Getaway Position

 Pet-peeve #86 - Backing into a parking space aka the getaway position

It absolutely kills me when I'm following someone in a parking lot... they move forward... only to stop, and go into reverse, trying to back into a spot.  Why can't they just pull in like everyone else??? Cuz this 30 seconds of effort will make your exit easier?? I mean... it does... but at what price?

Especially... those at Costco that back-in.  Now they have to leave the cart at the front of the car... carry the load to the back of the car.  It's more work!!

Especially... when people that park normally now have to walk and avoid / bump into your side mirrors.

At one point... I think California didn't even allow cars parked in the getaway position. Oh how I want that law to be re-enacted. 

Why so serious??

An off the cuff comment about SW running for StuCo... and how he would flourish because he's very nonchalant actually became prophetic.  Later in the evening, we played Scattegories.  First of all... I crushed the entire family.  I may not be the fastest.  I may not have the best reaction time.  I suck at Clue, Catan, and other board games.  But when it comes to non-sensical creativity, I'm still king.  SW.... who has really come into his own... is actually moving up the ranks into 3rd if not 2nd.  In a family of 4.... if you come in 3rd or 4th... face it... you're coming in last.

At the end... it was boys vs girls... and while the boys were goofing around and having fun, the girls got pissed off at us for not being serious and worst off... winning.  We weren't cheating or anything... it's just how the chips fell.  Sigh... it's just a game? Why so serious?? (Says the dad who crashes out every time the Niners play)

World War II Museum

 Took another trip to New Orleans... this time, I landed during daylight so I took the opportunity to visit the world renowned World War II Museum.  It's an American made museum, told through the perspective of American, so a lot of the stuff are "skewed.  There are 5 major wings with many subwings.  In the two hours there, I barely had enough time to finish the Pacific Campaign.  Had to skip some stuff to rush through the Europe Campaign.  Didn't even get to see the Special Exhibits of Life in the US.  Or the aftermath of the war.  

I got to the part of Japan invading China... starting with Manchuria... and then invading Nanking.  I was completely devastated.  My heart sank.  After all these years, the wounds are still fresh, or they were ripped open again.  I started welling up.  My people... my ancestors... tortured.  Murdered. Raped.  The women.  The children.  The innocent.  I didn't know how to process those feelings.  The only way to snap out of it... was ironically... another atrocity.  Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  No... it was not right.  Vengeance isn't the answer.  I share zero joy at the destruction and death of the innocence.  

With about 15 minutes left before closing... I rushed through the Europe Campaign.  If one thinks the Pacific Campaign featured the greatest evil known to the modern world at the time... then you only need to look to Europe to see its twin sister.  How can there be two such powers... horrendous hordes... existing at the same time... and fighting on the same side.  One of the most hated symbols known to man... the swatstika... was sprinkled on all the maps and displays.  Poland.  France.  Sicily. One country after another fell to the Third Reich.  And then... the exhibit that had a warning sign prior to entering, "WARNING.  GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD."  The Holocaust.  Glimpses of hope... when you have stories of Anne Frank.  The Liberation.  Stories of faith and religion. 

Two hours is not nearly enough for the WWII museum.  Maybe a day.  A week.  A lifetime. I walked out of that museum... in tears... shaken.  Praying.  Needing the peace of Jesus.  The world needs Jesus.  Back then.  Now.  And forever more.   

Trifecta

Warriors lost to a gimpy Pacers... back to back. 

Blue Jays lost to hated (yet respectable) Dodgers in 7... in extras... on moments after moments of pure sports insanity.

TKA Varsity Volleyball won league... made it to round 1 of CCS... and lost 18-16 on the 5th set.  

Excruciating way to end a Saturday.  Thankfully... it's end of Daylight savings.  Will get an extra hour of shut-eye tomorrow.

Glazed

It's been 3 months... and even today... someone came up to me, "Are you Hank?" "Your speech... your presentation... was so good.  So entertaining and captivating.  You had me on the edge of my seat.  I wish I can talk like you." 

Keep glazin'..... I'm eating it all up.  With a side of humble pie, of course. 

No suave

 SW and I walked into Happy Lemon... and he acted very 蛇𠺌.  And seconds... milli-seconds!!! after ordering... he snuck out of the shop leaving me standing alone.  Turns out... SHE was also there.  Aiiiii.... 仔啊!!! Like a duck swimming... you needa be calm and cool after water even if you're frantically kicking underwater.   Now you totally... 露咗隻低牌. No suave. 

William Chan

 When the aunts from Macau and Vancouver visited... every where we took them... they'd want to look for "William Chan" aka "Water Closet" aka the bathroom.  When Nita and Brandon visited this week... everywhere we went... we looked to unload a few ounces and pay our water bills.  We are now... them. 

Far too agonizing

At a company offsite dinner inside a little, private party room.  I sat right in the middle of a long table that fits about 40.  During drinks and hordeurves, it got soooo loud on both sides...   Everyone was laughing harder than they usually would.  And in doing so... speaking or yelling so they can be heard.  Which in turn... forced the other people to raise their volume even more.

I simply had to get up and walk out because it was far too agonizing.  

Stay positive

In reviewing our employee insight survey comments... why does my boss and then HR like to gather and summarize the "bad comments" and leave out the compliments?  When I asked HR... they said, "We wanted to summarize the good stuff."  To which I wanted to reply.. that is the literal, absolute definition of NOT the good stuff.  One week later... during staff... HR came back with the compliments.  

Then last night... when we had our Youth Parents Small Group about empathy... to which I still have a fundamental disagreement with the definition... all we can talk about is being empathetic about the negative feelings.  We never share about being empathetic... or try to understand... or walk in the shoes... of someone that's feeling joyful and ecstatic. 

People.  People.  People.  Let's try to stay positive. 

Empathy vs Sympathy

 At our Parents' Small Group - we had a whole discussion on "What is empathy?"

"To understand...."

"To wear one's shoes...."

"To identify...."

"To not judge..."

I piped up (cuz that's what I do...) and said, "Sympathy... is understanding what someone is going through because you've experienced a similar event.  Whereas Empathy... is identifying and validating what someone is going through... but you can't truly understand it."  And my example was Menstrual Pains. That lauched a whole discussion on kidney stones... and gender... and generation.

Modern society and contemporary psychologists have hopped on this hot take bandwagon and branded sympathy with a scarlett letter of being a hand-wave, robotic response.  Whereas empathy... is trying to understand, to walk that mile, to be at the level of.  At the end of the day... does it really matter? Not really. I'm just easily annoyed and like to be that gum under a desk.

New Year's Resolution - attained.

A week after hitting the 9 minute mark... SW told me he'll pace me so I can hit 8:30.  We went to the track and with some trepidations, I started pacing him.  And every time we turn... I can feel him speed up.  He was cheating.  We weren't just hitting the 8:30 mark..... and that was confirmed when we crossed the finish line.  7:56!!  I PR'ed (in my 40's).