alicia and rick

and just like that, my two weeks of leave are up. it's hard to believe it's gone by so quickly, yet i feel like i have spent more of these two weeks awake than any other two weeks of my life (except maybe when i was studying for the bar).


kai is starting to sleep for slightly longer periods - we hit a record 4 hours yesterday - which means things are generally starting to get (a bit) more regular. he's also awake more during the day than he used to be. he was quite patient yesterday as we wheeled him up to the u.s. consulate for his baby passport and social security number. this is definitely one aspect of travel that i failed to consider - even babies need passports and visas, and since the us is such a popular country with its immigration policies, this means the highest fees for some of the se asian countries (and china).


i think the consulate/embassies are a bit funny - alicia noticed that because of the two-inch thick bombproof glass between you and the official, they speak through a microphone which broadcasts your conversation to the entire room. also, there is no microphone on your side, meaning you either have to shout your side of the conversation or try to lean down and speak through half inch gap at the bottom of the window where they pass papers through. it is all a bit awkward. but the people were very nice and we left $150 lighter in the wallet with the promise of documents in the mail.

on the hong kong side, kai was able to prove his chinese ancestry and get permanent residency here. so on his birth certificate he is listed as chinese american - hahaha. i think the korean relatives might have something to say about that!

speaking of which, my uncle passed away a few hours ago after a long and painful battle with cancer. i have fond memories of communicating mainly through smiles and a combination of his broken english and my broken korean. i am glad alicia had the opportunity to meet him a couple of years ago when we spent some time in korea to meet the family. imo-bu, we will miss you!