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Day 43 (Saturday, July 29): Makeup 101
OOTD: white tshirt, black Mickey Mouse shorts, black Boy London shoes
Ate some spaghetti at home before heading off to Myeongdong area with Lindy~ In honor of my Mickety Mouse shorts, I put my hair in 2 buns today although I let my hair down halfway through the day since my buns were starting to fall out. We wandered around and somehow ended up at a fortress. We took some pictueres there before wandering around and walking through Namdaemun market. I was quite overwhelmed by the amount of people and stores so I didn’t buy anything but Lindy ended up getting some hats as well as socks. On our way back to the main Myeongdong area, we stopped by Davich Optical where we talked to this nice dude who helped me get some contact lenses sample. We conversed with him for a while as I struggled to get the contact lenses in. HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS EVERYDAY????? It’s crazy. We took at least 30 minutes if not more. Well when I finally got them in, it felt quite weird. I could see the world clearly without another object sitting on my face. What a miracle.
We wandered Myeongdong for some more and I got some cute earrings for about $1 each before we headed into Etude House and Tony Moly where Lindy helped me figured out the basic makeup things I should invest in. I realize that if I want to wear contacts more often, I’m no longer going to have my glasses covering up part of my face. Time for me to step up my game and learn how to play around and have fun with the canvas that is my face. Hahaha. I ended up buying gel eyeliner from Tony Moly and an eyelash curler and lip tint from Etude House. We spent the rest of the day at Lindy’s house where she taught me how o do makeup. It as so much and I’m forever grateful that she was patient when teaching me and so happy to share her different products with me. I ended up with a look that I liked: a nudish matte lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, and some subtle eyeshadow. I can get used to this look. Hahaha. I realize now that this is the look I really liked when I was playing around with Snapchat filters. What a coincidence or was it intentional?
I came home and boiled myself some dumplings. Yum. What a fun day of experimenting with new things~ P.S. The contacts were also quite difficult to take out. Gah hopefully practice will make it all easier.
Day 44 (Sunday, July 30): Date with the Sis
OOTD: “We should all be feminists” double layer tank top, ripped denim shorts, black Boy London shoes
Put on my contacts (with a lot of struggling) and did my makeup today before heading off to hang out with the sis! I’m still getting used to how I look with no glasses. It’s weird because there was a point in my life that I had to get used to wearing glasses. Funny to think about. Well anyways, I finally met up with my sister in Insadong. Mind you we love taking photos and modeling for each other so every time we are together, it always turns into a photoshoot. It’s great. Hahaha. Well we went over to Ssamzigil and took a bunch of pictures before eating at the Pop Cafe at the top.We got to update each other on what’s been going on in our lives and it was super comforting to realize that we have each other here in a foreign country to share our happy and sad moments. Oh the perks of having siblings. I’m not joking when I say that my sisterhood is probably the best long distance relationship I will ever have. We ordered spaghetti that came in toilet shaped bowl (so cute!) and some green tea ice cream.
We then headed over to the Hanok Folk Village where we wandered for the next few hours in art galleries, scenic alleyways, and a quaint area taking photos at almost every turn. There was this super cute angel mural that I thoroughly enjoyed. We stopped by this Philippines Paradise coffee shop to get a refreshing fresh mango smoothie to recharge before we tried to find a place to rent some hanbok. We ended up renting hanboks for 2 hours fro about $15 and although this is my third time wearing one, I have to say that I still feel giddy every time I wear one. I chose a red skirt with a white and gold top. The pattern and everything was beautiful and went perfectly with my hair and makeup. YAAAAASSSSSSS. We took photos in our hanbok a places we were at before and new places. We ended up taking pictures in front of a random traditional house for quite some time. I’m not joking when I say that it felt like we were doing a photoshoot for a historical K-drama. I FELT SO REGAL. AND THE PICTURES. OH THE PICTURES. MY SISTER IS SUCH A TALENTED PHOTOGRAPHER. I honestly can’t stop looking at the pictures and I gotta say, I have some modeling potential in me. Hahaha jk but I do have fun posing.
After our fun photoshoot in hanboks, we headed back to my place to chill for a bit before we headed off to Yeouido Park at the Han River. I got ramen from the vending machine again but I got the also one so my sister ended up buying ramen from the convenience store We drank some coconut peach justice that was yummy and enjoyed our dinner sitting at one of the tables outside overlooking the river. With music playing in the back ground and people all around us, it was a lively and nice atmosphere. I kept cracking up because the guy sitting at a table near us was being super derpy with his friend (e.g. holding the chopsticks with his chin, speaking in a weird voice, making funny faces, etc.).
After we finished our meal, we walked around the park, attempted to take artsy photos with the cool Christmas trees that were made out of Christmas lights. We walked past by this event that looked like a talent show, which I would have been down to tryout if I had more of my friends to cheer me on. Maybe next time~ Sadly my sister and I had to part ways on the subway and then we were off to our respective homes. Once I got home and showered, I basically spent the rest of the night fangirling as I uploaded our pics onto Google Drive so we can do some filtering and editing before we post them. I’M SO EXCITED TO SHARE THEM WITH THE WORLD. HYPE HYPE HYPE. ❤ ❤ ❤
NOTE: Read more about the look here!
Day 45 (Monday, July 31): Slow, Sentimental Day
OOTD: olive crop top, medium wash jeans, black Boy London shoes
For a quick breakfast/lunch, I had some sunny side up eggs and cherry tomatoes. It was a pretty slow day at work and we focused on figuring out the itinerary for our next drama filming locations video. After work, we stopped by E-mart so I can get orange juice and rice. I went over to Lindy’s house so she could cook some rice for me since she had a pot we could use. She made me 3 Tupperware box-worth of rice. What a sweetheart!
For dinner, I finally got to cook the samyupsal I bought and made samgyupsal fried rice and ate that with some cherry tomatoes. Supper yummy! I made a lot so my roomie Dorothy had same and she really enjoyed it. Yay! I spend the rest of the night, listening to Korean and Vietnamese music and blogging while I go through another bout of self-existential crisis where I question my major, life decisions, and whether I’m truly living out my life to the fullest. I’m overwhelmed and greatly upset at the fact that I have to choose classes for the upcoming school year. I really don’t feel like going back. Yes I miss the people and the cool projects/groups/events I will be a part of, but I don’t miss the stress and anxiety of classes. The idea of getting a degree to get a stable job that I’m not in love with isn’t something that I’m striving for. I want to create, not be taking notes just to regurgitate information. I want to build upon the creativity that I feel within me and I realize I’m not that huge of a fan of formal teaching. Everything I’ve done and enjoyed in life, singing, playing guitar, making music, graphic design, etc. I’ve done all of those things by drawing on what I feels right to my heart and my senses. I learn through inspiration. And yet for society, sometimes that isn’t enough to prove that I’m good at what I do. Well I think that’s utter bs. And while I’m learning to not feel guilty for going after what I want and do things I want (aka living life how I want to), I still struggle with going after dreams and living life according to what I feel will bring me happiness. I still struggle with opposing voices and I’m constantly overwhelmed. I realize there is privilege when it comes to living a life i want to without regards to other responsibilities, but should I have to feel guilty and restrain myself from happiness because of that?
Day 46 (Tuesday, August 1): Shopping Spree~~~~~
OOTD: “Alone” shirt, medium wash jeans, black Boy London shoes
After work today, Dorothy, Lindy, and I decided to head over to Ehwa University since Lindy had raved about the cheap clothes and groceries there. Our first stop once we got there was one of the stores in the subway station. There was long mesh/see though dress on display that caught my eye so we decided to stop by. I ended up getting it in black and white for 14,000 won in total (a little less than $14 USD). SO MIND BLOWN. These dresses would have easily gone for about $20 in the US. With these great purchases, I new this one going to be the star of a great shopping day. Up next, we stopped Etude House where I got some eyeshadow stuff and basic makeup tools! How fun~ We were then off to a socks shop for Lindy to get more socks (she’s obsessed) as Dorothy and I roamed inside pretty but overprices clothing stores nearby.
We then took a break from shopping and visited Ehwa University. I must say the campus is quite pretty and I enjoy the architecture. We probably would have ventured the campus more but it was sooooo hot that we needed to get to AC ASAP. We also took full advantage of the fact that women in Korea bring out the umbrellas to block the sun. Hahaha.
We then stopped by a department store where I did my most purchasing. My first purchase were these pair of triangle earrings that look like they had a tropical flower and leaves pattern that looked like they was painted. Super pretty and fun piece! We then ventured to the other floors and although the upper floors were quite pricey, the basement floor was clothes heaven. Everything was pretty cheap and I got a lot of pieces that I’m super excited about. I finally was able to find see through mesh tops, a plain black one and a white one that had a stripe-like pattern and cute collar. Yay because that’s what I’ve been looking for all summer! I also got this cute white (linen?) top that has black stripes and other spaghetti strapped floral blouses. I can totally see myself pairing those floral blouses with the see through white top and shorts or skirts. Wardrobe upgrade~~~
We then headed over to another socks store where Lindy proceeded to by more socks and Dorothy and I made our first socks purchases. I ended up buying nine pairs, all for about $1 USD each. SO CHEAP~ I bought that had a cute skater/hipster sushi design with the words oishi in a neon light like design (tbh it’s supposed to be spelled oishii to mean delicious in Japanese but oh well). I bought a pair of Taeyang socks and Shin ramen sock. Oh and I got a pair of Starbucks socks for my friend Cali who is obsessed with Starbucks.
We then stopped by the grocery stores where I picked up some meats and vegetables as well as sausages because I wanted to get that Kim Bok Joo experience. Hahaha. We then headed home where I showered, and did some planning for a weekend trip, before making myself some samgyupsal fried rice once again for dinner and for our picnic tomorrow as part of our drama filming locations video segment. Yum yum yum. I procrastinated and didn’t like I was supposed to but I ended up clearing photos and videos of my camera so I could make room on my camera for the next day. At least I got some laundry done too! I really need to work on my sleep deprivation problem. Welp.
Day 47 (Wednesday, August 2): Reel 2 Real #2
OOTD: white linen short sleeve top with black stripes, black shorts, oishi socks (tamago edition), black Boy London shoes, star and moon circle earrings
Today was another filming day in which we would be visited some of the filming locations of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. It was quite a hot day so we were preparing ourselves for the worst. Our first stop was Plate B at the Sookmyung Women’s University subway exit. In the drama, Plate B (under another name) was the bakery owned by Do Bong Soon’s father. The cafe owner was super nice and the coffee shop menu was supppppper aesthetic with hand-drawn icons for every menu on the list. I had a mint chocolate late which was super tasty and has some walnut tart which is yummy~~~ We got to talk to the owner for a bit and we asked him how his shop was chosen and what the filming process like. It turns out a staff from the drama contacted him about 2 months prior to see if they could film there. During the drama filming, the place was locked off and not even the owner was allowed to be there. Welp.
Our next stop was Nanjin Hangang Park and man was it a trek to get there. We walked back to the subway station and hopped onto the subway and got off to find the subway. Using KakaoMap we were quite confused as to where the bus stop was. My heart melted when I saw a couple stoop to help an old lady cross the street. Faith in humanity restored moment #1. We ended up asking a nice lady who tried to help us and told us to walk there instead since it was pretty close by. We listened to her and ended up waling to the Yanghwa Bridge area of the Han River which was pretty and cool since this place was mentioned in a Zion T song hehehe. But sadly, this wasn’t the place we were looking for. According to KakoMap, we had about an hour to go if we were going to walk there. OH FREAKING NO. :O Freaking out, we were trying to find a way to hail a taxi but we would have to get to a main road and somewhere closer to the city since we were currently walking along the bike path next to the river.
We had to walk for quite sometime before we got a taxi. Even then, the taxi driver was confused as to where to take us. LOLOLOL. Where are we headed off to? It can’t be that obscure is it? Hahaha. Well we eventually arived somewhere near the vacinity. We decided to stop by the convenience store for directions and although the workers there weren’t 100% sure, they were trying their best to get us in the right direction. They were also older, so there was sort of a language barrier to overcome but they were trying their best nonetheless. Faith in humanity restored moment #2. We kept wandering trying to kook for the spot the drama OTP had their cute picnic scene. We thought that there were airplanes there but maybe we were confused since we couldn’t find airplanes anywhere despite looking for about an hour. Welp it’s okay. We sat at some steps next to the river and ate our yummy picnic that consisted of the samgyupsal fried rice I cooked the night before, some triangle kimbap, banana milk, kimchi, cut up vegetables (courtesy of Lindy), and cashews (courtesy of Dorothy). The cicadas were pretty loud so it kind of gave us a headache but we still enjoyed our picnic! We were worried about getting rained on since the forecast said there was a 40% chance that it would rain and we heard some thundering in the distance. Good thing we weren’t rained on.
We were ten off to our next location although the first task we had to worry about was getting back to a subway station. We tried getting a taxi but quickly realized that would prove to be difficult since we weren’t at a main road. Dorothy took on navigating (thank goodness because navigating gets so stressful and tiring for me) and we were soon on a bus with AC (yaaaaaaas) back to a subway station. We were then on the subway for about 20 something stops to get Incheon. We ended up switching from Seoul Metro to Incheon Metro. To keep ourselves entertained, we would listen to music and joke around. Lindy ended up recording Dorothy and I filming our own water bottle CF. LOLOLOL.
We got off the subway and got on a bus for about 10 more stops. It was at this point that we realized just how far we were from he hustle and bustle of the city. There weren’t as many buildings or even people out here. Our bus stop was basically in the middle of nowhere. To our left was the area where ships would drop off the huge container bins. To walk to ur last location which was a part of some sort, we had to walk part of it in the road where there were no sidewalks. Ahhhhh. Dorothy got a little shocked since a huge truck that drove by honked at us. It probably was trying to warn us of its presence but all it really did was give us a scare. Hahaha. After more walking, we got to where we think the filming location is. This location was apparently where the OTP began opening up to each together when Do Bong Soon confessed to Minhyuk about her superpowers and he offered to help her learn to control her strength. Sadly the area we wanted to go to gets closed off at 6pm so we had to settle standing nearby. It’s funny that we ran into no people besides the cars that drove past us, and even then they were giving us weird looks while they probably thinking, “Where these kiddos going?” Hahaha. Well at least the view was pretty. The waves was calming and sky was gorgeous with the sun about to set in a while.
On our way back, a super super nice couple offered us a ride back to a subway station. They felt so sorry for us since it was super hot and we were probably students that were lost. Bless their souls. Faith in humanity restored moment #3. During the car ride, they talked about their family and kids and they were telling us that they would drop us off at a station that turned out to be closer than the one we would have gotten to if we had ridden the bus back. That car ride saved us so much time and energy. Ah, my heart feels and warm just thinking about it.
After another long subway ride home, we were finally home~~~ I got kind of hungry when I got home so I had one of the leftover triangle kimbap, a sausage i got from the grocery store the other day, and some salted seaweed. Yum. What a long and tiring day that was full of blessings~
UPDATE: Watch the video here~
Day 48 (Thursday, August 3): Teased
OOTD: plain white shirt, black shorts, oishi socks (salmon edition), black Boy London shoes
Dorothy made me a yummy omelette with tomatoes and peppers topped off with some avocado slices. She also fried some sweet potatoes on the side and gave me some black soybean milk. Yum yum yum. So grateful to have an awesome roomie! ❤ I watched Wongfu Productions’s “Asian Bachelorette” today and was very entertained. I would not mind being on that show for one bit. Hahaha. I spent the day at work editing the footage from yesterday. Not as much footage to go through like last time but it was trickier putting together the B roll this time around.
After work, I just went home and proceeded to chill before showering and preparing. I was planning to buy tickets for Dorothy, Lindy, and I to go see some EXO surround viewing concert thing next Friday since it was announced that certain EXO members would be at the event premiere. I refreshed the site to buy the tickets and the site totally crashed. Man this feels just like when Axess crashes when course enrollment opens. Hahaha. Well by the time the site worked for me, there were only 5 seats for the event left but everytime I tried to reserve them, a message kept coming up saying that those seats were currently being purchased by another customer. Ughhhh and I thought I would be able to get us these tickets.
I made plans with Cali to video call her to show her the clothes i bought so far in Korea, so after some troubles with FB video call, we ended up Skyping. We talked for awhile as I was making dinner (rice with samgyupsal stir fried with onions, mushrooms, and soy sauce, yum~). We talked for about 4 hours, covering a wide range of topics and catching up. It was super nice~~~ I spent the rest of my night listening to new music as I watched animated short films on YouTube. My friend Supsup messaged me saying that one of her friends said that Dean was going to be at a club in Gangnam so I got super excited at the idea of possibly heading out to go see him, but alas those plans fell through as we couldn’t know for sure where he was going to be if he was even going to be at a club in Gangnam. It kind of was a relief in the sense that I already showered and wasn’t feeling like going out tonight. Oh well. I like spending the night at home chilling out to music. I found a new Korean band called The Rose and I’m totally digging their debut song “Sorry.” Oh and I also can’t seem to get Hotshot’s “Jelly” or Samuel Kim’s “Sixteen” out of my head. Honestly so many good songs coming out this summer.
Day 49 (Friday, August 4): Staying Home
OOTD: pajamas
Our apartment door locking system was having some problems because it was running out of battery so Dorothy and I had to stay home and have it fixed or else we would have been locked out of our house. Hahaha. Thankfully we were able to work remotely so we just stayed home all day as we waited for our landlord to come fix our door lock system. I finally got our video edited. WHOOW~~~~ Not much really happened today. I had mandu for lunch, but what is new. Hahaha. Rewatched some Strong Woman Do Bong Soon as I was editing our video to get screenshots as well as get back in the feels. Hahaha. Dorothy, Lindy, and I were thinking of going to Myeongdong/Namdaemun area in the evening to go grocery shopping and hang out but we ended up staying at home because we were tired, lazy, and wanted to pack our stuff for our weekend trip. For dinner, Dorothy and I made a simple meal that consisted of rice, butter, sunny side up eggs, spam, and soy sauce. SO SIMPLE BUT SO YUM. Sent the rest of the night packing and I must say I don’t have many athletic/water-friendly clothes. Whoops. That’s what you get when you’re someone who doesn’t go exercising. Oh and sorry but for some reason it seems liek the only pic I took today was of the mandu I boiled. Regardless I stand by the motto, “Mandu is life.”
[Something] for the Seoul 