And Then It Hit Me!

I am no longer in the misdemeanor court here in the East Los Angeles Courthouse. Yup, that is right, folks; I am now doing Preliminary Hearings in Department 5. I have been there for about six weeks.

It is going okay so far, but the judge is a bit tough on us new bees. Today I got a little "chewed out" by the judge. My less than-two-feet-tall-feeling-self felt like crawling under the desk as this little "chewing out" was taking place. I was feeling "disanimo" (this Spanish word is a perfect description of how I felt-I can't think of the English translation).

As the day went on, however, I remembered Mrs. Cady! Mrs. Cady was my thrid grade teacher who was MEAN! She made all the little third graders cry and five kids got transferred out of her class the first month! I am sure all the crying third graders went home crying to their mommys and daddys and in turn the mommys and daddys went to prinicpal and demanded that their kids get taken out of Mrs. Cady's class.

Anyway, Mrs. Cady was tough and mean! Mrs. Cady was tough and mean to me, but at the time, I never understood why. I just thought she didn't like me.


My thrid grade self went home everyday and everyday my mommy would ask me, "Do you have homework today?" I would confidently reply, "Nope. No homework today. Can I go ride my bike now?" Mommy said, "If you have no homework, you can go play." This happened almost everyday for the first few months of when I was in Mrs. Cady's class.

One day I went to ride my bike and play again after telling my mommy that I had no homework again. After a few hours I came to my parents shop and my mom looked angry! She closed the shop for a couple hours and took me to the back. She spanked me and said, "Why did you lie to me all this time? Why did you tell me that you didn't have any homework? You just said that because you wanted to go play! Mrs. Cady came to the shop and told me that you haven't done any homework at all since the first day of school!"

I cried and cried! I told mommy, "I DIDN'T have any homework." This just upset mommy more and I got spanked even more.

I went to school the next day. Mrs. Cady called me aside and scorned, "How could you lie to your mother like that? How could you tell her that you didn't have any homework when you know you did! You know your homework everyday because I write it on the chalkboard everyday (Mrs. Cady pointing at the chalkboard)!"

I turned my head and looked at the chalkboard...And there it was...HOMEWORK...Math p. 30 problems 1-30...Spelling...Vocabulary....Reading....History...etc.

I look back in retrospect and now I realize I never knew I had homework because I didn't understand! I grew up speaking Korean in the house and so I guess I never understood what was going on in class.

At that moment, looking at the chalkboard with the word "HOMEWORK" it hit me. I think that was the first day of me "getting it." And since that day in Mrs. Cady's thrid grade class I have never missed another homework assignment since. If it wasn't for "mean-ole-Mrs. Cady" I wouldn't be here today.

My point? I believe the "mean-ole judges" who "chew me out" will too show me the HOMEWORK board. And for that, I will thank them as I do good-ole-mean-ole Mrs. Cady.

Here Comes the Sun

My mom avoding the sun like the plague

My work copartner, Dimitris Biller (I call him D, or DB), asked me today, "Can you feel the fall coming?" In a state of confusion, I responded, "Huh? What do you mean? Something bad is going to happen, like you mean the hammer is coming down?" He said, "No. The summer is almost over. Can't you feel the fall coming."

Ho hum...I don't want summer to end. The sun always makes me happy.

Three Peas In a Pod

Have you ever felt the effects of empty nest syndrome? Hmmmm...I think I feel the effects of it right now since my best friend, Judy, is leaving the California nest to spread her wings to venture out into the big city, of Manhattan, New York! Although, I will miss her IMMENSELY, I am extremely proud of her.

BUT of course, Lillian and I couldn't let Judy leave without bidding Judy a proper California farewell. And what does a "proper California farewell" consist of exactly, you ask?

Well, for one thing: Food, of course! And lots and lots of it!

First we went to Vanilla Bake Shop in Santa Monica. The cupcakes were scrumpcilicious (scrumptious + delicious), and I loved their decor. But their employees SUCK! They were so freaking rude!

Mini cupcakes from Vanilla Bake Shop before we devoured themAfter we devoured them

After dessert at Vanilla Bake Shop we pressed on to dinner at La Terza. Mmmmm...the pastas were so good.
Sharing is caring.

Then after dessert at Vanilla Bake Shop, and after dinner at La Terza, on to dessert (again) at MILK.

How do us Californians stay in such great shape? We walk...We take pictures...We shop...We even go to synagogues (not really).

And while us, Californians are out and about doing this, we manage to find great little interesting things! Just look at these little "hairy, one-eyed monsters" I found! Haahahahaha...Ahhh...What a great find, huh? You gotta love them hairy, little, one-eyed monsters! Ooooo...and look at this little purple scooter! I want one!!!

Lastly, there was a surprise finale for Judy. The three of us went to The Grand Spa in Koreatown, Los Angeles, California. It was Judy's and my first time at a Korean spa. It was quite an experience. We got to sit and relax in a steam room and in the sauna; we got to get a body exfoliating scrub, and we got to sit in a hot room and sweat out all our toxins. But the kicker is that we did all of this butt-freakin-naked!

No, you don't get to see a picture of us butt-freakin-naked! Get your mind out of the gutter. ;)

It was a great time of bonding and fun. Farewell to Judy, California style!

Love is a Splendid Thing!

Congratulations Annie and Ron! You love birds did it; you tied the knot on 8-8-08!

Annie looked absolutely stunning.

Ron looked dashingly handsome.

The bridesmaids looked beautiful.

It was a "perfect" wedding for the "perfect couple." May Annie and Ron live a life of "happily ever after."

It's Complicated

Dear Kern...

Dear Kern...

I shall have fond memories of you always. You shall always hold a special place in my heart. You gave me a chance to realize my dreams. You allowed to me make mistakes, laugh at those mistakes and ultimately, learn from those mistakes.

Dear Kern...

It was you that taught me to be independent, and it was you that taught me how to live on my own. It was you that thaught me that hard work pays off, but it was also you that taught me that team work is priceless.

Dear Kern...

You opened my heart and let me feel passion for my work. You opened my heart and you gave me good friends. You opened my heart and gave me an experience of a lifetime.

Dear Kern...

I shall have fond memories of you always.

Dear Kern...

I shall never forget you.