It lives on!

I just found out today that the Microfinance decal I started senior year is still going strong. I thought it had died after 2-3 semesters, but it lives, it lives on!! In fact, it's been passed down from instructor to student every semester since that first semester in Spring '08. Oh bless you Cal students, you make my heart sing!

GO BEARS!

An email from my Dad for my birthday

Dear Daughter,

I'm so thankful to have
a daughter like you and
a wife like your mom.
There is no others
who could fill your shoes.
You're such a good example
of what a daughter should be.
We always get along so well
even when we disagree.
You're so patient
and understanding.
You don't ask for anything.
You're never demanding.

You're so quick to give
and such a joy to be around.
You're such a good person.
You deserve a special 24th birthday crown.
You have a good heart.
You're honest and true.
You brighten up my life
with memories and dreams

I love you so much.

Daddy

Boring

While couch shopping:
H: "How about this one?"
S: "It's too boring."
H: "It's perfect, you're a boring person."

While re-telling the story later:
H: "Well, I mean, your taste is boring. Like your clothes."

This merits a Japanese emoticon: T_T

Furikake goes with everything

On my recent trip to Hawaii, I learned many important lessons: Bring motion sickness pills on a boat ride if it's a windy day. Amazing things happen in an instant, so have a camera ready at all times. Sometimes you just shouldn't go off the beaten road. You aren't a good shotgun just because you stay awake. Japanese tourists have way more fun taking pictures. And furikake goes with everything, especially french fries.

SF to NY to LA to SF

My first "real" vacation since I started working 2.3 years ago was a trip to NY and LA last week.

friend: "you're taking a long vacay to visit places you've frequently been to?"

me: "si"

Vacations don't necessarily need to be some big planned trip to an exciting and/or exotic destination. It doesn't always involve getting lost and going to famous places. Sometimes you don't need a buddy or need to plan it over a week in advance or have it cost you an arm and a leg. Sometimes you don't need to take one single picture. Not a single one.

When you return to cities you've been to a hundred times, you can skip all that (plus have free housing). Central Park in the fall-- it's beautiful, but I've got my pictures of it last year. The world famous Rockefeller tree lighting-- what a zoo, no thank you! Beverly Hills, Hollywood-- eh, been there done that. What I loved more was shopping in SoHo at 10am on a Monday morning, discovering a Whole Foods the size of Costco, browsing 1200 flavors of soda pop, and walking back and forth across a street of food trucks just to see the menus. It was a true luxury not having a plan and having so many aimless moments in the week when I was looking to just kill time. Such a change from the 12+ hour days at work + 2+ hour commute.

More important than relaxing, this trip was chance to say, "Hey remember me?" to (almost all) the people that are important in my life that I hadn't seen in 6 months to a year. The phrases I expected: "It's so good to see you", "Thank you for letting me crash", "Don't you dare pay for this meal". Some phrases were a bit more unexpected: "Congratulations!", "OMG you're WHAT?!" (engaged, going to grad school, pregnant...).

Friends of NY and LA, THANK YOU again for eating, catching up, listening, talking, recommending, advising, housing, entertaining, wandering, and walking (and driving) with me.

Who I saw and what I ate, because you know traveling is all about the food:

Sat: lunch with V at the Meatball Shop, coffee at Joes, shopping, dessert at Christine's with her hilarious friends, drinks at Raine's Law

Sun: brunch with V and Grace at Keste, coffee at Joes (again), shopping (again), Redeemer Church, dinner with V at Malatesa

Mon: Coffee and pastries at Balthazar Bakery, Shopping (for real this time), lunch with Jen at Totto Ramen (it's no Ippudo c'mon now), dinner with Jonna at Momofuku Noodle Bar and deserts at Milk Bar

Tue: Lunch with Parilee at the Green Table, feeding my banana cocaine addiction with Richard at Magnolias, coffee/wine/cheese at Eataly, church small group, dinner with Gabby at Blue Smoke

Wed: Coffee at Joes (yes again because it's the best in the universe), lunch with old team at the office, cupcake at Billys, catchup with Wilken, manipedi, dinner with Donna/Aneesh/V at Shake Shake in Midtown

Thu: Breakfast with HyunJin at Clinton St. Bakery, flight, LA traffic, dinner with Eunice at Din something in Chinese (soup dumpling place)

Fri: Coffee at the Starbucks in LA Live (don't know what the hype was about...it's just a Starbucks), lunch with Tim at Daikokasomething, Scoop, random driving, more LA traffic, dinner with Dima at Manchego

Sat: Breakfast at Alli's, wedding dress shopping and lunch with Mel/Julie/Alli at the Hat, LA traffic, Santa Monica mall, a little more LA traffic, flight

Next time:

• Tater tots and bacon wrapped hot dog in E Village
• Somewhere schmancy, Michelin-y
• IPPUDO
• Eataly (for the pasta)
• Mozza

LET'S GO GI-ANTS!

I'm may not the biggest Giants fan, but I sure do love them. Don't really care about any other team. The 2002 series makes me sad every time I think about it, and have been going to at least a few games every season since I was a kid. Wouldn't deny being a bandwagoner, but I've have been a lifelong fan.

So how did I spend the 2010 champion year?

This year I only got to go to one pre-season game. I watched the entire post-season on gameday on my computer (which is not actually streaming, just a delayed play-by-play). One of the few games I watched on TV, the cable box went out as Uribe hit a clutch homer. Didn't go to a single bar. Watched only one game with my buddies, and they lost that one. I did get to watch Game 4 with roommies, but was doing work at the same time. Got back to the city after 10pm every weeknight. Didn't have a single hat or shirt to wear proudly. Not to mention how I spent the final game. Missed the games, after-parties, jumping in the streets, the parade, and all the championship hugs and high fives.

But it doesn't matter because the Giants won the World Series. Don't need to be a part of it to feel the city buzzing. It's in the air :)

GO GIANTS!

camping

here are a list of some awesome things:

• my dad telling me we're going to leave at 6:30am, but letting me sleep in until 7:30 (that never happens)
• my mom giving me the $16 she found in my pants when doing my laundry
• using that money to buy ice cream bars for everyone
• figuring out how to assemble a 9x17 ft tent
• sleeping in a 9x17 tent
• on battery-powered aero beds that my dad bought because he thinks he's too old to be sleeping on rocks and sticks
• camping in yosemite on a warm, orange-tinted october day, even though my toes fell off when it went below 30 degrees at night
• wearing the same clothes for 40 hours
• not wearing makeup
• getting a site close to the bathrooms, even though my mom didn't see where I was pointing and instead, walked .25 miles up the hill to the next bathroom
• throwing rocks at random things while gathering firewood
• building a campfire without lighter fluid
• watching my dad try to add a log that is literally bigger than me in our fire pit
• eating spicy korean ramen for lunch, dinner, and breakfast
• eating 4 s'mores (yes 4)
• waking up, walking out of the tent, and seeing a BEAR in the next campsite
• climbing rocks to a waterfall, even though I slipped and got my shoe wet
• my mom having like 12,000 korean wetnaps
• my bro not paying attention while driving down a steep and windy road because we finally got reception to KNBR 680 and were listening to the Giants game
• the Giants going from a 1-2 score at the top of the 9th with one man on, 2 outs and a 2-2 count to scoring 2 more and wining the game
• checking the Cal game score (35-7)
• my bro saying he'll drive until we need to fill up again, which never happened. sucka!

cheers choi family!