January 6 - 28: Birds, Eaton Canyon, Charlotte and Val's birthday, Speed dating, Grandma's scarf

From Birds

January 6: I was driving to Huntington Beach to visit my uncle Al; it's a weekly ritual. And I noticed all these birds on the street lights. But what's weird is how they're all on one side of the street. (The picture doesn't really do the scene justice.) Why is that? What's wrong with the other side of the street? I was wondering if it's the angle of the lights (some are going up and some are going down, relative to the sunset), but it could be almost anything. It's a mystery! =)

January 14: Some of my Bible-study group (a.k.a. small group, community group) went on a hike to Eaton Canyon. The only other time I'd been was in 2006, when I was a guide for the Caltech "Finding Nemo" stack. (It's way at the end of that post.) The picture on the left was taken where, in 2006, we had buried dental tools and had the undergrads use a metal detector to find them. (We needed the tools to make an exchange for Nemo from the dentist, played by Chris Wetzel.) It was interesting to visit the same place in a totally different way.

From Eaton Canyon

My first time to Eaton Canyon, we didn't go all the way to the waterfall. So this was a pleasant surprise at the end.

From Charlotte and Val's birthday

January 16: On the left is my cousin Kristen (partly hidden) and her husband Mike; they're holding baby Charlotte, who just turned one. On the right is Mike's family; they're trying to attract Charlotte's attention to take a photo. I just found this scene to be very funny, in a sweet way.

From Speed dating

January 24: I went speed dating. And not just any speed dating, but Christian Asian speed dating. My friend Win Kang told me about it, and we both wanted to stretch our comfort zones a little.

The photo is from the venue (a sushi bar), afterward. If you're not familiar with speed dating, here's the Wikipedia link. In this case, there were 20 guys and 19 girls, and I got to talk with each girl for 5'. At the end, for each girl I secretly circled "Yes" or "No" on a piece of paper. If we both said "Yes," then we would later receive each other's email address. Oh, and the cost was $25. (Food and drink not included, but not required.)

The event was run by Click2Asia, which helps Asians meet other Asians. I didn't realize how much some Asians really prefer only Asians (or, say, some Koreans prefer only Koreans). I guess it has a lot to do with how we grew up. (I grew up here, as did my parents, so I'm mostly just American, if anything.)

At this point, I'm sure you've got a lot of questions about how the speed dating went. Actually, both Win and I thought it was a really worthwhile experience, even in terms of that night alone. In longer terms, well, it just happened. And if there's one thing I feel I've learned over the past 5 years, it's not to get ahead of myself. =)

Moving on: For Christmas, Grandma knit me a scarf. Sort of. Here's a photo of me wearing it.

My friend Marshall said it looks like I'm wearing a sweater underneath and it's sticking out. I have to admit that I was a little self-conscious about wearing it, since it's not really a scarf. It's really a Grandma Invention. =)

From Grandma's scarf

See, it's actually two rings, knit together in the front. Why, you ask? Grandma explained that it's because the back of my neck has more exposed skin than the front. So, I need something that is twice as wide in the back as in the front. And this was her solution.

As strange as it may seem, Grandma's gift was pretty good. She knit it herself, of course. But she also noticed that I wear my hair a lot shorter lately. I get cold easily, and I lost my scarf last winter. It's also not as tight as a scarf, so I can even wear it to bed without fear of choking myself. The color's a little funny: My sister thought it was pink, but Grandma said it was tan. I suppose I'll always remember my sister and I trying not to crack up about that at night.

So I've been wearing Grandma's–um, scarf-collar–a lot lately. (I'm wearing it now!) It really does keep the back of my neck warm. And Grandma probably knew that she imputed significant impunity with it, so I can wear it fearlessly in public: Anyone making fun of my 93-year-old Grandma's hand-knit Christmas present, whether they know it or not, would probably bring upon themselves significant bad karma, or worse.

But no, I didn't wear it to speed dating.

December 10 - January 1: CostCo, Foot massages, Christmas in Sac, Gray Lodge, Stockton In-N-Out, Young iPad, New Year's

I made a Christmas card again this year. The only other one I've made was in 2008. If you want to see either, just email me and I'll send you the PDF version. If you want a real/physical version, I will also send you that, but you've got to *really* want it. =)

In writing my Christmas card, I was reminded that it can provide only one angle of my life. Similarly, this blog will never tell everything. More importantly, this blog rarely provides a balanced view of my life. But I'm okay with that.

From CostCo

December 10: Uncle John and Auntie Val were going to CostCo, so I tagged along. I learned that one can use the CostCo pharmacy without being a member. They give flu shots and other vaccines.

And I saw this list at CostCo: It ranks the CostCo cashiers by items per minute (”27.27”), members processed per hour ("65.15"), and scanning accuracy ("95.55"). It reminded me of that 2006 movie, "Employee of the Month," with Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson. What struck me is that the list has values to the second decimal place. I.e., "27.27" instead of "27.3" or, simply, "27."

From Foot Massages

I think the San Gabriel Valley has offered relatively inexpensive massages for several years. I even had a foot massage a few years ago, but I had no proof that they were always that inexpensive. Now I do!

Right in front, it says, "Foot Massage: $15/hr." (A body massage is $25/hr.) That's pretty reasonable, isn't it?

One thing I remember from my massage a few years ago: I laughed a lot. =)

For Christmas, I drove up to Sacramento. As usual, I posted on craigslist rideshare to see if anyone else wanted a ride. But this time, I also planned to visit Auntie Muriel and Uncle Ron in Fresno. We were going to have lunch to celebrate Muriel's birthday and their 35-plus-ish anniversary. (They're on the same day. Uncle Ron's very clever, isn't he? =)

So, Muriel, Ron, myself and my two rideshare companions all hung out at Sizzlers. Two of my social circles intersecting. I'm glad everyone had a good time.

This is my grandma's room in Sacramento. (It used to be my parents' room, but my mom gave it up for Grandma.) I liked how the light came in.

Mary brought three friends from Bethel for Christmas Eve. The three friends (right) were all flying out on Christmas morning to go to a prayer conference in Kansas City.

On Christmas, Sunday, we went to the cemetery, as usual. Dad died 17 years ago. And one of Grandma's daughters died this year.

The large pine tree on the right is leaning a lot.

Christmas at First Chinese Baptist Church in Sacramento, the church I grew up in. In many churches, the worship music is done by a live band. I feel it's like an unwritten rule. But here, they play a tape of someone else playing the music. I love that. It's more pure, more inclusive. More courageous.

Christmas at the Hom home. I love this photo … because it has a happy ending. Here we are, in the middle of our Advent service: Mom looks sad or mad, Mary looks bored, and Grandma is, well, Grandma.

It's really just an example of how the wrong snapshot can be soooo misleading. (Like a first or second impression.) We really had a great Advent service. Really … =)

This year for our Advent service, we started by lighting all four candles. Then, we each read our favorite Bible passage, talked briefly about it, and chose a song to sing.

After our Advent service, we opened presents. Look at Grandma's stash!

Doesn't this photo look happier than the earlier one? Mom's happy, Mary's happily about to take a nap, and Grandma's still Grandma.

From Christmas in Sac

For Christmas, I asked Mary what she wanted. She said she wanted me to pick something good to do. (So the gift was both the choosing of something special and the doing of it. Ah, my sister cleverly turned things around on me!)

I chose for us to have lunch together at Panera Bread. It's the first time I can remember us really talking since, well, ever.

And now, we turn to a story that I know my mom and sis have been waiting for me to tell. The "Gray Lodge" story.

The Gray Lodge Wildlife Area is a bird sanctuary about an hour's drive north of Sacramento. We had been there years ago, and Mom wanted to go back as her Christmas present. So we set aside a day, got up at 6:30 am, and went.

When we arrived, we were basically the only ones there. So far, so good.

There is a path from the parking lot to the bird-watching area. It's a mile or two long. Fortunately, we brought the wheelchair for Grandma.

But Grandma didn't want to use the wheelchair yet. She wanted to walk on her own and stretch her legs. No problem: Grandma held onto the back of the wheelchair and pushed it with her. She was pretty slow, so Mary and Mom went on ahead, and I said I'd keep track of Grandma.

In the distance, you can see Mary (left, black) and Mom (right, covered with a striped blanket). It was like the separation of the Fellowship in "Lord of the Rings."

When I said Grandma was pretty slow, I meant it. I didn't mind, but I couldn't help walking a little farther ahead, turning around to check on her. That was sort of a good thing, because it let me take this photo.

On the right, behind the tree, you can see my car. That's how far we had gone, while Mary and Mom were already way out of eyesight. Note also that there is a nice paved road for Grandma and her wheelchair. Also note that there are parts–let's call them ditches–just a few feet from the side of the road.

A close-up of Grandma. Since Grandma wasn't using the wheelchair, I put a blanket and a friend's tripod in it. Grandma didn't seem to mind pushing them.

Grandma has an insatiable curiosity. When in a new environment, she's always looking this way and that. Of course, that contributes to our slow progress.

So … Grandma's pushing the wheelchair. I'm walking about fifteen feet ahead of her. Mary and Mom are nowhere to be seen.

Then I hear Grandma shout, "Oh no!" I whirl around just in time to see our bright pink wheelchair roll off the side of the road and into a ditch. But the ditch … is really a pond.

Apparently Grandma wanted to get a closer look at something in the pond. So she wheeled the wheelchair off the paved road, but the ground was slightly sloped. The wheelchair either escaped Grandma's grasp, or she let it go, planning to walk the rest of the way on her own.

Regardless, there's our wheelchair, down an embankment and in the pond that's part of the bird sanctuary. The blanket and my friend's tripod are also in the water. And it's just me and Grandma.

For a second, I consider just leaving everything there. We could wait for someone to come by and help us … or maybe just run away? But, oh yeah, Mary and Mom are still here. And I think the wheelchair is slowly sinking deeper.

So, I slide down the embankment and into the pond. I grab the tripod and throw it onto dry ground. Same for the blanket. But the wheelchair is heavy, and bulky. It's stuck in some weeds and branches. And now, I'm starting to sink deeper.

At some point, I say a little prayer. And I realize I need a source of strength, so I can pivot and yank the wheelchair free. Then I saw it: A tree root! I grab the root and use that for leverage for myself, wrenching the wheelchair free and heaving it onto dry land.

Now, I have to get out. I try using the same root to pull myself up the embankment, but it snaps! I almost fall in deeper, but I grab the root at a point higher up, and I climb to safety.

In the aftermath, I made Grandma stand close to the pond to capture this photo. It's hard to tell, but from the wheelchair's ground to the water is several feet. You can see where the wheelchair and I were in the pond: It's where the moss on the surface is dispersed, near the gray metal pole.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but Grandma is laughing.

From Gray Lodge

Grandma and I went back to the car, and I tried to clean things up and dry my shoes and socks. I figured Mary and Mom would find us eventually.

Of course, when Mary did come back, she started laughing.

As no one got hurt, I guess it was kind of funny. (Thank you, God and trees!)

From Stockton In-N-Out

A few days after Christmas, it was time to drive back to LA. We stopped in Stockton at an In-N-Out, around 10 am. It's the first time I've ever seen an In-N-Out completely empty. It was a bit surreal.

One of my Craigslist ridesharers was a woman named Becky. Becky needed to get to LA that day, because the next morning she was going on a road trip from LA to New Orleans "with a friend." It turns out that the road trip was actually a 7-car caravan, driving 36 hours straight to relocate 40 pit bulls! Becky's a volunteer at a dog rescue; it's featured in a show on Animal Planet: "Pit Bulls and Parolees." Go, Becky!

From Young iPad

At Panera, I saw this little kid watching an iPad. Check that: He's really a baby, turning 2 in February, and he was using the iPad. I saw him swipe left to get to the app he wanted, open the app, and select the video he wanted to see (Veggie Tales). Then the kid sat back in his booster chair, obviously satisfied with his accomplishments. it was incredibly evocative of a man leaning back in his couch after successfully finding the football game he was looking for.

Then the iPad wireless prompt came up, blocking the middle of the baby's screen. I saw him hit the Home button to try to get rid of it. That didn't work, but it showed a savvy understanding of how the iPad works. (For example, he didn't try to wipe away the prompt or hit the iPad.) Then, the baby leaned over and calmly but insistently tugged his dad's arm, to get him to fix it. (The baby didn't scream, cry or throw a fit.)

Fascinating.

For New Year's Eve … I slept 14 hours.

For New Year's Day, my friend Chiyo invited me to her relatives' place. Chiyo is an older friend from church: She and her sister are the last survivors of six siblings. Chiyo is Japanese, and I think New Year's is a big holiday for the Japanese. They had an incredible feast. It was like a multi-course buffet. You'd eat at the buffet. Then an hour later, a dozen more guests would arrive and bring along another buffet.

But I photographed only one dish: Mochi-wrapped strawberries. One of the relatives' signature dishes; apparently it takes a trick/secret to make.

From New Year's, Chiyo's

I took a bite out of one, just so you could get a better idea. The sacrifices I make for you guys .... =)