Christmas eve with Grandma and all her grandchildren, Zachary Chun.

WED, 090408 @ 12:29AM
Hiya Zach. I'm waiting on something ATM and wanted to post anything so that I don't miss the big 1-0-0 posting. I'm guessing it's sometime this week, so I'll have to be a busy little bee and ketchup. I know this is a terrible, unflattering photo of you and Rachel, but it was meaningful so I used it. Remember, I started using your slide show photos yesterday, so I'm just going to go in order and add images as they come up. Tonight's been kinda hectic and I guess I should share. Hmmm. Last Sunday was palm Sunday, whatever that means. Your grandma went on some prayer retreat and she's not due back until tomorrow night. Anyways, a few hours ago, your uncle Eric calls me up frantic, asking if I knew where Grandma went for the retreat. I didn't know, and it was weird for him to call so late to ask such an odd question, so I asked him why he wanted to know. He said that there was breaking news on channel 9 about some shooting spree at a Korean Retreat in Temecula and that four people were shot. WHAT?!? "Yeah, it's on right now, turn your t.v. on". Grandma didn't mention where she was going, so I started stressing big time. I hung up with him quickly so that I could listen to the breaking news. Apparently, some 70 year old dude went on a shooting spree at some prayer place out in Temecula. One person was pronounced dead and three others were hospitalized. He was on the loose in the hills somewhere and they were all wildly looking for his ass. All I had was the directions to the church that I dropped her off in, and luckily, it had their phone number. I called around 10:30, and surprisingly, someone answered. I asked quickly about the retreat and a lady was adamant about the group driving up to Big Bear Mountain. Whew! I called uncle Eric back and told him the good news and he told me to wait by the phone for further communique. Your Aunt foolishly drove all the way over to that stupid church for whatever reason. She called to ask me what I know and I reiterated to her that there was no need for her to drive all the way over to the church, but she wouldn't listen and did so. That's the last I heard from them. I didn't mention any of this to Grandpa because he would unnecessarily worry like your Aunt. What a night. The moral of the story? F God and F church. We'll talk about this in depth when we get the chance. I blog my opinion and those crazies will never leave me alone. They're all crazy, I tell ya. Especially the damn Bae's. They're the poster children for crazy Christians. F them all. I hate how I get all negative and rowdy whenever I mention any of them. I know, I should be doing a movie review instead, but this was something pretty big. I'm glad all is OK. Anyways. I'm right in the middle of 'Cassandra's Dream', the fourth of Woody Allen's last four films which were all done in London. I like it so far. So much so that I must now bid you farewell, my sweet prince, and wish you the best until we meet again tomorrow. Bye!
WED, 090408 @ 12:50AM

How Top Chun came to be.

SUN, 090222 @ 9:03PM
Hello again, Zachary Ryan Chun. This is your father, Jason Chun. You do remember me, Jason Chun, don't you? I usually go by Jason T. Chun, but for the sake of SEO, I'm going to use Jason Chun over and over again. Is it ok to use Jason Chun? I hope you don't mind me using Jason Chun. That was my name for about a year. I am now Jason T. Chun. What does the 'T' stand for you ask? Well, sit back and allow me to tell you a little story...
Way back in 1987, your grandfather made tons of money. We were living in a cruddy, 2 bedroom apartment in the Los Feliz area at the time. He made so much money, that he decided to buy a home in Torrance, about 30 miles south. He drove all of us over and announced, "Do you like this house?". We answered, "Of course we do, but it's kinda big, don't you think?". "Well, congratulations, it's our home now!". "Really, dad?". "REALLY?" We couldn't believe it. From a small, 700 square foot apartment to a huge, four bedroom, 2000 square foot house. WOW! We were all thrilled. I was 16 or so at the time. I used my Korean name, Jee Hoon, at King Junior High School in Los Angeles. None of the teachers could properly pronounce my name, so it was frustrating. I figured, once I changed schools, it would be easy to start with an American name. What name should I give myself, I thought. Your grandfather once brought home two key chains while we were living in Tennessee. One said, "Cindy" and the other read "Robin". I thought Robin was a cool name because that was Batman's sidekick's name. I didn't know at the time that Robin was a girl name too. Anyways, just before we made the move, I decided to name myself Jason. There weren't any Jason's at King and I thought it was an unique name I would appreciate. At my first day of school at Newton Middle School, there were four other Jason's in my English class. OH NO! It is a very common, white name but I didn't know this so I became another Jason of many. Anyways. The house that your grandfather bought us was right next to the Torrance Airport. Every day after school, I would see the actual pilots in the cockpits flying by because they were so close. I was intrigued by this and decided to drive over one day. I pulled into the parking lot of Rolling Hills Aviation because they had a sign that read "Learn to Fly - $20". Hey, I have 20 bucks. Let's check it out. As I climbed up the stairs, I noticed the rattling of the venetian blinds. They were watching me from the parking lot getting out of my brand new BMW 325. That'll be another story. Anyways, as soon as I got in, someone grabs my arms and leads me out the back into a Cessna 152, a small, two-seater, single engine land propeller aircraft. I didn't even have a chance to ask how much it would cost, how long it would take, or what was involved. He practically threw me into the plane and off we went. The biggest difference between a commercial jetliner and a small, single engine prop. is speed. Commercial jets have to fly fast because of the weight, but a single engine prop., you can actually pull around alone. I went up for the first time in this small aircraft and immediately fell in love. You can see all around you and because you're flying so slowly, you can enjoy the view. We landed, and I was in love. I couldn't believe how awesome the experience was and definitely wanted to get my pilot's license. I told them I would talk it over with my dad and get back to them as soon as I can. I was told that it would cost $2,500 if I was a quick study and that it would take about 3 months. That was kind of expensive, but I decided to ask grandpa anyways. I also thought that he would definitely say no because it's so dangerous. I asked him that night at the dinner table because he was in a good mood. "Uh, dad. Can I take pilot lessons?". He looked over to me and asked, "Pilot lessons?". Uh-oh. Here comes the terrible answer. "Sure, why not!". He didn't even ask how much it was going to cost or anything. I wanted it, and he was more than glad to oblige. "Really, dad?". I was in shock and very, very happy. The next day, I went back to RH Aviation and began my lessons. They bombarded me with rules and regulations and I was overwhelmed. We got back into that Cessna and for the first 12 hours of flight training, all we did were touch and go's. You see, anyone can fly a plane. Even you now, at your age. There are no roads or markers you have to fly by. You can go up or down or side to side as you wish. The hard part is landing. Sure, anyone can fly a plane, but can you land it? That's what a touch and go is. You fly in an airports traffic pattern and practice landing over and over again. I think my instructor said I was ready after about 12 hours of flying. I taxied back to RH Aviation, he jumped out, and wished me luck. I taxied back to the landing strip all by myself and anxiously awaited the tower's instructions. He told me I was cleared for takeoff, so at the end of the runway, I pushed in my throttle and off I went. My instructor forgot to tell me one little detail. He weighed about 250 pounds, so without him in the plane, it flew very, very differently. I shot straight up during takeoff and it freaked me out. With so much weight missing from the planes total weight, the aircraft behaved very differently. I flew back into the traffic pattern and made a perfect landing. I taxied myself back to RH Aviation. When I ran back into the office, everyone there congratulated me for successfully completing my very first Solo. It's tradition to rip the shirt off your back in order to write down and record the event. My instructor began to write ' On this day...". He paused just before my name and asked, "Hmm, what nickname should we give you?" Well, back in 1987, the movie that rocked everyone one in their boots was TopGun. I thought for a sec, and right on that spot, I blurted out, "What about Top Chun?!?". "That's a great name. I hereby declare you, Top Chun". That name has stuck ever since. It's my legal name, you know. Jason Top Chun. I got my pilot's license about a year later. I have a few good stories I want to share with you, but now is not the time. For now, revel in the birth of Top Chun and know that your father is a licensed, single engine, land pilot. TopChun, baby! That's how I was reborn. Hope you liked it. TTYT!
SUN, 090222 @ 9:54PM

The 50th Posting!!!!

TH, 090219 @ 11:51PM
Hello Zachary Ryan Chun! This is the 50th posting!!! Yae!!! I've been dwelling all day as to how I was going to celebrate our big day. I should have something special in terms of photos or something, but I couldn't help feeling lonely because I haven't seen or spoken with you and your sister for months now. I'm using Halloween as the last time I saw you BTW. 50 days and two months. Poo. Even though this should be some sort of celebratory day, I can't help feeling hatred and anger towards those damn animals that is keeping us apart. Therefore, in order to properly express my feelings towards you, I decided to tell you a story. The story of the infamous Bae sisters. You ready? Here goes.
In Pusan, there lived a very well known, very popular family called the Bae's. It's probably where you are at now. The head Bae owned an entire mountainside, so he decided to open up a nursing home for neglected elders many years ago. He had eight children. The first six were all females, and your grandma, the queen animal, grandma Esther, was number 6. Six children and six daughters. Back in those days, there was nothing more important than having a son as a child to carry on the family legacy. Being the greedy bastard that he was, he wasn't going to stop until he had a son. Well, the seventh child happened to be a son and they were twins. Don't listen to their lies about your grand uncle being dropped by a nanny. LOL. He was born a retard but they'll never admit that. He's a friggin retard who can't even dress himself. The problem with this family was that every single sibling thought she or he was better than everybody else. That's why of the six sisters, five of them are divorced at least once. I don't even know how many of them are divorced more than once. I don't think they know either. The only sister that isn't divorced lives here in the states. Her husband said sternly, "If you keep in touch with your siblings, I'll divorce you." In order to lead a normal life, she cut off all ties to all seven of her siblings and lives happily in Santa Barbara. The oldest grand animal is a pastor. At least that's what they told me. She had three children from her first marriage. All of a sudden, she has another kid, whom they named Esther BTW, and she starts to ignore her own kids. Last I heard, Esther is here in the states married to a famous pastor's son. They don't know she's a bastard child, of course, because that's how those animals roll. Grandma Esther hates the fact that they named her Esther. LOL. ROFL. Anyways, her children were so ignored by the head animal that they don't even speak to or see her. Poor bitch. The second animal had some kids with one dude and moved to Brazil with another dude. I don't know her well. Just that she's an animal like the rest of them. The third animal use to live here. She's probably dead now, but she wasn't able to have children of her own so she divorced many times. She use to keep a dog that she treated like her own child. That's not as funny as it use to be since they're all animals. Then there's the fourth animal. She use to live here too. Supposedly, she remarried a frail whiteboy named Dave out of sympathy because he has cancer or something like that. I think it was for her passport if you ask me. That bitch never really loved or cared for David. Anyways. Then there is the fifth animal. She's the one that cut off ties to her animal siblings in order to save her marriage. She's the only one who never remarried. Funny, don't you think? Lastly, we have the Queen Animal herself, Esther. This is where things turn juicy and interesting. Watching all of her sister's fail at marriage and love, she's determined to do exactly the opposite. She falls for some loser on a motorcycle and goes against everybody to have a child with him. Your mother. He starts to ignore Esther when she's pregnant with your mom cuz he's an animal like that. When she's finally born, your mother that is, he stops talking to her and keeps on riding. Esther is determined to make something of herself, so she somehow sells off her entire inheritance so that she can open up a cafe in Ap Guh Jung Doh. LOL. What a sad bitch. Supposedly, she was swindled by contractors and lost her mind. The truth is, she started shooting up heroine even though she was a new mother. She leaves her child with her sisters in Pusan and parties it up in Seoul. Your mother thinks Esther was hospitalized, but she was in motel rooms shooting it up and screwing contractors, being the animal that she is. Your mother didn't even know her mother for the first three years of her life because Esther was off in the big city getting high. Well, when she was 3, Esther ran over to the US and married anyone that she could. Your mother's had 6 or so siblings through three or four marriages. I found out about Esther's heroine addiction about ten years ago. I was showering at your mom's condo in Glendale. When I got out, she brought be a box filled with needles and spoons. She was too dumb to know what it was, but it was quite obvious to me what it was, so I told her to just put it away. Well, about 4 years ago, Esther was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and she has one foot in her grave. She's fighting for her life as we speak. Stay away from her because it's contagious. You guys could get it if exposed to her blood. Be very careful and stay away from that damn drug addict. Your mother use to tell me how much she hates all of her aunts. Why? When she was little and pretending to be asleep, they use to all tell Esther to just dump her somewhere so that she could start a real family. Ha! That's kinda hard, with her being the Queen animal and all. Oh yeah, about the twin brothers. The retard is retarded, so he's suffering just by living. He ended up marring a neighborhood whore because she knew he was going to inherit lots of money. The other brother is resentful and filled with hatred because he was second to appear, so he's not getting much. That's the short version of the famous Bae sisters. It gives me pleasure just talking about them because they have made their own lives insufferable and they all live with pain because they are animals. I want the world to know this juicy secret because it is a rarity amongst Koreans. Well, maybe not for Korean animals. Take care son, and have a nice rest of the week. As always, I love you.
FRI, 090220 @ 12:33AM

10 more random things

FRI, 090206 @ 12:13AM
11)
Dude, I've been sitting here trying to come up with the next random thing, but I can't. I suppose I could just blurt out anything but there are too many conditions and restrictions I must abide by. First of all anything I write has to be meaningful because I need to keep you interested, Zachary Ryan Chun. Secondly, because you're still a kid (at least I hope you still are by the time you finally find me) I have to censor myself to the max. Lastly, I can't be totally open about anything current because I don't want it known by a certain animal. Therefore, I quit. I should go back and re-title the last posting 10 random things. It's a lot easier blabbering about anything and nothing when I'm not under any type of rules or regulations. Anyways, sorry, but I quit. There. I sorted hundreds of photos today because I'm using Picasa on my slick little external USB. Some folders were repeated 4 times, but it was easy to delete duplicates because Picasa showed me the photos in the folders along with their locations. I have like four more sets of CDs I have to copy and sort through. A lot of folders weren't labeled, either. The cameras I had would sort by its date stamp and I never really had the time to go through the sets in order to label them. I'm doing that now, so plz be patient. I'm picking up a lot of good pictures as well. The Picasa viewer has an upload feature that allows me to collect memorable photos to publish later when appropriate. There was one set in particular we took about a year and a half ago where all three of us were making faces. Rachel Lauren Chun made the kinds of faces I would make. I see myself in her in so many occasions. Hi Rachel! I'm periodically saving Google search results for the both of you so when I can, I'll zip em and upload them for your viewing pleasure. My goal is to be results 1-10, so until I am, I won't fuss about it anymore. I got some pictures in the mail today. Snapfish is trying to market their service by providing 30 free prints. I had all these great pictures of you because of this blog, so I printed those. Have I mentioned how much I love photography? I'm sure I have, it's one of my greater passions in life. Wow, posting is so much more difficult when there isn't some sort of plan involved. At least when I post a photo set, I can blab on and on about the photos in the sets. Today, because I was trying to finish my random thoughts, I didn't bother with that usual routine. Anyways. Hiya Zachary Ryan Chun. Wish me luck with Doug tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me. I should be engulfed in my business plan writing right now. See how important you are to me? Just Kidding. That was an excuse because I'm lazy. I'm very excited about the venture, but without a clear pathway, I can get terribly lazy. Oh wells. I sent in the rest of my 100 sweepstakes entries today. I should know when the drawing is. BRB.
Oh, poo. I wanted to know when the drawing was, but I failed. As soon as I find out, I'll let you know. Cross your fingers for that one too. I could really use $6K at Best Buy. Wow, wouldn't that be grand. Snap out of it Jay. Be patient. Anyways. Oh, I'm trying so hard to entertain, aren't I? Can you tell? I'm thinking I've told you about that pretty Southern Belle, but I don't think I mentioned my 3rd grade teacher in Tennessee. I remember very well my first day of school in Nashville. Glenview Elementary School. I was enrolled as a third grader, so I only did half of 2nd grade. Hmm. I never thought about it like that until just right now. Anyways. Korea in the 70's was not a global community. There were very few foreigners who visited back then. I mention that because when I went to school for the first time, I was more shocked than nervous. Prior to that day, I had never seen a black person in person. Half the class was black and I really didn't know what to make of it. In thinking back, I smile because I was so not nervous. I think it was the language issue. They all could have make cruel jokes left and right, but none of it got through simply because I didn't understand. Moving on. The fat white teacher called me up to the front of the class and blabbered on about something. It's nearly impossible to remember anything in a different language. I didn't understand even 1% of whatever she blabbered about. There weren't any chuckles or laughter, so I didn't stress. She turns around and pulls down a map of the U.S. I had no idea what she wanted from me. All I got was a feeling that she was waiting for some kind of response. I thought to myself. She's either asking me where we are, or she's asking me where I came from. Again, please know that I understood nothing. I obviously didn't know where I was, so I move on to my latter thought and tried pointing to Korea. Hmm. I didn't see Korea anywhere on the map. Rather than giving up, I had this last thought. Korea is shaped like a gun. Hey look, that state over there in the corner is shaped like a gun too. I pointed to Florida and the class burst into laughter. I grunted as I sat down because I didn't give the right answer. Back in the 70s, there were no ESL classes. Especially in Tennessee. A Korean gentleman was brought in from somewhere and he taught me English from morning until the afternoon. We were so focused that I literally learned English in one year. Hmm. There were some good memories from those days that I'd like to share with you, so I'll continue on with my stories manana. Anyways son, good night and have a pleasant tomorrow. Muah!
FRI, 090206 @ 1:04AM

20 Random Things

WED, 090204 @ 4:20AM
Good Morning, Zachary Ryan Chun. A friend of mine asked me to randomly list 20 things. I can't remember the rules for this game, so I'm just going to make up my own rules as I go along. She wanted to get to know me better by reading my list, but I told her about this blog and said it would be a much better way to better know me. Regardless, I'm thinking now. about how beneficial this may be for you to know me better. Here goes...
1) I am burning with desire to venture on with Cash2Consumers.com. I spent a good deal of time reading about writing a business plan. It helped me to somehow organize my ideas into sections and relevance. I will be making an appointment with someone tomorrow so we'll see how it goes. My situation is ideal for such a radical venture because I am not tied down to anything at the moment. I am going to put forth everything I have towards this idea. It will be a make it or break it deal. I'm going all in with this one and the excitement is very difficult to contain. I shouldn't get ahead of myself and focus on the small details as I go along. I'll keep you informed of all of the interesting details as they develop.
2) By definition, random means that there is no order whatsoever. The next item in anything random is unknown because it should be something new and different every time. Thus, I have failed you. In writing about keeping you informed of the events to occur in the random item above, I was reminded of my lack of updates for My Coke Rewards! Ahh, thought I forgot, eh? Stamps cost 42 cents these days, so I managed to purchase a roll of 100. Why so little, you ask? One of the requirements for the free submission is that an index card needs to be filled out with some information. It came out to 101 characters for my submission, and let me tell you. Ouch! It took forever! So, rather than submitting 300, I'm taking my chances with 100. I finished preparing everything yesterday, so I managed to mail off 50 so far. 50 more to go. Cross your fingers and wish me luck.
3) I knew this posting was going to take some time, so I installed itunes. I just heard a song by Alicia Keys, but it won't play another song. Shoot. BRB. Duh, I still don't know how. Instead, I'm playing the songs from "My Top Rated" selection. Again, I've violated the rule of random, but I was going to put in my 2 cents about my music preference, so this one doesn't really count. I grew up in a time when rap was up and coming. The first two CD's I bought were in 1986, the Police: the Singles and Run-DMC, Raising Hell. Put me on the spot and I'll rap my way out of any jam. Yae-Yae! I guess Dr. Dre is my favorite rapper because he's wes-side real. I dig his music cuz I dig not only the lyrics, but the beats that support his rappage. Doe! Why won't itunes keep on playing. Shoot. BRB. Frustrating. Anyways, I love rap. Hard core, gangsta rap. It's kinda hard to admit that at my age, but it's who I am and I can't deny it. Yae-Yae!
4) Only number 4? Wow, this is going to be tougher than I thought. Food. To some, there is nothing better than a good meal. Homemade with loving care. A dish only mom can make will put a never ending smile on their face for hours and hours. Me, I'm the exact opposite. I eat out of necessity and not out of desire. Sure, I feel like a good steak once in a while, but if I don't get it, it's no big deal. I can live for the rest of my life eating the same meal three times a day. I've been having a very difficult time with my mom these days over this very issue. She thinks I'm deliberately avoiding her home made meals for whatever reason. My thing is that I would rather she not take the time to prepare anything for me because I just don't care. I would much rather nuke something in minutes and eat off a paper plate than for her to slave over a pot of whatever. She says it's nothing, but I don't think it is. If not for me, she would eat as she normally does, out of a bowl, mixing as she goes along. She doesn't even bother with the side dishes. Anyways, the point is that I care very, very little for food. Nuff said.
5) I just had a flashing thought. 'Nuff said' is a term that Wolverine uses quite often. Hence, I wanted to speak 'randomly' about my precious comic collection. Back in the early '80s, I use to take a bus, RTD (now Metro) over to the Ambassador hotel on Wilshire Blvd. with a buddy of mine. They held a comic convention there once a month and every trip was a journey and a half. I use to live near Los Feliz, so it was about a half hour ride. I think I was like 10 or so. Barely spoke English and never had any cash. The memories I've kept from that era weren't of the comics, but more so of the journeys to the Ambassador. I managed to preserve a long box from the many trips I made. The rest of this story is too important for me to simply jot down in this list, so I'll post a special one later.
6) itunes still won't play like I want it to. Darn it. I'm waiting for my burrito to cool down. I love burritos because it's so easy to make and very filling. Oops, I've already talked about food, haven't I? And itunes?!? What's going on? Okay. Something random. Hmm. I am quarter Mexican. Asians living here in the states, change our designation when English becomes the dominant language. We come over Korean, but eventually consider ourselves Korean-American. I grew up here, in Los Angeles, so I had many, many opportunities to learn Spanish. About 5 or so years ago, I decided to chop up my 'American' side in two. Now, I am Korean-American-Mexican. In thinking this way, I've developed a love and desire to be Mexican. I am constantly busting out with my Spanish in hopes to perfect it. My Korean, I could care less about. I only use it to speak with my parents and these days, all the movies and dramas are subtitled. Rachel once knew more Spanish than Korean. Darn it. Olvidate.
7) I love movies. The genres that interest me are Romantic Comedies, Action, Sci-Fi, Dramas, and then Comedies. Movies change my mindset and carry me off into different times and places and involve me into a story that only movies can tell. I suppose books do the same, but I'm too impatient and lazy to dive into a book in the same way I can dive into a good movie. Don't repeat this to anyone, but...but my favorite movie of all time is When Harry Met Sally. The dialog in that movie was so whimsically smart and clever that every line caused a smile. I think I was at that age as well when the concept of love was being questioned by me. Rob Reiner directed a beautiful film with words. Anyways, I love movies.
8) Wow, only numero ocho. Hmm, something random... I have one regret in life. Only one. Can you guess? Do you know what it could be? Yup, you guessed right. I gave pity on your mother when she doomed our relationship and reacted irrationally. I think back to that day often because all of this could have been prevented if I just said NO. I won't go into the details because she's way beneath anything for me to continue wasting my breath on. One regret.
9) When I was 16, I soloed a Cessna 152. At 17, I got my pilots license. At 18, I became an Eagle Scout. It was a pretty good start, but I've gone downhill since. I thought having you and your sister would turn everything around and I actually stopped thinking about my inabilities. Now look what happened. Animals, I tell ya.
10) Here's a quickie story that I'll end with. 20 random things is too much. Anyways. A friend of mine, Jimmy, just graduated from LAPD and got his gun and badge. Another friend, Hong, had a birthday. I was dating your mom at the time and thought a nice dinner in Beverly Hills would kill two big birds with one stone. We ended up at Ruth Chris Steak House and feasted on steaks that tasted like the cattle was raised differently. It was a grand meal that none of us can ever forget. Afterwards, we were driving east on Wilshire headed back to K-town. I drove your mother's Integra, she sat shotgun, Jimmy was behind me, and Hong was seated next to him. As we chatted about, a minivan came to a screeching crawl next to me to match my speed. About four or five punk-ass Mexican teens were slanting their eyes and yelling all kinds of derogatory slander at us. I kept on driving and asked, "Hey Jimmy. You got my back?". To which he quickly replied, "yeah, I got your back". I rolled down my window and yelled "Que hondas mojados!" (translation: What up, wetbacks!) Their eyes doubled in size and their mouths kept on opening up in disbelief. The minivan sped up and parked on Wilshire. The sliding door flings open and about six Mexican cholos start coming at us with pipes and bats. I turned my wheel , matched the parked minivan, and rolled down Jimmy's window. He sticks out badge and points his Beretta at the oncoming horror. Just then, their eyes doubled in size once again and they literally dove back into their van and screeched off. I remember my leg wouldn't stop shaking because of what could have been, but it was one of those classic moments in life. We took turns patting Jimmy in the back and laughed all the way home. Makes me smile just thinking about that night. Those were good times.
I know the only rule is 20 random things, but I must bid you adieu here and now. I think this was the longest posting ever. Whew. Sweating just thinking about it. I'll finish my list at the next posting, or not. We'll see. For now, adios!
WED, 090204 @ 6:00AM

Oops, I did it again.

FRI, 090130 @ 3:37AM
Good morning Zachary Ryan Chun. I think this is the longest I've gone, so far, without a posting. Sorry, I did it again. Lemmie give you an update on the photos. Overlooking the last post, because it was a set I found that I haven't posted yet, we're back on track if I post...
041031, Halloween Videos
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FTR4DIIV
The entire set consists of videos on your big night. I haven't reviewed any of them for me to comment on, so I won't, cuz I can't. Oh, the added image above was a loose photo that's been hanging around cuz it is one I like very much. I loved drowning you in love and affection and watching you react to my over-doing. You're not that evasive above. Oh, but you'll soon find out how much I eventually get to you... I've finally decided to sort and organize my entire, My Photos collection. It's spread out flat, amongst close to 40 DVD's, as much as 10 copies, as few as one. I purchased a Seagate external USB HDD. In today's pre-inflationary, uncertain times, $80 is a good price for a 250 GB. Now I have this, a 150 Maxtor and a 320 Buffalo. Seagate wins for design, the Buffalo for cord storage, and Seagate again for design. It's made so slick, I had to give it up twice. I bought the Buffalo about a month ago for the same price. The Seagate is 70 GB less storage, same price, and half the size. The USB connections aren't correct on my computer right now. One of them isn't transferring at USB 2.0 speeds for some reason, so I'm not playing WC. I don't see the need to continue using my HDD sleves. These USB externals are much more compatible with other CPUs and laptops. I love technology. You're going to have to as well. I shall bore you to death for hundreds of hours, until you realize it would be easier to join them, rather than fight them. Anyways, I suppose I should continue on with my closures. We're back on track with the photo postings so let me finish up my stories from the last post. Ahh, yes. Ttak Chee. I remember spending a lot of time with that silly game. Half the game was about competition and dominance. Man places a lot of importance and need on competition. We have to be able to sustain a certain level of competition for everything we do. It is a necessary requirement for everything in life. As a youth, you don't really segregate this instinctive need for competition, but it does play a role. Oh, and I forgot to mention that along with this competition is the desire to win. Maybe I should rename it, successful competition. It is our need to win, I suppose. Yes. The need for successful competition. This will become much more transparent during your education. Hmm, I would like to somehow devise a systematic gameplan that we can adhere to as we trek on through life. Elaborate on these very important aspects of life that I've personally witnessed and devised. Very interesting. Yes. Make it so. I will call it TopChun's Life Plan. The set of instructions on how you can manage yourself and react to the events that will shape your life. This could sound like another attempt to squeeze out of an obligation, but it is not, Dear Boy. I need rest and peace in order to properly mold my secret weapon. Until next time.
FRI, 090130 @ 4:30AM

Zachary Ryan Chun always kissed the cup of coke.

TUE, 090127 @ 3:23PM

Hello, son. I was eager to post this because of the meaningful photo above. Top five, I'll guess. Every time you drank something sweet, well anytime we gave you coke, you would raise it up and kiss it on the side of the cup. It was so naturally meaningful and repetitive. Without fail, you always performed your little ritual. I would guess that I've seen you kiss your cup between 30-40 times. I think this is the only photo I have of this very meaningful routine. There was a folder on my Picasa with the blogger logo that seems to have a copy of every image I have posted thus far. Anyways, I've set it to public so you'll be able to retrieve an album of these very meaningful pictures. When looked over as an album of photos, it is a very strong, valuable group of memories and events. Two points for me, yae! Oh, and you can set the time of the post to occur sometime in the future. This is Wednesday's post but it's only Tuesday afternoon. Oops. I blab alot, huh? I just remembered that I promised you something different today. Hmmm, I haven't given it any thought, but I'll sacrifice like a good hour to come up with something soon. Laters for now, son.
TUE, 090127 @ 3:36PM

TUE, 090127 @ 9:30PM
Hiya Zachary Ryan Chun. I couldn't think of anything, really that would seem eventful enough for you to get excited over. I decided to tell you about my days and recollections from Korea before I immigrated. I have very few, clear memories that make any sense. Just flashes of events that has somehow remained with me so far. Here goes...I spent a lot of time doing three things that occupy a lot of my memories. One is, I use to make a chopstick-rubberband fly killer/catcher. A trigger released the loaded gun and hit its target like 85% of the time. I made many guns and dove into this mission very passionately. Once, I had a full plastic bag filled with flies. How or why I caught so many is news to me. Another time killer was making and playing ttak chee. You would take any paper and fold it into a square. Next, you battled with other peoples ttak chee by trying to flip them over by slamming your soldiers down. I had quite a collection because it is always dutiful to win at all cost, no matter what. Then there was...BRB, gotta shoot up a dose of WC.
Back. Ouch, a partner drops and I'm left with a noob. It still hurts. I realized that I'm writing Wednesdays post, so in reality, I have close to 25 hours left. He he he. I like being on the early side because it gives me that cushion in case something happens. I was kinda in a writing mood earlier but not so much anymore, so I'm gonna take, uh, a leave of absence. CYA!
TUE, 090127 @ 10:53PM

The Numbers aren't adding up?

FRI, 090123 @ 11:40AM
Hmm. My dashboard says that I have 24 posts, the blog says 22, and this should be the 23rd for the 23rd. Lemmie publish this to see and edit my 'official' posting later...BRB
Back. The blog is finally correct, meaning the number of posts equals the number of days in 2009. The dashboard still says 25, so it's not perfect yet... I think there must be 2 postings I haven't published yet. Hmm. TTYL!
FRI, 090123 @ 11:44AM

FRI, 090123 @ 1:13PM
Google Update: Zachary Ryan Chun is 1-4 of 10 on page 1, and Rachel Lauren Chun is 1-2-5-6-7. Getting better and better...
FRI, 090123 @ 1:14PM

FRI, 090123 @ 6:21PM
Google Update: Rachel Lauren Chun is now: 1-2-3-4-7. Hmm, there wasn't any real changes made improve her ranking, but SEO's are delayed by days. It's never a snapshot at the time of the search, but rather, the culmination and gradual of growth of whatever formulas they are using. Anyways. Hi Zachary Ryan Chun! I'm focused only on the first page of google results when searching your full names, so I'll revert back to your full name, shout out, every time I say Zachary Ryan Chun. It's Friday! Yae! Fridays are favored 3-1 when people are asked to choose their favorite day of the week, because it means work is over and playtime begins. I have lived enough to tell you this sincerely with the maximum focus of all of my wisdom, Zach. Do not work on Saturdays no matter what. That is a small business' biggest sacrifice. Saturday, when looked upon in sum, rather than as a single event during a week, will have a deeper meaning. The simple explanation is this. It may not be much to say "I have to work Saturdays because my business must open on the day I am busiest." Would you work a job earning $50,000 for 5 days, or simply work, for 6 days, for $100,000. I'm using these numbers very purposefully. Would you work Saturdays, if you could double your income, and all other things being equal? It's really, really tough for me not to simply answer, "OF COURSE!" because I can now see the summation of all the Saturdays during the course of one's life. To explain the reason's would diminish my entire, solid decision. Trust the old man by the river on this one. Live your Saturdays, son. Yesterday, I had the thought that I am so deeply embedded into this blog, that I could get more personal with you. I wonder how many people will ever read these exact words, right here, right in front of you, the one's you are currently reading... I can rest well knowing that only you ever found the time to read my book. LOL, it's become bigger than just a blog. This has now become an autobiographical, non-fiction, potentially printable, wish-come-true fairytale. I'm alone at this right now Zachary Ryan Chun. I have told of this blog to your aunt, your uncle, and a dude named Brent. Three others know of this blog, but I don't think they've spared the time to investigate my efforts. I think that the longer I go, the more words I type, the more days I have to wait, the longer I trudge on alone...all of these factors will be of greater value when we do meet. I am going to persist with this forever, Zachary Ryan Chun. I estimate another 3 months of posting just to get your photos online. You know I won't be able to post the link with every posting, so it'll be a good 4-5 months of good writing. Allow me to share a quick little story. Your grandfather, my father, was very bad with an important aspect of parenting. He was a child during the Korean War, so he was forced to leave his past, in his past. My father never really told me his stories. I liked hearing about any, and all of the variations caused by time, culture, and economy. I was well into my 30's when he finally told me of his recollection of my accident. This is how it goes...
May 5 is Children's Day in Korea. Back in 1975, when I was 4 years old, a terrible accident occurred. (TIME OUT: This blog will exist forever and you will read every last word. This being true, I shant not speak down to you as I speak to you now, because you are young. Rather, I should speak in an adult tone! Hmm, another good decision made. Tap-tap-tap. BRB, Patio) Back.
To celebrate the important holiday, five jets flew low and in an arrow-like formation. Back then, TV was very unavailable to Korean Citizens. For two hours, beginning at 6PM, news was broadcast for all viewers. Nothing more. No sitcoms, commercials, or the like. Wow, knowing now, the history of broadcasting here in the states, and being able to compare the two because I clearly remember the availability of it in Korea back then...Excuse me, I've tangentized (oooh. First time I used it like that and we'll try to make it a word, okay?). Back to the story. The jets flew over above and a building was blocking my view. I chased after the jets and from there on, I have faint memories for about a month. What had happened was that a delivery truck ran over my left leg and almost shredded it off. You'll have to ask me to show you the scars again so that you can imagine the horror of the event in its entirety. Only a few years ago, your grandpa finally told me his side of that story. Ambulances didn't exist in Korea at the time. No one came to your aid in cases of emergencies because no one was available. My father, wrapped up my bloddy leg carried me over to the nearest hospital. After examining this frail little four year old boy, the doctor told my father that he would have to cut open my head to rule out any damage to my brain. CAT scans didn't even exist, let alone be available. My father defiantly refused the doctors recommendation. "No, you can't cut open my son's head." He carried me off to the next closest hospital, about 2 miles away, again with his limp, dying and bleeding son in his arms. Fortunately, the second doctor agreed with my father to leave my head alone and proceeded with my obvious injuries. I broke my femur and lost most of the skin below the knee. After four major surgeries, I was challenged to recover and so I did. For some reason, my clearest memory comes from a moment when a nurse was cajoling me to take some medicine. I pretended to hate whatever I was given because they were all easily bendable. I think I was at that cute age where no lady can resist. Do as I say, or else! She offerred me 1,000 won, which was like a $20 back then, if I ate this medicine. I did so I got the dough. But isn't that cool about my dad carrying me?!? You can totally imagine the event as it unfolded. The desperation of hope. That reminds me. I wrote about 3 full screenplays. Don't forget I have this to offer if you put something up as well. Anyways, that's my car accident story. Damn, what do you call that line that lets you move into a different subject...Newspeople do it a lot...Damn! Anyways. I hope you liked that one. Maybe I shouldn't speak so directly to you because it keeps out others....Hmmm. Anyways, I hope you had a good week and plz, plz enjoy your weekend. Muah!
FRI, 090123 @ 7:31PM

FRI, 090123 @ 7:34PM
Ha-ha! The two attempts that I thought I lost in yesterday's final post, were the culprits behind my numeric dilemma. NOW, finally, everything lines up. 23 Posts on Dashboard, 23 in parenthesis next the the month, and today is 090123. Ya-hoo! Have a nice weekend, son.
FRI, 090123 @ 7:37PM

The Thread Errand

SUN, 090118 @ 3:19PM
Hello Zachary Ryan. Hope all is well with you. Every time you kiss your sister, Rachel Lauren Chun, kiss her again for me, will you? I miss you guys both very much. I started categorizing your First Birthday photos but gave it up because it was affecting me a bit too much. So, I've decided to start with one of my stories, one of many that I can share with you. I lived in Korea until 1978. I have a select few memories from then and there but the contrast to the life here was so great that it has helped me retain them. Where shall I begin? I think my earliest memory comes from one of my Tae Kwon Do lessons. I started when I was three and I won some sort of notebook from some sort of tournament there. I still have it because I won it, but moreso because your grandfather, my father, used it to teach himself English. It's stored deep within my few remaining boxes of treasures and I would like for you to see it someday. I never advanced more than blue belt because of my accident. That in itself is one of my great stories because of the intensity and severity of the occasion, so I will dedicate a few days worth of postings in the near future to share that with you. As a child in Korea, we, meaning your grandparents and your aunt and myself, lived impoverished. There's some sort of ridiculous law which forbids citizens from working once intentions of immigrating are declared. We were very poor. My mother worked as a seamstress at the time, sewing and making dresses of sorts for the locals. I believe I was three at the time when this incident occurred. I was busy playing around with the neighborhood riff raft but my mother interrupted me and called me over. She needed some thread from the nearby store, so she was directing me to run an errand. She wrote the order onto a sheet of paper, wrapped that around some money, and secured it into my front pocket. I nodded persistantly to ensure her of my confidence to get the job done. I knew exactly where I had to go so I knew I could get the job done right. I wave my goodbyes to her and off I went. I hadn't walked a block, when all of a studden I hear a "psst" coming from a dark alley. I look over, point at myself, and some dude nods and waves me over to him. The first thing he said was, "Hey, you have a sister, right?". "Yeah, how did you know?". "I know her. Can you give her this note?". He opens up a trash lid and rips out a piece of paper. Then he writes something on it. "This is a secret so give it to her when you see her". I more than obliged being the kind hearted friendly chap that I was. He shoves the folded up note into my pants and reminds me of how important it is that I get this note to her. I smile and continued on my errand. I think it took about half an hour for me to finally reach my destination. When I get there, I look into my pocket for the order and money, but can't find it?!? Instead, I pull out a dirty old piece of newspaper with nothing on it. Oh no! The dirty, rotten scoundrel stole from me! I cried all the way back home not because I lost the money, but because I failed to do as my mother asked. The lesson I want you to learn from this tragic incident is this. People lose things every day. Whether by mistake, or intentionally from thieves or natural disasters. Shit happens. If that which is lost can be replaced, don't worry about it. Money is made and lost every day by every one. Lose a hundred dollars today, make two hundred tomorrow. The only things valuable to me are those things that cannot be replaced. Photos for instance, are more valuable to me than anything else. If I lose them in a fire or something, no amount of money on earth can replace my loss. Don't dwell on your loss, but think for a minute what it would take to replace your loss and move along. Rethink and redefine value because there is a huge difference in what most people think are treasures and what really is a treasure. To me, a chest full of old pictures is much more valuable than a chest full of gold. Think about this, it's really important that you understand this early in your life. Well, that's my rambling for today. Until next time, son. Muah!
SUN, 090118 @ 3:58PM

Winner, winner. Chicken dinner!

FRI, 090116 @ 11:18PM
Hello Zachary Chun! I just realized I haven't posted anything today. 42 minutes left. Whew! I was coming back to my room from cleaning the patio and my mom was looking around for me. She was shaking a book around titled "European Phrase Book". I was wondering what that was all about as I opened it to the bookmarker. It was a chapter that read "Russian". Thomas gave it to my mom for me to look at. I yelled out loud because he remembered and understood adult conversation. Your aunt and her family met me and our parents for dinner at Coco's for my birthday. Towards the end, I mentioned to my sister about this Russian lady who responded to my posting on InternationalCupid.com. I don't even remember her name, but I still can't get over how beautiful she is. Ask me for her picture sometime, I'm sure to have it. Thomas remembered my jokes about the whole deal and obliged me by sharing his phrase book with me. He's so funny. I decided as I told them that I was going to respond to this Russian lady. Now that I've told you about it, I'm going to do it just to have something interesting to talk about with you. I'll keep you in the loop. Your aunt and uncle bought me a swell dinner and we all had a good time. Your aunt was telling me about her dreams and told me that I was going to have a good year because she had a good dream about me last night. Nothing burned, there were no pigs, and no one consumed any poop, so I don't know what it was that told her about my future this year. That reminds me. She didn't bring a cake so I couldn't wish for anything before blowing out the candles. So...I'm closing my eyes...There. I wished for something very specific and very important. I'm sure it'll come true Zachary Chun because you are my son and you'll google yourself just like I would because we're both nerds like that. Either you or your sister, Rachel Lauren Chun. I told my sister about this blog, but I don't think she has the time to check it out. Your uncle probably won't either. Regardless, in case I'm wrong, hi nu-na! Oh, and hi hyung! Now I have this extra pressure to be more entertaining for their sake. The more the merrier, I say. "Oh, come all ye faithful. Joy...joy..." That's all I can remember. AnyDVD is at 34%, so I'm gonna have to babble samoa. I use the word 'Samoa', that which is from the country Samoa, to slang out 'some more'. Oh, you want samoa? I'll give you samoa. Your cousin Thomas gave me this excellent card. On the cover, a big headed dude with a blue hat is yelling 'Smile!' and inside, it reads 'Somebody loves you!' This is what he himself wrote, verbatim. 'Dear unkle Jason, Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoyed your Birthday. From your nephew, Thomas Rhim. I love you!' He signed it too. I told him I would keep it forever and ever because I love it so much. It'll have to be scanned ASAP to be properly archived. Damn, I'm at 42% and it is 11:41. Oh man, am I going to make it? Oh, the stress. NVM, even if it doesn't finish, I'm going to stop at 11:50 to publish this post. 44% at 11:42. Is it percentage per minute? Oh the stress is killing me. I'll have to babble samoa. I've always wanted to be a waiter at a Samoan restaurant so I can say over and over, Samoa Samoa? Samoa? Here's a joke I've been saving to tell you for a long time. Why is six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine. Samoa? Knock, knock? Who's there? Joe. Joe who? Joe ma ma. An ex-friend of mine, Hee Uk Shin, told my class that joke on his first day of school in the 4th grade. We didn't speak good English then, so we all laughed our asses off and fell in love with the clown. 52% at 11:47. Nope, doesn't look like it's going to make it, so I'll save here, change HDD, and restart soz I can post this before the strike of midnight. CYA!
FRI, 090116 @ 11:48PM

Age is just a number...sometimes.

SAT, 090110 @ 9:30AM
Good Morning Zach. I missed yesterday's posting because I fell asleep watching a documentary called A/K/A Tommy Chong. I will make two different postings today so that the count will be correct. I decided to make my timestamp before and after every entry. That way, I can ignore this blog's timestamps. I just have to make sure there is only one per day (except today, of course). So, how does it feel to be 7? Not that much different, eh? You'll only feel a new age when something specific is allowed, such as 16, because you'll be able to get a driver's license, 18 because you will become a legal adult, 21 because you will be of legal age to drink, and I think 25 is special for some people because you can rent a car. Don't think for a minute that I want you to want to be older so that you can go do bad things legally. It was more of a lesson on age. Seven is a big number. I was 7 when I came to the U.S. for the first time way back in 1978. We landed in Los Angeles and stayed here for 2 days before flying over to South Carolina and then to Nashville, Tennessee. After settling into a two bedroom at the Glenview Apartments, I decided to take a walk around this new and different world. As I walked along this long open path, I was amazed at all of the beautiful grass. Korea didn't have any grass back in '78. Anyways, as I continued my walk, I noticed this beautiful, blonde, and blue-eyed southern belle walking towards me. She was so beautiful, I just smiled at her and tilted my head in greeting. She smiles back and yells "GO HOME CHINK!". I was so happy that she said anything to me that I continued smiling and kept repeating "go home chink" over and over in my mind. I wanted to know what it meant. That was my very first English word. "Go home Chink". Chink is a derogatory (a racial word or phrase that has a bad meaning) term used to describe Chinese people. I've forgotten what she looks like, but I will never forget my very first English lesson. Talk to you later!
SAT, 090110 @ 9:48AM

SAT, 090110 @ 3:49PM
Hello again, stranger. I was going to post another entry to make up for yesterdays miss, but wait! What do we have here?!? I posted yesterday's posting an hour past midnight Thursday, so I didn't miss it. Yae! I can still say "one a day forever until Zachary Ryan Chun finally finds it and reads it or until I die". Whew, what a relief. I've been mulling over this all day. Moving on, I started uploading my photos onto Megaupload as zipped and encrypted files. I'll give you the password when you finally make contact with me. My email is jkzchun@yahoo.com BTW. I made it before Rachel was born, so it's missing her name. J is for Jason, K is for Katherine, and Z is for Zachary Ryan Chun followed my our last name, Chun. Every time I say your name, I'm going to write it out fully for possible SEO benefits. Here's the first link:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BM8KL08A
This file is entitled: "ZRC's First Birthday Movie_002". This is my proudest video clip because it has on it your very first steps. I have yet to even see anyone's first steps. I managed to capture you on film when it first happened. I am very, very proud of this clip. Check it out.
Next, we have:
My 1st Run http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RFTAGVH5
My 2nd Run http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2QA5S4N5
MY BEST PHOTOS http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M4HTS1ZE
I went through my albums to pick out the best because I printed them out. Hence the 'Run' in the titles. 1st Run of prints? I'll need some time to zip and encrypt the rest of my photos. I want you to have access to every last picture. It'll help you see how much I love you. Just of you, I have over 10,000, believe it or not. Until next time...
SAT, 090110 @ 4:06PM

6 years and 363 days old today.

Hi Zach! How was your day today? I've been thinking about how much you've grown and how you're developing into a fine young man. I have good news and bad news. Pick one. Okay, the bad news first. I won't be able to start Rachel's blog until her birthday. That's really not bad news for you, I suppose, but since she's your sister and what hurts her, hurts you, consider it bad news. The good news is, this blogging challenge has excited me in ways I cannot compare. I'm determined to make it easy for you to find me so that you and I can share in ways we should be able to. I guess that's really not good news for you either. We're all family, so consider it good and bad. I've been thinking of all the different ways in which to get this blog up high on search engines and am determined to succeed. We'll just have to see. Today, a co-worker printed out a posting on Craigslist for a 1990 Volkswagon Jetta. It was only going for $800 so I was determined to buy it. When I got home, I finally made the call. OH NO! Someone else was purchasing it as we spoke. Pobre mi. Boo hoo. There'll be others, I suppose. But what are the chances that the very car I was calling about was being sold as we spoke! Shrug it off and move on, I say. It never does any good to dwell on something, no matter what. There's too much to life. You'll have your ups, and as much, you'll have your downs. It's your ability to deal with these ups and downs that will get you through it all that counts. You have to learn early that not everything will go your way, so you have to be strong and be able to take the punches as they come. Just some food for thought. We'll discuss this in detail later when you're older. This is a very important lesson that you must learn. I realized today that I can only post once per day. Whatever entry I must add, I'll have to do it using line breaks . That's how come yesterday's posting looks the way it does. When you finally do get to see me, the number of postings will equal the number of days I've been blogging to you because I think about you every day. It's going to be so special for us both when you finally meet this blog. I can't wait. Anyways. I'll speak with you again tomorrow! (2 days and counting) Bye!