lady i dig your style

Zooey

annie/st.vincent

michelle

I tried to find asian women of fame with style I admire ... but alas, I couldn't really find any.

through thick and thin

You know those people in your life that you know are going to be with you through it all ... graduation, bad fashion choices, your first waxing, break ups, college, marriage ... through thick and thin?

I'm blessed to have a lot of those kinds of people in my life and they bless me every once in a while when I'm reminded of how kind and loving they are to me, in big and little ways.

I'm going to a wedding at the end of June and I was thinking about wearing the same dress that I wore to the Brooklyn wedding a couple weeks ago, but then I was told it was black tie optional, which I guess means something a little fancier then what I was wearing. I am flipping out a little. I can't really find anything appropriate! And while I may be confident in my every day clothing choices, the fancy events always intimidate me.

I found this dress that I thought would work and asked my online forum of friends what they thought. Later that day, I get an email from Susan ... one of my dearest and most faithful friends. Check it out! She built me an outfit around the dress I was considering!!!!


I WAS SO TOUCHED! I know it's a silly thing to be touched by but this is so reminiscent of the kinds of little things that Susan does for me that makes me think ... man, I'm lucky to have a friend like her.

Thanks lady. You da bomb.
and HAPPY BIRTHDAY :)

the reader

Last week I saw The Reader with some friends from work. I highly recommend it, if you haven't seen it already! I found myself unable to stop thinking about the characters -- why did they act the way they did? What drove them? What was their purpose in life?

Kate Winslet was stunning. I'm going to have to get Revolutionary Road now, just so I can take in some more of her amazing acting.

(from filmgordon)

I also watched Start Trek and thought it was so good. I was again really haunted by the characaters, especially Spok (who is a CMU alumn! Go Tartans! not the alien, but the actor) Here's to summer movies! Next up ... Where the Wild Things Are (though I don't think that opens until the fall).

magic

(Source: Jan Von Holleben; Hat tip to FriendFeed crew)

Remember your childhood dreams about flying? I had a lot of dreams about flying, but also about falling and about surfing with a killer whale. It was a lot of fun. The other day, I had a dream that I was in an acting class and had to walk down a set of stairs while pretending to be a pepper shaker. I squared my shoulders like Frankenstein, hands to my side, and came bounding down the steps, swaying to and fro, saying loudly, "Pepper, Pepper, Pepper, Pepper."

It was weird.

just dance ... duh nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh

Who likes Lady Gaga? I think she is kind of amazing but also gives me the heeby jeeby's sometimes.

Anyway, Chris and I went to a wedding recently in Brooklyn. My former boss, now friend, Niloo finally tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend Joe. They are a great couple. Niloo is Iranian-American and immigrated to the states with her family when she was just a young girl. Joe is a Brooklyn-born civil engineer by day, underground hip hop artist by night. The wedding was an amazing mix of cultures which made for a lot of fun music and dancing. The DJ switched between Iranian dance music, eighties funk, and hip hop top 40s. It was a lot of fun.

What is it about dancing with old friends that makes you smile this big? And what is it about spending time with people you care about that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside?

(My friend Jesse dancing in the foreground,
me in the back looking like I want a big burger in my mouth.
Photo courtesy of Joanna)



(Chris and me, with the Manhattan skyline behind, photo courtesy of Chris, who I think looks kind of fantastic! I always tell him so, but he says I'm biased.)

mob-i-lize

Come Sunday, I will be frantic with activity because Sojourners is hosting The Mobilization to End Poverty - a three-day, historic event that will virtually END poverty. Well ... maybe not, but hopefully it will get us on the right track.

I have to admit, I'm getting more excited as the event approaches. I'm particularly eager to hear how the "Capitol Hill Day" goes, during which our 1,000+ attendees will go to their members of Congress, meet them in their offices, and personally ask them to enact policy that will help our nation's poorest, most vulnerable people. While editing some of the documents related to Capitol Hill Day, I was really struck by this little paragraph:

When you go to Capitol Hill, do not be intimidated by the confusing building layouts or the heavy wooden doors. It is your constitutional right "to petition the government for a redress of grievances." More important, it is a biblical imperative to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy" (Poverbs 31:8,9)

I had a total Mr. Smith Goes to Washington moment after reading this! Indeed, it is our constitutional right and Christian duty to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. So please pray for us at The Mobilization. We'll be doing a lot of work, but hopefully, God will be working as well!

Bonus: I get to interview some pretty rad people, including Martin Smith and Don Miller!

work. love. life

Work:
Chris and his friends and I were walking around St. Mark's when we decided to escape the spring chill and end our aimless wandering by rushing into a bookstore. While perusing the stacks and stacks of magazines, I kept annoying Chris by making loud, obnoxious remarks: "Gosh, where is Sojourners Magazine?" and "I really wish I could get my hands on the latest issue of Sojourners Magazine!" just loud enough for the clerk to hear, roll his eyes behind his ironic black frames, and go back to reading Chuck Palahniuk or whomever. Chris was not amused, but I thought it was funny.

It was even MORE funny (sometimes bad grammar just works) when we actually found the latest issue of Sojourners on a rack! I was very excited, especially because I wrote the cover feature! Chris snapped a photo.


I know. I am a dork. Anyway, it would please me immensely if you read my articles. One is an interview with environmental activist Majora Carter. The other, a profile of an incredible Oakland-based nonprofit, Green For All.

Love:
I've been wondering what love is all about. I remember in my junior year of high school we read The Grapes of Wrath and learned that the fantasy of perfection is not real love; rather, love is looking past flaws, enduring struggles, and coming out of fires more firmly bonded, purified, and chastened by the flames. I appreciate the sentiment, but how much is too much? How much are we supposed to go through before we say, OK this isn't working? How many disappointments do we endure before letting go? How many differences do we try to work out before we admit that we are too different?

I'm not sure.

Life:
Halmonee dying has forced me to admit it: I am afraid of death! From a young age, at church summer retreats, it's been drilled into me that good Christians don't fear death, but I fear it now. I don't want anybody else to die ... especially my parents. I hate that I am so far away from them. Nowadays, I've been like a needy ex-girlfriend to my parents, calling and texting them often. They are really weirded out by it. Finally, after I sent my mom a random text, she called me and was like, "what is the meaning of this? What's wrong with you?" What could I say? "Ummah ... just ... don't die, OK?" After a bit of silence, she laughed and then started nagging me about how it's my fault that I moved away from her and that I should be good to her while she's alive rather than asking her to stay alive and why am I not saving money and why won't I go to a Korean church and why am I not married yet and why am I still living in a house with 12 cats and on and on ... sigh. It made me love her just that much more. After all, there will probably come a day when I won't be able to hear her nagging me ever again.

*sigh*
life is too short. viva la vida

Bonus:
Speaking of which, have you all seen this incredible children's choir from NY? Eugene Cho blogged about a group of children from a poor community who find hope through song and the direction of their conductor. Watch the video! Their faces will break your heart and lift your spirits. I had to muffle sniffles at work watching this.