A few weeks ago, I browsed through my posts in this blog, and after reading the first entry I wrote and published from 2008, I realized, I have been keeping this blog and writing my thoughts for 14 years.
It was not Blogger that served as my original platform. I was introduced to blogging through Friendster in 2005, and I must say that during that time, I just wanted to try it, and have an idea of what the hype back then was about. When Friendster was at the brink of losing its popularity, I started looking for another platform, and found Blogger in February 2008.
I still have my entries from my old Friendster blog from 2005 which I salvaged and transferred manually in Blogger and set to private mode. Those were stories related to my life after I graduated from college, first job blues, a few unpublished literary work, and my thoughts about my first relationship and what I felt when that boyfriend (now an ex) and I broke up years later.
Now back to this blog, the real purpose of this blog was just to be a place to share my discoveries, and as a way for me to continue to practice and improve my writing skills. My blog may be that old, but I only did three design revamps, two of which were generic designs available on the platform, while this recent design was created with the recommendation and help of my techie author-friend, Beth G.
While this was a space to spill out my thoughts and ideas about a lot of things, to gain readership wasn't really one of my aims when I started blogging. But in the years that I was writing and publishing posts about various topics, I also had the chance to virtually interact with some readers who happen to find my blog by accident. Some of them even became my friends which I get to bond with every now and then when our schedules permit. And it's something I consider to be a bonus.
14 years and more than 600 stories. I am aware that I don't post entries often these days compared to the time I was starting in 2008. But that's because I am also busy discovering new things when I am offline and away from my keyboard. I can attest to writing as a therapeutic activity, but since I decided to maintain this as a "lifestyle blog", I made a separate blog that housed the emotions and words that the introvert nerd that I am couldn't openly express or communicate to people. That's because I would like to maintain the purpose of this space as its title suggests.
To make this a place where I can find some peace and quiet that can somehow tone down the noise of a chaotic world.
Despite my penchant for Korean TV shows and programs, zombie-themed series aren't really my thing. I haven't even watched Train to Busan, so it came as a surprise how I got into watching the recent Netflix hit, All of Us Are Dead. If you haven't seen it and have plans of doing so, I highly suggest that you stop reading from here, or else you won't get much of the adrenaline rush which is best felt by watching the show.
High school feels and some...zombies!
Okay, so that subheading gives it away ( a bit!). Just like my previously-loved shows, Crash Landing on You and Hospital Playlist, All of Us Are Dead is also a Netflix original series. The story revolves around a group of students from the fictional Hyosan High School, and how their normal lives become deranged when a seemingly harmless bite from a specimen in their school's science lab creates chaos on campus because each individual transforms into creepy Halloween creatures! While I am a neophyte viewer of the zombie-apocalypse horror genre, I cannot say that watching (and even finishing the whole 12 episodes in 3 days) events unfold with blood, gore, and heart-racing scenes from this show was bad at all. One of my friends told me that variety is the spice of life. If this could be considered a form of putting variety in my usual Kdrama viewing habit, I must say that for once, my decision to give it a try was worth it.
Survival skills, strategies, and sacrifices
I will not sugarcoat it. This show left my heart exhausted; because like the characters, I also felt like I was among those running for precious life from start to finish. Those scenes involving zombies are intense; they always kept me at the edge of my seat. On the other hand, as the plot suggests, given that it involves the element of high school student life, what made the show interesting in a way, was how lessons taught in school were utilized in the group's strategy for survival. So, yes guys, I highly advise you not to ignore what you learned from your teachers in physics, chemistry, and even PE! Trust me, they can help you survive when you get attacked by a zombie (and if you do, you'll get to thank your teachers later!)
But the show is not all blood, gore, and horror. The creators also included scenes that tackle the importance of making your time and existence count, and the unconditional love of parents -- scenes that can melt the hearts of viewers.
All of Us Are Dead is reportedly due for a second season. There are some cliffhanging questions from season 1 that were left in my head so if you were to ask me if I will give it another shot, well, probably. But for now, I will give my brain and my heart the rest and recovery time it deserves. After all, it's not easy watching and feeling as if I am also chased by those flesh-eating monsters too.
