Experiences in Korea and Much More: Everything Kimchi

In the Eyes of Koreans

2008-07-09T01:33:00.001-07:00

When I was in Korea, I often see people wearing eyeglasses. My vision is relatively fair but I had this crazy thought of putting one on. It’s not that I wanted to become a half-baked Korean or whatever, but wearing one would complement my style. I hope I had come across these
Incredible Stylish New Frames From Zenni. Good eyeglasses in Korea usually sell for a pricey 50U$D and higher, while Zenni Optical $ 8 Rx Eyeglasses
only sells for merely 8 bucks. Moreover, I can choose from a wide selection of Variable Dimension Frames From Zenni. I’m going to consider buying a Zenni eyewear one of these days.

An Eyewear that Won't Wear Your Wallet

2008-07-08T10:41:00.001-07:00

Wearing glasses doesn’t mean wearing off your fashion statement. zennioptical.com offers a huge variety of stylish yet affordable prescription glasses without the worry of bloated price of frames. The price is low yet the quality is not cheap; it’s just a matter of efficient production. Zenni Optical frames are also compatible with various types of lenses such as photochromic lens, single vision lens, bifocal lens, and progressive lens. Having a summer getaway? Look good this season by choosing a tinted sunglasses lens from Zenni Optical. Choose Zenni, wear style.

Top 10 Entre Card Droppers

2008-07-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'd like to express my gratitude to the following Entre Card droppers:

Crissy's Heaven
Work at Home Mom Revolution
Life in Korea
The Spirit of Blogging
Girl for All Status
The Super Goddess
Bored Room
Real Man Toys
A Simple Life
Work at Home Mom Revolution
This Side of Eternity

Thank you all! Maraming Salamat!
Let's continue the EC revo!

Art Speaks

2008-07-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

I admire people who walk their talk. In the blogsphere, people who are faithful to their self-anointed descriptions and live up to their titles are quite difficult to find. You can be a mommy with a lot of (your sister’s) children photos in your blog; you could be an I.T. expert with a lot of copy-pasted materials from Netgear; but you could never be a web designer if your own blog is in need of a major overhaul. Good thing I’m not a self-proclaimed web artist. My blogs easily gives me away. T___T I found this walking-the-talking blog of a freelance web designer and I found her banner to be a real eye-candy. The object of the art composition (yes, I think what she made deserves this title) are flowers, which are drawn using pastel, vectors, and color pencils. In all the elements of her blog you can see art. It’s very refreshing to read entries with a nice green background; enticing to click on elegantly lettered links; nice to visit her blog in general. ^^;

Prease Googer! Arigatoo.

2008-07-07T03:08:00.000-07:00

My current PR (please don’t ask) prompts me to constantly look for ways on how to improve my Google rank. As much as I don’t want to reckon Google as the god of the blogsphere (my homepage is Yahoo! since net immemorial), I just can’t be harping on lost opportunities from advertisers. I am resolved. I have to do whatever html-ly possible to boost my blog’s rank. 도움을 줄까요? ^^; Using Yahoo! to look for some answers, I came across this blog , which can answer my long-standing question: How to create and promote a blog? Youlkisblog is very purist. Thankfully it posts only tips on blog promotion and improvement. I think you won’t find anything tangential to its theme; a total contrast to my blog. Well, sometimes variety breaks boredom. I am not saying that this blog is boring though. In fact, I think it’s well-defined and specialized that you might not want to look for another blog-resource. Try giving this blog a shot if you’re looking for easy-to-understand reference on starting and improving your blog.

Learning the Curve

2008-07-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

My aunt has been into blogging for more than 3 years. She encouraged me way back then to start a blog since it can rake in some cash. I didn’t believe her. Things that are too good to be true are usually bogi (KWIM? ^^;). Anyway, here I am now trying to catch up with the lost time. I think I’m making some progress though. But the learning curve of blogging is one heck of a curve! I have to become a member of various blog networking sites, make acquaintances, and adhere to the value of reciprocity. I was also able to learn from skilled bloggers such as those in my blog roll. I was able to get useful tips and tricks on how to increase my page rank (which for whatever reason still flaunts a goodness gracious PR 0), what plugins to install, what networking groups to join. Not to mention walk-throughs on working online. This blog features an assortment of posts from movies, music, graphics, and site reviews. For new bloggers, this site can teach you how to make your site not just a humdrum blog.

I Remember Saying this Line

2008-07-06T19:48:00.001-07:00

a month to go before leaving Korea...

"I am grateful to become a victim of a fairytale that has an implicit promise to never end..."

Kaching!

2008-07-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

I am a member of various social networking sites but I only maintain my friendster and multiply accounts. Other networking sites, though free, are not hassle-free. Their layout is very congested. My eyes (or rather, my brain) just can’t take all the links and the possible ins and outs they offer. I think the same goes when I chose payperpost to sponsor my site in the blogging market. I just find order and system in this website. All that’s visible to you are those that are necessarily clickable, and the other optional links are relegated to the periphery of your vision. It is also very easy to browse and reserve for existing opportunities. You don’t need to wait for days just to know that your bid has been dismissed. Payperpost shows you all the opportunities available and groups them in three categories: When you see an opportunity highlighted in white, it means that it’s up for grabs; if it’s in grey, it means that it’s up for grabs—-before (so you have to act fast in reserving available opportunities); and if the opportunity is in red, it means that you’re not eligible to take on the task (either your location is discriminated or your page rank needs some more boost). If you want to get paid to blog, I really recommend payperpost.

If Only Maslow Could Blog...

2008-07-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

It has never been easier to snoop at other people’s lives than it is at present. With blogging, things that you ought not to know have been made ought to know. There is nothing inherently wrong with this practice but I guess some bloggers just don’t know where the line to publicity begins. I appreciate posts that are intimate yet private, involving yet distant. I myself find difficulty in writing entries with this ironic description so I just bloghop and hope that I’d find a blog that’s worthy to spend time with, a blog that I’ll go back to and peruse and not just drop an EC or two. Blogs like Buhay Korea and SolLee’s Blog are just two cyber places where I like to hang out. They don't just post entries for the sake of posting; they write, they convey meaning, they are not just in for the blogging trend and virtual trophies. I hope more bloggers realize the potential of self-actualization by blogging. The The Soliloquist, is another good example. It is a “combination of expression of thoughts and sentiments, socialization, entertainment, and information.”

Just A Darling Little Slave? Think Again.

2008-07-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

I am finding Stay at Home Mom and Working at Home mom blogs very amusing. I mean it not in a pejorative sense. On the contrary, I think moms have been empowered by the blogsphere in terms of being semi-dependent on their husbands in terms of finances. My Mom sometimes can’t help but express her discontent about being ‘just’ a homemaker ever since she was married to my father. She sometimes asked me “if she’s just gonna be like this”. I tried to explain that my father too is “just gonna be like that” because essentially, the roles they have to assume are more or less fixed on the fulcrum of parenthood. I just try to encourage both my Mom and my Dad to look for enriching hobbies aside from what they currently do. I’m recommending Travel blog to my mom. Perhaps she could get some inspiration from this new-age mommy. ^^;

Yeah, we cannot choose to alter our master role. But we can always do something else in the fringe.

But I Do Know Some Balls!

2008-07-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

I took archery and bowling as my P.E. subjects when I was in college for I really never liked uber active sports. Rugby, football, basketball, and those hack-and-slash ball games were definitely a no-no, even if I receive an invitation plus free snacks for a basket ball tryout (this actually happened, but I declined) . I also don’t know anything substantial about these games, especially about football until I had Korean students who are really into the sports. They ask me occasionally what my favorite sports is (and I answer bowling), who my favorite soccer player is (David Beckham; I’m oblivious of other players’ names), whether soccer is famous in the Philippines (“perhaps, but I don’t play soccer"). Alas, I think in tomorrow’s class I’d be able to share something that’s soccer-related. I came acrossEPL-English Premier League while stumbling upon and it features the latest live scores and league tables of the most popular soccer league in the world.

Getting Stuck in Playing Stock

2008-07-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

The stock market is a very volatile place for business. If you want to enter the stock and not get stuck, or worse, get flushed down the drain, then you might want to conduct some serious research on the nature and dynamics of the stock market. India’s economy is growing at a very rapid rate thanks to the booming information and telecommunications industry. I remember my Indian friend while I was in Korea who constantly gets live updates on the Indian stock market from Live NSE BSE. Apart form the tips and easy-to-understand information for pros and newbies alike, NSE BSE also provides market trends analysis, shows statistics of major gainers, major losers, and presents stock market related articles. One thing to watch out for in this blog is the the live Indian stock market monitoring. Information are up-to-date so I deem this blog a definitive resource. The blog also features reviews on stock-related news, entries on an assortment of film genres and news on sports.

Approaching 50

2008-07-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Birthdays are awesome! I get to eat a lot of niceties. Today's my uncle's birthday who owns a semiconductor company. He's kinda rich and he epitomizes the trickle-down effect of a market economy. KWIM? ^^; I filled my plate to the rim with sweet and sour fish fillet, broiled chicken (ooh I can still smell the aroma) and mang Tomas, pancit, buko salad, and kare-kare with bagoong. Aysus! Busog-chibog!
I'm typing this at around 11pm kaya kumakalam-kalam na naman ang sikmura ko.

After pigging out, I and my cousins played Nintendo Wii tennis, bowling, and boxing. I never thought the console would be that good--and exhausting. Kaya kain ulit kami. hehehe. Pero bakit ganon, I still can't put on some weight?! Anyway, some photos:

My eight year-old sister forced me to make a promise to buy her Wii in the nearest future. Para kasi siyang napo-possess (my mom's line) pag may gusto siya eh. She'll pester you till she gets what she wants.
------------------
UPDATE: I wasn't able to bear the kalam of my tummy so I snuck to the kitchen and fixed myself something to eat.

A Mechalife

2008-07-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ticking till the batteries run dry,
With arms
Rotating faithfully till it dies,
Whose life is like a clock?

It never misses a single second
For when it does, it shall be discarded.
Whose life hangs
On rigid concrete pillars?

From a burning house,
Nobody saves the servile clock
For there are many to replace it with.

The clock ticks away,
Like a bomb that won't explode,
In the silence of the night it reigns,
Only to be drowned at the break of day.

-Elliot
An essay eluded me tonight, hence, this.

Lament of a Call Center Agent

2008-07-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

If you have an experience with working in a call center before you'd probably be able to relate to this post.

I am Elliot. A difficult character to tame. I hate underqualified people appraising my capability. I hate people who pretend they know a lot but in actuality know a bit more than nil. I call them "feelers".

Superiority complex is the last thing I'll have. I just can't accept the tyranny of the unequipped. 저는 부적임자의 전제정치를 받아들일 수 없다.

Today I received my performance appraisal served on a golden plate of injustice. First, the dear evaluator corrected my already correct grammar. For instance, she took note of my sentence "This is my second attempt". I tried my hardest but I couldn't find even the slightest ungrammatical hint. Secondly, the honorable epal-uator (pun intended) only reviewed a single recorded session with my student without paying attention to the lesson's context, or even to my relationship with that particular student. The classes I hold are not discrete. She should have reviewed multiple recorded classes, or selected a cross-section of classes I held with different students. I have a total of five Korean 영어 공부하는 학생 who attend class everyday in a month. Only one class was randomly picked for "monitoring".

Can please somebody define what monitoring is? Only a single class out of more than 50 sessions I held in a month! Clearly, the company is just wasting its money for this so-called monitoring task. What kind of data is generated from this un-statistical, unrepresentative sampling of recorded classes? There is no science behind this at all!

The evaluation result is a disservice to the teachers who are motivated not only by a bimonthly salary but also with a proper appreciation and acknowledgment of their contribution, and a well-founded critique for self-improvement.

What is the QuentA of Company QAs?

Serve the People

2008-07-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

When I was studying the dynamics of migration, I completely felt disdain towards the concept of brain-drain. I told myself, especially after watching in awe the Serve the People banner unfurl from atop the DL Umali Hall in UPLB, that I would work in the Philippines for a year or two.

I was a romantic idealist. I could have gone up to the mountains.

But the acid of an empty gut corrodes even the most pachydermous stomach lining. I want my brain drained.

It is my personal ulcer.

Don't think that I'm happy prostituting myself at the intellectual level.

For me, belonging to this nation is more than just a symbolic drama ; it is both an imagined and real phenomenon that I want to actualize.

Should I stay and endure the throbbing sore? I might. If only somehow I could purchase an anesthesia, for I had given up looking for a cure so long ago...

----------UPDATE------------

Amicus, in his comment, invoked the most piercing lines from Panatang Makabayan:

Ako'y kanyang kinukupkop at tinutulungan upang maging malakas, maligaya at kapaki-pakinabang
Paglilingkuran ko ang aking bayan nang walang pag-iimbot at nang buong katapatan

Yes. I will pay my country back. Kahit na kung bibigyan mo ng pagkakataon ang bayan na hindi ka pagaralin sa UP sa ilalim ng subsidiya ng pamahalaan...Ang salitang "kinukupkop" dito ay nangangahulugang taimtim na pagnanasang pagyamanin at linangin ang kakayanan ng isang Pilpino. Ngunit siya nga ba ang nangyayari?

Is there a Bane to being Brown?

2008-07-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

To me, teaching English has never been an option as one of my career paths. But the winds of change has carried me to that direction. I now set my eyes on becoming an English teacher to Korea. I search the web for job opportunities as my resume would allow me to competitively apply for a teaching post. Or so I thought...

"Native English speakers ONLY!", "No experience necessary.", "...finished two- or three-year course."

These are ubiquitous requirements in recruitment websites. It struck me as silly to construe skin color and linguistic ability to positively covariate with each other. I always thought that "what is accent if the brain is not present?". Teaching the language, after all, is more than the rules of grammar, idioms, and accent. It is imparting the necessary skills to understand humanity, to further educate oneself, and to empower others.

It has been obvious that in Korea, competence and skill are overshadowed by skin color. I am brown, yes. But that doesn't mean that I can't be on equal footing with 'white' teachers a.k.a. backpackers who are the only ones eligible to apply for an E2 visa. There is a glaring racism in this issuance policy, which was said shall be scrapped at the end of the year. I hope it would be the case. It's high time that Korea opens its education market to Asian English teachers not only because of economy, but also because of quality.

Koreans have been trying to learn English for decades, but still they are finding the language difficult to grasp. There should be some structural problems that make effective learning elusive. It could be that 영어 학원(language academy/institute) are hiring ineffective teachers as reflected by their list of "qualifications": No experience needed, O.K. if not boarded, white. Great. Those are really material.
NOT!

I'm bitter but not because I'm brown. I'm bitter because the country I consider my second home does something that is discriminatory (refer to WTO MFN agreement), illogical, and unabashedly racial.

I hope the wind of change blows again...but not towards me...but towards education policy makers in Korea.

Turning a New Leaf

2008-07-01T00:36:00.001-07:00

For me, tearing a calendar leaf is very symbolic. It means that I cannot recover the lost days. And in those days are moments to remember, moments that you would try exchanging your present with. I didn't care less about months flowing by when I wasn't yet working. This sensitivity was just exacerbated by my days at the office. Now, my point of reference for the changing days and seasons is not the rising and setting of the sun. I now look forward to the pay day. Before, I wanted to halt the ticking of the clock for it means growing old, losing something you've known to be valuable, and venturing to the uncertainty of the future. Now I wanted the clock to tick faster so I could go to the bank itching to enter my PIN. Well, in the future, that's the only thing that's certain: you get money bimonthly. I was conditioned by circumstances to be materialistic and I'm hating it. I know that time is more than this, that the future could promise more than what is written on my paycheck. Yet, this is how I think now. Time, run fast so I, too, can run fast to the bank. Heck.

...and the Book of Moments continues to loose its leaves...

Gladiators in My Dream

2008-06-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

They say dreaming is a result of randomly firing neurons, but however random the activity is, I think our brain is hardwired to make order out of chaos. If it's not the case, then you sleep sane, and wake up demented.

Last night I had one very lucid dream. Unlike my other lucid dreams, I was not a character in the dreamworld. I seem to be just watching how the events unfold for the two gladiators.

The dream was about an older gladiator with a striking resemblance to Elijah Wood. Imagine him baring his chest, grasping defiantly on the hilt of his long, broad sword, and wearing a pair of bold leather sandals. He was a warrior at his prime. He led several wars to victory. He was undefeated in duels. Eventually, the hobbit, now standing muscularly tall, became the king of his land. He ruled prosperously until a series of wars threatened the supremacy of his Kingdom...

Then enter an Eric Bana-ish gladiator. He was appointed by Elijah Wood as the soldier-general, the post which he once held. Eric was equally fierce and foreboding but his character is not as commendable as that of Elijah's. He resisted helping the poor. He did not defend the weak as he considers doing so outside of his duty. He is bound by the rules of war. He also doesn't care for his wife. Elijah heard of this and summoned Eric to his court. The King tried to talk Eric out from his unacceptable ethos. As a former gladiator himself, he must know best. I really can't remember their dialog but I'm sure the exchange was acrimonious. They ended up challenging each other in a duel.

The King cast off his linen clothes and wore once again the countenance of a gladiator. The night was dark. There was no source of light except for the big torch at the center of the coliseum, burning as fiercely as the two men. Both turned and faced the Elders of the Kingdom who watch from a fair elevation from the battle ground. The torch continues to burn. The white, rigged pillars casting off their majestic shadows...
My dream ends here.

I so wanted to witness what would happen next. But what could I do? hmmmpf!

Lying is a By-product

2008-06-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

I hate liars. I hate lying. But I sometimes can't help spouting petty lies. I think I made another one today and I was convicted about what the Bible says: Liars go to hell. I thought about it for a while and I realized that lying is, in and of itself, not the sin. The underlying reason why one lies is because one does not do the right thing. Lying is a cherry on top of sins galore.

I know, Jesus said that one should not tell a lie. That is a categorical statement. No exceptions entertained. However, there are morally ambiguous situations where one can't help but to tell white lies. And I'm sure that you've heard people saying that there's no such thing as a black or white lie. Black, or white or pink, some lies even result to desirable ends and some are just plainly benign. I wonder if one tells the truth, even if in the short- term it would have unpleasant results, perhaps in the long-term, it would result to a more positive outcome, or an eternally rewarding repercussion in heaven.

Anyway, one thing is clear to me. I lie because I do wrong things. I told myself: "Do the right things and lying would become unnecessary. Period." But then, would that mean I can't stop weaving lies?

To all my blogger friends

2008-06-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Please include my new blog entitled "Travelin' Fashion" in your blogroll. As the name says, it's about Travel & Fashion in Korea.

Travelin' Fashion: An exchange student’s blog where he talks his walk.

Mashisoyo is Korean for delicious. ^^;

A Kaleidoscopic Bibimbapish Post, Samut-saring Karanasan ng mga Ipinalit-pinagpalit na Magaaral

2008-06-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

Alumni’s Experiences : International College Student Exchange Program between
the Republic of Korea and ASEAN Nations.

I belong to Batch 2007.

What is exchange student in Filipino? Anyone?

Blog Readability Meme

2008-06-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

**** Start Copy Here *****

1. Take the Readability Test for your blog(s) here.
2. Paste the result on your site.
3. Copy and paste this tag on your blog (make sure to include the links).
4. Add your link to this tag.
5. Tag as many friends / readers / victims as you want!

Read My Mind, Joan Joyce, Life in Korea, Apt1014, Elliot
[your turn!]

TV Reviews

I'm tagging Tentay Patis, Sollee, My Subconscious Talks, Marvs18, Kengkay, Crissy's Heaven
MLC

I can't touch things that are true...

2008-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

Kaiinstall ko lang ng Google Earth on my laptop just to show my father what it can do. Hayon, punta kaming Paris, Cairo at kung san-san pa. When he went out of my room (baka napagod at di na-keri ang kata-travel),I decided to stay on Google Earth for a few more minutes. It's statistically expected for me to visit Korea, and I ended up landing on Daejeon University. Though the map isn't updated to 2007 geography (andaming kulang na buildings sa DJU) it made me recall Aslan's line in Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian:

"Things never happen the same way twice."

Point is: We need to grow in many different ways. But I'm such a creature of habit...

I know for a fact that kahit maglulupasay pa ko sa loob ng subway, when I get back to Korea again, things will never be the same for a number of reasons. Worst thing that could happen when I'm already there is when these words are pushed from my mouth: I had been better off in the Philippines.

Yeah, I shouldn't be expecting a fairy tale-themed life in this life. That's why I made a wish in my previous post.

Life on Film

2008-06-23T03:22:00.000-07:00

A movie that is too long is a boring movie; you just want to cut it short and continue watching it later (you might not even want to do that). Is life not at all different? I have lived for two decades and a year and--for another decade or so--I cannot see my self doing the routinary mess that 'surprises' me everyday. Yes, I have a good family, I did well as a student, I have an easy and relatively high-paying job, I am surrounded by great people. Yet I want to have a lifespan of a butterfly. Each stage of their lives are well-demarcated. There is no confusion. Butterflies know no angst.

I yearn to live a life that's short and extremely eventful. I know it can't happen. And I can only wish in my hearts of hearts that I'd be reincarnated not as a person, but as a character in a soap opera about romantic love. I know I'm crazy. But come to think of it. As a persona in a soap, in 24 hours you have done what a centenarian has done in his lifetime. There is character development, you know your role, your purpose. You'll be able to travel to a lot of places, to be romantically loved, to be hurt and recover as if recovery is the next fastest thing to light...Yeah, I'd like to live in a soap opera. I don't wanna get tired. I don't wanna get sick and be confined for a long time. I don't wanna wear diapers or face the threat of being put in Home for the Aged. Yet I want to enjoy life, even if it is for just a short time. And isn't it that happiness, even in real life, ephemeral? So why not just live it on film?