Things That I Find Romantic

Most people will think the word 'romantic' as an adjective. Well, it is. And if it is described as a noun, you will get words like 'flowers', 'chocolates', 'large teddy bear', 'hugs and kisses', 'candlelit dinner', or a simple awful stuff like 'matching mugs'. Maybe it's just my style of relationships, but I don't find those things as close as the word 'romantic'. I don't even text good mornings or good nights, or asking what's up, To me, romantic is the ideal view on how I see life, finding that secret things that make me feel...romantic. Sure, it may or may not involve sentimental acts and I'm not saying I'm not romantic. Scorpios are born to be peculiarly romantic, whether it is toward a living breathing thing or merely a simple cup they bought during Euro 2004. 

So, I made my own list of things that I find romantic, in my own way. The first 10 is my first discover, and I wrote them down on my notebook back in 2012.

1. Rows of empty seats in a stadium or cinema, alone or with someone to talk about the universe.
2. A nice 80s songs playlist that makes me want to date 80s Kevin Bacon.
3. Ice skating before 10 am, or right after the ice is cleaned.
4. Extending hand to touch the rainfall, in moving vehicles.
5. Dimly lit bedroom and earthy scent candles.
6. Galleries and museums. Just because.
7. Making a playlist/mixtape for someone. In emotional orders.
8. How alarm works to wake me up early in the morning.
9. Socks that match perfectly (and look good) with my old shoes.
10. The process of mixing three or more paints to create that exact one colour.
11. Have someone doodling on your skin using black sharpies.
12. That one barista who remembers I don't drink coffee.
13. Watching films that mostly come with great soundtracks, peculiar relationships, beautiful cinematography and cool shoes, projected to bedroom ceiling.
14. Knowing someone recalls lines from Lord of the Rings, and prefers Glorfindel to carry Frodo instead of Arwen in the film, just like in the book.
15. People who still use old phones (like me).
16. The process of adjusting camera zoom lens to capture the image, and the sound of shutter release button on cameras.
17. A road trip out of the city. Stopping by small towns that barely know what a hoverboard is.
18. Finding songs that have lyrics as if they were written for you.
19. Walking into secondhand bookstores/record stores.
20. My iPod. Always have the perfect shuffle based on my moods.
21. Fresh physical music albums that I just bought.
22. Busy people in subways.
23. Meaningful raps with powerful voices.
24. Alleys and small insignificant roads, under sunlight or slight snow.
25. Have someone covering you a blanket when you're asleep.
26. Long hot showers. Alone. With my shower playlist.
27. The airports. I don't know, I just love seeing busy people here and there out and about.
28. Over-sized clothing. It feels like it's not mine but it's mine or it's mine but it isn't. And the empty areas that doesn't even touch your skin.
29. My grandfather's old film cameras that he used to bring around, which still have the payment receipts back in late 80s to early 90s, and its boxes along with the manual.
30. Printed photos (or polaroids) with handwritten side notes behind/on them.
31. Bookmarks that are not exactly bookmarks (receipts, mini flyers, post-its, etc.).
32. Shoulder kisses.
33. When someone holds the door for you.
34. How disco ball reflects an empty dark room, with Lana Del Rey songs in the background.
35. House furniture, covered in white in a lifeless room.
36. Ice lollies in front of ferris wheel in summer nights.
37. When someone apologize first before you even notice what they have done wrong.
38. How each houses or families have different scents. Not the laundry, not the foods, it just feels different every visits.
39. Side notes left on old books. Curious as to what kind of pen they used, what was the weather like, what was it like to not have a mobile phone. Or did they even read the message.
40. When someone makes a tea for you. On a bad day.
41. Handwritten letters.
42. How Anakin wants to be perfect and powerful so he can protect everyone he loves and not being weak to the extent that even if he has to turn into darkness and become Vader.
43. White sheets, socks, cereal in bed, and cartoon marathons. My preferences are We Bare Bears, Futurama, Totally Spies, Kim Possible, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Scooby Doo, Flintstones ...I'm just a Cartoon Network trash, ain't I?
44. Observing snacks and drinks in convenient stores. I don't snack regularly.
45. A room with open windows and warm sunlight shines through, then lay my head on an empty table, extending my hand to bathe in sunlight. I can see the dust flying around but it's okay.
46. Walking alone inside supermarkets with that certain playlist. Or audio books. 
47. When someone gives you their raincoat bottoms in a rainy storm, just because I only wear a raincoat tops.
48. The memory of someone's laughter. How they laugh, what were they laughing about, when were they laugh like that.
49. That smile between kisses. You don't see it, you feel it.
50. That small hotel room near Gare du Nord; that small room in Yujin and Christopher's house that has a view to Namsan tower; that hotel room in London when I had a cold; that cute express hotel in Rotterdam which includes breakfast with variety of cheese where I can get extra soy milk from the kitchen; that apartment in Nanterre which will be flocked by birds when I cook, and its Sunday morning grocery market cheaper than in Paris; that hotel in Houston which have Starbucks as their free service; and that super small room in Kyoto where I almost died out of coldness.

Musicality

So I randomly came across to this web and challenged myself for those not-so-special compatibility test. It's personality based on music taste, like what I'm listening to, what kind of preferences I like. It's one of those average tests that lets you choose between options but the weight of your results actually lies behind every options. And truth be told, I'm pretty much skeptical about these kinds of tests. But since it's about music, I'm in.

The results are interesting. And surprisingly, they're mostly right about my personality. I'm mostly categorized as a liberal person, enjoy fine arts and indie/foreign films, and a creative person.

It's quite fun. Try it out here yourself if you haven't.

And as you can see, I enjoy rap and hip-hop a lot haha. I find something calming in raps, not the other way round. Folk music or jazz indeed have these vibes that makes you feel relaxed, like your problems are postponed within the hour. On the contrary to what I feel, rap/hip hop music always have strong lyrics and rappers have their own rhythms and pitches, like somehow I feel special listening to what kind of message they're trying to send across. I know you might not understand what I'm talking about, but it feels like that to me. I'm blessed with sharp ears, so I can distinct various voices if I have listened to them enough. And just like that, I can differ many rappers' voices.

Rock music will always be a part of my musical genre history. I started to like boybands when I was 5 or 6, I remembered getting two copies of Westlife albums. But when I turned 10, especially when I start to learn classical guitar, I found instruments were interesting. I remember finding Arctic Monkeys before they get super famous, before they even released their debut album. Then there were Panic at The Disco, Orson, The Servant, Franz Ferdinand, a lot more, they were in my playlist (I didn't have an iPod, instead I had this red music player with a small screen, which Dad got me from Germany if I'm not mistaken). Back when people were not used to with social media profiles, I used Myspace regularly to find new artists or just for new updates. Things like Spotify wasn't a thing back then, so I usually bought the physical albums. Mostly in cassettes, I was a 13 year old students so I had no money to buy the CD version. I carried my Sony walkman to school. It took an hour journey to go to school so I always listened to music, one artist per day. The old feeling of rewinding the tapes when you're done with one side, is hard to explain. Due to excessive listening to loud music, my eardrums were infected. It was a fun memory. Except that I got told off a lot. 

Now my musical genres are getting more varied, but I still use my old boombox to play cassettes and CDs. I subscribe to Spotify premium as well, but there's just something about collecting physical albums. My collections are not that much but they're all my selected favourites, based on the albums's songs and the albums' art. I like the feeling that I collect music but also collecting the art of the album itself. Okay, that would be all. Didn't realise I wrote this much. Have a good day!

London 2012: A Throwback

Summer 2012. Euro, bits of the Olympics, and rain *sigh*
I took my Yashica out too much and here they are. Have uploaded some on Flickr.

여행 가고싶다 ㅠㅠ

Click to see more photos.