cozzy (as the aussies probably call it)

As much as I love to travel, I've always disliked traveling alone. I know it sounds babyish, but I prefer to travel with someone I know and although I'm not a shy person, when it comes to extending myself to strangers, I become sheepish.

In an attempt to get over this aversion, I booked a trip to Cozumel for some diving. I chose Cozumel after learning that it's a world-class diving destination* and a good place for a solo traveler. My extensive research on ScubaBoard and TripAdvisor then led me to the Caribe Blu Hotel, where you're a nobody if you're not a diver. Perfect.

*Like how I have such high standards for diving even though my log book contains a paltry 11 dives?

After roughing a 6-hour layover in Dallas, I touched down in Cozumel and entered paradise. Check out the view from my $70/night room!


I settling in, hopped over to Rendez Blu Restaurante, and within minutes befriended a group of divers from a Houston scuba club who frequent Cozumel like their home away from home. Despite the fact that they come from Bush country (sorry guys!), I took an immediate liking to my new Texan friends and happily accepted their invitation to become an honorary member of their diving group. I then went straight to bed, not only because I was exhausted from the near all-nighter I pulled getting here, but more because I couldn't wait to start diving the next day.

hi

tk becomes a christian

Breaking the No White Before Memorial Day Rule, Elliot was baptized today. He seemed pretty happy about being initiated into the Jesus club ...


... until he realized what he had gotten into. Look at how worried he is!


The entire family was present for the occasion, with my little sis Irene serving as godmother and Mike's older bro and my long-time friend Gerald becoming Elliot's godfather.


In true post-wedding ceremony style, we had a photo shoot on the alter following the baptism. Here's a photo of the happy family of Drew, Elliot, Mike, and Vic.


And a photo of the larger family, which included cousins Charles, Chin, Hana, and Lynn, as well as Mike's parents, who came down from San Francisco. (By the way, in a perfect example of Like Mother Like Daughter, look at how my mom and I think that we're the Korean Rockettes with our feet in perfect alignment. )


After the church ceremony, we got together at Cafe Del Rey in Marina Del Rey for a celebratory brunch. Cafe Del Rey turned out to be an ideal venue; the food was fantastic, especially the bread selection which included mini pain au chocolat (yum!) AND mini croissants, and the views of the marina were spectacular. Most importantly, it was a really fun crowd, which included most of the aforementioned family as well as friends Lisa, Bradley, Sammy, 2-week old Ruby (!), Andrea, Danny, Jackson, Diane, Chris, and Greg. All in all, Elliot's baptism was a great excuse--I mean occasion--for doing what we do best: getting together and pigging out.

the cuteness trifecta

Drew



Kaylen



and Elliot!

more showing off

And you thought I was obsessed with the Sydney Opera House!



Riding the firetruck at the Santa Monica Festival


Splashing around the gardens at the Kidscape Museum in Pasadena



Drew running may be almost as cute as him giggling.

fairgrounds!

Vicki, Mike, Drew, Elliot and I went to Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier for a fundraiser for Drew's pre-school, Crestwood Hills Cooperative Nursery School. (By the way, for those of you who didn't catch the shameless namedropping, I include the full name of Drew's soon-to-be pre-school, which in this area, elicits wonderment and envy in terms of its prestige and selectivity.) While I snuggled up with Elliot to keep myself warm (do I look like a natural?), Vic, Mike, and Drew threw down each ride, one by one ... well, at least the rides for which Drew met the height requirement.


Very serious driving.


Watching his dad throw 15 airballs in a row! (Mike claims that he did it on purpose.)


The next Charlie Wi! Well, Drew may need some lessons from Charlie. His twisted wrist putting form looks a little painful.



Actually, it appears to be working for him.

hanging out with elliot

It's amazing how much Elliot has grown, even during the short time I've been here in LA. He smiles more each day.

mini montage: cute feet

drew montage: day at douglas park

Please forgive the lack of accompanying prose for these photos, but it would only ruin the cuteness. Consider it a (lazy) photo essay!

tribute to moms

In honor of mother's day, this post is dedicated to all of the moms in my life who, with each day, astound me with not only handling what I do believe is the hardest job in the world, but conquering this job with aplomb, grace, and dedication. Most importantly, thank you for filling my world with such cuteness!

My younger sister, Vicki, and her two sons, whom you've already met:

The older Drew, in still life,


and in motion (you've got to hear the giggle!),



and baby Elliot, with whom I'm hopelessly obsessed.


Alexis and her son Noel, an aspiring model who just had his first runway show


My long-time friend Cathy whose daughter Kaylen just turned one (btw, Kaylen is Korean)


Cheryl and her son Noah (very cute underneath the blankie)


And, most importantly, my um-ma, the most important woman in my life whom I have missed very much while I've been away. I love you, mom, and can't wait to see you in 2 weeks!

tk & yk in la

Somehow I resisted the urge to stay in Australia and dragged myself onto my return flights back to the states from Perth (4 hours + 12 hours via Sydney). Leaving Australia was hard; in many ways it really felt like home. However, I was really starting to miss my family and could not wait to meet my new nephew, Elliot, for the first time.

As soon as I landed at LAX, the bonding began. Here is a photo of Elliot Taekyoon (hence, the moniker TK), who was born on March 13. I am extremely jealous of his perfectly formed eye-folds.


Look at the cuteness in action!



Just as cute and with just as much hair, is Elliot's older brother Drew Youngkyoon ("YK"), who is now 2 years and 8 months old. Like many two-year olds, Drew is obsessed with Thomas the Train. He also has a strong preference for the classic animated Disney movies, e.g., Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo, over the more recent computer-animated films.


TK and YK are just too cute for words. Many more photos to come!

rottnest island

Continuing my pursuit of winter sports here in Perth, I booked a day trip to Rottnest Island for some diving. Rottnest, which is located 19 km west of Perth and accessible by ferry, is a popular destination for beaches, bike riding, snorkeling, and diving. It was given the unfortunate ill-fitting name Rottnest, i.e., rats' nest, by a Dutch explorer who encountered these fuzzy brown creatures and mistook them for humongous rats.

As you can see, these guys, called quokkas, are much cuter than rats and Western Australia is the only place in the world in which they are found. According to one of the free guides I picked up somewhere along the way, quokkas can survive without drinking water and obtain liquid sustenance from fleshy plants native to the island. Obviously, a NYC rat would have no chance of survival here.

At 8:30 am, I got picked up at the wharf by Rottnest Island Dive and Snorkel in this boat and met my fellow divers, skipper Vaughan, and divemaster Neil.

Neil guided us on two dives at Rottnest, one at a dive site called The Count, and the second at a nearby site called Henrietta's Rocks. Both dives were really fun, not so much in terms of seeing a vast range of different aquatic life, but more for the thrill of diving over and under limestone rock formations and through narrow underwater tunnels.

After returning to the mainland, I met up with Jess for a free show at Kulcha, a cultural arts center in Freo, and finished up the day with some gospel singing. Here's a photo of me and my wonderful Western Australia hostess Jess (who, by the way, has a beautiful voice). I'll miss you Jess and can't wait to see you in France!

new adventures in backpacking

I have a confession to make. I've never stayed at a hostel before. I missed the prime backpacking age of late teens/early twenties by not traveling much during those years, and then once my wanderlust set in, I could afford hotels and never thought of staying in hostels for the sake of doing so.

Well, my days of being a hostel virgin have come to an end here in Perth. As of today, I'm a resident of Pirates Backpackers in Fremantle (aka. Freo), a vivacious harbor town located a few kilometers south of Perth. My original plans for accommodations in Perth were to stay with my friend Vaughan, whom I met a few years ago when we were both visiting Antigua. Back then, Vaughan worked in the police force here in Perth, but just over one year ago, Vaughan left the police and bought Pirates. After spending a couple of nights at his place in Cotts, he thought it would be more fun for me to stay here, and so here I am, sleeping in a bunk bed, sharing a common bathroom, and paying $23 a night, just like everyone else.

I have to admit that I was nervous about the hostel thing. For one, I thought that I was too old, but, moreover, I was not sure if I'd be able to cope with a bad cleanliness situation. Well, shortly after arriving at Pirates, my fears were allayed on both of these counts. Not surprisingly, most of the backpackers are in their young 20s. However, there are more than a handful of 30 somethings like me and a good number of other non-traditional backpackers, including a father and son traveling duo and an older French couple. I expected to feel singled out, but actually feel quite average, which in this context is great!

As for my cleanliness issues, the real test is the state of the bathrooms. There are 3 bathrooms here--one larger communal bathroom with 2 sinks, 2 toilets, and 3 showers; and two smaller single toilets with showers. For what I believe are hostel standards, all of the bathrooms are quite clean, meaning no bugs or bad odors (but a heavy dose of Tilex would do wonders!). If Pirates is any indication of what staying in a hostel can be like, then I am totally sold. Although my low tolerance for grungy living conditions persists, that will inevitably change once I get used to the thrill of the bargain that comes with backpacking.

winter in perth

It's quite unfortunate that my trip to Perth coincides with its shoulder season preceding winter. Well, not really. Winter in a city that boasts, on average, 300 sunny days a year, isn't so torturous. In fact, it may be even better than most of the summer days I've had on the (U.S.) East Coast--not too hot, not too humid, and with the perfect occasional breeze.

Thanks to the advice of several acquaintances I met in Australia before I made my way out to the west coast, I am staying in one of the most glorious locations in Perth, Cottesloe Beach (or Cotts, as the locals call it). Unlike the beaches I visited in Sydney, e.g., Bondi, Manly (which, don't get me wrong, are just as dreamy, but in a different way), the beaches in Perth run uninterrupted, straight up and down the coastline, for kilometers. And, as with the Sydney beaches, they are no longer than a 10 minute drive from the CBD.

Walking up the footpath that runs along the beach, I stopped into Barchetta, a cafe in North Cottesloe with these sensational views.


I spent the rest of the afternoon browsing cute boutiques in Subiaco and in the evening, met up with two Perth natives, Jess and Matt. This is all part of a plan in which I am acting as a Rob Ambassador to Jess, who is moving to France this fall to start the MBA program at HEC with Rob. Rob and Jess have been e-mailing each other from their respective sides of the globe as prospective classmates, but have never met in person, so the fact that I am in Perth to act as Rob's proxy to his soon-to-be-new BFF is kismet!

Based on some of the e-mail exchanges that Rob had forwarded to me, I had a strong feeling that Jess would be nothing short of fabulous, and when I met her in person, I immediately thought, I'm so lucky that I get to hang out with Jess! (Well, not just Jess, but her amazingly cute doctor-in-training surfer boyfriend, Matt, as well.) Jess and Matt took me to Annalakshmi, a vegetarian Indian restaurant (yum!), situated on the Swan River, at the Barrack Street jetty, right behind the Swan Bell Tower, pictured here.

The food at Annalakshmi rivaled some of the best Indian food I've had in Mumbai and New York. However, the experience of visiting this restaurant was memorable beyond its culinary offerings; the concept behind Annalakshmi is "Eat to your heart's content and pay what your heart feels." This means that the food is prepared by volunteers and all of the profits go towards humanitarian causes in India and Malaysia. Isn't that brilliant?

After feeling good about ourselves for giving to a good cause by the act of pigging out, Jess, Matt, and I finished out the night at Hula Bula Tiki Bar just down the street. It was the perfect ending to one of the most memorable days I've had in Australia.