Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung

Wow... I have not posted on this blog since 2016, and my last pop-culture entertainment post was actually in 2015! FOUR years! Well, I guess I finally have some time, both in the chronological sense and also mentally, after finishing internal medicine residency and geriatric medicine fellowship to sit down and blog about recent dramas I've been watching. Of note, I've never completely stopped watching Asian dramas or Asian shows in general, but just never had time or energy to blog about it. I've always found Asian shows to be therapeutic, and now I'm excited to also dive deeper into my thoughts with blogging.

I was initially drawn to this new Korean drama, currently airing in Korea and on Netflix (oh how times have changed just since 2015 when Asian dramas airing live on Netflix wasn't a thing yet!), admittedly because of Cha Eun-woo (My ID is Gangnam Beauty, which, by the way, is an amazing drama deeply reflective about today's beauty standards and how they destroy our society - highly recommended) from K-pop idol group ASTRO. I loved My ID is Gangnam Beauty so much that I just have positive feelings towards any actor from that production and would likely support and try out any of their subsequent projects.

Anyway, we are 4 weeks into the show and episode 7 just aired with episode 8 airing in a few hours in Korea. I am here writing about this show mostly because I'm confused and feeling torn about this show. I was initially going to tweet about it (follow me! @karebearnoona) but quickly realized I had way more screencaps and thoughts than would be acceptable on stan Twitter.

Okay, so re: my confusion. What is this show really about? I can't decide, and it seems Show also cannot decide. Is it supposed to be a Historical Romance with all the love triangles and squares? Or Historical Drama documenting the difficulties of being the first women government officials? Or Historical Political with all the usual court cronies scheming behind everyone's backs? There are too many plotlines going on at once, and that's okay, but they are not tightly woven, only loosely related to each other, and the pacing is super slow. I'm okay with it right now, but I just wish Show would hurry up and choose its identity. I feel like only then can it come into its own and really make some impactiful statements.

Bossypants by Tina Fey [A Really, Really Short Review]

In an effort to actually review all of the media that I consume, I have made the executive decision (for myself) that, henceforth, I will only write really, really short reviews. This will also allow you, the presumptive reader, to suffer my rusty writing skills for the shortest amount of time possible (unless you just choose to not read my reviews at all - which, let's be honest, might actually be preferable at this point).

I recently downloaded and 'read' Tina Fey's 2011 autobiographical comedy book via audiobook FOR FREE from my local library. For anyone who has not yet discovered the rarely marketed delights of Overdrive and your local library (or, in my case, up to 5 local libraries...woo DMV area!) - you poor, deprived soul. Or, you sickeningly energetic soul who actually walks/drives to the library instead of downloading your book while lazing on your couch.

Even though some reviews of the book noted Fey's apparent inexperience with prose, the audiobook displayed none of those purported weaknesses. In fact, I would go as far to say that Bossypants should only be read via audiobook because Tina Fey is absolutely hysterical as a reader. Her comedic timing cannot be matched. Bonus points that NBC allowed her to utilize various SNL and 30 Rock clips in the audiobook. Take that paper and eBook copies! Although, you can't see any of the embarassing photos she published when you're listening to the audiobook so I guess you win some and you lose some. Bossypants documents Ms. Fey's formative moments from childhood and teenagerhood (growing up Greek and brunette in Pennsylvania, working at the Delaware County Summer Showtime, climbing Old Rag Trail in the dark with no water or flashlights while studying at UVA in the hopes of getting laid), early career choices (working at a YMCA in Chicago, acting in The Second City, meeting Lorne Michaels for the first time and writing for SNL), and recent career and family decisions (almost dying on a cruise on her honeymoon, producing the critical success and ratings failure '30 Rock', becoming THE Sarah Palin lookalike of the 2008 presidential election cycle, having baby number 1, thinking about having baby number 2). Every chapter has a moral punchline at the end but is so infused with her trademark sarcastic and self-deprecating humor that, as I was listening to this primarily at work while performing tedious tasks, I had to reprint documents numerous times because I laughed (quietly) so hard that I choked on my tea and coughed everywhere. My unfortunate cubicle neighbor must have been terrified that I would infect him with my 'illness' before the holidays.

Ranking: 5 Stars (would and should read many times!)

Next up: Amy Poehler's 2014 "Yes, Please"



Actually, next up might be a trashy, fantasy romance novel, but I swear I'll still get to Amy Poehler in 2017!

Postcard from California

Hello from California!

While it's been a lot of beautiful sights and delicious food (I am officially a boba tea snob and can no longer go back to sub-par boba, just sayin'), I have to admit my first year here has been overall tough on many fronts, not just intern year.

First, moving to California was tough. No family or close friends nearby to help, but I was lucky enough to have a family acquaintance relatively close by who kindly accommodated me for a few days while I hunted for an apartment, and then my dad came over for a few days to check my sanity and to help me move in literally for a few hours. I didn't even have a mattress/bed for the first month (or 2 months) of residency, and slept on an air mattress that was actually terribly uncomfortable and in retrospect sleeping on the ground would've been kinder on my back. But somehow I got through it. And now I share a pretty nice junior 1 bedroom apartment with my boyfriend (!!! I know!), and we're still slowly decorating it, making it as swanky as swanky can get on our measly salary.

I think the toughest part of this year though has been figuring out what this next part of my life is really supposed to be about. California's culture, which is pretty different from East Coast culture, is turning out to be the perfect instigator for this change. I realize that back at home, I had a pretty cookie cutter life, and when I arrived here, especially after starting a pretty serious relationship with my boyfriend, I got into the mindset to set up my East Coast life on the West Coast. However, as I painfully realized, Los Angeles just wasn't taking that set up. I wanted it all, right now. The same network of friends I cultivated over a decade, I wanted it ASAP through my barely there efforts made on my sleepy days off every month or so. It just wasn't working out. I blamed the people I was trying to mold into my "best friends," I blamed myself, and I am still kind of blaming the city, ha. I've been such a whiner. But a conversation with a long time friend who's now living in Japan has been so enlightening. When we move to a new place, we have so many expectations, but that's not healthy. We think that the worst case scenario is when we don't end up making lasting roots, and we "fail" and move back home. But, worst case scenario is really not letting yourself enjoy the moments and the adventures that are actually laid out for you. Even if I don't cultivate the same kind of life that I had back on the East Coast, even if I don't come out of this with life long friends, even if I do move back east, the greatest pity would be to leave the place not having made any memories - even if it's with people you only hung out with once, not taking advantage of what this city has to offer, not having lived to the fullest.

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ― Joseph Campbell

Have a great week! :)

First Impressions: Divorce Lawyers (Chinese Drama)

After an extremely hectic 3 months, I'm gradually getting back into my drama and variety show game in terms of both watching and blogging. I'll be updating in the next week with some quick thoughts on some shows I've recently picked up (Divorce Lawyers in this post, Orange Marmalade, The Girl Who Sees Smells, Warm & Cozy) and some closing thoughts on Healer and Roommate.

If there ever was a pop culture oxymoron, here it is: Divorce Lawyers is a good mainland Chinese romantic comedy. (Not to be confused with the Korean drama, Divorce Lawyers in Love, which I have never watched and haven't heard about much either, but as far as I can tell, the two are not related.) I know! It's crazy! But it's true! And not only is it a good drama, it's a very good drama. I first chanced on this show on my recent trip back to China. Because there's nothing for me do at my grandparents' house, my mom and I often kick back to whatever we can find on TV, which are extremely rare moments, so I treasure times like this even when there's nothing but insipid war dramas on TV. But this time, we happened to find a show - this show - that was actually really funny, endearing, and enjoyed by both my mom and I.

2014 Year End Review of Dramas

Better late than never (at least relatively in time for Lunar New Year??) - here's a mess of thoughts on a smattering of dramas that I enjoyed and kept me company through some of my hardest times in 2014.  (Just to clarify, I'm only talking about dramas that I haven't covered in other posts. So, other dramas that would've made the cut are Healer, Misaeng, and I'm So Smart.)