now i don't like doing it.  i hate the traffic in this area, i hate the other drivers, i hate that i HAVE to drive... there are a lot of things not to like about driving.  i wonder why i didn't see this when i was younger?  perhaps this isn't fair, b/c it's not that i don't like the act of driving, i hate everything that goes with it.  well... life isn't fair.

5. attending games.  the first game i ever paid to attend was the korea vs. ghana soccer match when the olympics were held in atlanta back in 1996.  btw, korea won 1-0, on a penalty kick.  going to an actual game was cool when i was younger.  but now when i think about going, i'd much rather not go.  tickets are too expensive, my seats probably won't be very good and more often than not, the game will suck.  if i'm ever given the option of attending a game live or watching the red zone channel, i'll pick the red zone channel every day of the week and twice on sunday.

what is your list?

THE GREATEST KOREAN DRAMA EVER

"그때의 우린, 그 어느 어른보다 심각했고, 치열했고, 힘겨웠다."

"at that time, we were more serious, fierce and we struggled more than any adult."

the quote sounds less cool in english, unfortunately.  A LOT less cool.

so i've been watching a korean drama called, "응답하라 1997 (Respond 1997)."  to be honest, it's the greatest drama i have ever seen.  i once felt really sad that many of my friends couldn't read korean when i read a korean webcomic called "구름의 노래 (song of clouds)."  compared to that, i now feel that it's a full-blown tragedy that many of my friends cannot speak/understand korean b/c i love this drama and i want them to love it too.

this drama is about what life was like for a group of high school friends starting in 1997 and it flashes back and forth b/t 1997-1998 & 2012, at their high school reunion.  when i first recognized the greatness of this drama, i wondered, "if given the chance, would i want to repeat my high school years?"

the answer, of course, is a resounding "NO."  if someone was to ask me that question, i'd cut them off with my answer.  "if given the chance, would you want to repeat your high,"  "NO.  NEVER."  the weird thing about it though, is that i remember those days very fondly and i'm sure i'm not the only one.  honestly though, i've given much thought to this seeming paradox.  i remember my high school days very fondly, but i would never want to repeat them, leading me to the conclusion that i only remember them fondly b/c i'm no longer in high school.

don't get me wrong, there were definitely great moments from that time of my life, but if i'm honest, i think there were many more sucky moments that i'm choosing not to remember, like all the time i spent studying chemistry, for example.

but back to the show.  one of the reasons it's SO great is the music.  they only play songs that were popular at the time period the drama is portraying and it's a great way to remember.  i wrote this before and i'll say it again here, music helps you remember specific times in your life and not just that, music can also come to represent that time period.  therefore, it's important to be alive when that music is first released.  otherwise, you can enjoy that song, but you can't REMEMBER that song.  there's a distinct difference that makes all the difference in the world.

however, it's not just the music.  the drama is very faithful to life in 1997.  the characters in the drama use modems, phones with cords, beepers, payphones, etc.  i grew up during a time before cell phones and the wide-spread use of the internet.  i listened to cassette tapes, carried a walkman and the only way to get music was to actually go to a store to buy physical tapes/cds.  this drama makes me remember those times fondly.  kids today probably think the way we lived was so inconvenient, but that's b/c they're stupid.

but these reasons are merely icing on the cake.  what is the foundation and the most important piece of the greatness is the story itself.  the story of falling in love for the first time is a universal story everyone can relate to.  i like that in the drama, the main character falls in love with his life-long best friend b/c of the way she looks without glasses.  i'm sure most people would like something more dramatic, but real life isn't that dramatic. =)

there's a scene in an episode where one of the characters is studying the game of basketball from a book b/c she wants to be able to relate to the guy she likes.  that scene made me smile, b/c let's be honest, haven't we all done something ridiculous b/c we liked someone when we were in high school?

i truly feel blessed to have grown up in the 1990s.  i was old enough to experience life the way it was in the 90s, yet still young enough to embrace the newer innovations of the 2000s and now 2012.  i wonder if i'll remember this time of my life as fondly 15 years from now?

enjoy the drama for those that can, you won't regret it. =)

Inspiring

panel 1: kids that adjust well to the classroom and follow the path of the majority receive much praise and support from many.

panel 2: on the other hand

panel 3: the kids that do not will just be labeled with "difficulty adjusting."

panel 4: and there aren't many that will understand them.

panel 5: the things they think about, the things they worry about, the things they pursue, the things they want to be come.

panel 6: while agreeing that everyone is different

panel 7: they will remark contradictorily that those kids are wrong.

panel 8: someday

panel 9: when i meet kids who are worrying about taking the road less traveled like me,

panel 10: i will think, "yeah, there were days like that," and smile while reminiscing about today.  and i will tell them.

panel 11: "you're not stupid."

panel 13: "show everyone that you're not wrong."

panel 14: "be strong."

panel 15: i will become someone who can cheer for them.

Things That Make Me More Happy Than They Should (Maybe)

many things in life make me happy, although i must admit, i don't always look like i am.  but going further, there are things that make me happy and sometimes, i feel like it makes me more happy than it should.  these are some of those.

1. it makes me REALLY happy when people greet me with, "hey, you."  perhaps this is a little too specific, but this only works when it's said by a girl.  haha.  i had a friend in college who often greeted me this way and i loved her for it.  but i can't even begin to explain why i like this so much.  it's just one of those things, knowhumsayin'? =)

of course, the obvious must be stated: this greeting can't come b/c they forgot my name.  that negates all the positive feelings.

2. (this is piggybacking on #1), it makes me happy when a total stranger says hi.  the other day, i was walking into my local starbucks and walked past a table near the door where a kid was sitting alone.  as i walked by him, we made eye contact and he gave me this huge grin and a, "what's up, man," and after looking behind me to make sure he was talking to me, i responded in kind.  it would have been nicer if it was a pretty girl, but... oh well.  haha.


3. when i see a stranger do the right thing, it makes me happy.  last week, my area had no power, which meant a lot of the stop lights weren't working.  and most of the time, whenever i pulled up to the light, people would take turns going, like it was a 4-way stop sign, instead of being a-holes.  perhaps this says something about my expectations of people, but whenever i see people doing things like that, i'm happy.


4. hearing a classic song in a random place.  last summer, i was at a b-boy show in seoul and one of the teams used "wu-tang clan ain't nothing to f**k with" for a part of their team performance.  when the song came on, i was pleasantly surprised and it made me enjoy the show that much more. =)

5. a cigar at the end of the week.

6. a pretty girl.

7.  snow... but not too much.  i'm sure everyone knows what i mean when i say "not too much."

i'm sure there are others, but i think 7 is a good number to stop at. =)

Love

i don't use the word "love" often. when i was younger, i was always turned off by people who seemed to throw that word around so easily. but i love music. really.

recently, i've had to defend my love of music. not my love for a particular genre of music, but my love for music in general. my friend finds it weird that i love it so much. i wonder if there are other people in my life who wonder the same thing about me.

honestly, i love it. i don't know if i've ever loved anything more than music in my life. so b/c i've had to defend my love for it, i've decided to write a blog about my reasons. here we go.

1. this is kinda obvious, but it sounds good.



am i wrong for thinking this sounds good? if this is wrong, i never want to be right. =)

2. it serves as a reminder for many things. i once read smells are the greatest triggers for memory but i'd like to call bulls**t on that one. for me, it's music.

music reminds me of certain moments in my life.



(before i continue, please allow me to say, these dudes got game. nicely done.)

do you know what i'll ALWAYS remember about that song? it was the first song i ever danced to.



when i was in high school, i had to work on a project with my friends cara & arthur. the assignment was to re-edit a movie with a different song and we chose to edit this song into "fantasia."

it also reminds me of people.



when i was in middle school and high school, i had a friend named aggrey. whenever i hear a song by the wu, i think of him b/c when the wu first came out, he was their BIGGEST supporter. i also think about my friend erik, b/c he was the one who made me a tape of "enter the 36 chambers" (remember cassette tapes?), which i wore out by listening to it so damn much.

some songs remind me of movies i really like.



some songs remind me of a very specific time, person and a movie all at once.



this song came out in the trailer for "bring it on," which came out in the summer of 2000. i vividly remember seeing this movie with cara at regal theater in rockville and it was the last thing i did to close out my first summer break of college.

3. it makes me feel hopeful.





this is a VERY small sample of what i'm talking about. don't you feel more hopeful already?

4. it's cool.



ewan mcgregor and nicole kidman actually sang this song. and they sang it well. how cool is that, 2 actors singing their own song in a movie?



this is very different from the original version, also very cool.





remake of old(er) songs are cool.

5. it relieves stress. i have some songs i listen to when i'm feeling angry. and like magic, it makes me feel better.





you feel better, right?

6. it makes me look forward to falling in love. =)







7. i'm not sure how to describe it, but some songs inspire me. to do more, to be more, to want more out of life. i realize this is similar to my reason about hope, but that's only b/c my words fail me. trust me, it's different. =)



8. some songs i love for a VERY specific reason.



in this song, starting from 1:08 to 1:13, they do this sliding dance and it looks cool as s**t. i don't even like this song, but i do like it just b/c of those 5 seconds.



same song, better view, although one of the members is missing. from 1:38 to 1:43.

9. some songs put me in a good mood. i gave this a different category b/c this is my blog.





what can i say? i like the acoustic guitar. =)

10. it gives words to things you couldn't say yourself. one of my favorite quotes is by stephen king, "The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them -- words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out."

but i feel like songs allow the words to be bigger. and not just that, but i ain't no poet. there have been times when i've heard a song and it made me realize that's EXACTLY how i was feeling, or those words were what i wanted to say, but didn't know how.



i'm 31. f**k those people who say i'm old.

11. songs speak to me. sometimes, i feel like a song was written specifically for me. don't you?



i first heard this song a few years back and i feel like it's a personal message telling me not to worry about how my decisions will turn out and just go. so now whenever i start to get anxious about my future and all its uncertainties, i listen to this song.



some songs have words in it that i'd like to hear someone say to me and at the same time, i wish i could say to someone else. this is one of those songs.

12. lastly, this is the most important reason of them all, it's fun.






M-flo TOUR 2007 COSMICOLOR-DOPEMAN？loves Emyli... by lovemaggie97



dancing/performing looks fun as hell. i bet even practices, while tiring, are fun. but some songs, they look like it would be fun to play, regardless of who's there.



listen to the tambourine, bass, drum and the guitar. none of them sound like it would be particularly difficult to play, but it sounds FUN, right? i have this idea that music should be a synergistic thing. different parts come together and become greater than the sum of its parts.

i love music and i want you to love it too. =)

Rules

i have been told that some of the personal rules i live by are stupid. i disagree, but i'll concede that some of them are... unusual. i'll share some of them so you can decide. in no particular order:

1. no meat off of bones. that's exactly what it sounds like. i don't eat meat off of bones. that means no ribs, no chicken, etc. when i was young, i was eating fried chicken and i almost threw up b/c of... i don't remember. people think it's stupid that i follow a rule i don't even remember the origin of, but... yeah.

2. no dyeing my hair. my hair is not black and ever since i realized that was unusual, i started to believe if i ever dyed it, my hair would never grow back in its original color. yeah... it's stupid. i know it, but i'm still not dyeing my hair. hahaha.

3. never leave voicemails. i don't think this is stupid, but i've been told otherwise, so i'm putting it on here. but first, my reasons. i personally think my voice sounds stupid, so i'd rather not leave too many recordings around. also, voicemails never sound right. i stumble over my words and i sound very unsure of what i want to say. of course, if it's for professional purposes, i'll leave one, but never for personal reasons.

4. related to #3, if a voicemail only says, "this is _________. call me back," DO NOT call back, EVER. are there people in the states that still leave/get voicemails? in korea, no one uses voice mails, which i think is a positive development. and since i've been back, i have not set up my voice mail. in fact, i don't even know how to check it. i mean... my iphone gets fb messages, emails, texts, phone calls, kakaotalk... WHY THE HELL ARE YOU LEAVING ME A VOICE MAIL? AND A DUMBASS ONE AT THAT? sorry, i got a little angry there.

5. respond to personal messages within 24-hours. if i receive anything that requires a response, i'll respond pretty much as soon as i get it. the only exception being an invitation to an event and i'm unsure about my schedule. i see this on fb all the time, where i write something on people's walls or send them a message that i'd like a response to and the recipient will take days to respond when all i need is a sentence or 2. why is that? is it uncool to respond quickly?

6. no dancing. is this really a rule? it's more of a mental disability at this point. i mean, i think i am physically capable of dancing, but mentally... i can't. in "shameless," there's a character who is so afraid of leaving her house that she hasn't left her house in 5 years. i'm kinda like her, i think. i can't seem to get on the dance floor. but yeah. no dancing.

7. no sandals outside. the reason for this is very simple: you never know when you might have to start running. and please cut the s**t about being able to run in sandals. not b/c i don't think it's true, but b/c it doesn't matter. sandals are difficult to run in and i'm not going to wear them when i'm going out.

8. fully come to a stop at a stop sign. this is NOT a dumb rule, but people give me s**t for coming to a complete stop every time i come to a stop sign. i'll even wait for a second or 2, regardless of whether there is other traffic. i leave no doubt as to what i'm doing when i come up to it. what i don't understand is when people give me s**t about it. so we spent a few seconds at the stop sign. if you're in THAT much of a hurry, leave your house earlier a**hole, and don't ride in my car.

9. if a homeless person asks me for money, ALWAYS give. the only exception is when i don't have anything less than a $20. i'll give up to a $10. ALWAYS. people say, "they'll use it for alcohol/drugs!" my response? i don't care. they ask me, i'll give. what happens after is not my business.

10. never invite someone whose first response is, "who else is coming?" to anything. i can't stress this enough: their FIRST response. when i encountered this situation in the past, my response took two parts. first, i UNinvited them. second, i never invited them to anything again. if i'm not good enough, f**k you.

11. no steaks at restaurants. i have eaten steak a whopping 3 times in my life. the first 2 times, it was pretty gross. the last time, my friend cooked it and it wasn't bad at all. however, i have never eaten steak in a restaurant. and since i have never experienced it, i never have the desire to. in fact, now i don't want to, b/c i'm afraid i would like it. is that weird?

on that note, i'm out. =)

a-holes

i'm a sports fan. i enjoy watching sports and rooting for teams/players that i like. as i've gotten older, i've taken the let's-show-love-to-my-guys-and-forget-everyone-else approach to being a sports fan. of course, there are exceptions to this: osu, notre dame and a few others. those teams will always have a carte blanche of hate from me. if that makes me an a-hole, i think we're gonna have to agree to disagree.

but speaking of a-holes, let's talk about a-hole sports fans. i've come up with 4, if you come up with more, let me know.

1. people who root against their friends' teams just for the hell of it.

i ain't gonna lie, i have been guilty of this in the past. but as i've matured (a little), i've come to realize this is a real a-hole move. if you hate a certain team, i understand, even if that reason is ridiculous. but if you're hating on my team just to spite me? there's no getting around this one, you're an a-hole.

2. people who cheer when an opposing player is injured.

do i really need to explain this one? if you take pleasure in someone else's misfortune, i think it's time to do some serious soul-searching.

3. people who boo players on their own teams.

for example, yankees fans. a few years back, jeter was sucking it up. but he won TITLES for you. he deserves a little more than you booing him. look, i know what it's like to have someone on your team that's not playing well. but how does booing that player help? of course, this is much more acceptable for pros since they get paid crazy money to play a child's game. but let's not be so quick to dump on our players.

4. people who take success as a given.

success is never a given. don't act like it, it makes you look like an a-hole. especially when you complain b/c your team loses or something goes against you.

so in 2012, let's resolve to be awesome, instead of being a-holes. good luck to all of us. =)

on a totally unrelated note, this is always a good reminder: