A Leaky Problem

Got a text from our tenant... we have a leaky roof.  Damnit!!!  Those remodelers continue to haunt us even though it's been so many years.  So I went on Yelp.... randomly finding roofers to look at our problems.  

The first person that responded was too busy... too many leaks going on with the atmospheric river.  The second person that responded was able to show up the next day.  His quote... $35,000 to replace the entire roof.  His claim... the material and the handiwork is suspect.  I quickly got a 2nd quote... that came out to be $1450.  What a difference.  A chasm the size of the Grand Canyon.  I found a 3rd contractor to quote me... and he's right in between... $10,000.  I didn't even bargain and was interested.  His surprised response... "Let's make a deal." 

We weighed the pros and cons.  The cost / risk benefit.  In the end... we went with the cheapest option.  Although deep down... I know that eventually I'm going to have to replace the entire thing.  Snake and Rat simply did not do their job.

Let's hope the roof holds up for the next storm.  

Torture

 Tried to stay away from the game today - but failed.  Started out with playing pickleball outside.. .but every now and then I'll take a peek at the score.  0-14.  Ugh....  Then I did a bunch of chores around the house.  And I couldn't control myself.  7-21. Then I sat down and read.... couldn't concentrate.  7-24. I started dozing off and almost feel asleep - which woulda been perfect.  10-24. Then around 3 hours into the game... when I gave myself the initial green light to sneak a peek. 24-24. OMG!!!!  I went downstairs and started to make dinner. 27-24 - we're in the lead.  FOCUS!! FOCUS!!!  Then I checked again... with 2 minutes left... 34-24.  "Ok... it's safe to watch now."  And even then... with a 10 point lead... it was still.... TORTURE...

Again…

 Haha… another broken stick. Boom!!!

When the lectur-ee becomes the lectur-er

Been walloped with another bout of the cold bug... just when I started to recover from the last cold.  This time it's hitting me so much harder.  SW came into my room last night and starts talking to me, "Bah B.... you need to rest more.  You're up so early and sleep so late.  You have to drink more water.  And stop wearing T-shirts.  You need to wear long sleeves - otherwise you'll 凍親。"  I was staring at him like he had 3 eyes and 4 noses.  Who IS this kid?!?!??!? 

Good Vibes

Met with a handy man yesterday to get some quotes for the rental.... after meeting for about 30 minutes and shooting the breeze and such he went to his truck to grab his card.  I followed him to his truck about 10 seconds later and as he saw he come close he asks me, "Why are you so happy?" I was confused.  He then said, "You give off good vibes." 

A Hairy Situation

A couple who we know some-what well walks up to me and hands me a bottle of hair loss recovery shower gel and advises me to rub it in for a few minutes every day after shampooing.  They weren't judgemental or anything... just very matter of fact.  Heh... 

Unexpected Results

Haven't watched one second of NN's volleyball team this season.  All I hear is her complain about this and that.  On day 1 of the tourney.. they won their first set!! Then they won their first game.  Then second game.  Lost third game in 3.  On day 2... they swept all their sets.  And on the last day... when they were in the championship bracket... they won their first two games handedly (without their starting OH).  

By the time it got to the championship game... 1 vs 2... they were out of gas.  But what a way to start the season!!  

Nexus Summit

4 years later... we're back at the San Jose Sheraton.  Same concept... different name.  LEAD Summit in 2019 and NEXUS Summit today.  A conference on Leadership... and in reality... a means to build relationship to bring people to Jesus.  I was blessed to be invited to MC again.  For some rhyme or reason... I've built a reputation for being a 金牌司議。 I have no idea how that came to be.  

Still remember in the St. Mary Chinese school days... Mother's Day performance was a big deal and I was also asked to speak.  Maybe cuz I had a loud voice?? I dunno.

At SSPP... I MC'ed another Mother's Day event... which bombed.  I was totally unprofessional and not close to be funny. 

Then I started to have my break... the first one was Mission High's spirit rally in Senior Year.  I think that was the first time that I got accolades for my humor and performance.  Then slowly and surely... there were other speaking engagements.  And the one event that truly put me on the map... was Ken and So Chi's wedding.  I was initially invited to be the English translator.... but I captivated the entire audience.  And that launched me into a whole new stratosphere of a career.  For various events here and there... I continued to have the opportunity to sharpen my tools... including that fateful day 4 years ago where I was totally buttered up. Today...  after just 1-2 opportunities to speak... one of speakers came up to me and said, "You have a calling to be a stand up comedian."  She may have done it out of courtesy... but I can also tell... she was genuinely entertained. 

But the Summit isn’t about me… it’s about leadership, learning about ourselves, finding our faults, repairing those injuries and taking that next step towards our North Star. Of all the anecdotes and sound bites that I heard today… the one that stood out to me the most came from Jo Vitale… who answered a question about her biggest Mentor. In her case it was her father who was a Pastor that preacher on the pulpit and lived it at home. She shared that there were times she’ll be walking to the kitchen at 4AM to get a glass of water and she’ll see her dad on his knees praying and spending time with the person he loved most. She commented that whenever there was a disagreement… he would always be the one to make the first step to reconcile… not because he was wrong, but because that’s how you show love and grace… and he’s so secure in his being, he needn’t worry about being emasculated for unconditionally loving his daughter. That reasonated with me more than all that passion and drive and defining moments stuff. It’s my fatherly relationship with my Daughter.

Oh! Happy Day!

Work has restarted... but we're taking week off to spend more time with the kids. We go play mini-golf today, which I originally objected to because it's expensive and not fun. Turns out it WAS fun... all things considered. Then we headed into the arcades and had a blast. SW played Street Fighter. NN did her bouncy fish. I lost to Joyce in Mario Kart... and we all played Deal/No Deal together. Our very first game... we won 200 tickets! Then we kept going back... "No deal!!" Until... eventually, we ended up with the box with 1 ticket. We went to collect our prizes and both of them got the slime kit... to which they came home and started play with right away. It was as if they're still 8 and 10. Today... was a good day. It was a happy day.

Looking back at 2023

Last day of the calendar year... and it's poetically, "123123." Poetry doesn't always rhyme... like the word "2023." 2023 was the year of rabbit or was it the hare?  And hoppity-hop it went... bouncing away quicker than we can lay eyes on it to admire.  Giving way to the year of the dragon in 2024, that pretty much swallows up any hoopla (or hop-la) from a rodent. (I know... I know... the calendar doesn't line up that way). A year of international upheaval, an on-going war followed by a brand new, deadly war.  And sadly, that same familiar war plagued our own soils via another year of gun violence.  Congress was not exempt from its own Civil War... when the GOP was as divided as "Tastes Great" battled "Less Filling"... resulting in the birth of a new, third heir to the presidential throne 9 months after the original third heir.  In the midst of civil upheaval, the Capital was busy avoiding shutdown, while waging its own war on epic inflation due to COVID, rising interest rates preventing the Millennials from buying a house, and diving unemployment numbers as the Biden Administration desperately try to salvage a 2024 run at the White House.  Unemployed, the Dodgers are not, as their front office land the once in a lifetime talent and shrewdly defers his $700M to after his contract his done... while reaping the benefits of countless more Free Agents.  The rest of the sports world look on with envy... as did the Niners when Mr. Irrelevant's UCL was torn in the NFC Championship game on their way to a devasting defeat (only to provide new hope in this coming season). Unimpedingly, any indictment, mugshot, or rape charges against one man has only highlighted the state of America's morals and how we view our king.  Across the pond, the world viewed the crowning of it's own King (and Queen consort) - she's never gonna be fully accepted.   Neither is the world going to ever fully accept the realities (IMHO) of Global Warming, as man makes another futile attempt to tame nature, only to be spanked by the Maui Fires, Hurricane Hilary and a.... heavenly Spy Balloon?????  

On a personal note... Joyce and I have our health and jobs.  The kids are flourishing in all capacities.  Our parents continue to age.  Another chapter ends... while another chapter must begin.  Following last year's top 10... I have to break out top 5's for NN and SW, otherwise, my top 10 will be pre-occupied with all of their moments. 

NN: 

1. Elected class officer
2. Being accepted into AP Chinese
3. Making her Jr. High Basketball A-Team - winning PHD
4. Making it onto her Club Volleyball Team - Tropical Touch
5. East Coast Trip - First "official" date at the Boat Dance

SW: 

1. Jr. High Basketball - MVP
2. Making onto Club Volleyball Team - Titan
3. Being rotated back in for the 3rd and final set and winning the game against Stafford
4. Science Camp
5. Crying at Sunday Morning Breakfast

Without further ado.... my top 10 of 2023.

1. RIP Ricketts and Mr. G - Death hit extremely close to home this year... one unexpected... and one, well, was close to home. Amazingly.. both Celebrations of Life were filled with laughter, joy, and fond memories.  Tears will pass.. but the stories will live on.  
2. Year long injury - One unexpected pull up and a day of volunteering at Second Harvest.  I've never dealt with a lingering muscle pain as long as I did this year.  So much pain in the simplest things I do.  Was thinking rest would make it "go away."  Eventually, I came to realize, the only way to get well, is to work out.  
3. Household gets COVID and Shaw-HANK 2023 - After returning from Seattle.. Joyce gets COVID.  Then SW gets it.  Then a few days of taking care of them... I finally succumb (again).  NN was amazingly spared.  And out of all this... I (along with half the known population) caught up on Suits!
4. 1-17 - After 3 seasons of coaching Jr. High... I finally got my first victory... when an opposing team forfeited.  Woe is me.
5. Busking - Never have I ever imagined I'll be jamming a guitar and belting Beyond to complete strangers!! HA!!
6. ESL and Tutoring - Finally got reprieved from other ministries so I can take on this one... something I've always wanted to do but didn't have the bandwidth for.  There's something about immigrants and learning English that's so ingrained in my DNA... I wish I can do so much more. It ain't always easy... but man... it can be so rewarding. 
7.  Dream (or nightmare) of slum-lording - After who knows how many months.. we finally rented our house out.  The city finally approved our permit.  We finally jacked up our house.  Then we had to deal with the cement contractor.  And the air conditioning contractor. And the flooding foundation. Then it was thoroughly and absolutely cleaning out the house.  Showcasing the house.  Drawing up the lease. Finding renters.  Getting everything finalized... and a week before we signed the lease... we discovered extensive water damage to the kitchen.  Property Management is not for the lighthearted.  But thankfully, by the grace of God, our renters are angels.  
8. Mom's San Diego Trip -  Aside from her Pilgramages... she's never gone on a fun trip on her own...with her own friends.  I simply can't register her ever doing this.  And yet... here she was... sending pictures to us from Sea World and Balboa Park... and texting us that she's going to the Crystal Cathedral.  Drawing a weird parallel... this was an odd symmetry to NN's East Coast Trip last year where I was looking forward to getting texts from her... just so I can know what she's doing, where she's visiting, what she's eating.   Much deserved... and I hope she gets to do more of these while she's still active and able. 
9. "I'm gonna go sit with my friends." - Something I'd expect NN or SW to say to us at any public event... but this came from the mouth of Joyce.  At one of SW's volleyball tournaments... she decided to ditch me and NN... and go with with the other moms on SW's team.  I can't even articulate how giddy I am that she found this group of women.... a Dutch, a Hungarian, a Japanese, a Vietnamese, and a East Coaster.  Simply wonderful.
10. Drumming on Worship Team - Never have I ever... but here I am.  

Joy Luck Club

On the heels of Chinese Groove... I polished off a popular ethnic-social-studies book that was very popular in the 90's.  A novel-turned-motion picture... this is also a book on Chinese immigration to San Francisco.  I remember when it came out... I was repulsed by how they portrayed 1st generation immigrants and their children... but many years later... I can see how Amy Tan does an amazing job capturing all the stereotypes and realities in 200 pages of story-telling.  Her choice of narration gets confusing and the time-skipping makes it hard to follow... but each personal story has proper pacing of less than 20 pages and while each individual story warrants a novella of their own... Amy Tan is masterful at interweaving all the movements into one symphonic construction.  There are some poetic play on words and evocative descriptions of 1940's China.  It's no wonder why this took the world by storm... and why so many have tried... and failed to mimic the success of our tragic author who in her own rights... bear the burden and pains of being a daughter of the ghost of the Joy Luck Club.