and as a PS to my last entry, might i say that i love my big sister.

thanks to her, my london experience will be exquisite. her superior web navigation/web searching skills came to my rescue when  i was dejected about my housing options while in london. no one could be as supportive as her in helping me remedy the situation.

thanks thanks thanks.

love ya love ya love ya.

well, i've firmed up my housing for london. let's hope the web does not fail me and the place kicks ass! it looks like through my time there up until christmas, i will be in the area of london called soho. soho is know as being the center of london’s gay district and red light district meaning there are various adult shops and strip clubs are
sprinkled around the whole area. nice! it's actually not supposed to be as bad as that may sound. there are also a large amount of bars,
pubs and clubs, and people out on the street at all hours of the
night. i like that it's described as cool, artsy, edgy and at times, risqué.

here's the area:

it's time to simplify and scale down. sure, i'm not moving away permanently, but it's time to pare down unnecessary expenses. i've canceled my tivo. i watch television once a week and that's about it. i've canceled my cable - if i am going to watch television when i return from my london stint, then i suppose i can reconnect. i've canceled my gym membership. i haven't stepped foot in that gym in... months. tick, tick, tick. i'm checking things off of my list of things to do before i leave. and tonight, i think i'll start packing! crazy! scary!

just got a flu shot in my left arm. blech. feel queasy. good timing though. would love to not get sick whilst in london.

what a weekend. friday night it was thai food with friends from thai x-ing. saturday it was ike's first birthday party, pics below. auntie jessica's task for the party was blowing up balloons:




ike wore a traditional korean hanbok for part of the party:




here he is doing the traditional selection of an item which supposedly foreshadow's his future interest - he chose the book which signifies him possibly being an academic...


ike with his parents, and then flanked by aunties from both sides of the family:

after the festivities ended, it was massages at massage express in tyson's corner and then a long drive out into the sticks of maryland for a haunted maze at markoff's haunted forest... sunday was chinese food, bookstore laziness, darjeeling limited. i'd definitely recommend the movie to others. monday was korean food, watching planes land at gravelly point, smoothies at robeks and a little a little bit of shopping. that's it. yay for three-day weekends though.

so... i'm off to london for
three months or so and i will be leaving on october 16th! all this happened during the past few days. i'll be returning to
dc for thanksgiving, christmas and possibly other times... but UK here
i come!! my how year to year things sure do change. one year ago, ike entered
the world and i was just beginning to settle into DC. one year later,
i'm off to london to live and work for a short period. i truly feel fortunate.

on saturday, i had the pleasure of babysitting my nephew. i can't believe he turns one this week. time has flown by but i have enjoyed seeing him grow during this year. what a big boy:






later in the evening, after returning to DC, it was eyebar, where i had too much to drink and too much fun. drinking too much was evident the next morning as i proceeded to throw up four times, including once on the sidewalk at the corner of 29th and M in georgetown while on my way to brunch with friends at le pain quotidien. lovely. later in the day, crafty bastards fair, the KORUS festival, good eats in annandale, and general shenanigans.