Busan + a new toy

Mark and I were in Busan for a couple days this past week to spend some quality time with my dad and brother. Most of it was spent relaxing, which is exactly what we needed after a hectic two weeks.

I also got a new DSLR (thanks mom and dad and Mark!), which has HD video on it, so I took this as an opportunity to make my first video. Enjoy!

[To watch it in high-def, click on "HD" on the video and it will direct you to the Vimeo website.]

Until next time...bisous~

RIP Molly

Last Friday, our beloved dog, Molly, passed away from a mistake during her spaying surgery. I'm still coming to terms with it, especially since Mark and I had very much included her in our future plans. I can't fully express how much I miss her, but it's hard. And I know all of you dog lovers out there know what I mean. It's just hard.

She was simply and purely amazing, bringing so much joy and laughter into our lives. So, regardless of how much it hurts to talk about her, I think she deserves a blog post.

Molly, I love you so much & I miss you dearly.

Birthday Fun!

Last month, I celebrated my last birthday as a "single" (in the legal, file-your-taxes term)! And while that has nothing to do with what I did for my birthday, I just thought it would be fun to share :)

This birthday was the mellowest (and most fun) birthdays I've had since high school; I think this means I'm growing up. We started with a late lunch at Vatos Tacos, my friend's new restaurant in Itaewon. After a margarita, numerous tacos, taquitos and kimchi-carne-asada fries, we made our way to the lantern festival on the Cheongyecheong River. It was extremely packed with people for miles and miles, but we had a lot of fun oohing and aahing at all the beautiful lanterns.

Finally, we ended the evening with dinner at an old traditional makgeolli restaurant, which is supposedly owned by a famous actor (I couldn't tell you who though). My birthday was perfect and just want I wanted: a relaxing and intimate day spent with good company.

[Let's start with the food.]

[Carne Asada Tacos]

[Galbi Tacos]

[Quesadillas]

[Now, let's get to the people who made it special.]

[Charlotte]

[Hannah]

[Lee Ann & Jamie]

[And last but not least, Michael & Mark!]

[Vatos, baby]

[We made it on the wall of fame!]

[On our way to the lantern festival.]

[And ending at the makgeolli restaurant.]

Like I said, a great night. Unfortunately, Mark's videos of our shenanigans were deleted when the memory card got damaged, so you can't see just what we were up to. But to give you a glimpse of us goofs, we spent the entire time at the makgeolli place trying to move a piece of paper by slapping ourselves. Yeah, it works.


By the way, I never responded to all the birthday love on my Facebook wall, but if you were one of those people, THANK YOU! By the time I had a chance to reply, it was already a week later, so I decided to forego it. But seriously, thank you for all the love, even from the other side of the world. 

Gwangju

Right after I got back from the States, a group of friends and I went on a small overnight adventure to Gwangju, which is about three hours south of Seoul by bus. The night we arrived, we explored the "downtown" area, which looks like all the hotspots of Seoul: bars, karaoke rooms, restaurants, neon lights galore.

The next morning, we woke up early and went on an all-day hike on Mudeungsan (무등산) Mountain. Although it was forecasted to rain, it didn't; in fact, the weather was just perfect. There's not much else to say other than it was beautiful and just the perfect way to ease back into life in Korea.





 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Pause & Resume

Since returning to Korea, I've been learning a lot of things about myself and life's transitions, which required a lot more thinking and self-analyzing than I would have liked. It required me to reflect, shift my mind from negative to positive and find peace again. Unfortunately for sans borders, that left little time or desire to update this blog. But now, with new revelations, more growth and a fresh perspective, I'm excited to share with you again...and what better timing than the end of another year?

The end of this year, however, isn't like any other. If I could give 2011 a name, it would be called "Transition." For this was the first full year out of college, where I learned what it's like to live as a freelancer and why it's important to open your mind when an opportunity you would've never thought of before presents itself. It's the year I learned that saying "yes" to other opportunities other than writing can be just as beneficial, if not more, as a writing gig. Working with children, being on the radio, editing other people's work, taking a stand against sex trafficking...these are all things that took me outside of my "I must be a writer and nothing else" mode, and taught me just how important it is to grow and experience other areas of life.

And the most obvious transition is changing my Facebook relationship status from "In a relationship" to "Engaged." I kid, I kid...But in all seriousness, 2011 marks the year where I went from being my best friend's girlfriend to my best friend's fiance. It's the year where I went from wearing no nice jewelry to wearing one very nice rock on my finger in a matter of seconds. And most importantly, it's the year where I got hit with a lot of realizations - I'll no longer be living for myself anymore, chasing my own dreams, living my own life; no, instead, we'll be living our life (singular on purpose) and chasing our dreams. I've had to challenge my previous way of thinking (selfish) to prepare myself for how I need to be living (selfless). It's a lot to take in but I welcome the challenge with excitement!!! (<----- That's THREE exclamation points!)

Anyway, I didn't intend for this post to be a reflection of 2011, but I'll just let it happen. But keep your eyes open for exciting pictures of all the things I failed to blog about in the last month and a half: an overnight trip to Gwangju, my birthday, Thanksgiving and my best friends visiting!

Until then, ciao <3