Iwannatakeyouaway ; -
so I just briefly want to talk about something that happened yesterday evening! I was having dinner at this super cool taco-place, grill5taco, dunno if you've heard about it. it's in a cool area, I've met some cool people here before, but last night was just amazing. axel, lulu, and I were just minding our own business,
when SHIM JAEWON walks in.
since the beginning of last year I've been super fascinated by this guy. he's a performance director for SM entertainment, amazing dancer, and also a main part of the performance crew beatburger, as DJ. I've seen them perform at our favorite club maybe 4-5 times, and I've got at least 6 or 7 of his mixsets on my computer. this guy has so much passion for music and what he does, and that is inspiring in so many ways.
(from instagram when I first saw them at club vera 2013)
anyway, back to last night. I freaked out of course, cause I've wanted to meet him for I don't know how long, and there he was, to have amazing taco for dinner. I freaked out internally of course, spazzing over kakaotalk (chatprogram) to julyssa, and in the end, she encouraged me to walk up to him just to say hello, because he's apparently the nicest man alive.
short story even shorter, I walk up (and at the same time forget how to speak korean, good job), tell him I'm from sweden (because he's been there, and he l o v e s i t,) that I'm a fan of beatburger and that it's nice to meet him. it wasn't more than a handshake, thank you and nice to meet you too, but I gathered the courage to go up to him, so I'm patting my own shoulder for that. he's way taller than I thought to be honest, and his smile is amazing, I'm still dazzled.
best encounter of 2014 so far.
아프다아프다는말뿐야 ; -
any suggestions?
Iwillalwayswantyou ; -
I've never ever been a big fan of whiskey. I think I'm a little traumatized from that time I was a little kid and my sister made me drink it to kill whatever bacteria that was attacking my body. but, when my friend mike, who is in korea with the international mamma mia musical tour, asked if I wanted to join their cast&crew in a tasting of jamerson's whiskey, I couldn't say no!
never did I expect to find this sort of drink kind of fascinating in any way. lulu, who is the ambassador for jamerson in korea, told us the history of whiskey, and fun facts, as well as answering whatever questions that were thrown at her. the fun fact that really stayed in my head that for it to legally be called an irish whiskey, it has to be stored for exactly 3 year and ONE DAY. why the one friggin day. anyway, lulu did an amazing job, and I do not do this tasting stuff well, but the jamerson tasted better than the johnny walker and jack daniel's in my opinion.
I don't want you guys to leave seoul..
Iwokeuplikethis ; -
I spent all of yesterday basically eating and drinking wine when nighttime came, followed by a couple of hours of shaking the booty. it was a nice day, and a fun night. today is a normal sunday, or maybe not so. my current roommate is perfecting his skills in baking muffins, which means there are many lying around and I'm can eat as much as I want. angelina is coming by in a while, to practise for a song we're gonna sing at my friends' wedding in busan next month! and then I'm probably going to look at a new room in the area, that is rumored to have 3 cats. I miss having cats arond.. now baibai, have to get ready!
thankyouforthemusic ; -
I had an unforgettable evening watching the musical Mamma Mia yesterday! our friend michael conducted the show and it was great finally seeing him in action. it's always a good joke to say as a swede I'm supposed to know ALL of the ABBA-songs by heart, but, there's some truth to it. even though I've never listened to ABBA like it's something holy, there's a feeling of home when the tunes of super trouper starts to play. our friend yusif was a great guide as well, and it felt nice getting to greet some of the musical performers and praise their work.
according to the app on my phone I walked close to 19.000 steps yesterday, so I think the hamburger I had for late dinner wasn't such a big deal after all. fries with mayo is the best thing eveeeeer.
1, excited axel. 2-3, from the curtain call.
4, our dear conductor mike!
5. with "sophie"! 6. super cool right.
appetizingyoungloveforsale ; -
the passed month I've met some very very very inspiring people, and I feel like I can call myself lucky that we're friends as well. they're all about performing and expressing themselves in different kind of ways and it makes me wish I also could find the passion and drive to chase after my dreams. I wish I could say I was happy in general, but that would be a lie.
gotta find my destiny,
before it gets too late,
like ian curtis once sang.
andifyoucloseyoureyes ; -
in the middle of a weekend, nothing too special is going on really. yesterday, axel and I were planning on joining our friends mike and yusif on a trip to a casino in city hall, but we ended up checking out pubs in itaewon instead. I was dying to go to a new place called 'sherlock holmes' but every table was taken and we couln't be bothered waiting. (I WILL go there some other time though.) so, we went further down the street to place called 'the rose & crown alehouse' where we had beer and wine for an hour or so. I like those kind of places, with a cozy atmosphere and the music is not too loud. then we went on to 'berlin lounge & bar' for another drink before calling it a night around 2am.
it's awesome just sitting down and chatting with these guys over a drink!
so many things to laugh about!
today has been a normal saturday. after learning the hard way that the gym is closed because of it being korea's independence day, I just got ready and went to apgujong. I met my friend fiona and her parents, who are here visiting her, and chatted over some coffee. I also met a person I haven't seen in a while, but I swear her hugs can mend a broken heart, so I was happy.
now I'm back at home, contemplating if I should go out tonight or not. I probably will, given some of my friends are going somewhere nearby, and I don't really have a lot of other things to going on. we'll see, we'll see.
babyI'vebeenI'vebeenlosingsleep ; -
guess who was the best person in the world and got a gym membership, if only for a month, today. yup, that's right, me, because it was pretty cheap and I need something to motivate me and get my ass up in the morning. gogogo me.
gottacatch'emall ; -
I found it.
youdon'tknowme ; -
I wasn't sure if I would spend the last whole day in osaka with the girls or not. they were planning on going to universal studios, and that obviously would cost a lot. but, after asking around for opinions of what I should do, I decided that the experience would be worth it in the end. on monday morning, I made my way out to the universal city train station and waited for the others to join.
the weather was a bit chilly, but it was alright. we walked around and saw different characters, like shrek and the pink panther below, ate food, rode roller coasters, 3D-rides etc. despite it being monday, there were so many people. the longest queue we stood in took app. 2,5 hours, but the big roller coasters are always worth the wait. this particular roller coaster had you choose your own song at the beginning of the ride, and you would listen to it throughout. the spiderman 3D-ride was also SUPERCOOL, as well as the jurassic park water-ride.
the park closed early, at 5pm, so we went to a japanese restaurant nearby where they had okonomiyaki (I think I got it right), and man was that delicious! we ate for a long while, until we all were full. then, after some counting of remaining cash, I followed kiro and anna to umeda station, where the sky building is. we rushing around the station to find a department store where you could find a well known rollcake. after some walking around, we finally found the right building and went up to the top, where we had the rollcake. this was apparently some kind of tradition I've never heard of. sky building was basically like namsan tower, they even had the padlocks, but all in gold and red.
so that was my first trip to japan. I really enjoyed it, but maybe it's even more obvious to me now that I chose the right country in asia to live. somethig makes sense with korea, something I didn't feel anything of in japanese ground. I might go again, maybe with planned company then.
아무것도없구나 ; -
after going to nara, we met up with a friend of kahori, the japanese woman, who took us to arashiyama, which is not too far outside of kyoto, where it's said to be incredibly beautiful when the trees are blooming in spring. sadly, we were in osaka a little too early during the year, but it was still a pretty sight. we walked over togetsukyō, "moon crossing bridge" to have a late lunch next to the river. then we looked around in the souvernier shops and so on, before heading back to kyoto. we had nice desserts, and went by a temple, and stayed a while to look around, prayed etc.
한번만 ; -
I'm finally taking time to edit the small amount of photos I took in japan. it's amazing how little I do with the pictures in photoshop, how much I probably could do with them, but somehow I really just want to keep it to the original as much as possible.
so, the trip to osaka to a turn of events to say the least. I hadn't really planned on doing much to be honest. but the night I arrived to the city, my friend Kiro posted a picture from a very famous tourist spot in the heart of osaka. it turned out she had made friends with a korean woman at her hostel, who had a japanese friends who would show them around. I was welcome to join them last minute, so I ran out at 9.30 sunday morning, and somehow managed to transfer and get myself to another train station where I would meet them.
I said hi to my friend Kiro, my new friends from korea and japan, and we bought new train tickets, (believe me when I say train tickets in japan is sooooo confusing.) I didn't really catch where we were going, I was just happy going somwhere to be honest. I heard the word deer at least. we got to a place outside of osaka called nara. while walking up the road I suddenly saw...
... a deer.
again, I do not know much about japan and what you can experience in the country, and it did not click that I would get to feed an actual deer while we were talking on the train. but here were a big amount of bambi running around, bowing their heads to get snacks from pedestrians walking by. they were both cute and a little intimidating. the deers were roaming freely. it was quite amazing. it was a great star of the day.
more pictures and tales of the two days in osaka in the next blogpost~
howweusedtostayupallnight ; -
I am writing this in my notes as I'm taking the train into osaka. everything is so.. fascinating. the moment I stepped onto korean land the first time, everything just seemed to make sense, the train/subway system, how you pay etc, but now I'm just overwhelmed with everything new. and people did not exaggerate when they said commuting was way more expensive compared to korea.
I arrived from a land where I could communicate fairly well in their own language, and now I'm down to stuttering incoherent sentences, a mix between korean, english and the few japanese words I know, just cause I keep forgetting where I am. but that is an adventure in itself, innit?
it was fairly easy finding my way to the hostel. the ticket lady on the train was kind enought to tell me the number of the platform I had to go to to change to the correct line. I think I've discovered that osaka is a pretty small city, everything is pretty close together, so that's convenient.
I'm all checked in now, I have a nice, warm bed, a few roommates, and maps of the city that the staff lady gave me. I bought sushi at the supermarket, played uno with some australian guys and almost finished the last book in the millennium series! tomorrow I'm probably going to explore some, take my time, go long or far, not sure yet! but now I'm gonna get ready for an early night!
lettheskyfall ; -
är/am
jag/I
redo/ready?
a new adventure starts tomorrow at noon. I'm taking my hand carried luggage and going to japan for a few days. to be honest I've never imagined I would ever go there, but thanks to asia's answer to ryan air, a cheap roundtrip later and I'm on my way. I'm heading to osaka, speanding three nights at a hostel and hopefully I'll get my ass to kyoto one of these days. living at hostels has always been an obvious thing for me when it comes to traveling. if I stayed in a hotelroom by myself, I swear I'd never go out to see the city. when I share a room with others, I get the chance to meet new people, tag along on adventures, hear and share stories, make friends. I've had amazing experiences when it comes to hostel-life in the past, crossing my fingers this will be another. I'm bringing my camera too, so please anticipate my hot photographer comeback, ha ha ha.
talk to you in osaka I guess. bai.
loveisanopendoor ; -
axel (friend, not brother) and I wandered around basically all of itaewon/hangangjin yesterday. what could we do that would not cost us any money, we thought. check out all the antique stores that are hidden not far from itaewon station, of course. I had walked by with my dad last year, but we never checked it out thoroughly.
so in we went, into this house that seemed smaller than it actually was. it had that old and nostalgic feeling, and smell, the feeling you have when you search through your grandparents' attics or basements. it's a kind of magic. both axel and I were flailing and getting excited about all the vintage and classical stuff that told of so many stories. one room led to another room, and to another, and an even bigger room. this might've been how it was like for the pevensie kids when they were running around professor kirke's house.
allaroundmearefamiliarfaces ; -
angelina, nima and I appeared in a new commercial for Superstar K season 6~
there are two versions, just slightly different. the first one was meant to be a little bit misleading, and in the second one, the real purpose is obvious. it was supercool to film it, and as you can see in the picture, my location was super super super beautiful! I could spin in a field all day looooooong.
first version - second version
Icameinlikeawreckingball ; -
everything'snotlost ; -
wonder what my worries were back then, the final day of school, when everyone would either start university or go live new adventures in the big world after summer was over. I've had my fair share of worries over the passed few years. the biggest one, the one that will never really go away, must be the fear of not being someone. now, there are many way of interpreting that, I'm sure; just in a simple human way, or someone followed by people and looked up upon. I'm not sure with one I would aim at, maybe somewhere in the middle.
I've always loved standing on the stage, and with that I really mean l o v e d it. the feeling of being able to move someone's heart gave such an adrenaline rush, like nothing else. I was surrounded by people who had the same passion, who I could create magic with, who I could create some kind of melody with. it's all gone now.
for the past 4 years, I haven't felt the same once. it almost makes me cry when I think about it. in school, I felt like I w a s someone, I felt like we were capable of doing basically anything together. but you always part, the people you created a melody with has moved on to the next big step in life. I feel, and have felt lost for 4 years now. I have a hard time even humming if there is someone in the same room with me nowadays.
I miss it. I miss it so damn much. even though I know I've grown as a person in so many good ways, I feel like I've shrunk in many others. if I stood on a stage now, I would feel small, when I used to feel like I could take up space. I've met so many talented people along the way, that I feel like nothing in comparison. I've met people that has made me feel so good about myself, but also people has in some way managed to stomp on my confidence with all their unintentional might. it's been such a rollercoaster for the past year, emotions going up and down, up and down.
I need to try, I need to get back up on my feet. there are so many things I've felt like I've wanted to do recently; sing, take pictures, work out, do yoga, cook food, things that sorta requiers money in general. but then there's that ounce of motivation that I have to find somewhere as well.
everything get better in the end, and if it haven't gotten better, then it's not the end. someone said that, and I guess it's true.
anditlookslikeI'maqueen ; -
the road up to namsan tower from my house, takes maybe 30-40 minutes, depending if you stop to take pictures, like me, or not. don't have money for the gym? no worries, korean parks are filled with gym equipment, like in picture number 5, but you usually just see older ladies and men using them.
this happened faster than I expected. now, my photoshop-skills aren't on the highest level, but I can crop and change the contrast, stuff like that, and sometimes you don't need much more. ah, this was fun, I feel like I've made a lot happen today! more of this!
... likeamotorcycle ; -
went out walking today, wait for it, WITH my camera, which means I took pictures with something other than my iPhone for a change. I spent 1.20 hours walking up and down namsan, a mountain just by my house. I stopped here and there to take pictures, and I ended up walking 3.13 miles, which a converter told me is around 5 km, and I'm pretty content with that. now we'll see if I actually can get around to editing any of the photos I took in the forest. it's nice being able to walk in nature, even if it's still in the big city.
ps, grace said I should write in english so english it is.
