The MOh You Know

Marriage. Check.

2012-01-14T15:49:00.001-08:00

A lot of time has passed and a lot has happened in that time period. The biggest event being that I got married! Yesterday to be exact.

It was a beautiful ceremony in the Salt Lake temple followed by the reception of my dreams (at least for what we could afford) at the Salt Lake Hardware Building. All of our family were in attendance as well as the close friends and family that were able to attend. It was super fun and full of surprises and memories! More to come once we get back from the honeymoon.

In the meantime, to get you caught up, here are some of the engagement photos shot by Rachel Thurston here.

And also, check out some of the awesome photo booth pics we collected throughout the night on our website at www.MattandMiriam.com. So fun and I must say, we have some of the best-looking, if not funniest-looking, friends and family!

No Tip For You

2011-10-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Last night I left a $1.65 tip on a $35 check and I felt great doing it! And why not? The service was the worst I had ever experienced in all of my dining experiences, so why the heck would I even leave a tip of any sort? Isn't the idea behind tipping in a restaurant to regard servers for great service? Yes, I understand that often times 100% of a server's income comes from the tips they receive, but then shouldn't they, too, follow the etiquette behind tipping by providing great service in the way that I follow the same etiquette in leaving a 15-20% tip? I believe yes!

I feel that I have always been a generous tipper, mostly because I feel bad for anyone that has to serve me my food. And for the most part, like many of us, I probably tip more than I should despite the level of service. Call it habit, call it charity, call it laziness because I'd rather do the math on 15% than 20%, but I feel I usually give more than is necessary. As such, I feel that I have generously tipped at restaurants despite terrible service mostly because I feel bad or embarrassed for being a bad tipper, or I fear appearing a jerk for being stingy. But why? When I am rewarding someone for crap well done? So, last night, for the first time, I mustered up the gumption and "I stiffed the waiter" and I felt totally justified. And yes, the service was that bad.

So, to everyone who feels they have truly received terrible service and after assessing the situation appropriately, I see it fitting to send a message to your server in the form of an appropriate tip amount and maybe a note to explain why. Whether it be nothing or less than 15-20%, remember that tipping is not mandatory, but rather, customary and appropriate, in American culture and should reflect the true level of service received.

On the other hand, if you are a crappy tipper and tip poorly regularly, stop it. Don't be a tool.

Mommy and Daddy Oh Mission Call: Brazil?! No, Korea.

2011-09-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Daddy Oh stories truly never disappoint. If only they knew how funny they are and how much everyone loves them!

To end the week, I’ve saved the best for last. This isn’t a stop on the trip down mommy and daddy Oh memory lane, but it is new material and definitely a highlight story. I have sat on this video for quite a while thinking I would do something extraordinary with it, but I have found that just by posting it (albeit a different version) on YouTube just a couple of months ago and sharing it with just 2 or 3 friends, it has gotten a lot of traffic and a great response! It has proved that it speaks for itself.

So, I have edited it into something better viewable and I hope you will enjoy it as much as you have enjoyed my other posts about my parents.

Just for a quick background rundown on the video, by the time my mom and dad received their mission call in late July, they were about to burst with anticipation. The application process dragged on and on. What my mom thought would take a week to complete and submit, took about 5 months with all of the doctor’s approvals and other requirements that they needed. Then once they submitted their papers locally, it was another month or two before they had the green light to submit to Salt Lake. My mom said it was a true test of her testimony because she was losing patience! She thought she would be on a plane to Korea by April of this year. They just left today.

While waiting for their mission call to arrive, I would joke with my mom about them receiving a call to South Africa or Brazil. Boy did she not like that! In her words, “Don’t make mommy mad.”

So, when their call actually came, I happened to be the first to pull it from the mailbox. They were working in the temple that day so I had a whole day to sit on it. I called my sister-in-law, Denise, to tell her it finally came and she suggested playing a little joke on them. At first I thought it was a mean prank and also, I didn’t think I had the time to pull it together. But then I imagined things playing out and me catching it on video and I knew this wasn’t something I could be lazy about.

Here’s what happened:

Best of Mommy and Daddy Oh: Mommy Oh and Cars

2011-08-31T23:38:00.000-07:00

My mom has always had an interesting way of looking at things. And to be honest, it's hard to argue with her interpretations...

Click: Mommy Oh and Cars
Original posting date: September 13, 2008

Best of Mommy and Daddy Oh: In space...I mean, Spain.

2011-08-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

Today's "Best of" is from a conversation I had with my mom. A totally classic Mommy Oh misunderstanding, yet acceptable line of reasoning on her part.

Click: In space...I mean, Spain.
From February 26, 2008

Best of Mommy and Daddy Oh

2011-08-29T23:12:00.001-07:00

My parents are in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) getting ready to start an 18-month mission for the Church at the Seoul Korea Temple. They leave the MTC this Friday and I most likely won't see or talk with them for the entire time they are gone.

In the past, they have supplied me with some of the best material for my blog, back when I blogged on a regular basis. Now that they are leaving, I will have little material to share and to entertain, so I thought it only appropriate to reminisce and bring back some of the classic blog posts in which they have starred. Please enjoy!

This first one came about while I was in my second year of grad school. Might I add that my dad has always seemed to want to think that he was Cliff Huxtable from "The Cosby Show" and that his kids only wanted money and to do their laundry when they visited. Such was never really the case, but my dad liked to play the part for whatever reason. It always made me laugh.

There is a follow-up so be sure to click on the link as well. It's a goody.

Click: "What?! Cereal?!"
From April 17, 2009

Crab Boil

2011-08-28T22:24:00.001-07:00

I have been craving this meal for over 10 years!

Ten years ago, I was sitting in a cold, poorly lit room in a church in Chung-Ju, South Korea talking to a fellow missionary. We were reminiscing about home (only briefly, of course...) and we were talking about family traditions. One tradition he talked about that I fell in love with and have never forgotten, was something he did with his family every summer in Idaho. They would get all of the family together and boil shrimp, crab, potatoes, corn and whatever else, in a big pot, then toss it all on a newspaper-covered picnic table and go to town. I can still see him talking about it and licking his fingers. Ever since then, I have wanted to do this but never have thinking it was overly complicated or required some kind of special skill! Yet, little did I know it was so simple!

A couple of weekends ago when Matt and I were visiting Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands for his birthday, we had planned to do a clam boil with the clams that we were going to catch. Unfortunately, the tides were uncooperative (or we misread the tide table...) and we missed our window to dig for any clams. Although, I will say that I am now legally licensed to fish for a year and we now have a handy folding shovel to dig for the clams that we never would have owned had we not prepared to dig for clams! Oh the silver lining...As the sad saying goes, I was all dressed up with nowhere to go...

Nonetheless, we were still determined to do the boil, clams or not. Ironically, on an island where one would think seafood would be readily available, we could find none! We scoured the island looking for a roadside stand selling fresh crab or shellfish, Google'd for local vendors, even contemplated roaming the docks for lone fisherman willing to part with their catch, but to no avail. Sadly, we just ended up at the local supermarket buying a cellophane-wrapped fresh salmon filet. Disappointing? Truly.

We barbequed instead and left the desire to Boil, to continue to fester.

But finally, today, we boiled! Matt was back in Seattle for a visit and we made it a point to finish what we started. It was my first go, but after talking to a friend about a Louisiana Boil she hosted earlier this week, I felt pretty confident.

I looked to the internet for ideas, but having not planned all too well, I just followed the general guidelines of the recipe I found here. I pretty much did what this recipe recommend. Although next time, I will be sure to buy a seasoning packet meant for this sort of food preparation.

And it was so easy! All I really did was boil stuff! I got a big pot, filled it with water, then threw in some cayenne pepper, garlic, and salt to make up for my lack of seasonings, and brought it to a boil. Then I threw stuff in it based on needed boiling time and let it cook! It was the easiest, and one of the tastiest meals I have ever had. We had hoped to make a field trip of the meal to Pike Place Market for some fresh seafood, but with time as a constraint, we settled for a lovely trip to Costco instead to purchase our crab. At $5.99 a pound for a 1.5-lb crab, it wasn't a bad deal at all. We even bought our shrimp there.

I would think this would be great for a camp out or just a backyard gathering. It was simple and the clean-up was minimal! Plus, it's always fun to eat with your hands!

The meal was delicious and the only missing component was an outdoor picnic table covered in newspaper to toss our bounty on before we grubbed. We used no utensils and went through a good amount of napkins before we wiped our mouths clean. It was delicious, fun and totally satisfying!

Until the next boil!

Bye Bye Marie

2011-07-17T19:05:00.001-07:00

It was around my birthday, June 18, that I found myself needing Marie Callender's more than ever.

I have long been a fruit pie fan and while not much of a pie chef, Marie has always been there to satisfy my hunger.

Everywhere I have ever lived, Marie has been there for me. I never thought I would be without her. But it was on my birthday this year, that my appetite found itself abandoned and truly alone...without Marie to comfort me.

This was the scene at my local Marie Callender's:

Horrible! Devastating! Where did it go? How could this be?

But I was not immediately dismayed. That is, until I looked up other locations only to find that there were no other locations to be found. In fact, Marie Callender's was no longer operating in Washington. I was truly disappointed.

To make it worse, the rest of the chain was promoting one of its whole pie month sales. Slap in the face.

I guess I'll just have to move.

Quirky Miriam: Pen Requirements

2011-05-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am a pen snob. Any sort of writing, from simply filling out a check to making an entry in my journal, the writing implement I use must meet certain criteria.

First, if it is a ballpoint pen (original pen design using liquid ink), it must allow for smooth writing capabilities. Yes, smooth, just like a baby's bottom. To be specific, it must literally glide across the paper with ease requiring very little effort on my part. If I run into any resistance between pen and paper, the pen becomes dead to me and will promptly be replaced.

Second, if the pen is a rollerball pen (ballpoint-based more common with water-based liquid or gelled ink), the pen must not leak, blot or clump. This type of pen, too, must be smooth. If I can hear the pen making it's way across a piece of paper, it too is dead to me.

Third, the pen must make continuous lines unless picked up from the paper to indicate a space or otherwise necessary blankness. When the ball of the point does not roll without ease or the ink fails to flow, such breaks in writing will occur and will then be deemed unacceptable pen performance.

Fourth, the pen must commence writing upon immediate contact to the paper. You would be surprised how many of both ballpoint and rollerball pens stall at the point of touch down and the disbursement of ink does not occur until well into the first letter. It is unbecoming of a pen and totally annoying.

Fifth, the pen must have a manageable grip. For me, I prefer a barrel with a small-to-medium diameter. I am impartial to rubber gripping, but do appreciate a soft hold.

Sixth, spinnability. I like to twirl my pen in my fingers. The pen must have just the right balance at the end and the tip to facilitate swift twirling in the fingers with minimal probability of dropping. Note: It's no longer just an Asian thing. Lots of people do it. I just happen to be Asian and I always spin my pen. It is otherwise very common.

Below are examples of my favorite pens both past and present:

Paper Mate - Stick Ballpoint Pen
Through grade school, this was my pen of choice. It met all of the above requirements and just seemed to hug my lined school paper that I fancied so much.

uni-ball® Roller Pens
Later in high school I discovered the uni-ball. Excellent for spinning though I found the pen's writing performance would deteriorate any time I dropped the pen on its tip. But overall, smooth and near-perfect for writing.

Pentel R.S.V.P. Ballpoint Pens
Best twirling pen on the market and near-flawless writing capability. I feel free when I use this pen. In college it was my pen of choice along with the uni-ball.

Pilot® G-2 Retractable Gel-Ink Pens
For quite some time, I resisted this pen. I had seen it in the hands of so many that I didn't want to believe it could perform to my standards. It just seemed so cliche. But, one day, in a pinch, I reached for the pen and never really put it down. While it has very poor spinnability and will blot and bleed if the tip is ever damaged, it is comfortable in the hand and offers a smooth motion. Also, replacement ink is easily accommodated.

Honorable Mention

Yasutomo Niji Grip 500 Mechanical Pencil
Since we're talking about writing implements, I believe that there is a pencil worthy of mentioning. All should bow to this mechanical pencil. The Niji Grip 500 retractable pencil was a gem of its day. I remember yearning for one but feeling the disappointment at the $7 price tag, a high price to pay for a pencil. The one major downfall of this pencil is the poorly constructed rubber grip, which over time, stretches out and becomes loose on the barrel. But other than that, it is mechanical pencil engineering at its finest.

I shun all other pens that do not meet the above criteria. I am always pleasantly surprised when I pick up a pen, free, borrowed or otherwise, that makes the act of pen to paper so enjoyable. Among good pens and bad pens, there is a difference and we have a choice.

Daddy Oh Sings

2011-03-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

You know my mom sings and she is nothing short of amazing, even at the age of 70. Then, on the other hand, there is my dad.

Recently, I hooked up the Korean karaoke system my parents bought long ago. At one point it worked, then sat stagnant for quite a while. It is now up and running and my dad couldn't be happier.

The song he is singing is a well-known Korean folk song. One beat off. Then two, then three, then just waaay off. Bless his heart.

Gotta Love Those Chinese

2011-03-10T13:29:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite memories from my mission was going into moon-goo's (book/stationery stores) and digging through all of their cute little paper pads, pencil boxes, pens and markers, and stationery to find the best and greatest in poorly constructed English phrases printed on merchandise. Usually, there would be a few sappy lines from romance movies and most of the time it would just be hilarious and misguided attempts at well, English. I don't have any examples with me, I'd have to unearth my storage boxes from the mission days to locate anything, but go into any Asian store and you'll find all kinds of examples of exactly what I'm talking about. There's even a website for great collectibles and sightings: http://www.engrish.com/. Classic.

So, of course the other day when my sister-in-law showed me an artifact of her mission days and an Engrish diamond in itself, I could hardly contain myself. For those of you who aren't members of the church, you may not recognize the point of humor in this seemingly normal ice cream wrapper, but for those of you who are members, you'll either think "Blasphemy!" or die laughing outloud:

Look closely. What do you see? It's not in the writing per se, but along the same lines as the Engrish missteps, it's in the imagery...

Faster Than Speeding Bullet

2011-02-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

I went to a movie with my dad last night and we had some time to kill. While waiting, I thought it might be interesting to introduce my dad to air hockey. He's not much of a gamer, but I figured he could handle it.

With only minimal explanation he picked it up pretty quick. Aside from a constant reminder not to put his free hand on the table (ouchie if he got smacked with the puck!), he didn't do so bad.

It wasn't long before I was up 3-0 in which he commented, "Miliam, you are very speedy."

In the end, I schooled him 5-1. I did ease up on him to keep the game going, but, he did get one legitimate goal that wasn't a gimme. He was pretty proud and even used some fightin' words, "See? Don't underestimate me. Daddy is good."

Good game, dad. Good game.

Lost in Translation, Unfortunately

2011-02-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

I have always said my parents give me the best material for my blog. Living at home for the past six months has definitely proven that statement to be true. They say the darndest things!

Most recently, my mom told me a great story that could only be the result of, well, my parents.

Lately, my mom has been feeling a pain in her right side that for over a week has not gone away, nor gotten any better. She has visited her doctor twice and has had several x-rays and tests to try to determine the problem causing all of the pain. While the situation isn't very funny, a story that emerged from it is...so let us proceed!

My conversation with my mom a couple of days ago:

Miriam: What did the doctor say?
Mom: It is okay. But daddy, you know, he very nice, but sometimes I do not need his help.
Miriam: What happened?
Mom: So couple days ago, after I went doctor, she called me to tell me about my x-rays. She said that maybe my stool is hard and I am constipated. So, she tell me medicine that I should take. But, I feel that daddy understand better her English, so I gave phone to daddy. So, he talking to her and he write down medication name and then he hang up. What did daddy write down? Enema.
Miriam: Oh mom. I'm so sorry.
Mom: I know. I hate it. So daddy buy enema and for one day I use it. And all flushed out. Very uncomfortable, but I think maybe I can feel better, but still, mommy hurt lots. It's not get better. So, I call doctor again and I ask her maybe I need another medicine and suddenly she very surprised when I talks about enema. She says, "What? Enema? Why are you using an enema?"
Miriam: (Hahahahahaha!)
Mom: Really, daddy very nice, but sometimes he helping me makes me very mad!
Miriam: So what did the doctor prescribe?
Mom: She tell me not enema, but MiraLAX. It is powder, put water and drink. Daddy, he write down name, but in his mind, he thinking enema. Oh, daddy, he not help me!
Miriam: Hahahahahaha!

My poor mom.

Double Dream Hands

2010-12-09T21:31:00.001-08:00

My goodness. I cannot stop laughing!

Life in 4-minutes

2010-12-06T20:34:00.001-08:00

Here's a very interesting illustration of civilizations, progress and life expectancy. I found it quite intriguing.

Air Popped

2010-11-29T22:52:00.000-08:00

My friend Jamie opened my eyes to the wonderful world of non-microwaved popcorn and how tasty it is! She made this delicious air-popped popcorn then sprinkled a little bit of salt and a little bit of lime and it was delectable!

So, I have since written off microwave popcorn and I went out and bought myself a good ol' air popper. And you know what, it pops faster, it is a cheaper popcorn alternative and it tastes much better than the microwave stuff we have all become so accustomed to. Also, much healthier depending on what you put on it!

So Mr. Air Popper Popcorn Machine, you've made me a believer again. I'm back!

Mom's workspace

2010-11-24T22:43:00.000-08:00

My mom has always wanted a big kitchen. Little did I know that she actually just wanted a big floor.

This video isn't super exciting, but in it, you'll see how much counter space there is to work on, then my mother doing all of her chopping...on the floor.

Wiped out

2010-10-26T18:57:00.001-07:00

Today was Mia's birthday and my dad spent the day celebrating. Looks like "pin the mouth on the skeleton" wiped daddy Oh out!!

Bad Food

2010-10-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have yet to watch a Food Network show and witness the cook say their dish tastes bad when they try it at the end. No matter the show, whether they are out trying a restaurant's signature dish or in their studio kitchen whipping up a common dinner, it's always the same: closed eyes, a couple shakes of the head looking toward heaven, and then just total bliss and amazement at how delicious their mashed potatoes taste.

Each time, I just wish that if, in fact, the dish tasted bad, they would say it like it is and express their, well, distaste. Tell me the dish tastes terrible! Please! Especially when they are on the road. I just know that not everything can taste faintingly amazing despite the way they react. That's all. Just some honesty from the food folks is all I'm asking for. Or at least a new reaction to what seems to always be the best thing they ever tasted.

Mom's Concert

2010-10-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

I think that throughout my mom's life, no matter what her situation has been, through the hardest times and the happiest times, the one thing in her life (before Kimball and Mia came along) that has always brought her true joy, has been to sing in front of a crowd.

Every year, she continues to have that opportunity with an organization that she started 31 years ago. The Seattle Washington Korean Music Association performs twice a year at Meany Hall on the University of Washington campus. They put on their performance free of charge and made possible by continuing contributions from members in the Korean community. They have become an institution in the Korean community as they are the only organization that can gather true musical talent into one place and sing for Koreans, songs of the land of the morning calm and remind them of home. One of my favorite parts of the night, is their traditional conclusion in which all of the singers line the stage hand-in-hand and together with the audience, sing the Korean national anthem. It's always such a powerful moment.

For the first time in a long, all of the Oh's were there for the concert.

And of course my mom was amazing. They could have benefited from a little more of a sound check as the orchestra is quite loud, but my mom still sounded amazing. Not to forget she's 70 years old.

Summer's over. The kids are back in school. And you know what that means...

2010-10-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

I heard a radio story this morning that started out like this:

Radio announcer: "Summer's over. The kids are back in school. And you know what that means...head lice."

Really? Is that really how those two situations equate?

End of summer + back to school = rampant head lice

C'mon radio announcer, you can't think of a better intro? And why so morbid? I can think of a hundred better outcomes to summer ending and school starting. How about:

- new clothes
- seeing friends again
- new beginnings
- time for parents to work on projects
- wearing snuggly socks again

I mean there are so many possibilities that have nothing to do with head lice, yet, that was the ultimate demise of the story intro. Even a simple, "New news on head lice is changing the way schools are handling the problem" or something like that would be so much more in line with the topic at hand.

I just think there was a better way to begin this story. I came up with some ideas and I think that there are so many more. YOU finish this statement for me:

"Summer's over. The kids are back in school. And you know what that means..."

Gleemmy's

2010-08-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

Glee never disappoints. Add Jimmy to the mix and you got awesome.

A Plum Tale

2010-08-26T23:27:00.000-07:00

My dad planted a little plum tree last year. In the past weeks, it has had some fruit on it. Fruit that has actually been impressive and very juicy and delicious. I think my dad is kind of proud of his little tree, and of course, there's no one he would rather share with than his grand kids.

Denise: Hello?

Dad: Denise, how are kids, okay?

Denise: Yeah, how are you?

Dad: Oh fine. I have plum tree. I wanted to give Kimball and Mia plum. You know, plum tree is here in the backyard. 5 plums came.

Denise: Oh really?

Dad: Yes. Yesterday there were 5. But then I came home and the squirrel took 2, so now only 3 plum.

Denise: Oh no!

Dad: Yes, and then I went again, but now only 1 plum, the squirrel, he continued to take more. If I give to Kimball the 1 plum, Mia will be sorry. If I give to Mia, Kimball may be sorry. So...next year, okay?

Denise: Okay.

Dad: Yes, I think next year it can yield more plum for Kimball and Mia.

Denise: Ok, thanks.

Dad: Bye now.

Denise: Bye.

Damn squirrel.

It's NOT a tumor. Oh wait, yes it is.

2010-08-26T10:15:00.001-07:00

Rachel had a tumor removed once. It was the size of a volleyball, which anyone would think is quite large. But after reading this article, her tumor don't hold a fiddle to this thing! Click the link for the article.

Gargantuan tumor

Things you don't hear every day...

2010-08-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

I called my dad this afternoon to ask him to run an errand for me since I was at work. Usually he is at home dinking around on his laptop, but today, apparently he went to the zoo with my niece and nephew.

Dad: Hello?
Me: Hi dad.
Dad: Oh! Miliam! You are working?
Me: Yes.
Dad: Oh good. I did not recognize number. Well, I just rode a camel (pronounced: ku-mehl)!
Me: What?
Dad: Yes. Have you ever ride a camel before? It is not easy!
Me: No dad. I haven’t been on a camel before.
Dad: Well, you must try! It is not easy.
Me: Okay, dad. I’m going to call you back later.
Dad: Okay. See you!

Things you don’t hear every day…

Fast car. Obviously.

2010-08-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

When I was in Denver with Sarah, we went for a bike ride to a community festival. On the way there, I couldn't help but notice a guy lovingly detailing his car.
We rode past him without stopping on our way to the festival, but stopped on the way back to admire his work and my oh my, what a beauty.

It's amazing what a custom-made sticker ensemble can do to a car and what kind of message the owner inevitably sends.

Looking at this automotive masterpiece, this is the impression that I get:

Nothing says "speed" like fire. Naturally, flames denote "fast" and obviously, this car looks faster the more indicators of "fire" there are on it. I can only conclude that this car is constantly spewing fire, hence, is always fast, therefore, likely to blow my car out of the water in a road race, even when completely still.

Then of course you have "bad" boy look. Nothing says "bad to the bone" like a skull. Nothing says "badder to the bone" than skulls AND dragons. And nothing says "fast and badder to the bone" than skulls, dragons and FLAMES. This guy is a fast bad a**.

And then of course, and fast car needs vents to prove that the car needs vents to blow off heat. Much like a laptop needs vents so it doesn't overheat... Stickers with vents send the message that this car is highly technical and though it may not look like it from the outside, under the hood it's a beast and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s worst nightmare. Truly. And vents, with flames of course.

I was quite impressed with this owner's handy work. Some people add tinted windows, dice on the rear view mirror, maybe a sticker of a daisy on the back window, but this guy went all out. But I guess if you're sporting the "Ironman" edition of this Isuzu VehiCROSS, well, you better be so hardcore! Judging from his sticker job, I'm pretty sure he is.

Mormon Ads

2010-08-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

I like what the Church is doing. And it's ridiculous, though not surprising, that skeptics would assume there is an ulterior motive to this campaign other than to just send a message that Mormons live busy and accomplished lives just like the next person. Go Church!

I really like the Jane Clayson ad and the Valentin ad.

There are 15 ads and you can watch them all here: Mormon ads

Two Years - Part I

2010-08-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Two years. I knew it would go by fast, it's just weird to be living and experiencing the end of it now.

About three years ago was around the time that I decided to bite the bullet and actually go back to school. I had been thinking about graduate school for quite some time and I had even taken a test prep class a couple of years prior when I first considered a return to school. Although, I never took the test until a few years later. But as the years would pass by so quickly yet nothing seemed to change, I finally realized that time would continually to fly by and nothing would continue to change unless I did something different.

Now, two years later and an MBA to add to my resume, I am a masters graduate of business. The accomplishment feels great. It was an extremely involved, busy and demanding two years, but it was also rewarding, memorable and a lot of fun. I feel I am a stronger, more confident person and I feel more focused on my goals and desires. I went into graduate school with the hopes of coming out a better person, having a stronger assurance of what I want in my future, of course, more knowledgeable, and even, more brave. I feel like I have accomplished all of that and I feel very satisfied in what I have done. I had a really great experience with some amazing people and I think I am a better person because of it.

Warsaw Sports Marketing Center Class of 2010

At graduation in June, all of my family came to Eugene for a visit. Everyone was there and it became the family vacation we don't take too often.

I took them to all of the "hot spots" in Eugene, which lasted about half of a day, then ventured outside of town and went to Silver Springs State Park just off Interstate 5. In just a short hike, visitors can see 10 waterfalls. The biggest is the first one on the south end and you can hike right underneath it!

Since graduation, I have been pretty busy trying to enjoy what summer time I could. In the process I have been looking for a job, and not knowing when or where I would end up working, I have just been enjoying the free time. I haven't been too anxious to return to work. We all know what the daily grind is like...so I have been doing other stuff to pass the time.

To start off, I had a birthday! It was pretty chill this year and I spent it with my family. Denise and Kimball made me THE BEST cupcakes ever, an army of penguins! Their penguinness made eating them even more fun!

Then after the kids went to bed, we went and saw a pretty awesome film made by one of Denise's friends, "Best Worst Movie". I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and unique documentary. The best characters just can't be written!

After my birthday, I returned to Eugene to move out of my apartment. As always, moving presents itself with key opportunities to really purge and literally, clean house. Case in point: On my wall I have a poster of the opera "Madam Butterfly". I think it is a beautiful poster of a vintage print of the famous, but tragic, Puccini opera. I have it on my wall because at one point in my mom's singing career, she played the part of the geisha, Madame Butterfly in a performance of the opera. I have it because it is almost like a tribute to my mom and her amazing voice. Funny thing is, my mom hates the poster. Each time she has visited my apt, which is twice, she has chastised me every time she has seen the poster. I know, it doesn't really make sense. I have the poster up because it is a memory of my mom. My mom hates the poster because of the opera's story and always tells me take it down. Why? Not for any other reason than this (best spoken in the words of my mom): "Miliam. This why you not married. This opera terrible opera. Very sad. Her husband leave her and she kill herself. Bad poster. You throw away."

It never really made sense to me, but after so many lectures from her, I finally decided to get rid of it. And she better be right. I am expecting wedding bells any day now. Any day now, mom...

I fit all of my stuff in a storage bin and as of now, it's all sitting on a storage lot somewhere in Eugene, waiting to be delivered to me in my new place of residence. Likely Seattle.

After packing everything up, I stayed in Eugene for a week or so working on a couple of local track events, then I finally left for good. Eugene, I will miss you, but only a little bit. Probably like less than 1%.

I headed to where the sun shines almost everyday and found myself in San Diego and Los Angeles with friends and family. I ate tacos at the best fish taco joint in town, South Beach Bar & Grille. Rode bikes around Coronado Island with Rachel and our friend, Susan. Hiked and walked along the beach at Torrey Pines State Park in Del Mar. And spent the day at the beach in La Jolla. SoCal is wonderful for so many reasons.

In my next post, I'll highlight what I did after SoCal: Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. In that order.

Chick Flick Hit

2010-07-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post movie reviews, mostly because I lack the witty analogies and catchy, elaborate phrases used to describe how good or bad a movie is, but, I do feel that I am a good judge of film and that my opinion is decent. So with that, I would like to highly recommend and endorse this year's "Letters to Juliet". It was great!

Who knew that this chick flick, preceded by a disappointing trend of so many, multiple, terrible chick flicks of the past couple of years, could renew my faith in the chick flick genre? Yes, by nature, chick flicks really are bad movies, but every once in a while, you get a movie that tells a decent story, has cute/handsome characters, and takes place in a beautiful foreign country. That's pretty much what "Letters to Juliet" was all about and I was pleasantly pleased.

I recommend it. It's not the movie of the year, but watching it wouldn't be a total waste of time. Just ask the girl who sat next to me who was audibly sobbing through the whole second half of the movie. It was THAT good.

When you need a hug...

2010-07-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Via Overstock.com...The Hug Me Pillow

I guess there is something for everyone, even those feeling a little lonely at night.

The Hug Me Pillow. When you're feeling lonely and REALLY need the company.

Jake & Kate + 8?

2010-06-25T22:11:00.000-07:00

This I can believe. It was only bound to happen prolonging the awesome drama that IS the Bachelor only on ABC. Although, I can't believe that Jake is now acting? Puh-lease.

Jake & Vienna Break

But this! I don't believe. If only the drama could really continue into other reality TV worlds. Not likely.

Jake & Kate?

Clean up on Aisle 9!

2010-06-25T00:10:00.000-07:00

This was just weird enough to bring me out of my blogging hiatus. And I thought the Taco Bell wedding was wacky!

This story is faaar from traditional and I blame Phil for the absurdity. Stupid Phil.

Watch this news story and you'll get what I'm saying. Rather than highlight each point of hilarity, it's best if you watch for yourselves. There are way too many special gems in this story for my attempt at humor to do it any justice.

Gift of Bacon

2010-04-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

Every time my mom goes to Korea, it is quite the process. I have fond memories from back in the day when I would come home from school to find the living room floor used as a sorting surface with all kinds of random food items that my mom was going to take with her. Among these included coffee, Hershey's chocolate bars, beef jerky, and make-up, to name a few. But I'm not talking a few items, I mean boxes and boxes, and boxes!

She would strategically pack her bags to transport all of these products. Legally, of course, but it was always such a spectacle, especially if the bags were ever overweight. I always hated being "those Asians" holding up the airline ticketing line with their belongings strewn everywhere trying to redistribute weight among bags so as to meet baggage weight restrictions at the airport. I see families do that occasionally nowadays and it always brings back embarrassing memories.

My mom is going to Korea again soon to receive an award from the Peaceful Unification organization in Korea for her singing. But, as Korea is now well off as a modern society, no longer do they need such basics as chocolate and coffee. Apparently, needs have evolved, or at least my mom would hope.

Lucky for Denise, her days are now filled with awesome mommy and daddy Oh excerpts. Here's a recent one in regard to this subject:

(Phone rings)

Mom: "Uh Denise, you know that bacon? What is that? Costco....turkey something turkey bacon?"
Denise: "Uh-huh."
Mom: "I like that very much. Very good taste. So how much in a pack?"
Denise: "Uhhh, two separate packages. There's a lot. Do you want me to buy some more?"
Mom: "Ok good, I take that to Korea. Very good gift."
Denise: "Mommy!!! Don't take that to Korea! It needs to stay refrigerated!"
Mom: "No, only one day, no problem."
Denise: "Mommy I don't know if that is good idea."
Mom: "No, one thing is, everything they have. Ham they do not have. This is very good taste, good gift. I bring to them."
Denise: (laughing) "Ok, mommy"
Mom: "Bye, bye"

I'm pretty sure they have plenty of ham in Korea. I just hope no one tells her there is also Costco in Korea.

Hamster Cuteness

2010-04-10T15:18:00.001-07:00

Further evidence that hamsters are the best rodent. Meep.

Babysitting

2010-04-06T16:00:00.001-07:00

I am going home to Seattle this weekend to babysit Kimball and Mia while Erik and Denise are away at a wedding in California. My specific duty this weekend is to tend to the children.

Now, I have no problem with children. In fact, I love my niece and nephew more than anything on this planet. But, the challenge I face every time I go home is making the transition from singledom to childrendom.

If you think about it, I live every day of my life thinking of me and only me. I do whatever I want, whenever I want. I set my own schedule, I do or do not as I please and I don't have to answer or report to anybody.

Now, whenever I visit my niece and nephew, I enter a home occupied by children and it is always a transition. All of a sudden I have responsibilities. I need to help tend to the children. I should get up early to see that they are well. I need to put down my computer and play with them. And suddenly, my world is not my own any more, but theirs.

In no way am I complaining, all I'm saying, is, it's a transition. It's a change that I have to adapt to every time I see them. And I will say, they usually tire me out pretty quick. Kids are very demanding!

So this weekend, Denise has somehow deduced that I will be able to handle the children for a few days. I suppose if she believes in me, I should believe in me. I mean, they're just kids right? Although, sometimes I look at them and think, "They're like a big bear. All fluffy and soft. Then before you know, it's eating you alive."

I'm putting out the call to all you experienced children-watchers out there. Kimball is full of energy and Mia is mischievous. The last thing I want to do is to be sitting around being bored.

So here's my inquiry: What do you with kids?

Sometimes, I just don't have a clue what to do with them. So, I ask you to please respond with your ideas and thoughts on what we can all do together to stay busy in and out of the house. I apologize in advance as I will not likely take seriously any ideas related "crafts" as I don't really like crafts and I find that crafts just means: big mess to clean up.

Taking suggestions now...

Working schmorking

2010-03-23T09:25:00.001-07:00

I remember when I worked and I was confined to an office from exactly 8:30 am to 5:00 pm and often I would just daydream about what I would be doing if I didn't have to work.

As a student, I have a good amount of freedom with my schedule to do anything I want. Though I don't want to rub it anyone's face, one of the favorite thoughts I like to let run through my head when I am out and about on a normal week day aside from this thought, "I know why I am not working but how is it that all of you aren't working?" is: (secretly pointing to people in their offices) "You're working and I am not. Neener, neener."

So, now that I am on spring break and I have even more time on my hands, I am somewhat at a loss for what I COULD be doing with my time. So if I may pick your brains, could you help me fill my time? Answer me this: If you could take do anything during the day while everyone else is at work and take a day off with no responsibilities to get errands done or squeeze in a doctor's appointment, but just to enjoy yourself, what would you do?

Help me out folks.

Up! kid

2010-03-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know this child but he makes a perfect little Up! boy scout.

70 and Beautiful

2010-03-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

On March 3 my mom turned 70 years old and that weekend, we celebrated.

Pretty much just short of a full-on wedding reception, we threw her a party to be remembered, but more importantly, to celebrate her and her amazing voice. We invited 200 of her closest friends, re-decorated the church basketball court, served up 25 Korean dishes with the help of the Korean Branch and hired a sound mixer to record the music she would sing that evening.

My mother sang seven songs in the chapel and she directed the Korean church choir in six songs. I always look forward to hearing my mom sing and that night, her voice filled the room. She was flawless and she sounded as clear as ever. She looked like she could not have been happier and the music seemed to flow through her. She is truly happiest when she is singing.

Had I not been so preoccupied with dealing with a finicky video projector, I may have had my wits enough to know to set up a video camera and record my mom. Unfortunately, all I got was this, but I guess it's good enough:

For a look back at her life and everything she has accomplished, I made this little video for her. Unfortunately, I was limited to what I could do creatively as I didn't have the right equipment to really do what I would like to, but this seemed to suffice. (The audio is a little quirky. You should be able to hear background music throughout though my voice may be a bit loud.)

It was an amazing, though tiring, night and everyone had a great time.

We even hired a lady to turn the church gym into a wedding hall. It's amazing what people can do with a sewing machine and imagination!

As for the dress I picked...well, after much discussion and modeling, I chose the black Ralph Lauren. Everyone was actually very pleased with the plum Ralph Lauren and it was almost a toss-up, but what it came down to, was the shrug. It just didn't look quite right, and with three shrugs in the house to choose from, it didn't seem like we would find one that would work.

So with only an hour to go before the party was to start, my sister and I ran to the mall. With very little time and an array of choices, we quickly grabbed these smokin' hot, beautiful, ruby red, BCBG "peep-toe" pumps and some jewelery that made me feel like a Christmas tree.

Good news is: mission accomplished! My mom approved. I looked very pretty and I was feeling very tall. Whether I was white enough or not, did not come up for discussion. Since there were no complaints, I will assume she was satisfied.

I do remember a comment from Jennie wondering how "tall" managed into the equation, well, looking at the pics of me amongst my family, I am kind of the tall one, even without heels. Erik is just barely taller than me, but other than that, I am pretty much the one they call on when they need to reach something on the top shelf. It feels kind of cool sometimes to be that person.

(In this pic is Kimball, Denise, Erik, Mia, my Mom, my cousin Sam, Rachel, Me, my aunt, my dad, and my Uncle)

ChickLit

2010-03-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

After every term of papers, reports, presentations and everything else that school demands, there's nothing I enjoy more than spending my break lounging around with a brainless book. As many of my friend's know, I'm always asking for "ChickLit" recommendations and they usually do not disappoint.

Now as Spring Break approaches, I am on the hunt for another worthless book to "rest" my brain with. In searching for something that will at least be entertaining, I found this great website: www.ChickLitClub.com. It is the ULTIMATE ChickLit resource!

For anyone in my same position who just likes to entertain themselves with nothing short of rubbish, this website will likely help you find the best rubbish there is to offer. Check it out!

I am also taking book suggestions if there is a great brainless book you've read recently...

Ronery...

2010-03-09T14:36:00.001-08:00

I am without my laptop. I feel a void in my life. A hole unfilled. A rock unturned.

I am going on day 4 without my laptop and I am near exploding. It's like I've had a finger cut off. It's a horrible feeling. I won't see it again until Friday. It's in the shop being repaired and it's killing me to be away from it.

As soon as I get it back, I'll post a report of the 70th Birthday Weekend Extravaganza! Just so you all know: I picked black.

Dress Mess

2010-02-23T11:58:00.001-08:00

Wow. I didn't think I would get such a response. I guess I first have to say thank you and I appreciate the help! Your opinions make a big difference and I love that everyone was able to make a clear cut decision, well, except for one named Allison Hansen, but that is ok. I think she was leaning towards purple anyway.

So, in conclusion, the official count is as follows:

Total votes: 18
Purple - 6 or 7 (depending on which way Allison is leaning)
Black - 11

Here's the funny thing, on Sunday evening, everyone was clearly all for the purple, as was I. But by early Monday, the tides had shifted and everyone was vehemently black, well except for Allison who just wasn't quite sure. Very odd...

I do like the black, I mean, it's an ok dress, it's just black...but I have worn several LBD's (little black dresses) in the past. In fact, I buy one and I wear it to every event for 2-3 years until I am forced to buy another one, which I can then wear again for another 2-3 years. My mom told me I am not allowed to wear the current LBD I have now, hence the search for a new dress. So, I thought I would change it up and open my eyes (no Asian jokes here please, I've heard them all) a little wider and consider other colors and designs. Hence my dilemma.

While I respect and appreciate everyone's opinion and thoughts and supplemental information, I guess that ultimately, the decision as to which dress I wear really just comes down to one person, and we all know that that person is...Rachel, my sister.

Though Rachel did not respond via blog, she did respond by email and indicated that photos don't give a detailed enough picture and she will need to see them all in person. So, as much as I'd like to say I have come to a decision, I am still on the fence. Although, one conclusion I did come to was to get rid of the designy dress. So, no pirate and no zebra for this party.

Come next weekend, verdict will be in. I'll let you all know what I, uh, Rachel and I, decide. Thanks so much!

Dress nonsense

2010-02-21T19:52:00.001-08:00

Once a boss, always a boss. By demand of my former boss, Laura, from KBYU-TV way back in the day, I'm following orders and posting pics of my dresses to let you all help me make my decision. I can't believe I'm actually doing it since 1) pics don't do the dresses justice, 2) I'm the poster child of "not photogenic", 3) I don't to like to pose for pictures and just to throw a fourth reason into the mix, this is dumb and embarrassing.

But seeing as everyone will get a good kick out of this, I'll play along.

So below are my four dresses. Make that three. Kyle already helped me eliminate dress #1. The cheapest of them all. He calls it my pirate dress. 'Nuff said.

Dresses 2-4 are below with respective pros and cons. Kyle and I chose the same one in deciding which one liked the best. What do you think?

Criteria:
Event description: Mom's 70th birthday party in which lots of her friends will be there
Dress purpose: To make Miriam look pretty
Dress parameters: Classy, not slutty. Flattering, not frumpy. Feminine, not masculine.

1) Plum Dress

Pros: slim-fitting, classy, cool wrap around tie and actually is flattering to my chestal region
Cons: gotta wear a shrug, for some obvious reasons

2) Black dress

Pros: Don't have to wear a shrug, slim-fitting, flattering, classy, fun gather on the side
Cons: Weird shoulder pads, boring

3) Designy dress
Pros: Fun design, not plain black, fun style
Cons: Some alterations need to be done in the back, design may be considered "loud", my mom might accuse me of looking like a zebra

When making your decision, please ignore the shoes, those are just for the height.

Additionally, I am taking suggestions for shoes and accessories. The less thinking I have to do, the happier I'll be. When making suggestions, please use simple terms and words to facilitate descriptions.

Thanks everyone. Enjoy.

Fashion woes

2010-02-20T22:02:00.000-08:00

My mom turns 70 years old this year on March 3. To celebrate, we are doing what the Oh's do best, throwing her a HUGE party. No, no. We can't just invite a few people over and serve cake and ice cream. No, no. We have to make it an event. Not that I'm complaining, only that when we do these events it means several things, and one thing in particular: Miriam has to buy a new dress. Grrr...

For the event, we are celebrating her amazing voice and humble singing career. She will sing about 7 songs individually and several other songs with the church choir and with musicians from the Korean Music Association. I am making a short biographical video of her life and career and we expect to have anywhere from 100-150 guests. We are serving a full dinner and will be decorating and preparing the church gym. It will be a full on production. And no one is more deserving of such celebration than my mother.

So with all of this preparation, effort and work, what is my mom worried about most? The fact that she has to practice for so many songs in a short period of time? Making sure all event preparations are taken care of? Making sure there will be enough food? Making sure everyone can find the church? Nope. Here's the conversation I had with my mom about her biggest concern:

(Reminder, no typos here. Just relaying the conversation exactly as it occurred.)

Mom: So, Miliam. Mommy turning 70 this year.
Me: Yes, I know.
Mom: So, we have BIG party.
Me: I know.
Mom: Many of mommy friends be there.
Me: I know.
Mom: So, what is mommy cares most?
Me: Your song preparation?
Mom: No. Mommy can handle.
Me: Oh. Ok.
Mom: No, what mommy cares most is Miliam look pretty.
Me: Oh. Right.
Mom: You very pretty. You tall, skinny, white, very pretty. But, your dress not pretty.
Me: Ugh.
Mom: Every time mommy give you money for nice skirt or coat or dress, you don't buy. You buy ugly other things. This time I give you money and you buy nice, pretty dress. Ok?
Me: Ok.
Mom: Really? Can you buy?
Me: Yes. I'll buy a pretty dress.
Mom: Ok good. You so tall, white and pretty girl. All I want is you wear pretty dress. Mommy help you find?
Me: No. I can do it.
Mom: Maybe Rachel come and you buy together?
Me: Mom, I can buy my dress. I'm fine.

To her credit, it's her big day and she has right to be concerned. I have a track record of being a fashion slob and usually when she gives me money to buy pretty clothes, I usually end up with a t-shirt and work out shorts. But to MY credit, I HAVE delivered for past events and I am capable of looking pretty. They are just so few and far between, she probably just doesn't remember.

To fulfill my mother's request, I shopped all day today to find a stupid dress that's pretty. Unfortunately, unless I'm shopping at REI, I hate shopping. And just in general in regard to women's clothing these days, could style be any more complicated?! There is so much going on now with scarfs and thin fabric-y stuff and sheen-y stuff that you layer all together so you end up wearing four barely-there shirts and crap. Gosh, it's annoying! I miss the GAP days when it was just a cotton shirt and pants and layering meant your brother's flannel or a sweatshirt. The fabric designs today are all freaky and confusing and the cuts are all over the place. I saw a shirt today that looked like someone in the factory bumped the machine and threw the cutter off and cut the shirt at a wrong angle and they were selling it anyway! There is something wrong with fashion. It's too hard and it gives me a headache.

But, after four hours searching in Portland for a dress, between Nordstrom Rack and Macy's I did find four and I bought all of them. I can't afford to keep them all, but in order to fulfill my mother's wishes, I'll be taking pictures of me in the dresses and sending them to my sister to determine which one I look the prettiest, the tallest, the skinniest and the whitest in. For my mother's sake and the sake of her 70 years on this earth, let's hope that I don't disappoint.

Smoking Smarties?

2010-02-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

I saw this story about "Smoking Smarties" on the local evening news tonight. Come to find out, the issue has actually been around for quite a while now.

Apparently, kids are crushing up candy Smarties then inhaling the power and blowing out the residue to mimic smoking a cigarette. Parents and doctors are concerned that this act will lead to smoking habits later on and also, the residue inhaled can supposedly be harmful to the throat and lungs (not sure about that one).

Anyway, kids do weird things. How do they come up with this stuff? Although, I will say that pretending to smoke was something I enjoyed doing when I was a kid. Those candy cigarettes were so awesome! Talk about a terrible idea but a kid's wish come true! Candy that looked like cigarettes and even blew out sugar to replicate smoke. Ingenuous!

Candy cigarettes. They look just like the real thing. And...they also look just like chalk.

Seeing the Smarties story made me think of a time when I was probably 6 or 7 years old. I came back from a friend's birthday part with a bagful of party favors. Included with those favors was a box of chalk, or candy cigarettes to an unknowing kid. I can still remember my mom watching me as I opened the box of chalk, pulled out a piece, then her face in shock as I put it in my mouth and blew and blew and blew. But when no smoke came out, her surprise as I chomped down hard on the stick, just like it was candy. I can also still feel the terrible dry and gritty feeling of chalk in my mouth.

Boy, was I stupid. Pretty much like the kids smoking Smarties. Stupid.

Organic Shmorganic

2010-01-31T17:13:00.000-08:00

More and more I am under the impression that the only "organic" food products that are worth eating are produce items. Other than that, the rest of the organic foods out there are worthless.

I keep trying one organic food product after another thinking I am making a better food choice and I am upping my personal social responsibility rating, and the majority of the time, I only come to realize that 1) I've wasted a few more dollars, 2) I'm still hungry, 3) everyone who raves about organic foods must have burned off all of their taste buds drinking green tea and chai because organic stuff is gross.

Most recently, I would like to add to the list of gross organic foods: Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice Fusili Pasta.

I made a simple dish with this pasta. I cooked the pasta al dente and added some tasty marinara sauce. I sprinkled on some fresh parmesan cheese and then I dug in. It is a dish I make often because it is simple and quick. This was my first time using this pasta and definitely the last. The pasta was terrible. It was chewy and sticky and had the consistency of a gummy bear. Terrible. Just terrible. Yeah it's gluten-free, cholesterol-free and sodium-free, but if I also wanted taste-free I may as well have just had a glass of water.

I have now decided that I am done with "organic" crap 'cuz that's what it all is, crap. Crap, crap, crap.

Denver

2009-12-24T22:48:00.001-08:00

In my past couple of posts I included a few pics pertaining to my visit to Colorado last week and now I guess I'll include the rest of them.

With Sarah and Eva already in Denver, I was able to get two birds with one stone, make that three, because Heather Feather Smith Janssen joined us from Nebraska, and with child.

Right when Heather got in, we did a nice little walk through the "Garden of the Gods", a park of several stunning and amazing rock formations clustered together in one area. It was a chilly, but beautiful and clear day.

If we were a family, this would be our pic. Christmas cards 2010, here we come.

The Kissing Camels. Can you see them?

The highlight of the weekend was supposed to be a tour of local candy factory, Hammonds. The tour was about as exciting as this pic, and about as interesting as the random snowman that Heather Feather is holding.

We did a lot of stuff all weekend which mostly included eating, hanging around, and talking about cooking. Well, me listening to Eva and Sarah talk about cooking, in which I learned a lot! Next time I'm at high altitudes, I think I'll likely bake better now!

We made a short visit to Manitou Springs and took a little tour of the town.

We hiked a really steep hike in Boulder the last day and took this very Bouldery photo to top it all off.

It was a good trip and it was nice to be able to catch up with everyone, and to spend time with Heather before she births her child. Plus, Denver is beautiful!

Sarah buys milk

2009-12-24T00:36:00.000-08:00

I was in Denver, CO last week visiting Sarah and Eva. It was fun to visit them in their new city and just hang, hike a bit, and listen to them talk about cookbooks and the latest cooking techniques. One night, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights then before returning home, stopped at the store to pick up some milk. Here is Sarah's journey purchasing milk.

Sarah entered Safeway with high hopes of finding milk to purchase. She were pretty certain she would emerge successful.

But it's not to say that she didn't have her challenges. This Safeway was a big store. There's a lot of places milk could be.

As Sarah quickly found out, there was no milk in the produce section. For example, this melon? Not milk.

Nor was the milk under the Christmas tree? That would be an affirmative "no."

Freezer section? Well, let me ask you this, does milk = frozen calf liver? Nope.com

Is the bacon milk? Not likely.

Neither does Salt and Vinegar chips does not milk make.

Still no milk to be found, but content and with a happy heart, Sarah continued her search through Safeway, determined to find milk.

And then there it was. Like ice in a freezer. Sarah spied with her tall eyes, milk in the dairy section.

Oh what joy! Elation was hers!

And the milk was found!

Then as it turns out I bought the milk. Which I was fine to do. Sarah did all the hard work locating the milk, the least I could do was pay for it.

And that is the story of "Sarah buys (locates) milk".

The end.

People of Manitou Springs, CO

2009-12-20T20:27:00.000-08:00

I think by now most of us have visited www.PeopleOfWalmart.com and had a pretty good laugh. I guess if I were going to start up a similar website, you would be able to visit it at www.PeopleOfManitouSpringsColorado.com and I would kick it off with this sighting:

Poor dog but so fortunate for us! Talk about a treat on our visit to Manitou Springs, CO! It's not everyday you get to see this walking down the street! Awesome.

Mia's Tol

2009-12-14T00:36:00.000-08:00

This post is way past due, but it is definitely still worth posting.

Mia had her 1st birthday back in October and we had a big party to celebrate! It's a party she will never recall, but by the power of digital and film, hopefully she'll get an idea of how much fun it was!

In Korea, a child's first birthday, or "tol", is a pretty big deal. To celebrate, friends and family gather together to eat and observe an elaborate ceremony featuring the little one.

For Mia's tol, we dressed her in traditional Korean clothing and simplified the ceremony, or "toljabee".

A toljabee is a table ceremony in which certain items symbolic of a child's future are placed on a table. The child is then placed at the table in front of the items and depending on which item the child picks, is believed to be a predictor of the child's future. Typical items placed on the table include:

- bow and arrow: the child will become a warrior (not really applicable for this time period)
- needle and thread: the child will live long
- jujube: the child will have many descendants
- book, pencil, or related items: the child will become a successful scholar
- money: the child will become rich
- ruler, needle, scissors: the child will be talented with his/her hands
- knife: the child will be a good cook

We had a tol for Kimball too and he picked the thread, symbolic of longevity. Here's a video of what Mia picked:

Mia couldn't really figure out why we were clapping for her and looked to mom for an explanation, but I think she eventually caught on that she just did something way too cute and totally awesome. She picked the pencils meaning she'll be smart and educated. Every year my parents always hope the kids will choose the money...maybe the next one.

We had a big party with a ton of traditional Korean dishes and an over abundance of cake and rice cake. The cake we got from Costco and the rice cake, which weighed about 30-lbs. we got from the Korean store of course.

And little Mia with her dairy-free diet, got a cupcake all to herself. Lucky little girl.

It was so much fun and really, the best part of the party was the ceremony. It's so fun to see what the kid picks and then to just kind of believe that that's how their future could turn out. I wonder what I picked when I was that age, a question to ask the parents I suppose.

Another key moment of the weekend was this little clip I happened to catch of my dad. Our house was overrun with children and I think by the end, my dad was just pooped. He's pretty much just holding a pink balloon. (Sorry it's sideways, but after 10-seconds, I turn the camera to get the right angle.)

How I came to terms with walking

2009-11-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

Walking. The simple act of placing one foot in front of the other. A natural means of getting from one place to the next. A thoughtless, instinctive function almost as inherent as breathing, eating and drinking. Sped up, it becomes running. Slowed it down it takes on the adage: "dragging one's feet". Walking. It is a needful human attribute that literally, keeps us moving. Yet why do we fight it? Why do we shun it? And so many times, why do we insult the very action that allows us to progress forward?

Case in point: a parking lot. How needful is it for us to drive circles around a crowded parking lot looking for a parking space? I am going to make a conjecture and say that we have trained our minds and our bodies to yearn for the closest possible spot to leave our car and effectually, limit our walking. Why? Because a few extra feet is five steps too many? Because since you can't actually park your car inside the desired location, it's imperative to get as close as possible otherwise? Truly, let us think about this. Will parking a few spaces down, a few rows across, or an extra block away be such a burden to recover from by walking just a little bit extra?

Which is why I say, EMBRACE IT! For this reason, not too long ago, I came to terms with walking and rather then kick against it, I decided to love it. Why come? Because it is a part of me. It is so much of who I am. I cannot do without it and to it I owe so much.

So, now instead of wasting time driving circles around meaningless parking lots of my life, I leave my car where it is and I walk. And in return, I have health, peace, a lowered risk of parking lot accidents (the second most common car accident) and more gas in my car. Life has been better ever since.

Join in me in coming to terms with walking. Accept it as a positive part of life and let it "walk" to your advantage. And when people in your car ask you, "Um, why did we park so far away? I'm sure there's something closer," you say to them, "'Close' is relative. I see this as an opportunity. Deny not yourself the nature of your being. Walk with me."

Glee: Music to my ears

2009-11-20T23:25:00.000-08:00

I love this show! What is it about these television characters singing songs to each other that just makes me feel so happy? I love this show!

Since I started watching it there are only a few numbers that I haven't liked, but for the most part it is so fun to watch! I will say, the plot isn't anything special, but the singing is worth the hour invested every week. I highly recommend it to everyone!

I tried to find some of my favorite songs from the show, but Fox seems to be pretty particular about what they post online. Pretty annoying since there are so many good ones! YouTube has many postings, but only audio, which isn't as satisfying as watching the characters perform the songs. I've posted a couple from YouTube, but I recommend checking out the Glee website and starting from the first episode of the season. You'll love it!

Glee special guest Kristin Chenoweth singing Heart's "Alone"

Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"

"Defying Gravity" from Wicked

Nerds Disturb

2009-11-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

For all of the reasons I have ever wondered why Wilky Wonka Candy Co. ever invented Nerd Rope, I now have my answer.

The other day in class, I heard what resembled the faint sound of gravel being poured into a steel wheel barrel. The gentle racket seemed to rumble through the virtually silent classroom as my professor lectured. Naturally, I looked around to see where the sound was coming from and just to my right, I saw my classmate tilting a theater-size box of multi-flavored Nerds candy into his mouth.

If you've heard someone eat Nerds, it's not an inconspicuous candy in the least.

Seeing my classmate pouring those little Nerds into his mouth made me wonder two things:

- Why Nerds? Those have to be among the most terrible candies of all time!
- Nerds? Really? Couldn't you have chosen a quieter candy for class time?

So, are they really that terrible? Now I am sure that Lee would likely take me down for speaking ill of his favorite candy. Turning to the internet, "Nerds" candy appears on both best and worst candy lists so it's really difficult to say whether Nerds are loved or hated.

For a little background, Nerds were first introduced in 1983. Nerds originally came in packages of two flavors to give consumers "control" over their eating experience. Nerds has since spawned several product extensions including: Sour Nerds, Giant Chewy Nerds, Nerds Cereal, Nerds Rope, Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans, Techno Nerds, Nerds Gum. Amazing how a little, rudely-shaped spec of crystallized sugar can lead to such greatness!

I remember eating Nerds when I was little. Total sugar bliss! I would pour as many as possible in my mouth and swirl them around in my spit as the sugar dissolved. So gross, but oh what fond memories!

I guess Nerds can't be that horrible considering they are still around and if Wilky Wonka is making variations of Nerds over several types of products, they are taking a successful candy and milking it for everything they can.

In regard to question two, yes, marshmallows would likely have been a better choice, but doesn't it just seem like all the good candies tend to make a racket when eaten? In brainstorming notoriously loud candies, I came up with a few instantly.
Of course, my favorites are, er, used to be, Whoppers and Hot Tamales, but I also loved Tangy Taffy, Laffy Taffy, Starbucks, Mambas, actually, you name it and I ate a lot of it!

But, the answer to my question, is, yes, there are plenty of other candies to be eaten in a quiet setting. Which makes me wonder why they sell boxed candies at the movie theater...

And to answer my initial question of why they make Nerd Rope? So guys like my classmate can have their Nerds in class and eat it too - without disturbing the people around them.

Chelsea the Halfsy

2009-11-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

Last night I had a dream that Chelsea Combs' mom was Asian. I am not sure what kind of Asian, but she was the short, spunky, funny kind of Asian that is sometimes common.

In my dream, the realization that Chelsea's mom was of the Asian sort was quite alarming. In my dream, I was under the premise that I had never met Chelsea's mom, nor was I aware of her unidentified cultural background. It was alarming to say the least as Chelsea, nor her mom, had ever struck me as the Asian type. With good reason. (Please see photo at left). But on the positive side, I immediately felt a stronger connection to Chelsea. As if she knew of and had experienced half of my life. As though she knew what life as half of Miriam was like. Not that I've been oppressed or anything, or that I have undergone such duress for being noticeably Asian, but it's just that connection that people from the same ethnic background end up sharing because they have lived such similar lives. That was our connection.

In my dream, it all seemed to make sense as to why Chelsea would be half Asian. Dark hair. Yup. And that in a nutshell totally explains it. While nothing else about Chelsea in real life screams, "I'm a halfy!" in my dream, it all made sense. And in that brief moment of sleep euphoria believing that Chelsea was Asian, I felt that we had never been closer and that we knew each other well, almost as Korean comrades.

Welcome to the fold Chelsea, well, at least half of you.

William-Sonoma A-Z

2009-10-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

For all of you kitchen connoisseurs, you gotta check out this blog post from Jennie Doezie, a true kitchen gear junkie. For eight years she has worked at William-Sonoma on a part-time basis and in this post, she says her farewell, and shows off her kitchen full of her employee-discounted purchases. I'm sure WS will miss you Jennie!

Doezieland - Good-bye, my lover

Baby Safe Ball Shaker

2009-10-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

Terribly funny. For those times when you just can't take it anymore.

New BabySafe Ball Makes Shaking Your Infant Guilt And Injury Free

The hottest baby toy is what?

2009-10-26T12:39:00.001-07:00

Introducing the hottest selling baby toy on Amazon.com right now, Sophie the rubber giraffe. Not to be mistaken for a dog toy, this giraffe is soft to the baby touch, light and easy to hold and when you squeeze it, it squeaks, er, I mean, makes a "happy sound"!

Rachel was in Europe and picked one up for little Mia's first birthday. Mia liked it all right. I guess for a teething baby, it might come in handy more.

Anyway, for all you mom's out there, this is probably old news. But just in case you're looking for a good baby gift, look to the rubber giraffe. It doesn't look like much, but apparently, millions of babies agree, it's a winner.

Lois, Mom clip

2009-10-15T10:35:00.001-07:00

This is such a great clip from the irreverent but hilarious animated sitcom, "Family Guy."

Modern Life

2009-10-14T15:17:00.000-07:00

I love my new apt. It is a cute brick building. Wood floors. Big kitchen. Big bedroom. Lots of space all around. And super close to campus. It's an older building and with that, comes the absence of some of life's little luxuries, although now in these modern times, these items wouldn't really be considered luxuries, but rather, basic necessities.

While much of the apartment has been upgraded, two little features I have become accustomed to are: a garbage disposal and a dishwasher.

When I signed the lease, I was very aware that these two amenities were not included in the apartment, but, just as I had thought I could live without a washer/dryer way back when, I mistakenly assumed the same thinking I could do without these two luxuries this time around.

Such an absence has burdened me much. Now when cooking, I have to remember that anything I dump into the sink, I eventually have to fish out with my hand. And while I used to enjoy washing the occasional cup and bowl, it's inconsequential compared to washing ALL of the cups, bowls, plates, pots, pans and utensils, ALL of the time! Washing a lot of forks individually blows.

I realize that it may sound as though I am complaining, which is why I propose this challenge so you too, can feel my pain.

For one week, assume everyday business in your kitchen, except that you do not have a disposal nor a dishwasher. Experience for yourself the difficulties so many endured before the dawn of modern kitchen appliantry. I am certain that you, as have I, will learn quickly how fortunate we are to live in this day and age where we don't have to pull mushy scraps and leftover yuck out of the kitchen drain regularly and where dish-pan hands are a thing of the past. Then, you will be grateful.

It is times like this where I anger at the thought of my mom who continues to use her brand new, state-of-the-art, dishwasher only as a drying rack and still covers the drain of the In-Sink-Erator to catch food and other debris. Grrr...

Mia hears food

2009-10-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Mia is a food fiend. She is nuts about food and gets angry when she sees food but can't have it. She has super food senses and it seems that she can spot food from far away. My dad loves to just sit and watch her eat.

At 11 months, she is also an avid walking. I gave my mom a bag of treats I brought back from China and Mia immediately perked up when she heard the crinkling of the bag.

Faces without names

2009-10-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

Pretty much my whole life having friends, my dad has never been able to remember any of my friend's names. Granted, when I was little, I had one friend and he didn't have a problem remembering what she was called, but as soon as I started accruing more and more friends, the less he was able to identify who was whom.

Since fourth grade, I pretty much had the same friends up through high school. Most of them, I spent all my time with and talked to on a daily basis. My dad would pick them up for sports, answer the phone when they called, greet them when they dropped by. Yet, he was never able to put a name with a face.

To my dad, all of them had one name. Specifically, one of friends was named Maren and in his mind, all of them were called Maren. Ariane, white and tall, and Mylinh, Vietnamese and smiley, were the two I hung out with the most, yet to him, they were both named Maren, who was white and red-headed. For some reason, he just couldn't get them straight.

And it's never really gotten much better. My two close friends in college were Holly, white and blond, and Kyong, Korean and short. Although he didn't call them "Maren," they only became, "the one who showers long time" and "the one who showers long time friend".

So, this weekend I am in Seattle and as I was driving in, I called my dad to let him know what time I would arrive.

Me: I'm almost home, dad.
Dad: Oh good good. Did you drive alone?
Me: Yes.
Dad: No good. You didn't bring um, he, what, uh, he, um...
(At this point, I can bail him out and give him the name he is looking for, or choose to let him continue to fish for it. This time around I let him try to figure it out.)
Dad: ...um, he, what, he, um, eh...What his name?
Me: Kyle.
Dad: Yes! Kyle. He come?
Me: Nope.
Dad: Oh.

Granted, he hasn't spent a ton of time with Kyle, but he knows who he is, he asks about him often, and he's met him several times. Plus, Kyle and I have been dating for almost a year. But that's usually how it goes. He racks his brain, throws out names and hopes he picks the right one.

Bless him. At least all my old school friends know my dad well enough that they've excepted the fact that they are all Maren to him.

Noticeably Asian

2009-09-01T02:20:00.000-07:00

Today I leave for China on a trip with my MBA program. I've pretty much been looking forward to it all summer and although it feels like summer is over because I am now back in Eugene which makes me feel like I'm back in school, I definitely still have some good vacation time left!

The China trip is a two-week study tour the business school at Oregon takes pretty much every summer. This year we are visiting Beijing and Shanghai after which I am extending my stay in Asia with a week-long visit to Thailand before heading back for the start of school at the end of September.

Today we had our Orientation and sat through several hours of speakers giving us a crash course in the Chinese language, a brief history of China, and the political and economic climate. The morning was quite uneventful to say the least, but it ended with a bang!

In our last hour, we had a Chinese native marketing researcher speak to us on sports marketing in China. As our Managing Director answered some of our questions about our trip, I noticed her "eyeing" me from in the periphery, but chose to ignore it as it was a familiar sort of "eyeing" she was doing. To be specific, it was the kind of "eyeing" that said, "You are Asian, as am I. Automatically, we have a lot in common, especially if you are Chinese, such as myself."

I have become very accustomed to this sort of "eyeing" and I prefer to ignore it more than anything. When I am being "eyed", I think to myself, "Listen, just because you're Asian, as am I, I don't really care. I'm sure that all we really have in common is the fact that we are both Asian but that doesn't automatically make us BFFs." I suppose it's such like when you pull up next to someone on the road who is driving your same model car and for whatever reason, they wink at you or give you a thumbs up or some other sort of indication of approval that you both have so much in common because you're both driving a Honda Accord. Admittedly, hybrid drivers may have this inherent connection, but for the rest of us, not so, and doubley, awkward in the moment.

So, today, as I was sitting in this room, ignoring the "eyeing" going on, our Managing Director introduced our guest Chinese speaker, then turned the time over to her.

She briefly introduced herself and then asked, "You are all going to China, right? Has anyone ever been to China?" She looked around the room full of white Americans. And me.

"Anyone? Has anyone been to China?"

We all sat there either shaking our heads, no, or just staring at her because no, no one has been to China.

"Anyone? None of you have been to China?" she asked again peering around the room, eyeing me with each pass.

Silence.

And then she did it. Argh!

Looking right at me she said, "You. I noticed that you are Asian."

A bit caught off guard and immediately amused, along with the entire room, I sat up and said, "Um, yup. Yeah. I am Asian."

"You have never been to China?" she asked.

"No. I have not. I am actually Korean, so you know. Yeah."

"Oh, I see."

Yes. Don't we all. I could stop laughing for at least5 minutes. Everyone got a great laugh out of it.

Rachel in San Diego

2009-08-16T22:16:00.001-07:00

The longer I am here in San Diego, the more and more I come to really love this place! A few times a week, I try to get out and do something different. I'll go find a new place to run, try a different place to eat or go check out a cool city site. It all just makes San Diego even better! I really like it here!

This weekend Rachel came into town and she took me out to do the things she loves in SD and we had a lot of fun!

We got a late start Saturday morning which actually just means that we happily slept in way longer than we should have.

We started out on Coronado Island and rented some beach cruisers from Bikes and Beyond in the Ferry Landing Marketplace. We rode our bikes along a bike path around the island. I don't know the distance that we cruised, but it was a beautiful little tour around Coronado. We eventually ended at the famous Hotel del Coronado. What an amazing place! The weather was perfect, hot with a cool breeze. My cruiser was a little bit rickety and noisy, but we cruised well and had a nice time taking in the sites! San Diego rocks.

Having worked up quite the appetite, we headed over to Ocean Beach to my new favorite taco joint, South Beach Bar & Grill. This was my third time there in two weeks and I had to take Rachel. Robin introduced me to it initially and I just can't get enough of the fish tacos! They have a good variety of seafood tacos, from MahiMahi and Wahoo to shrimp and shark. My favorite, after trying several of them, is the oyster. I can't get enough of it! It's a bit of a workout to get a seat though. The place is a bar and it's always busy, and you have to do the "hover" thing to get a table. Tacos Tuesdays are especially busy, but worth the effort at $2.50 a taco! It can be stressful but it's so worth it, the tacos are so that good! Full of flavor and just delicious!

After four delicious tacos, we got back in the car and took a tour of OB then drove over to Sunset Cliffs which is just south and full of coastline.

Rachel then insisted I have some dessert at one of her favorite San Diego destinations, Extraordinary Desserts in downtown. One word: perfection. My pictures do little justice to the beauty of this dessert display, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

The huge powder sugared mound is a berry cobbler which we ordered.

Holy cow, it was delicious. From the whipped cream to the variety of berry puree, it was so good! It was joy on a plate!

Rachel tried to eat one of the rose petals because there was some whoop cream on it, but I was able to slap the spoon out of her hand just in time. I would have licked the plate, but the place was a little bit too eclectic for that kind of behavior. Actually, McDonalds would be considered too eclectic for that sort of behavior.

Apparently there are two locations of this bakery/restaurant. They serve both desserts and entrees as well as a wide variety of teas and wines. Although, there is no soda, but they do have elixirs, so yeah, that's cool.

All in all, it's been a super fun weekend! We did a lot and explored a lot. San Diego continues to amaze me. I love this place!

AcroYoga

2009-08-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

They call it AcroYoga. I call it gymnastics/cirque du soleil.

Ridiculous.

From Wikipedia we learn: Acro-yoga is a physical practice which blends elements of Yoga, Acrobatics, and Thai Massage. ^[1] These three ancient lineages form the foundation of a practice that cultivates trust, connection and playfulness between partners. Minimally practice includes a base and a flyer; beginners (and those trying out advanced poses for the first time) often use a third party spotter to ensure the safety of the flyer.

Apparently, it is very much a type of massage.

I think I'll stick to jogging and touching my toes and the quad stretch.

Karen's Food Blog

2009-08-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

Rachel's friend Karen Lusby is a master of writing and a connoisseur of food. She is super cute and I love her blog! If you're ever looking for a good recipe, visit her site. She is a master!

Popcorn and Apples Blog

The "Shot Gun" Rules

2009-08-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

This was recently found by Kristen Johnson after a certain somebody who won't be named but lives on the beach in Venice and speaks French tried to call shot-gun for a car ride that wouldn't be occurring for another 3 days.

The Shotgun Rules

Know the rules. Respect the rules.

Pinkberry for the masses

2009-08-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

"Pinkberry". Family style. That's how they do it in Korea.

Only on..............................the KOST.

2009-08-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sundays, and quiet summer evenings in general, just aren't complete without................the KOST. I think most of us can agree that few moments compare to those experienced when KOSTing with 103.5, Southern California's Soft Rock with Less Talk. For me, it's a past-time, a relic of peace, a welcome home. In fact, if I had more time and more money for gas, I would be spending more evenings in my car, driving long distances, so long as I stay within radio frequency range of................the KOST.

With................the KOST, you learn to take the good with the bad, the crap with the sensational, and you come to learn that for every five terrible KOST songs, there's at least one awesome song that is going to speak to you. And in every song set, there are certain songs you can always count on. Which is why I created this game. Introducing "................the KOST Love Song Bingo."

I have listened to................the KOST so often, that I have come accustomed to the several signature songs that makes a radio station like................the KOST, iconic. Similar to a church dance playlist, ................the KOST plays the same songs repeatedly, just at different times of the day. Inevitably, all of the "regulars" will come on, say, at least 30 times a day. Having recognized this, I thought it would be fun to join in on the fun that is................the KOST.

This KOST BINGO card is completely alterable, interchangeable and malleable. Simply email me for the Word doc file and you can make all the cards you need to play with family, friends and anyone who would be able to tolerate listening to................the KOST long enough for someone to get a BINGO.

Change the artists and songs around to vary the order. My only suggestion is to leave Whitney or Celine in the center square. They are guaranteed to play and center squares are usually freebies anyway.

So, the next time you're on the road and you're feeling somber, in love, or just plain reflective, turn that dial to................the KOST 103.5 and bask in the romance!

Btw, Delilah has 10 kids. 10 kids! She's not on................the KOST, but I just thought I would make mention of that fact.

"Death by Fan" Innocent Bystander

2009-07-31T08:15:00.001-07:00

As a follow-up to my "Death by Fan" blog post:

I am in Seattle now. I flew up here Thursday morning for a friend's wedding this weekend. It's been super hot here and with a shortage of fans in the area, my sister and I thought it would be a good idea if I brought a couple of fans up from California with me. Although I won't be giving details of the toil and labor of transporting two fans to Seattle, I will say that it was a miserable experience and unfortunately, it proved to be somewhat of a futile effort.

That night, as I slept with a fan directly on me, I woke up twice during the to find my fan turned off. Each time I would turn it on again, until the third time when I woke up to find my mom discreetly switching the fan off.

Me: Mom! What are you doing?!
Mom: I turn off fan.
Me: Why are you doing that? It's hot! I want it on!
Mom: Okay. Sorry. But danger.
Me: It's not danger!

All that work to bring in fans, and my mom ends up hardly even using them! So annoying.

I mentioned the whole "Death by Fan" urban legend to Denise and the fact that my mom kept turning off my fan during the night and she was like, "No wonder Mia and Kimball's fan was always off when they woke up. They were so hot and sweaty."

Argh! Stupid superstition!

Death by Fan

2009-07-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

It is sweltering heat in the Pacific Northwest right now. For some reason, this year has brought unusually high temps and extreme weather. While 80- 90-degree weather isn't anything too surprising for many areas around the country, those temps in Seattle can make quite an impression and leave people hot and miserable.

Just like in the winter, in the rare years when it snows a lot, the city shuts down. There aren't enough, if any, snowplows to clear even the largest main roads. So when "extreme" weather hits in the summer, most Seattlites find it challenging to deal with the heat as most home aren't equipped with central air.
But for the past week, temperatures have been outrageous and is expected to last for several days. In fact, today, Seattle was supposed to reach the highest temperature in its history, above 100 degrees.

For the Oh's, my family is practically melting in the heat. When at home, everyone just sweats. Poor little Mia's hair is constantly plastered to her head and there is no escape from the heat anywhere in the house. Since there is no AC, the only alternative to cooling things down are fans, which would entail, there being fans in the house. Unfortunately, ma and pa Oh don't believe in fans. In fact, they are downright fearful of the things.

In Korea, there is a prominent myth believed by pretty much everyone, including my parents.

As defined on Wikipedia: Fan death is a South Korean urban legend which states that an electric fan, if left running overnight in a closed room, can cause the death of those inside (by suffocation, poisoning, or hypothermia). Fans manufactured and sold in Korea are equipped with a timer switch that turns them off after a set number of minutes, which users are frequently urged to set when going to sleep with a fan on.

And my parents are believers! So instead of cooling off with a fan, they would rather suffer in the heat for fear that the fan will kill them in their sleep! So, how does the fan kill? More from Wikipedia:

1. An electric fan creates a vortex, which sucks the oxygen from the enclosed and sealed room and creates a partial vacuum inside.

2. The fan used directly on your body causes suffocation, because the fast-moving air around your face makes inhalation difficult.

3. Breathing through skin constitutes a significant proportion of breathing, and the fast-moving air caused by the fan makes the skin-breathing difficult, leading to suffocation.

4. An electric fan chops up all the oxygen particles in the air leaving none to breathe.

5. The fan uses up the oxygen in the room and creates fatal levels of carbon dioxide.

6. If the fan is left on all night in a sealed and enclosed room, believers in fan death suppose that it will lower the temperature of the room to the point that it can cause hypothermia.

7. Fans contribute to hyperthermia, commonly known as heatstroke.

Crazy? Yes. But to add to the mania, the Korean government backs the claim! And why not? They were raised to believe it too!

If bodies are exposed to electric fans or air conditioners for too long, it causes [the] bodies to lose water and [causes] hypothermia. If directly in contact with [air current from] a fan, this could lead to death from [an] increase of carbon dioxide saturation concentration [sic] and decrease of oxygen concentration. The risks are higher for the elderly and patients with respiratory problems. From 2003 [to] 2005, a total of 20 cases were reported through the CISS involving asphyxiations caused by leaving electric fans and air conditioners on while sleeping. To prevent asphyxiation, timers should be set, wind direction should be rotated and doors should be left open. -Korean Consumer Protection Board

Ridiculous. Have you ever heard of such absurdness?! Now, thinking back to my mission, I do remember my companion urging me to turn off the fan at night before going to sleep to which I refused. It was high 90s all through the summer in Korea with ridiculous levels of humidity! Poor comp, she probably feared for her life, every night.

If the rumor is true, I think we can put all our money on the vortex explanation. Definitely the vortex.

100 Push-Ups Challenge

2009-07-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I feel the need take on this challenge, but for some reason, who wouldn't need to be able to do 100 consecutive push-ups?! You never know when it would come in handy. And heckapoo, who doesn't need chiseled arms, a stronger back and firmer pectorals/boobs?

http://hundredpushups.com/

Take the challenge with me! Leave a comment to say you're in and commit! Read up on what the challenge entails, then on Saturday, take the "Initial Test", rest on Sunday and prepare yourself to start on Monday for 6-weeks to a hotter, stronger, firmer you! And probably sexier too.

I-L

2009-07-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

I am in love with my car. I have loved it since the moment I bought it. It has always treated me right. I've driven it to NV, AZ, UT, OR, WA, and all over California and not once have had to do much more than change the oil. It's a beautiful machine.

On Monday, I hit 100,000 miles, always noteworthy. It seems like only yesterday that I bought the car and mileage was just at 58,000. Yeah, it was a lot of miles for a used car, but I didn't care, it was the car's potential that hooked me. It was in beautiful condition and it just spoke to me. Literally. It was like "Miriam. You my girl. Buy me." So I did.

I know, this is kind of a stupid post. I mean, really, I'm worshiping my car. But here's the thing, I am pretty sure that when I go to heaven, I'll be able to take my car with me. Though very much irreverent, this is how I envision it happening: I'll be on my merry way up to heaven and just as I'm about to pass through heaven's security, god is going to look at me lovingly and say, "Miriam, your amazingness has long amazed me. You have exceeded my expectations. For that, I give you the privilege to return and retrieve one material item of your liking to bring with you. Actually, make that two items. Go. Bring."

If that would be the case, I would grab my car and of course, my yellow blanket. Not necessarily in any order, but rather, both equally at the same time.

I'm pretty sure that's how it's going to happen. I love my car. It's my baby.

"Twilight" absurdity

2009-07-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Today's quote of the day:

"They're getting a divorce because she's in love with Edward."

Ridiculous.

The panty blog

2009-07-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

Dana blogged about panties today: Dana's Panties blog post

It's not a topic I'd normally blog about, but Dana found justification for it, and coincidentally, so have I!

This weekend, Kyle and I found ourselves wandering around the Fashion Island shopping mall in Newport Beach. And in our roaming, we walked past the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Kyle joked about how he was going to get one for me. To which I said, "Barf." Not that I don't like stuffed animals, but a $40 stuffed bear is outrageous to me. But out of curiosity, we decided to walk in anyway and take a look.

From my observations, the Build-A-Bear bears are almost like the "Barbie" doll of this century. The bears are not your ordinary stuffed animal. They come in all kinds of shapes and have endless wardrobe options. Without going too much into detail, there is a style, an article of clothing, and an accessory for any occasion for a Build-A-Bear bear.

Even panties.

Yup. Teddy bear panties. Any color, cut and style you need for every occasion. Every stuffed bear needs a drawerful of panties is what I say. Or boxers for the males.

Yup, they definitely thought of it all...although, I have yet to find a bra...

Run with me.

2009-07-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

Let's go for a run!

Since moving to San Diego for the summer, a certain route has become my regular run. Rachel introduced me to the trails of Torrey Pines State Park which is a just over 3 miles away from where I'm staying in Del Mar. It's an amazing run on beautiful terrain, so much, that I want everyone to come with me!

So come on folks as I take you on a tour of "Miriam's San Diego Run Route"!

The initial view of Torrey Pines State Beach is quite amazing as you turn onto PCH.

Just to give you an idea of where we are running, the red line indicates our route. It starts up a steep hill, disappears into the cliffs then pops us out onto the beach. It's breathtaking.

Parking is a hassle and the art of hovering is imperative here. Those eager enough to brave the crowd just pulls up and waits for someone to leave. It's not usually a long wait and totally worth it for the parking.

From parking, we start along the beach.

After entering the park, it's a quick turn away from the beach.

And we start our ascent into the hills.

It's a pretty steep climb, a little less than a mile is my guess, but it's a good challenge to try to make it to the top without stopping.

This is a look backwards at what's behind us.

But there's more to do!

From bottom to top, there are about 4 or 5 good turns and it's tough climb but great for the legs!

Once we get to the top, it just gets better.

Looking inland to the east, we get this great view of San Diego and the Carmel Valley.

Looking back to the ocean, we take the trail to the left of the sign. Along the trail, when in doubt, stay left and follow the signs to the "Beach Trail" and "Flat Rock".

A short hike in and the views are awesome.

And they just keep coming.

Running along the trail.

A few switchbacks, but going downhill ain't too rough.

This is the Pointe that can be hiked to.

The views only get better.

Continuing on the trail.

Doot doo doo. It actually makes running pleasant!

Getting closer to the beach, the scenery changes a bit.

If you want to head down to the beach, don't go this way. Turn right instead.

Take the little trail between the sandstone.

And get your first peek at the ocean.

Everytime I go down these steps, I always think to myself, "Someone should really get out here with a broom and clear off all of this sand." I don't know why I think it, but I just do.

After you come down these stairs, it's just a whole lot of cliffs and vibrant colors in all directions.

A run back down the beach and we are done. It's about 3-miles, and a site to be seen the entire way.

Thanks for running with me! I hope you get to enjoy it yourself one of these days. If you're looking for a fun place to play or scenic beach to stroll, I recommend this one.

"Please, don't leave a tip."

2009-07-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

First of all, I'd just like to say what a pleasure it is to be back in SoCal where I actually have legit food options! Where I get a variety of foods, from every possible country, that's not over-priced, tasteless or could be described as mediocre. Hallelujah good food!

Today I ate lunch at Lucky Seafood in Mira Mesa, CA, just 3.5 miles from my work. It's a Vietnamese grocery store with a restaurant attached. This was my second time at this restaurant and both times, I have been happily pleased!

The Pho is delicious, though a bit on the sweet side and today, I went for lunch for their Bun (pronounced "boon" which is pretty much a vermicelli noodle salad, with or without meat). They were fast and the food was yummy! The best thing about it was that they give you a free can of soda and refuse to take a tip though it's a sit-down restaurant. Now that's what I call a pleasant dining experience!

Go SoCal.

Shame.

2009-07-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

"The Bachelorette" only on ABC, bores me this season. I was not a fan of Jillian Harris from the start and I'm still not caring much for her. The show isn't nearly as entertaining as it has been in the past. Boo.

Just disappointed. Truly unhappy. Bummed.

On another Bachelor only on ABC note, sometimes I imagine if I were on the show. And in my thoughts, I make it to the point where the show does hometown visits. Ha! What a hoot! Can you imagine my parents being on the Bachelor?! Ha! I can't stop laughing about it in my head!

I mean, my parents would just be smiling and laughing the whole time not really saying anything. My dad would just be making jokes the whole time, if anything. There would be not one serious moment throughout the segment of the show. I'd be lucky if they understood what was going on. It would be awesome! And then after, my parents would probably be like, "What was that? Why so many camera? Who is your boyfriend? What is "bachelor" mean? Next time Miliam, don't do that."

Super funny. America would get a hoot out of it.

Wrapped Up Like a Douche?

2009-07-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

I have had it. I hear the song. I sing the words. I giggle along. But no more.

Just last week, I was in the car with Kyle and I found myself happily singing along to Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By the Light" when I of course realized what I was saying, or rather, what I thought The Boss was saying. But those days are over. Bruce don't talk that way. Thanks to the conveniences of the internet, I will now dispel the myth of what is thought to be "wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night" or whatever your similar interpretation is.

Disclaimer: I am about to clearly state the true verbiage of the lyrics of this so oft misinterpreted lyric. For those of you who enjoy the fun of such an absurd use of language, cover your eyes or read no more.

The correct lyric of this infamous song is this: Revved up like a deuce another another runner in the night.

Phew! If you say it loud enough and really enunciate, you can actually hear Bruce singing those very words. No douches here...

What I find really entertaining were all of the different interpretations of the lyric. Thanks to www.urbandictionary.com, it is quite surprising what people tend to hear. (I did my best to keep this list clean by eliminating the semi-inappropriate phrases.)

Wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night
Wrapped up like a douche, you know the ruler in the night
Wrapped up like a douche, in the middle of the night
Wrapped up like a douche, an utter rotor in the night
wrapped up like a douche, you know the rotor in the night
wrapped up like a douche, another rumor in the night
Wrapped up like a douche, a little odor in the night
Wrapped up like a douche, a bad odor in the night.
Wrapped up like a douche, and a stoner in the night
Wrapped up like a douche, spitting in the night
Wrapped up like a douche, another mother in the night
Wrapped up like a douche, you know a runnin' in the night
Wrapped up like a douchebag, for the Roman in the night
Revved up like a douche, another loaner in the night
Racked up like a douche, ya gonna run around the night
Ripped off like a douche, another owner in the night
cracked up like a douching, and a roamer in the night
Ripped up like a douche, into the rotor of the night
Turning loose like a douche, like the roadrunner tonight
Ripped up like a douche until he rolled her in the night
Rev up like a douche and go a roller in the night
Wrapped up my big douche, killed a runner last night
Woke up like a douche, you know i rolled her in the night
Wake up with a douche in the middle of the night
Woke up like a douche-bag in the middle of the night
Swept up like a douche with motorola in the night
Red duck like a douchebag and discarded in the night
revved up my big Dodge and did a runner with his wife
Caught up at the juice bar in the middle of the night
Revved up like a Roto-Rooter rollin' in the night
With a dildo in my face and cheese wheel in my butt
Rap duck like a Goose and Have a lunar in the night
Look up to the north and see big dipper to the right
Eyes were shot out by a laser in a fight
Wracked up like a duece, another runner in the night
wrapped up like a deuce you know the roamer in the night
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Dressed up like a dude, another runner in the night
Sucked up by the juice, you know the runner in the night
Dressed up like a duece, a ruler of the night
Revved up like a deuce, another rover in the night
Set it up like a deuce and they rolled it in the night
Wrapped up like an edition of the ruler in the night
Sucked up by the juice, you know the runner in the night
Held up like a loofah by the foreman of the night
Caught up in the noose thats swinging in the night
wrapped up like a do chin in the middle of the night
shot loose like a goose, another runner in the night
Wrapped up like a duke in the ordinary night
Dressed up like a duke, another rumor in the night
hung up like a goose, another runner in the night
Racked up like hooter, in the middle of the night
racked up like a deuce in a momentary flight
rabbit wants some juice, like a donut in the night
messed up like a demon that was roaming in the night
Dressed up like a dude, you know, the roamer in the night
Set up like a loser only come back wearin tights
Racked up like a moose, that's been run over in the night
Wrapped up like a dude, sha na na, reuben in delight
Wrapped up like ol' tuscon on a rubber-ended night
Cut loose like a goose, another roamer in the night
Wrapped up , la la la, she was a loner in the night
Wracked up by the goosin' and the runner in the night
Revved up with the juice, another router in the night
Wrapped up like a deuce ya know the roter in the night
Wrecked up like a goose, in the middle of the night
Took off like the Juice, another runner in the night
Wrapped up like a deuce, another roller in the night
Throw up blah blah blah in the middle of the night
Revved up like a dude, she ain't no rover in the night
Cut loose like a goose from the spirit of the night
Wrapped up like a deuce, a holy roller in the night
Rapping like the duke, you know, the rumor in the night
Wake up like a dachshund in the middle of the night

Should you have your own interpretation, do share.

Sorry to ruin the song for any of you.

Engrish.com

2009-06-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

Jill brought this website to my attention. Along the lines of mymomisafob.com, this is one of my new favorite sites! So awesome! I have always wondered why it is they don't have translators to proof this stuff. I mean, when I was Korea, I saw these kinds of English bumbles on everything that could be printed on. A source told me that companies do it on purpose, as if it is cool or something. I don't believe it. I just think Asians are dumb.

http://engrish.com/

The new face of Diet Coke

2009-06-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Mia is teething and when I pulled out a Diet Coke from the fridge today, she started gnawing on it. Coke should consider hiring a spokesbaby.

Just when you think toilet paper couldn't get any better!

2009-06-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

Is toilet paper really archaic? disgusting?
Do we really need an 18" extension to take care of business?
Is this really the greatest improvement to toilet paper since the 1880's?

Really?

Sometimes, there just isn't a lot we can do about the basics of everyday living.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Too bad it doesn't fold down to compact size. I figure if people were to use it, they would want to be able to conveniently be able to tote it around. How would you explain this contraption to someone?!

Freakish M&Ms

2009-06-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you've seen these before, maybe they are just a Eugene special, but I tried these Strawberried-Peanut Butter M&Ms the other day and in not so many words, they are barfy.

To describe the taste, it is an oddly confusing mixture of fruit and peanut. Now, I kind of get it. PB & J right? Oh how clever. But, it doesn't work. I don't mind a mild sensation of confusion every once in a while, but this taste test was just completely perplexing. At first, it's a whole lot of strawberry. And then it's all peanut butter, but when it's said and done, it's mostly just nonsense.

What is it with candy companies getting overly creative? I mean, I know, from my business school vocab, "product extension", "product expansion", "product line diversification". But really, is M&M a product that needs any sort of diversification? Its three strongest products, Plain, Peanut, and Peanut Butter, are on the top 10 list of best-selling candies. They have a good thing going! No need to mar their reputation by adding fruit to the mix! I mean, it's not like there is a hugely competitive peanut butter and fruit-flavored candy market out there. When you got a good thing going, stick to it.

Considering what it takes to get a product from concept to store shelf, it is amazing to me how a strawberried-peanut butter products get the green light. Among the other products that really don't belong within reach of consumers:

- popcorn-flavored Jelly Belly's
- fish-flavored candies
- booger candy

There are a lot of better examples at good candies gone wrong but I can't think of any. If you have some, do share.

Bottom line: avoid the disappointment, deny the intrigue, stay away from this M&M mutant and stick to the M&M product you love.

Hairy Mia

2009-05-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

I have so many things I keep meaning to blog about but no time to sit down and blog.

But one thing that's always easy to post about and pretty much speaks for herself, is my little niece Mia!

At only seven months, she has had several haircuts and is getting cuter and chubbier than ever! Apparently, in this pic, she was telling Denise a fantastic story of some sort. Too cute!

Here is a shrine of pics of my cute little niece Mia. I feel perfectly fine bragging about her and showing her off the to the world. This is one light I will not be hiding under any bushels.

I am looking forward to summer when I will get to spend a good few weeks with my niece and nephew in Utah. I love this little girl! And her big brother too!

Things You Don't See on the BYU Campus

2009-05-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started school here in Oregon, I have been meaning to start a regular series of blog posts along the lines of: "Things You Don't See on a BYU campus". But I have been too lazy and too busy to ever get it going. But this week, I am finally getting it started. There have been two things in particular that have prompted me to finally post.

Had I started when first inclined, I would have made mention of a few things, which include:

- really short shorts
- really short skirts
- beards
- long hair on men
- cleavage
- marijuana t-shirt sales tables
- bikes (if you'll remember, anything with wheels was banned from campus except on the roads around campus, which, for a school, always seemed so odd to me. Bicycles just seemed synonymous with college life...)
- Atheist Club

Despite being behind, I am going to make it up right here, right now.

Something you do not see on the BYU campus, in particular, the Daily Universe newspaper, but you do see on the University of Oregon campus, in the Oregon Daily Emerald:

I think the BYU Journalism and Advertising department would prefer take a hit in ad sales for the month, than revert to adult entertainment advertising.

On the other hand, I did see something on campus that one would see at BYU:

This cookie made my day today. My friends didn't get it at all. But any cookie, with Nutrition Information for four servings for one cookie, is worth at least 5-seconds of justifiable freak out time. I found the cookie in the student activity center. I have probably been in that building three times. Once to get my student card, once to pick up Joshua Radin tickets and today, to do stuff for a class project. Finding this cookie was a gold mine! It's hard to find Granny B's cookies anywhere but Utah. I did find them at the corner 7-Eleven on Gateway and Barrington in West LA and that conjured up at least 5-seconds of freak out then. It was awesome.

Anyway, I used to limit myself to one of these cookies a day when a freshman at BYU. At four servings a cookie and six grams of fat per serving, no wonder I weighed 145 lbs. at the end of that year. That's a lot for me considering I weighed about 115 when I graduated from high school. Let's hope I don't repeat...

Cereal: Part II

2009-05-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

Referring back to a past post: http://mohsocool.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-cereal.html

I received this envelope in the mail from my parents last week. (Please excuse me for being paranoid and blocking out my address, but you gotta be careful these days.)

When I opened it, all I found was a check made out to me. No note, no nothing. So, looking at the envelope again, I noticed this written at the bottom corner of the envelope:

I just laughed. They are too funny. talking to my mom later that day this is what she told me, "No more cereal, okay? Mommy, daddy think this money helps you for eating."

Truly. I feel full already.

Jim Warsaw: There Will Only Be One Warsaw

2009-04-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

I first met Jim Warsaw in October of the fall quarter 2008. It was homecoming weekend and I knew he was going to be in the building. I had an idea of what he looked like from pictures I had seen, but it was hard to recognize him when I first ran into him in the halls of the business building.

He was severely hunched over and appeared to have a very difficult time walking. It was hard to believe that this is the man who founded the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center and grew it to become the premier undergraduate and MBA level sports business program in the country. But as I approached him, he looked right at me until he was right in front of me and said a very confident and sincere, "Hello!"

We had a conversation right there in the hall and he was great to talk to. He asked me everything about myself and was genuinely interested in my experience thus far with the Center.

Jim did amazing things for the Center which bears his name. He has always been heavily involved in Center activities and has maintained close contact with its students and faculty. I have watched him with alumni and his friends and it has always impressed me how they treated him. My observations indicated that they respected him not only as a friend but as a mentor and as an example.

Despite the short amount of time that I have known him, I felt like he was my friend. I will miss him.

Jim has been battling Parkinson's disease for the past 15 years. Recently, he developed an infection after surgery on his back. On Wednesday, he passed away. (http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-james-warsaw26-2009apr26,0,6099570.story)

It is sad to see him go so soon. In June we will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Warsaw Center and in particular to honor Jim. We were planning on him being there, but instead, it will be a special evening in tribute to the legacy he leaves behind.

In May we will honor him as well with the 3rd Annual Jog 4 Jim 5k. The race has always been organized to raise awareness and funding for Parkinson's research. To make a donation in honor of Jim, please visit this site: http://www.teamfox.org/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=nrLXJ0PFKuG&b=4815191&sid=agKQLYMwEdKJLYNBJlH

Jim accomplished amazing feats in his life and was a friend to many. He will be missed.

What?! Cereal?!

2009-04-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

I called my dad today just to check in and see how things were going at home.

Dad: Did you finish study for today?
Me: Yes.
Dad: So, now, you must be reading.
Me: Yes, I am.
Dad: Good. Are you resting?
Me: Soon.
Dad: Good, good. Did you eat?
Me: Yes.
Dad: What did you eat?
Me: I don't know, I just ate some cereal.
Dad: Cereal?! Cereal is morning food, you know?
Me: I know.
Dad: Why you only eat cereal? No money?
Me: No, I'm fine. I just ate cereal. It's fine.
Dad: You have no money? Cereal no good. Only in the morning. Go buy spaghetti and make spaghetti.
Me: Okay. I will.

So I get off the phone with him and go about my stuff and four minutes later my phone rings, and it's my mom.

Me: Hello?
Mom: Miliam! Why you only eat cereal?!
Me: What?
Mom: Daddy says you only eating cereal.
Me: (Grrr.) Yeah, I ate cereal tonight.
Mom: Why you only eat cereal? No good for you. You have no money?
Me: No, I'm fine.
Mom: Then why you only eat cereal at dinner time? That is morning time food.
Me: I just didn't have time, that's all. It's not a big deal.
Mom: Really? You not lying to mommy?
Me: I'm not lying. I just didn't have time. That's all.
Mom: Okay. Next time, don't eat cereal. That is morning food.
Me: Okay. I won't.
Mom: You need money, you tell mommy.
Me: Okay.

Who knew my parents felt so strongly about cereal?!

Here's the follow-up to this post: Part II

"Reply All": Not So Dope

2009-04-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

So, here's something awesome I did today...

But first, a little bit of background:

A couple of weeks ago, four of my classmates and myself entered the Microsoft Advertising Digital Challenge (MADC). The MADC is a competition open to graduate and undergraduate level students. The premise of the challenge is to develop an advertising campaign aimed towards the college-aged audience for Office Live Workspace. If you have ever used GoogleDocs, Workspace is similar, but has the added benefit of sharing files using all Windows Office applications.

We had about a month to prepare for the competition, but with finals preparation and spring break right in the middle of it all, when it came down to it, we ended up putting our entire campaign together in 3-4 days. On the day it was due, we worked ten hours straight to tweek and finalize our written proposal and accompanying PowerPoint presentation to email to Microsoft. The deadline was midnight and exactly 11:58 pm, we sent it in. I seriously did not think we would get it in on time, but by some miracle, we just barely made the cut off. It was awesome!

Just last week, three days after we sent in our proposal, we found out that we had beat out 136 teams to make it into the top 10 of the competition! We were invited to New York to present our campaign to Microsoft Advertising Executives at the end of April to compete in the semi-final and possibly final rounds of the competition. I was in San Francisco with school when we found out and it was so exciting! Woohoo!

Crappy thing about it is that we have to fund our own trip out. Yeah. Poopy.

Thankfully, we have been able to receive assistance funding from our school to help us out. In all instances, we actively made requests to the Warsaw Center and the Graduate School administration. Both have very generously offered to essentially cover airfare and hotel to make our trip possible and so that we can represent our school.

So here's the kicker: We received an email today from the Director of the Business School informing us of the great news that we would be receiving financial assistance for our trip. In all of my uncontrollable excitement, I hastily hit "Reply All" and sent the following email:

"so dope. So i guess we just find a hotel and book then get reimbursed? so great!"

And right when I sent it, I knew I would regret it. Little did I know that the initial email that I had "Reply All"ed included not only the Director, but the Dean of the Lundquist School of Business, the Director of Fiscal Services and the Director of the Warsaw Center. Awesome.

"So dope." Who says "so dope"?! More like "so embarrassing." I felt "so lame" about it that I had to send apologetic emails to all unintended recipients. My Warsaw advisor replied with "word" which I thought was pretty funny, but I have not heard from the others. Man. So embarrassing...I feel shame.

A lesson to everyone, do not "Reply all". I could rather say be careful when you "Reply All" but I just say, do not do it. Too many predicaments have come of it. Just start a whole new email thread if the list of recipients isn't too long and move on with your happy life. It's just not worth the risk.

Hamsters Rule

2009-04-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Christy, I have been on a meeping/mewing spree for the past ten minutes.

Hamsters are awesome and never will I deny them.

The 6th

2009-04-08T22:36:00.001-07:00

I was recently "tagged" by Jennie Doezie of "Dozieland" to post the 6th picture in my collection of photos on file. Luckily, this was it. It could have been really boring, really ugly, or really embarrassing. Luckily, it is one of the acceptable sort.

Oh this pic. There was a time when I was confident that I would get that internship at adidas. But at this point, when Starbucks is telling my MBA class to start out as a barista and REI is saying we should really considering a retail job in one of their stores, I realize that this summer may not be my adidas dream come true. But I am not all without hope. There are other options almost as great and involving adidas just as well.

I am still crossing my fingers.

I tag the following to post their sixth:

Sarah Zobell
Heather Feather Smith
Emily
Kim Atchley
Catherine

Twins Mania!

2009-03-30T16:00:00.001-07:00

Oh dude.

Ok. So nothing freaks me out more than finding out someone I have known for quite a while has a twin. It just trips me out. Not that it makes that huge of a difference, but, it's like, "Wow! You have a twin!" You get me, right?

So, check this out, celebrities who have twins! I don't know them, but I feel like I do. It's just a trip!

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/getback-celebrity-twins.html

Daddy Oh's new car

2009-03-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

Upon returning from my island vacation, I came home to Seattle o find out my dad had crashed his car. On the day I left, he ran into a lady on an unfamiliar freeway and totaled his 1999 Mazda 626. Before I saw the car, I asked if he was hurt at all and how he felt. His simple response was, "Yes, I am fine. Nothing wrong."

For a car that was going to be considered totaled, I was shocked that he had not been hurt. We had to go to the collision center to retrieve the tires off the car and when I saw the car, I could not believe that he was perfectly fine.

Me: Dad, you didn't tell me the airbags depoloyed.
Dad: Oh yes. Ha ha! I was very surprised. All of sudden, in my face!
Me: The car looks horrible dad. Are you sure you're ok?
Dad: Ha, ha! Car is very damaged. I am ok. At that time, when I put the brakes very hard, I thought myself, oh zee (Daddy Oh equivalent to "Oh geez") this is big problem.
Me: Dad...

The side angle of the car shows the true damage and it is still amazing to me that he is perfectly fine. My dad...honestly.

So, for the rest of the weekend, I spent two days wheeling and dealing with car salesmen to buy my dad a new car. I will tell you, I hate the process. But thanks to Kyle's help and dad's sweet charm, we ended up getting an awesome deal on a Certified Used Honda Accord with low miles. It is such a pretty car...

While test driving one of the cars, my dad had been asking all kinds of questions, mostly along the lines of, "What this button does?" "Is their cooling system (A/C)?" After the test drive, we went in to the dealership and sat down across from the salesman. The guy was going through his files and looking for a certain document and just in his frustration, he said, "Looks like someone jacked my price sheet."

And my dad asked, "What is jack?"

It was really funny at the time.

Earth Hour 2009

2009-03-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

Where ever you are, on Saturday, March 28, 2009, turn out your lights.

Spare change, sir?

2009-03-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

I am at home in Seattle for a couple of days before heading back to "he Eug" (my pet name for the city of Eugene meant to express only mild distaste for the fact that I live there...) for the start of spring quarter. Home in Seattle usually means work and a lot of that entails driving my parents around.

Today, in the midst of our flurry of errands, we stopped by Safeway to buy some fruit, because that's what Koreans do, we purchase and eat a lot of fruit. But this is all beside the point.

Coming out of the store, we walked by a dude who wasn't quite actively peddling for hand-outs because he didn't approach me for my spare change, but it seems that when he saw my dad, he piped up and asked, "Got any spare change?"

I kept walking, as I usually do, but, my dad seemed startled by the man, audibly gasped and stepped back at the request. I looked back to make sure he kept walking, only to see my dad frantically patting his empty pockets and searching for spare change as if he were being held at gunpoint. I just chuckled to myself and kept walking while my dad kept looking for something to give the man. Eventually, my dad made it to the car. I asked him how much he gave the guy and he said, "I had only very little spare change. I only gave him $0.22."

All I could say was, "That's good enough dad." That poor guy probably had his hopes up high, only to get $0.22 and a cute smile from daddy Oh.

Made me laugh.

The Riders on the Bus...

2009-03-11T21:24:00.001-07:00

Since I ride the bus almost everyday to get to school, I notice that I spend my time with a vast variety of people that I normally would not spend time with, unless -- I was sitting on a bus with them. I will say, in the beginning, it was quite an enjoyable experience to sit in the back of the bus and observe the different types of people with whom I share a ride with between my apartment and campus. It was almost humorous and sometimes even put a smile on my face. But after five months as an avid "busser", much of that novelty has worn off. Here are a few of my keen observations, gripes and daily experiences:

1. Mr. Dry-Oatmeal-in-a-Large-Tupperware-Container in a Brown-Paper-Bag Man" disgusts me now.

2. Playing the "From Where, or Whom, Is That Smell Coming?" game has lost its luster and is no longer a game, but more like intuitive curiosity. Kind of like when someone says, "Who farted?" then everyone in the room sniffs real big to 1) confirm that someone farted by smelling the fart for themselves, then 2) saying, "I don't know, it wasn't me, but yeah, someone definiitely farted."

3. Just when I thought there was no other combination to add to 1) cigarette smoke, BO and onions, 2) cigarette smoke, BO and pastrami, and 3) cigarette smoke, BO and BO, just yesterday I discovered a new combo: cigarette smoke, BO and whiskey.

4. The riders who scream while on the bus annoy me the most. Luckily that has only happened a few times.

I do give Lane Transit Authority as an entity props though for having some of the nicest bus drivers around. I miss my old bus driver from fall quarter who would always yell from the front of the bus, "Have a nice day!" whenever anyone got off the bus, or "Study hard!" when he made his drop at campus. Most of the bus drivers say "Thank you" when people depart the bus and I have not yet once had a bus come late or depart behind schedule. They do a good job here.

I guess another positive observation are the mornings where I sit on the bus and try to imagine what kind of lives these people live or have lived. How did they get here? What kind of life experiences have they had? What talents do they have that I don't? There are many fellow riders who seem very interesting to me.

In particular, we pick up several mentally challenged regulars. Same time, same place. I look at them and I see how content and happy they are. They all have some kind of carrying case for their lunch. They get off at various stops around town and I wonder where they go. Work? School? I listened to one of the girls read a story about her cat to another passenger and though I thought the story was weird and lame and feared that one day I would revert to writing a story about my cat, I was enamored by her simple affections for her fuzzy friend and the pride she took in the story she wrote.

Observing the people on the bus has become a normal part of my day and when I am not totally disgusted by the smells and the crazy things people do to their hair, it is actually an entertaining and interesting experience.

No LDS in Eugene

2009-02-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

There are no LDS in Eugene! Well, it seems like there are no LDS in Eugene. This statement can be interpreted in two ways, maybe more, but only two I care to address:

1. There are no LDS in Eugene: Not true. There are a lot of Latter-day Saints in Eugene, just not many my age that do not already have three kids, of which I am totally fine with. The LDS that are here, are dope. This is not my beef. Please see item 2.

2. There are no LDS in Eugene: According to my standards, true. There are no Local Donut Shops in Eugene and it is frustrating. I Yahoo'd "donut shops in Eugene" online and found five. FIVE shops! Eugene is home to almost 155,000 people! It is the second largest city in Oregon! And it spans 40.6 sq. miles! (whatever that means) Yet there are only five donut shops to feed the entire Eugene population?!

It angers me.

Maybe there are more donuts shops out there that I do not know about, but the fact that I do not recognize ever driving by one or knowing where one is off the top of my head, just goes to show that there are not enough LDS in the area.

What do I have to do to get a donut around here?!
- The donuts sold on campus are way over-priced. The cake donuts are priced the same as the raised donuts and that right there is indicative of the campus cafe's lack of donut knowledge.

- I refuse to settle for below par donuts from Safeway and Albertsons. Those days are so high school. My palette is much more developed and refined now and if I am going to munch on fat, it better be good fat. A Safeway donut would be an insult.

- I do not see the ingenuity in a bakery or a local coffee shop which only offers a small variety of donuts next to its array of other inferior baked goods, the two are clearly incomparable.

If I want a donut, I want it from an LDS. Is it too much to ask that there be at least one LDS somewhere near me? Of the five truly committed LDS here in Eugene, none of them have I yet run by, driven by or even happened upon. I went searching for three the other day, all no less than a 5-mile drive, and the results were as such:

- now a Korean restaurant (admittedly, not a bad substitute)
- closed
- open with only buttermilk donuts.

I admit, sometimes life is just hard. It is not always roses petals and shell-shaped soaps, and as such, not Krispy Kremes and Winchell's. Ho hum...I just do not feel like I am expecting more than what makes sense. I would not mind a little donut shop on the corner every few miles to reassure me that everything is going to be fine. Donuts make life better.

Bottom line: If I died a horrible death but with a lion's bite of donut in my mouth, everything would be ok. I would only hope my grieving family and friends would feel the same way and know that I went in peace.

Donuts. My love. My joy.

Funny grandma...though likely fake.

2009-02-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

I saw this video post from the Ellen Degeneres show and I cracked up!

Ellen calls a fan who had left a message telling Ellen to move the "spikey" plant behind her because it was distracting. The exchange is unreal and so funny.

I think the grandma isn't real which is unfortunate, but it's still hilarious! It's worth the full 6:51.

Packages in Pink

2009-02-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

Today, I felt like a missionary on P-day all over again.

I can not stress enough what it is like to receive mail that is not demanding money for services rendered! I love it! And today was so great!

I came home from a long day studying for mid-term exams to find a key to the "big" mailboxes in my usual mailbox mixed in with my usual mail. Getting a "key" is every mail-mongers dream as it means you got something BIG! Since I have been in Eugene, I have received "the big key" a few times and every time has been exciting. Today was no exception. Inside the BIG box was a perfectly wrapped package in brown paper with familiar writing I recognized as Rachel's, which was even more exciting, because she ALWAYS sends good stuff!

Smile on face and package held tightly against my chest, I walked happily to my apartment with an added hop in my step. When I finally opened the package, my excitement quickly faded. What I saw nearly made me barf.

Pink. Pink, pink, pink. Blech. Who sends pink to ME? Since when is pink in my life acceptable? Who decided that pink was okay? What makes pink necessary, at all?!

Rachel knows me well and intentionally bombarded me with pink crap, which is exactly what pink stuff is: crap. But could I really complain? The package was so cute (pink = cute) and everything in it, despite being pink, was what I liked.

So, I figure, I will have to plug my nose when I eat the strawberry Whoppers or draw a black Sharpie 'X' on all of the Hello Kitty bandages, but that is okay, because it was such a great surprise for a hectic day and I loved it. I know it was sent with love.

Thanks Rachel! You'll always be my favorite sister! I love you!

Rockin' the Hair

2009-02-06T14:03:00.000-08:00

I would like to just squeeze these too!

Kids are funny

2009-01-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

Eva sent me a picture of a note her little nephew wrote to his mom after a heated argument with his older brother. It is classic. So funny!

Here's a link to her blog post about it.
The note

Job Insecurity

2009-01-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

I went up to Seattle this past weekend on a trip for school. We specifically went to visit companies committed to sustainable business practices.

There were 20 MBA students with various interests in Sustainability, Sports and Entrepreneurship in the group. We left Wednesday afternoon and returned today, Saturday. It was an insightful trip as we visited several companies based in Seattle; companies I knew very well and companies that were just emerging, or at least trying to. We visited nine companies in all and while all of them shared the same message of sustainability, all also shared a more grim sentiment.

Over the three days I spent in Seattle, the newspaper headlines followed a theme: unemployment. On Thursday morning the headline was about Boeing and Washington Mutual layoffs. Friday morning, the 5,000 layoffs at Microsoft. And on Saturday morning, the front page headline was about the prospective 1,000 layoffs at Starbucks, of which I found most ironic.

Just the night before, my group of aspiring MBAs were huddled in a conference room at the Starbucks headquarters. We had just heard about all of the surprisingly unknown social and environmental goodwill of the otherwise criticized coffee company, the company's LEEDS Gold certified corporate building, its plans to upgrade all of its stores to LEEDS Silver certification, etc. It was impressive what the company was doing to help the environment.

We were then visited by a couple of Starbucks' human resources representatives. They greeted us with smiles and complimented our endeavors. They spoke highly of the company and what it was achieving in growth and innovation. Then, with the same sort of cheeriness, they told us they would love to have us with the company, but that they are not hiring nor were they taking any interns, but that they would love to have our resumes in their database. It was depressing. Then as we left and walked into the parking lot, I noticed all three news vans from the three news networks in town and automatically I knew, Starbucks was likely to announce layoffs.

Such was the same story at REI. And Weyerheauser. And all of the other companies we visited.

The best part about these visits was that it was suggested by REI that we work the retail sales floor to "get in" and by Starbucks to start out as a barista as a great way to work up the chain. It was insulting and depressing.

I think the state of the economy is finally hitting me. I have always seemed to ignore the world around me and very selfishly fail to realize the circumstances of my surroundings unless directly affected. The largest companies in Seattle are making enormous job cuts for the first time ever and all at the same time. It's happening all around us and I wonder how much worse it will get. It is a scary time. Being in school, I have little to fear in the immediate as I do not have a job to lose and as a student, I am resigned to being poor, but I do worry about the state of employment in a year and a half when I will be out with the masses searching for a job.

How close are we to circumstances like the Depression? I do not worry that we will ever be that destitute, but for the families and individuals now affected, who have lost their jobs and who will only find it more difficult to find work again as companies continue to make cuts, I can only imagine the struggles they face.