#evolunatic

[tyrantasaur]

guys i'm sorry i've not replied to you yet! i'm being super lame, i know. 

[tyrantasaur]

>> spies я us

An hour later saw her back in her apartment, staring out the large windows over the cityscape, a large towel wrapped around her. Raking her hands through damp hair, she piled it in a messy bun. Picking up a small jewelry box, she withdrew a push knife and scraped it lightly against her thumb, turning it over to see the rising sunlight flash across the black handle. Let all the other jarheads like Jasper play with their guns; knives were a sophisticated weapon. It required so much more skill and grace to use. A small smile crossed Quinn's face as she thought about the lovely vintage dagger and ceremonial sword collection she had back at her apartment in her home base in DC. She'd brought some of them with her, hidden in the underground fortress, codenamed Burrow. They were her more sturdy weapons, the ones that she could practice with, and on her down time or if she felt aggravated or stressed (which, as she had to spend time in Jasper Jackson's general vicinity was all too often), she would retreat to the solitude of the Burrow and polish the swords. 

Pulling out a matching knife, she set them on her bed and placed the jewelry box back on her vanity. Getting dressed was a methodical practice; she preferred, like many of her brethren, to keep various weapons on her person. Hidden, naturally. That's what took practice. Laid out on her duvet was the uniform for her undercover job. Quinn had been assigned to work as a member of the Nerd Herd at a Buy More in California. Her assignment was to try and recruit a certain desirable asset, a young woman that had gone undetected for too long due to how talented she was at hacking into, apparently, any and every system.

Everything had been going smoothly for the mission; her entry into the workplace had been flawlessly achieved, Emma had gradually come to trust Quinn and profess friendship, and all that was left was to approach her to join the CIA. The NSA was trying to muscle in on her turf, sending the infamous J. Jackson to try and recruit Emma for their organization. Quinn snorted as she slipped the knives into their sheaths and strapped them to her thigh. Tucking her white collared shirt into the black skater skirt, she arranged a tie that was rigged with the wiring to a tiny hidden camera, replaced the pocket protector, and clipped on the photo ID that read QUINN ARESTON. In a small jar on her desk sat a number of assorted pens and pencils, and when she picked up a small screwdriver she shrugged and grabbed a pen, stuffing them both into her pocket. 

Quinn didn't often wear make-up when she went to work, especially since she didn't need to try and catch anyone's attention. The opposite, actually; she was supposed to be flying under the radar, and the only person whose attention she needed was Emma's. That had been almost too easy, which had made her feel suspicious at first and vaguely guilty after. Letting her hair down and lightly blow drying it, she pulled it back into a rather severe ponytail; now dressed and ready for work, she turned on her TV and waited for a moment before a steely eyed woman in a stark outfit appeared on the screen. "Agent Areston," she nodded curtly. "I trust everything is going well." Without waiting for a response, she continued. "I think that you ought to begin phase 3." Quinn nodded in acknowledgement. Their timeline had been stepped up somewhat because of the NSA's sudden involvement, but that didn't bother her much. In her opinion, they would have shortened the projected schedule without the NSA's intrusion anyway, because Emma had not needed a long time to accept Quinn into her circle. "That will be all. Continue your updates."

"Of course, Director. I will let you know the moment anything happens." The woman surveyed Quinn for a disconcerting moment before relaxing her features n as close to a smile as she had seen. There were no other words exchanged, merely a nod of the head as the director signed off. 

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Greeting her coworkers as they entered, she sat at the Nerd Herd desk with her back straight against the chair, legs crossed at the ankle and paperwork spread before her. "Yo, Q."  Looking up from the papers, she turned and relaxed her posture into something less rigid, and greeted her green polo-clad co-worker. "Ahh, greetings Spock," she returned in a play on the girl's name, Caroline Spork. 

[addyinkorea]

How are you adjusting to the various foods Korea has to offer? Had you tried any Korean food prior to going, and how did you feel about it if you had? And how different is it from the 'western' version of it? Anything you absolutely like or don't like? Still feel iffy about?

There isn't a large Korean community where I was living before I came here, though there are a lot of Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants (and friends!) so a lot of the flavors are things I'm familiar with. Some of my friends are into Korean culture, so we would eat kimbap and whatnot whenever we weren't too lazy to make the food. Eating Korean food was actually something I was really excited about!

That being said, I'm actually vegetarian--I was raised that way. I don't eat fish, meat, or poultry, so that's a little difficult. You can't be too strict while you're here, but as long as you are fine with a) cooking for yourself, b) picking out chunks of meat, and 3) making friends with the restaurant owners, you'll be totally fine. It's really not as hard to eat here as people make it seem, unless you want to exclusively eat out.

I haven't tried much western style food here, but there are plenty of things that would appeal to someone who doesn't, in general, enjoy Asian cuisines. You can find hamburgers, french fries, baked goods, pizza, pasta, etc. Like I said, I haven't tried any of it yet, but I'm told it's not bad! 

Ooh, my favorite food has always and will always be kimbap. There is a little store in the same building as my hagwon that I like to go to--a roll is 2,000W (unless you want to add a bunch of extra things), and the owner (Sa Jangnim) speaks English very well. She's also super friendly and loves to chat--she knows I don't eat any meat, so she makes me vegetarian kimbap every time.

She also makes jjolmyeon that is delicious! I haven't found vegetarian kimchi (and probably won't), but I used to make kimchi stew back home all the time.

They have a lot of stuffed-bun desserts, and I think those are my favorites! It's hard to choose, but the sweet potato one is really good...so are the custard or red bean ones.

I have to say that I'm kind of iffy about gojuchang (pepper paste) because although I do like it in things, if I eat it too often I get really sick of it quickly. I prefer it more in soups than on noodles, but that's just me haha. 

Also, my favorite drink is Milkis, which is a milk-soda style drink (like Calpico from Japan) and usually I put it in a container and freeze it, then it's kind of like an Italian Ice style dessert :D

I will say this: it's a good idea to pick a few places to frequent often, because (depending on how large a place it is) they will come to recognize you and treat you as a regular--especially if you are able to communicate with them. If you're nice and respectful and chatty, chances are they will start giving you free things! Sa Jangnim sometimes gives me free dessert things, like candy or boiled sweet potatoes, and that's always a nice surprise!

oh man, food <3