aloa everyone ^^

I miss and love you all soooooo much.

I hope 2007 is treating you well (may all of you get really rich this year) ^^

I really should update xanga once ... and w/ this entry I promise to update my LiFE as a marine in the Republic of Korean Marines Corps when I get out the next time (which will be early Feburary - so hold on tight for a huge update ^^) ...

I've been writing a diary in there ... so I guess I'll just make some of my entries public to yall.

This Christmas Santa made me REALLY happy w/ the news that the Corean Government is looking to shorten the military service in Corea from 24 months to 18 ... I'll probably be getting out 2-4 months earlier than planned ... you probably have no idea how happy this is making every male in Corea who was bound to go to the military right now.

Wish all of you luck in everything you do~ ^^

I'll be praying for yall.

LiFE goes on ...

Live, Laugh, Love & Learn

P.S. love each day ... since the present is a present ... no matter how rough it gets

Aloa ^^*

Tonight ... is my last night before I enter the marines.  Itz funny.  I know I’m not going away for a very long time (maybe 1-2 months till I'll get to update) â€¦ or to die … but I must confess … strangely it feels a lot like it.

I can’t help looking back at my life ... & smile

I know that I’m only 21 and that I’ll only be 23 when I get back out … but again … I can’t help feeling old (considering that a lot of the guys who enter will be 19).  To this point in my life I have been so fully blessed that I couldn’t complain even if God decided to take it all back again.

God you have been good to me.  Thank you.

I have grown a lot as a person throughout the years … thanks to the tears I cried, the love I received, all the doubts and challenges my enemies provided, thanks to the friends and family. 

I am at a point in my life where I have a pretty clear philosophy about Life, Friendship, Love and Happiness ... if I do change in these 2 years ... I hope it is for the better ... If you guys discover that I've changed in a negative way ... please be kind enough to point it out.

Life is a journey … and no one is ever perfect ... so obviously I still have a lot of growing to do.  May this be a good opportunity for me to become a bigger person.

I don’t really know what is going to happen in the future.  But you can count on this: I’m going to give my best regardless of my surroundings.  I'm going to be optimistic.  I'm going to smile and give out as much love as I can.  I will come out stronger and hungrier ... to succeed in Life.

Pray for me.

Write me (there is a saying that you read a letter 1000 times in the military - so it'll be wroth it ^^)

- I have no internet no phone callse ... so all I'll have are your letters

My Address is:

Kyung Buk Ku Phyung Dong

Jin Pyung Dae Woo Apt. 102-1003ho

Kumi, South Korea

730-755

(some of you might notice- but this is my home address. my parents will forward your mail to me since the marines don't announce the camp address till much later)

P.S. I love you All ^^  I truely appreciate all of you - big hugz to all of yall ... & while ur at it give everyone u love a hug today ... u might make their day & u never know when itz going to be the last one.

PP.S. A song that plays in my head tonite: Somewhere Over the Rainbow ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70tuTEnD9RI

Family picture before the military ^^ ... priceless

LIVE LAUGH LOVE & LEARN

^^ aloa peepz~

good news (I guess it is good news?) ... today they announced the Nr. 1027 Marine members and I am one of 'em.  You don't understand what I went through to get in ... missing a flight from Charlottesville because of many different reasons ... missing my inital interview ... going back to Seoul half way w/ the mom ... bla bla ... itz a long and complicated story (w/ no doubt one of the craziest things I've done in LiFE ... period ... probably goes hand in hand w/ me driving down to Miami from C-vill the entire way in one day) 

Ironically (thinking of how hardcore it is) it was really competitive ... 1:10 (for some reason the marines are really popular in Corea nowadays - strange) ... so I'm going in on August 7th at 14:00 ... ^^ haha ... for 24 months I'll be a soldier ... I'll be done w/ all this August 7th 2008 at 14:00 and trust me I'll be flying to the US ASAP to c u all and give u big hugs ...

So Andrew aka Minindian sold Juicy for me ... <tear> ... and man did he do a good job ... bought it new for 16 he sold it for 13 after 2 years of service ... good job Mini <clap clap clap> ... ^^ don't know if I'll get a car later when I come back ... I guess it'll depend on where I'm gonna go to get a masters after UVa (as of now I want to go to NYC where a finance master will translate more easily and smoothly into a job in NYC)

Today is also the 1st month after the break.  The pain?  Itz real ... no doubt ... don't know if the pain itself got better or worse ... but I have accepted it.  Thatz all I have to say about it on xanga ^^ haha.  Talk to me if you wanna know more ^^ I'm pretty open about it.

Have been doing A LOT of soul searching ... not really by choice ... since I couldn't do anything athletic due to the slaughter of my wisdom tooth (my left face was twice the sice of my right ... literally ... reminded me of my boxing days) and a little neck injury due to too much work out <sigh - the irony> ... I figured that the best and most efficient way to soul search is to read books about the subject and then to talk about it ... I really recommend these three books ... they have helped me to find my answers about life, love and happiness again (and of course thnx to all who I had deep conversations w/ recently - 50% of the time it was my mom ^^ haha):

"Life Lessons" by Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross, David Kessler

"Falling In Love" by Ayala Malach Pines

"The Romantic Movement" by Alain de Botton

Do not think this is gay ... these people have dedicated their lives answering questions about those topics that we have difficulty answering ... they deserve respect ... if your on the wrong road there is no point running you know? ... you have to stop and figure out where you are ... wait a little till the fog clears ... and when it does ... you can continue running ^^

I also recommend a good Corean song by Baek Ji Young (I usually don't recommend a lot of Corean female singers ... but the song itself is very good - was very popular over here) I like the lyrics very much ... the m-video in my opinion doesn't really fit the lyrics ... but o well ... here is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU9XzRh6j-Y

umm ... for non Corean speakers ... just enjoy the song ^^

P.S. I always thought LiFE was Live Laugh & Love ... but one thing was missing ... ^^ Learn ... learning never stops and is the engine of life ^^

Live

Laugh

Love

Learn

^^ be happy everyone ... we all deserve it

prolly I'll update one more time before I'm really gone.

aloa ^^

back from Seoul ...

don't know if this is on international news ... but itz been raining every second in Korea since ... umm ... tuesday? ... raining really hard ... rain rain rain ... secretly wish it would actually wash away some of my worries and negative feelings I have ><

Took the bus up to Seoul and eventually came down w/ the train sunday nite ... one way took 3 hours ... mom told me to take the train down since she got worried that I might get stuck in a flood somewhere.

3 days of continuous eating, drinking and catching up.

Meeting UVa peepz on friday ... my Lambda lil brother (we went to eat my favorite food on earth: myung dong kal guk su) and Kazakh friends on saturday ... sunday some Kazakh friends and family.  It was really really good seeing them.  Not so good drinking as much as I did ... my body got destroyed ... needed two days back home to fully recover. ><

Ended up spending lil money since everyone was buying me saying that they can't let a guy goin' into the army in less than 3 weeks pay.  Most friends were telling me to be strong and suck it up for 24 months and that the broken heart will eventually heal ... yes suck it up I will ... I do that well. 

Being drunk and rain ... a good mix if you ask me.

If you're looking for girls and you like asians or more specifically Corean girls ... go to Seoul (more specifically Kang Nam) ... I have never seen as much Corean female skin in those 3 days than I have anywhere else combined.  Mega short shorts, super mini skirts ... u have to remember that it was raining ... don't wanna imagine how it is when the weather is actually NICE cause I'm scared for my future children (although I'm not sure where I'm gonna be raisin' my kids anyways - hopefully in the US) ... I know I know I say a lot of girls are pretty ... nd I usually disapoint most of you ... but I still gotta say Seoul has a lot of pretty girls ... don't know if itz because they had some lil knifin', makeup or just me being me ... ^^

Have been talking and thinking ... I guess now that I don't have anyone that I need to get to ASAP (I was gonna work right after that 1 semester in the US) ... I think itz best to get a masters somewhere (not even neccessarily US) after I finish that one semester ... maybe attend a 1-2 year program (while I finish the CFA level 2 & 3) and be more specialized and THEN go get a job in the city.  Seeing a lot of aulmni and students doing well in Corea and looking at the routes they took ... I'm thinking that this might be best for me. 

I got 20 days before I'm gone ... have to map out my future as specifically as possible.

Seoul ... was good seeing you ...

P.S. I was born in Seoul ... but never really feel itz home.

P.P.S Just this morning got my last wisdom tooth pulled ... or more like cut off (love tooth in Corean - o the irony) ... which was deeeeeeep inside ma mouth ...... FREAKIN' Ay! it hurt ...and hurts!!! >< ... gods way of showin' me that I am in fact a lucky guy to be healthy like this.

ITQ is finished ...

the lucky 7 (July) is def. better than the 6 ... I'm not sure if I was lucky for having an easy exam or if I just overstudied ... the exams that were suppose to take me a total of 3 hours took me about 2:30 ... and I double checked like 4 times.

SO now that this is done ... I'm looking for other things to do.  Taking Cheng's aka Regal's advice I'm thinking I should start studying for the CFA level 1 exam.  But for now ... I'm gonna enjoy some of my freedom ... going to Seoul this weekend to chill w/ friends ... about time.

Thnx to yall who wished me luck.