More Blast from the Past

First off, I would like to welcome all my new readers! Burt's wedding blog brought out record numbers of new visitors. Obviously, everyone loves a love story, but even more, everyone loves rediscovering an old friend. If you haven't left a comment for Burt, I would encourage you to do so here.

Last Saturday we were invited to a birthday party for the Wong boys at Pump it Up. If you've never been to PU, it's a converted warehouse with these large inflatable slides, jumpers, etc. You start in one room, then after 40 minutes you move to the next room with different jumpers. Everything is padded so no one gets hurt, kinda like an insane asylum. The kids (and dads) go absolutely nuts! Then afterwards you have pizza, soda and birthday cake (the sugar actually helps calm them down).


So being it's Wenna's family, who do I see but retired OPD Chinatown beat cop and XCI Gary Ho. I haven't seen Gary since he busted me for... oh wait, that was someone else! Anyway, I don't know how long, but definitely before he got married and had kids. I think he said he was going back to school for a psychology degree so that he can learn to better read the criminal mind (my guess is that he watches a lot of CSI). Here's a pic of his lovely family (l to r, Caleb, Amy, Cameron). Without the moustache, he now looks like an average family man (and no longer an angry cop). As he enjoys his retirement, crime in Chinatown is now skyrocketing.

And who else was there? Mitch and the family. I see Janice with the kids (Joshua, Jenna) every time Karen is in town but I haven't seen Mitch in ages (he's a big time lawyer that sues people for a living). Mitch is a funny guy. If my memory serves me correctly, the last time I saw Mitch was at Machella's wedding where he was in the bathroom taking pictures with those disposable cameras. Am I right?? Mitch and Janice aren't exactly XCI because they never really attended regularly, but they are still connected through friends. So with that being said, I'm giving them a new category, SXCI (sorta-XCI). See how special you are??

Wow, I'm on a roll. In 7 days I've dug up Scott, Burt, Gary and Mitch. But wait, there is one more...

On Sunday, who else do I see standing between me and the food table? Could it be...?? Oh yes, it's legendary XCI Sandra Oshiro! Quick, get the camera! Sandra used to be my YTF counselor 1980-82, you know, back during the Larry Siu, Philip Fong, Charlie Horse days. Coincidentally, later in life she was a high school camp counselor to Chrissy. Yes, my Chrissy! I'm sure they prayed together nightly, asking God to provide Chrissy with a wonderful husband...God is good. Anyway, when she first looked at me, she had this confused look on her face. Maybe because she's blacked out that period in her life and prefers to move on. But also because I was 12 inches shorter and lack the manly features I now possess :) So after a short stroll down memory lane, I let her continue her coffee talk with Susana. Sandra is living in Sacramento with her husband Dave and son. I bet she's still thinking, "Who is that Stanley guy??"

Another exciting weekend indeed. My boys actually had a second birthday party for a classmate following the Wong party. Another piñata and more sugar! Boy was I beat! I must be back to my regular schedule because I've been passing out all week at work. Tonight we have another birthday party to attend. Hopefully it's low impact, like just food and video games. But no complaints here, I'm fortunate to have kids. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't get invited anywhere!

More Party Pics
Since Wenna is one of my most loyal readers, I've posted a few more party pics below. Sorry Jerry, due to my editorial rights, I had to replace your Giants t-shirt, especially after they got swept by Oakland. Besides, you look better in kelly green anyway.

Cold Hard Kash

That's the title I suggested for Patty's new blog. Yes, Patty has started blogging! Is the world ready for this?? Those of you who know Patty know that for every time, place, or reason, she's ALWAYS got something to say. She speaks from the heart and has taught me that sometimes the truth really does hurt, and hurts a lot!

I've known Patty since my Lincoln Elementary School days when she was a foot taller than me. Now I'm taller than her but believe me, I'm more scared of her today than I was then! At one time she was also was my hairdresser and my banker (at BofA). That would explain my low self-esteem and lousy financial being. Nowadays, she's nice to me only because she needs me for tech support. :)

As for the title "Cold Hard Kash," Patty felt that it would make her sound greedy. Understandable. So what does she do? She instead titles it "Kash I Want More Of." Go figure. Did I mention how many Wii's she's got?? In all fairness, the title supposedly rhymes with her last name (after you say it for the 20th time).

But all kidding aside, Patty's blog will be a welcome jolt to my mundane mornings. I've always enjoyed her humor. The only thing I'll miss is hearing her infectious cackles! I hope you can help me welcome her into the blogging world.

Kash I Want More Of

Note to my subscribers
Dear loyal friends, last week you may have gotten some emails of some older posts. I apologize for the confusion. You see, now that I have over 40 posts, I was told that I need to organize my posts by labeling them with specific categories (friends, family, xci, etc.). I guess this is what serious bloggers do to archive their posts. So when I updated/republished all the posts, I didn't realize that emails would be sent out again. So hopefully from here on out, you'll only be getting my latest posts, and only getting it once. If you're not a subscriber but an avid reader, I would recommend subscribing. That way you'll get an email of the post delivered to you, thus saving you time by not having to check here daily. And you can easily opt out if you get tired of me (although I can't imagine why). Just enter your email in the box. Takes 10 seconds. Thanks for reading!

Thai'd the Knot

Oh man, oh man! I've been sitting on this news since Tuesday! My head is about to explode trying to keep this to myself while I gather evidence from this elusive man. Haven't even told Chrissy.

First let me tell you, ever since I started this blog, I've been reconnecting with old friends left and right. Those old friends always ask about other old friends but the ONE PERSON that they ask most about is Burt, to which I haven't had an answer. I've seen Burt maybe 4 times in the last 8 years. And he's been silent for the last two. In an earlier post I tried to lure him out, but no luck. So when I finally tracked him down on IM, what did he do? Without warning he unloads this mega upside-your-head, what-da... news on me! Total shock would be an understatement! My head is still spinning!

Yes my friends, Burt is a married man. You would think living in the land of Elvis chapels he would get hitched there. But no, he's been secretly wooing a girl in Thailand for the last year!

Back in the day we used to call these girls "G.U." meaning they were "geographically undesirable." And we really only meant the girls outside the east bay like across the bridge or Sacramento, not across the ocean. Boy, come to think of it, we were really cheap and lazy considering the price of gas and traffic conditions back then... But Burt's always been a traveler, no distance can keep him away from his sweetheart. In fact, it's only fitting that his official title at his job is Journeyman. And this time he's gone on an extreme journey, racking up some serious frequent flyer miles, and netting the ultimate prize!

I actually spoke to Burt on the phone because after he IM'd the news to me, I just about fell off my chair and my hands were shaking, literally unable type. This was BIG and I sooooo needed to tell someone!! But I wanted to wait for proof, I wanted to make sure. The photos finally arrived this morning.

So according to Burt, he met his wife while vacationing there last year. After several more visits, they got married this Spring. She's currently still in Thailand awaiting the completion of a love palace (house) that they are building there. Once the house in Thailand is completed, she will move to Vegas to live with Burt. The Thai house will serve as a vacation home (or special love getaway). Burt is anxiously awaiting her arrival so that they can also have a wedding in the U.S. (and populate his empty house). In the meantime, Burt continues to work graveyard shifts at Vons because if you can't be with her, you can at least share the same time zone.

Burt, I've waited so long for this day for you! Congratulations!

More Pictures
This morning (Friday), Burt sent me a few more shots to share.

The two guys are his groomsmen. Yes of course I'm upset. I should be in that picture, replacing that non-smiling guy!

A live pig! Now that's what I call a great wedding gift to the bride's family! None of that roasted pig nonsense where you have to divvy up all the pieces to all your relatives because you can't eat it all. With a live pig you can treat it as a pet first. When you get tired of it, then you kill it. Chop it up, stick it in freezer bags, and you'll be able to feed your family for months. You can also make your own sausages with the scraps. The gal in the pink dress is one of the bridesmaids (and future servant girl to King Burt).

Please leave your well wishes for Burt in the comments.

You Never Forget Riding a Bike

One of my goals during my time off was to teach Dustin how to ride a bike. I had taken him out twice prior and he was a wreck, having absolutely no clue on how to maintain balance. On his third try, there was a glimmer of hope but it quickly crashed into a chainlinked fenced, so we called it a day. On Saturday, with a pocket of bandaids and water ready, we embarked to the Val Vista Park in Pleasanton. The park offered wide open paths and no fences. He got on and just went. Isn't it just amazing how when you "get it" you just get it? I remembered how I learned, I was in Jimmy's backyard and he just pushed me (really hard) and off I went. That was a proud moment in my life, as was Saturday. My sense of childlike wonder had been restored.

Later that day, it was taco and burrito night at our house. The guest list included the usual suspects, our favorite MJ players. But we didn't play MJ at all, instead we played on the Wii. Oli brought over two more remotes and we got some multiplayer tennis and Red Steel action going. Unlike MJ where we have to shoo the kids out of the room, the Wii we can actually play with them. With it's simple controls, the Wii truly levels the playing field and bridges the age gap between players and nonplayers, and kids and adults. Truly a great game that gets everyone involved. No one feels left out.



Sunday Banquet
Sunday evening we were treated to a banquet to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Machella and Martin's parents at Peony Restaurant. We got to sit with our favorite florist, Dave Wong. If you haven't seen Dave in a while, he's lost a LOT of weight and is all muscle now. He's busy as ever, booked up yearlong (all by word of mouth), and coaching a girls volleyball team in Fremont. Unfortunately, his humor hasn't changed :) still the goofball we all enjoy and love. My boys were all over him all night (which allowed me some time to enjoy my dinner).

Photographing the event was none other than XCI Scott Lim. I haven't seen Scott in 19 years, since his days at Fusion Electronics (1988). The stereo he sold me and the speakers he built are still doing their jobs in my living room. Unlike Dave, Scott put on a few pounds (which is good because back then he said he was 108!). He looks healthy, happy and still has a great head of thick black hair. For those of you wanting to learn about photography and Photoshop, Scott is a big time award-winning, photo guru and seminar speaker. You can check out his website. Maybe if you tell him I sent you, he'll cut you a deal. Um, no he won't.

Scott's assistant was Mike Muramoto, another guy I haven't seen in ages. Back during my single days, a group of us single guys all used to go wannabe-extreme mountain biking up in the Oakland hills. The group included Dave, Jimmy, Wingate, Edmond, Mike and a few others. We all had Bridgestone bikes except Dave with that sissy Bontragger :o After a tough ride, we would reward ourselves at Top Dog with our favorite Bratwurst. Come to think of it, I don't think any one of us were dating... strange, considering the stud-muffins we all used to be. Go figure. Anyway, last night, we were still talking about the Cinderella Trail at Roberts Park, the most treacherous single-track rock hill that's claimed a few knees, elbows, and faces. I think I finally "graduated" that trail on the fourth trip. Oh man, those were great times! Don't know about Mike, but I'm nowhere as nimble as I was in 1992. I'm tempted to revisit Cinderella again, but for certain if I fall, I won't heal nearly as fast. But no worries. As a government worker, I have great health insurance! Like Scott, Mike's work is posted at his website.

A nice weekend to reflect on indeed. No wonder I haven't gotten any work done today.

Back at Work

So here I am back at my desk, eating lunch in peace. I feel ok but not quite back into my normal routine –– I don't feel hungry at 11, I'm not sleepy at 2, and I'm not combing the breakrooms looking for pastries. Weird. Maybe I've become a healthier person. Maybe I've been rejuvenated. We'll see how long that lasts.

Everyone greeted me this week, that was nice. No one dared ask me if I missed them because they know they're just asking to get slammed! My boss is especially happy to see me, that is, until I asked her to put me on a 4-10 schedule. She said she'll think about it. Hmmm, it's not looking good since she's been avoiding eye contact with me ever since.

Got on a new carpool schedule this week with three new riders. There are now five of us riding from Stoneridge. Four of us alternate driving, but the fifth person, a BART employee that gets a car every other month, he drives for an entire month! So for the month of June, I don't need to drive at all! Awesome! I can catch up on some serious ZZZZ's, think about blog content, or watch a show on my ipod. I just need to remember my deodorant, because as the days get warmer, it can get quite cozy in that car.

In the car I'm very quiet and don't like to talk (yes, very hard to believe, but true). Reason is, 90% of the content is always work related. So and so is making this much, and so and so is getting promoted, blah blah blah. I could care less. I make about a third less than everyone and they're the ones complaining about being underpaid. The irony is killing me. Also, what I've noticed is that government employees love to talk about retirement. They're obsessed. They start calculating how many years they need to work to get the maximum benefit and so on. And the funny thing is, for most of them, retirement is still at least 20 years away! Pathetic.

People retire here on a biweekly schedule it seems. I can't tell you how many retirement cakes I've tasted in the last 2 years. All the usual cliches are spoken and the rest of us (not me) are jealous of their new found freedom. Dude, what's to be jealous of?? You want to trade places with him?? He's 65, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, etc., practically three quarters way to the grave. I like my situation much better thank you. I am not wishing to fast forward my life 25 years for that golden ticket. All that means is more free time for doctor appointments.

No more TV
Last week was an incredible week of television with all the season finales. I follow Desperate Housewives, Heroes, Dancing with the Stars and Lost. I even watched American Idol hoping to see who the "big" mystery star would be this year (last year was Prince) only to be disappointed finding out it was Bette Midler. Even at the height of her popularity with the movie, Beaches, she was never that exciting. Oh well. I did enjoy Blake's beat boxing with Doug E. Fresh, and also the Winans. The weirdest thing was seeing Marlee Matlin in the audience. Not to be insensitive, but isn't she deaf? Go figure. If you missed the show, you can download the MP4 file here (566mb). I even edited out all the commercials for your uninterrupted watching enjoyment.

The timing of the finales was good for us. This week I had to start work and Chrissy had to start transporting both boys to school and back, as Colby started preschool fulltime. So coming home with no shows to catch is kind of a blessing. It forces us to relax, spend time with the kids, and at times, even talk to each other. Imagine that!

Too Much Sugar

Last Saturday we attended the first birthday party for Mason Yim, son of Patrick and Veronica. It was held at Happy Hollow Park in San Jose.

Before I get any further, I'd like to say that Chrissy now knows about this blog. Apparently several of you mentioned it to her at the party (you know who you are). Maybe you were unaware it was my big secret, but that's ok, I knew I would have to tell her eventually. I kept it from her for 4 months. Hopefully it won't ruin our marriage. So in my response I kindly told her that she wouldn't be interested and that she's not allowed to read it. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, as we parked our car, the first thing that caught our boys' eyes wasn't the balloons, the food or the people. It was the giant train piñata. They've been to enough parties to know what's inside. And the natural assumption is that the bigger the piñata, the more candy inside—and they've never seen one this big! Well, as you can see in the video below, they were not disappointed. There were pencils, stickers and erasers in there too, but for some reason, none of those items found their way into my boys' goody bags—weird. The cake was quite incredible too, airbrushed with clouds, cars and trains. It rivaled the size of some wedding cakes I've seen. It was chocolate on top and banana on the bottom. To fully appreciate the cake, I had to have two slices ;p


After 4 hours in the park, we took a pit (poop) stop at Peggy's house in Milpitas and played with her kids for an hour. After that, off to the Great Mall where we walked the entire mall in search of Thomas trains. Then for dinner we tried Lee's Sandwiches for the first time (tasty but nowhere as meaty and cheap as Oakland Chinatown).

As we embarked on our 45-minute drive home, the boys were wide awake for most of the ride, maybe finally falling asleep during the last 10 minutes. When we got home, they woke up and couldn't wait to take inventory of all their candies and goodies. Normally with long play days and long car rides, I would have to carry all the kids in. But obviously the sugar in the candy, cake, soda, etc. is fueling their little engines. They were really wired. In fact, that was when I filmed Colby's Butterfly Song on my previous post. Yes, after 5 hours of playing, a mile of walking, two long car rides, that's how much energy they still had at 10 p.m.! I was wiped out. I should've ate more cake.

Thank you for the Music
Last night, Dustin's school, Jensen Ranch, had an open house. During the dinner portion, the kids performed a song that they learned through their "Music for Minors" program. Don't know about you, but I was expecting a little more "music" in the performance. It was more like a cheering competition at a pep rally. Maybe it just needed some piano accompaniment (I'm such a critic). Well you can take a listen yourself.


My Last Day
Today is my last weekday at home. Tuesday I'll be back at work. Hard to believe that 12 weeks have already passed. At the beginning of my vacation I had a list of the things I wanted to do around the house. I think I may have accomplished maybe 15% of that list. It's not like I didn't have the time, but more like I'd rather do something else, like play video games with the kids (or nap with baby). This morning I walked Dustin to school for the last time and this afternoon I'll pick him up for the last time. I can honestly say that I don't always enjoy the transporting, the homework, the fatherly policing, but I'm sure I'll miss it. It's times like these where I'm glad I have a blog to record my daily adventures. I'll revisit these pages in a few years from now and know that this was the best three months of my life!

The Butterfly Song

When we first were told that Colby had to learn this song, I was thinking no way a 4-year old can sing this. There are too many verses, the words go really quick, and there's not enough repetition. But all credit to Teacher Kathy and her staff, Colby memorized it in no time. I guess I need to have a little more confidence in my kids.

In my previous post, you saw the Mother's Day performance video. In case you did not understand what they were singing, here is an encore solo performance by Colby (he's been singing it every day). No guarantee you'll understand the song any better, but he definitely adds a funky twist toward the end. Hopefully you'll get a good laugh. Poor Justine, these are the goofball brothers she'll have to depend on... sigh.

Mother's Day Wiikend

Ever since Thanksgiving I've been trying to get my hands on a Nintendo Wii. I still regret not lining up with Chrissy's cousins the night before Black Friday in 30-degree weather at the mall. And I'm still upset that those cousins have not once invited us over to play! It's been 6 months now and the stores still can't get them stocked (because greedy people like Patty bought like 4 of them). So I've been combing Craigslist trying to find a good price on a used bundle. Note: Wii System is $250. Extra remote and nunchuk (required for multiplayer games) is $60. Total with tax is $335. So $300 seems like a realistic price target for something everyone wants.

Last week I finally found one in Livermore. The Wii with extra remote & nunchuk, 2 additional Wii games (with steering wheel), 7 additional Gamecube games, 2 Gamecube controllers, a memory card, and a cool Nintendo travel bag. $300. Some spoiled 13 year-old was secretly using his mom's email to post the ad and his dad's cell phone to sell it. I hooked up with his dad to make the deal. His dad was not happy at all considering he spent over $500 on it just 5 months ago. But by the looks of their toy collection, they seemed very wealthy so no bad feelings here. He honored the deal and I was thrilled.

So I'm coming home and wondering how Chrissy might react to me spending this much money on a toy. For the record, Chrissy has NEVER questioned, nagged, or frowned upon any of my purchases, great or small. She knows I'm not an impulsive shopper but instead, a shameless, low-balling bargain hunter. A true Craigslist predator. But $300 is still a lot of money. And some guilt started to creep in. But no way I was going to give this up. I've waited 6 months for this! So what was I going to do??

My solution was perfect. I decided to give the Wii to Chrissy for Mother's Day!

Before you roll your eyes (or bust up laughing), let me explain how perfect this is. First of all, Chrissy never plays video games with the boys (the quick thinking button action only frustrates her). So this will help her to be more willing to play with them and the boys will think she's cool--she already enjoys the bowling game quite a bit. Secondly, she's been saying (not me) that she needs more exercise. What better way to burn calories than to virtually punch out your sassy son? It's a great stress reliever too! And thirdly, because it's a gift, she not allowed to find out how much I spent! I tell you, I amaze myself sometimes!

On Saturday we hosted lunch for her side of the family and on Sunday we celebrated with my side. The Wii was hit on both days. Most people played it for the very first time. Regular video games can be so intimidating with all the buttons and sequences. But with the Wii, you just need to do what comes natural, like punching, swinging, driving, etc. Real easy stuff, great exercise and a real crowd pleaser. Below is a video of Dustin duking it out with his Uncle Ricky.



Mother's Day at CIBC
On Sunday's Mother's Day morning service, we were treated to a couple of performances by the children's Sunday School classes. Both Colby and Dustin participated and Colby's still singing that butterfly song to this day. If you can't see Colby, he's the one that's blocked by Pastor Jason's head. Thanks to Wayland for videotaping it for me (because I totally forgot).

The Days are Numbered

Hard to imagine, but two weeks from today I will be back at work. My seemingly endless days with the boys are about to end. These 13 weeks are slipping away fast. I wonder if there will ever be another time in my life where I'll have such a large chunk of time to spend with my young children. Probably won't happen (unless we have another kid--highly unlikely). And as the boys get older, they'll slowly stop wanting to spend time with dad. Fortunately I still have a little girl waiting for all my attention. But in the meantime, I'll try to make the best of these final days.

Yesterday morning, Colby and I were able to spend some time at the park with Arthur and Jacob. The weather was perfect and the wind finally picked up to launch a kite (Colby's first time and my first time in over 30 years). Just a really nice father-and-son time for everyone. This is what being a dad is all about.

The Crime Scene

On Monday night I finally got caught up with one of my favorite shows, Desperate Housewives. Yeah I know it's a raunchy show, but I find the touching storylines and ruthless humor irresistible. The backstabbing and conniving are by far the most creative too. The latest episode talked about being victims of crime as Lynette's pizza pub got robbed. As I watched, I wondered how it would feel getting robbed. Well I experienced the feeling the very next day.

My mom's house in Oakland got broken into on Tuesday. My niece Sarah lives there and they came in through an open window while she was at work. And of course they came through a window which I had removed the burglar bars! Ahh, I've never hear the end of it!

I drove my mom to the crime scene after dinner. Upon entering, it was like a movie, every room ransacked and upended. They were very thorough going through every drawer, cabinet and closet. As I helped my mom clean up, we realized that none of her stuff was missing! They went through her jewelry but I guess they're not really into jade or 14k chains. They opened up some red envelopes--ones with quarters in them, but totally missed the ones with $5 and $10 bills. Loser.

Sarah was missing $60 cash and all her jewelry, mostly costume jewelry but she did lose a pair of diamond earrings. Although according to her, "I didn't buy them." So perhaps she's not too upset over them (maybe they came from an ex-boyfriend). They did not take her 20" LCD monitor or computer which had all her personal info, so she's real fortunate. I think the thief was frustrated, picking the poorest house in the neighborhood. Other than the earrings, he was out of luck. Sorry buddy, no iPods, digital cameras, PS3, or laptops for you!

Even though things could've been a lot worst, it's still an absolute horrible feeling knowing a stranger went through your stuff. Some of you may have experienced having your car broken into, well this is like ten times worst. Sure we don't have to deal with insurance, deductible and repairs, but the anger, fear, and uneasiness will continue to haunt us for a while (especially my mom, who'll spend this weekend there). Hopefully the thief will tell his buddies our house is a dud and is a waste of time. Robbing our house is like going to a buffet where all the food is stale.

Times like these I like to remember that the Lord is always watching over us. He gives us trials to test our faith and to build us up. It also reminds me not to get attached to material wealth. They can get stolen, vandalized or heck, the thief could've even burned down the house! It's amazing how fast something can be gone. For us to get through this relatively unscathed, is a true testament to the merciful God we trust in. If you think about it, there are way too many scenarios that could've happened, like what if the thief confronted Sarah? So we're just extremely thankful at this point that no one was hurt and no damage was done. Things can be replaced, lives cannot.

Well this surely was a wake up call to all of us. Lock your windows and survey your surroundings. Protect your family and don't be a victim. Man, I'm really gonna hate putting back up those burglar bars!