Korean-or-American

I have a confession to make. I LIKE BAD TV. At this moment I’m watching “So you think you can dance” and loving it. I have a mini-crush on Hawk or whatever his name is. Who cares! He can dance!

There, I said it. I feel much better.

Ooooo…. a two hour Hell’s Kitchen. Gotta go!

I got my last Netflix pick a few weeks ago and it’s been sitting around since then. I popped the DVD into the player tonight and watched the hour long documentary. If you have not seen the film, it is worth the rent. It is about Asian-American males in film and television. Obviously I know that Asians are not seen on screen very often (unless you count porn) but I didn’t know much about the history of Asian-Americans on screen. The documentary doesn’t go into great detail about the films but there are a lot of interviews with several Asian-American actors and other film related people. Some I know of like Bobby Lee from Mad TV and the guy from “21 Jumpstreet”. I loved that show by the way and now have an urge to rewatch all of the episodes. The other interviewees are older and I have never seen them or their movies. I now need to do some Netflix hunting down of these movies and catch up on some Asian-American history.

Despite my excitement of seeing “21 Jumpstreet” clips, watching this made me pretty sad. I realized how little I see Asians. I flip channels and stop on any Asian face I see even if its the worst show ever written. Even if its some Asian woman on QVC selling the latest collection of crap. The film brings up the fact that there isn’t much of a niche in Hollywood for Asian actors. A study was done about what roles were expected of different minorities in Hollywood. For African-American and Latinos expectations were to see them as janitors, criminals- the stereotypical roles. For Asians there were no expectations. We are unseen and unheard. It almost feels as though we are invisible, non-existent. Too foreign to know what American culture is, therefore how can we portray it? Pretty depressing, huh? Even in our modern, PC preaching society, the struggle remains.

If you rent or buy this, let me know what you think. Watch the extra features also. The panel discussion is interesting, especially if you’re interested in film.

My weekend has had its ups and downs. It started on Friday (as most weekends do) with the mail. I received my results from my EMT exam. I passed the written test and did quite well I think. But I did not pass one of my practicals. I went over the time limit! Boo!! So unfortunately I will be getting stomach upsets once again when I retake the darn thing. Don’t stop sending good vibes. I really need them now:)

The weekend progressed on a better note. I went kayaking on the James River where one of my best friends lives. We went on a part of the river called Balcony Falls. It is about a 4 hour trip that takes you through the largest rapid in this area. A class III rapid I believe. I’m getting much better at weaving through rocky waters and keeping my balance. I only tipped over once! The very first time I went I did a lot of swimming:) After that we ate a very yummy dinner. I always like going to their house on the weekends. They make breakfast, dinner, let me use all their kayaking equipment. I do dishes and feed their cat as payment. Its like going to summer camp except with alcohol.

I spent Saturday night with them then came home to find my translated adoption papers in the mailbox. A couple of weeks ago I was still wondering who could translate for me. I even posted a request online but got no responses. Then I remembered my friend Liza who is Korean. Duh! Her parents are Korean. Duh! They know the language. Duh!! I emailed her the papers and she sent them to her parents in Texas. As I suspected the translation was not very revealing. But I learned that I liked milk and tea and downed it very quickly. I had a rash. I had good toilet habits. Much of this is still true today. I can down a glass of water in .2 seconds. I still have sensitive skin. I like to think I still have good toilet habits but since I typically go to the bathroom alone, I’ll have to be my own judge.

I’m working my way up to my 32 birthday this week. I’m starting to feel old. The gray hairs keep on coming. Its not as easy to stay in shape anymore. I can’t stay up til 2:30 am and feel fresh at work the next day. But I feel more content than I used to. This weekend feels like a snippet of my current life. I don’t mind a few bumps and tummy upsets because I’ve been practicing my paddling. I’m better equipped to navigate and balance myself on the waters coming my way. I can take on these changes while maintaining my true self- a girl who can drink fast and pee cleanly.

I just finished taking the state test for EMT-B certification. I won’t know for two whole weeks if I passed or not! I think that’s just cruel. I’m not sure how I did but I’m glad it is over. Unfortunately the evaluators have poker faces and didn’t give me a smile, a wink, or even a “good luck”. Maybe they were just distracted by the strange noises coming from my stomach. Whenever I get nervous my stomach goes crazy and I feel the need to pee every few minutes. (I will probably be spending a lot of time in the bathroom in Korea.) My tummy troubles were probably audible during testing. I hope that isn’t grounds for failure! After three hours though, the hardest part is over. Now all I have to do is wait. And wait. And wait some more… has it been two weeks yet???