Friday, September 28, 2012

Three more days of restlessness

So I'm singing my blues away

Astrology and anxiety

I am not religious. But now, I'm summoning my mystic tendencies to provide myself comfort in times of gripping anxiety. I resorted to reading astrology to see if lady luck is on my side.

This Week's Virgo Horoscope
General: Financially you will be lucky this week in respect to monetary transactions. Some of you will undertake a distant journey which will be hectic but may be highly rewarding 

Career: Those working to get a transfer of workplace can expect something positive in this direction. Using your creativity to the maximum would be beneficial.

Love: Use your words sensibly in love during the week..
- Distant journey
- hectic
- highly rewarding

Cris-crossing between Sagada-Korea-Sagada is kinda hectic, and distant, yet highly rewarding. IS THIS IT???

God. Three more days.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Dying of suspense

The last time I felt like this was while waiting for the results of the comprehensive exams I took in graduate school. My heart was thumping extra hard whenever my mind is not distracted with work or any activity. It's not easy being like that for a week. Until the day came when I received a call from my classmate telling me that I passed. I literally jumped for joy.

It's all coming back to me now - the jitters and the torment while I anticipate the approval or denial of my Korean visa. My 2-minute encounter with the young female consul was easy. All requirements are complete. But I can't help but rummage through countless possibilities that may cause denial of visa based on too much Internet research (yes, this is the downside). Documents cannot be verified (i.e. Sandy was not able to answer the embassy's call for verification, or she answered differently, TIN number cannot be recognized - this I'm so afraid of), hotel cannot be contacted, or that they simple missed my documents from their eenie-meenie-minee-moe-to-whom-will-this-visa-go scheme. You know the words "consul" and "power trip" conveniently go together, eh?

Aaaahhh, it's killing me! I wanna die!This has got to be the longest week in my life! But then again, If I get denied, then it means that I just have to concentrate on my thesis (because if Korea trip pushes through, I will have to interrupt my data gathering, temporarily detach myself from my thesis and work, and then return again to Sagada to continue). Then I can reapply 6 months later in time to catch spring. It's not that bad really. BUT STILL, I WANT IT TO BE NOW.

MA Thesis: Halfway there

I passed my defense last Friday and left a pretty good impression with my panel. Upon leaving the room, my adviser congratulated me and said "I want to hug you!" That's nice. I commented that I'm halfway there already, and she noted that it's actually more than half already. Now that's comforting.

A few tweaks here and there and I'm off to Sagada to conduct my fieldwork. Overcoming the defense proposal hurdle is really a big leap forward. The proposal stage is the difficult part - took me 2 years to get here. But I feel that from here, it will become a breeze. Well, not exactly. Still so much to do. BUT it's all set. The study is all set. Now the real race through time begins.

On to April 2013 graduation!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

On to my 29th year

Today is my birthday and it's no big deal, not in an angsty way, but in a steady way. Right now, I couldn't get  my mind off those visa application documents. And when I'm granted a visa, that's when the real celebration happens.... in Seoul, South Korea. :)

But thanks to all those who greeted. It is, after all, a wise decision to disable the birthday alert on Facebook.

Silencio IS the best!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Queen In Hyun's Man: Afterthoughts

It's a surprisingly good drama. There is an obvious attraction between the two leads, and unlike any other Korean dramas, both recognized the attraction from the get-go bypassing the Korean drama cliche of bickering. It's so refreshing to NOT see a couple nearly killing each other, denying their feelings, and then succumbing to love in the end.

I'm writing this because I felt affected and attached to the story. And though I hate the word "aaaww" (if it is even considered a word), I have had too many "aawww" moments all the way through episode 16. Much of my love for QIHM is because of its simplicity. It doesn't feel large scale or flashy. The two leads aren't large scale as well compared with putting, say, Lee Min Ho in the lead. And the effect? It came off as really sincere and likeable. It's feel good time travelling romance with a heart.

Though Chi Soo and Eun Bi (Flower Boy Ramyun Shop) also had a happy ending, so did Gae In and Jin Ho  (Personal Taste) and all the others, I was happier with Boong Do and Hee Jin. The obstacles and stakes were far greater and higher to be together. In the last episode, I have already accepted that they can't really mess with time and the air time is just too short to inject another talisman arc. I was just waiting for a clean finish. But at the back of my mind, there's this silent wish that somehow they'd find themselves in the same time and space. And they did!


I love Ji Hyun Woo. Too much that LMH's in danger. Haha. (He's also stands 6'1" and that's saying a lot). He's just perfect for the role. I also love Yoo In Na. I usually have a problem liking the female leads, particularly in the case of Eun Bi (Lee Chung Ah). And some couples took a few episodes before they grow on me. But Jyun Woo and In Na nailed it. They look good and real together. So real they've become real-life couple! Hee! QIHM will surely go down as one of my favorites.

Dramalog #5



1. Princess Hours/Goong
2. Lovers in Paris
3. Save the Last Dance
4. Three Dads with One Mommy
5. Cinderella's Sister
6. Personal Preference
7. City Hunter
8. Boys Before Flowers
9. Mackerel Run
10. Protect the Boss (6 episodes only)
11. 49 Days
12. The First Shop of Coffee Prince 
13. Flower boy Ramyun Shop
14. Iris 
15. Queen In Hyun's Man ((just finished!)
16. Faith (Episode 6/simultaneous with Korea)