Nosebleeds, coffee, and logic games, oh my!

This post was meant to be posted agessss ago, but I never got around to putting it together, so it ended up as a note in the sidebar (which... I don't know that anyone reads those, anyway...).

Regardless!

I'll be gone until October 5th because of the dreaded soul-killing beast known as the LSAT, i.e. the Law School Admission Test. I haven't studied NEARLY as much as I should have, but with work and yah know, life, the motivation factor has been hard to maintain.

Wish me luck. Let's hope I make it out with my sanity still mostly intact.

I'll be back by the 6th or 7th, depending on whether the test actually kills me or not.

The Liebster Award

Being a K-drama blogger is pretty awesome. You know why? Because you make a ton of awesome friends who nominate you for awards, like this one. This post is like a week and a half late, but I hope you all will appreciate it nonetheless and I DEFINITELY appreciate being nominated for it. Thank you, to Rosie and MissCupcakees for the noms!

Heartbreak!

So, I've been cleaning my apartment for the last couple of days to prepare for family coming over for my college graduation. Normally, when I overhaul my apartment like this, I do it while listening to my favorite soundtracks as opposed to leaving the TV on or a movie playing. It's better therapy for me (for whatever reason) to just mindlessly sing along to whatever song is playing while I wash dishes or fold clothes.

So, I've been listening to a lot of Lenka of late after hearing her on You're the Best, Lee Soon-shin! and Grouplove after last summer's Sprout in preparation for summer coming up this year (which, it hasn't yet... even Florida's been hanging out in the 60s every night lately...). But I got to thinking about summer dramas in general and how I always used to listen to the unofficial Coffee Prince soundtrack (via Dramabeans) when I was a freshman and working on design projects, and realized I needed to dig up my old CDs with the songs on them so I could clean to those instead.

Come to find out, first, that I don't have the discs up here at uni with me and that, second, the soundtrack links are all broken on the DB website so I can't even re-download them. Needless to say, I sat on my couch pouting for a while as I mourned, and then spent a couple of hours going through all my closets trying to find the discs. Luckily, I had one of them tucked into a stack of CDs in my car which will tide me over until I can get home in a couple of weeks and find the rest of the discs.

Lesson learned? Put all your music into storage on the internet. There are reasons why CDs are obsolete!

Hi, again...

Hello, my lovely (probably nonexistent at this point) readers. It's probably become apparent to you by now that when school starts, I go AWOL. Lucky for you, I'm currently a month and a half (give or take a few days) away from graduating college, so I'll be able to come back to the drama world permanently very soon!

My drama queue grows longer and longer each day as I miss more and more time in Dramaland, so my workload will be piled sky high when I get back. I've been keeping up with the happenings peripherally while I've been gone, and I'm sad to hear about the Park Shi-hoo rape scandal, as well as all the Dramafever vs. Dramabeans drama going on of late.

I vaguely recall that my last post back in January or so was meant to be about how excited I was that Mizushima Hiro was coming back to the world of drama, but I never did get around to posting that. I also finished Assorted Gems in the interim, and have a few mini-recaps and a review to post when I get back.

So, I wanted to pop in to say never fear, lovelies! Don't count me out just yet. I'll be back towards the beginning of May, I think, though I might post some stuff before that if I get a chance. Don't be too angry! (And yes, if you're wondering, the picture of Seo In-gook is there as a distractor.)

-Adverseffects

Weekly Wrap-up: week of 12/16 - 12/22

What a week! The world almost ended, I went to a Christmas party, I finally marathoned Answer Me 1997, and started watching a couple other dramas. I consider that pretty productive. Now, if I could just finish up my Christmas shopping...

This week's notes:

1. Blog-related: Posted a review for Kingyo Club, finally. I had it sitting on my computer waiting to be finished for the better part of six months. And it's spoiler-free! I'm so bad at those, so consider it a miracle. If you haven't watched this short little drama yet, go do it right now!

2. Newsie Information: 

• Yoo Seung-ho (I Miss You, Arang and the Magistrate), Dramaland's Baby So Ji-sub, is headed to the army after I Miss You wraps filming. Whut?! Everyone's a'buzz about this because Yoo is only 19 (20 by Korean standards). It's a smart move, of course, because he'll be enlisting with people his own age and he's at a great place in his career--too young to play the leading man just yet, but too old (and probably too talented) to be a child actor anymore--so he needs that 21-month (sob) hiatus to allow him to grow up a bit so he can come back and be a true leading man (with choco abs!). See you in 2014! [via Dramabeans]
• Kim Sun-ah (I Do, I Do, Scent of a Woman) joins the cast of revenge thriller film The Five. I don't know much about this because I watch less Korean and more Japanese movies, but it seems to be a step away from her "usual" roles, so I'm excited to see what she'll turn out. The story is based on a web comic by Jung Yeon-sik called "The 5ive Hearts" and sounds a little gruesome. Filming begins early next year. [via AsianWiki]
• Jeon Ki-sang has been hired to helm upcoming fashion-related drama Gangnam Style. Now, as I understand it, this drama will be an adaptation of a web comic called "Fashion King" but has nothing to do with this year's atrocious drama of the same name, nor the popular Psy song Gangnam Style. Well, that's a bit confusing. This announcement is particularly interesting because this is the man responsible for greatly-directed dramas like My Girl and Delightful Girl Choon-hyang (and more recently To The Beautiful You), but also all over the place ones like Witch Yoo-hee and Boys Over Flowers (soundtrack choices, anyone?). He's got the subtlety of a hammer at times, but he does quiet moments and monumental sets really well. We shall see how this comes out once filming (and casting) begins. [via AsianWiki]
• U-Know Yunho has been cast in Soo Ae and Kwon Sang-woo's upcoming drama Yawang. Check out the first stills over at Dramabeans. I'm actually looking forward to another Soo Ae series. I skipped that bucket of tears A Thousand Days' Promise that she did with Kim Rae-won earlier this year, but I like her lots, so I'll be keeping an eye out for this one. Yawang tells the story of a woman stemming from poverty who aspires to become Korea's first lady and her childhood friend who sacrifices himself for her. [via AsianWiki]

3. More excitingness over at DramaFever! In Time With You is now available for streaming. It's going to be a busy rest of vacation for me. I watched ITWY earlier this year right after it had aired, but the middle dragged so much that I ended up dropping it a few episodes before the end. It's kind of got the vibe of Answer Me, 1997 (and a similar premise, with the two leads being best friends since forever, and we even get small flashbacks from their high school years) without much of the pure awesomeness of that show. Maybe a rewatch is in order? I think sooooo...

Weekly Wrap-up: week of 12/9 - 12/15

So, I'm back in full form by now, though I have to add a disclaimer to that by mentioning that I'm a little sick right now. I have to take antibiotics, which I never react well to, but the good news is that I'm at home with the family for Christmas, and that affords me some recovery time before I head back to school.

I figured I needed a place for ramblings and decided I'd start doing a weekly wrap-up type post. There's no guarantee these will be consistent, but I'll post them as the need arises.

Just a few notes for this week:

1. Blog-related: Yayyyyy the final recap for TTBY is finally up! I literally went through Hell and high water to get that thing out, but now I can rest easy and move on to Switch Girl!! Episode 2 for that will be up in the coming days, I believe. I'm also trying to finish up a few dramas that I dropped a while back, so maybe I'll write reviews for those as they come up.

2. Completely Weird and Random: I had a dream earlier this week and I don't remember much of it now, but one thing that stands out vividly in my memory is a scene in which I got kissed by Taecyeon. You know... the hot one who speaks English? Yeah? And then I pulled a TOTAL K-drama heroine move, all wide-eyed and frozen... and then promptly ran away. Yeah. I don't even know.

3. Exciting and Unrelated: CHOON-HYANG IS ON DRAMAFEVER. Holy hell I've been waiting for someone to buy the rights to this baby so I could watch it in GOOD quality for the first time ever. Delightful Girl Choon-hyang is my second favorite Hong Sisters drama and I hold it near and dear to my heart. It's the drama that made me fall in love with Jae Hee and my cousin realize that Korean Drama was nothing to scoff at. It pays to come back to Dramaland and find surprises like this.

Okay, so that's the first ever Weekly Wrap-Up. I'm sure in the future it'll have more relevant and so-called "important" information, but for now I just wanted to gush, lol.

Binnie's back, and so am I!

Hyun Bin, the Hyun Bin, was released from his 21-month military enlistment on the 6th, to a large audience of journalists and fans. He was clearly happy to be back, even shedding a few tears. I think it's safe to say we're happy to have him back as well, right?

On that note, I'm happy to report that I'm also back from my extended hiatus. I'm currently trying to play catch-up with the on-air dramas, including Can We Get Married?, School 2013, and Alice in Cheongdamdong. 

In the meanwhile, I'll be posting a couple of reviews and some long overdue recaps, so hang tight!

Source: allkpop

A word after an extended, unannounced [I'M SO SORRY] hiatus...

*peeks in nervously*

Hi... y'all. I'm back? Well, I'm back-ish. I'm so, so terribly sorry I disappeared off the face of the planet for a month and a half. I assure you, I am alive and kicking (for now), but I had a pretty rough mid-semester crisis that involved an immediate family member being in the hospital.

In the interim, I turned 22 (yay!) and was swamped with schoolwork, but the school semester's winding down next week, so I should be able to head back down the Dramaland rabbit hole after that.

Again, I apologize for going away without saying anything, but dramas were really one of the last things on my mind as I drove up and down from school for my family. I hope you'll forgive me :/

I've missed you! Hopefully when I come back, I can finally crank out that long overdue final recap for TTBY and get started on the backlog of new dramas that I've neglected since I've been gone, plus catching up on some of those Switch Girl!! recaps I promised you. *sigh* It's good to get back to the craziness!

Quick Note: 10/14/12

Hey, guys! Time for another quick note.

Sorry about the seriously long delay on the last TTBY recap. It's no longer even relevant to the drama conversation because it ended like a week and a half ago, but I've had a lot going on, with balancing school and family being in town. So... the recap is slowly but surely being written and should (hopefully) be up some time this week.

Again, so sorry for the long wait. I don't know if anyone will read it now, but I hope it's worth your time if you do! Thanks!

Just a Note... EDIT 8/28/12

Okay, so I'm (obviously) back from my trip. However, I'm spending the night at my parents' house and am having some serious internet issues which are not allowing me to add screencaps to  the recap for episode 4.

Having written the whole thing already, I don't see any reason not to post it, even if that means I have to post it back-to-back with the episode 5 recap tomorrow.

Sorry again for the delay! I hadn't meant to come here today, but alas, the parental units are responsible for my finances, so I had to come and get some money for silly things like rent and tuition.

Tomorrow's going to be a little stressful, but I'll try my best to get everything posted in a timely manner. :)

Status Update: August 22 - August 25 Version

Hey, guys! I take it that anyone reading this blog has realized by now that I'm massively behind on recaps. Moving has required much more time and effort than I was counting on since I've been hitting snags pretty much at every turn. The new semester at my university starts on Monday (August 22), but I'm going to try to use the first week to play catch-up with Spy Myung-wol and Protect the Boss recaps, both of which I haven't actually been able to even keep up with, watching-wise.

Sorry about this new inconvenience. With school starting, my hope is that my schedule will be a lot more consistent, so updates should get better. Summer is just too unpredictable, yah know?

Episode 8 for Myung-wol might be up tomorrow, but that all depends on my internet situation at the new apartment. Protect the Boss Episode 2 will be up at the beginning of the week. I'll try to keep up with news posts and previews as they come up.

Thanks for your patience if you are reading! :)

Honey, I'm Homeeee

I'm back! (I hope!) I'm getting my computer fixed at my university tomorrow, so I'll be back to full online and blogging capability after that, assuming they solve whatever issue is making my laptop bug out. Currently, I'm using my dad's laptop, which is a bit old. Upcoming posts, after the fix, are listed below:

1. Spy Myung-wol: Episodes 3-4 mini-recaps
2. The Princess's Man: First impressions
3. Harry Potter books and movies reviews
4. Secret Garden: Episode 2
5. Scent of a Woman: Episodes 1-2
6. Catching up on news and previews

I have a lot of work ahead of me and, in addition to my computer situation, I'm also in the middle of moving into a new apartment and getting ready for final exams, so the next couple of weeks are going to be hectic, at the very least. If anyone is reading, I appreciate your patience! :)

As a result of some major computer/internet issues, I'm really behind on all my posts and drama watching. So, I've come to some decisions...

1. I WON'T be continuing my Heartstrings recaps. I don't like the show enough to recap the rest of it and I'm really behind anyway. It's better to drop them now rather than trying to catch up. I may do a mid-way report card-type review and a post on afterthoughts, but we'll see.

2. I WILL be continuing mini-recaps for Spy Myung-wol. As soon as I can iron out my computer issues today, I'll post the mini for Episode 2.

3. I WILL be continuing my recaps for Secret Garden and My Girl. I'm working on those as we speak, since I can watch episodes on my phone without wanting to kill myself.

4. I'm also going to do a couple of old show reviews and movie reviews, when I can get around to them.

I just wanted to leave a status update for anyone who is reading this blog as I head into a crazy couple of weeks.

The following are the posts you can expect in the immediate future (meaning by tomorrow or the day after, at the latest):

1. Heartstrings Episodes 1 and 2 recaps: I'm having a bit of a hard time getting these recaps out because it's been a chore finding English-subbed videos of the show. I've found the first episode on YouTube, but not the second (yet). As soon as I get these problems ironed out, I'll get the recaps done.

2. Secret Garden Episode 2 recap: I've almost recovered from my Secret Garden obsession addiction attachment, so the recap for Episode 2 should be out fairly soon as well.

3. My Girl Episode 1 recap: I've decided to do full recaps of My Girl, rather than mini-recaps, which likely means I'll be doing minis for Brilliant Legacy (but that's another beast I won't touch right now). I'm working on the first episode for MG, so hopefully I can post that tomorrow.

4. Afterthoughts on Lie to Me: Yeah, I should just let it go, but I can't. Now that LTM is over, I want to review it and tear it apart assess it. My review's almost done, but I haven't finished watching the last couple of episodes (only read recaps), so I'll post that soon-ish.

If anyone is reading, thanks for the patience! Please leave feedback if you have any suggestions on how to make this a better, more informative blog. Thanks!

Where Have You Been?

Where have I been? I took a few days off to finish up watching Secret Garden. Suffice it to say, I'm going to need a couple of more days to recover. I'm in pieces after the end of that show, so before I get back to recapping it objectively, I'm going to need some "getting over the break-up of me and Drama" time.

On the personal life front, I'm moving back into my college apartment tomorrow for a month before moving into a different apartment, so I'm going to need adjustment time for that, as well.

Gah, I need a pick-me-up drama.

Upcoming stuff:

1. News, as I catch the sound waves on the internet 
2. Afterthoughts on Lie to Me once I watch the, oh, seven or so episodes I haven't watched yet (fun times are a'comin -__-) 
3. Finishing up recaps for Secret Garden and getting my heart broken all over again when I finish it for the second time -- It's literally my new favorite drama. Beware the recaps, I'm warning you now. There shall be immense amounts of gushing
4. Starting recaps for Heartstrings -- still trying to get a hold of that last new trailer they released with the OST

Short Introduction

So, I realized that my LJ blog is quite a bit hodge-podgy so I decided to make a separate blog for the reviews/ramblings/commentaries I want to write. It should clear up some of the LJ clutter (and it should also make me feel a little better).

Basically, this new blog will--as the description explains--be a place for movie, book and foreign drama reviews when I feel the need to vent and such. :)

I hope, if you read this, you will enjoy reading my editorials!