Being a young kid i was not sure how to approach life, i was tought mostly by my older brother that the coolest thing ever is to be hard core or “gangster”. Mostly through out middle school i acted as if i was hard core or “gangster”. I heart people around me i was dumb and got into fights, disrespected people not only teachers but my fellow pears as well. I felt very alone and scared to show who i acctually was. So i pretended for the longest time that i was someone different someone mean, and sure people gave me respect only because they were afraid of me. My 7th grade year in middle school i started dating this one girl the relationship didn’t last to long but when we were dating she would always tell me about these stories that would happen about a guy hitting on her, because she was very attractive and she would hesitate to tell me these things, and i would finally get something out of her and she would tell me the story but then right after that she would keep repeating: “please dont beat them up!” And all that i could think to myself is that “does she really think that im going to go beat them up?” She said that a lot and i didnt like this because i know that, that person that i was wasnt the person i wanted to be. Me and this girl broke up over the summer going into 8th grade i was pretty broken about it but understood. And it was this summer that changed my whole life!! ……..

TO Be Continued!

Love is different for everyone. When you’re five years old, you love your teddy bear. When you’re ten, you love Justin Beiber or any other teen pop sensation. When you’re fifteen, you’re almost sure your in love, until you meet that one amazing person who makes you a better person; then, you know you’re in love. When you’re twenty, feelings may have changed. Who knows?

I don’t understand how we can criticize people for saying their in love, if they have a valid reason for saying it. If 15 year old aren’t allowed to say it, why should 60 year old who are dating again be allowed to?
(Side-note, I’m not saying they shouldn’t be allowed to!)
Exactly: they should. Experience can make a difference, but that doesn’t mean we are stupid for thinking it. Honestly, it just means that you guys are more jaded, and less likely to let yourself feel those first-time feelings again.

I’m not trying to force my opinions on you; truly I’m not. I just can’t understand why we aren’t allowed to feel what we want to, to think what we want, to be what we want. In today’s world, if you’re not yourself… you’re no one.

Life, love, and the pursuit of happiness.

 •Thinking in mother tongue and translating as it is

•Incorrect pronunciation

•Incorrect word usage

 Let us discuss about the last one. Here are some commonly confused words: 

•       Loose lose

•       Repetition reputation

•       Reminder remainder

•       Personal personnel

•       Complimentary complementary

•       Buy bye by

•       Access assess

•       Ascent accent

•       Felicitate facilitate

•       Extinguish distinguish

Following are words which give a different meaning based on their pronunciation:

•       Garage

•       Content

•       Entrance

•       Wind

•       Minute

•       Wound

•       Console

•       Moped

•       Number

•       Agape

•       Resent 

Following are verb noun pairs whose spellings can be easily confused:

•       Practise practice

•       Advise advice

•       Devise device

•       Advanse advance

On light there are many things that can embarrass anyone, even the most cold-hearted person. But as it turns out, the easiest to embarrass the fair sex, whose reason for confusion is much more than men.

Moreover, these reasons may be things that are unlikely to confuse the average representative of the stronger sex. At least for the simple reason that between the sexes are purely physiological differences.

Here are the 12 basic things in women’s lives that cause them the greatest embarrassment.

1. First monthly

Even despite the fact that now many girls know all about the first month, the girls still fear them. This is because, as a rule, the blood is associated with damage to the body, especially not many 12-year-old girls decided to tell their mothers about the first menstruation.

2. First kiss

Many people are experiencing due to the first kiss or first sexual contact, because they do not know how everything goes and do not be disappointed if they partner. This is especially true for women because of how they look the part during intimate contact, the men think are rare.

3. Visit to a gynecologist

There is hardly a woman on the planet, which like it when someone wielded inside a cool tool. Many are confused by the fact that they have to undress in front of a stranger, especially if the gynecologist – a man.

4. Be seen in bed with another man

Nightmare for many girls is to be seen by their parents in bed with someone else, even if the girl has already become an adult.

5. Being caught in the different partners

No comments.

6. Stains on clothing because of the monthly

This can confuse almost any woman, regardless of age, appearance and social status.

7. Halitosis

This reason for the confusion is not so rare – about 25% of all people in the world regularly suffer from bad breath, and about 40% suffer from this condition permanently.

8. The smell of sweat

The smell of sweat can cause serious damage to the reputation of any person to communicate with other people. Incidentally, the sweat itself does not smell – sweat began to smell after contact with the skin.

9. Worn underwear

There is an old rule for women: “Do not wear underwear with holes, because you never know where you have to undress. Especially if you have to undress in front of a man with whom to have sex then.

10. Married lover

For most women know that greeted the Prince on a white horse “is a married man suddenly becomes a very unpleasant fact. Especially if he also has three children. By the way, holy men, saying: “My wife does not understand me” – in most cases turns out to be lies and empty chinwag.

11. Pimples

Everything about her own appearance, may lead women to embarrassment, especially if you come to an important meeting or appointment.

12. Accidental discharge of gases

What can I say? “Princesses do not farts.

I was skipping all classes, at times bunking with friends, then again I was more than willing to do it alone as well. Bunking gave me an immense amount of satisfaction. I was completely unable to feel the guilt of keeping my parents in the dark, with them thinking that their intelligent daughter goes to the university everyday and studies hard while in reality she was doodling around in the campus with no work to do.

The weather looks pleasant when you are in a classroom, people chatting outside appear to be the luckiest human beings on earth and I was giving in to these temptations. Until one day, I got home humming and singing to myself, when my father called me in and gave me an opened up envelope. Ooooh it had the letterhead of our institute and I took out the letter which went something like, we are sorry to inform you that your attendance is below the 75% mark and future absentiesm from class might result in my exemption from taking the final exam. Ah well I wasnt surprised, but my parents definetely were. I was in for a two hour long lecture on how they have been putting in too much of their effort for my good education and how I was being competely oblivious to it. And so I promised that from that day onward I will TRY to attend all the classes.

And yes sadly now I attend all the lectures even though I am aware of the fact that I could still do them in a giffy. Maybe this overconfidence will take me nowhere and I will fail in my examination, but I have always been doing well in the class tests, pop up quizes, assignments and even mid semester exams. I earned a high GPA last semester with the same attitude. I am confused, should I be feeling guilty for bunking just because it is consideres wrong? Or should I continue with my rationalization of the situation and justify my actions with the performance and not the actions?

What do you think? Black? White or Grey?

Does the means to an end matter ? Or is the end enough to justify the means?

He might be nervous and jumpy you deal with
 He will never have the capacity to be calm and collected who are around you. Guilt feelings will produce him jumpy and nervous on you. He will be on edge and afraid that you might find out the simple fact. This behavior will allow him away.

He will start to tell lies
 If he is two timing you, how can he ever tell you comprehend? He will have to make sure you a hundred the other lies about his whereabouts, that he was with, what he did about the weekend, the reason why he would not want to make it, etc. Lie after lie served from his mouth should put you on guard and inform you that he is being unfaithful to your account.

His cell phone might be his life line!
If you ever find him suddenly making numerous calls with a unknown person, furtively whispering on his phone and in some cases leaving the room to speak to someone, it could signify he is in touch together with his secret lover. He will spend long hours about the phone and will n’t have a convincing excuse intended for his behavior.

He will start to be secretive
 If he is cheating on you, he will stop being so open and frank with you. He will start getting secretive and extra possessive about his phone. He will make foolish excuses and go out of our home. If you dare to measure up on him there’s a chance you’re in for a rude or obnoxious shock! Land up unannounced at his workplace to find out if he is seriously working late!

He will not permit you to read his emails as well as messages
 Suddenly you will quickly realize that he has changed his passwords and features taken to hiding his phone! This means that he will not want you to read his messages at all. This shows that he is being sly and is unquestionably hiding something from people. Only a guy that’s completely faithful won’t be threatened in any manner.

He will seem sidetracked and “not there”
 If he is two timing you he can constantly be thinking with her. This will make him distracted you deal with. You will find him talking within the phone and being sly related to things. He will never have the capacity to give you a frank and honest answer and you will find reason to doubtfulness him and his means.

He will show clues of restlessness
 If he is fooling around with another individual, there is no way he would want to spend time in ones boring company. The new love is likely to make him excited and stressed. He will hate to seldom leave the house and long to be along with his lover. Look for signs of restlessness.

Confidence gives us the ability to perform our actions. Over confidence come about when we think we are absolutely sure of what we do and the consequences. Our Ego comes into play when the over confidence drives our thought process into absolute surety.

All through our youth and prime of our lives we are driven into the realms of success and achievements with our ambitions and confidence. There’s such a thin line that separates the ego from confidence, that we are often crossing over many a time, till such a time that it get’s difficult to go back. Yes we take pride in our achievements, in who we are and what we represent. How many times have we not boasted about our achievement? Sometimes we don’t express it, but that does not stop our thoughts and desire to do so. Have we not or don’t we seek attention and recognition?

Our measure of success at the work place is defined in comparison to those around us. If you initially don’t believe in the rule of the jungle, you will. It’s hard to survive there.  We go about living our lives seeking the recognition for our abilities and sometimes our uniqueness. We get them and then we seek for more. It’s always a comparison to someone else.

 A time comes in our lives when we seek the peace of mind, the harmony, the ability to move beyond ourselves. This gets invariably brought about in some instances by a satiation of our pursuits and mostly by an overwhelming tiredness in the battle of survival. That what we seek lies in foregoing what we have developed within ourselves for a major portion of our lives. Consciously or unconsciously it is our focus on ourselves and the determination to survive and succeed which has brought us to where we are today. To be able to shed that away for a life away from the self would seem impossible. To focus away some would say is the answer, but is it truly?

Selflessness itself seems to be a utopian quest. In its true sense I would think it relates to a total control over desires and negative emotions while devoting our actions, feelings and thoughts towards a single entity, person or cause. We set out on it with an intention to bring about a change, in the lives of people around us.  But can we do it without a gesture of appreciation or gratefulness in return?  Some do, but all it takes is someone to question the integrity and reasons behind their actions.

How does one get indifferent to success and failure? Can we do away from the need to distinguish ourselves from everyone else?

The spiritually inclined talk about the shift in perception from the self to the soul centred self in order to achieve total selflessness. That means a total disconnect from the world as we know it.

Here lies one of the illogical paradoxes of life that we struggle with.

Dear Confused,
There are many things that I might do if I was in this situation. I might over react and claim that they do not trust me. I might even look past the incident and call it curiosity. Ultimately I will confront them about the issue. I will honestly tell them that they did not need to be sneaky and go through my phone without my permission and all they had to do is ask.

Image via Wikipedia

If you have something troubling you and need advice, send me an email at: scottvernon41@aol.com

I was born in Seoul, South Korea and adopted by Dutch parents, of all people.  They whisked me away to West Michigan when I was a plump little infant.  So for all intensive purposes, I was raised “white”.  Good ol’ meat-and-potatoes-eating, money-saving “Dutch White”.  I went to church twice on Sundays and went to a nice, comfortable, conservative private school. 

I stayed in this comfortable little bubble until I was about 23, when I met and married another Dutch guy raised more or less the same way I was.  He joined the Air Force, and soon we were whisked away (as per military orders) to Japan.  After 5 years, the marriage fell apart and I decided to “hang out” here in Japan, because I had already made myself a home and a nice living. 

Many people fail to realize the huge presence of Americans in Japan, thanks to all the branches of the US Military.  Marines, Airmen, Sailors, and Soldiers work and play all over Japan.  So creature comforts of home (”Home” being back in the states) are not completely lost here. 

That having been said, keep in mind  that regardless of how and where I was raised, I am still 100% full-blooded Korean.  I still have yellow undertones in my skin, jet black hair (save for the multitudes of premature grays), and the typical almond-shaped eyes.  Consequently, thanks to my features – 99.99% of the population here (both Japanese and American) assume I’m also Japanese.  Why?  I have no clue.  I have been told before that I don’t look Japanese (by American folks) and also that I do look Japanese (by Japanese folks).  What gives?  I’ve stopped trying to figure that one out long ago. 

So every morning when I head out, I am greeted with a “Konnichiwa” and “Ohaiyo Gozaimasu!” (”Good morning” in Japanese).  Regardless of who says it to me, it’s always made with the same assumption – that I speak Japanese.  (Which I don’t.)  On that note, the opposite assumption is made for my English skills.  Truth of the matter is that I speak perfectly good English.  In fact, my English is probably better than most of the Americans encountered on base.  English is my primary language!  This comes in very handy. 

It took me a long time to figure out that it’s actually fun to be Asian wherever I am.  Reason #1?  Dudes dig Asian chicks.  I had no clue up until I was about 21 that there was such a thing as an “Asian fetish”.  Upon discovery, no longer did I hate my slanty eyes and my pin-straight black hair.  Forgotten were my nerdy days of high school where I stuck out like a sore thumb. I embraced my new appeal and moved on with my life. 

Reason #2?  Thanks to that assumption that I don’t speak (or understand) English, I get to covertly hear my American peers at their finest – when they think nobody around them can understand what they’re saying.  The things I’ve heard would make Richard Pryor blush.  I’ve heard information that could probably be considered “classified”, and so forth.  I’ve also heard a thing or two about myself, which usually makes me chuckle. Comments range anywhere from the way my hair is done to whether or not I’m under the influence of illegal substances.

Reason #3 is a bit of a fusion between reasons 1 and 2.  With so many guys over here going ga-ga for the local flavor (and I’m not talking about food), I get a bit of an advantage.  Being a slender Asian female often attracts unwanted cat-calls, whistles, etc.  But of course, I don’t speak English – so I don’t really feel obligated to respond.  This also rings true for strangers asking stupid questions, weirdos trying to make small talk, and other social encounters I may not feel like dealing with.  Hooray.

I’m not always the most chipper, friendly person.  (I’ve been told it’s a Korean thing!)  And truth of the matter is that some days I get tired of the Japanese assumption.  I failed to mention that I have a giant tattoo of my Korean name (written in Hangul – the Korean alphabet comparable to Japan’s Kanji) splayed across my arm.  Hangul is actually pretty distinguishable from Japanese Kanji thanks to its use of circles.  And this tattoo is almost always visible.  You’d think Japanese folks would recognize the alphabet from their neighbors to the west, but this dead giveaway usually goes unnoticed.  I have learned enough Japanese to tell them (in their native tongue) that “I am Korean – please speak English” – only to receive a response in more Japanese.  On the bad days, this often turns into me snapping “EIGO!” (”English!”) until they finally get it through their skull that I am not Japanese.  Sometimes the tattoo is pointed at.  Then Japanese eyes are bugged.  It seems the folks at the airports here are especially slow to catch on.  A Korean girl in Japan with a US passport.  The concept blows their minds.

There are a few other facets in my silly life that confuse me, as well as people that meet me.  My birthday is Cinco de Mayo and for some inexplicable reason, I love the Latin cultures.  My boyfriend is Borricua, (Puerto Rican), and I am currently learning Spanish.  I know enough to get by on a daily basis, and I’m learning more every day.  Often times people crack up to see the Korean girl in Japan speaking Spanish.  Some days I feel like a walking cultural freak show.  But you know what?  I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

I’m sure life holds many more cultural adventures for me.  I look forward to them and will continue to embrace them.  For a little girl who was one time ashamed of her heritage, this Korean broad has come a long way.  I will eat Kimchi and sushi in the same sitting, and make habichuelas con arroz (rice and beans) the next night and think nothing of it.  Hooray for being unique!  Hooray for being me.

Thank you / Domo arigato gozaimasu / muchas gracias for reading!

Author’s note: If you’re wondering – yes, I have returned to Korea once.  And let me tell you – the Koreans there do not take well to a “Korean” who doesn’t speak Korean and claims to be American.  I think I was written off as mentally handicapped by most.

This I find ridiculous because the talk host shows him the Question Card during the interview. This is shown in the video below.

This kid was clearly confused and acted stupid by saying that the word German was not used in America. Is this true? NO! All Americans use the word! Please Justin just pay attention during an interview and you might not get confused.

Why does everybody like this kid so much like they will risk their lives for him he’s is just a kid. First Twilight and then Justin Bieber I think there are too many “horny” girls out there. They need to get a grip on reality.