MiSURA

song: Naul - Great is the Lord (나얼 - 주 여호와는 광대하시도다) // download HERE



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mine's going great !
started summer school. kinda a drag b/c i don't have the textbook still (eeek ! =T) and the homework.. is kinda difficult. -__-;;

BUT that's not what i wanted to talk about.
i want to talk about my awesome experience @ the art institute on tues.. that lasted approximately one hour and 15 minutes.

after class on tues. i decided to hop on the #7 cta bus to the art institute and spend some time there. yea, it cost $7 and i wish i didn't spend the money, but lemee tell you, it was so worth it. i grabbed a map of the AIC and i immediately looked up the european paintings & impressionism section. i walked up the grand staircase anxious to see what i would come across. and there it was. caillebotte's rainy day. this incredible painting caught my attention and i stood in front of the painting for a good 10 minutes. it absolutely captures the moment of a regular street in paris. altho i wish the rain was more obvious. upon closer inspection, i could see each individual stone in the ground was carefully executed and shaded and colored. i love how the buildings are cropped and even the person on the right. these people are not posing for the picture. if this were a real live scene, which it probably was, in the blink of an eye, the person who's cropped would no longer be cropped. the couple walking towards use might be looking at each other. the two men walking towards the sidewalk may have reached it. the carriage would probably be out of our sight. i also like how the lamppost divided the painting in half. then i took a huge sigh and kept on walking around the gallery. i saw a number of renoirs and even a vuillard. i entered the next room and i had to hold my breath again because there it was: seurat's la grand jatte. this painting that brought myriad criticisms in the late 1800s was standing right before me! the painting that i had learned so much about in class--right in front of me! i even read renowned scholars' interpretations and a book from the library about the making of this painting.. and now i got to see it for real. i really liked the book about the making of this painting because seurat more than any other impressionist painter took his time sketching, drawing, and this painting is merely a compilations of all his earlier paintings and sketches. everything from the soldiers to the monkey, the lady fishing to the nurse. all of it was premeditated and not just randomly thought of on the spot. even the trees, some were deleted and some added. seurat was almost more scientific in his approach to painting and he is noted for the invention of pointilism and divisionism. when you look closer, the painting really is comprised of mostly dabs and dots of paint. and on the woman on your right, her top is dappled with a little bit of orange so that the darker color stands out. in the grass there is dots of yellows and oranges so that the green seems brighter and greener. the red on the women's dresses have little spots of blue to enhance the red color. and seurat is categorized as a neo-impressionist for precisely the reason that this painting is not portraying life as it is. but the subject is still impressionistic. but his new painting styles places him slightly outside of impressionism.

seeing these two paintings totally made my day, until i walked into the next gallery full of monets ! AIC owns like 6 grainstacks (i think. i didn't count exactly. the online collection only shows that AIC owns 4... i don't think they put every single monet on the online collection) ! CMA could only get 3 grainstacks for the exhibition Monet in Normandy, and here AIC owns 6 of them. Each from a diff. time of day and season. It was incredible. many of monet's other paintings were spread out throughout the impressionist gallery, but it was a joy seeing so many of them in one gallery.

i ventured out on to the other side of the grand staircase to see the european paintings in the 1800s. on the side of a hallway there were a series of odilon redon drawings. (for a list of the works shown @ the MOMA in oct2005-jan2006, go HERE and then click on "all works"). yea his works are kinda disturbing and not exactly pleasing to the eye. but he was another artist that we studied in class and he was one of the first to start doing something different in the late 1800s and became part of the genre: symbolism. he'd put monstrous faces on abnormally large spiders, make an eye disproportionately larger than the rest of the head, etc. i can only imagine what the people during the time thought about this painting. were they horrified? or were some of them finally relieved that someone knew what they were really feeling? that an artist was able to express himself through fantastical images and odd representations of people and animals? i'm sure that all of them felt something. but i really wonder what redon was thinking about. what made him start drawing such images? and then later on in his life, he started using color but it's not like the subjects changed that much. he even drew images of biblical, mythological, and historical characters like john the baptist, venus, and saint anthony. but as i was walking down the hallway, a chill ran down my spine and even after 100 years after he executed these drawings, they still evoke something from the viewer.

i didn't get to explore much further than the european paintings of 1800s, but next time i go to the AIC it will be because i'm gonna get interviewed for my volunteer position and then get the position and then get my student membership ! wOot-woOt. =) and then i can go as often and whenever i want.. at least within that year. ^ ^

i'm so lucky to be living in chicago ! now i just wanna go to the MOCA in cleveland, MOMA in new york, washington dc gallery, london gallery, and all the art museums in paris !~ so much to see. i'm so thankful that i can also see. just walking into the AIC helps me calm down, even though there are a lot of people and they're all crowding around.

i'm so glad blogger has the "save now" button just like gmail does. so now i don't hafta worry about accidentally deleting my post or refreshing the page while i'm typing up the blog. it's all saved so no worries! ^ ^ whew.

hope you're all enjoying your summer.
by the way there are a lot of really good programs coming up @ ravinia. check the website. tchaikovsky's first piano concerto, rachmaninoff's piano concert no.2, vivaldi's four seasons, a number of mozart's piano concertos, and much more!

i hate the summer........ but because of all these goodies, i love the summer. =)

whether you need it or not.. we all need...



THE TOP 10 handy dandy tips about college....


I like to count, so maybe that's why I keep on having these entries about counting down or counting how many things i need to do.. etc. everything's more orderly this way, doncha think? anyway! These are not in a certain order. I'm just writing them as I think of them.


10. Try not to schedule classes before 9am.
I know in high school your day started at like 7am or 6am or even 5am if you were on the swimming team. but in college, it's a whole diff. ballpark. your classes can start whenever you want them to. so if you can avoid it, try scheduling your classes after 9am. trust me, you will neither wake up nor have the motivation to go to them.


9. Don't eat past 11pm.
Seriously. This is where the Freshman15, Sophomore20, Junior25, and Senior 30 come in. Haha, I made the latter 3 up. But this is why people gain weight. All we do is sit, eat, study, and do it all over again. We don't sleep enough to have the food digest either. So it's a baaaaaaad cycle. So discipline yourself and don't eat past 11pm.


8. Decorate your room.
Unless your roommate objects, make your dorm room your own. I think the kind of environment you study in, sleep in, and have friends over in is quite important. Unless your roommate kicks you out of your room often and you are sexiled... then o well, guess there's no point in decorating. Otherwise, buy a couple cheap posters from ebay, hang pictures of your family, your friends from high school years, prom, whatever. anything!


7. Be organized.
Make folders in your computer for each of your classes; if you use GMAIL, have your school emails forwarded to that gmail account and use filters & labels to organize your classes. Seriously. Don't just be organized with your planner, binders, and paper. This goes beyond that.


6. Call your family/friends back at home.
Your family and friends miss you ! So let them know that you're still alive by calling them. And no, facebooking/emailing them is unacceptable. Actually hearing your voice is a lot more satisfying. And even if you hate your parents, still call them. Even if it's to just let them know what time you're gonna be coming home from Thanksgiving break.


5. Do your laundry every 2-3wks!
Trust me, people will start to notice. Plus, don't you start running low on underwears/boxers and bras? I like cleaning out the lint traps. Hehe. That's my favorite part.


4. Get yourself your own digicam, cell phone, mp3 player/ipod....
A digicam is handy because you can take snapshots whenever you want to. Take anything ! From a pile of leaves to your laptop, your floormates to even your professor. Some people like "organizing [their] life into photo albums".

Believe it or not...... there are people out there without cell phones. I know. Take a moment to breathe. But no matter who you are, you need one. To call someone to let them know you'll be late to the meeting, to call your professor, to call and have someone to eat lunch with, to call your old buddies after classes while you're walking back to your dorm. There's no point in getting a room phone because hardly anyone's in their room 24/7. So how else can people contact you quick and fast??

Mp3players are REAL handy while you're walking to and from classes, while you're working out, jogging, etc. It's also a handy tool to use to not fall asleep in class. Just stick one earphone in an ear and put it on low volume. But whenever you feel like you're falling asleep, just pay attention to the music. Just make sure it's not like slow sappy songs but upbeat happy songs. Always works for me. =)


3. Invest in friendships.
A huge difference between college & high school is the fact that you're LIVING with people. You may even live in the SAME ROOM no bigger than 18x18 with a complete stranger. There will be people ALLL around you. I'm even living with 5 girls and I feel like I could get to know them better. And I wish I did. B/c supposedly college is the place where you could potentially meet your husband/wife, maid of honor/best man. Sooo better be on the lookout ! Haha, kidding. But not about meeting the potentials. Take the time to get dinner with them. Even while waiting in line can stir up conversations. Walk to the meetings together. Whether or not you have lots of friends or not, we are all meant to have relationships. No matter how big of an introvert and loner you may be.. there's always room for friends. So don't leave 'em hanging.


2. Always carry a book to read.
This is always nice so you don't get bored in between classes. Sometimes I end up wandering around for an entire hour, wasting time surfing the internet (dang, who uses that phrase anymore), napping and then waking up grumpy, etc. Bring your Bible, devotional, novel of the month, newspaper, even a sudoku book for all I care. Have something to read to fill in the gaps in between. You never know what you can learn...... !


1. Try something (or many things!) you've NEVER tried before!
So anti-climactic, right? -______-^

Rush for a fraternity/sorority, try Greek food, pick up a language, walk backwards to class, ride a unicycle, learn how to ballroom dance, go for a whole week w/o saying a single word, actually go to class (oooh, good one), anything anything anything !

What new things have I tried? I've performed in front of hundreds of people, made a CD with Koinonia, got a job (wOot-woOt!), went to an actual swing dance club/venue, tried pho (didn't like it tooooo much), asked someone to be my mentor, slept over at the library (not such a hot idea), among other things. Doesn't sound so exciting, I guess, but to me, they're really memorable and that's what makes my year awesome.

So was this good/bad? I think I write for you and I both, so even if you thought it was completely worthless, it's okay. =)

Here's a korean song that's so cheesy but so cute. It's Eugene (from S.E.S.) singing the most cheesiest song. But people say that I sing like her, so you be the judge of that.

I'm a pretty big fan of not wasting time and being efficient. It's the summertime and I'd hate to waste time by sleeping in and not doing much.

Here's what I'm doing to keep myself busy. Maybe it'll give you some ideas. I dunno.

1. Summer school. Kinda late to register now, but if you wanna take some summer courses, get 'em out of the way, then by all means, do it. Especially if your class is in the morning, it'll discipline you to get out of bed and go to class !

2. Volunteer/Get a job. I won't be getting a job but hopefully I'll be able to volunteer at the Art Institute. I'm not sure what my hours will be, but it's gotta be built around the summer school schedule, of course.

3. Go to Ravinia, Art Institute, Shedd Aquarium, swing dancing, etc.! Ravinia's a festival where there are orchestra concerts, dances, and special performances. I'm too cheap to get actual tickets for the special performances, but I definitely wanna attend the orchestra concerts so I can sit on the lawn and listen to them. I think it's free for college students, too ! How sweet is that. Art Institute, I already plan to get a student membership and go like everyday. I've never been to Shedd Aquarium, so maybe if a friend wants to go I'll tag along ! Swing dancing.... I dunno if I'll be able to do that this summer. Maybe we'll go swing dancing outside again ! Maybe when it's also not so humid and everyone gets all nasty & sweaty. I haven't been dancing since like Fall06 semester. That's so sad !

4. Spend time at the beach. At CFW, it was kinda chilly to be laying out in the sun on the beach in a tanktop and shorts, let alone a bathing suit. I just wish the beach was my backyard so I wouldn't hafta drive 30 minutes to get there. hehe.

5. Read that Bible ! I'm seriously gonna finish the bible in a year. I've got that schedule going on. So in a year I'll be done with it. If you want the schedule too, let me know. I have two diff. types of schedules. The first divides up the Bible by genres like Law, Prophets, Gospel, Epistles, etc. The second divides up the Bible chronologically. If you didn't know, the Bible is actually not compiled chronologically. Like Job was written after Genesis, Mark was written before Matthew, etc. So it kinda mixes up the entire Bible. It's confusing for me, that's why I'm doing the genres schedule. But whichever you want, lemee know.

6. Spend time reading other books. Riding the metra train to Chicago and back gives me lots of time to read ! Last summer I read like four novels. So this summer I wanna read........ five ! Haha. We'll see.

7. Enjoy God's creation. Go to the botanic garden, take a walk through your neighborhood, appreciate what God's created right around you.

8. Write a letter to someone. Snail mail is still around ! Haha. I like to decorate it, put ridiculous smiley faces everywhere, and make the paper scented. So if you have someone that you wanna write a letter too, don't delay. Get their address and send him/her a letter.

9. Wake up before noon. That way you won't be wasting half the day and wasting the sun ! Plus, I need to wake up before then so I can get to summer school classes on time !

10. Write songs. That's pretty self-explanatory.

So how will you be spending your summer? I wanna travel ! But maybe next summer. -__-;; Daddy is going to Europe again in August so maybe I'll tag along? But I dunno anyone that he's taking and I dunno if he'd be okay with it. Sooo o well. I'm satisfied with those 10 things. Seems like that's what I do every summer. But that's because I don't do enough of it during the school year ! So the summer's good for that very reason.

I'm finally home !
Finals were so hard, man. But that seems like ages ago so let's not dwell on the past.
Here's what's currently up.

1. Thank you for all that were praying about my scholarship and my grades. I know I struggled a lot and it even got me bogged down during CFW (Chapter Focus Week), but God is so good and merciful. He's giving me another chance. =) I'll tell you some more details through other means.

2. CFW was AMAZING ! I left when finals were over and I went with some people from Koinonia & Case IV up to Lake City, Michigan. You can find the pictures that I took through this link : Chapter Focus Week Pictures! I took the track - Loving God's Story - and it was an overview of the entire Bible and the importance and relevance of each book. Before I really didn't understand the importance of Leviticus or I Kings but now I see how it all fits in to God's story and I wanna read it all ! Oh, and if you want, a Commentary on the NT and OT would be an awesome birthday gift. ^__^;; It seems so silly to have one of my commitments be to start reading the Bible faithfully, but it's true. We always go back to the basics.

i dunno what else to say. i just wanna celebrate !
yay for a new week !
and i still hafta unpack, read the Bible passages for today, and get a good night's rest. =)

...

1. that i'd change my major
2. that i'd be hit by reality with a load of bricks
3. my passion could lie in art history

i know. so different, right? i always thought myself as an artsy-fartsy person. but i never thought that i'd actually consider it as a career. now i have NO idea what i wanna do. it's gonna be hard getting into grad school w/ a chem BA and i'm not sure what opportunities there are for art history majors. well i'm sure i can go on to write books and such. but if i could just travel w/ paintings... that would be awesome. and talk about them.

i know i talked on and on about how i had my next two years all planned out. but this just goes to show you that God can easily come in and change it up. it's not that He's picking on you. he wants you to have dreams and aspirations, but to also know that unless you're seeking His kingdom first, it won't work out. we can plan all we want in our hearts... but only God will determine the steps (that's a verse... somewhere in the Bible, i forget). i love planning things.. and having God strip me of this one thing i'm good at.. is a really tough lesson. but HE's humbling me. man, it hurts. but it feels good. to know that He's sovereign. i'd trust no one else.

i'm still gonna take phys142 @ uic b/c i need it to fulfill my chemBA degree.

two books on my list of books to read:

1. Too Busy Not to Pray // Bill Hybels

2. One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven // Mark Cahill

If you've read 'em, let me know what you thought. I'm gonna read 'em no matter what you say, but I'm still curious. =)

i'm still scared. but in the end, God works for the good of those who love Him. and i have no doubt that i love Him. so things'll work out even if i may not like it. so no worries. =]

press play ! The Answer by Shane & Shane

too scary in fact.
today i was supposed to meet with my pchem professor to discuss my .. very bad grade. but he was kinda busy so he asked me to come tomorrow same time. why am i so freakin' nervous ! oh.. well gee i dunno. maybe b/c i'd lose my scholarship if i don't do well in this class. why didn't i try hard enough? do all of these questions ultimately lead me to the demise of my college career?

part of me thinks: yes, it will. if i lose my scholarship, i might hafta transfer out of case, take a semester off.. whatever. if i don't go to case, i'll hafta start all over at another unfamiliar university. if i took a semester off, i'll be behind and be so bored b/c who else is gonna be taking a semester off w/ me.

another part says: no, of course not. it's all in God's plan and whatever's meant to happen will.

and that's the scary part. that i d o n ' t k n o w ...

• what's gonna happen tomorrow
• what would've happened if i never met him/her
• whether or not my grades will affect the jobs i get interviewed for
• how i'm gonna get internships

why does college hafta be the best time of your life, but at the same time the worst? the part that makes the rest of your life but could easily bring everything down?

and why am i so focused on this?!?! i get taught everyday that our eyes should not be set on earthly things. that this life is temporary. i guess i'm still working on that part.

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let's talk about something else !

how about...... how seriously beautiful the weather is. until wed, that is. and gee, that's when my two exams are ! what a nice combination. when i have my exams the weather is dark and gloomy, rainy and humid.

do you ever feel like you're exposing too much of yourself? in person, chat rooms, on AIM, facebook, in blogs, online forums, etc? where's the line? did you ever feel like why you expose too much of yourself? have i become an exhibitionist through this blog? i really hope not. but at the same time, i hope people are encouraged and get something out of this. otherwise, this blog is completely meaningless. it's for me, yea, in a sense that i can keep a semi-private journal of what's going on in my life. but at the same time, i know people read this and i don't want them to get any more angry or depressed b/c of this. that's not my purpose.

i've been going through my super super old xanga posts from like 2004 and dang. i tried sssoooo hard to make people laugh. every other post would be like, "wanna hear something funny?!" and i'd go on and on with a joke or comic strip or something that would lighten someone's day. but i realize that i don't really do that anymore. i do it more b/c i stumbled across it and i put it up there for myself. i guess the habit of blogging has become more of a personal thing for me. whether or not people read it consistently, i still write. and if people comment, great. if not, that's cool, too. as long as you don't hate. =) j/k. you can hate but you better have reason.

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i'm going to a wedding ! i love weddings. it's on june 9th. if you wanna be my date, it's too late. haha i already RSVP'd and i'm going alone...... poo. i hope i'm sitting with people i know.

i gotta start studying now.

i've used up my half hour of free time between now and 5:30pm. sooooooooo off to work i go ! ^___^

to europe.
enough said.

it's incredibly sunny outside !
and i can't stop pausing every hundred feet because i come across tulips, or a tree, or the lagoon, or whatever.
it's amazing how beautiful nature is. i love this type of weather.. sun shining, 70degrees, and a cool breeze. juust perfect. =)

turn this song up !
clazziquai - love mode (feat. tablo)



my favorite part is where tablo raps. keke.

vexed and stressed out gotta confess now
fallen angel's with no where to nest out
pull my chest out try my best to breathe
but i'm frantic it must be my asthmatic destiny


"asthmatic destiny". haha. i just like that phrase.

anyway...
i took my first final on wednesday for art history. wasn't too bad. the questions weren't exactly predictable but they were simple enough for me to answer. here's a question that i would like to share and the answer that i provided. i'll try to recall the best to my ability. =) i hope i don't get in trouble for putting this question up because i took this exam early so i'm sure the other half of the class will have a different prompt.... right? =\ i hope.

question:
many will call monet an artist who invented a new way of painting landscapes. but there is no doubt that he integrated styles and ideas from other artists. identify all the paintings (on the screen) and explain how monet enhanced his landscape paintings through other artists. (you are strongly encouraged to name another artist and another work of Monet).

my response:
Claude Monet can easily be construed as the most innovative landscape painter of Impressionism. But like every other artist he worked as a response to aritsts, or was taught by them, or was simply influenced by them. Right before Impressionism was the period called Realism. Gustave Courbet was one of the leading painters of the time and Monet learned a great deal from Courbet. Monet's Etretat: Rough Sea (1883, oil on canvas) is a great example of this. Courbet also painted this same scene; Monet took it one step further. Monet added life and the "feeling of the moment" in the waves. The waves look as if they're going to crash the shore anytime soon and then suddenly fall and disappear out into the ocean. In just a few seconds this would all take place.
Another great influence in Monet's life was the Japanese. The Japanese prints were popular in Paris in the 1860s because of the unique coloring and cropping methods. Their view of perspective was something that also intrigued artists at the time--including Monet. The Boulevard des Capucines (1873-73, oil on canvas) displays the aspects of the Japanese prints. The painting is cropped severely--on the right side of the canvas, there are people sticking out of probably some building which actually happens to be Nadar's Studio, where the first Impressionism Exhibition was held. The perspective isn't that hard to grasp but at the same time the trees seem to lead somewhere unknown. Lastly, he has some structure to this painting by separating the people with the carriages, and the depth of perception of the trees and the street. And even though Monet took ideas from the Japanese prints, he added his own twist by making the people look like tongue-lickings rather than actual people with details. A second example of the influence of Japanese is Monet's waterlilies. His Waterlilies (1903, oil on canvas) are the most striking things from all of Monet's collection. Not only has Monet cut off the horizon and eliminated the sky, he has zoomed in on what's most important--the waterlilies. In the waterlilies, Monet mirrored the philosophies of Japanese art. Japanese art emphasized the transience of nature. The fact that they are not clearly painted with great detail reflects that life is like a big blur.
An artist that challenged Claude Monet at one point was Georges Seurat. He introduced pointilism and divisionism into the realm of Impressionism. Seurat wanted to bring logic into the illogic Impressionism. He studied the color wheel and through divisionism he demonstrated that by painting contrasting colors you can accent a certain color. For example in Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte (1885, oil on canvas), there are dots of orange within the brighter green grass so that the green looks even more green than before. Upon closer inspection, there are also red dots in the little girl's white & blue dress and hat. And through pointilism he painted in dots so that the colors would be enhanced and that the painting would have more structure. Seurat didn't care about the "momentary feeling" of Impressionism but rather the logic of the painting. Claude Monet responded to this painting through his Grainstack series. One of the series, Grainstack in the Sunlight (1891, oil on canvas), directly reflects the pointilism and divisionism that Seurat invented. In the shadow and grass of the there are mixes of blue and orange to reflect the coolness of the shadow in the sunlight. There is also green in the orange in the grass in the sunlight. Monet also used extremely short brushstrokes to emphasize the colors.

...........okay to be quite honest, there was actually a lot more that i wrote. but i'm really tired and i wanna freakin' finish this post that i started like 4 days ago.

the year is coming to a close. here's a snapshot of what's gonna happen in the following weeks.

may9th - 12:30-3:30pm stats exam // 4-7pm ochem lab exam

may11th - moving into courtney's

may12-19th - chapter focus week !

may20th - coming back to chicago

may29th - start summer school. for summer school i'm taking phys142. at least the class is later in the day than last summer. MTWF i have class from 12:00-1:40pm. and then on mondays i have lab from 2-5:20pm. haha. 3hr 20min. lab? piece of cake. =) half of what it is for me for chemistry. whew !

sophomore year. dang. passed. i need to be better at remembering what happened this year. but i'll do a recap later when i have more time. =D

gotta sleep so i can be well-rested for church !