littlewonderlog

When everything just clicks unintentionally, it feels so great. On a sunny day, on the way to the East Sea, when the Jeongseon traditional 5-day market opens, it feels so great. Oh, what is all this? Everything makes my eyes pop. There are cross-shaped long streets filled with stalls. You can see so much corn, wild greens (such as Gondre), mushrooms, and Korean rice snacks (Hangwa). I almost bought all that stuff. Phew. I pulled myself together. Nicely done.

In every market, there are distinctive characteristics of the region.

I enjoyed the full Jeongseon vibe. When the market opens on your journey, it feels so great.

“Do you think we can see the sunrise tomorrow if we sleep now?”

“Who knows? Let’s wake up at 5 am first and then see.”

We woke up at 5 am, splashed some water on our faces, and strolled down to Sokcho Beach.

“Do you think the sun will come out?”

“We’ll see.”

Walking through the ocean pine forest, we waited for the sun we might not see, while wondering whether or not to get a decaf coffee afterward.

It was 5:45. It was supposed to be sunrise, but we couldn’t see it.

“Today might not be the day.”

“Well, let’s just walk for a bit and then head back.”

But then, a small, blood-red circle began to come up through the clouds near the horizon, painting the whole sky with warm colors.

“Nice.”

“I like that the ocean breeze isn’t so cold.”

We took some photos, staring blankly at the sun for a moment, then grabbed a hot decaf coffee from the café that already opened at 6 am, and went back to the hotel.

It wasn’t New Year’s day, yet the sunrise was beautiful enough and the start of our day was perfect enough.

My friend whom I’ve known for about 20 years said that she is a fan of a boy idol. She wanted to join his fan club, but she couldn’t do it since it might upset her husband. I never imagined her falling for a boy idol. For a minute, she just felt like a different person.

An old friend often feels like someone completely new.

The new side of someone I thought I knew very well can be a source of pleasure.

Today, I start again with a new mindset.

Whatever I did wrong yesterday, whatever I lacked yesterday, I shrug off the past and move forward with a new mindset. Yesterday’s failure becomes a trial and error, and yesterday’s trial and error becomes an asset today. Today, as I have learned more than yesterday and am wiser than yesterday, I move forward again. No reluctance, no regret. I am starting anew today. Every day, today, I start again like this.

Today, I start again with a new mind.

And I will do the same tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and always.

My husband suddenly said while reading a book and writing something in a notebook. “I can’t really read what I have written at the top of the page.” What? You can’t read what you’ve written? Seriously? He has always had bad eyesight and has worn glasses, but now he can’t even read his own writing right in front of him. Oh, well. Here he is. The infamous guest showing up around one’s 40s, the “aging eyes”.

My husband was told that he didn’t really need to get Lasik surgery because the results wouldn’t last more than a couple of years due to the oncoming eye aging. Is it really happening?

Since the version of ourselves we remember still a bit younger and more immature, this shade of ageing feels a bit unfamiliar.

Aging eyes, I mean, it’s even a bit funny.

 

These days, I am writing every day.

I have always liked to scribble floating thoughts and shove them away into some dark corners, yet these days, it’s a more conscious and intentional activity. And today, I have decided to write down why I write.

1. It clears my head. It helps clear up floating thoughts.

2. It’s fun, especially when things just write themselves and when I find it funny to re-read what I had just written.

3. The record becomes memory. I can’t really rely on my damn brain that forgets everything in a second, yet writing creates a record and it boosts memory. Even if I forget things, I can just read what I wrote.

4. It might help somebody. The lessons I learned from my experience can be of help to somebody or my writing itself can give pleasure (hopefully).

5. Consistent writing should improve my writing skill. I prefer writing well to just writing. It would be great if my writing gets better the more I write.

6. Writing helps organize thoughts. It’s a bit different from the first one – clearing my head. As I am writing something, I often realize that there’s an error or flaw in my thinking. Writing also clarifies thoughts by structuring them.

Just as I will keep reading and learning languages for the rest of my life, writing will be part of my life as well, while I enjoy it fully and also make it useful for me and hopefully for somebody else.

The squat is a pretty familiar term for Koreans. You see it everywhere, and everybody does it everywhere, but the correct Korean term isn’t that familiar (at least to me). “스쿼트(S-quo-t)” has been used for a long time, but it turns out that “스쾃(S-quat)” is the correct spelling in Korean. It looks simple in English, but then not so much in Korean.

“스쾃(S-quat)” just seems strange. Maybe it’s because my eyes have been so used to the “스쿼트(S-quo-t)”. I don’t know why I am spending my precious time thinking about this (and even writing about it).

Something needs to be done. Yes.

Starting today, I’m going to use “스쾃(S-quat)”. It’s strange, but I will get used to it, eventually, as always.

Please don’t.

We don’t really need to learn when each fruit is in season (I always forget anyway). When I just go to the supermarket or traditional market, they just scream. You can’t miss it, right there. Oh, those must be in season now.

Now, it seems like it’s the orange season. They are big, in good condition, cheap, juicy and incredibly sweet. Since they are all imported, maybe talking about their ‘season’ is somewhat odd. Still, as a consumer, feeling the change in supply, it’s the season (If you disagree, go away.)

Well, so, anyway, go get some oranges.
They are delicious. Holy moly.

From writings, photos, to videos, now is the era of content theft. People post others’ creative works pretending they’re their own.

Still, people who create keep creating, for the act of creation isn’t something people can take away.

 

 

After watching the Japanese-dubbed Culinary Class Wars to the end of season 2, I have started another show to watch: “Moco’s Travel Kitchen.” A Japanese actor, Mocomichi Hayami, travels around Japanese cities in a truck full of kitchen utensils looking for special local ingredients and introduces special recipes using them. With this show, traveling around Japanese cities, finding out about extraordinary local food ingredients, watching the cooking process, and learning Japanese are all possible. Quite a package. In terms of Japanese listening, it’s a bit more difficult than the Culinary Class Wars since the audio less clear. The overall energy of the show is rather serene for my taste; hence, the fun factor is a bit weaker, yet the sense of the ‘real Japan’ factor is great.

While learning Japanese, I can also travel through Japan.
Still, in my house, washing the dishes.