Another Year

So I celebrated my 34th Birthday this past July 16th...gees...I cannot believe I am 34 years old. Where did the years go by? I remember when I was a kid I thought a 34 year old was OLDDDDD.

Nancy started asking me a week ago what I wanted for my birthday...I really didn't want anything monetary and even though I probably needed something...nothing came to mind. The only thing I really wanted was something I couldn't have...I wanted to sleep in and have a day to myself. Instead I was awakened at 6:30am and had to take care of both my boys. Mondays are my toughest day of the week. Not because it's Monday, but because I have to take care of both Justin and Dylan throughout the day. So I needed to go to Target that day to return the Transformers toy my Mom purchased for Justin that past weekend. If you only knew what I had to go through to return that thing.

My parents came to visit us because they were in town for a church convention. My Mom wanted to get something for Justin and he had just watched Transformers that past weekend...so he asked for a Transformers toy. My Mom bought him a Optimus Prime truck that converts into a foam dart shooter. Justin opens the bag and immediately loves it. Nancy hates clutter and throws the box away. The toy ends up not working properly and returning is now a problem. Solution...my Mom buys another Optimus Prime toy and we use that box for the broken one. This all takes place within a 4 hour period. A lot of driving involved.

Okay...so now I'm with both my boys at Target trying to return the toy. I'm thinking this should be an easy return even though getting to this point was a bit of a hassle. The lady asks if there's anything wrong with the toy and I tell her I think it doesn't work. For some retarded reason I also add I wanted to return it because I didn't want my son owning something that shoots or has any reference to guns. This is where everything starts to go downhill. At this point, Justin for what ever reason decides he wants to respond about how the toy shoots darts. He tells the lady how he has one just like it at home. I knew his 3 year old chatter was not going to be cute nor helpful to me today. The lady asks if his works and he replies, "Yes, it shoots darts and it's really cool and I think everyone should have one." I'm just standing there smiling and trying to play everything off. What else could I really do? I couldn't tell Justin to be quiet because it would make me look only worse. So, I just do my best "What a silly kid" smile. By now I'm looking like a shady returner...so when she credits back my Mom's credit card and gives back the receipt...I'm ready to bury my head in the sand and hide for a bit. Anyways, before we leave Justin is hungry so I end up buying him a pretzel at Target. Let me try to make this as short as possible. Target pretzels are HORRIBLE...at least the the one he ate. I don't know if you heard about how in China street vendors were getting busted for putting pork flavored cardboard and lye agent to soften the cardboard in steamed pork buns, but the pretzel he ate might as well have been cardboard. The part that really got me and should have been a warning sign was the display pretzels were not real, but made out of plastic. Anyways...just HORRIBLE. Don't get the pretzels unless you enjoy eating sawdust.

The rest of the day was just tiring. By the time dinner came around I was definitely happy half the day was gone. Nancy took the family out for my birthday dinner the night before. I chose to keep it simple and went to Mr.Pizza Factory in K-Town on Wilshire Blvd. I love pizza and I knew this place would not fulfill me, but I was curious enough to try it out knowing that it would be Korean style. If you are a FOB kind of Korean you'll probably enjoy it. It wasn't bad. It's definitely not New York style, but I would go back to feed the FOB in me. Oh...for the non-immigrant readers...FOB refers to Fresh Off the Boat...meaning recently immigrated to the US. Of course no comes here on a boat anymore...it's a metaphor. Otherwise, they might be called JOJ...Just Off the Jet. Back to the day of my birthday...for dinner Nancy cooked for the family. That was nice...she cooked pork chops and steamed some asparagus and lobster mushrooms. After dinner Justin and Nancy sang me Happy Birthday and we cut cake.

I have to say the highlight of my birthday was hearing Justin sing Happy Birthday. I know it's going to be one of those moments I look back and cherish. 34 years old...man...I still can't believe it.

4th of July Mexican Style

This 4th of July we tried taking advantage of the festivities surrounding the Downtown area. We decided on going to Olivera St. for the Mexican 4th of July celebration. If possible we always try to walk to our destinations or take the subway. Parking is such a hassle or costly so we try to avoid it whenever possible. We packed up the family and headed to the metro subway to Union Station. Once we arrived to walked over to Olivera St. and checked out the festivities. Unfortunately, either we were too early or this celebration was not much of a celebration. The cultural experience we took in was I believe a Mayan Dance, Mexican style lemonade, a churro, and Justin had to have some cotton candy. We didn't want to waste the day so we also visited the very first fire station in Los Angeles and the Chinese American Museum. After that we trekked back home and by the time we arrived both our boys were pretty wiped out. As for the evening of fireworks...Nancy and the kids watched all the local display of fireworks from the 16th floor of our bedroom window. I heard that Justin blissfully fell asleep while watching the array of colors and patterns in the sky. I on the other hand I had to suck it up and work at the restaurant. It was pretty miserably slow and what made it worse is that customers would come in at the last minutes before closing and then hang out. Nothing more inconsiderate in the restaurant business than people who come in 5 minutes before we close to order a few measly dishes and camp. This one is right up there with cheap tippers. Don't let me get into it...I'm going to stop right here. Maybe one day I'll get into the rules of Restaurant 101.

Walking In Los Angeles

Four days ago I decided to take Justin and Dylan out for a walk around Downtown. I was trying to be New York instead of being California. My motivation was the kids were going crazy and my mentality is that you have to wear out kids to keep them calm. Almost like dogs...you run them a lot and they stay calm...you keep them cooped up and they get crazy. The motivation I gave Justin was that we were looking for a Pinkberry. I knew that there was a Pinkberry being built in Japan Town, but I wasn't actually sure it was up and running.

First of all...it was a really hot day. Second...I really did not realize how much walking would be involved. I made a spontaneous decision to do this and I just followed through. It was a cool adventure. We stopped by some stores and eventually got to Japan Town. The Pinkberry was not open yet, but I ended up buying Justin a donut (he loves sugar coated, sugar glazed, or rainbow sprinkle donuts). I was so dang hot I ended up trying another yogurt store called CeFiore. It was good...not quite that tangy citrus flavor that Pinkberry has, but good enough. After we were finished I contemplated about calling Nancy to pick us up because she would be home from work in a little bit, but I decided to call Nancy and see if she wanted to walk home with us. Her building would be on the way home. She said she would wait for and I started to walk back. The only problem was Dylan no longer wanted to sit in the stroller and Justin no longer wanted to walk. So now I had to walk back with Dylan in one arm while pushing Justin in the stroller with the other. What made it worse is that I had to walk up a steep hill to get to Nancy's work. By the time I get to Nancy...my arm was ready to drop off and I came to realize that I would never be able to run any form of a marathon...nor would I ever want to. When I met up with Nancy I immediately passed Dylan off to her and we proceeded home. Honestly, I would probably do it again, but next time I will take the double stroller. Here is the one picture I took of them on the adventure. Justin picked out which graffiti drawing that him and his brother would take a picture in front of. If anybody would like to take the John Pak Downtown Walking Tour...please feel free to contact me for an appointment.

Brothers At Play

One of the greatest joys of having two kids is watching them interact with each other. Now that Dylan is starting to crawl and is bigger...he is able to slowly fend for himself. They are both learning...Justin is learning to share with his younger brother...Dylan is learning to respect his older brother's space. Here are 2 pics of them playing on their push carts.Dylan really likes to pose for pictures or at least understands the concept that his picture is being taken. Who knows...maybe I might set him up with my agent.

POCA (The Pak of Contemporary Art)

I recently took Justin and Dylan to the MOCA thinking that I would enrich their lives with the arts. I actually was just trying to find a place to get them out of the house and still be in an air conditioned environment.

Little did I know that the MOCA is actually NOT a very kid friendly place to go to. Children like to touch...or at least like stare really closely. You get too close to any of the art exhibits and you have a bunch of MOCA security on you telling you to step away and ready to get Rodney King on you. For example, there was this art thing that essentially was reams of paper stacked next to each other with gaps in between them in a space probably 10x12 or something. On top was one sheet on each stack with delicate cuttings. I didn't want to take either of my kids too close because I could see Dylan grabbing the paper because he loves to grab paper and crumple them. Nor did I want Justin too close because these days he is clumsy and trips over his feet or if he feels like exploring he may just kick the stacks for the heck of it.

From the mouth of babes...I do have to say that Justin did ask good questions or make funny comments like, "Why is there a piece of wood stuck to the wall?" or "That art is ugly." Like beauty...I believe Art Is In The Eye Of The Beholder. The good thing is Justin realized that anyone can create art. Whether it's good or not...that's a different question. Justin was inspired from his trip and created this "Childhood Sculpture". Here is Nancy interviewing Justin after he had just completed his sculpture. The picture does not do justice. It's actually a complex piece and he placed every individual piece specifically. There are childhood books, videos, DVD's, diapers, changing pad, butt wipes, baby blankets, toys, my watch and belt, and some other things.
Justin is pretty proud of his work as he explains what he was thinking while building his sculpture.
I call this photograph..."Proud Mother...Content Son"

Hanging With The Boys

Hanging with my boys is never dull. Especially Mondays...I have to take care of them both all day. Monday Night Football is a cake walk compared to Mondays at the Pak Residence. Ever since Dylan has started crawling he has been a handful. He gets into everything. One of his favorite time consuming things is going through a magazine and tearing out pages. If you ever need to keep an infant entertained try giving the baby a magazine and let them tear though it in their crib. For some reason he also seems to like shoes. Especially Justin's shoes. I usually take them out for walks to expend their energy. Here is Justin on his tricycle and Dylan in his push car. This is my new favorite picture of Justin. It shows his "I have an introspective lone wolf side of me." Of course I always enjoy his smile without his front teeth. Then there is Dylan who is nothing but impish smiles and laughs. He has transitioned from grunting to growling now. It's very cute.

Pak Brothers-49

Daddy-7

Stay tuned for next weeks game.

Goodluck Cecilia

Nancy's co-worker Cecilia was recently accepted to Boston University Law School. She is also on the waiting list for Northwestern Law School and Georgetown Law School. She was one of Dylan's biggest fans at Deloite. Our family wishes you the best to your success. Thank you Cecilia for your friendship to Nancy and your love to our son. Here is Cecilia and Dylan posing at work. Nancy's co-workers from left to right...Sarah, Liz, Cecilia, Nancy and Dylan. Good luck in law school Cecilia. May you be blessed with everything that you deserve and more.