[Part 2] 060. Myeongdong with Jimmy

I find it strange that my laptop shows a current temperature of 8 deg Celsius when it also states that the minimum temperature for today is 12 deg Celsius?

Surprisingly, I actually broke my own record for this year; I ran for half an hour today. It's difficult for me to be able to run for more than 10 minutes so I guess I was in the right frame of mind...you know, the right pensive mood, which enabled me to ignore the distance meter and clock and actually run for 30 minutes. So this time round, I felt good when I left the gym because of a great workout.
A lesson learnt today is to check EKU (KU's online portal; similar to NUS's IVLE) regularly. I skipped Investments class today because it was too rushed (after my long workout at the gym) so I walked to school for my Consumer Behaviour class only to see Yuhong and a white notice on the door stating that lesson was cancelled -.-
Hence, we went for lunch at the eatery we went with Jeannie the other day. It's near Crimson House, the area opposite the main gate. I had 갈비탕 which wasn't quite filling because there were only 3 pieces of meat. I also managed to get my stationery before we walked back to the Business School where I was supposed to meet Ms Rhee for my individual photoshoot at 1.30pm. I had a shock when I received an sms from her a few days ago, asking me to call her or drop by her office when I had the time. No other Singaporean received this message from her, except me. I was afraid she had picked me by random and was going to ask me why I didn't turn up for the KUBS chuseok dinner organised for the exchange students! But she didn't ask me about it; instead, she asked if I had read her email about the photoshoot for the new KUBS brochure and whether I was able to go for the photoshoot today. Since she personally called me to ask, I couldn't reject her so...you might see my (photoshopped) face in the new KUBS brochure which they are going to use to promote the school to their partner universities in other countries. Later at 2pm, Yuhong and I joined the group photoshoot and we were all given gifts for our participation. I actually had my Korean class at 2pm so with the photoshoot, I was slightly late for class.

After class, I met up with Jimmy and we headed to Myeongdong for shopping. Dinner was at 명동교자 which didn't, for once, have a snaking queue outside. The 칼국수 is really delicious!

I finally bought my ankle boots BUT I don't like the SA who attended to me today. The other one who served me the other day was so much better and friendlier! And unfortunately, he was nowhere in sight today :( I also bought another blue chiffon/silk blouse (yet another item that requires dry-cleaning) and a pair of socks for my boots.
We went for dessert in a cafe and it was nice, just sitting there and talking. I've always wanted to chill out in a cafe in Myeongdong but never had the luxury of time to do so for a long while, until today.

Back in Anam, I collected my 9 pieces of clothing from the dry-cleaner's and had to pay 45,000KRW for them -.- 

Slack day tomorrow and I can't decide if I should go to the gym.

[Part 2] 059. Cafe night

I finally went to the gym this morning, after more than a week's break. As usual, I felt good after leaving the gym but I have a feeling it's not because I worked out (I didn't run much because the treadmill I was on had a slippery belt) but because I had a good morning bath.
I collected my Alien Registration Card and my passport before my Korean class so now, I have my identity back! I was passport-less for 5 weeks. In fact, I was given a re-entry permit! I had only purchased a single visa, not a multiple entry visa but my visa has been upgraded (free) to a multiple entry visa :) Unfortunately, I doubt I have enough money to go to Tokyo for a weekend or something. I really want to go to Disneyland!
I had dinner with Junho oppa at 멸치국수 near the main gate and also finally brought my culottes to the tailor's because the seams had come undone at least a month ago. 3,000KRW for the alteration and it took about an hour. I'm also collecting my clothes from the dry-cleaner's tomorrow morning. I finally stopped procrastinating and brought my clothes there yesterday after leaving them in my room for more than a month. I think my mum's going to kill me when I get back to Singapore because I bought so many items that require dry cleaning and patience to iron. I promise I'll iron them myself when I'm back!

I met Sean to complete some work (expenses totaling in my excel sheet, not studying) with a hot chocolate drink at Cafe Davinchi Coffee which is opposite my place. Unfortunately, the free wifi connection we had wasn't strong and we were kicked out of the connection within minutes, leaving us with no choice but to leave the cafe in search of another cafe with better internet connection. We walked to Starbucks and before entering the cafe, I opened up my laptop to do an internet-availability check. Thanks for the green tea latte! We chatted and I never finished my excel sheet for September's expenses. Haha. We were chased out of Starbucks at 11pm, the closing time, so we walked to 58 deg Celsius for bubble tea before walking around Anam for awhile in the cold. It was so cold tonight! My hands bore the brute of the cold and I think I should get black leather gloves soon. I thought I had brought mine along but I didn't : ( And the thing is that no one's wearing gloves yet. Maybe I should just start the trend!

[Part 2] 058. I didn't do much today

School was, like any other day. And I didn't do much today either.
After Korean class ended at 3.15pm, I headed back to my room and I just shopped on Gmarket until dinner time with Yuhong in the eatery where we had ginseng chicken rice the other day. This time round, we had half a piece of 찜닭 and it was spicy, as usual.

After dinner, we walked around Anam for awhile before we concluded that it was too cold and it was better to stay indoors so we went back to our hostels.

Here are the Gmarket parcels I received today:
#1. A studded belt which I absolutely love! My style has evolved quite a bit...I got a rider jacket and now this belt!

#2. A beige blazer which looks more khaki than beige to me. I was quite disappointed when I got this because I expected the material to be thicker, and most importantly, I was expecting a nice beige colour and not this. But the more I tried it, the more I liked it so I've decided not to return it because it'll be perfect for Singapore's weather. BUT definitely not for the 9 degree Celsius weather now. I think it'll go well with my Chanel brooch and my 5,000KRW Edae dress.

#3. Pearl collar which I wanted for ages, but couldn't find on Gmarket for almost a year, until I chanced upon it on Sunday. Pretty! It came with a free mask too.

#4. This white blazer is a real disappointment and I want to return it. It's really too thin and too big for me :(

I think my best Gmarket purchases for this latest round is my rider jacket (got lots of compliments for this) and the belt!

[Part 2] 057. A happening evening

It's getting colder day by day; it's getting more interesting by the day, people-watching inside and outside school. I think guys look the best during Fall and I love it when a guy wears a black blazer over a t-shirt with black pants. It oozes charm and it makes me turn to look at them.
I have a long list of what I want to buy in preparation for the new fashion season but I've a feeling that I've already long exceeded my budget for clothes and I don't know what to do :(

I didn't go to the gym this morning because I spent the time doing my Korean homework (yes, I know, last minute work again!) and rehearsing for my Market Watch presentation.  I didn't even manage to find time to study for my Korean quiz. My presentation didn't turn out as what I had envisioned: giving a very sleek presentation with my iphone's wireless presenter application and my Macbook because the classroom didn't come with a cable to link up with a laptop -.- So much for my grand plans which always turn to nought. Thank goodness I met Byungsoo oppa in MB Lounge and he helped me with the printing of my script when I realised I couldn't use the wireless presenter app which could have showed my slide and slide notes on the iphone. I had a bout of nervousness and spoke too fast and apparently, Alex's exchange friends at the back of the class couldn't understand me; they said I was speaking in Singlish. But I didn't. I simply spoke English with a Singaporean accent. I didn't pepper my words with Singlish. Oh well, it's over and no one will remember me after this semester.
Surprisingly, I could do most questions for my Korean quiz despite not studying for it. In fact, after the quiz, I congratulated myself for not having studied for the quiz and spending the time doing my homework and preparing for my presentation instead. I walked into the lobby of the International Studies Hall to see Jeannie waiting for me, together with Zechy. So nice of Jeannie to walk with me back to LG-Posco! Management Strategy class was bad :( Somehow, the classrooms were swapped and we didn't know so we went into the correct classroom late which left us with really bad seats: right in front of the professor. I had a hard time staying awake and found my eyes nearly closing several times. It was like a battle of the eyes while I sat in front of the professor.

The end of the school day is always the best part of the day. We met Junho oppa who brought us to an eatery near school for a fishy dinner. Along our way to the Central Plaza, someone swaggered into my line of sight. Sungjoon oppa! I really couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him because he only takes 1 class in the business school so he's rarely there. And we've not seen him since December 2009! He also had a meeting at 7pm so he could join us for awhile. Alright, it wasn't fishy; just that someone (Jeannie or Yuhong) had lamented to Junho that fish is not commonly served in eateries so he found an eatery that sells fish-related dishes. The minute we stepped foot into the eatery, we were hit by the fishy smell. And the reason why I can't explain much about the dishes is because I didn't join them for dinner; instead, I met up with my buddy, Jaehyun for dinner in an eatery called Kui Hua 奎花 규화. There are no pictures for today because I didn't bring my camera out. This is from Jaehyun's camera phone:

I had 58 deg C's jasmine milk tea for dessert before walking to Centennial Samsung Hall's library to put my stuff and rushing off for my Management Strategy group meeting in MB Lounge at 7pm. What was supposed to be an hour long meeting stretched into 2 hours. 90% of the meeting was done in Korean and Nandar and I had a hard time. I could understand bits and pieces but not everything and half the time, I felt useless there and wished I could go back to the library to watch the movie Jaehyun found. I had asked him to find a 1.5hrs long movie because I thought that the meeting would end by 8.30pm but it did not :( In the end, I only joined him at 9pm which left us with 1hr to watch "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" as the library closes at 10pm.

I spent the rest of the night watching the last episode of Kim Tak Gu and cleared some backlog of blog entries before falling asleep around 5am+ which meant missing another gym session because I couldn't wake up early enough for a gym session :(

[Part 2] 056. In love with Samcheongdong 삼청동

My nose bled again this morning so for the rest of the day, I could taste blood at the back of my throat :( It used to bleed at least once a month and then it stopped for quite some time but now it's becoming a once a month pattern again. Perhaps my late nights are taking a toll on my health.
This morning, I met Dokyung, a KUBA Buddy from my group, for lunch. I didn't know he was bringing me to Samcheongdong because he had arranged to meet at Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2. From there, we took a bus (was it 111?) to Samcheongdong so now I know a faster way of getting there! Previously, I got there by walking from Gyeongbokgung Station. We had a very sumptuous traditional Korean lunch (홍합밥정식 15,000KRW per person) in a restaurant, called Chongsujung 청수정, which is near Beansbins Coffee Cafe. If any of my friends or relatives comes to Korea, especially my mum, this is definitely a place I'll bring them to!

Familiar scene? One episode of Iris was filmed here.

In Gwanghwamun

Really delicious mussels rice 홍합밥

After lunch, he brought me to a very beautiful teahouse in one of the alleys which I had never discovered before during my previous 3 visits to Samcheongdong. The minute I stepped foot into it, I knew that it's going to a place I'll frequent in the coming months and probably take many photos there with Jeannie. With the windows overlooking the mountain and soothing Korean traditional music playing in the background, it's a perfect place to go to for some respite from the stress and bustle in school.

I wanted the citron tea but it was sold out or something so I had the Japanese apricot tea instead.

I didn't know that we could actually walk from Samcheongdong to Insadong. But the road down to Insadong area is like meant for couples. We saw couples, couples, couples and couples. In fact, Samcheongdong is like a place for couples. But it's such a pretty place so I can understand why couples like Dokyung and his gf frequent this area. We took a bus near Insadong to Jongak (I think) where I bought 4 music books (yay! now I can play the piano since I have scores) and a book stand before we headed back to Anam. 

Alex, Jeannie and I met up in LG-POSCO to prepare for our International Financial Management class's Market Watch presentation for tomorrow and we quarreled at the start because of some differences in style of working. But thankfully, we managed to resolve our conflicts! Phew!
I met up with Sean for dinner at an Italian restaurant near my place and there are no photos because he said no photos :( Haha...we wanted to have bubble tea for dessert but the shop ran out of pearls so we went to Love Ice instead for bingsu.
I skyped with my parents at night and my goodness, my family is hilarious. My mum called me on skype only to show me that they're playing some memory card game together and she told me that she couldn't skype me for long because she wanted to play the game. Lol!
Anyway, I feel so much better now because I returned my redundant TV to the lady in charge of our hostel so now, I have space to study! I will try to study. hahaha. I will post up photos of my room when it's....tidier. It's like a pig sty now.