You Are How You Eat

It's 5:00am and I woke up craving a giant bowl of pho. Is this what they call jet lag?

Just got back to the States last night. As much fun as traveling is, nothing can compare to the feeling of coming home to a cushy Queen size bed, a home-cooked meal, and lovely weather. I love California! (Although I hear we lucked out on a major heat wave last week.)

The past two weeks have been a blurry blur of thrilling adventures, insightful cultural experiences, and of course, gluttony. Although Japan and South Korea are neighboring countries, their cultures are so completely different. Japan, a country of minimalism, refined cuisine, and overwhelming politeness is countered by the feeling of abundance, mixed-mashed meals, and aggressiveness experienced in Korea. As an Asian American with Taiwanese, Chinese, and American cultural backgrounds, Korea sparks more sense of familiarity and home. But this definitely doesn't go to say that there's nothing to be appreciated about both cultures.

You know that saying "You are what you eat?" Well, I think in terms of culture, it's applicable to say "You are HOW you eat." A meal in Japan is very reflective of its people -- small, thorough, individual, and kind (to your stomach). Japan is the perfect example of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story. Not too much, not too little, but just right. I really appreciated this practice of minimalism and "just right-ness" in Japan. (The U.S. could learn a thing or two from the Japanese.) The little garnishes that go on top of your ramen, the chef's instruction of soy sauce or no soy sauce with your sushi, the way your food is presented and arranged -- all very thoughtful and refined, just like its people.

Raw horse meat -- yum!

Even Yoshinoya is served on real dishware!

Korean cuisine, on the other hand, is plentiful, spicy, and strong -- just like its people. The flavors are "loud" and expressive, and meals commonly involve mixing a bunch of ingredients together to create one final delicious product. In comparison to Japan, I think eating is more of a social event/leisure activity in Korea, suggesting a sense of rowdy groupness. You can see this in the way they share communal "ban chan" and the fact that meals commonly involve a group of people gathered around one main entree (ie: Korean barbecue, shabu shabu, ddak kalbi, jim ddak, etc.) In Japan, restaurants are the size of my bedroom, consisting of 12-15 bar stools surrounding a kitchen/cooking area. It is not uncommon to see people dining alone and practicing a quick eat-and-go approach. (Sometimes there aren't even chairs!) In Korea, however, restaurants can be three stories high and diners take their sweet time eating, conversing, drinking, and eating more. If there's anyone who knows how to sit back, relax, and enjoy a great meal, it's the Koreans.

Okay, I just realized I am analyzing Japanese and Korean cultures using a food-based theme. What does this say about me? =/ I'm going to stop here before this puddle of drool in front of me gets any bigger.

Oh and, contrary to what this post might suggest, Hayoung and I did more than just EAT in Asia. Promise! Pictures and videos soon on Facebook.

PS: Did you know... Tokyo has 24 recorded instances of people either killed or receiving serious skull fractures while greeting each other with a bow. Wow.

Ohayo Gozaimasu

Greetings from 4,900 feet up in the air!

At the moment, I am squeezed in a tight 15-inch-wide Economy seat on a Boeing 747 aircraft. On my right is a young Japanese girl who has not once got up to pee, and on my left a young Korean girl who has got up to pee one too many times. I think her name is Hayoung and I think she has a bladder problem.

Just under three hours left on our flight before we land at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan! I still cannot believe this is happening. I was telling Hayoung how I feel like if I close my eyes right now to sleep, I'll probably wake up in my bed at home and this will all have been a dream. I think I'll believe it when we land in Tokyo and everyone is really short and no one speaks English.

Anyway, just a quick update from above the Pacific. If I stay in this typing position any longer, my deltoid muscles will begin to cramp and my elbows will bruise from these damn rock hard armrests. Why not plush?

Eveology 101 (Part 4 of 5)

So before I start with Part 4 of this series, I must say that doing this has been really fun and rewarding. Not only have I been able to share random ass crap about myself with probably more readers than I'm comfortable with, but I also feel a little more connected with the people around me. It's been really cool having people message me saying "OMG I have a sweaty hand disorder too" or "Dude, I hate water chestnuts too for the same exact reasons!" But I think my most amazing discovery has got to be my hair-growing-faster-on-the-right-side-of-the-body twin, Anna! I suddenly don't feel so alone, lol. But yes, 25 facts are definitely fun. I think I might just extend it to 50. ... was that a groan of excitement or pain?

16) I secretly like the smell of farts -- but only my own! It smells especially pleasant after I drink milk. And I'm only shamelessly admitting this because I found out that a staggering amount of people like to smell their own farts too. So don't even start with the eww's and ugh's.. you know you Dutch Oven yourself when you're lying in bed!

I wonder what this one smells like.

17) I am an INFJ (Introverted iNtuituve Feeling Judgement) type, according to the Myers-Briggs personality test. INFJs are termed as "Counselors" and make up only 1% of the population! (Learn more about me here.) Some things that I really like about my type: "Their great talent for language-both written and spoken-is usually directed toward communicating with people in a personalized way" and "highly intuitive and can recognize another's emotions or intentions - good or evil - even before that person is aware of them." Basically I'm unique, an amazing writer, and I'm psychic. HAHA jk. But in all seriousness, I think the Myers-Briggs test is one of the most accurate and insightful personality tests ever created. I feel like instead of "Hi. What's your major?" people should be asking, "Hi. What's your Myers-Briggs personality type?" Thanks to Amy Wooj Lee, I'm currently going through a phase where I'm curious about everyone's typology and how they relate to me. So if you have time for 72 simple yes-no questions, please take the test and let me know what you score! :) You'll probably learn something about yourself too!

18) One of my biggest pet peeves is FEET and DIRTY FEET. I hate feet, especially the sight/thought of two different pairs of feet touching each other. I have this thing where I absolutely cannot get into my bed unless my feet are clean. Even if I'm dead tired with droopy eyelids, I physically cannot fall asleep until my feet are washed. And I know this is going to make me sound like a nut, but one of the parts I hate most about the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland is when the boat goes under an overhang with a pirate sitting up top. If you look up, his feet are SO DIRTY and I always imagine his feet crumbs falling onto my head. But on a somewhat contradictory note, one FEETure of my body that I am most proud of is... yep, my feet HAHA. Despite having extremely large feet (I'm tall!), I like that my toes are straight and how they decline in a nice straight line. Each toe is just the perfect increment shorter than its preceding toe. :) Good job, feet!

Sigh.. and those sheets are so beautifully white!

19) For small group hangouts, I am most comfortable in group sizes of 3. I feel like 3 is the magic number for an intimate and effective catch-up session. Amy Wooj Lee thinks I'm very weird for liking groups of 3, and says that most people try to avoid this extremely ODD situation. -pause for laughter- I feel like one-on-ones are awkward because you have to keep the other person entertained at all times, and groups of four or more get too chatty and topics are never finished completely because people get excited and cut each other off mid-sente-- I don't know, what do you think?

20) In the latter years of elementary school, I rarely ate the cafeteria food. My mom would spoil me and bring me delicious fast food almost every single day. It got so trendy that some of my other friends' moms would start bringing food for their kids too. Eventually, all the moms (who were also friends with each other) would work out a schedule of who was bringing the kids lunch on which days. Before we knew it, we were having McDonald's one day, Long John Silver's the next, and even Boston Market kid's meals the next! So while all the less fortunate kids were picking at there soggy chicken sandwiches and discolored "Rowland burgers" -- seriously, what the eff was in that? -- the cool fat kids were munching away on gourmet meals complete with burger, fries, and a Coke. Thinking back on this now, I have three thoughts: 1) I had/have an awesome mother. 2) It's a miracle that I didn't develop childhood diabesity. 3) This explains a lot about fat high school Evelyn's origins.

PS: I am really curious to know who the two non-wipers were from the previous poll. Seriously?

Heart in Seoul

Ah, summer.

The season of freedom, leisure, and adventure. That time of year when it finally feels like there are enough hours in a day. That time of year when couples frolic and hangout from night 'til morn just because they can. The season of beach going, sunbathing, world traveling, mad dieting, and skimpy clothes wearing. A perfect time for adventure-driven romance, hand holding, star gazing, and picnic having. Monday, June 21 will mark the first day of such a season. Monday, June 21 will also mark the first day I am Steve-less.

So I've always wanted that picture-perfect summer romance. You know.. the one where you go places, do things, eat stuff, take photos -- things that you would usually do -- except with a boy. Wearing sunglasses. And lots of sunshine in the background. But I guess it's just not in the cards for the boyfriend and I. Last year, an untimely mix of summer school sessions, OAT studying, a Chicago trip, and a Kyrgyzstan medical mission kept us decently occupied and separated. This year, what seemed at first to be a completely free and uninhibited summer ended up taking a sharp turn when Steve suddenly found out he scored a research internship in Korea!

So while the selfish brat in me is saying, "NO DON'T GO, I want to hold your hand and wear sunglasses while frolicking in the sun," the calm, cool, collected girlfriend couldn't be happier and more ecstatic for him. :) I'm sure that so much is in store for him in Korea, and that this whole experience will be nothing short of amazing. I guess I'll just have to suck it up for now... until I find myself a substitute summer fling -- kidding! So proud of you, beb! Be safe and take good care of yourself! And please don't forget your Engrish. <3

On the plus side, we will probably be able to schedule in some hand holding across the Pacific, when Hayoung and I go to Korea next month. Funny how that worked out. Can't wait!

PS: In 2009, 76% of Korean women ages 20-39 had undergone plastic surgery. Does this mean that only one-fourth of young women in Korea are naturally beautiful? HAHA jk. ... wait, but does it? lol.

Eveology 101 (Part 3 of 5)

Part 3. Getting sick of me yet?

11) I think I have a disorder involving overactive sweat glands because my hands and feet perspire more than the average person. I can even make my hands sweat on cue -- cool talent, huh? Unfortunately, the waterworks can't always be controlled. My hands and feet tend to get really sweaty when I'm in an unpredictable social environment. Examples of controlled/predictable environments: car rides, movie theaters, dinners, lectures. Examples of uncontrolled/unpredictable environments: gathering of people playing board games, meeting new people, bars, indoor parties. My brother used to taunt me that I would never find a guy who would be willing to hold my hand. Luckily, in college I met a boy named Jerry Fang who shared my unfortunate disorder. His is so bad that he uses prescription hand creme, lol. But at least now I know there's a fix! :)

12) I come from a family of eaters. There isn't anything that we don't eat. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that I don't eat is water chestnuts. I don't know why, but I hate that stuff. It's not even a taste problem. I think I just get mad at water chestnuts for always tricking me. They're good at impersonating potato and chicken, and whenever I bite into one, the texture totally takes me by surprise and I have to spit it out. Tricksy water chestnuts.

So innocent looking.

13) I used to be super shy when I was little. When I was in Kindergarten, I had a pants-wetting problem because I was too shy to even ask my teacher if I could use the restroom. I would pee in my pants literally every. single. day. It wasn't until Parent-Teacher Conferences that my teacher got to talk to my parents about my problem. I guess she was really PEEved. (Haha okay sorry, I had to.) My parents had to explain to me that it was okay to ask to use the restroom during class. In my defense, my Kindergarten teacher was really intimidating! Mrs. Watts -- Blandford kids, back me up here.

At least I was at a pee-appropriate age.

14) I commute to Beverly Hills four times a week to tutor a high school junior. (They pay well.) This means I drive in traffic all the fuh-reaking time. To keep myself entertained on the road, I like to experiment with drivers behind me. You know when you're stuck bumper-to-bumper, there's always still some leeway between you and the car in front of you, right? Well, I like to roll forward a few feet and then immediately look into the rearview to see how many cars behind me also roll forward puahaha. I know it's silly, but surprisingly, I'd say about 8 out of 10 times the car directly behind you will roll with you. Doesn't matter if you're on local streets or freeway. I guess people are just really eager to get places.

15) The only place that I can dance and sing completely freely and without inhibition is in my car. Although, my friend Ruth did catch me once at the Colima and Fullerton intersection. She called me and said, "I think I just drove past you on Colima. Were you dancing and singing to yourself?" Damn, I was so embarrassed. Now I wait until I get on to the freeway.

PS: Your turn! To balance out the overload of trivial Evelyn facts, tell me a fact/story about YOU that I don't already know. Anything! :)

Eveology 101 (Part 2 of 5)

Here's Part 2. I promise I'll work on conciseness next time. :|

6) When we were little, our moms took me, my brother Eric, and our close friends Ervin and Karen to an open audition for some kind of Starburst or Pizza Hut commercial. It was held at Pacific Palms Resort and I remember the casting director guy making us roar and growling "Lion King" ferociously on stage. According to my brother, we got a callback and were even offered to audition for a part on Saved By the Bell because they were looking for Asians (aka: ethnic diversity). Apparently our moms didn't believe strongly enough in our acting careers to cough up the money for an agent. Thanks, Mom. I could've been something big ya know!

Some of my best childhood memories were with the Wus. I miss you guys!

7) Hair on the right side of my body grows significantly faster and in greater quantity than hair on the left side of my body. This goes for my ENTIRE body -- eyebrows, mustache, legs, nose, arms, etc. And yes, if you must know, even THERE... in the armpits. Wait, what were YOU thinking! Okay but seriously, if this happens to you too, please let me know! I am in search of another to share this phenomenon with.

8) My middle school, Alvarado Intermediate (alma mater of OctoMom -- yes, we only breed the best), was the epitome of social cliques and stereotypes. The playground was known as "Loner Land" and the quad was sectioned off into areas designated as Mexican Table, Asian Table, Samoan Table, Skater Table, etc. The by-invitation-only O.G. Table, an elite social group of AZN (pronounced AYE-ZEE-EN) thugs and wannabes, was where I proudly spent my middle school days. Yah that's right, I was COOL. Okay fine, just kidding.. the only reason I got to step foot into that exclusive territory was because I was bestfriends with a REAL cool girl who was "invited." (Thanks Alice Lee.. the view from up top the social ladder was amazing.) Anyway, I tell this story because as terrible as it was that the O.G. social clique was where I was first exposed to innocence-shattering experiences (ie: drugs, sex, gangs, theft, violence, etc.), it was also what saved my life in the 8th grade. One day in Computer class, Alice and I ran our mouths too far with this Samoan girl. (It was just some playful teasing!) She later told on us to her other Samoan friend who was literally like three times our size! During nutrition, big Samoan friend came looking for us and we literally had to run and hide to avoid her. We eventually took refuge at the O.G. Table and our group "leader" had to talk to her to stop her from crushing us. So as ridiculous and stupid as I think O.G. was, I'm also secretly grateful that I still have all my bones intact.

Hands-around-the-waist-while-sitting was a popular pose for couples.

(Jess and Heather, please don't kill me.)

9) Some people did drama, others did sports. I was the band nerd who was really involved in competitive indoor drumline during my high school years. In what was supposed to be a grand and promising senior year, the band director fired our beloved drum instructor and assigned a less-than-competent replacement. After we got over the tears and heartbreak, a bunch of us quit the high school drumline and auditioned for a new, up-and-coming, professional group that our old instructor was helping to start. I am proud to say that I was part of the founding group for Pulse Percussion Ensemble 2004-2005, the underdogs who would later take the gold medal in this year's WGI Championships (most competitive event in the drumline world) and was also asked to perform in the live finale of a little ol' show called American's Best Dance Crew. Maybe you've heard of it? :)

10) Although I'm currently pursuing Optometry, I have secret dreams of being a comedy screenwriter, a voice actor, or Kathy Griffin's personal assistant.

PS: Your turn! To balance out the overload of trivial Evelyn facts, tell me a fact/story about YOU that I don't already know. Anything! :)

Eveology 101 (Part 1 of 5)

A recent conversation with Steve about our childhood experiences made me realize that though it felt like I knew everything about my boyfriend of 15 months, we've actually never really wandered into the topic of our youth and upbringing. It struck me that people are so caught up in the "now" that it's not very often they get a chance to share stories from their youth, which is unfortunate because I think childhood experiences are extremely precious and make for great storytelling. This inspired me to want to share more facts/stories about myself with more people. In other words, I think I'm awesome and I think you should get to know me.

Awhile ago, there was a Facebook trend of posting 25 random facts about yourself and then tagging others to do the same. I got tagged numerous times and was tempted to do it, but knew that if I started, each fact would end up becoming a story in itself and pretty soon I'd have an autobiography -- blame the raconteur in me. I don't doubt that this would still happen, so I think I'll resolve the issue by posting just 5 facts/stories (not necessarily childhood-related) in a series of 5 entries. Yes that's right, cue the suspense! :) Anyway, here it goes:

1) I have this weird habit of looking at and memorizing license plates.. but only the letters. If I've had the pleasure of riding in your car enough times, chances are I know at least 2 of the 3 letters of your license plate number. Janice DTU, Steph COT, Hayoung DLB, Steve RPY (prius) and CCH (kia), Alex RMD, Andrew CDH, Linda TRJ, Tiff Lew PKR etc. Test me! I can try my best.

2) In elementary school, all the 4th grade classes had to participate in a Multicultural Potluck Day. Each student had to bring an ethnic dish representing their culture. Not fully understanding the instructions, I told my mom we just had to bring food. With the event being just days away from my birthday, my mom thought it'd be clever to bring a birthday cake to celebrate with my classmates. On the day of the event, a gigantic full sheet birthday cake saying "Happy Birthday Evelyn!" was extremely conspicuous among the homemade dumplings, taquitos, and egg rolls. To make matters worse, everyone had to make a label for their dish, with each label containing their name and a drawing of their country's flag. Super confused and embarrassed, I scribbled my name and hastily drew a picture of the American flag. Way to betray my culture.

3) In 3rd grade, we would have story time every Friday afternoon. Mrs. Mardis would sit in her big rocking chair while we laid sprawled on the floor, listening to her read. On one particular Friday, the book of choice was a horror story. For fun, Mrs. Mardis turned off all the lights and read to us in the dim room. When she got to a really scary and suspenseful part, a boy in our class jokingly screamed and hid his head under Mrs. Mardis' dress! The entire class, including the teacher, went hysterical. At that moment, I knew I had my very first boy crush. Five years later, in 8th grade, said class clown would ask me to "get with him" -- you know, the cool juvenile term for "dating." Three months later, he would break up with me via AIM Chat. I still remember his bold navy blue font on a bright royal blue background. Eugene Park, if you ever read this, I forgive you and I still have the stuffed Morning Glory pig you gifted to me during our first movie date to Pokemon: The First Movie.

4) When I shower, I like to wet the side wall with water and stick all the hair I lose while showering onto the wall. After I'm done, I take toilet paper and simply collect all the hair in a few circular motions. I do this cause I hate the thought of hair going down the drain and clogging the pipes. The bad thing is that once in a blue moon I'll forget and people who share a shower with me will freak out when they see my nasty bundle of hair on the wall (sorry Aimee Yoon). But I did find at least one other person who does this -- Amy WJ Lee! :) And while on the topic of my showering quirks, I mentally designate areas on my bath towel for certain areas of my body. For example, the ends are for feet only, and the middle edge is for face only. To ensure this, I fold my towel and grab my towel from the rack in the same exact way every single time.

5) I did not get accepted into UCLA the "normal" way. In fact, I was rejected and had already submitted my SIR and housing application to UCI. In mid-April of my senior year, a friend of mine who was currently attending UCLA suggested the crazy idea of auditioning for UCLA's Marching Band through a music appeal. On a whim, I contacted the director and hastily put together an audition tape in two weeks. In late May, just weeks before my high school graduation, I received an acceptance letter to UCLA. And just like that, everything changed. To this day, I consider getting into UCLA one of my craziest and most life-changing blessings. If you know anything about high school Evelyn, you'd understand why I didn't deserve this "second chance"... at all, haha. I still have my acceptance letter framed and propped on my desk. :) God is good.

PS: Your turn! To balance out the overload of trivial Evelyn facts, tell me a fact/story about YOU that I don't already know. Anything! :)