MiSURA: July 2009

few things.

to wrap up the last week or so...

i've been ripping music off of CDs from my public library like crazy: french, tango, disney, soundtracks, swing, classical, opera, you name it--i have it
still watching foreign films
received my ESV study bible in the mail finally! really good stuff. got it for $36 on ebay. i may make the conversion to esv after all........ but there's so much of my life in my niv study bible. what to do......
eric dropped by to visit. had fruit bingsoo. goood food. gooood conversations. gooooood company.
tutoring in chemistry is making me enjoy chemistry once again. after physical chemistry.. i thought i would give up on chemistry forever
i'm also tutoring in vocabulary and reading. i discovered i really love learning. filling my head with knowledge. applying it--that's another story
i haven't finished any jigsaw puzzles this summer... =(
the weather has been phenomenal. just under or above 80 and a nice breeze

pres. obama @ cleveland clinic today!

yea cleveland. =)

read the article here.

my last daily planner (the one that i made myself) has a fun cover art. i noticed the name of the designer a while back but i didn't really think about looking her up until now. agatha ruiz de la prada.

not only a designer... but a fashion designer at that!

i love her vibrant colors. check out her clothes. i think i'm more drawn to them because my wardrobe is so bland, full of blacks, cream, gray, and a few bursts of colors here and there. maybe it's her spanish heritage but i really like her designs. many are borderline costume and some are definitely awkward and i wouldn't be caught dead wearing them.... BUT there are some that i would just die for. some wouldn't look good because of my short stature... a girl can dream, no? =) here are some of my favorites:

Doesn't this one look like a tulip? =)

Absolutely favorite!

well........ that's all from me.

i miss han madang...

i think i need to visit cleveland again.

just to see these silly people. :]

most of them are @ cornerstone and i know they're getting crazy blessed. :]

interesting...

a reality tv show for artists!
it was bound to happen =)
read about it here.

cute stuff.

i remember seeing a few of these pictures around on people's phones, myspace, facebook, etc. finally i found out more about it! so cute and adorable. check it out.

http://www.ponandzi.com/

and for the original artist's deviantART website: http://azuzephre.deviantart.com/

more foreign films

In the past two weeks I've watched myriad foreign films. Whether they've won awards or not, it's just refreshing (and sometimes quite disturbing) to see how directors from different countries portray similar messages of love, loyalty, honor, pride, hardship, betrayal, etc. **note: some of the years that i have listed are based on the release in the u.s. so it may be off by a year.**

1. yi yi [mandarin] 1999

2. amu [hindi] 2005

3. mongolian ping pong [mongolian] 2005

4. volver [spanish] 2007

5. exils [french] 2004

6. clean [french] 2004

7. the wind that shakes the barley [irish] 2006

8. curse of the golden flower [mandarin] 2007

9. a wednesday! [hindi] 2008

10. typhoon [korean] 2006

11. stolen life [mandarin] 2005

i would personally recommend the wind that shakes the barley and stolen life.

the wind that shakes the barley is about the irish fighting for their independence. it focuses on these two brothers, damien and teddy, who are two very different people with different ideas of freedom. because when a peace treaty is signed with england, one agrees while the other thinks the treaty is still unfair--thus leading to a civil war in ireland. the soundtrack was incredibly moving and the drama behind the war was vividly portrayed. reminded me of such movies like the patriot. i personally like war movies with power struggles, pride, loyalty, honor, strength, etc. like gladiator and saving private ryan.

usually when i watch foreign films, i'm always wondering, "where is this film going...?" because it doesn't fit my hollywood formula and i dunno what to expect next. for me, i'm always expecting an introduction, plot thickening, huge climax that leads to tears or lots of laughter, a resolution that everyone is happy with. insert a love triangle, a character that always is the butt of the jokes and a killer soundtrack--and voila, you've got yourself a great movie. most of the foreign films i've watched so far digress from this "universal" idea. at the end of stolen life, it blew me away. the entire film i was acting as just a viewer (figuring out the formula because it seemed to fit it so far...) looking in on her troubled life. but at the end, the director abruptly (with NO WARNING whatsoever) the focus from the actress to the viewer and i was shocked. that's when reality struck me. i had to watch it again, this time knowing that she sees me and that i choose to not be ignorant of her situation. ahhhh it was a powerful moment.

i really enjoyed mongolian ping pong but that's a film that will def. bore you if you love action and drama to be the driving force in a movie. and the end of the film leaves you with no resolution whatsoever. you just feel like you've stepped into their lives and by the end, it's time for you to step out. but the children actors were cute and the landscapes were breathtaking. makes me wanna travel even MORE!

i dunno what i'm gonna do in korea w.o these foreign films! -____-;;

still working on finding a job but so far it's going well.

John 21

so when i first decided i wanted to teach english in korea... i had all these plans thought out. but of course, God works the opposite way and tells me to re-prioritize. so i did. and i've heard back from two recruiters! reminds me of when Jesus tells Peter to cast out one more time after an entire night of no luck. with nothing to lose, Peter obeys and what do you know, they catch more than they can handle (John 21)

so my priorities are now location first, lots of perks (free housing, airfare, sponsored visa, etc), and least important is the age group i teach.

there's a slight catch now, though. apparently i still owe a lot of $$ to my school because i didn't pay the rest of my housing charges?!?!?!! i'm very confused right now but hopefully tomorrow it will all be cleared up. until i get these charges dropped, i can't send for my transcript which means that i can't complete my application process, which leads down a slippery slope of not being able to teach in korea ultimately.

must have faith. hope. patience.

and i'm still working on the pictures!

been a bit busy lately... =)

and i just watched harry potter and the half-blood prince. UH-MAZING. i can't wait to get my hands on the soundtrack. ^__^;; and i need to read the book again.

that's all.

ciao.

whew.

back from cleveland.

went through photos.

doesn't look like i'll be keeping many.

i've realized that i must get a flash.

must must must.

[sigh]

i'll post what i can, tho. =)

off to cleveland!

1.5 hrs of tutoring tomorrow and off to cleveland i go for a fantastic wedding (wedding's on friday actually) for carrie and mike! yayyyy. ruchu graciously let me borrow the sigma 24-70mm so i'm excited! hopefully lots of good pictures will come from this weekend!

i'm thinking of being cheap, buying the sigma 28-70mm (trust me, there's a huge difference) and then getting a flash. that will complete my gear. =) and then go for a better camera body. AHHHHH the buying never stops.

my schedule is pretty light:

1. thurs. evening - arrive around 9-930pm

2. fri. morning - brunch with jess and the gang

3. fri. afternoon - it's supposed to be mad hot so i think i'm gonna stay somewhere nice and air conditioned. then get ready for the wedding!!!!!!

4. fri. evening - WEDDING! whoo-hoo! and partyyy afterward.

5. sat. - cleveland museum of art, for sure! i really wanna see the new galleries. then i dunno what else to do w. the time.

6. sun. - han madang of course! then sadly leaving cleveland once more...

and somewhere in between i need to pick up my junks from random people's places. =)

ta-ta.

i shall change the playlist when i come back.

quick update.

i wrote this to some people on email... but just in case you check this blog more than your email haha. i'll just copy and paste here.

So! Some time has passed since I wrote you all. Here's an update.

1. I have officially deferred my enrollment to CWRU to 2010.

I still plan on applying to other graduate schools as well as grants and fellowships while I am in Korea.
This also means that for sure I will not be returning to CWRU in the fall.

2. I applied to 5 different agencies that place teachers in Asian countries.

I've heard back from one. Unfortunately it's for the ages 8-15 and those of you who know me well... hhahaha you KNOW that I cannot work with younger students. perhaps if they were all 15 years old, it'll be okay. There are also other "specifications" that I "require".... such as I only want to work evenings, which is why I prefer univ. students/adults. Conversational English is my forte (as opposed to grammar.. yuck! haha) which is more popular among the older people. And I also want to work in a museum/gallery during the mornings/afternoons so i can teach in the evenings. which means that I must be located pretty close to downtown Seoul which is a competitive location. It may seem like I have a lot of factors working against me, but you would be surprised at how many agencies are hiring!!! And how many great benefits come with these jobs!!! Maybe I won't go to grad school! HAHAHA.. keeeeeeeeeding.

So my prayer request is that I will READ MY BIBLE. I was going to ask for wisdom and discernment.. but w.o knowing God's word, where's the wisdom and discernment gonna come from? So pray that I will read and that the Spirit will illuminate wisdom and discernment into both my heart and mind.

yay!

does the playlist work above?
i hope so! =D enjoy.

***edit: i changed the playlist because some of the korean songs weren't working since the file names were in korean lettering. so new playlist!

some of the songs might take a few seconds to load because they're ~8-10mb. so patience is required.

i'll be changing the playlist weekly.
maybe. :]

dilemma

do i settle for what's available...
or wait for something that'll fit my specifications.

factors: time, money, location, personal level of stress, patience, and so much more...

foreign films

one thing i love to do when i'm back home... is to watch foreign films.
junior year, my french teacher totally opened my eyes to the beauty of french films. yes, they're kinda "weird" and way different than the typical Hollywood. but that's exactly what's so great about it. there's an air of freshness. same thing w. independent films. they're weird bc they don't fit into the easy equation Hollywood has spelled out and solved for us.

for example, the 2005 winner of the cannes film festival was a french film called "l'enfant" and guess what? there was no background music. even during the rolling credits. at first, i was about to go mad because i absolutely enjoy movie soundtracks and how dare this NOT have a soundtrack! and the more i thought about it, the more i realized that the film was so real. music's just fluff to make you feel what the director wants you to feel. w.o the music, you're right there w. the actors, in the moment, in the place and feeling all sorts of different things because no one's subliminally telling you what to feel. i had to watch it again.. this time with no frustrations just bc there's no music. =)

here's a list of films i've seen so far since i've come back in june.

1. water [hindi] 2005
2. crossing [korean] 2008
3. combination platter [chinese] 2005
4. place vendome [french] 1998
5. the italian [russian] 2005
6. hors de prix (priceless) [french] 2008
7. good morning, night [italian] 2003

i highly recommend crossing because it's a topic that's personally hits home to me (and cha in-pyo [차인표] is one of the main characters!) and the italian because the at the end of the movie i asked myself, "how far am i willing to go.. how much am i willing to do.. how long will i endure and persevere for someone i love?" and the little boy is so cute. how can you resist? it was also kind of cool that i could pick up on like 4 words throughout the entire film.

and some films i have yet to watch... basically all the winners of the cannes film festival =)
i'm so lucky that our local public library has most of them!

so check out your local library!

MiSURA