LA, i love you

It's me, Astrid. Have y'all missed me or no? Here is my very best weekend recap and i will begin by saying that I have never felt so sad about leaving a city. The weekend was memorable to say the least. Filled with vodka pounding, hysterical laughing, 5am singing, inebriated dancing-- we barely survived LA. I collided with a wonderful array of souls who I hope to create life-long friendships with and rekindled rships with people I haven't seen in ages! And for the first time in a really long time, I feel inspired and re-energized again. *stretch* *cracks knuckles* And hereeee weeee gooo!!!

Thursday night we got scooped up from LAX at 10pm and the world never stopped spinning until we got back to Hartsfield-Jackson. And you know how we do... my sister and i guerilla makeup'd ourselves and changed in the lavatories on the plane so we could hop off the jet and dive straight into the nightlife. First, our friend Daniel took us exploring to the undergroundish scene in Chinatown... beautifully grungy. At Grand Star, we met up with CS Lee (you know him from Showtime's Dexter.. he is also Daniel's bro-in-law) and also said hello to Sung Kang. He is a looker! After some boozing and schmoozing, we saw Bobby Choy perform and we stood up front and cheered loudly while fisting doubleshots like we were in a saloon.
Fittingly, i was decked out in a cowgirl outfit. (I had decided to be a cowgirl that night.)




Our dear ATL girlfriend Annie had been awaiting our landing from VR with her Taiwanese actor friend (who is also in a Korean drama, but i forgot his name... i will ask Annie) so after Bobby's gig, we found ourselves smack in the middle of K-town. We created aliases and got booked here and there and everywhere. Funtimes! My sister was 21-year-old Lila, who could not speak Korean. She got thrown into the back room filled with aspiring musicians. i think she secretly loved it...slut!



AnDEN, something hilarious happened. I suddenly hear my name being called whilst fluttering around with Annie. It was my dear friend Mike from Chitown, and he and a bunch of his manfriends were there for Jim's Bachelor party. Familiar faces galore! We happily made plans to rendezvous again!



Afterwards, we sang the night away... as does all of Ktown after clubbing since everything closes at the most inconvenient time of two. ungodly! We crash landed back at the Future Rockstars of America loft (which we call the Factory, because it's like Warhol's factory, with entertainers and artists coming 'n going and just hanging out a lot there)... and people were still up and working! how do they do it? my sister and i looked at our watches... 630 am. zonked. did these ppl work til late or wake up early? confuzement!
Friday at around noon, we woke up drunk, poured coffee, and went to the roof of the Factory to get some air.

There's NO Business like SHOWbusiness. Afterwards, we hop-skipped over to the Sunset-Gower studios (they film Heroes there) to explore the set of Dexter. It was ohmenamazing fun and Charlie (dressed in character) was more than gracious and the perfect host! He showed us Dexter's lab, LaGuerta's office, Rita's house, etc. and it's amazing how some wood and strategically placed props can translate so realistically onto television. My sister and i had to seriously stifle our giggles because we knew exactly what scenes were filmed where and in what episode (because we are Dexter fanatics) and we were instantly familiar with everything, gushing about specific scenes and such, perhaps to Charlie's bewilderment. anDEN my sister pulled a weeeee~irdoooo and asked Charlie if Vince has anymore awesome scenes like when he cried and said "you guys really hurt my feelings." She ain't my sister! *runs away* Charlie says that John Lithgow is ohmenamazing in Season 4 so tune in Sept 27th! Yay! i know, i know, get off C.S. Lee's nuts. but we lover him!

the majority of the onset pix are in our album...i'm too lazy to post those, but they're really cool! WHEW! Im all out of breath.

After we left the studios, we said ciao to Daniel, and Annie and her highlarious cousin Mike picked us up and we went shopping for flats and for something to wear for the nightventures to come. While stuck in the most ridonkulous LA traffic, my sis snapped this shot of the smoke clouds from the fires that hang in the Cali skies like A-bomb mushroom clouds. Hours and outfits later, we went back to Mike's and polished ourselves til we were shiny&new again and the girls got dropped off at Magnolia's to rejoin Daniel and Co. for dindin. I'm a REALLY picky eater so i get all bubbly and overjoyed when i see food i love and i just wanted to HUG this quaint lil brasserie. Oh, and my sister said The Hills was being filmed...dindin scenes. How does she notice weird things? i was WAY too into my veggies and ambience.







After dindin, off to Hollywood. We started off at Opera. The best part is that there's a smoking section. so you can drink and drink... and smoke... and dance and dance... and smoke. BAD ASTRID! We said hello to the lovely AngelaQ and Annie's sister Jenny came too! (with her bigass rock). Notice how i identify them as two separate entities that came to Opera, Jenny and her Rock. I think i yelped in her face. Adrian and his beautiful fiance Angela came to Opera as well and it was so warm to see him again--felt like downhome cookin! Of course we said hello&xoxo to the Bachelor party group again downing bottles like they wanted to drown their faces in it. anDEN the wonderful Roberto swooped into Opera and rescued me and my sis! *wink wink* we really do lover him.







We decided to leave Opera and go to Kress which is right next door. In all honesty, i don't remember much from Kress. (oh, my sister says she almost tumbled down the stairs when we were leaving and that it's a safetly hazard to have stairs like that at a club of all places. she also says that Annie and i were actin a foo. and something about Annie eating a hotdog.) Anyhoos, like any solid Ktowner, we did NRB afterwards. not one, not two, but FOUR. *alien fingers* It's all a haze from there. *groan* I dont know how we made it back to the Factory. All i know is that when we got back in, people were there playing video games, on the computer, socializing and laughing and having a grand old time. My sister and i looked at each other in ohmazement because it was about 7:30am when we got in this time. Needless to say, we slurred hellos to everyone and crashed in a pile of hair, slinky dresses, and fairydust on the floor cursing ourselves.

Saturday, we obviously woke up drunk. We said goodbye and left the Factory at around 1, ate sober food @ Hodori and Pinkberry with Adrian and Angela and crawled to the Grove where we bumped into Kyungsup who says we didn't let him know we were gonna be in LA when WE ACTUALLY DID! hmph! AnDEN my dumbbutt sister was still so wasted that she left her phone in a department store and...get this...LEFT HER SHORTS IN THE DRESSING ROOM! Unnie, when you try on clothing, you usually put your own clothes back on after! She was just walking around the Grove in a white see-through mini dress with neon blue penties. No wonder people we staring. We didnt realize she left her shorts until waaaay later, at the market. Adrian was the one who actually noticed, but he tried to make her feel better by telling her it's California beach culture to wear a bathing suit. So she pretended it was a bikini bottom. But they were panties. Neon blue.

The sun went down and we gypsied over (walked) to Maitreya, where Adrian's cousin manages (and makes a mean Rhee-Lax alcoholic concoction-lychee martini type deal, delish!) and pounded shots of patron (theparksisters poison), and i called Angela out again and our friend Donald (fresh out of a friend's wedding) who brought his friend Simon. We went to Le Cercle, where we AGAIN saw the bachelor party getting tore up again (since it was not only a bachelor party continuation but also MikeB's bday party) and where i got booked and told the room that i was from Wisconsin. Alluvasudden i see my old friend Brian! We had crazytimes up in NYC like 6 yrs ago. He is a sexy hunk, that one.





Next up of course NRB where i ran into Helen unnie and everything was a blur because i was like wow, she's so pretty! and wow, act sober, Peas! then ZIP! it was back to Hollywood. the rest is history. Where patron goes, chaos usually ensues. Who knows what time it was when we all came to. All we knew was that it was time to get dropped at LAX. we were still in our clubbing clothes with makeup smeared all over our faces. it was so bright and sunny outside and we didn't have sunglasses so we were basically dying a little bit every mile back to LAX. My sister puked in the lavatories and told the attendant she had motion sickness.

All in all, vacations are meant to be done big, no? Parading as a vampire during the night and shrieking as the sun comes out...that's how it was for us...and we LOVERED every minute of it. I've always thought that moving to LA out of the question. My heart belonged to New York. But over the past weekend, i discovered and uncovered the REAL LA, and i fell head over heels in love...

We will be back REALLY REALLY SOON!!! *waving to imaginary LA ppls reading this!* THANKS FOR AN ELECTRIC TIME!!!

For all the pix from our Adventures in La La Land

CLICK HERE

New Beginnings Indeed.

Last night, i asked someone,

"would it be horrible of me to say that i'm the happiest i've ever been in such a long time with my sister back?"

The answer i got was "of course not. She was gone for awhile but during that time, we were always here."

It's been a rocky two-and-a-half years, filled with ups and downs but mostly the harshest downs i've ever experienced. In psychology, it's practically an elementary doctrine that when you have two sisters that are so close in age (and effectually close in bond), the obvious scenario is:

when one sister gets into a serious relationship, the other becomes jealous and overprotective.

And sad. And mourn their dissolving closeness. Maybe she begins to realize that bonds like this are meant to be broken, eventually. Somberly, she faces the music and knows that she has to let go. It's easier said than done. Especially when she can't bear to see her sister being hurt or used. God knows that i did my best to let go and make a quiet exit. For two and a half years! quiet. as... a... mouse. UGHH SO HARD, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND!

I am a firm believer in fate, in learning life lessons through experience, and starting anew. The past is spilt milk and i hope with all of my heart that it stays in the past...and does not try to claw its way back via selfish ploys.

Not only for myself in getting my sister back safely, but for her sake. So that she can find true love, true happiness, and never again have to feel like a bad person, or an unwanted guest, or ....lonely. My sister is the most tender-hearted, compassionate, angel of a girl. She is whip smart, clever, and exciting to be near or around. Ask anyone! And she deserves only the best (which-i know, i know-everyone says about a loved one)... but you know what? She deserves someone who can recognize and acknowledge the gift that she is.
I know God does everything for a reason. He never makes mistakes. That's what i tell myself when i look in the mirror, anyways. Ha! I've learned from my mistakes, too. Foremost, I need to let go and let God. (something i heard Andy Stanley once say). (oh, and that is not to be an excuse for laziness, of course). Hand over the reins. Give up my control freak tendencies, because people cannot be caged and told what to do. They have to learn on their own sometimes! And to be more compassionate, like my sister.

Now on to Los Angeles and next month, to Punta Cana!!! Adventures in store, adventures in store!!! *shivering with excitement*

Not that anyone cares, but i've been getting a lilbit re - acquainted with a few things here and there this past week that make me stop and gasp a little cuz i like it so much...it tickles my lovesit bone. and when i like it i...i..LOVEit. *noah in The Notebook*

Current Old Likes that have Retuhned:

the juxtaposition of infinitely feminine, flowery, slip dresses with ubermasculine combat boots / romperstompers.
accessorylessness

jordan nagai's adorable voice in UP...
and its beautiful message of love.

dainty strappy metallic heels, not clunky complicated platforms

awesomely funny yet touching best man speeches



natalie portman in givenchy

orangey red lipstick

sienna miller's femme fatale in alfie, more specifically, her vulnerablity that makes her relatable...
and who just happens to resemble my idol brigette bardot
Michael Vick allowed back into the NFL

betsey johnson's home
....

and i'll just keep adding to this list tomorrow.

*EDIT* ok, it's tomorrow and i'm at work looking at more stuffs that i suddenly like with a vengeance.

alison lohman's sad brown eyes in White Oleander

Andrew Zimmern's graciousness to all the hosts he meets in different countries.
palm trees.

this adorable little kid breaking it down. it's even cuter cuz he's bespectacled!! LOL!

What is Your Ministry?

I haven't met someone over the age of 50 with more zeal than my mother in a long time. They don't make women like my mom anymore--she's half old school pulsed together with some crazy breed of Scarlett-O-punk that i'm sure was always inside her, wayyy backbackback before she had us.

But last Monday night, something happened. I had a collision with my God-fearing past, that in the form of the renowned Pastor Kim Moon Hoon who is on the North American leg of a world tour string of church revivals. I first saw Pastor Kim on the Korean Christian television network because my mom and her friends in Seoul watch his sermons online. He gives 8 separate services (1-8 bu yehbeh) every Sunday at his famous Pusan Vineyard Church, just to give you an idea of the size (or super pickiness?) of his congregation. My mom began emailing him and one night when we were watching his sermon on her huge computer screen, he gave us a shout-out! We screamed and died with laughter. Once in a blue moon when i decide to crash in my mom's bedroom, i'll fall asleep to the sounds of his super-excited voice and my mom's chuckling. It's captivating!--this fiery white-haired man with this oh-you-calm-down level of excitement and comedianesque charisma. That must be his secret to winning men over to God, by cracking them up with Christ and bowling them over with the Bible. Man, i am such a sucker for funny people. But...*whispering* I'm sure God is secretly LOLtastic.

How annoying does this sound, but suddenly i want to be a better person. I'm caught off guard by this abrupt--and frankly, disconcerting--recognition of the searing meaninglessness of Sundays sans church and not guilt, but rather the somethingmissingness of the "God-on-the-backburner (still-warm-but-not-hot!)" lifestyle. It used to feel like a few rumbling pebbles and now it's in my face like a train. Why do things always creep up on my like that??? ie. age. =( everything for me is done panic-attack style.

During the packed revival, Astrid got bored and began picking at my peeling skin and my mind began to wander as i fanned myself with a bulletin (why are Korean revivals always hot as hell and brimstone?) until my mom suddenly poked me and stifled laughter. Pastor Kim mentioned in an aside that one of the congregation warned him not wear a sparkly and tacky tie since this is America and we frown on most Korean fashion. duh, my mom. After it was over, the three of us went to meet him and shake his hand and he was friggin flanked by bodyguard-like men and pastors of major metro ATL churches and people taking pictures of him like he's some kind of celeb. But as soon as he learned who we were, his face lit up and it was like he forgot everyone else in the room. I thought, "wow, my mom is so mayjah."

And then, it happened. A few pastors started whispering and giving us strange looks. Here is this woman and two wild-looking girls hogging up Pastor Kim's attention! How dare they be so impetuous! Next thing i know, an elder or pastor interrupts my mother asking very loudly in front of the crowd, "where is the father? Where is the head of this household?" as if a woman has no right conversing with high-ranking men of the church. She paused and turned to him, locked eyes, and turned away to continue speaking with Pastor Kim about his schedule for the week and who is coordinating his free-time activities during the day. I thought, "wow, my mom is so courageous."

We went home that night grinning, feeling a little bit lighter.

The next morning, the pastor called my mom from his hotel declaring he had to phone his secretary in Korea to get Grace Park's telephone number because he was so desperate to climb out of this stifling web of meetings and church-related activities his Atlanta coordinators had spun him into. "I want to see Atlanta, but they won't even show me Stone Mountain or Coca Cola!" My mom and i picked him up from his hotel and my horribly directionless clueless butt was assigned the duty of Tour Director of Downtown Atlanta!!! o.m.g. i was calling for directions left and right! But i diddit!! I translated every single little blurb in the Coca Cola Museum, taste tested every single Coca Cola product soft drink with him til i was peeing coke every five minutes, and showed him Centennial Olympic Park, the CNN Center, Underground ATL, and the Ga Aquarium. It was like win a date with a disciple and the three of us laughed all day.

But then, he began to animatedly voice his chagrin towards the church leaders and pastors in general. He said it in a joking manner, of course, but it only thinly veiled his annoyance. He vented about how after his message, other ministers took the stage to passive-aggressively press for a large offering by fallaciously asserting that, "Pastor Kim says that we are short....be generous with your offering and God will bless you." He was taken aback and annoyed. "Money has a way of souring ministry," he said. The night before, he was invited to an elder's home where his wife had prepared an elaborate dinner and had been eagerly awaiting his arrival. But upon learning Pastor Kim's plans, the other denomination leaders called the elder to inform him that it would be quite unnecessary and that 16 other elders and pastors had scheduled for a dinner with the Pastor. (to Pastor Kim's unawares.) So the disappointed elder went to the restaurant anyway, in hopes of at least sharing one meal with Pastor Kim and do you know what happened at the end of the meal? every single elder and pastor got up and left one after the other, stiffing the elder with the bill. 16+ well-known elders and pastors of Atlanta who all ordered an endless supply of kalbi which they sacked up and took home because there was so much left over. This is what's wrong with Korean churches in America today.

He felt uncomfortable eating with Atlanta church leaders after that night. He didn't mind going to see their churches and denomination headquarters and all that--let's face it, pointless--stuff, but after it was over, he'd be dumped off at his hotel to do nothing until another church member decided they needed to have coffee with him, or hold another awkwardly tense dinner (where who's gonna fork the bill is like a game of hierarchy or how quickly you can sneak out), or introduce him to some important church figure. None of his hosts had mapped out a schedule for him in between services and while his nights were obviously booked his days were squandered.

To cut a longer story (relatively) short, he called us again the following day just to hang out and Astrid and i took him to Pappadeux's because we knew he had not yet tried Southern style cookin with the fried alligator, the po boys, the fried catfish, the hushpuppies, the coleslaw. Afterwards, it was off to Stone Mountain. Did you know that a 6-ft tall man can stand inside the mouth of the general's horse? factoid. Another pastor tagged along with us to Stone Mountain because...well, i don't know why. While we were in the lift, this other pastor asked my mom, "to what Korean church do you regularly offer your tithe?" my mom scoffed, "ha! i tithe to where the Spirit leads me to tithe." when asked what on earf she meant, she spilled all these factoids about Adrian Hong and his covert operations and political work, all of which fall under the unconventional umbrella of ministry. "he is not a pastor, nor does he lead a church, but he has done far more explosive work than i have seen most Korean churches even attempt in my 28 years in the States." when asked "what is your ministry?" my mother sort of glanced at me and my sister with this funny twinkle in her eye and revealed with panache, "Our ministry has always been to be the servants to God's servants. We can't do much, except open our home, entertain, feed, and laugh with them so they can have rest." And then she beamed and jokingly topped it off with, "we're sort of the Mary Magdalene department of the church."