that i'm better.

than you.

Something so stupid was driving me absolutely insane and my dear friend Ji cleared it all up for me in one simple sentence:

Ji: "I think we just want to know that we're better."

"Better" can signify so many things but in the greater (and general) sense of the word and for our purposes, this seemingly succinct, yet unfathomably complex statement will suffice to satisfy my inane obsession with aforementioned "stupid something."

The end.

Special thanks to Ji&Mon.

Cheers,

Cheryl

it's been a while.

i'm sorry for neglecting you :(

Work has been kicking. my. ass. so I haven't been able to pay any attention to this lil' ole blog but I came across something today that made me CRACK UP so I had to post it:

Product Review (submitted on May 9, 2011):

I lub flatz but dey always make my feet bleed cuz my feets is sensitive. Anywayz i done bought these Toms and omg guess what? my feet did not bled and i didnt git no blisterz either! Dey look so pretty 2! Nd so shiny. Oh and normally shoes be making my feet stank but not these! LUB THEM!

LOLOL I was on the Tom's website and saw this review.  I mean seriously, is this person for real?  I can't believe there are actually people who write like that.  I think I was more surprised because it was on the Tom's website.  I probably wouldn't have been as surprised if I saw it on like, the Apple Bottoms website. 

Today is Buddha's birthday.  I never even knew Buddha HAD a birthday but apparently, today is it!  And the only reason why I know and why I am celebrating is because the Hong Kong and Korea markets are closed today because it's a national holiday!  Which means a slow day at work for Cheryl!

On a totally different note, I have to lose weight.  That's all I can think about lately, damn.  But it's so hard, double damn.

Cheers,

Cheryl

quick thought #31.

forget chocolate, strawberry, banana, coffee and what else have you!

cereal milk is the best kind of milk.

damn you, momofuku milk bar.  makin' monies off the idea i had when i was like, seven.

speaking of damned momofuku.......

WHAT'S A GIRL GOTTA DO TO GET A CHIGGIN DINNER, GAW.

pardon my french, but, MOMOF*CKYOU.

quick thought #30.

i am having major retainer withdrawal.

i've been very good about wearing my retainers but i forgot them at home today and i am freaking out.

dear teeth, please stay straight.

kamsa.

they cut it down.

an old man's cry
at changes made
by the hands of urbanization.

Some people take the same route to ‘n fro every day from home to work, then back home. It’s a routine that they don’t like to break. Me, I like to switch it up. After a few days of taking the F train to 2nd Avenue LES then walking down Houston, cutting through the gas station, then walking the rest of 2nd Street down to my apartment, I decided I was feeling adventurous and instead of walking down Houston, I just took 2nd Street all. the. way. down. Call me daredevil, if you will.

As I rounded Ave B to head down to Ave C (yes, I live in ABCity; don’t judge – we like to think of ourselves as Loisaidas) I noticed an elderly slightly pudgy gentleman holding his hands up and looking helpless a few yards away from me. At first glance, I thought he was a homeless person, intoxicated and looking to disturb my quiet street, but my second glance later deemed me a judgmental fool.

I walked until I was just a few steps away from him and realized he was staring at this:

I looked at what seemed to be a freshly cut stump and remembered a tree (that my beloved pom-a-poo used to pee ‘n poo at) had once been there. Personally, I thought the street looked much cleaner without that withering sorry excuse for a “tree” cluttering it; a new complex was built at that same spot, so I imagine the contractors or owners had the trees cut down. As I turned to the gentleman, I realized he had tears in his eyes and was shaking his head, clearly upset by the loss. “They cut it down. Where’d it go? They cut it down. It was always there but they cut it down…Why would they do that?” I wanted to give him an answer, but in that instant, I felt as little as that stump and as barren as that street corner.

He wasn’t drunk. He wasn’t a homeless man. He wasn’t causing a ruckus. He was just upset at the loss of what to him, was a neighborhood trademark. A few people who walked passed us glanced at the stump and they too, nodded their heads in somber agreement with the man’s cries. People were clearly surprised and somewhat upset that the tree was gone. At that moment, I realized this tree, in a city where greenery is scant, was much loved by many locals and it’s sudden disappearance was not sitting well with them.

I’m glad I took a different route home that day. Such an unexpected encounter made me hit myself over the head twice in a matter of minutes. Who was I to assume this man was drunk and homeless? Who was I to bid good riddance to a tree I had only known for months? This experience was such an oddly profound moment for me, I just had to document it and attempt to put into words the emotions I felt at that moment.

I pass by that stump now and it reminds me not to judge, not to cut-down (or out) so easily, not to always take the path well-trodden, and most importantly, that sometimes, more is more.

Cheers,

Cheryl

a plan.

not ours, but His.

⁹ However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— ¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit."

-1 Corinthians 2:9-10

I read the above verses countless times throughout my Christian life and meditated on the same last week.  It's crazy how the Bible really speaks to you..... God tells you all the right things at the right times, seriously.

They say your early to mid-20s are a crucial time of change, transition, and opportunity. You must make the right choices, meet the right people, etc.  I myself, am turning 24 in a little less than 4 months and much change is happening around me. Family-related changes, friends-related changes, myself-related changes, yikes! Every time I stress out about the decisions I make or about what my future holds, I stop and allow a minute to remind myself that really, only God knows and prayer is the only way to unfold His plan.

He really does have magical, wonderful, exciting things planned for those who love Him. It’s a struggle having faith knowing that these things may not be according to my personal plan, but I’m trusting in Him and trying to be patient. I see Him working in my life and when I think back on the changes going on right now, I realize how almighty He truly is; everything fits and makes sense.

I was never very good at waiting; I usually just DO then deal with the consequences later. I feel so geub-hae but I guess all good things take time.

Must pray more.

Cheers,

Cheryl

mommy's skills.

but i made 'em my own ;)

From time-to-time I make dinner for my roommates and/or my boyfriend.  It is usually pasta.  I've made a variety of pastas for the girls and each and every time it was bomb.  As in, "the."  More recently, I've made a variety of jjigaes and soojaebi and other random korean dishes for the manfriend and I shock and amaze myself at how delicious everything is! 

It's such a good feeling when people 'ooh' and 'aah' over food you've made and eat it maht-eet-gae (dunno how to say this in english...).  Last night, in celebration of my manfriend's H-1B visa being approved, I made vodka sauce with chicken, onions, and peppers over roasted garlic fettucine aaaaaand a major flavor explosion ensued in my mouth and that was that.

I've definitely taken after my mom's cooking skills and now I know why she loves to feed people the way she does.

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." -Virginia Woolf

Amen to that!

Cheers,

Cheryl