Blurb

Wow, long time, no post.

I'm in Bangkok again, nearing the completion (please, please, please) of this film.

We got in yesterday at 1 in the morning, checked into the hotel and conked out, spent about twelve hours working, then back to the hotel again around 10 p.m.

We leave tomorrow on a 7:30 a.m. flight (holy cow, I'm not looking forward to that) to land at about 3 p.m. in Korea on a Saturday afternoon.

My weekends. They are so precious to me and I have no way of holding onto them. ㅠ_ㅠ (That's a Korean emoticon- crying eyes and an unamused mouth.)

I go to LA for work at the end of October, though, so that's good. Get to see my family, hopefully have enough energy to see some friends, and gorge on Mexican food before flying back to Korea for a few weeks of working madly before flying back to LA for the holidays and for me to get some R&R before 2013 starts. Whew.

I'm already so tired from this movie that I'm doubtful that I'll get anything fun done in LA, but at least the end is nigh. Hopefully.

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Happy Birthday, Little Sister!

My sister's birthday is the 23rd, meaning that the birthdays of all my nuclear family members? September.

It makes September an extra-hard month to be away from LA, be away from the people whose birthdays I would like to celebrate with a hug and cake and gifts and more cake.

The world has gotten much smaller, of course. My mother sends text messages and knows how to FaceTime. Sending and receiving photos over Apple's Messages almost gives me the feeling that I'm right there. FaceTime gives me even more of that feeling.

My sister and I, being of the younger generation and all, use KakaoTalk, which means texting, sending photos and videos, and sharing wackadoodle things is even faster for us. Instant, even, the only barrier being the time difference between LA and Korea (it's a big time difference).

For instance, I texted my sister via KakaoTalk that I went on a bicycle ride for the first time in fifteen years or so. Even back then, I wasn't a good bicyclist- we never owned a bicycle in our youth, so we just randomly biked when friends came over and such.

Lake Park, right next to my work and home in Korea, has a very well-planned bike route that's just about five kilometers. After a very shaky first loop during which I was scared to fall more than enjoying the ride, I've come to appreciate bikes and Lake Park.

So ... that was a long detour, but anyway, my point was that when I texted with my sister about bicycling, we agreed that when she came to visit me in Korea, we would go on a bike ride.

Sister, here's a panorama that I took at Lake Park, the lake that you will see when you come to visit:

I hope your birthday was joyful and wonderful and all those other superlatives, and come visit me soon, before it gets too cold! Lake Park's weather waits for no one.

Big hugs and cake!

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Happy Birthday, 아빠!

My father's birthday is September 18. My mother, sweet lady that she is, bought him a new grill (!) for his birthday gift. The weather in L.A. has been, apparently, hot enough to still be called summery, so the parents have been grilling like mad.

See the chocolate-dipped fruit in the glass? I sent my dad a bouquet of chocolaty and fruity goodness, since sending him flowers is a little weird. I really miss my parents' very frequent barbecuing; it's simple and hearty but delicious and comforting in a way that I've only ever experienced at my parents' house.

Since I'm not in L.A. celebrating with my family (though my sister just got back to L.A. from a business trip in Madrid and is jet-lagged like mad), I celebrated with friends.

Alright, Dad's not such a sake fan (he is a Korean man that was born and raised in the motherland, after all) but he does like croquettes.

Actually, he either likes croquettes or I think he would like croquettes, it's one or the other. My reasoning is, he loves mashed potatoes. He loves fried things (I'm pretty sure fried chicken is one of his all-time top five foods). Croquettes are just mashed potatoes that are deep fried. Croquettes in Korea are also slathered with mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce, with sliced fish flakes on top (katsuobushi).

Intestines! I really wish I had taken my dad to have gopchang (곱창) when he was in Korea. I think he would have liked the food, enjoyed grilling it himself, and eaten more onions than is wise (he loves onions).

These are just two foods that make me think of my father, though I've never had either dish with him. They are things that I look forward to having with him.

아빠 한국 놀러올때 꼭!꼭! 먹자!

Happy 60th, Dad!

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