The Sunwise Ladies
Thursday, June 30, 2005
The Sunwise Ladies
I didn't have much free time while I was in San Diego, but I did get a chance to have lunch with my old coworkers from Project Sunwise while I was there. It was so great to see everyone! It was so great to see people that I felt like I had alot in common with. I have good friends in Hong Kong, but it is a different world over here and while my friends are wonderful they are very dissimilar to me.
The Sunwise Ladies
The Sunwise Ladies
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Happy Birthday, Mom!
For Mom's birthday, we had a delicious dinner outside on the patio. Rohit made some gorgeous appetizers: prosciutto with melon and salade de caprese. (I am not sure how to spell those two things, but they were delicious and served beautifully.) I made cream of broccoli soup, which didn't turn out quite as well. Everyone very kindly ate it anyway! We also had shish kebabs that Rohit barbecued and garlic bread. For the birthday cake, we had a very yummy princess cake. Princess Cakes are a Swedish thing. They consist of a light sponge cake layered with jam and a not-too-sweet whipped cream. The whole thing is topped with marzipan and it is wonderful! It is not an overwhelmingly sweet or rich dessert, it is mild and good.
Mom got lots of presents. I gave her a gift certificate for a massage and Rohit gave her a photo printer and various scrap booking/art supplies. The girls gave her lots of things too but I can't remember them all now!
I think Mom had a good birthday, but I think we were all sad the next day when the cake had been left out...It had fresh cream in it so it needed to be kept in the fridge. No cake for breakfast that morning!
Mom's Al Fresco Birthday Dinner
Princess Cake...Yummy, Yummy!
Mom blowing out her candles
Mom got lots of presents. I gave her a gift certificate for a massage and Rohit gave her a photo printer and various scrap booking/art supplies. The girls gave her lots of things too but I can't remember them all now!
I think Mom had a good birthday, but I think we were all sad the next day when the cake had been left out...It had fresh cream in it so it needed to be kept in the fridge. No cake for breakfast that morning!
Mom's Al Fresco Birthday Dinner
Princess Cake...Yummy, Yummy!
Mom blowing out her candles
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Sisters
While I was staying at Mom's house, I got to spend lots of quality time with my sisters. I took Maya to get new school clothes, and it was fun to have a little shopping buddy! I also went with her and Mom to Office Depot to buy the kajillion school supplies that she needed for her new school, The Academy at Black Mountain. The school gave out a detailed and lengthy list of supplies needed, like 5 inch Fiskar Scissors, post-it notes, and numerous colors of high lighters. I don't remember needing that stuff for junior high! There was a crisis when the store did not carry a 2 inch three ring binder like the school requested. They only had 1.5 inches or 3 inches. Bummer! Maya and I went to get pedicures before her first day at her new school. She got cool blue polish with white flowers on her big toes.
I was glad to see that Marissa was her usual sunny, happy, cheerful and outgoing self. We went for walks and did yoga in the park. She is good, so flexible! Marissa was my frozen yogurt buddy, since we both like it alot. We also went ice skating a few times, which was really fun! Marissa and I also got pedicures, she got pink polish with white flowers.
Malini graduated kindergarten while I was in San Diego, which was really fun for me to see. I can't believe she is going to Country Montessori next year with her big sisters! Oh, they are all getting so old! Stop! Stop growing up so fast! Malini and I went swimming and I was really impressed by her amazing swimming skills. She is fearless on the diving board. I am glad that she is on a swim team with Marissa so that she can swim often. Malini and I also went to Nickel City, her favorite place, and to the bowling alley.
Makayla had her first day of school while I was in San Diego. For some reason she reminds me of me when I was little. I am not sure why, how could I possibly know what I was like when I was little? Anyway, she went off to school with noe problem, didn't cry or throw a tantrum or anything. I took her and Malini to Chuck E Cheese's and I am afraid that I scarred her for life....She was alone when Chuck E. Cheese came out to say hi to the kids. I was playing a game with Malini and was not really paying attention to Makayla. She was standing there frozen with terror, and then she starting wailing. I turned and saw her red face and saw her crying and thought she must have hurt herself. But no, it was just the sight of Chucky across the room that scared her. I felt soooo bad. She wouldn't even let me carry her by Chucky to get to the door to leave. We finally made it out of there and Makayla was sniffling and saying, "I never want to go to Chuck E Cheese's again...just Nickel City. Bad Chucky!" The poor girl! Chucky actually is sort of scary looking, when you look closely.
Meagan and Marissa after Ice Skating
Ice Skating
Makayla dressed for Fourth of July
Maya getting a pedicure
Malini and Makayla
I was glad to see that Marissa was her usual sunny, happy, cheerful and outgoing self. We went for walks and did yoga in the park. She is good, so flexible! Marissa was my frozen yogurt buddy, since we both like it alot. We also went ice skating a few times, which was really fun! Marissa and I also got pedicures, she got pink polish with white flowers.
Malini graduated kindergarten while I was in San Diego, which was really fun for me to see. I can't believe she is going to Country Montessori next year with her big sisters! Oh, they are all getting so old! Stop! Stop growing up so fast! Malini and I went swimming and I was really impressed by her amazing swimming skills. She is fearless on the diving board. I am glad that she is on a swim team with Marissa so that she can swim often. Malini and I also went to Nickel City, her favorite place, and to the bowling alley.
Makayla had her first day of school while I was in San Diego. For some reason she reminds me of me when I was little. I am not sure why, how could I possibly know what I was like when I was little? Anyway, she went off to school with noe problem, didn't cry or throw a tantrum or anything. I took her and Malini to Chuck E Cheese's and I am afraid that I scarred her for life....She was alone when Chuck E. Cheese came out to say hi to the kids. I was playing a game with Malini and was not really paying attention to Makayla. She was standing there frozen with terror, and then she starting wailing. I turned and saw her red face and saw her crying and thought she must have hurt herself. But no, it was just the sight of Chucky across the room that scared her. I felt soooo bad. She wouldn't even let me carry her by Chucky to get to the door to leave. We finally made it out of there and Makayla was sniffling and saying, "I never want to go to Chuck E Cheese's again...just Nickel City. Bad Chucky!" The poor girl! Chucky actually is sort of scary looking, when you look closely.
Meagan and Marissa after Ice Skating
Ice Skating
Makayla dressed for Fourth of July
Maya getting a pedicure
Malini and Makayla
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Maya's Elementary school graduation
Maya graduated from her elementary school this year, and I had the good fortune of being in town when all of the festivities were occurring. And believe me, there were a lot of celebrations! Maya is pretty lucky because her 5th grade class was tiny, only 7 other girls! I guess they got pretty tight, because all of the families no eachother and everyone was crying at the graduation ceremony, including her teacher. Each girl gave a speech infront of all the families, which I thought was very impressive. Maya's speech was quite eloquent and recounted the funny times they had in the class room and her love for the Country Montessori School and it's teachers. They also had a pool party at one of her classmate's houses and that was pretty fun. There was lots of food and lots of little girls everywhere. Mom's baked beans were a hit! (I have never heard of Mom maing baked beans before, but I guess she is a natural! Haha!) For me, probably the most notable thing about the pool party was the pool itself: it had a disappearing edge. If I ever have a pool, I want it to look like that! It was cool. The other thing about the pool party was that I realized that I hope to God that I have girls when I have children. I love girls, they are so much fun! At Malini's kindergarten graduation, I caught a glimpse of what it would be like to have boys. They just kept running around pretending to shoot eachother. It was so NOT fun! Maybe I am biased...I guess I will love whatever kids I have. Mom says that when I have kids, I will probably have 5 boys, just so the universe can realign itself after she had so many girls....I hope not! Some women in China or India can have all my boys if they want. Actually, I probably shoudln't write this in the off chance that I will have boys and they will read this.
Maya with some of her classmates
Maya with some of her classmates
Thursday, June 16, 2005
USA
I arrived in San Diego just in time for the last week of school for all of my sisters. It was so good to see them again! It is amazing how kids can get so much bigger and older looking in just six months. The first morning after I arrived in San Diego, I went to help out at my sister Malini's school. She had graduated from Kindergarten! I can't believe it! The kids had a pretty good last day at school, complete with a bounce house, a spin art machine and a cotton candy maker! Mom and I were put on cotton candy making duty, and I am glad mom was there to help me because I learned that I am a lousy cotton candy maker. I kept pressing the cotton candy too hard and it would mush into a little ball, and no matter what I did I seemed to get extremely sticky. There go my dreams of working at a carnival!
After that, Mom and the girls and I frantically rushed to the store to pick up snacks to take to Maya's class. They were celebrating her birthday and at a Montessori school that is an elaborate event. Mom had made a sheet of paper for each year of Maya's life, complete with a picture and a short paragraph of what had happened to her in that year. Mom read each paper and in between years, Maya would walk around in the circle of her classmates while everyone sang, "The Earth goes around the sun, tra la! The Earth goes around the sun!" Then they would ring a bell for the number of years of the age that they had just read. Very time consuming when you have just turned 11! That is a whole lot of circle walking and bell ringing! I think it does make the kids feel special, and that is the important thing, right? They do it for all the kids, so I guess it is a good thing that Montessori schools generally have a smaller class size.
Kindergarten Grad Malini with her Dadi
After that, Mom and the girls and I frantically rushed to the store to pick up snacks to take to Maya's class. They were celebrating her birthday and at a Montessori school that is an elaborate event. Mom had made a sheet of paper for each year of Maya's life, complete with a picture and a short paragraph of what had happened to her in that year. Mom read each paper and in between years, Maya would walk around in the circle of her classmates while everyone sang, "The Earth goes around the sun, tra la! The Earth goes around the sun!" Then they would ring a bell for the number of years of the age that they had just read. Very time consuming when you have just turned 11! That is a whole lot of circle walking and bell ringing! I think it does make the kids feel special, and that is the important thing, right? They do it for all the kids, so I guess it is a good thing that Montessori schools generally have a smaller class size.
Kindergarten Grad Malini with her Dadi
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Bangs and a Ball
Matt and I went to the AWA Ball with our friends Kelly, Raul and Maria. I had a negative attitude about the ball and since it was expensive, I decided that maybe matt and I shouldn't go. After all, it isn't exactly like Matt was dying to go and for the money it would cost, we could do something alot cooler...like buy us both plane tickets to somewhere or buy a digital camera. Kelly is very persuasive though, and she really wanted us to come otherwise her fiance wouldn't go. In the end, Matt made the call...we would go since I had been on the committee and had designed the invitations. It was a big mistake! The ball was a total disaster. I was hoping that it would be at least as good as the Yacht Club Ball we went to in November, but it definitely wasn't! It was ALOT worse.
The night started on a bad note when I went to get a hair cut. I had a glorious vision of myself with side swept bangs. I told the hairdresser what I wanted, and I got what I asked for, but when I looked in the mirror I was devastated! I hated my bangs and I had only myself to blame! I was literally sobbing right there in the chair at the salon. My poor hairdresser must have been so embarrassed! He kept saying, "It looks good, you just have to get used to it..." Everyone was staring. In hindsight, I feel very bad because my poor hairdresser didn't deserve that! He did a great job, and in fact it is oneof the best hair cuts I have gotten. He thinned my hair a lot and the bangs are what I asked for. I hope he will take me back when I need another haircut! I have had my hair the same way for like 12 years, and my hair looked a lot darker, and I think I was just shocked. I called Kelly and I was sobbing and she didn't know what was wrong. All I could get out was, "Aaaughg...bu..bu..bu..bangs! Aaaughgha! Waaa!" I took a taxi to her house because I was borrowing her dress, and she tried to make me feel better, but I kept crying and she kept re-doing my make up. I ended up making her late to the ball and she was supposed to volunteer to help set up.
Matt seemed to like my bangs when I went home, so that made me feel better, but when we got to the ball, everyone was coming up to me and telling me how gorgeous my hair was. It made me feel really weird cause I was so sensitive about it, I had just had a major trauma after all! It turns out that Kelly wgot in big trouble with the AWA ladies for being late, and she told them about my hair fiasco. Well, I don't blame her, she sat there with me while I sobbed over my stupid bangs. Our friend Maria was at Kelly's house and was like, "What are you crying about, he cut like 5 hairs." Haha! it is sort of true! But they were an important 5 hairs!
This blog entry is about the ball though, not my bangs...So after the trauma, Matt and I went to the ball which was at the Hong Kong Exhibition Center. We were late for the 5 course meal that was part of the ball, but it was ok because it was not good. Actually, it was OK, but frankly, for the price we paid, OK is not good enough. It was bland and standard, nothing fresh or creative about it. I had chicken breast of marginal quality and a very creamy and bland soup. It was standard hotel fare. Then the band came on. It was an extrememly cheesy cover band with and aging bleached blond hussy in tight leather pants as a lead singer.
In order to escape the band, we went into the "casino" which consisted of card table covered with green felt table covers to make them look like craps tables or craps tables. Also, there was a bingo room. I won alot at the craps table, which is my lucky game, but then lost it at black jack. I cashed in my chips and collected my "prize" which was a sample size bottle of face moisturizer. Whoop-di-do.
The highlight of the night was seeing Matt's boss at the ball with his wife. He looked extememly embarrased to see us there, or to be seen with us. Maybe it was Matt's suede tassled cowboy jacket? Just so we could remember this special moment, we purchased the prom-style photo taken of Matt's boss andhis wife. Matt took it to work with him the next day and posted it on the secretary's desk so everyone could see. His boss kept trying to take it down!
The AWA ladies came up to me to remind me that I had been assigned to work the cash register from 12 to 1. This was news to me, and for the price we paid I decided that I did not need to be drafted into work, so we left and headed to a club.
This night was special in that it was the second time I have been truly embarrassed to be an American. Going to the ball was like going to a bad prom in a tiny podunk town in the Midwest, except worse. I could list all the reasons why it was so terrible, but I wouldn't want to bore anyone with anymore details than I already have.
Kelly, Meagan and Raul
Gambling
Maria and Matt
The night started on a bad note when I went to get a hair cut. I had a glorious vision of myself with side swept bangs. I told the hairdresser what I wanted, and I got what I asked for, but when I looked in the mirror I was devastated! I hated my bangs and I had only myself to blame! I was literally sobbing right there in the chair at the salon. My poor hairdresser must have been so embarrassed! He kept saying, "It looks good, you just have to get used to it..." Everyone was staring. In hindsight, I feel very bad because my poor hairdresser didn't deserve that! He did a great job, and in fact it is oneof the best hair cuts I have gotten. He thinned my hair a lot and the bangs are what I asked for. I hope he will take me back when I need another haircut! I have had my hair the same way for like 12 years, and my hair looked a lot darker, and I think I was just shocked. I called Kelly and I was sobbing and she didn't know what was wrong. All I could get out was, "Aaaughg...bu..bu..bu..bangs! Aaaughgha! Waaa!" I took a taxi to her house because I was borrowing her dress, and she tried to make me feel better, but I kept crying and she kept re-doing my make up. I ended up making her late to the ball and she was supposed to volunteer to help set up.
Matt seemed to like my bangs when I went home, so that made me feel better, but when we got to the ball, everyone was coming up to me and telling me how gorgeous my hair was. It made me feel really weird cause I was so sensitive about it, I had just had a major trauma after all! It turns out that Kelly wgot in big trouble with the AWA ladies for being late, and she told them about my hair fiasco. Well, I don't blame her, she sat there with me while I sobbed over my stupid bangs. Our friend Maria was at Kelly's house and was like, "What are you crying about, he cut like 5 hairs." Haha! it is sort of true! But they were an important 5 hairs!
This blog entry is about the ball though, not my bangs...So after the trauma, Matt and I went to the ball which was at the Hong Kong Exhibition Center. We were late for the 5 course meal that was part of the ball, but it was ok because it was not good. Actually, it was OK, but frankly, for the price we paid, OK is not good enough. It was bland and standard, nothing fresh or creative about it. I had chicken breast of marginal quality and a very creamy and bland soup. It was standard hotel fare. Then the band came on. It was an extrememly cheesy cover band with and aging bleached blond hussy in tight leather pants as a lead singer.
In order to escape the band, we went into the "casino" which consisted of card table covered with green felt table covers to make them look like craps tables or craps tables. Also, there was a bingo room. I won alot at the craps table, which is my lucky game, but then lost it at black jack. I cashed in my chips and collected my "prize" which was a sample size bottle of face moisturizer. Whoop-di-do.
The highlight of the night was seeing Matt's boss at the ball with his wife. He looked extememly embarrased to see us there, or to be seen with us. Maybe it was Matt's suede tassled cowboy jacket? Just so we could remember this special moment, we purchased the prom-style photo taken of Matt's boss andhis wife. Matt took it to work with him the next day and posted it on the secretary's desk so everyone could see. His boss kept trying to take it down!
The AWA ladies came up to me to remind me that I had been assigned to work the cash register from 12 to 1. This was news to me, and for the price we paid I decided that I did not need to be drafted into work, so we left and headed to a club.
This night was special in that it was the second time I have been truly embarrassed to be an American. Going to the ball was like going to a bad prom in a tiny podunk town in the Midwest, except worse. I could list all the reasons why it was so terrible, but I wouldn't want to bore anyone with anymore details than I already have.
Kelly, Meagan and Raul
Gambling
Maria and Matt
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