Translations, From the Land of the Moring Calm

2008-02-26T16:40:00.001+09:00

last post from LGE...

Arrivederci everyone~!

2008-02-19T19:08:00.002+09:00

just when I though I was free from all that singing and dancing routines when I left LG.....

Macquarie is having a conference in australia around the middle of march and guess what the seoul office is cooking up to show all the world? That's right! Our very own production of "One night only" by the Dreamgirls.

Life is not without a sense of irony...don't you think?

2008-02-15T01:09:00.002+09:00

cool, I got a new job!

2008-02-04T09:59:00.000+09:00

One of the things I get a kick out of when i drive the new car to work is seeing the security personnel all googley eyed to check if i'm one of the senior staff when I'm actually at the bottom of the food chain here. i know it's nothing, but it sure gives me something to smile about before returning to the grind.

2008-02-01T16:06:00.000+09:00

in a dramatic turn of events....the IBD team at macquarie's called me up today to ask me if i wanted to come in AGAIN for a 'repechage' accounting test. it seems i'm still shortlisted for the job...i dunno what happened but yeah, i'm game. keep em fingers crossed my friends!

2008-01-28T15:58:00.000+09:00

it's harder to break out of the mold than I thought.

just got a email from maquarie telling me that I didn't get the job.......

in a twist of fate, it seems that our team at LG is going to have to forfeit our lunar new year breaks as well.

it never rains but it pours...dun it?

2008-01-24T19:06:00.000+09:00

what's the point of staying late for work if there isn't any?!?!

get a LIFE PEOPLE!!!!

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results from my interviews for macquarie's coming out within a week. folks, keep those fingers crossed!

2008-01-17T08:24:00.000+09:00

"Gnothi seauton (know thyself)" said Socrates.

This a section of a feedback report I received from my test a couple weeks back at Macquarie's. I really liked this one because it was much more comprehensive and detailed than the normal run of the mill personality checks from internet or magazines. I wouldn't say that this report is a 100% reflection of who I am; some parts I agreed with and some I disagreed. But the important thing is, it gave me a semi-objective viewpoint of who I am/could be. Plus, it's really flattering to read a document with so many sentences that start with "You"...haha. Personality checks are fun~^^

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Relationships with people

You see yourself as someone who is as happy as most people to sell ideas and negotiate. However you have a slight preference for allowing others to take the leading role. This suggests that you may not feel the need to set the direction for teams.

When it comes to expressing your views, you favour a relatively balanced approach, expressing your views or criticising others only when you feel it is appropriate rather than as a matter of course. Additionally, when it comes to group decision making, you are likely to stand by your own opinion, even if it differs from that of the majority.

You are generally someone who feels extremely confident in social situations and meeting people for the first time and you are likely to be sociable and talkative, suggesting you enjoy being the centre of attention. You are also someone who would describe themselves as gaining slightly more enjoyment than most, from the company of other people.

You are likely to be extremely willing to discuss your successes and openly proud of your achievements. You express a preference for taking individual responsibility for decision making without consulting others and see yourself as someone who is not prone to be overly sympathetic or concerned about others' feelings, perhaps being more selective with your sympathy than others.

Work approach

You enjoy working with facts and figures and analysing numerical information. You are slightly less likely than others to enjoy critically evaluating information and arguments. However, you are fairly interested in people's behaviour, and why they do things.

You have a strong desire to take a radical approach to your work. This is also reflected in your obvious enjoyment of coming up with new ways of looking at things and solving problems. At the same time, you describe yourself as someone who is moderately interested in theory and is likely to balance hypothetical debates over issues with a more common sense approach to tasks.

You greatly enjoy variety and novelty on a day-to-day basis, probably becoming quickly bored with routine. In terms of adapting your style to the people you are with, you are probably a bit more consistent across situations than others.

You have a preference for dealing with situations as they arise rather than considering in advance how you might deal with them. You are much more comfortable for other people to pay more attention to the detailed aspects of a job. Generally you prefer to leave the planning and checking of work to others.

You are slightly more likely than others to see tasks through until they are completed on time. However, in contrast you describe yourself as being prepared to ignore rules and regulations at work when you feel that this is necessary and may compromise these to meet a tight deadline.

Internal Drivers

You may find you are generally very relaxed on a day-to-day basis and find it extremely easy to recover from the pressures of the working day. Similarly, you come across as someone who remains confident and anxiety free before important occasions and you have little worry associated with things going wrong.

You tend to be a little more prepared than others to put criticism in perspective or ignore it completely. You appear to slightly prefer focusing on the worst things that could happen to avoid disappointment. You are generally someone who is neither overly suspicious nor entirely trusting of others.

You are likely to display your feelings and emotions openly. You may find it difficult to hide from others how you feel.

You appear to be as active as most other people and are most comfortable when you are moderately busy.You like to balance winning with taking part in activities for their own sake.

You are as ambitious as most people and find targets can be quite motivating. You prefer to make decisions reasonably quickly rather than pondering over them at great length.

some pics

2008-01-15T23:55:00.000+09:00

me in my sweet new ride

a preview pic from out trip to Daebu island...will post other pics later, so hold on~!!

2008-01-14T09:02:00.001+09:00

I really should be paying more attention to my blog... and get out of this slump i've been in for the past couple of weeks.

c'mon jason, stop moping around and start being awesome again~!!

How often do you find the right person? - "Once"

2008-01-02T23:06:00.000+09:00

"This movie works partly because of the deeply good natures we sense these two people have. They aren't “picking each other up.” They aren't flirting — or, well, technically they are, but in that way that means “I'm not interested unless you're too good to be true.”

They love music, and they're not faking it. We sense to a rare degree the real feelings of the two of them; there's no overlay of technique, effect or style.

They are just purely and simply themselves."

- review by Roger Ebert.

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this movie and 2 cans of beer made my day today.

2007-12-30T21:51:00.000+09:00

current playlist - Arctic Monkeys

current energy level - super loooooooow

gotta get myself out of this loop of sleep - work - sleep - work - sleep some more - weekend sleepfest.... - back to work

btw, ALL YOU PEOPLE ARE VAMPIRES!!! ~yeeehah!

2007-12-17T17:13:00.001+09:00

oh yeah~~~! passed through the 1st round of interviews for Macquarie haha!

Now, the 2nd round consists of....... aptitude tests..uuuuuugh... I hate tests.... especially the IQ test-esque ones. never been good at those. Anyways gotta get to city hall by 6 o'clock thursday to take those tests~!

2007-12-13T10:49:00.000+09:00

The 7 Basic Human Needs (← click)

awesome.... AWESOME sermon by Pastor Kong Hee of City Harvest Church, Singapore

it's long but well worth the time to listen and experience the Word of God!

2007-12-11T10:16:00.000+09:00

"Gamble everything for love,if you're a true human being.

If not, leave this gathering.

Half-heartedness doesn't reach into majesty.

You set out to find God,

but then you keep stopping for long periods at mean-spirited roadhouses."

Rumi

2007-12-09T00:58:00.000+09:00

ah~~ the comforts of wireless internet~~

laid back...chillin and surfin the web from anywhere in my house^^

2007-12-07T14:19:00.000+09:00

job interview with macquarie IBD at 2 o' clock on monday....also, dad leaves for africa at 10 on the same day....

afternoons at work is such a drag....no real work and drowsiness caused from a full stomach is friggin unbearable.....

2007-11-30T13:32:00.000+09:00

Control has left me
And I can't feel another thing
So let me turn around

From Sad Caper by H and the BF

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Dancing "Tell Me" was a smashing success, at LG and during the KoreanRE job interview as well. Yes, you heard it right. I danced at a job interview!!! However, I don't think I'm going to switch jobs just now. Sure, salary at KoreanRE is two times that of LGE's but after actually experiencing and talking to employers at KoreanRE, it seemed that there wasn't that much difference in how the system moved around(same Korean business mindset)....and in some aspects, LG seemed better(its much more laid back + and I know what my job is at LG where as if I go to KoreanRE I have to go through the whole job assignment process again)..... but to be really frank, it all came down to 情. I just couldn't turn my back to the people around me. Call me soft, but that's the kind of person I am.

I can't believe I'm letting go of all that cash....ah.....

2007-11-26T15:58:00.000+09:00

wow, dad's really going to Ethiopia for a year...going to build some big reservoir for the farmers down there....

It looks like mom's more worried than my dad over this. dad did some work at Guinea Bissau a while back and i think that's one of the bigger reasons for him going to Africa rather than a younger engineer.....

for me, i don't know... I've been so indifferent about my family for such a long time that i really don't know what to think about this....

one good news though, my brother's coming back from Australia soon so at least my mom will have more "free" hands(I have been nagging her to get some more temps but to no avail..she's just too shrewd) around the bakery from now.

2007-11-20T18:05:00.000+09:00

went out with my senior colleagues n got so wasted that i woke up at 1 o'clock...and arrived at work at 4:30........

2007-11-15T19:25:00.000+09:00

7:00 woke up a hour late for work

8:15 at work...15 minutes late

10:00-12:00 mentor/mentee assignment ceremony

13:05-15:00 some ERP thingy lecture/orientation at doksan...burnt rubber getting there but didn't have to.....when I arrived, half the class was dozing away already...i was there just to fill up one of the empty seats because no one else from my team wanted to come....for a good reason too!

16:00-17:00 got back to my desk around 3:50 when all of the sudden my boss asked me to attend a monthly R&D center assembly which just happened to take place today......not because i needed/wanted to listen to LG Mobile R&D head talk talk talk but because the assembly looks just better when it's a full house......

i neeeeeed real work!!

man.....I am turning into one sarcastic employee ..... well better to let it out than let it fester inside. haha

btw, my application to KoreanRE (reinsurance firm) came through. job interview at the 28th. that means that i have to take a leave from work if i want to go.....but the question is......do I want to go? ah.... the million dollar question.

2007-11-13T18:52:00.001+09:00

Talent is God given. Be humble.

Fame is man-given. Be grateful.

Conceit is self-given. Be careful

quoted by John Wooden

wondergirl wannabes

2007-11-11T22:30:00.000+09:00

people have way too much time on their hands... haha!

traffic police version

drunkard passerby version....hilarious!

highschool version

military version....kinda spooky, but funny!! LOL!!

not to be outdone, here's a pic of jeewoong and hanmin performing their very own "drunken baritone" version of tell me at karaoke yesterday!

2007-11-10T05:41:00.000+09:00

burning the midnight oil at the phone plant down in pyungtaek~!! so far I've been able to see firsthand how they put those tiny tiny tiny chips onto the phone's main board and given the responsibility of overseeing if the machines did their chip placements accordingly.

it's 6 AM now, I hope i don't fall asleep at the wheel on my way back home..haha

p.s. kuai dian finish your essay elsie. jia you!

2007-11-09T17:05:00.000+09:00

there are times I'd come across a bible verse or a gospel song in my mp3 player when I feel really shitty(pardon my french) and just start feeling really good.... not really a warm fuzzy feeling per se but more like a natural high.....you just know that everything is under the control of his hand and somehow it's going to be alright. although it's not the only reason i'm a christian but it's definitely one of the perks of putting my faith in HIM=)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.

Psalms 91:1-3

2007-11-06T00:45:00.000+09:00

despite all the BS, it's hope that makes life worth living....word!

New Phone

2007-11-04T23:53:00.000+09:00

Bought it at auction for ￦1000. dirt cheap! plus, i can watch TV from my phone now haha!

2007-11-02T11:19:00.000+09:00

TGIF!! too tired and wrung out to do anything for the weekend. relax, catch up on sleep and read read read!!

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article on Korean culture in Wikipedia. Sorta like a checklist of korean common knowledge. check it out => http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_culture_of_South_Korea

an added bonus ... Tell Me by the Wondergirls (#1 hit in korea for quite some time now)

and if you want to dance like them......

2007-10-31T17:52:00.000+09:00

day 8 of HW Academy.....

since day 1, all we have done was listen to lecture after lecture of technical issues concerning cell phone development. it was alrite for the first couple of days, but now, after 8 consecutive days(excluding weekends) of nonstop classes from 8AM through 9PM, i have the least interest in what these lecturers have to say.....it seems that most of my colleagues feel the same way too. no more laughing and talking during breaks. we are so tired that we don't even get together online during class for chat sessions on the corporate messenger that we used to enjoy so much. everyone's just having this glazed look on their faces.

I hope that our bosses are getting the message:

"WE ARE SICK OF LECTURES!! Let us go HOME!!"

can't believe we have to go through 6 more days of this nonsense.....arrrrrgh!!

Sights of Autumn (season of 天高馬肥)

2007-10-31T00:31:00.000+09:00

season of high skies and fat horses.......I did take pics of high skies, but i don't think i had the chance to see a fat horse anywhere lately..haha!

anyways, enjoy!

Slow traffic at Seoul

Clear skies and yellow-orange leaves.....beautiful!

it's one of the best times of the year to be in Korea

parking lot in front of our apartment complex

parking lot

driving from saem-ma-eul(jeewoong's) to in-duck-won(my place)

night out with the the boys...plus one wife

2007-10-29T21:59:00.000+09:00

@ the gopchang house.. man, we look constipated haha!

wonkyung debating issues with jeewoong

dongyoung posing in front of his bigass PDP tele

hey backoff hombre! I got a knife and I know how to use it!!!!

2007-10-29T17:30:00.000+09:00

Had a good time at shinchon with donyoung, wonkyung(a.k.a mrs. kwon haha!!), & jeewoong.

had plenty of soju(pansy jeewoong had to have this fruity low alcoholic concoction because he was so too girly for soju..haha!! dude, man up! even wonkyung was drinking soju!).....jeewoong and wonkyung had a small(?) argument after getting quite drunk....later, everybody made up and went for a little karaokeing and went back to dongyoung's for more drinks and wooing over how well the house makeover went.

next day, while me n jeewoong drove back to pyungchon, I couldn't help but imagining this was how our parents probably hung out right before they had me....a motley crew of singles and married couples hanging out late into the night enjoying their last gasps of freedom before KIDS! COMMITMENT!! REAL RESPONSIBILITIES!!

i know that i'm being overly dramatic and i'm sure that most of us are fit to handle such issues, but still...it is a bit humbling to know that yes, even though we are still young, we are getting older....

so jason...Carpe Diem!!(i know it's a cliche but still sound good as ever!!)

job sucks?

2007-10-25T17:15:00.000+09:00

During my senior year at high school, it was all about going to med school. Then being an engineer, then business consultant, back to med school, grad program in electronics/communication, and now.........................

its been about 3 months since i stepped out of my unemployment status and became a member of the LG handphone development division. all in all it's been pretty good.... great colleagues, a paycheck every month, manageable hours... but somehow i find myself in the position of wanting more than that.

yesterday, at the persuasion of jeewoong, spent the night applying for a position at a prestigious re-insurance firm. there were also several openings in the investment banking field that looked really interesting. especially since in these firms I could be given a chance to relocate in other countries around asia.....hong kong, china or maybe even SG! I'm not exactly sure if i'm want to change my professional field yet or even be able to get accepted to those firms in the first place, but i definitely want to keep my options open~!

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housewarming party tomorrow at shinchon for mr. and mrs. kwon dongyoung haha!!

2007-10-24T10:54:00.000+09:00

oh yeah, i'm taking another round of manatory training

placed dead last in the test we took today...
i hate rote memorization!!!!!! it's pointless....arrrgh!

better get higher scores for the next test or might get fired

2007-10-23T23:19:00.000+09:00

stuff to think about.....

Duty to the Past

"Goodness, beauty, and truth, however, and all great accomplishments need time, permanence, and memory., or lest they deteriorate. The man who has no urge to do his duty to the past and to shape the future is a man without a memory, and there seems to me no way of getting hold of such a person and bringing him to his senses. Every word, even if it impresses him for a moment, goes through one ear and out of the other. What is to be done with him? It is a tremendous pastoral problem."
February 1st 1944

Metanoia

"It is not some religious act which makes a Christian what he is, but participation in the suffering of God in the life of the world."
July 18th 1944

excerps from Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2007-10-22T23:22:00.000+09:00

i'm exhausted from all that laughing~!!
man...will ferrell and darrell hammond are geniuses~!

more of SNL's version of celebrity jeopardy ~!

and here's a compilation clip of alex trebek(will ferrell) and sean connery(darrell hammond)

2007-10-22T20:05:00.000+09:00

omg, i laughed so hard during training watching this!

Saturday Night Live

(I love this show!! the 90's cast were the best.. hands down!)

celebrity jeopardy sketch

2007-10-20T20:11:00.000+09:00

one thing that i've learned over the years is that it's really REALLY hard to find a person that you feel a instinctive connection with.... i won't/can't go into details because it's something that's better experienced than explained.... like i said, it's instinctive, you just know =)
for me its seems harder to find that connection because of my background.....living as a korean in korea, but raised in america.

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I had a good conversation w/ yun-hae today for the first time in over a year or so. we dated for a month and afterwards i got my heart shredded to pieces during the breakup... naturally, it was really awkward seeing each other at church for quite a while after that.....

we were both pretty messed up when we started dating. she was getting over a big breakup of her own and i was this ball of insecurity and loneliness. well, we both turned out for the better after the breakup. she was finally able to stand up on her own.... getting her degree in social welfare after next semester, being content w/ life in general and where she's heading. for me, got myself into another relationship and another breakup...in the process, became more confident about who i am.

all in all though, it's a good feeling to realize that you've put your past demons behind and became wiser/better person.

2007-10-19T07:45:00.000+09:00

visited eun-bi's grandma's funeral yesterday... and the day before as well...
a typical korean funeral usually lasts for 2 nights 3 days where visitors can come by anytime during that period to pay their respects and have a good time w/ friends and family. There's an unlimited supply of food and booze so people tend to get really rowdy, which i heard is a good thing because it takes away from the grimness of the funeral and supposedly makes the spirit of the deceased happy(I could be wrong of course). anyways, i got a chance to talk and meet up w/ several good friends that i haven't had a chance to catch up with for quite a while. Eun-bi was in a good mood and was doing okay considering she slept for about 5 hours for the past 3 or 4 days. everyone had a good laugh and a good time... well into the wee hours of the night haha (today's friday so it's alright)..... ironic that it was someone dying that was the catalyst for so much laughter for us.

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being busy at work doing odd errands and stuff has left my seminar preparation untouched.... kuai dian jason!!

2007-10-16T20:36:00.000+09:00

arrrrrrgh!! I hate this security program on the company's network!!!
can't upload anything on the web!!

2007-10-16T11:38:00.000+09:00

couple of useful sites that I've found while surfing the net.....

http://www.coastalcontacts.com/ a place to buy contact lenses at a big discount

http://kimc911.egloos.com/ free MP3s! mostly old rock music (one of the few places that have doors stuff haha)

http://clustrmaps.com/ provides your page w/ a free map that shows all the international hits you recieve on it
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a new task~!
prepare seminars on Bluetooth and WiFi technologies respectively.
5 page powerpoint pesentation included!
not too challenging...i think..i hope =)
better start by looking up wikipedia

oh yeah, chose to get off late from work yesterday.... extra money to party w/ this weekend... yeeeeah haha!

2007-10-15T22:08:00.000+09:00

10:08....@ work......do i wait until 11 to get off work and make a little bit more cash or leave now, get home early(...er) and rest up??? hmmm...

2007-10-13T23:53:00.000+09:00

the weatherman....good movie

sometimes you CAN learn about life through movies haha.

2007-10-11T00:26:00.000+09:00

worked out before dinner, worked overtime, n got paid extra for it because i stayed untill 11 to finish up. ￦20k..not much but feels good to know that you made a bit more today =)

2007-10-10T08:47:00.000+09:00

for the most part, things are going smoothly at work. got our team assignments last friday, said hello to everyone.....rumor has it that this is the team that developed the prada phone by lg. haven't gotten around to asking if this is true or not. anyhoo~ since everybody's busy doing their own work to take interest in me, i'm free to do whatever i want......

i thought this was a good thing but after 2 days of endless internet surfing and B/S-ing with colleagues......i want work!!

maybe this is how lg breaks in new employees.... make them so bored that they WANT to work...haha

so far...it's working

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request for my business cards came through...
kinda looking forward to it considering it is my first time getting a business card. =)

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seung-hoon from college is getting married next month~! congrats~!

2007-10-09T01:49:00.000+09:00

it's getting chilly outside!!
wore short sleeves to work and almost froze to death cause it was so cold out!
note to myself: listen to the weather forecast tmr morning

2007-10-08T09:20:00.000+09:00

oldies...... but goodies =)
no matter how good the current chart-stoppers are, they'll never take place of those songs that i listened to during highschool.... good songs, good memories ^^

2007-10-08T02:03:00.000+09:00

thank you for your unfaltering grace.....even though I may have forgotten, you never forget.
please let me be humble, gracious, and faithful...
also thank you for this awesome life that you've given me and also, thank you again for allowing me to realize that it is an awesome life.... Thanks big guy! =)
in Jesus name..AMEN!

2007-10-07T05:13:00.000+09:00

Korea uni wins la!!
by 3 wins and 2 draws
take that!! yonsei!

2007-10-05T07:53:00.000+09:00

it's that time of the year again where students from my alma mater and those low lives from shinchon(inside joke) duke it out at jamshil olympic stadium for nothing more than bragging rights. 5 sports events(baseball, basketball, ice hockey, rugby, n soccer...oh yeah, 應援 (cheering) too even though this is an unofficial thing) played out today and tomorrow in front of over 2-30,000 screaming, chanting college kids.

definitely, it's the biggest yearly event between korea and yonsei uni and it's also the biggest university event in all of korea.

for the members of our cheerleaders, it's the pinnacle of their year; it's THE rationale for all the
training, planning, and hard work that everyone has gone through the year. and when i say hard work, these guys know what hard work is! they are the people who plan the whole event out. although planning an event of this size with limited manpower is not an easy task, it does have it's brighter moments. i guess alot has to do with working with good company, good friends....shooting bull around while doing the banner decorations on the stadiums...complementing how our 'deco'(cheerleader lingo) looks much nicer than yonsei's, eating late nite chinese food after all the preparation for the event are done.

for me, it'll be a change of pace from last year... relax and soak up the atmosphere, maybe even do a little bit of this ↓

anywhoo, Go Korea Uni! Beat them yonsheins senseless!!

高大!

必勝! 全勝! 押勝!

it's going to be a rout!!

2007-10-04T13:28:00.000+09:00

at work....
just goofing around..... nothing to do...
we just got our laptops and our group assgnmnts yesterday. but still no real work to do..

so.....we keep on waiting........with internet =)

2007-10-02T00:22:00.000+09:00

SG was.... SHIOK la!!!!

omg, i don't think... no not think..more like NEVER had such fun in all my life. haha! Delicious food, awesome parties, and last but definitely not least fantastic company. Elsie was such an awesome host. I can't thank her enough, and she probably heard enough thank you's from me already. I really hope that she had as much fun awesoming in SG as I did. was a bit afraid that partying too hard was causing her to be very tired during saturday and sunday, but she rolled with me and i'm just sooooo grateful for that!

couple of things i learned about myself in SG/ should start doing

1. I really felt comfortable in SG: seriously, think abt moving there after getting some work experence.

2. improve my spoken english: I guess living in korea for 12+ years has finally gotten its toll on me. after about 5 days of using english, i noticed that I kept repeating the expressions I was saying, had a hard time trying to explain complicated things. I know that once I start to speak english more often, my english will come back

3. My chinese suck! study!!: a person can only go so far with chinese learned in youtube..yeah you heard it right...youtube haha!!

more

4. jason can dance to rave, indie, electronica!^^

5. SG weather....best cure for allergies and sinus conditions: everything cleared up once I t/d in SG.....so wierd

anyways, gotta sleep now.... work work work!!

me n elsie at cafe del mar looking awesome after tanning =)

2007-09-24T04:19:00.000+09:00

finally, done packing! why is it that i always put things like this off until the last minute ??
and to the critics of my return to SG...my response to them..

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." -Henry Miller

hopefully, another way will open up~^^

2007-09-23T20:07:00.000+09:00

tired of those telelmarketers?

i feel sorry for the dude!!

Ad wars!

2007-09-22T22:45:00.000+09:00

↓

And Bentley's response?

2007-09-21T23:08:00.000+09:00

I love my job!
to put it more specifically, i really like my colleagues and senior co-workers...
it's only my 5th day and already they went out of their way to show us the ABCs of phone development, introduce us to people...pretty much made us feel very welcome. on top of all this one of our mentors(or seniors) got me a phone to use during my trip to SG next week! er.. a SG field test/trip that is...haha!
thanks LG MC lab 4 HW!!

2007-09-18T23:56:00.001+09:00

oh yeah...we won 1st place for our efforts in 'customer insight'!! got $50USD worth of gift-certificates..a nice puctuation point for the 6 weeks of orientaton that we went through =)

2nd day of work!

2007-09-18T22:45:00.000+09:00

finally! started work at mobile comm lab 4... the atmosphere isn't as intimidating as we once thought. everybody's very nice and eager to make us feel comfortable. I was going to take pictures of the place but they have very strict security regulations so i wasn't able to take my cam inside the building. anyways here are a couple of pics of the building's exterior

oh yeah, i gotta chang my phone to a LG one. I can't register my samsung phone through security.....booooo...(even after 6 weeks of LG corp. brainwash, I still think samsung phones are better than LG's haha!)

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YES!! I can use a one-day leave to extend my thanksgiving holidays til the 30th. also was able to book a last minute air ticket to SG!!

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the cloud patterns of the night sky were really beautiful coming home from work yesterday. so i took a pic of the road in front of my house

2007-09-14T01:58:00.000+09:00

it's my last day of orientation at the learning center. I know i bitched about this place a whole lot but lately, i begun to realize that this is my last buffer from the dog-eat-dog real world. i regret that i didn't take enough pics and didn't blog as much....but i made some really good memories w/ friends here so i don't think i'll be forgetting this place soon.

our team was planning to take it easy today...catch a morning flick, eat a slow lunch, maybe chill out at starbucks.... we did watch 'bourne ultimatum' and had a nice pizza lunch, but spent the rest of the day interviewing kids, taking pictures, and agonizing over how to do the presentation. personally..i think we should finish first place. we have the most inventive surveys, our powerpoint slides are well organized and we went well beyond of our call of duty and conducted/filmed interviews with kids to see what they wanted in a cell phone....

well, tomorrow is the final presentation so i'll let all of you folks posted on how we did..keep your fingers crossed!! =)

a breath of fresh air during orientation

2007-09-13T00:49:00.000+09:00

Just started a new training module dubbed the "Customer Insight" where we go out into the real world for 2 days to survey and find out what real people(for us: high-school & middle school kids) want from their handphones.........or that's what our instructor told us what we should be doing. however, being the freedom thirsty trainees that we are, we decided to finish all our work by today so we can relax and have fun tomorrow!

destination: anyang (my neighbourhood~!)

instead of asking hundreds of students to complete a list of questions on a boring survey sheet, we used our heads and made a placard/poster where we list multiple answer questions on different areas of the poster and people could just put a little sticker on their answer. it was a hit!!

me & a colleague @ mickey D's making our "what handset brand do you use?"poster

finished!

last minute checkup before showtime!

steak out in front of pyungchon high school before the kids get off

and here they come!

go crazy kids! oh, and don't forget to get your complementary highlighter pen!!

now, all we have left to do is make the powerpoint file for our presentation on friday and we are free to party for the whole day!!

2007-09-12T22:51:00.000+09:00

I got my camera back! warranty for my cam covered all the expenses for the repair. here are some great pics from this week's orientation.

my new teammates for this week

playing mafia into the wee hours of night. that's why..................

we sleep during class

we...as in all of us =)

2007-09-11T12:31:00.000+09:00

having a good time at the learning center! the atmosphere here is gradually changing into a campesque one rather than the hardcore training we went through before. with pingpong and pool during the evenings and camp games during the night hours. more and more people are dozing off during class b/c they aren't getting enough sleep during nights..haha! (will post some pics later)

2007-09-06T09:50:00.000+09:00

in class....blogging through my laptop. wireless internet, invention of the century haha!
oddly enough not asleep.

The topic of today's class - writing technical reports. makes me wonder about my own writing skills. it's a bit scary to think about the amount of korean writing and agonizing i would have to do when i finally start work. i've tried and tried just about forever to improve... it has gotten better, i mean i can write a decent essay if i'm given sufficient time. well, i shouldn't get worked up for nothing. if it happens it happens..i'll roll with it. if not, good =)

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got really drunk last night. however, had loads of fun.
felt good to unwind like that in such a long time here.

2007-09-05T01:15:00.000+09:00

hahahahahahaha!!!

2007-09-03T22:26:00.000+09:00

sooooo..tired
need to sleep at nights but somehow i keep listening to music, watching movies..... arrrrrgh
sleep man sleep!!

2007-09-03T00:31:00.000+09:00

why asian men can't get white girls (damn funny!! just take it with a pinch of salt or else it won't be..) btw, can somebody give me an translation on the chinese characters on the guy's t-shirt? white guy something don't something......hmm

2007-09-01T18:10:00.000+09:00

If you watch this 100 times you will still laugh

poor dude

2007-09-01T05:22:00.000+09:00

it's always the people you care about the most that you can't get close to.......what an irony...

2007-08-31T00:23:00.000+09:00

miss teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question (hilarious! I can't belive that she finished 3rd place..)

what she really wanted to say was......

2007-08-29T23:57:00.000+09:00

congratulations! the afghanistan missionaries are to be set free~~!
thank you God!

however, we ...especially christians should set aside a moment to reflect upon ourselves...this is a very humbling experience.
a lot of bad publicity has gone out for korean churches...

let's not look at this from a 'we are being persecuted' point of view like we usually did, but rather 'there is a possibility that we could be wrong' point of view... after all they did leave for afghanistan despite repeated warnings from the government not to go there. And it cost taxpayer's money, grief of the korean people+the world, and probably some other stuff that the press don't know yet to finally set them free. I think it was worth every penny since it's human lives we're talking about..but i also think that the church should apologize on behalf of the missionaries

apologizing, being humble and listening to what others say does not mean than christianity has/is a faux pas..not at all!

it's exactly the absence of these factors that got us christians into trouble in the first place.

after all it is (in my humble opinion) what Jesus would have done....

2007-08-29T01:05:00.000+09:00

ah....the good life is here~!
class finishes up at 8:30...dance practice at 9:30
play some pingpong....work out a bit..surf the net
i'm starting to like this place

Life's Good..LG haha~!

2007-08-28T17:57:00.000+09:00

me n the gang karaoke-ing while practicing the nuptial song for dong-young's wedding

new occupation...performance artist

2007-08-27T22:50:00.000+09:00

I thought and hoped that my song dance performing days were finally coming to an end....or at least at a hiatus for a while...

it turns out that our latest song/dance performance was awarded 1st place among the teams here for training at the learning center. the staff told us that we were so great that we'd be performing for the closing ceremony this friday in front of everyone and a couple of LGE's senior staff @ pyung-taek...

Since the ceremony is in front of VIPs we'd be practicing after class for entirety of this week....

to give you folks an idea of what we'd be doing, here's a clip of past winners performing for a ceremony(our performance is a bit more goofy n funny than this one..i'll make sure to post a clip if i can get a hold of one)

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a new responsibility....cellgroup leader

I don't start until next year..or that's what i've been told....

2007-08-27T00:37:00.000+09:00

oh..i learned today that one of my buddies who used to work for samsung actually participated in the exact clip(yes..the commie style mass game one) that i posted here....

2007-08-26T23:51:00.000+09:00

was planning to drive the matiz to the learning center right after church service and get ready for this week's training. however, that was pushed aside because B/S ing around with friends proved to be too much fun to resist.......I'll drive down to pyung taek tmr morning..besides, its probably safer too considering that i didn't get much sleep last couple of days

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shit...dad's PMSing all over the house...what the @!#$ is wrong with him today?
what a way to end the day

2007-08-26T09:33:00.000+09:00

This is one thing that really pisses me off; conformity
....more on this at another time...

internet connection at home is really shotty and I can only get a connection every 5 minutes or so for only 3 or 4 sec...

btw, dong-young's after-wedding bash was awsome~!

2007-08-24T07:25:00.000+09:00

it's payday~!!!!!!!!!!!
hurray~~!!

2007-08-24T01:42:00.000+09:00

practice session for dong-young's nuptial song has been decided~!

7 o'clock @ bumgae...

eat dinner then choose n practice song at a karaoke room~~pretty cool idea if you ask me~haha!

2007-08-24T01:24:00.000+09:00

can't believe it~!! the staff at the learning center threw us a party for the last night of our first week of orientation for LGE (last 2 weeks of orientation were for LG group. a collection of companies w/ the brand name LG....LGE being one of them)....they were gracious enough to give us the whole nine yards...good food and beer along with a karaoke machine!! we all had a good time...a real nice punctuation point before a full weekend out to do as we please..

btw, a great photo of us trainees goofin around at the party....do not get the wrong idea folks, she's getting married in Nov.

2007-08-23T01:59:00.000+09:00

activity for tonight: dominos!!

check it out (photos courtesy of my roomie and his badass DSLR camera)

not bad eh?

The yellow domino art is the one done by our team..it's supposed to be a guy kicking a soccer ball that says "No.1"

2007-08-22T18:04:00.000+09:00

life is good(trademark of LG btw) today~! no inter-lunch projects due by 1:30 or flip chart presentation at 7 so i ate leisurely.....even have time to post an entry on the blog..yay~!

it's supposed to get better tomorrow...no after dinner classes~!!!

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Dong-young is getting married this sat.~!! jeewong said that i would have to prepare the nuptial song....any suggestions people?

2007-08-22T00:37:00.001+09:00

just read my last couple of entries....boy somebody is NOT content!
better start being positive~!! you know you are getting paid for this.

another..hopefully my last...song & dance routine

2007-08-22T00:07:00.000+09:00

1. reword the lyrics to a fast beat k-pop song that will emphasize LGE's winning spirit

2. make your team's very own dance routine to the 'new' song

3. perform it in fron of your peers & select panel of judges where they(judges, not peers) either pass or fail your team...if you fail, your team has to retry until they pass......fyi, can't get back to your dorms until every team has passed the test

2007-08-21T01:17:00.000+09:00

I just realized that I spend too much time on facebook...it's really exciting to get in touch with all of my old pals from morgantown and also staying in touch with friends from SG...So much so that it's the highlight of my day here at my new orientation center......After a long day of training...it's socializing on facebook that I look forward to most and is giving me a smile in my face.....

Some serious questions need to be answered...soon...

but for now, gotta sleep...it's 1:30 and must wake up at 6 AM for the morning roll call

2007-08-19T21:57:00.000+09:00

arrrrgh!! my camera's broken!!
i put it down on top of my dorm TV when all of the sudden....BAM! the cam dropped to the floor..
there are no noticable outer disfigurations but the darn thing won't operate...
better send it for repairs asap..

2007-08-18T01:24:00.001+09:00

i ain't dead yet~!! haha...finished the grueling 40k trek and now chillin in the comfort of my bunk~! we did okay considering that we started last because of our less than stellar memorization skills (had to memorize a page worth of LG management philosophy...i opted out and chose to carry our water sack[10+ bottles] instead). we finished 6th.

even though we didn't finish last, I don't think we took the high road getting there....there were some negative vibes flowing from some of our teammates, especially towards one of the slower walkers in our team....you know there are other ways to motivate an individual other than screaming obscenities and shooting looks at the person....i know that everyone was tired and your mind doesn't work as well when you are tired, but no good comes from that kind of attitude.......control freaks~!

anyways, i had mixed feelings when my teammates patted me on the back for a job well done after the march....'slow walker' was so disgusted that he just immediately went to his dorm room...I did go after him and got him his complementary can of beer and had a short talk with him but I was really disappointed that no one followed me to congratulate him...he was the one who probably was in most pain and still had the guts to bear it out............

shit....

congrats team

......damn

it's LGAT

2007-08-16T22:06:00.000+09:00

last obstacle before my first weekend of freedom in 2 weeks...a 40 km march through the wilderness~~!! we pass through 3 mountain tops and complete a total of 5 tasks on our way which include...surprise!!! making up a medley of 5 song and a dance routine about your team (by now you folks should realize the importance of song and dance to survive in corporate korea..it's a definite prerequisite!!!)

anyways can't wait to get out of this place to party with my bros...it's gonna feel like being on leave from the military..... eating good food....staring at girls....sleep in!!

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here's a snapshot of me doing what i did best during orientation

fall asleep during class haha~!!

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learned a great phrase from the tele... wo schow ni (is this right?)

gotta start learning Chinese ^-^

2007-08-16T00:57:00.000+09:00

no plane tickets left to SG during next month's holidays....booooo

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a pic of my alma mater... i kinda miss the place....good memories

2007-08-15T14:52:00.000+09:00

wow...very moving....never say never~!!

2007-08-15T08:07:00.000+09:00

光復節~! or Independence day in Anglais~~~
supposed to be a national holiday but since we're cooped up in our training center it's more projects, class, and brainstorming......ah depressing......
3 more days....3 more days

2007-08-14T21:44:00.000+09:00

finished dead last.....we were doing fine until i made the mistake of pouring heaps of money into our R&D and marketing~!! ended up loosing alot of money that year because we couldn't cash in on the investments...I felt really bad because some of my other teammates were hell-bent on winning this competition.... i apologized later and they said it was fine but still...... can't shake the feeling that i let them down. can't win em all jason...better luck next time~!

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learned today that i've been assigned to mobile comm. #4 development room....i also heard that they make those new next gen video handphones that are all the rave here in korea but there are numerous teams in #4 dvlp room so i really don't know what i'm going to do when i get there...so...more waiting .....i guess

2007-08-14T00:21:00.000+09:00

Finally, something constructive to do @ orientation!!
its a management simulation game were we are CEOs of an upstart wireless LAN distributor. we also get to go against our colleagues to see who makes the most money.......

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another test tomorrow, this time it's fill in the blanks for a company's balance sheet....must not fail~!!
btw, passed the friday morning test~ =)

2007-08-12T20:44:00.000+09:00

LET MY PEOPLE SLEEP!! said jason.....in his mind.. haha

neeeeeeed sleeeeeep~!!!

well its sunday, so they did let us out early....."challenge #1" ended before supper... so we have the whole evening to do what we want~^^

its a good thing that they had a prayer session today at the training center.....i was in need of some spiritual rest & talk with God.....the lack of sleep & all those project must have been getting on my nerves~! Anyways now i can get a good nights sleep ~ so put 'em up LG training center~!! and give me your best shot~~!!

Sweet smell of victory~^^

2007-08-10T23:31:00.000+09:00

4 min 3 sec.....yeah that's right~after 4 tries finally passed the LG medley test with flying colours~!! I wished i could have taken a video of our insane performance but couldn't due to technical constraints. however, i can tell y'all that after singing.....hmm...i don't think singing is the right word for this.....screaming bloody murder..yup that's the word~! the jingles and doing the dance routine...my vocal chords feel as if someone had virtually ripped it out of my throat n my hands are numb from the maniacal amount of clapping we did~~haha.... anyways here is a pic of our team after right our the ordeal~!!=)

Yeah that's right~ #1 baby~!!

some moves from our dance routine

slick...

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Oh another thing to be thankful for!!! this is a clip of what our compadres at samsung did for their orientation.... loading might be slow but you definitely will NOT want to miss it

while waiting for the clip to load here is couple of pics of our team leader, 35 year old Kim Hyungshik PhD. a.k.a "The Big Brother" practicing for the LG medley before class.....

thank goodness that i flunked the samsung entrance exam~~!! =)

Shake it~!

Bake it~!

Test tomorrow morning

2007-08-09T21:46:00.000+09:00

Crap...I hate rote memorization...I'm just not good at it....
Don't matter anyways.... have to study if I don't want to get fired...
ciao..gotta go study~!! =)

Singapore National Day~~!!

2007-08-09T01:07:00.000+09:00

Congrats! on SG's 47th birthday and just being awsome lah!!

another post yet again

2007-08-09T00:15:00.000+09:00

Hey, what can I say, blogging is fun~^^ Aside from my handphone, this is the only connection to the outside world. Also it is a real good place to bitch about how neurotic this place is (to be fair...it's not too bad^^ after the place i stayed @ India, this definitely a sweet crib! reference photos)

our dorm

my bed

my trusty laptop + handphone

Anyways, it also gives me a place where i can hone and better my english writing skills, which i think is better than my written korean. Which reminds me of the sheer lack of eloquence of the numerous reports i've sent in so far in this place. haha~!!

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Oh yeah, almost forgot. The story with the dance routine.....We newbie LGans must complete the task of memorizing & performing a medley of 26 LG jingles & chants along with matching dance choreography within 4 min 18 sec~!!! Also we get the privilige of sharing the shame of this ordeal in the company of fellow newbie LGans. So every night after traing we performers practice practice @ practice.....see photos

our team members giving it their all

believe it or not this team finished in 4min 15sec

Will jason be able to remember all his song & dance routine by fri?.... Stay tuned for another exciting episode of.....JASON'S BLOG.....to be continued......=)

2007-08-08T20:11:00.000+09:00

Took a little time to take a pic of me @ my dorm room.....

well, its off again to sing..... & now get this.......do a dance routine to those LG jingles i was telling y'all about. more on that later...but for now.......

EVERYBODY LG!! EVERYBODY LG!! (fists swinging)

2007-08-08T07:59:00.000+09:00

I woke up from my bunk today & thought......where the hell am i?

Another day started another dollar earned~~~let's stay positive~~!!^^

2007-08-06T23:20:00.000+09:00

ha~!! I'm now officialy a part of the BIG KOREAN CONGLOMERATE MACHINE~~!! LG elec to be exact. to start off my initiation into the big bad world of corporate korea, LG decided that sending me off to a boot campesque training center in rual Korea was the proper way to do it. Here I eat drink sleep LG and to make it especially special I now sing LG jingles as well =)

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I guess my sarcasm is fueled my the lack of sleep during the last few days & fatigue that has built up during my trip to india and SG. I really miss SG. I don't think I felt that much content with the people around me as well as feelin 'MYSELF' for a very....very long time. It makes me wonder about my situation and what I want in my life......serious questions leh? Plus all that wonderful singaporean food didn't hurt either~~^^ Wonderful place..SG.

The beautiful Jaslyn, Felicia, & Elsie => Will give 'Dreamgirls' a run for their money~!!

The amazing Elsie who can change from a grumpy auntie to a smiling child in less time than it takes to order lau lau

Ta jie loves seafood & seafood loves Ta jie ^^

Chilli Stingray & Lau lau LEGEND....wait for it.......DARY!!!!

Me smelling the SG River before going to Butter~ha!

Festival of Praise '07 => God was DEFINATELY in the house...Just AWSOME!!

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GRE scores came out! Soooooooooo flunked that test. nearly half years worth of studying(to tell the truth....didn't study as hard as I could..) down the drain.......should I apply to grad school now with this disasterous score? Too many questions la......(got singlish in the brains..haha!!)