PEACE Y'ALL!

Liberty in North Korea posted this on Facebook today and I couldn't be more determined to honor MLK Jr.'s legacy by working alongside the North Korean people as they achieve their liberty. 

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream of freedom and equality for all. He worked tirelessly to set the vision of what we could accomplish and guided millions of people to see it become reality. In the end, we remember not only Martin Luther King Jr., but also the people he inspired. He showed us where we could go if we worked together. 

One of my 101 things is to eat at 30 restaurants I haven't been to before in Dallas. Three down and so many delicious places to go! Here are my thoughts on them. 

LUCK

Local Urban Craft Kitchen is one of the new restaurants in the Trinity Groves area by the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. It is part of the Restaurant Incubator Program and is only open there for a few months, so I’m glad I had the opportunity to go there with my mom and dad during my two week visit to Dallas over the holidays. We were kind of in a rush because we had a movie showtime to make and the service was a little slow at first. Luckily, we waved someone down and he happened to be one of the owners. It was cool to talk to him for a bit about how things have been going so far (and it was also fun to see his cute, little daughter who was there because his wife was sick at home). We shared the hand-twisted soft pretzels as an appetizer and the Nextdoor Neighbor flight, which had four delicious beers from Four Corners Brewery. I hope the restaurant is able to get enough backing to open a permanent location because I’d definitely like to go back again to support this local, innovative restaurant.

:) Craft beer selection, house fried potato chips I stole from my dad’s plate, Portland-ish feel 

:( Lack of vegetarian sandwiches and entrees because my only option was to get a salad, which ended up being really good, but I was hoping for a grilled cheese.

Rise No. 1

I had heard about this place for a while and I'd been wanting to go, but I'm happy my first time here was with my mom and my friend, Alexandra, and her mom, Cindy. Alexandra and I took French together throughout elementary and middle school, so whenever I'm in a French restaurant, I think of those days.

Rise has the best decor of any restaurant I've been to in Dallas. It has a romantic ambience and it's both modern and quaint. I had french press coffee and my mom and I shared the special corn/jalepeno souffle and the apricot dessert souffle.

:) Ambience, souffles, service.

:( It's a little pricey, understandably so, but it's not a restaurant I could afford on a regular basis. Thanks moms for pickin' up the check!

Rusty Taco

Rusty Taco is a super casual restaurant on Greenville Ave. and it is here that I decided it's okay to not have a favorite taco place in Dallas. There are too many great ones and they all have a little something different to offer. I had a potato, egg, and cheese taco, and of course my mom and I split some queso.

:) Their t-shirt that says "In Queso Emergency head to Rusty Taco", quick service, delicious queso

Queso Quest 2014.

Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer

I bought this book months ago to send to my friend, Chelsea, but it didn't fit in the package, so I decided to read it before sending it to her. A few months after letting it sit around (like most other books I own), I happened to watch a TED talk by its author. The TED talk was very intriguing and I shared it with a few friends before realizing I already owned the book by him!

It was entertaining, educational, and helped me think about my brain and memory in a different way. It also inspired me to add journaling, memorizing a deck of cards, and knowing stuff about all the U.S. presidents to my list of 101 things.

I finished it during my flight back to LAX and I actually went back to the beginning and started reading it again. I’m excited to recommend it to others and finally mail it to Chelsea!

Hello! I hope y'all are doing well. 2013 has been an incredible year for me and it has flown by unlike any year before. I've met some awesome people, gone on some amazing trips, and continued to love working for Liberty in North Korea.

I've recently read that the more eventful our lives are, the easier they are to remember and I want to do a bunch of fun, challenging, and rewarding things over the next few years. 

So, throughout the next 1,001 days, I will be attempting to accomplish the following 101 things. (101 is not listed here because it’s a supposed to be a secret, which is convenient for me now because I have no idea what it will be!) I’ll start on 12/31/2013 and finish on 9/27/2016. As I make progress, I'll post updates, so feel free to check back.

Camp at Joshua Tree.

Camp at Yosemite.

Camp at Big Sur.

Go to 10 museums in California.

Go wine-tasting in Napa.

Travel somewhere else outside of California and Texas that I haven’t been before!

Visit Alexandra in Vermont!

Go to Catalina Island.

Go kayaking.

Go to Marfa, TX.

Visit Julie in Arkansas!

Go to a Clippers game.

Go to a cultural festival.

Eat at Sally Loo’s Cafe in San Luis Obispo.

Visit 5 new towns in California (Julian (for the pie!), Pasadena, etc.)

Learn how to cook a Greek meal from Georgia and/or Katerina in Greece. 

Work from South Korea for a month.

Watch all of the Academy Awards Best Picture nominees from the 2000-present.

Watch 15 foreign language films.  

Watch 31 Black and White movies. For at least 4 of them, host a B&W night and enjoy beer & waffles, beer & waffle fries, beer & wachos (yep, waffle fry nachos), etc. 

Watch 30 TED Talks.

Fly in a helicopter.

Assist on a professional photo shoot.

Go sailing.

Host a holiday gift exchange party.

Host a dinner party.

See a play.

See a ballet.

See an opera.

Attend a Long Beach City Council meeting.

Attend a coffee cupping.

Host a game night.

See a movie at the drive-in.

Attend a Slam poetry competition.

Attend a roller derby match.

Visit five different Christian churches, a Jewish synagogue, a mosque, a Hindu temple, and a Buddhist temple.

Eat at 30 restaurants I haven’t been to in Dallas. (3/30)

Eat at 30 restaurants I haven’t been to in Long Beach.

Go zip-lining.

Eat queso with Sean Ferry.

Take an art class.

Participate in a local Relay for Life.

Try surfing.

Take a yoga class.

Learn how to do CPR.

See my favorite male vocalist, Ray LaMontagne, in concert.

See my favorite female vocalist, Lauryn Hill, in concert.

Make Mom breakfast in bed.

Surprise Dad at work with a picnic lunch.

Plan a retreat for my family.  

Anonymously pick up the check for a family at a restaurant.

Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.

Leave a 100% tip for a waiter.

Raise the funds to rescue a North Korean refugee.

Send thank you cards to all of my nurses and doctors at Children’s Hospital.

Send thank you cards to the teachers who impacted me.

Donate blood 10 times.

Donate platelets 10 times.

Learn about the issues in Tibet, Israel/Palestine, and Syria.

Learn about the genocides in Cambodia and Armenia.  

Know all the U.S. Presidents and what they were known for/accomplished.

Make a list of 25 interesting English words and add them to my active vocabulary.

Learn how to play at least 5 songs on the ukulele.

Memorize a deck of cards (in 15 minutes ???).

Learn how to say & write hello, goodbye, and thank you in 15 new languages.

Take a Korean language course.

Join Rotaract or another community service organization.

Go to a book club meeting or start a book club.

Read every book I own and write a short reflection about each of them. (one down, a whole bunch to go!)

Write in a journal every week. 

Write down one thing every day that I’m thankful for. 

Don’t complain for an entire week.

Floss every day for a month.

Stick exactly to a monthly budget for one month.

Go for a walk every day for a month.

Stretch every day for a month.

Ride my bike once a week.

Eat a vegan diet for a week.

Make lunch for work every day for two weeks.

Fill a sketchbook with drawings.

Cook something new every month.

Go 30 straight days without wearing any make-up.

Fast from technology (except for work) for a week.

Vote in all local, state, and federal elections.

Write a letter to open at the end of 1,001 days.

Write a letter to myself to open when I turn 34.

Write a letter to The Rachel Maddow Show.

Turn all my old LiNK/IC/DMB shirts into a quilt or something cool. 

Create a brand new holiday.

Perform at an open mic night.

Interview my parents about their lives/family history and video record it.

Write a song.

Design a t-shirt.

Upload a video to You Tube that you’re proud of.

Get a coffee roaster to sponsor LiNK with coffee.

Help coordinate a story about North Korea’s changes on Marketplace.

Visit a TV or movie set.

Meet another member of Dave Matthews Band.

Help organize a Sun Mu art exhibit in Dallas.

Introduce Leonardo DiCaprio to Hye Won.

I'm giving myself a window of 30 days to make changes to the list, so if you have any things that would be better than what's listed now, I'd love to hear your feedback! 

If you have any connections, resources, or tips that can help me accomplish these goals, I would truly appreciate it! 

So, here we go. Cheers to the next 1,001 days! 

Peace Y'all, 

Sarah

Please recommend the promo video now and check out the story on CBS's 60 Minutes tomorrow night. Mr. Shin Dong Hyuk was born in a political prison camp in North Korea and I've had the honor of meeting him. His story deserves to be heard. 

Dear Friends, 

I hope all of you are doing well, especially during this holiday season. 2012 has been a wonderful year for me, as I went on my second tour as a Nomad for Liberty in North Korea and began working for LiNK as the Rescue Team Coordinator. 

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to introduce some of the refugees who LiNK has rescued to the Rescue Teams (at UT, Wilson HS, and UCLA) who provided the critical funds for their rescue missions. It was awesome to see how thankful they were to meet each other. I was reminded that the North Korea crisis is a human issue that can be personal for all of us. 

Instead of asking for Christmas or birthday (Dec. 28th) gifts this year, I am asking for donations to my fundraising page for Liberty in North Korea. 

http://fundraise.libertyinnorthkorea.org/fundraise?fcid=221312

Your gift will help LiNK rescue refugees and support them as they adjust to their new lives of freedom and shift public perception of North Korea (away from the high politics and toward the people). 

By giving to my fundraising page, you will be making a huge impact on the people of North Korea AND you will be making my Christmas VERY merry and my birthday VERY happy! 

Thank You, 

Sarah