*All photos taken and processed with an iPhone (Camera+ app).

Instead of coming up with goals or resolutions for the New Year, in November (or perhaps December) I created projects on which to focus. One of them is exploring Seoul. I bought a map for this.

But I haven’t figured out how to go about the whole thing. All I know for sure is that I’d like to explore.

Considered Methods for Exploration: throwing things at maps and going where the improvised projectiles land; using my guidebook (서울에 취하다 Mad for Seoul) to guide me; pointing to a location on a digital/subway/random Google/Naver map after spinning in circles; using a generator to select random geographic coordinate points in Seoul

A mixture of all methods sounds impractical, but fun (so I’ll probably go with that while leaning heavily towards guides).

Things to Focus on: museums, galleries, tourist attractions, festivals

Again, a mixture looks appealing.
And perhaps I’ll keep track of everything in a digital notebook courtesy of Microsoft’s OneNote.

These are some of the books I’m currently reading. They’re alright. :)

• Bambert’s Book of Missing Stories. In three words: strange and bitter.
• To Kill a Mockingbird. I’m reading this again. It won the Pulitzer Prize, ♥. I like it.
• IQ84. I have no idea because I’m moving through it at a glacial pace. I’m on page 22 of about 1,000. This is my first time reading Murakami.

So, anyway—since I read a lot and am viciously opinionated about this kind of thing, here’s a list of 10 of my favorite books. They’re not ordered. I’m also keeping my descriptions to a minimum. I don’t want this to turn into an exercise in fangirling.

From the titles above, a few things about my reading preferences become clear.

ONE.I like stories that involve writing and books. Ella Minnow Pea and Dangerous Acquaintances are epistolary novels. People of the Book is about a book as its title suggests. :P

TWO. I like confusing things. See Faulkner, Ella Minnow Pea, and 1984.

THREE. I don’t follow guidelines. I said that I would list 10 books, but Faulkner isn’t a book. Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice are also two different things. Whatever. :D

I’m contemplating using goodreads or shelfari to keep better track of what I read and when, but I’m not sure if using one of those will be worth it.

Feel free to comment with 10 of your favorite books and/or suggestions. If you suggest something, I may get to it in 5 years. 5 years is a long time, but I’ve found that I generally do get around to reading things people suggest. It just takes time. I’m interested in reading books written in French, Japanese, and Korean too. However, if you suggest one of those, the expected completion time increases to about 15 years. :) I’m busy!

Some time on Friday was spent riding, traveling roads I’ve never been, and kind of getting lost. (Getting lost is part of the fun.)

I’ve had my bike for a few months and whenever I go out I have a destination in mind, but I can’t definitively say that I’ve ever made it to one of them. Reasons for that vary. The map that I glanced at before heading out gets muddled in my mind; I get sidetracked; the sun sets and I abandon course.

2/3 in jest and 1/3 in justification of my inability to get to places I’ve designated as destinations, let me hit you up with a cliché.

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. — Greg Anderson

Journeys on my bike have taught me a lot about—you’ll never guess—photography.

First, I learned how to use my bike as a tripod. Then, I got a real tripod. My bike is always stable, but its height is fixed and its a huge fan of angles that stray fairly far from 180/0 degrees. Anyway, after acquiring my very expensive 3 legged friend, I learned how to tie it to my bike’s basket with my bike’s lock. I subsequently learned how wonderful it is. I’ve also learned a lot of technical stuff about shutter speed, aperture, noise, etc.

There are things I’m still in the process of learning, things that I haven’t quite figured out yet. For example, I haven’t mastered the technique of filming with a DSLR while riding.

Anyway, one of my frequent destinations is the top of an oversized hill. The hill intrigues me because instead of having a path to follow to the top, it has stairs. The stairs are lit. The lights change colors. It looks like an interesting place, but not quite interesting enough for me to rush over there. Who knows when (or if) I’ll actually climb those stairs? I’ve been having fun getting sidetracked so my interest in actually getting there is limited. :)