Secret Garden

Cast

• Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im (Jamie Gil)
• Hyun Bin as Kim Joo Won (Owen Kim)
• Yoon Sang Hyun as Choi Woo Young / Oska (Singer name)
• Kim Sa-rang as Yoon Seul (Sophie Yoon)
• Lee Jong Suk as Han Tae Sun
• Yoo In-na as Im Ah Young
• Lee Philip as Director Im Jong Soo
• Kim Ji Sook as Moon Yeon Hong
• Park Joon Geum as Moon Boon Hong
• Kim Sung Oh (김성오) as Secretary Kim

Secret Garden

QuickPlot: Claustrophobic Rich spoiled Captain of Industry (Kim Joo Woon) meets Orphaned poor hard working Stunt girl (Gil Ra Im). He is entranced, she is angered, he is entranced, she is annoyed, he is entranced, she is intrigued, he is disgusted, she is hurt, they drink magic flower wine, switch bodies; hilarity and drama ensues.

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I read about this drama back in 2010 when Jang Hyuk was slated as the Rich Claustrophobic Captain of Industry. There were some issues with his management company and aigooo - Hyun Bin was cast as the Rich Claustrophobic Captain of Industry. I haven’t seen enough of Hyun Bin’s work – in fact, the only other drama I saw him in was “My Name is Kim Sam Soon”, where he played Leg Wounded Rich Spoiled Captain of Industry. So sadly, it felt like I was watching the same character.

Ha Ji Won –I’ve seen her in Damo and Hwang Jini. Different characters, both fierce and striking. She impressed me with her grace and intensity. Her character Gil Rae Im started out all fierce and butchy, then turned plucky, then got all weepy and apologetic toward the end. I was a bit disappointed.

In the beginning of the series, I found much that was endearing; puzzled over her lack of social standing, money and breeding, KJW can’t stop thinking about GRI. When he walks, he imagines she’s there with him, when he’s at the opera, she’s there with him, wherever he goes, there she is, moving at his pace, just there. Gil Ra Im eventually gives in to her feelings and is willing to accept whatever spoiled Kim Joo Woon is able to give, just as he realizes that what he wants to give her is everything. It’s really very sweet.

K-drama staples – this series has ‘em. Modern-day palace machinations at the shopping center, evil mothers, scheming sisters-in-law,the white cloth of life made an appearance, oh and the sacrificial if-one-of-us-has-to-die-let-it-be-me episode. The chemistry between HB and HJW definitely kept me coming back – there were lots and lots of achy moments that made my belly flop.

Oh and Lee Phillip as Director Im Jong Soo? Wow. I had more empathy for his character quietly loving GRI. Sigh. Nice.

The odd stuff? The whole Oska hallyu singing sensation and the ruinous relationship that left him a bitter bitter player plot didn’t do it for me; and I never quite got the gay ingénue that developed feelings for him – that felt contrived. However, I did feel bad for gay ingénue leaving and having no one in the end. And was I supposed to believe that Son Ye Jin was into Im Jong Soo at the end or was she just hiring him to be a director? Didn’t get it. KJW’s mother was a monster – just a plain, evil, hateful, bitter dreadful excuse for a human being.

Hyun Bin behaving as a woman? Hilarious and adorable. Ha Ji Won acting as a man? Well, she was pretty butchy as it was – all Coffee-Princey, so not such a stretch. On reflection, the body switching thing, I think it was simply a mechanism for the sacrificial if-one-of-us-has-to-die-let-it-be-me episode and that was too bad. It could have been more. We could have seen KJW learn to have appreciation for how and why GRI lives as she does, GRI could have learned bits about KJWs crippling and heart-attack provoking claustrophobia…but maybe that was too obvious. Better we all just get awkward at work and learn that Joo Woon’s security password is 36 24 36 and that Ra Im’s roommate leaves the bathroom door open asking if it smells bad. You can’t miss with a good poop joke.

Ponder Angst – Not a lot of ponder angst. This was not a ponder-fest. There are some moments that reflected on the past, but that was all Oska’s and his woman’s and it was blessedly brief, because I didn’t care. 20 points

Love “ – “ Angles – KJW loves GRI, Oska loves whatshername, hot hot Director Im Jong Soo loved GRI, one of the other students at the Action school loved GRI, and Joo Won’s mother loved no one but herself. 16 points.

Sizzle – Ah, the sizzle. As I said, there were some sizzly moments between KJW and GRI, some aching looks from Im Jong Soo and that kept me coming back. 10 points.

Physical Intimacy – Lots of stiff kisses, wrist grabbing, hugging and a couple awkward cappuccino lip locks. The payoff kiss at the Christmas party went on too long and seemed a little, I don’t know, slick somehow. I wanted to give them a hanky to wipe off their faces. 10 points.

Tragic Heartwrenching Disease and/or Character Death from Same – There was no death from disease. GRI’s dad dies in a heroic flashy elevator car of death, and Joo Woon has a claustrophobia induced fainting spell. GRI is brain dead for a little while, but that all gets fixed. I’ll give it 10 points for Dad’s fiery fireman death.

Going to the Beach – Nothing in the bonus round. Too bad mom didn’t do us all a favor and smother herself in all that organza she wore. Hag.

So, 71 on the e-meter. It wasn’t a bad series, but I won’t be watching it again. The last 5 episodes or so felt rushed and not really in concert with the whole. The editing seemed sloppy and some of the story lines were dropped without any explanation. The effort to pull it all together in the last quarter of the series with Ah Young’s predictive dreams was lame.

When the squealing charm of Hyun Bin acting like a girl wore off, I wondered how the series would have been different had Joo Woon been played by Jang Hyuk.

And I could have done without the leopard print robe.

Aaaanhkkk

Oh my teeth.

Had some tooth drama back in October. Jaw bone infection, abscess, dentist-endodontists-periodontologists, antibiotics, appointments, oral surgeons, exhaustive dental benefit review, a little pleading, a lot of frustrated disappointment and anxiety on my part.

In the end, I have to have a lot of work done. A lot. Like the cost of a really nice used car in my mouth. Insurance companies and employers - are not big fans of modern dentistry FYI. Implants are excluded as a paid benefit. Dentures, bridges, Arkansas-mountain-man-teeth-gaps in the front of one's face hole - all paid for. But modern medicine designed to save more natural teeth in the long run; not so much.

I need to have 2 implants, all 4 wisdom teeth removed, a few cavities filled, and my old root canal checked. Along with a few other odds and ends.

For 2010, since my annual maximum benefit is $1500, I decided I could afford to have my wisdom teeth pulled. I've dodged this bullet since I was 17. You know, let this be a lesson to fellow procrastinators: I should have done at 17, when my Dad would have been financially responsible. Or I should have gotten them pulled 15 years ago when I had a spouse contributing to the dental benefit and household expenses. Glad it wasn't done by that freak in 2007, that's for sure. (I just re-read that blog. That hurt!) No. I had to wait until now, more fool I.

The pullin' was scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving. Universally bemoaned, "Awwwww, you'll miss Thanksgiving!" I thought it was brilliant. Four days off from work to heal without taking any sick time - excellent! I was told absolutely no food or liquid 6 hours prior to the surgery. So 7.5 hours before, I took my regular meds, and had a cup of coffee - didn't want to add a caffeine headache on top of tooth pain, now did I? Sooo, clever. I made some bean soup, bought potatoes for mashing. How bad could it be?

Bad. Well, now, not bad as these things go I guess. Could have been worse. My sinus wall could have opened up. I could have been a bleeder. I could have died under the anesthesia (and I needed to go to confession - THAT was stupid!). So, not that bad. Mr. Mississippi Dental Assistant assured me I'd be plenty numb for 6 hours after the surgery. WRONG SIR! My first conscious sensation was pain in the lower right quadrant....uuuhhnnnn then barely a breath later, pain all over my mouth. UUUHHNNNN, it huuuts...dat ogahy?

To be fair, the 2007 Root Canal Debacle left me with more blood and pulp and spit and gore on my face (see above link) than the Mouth Rape of 2010. Hurt plenty, don't get me wrong. Lovely cousins drove me to and from, got me home, settled me in on my couch, while daughter made me instant mashed potatoes and tea. I had to get food on my stomach before I could take the hydrocodone. BTW? Hydrocodone is overrated. 600 mg of ibuprofen did more for me than the narcotics as far as the pain was concerned. Hydrocodone made me crabby and constipated. I'll be looking into pain killing alternatives for the Great Mouth/Wallet Rape 2011.

Still healing. I am rinsing and spitting three times a day, I am now using a syringe to clean food out of the gummy holes twice daily, I brush frequently and in good lock-the-barn-door-now-that-the-cows-are-on-Aunt-Dorothy's-lawn fashion, I floss. All the time. Floss floss floss floss floss!

I'm trying to make friends with this new mouth by sending my tongue out to familiarize itself with all those holes. Holes don't like that. Holes swell up when I do that. Holes say, "No. Leave us alone. We are not ready for company yet. We will call you."

I hope they call soon.

Bit of a Thrill

Interesting day yesterday.  I got out of work early to go to a doctor appointment.  I love my doctor.  He’s a good doctor, kind and patient, listens to me, answers all my questions.  I have a lot of questions.  Their office is something of an anomaly in the medical world I think – I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes before being whisked in for my appointment.  Delightful really.

As an aside, I do not expect this to continue once ObamaCare achieves full throttle.  I enjoy the best medical care in the world right now, however, and do not anticipate with any delight the socialist medicine state we will soon enter.  B@stards.

The visit was made even better after having been given three months of pharmaceutical samples.  I love pharmaceutical samples too.

That done, I was home by 3:00 pm.  Gunner Beagle has been confined to his crate again during the day – he was doing so well, not chewing anything up, not ripping up tissues, or getting into the trash in the kitchen.  But when I came home from work Monday the little fiend had not only chewed up a sneaker (tinnis shoe for my friend Lacie), but he ripped open and gnawed on my favorite k-drama dvd set of all time, “Thank You” with Jang Hyuk.  B@STARD! 

So as I said, he’s confined to his crate when I’m not home.  He wanted so badly to come out – tail smacking up against the metal, so happy to see me.  I pay Gunner no mind, I changed and went to the gym. 

After that, I started “The Shack” (darn slow start btw, I’m hoping it picks up soon.  Blaaaaahhhhhh.)  Blah blah blah dinner, blah blah blah Legion of Mary, blah blah blah Sun and naked torsoed Jin on LOST. 

As I left to go home, I happened upon two youths stealing beer from my cousin’s outdoor refrigerator.  B@stards!!  They took off, we gave chase (in a car, I’m too damn old to run in the dark, I’d break an ankle), and we caught up to them driving around the compound in their Daddy’s Infinity.  Blah blah blah color blah blah plates blah blah blah make and model.  We called the police (the officers that responded couldn’t have been more unalike; one was 6’10” and the other was 5’1”) and filed a report. 

A bit of a change up in the routine.  Bit of a thrill.

I’m Sad

During a bit of silliness Tuesday night, Guest Blogger Who Hasn’t Guest Blogged In 4 Years and I found Jai on line.  Jai, was cute and flirtatious and I wrote a blog on him back in 2007.  Best. Kisser. Ever.

I connected to him through a social networking site today and he responded pretty quickly. 

He emailed me back and told me his brother, who we all called Zero, died last December.  He had colon cancer.  I think he was just 50 or so.  Bruce shared a birthday with my sister.  It got me thinking of one of my happier memories. 

Bruce was tall, had black hair, freckles, big nose, drove a nice car - it was black and shiny, I have no idea what it was.  I can see him; it's summer, it's hot out, the sun blazing.  Zero had a perpetual sun burn.  My cousin, my sister and I were by the milking parlor.  We had tormented the guys (Zero, Jai, Trace) once they finished milking one morning - I think we ambushed them with shaving cream as they walked out of the milking parlor.

During the skirmish that ensued, Zero grabbed my cousin and held her head over a mud puddle trying to get her to concede defeat. 
"Say I win! Say I win!" 

Much laughter from the onlookers, as my cousin triumphantly squealed out, "I win!"

Aggressively dipping her closer to the mud puddle, Zero cried,  "GAAAAAAA!  NO!! SAY ZERO WINS!"  She finally squealed it out to his satisfaction.  She was safe from the mud bath.

Memories have the power to seal people in time, don't they?  That's where Zero will forever be in my mind.  And I will smile.  And tonight, I will say some prayers for him.

Stupid Snow

It’s been quite a winter.

Using vacation and staying home is no picnic.  I’m not dumb enough to go out in this.  It has it’s pleasures though – I get to spend some pretty silly time with my daughter watching movies, listening to music, and making soup.  Downside is unwatchable daytime television. 

There was a Reba marathon.

Today’s storm is the third in 2 weeks.  The first, Groundhog Day Night, after watching “Lost” with family was light and happy:

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Like magical Christmas snow!  Four inches of fluffy joy!  How fun!!  Fat flakes, furry trees, I ran around snapping pictures left and right from my cell.

Friday, February 6, 2010 into February 7, 2010 – Deathsnow 2010 or SNOWPOCALYPSE as it is referred to was another animal.  32” of cold white death:

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And today.  Officially termed a blizzard with wind gusts up to 44 mph.  This isn’t Northern Virginia.  It’s New Buffalo, Virginia. 

Imagination too Active?

One wants to believe that their neighborhood is safe. There are occurrences of theft and depravity in every neighborhood – it’s part of the human condition – and I accept those as a matter of course. My run-ins with Chick have been a slightly entertaining yet very creepy little side-car to condo life, but they do not (yet) make me want to move.

I was further creeped out last year when my daughter spied a peeping Tom outside her bedroom window. We bought heavy curtains the very next day and started locking the door even when we were home.

An event last year added to my concern when my complex hosted a real CSI van in our parking lot. One of the residents “allegedly” strangled his girlfriend, wrapped her in saran wrap, stuffed her body under bed while he continued to utilize her email account to make her friends believe she was still alive. This event, gave me pause and made me look at my neighbors a little differently.

Speed up to present day. No Chick sightings, no more peeping Toms (Gunner thinks he is a much bigger dog than he is and has quite the bark), no more murders. The trash compactor is broken, and it’s been so cold no one seems to want to pick up their dog poop, but otherwise it’s been quiet.

Maybe too quiet.

January 3, 2010 – I’m walking Gunner at roughly 6:30 am. On our route, I pass the apartment I lived in when I first moved to the complex. I generally pay no attention; I pay less attention when the temps are in the teens and the wind chill is in the single digits. I just want Gunner to do his business so I can crawl back into bed.

As I walked by that morning, I paid no mind to the humming noise I heard, until, like a refrigerator – you only notice the noise after it shuts off – the humming stopped. I knew what that sound was. It was the air conditioner. What in the Snow Miser’s name was someone doing with the air conditioner on when the temps were in the teens? I looked up and noticed that the living room light was on, so someone must be home and awake. I thought it odd. I continued on my walk, since Gunner will not be denied.

January 4, 2010 – Same thing. The light was on air conditioner was running. What is with these people? Save on the electric bill and open a window until you cool off. Freaks.

January 5, 2010 – Air conditioner running, the light was off.

I’ve wondered and wondered what could be going on -

1. The home owners are on vacation and having left when the temperatures were warmer, inadvertently left the air conditioner on. The light bulb is timed to go on and off at certain times.
2. The residents are from a cooler clime and are struggling to keep cool with all that heat rising up from the floor below.
3. There has been another murder and the temperature kept at a chilly level will slow the body decay, making it more difficult to assess time of death, the perp having long since fled to Pachuca, Mexico.
4. There has been another murder and the sick deviant is keeping the body from decay so he may enjoy some intimacies previously avoided since the b*tch wouldn’t keep her big trap shut while she was alive.

There are problems with all these suppositions. But I can think of no others. Thoughts?

The Great Virginia Snowfall of 2009

It’s not unusual to get snow in Northern Virginia in the winter months, though it is unusual to get two feet of it in one big dump. That’s about what we got Friday night through Sunday morning. It was light and dry and beautiful. The prospect of a white Christmas, so missed by my daughter and, made the weekend a cozy pleasure.

Of course, light, dry and beautiful snow only served to spotlight the idiots. Headlines today are full of the idiot plain clothes cop in DC who brandished his gun at some happy-go-lucky idiots having a snowball fight.

A few suggestions for my fellow Virginians:

• If you can only drive 2 mph in a snowstorm, you shouldn’t be on the road. You are a menace.
• Women who stand in the middle of the road watching their husbands shovel out the driveway must understand that they aren’t helping their husband and that they are a danger to themselves and others. YOU NEED TO MOVE when a car is coming down the street. If you are deaf and can’t hear the traffic, you need to stay indoors. Cars can hurt you, you imbecile.
• The Virginia Department of Transportation should focus a little more on cleaning the ice-potholed secondary streets coated with an inch and a half of hard-pack snow and ice. Go to New York or Colorado and take in a seminar on the basics of snow removal if you have to. If I wreck my car because you are stupid, I’m going to sue you.
• People who require a brisk morning constitutional should NOT walk on said snow-packed unclean secondary streets. See, snow and ice are fickle masters – they might drag my tires straight into you, you retard. Go plow out a trench around your house and walk around that.
• People who think that it is the height of snowy fun to load your three year old on to a sleigh and slide down your snow covered street into on-coming traffic – sister, you deserve to win a Darwin Award. You should die and take your kid with you so it won’t infect other generations with your half-wit DNA.

Idiots.