Month: January 2013

Go Away With … Laurie Holden

Jae-Ha Kim

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Toronto, Laurie Holden currently resides in Atlanta, where “The Walking Dead” is filmed. The actress plays Andrea on the popular series, which is AMC’s highest-rated show. An avid traveler, Holden encourages people to get out and explore the world, and help others in need. “I highly recommend joining a volunteer organization,” she says. “There’s no better experience than becoming part of the solution. I did this, myself. I worked in a daycare center for HIV orphans and it changed my life forever.”

Go Away With … Ken Budd

Jae-Ha Kim

As Ken Budd was turning 40, his father died of a heart attack. After the author heard from countless people about what an impact his father had made on their lives, he began to question his own purpose in the world. He began to do volunteer work and spent a couple weeks in New Orleans helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Then Budd began a six-country quest to find more meaning in his life and his travels led to a special needs school in the outskirts of China, a home for HIV-afflicted children in Kenya and an elementary school in Costa Rica.

Just because you didn’t see it, that doesn’t mean it never happened

Jae-Ha Kim

There was a little boy sitting nervously on his bicycle as my dad talked to him. The boy had called my father a chink, and my father was calmly explaining that it wasn’t a nice thing to say, and that his parents would be disappointed to hear him say that to an adult. (Who’re we kidding? We all know that this kid probably learned to be a racist at home. But my father was giving him the benefit of the doubt.)

Go Away With … Chris Harrison

Jae-Ha Kim

“The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison says, “When I travel to any country, my goal is to really try to get lost in that city and hit the local haunts. I’m never a big fan of doing touristy stuff. Sometimes you have to do these things like in Rome seeing all the sights and historic places. But even there I like to get off the main streets and find little shops and cafes you wont find on most maps. I talk to locals everywhere. I go and ask for bars, restaurants, shops and activities.”

Go Away With … Candice Accola

Jae-Ha Kim

Born in Texas and raised in Florida, Candice Accola is best known for her portrayal of Caroline Forbes on the CW series “The Vampire Diaries.” An avid traveler who counts her passport as one of her prized possessions, the 25-year-old actress says, “I don’t think I could have a genuine relationship with someone who didn’t love to travel and appreciate new foods. Traveling is a big part of my life, and I want to share that with the people close to me.”

I Dreamed a Dream

Jae-Ha Kim

The other night, I had a vivid dream. The only part I remember is the end, when my father was showing me his latest creation. He had always had a knack for crafting amazing things from odd scraps of whatever was around. In this dream, he was showing off what looked like two large tree trunks. But when you looked closer, the tops opened up to reveal compartments for trash cans and recycling bins. Ingenious!

Go Away With … R.L. Stine

Jae-Ha Kim

“I like to travel to places you’d expect a 10-year-old kid to like,” says author R.L. Stine. “I love big, crazy resort places like Disney World. This is so bad for my horror image, but I would like to live at Disney World! I love being with thousands of people walking around there. My other favorite place is the Atlantis (in the Bahamas). I try to go at least once a year. It’s so much fun and it’s crazy. Everything’s twice as big as it needs to be. There’s all these swimming pools and restaurants, with beaches everywhere, a huge aquarium, that enormous casino … it’s just amazing.”