¿ù¿äÀÏ ¾Æħ: silikon valley, amerika's real heartland! 2day's the 5.yr anniversary'f 9.11.   perhaps many amerikan bloggers 2day'll write 'bout memories'f 2001.09.11.   me?   perhaps, i'll write li'l, but... but more importantly is the fakt that amerika's only great (n' is great) cos'f the diversity here... n' the fakt that a 31.yr ol' asian man w/ a career in engrng can hit up the skate park here.   as i sed b4, i'm not sure if that could happen in ne other country.   freedom... true freedom...   freedom'f speech, freedom'f religion...   let's not take these things 4granted.

[later] trader joe's... trader joe's rocks!

so what's been up this wknd?

• ±Ý, 09¿ù08ÀÏ: bizzy_day@werk.com, no doubt...   helped out w/ u.s. taekwondo akademy kids classes.   the li'l kids r so cute!   ... nelson's »ýÀÏ ÆÄƼ saengil (b.day) party @ santana row's pizza antica - man, i stuffed myself silly on sausage/shroom pizza, some other pizza, tomato sauce / garlic / oregano / olive oil pizza, caesar salad w/ anchovies, n' b.day cake... oh, n' 1 large anchor steam bier...   the pri¢ wasn't 2 bad.   i had a bad stuffed.up nose, so i turned down the idea'f following the party to the v.bar.   instead, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i hung out @ borders 4 a li'l.
• Åä, 09¿ù09ÀÏ
• sunnyvale skate park from ~730a to ~1000a...   ah, what fun!   during times when the small bowl was 2 crowded, i started trying to ollie over that 1 launch ramp style area.   ah, that kind'f jumping's 'lot like terrain park riding on a snowboard, so 'twas a very familiar feeling.
• (hawai.ian.style)lunch party @ our friends michelle n' clayton's: wow, they have a beautiful house!   wow! i hung out w/ so many babies n' young parents!   i ate 2 much.
• i did yardwerk in our backyard.
• kaela n' i ate leftovers that i brought home from the party.
• ÀÏ, 09¿ù10ÀÏ
• church @ grx
• (quick) lunch @°¶·¯¸®¾Æ galleria
• hakone gardens / dynasty restaurant wedding site visit
• then, on this relatively hot, sunny, wknd afternoon, i decided to take sooni out 4 some long overdue fun.   i looked thru that dog lover's companion to the bay area book n' headed off w/ sooni to santa clara's central park.   however, soon after i got on the road, i changed my course, heading 2wards the santa clara dog park.   since 'twas a hot afternoon, i thought we'd possibly have the park all to ourselves.   when i got there, yah, there was only 1 other doggy.   this (obviously) le$b!@n couple had a li'l poodle mix w/ them.   i recognised them from b4.   when i talked to them, they sed they hadn't been to the park in a long time.   neither had we.   i let sooni loose w/ molly the poodle mix (named after molly ringwald).   they had their li'l faceoff n' then were fine after that.   i think they sed molly's 3.   sooni's 5.   this !3$b!@n couple's kewl cos they understand well that doggies r doggies n' they'll doggy things like growl @ each other upon meeting 4 the 1st time, etc.   then this well... (obviously) r3d n3¢k family showed up in a monster truck w/ a big rottweiler n' a li'l jack russell terrier type doggy.   cody n' tyler... heh... those were really their names!   neway, it was so fun cos cody was a li'l jack russell type doggy, tyler was a huge rottweiler, n' sooni fit rt in btwn.   she's such a medium sized doggy.   sooni kept chasing down the small jack russellish dog as he chased down a tennis ball.   however, she didn't mess w/ the doggy, maybe cos she knew the big rottweiler'd beat her up if she did.   ha ha.   the dad sed that even the rottweiler was scared'f sooni, but he wasn't mad 'bout it or nething.   i asked the family how old their dogs r, n' they sed both'f'em r 3.   'gain, sooni's 5, so she's got a higher rank than'em.   then a couple'f short haired, retrieverish doggies showed up.   a big doggy that looked like a cross btwn a german shepherd n' a akita showed up w/ a li'l mop doggy.   the german shepherd / akita mix had the same colour'f coat as sooni.   she was fine w/ these other doggis.   all the doggies marked territory.   she faced off w/ many'f the doggies but, as expekted, didn't pick real fights w/ ne'f them.   she's bossy, she's b!+¢hy, but she's still a good doggy, a good gurl.   there's that kelis song "bossy."   dude, that's all 'bout sooni, eh? ha ha.   well, eventually, the park got crowded as the temp dropped slightly.   sooni looked tired 'nuff to leave, so i got her to come over n' put her leash on her.   wow, what a fun time @ the doggy park.
• next, we hit up sunnyvale's fair oaks park.   in case u don't know, that's where the sunnyvale skate park is.   i figured i'd try to hit up the skate park if it wasn't 2 crowded.   i got there.   it was crowded but not 2 crowded.   as i expekted.   well, i wanted to give the crowd a chance to die down more, so i took sooni 4 a walk 'round the skate park n' then over to the restroom.   then i walked back 2wards the skate park.   kaela called me n' came over.   she was mad tho' cos she thought there was a dog park @ fair oaks park.   i hadn't sed that, but she couldn't hear me well w/ her handsfree kit.   i'd told her that we'd left the dog park n' were just @ fair oaks park, not a dog park.   well, she could've stuck 'round to watch me skate; but no, she went home.   i tied sooni up to the fence n' skated 4 a bit.   it was very interesting to me, this group'f korean boys got dropped off by their parents: this engr.looking dad n' this typically glamourous, well.dressed mom.   the parents worriedly watched their boys until 1'f the older boys told them to go away.   wow, i hadn't cn a grp'f asian boys like this @ the skate park b4.   like, yah... there r quite a few asian guys n' gurls that hit up the sunnyvale skate park, but they don't usually come in a group.   it was just so interesting to c how these korean boys were so ashamed'f their unhip dad n' their overly dainty mom.   u know, u often c parents watch their kids @ the skate park... but usually, they're the sporty, rugged, or rebellious type dads n' the involved, active moms.   after all, i've even cn a mom who skateboarded w/ her kid.   this is such a good observation'f asian.am culture.   like, yah... heck! i totally lived thru this experience... but that was over 15 yrs 'go.   well, i watched these kids as i skated.   i felt bad cos they were timid 'bout droppin' in.   they didn't wanna get in trouble w/ the other, more rowdy boys if they dropped in when the bully.types wanted to ride, etc.   like... i made a big observation: the skate park was very much like the doggy park!   sure, there were some tuff guy type boys in the skate park, but i don't need to worry 'bout'em cos i'm 31 n' they're 15.   similarly, sooni can scare off a rottweiler cos she's 5, n' he's 2.   wow, it's so similar!   well, this other asian yuppie, 30.sumpthin'ish guy came in, n' we both skated the same area'f the park 4 a short while, as those young korean boys watched us.   in a way, it was kind'f good to feel almost like some kind'f role model 4 them or sumpthin'.   then i packed up my stuff to go.   it was as if, since there was already 1 older asian guy there, i didn't need to be there.   i don't think he's the same yuppieish asian guy i saw there b4 cos he rides a modern board while the other guy i saw b4 rode a ol' skool board.   i 4get tho'.   neway, i didn't wanna stay 2 long @ the skate park cos i figured kaela might've been waiting 4 me @ home, n' she was all p!$$ed 'bout there not being a doggy park there n'... i dunno if she just doesn't like my going to the skate park or what... :-/ sooni was such a good gurl.   while i had almost 4gotten that i'd tied her up to the fence outside while i was skatin', she'd just curled up by the fence n' was a good gurl... even when some other guy (some other asian guy) brought in some kind'f pit bull or sumpthin'.   she was good.   well, we both had good times @ our parks.
• support ur local dog park.   support ur local skate park.
• when i got home, kaela wasn't mad.   she was asleep on the coach n' woke up wanting to eat dinner.   i printed out an online ¢oupon n' took her to the sunnyvale fresh choice.
• after dinner, we went to trader joe's n' used 3 canvas tote bags.   trader joe's rocks.   saving the planet rocks.

[later] Àú³áÀÌÁö¸¸ ¾ÆÁ÷µµ Á÷Àå¿¡¼­: can u believe we're well into 9¿ù (goowuhl) sept already?   crazy.   "wake me up when september ends."   (or 'least "wake me up before you go go?")   as i expressed in an e.mail to my good ol' friends vince n' fahad; in some ways it feels like time's flying.   still, in other ways, it cms like time stand still n' that i'm not gettin' newhere.   4 example, doesn't it feel like kaela's been in skool 4 an eternity n' as if she'll never finish?   :-? in that sense, yah... doesn't it feel like time moves slowly?   however, it's sept now, while it feels like summer just rushed by.   do u 'member 4th'f july?   do u 'member the u.s. taekwondo akademy beach trip?   how 'bout the beginning'f our adult beginners taekwondo class?   over the majority'f summer, i didn't have as many church commitments but mostly just taekwondo commitments.   now that it's fall, i have many more church commitments, n' i warned mark that i would, n' that i would thus not have as much time to give to teaching taekwondo.   he also doesn't have enuf time cos he's now in mba skool... @ haas'f all places.   it doesn't help that i was sick last wk; but it figures, i guess, that i got sick.

[later] ¹ã, 1142p: when i came home 2nite after meeting up w/ my (church) small group (t3 light) core @ ºñ¿ø biwon (where i ate ¹Î¾î Âî°³ minuh jjigae, which was really ¹Î¾î ¸Å¿îÅÁ minuh maeoontang), i called out 4 sooni, but she didn't come.   i checked the backyard.   she wasn't there.   i was very worried.   then i found her trapped in our master bdrm shower.

[later] 1159p: 4 lunch 2day, i ate a birria de chivo burrito from the chavez market when i met up w/ paster abel there.