our listserve is quite active these days and flashbacks to previous reunions keep comin back. can't wait to see mai gerls... very sad that it won't be a full reunion this year, esp since mai soul-linked sis and butt-buddy are among the absentees. =I still, thankful that we still try to get together every year, despite our diverging paths. wut a classic pic. i can just see us, forty years from now, pointing to these group pics and reminiscing. **happy holidays to some of the most amazing women i know.** <3<3  

courtesy of Way...
i asked, "what are some kuL places in the city?" and this is his crazy response.
kudos to the sincere & thoughtful.

About the city:
I'm always going to say Chinatown. Stockton to Grant, Sacramento to Green. I practically grew up there, but no one knows me. The latest expansion took me to the south outskirt of North Beach. There are some great brunch places and also views, but the highlight is really the energy on the street. You know, the vibe of a marketplace. [...] on a good day, when you are in the mood to take things in, the scenery is so vintage its a time machine. but thats me. The hills can be killer if you're not into walking. There's this fusion restaurant I want to try around there that has an interesting drink menu. (There's also this other bar, somewhere that has a wildberry champagne kind of martini. also on the list)

Golden Gate park, leading to the Arbortoreum/Planthouse. The length of the park is nearly half the width of San Francisco and is the best place for a late summer walk with your dog, roller hockey, frisbee, and bike riding. There's even an equestrian arena. But really, I just travel through GGP to get to the Palace of Fine Arts and the Exploratorium. You probably know of it. The Greco-Roman style is crazy! I have this image of a Star Wars Parthenon in my head. It's like a kiddy geek playground but good for anybody curious enough about seeing previously unseen things in our world. the Optics! cripes. bring a camera and like 4 people. They have swans in the lake around the Palace, always the center of attention, and they are huge for birds damn!

~

makes u wanna go rite now huh? haha, i was jus there last nite and i realized even the city can get old if u go to the same places one time too many. especially if it's purely for alcohol and sex, and not the city <3<3. plus it was never the night life that drew me; it's the city's pretty places (the presidio, wharf, lombard, haight, the park) and creative atmosphere (music, art, food, culture, individuality). all together, it creates this urban closet-romantic city. tough and beautiful at the same time.

Way is doing a reading this wednesday; anyone interested in a city outing? call me :).

picture time! i'm a lazy mofo and don't take my camera out to stuff so most of the pix i post are from the more diligent. these were sent from korea; my newest niece, aileen gyuri kim.

lookie those chinky eyes. she's gonna be beautiful. 

my cousin and seh unnie ("new sister") have a twisted sense of humor. 

the secret to korean alcohol tolerance: start early. 

talk nerdy to me.

keke. i luv it. saw it on a shirt today.

so in talking nerdy...

integrity, n.: honor; strict adherence to a moral code or values
Synonyms: candor, forthrightness, goodness, honestness, honesty, honorableness, incorruptibility, incorruption, principle, probity, purity, rectitude, righteousness, sincerity, straightforwardness, uprightness, virtue

whatever you call it, i value it above any other trait. i followed my impulses and unwittingly hurt a treasured friend in the process, and a potentially great new friend. ignorance was my excuse, but now that i am no longer ignorant, i can't pretend like nothing's changed. i could never continue on like there weren't people i was consciously hurting. i'd rather take a step back and choose another route.

for the record.

my sleep addiction is really kicking me in the ass. missed all the crazy black friday sales. i was really hoping to get one of those $10 bluetooth headsets and scout for the complete sex and the city dvd set. boohoo.

actually, this is the first time i seriously contemplated going shopping at f-ing midnite to hit up those deals. usually i avoid all that scary mob shit cuz i'm totally not competitive and i would be trampled. ehehe. mebbe it was a gud thing i slept thru it all. still, there were some f-ing awesome deals. shouldn't have had the turkey. i knocked out hard at 10:30pm. this could've been partially due to the fact that i didn't sleep the night before cuz of turkey bowl and karaoke, then breakfast with seb before dropping her off for a 7am flight.

slept till noon, then helped with all the food prep. i loved thanksgiving this year. good, quality, simple food and a quiet, cozy dinner with the family by the fireplace. cracked open a bottle of bougelais and apple cider (for the lil sis), and just enjoyed each other's company.

every year, we send over a care package for this harlmunni (grandma) who's like family to us. just a lil bit of everything we cook. usually she has a couple of her good friends share dinner with her; we invite her but she always declines b/c i think she feels more comfy with her harlmunni friends. this year, she only had one friend over and i couldn't help but think how lonely it must be at times. her only daughter divorced and moved to oregon with her granddaughter. her husband passed away a long time ago. so many life events and suddenly, you find yourself in the autumn of life with only the precious company of your good friends and family.

the more i see of life and people, the more i realize how true the words of the retired pennstate doctor were. i asked him for one piece of advice given his many years of life, and with so much conviction he said, "find someone to share it all with." i think in the autumn of my life, if i can count a handful of people as soulmates (friends, family, loves) then i could be content with "it all."

anyways, time to check out the stores and see if anything is left in the aftermath. pictures, courtesy of mel, from the past weekend:

ehehe. polly and debs. dinner at lulu's in SF. fairly good food and dessert. trendy, busy atmosphere. polly was a-hungered. 

gud times in SF. PS. lulu's is f-ing $$$. recommended for special occasions only (eg. not pre-clubbing dinner on entry-level wages). 

lol. the cute (strange ;) couple. 

whoowhee. we were completely sober too. luvs partying with melmel. 

fri nite at boss. check out those happy faces xD. 

polly and her very fashionable and sweet chica debbie.  

lol. something about this photo is SO funny to me. polly, i dono how you do it! x) 

ehehe. we were supposed to do funny faces and it somehow choreographed so perfectly. 

some of the pahtay people and a big ol (empty) bottle of grey goose. 

winner of best photo of the nite: jae in mel's designer fur 

don't remember taking this picture. notice scary guy in the back. shiver. 

the bday boy and his "lil" bro -- sat nite at club whisper 

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are this year's winners:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realise it was your money to start with.
2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly
3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future. *puahaha*
4. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
5. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
6. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
7. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it. *luv it*
8. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
9. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
12. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
13. Glibido: All talk and no action. *i'm gonna add this to my active vocabulary*
14. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly. *AHAHAHA*
15. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out. *oOh, been there! amazon beelzebugs are inescapable*
17. Caterpallor (n.): The colour you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating. *oOh, also been there*
And the pick of the literature:
18. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

courtesy of D