Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

I've mentioned that I live with my cousin Mark. One pleasant surprise of living with relatives is that I get to meet other relatives . . . who are not relatives.

From Grandma's birthday

For example, in Seattle are my Uncle Paul and Auntie Nancy; Uncle Paul is my blood relative. However, while living in Seattle, I also got to meet Auntie Nancy's side. (Here are "Uncle Wai," "Auntie Janice," and my mom at Grandma's birthday party.)

Back to LA: My Uncle John and Auntie Valerie live here; Uncle John is my blood relative. But recently, Auntie Valerie's niece Tish was visiting, and I was invited to the family dinner.

The dinner was held at "Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant" near Knott's Berry Farm. The restaurant is a Southern California icon, and it was my first time there.



Relatives! Shown here are Tish's family (husband + 2 kids), Valerie's kids (+ their kids), and me (right side, second from the back).

From Dinner w/Tish et al.

More relatives! Besides John and Val, here are Tish's parents and Tish's husband's parents.

I was grateful that I got to meet everyone, even if we're not related by family. (But genetically, we all share at least 99% of our genetic code!)

And, yes, I was grateful also for the chicken dinner. Yummy!

Video Games: "Valkyria Chronicles" for the PS3

I love video games. I play them not as often as I would like, but more often than I should. My friend Glenn let me borrow "Valkyria Chronicles" (VC) for the Playstation 3, and I spent several dozen hours playing it recently.

VC is a turn-based, tactical strategy game in which you control a squad of soldiers. Since tactics are involved, you spend a lot of time looking at maps. Here, the blue circles with the funny icons are my guys, and the red circles with the funny icons are enemies. The yellow circle is the goal, and the concentric red circles are where enemy mortar shells will land.

Doesn't examining this map make you want to play the game? :-)

What makes VC unique is how you control each soldier. Instead of giving orders or moving soldiers on a grid, you control each soldier in a 3-D world. The game is turn-based, so while you're controlling one soldier, no one else moves . . . sort of. You'll have to play the game to understand. Anyway, the gist is that VC avoids the pressure of real-time strategy games and other 3-D worlds, but it still has immersion and emotion.

From Valkyria Chronicles

So, why did I take pictures of a video game? It was to document a particularly tricky mission in the game. In the picture at left, note the result for the number of turns used: 2. To a VC veteran, that says it all . . . almost.

You see, I love optimizing things. And games are easy to optimize, compared to reality. In this mission, "Escape from Forest Snare," a typical result is finishing the mission in 4 or 5 turns. If you're good or lucky, you can do it in 3 turns. But on the Internet, someone reported finishing the mission in 2 turns! The reported method required some tricks and a lot of patience, but it also sounded like an intriguing challenge.

In the end, I was able to duplicate the reported results (hence the last photo). But, I also discovered an incremental improvement to the reported method (hence the other photos). In VC jargon, I used only two "Double Movement" abilities, rather than three!

For most people in the world, that means absolutely nothing. For most people who've played Valkyria Chronicles, that still probably means nothing. Perhaps ten people in the entire world would appreciate this result.

But, I'm still glad I did it.

Baby returns

From Baby returns

First, the important news: My cousin Kristen and her husband Mike had their baby! Her name is Charlotte Mar, and she's already 1 month old and doing well. They're grateful for everyone's prayers.

What does this have to do with me? Not much. I haven't even seen Charlotte yet, because I'm not sure if I've gotten the new Tdap booster. The Tdap is for tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis. It was released in 2005, and I think I got mine in 2006 in Minnesota. But I'm not sure. Anyway, they say we're not supposed to come into contact with newborns unless we've had a recent pertussis booster, so I'll have to wait until Kristen and Mike are ready to take Charlotte public.

Nevertheless, I'm already running errands for the kiddo. What happened is that Kristen and Mike received more baby gifts than they could use, so they wanted to return some. They didn't have time, so Kristen's mom, Valerie, took them. My Auntie Valerie didn't have time, either, so I volunteered. But deep down, I was being cocky, like, "Oh, that's so easy. I'll show you how to do it." If I had known that there were no receipts, I probably wouldn't have opened my big mouth.

Auntie Valerie gave me three bags of baby stuff, mostly clothes. With no receipts. We didn't even know which stores the stuff had come from. Since Kristen had a registry at Babies R Us, I was told to try there. That was my mission: Take three bags of baby stuff, without any receipts, to Babies R Us and bring back some money, or at least store credit. And don't let them rip you off by giving you only a little money for something worth a lot. Although the stuff may not even be sold there. Oh, and go to Borders and return a baby book, also without the receipt. (And Borders was about to declare bankruptcy.)

I had received the baby stuff at night, so I put them in my car and planned to go first thing in the morning, because this would stress me out until finished. That night, I almost couldn't sleep. Then I had nightmares of driving across town only to be met by a condescending statement like, "Of course you can't return this without a receipt. We go to great lengths to explicitly say that you need a receipt. And this isn't even our stuff."

If you're a seasoned shopper, you may be wondering what I was afraid of. I'm not even sure myself, but I know I was terrified. I think I was afraid of being labelled incompetent. I had never tried to return something without a receipt, much less three bags of items of uncertain origin. And I don't know squat about babies. Probably, I wouldn't be able to return anything, and I would come back to my aunt empty-handed. (Actually, with my hands totally full, of all the baby stuff.) Then, my aunt would say that she should have done the job herself, because it obviously couldn't have been worse. I was in a lose-lose situation.

So, terrified, I woke up early, drove across town, and arrived at the Babies R Us right when they opened. (They were still having their morning staff meeting.) I prayed. I was shaking. The lady came to the customer service desk, and she was very polite. I thought, "Sure, she's polite. She doesn't know that I don't have any receipts." I explained the situation, hoping she wouldn't summarily cut me off–for some reason, explaining the entire situation felt really important, regardless of the outcome. When I finished, the customer service woman spoke:

"Okay, well let's see what we can do!"

It was like a little miracle. Check that: I'm calling it a miracle.

The woman calmly, cheerfully, and politely when through each baby item in each bag. Many were sold at another store, Target, but she kindly explained how to tell the difference. Several items were sold at Babies R Us but were on clearance, but the lady scanned each item and showed me how much credit I could get, and she advised me on which ones to just keep. She looked up my cousin's registry (presumably as store policy), but it didn't seem to matter whether the returned items were actually in her registry. I left with two-and-a-half bags of baby stuff, and a gift card with a small-but-very-importantly-non-zero-and-non-ripped-off-amount on it.

Armed with knowledge from the Babies R Us employee, I went to Target. I was still a bit afraid, but the Target customer service desk was also very polite and helpful. Most of the stuff was on clearance and not worth returning, like at Babies R Us, but I still left with a gift card with a modest amount on it.

Lastly, I went to Borders to return the baby book. The employee politely informed me of store policy, but he also called his manager to ask if she would make an exception. She didn't. But Borders had bigger things to worry about.

I returned to my aunt before noon and gave her back two bags of baby stuff, two gift cards, and a lot of explanation. Auntie Valerie might rather have had zero bags of baby stuff and a briefcase full of cash, but it was good enough.

In the end, my lose-lose situation turned out to be a good experience. Besides learning a lot, I was reminded of what it's like to be humbled. I know I could use more of that.

But, I haven't volunteered for my aunt again yet. :-)

Thank you so much to the employees at Babies R Us and the employees at Target.

From Baby returns

Oh, and here's the requisite baby photo. :-)

Christmas in Sacramento

Some of the other things I did while in Sacramento for Christmas:

On Christmas Day, Mary, Mom, and I visited Dad's grave. (In the picture, it's near the left-most headstones.) Dad's grave marker has a custom design, and it's almost cartoony. But I like that; it seems to give a little more joy to the place. Dad was extremely practical, but I am glad that we spent the extra money in this case.

We also visited the marker for Mr. and Mrs. Steinberg. Mrs. Steinberg was my math teacher through all of high school. She was ahead of her time: because of her, many juniors passed the Advanced Placement Calculus BC exam, when it was rare for a senior to even attempt the Calculus AB exam. (The BC was harder than the AB.)

From Christmas 2010

Afterward, Mom treated us to dim sum. Then we visited Hillary and Amanda, old family friends. (In the background is Amanda, and in the foreground, with her back to us, is Hillary.)

If this picture seems different, it's because Mary took it while practicing "artsy" photos.

A few days later, Mary and I went jogging. (I've taken up mild cardio.) I really liked this tree for some reason, so I took this picture. But I didn't realize why, until just now!

What does this tree remind you of? (The answer is at the end.)




Eventually, Mary and I made it from our house, through the parkway, to the Sacramento River. This was a rare occurrence (Mary and I doing something together, me jogging, and being in Sac), so we better take some pictures!

Mary tried taking some more artsy photos. Here, I am adjusting my ear muffs.






Sacramento has many trees. Many. And many great trees, like this one.

From Jogging in Sac

On the way back through the park, we saw a kitty cat! If you look closely, you can see dried cat food on the ground. So, someone was taking care of this kitty.


Holidays are funny. Growing up, I didn't think twice about the four of us being together for holidays. We were always together, at least geographically. I guess some things change, and some things stay the same.


Oh, what does that tree in the picture remind me of?

It's . . . a leaf!

That's deep, isn't it?

The Paul F. Hom M.D. Primary Care Center

For Christmas, I went home to Sacramento. While there I visited the Paul F. Hom M.D. Primary Care Center, which was named posthumously after my dad.

The center is also known simply as the "Primary Care Center." It's basically a medical clinic run by Sacramento County. My understanding is that people who don't have health insurance can go there to get help.

The center is at the intersection of Stockton and Broadway. It's right across from the buildings shown here. My dad worked in these buildings right before he died.



This is one entrance to the clinic. If you go inside and down the main hall, you'll see a portrait of my dad.





My dad's portrait. Next to that is a poem; I think my mom wrote it.






The poem says:

Born a child of adversity,
He saw and cared for
Those in poverty,
The disadvantaged,
The victims of social injustice.

A man of vision
His humble actions and words
Transformed suffering
Through faith and resolve.

Healing, compassionate, dedicated
A man of the community
His work transcended caring.

From Paul Hom Primary Care Center

Also next to the portrait is this statement from Congress. The late Robert T. Matsui did this. You can read more about my dad in the statement, but I'll quote one sentence here:

"All in all, the Paul F. Hom Primary Care Center will enhance the access to quality and effective health care for people without health care."

I'm sure Dad would be happy about that.

"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"

A few days before Christmas, I finally saw the play "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians." I say "finally" because I had wanted to see this play for five years. The play is based on a 1964 movie of the same name. However, the movie's ratings have been terrible. (For example, a 2.3 out of 10 on IMDB.)

Why did I want to see a play based on a terrible movie? Because my friend Nick was in it! For the past 5 years, Nick McGee has been performing in "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" at the Maverick Theater in Fullerton. I'm not sure about previous years, but this year Nick was St. Nick himself!

Here's a picture of Nick. When I was looking at pictures and promotional material from the play, I had a hard time recognizing Nick in his Santa suit.


The Maverick is a community theater, and it's got that cozy, hometown feel. This picture was taken during intermission. On the left is the Martians' robot, Torg. People were lining up to have their picture taken with him.


Mark and Torg. Mark remembers watching the movie every Christmas when he was younger.

From Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Mark, I, and the cast. Instead of trying to figure out who each person is, consider seeing the play in person during Christmas 2011! (Quick tip: Buy tickets early, and arrive early and sit in one of the two front rows.)

By the way, Mark and I both really enjoyed the play. It's good family fun. And, as Nick told me, they've had over 40 years to improve upon the original!

Everyone, I hope that this new year is good for you!

Geoff

A visit to a Montessori school

Have you ever heard of a Montessori school? It's a type of preschool that uses "the Montessori method." I don't know enough about preschools to compare Montessori and traditional schools, but my understanding is that Montessori schools focus on "self-directed learning."

My second-cousin Brandon attends a Montessori school. Recently they had a "Special Friends' Day," so Mark and I went to visit.


Ah, the preschool circle. It's clear who the head teacher is. Brandon's in the bottom-right.





Mark and Brandon. Mark seemed right at home in the classroom. (He's been a special-education teacher for years.)








Brandon can already read very well for his age. *Very* well.






I got only one good picture of Brandon smiling. The rest of the time, he seemed a bit standoffish. Maybe that's because we arrived at school thirty minutes late . . . (It was my fault, or Google Maps'.)






Apparently each child has classroom chores–Brandon is supposed to "check aprons." They do that in Japan, too, except it's all the way through high school. They should totally do that in the U.S.






I just like this picture.










Brandon shows Mark a toy for learning about smells.







They had a lot of interesting toys and tools in the classroom. I kept trying to remember if, or when, I had those in school.

From Brandon's school

Back to the circle! I'm not sure if you can tell, but the head teacher was really good. Totally in control.






It was a privilege to visit the Montessori school and to see Brandon in a peer environment.

Actually, I had always wanted to see what a Montessori school is like. Have you ever heard of a guy named Will Wright? Will is the creator of two very creative computer games: "Sim City" and "The Sims." And, yes, he went to a Montessori school.

Ninety Thanksgivings

In early November, I flew to Seattle to celebrate my grandma's birthday. I normally would not fly just for a birthday, but we were celebrating Grandma's 90th. Even I'll agree that turning 90 is worthy of a celebration!

Grandma has lived so long, we don't know how old she truly is: she was born in China around the end of World War I.

The neck brace Grandma is wearing is just a precaution for when she's in a car.




We celebrated Grandma's birthday at a local Chinese restaurant. The owners were very accommodating. Yum!





This is my cousin Michelle and her son Braden. Isn't it funny how kids can be cute even when they're not happy?




This is my auntie Nancy with her newborn grandson, Aaron.

From Grandma's birthday

Actually, we celebrated not just my grandma's birthday, but also my mom's birthday . . . because they were born on the same day!

It's kind of cool that a mother and daughter can celebrate their birthdays together.

Today is Thanksgiving, so I guess Grandma's been through 90 Thanksgivings! (Oh, but they probably didn't celebrate that in China.)

This year, our family is spread out for Thanksgiving: Mary in Calgary, Mom in Sac/Fresno, and me in Los Angeles. Growing up, one of our Thanksgiving traditions was to go around the dinner table and say one thing that we were thankful for. (For some reason, it was an effort to get me to think of or say even one thing.)

This year, when I reflect on it, I am very thankful. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful that I am not in debt. I am thankful for the generous opportunities that I have been given. I am thankful for the lessons I have been taught.

But thankfulness is different now than in the Pilgrims' day, isn't it? Back then, they were thankful for everything they had, because there was a very real chance that they might die from starvation, disease, or cold.

They were thankful simply to be alive.

It is hard for me to say that for myself and mean it. After all, I'm always complaining about everything beyond that, worrying about everything past that.

Today, I will try to be thankful simply that I am alive.

ElecTRONica at Disneyland!

A few days before Halloween, a friend flew into town for the ElecTRONica event at Disneyland. My friend's name is TRONster, so this was a natural fit.

ElecTRONica is a new event at Disney's California Adventures, in anticipation of the upcoming movie, "TRON: Legacy." At ElecTRONica, they convert part of the theme park into a Tron-themed night club.

ElecTRONica is already special, but this was also a special ElecTRONica: the first 200 people in line were able to meet the screenwriters from the new movie! In the middle is Tronster.

Part of the "night club" of ElecTRONica. I liked that it was outside and not in a stuffy building.

They also had a sneak peak of the new movie in 3D, an exhibit with some of the real props from the new movie, and an old-school arcade filled with video games from the 80s. (The last part was one of my favorites, of course. :)

I was wearing a very bright T-shirt, which was accentuated by black lights in the street.










Here is an iconic poster from the original "TRON" movie. The text reads:

"A world inside the computer where man has never been."

"Never before now."






Some fans came in very elaborate costumes. These two took advantage of the black lights to strike a pose.








The next day, Tronster and I explored LA. We visited Saddleback Church, then we tried to find the Hollywood sign. In the evening we met with our friend George. (We all met at a game conference.)

George took us to his favorite restaurant, "The Counter." It's a custom burger joint. As George said, "It's the only place where your burger gets a character sheet you fill out."

The Counter is so fancy that they have 20 different sauces to put on your burger. (I chose either the roasted garlic aioli or the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette . . . I forget.)

From Tronster & George

A close up of my fancy burger. Whatever I ordered, it was very tasty. :)

I had a great couple days hanging out with Tronster and George. It was a fun change of pace, but what I enjoyed most was getting to know my friends a bit better.

Personalities; the dollar theater

From Hom cruise

I'm living with my cousin Mark. The picture is Mark with an iguana; it was taken during a Mexican cruise in 2005. Mark is letting me rent his extra bedroom and bathroom.

On the surface, Mark and I might seem very similar. We're both single and over 30. We both like playing video games and board games. We've both watched a lot of TV. We both go to church. Mark was a special ed teacher (he's currently looking for a position), and I want to make educational apps. And we are cousins, of course.

But living with Mark has helped me see how different we really are. If you're familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality test, I am an ISTJ. Mark is an ESFP. (If you're not familiar with it, just note that only 1 of the 4 letters (S) is the same; so you could say we're 3/4 different. :)

Also, I read a book about motivation, and it tells you how to determine your "motivational DNA." I am a PSI: I have a drive to Produce, a need for Stability, and I prefer Internal rewards. Mark is a CVI: he has a drive to Connect, a need for Variety, and he also prefers Internal rewards. So, both our drives and our needs are polar opposites. Learning to live together and help each other has been a good growth experience for me.

As an aside, I think that after some time of learning how Mark and I are different, I'll start realizing how similar we really are. Our real DNA is 99.99% the same, after all. :)

From Dollar theater

This week, Mark and I went to a movie, along with Mark's friend Marshall. Mark and I both need to watch our spending; fortunately, the closest theater is a dollar theater! I didn't think that true dollar theaters existed anymore, but sure enough, this theater is $2 normally, and $1 on Tuesdays! Those aren't even matinee prices; it's just cheap all day! They even have movies in 3-D, and it's only $2 more!

The dollar theater has less-recent movies, but they're still big movies. We saw "The Expendables." Also running was "Eat Pray Love," "Toy Story 3," and "Salt." Oooh, and now they're running "Inception." I heard that was good.

A simple life in LA

I have been in LA since September 12. Even though I've had a lot of errands related to moving, my life is simpler now than in Seattle, because I've maintained a low profile.

From Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Before I left Seattle, I saw this car and had to snap a picture. It reminds me of the animated movie, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."





Everything I brought fit into my car's trunk.

From left to right, there's a bag of clothes, a windbreaker, my suitcase with some books and toiletries, a big box of papers, a small green bag with my laptop and iPad, some snacks, a mini-drawer with office supplies, a Jelly Belly jar with some knickknacks, a mesh bag with some dirty clothes, and a bag with a couple pairs of shoes.

I was really happy to fit my belongings, but it's still too much for me. For example, I can digitize my papers. I hope to be able to move and carry everything with me, like a hitchhiker or an old-fashioned journeyman. In spite of this goal, I have no plans to leave LA.

From Moving back to LA

In Seattle, I spent many days working on my laptop at Panera Bread. So, in LA, one of the first things I did was look for the nearest Panera. Thankfully, I live only 1.5 miles from one! Next door is a Starbucks, so I'm sure there's a healthy competition going on.