HERMES

Hermes is one of the most respected brands in the world. It is famous for its perfect leather and design. However, the most important aspect of Hermes that is making it popular is the price. Now most of you will think it is famous for price because it’s cheap but actually it’s the opposite. Most of the people know that Hermes doesn’t worth that much of money for a good leather wallet, but people still buy it because it is now a symbol of wealth. So… how did the name Hermes come from?

I researched about Hermes, the messenger of all gods. I decide to research about him because he was one of my favorites and I like the way he became god. According to the legend, Hermes was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. Zeus had impregnated Maia at the dead of night while all other gods slept. When dawn broke amazingly he was born. After Maia giving birth to Hermes she wrapped him and went to sleep, however, Hermes free himself and went to the place of Apollo. This was where Apollo herds living. Hermes stole a number of the herd and drove them back to Greece. When he was on his way he caught a tortoise and made the first lyre. When he was back in cave he wrapped himself back into the swaddling bands and pretended nothing happened. When Apollo realized he had been robbed he protested to Maia that it had been Hermes who had taken his cattle. Maia couldn’t believe what happened because Hermes was still wrapped. As the argument went on, Hermes began to play his lyre. The sweet music enchanted Apollo, and he offered Hermes to keep the cattle in exchange of Hermes’s lyre. So that was how lyre became one of Apollo’s symbols and this is another reason why I like Hermes so much. On his age of 1 he started playing lyre and that was really cool and amazing to me. Zeus has watched all of Hermes work and decided to make him god. He gave him flying shoes; hat and staff, which eventually became Hermes’s symbol.

In conclusion, the Hermes himself is the goddess of thief and wisdom. Well in my opinion the brand Hermes stands more of a thief than wisdom. They are taking people’s money. Well I’m not even sure why I am writing about this. Maybe it is because i want to warn people that Hermes doesn’t worth what it worth right now.

TRUE STORY OF AUG 28 2010

August 28, 2010 Dandan, I will never forget that day.

Tony Ha, who always is extra ebullient and high-spirited never sounded so serious…

Tony and I both had a same party to attend that day. We had a nice barbecue with a sunset, went to movies and karaoke. The clock hit 11:15pm and the people started to go home. There was really nothing special about that day until the most incomprehensible experience that Tony will have in next 40min. Since, Tony and I live near Saipan International School we shared a ride. We gossiped about how the movie Piranha was so crappy, and how the system in Saipan is so bad. Well, they let us watch rated r movie when most of us are only 17. (Except for me, Diego, and few other girls.) Shortly we arrived at Dandan Fiesta Street. I took off and went into my house. It was almost 12 o’clock so I took a quick shower and lay down. RING RING RING. The phone rang for few times, and it was rather weird because in Korea, it is kind of rude to call a person after 10 or 11. I answered in a low tone (expressing my hatred), and surprisingly it was Tony.

Tony called me with his voice shivering and told me that he saw something. It was really hard to recognize his voice at first because his high-spirited voice was gone. His story was rather mesmerizing, and I really didn’t believe him at first. Tony, who wasn’t family with Dandan, went into some kind of an alley with dead end. He turned his self around and saw a woman standing on the middle of a road in distance. He drove close to her and as he got closer… a woman with big CIRCLE EYES covered with BLOOD was holding up her thumb against Tony STARING.

THIS IS REALLY WEIRD I HATE IT AND IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE OR SOMETHING IS WATCHING ME AS I AM WRITING THIS. ( ITS 12:37AM)

I'm writing about a boring stuff

Okay, I actually like reading books. Yes, I know what you are thinking, and I also think that the whole idea of reading books is way out of my concept and image. However, I never in my life hated reading books. I was always curious why people hate reading books, and I came to a conclusion that it is because of their stereotype thinking that book is boring. However, that is not true because some books are really interesting. In addition, I try to read at least three books every summer. This 2010 summer vacation I read a book called Fahrenheit 451. YES, I am going to write a review about it so just stop reading and go to someone else’s blog.

With no doubts, majority of people know that some communist countries limit of what people read. For example, China and North Korea are against some religions, so they banned some of the religious books like the Bible. I’m not sure if they burn them, but there are some serious consequences if you posses it, like in Fahrenheit 451. Some people might face death or severe punishment. This can relate to Montag, a main character, who actually hid the book and almost got into trouble. With these unreasonable actions of banning books and limiting people’s will, countries are most likely to fail and corrupt.

Without knowledge and help from other resources, how can a community survive? How would they know what is right and what is wrong in their lives? If you see North Korea, it is a perfect example because, they are trying so hard to isolate themselves and have a bravado that they will succeed without any advocacy. However, as time goes by, their reputation and dignity is going down below. This is because they don’t know the real world outside. They don’t know what can help them and know what life is really about. If they have some resources like books, they would gain more knowledge and realize that their actions are just stupid and filled with hubris. I have another thing that can relate to the book that is currently happening in this world. It doesn’t have to be about burning books, but the cause is very important. The cause of burning books is not clarified in this book, but the environment itself is so dependent on technologies. Mechanical hounds, electric-eyed snake, TV shows and more.

It reflects on our daily lives where we are relying on Internet, TV shows and videogames so much that we do not care about reading books. Some people consider books as boring papers or a resource that can help them get better grades. Both of these problems can be resolved by believing of what is right and acting upon them. Are people telling you that books are bunch trash? Tell them that those trashes are going to be recycled and be in front of you. The more you try to get rid of them, the more will come up and affect you greatly. Investing more time of reading would be worth more than playing video games for 5 hours.

"STUPIDNESS"

Profession is usually a word to describe a person who knows a lot about one significant subject, and it is rather hard to get a job without having any idea what he or she is working for. His name is Jay, a car dealer in Nissan. As I have mentioned before in my blog that I am looking forward to buy a car; I decided to put it on a process. This amazing guy made my life miserable, and I’m telling you now that he is WAY BEYOND what you are thinking.

My first impression of Jay wasn’t that bad; He was very amiable and relaxing. I asked him if he could somehow contact to Guam and look for any used or new Infiniti (luxury brand of Nissan). He said “okay no problem come back tomorrow.” I thought this whole idea of buying an Infiniti through Nissan was going very smooth. Next day I asked him if he got anything. “I’m sorry sir we don’t have any Infiniti in Nissan maybe you should go check out Toyota.” I mean what the heck how can there be no Infiniti in Nissan? AND the fact that he recommended me to check out Toyota for a Nissan car was HILARIOUS. So I asked him if he knew what Infiniti is. He said “umm European right?” OMG he could have find out that Infiniti is actually Nissan by simply typing in Infiniti in Google. So I told him that Infiniti is actually a sub-brand of Nissan. His face looking speechless and looking so stupid to a custom who knows more about Nissan, he blurred our few words: “Oh! T-t-that Infiniti! I thought you were talking about something else.” He apologized to me and told me to come back in a day. The next day, I found Nissan again. Jay looking very confident (now that he knows what Infiniti is) stood up and shook my hand. He have found several Infiniti in Saipan and told me that his very own aunt drives Infiniti. INTERESTING… Until now he didn’t know that his aunt drives Nissan when he was working at Nissan. I asked him if his aunt’s car is G37 coupe and he said yes. He also said that his aunt is looking forward to buy a new car. This was great because I didn’t have to order it all the way from Guam. So I asked him what is the model (year) of her car. He proudly said its 2005, and far as I knew G37 came out in 2007 so I thought maybe I was wrong. Jay and I made a reservation to meet up with his aunt next Monday.

The last 5 days was amazing; I couldn’t wait to see the car. I even sang in the shower and didn’t care for having a lot of homework. 5 days went really fast, and I went to Nissan right after school. There Jay was with his Aunt and her car. However, the car was way different than what I expected. The car was scratched all over, it was 2003 G35 (NOT EVEN 2005), the passenger seat was gone (literally gone), and ran over 60000miles. I didn’t know what to say to Jay and his aunt smiling and thinking that I would love to buy her crappy car. I was thinking about $10000- $15000 maximum for her car, and I thought in a really positive way that if I spend about $5000 to fix the car, that it might work. So, I asked gently what is the price Jay and she think of. She said in a low voice “$25000.” Which is probably the price of the new 2003 G35. Do you remember that I said that I’m going to get an Infiniti? Forget that I’m getting a BMW.

Lotto

Lotto is a form of a raffling ticket that aims people who have a great desire for one shot or in other word tons of money. One day, my father asked me what I am going to do if I won lotto, and my answer was rather simple: “I’m going to quit school.” If the same question is asked to people; majority of people will say either “quit job” or “quit whatever he or she is into.” The reason for these answers is very obvious. Why would anyone want to work when he or she has enough money to spend during his or her lifetime? However, winning lotto isn’t that easy because the percentage of winning is significantly low.

I have always dreamed of having a lot of money or becoming a billionaire. Yes, literally a BILLIONAIRE. The main reason is because I think I can live an ideal life doing whatever I want to do. Borabora, Maldive, and other beautiful countries that I never been to, Ferrari, Porches, Lamborghini, Bugatti Beyron and other spectacular cars that I won’t be able to buy, and many other fabulous things that I never did. Dreams that I couldn’t achieve or maybe never, is not just a dream if I just have enough money to make it happen. Therefore, I am going to enlist some of my dreams in this post.

The first thing I am going to do when I become a billionaire is to build my own house. One aspect of house that I wanted my whole life time is a huge garage. So I can park my series of Porches and other valuable cars. Secondly, I want to create my own Japanese type hot spring. This is because I enjoy taking bath very much, but also want to provide my future child a joy in taking bath. Next to the hot spring, I want a built in house theatre with AWESOME Bang & Olufsen speakers and cozy couches. Thirdly, I want a music room where I can chill and listen to classic music (Irony I know that) and read a book. Lastly, I want to build a barbecue site with a large swimming pool, so I can have a weekly party with my friends or relatives. Our house use to have a swimming pool with a nice fountain, but I never had a chance to play in it because of my sister almost drowning to death when I was one. (STUPID). Oh I almost forgot a bar; I want a nice bar in my basement, not that I enjoy drinking alcohols but to show off to my male friends that I have a nice bar.

The last thing that I want to or will do if I am a billionaire is to buy my dead a Rolls Royce with driver, and buy my mom an Ashton Martin Vanquish. I don’t really have a reason for buying cars to my parent maybe because I love them. In addition, I am going to buy many buildings so I still have a steady income. This is mainly because I don’t want to leave my son or daughter with no money when I die.

mama and daddy when they were 22

Little Gossip About my Sisters

Sister: “a female offspring having both parents in common with another offspring” is the dictionary definition of a sister. However, my definition of Sister is different. Sister: “someone in your family who is mentally unstable and hates his little brother.” At least I had this notion for a very long period of time. Of course I didn’t hate my sister from the first time, but after my baby brain started to adapt a very unique function “Memory”; I don’t remember a single pleasant memory of my sisters.

Golf clubs, toy sword, and scale are few of the many things that my sisters use to hit me with. The fight between my sisters and I was way beyond the common sense. I am incredibly thankful to God that my brain is still functioning right. My sisters are six-years older than me and they are now both graduated from college. (Now you might be wondering why my sister’s ages are same. For your information, I have twin sisters.) They were both a model at my age and lived a fantastic life until now. This is because they never had sisters like them. My youth was very harsh and every single day was a survival to me. A long time ago when my sisters weighed 70kg; they enjoyed wrestling with their little 18kg brother. Although 18kg brother didn’t really like wrestling he had no choice. It was a really devastating experience for me to wrestle with total 140kg of meat chunk, but because of the fact that I am a boy, I had to fight for my dignity. This is one reason why I had several religions in my youth because I would try every religion to keep those meat chunks coming near me.

The fight was not only the problem between those meat chunks and I. One of the many problems that I had to face was an order. One time, my sisters called me from the 4^th floor using phone and told me that they have a problem. I was in the basement helping my father to wash his car, but I had to go all the way up to 4^th floor because those meat chunks will hit me with anything hard until death. I ran up the stairs and asked my sisters if everything was okay. They smiled toward me and pointed toward the remoter controller that was 10-inch away from them and asked me to pick it up. I really knew that fat meat chunks didn’t want to move, but I thought calling a little brother from the basement floor to pick up the remote was madness. However, I just didn’t want to create any other conflicts with those meat chunks; I nicely handed them the remote.

I am now 18 years old and weigh 70kg, and I am very positive that I can win in any fight with my sisters. However, they are now 24 and weigh about 45kg. The time has flown away and everything has changed. I deeply think that I should somehow get my long time revenge at them. But in other hand, if I decide to take an advantage of being bigger, what is the difference between me and my sisters? My sisters know that they never been a nice sister to me, and I know that they are regretting their actions. This was enough for me. I once got caught from my dad trying to drive my dad’s car. My father was very unhappy about my action and tried to punish me. However, my sisters persuaded him not too. From this single experience, now I know that they don’t really hate me but care for me. Maybe I should rephrase my definition of Sister: “a family member who is mentally unstable, but someone who will always be on his little brother’s side no matter what he did.”

A CAR FOR ME?

BMW, Mercedez Benz, and Audi are some typical cars that people widely know about, but not many people know about Infiniti. Infiniti is a sub-brand car of Japanese brand Nissan. People might have misunderstood the meaning of sub-brand which has a definition of “under.” However, it is not true just like Lexus and Toyota; Infiniti is the upgrade version of Nissan. Majority of people have a stereotypical notion about Japanese cars that they are fancy but light. In this sentence, light doesn’t mean the mass of the car, but it means that the car is easily broken. Not too long ago Toyota suffered a massive recall of the car where people got an impression that Japanese car is fragile. However, that is not true, if people can see the larger picture. Toyota allowed recall because they are highly confident about their brand image, and they will do anything to reserve it. In addition, there is no way of having a good brand image unless they make a good car.

Not too long ago I encountered this fascinating car through a commercial. At first, I got an impression that Infiniti should be one of the European cars. I was looking forward to buy a car in Saipan so I decided to use a naver car smart finder to search for affordable cars. I entered the page and scrolled down the list. “Ohs and wows” filled the room as I looked at the cars with a big smile on my face. I remember my first time buying a cell phone and I thought this should be the happiest moment of my life. Well, I was naïve and only eleven-years-old. I found the same happiness just looking at the cars. Do you know the phrase “men’s best friends are dog, booze, and car”? Well now I see what they are talking about. As I was trying to shut the window off I saw the name Infiniti. I thought it wasn’t polite to just shut the window off without checking out the car that I saw in commercial, so I went in.

“Oh my gosh this is hot,” was the first sentence that I blurred out. 3.7 liters v6 engine and 333 horse power was just a start. What I found really attractive was an interior of Infiniti G37 coupe: Keyless go, smart key, Bose speaker, navigation, and rear view camera. Oh I almost forgot to tell this “AUTOMATIC SCRATCH RECOVERY.” The price of the car was also not that expensive, it was little over 40,000 dollars. I made a promise to myself right after finding out the price that I will gladly change my religion to buy this car.

I ran into my father’s room and asked him without pausing “Can you please buy me an Infiniti father?” I have never been so polite to my dad. This was my first time calling my dad abuji (father) instead of abba (dad). I also made a promise that I will start using jondetmal (honorific) to every family member including my sisters. My father looked confused about me saying such a thing because I was never a polite kid. He finally answered to my question and it was “yes.” I wanted to go back to Saipan right away and order the car, but since I was in Korea for only a week; I decided to kill the massive joy in my heart and wait. Now I’m in Saipan looking for Infiniti; I have never been this happy.

The Longest Day of My Life

Fresh air, warm sunlight, and gentle breeze welcomed me as I stepped out from Haneda airport. The scene I saw many times before seemed very special after spending six-month in Saipan, a very special island located in Northern Mariana Island. It is not an exaggeration to say that I was detached from technology for six-month. I was speechless to see so much technology at once suddenly. Even though I was half Japanese myself, I felt very awkward talking to Japanese, who lived their whole life in the city with leading technology. I checked all my belongings and caught a taxi. I stuck my head out the window checking the humongous sky scrapers with colorful neon lights all the way to Nobribetsu, where ryokan (Japanese inn) is very famous.

This was my first time traveling alone to Japan, and spending a night of my own. It was a very cool experience, but on the other hand, I felt super nervous about everything that is surrounding me. I had to plan my own schedule: what to eat, where to go, and what to do. So I came to conclusion to spend a night in ryokan, where food, shelter, and recreation are served. Choosing which ryokan to stay wasn’t that hard because I already checked via internet. I decided to stay in Noguchi, a ryokan that just went through a huge renovation.

Old lady wearing kimono greeted me with warm smile and led me to my room. One thing that caught my eye was an escalator. It was rather unusual for ryokan to have an escalator because most of the ryokans aim for a traditional Japanese inn. My room door was also very similar to other hotel room doors. I opened the door and turned on the light. 52inch Flat plasma tv, Bose speaker, laptop, and queen sized bed filled the room, but the most surprising thing was an individual hot spring. I have always dreamed of having my own little hot spring and there it was. I stripped faster than any other time and plunged myself into the hot spring. After 30min of nice and hot bath, I came out wearing a yukata (traditional cloth) to eat kaiseki, a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. It was kind of freaky that someone just came in to my room and set a perfect dinner and left, but I was too hungry to think about anything.

After dinner, I decide to tour the ryokan. I took an unusual escalator down to the basement floor. There I saw another huge hot spring, and since I wanted to bring the 100% out from this travel I ran inside the hot spring not noticing the small memo that was posted on the board. The larger hot spring was placed outside. After 5min people start to came in speaking Japanese. There was nothing unusual about naked people walking in but, this time was more than unusual. It wasn’t a man, monkey or other animal; it was bunch of old women. I ran inside a little bush to hide myself before they scream. Now you might think that this is ordinary in Japan, but time has flown and things have changed. I seriously thought they came into the wrong side, but I was wrong. The very special aspect about this ryokan is that after 5pm they change the side of the hot spring so both genders can enjoy different kind of hot spring.

I decided to wait until they leave, but I wasn’t the only one who wanted to bring 100% out of this ryokan. They start to talk about celebrities and Korean drama Iris. Suddenly one woman asked the others, “What is Iris?” one kind woman insisted that she wants to tell this woman a brief summary of Iris, and I’m telling you Iris is a very complicated drama. They spent an hour talking about the drama not knowing that I was hiding behind the bush. I even thought about putting a towel over my face and run out the door. However, I was just not brave enough to do it. So I waited another 10min wishing for them to leave. They finally stood up and went out the door. I waited another 5min just to give them enough time to change however, not knowing that women enjoy talking while they are changing cloth. They finally saw me, but their reaction was nothing close to what I thought it would be. They were surprised but they gently asked me if I didn’t see the note on the board. They kindly went inside the hot spring again so that I could change my cloth. This was my first time traveling alone and I encountered a lot of incidents, but one of the most memorable one.