no.60 130629 Thank you for the long weekend

Capturing the blue sky while walking around the neighbourhood.

When you have a nine to five job, one of the things you look forward to the most is weekend. Weekends are great, but what's more exciting is a long weekend. I remember checking the calendar to see when the next long weekend was. Because I'm not working at the moment, a long weekend doesn't feel that special to me. This long weekend is Canada day weekend. July 1st marks Canada day. It's when Canada became an independent country with its own government apart from the Great Britain.

I'm thankful for the long weekend. I'm going on a short trip with my church friends tomorrow, after the service. I hope that the weather will be nice while we're on the trip. I'm ready to have fun! I wish the sky will be clear so that I can see the milky way. It will really suck to miss it after driving for about 2-3 hours away from home. Also... I'm thankful for the 60th post!

I want to share one verse today. I got it from the daily Bible application on my phone. It was interesting to read this verse this morning because of what I prayed about last night, before going to bed. I received this message in the midst of asking God what I should do.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" - Psalm 27:14

It's really cool to know that your prayers are answered. Sometimes the answer can be yes, or it could be no, or sometimes you need to wait, just like how God answered my prayer today. I want to keep praying about what I've been praying for and wait for the Lord's time.

no.59 130628 Thank you for a safe drive to and from my sister's place

My sister got me this 'boong-uh-bbang'. Thanks Sunny!

My dad and I drove my sister back to her school, which is located 2 hours away from Toronto. I'm actually writing this post from my sister's place, just in case I don't make it on time.

Weather wise, it's been a gloomy day. The rain was on and off all day. From time to time it was pouring so hard that we couldn't see where we were going. The cars were slowing down, and at one point, we were moving slow as a snail. And then I fell asleep as usual... until we got here. I felt bad for my dad because both my sister and I fell asleep in the car. He's probably used to it. I could fall asleep almost anywhere in a moving transportation. In the car, on the bus, on the subway... except on the airplane. There was this one time when I fell asleep on the bus to work and I missed my bus stop. Where I worked was in a country side, so the bus stops are really far apart, and in between each stop is just farmland after farmland. Also, I never went further than where I usually got off. Luckily, I found a way to walk to where I should've gotten off (I was only five minutes away from the school where I worked), and I wasn't late. I think that was the only one time. That's not that bad, right?

I'm thankful that we safely arrived at my sister's place. I also hope for God's guidance on the way home! I hope that the espresso drink I had will keep me up while driving back home, so that my dad won't be so bored.

On a side note, tomorrow will be my 60th post already! I'm so thankful and happy that I made it this far. I'm also thankful for the 60 things to be thankful about! I can't wait until I reach my 100th post!

no.58 130627 Thank you for letting me be able to share with others

Gather the ingredients!

It's a kimbob (it's called 'kimbap' but I like to call it 'kimbob') day at home. I'm not a big fan of kimbob at all, but I don't mind eating it once in a while. Plus, I had all the ingredients needed to make this dish. You can put pretty much anything you like, but a typical kimbob normally has danmooji (pickled radish - the yellow stuff), eggs (the other yellow stuff), spinach or cucumber (I chose the first), carrots, fish cake and woo ung (burdock root, the brown stuff). You can also put imitation crab meat, kimchi or Korean style ground beef. The main difference is in the rice. The rice in kimbob uses sesame oil, salt and sesame seed, whereas the key ingredient for maki/sushi rice is vinegar. Other than the difference in rice seasoning, the appearance and the stuffing ingredients are relatively the same for kimbap and maki.

 

Kimbob - the Korean maki

I think I made about 10 rolls. My dad ate three on the spot, my sister had one, and I had one. The rest went to the team meeting. I made some extra (way too much!) and I wanted to share it with the group because the meeting is during dinner time. I hope everyone enjoyed it!

 

Well, I'm thankful that I got a chance to share with others. As I've mentioned before, I love making food and sharing with friends and family. I'm thankful that I got to do that with my team today. Whether it's food, time, or evening sharing your testimony about how you became a Christian, I think it's a blessing to be able to share something with others. You can only share what you have, right? I'm blessed with food that I am able to share it with my team, I'm blessed with time to spend with my sister to watch a concert last night, and I'm blessed to have received a great, great love by God that I hope to share with the people in Mexico.

no.57 130626 Thank you for the lovely date

Pink Martini with the TSO!

A date? With who?

Before I begin my story about my date, I need to tell you about my kimchi experiment. My yeolmu kimchi is done, and it is sitting on my kitchen floor. I'm not sure if it tastes good yet, because it needs to be fermented first. I feel like I've made mistakes here and there. It is my first time making it after all. But I certainly hope it tastes good! We'll see how it turns out. It took me about an hour and a half to complete the kimchi making.

I have an amazing with my beautiful date. I had two tickets for Pink Martini at the Roy Thomson Hall tonight. After considering everyone on my contact list (not really), I decided to bring the honour to my sister to be my date for the evening. She gladly accepted my offer, and we made plans before the show. She's never been to the Roy Thomson Hall, so I wanted to treat her for dinner and take her to the concert. I'm not sure if she will enjoy the music, but it will definitely be a nice experience for her.

My sister and I are picky when it comes to food. I think I've gotten better over the past couple of years though. For dinner, we picked an Italian restaurant and we also decided on where to go for dessert. I think it's a well planned date! I don't like it when the guy doesn't really plan anything when on a date. It just feels like that person didn't really put any thought to it, shall I say? It doesn't have to be perfect, and it may not go as planned. If I can see that he's really trying and he's put an effort to it, then that's what matters, right?

I'm looking forward to tonight's concert! It's going to be amazing, just like two years ago, when I went to see Pink Martini perform live for the first time. After my first experience with Pink Martini, I said to myself, if they ever come back to Toronto, I will go see them again. I didn't think it would happen this fast. I'm thankful for this time spent with my sister. I hope she will have as much fun as I will at the concert. Well, I gotta go get ready soon!

no.56 130625 Thank you for the 24 hour supermarket

'World cone' ice cream from Korean supermarket.

Originally, my plan was to write about 6.25 Korean War. But last minute changes had to be made because I needed to step out for about an hour. I just came back home, and now I am sitting down in front of my computer and typing today's post as I am eating a Korean sweet bun that I just bought from a Korean supermarket.

Yes, I was just had a quick visit to Korean supermarket at 10PM. Did I plan this? No, because I had gone there earlier today to get my groceries done. When I went earlier today, I didn't get to buy something I was looking for. I went to get 'yeol-mu' or young radish to make some kimchi at home. I'm pretty sure when I say 'kimchi' most people will automatically think of the spicy red cabbage dish. Did you know that there are different types of kimchi? Each type also varies depending on which region they are from. Check out some of the types of kimchi organized by the Korean tourism website.

The type of kimchi I want to try making is called 'yeolmu-mul-kimchi' using 'yeol-mu'. It's not spicy, and it has a lot of soup, which makes it a perfect kimchi to eat in the summer. I've seen and helped my mom and my grandma make kimchi before. The tradition process of making kimchi is called 'gim-jang'. I never thought I would make kimchi until I get married, but I guess it doesn't hurt to start a little bit early. Who knows, maybe by then, I could be a kimchi expert!

So why did I go back to the store when I'm supposed to be working on my blog? It's because I got a call from my dad saying that there is fresh yeol-mu that just arrived at the supermarket. First of all, I didn't know he was going to the supermarket because he said he was going out to exercise. Then I was impressed at the fact that my dad might have walked there, since it's pretty far from where we live. Thinking that he walked there, and that it will be too heavy to carry the kimchi ingredients home, I suggested I pick him up at the store. My dad told me he didn't know how to pick the right yeol-mu and he also told me that he took the car with him... He came to get me, and together we went back to the store to get the yeol-mu and some midnight's snacks (a very bad idea, but I was kinda hungry). It took us an hour to get to the store, pick out yeol-mu, get in the line to pay and drive home... longer than I expected, because of a super long line up at the cash register as only two were open.

It was a fun adventure, actually. I got what I needed and I also got a snack (on sale too!) that I was craving for a while. I'm thankful for the 24 hour supermarket. It's easily accessible and conveniently located in my neighbourhood. I'll be doing some gim-jang tomorrow... I hope it goes well!

no.55 130624 Thank you for the old songs from my childhood

The 'top ten' CDs in my room.

I was in the mood for some 'old' songs. I'm referring to the songs in the 90s. The songs that I listened to when I was growing up in Korea. In the 90s, there were two popular boy bands, just like in America. One group was called 'H.O.T.' (similar to the Backstreet Boys),  and the other was called 'SechsKies', somewhat similar to 'N Sync in America. They competed against eachother all the time, and the fans were crazy. If you were a fan of H.O.T., you were not allowed to like SechsKies, and vice versa. Anyways, the song that was on repeat on my boom box is called 'Ye-gam' (meaning hunch or intuition) by SechsKies. It's a love song of a couple, and the guy is hoping and imagining for a future with his girlfriend as a married couple. It's a really cute -one of my favourite Korean songs.

Unless I listen to the radio, I usually listen to music on my ipod or my computer. I do have an old boom box that my parents bought me more than 10 years ago. I used to listen to my favourite CDs on the nights I couldn't fall asleep. That was back when I was in high school, when there was no such thing as youtube. I purchased CDs of the bands and singers that I really liked. Although I only listen to them once in a while, I do keep some of my favourite CDs in my room (there are about 10). The rest that I rarely listen to, or the ones my parents bought are somewhere in the living room... SechsKies was one of them. Because I only like a few song in the album I bought, it didn't meet my expectation and therefore it wasn't lucky enough to be selected as my top ten. Last night, I had a sudden urge to look through my old CDs. After a long search (maybe 5-10 minutes), I brought SechsKies and five more CDs to my room. I got a chance to listen to all of them today.

I realized that I have forgotten some songs I used to like back in the days. On the other hand, some songs I enjoy listening like 'Ye-gam' are on my ipod and on my phone. I'm just curious on why I kept some songs whereas  I forgot about the other ones. I wonder if there's anything to do with the memory embedded in the song? What memory though?

I'm thankful for the old songs which sometimes remind me of childhood, or a specific event. I like these 'oldies' better than the latest songs that are repeatedly played on the radio. I know a lot of musicians are trying to make their song 'catchy'. Yeah, I admit that they are catchy, but that's not what music is about. Most of the time the lyrics don't make any sense, and the repeated beat brainwashes me to think I like the song when I actually hate it. Well, that's my opinion.

Let me share 'Ye-gam' with you. It's in Korean but I hope you like it!

no.54 130623 Thank you for the clean water

I took this via my telescope using my digital camera.
I literally put my camera on the lens, but it came out pretty nice. I was really happy with the result.

Yes, there is supermoon today but I can't see it from my window. I went out for a walk to see if I can see it but I am surrounded by forest of high rise buildings so there is no chance. My cousin from Korea texted me this morning saying that she is outside watching the supermoon with her mom. The time difference between here and Korea is 13 hours, so it was night time there when she texted me. She said she saw some people out with their telescopes and told me that she misses looking at the night sky with me. She used to live in Toronto with my family back when I was in university. Both my cousin and I love looking at the stars. When the sky was clear, I would use my telescope to look at the stars and the planets, and I would often show it to my sister and my cousin. The quality of my telescope wasn't that great, but still, it was definitely fun to share a hobby together. Those were good times.

Back to today's main story. I joined my church's softball league for the summer, which started at the beginning of this month. We play every Sunday in the afternoon, and today by far was the hottest and the most humid day. I remember the very first Sunday we played, the weather was still a little cool and I had to put on my hoodie while I played. But today it was hot and humid all at once. Although I was constantly drinking water, I don't think it helped that much... because I have a small headache now. As soon as I got home, I drank lots of cold water, took a shower and did a cucumber massage (thanks to my sister!). I was able to really think about the importance of clean water in our lives and we use this resource for granted. Do you ever give thanks for the water we have? I do, but rarely.. probably once or twice a year. Water is plentiful where we live and we have an easy access to it, so forgetting to be thankful for something as simple as clean water may be obvious, but it shouldn't be. Today, I'm gonna praise God and be thankful for the clean water that I have!

no.53 130622 Thank you for my perfect pitch

My piano was a gift from my grandpa when I was in kindergarten

I have this thing called 'perfect pitch' where I recognize a musical note when I hear it. For instance, when I hear a classical music, I can tell the notes. When I discovered that I had this ability, I didn't think it was special because I thought everyone had it. I think I first found this out when I was listening to George Winston's 'Variations on Canon' in his album called 'December'. I was in grade one or two, and I remember this album repeatedly playing in my dad's car (probably at my request). I liked most of the songs in the album, but I particularly enjoyed listening to Canon. I still have the cassette tape with me.

Perhaps from listening to this song over and over, I memorized the tune and I would sing the notes along with the music. My parents were amazed by it and they asked me where I learn the notes from. I remember telling them I can hear the notes. That's when I learned that not everyone had this talent. From that point on, I felt kind of special... until later when I met some people who also have the same 'power'. I'm not sure if this is something that I was born with or something I picked up because I was exposed to music at a young age. I started learning piano when I was in kindergarten (I think), and I wanted to learn violin when I was in grade one.

I'm not sure if this can be a valid reason, but this is why I can't listen to music while studying. Even listening to a calm classical piece, it just sounds like someone singing notes 'sol-la-si' to me. So I get easily distracted.

I'm thankful for my perfect pitch. I haven't had the chance to use this ability yet. Well, it was helpful during my high school years when I took music classes. I guess I'm seeking for an opportunity to use my 'power'. Hopefully someday it will be useful somehow!

no.52 130621 Thank you for the first day of summer

A fun summer day with my cousin

Summer officially begins today with summer solstice marking the longest day of the year. I've also read from National Geographic that the supermoon of the year will be visible this coming Sunday. It refers to the moon at its closest to earth (called perigee), and apparently it happens when there is a full moon this year. According to NASA supermoon appears up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than when the moon is at its furthest point (called apogee).

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but I have a stargazing app on my phone which I use from time to time. The last time I was outside actually observing the night sky was probably sometime last month, or it could be the month before. My excuse for not going out at night to look at the stars is that the days have gotten much longer.

I suggest that you download the app and look at the night sky! With the app, it's not so difficult to locate the stars, I guarantee! If this is too hard, then at least go watch the supermoon as you only get one opportunity a year! I also want to recommend a song today, it goes really well with star gazing. I'm actually listening to it right now, as I am writing this post. It's my one of my favourite jazz musicians - Eddie Higgins Trio, and the piece is called 'Moonlight Serenade.' It's a sweet, sweet song by my favourite kind of trio, comprised of piano, double bass and drums.

It's kind of ironic that I'm encouraging you to go stargazing on the longest day of the year. Anyways, I'm thankful for this beautiful day of the first day of summer. I've been complaining that it didn't feel like summer since we had many spring-like days. I'm probably going to complain that it's too hot from now on, because we're back to normal summer weather. Ah, but summer should feel like summer, not spring!

Happy summer!

no.51 130620 Thank you for the first team meeting

Team Mexico 2013!

I'm thankful for gathering the seven of us, calling one by one individually to create our short term mission team to Mexico. For some of us, it's their sixth time going there, and for some of us like myself, it's their first time in the foreign country. It doesn't matter how many times you've been to Mexico, because God has planned this year different from last year. I trust that God has planned something great in Mexico. What's more exciting is that He specifically chose the seven of us and He is sending us to fulfill His works which was part of His plan from the beginning.

I'm thankful for our first meeting last night. There is about 6 weeks left until our departure, which isn't that much time. I heard from other people that the teams normally start meeting and preparing about 2 months in advance. Although there was a small delay to finally gather everyone to form a team, I pray that we will be all equipped when the time arrives. Above all, I pray that our main focus is God above everything else. I'm so excited to see what God has prepared for us in Mexico!

no.50 130619 Thank you for the reminder

Pink flowers in the garden

I have a heart for North Koreans. Probably because my grandpa is from the northern part of Korea. In his twenties, my grandpa left home to study in the region that's now part of South Korea. Soon after, the war broke out and he wasn't able to return home, ever again.

I came across a video on TED today by a North Korean refugee named Joseph Kim, who at the age of 16 escaped from North Korea to find hope in China. He saw his father die in front of him from starvation, and his mom disappeared while she went out to look for something to eat. His older sister left him, promising that she'd be back with some money and food from China. That was the last time he saw his sister. Joseph was 13 and he became an orphan. He had to survive on his own by begging and scavenging for food, as well as working in the coal mines for 16 hours per day without any protection. He said the hope to see his sister waking him up with food is what kept him alive, whenever he couldn't fall asleep from the hunger. Realizing that he can no longer live this way, he risked his life to cross the border to China. If he gets caught by the North Korean border control, he would be shot to death, and if seen by the Chinese authorities, he would be sent back to North Korea where severe punishment awaited him. He made a choice to risk his life for a hope rather than starving to death. Joseph successfully escaped from North Korea and found help from an underground shelter in China, where he was able to fly to the States as a refugee.

Living such a comfortable life, it's so easy to forget what I have. I didn't wake up this morning, worried that if I don't find anything to eat, I might not see tomorrow. I didn't have to dig through a garbage can after garbage can to find a piece of bread, if I'm lucky. As I was watching this video, I not only sympathized with Joseph but I was more angry at myself. I was mad at the fact that I have so much and I'm not doing anything. I know what it's like in North Korea, yet here I am 'enjoying life.' Those people are my family. But do I really think that? When I heard Joseph say that he "felt suffocated that he had so much food in America" I really felt disgusted with myself and all the people living so comfortably. What I mean by 'comfortable living' is having clothes to wear, food to eat and place to sleep. I felt so ashamed at the fact that I have so much to eat and have such a variety of options to choose from, yet I am complaining that it's not good enough. I was always asking for more and something better.

I'm thankful for not just what I have, but for this opportunity to watch this video. It definitely was a good reminder to not take what I have (especially food) for granted. It also gave me a conviction to pray for North Koreans and take an action to help them, more than ever. I've wanted to help the North Koreans but I wasn't sure what I could do. I feel I'm just saying this to make myself feel better. If I have the heart for North Koreans and I'm not doing anything, how can I say I want to help them? I feel like I'm such a liar today. But to be honest, how can I help the people in that country? We all know where the money goes to when we send money or gifts to North Korea. When I went to hear Sean Ro from JinuSean speak earlier this month, I found out that he was supporting 500 orphans in North Korea. I'm not sure how he is doing that, but maybe it's something for me to find out.

It was really hard to watch the end of the video, when he was giving a short message to his sister and mother. I pray that Joseph's sister is still alive, and that they may be able to reunite sooner than later.

no.49 130618 Thank you that my finger is okay

The lights are on... which means there's a game tonight!

I burnt my finger while cooking bacon for breakfast. I was a little bit mad because I wasn't even cooking them for myself. I've already had something to eat as soon as I got up, because I was super hungry in the morning (actually, I was already hungry when I was in my bed last night). I know it's a bad idea to sleep with a hungry stomach, but it's worse to eat and feel bloated. I can sleep hungry but not when I'm bloated. So I chose not to eat last night. Anyways, I thought I was doing something nice for my dad and this happened. While cleaning up the pan with some bounty, I accidentally dipped my finger in the hot oil. I could've waited until the pan cooled down, but then it's hard to get the oil off from its surface.

I put my finger in the cold running water for a few minutes and quickly applied some cream. I should've been more careful because it wasn't my first time burning myself. Well, I guess it's not a rare thing to do for people to burn themselves once in a while when working in the kitchen. I have a big scar on my wrist. That too, I got it while cooking bacon for breakfast. That was actually worse than today because it was my inner wrist where I got the scar, which is more sensitive skin than my finger. My inner wrist had touched the rim of the pan. Sadly, the scar is still visible, although it faded a little. Thankfully, my finger is okay. It still hurts when it touches warm water but it will heal soon.

It's totally irrelevant to the post but I feel like sharing a song today. I keep singing this song for no reason as I'm writing my blog. It's called 'Wildflower' by Color Me Badd. I got to know this song through my favourite Korean singer back when I was in high school. My high school friends will know who I'm talking about. I hope you enjoy it!

no.48 130617 Thank you for giving me confidence

Beautiful blue blue sky, non filtered.

What would be the word your friends or family use to describe you? I've shared this before in my life group, then I chose 'considerate.' After, I thought about it for a while and I felt like I lied to them because I thought about all those times when I was inconsiderate. I need to think harder about it or ask people around me and see what I get as an answer.

I don't think this will be 'THE word' that people will choose to describe me, but I have heard this word from a lot of people who know me well and are close to me. When I heard it for the very first time from a friend of mine, I questioned her with my eyes wide open. The reason I was shocked was because I thought that was an area that I could use a little improvement on. I was surprised to hear her use that word to describe me. It was hard to match to who I am.

The word is 'confident'. If I only heard it from one person, I probably would've thought that my friend is just saying it to encourage me. Well, I've actually heard from several people. The first person who told me that I was confident is the kind of a friend who was always honest and always deep in thought, so I know she won't say something shallow or something she didn't mean. Also, we've been friends since we were in high school, so we've known each other for a pretty long time. Anyways, I asked her what triggered her to think that I was confident. She told me it was a long time ago back when we were in high school, however, she couldn't recall the specific event. We had this talk about three years ago. I think that was the first time anyone ever told me that I was confident. I was confused, but it also made me feel good and it definitely was a word of encouragement to what I was going through that time.

I am thankful for the confidence that God gave me. I wanted to write about this topic because it popped up in my head when I was praying about a few things in my near future. I really need confidence not just in myself but mostly in God in order to carry out a couple of things in my life. Well, not just a couple of things, but everything in my life to be more precise. I want to share one of my favourite verses in the Bible. It comes from the book of Philippians, which is my most read book of the Bible. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

no.47 130616 Thank you for my dad

With my dad, when he was still young and handsome.

Happy Father's day to all the dads out there! I want to dedicate today especially to my one and only wonderful dad.

As I have mentioned in my previous post, my dad used to love taking photos. I was too little to remember anything, but based on all the photos I have in numerous albums, I can tell that he took his camera everywhere we went. I have pictures from home, church, restaurants, zoo, mountains, beaches, park and department store and so on.

Another thing my dad loves is the mountains. He loves hiking whether it's with the family, or his friends, or even by himself. That's also probably one of the most things he misses the most about Korea. Yes we do have the Rockies in Canada, but it's just way too far for a weekly, or even monthly hiking trip. My dad doesn't like the hiking trails in Ontario because 'they're no fun because they're not a real mountain.' Whether he liked it or not, my dad and I would go hiking almost every Saturday a couple of years ago. I kind of had to force him to go because I was concerned about his health, since he did absolutely no exercise.

My mom did a good job taking a photo. She's usually terrible at it.

 

The features that my dad possess that I want my future husband, and the father of my children to have are his deep, deep love for my mom and for his daughters (me and Sunny), his protection of his family, his kindness, gentleness and patience, his playfulness with his children (especially when my sister and I were young, but also when we're old), sometimes his humour, and of course, doing the dishes!!! YEAH!

I'm thankful for my dad, and I'm happy to celebrate a special day with him. We have pushed our family dinner to sometime this week, as I will be preparing a special meal just for him! He loves fried food, but I'm gonna stay away from it because it's unhealthy, especially for someone who doesn't like working out (aka. my dad). I'm featuring one song for my dad. It's not his favourite, but this is what he calls me and my sister. The song is called 'Be Bop A Lula' by Gene Vincent. Well, he calls us 'lee-bop-a' instead of 'be-bop-a' because apparently that's the Korean translation (?). I'm not sure why he calls us by this nickname. Actually it is a pretty recent thing. I should ask him why...

As my pastor mentioned in the sermon today, I pray for my dad to be a godly father. I pray for his leadership in the family and ask God to continue to bless him with the wisdom as that He gave to Solomon. I also pray for his health. Thanks dad for everything you've done for our family and for me! I love you!

no.46 130615 Thank you for a good night's sleep

Yesterday's sunset

I got up in the middle of the night because I heard a noise. I listened more carefully and figured that it was a familiar sound. It was my dad and my sister talking. I had my door closed so I couldn't really hear what they were talking about. But I heard a third voice, it was my mom. For a second I was wondering what was going on, then I realized that my mom wanted to skype with us at night. Since my sister came home last month, we've been skyping every Friday evening with my mom. Before I went to sleep last night, she messaged me that there is a problem with her internet and the technician was on his way to fix it. It was around 10PM when I got her message. I figured we will have to rain check our skype date.

Although something interrupted my sleep last night , I woke up on time and felt great this morning. I'm thankful for a good night's sleep!

 

no.45 130614 Thank you for my dad, the family photographer

 With a big band-aid covering my (almost) entire forehead!

My dad likes taking photos. I can recall many memories of my childhood because of all the photos my dad took. According to my mom, when I was little I didn't like the fact that my dad always took photos of me. What's funny is yet I still posed for him. I asked my mom about an old photo of myself (from post no.40) if I'm the one who posed for the picture, or if it was at my dad's request. She told me it was my idea. I guess I secretly liked being a model.

Whether I didn't like being photographed or not, I'm happy and thankful that my dad took all those photos. I know it will be totally different if my dad disliked photography. For instance, I wouldn't be able to recollect my childhood memories. Well, in some pictures, I was too young to remember what I did or where I was. But I like to look at the photos with my parents and ask them where we went, and what we did in the pictures. Yes, I can listen to the stories my parents tell me and visualize. However, it is definitely different if I have a picture in my hand as I listen to my parents.

I'm not sure since when, but my dad stopped carrying his camera around when we go out. I assume it was since the day I got my first digital camera. Because of this reason, I became the family photographer. Just like my dad, I enjoy taking photos, and I ask my family to pose in certain way too. I guess what's different about me and my dad is what we do with our photos. He used analog cameras with film so his pictures must be printed. Otherwise, there's no point in taking the photos. On the other hand, I use a digital camera and it is not necessary to print the photos. I can easily check the folders on my computer. On a special occasion, I do print out the pictures, but nine out of ten times I would view them on my computer. It's definitely a different feeling when you're holding a nostalgic photo in front of you versus looking at a photo on your computer.

I have my own camera. Actually, there is dust piling up on my camera inside my closet because I haven't taken it out since last year... I'm sorry camera! Especially since I got a smart phone, I don't bother taking out my camera because it's really big and heavy, it doesn't fit in my purse, so I have to bring a large purse, and it makes my bag heavy, etc, etc. Anyways, my point is that sometimes I miss seeing my dad with his camera!

no.44 130613 Thank you for my happy stomach

LA galbi, my mom's style = my style.

I'm sitting in my room, staring out the window, and listening to the raindrops (it's almost 6PM). It reminds me of the monsoon season, known as 'jang-ma' in Korean. The rain today was unexpected. The weather lately has been really weird. It's almost mid June, and there hasn't been a hot summer day yet.

It seemed like there was a rainbow today because the Sun came out right after the rain. I tried to look for it but I couldn't see anything from my room. Usually, I like to go outside and see if there is a rainbow in the sky, but I was feeling a little bit lazy since I was so full from dinner. While my sister and I were having 'naeng-myeon' (Korean cold noodle dish) for lunch the other day, we were both thinking that something was missing. Although naeng-myeon did fill us up, we were thinking our meal was 2% incomplete. We always crave meat after having naeng-myeon. It's because a lot of Korean 'gogi-jib’ which are restaurants that specialize in Korean barbeque, serve naeng-myeon after having the meat dishes.

I've made some Korean meat dishes before, but I've never tried Korean barbeque known as 'LA galbi' which is marinated beef short ribs. I don't know why it's called 'LA' though. I'm a meat lover, and so are my dad and my sister (although my sister calls herself a vegetarian whenever she comes home). We would usually go out to a park a few times during summer just to have these yummy short ribs. My dad wanted to go out to cook the galbi today, but it was raining. Plus, we didn't bother looking for the grill. We decided to eat in the comfort of our home.

 

Delicious!

Et voilà! Here is the final result. I bought about a kilo of the short ribs, which I then marinated for 2 hours in the fridge, and I cooked them for dinner. It is recommended that you marinate the galbi overnight, but I couldn't wait until tomorrow. It was still very good, and it just tasted like the one my mom makes. Only if my mom was here to taste it! I will cook it for her when she comes back home! Oh, we didn't eat naeng-myeon after the galbi. There was no room in my stomach. I only had room for dessert. I’m thankful for the food God has provided me. I am stuffed! I’m also thankful for the outcome of the galbi!

 



no.43 130612 Thank you for letting me hear my grandpa's voice

A building attached to Con hall at U of T, from yesterday

I just got off the phone with my grandparents in Korea. It's pretty unusual for my grandpa to call me since my grandma is the one who calls me. As soon as I recognized my grandpa's voice, I felt bad because it was only last week that I wrote a post about my grandparents, and how I should spend more time with them while I have them with me. Since then, I didn't call them once. Even if I had a good talk with my grandparents, I feel terrible for being an ignorant granddaughter.

My grandpa is a big fan of baseball. Whether it's MLB, minor league, Korean major or minor league, Japanese league, he can watch it all day. To be honest, he likes to watch any kind of sports on TV, but his all time favourite is definitely baseball. As a kid, I remember watching a baseball game with him whenever I went over to my grandparents' house. The last time I was in Korea, I sometimes sat next to him, spending a quality time with him while watching a baseball game. I don't know if my grandpa thought that was a quality time or not, but it was my way of expressing love for him - to share what he enjoys. My grandpa is especially a fan of Koreans players in the MLB. Lately, Ryu Hyun-jin, who is a starting pitcher for LA Dodgers has captured my grandpa's attention. My grandpa was watching the LA Dodgers game when he called me.

He told me there was no specific reason why he called. He said the baseball game reminded him of me. Hmm, maybe he misses watching a game with me on TV? Or just because Ryu plays in North America? I'm not sure what triggered him to call me but I'm so happy to have heard his voice. He sounded good and healthy. He sounded happy too, probably because he was watching his favourite sport. Oh, by the way, the grandpa who called today is my mom's dad. Afterwards, I spoke to my grandma for a little too. Ahh, I have a story from a few years ago, when I was in Korea. One night, I had plans with my friends in Gangnam. I was ready to leave home, but my grandpa told me to wait a moment. He said he would walk me to the subway station because it's dark outside. I told him not to worry because I'm meeting a friend at the subway station and we will be going together. He ended up walking me to the station, which was only five minutes away from my grandparents' place. Only when he saw my friend, he was able to return home.

My grandparents are in their eighties. They are at the age where they need to be looked after. They are getting physically weak day by day. When they get sick, it takes longer to heal. Their hair gets whiter every time I see them. They are much shorter than I am (I am not a tall person). I am thankful, yet sad because my grandparents are always thinking of me and my sister. It's not that I don't think about them at all, because I do. I'm just saying that I should think about them more. My grandparents always hang up the phone by saying "take care, and be healthy. Health is the most important thing." No matter how old I am, my grandparents will worry about me and think about me, because they love me so much. Although I love both my parents and my grandparents, I know that my love can never be greater and richer than their love for me. It's similar to God's love for us. Although I love God, I can't love Him more than He loves me. In fact, my love and His love are not comparable. "We love because He [God] first loved us" (1 John 4:19), it's not the other way around.

I am thankful that my grandpa called me today. I'm thankful that I was able to talk to him and listen to his voice. I hope the Dodgers win so my grandpa can be extra happy today!

 

no.42 130611 Thank you for guarding my heart and my mind

Congratulations to everyone who graduated today!

After volunteering, I had dinner plans with a couple of friends. I had an hour gap until dinner, so I thought I could dedicate that hour to studying Spanish. My friends and I were planning to check out Kensington Market so I decided to stay around U of T area. While walking on campus, I noticed people in black robes and realized that June was graduation time. It took me back to two years ago, when I had my convocation. It was early June, and it was definitely hotter than today because I remember constantly sweating. I sat on a bench near Con hall, watching parents taking photos of their proud sons and daughters. I remember wearing the same robe and taking a picture after picture.

I looked at the faces of the graduates. They appeared to be excited for what's ahead of them. I thought about my graduation day. I too happily smiled in my graduation photos. Was I really happy? Yes, I was thrilled to graduate after four and a half years of hard core university. But deep down, I also had worries and fears about tomorrow. I didn't have anything planned out after graduation. I didn't get accepted to any job or internship I applied. Other than the fact that I was done school, everything else looked quite depressing to me. My trip to New York City which happened a month before my graduation ended up in a failure. I went for a job interview, but there was a miscommunication, so I ended up not getting the interview opportunity.

Thankfully, my story wasn't a sad ending. Although it took me a few months to find something, I did find something by September. I started as an intern, which turned in to a full time job. It was a private gallery in Yorkville, where I worked until last February. It was a valuable experience for me because I got to learn every part of a gallery work.

I find it hard to trust God during the hard times, for instance, when you don't have a job. I am in that place again. I do my best to use all my resources to find my next job, but I'm learning that it's not something that I could do. Paul writes to the Philippians, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). I want these verses to be my prayer today. I will not be worried about the unknown future, but will keep praying in thanksgiving. I am thankful that He is guarding my heart and my mind through the peace only He can provide.

I am certain that I will land on that job that God has planned for me in His time! 

no.41 130610 Thank you for this opportunity to learn Spanish

Learning Spanish!

In preparation for my mission trip, I am studying Spanish on my own. I didn't think it would be hard to learn a new language without taking a course, but it is quite the challenge. I am following a book that my sister bought a couple of years ago, when she wanted to study the language.

Last year, I attempted to study Japanese on my own, but I wasn't too successful. I always liked Japanese cuisine, dessert, tea, candy and other cute knick knacks, so that was my primary motivation. Meeting non-Japanese people who speak Japanese fluently challenged me to learn this language. My dad always told me how easy for Koreans to learn Japanese because of the grammatical similarity in the two languages. Anyways, I kinda stopped studying because you need to know 'kanji' - a Japanese term for Chinese characters. I have a very little knowledge of 'hanja' - a Korean term for Chinese characters, uses Korean pronunciation. I learned 'hanja' when I was in elementary school in Korea. I'm not sure about now, but when I was in elementary school, it was mandatory to learn 'hanja' up to a certain age.

Back to Spanish. It's been only a few days since I started studying this new language. I'm hoping to reach to a level where I can do a super basic communication with the locals in Mexico. I'm also going to master certain expressions and words that I think are important while I stay there. For instance, 'no quiero cilantro' which translates to 'I don't want cilantro'. I need to remember this if I want to eat in Mexico since I can't eat coriander. Anyways, I am thankful for this opportunity to learn basic Spanish.

Lastly, I want to share a beautiful song that I like, which is in Spanish. It's by one of my favourite groups. The song is called 'La Soledad' by Pink Martini, in their first album. I didn't even bother looking up what the title meant until today - it means 'the loneliness.' The song starts very subtle with Chopin's Andante Spianato, and then it changes to Latin style in a minor key. I was hesitating between this song and 'Donde Estas Yolanda' to share on my blog since these two are my favourite Spanish songs by Pink Martini. I guess I can share them both. Oh, I'll be going to their concert by the end of the month and I'm counting down the days! It'll be my second time seeing the group perform in Toronto!

¡Hasta mañana!

no.40 130609 Thank you for letting me serve at the preschool ministry

Me with my two front teeth missing, in front of my church in Korea.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control"

- Galatians 5:22

It's been more than a month since I started serving at the preschool ministry at my church. I still haven't met all the children in the ministry, but I am meeting them one by one slowly. I think I remember all the names of the kids in my class. They're all super cute, and they remind me of the kids in Korea. I taught at an elementary school a few years ago. Although I was there only for a half year I really enjoyed my time. I was debating if I wanted to extend my stay there and continue teaching, but I wanted to come back and finish my studies first.

I've always wanted to be a Sunday school teacher because I have a lot of good childhood memories from my church in Korea. I also remember looking up to my teachers, thinking one day I want to be a teacher just like them. My first option was the primary department and work with elementary school kids because I have experience teaching and working with them. During the time I was considering serving at Sunday school, I saw an advertisement on the bulletin that preschool department was in need of female teachers. Although my first choice was elementary school, I thought why not at least try and see what preschool is like. That evening, I emailed the pastor of the department and we met the following week for a brief meeting. She told me about the ministry and went over what a typical Sunday was like. Then she invited me to come and observe the worship and the classes.

Ever since the first Sunday I went to observe the ministry, I've been going to help out the department every Sunday. According to my calendar, today was the eighth Sunday serving at the ministry. I think I would've enjoyed serving at primary department too, but I'm thankful that God has placed me in the department where I was needed. I am thankful for my co-teachers at preschool department. I am very encouraged by them as I see these young teachers (I'm the oldest, and I'm so not used to this because I'm usually the youngest in most of groups of friends I hang out with), loving the children and guiding them to God.

At the end of today's meeting, we took some time to pray for our children in the ministry. I realized we never got a chance to pray for each other. I want to take some time to pray for the teachers in the ministry by relating to the fruit of the Spirit that we learned today. By the way, did you know that the 'fruit of Spirit' is singular and not plural? I just found it out today when my pastor mentioned it in the sermon. Until today, I thought the nine characters in Galatians referred to one fruit. I was totally mistaken! Anyways, I pray that we will bear the fruit of the Spirit. I pray that we will have love for God, joy in Him and peace with Him, so that we may share this love with our preschool children. I pray for our forbearance, kindness and goodness, as it can sometimes be a challenge when working with such a young age group. I pray for faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, so that we may be a godly example to the children.

no.39 130608 Thank you for the music and the way it made me feel today

Cute table setting at the Bay. I can't wait to have my own place and host dinner parties!

I'm not the best driver, but I enjoy driving from time to time (usually when I'm in the mood for it). And today, I was definitely in the mood for it. I didn't have a good morning when I woke up. I opened up my eyes before the alarm went off (which rarely happens), my legs were feeling funny. I was tired, I was in a bad mood, and the weather didn't help either. The blue sky was nowhere to be found - it was dark and dreary. I just felt out of place for some reason.

I had a wedding to attend, so I forced myself to get up to get ready. Although I got up pretty early, I was running behind since I was moving at a turtle's pace. I left my house later than I intended which made me more grumpy. I got into the car and put the volume on just right, and went through the songs I had on my phone. I found a song that can put me in a happy mood.

The song that put me in a happy mood today is called 'Beacuse of You' by Marques Houston. I don't know anything about him other than his name. Also, this is the only song I know. I found out about this song when I was in first year of university I think. Back then, I was really into music - mostly different genres of jazz, indie pop (Acid House Kings, Yo La Tengo, etc) and R&B. Once again, I don't have in depth knowledge about the types of music, so please correct me if I'm wrong. I found about a musician named Musiq Soulchild, and a few of his songs caught my attention. I guess I wanted to find other songs in the similar style and did my research. That's how I got to 'Because of You.' Ever since I first heard this song, I've been playing from time to time.

Do you ever wonder how music can make you feel certain way? If you click on the link above, I bet you'll understand what I mean. Go ahead, and try it! Today, the music helped me feel much better. I am thankful for the music and the way it made me feel today. It's nice to have a playlist of your favourite songs that can help you boost your endorphins when you're feeling low. By the way, there hasn't been that big of a change to my music list ever since my first/second years of university. This means that I haven't really looked up that many musicians lately. I am always open for discovering new musicians, so if you have any suggestions, do share with me!

no.38 130607 Thank you for prayer night at my church

Too busy not to pray by Bill Hybels.

In my life group, we are starting a book called 'Too busy not to pray' by Bill Hybels. I read this book more than five years ago, so I can't really recall much. Plus, my prayer life recently hasn't been that great, so I'd say the time is right to read this book again.

I have life group this evening and afterwards, all of us are heading to the church for prayer night. This is something new to our church which started in April for the first time. It happens once every two months, so tonight's event is the second time. When I went a couple of months ago, I remember feeling guilty at the end of the night. I think it's important for every Christian to think about this. Why do you go to prayer meetings? Who do you pray for and what do you pray about?

The reason I went to an event as such was because I wanted to pray for myself. I like to pray for my life, my family, my career, my future husband, and everything else about me. Praying for myself is definitely important too, but I never considered praying for something that's outside my boundaries. For instance, I hardly ever pray for my church leaders, or the missionaries that my church sends, or even the new Christians at my church. I only prayed for my own goods when I pray at home, and I was seeking for more opportunities to pray for myself. During the event, there was no time to pray for myself. That's why I felt guilty and selfish after the event.

But I'm thankful that I attended the prayer night. God taught me that I was being selfish, and helped me learn that I should be praying for others. I'm thankful to attend tonight's prayer night, where I will be praying for the short term mission teams. Yes, I'm in it too, but I pray that God will open my heart to pray for other teams and not just mine!

Oh, and one more thing! Congrats Sunny for getting the internship! I'm thankful for the internship offer she got for the summer. Yay!!!