Things I learned from Asian Dramas March 29, 2010

As you guys know I watch A LOT of Asian dramas. I watch Japanese dramas (Jdrama) Korean drama (kdrama) and Taiwanese dramas (Twdrama). Although I have never taken the lessons of these drama shows to heart, I thought it would be fun to compile a list of lessons one could take away from these shows.

Lesson 1: Everyone is dressed fashionably. I didn’t say well dressed…but “fashionably”. Women are dressed sophisticated, men are dressed up all the time in suits. When men are allowed to be dressed down..they must look metrosexual. Women must be in full makeup all the time–even when dying of cancer.

Lesson 2: There must be one person in the drama that lives/studies abroad (US, France, London) and they must be even more fashionable and they must be incredibly talented/pretty/rich. They must also be very down to earth/or very snobbish and clueless.

Lesson 3: If you are poor, you must be dirt poor. That means only eating ramen with maybe a occaisonal egg..and you must fight your siblings/roommates for that egg. You must work 10 jobs–all with a lot of enthusiasm and kindness…In extreme situations of money crisis, you must get jobs in the fishing docks or the fish market.

Lesson 4: You must drink soju every night after work or after an argument. Don’t fear of a hangover though, because the honey water will take care of that. Drink away because you will not get shit faced and your long-standing crush will find you adorable in your drunken state and will give you a piggyback ride home and tuck you in too.

Lesson 5: The lead male or the second lead male must be a CEO of a hardcore corporation. Of course he must wear suits all the time. He must not get along with one member of his family… preferably his father. He must fall for the worker that is totally a clutz or trying to get a job at his company.

Lesson 6: The ahjummas that work at the soju stalls must have short permed hair. They must also dress very gaudy. Red lipstick is optional.

Lesson 7: Shower scenes. During times of mental stress and anguish from love and fate…when the question: how did my first love from childhood who also happens to be my adopted stepsister who also happens to be my best friend’s fiancée get cancer?  must be pondered…what is a good place for such pondering? In the shower of course! I understand it’s a fan service to show off those muscles..the six pak…and hot steamy water cascading down the godlike body. For that I thank you. well done.

Lesson 8:  What is the craziest thing to do when drunk on soju…karaoke! belt your heart out. I just feel sorry for the other who had to listen to that…hopefully they were drunk as you too.

Lesson 9: So finally you found your childhood love interest/first crush..because of whom you couldn’t open your heart to any other girl and hence was labeled as having a heart of stone by others…and you have narrowly escaped the possibility of her being one of your relatives…BUT you aren’t safe yet. I’m sorry to inform you..she has cancer or other equivalent to life threatening disease. And no, sir, there is no cure. But don’t worry, when she dies, she will look as attractive, with full makeup, as she did alive.

Lesson 10: Alternate scenario…your girlfriend/childhood love interest/first crush is not a relative AND doesn’t have cancer. You are really really happy…but alas! Your mother or your father…maybe both..actually both (but one  has more say than the other) does/do not approve of her. She is too poor. Now you, the CEO, that is always dressed in custom tailored slightly metrosexual suits..will have to choose between her or your inheritance. And yes..we will get both at the end.

Only Human (Remioromen) March 18, 2010

On the opposite coast of sadness,
is something called a smile.
But before we can go there,
is there something we’re waiting for?
For us to be able to chase our dreams,
we can’t let ourselves have reasons to run away.
We’ve got to go to that far away summer’s day.
If we find it tomorrow,
we can’t sigh with regret
because like a boat that opposes the stream
we have to walk straight on and keep our course.
In a place worn down by sadness
something called a miracle is waiting.
Yet we are still waiting
for the sunflower that grows at the end of spring.
The warrior awaits
the morning light
before he can clasp it with red nails,
his tears glitter and fall.
Even if we’ve grown used to loneliness,
only relying on the light of the moon,
we have to fly away with featherless wings.
Just go forward just a little further.
As the rain clouds break, the wet streets sparkle
although it brings only darkness
a powerful, powerful light
helps push us to walk on.

Spring Sonata March 9, 2010

Is this how a seedling feels emerging from the seed?

This is a poem about spring. I am dedicating it to my friend who has encouraged me to be the best that I can be. I hope this poem will inspire my friend to do the same!

Blue Skies and Blue Hearts

The sunlight cascades softly, trying to establish warmth

A cool zephyr pervades, reminding us that spring has not yet come

Busy days of running from one class to another

slowed down just a bit

breathe in breathe out

change is in the air

promises of green grass and first buds in the reach of our nostrils

cool nights matches my heart

warm days conflicts

blinds are closed to keep sunlight out

stability of days are intermittent, nights are perpetual

scratching away at darkness to reveal a flash of light

It comes and goes, happiness is ethereal

smile on my face is extraneous

sadness is the baseline

Is this how a seedling feels emerging from the seed?

Feelings of spring is unlike other

Transition

reminding us to leave our busyness behind

re-energize and start anew

smile in the warm days

reflect in the cold nights

and breathe in and breathe out in between

Springtime blues? March 9, 2010

This is where I want to be...

I am not good at keeping promises. I am sorry. It’s been forever since I have put up anything on this site. I have been busy, bored, depressed, and utterly confused about many things. I didn’t feel all those emotions all at once, thank god. I’ve been noticing that I write things on here only when I am home, maybe because I feel self-reflective here and there’s nothing to do. Now onto my wide-ranging spectrum of emotions that I have been feeling! I don’t even know if anyone even reads anything I put up and if anyone does…it is completely voluntary hence I am not going to apologize for anything I am writing or my writing style…because you have the freedom to go back to facebook or the youtube video you were watching anytime.

It’s been a week since my depression week. I feel like it’s been enough time for me to analyze it and actually come to a conclusion as to why I was feeling like I was. I think it was because spring weather was here …sunny skies…smell of new grass mixed with a gentle cool breeze…and I was feeling nostalgic.  There’s the good nostalgia like back in middle or elementary school…or the bad nostalgia like high school and me missing my old friends. I was feeling the later form of nostalgia and I guess I became cranky. I thought shopping would help it …it did for 3 hours…then I was back to where I started minus $250.  One thing that was nice was going to the lake. Canoeing and boating was really nice and the serene landscape and being on the water was really peaceful. I think nature brings out the best in people (unless you are a complete high maintenance…then it might have the opposite effect). Of course adding to my depression was organic chemistry ..or should I reword it as chemisery…anyways I’m dropping it and retaking it over the summer…knowing that I have that option relieved me of a great burden so I felt better already!  And overall…I think I was just missing home and the family and good food!

Well, it’s been four days since I got home and I have been feeling great since the day before I got home! I am studying for biology II (kind of…I’ll get back to it when I’m done with this! XD)…I’m trying to finish the bulk of the studying done before I go back because most importantly, I have the exam the week that I return and also because the weather is getting nicer and nicer…meaning…harder and harder for me to concentrate on the book and not be outside!

P.S. (but this is not a letter!!)
I would like thank all my friends for not yelling at me for being a complete bitch last week. I am not going to apologize because it might happen again and we are so past that stage!

SPRING IS HERE!

I Said It! It Had To Be Said! December 26, 2009

These are the things that are on my mind (annoying me!)…I hope that maybe someone else out there have also noticed these things…

1. Vampires

When will it be time for us to get off of the Vampire bandwagon? This Twilight mania has spurred a worldwide vampire mania. There are HBO shows about vampires now…True Blood…there are Japanese Dramas about Vampires, Manga…WHEN WILL IT STOP?! Another thing that annoys me are twilight moms; I mean if there were twilight dads and the main character of twilight was a 17-year-old girl…I bet it would spur some controversies…

2. Farmville

People please stop sending me things on facebook for Farmville…I don’t have a Farmville account, therefore, I cannot accept your pig (actually, being a Muslim makes it haram for me to raise a pig), I cannot accept that bale of hay either. People at the library that are on Farmville…stop wasting our tax dollars! I’m at the library because I really need to print out this report and hand it in by 5 pm!

3. Foreign telemarketers pretending to be average Joes

John from customer service that is works to AT&T that helped me with my DSL problems, I know that your name is not John. I know you are a desi…your name is probably Jyotsna Maharastra Krishnagopal Singh. I feel you man, you don’t have to lie…but you don’t have to mispronounce my name either! You know how to pronounce it…no one told you that you have to be that authentic!

4. People who sniff but don’t use a tissue

This is one of my pet peeves!! I absolutely detest (did I sound British here?), especially in a quiet room, when there’s that one person that is sniffling but clearly isn’t making the effort to blow their nose. I think this pet peeve dates back to the middle school, when there was that one girl sitting in the back during tests that would sniffle. I felt like getting up and punching her in the face to shut her up!

5. True Life Episodes that are about being average

I used to like True Life. Even now when I have nothing to watch and True Life is on, I’ll watch it. I liked their coverage on True Life: I am an alcoholic, I was excited (and later disappointed) for True Life: I am getting an arranged marriage. But I have to say that their episodes also contain episodes of average life that is not television worthy such as True Life: I am a High School Freshman. Umm..okay? So was I? I don’t understand what they thought so hard was about being a high school freshman was that they had to follow those teens around for a whole year. I mean I did it, and I am a desi..it’s a little tough going to high school when you’re desi and your parents are anal about grades and your high school require clear backpacks and has metal detectors…

6. People Commenting on Tiger Wood’s affairs

Okay people, this is a touchy subject to me. I am a die-hard Tiger fan. But in the light of recent news and the uncovering of his repeated affairs to the level of almost nymphomania…I will say that I am deeply disappointed in Tiger.  But this doesn’t take away all that he accomplished as an athlete. Stop talking about his private affairs and then connecting to his sport and his performance on the field!

7. VH1 reality dating shows

Really VH1? This is all you have? Just dating shows? How low do you have to be to actually go on those reality shows and then tell America that you are there because you love that person…and that you really truly believe that you are the one for them? The person that they are trying to win over are sooooo goddamn ugly like flava flav…ok..ok..to be honest  all the contestants are skanks looking for their ten minute of fame (cat fight) on E!’s show The Soup…”Reality TV clip time”..Also, I would like to meet the people who actually watch these shows that keep them on air…I would like to ask them what they find so appealing…

Desi men and Deodorants December 24, 2009

Recently my friends…both close and mere “acquaintances” were discussing desi men and their use (or not use of) deodorants. This discussion is looong overdue. I am not trying to be a bitch and be racist towards my own kind. I have to acknowledge that not all desi guys smell bad, actually a lot of the desi guys (granted somewhat Americanized) I talk to on a regular basis do not emit perfusive odors. However, a big group of desi guys (RTS route 12) DO! I will be the first one to admit…growing up in a desi household, our food is not just food..its a lifestyle. You cannot just eat our food, you have to be able to commit to eating, breathing, and living the lifestyle that comes with the food. Yes, it does mean that you will have yellow countertops, will not be able to wear “good” clothing at the dining table, and forget about wearing white when you eat! I understand that if you are desi, then more than likely, your friends have commented on you smelling like curry. My friends have. It’s hard trying not to smell like that stuff…it’s not bad..I love Indian food and curries! It’s just that when out in public..I think that smell is not acceptable. For example, I would be sitting on the back of the RTS bus, and a couple of desi guys (by desi …straight off the boat desi) would get on the bus and the smell would permeate all the way to the back. As a fellow desi girl…I feel embarrassed. I feel like people sitting near me will look at me first (because my brown skin, 50+ lbs backpack, and desi features are a dead giveaway of my background) to assess if the smell is coming from me. Another thing is that these desi guys not only smell of curries and Indian food, but also of body odor and sweat! This smell can easily be masked or eliminated by deodorant. My friends and I were wondering…why haven’t desi guys found deodorant products yet? I am sure these products exist in third world countries and are highly commercialized. I know…there are commercials of people in Bangladesh and India dancing in clubs and smelling like “fish” and hence being a turnoff…and the solution in these commercials is to use their deodorant products. This is one commercial that I agree with!

The next step in this long rant of mine is to offer a solution. I will say that this is an epidemic that is spreading (in the air through diffusion ….to our nostrils) throughout our beloved campus. There is only one possible way to deter this problem. I will call this solution “befriend a desi” project, where we can all befriend a desi that has not found deodorant products and introduce them to it! It will be tricky, and it will need a little conniving skills…but you owe it to America! I urge you to help your fellow desis (esp. if they ride RTS route 12) blend into this somewhat smell neutral country.

Finally Home!! December 24, 2009

I’m finally done with finals and classes and waking up in ungodly hours (okay ..okay…by ungodly…before 10).  Alright, at home I have to wake up before 10 a.m. too! I actually do more when I at home then when I’m at my apartment.   By do more,  I mean I have to be up and wake more than when I’m living on my own. Over the Christmas break, I do have a few goals that I want to accomplish. First of all..spend quality time with the family..because the next time I come home will probably be end of January or mid February for the weekend. My second goal is to read the first five chapters of the Organic Chemistry book …to give me a head start for the second semester. The third goal is to keep up with this blog that I have started. So far..I have spent time with the family…played endless hours on my brother’s nintendo dsi, kind of kept up with this blog, and read the first paragraph of my orgo book. Summery: I have not accomplished anything!

Tonight, I think I will try to get some reading done, even though it’s already 11:34 p.m. I still have about 11 days…it should be okay.

The Lost Symbol: My take on it! December 24, 2009

So before I came back home for Christmas break, I bought Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol.” (I bought it as Wal-Mart for only $15..with tax!) I love Brown’s books! I read all of them!! The first one that I read was Digital Fortress, I found it very interesting and it kept me on the edge of my seat…Then I read Angels and Demons, the prequel to Da Vinci Code…Hence, I am being a little smug..that I was a fan of Dan Brown’s work before everyone jumped on “Da Vinci Code” bandwagon. I am actually fine with everyone jumping on this bandwagon, at least it will open people’s eyes to some of the controversies of religion and politics. If you know me long enough, you’ll figure out very fast that I love talking about religion and politics. I think in today’s society (mostly because of the past historical events), politics and religion is hard to untangle. They are very intertwined and it is sad that people cannot distinguish what part is religion and what part is politics.

Now on to my take on “The Lost Symbol”…I have to admit I am a little biased when talking about this book because I love history, politics, and religion. I was excited to read more about Langdon and what new female character he would pair up with to “save the world.” This time it was Katherine Solomon, another scientist who was going to change how people view religion. Of course, Masons were present (: . Actually this book was about the history of the Masons and their rituals and their history in the United States. George Washington was a Mason! Anyways, I enjoyed reading this book..it only took me 2.5 days to read it, so it must have been suspenseful. However, I feel like I wasn’t as surprised at the end of the book as I was in other Dan Brown’s novels. I felt like the ending was predictable and a bit clichéd. I am pretty sure there were some product placements going on in the book for the iphone and volvo. I’m not sure about it, if there weren’t ..he should look into it because he referenced them enough.

Overall, I enjoyed reading it because it gave me something to do between Christmas shopping and spending time with the family…however, I am a bit disappointed with the content of the book. If you are a Dan Brown fan ..or a fan of Langdon…I suggest you get the book because something happens to Langdon in the book that made my heart stop…!

My favorite Dramas and why… February 25, 2007

As I’ve mentioned in my earlier (and first) post, I recently discovered about my wordpress account. This was one of my posts, and I decided to redo it. This is a list of all the japanese dramas (jdrama), korean dramas (kdrama), and taiwanese dramas (twdrama) that I have watched since my good friend siggy has introduced me to them. After that, I will be the first one to admit it, I am an asian drama addict. If you want to learn more about some of the dramas, or need a good recommendation, feel free to contact me!

One Liter of Tears (Best EVER!!)

This drama really made me think about life and the chance to live it. No matter how stupid, ugly, or lonely a person thinks he or she is… the chance to be alive is a miracle          and a chance that others wish that they could hang on to. There are a lot of people who do not even have a chance to enjoy life to the prime years (30 yrs), therefore no have no right to waste our life with stupid things such as drugs, alcohol, and negativity. (In this drama Aya, a very optimistic girl is diagnosed with an incurable disease at the age of 15… finds love, have a wonderful family, and a lot of good friends. but cannot not live. Even to the end she is optimistic and tries her hardest) *I have to admit that  I liked this drama        a lot because of the cast.. I love Ryo Nishikido … and I loved his acting in this drama … Erika was really good too… very pretty, I think this role suited them both very well (Even though Erika needs to stop dying in dramas.. lol)

Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake (best ever!)

I loved this drama because it also has an important lesson. It taught me first of all, that selling yourself for money, even if you do it once, may get you infected with HIV, so it is NOT a GOOD IDEA! Second of all it taught me that life is precious and that we are fortunate to be alive so we should live with no regrets. It also taught me that people who seem to act distant and strange are usually misunderstood; therefore we shouldn’t shy away from them. IF we get to know them better we might become very good friends. (This drama is a little controversial…not that much … about a girl who wants to attend this concert and loses her ticket to it. she sells her body for money to buy another ticket. gets infected with HIV)… the composer (the one who the concert was for) falls in love       with her but cannot love because his past…his finacee and child died…and she loves      him…so she helps him love again. She is infected therefore it’s predicted that she only            has 5 years to live…** okay, have to admit… i love kaneshiro Takeshi… and the OST was awesome “I For You” by Luna Sea and “In the sky” by Kudo Shizuka*

Yasha (Awesome~! ~)

I loved this drama because it kept me on the edge of my chair. Sometimes, I like to think and use my brain while watching a drama. This is a thriller and it’s full of suspense. It’s about these two twins who were created in a lab; therefore, they are perfect human beings…perfect eyesight, hearing, and intelligence. The twins were separated at birth and therefore are different because of the rearing. One of the twin is obsessed with gaining power and thus spreads an incurable airborne disease that only he has the antidote to. The other twin’s best friend (I love him!!) died because of the disease… and the evil twin’s   father (the one raising him) has the mother locked up in a room… its really twisted and       the plot is very intricate so I can’t really explain it well here. I LOVE THIS DRAMA        BECAUSE everyone is one step ahead of each other. I HIGHLY recommend this drama to anyone who likes action. The theme song is by Sting “Desert Rose”

Summer Snow

The theme of this jdrama is ..Wait for it….incurable disease! Well….more like a chronic condition mixed with a workaholic lifestyle trying to make ends meet. I thought that Jdramas used incurable diseases a little too much…was I wrong..because Kdramas use diseases more! Anyways…I was new to the whole Asian drama scene and was naïve. A girl with a heart condition that works at a bank falls in love with a guy (boy meets girl). The guy has to work like crazy to support his family consisting of his siblings. The guy loves scuba diving and wants to take the girl along; the girl is willing but is restricted by her chronic heart condition. Her condition also gets worse…dun dun duuuuuuun…..This is a very tender drama. First love that ends with a tragedy. A MUST WATCH!

Hana Yori Dango
Great Teacher Onizuka (So MUCH FUN)
GTO the Movie
Gachi Baka (similar to GTO..but I liked watching it (^_^)
Gokusen I (sequel not as good )
Mukodono (Mukodono 2003 not as good)
Kurosagi (waiting for the sequel!!)
Narae wo Ace Live Action!
Anego
Kimi wa petto
Lunch No Joou
Attention Please!
Dragon Zakura
Nobuta wo Produce (an all time classic! Tomohisa’s acting was AMAZING!)
Densha Otoko
Stand up!
Brother Beat (this was so cool)
Turn right, Turn left (ok..this is not a drama its a taiwanese movie, it had kaneshiro in it!)
Water Boys II
Kou Kou Kyoushi
My Little Chef
Touch
My Boss my Hero
Mukodono 2003
Marmalade Boy (Taiwanese drama)
Tokyo Wankei ( really liked it…Korean and Japanese together )
Millilonaire’s First Love (korean drama)
Super Rookie (korean drama)
Only You (korean drama) so touching! has jo hyun jae in it (hot!) but a good message too —>AWESOME
Love Letter (Jo Hyun Jae!!! kdrama)–> AWESOME
Beautiful Life
Fantasy Couple (kdrama)
Goong (kdrama) —> AWESOME!
Full House (kdrama)
Lovers in Paris (kdrama)
Hana Yori Dango
My Girl (Kdrama)
My girl (Jdrama)
Iljimae
Fated to Love you (Twdrama)
A Million Stars Falling from the Sky
At Home Dad
Attack No.  1
Bambino!
Change
Engine..Kimura is in this jdrama!
Gokusen II
Gokusen III
Good Luck!
Hana Kimi (jdrama) à not as good as the taiwanese version
Hana kimi (twdrama)
Itazura no Kiss (not as good as the twainese ISWK)
It Started With a Kiss
They Kiss again (sequel to ISWAK ..and not as good)
Kurosagi (The Movie)
A Millionaire’s First Love (kmovie)
Mr. Brain (I loved it! Its main focus was neuroscience…I loved learning more about the brain and Kimura was the perfect person for the lead character!)
Virgin Road ( I loved it! It’s not very original …but it is pretty old)\
Audition (Jmovie)
Shinobi (Jmovie….actually, the first Jmovie I have ever watched!)
Battle Royale (Jmovie)
Hana Yori Dango: The Final (Jmovie)..Didn’t do justice to the drama at all.
Taiyou no Uta (Jmovie)
A Love to Kill (kdrama)
Autumn’s Tale
Autumn’s Concerto (twdrama)
Coffee Prince
Delightful girl Choon-Hyang
Famous Princesses
Princess Lulu
She is Nineteen
Stairway to Heaven
Sweet 18
Take Care of the Young Lady
Tree of Heaven
We Got Married
100 Days With Mr. Arrogant (kdrama)
Wonderful Life (kdrama)
Wonderful Life (jdrama)..again Kimura’s acting skills are amazing!
Devil Beside You (twdrama)
Love Contract…I love this twdrama!
Love or Bread
Romantic Princess
Smiling Pasta
Tokyo Juliet
Iris

Pasta

Down With Love

Stars Falling From Sky

birth of the rich

mean girl ah chu

autumn’s concerto

Hello world! February 15, 2007

As I started to study for my final exams, I looked for new ways to distract myself from studying. After watching about two hours of random videos on youtube, I had enough of my procrastination! I removed myself from my apartment and took the bus to campus, so I can study at the library. Did I study when I got there? NO! LOL. I checked my facebook account, email, and my grades online. Then, I decided look my username on google. I came across this wordpress site! I forgot about it…it seems that I had created this account about two years ago (when i was in high school!) I think I want to start this up again..as a way to create a log of my life for myself..so I can look back on it and reflect what was important to me and how far I’ve come. Bear with me..this might be a mundane journey…nah! I have noticed that my life is full of odd characters and experiences…I hope that I can entertain a few of you!