2025 life update

Happy New Year everyone!

It’s been 4 long years since I took a break from my blog. I guess there are 2 main reasons, work obviously and the diminishing trend of writing a blog – I thought to myself, if nobody’s reading, why write? but I guess I forgot WHY I chose to write a blog in the first place; a place where I can document my memories and to practice writing because believe it or not, I’m not great at essays! work has been my life for the past few years, and so much had happened.

SO, what happened in these 4 years? well, the pandemic sort of ended 2.5 years ago (so technically 1.5 years got discounted) where we could finally start travelling in HK, and shortly before was when I started at a new company. the working bits is not as interesting but I have a few readers wondering where I have been and why am I not even updating my facebook. not to mention that my instagram account is now private.

okay, here’s a brief summary of what had happened:
1. nothing really interesting happened between 2021 – 2022; except I started in a new company mid 2022 (yay) – that means new responsibilities, a lot to learn, and having lesser time for myself. failed level 3 of CFA (my excuse will be that I had no brain capacity to learn on the job and study after hours, but an excuse is an excuse), and figured out its a waste of time for me since I no longer take care of the buyside clients so.. that’ll be it for now. I might revisit it sometime later, but I highly doubt so.
2. in 2023, I was moved to a travelling team where my clients are now Korean clients, which explains why I am mostly in Korea now. it’s been my dream to be able to be back in Seoul; after I left, I’d always longed to be back. something about the convenience, food and language always drew me back. being in the Korean team had been nerve wrecking for me at first as I had left Korea for over 6 years and my Koreans uh.. really rusty. It took me 6 months to be comfortable with presenting in Korean again but that being said, it’s still not as good as my student days here.. probably because I don’t actually use Korean 24/7 nor have to write essays/thesis in the language.
3. I ended my previous relationship in 2023, after 8 long years, realizing the differences in life goals and that I’m not going to and will not be married to that person. it was still 8 happy years but my only regret is that I let it drag out for so long (I blame the pandemic, time literally stopped, but because I wasn’t alone, it wasn’t as hard too..) because in a blink of an eye, I am 30 and my biological clock is ticking. sometimes admitting to the truth is better than living in denial is what I have learned. denial that circumstances will change, but deep down I know that it won’t. letting go is no easy feat, especially with so many years of “investment” into a person, you’d want to believe you made the right bet; what we call the sunk cost fallacy in finance.
4. with the full intention of having a family, I was introduced via my first and last sogaeting (friend playing cupid/really means a friend setting up a blind date) to my now husband shortly after being in the Korean team. it was funny because I told my friend I wasn’t ready but she basically forced me to it; and it was the same for my husband. I guess you know the one when you meet them because.. we hadn’t stopped seeing each other almost every day since then!
5. got married in mid 2024 and by the very end of 2024, we welcomed our beautiful baby boy whose nickname is “little bean.” for those who are upset thinking I did not invite them to my wedding, I hadn’t had one. we were in the midst of planning for the wedding but little bean came along (after the constant “I want a baby dragon” jokes), so we just signed papers and decided to push the ceremony to later after much considering to minimise stress during the pregnancy. to when? I don’t know yet.. but hopefully we’ll have little bean be the flower boy!
6. and now in 2025, I’m adjusting my life to being a new mom to my now 2 month old newborn. to be honest, I feel way busier now than ever. but thanks to my baby being up all day yesterday and sleeping all day today. here’s an update! the mom life is really really tiring (feed, burp, change diaper, pat to sleep, repeat every 2-3 hours. during growth spurt, feeds almost every hour = no sleep lol)
7. you might be wondering why I privatized my ig after having it public for over 10 years or so. the main reason is because believe it or not there are more creepers in Korea than anywhere else. with the abundance of clients here and random violating messages, I realized the way to end the creepiness once and for all is to go private. but if you’re a normal person whom requests to follow me, I’ll approve you!

baby’s gonna need to feed soon hence this will be it for now. and I lost my card reader so no pictures >< but hopefully I’ll have time to post some pictures soon!

Happy New Year again!

how to make a long distance relationship work

I would like to state that this is based on my own personal experience and what worked for me may not work for you.

I guess this is the first time for me to write this publicly on my blog, but I think that it’s about time. I’ve always been in long distance relationships. some people say that I constantly fall into a long distance relationship because I have problems settling, but I think differently. I tried to look for someone I like who lived around me, but they never seem to work out. so..

Continue reading “how to make a long distance relationship work”

[Tokyo: Shinjuku] Menya Musashi, best Tsukemen in Shinjuku

Tokyo is known for its variety of different ramens which embarrassingly, I’ve yet to try many. among the ones that I would love to try are the ice cream ramen, the Michelin one star ramen and the blue soup ramen. but other than ramen, I have a love for something else which is difficult to find outside of Japan. and that’s something called the Tsukemen. Tsukemen are noodles that are normally thick like udon but with a ramen texture, and is served separately with the soup so every bite will seem like the first bite. no more soggy ramen! (I guess because I eat pretty slowly too hahahaha. you’re really supposed to finish your ramen under 10 minutes until the taste changes.)

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so I was touring a friend around and he wanted to eat ramen. so I searched a little and stumbled across this place called Menya Musashi, which is apparently the best ramen shop in Shinjuku. Continue reading “[Tokyo: Shinjuku] Menya Musashi, best Tsukemen in Shinjuku”

25 things I’ve noticed about Japan.

like the one I’ve wrote about the things I’ve noticed about Korean people, since I hadn’t been in Japan for so long, I don’t have that many things to talk about haha. so here’s the 25 things I’ve noticed about Japan and Japanese people! and please note that it isn’t about ALL of Japan and ALL Japanese people. it’s pretty subjective :). Continue reading “25 things I’ve noticed about Japan.”

Halal or not?

okay, to be honest, Korea is probably like.. one of the most difficult when it comes to Halal food; you don’t know the language and you would like to avoid food that’s against your religion. while you can still eat and dine at various halal restaurants in Seoul. Halal food is widely UNAVAILABLE. most shops sell pork. and most Muslims do not know what they can eat or not in Seoul and it made them refrain from trying many things especially when they are not with a guide. (most Muslim friends opt for seafood restaurants or seafood dishes, it may contain pork or non-halal meat sometimes) but through Halal in Korea, you can now know what is halal and what’s haram in Korea. and here’s the list.

I just thought I’d let my fellow Muslim readers know what can be or cannot be eaten in Korea with the list I found online since I find it difficult to come by a list as complete as this one. I tried googling for Halal food when I first came but I had to filter through blogs and websites which was a hassle.

hope this can help my Muslim friends and have a great time in Korea!

Similarities and Differences between Japan and Korea

since I have been living in Korea for… the 4th year now and I think that I’ve been to Japan enough to know a handful of their culture and people, I have to admit that I am far away from knowing enough so whatever I write, it’s based on my own experience. you may agree to it or not but I am not stereotyping, just based on what I know! Continue reading “Similarities and Differences between Japan and Korea”

How I learned Korean + Japanese books giveaway!

this is probably one of the most frequently asked questions by not only my readers, but friends, acquaintances and people (foreigners) whom I’ve met in Korea especially.

I’ve studied Korean for 1 year in Yonsei University and I am of level 6. graduated. Continue reading “How I learned Korean + Japanese books giveaway!”

FOOD TOUR! by O’ngofood.

maybe it is a little weird that I am actually participating in a tour while actually being here for my 3rd year now.

it isn’t any tour though. it is a FOOD TOUR. wait.. what? does a tour like this even exist?

YES!!!

many people participate in this tour because their friends told them what a blast they had. and I was there to find out!

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so for all the foodies like myself who love going for the local food and also cooking classes to learn how to make authentic Korean dishes! not just Kimchi, but something that’s actually filling. as for myself, I attended the night dining tour =3. I would love to try everything! given if I have time too. T_____T. see how much I am contributing to write all these posts for you people? Continue reading “FOOD TOUR! by O’ngofood.”