[UPDATE: I just found this picture, accidentally taken on my phone on Saturday. Sums up the day pretty well 
]
Can you say…insane? It really was. Insane in the most exhausting and chaotic way while still being something I’m glad we did.
If I found the picture taking at the Korean wedding gruelling, taking pictures with a baby was a hundred times more complicated trying to keep hats and shoes on and making sure he didn’t crawl away, and holding a 10.5 kilo kid in slippery clothes while trying not to burst out of my own corseted dress for an hour because he decided he would not go to his dad while being photographed…And of course, the easy thing to do would be to say ‘Pictures are at 10:30 am, please meet us at this place to do them.’ But no no no. Nobody knew when they were going to be and nobody cared…until the door of the hair stylist burst open and there were people there saying ‘It’s picture time!! Picture time!!! Get your clothes on now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ And then we had to scramble going up and down elevators because nothing was on the same floor, and chiffon was flying and shoes were lost and my mum, who had come down with a horrific stomach bug at midnight, kept having to run off to the bathroom in between the chaos.
The main characteristic of the many dols I’ve been to has been a very excitable emcee and loud blaring music (often inappropriate…really…I’ve been to so many dol parties that blasted music with the words ‘whoring’ and ‘bitches’ and one of the example baby video we could have chosen used the music…I’m so serious about this…’I like big butts.’) So I won a few of the battles in how I wanted the dol to be, but I didn’t win the war on sound. It was loud, and rambunctious, and over the top….but the Koreans seemed to love our emcee (a former comedian turned Mr. Lee’s coworker), and the play list ranged from my hard fought Lumineer’s song for our entrance to Gangnam Style (Dragon’s favourite song), to some swing which was a nice classy touch in the midst of chaos.
It sounds crazy (it was), it sounds difficult (it was), it sounds tiring (omw it so was), but seriously, it was fun and funny and delightful in the way that maybe parenting is both overwhelming and rewarding.
Pictures to come…
Haha, you made me laugh.
I’m looking forward to seeing the pictures.
[...] On Dragon’s Dol (On Becoming a Good Korean Feminist Wife; Part 2, Part 3, Part [...]
Consider this a gentle prod to continue
I’m sure you’re probably busy with Dragon, but I love reading your stuff, so when you have the time get on it! (says the woman who never updates her blog, lol I’m so hypocritical)
thank you Jackie
a lot of little things keep getting in the way of writing, and when i finally get a chance to sit down and write, i find i’m not inspired because what i wanted to say when everything kept getting in the way of writing suddenly seems to be irrelevant! i need to get back in the zone and just start writing again even if it’s just crap! it is nice to know that there’s someone out there wanting to keep reading…^^