Desperate Housewife

(Published April 2006)

You see, I am an ordinary housewife living on a non-descript suburban street in the quiet city of Toronto. Nothing exciting ever happened here.



Every morning at 7am when I open the door with my dreary eyes, there comes the newspaper boy (whom must have mistaken me for his evil step sister in his past life) on his speeding bike! Using all his mighty strength to swing that paper over my way and never once failed hitting it right on my head. After all these years and multiple bruises on my face, I have perfected my ducking skills to the point that I can now even manage to make a few catches. Hey before you know, I’ll be able to apply to major league baseball as a catcher! The next excitement of the day comes when watching my next door neighbour Mr. Applebaum dragging home one more shrub to plant in his already over-packed garden; 34 trees, 168 bushes, 237 plants and growing! Excuse me Mr. Green Thumb, one more shrub and you’ll turn into Mr. Sohn!. (hehe, did you read cloudnine’s cute translation of Mr. Sohn’s blog?)



Lately though, life has turned topsy-turvy for this desperate housewife because of a supremely sexy and handsome Korean man! Oh no, please don’t get any wrong idea, I’m not having an affair with the corner store owner (FYI, most convenient stores here are owned by Koreans)! Every morning after I wave goodbye to my husband and son, this desperate housewife will employ all her body parts in wonder-woman speed to finish up all her chores so she can snuggle up in front of the computer to learn more about her secret crush, Bae Yong Joon!


What happened to the good old-fashioned ‘plastering posters above the bed and stare with dreamy eyes’ way of admiring an idol? But no, today’s women from the new IT generation expect more! They demand up-to-the minute news and images, instantaneous feedback from media, insiders and fellow fans. For this poor technically-challenged ‘ajumma’, loving BYJ has turned out to be more of a technology quest for me!



Just when I figured out how to manoeuvre those unfriendly buttons on the TV, DVD player and the other 5 remote controls and soooo ready to give myself a pat on the back. Alas, then comes this modern day wonder called the ‘INTERNET’! Can you believe it? Last time I count, there are over 50 websites about Bae Yong Joon! Possibly more! OK, there is the ever-exciting QUILT, the information-loaded SOOMPI and …. . Then in each site there are threads, wallpapers and cookies …., how come they all sound like things that come out of my kitchen?? Now, don't tell me they'll invent something named 'rice' and 'noodles' next! What is the difference between sign in, log in and register? How come the letters in the blog comment ‘word verification’ are distorted? Are they trying to verify if I am drunk while writing a comment? Now, talk about the wonderful blogs started by those articulate Bae sisters. They offer insider news, breathtaking images and drawings, even MTV-quality videos which are like treasures to watch. But what is a BLOG? See, this word doesn't even exist in any dictionary and is even underlined in red during spellcheck, I think I’m having a mind BLOCK!



What keeps me going though, despite all the confusions, are the wonderful wonderful sisters in the Bae family. We all come from different countries, backgrounds and even generations – with a common love for Bae Yong Joon. Through the internet :

- during ordinary times, friendship is created from kind and sweet greetings
- during happy times, friendship is flourished from humorous and encouraging words
- during hard times, friendship is strengthened from caring and supportive exchanges

From the short encounters that I have in Quilt, I have received so much generous help, kind words and encouragement from other sisters. I do not feel excluded nor judged even though I can be longwinded and silly at times. That’s how amazing this Bae family is! We are not talking just a selected group of fans here, I am sure this phenomenon also echoes in other BYJ websites. If only Yong Joon realizes how many thousand friendships and how much happiness have been created in this world because of him, I hope his spirit will be much higher than right now.



As for me, I know it’s still an uphill battle to conquer this wonderful world of internet. However I feel I have a very powerful driving force behind me : Bae Yong Joon. If he can do his mighty and humanitarian works in his side of the hemisphere, then I can do my little and not so glamorous things in my side to support him. As long as those talented sisters keep creating beautiful artworks, amazing videos and wonderful writings, this ajumma’s quest for technology will never stop.

Hey maybe one day, Bill Gates will come knocking at my door begging me to be his CIO (Chief Idiot Officer)!