Like a Man {Dongsaeng talks about stuff on whatever day she happens to talk about stuff}

Brag moment.  Has anyone seen this floating around the interwebs?  Perhaps on Pinterest?  I don't know how it got there originally, but I was thrilled when I started to see it make the rounds.  Why?  Because I made it!  All by my very self (with a little help from ImageChef.com.  Okay, so all I did was enter the words, they did the rest, but still...)!  Back when we were creating TCA and trying to come up with an image that was our own and not pirated because we try our best to be on the up-and-up around here.  We ended up going a different direction, but it made me pleased as punch to see this start popping up randomly and to see the positive reaction to it.  Shameless self-promotion?  You betcha!  Look, I know it's not something actually important that I have contributed here to the world, but still, it's fun to see my creation floating around in the cybersphere without my doing.  And yeah, I'm going to raise my hand loud and proud and claim it.  I get so few of these moments, indulge me for a bit, okay?  ;)

That's right.  It's Tuesday.  Not Monday.  I missed my normal Monday Morning Therapy.  Whatcha' goin' do about it?  No, really, I was going to act all thug and stuff like I just don't care, but, well, that doesn't work so well.  Mostly because I am so not thug, but also because I do feel a teensy bit sad I missed my day with you all.  It was just one of those days.  I had been so sick Sunday and in so much pain I was contemplating do-it-yourself-at-home-surgery with a spoon.  That compounded with the fact that my husband took off on a last-minute trip Sunday morning to San Francisco for a few days to help out his sister and mother, and I have just been a big blob of do-nothing laziness.  Plus, and since when has this ever really stopped me, but I couldn't think of a thing to say.

I'm still at a bit of a loss as to what today's topic should be.  What's really frustrating is that I woke up at 6 this morning with this whole flood of ideas.  It was magical.  I pretty much wrote an entire post in my head and it was fabulous, let me tell you.  Funny and perfect for this Tuesday morning.  And then I went back to sleep.  Bad idea.  I woke up in a complete and total fog.  Brain has turned off.  All the brilliance from early this morning gone.  I remember that it was here, but not what it contained.  Beauty.  Let that be a lesson to me...when brilliance strikes, jump on the computer no matter what hour.  Now I have to try and force myself to be witty and flow with the engaging banter.  In other words, we're all in trouble.

Something caught my attention this morning on AllKpop.com.  It was an article about someone my friends and I affectionately refer to as "Baby Oppa", aka Yoo Seung Ho.  It included this very nice picture of him...

and spoke of his recent military assignment upon completion of basic training.  P.S.  I love how they blur the gun in this shot.  Oh Korea, you are awesome.  I love how you try to protect our innocence from violence such as a weapon being given to a soldier, yet some of the most shocking violence I've seen on screen has been in your dramas.  (In all fairness, that's not saying much as I do not watch any rated R movies and generally steer away from, well, all TV except for the funny stuff).  But I digress.....

What I wanted to say about this is how impressive this young man has been.  Now, being married to the ultimate cynic, some of that cynicism has undoubtedly worn off on me.  I'll admit, there's a part of me that admits this can all be part of his public image strategy.  Who knows.  But I'm going to speak here on the assumption that it is not and that he is genuine in every move he is making here.  First, his entrance into basic training was spectacular in its glaring lack of spectacle.  He entered the service quietly and ON TIME!  It wasn't made public until he was already safely ensconsed in the barracks.  No fanfare.  No press conference.  No posing in front of the staged backdrop with hordes of cameras surrounding him.  No months of lead up.  Was it a surprise?  No.  There had been plenty of rumors floating around that his enlistment was eminent, however, the actual day of enlistment went by quietly and without news until he was already there.  As far as the timing of his going (you know, since he went at the age that generally young men go instead of waiting until the very last second like so many other celebrities do), I have to applaud him.  I love that he left on such a high note.  He has been making quite the name for himself professionally.  He could have easily continued to ride that wave, but instead he made the decision to get the MS over with.  Genius move on his part.  He's been playing such adult roles at such a young age.  Seriously, this guy is amazing and it's hard to believe he's as young as he is.  I really do expect great things to come from him throughout his career.  But see the genius of it all?  He makes a name for himself and then takes off for 2 years.  When he comes back, he'll be at a perfect age to continue on with his career, almost as if he never left, thanks to his early start, or rather, explosion into, in the industry.  I think it was a brilliant move on his part.

Okay, that kind of got away from me there.  Sorry.  What I really wanted to mention is how he wants to enter the normal service and not the entertainment division.  He wants to be with his peers.  He wants to be a regular soldier.  I love and respect that so much.  Like I said, yes, this may just be all a calculated move to garner good press and positive public opinion, but we're going to assume the best and that he is sincere in his desires to be "normal" and not "special".

Yoo Seung Ho is clearly out of my, shall we say, targeted age bracket?  I generally try to stay within a 10 year radius.  I won't say by how much he misses this target, but just that he does.  Normally this would keep him safe from my Kougar eyes, but there's something special about him that earns him the title and distinction of Baby Oppa.  And that is his obvious maturity level.  Calendars don't always tell the complete story about age and maturity.  Take for us for example.  I mean, we're prime examples of people clearly not acting our age ;-P  He plays mature roles.  He makes mature life decisions such as shown here.  And that's why I can't help but love him.  I fought it for so long, but finally had to concede defeat.  I finally had to bow to the powers of Baby Oppa, a young man seemingly wise beyond his years.

And that was a whole lot more than I planned on saying.  Really I meant just a few lines.  This is what happens when I write with a foggy brain.  I ramble.  I should go and edit, and maybe I will later when the fog lifts.

In drama news, no, I still haven't found a drama to review.  I'm earnestly searching and eagerly anticipate a speedy return to the review scene.  That's not to say that I haven't been watching anything.  I finally was able to catch up on Incarnation of Money late last night thanks to my marathon of lazy the past couple of days.  What a good drama this one is!  Maybe I should have chosen this one to review, but darn it all, too late now. I'm already 20 episode in.  Bummer.  (Okay, so the real truth is that this one would be challenging to review and I got scared).  Ooh, I also started my very first Taiwanese drama - Summer Fever.  I am past the halfway point with it and am enjoying it.  It's fun to see the differences between the K and T dramas.  I like some things about one better than the other and vice versa.  For example, I have LOVED that, in at least this particular drama, they TALK!  There is real communication.  Misunderstandings don't stretch on and on.  Secrets are soon revealed.  The stress level is so much lower and my heart thanks them for that.  Not to mention the romance!  There is instant romance.  The production quality is better with the K dramas though.  That and, as I'm reluctant to admit, but the high-stress drama of K dramas holds my interest a lot more.  I was hooked immediately on Summer Fever and watched non-stop.  But now I'm at a point where the main leads are together and my interest level has waned.  I love them together, but see the obvious - we have a lot more episodes to go so heartbreak is surely coming soon.  Right now everything is happy and bright and so I'm finding it difficult to want to continue, knowing that it's not going to continue to be happy and bright.  Of course it will all be resolved in the end, but why bother, you know?  We're already there.  Things are pretty good.  Why mess with it?  Why go through tough stuff just to end up back where we are now?  Can't I just stop here and call it good?  Tack on a "and they lived happily ever after" and we're set.  That trials and tribulations follow are just a given, because that's how life works.  Do I have to see it acted out?  Okay, so I'm mostly kidding, but still....  I'm sure I'll finish it, I just wanted to note my very first foray into T dramas.  A journey that Unnie made long before me, but one that took me some more time. 

With all that said, I think you have well earned your release from my long-winded grasp.  Sorry if I talked your eyes off.  I've just been so quiet lately and have more to say than I ever think I do.  I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Thanks for stopping by!



Now, I know it's not Monday, but I suppose I shouldn't leave without a bit of Tuesday Therapy at least, right? It's no secret that both Unnie and I are big Lee Hi fans. I love her songs and videos that she has been releasing. One that may have missed your notice though, if you only follow the MV releases, is a song from her First Love pt 1 album and which has skyrocketed to my now favorite Lee Hi song, called Dream. There's no video for me to share of it, but if you haven't heard it yet, don't miss it! Here's an audio only version. I tried embedding it here, but something is broken in the code, so the best I can provide is a link.  I highly recommend picking it up if you haven't yet.  You can find it on iTunes.  Once you have it, try sharing it with others. Out of all of her work to date, I think this is the most relatable for anyone regardless of their current KPop status. In all honesty I could see this playing on American radio. I think it deserves some attention. It's beautiful and her voice just shines.  Let's show others that there's more to KPop than a silly horsey dance.  :)