Jonathan in Beijing

We are both in Beijing, China for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Follow the adventure at:

http://jonathaninbeijing.blogspot.com

The Tesla Roadster

On Saturday, I went up to the Tesla dealership (the world's first) on Santa Monica Boulevard in West L.A. While there they let me test drive the Tesla. I took it for about a half hour and took it up the 405 to Sunset, through UCLA, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, and down through Westwood Village and past the Mormon temple.

While I was driving the auto, 6 people stopped me to ask about or comment on the car. It really is a gorgeous car and fun to drive. Everyone notices the car and is intrigued by its sleek design and futuristic look. I enjoyed the Jetsons-/Star Wars-like sounds that the car produces as it accelerates. The acceleration is smooth and the suspension and steering wheel are great. Very tight on corners.

The car is 100% electric, and gets over 200 miles per full charge. You just plug it in at home or work. That's nice.

Bad: low visibility in the car, not so luxurious interior features, and the seats are very deep and low. For such a futuristic car, why are the seats not automatic? For lumbar support, I had to squeeze a pump similar to the ones used for measuring blood pressure. I thought that was odd. The GPS in the car is mediocre . . . terribly tiny screen, but it's all okay. Really, the car is made for sporty fun and speed -- it's not a Mercedes. To get in and out of the car is a pain in the butt - figuratively and literally. The bucket seats are so extremely low because the car is modeled after the Lotus Elise. I am a little disappointed with some of the car's features and the lack of some interior luxury, but overall I like the car because it's just so cool and unique.

Also, the trunk storage space is as big as that of a Porsche 911/Turbo - it fits a set of golf clubs perfectly.

It's exciting that Tesla is a California company. It's also exciting that Tesla is contributing to the effort to move America's drivers away from gas-guzzlers. Tesla has already unveiled plans to produce and sell a 4-door sedan called the Model S. Stay tuned for more info on that! It should be available in 2011 and will be selling at about $60,000.

A bicoastal life

So I recently (like a year ago) discovered the term "bicoastal". What a fascinating concept!!
So, what exactly is a bicoastal life?

From the dictionary:

bicoastal |bīˈkōstəl| adjective of or relating to two coasts, esp. the east and west coast regions of the U.S. : a bicoastal custody settlement.
• traveling frequently from one coast to the other : a bicoastal businessman.
• located along both the east and west coasts.

These articles offer an interesting look at "bicoastal" life:

• Click here for the first article.
• Who is living bicoastally?
  
• An interesting blog post referring to the bicoastal thing.

A little while ago I read a book by a guy who lives in New York, Hong Kong, and Buenos Aires, splitting his time evenly among the three. That sounds great - why not, right? I could probably spend a few months in Hong Kong every year. But anyway the bicoastal life is kind of appealing. I would love to live in two great and lively cities. So, why should we have to choose between Los Angeles and Washington, DC? Why not just live in both places? Perhaps a bicoastal lifestyle is for us!! Any thoughts?

Wow . . . so we've been busy

Some of what's been going on since late April 2008 (WOW!!! three months went by so quickly):

• Sunny's dad's 60th birthday party at the Beverly Hills Hotel
• Our trip to Washington, DC for friends' wedding 
• Friend's wedding reception in Philadelphia
• Jonathan's participation in the Milken Institute's Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton on Wilshire - amazing group of folks in attendance.
• Many visitors in L.A. - lots of guests at our home! we love entertaining visitors...
• L.A. Dodgers game vs. St. Louis Cardinals (we left early because it started raining)
• Our quick trip to China for Sunny's participation in a religious freedom conference at the Chinese National Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing
• Sunny planning for Sunrider's Grand Convention which is to take place this coming week in Anaheim and Torrance
• UCLA Department of Public Policy 10th Anniversary
• Finish my first year of grad school at UCLA . . . only one more year left.
• I started working to help create the World Trade Center of Orange County
• Many events at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
• Our joint sunset birthday party at a restaurant on the water in Long Beach
• Trip to San Jose and Silicon Valley for Swedish family reunion/Midsummer festival
• Fourth of July celebrations in Torrance
• breakfast with Larry King
• the only movie we've watched recently in a theater is Kung Fu Panda - with our niece and nephew
• Matsuhisa
• our friend, Erik, will be moving to Los Angeles for good! Go UCLA Law!
• lots of work
• lots of fun
• I did not make it to Portugal this summer... State Department very slow
• I found out that we live within walking distance of THREE See's Candies stores!

This week we will be super busy running around Los Angeles and Orange County:

• Sunrider Grand Convention begins and lasts until Sunday
• Pacific Council event with U.S. commander in Iraq (in Century City)
• Carlos in Orange County - to enjoy the O.C. and start an international trade business project
• Newport Beach
• work for the WTC
• prepare for upcoming overseas trips
• I teach Sunday School next Sunday!

Los Angeles 2020

Los Angeles should host the 2020 Summer Olympics.  So there.

2 days in the San Francisco Bay Area

Sunny and Jonathan spent Friday and Saturday in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jonathan had a meeting on Friday at the University of California headquarters in Oakland.

We flew on Virgin America, a new and very good airline.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time visiting friends and family.  SF was considerably cooler than L.A. (helping us be more grateful for Los Angeles' climate, but we still had a fun time up there.  

We went to dinner at Yoshi's jazz club and sushi bar at Jack London Square - fun ambience.... we ate with Jonathan's East Bay/Oakland relatives, and Sunny's friends.  We spent plenty of time with our friend, Wendy, who recently moved to the Palo Alto area.  Her husband, Brandon, is/was out of town.... We also drove down to San Martin to visit Jonathan's relatives - what a lovely drive through that beautiful area!!

For more photos, click here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176211&l=90f43&id=17818536

We stopped by Stanford University's beautiful campus, In & Out in Morgan Hill, the Golden Gate Bridge, and even the LDS Temple in Oakland.  It was a very busy trip.... we put over 200 miles on the rental car!

We enjoy traveling in California - there is so much to see and do in this beautiful and exciting state!!

My other blog

I maintain a blog called "Who Are Mormons?" as a hobby.

Please visit it at 

http://whoaremormons.blogspot.com

I try to publish interesting stories and articles on Mormons in public life, the media, politics, business, law, medicine, entertainment, etc.

Utah for one day . . . for cousin's wedding

We went to Utah to visit Jonathan's cousin Josh's wedding.... COLD in Salt Lake!

HOT in L.A.

our niece pretending to drive our Highlander....

93 degrees F in L.A. yesterday and today!!! Heat wave! WOW

Korean Air now flies from Los Angeles to São Paulo!

We're excited (especially Jonathan) about this news: Korean Air now offers daily nonstop service between LAX and GRU.  The service begins in June, and they are offering introductory sale fares!

Sunny at Mt. Fuji, Japan

Sunny just arrived from the Far East....  this photo of her and her parents while visiting Japan.  

old portrait

early 2007: group picture; it's missing person(s)

Around the World in 10 days

Jonathan successfully circumnavigated the globe: having logged 25,351.65 air miles since March 22.  

Jonathan's crazy trajectories: 

Los Angeles - Taipei, Taiwan - Hong Kong - Munich, Germany - São Paulo, Brazil - Lima, Peru - Los Angeles!  (Sunny & J were together until Hong Kong... Sunny to Japan)

Photos from the Munich leg:  HERE.

More photos from Taiwan: HERE.

More Photos from Hong Kong: HERE.

Now back in L.A., starting the third quarter at UCLA!

Brazil

Jonathan went to Brazil as Sunny went to Japan.

Jonathan went to Brazil to attend the wedding of Juliana Tabata & Wagner Souza in São Paulo.  Juliana was baptized in 2004 during J's mission down there... She since served a mission in the south of Brazil, and got married in the São Paulo temple this weekend and Jonathan was honored to attend, serving as witness, etc.  

For pictures from Jonathan's Brazil trip, click HERE.  

For even more photos from the Brazil trip: HERE.

Despite the brevity of the stay in beloved Brazil, it was a great trip, and Jonathan got to see many of his close friends there.  

ASIA again . . . Taipei & Hong Kong

We departed Los Angeles for Taipei on Malaysia Airlines... direct flight to Taipei.  Anyway, we got to Taiwan early Sunday morning and stayed til Monday late morning.  Church in Taipei was nice and we got lots of good food there too. 

Monday, we left Taipei for Hong Kong... one of our favorite cities on Earth!  Great food, shopping, nightlife, beautiful skyline, etc.  Love it!!!  

For more photos: click HERE.

In fact, we are still in Hong Kong right now as I type this.... LIVE from our hotel room! :)

Jonathan's final exams....

UCLA Final Exams week . . . . Jonathan is busy and stressed! Friday can't come soon enough: VACATION!

Jonathan's parents love St. Patrick's Day!

Friend Jerry is famous!

Our friend was featured in CES material. He is the second from the left. Go Jerry!

Palm Sunday Picnic at Lake Balboa in L.A.

This afternoon we ventured to the north of Los Angeles City.  We visited Lake Balboa and enjoyed the perfect day for a picnic.  The Lake is kind of famous for its nice cherry trees, which are in full blossom right now. Of course, it is not nearly as exciting as going to Kyoto's cherry blossoms--or even DC's, for that matter-- but it was a very nice Sunday activity.  Next Sunday, Sunny and I will be in Taipei, Taiwan, and we won't be able to enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon together until the middle of next month, so we had a great time today.

It was only a 30 minute drive from our place in the South Bay, and it was well worth the drive.  Lots of ducks, children, dogs, soccer, boats, etc. Beautiful area to visit.

See more of our photos at this link.

We are so grateful for good friends and family!  Please come visit us.. we love visitors.  

(we're going to Utah for jonathan's cousin's wedding on April 8th.)

What we're missing this coming week in Spain:

When I was first in Spain back in 2000, I fell in love with Spain's beautiful Holy Week and Easter traditions. One of most exciting is the traditional procession. Here are some video clips of random Holy Week processions:

Sunny in eastern Canada

Sunny departed LAX this morning for Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She will be back tomorrow evening... It is really cold there right now - in the 30s Fahrenheit!

Sunny: 15 hours traveling, 6 hours working: less than 24 hour trip to Georgia!!

In the Charlotte airport (North Carolina) Sunny took this of these very charming rocking chairs available for passengers to relax as they await flights, etc.  Very interesting concept.... only in the South!  Sunny went to Georgia and it seemed only a few hours later that I picked her up again at LAX.... quick!

Consuls at UCLA

Jonathan has been involved in a program called "Consular Connection" at UCLA... this picture is of the most recent event at the end of February.  Here pictured with Consuls General from Turkey, Bangladesh, and Germany.  (I did crop this shot...)

Also, I recently wrote the Wikpedia article about the Los Angeles Consular Corps.

More Panoramic views of São Paulo, Brazil

Whenever we discuss São Paulo around Sunny's dad (he lived there for a few years), he complains about the traffic (well it is worse than Los Angeles), the food (why???), and calls SP a great "concrete jungle".  

But . . . . I LOVE SP!  So excited to return this month.  Enjoy these great shots of the city:

Jonathan's São Paulo obsession

São Paulo is such an amazing and endless city (much like L.A.) .... is and always will be Jonathan's obsession.  Today he got 4 phone calls from people there, and he is getting more and more eager to get down there in 2 weeks! It will a wonderful trip!  Possible baptism, a wedding, lots of friends, good Brazilian food, a meeting or two... lots of alegría.

Unfortunately, Sunny will be unable to accompany Jonathan to the Brazilian megacity.... well, there's always next time!

Downtown Disney with family

We met some of Sunny's siblings, her parents, etc. in Anaheim to eat dinner and enjoy Downtown Disney.  I was pleasantly surprised with the great live music, cool shopping, good eats, etc. Fun place to spend the evening. 

For more photos, click HERE.

GO DISNEYLAND! 

Jonathan loves his UCLA

Sunny going to Georgia

Sunny must make a business trip tonight to Georgia.  Her responsibilities take her to Savannah, Georgia tonight, but she'll be back tomorrow night!  Jonathan must stay home and study, etc.

Sunny going to Toronto, Canada

Sunny is leaving Jonathan in California to attend the funeral of cousin Ming Shin who passed away this past weekend.  Sunny will be in Canada Friday-Saturday.  Unfortunately, Jonathan cannot attend because his passport is stuck in the Brazilian consulate.

Remembering cousin Ming Shin, 1978-2008

Sunny's cousin, Ming Shing, passed away this weekend after struggling with TB and cancer.

Sunny and Jonathan are planning to attend his funeral in Toronto, Canada this coming Saturday.

In the picture above, Jonathan is standing right behind Ming (wearing a necktie).  We enjoyed a pretty close association with Ming during the summer of 2007 that we spent in China and Hong Kong.  Ming exemplified kindness, thoughtfulness, and he was always willing to help anyone in need.  I always admired his genuine concern for other people.  We will miss him very much.  Our prayers are with his parents.

Spain's Electoral disappointment: PSOE wins

Jonathan is bummed that the Spanish Socialists won the national election: 4 more years of Pres. Zapatero.  For the latest election results, click here.

Disneyland: Downtown Disney

This Saturday while Jonathan worked hard on school work, Sunny went to the beach for a massage.... then  in the evening we went to Downtown Disney for dinner at the House of Blues, and then went shopping!  Very fun evening spent with relatives who live in the region.

Relatives visiting, school, gastronomy, etc.

This weekend we attended a performance of the BYU Young Ambassadors, who are on tour in California right now.  They performed at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, a gorgeous venue for the arts!!  Downtown Long Beach is a lovely place; it's always a treat to visit there.

Also, Jonathan's aunts Bonnie and Linda came to visit their Aunt Rachel in Burbank, so we all got together on Sunday evening for dinner and a nice big family visit.

This evening, we took the missionaries out to eat Korean food at a restaurant on Sepulveda - super authentic, and delicious.  We love Korean BBQ - cooking it yourself, etc.  The elders enjoyed Korean food for the first time!

Jonathan is way busy with school and other projects, and Sunny is preparing for a bunch of travels.

For more pictures of recent days/weeks: click HERE.

Hollywood, UCLA, the Getty, parties, Chinese New Year, etc.

Our good friend/brother Carlos is with us this weekend.  He really wanted to escape Utah's weather, so he is in luck....  We're having a great time with him here... but there is definitely not enough time to enjoy everything there is to see and do in Los Angeles and its region! :) He'll have to return many times yet.  Enjoy the photos of this weekend at the following links:

Click here for pictures of our niece's birthday party this weekend.

For pictures of Chinese New Year party at the LDS Church, click here and here.

Carlos and Jonathan do Palos Verdes in L.A. Photos here.

Around UCLA, the Getty Center in L.A.: photos here.

Photos of Long Beach and Hollywood HERE.

Pictures/Update of the past few days . . .

Hello!

We want to share some pictures with you.  These pictures are of recent events and activities. :)

We were in Utah for the baby blessing of Jonathan's cousin, Melissa. The snow led to a cancellation of church services, so it was done at her parents' home. Here are pictures from that event.

For more pictures of what we did over last weekend in Utah, please see this album.

Also in Utah, President Hinckley's memorial services. Jonathan and his sister and parents participated in the cane salute on South Temple following the funeral.  Click here.

Our Chinese New Year celebrations began this year with the Torrance Chamber of Commerce celebration.  Click here for pics.

SUPER TUESDAY - We voted, and had a party at our house, and enjoyed good food.  Click here.

President Hinckley remembered

We received word of President Hinckley's passing last night during a family dinner at Sunny's parents' home.  

Please visit Jonathan's blog "Who Are Mormons?" to read more about President Hinckley's passing and public legacy.

Minnesota

Minnesota is the coldest place on Earth! We were there for a few days over the weekend with our sister-in-law Katie and her daughter, Ariana (pictured below).

We had a great time braving the subzero temperatures. :)  Also, see more pictures here.

Minneapolis

Ariana Chen, our niece, at the restaurant Basil's in downtown Minneapolis

Visiting with Jonathan's high school friend, Cynthia, and her husband, jared. they live in St. Paul

Brasilauto

Umm... okay....

Chinese Acrobats in Pasadena

We had front row tickets to a big performance of the Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe. They are considered the best team in China, and are now on a world tour to promote the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where they will also perform. We went with Sunny's parents to the Civic Theatre in Pasadena.

The performers did amazing tricks, stunts, jumps, twists, falls, spins, etc. WOW! After having seen so many people doing such unconventional and surprising acrobatic moves, the next time we see Cirque du Soleil, we may end up disappointed.

You can see several more photos at this site.

Hurrah for 2008!

We are so excited for this entering year. 2007 was wonderful and we have been blessed with so much. In 2007, we were fortunate to visit a wide variety of places around the globe. 

We ushered in the New Year on Jan. 1. 2007 in São Paulo, Brazil, with friends from Jonathan's mission there. Then we traveled to the Amazon, and then to Rio de Janeiro. Since that time, we've been blessed to travel to Monterey in northern California; and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei (Sunny showed Jonathan around her mission), Tokyo, and Seoul in Asia. We even crossed the border into North Korea! We ventured to beloved Spain where we toured Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Alicante, and Valencia, with a personal expert tour guide. :)  We also spent time in Toronto, Canada; and Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition to this, we spent about 3 months living in Hong Kong where Jonathan & Sunny worked.  Jonathan started grad school at UCLA, while Sunny got settled in her new office where she keeps very busy.  

As we reflect on 2007 (our first whole year of wedded bliss): airports, eating, gaining weight, new niece and nephew, etc., our most exciting experience has been the whole marriage thing - lots of fun together. (how cute!)  We even got to show each other around our mission areas. Anyway, we are looking forward to 2008 and spending time with family and friends. 

the peninsula branch Christmas Party

John was Santa.... I think I broke his leg.

Christmas in Hawaii

with BYU friends, Maggie & Nate and their son, who now live in Honolulu.

Group shot before leaving Hawaii.

If you follow the links I posted in a previous post, you'll see many more photos.