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| Okay...so it's been 6 months since I've last written an entry. I knew I wouldn't be very good at keeping up with my Xanga site. But for some reason today I feel inspired to write again and maybe give everyone an update on what has been going on in my life lately...forewarning, though - it's not very exciting. - I guess one big thing is that after teaching 2nd grade for 5 years, I'm moving up to third grade next year. I have mixed emotions about it...First of all, I never thought I would be teaching more than 5 years. It's a tough career, and I just don't think I'm meant to be a lifelong teacher. There are some teachers that I meet, and you know right away that they were born to be a teacher. You can see the passion in their eyes and hear it in their words. Not me, though. All you hear from me sometimes is bitterness and frustration.
 But the big question is "What am I supposed to do next?" I still don't have a clue how to answer that, so I will be starting my sixth year of teaching at the end of this month. The good part, though, is that since I'm moving up a grade, I get about half of my students from last year, and I loved my students from last year. So I'm excited about being able to spend one more year with them and seeing them grow and change. Hopefully by the end of this next school year, God will have given me conviction about what to do next...
- My relationship with Bailey, our puggle, is much improved. Many of you have probably heard me whine and complain about how much I do not enjoy living with a dog. She was dirty and smelly, pooped and peed everywhere, and chewed up everything she could find. Our first year with her was pure torture to me. But she's about 1 1/2 now, and even though she is still young, she has totally mellowed out. She's about 98% housetrained, but still has accidents because sometimes she just can't hold it anymore and doesn't know how to let us know she has to go out. She pretty much just sleeps all day long now. I actually feel bad for her because she seems so bored all the time. Once in awhile I will try to play with her and tell her to get her ball. She'll stare at me with her head cocked to one side to try to figure out what I am saying. After awhile I'll just give up trying to get her to go get the ball, and then 5 minutes later she'll walk up to me with it in her mouth. So she figures it out, it just takes her awhile. Don't get me wrong, she's still definitely Jun's dog, but I guess she finally broke my hardened heart down. Now if only I could get her to stop shedding. Then we'd be golden.
- One of my past entries that I wrote was about how my family was addicted to Wii. They actually bought one for Jun for his birthday, so we are still enjoying playing it a lot. But our new obsession is with Nintendo DS. When we went to Hong Kong last month, we would all sit around my Dad's living room at the end of the day and play each other. The 2 games we are all hooked on is Bomberman and Animal Crossing. I am especially hooked on Animal Crossing. It's a silly little game and I don't even want to explain it to you because I know you'll laugh at me, but I can't help it. Let's just say this: you can work and make money and buy things at one of 2 stores. It's perfect because I love to shop, but since I'm trying to be responsible and not spend money frivolously anymore, I don't do it very often at all. But now I can shop everyday in Animal Crossing! Okay, I feel silly, so I'm just going to stop here.
- As I mentioned above, Jun and I went to Hong Kong last month with my family to visit my Dad again. We went last year too, so we pretty much did the same things as last year: sweat, eat, and shop. But the craziest thing happened when we were there. Jane Chen, a friend from Wash U, is interning there right now, but I didn't know that b/c we haven't talked in awhile. She met Jun once at our wedding three years ago, but she randomly passed him in the subway station one night, and recognized him. But she wasn't 100% sure if it was him, so she didn't stop him. Instead she emailed me and asked if I was in HK, and the night before we were supposed to leave I checked my email. So I called her right away and we were able to meet up for lunch the next day right before I left. The only reason why I think it's so crazy is because HK is ridiculously crowded - everywhere you go, no matter what time of the day it is, there are just tons and tons of ppl around you. It never stops. So it just amazes me that in that city filled with millions of ppl. always on the go Jane and Jun even walked past each other. But it was very cool to meet up with my friend from Maryland whom I haven't seen in 3 years in Hong Kong. It really is a small world.
- I turned 31!!!! Yikes! I still have a hard time believing it.
So as I'm writing this I'm wondering if anyone is actually still reading all this nonsense. Probably not. So I'll stop here. Hopefully I'll be better at updating my Xanga more. I'll try to include pics next time. If you are actually still reading this...got any suggestions for my next career? I am very open minded! | | |
| Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! It's a balmy 24 degrees and sunny outside, so Renee, Kristin, Jacob and I decided to watch the parade in Chinatown. It was fun, except for the gazillion politicians in the parade (city elections are in less than 2 weeks). Here are a few pics from the parade... 
Kristin, Renee and Jacob trying to stay warm while waiting for the parade to start. They were running on Asian time of course. 
The parade is traditionally supposed to end with the long dragon, but for some reason today it was towards the beginning... 
Me and Southpaw - the mascot for the White Sox. Later on, he actually grabbed my hat and stuffed into his mouth  
The Lion Dancers! When I was a little girl I was petrified of these things. They are kinda scaring looking, aren't they? Despite the cold, it was fun. Maybe next year more people will brave the cold and join us. Happy Year of the Pig!!!! | | |
| My family has decided that Renee, the middle sister, has obsessive compulsive disorder. Once she wants something she gets fixated on it and puts all her energy and focus into it until she gets it. Right after Christmas she decided that she wanted a Wii. And if anyone else has been trying to buy a Wii recently, you know that they are hard to come by. But nothing was going to get in Renee's way. So last Saturday, her loving husband George went to Target at 4 am and waited in line for 3 hours until it opened because he was told that they had Wiis in stock. They didn't. Did that stop Renee? No. She spent the next couple of days calling every store in the area to see if they had any in stock. On Tuesday she finally found a Target in the city that had some in stock so she sent Jun and I out there to pick them up since she was at work. We didn't mind at all because we're both on winter break. But this was only the beginning of the madness. The Wii system allows up to 4 players at a time, but each player needs a controller and an optional nunchuck which need to be bought separately. These are also pretty hard to come by. So back on the phones Renee went calling store after store after store, sometimes calling the same store several times a day. But guess what...by Thursday evening and 5 different trips to different Targets, Renee managed to find them all! She's crazy, isn't she? So pretty much since Thursday evening my family has been playing Wii nonstop. And everyone has been getting into it, from my 3 year old nephew to my dad. It's actually a lot of fun and it's cool because anyone can play it. Kathryn, my 5 year old niece, is really really good at the bowling game. She was playing against Jun, my brother in law, and my cousin Reanne and guess who won....Kathryn!!! She has a very promising career in professional bowling in her future . Renee bought some new games yesterday, so Jun and I are going to head over there to play in a little while. It's a nice way to end our 2 week break. Plus, my dad is back in town from Hong Kong for a little while, so we're going to get in some bonding time with him before he heads back out. Another nice way to end our break is to find out that our friends had a baby this morning!!! Congratulations Rob and Sue! We can't wait to meet Emily! | | |
| Jun and I just wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! As we all tear open our gifts and eat lots of food, may our hearts really be filled with the joy of knowing the love of Christ. And Happy Birthday Dr. Tae!!!! As a gift to you, here are a couple of pics from your beautiful wedding... 
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| I went to my niece's 5th birthday party last night. I can't believe she's already 5, although to be honest, sometimes it seems like she's turning 15. The first thing we saw when we walked into the party was Kathryn holding one of her little boy classmate's hands. They were inseparable! I wasn't too happy about that...supposedly this is the boy she is going to marry when she turns 27. You would think it would be cute to see a little boy and girl holding hands, but I totally didn't think so. I guess I'm just being an overprotective aunt. Anyways, since my dad in HK wasn't there to enjoy "Ghetto Bananas", here are some pics for him... Kathryn and Jacob swinging away at the pinata...  
Kathryn and her kiddie friends with their loot... 
Dude....   Smiles all around....  
So other than posting pics of Kathryn's party, I wanted to write about a funny conversation I had with Kathryn the other day. I'm forever trying to think of funny things to write in my Xanga about, but nothing ever lights a spark, which is why I hardly ever post. Until a couple of days ago...Renee, Jacob, and I had spent the day shopping and we picked up Korean food for dinner. I'm at home eating when I get a phone call from Kathryn... K: Yee-Yee, did you get that white stuff for me today? V: Huh? K: You know, that white stuff from the restaurant.... (I realize that she's talking about mook...that Korean jelly stuff...Kathryn loves it!) V: Oh, no...I don't think this restaurant had any. Sorry! K: That's okay, but could you look for it online for me? V: Alright, I'll do my best. K: Thanks. Cute, huh? The wonder of the Internet... **Edit** Oops...it seems I have forgotten a picture... 
Just for you Rachel!!! | | |
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