Hooray, I don't have to go to Houston this week. Workshop was cancelled and now I can concentrate on learning my new job and attending to administrative stuff. Tedium yes and essential. Also will not miss the mentoring conference. Need to step up my role as a mentor. I am beginning to feel like I am one of the mentees instead of one of the mentors.
I must confess I am getting terrified of the new job. It appears more and more each day like I stepped into a gory mess of indecision, uncontrolled growth and political lobbying. Better get my arms around it soon or it will be the end of me and my career here. But I have little help and even less guidance. Gotta find my own way around and really learn how to network with the upper management types and polish up my influencing skills. Trouble is I am still double-hatting and it is time consuming and distracting. Help me guardian angel!
So we went to San Jose on Friday night to eat Cajun crawfish for my bd. The Man did not seem to like it much - like most Americans, he thought it was too much work for very little payback. True. But the fun is in the messiness and the peeling and the sucking and of course, the Cajun flavor. The kids and I had fun. If I can find another Cajun crawfish place nearer home, we will definitely go often. Travelling some 26 miles for dinner even if it is what I had craved is kinda ex considering the price of gas these days. I went for the hottest flavor and the Half Man was breathing smoke after a while. Good thing the drinks were bottomless so they both got refills. The shrimp ordered by the Man was good too. When the family comes in December, we should try it out but crawfish season could be over. I need to learn more about these kinds of local goings-on. Still getting to know the ol' US of A even though I have more years here than any place outside of the little red dot.
Brought my team midweek to a baseball game at AT&T stadium in SF. Our last hurrah so to speak. First time to a Giants game and they lost 5:3 to the NY METS. Still we had great food and great fun. The team enjoyed it and the time we had together. I shall miss having a team to work with and look after. Flying solo here on will be a strange experience. I've always had people under me.
This is the final week of school for the kids and Nic will be graduating from high school. She is challenging to talk to. There are activities the school has lined up and she won't talk about them and she won't participate. Like Grad Night and today's baccalaureate blessing thing at the church next to Bridges golf course. These are all part of the American experience and how many Singapore kids get that kind of exposure? Still talking to her always end up in a contest of will and I am too tired and too stressed for these sorts of matches. Between worrying about the new job, carrying on with the old, picking up after the family at home and trying to make sure I stay on top of school happenings and school grades, I am beginning to feel like I am being swept along by a gigantic tide and floundering hopelessly out of control. Things are controlling me, I am not taking charge.
I don't know what we will do this summer now that YY and UJ are not coming. I checked and it looks like Palm Springs in July is not such a good idea - with temperatures in the 100's, I don't think we will be able to do much except swelter in the heat. So I postponed it to November when the weather is more friendly. This leaves us with no plans whatsoever for summer. Maybe we will just take nearby trips and get to know our neighboring counties a little better. And no more Sunday tennis at Amador Valley High since Chinese classes have also ended for the Half Man.
I have some pics that I will post later.
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