Pinnacles

PAL is on sabbatical and he asked me to translate for our Mission Conference speaker. What an honor and privilege.  We are C&MA... missions is in our name, our DNA.  Mission Conference is the pinnacle and highlight of the year.  8 years after I first started translating... I've done funerals.  Now I've done Mission Conference.  The next two on the list is Deeper Life and a wedding.  And I'll have my grand slam.  Heh... 

Graduation? Congratulations!

Did that just happen? Did I graduate and become a full-fledge social worker?  

To Kill a Mockingbird

An American classic that probably read by 90% of junior high students. I was part of that 10%.  Heard a lot about it.  It wasn't till the early 2000's...when I got laid off... that I plowed through a hefty amount of these classics, including "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.  (Bucket list - checked!)

20 years later... NN's 8th grade class is taking on this book coinciding with the play coming to Best of Broadway in San Francisco.  I was soooo looking forward to chaperoning - but alas, I have my first biz trip in 3 years.  

On my weekly tour of the San Jose Public Library... I came across the graphic novel.  The inertia was huge... it took me weeks to get on board... and even then the bookmark never budged. Then last night.. NN had to stay up late to do homework and I wanted to sit next to her (as much father/daughter time I can get). Was done reading my phone... so I dusted off this overdue library book and it became a page turner.  Even after having read it before... I was left tense and sweating.  

What a book.  What a topic. What an approach. Harper Lee.  What a legend.

Power of an Apology

For some odd reason... a conversation about kids with short legs needing to walk 1.5 - 2x the steps as an adult.  That triggered a deep memory of when SW was maybe 3-4.  And we were driving somewhere as a family.  We were maybe about 0.5 away from the house when he did something to trigger me.  To a point where I pulled over... dragged him out of the car... and walked home.  I remember being pissed and I was walking faster than normal.  The anger consumed me... not to a point of being a lunatic... but a little 3-4 year old would pretty much have to RUN to keep pace.  And to imagine the fear or the confusion he was going through during that 0.5 miles of walking.

7-8 years later...

Earlier this evening... I asked SW if he remembers that event.  He doesn't.  Then I apologized. I apologized for losing my cool and putting him through that.  And I complimented that he is 好乖， 真係好乖。 What I didn't expect was... he started tearing up... turned his head and wiped away tears.  

Sigh... if I had a time machine... 

Notary Public - part 2

After submitting the notarized letter... $20 for someone to witness you sign in-person... it turns out the information on the letter was, shall we say, incomplete? Ugh.... those emails from the Housing Team is so hard to understand.  I wonder if they do it purposefully to avoid people from gaming the system and thereby make it "unfair."  

But again... had to type up another letter... and had to meet up again in South San Jose.  This time, I asked to do it at 1:30, to avoid the 45 minute traffic of going 10 miles.  To their credit, they were ready.  They scheduled their own notary public.  They knew exactly what to do next and trusted my letter writing skills.  I really wonder what a professional social worker or attorney would've done.  Write a letter that is so encompassing and authoritative that it's beyond any questioning... 

For my work... I earned a box of 燒肉！ Haha... 

Pain in the neck

Must've been a mixture of the cold... over exerting for volleyball... and sleep posture.. I have this pain in the neck that's been more intense and lasted longer than usual.  To a point, when I cough, yawn, or eat... I wince.  Thinking about chiropractor.. acupuncture... massage therapy to get over this in time for Sunday's game.  

Systemic Failure

After almost 10 months.. we finally got our approval. 

We signed the contract in January...  Only find it'll take until March to get the engineering done.  And the queue to have a "over the counter" approval via Zoom was out till June.  Which then led to a technical review that lasts anywhere from 2.5 - 3 months.  No guarantees. 

Blew my mind how broken our city's system is.  I called the city numerous times.. to no avail.  "We're at a skeleton crew due to COVID."  Well.. can I pay an expedite fee?? Nope.

I do a bunch of research to see who else is impacting... and realize this city is not just understaffed... they can't hire, they can't afford to keep talent, can't train fast enough.  

Was this close to marching up to the City Council meeting to complain during Open Mic but opted for utilizing the system first.  Sent an email to my City Council Member - had not heard back.  Continued to call the city's Permit Office and was lucky enough to find an administrator that gave me one name and one email.  Better than nothing.  I started emailing and emailing.  2 weeks of waiting and the person tells me I got the wrong dude.  So I found the right person with the same first and last name... who tells me I gotta contact his boss.  I did... and cc'ed his director.  More waiting... more waiting... and finally... I get an email saying it's now in Issuance.  Which is now in Finance's hands.  2 more weeks of waiting and I do a bunch of searching to find the finance guy's name.  Again... I send an email begging for status and / or expediting.  

It shouldn't be this way.  First of all... my contractor is the one that should be chasing people down, not me.  Secondly... the system is broken.  Yes... my city is big.  But all the neighboring cities don't have the same issue.  WTH!??!?  Do I really have to run for public office to right the wrong? 

Return to Glory

Exactly one year 6 months and 2 days since I posted this, I can now claim... THE CHAMP IS BACK!!!

My lifetime winning percentage took a dip.  This a deeeep league with very knowledgeable managers. To be surrounded by such great baseball minds (or baseball nerds) is quite humbling.

Full recap below:

Those final 3 weeks was mind numbing if not heart stopping.  From the final day of the regular season where the Weeds ties me and I get pushed to 4th place due to the tiebreaker.  

To week one of the playoffs, the Quarter-finals, where I'm streaming to the very last day of the to stay ahead.  

To the semi-finals... where I go up against the behemoth Childish Bambinos, the defending champion and back to back years of winning the regular season.  There was so much strategy and chess-moves.  I'd guess what moves he'll make.. then try to block him.  He'll see what my needs are and counter me.  It came down to him being too aggressive throughout the season leaving him with no money.  Using my measly $21... I nabbed one FA after another.  It was poetic. By Saturday... I had created a 14-1 lead.  Large enough cushion??? Heck no...  He threw the kitchen sink at me and streamed all of the Mississippi on a fine autumn day.  The streamers wrecked him all week.. .but today... all the chips fell his way.  Going into the afternoon games... there were 5 flippable categories.  In any given week... you might have 50 - 60 IP's.  We had 120+ IPs with all the streaming we did!!!  Alas... the Bambino himself ran out of gas.  But I could not tear myself away from the phone, refreshing GameCast, refreshing the fantasy-app.  Trying to get the latest updates.

To the finals... where I'm up against my nemesis.  The one manager I hadn't beaten all season.  I actually wanted to play him in the finals.  Had we met in the semi's... I fear I wouldn't have gotten to at least come in 2nd place (and 30% of the bootie). Optimus vs. Megatron.  Daniel-San vs Johnny.  Nine Continents vs.... just about everyone.  The final showdown.  One will rise.  One shall fall.  

Monday is always a weird day to start because half the teams are resting or on travel.  He sneaks out to a quick 3-6 lead, respectable due to the one pitcher Ryan suggested I nab and the fact his pitcher blew up.  And the fact I overmanaged and didn't pick up Cobb... my go-to stream pitcher all season. Too early to tell.

Tuesday starts getting interesting.  My blue chippers are faltering.  But my late season pickups are suddenly carrying.  Yet... his perennial .200 hitter is raking it.  Our pitching is pretty even but he tips the scale his way.  5-8.  Not too worried yet.  I always start slow... and then mid week, I make my move.

Wednesday starts getting interesting. I have my 3 best starters going... time to make a move and not look back.  Only... I end up with 1 W and 1 QS only.  One of the blown QS was at the hands of my own Giants!!!  Was having a great game... until the stoopid manager kept him in for one inning too long.  BAM!!!  In comes the 4th run... out goes my QS.  By early evening... my hitters start cranking... and the score is suddenly a very odd looking score of 3-5.  So many categories are tied.  This can go either way.  I call on my "advisors" for help.  What to do?!?!?  Then they start over-analyzing my team... they who I defeated during the season were rooting for me.  Their advice...? Meh...  Then by late evening... I flipped it!!! 8-3.   "Tables have turned... how to maintain?" I texted them.  

Thursday rolls around and is another travel rest day. Up till now... I didn't even look at his team.  Was just focused on my team... and my numbers.  I haven't streamed yet and really didn't want to... was hoping for an organic win with "MY TEAM."  Well... my closers play for Detroit and KC.  Both eliminated from post-season play... not a lot of SV opportunities.  My other two closers are from LAD and Hou... both teams' offensive crushes the opponent.  Seeing the SV/H is so scarce... I strategically pick up a Holds guy.  Y'know... to pad my lead a little.  The move backfires... and he gaves up 3 walks!!!!  (WHIP!?!??!). Heh...  The stars starting aligning.  Jeff texts me that Turbooooo still has Carrasco on the IL (11K's, WHIP of 1 and ERA of 1.50, with a W and QS).  Then I started counting remaining starts left... can I take all the pitching cats?? Or do I go for stacked vs ratio'ed?? Since there wasn't much going on... just a lot of strategizing and calculating.  I hold serve and maintain the lead.

Friday is do or die day.  Well... it's Sunday, really.  But Friday is do or die Friday.  Last night... I decided to go all in with pitching and started to stream my @$$ off.  Picked up Taijuan, German (heh), and Keller.  Oddly... Taijuan plays Keller... so I was going for ERA, WHIP, K and QS.  Can't have opposing pitchers with 2 wins.  Notched 3 QS's and started to sniff ERA and WHIP.  When the late game started... my bats exploded.  6HR's, 16 RBI's, 12 R, with an ERA of .372 and an OPS of 1.260.  All that... while I left 2 HRs on the bench.  That's how stacked my bats were!!  Ended the night with an 11-3 lead.  There was no way he'll catch up with my hitting.  Time to focus on pitching,

For everything that went right on Friday... it went exactly the opposite on Saturday.  Friday night... I lined up 3 more pitchers to put away stacked pitching cats.  But I wake up to find that my pillar, Cueto, is out sick!!!  My other pitcher... the one that set me off on the right foot on Monday... gave up 2 Runs in 1IP and was pulled!  BOOM!... ERA of 18.00.  That was it.  No coming back from that cat.  I have close to 70IPs.... but only 3 Wins' to show for it.  Turbooooo has half the IPs, but twice my W's.  There was no way I can catch W's either... even though that's the whole purpose of streaming.  You go after W, K's and QS.... sacrifice ERA, WHIP and BB... with SV/H being the deciding factor. The night before... I did my research... and stacked up my relievers including those that are positioned as SP!! And that one SP/RP.... was playing a doubleheader.  This has gotta work.  6 relievers... playing 7 games.  I must get at least 1 SV/H, right??  I got two... but at a very pricey expense for ERA.  As for the bats.... the Red Hot Chili Peppers became the Stone Cold Steve Austins.  The Undertaker came out and buried me with his Tombstone piledriver.  I had double digit leads for all the hitting categories... but they were dwindling.. one hit, one run, one RBI at a time.  What I thought was insurmountable became very surmountable.  I had a AVG gap of 60 points.  But my anemic 8/54, .148 AVG narrowed that gap to an easily attainable 10 point.  He's now just 3 Hits and 6 Runs away while being up by 1SB and 1BB.  I'm watching on Gamecast... begging my hitters... "Take a pitch! Draw a walk!"  The count goes 3-0, 3-1.... then.... LINE OUT.  Or GROUND OUT.  DANG IT!!!!!  All the while... somehow he manages to line up his team play against the Cubs... the Giants... the Pirates.  All of the worst teams in the league!  The worst was yet to come.  He somoene managed to get 4 players on two teams that played double headers... and all his players drew walks, stole bases, got hits.  With the very last game on Saturday night... going into extras!!!  A normal 9 inning game stretched out to 15 innings.  Everytime his players came up... they'd do something.  Everytime my player came up.... ZILCH!!!  

Oscar Gonzalez - bases loaded on 3B... can't get home. 

Oscar Gonzalez - bases loaded.  Only needs a BB to win the game.  Ground Out

Oscar Gonzalez - man on 1st and 2nd... strikes out swinging.

Oscar Gonzalez - on 2B to start the next inning... basehit up the middle.. .rounds third, heads up... and is thrown out!!! 

I'm begging... just one BB.  one H.  One RBI.  One Run.  Nothing.  I couldn't squeeze a drop of water out of that dry towel.   He was mounting a comeback.  9-5.  

Sunday - the Lord's day of rest. But my day of unrest. Ugh... last night ended with a slew of strategies. Going for SV/H, going for W's, going after SB and BB's.  Protecting my lead of QS and K's.  There was no right answer.  But sooooo many wrong answers. Ending up sacrificing my Keeper and long-time anchor of baseball... Charlie Morton (who blew a QS earlier this week). And also said sayonara to Greg "I only shorten your lifespan" Soto.  Good riddance.  Stacked my line up with relievers... and a few SP's in case Turboooo streams on me to go after QS.  I had the right counter.  He didn't.  He was quiet.  

( I have to credit him.  We have $100 fantasy dollars to spend and he didn't spend $1 all season.  He somehow makes his moves in the beginning of the week and looks away.  Doesn't bother looking back.  He's stable. Calm. Calculating. His baseline team is what got him there... it's what will get him past the finish line.  No streaming. No strategizing.  The strategies were done on draft day... and on Sunday when lineups were due.  Sunava-gun..... How does he do it? )

The day would start out early for me... and end late for him.  My first batter plays at 9:45AM PT.  His last player ends with Sunday Night baseball... Dodgers/Giants of all games.  And it's off to a good start!!!  Bobby Abreu with a double.  1.000 AVG and 3.000 OPS.  But wait.... oh.... my.... lanta.... Realmuto and Goldy are benched.  My BB and SB machines.  Silenced.  

Time to head to church.  I won't look.  Today is the Lord's day.  I needn't be tempted.  But they won't stop texting!! "Uggggghhhh."  And "Ohhhhh..."  I tried to stay away from the Fantasy and ESPN apps... but there are other ways to get you, yes there are. 

What started out as preparations for my victory lap... ended up being a 1/8 morning and a dismal (DISMAL) .184 AVG.  Going the wrong way guys!!! The AVG gap narrowed more.  Turbooooo was within striking distance. All he needed was an average day... coupled with my horrendous performance and this is over.  

And for whatever reason.... he did NOT stream to gain QS (good, I bench my guys with a chance of WHIP) and for some odd reason... he predicted exactly who was going to be benched and who was gonna start.  Dang this guy is good.* 

After church... the kids wanted Costco for lunch and chillax at home.  PERFECT.  I get to lie in bed and watch Gamecast in peace.  One by one... my players came up and choked.  Nothing.  Nothing since that opening base hit.  Majority of my players were done.  He had a barrage of players in the afternoon games.  If each person had just 1 hit.... he'll overtake H's and AVG.  At best... it's a tie, but he wins the tie breaker cuz he won the season H2H.  

It was pouring outside... the first big rain of the year.  And just as the rain let up a bit... and a rainbow appeared out of the sky... Jimmy G (in for the injured Trey Lance) throws a TD to Dwelley.   IKF... one of my pickups for a SB gets a hit.  Realmuto... my catcher that's been benched gets a pinch hit HR.... and then... my playoff pickup... Rengifo... hits not 1 HR... but 2 HR's!!!!! In a matter of 15 minutes.... I widen the gap in H's, R's and retake AVG!!!! 

And then... my lineup sleeps.  I'm done with the exception of one closer.  My one starter... my ace... lowered WHIP to a sub 1.00.... but is it enough??? Can I flip that cat??? He has Heaney against the Giants... unlikely.  And Turbooooo has 6 players left.  Not a situation I wanna be in.  Even though he originally had 8 players... the Dodgers sit two of them.  Kinda balances out my Realmuto / Goldy benching, right???  

I'm watching the Niners game.  I'm waiting for volleyball to start.  I'm refreshing 10 screens at a time.  And lo and behold.... this batters are O-fering.  My Saturday... was becoming his Sunday. It was his turn to not be able to buy a hit.  Wider and wider became our AVG cat.... and I flipped it back my way.  I was now up by 10 points.  I now have a 7 run differential... and my 3 Hit margin ballooned to 7 Hits.  He has 3 hitters going.... 2 of which are in the latter parts of their games.  With biblical intervention... he continues to widen his BB leads... no way Bubba or IKF will catch up.  And with my Elvis Andrus SB that tied the category.... he gets a failed HNR steal that swung it back his way.  

We were now down to one hitter... Max Muncy... of the hated Dodgers.  Lux and Smith are benched... hopefully for good.  There was no way Muncy can get 6 hits... but weirder things have happened.  I'm up 9-6.... but the swing of one cat... and it becomes 8-7... and just a mere tie of 7-7.... and I lose.  

I can't watch.  

We head to church volleyball... and for all intent and purposes... I've won.  Until.... the baseball gods interrupt this season with a rain delay in SF!!!  A rain delay means starters get cold... and benched players come into play... or at least pinch hit.  He potentially can recapture this as the greatest comeback in the history of fantasy.  

After volleyball is over... the LA/SF game is still going.  He's still down by 6 hits.... a mighty cushion.  But not a big enough cushion.  Muncy gets a hit.  WALK THE GUY!!!! I DON'T NEED BB!!!!  It's so close now... I can taste it.  But I dare not stick out my tongue to taste.  Too early.

The Discord channel is silent.  They don't want to jinx it.  They know I'm on pins and needles.  And as it was scripted... the Giants game go into extra innings.  Meaning... more the chance of him getting AB's.  Which translates to chances to catch up.  No!! NO NO NO!!!!  End it.  I don't care if Giants lose!!! END IT!!! RIGHT HERE!!!!

That'll be too easy, right?? 

Muncy comes up to bat again.  He draws a walk!!! Which means... no base hit!!! Which means... AVG doesn't move. This is happening!! It really is happening!!!  19 years in the making and it's happening.  I'm doing it!!! Dodgers take the lead.  Giants are trying to mount a comeback and.... it.... fails!!!

Last game OVER!! 

The day is OVER!!

Fantasy Season OVER!!

A new champ is crowned.  And that champ.... is me.  

First taste

(The background is... after a full season of Jr. High V-ball and Jr. High Hoops... NN has yet to win a game of any kind.) 

A few weeks ago... after a lot of begging and rejection... out of the blue... NN asks me if I really wanted us to play together in our church volleyball league.  I said, "Yes."  And I was already on cloud 9.  To play on the same team as my teenage daughter....?? Hardly any dad gets to say that!!!

Yesterday... she was so stressed... her stress got to me!  We practiced a little on our driveway. And at night... she was so nervous she couldn't sleep.  "I just want to win once!  Maybe just one set. Maybe just to get one serve in."  

I wasn't as hopeful.  Our opponent won last week... against a pretty good team mind you.  They have youth and height.  Our team... had 4 girls.  One is a Jr. Higher... One was so bad in week 1 she quit on the team.  One is a mom with a lot of heart.  And one is a mystery.

Half hour before game time... we find that 2 of the 4 girls can't make it and we only have 5 people.  No worries.  Between me and Wayland... we got this.  When we got there the opposing team's Captain... who happened to be our Young Adult Pastor... said he'll give us his extra player.  SCORE!!!!  A young man with skills... athleticism... and most importantly... what we gain, is what they lose!!!!

From an underdog... down 5 vs 6 players... we're suddenly evened at 4 guys and 2 girls. 6 on 6... GAME ON!!!!  

They had 4 athletic players that's clearly played before.  We have 2 dads in their 40's and 2 young guys with novice experience. And the ladies evened each other out.  

Back and forth.  Back and forth.  We pull ahead... but they come right back.  I get into a serving frenzy... but my heart grows soft and I purposely mess up a serve.  Then we started to pull away. This is happening!!!  We're doing it!!!!  Wayland!!! The Great Wall of China!!! With the block!!! We win game 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This wasn't time to let up.  It's pedal to the metal. Foot on the throat moment.  When I was serving... I was on a row.  I seriously thought about letting up.  Giving the other team a chance.  Then I thought of NN and how desperately she wanted a win. I kept going and going.  Hard serve after hard serve.  Ace after ace.  After 10 in a row... I gave in.  I served into the net.  Dang it... I made it too obvious.  Everyone knew I gave that up.  

Back and forth... we couldn't put them away.  With every sideout... we got a point.  And our 10 point cushion was enough for. 24:18... Our serve.  All we needed to do was hold serve and the game was ours.  

Sue served.

They passed.  

Good set.

Decent hit.

But we dig.

Bump.

OVER!!!!

Free ball.

Set.

Spike.... but wait.... Wayland jumps!!! THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!!!!  Ball hits the ground!!!

VICTORY!!!!!!

FIRST TASTE of VICTORY for NN!!!! NEVER TASTED SO SWEET!!!!!!!!

17th on the 17th

9/17 marks our 17th wedding anniversary. Originally wanted to take Joyce out for a weekend getaway… but alas… so much happening… on top of this vicious cold (Nope! Not COVID) I came down with.

A simple “romantic” dinner. 飯是清淡、但情是濃厚。

Notary Public

Got an email from the housing placement company... yet another hurdle in front of us.  In the midst of this vicious cold (which hit me 10x harder than COVID), they needed a notarized letter.  A notarized WHAT?!?!  Quickly did some research to find out that it's basically paying someone $20 to watch you sign your name... in person.  

Dusted off my old lawyerese writing skills to draft a letter... then searched the entire south bay for a notary public (they're all over the place)... drove through Friday evening rush hour traffic to find a Printing/Mailing/FedEx shop in a strip mall.  Done.

And for that... I got awarded a roast duck! Not bad... at the price of duck these days.  

Until the next hurdle. 

Dubya

It's gotta be at least 15...if not 20 years... since the Leung household brought home a "W" from organized sports. When did I participate in the adult softball league...? the company softball league? or the City Beach Volleyball team??  Doesn't matter... cuz today as we walked off the field at Valley Christian... who is known for owning TKA... we were winners!!  

SW was on cloud nine.  NN had rehearsals and couldn't go...but she was just as ecstatic. 

But with every positive... there is a downside to it.  For the first time... we saw SW measured up to his teammates and he was at least half a head shorter and much smaller than his teammates, let alone the opponents.  They are stronger... heavier... and physically more dominant.

SW is relegated to Defensive Line because he isn't big or quick enough for corner and safety, let alone WR or RB.  For most of the game... he was manhandled by the opposing offensive line.  He did manage one sack (or 1/2 sack).  And he's probably not having a lot of fun.  But alas... it's about team sport.  Team spirit.  You win as a team.  You lose a team. He's really going to have to earn it to become a starter... while on the other hand... NN is top of whatever she's participating in.  Such is life. Such it is. 

Cast List

Two long days of waiting... and this morning while we were waiting to pick up the kids from Chinese school... Joyce texts me, "Cast List out!" 

I quickly checked my email... clicked the link to Cast List... and looked for NN's name.  Right there... in the middle of the page... "NN Leung - Marian Paroo." Was this the role she wanted??? I don't remember. 

So I quickly started searching for the audition sides (the dialogue they read during auditions) to see it'll trigger my memory when I see NN come out from her class.  I played it off.  We promised NN we wouldn't read the cast list without her... or more accurately... we wouldn't spoil her moment of self discovery.  

Joyce then approached us... and announced that the Cast List is out.  She handed NN her phone and that's when she screamed. "I got it! I got the lead!" 

We were so happy.  SW gave NN a big hug.  The Monkeys had smiles from ear to ear.  And none of that compared to the glow on NN's face.  She did it.  From secondary character in 6th grade... to ensemble in 7th... to female lead.  I couldn't be any prouder. 

Kids say the darndest things

At school pickup yesterday... Joshua's friend saw Joyce and asked him, "You have two older sisters??" 

Man... that's my line!! Hehehe... someone was so happy the rest of the day. 

She didn't need me...

Got an email from the Jr. High Musical Director:

"Great job everyone on auditions! We would like to see the following students for callbacks:"

And NN was part of the call back.  She screamed when she saw the email.  Still remember the pain and sorrow we went through last year.  This year... she tried to play it off.  When she finally asked me for some advice... I gave her two earfuls.  But in the end... she did what she wanted to do... got the callback... and didn't need me afterall.  HA!  

No Mercy... comes with a price

Played Monopoly with SW last night.  He was buying up all these properties... and I kept on getting Chance and Community Chest.  After a few rounds, I managed to get one full monopoly and a street for every color, thereby, preventing him from getting a monopoly.  I refused to trade him thinking in the back of my mind... this is a learning opportunity for him.  "You can have all the land... but you still need a monopoly go have a chance to win." 

He landed on Vermont with 4 houses and having to pay $600... he forfeited.  And he was fighting back tears... saying how "unfair" I was.  Then he threatened... the next time the tables are turned... he too will show no mercy.  Not the learning opportunity I wanted him to have.  Aye.... 

STRIKE FIRST!! STRIKE HARD!! NO MERCY!!

Took all of two weekends.... and we successfully binged Cobra Kai the series. Right on time too... season 5 comes out on Netflix on Friday. 

Karate Kid is so meaningful to me.  Karate Kid II was the first (or 2nd, I don't remember), English movie that I saw in a theater - the North Beach Theater. It was the summer we went to S.M.I.L.E., the summer school program at St. Mary's.  I loved that program...  

The reboot is a farce. It's a parody. But yet... it's so real.  So many misunderstandings. So many learning moments. So many things that make you think, "Man... if I had a rewind, I'd do this...."

Cobra Kai will never win any artistry awards... but it doesn't need to.  It's already won the hearts of tens of thousands of viewers.... who will be by their Netflix apps on Thursday night at 9PM PDT, 12AM EDT... as we embark on "STRIKE FIRST!! STRIKE HARD!! NO MERCY!!"

Last will be first and first will be last...

This morning... I braved the elements and took Siu Han to the DMV to get her Real ID. We scheduled an appointment two weeks ago for 8:10AM and by the time we got there... there were 10 deep for appointments and 10 deep for walk-ins.  At 8AM sharp... the door opens and the walk-ins were given access directly to the service windows while we.. with appointments.. queued up to check in.  There initially were two windows to take care of us... then one of the two windows were given up for "late" walk-ins.  

One at a time... the walk-ins were directed to service windows while we waited in line to get a number to get called. At one point... I wanted to get out of our line and line up in the walk-ins!!

After 15 minutes... we finally get our number.  It's not a long wait... but a wait nonetheless.  We get to our service window and the lady was very understanding.  They probably deal with a lot of translators... and didn't flinch when Siu Han didn't answer any one of their questions.

We filled out the form beforehand so everything went fairly smooth, until it came time for the vision test.  For whatever reason.. the light... the reflection.. the nerves... Siu Han couldn't read the letters.  To a point where our service lady said, "We'll give her the visually assisted test."  Basically, it's looking into a machine at a bunch of well lit letters. She was kind enough to find a Chinese speaking service person... only... he spoke Mandarin and Siu Han only speaks Cantonese.

We were told to wait till the Chinese service man finished up with the lady and she disappeared. Supposedly.. the wait was going to be short.  Only.. the person he was helping had a boat load of issues.  So we stood and waited.... and waited... and waited some more.  At one point.. another DMV service person cut in front of us to test their client.  I was dumbstruck. Why couldn't our service lady cut in front of the person to get tested.  We didn't need that Chinese man.

10 minutes later... we finally get our turn.  And Siu Han barely passes.  Again.. be it nerves...the lighting.. the reflection... she barely passes. I was so scared that they'll send her to get an eye exam and new glasses.  But the dude finally said, "She's borderline... I'll let her go, but get her eyes tested."  

What was suppose to be a 15 minute appointment ended up taking an hour.  Sigh... what can you do?? Well.. if it was my own personal appointment, I would've mades stink.  But alas.. it wasn't.  I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere.  Siu Han finally finishes her pictures and exams... and off we go. Again... tho... the bible verse comes true... "Last will be first and first will be last..."

I hate lines. 

New Toy

In a surprising turn of events.... a family pings me and offers me an electronic drum set!! The gift I wanted for my birthday (didn't get) and something I wanted from Craigslist used I (couldn't find). 

Since my Hawaii trip... I haven't practiced drums... let alone hit one.  And now... Oh hooo hoooooo!!