Alien Snacks

Hehehe, here is where I keep all my snacks at work: anchovy bone crisps, dried fish, Asian style rice krispy treats! I know they sound exotic and strange to non-Asian ears, but they are in fact very common snacks (kind of akin to potato chips) for Asians. Sometimes I close my office when I munch on them furiously... Remember those alien pretending to be human movies? They would get caught when they eat weird stuff like metals and humans. I am kind of worried a colleague may catch me in the act with a fish bone crisp in my mouth and run away in horror: Cat is an alien! She doesn't eat human foods. And antennae will grow out of my head :-)

Cat the Barbarian

Aww, Monkey Muffin... so cute!

CHOMP, MUNCH, CHOMP... poor little Monkey, who would do such a thing? Wiping away crocodile tears and muffin crumbs.

What kind of fishie is it?

Imagine the scenario:

Twenty-one identical fishies in a tank. Twenty of the fishies are in a group swimming together. Then there is one fish alone by himself.

What comes to mind when you think of the fish that is alone? Scroll down for psychoanlaysis answer:

Well, supposedly, Chinese people tend to think of the lone fish as an outcast, whereas people who are more of an European cultural persuasion tend to think of the lone fish as a leader. Interesting, huh? Of course, being a Chinese gal, I thought the fish was an outcast.

"Seussism" of the Day

Dr. Seuss says --

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

Extreme Makeover

Went to a make-up session in Beverly Hills today, what d'ya think of the after look? Wink Wink. Rawwwrrr....

Revolution!

As I was typing the DMZ entry in my hotel room, I heard a huge commotion outside, sound of people chanting in unison. I peeked out the window and saw a dozen flags waving in downtown Seoul! I wasn't sure what it was so I grabbed my jacket and went outside to check it out. It turned out to be a huge demonstration! Police in anti-riot gear were everywhere... here is a footage I put on Youtube. It was kind of surreal, nicely dressed ladies going about their business, people standing on steps to catch the protest with their cell phone cameras, and riot police running around. After about an hour or two, people scattered and things went back to normal as if nothing had happened. Just another day in Seoul.

Geyongbok Palace

On my final day, or morning, in Seoul, I went to Geyongbok Palace... and of course, I couldn't escape my stalkers: the Japanese tourists. They are eveywhere. I go to Paris, they are there, I go to Taipei, they are there. I am about to file a restraining order against them at the Interpol :-)

Main entrance. The palace is clearly modeled after the Forbidden City Palace but incorporating Korean elements. Most noticeably, the roof is not gold, the arch of the roof is slightly different...

The old and the new... downtown Seoul is in the backcground.

The pagoda in the back houses the National Folk Museum. The Koreans do a neat job of presenting their culture.

I like this tree. My grandfather's name in Chinese is composed of the characters "Jade" and "Tree" and it reminds me of him.

Palace grounds -- you can even see Seoul Tower from here... I am such a good photographer, kekeke... so many good photos to show off :-P

Reflections... now I am feeling very deep... need to compose a poem to express all the emotions swelling inside of me... which isn't much at this moment, I was actually pretty hungry... food.

It would be nice to be a princess and all, but I would much prefer to grab some hearty foods at a hole in the wall place (or a tent on the street place) than having a gazillion course royal meal and worry if I am using the fork correctly and if there is ketchup on my nose etc etc.