April thoughts I can't let go of

How is it already April!!!

We went from a chilly spring to full blown summer in days --- and it was 90 degrees the other day.
Almost every day I'm in shock that its nearly summer.  Seriously, where has the year gone?  I'm almost scared of how fast timing is passing by.  Maybe because I think I'm not using it wisely?

Not sure, but it's giving me a slight kick in the butt.

To be honest, the first half of this month was spent travelling Japan and then in Seoul with my family. It has been a great reprieve to escape house hunting, but now that we're back, we're heading right back into it.

A few things that I keep coming back to post vacation:

I'm really concerned about the air quality and water quality of the world! Yes...the world.  While in Seoul, my sister and I felt the impact of particle matter in the air and friends would tell me how their kids always get sick from being outside too much.  Why can't people understand ...ahem, esp. China in this specific scenario, that we all breathe the same air?!  Water is no small joke...aside from Flint, Michigan, there are many other cities in the U.S. in which people cannot bathe, cook, or drink the water that comes out of their faucets.  Seriously, what is going on?

I'm also really concerned about North Korea. I hope, pray, and hope again that nothing will happen to disturb the silent war that has been playing out between North and South Korea.  I feel this way even more so because I was just in Korea and the political climate of the U.S.

We went to the March of Science rally in DTLA last weekend. Do you understand our sign? It is the ultimate nerd sign!  If you took stats, it'd be an easy one, but if you didn't...just know that Science Advances Society!

tee hee hee, we were really proud that random people came up to ask us if they could take a picture of our sign.

It wasn't exactly fun to be at the March for Science rally, but it wasn't boring either.  It felt good to say something (via sign) and be around like minded people, but how much of an impact we had, I don't know. We'd never been to a rally before so we weren't sure what to expect. I loved that a lot of professors made an appearance though and to see so many people take out time from their Saturday to be together with a group of strangers to support scientific progress!


Correction: The p value in that sign is actually supposed to be p<0.0001 !!!! I had mistakenly put the "." in the wrong place...and basically we were carrying around a sign that said the opposite of what we intended. :::face palm::: we discovered this a few days later...but it was too late!

Happy Birthday Chris!

My lovely husband turned 33 at the end of March! (I'm really behind in my posts!) We went to ink., a restaurant we've been meaning to check out for a long time to celebrate (also how interesting is this website).  I don't know if it is because we haven't been to a fancy restaurant in a while, but the service was amazing. The food was equally impressive--with smoked potatoes disguised as stones, egg yolk gnocchi, grilled octopus in some delicious sauce, and mozzarella disguised as tomatoes.  It was a very memorable meal! I can't wait for another excuse to visit again.

I can't believe Chris is 33!! I can't believe I'm 33!

Honeymoon to Japan - Tokyo

We finally took our honeymoon to Japan at the end of March!  

We took a 7 day trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone, and Miyajima. An initially planned 3 city vacation became a 4 city vacation ---I haven't vacationed this hard since my early 20s!  And...it was so worth it! It was exhausting, exciting, new, fascinating...and made me remember why I love travel so so so much.  The anticipation, planning, and then revisiting with pictures brings so much joy as well.  When we got back, we felt we had been away for a month. 

We walked an average 15 miles a day and were relentless in trying everything.  Growing up in Korea, I always had a fascination with China and never was curious about Japan. The expensive Yen also kept me away.  But having now gone to Japan---I love it and I was excited to go with Chris whose life dream was to visit Japan. 

The Japan I visited in 5 words: clean, innovative, thoughtful, quiet, and cute! 

Here are pictures from our few days in Tokyo.

We wore costumes and drove go carts on the streets of Tokyo! I'm telling you...no pot holes! Extremely clean streets. I found myself smiling to myself as I zipped around the streets of Tokyo, waving to taxi drivers and pedestrians looking on with curiosity!  It is a fun and unique way to see the city. I dressed up at Stitch, Chris as Yoshi.

Akihabara is a part of town that is full of games-- buildings full of people playing video games - old and new. It is a weird and strange place.

On our way to Ueno Park to see the Cherry Blossoms!  Chris and I both wore AllBird shoes- my feet were sore at the end of the day, but not sore because the shoes weren't comfortable, just sore from fatigue.  For intense, long walks, I highly recommend Allbird shoes!

 It was a cloudy, rainy day that day, but it was fascinating to see how committed people are to seeing the sakura (cherry blossoms). Everyone was picnicking with fervor.  And there were actually trash cans available (There are no trash bins around Japan- you're supposed to carry your trash home).

All shrines have these types of prayers that people buy and hang in front of the shrine.

 This is the Kaminarimon Gate in Asakusa, North East Tokyo.  Soooo many tourists. Chris looks pretty miserable-- jet lag is kicking in and it's raining and cold!

 Japanese people love ice cream!  Ice cream is sold everywhere~

 How cute is this Totoro Banana Chocolate Creame Puff!! It was yummy too. We stayed with my friends Mari and Mario, and their adorable baby Kai. Luckily they lived close to the Totoro cafe and it was easy to trek out there.

 Shijuku Geon!! It's one of the number park in Tokyo to see sakura and Mari's friends' mom made us a lunch to pack and enjoy the flowers.

 So many beautiful lakes and flowers around this park.

 Also, so many different types of cherry blossoms! I had no idea that there were cherry blossoms that drooped down either.