Book Review

So those of you who have known me for any length of time know that I do not find reading to be a pleasurable experience. Well, I've been trying to change that. Not because I have so much time on my hands (although, I guess I do), but rather because this journalism thing has been good for me and you know what they say--in order to write better you need to read other people's writing.

This summer I've read five books (this is when Kara gasps, right?!). The most recent was "True Grit: Women Taking on the World for God's Sake" by Deborah Meroff. This is not a light read, in terms of content. It covers the personal stories of many women around the world, who for the sake of the Gospel continue to fight the good fight. Some of the stories and statistics were disturbing. Statistics on child trafficking, arranged marriages, abortions, etc. These statistics are very real, but it just seems unreal that things like this still occur at such enormous proportions in other parts of the world.

I've been blessed to live in America, I know that. But reading this book made me appreciate my life more. It made me think: even though I don't agree with everything in my family, at least I haven't been sold off to some stranger, never to see my family again. It made me think: even though sometimes I get tired at work, at least I can work a "normal" day. It made me think: even though sometimes I don't approve of our government, at least I don't feel like I have to run for my life to escape (yet).

When I first read the book, my initial thought was, "Man, there are lots of spelling errors in here!" But then, I looked at the copyright and it was from the UK . . . so many of the common spellings in our stylebooks are done differently. After I got over that, I enjoyed the read.

Overall, good book filled with serious content.

The Bite of Seattle really did bite

So it was the long-anticipated day of my summer: The Bite of Seattle. I've been looking forward to it all summer because it is a festival involving lots of food, fun and sun. We planned to go right after church today and spend the day there before heading back north for church again tonight. This was truly an adventure and I almost cursed out my steering wheel. If this blog entry doesn't explain anything, just know that I realized today I'm very persistent. I really, really, really wanted to go to The Bite, and we eventually got there.

Bad thing #1: I forgot to charge the camera battery, so in the middle of church I plugged my charger and battery into the wall outlet in the nursery (I had planned to charge it while I was on nursery duty during Sunday School, but alas, I forgot to do that). We left church and got on the freeway before I realized I forgot to take my charger and battery out of the wall. No camera. Great. So we decided to come home to use Dad's camera. Problem solved . . . kinda.

Bad thing #2: Horrible traffic. Nobody had to tell me there would be bad traffic, but there was SO much traffic. We were going to park at my grandparents' house and take the new Link Light Rail down to Seattle Center, but we thought we'd try a parking lot closer to the Center. Bad idea. Circled around multiple blocks multiple times.

Bad thing #3: Low on gas. Yep, I didn't realize we were so low on gasoline until we got ourselves lost. Read on.

Bad thing #4: Lost in Seattle. This has never happened to me before--I've never gotten myself lost in the city before but today I got myself completely lost. I made ONE wrong turn and ended up on a road (Aurora) that has no option to turn around. So from Downtown we went . . . driving, driving, driving. More driving. We passed over Lake Union. We passed Queen Anne. We passed Woodland Park Zoo. We passed Shilshole Bay. We passed Ballard. We passed Phinney Ridge. We passed Green Lake. I knew we were going the WRONG way, but there was no way I was going to turn around and find which way we were supposed to go. I thought for sure there would be a freeway entrance soon. I was very wrong. I have no idea what road we ended up on, but it EVENTUALLY got us to somewhere in Seattle and I spotted a sign that said "Seattle Center." Wonderful! Finally (like 1.5 hours later, finally). We followed the sign and eventually saw the Space Needle in near distance. You see, if you can spot the Space Needle in some sort of eye-shot, you can normally find your way back to Seattle Center.

So finally after we got back to Seattle Center, the parking lot had some spaces open (the whole mess we got into started after the parking lots all said "full" posted on signs). We paid the $12 to park then we walked across the street to the festival. Finally!

We walked around through the mobs of people and scouted out places we wanted to try. The weather was really hot, so there were lots of people out and about everywhere. We tried some fried calamari with Greek sauce. It was great! Then we stood in line for some Filipino BBQ chicken on a stick. Again, very yummy! We made our way to the Snoo booth. I'm on this kick for frozen yogurt, so we had to get some. Also good! We took advantage of the free water stands and kept walking. Snapping pictures here and there. You know, it's the Asian in me to snap pictures of everything (especially the Space Needle). Our last stop was this Vietnamese stand where I got some fresh spring rolls. They were pretty good, not as amazing as I thought they'd be, but not horrible. I wanted to go all-out and try lots of things, but I had to remind myself that I'm trying to pay of a school loan so I can't be spending tons of money.

Overall, it was a good experience. I was really ticked on the way there and especially when we got lost. I'm definitely doing this again, but hopefully next time we can go with friends. And note to self: I am NOT going to park near the Center next year. Metro, here I come!

Whoever said it rains 90 days out of the year in Seattle was . . .

on crack! Seriously.

It does not rain 90 days out of the year here, but even if it did, it rains normal rain--none of that sideways, monsoon or flash-flood stuff. And the rain here is refreshing. Laugh if you want, but it's true.

Just a couple of weeks ago, our attempt at breaking the most recent no-rain-streak ended at 29 days. Not bad, huh? This week has been in the high 80s and sunny!

So for all you who are skeptics about visiting Seattle, come! Just believe me: it doesn't rain all the time. And we don't use umbrellas . . .

Independence . . . from what?

Today is the 4th of July--everyone knows it. But as I hear the continuous bursts of fireworks around the neighborhood and think of the BBQs and various other events of the day, I wonder: have we gotten away from what this holiday really means?

Do we really show our patriotism when we spend our three-day (or four for some) weekend blowing up fireworks, stuffing our faces with more food than some people will ever see in their lives, and spending time with our family and friends? Sure, I love doing all of the previously mentioned things, but really, does that show patriotism?

What am I celebrating? I need to remind myself that even with problems in society, with a government I might not agree with, with various family issues, that I am blessed to live in America.

So tonight, when the big firework shows begin, I'm going to try and remember why we really celebrate.

I've figured it out!

Two things I've always enjoyed in life are 1) being creative and 2) helping people. With the realization that I really am graduating from college soon (as in five months soon), I backtracked in my mind a bit and found that my course of study is a perfect fit for those two things I love. Good thing, because after coming this far I'm not changing my major again!

Why journalism? Why public relations? How do these two aspects of my major correlate to being creative and helping people? Simply stated: everything!

In journalism, it's my job to inform people, to bring topics of interest within reach for them. It also requires a large amount of creativity. I'm not only informing people, I'm trying to get them engaged and interested in the news topic at hand. This cannot happen without some degree of creativity. In public relations, my entire job is (or should be) devoted to helping people. Whether I'm on the outside looking in or on the inside looking out, it is crucial to be helping those in my organization and/or "public." Tackling this responsibility (among others) also requires a great deal of creativity.

It's exciting for me to have finally figured out that this major was for me. Sure, when I was an FCS major and later a piano major I could've been creative and helped people, but not quite to this degree. I absolutely love what I'm learning and can't wait to use it all in the world outside of academics in a few short months from now.

My only question to myself: Why did it take me this long to figure it all out?!

On the hunt

With Father's Day soon approaching (too quickly, I might add), I'm searching for that perfect gift for my amazing, yet not-so-perfect Dad. I love him dearly, but he is so hard to shop for. You'd think after 22 years of celebrating this holiday with him that I'd have this gift-giving thing down. Wrong. Every single year I'm plagued with this inability to find a gift for him.

To aid me in this traumatic experience, I ask him, "So, what do you want this year?" Without fail his answer is, "Oh, I don't need anything. I'm just glad you're in my life." Aww, now isn't that sweet? Maybe, but it doesn't help me! Those who know me (even just on the acquaintance level of the friendship scale) know I'm very indecisive. I'm so indecisive, I even wrote a column about it!

Since my dad won't help with my gift-hunting efforts, I decided to check the media. After all, there are always articles about "Top Dad's Day Gifts" or "Trends for This Father's Day." Sure enough, I found this article. The headline? "11 Great Gadgets for Father's Day." Wonderful! Dad can use more gadgets. But if you look, you'll quickly notice that most of these "great gadgets" are not very college-budget friendly.

So, I'm stuck again. I don't want to pull an "Oops, I forgot it's Father's Day," and resort to giving him yet another necktie. Oh! He loves doing laundry and frequently mentions that we don't have enough clothing hangers--but I give them to him for part of his Christmas gift every year. I will not be buying more hangers for him!

Well, while I'm "jogging in oatmeal" on my gift hunt, I might read more news articles in hopes of finding that perfect (and budget-friendly) gift. This is going to be one long marathon!

I made the big switch

to a Mac! This change, however, didn't come without its problems--or complications. I have to agree with a friend who wrote this column about her new Mac experience a few months ago, that switching from a PC to a Mac is different, but I don't regret it.

Although my switch was a bit complicated. You see, there was this sale and I'm Asian, and I love sales. So I waited patiently for this student promotion (buy a Mac get an iPod) to begin. The day after I buy my new Mac, I read in the Seattle Times of a newer Mac that had been released that day. Yep, the this always happens. Right after I fork over (or more like swipe the plastic in this case) the money and hope I won't regret my big purchase, something bigger and better comes out. I know the marketing strategy behind that, but seriously, the DAY after? Come on!

Well it's no big deal that there's a new Mac, right? Not exactly. This newer one is faster. And has an illuminated keyboard. And has a battery with the potential 7-hour charge. And is not only a Macbook but a Macbook Pro. And lastly, but most importantly, it was CHEAPER. What? How could this be? I could save more money? What was I going to do now?

I look at my receipt and find that I can return my opened Mac, but I would be charged $120 because it was already opened. Hmm . . . was it worth the trouble? We would soon find out. Skeptical of my ability to return and re-buy, I went to the Apple Store and talked to their "specialist." Sure enough, I could return my open Mac and purchase the newer Mac. Believe it or not, even with the 10% restocking fee, I would still get money back--for a better computer!

So, now I'm the owner of a newer Macbook Pro. And I saved money. That's what I call a deal!