baby sister turned 20

still in denial.

they grow up so fast!

happy birthday, sister <3

love you

things to look forward to

my mom & aunt, who is currently visiting from korea, decided to make a girls weekend and came up to the city to spend some time with my sister and me recently.

it was nice having them in the city -- doing things you normally do on your own are just that much better with people you love.  my favorite cupcakes taste a little sweeter, cab rides become a little funnier.  food tastes that much better.  it was just, nice.

we went to woodbury commons on saturday and my sister's boyfriend sungmin, whom i didn't necessarily get off with the right foot initially (see previous post tagged new boyfriend), kindly offered to drive us there.  the car ride was definitely a bonding moment for all of us, and seeing my (still) baby sister dote on a guy for the first time like she does made me smile.  she seemed so grown up all of the sudden, but she is still my baby sister.  i haven't seen her in a while, and seeing her in such bright spirits made me really happy.  made me miss my boyfriend, who also makes me really happy (:

we ended the night at del frisco's and had the waitstaff pull out a cake and candles because it was sungmin's birthday.  sungmin's parents live in korea and he's lived apart from them since he was in elementary school, so it touched my heart a little when my sister texted my mom, aunt and me at the end of the night saying that she was thankful that we were so sweet to him, and that he really had the best birthday.  happy belated, sungmin!

nights in were the best, because my mom would share stories that i would hear for the first time.  she would tell me about how at one point she feared that i would not love her, my own mother, because there was a time my paternal grandparents raised me in korea while my mom & dad were in the states and i would only cry at the mere sight of her.  she shared feelings of regret towards her own mother who passed away when she was a freshman in college, and painful memories of how she felt so selfish and young.  hearing my own mother, who i only view as perfect, describe herself the way she did pulled on my heart, because it made me realize that without the love of my father, without the love that grew when she became a mother, she could not possibly have become the angel that she is today.  it just makes me love her even more, and it also gives me so much to look forward to in my own lifetime.

they were only here for three days, but when they left, i will say that i felt incredibly lonely and a little sad.
guess it only an indicator of how good the weekend really was.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Today was my Grandfather's 80th birthday -- in Korea, 80 is a particularly significant milestone and in efforts to show him our love, my sister and I made a video for him (haven't seen him since January, and he lives in Korea).

Definitely had some failed attempts..

Blanked out.. 

Technical difficulties..

but finally got it together

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!
할아버지 생일축하합니다 (:

my other sisters

yes, i have a younger sister related by blood, but the truth is that i grew up with 4 more -- the in's.

our moms were friends before annie and i were born, so we definitely spent a lot of our childhood in maryland together. 

the heirarchy:

mimi unnie--'82

me--'86

annie--'87

michelle (my sister)--'91

katherine (jiyoung)--'93

gabriella (nayoung)--'96

mimi unnie brought jiyoung and nayoung to the city this past weekend for jiyoung's orientation at SVA. the fact that jiyoung is now visiting colleges is just. mind boggling. both jiyoung and nayoung have grown up so much, and i was so happy that i was able to house them this weekend during their stay.  

annie's currently in nebraska, but hanging out with mimi unnie has made me realize how much i've grown also. unnie always seemed so much older than me growing up, but the 4 year gap now doesn't seem so crazy, the jokes and laughs we had this weekend proved it. i felt closer to her, can't wait til she comes back to visit.

my little sister also joined us, and we all had dinner at olivia's friday night. the childhood memories came out one by one over sangria, tapas, and endless laughter.  

the vibe of the city felt different for me with us all together.  

the night was definitely good.

with the nicer weather yesterday we went to the three spots unnie wanted to take the girls:

shake shack, milk bar, and artichoke pizza.  

and in a blink of an eye the weekend came to an end, and we parted our ways.

after they left i took nyquil and called it a night as i've come down with the flu.

feeling restless but definitely in need of rest.

cheers to another good weekend

xxmon

Dear sister,

I missed you.

-언니가

first impressions are everything

new york city is smaller than you think it is.

after having seen my sister in hawaii everyday for 8 days straight, once we came back to the city i felt like weeks had passed without me seeing her (she goes to school here). she's still 19, so i guess her not responding to my texts nor emails weren't that much of a surprise, but i thought it was pretty funny when we unintentionally ran into each other at penn station last night! apparently she was on her way to see her new boyfriend, whom i hadn't met yet.

anyways, we parted ways as she said she was in a rush. she promised that she'd be better at keeping in touch (i feel like a mother), and we said our goodbyes.

turns out we got onto the same train (i met up with friends) and didn't realize it until i saw her on the platform on the same stop my friends and i got off on.

and lo and behold, there he was -- her boyfriend, waiting to greet her.

not sure if it was the shock from the poor kid seeing his new gf's older sister (and her sister's friends) but regardless, he barely could bring himself to say much to me.

i'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt and think that he was just ridiculously nervous, because my sister also seemed unusually shy all of the sudden as well...

but first impressions are everything, and that was nothing but awkward...

dear little sister's boyfriend, i don't bite (; unless you screw up.

xxmon