[05.29.11] ?

Instead of staying home and studying for finals, I went out to meet my friends and to have fun.

[05.22.11] Yozoh- Nostalgia

Nostalgia

by Yozoh (feat. Eric)

Genre: Jazz

Published in: 2008.06.16

I like the musics of underground singers because I can feel their innocence through music. Most of the famous or idol singers of Korea seek for attention from people by showing off their appearance when they are supposed to show off their abilities to make music. I personally don't like that part, but I'm thinking that it's one of our culture. 

Yozoh is one of my most favorite artists. I like her innocent, crystal-like voice when she sings. This song, called Nostalgia, comforts me. When I couldn't go to sleep, I listened to this song and calmed myself down. Even if the lyrics were not in Korean, I would have chosen this song as one of my top 10 favorite songs. 

[05.21.11] 10cm

10cm is an Indy band formed with Jung Yul Kwon (29, vocal) and Chul Jong Yoon (28, guitarist). The band was created in 2009, and it's been about two years since they first produced their first digital single album. The album contained a song called "Americano" which is getting more famous and famous everyday.

The lyrics are very simple, and its melody makes us hum. Their musics are created with only a guitar and a drum, but they have the best songs ever. Few songs, actually most of it, are rated R for its inappropriate lyrics. Even though I didn't listen to the songs, I can just imagine how good they are.  

They have been performing at Hong Ik University from the very bottom, and now they are developing everyday. Currently, there song "Americano" became the theme song for a CF, and they are stepping into famous television programs. I hope to see them more often on TV later.

[05.16.11] Lilac

The lilacs bloomed in our garden. The pictures were taken back in April, and it was one of the nicest flower I've ever seen in my life. Before this spring came, I had no interest in flowers or nature, but now I enjoy the smell and view of spring. If I had time, then I would have asked my dad to go some place where I can take more pictures of environment around me.

Even though I have time, my dad is too busy to go somewhere. pshh... I wish I was a grown person so that I can go anywhere I wanted to. The weather is becoming more summer-like and I like it except that I have sun allergy. My skins are going to get irritated!

[04.30.11] Plans for May

I think I didn't do so well in April. I tried to control myself, but it only lasted for few days. I've been spending a lot of time and money outside. I planned to pay more attention to school work for April, but it didn't work out very well. Since the end of year and final exams are coming, I should work harder. There are a lot of distractions in May...

[04.20.11] Daily Life

 

 I walked around and took pictures because I felt like not staying at home ...

[04.16.11] Spring!

The spring has finally come! The flowers are blooming and the weather is getting warmer and warmer. I like how Korea has a lot of flowers though they are not 100% natural. I just like how flowers and the city goes together well. They form a nice mixture of nature and busy city life. It's been a long time since I spent spring days in Korea. I guess I like it.

Converse family?

haha..

I went to Cheongdam again with my friends and hung out there. We didn't have any purpose of meeting, but I just wanted to get out of my house. Sometimes, I feel very stuffy and distant from the world I live in. Too much thinking bothers everything around me including school work. My plan for raising my grades up isn't working well right now. I FEEL DEPRESSED!

[04.12.11] In Jamsil

It was a normal Tuesday. I got off from the school bus and started to walk toward my house like a zombie because I was tired from a short nap on the bus. Even I could feel the tiredness that's shown on my face. When I was about to open the door, someone said something behind my back and I turned around in surprise because the voice sounded so familiar. 

Two of my friends were standing there, playful smiles on their faces. I don't know why and how they came all the way to my house, but they really surprised me. We ate something in my house since everyone was hungry and I got permission from my parents that I can go out and play with my friends. We just headed toward Lotte World and called two more friends to visit Jamsil. 

The other two friends and I met up at Jamsil station and played in front of Lotte Department Store. We had nothing to do except talking and making silly jokes. We took funny pictures and when it became too dark and chilly, we headed inside.

SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The flowers were so pretty even though it was kind of chilly that day. I love spring weather in Korea..

 I like how it rains pleasantly, neither not too hot nor not too cold.

I went home around 8 o'clock, worried about what my dad would say. Well, he didn't actually scold me or anything for being out for such a long time on a week day. I liked how I didn't have much homework on this day.

Diary entry for today

#1
It's been about 10 months since I came back to Korea. Until now, I've gone a lot of difficulties... including school problems and personal conflict. I think it's time for me to look back and try to improve my life style by realizing the lessons I've learned through out that time. Well, I guess I would have to try a lot harder from now on.





#2
April Fool's Day is coming! Should I at least try to trick someone? I was thinking about going around and saying that I'm moving back to New York, but then I think it's kind of random because the idea came from nowhere. What should I do?

[03.26.11] Birthday party

On 26th of March, Viki had her birthday party. Her birthday was actually was on 28th, but since she didn't have time on week days, we celebrated her birthday on Saturday. My friends and I met up in Cheongdam around 11 o'clock. The weather was nice except that the wind blew too strongly which made me feel cold.

 

The party was planned to start at 4:00 PM. we had plenty of time to write letters and to organize her birthday presents. Since we were hungry and trembling due to cold wind, we headed toward the closest McDonald's. 

 Mi Sook and I were playing Tap Sonic on Ye Seul's iPhone, an application that lets you play rhythmic game, and I got an A! Mi Sook is in college, but she looks very young. When I first saw her, I thought she was same age as me. I heard her brother is really handsome... haha. 

This was the birthday present we prepared for her. Other two friends and I went to buy them the day before. We used 92,000 won in total.

 After eating our hamburgers and writing letters to Viki, congratulating her birthday, we bought white flowers for finale and headed to the party place. It was windy and the wind messed up our hairs. 

The party ended around 5:10 PM, which was very early. We took balloons outside and started drinking helium gas. Our voices sounded so funny and we laughed like crazy people. I heard drinking helium gas is not good for our health, but we still drank them for the fun. I felt dizzy, but it made me feel good at the same time.

Saying good byes ...

With my brother, I got home and did my homework. After all the fun, I had to do my work at last.

[03.12.11] Lotte World!

My friends and I decided to go to Lotte World on Saturday, March 12th. I was the one who lived closest so I had a good night sleep the day before. We met in front of Jamsil station and headed toward Lotte World.

One of my friend bought a nice scarf for her mom since she did something inappropriate at home. It was like an apology present... Luckily, we earned free tickets at the entrance. Yay! Lotte World was full of people because it was Saturday and we had to wait a lot in order to ride one roller coaster. Well, our main objective was to see the concert so it didn't really matter.

After watching the concert, we met Dalshabet and talked together about random stuff. It's surprising how celebrities and fans can communicate.. 

We took a lot of pictures mainly funny ones ( haha just the thought of it makes me laugh),

then three people had sleep over at my house. One of the rooms was empty and we had such a fun time. We went out to the playground at dawn and chatted. 

This is picture of me sleeping ...

I was organizing my English homework when I fell asleep. 

[02.26.11] Pheonix Park for snowboarding

On Saturday, my whole family went to Pheonix Park. At the rest area while we were still on highway, third aunt's family joined us. We ate simple lunch which was almost like a late breakfast, and headed toward ski resort. We rented snowboards and some skies and I took some pictures there with my toy camera. The weather was so nice..

 

Anyway, with my cousins I had a fun time. We were planning to ride more snowboard in the evening, but we fell asleep right after we arrived at our hotel room. Of course we had a barbecue party in the late evening, and all the adults also had fun. It was a nice, short break from all the school work.

We visited east coast of Korea, and it snowed a lot when we reached our destination. On our way to hotel, the highway was full of cars and we had to stay on the road for  three hours. It was an extraordinary experience.

I wish I could have this time again. 

[02.14.11] Valentine's Day!

On Valentine's Day, I gave chocolate to my dad. Well, it was a sad day because I couldn't give the chocolate to the person I wanted since he was far away from where I lived. Anyway, I also wrote a short letter to my dad with the chocolate. 

I pasted a lot of vintage stickers on a plain white paper, then I cut it out in a right size. I used masking tape to finish the decoration. I was going to put more chocolates in the bag, but the bag was too small. My dad and I got into a little quarrel like two days ago, and I wanted to make sure that he wasn't mad at me anymore. I guess I succeeded in making him feel better.

 

Brief history of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a day for the women to give chocolates to men. However, there is deeper history for this specific date. In 270 A.D, Roman emperor Claudius II who ruled Rome at that time prohibited young soldiers' marriages. There were three Saint Valentines, and it was known that one of them was a bishop, another was a priest, but nothing about the third person. The priest opposed to the idea of Claudius II and he started to help the soldiers get married secretly. Unfortunately, he got caught and was executed for such an action. Valentine's Day was created for St. Valentine's remembrance, and in the past a lot of families traded love and thankfulness on this day.  However, now a days many people trade chocolate for love between men and women.

[02.19.11] SLR- Minolta Dynax 7000i

 

 

My dad bought this camera when he was in university. This camera is SLR (Single Lenses Reflex)  camera which requires film to take photos. It was launched in 1988, with the price of ¥ 80,000. This camera is about 30 years old, which existed before I was born. I didn't take any photo shots yet, but if I have a chance I'll try to upload the images. I always wanted a SLR camera and when my dad mentioned about his old one, I was happy to take it.

▼▼Basic information about this camera▼▼

General
Name	Minolta Dynax 7000i , α-7700i (Japan), Maxxum 7000i (USA)
Mount type	A-mount
Release year	1988
Status	discontinued

Auto-focus
AF sensors	3 line
AF range [EV]	0 – 18
AF modes?	AF-A
AF assist light?	yes
Supported lenses?	classic
Features
Eye-start	no
Custom functions	0
Other features	–

Metering
Metering modes?	6 segments, center-weighted, spot
Metering range [EV] (with spot)	0 – 20
Auto Exposure Lock button	yes
Exposure modes?	P with shift, A, S, M
Subject programs	cards
Exposure compensation	± 4 (1/2)

Flash
Flash modes?	normal
Flash metering?	CW-TTL
Requires D flash unit	no
Flash guide number [m]/ coverage [mm]	-/-
X-Sync speed	1/125
High Speed Sync	no
Wireless flash	no
Wireless x-sync speed?	–
Wireless HSS	no
Wireless Flash Controller compatible?	no
Ratio flash control	no
Flash exposure compensation	Cards
Studio flash socket	no
Compatible with DR-1000	yes

Viewfinder
Viewfinder type	pentaprism
Viewfinder coverage	92% × 94%
Viewfinder magnification	0.84×
Eye relief [mm]/ from frame [mm]?	unknown
Screens?	G (default), L, S
Diopter adjustment [diopters]	-1
Eyepiece cup	EC-7
Viewfinder accessory compatible?	yes

Shooting
Mirror lock-up	no
Remote release socket	yes
Wireless remote release	IR-1N
Depth of field preview	no
Aperture can be changed during depth of field preview	no
Silent depth of field preview	no
Frame rate [fps]	3
Frame rate with AF [fps]	unknown
Shutter speed [s]	30 – 1/4000, B
Timer for Bulb exposures	no
Bracketing frames (stops)	–
Multiple exposures	–

Film features
Leader out	no
ISO override	yes
IR safe?	yes

Construction and accessories
Weather sealing	no
Mount material	steel
Batteries	1× 2CR5
Battery pack	–
Vertical grip	–
Accessory shoe cap	SC-7
Standard accessories	strap, body cap, batteries
Weight [g]?	590
Data saver	–
Date back	DB-7, PB-7

	Information from: http://www.mhohner.de

[02.04.11] Changdeokgung

It was when all of my families came over to my house to celebrate Lunar New Year. On February 4th, we visited Changdeokgung and made good memories. I'm going to briefly introduce the palace and show some of the pictures I've taken.






Changdeokgung homepage (English): http://eng.cdg.go.kr/main/main.htm






Changdeokgung is located in Jongno-gu, Seoul. This palace is one of the five grand palaces that were build during Joseon Dynasty by kings. Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung are also called as East Palace because they were located in the east side of Hanyang, the central city, just like Seoul in modern days. Many kings loved Changdeokgung palace because the buildings blended with nature, not disturbing the peaceful colors of the wild. The palace was damaged during Japanese occupation and there are only 30% of the whole palace left today. However, it is one of the most well kept cultural heritage. 

It was cloudy and foggy when we left our home.

What a day to take pictures...

 My youngest cousin sitting on a red bench.

He's adorable~

 Every little parts were so delicately made that it surprised me.

This was my first time visiting the palace (according to my memory),

and I couldn't believe these were build hundreds years ago.

The colors of the roof looks prettier and clearer seeing with eyes than it shows in photographs. I don't know whether they were repaired or painted again, but the colors fascinated me.

 

 Injeongjeon

It was where the king greeted foreign leaders, and a lot of the times king stayed in this building when national events happened. Also, the king gave missions and had meetings with servants.

▼▼My brother and cousin playing in front of Injeongjeon▼▼