... dorky ipad marriage proposal

Congratulations, Zach...  on your engagement.  Read full TechCrunch story here.

[2] arry, ... why are you doing this?...

That seems to be the theme question of the week, "Arry, why.... why are you doing all this?"  Why... why... it's ingrained in my blood. I want to change the world - make it a better place for everyone.  I want hearts to feel, intentions to be good, good people to meet other good people, ...   Isn't it everyone's reason for doing what they do?  I'm literally sitting here after a three hour brainstorming and planning session for my next big event that's coming up this summer...  I am so so so excited to put this event together.  A lot of my close friends are worried - because I'm putting a big chunk of skin in the game for this...  But really, why?  I don't know... or maybe I do.  It seems like a fun thing to do...  Well, why comes down to these three core values:

1. Selfless Service:
At an early age, my mother had me playing the piano and violin for the elderly and church every weekend.  Sometimes I wanted to sleep, go out and play instead...  She said if you've got a gift, it's your duty to share it with others.  And really, being able to touch the hearts of the forgotten elderly left in nursing homes ... that was a gift all in its own.  I get a high when I meet hearts-of-gold.  I'm touched to the core when I see selfless acts of love like a father spending time with his child and when a person gives "just because". 

2. Connecting Hearts:
Here's a memory I can share with you.  In college, I became really excited about the cause around multicultural-diversity and acceptance.  There was one evening where I was being a bookworm at our local Barnes and Noble when I was home in upstate NY for the Christmas holidays - and I heard this really cool folksy-hip chick (who was from Seattle!!!) playing the guitar singing in the cafe.  I thought... wow: MUSIC... music is a common language that everyone understands.  ...  I found a way to raise money through the Cornell Student Affairs office and  Office of Minority Affairs to bring the Seattle folk chick to Ithaca- and put on a concert for all the students.  The concert provided a forum for people from all walks of life, of different colors and cultures, to sit together, listen to music and share the experience.  The event didn't make any money.  Anyways... Music is one of my first loves...  it's the language of the heart.  I saw it work then in connecting hearts... and I hope to see it work again this June...

3. Servant Leadership:
At the end of it all, it's about servant leadership - where giving is from the heart, and not about the ego.  Leading in a way that makes human sense for the greater good.  For those that are also engaged with community and nonprofits, you know that to really give back, you have to walk into that community/nonprofit with an open heart and mind; the ego is nowhere to be seen, the badges/diplomas/age/gender/...  all those ego-related "things" have to be left behind when you enter the world of Giving.  I heard a slightly funny story about an extremely intelligent, smart, wildly successful man who walked into a community organization with the intention of volunteering and giving back.  The intent was good - points there.  He was assigned the lowly position of filing papers for his first "project" - and he was shocked.  He couldn't do it.  In the world of giving, you have to think with human-sense - you have to get to know the organization, the people and earn the right/trust of the people.  Ego has no place in giving.

Reminds me of what my mom said a bunch of times to me growing up that you may have heard me say - and it really rang a bell in my heart.  Arry... no matter how rich you may be, how smart you are, how successful...  it'll never bring you love/peace if you have neighbors that are suffering.  (Of course, she said this in Korean... but you get the gist).  ... 

And hey... isn't this what love is about?  Love is selfless, accepting, and giving. 

Hugs,
Arry

[1]... we all want to love, to be loved, right?

I had two conversations on the topic of love today (what a surprise) that left some marks on my heart.  My day is over and I'm feeling a little somber, tired...  ... just tired.  Why are we so cynical when it comes to love?  Why do we make it so hard for each other?

Couple snapshots from the conversations:

1. Man has to be honorable, respectable, respectful (on the inside!) for a woman to respectfully follow him.  It's not about the money, the car... work on your "insides" too.  My friend and I talked about how as a society, we've hit "gender neutrality" = wimpy men, alpha women.  I swear by this, and I'll repeat it over and over again - Man must treasure his woman, woman must respect her man.  We've lost that precious balance between man and woman.  Step it up and own it (men).  Relax, let go, it's ok to be feminine (women).
2. Come on girls... if you're living with him, over the age of 25, and it's been years... walk away.  He doesn't know or is too damn wimpy to end it himself.  When you talk to a guy and he's contemplating proposing to his girlfriend - and he's not-so-excited, thinking about waiting it out a little longer to see if there's something wrong with her, ...  I just don't know.  The romantic in me is crying, screaming for mercy.  I'm sad...  I hope he lets go of his fear and takes a leap.  Love has to be fearless sometimes.
3. There's hope in this world when our family friend who is the most determined to never get married finally says something like, "I think I've found a girl I want to be with - and no one else".  Who hooo!!!  Love is so much better that way - meaningful, committed, ... intentional love. 

Good night,
Arry

who's got dice?

I consider myself a novice in the world of blogging, and as you can see, learning as I go.  We have learned to keep the posts under 500 words, put up more pictures, use bullets and lists as much as possible, etc...

Lately the feedback from everyone has been put more of myself out there.  More?  Really, more?  I felt like I was putting so much of myself out there already.  Huh, how!?  Okay.  Okay...  okay...  I'll try it. It's not easy, throwing my raw thoughts onto the big world wide web for anyone out there to read.  I even thought about starting a new blog or pretending we have a guest blogger ...  obviously, we've gone with plan A - Arry writing it as herself and putting it out there.  Nervous.

I will commit to 10 posts with real stories about what's going on - not just the things that are going on in my head - but real life stories.  If I stray from my usual themes of love and relationships, forgive me.  Whatever the case may be, I will do my best.  (I'm feeling really nervous... so please, leave comments.  You don't have to agree or support, only leave your true thoughts.  It makes this blogging adventure more fun for me.).  Will have to think of a funny title to go along with it.

I'll start tomorrow...  this is my post for today.

Night night,

Arry

do You still love me?

I hit a funny point in my life recently (past 6 months) where it seems like everything is suddenly making sense.  Things were suddenly becoming clear.  Funny how experiencing challenges in life helps you grow the most.  I have an idea of what I'm looking for, what I'm not.  The "fortune cookie" like sayings that I thought were my original thoughts...  not so original (someone's already thought of them, been saying them, been preaching them I've very recently learned). 

Humbling.

Past 6 months, I've also realized, "No Way Jose", my future husband's definitely gotta be Christian.  Enough with being the free-spirited-Arry-equal-opportunity blah-blah-blah - it ain't working.  I'm not equal opportunity.  No.  The values are all so very different (that's what I mean when I say my thoughts not-so-original.  Turns out, they are very Biblical.  My values are Christian - and it's taken me this long to put two and two together).  I began poking at friends' to see if they go to church, what church they go to, what they say about their church and their feelings about it...  and that says a lot about whether or not I want to take the time to go there. 

Last year, the search in finding my return path back to God began (especially recently, with the motivation of a very nice person).  My heart is there, it's been there for some time... but the brain has a little more thinking to do today.  "In the search for God, you revert from what attracts you and swim towards which is difficult.  You abandon your comforting and familiar habits with the hope... that something greater [is up there. Taking the leap of faith.] 

I just want God.  I want God inside me.  I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on water" (E. Gilbert).  I want to be that shining light I wrote about in all of my college applications a dozen years ago. 

Hello, again.  Do You still love me?  Will You take me back?

~Arry

time to start listening.

I'm feeling bombarded with sounds lately... my senses feeling overwhelmed.  I'm sensitive to unnatural bright LED and florescent lights, the annoyance of my phones ringing and pinging, my computer, the tv, music being played too loudly, ...  It's too much.

We're bombarded all day long, all night long these days - how does anyone find the down-time (and I mean TRUE down-time where one can be at peace with oneself, with nature, with God)?  It takes way too much effort - more effort than it should to find silence (silence from all of the unnatural man made sounds of machinery and technology).  This is taking way too much effort.

"The resting place of the mind is the heart... and the only place the mind will ever find peace is inside the silence of the heart".  Silence.  Meditation.  Prayer.  Time for a timeout.  Time to start really listening.

~Arry

how many different jobs have you had?

On the plane ride back from New York City, I started reminiscing - thinking about the journey I've had so far and all the different hats I've worn in my short life.  Turns out, it's pretty interesting.  List of all the different jobs I've had and gotten paid for (and not in any particular order):

1. Event/Experience/Party/Fundraising Planner
2. Piano Teacher
3. Privately Commissioned Artist (paintings/mixed media)
4. Business Analyst/Sales Operations (Microsoft)
5. Business Manager (Microsoft)
6. Diversity Coordinator (Microsoft)
7. Resident Teaching Assistant (Cornell and RPI)
8. Baby-Sitting
9. Day Care Assistant
10. Candy Store Cashier (Candy Express)
11. Ice Cream Cake Store (Carvel Ice Cream)
12. Actuary (Guy Carpenter Instrat)
13. Associate Publisher (A. Magazine, NY)
14. Business Banking Training Associate (WaMu)
15. Legal Assistant (Peng & Weber)
16. Bartender (Hilton)
17. Waitress (College Cafe, Plum Tree, Shilla)
18. Campus Community Organizer (Cornell Diversity Student Affairs)
19. Church Pianist
20. Consultant (Hitachi, KPMG, Pariveda Solutions)
21. Business Case/ Business Plan Writer (freelance)
22. Entrepreneur/Startup (2 startups so far: 1 no-go, 1 pending)

Wow.

~Arry

mentioned in a yelp article today

How cool is this?  March 31 my dear friend Peter D. called me excitedly saying he saw my name in a newsletter.  Says we must go out for dinner tonight: me, him, his friend, his wifey, my brother.  Celebrate the small "wins" in life, huh?  Low and behold... he wasn't making it up!  (See picture, second paragraph).

I owe you an update on the world of Yelp Elite.  Coming soon...

But for now, I sleep.
Good night,

~Arry

a quick hello from new york city

A quick hello from the Big Apple, New York City.  Mina and I have escaped to catch up on Broadway musicals, eat fabulous meals, hang out with our beloved family and friends - and bond over our next steps together on our journey together with MAG and All Things Wishful.

On a side note - tonight, we had an awesome awesome awesome dinner today at Babbo in the village.  So delicious.  Octopus, lamb tongue, wild boar ragu, beef cheeks, asparagus with duck egg, ... Yes, I am going to write a happy Yelp review on it when I get a chance.  No doubt.  We got to catch up with our dear friend Matias to boot.  I'm still so full (5 hours later)... I can't lay down to sleep!

So... expect some news coming up in the next week... and more in the next couple of months... oh boy oh boy, there's more coming your way!!!  My goodness, I really heart my bff Mina.  It's crazy how we met (see first blog post)...  things really do happen for a reason.  I'm feeling very blessed and thankful.

Good night,
~Arry

the true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive

Read this love story recently and wanted to share it with you. Love means something very real to me, more than words can explain.  I have not and will not let love become spoiled from those who were careless in how they handled my heart.  (Neither should you).  To me, love is best taught though a person's actions - in this story, the act of loving without having seen a person's face.  Isn't this what the word faith is all about?

John fell in love with a woman.  He stood by his love and owned it all the way through.

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.

His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and ... [Read the rest of the story here]

"Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will tell you who you are..."

~*~*~

Bring it! and then, ... Own it!
-- Arry