Kitchen Today

Cooking mode in the kitchen today starting with a Baesuk (steamed Korean pear) after lunch and Deok Guk (Rice Cake Soup) for dinner, both from Maangchi's site. 

P's cough had been more than a week already so I let him choose which one he would go for, the pear or the doctor. He chose the pear and we had a couple left still and most of the ingredients so I thought to give a try. 

what's left of the pear...

While the pear was steaming, I started the stock for the deokk guk in the slow cooker. Five hours on high should be enough to get the anchovy, leeks, and seaweed stock going. 

After that, I moved on to the bread. It's my first time to do this recipe from Laura Vitale's youtube and web site. The video mentioned of AP flour but the website has bread flour. I went for the bread flour. I used 1 1/4 C liquid milk instead of powder and water. Most of it was alright except that the dough a bit too dry when I was mixing. I ended up using only 3.5 C of flour since it it seems to be too dry and it was hard to knead it. Probably because the air is pretty dry in my area today? 

Since I don't have a big loaf pan, I used my 4 mini-pans so I divided the dough into four. Two of which, I added raisin while the other two has only cinnamon and sugar. My son doesn't like raisin, among a hundred other things. (Come to think of it, I should make a list of those things.)  From the top of my head: raisin, mushrooms, beans, peas, squash and it's family, ginger, pine nuts, sweet potato...and more. I'll have to have that list up somewhere so that he'll realize how ridiculous to have a long list of this.

Going back to the bread, I let the dough rise twice and it was pretty fluffy and soft. Too soft for my taste. I like my bread with more bite. I should try to do a grain mix next time. I don't like the texture of pure flour anymore.

I still have to try a cinnamon roll in the future once I get a decent pan that can hold the dough and not stick to the wall of my tiny oven like how it does in my pandesal.

Baked it for 30 mins. at 175 C but had to tent it with foil after the top turned brown in just 10 minutes. I then lowered it to 150 for the remaining 20 minutes, and left it another 5 inside after the oven turned off.

Notes for the cinnamon loaf:
a. mix grain next time.
b. use more butter, sugar and cinnamon inside
c. watch out for the flour and liquid mixture
d. brush the top with milk n egg AFTER it has risen for the final one

Now for the rice cake soup, I made an effort to put some egg strips and green onion/leeks for toppings and it upped the dish. Not only that, I also used a homemade fish sauce from my SIL and the stock turned out good.

I can totally have more confidence in making that soup more next time. It's a very simple dish but quite filling specially with regular rice.

Notes for the soup:
(good for 3)
2 heaping C of deokk
1 L of stock
1 T of homemade fish sauce
4 inches of leeks, diagonally chopped
<1 nbsp="" of="" p="" salt="" t="">n pepper

Time for a final clean up now since I still have to put away the roasted chicken I picked up last night.

Hmm! An idea just hit me now! I can make the bread dough, shape it in the pan and freeze it there in advance. Then, I can just do the final rise next time before popping it in the oven. I think I tried this one before but it lost it's shape because I didn't freeze it in the loaf to start with. I should try the quick freeze to shape before long-term freeze in a zippy. I want to do baguettes next time. Missing baguettes since I've been doing a lot of pandesal lately and some pizza dough as well. I just love working with yeast better than quick breads.

Real sign off this time!

Re-activating Online Banking in the Philippines from Abroad (Part 2)

Followed up the application via the toll free international hotline of BDO and I was to told to log in and check the info after.

Printed the stuff, photocopied the passport and atm card (front panel) and mailed them all today. Regular mail so it's all up to the Philpost. I just hope it gets there soon, knowing the system. Totally cannot trust it. 

Update 1/28: Still haven't heard anything from BDO. Waiting til this weekend. Will do some emailing by next week if nothing comes up yet. 

COL on the other hand, they emailed last week Monday. Skyped this Monday and had the the account number within the day. I just have to fund it now but I have yet to figure out how. Hopefully, BDO thing will work out soon, or I'll just have to wire it straight to my COL account. Target date: Februar26. As for BDO, Feb. 5 for it not to become dormant. 

IHerb Haul for the Year

Been running out of shampoo since the end of December last year but I held off ordering until this week.

I finalized my order last Monday (that means Sun in US) and the expected delivery was between 18-22 next week. Boy, I was surprised to find it waiting for me today, just about 4 days!

Toiletries and food stuff

my lot for the year...

whole wheat flour, taco seasoning,
onion powder, cilantro, and nutritional yeast

This lot costs just about 52K krw so free shipping. One of these days, I'll be able to figure out why I bought the nutritional yeast in the first place. I can't recall exactly what I wanted it for right now. As for the cilantro, I really like this one so even if it's waay different from the fresh one, it's still better to have one in handy. 

As for the shampoo, I will be using these for the whole year. A bottle has lasted me for 6 months last year. Hopefully, it will last for a year if I'll alternate the two bottles. I have just to see how it goes! 

Local Library Revisited

Re-activating Online Banking in the Philippines from Abroad (Part 1)

Philippine banking system can really be frustrating after I've already experienced the South Korean one. I won't get started on the list but here is the latest thing I'll be going through as I restart my Ph online banking.

Brief background: I already have an account and an internet banking set up before I left almost two years ago. Well, it's mostly my husband who does the online banking at that time so I'm not that familiar with the details except for other part of actually opening the account, getting the card, and activating it on the atms. It's a little bit roundabout still.

As far as I can remember, the steps we had to do went like this:
1. Apply for the online banking on the website. I think we still have to print something to take to the branch at that time.
2. Wait for the email for activation code.
3. Then activate the online banking using the code with the card on any atm.

This time, I'll be doing it all on my own, remotely. Meaning, I don't have to visit any branch or atms at all since there's really no official branch in ROK. They do have a representative office of sorts since 2010 based from what I found on their website.

So for my future reference or anyone who might stumble into this, I'll try to write what I'll be doing to accomplish re-activating my internet banking.

(Note: No transaction for 23 months, still less than 2 years before the account to be dormant so I have to hurry up.)

Jan. 4 - Inquired online thru the customer service email about reactivating online banking when I forgot my username and password.
Jan. 5 - Got an email reply to jump thru the hoops online to recover (username and password recovery buttons) to no avail. No mail from the website that got thru any of my inboxes.

Last resort, I had to call the Int'l Toll Free no. 001 (for Korea, KT users only) - 800- 8631 - 8000. The agent asked for some other account details like address, last registered contact no., and transaction but I can't recall much so she recommended to delete the previous online banking account and just apply for a new one. The catch is, I can do so after two days! What gives!

So I had to ask how will the procedure be like after she submitted the application to delete the previous internet account.
1. Apply on the website after two days. (She's pretty vague why it would take two days. Beats the heck out of me, really!)
2. Wait another two working days to receive a confirmation call (since I'm overseas).
3. Then, wait for another email withing 5 w. days for the final confirmation to be able to access the online banking.

With this initial info, I'm looking at at least a week before I get to log in the online-banking.

Now, I don't want to compare much with the Korean online banking but the time it takes is sure loong. When I opened an online banking feature here, it was already an option when I applied for the offline account first time, along with the phone banking features. I had to do extra paper work onsite, then took home a sheet with my initial log in details to use online. The thing is they still got an extra downloading stuff needed for the online bank certificate to be installed on my pc or mobile phone for that matter. But I think they will do away with that soon. Anyway, all of it were just one time in-person at the branch, a few more minutes online (and maybe extra customer service via phone to walk me through the system as mostly can be in Korean and can be really frustrating as well) and I get to log in my bank account within a day. No waiting games, no calling and confirming whatnots.

This has been another pretty long entry, I guess.
Now, I'm back to waiting.

Winter Buy: Hot Pack

Winter must-have:

This one really worked for at least 5 hours. I wasn't sure about the remaining one hour as promised coz I was already in bed but yeah...it came to last longer than what I bought last year from Daiso. I also got another one at that time after a quick stop at Kyobo and it was better than the one I got from Daiso. I had never  thought of buying again from Daiso until yesterday.

Good thing, it was t that bad. It didn't need a lot of shaking. It said it will heat up after 5 minutes out of the package. 

I'll keep a couple handy in my pocket and bag these days. I have yet to check how it will "perform" once used outdoors though. 

I'm tempted to use one again indoors now since my hands are a bit cold date using cold water. I'll try it out outside later anyway.

Orchestra Winter Performance

24살설희,..., 외로운, 오빠들, 선톡주세용,~ㅋ-ㅏ툑 45782 썬툑해줘용

Here I am waiting for my son's orchestra performance at 7 o'clock. And I got here at 5 something! Two hours to kill while head is throbbing because of lack of sleep. I had a class today at lunch followed by a language exchange so I decided to just head out straight even though I am way early.

The lengths that parents go through for their children. I was so stressed since last night looking for the bow tie since they just mentioned yesterday that he needed it. I almost panicked coz I only have a few clues on where I can possibly locate it. And I still have to iron his shirt and prepare his pants which were still wet. Goodness! I slept late last night with that bow tie hanging over my head figuring out that I have to try again to look for it in the morning or I may have to resort to buying a new one perhaps. I've searched the most likely places last night yielding nothing. My brain was still mentally searching other possible places: P's drawers, closet and finally my husband's! I found it in my husband's drawer along with the masks. I can finally think of my own class!

One must be cool under pressure and just tough it out! Being a parent is a hard job! An unpaid one at that. Monetary wise, that is. One will truly appreciate their parents only when they become one themselves. Why one still want to have kids can be hard to understand at times. I do understand why most Koreans nowadays opt/prefer not to have any kids at all. The little sacrifices that parents do for their kids are invaluable.

This post is bleeding my sore eyes now so let me go through the lighter side.
It's funny how this last minute rehearsal started earlier. The wind group is pretty weak. They don't have enough players in the first place. They had to import three trumpet players.

They are now on the Pirate's part. There's this part where the drums have to speed up, and it's just funny to see the teacher double playing with the kid, and then she has to rush over to the other two drums as well. It's also pretty interesting to note each group own sound. The oboes, clarinets and flutes each have their own sound and audible at times. 

I am Thankful

In simple moments like this that I am thankful for a job that I can afford to eat a simple yoghurt topped with nuts and honey. 

The one that I made yesterday was even better with an overnight oats mixed with yoghurt, raisins, dried cranberries, frozen blueberries, cashew and pecan nuts. I packed it and ate it on the long bus ride after a class. It was delicious! 

I totally appreciate the availability of reasonably priced fresh milk here for homemade yoghurt after trying it in my hometown where we had to drive a long way to get fresh milk only to find it all gone! This is really why I prefer to live here. 

It made me wonder where do we get our calcium/ milk back home? We had plenty of anchovies! But I cannot make yoghurt from anchovies!! Heck! I'll enjoy this yoghurt and just be thankful everytime. 

Gotta head out to the market for produce now!

PSY

PSY - It's been almost a year since we moved here and I haven't been following any Pinoy series. Plus I was so hot on learning Korean so I kind tried to let go of other language series. But middle of this year or sometime during the summer break, I happened to start one.

I just have to admit this that I've been following a couple of series lately a bit. It's mainly the PSY Remake. This week has been pretty interesting. Fan girl mode: The lines are pretty cool. The writers sure know their job.

The kilig moments of Jodi and Ian, their acting and lines are just perfect. Jodi is really a good actress ever since Tabing Ilog days. She has the charm and grit when doing her roles. Simple and subtle scenes may look easy but she pulls it off splendidly without overdoing it. She can also deliver the hard and heavy ones well. I wonder why she hasn't won best actress in a lot of major award-giving bodies yet.

As for the main characters of the series, what can I say? They're also good. Kilig din, overkill nga lang minsan ang editing. Hay, commercialism at its finest. Milking every second of each episode.

That's about it for now. Will pass this month with this series and my light gigs.

Novice Home Baker Series:Homemade Oat Pandesal

Double batch of pandesal for tonight! 

This time it was a success even if I tweaked the flour content and added oat grains. There was a bigger mixing bowl on hand (Glasslock MBCB-400) so I managed to mix roughly about 5 cups of bread flour 1/2 C soaked and ground wet whole oat grains. I had to halved it though when I started kneading. My arm power is only for 3 cups capacity. 

So for future reference, here is basically what went in this batch.

(adapted from my fave recipe from another fil blogger)

5 C of bread flour + 1/2 C when shaping and kneading

1.5 t salt

1/2 C whole oat grains (soaked and grounded or blended)

1 2/3 - 2 C water (including the one with soaked oats after draining roughly)

4 t yeast (original was 2 1/4 t, I didn't exactly double it coz I think yeast can be forgiving, I don't want very yeasty taste, plus I was really running out of yeast)

2 t sugar (to feed the yeast well as starter)

+ 8 T sugar

4 T oil (I usually use canola)

Did the yeast starter. Luckily, my last batch of yeast didn't die.

Mixed the dry. Added the liquid to the dry one and patiently mixed them well.

Halved it and started kneading each one at a time.

Let it rise for about an hour beside the stove while I heat up some dinner.

Then I carefully dumped it on my glass board without punching it out much. Flattened, rolled and started cutting into one-inch thick pieces.

Rolled it in bread crumbs and placed on the pan.

Ready to pop them in the preheated oven at 190 C.

I accidentally took a shortcut here coz I didn't let them rise for a second time for long. Maybe just about ten minutes while I was preheating the oven.

After 10 minutes in the oven, I turned the pan around just to make sure the inner ones will not be burned since my oven has this crazy thing sometimes.

Total oven time was 30 minutes, including the preheating.

Pretty much a decent size of two dozen pandesal was the result. This is way better than my previous week attempt of adding the oats which resulted to a soggy dough and a flat-bread-looking pandesal. Tasty nonetheless.

I sit here staring at the leftover for tomorrow's breakfast with my belly full of pandesal. Happiness!

One Ball Done!

This week had totally been a slow one for me because I finally caught the cold/cough. I went home last Sunday from my class, did a little sweat out zumba, took a shower, went to sleep feeling cold and felt worse after it. The virus has caught up with me. I was running a fever, and the my throat was starting to hurt.

I was too sick so I decided to stay home this week. I resorted to going to the doctor's clinic by Thursday and I started feeling better after the shot. I also had enough energy to get back to knitting and finally finish the few remaining ball of my initial yarn. Even though it was already past 12, I cannot stop. I just needed to finish it. So I did!

Woke up the following morning with red scary eyes.

Article Re-post: Korean Unis News

a. SNU at No. 1 in university survey

University rankings

"In the survey, two types of university assessments were conducted: one was a comprehensive assessment of four-year colleges with four or more faculty departments, including humanities, social science, engineering, natural science, medicine, art, music and physical education, while the other appraised different education methods. "

b. Early admissions rate set to increase in 2016

Next year, 197 universities in Korea will select fewer students in the regular admissions process and more in the early admissions process. 

About 32.5 percent will be accepted during regular admissions, down 2.3 percent from the 34.8 percent this year, making it the lowest rate in history. 

The change is just one of the terms outlined last week by the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) for regular university admissions in 2016. 

It is set to see the number of students selected through regular admissions decrease from 127,569 to 116,162.

The KCUE said the reductions were based on increasing early admissions quotas and a drop in the overall number of incoming freshmen. 

The majority of students (86.7 percent) accepted through the regular admissions process will enter university based on their College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) scores. 

Of the remainder, about 11.7 percent will be accepted based on practical skills tests, 1.2 percent judged on comprehensive high school records like extracurricular activities, personal statements and interviews, and 0.4 percent based on academics. 

“In the 2016 CSAT, the Korean language, mathematics and English sections are likely to be easy. So the social and natural science sections will become more influential and decisive factors [in college admissions],” said Lee Young-duk, who heads the Daesung Intensive Clinic. “Therefore, students should check beforehand which sections the universities they are applying to focus on.” 

Students accepted during early admissions or who are put on waiting lists cannot apply for regular admissions.

Cheating Cough and Cold with a Shot

Few more minutes before it strikes midnight and Wednesday is officially done. I'll try to sum up what I've managed to accomplish tonight after I got the shot from the clinic around five today.

I managed to attend only one hour K class, clean my son's room, wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, run the washing machine, hang the clothes and even start the rice mushroom porridge in the slow cooker set to low. It's my first time to use the slow cooker overnight (1.5 C rice + 8 C water) and I'm curious how it will turn out tomorrow morning after 6 or 7 hours.

Just can't believe how strong this shot was, plus the baggie of tablets and capsule I got today. I just need more rest and sleep. More details tomorrow about my clinic visit, my first at this one. That should be about it for now.

Flying Dream

So, what's running on my mind lately?
A flying dream was what I had again last night. It's the one where I try to teach my son to levitate. I woke up with that early this morning and made me think about what I had been trying to be free of. 

I need to get that driving license. Even if I got a car and don't have that license, I won't definitely be able to drive. With that license thing out of the way, then I can focus on the next bigger step. 

There's budget for that now but I still kept on procrastinating on going to the center. I've already saved enough for it. I really should do that when I get better. I'll schedule it for an afternoon, around 2 o'clock. Yes, this winter. Rain or shine. Face the worst. Budget and schedule had paved a way for me this month so I'd better do it the soonest.  I'd even thought about putting the fund in a short time deposit until I'm ready to use it by spring but as luck would have it, the teller only accepted a part of it. The remaining cash is burning a hole in my pocket so why not just dive into it and get driving now. It's better than it going away to some unnecessary shopping list I have on my gmarket account. 

I'd better be ready when I finally get a car to drive by next year! Crossing my fingers on that. 
I know that Korean transportation system is reliable but having to compare a 20-minute drive to almost an hour via public transportation is waaay better. It's very liberating. I have to adjust to my current location now compared to before when I really didn't need one since most of my gigs were just walking distance from each other. I can either walk, ride a bike or just take a quick bus ride without a lot of waiting time. I didn't pursue the idea of a driving at that time since I was earning enough without the need for it. But right now, I think I can maximize more if I can drive around. I know, it will ensue additional expenses but I can fork that one out. It will be another investment plus even if I don't need to drive later, at least I had already acquired the skill and am able to when I need. That is the plan. 

And now that the internet is back, I will try to put this up and get back to some serious studying. 

Sick Monday

(3:30 PM)

Our router is currently being aired out in the veranda as I write this entry. I'll just have upload this later when our internet is back. 

I'd been sleeping to get some strength back since I've finally caught a cold from my husband. He was the first one last week and I managed to get by without catching it until my period got my already-weak-immune system weaker. I didn't see that coming. I should have been more careful last week. Instead, I still end up sleeping late, and still went to my regular schedules. I even went to the three-hour class class last Sunday, travelling to and from being factored in. It's really a bit of a stretch for me to go there. But I had already said yes and it's supposed to be the first session for the month. 

My body still feel sore and my throat still itchy. I have a dry cough which I try to manage with chewing on dried ginger and drinking water. Beat the ginger tea sitting in the fridge that hasn't got much kick. If my throat hurts, I'd prefer something that I can feel when I take it. 

I've also taken a Tylenol yesterday until last night since I got a fever yesterday afternoon. But so far, I haven't had one today. I'm hoping I won't get any fever anymore today without that med. I've slept, eaten and only did light stuff around the house. My muscles are still a bit sore and I still have headache with very little sudden movement.

I feel bad missing out on work but let's just face it, I gotta shape up to be more resilient and effective in other aspects of my life. Now I'm starting to think about those dark parts but I don't want to go down that road today. Better stick with good vibes for now.

So while waiting for the net connection to come back, I am writing this entry, and eating my lunch/snack. I plan to read my Korean storybooks later to keep me occupied. I won't allow myself to be bored just because we have no internet connection! Coz I am not an internet junkie. :)

The Chicken in Me

As much as I want to eat a non-meat diet, chicken is really the hardest one to say goodbye to. Filipinos love chicken. Koreans love chicken. There are a lot of chicken restaurants everywhere. In my hometown, it was grilled. Here, it's fried. I would say that the former is the better one, and healthier at that.

We used to live near a famous chicken resto that sell well-marinated grilled chicken and we almost order at least once a month, usually delivered or picked up. My family liked their chicken and it's near so we would occasionally find ourselves having it for lunch or dinner.

Fast forward to Korea and I am just starting again to explore the dozens of "chicken houses" (chicken jib 닭 집 in Korean.) There are a lot of Korean chicken delivery restaurants: Nene's Chicken, Mexican Chicken, BHC, 동갔집, Kyochon, Mom's Touch, Pelicana, Bonchon, among others. These are just a
few of the ubiquitous ones you'd find scattered across the peninsula.

I only remember Mexicana, Pelicana, Bonchon and Kyocheon from ten years ago. I preferred the Mexicana's oven chicken over the more famous one of Kyocheon which was heavily seasoned with soy sauce. I like my chicken grilled anytime.

Nowadays, I've tried to get myself familiarized with the different chicken houses nearby and have yet to decide on which ones to order from regularly. The Mexicana chicken doesn't seem to have a a very aggressive marketing in this area so I'm not very sure if they still have the oven chicken. I've tried Nene's Chicken upon a couple of recommendations. But my son prefers the tenderloin from Mom's Touch.

There was a flyer that I saw from Kyochon chicken last week. A Lee Min Ho calendar is free for every order of a chicken set plus side dish. I am not really a fan but I thought it would be a kick to get that calendar and taste Kyochon chicken again after all these years. Two birds in one shot. Or better yet, three birds since I can also taste the potato wedges that my son's friend mentioned before when they tasted our homemade baked potatoes.

It turned out that they were not kidding. Our homemade baked ones was waaay better than the Kyochon potato wedges. I am not sure how these wedges were made but I'm pretty sure that it was fried. Baking still rocks although it does take more time. The potatoes were as bland as you can get.

As for the chicken, I chose honey chicken to make sure it won't turn out to be spicy and me being able to eat it. The outer glaze is yummy and addictive but I prefer my chicken to be delicious inside out. Like the Max's chicken's tag line, "Delicious to the bone." No, it didn't get my chicken bones vote. :(

So far, I have come to this rough conclusion.
1. Healthy, oven-baked chicken (preferably from Mexicana or Mom's Touch)
2. Tenderloin (from Mom's Touch)
3. Nene's Chicken

The latter have some good detailed reviews like this one Nene's Chicken Review plus I don't remember being disappointed when we tried it before.

Fast facts that I found while writing this entry:

• Chicken Jib business has a usual three-years life span. Strong competition maybe one factor with more than 30,000 fried chicken eateries as of 2013. The franchise-based fried chicken places at about 22,,529 and the remaining ones are independently-owned. (Korean Herald Oct. 2015 article.)
• Chimaek - coined from the word chicken and maekchu (beer) became more popular in 2010 during the World Cup. (No wonder my hubby didn't know when his brother mentioned when since we came back coz we were out of the country at that time.) 

A more detailed feature on the Korean Chimaek culture can be found in a CNN article. I, myself, have learned a lot from this.

Well, that's about it for this Korean chicken entry. I got that Kyochon calendar sitting on my desk, waiting to be opened but I have other things planned for it. And the leftover Kyochon chicken waiting to be heated up and eaten with a warm rice later.   

Almost Ending November

It that title even grammatically correct? I wonder.

Nonetheless, I'm killing time in between classes and really feeling very sleepy. I've been watching some TED Talk videos which are interesting but my mind is really numbing down and I need some physical thing to engage me and kick out the sleepiness.

This week has been the start of feeling what winter is like in Korea. It's been two weeks since the calendar has officially heralded the winter season but it has been almost warm as autumn until last weekend.

I bravely forego my down jacket today in favor of the autumn jacket and a thick wool sweater underneath today. Wrong choice. Moreover, I forgot any other extras except for my neck warmer that doubles as a cap. I found myself needing to cover my head, neck and even my nose. Even a pair of finger gloves will be welcome. As I get off the bus, I kept on thinking about just buying that pair of finger gloves, the infinity cowl and a mask.

I survived the day but I ended up buying the infinity scarf. I needed to cover my neck and an extra one for my head so it should serve both. I ended up using my neck warmer as a mask since I'm not comfortable using a mask that's newly bought and hasn't been washed at all.

I was considering a black, a light gray, a light blue but I ended up buying a red. My conscious choices of colors nowadays has been blue or red. I'm naturally drawn to yellow but it just doesn't suit my skin color very well specially when it comes to clothes or accessories. Blue is almost the default color when I buy things since it's neutral and slightly brighter than black that I used to choose when I was a younger. This time, my feelings towards red has slowly been changing positively.

I am waiting for Uniqlo to have the same neck warmer that I bought last year. This time, I will get a red one --- a good alternate with the gray one that I have now. Until my next Uniqlo haul!

First Knitting Project

Seven inches! Almost two weeks after I've purchased the yarn and needles, and a lot of trial and errors with pulling out the strings and restarting all over...I have finally made it past the 6-inch-milestone. I got 1/4 done if my plan won't change on the length that I want to go. 

I initially wanted to make an infinity scarf but I might try on making it a little shorter as a neck warmer of sorts instead. It depends how it will hold up once it takes a better shape. I tried to do a knit stitch and purl combination at first but purling got me frustrated I ended up restarting a couple of times. I had to be more realistic to get down to the basics first and just try to complete a simple one for a first project. 

I may try the a project with a different knit next time once I've finished this one. 

The Country Mouse and the City Mouse (The Country Mouse Goes to the City)

City people can be such snobs. This is based from an observation. But I know that this culture has become a norm in urbanized areas where a lot of people come and go in a speed that its almost stressful to keep track of the people that you meet, much less create relationships -- deeper connection. It can be hard to find genuine people. One should not expect that much though if heading to an urbanized locality. It has led me to a greater understanding of human psychology. I should not take it personally.

Hubs asked me if my downtown trip worth it? Yes. But not for the main purpose solely. I was able to figure out where the local express bus, where it goes, one way how to get to the underground subway, navigate the labyrinth of Line 4 of the subway, pick up a couple of the winter pjs for me and P, (forget about H coz he's a hard person to shop for) and generally get a small taste of the financial hub of my adoptive country. Almost right in the center of it!

Korean Fields in Autumn

Korean rice field in autumn looks funny for me with balls of hay usually rolled up in neat white plastics or sometimes black ones. The rice fields that I regularly pass by are really an interesting to look at starting in the spring when the farmers are just starting to plant the little rice seedlings and the field looks greener as the summer rolls on. By that time, it would be colored in bright green.  It gradually turns into golden shade as autumn comes. When the grains are harvested, the hay are left on the ground to dry a bit before being rolled up into white giant-marshmallow-like balls on the field by some farming equipment. They are usually neatly piled up at some part of the field but it is interesting to catch sight of these before that when are randomly scattered dotting the field with those white marshmallows.

I've seen these yesterday on our way home from a Kimjang Festival. It was almost dark but I can still clearly spot those white balls. It was a delight to see them through the window during the subway ride home last night.