"my housekeeping standards are shoddy" - that made me giggle.

Sounds like your life is going very smooooooothly. :-D

haha. I also have plenty of time for dramas. I have cleared my days of unimportant things like cleaning and shopping and talking. hehe

It's awesome. Let me know what you think!

Very true, I can still remember which scene in which episode of Arang made me squee! CPR Kiss! Confession 1! Confession 2! Bare Shoulder Teasing!

I didn't watch Nice Guy but I definitely wondered if Arang needed the extra minutes filled in too, although not to the point where I got really frustrated, thanks to the drama being very solid on all fronts.

Martin Freeman fits the role well, but he's still not Elijah (whose films I grew up with). But I'm sure I'll still enjoy the Hobbit aplenty.

Well, sadly I've always split any Lords of Rings watching over three days... but that's because I have always seen them by myself. I need to find someone who is willing to marathon them all at one go with me! I wish that were a New Year's tradition at my house! That sounds just awesome. How many of you do this?

One cinema in London is doing a Lord of the Rings marathon for December 31st, but they are only doing the cinema version.

I love hibernating! With blankets, snacks and cosyness the holidays feel complete!
Haha, I would be very annoyed too if I'd had to wait very long for the next movie to come out. Luckily by the time I was allowed to watch them, they were all already out! I remember being completely baffled and overwhelmed the first time. The whole world, all the (heroic) characters, the fear that something bad would happen. I just love every character, but I love Aragorn especially! He's so handsome and brave. And that part where Gandalf falls must be so impressive on the big screen! I was already in tears just watching it on the telly. But that part where he returns, in shining white is one of my favourites. Also, the scenes where they are all together and bantering around are also my favourites, hehe. And that part where they are in the dwarf cave and one of the hobbits sits on that well and knocks over a bucket which leads to that drumming sound and the monsters waking up gets me chills every time! And every time Sam comes to rescue and help Frodo, he's such a good friend! Ah, there are just too many great scenes!

And the molehill is definitely outweighing the mountain, haha! I like your analogy. But I'm really considering to start watching School anyway, cause I need something to outbalance my stress and NG is not really doing that. And I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who feels disconnected with NG!

I wanted to share something that happened yesterday because it's such a great step forward for me. I had another big presentation (even bigger and more-weighing than the last one) and it went so good! I think it's my best presentation to date. I was pretty nervous before I had to start (actually the whole day already a little), but when I had to speak it felt like after a while my nerves just fell off! And I could speak so freely and look people in they eyes and make hand gestures! That never happened before, I usually stay nervous until the end and only feel relaxed when it's all done and over, but not this time. It felt great and now I feel like sharing it with everyone. There may actually be hope for me, maybe I'll start liking it eventually, haha.

Thank you so much! You brought a big smile on my face :) I'm really happy. I'd already abandoned the hope that I will ever get good in public speaking a bit. I mean it did get better, but it took so long to not feel like running away every time I had to do a presentation that I thought that this was kind of the end point for me. I hadn't realized that my progress could go further than that and maybe become relaxed while speaking someday. This gave me new hope and also made me feel better about myself.

Ah, sometimes I wish I was a bear too! Just eat a lot and then sleep in a nice warm place, what else is better than that?

Yeah, that scene is so great! It gets me teary-eyed every time. I just love Sam, he keeps believing in Frodo even when he doesn't believe in himself anymore. Every should have a friend like that. Very quotable, indeed. Are there any other scenes that provide quotes for you? And speaking of quotes, did you already used the 'hope-quote' in your project?

Thanks for not saying too much, it's much appreciated. Though I couldn't cut myself off completely and heard snippets here and there about the ending, I still know not much. But I'm thinking it will take a while before I finally finish it. I have to gather my courage to brave all the misery.
But I watched School! (haha you comment about 'starting' made me laugh). I got a lot of work done today and to reward myself I watched the first episode. I already like Nam Soon a lot and the vibe of the episode really spoke to me. All the characters feel very real. I now already connected more to the characters than in 14 episodes of NG. It was a nice break from my studies. Going to watch the next episode when I'm done typing! Sometimes I like dramas (or series in general) that take place in high school less because of that setting. I'm very glad I'm out of there and feel like I can't connect to their problems anymore. But SUFBB proved it can be good in that setting and School is looking like it might too. How is the high school setting for you?

Haha, I'm curious to your list so I'll tell you mine! On 1 is Gaksital as you already now, but very close on number 2 is SHUFBB. On three is Queen In Huyn's Man, four is probably Arang and the Magistrate and on five is Vampire Prosecutor 2, even though I liked the second season less than the first. Nice Guy probably won't make it, as I'm becoming less and less emotionally invested. If the rest of School is as good as the first episode it could beat VP2... If I had time to watch History of the Salaryman and Panda, they could be on the list, cause I heard good things about Salaryman that indicate it could be a drama I'd love and Panda seems very cute and warm-hearted until where I've watched far. If White Christmas hadn't aired last year, it would definitely be on the list too!

Haha, I like your way of taking the bear analogy! I tend to do the same ; ). It's such a hassle and it's winter anyway!
I hope the group will like the quote! I still feel very honoured, hehe.

I have the same feeling of familiarity with the actor, but I didn't see anything he's been in! Maybe he just has one of those faces or looks like someone else. And Fate's leading the way once again ; ). I was pleasantly surprised by two familiar faces from White Christmas; I'd already kinda forget who the cast was.
I totally get your take on the high school setting. My high school period wasn't one of the nicest (understatement), so I sometimes wish I could go back with what I know now, like in that movie. But on the other hand I'm so glad I'm at uni now and don't have to see those people anymore that I never want to relive that time again. When I watch a high school drama I always feel a little melancholy. Not that I miss that time and want to go back, but in that I wish I could have had such a nice time with such nice people. I kinda like that Nam Soon in School is a bit of an outsider, but still stands up if someone is not being treated good. I think that says a lot for him. Speaking of School, I watched the second episode too and I still really like it. The high school setting is not putting the drama down for me, so that's a good thing. I love the portraying of the characters, they're already very layered and multidimensional. Hopefully that's an good indication of what's to come!
I like the college setting though, because of course I'm in college myself. Which leads to the characters being older and more resembling my own age and conflicts. Age is also a factor in me connecting to characters. It's not always the same, but I tend to connect easier with characters that are close to my own age, which makes sense cause they have to same way of experiencing and certain resembling conflicts. If a character is a lot younger than I am, it may cause some problems cause I can't seem to connect to the conflicts and way of experiencing. It's a bit hard to explain, and I'm probably being confusing, but how does the age of a character work for you?
I always love a medieval setting, not sure way. Probably the whole romanticised aspect of knights and princesses. When I was young other girls had playmobil stuff like hospitals, zoo's and houses, but I had this castle, dragons (a red and a green) and a lot of knights. So I haven't changed much in that aspect, haha.

Those are some really beautiful quotes! LOTR offers a lot of quote material. Like "You shall not pass!", is a good one and often used. And it's always very funny to take a quote out of it's context and then use it in your own way. I do that with my mother all the time, so now our conversations are a mixture of our own sayings and those we gathered from different sources. Not very understandable for others, my dad sometimes doesn't understand one word we're saying! My mother also has the habit to confuse certain terms or names with others. For example she once called the singer of Snow Patrol Gary Lightfoot instead of Lightbody. I found it so funny that I started saying it and now whenever we talk about it we call him that way, hehe.

Yes, sharing lists is a personal thing. So thank you for sharing : ) I too find it easier to just pick the top 5 of a year than of all times, my brain is incapable of doing that! That A or B approach is a good one!
"I have always felt that lists, reviews and criticisms say very little about the objects of dissection themselves and actually reveal far more about the critic. That’s why sharing is always so very personal and private." I completely agree with you. It's like you position yourself a bit vulnerable if you say what kind of things you like, cause it's says so much about you as a person. On a bit of a side note, sometimes critics give a negative response to a movie/book/anything of a specific genre and then base that negative response on something that is inherent of that genre. Like a romcom movie being too shallow, but that's what the romcom genre is. In such cases I feel that the critic is basing himself too much on his own preferences (which of course are the heart of a review), and not being or trying to be objective. If I'd review a horror movie, they'd all get a bad review simply because I don't like the genre. That's why I'd never become a horror movie critic. Did you notice this too and what do you think about this? Or didn't you notice it at all?

I have to thank you too for taking out time to reply. But the pleasure's all mine, since I very much enjoy our conversations. So much that I start rambling at times! ; )

Ah, yeah that's something I tend to do a lot. I guess I need confirmation before I can say something good about myself, it's so much easier to point out my lesser characteristics, hehe. Being told most of my school-life that I'm weird and unlike-able by classmates and people I thought were friends, was not very healthy for my self-esteem, I think that's where my need for confirmation comes from. I often think I cannot do something or am not good at something unless I prove the opposite, and when it does indeed not go well I tell myself 'told you', even though going in with a mindset that I will not succeed does influence the result a lot. So thank you for your kind words, it means a lot. But I'm getting better at not thinking I'll fail beforehand and I'm more and more able to let the past experiences go, and like you said 'I try to live myself in the present because it’s impossible to live it in the past', which is so true.

What you said about 'Dazed and Confused' that 'it really captures those issues which most feel as they enter adulthood; that push of family/community & the pull of making a path for yourself', is something I'm struggling with myself. I haven't seen that one yet, but I will certainly watch it someday. I thought Heartstrings had a nice school/college feeling, though it had more that summery easy breezy feeling. I really liked the school feeling of Nodame Cantabile as well, a group of people bonding though they're all different and finding their own paths eventually.

I think I like both sides you pointed out about the medieval setting. I like it when they stick true to history, but I don't mind if there are artistic liberties taken. It's more about the feel and grandeur of old times I think. But I really like it too when someone resists the restrictions of his or her time. Are there any settings you particularly enjoy?

And I'm really glad I have such a good relationship with my mom. I'm very good with my dad too, but I think my mom just understands me so well. Sometimes even better than I do myself. And having the same sense of (sometimes nonsensical) humour and the way we follow our emotions and feelings instead of using hard logic makes a good bond. She's the one person I go to when I have a problem or don't know what to do, she always manages to say the right things! I wish I had that quality to, to be able to find the right words in every situation.

'I just can’t predict what a person will think of a movie/book/drama, no matter how well I know them', that's so true! I like recommending things to people, cause I want them to like those things as much as I do! But they almost never do, haha. But it gives me a very good feeling when I recommend something and that person ends up loving it!
I have a pretty big book collection and musical knowledge, so I'm always lending books to people (only if I know they won't make them dirty, hehe) and recommending cd's. Instead of going to people for book/music recommendations, people come to me, haha. Which I really like, but it mostly doesn't go the other way around, cause those recommended I usually already know. Same goes for most movies and series. So when I want recommendations I just search around the internet. In real life I don't talk about Asian dramas or recommend them or get recommended, so for my recommendations I got to site like this one and I'm glad the OT is there cause it's such a good place to discuss dramas and recommend them. And thanks to you I already added some more dramas on my to-watch list, so I guess in this case you're my to go-to person for drama recommendation ; )

Are you already in the Christmas mood? I just put a small plastic Christmas tree in my room, decorated with tiny lights and balls. It looks very pretty, haha. It's also snowing here, but I don't like that very much because everything's so slippery! Do you like snow?