It's been a long time to go to Korean Karaoke. I used to love to go Karaoke before coming to America. People might know the way Asian karaoke style. It is very different from western karaoke. It's private style. People don't need to mix with other people you don't know.

I drank a lot last night, but strangely I didn't get drunk at all. We started drinking with Japanese style Sake to Korean Sake. Taste was so sweet. There is a famous college street called in front of Hong University in Seoul. This school is the top art university in Korea. For the reason, around this school, there are a lot of bars and very unique stores.. all kind of fancy cafes.. and so on. If you want to visit Seoul, I highly recommend this street. Of course, it's one of my favorite place to hang out.

I saw something unique Karaoke place there. I told my friends.. "oh no, it was used to be a cafe, but it's changed". They said.. they changed the place as the luxury Karaoke. I didn't get what it meant. After drinking, we went over. Yes. Yes, it was crazy karaoke. As soon as I got in our private room, I laughed a lot very loudly.
I wish I had some photos of the luxury karaoke. Well, there are all kind of theme private rooms and we can choose one. We chose Japanese Dadami style, so the floor is very warm, which means we can lay down on the floor. And the service person looks like Japanese Keisa.(I don't know the spelling). Microphone is wireless. And screen is big flat screen. It was really fun. I just couldn't stop laughing for a while.

Well, you can choose different style room. There are western living room style, toy room style, library style.. whatsoever. I know you can't imagine what they look like.

Okay, I ready to get dress to go out again. I'm excited of going to some place, which I have no idea.. My friends told me some interesting restaurants.. so, I will see where they're gonna take me for today.

I can't take my eyes off from watching television, especially one TV drama. My first younger sister totally got into one TV drama because of this guy. (remember, my first younger sister is married) I totally agree with my sister. This guy is so hot. So.. handsome!!. I'm not a big fan of celebrities actually. But, this guy is very very handsome.

(e:Robin), what do you think..?

I've been too relaxed since I got in Korea. Because of this, I've gained weight about 8 pound for a week. I told my niece today. "I think I should die because I'm so fat" She replied, "Grandma is much fatter, but she doesn't want to die" I was amazed by what she said. She is only 5 years old, but sounds like she is much more mature.

I got a new hair cut today. My mom was nagging me to go to a hair shop as soon as I got up this in the morning. I feel much better now though.

Well, I feel like I'm a driver for my first younger sister's children these days. My mom wanted to get back to home by 4:30 this afternoon because she wanted me to drive for my niece to Leco education center. I feel sorry for niece.. she learns too much things at once, now my niece is on winter vacation from the kindergarden, so my first younger sister tries to send her to piano lesson. I think that's crazy. No vacation for my niece.

Anyways, while I was waiting for my niece, I met an American guy in the same building where the Leco education center is. He seemed wondering around, and I asked him where he is from. He said, he is from Utah and been in Korea for 6 months. He is an English teacher in an English institute. We talked about how different between Korea and America, how the life different whatsoever. He said, he likes Korean.. they are very polite to him. and he loves Korean foods, so he's been gaining weight a lot. But, he feels lonely and his cat is no longer able to play outside. He said, he will be here another 4 more years because Bush got re-elected. He said he hates Bush. So, I joked him." you're from Utah. how come you hate Bush"
He strongly disagreed with my idea. Oh well.

I almost fell asleep while driving back to home. Too much traffic. Sometimes, every roads look like gigantic moving parking lot. Also people drive like crazy. I don't know why everybody seems in a hurry. Me..? I'm very relaxed. So, I act like whatever.

I'm trying not to eat a lot. But, my friends have been telling me.."eat a lot"
No!! I don't want to gain weight anymore. Help me!

Soyeon.

I am still in jet-lag. It usually takes me for 3 days to get used the time difference. I don't have a specific time to go to bed these days. Whenever I feel sleepy, I just fall asleep. But, I feel so comfortable being at home. I've been eating a lot too. My youngest sister joked me that I'm the fattest girl in my family. (See? How skinny Koreans are? especially, my sisters are so skinny.)

My first younger sister asked me if I can take care of my niece for 2 days. Well, I want to be the best aunt for my niece for this time, So, I accepted it. It wasn't that hard to do that either. I went over my first younger sister's house around 2 PM, and picked up my niece when the kindergarden bus drops her off. Then, played with her for one hour, then sent her to the ballet school. Yeah, my niece has been learning Ballet. I feel little weird of it because she is only 5 years old. Well apparently my niece is enjoying learning Ballet. She showed me her ballet pose today, So cute!!

We went to a shop to buy some snacks and drinks together. She said, "Aunt, give them American money" I have only 6 US dollars in my wallet. I was little embarrassed and didn't know what to do for a second. Basically she wanted to show them that I'm from America.

I got feeling strange when I was alone at my first younger sister's house while my niece went to the ballet school. Well, most time at home in Buffalo, I'm alone, but, it's hard to be alone in Korea. I like being alone sometimes, but it's good to be with my family, especially I'm not in Korea all the time. I don't feel lonely anymore.

I will finally see my nephew tomorrow. So, I will take care of them for tomorrow, just for the afternoon. Tomorrow is Christmas eve, so all my family get together at night for a dinner.

I already mentioned that Christmas is not a big holiday for Koreans. It's like another Valentine day. So people just hang out with their friends or family whoever they would like to. Also, it doesn't really matter if they don't want to hang out.

On Christmas day, I will hang out with my friends. Maybe we will get druck all together. Finally I called my friends today. One of my friends thought that I was calling her from Buffalo, (Sometimes, I do joke to my friends with phony calls) she said, "hey! seems like you have lots of money as making a phony call from US." But, when she realized that I'm Korea. She started yelling at me not to let her know earlier.

Yeah, I've been so good and comfortable these days. I'm not sure if I want to go back the cold place again. I'm just kidding. I have to go back.. Right..?

I don't know how much I slept last night. I barely remember that my youngest sister kept coming in and out my room and asked me something about computer, digital camera, but I don't remember when she asked me. She said, it was when I asked her to bring some water, but I don't remember that I was doing it. Weird.

It's 9:20 AM in the morning. December 22nd.

My mom picked up my niece at Kindergarten yesterday and brought her to home for me. Oh my god, she's grew up a lot. We played some game together.. She remembered me and called me "Aunt in America", and my youngest sister is "Aunt in England" for her. Funny. Later, my first younger sister and my brother in law came to pick her up. It's good to see everybody. But, I haven't seen my nephew yet. He is in his grand parents house.(my brother in law's side)

I haven't called anybody either. I just want to spend time with my family at first.

This house has been changed again. I didn't know some weird electronic stuff and had to ask my sister.."what is that?" She said.."it's an air cleaner machine"

My youngest sister and I are going to Seoul to check up MAC shops and wireless thing in the afternoon. I need to use my power book. Then, I don't need to fight to use computer with my youngest sister anymore. good.

It will be fun to come up to Seoul.. then.. I will get totally confused again.

I arrived in Korea on 21st around 6 AM in the morning, so.. 20th, 4 PM in Buffalo time. Hum, I think there was no "December 20th" in my life, or I just missed it while I was on the plane. My flight was delayed for 2 hours from New York.. My second younger sister picked me up at the airport, but we couldn't avoid the terrible rush hours in Seoul.. so got home around 8:30.. damn it. Even I haven't seen my mom yet. She went to school already by the time I got here, but she is checking me almost once in an hour.. except for 5 hours while I was sleeping like a dead person.
It's 3:39 PM right now. There are a lot of difficulties for me. I can't use my powerbook because the plug system is different. It's 220volt.. only in American, they still use 110 volt plug.. Hum.. I have to find out MAC shop as soon as possible.

My youngest sister is bugging me so much right now. She wants to do a lot of things with me. but, I'm still very tired and confused. I think I need to go to bed again. I will ask my mom to go to see my niece and nephew when she gets home.
Hum.. it's good to be home.. smells good.. but I'm just too tired and in jet-lag.

(e:Robin) Did you get my message that I left in JFK.? I miss you..

When I purchased legos for my niece and nephew this evening, my heart was brimful of happiness. I still keep seeing my niece sitting in my mom's car and waiving me through the window of the airport bus where I was sitting last winter. She might have not realized that I was leaving away for a long time at the moment. She was just waiving me as usual as she waives to everyone else. But, my eyes kept following her and my mom until disappearing finally from my sight.

I kept thinking of a Korean writer's essay "Karma" while driving all the way back to Buffalo from Cold Spring. "There was the one your heart was close to, but never see again in your lifelong even though you are longing for, There was the one you loved, but you wouldn't want to see again, it would be better if the last meeting never happened"

I was hiding my tears behind my black sunglasses and looking over him watching my car disappearing through my window mirror. And, I drove away from his small Ireland. It might be the last time to see him or it was just one of those moments that I had a feeling attached as my life goes away.

Driving for a day that seemed like testing my endurance as if being punished by my father when I was a little girl. I did not understand why I had to stand against to the wall for 2 hours in a dark, rather I was getting much more angry with my father. But, I know now what it was. It was the awakening realization for myself.

The touch of a kiss in my dream was not someone else's. It was mine as if I had one before a long time ago. It was like the one I was always longing for. The day after the dreaming, I was in a peculiar mood with an indiscernible feeling almost all day long; that feeling just drifted my unconscious space until he spoke insensitive words to me. I coudn't stop dropping my tears as I was writing back to him. I know there is no space that anyone could wedge into his heart for a long time, or it is only for me "no space"

You know how much I can laugh at you!
You know how much I can look down you!
You know how much I can talk down to you!
I am snobby as much as you are! or even more!

If the heart is not full enough of love, perception, respect and mutuality, the heart is a trash like a coca-cola can on the street that everyone kicks away as they are walking.

Everything in human being feels me emptiness too much. It doesn't really matter to me how different people are. Nothing makes me feel full enough. It's been like that for a long time. But, strangly, I have so much feeling attached images in my invisible space as memory, which was probably from one of those moments that I didn't want to care of. I think I'm still breathing. To understand is better than understood. It teaches me and rebuilds me in a reasonable way.

Tomorrow night, I'm flying to Korea about 15 hours again. This time, I will be the best aunt for my niece and nephew.

Things list for today before leaving tomorrow.

1) Record the sound I've been collecting onto a DV tape for my work.
2) Shopping for family, especially for Niece and Nephew. (I have to buy Lego) Done: 7:30.
3) Burn all my pictures on PC.
(My mom wants to have my photo, good one that my youngest sister just told
me today. Hum.. why..? I hope, she doesn't want to use one for someone else,
Sounds little weird to me actually.) Done: 11:45.
4) Make shot lists to document my trip.

I'm out of my cigarettes. brb

Okay, BACK! Now.

5) I have to see my friend (e:Christopher) today, he is back for the holiday from Germany last night that I believe. Haven't seen him for 5 months so. Meeting at 8 at my place, he has just left my house at 11.
6) Find out a place where I can park my car while being absent.
Done: 5:30.
7) Eat all my food by tomorrow noon.
Anna, Alan and Chris helped me little bit

I don't know what else.. I don't wanna forget things. Hum..

Oh my god..
I haven't returned a book that I borrowed from the library. Oh my god.

I remember other things.

8) I have to let my landlord know that I can't pay lent fee for January on time.
9) I have to pay all my bills and put them into postbox.

Now I'm sleepy.. gotta sleep now.

While I was talking to my friend Chris who is in Germany for this moment (He has just singed up for elmwoodstrip.com), I realized that the way computer feature is female body. -- I usually tell people that I can't live without computer, coffee, and cigarettes although I really think I should quit smoking. -- Since I got my power book, my life-style with working on computer has been changed as well. I can just lay down on my bed and do something with computer. Also, my bed is so warm because I have an electronic blanket that makes me fall asleep unconsciously easily. It's quite strange because it looks like I sleep with my computer these days. Well, which is good since I don't have a boyfriend, it can be my boyfriend. Right..? ;)

Chris knows that I joke a lot and think a lot in a metaphor way and I am actually very sarcastic too. But sometimes people don't get it; for example Metalpeter totally got my point with my last journal in a different way. By the way, Hey! Metalpeter, I don't watch or look at porns at all. I really think porns are just playing with your psychological weakness. ;)

Chris asked me how I am doing these days, so I said that I'm bored. This is my psychological problem if I'm not in any specific working obsession. I can get crazy. Anyway, so I told him that I've been sleeping with my computer and trying to find out how to have sex with it. (I think I told Paul this as well before). Of course he laughed a lot. And we talked bunch of stuff; how I can use my computer on the plane, how I can recharge my battery on the plane and so on. Then, realized that I can't have sex with my computer. It doesn't have any outlets. It has only inlets. Everything we have to insert to computer. Damn it. ;)

Here is more..

In a sense of stereotype, men are visualized sexually. So, these days the way computer feature is very visualized. I don't know how many people can remember that the beginning of computer feature was so ugly (it was DOS) before coming out window version. So, it has become stylish like female body. And a lot of men used to want their women to be dominated, not contemporary society. In a sense, computer needs to be placed. Well, it's getting portable these days like how women are in contemporary society. Also, it is very complicated. In a sense, women are more complicated than men.

There are more.

It can totally screw you up in many ways. Also, men more got into doing computer in a sense of stereotype. Well, there are more, but I don't want to mention it because it sounds like I'm a sophism or sexism.

Well, too bad that I can't have sex with my computer anyways. ;)