left behind

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!" we stood there, shouting with joy. Then we looked at each other and kept shouting, hugging, and hopping. My 5 former roommates were still beautiful and lively. Suddenly my long, dreadful journey to Iowa found its worth.

"What took you so long!!?!?" exclaimed Joel, hug-lifting me. I used to dislike it. It made me feel like a little child dependent on this tall, strong figure. But I didn't care this time.
"Is that a mint? I thought you got a piercing on your tongue in LA. Hey, you never know!" he said with his pierced lips. After finishing up his engineering studies, he wants to go to a grad school for Technical Theatre. Awesome.

"Hani so Yaaaang!" Alex and Nate shouted out and gave me a hesitant hug in the hallway, instantly bringing all the fun memories.
"How much did you miss me? Say, on a scale of 1 to 10?" Nate asked few days later and I hesitated. When he had told me about his drastic change, I wanted to fly back and listen to him so badly. But then, we'd forget each other, busy with our own journeys. His lifestyle has changed drastically and I can't wait to hear his new songs and great testimonies in 3 weeks.

"Stand up!" Alvin gently demanded and gave me a hug. We had been talking so constantly while I was away that I didn't feel like we were apart at all. And it was too early. But still, it was good to see him.

Seth had grown up. Funny, he's only 7 months younger but I could tell he had become even more mature within the past year we hadn't seen each other. All the traveling would do it.

Sam, Alice, Sae Mee, Vero, and the Shims were too familiar. I felt like I was coming back home to them after a short break. Had I ever left this place? Travis talking about...engineering stuff, Emily's sweet chitchat, Kate talking about her future with Nic, literary and honest chat with Laura and Sonya, playing a super random board game with Kelsey and Brit, and naming the zebra thingy on my cellphone with Alex. I needed this. Not all movie-oriented, warm and deeply caring people. I hadn't realized how much, how badly I had missed them until I saw them.
Then I was left behind and it was time to say goodbye again.

My former roommates and I stood in silence, trying to smile and avoid the tears. 3 of them will be student teaching next semester away from home--both where their family is and where their friends are. We each said a heartfelt prayer out loud, tightly hugging in a circle at 1am. But I didn't cry as much as I did at the LAFSC banquet. I will see them soon. So soon that I won't even remember why we had said a tearful goodbye.

“I’m DD tonight”

I explained why I couldn’t accept his drink, a gloriously truthful excuse.
A wonderful and funny dancer offered to get us a cab and I gently refused and he would get a couple of shots and come back to dance with us. And no one questioned me except Jay, a guy in sushi business who looked like David, ironically sitting next to a guy that looked like Paul. I almost looked around to see an Alvin-alike.
“Right. You can’t or you choose not to?” Jay asked and invited me to go to have Korean BBQ.
"I just ate, but thanks." I really had just had pork bulgogi and spicy soon tofu. And also I barely knew him. 20 minutes tops.

What an experience.
I had never been to such a fun, interesting, clean-danced club.
Velvet Room, a Korean club, opened its doors at around 10pm and I wanted to dance the second I got in. The DJ did an awesome job mixing American pop/hiphop with Korean, and the respective music videos played on 4 big screens. It was impossible to get bored with their music as songs were never played entirely.

As we sat down, our sweet waiter Zen brought us a bottle of whiskey, two coke cans, a fruit platter (delicious pineapple, melon, orange, grapes, watermelon), and cranberry juice with shot glasses, beer glasses, plastic cups, and ice.

Super friendly waiters were busy grabbing and dragging girls to guys’ tables and the guys would offer drinks to girls and start conversations. They call this “booking.” So weird. You should go clubbing while in Korea, Elijah, if you haven’t yet. It’s very different.

The dance floor was fairly big and people weren’t dancing low to the song “Low.” And it took more than 15minutes of dancing in small circles for the guys to TRY to dance right behind me. And with the slightest gesture of “not interested” they would back off and wait for a better timing or find another girl. Security guards were watching out for sexual harassment (I’m assuming) in each side of the dance floor. And oh my…these guys danced with such a style in their chic clothing that I wondered why I hadn’t thought of coming to Korean clubs before.

I loved every second of it until this Brian started getting too close to me. He wasn’t too bad considering I was in a club and it was getting late and people were getting tipsier. But I was having such a great time with my respected space that he bothered me even more.

As much as I loved dancing there, Brian made me realize I was still too naïve to want to go there again. I wish there were dancing places where people solely go to dance and not to hit on girls.
Maybe I will try a salsa club this weekend. There should be a lot more proper dancing involved there. I hope.

holiness

"F!" I thought and I surprised myself.
What the heck! Did I just think that?
How long before I say that out loud? Dang it.
Without realizing it, I started saying "stupid," "shoot," then "heck," then "dang," then "freaking" and so forth.
"F" and "S" words surround me here that my swearing list might advance.
But I don't want it to.

Christians are called to be holy, so people have their own understanding of how to be visibly different from those "of the world":
Not dancing, not drinking or smoking, not having piercings and tattoos, not swearing, not using modern technology...

"Holiness is not about being nice but it's about being new everyday," said my favorite pastor Tom, and made me reflect on my own understanding of holiness.
I never considered myself holy but I thought I would get there by being nice, when it's really about killing my flesh and being reborn everyday. Set apart for Him, ready to do His will.

"What the heck! This is freaking embarrassing." I said out loud just an hour ago in "Ninja Assassin" premiere. I had been proud of my ethnicity until a couple of hours ago. These Asian girls were screaming and clapping every time Rain was on screen, no matter what he was doing (mostly disgustingly bloody violent stuff. No. I didn't like the film and I knew I wouldn't like it although I secretly hoped I would).
It wasn't necessary. They were super annoying but I didn't have to use those words. I could have just made my face in the darkness and not say those words.
But I did because I keep falling all the time.
Because I've been compromising myself for too long that my standards have been lowered.
Dang it.

this is for the guy i haven't met

My story is different than his.
As a matter of fact, his story is simply too cute that I don't know how I'll ever top that. What more, his story is already in this lovely process whereas mine is yet to start.
Girls, hold your breath: this is what I'm talking about.

Somehow I ended up watching the video 4 times in the afternoon with different people and still went "aaaaaww you are too cute, man." His eyes literally lit up as he talked about his girl's reaction and it was too heart warming that he didn't even allow me a second to be jealous of his girl. I couldn't help but be genuinely happy for this man and his lucky girl.
Of course she loved it. What kind of person directs, stars, and edits a music video (feat. John Travolta) for a girl who he hasn't met yet? Only Colin. Only for his cute, long-distance, officially "it's complicated" relationship.

Jeremy, a marvelous writer, wrote a short story for his wife Kelsey (then his girlfriend) for her birthday.
Nate, a talented singer, writes songs for his girlfriend.
Charlie, from a rich family, bought a car for his former girlfriend.
My dad, a great cook, used to (and still does) cook for my mom every week.
Colin, a phenomenal director of photography, made a music video for his girl.

Everyone is doing their best for their loved ones unconditionally, in hopes of making their day more joyful. So that they may be happy, so that they can be happy. I'm just thankful that these people are gladly doing the same thing for God.

Jeremy brings hope and grace through his writings.
Nate writes and sings songs to bring the youth before Him.
Charlie supports ministries financially.
My dad cooks to serve and feed God's servants.
Colin witnesses the gospel with and without his camera.

And this is what I long to do for God. But the best fruit of all the provided talents is yet to be determined. So meanwhile, here is for the guy I haven't met yet.
Learn from those guys.

noviembre sin ti

I should be writing coverage.
But the script was so weird that I don't even know where to start.
I could be reading a pack of synopses.
But I don't want to mess up other ideas with the script I'm supposed to write coverage on.
So instead, here is a quick update:

I went to Barry Manilow's first concert in Hollywood Bowl and stood among women in their 40s and 50s. "Can't smile without you" and "I write the song" were in my head for over a week.
Laser show to Beatles.
Introduced the wonders of Korean Karaoke rooms to friends.
The Jay Leno Show (he's super hilarious).
Pre-interview with Good Neighbors, a NGO that I might apply to work for.

Despite their extreme pickiness, I'm thankful for my bosses.
My direct supervisor's order reminds me of Sally ordering in "When Harry Met Sally."
"You eat so healthy! No wonder you're the way you are," said a guy when I was waiting to pick up my boss' order.
"Thanks," I said, thinking I would never order a veggie burger. And as much as I love salads, I eat my normal burger with fries. You have no idea how much I eat, sir.
But seriously, who asks his intern "Hani, would you be kind enough to go get my lunch please?" Only my boss, who less and less seems like Tom Cruise.
And what kind of a straight boss calls out his intern "darling" when she makes mistakes? Only my other boss, a producer with a great sense of humor.
And her wife (another boss)...impecable even with a kid. She sounds just like her husband minus all the f and s words.

I remember thinking my internship term was too short. But lazy spirit has trapped me in LA, and I wish I didn't have to work anymore so that I can do fun stuff.
Plus, it's already November. Not as cold as in Iowa, not as warm as in Mexico. But still November.
In a month, I'll be heading into the cold arms of Iowa, to witness a lovely couple's wed and to get ready for Kenya. Until then, I need more time. More time to reflect, pray, get to know better some wonderful people I've met, and ultimately to get ready to say goodbye to them.

"Noviembre sin ti es pedirle a la luna que brille la noche de mi corazon otra vez..."

the day

It's a nice sunny day today after three chilly rainy days in LA.
So as I was walking to Gillette, I felt like it was going to be a fantastic day despite my lack of sleep.
I was wrong.

Large Iced Americano 3 regular 1 decaf for my supervisor. Check.
Graphic layout. Check.
Lunch break. Check.
Wet Chicken Burrito for my supervisor. And here is when it started going wrong.
They said they only served wet burritos for breakfast. And they didn't have half of the ingredients he wanted in his burrito. So I called the supervisor to explain and pleaded the cook to wet the burrito with extra salsa. It was crucial. He had emphasized to make sure that I got wet burrito. "Que mas quiere?" asked a lady in an annoyed tone, and they talked to each other in Spanish, naturally assuming I wouldn't understand them. Sometimes it's the best to let people have their secrecy and privacy, so I kept quiet.
Cover the front desk for an hr. And I had the most nerve racking 30 minutes of my intern life.
I had THE owner of the company on line one, wanting to talk to my supervisor, and someone else was calling so I had to take it (no more than 3 rings! I was strictly told). It was one of the producers asking for someone's contact info I couldn't find. Connected line one with my supervisor, kept looking for the info, and two expected visitors came in. Got them water, and called Scott (another intern) to ask where I could find the info. He was on his way. Line two "What happened to the contact info?!" "I'm still looking into it.." Line three, my supervisor. "Hey for the future reference, get me Mr. Evans right away no matter what. He doesn't like to be on hold."
Scott comes in and starts asking questions I don't have answers to saying, "you're the one who talked with her."
Well, Scott is back. I'm done covering the phone, I thought, but he needed to use restroom. And in that short time, a call comes through and I accidentally disconnect the call. Great humored producer goes "Hani, darling, you disconnected the call! Scott get him on the phone for me now. I don't know where he was calling from so try all the numbers."
A while later, Scott goes "so, what happened?"
Sigh...I think Scott began to distrust me.

Burn a presentation on a CD and take it to the Graphic Services, fill out the request paper. Check.
On my way, a cameraman joyfully greeted "nice day, today. How are you?" I couldn't help but smile and reply "good, how are you?" Aaaaaaaaah I wanted to cry...
I'm nervously waiting for the booklets, hoping I didn't mess up on that one.
Oh please, God. Have mercy and make those booklets perfectly pleasing to my supervisor's eyes.

casting

You know, I once thought of becoming an actress. Although I'm a terrible liar and own a horrible poker face in real life, I always loved acting and was heavily involved in plays and acts up to high school. But meeting so many great aspiring actors in LA, I'm almost ashamed to say that I wanted to be an actress.
For Jason's short film casting, the actresses had to prepare a monologue and sing a capella. And most of them were AWESOME, both in acting and singing. For the short film that I was assigned as a producer, actors performed a little scene with our reader (also an aspiring actor, who looks just like Zach Ephron, and he knows it), 1. how they interpreted the scene 2-4. with director's acting directions. Oh my..they were awesome. Some of them definitely stood out more than others but really, I was mesmerized by most of them.
It is unbelievable all the time they are putting into a student short film, for small and big parts. All the driving in the rain (apparently, people in California don't know how to drive in rain since it hardly rains here, and it miraculously rained today), hectic, horrifying parking situations, waiting forever for a 3-5 min. audition, and no payment.
Beautiful people. My respects.
Seriously, I don't even know how it is possible to have so many mediocre famous actors on screen (let's not name names. Well, let's: KeRe, JoCu, JuSt..OrBl is trying..I still have faith in him) when all these beautiful people are waiting for their chance.
Too depressing to be true.

dishonesty

I'm just gonna say it: I've often considered myself as a nice, social, well-balanced person.
It was only a few days ago that I discovered that I could be grumpy in presence of people other than my family. And last night I discovered that I often agreed with people just to avoid further discussions (okay, Alvin, maybe not so much with you).

When I started translating for mission groups and seminar speakers, I was still young. I would be interacting with a group 24/7 and I would think they would forever remember me. But of course, that rarely happened as they parted back to their busy lives after a week of missions, and I'd be pouring my time and heart to different people almost every other week. Then I was tired. I was tired of so many people taking my heart and not giving anything in return. Not even a hi. So I learned how to interact with people without being too attached to them.

I'm not too proud of my skill of befriending many people without emotionally being attached to them. Don't get me wrong, I deeply care for my friends and will be there for them no matter what. But no one really knows what's going on in my life..internally.

Two nights ago, I had one of the most amazing conversations with Esther. I started the conversation of "a girl meets a boy" and God led it to an intimate spiritual conversation. We ended up talking about tongues, prayers, and spiritual manifests. What a gracious night. But it also reminded me of the fact that I hadn't opened up myself with someone else for too long.

Maybe I'm not that nice after all. Maybe I'm just so used to please people that I naturally look nice. Or maybe by pleasing people for so long, I have become nice.
Maybe I'm not that social after all. Maybe I've acquired social skills only to avoid pouring my heart out to people.
Maybe I'm not that well-balanced after all. That's the compliment that my parents and close friends often gave me, but maybe I managed to deceive everyone somehow. I constantly question God for many things that happen in the world and in my life, without being able to balance my own principals and actions.

But I'm trying. To genuinely be interested in people, and to start opening up little by little. To admit that I hate being vulnerable. And not to be afraid of being vulnerable. To be honest. To be crystal clear with my friends, as clearly as my expressed emotions on my face. To let and invite people into my life.

a week of premieres

The Invention of Lying.
My dear friends were waiting for me with my ticket, while I was running like crazy in Hollywoold Blvd. in hills, and we got in.
Chinese Theater was majestic and to see it so full amazed me.
Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, and other cast members sat among us (not by us, us. Just among the audience) and the film started.
Oh.my.goodness. The film was funny. Great original premise and awesome cast (really, Ricky Gervais!?!) and incredible moments. At some point I thought it was too over the top but hey, it was supposed to be over the top, right?
Now. It had lots of profane jokes and as I was laughing, I couldn't believe I was laughing with all the other (probably secular) audience. Was it supposed to offend me? Maybe this film was just reminding us of some biblical stories! Then I was shocked.
Some of the friends who went with me hated the film. They thought the film was telling the audience that God was a lie. Gosh, what was I missing out? Really? Was that what I (as a good Christian) was supposed to feel as well? I was confused. I'm still confused. Please watch the film and tell me if my friends were overreacting or if I, indeed, have become insensible to...my Christianity.

Fame.
I didn't get to watch the film because I didn't actually have a ticket to the premiere but I went to see the celebrities. Didn't recognize anyone in particular. The original cast was performing live before the screening but we had to leave early because my friends were on their way to Britney Spear's concert.
Anywho, I'm anxiously waiting for Step Up 3 to come out. In 3-D with SYTYCD crew!! YEAAAAAHHH!!!!

Surrogates.
An interesting robot film with Bruce Willis. It has a twist that I actually went "whooooa" and it had a different take on the usage of robots. My neck hurt as I was sitting pretty close to the mega screen. And I liked the song in the end. If you like robot films, watch it. If not, watch The Invention of Lying and please tell me what you thought of it.

thinking of you

I've said that sometimes I wished I would stop meeting new people and spend more time with the people that I already know, you know, rebuilding friendships. Then I realized that the more people I meet, the more I thought of the people that I already knew.

I have three wonderful roommates: Lydia, Esther, and Heidi.
Guaranteed, Alvin would love to hang out with Lydia. She once said "I couldn't have handpicked better roommates," and I completely agree.
Esther reminds me of lovely Tasha because of her cheerful encouragements and especially because she constantly says "he/she is so NICE!" And the way she interacts with guys reminds me of sweet Emily.
Heidi doesn't remind me of anyone in particular and I would love to know her better. She's chill and deep. She's also got this sexy, deep voice that I'll never have. I love it.

It was somewhat creepy to meet Eric, who's just like Bob Taylor in a taller and younger version. A considerate listener/talker and mac lover with thick black glasses in khaki pants. A cultured guy who gets super excited with new Apple products and Seinfeld stuff. Joe looks exactly like Henk. It's too bad that I don't know either of them well. Ian reminds me of Aaron for no reason; they don't look or talk or act or walk the same. Weird. He has some friends that go to Dordt. "Oh, the school all the Dutch people go to!" he said, when I still couldn't believe he knew about Dordt.

Steve's smile somewhat reminds me of that of Daniel's. He likes bands that no one else knows about, just like Todd. Those who discover and like songs 3 years before they actually get popular. I also thought of Alvin so I asked, "do you usually dislike blockbuster movies?" And he said, "not necessarily, but I usually end up hating movies that everyone else loves." Fair enough, I thought.

My favorite fellow(?) filmmakers Jason and Nathan remind me of Aaron and Berk, or even Pete and Nathan G. I envy these people who are both friends and wonderful working partners. And yesterday, I thought I had seen Allison. I must add though, Allison is much prettier and taller, of course.

Every required cool things from school make me go, "oh my..Piper will love this as well." Passing by karaoke rooms and bars, I think of the wonderful time I had with Sarah, Allison, Cora, Emily, Jackie, and Kelsey singing mostly 80 and 90's. Also I think of Harah, as we rocked and rolled in New York, and of Sae Mee and Alice since we longed to go to karaoke rooms so bad. I should go there sometime for all of us.

I can't believe it has only been about 2 weeks since I met these cool people and I already miss all my friends who are at Dordt. Eating, talking, dancing, chitchatting in the library, studying, attending meetings, making cool projects, and watching movies in my absence (and fyi, I'll be in John William's concert tonight in your absence). But hear me out. I think of you often and I wish you were HERE with me. Not so much the other way around.

cineplexity

I'm not a film geek.
I just got back from playing board games, starting with Cineplexity. Two cards (setting/prep/actors/scene) are in the center and when it's your turn, you are the director. Other players have to come up with a movie and explain the reason they picked that movie. You decide which movie takes the card. Very entertaining, but of course, I wasn't creative or "knowledged" enough.

The first night we (film students) met each other, 9 of us went to watch "Inglourious Basterds." On the way there, every time someone mentioned a movie, lines will be quoted by someone and will be followed by somebody else. I secretly smiled because I could never quote anything. And because I couldn't believe I was riding with these film geeks. And because I felt like I should be one.
We had about 3 hours before the showing so we walked around and entered stores along the way. In Borders, I found a book titled "Obsessed with Hollywood," which had 2500 random questions about films. Out of like 50 that we played, I only knew 2, both related to books. The good side of this is that I was the only one who knew those. Bad side? I didn't know any other ones.

I'm a very subjective film critic so I usually say "I like/don't like/love that movie!" instead of, "that's a great movie!" and don't weigh all the film elements to decide whether I like it or not.
Oh, here is an example. I didn't like "Pulp Fiction" because I could not understand what was so funny and smart about it. Disgusting and gory. So I fast-forwarded..uhm, most of it, I think (I tend to do that). Never watched "Kill Bill"s, and don't think I will. But I liked "Inglourious Bastards" because it made me laugh several times. It did have disgusting scenes like cutting the scalps off, but I only had to look down for a couple of minutes in total. I thought acting was great, stories well-tighten. Plus, Kate called me when the film was almost over (2:02am here, so like 4 or 5am over where she was), and gave me a great news. So there. Say what you want to say, but that's just me being subjective despite my film major.

I don't like to deal with the equipment: carrying it, setting it up, locating the right buttons, protecting it, etc.
So I had chosen to take scriptwriting as my elective course, but I couldn't answer when this want-to-become-a-director guy asked me who my favorite scriptwriter was. "Hmm, uhm..Huh.." I realized that my top movies are all adapted from novels: The Shawshank Redemption, Everything is Illuminated, Big Fish, etc... And..I don't know any scriptwriter's name. How shameful. Oh, and I dream about writing something like my top movies, but all I can come up with is chick flicks. Sigh..

We're still on the "orientation" phase, with interviews coming up. It is super weird to be around all these people who know so much about...about everything I don't know or haven't cared. I almost feel guilty being here. Okay, I don't feel guilty but you know what I mean. Still, I love it here. Classmates are nice and cool, I can walk to many places to do different things, I hear different languages all over, and I will get to hang out with Nathan and his friends, and also with Sonya. And really, it's Los Angeles. City of artists, city of dreamers. Maybe it will make me one.

city=options+culture+people

When I was in Seoul last summer, I went to several musicals, many of them in courtesy of the TV production and people I met as I was interning there: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Grease, Aida, Marionette, and a couple of Korean plays.
Night's Dream was remarkable as it took place in a club, the actors interacting with the audience..very intimately. As you walk into this club, they take your purses and hand you a bottle of cold tea. There's no seat, you find a spot to stand...and groove. The storyline was obvious and not so skillfully told, but hey, it was super interesting. Very enjoyable ("as long as you're not surrounded by 6 women over their forties dancing around you," said the actor I worked with).
Marionette was (and still is) my favorite, majorly because it was by B-boys, and their dance to the story was breathtaking. I don't even remember how I survived that show. Did I ever breathe? I'm still bummed that I didn't go to see "The Ballerina Who Loves a B-boy." Next time. For sure.

When I went to Chicago, I went to see Wicked. In Orlando, La Nouba, by Cirque du Soleil. Awesome, may I add. It was an eye-opening experience, and I couldn't keep my mouth shut during the entire show. It's amazing what people can do with their bodies. A different dimension of circus. Highly recommend it.
In New York, I was going to see Mamma Mia but didn't work after visiting the United of Nations.

On the way to the UN, I was hit on by an African-American in the subway. A writer/photographer/producer, said his business card.
In Honolulu, on a bus by a local. "You speak good English with a nice voice," said the guy.
In Merida, at school and in shopping malls, and in Cancun, in restaurants and beaches.
In Seoul, on the streets: once in a park by an American, who was teaching English ("how old are you? You've gotta let me buy you a drink...At least give me your number." "Sorry..I don't have a phone"), and once on a rainy day, by a Korean, who offered his umbrella. What a shame. It really could have been romantic. Like the beginning of a cheesy romantic movie. But it wasn't.

It was 1:30am. I was walking home from a subway station, after a long night of witnessing older people going not-so-admirable as they were getting drunk. It was pretty dark and no one was around. After several steps, it stopped raining. I looked up, there was an umbrella. I looked besides me, and there was this guy...who turned out to be a boastful college student. He's been lonely lately. Grrr. I started walking a little faster. He would love to have a drink with me. What is with the drinks? Seriously. I said, "I'm too tired." He asked for my number and name. I said I hadn't memorized my number (which was somewhat true) and that my name was...Hani Kim. Gosh, I'm such a smart liar. He saved his number on my phone and dialed from it. "Other time, then. I live nearby..so..give me a call anytime," he said. I gave him thanks and blocked his number in the elevator. Don't judge me. The situation was creepy. And I was tired. And frustrated with people drinking so much.

All cities I've visited and lived have shaped me socially and culutrally. They have offered me many things to see and learn, tastes to enjoy, interesting people to meet, live music to listen to, places to go, and buses to take. And here I've come again. This time, a little older, a little more mature, and for a little longer.

Gillette

I never named the Honda.
Jackie had taken "Hani the Honda" and Sarah and I were brainstorming several names for our own Hondas. But I never got a fitting name for my car, mostly because I never thought it as mine. Or didn't want it to be mine. I wanted a problemless car to be mine.
I've had several problems with that car that I had gotten to the point that I was freaking out with the sound of crickets, thinking the noise was coming from the car. Lately on my way to Omaha, the "ABS" sign popped on, and then I lost the fill cap. Not the car's fault, but I still blame it.

And to that nameless car, I gladly said goodbye.

We (with Sam, who had arrived to Rapid City safely) were on our way to Sheridon, WY, where we had a room reserved. We stopped to get gas in Gillette, and decided to grab some food there. When I got out of Walmart with some soda cans, I was excited to eat and finally get a good sleep on a bed. My dad had parked the car. The entire family was outside, waiting for...me? The hood was open. My dad was looking at the engine. Some locals were looking at it, too. My heart started racing. Gosh, I hated that car. I joined the crew and looked at it. Smoke. Melted anti-freezer container. Greenish liquid. Again.

It was 8:30pm, and all autoshops were closed. I called the insurance to see what my options were. Meanwhile, this angelic local couple with tattoos and cigarrettes offered us a ride to a hotel that was close by and gave us a list of autoshops we could go the next day. So that's what we did. The Holiday Inn in Sheridon wouldn't reimburse anything or transfer us to a Holiday Inn in town, so we went to the closest hotel that this local guy took us. My dad and Sam walked to the car next morning and went to the autoshop that the guy had told us about. I get a call from Sam. It's the head gasket. Again! It would take about a week to fix it. Of couse. Now these were our options:
a) Leave the car with the mechanic to get it fixed, rent a car and go to Yellowstone to meet another family, and my dad driving back to return the rent car and get the fixed car.
b) Trade the car with anything that the mechanic would have.
c) Try to sell the car and buy another one.
d) Leave the car and think the rest.

After 3 hours of talking and weighing the options, this sainty mechanic, Harry, offered us a '96 Toyota Avalon that he had put together to give to his son. He had been in Cancun two years ago and loved it. He would like to go there again for a week and rest on the beach. His brother-in-law lives in Sioux Falls. It almost broke his heart when my dad finally said that he was just going to leave the car there.

So now, we were driving a Toyota to Yellowstone. The way to Yellowstone was mesmerizing. Some roads reminded me of Chiapas (Mexico), except that they were better-paved and less junglelike. I was glad that I was driving peacefully in this Toyota. Everything worked better although it looked a lot worse. But I liked this car right away and as a family, we named it "Gillette."

Today as we were driving out of Yellowstone, on a construction road, Gillette started making noises whenever my dad pressed accelerator. But no hatred. I was told that we could make it to LA like this. No regrets. At least my parents are here. At least we can get to LA. At least we are with good friends we met up in Yellowstone. At least we are not driving the other maroon, nameless Honda. At least this is Gillette, and I trust it completely for reasons I don't know.

the journey began

Picture this. Three Asians around Hardee's in Sioux Center, one in the gas station, one in Hardee's parking lot, and one across the street, all searching for something at 2:30am.
They all ride in the car after awhile and go all the way to the Casey's gas station at 10mi/h. Still searching for something. They do this repeatedly until they finally give up. Hani officially lost the fuel fill cap.
How did I manage to lose it? It's quite simple. I opened the fill cap and put it on top of the trunk, as many professional gas helpers do, and was about to fill the tank but realized the pumpers were closed. So I quickly hop in again and drive to Casey's gas station. I get there and my dad realizes that the fill cap is gone. So he put cooking wrap on it and it took us about 12 hours to get the cap. In Rapid City, SD.
Maybe I was really really tired after driving to and from Omaha. Driving back was quite an experience. It was so SO foggy that it reminded me of an airplane flying through clouds. Except this time, I was holding the wheel and was on the ground. Maybe I'm just so dumbly careless in anything that is related to cars. Yeah..that must be it.

You may have wondered, "why only three Asians? I thought you were on a family road trip!" You see, Sam's flight got switched. So instead of arriving last night to Omaha, he got a flight to Rapid City today in like an hour. Since he was leaving from Cancun, he got a voucher to a hotel room and dinner, and business class seats. Although I got to go to the Mount Rushmore and see Josh Wynia and Erin Mulder (what a small world!), after this long long hours of drive in the fog and annoying "check" sign on due the lack of fill cap (I hope), I'm sincerely jealous. We got to the airport earlier since we hadn't realized the time difference, but I'm thankful that I get to sit on the ground for awhile and take advantage of their free wi-fi.

6 hours yet to go. As soon as I get to the hotel, I'm ready to jump on the bed and wish my car could fly. Or transform into robots. Or sports car. Or Prius.