Whirlwind Week

It all started two Thursdays ago...

Thursday night: big bro and family lands in SFO after 7 years of touring the world.  The prodigal son returns home.  He is so prodigious... he even bought a house in Long Island.  He's so prodigious... he left by himself, but brought back 3 people.  Thursday night.... went out to Top's Cafe to greet my family.  And that little monkey... when he saw me, went completely cartoon googly eyes and said, "二叔!!"  There he is.... I get to spend the rest of his life spoiling him, cuz that's what uncles do.

Friday night: Big bro and family come over for dinner.  Wasn't a big deal.  Wanted to make some comfort food for them so they can relax a bit after a whole day of DMV, school district, and all that jazz.  Made a mini-feast.... everyone ate.... finally heard 阿嫂's version of 六四事件.  Wanted to hang out more and chat... but everyone (including my kids) were zapped.  And we still had Saturday...

Saturday morning: Reunion with 師父 up in Burlingame.  It was actually a bit anti-climatic.  I never had that same emotional bond with him as big bro.  I never had that emotional break-up with him as big bro.  To me... he's my mentor that I looked up to that just fell out of my life 20 years ago.  Getting together with them sure brought back lots of memories.  And also... un-answered questions.

Sunday night: The much anticipated arrival of my one and only 妹.  Big bro and I drive out Sunday night...We picked her up without having to pay for parking (yeah!!!), take her back to AirBnb, which amazingly, is a block from where Joyce lived.  Then we take her and her friend out for a spin.  We head up to Twin Peaks (the wrong way), the we drive through downtown (the wrong way).  Half of downtown is under construction and the other half is being prepped for Dreamforce.  We ended up on 39th floor of the Marriott Hotel and chit chatted like there's no tomorrow.  The sucky thing is... my Mandarin sucks.  So so bad....

Monday - Tuesday: I'm playing virtual tour-guide. And also trying to plan for the next day.  It's so nice to see people enjoy my city (SF, not San Jose).  I'm precariously living my life through them cuz I know I'll never ride a cable for $8.  Or eat crab and shrimp at Fisherman's Wharf for $50.  Or bike up the Marina Greens to the Bridge cuz it's freakin' freezin cold!!!  And then.... had to play last minute audible to see what Wednesday was like.

Wednesday:  The plans kept on changing up to the last minute.  And by the time the dust settled, I was driving to meet up with her... while calling my daughter's best friend's mom...to get a hold of her husband... to see if he can give us a tour of facebook HQ.  My entire plan from Tuesday night was now turned upside down.... but it's all good.  I must've broken like 10 driving laws in that 15 minute span... but I finally found Ah妹.

And away we went.  We first hit up Infinity Loop.  Then hit up the new Apple Park.  Next, it was Dim Sum with the relatives.  And he hurried up 101 to Facebook HQ (jaw-dropping tour). We then sped down to Google and met up with Dr. Martin.  Then I got lost trying to find Stanford.  Been there a 1000 times.... but this time, I relied too much on technology.

Traffic was nice...because I got to really chat with Ah妹.  At one point, I simply said, "Tell me about yourself and your upbringing."  I had just a few hours to get to know my little sister.  No time for small talk.

Walking around Stanford was also fun.  It was the first week of school and a lot of welcome back parties.  We crashed into a psychology department social... and fit right in. (She was the student, I looked like a professor).  We grabbed two waters (could've grabbed 2 beers) and ran.  HA!!

We then sped (I use that term loosely) down to Cheesecake Factory for dinner with Big Bro and his family with Ah 妹.  I couldn't wait for my kids to meet their 姑姐.  The service was subpar.... and we were drained after dinner/dessert.

But oh..... there's more.  I had set up Ah妹 on a blind date with one of my friends at Meet Fresh.  HA!!!  No harm no foul....if it works out, great.  If it doesn't... they each make a new friend.  I even developed a secret signal with her.  If she's into him.... I will leave, and he will take her home.  If she's not feeling it... I'll make an excuse and go home.  Within 5 minutes... I had a feeling this wasn't going anywhere.  But Meet Fresh was especially slow.... and what could've been 5 minutes (speed dating) turned into an agonizing 45 minutes.  Such it is....

She had an early flight to catch the next day... so we got home, cleaned up and slept.  Or tried to....

Thursday: Because she had an early flight at SFO... and because I didn't want to oversleep and cause her to miss her flight... I was so anxious I woke up every hour.  Wasn't able to get deep sleep.  Finally got up around 5:30AM and made coffee while waiting for her to get ready.  She was ready to go....on the dot... 6:30AM, as she promised.

The airport was a blur.  We got there, parked, got her bag checked in and.................. the moment of separation finally hit.  At that moment, there were so many things I wanted to tell her.  How special she is to me.  How I've always wanted a sister... and now I have one.  How I wish she will immigrate to the US and the West Coast.  But all that..... never made it out of my mouth.  All I can say was, "順風！"  Gave her a hug.... and sent her on her merry way.

The rest of the day was a daze.  Wednesday took a huge toll on my body, with all the walking and driving.  And Wednesday night, I did not sleep well.  I was a walking zombie all day Thursday. Ended up going home a bit early... so I can take a nap.

Whirlwind ain't over yet.......... oh no.

Friday: After picking up the kids... we stayed and played, as usual.  And then we had to trudge through traffic, head up to Burlingame, and celebrate MIL's bday.  Dinner was short and sweet.  And on the way back down to Sunnyvale, I saw that it was just 7:30PM.  I asked Joyce if I can head to Mission Conference.  She said "Are you nuts??? You'll be late...."  I said, "Bah... knowing our church, we won't start the sermon until 8:15PM."

But God was merciful on me... around Mt View... we ran into bumper to bumper traffic on a Friday night.  So I didn't get to Sunnyvale until 8:15.  No way I was going down to church now.

So that night... we got home... I popped open a couple of beers.  And rested..... cuz, y'know... Saturday and Sunday was Mission Conference.

And I'll just end here.... the end of my Whirlwind Week.  I'm tired just having to type out that experience.... phew!