Doing okay…

Sorry, I left my phone at Arif’s which is why you haven’t been able to get in touch with me so far. I’m doing better, just sorta down. That’s all. Monday night, Arif invited me over to break fast with him. Tahera had gone up to the city to watch The Killer’s concert with Nasreen. It was good to chat with Arif and spend some quality guy time with him. He always has a pretty even keel view on life that’s pretty refreshing.

Anyways, biking is getting tiresome. I just got back from acting class. I’ll write more about that later. Right now, I’m going to bed cause I gotta get up for a 10 o’clock meeting which means i have to get up by 7:45… sigh.

I hate this toy!

Do you see this toy?

DSC03911

I hate this toy. Hate! Hate! Hate!

I bought it at Toys R Us months ago, again feeling all sorry for myself. Edda was almost 2 when we bought it. What a pitiful shopping trip was. We were there to buy Edda toys that she could play with – slowly realizing that she couldn’t play with any toys, even the baby infant toys. Her favorite thing to do was to chew that disguisting Peter Rabbit of hers.

So I bought this toy and I put it down in front of Edda and tried for a long time to get her to push the damn button so the train would go around. She didn’t really get it. It was a difficult time, I wasn’t even really sure that she recognized who I was. Did she know that I was her mother?

I’m happy to say that we are done with this toy now, it is going to the Salvation Army. Edda knows how to push the damn button to make the train go around. And it didn’t take her nearly as long as I thought it would to teach her. She did get it – she’s getting lots of things now. They are such small steps for a typical child, but they are fantastic for Edda and I’m so happy for all of us that she’s making this progress.

SP9: Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I like all kinds of yarn!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a nice little needle case.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I have been knitting since Secret Pal 6, I learned by reading a book. I would say that I’m an advanced beginner.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No.

5. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

I like citrus.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Yes! Reese’s Peanut Butter cups!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

No other crafts. I have a spindle, but I haven’t tried it out yet.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like music, but I’m stuck in the 90s. Any contemporay music that you can dance to would be appreciated. I can play any type of music.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?

Keep the neon colors away from me, otherwise, I’m easy.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have a husband (Jeremy, 38), a son (Vincent, 4), a daughter (Edda, 2), a dog (Ruby, 5) and 3 fish (Zypher, Crash and Boom). I’m ethnically Chinese, born in the US and living in Singapore. I am a stay-at-home mom. I used to be an engineer and I want to be a nurse.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Yes.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Ummm. Socks

13. What are you knitting right now?

Plain old socks and a lace shawl.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I like metal needles, but I’m not picky. Straight/circular depends on the project.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I have a yarn winder.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

I have no UFOs. I like to keep at one or two projects until they are done.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

I love Thanksgiving.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Just dust.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I don’t have any subscriptions. I don’t have very many knitting books, so almost everything is fair game.

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?

I’d love to learn color knitting.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yes, I have a size 8 foot.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

Sept 14th.

Congratulations Joy and Phil!

 

Yesterday was Joy and Phil’s weddding day. Joy and I go way back to the first week of MIT. We’ve always been really good friends since I was her caretaker for freshman year. Everytime Joy had an accident or mishap – which was frequent – I was around to help her out.

It all started Friday night as we went to Doris and Jeremy’s favorite pennisula Thai restaurant – the Amarin Thai. They had an outdoor seating area in the rear to seat 50-60 people that I never knew of before. Of course, a whole bunch of friends from MIT came by to celebrate. Fenney and her fiance Sanh. Heidi and her fiance, Hiway, and another McCormick alum, Susan. I’m the closest to Fenney, who, very ironically lives in Bethesda now, and works as an OB/Gyn in Holy Cross hospital where I was born.

Joy never liked any of her friends from separate groups mingling and sharing stories about her. So this was the first time that her college friends and her med school friends could gossip about her. Basically she was a total prude at MIT and went wild partying at Stanford. Laff.

The wedding was at Stanford Memorial. Everything started on the dot like clockwork, cause, of course, there was another wedding party waiting in the wings. Joy had a crazy designer dress that would drag on the floor, so she had to take 2 steps and then kick her dress to get anywhere down the isle. She also wore the largest smile I’ve ever seen on her face as she came down with her father. The ceremony itself was okay. lots of god and singing, which i found ironic since neither of them are religious. but whatever.

At about 1, we all went off to the Joy Luck Place in San Mateo for the banquet. It’s probably the best meal I’ve had at the Joy Luck. There was this lobster dish with a garlic black bean sauce that was to die for. The highlight of the evening was Joy and Phil’s two costume changes. One into traditional Korean garb (he’s Korean) and another time into tradition thai garb (joy is Thai). Amazing really. I’ll try to dig up some photos.

Afterwards, we took a nap in the afternoon, changed and went to the Poleng Lounge in SF to hang out. I had never seen Joy drink in my life, and so, I did my best to get her trashed. Laff. I had 4 drinks myself – an apple martini, a fuzzy navel, a mind eraser (?), and a lemon drop. Yeah all girlie drinks I know, but what can I say? I’m a woman. It was probably the most buzzed I’ve been in a long time. It’s been awhile since I’ve been out to bar like that with loud music. We all were hoarse afterwards, but it was still a lot of fun. 🙂

Congrats! Posted by Picasa

Remembering my grandfather.

My main memories of my grandfather are so blurry and fuzzy. We spent only a few weeks together during my whole life. I think maybe twice in my life, I flew from DC to California to spend a week with my grandparents. I remember he loved Whoppers, we walked to the Burger King everyday for lunch. I remember he and grandma ate crackers and jelly for breakfast. I remember he took me to the San Diego Zoo and Sea World – I don’t actually remember the zoo or the amusement park, I just remember how long the bus ride seemed to be from LA to San Diego. I remember he had a scruffy cat and he was the first person I knew who had a sprinkler system in his front yard. I know that he was not an easy man to live with, but he was kind to me during our short stays together and it was nice.

I’m trying to find photos of my grandfather (my father’s father), I think there are a few digital ones which show him hanging out with Vince and Edda, but they are lost in a sea of disorganization. I know I have paper ones, but those are locked in a storage facility somewhere in New Jersey.

****

Vince is sick today – he stayed home from school, but not sick enough to participate in today’s Mid Autumn festival.

DSC03866

Grandpa Passed Away

Grandpa passed away in LA at 96 this morning.

In LA, aunts Diana, Jane, Liz, Helen and uncle Joseph took care of him day in and day out for all these years for which I am deeply appreciated. Although Grandpa was healthy until the last moment, still there were a lot compassion and hard work involved.

Well, finally, Grandpa and Grandmom can rest together and I wish them all the best.

Kissing babies,

About 6 to 8 months ago, when I was in the middle of all this medical crap for Edda, I couldn’t look at other children Edda’s age or younger without feeling sorry for myself. A tightness would surround my chest and I would have to excuse myself so I could sit and cry in the bathroom. There were plenty of dinners and parties where I had spent a good 30 minutes of the evening crying in the bathroom and then trying to make myself look like I wasn’t crying.

I would see 12 month old kids learning to walk and using their pincer grip and when they would reach out to say hello to me, I would give them the evil eye and mutter to them something about not knowing how lucky they were to be able to pick up their own Cheerios. Grrr.. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to invite another child born in the year 2004 over to my house ever again.

But I’m happy to say that I’m pretty much over it. Where I was 6 months ago, I was at the fork in the road and I could still see that most everyone else was taking the other road, which was well paved and had good directions and my road looked rather dark and in need of a good weedwacker. I really, really wanted to be on the other road, everyone else was turning right! I wanted to be in the right lane too! But now I’m so far down my own road, I can’t even really believe there exists another road for me and my life for it is so far away now that there is no way I can find it again.

So now I pick up babies and kiss them and tell their mothers how beautiful their kids are and I see the kids in Vince’s school that are Edda’s age and I’m OK with it all!

Our Indonesian adventure.

There are no photos of beaches or swimming pools. There are no photos of sand or sunscreen. Within an hour of us arriving at Bintan, a mishap occurred. Vince, while jumping down steps, managed to unbalance Mom who was holding onto his little hand and Mom tumbled to the ground.

The rest of the time at the resort, Mom hobbled around and we managed to snag the use of a wheelchair for the whole time that we were there. I was hoping that it was only sprained, but after 2 days of no decrease of pain, we decided to get the appendage X-rayed in Singapore. Everything is fine. Perhaps just a minor crack of the heelbone. Just a compression bandage and some Tylenol and Motrin and some crutches.

DSC03857

We did have a good time. Mom and I squeezed in a facial at the spa and some good swimming sessions. Jeremy recovered from hives. Vince took some time getting used to spending time in the Mini Club Med, but once he started he loved it. Edda had a nice time at the pool and the beach, but she still loves her air conditioning and if kept out too long in the tropical weather, she started to wilt.

DSC03844

The three girls

DSC03815

Mom is off in Hong Kong, not missing a step in her Asia tour!