My dad’s a mechanic, so there has never been a shortage of cars in my family.  My brothers and I have been pretty lucky because we’ve always had a car whenever we wanted, and never had to pay for it.  My dad drives a 4WD truck, my mom a 4-Runner, my brother a Lexus, and what do I roll in?!?  A white, Previa mini-van!  I definitely need Xzibit to come Pimp My Ride.  By no means is it the coolest vehicle to be driving, but it’s actually a pretty good car to drive.  The handling is good, it’s comfortable, and can hold at least 43 people.  I drove it earlier this week to renew my driver’s license, which had expired while I was in Korea.  Therefore, I drove carefully to the DMV without a valid driver’s licence and got a new one for $34(!).  Check it out… I opted for the no smile picture, because this is a serious document, you know.  (Click on it to see a larger version.)

My pop ups are under control now, but only temporarily. I went to www.downloads.com and found "Super Ad Blocker," but it’s only a 15 day trial, then it’s $30 to buy. That’s enough time to find my ad-blocker software somewhere on my laptop (I haven’t even fully unpacked yet). Another reason I didn’t blog yesterday: On my way out yesterday to the recycling station, I fell down the stairs! I was walking down the stairs and paused to admire the big furry slippers I was wearing, thinking, "These slippers are so big that they extend over the steps of the stairs." And just like in that Sex and the City episode where Charlotte falls over as she tries to take a mirror and look at her "hoo-ha," I fell down the stairs looking at my own feet! My right slipper slipped from right under me and I fell about 4 steps. Did it hurt!? Hell yes! I hurt my left ankle so bad and I just laid on my back at the bottom of the stairs, thinking, "THIS is what it’s like to die alone." Well… I knew I wasn’t going to die, but it made me think of what it would be like really hurting yourself, and having nobody there to help you. It was a depressing moment. I laid for about 10 minutes on the floor until I could muster up some strength to hobble to the sofa and rest my ankle while watching 50 Cent’s Album Launch House Party on MTV. My mom came home 20 minutes later to give me some sympathy. That made me feel better. An hour later, I still hobbled out the door and did errands. It’s still sore and hurts today, but I took some Advil and rubbed my ankle with Tiger Balm. It should be better in a couple day… I hope.

I’ve been wanting to post every day that I’ve been back… I mean, it’s not like I have a job or anything. Since I’ve been back, I’ve been inundated with pop up ads everytime I’ve been online. Even just writing these last two sentences, I’ve been intrupted five times! And every time, I have to toggle back to what I’ve been working on. I can’t even sign into my Hotmail without having to switch back to the sign-in page 3 times. I can now be certain that pop ups and mosquitoes are the work of the devil!! It’s the only STRESS I have in my life right now. I don’t even want to get online, because I know what’s waiting for me. For 3 days, I’ve been trying to download ad blockers, but they don’t completely go away. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I’m using AOL. If anyone has a good pop up blocker, PLEASE let me know. In the time it took me to write this, I now have 25 ads I now need to close. (sigh.)

Being back home for the last two days, and I’m overwhelmed by what to watch.  When I was in L.A., my relatives had some kind of box (perfectly legal and can be bought on eBay for $160) that lets you get 600+ channels!!  I just have regular cable TV, but it’s still a myriad of choices in comparison to the five channels would watch in Korea.  Some things I watch are good (CSI, Lost, Desperate Housewives), while others make me feel guilty for wasting 30 minutes of my life (Making the Band 3, Redecorating your child’s room, Jerry Springer).  On top of that - Mark McGrath hosting Extra?  Nicole Richie and Christina Aguilera engaged?  And how about Mischa Barton topless?  Remember the girl ghost in The Sixth Sense that throws up under the bed?  That’s her.  Oh yeah, and she’s also in this little show called The O.C. The link is not safe for work, unless you "work" at Kwandong University.  There, you can play online poker in your office, and it’s ok.

Now time for bed.  I have no idea where my driver’s license is, so I might have to go to the DMV tomorrow and get one.  I hope the picture turns out ok… either way, I’ll post it tomorrow.

This is my second full day of being home in Oregon.  It?s been an interesting couple days of travel since I left Ras at the San Jose airport in Costa Rica.  I arrived early at the airport and was going to buy something to eat, but changed my mind when I saw how expensive prices were at the food court.  $9.00 for a Burger King Whopper set with cheese!!!  I was so outraged that I happily sat and ate my two leftover pizza slices from Papa John?s I had packed from the day before  .  The flight was uneventful , except for the two people next to me who silently said a prayer right before the plane took off, which then made me think of the TV show Lost.  I arrived around 10 pm on Monday in Los Angeles.  My relatives came to pick me up at the airport.  What was the first thing I ate upon returning to the U.S.?  A famous In-N-Out double double.  In-N-Out has been a fixture in Southern California since 1948, and is know for their cheap and delicious hamburgers   .  I tried to just order the cheeseburger, but everyone in the Suburban   told me how small it was.  I knew an American "small" was actually a serving size I?d be used to, but everyone seemed to think I?d starve if I got such a small hamburger.  I relented and ordered a double double (two patties and two slices of cheese) .   And what of course happened?  I didn?t finish it.  I fed some of it to my uncle’s dog, Nike. 

[photo above: at the airport, ready to leave Costa Rica.  I think I did a pretty good packing job.]

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