SVong-Along

In a time of racism, lack of empathy, and general uncertainty, Pachinko (Min Jin Lee, 2017) is an excellent read. TL,DR: Read Pachinko if you are interested in: Asian family histories, war, class and society, gender roles, battling racism, religion, shame, and/or enjoyed Les Mis.  What is Pachinko? The title of the book comes from a Japanese gambling game comparable to American slot machines. But the book itself centers around a Korean family who eventually immigrates to Japan and their struggles- socioeconomically but also intersected with class, race, and religion. It's fascinating to view history from the perspective of an underrepresented, almost persecuted group- in this case Koreans in Japan from World War I era to the 1990s, and consider and understand their role in something seen as Japanese (pachinko).  The themes are heavy, and the book to me was basically an East Asian Les Mis. Some parts are difficult to read, because the book can feel slow as history itself, but ...

"Where do we follow the rules, and where do we justify breaking them? Do our pasts determine what we deserve in the future? And is it ever possible to leave your past behind?" Celeste Ng explores these themes, familial relationships, and the contrasts of life in America through Caucasian and African-American, and Asian-American characters and lenses in the utopian Shaker Heights, Ohio.  I started off watching the Hulu series with Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon, and got a little over halfway but never finished. This made it easy for me to visualize the characters and have a basic sense of the story, while enjoying the themes of the book and the storytelling from multiple character perspectives rather than the tv camera. I finished the book in a few days, finding it much better than the TV series (even though I really like both KW and RW).  Both the TV series and the book start off the same: a large family house is on fire, and Ng foreshadows the suspect, but we go back...

Essentially copying Halika Dito and because I didn't really have a ton of content to blog about- I'll just summarize my past month by also posting randomly "monthly favorites."  Source: instagram Bridgerton - I'm a sucker for Shondaland, (I miss Scandal, and was meh about HTGAWM but finished it anyways), and Bridgerton featured sex, gossip, and classical interpretations of TSwift and Ariana Grande. My friends thought some episodes were basically porn. Anyways, although a few characters were annoying, I found Bridgerton fun and entertaining. Other Netflix mentions: Finding Ohana (a cute Hawaiian adventure movie), and Bling Empire (the Asians are here!) Ito En Black milk tea : I find these at my local Grocery Outlet [Bargain Market] for $.50 a pop, and these are a sweet but refreshing afternoon drink that gives me just the perk to power through the last few hours of work. They do have 32 grams of sugar a bottle, but I still like to think it's healthier and che...

Usually around the end of the year, I have written posts like " what's on my Christmas wishlist " and " Top 3 accomplishments  of the year." I'm already seeing lots of people on social media being shamed for saying how 2020 wasn't so bad for them, while simultaneously seeing others post monthly highlights of 2020. Like many other folks, this past year definitely provided lots of opportunity for reflection: i.e. what is my impact on the Earth/environment, how do my individual actions affect other people, and what is the meaning of life (a theme explored in Pixar's "Soul" which was so good). While a global pandemic was definitely unexpected, I do want to look back with "positive reflections" on 2020. A non-exhaustive list inspired by my friends' such as Christina and Camellia included positive reflections such as:  prioritizing self-care reading more books cooked/baked more supported small businesses  wear a mask  Voting Trump o...

Bryce Canyon is an interesting National Park that is like walking through a Dr. Suess book with weird shaped rocks (hoo doos) and carved doorways.  We finished the basic trails through the amphitheatre in about 2.5 hours (even going the uphill/tougher route), and I wouldn't budget for more than a day at Bryce.  I recommend parking at Sunset Point, hiking the Queen's Navajo/Combination Loop (2.9 miles), walking from Sunrise Point back to Sunset Point along the rim trail/road, and then driving around and seeing whatever else you want to see. (the Natural Bridge, Inspiration Point, etc.) We started at Sunrise since we found parking, but the views are much better at Sunset and the hike is much easier from Sunset to Sunrise than Sunrise to Sunset.  View of the northern end of Sunrise point. One of my favorite hoodoos. The real tough part was going uphill to sunset point. There is a set of switchbacks called Wall Street that is pretty tough and I had to take a break or two. Th...

Zion is a US National Park that has activities for adventurous hikers and also beginners/families- from the exhilarating Angel's Landing hike where you cling to chains to make it to the end, and the chilly and wet Narrows between weaving canyon walls. Going in early November was a great experience- it wasn't too hot, the views were still nice before the snow, and there were fall colors all around. The last bit of Angel's Landing - most pics from Chanrith's phone. Before going, I reserved a shuttle pass at  https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/zion-canyon-shuttle-tickets.htm . To get to Angel's Landing, the Narrows, and most of the park, a shuttle drives you from the bottom of the canyon. I was able to get two $1 shuttle reservations the day before, even though tickets can be reserved up to 2 weeks in advance. The shuttle reservations range from 7 AM to 2 PM. I woke up at 8 AM the day before and reserved a 9 AM reservation since we wanted to do Angel's Landing ...

Today I was on a King Hall First Generation alumni zoom panel with Alex and John, who were also first-generation college and law students (and now lawyers). It's great that UC Davis is setting up this group to help first-gen students, and I myself got valuable advice from Alex and John and also got the chance to reflect on my own challenges as a first-gen lawyer/law student. I forgot to advise the students to take advantage of the deals at the Davis Grocery Outlet, Bargain Market, but hopefully still was able to share some tips based off my experience working for state government. Below were some of my reflections: What do you wish you knew in law school that would have prepared you better for your work and in general as an attorney? I wish that I practiced legal writing more/tried to enter more legal writing essay contests/scholarship competitions. I also wish I used Westlaw more to read sample pleadings/briefs/cases in certain areas of law.  My colleagues gave advice on networkin...