Oceans rise. Empires Faalllllllll.......

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 113

And a Happy belated Hamilton Day to you!!  Almost a week since July 3rd when the musical that took the country by storm finally landed on Disney+.  Still remember the first time I came across it... when Geoff told me that I can listen to it on Hoopla for free.  I didn't even know it was a phenomenon back then.  On and off... I'll listen to the songs, but they were never catchy.  Unlike your typical musicals.

A few years back, Hamilton finally premiered at SF Best of Broadway... and boy was it hard to get tickets.  When the pre-sale went live (what the heck is a pre-sale anyways?!?! everyone has equal access!!!), the queue was in the THOUSANDS....for HOURS!!!  And when I finally got to my spot... nothing except for nosebleeds or way off to the side for hundreds if not thousands of bucks.  Ouch!!!

Feeling defeated, I gave up.  I didn't get caught up in the hoopla (heh...see what I did there?).  Then I found out that ppl signed up to be a BoB Member, just so they can get Hamilton tickets.  So when news got out that Hamilton was coming back for a 2nd tour... I jumped on the bandwagon, almost.  The lineup wasn't all that.... and a buddy told me... you can pay aftermarket for that one show... and you won't waste money on the other shows you won't even have time to go watch.  Such wisdom.

Time goes on... and before you know it.... Hamilton is back.  I didn't even realize it until someone won lotto tickets to it [again]!!!!  Then I started searching for tix....for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Joyce's Bday, Anniversary....  Man..... there were soooooooooooooooooooo many available seats.  And with most supply and demand curves... once there is plenty of supply... I lose interest.  

Flash forward to July 3rd.  It's late.  Kids are asleep after a long, tiring day of chillaxing.  I pop open a cold one (or two) and immerse myself into this cultural revolution (pun intended).  Was it worth 2 hrs and 40 minutes of my time? I love history.  I love art.  I love it when I see a genius at work.  A virtuoso painting his masterpiece.  Yo yo Ma carving his cello.  Federer carving down Nadal.  Lin Manuel Miranda..... carving down American culture as we know it.  

Did I like the musical? How do I rate it?  To measure the success of this musical in the Leung household... I guess you can look at what happened the days after.  The next day... I redownloaded it on hoopla.  Kept on playing it.  Kept on singing (trying to) the songs. Was explaining what the lyrics meant in context and that night...............  Joyce and NN kicked me and SW out and watched it on their own.  It's PG-13 and SW showed zero interest.   So is that good or bad.... when during dinner, I'm playing "My Shot" and the whole fam is bobbing their heads to the beat.  Heh....

And I swear.... by the moon and the stars in the skies.... if I ever get an opportunity to write another musical.... it'll be in the style of Hamilton.  There....that's how I rate it.  #BOOM 

“Even when the dark comes crashing through....”

滴滴仔 , 滴滴女

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 111

Tonight as we were going to bed... we did our usual round of  今日有咩開心, NN unsurprisingly said... "我今日好開心， 因為終於贏咗小華。"  For whatever reason... NN is simply unable to beat SW in ping pong.  SW has an unconventional way of playing... but it works.  And it kills NN that she can't beat her little brother.

Well.... tonight, something finally clicked.  Her serves are better.  Her returns are sharper.  Her attitude... still the same ol' competitive sore loser.  

I do admit...that whenever they play... deep down... I want her to beat SW.  Favoritism?? Perhaps.  Or maybe it's cuz I know SW can take a loss in stride while NN really wears it on her sleeves.  Plus... this will now make SW want to improve his game and try to beat 家姐.  Momma is already the 4th best player in our family... and isn't even close.  The odd thing is... I'm starting to have a hard time beating them.  Need to up my game too!!  

"Hello!" "Hello!"

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 110    

Enduring hardships together.  Sharing a credit card or bank account.  Obviously being parents. But something that's overlooked when talking about a strong relationship is to be able to share a heavy dose of laughter.  Such was the case today... when I was once again VSA-ing for something to watch.  And on Hulu... I found one of my childhood faves - Perfect Strangers.

I started with the infamous episode where Larry has temporary amnesia and he has to meet Jennifer's mom for the first time.  And the scene where Anderson and I would repeat over and over again.  Strangely enough, Joyce never watched it while growing up in America.  And today... she finally got a dose of what got me through life for a good 4-5 years (6-7 years if you include syndication).  I was actually surprised that she was laughing so hard.... to a point where she's singing the theme song and now repeating those very sacred lines.  We ended up binging on the first season - with 7 more seasons to go.  Even the kids are into this mindless, family oriented comedy.  

"Hello!"

"Hello!"

"My name is Cousin Larry Appleton!"

"Hello! My name is Cousin Larry Appleton."

"How are you?"

"Fine." 

A dilemma

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 109

NN just turned 11.... and God bless me, she still lets me lie down next to her and tuck her in while putting her down [to sleep].  In the past.. I'll tell her one of my epic stories and she'll zonk out after a long day at school.  And then I'll use the next 30 minutes or so news-ing.  But since SIP, she's been staying up later and later.  To a point, where she'll talk to me.  

A few weeks ago... I realized that every time she starts to talk, I'll give her a one word answer and say, "Good night."  After a few tries, I'll get a little stern and say, "Time to sleep."  When will a daughter ever want to talk to her dad again...???  

Since that realization... I've had to force myself to to put the phone down and listen, and respond.  I'm tried.  I'm not up for small talk.  And half the time, I'm not even listening.  We'll talk for 2-3 minutes... and I'll want her to stop.  Cuz it IS getting late and she should sleep.  But do I want it to stop??  A few minutes of silence and I get to news again... and she'll turn around and ask me more questions and start small talk.  Ashamed to say it... I'll get annoyed.  But I've been pushing through it.  How I want to tell her to "Go to sleep" and be done with.  I know I'll regret it if I do that... even just one more time.  Cuz that one more time... could be the one last time.  

Favoritism

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 108

I don't blame mom for showing favoritism to CT.  She's spent more time with him in his 4 years than SW and NN in their combined 20. But seriously... she made the instant noodles for SW.  Come time to spoon some soup into their bowls... SW, who was waiting for his lunch, gets second billing.  CT was still working on his chicken... his bowl was farther away... and he wasn't even showing signs of hunger.  Pissed me off to a point I had to say something, "Mom, you have two grandsons."  

Can't blame the recipient.  Not their fault.  Can't blame the giver, not their fault.

I never cared if Grandma or Dad liked big bro more.  That's just the way it is.

I never cared if mom liked me more (past tense).  That's just the way it was.

NN is spot on when she accuses Joyce of being partial to SW.  She doesn't help her case either.

I don't blame big bro... or CT... That's just the way it is.

I personally claim to be impartial to SW and NN.... but I also claim it's not totally impartiality, they're just different.  They get different types of affection.  Ok... fine... I'm partial to NN.  Happy???? 

Favoritism is just a way of life.  Just wanna say... Keep it up. You reap what you sow.    

Live by Example

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 106

It gets really annoying when NN and SW won't eat their food cuz of onions and garlic. They would either pick it out... or just not eat that dish. Don't know why they're so picky....

Until....

I take a bite of the soondubu jjigae that Joyce made... and immediately spat it out.  BLEAH!!!! What's that taste.  I look down.... oh crap.  菇.  I start picking it out and it occurs to me... "Oh. That's where they get it from."  Heh..... 

Prince of Tennis

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 105

A few weeks ago... I picked the show "Prince of Tennis" on Netflix because it was in Chinese with English subtitles - and it was about sports and based off of a Japanese Manga.  It was the perfect combination for the kids to enjoy... while able to learn some Chinese... but also know what's going on by reading the subtitles.  And this was when we found out SW needs glasses. 😞

Flash forward a few weeks.... and the entire family is binging on the show.  NN's Chinese is improving (or so she claims).  I still can't pick up half the things they say... let alone SW.  But they're itching to play tennis now!!  And the show is corny enough where they can laff about it... but real enough where it captivates the entire family.

Most importantly... one of the main characters' family owns a restaurant.  He brought out a plate of roast goose.  And now we're all craving some 燒鴨 right now. 

Initially... Joyce was against watching 連續劇.  But maybe... now we can watch some 射鵰神鵰????

Life can get bad.... but it can also get REALLY good

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 104

Been dealing with the most impossible of cases at work as of late.  To a point where my soul, my spirit and now my body is suffering.  And today... without missing a beat... strikes again.  I literally... crawled out of my room to look for Joyce and begged... BEGGED her to let me change jobs.  I can't keep doing his... I can't keep dealing with this case.  I tried... I really did.  Shakira... I did my best.  But at some point... you have to throw in the towel and move on.  

Then... as life could not get any lower... a few pick me ups along the way. 

For one... one of my mentees made it through a high intensity, high visibility, non-rewarding training program.  I saw her struggle.  I struggled with her.  I coached.  I cheered.  I guilt-tripped.  I wanted what's best for her.  And I may have pushed a little too hard.  But today... marked the culmination of 2 years of blood, sweat and (I kid you not), tears. 

Right after she gave her graduation speech... she mentions that one of her fellow graduates quoted me in his speech.  Something I said 2 years ago at their indoctrinating event.  Not sure what the full context was... and not sure how it was received.  But I choose to believe... that my one bit of unfiltered advice was received well and processed well.  To think...2 years later... this dude remembers my name.  Heh....

And then... during my 1 on 1 with the summer hire.... she mentions that during the first staff meeting she attended, which I ran, she heard and wondered if I have some theater background.  The way I talked... I shimmied, I paused.... I PAUSED!!!!!!!!!!!!......  

Heh... just a few pick-me-ups in an otherwise horrid horrid day.

Then at night... I was playing Tennis with SW on the Switch.  And for a good 10-15 minutes... I was trash talking.  My character was called "Lisa."  And whenever Lisa would earn a point against SW.... I would scream, "Lisa 食 pizza!!!"  or "Ohhhhhhh. the pizza is ready!!!"  or something along the lines of "Lisa.... leaning on the tower of Pisa.... flying to see the Sphinx in Giza."  Completely meaningless... or so I thought.

After I demolished SW with the character "Lisa", he wanted a rematch.  And silly boy aptly chooses "Lisa."  Not like it matters....right??? But for some odd reason.... I could NOT beat him in the first few games.  And guess what came out of his mouth.....??????  Sigh.... my son.  What did I just create????? My side was hurting from laughing so hard. 

Unexpected Reunion

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 103

Been feeling it the past few days as we ventured into Acts... I almost wanted to text the class as a whole to reminiscing on those glory days. But alas... I held back. This morning... during Corporate TWA... we busted out Acts. Half of the class was there including the Tsang's... the Lee's... Li Manna!!! When the names 百基拉 and 亞居拉 came up... I couldn't help but text a few of them. Heh... and it wasn't just me. Most if not all of them felt the same way. Sigh.... the graduation we never had. But the annual reunion that will be forever.....

Closure

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 102

It took over 30 years... but I finally found closure.  I finally beat Double Dragon, my very first Nintendo game.  But this doesn't come without a story... in this case... a saga.... 

Around the Fall of 1988... Dad got us our first Nintendo. I still remember the days leading up to that fateful moment. Big Bro and I would pour over the same Toys R Us advertisement over and over again.  Fighting, debating, arguing over the 2nd game to pick out.  Cuz hands-down, without argument, we were getting Double Dragon. This game was double meaningful because it had two guys on the cover. After we got done fighting over the 2nd game, we would then fight over who gets to be the blonde guy or Asian dude. The night we picked up the console... I remember getting Double Dragon but the 2nd game was sold out!! So we ended up getting Contra, which spins off to a whole saga on it's own.  We headed to Tony's house and quickly popped in our game. Tony and Howard already had their systems and their games. But ours were the newest and freshest.

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My eyes were bulging, my heart was palpitating and my glands were excreting.  This is it. The moment I've been waiting for... where I can now.. finally...be a red blooded American boy who owned an NES.  The first thing we realized... this was nothing I had expected.  For one, it's a 1-player game.  So much for fighting over the blonde vs Asian guy.  Then the game started... "Mission 1."  As if it was yesterday... I can still hear Tony say, "Heh... Mission 街." Then Big Bro and Howard, the obviously coolest of the cousins said "This is different from the arcade."  "Very different."  

My heart sank faster than the Titanic.  All my hopes of an amazing gaming experience dashed like the hopes of a forlorn 49er fan. Within minutes of bordeom, out came Double Dragon and in went Hogan's Alley... Pro-Wrestling... Duck Hunt... and every game, but Double Dragon.  The runner up... Contra was getting more screen time than my beloved.  Cast away to the shadows and replaced by the mistress... the runner up... the never-meant-to-be.  (Sorry Contra...)

In the days that followed, I tried to make it up to Double Dragon.  I courted it.  Dated it.  Befriended it.  But the game-play was horrid, unfriendly, truly a debacle.  In fact, the game play was the reason why the word debacle was created. (Or would that be TMNT....hmmm...).  The breakup wasn't spectacular.  There was no Moonlighting banging of doors. Nor was there some 80's ballad playing in the background.  We simply grew apart.  

Days became weeks became months became years.  As Ben Franklin once put it, nothing can be certain except Tax and Death.  After years of Taxing our NES, it started to show signs of near Death. The system started to hang... it wouldn't start... it was dying.  We creatively came up with so many techniques to resuscitate the NES. The infamous blowing into the cartridge!  Followed closely by blowing into the console. Holding RESET while hitting POWER.  Resetting 3 times in a row.  Was it just our system?????  The Yellow and Red Audio Video lines started to glitch.  We had to put some weight on it... to ensure a good solid contact.  We of course, used the box of gray cartridges (and the one golden Zelda cartridge).  One after another... games came and went.  Bases Loaded 2.  Dragon Warrior.  Ninja Gaiden.  Final Fantasy (the original!!!) The tower of gray cartridges started to crumble and then one day.... there she was again.  

I was bored.  It wouldn't hurt.  It was barely played.  It would be in semi-playable condition, perhaps? Perchaps??  I'm now a few years older.  A little less naive.  A lot more shrewd.  Ok... I learned how to cheat. HAPPY!?!??!  And that's what I did.... I cheated.  I figured out a way to earn as many hearts as I can, early in the game.  Instead of knocking down the bad guys while earning points to earn hearts, I would punch them twice then walk away.  That way... I can use the weakest enemies (in the beginning) to build up my arsenal, before I played the harder enemies in the harder levels.  Cheating????  Nah.

Our love was rekindled.  I was all over my lover and it was all over me. We made mad love on the floor of our Chinatown apartment.  The trick worked... I was able to get deep into Mission 3... Mission 4!!! The falling stalagmites.  The double Abobos in white shorts.  Then ONE night.... I finally got to Willie.  Big Willie.  First time encountering this boss.  All I knew about him was the little I read from the original Nintendo magazine that came with the system and an occasional mention in Nintendo Power.  He held a machine gun.  A MACHINE GUN!!! And then... as I was moments away from my greatest triumph....  the words came through the house, "食飯喇!"  

<to be continued>

Zoom zoom zoom....

COVID-19 - School Closure - Day 99

I had the honor of hosting tonight's Prayer Meeting... over Zoom!!  It sucked.... so hard, so stressful, so discombobulated.  Operating with a Mac is tough enough.  And I only had one screen.  And there's so many things to control and press.  And time management... didn't want to go too long.  But realized... people needed more time to pray... Ugh.... with zero real time feedback!!  And for PAL to have to do this... and TWA... and Hospitality Hour... week after week.  Poor guy.  

Sometimes... you take for granted how hard it is to run a church family.  And sometimes... it's so easy to sit back and throw stones at your own glass house.

But as for me... the one moment that really counted... was crying out with my brothers and sisters... that we can hug and embrace one another again.  Without borders.  Without race.  Without hesitation.  All in the name of God's love and mercy.  

Amen... and amen again - a billion times over.