Remembering again

On this day, I will remember.
http://jennipah.blogspot.com/2005/09/remember.html

Bicoastal

I went back home for the long weekend for a number of reasons:

• Our dearest LWC is the first among us girls to have a baby bump! I couldn't miss the celebratory shower of the bump (and eventual baby).
• I got a call that Cisco Systems wanted me on the cover of some print ad of theirs. Turned out to be their annual report. How funny is it that? It helped pay for my trip, so I was happy to strike a pose.
• I visited possible wedding venues.
• The girls and my family fed me and made me feel very loved at early birthday dinners.
• Got to hang out and just enjoy being San Franciscan again.

My days were busier than I expected them to be. In many ways, I felt like I never left. It was so easy to slip back into the old routine of eating and coffee catching and shopping and eating and hanging out - and did I mention eating? My mom often talked my ear off; and when I thought she was finished, she simply moved on over to the other ear. If God thought about the fact that I was being born to this mother of mine, He should've equipped me with five ears.

There were some differences too. People moved away, so I didn't get to see them (Chenja). People lived in new places in the city and owned new things like cars (Lee). New restaurants popped up; I wasn't used to not knowing the latest and greatest happenings of my city.

But is it still my city?

I thought San Francisco would always be home to me. I didn't feel out of place. Not yet. But I could sense, for the first time, that there may very well be a visit down the road where I'll actually feel like a visitor there. While it still felt like I was going "back home" to San Francisco, returning to D.C. also felt like "coming home" too. Can I have two homes? Don't I have to pick? If my friends and family moved away from San Francisco, would it still feel like home then?

I've come to realize that home isn't necessarily defined by a physical location. If I could gather all my loved ones together somewhere - anywhere - THAT would be home. Heck, stick them in a big, white box and throw in Taboo and Scattergories! (Oh, and maybe Scrabble too. And the Food Network. And Project Runway while we're at it. You know what I mean.)

But without that white box? I consider myself officially bicoastal!

A Picture Share!

A little piece of san francisco ferry building goodness, right here in dc. Yay!

Korean men are sensitve and totally ripped

This Washington Post article is too funny. There's apparently a 'Korean Wave' blazing its way through Asia. I was feeling the wave of my people becoming hot lately, largely due to the popularity of Korean movies among non-Koreans. Taer's Vietnamese hair cutting lady talks his ear off about the latest K-flick every time she trims his locks lately. Tina's Chinese grandma recently asked me if I knew where she could get Chinese-dubbed Korean movies. This story, interestingly, focuses only on the men:

"Entertainment industry leaders in Seoul credit the phenomenon to good marketing coupled with an uncanny response throughout Asia to the expressive nature of the South Koreans -- long dubbed the Italians of Asia. A hearty diet and two years of forced military duty, industry leaders and fans insist, have also made young South Korean men among the buffest in Asia. Most important, however, has been the South Korean entertainment industry's perfection of the strong, silent type on screen -- typically rich, kind men with coincidentally striking looks and a tendency to shower women with unconditional love."

Of course my buff 'Italian' Stallion Taer, out of the kindness of his unconditionally loving heart, felt that he needed to forward this important piece of news to me. I don't know if he read the quote:

"But to tell you the truth, I still haven't met a real one who fits that description."

Chivalry on the Metro

I fought my way to the only open seat during rush hour and then felt my lower lip spontaneously protrude as another woman slid right in just before me. Sigh. Such is the life of the public transportation commuter. When the man next to her stood up, she joked, "You don't have to get up; we can both sit here!"

His response was surprising. "No, Ma'am. Not when there's a lady who's standing." He then turned to me and offered his seat, "Ma'am?"

I can't remember the last time I was referred to as Ma'am, especially by someone older than me. When I last checked, I didn't think I looked like a senior citizen, nor was I pregnant (unless the Baskin Robbins bulge of my belly counts). Usually, being handicapped by living a stylishly painful life in heels is not enough to warrant my bootiliciousness coming in contact with a Metro seat. In the slightest state of shock, however, I thanked him and planted my rump.

The lady whose seat I originally coveted observantly stated, "You must not be from here."

"No, Ma'am. But I would still give up my seat for a lady if I lived here."

"That wouldn't last very long."

"Yes, Ma'am, it would. My mama would come find me if I didn't mind my manners."

His fellow visiting companions laughed that, "You just about gave these women a heart attack! You're going to be the talk of the water cooler when they get to work!"

I repeated my thanks, to which he responded, "You just tell them that a Lousiana [he named some animal which I can't remember] showed you some Southern hospitality!"

Then the group proceeded to debate whether or not DC/Maryland/Virginia is considered part of the South, considering their relation to the Mason Dixon line. And then they had another conversation about "Y'all" and some other state that says "Y'allses" or something like that.

Southern gentleman chivalry is something I didn't get to experience in California - that's for sure!

A Picture Share!

I took my first painting class. A true artist probably does not share incomplete works, but i am a mere beginner. It's so fun! I want to take photography next.

Sherry is my new best friend

In my endless quest to find Fernet Branca in DC, I decided to give up on the bars (for now). The liquor stores were my next target. I was told Sherry's Liquors carried everything. EVERYthing? Hmmm, I was doubtful, but I decided to check it out anyway...

me: Excuse me, do you carry Fernet?

guy behind the counter: What?

me (dejected): It's an Italian digestif. Never mind.

guy behind the counter: Wait, what does the bottle look like?

me (trying not to get my hopes up): It's in a green bottle, and people compare it to Llager, but without the sugar. It's gross, but it's SO GOOD!

guy no longer behind the counter, but in the aisles: Is it this?

THE HEAVENS SHONE DOWN ON ME, AND ANGELS SANG IN A HARMONIOUS CHORUS. HE WAS HOLDING A GLORIOUS BOTTLE OF FERNET!

Life is good, and I can survive in DC now. Praise Sherry's!

A Picture Share!

I finally found my fernet!

Before you move

We really should've pretended we were traveling for a couple weeks and just packed a suitcase (or three) of stuff we'd need. I was good about setting aside our toiletries - I'd be blind without my contact lens stuff, and a girl needs to be able to put on her face in the morning - but I figured we didn't have that much stuff, so we'd be fine with just fishing our way through everything else. I'm delusional.

Taer was rummaging through our mountains of boxes as he asked, "Where are my boxers?"

"I stuck them in a box." Duh. "I'm not sure if they're at the bottom of one of the wardrobes, or if I just stuck them in a regular box. I remember putting them with a bunch of your t-shirts."

Taer owns about 3,592 t-shirts. Not that I'm counting. After digging through box after box of t-shirts, we were still at a loss. But it also got me thinking about my own down-there status. "Let me know if you find my underwear too, please."

We might have to be the commando couple. Isn't that the name of some superheroes, maybe part of the Justice League?

A Picture Share!

Look at the things we are finding as we pack. This is not a cordless phone, people. It is an old school cell phone! I think it was considered small before.

The biggest purchase of my life

More good news to share...

WE GOT A HOUSE!

I've been stewing with this goodness for a few weeks now but was afraid of something going wrong. As of today, we have our new keys in hand, so I can finally share. It's a townhouse in Woodley Park, and it's the best one we saw, so I no longer care that we lost our bid in Dupont Circle. Yay! Our movers are coming on Thursday, so I've gotta continue packing (again!) and will relay more details later.

All I can say is that I truly believe that everything all works out in the end. We just have to wade through the icky stuff at times, but a little bit o ick helps us appreciate the yum. Yu-um!