Monday Blues and Happy Halloween!

 My dear,

How are you today? I feel very tired! Yesterday I couldn’t fall asleep, even though we changed the clocks to winter time. How did your surprising weekend trip go? I am waiting for photos!

Since yesterday I couldn’t post anything, today will be the day to say some words that were intended for Sunday.

After the long post on Friday, which I must confess, was written for several days, I felt exhausted. I consider making the Neverending Sunday posts optional, because it’s difficult to write something (even personal stuff) after such long music Friday publications.

So, a little bit of what I have been doing lately… Not so many great things happen to me, except that we were preparing ourselves for the upcoming winter. Last week we had the firewood delivered to our home and the weekend before I had to help granny with the flowers – we usually put them in the basement, when the weather becomes really cold.

Petals from cascading geranium

Photo made by my cousin

So, you can see that, apart from writing about music and wise quotes, I couldn’t find some time to write about other things. Even now I am writing from work and I will finish the post at home (I wrote most of my latest posts during  breaks, because at home the only thing I can do is to edit them).  And recently I have a lot of work to do in my daily job, which is very tiring.  Anyway, I will stop complaining now.

Speaking about flowers, there is a new addition to my collection of orchids! The fifth one (I call it the maknae, meaning “the youngest” in Korean) is a mini-orchid with a deep purple colour, accompanied with some leopard pattern in the middle.

You can’t see clearly the purple colour, because my phone cannot catch it, as many cameras can’t as well. It is so tiny and sweet! How could you resist this charm?! I hope that our home is not so cold for the little one, because its petals will fall off.

Apart from the (mindless for some) flower shopping, I found Korean cosmetics! I have long heard that there are some masks in the DM store, but recently I found spare time (and money) to look for them. And I must say, there are plenty to choose from!

As you can see, I bought two types – a sheet mask with Korean red ginseng and under-eye mini sheet masks with green tea. The ginseng mask, which is a bit expensive, is only one in the package and I haven’t used it yet, but the under-eye treatment turned out to be very good! There are 30 sheets, 15 for each eye and they are very easy to use.

Interesting Article

My dear, last week I happened upon a very interesting photo article on the BBC site. It shows some very old photos from Shanghai. I personally liked the one with the wheelbarrow taxi driver who disassembles his rig to avoid paying taxes for crossing the bridge with his wheel.  Clever trick, haha!

Movies and Dramas

There is not so much to say about new dramas at the moment. Recently granny and I concluded Coffee Prince, which is a very sweet (and old) 2007 drama. The main actress, playing a girl disguised as a young man, was very impressive. From all clichés that I have seen, this role felt very suitable for her.  The drama is very light and funny and makes you feel comfortable. It is perfect to watch when you have some time during the cold and rainy days.

Recently I began watching Scarlet Heart, which will end this week. Maybe I will write a review after completing it, but for now I can only say that the music in the drama is the one thing that still excites me the most. The story was interesting at first, but now the plot is diluted and chaotic, weakening the whole concept, I think. Apart from the good acting of some of the princes and older actors/actresses, it feels like a teen – oriented drama, filled with famous idols (some who are still learning how to act) just for the fan-service – a fact that can easily disappoint, even though everyone seems so beautiful. Beauty is not always the main point after all. 

Speaking of dramas, there is a movie I watched recently. It’s called Hot Young Bloods and it is very energetic to watch. I personally wanted to see it, because of Lee Jong Suk at first, but the whole acting team did an amazing job. The vibes I get remind me a lot of Punch – another coming-of-age movie, with another favourite actor, Yoo Ah-in. Well, I began writing about one movie, but ended up praising two. Of course, I am not going to compare these films; I will just recommend you to watch them both. You will like the energy, the humour and the simple wisdom and truths about life, especially in Punch.

Photo taken from hancinema.net

Destination for Motivation

Dear, there are so many places I want to visit in this world! Apart from my dream to celebrate my birthday in Australia (not only because it matches Australia day, but it is also summertime in January there), my eagerness exceeds to making travel my way of life! I feel so alone some days; like a person with no connections and no companion to share the same interests, like a person that lives in another country. I sometimes feel more connected to things that happen abroad, than in Bulgaria. I am not even a real patriot in my own country….

Anyway, today’s destination is a place in South Korea that I saw in the first episode of the drama mentioned above (Scarlet Heart). The place is Cheonjuho Lake in Pocheon and, from what I have seen in the drama and Google, the view is very beautiful!

Photo taken from visitkorea.or.kr

Some Monday Music…

Dear, I think that my admiration for BTS is growing with the speed of light! They turned out to be very interesting and fun! The excitement I have for them these days reminds me a lot of my first SHINee days. As an unofficial Shawol, now I can say that I am turning also into an ARMY. (Although I am using these labels only to express my fondness and support for the groups, but I distinguish from both fandoms’ behavior.)

Here is a song, released in 2015, which is sooo good to listen to! I also like the choreography, the dance made me watch the whole video several times, can you imagine that, haha! There is this sound in the chorus that reminds of Flo Rida’s G.D.F.R. song, (which I know you didn’t like so much), but Dope has a lighter feeling that you will definitely enjoy more!

[MV] BTS(방탄소년단) _ DOPE(쩔어)

          So, that was my Monday post. I am currently at home, finishing and editing this post and I will probably read s few documents for tomorrow, because I have a lot of work to do these days. It was a very long Monday…

         Tomorrow my aunt and little cousin will come for one night and two days to stay with us. No more K-pop for me, only My Little Pony, hahaha!

Till Wednesday, my dear!

Hugs,

R.

My ears at work today. This is really embarrassing, haha! I hate selfies! I am only doing this for you. Happy Halloween! Meow!

Neverending Sunday - 2 October

My dear O.,

It’s Sunday again and hello, October! After last week’s long 4-day break I feel that this weekend is way too short for me.

Anyway, let’s see what we have for today. My choice of topics today include some of the things from the past several weeks that had impressed me in some way and I want to share them with you.

Recipe

       

       In July I decided to try a new kind of dish. It isn’t something original, but it was new to our home menu, so that made it an exciting dish to try. The basic ingredients include chicken meat, onion, carrots and a huge amount of green peppers. All of the veggies have to be sliced into thin pieces and everything is fried in a wok, with some soya sauce and 1-2 cloves of garlic. Simple and delicious! We call it “Granny’s Chinese meal” because of the use of soya sauce, but it is not so appropriate. You can add some zucchini, or as in our case when we got together at your place for a home-cooked meal – some Chinese mushrooms (I found their name - Cloud ear fungus). The crunchiness of all the vegetables must be preserved and that makes it very delicious, in my opinion.

Drama

Apart from our Descendants of the Sun marathon at the beginning of September, we managed to watch two more dramas, one of which I am going to review in brief.

Photo source: dramafever.com

Playful Kiss is a based on the popular Japanese manga Itazura na Kiss. I remember watching the anime series more than three years ago. It is not the typical anime that you can usually watch, for me it was more like family-oriented story, I guess. Or at least that was the feeling I had after watching it.

It wasn’t the same with the drama. Korean dramas can vary from other dramas or even animated versions of the same story.  We watched it last week during the four-day holidays and as our plans to go on separate trips during those precious and last resting days for this year failed. So granny and I decided to use the time to do the chores during these days and the evenings were spent watching this drama. The series aired in 2010 so that makes it an old drama and it surely looked like that. The story follows the hardships of a not so smart girl who is in love with a bored genius boy. Dear, if you don’t watch it, you won’t lose. It surely is sweet, but just for wasting your time, although there are some funny moments that stay in your mind even after you have finished it. The leading actor, who I know is also a singer, looks like a wood in a bad mood, decorated with beautiful, but always irritated face. The main actress is sweet and may poses some kind of talent for more deeper roles, but I think that this character particularly puts her in a frame that cannot be escaped. The stereotype of the caring, yet dumb woman and the look-at-me-I-am-an-awesome-man type is very common in some Asian dramas and stories. They just don’t want independent girls sometimes and that’s it (Although there are some examples and strong female characters are on the rise nowadays).  I mostly liked the second male lead, who turns out to be a delinquent-looking person with a very good heart (and he speaks in dialect very well). The relationship between the younger brother and the mother is very entertaining as it was in the anime as I remember. Good drama, but you can easily skip watching it.

I guess, I am not good in expressing myself in brief - look how many words I have written about a drama I do not recommend you to watch! I wanted to write about another more exciting drama, but I will leave it for next week. ;)

Hit the Stage (Or hit me in the heart with those awesome dances!)

            My dear, I happened to watch videos on YouTube of a show that ended last week. It’s called Hit the Stage, it is Korean and has mega-awesome dance performances!

At first my interest was generated by Taemin’s appearance in the teaser advertising this show. But after watching some performances as it started, I began liking it even more. What can I say, I enjoyed everything I saw! I am going to put here some of the dances I liked the most. Of course, the others were awesome too, but I keep repeating these, because they became my favorite! (And I must confess, I am biased – I like watching the males dancing more than the females, blame me! Such energy and strength! And also – J-Black and Pinky Cheeks, Yugyeom, U-Kwon, I want you to dance on my wedding day, no joke! You were awesome!!!Haha!...Well, if I ever get to marry someone… Anyway, just think about the joke here. ;) )

Block B U-Kwon transforming to the Joker!

Uniform Match Concept Show- Like OOH-AHH! J-Pink

Nicole as Harley Quinn

Romantic + Fatal Attraction

Robotic dance

Yugyeom - EP. 9

Destination for Motivation

You told me you really wanted to go to Italy (Milan and Turin), but recently the tickets got more expensive. Don’t be sad, you will go someday, maybe even soon. And I wish you to be in the best company and to have the best time there. Even if you feel alone now that you are living in a different city, trying to fit in and studying hard, don’t get sad, because bright days are coming and there are a lot of people that think about you. You are loved, my dear. And someday you will travel this beautiful world and you will feel complete. And, if I get the chance to share even one of these moments while you are at the top of the world, filled with excitement, then, my dear, then I will be even more proud.  

Milan

Milan
Photos taken from Tumblr: Freddie Ardley Photography

Hugs,
R.