I'm so glad that these ladies are back in the United States. My heart just broke when I saw Euna kneeling down to hug her daughter, you could feel her happiness just by watching. I know I had blogged earlier about my frustration about how this whole entire situation seemed to have no press coverage...well, I guess there was a lot of work done in the background and could not be discussed in a public setting. Whatever it was, I'm so happy to see these women back with their families and returning to lives they have been missing for two long.

A week and a half! EEK! I'm really happy about all the stories, they have been incredibly insightful and amazing! Before I know it, I need to start organizing my work for the event I've been planning for the next person. YIKES. This summer has been incredibly stressful with me (most of it not having to do with the internship) so I'm kind of relieved that I will have time to decompress but I'm sad to leave because all the great people I have been able to meet.

Today, me and the other interns along with Lisa went to go recycle at Cal Tech today! OMG, the bins were separate in such an OCDish manner...I would have appreciated it more if I wasn't so hot! After that, we received cupcakes for our hard work, LOL.

Love, The Tumultuous Dolphin

Fierce.

_Brown Eyed Girls, these ladies are so fierce that I had to put it up.

Angry Asian Man! WHAT?! Yes, so very awesome. I'm really enjoying the submissions that are being submitted...there is such a beautiful commonality in them but also a complexity that defines the human experience. I can't wait to read more. Is anyone as obsessive as me in checking them all the time?

Love,
The Tumultuous Dolphin

RAWR.

So...the project is awesome. So, I sent out a bunch of invites for the FB event...I'm kind of upset that people actually decline to attend? What is there to attend? You don't have to leave your home! ARGH! I really hope we continue to receive more submissions-the ones we have gotten so far are amazing! These stories really show the beautiful complexity that exist in our community.

I'm crazy exhausted. I wish I could have one day where I can just sit and not think. It does not seem possible at this point.

Hey fellow interns, love you all! Like Morose, I completely admire all of you, your tenacity and determination is inspiring.

Love,
The Tumultuous Dolphin

BTW, Independence Day still a effing good movie.

Going...go!

*A drop of happiness :) I adore her even more!

Presentation done! Follow-up, conference calls, repackaging ideas...Oh dear, I will survive it all :) I can't wait to have Boiling Crab...whenever that happens!

Love,
The Tumultuous Dolphin

the best defense mechanism lies can make

JANE LUI!

*I like to think this picture sums up my personality.

The heat is turning me into a monster. I'm so very glad that the CAUSE office is AC-ed. So, I have to admit that I have been completely overwhelmed by recent events...the LEAP Dinner, Luncheon, The Party (by the way, Mary Rose, great freaking job!). Tomorrow is my presentation in front of the Board of Directors, woah!

First off, the LEAP Dinner was insane! I'm naturally anti-social and large crowds of people totally freak me out. I always feel totally awkward and bizarre in large grouping of people. However, being around the other interns, I feel somewhat at ease even when I'm shoving an entire orderve into my mouth. I'm not going to lie that there were some moments of brilliant awkwardness but all in all it was a great night. I feel like even though we spends days away from each other, I feel closer and closer to the other interns. I like how we all dorked out over David Ono (who, by the way said the funniest thing before we took the picture!)

The luncheon was awesome! The food and especially the dessert was wonderfully great. I loved the people I sat with because they were hilarious! I loved how all the women at the table was coaching one of the male board members about his upcoming baby. The light atmosphere set me at ease with everyone else.

THE PARTY! OK, we all must bow down to the greatness that is Mary Rose! I'm so glad everything turned out so great. I'm kind of sad I wasn't there earlier to see everyone else. YA'll! I met Jane Lui! I was so awkwardly happy and I totally freaked out by declaring my love for her. Thanks Mary Rose for the wonderful moment and memory!

Today, I went to the APALC office for the first time, it was amazingly beautiful. Eugene Lee gave us (interns at CAUSE) a presentation on Voting Rights & Redistricting. This coming Saturday will be my first time doing voter registration in KTOWN! I can't believe, I'm already in the 5th week, summer is flying away too fast...and I can already feel school catching up to me.

<3 The Tumultuous Dolphin.

The Grind.

40 Hour Work Weeks. Woah. It has been awhile since I've had to maintain a steady schedule. I might have mentioned this in previous blog but as a graduate student, the schedule I kept up was at best described as organized chaos. So, this is incredibly overwhelming for my body (physically/emotionally). However, I'm enjoying myself...the office is pretty chill and the other interns are pretty cool. I'm still in the middle of planning my event. One of the highlights of planning is having to look at the menus of various venues...food! Food is extremely pretty, as many of you know. Other than that, I'm working on proposals that I'm going to present in a week or so...for some reason, I'm dragging my feet on that, I think because...if anything, I just want to do a good job. So, I'm just sorting through articles about the various topics I'm thinking about such as redistricting, media training, and so on...

Other than that, I'm extremely excited about our upcoming group project! I'm so impressed with us as a group..we were incredibly efficient and strategic in our last group meeting! Also, lunch was awesomely good (thanks, Reimar!) I always know with LEAP, there will be good food! Spam Musubi!

Since, I'm sitting in the office all day, I've come across saucy music to keep me going!
September-Earth, Wind, and Fire
Got To Give It Up-Marvin Gaye
Pretty Young Thing-Michael Jackson Feat. Will.i.am (25th Anniversary Remix)
Panic Switch-Silversun Pickups (this differs but awesomely good nonetheless!)

Fighting!
The Tumultuous Dolphin

Speak.

Since the jailing of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, I have remained quite inarticulate about the subject. As some of you may know, my thesis project is on North Korean refugees. One of the biggest goals of my research is not to demonize North Korea but to be critical of all nation states that participate in the migration of North Korean refugees, whether they are helpful or not. I've been following this story off and on since it happened. For some reason, I wanted an update on their situation. When I googled for updates, I could find none. It has been a month since any real substantive updates have been posted about Laura and Euna. This is almost upsetting. The news media sensationalized this story once it came out and I assume because it involved North Korea. North Korea is like gold for political pundits. So this story was as good as it was going to get for the news media. However, it has been a month, it has lost its flair and these women have disappeared in more ways than one. What I find incredibly upsetting is that their boss, Al Gore!, has not publicly commented on this situation, at all. I find this awfully irresponsible on his part just because as someone with as much connections and network, he has not done anything productive to help Euna and Laura. Lisa Ling, Laura's older sister, is ONE person, whose influence may be limited.

For the last couple of months, I have familiarized with North Korea in different respects such as national culture, immigration, and how prisoners are treated within the country. There is not a lot of there, well information that is authentic or unbiased. It is hard. I know this post is totally random and probably makes no sense but I just wanted to express how easily human beings can be forgotten especially when they have served the purpose within the frame of media. I'm not sure if this is the right forum but I just wanted to express some of my thoughts on this situation.

Love,
Tumultuous Dolphin