child devil of tuna: 02/01/2004

I'm wary of romantic comedies as most of them fall victim to overused cliches and sappy feel-good endings. Sometimes, the movie is clever and different and has REAL acting (So I Married an Axe Murderer, My Sassy Girl, Bridget Jones' Diary) and I will enjoy it. But I am not often proven wrong, as lame movies abound (Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, You've Got Mail [and bad grammar], 6 Days 7 Nights, America's Sweethearts, Maid in Manhattan etc etc... J.Lo, Hugh Grant, Richard Gere, Ben Affleck).

I was, however, pleasantly surprised by Love Actually. I enjoyed it thoroughly for it lacked the abundance of rank cheese that is usually present in movies like this. Someone with whom I watched this movie mentioned that it reminded him of Four Weddings and a Funeral , so I rented it with hopes that maybe it might be good. And also just out of pure morbid curiosity.

After watching Four Weddings (in two different installments. I started falling asleep during the first half, it was THAT good), I came to these conclusions:

1) I still dislike Hugh Grant very much. This is the rule and Love Actually is the exception.
2) I dislike boring uninteresting female lead characters. Andie MacDowell's included.
3) The guy always gets the girl...
4) ...but not without having to surpass seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It just takes TWO FREAKIN' HOURS FOR HIM TO ACCOMPLISH THE INEVITABLE.

The only thing about Four Weddings that I really liked was the cute Scottish boy--I think his name was Matthew??--and I was trying and trying to remember why he looked so familiar and I figured out it was because he was the cute Scottish boy in Sliding Doors, which I DID enjoy. John Hannah, who played Matthew, is an excellent actor who never comes across as slimy or gross like certain actors coughHughGrantRichardGerecough. I think I need a movie with some gratuitously violent gunfights or something...

Fun little psychological analysis using the standard over-used symbols. No really, this kind of stuff is always fun, though! Just try it out! Describe each of the following four points using three words. Don't tell me what your favorite animal, color, etc is, just describe them. Post it all here and I'll let you know in a couple of days what each of the four points represents.

1) Describe your favorite color.
2) Describe your favorite animal.
3) You are walking towards a body of water (ANY body of water. The first one that pops into your mind). Describe how you feel.
4) You are in a well-lit room and the lights unexpectedly turn off. What do you feel at the moment the lights flick off?

My answers:
1) deep, intense, warm
2) cold, small, slimy
3) peaceful, exhilarated, refreshed
4) panic, fear, confusion

SUCCESS! My DVD drive is back from the dead! It's good to have a non-gimpy computer again!

My name is Grace Lee.
I am Korean.
I got mostly A's in high school.
I've played the piano for 5+ years (9, if you want to get nit-picky)
I know at least half a dozen other Grace Lee's who are also Korean, got A's in high school, played the piano, and most likely know other Grace Lee's.

I googled my name once and came across THIS. I've filled out the Grace Lee survey. You guys, despite NOT being a Grace Lee, can still participate in this project by filling out the Friends of Grace Lee survey. Just for fun and all.

How many different ways to misspell my name? Let's see:

Graese
Grease
Greace
Greus
Greas
Greac
Gresa
Graec
Gras
Grays

My second year students had an assignment requiring them to write me a letter. And the truly sad part? I wrote a model letter on the board, complete with a "Dear Grace"...

People have asked me, what do you miss most about home? What have you taken for granted but now desperately wish you still had? As I sit in the teachers' room, occasionally taking breaks from typing so that I can sit on my hands to warm up my fingers, I can only think of one thing:

CENTRAL HEATING.

First off, the school is so cold that I dread leaving the teachers' room. As un-warm as it is in here, it's at least sort of bearable when compared to the hallways. My students sit freezing in their classrooms; you know it's bad when the skin on your legs turn purple because the blood stopped circulating so long ago. So many of my classes were cancelled yesterday and today because either 1) more than a third of the students were absent because of the flu or 2) the teacher was absent because of the flu. Assuming that such numbers can be projected into the rest of the population, I think I can safely say that a fairly large chunk of the Japanese work force is sitting at home with a fever of 104. That's highly inefficient, even for the Japanese. Not to mention, the more of them that get sick, the more likely it is for me to come in contact with influenza virus and I don't like that prospect at all. Not to mention, I'm sick of holding my pee all day because I really really don't want to go to the bathroom because the thought of dropping my pants in a freezer somehow doesn't appeal.

Moreover, I probably have so many electrical appliaces plugged in and turned on in my sad fruitless attempt at creating a warm haven that it's probably environmentally and economically more practical to burn natural gas via central heating systems. An electically heated coffee table just doesn't cut it.

And strangely, when I take things out of the fridge, they don't feel cold to the touch. Not even cool. Sometimes I leave drinks out overnight, fully aware of the fact that they will be just as cold, if not colder, than if I had put it back in the fridge.

I take baths at night now, because it's one of the only things that truly warms me up.

I wake up and I can see my breath in the morning.

My olive oil now has the consistency of runny butter.

It snowed three times in one week once.

And I bet the water in my dishwashing sponge freezes as well. Now, if only I could brave the cold water running from my tap long enough to actually wash my dishes...

There is HOPE.

I was grading some of my students' essays and I came across these cleverly written sentences:

Playing with my member is fun.
I have a big pleasure spot.

Both of these students were talking about Tokyo Disneyland. I think there must be something missing from both of the U.S.'s Disney theme parks...

How well can we say we know someone? Can we honestly claim to know anyone as well as we know ourselves? And on that some note, do we even know oursleves? Just because we spend a lot of time with someone doesn't necessarily mean we know that person. While some people may be completely honest about themselves and others can be entirely transparent and easy to read, I would argue that most of us are deeper or more secretive than that.

As of late, I've been struggling with these questions. I've been trying not only to learn about myself, but to figure out the the people around me. I've learned to be wary. A smile can conceal an injury, arrogance an insecurity, strength an inadequacy. And that applies to me as well. I'm not immune to my own criticisms nor am I exempt from your scrutiny. If you look hard enough, get to know me a little better, don't pass any judgements or give into any preconceptions you may have, then you just might find yourself getting to know the real me.

I never want to be in a position where someone might think that they have an advantage over me. I don't want to appear weak or incompetent. That's one of my biggest flaws: I've always desired the approval of others. I care entirely too much of what others may think of me. So I put up a face. One of confidence and self-assurance when in fact, I'm about as uncertain and indecisive as they come. I don't really know why I insist on doing this; I just do.

Sometimes, the actual truth is so far from what you perceive to be truth.

child devil of tuna

Thursday, February 26, 2004

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Monday, February 16, 2004

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Monday, February 09, 2004

Thursday, February 05, 2004

Sunday, February 01, 2004

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