L. Lee

Hm.

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:55:33 +0900

People who work in finance are really strange to me. As an entity, they seem to embody a distinct, singular lifestyle. One that I’m not personally familiar with, yet enjoy reading endlessly about, and yet am on the whole uncomfortable with for prolonged periods of time. Ultimately, it comes down to this: I am left feeling that people in finance very rarely possess developed social consciousnesses. “Oh yeah, I heard about that. Aren’t things really bad there?” when talking about human or civil rights abuses in Lybia, for example.

I suspect that I’m only stereotyping and that I don’t have any right to talk about this. Even if anyone does, moral superiority is annoying.

But, I wonder what would happen if finance people came to NGOs and humanitarian organizations. How would their enterprising brains activate and energize my world? Would they find a way to monetize humanitarianism? And would that necessarily be so bad?

I can see myself doing it - going on picnics and lunching for...

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:27:18 +0900

I can see myself doing it - going on picnics and lunching for three hours and trying on shoes and watching movies and saying yes yes yes to friends

Spring in Seoul. If you squint, you can see the HYA of the...

Tue, 01 May 2012 18:19:14 +0900

Spring in Seoul.

If you squint, you can see the HYA of the Grand Hyatt behind the branches.

A delightful walk up Namsan Park. I love having the trail to...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:01:24 +0900

A delightful walk up Namsan Park. I love having the trail to myself.

In case it’s not clear from the other, smaller signs they...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:49:09 +0900

In case it’s not clear from the other, smaller signs they have, this neighborhood restaurant specializes in Chicken Soup and Dog Soup, respectively.

On another note, this red is very North Korean-red.

A tantalizing courtyard

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:47:14 +0900

A tantalizing courtyard

Every neighborhood has its charms Here are just a few of my...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:45:56 +0900

Every neighborhood

has its charms

Here are just a few of my neighborhood’s:

It’s a short hike to Namsan Tower
It’s a great run to the Han River
There are lots of old people to say hello to
Little markets like the one pictured exist in abundance
There are hipster cafes and high-design boutiques, right next to
Restaurants that sell boshingtang, dog soup.

A caricature

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:46:00 +0900

She went to expensive private schools all her life, but she slurps her soup and makes insufferable mouth-slapping noises while eating.

She thinks her unattractive and socially inept boyfriend is a stud, but she has no qualms calling someone else’s sweater ugly.

She uses the words ‘too rococo’ to describe an undesirably baroque scene before her, yet her own dabblings in ornamentation can only be described as tasteless.

She fears being alone.

Saying thank you

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:55:52 +0900

Sometimes I wonder how I got a job working at a Korean NGO. Even though I work in the international campaign team where English is required, my Korean is so far from perfect, really not good enough for the position. Right now, I’m in charge of a new project that involves complicated, lengthy interviews with older Korean folks. I have often caught myself wondering WHY I was given this project. Why, why, why! In that special whiny voice I mastered in my teens.

And then I have to stop and think: Someone believed in me. My boss threw this project at me knowing full well it would be challenging. She could have saved time and money by giving it to a perfectly bilingual program officer instead of me, who generally has to rely on the help of my colleagues and interns for everything from writing Korean press releases to accompanying me to interviews to translating emails.

But.

If someone believes in you to do something, it behooves you to step up to the challenge.

Knowing that I’m not perfect for the job makes me work harder.

Good teachers, good bosses know how this works.

We all face big decisions everyday. Mine, today, was this. I...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:59:00 +0900

We all face big decisions everyday.

Mine, today, was this.

I love stripes. I love pink. I love bows. I love everything about this Kate Spade number.

So what’s the problem? Why didn’t I walk out of the store with this dress that makes you want to eat me up? One, I resent the fact that this dress costs $200 more in Korea than it does in the States. Two, it costs more than my rent. Okay, they’re both kind of the same reason: I really sort of can’t afford it and oh god, I hate feeling like a plebeian.

My first negative drinking experience was in high school, junior...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:55:00 +0900

My first negative drinking experience was in high school, junior year. We were gathered at David’s house before going to school at midnight for some weird midnight swim event that our coach had concocted. My memory is fuzzy on specifics, but that night the boys smoked a lot of weed, I kind of smoked a cigarette, and we drank vodka mixed with OJ in jumbo-sized 7-11 cups. Then we piled into the car of one boy who had not been drinking and went to the movies where I promptly vomited everything everywhere. This was in Orange County. People were horrified.

During my first study abroad stint in Paris, I got carried away with the suddenly freely available alcohol and my non-underageness, even at 19. It was an interesting period of drinking and discovering the wines, the gins, the Martini, pastis, et cetera. Years later when I lived in Troyes, I really discovered how much I love alcoholic beverages. My favorite aperitif was a glass or two of pink Champagne. My favorite digestif was a pear liqueur.

Then there’s last night. On one hand, everything was perfect. I was with three really smart, funny, interesting women — the kind I love. Over the period of six hours, we could not stop laughing. But we also could not stop ordering drinks. This leads to the other hand. Although, everything would have remained dandy had not one woman, who could drink you, and you, and you under the table, kept ordering tequila shots alternated with Irish car bombs. She laughed at us when we could not finish our third car bomb in one go. Except for this friend, we can’t recall exact details starting from about 2. This morning I woke up with a hangover, which, if I could rank it, would definitely win at least the bronze medal of hangovers. Obviously, I had fallen asleep with my makeup on. Obviously, I was late to work. Obviously, I popped an aspirin and went to have 해장국 (hangover soup) for lunch.

The walk from Itaewon station to Hangangjin station in Seoul is...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:32:55 +0900

The walk from Itaewon station to Hangangjin station in Seoul is fascinating. It kind of reminds me of the changing neighborhoods along Sunset Blvd or Wilshire Blvd in LA.

Itaewon is noisy and slightly gross and has a lot of interesting smells going on.

Hangangjin is green, quiet, with posh Korean fashionistas valet parking their cars for pricey restaurants.

I live in Hannam-dong, a ten minute walk from either station, and I like watching the juxtaposition.

Today I brunched at Rose Bakery, which is connected to the Commes des Garcons Seoul flagship and where they give you colored pencils to draw with, where every single girl is dressed to the nines*, and where the menu includes determinedly non-Korean dishes like salmon quiche, coconut muffins, and a plentitude of other items that the Westernized palate loves.

Can you guess towards which station Rose Bakery is located?

(*Oh you want to know what I was wearing? A hoodie, running pants, and dirty sneakers. Topped off with unwashed hair.)

Food is my boyfriend

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:31:00 +0900

One of my Seoul friends is currently traveling in Nepal.

Today we chatted a bit online.

She asked me how I was, and I responded that I was good, I was eating like crazy.

She said, “Oh my! Calm down, baby. I think you need a boyfriend! This is because of hormones.”

To which I responded, food is my boyfriend.

Crunchy chili peppers with pungent bean paste. Korean food.

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:45:17 +0900

Crunchy chili peppers with pungent bean paste. Korean food.

Sweet Pea is what I call my sister. It’s also the name of...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:24:13 +0900

Sweet Pea is what I call my sister.

It’s also the name of a cupcake bakery next door to a delicious ramen restaurant in Sangsu-dong where there is nine out of ten times a line down the street.

Reading material

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:37:30 +0900

Reading material

Darling can’t you hear me, SOS? My girlfriends, those who...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:41:39 +0900

Darling can’t you hear me, SOS?

My girlfriends, those who are in seemingly perfect relationships, those who are in relationships because they don’t know how to be alone, those who seek safety and stability, those who chase after unavailable men, those who have illicit affairs, those who are desperately trying to find a man, any man, even for a night —

There are no easy boundaries between any of these women.

What’s the way to your heart, the boy...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 01:21:00 +0900

What’s the way to your heart, the boy asked?
Chocolate-covered strawberries, she answered.
The boy sighed.
If only it were that easy, he said glumly.
Isn’t it? she said.
If that was the case, I’d buy you chocolate-covered strawberries every day.
But so could other boys, she pointed out.
Yes, but I’d buy you more chocolate-covered strawberries than anyone else, so I could have more pieces of your heart.

Photo taken at Passion 5. Top clockwise: Earl grey strawberry cake, fig bar, florentine, rose macaron, praline macaron, yuza chocolate, Champagne truffle, chocolate cheesecake (2), pecan tart. Wow.

Notes & Noises

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:08:45 +0900

Sleeping problems induced by: A newly changed lightbulb in the courtyard right outside my room window, the morning kitchen noises of my housemate, getting called 20 consecutive times by weird anonymous people at 2 or 3 in the morning.

Currently reading: The short stories of Carson McCullers, Middlemarch, and Life (Keith Richards)

Wishing for: Letters, dessert

Interesting article: Link to a Young, Softer Steinbrenner Dies

Learning: More Korean, how to be nicer to people even when I don’t like them

I had a friend over for lunch yesterday and we made strawberry...

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 11:10:28 +0900

I had a friend over for lunch yesterday and we made strawberry shortcakes! Vegan strawberry shortcakes.

The “cream” is made with tofu, maple syrup, sugar, lime juice, soy milk, and vanilla extract. Mix everything in a blender. On its own, the cream tasted a bit too tofu-y, but with the cake and strawberries, it was di-vine.