So. Last semester we had to get a lame work-in-progress textbook for beginning Korean. We had to do the same for seconds semester, obviously since I'm sure it's going to be one huge book.

Every so often there's a Culture page, and I stared a bit at one of them while I was flipping through. Lo, did my eyes behold a strange sight. Big Bang. A blurb on music, the second half on Kpop, and Big Bang in a photo. Now, they didn't label the picture saying it was Big Bang but I know what I saw. I took pictures as proof.


My camera is kind of lame, but I dare you, tell me that I'm wrong.

( cut for big photos )

So. Am thinking of going back to college. For realz, yo.

There's a lot of stuff to think about. I desperately need to talk to someone about how I go about doing this because I really don't know how. I was a student at UE and then that didn't work so I went home. And then last fall I become a non-degree seeking student at the UofM.

Anyway, I was thinking with the credits I have and the breadth at which I passed them, I should try out Comparative Lit. Major on the 'Cultural Studies' track. With a possible minor in Korean, because that's only four semesters of Korean and two Asian Language and Literature courses 'in one Asian literature/culture related to the student's area of concentration' Which looks like "Topics in Korean Literature" and "Topics in Korean Culture" So...yeah.

The suck part will be all the Gen ed stuff I didn't do like.. science. And probably math since I don't think I got a high enough grade in the one for it to transfer, but we'll see. I did however get an A in Intro to Psych and a B in Intro to Philosophy, so theoretically they should be fine. But like I said I won't really know anything until I talk to people at the U. Aish.

It should be noted that this whole 'becoming a student by Fall' correlates to the strong fleeting hope desire to go Study Abroad in South Korea in Spring Semester 2010 with my friend. Double aish.

A week ago my mom bought a cat. I was wary about it because I was worried about how my lame cat would react. My worries have proven to be right on. Pearl, who is under a year old and has all of her claws can easily win territory fights.

Which would be fine if she wasn't shredding my cat and trying to take over my room--which was my cat's sanctuary during and after the 'dog attempt'. I've been woken up twice in the morning to yowling, hissing and growling under my bed--since my room has no door.

Meanwhile my stepdad is blaming my cat for 'starting' fights (and throws things at her). Which I think is stupid. Esther might be bigger, but she's a lot older and fat and only has her back claws--she's always getting her tail kicked by Pearl. Her face is going to get all torn up.

I'm really upset about this. Esther might be annoying sometimes but she's still my cat and I don't like to see her in pain. I'm really starting to hate my mom's cat too.

I'm tired and still sick. And I think that whoever 'likes' being sick and is happy about 'being sick'--you are not sick enough. Just...no, go away. Ergo this post will be full of crack.

I got locked out of the house because I forgot my key, so I did most of my Korean homework with the exception of the audio since that was something he only emailed us today. It's not due until Friday so I'm thinking I'll just let it pass. Was going to try doing the voice-post oral homework also due Friday tonight but...am tired and am not sure if I can infuse enough happy-focus to make it sound decent right now.

A guy form the Apple store we see a lot knew some Korean, recognized what I said when I told him goodbye and said it 'was cool' that I was taking it, with the 'cool' bit being in Korean. And no, he's not Asian so..yeah. Unfortunately he was with other Apple-store friends today so I couldn't talk to him about it and get the low-down on how he knows Korean.

Emily-ssi form my class has initiated the exchange of emails, thus upping herself from School-Acquaintance to School-Friend. Possibility of being in the uncharted Normal-Friend undetermined.

For explanation of the following -Friend terms, I will use the beloved math IFF. (if and only if)

School-Friend: Someone I see and hang out with IFF at School or doing School-related things. (Classes, group-work, choir concerts)
Work-Friend: Someone I see and hang out with IFF at Work or doing Work-related things. (Shifts, bi-yearly party, customer service)
Internet-Friend: Someone I 'see' and 'hang out' with IFF technology is available. (ie, email, IM, TXTing.)

It should be noted that while I have known both Pa-Eng and Maila (coworkers) for 2 years, I feel closer to Sarah-yah, whom I have known for about 15 months via AIM, etc. (I only know this because our first thread was the beginning of June '07) And really, only that long? It feels so much longer...

Anyway. I explain this because I haven't really had any 'normal' friends since elementary school. I was getting close to a person UE but that was long ago and I pretty much gave up on the idea after I left.

So in about 3 hours my mom, stepdad, and little sisters are all leaving for 10 days. I don't mind the little ones going, they drive me half mad on a daily basis. But it's gonna be me, my annoying cat and a bunch of plants almost the whole time, because my brother is going to be at my dad's house.

And I can't go over because of the plants. I swear, I've never cared much either way until now. Now I just hate them. Stepdad went crazy IMO. I mean, is this some kind of weird mid-life crisis? I have a diagram showing where the hell they are and that I should water them every other day and check these other ones every day and just...WTH? 20+ green things I could really care less about. I'm sorry, environmental people but...no.

I also OD'd on Britain's Next Top Model on YouTube, made it half way through the season before deciding to stop so I could post and then (eventually) sleep. Because I have to leave in 6.5 hours for work.

And Sarah-yah is in the process of moving into her apartment, ergo I haven't talked to her for a while and won't for a bit longer so that's kinda weird. And I'm hoping she got my letter. It was a dorky thing to do, but I wanted to do it.

But yeah. My brother better come over for a while because there's alone time and then there's being all alone for days and days with nothing but a whiny cat and a bunch of freaking plants to look after. At least I'll have the quiet to transfer stuff over to my desktop.

So. My stepsister/ex-roomate exraordinaire has left. For grad school. Has her own apartment waiting for her. Kinda...permanent and all.

It sorta just hit me. I mean, i saw the boxes and stuff disappearing. I knew she was leaving. But I don't think I totally registered how truly permanent it was going to be.

Not to mention she took the nice cat of the two. And yes, while the cat she took was hers, and the one that was left behind is mine, mine's just annoying. -_-;;;

So yeah. She's gone. And I have all this space that I will end up usurping but it's strange. Makes me want to escape even more to my own place. But I require a lot more $ squirreled away before I attempt that. I have calculations that put my total expenses for the month including the must-have internet around $800 and...it's just not time for that. That's my two paychecks plus other money presumably in the bank. The logical thing is to rent with a roomie, bring the cost down.

I just don't have any good friends like that I'd considering rooming with other than like, my brother. And he did show interest--just after college. Which will be in like...3 years from now. Ironically, I'll be off my stepdad's insurance by then. Oh, the joys of life.

So yeah. Trying to save a bit more for when I will inevitably break into saved stuff. It's just a little hard sometimes.

So results from the accent test say I have the North Central so-called "Minnesota Accent" which is only because I clicked the about/mouth =/= browse and loud. If I changed it to them sounding the same then it went to Western.

Now for the lengthy I do not sound like the weirdos from the Fargo movie rant with gratuitous bolding.

I do not say 'aboot'. My about/mouth sound is just different than browse/loud but I can't think of anyway to explain how. Just that it does not sound like boot. And if I don't say route like in brute (It's off and on), then it sounds the same as that. For the record my roof/root rhyme with foot. Also my vague does not rhyme with bag and I say bay-gull too, for bagel.

I do not say "doancha know" or "yah, you betcha." I know few people that do, and usually they're from the 'burbs. Or by state borders.

Snow, soda and Minnesota do make me do the long oh, however to a degree. I'm pretty sure that every Minnesotan, no matter how little "Minnesotan accent" they have will always say Minnesota with the long oh just because everyone does. It's just not horribly drawn out unless you're purposefully making fun.

I may have influence from all the time spent with my cousins that live by the Quad Cities in Iowa/Illinois, I don't know. But whatever. It is what it is.

( cut so not to take up more space )

So I know and have confirmed with the airline that I'm leaving tomorrow for LA. But it hasn't really hit yet. I still have so much crap to do. Finish my shirt (I got TVXQ in big bold letters so far...) Pack what little I'll need and then attempt to sleep before leaving at 5am to get to the airport 2 hours early.

Yeah, I'm laughing too. I mean, sleep? It's so going to hit sometime tonight that I'm really leaving across the country by myself for 2.5 days, and when it does...I'm going to be all: OMG. OMG!! OMGWTF am I doing?! Holy shit I get to see people, FTW!! OMG...

Yeah. I owe my mom a really nice mother's day present once I get there--especially since she's driving me to the airport (I really could get there on my own but she volunteered). And stuff for other people when I go on a shopping spree in Little Tokyo. (speaking of which, speak up peoples if you want anything specific).

And here's proof of that Barbie, thanks to my stepsis giving me her old digital camera. :D
( pay no attn to that mountain dew can... )

( OH, and here's me. Taken yesterday, post dye-job )

Aish. Everyone's posting their Yunho/U-Know fics. I got inspired by the person's icon before looking at what they were requesting thinking immediately 'doppelganger'. Then I kept watching the Beatuiful You vid and got a more interestingly twisted idea.

So I started writing that night. Haven't finished yet but over 6500 wds right now. And people are posting stuff... and this annoys me. Because I have not finished and...I think mine's good, damn it. I don't want it to get lost in a sea of random fics. I just hope that no one thinks I copied theri idea or something.

Also have been listening to two totally non-connected songs. So Close by Jon McLaughlin from Enchanted is one. I forget who I have to blame for that, just that it was pimped in a fic. Nice bittersweet song. The other one is H.O.T's Candy. I almost died when I saw the translation. It's so upbeat and :D but the lyrics are all...not. Need to find a version where the romanized!Hangul isn't written out by syllable in equal spacing. V. annoying for trying to sing along.

Should work on actually learning out to read hangul, that would solve things with singing. Because sometimes, some people's romanizations are more phonetic than romanized. Gets me all confuzzled when I've learned how to read stuff.

On another note, have discovered that I can watch the region 3 dvds on a linux os. Yay. Must go over to my dad's sometime to do that properly since my laptop doesn't have it.

So. Had a brilliant idea for a t-shit/hoodie/whatever. With all the names for DBSK.

Like this:

TVXQ
東方神起
동방신기
TOHOSHINKI

I was going to have THSK in kanji...and then I realized, looking around the web that it's never in kanji. It's always the Chinese characters/THSK. And I felt stupid. But that's okay. Because I still think it would be cool. Also thinking of having the boys' names on the back? Not so sure about that part. Either that or a pic. Decisions, decisions.

If it looks cool, will make stuff via CafePress.com *nodnod*

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns?