Anthony's Birthday.....

Anthony's birthday was on Saturday and he celebrated it by working a double shift at work. Hahahaha! Poor him! The cool thing was that one of his guests bought him a shot of top shelf tequila. I thought that was random and nice. I guess there are some good people still out there.... :P


Korean tradition is that you eat seaweed/ miyuk gook soup on your birthday (and the day a mother gives birth to her child). People can eat this soup on any other day, but it's  mostly consumed on these 2 occasions. It's funny because every time we go to Anthony's samchun's store I stock up on the instant seaweed soup. His aunt and uncle always ask us, "Oh! Who's birthday is it?" I reply,"Oh, no ones, just for me!! Hehe." The instant soup taste sooooo good! I mix it with rice and sprinkle some pepper in it. Pure yumminess!

The tradition all starts with the mother who just gave birth. The mother-in-law takes care of the mother for a couple weeks to a month and helps attend to the new born. The mother-in-law also makes seaweed soup for the mother. It's believed to help with the recovery process, cleansing the blood, and helps the uterus shrink back to regular size. So, with the mother consuming the soup the baby also takes it is through the breast milk.This is considered the baby's first meal. That's where the tradition comes in and you eat seaweed soup on your birthday. It's to show your mom respect and thankfulness. :)

Now, since we're on the subject of birthdays, my friend had hers the day before Anthony's. Julie showed me some pics of her and it made me jealous!! You see, she lives in Korea now as of 3 months ago and she is an English teacher!! T_T   We were suppose to go together BUT SOMEBODY didn't get their BA in time *cough* which was ME!! *sniff sniff!!!* Now I just look at her pics and kringe until the day I finally make my way there.............

Isn't this soo cute!! Awww! And the kids are so adorable! I just wanna squeeze and hug them! hahaha

She got this cake from her teacher helper and then went to dinner with some colleagues of hers. YuM!!

and then she got 2 other cakes (from her friends and family)!!!! dang!!! How many did she need???

The W Hotel

I have been working so dang much that I've already accrued a week's worth of PTO in a short span of time!! In the last year or so, my job has changed the way you can use your beloved and hard-earned hours. It pretty much comes down to - USE IT! Before, you had the option of cashing it in or rolling it over to the next year, but that was back, back in the day....lol.


I already went to France for a month this summer and I have no interest on spending any more money. :( I need to save for my vacay in May to KOREA!! Yay!!! The other night though, Yoonmi showed me a really interesting hotel in Korea. It's called the W Hotel. Weird and mysterious name, right?? I know, I was thinking the same thing; "Who does this "W" hotel think they are by just calling it 'W???' Let me see what this is all about and how "nice" they really are!"
Google was quickly put to the test---------------------


results---Wowness!! This place is definitely on my list for hotel accommodations. ^_^

I was in such "aahh"  that  I googled this hotel for the states. It's so chic and modern. I like it! It's almost as if they're catering to the "younger" and hip (under 35 yrs)crowd. The W Hotel is owned by Starwood (a big hotel chain) so I knew we had it here somewhere!! 


Sure enough, I found one!! And better yet, one in Phoenix!! Talk about a close mini vacation!! I'll be using my PTO quicker than I thought! hehehe. I need to experience this modernness soon! So, I called and asked about room prices being that Anthony and I's anniversary is coming up.............Y-e-a-h........uummm...it was a little out of my price range. Well, it wasn't too expensive but for 1 night I don't want to spend $189! On top of that we have to spend money for the gas to drive up to Phoenix, at least $100 for dinner, $30 for drinks by the lounge bar, $40 for breakfast, and probably another $40 for lunch. That's a $350-$400 day!! That's half my Korea plane ticket (kinda)! I'll pass..... It's just that is so hard paying "full price" when you actually work for a resort yourself! :( When we travel we stay at our resort chain and its usually no more that $80 a night!! There's a big difference! Hahaha.


I'll wait to go to Korea and stay there and forget the Phoenix property.. :)

Golden Plaza, Taichung

Taichung's ugly skyscraper

My photo of the Golden Plaza in 2010.

Golden Plaza in Taichung (金沙休閒購物中心 translated as Sands Leisure Mall) is currently (2010) the second tallest building in Taichung and one of the landmarks of the city. It's 178m tall (spire), while the main part of the building is only 148m. It was built in 1999 as a huge department store with a two-storey revolving restaurant on top. The building was popular in the first years, but it's in decline in recent years. Many shops have closed, visitors started to lack (source).

On February 26, 2005 there was a fire on the 18th floor and 4 people were killed during the incident, which was a huge shock for the people in Taichung. Many people had to get evacuated with helicopters from the restaurant on the top of the building (source). The fire was burning for around 1h 30min, before it was contained and extinguished. Read an article about that here>>

The building was renamed into 神鑑大樓 in Chinese.

Golden Plaza is still an impressive building.

I personally don't fancy the design of the building and I feel it's sad, that so much bad luck has accompanied it. I most likely won't be found on top there.

[My TAICHUNG page][Info][All photos by MKL, 2010 except the fire photo, source here]

My favorite Kpop songs part 2

So, the list continues--------------------

Beast / Mystery

I love the lil head swirly dance move..hehe. This is my favorite boyband song at the moment....


SHINee / Ring Ding Dong

The dance move is catchy. The guy that dances in the front though needs to gain a little bit more weight! His legs are skinny!! It doesn't help that he's wearing skinny jeans. lol. What's up with the clip 1:24 into the song? Looks...a little...uhh....gay? Is he rubbing his friends cheek?? hhhmm.....They're all still baby-face cute though....hahaha. I'm lovin their cheek bones. They all have nice facial structures.


2pm / Again and Again

Even though this song was "last year" I'm still loving it!! The ending was a kinda off ....but ok....


IU / Marshmallow

How freakin' cute is this video???? So innocent and playful!! I want that marshmallow icon!!!


and last, but not least------------------My absolute favorite song!!!!!------------


Ivy / Touch Me

I was sooo shocked when I saw this video. It wasn't the "normal, cute" kpop video I was used to. For a minute there I thought I was watching Lady Gaga..lol. I bet they don't play this video during the day. It must be categorized for the "after hour" channel. Hahaha. I love it, though!!!!!

Philippine Ramen...yummy!!

Hyun Ju is one of the Korean interns working with us for the year! She sooo cute! She's a year younger than I am so, you know what that means....I"m her "unni!" Hehehe... 

Anyway, she gave us a bag full of ramen the other night. I looked inside to find a brand I was not familiar with-------

Hmmmm.....I was kinda skeptical. With having multiple past experiences with other Asian ramens, I wasn't very impressed with them. Hyun Ju insisted that this one was delicious and had a kick to it.


So, I tried it yesterday night......and...... I LOVED IT!!! Talk about yummy!!! It was sooo good! I actually prefer it over the regular Maruchan  noodles. (chicken and pork is my fav. by the way ^_^)

It comes with this spicy seasoning and the oil that mixes with it--

Add an egg....and voila!! It is soooo good!! When I run out of my 10 pack supply she gave me, I better hope to find these at my local asian market!! 

My favorite kpop songs at the moment...

Korean music is so innocent and cute!! I love the music, but I love the videos and performances more! If these were done in the states people would laugh at the artists. In America it's all about sexuality....sex appeal....sex.....and more sex! Kids are always looking up to the artists and trying to imitate them and their life style. No wonder they're growing up so fast!


Korean music keeps an innocent appeal so all of the songs are mostly kid friendly. These are my favorite songs that I bump in that car to work.....hehehe-----------


Compare the difference--------

American video


Dan Balan / Chica Bomb

I love this type of dance music....but see how sexual our videos are?? This would get any young boy wanting to lay a girl!! lol


Now compare it to a Korea video........lol...innocent.....and cute! ^_^


T-ara / Bo Peep


T-ara / Like the first time

This is my favorite song out of all of them, but too bad the video is kinda boring..lol. Not enough dancing....

Eun Ji Won / Siren

I like this video, it's kinda "americanized" and I like is voice....hehe


2pm / Heartbeat

The guys in 2pm are cute! And I love how this video has the meanings in english..hehe


J.Y. Park / No love No more

I just don't like how he keeps those little rhinestones on is face whenever he performs. He looks kinda exotic for a Korean...kinda like he's americanized..what do you think? I love his dance moves though!

Tae Yang / Wedding Dress

Awww...sad! You can tell that Tae is from the states though (I believe L.A.) His english is perfect in the beginning)








Part 2 of this post is still to be continued.........

Trader Joe's

So, I’m going to let you in a little secret….

When I cook kalbi everybody LOVES it!! They tell me how good of a girlfriend I am for making it for Anthony, as we eat it together on our lunch break. Sometimes it’s irritating when our other co-workers plop next to us because they always give that hint that they want to try it by saying, “Mmmm.That looks and smells good! What is it??” Of course the natural (and polite) thing to do is offer them a piece, right?? Well….I’m selfish when it comes to good Korean food and I try to avoid sharing at all cost! Hahhaha! (unless I favor that person) I like to have every finger-licking drop to myself! Everyone at work knows I’m a food hog and proud of it!

What would frustrate me even more was if I actually took the time to marinate the kalbi. My precious time put into my meal isn’t so I can freely give it away to other people at my job! Especially when they annoy me half the time…. :P

That’s where my secret comes into play. *dun dun dun*

One of my favorite grocery stores is Trader Joe’s and I go there religiously. I’m actually “practicing” eating organic and range free chicken and beef. The pay is almost double than what you would find at a Wal-Mart or Safeway but well worth it, I’ll tell ya.

If you’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s than you need to get on the ball and GO! In the back section of the store they have a “sample” section where everyday they let you sample food/ juices that they carry. One day, I just happended to glance over there and I saw the word, “Korean” something. Korean?? I thought. What on earth could Trader Joe’s have that is Korean…and on top of that…good? Lol

Well, was I wrong! It just so happened to be kalbi, and man, was it good! They actually sell kalbi?? And it turns out they also sell bulgogi!! I was flabbergasted!

I swooped those up in a heart beat and was on my way home to prepare them!

Now, as far as authenticity, it was pretty darn close! Close enough that I buy it all the time now!! I do add a little more sugar to the bulgogi, however. The kalbi I add sugar as well, but that’s because I like my meat sweet. J

If you have a Trader Joes in your area, I encourage you to check it out!

**Here are some more Korean items I find delicious at Trader Joes*