wanna come over for dinner??

my benches are FINALLY here! that means, dinner parties! if you have any good recipes for large groups/dinner parties, let me know! i'll be happy to host! =)

come over and sit on my bench!

"anytime" mr mcknight

here's a sneak peak of my night with mr mcknight...

(sorry for the annoying girl in the footage that keeps turning her head towards her bf every time the chorus comes around to sing it to him. he wasn't at all interested. hahaha)

if you wanna see any of his other performances, follow these links:

anytime

another you

brian & his sons: star spangled banner

brian & his brother & sons: after the love has gone

nothing to envy

i just finished reading this book and it broke my heart. i've never read any books on north korea, but i was immediately drawn to this when i saw it one afternoon. i don't know if it's because i'm korean or because i wanted a better glimpse of what it's like to live in north korea, but i couldn't put it down and i found myself welling-up with tears every time i opened it. it's so easy for me to forget that there are millions of people living in today's times without the absolute BASIC necessities in life. that people wake up at the break of dawn in search for the freshest blades of grass to blend it with tree bark and corn husks. that people are brainwashed to believe that their fearless leader is the greatest provider in all of the world. that the rest of the world looks as bleak as north korea. that you can live your entire life and never hear the words "jesus christ". this book is a realistic glimpse into the lives of a few individuals that have defected. some would argue that they are the lucky ones, but others argue that their "new life" in south korea is so much harder to adjust to. it's a heartbreaking story.

i don't know which is better.. to live in "blissful" ignorance? starving and fighting for your life everyday, but being in the same situation as everyone else around you? or be given a chance at "the good life" and struggle everyday through it as the outcast, all on your own? it's unfathomable that people would pick a life like the ones i read about in this book over a "fresh" start in south korea. but some have admitted that they wished they never left nkorea. i'll never be able to understand their struggle.

yes, i've faced some difficulties in my life, who hasn't? everyone has a different degree of struggle and pain that they've experience, but it is absolutely minor in comparison to what these people have faced and are still facing. i have so much to be thankful for and i have an abundance of blessings in my life. i never have to wake up at 3 in the morning in search for dropped uncooked rice on the street. or travel by foot through a freezing cold river in search for hope, terrified that i'll be persecuted.

read it. it'll give you a new perspective on struggling.

summer goals

my friend has been encouraging me to set some summer goals and blog about them. considering i'm one of those people that never make new years resolutions, i'm going to try to set some short-term goals for this summer. (my excuse has always been "if there's something you want to change, why wait until the end of the year to do it?" but i'm silently starting to feel that it's just a cop-out way to never make any concrete changes in my life- blahhh.)


the challenge is to create 5 personal goals and add 5 goals from kathy's list.
so, here are my summer goals:

• read 3 books: 1 non-fiction, 1 fiction, 1 christian (stolen from clara)
• go to at least 3 group exercise classes-  for whatever reason, i'm too shy to walk into a class =/ 
• organize my insane walk-in closet (meaning throw away/donate a lot of useless crap)- anyone need notepads from hallmark??
• plan a trip to new york and europe
• decorate my bare walls- now that i've decided to stay in my awesome apt, it's time to make it look more "lived in"

from kathy's list:

• learn to do something new
• no jeans for a week
• take a road trip (this is kinda hard.. since i don't have a car. but i'm hoping to take a road trip this summer!)
• host a summer dinner party
• take a picture every hour of a fun or normal day

i'll do my best to blog my way through this list. =)

at the urging of some friends, i’m starting this blog. i’m not eloquent nor do i have a whole lot to share… but for those of you interested in my journey, i hope it’s uplifting and makes you smile and laugh once in awhile. =)

what better way to start my new blog than with pictures from an awesome memorial weekend? i’m super lame and feeling frustrated with all the blogsites i tried. why is it soooo hard to edit between pictures??? i miss the good ol’ days of xanga...  but here it goes.

off the grid (OTG) in the marina has become a MAD HOUSE. the key is to go early (@ 5) and strategize. immediately separate into "teams" and stand in line for the top trucks you want to eat at.  a must-eat at OTG is curry up now (CUN). even though i used to regularly go to CUN for lunch in the fidi, i realized that eating it made me insanely sleepy and super unproductive for the rest of the day. so, i haven't been to the fidi truck in months. so, i was pleasantly surprised when the OTG truck had new a new menu item: tikka fries! it was a mix of sweet potato fries and yummy goodness on top. the tikka masala burrito is also a must... but i failed to get a picture of it before we devoured it. plus i love that we bring our own wine to avoid the insanely long drink line. =)

then onto my next eating excursion. headed to tomales bay for some fresh oysters, kalbi, bacon-wrapped scallops, spare-ribs, pulled pork, mexican corn. i absolutely LOVE going to tomales bay. the oysters are simply divine. 

 after tomales, headed to nihon where the fellas drank A LOT of that "smells like band-aids" drink. i am not a whiskey drinker, but i had fun. =)

best dinner of the weekend was at chotto in the marina. bacon-wrapped mochi and kakuni were the highlights for me. *drooooooool

ended the weekend at golden gate park for some sliders, volleyball and lots of well-wishes for our friend, janice. ("thanks mercados for doing such an awesome job!")