fun facts about seoul.

#1. It is impossible to save money here. 

Everywhere you go, you are constantly bombarded by cute shoes and beautiful clothes... colorful jewelry and sparkly accessories... and lots and lots of shiny things. Vendors, boutiques, and stores line every street... there are even huge, underground shopping malls inside subway stations, for god's sake. Basically, it takes you 10x the time it should actually take to get from Point A to Point B because you just have to make so many stops (yes, you just have to).

 Seoul steals money from innocent, law-abiding people.

#2. Everybody is skinny because getting anywhere via the subway requires so much goddamn effort.

So much walking. So many stairs. So much pain. 

#3. Due to #2, Koreans allow themselves to indulge their sweet tooths/carb cravings (yet somehow still don't gain weight).

Joining the bazillion stores are the bazillion dessert shops/bakeries that fill the streets with the most tempting, delicious aromas (and lovingly call out my name wherever I go). I blame these miniature fatty paradises for my rapidly proliferating love handles.

 They really love their carbs... maybe a little too much.

More fun facts to come...

um...

My parents left for Japan this morning, which means I'm now all alone in Seoul. I've officially moved into my place (a foreigners' dorm at Korea University), unpacked, and organized my room...

Now what?

Oh, how I wish I had friends/a life. That would be nice. 

(This is when you offer to come visit me. I'm living by myself in a double because they ran out of singles, so if you visit, there's a bed here waiting for you. Yes you. COME ON. PLEASE?!??!)

SONG OF THE DAY: "All By Myself" (Jewel)

P.S. If you aren't going to visit me in Seoul but are still hoping to continue our friendship, wait for me to come home to watch Up. I'm dying to see it, but it's not being released in Korea till July...

musical chairs, seoul style.

During rush hour, the Seoul subway becomes a ruthless, unforgiving place. All notions of personal space are vanquished. Social etiquette is thrown out the window. Concern for others is forgotten.

Between the hours of 6 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m., subway-goers transform into bloodthirsty savages, running, pushing and shoving their way onto trains-- or packed cans of sardines on wheels.

And when I mean packed, I mean booty-to-booty, face-squashed-into-random-sweaty-stranger's-back packed. If you ever want to... you know... get to know someone (nudge nudge), getting on the subway during rush hour is the way to go.

Not for those scared of intimacy.

Anyways, all that means it's nearly impossible to find an open space to sit down. And with so many people competing for a seat at every stop, the whole seat-finding process becomes a vicious, high-stakes game of strategy, foresight, and skill.

I hereby introduce SUBWAY MUSICAL CHAIRS.

How to play:
1. Immediately upon entering the train, quickly scan the area for an empty seat.
2. If there is an empty seat (psh, yeah right), push/shove people out of your way (dignity? what dignity?) and get your booty in said seat AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. In the inevitable case that there are no empty seats, swiftly navigate to the least crowded area.
2. After arrival at this spot, examine/rank all seated passengers in your vicinity in order of probability of impending disembarkment. Strategically place yourself in front of the ones you think are most likely to get up first.

Tips:
A passenger is not going to get up anytime soon if he/she is:
- watching Pirates of the Caribbean on a handheld device.
- watching a sappy Korean drama on a handheld device.
- reading a newspaper.
- talking/texting on a cell phone.
- listening to music with his/her eyes closed.
- looking around with a blank expression on his/her face.
- snoring and/or drooling.

A passenger is prob going to get up soon (so move in for the kill) if he/she is:
- holding his/her handheld device/cell phone, but not using it.
- holding his/her purse tightly (man-purses are cool here).
- clutching a folded-up newspaper.
- leaning slightly forward with his/her feet firmly planted on the ground.
- frequently checking his/her watch.
- staring determinedly in the general direction of the door... as if visualizing the most efficient exit route.

The game isn't so fun if you lose (standing for a 30-minute subway ride blows), but victory is so, so sweet.

why i'll never work corporate.

So I'm interning at LG CNS (Korea) for a month this summer, and today was my first day. Coincidentally (or not), today was also the day I decided that I will never work in the corporate world.

Those horror stories you always hear about people having to work long hours in drab, isolated cubicles, in drab, desolate workplaces? They're TRUE.

Here's a quick synopsis of how my day went:

7:15 a.m. Wake up full of anger and hatred and frustration (nothing special; this is how I always wake up).
8:15 a.m. Get in a taxi.
8:55 a.m. Realize that traffic sucks in Seoul, and that I'm going to be late for my first day of work.
9:00 a.m. Arrive at LG-- miraculously NOT late.
9:15 a.m. Receive my work laptop and some pamphlets about LG CNS, their manufacturing systems, smart card payment systems, global development centers... yawn. Become acquainted with my drab, dreary cubicle.
9:16 a.m. - 11 a.m. Stare at my laptop/pamphlets. Discover that Facebook and Blogspot are blocked.
11 a.m.-12 p.m. Go out for dim sum (prob the only redeemable hour of the day).
12:01 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. Stare at my laptop/pamphlets. Valiantly attempt to ward off the frequent, overwhelming waves of boredom/sleepiness. Fail. Nod off every two minutes and then freak out that I'm going to be caught sleeping on my first day of work. Try to blend in with my cubicle walls to avoid detection. Curse the bright floral skirt I'm wearing. Stare at the clock. Wonder if I'm stuck in a time warp. Watch the minutes trudge by.
6:15-7:15 p.m. Attempt to take the subway home (which, for the time being, is my parents' hotel). Buy a subway charge card and FAIL at using it (end up having to crawl underneath the gate twice because I can't get my card to work. Go to the help desk and tell them my card is broken. Find out that my card isn't broken; I am.) Get lost 3 different times. Regret wearing heels. Decide that I will never attempt the subway during traffic hour ever again.

Basically, I don't know how I'm going to survive a whole month. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.