I ran my first marathon at Niagara Falls two Sundays ago. When I started running at the beginning of last year, I never thought I would run a marathon. I ran simply because I wanted to get better at soccer. In fact, I never liked running growing up because it was boring and tiring. But this time was different. I was still tired, but I felt good after my runs. It helped me clear my mind.
The Origin of sung·a·tae
After a visit to the DMV in 2016 to get my driver’s license, I received a license in the mail with my name misspelled. Instead of Sungtae Kim, it had Sungatae Kim with an awkward “a” between the two syllables of my first name (scroll down to see the license). At the time, I couldn’t be bothered to visit the DMV again, so I carried it around for almost 2 years until I got it fixed.
중심 잡기
살면서 길을 잃었던 경험이 있었나요? 어떻게 길을 다시 찾게 되었나요? 나는 길을 자주 잃는다. 고등학교 때도, 대학교 때도, 직장인이 되어서도 나는 올바른 길을 놔두고 한참을 돌아온듯 하다. 돌이켜보면 내가 길을 잃게 된 이유는 내가 놓인 길에 집중하지 못한채 현재를 초조해하고 미래를 불안해하며 중심을 잡지 못해서 인듯하다. 아무리 옳은 길에 있어도 중심을 잃은채 비틀 거리면 샛길로 빠져버릴 수 밖에 없다. 그래서 요즘은 내가 옳은 길에 있는지 걱정하면서 시간을 보내기보다 내가 지금 서있는 길에 집중하면서 중심을 잡으려고 노력하고 있다.
Book: Ordering Your Private World
Ordering Your Private World by Gordon Macdonald I grew up thinking that I could achieve anything I set my mind to. When I was a kid, I wanted to be good at soccer, so I practiced everyday and made the high school varsity team. In college, I wanted to learn about the stock market, so I applied to the business program and got accepted. After college, I wanted to become a programmer, so I learned how to code and pivoted my career.
Life Without Instagram
It’s been almost 10 months since I deactivated Instagram. I stopped mainly because I did not like how much time I spent watching Reels. It was a huge time sink that did not benefit me in any way. I was inspired at the time by a friend who was able to keep an active, social life without Instagram so I decided to give it a try myself. I want to take this time to reflect on my life sans Instagram.
Book: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami This was a book recommended by my good friend Jessie. I started running in the beginning of last year as a way to build up my stamina so I can get better at soccer. Running quickly grew on me and became a big part of my life. Over the summer, I trained with the Runners Shop and completed a half marathon in October.
Book: The Course of Love
The Course of Love by Alain de Botton I was recommended this book in the summer of 2018 by a friend who I met in New York. Telling me that it is her favorite book, she lent me her copy while she was away for a couple of weeks. I started but never finished the book that summer. It didn’t resonate with me for some reason. Maybe I was too preoccupied with the job hunt.
Movie: Metropolitan
Metropolitan by Whit Stillman 06:30 PM, 12/14/2023 TIFF Bell Lightbox Cinema 3 Toronto, ON The movie starts off with upper class young adults in their early 20s sharing thoughts about philosophy, life, love and other worldly things. Then enters Tom who by chance gets invited to this rich kids’ hangout. He declares he is a socialist and is unfettered by the pretentious snobby atmosphere of the group. With a little back and forth, Nick is intrigued by Tom and takes him under his wing.