In addition to being the type of house guest who cleans my friend’s apartment before leaving, I’m also the sort of person who washes all my dirty laundry before packing it for the trip home.  How crazy is that?

The last items on my to-do list were done: buy some See’s candy as gifts (inspired by Curry) and eat at Cha Cha Cha, the amazing Cuban restaurant in San Francisco.  Actually, this wasn’t my entire to-do list, but as much of it as will be accomplished on this trip.  Put the rest of it on the list for next month.

Monty and Dave were kind enough to accompany me from their place (the Tiki Pad) to the Mission District to hunt wildly for parking and eat at Cha Cha Cha.

The food was amazing, as always.  Ceviche, friend plantanos with black beans, bbq pork quesadilla, sauteed mushrooms, and a tri-tip steak.  A large pitcher of sangria made the entire evening mellow (which was why Ty was probably wondering whether I was half-comotose) and the best news is, they now sell Cha Cha Cha t-shirts.  This is truly something unique to wear in Khrungthep. 

Afterwards, I met Ty at Sweet Inspirations for some tea.  Finally, another Xangan who crosses over from virtual acquaintence to real one.  He’s a tremendously bright young man and a pleasure to talk with.  Here’s to hoping he has the opportunity to blog more frequently as I think he has a lot to say and a lot worth saying.

Since March, Ty has been holding onto a copy of Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace for me.  Ty’s partner, Paul Ocampo, assisted Maxine Hong Kingston in editing this anthology of “creative, redemptive storytelling – nonfiction, fiction and poetry – spanning five wards and written by those most profoundly affected by it.”  In addition to editing, Paul wrote one of the pieces, adding his perspective as a veteran of conflict.

This anthology grew out of the work of the Veteran Writers Group, which started as a one-day workshop in 1993 focused on Vietnam War veterans and eventually expanded to become this anthology.  Along the way, the definition of “veteran” expanded to include all those profoundly affected by war, from soldier to civilian, resister to refugee.

As a student, Maxine Hong Kongston’s writing was very influential for me.  Her 1989 novel Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book was a piece that as a communication major at Santa Clara University, I brazenly wanted to make into a student film project.  I told her as much when I had the opportunity to meet her after a reading at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.  Despite her encouragement, I eventually realized the scope of my ambition exceeded my capacity.

Nonetheless, I am quite happy to have a copy of Veterans of War and look forward to some stimulating and thought-provoking reading. 

So tomorrow afternoon I hop on an Asiana Airlines jet bound for Seoul and, by Friday night, Khrungthep.  I may not have another entry until Saturday so kindly be patient.