Eureka!

I read somewhere recently that people are leaving Southern California in droves because of the economy. They're moving to Idaho or Oklahoma where a 2000+ sq ft house with 5 bedrooms and 3 baths could be gotten for $100,000, as opposed to the rundown 400 sq ft room they could get here. And I have to admit, the snow and leaf fall in those areas look pretty good (although I hear it gets old really fast). And don't get me started about the politics in this state. What kind of people vote to legalize marijuana and eliminate affirmative action in the same election? Politically, we're second only to Florida, land of the chads.

Then there's the earthquakes, the mudslides, the fires. And of course the smog and traffic. I can't even begin to think about Hollywood and the celebrities because then I'll really go nuts. And can anyone wear any shoes besides those flip flops?

I'll take all of that for one reason and one reason alone: diversity.

Where else can you go from desert to mountain to sandy beach to rocky surf to forest just within a couple of hours? You can grow up here and be a surfer, skiier, and rock climber, all in one.

More importantly, where else can an ethnic person go and not have everyone assume that they're foreign born? Here, people don't blink if you're wearing a turban or sari, not even the Caucasians. We know that Silva is Portuguese, Patel and Singh are Indian, Reza is a Persian man's first name, that Kim and Park indicate Korean heritage. Here we all know what kim bob, naan, tapas, and dim sum are. We don't do double-takes when we see a black man holding an Asian woman's hand (at least not very much) or when their children trail behind them. We don't even do it with a black man holding an Asian man's hand with their children.

We haven't found this kind of diversity in very many other places. I certainly didn't find it in Texas growing up, when our friends would come over and ask us what the chopsticks were for. Nor when we were stopped by U.S. border patrol in Canada while everyone else was allowed to drive through. The guy stared at us and asked,"where did you two meet?" as if it was impossible that our different ethnicities would ever come together. I was sorely tempted to say,"in a brothel in Swaziland" but prudently held my tongue.

I remember flying to California in my youth and taking the taxi to my grandmother's house. I stared the whole way there, noticing all the Asian drivers that I never saw at home. I stared at the Asians everywhere I went because I had never seen that many of them before.

I'm not saying that people everywhere else are racist, that they're intolerant somehow. Just that people here are more used to walking alongside all these other cultures and ethnicities; we don't get noticed. Of course if you're a big ham and don't look Caucasian, then by all means, move to Texas or wherever. But we're staying here with our hapa kids.

On second hand, this is the land of the Rodney King riots, so what the heck do I know? One thing is for sure: I hate moving, so we're staying put.

Random Kid Stuff

I don't know where they got it from, but my kids have sophisticated tastes in music. The oldest likes Fergie and Dido, the third one loves Leona Lewis (if I have to listen to that song one more time, I'm gonna cause some bleeding myself) and Timbaland, and the baby insists on watching a Coldplay video while I give him a manicure. Meanwhile, if you were to ask their daddy who any of these singers are, he would have no clue.

***********************************************

My son has a new playground game at school. It's called "Girls are Evil." Basically he and his buddies run away from all the girls. That in itself doesn't sound like fun, but when you add in the screaming, running, the pack mentality, and the fact that certain girls will actually chase them, you can see why a 5 year old would be into it.

***********************************************

The baby has reached his "I do" stage, where he wants to do everything himself. Not just for himself but for everyone else as well. Like throw away garbage or turn on/off the lights or open the microwave or fetch things. If he sees us doing these things ourselves, he gets very insulted. We have to turn on the light again just so he can turn it off. He'll actually go back outside the house in order to open the door for himself to come in. And heaven forbid we dare to close the front door ourselves. It's worth it, though, just to hear him say,"I di i!"

Meanwhile it takes us even longer than before to get anywhere on time.

The Morning After

Our Thanksgiving gathering went exactly how we feared it would. The uncle was drunk before the turkey was ready, and to the mortified embarrassment of his 18-year old daughter, went around talking about sex and how everyone does it. Naturally he had to pick a fight with the aunt and set off a big time bomb. She started hollering, insulting, cussing so badly that we had to herd the kids upstairs into a closed room. She accused her sister and brother of killing their father (he died of heart disease over 40 years ago), their mother (she died of surgery complications about 10 years ago), and their sister (alcoholism, 2 years ago). She would have laid JFK's death on them, too, except she ran out of time.

Nevertheless, it was great seeing the cousins and friends. As is typical during any family gathering, we regressed a few years and sat in the "children's section." Then we played checkers, board games, and watched TV.

A couple of days later, we went to my mom's house for another Thanksgiving gathering. It was boring - no fighting or hollering. Except by the kids, of course.

Now, it's Monday morning. Not just any Monday morning but December 1st Monday morning, where my brain has to switch from idling to hyperdrive mode. I'm still working on it.

Happy Thanksgiving

We will be spending the day at my brother-in-law's place with all my in laws, including an uncle prone to drinking and an aunt prone to arguing about stuff that happened in her childhood. Yes, it should be really something. I'm happy just not having to deal with work or cleaning related stuff. I have a ton of things to be thankful for, I don't have to cook, and I get to visit with loved ones. It's going to be a good day.

For a truly inspiring thanksgiving story, read HERE.

Finally, I leave you pictures of my son's thanksgiving play, where they re-enacted the first thanksgiving.
Of course my son is the one making a funny face
Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Fieldtrip

While the rest of the country was digging out their snow plows and building snowmen, we went to the beach. Not to lay out, though, which is the term we Californians use to mean "lay in the sun purposely to fry oneself." No, no, I am not that insane anymore, especially after that one incident where I fell asleep on my stomach and couldn't sit, sleep on my back, bend over, or even use the toilet afterward.

We went on a fieldtrip to the tidepools with my students. It was with a few other classes, but it was clearly not organized, since one instructor didn't show at all, and another one (the one taking roll) showed up very late. Luckily, there was one other lady who seemed to know what she was doing, unlike me. I kind of just hopped from rock to rock, said hi to a few students, and hollered at my kids. Hopefully, now my students realize why I have no time to waste on that stupid blackboard system.

One girl asked me this week,"Will you pass me if I cry?"
I said,"Are you kidding? I listen to crying all day! If you cry, I'll give you an F, even if you're passing."

Surprisingly, the fieldtrip wasn't a complete bust. There were lots of neat critters to be seen, even a seal.

There's the seal on the right side of the rock
The kids mingling with the students.
I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving.

How God Slows Moms Down

I was feeling pretty thankful about my house not burning down during last week's fire when I got hit with a terrible cold. According to both my mom who is a news junkie, the extremely polluted air irritated the respiratory tract of many people, setting the stage for those darn opportunistic germs. Makes sense, it must be that and certainly not because of my poor health.

After about 5 days with this bug, including 2 days of hacking away in class (motto: must stuff as much info as possible into their heads), I finally had to take naps and go to bed early. I felt downright lazy. It was good, like being my old self again.

When my oldest and youngest caught the cold, it forced us to slow down even more. Because all of sudden there were no extracurricular classes. We were just at home resting with the baby who insisted on sitting for umpteen hours in my lap, and there's really very few things you can do with a baby in your lap.

Add to my Christmas wishlist (besides the fancy camera): laptop, and I don't mean the baby variety.

Happy Birthday Baby

May you always be as happy, inquisitive, and loved as you are now. May you have an unquenchable passion for God that will draw you closer to Him everyday.