Generation Gap?

To our disappointment, today there was no tennis at Amador Valley High. The courts were slick with rain that fell overnight and there being no roller, no one could play. So we miss our weekly exercise regime. Maybe we can go to Cal High later to play. So mom and dad went to Pleasanton downtown while the boy was in Chinese class but there was no Farmers Market today. We ended up putting in calories instead of taking them off, having coffee and almond raisin waffle at Dean's Cafe. The waffle was yummy though. Very nice.

The C graduates this year and she wants us to be in Buffalo for the ceremony. So I am thinking if Ah Ma and the YY come later than June, we could actually drive all the way to ox-town. We can take it leisurely so as to see as much of continental US on the long West to East drive as we can afford. That would be way cool. Probably expensive but a once in a lifetime experience. And Ah Ma would get to see her eldest grandchild wear the mortar board and gown and maybe weep a tear or two as she recollects her first-born wearing the same exactly a whole generation ago almost to the day on the other side of the world. YY, what d'ya say, uh? The passing of an era and the passing of the torch from one generation to another, metaphorically speaking. It would be so symbolic. I will likely shed a tear or two meself.

A generation ago, graduation meant a second more secure lifeline and a hope of a better future for a family made near destitute by the vicissitude of life. Will this graduation signal a different future? I am being pensive. But how I wish the person who when we were but mere young'uns with much hope planted the seeds of learning in my siblings and I - our papa - was still alive to see us so...

Painful Pinch

I have always heard medical expenses were very high in America but these two days, I have an insight into just how high. I made dental appointments for all of us. My bill for just the normal check up, cleaning and a full set of x-rays (this being my first ever dental exam in the US), came to a whopping US$255. The other three were not much better. So all in, the four dental check-ups came to some $900. Ouch! Even if we did not have to cough out a cent yet because we have dental insurance. But there is an annual cap of $1500 so I think all we can afford is just one dental visit a year. Unfortunately, the boy should have sealant to protect his permanent teeth (not covered by insurance) and the girl seems to have been attacked rather insidiously by the bac's. And the Man needs some bridge works. It is going to be painful, literally and metaphorically.

On the plus side, though, if you look at the teeth of kids here, they are beautiful. So ex but maybe worth a lifetime of smiles :).

I hope my kids will now learn how important it is to take care of their teeth. That I do not have to constantly nag them into drinking their milk for calcium, flossing nightly and brushing at least twice a day. You two out there who fortunately had their braces subsidized by the school dental service back home, listen up. Use your retainers!

Random Rants

It was real misty this morning driving the boy to school and me to work. I asked the boy if he could see enough through the mist so he won't fall into a drain. And he wasn't insulted. Hee hee. The cold spell was beginning to wane and I was starting to feel warmer. Even the house does not feel as chilly as it had been for the past three months. The house heating system is hard to figure out anyway. But looks like I was too optimistic. Looking out of my window, the mist is still hanging over everything.

I am wondering if we should drive up to Vancouver this summer to visit the Bean and Weelah. Maybe we can stay in UBC Housing. Mother and Yeeyee will be here so it should be loads of fun. Winter holiday just over and already I am dreaming of summer holiday. Actually just taking a quick break before the office day begins and I start working on staff appraisal stuff.

And the Bean seems to be ranting at someone. She gets so emotional sometimes.

Boring Blog

Well, it has been a humdrum week. The only highlights were sick kids and a successful bid on eBay. Brought the kids ice-skating on Sunday after Ryan's Chinese class and a rather odd lunch at the Chinese take-out place where Yeeyee went before with us to eat roast duck rice. And the next day Nic caught Ryan's sore throat bug - on the eve of her first day in school. Fortunately, I had gone to pick up some lozenges and throat sprays. Plus, of course, the kids had lots of sores on their ankles too from the ill-fitting skates.

And the Man has been working on the eBay site, trying to get a clarinet for Nic. Yesterday, he triumphed and so Nic is soon getting a brand new R13 clarinet or something like that. Both father and daughter have been at it for days, looking at the different bids and contacting the sellers, etc. Our very first eBay transaction. So I not so subtly suggested that the Man could explore business opportunities selling through eBay. Hee hee. Could keep him occupied and make some moolah too. Anything to keep him cheerful and busy.

And I told Celia on Monday evening that I want to work in US for the rest of my natural life. And she was fascinated and not disagreeable. My first baby step to possible emigration...

Daddy Day

So sorry folks for the paucity of posts. Not easy trying to catch up on work. Much of my time is spent just on people matters. It is the dreaded time of staff appraisals - getting people to update their performance agreements and doing your own for the hour or so with your boss to say how great or miserable a year you have had. Corporate life has its moments. This is still not the hard part. It is just the beginning of a process that will lasts for more than two months. Lots of documentation too. Sigh.

In between, of course, the eternal bane of home-makers - the housework, cleaning and clearing up and packing away. I thought paying an offspring to do chores would be a double win - good training for one used to domestic help always being around and relief for poor moi. Well, it seems I am just as busy with laundry and cleaning as before. What's wrong with this picture? Did my stroke of genius misfire? Maybe time to review strategy and fall back on Plan B, 'cept of course, I have not figured out what Plan B should be... Bit of a gap there.

Well, the Nic has been formally accepted into Cal High and is tonight trying to study for a Math exam tomorrow. Ha ha. An exam even before she attends her first day in school. Funny and not so funny to see her stressed with Bean trying to coach her over Skype and web cam. 'Cept the Bean is also watching TV or something on her laptop. How can? And she had the gumption to suggest we mail to her the cellphone charger she left behind in Tahoe which the lessor very kindly mailed back to us - after bullying us into spending money on a brand new charger. Hmmm.

The weekend just ended belonged to DaddyTey. To the siblings who so generously gave a Guitar Center gift card to the Man. We have spent it over the weekend - and blew a hole in the bank account too cos the guitar that came home with us is a Taylor that costs a lot more, like a lot more than double. Not that it is a problem. The guitar sound is very good and as it turned out, it was the perfect birthday gift. So "thank you" you! The boy and girl also clamored all day Monday (the actual BD) and so I came home earlier than usual and we all went to a Japanese restaurant in Crow Canyon for a nice din-din.

And so I am "doomed" to sway to the strains of Stony for a long long time to come...

Wild Weeks

I have not posted anything for a long time. Mostly because the past weeks have been so chocked full of activities, what with a house full of people and a trip to Lake Tahoe in between. It has been a really fun 3 weeks or so and now that the hoildays are over, and the guests are gone, the inevitable heaviness of heart settles in. Departures are always so hard, especially of those near and dear to one. In between of course, there were some disruptions, as in a few of us started sneezing and coughing and blowing and throwing up and snoozing to kill off the beginning of a fever. But all in all, it was just a whirlwind of noise, chatter, screams, laughter, piano banging and just mayhem. I won't give up the experience for anything. Having my siblings and most of my children here with me (including one Weelah inducted ex-officio into the family) is just incomparable after months of isolation.

We did so much it would take too long to write them all down. So I won't. In any case, most readers of this blog were full participants so it would not be anything new to them. We went off the bend with the photo taking - Bean estimated we took over 3,000 pictures. The digital era has spawned a lot of madness in capturing memories. So easy, so cheap and so instant.

We have made so many trips to SFO, we can drive to the airport now blindfolded. Well, maybe with just one eye open.

So now I have gone back to work and it suffice to say, I am going to be working my butt off trying to make up for lost time. A price I will happily pay for the past weeks.