oh the holidays

so most people go home to their families during the holidays. i was never that kinda girl. i preferred staying in new york, enjoying the fact that i had nothing to do with a world of possibilities. but this year, i decided to venture home... to "who the fuck cares." aka pennsylvania. it was a daunting trip.

the night before i had only gotten 2 hours of sleep, max. then i couldn't sleep during the day (i never sleep late for a better tomorrow anymore) and finally fell asleep around 1 p.m. then i woke up too late to catch the 4 p.m. bus, so i had to take the 6 p.m. bus. i didn't end up getting into philly until 8:30. i had to meet my parents at the billiards they run. i have never seen it before, so when i got there i was greeted with probably the shittiest pool place i've ever seen. so shady! that's my parents for ya.

my sister met me there and drove me home to lansdale. lansdale is a small town like 30 minutes south of philly. i hadn't eaten anything that day and couldn't stop thinking about all the delicious korean food my stepmom had prepared for me. that day was my birthday, and on birthdays, korean families usually cook up a special "birthday" soup composed of seaweed. it sounds kinda gross, but it was so good to me. it was a taste of home. i also love the spicy tofu that my mom makes and the barbecued beef. yummy!!


as soon as i walked in, i was met by my sister's white fluffy maltese poodle. her boyfriend had bought her the dog as a present. it was a boy, and my sister named it cookie. i told her that she basically made her dog gay. i kept calling it "she." it just seemed more like a girl. it wouldn't stop jumping and peeing everywhere. it literally would HOP like 3 feet into the air out of excitement. that dog was a trip and very cute. i hope they start training her (i mean him) because puppies need a lot of guidance and discipline. you can't just let it keep peeing all over the house. that's nasty!!!

i also found that my stepmom's nephew from korea was staying at the house... these details always slip past me. he is actually going to columbia university for his mba in business. i didn't remember meeting him at all before... but apparently i did at some point. i do remember however that i took his sister out and about in new york city when she visited. he said, "oh my sister told me all about you." shit, really? but not to worry, it was all good things. apparently, i really made his sister's trip to america exciting. no kidding! new york city is definitely way more exciting than lansdale. that's why i never go home anymore!

anyways the next day i did nothing. tried to renew my license but only got the camera card. now i have to go back at some point and take a new photo. why don't i get a new york license? i'm scared to death of the ny dmv. i think it's all the horror stories i hear. besides, i like having a pennsylvania license. they are prettier than the new york ones. at night, all the cousins and their parents gathered at cousin jai and joon's house. i haven't seen jai and joon in quite a while so it was nice to catch up. joon was wrapped up in the will smith movie i didn't know existed: i robot. classic will smith. south philly represent!!

jai has been going to nyu dental school (yeah he lives in the city and i never see him). he's at the point in school where you actually have patients and stuff. he showed me his card and it had this photo of him when he was a toothless toddler on it. his two front teeth were missing. so cute! he and i used to be so close (we're the same age) when we were younger. we used to play tennis, skateboard and ride our bikes around town, causing trouble. that all changed as we grew older. but i still feel like we're family.


my cousins sarah and sue decided they wanted to drive me upstate to kingston, new york. this is about 2 hours north of new york. the reason? my grandmother lives there with my uncle and aunt, and she said the one thing she wanted this holiday was to see me. now that might make you go, "awwww." but she's not as innocent as she seems. yes, she acts like she's my mother because during my younger years when my parents were divorced, she did raise me like her own child. so she has a special attachment to me. but she's also the one person who can easily tear me down and pick me apart. the last time i went to kingston, she made me so upset i was sobbing. she knows how to push my buttons.


but she's getting older and my cousins said just to ignore her. she wants to see me. so i went and saw her. she threw the same bullshit she always does my way, but i could tell she was happy to see me. my cousins theory is that she's preparing to die. my cousins say that old people just know when they are going to die... they feel it in their soul. maybe. earlier this year, grandmother came down to pennsylvania and spent one week at each of her children's houses. it was like she was saying goodbye. this makes me sad... very teary. i hope she doesn't pass away. the thought always makes my heart burst with woe. and probably some guilt and regret.

instead of going back to pennsylvania with my cousins, i decided to get dropped off in new york city. i mean, i was planning on coming back the next day anyways, and i wanted to avoid any extra travel time. so overall, my visit home wasn't so bad. now i'm back in new york and ready to have fun!