The House on Hovey

House from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Here in Bloomington, during every Christmas season, there is a house on Hovey Street that truly goes above and beyond simply stringing a few lights around some winter-saddened tree branches. In Bloomington, one merely has to say "The House on Hovey" to immediately know exactly which crazy, light-bedecked, plastic-figurine-laden home he or she is speaking of.

I have seen this house almost every winter for the past ten years I've lived in B-N. And every year, I forget to bring my camera to capture this house in all its glory. This year, I was determined to get a picture of it. So, Tony and I bundled up and started the 20 minute drive across town....only to discover they had taken it down!! AUGH!!!!! I thought all houses took down their Christmas decorations after the new year!

I was very sad. :( Next year, I'm going to succeed in getting that picture!

Couple notes on the house:

-There used to be another house across the street that would do the exact same thing. I don't know if the intent was humorous or evil, but it was funny to imagine that the two houses were in competition with each other to have the most lit-up house on the street.

-The house is very small. So small that I wonder where all the decorations go after each year. They have got to have a separate storage facility where they keep everything because there is no way all those decorations would fit in that house.


-Stinkier, bummed, but optimistic.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Above: Hannah and I at her sister's wedding
Below: Hannah, circa 1996? 1997?

I first met Hannah at Asbury United Methodist Church (now defunct) during Sunday school. She and I had the same 80s permed hair, it was awesome. Oh man, if I had a picture of us with permed hair, I would totally scan it in.

All of us Sunday school girls were friends and stuck together. We were all total nerds and decided to form a book club. We called it 'CHIBYY' which was an acronym of the first letters of our last names stuck together. We were the coolest! :) We also all came up with our own personal symbol and penned this into the books that we lent each other. I was apparently technologically advanced because my symbol was the "@" symbol back in 1992. :) I didn't even know how to pronounce it; I remember just calling it a swirly A.

Anyways, I digress...

Hannah is always a fun girl to be around. From learning how to properly throw a football to learning how to do the H.O.T.-"Candy" dance, she taught me so much about life and friendship while growing up. I, in turn, have had the joy of watching her grow into a mature young woman while still being the tomboy that I remember from Sunday school. I imagine that she is now a fantastic teacher whom all her students adore. :)

One interesting (well, I find it interesting :)) fact about Hannah is that she played basketball in high school even though she is about the same height as the rest of us vertically gifted Korean girls. I always thought that was the coolest thing ever and totally awesome that she showed everyone that you don't need to be a giant to play a giant's sport.

So, happy birthday, Hannah! I hope that this year gives you many blessings and happiness!

-Stinkier, with love.

Pigeon Walking

I somehow messed up my back on Friday. It started out as a dull pain that flared up only when I bent over, but by the end of the night, it hurt to even walk. Funny thing is, I have NO idea how it happened. My personal theory is that Tony gave it to me (since we all know back pain is contagious), because he's been nursing a bad back for the past three weeks. The pain is located right at the base of the spine so, being the big baby that I am, I simultaneously curse and cry whenever I move the slightest inch.

Tony's been really sweet, though. Since his pain is not as severe, he's taken over the household duties and letting me watch the entire third season of Arrested Development. And, we've been playing "old people tag" throughout our "enormous" apartment; it's basically chasing each other at the pace of old people. Funny and painful all at once.

I also walk like a pigeon. I've been wishing I could walk differently then my normal walk for a really long time. The phrase "Be care what you wish for" has never rung truer. I now shuffle along super slowly while carefully placing one foot six inches directly in front of where it previously was. For some reason, this causes me to bob my head like a pigeon. This is probably because my torso is remaining completely stationary but, since I'm not keeping my neck stiff, my head moves around at its own leisure.

I look mighty ridiculous walking around.

So, I'm still sitting on this couch with the heating pad shoved directly above my bum and taking Excedrin every few hours. I think I'm getting bedsores and creating a permanent divet in the cushion. The pain is gradually decreasing, so I'm hoping that I'll be fully recovered in a few more days.

-Stinkier, in pain. >:-(

Happy Birthday Abby and Nathan

When I was younger and an attention whore, I loved birthdays. Me, me, me. I loved being the center of attention and people noticing me on my special day. Now that I'm a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and quite a bit shyer, I like to focus attention on others instead. :)

So first up is my friend, Abby. Hi Abby! Her birthday was actually yesterday, but I couldn't find pictures to scan until today. The one on the left is from Cedar Campus my sophomore year, and on the right, she is the head of the horse. What, you can't tell that's her? :)

I met Abby at InterVarsity my sophomore year. The first time I noticed her, she was putting on a sock puppet show during an IV gathering with my future husband (I didn't know he was going to be my future husband at the time). My first impression of Abby was of an extremely caring woman who was always enthusiastic about the people and things she loved and, I'm happy to say, that this impression rings true to this day. Even though life has taken both of us into different directions that causes us to have difficulty in finding time to get together, I know that she is always there to listen if I need a friend.

My favorite memory of Abby is probably when I saw her as that horse during Halloween my senior year. I was having an awful day and had decided to stay in and study instead of partying away with my friends or making out with my fairly new boyfriend. ;) As I settled down with my stack of books and stack of Oreos, someone knocked at my door. I opened up and in walks Abby and Cassie as this horse. At first, I thought that these were people that knew my roommate and not me, but then I hear Abby and Cassie say "Hi Kristine!" I was laughing so hard I could barely take the picture at the top. After staying and chatting for a few minutes, they trotted away with perfect precision, not knowing how much they cheered me up. (Well, now they know :)).

One interesting fact about Abby is that she and her mom made all (about a million; okay, more like around 400) the chair covers for her wedding and now they rent them out to people. Can you imagine how much time and fabric that must have taken?! As someone who got married fairly recently and who also sews, it boggles my mind.

So, happy belated birthday, Abby! Hope that this following year brings you plenty of joy and many happy moments with Jason. :)




Today is Nathan's birthday. Obviously, (or maybe not) that picture is of Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords. I don't have a picture of NBG. When Nathan doesn't cut his hair or shave, he kind of looks like him. Kind of. I think Bret looks kind of homeless sometimes. Anyway...

I met Nathan my first day of History of India at ISU. He's probably the first friend I made on campus. Our professor launched into a lecture on that first day and Nathan was scribbling away on two 3x5 index cards. I felt bad for him and offered him some paper, which he accepted. I like to joke around and say that he only passed that class because I lent him my (extensive) notes before the final exam; I never missed a class so they were pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Nathan is a very kind person, as the following story entails. My first apartment as an ISU student was not that far from campus. A bit of a walk, sure, but completely doable. So, I decided that one day, I was going to walk instead of drive; you know, be environmentally friendly and all. After classes were over, I hoisted my bag until my shoulders and trudged home. About halfway there, I started inwardly cursing. It had gotten hotter by the afternoon and the walk that was so pleasant that morning was now miserable, akin to what I bet the Trail of Tears was like. This car pulls up next to the sidewalk I was on, so I prepare to run. Or scream. I hadn't yet seen the driver so I was completely sure that this was some lunatic trying to steal my virtue. But, it turned out to just be Nathan, and he very graciously drove me the rest of the way back. I never attempted to just walk back and forth from campus ever again.

Hmm...interesting fact about Nathan...if he could, he would live during the 1800s. Or any time period that was a simpler time. He is probably the least materialistic person I know, and moves around with his only possessions being his computer, a desk chair, and clothes. As a person who probably owns too much, this impresses me.

Hope you enjoyed this first installment of friends' birthdays. Keep your eyes peeled, because I could be writing about you on your birthday. ;)

-Stinkier, with love.

Christian Bale: Dr. Batman?

Christian Bale as Sam

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne

I just finished rereading Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, by Julie Powell. It's really good, I highly recommend it. Anyway, she mentioned that one of her favorite movies is Laurel Canyon.

I looked up the freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes and one of the reviews written when it was first released jumped out at me:

No matter how many times she pushes her specs up her nose Beckinsale is never going to be believable as a nerd. Bale as a psychiatrist: it’s easier to envisage him as Batman.
~Annette Dasey, Teletext. 11/14/03

I bet it's easy to picture him as a psychiatrist now.

-Stinkier, amused.

Happy One Year Blog Anniversary!

I just realized that I started my blog one year ago. I was at work on Christmas Eve day and bored out of my skull so, I decided to share with the world how bored I was. And here I am again, one year later, bored at work on Christmas Eve day, writing in my blog. Life just always comes full circle. :)


So yay! Happy one year blog anniversary to me!

I have a friend who is obsessed with Man Vs. Wild. He is always watching it whenever I see him and I think he may secretly be in love with Bear Grylls. Who doesn't love a man with an ironic name, since he is the furthest thing from looking like a bear.

So I text him to let him know that Discovery was running a marathon of his show today (what says Christmas Eve more than a man trying to survive in the wild?:)) starting at 11. His response?

"no way! thank you! merry christmas!"

I think he's pretty excited. He might have been sarcastic, but I honestly don't think so. :)


-Stinkier, bored. But happy she could make someone else happy.

I Like Presents...

...and Portillo's. If you would like to get me a present for Christmas (December 25) or my birthday (January 5), I suggest this tank top, in a size small. In case you're wondering, it is encrusted with clear and red Swarovski crystals. It's on sale for $23.99+S/H!

I know, I know, it's not the classiest shirt out there, but I love it. :) And!! I get to proudly display my love of their hot dogs, beef and cheddar croissants, and crinkle cut french fries.

Okay, now I want a beef and cheddar croissant really badly.

-Stinkier, hungry.

Christmas with the Walkers

Riley and Harrison, engrossed in Harrison's Game Boy Advance

Yesterday, Tony and I spent the day at his grandparents' house in Georgetown, IL, home of the Georgetown buffalo, Gross's Pizza, and the first nighttime high school football game (in Illinois? In the United States?). This is advertised proudly on a sign right when you enter their fine town.

I love his grandparents, especially his Grandma Walker. She's one of those people that says things that are hysterical when she's not meaning to be. The entire evening was full of crazy comments, many contributed by her. Observe:

(everyone is downstairs talking near the foot of the stairs)

*thump, thump, thump* (plant lazily bounces down the stairs)
(everyone stops talking and looks up. Harrison and Riley peer cautiously around the corner, Riley with a giant, sheepish grin on his face)

Harrison: I didn't do it!
Riley: I didn't do it, either!
(Harrison has a shirt on that says "Dear Santa, it wasn't me!")
Megan: Harrison, that's why you're wearing that shirt, right?
Harrison: Yeah!
(Riley and Harrison run back up the stairs after grabbing the plant).
As they run away, we hear Riley saying to Harrison: Can I borrow that shirt?

Grandma W: Oh, while we were in the hospital for Grandpa, there was a really nice intern there. He was really handsome!
(We all wonder where she's going with this)
Grandma W (continues): And he was dark!

Now, I am not really clear what she meant by "dark". If she meant African American, who says "dark" anymore? Tony thinks that she meant tan.

Grandma W upon opening a gift of Taboo: "Tuh...Tuh-BOO."
Jim, innocently: What was that, Mom?
Grandma W (proudly): Tuh-Boo!
Jim grins and rolls his eyes.

(Riley sticks a bow on his head)
Riley: Open me next, Harrison!

Grandma W: I tell ya, our governor Blah-go-ja-vich...
Terri: Bla-GOY-a-vich.
Grandma W, tries again: Blah-jo-ja-vich
Terri: Bla-GOY-a-vich.
Grandma W: Blah-go-ja-vich.
(this continues a couple more times, until she finally pronounces it correctly)


It was a lot of fun! We all chipped in to purchase Tony's grandparents a new counter and sink because everything in their kitchen is still from the 1950s. Now, there is a sink in their yard with a sign that says "Free Sink" so, if you're in the market for an old sink, head on over to Georgetown and help yourself. :)

Four more days til Christmas...so crazy...


-Stinkier, out.

Korean Churches

While rooting through some old CDs in my collection, I found a 3 1/2 floppy disk. I got really excited because hey, what could be on this disk? The last time I used a floppy was while I was at Wesleyan, so it's gotta be old and entertaining. I found the following document that I had written randomly when I was bored one day back in January 2004:

My family and I had grown up with the Christian church. Both of my parents grew up with some sort of Christian related background, and so they continued their beliefs when they set foot on foreign soil during those turbulent 70s. Living in Chicago, approximately fifteen minutes away from “Koreatown”, or “Koreastreet”, as I prefer to call it, (the whole of "Koreatown" in those days was on Lawrence Avenue; I think it has gotten larger) they had the support of fellow Koreans, from emotional, to food-related, to religion. When they moved into the suburbs, Naperville was still sparsely populated with Koreans, and Asians in general. So, unless they wanted to be cloistered from the rest of Korean society, they got involved with a Korean church. I think that’s why most Koreans became Christians in those days. It was either become friends with whites and “forget your heritage” or become Christian, attend church, and immerse yourself in the Korean culture.

I was okay with this. I mean, I loathed the “mandatory” Korean language class I had to take every Sunday morning and hated the fact that while all my white friends were done with church in about an hour, I could be stuck at church from about 9:00AM until 3:00PM. Along with the other Korean language school I was forced to attend every Saturday, I never got a chance to sleep in, or wake up to Saturday morning cartoons. I resented my culture throughout my entire childhood because of these two reasons. Most people hate being of a different race because of the fact that they look different, are treated differently/with dislike, but I hated the fact that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were on while I was learning about how pertinent it was to maintain proper spacing between Korean characters. Without it, a sentence can go from stating "My dad is in the room" to "My dad is in the bookbag".

One and a half generation meant that you were born in Korea, but you moved to America, and became an American citizen…eventually. Second generation meant that you were born in America. There are some who are so stuck on “KP” that you’ll have difficulty prying their green cards from their dead, cold, stiff hands. “KP” is the term scrawled across Korean American high schoolers’ backpacks, notebooks, purses, hands, you name it, and shouted at random in public places. It stands for “Korea Power” and also the sudden pride second generation Korea-Americans have in their culture. I admit I was sucked in during high school: wearing baggy pants, listening to Korean pop music, wanting to be called by my Korean name, and associating myself with Korean friends, not the band nerds I usually hung around. This behavior led to a widening chasm between me and my white friends, a confusion on who I was and whether my culture was what would make or break me, and constantly dirty pant hems. It may have been stylish, but you were never quite clean when one of your pant legs was wide enough to fit both your legs.

Korean churches are strange breeding grounds for one and a half and second generation Korean-Americans. Like typical youth groups, they seem cultish or cliquey, but also occasionally frightening. We always attracted some stares…of course, that could partially have been the result of my former youth pastor’s Mozart-like laugh.

But I’m veering off topic. I don’t think us Korean-Americans really understood what being a Christian was about despite the countless sermons, retreats, and

And that's where it stopped. I should continue it. I did a lot of reflecting on Korean churches after I spent four years as a member of InterVarsity. They really are strange, fascinating places that I didn't think were strange or fascinating until I started worshipping with non-Koreans. Things such as "homodo", ALWAYS eating lunch at church, and personal experiences (my former Korean school teacher is convicted of shooting a man in California; I also played at his wedding) didn't strike me as out of the ordinary until I told non-Koreans.

Yeah, I'm going to continue this when the holiday madness is over.


-Stinkier, thoughtful.

P.S. - I decided to Google "Korean" and put up the first image I could find. The first one was of a half-naked Korean man, and the second was a chart of the Korean alphabet (boring) so, this was the winner. :)

I Love...

The chest press machine at the gym. The weights are in 5 pound increments, so instead of the normal two weights that go up and down, I'm lifting five weights. This makes me feel like the Hulk.

Also, I feel rather puny when just those two, lonely weights go up and down. Those extra three weights do wonders for my self-esteem. :)

-Stinkier, STRONG!!

Christmas Shopping with Kristine and Tony

At Sears...

T: Okay, Nick wants one of these two hammers (points at two).
K: You should get that one (points at one).
T: Why?
K: Because there's only one left. That means it's gotta be good.
(He does end up buying that one)

At Toys R Us:

(Looking at the Pirates themed Lego sets)

K: I had an Island set once.
T: Wasn't that just Pirates?
K: (sputters) NO! It was Island!

later...

K: Are you sure we should get that for Harrison?
T: Yes, that's what he wrote.
K: But, that age is for 7+.
T: Well, that's what he wants!
K: Yes, he is very mature for his age. (No, he's a typical 5 year old).

At Borders:

(Upon seeing a gigantic (seriously, it was like two feet high) book titled "Baby Animals")

T: You would love that.
K: Why?
T: Because it's giant pictures of baby animals
(He was right; I think I didn't stop squealing for five minutes)

--Stinkier, finished with holiday shopping!

ADD At Its Best

I have about five half-written posts. I'll hopefully get around to finishing and posting ONE!!! by the end of today.

This is a great example of my undiagnosed, mild case of ADD.

-Stinkier, distracted.

Ho Ho Ho

It's the holiday season, so it's time for holiday cards. Here are a few created by the ever hilarious Anne Taintor. Enjoy!


--Stinkier, in the holiday spirit

Corpses, Being a Korean Female, and Turkey: Just Another Choi Family Holiday

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, as usual. I'll write more about that craziness later. The biggest news that day was that the South Korean government is giving our family money! How, you ask? Well, to start off with, Korea is a pretty tiny country. If you look at it on a map, it's the size of my thumb. :)

Anyways, since the population is growing and available land is shrinking, South Korea is resorting to drastic measures to build housing. One of the ways is to exhume bodies from cemetaries, cremate them, and use this land for apartment buildings and such. Pretty morbid, huh? My mom's dad had already gone through this process a couple of years back, so we knew it was a matter of time before the Choi family plot would undergo the same type of procedure.

Well, the time has come! Because these bodies are held in burial plots owned by families, the government is paying these families the price of the land. Tony asked if we had a choice in this matter, and I don't think we do...in any case, Koreans are very proud of their country and are willing to help out in any way. Plus, hey, free money.

So, that day, I received the news that because I am two generations removed from my grandfather and married, I will not be getting anything. Stupid, patriarchal society *grumble*.

But, there is a happy ending. I received an email from my dad today. Grammar mistakes are all left intact for humor purposes. :) :

I think this is a good news!

Dad

----------------------------------

Hi Choi Families,


One thing should be corrected.


All the women of "Sun"-generation aged 18 or above will receive
2,500,000 won each, regardless of their marriage.


Thanks Joonggi-Hyung  for finding this important mistake.


Have nice days


--Hangki

Yes, I am of the "Sun" generation. It's because I am a shining beacon of light...j/k. Koreans have a few "name beginnings" they tack on to Korean names that are rotated every generation. All of my cousins have names beginning with "Sun". Except me. My mom liked "Eun-young" too much; she thought it was pretty. :)

Oh! And my dad is "Joonggi hyung" which means "Joonggi big brother". Go Dad!! Way to stand up for your favorite (only) daughter! :)

-Stinkier, proud to be a Korean female.