Nostradamus says

8:54PM - diner time

I went out a few nights ago with some girls on my floor:


( milkshakes, babyback ribs, burgers and fries )

(2 |say)

1:05AM - korea, summer 2006

Taken in Namdaemun market in Seoul, South Korea in summer 2006.

This homeless man has no legs, hence his strange trousers. He pulls himself around on that cart with wheels, and has a speaker in the wooden box emitting music. The blue plastic basket on top for collecting his beggars' alms.

Despite his hardships, at least he can escape the monotony of the beggaring life via his cell.

My guess is that he's texting his girlfriend: "야, 너 어제 왜 전와 안 바닸어? 보고싶어~"

(Hey, why didn't you answer my calls yesterday? I miss you~)

Haha, oh Korea. I want to go back to you one day, just for a summer.

(say)

11:22AM

It's a beautiful day in Montréal, folks.

I took the 24 bus (west) for the first time ever today, down Sherbrooke Street. I had an orthodontist appointment at 9 AM, so I got up bright and early and drank a cup of green tea. By the way, I am going to try to drink more of that stuff, cause I don't like how dependent I am on caffeine/chocolate whenever I am tired. Also, I need to take better care of my teeth. Apparently my lower gums are swollen and threatening to swell over my bottom braces. Okay, sorry. TMI.

I think the green tea is working, because I went to bed at 3:30 in the morning, and got up at 6:30...and I have yet to feel like passing out.

Thank you to all who gave music recommendations, I am slowly working through them all, when I have spare moments. When you all have a spare moment, please check out Doves, one of my favourite bands of all time.

This Korean supermodel is so hot. Haha I remember reading something in my Korean culture class coursepack about how foreigners who visited Korea back in the turn of the century thought Koreans were all so ugly and gross and uncultured. Except for that one weird German guy (whose name I forget) who said that some upper class Koreans are actually white (as in, part of the Aryan race). Well, you can't say he lacks imagination.

(say)

11:39PM - music recommendations

Hey lovely friends,

Name me five musical artists that you love. I am in need of inspiring new music.

Love,

Beth

(5 |say)

11:14PM - stupidjournal

Ahhh this is my first update here in like.......ages.


I kind of missed this user name. The book was good too. Read it, it's by Douglas Coupland.

Some Facts About Me

1. My favorite gum is Extra peppermint
2. I am nineteen years and seven months old (at the moment, obv)
3. I love the show Ugly Betty
4. I am a reader....of books
5. I think foreign films are neat
6. I check gmail on average 5 times/day...no joke
7. I lived in England for 2 years ('95-'97)
8. I was born in Seoul, South Korea....I think we lived in an apt complex in Chang Dong (yeah, you know that neighbourhood right)
9. I have another journal metro_ride but its mostly friends only cause I talk about a lot of very....personal things
10. I am a national scholarship recipient
11. I was very very depressed in high school(if you went to high school with me and you are reading this, heyyyyy whats up)
12. I currently reside and study in Montreal, Quebec
13. I worked for about three months at a café and screwed up about 5343023215 times...including this one time when I dropped a very valuable cheesecake (oops...)
14. I am kind of passive aggressive (I will admit it)
15. I used to have really low self confidence....sad because its so typical
16. I really, really detest arrogant pricks and overly insecure people (cause I used to be one myself, of course)
17. My dad lives in Korea and works as a manager of a parking lot...for some reason I find this funny
18. My parents are divorced but I don't blame myself and I am totally cool with it
19. I get addicted easily to rituals or simple games, like Spider Solitaire and TETRIS(R)
20. I am probably not cool with my parents being divorced (i.e. denial)
21. These days I am the happiest I have been since I was 14 years old
22. I am morally opposed to apathy
23. I don't mind passing judgments
24. I was born on July 31, 1988
25. I hit someone with the car once, when I was making a right turn early in the morning...I have yet to drive since
26. I am very impatient....I'm working on it
27. I have never been completely drunk
28. I got braces quite recently, so I tried not smiling or talking too much for a bit but gave up cause it was no fun
29. My self respect has gone up 200% since last year (I can chart it on a graph)
30. I like really long deep conversations about feelings and the state of the world
31. My raunchy sense of humor takes people by surprise
32. I am discontent with the state of Society these days
33. I hope to make some sort of change with the issues I am passionate about
34. I secretly wish I could write novels for a living
35. The end.

(5 |say)

8:27AM - Goodbye Nostradamus

New journal: metro_ride

I'm too lazy to do friends only. Come on over, if you want.

(4 |say)

11:27PM - J'adore Montreal

I'm sitting at a 24 hour internet cafe in the heart of Boulevard St. Laurent in Montreal right now. This is my sister's neighbourhood, where all the young students/yuppies hang out for drinks, dinner, and dancing. The atmosphere is amazing, and I wish I could show you the cobblestone streets lit up with lights and the people sitting outdoors, enjoying conversation over candlelight and cheesy guitar players singing for their money.

I still love Vancouver, but I also love that Montreal is nothing like it.

So here are the last 2 days:

- walking around Boul. St.Laurent at night
- registering for/picking up my McGill ID (eee!)
- checking out my dorm room at New Rez (5 minutes from my sister's studio apartment)
- walking up the big ass hill to Molson Stadium
- Buying groceries at the local grocery store (what, I found it exciting)
- IKEA
- Buying mattresses at Dormez Vous? (Are you Sleeping?)
- Peanut butter and triple jam sandwiches for lunch
- Aching feet at 9 PM

...& etc. The list goes on and on.

I want to post pictures, but those must come later. I'm going to meet up with Caroline (evidences) on Sunday evening, so the backlog of pictures will continue! Oh well, I'm having way too much fun to stress about it.

I hope everyone else is feeling superb.

(4 |say)

8:10PM

Montreal Countdown: 1 day (after today)

I can't be coherent, just to warn you. I just took a prolonged nap, so I am all buzzing with excitement. I packed a lot today. I can't wait, I can't wait, I cannot motherfuckin' (snakes on a plane) wait!!!!

Deep breath...

(1 |say)

10:30PM - so long

Today I met up with Teri and Lindsay, who both go to UBC, for a little goodbye get-together. We had lunch at the Milestones next to English Bay and then to Metrotown for some sticker photos. All in all, just a nice, peaceful day.


( Farewell lunch with some longtime friends )

(say)

10:30PM

Facebook will be my downfall.

It all started this morning when I got up at 5 AM to register for my courses, and of course my computer had to crap out, forcing me to restart and when I finally got online at 5:07 AM, the server was at maximum capacity and I had to keep trying about a bilion times for the next half hour to log in (and it still didn't work!!!)! In utter frustration, I went to facebook.com and registered for an account to distract myself. I, uh, got distracted pretty well.

Two hours later, I tried logging in and signed up for all my courses. I only missed out on one course, Sociology of Gender, but that's okay. It's replaced by a Religious Studies class on the Bible and Western Civilization (translation: a really big Bible Study group), so it was not all bad. I'm hoping the professor is a jovial retired pastor who brings his wife's homemade chocolate chip cookies to every class and tells us stories about his grandchildren, Tod and Rod.

(I wish)

Anyways, Facebook must die! I can already feel my GPA sagging!

(7 |say)

6:35PM - Random things

I add and drop people and communities from my friends list like nobody's business. Like a few minutes ago, I dropped someone from my list (who I only added about a month ago), joined a community, and then left it 5 minutes later because I decided it didn't suit my taste. I am fickle. I have a really varied friends list in general...I can't even start to describe any similarities in that group. You're all wonderfully weird and unique, and that's why I love to read your journals.

Moving on...

I lounged around the house for most of my day, checked out my provincial exam results, and ate Korean food. I love Korean food so much that I googled Korean restaurants in Montreal and found a place called "la Maison Bulgogi." You don't have to be Korean to laugh at how ridiculous it sounds. Korean and French do not work in harmony. Bulgogi, for those who don't know, is a type of marinated beef. It's delicious.

I am doing a lot more research into projects for North Korea. I emailed the coordinator for Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) to ask for more information on starting a LiNK chapter at McGill. I want to stir people up and get connected with the Korean community in Montreal, however small it may be.

I borrowed The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag today from the library. So far it's been a bit disapointing, what with the awkward sentence structure and uneven descriptions, but I have to remember that this book was basically a verbally-transcribed memoir done in marathon recording sessions, so I can't expect any Arthur Golden caliber storytelling. Facts are facts, after all.

7 days to go until Montreal. Wow.

(8 |say)

9:59PM - yaletown + fireworks!

( this was july 29th, 2006 )

By the way, I turn 18 tomorrow. My mom yelled at me today and I ate my birthday cake, early. Now the house smells like Korean food and I have a suitcase stuffed with clothes for Montreal. I feel content.

(4 |say)

12:29PM - Course selections

As feverently as I have been researching North Korea, I've also been occupied by the equally time-consuming course selections for the school year coming up. I've come up with my ideal schedule and course list:

( Fall 06/Winter 07 )

If things don't go well, I have a backup schedule and course list:

( Backups )
If you're going to McGill, post your schedules! I wanna see.

P.S. Yeah, I know. I was really, really bored.

P.P.S. McGill abbreviates Thursday as "R," in case anyone totally went "wtf?" at it like I did.

(say)

12:29AM - A barrage.

In the last 48 hours, I have been in a non-stop hunt for more information on the North Korean refugee crisis.

It all started at the downtown library, when I was looking up international relations/development textbooks. I was in the midst of a course selection frenzy for my freshman year at McGill, during which I was questioning my commitment to a major, perhaps even an Honours major in international development. Then, for some strange reason, my fingers just randomly typed "North Korea" in the library catalogue search engine.

I got my results, and scrolled down. As the titles rolled, I felt my interest perking. I was deeply inflamed last year at the screening of Seoul Train as part of the Amnesty Film Festival. The stark, desolate images of starving children picking scraps of food from the dirt and the desperation of the refugees haunted me for a week after I had left the cushy, air conditioned Pacific Cinematheque. Of course, they faded as my life was once again consumed by everyday obligations, school, and insecurities. But I couldn't completely forget. Here is a summary of what Seoul Train, and the refugee crisis are about, from Film Fest Journal: 

A smuggled video footage of a communal market in North Korea provides a profoundly sobering context to the grave, protracted, man-made humanitarian crisis caused by the government's systematic diversion of international food aid to party loyalists at the expense of ordinary citizens (often from the rural provinces) as children scour the mud for occasional morsels of food (mostly grain biproducts). Despite the Chinese government's knowledge that North Korean defectors will face torture and certain death if captured, the government has instituted a policy of forcibly repatriating North Koreans found within their sovereignty, irrespective of formal appeals for asylum. For these desperate people, the only hope for survival lies in making a dangerous cross-country journey into China undetected with the goal of reaching a third country (often Mongolia) by any means necessary, aided along the way by a loose alliance of well-intentioned ordinary citizens operating in a multinational, underground railroad system between the northern border of North Korea and China. Composed of several breathtaking (and heart-rending) actual footage along their flight to freedom and interviews from several covert operatives - including an outspoken humanitarian named Chun Ki-won (dubbed by human rights activists as the "Schindler of Asia") - as they plot their escape, rehearse their strategy for formally seeking asylum, initiate contact with their host families (often South Korean relatives), and finally attempt, often in vain, their one chance at freedom (as in the case of the MoFA Seven who delivered a formal, written plea to the Chinese government for asylum and were immediately arrested and deported), Seoul Train is an intensely visceral, illuminating, and deeply moving document of inspired activism against a seemingly unconquerable tide of moral apathy, bureaucratic inertia, and inhuman politics.

P.S. For those who may be interested, here are some relevant links with the basics:

Liberty in North Korea

The Invisible Exodus: North Koreans in the People's Republic of China

The Hidden Gulag: Exposing North Korea's Prison Camps

Seoul Train official website (you can access a lot of resources/links here)

(say)

10:52PM - LAND OF THE FREE

Setting: On the 97 bus

"Who here's Canadian? All o' you, right?" Stupid White Guy booms loudly as soon as he settles in his seat. I groan quietly and immediately avert my eyes toward my book, cursing inwardly at my choice to sit at the back of the bus tonight of all nights, with this idiot. Why didn't I follow Rosa Parks' example? Why why why why--

"Yeah, I'm Canadian," says a guy sitting next to Stupid White Guy.

"LOS ANGELES." Stupid White Guy leans back in his seat, with what I imagine to be a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Since I sit directly sideways from him, I avoid eye contact, movement or any acknowledgement of his obstrusive, nerve-grating presence. "Yeah, that's right, I'm an AMERICAN."

"That's great, dude," The guy sitting next to Stupid White Guy replies, with the enthusiasm of a burnt-out single mother.

"NO IT AINT, DUDE. I get treated like shit for being American. You fucking hate us! You fucking hate us Americans for being American!"

By this point a chubby girl with cankles lolls along flirtatiously and asks the guy sitting next to Stupid White Guy, "Can I sit here? It's so hot at the front!" (Puke, groan, die). Of course, guy (who probably hasn't gotten some in awhile) chirps, "Sure!"

Then, as the Law of Stupid White Guys state, the mind-bendingly idiotic obnoxiousness kicks into high gear.

"Hey, you're Canadian right?"
"Sure am. I was born in Vancouver (giggle)!" (puke, groan, die)
"I AM AMERICAN. Why do you fucking hate us Americans?"
"I don't know, I never said I hated Americans."
"Yeah you do! You hate our President! You hate us because of Iraq!"

At this point guy sitting between Fat White Girl and Stupid White Guy interjects.

"Listen dude, why are you being so aggressive? I didn't say I hate Americans. I hate George Bush's policies on Iraq and going to war for no good reasons and stuff. I don't like actually hate Americans."

"I'm from the Army, did you know that?" Stupid White Guy shoots back. "I hate my President too! I fucking hate George Bush!" His voice becomes louder as he declares his daring revolutionary stance.

"Well, that's good for you," Fat White Girl says, obviously trying not to laugh. "I hate him too."

At this point I decide that I've heard enough of this wildly amusing conversation and put on my earphones. From what scraps and pieces I heard of their conversation after this point, I am glad I had my music with me. Oh, the joys of portable devices that allow uninterrupted eavesdropping without involement. Shudder.

(4 |say)

11:49AM - to be replaced by a coherent post later

KIM!

TR = Tuesday and Thursday. I got it checked out.

10:04AM - There and back again

I am back from Korea. I got back three days ago, actually. I spent the first day sleeping off jetlag and looking over photographs, and yesterday I had the most wonderful day out and about with my sister. This trip has made me realize how little time I have spent with her in the school year. Understandably I had all my obligations, but I feel immensely relieved that we have spent some quality time together and strengthened our bond before this huge move to Montreal.

So, yesterday Alice and I went downtown to walk around, window shop, smell perfumes (which is more her thing than mine, but I didn't mind). We talked about a lot of big things like the future and how we both don't really know what to do with our lives, even though we have a lot of big dreams. A lot of people think that I have a straight track to my future all set in place, but I don't really. So I've got my whole life ahead of me, full of potential and success in fill-in-the-blank. So what. I don't care when people assume my future career, because as long as I keep my head on straight I know it'll come to me naturally.

Anyways, I think that because my best friend lives in another city and I don't have many other girlfriends (okay, none) who would hang out with me outside of school, I haven't done a lot of this random walking around, window shopping thing very much. I found it to be quite fun. And yes, we did also walk around a mall. Don't despair, I'm not a mallrat teenybopper or anything now. There's a lot of pleasure to be found in occasional little nothings. I stress occasional.

In the late afternoon we caught A Scanner Darkly, by Richard Linklater (the same guy who did Waking Life, which I liked). It was great, I loved everything about this movie. Keanu and Winona were good, but Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson totally stole the show. The screen shot below was one of the funniest scenes (and coincidentally one of my favourites).





I just love Linklater's style. Alice, being the aesthetic perfectionist she is, didn't approve of some of the "messiness," but also gave her thumbs up for this movie. I think you should all watch it.

Kim is coming back tommorrow! I am already making a list of things we're going to do together. Today, after I order all my photo prints online I'm thinking of heading down to Richmond with Alice to visit Daiso, a huge Japanese dollar store. I am going to buy lots of cheap junk and take even more photos, ha. In the evening we will probably go to the Richmond Night Market, just because we've both never been. I hope everyone else is having a good summer...and yes, pictures from Korea will come, eventually...when I feel like it.

(1 |say)

9:11PM

Guess where I am? I'll give you 1000 won if you guess right (which would make you approximately $1.17777 Cdn richer)!

I'm going back to Vancouver on Sunday, and I don't think I've spent any adaquate time or effort in really recapping what is probably the last time I'll be on motherland soil for a few years. Every summer I will be busy doing internships and volunteering, so I still have a lot to do this summer, namely getting my courses figured out, reading recreationally (must...retain...literacy) and of course, going downtown so much I'll be sick of it by the time August 8th rolls around. I bought Sophie's World a few days ago at Kyobo because I remembered Kim recommending it awhile back. See, I have all these books I want to read but there never seems to be enough TIME! This will probably also be the case in university, where I will meet so many amazing people who will tell me about this and that book/film/musician and I will nod my head like "Yeah! That sounds amazing! I'll try it!" and then go to my dorm room and fall asleep drooling all over my once-shiny textbooks. Oh, woe is me. I am being idiotic.

I really am scared, though. I totally don't have my shit together (still!).

I also really wanted to go to a norebang (literal translation: sing room) but it's the kind of place you go to with a bunch of friends on a night out, not when you're bored on a Friday night with your...older sister. Just typing that was painful. I really have to admit that Seoul would have been infinitely better had I met these three crucial conditions: a) I was of legal drinking age b) I was really attractive (a universal requirement for Having Fun) and c) I could drive a car.

See, if I could drink I could get into all the fun nightspots, where of course with my attractiveness I could have fun with other good-looking people, and with the car I could take everyone on a road trip to a traditional Korean folk village in the countryside! Can you just see us, a batch of beautiful Koreans with the hood of my Hyundai/Kia corvette down singing along to Beach Boys with Konglish accents.

Actually, I really wanted to visit a folk village, but my uncle had to drive us to some beach resort where it rained nonstop and I set another record for mosquito bites.

VANCOUUUUUVEEEEEEERRRRR!!!!!!!

(4 |say)

7:24PM

Hello again from the smoky neon underground PC room.

Yesterday my dad drove my sister and I to Everland, this huge-ass amusement park (the largest one in Korea, in fact). The drive was hot and long and I got car sick reading Jane Eyre. I bought it at Kyobo, a large bookstore in downtown Seoul. I've already been there about five times to buy cute stationary and Emile Zola's Au Bonheur De Dames (The Ladies' Delight). Don't be fooled by the French title, it's really a Cinderella story recast in 19th century Paris that celebrates the wonders of capitalism (symbolized by a huge department store that kills off local small businesses)! I'm not exaggerating, that really is the plot/theme. I picked it up because it was on the discounted pile (being the extravagant lush I am). I finished this book feeling dirty and used because Zola sucked me in with his light, fluffy Cinderella storyline and then bashed my head over with his capitalist manifesto bullshit, in the most unsubtle way. What rudeness.

Anyway. I found spending time with my dad bland, not particularly unpleasant but completely unmemorable. Everland, however, was truly frightening. In many ways I think it symbolizes the awkwardness of 21st century Korea in its attempt to force-fit Western (more specifically, American) aesthetics and ways to its culture and visibly falling short just because it is so forced. It was slightly eerie to walk into what was basically a Disneyland rip-off, from the fake Disney-like castles to themed areas such as "Rockland" and "Cowboy Rodeo". They even had white people imported to play in a "jazzy band" and a white couple supplemented with Koreans wearing garish blond wigs to dance to distorted versions of Grease songs and God knows what else. The highlight of the day was definitely while we were all walking away from the dancers, and the female announcer with the microphone cranked up screeched hysterically, "COME ON EVERYBODY, LETS DANCE!!!!!!". We all looked at each other and started laughing uncontrollably- my stomach was hurting by the time we got to the top of the hill. Jesus, if I was a little kid I'd start crying if I heard that. Everland is a scary, sad place if you're over 12 years old. I got the impression that my dad was depressed and wasn't having such a great time, because he fell asleep during the horrifying Animal Wonder Stage Show and equally cheesy but not as pathetic Sea World Wonder Show. I rode a few rides and before we knew it, it was already 5 PM. I slept for most of the 2 and a half hour drive back and came home feeling groggy and kind of sad. The drizzling rain didn't help, either.

I have 5 minutes left, which isn't enough time to articulate how I felt about this outing with my father who I haven't seen or talked to for about 2 years before this week. Maybe another time.

In other news, I've bought my heart out here. I've got your gifts, ladies.

(2 |say)

10:09AM

I'm updating from the Free Internet kiosk at the National Tourist Bureau Headquarters. Once a freeloader, always a freeloader. I hate paying for the internet in neon, smoky underground rooms (they all look the same, pretty much). I actually haven't been able to update because I cannot stand to type out a coherent entry with so much smoke. So now that the air is clean, I'm going to recap the last few days:

Shopping, visiting some never-before-seen relatives, and eating. Oh God, can Koreans eat. They eat like they still labour in the fields all day. No wonder I see so many chubby schoolchildren! Granted they are cute, but over here a voracious appetite is equated with good health...and that's not so healthy for a kid who is pressured to keep on eating more rice and kimchi long after his soft, rounded stomach has reached its full capacity.

Aww, I want to bring home a chubby Korean kid.

In the next few days I want to visit some theme parks, go to some more museums and art galleries, etc. The usual tourist stuff. I also want to make some cool Korean friends, but it would be pretty lame to make friends with people when you're leaving in potentially 10 days. Yes, we're leaving early. I'm glad...Korea is a good place to visit for maybe 3 weeks, but that would be my limit. I am looking forward to getting back to Vancouver and catching some final rays of sun on the Westcoast with Kim (Ms. 5 on the AP) before Montreal. I also booked my tickets for Montreal...August 8th! Mark ye calendars, mon Montreal amis!

(8 |say)