The hardest part about being an amateur photographer is . . . DUN DUN DUN, carrying the darn camera every single place you go. Regardless, here are a few photo opportunities I’ve had this month and its result.

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It’s always nice to meet fellow gamers. It’s infinitely nicer to meet someone who works with you who likes to play video games.

During my break, I had a brief conversation with my co-worker on 2-D and 3-D games. I mentioned to him that I don’t really like 3-D game because they make me dizzy. He instantly agreed with me, and we both mentioned Mario 64 and how it just drove us both crazy.

I also brought up how Final Fantasy 3-D is okay, like Final Fantasy X. It’s true; I can handle those 3-D, but 3-D like Suikoden III is just fugly and unappealing. Plus the camera angles always throw me off guard, much like Mario 64.

It is funny. I always thought most gamers nowadays like the 3-D stuff, and I was one of the rare gamers who like the old-school 2-D games. I guess not, though! Then again, I’m the same person who doesn’t like 3-D animated films like most of Pixar’s work, so I guess it goes hand in hand.

Michelle
1. If you can time-travel to any period of time, where would you go and who would you meet? Would you stay there?

This is actually quite tough since I adore so many different time periods. However, my favourite is the 1920s. There’s just something about that entire prohibition-era / mafia-era that just calls my name. As for who I want to meet in that time period . . . that I am not sure of. Maybe Louis Armstrong because he’s an awesome musician. However, I would like to stay there, but their hygiene back then would have turned me off. X_X;;

Another time period that I’d love to go to is the WWII period. I’m a WWII junkie, especially with the Holocaust. I would love to meet Anne Frank and Miep Gies from that period. However, I would not want to stay there. I’m sure the Nazis would find some reason to put me in a concentration camp. I definitely do not want to be gassed and all that.

2. Would you like to be rich/famous and miserable or at your current income/nobody and happy and why?

Can’t I have BOTH of the best worlds? I guess not. It’s tough what I would choose. I love money because money means I can have my toys. However, I don’t want to be miserable either. Right now, my current income is decent, and I’m a definite nobody, so I’m happy with my current lifestyle. But if I ever move out and tried to survive on my current income, I’d be MISERABLE. Now if I was only making about 30 grand or more a year, then I’d say, I’d rather be happy with my current income and be a nobody XD.

Jenny
Do you believe in Santa Clause?

Sure, like fifteen years ago! But the kid in me wants to believe it. Never mind the fact that there is no way Santa Claus can live at the North Pole when there’s NOTHING there but ice. Never mind that it’s impossible to deliver toys to everyone in the world. I want to believe in it. I really wanted it to be real after I read The Polar Express, and I really wanted that sleigh bell, too. I think I even ASKED my daddy to get me one after I read it.

Lexie
1. What’s your favourite colour?

I like the dark colours like black, navy blue, and dark green and whatnot. I also like white and grey. However, my ultimate favourite colour is blue. Blue is my happy colour. I go more for the greyish-blues and navy blues, though. This default blue (hexadecimal code 0000ff) turns me off big time.

2. How long did you study the alto sax and how did you like it?

I learned how to play the alto saxophone in seventh grade when I joined beginning band at my high school. I stuck with it all the way up to my senior year where I was in concert band. I enjoyed it. It was fun. But the weird thing is, I never figured out how to tongue, so, er, yeah. I wasn’t the best player, but I wasn’t the worst either. I did have a problem with the low notes, though. I hated playing those, but I enjoyed the high-pitches! I also tried the soprano and the tenor sax. When I played with the former, it sounded like a dead oboe. When I played the latter, the low notes drove me crazy since I literally vibrated along with the horn, and my back hurt after I played it. However, I stopped playing it regularly after I graduated from high school. I always used the school’s alto saxophone, and I never got my own. Now I’m more into the piano, since I could easily just play in the band room when I worked there. Trying to obtain an alto saxophone was not easy, so needless to say, it’s been a while since I’ve played on the alto saxophone.

Thao
What is your favorite dish to make quickly and easily? And what is the recipe?

Ghetto Spaghetti. XD Not that hard to do, I think. Of course there are also ramen (the one you boil on the stove) but somehow I doubt that’s what you’re asking.

Amanda
Do you have any plans to travel outside of Korea any time in the near future?

Well, considering how it takes a while to accumulate annual leave hours (I could just do leave without pay, but I prefer getting the money!), how hard it is to get my name into the leave book, and how I’m trying to save money and am failing miserably . . . I don’t see travelling happening any time soon. If I do travel, it’s going to be somewhere in Korea X_X;; If I want to travel outside Korea, it’s probably going to be at least another two years before it’s bloody likely to be a consideration.

But I am constantly thinking about it. I would love to go back to Japan and stay at least a week this time. I would love to see Europe, especially the United Kingdom. Ah, money. Why must it come by so hard! XD

Vickie
Are there any trivial (to others) things that you absolutely cannot stand, e.g. people not squeezing the toothpaste tube right, not leaving the toilet seat up/down, warm seats, etc.?

Yes. People being unpunctual. I hate how I make the effort to be on time, but some people just take their sweet time arriving to meet me X_X;; Oh, and I hate it when my friends and I share ketchup or something in a dipping container. When I dip a french fry or something, I don’t want to like have it all over the edge of the containers, but when other people do that, it drives me nuts! In that same line of thought, I cannot stand it when foods are mixed up on my plate. Like, if I have french toast, bacon, and eggs on one plate, I try to make it that the foods don’t touch each other. That’s one reason why I hate my eggs like over-easy. I like the yolk, but when I break the protective layer, I hate the yolk spreading into my other foods!

. . . YES I’M WEIRD.

Belinda
I know it’s silly and trite to idealise about the “perfect guy” as I myself don’t believe in creating a shopping list of features that someone needs to satisfied, but as a non-serious question, what would your “ideal” guy (or girl!) be like? I mean romantically.

Oh this is always fun, creating my dream guy and all that! Let’s see . . .

Physical Appearance — For some reason I find myself attracted to half-Asian and half-Caucasian guys. The blended look there really appeals to me. I also imagine my ideal guy to be at least 5′11, with a slim, well-toned body that’s not insanely muscular. I am not really picky about the hair colour, but the eye colours that are blue, grey, green, or hazel just makes me go SQUEE. Oh, and I love a guy with those “piano-player” hands. I have thing for that because it’s fun to play with them, hahaha! As for clothing style . . . 1) clean 2) colour-coordinated 3) please wear a button-down collared shirt with a tie, where the tie is loosened and the sleeves rolled up *swoons*

Personality/Mental Capabilities — The expected sweet, kind, caring, loyal, have a sense of humour kind of things, of course. Also, I’d like a guy who has an IQ that’s higher than a cheese, please. As in, someone who doesn’t sound illiterate and ignorant. If a guy can educate me on the complicated world of politics and economics at my level and succeeds in making me understand, he’s my guy. Also, if we can have fun, interesting, and snark-filled intellectual and philosophical conversations, that’d be GREAT. I’d also like my guy to have ambitions and actually act upon it.

Miscellaneous — If my guy can play the piano, cello, violin, trumpet, or saxophone at a fairly decent level, I’ll love that guy even more. I’ll definitely make him serenade me XD Plus, if he’s into gaming and animes/mangas, that’s even better. Also, if he tolerates my yaoi/slash stuff — he’s a keeper!

So I actually read up on the Lehman situation and the global credit crunch fiasco. As pathetic as it is to admit, I am absolutely lost and confused at the current state of the world’s economy. Buh? Then again, it doesn’t help that I do not, even for a minute, comprehend the stock market and how it bloody works. I read about how land prices had fallen, and all I can think of is if the land prices have fallen, then doesn’t that simply mean it’s cheaper to buy land?

. . . Somehow, I expect that logic to be bashed very, very badly. Ugh. Give me a bloody Hemingway book to analyse and I can do it. Better yet, ask me to de-construct a poem, and I can do it, too. However, ask me a simple economy question and I am at a loss for words.

On a side note, Amanda did this Ask Me a Question meme, and after seeing Lexie’s responses, I decided to follow suit.

So ask away! You can ask me more than one question, but no more than three. As long as it’s not too personal (depending on how personal the question is!) I’ll answer them to the best of my ability. XD

Happy 추석 (Chuseok)!!!

The above image portrays the single Chuseok tradition I did: eat some 송편 (Songpyeon). Yuuuuuuum. The white one is the “normal” rice one, while the green one has some sort of 쑥 (ssook = artemisia) blended into the rice cake and the yellow one is mixed with 호박 (hobak = the generic word for pumpkin or squash). My picky tongue prefers the white ones. The green ones and I do not get along. Then again, I abhor the taste of SSOOK. X_X;;

Anyway, I’m glad I didn’t go anywhere on this peninsula for the Chuseok weekend. Traffic will be horrible on this entire bottom half of the peninsula until Tuesday or whenever.