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!

Gourmet Bomb and Friday Music Favourites – 28 October

 My dear O.,

Your food-inspired letters were really delicious! I am glad that you take care of yourself by eating good food and socializing with people! That’s the best way to beat the autumn melancholy. The worst is that after autumn there comes winter which is even more depressing and colder. It is good that you search for some colour in your daily routine, do not let the cold make you feel sad!  Your lodging looks very comfy and warm; I can see from the photos that you furnished it with style. I really liked the pictures you posted! And also, the gluttony quote made me laugh sincerely, hahaha!

The dinner you prepared for your colleagues is the best way to “break the ice” as people say and to catch up with the times you couldn’t meet with those girls. They look very pretty and friendly in the photo you posted.

You did everything well – from the stylish arrangement of the table, to the wonderful meal. The menu seems very delicious and fresh – is turkey common meat to eat there, as it was with the fish in Brest? I know that in France they eat goose meat (a stereotype, because of the foie gras, maybe?) and each region has its unique meals (like the Pâté Lorrain you wrote about). The connection between food and wine that French people have has always impressed me. I saw it when we were touring in France with the choir in 2014 – especially older people, they couldn’t imagine eating something without a glass of wine. For me wine is too heavy to drink alongside a main course or if I want accompany it with some cheese, I will definitely not do it during desserts time.

Japchae!!! I cannot believe it! I envy you so much (in the noble way, of course)! This dish is in my Korean food bucket list! You must cook it for me, haha!!! So, they sell dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles) in France, don’t they? And the thing you wrote about how your Korean friend prepared all the veggies and the meat – the patience they have when preparing their dishes is something very different from our hasty Western style. I really admire the effort they put and the respect they have towards beautiful and nutritious food.

So, it’s Friday again and this time, as promised, I will write about music - something I had to do last week…

BTS and their wings

My dear, there is a group I stumbled upon by chance more than two weeks ago in one late Sunday evening. Called BTS, or also Bangtan Boys, they had just released their newest album and the Twitterverse (and the entire Internet) was literally exploding that same night. My curiosity brought me to the song I posted last Friday. 

Their album, WINGS, topped the charts in many countries with the Blood, Sweat & Tears MV becoming the fastest K-pop music video by a group to reach a high number of views on YouTube in a very short time.

The album consists of not only group songs, but also each member has a solo track. I only recently watched the short films for their solos that use quotes from Hermann Hesse’s novel Demian (a book that I plan to read).

Source: Wikipedia

The reason I continued listening to their album that Sunday night was simply because I was really surprised by the promotional song. Blood, Sweat & Tears was simply something I didn’t expect to hear from a South Korean band, so I had to check the other songs, too. Below there are few words about some of them, including the lead single. (Thanks to all those YouTube users who upload the songs for us to listen! I should thank them every time I write and share songs here.)

Blood, Sweat & Tears reminds me of one of those summer European mainstream songs that we sometimes listen and dance to. Due to the oriental elements in the song, the resemblance with our modern pop-folk genre in Bulgaria is astonishing and makes me giggle every time I listen to it. I must confess that initially, when I was first listening to it, I was literally frozen by surprise (as I told you above). I watched a video where the boys explain that the genre of the song is moombahton trap. A simple check in Google leads you to a Wikipedia page that tells something about the genre and gives examples of other songs, some of which that are famous, too. Moombahton or pop-folk, I don’t know anymore, but it is definitely different, distinguishing and mostly likable to listen to. The video is…well, you know my habit of not watching the MVs, so I only recently watched it as a whole and was impressed by their moves. That’s the best Korean dance interpretation of pop-folk moves that I have ever seen in my life, hahah! But still, they are good, I must confess. And they surprisingly correspond to the song.

Begin starts with sensual vocals and then flows into a rhythmic and pleasing dreamy song. The sounds in the chorus seem very familiar to me. It’s like I have heard a similar style of music somewhere, but I cannot remember quite well. For me it’s a song for the night – the sounds predispose to something mysterious and exciting, hiding in the darkness.

Lie – my most favourite song! Jimin’s voice range is very wide I must say. The classical notes at the beginning take you to a complete different version of reality. A playful vocal tease, followed by a dramatic burst of emotional high notes in the chorus – simply delicious to listen to! Drama, violins, creepy female voices and old crinoline dresses from the Victorian era – this is the universal feeling I got at first, while being swept by this swinging musical harmony. I usually stick to several songs and listen to them multiple times and this song is on repeat at the moment. It may sound too eerie and dramatic to you, though. Just focus on the beautiful musical heights he conquers, haha!

First Love sounds like a painful confession. I really regret not knowing the lyrics (and not knowing Korean), because it is really promising as a single. The piano sounds complete Suga’s voice which is filled with regret, pain and mocking disdain. The song is very suitable for a movie soundtrack.

Stigma, MAMA and Reflection are songs that you will definitely enjoy. They are calmer, relaxed and close to your preferences.

Awake and 21Century girls sound more like k-pop songs, although there are still some moombahton-ish elements at the end of the latter, but that makes it appealing, more boyish and danceable in my opinion. Awake is a very delicate ballad, showing the tenderness in Jin’s voice. His timbre is also very light, but unlike Jimin’s boyish notes, Jin’s voice feels more relaxed and manly in the musical heights (with no offence to Jimin’s abilities, of course!). Bonus: There is a new dance practice video which is simply hilarious! Hahaha! Happy Halloween in advance! :D 

BTS Cypher 4 is your jumping song! Rap trap power, haha! I heard that there was another song that used the same musical theme, but I must confess that I like the Cypher more. Brrr! Ha!

Although I wrote only about some of the songs, I highly recommend you to listen to the complete album. The songs in it are very well arranged and their course does not burden your mind while listening.

Actually, it is very difficult to write about them, because I am a Bangtan newbie, so to say. I feel that there are still some things about the concept that I am missing and that makes the songs’ reviews incomplete in a way. For me they are still a new group that I discovered by chance and I think the surprising sound of the promotional song made me listen to their album and to dig on YouTube for more. I recall that I have listened to parts of their previous songs in the past, but initially they couldn’t hold my interest for long (simply because I was obsessed with only few groups and that was it). So, now I can only say that all the opinions above are mostly based on my first impressions and the reviews do not encompass everything that could be said. But, as a whole I can conclude that this album is very interesting and it’s close to my taste in music and style concept. It has that enchanting vibe with a pinch of eerie mystery that makes you tremble from excitement and pleasure. I am glad that I turned my eyes (and ears) to other fresh artists from the K-pop scene and BTS is indeed a valuable addition to my collection of favourite Korean bands.

I will continue observing their future work as closely as I can, because they seem really fresh and capable to create more great pieces. And, from what I have seen and heard recently, they are very well matched as a group.  BTS, fighting! :)

R.

September

My dear,

Continuing my enthusiastic elan, I am currently writing to you to tell how my days have passed since you left in mid-August. Mostly I will write about the first days of September, considering how bad I felt almost during the entire previous month.

Village People

At the end of July I decided not to take a day-off during August, in order to combine the days at the beginning of September and to enjoy some time in or villa near Dryanovo. I really wanted to take you there, but I couldn’t go before that and arrange everything and also, the second wedding and you having a guest from France made it almost impossible for us to go there together. That’s why I think the road trip we did on the last day of July was a wonderful idea at that time.

The last time I went to our villa with my grandmother at the end of April, someone had broken inside and there was a lot of mess. Luckily, nothing super precious was taken, but we had a lot of negative moments while waiting for the police to come and investigate. There were some windows broken and also one of the glasses was pulled down and left on the balcony, with drops of blood on it. We previously had the glass of one of the bigger windows cracked, but it wasn’t so bad; when we got there at the end of April (and to celebrate Easter), there was a hole in it.  I think the damages were more… windows-oriented and, considering how difficult and, maybe, expensive it would be to buy and put the new ones, so I can say it was serious. Also, when my great-grandfather constructed the house, he wanted bigger windows and lighter rooms, thus making the size of the windows quite unusual for these days. 

We went again at the end of June, because I had to go to the police in the town to testify against the thieves who turned out to be two underage brothers, who had escaped from a detention center in the near village. Of course, at the end they were found not guilty and no measures would be taken for them to “return on the right path of life”. This, my dear, is called Bulgarian justice system, and it is useless as all the effort we put in seeking our right.

Anyway, as summer was drawing to its end, we decided that September was the perfect month to visit our villa for the third time. And, luckily, nothing bad happened at that time. I wish we went together with you! No snakes, broken/stolen things or dog mites (as the one that bit me and I had to go to the hospital for an injection at the end of June), or even dead mice, hiding in unexpected places. The weather was cooler and much more bearable than the summer heat during July or even August.  My initial plan was to go there only with my granny, but my cousin and my brother decided they wanted to join us. We had 5 days filled with lots of work, fun, with a pinch of Korean drama. My cousin is all against the Korean wave, but there was no escaping when each evening we watched “Descendants of the Sun”. I think she liked it, because she decided to stay and watch the drama with us after the first night. 

If I had the chance to take you there now, I would definitely do it! We cleaned the garden from the grass and sprouted trees and, as we do each time, tidied up the house (we couldn’t do it properly the last time, since it was only granny and me). I must say, even with one or two people more, we did a lot of work.  My cousin brought her new camera and took a lot of photos. I wanted to make a photo shoot, but we were too ugly, dirty and tired for that, hahaha!

 Rock(-your-ears) Festival

Right after we came back from our trip, there was a Rock festival the other day.  This year it was held in the city center and not in the arena that opened last year.  You could say that this meant an easier escape from the loud noises and screams, but no way! I don’t think I can call it a rock festival, since the “music” there was much more… hm, harder, I guess. Honestly, I enjoyed the one from last year when Nazareth were guests (not that I am their fan, but their music was definitely more melodic and reminded me of Queen). Considering the fact that there are a lot of fans (with hair longer than mine), including our mayor (who doesn’t have any hair, but is also a fan), I think that this (so-called) rock music will definitely be more respected in terms of concerts in the nearest future. Not bad, but why they don’t make a K-pop concert? It will be awesome! (SHINee-e-e!!!Wo-hohooo!) I have the feeling that if there is a K-pop festival in our town someday, it will be when I am dead or retired… (The solution is to go somewhere else, haha!)

New School/Uni Year

As September was progressing, the time to go back to school came. This year is the first year of high school for my brother and the first year at the university for my cousin. He is enrolled in the same high school as me, although he chose Informatics as his main subject; and she will begin her studies at our university. It is really strange to see them going through things that are now behind my back. Nostalgia, sadness, joy and pride are the feelings that occupy my heart these days. I hope that my brother will enjoy his school years much more than I did. I wish him to find his first love, to be both happy and sad, nervous and excited, tired but determined to succeed.

I hope that my cousin will see what really feels to be a student, to go to exams and, hopefully, to meet teachers and professors that will shape her view of the world in some way. The rest depends on her. University may be a way to connect to the real world, but it definitely won’t show her how to live her life.  Good luck to both of them! :)

Speaking of school…I bought myself a new backpack! It is not so big as my last one, but it’s more compact and looks classy. I hope you like it!

In my last post about our summer I forgot to thank you for the presents. You really surprised me! I had the idea to make a selfie, dressed in the black dress from you, accompanied with the watch on my hand, eating the ramen noodles. I imagined it quite funny, since I told you that the pack of noodles would be eaten in my saddest moment. Now the weather is quite cold for the dress and, luckily, I still haven’t had a very sad moment this autumn, but I will surely tell you about the taste of the noodles soon. Once again, thank you for all the mentioned (and not mentioned) presents and for the precious moments we had together!

I can see that I used a lot of words to describe everything so far, which is not bad, but may bore you. I hope that you will enjoy the writings and ideas that I have prepared for you and hopefully I will be more persistent in terms of writing here.

Expect some little surprises, my dear!

In the meantime it would be wonderful if you take some time to write me a letter. Don’t worry if you can’t – I will be happy even if you read at least one of mine.

Hugs,

R.