so i got back from my trip and had three relatively normal days...saturday, sunday (good to be back at mosaic), and monday. (on monday i went to work, then hung out with yoon, who had all of 4 hours to hang out that night, then she was leaving for korea the next morning. we went to the grove where esther met up with us, and just had a pretty good time talking and just hanging out...too short! esther and i had dinner after i dropped yoon off - shabu shabu at seoul garden - the best! annie called us in the middle of dinner, so the three of us had a memorable conversation...me relaying everything annie was saying to esther, vice versa...)

anyways, tuesday morning, i woke up sick, so i didn't go into work, but then wednesday was anne's (she was a temp in the office that we all love) last day, so i felt i should go in, so i worked wednesday. then i got called into jury duty on thursday, where i started feeling worse, so it was a good thing that though i was called to serve a case, they settled before the end of the day. i rested the rest of the day, but i still wasn't feeling well enough to go to work on friday, so i just did a whole lot of resting...

to make a long story short, on saturday, i was changing to meet up with mel and tina for lunch, and as i was bent over to change my pants, i had a bad coughing fit. i coughed especially hard, and all of a sudden, i felt something go in my back. it was kinda sore, so i just stretched for a little bit, but it didn't seem too bad, so i went ahead and met up with the girls at king taco. after lunch, we went back to tina and albert's place, where i decided to stretch it out a bit. big mistake...i could barely get up and walk after that. after a coupla advil, it got better, but i felt so crippled! since then, it's gradually gotten better, but it's still kinda bad. plus, my cough got much worse, and where i thought i was feeling better on saturday, i started feeling bad again on monday at work. argh!! my body's falling apart!

in other news, i had orientation yesterday at ucla. it went pretty well, and i think i got a better impression of the program than what i know about michigan. i met up with susan there, and i think some of her excitement rubbed off on me (that girl's pretty crazy). also, i haven't had a good chance to even think about school what with everything that's been going on, so it's starting to hit me, i guess. anyways, i'm starting to get excited, though this quarter is going to start off very, very slow...i'm going to work (part-time) more than go to school. hopefully that will change next quarter.

dc...

got into dc union station wednesday night and grace picked me up. had a really good time just talking with her...

thursday, september 11th: didn't go out, even though it was a beautiful day 'cuz i was feeling a bit tired from new york. just read and watched the divine secrets of the ya-ya yada yada (grace has the video, and i read the book a while ago, so i was curious how the movie was). i actually teared up a coupla times...those mother-daughter and father-daughter relationship movies always get to me for some reason. grace came back after work, and we met up with miwon (a friend from michigan) for dinner. went to rio grande, really close to grace's place. kinda funny story...i got stuck in the pool area of her apartment (grace called me to meet her in the front of her building, and since we came through her garage the night before, i didn't know how to get out)...so i had to hop a fence...it was low, but...at dinner, there was some sort of problem with our entrees, so our dinners took a long time. we didn't even complain, but the waiter apologized, and we got free dessert! (you know how free dessert makes me happy...). it was great seeing miwon, who i haven't since michigan...had a bit of catching up to do. grace and i once again ended up talking late into the night...feel bad b/c she had work, and every morning before she took off, she'd stand at the door and say, a little sadly, "have a good day," all the while looking longingly at the bed...and i made it worse 'cuz we stayed up late talking...but she was great about it.

friday, september 12th: this day, on the rainiest day of my vacation, i decided to explore a little (of course, the 11th was a perfect day to be outside, but no, i chose to stay in that day, which left me this wet day to go out). so i went to dupont circle, which is a quaint area with little boutiques and shops...walked around and got pretty wet. especially enjoyed walking into what looked like a regular bookstore...then realizing that there were rainbow decorated stuff everywhere, and the books were...of subject matter that i had little interest in, we'll just leave it at that. otherwise, it was nice to walk around, even though it was raining pretty hard at times. had to borrow an umbrella from grace, and on the way back, i inadvertently got on the wrong train, which i figured out, but in my haste to get off the train, i left grace's umbrella...after grace got back from work, we met up with her boyfriend, steve, at georgia browne's, a fancy schmancy restaurant with really yummy southern food. went back and watched "she loves me, she loves me not," a film with audrey tatou that i mistook for a romantic comedy...not noticing the word "thriller" in the dvd jacket. interesting movie...even more interesting were the subtitles...one word, actually, that i'm not sure was translated the way they intended...anyways, that night, grace and i didn't stay up too late...grace fell asleep while we were watching tv. this, after our plans to stay up all night. well, i guess we did enough catching up and talking the other nights...

saturday, september 13th: back to vegas and then lax with no incidents...home sweet home!!

the end!

alrighty...new york.

so the bus ride over passed without incident. sirena and i just talked and slept...it wasn't until we got into new york that we had a little adventure. we got dropped off in thsi strange area of chinatown, apparently very far from any subway station that would take me to my second cousin's (jarin) place in washington heights...not the best of neighborhoods, but close to the health sciences/medical campus for columbia. anyways, because it was so complicated (when we asked the bus people for directions to the nearest subway, they gave us five different ways to go...all in broken english, also hitting on sirena in the process), we decided to take a taxi to meet up with sirena's friend, and then her friend would direct me to a nearby station. it seemed the bus people also ran a taxi service of sorts (they were asking all the bus passengers if we needed taxis), so we asked them to call us a taxi. big mistake. they waved us to this car that wasn't a real taxi (no meter), we gave the driver the intersection where we're supposed to meet sirena's friend, and he started driving...kinda. he kept on stopping at every intersection, even when it was green (we got honked at a lot), made some turns, then some u-turns. (sirena and i were pretty white-knuckled). finally, he stops at this random intersection, and since he can't speak english, sirena tries to explain to him in chinese where we need to go. after about 15 minutes of arguing (sirena called her friend to try to have him explain where we needed to go, who told her to let him speak to driver...she gave the phone to the driver and they proceeded to have an almost full-out argument ending with sirena's friend telling him he was an idiot), we got out, and after a little bit of wandering, a nice chauffeur (a bunch of them were kinda standing around - i guess waiting to get called to pick up people?) offered to drop us off where we needed to go. so we finally got to where sirena's friend was, and i was on my way, albeit an hour late. the minute i got off the right subway stop, i called my cousin, who directed me to her apartment...also telling me not to be afraid and to watch out for dog poop...at the time, i wasn't quite sure why, but after walking a few blocks down, i understood...but yeah, for the most part, the area looks a bit worse than it actually is. so i finally got in and saw jarin again (i hadn't seen her over a year and a half) and met one of her roommates, eun-jee. i met the other roommate, yoon-jee (no, it wasn't planned...weird coincidence) the next day...

friday, september 5th: it was a beautiful day, clear skies after a week of rain, so jarin and i went to central park and walked around a bit. in the evening, we went back and met up with both of jarin's roommates for dinner at saigon grill (yummy vietnamese food) and drinks at mod (70s decor) and then 3rd floor cafe (korean place). girls night out...it was fun.

saturday, september 6th: another beautiful day. jarin and i met up with iris and dennis for lunch at penang (sound familiar? went there in boston...the pineapple fried rice is excellent) and we got some ice cream before we parted ways (iris had to unpack, having moved the week before; dennis was stressing about studying...he's pretty stressed, but at least he finds the material interesting...what happened to the fun-loving dennis that was always up for trying out new bars and clubs around la? darn law school). jarin and i went shopping...to century 21, this discount department store right across from ground zero...so sad, but i think they were starting construction on the monument, so it didn't seem as desolate. had some problems there, so i didn't get to really take time there...afterwards, we went to soho to meet up with her roommates and do a little shopping, but we ended up having to meet up with my cousin tony (my first cousin, second cousin to jarin) for dinner soon after we got there. he took us to this place called chez assada (sp? - kinda cool...had a little trouble finding it because it wasn't marked) for moroccan food and...why must i always be haunted by this...belly dancing (there's this other moroccan place in la that i went to for a friend's birthday, and there was all this belly dancing, and usually belly dancers in that kind of setting will bring some of the diners up to dance with her. as you know, that's one of my mortal fears...that previous time, there were multiple rounds of belly dancing all night...and everytime she would come back on, i'd tense up and try not to make eye contact). at any rate, at this dinner, we left early, so we only had to endure one round of belly dancing...a lot of people there were pretty eager to go up there, so we were safe, but the belly dancer did tell jarin on her way out of the room that jarin would have been next...though i don't think jarin would have minded all that much. after dinner, we went to slate, this pretty nice pool hall. we played cut-throat...i was really rusty, but i still managed to win one of the games. (tony won the other two...) the game i won actually went on forever 'cuz we kept on scratching, and we played the rule where the other two get one ball each back on the table...i think jarin was out of the game 3 or 4 times, but she kept on coming back into the game after tony or i scratched. anyways, that was fun.

sunday, september 7th: iris and i were initially planning on going to see broadway on broadway (they set up a stage in time square and they put on a musical number from each broadway musical, at least, that's how i understood it), which would have been pretty darn cool, but seeing as neither of us got up early enough to get good seats (we would have had to get there by 9:30, and it started at 11:30), we didn't go...i know, i know, i missed out definitely. i'll just hafta go next time. ;p anyways, we went to the morning service at redeemer instead...tim keller is definitely gifted. i loved the message, based on a passage in jeremiah talking about those who trust in men (shrub in the desert) vs. those who trust in God (tree planted by the water)...just a great message. saw janet, hayeon, yula and jack (and yula's sisters), ellen...met some of iris' friends. afterwards, a bunch of us went to lunch in k-town (while there, i thought i saw john cho...and it was him! he was in town on business...), and then we went to battery park to see a free concert...cassandra wilson, a jazz vocalist. she has an amazing voice...gotta get one of her cds. one of iris' friends got there a little early and had a blanket spread out, so we just sat down and listened...really cool. that's one thing - there's so much to do in the city, especially in the summer. and it's just easier to get to places because of the subway (don't need to drive or find parking)...we met up with a few more of iris' church friends at central park, then went to blondie's, a sports bar, to catch the u.s. open men's finals. tony met up with us there, then five of us (tony, iris, iris' two friends, and i) went to cafe lalo (the cafe in you've got mail where meg ryan is waiting to meet tom hanks but she doesn't know it's tom hanks) for dessert.

monday, september 8th: jarin had work and class most of the day, so i just went around...met up with jessica (from kbc in michigan) for lunch. did a little walking around that area, then got back a little early to join up with jarin, eun-jee and yoon-jee...we had tickets to see phantom of the opera (i think that was my fourth time or something), but we got a good deal on really good seats, so it was almost a completely different experience. we got coldstone's afterwards...nice ending to a nice day.

tuesday, september 9th: i went back to soho to try to find something to bring back home...something not tacky or touristy, but still uniquely ny. didn't find anything. in the evening, iris got a bunch of berkeley people together (janet, roy, dennis, john cho, ernesto, and ernesto's two friends for dinner at carmine's. tony also came out, which was kinda funny 'cuz i feel like the crowd was a bit young for him...not that he's old, but i felt like the crowd was a little young for me...went for coldstone's again (the same one in the theater district, and i wanted it again!)

wednesday, september 10th: ran a coupla errands in the morning, then had a little time to hang out with jarin before i left. before taking the train out to dc, i got to hang out with yula, which was really nice. saw her new place...it's really, really nice. her building has a full gym (and each of the bikes and treadmills has its own tv!), plus a lounge area with free juice, newpapers, magazines, books, pool tables, dartboards...so nice!! oh, and a movie viewing room you can reserve!! and the apartment itself is really nice...pretty new, with a great view of the river. (i forget which one) i took the amtrak to dc...

the end of my nyc week...

i just got back today from my east coast trip...spent two weeks visiting boston, nyc, and dc...can't believe that i'm already back here. while i was there it seemed like a good amount of time, but now that i'm back, i feel like it passed by in a blink.

just wanted to give a run-down of what i did...

saturday, august 30th: basically spent the whole day traveling...left lax in the early afternoon, had a short layover in vegas (america west, baby), and arrived in boston midnight, east coast time. losing those three hours really makes traveling east feel like a waste of a day. annie and her roommate, jane, picked me up...it was so awesome to be there and to see annie again face to face. saw a little bit of boston on the ride to somerville, courtesy of jane...she's such a sweetie! pretty tired, so we just crashed when we got to annie's place.

sunday, august 31st: met the rest of the roommates. olee cooked a brunch, and i got a chance to meet angela and sirena (along with olee and jane) over the meal. they're great girls...really sweet and innocent. afterwards, annie took me to harvard square and boston commons. it was nice just to walk around...there's this one man-made pond that's called frog pond or something like that (no real frogs, just large statues of frogs), where the water's only about 6 inches deep...so all these little toddlers were running around followed by their parents. apparently, in the winter, they turn it into an ice-skating rink. annie and i decided to take a little dip, so there should be a picture of that somewhere...for the most part, we just walked around that day, talked and caught up. we also went down commonwealth avenue, part of the nicer shopping district, with more expensive stores and boutiques. in the evening we went to high rock church and the pastor (greg, i believe) challenged the congregation to start this new school year focused on the Word, building that strong foundation. they had a picnic dinner afterwards, but we left after eating...it got cold! jane took annie and i on a little impromptu road tour of boston that night...in our pjs.

monday, september 1st: we went shopping in boston...can i say how much i love h&m?? it's got pretty good quality clothes, at very cheap prices. i guess the closest equivalent on the west coast would be rampage or forever 21 in terms of price range, but the clothes are just better - not as trendy and better quality, from what i can tell. we also went to a bakery, i forget the name, but apparently it's pretty famous, in north end. it's in boston's version of little italy, and while we were there, we caught the st. anthony festival...basically a mini parade with bands and women holding up a statue of saint anthony (i'm guessing), kinda like women around a may pole. the interesting thing is that the statue is covered with dollar bills...yeah, i didn't do my research, so i have no idea what the significance of that is. afterwards, annie planned and cooked a dinner for the berkeley gals in boston - esther kim, cathy bong, and sonia lee. annie's roommates joined us, and it was really nice to hang out with all the girls. annie cooked up a major feast, and afterwards cathy started showing us some of her moves (belly dancing and salsa)...all i knows is that my body don't move that way...i think it's incapable of contorting like that. in the middle of the lesson, someone who will remain anonymous let out a leettle gas...it was just so unexpected and cute...that was pretty funny.

tuesday, september 2nd: annie had school, so i slept in a little and then walked around davis circle (t station closest to where annie lives, and also the closest t stop to tufts), eventually making my way to campus to meet her. what i saw of the campus was really pretty...not very large, but nice buildings and greenery. annie and i walked back to davis circle where we had lunch at the rosebud diner...then we went back home and vegged. annie had an evening class, and i went with her, sat outside and read while she had class. annie didn't think it would go long, which is partially why i just decided to go with her, but it went the full 1.5-2 hours (forgot how long...just know from sitting outside the lecture room that the professor has a pretty monotonous voice). got a chance to meet some of her classmates, who seem really nice...good people. afterwards, we walked to a blockbuster near annie's place and rented monsoon wedding...it was a good movie (for some reason, i've been watching a lot of indian movies lately...bend it like beckham, east is east, and now monsoon wedding...all about the conflict between their traditional way of life vs. modern...in some ways, their culture is very similar to ours, and i've found that i relate to some of the characters).

wednesday, september 3rd: annie had class all day, so i was on my own for most of the day. i met up with sonia and spent most of the day with her. it's been a while since i talked to sonia, so it was really good to catch up...i feel like sonia's changed a lot...not in a bad way...just not what i would have expected, different... (makes me wonder how we've all changed since our berkeley days...) went to harvard square with sonia and then tried to shop around for salsa dancing clothes (not having packed any) b/c we (annie and angela and i) were going salsa dancing that night. there's this club that gives an hour of lessons, and then it becomes a club. i couldn't find anything, so i ended up borrowing shoes - aerosoles, mind you - that started hurting my feet by the time we got to the club (walking to and from the t stops) - and were killing me by the end of the lessons. turned out they were a good excuse to not dance...i know, i know, i should have, but i'm just a really bad dancer - even with the lessons, i'm just resigned to it - and my feet were really, really, truly killing me. we actually ran into charles, aka chuck, from kcpc olden days. (he was a senior when we were freshmen). that was random. the walk back was painful..

thursday, september 4th: my last day in boston. ran a few errands in the morning, did my laundry, then annie and sirena and i went to chinatown to catch the bus. sirena thankfully also had to go to nyc (she was going home to jersey for the weekend), so we took the bus together. $10...a good deal! we had lunch at penang, and then we took off, leaving annie in the rain all alone...sniff, sniff.

thus concludes the boston leg of my trip. it was really good hanging out with people...i got to hang out with annie's roommates a good bit, especially sirena. i usually hung out with ended up talking with her in between activities...you know, after waking up, before going out, after coming back...she's such a sweetie!