Thanksgiving and things

This year, I spent Thanksgiving in Colorado with my family for the first time in 15 years...

I don't usually go home for Thanksgiving because my family likes to spend Christmas together -- but, this year, my brother and his wife will spend Christmas with her Dad's side of the family in Georgia so, in order for our whole family to be together during the holiday season, Thanksgiving was our chance.  

It was strange to go back to a traditional American Thanksgiving after the mismatch of diners, road trips, Friendsgivings, Asian Thanksgivings, and Portuguese Thanksgivings that have made up my California smörgåsbord of Thanksgiving experiences.  Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, family, snow, football... it was all just the same as I remembered it.  Pretty boring with a lot of food I don't really care for... :) 

But, I have to say, the rest of the weekend with my family was quite nice.  :)  

As far as the "and things" goes, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder was one of the best shows I've seen in a very long time and I think the best comedy I've ever seen.  It was delightful, creative, innovative, and brilliantly performed.  !!  I absolutely loved it!! 

All of the shows

At some point, I stopped writing about all of the shows.  I think it was around a time when I had hoped to write with more substance vs. reporting where I'd been -- but, I've missed logging some amazing things I've seen as a result so, in the last year, here are the shows I've found significant, and a few words about each:

JD McPherson (Pure energy and fun)

Faulted (Strange and wonderful)

Kinky Boots (Important, incredible, touching, beautifully performed)

Mike Birbiglia (Hilarious [and, I got to meet him!])

Kurios (Magical, creative, full of fantastic surprises)

Mittens & Mistletoe: A Winter Circus Cabaret (Impressive and fun)

Upright Citizen's Brigade (SketchFest - Amazing show)

Edinburgh Fringe w/ Janeane Garofalo (SketchFest - Best. Comedy. Showcase. Evar.)

Let There Be Love (Absolutely lovely and touching)

A Little Night Music (Delightful! Sexy, silly, beautifully performed)

Wicked (Denver - Visceral, beautiful, energetic, relevant...and, impactful)

One Man, Two Guvnors (Physically impressive, completely entertaining)

Plastic Persons (Matt and Tom - Perfectly nostalgic)

Jake Shimabukuro (Transcendent)

Amelie (FANTASTIC. Sweet, charming, touching, good silliness, beautiful set, great performances)

The Unheard of World (Dark, sweet, physical)

Fourth Messenger concert (Inspirational, moving, powerful)

Glen Hansard (Pure emotion)

Clybourne Park (Challenging, wonderfully humorous, topical)

SF Hip Hop Dance Fest (Energizing and inspiring)

Dogtown

Dogtown used to be written in spray paint.  

Now it's typography.

Main Street Theatre farewell

I stood there, snapped this photo, and thought briefly about all of the important memories I created while sitting on those stairs.... 

My birthday party, back when the space was new -- when I had to rent chairs and we piled people on old couches and let them dangle their feet from the balcony.  The stage lights were tin flood lights hung high from the pillars.  Rob brought in his sound system and a spot light for the trapeze act, and I invited everyone I knew and made them all wear mustaches.  It was one of the most magical nights of my life.  

Then, the first two 8s -- the weirdly successful stumble throughs.  

The last few 8s -- where I solidified the process, reconnected with the magic, and managed to make it my life.  

The shows I attended full of silliness and inspiration.  Sitting on the stairs with the residents of Main Street, feeling like it was exactly where I belonged.... 

And then, of course, there were the late night talks, circus bootcamp, the wild west fight night that no one attended... :) the delightful Sunday afternoon when Natty's boyfriend played the trumpet in front of the brick wall facade, the night Nik and Joan and I watched Scott Pilgrim vs the World on a tiny tube tv, the fight rehearsals, the laughter, the ability to create, the freedom to play....

Sweet Main Street, we will miss you.  ...and, we'll never forget you.  

Super moon

I was invited (kidnapped? is what they called it :) ) to join a group of friends who were going on a night hike to see the super moon -- we didn't actually see the super moon, but we did see this gorgeous moon the night before...  :)   

On the night of the actual super moon, I had gotten comps to a show at ACT.  The only time I would be able to see the super moon was during the show's intermission.  

As soon as the lights went up, Kat and I ran out of the theatre and looked into the sky.  We knew we'd have to get to the top of a hill or to an open space and we'd only have about 15 minutes, so we ran a couple of blocks to Union Square.  

As we crossed into the square, we could see the moon rising between the buildings to the East.  The eclipse gave it so much dimension.  It looked more like something out of a science fiction novel than like the moon to me.  Kind of other worldly, like a new orb in the sky vs something I guess I've come to think of as the night's shiny, shadowy source of light.  For some reason, the effect made me very aware of the space between us and, since I was viewing it from Union Square, how far from nature so many of us live our lives.  I found myself feeling very small and thinking that we must seem strange to the moon... as we stood there on the concrete, drowning in the lights from Macy's, with people in fancy jackets -- chattering and smoking cigarettes as they walked by.... we pointed, took pictures, ooo and aww'd, and went back to our seats in the theatre... leaving the red moon to linger in the sky.  

The waterfront

Baltimore was hot and emotional -- filled with beautiful old brick buildings alongside rundown boarded up neighborhoods. The city had tension and diversity, this gorgeous waterfront walkway, and some really incredible seafood...

Places of note:
Woodberry Kitchen
Shoyou Sushi
National Aquarium
Fells Point
Thames Street Oyster House

Lockdown

My blog is on lockdown because ... well, because it has to be for now.  But, maybe it's better this way.  I mean, maybe I'll be more honest and less stalked.  Maybe I'll reveal secrets and give you a deeper look into my opinions, reviews of shows, and thoughts on politics.... or, maybe I'll just continue to collect stories and share things I've learned.  :) 

In the meantime, I'm sad that my most read post will no longer be available to save the cats.  If you know a cat that needs saving, please, like, copy and paste the post or the information and let the distressed cat owner know that it's worth it to not do surgery if their cat doesn't seem like they're in trouble.  Basically, don't spend money on cutting a cat open if it doesn't seem like an emergency.  Always. 

Goodbyes

Goodbyes are so complex.  

There are the regular goodbyes, like when you're done at work for the day, or you're leaving your friends to go to your car after the fun -- and, then there are the more permanent goodbyes, like the ones at the end of a relationship, or when someone passes away...

...and, of course, there are a million variations in between.  

Anna and Ashley independently decided to move away on the exact same day, one day after Aatman left for a month long trip that will be promptly followed by 2 more months out of town.  That's a lot of names that start with an "A" and a lot of goodbyes for one weekend.  It was like the universe coordinated so I couldn't be too sad about any one of them leaving because I was always slightly distracted that the other two were leaving, and in a general state of sad anticipation about all three.  

The upside:  

Anna and Ashley tend to be extremely busy with very full lives, so I can easily go months without seeing them anyway.  Anna's moving to New York, but she will be back and forth and I'll see her soon.  Ashley is moving to L.A., so I'm thinking she'll be back and forth as well.  Aatman's goodbye is temporary -- I'm going to visit him in 3 weeks, he'll be back in 4, then he'll be gone again, but then back again -- and, even though it sucks, we've gone through this a number of times and seem to manage it pretty well at this point.  

The downside: 

I miss all of them already.  

LA

Aatman had to take an exam in LA, so he invited me to join him after for a mini vacation/quest to meet Manny Pacquaio.  (Aatman is a huge boxing fan. :) )

We discovered before the trip that Manny was likely in the Philippines, but we knew that Freddie Roach might be around so we went to his gym anyway.  Freddie was there!  We got to meet him and he was so nice!!  We both got pictures with him, and Aatman got him to sign the Wildcard Gym sweatshirt I had gotten him a few months back.  Yay! :) 

In the meantime, Aatman found a fantastic Korean BBQ place in K-town called Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong (delish!), we hit up the Upright Citizen's Brigade for a late night show ($5/ea!), rode a tandem bike on the beach, wandered through the madness of Venice, and had a great sushi bowl lunch at little restaurant called Murakami. 

The less exciting parts of the trip included a mediocre dinner at some place called Grand something or another in Studio City, and a visit to another boxing gym, only to find that the boxers weren't there.  Oh well.  We still got to meet Freddie Roach, and Aatman took this incredible photo!  I love the sky!

Eight! and 8, and...

Jessica asked for a source for details on past shows because she wanted to write something about 8 on 8/8.  I decided to follow suit and have posted here all of the links to my posts about the shows: 

8:1

8:2

8:3

8:4

8:5

8:6

8:7

8:8

and, the fb page.

Happy 8/8! 

(I have to admit, I maaaaay've adjusted the date and time just a bit on this one)  ;) 

Dreaming is free

I went to Boston for the 4th of July to spend some time with Aatman, and to celebrate our anniversary and his birthday.  (He's in Boston, on a very demanding month long medical rotation.)  We knew the trip might find us right across the street from each other with no real contact, but we made a couple of hopeful dinner reservations anyway.   

Because I wasn't sure we would see each other much, I had planned a walking tour, solo brunch, a visit to a museum and to the library... but, then, Aatman was let out of work early on the 4th and we were able to have the most magical anniversary celebration together!  We had an amazing brunch at the Tip Tap room, went to Faneuil Hall to see the street performers, and wandered around the water front district, ending up at the aquarium for a few hours which included seeing a great IMAX film about sharks.  Our anniversary dinner was at one of Aatman's favorite sushi restaurants, and then we got back to my hotel to find the best private view of the fireworks we could've possibly asked for.  

Aatman's birthday is on the 6th, but we planned to celebrate it on the 5th because we knew he'd have to work on the 6th (and, my return flight was scheduled on that day).  He was let out of work a bit early on the 5th as well (!), so we wandered around Charles Street, hung out at the bar at the Liberty Hotel (which used to be a prison and is now a luxury hotel), and then we went to a really nice Italian dinner at Grotto.  :)  

I also ended up with some solo time, so I did the walking tour, saw the library, checked out the esplanade and wandered the charming streets of Boston a bit on my own.     

It was a short trip, but it was perfect.  :)

Panic attacks and foreboding joy

Things are great things are great things are great, and then -- BAM!! ...you start getting panic attacks -- which make you feel like you're dying.  And, I mean, like, for real dying.  Like, I should call someone, write a will, and check myself into the hospital kind of dying.  Like, if I keep thinking about this vs doing something it might be too late and then I will be dead kind of dying.  

Apparently, that last one (thinking about it vs doing something) is key to differentiating between panic attacks and actual dying.  If you're actually dying, supposedly there wouldn't be a debate going on in your head, you would know something's really wrong and would either go to the hospital, or die.  (Disclaimer: This blog and my hypochondria should NOT to be used for medical diagnosis.)  

But, as I mentioned, things are great.  

There's this thing called "foreboding joy".  It's the feeling, or fear, that when things are going really great something bad might happen. 

Along with the panic attacks, I've been having a lot of foreboding joy lately because things have been great.  Which is ridiculous because, when I really start looking at my life, I know there are many things that aren't great.  My relationship has some obstacles to overcome, my mom had a pretty big surgery today, the theatre where I've produced most of my shows is about to be torn down, a couple of my closest friends are moving away, and I started having panic attacks because of some serious unnecessary drama at work.  

The "problem" is, the drama at work has since subsided along with the panic attacks, my relationship has grown a ton recently and feels wonderful regardless of the obstacles, I have amazing and inspiring friends and I know that having some of them move on will be the best thing for them, my mom's surgery has the potential to really improve her quality of life, and I'm still alive because I was only having panic attacks.  

I think the lessons here are:  Panic attacks are terrifying (but you'll be just fine), and sometimes when things are great it leads to foreboding joy.  :P

Nevermind

It's evident that there's a natural ebb and flow to life... That some days you feel like everything is working against you and other days like nothing can stop you.  I was going to write about a really frustrating day...but, then everything changed.  Or, was it me that changed.... ?  

8 (8)

The 8th 8... 

I discovered that producing 8 was hard to do while working my day job as an event producer...  though, doing both jobs simultaneously also seemed to make me better at both... ?  and worse at both.  :P  

Better because I felt sharper.  I found myself always thinking through the show at work, taking things from the show and using them at work, and then taking things from work to use in the show.  

Worse because I felt distracted at work and then sort of fried afterwards, which put the show on the back burner most days and made for a very stressful last push before showtime.  

As a result, on the night of the show, I forgot to put the programs out, my MC notes weren't well prepared, I forgot a joke on stage while I was in the process of telling it, and I ended up telling the story of 8 and how I got the producing job at Google after I had made a very specific decision not to do that.... 

Luckily, Audrey remembered the programs and handed them out to everyone, my lack of MC preparedness apparently made for "great stage presence" and "charming hosting", of which my forgetting the joke I was telling and then successfully retelling it later seemed to contribute, and people were happy I told the story of 8 and how I got my job because they did want to know how the show came about and it was inspiring that it led to me finding work as a producer. 

:) 

They all said I had to do 8 shows because I called the show 8.  They were right.  


My stellar lineup: 

Sam DiSalvo
Audrey Spinazola
Michael Curran
Bernard Vash
Nick Knave
Jessica Gruner 
Skorpio Smith
Amber Gougis 


And, stellar team: 

Ian on sound
Heather on lights
Jackie running the door
Brian, Teresa, and Danielle at the bar 


Audrey and Joan made sure the space looked amazing, Brian and Teresa and Danielle generously donated their beer and their awesome bar skills, my tech team had my back like they do every day :), and the performers all seemed magical as they took the stage.... 


As I sit on the couch with the cats working on closing out the show, I torture myself a little with the silly mistakes I made...but, mostly, I bask in the glow of another fun success.  Everyone was like, "you HAVE to do it again".  I literally tell myself from about 2 weeks out until somewhere around the 2nd act, that I'm not going to do it again.  And then, I settle into the show, the performers knock my socks off, the generosity from the audience surrounds me, and I start to think it's exactly where I'm meant to be and that I'll have to do it again.  :P 

The 8th 8 was wonderful....


"Be so good they can't ignore you." - Steve Martin

:)

The other night, Jessica shared with me that on Wilder's first day of school, which also happened to be his birthday, he cried and cried, and didn't want her to leave him... and, then, a little brunette girl named Annalise put her hand on his shoulder and sang... "Let it goooo, let it gooo... " and, she is now Wilder's favorite girl.  :)

As you probably know, I was adopted from Korea and have always claimed to be Korean but, throughout my life, lots of Eastern Asians have claimed me as their own, stating that I definitely look like whatever they are...until recently when everyone seems to think I'm Japanese. Aatman got me a DNA test for my birthday this year and it turns out that I'm Korean, Japanese, and a little Chinese!

(To the tune of I'm Every Woman) "I'm every Asian / it's all in me / Any Asian you want to see / I do it naturally..."  ;) 

This year has been so full of life.  Facing fears, going on adventures, trusting the process.... it's been amazing.  And, that's not to mention the movie nights, dinners with new friends, long talks with old friends, tooling around with the girls, comedy nights, an epic mafia night with the soccer team, a job that doesn't feel like work, and a completely renewing little getaway to Calistoga.... :)

(If I could add a sparkle here, I would.) 

Pure life!

Costa Rica was amazing...  !!  The plants, the animals, the food, the people, the adventures, the sunsets, the sounds... 

My favorite moments, in no particular order: 

• Discovering that Costa Rica was not an island 2 days before our departure.  :P 
• Meeting my lovely travel buddies at the airport. 
• The rainy hanging bridges. 
• Standing at the foot of the La Fortuna waterfall. 
• Checking out the ghetto hot springs spot under the overpass. 
• Hot Springs hot showers! 
• Sleeping on the shuttles. 
• Kim seeing the sloth by the side of the road! 
• The view of the volcano from Casa Luna. 
• Chatting with Alice over Sushi. 
• The sloths at the hot springs zoo.
• The monkey named Mike Tyson, because he bites... !
• Danielle saving me multiple times during canyoneering. 
• Jaime jumping into the waterhole. 
• Repelling the giant waterfall! 
• Giggling w/ Carlos and Isabel at Nemes when Carlos was trying to find the English word for Olives. 
• Viewing the volcano from the boat bus. 
• Sleeping in the monkey room at the top of the many rooms of the Treetop house. 
• Listening to all of the rain, the birds, the insects, the monkeys... 
• When we noticed the shuttle driver was also the cashier and the coffee tour guy, just in different hats.  Literally.   
• Dancing and singing at the Tree house restaurant! 
• The fantastic casado typico and conversation at the soda in Monteverde.  
• Scarfing down the fantastic casado tipico breakfast at the soda behind the fancy coffee shop. 
• Late night talk with Phuong in the Treetop House. 
• Hiking through the dark forest looking for wildlife.
• Zipping through the trees. 
• Learning to surf! 
• Synthia catching a great wave!
• Isabel calling the waiter (camarero) a shrimp (cameron).  
• Hanging out with the girls on the catamaran.  
• Yuki's commentary on the iguana wanting a bug, and Isabel having a bug fly into her mouth. 
• Seeing the macaws fly by Villa Estela! 
• Yuki giggling at the steakhouse about the failed photos.  
• Watching the amazing Costa Rican sunset.

I am so glad I bought a first aid kit, a raincoat, and really good sunscreen.  I wish I had bought actual bug repellent instead of a bug repellent bracelet, because that thing didn't work.  A second (and third?) bathing suit would've been useful, along with waterproof hiking shoes.  The neoprene Google bag the Trademarks team gave me turned out to be the perfect unforeseen gift.  Board shorts were exactly right, along with an insulated water bottle and a small backpack.


Here's the event list for my memory's sake:

Carlos the driver 

Tomales

Casa Luna 

Hanging bridges
La Fortuna waterfall 

Casado tipico - NOM
Hot springs

Nemes

Canyoneering

Hot springs take 2

Bus boat bus

Treetop house

Stella's

Coffee sugar chocolate tour

Tree house dancing night

Soda 

Ziplining

Night hike

Tree house take 2

Soda + coffee

Shuttle to Manuel Antonio

Villa Estela
Carlos the other driver (I think his name was Carlos too)

Mariposa sunset

Dinner at the marina

Surfing

Catamaran 

Pizza night

Manuel Antonio national park

Cafe Milagro

Shuttle to San Jose 

Airbnb in the hood 

Steakhouse dinner

PURA VIDA!!! :) 

Birthday

A birthday full of music, dinners, cake, ice skating, thoughtful and generous gifts, and the best friends a girl could have.  :) 

...and, a Happy New Year!

I got to ring in the New Year in Hawaii with my best friend, Stacey!!  We did so much and had so much fun!  :)  

Slippers

Free parking by the zoo

Walk along the spitting beach 

Dinner w/ Stacey

Todd applying to school (Stacey's husband)

Dry cleaning 

Starbucks

Random drive to Haleiwa Beach

Cooking jello ! 

New Year's Eve hangout with the cousins

New Year's Day at Grandma's w/ a nap

Making prosciutto wraps

New Year's Day night with Todd's family 

Coffee at 3 Cups Cafe 

Walk through West Loch Community Shoreline Park

Mike's wedding

Peace Cafe

Drinks at Lulu's in the hurricane

Pacific Beach Hotel 

Hiking Diamond Head 

Musubi Cafe Iyasume

Mike's reception

Soeda family Christmas w/ games !

Breakfast at Eggs 'n Things

Sugar beach

Ko Olina Monkey Pod restaurant

Disney resort listening to Jerry Santos

Stacey throwing up driving adventures... :(

Makapu'u hike

Outlet mall

Lunch w/ Cara and walking through Chinatown

Hilo Hattie's and Ward Warehouse shopping 

Disney resort take 2, for girl's night :) 

Breakfast at Rise and Shine

Throwing lei into the ocean 

It was the perfect way to start out the new year... !!  :) 

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

I had a really nice Christmas in Colorado.  :)  We did our usual things like playing games, having dinners, going to church, hanging out with family and friends... but, this year I decided to buy my family and I tickets to a show in Denver as their Christmas gifts.  I booked dinner at a great new Polish restaurant called Belvedere (my Dad is Polish), and then headed out to Lannie's Clock Tower for a night of Motown Legends Revue!  It was a great night of culture and family time.  Belvedere's was excellent and brought back great memories of my Grandma, and the Motown Legends Revue was a blast!!  Lots of singing and dancing and truffle popcorn and silliness!  :)

I also had some heart to hearts with family members this year.  It was a good time for reconnection.