evolution of a kj - korean jew (of course!)

me: i always say, korean by blood, jewish by heart
me: haha
dee: That's cute
dee: I just don't get how u wanna be sucha jew
me: all of my best friends are jewish
dee: If [the lb] wasn't jewish would u like him?
me: yes.
me: but the jewish thing is a nice lil bonus
me: i dont know, its like, when i came to syo, the jews welcomed me with open arms
me: i went to temple in first grade
me: had friday night shabbat dinner at gena u's house
me: and thought everyone was just so nice
dee: Intersting
me: and the bar/bat mitzvahs... they had me at shalom.

how did i, once a painfully shy and almost as painfully thin little korean girl, become such a pro-jew twinkie? the sibs and i all grew up in the same jewy town. how did i become the only one who actually knows what l'chaim means? its funny bc the brosef and i had a convo last week about our friends. literally, all of my best friends are jewish. sure i have close friends who arent, but my main hardcore girlies (and boy... whos really one of the girls, love ya ad!) are all jewsteins. and i love 'em. but the brosef rich, not so. actually the group of ex-friends that chose his hobag ex gf over him were jewish but his new clan, not so. weird.

maybe i grew up in my own jewy jew world. really. i honestly got used to having 90% of the people i meet be jewish that when i entered the "real world" aka got my first job, i was stunned and shocked to find out that hardly anyone was jewish. hmmmm, maybe thats why i yearned for a job in the entertainment biz. id be surrounded by jews again. weird. heres a mini jew chronology of me:

october 1986 - move to syosset aka jewland, usa. one of my first friends invites me over for friday night shabbat dinner and im awed and interested by the singing they do before the delicious meal. i go to temple the following saturday morning, and although i was scared that people would treat me weird bc i didnt look like everyone else, they were nice. almost had the feeling they wanted me to convert but alas, i knew my korean parents would not be up for it.

1989 - the first time i heard the word bar mitzvah. dee got her first invite in the mail. the theme was tennis and the invitation had a pop up tennis net thingy on it. i thought it was glamorous. my parents thought it was crazy. the invites probably cost more than any wedding invitation theyve ever received (and they were probably right too). seeing dee get all dressed up to go to these hours long parties and come back with a gift of her own (usually a snazzy tee shirt) i just couldnt wait til i was invited to bar/bat mitzvahs myself. seriously, the only good thing about middle school are the mitzvahs.

1991 - 1993 - my very first bat mitzvah was actually for a friend i had from gymnastics. you would think i would remember her name but im drawing a blank. anyhoo, that bat mitzvah was cool bc then when the first school friends bat mitzvah came up (it was ayelets. at least i remembered that), i was able to say, this isnt my first bat mitzvah, like all the other jews who have been to previous ones (for family im sure). most memorable:

• jillers - obv! not just bc shes my bf too. a. her theme was cool (club jill) and the place cards were even cooler (maps of the tables with an x marking your spot, obv i was at the deis). best part of her party: her mc. if i remember correctly, his name was mike and he looked like my future crush, andrew b who coincidentally lived on jillers block. not so cool part: girl didnt give a candle to ALL her friends. i think this was like one of the only mitzvahs i didnt go up for a candle. nerve! another cool part: jiller didnt give the usual t-shirt. homegirl gave away club jill (obv, pre-jiller time) boxers.



• jamies - obv! and not just bc shes one of the few readers of this here blog. her theme was one i havent seen before (jamie-opoly), her mom danced like a hot mama (pam sandwich) and one of her dancers flipped into one of the chandeliers. plus, i think that bat mitzvah i came home with the most chachkis. a key chain, a picture mug, two framed pics, and of course, the "i landed on free parking at jamies bat mitzvah" t-shirt. and the room next door was also holding a bat mitzvah for an asian girl. man was i jello and so wanted that to be me.



• robbie g - hes kinda insignificant really. i knew him since 1st grade but he was one of those kids who was in school like maybe once a month bc he was always sick or whathaveyou. this bar mitzvah is on this list though bc i won the limbo contest. my prize - a mr wendell cassette single. i know. how awesome. whatEVer. i got to show of my limber skills. if only i was that limber now. (naughty naughty thoughts). this was also the first bar mitzvah where i actually saw the silly boys i went to school with try to steal beer from behind the bar. i was so innocent. prancing around asking for shirley temples all night (and thinking i was the shit bc i was asking for shirley temples) while the boys were stealing booze.

2004 - the first time i realize that the whole world isnt jewish. i went through all of grade school and even college in my '90% of the world is jewish' mentality. when i get my first real job in the real real world (on long island, no less) only a few people were jewish and they werent as hip as the ones i grew up with. wha? preposterous! but i do let a kickass jew into my world, my therapist jill r. proof that jews rock!

2006- now - yes, my closest friends are jewish. yes, my bf is jewish. even my past two bosses (current and last) are jewish too. coincidence? yes but maybe its a sign. or maybe ive evolved. will there be an addition to this evolutionary list? like 2010 - converted. who knows. i never say never but like i said before, i believe religion is just a big story with a bunch of rules attached to it. then again, those chair rides look like such fun. maybe im a tkj - torn korean jew. who knew.

special mention:
brandon walsh - hey guys don't go away mad.
emily valentine - yeah, just go away!
euphoria ep