papa ryu

Tomorrow is Father's Day, and normally, I would probably post this on the day of, but I decided I probably will not have time to sit here and churn out a blog entry tomorrow because I am never in my room. And plus, who says you have to celebrate your loved ones on designated days? I can have a pre-papa appreciation day if I want, yeah?

Thus. In honor of this day that I think is often stereotypified and materialisticified with all those "buy these electronics! this watch! this golf club set! these inspirational books (for all y'all with Christian dads out there...)!", I decided to just explain to you guys what exactly my dad means to me. Or, more accurately, who he means to me. (And please, watch your comments because I am sending the link to this entry to my dad. Yes, you can leave him a shout out if you want. LOL.)

So.

My dad is crazy smart, crazy dedicated, and sometimes, crazy silly. The first two, I think everyone can pretty much see it within the first ten minutes of speaking with him. The third one is kind of reserved for our family, when he comes home after a long (and I mean LONG) day at work and spares a few side-splittingly-funny comments or actions for us. (read: dances to popular Korean songs - think Wondergirls and SNSD.)

Crazy smart: He is a CPA at Deloitte, or for those that aren't so business-occupation-savvy, he's an accountant at a really big company. But that doesn't limit his knowledge of the world to just business-y stuff. He has an interest in just about everything - science, history, literature, languages - and is always kept up to date on everything. There were many times throughout my life where I have felt incredibly incompetent in terms of what I knew, or more often, how deeply I knew what I knew. He always sprinkled in analogies and metaphors into our talks; he was one of those parents that always told me to look it up in the dictionary or do some Internet research instead of just telling me (which, as a child and even now, frustrated/s me to no end, though now I appreciate how he was/is trying to teach me). He was always the one to tell me to look at the big picture in life, and also to focus on the process of reaching a goal, not just the goal itself. He always tells me to love and know exactly what I'm doing, but also gives me all his advice with a grain of salty reality.

Crazy dedicated: He's basically the best dad ever. I know, y'all probably all think that your dad is the best dad ever, and yes, he is, for you. But for me, my dad is pretty much the best dad ever. I think he truly has a heart that is akin to the Father's, one that is always sacrificing and always thinking one step ahead of us so that he can provide the best experience for us (i.e. our entire family) even if we're completely clueless. It's so crazy up to the point where my mom and I are just like, Dad. PLEASE just take a personal day. PLEASE do something for yourself. He is the master luggage carrier, long-distance driver, paperwork-doer, everything-coordinator. He's a little bit of a control freak, and in some ways, I think I definitely get that from him, and so, I need to start helping him. But not only is he dedicated in the things he does, but how much he deeply cares about our intellectual and spiritual well-beings (yeah, moms are usually the emotional well-being people). And though I can't say completely accurately what kind of husband he is to my mom, I can say that my mom always says to find someone like him - which is a high standard because my mom is very picky about potential guys for me. And I agree with having this standard.

Crazy silly: I don't know how much should be exposed to the world about my dad's silliness, but basically, he can be pretty ridiculous. He's definitely got a serious exterior, but I think what makes him so awesome is the more laid-back interior. Life gets too long if you're always living it too seriously, and I think having those moments really makes it worthwhile. My dad does everything from saying the most ridiculously lame (read: ssullunghae) jokes and comments to sometimes dancing in the streets of New York with my brother to singing dramatically in the car to some dramatic Korean music (you know how they do.) I definitely get my sense of humor from him, both in the humor that I find the most amusing and the humor that I actually present to others. So yeah, my mom says my brother and I are definitely Ryus and not Changs (her maiden name) because the three of us are just ridiculous.

So yeah. I can't really put some good nouns to his character to sum it all up for you (if you skipped reading the past three paragraphs), but just know that my personality is very much like his. And that just thinking about him sometimes makes me choke up instantly because I'm just super proud of him and so glad that he's my dad...and because I'm a sap.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy :) I love you TONS.