Die, bitch.

A Year in Quotations: 44/365

The Biggest Bang

BigBang has been Korea's most famous K-pop group for years now, and their music appeals to millions across the world. They have been continuously releasing chart-toppers and breaking records since their debut in 2006. The leader, G-Dragon, is the highest earning male pop idol in Korean history, and a huge fashion icon across Asia. He has contributed enormously to the group as a singer, rapper, and songwriter. His influence extends beyond the music industry and he is the only person selected as "50 Reasons Why Seoul Is The Best City" by CNN. BigBang is one of, if not the most hard-working group in the K-pop music industry today.
Of all the things they could do with their power, why they chose to do this, I do not know.


G-Dragon and Taeyang, February 2013 Vogue photoshoot

Better Days Ahead!

February hasn't been too kind to me.. This illustrates perfectly how I feel nowadays.

New Obsession: Anime

More appropriately, renewed obsession. After nearly 2 years of having an on-and-off relationship, Japanese cartoons have pulled me back into their murky depths with characteristic drawings and ridiculous overreactions. Currently, I am more than halfway through Soul Eater, a pretty decent anime, but not nearly as good as Code Geass or Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.
The series revolves around 3 teams, each consisting of a weapon meister and a human weapon: Maka and Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki, Death the Kid with Patty and Liz. Together with other meisters and weapons, they attend a technical school run by the Shinigami (Death God) and try to turn their weapon into a "Death Scythe", which is the highest attainable title. To reach this goal, they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and 1 witch. In addition to gathering souls, the students protect Death City from powerful villains while becoming stronger as individuals.
The soundtrack is meh, the artwork is average. It has fillers now and then, but they're really funny, not like some that make doing chores look like fun.

What am I listening to: Black Paper Moon (Tommy Heavenly 6)

What am I thinking of: what anime should I watch next? SAO looks good...
What I should be doing: homework or something

What I want to do: finish this boring day already

We Were Wrong

Spare some time to watch this video. It's not going to kill you.

Nostalgia

Can feelings make a sound? I don't understand how it's possible to write music so in sync with what the soul feels. Sungha, thank you. Your music is truly special, and always will be~

To: everyone

Expecto Patronum

I found myself a companion from Kingdom Animalia. Reading up some animal guardian characteristics, I came across many that suited me like a tuxedo suits an elephant, and a few that matched considerably well. But one stood out to me in particular, and I felt like I was reading about myself.

That's right, the badger. Not the honey badger, that one is a little too drastic for me. However, I do turn into one sometimes, especially when evening rolls around.. Honey badger don't care.
The dominant traits of the badger guardian are bold self-expression, perseverance, aggressiveness, and single-mindedness. They are passionate, cunning, and can sometimes be revengeful. They seek to have control and are persistent in the extreme. Badgers don't often play the victim and aren't passive. They are not daydreamers or strong believers in miracles, and are quite grounded in their thinking. However, they can become creative in times of crisis.
I thought it sounded pretty accurate to the way I see myself. Badgers are tough to defeat, but sometimes show their soft underbellies. Plus, badgers are super cute (and badass) and remind me of both raccoons and pandas, whom I love a lot.

Secrets of the Scroll

From all the cartoons I've ever watched, I didn't take away a single message. Sure, they told me the consequences of being "bad", but I never paid attention and ended up finding out the hard way. This made me wonder if children actually learn from watching their favorite characters, or if it was just me who didn't.

Several days ago, I was watching Kung Fu Panda the TV show (which I must say, is very poor compared to the movies) and the storyline was this: Master Yao, the most renowned expert of spiritual and metaphysical Kung Fu, was traveling from his home to another village and made a stop at the Jade Palace. However, this master traveled meditating in box which he never came out from. The storyline doesn't matter much, but Master Yao ended up getting out of his box and madly running around the village, poking at simple, everyday items and asking what each one was. At the end of the episode, after he was caught by Po and Shifu, he was going back into his box and said, "Live each day as if it were your only one to live."
These words are now forever mended to my soul. It's a theoretical concept, and "live each day as if it were your last" makes more sense. However, thinking that each day is our last one, many of us will want to do things that are not too wise, like eating a tub of ice-cream or partying until we don't remember what happened. Throwing caution to the wind, we will want to celebrate our life in loud, flashy ways, and go out with a bang. The problem is, we're not going anywhere. The sun will keep rising and our lives will continue. Making each day like it is your only one to live is way more important than making it seem like your last. Imagining that this day is the only one you have, you would want to use your time wisely and make it worth smiling about. Listen to some music, spend time with friends, read a good book, enjoy a delicious meal, try a new activity, and learn something. Then repeat tomorrow.

Some Days...

Out of Sync

Sigh. Sometimes we all feel a little... meh. The reasons are different for everyone - perhaps it's because of work overload, relationship lull, the grey skies that never seem to clear up, or simply just because we've had too many good days in a row. What goes up must come down, and the same applies to the states of the human mind. It is unrealistic and even rude to expect a person to have a genuine smile on their face all day, every day. Sometimes, there isn't even a good reason to feel like this - like you're simply going through the motions, not serving any purpose or moving toward a goal. But the important thing to do is to wait. The exams will pass, something exciting will come up, and the sun will return. In the meantime, you can practice your virtue of patience!

...Okay, if you really feel down, Google search: shaved llama.

To Live is To Travel

Only 32 more days until I get to visit one of the most beautiful and important countries in the world! I can almost picture the busy little alleyways, cheerful loud markets, and lovely boat rides along the rivers. Our tourist party was already warned of the food we will be stuffed with while we are there, as food is something sacred to the Italian culture. Honestly, I'm a little scared.

 

What am I listening to: Dust Bowl Dance (Mumford & Sons)

What am I thinking of: what our host family might be like
What I should be doing: studying for Biology mid-year exam

What I want to do: go to David's Tea shop

An Elephant Never Forgets

Oh my Buddah.

Flights of Fancy

The Days That'll Never Come

It starts slow, as if unsure. The pain seeps through his veins, moving along his arms, his hands, eventually coming to the tips of his fingers. Slouching, he sits on the black piano bench by the bay window. Drawing up the final drops of strength left in his body, he plays the piece one last time. The keys sing mournfully under his fingers, the sound resonating in the tall, spacious room. The music sheet in front of him is covered in blotches and ink smears, and the black pen that made them lies on the white floor. As if with sorrow, the notes dance together, filling every crevice of the room, embracing the memories created in this space. The harmonies escape through the open window into the night sky, dive down fifty-six stories into the oncoming traffic and disappear under the wheels of cars.
In the highest room of the building, the player begins the crescendo, climbing higher and higher to the peak of his sentiment. His eyes have long dried and all that remains are the tell-tale streaks down his face. But those will soon be gone too.
The final notes roll down from deep within his heart and down his arms, finding rest in the keys of the piano. Unsteadily, he wills himself upright. His soul aches, a feeling so heavy in his chest that he is afraid he will lose his balance. The music still echoing inside his mind, he stands on the ledge of the tall window pane. The cold air envelops him as he faces the lights of the skyscrapers ahead. There is only one way to move in life, he thinks, taking a step into nothing. And that way is always forward.

A Year in Quotations: 43/365

"Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."

Rumi

Iron Chef: soba noodle salad

Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat, and is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is high in thiamine, the consumption of which prevents the development of beri beri disease in people whose staple food is white rice (low in thiamine and vitamin B1). Hokkaido is famous for its soba noodle production, and it is the traditional noodle of choice for Tokyoites. Soba is usually served chilled with dipping sauce or in hot broth.



Cooking difficulty: Low
Clean-up difficulty: Low
Serves: one

Preparation time: no time at all
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

- bunch of soba noodles, 2 cm in diameter

- 1/2 small cucumber

- sliced smoked salmon

- 1/2 spring onion

- pinch of Cilantro leaves

- squirt of lemon

- 1 teaspoon sesame oil

- 1 teaspoon soy sauce

 

Preparation:

Place pot with cold water on stove element. Boil.

Let's cook!
Cook noodles in rapid boiling water for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the cucumber into slices, and the slices into halves. Cut the smoked salmon to desired size, and finely chop the spring onion. In a small bowl, mix sesame oil and soy sauce to even texture, and set all ingredients aside. Drain noodles when finished cooking, rinse in cold water and drain again. Mix all ingredients and sauce in a bowl, serve cold with a dash of lemon. The really daring chefs may want to add sesame seeds or a hardboiled egg to top it off~