Fordpride

I should've known today would be awesome the moment I woke up and turned on my iTunes and 98 Degrees came on. It has been proven that any time you listen to 98 Degrees, your happiness level goes up 82%. Which, even if you start at 0%, you'll be above average in no time! (All scientific facts here). Actually, click here in a new tab to listen while you read my blog. It makes great background music. Seriously. Click on it . I also knew it would be awesome because it was only a half day! Booyah. And it will also be a half day tomorrow and Thursday. And no school Friday. So normally when I look at the clock and its only 11:00am I think, "Ugh, still 5 more hours". But today when I looked at the clock and it said 11:00am, I thought, "Awesome! I leave soon!". (let me say this is hopefully only a temporary sentiment. when i actually start teaching classes i'm anticipating the day will go by quicker). The next thing to add to my happiness level ...

It rained yesterday. I took the bus to church so I didn't have to walk a ton in the rain, but still. I know when winter comes I won't be the happiest. Or the warmest. About church: Now, I've never been to a military ward/branch/church service before. So I didn't really know what to expect when I got to the meetinghouse yesterday. Turns out here in Korea, a military branch is pretty darn small. But what they lack in size they make up in zealousness. I'm excited to get to know the people here. And can I just tell you how happy I was just to talk to people? I hadn't really had a real conversation with someone all week. I'm pretty sure there are 4 kids to every adult in the branch, which makes for an eventful meeting. But it does always keep things interesting. And sad to say, I'm pretty sure there were only a three unmarried men in attendance. Looks like I might have to find a native... I was also quite excited about the fact that there was a br...

I know I'm a few days late, but I just read that Mayor Bloomberg officially made September 23rd Law and Order Day ! Yeah, is it just me or is this maybe the most awesome thing you've ever heard. It's meant to honor the show and celebrate its 20th anniversary. I'm down. Who's ready to celebrate with me next year? Maybe a trip to the big apple?! Yes please. Maybe we could run into Chris Meloni. Or B.D. Wong!

Wow. Week 1 went by fast. (I'm counting it as a week. So what). I have a few observations from this week. About Korea. About Koreans. About me. -They (Koreans-yes I'm generalizing) love donuts. I swear there is a donut shop on every block. I'm not complaining. Just stating a fact. -While walking around downtown today, I heard Natasha Bedingfield and Rascal Flatts being played on different stores loudspeakers. Where do they pick this music? And why? -Eavesdropping is one of my favorite activities. Unfortunately, I am unable to do it here. And while I am a little sad about this, it's kind of awesome. I live in my own little world. -There is a love of fashion here (even in my city-not just Seoul) that I wasn't expecting. One of the four channels on TV in English is Fashion Network (I think I'll be obsessed). Also, I have seen Versace, Burberry, Dior, and tons of other designer stores just thrown around town. Awesome. I'm going to be a snob by t...

First off, let me express that I had a semi heart attack when I realized that HULU doesn't work outside of the U.S. Yeah, I had a freak out. I mean, I brought my Arrested Development DVD's here, but what about The Office, Glee, and Project Runway?! It would cause most to share my same reaction. I did some internet research. I thought I'd have to pay for Glee off of iTunes. No thank you. After more dedication, I found a site where I can watch everything I want (and more!)for free. Thank you internet, for keeping me sane. And caught up on my American television. Especially when I don't have any friends yet. Glee is just too funny to miss. And now. Here is my day in photos. Well, part of it. This is a tad bit south of me (read: approximately one block). The city ends and agriculture begins. I enjoy this time of day. My dinner. I ventured out into the great city and found a restaurant with pictures of their food well displayed (meaning I could point to what I...

Why I want to learn how to dance like Beyonce. Reason #1: It's hot. I mean, just click here to see one of her recent videos (and please just watch the beginning with Kanye West because I think it is fantastic and I still have nothing but love for him and his talent). Who can move like that?! Not me...yet. I will conquer. Reason #2: I'm pretty sure anyone who can do that has the best work out regime ever. Lets be honest, she burns more calories in one dance than I do in an entire week. Who doesn't want to be that in shape? Reason #3: I feel like she's just classy. She does these dance moves that could be considered really slutty, but when she does them they're not. And I'm just so intrigued by her and Jay-Z's relationship. You know its hot, but I cannot for the life of me picture the two of them chillin' on their couch watching an episode of the Simpsons while drinking some Kool-aid. Which is probably because they would never do that, which in tu...

Welcome to my crib. I can't seem to get the video up, so here are some pics of my apt. My street. My building is on the left. The left side of my apartment. Bed. Clothes rack. Suitcases waiting to be unpacked. And my bedding (Mom). At the foot of my bed is my kitchen. And washing machine. We have my fridge/freezer, sink, and stovetop, with the washing machine below. This is right when you walk in, on the right side. Kitchen table/desk. TV. Dresser. And the bathroom. The sink is just right of the toilet, and the shower head comes out on the right above the sink. Does that make sense? And the room behind my bed is for hanging clothes to dry. Nice. My favorite part of my place though: across the street there is a piano studio. So when it's really quiet I can hear them play. It's lovely.

It's only 7:30 pm but I'm going to go ahead and say that today was a success. Have I finished (or started, really) unpacking? No. Do I have any pots or pans to cook any kind of food? No. But those things don't matter when you're in Korea. There are other ways to succeed. Naturally, last night when I wanted to sleep I could not. Therefore allowing me to wake up too early and waste time doing nothing. But I did get to familiarize myself with some Korean television which, from the looks of it, seems very entertaining. Then the day of firsts began. My coteacher (from henceforth she will be referred to as COT) came and picked me up so I wouldn't get lost on my way (thank goodness because I'd only been in the city for less than 12 hours) and we drove to school together. I could tell the moment we got out of the car that it would be quite an experience. Immediately every human being in the surrounding area (mostly boys aged 13-15) turned to stare. Nice. I...

My first post from Korea. I can hardly believe it. I can also hardly believe that I'm not asleep. It's 5 am here. I am exhausted and tired and all sorts of loopy but I still cannot sleep. The first time I've ever been so affected by jet lag. And it bites. But it does allow me to send a giant hug to my American friends (I have like a billion Korean friends so now I have to distinguish between the two groups). The flight was long. And when I landed here I looked like trash-mcgee. But it's fine because I got a present from my school: a towel. Seriously the weirdest thing ever. I thought it was a book. But no. It's a pink hand towel. Well, its the size of a hand towel but I'm pretty sure its considered a bath towel. Boo. Good thing I shoved my dinosaur beach towel in a bag last minute. Plus, I think it adds a lot to my apartment. (why it says charmant and that date and whatever that says in korean i will never know) I do have a video of my apartment a...

I'm finishing my packing. I'm trying to make sure I don't forget anything important. I'm preparing myself for a grand adventure. I leave for Korea knowing I'm leaving behind my closest friends, my language, my dear sweet family and going to a place where I don't know a soul and where they don't use my alphabet. I'm hoping that in one year I will find it just as difficult to leave my new home, but I know that I'll have arms to run into once I step off the plane. Life is CRAZY. Also, I'll post again once I find myself willing and able. Which is hopefully soon. Because we all know you're going to be dying to see me eat weird food, make fun of Asian culture, look like Godzilla in comparison to everyone else, and continue to make fun of pop culture and politics. All from Korea. PS I am also really sad to be leaving my Cougs midseason. But I know they're in good hands.

I wasn't going to post this. But then I decided it needed to be done. Because seriously. And really, don't judge me but I still love me some Kanye West. And Beyonce. And Taylor Swift. (in that order). I love everyone. I also love that Pres Obama just said this. Because I think it's funny. And mostly I picture the President and his wife sitting around their TV Sunday night watching the VMA's, talking about how much they love Jay-Z and how Lady Gaga is OUT OF CONTROL (obviously there's some racism here...) and then Kanye gets up and does his thing and the Obama's laugh a little bit and Michelle goes "Kanye is kind of a jackass" and her husband agrees. And decides to steal her phrase. And then twitter gets a hold of it. And there's no going back.

I've always enjoyed a good season of American Idol. I used to be more obsessed than I am now (I barely catch a few episodes a season these days) but I feel like I know the talent that has made its way through this television show. There are some winners that I can't stand and others I LOVE. The one I love the most: Ruben Studdard. Hands down. He was the victor in Season 2 and I remember that was the happiest finale I've seen. I've followed him and I've loved him. And I just want to remind the world that he is still making music and still living the dream. And he's just so darn cute! Just watch this music video and tell me he's not the most darling man you've ever seen. Right?

Embedded video from CNN Video I wonder if this kid has any friends.

RIP Patrick Swayze. RIP.

I have so many things to say. First off, let's talk about the VMA's. I watched them tonight. I could be embarrassed about this, but I'm not. During the days of my youth, the VMA's were the bomb.com. They were hyped up and everyone went and they had wicked funny skits and hosts were entertaining and it was a super big deal and everybody wanted to perform and/or attend. I even dreamed of walking down that carpet and interviewing BSB and Britney and Christina. I did. Those were the days. Now we have CRAZY PEOPLE working the VMA's. It's like you are forced to watch to see what other weirdo things are going to happen. Everyone's talking about the Kanye West/Taylor Swift exchange. All I have to say is that Kanye was probably a little tipsy: good enough excuse for me. (Also earlier I had just watched the music video for Beyonce's song Ego featuring Kanye and so I could see how he was more protective of Mrs. Jay-Z). Anyways. Yeah, not the best thing t...

It was a Tuesday. I woke up to the news being played in my parents room, just like any other day. Talk radio was on in my dad's car on my way to school, just like any other day. The words spoken on the news, however, would only guarantee that it wasn't like any other day. ( Photo ) I wrote the following in my journal that night: "Today was a very impacting, sad, depressing day. Today the United States was attacked by an unknown terrorist. It is a very confusing situation for me. This morning before I went to school an airplane was flown into the World Trade Center in New York. Over 50,000 people work in the WTC. Then, a second plane was flown into the other half of the twin towers. Later, another flew into the Pentagon. And another plane crashed in Pennsylvania. These four airplanes were hijacked, and were, in total loaded with more than 250 innocent victims just wanting to get from one place to another. It just makes me so sad, thinking of all these victims and t...

You know, life is pretty rockin' right now. And if you don't know my main source of happiness, you should: ( here ) Yes, I'm still riding the giddiness train of BYU's win over OK last Saturday. How can you not? It's the best thing I've ever seen, and I'm not even exaggerating. And, BOOYAH, I leave next week on one of these: And I don't know if this is how my plane will look like, but I hope the inside looks like this: Ready or not, here I come.

So... We all know I'm obsessed with Arrested Development . I have been for years now and probably will be for eternity. It's hard to choose a favorite character, but I've narrowed it down to a tight race between Tobias (David Cross) and Buster (Tony Hale). But really I love all of them. It's just the funniest show ever. I also love the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies. I do. Not as much as AD, but I find them highly entertaining. So much that some friends and I found our own traveling pants and they do, in fact, make magical things happen. This, however, I'm not so sure about: Did everyone else know that these two have been dating?! I'm sorry, but this time two loves don't make a right. Wack attack. (ps David is 45. Amber...26)