Evan's funeral

My cousin Evan passed away in May. He was sick for awhile. I flew to the San Francisco Bay Area for the funeral, and to spend time with relatives.

The funeral was in Oakland. It was nice. There are many Homs (over 100), and many of them were there.

In Oakland, there is a very large cemetery that covers a huge hill.






Evan's grave has a nice view, including downtown Oakland.







After the funeral, there was a special lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Here's Mom, me, and my sister, Mary. I felt bad about smiling for a photo right after the funeral, so I wasn't going to show this one. But there aren't many recent photos of all three of us.





The next day, I hung out with some of the relatives. Since many of us are spread out, it's nice when we see each other.

Here, my cousin Alberta and my uncle Albert are waiting for some other cousins to finish checking out a silk-bedding store. I like this picture, because they're just chillin.


A motley crew of Hom relatives. From the left, it's Michael, Joseph, Frances, and kids from three households.




Clockwise from the left is Randy, Uncle Albert, Candice, and Alberta. This picture is of the same room as above. So it was crowded, but in a good way! Again, it was really nice to see everyone interact.






Later, I visited my alma mater, UC Berkeley. I took this picture low to the ground outside Zellerbach Hall. (Tip: free Wi-Fi here! Probably because they do fancy community events.) On the left, you can see the bell tower. If you look closely in the hills to the right, you can see the "Big C."

I rode the BART train back from Berkeley, and it was raining heavily. But this was neat, because the rain on the BART windows made the outside look like an Impressionist or surrealist painting.

We spent most meals eating Chinese food, which was both inexpensive and delicious since we were in Oakland Chinatown. However, one day I went with my Auntie Helen and cousin Randy to get chicken and waffles!

It's a diner next to the Jack London Inn in Jack London Square; I think the official name is "Home of Chicken and Waffles."

The diner had a fun happy hour special called, "Beat the Clock!": the time that you arrive is the price of your meal! So, if you order at 4:45 pm, your bill would be $4.45.

I had an incredibly strong desire to delay my flight home and come back the next day at 4:00 pm. :)

From Evan's funeral

Yummy! I really liked the diner, so I hope it survives. Fortunately, it seems to cater to a different crowd than the rest of Jack London Square, which seemed to be dying.

Then again, a business dying isn't the same as a person dying.

Evan, cheers to your time on earth. I pray we will all meet together in heaven.