Brrr

It has been so cold the last two days that the mountains around here - Diablo and Hamilton near San Jose - are snow capped.  Driving to the Lawrence Livermore Lab this morning for a tour of the new controlled nuclear fusion faciity that uses laser technology, the white on top of the mountains were clearly visible.  The cold and rain has translated to the white stuff at elevations around 2,000 ft.  In fact, even as I pen this, it is snowing at elevations as low as 1,600 ft at the East Bay Hills and people are actually driving up to build snow men and throw snow balls.

And I get to read in the train. Something I used to do with my precious copies of the Economist pregnant with Nic in the MRT between Lakepoint and Paya Lebar. Maybe that's why she is so clever.

Frisco

Travelling to the city daily for these past 4 days has been interesting.  I think I would like to work in the city if I have a future opportunity.  Yes, the commute is time intensive - takes me an hour one way - but it just gives a wholly different experience mingling with humanity of all shapes and sizes and hues - than driving through suburb roads to a plain office building.  Maybe cause I grew up in an urban setting, maybe cause it just imbues one with a different dynamics, maybe cause suddenly, there is more to life than moaning about glass ceilings.  You see the masses warpped up in layers scurrying to whereever they need to go, you see the girls who could be your daughters making up in the train because they got up late, you see the workaholics typing up email in the train cars using their laptops with their blinking aircards, you hear the music and know you will soon walk by the buskers, and your heart clutches uncomfortably as you pass by the unkempt and dirty homeless young woman sitting on the sidewalk begging and you wonder why...  The colors, sight and smell of humanity.  The numerous cafes and take out places.  The sirens of patrol cars racing to a crime scene, maybe.  And you look out the windows and gaze at the architectural details on the buildings thinking how beautiful they are even if the walls look like they can do with some scrubbing.  San Francisco.  Beautiful, bright and sunny one day and wet and gray and still beautiful the next.

Booyah

My boy made the school tennis team.  How cool is that?  Payoff.

But he needs exposure to competitive playing.  And practice, lots of practice.

Galore

Unbelievably, in the middle of winter, the blooms are already bursting out of the buds.  The sudden warm spell has fooled the foliage into thinking Spring has arrived.  Gorgeous weather bids us - need to get out and enjoy it.  While most of the country is swathed in blistering ice and snow storms and the Superbowl stadium in Dallas is raining snow and injuring people below.

The first flowers on our trees.  Must go take pictures.

Last night was a crowd at the Lai's.  Some thirty eight people with food galore, including a medium size piglet that can feed a platoon all by itself.  Somehow, the Lai's managed to fit everyone plus Max, the shitzu, into their home.  Chinese New Year celebration San Ramon style.

Gotta get out.  Too nice after the long months of cold.  More later.

CNY

Happy New Year to my Family and Friends!  We dearly miss the kinship and the bonding and the renewal of blood ties that happen at this time of the year.  Have a good time and a fabulous year ahead.