The next morning I recounted the ankle drama to Amanda and Andy while we waited for our ride to Korea Town. The area was sort of far from our hotel, but they were game for exploring a new area and soaking in the K-pop vibes. It was exciting for me to see hangul all over. My brain was so distracted trying to translate everything as we walked around. Andy was excited by all the architecture in the neighborhood. Amanda delighted in the cultural change and bought some Korean snacks for her students.

Our first stop was Madang Plaza. Daiso is a fun Japanese home goods store. I got some face masks other toiletries at the cosmetic shop. There was an actual kpop store. I was so curious about these. They have so many albums in stock and most of the lightsticks too. So many posters and stuffed toys and other weird kpop merchandise. Not much apparel though, the only thing I would be interested in buying. They were out of Ateez enamel pins, so I purchased one for Seventeen. There was a Paris Baguette Cafe and a Korean Hot Dog stand. I wish I could have sampled those, but I was saving my appetite for a particular lunch.

We walked a few blocks north for lunch and found some interesting sites along the way. Andy learned about this strange tarot reading cafe called Cafe Jack. The owner is obsessed with Titanic and built a collection of nautical items to theme the place. Too bad it was closed. We had to make do with peeping over the fence.

I was absolutely delighted to find this bulletin for calligraphy club. It's actually a secret ad for Ateez! The QR code takes you to The Real music video. I saw pictures of these in posted in Chicago too. I'm not sure if they are official marketing. Knowing how to labels operate and how the fans self-promote, I'm leaning towards it being a fan creation.

On to lunch! I had set my eyes on Monty's Good Burgers. They have great reviews despite being a vegan restaurant. Lactose-free cheeseburger and shake? Yes please!

We took our food down the road toward a "park" on the map, which really was a courtyard in front of some buildings. At least it was away from traffic and had a spot to sit. The food was delicious! I ooo-ed and mmm-ed so much about my shake, saying it was the best I've had in years. Amanda tried a sample and informed me that my taste must be ruined, because the shake was very oat-y and had the wrong mouthfeel. That may be true, but for vegan ice cream it gets top marks! It was worth the white, numb fingers that it gave me.

We continued east toward another mini-mall to see another kpop store. Along the way we admired so many interesting buildings. Andy hunted down the former Brown Derby restaurant. I heard Ateez's song Deja Vu playing in one of the restaurants that we passed and excitedly pointed it out to my sibs. This was so wild, to see and hear all these things associated with a music scene that I have only experienced online. In Colorado, it's hard for me to find someone who likes even BTS, let alone any of these other groups that I enjoy. Here in K-town, there are posters, stores, murals, and songs playing on the radio!

We arrived at the shopping mall and ascended to the kpop store. They happened to be playing an Ateez song at that moment, ha! In the video I'm saying "This is the closing song on the show" (Turbulence).

The store had some different merch, but again, nothing I was interested in. Like the first store, they were sold out of Ateez enamel pins. It was fun to browse anyway, and they played some other new songs that I enjoy, such as Maverick by The Boyz and Feelin' Like by Pentagon.

We explored H Mart and Amanda got candies for her students. We decided it was time to call a car to go back to the hotel. We needed to rest up for the big night!

On the way back we caught a glimpse of the Hollywood sign.

On Sunday morning, Amanda, Andy, and I embarked on our first trip ever for just the three of us siblings. Unbelievable, right? We smoothly parked in Amanda's secret DIA garage area and breezed through security. I enjoyed some knitting and podcasts on the plane, and had a great view of the snowy Colorado peaks and the Grand Canyon. After a short flight, palm trees marked our arrival to beautiful California!

We stayed at the LAX/Century Blvd Marriott just a couple minutes from the airport. After unloading in our rooms, we met downstairs for an Uber to Santa Monica. We arrived just in time to watch a beautiful sunset from the beach cliffs.

Most of the shops were closing soon, but we popped into a few for fun. Andy really enjoyed seeing the architecture. We each found some yummy food to take back to our hotel rooms for dinner. I couldn't wait, and got a jump start on my japchae bowl from Bibibop while waiting for taiyaki. The taiyaki from Somisomi were delicious too, and I wish I had more room to eat them all! My favorite filling was the seasonal special hotteok made with brown sugar and nuts.

Back at the hotel, we bid each other goodnight to rest and eat. I, of course, caught up on new kpop videos posted that day. Here's the choreo I was watching - part of the setlist for the concert, and some of this crew toured as back-up dancers for our show.

I also stayed up watching twitter updates on the concert happening that night. Even at this point, I wasn't sure the concert was really going to happen for us. I was alarmed to read that one of the members who felt ill earlier in the day and missed a fansign, left the stage mid-show. Eventually the twitter users let us know that he had hurt his ankle and would sit out the rest of that show. Phew. I was worried it was contagious illness that would cancel our show. Just a minor injury that needed rest. Indeed, he was back for our night. We got all 8 members and the injured one only sat out one number towards the end.

My (current) favorite kpop groups are Seventeen and Ateez. In November, Ateez announced that they would resume their world tour that was postponed in 2020, including the US. This would be one of the first kpop tours to comeback since the pandemic started. Most fans held on to their 2020 tickets and could use them now. The tour was sold out, but there were plenty of seats on the after-market, either from people who could not attend the new dates, or scalpers. I seriously considered buying a ticket, was tracking prices, and nearly bought a couple of times when I saw them for less than $450. But I was nervous that the tour would be canceled due to covid rates surging, or the group would get sick and cancel, or I would get sick and not be able to attend. With a reseller ticket, I would have no refund option. Nevertheless, I found myself daydreaming of a California getaway, a quick trip to take a break from it all and dance my heart out with my favorite idol group.

Omicron cases continued to soar through December. So I was very surprised when they announced that, due to overwhelming demand, they would be adding an extra day to the tour. A new date in Los Angeles! The closest and safest venue, and with an original ticket that would have cancelation protection! I couldn't believe it. I had to try.

If only I had a friend to go with me. Ben assured me that he was NOT interested, plus getting childcare would be very difficult if he came too. I have no friends who like kpop. But . . . I have adventurous siblings. On a whim, I texted Amanda and Andy:

(Spoiler: the yarn shop was closed during our trip.) (Yes, those are all Ateez gifs.)

I was so hyped. I even took a selfie, since I happened to be wearing my homemade Ateez sweatshirt that night.

A while later, after working on details and, sadly, cancelling our plans to meet-up for Christmas, we gathered by phone to try to get good seats. Andy got through the Ticketmaster queue first and scored excellent seats right where I wanted - front row of the first raised tier! Woot! And for a much more reasonable price than resale, $128 after fees/tax. Flights and hotel were quickly settled. My excitement grew and grew.

For the next month I sent Andy and Amanda educational emails about Ateez. It was fun for me to write up these letters about why I love this band so much. I also gave updates on the tour progress. Our concert was going to be the last night of the tour. I was so sure that it would be canceled. The letters were a way for me to exercise my excitement and follow the tour events. I hope they helped Amanda and Andy know what they were getting into too :-)

If any of my readers care to educate themselves too, I copied all my emails to a document and shared it here.

On Saturday January 29 Sam was baptized. We got permission to have a very small program with only family, the Bishop, and the primary president. Everyone participated in music or speaking. It was short and sweet and memorable (we made the water too warm, and Sam’s clean pants to change into afterward accidentally got soaking wet - whoops!).

Our bishop also allowed us to have Jack ordained to the priesthood during the program.

I’m so glad everyone came together and we were able to accomplish these ordinances.

It's going to take me a while to gather photos and write up the Los Angeles trip. So I need to share this video right away. I found it on my phone and it turned out so great despite my erratic camerawork. It's hard to let loose with dance while filming. Wave is one of my favorite Ateez songs and there's so much joy in this video!

What a great night!!

What an amazing day! I've been fantasizing about doing this for months. I can't believe it happened! I'm on such a high. I wish the night never ended!

These kind boys took a video of us:

And they took a picture too:

I'm on Hongjoong's shoulder! AAAAAAA!

ATEEZ PRESENT!

Ben and I wanted to do something special for the kids for Christmas. They’ve been cooped up for months on end, turning down invitations from friends, staying sheltered at home. They finally got their vaccines and we wanted to celebrate their success in staying healthy through the pandemic to that point.

Jack was very excited for the latest Spider-Man movie, but resigned to the wait for streaming. For Christmas we came up with a way to take them to the theater with minimal risk.

We picked a matinee, weekday showtime, hoping it wouldn’t be a full theater. Then we bought our tickets in the last row so no one could sit behind us. Then we bought the seats to the side and in front, to guarantee some distance between us and other guests. It worked!

The kids were so excited when they opened the envelope of tickets and we explained the plan. They had a great time at the movie.

We made them keep their masks on, so no snacks or drinks. Don’t worry, we pre-tipped our server generously and told him to get lost ;-) We treated the kids to Culver’s burgers and shakes on the way home to make up for missing the full Alamo experience.

Jack said it was the best movie ever. There were so many surprises. I don’t think we could have made it to streaming release in February without spoiling a lot of it. I worried Sam was too young, but he loved it too.

It was a very merry celebration!