So today I come home to a huge package addressed to Jieun Park, that's me! It was from my daddy. He sent me some sample handbags as a gift. I was simply ecstatic. Also included was a gift from my grandmother -- straight from Korea! She bought me some underwear, gave it to my dad when he was there, and told him to deliver it to me. I love my grandmother. I think this is the fifth time she has gotten me underwear. For no particular reason. It's sweet. I don't know... maybe it's Korean custom to get your granddaughters underwear for no reason.

But the best part was the letter that my dad wrote. It was a simple one page letter written in his neat Korean handwriting. It started out with "To my loving daughter Jieun (sa-rang-ha-neun jieun-i-ey-key)" and didn't say much really. The content was very simple and he even talked about the weather in LA, but just the thought of someone taking the time to write me a letter was so touching. I've been bugging my dad to write me a letter since as long as I can remember. I don't know what it was. I just wanted a letter from him. Once I even wrote him a letter with a reply envelope that was stamped. I think I even threw in some stationery. But it never came.

That's why this one page letter that talks of nothing but the weather is so special to me. I think it's the first letter I've received from my dad. Yay. It made my day! Letters have a profound effect on me. Ever since I learned how to write I've been writing letters. Me and Karen, my oldest friend from home, wrote each other like every week or so consistently for years. We lived in the same city, we visited each other a lot, and we went to the same church, but we still sent letters to each other by mail. Isn't that crazy? Now that I think about it, that was absurd. But was it? We probably got to know each other better through the medium of letters. It's a different dimension. Different from email letters. Email letters are a category in itself. That's what they are: email letters. But letters... (that was an ellipse) are a treasure. I kept every letter I received from friends, family, and pen pals for over 13 years. Through the years I would sort them by people, and then determine the quality of my friendship with the person based on how many letters I've received from them. :) Hilarious, no?

My brother talks about the banalities of letter writing and how he can't stand writing or reading banal letters because they frustrate him. I share his sentiment, but only so far. He may be a little bit overboard on the banality issue. I don't mind banality as long as it's used to step up to a deeper level. Like, I start off with "Hi! How are you? I'm fine. Sorry I haven't written in a long time, but I've been kind of busy with school and stuff..." And then I progress into the deeper things of life. It's a necessary social mechanism; this thing called superficiality. I guess you can just dive into the deep end of the waters from the start, but I prefer wading into the waters, starting with my toes getting wet first. Then eventually ease into the deep end. Same with ending a letter. I like to ease my way out of the waters instead of jumping out. "Well, I guess I'm running out of things to say. I hope all is well with you. Give my regards to your parents, and see you soon. Okay? Bye..."

The same goes for conversations. I believe in a beginning, a middle, and an end. I like the structure. I don't find it binding or frustrating, but freeing. Even answering machine messages. Even journal entries. I now feel like I'm at the end of the entry, so I have to ease my way out of the water. Well, it was nice to express my feelings about letters. I must go to Morning Glory soon to get some new stationery...

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