scallop time

01.20.2026

Today, I went to San Phan with Hawon. It's our favorite Thai place in the DMV! We used to come here at the start of every semester to debrief everything that had happened over break. It feels like forever ago when we first walked past it after church during our first week in DC. Now, she's back from study abroad in Korea where she spend a whole semester shadowing dental surgeons at a clinic, and I'm interning on the Hill!

My go-to order has always been the pad thai with chicken and no scallions, and hers was drunken noodles with chili oil. This time, she ordered green curry then let me go on my tirade about why soup shouldn't be green. But it's not a soup. So I lost. But the food was good, as always. The servings have gotten progressively smaller, though, which we never fail to bring up every time we eat there. She offered me a spoonful of her green curry to make up for the shrinkflation, but she knows I would never eat curry that isn't yellow.

There was so much I wanted to tell her about. Cato. That guy. That other guy. Old Rag. That one night at Cheniere. WCEE. Getting my first C. Etc. As much as I like to complain about her and her failure to clean our shared bathroom, she was, for two whole years, the only person in the DMV who I trusted would never judge me for anything I did or didn't do. And she was one of those rare people who really cared. She cared enough to challenge my ill-informed thoughts on free will, Part 53, social constructionism, "is cuddling a sin?", etc. God, she's had to put up with so much of my bullshit yet she still wanted to get dinner with me. And so I really did want to tell her everything, but I don't think I knew where to start. In the end, I told her that my (involuntary) two-year war on God has ended and that I've gotten clean from Kenny. She laughed, and we had a really good time.

She told me some things, but I wish I could hear more. She said Korea wasn't all it's cracked up to be, mostly because of the obnoxious people. I told you. She admitted I was right. She then told me about a fight with her grandma, her VERY FIRST ACADEMIC PUBLICATION (!), and her brother, who had always insisted on attending any school other than GW but is now committed to GWSB for international business. She also talked about struggling to find a good church. I told you. She admitted I was right. Regardless, she doesn't regret her study abroad decision because it helped her realized how much she actually loves dentistry. I told her I feel the same way about government affairs work. The next time we meet, I'd like to ask about her basenji.

I didn't get any pictures of the food, but I did find pictures of Thurston 107 in my camera roll! I don't miss Thurston, but I miss eating takeout San Phan on the floor with Hawon after church :,)