If you haven’t been following the Disunion series at nytimes.com, you should be.  It is the best thing I’ve read in a long time.

Disunion is a serialized set of articles starting with the election of 1860 and following through on an almost daily basis of what happened 150 years ago in the lead up to the Civil War.   I.e., today’s article on February 16, 2011, is about what happened on February 16, 1861 (and it turns out quite a bit was happening!).

150 years ago today Lincoln was fighting throngs of supporters on his train ride across the North as he made his way to his new home in DC.  Most of the Southern states had already seceded, elected President Davis, and written a constitution.  The country was literally on the precipice and not too many people agreed on the best course of action.

It is a history we rarely see… the minutiae of the Civil War, the politics.

This series is written by a multitude of authors, but I have yet to read one that I did not like.

The only problem is that is it a bit hard to find.  I wish the New York Times would create a dedicated section for Disunion, especially if they plan to run it through the entire war, which I hope they will.  However, right now you must go to

nytimes.com > Opinion > Opinionator blog > find the latest Disunion article

Or, you can Like it on Facebook here and get updates, although Facebook (in my opinion) does a really awful job of showing Liked pages on our news feeds (they want the page owners to buy ads, after which they will show up on your news feed… boo Facebook).

No related posts.

Yesterday I wrote about the top 10 posts of 2010.  To be honest, they weren’t my favorites.  I liked a few of them… and some of them I was amazed got read at all.

So, here are 5 of my favorite posts that I think should be in the top 10.  I loved these posts.  I think what is interesting is that they are all posts from traveling and they all brought up significant emotions for me as I was there… I think I did a poor job conveying how important these places were to me.

1. Christmas at Masan fish market (December 2010): Christmas was a bit unconventional this year.  I really enjoyed taking pictures at the fish market, and I was fairly happy with the results.  I think they are probably the best pictures I’ve taken.  Plus, it was the first Christmas I’ve ever spent with a “date,” so that was kind of special.
2. Hahoemaeul… again (September 2010): Hahoemaeul, a traditional Korean village in Andong, is one of my favorite places in Korea.  When I re-visited back in September the place was surprisingly empty.  It was wonderful beyond words.
3. Siquijor — butterfly sanctuary (May 2010): Going to the butterfly sanctuary located at the top of a mountain on the island of Siquijor, Philippines, was an amazing experience.  I was alone in the room with enormous butterflies and gorgeous flowers.  The 2 minute video is the real winner here.
4. Changdeokgoong… again (November 2010):  Changdeokgoong is a royal palace built in 1412 in the heart of Seoul.  It is never open at night, but for a few short weeks in October and November they let in 100 people during the full moon.  I got to go twice… it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done.
5. Naksan Temple (September 2009):  This is my favorite temple in Korea.  Very few temples are on the water as most are found on top of mountains.  Naksan Temple is on the northeast coast of South Korea and it is breathtaking.  The pictures do not do it justice.  If you visit South Korea, I highly recommend visiting.

Related posts:

1. top 10 posts of 2010 With my blog, I am obsessed with the data and...

With my blog, I am obsessed with the data and stats about the visitors.  I check it multiple times a day.  I try to look at each post and figure out from the data what worked for one and didn’t work for another.

I love knowing that this December I got 724% more visitors and 1,054% more pageviews than December 2009.  I am very proud of that, even though I know that in reality it means nothing given that last December my mother and dog were the only one’s reading the blog.

Joking aside, it has been a good year for the blog.  Many more people are reading than ever before and you can’t imagine how happy that makes me.  Things started picking up quickly in August and have grown each month.  7 of the top 10 posts of the year were written in September, October, or November.

Thank you to everyone who’s stopped by. I know the blog can be all over the place at times, but I’m in interested in many things and I would get bored very quickly if I wrote specifically on one topic.

top 10 posts written in 2010

My 2009 post on G-Dragon is the most popular post every month, which I still don’t understand because it’s not good at all… and when I say “most popular” I mean that it is literally 17x more popular than most any other post.

1. my gym experience (February 2010): Funny at the time because this gym was so interesting; however, while these gyms exist, I have joined several other gyms in Korea that are more up-to-date (although they ALL have the fat jiggling machines).
2. 59 lbs on my Korean diet (August 2010): Just detailing my massive weight loss for the year… including a disgusting “before” pic.
3. North Korea’s new propaganda poster (July 2010): Right after North Korea demanded that they didn’t sink the South Korean Navy ship, the Cheonan, they started putting up these propaganda posters in Pyongyang with a ship that is strangely similar to the Cheonan.
4. my mini velo bike (October 2010): Many more people are interested in mini velo bikes than I imagined.
5. my buckwheat pillow (September 2010): I love my buckwheat pillow and sleep with it every night; however, when I wrote this I honestly thought no one would read it.
6. Korean night life; The Housemaid (November 2010): I love this post.  It is just a video clip from the Korean movie, The Housemaid, which shows Korean nightlife really, really well.
7. back to America (and lots of pictures) (September 2010): I have no idea why this is popular.  I thought this would be interesting to me and about two other people… although it did cause a fight that almost end an 11 year relationship with my best friend.
8. 10 lbs in 3 weeks on the Seoul diet (September 2010): When I moved to Seoul I started losing weight at an incredibly rapid pace… I actually ended up losing 20 lbs in 6 weeks… Basically, my life was a whirlwind.  I was traveling a lot and going downtown all the time.  Now that it’s winter I’m not moving around so much and I’m eating more cinnamon caramel toast at the coffee shop, so the weight loss has stopped… 10 lbs short of my goal…
9. Nami Island (November 2010): A visit to Nami Island with a couple of friends (here’s their blog) was a highlight of the fall.  It was gorgeous…
10. Westernophobia (October 2010): I don’t have many Western friends.  I am afraid… in this post I chopped up Woody Allen’s fantastic Vicky Cristina Barcelona to explain why.

Related posts:

1. my 5 favorite posts of 2010 (that should have been in the top 10) Yesterday I wrote about the top 10 posts of 2010....

A few weeks ago I posted about my happiness chart and how I grade myself each week on certain categories.  They are fairly basic things… being healthy, reading, sleeping, being social, etc.

I’ve been thinking about adding some new categories, particularly about close friends and family.  Right now, I only have one category that involves other people — the “social” category.

I can be social (which I do think is important for me) with complete strangers at a bar; however, the happiness (or pleasure) I derive from that is completely different from the time I spend with my best friends and family.

So, I’m adding a category for “family” and a category for “love.” Talking with my family is very important for me, but all too often I push it aside for other things…  Also, I want to be sure I spend time on the other people I love aside from my family.

Also, in GRETCHEN!’s The Happiness Project, she spoke a lot of the joy we get from making other people happy.  I completely believe this.  I am always so much happier doing things for other people if I know they will be happy.   So, I’m adding a “giving” category to grade myself on.

I don’t expect these to take over my life, but some weeks go by in which I never even email my family.  Also, it doesn’t take much to pick up an extra coffee or tangerine at the market…

For me, these small things make a huge difference.

Buy The Happiness Project here.

Related posts:

1. my happiness chart If you’ve known me longer than 5 minutes, then you’ve...
2. the happiness project: 5 things I’ve learned about being happy Cousin Emily suggested I read Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness...
3. turning 31 31 is my favorite number.  And 31 is the birthday...

A few days ago I was with some friends while a TV was on in the background.  Midway through some Christian telling me how Howard Zinn couldn’t possibly be a Christian (I assume due to his anti-war, anti-poverty, and anti-slavery positions), I was given the opportunity to completely tune the guy out (allowing him, the Christian, to play hacky-sack) when this AWESOME news clip came on SBS — The Hula Hooping Hallabeoji!

It took me quite a bit of work (and some Korean friends) to get this video.  I also re-edited the clips and put it to some Girls Generation. So, here it is… as I said before, it is AWESOME.

I think my favorite part is when he spins the hoop and proceeds to do a Liza-esque fake-tap dance routine… actually, the whole thing is my favorite part.

This one goes out to Cousin Emily, who also likes to rock it Hula Style…

Related posts:

1. Kpop countdown: Girls Generation — Hoot When I first moved to Korea over a year ago,...
2. A train wreck I can’t stop looking at… I often complain about the quality of music in my...
3. My new favorite thing: bedazzled ties My new favorite thing in life are bedazzled ties.  I...

By chance (i.e., human error) I was able to go back to the moonlight tour of Changdeokgoong (Changdeok Palace) with a couple of friends.  Changdeokgoong was one of the main palaces of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897).  It was completed in 1412, and while only 30% of the original palace remains, it is still a sight to behold.

Changdeokgoong is amazingly beautiful and these very rare nighttime tours are breathtaking.  They only let in 100 people, so you get to experience it without getting shoved 400 times (a truly rare event in Korea).

The first time I went, I was in love.  It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had… really.  And, while I truly love my handheld Canon s90, I wasn’t really happy with the outcome of many of the photos.

This time I came armed with my new Nikon D7000, and the photos are much, much better.

Here are the photos… you can view the full set here.

Related posts:

1. moonlight tour of Changdeok Palace I had the rare opportunity to visit Changdeok Palace at...
2. Changdeok Palace Last year I had the unique opportunity to visit Changdeok...
3. Lotus Lantern Festival Parade After two long days in Seoul walking more than I...

31 is my favorite number.  And 31 is the birthday I’ve been waiting for for years.  Last year I wrote how excited I was to turn 30, and that was true… I couldn’t wait to be liberated from the terrible twenties.  But the big one for me is 31.

This last year has been very good to me.  It started out pretty rough (check out my rocking birthday party of 1 from last year where I just stabbed some candles into some Korean rice cakes), but I think I grew a lot.

I’ve been working hard to be more aware of what I’m doing… feeling… etc.  And recently, I’ve been on a happiness crusade.

But it seems to be working.  Last week, someone referred to me as a “positive” person, which is most certainly the first time that has happened.

So for 31, I just want to be happy.  To do that, I’d like to have one conversation with my friends where English is not spoken.  I’d like to learn more about photography.  And I’d like to go somewhere with my non-single friends and not be the third wheel.

To end, I had a great birthday weekend with some friends… here are some photos:

Related posts:

1. Turning 30 Ever since I turned 16, I’ve been looking forward to...
2. happiness project; 3 new categories; love, family, and giving A few weeks ago I posted about my happiness chart...
3. the happiness project: 5 things I’ve learned about being happy Cousin Emily suggested I read Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness...

When I first moved to Korea over a year ago, I did not understand all the cuteness.  Now, after succumbing to Oh! and Balloons (quite possibly the cutest thing ever) and countless other cute things, I think it’s time I fully embraced my love of Korean cuteness.

I love Girls Generation‘s new video, Hoot.  It bothered me at first because it’s so derivative of the Wonder Girls‘ 2 Different Tears.  But while it does copy them, I ultimately don’t care because it is so much better.

I used to argue about how the Wonder Girls were superior to Girls Generation… which no longer makes sense… and Girls Generation’s music continues to improve (a feat not entirely hard to do when you’re first song is Gee).

So here is Hoot… it is cute; it will make you happy.

Related posts:

1. Wonder Girls are back! As you may or may not know, I LOVE the...
2. A train wreck I can’t stop looking at… I often complain about the quality of music in my...
3. Kpop review: T-ara’s great song, horrible video, and indian outfits I love T-ara.  Their first album had more good songs...

I had the rare opportunity to visit Changdeok Palace at night.  The Palace is normally closed at night as it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has limited electricity.  It was one of the best things I’ve done since moving to Korea.  It was incredible.

They only allowed 100 people in this tour, and in my group there were only seven of us, so it really felt like being alone in the Palace.  (This would be notable anywhere in the world, but especially in Korea where it is difficult to use the bathroom without 138 other people.)

A brief history: King Taejong had Changdeok Palace built after he had his brothers murdered in a struggle for the kingship at Gyeongbuk Palace.  Construction started in 1405 and was finished in 1412.  It’s been rebuilt a few times after each invasion/burning by Korea’s nice neighbors.

One interesting fact is that Emporer Sunjong lived there until 1926, even though he was no longer Emporer after Japan colonized Korea in 1910. Crown Prince Euimin lived there until his death in 1970 and his wife Bangja, Crown Princess Euimin, lived there until her death in 1989… more history here.

Changdeok Palace is especially renowned for its design in blending with the surrounding nature (as opposed to just building massive structures to show everyone who is in charge).

We ended the tour with a beautiful traditional Korean concert.  Here is their version of Arirang, probably the most famous Korean folk song.  You should hit play and listen as you look at the photos.

It is impossible for me to write any meaningful commentary.  The best I can say is that it was a gorgeous night and it was truly breathtaking to be able to walk in the Palace with so few people.

Here are the photos.  You can view the full set here.

[simage=3296,max,n,center,][simage=3301,max,n,center,][simage=3304,max,n,center,][simage=3306,max,n,center,][simage=3309,max,n,center,][simage=3310,max,n,center,][simage=3311,max,n,center,][simage=3313,max,n,center,][simage=3315,max,n,center,][simage=3320,max,n,center,][simage=3322,max,n,center,]

Related posts:

1. Changdeok Palace Last year I had the unique opportunity to visit Changdeok...
2. Changdeokgoong… again By chance (i.e., human error) I was able to go...
3. street taekwondo A few years ago I was volunteering for a mayoral...

Can’t Nobody is my new favorite Kpop song.  I got the 2NE1 CD a few weeks ago (along with a poster and school folder!), but am just now really listening to it.

I love it… it’s fun, it’s catchy… and it’s much more interesting than most girl groups in Korea.

Related posts:

1. 2NE1: To Anyone I love buying CD’s in Korea.  They put so much...
2. Kpop review: T-ara’s great song, horrible video, and indian outfits I love T-ara.  Their first album had more good songs...
3. Miss A — Bad Girl, Good Girl This has to be the best Kpop song to come...

I bought a regular size bike last month, but it was stolen after 4 days… I took this as a sign from the universe that I was not meant to have a big sturdy manly bike, and that instead I should buy one of the metro-sexual Asian mini velo’s (to go with my man-purse).

So… I bought a mini velo bike.  Mini velo’s are compact bikes with smaller wheels.  They’ve evidently been popular in Asia for a while, but have yet to make it big in America (probably because no American wants the small version of anything).

I really love it.  It’s tiny, so I don’t take up the entire sidewalk threatening every grandmother in my path.  It’s light, so I can carry it up to my apartment without complaining for three days.  And, it’s small enough to fit in my little apartment.

Ever since my manly bike was stolen I’ve been wanting another.  There are great bike trails by my apartment that you can take all the way into Seoul.

[simage=3000,max,n,center,][simage=2999,max,n,center,][simage=2998,max,n,center,]

The only thing I hate is that they market a lot of these bikes with stupid car companies.  The bike store owner kept pointing out that the bike I got was a Hyundai Sonata… as if it came straight off the same assembly line.  At least I didn’t get the Chevy bike.

[simage=3004,max,n,center,][simage=3002,max,n,center,][simage=3003,max,n,center,]

The bike cost 240,000 won, or about $210.  It is a seven speed and has a friction setting, of which I am clueless.

No related posts.

A few years ago I was volunteering for a mayoral candidate in Hartford in hopes that he would defeat the now imprisoned Eddie Perez.  A friend and I asked him what his plan was to get people downtown.  His answer was “street theater.”  We both kind of stood there with our mouths gaping because all we could envision were jugglers being surrounded by homeless heroin addicts.

But one thing I love about Korea is that they are all about street theater.  I randomly run into performances all the time… there was the Korean Liza… the Christmas rapper in front of the epileptic Christmas tree… the girls who dance in front the electronic stores… and now, really really really awesome dancing/kicking/jumping taekwondo black belts.

I love Korea.  Watch the video >>>

Related posts:

1. moving to Seoul; love & gayageums Reasons for moving to Seoul: Reason #1 was so I could...
2. moonlight tour of Changdeok Palace I had the rare opportunity to visit Changdeok Palace at...

UPDATE: Because I am idiot, I just realized that these are NOT cucumbers… they are zucchinis.

One reason I love Korea is that they have somehow managed to make me love (make me love so much that I buy them now) my most hated and despised vegetable… the cucumber.

But, it’s not just the cucumber, it’s all vegetables.  I’ll never forget the day last year when I got visibly excited when finding out that bean sprouts would be served for dinner.  Now, bean sprouts are a staple in my apartment.

Americans just don’t cook like this, but they should.  These vegetables are lightly seasoned with some peppers, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and some things I don’t know the names of… but the point is… it’s not fried, it’s not covered in mayonnaise or cheese, it’s not cooked in butter… they’re just fresh vegetables with seasoning.

To make it even better, I can buy these small servings in stores all over the place by my apartment.  And, I need them in small portions because they are not pumped full of preservatives and they go bad very quickly.  Obviously impossible in America (well, most places).

I feel like I’m in the Albert Brooks movie Defending Your Life when they go to the restaurant in “Heaven” and order 3lbs of pasta and 9 pies because you can’t gain weight… in Korea, you can eat and eat and eat… and never gain weight.  It’s fabulous.

This is how I’ve lost an insane amount of weight without hardly trying.

[simage=2995,max,n,center,][simage=2996,max,n,center,]

Related posts:

1. I am an idiot Last week I went on and on and on about...
2. 59 lbs on my Korean diet It’s almost been one year in Korea, and throughout that...
3. 10 lbs in 3 weeks on the Seoul diet I came back to Korea 3 weeks ago — since...

Last year I read several blog posts about Naksan Temple, or Naksansa/낙산사 (wikipedia), and I really wanted to visit.  It is one of the few temples that are on the coast (as most are on top of mountains).

But, living in Andong and getting out of work at 11pm really prevented me from traveling too far.  So, I was very excited for this week’s Chuseok holiday… well, I was excited until I came down with gastritis.

But once I was there, Naksansa took my breath away, and not because my entire midsection would periodically make me double over in pain (from the gastritis)… it was just that beautiful.  Naksansa is my new favorite temple.  I will stop here and just show the photos.

You can view the full set here.

[simage=53,max,n,center,][simage=56,max,n,center,][simage=57,max,n,center,][simage=58,max,n,center,][simage=59,max,n,center,][simage=60,max,n,center,][simage=64,max,n,center,][simage=66,max,n,center,][simage=74,max,n,center,][simage=70,max,n,center,][simage=69,max,n,center,][simage=68,max,n,center,][simage=67,max,n,center,][simage=76,max,n,center,][simage=80,max,n,center,][simage=81,max,n,center,]

Directions: From Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, you can get a 2.5 hour bus to Sokcho every hour (16,000 won).  Once in Sokcho, turn right outside of the bus terminal to find the bus stop and take bus 9-1 to Naksansa (every 10 minutes @ 1,000 won).  Since this temple is not located on top of a mountain, it is extremely easy to find — just tell the bus driver “Naksansa.”

You can also take an express bus from the Gangnam Terminal although the trip is a bit longer at 3:10.

Related posts:

1. Buseok Temple — beautiful temple from 676 AD I went to Buseoksa (or Buseok Temple)… it was incredible....
2. Naeso Temple Of all the things to do in Korea, my favorite...
3. Bulguk Temple I cannot do justice to Bulguksa Temple… It was originally...

I got a buckwheat pillow.

I didn’t exactly mean to… I was walking down the street and a man was making them from his truck.  I needed a new pillow and had heard about their health benefits… so I bought one.

I love it.

It only cost me $14 (after asking for a discount, which he gave me because I am white), and I also got a fantastic traditional Korean cover (however, yellow/orange is evidently for grandfathers).

Here’s

some of the health benefits:

• provides excellent support for your neck and back
• alleviates back pain
• helps with migraines and headaches
• helps with snoring

They are also better for the environment as they are made from a naturally occurring renewable resource.  They are cooler in the summer because the buckwheat hulls have space between them which allows air to flow.  You can adjust the amount of seeds in the pillow to fit your personal needs.  And they last much longer than regular foam, cotton, or feather pillows.

All benefits aside, it’s just much more comfortable than a regular pillow.  It’s great for reading, watching movies, and sleeping.  I’m buying another one next week.

No related posts.