Comics in Korea 2

I meant to upload last week, but I got lazy. I have no idea how many people read my blog, but apologies.

So regarding #journalismhungergames, here's where I am right now:

Since I've been lazy with uploading, the test results for Round 3 will come in tomorrow, so there is a chance I don't make it and not be in the mood to draw anymore. Intense!

And here I am, trying to be a journalist where you handle more news. Flawless logic!

Colors are my lifelong obsession and I care about them a lot.

(For the record, I look okay in vivid hues + cooler tones.)

When many of my friends taught English in Japan and craved cheese, I thought, "But surely it can't be that bad? Japanese food is delicious and I'm sure they have cheese there too!"

But no, now I understand. I understand so much. Please give me cheese.

On the other hand, if you're a fruit-lover, you'd be very happy. Unless you like tropical fruit, that is...

I still don't know how "Korean people" are supposed to look like.

But wait, that's not all!

Since the company in question requires writing actual news articles in English in a non-English speaking country, it's not really surprising that most people who have made the cut so far are Western-educated and have impressive class privilege records. But it's all very intimidating!

I got the sizing of the longer strips a bit off, but can't undo the error, sorry! At least they're all legible!

I may or may not upload another comic depending on the situation, but timing-wise, this is probably the last one I will upload in Korea!

Comics in Korea 1

I'm in Korea to take the journalist test for this one job position. In case my Facebook post was unclear, this is what I have to go through for the following weeks:

Yes, it's intense.
I passed round 1 and took the written exam for round 2 a few days ago. Results will be posted some time next week.
Is it worth all this? I don't know, but I do know I would like to have the job, so go through all this I shall.

In order to forget the anxiety keep myself entertained in my down time, I drew comics. Whoo still uploading paper comics like an analog caveman! I seriously need a tablet.

(For the record, I can eat most foods now. My stomach got better.)

Will this be my only comic update? Will I pass the second round? Only time will tell!

The Silly Story of How I got a Gazillion Eyeshadows

(There are so many things I could technically write about. Like my impending J-school graduation, my really fucking uncertain future, or the state of the world, both good and the bad. But I'm writing about something else, something much more frivolous. Because this is my "diary" to babble about the mundane and useless, the stupid thoughts and whimsical musings. The stupid things that keep me sane amidst all the uncertainties and world tragedies and the fact that I don't even have a job or an internship yet. Help. So write about stupid fluff I shall.)

*

I recently re-visited my second blog post (effectively my first "real" blog post) of buying my first eyeshadow in 2010, at the grand old age of nineteen.

Oh, how young I was. How naive.

It's 2014 now, and the amount of makeup I possess has exponentially exploded. Literally exponentially, if I were to draw a chart.

And because me writing posts after re-visiting my almost dead blog is apparently a thing now, here is how I got to own a gazillion eyeshadows.

*

High school:

As the 5-10 of you who read my stuff are aware, I did not give a crap about my appearance at all.

Yes, I had a short experimental phase in 10th grade when I showed up in school with girly clothes and gaudy necklaces and sparkly pink lip gloss. But that was a phase. Most of the time I just did. not. care.

But even still, I never HATED makeup. I did own a few items, which were gifted to me by my girlier friends... I just never used it. I assumed that I'd eventually figure it out when I was "old enough" (i.e. some time before 30).

College:

When I went to college, I owned a BB cream and two lip glosses from Korea (2/3 were gifts from mom). I eventually bought black eyeliner and black mascara out of some sort of obligation, but I barely used them.

And then I got my first eyeshadow from Sephora.

Goddamn this was expensive. I had no concept of "low-end" or "high-end" stuff.
I also ruined the entire thing after dropping + trying to revive it.
RIP first eyeshadow.

So I just started to mindlessly slather color on my eyes because "I'm a grown up now and I'm supposed to, I guess", but one day, I randomly put them on in a way that was... actually flattering.

After coming up with a few more looks that suited my face with just three colors, a wonderful and terrible realization struck me:

EYESHADOWS ARE COLORED PENCILS FOR EYES.

This was both wonderful and terrible because I REALLY like colorful things. I just lose my shit over the visible light spectrum.

I also had an unhealthy colored pencil/crayon obsession as a child. I was that kid who owned the Crayola Crayons 96 colors set. I always packed my colored pencils with me when I travelled.

My precious.

So this realization was something akin to re-awakening a drug habit.

South Korea, enabler of addiction:

So while that was going on, I went to Korea for three summers in a row.

And if you aren't aware of it, let me tell you: SOUTH KOREA IS THE LAND OF MAKEUP.

Four makeup stores, all lined up next to each other.
Myeongdong, stahp

I don't know when this happened exactly, but my country somehow learned to make awesome makeup over the last few years, and now tourists flock to Myeongdong to shop until they drop.

So there is:
1) A never-ending supply of makeup
2) Cute and tantalizing packaging, as per many Asian countries
3) CHEAP ALTERNATIVES. I swear, their low-end (i.e. "drugstore") brands perform just as well as the super expensive eyeshadow I got in Sephora. I have no reason to buy the expensive stuff anymore.

The entire country is an enabler for a massive makeup addiction.
I bought so many colorful eyeshadows. Matte, shimmery, glitter, nothing scared me anymore, everything was pretty and I was a happy magpie.

Result:

And that is how I got a gazillion eyeshadows. I now have a gazillion eyeliners and quite a few lipsticks as well. (But no blush/bronzer/highlighter, I found I'm just not interested). As a former tomboy-ish nerd, it's kind of hilarious how things ended up.

The first few times I was getting eyeshadow, I almost felt a sense of guilt - like I was losing myself to an "inner bimbo" (don't laugh). I have been plain and unkempt and makeup-less for so long, that through a mix of insecurity and defensiveness, almost felt proud of that fact, like I was above all the silly female things and somehow that made me a better person than anyone else.

Which is, of course, bullshit.

But I probably would have felt that way for much longer if I did not mentally equate eyeshadow with colored pencils that one day. How "feminine" or "un-feminine" you are doesn't even matter. You just do you, however you want, and that's all you really need.

Oh hi there.

I'm at the J-school, at 1:30 A.M.

I need to go home and sleep now but I somehow wanted to write on my blog, for the first time in forever~

J-school is really hectic. Like, really really hectic. Every day is another day full of things to do and long-term assignments to work on and future stories to write about.

And on top of that, having to apply for internships. And keep getting rejected.

Basically, I am at my happiest when I sleep. And I say this with no exaggeration of any sort.

Some things that happened in my life:

1) Upon looking at my past blog posts, I realized that I only set foot in Central Park ONCE since coming here for grad school! In fact, I've been around more parts of New York during my internship than now. That's how much of a life I don't have. *sobs*

2) Watched Frozen. Twice. I loved it. The songs are stuck in my head.

3) I thought I liked radio. And while I do, I realized while working on video that what I ACTUALLY liked was editing. Shooting and production and everything is a chore, but editing is just so. much. fun. It's like creating magic from your hands!

4) J-school is also great at testing your self-esteem. Which I don't have much of at the moment. Hooray!

5) I wonder if things will look up after Video 1/Career Expo/Master's Project is over.

6) But I don't want J-school to end that quickly. We only have three months left now as it is. One year is such a short time.

7) I wish I can stay in New York. But that would entail getting accepted to an internship/fellowship in this area. *Crosses fingers* I just... I just want a stable job, really.

8) And here I thought the end of my undergraduate years were tumultuous. As whatever happens by the end of J-school will actually shape up the start of my "real life in real world", I am more anxious than ever.

And before I lose myself in existential angst... gonna recycle my Wolverine blog post and leave!