Is my blogging magic gone?

I’ve come to realize over the course of these past two months that blogging has become almost difficult for me now (which is so completely sad because I have so much to say!). And it shows in my blog stats too. (Or maybe it’s just my mother’s constant constructive criticism running in my head.) But I’ve also realized that writing about my not-so-exciting life is getting rather inexciting in itself.

So I’ve decided on a change of plans for this blog. I haven’t ever actually embraced the fact that living in Knoxville is a great thing or experience. Heck, I would move to NYC in a heartbeat if I could! But since I should think that I express myself as an optimist, I’m going to start blogging about Knoxville. (Really.) I am going to start blogging about the events and happens of Knoxville, and I might throw in some free bee events in the making.

Yes, you must be thinking I’ve lost my mind or gone on cocaine or something but now that I think about it, it sounds like a great idea! I got this idea from my sister’s friend who has a newsletter he releases every week in Manhattan. It’s actually quite interesting and full of fun filled events to go to in Manhattan. So I’m going to try and reproduce it in a bit different way but keeping the same concept.

I’m probably going to be on a remodeling spree in the next week as I transform this blog from a personal everyday blog to one where people actually want to read what I have to say! I hope I don’t drive away he readers (though the small percentage I actually have right now) that enjoying reading about my daily life happens by this news but I promise this blog will not be disappointing!

Oh New York City, my love!

Every time there’s a big holiday or school break, like July 4th or Thanksgiving, my family always tries to visit my sister in New York City where she she attends NYU (all in the effort to see her because sadly she never wants to come back and see us).  Last week was the 4th of July holiday so we decided to visit her. Somehow, this time when I went to NYC, I became attached more than ever! Like always, I would moved to NYC in less than a heartbeat, but this time it seemed more important than ever. Stop doing this to me NYC! Stop being so wonderful, so that maybe I won’t have to suffer so much in complete silence to the one thing I can’t possibly have until I graduate in four year!

The visit this year was a bit different than usual. The usual visit would have been to explore Manhattan with my parents for the few days we were there, visit as many museums and galleries as we could, eat delicious food to our heart’s content, and then visiting my sister for a day. However, this time, it was really was a family experience. We as a family not only spent the whole visit to NYC with my sister every single day of the holiday but we also got to spend it with my sister’s boyfriend too! Yeah, I said it. My sister official has a boyfriend, finally.

I’m so happy for her and I hope the two the best! To keep his privacy, I’m not going to give any names but just say that he’s really nice and a good influence on my sister, in a way that is, he is very knowledgeable, polite, and according to me, very capable of taking care of her. Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to find an asian boy who has a set of decent manners, I’m serious! Here in Knoxville, for instance, I’ll bet you none of the boys will even consider holding the door for a young lady like me.

Since I can’t stress enough why I love New York City with all my heart, I’ll show you proof why.

• They have the best food around. There’s so many options to choose from whether it’s Thai or Italian. Oh, and if you ever go to NYC, you must go to the restaurant, Ippudo. It has absolutely the best ramen you will ever eat. Where else would you find the logo of the restaurant stamped on a triangular shaped egg on your shoju ramen?

• Broadway. Broadway is probably one of the best things I like about New York City. You won’t see anything like this anywhere else in the world but in NYC. Last week I watched the Phantom of the Opera, and it was phenomenal. Now my favorite song is offical, “All I Ask of You” from the Phantom of the Opera. I pratically fell in love with this song while I was watching Ryan Silverman and Jennifer Hope Wills sing the spell-binding song together onstage.

• Everytime I visit Manhattan, I always stare in awe of the many skyscrapers that topple in front of me. I can never get enough of the beautiful sight that never escapes my eyes. Skyscapers are what makes Manhattan beautiful.

• Although visiting museum after museum can get a bit boring at times, I can still say that going to museums in NYC has taught me a lot and I enjoy going to see them nevertheless. I visited the Guggenheim Museum last week and stared in awe at Frank Lloyd Wright’s  creativity and his love for circles. I’d highly advise you to visit this museum-it’s a must see.

• And I guess the last reason why I love New York City so much is that I love being “part of the crowd”. I love how when I walk with everyone else I immediately feel at home with the crowd. It’s a sensation I can’t well describe, but I guess you’ll have to see it for yourself in New York.

Well now it’s back to my not-so-exciting life in Knoxville. But here’s a bit of good news: I’ve just started a new photography blog on WordPress.com called, “The Photo Piglet“. I guess I’m a really greedy little blogger who thinks she can handle more than she thinks she can but there’s no boundaries. I’m really enjoying doing this photography blog not only because it’s a lot easier than writing post after post but a new way of showing the life and things around me. So please check it out at http://glowingphotography.wordpress.com and let me know what you think!

All I ask of you

Raoul

No more talk of darkness,
forget these wide-eyed fears;
I’m here, nothing can harm you,
my words will warm and calm you.
Let me be your freedom,
let daylight dry your tears;
I’m here, with you, beside you,
to guard you and to guide you.

Christine
Say you’ll love me ev’ry waking moment;
turn my head with talk of summertime.
Say you need me with you now and always;
promise me that all you say is true,
that’s all I ask of you.

Raoul
Let me be your shelter,
let me be your light;
you’re safe, no one will find you,
your fears are far behind you.

Christine
All I want is freedom,
a world with no more night;
and you, always beside me,
to hold me and to hide me.

Raoul
Then say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime;
let me lead you from you solitude.
Say you need me with you, here beside you,
anywhere you go, let me go too,
that’s all I ask of you.

Christine
Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime.
Say the word and I will follow you.

Together
Share each day with me, each night, each morning.

Christine
Say you love me…

Raoul
You know I do.

Together
Love me, that’s all I ask of you.
Love me…
that’s all I ask of you.

 Anywhere you go let me go too

All I ask of you- Sarah Brightman & Steve Barton

Baseball Fever

My mother decided that my summer life needed to be spiced up a bit, so she decided to buy two tickets for a Braves vs. Redsoxes game in Atlanta. Luckily, the tickets were only 65 dollars each and located in the all you can eat section. (That’s probably the only reason why I persuaded myself to go to my first professional baseball. The idea of “all you can eat” flourished more in my mind, the more I thought about it.)

So yesterday my mother and I took a coach bus with the rest of the 100 people who bought tickets to the game. I was totally pumped to see my first professional baseball game. I was ready to watch every pitch made by the pitchers and watch every bat made by a professional batter. All in all, I was thoroughly ready to make myself pay attention to the game, countering the 4th grade experience of going to the Smokies game on a school field trip, where I dozed off and found myself wondering who even won (not that it captured much of my interest anyway). I was also completely equipped with everything I needed in case I got instantaneously bored (as I am no zealot to plaster my eyes on the field for 9 innings) which were my nifty Angels & Demons book, two Capri Sun packs, and my always surviving camera. However, was I in no way prepared for what was really coming up.

The temperature on game day was 95 degrees. 95 degrees.  NINETY FIVE INSANELY STEAMY DEGREES. I was totally not prepared for this. It was blazing hot. I soon found out, when the game started, that I was not likely to see the daylights of tomorrow. I ditched the idea of watching every bat or pitch because it was too hard for my eyes to even see what was going on in the mist of all the uncomfortable heat. So my set alternative was to simply watch the scoreboard and gleefully moon over the fact that the Redsoxes were winning. I also ditched the idea of  “all you can eat whenever you want” as I soon discovered that the huge crowd of neighbors next to me were not so acquiescently going to stand up whenever I wanted to go get some food. As I sat there, quickly melting to nothing, I found that I was sitting in own puddle of sweat.

Later the clouds came to protect me from the harsh heat of the sun. But I discovered the heat had two effects on me. First, when the heat was there during the first half of the game to hellishly annoy me out of my wits, it put me in this nauseous mind set that made me feel like seeing tomorrow was seriously going to be a figment of my imagination if I didn’t get out of there-quick. The second effect was when the clouds came and all was well again. This time it was no longer a nauseous feeling but an implanted migraine that made all things taste “not good”. Take for example, during the second half of the game, I was staring at the unusually slim hot dog being held by my hand at that moment, and I was all too ready to take a bight out of it only to find it tasted like bitter charcoal.

The baseball game itself was not that bad, however, it could have been even better and more enjoyable if the temperature had been at least 10 degrees cooler. The score was 1:0. Only one homerun was made. And that was by the Redsoxes. Surprisingly, against all the heat, I learned some baseball rules besides the general “three strikes”. I learned that pitchers had to aim at a specific angle at the batter or else it was a strike. If you got three bad throws then you’re out. There was also a rule I quicked realized was that if the outfielder caught the ball hit by the batter, the batter at the bases couldn’t run. He could only run unless the outfielder didn’t catch the ball (and there was hardly an incident of that). All these additional rules made me understand that homeruns were god-sent blessings and even getting one was impressive.

When the game finally ended, I was so glad, I practically pounced out of my seat and headed for the coach bus. Who could blame me for wanting some needed air conditioning when I’d been sitting in a 95 degree+ stadium with a couple thousand of people to add to the heat? As I headed back to the bus, I realized baseball wasn’t for me whether I was in 4th grade or now. Besides the fact of the blazing heat, baseball didn’t exactly interest me the way that ice skating intrigued me. I accepted this fact as I sat back down in my seat in the coach bus. I picked out my Angels & Demons book from my pouch and laid back for a good read.

Anyone want September tickets to the Braves vs. the Phillies? I’ve got them.

Two Great Legacies Die

Today two of America’s greatest legacies died, our dear Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Both celebrities are very thought after; Fawcett for her fashionable blonde hair and shining, bright teeth in the ’70’s; and Jackson for his formidable dancing skills. Fawcett the incredibly tenacious woman who America watched with pride fight cancer since 2006, and even received a documentary on her fight with cancer called “Farrah’s Story“. Jackson was the King of Dance, who introduced addictively slick moves like the moonwalk. Even if Jackson had made many bad decisions in his life that he probably wasn’t proud of, can we blame him? Aren’t some of America’s greatest legacies people who didn’t make the best decisions in life? For instance, Elvis Presley and Anna Nicole Smith. Isn’t it sad how we don’t realize how important someone is until they are gone?

The whole time I’ve been writing this post, Claire de Lune has been running through my mind. So I would like to commemorate the death of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson with this heart-wrenching melody. May they rest in peace.

Finally an update on my life

This blog has become almost non-existent since the two weeks I haven’t written in it. But let me tell you, this was ,again, never an intentional hiatus but a big one of blogger’s block-again! So today, I’ve finally decided to break my blogger’s block hiatus and just write. (And to think I would get better at fending off blogger’s block after all these months)

Yesterday night, I not so acquiescently gave into watching the Twilight movie for the first time ever (I guess I couldn’t avoid this movie forever). This was the Twilight movie that made a ridiculous $60 million on its first opening weekend box office; the Twilight movie that made Robert Pattinson some hot commodity among die-hard Twilight fans;  and the Twilight movie that drove me home annoyed after arriving at the movies on the opening night only to be disappointly shown that all movie showing for that night were all sold out by infatuated die-hard Twilight fanatics (but now that I think of it: I definitely saved myself the disappointment).

 So here is a little review of the film and the things I had problems with.

Kristen Stewart’s narrative in the beginning of the movie. This was probably the worst narrative I have ever heard. It sounded dead, lifeless, and was a lack of talent from Kristen Stewart. I understand that Bella was suppose to be not at her brightest then, but that narrative was unacceptable. Couldn’t they have gotten an Anthony Hopkins narrative or something?

The Actors.

Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan. This is the case when bad directing meets bad and stiff acting. In my opinion, I think they seriously miscasted Bella. Stewart was too rough and made Bella come off as more of a tomboy-which is exactly what Bella Swan is not. Bella is suppose to be fragile and uninterested in many things (including cars!). However, Stewart did do a decent job of making Bella a magnet for trouble and a total klutz.

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. Pattinson’s acting was actually not as gruesome to watch as Stewart’s, surprisingly. All I have to say is that Pattinson really lacked the sexiness of Edward Cullen. He was too reticent, which is OK in the beginning of the film, but as he gets to know Bella more, Pattinson should have gotten out of his shell and showed his potentially sexy voice and personality.

Billy Burke as Charlie Swan. I really had a problem with this guy’s acting. But I know it’s mostly the horrible script that was given to him. The director (*cough* Catherine Hardwicke*cough*) yet again misinterpreted the character. To put it plain and simple: Burke was too quiet, reticent, and looked irratitated about every second of the film he was in. In the book, Charlie Swan was an upbeat, and very earnestly talkative person. He was the one that kept Bella’s spirit up and made her smile. Bella is suppose to be the reticent and uninteresting person in this story, NOT HIM. Burke just simply looked dull, uninteresting, and above all uninvolved-which is going to be a problem in the later sequels when he does play a very crucial part in the story.

The Friends. I have to say, the supporting characters (i.e. Mike, Eric, Jessica, and Angela) made me turn my head when they started speaking. They were actually interesting to listen to! Honestly, I think they were given better scripts then the whole lot of lead actors put together even though they play a little role in the story.

Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black. It’s so sad that Lautner didn’t get a bigger part as Jacob in the first film, but he will definitely be talking a lot more in the New Moon! I didn’t extremely like or extremely dislike Lautner’s acting. I think he did a decent job acting Jacob, as he did catch your attention but didn’t make you fall asleep. In the aspect of the hair, I think Lautner did exception with making his acting interesting and yet pulling off the hideous wig he had to wear, which made me want to turn my head to the side and just imagine that it’s short and nice cropped hair that I’m seeing.

The Other Cullens. Ehh, I didn’t really pay much attention to them. Somehow I didn’t exactly pay attention to them in the book either so I don’t see how I could relate to them in the movie. So I’ll pass on this one.

The Script. This movie was completely deprived of a good script. The movie altogether just ended up feeling awkward after someone finished their line, as if the receptor wasn’t sure to start his line now or wait till later. Another fault of the director Catherine Hardwicke.

The Directing. Catherine Hardwicke, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???? Her interpretation was completely off (not just my opinion but obviously of many views who thought her directing sucked too). All I’m going to say is I hope they get a better director for New Moon and Eclipse.

The movie overall was a disappointment, and a I can’t believe Stephanie Meyer let this represent what her book is! How could she let this quality of film to get by her?! Anyhow, the film was completely devoided of a love story, and even though we saw *kissy kissy*, there was just nothing to build up on so there ended up being no intensity and intimacy. Stewart and Pattinson chemistry in the movie was awkward; which made it painstaking to watch them even make a decent conversation with all the awkwardness. (Again, the fault of bad directing from Catherine Hardwicke!!!!!)

So I think I covered all my points. Although I’m not exactly a Twilight fan, I still feel like if your going to make a book adaption-make it good! This film obviously lacked many aspects of a good, entertaining film…which is why I’m not looking forward to watching it again. EVER. NADA. ZIP. ZILCH.

For those of you (die-hard Twilight fans) who enjoyed this film, I really am not trying to offend you in any way. This review of the Twilight movie is completely my opinion and will stay that way. In any case, this is my big writing to compensate for the two weeks of unintentional hiatus brought by blogger’s block-yet again! Please be looking forward to more posts in the days coming

TV binging, isn’t it great?

Ever since school got out, I’ve had excess amount of time to vegetate next to the TV. However, the best shows come on during the evens so that’s the best TV binging I’ll ever be doing.

Last night was the priemere of the new spinoff series, Top Chef Masters. This Top Chef’s series was a lot different than the regular Top Chef format. Of course, in this series it’s all masters, no amateur chef wannabes. Which, I like. The episodes were first of all, done in a whole different format. For the first six episodes, Masters will showcase only four contestants out of twenty-four on each episode. From each episode there will be a “preliminary winner” that will be competting against the rest of the other “preliminary winners” from the other episodes in the last four episodes to be crowned “Top Chef Master of the Masters”. Wow, how confusing was that? Nevertheless, Masters still had Quickfire Challenges and Elimination Challenges. The only significant difference is that Mastersis based on “stars”. In each of the first six episodes, the chef with the most “stars” out of twenty will be the “preliminary winner” of that episode; while the rest of the chefs in that episode are eliminated. However, since this spinoff is all about giving to charity, each of the contestants will still have money donated to their charity of choice.

 Not only does it not have the regular amateur chefs, but it has different judges, a different format, and above all a different feel. Somehow this spinoff doesn’t seem so serious. What I found very appealing in this spinoff is that, in the first episode, the four chefs came into the competition being humbled even though they’ve already established themselves as masters. None of them came into the first Qucickfire Challenge giving glares, smirks, arrogant attitudes, or the intention to crush their enemy. Another good point to this series is that it’s all about charity. When the first four chefs coalesced in the Top Chef kitchen the first day, they greeted each other like old friends. They had respect for each other and it almost seemed like they were working together as a team, instead of facing off against each other to see would be the “preliminary winner” at the end of the episode.

In the Quckfire Challenge, their first challenge was to make desert for four very picky, spoiled girl scouts. The four chefs had 60 minutes, and guess what, they spent they time chatting to each other while multi-taskingly making dessert. I cannot get over this new-found friendliness. I LOVE IT.  BRAVO, I WANT MORE TOP CHEF MASTERS. ME LIKE IT. The friendliness got even better though. In this challenge, the four chefs were able to watch the four very picky, spoiled girl scouts eat their desserts and hear their comments. And I have to say, they were picky. All of them has something to pick at about each dessert, except Hubert’s. They thought his was fabulously creative because it had a mouse on it. Hubert, way to win over those picky eaters. Besides that, the four girls complained unclearly that one dessert would look a bit burnt, and another would be too soft. How can something be too soft? You tell me what you’re talking about here? Anyhow, at this time, the chefs were watching this whole scene, and they’re so amused at the girls because they are actually being critics. I think the four chefs had a great time laughing over what the kids were saying about their desserts.

The next challenge was the Elimination Challenge. Their task was to cook a three-course meal for college students in a college dorm, using only a microwave. Wow, that’s pretty harsh. All the chefs admitted that they don’t even own a microwave and wouldn’t in their wildest dreams even dream of using one. When it was time to present to the judges, all the judges seemly liked their dishes, and then made a 180 flip over and criticized about the littlest things. But it was so different. Of course, they’re masters so you expect nothing less from them but to bring the best. And they did. Each one of the judges, during the dinner, exclaimed that the dishes were all very delicious. That was one down-point to the show. There was really no harsh scrutiny. However, there was some, but it was at a minimal. I think that’s one thing viewers like to see, harsh scrutiny on the contestants; that’s what keeps the views,  I think.

Overall, I love this series. Even as the three contestants, who got eliminated, returned to the kitchen pack their knives, they all congratulated each other. Like old friends. There was no harsh cursing or anything. Somehow they all went home happy, knowing they lost nothing and yet helped so much. How refreshing. Honestly, in my opinion, I have never seen a reality show, to this day, that had that type of respect and friendliness.

I will be looking forward to the next nine episodes and I hope you’ll join me in my Top Chef Masters binging too!

Jon + Asian= not very asian

There’s been a lot of controversy circulating around about Jon and Kate, because one of the couple has been having an affair. Hmm…sounds interesting.

Last night, I tried my hand at watching the show once in my life as I was randomly thumbling through channels and came upon the Jon and Kate Plus 8 show.  I had my doubts, but surprisingly the charm of the adorable kids came through and I ended up watch two  episodes.  I also thought Kate was very entertaining so there was some adrenaline there too.

So the second episode of Jone and Kate Plus 8, that I curiously decided to watch, was about Jon’s  attempt to cook Asian food. Like Jon in that particular episode, I emphactically mocked the way Jon said Asian in the previous sentence. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but it was upsetting when I watching the episode yesterday, when everytime the word asian came out of Jon’s mouth, it was like the word was alien to him, or a better comparison, like he was a white man talking about Asian stuff.  For instance, Jon would say phrases like this, “We had to go to the “Asian” (oh, and he actually did air quotes here) market to find foods you can’t find in regular grocery stores”. OK, buddy, let’s get something straight here. You are  Korean right (although you are a mix of half-Korean, one-fourth French, and one-fourth Welsh)? So let’s act the part! Or at least say Korean market instead of Asian. Please!  I was on the verge of switching the channel the more Jon seemingly mocked Asians. But, my curosity held, and I wanted to know how Jon was going to cook anything Asian looking. Of course, that was very amusing.

It saddens me. Jon was not making Asians look very good in that episode. Plus, he wasn’t setting up a very good example for his eight children and Kate. It’s OK for Kate to not know anything about Asian food because ,of course, she isn’t asian. But it’s unacceptable for Jon to act so oblivous about Asian things when he is is half asian, right?

The last words Jon spoke before the credits rolled were, “I’m glad I got the opportunity to share my heritage with my family.”

Tweetness!

Welcome to my new but yet same blog, “Glowing”. Yes, another name out of the sky, but I promise, no more name changes. And if I do decide to change the name, again, that means the layout has to go too (and I know you love it)!

The idea of transferring my blog from Blogger to WordPress has been on my mind for a while, and this morning I finally decided to make the move since I was hit by another advantage of awesomeness that WordPress had and Blogger didn’t. I know I should have let my computer recuperate after being hit by a less than human attack yesterday, but I couldn’t resist the ever-growing charm of WordPress. To say the least, I am not disappointed.

For now I am going to let you wonder around the website and get  a glimpse at the few additions I made to the blog. Hopefully, I will have the website settled in a few weeks, so don’t be surprised to see if this blog your looking at now doesn’t look the same the next time you come in. If any of you are interested in moving your blog from Blogger to WordPress, here is a very concise, step-by-step instruction that even I, the incompetent computer wiz who had to run to her parents to fix the corrupting computer, can understand.

Viruses

This afternoon my dumb and mega slow computer encountered its first virus attack in a very long time.

Let’s go back in time, just minutes before my computer was infected and injected with BS that some idiot who probably didn’t have anything else to do that day, made up just to annoy people out of their skulls. Yesterday I had just found out about this fairy fantasy land school called, Hirokoshi High School (also known as Hirokoshi Gakuen) located in Japan. This particular high school is like one of those schools pulled out of a manga; it’s the school where idols go to. Now if your not a star-struck teenage girl, who is not easily wooed by Japanese teen-popstars, then this is no concern of yours. BUT, for the helpless girls like us, knowing there is a school out there where regular, average people get to go to school with pop stars your age is mind-blowing! Truly, it is! Anyhow, as I was going ballistic over the fact that there was a school like this in the world, I immediately started researching it, trying to find out everything I knew about it.

So, knowing that Google is easily named as one of those search engine sights where you should proceed cautiously, I used my usual search antics. Don’t go past the first page (however, if you were as ballistic as me at that moment, you would darling go over the first page). When my results came up for the first page, it was all the results that I had already clicked on, so on to page 2 (already disregarding my own rules XP). But, by golly, I should have listened to myself cause the first link on the second page had a virus!

My eyes were practically popping out of their own eye sockets when I opened the page and lo and behold, the instantaneous pop-up window informed me that my computer was infected with a virus. Some Trojan 61 thing. So naturally, I ran for mommy and daddy for help, but was only welcomed with a laugh at my incompetents with dealing with computer viruses. (No, no, no, it was nothing like that. However, it was somewhat similar to that. But, come on, cut me some slack here; I haven’t been hit with a virus in like 2,000,000,000 centuries! You think I would know how to stop an infiltrating virus?!) Could you believe the only thing my dad had to do was close all the existing windows and shut down my computer before the damn thing downloaded itself and infected all our files? My parents then proceeded in a not-so-concerned-tone to lecture me about the fact that I can’t be clicking every link, that pops up on Google, to my heart’s content. (Psshh…I knew that. I just never told them I was going ballistic that moment over a school in Japan. Yeah, they would never understand that.)

You will be gleefully happy to know I ended up washing dishes for an hour.