COUNTDOWN TO N.Y. . . .

My time here in LA is drawing to a close. I'm exhausted. I love being exhausted by vacation . . . until I return home and I realize I need another vacation to recover from my vacation. THAT is not the nicest feeling in the world . . . But I've been starting to get homesick. That's the problem with me: I love my family, my home, my bed, my friends, my car, my job, my familiar things too much to go anywhere else for too long. I know people who would LOVE to get away for weeks and weeks on end, but not me. What would I do without normal-size shampoo bottles; plates of homemade kimchi; chatting with my mom while cleaning up after dinner; watching bad TV or good baseball with my dad; the freedom to walk around naked in the house? I love traveling, and I love seeing my friends in all the varied places they live, but there ain't no place like home. MY home.

I'm pretty pooped out, so I'll do a quick rundown of the most recent days' highlights:

* Met up with my uncle (mom's sister's hubby) -- newly-minted President of a Korean-American bank whom I haven't seen in years -- and my maternal great-uncle and aunt for coffee. It was slightly stressful to have to whip out the ultra-respectful Korean and smile a lot, but it was so wonderful to see them and connect with them, if even for a short time. My face hurts now, though.

* Took a two-hour nap today, after getting up late and eating breakfast. Man, I love vacation and lazy days. The combination of the two is deadly. I do believe I could be the chubbiest, most unhealthy person alive in L.A. right now. I've got no tan, no dirty-blond hair, no ultra-defined muscles. Rather, I have sleepy eyes, East Coast office-worker pallor, and a full belly. I'm totally loving it.

* Strolled through The Grove/Farmer's Market yesterday evening with Ha and Co.. At times during my stay here, I've often felt like I was in a foreign country, and I would be shocked when I heard people around me speaking English. Last night was a prime example: I don't know exactly why L.A. seems so foreign to me, but it would jolt me to turn around and see a J.Crew store, or a Barnes&Noble, or a Haagen-Dazs stand. Weird. I felt like a tourist, but I wasn't. I felt like a foreigner, but I wasn't. Weird.

* Met a wonderfully cute gentleman tonight -- a friend of Ha and Co.. They didn't know him very well before this evening -- just had a good impression of him and thought he and I would hit it off. We sort of did, although it was hard to tell in the midst of our conversations focusing on labor and delivery, bowel movements, East Coast vs. West Coast, babies and animalistic eating habits, non-traditional healing methods, sibling rivalry and lactose intolerance. So stay tuned . . .

I can't wait to get back home. Do some laundry, see how the home renovation progressed in my absence, take a shower with awesome water pressure, hang with the fam and thank my parents for raising me. If there's one thing I've learned with Ha and Co., it's that parenting ain't easy. To do it right is nearly impossible. I think I turned out okay, and for that I shall be eternally and outwardly thankful.

New York rocks. JetBlue, fly me away . . .