1.man.among.13,607,069.fists

comet falls is situated in the luscious green mount rainier national park.  named after the shape of its trail, this spot is popular because of the three waterfalls that leads to its peak and the low level of difficulty posed to hikers.

five of us packed in my tiny hatchback left at roughly at 930 am.  our estimated time of arrival would be 1130, but for reasons unknown (okay, we know why), we arrived at the trailhead at 1230.  seven others from our crew who left before us began the hike a bit earlier.  i noted their car (how obvious with their boater khmer flag dangling on the mirror) when we pulled in the lot. 

the trail is only 3.6 miles.  a piece of cake, considering last week’s hike was 8 grueling miles!  boy, we were wrong!  though the distance was half of mount si, but the ridiculous terrain made the trek challenging from start to end.  we were gasping for air within 10 minutes! 

after the first 10 minutes, we caught our first glimpse of a waterfall.  this was a small sign for what was to come later at the peak.   so we took a short gaze, guzzled some warm h20, and proceeded on with the trail.  the two girls with my team of five have already gone out of our sight.  the three men fought on to catch up with the earlier group.

at another point of our trail, we stopped to check out our second waterfall.  allen and i decided to pull some survivor-type sh*t, risking our lives (thats a small exageration, but nevertheless, the descent down the broken trail path was steep) to feel the wrath of the water!  we succeeded.  we took a couple cheesy polaroid pics.

all 12 of us grabbed lunch.  we played some 13.  we took hella cheesy poses in and around the waterfall.

the highlight of the trip was after lunch when we finally reach comet falls!!  it was unreal.  the cliff of the fall was humongously tall, at least 50-75 feet high!  allen and i, the daredevils of the group ran like little kids being chased by bumble bees to be the first to touch the foot of the fall!  though relatively flat in surface, lots of rocks and boulders made the dash a challenge. 

at this point, i totally immerse myself in the water.  my whole body from head to toe soaked in the coolness. 

next week:  hot springs?

pictures up soon. promise. 

fotos are up from last friday’s trip to westport, washington.  here are some samples:

view the full album at:  westport.trip

don’t forget to post your comments here!  enjoy.

I am so ashamed

Phnom Penh Post, Issue 14/13, July 1 - 14, 2005

Kim Mi Sook, Tourist

with 4 weeks remaining before my departure, i have begun compiling my to do list.  please feel free to add and suggest activities for my consideration.  periodically check on this entry as more will be added by the hours and days to come!

• visit my family’s home village of kompong berl
  
• take an elephant ride in the countryside
• watch a sunset of angkor on top of phnom bakheng
• kiss as many apsaras and indradevi statues as possible
• visit the beaches of kompong som
• volunteer at a local orphanage
• attend the cambodian film festival
• visit royal university of fine arts and attend as many lakhoun niyeay and bassac performances as possible
• interview talented young khmer artists
• attend a matching of pradal serey
• visit tuol sleng prison
• eat as many tropical fruits as possible
• your suggestion here

today’s challenge:  climb mount si. 

here are the vital statistics to mount si.  the trail is roughly 8 miles long roundtrip, the height of 6 space needles; a total elevation of 4128 feet!  the trail begins at 500 ft.

the trip to north bend, washington hit a couple snags before our hike began.  first, a couple people ran late, which isnt a shock considering how early we started that morning.  and secondly, we were a little lost finding the headtrail until we made a quick stop at gas station for directions

i came to climb the highest peak of mount si and i wasnt satisfied yet at this point.  bc back in the distance, another peak itched me to the challenge.  it was called the haystack,  an all rock surface at least 500 feet in height.  the level of difficulty was high; as its slope was at least 60-65 in degrees!

another day, another new challenge awaits me….

thoughts, reactions, comments are highly encouraged.

rise and sunshine!  we’re heading out on an all day work trip to westport, washington, 3 hours southwest of seattle by the pacific coast. 

it was sprinking that morning.  one of the youth called at 6ish.  “so, is the trip cancelled?” this was his first and only sentence.  “just because its raining here, does that mean the weather is the same 150 miles away from us?”  i replied.  silent, he was.  haha, i’m always a smart alec to my kids at work. 

despite these morning drizzles, the gang of 13 departed on time.  we arrive at this sleepy, fishing community of 2,000 at around 1030 am.  the weather was somewhat gloomy, though no sprinkles.

first thing we did was to scope out for a bbq site near the ocean.  after we found our spot, we could set up our supplies and proceed with some of our scheduled activities.  a couple of them built a nice sand replica of angkor wat.  a couple dared to play in the ocean.  but the majority of our time on the beach was reserved for full contact football.  after a full bbq meal (man, i was soooo stuffed), all of us continued with the friendly match.  after two staff had minor dislocation in their legs, several bruises over their bodies, and so much sand all ourselves, the game came to an end at a sudden death play.  on fourth and goal, my team scored the winning touchdown!

after lunch and football, we went into town to do some sight-seeing.  one of the kids caught a crab.  i took pictures off the observation tower overlooking the monstrous pacific ocean.  several others just got their feet wet on the beach. 

what seems to be the kids most enjoyable time was our go-kart racing.  this was my first time as for most of them and boy, we all had a blast!  now i can feel what it must be like behind stock car racing (well, minus the high speeds).

after a quick stop for some ice cream and slurpees, we finally departed westport back to seattle at 430.

summertime is all about fun in the sun!  so… has anyone visited the place or nearby ocean shores before?  though im not much for water activities bc i cant swim (or float for that matter), i still enjoy being near the water.  has anyone visited the beach or done any fun water activities this summer yet?  if not, what are you waiting for?  the sun and much of summer is dwindling down ….

pictures from the trip taken by yours truly will be printed and scan soon.

i got It bad, real bad — insomnia fools!  whatcha thinkin, kiddo?

in our efforts to bring closer solidarity, friendship, and a stronger line of communication between khmer student leaders, a friend and i are ambitiously compiling a master list of khmer student organizations in the us.  as it stands today, we have the first figure of 65 different groups found in 63 different universities, colleges and high schools across east and west.  below are the list of schools with omitted information such as e-mail address, webpage, and other relevant facts.  if you don’t see your school and/or aware of any other group not mentioned below, please help contribute to this project.  send all submissions to:  phatry.pan@gmail.com


the suggested format is as follows:

OFFICIAL NAME: Rajana Society (RS)
SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY: University of Washington
LOCATION: Seattle, Washington
E-MAIL: rajana@u.washington.edu
HOMEPAGE: http://www.rajana.org
MISSION/PURPOSE: * “To advance Khmer arts & entertainment.”

*Optional

Without further dues, here are the current list of schools with records of a Khmer student organization, as arranged alphabetically by states:


Arizona State University

UC Berkeley                                                                        

UC Davis

UC Irvine

UC Los Angeles

UC Riverside

UC San Diego

UC Santa Barbara

UC Santa Cruz

CSU Fresno

CSU Fullerton

CSU Long Beach

CSU Polytechnic University

CSU Sacramento

San Diego State University

San Jose State University

California Polytechnic State University

De Anza College

University of the Pacific

Stanford University

Fresno College

Long Beach City College

University of Colorado

University of Connecticut

Yale University

University of Florida

Georgia Institute of Technology

University of Hawaii, Manoa

UMD Baltimore County

UMD College Park

Montgomery Blair HS

UMass Amherst

UMass Boston

UMass Lowell

Masscuchsetts Institute of Technology

Northeastern University

UMN Twin Cities           

Mankato State University

Ohio University

Ohio State University

Oregon State University

Portland State University

University of Pennsylvania

Penn State University

Drexel University

Temple University

University of Rhode Island

Brown University

University of Virginia

College of William & Mary

George Mason University

University of Washington

Western Washington University

Washington State University

Seattle University

Evergreen College

Highline Community College

Pierce Community College

Shoreline Community College

South Seattle Community College

Tacoma Community College

University of Wisconsin

for work or play, commuting in this southside seattle neighborhood have seen a sharp rise of waving middle fingers, honking cars and screaming motorists.  i am guilty as all. and all this because of a mass urban redevelopment project called othello station.

when fully completed, this newest seattle neighborhood will include new retail and office space, mix housing for low-income families, first time buyers that encourages minorities, several new parks, pedestrian friendly trails, and the grand daddy of them all, a light rail stop dubbed othello station.

and although my residency left in seattle is dwindling, these last 1.5 yrs of commuting in and around the area has been increasingly frustrating.  we already rank second or third weekly in worst traffic cities in the nation (we duke out with dc).  for example, today as i left to a cafe via i-5, the new redesigned stoplight on othello st. and mlk, which marks the hub of development, simply act a fool!  motorists from about 10 diferent angles moved in the speed of ants.  a usual 15 min drive to my destination ended up 15 more than usual.


don’t get me wrong, i do support this project (along with the seemlingly extinct $11 billion monorail expansion project) and give high accolades to the city planners.  side note:  my brother’s property went up almost 40%!  however, its just ridiculous how life behind the wheel these days continue to rise!  urggh, i can’t wait to relocate. 

monday. 11th.  work resumed fresh at 9 o’clock.  three members of the parks crew came in on their off day for an appointment to discuss ways to make extra money this summer.  being only 15, it can be tough knowing about some of the resources available, but the four of us brainstormed ideas together.  for a couple hours, we worked compiling a ‘master list’ — school background, job experience, volunteer experience, awards and recognition, computer skills, etc.  the three promise to return friday again on their off day to use information in composing a resume and cover letter.  they seem excited; who wouldn’t?  i wish i had this kind of private mentorship at that tender age.



sent out a package to my cheese head. :p



tuesday.  12th.   parks crew reconvened at lakewood park (aka hick’s lake) to faced our toughest challenge yet — removing the stubborn 35-yr-old tree stump on top of the entrance hill.  when the team conferenced, we were optimistic to succeed with our goal of its removal by first shift which concludes at lunchtime of noon.  however, the stump resisted. 



at the start of the second and final work shift, we barely scratched the stump.  we needed a new strategy–uproot the foundation by attacking its base.  after a total of four hours plus, breaking one handle to a shovel, many battle scars on our arms, and dozens of micheal jackson type screams of frustration, we were victorious!  chey yo, chey yo! ;)  we rolled this bad boy down the hill, snap some poses in front of the stump and proceed in calling it a day.  what?  the crew filled with exultation.

wednesday.  13th.  the euphoria from the previous work day still had us on cloud nine.  but however, we knew a bigger challenge awaited us.  today we began at a new site, the area around the local pool facility.  the space is much larger than the entrance hill, with tons of overgrown thorn bushes, a monstrous rectangular border of flower beds that needed to be mulched, and a parking lot as big as half of a typical sports stadium (okay, a bit of exageration here, but go along with me).  we’re gonna be here for at least a week and a half!



i caught up with three friends for happy hour at greenlake bar & grill.  this get-together is part of our weekly adventure to fulfill our project in creating the first “Unofficial Asian Guide to Happy Hour Dining in Seattle.”  If you care to view our current list and read our reviews of various dining  establishments from three self-proclaim happy hour critics, e-mail me.  i’ll give you the Truth.  but anyways, let me hear everyone’s thoughts about restaurant tipping, a conversation that drew a split between the four of us that night.

question:  what is your criterium for tipping?  is it earned or should one stiff the waitor if s/he stiffs you with bad service?  would you not tip a person period?  speak your piece.

thursday.  14th.    since 530 pm after a long days worth of work, i’ve been home glued to the computer monitor.  i wasnt in the mood to do much of anything this evening, but to relax and catch up on some writings.  scanned some old drawings of my adorable little princesses.  if you like, you can view a couple in my growing photo album.  check them out, you won’t be disappointed.

i pinky sweared i’d go bed by 1 am, so i must wrap this entry now :p