APA Day in the Life: Julie Ju-Yeon Kang

We've reached the end of Asian Pacific American Month 2013! To wrap up, I've got A Day in the Life from one of my soul sisters, Julie Ju-Yeon Kang, creator of Geisha School Dropout and an amazing promoter of mental health awareness among Asian Americans. 

As a bonus, she also shares her very own Asian hottie: her Japanese-Missourian
husband :) 

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Greetings!  I am Julie from Geisha School Dropout and Kimchi Mamas, and Sophia has asked me to document a typical day.  Even though my life is extremely repetitive and tedious, I just can't say no to a pretty face, so here is what a typical Tuesday looked like for me and my family (we collectively call ourselves The Mangs):


6:15 am: Wake up to a wet nose nudging my arm.  The wet nose belongs to Margaret Thatcher Moo (Miss Moo if you're nasty), our family corgi.  Shuffle over to the glass door to let her out, then shuffle towards the living room to see that my husband (Tim) and son (Isaac) are already dressed for the day and working.  Gently wake up my daughter (Emi) and thank the gods, it is a meltdown-free morning.  Blearily make breakfast, pack snacks, perform last-second backpack checks.





7:40: Walk to school.  May means jacaranda season in our neighborhood, and they line our streets, fragrant and defiantly lavender.  It's really quite a sight.


8:00-11:30: Run home and feverishly work for my dayjob.  I am a clinical programmer for a biotech consulting company in the Bay Area, but I work from home.  I've been working remotely for 5 years, and it's pretty sweet not having a commute, but I must confess it has really taken a toll on my grooming habits.


11:40: Pick up Emi from kindergarten.

11:45-1:00: This is our special just-us-girls time.  We eat lunch, draw pictures, read books, have tea parties, sometimes paint each other's nails.  I really look forward to this time, and I probably have more fun than Emi does.

1:00-4:00: My friend Sonya comes over to pick up my son and play with the kids while I again feverishly work for my dayjob for another chunk of time.  Sonya is my HAPA Mary Poppins.  Every working mom needs a Sonya.

4:00-5:00: Dance lessons.  This week was special because the kids got to try on their recital costumes!  Here is Emi's mini hip hop group modeling theirs.








5:00-6:00: Head over to Shoe City to purchase black Converses for aforementioned recital for both Isaac and Emi.  Discover that Isaac has graduated to adult shoe sizes!  Celebrate that fact with a mini photoshoot and promising never to make him order from the kids' menu again.



6:00-8:00: Happy birthday to Harabuji (Korean for grandpa)!  We celebrated my dad's 64th birthday with Korean BBQ and a bottle of Oban 14 year.  The kids made him a plaque to hang on his wall.  I swear, the man never ages.  I hope I inherited that from him.




8:30: Bedtime for Bonzos!  Then, my writing shift starts after I finish up some dayjob loose ends.

12:00: Sleep, perchance to dream.

Bonus hottie HAPA hubs:

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Julie Kang was born in Seoul and traded her Korean language skills for a Valley Girl accent when her family settled in southern CA. Often described as "too big for the room," Julie brings shame upon her ancestors daily with her unconventional humor and potty mouth. She writes for Geisha School Dropout, her personal blog, and the Kimchi Mamas, a consortium of women raising Korean American children. She is a vocal advocate for work-life balance and lives in Long Beach with her husband and two children.