Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Korean Dramas

My Aunty Rurichan is a big fan of Korean dramas. Big. I mean huge. So much so that she bought an entire shelf of Korean dramas from a video store and gave it to her son's in-laws before realizing that they weren't actually Korean dramas, but Korean porn. Whether or not you're a fan, you'll probably enjoy the following...

50 Things You Can Learn from a Korean Drama

1) Hot, rich, younger men love fat, older vulgar women.

2) If you have a best guy friend, he is in love with you. And secretly you are too.


3) You and your boyfriend will always playfully chase each other on an ice rink, at the beach, or in the leaves. And you’ll laugh for no reason and your boyfriend will hit you “playfully” but the force of his push will have you flying across the r
oom. But it’s okay. Cuz you’re still laughing like a crazy person.

4) Brothers/cousin/uncles-nephews will always love the same girl.


5) You’re allowed to make u-turns wherever you want in Korea. And there is never traffic on the side you want to u-turn to.


6) There is a super quick payment device that allows you to pay a bill quickly enough for a guy to run immediately out of a restaurant after his angry girlfriend storms out.


7) Everyone has cancer.


8) If you’re sick, all you need is an IV to make you feel lots better.

9) There is vomit and urine all over Seoul at nights.


10) Fighting at a pojangmacha with a random stranger is merely part of a normal night’s event.


11) Soju must cost 10 cents. Everyone drinks it every
day all the time, especially the poor people.

12) If you’re rich, you’re a jerk.


13) If you’re poor, you’re an angel.


14) Women sleep and wake up with a full set of makeup on.


15) You’re not studying hard enough unless you get a no
sebleed.

16) If you have a nosebleed, you most definitely have cancer. And you have no money to pay for the surgery that will save your life. And your liver is missing. We’re not sure where it went, but it’s making your cancer progress faster.


17) If you work in a sool jeep (drinking place), you have massively curly hair and wear flashy colors from the early 90’s.


18) You always order orange juice or coffee at a cafe. And you never drink it. EVER.


19) You will always call your boyfriend by his job title. Or simply sunbaenim. Never his name. Never. He doesn’t have one.


20) If you TRULY love each other, you must die together in the end. Frozen outside instead of finding shelter like sane people. Just frozen….


21) You go to America you come back miraculously successful. You go to England you come back amazingly fashionable. You stay in Korea the only thing that changes is your hairstyle.

22) And if you come back with no apparent reason then it’s because you have cancer.

23) Everyone always goes to the same hospital no matter where they are.

24) If you stand out in the rain for more than five minutes, you’ll end up with a fever and vertigo and people will rush you to the hospital to get some magic IV. And instead of taking an ambulance or driving they’ll race you on their back.

25) Even if you’re poor and can’t eat, you never wear the same clothes twice.

26) If you play a poor kid, you always have dirt on your face and your hair is always messy.

27) If you’re saving someone from being hit from a car, you’ll push them out of the way and wait for the car to hit you instead.

28) Everyone has a long lost sister/brother/twin. Usually one they didn’t know about.

29) If you don’t want to answer your phone, you can’t just turn it off. The battery
needs to be taken out.

30) All Korean men can drink hard, smoke long, sing well and play piano. Usually all at the same time. And at the same restaurant that has a piano that they let anyone use.

31) If you’re in a relationship, you must at one point leave and have your lover tearfully come RIGHT before you board the plane (vice versa applies as well. You can be the chaser). 60% of the time you see each other, the other 40% you’re roaming around in circles and pass each other about six times, but miraculously never see them.

32) If you’re getting off a plane, you’re ALWAYS wearing sunglasses. ALWAYS.

33) All guys wear hideous tracksuits zipped up to their neck. Even if all they’re doing is jump-roping.

34) Girls will always storm off because they’re mad and the guy will stoically grab them by the arm and swing them back- and by magic, not dislocate their shoulders.

35) Guys always look like they’re 6 feet tall, even if they’re only 5′10. Thank you camera angles.

36) Guys like to wear foundation, eyeliner and sometimes a smudge of lipliner.

37) You always get stuck in an elevator with someone who makes you feel uncomfortable. Even if there are six different elevators, you’ll always be stuck in the same one with that bastard you hate (or just fought with).

38) Unless you’re fabulously rich, your in-laws will always hate you.

39) So will your sister-in-law.

40) Your brother-in-law might be pining away for you.

41) There are only 2 ways to kiss. You either press your lips against theirs with your mouth completely shut, and just press away for a very long and uncomfortable time. OR you devour the other person and suck out their soul. In both instances, the world spins.

42) A guy will always get the right size ring, even if you’re never held hands.

43) People stare off into space and ponder a lot. They’ll just stop in the middle of the road and watch a leaf on a tree for a good three minutes, and just ponder.

44) You’ll get pregnant the first time you have sex.

45) You’ll get pregnant if he kisses you on the forehead.

46) Hell- you’ll get pregnant if you hold hands.

47) If you overcome great obstacles to be together, one of you must die. Probably due to cancer.

48) One Korean man can kick the butts of 6 gangstas. Especially when they all stand in a circle and attack the guy one by one. Then when each of them get their butts OWNED, they wise up and attack the guy at the same time. Then the guy will get pulverized and bleed out onto the dusty concrete floor of the empty warehouse they’ve found to fight in. There will be a fire in a trashcan somewhere. And the girl will have watched this the entire time, screaming in horror. Instead of calling 119, she’ll just watch and cry. But it’s okay. Cuz the next day the guy will be fine with a few random bandages and a few face scars. But never a black eye.

49) It ain’t a real fight unless the gangstas fight dirty with a stick or switchblade.

50) If you study in the states (perferably Harvard), you are one of the top students and can speak perfect English (as assumed by the reactions of those around you). Why the rest of the world OUTSIDE of the TV can’t understand a single word uttered out of your melodramatic mouth is beyond me.

Bae Yong Joon
(Aunty Rurican is a proud member of his official fan club)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Fine. I'll vote for Barack.

Yesterday in class the conversation turned to politics. It started with three girls announcing they were Republicans and ended with this...
"In my opinion, the reason why gas prices are so high is because we need to start giving more money to the gas companies like Exxon-Mobil and BP so that they can afford to turn to alternative forms of energy in the future. Obviously it will take a lot of money to change our dependence on oil and they don't want to lay off any workers, so they're hiking up the prices to plan for the future... I have a feeling the government knows what they're doing. And it's not important to me to know everything that's going on. I say, 'Do whatever you guys need to do, just make sure you keep the crazy people from blowing up my plane.' "
Fine. You win, America. I will do anything to make sure my vote will cancel the girl who said that.

Who I'm voting for

Who I wish I was voting for

If McCain is voted president I will have to leave the country. But where on earth could I go where the dirty hands of this country can't reach?

Me in Cuba

Me in North Korea

Monday, April 7, 2008

Hani

My sister is the most important person in my life. Unfortunately she drives me absolutely insane a good 95% of the time. She can be very loud, talkative, friendly, colorful, emotional, girly, masculine, easy-going, bossy, selfish, generous, and often manages to do it all at once. If she had the ability to decorate her room however she wanted (my mother, a very wise woman, has so far forbidden her to do so) I think it would look something like these rooms...

If she had all the space in the world

If she had all the money in the world (and she sometimes acts like she does)

If she had all the stuff in the world


She's also a bit of a clutter freak - she thrives on clutter
If you haven't guessed yet, she really likes the color pink. But she wouldn't say "No" to these rooms either...


Saturday, April 5, 2008

Covet

One thing I'm looking forward to after I graduate is being able to decorate a place of my own. Living with other girls makes it difficult to decorate in a style that you think looks good, while they would prefer something closer to the Madonna Inn. Therefore the only piece of decor in our apartment is a framed Arrested Development poster above the faux fireplace. I'm not complaining.

I found this Indonesian opium daybed on craigslist and I'm obsessed.

I think it looks absolutely amazing. I would make one large white cushion/mattress to replace the two red and orange cushions and it could double as a bed for overnight guests. It reminds me so much of Lien's bed in The Vertical Ray of the Sun. The problem is: It's selling for $1,000. Not sure if I could convince Sachin to make it an early graduation gift.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Priorities and Resolution of the Month

Recent events regarding the people around me have made me really look at where my priorities lie, so I thought this would be a good place to write things out...

My Priorities Are...
1. Being a good big sister to my younger sister.
2. Being a decent daughter and granddaughter to my parents and grandparents.
3. Doing well in school.
4. Being kind, helpful, and always entertaining to Sachin.
5. Being a good coordinator for the Campus Tours Program.
6. Being there for my friends.
7. Being an well-educated citizen of the world.
8. Writing more diligently in this blog.
9. Become killer at Rock Band.
10. Grilled Cheese.

That was pretty cheesy. And rather narcissistic. I apologize.

So here is...
This Month's Resolution

Drink more water!

My skin has been looking horrendous, my hair is always dry, and there have been days when I did not even drink a single sip of water. It's healthy! Join me, won't you?


As an update on last month's resolution; it was awful! Within a week I realized it would be impossible to carry out. One cannot even go grocery shopping without using a plastic bag, jar, or bottle. Even buying milk was a dilemma unto itself!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Forget the white wedding...

Cultures can be colorful, but think how much more we can get when multiple cultures get together for something as fun as a wedding? Take the joy and promises of your average wedding, add a mehndi ceremony, a Chinese bridegroom, a dancing Spaniard, and the Bollywood hit, Kajra Re, and you have a wedding I would die for.


Monday, March 17, 2008

Homesickness

My family on what it feels like to grow up in a different country...

Abbu: This homesickness you feel for your childhood; it never goes away.
Me: Wherever it is you are, you'll always be longing for the place that you've left.
Abbu: It's this feeling that eats away at me. It makes me feel so empty.
My sister: It's probably worms.

Me and my sister in Pakistan, where my father had grown up.


Me, my sister, and my father in Singapore where my sister and I had grown up.


My sister today.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Studying

Now that finals are right around the corner, I am slowly losing sleep, hygiene, and sanity. But in the midst of my 10-page paper on science fiction and the ability for human beings to upload themselves into computers I have discovered something wonderful. This is the perfect music to play while you are studying, driving, eating dinner, taking a bath, washing the dog, doing your taxes, etc...

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Escaping

I wish I was here...
...instead of freaking out about finals and essays.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day!

Isn't it amazing what women can do?

Shirin Ebadi
Iranian lawyer and human rights activist.
In 2003 she became the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her dedication to democracy and women and children's rights.


Wangari Muta Maathai
The Tree Mother of Africa
Founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977.
In 2004 she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her dedication to fighting political oppression within the Kenyan government, and her call for womens' equality.


Aung San Suu Kyi
Leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma
In 1992 she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent struggle for democracy in Burma where she has been under house arrest for 12 years.


Kurdish women in northern Iraq demanding respect and equal rights.


Katheeja on the left and my mother on the right.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Coming to America

There's something terrifying and brave about establishing a home in a completely different country. Two of my favorite films deal with this very same issue; the first about coming to the United States, and the second about what happens once you've settled down...

The Namesake
Directed by Mira Nair and based on the book by Jhumpa Lahiri

The story of the Ganguli family who decide to start a new family in New York (Boston in the book) after leaving their home in Calcutta.






The beauty of this film is that it not only tells of the love that unfolds within the marriage of Ashoke and Ashima, but about their son, Gogol's struggle as a first generation citizen born to immigrant parents .























Keep an eye out for...
The cinematography - The images captured on film have been based on photographs that Nair chose herself. Shots of India are breathtaking and the contrast between India and New York is interesting when seen through Gogol and Ashima's eyes.
Kal Penn - Penn's portrayal of Gogol/Nikhil in The Namesake is a refreshing change from his roles on Harold and Kumar or Van Wilder (FYI: Skip the links if you're not a college frat boy).
The soundtrack - A beautiful fusion of Western and Indian music by Nitin Sawhney. Nair even included a new version of the classic Ye Mera Diwanapan Hai (loose translation: This Is My Heart's Weakness) by Susheela Raman which I really loved until I made my father listen and he nearly threw up.


Watch the trailer


Saving Face
Written and directed by Alice Wu

The story of a mother and daughter who face some rather modern issues within their traditional Chinese family.



















The film is something of an autobiography for Wu and, despite the fact that this is her first film, she more than makes up for some small glitches with a great deal of heart and humor.












Keep an eye out for...
The women - In an industry dominated by men, the women involved in the film have created something that anyone can appreciate (believe me, it doesn't happen as often as it should). Please leave your 'Asian women as quiet and submissive' stereotypes at the door.

The humor
- Even though the film is half in Mandarin and half in English, the dialogue is still hilarious.
Joan Chen - The same woman who played the Emperor's wife in The Last Emperor plays a paranoid and easily excitable mother who has an affinity for Chinese soap operas and younger men. Chen manages to handle the comedy and her character's silent sadness without any effort at all.


Watch the trailer


Blockbuster these movies!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Globalization

As Globalization grows and grows the world is introduced to new technology, new ways of communicating, and exciting new places to travel. What it has also brought: Long-distance relationships. They are miserable.

However, Globalization has also meant that you and I can watch videos like this.



That'll cheer anyone up.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

This Month's Resolution

No plastic packaging.

Recently I was sent an e-mail by a wonderful friend about the work of photographer Chris Jordan. I am absolutely blown away. Mr. Jordan focuses a majority of his work on American society and consumerism. One of his latest projects is titled Running the Numbers where the intention is “…to emphasize the role of the individual in a society that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming.”

Prison Uniforms, 2007
Depicts 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005.


Plastic Bottles, 2007

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.



That is why my resolution of the month is to not buy any products that use plastic packaging. I have a feeling my avoidance of said products will not even create a dent in any sales or waste production, but perhaps this resolution will be a lesson. It will be interesting to see how difficult or easy this resolution will be to follow. Care to try it with me?

Friday, February 29, 2008

Beginnings

Happy Leap Year, everyone!

And really, who doesn’t love a good leap year? Summer Olympics! Presidential elections! Plus you get an extra day to do whatever you want. You could go see South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo if you happen to be in California. Or you could catch the release of the new Brazilian film, City of Men. You could even take advantage of the lovely warm weather that’s been creeping up on parts of the world and make yourself a Singaporean ice kachang.

Because this blog is dedicated to my family, here are a few photos that remind me of them and should be a good preview of what's to come.

For my grandfather, ever the scholar...
Elle Decor

For my grandmother and her hidden wild streak...
For my father and his love for a sweeter life...
A Mongolian tent, Marie Claire Maison

For my mother and what she has defined as her own heaven...
Thailand, Conde Nast

For my sister, who is in a world of her own...
Marie Claire Maison