New media and my goals for the future...

 

This week I hit 150 subscribers for the MrJingjong (The Aimless Cook) channel! More importantly, the quality of subscriber I have been getting recently have been surprising. I am really starting to feel like a part of the J-vlogging community. Facebook has also been quite a tool in promoting my YouTube endeavors and I'm finding that a lot of YTers are doing the same.

There's something surreal about the interaction in new media. TV just doesn't have that. Mind you, I still like TV, but if I were to make a choice today...internet FTW. There's something to be said about watching your favorite YT personalities and being able to comment, rate and interact with them. When I made the decision to get serious about my channel, it was cool to be able to pick up and learn everything I needed to in order to make it all happen. I watched a lot of what the other YouTubers were doing, what tools they were using and listened to the comments to tweak my channel into what it is today. It's still a work in progress, but I'm having so much fun in the meantime

What does the future hold for MrJingjong? Well, I think it's a reasonable aspiration, but I want to hit 500 subscribers by the summer. I want to be able to reach even more viewers and get more involved in the YT community through collaborations and guest spots. I would also like to take my first trip to Japan. It's always been on my life's "to-do" list as I have been into Japanese culture for a long long time.

Of course, I also want money. Nothing wrong with wanting money. One of the first J-bloggers I seriously got into was Danny Choo. He has been a real source of inspiration to the work I do. It's true that your passion can take you anywhere, and in my case, I know that I can get what I want out of life by just applying myself and putting energy into what I love doing most, which is cooking, teaching and making engaging content for my viewers. Cookbook, DVD...yes. Definitely.

So, that being said, I want to say, "Thank you" to the YT community for the great comments, support and encouragement. My channel is steadily growing and finding its niche among the many cooking channels that are already out there. I'm glad that I can be a source of information and entertainment for the viewers and I plan to continue as long as there are people that love to cook.

100 Subscribers!! Thank you for your support!!

Last weekend, I broke the 100 subscriber mark! I was so stoked and I wanted to just say thank you to all the viewers that are watching and enjoying my videos! A special thanks to Runnyrunny999 and Busankevin for promoting my channel. Thanks, guys!

What's goin' on?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. With YouTube and the cooking blog, it's tough to play catch up with everything. Since that evening at the hockey game, things have been pretty good. I did a collaboration cooking video with my friend, Taro, aka Runnyrunny999 and also appeared in his cooking video. The vids are at the end of this post.

As a matter of fact, its been a busy weekend for videos. In addition to Runny's vid, I did a Spam Musubi video that will be released on Friday. My friend, Kaori also asked me to make a video of her koto performance this past Sunday for the anniversary of the Evergreen Church. That was her first public performance since she was in Japan. Way to go, Kaori! That video will also be at the end of the post.

Speaking of that church anniversary, the food was phenomenal. Since most of the congregation is Korean, so was the food. I had Japche, ribs, rice cakes...man, you had to be there.

Just one last thing; I want to thank everyone who watches my channel for your continued support. Thanks to Runnyrunny999 for the collabo, I'm getting more and more subscribers everyday and I hope to get 100 soon. I have big visions for my humble channel so keep watching and tell your friends!

Until next time...

A Trip to Calgary: The Good Old Hockey Game

I had the pleasure last week of spending some time with a couple co-workers from Saskatchewan. They had been in town for the past 3 weeks to help us with a special project. Since I had been out of commission recently, it was refreshing to get back into the swing of things by hanging out with these two crazy chicks on an adventure in the big city.

As you can see, it was also a week full of finger food. Rest assured, I did get my share of the 4 basic food groups: wings, fingers, nachos and riblets. All of this nutritious food washed down with refreshing beer. (Beer is essentially liquid bread, you know)

After a few days of this wonderful fare, it was time to go experience our national pastime. It was time to go to the hockey game. I picked up the girls at their hotel after they had done a little shopping to 'prepare'. A couple Calgary Flames T-shirts and some temorary tattoos and we were ready to roll. We picked up some free burritos in the hotel lobby, jumped in the car and we were off.

Here are the highlights of this epic evening. Hope you enjoy, and when you come to Calgary, don't forget to go to the hockey game. Until next time...

Happy New Year from MrJingjong!

My friend, Steve was back in town for the holidays and he invited me to spend New Years Eve with him watching the Calgary Flames play the Edmonton Oilers. Of course, that was after we stopped for some fresh sushi at Globefish. After being in the hospital for Christmas and hanging out on my couch as I recovered, I was feeling a little cabin fever so Steve's invitation to get off my ass sounded refreshing.

So here's the video. Enjoy and don't forget to rate, comment and subscribe to MrJingjong!

The Day I Joined the Cult of Mac.

Throughout my many years of being a PC user, I have always been "Mac Curious". After my crappy Christmas in the hospital, I thought it would be a good excuse as any to treat myself to a nice gift. So, I went to the Apple Store on December 30th, 2009 and officially became the proud owner of a MacBook Pro.

It's been 4 days since I made my purchase and all I can say is that I am in love. Can you love a computer? If they are sexy, you can... I guess, and they are sexy. There is love in every aspect of this product. Even the box is incredibly beautiful with its molded black, plastic tray and foam-lined lid. As I opened the box for the first time, I was greeted by the signature logo on the Aluminum unibody case. Lovingly wrapped in plastic by angels just for me, it was pure pleasure unwrapping this beauty.

I have never had an OOB experience like this since I was 9 years old, opening up my Millenium Falcon toy, complete with Han Solo and Chewbacca figures.

The refreshing thing about Macs is that, unlike PC notebooks, Macs are not overloaded with crapware that's supposed to make your computing experience easier. When ever I buy a notebook PC, I usually expect to spend the first couple hours uninstalling the wares that the manufacturer installs. After that, I am endlessly adjusting and tweaking Windows to my preferences, getting rid of the dashboard, taking out toolbars, deleting unnecessary shortcuts, etc... Oh yeah, they actually include the recovery dvds. You don't have to spend additional hours making your own.

I was pleased to be able to use my new MacBook Pro right out of the box with a touch of the power button. After entering my name and registering, I was greeted by a nice welcome video and I was on my way. The learning curve for this new frontier is gentle. There are a few things different about working on a Mac, but once you get the hang of it, you're good to go.

Right away, I wanted to learn how to edit video with iMovie 09 and after a couple practice sessions with some test clips, I was making some great looking video. Just in case you want to see my first iMovie edited video, check out the Happy New Year post. The graphics card and processor handle my video wonderfully, rendering my transitions and previewing my clips with ease. It's truly great to have this new tool.

A Trip to the Hospital: Christmas 2009

Hello folks. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been sick lately and spent my Christmas in the hospital eating lime jello and popsicles. I went to the emergency room on Christmas Eve and had myself some lovely surgery. So, for your viewing enjoyment, here is my trip to the hospital.