Last week, I was finally able to get out of New York for a bit and went on a real vacation!

I went to Jamaica for a few days with my friends Judy and Junho, and oh what a blast it was. This was the first time all three of us had traveled together. We arrived at a resort at Montego Bay and basically just chilled out for four days with lots of swimming and drinking of Red Stripe. 

And here are some pictures from the trip. I've clearly posted way too many of them.

Korean magazines are expensive to buy in NYC. 

While I absolutely love magazines and have been obsessed with them my entire life, paying close to $40 at the only Korean bookstore on 32nd Street to get a copy of the September issue of Vogue Korea seems a bit excessive. That's why when my friend got her dad to bring me back a copy from his travels, I was really excited and happy. Thanks again, Judy!

It doesn't matter that I can't read or understand any of the articles, but there's something about Korean magazines that I really love and appreciate. Their paper stock, always massive size and top notch level of quality just makes them a lot of fun to flip through.

And below is my favorite editorial from September issue of Vogue Korea. Kyung-Ah noona looks amazing. 

A September stroll in SoHo.

Sometimes, I just need to turn the television off and step away from the screen.

I spent most of August just bumming at home, doing nothing but plopping myself on the couch for hours or sometimes days on end. I had been working a bit much since the spring, and wanted to take the month of August to just chill out a little. Waiting tables on top of being at my regular office-hours job just ended up being way too much face time with people, so it was nice to take a short break from such a busy schedule. Walking home around 5 to go zone out on the tv all night for an entire month was pure bliss. To do absolutely nothing until the next morning just to go home at 5 later that day to do the same thing again, it was something nice to look forward to. Watching all that television though did make me see that there's a difference between watching a show you like, and flipping through hours and channels of inane programming, which ultimately does get tiresome. I have to say that while relaxing was nice, trying to be productive just makes more sense. There's stuff I know I should be doing.

With Labor Day now behind us, the summer is over. And it's time to get back into work mode and stop doing things that will ultimately end up being pointless.

I've come to realize some things recently, and I really need to break out of my patterns. Trying new things and meeting new people wouldn't hurt.

FOCUS.

Thank you to Gwiran Noona for the package of goodies from Seoul.

"And then the Walkman made every block your own movie."

From the article, Heaven's Gait: What We Do When We walk, written by Adam Gopnik in the September 1, 2014 issue of The New Yorker.

Tonight is such a memorable night.

Good can come from unfortunate events---and I'm grateful for that.

"So I take one look in the mirror and I say to myself,
'Baby girl, you can't survive like this.'"

From the song Jealous by Beyoncé.

That's not real. It doesn't exist.

The view from my block on a beautiful August evening. 

"In a Bygone Hollywood, She Purred Every Word."

The title of an August 12, 2014 New York Time article written by Enid Nemy.

Woah, what a beautiful title. And rest in peace to both Lauren Bacall and Robbin Williams, both such losses to American film and culture.

"Turn down for what?!"

From the song Turn Down For What by DJ Snake & Lil John,.

They're all distractions...

It's like you tapping away on the keys of your keyboard. But just because it sounds like you're getting work done, it doesn't mean anything.

Growing up, I used to loathe hot weather because I sweat so easily. But after 2 years of living in Bangkok, New York's summer is a warm welcome of heat.

It's so nice to just walk to the West Side by the Hudson River and chill out alone after work.

"There are more than 3.4 million New York driver's licenses on file in the five boroughs, but the city is home to a surprising number of capable professionals, precocious 20-somethings and settled 50-somethings alike who can't do what the average 16-year-old in the Great Plains does daily. They cannot, or do not, drive."

From the August 6, 2014 New York Times article, For Nondrivers, a Summer Stuck in the Passenger Seat, written by Mathew Schneier.