A new kind of bliss.

I'm discovering more and more that LA offers a lot of the things that makes me love cities. And despite the traffic, smog, and unabashed superficiality, there is one thing that I now love which was never even in my vocabulary before I moved here.

The Korean Spa.

Now, I like anything with the word spa in it. I think I get this from my sister. Nail spa. Foot spa. Spa Day. Day Spa. Massage Spa. A sigh of relief calms my body with the utterance of this magical three letter word. Given the fact that money is tight and there is no way I'm going to one of those expensive spas in West LA to get my R & R, I decided to save up to treat myself to a less expensive post-semester stress-busting reward before I started studying for my last exam. Considering that I've been having upper back pain all semester and could use a little beauty treatment, I decided to investigate the phenomenon of Korean spas that exist in our neck of the woods here next to LA's expansive Koreatown.

So after checking out some of the reviews online, I picked Natura spa because it was reportedly clean, modern, and not as expensive as some of the others. I made an appointment for a scrub and massage, which was about half the cost that nice spas in LA would charge for one of these services. The fee included access to the jacuzzis and saunas at the place, so I went early to take advantage of the amenities.

Well, I read online that these spas are pretty "old world" in the sense that they observe a lot of the traditional bathhouse protocol that you find in Korea. And reportedly from my husband, visiting a spa in Korea is a pretty shocking experience. In fact, it was the only experience that made him feel that he was in a foreign country when he visited Korea a few years ago for the first time since he was like 3. The reason being that everyone is NAKED! Of course, men and women are separated. But the shock of seeing even members of your own gender completely in the buff is well, shocking. Especially when many of them are twice your age and often your grandma's generation.

I found Natura to be a world away from the busy street of Wilshire Ave. Hidden underneath a Korean mini-mall on the basement floor, I was greeted at the front desk by two ladies who weren't sure if I was Korean or not and offered me half-apologetic smiles and confused looks. I said loudly, "Hello!" not even bothering to say the formal Korean greeting because if I said it correctly, they would only assume that I was Korean and proceed to talk to me in Korean. So I tried to make it clear that I was 100% Americana.

A nice lady proceeded to give me a tour of the premises, showing me my fancy key access gym locker, set of white towels and terrycloth robe, the cucumber and citrus-infused drinking water, and complimentary toiletries. It was a very nice changing area and was impeccably clean. She also pointed me to the sauna area, stressing to shower before and after entering the pools, the sleeping room, composed of an elevated floor with tatami mats and comforters with a flat-screen TV on the wall, the restaurant, which sold overpriced Korean food, and the lounge, which had sofa chairs with wooden ottomans and Korean magazines. I liked what I saw. I quickly changed and put on my terrycloth robe, making my way into the sauna to take a shower.

Well, opening the door to the sauna was a bit like entering the Twilight Zone. I was prepared to enter with my robe on, thinking I would discreetly take it off and find a little corner to shower where nobody would see me, since the showers and the tubs were all in one large room with no walls whatsoever. But a sign on the door said, "FOR SANITARY REASON, PLEASE DO NOT BRING ROBES INTO THE BATH AREA." Huh? I guess I had no choice but to enter in the stark, carrying my little towel, and to remain in the stark until I would leave 3 hours later!

So, I entered the world of nakedness, and pretty soon I got used to it. None of the other ladies were looking at me, and I avoided making direct eye contact with anyone so that I could try to blend in as part of the bathhouse scenery. After a few minutes, I found this Naked World With Complete Strangers to be somehow liberating. I was no longer concerned about the extra tummy rolls that I gained this past week when I went on a baking frenzy and Paul and I had Korean BBQ and fried chicken in the same day. I wasn't concerned about anything. I was comfortable in my own skin. Quite literally. And apparently, everyone else was too.

I tried a comfortably hot jacuzzi first that was supposedly infused with tea, called a Mugworts Bath (which reminded me of something from Harry Potter, and I spent most of the time in it wondering why they called it that). It felt heavenly and the sweet smell of the tea or herbs was intoxicating. After a little bit, I investigated the other options around- an extremely hot, scalding jacuzzi, an ice cold plunge pool, a steam room that smelled beautifully of Chinese herbs or something, a sauna room with Korean TV blaring (I didn't like this one), and two funny rooms called the Jade Stone Room and the Yellow Clay Room. The Jade Stone Room looked like some sort of cave where you might find Gollum. It looked creepy at first, but I went in and sat on a leathery coushin I found on the floor. It wasn't until some other ladies entered that I learned these coushins were pillows for your head. The others proceeded to lie down, rest their heads on them, and take naps. I found this strange at first, but quickly followed suit, and took my nap next to some other naked ladies on the floor. After a little while, I wandered into the Yellow Clay Room, where people were doing the same thing. This room was made of yellow clay reportedly imported from Korea. It had an earthy smell and even had bags of clay hanging from the ceiling. I think its supposed to be good for your skin to be around such earthiness.

The time came for my appointment for my scurb and massage. I waited near the massaging area for my number to be called. The massage area was a strange sight as there were no walls and about a dozen massage tables were grouped together in a corner. I'll spare you the gritty details, but forget having a towel to modestly cover the areas not being massaged. The lady who called me up promptly took my towel from me, pulled me by the arm like an auntie might pull you to the dinner table, and cheerfully gestured for me to lie face down on the massage table. She then began throwing buckets of hot water all over me. I yelped a little at first, and then decided to just forget about any reluctance and just enjoy the treatment. The lady proceeded to scrub every single inch of my body with this little scrubby mitt, and the results were immediate. Layers of dead skin started falling off me (which Koreans call dae) that she cleared out by throwing more hot water all over me. I spent a little time wondering if they use the same scrubby mitt for everyone or not, but then just shrugged it off as I was scrubbed into oblivion. This little lady was sparing no inch and was no joke. She scrubbed with superhuman strength and spent a particular amount of time on my right armpit and left thigh. I wondered if she tells her grandkids about what she does all day.

After several layers of my epidermis had been rinsed away with hot water, she then proceeded to lather oil all over my body, gave me some facial cleanser, and then told me to "take shower." I obeyed and rinsed off the oil and facial cleanser, and then game back to the table for part deux of the experience. Hot towels were put on me and she began to massage. But apparently the Korean version of massaging is more like using a punching bag- me being the punching bag. She literally got up onto the table and hit me with the back of her elbows and fists. I've come to like very strong pressure in massages, but I just found it funny at first. I almost let out a giggle, but she hit the air out of me at the same time so it came out more like the sound of an endangered small animal. I let her work out some of the knots in my upper back using this method and began to get used to the treatment. After she had let out her agression on my back, a silky substance was poured all over me. I opened my eyes and peeked at my arm to discover that it was milk! She also gave me an ice cold cucumber face mask and then proceeded to shampoo and condition my hair, along with a very intense scalp massage. Wow, what treatment! I felt like a queen and when it was finally all over, I was instructed to shower yet again for about the 10th time that day, and then went into the locker room to change. I noticed that my skin had a new glow to it and I went into a state of happy relaxation for the rest of the day. I was a new woman.

Take it from me, the Korean spa treatment deserves a try. Now that I think about it, I am probably not making this sound very appealing. Pay someone to scrub you with what feels like steel wool and punch you for an hour? And not let you have your clothes? Well, there must be something in the water. I am definitely going back. But not with anyone I know.

Holiday Sale!

Yes, I said the magic word- SALE! Here's an idea for holiday shopping- all CDs are 25% off at www.conniesheu.com. From now until Dec. 24th, enter the coupon code HOLIDAY at checkout and receive 25% off your order. A great way to pass along the gift of music to someone in your life and support an independent artist.

Sorry if you're tired of me plugging myself. I've gotta get the word out somehow...

On family

I am at the tail end of one of the busiest weeks of school that I can remember in my life and happy to take a blogging break. Although I think I remember one week my junior year of college fall semester that I was more sleep deprived and caffeine fueled and overloaded with work than I am now. The difference being that I am 7 years older now and can't pull all nighters anymore, lest I forget where I am, crash the car, and start some sort of city-wide disaster while driving to school.

So I wasn't that helpful over Thanksgiving this year because of all the work I had to do, but my siblings sure were. Check out my sister's blog here for an account of how awesome it was in the Chen/Sheu/Chun household. I must say, food is a love language in our family and it was mightily poured out on us!

When you don't live locally from your family, the nature of the visits always change. I realized this long ago when I went away to college, but it's becoming more evident to me as I get older. Every time I spend time with loved ones, I realize something new about myself and get a fresh perspective on who I am because of how much my loved ones have affected me. And I count myself lucky to say that I think their influence has been mostly good. It's also always fun to observe little quirky things about your parents and see if you're like that too. For example, at the end of our trip, we were joking about my mom's addiction to email and how my siblings are equally obsessive about certain things, like a new Wii game or facebook. I quickly agreed that this was the case for me too- but then couldn't think of a single example for an addiction of mine. In fact, I think I'm sort of the opposite. I don't have the attention span to do anything for too long or I will get bored real quick. Maybe it's some form of adult ADD. I could also have my Dad's love-to-work, can't sit still sort of thing. But then again there are lots of times when I sit real still when I should be working (i.e. practicing).

Our families affect us so much as people and its fascinating to see how we as individuals take some of those traits that are passed down to us and make them our own. As we grow older, self-discovery is an inevitable thing that helps us gain perspective about who we really are and why we are where we are in life. When I last spent time with my in-laws in New Jersey, we did what has now become a habit when we get together with Paul's mom and sister- sit on the floor, share prayer requests, hold hands, and pray out loud together. Usually, the prayer session ends with crying, hugging, and verbal "I love you"s. This kind of expressiveness is something that my family culturally is not accustomed to, so at first I used to think that the extreme intimacy of spiritual sharing and verbally declaring our love for each other in a family was really weird. Now I am blessed and thankful for it every time, and I can see the way that their closeness has shaped Paul's faith and is reflected in how very expressive he is with his thoughts and emotions. I also saw the way he enjoyed our time this weekend with my family and the comfort and ease with which everybody interacts. It's a beautiful thing to share, and when we grow our own family someday (keyword is someday), I hope we'll be able to pass down the good from both.

Two years

Our two-year wedding anniversary came and went and I didn't get a chance to blog some of my thoughts. It was on a Tuesday this year and since I have a Tuesday night class, it was hard to be able to go out and celebrate. We did manage to have a nice brunch though and celebrate in our own small ways, and are planning to take a short camping trip once the semester ends- but it was nothing like the somewhat extravagant trip (for us) to Palm Springs that we made for our one-year, complete with multiple spa treatments and mineral water soaks.

I suppose that right now we are in the middle of a challenging season. Paul has been out of work for about a month now, and me being a student have no real form of income besides the one little teaching job that I have. Money is tight and hearing about the economic crisis, along with the coming holiday season which is supposed to tank for retailers, it seems that a lot of people we know are generally in a money-saving mode. When we found out that Paul was losing his job, it came as a big jolt when we realized that the steady income would be pulled out from under us. This resulted in me freaking out for about a day, then brainstorming our options on how to stretch a dollar.

One of the first things we did was go to trim the ways that we spend money on food. Basically this means not splurging on a Friday night meal out, staying in and cooking more, stretching one meal into two, and learning to trim the grocery list of things that are not necessary. This has resulted in a big lifestyle shift since we love eating out...but, it has also really opened the doors to lots of yummy homemade meals made with TLC by my very own house husband! We don't spend a lot of money on ingredients, but so far everything has been delicious. I never thought I'd see the day where Paul would make kim-chi jigae for me (he's more of a beef and grill or pizza sort of guy, and Korean men traditionally don't cook much), but hey, spam is cheap. I've also tried hard to surpress my monthly shopping urges, we don't drive if its not absolutely necessary, we only watch movies at home, and we're trying to persuade Aiko to get a job.

Many people say that money issues are the number one source of grief within marriages. Knowing that, we entered this season of unemployment hoping that we could actually remember it as one of our sweetest. And I can't say that that hasn't been the case. We often cuddle up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket and snuggly dog in our little apartment and feel that we couldn't ask for anything more in life. I'm learning that there are very few things that money can buy that can make the joy of our little family any sweeter.

New candidate for the White House

The search is on by the Obama family for the new First Puppy.

The press is abuzz with speculation. What kind of dog will they get? The American Kennel Club is hoping they'll get a rescue dog, and has even offered to pick one out for them. There are lots of factors at play here which will be scrutinized like any other political decision. Pure-bred dogs are equated with elitism. Rescue dogs are usually mutts. And, Melia is allergic to dogs, so a dog that is part poodle is high in the running since it would be hypo-allergenic. Rumor has it that the Obamas are considering the goldendoodle, which is like a retriever with bad hair, or a cockapoo, a classic fru-fru sort of dog. Have I got the perfect candidate for the White House.



Being part poodle, she's hypo-allergenic. She's good with kids and loves to snuggle. Her father was a rescue dog. As the only black puppy in her litter, she's dealt with the struggles of her color. All her other white brothers and sisters used to push her out of the feeding zone, but she persevered. She's a mutt, just like Barack called himself at yesterday's press conference. She's overcome barriers and brings people together- dog haters, cat lovers, scared parents. Even Paul's grandma likes her. We think Sasha and Melia would love her.



The only problem is that we would never give her up. But Aiko dreams of one day getting to Washington. The warm weather out here gets monotonous.

America!

I have always had a deep love for the story that is American history.

I anticipated that this could happen, hoped and prayed that it would, and yet when I heard the projection on NPR while driving home from school tonight, I couldn't help but feel a huge wave of emotion come over me. Relief, disbelief, pride, humility, joy, and anxiety. Tears streaming down my face, I drove through the streets of downtown LA marveling at the stories and journeys that have made our country what it is and the President that will represent them beginning in 2009.

For the last 8 years, I have not felt pride for the only country I have ever called home. I haven't felt that our government was functioning wisely or honestly. Every trip I've taken abroad, I've had conversations about the incredulity that others have felt toward our policies. A distancing from politics in my own life occurred, a cynicism developed, an excuse formed in my mind that it doesn't matter much anyway. A long journey from the younger version of me that once considered a career in government service, spent a summer registering new citizens to vote, and organizing election monitoring.

And now I feel as though I've reawakened. An amazing thing has happened in our country today that proves that America is never static. We can judge a candidate fairly, we can think for ourselves about what is best for our nation, and we are still the land of the free and the home of the brave. Free because we spoke today for a candidate that we believe represents our story, and brave because we stood up for him despite the opposition's attempt to otherize and distort him.

Barack Obama is a brilliant, eloquent, amazingly gifted man, but he is not our savior. He will not make all our problems go away. But he has fought to achieve an extraordinary moment in extraordinary times, and the pride I feel to be a part of this moment has overwhelmed me in a way that I did not expect. That my own father, a 1st generation Taiwanese immigrant, saw in this African-American candidate a man worth casting his vote for after years of telling me that votes cast in California don't matter, so much so that he would bring his ballot with him on a business trip to China and mail it from distant shores so that his vote would be counted- that tells me that something amazing has occurred. We are still a country that is righting the wrongs of our past and making the world stop and wonder at the endless possibilities that could occur on our shores.

God, bless America.

Who poked me?

I finally convinced Paul to rejoin facebook. It stemmed from me shouting out random things about our friends that I knew and he didn't. Like, "Hey guess what! So and so are engaged!" or "Did you know that this person moved to this place?" or "Let's go to this thing that's happening at this place on Friday night." Every time he would ask, "How did you know that?" and I would respond loudly, "FACEBOOK!"

This was followed by Paul asking me lots of funny questions about how it works. Such as:

"So if this person requested me to be their friend, does that mean they can see me?"

"What does wall-to-wall mean?"

"Why did they poke me? That's not very nice."

Now I don't update my status every single day, or constantly update and change everything on my profile, but it's pretty crazy how many people are on it these days. I think I know people from virtually every circle of friends I have ever had on facebook. I do value it for certain reasons, if not for the extremely impersonal way of keeping track of people these days. But seriously- I suppose that if people don't really call other people anymore just to say hello, and if even a personal email is hard to come by these days, blogging and facebook have replaced all other more personal forms of communication, and if you hold out on either, there is a whole world of contact that you are not a part of. How did we come to this?

I've realized that I really like impersonal forms of communication too. I like that sort of voyeuristic way of keeping tabs on people I haven't talked to in eons and probably would not ever think of calling up personally. I like that element of surprise when you find out someone you know is doing something totally bizzare with their careers (like a very shy high school classmate I discovered is now a hand model!). In short, I suppose I like knowing what people are up to, think about, or are doing with themselves without having to ask them them about it personally. I don't really think that's a good thing.

Maybe I should actually commend Paul for holding out this long.