December 31, 2012.

There is one thing I wish for the upcoming year:
I hope to keep embracing my true colour and not be afraid to expose it to others.

I know this would be the only way to make myself happy and live life to my full potential.

Museum of Modern Art.

City Air.

6th Avenue from 49th -  I always end up in this city for every Christmas holidays.

Northeast Corridor.

December 28, 2012.

Some of my favourite films include Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006), Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008), and Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010).

Watching the first season of Dexter made me realized the common motif of those films: There is no distinctive boundary between good and evil; a person is bound to struggle through moral dilemma and project imperfection.

Dexter Morgan's effort to be normal and abide moral principles. Harvey Dent, the white knight of Gotham who eventually becomes a two-face. Undercover identity of the good cop and the bad cop. Nina's alteration followed by the unleash of her emotional control. These characters in the movies and TV show have shown the very human nature beneath their skin and intrigued my thoughts.

-

In one of the episodes, Dexter says the following monologue, which I'm carefully guessing the founding idea of the show: "Everyone hides who they are at least some of the time. Sometimes you bury that part of yourself so deeply you have to be reminded it's even there at all. And Sometimes you just want to forget who you are altogether."

Dexter is unique own its way; It's funny. It's a thriller. It's dangerous.

Christmas

Rayban Wayfarer.

Hey- I've reached the point where I could spend that amount of money to get a pair of Rayban (:

At least I bought it from Amazon.com where the product was much cheaper and no tax was applied.

Philadelphia 30th Street Station.

Megabus.

Toronto to Philadelphia (22nd 7:45PM to 23rd 8:00AM)

Met a research student from Stuttgart who works in a bio lab of the university. 

Good things come when you least expect them. 

December 22, 2012.

All my exams are now over. Heading to Princeton, NJ tonight!

December 18, 2012.

Scattered thoughts. Muted feelings.

December 7, 2012.

Wrote my Chemistry final today. Came back home exhausted, with a bit of hope that I might have a whole evening to relax. Then, I found out that one of my friends from Korean elementary school added me to the facebook group for the graduation class of 2006.

It's such a weird thing- seeing all these familiar faces that are so different from what I last remember. Some of the wall posts show how most of them are still living in the same neighbourhood. This isn't so surprising as my family in Seoul still lives there.

Going through the members list, I was surprised to see how people changed over time (Here I am, still judging others by their facebook) and also what their most recent 'title' was. Although many of them still had their high school name, I couldn't help but noticing so many names of good, competitive universities in Korea and different part of the world; includes the ivy leagues and Northeastern liberal colleges. Yes, I have to admit that I became little jealous.

I don't know. It kind of made me wonder where I stand and what my life would've been like if I didn't leave Seoul or took any different path in the past. Is Toronto where I really wanted to be? My life has gone through so many abrupt and radical changes that I can't even guess the possible outcome of any of them, but the one I'm in. Jealousy is such a dangerous thing- it makes me feel like I have achieved absolutely nothing in my life. And I somehow believe in that tonight.


Alas. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Avenue Road and Bloor Street.

Gallery of Gems and Minerals.

This place actually makes sense now. I couldn't believe how blinded I was from all these beauties (:

What's better than visiting Royal Ontario Museum with a friend with same interest? Thanks for its free admission program for university students on tuesdays, my friend and I spent nearly 2 hours going through this single gallery.

Coffee.

When I was young, I couldn't understand why people would pay to deal with the bitterness.

Now, I feel the people who start their day with morning dew from the coffeemakers.

EESB04 Discharge Measurement.

There is no fieldwork requirement for the Principles of Hydrology course, but our professor decided to take the class down to the valley during the last lecture. The goal was to gather streamflow data with a current-meter, and use them to calculate the discharge rate by using velocity-area method.

Tom, one of the technicians of the department, 

and Professor Mitchell, whom I had EESA01 and EESB04 with.

U.S. Geological Survey website gives a good explanation and a diagram on how the streamflow is measured: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/streamflow2.html The same method of cross-sectional discharge measurement has been applied to measure the velocity of the streamflow of Highland Creek. The calculation based on measurement has given us the value of 0.48 cubic meters per second, compared to the 0.39 cubic meters per second, the data from the Water Survey of Canada:

I wonder if there is another field like Geoscience- very fundamental in academic nature (what could be other than studying mother Earth?) and yet so practical and activity based. People in this field are the one that can truly take the benefits of spending their time in a lab/office and also get paid to do these extraordinary activities in the field. I wonder if this is something I've thought about when I was young.

New Phone.

I was anxiously waiting for the Nexus 4 to get restocked, then my friend gave me an offer I couldn't resist.

$340 for a mint conditioned- factory unlocked iPhone 4S 32gb. This seemed like a pretty good deal whatnot.

I've been using second-hand iPhone 3G since 2009 and desperately needed a new phone that functions (at least working home button or earphone jack- which didn't work since this spring). I also needed a new phone that stays fit in my pocket and be able to stick with me for long time. I guess this one will be my new partner for upcoming years.

-

I was hoping to move away from the iPhone's high-end price and its oppressed iOS, but ironically I'm back to here. I hope I don't end up locking myself into the Apple Inc. ecosystem just like what this Guardian UK article is referring to. In the mean time, I'm enjoying what this little thing can offer- this thing can wirelessly sync this with the iTunes on my Macbook and send free iMessages to my friends!

Season's Greetings.

Distillery District.

I love Victorian architecture, good urban renewal projects, concept of live-work-play neighbourhood.

It was only matter of time to find out about the Distillery District beside the Don River. 

It's hard to believe how well these architectures from 1860s are preserved. The Gooderham and Worts Distillery, what used to be the largest distillery in the world has now became the new neighbourhood with high rise condos and places where artists, artisans, entrepreneurs, young professionals can come together. This isn't just another ground that has been restored to become a 'historical district' or 'pioneer village'. It's a work of planning that combined the memory of past time and the need of modern inhabitants. Such a neat place that makes you want to live in.

The Starry Night.

November 17, 2012.

- It still feels like September for me but I already saw Christmas decoration coming up in the mall. It must've been those time loops you go through while preparing and writing for midterms. Now that it's passing through mid-November time of the year, I can already see the first semester coming to an end and professors appealing (not begging) for a good course evaluation. It's still hard to believe that I will write a final exam in only 20 days though.

- Apparently my TD bank account has been automatically switched from Youth to a regular service as I turned 19. Thanks for the no-heads up, I got charged with extra $30 on debit transaction fee (I make a lot of small purchases i.e. coffee) and $10.95 of monthly fee in October.... Oh God Why. I personally think providing good plans for youths and university students is an easy way to get a life-long customer, but Toronto Dominion sees it otherwise. On the other side, it seems CIBC offers no monthly fee, no transaction limit plan for university students! Way to go, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce!

- I've been looking to get a new phone and I finally set my heart to the Google Nexus 4. It's an Android phone with top-notch techy specification. More importantly, it's a kind of phone that can be directly purchased from Google Store (and it's dirt cheap!) and doesn't require term contracts or need for overpriced data plans. Since I don't stay in one place for very long time, I figured this kind of phone with boundless freedom is what I need (Not in terms of contracts and country lock, but also about iOS too... yes, I'm looking at you iPhone). The only problem is that it got all sold out within 10 minutes on the release date and I need to wait a couple of more weeks.

- There is one big thing I learned from working in the office and talking with co-workers last summer: Although willing to work in the office at young age is good, I will never have this opportunity of having long summer breaks in the future- and I should take the advantage of when I can. So, I've been currently working on a plan to take a journey to this distant but fascinating country (I can't tell you where at the moment) with two great friends I met in the campus. It's hard to tell you now whether how much progress has been made for this project, but it will come in time.

----


- 아직도 새 학기가 시작된지 얼마 안된거같은데 벌써 크리스장식들이 설치되고있는걸 보면 중간고사 기간동안 시간이 얼마나 빨리갔는지 알 수 있다. 중간고사는 방금 막 끝났는데 왜 기말이 20일밖에 안남은건지?

- 만19세가 되니깐 청소년으로 등록되어있던 은행계좌가 일반으로 전환되었다. 이 사실을 모른체 데빗카드로 계속 긁고다녔더니 무려 30불이나 수수료가 나오고 10.95불을 월 계좌 사용료로 내는 불상사가 발생하였다 아놔 ㅠ

- 새 핸드폰을 사려고 계속 찾아봐왔는데 넥서스4만큼 내 요구에 맞는게 없는거같다. 비싸지 않은가격에 성능은 아이폰5이랑 갤럭시S3와 동급이고 통신사/국가 언락되었다는 사실이 좋은거같다. 개인적인 사정상 한곳에 오랫동안 있지 못하는데 장기계약이 없는게 있는것보다 훨씬 편하다. 출시일날 10분안에 다팔리는바람에 2주정도 기다려야된다 ㅠ

- 작년 여름에 사무실에서 일하면서 느끼고 사람들과 대화하면서 알게된게있는데, 어렸을때 다양한 경험을 해야된다는것이다. 이 말을 듣고 요번여름은 다르게 보내고싶다는 생각을 해왔고 지금은 대학교 친구 2명과 한달동안 타지에서 여름을 보낼 구상을 하고있다. 아직 부모님과 얘기도 안했고 어느 나라인지도 밝히기가 좀 그렇지만, 곧 이 아이디어에 대해 진전이 있고 자세한 계획을 여기 적을 수 있을꺼같다.

Gooderham Building.

49 Wellington Street East - Also known as the Flatiron building of Toronto.

"The Gooderham Building is the focal point of one of Toronto's most iconic vistas: looking west down Front Street towards the building's prominent rounded cornder, framed on the sides b the heritage commerical blocks along Front Street, and with the skycrapers of the Financial District towering in the background."

St.Claire West Station.

November 12, 2012.

Once in a while, I hope someone could tell me that I'm on the right tracks on things.
Would that be too much to ask? (:

가끔은 누군가가 나에게 다가와서는, 내가 가는 방향이 옳은거라고 확신을 해줬으면 하는 상상을한다.
너무 많은걸 바라는건가? (:

November 9, 2012.

@ Toronto Coach Terminal (Bay and Dundas West St.)

I wonder what happens if all these wifi cause conflicts to each other.

It's good that our eyes can only observe visible light.

FedEx International Priority™

Toronto to Seoul, Guaranteed delivery within three business days.

I've had three sheets of documents that couldn't wait nor handled by regular Canada post service.

These documents will literally change my identity and influence the course of my future (:

November 8, 2012.

I am thankful that I have the ability to appreciate sunsets.

Queen and Bay Street.

Starbucks in front of the Old Cityhall.

Kennedy Station- Westbound.

Subway tunnels are too fascinating.

November 1, 2012.

The busiest day of a week is Wednesday- especially when there is a bi-weekly Biology lab plus the regular schedule.

I want to note here that I've proudly survived the followings today (Oct.31st):
6 hours of lectures
3 hours of Biology lab
3 hours of commuting
* Under the condition of sleeping 3 hours in the previous day

-

I believe that pulling an all nighter is not really a sustainable- nor desirable thing to do; It's based on three reasons: First, it will create chaos on your biological rhythm. Second, it shows the lack of time management skill. Third, the productivity is highly inefficient.

Unfortunately I had to stay up all night two days in a row to remedy my priority on midterms over assignment in the past week. Last night, or perhaps today's mission was to hand in the hydrology assignment on time with my friend. The work was on making areal estimation of precipitation through arithmetic, isohyets, and thiessen polygon method- which didn't really require much intuitive thinkings but required long time of drawing lines, calculation, and counting. Although I jeopardized my thursday condition- I'm just happy that I put my best effort on the assignment in times of challenge.

Oh god, that feeling when you are about to wrap up your work of the night and early risers are coming in to study.


한국어 요약본: 1) 수요일날 하루동안 강의 6시간, 생물 랩세션 3시간,  통근 3시간이라는 스케쥴을 소화했습니다ㅠㅠ  2) 목요일날 오전에 제출해야되는 수문학 과제를 작성하느랴 친구와 밤을 셌습니다. 모든일을 마치고 가벼운 마음으로 정리를 하려는데 아침에 등교하는 사람들을 보니깐 기분이 묘하네요.

Jungle Drum.

Emiliana Torrini - Jungle Drum (2009)

Hey, I'm in love. My fingers keep on clicking to the beating of my heart.

Hey, I can't stop my feet. Ebony and Ivory and dancing in the street.

Hey, it's 'cause of you. The world is in a crazy, hazy hue.

My heart is beating like a jungle drum- rukutumtumtumtum

My heart is beating like a jungle drum- rukutumtumtumtum

My heart is beating like a jungle druuumm- :D

-

There is no division between a night and a day or a weekday and a weekend, but I'm still happy.

I really enjoy learning more and more each day and gaining expertise in the field of interest.

This, turns out to be, a really good privilege for being young and curious minded!

New friends, thoughts on future job, academic interest, courage, plans for summer, etc.

The brightness of this catchy tune reflects my beating heartbeats full of hope. 

Delissio Pizza.

This is my best 'I-don't-wanna-cook-tonight' meal option (along with a classic subway foot long).

So far, I've tried many flavours including 'Deluxe' ' Pepperoni' '4 Cheese' 'Spicy Chicken Supreme' 'Canadian' 'Bacon Cheeseburger' and 'Buffalo Chicken with Frank's RedHot Sauce'. Variety is the spices of life indeed (:

To be honest, I don't cook or spend much time on grocery shopping as I did in the first year. Considering the benefit of not having to spend so much time or effort on preparation, it's not such a bad option to eat on campus. Plus, it's instantly available on the spot and at least moderate food taste is guaranteed

냉동피자만큼 밥 해먹기 귀찮을때 가장 먹기 쉬운게 없는거같다. 더이상 기숙사에서 살지않으니깐 캠퍼스에 있을때도 집에오는것보다 그냥 사먹게되는 경우가 많아진거같다. 지금까지는 사먹는 가격이 비싸다고 느껴졌는데 딱히 요리 하는걸 즐기는게 아니면 (1학년때는 실제로 좋아했다) 시간절약을 위해 사먹는것도 나쁘지 않은것같다. 

October 20, 2012.

Past week has been days and nights of madness between assignments, midterms, and lectures.

Looking back now on this Saturday evening, I'm kind of surprised that I had the capacity go through them all (...I did break a sweat time to time though). This has been a wake-up call for the increasing amount of workload and need for time management.

Shivering while thinking about the chemistry midterm that I had only this afternoon, I'm just glad I can stay in my room watching an episode of the Episodes.

-

이번주는 과제에, 중간고사에, 강의에, 모든것이 겹쳐서 밤낮으로 정신이 없었다.

다행히도 오늘 오후에 화학시험이 끝나서 지금은 쉴 수 있는데 시험이 쉽지 않아서 찝찝한 마음이 약간 남아있다. 미숙한 판단으로 열화학 (Thermochemistry) 부분 공부를 덜 했는데 하필 문제들이 거기서 많이나왔다- 아놔... 아무튼 늘어난 공부량과 시간관리의 중요성을 몸소 느끼게 해준 날들이였다.

최근에 보기 시작한 프로그램중에 BBC에서 하는 '에피소드'라는 시트콤이 있는데. 프렌즈에 나온 '멧 라블랑'이 주인공으로 나온다는 점과 영국 코미디 특유의 비꼬는듯함을(sarcasm) 잘 표현한거같아서 흥미롭게 보고있다.

October 18, 2012.

New poster on the wall: 'Keep Calm and Carry On'

This poster has become well known on internet/design communities in recent years but apparently its history goes back to the year of 1939, before the imminence of the war. It was originally designed by the British Ministry of Information to raise the morale of the British public in the event of a Nazi invasion.

As the Economist puts it, "(the poster) taps directly into the country's mythic image of itself: unshowily brave and just a little stiff, brewing tea as the bombs fall."

I intentionally posted it on the door, so that it constantly reminds me of the message as I walk out to the world. 

160 College Street.

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto

 One of the coolest architecture spots on the campus

October 17, 2012.

Continuous days of late night studying and early morning coffee.
아침 커피로 시작되서 밤늦게까지 공부하는 날들의 연속.

American Football.

Montreal Alouettes (24) at Toronto Argonauts (12)

Canadian Football League game at the Rogers Centre

Have no ideas about the sports + A free ticket and a shirt form the varsity team promotion. 

Football seemed like a very male-oriented sports- cheerleaders, buffs, tackle, chase, etc

Bloor-Danforth Line.

It's a bit unfortunate how old these infrastructures in Toronto are

and how all of them have same ill-looking, greenish platforms with minimized facilities.

I'm so afraid to stand in front of the yellow line when the train rushes in- I'm not even kidding!

Union Subway Station Construction.

Moat level entrance from the Union Station to the Union Subway Station. 

"Union Station is the busiest passenger transportation facility in Canada, serving approximately 250,000 passengers each day. By adding a second subway platform and expanding the concourse to include a single TTC fare-paid area and pedestrian by-pass routes, the TTC will reduce overcrowding and improve passenger circulation.

The Union Station Second Subway Platform and Concourse Improvements Project is one of Waterfront Toronto's (WT) priority projects. The Toronto Transit Commission is the proponent of this project and has managed the planning, design and now the construction of the project."

Argo (2012).

Yeah it's been a while since I've seen a movie in a theatre, but this one somehow got my attention like the way King's Speech did to me back in 2010. As today marks the second day of its opening, I couldn't resist not seeing it- and what a fantastic film it turned out to be!

Putting all the impression into one sentence: Argo was a flawless historical film with tight-knit screen play and impressive cinematography. Although most viewers probably knew how the story was going to end in the end (Since it was based on a real historical event), the director Ben Affleck did such a great job on sending the viewers into the world of late 1970s and put them right in the middle of the tension of Iranian revolution.

I've been always interested in Ben Affleck's work since 'the Town' and this film allowed me to see his potential to bring fresh perspective on real life events- finally something beyond of Boston or street crime. His idea beneath the Iranian embassy hostage crisis, Carter administration, and big-shot hollywood have came visually vivid and thought intriguing manner.

Argo was an excellent film overall. I won't be surprise if this movie gets nominated for the upcoming 85th Academy Award. "Argo Fu** Yourself"- I will never forget this quote from the movie.

Fall Into Nature.

A family walk along the Nassagaweya Canyon- Crawford Lake Conservation Area

Part of the Niagara Escarpment with its distinct dolostone landscape

Thanksgiving Dinner.

Home away from home- thanksgiving dinner with my aunt's family in Guelph, ON

Moosehead Lager.

Brewed and Bottled by Moosehead Breweries Limited, 

Canada's Oldest Independent Brewery located in Saint John, New Brunswick

Someone should've had really warned me that it's not sane to carry 28 bottles of beer...

...but 5 bucks off the regular price seems like a too good deal to be missed. 

Cheltenham Badlands.

Some geologists and ecologists now believe that we have entered the new geological era called 'Anthroposcene'- due to the human activities causing significant impact on the Earth's ecosystem. It is no doubt that human are the major cause to alter the environment; Canals can be built in few years where as rivers takes hundreds to be formed and the new land can be easily created by relocating debris into an ocean.

This location is not really an exotic scenery of nature, but rather the evidence of detrimental anthropogenic influence on nature. In the pre-1930s era, this land used to be part of a farm that grows crops. However, too much usage of synthetic fertilizer has caused the positive feedback of soil erosion and underlying Queenston shale has been exposed. The formation is red in colour due to exessive iron oxide deposits.

일부 지질학자들과 생태학자들은 인간이 지구 생태계에 미치는 영향이 증가함에 따라 새로운 지질연대기에 들어섰다고 생각한다. 몇백년이 걸리던 강의 생성과정은 인간의 힘으로 의해 몇달안으로 사라질 수 있고, 기계의 힘을 빌려 물이없는 육지에 수로를 낼 수 도 있다. 인간은, 경제적 필요성이 존재하면 바다를 간척해서 새로운 땅도 만들어낼 수 있는, 신적인 능력을 가졌다.

사진에 보이는 모습은 자연의 이국적이고 경의로운 모습과는 다소 거리가 먼, 인간의 무분별한 생태계 개발의 결과물이다. 이 곳은 원래 농작물을 기르던 농장이였으나 지나친 화학농약의 사용으로 인해 토양침식을 가속하였고 퀸스턴 셰일층이 노출되었다. 이 지층이 유난히 빨간색인 이유는 산화철(iron oxide)이 공기와 닿아 화학반응을 이르키기 때문이다. 

Bruce Peninsula National Park.

Coast of Georgian Bay- Tobermory, Ontario.

One of the core sites of the UNESCO's Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve.

Look at these straight-cut joints of dolostones and the clear- emerald colour of the lake.

I've never thought there could be such a place in Ontario.

MS Chi-Cheemaun.

Aboard MS Chi-Cheemaun (meaning 'big canoe' in Ojibwe language)

 Heading South Baymouth from Tobermory through the edge of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

-

This particular scenery reminded me of the paint called 'To Prince Edward Island' by a Canadian wartime painter Alex Colville. I remember just standing infront of this work hanging in the National Gallery of Canada and stayed in awe for its unique colour contrast and composition. 

Espanola, Ontario.

Looking for the sedimentary intrusion at the Clear Lake.

There ain't no major like Environmental Geoscience (: