birthday week

I guess I'm gonna celebrate this entire week! Had my first birthday dinner with Liz Yoon.

Happy birthday week!

new hobby!

so much to complain about

but I shouldn't whine here. I've whined enough.

Been in the city for two nights, three days...48 days left in the city!

TBC.

I forgot

1) to lose weight

2) to learn Japanese

summer goal(s) FAIL.

so bad at accomplishing things

I used to have goals. I even had goals for this summer. I have yet to accomplish a single one of my very specific goals. Boo.

skull scarf

I want a skull scarf. Maybe, I'll buy it for myself on my birthday. Ohmygosh, I'm so bored!

no stalker

I privatized my blog. Tina just privatized her after hearing from her partner about online flops. I'm privatizing until further notice because my blog has become uninteresting. Well, that's because my life is really uninteresting at the moment. Another reason is...I don't have anyone at the moment who should (?) be stalking me. I'll open it up when I have someone who I feel should stalk me.

new discovery: kim kang woo

This blog is to keep track of my life for myself, right? Sorry for boring you with my new discovery. I just finished watching a twenty-series drama in a span of three days (each episode was more than an hour and ten minutes...yes this is the only thing I can brag about these days). I really don't like the main actor (used to like him) because he is not fit to act in 2010. Too short. Too girly. But I hit jackpot with this drama and discovered Kim Kang Woo (pictured right) and Philip Lee. And discovered a liking for Park Shi Yeon.

He was a total psychopath in this series but was pretty amazing. Now, I must watch everything he's ever been in...and maintain this obsession until I find another one. Then, I will abandon him or keep him in my closet full of past obsessions.

He acted with Park Shi Yeon twice. I must go watch the movie Marine Boy and see if I can maintain this appreciation.  They look good together. I guess there exists some special chemistry between specific actors...that make them do more performances together. Like Kate and Leo. They were even better in Revolutionary Road than in Titanic.

(Update: umm..just finished the music video that I posted before watching...it's cute until it gets a little inappropriate at the end...-_-)




My life update: not much is going on. Life is still on hold until I emerge from my house and quit staring at my laptop screen. How are you doing?

Day update: I spent an amount of money on an item of casual clothing that I consider unacceptable (actually it's not that much..I'm just cheap when it comes to spending money on casual clothes). I must wear it at least once a week in order to feel that the purchase was justified.

it's been a week

I think in weeks. I remember episodes in my life referencing it as a specific weekday. For example, I would think...the last time I saw that person was on a Wednesday around 4pm. And then for weeks, I would just keep track in that manner...two weeks ago today...three weeks ago today...etc. Seven is after all, a perfect number.

It's been a week since I left my Ann Arbor apartment...and Ann Arbor for Buffalo. I haven't done much at all. I've been a waste of space for the past week. Am I entitled (?) to continue this lifestyle for another week, you think?

new york, ny (yesterday)

I came back from NYC. Got my hair done. Went to the Korean Consulate only to be turned away. I have to go back next month. Had breakfast and lunch and dinner at various joints. Liz was our chauffeur -- driving us from and to the airport and in between! Awesomeness.

Saw Suah. Always a pleasure. Went to Ippudo. Crazy place. Wait was crazy. I would recommend going to anyone out in NYC -- the ramen was great -- but go with someone you lovee-- you have to do a lot of chatting during the wait. The pork buns were really good too...but I keep forgetting that I'm allergic to pork. Fail.

I'm having second thoughts as to whether I can really live in New York, NY. I realized that while I love getting things done in the city -- I don't like the mood of the city...maybe it's tainted with a feeling of dread and familiarity. I love the people in NYC -- but the sinking feeling ain't so hot. I don't know. I need to think about this but I realize that I will go wherever there are opportunities. In times like these, I can't be too picky! I will enter any (or most) doors that open my way,

I forgot to take my camera. I took some pictures with my I-phone but the battery died by the time I was sipping tea at my favorite tea place...Cha-an. I will definitely spend many days at that place during my seven weeks working in the city. If I'm nowhere to be found, surprise me there! (A challenge to any of my readers...who are curious/clever/charismatic/crazy enough to chase me.)

Topshop was a disappointment. I asked Sally and Liz whether I should purchase these shoes...they said no. Boo. Regrets. I should have just bought them and regretted buying them...rather than regretting not buying them...

Cupcake stand. So weird.

One of my favorite things to do in NYC -- sipping tea at Cha-an.

Have fun in NYC Tina Hoang!

i have internet!

My Buffalo home finally has internet! I have internet!

zero sum game?

when you feel slighted, you feel awful. how many people have I slighted in my life? Sorry?

anyway, this partnership tax thing is giving me a headache. the international tax exam that i took yesterday suddenly feels like a monster. i still remember what i wrote (and didn't write) for both that exam...and japanese law (which i took almost a week ago). also, corporate tax...another big fat elephant in the room i don't want to address. ugh, panic attack?

sloppy, lazy, and disorganized

I am too sloppy and disorganized to be a good law student. When I see how organized some people are...in their thinking and their outlining...and what not, I am ashamed.  I wonder if I am too sloppy and disorganized to be a good lawyer. I think I can do a good job being CEO though...big picture type of person? Okay, maybe not. But yeah.

In other news, I have two exams left! Byebye Reuven! Byebye Mark!

Hello Doug!

Hello Kyle!

Can't wait to say good-bye to Doug and Kyle. Then, I leave Ann Arbor for eight months and return in January of 2011. I feel sad but I need to leave Ann Arbor ASAP. I need to say good-bye. I need to wake up from this dream (nightmare?).

deferral?

When you take 5 tax classes, you start to hear the same terms over and over again...(good thing I took Japanese Law to balance things out or I might have gone insane).

One of the words I keep hearing/seeing is "deferral"-- friggen, taxpayers love deferring paying taxes on their income (trying to take advantage of the time value of money -- everyone who appear in my tax books are millionaires+).

Deferring payment of taxes might be good but what about deferring hope? Deferring dreams? Okay...I confess. I have nothing to blog about because the only thing I did today was eat and study. Nothing amazing happened to me besides figuring out how to determine a partnership's taxable year. Yes, I'm serious.

A few days ago (maybe a few weeks ago...the days are starting to blur) Tina sent me a speech...wrongly credited to Kurt Vonnegut. Here are some of my favorite lines from it:

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You
will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until
they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at
photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much
possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You
are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead,
sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's
only with yourself.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children,
maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the
funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do,
don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either.
Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

My least favorite piece of advice from the speech:

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank
statements.

FALSE. Keep your bank statements -- throw away the old love letters. What will you do with them? I love hating on the old and loving only the present and the always fabulous future. One day, you will become my old...my past...and I will despise the idea of you.

direct correlation

On days I write long e-mails, my blog entries are that much shorter. There is a direct correlation. It's because instead of sharing my thoughts to you guys, I'm sharing it to one person. So when my blog entries are long, it means I'm mad lonely and wanting the world to hear me out! :)

Back to my studies!

(ir)relevance / I want to be in your life?

I think becoming irrelevant in someone's life is always somewhat of a sad ordeal. I mean, it goes both ways. If I become irrelevant in someone's life, I'm sure that someone is also slowly fading in my life (Kimura Takuya's line in the drama "Pride" was that after each good-bye, memories of that person were like photographs that turned into the color sepia). The really sad situation is when it's not 100% synchronized (when one party starts earlier than the other party). I think good-byes are awkward because the link that allowed one to be relevant in another person's life disappears. I feel secure in a lot of relationships with some people. I know that even when I go far away, the link remains -- we can pick up where we left off when we meet again. However, there are good-byes that really do mean good-bye forever and ever. Becoming irrelevant and saying good-bye is something we do all the time. I guess that's how we get to become relevant to other new people (hi!). I guess if they were meant to be in my life, they'll be in my life...it happens. Wait-- I don't really believe in that 100%. I think there is a lot of human effort that is demanded in order to be in someone's life. Anyway, if they're going to fade out of my life, what can I do but express gratitude for the moments of relevance.  (Why is someone's a spelling error?)

self-control

I think I have very little self-control. Well, sometimes I have a lot of it -- but most times, I have very little. Especially when there's no one else involved -- and it's just me, myself and I...I give in. When there's someone else involved, I guess I am too scared to show it all. But I get tempted to show my raw emotions. I am an open-book for you. But you're not trying to read me!

100th post!

This is my 100th post (even though it doesn't add up for some reason...maybe I have some drafts and private entries lying around)! I have nothing really interesting to say. I had a really good morning. After my last class with Prof. Logue (tear, I'll slowly get over it), I got myself a bagel, and sat against a tree in the law quad. It's actually not just any random old tree. It's my tree. I have a few favorite spots in the law school -- and the tree in front of C and D block of the Lawyer's Club is one of them. I ate my bagel and did some people watching...and fell asleep. I legit fell asleep for an hour against that tree. When I woke up, it was almost time for my lunch appointment with Evan Dunn and two Japanese LLMs! As I sat on the bench in front of the Reading Room (also one of my top fave spots), I noticed how beautiful the trees were. I was overwhelmed by the beauty. I'm usually not a nature-freak. My absolute favorite spot in the law school is a secret.

Anyhow, the lunch was fun! I had a great time. The LLMs are so down to earth and easy to talk to! I don't think I'm good for them though...I speak too fast for them. I'm so inconsiderate. If they spoke that fast in Japanese, I would have been so miserable. I guess I'll learn my lesson the hard way when I'm in Japan.

I'm such a moody person. My good mood started wearing off at around 5pm. My good mood lasted for a good 6 hours though.

I think one of the worst things about being single for a long time is (resurrecting my best/worst thing about being single in prose form!) because you are starved for affection, sometimes your expectations are really low. The best thing is that I can keep waiting for my "someday." Anyway, besides the singleness dilemma, my other dilemma is learning to be a grateful person as my Mom told me to become. Another wise person pointed out that he didn't know why I thought life was a drag -- I have a pretty privileged existence. Ben commented on my last post and I'll repeat it as my last liner for my 100th post.

Bring it on, life!

what o'clock?

I e-mailed my mom a few days ago saying that living through my twenties was harder than I expected. I was basically lamenting without using too many words. I told her I wanted to be thirty asap. She responded back saying that I was luckier than most and that learning to be grateful for where I was and what I have now would be the first step to finding inner peace. She's probably right. I am grumbling when I am so blessed. While I'm having fun for the most part, the twenties is semi a drag too. I feel insecure, alone, and generally dissatisfied.

I just read an interview of a Korean actress who is in her early forties. She has been acting for twenty years. The question posed to her was -- what o'clock are you at in your life as an actress (direct translation, sorry)? She said, she's at around 1:00pm in her life as an actress. She feels comfortable where she is and she doesn't feel the urgent need to prove anything. That was a pretty interesting question. I'm probably at 9:00am? Maybe a little earlier or later. Just around the time where things are starting to pick up...but it's too early to tell and I haven't proven anything yet. To myself or the world. I can't wait to be thirty years old. But at thirty (five years later), would I find peace?

KORUS FTA (Korea-US Free Trade Agreement)

I need this to pass. Refer to bold, green text. There is nothing (no-one) holding me back in the US. Pretty-please, Obama!

Pending Congressional Approval

The United States and the Republic of Korea signed the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) on June 30, 2007. If approved, the Agreement would be the United States' most commercially significant free trade agreement in more than 16 years.

The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that the reduction of Korean tariffs and tariff-rate quotas on goods alone would add $10 billion to $12 billion to annual U.S. Gross Domestic Product and around $10 billion to annual merchandise exports to Korea.

Under the FTA, nearly 95 percent of bilateral trade in consumer and industrial products would become duty free within three years of the date the FTA enters into force, and most remaining tariffs would be eliminated within 10 years.

For agricultural products, the FTA would immediately eliminate or phase out tariffs and quotas on a broad range of products, with almost two-thirds (by value) of Korea's agriculture imports from the United States becoming duty free upon entry into force.

For services, the FTA would provide meaningful market access commitments that extend across virtually all major service sectors, including greater and more secure access for international delivery services and the opening up of the Korean market for foreign legal consulting services.

In the area of financial services, the FTA would increase access to the Korean market and ensure greater transparency and fair treatment for U.S. suppliers of financial services. The FTA would address nontariff barriers in a wide range of sectors and includes strong provisions on competition policy, labor and environment, and transparency and regulatory due process.

The KORUS FTA would also provide U.S. suppliers with greater access to the Korean government procurement market. In addition to strengthening our economic partnership, the KORUS FTA would help to solidify the two countries' long-standing geostrategic alliance.

As the first U.S. FTA with a North Asian partner, the KORUS FTA could be a model for trade agreements for the rest of the region, and underscore the U.S. commitment to, and engagement in, the Asia-Pacific region.

The Obama Administration will seek to promptly and effectively address the issues surrounding the KORUS FTA, including concerns that have been expressed regarding automotive trade.