Kimchi Mamas Meet-Up (Part 2 of 3)

At the speed with which I am cranking out these posts, I should be done by the time we organize our NEXT Meet-up--in November!

Work is looming large, and while I am on target to hit all my MBO goals, it's been a lot of late nights and working weekends to get there. Not much "me" time this month, which translates to not much time for you, my blogging audience. I am sure all dozen of you are waiting with bated breath for the next Kimchi Mamas Meet-Up post! (9 of you were there with me!)

My first impression of the NorCal Kimchi Mamas group? Well, first off, we really put the "Mamas" in the Kimchi Mamas. If I kept count right, there were 3 pregnant moms, 2 of whom are in their 9th month. And 2 moms of nursing newborns. 2 Moms brought their daughters with them, and one brought her accommodating husband along so as to have both family time and Kimchi Mamas time. Now *that* is efficient use of time. The poor man had no idea the conversation immediately flipped to discussion of vaginas whenever he left the table.

Some of us (ahem) were more experienced Mamas, with older children, but we all connected pretty easily. No loudmouths in the group (I was on my best behavior). We all had made some effort on appearance, though none of us was polished enough to go grocery shopping at a typical Korean grocery store. You can tell the "real" Koreans from us Americanized versions by the high heels--YES, for getting groceries. In that context, the pink parking spaces in downtown Seoul do make a warped kind of sense after all.

The Meet-Up was at Sahn Maru in Oakland, which I learned had been reviewed on the KQED show, "Check, Please!". Our organizer, Mary Choi, in all her pregnant glory, is even ON the show--watch here. It is a good review of the restaurant. I would definitely go back again.

We did think it was odd they did not mention the buttock sculptures hanging on one wall of the restaurant...it was an interesting piece of...well...art. Yeah. If you want to see OUR feast, click here. Following are short descriptions of who I met that dinner--the introductions were funny as we gave our actual names, then had to explain our online identities as well.

Mary Choi, our organizer--I pronounced her name "Choy" when I came in, the host clarified it to the Korean pronunciation "Chey"...it brought me right back to Seoul. Mary is lively, funny, mother to a newborn (why does she still have so much energy)? And persuaded several of us to go to karaoke with her after...more on that in my next post. Read her at:

http://so-yun.livejournal.com (personal blog)
http://www.perfect.etsy.com (jewelry hand made by yours truly)
http://twitter.com/so_yun (follow me on twitter!)

"Twizzle" - one of our founders--I sat too far away from her during dinner, but she did sing with us at Karaoke, so that tells you something. Not sure what, but something. I hope to get to know her better in the future. Read her at:

http://baboonmag.blogspot.com/

Eleanna: blog reader (Thank Goodness we have some!)--again, other end of the table--though she did share a funny story about her name and people mispronouncing it as she was growing up. Eleanna not being a typical Korean name, in case you couldn't tell.

Karen the Californian--new Mama--I sat next to her at dinner and at karaoke. She looked great, except for the flip-flops. Definitely no pink parking spaces for her! Read her at:
http://karenthecalifornian.blogspot.com

Julie Kang, the one I had read the most, of course ended up completely at the other end of the table from me. At least she did come to karaoke, so we got to hear her pipes. She also posted a picture of me in her blog, but I won't tell you which one is me. Read her at:
http://geishaschooldropout.com

Shinyung Oh - I had already read some of her excellent posts--her journey to motherhood is chronicled here: http://shinyungoh.blogspot.com/

Glennia -- we sat too far away--it was a looong table. She writes a travel blog, and that makes me jealous, since I love to travel but have not had time or $ since having kids. Sigh. Glennia may also have been the only one of us to go to BlogHer, but I might have that wrong.
@glennia on Twitter
Personal/Family Travel Blog: The Silent I: http://glenniacampbell.typepad.com
Political Blog: MOMocrats: http://momocrats.typepad.com

Min Jung brought her very quiet, well behaved baby to the dinner, and told us about Captain Poong Poong, a "magical farting children's program hero in Korean" to quote her Twitter feed. Not being one to shy away from body talk, I noticed she posted this very funny, poignant, and completely accurate post about the relationship between a baby and a nursing mother. Or, I should say, a baby and her mother's boob. Mom's really just there as a bonus.

http://minjungkim.com/2009/09/22/all-about-my-boobs/

Eingy -- One of the new moms, Eingy sat across from me. She was very nice, and said some clever things, but I've taken so long writing this post, I can't remember details anymore. She has written a very good post on interpersonal communications. You know, the stuff you wish you could staple to someone's forehead when they just don't "get it." (Ooops, that might be my PMS hormones talking there...don't mind me)

Twitter by eingy
Her blog is at http://inciteariot.helava.com

So, lots of sharing, lots of laughing, not nearly as much vagina talk as one woman's husband thought there would be, and hopefully, the start of some long friendships.

Next post, sometime before the end of the year...Karaoke. Yes, dear readers, I sang. If you can call it that...