I Took the Long Way

I didn't get into cycling because I loved it. I got into it because I had to. In Los Angeles, that's not a minor inconvenience, that's a full restructuring of your life. But somewhere between riding 20 miles through Koreatown...

I had to size up my jeans last week. One inch. Thirty-plus years at the same size -- through the Army, through my 30s, through everything -- and then one day the number changed. That's when I started paying attention to every...

I am not built like a runner. Skinny doesn't mean fit -- ask the Army PT test I failed at nineteen in front of everyone at boot camp. That failure filed itself somewhere in the back of my brain and did not let go. What follow...

A Wednesday night Korean BBQ dinner with old friends. Drinks that kept coming. A server who quietly mentioned she'd been sober for a year — and a table that kept going anyway. By Thursday morning, I was hungover, calling in s...

I was eight years old, home alone, and the toilet had a history. I knew what it was capable of. And when the rumbles in the jungle arrived, I did what any reasonable kid would do — I grabbed the Charmin and I went outside. Th...

I was nineteen years old, fresh out of basic training, and I had just volunteered for Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia — because I thought it would be cool. That was the whole reason. No deeper thesis. Just a kid who ...

I was nineteen years old, fresh out of basic training, and I had just volunteered for Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia — because I thought it would be cool. That was the whole reason. No deeper thesis. Just a kid who ...

When I was a kid, I'd come home to an empty house in the suburbs of San Francisco, grab my snacks, and flip on the TV. What I found was Bo and Luke Duke tearing through Hazzard County in a bright orange Dodge Charger. What I ...

What happens when a full day of small frustrations — bad traffic, a stolen phone moment at the Korean market, a valet, and a gummy bear bag — leads to a blowup you didn't see coming? This week I'm talking about anger. My ange...

There's a tree near Monterey, California that's been standing alone on a cliff for over 250 years — misshapen, weathered, and still standing. It's also the perfect metaphor for growing up Korean American in Los Angeles. In th...