1. I learned how to play real Chinese Mahjong. Not the kind you play online where you match pairs of symbols. Its actually a lot like Gin Rummy, at least the version we played. My mom has an old authentic set of real ivory and bamboo pieces that made the game very entertaining.

2. I am not a Monkey. All the placemats in Chinese restaurants told me I was a Monkey growing up, because I was born in 1980. However, they don’t bother to get into the details of the Chinese New Year and the fact that it is actually in February. So, in fact, I am a sheep. We read stories behind all the signs and I think the Sheep actually fits me a little better. At first I was a little irritated because I thought the sheep would be the herd animal or the “follower”, but I guess that’s a very European interpretation.

3. Our humble Christmas morning ritual is really a special tradition. Shen Wei had never spent a Christmas morning with an American family before and was really very gracious and grateful to be included. It was a bit inspiring to have someone with us who’d never experienced a Christmas morning like that before and gave me a renewed sense of appreciation for my family and our intimate gathering.

This holiday I also got to see 4 movies and I guess I could do a little review of each. Spoilers are guaranteed.
1. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – I had my doubts about this one, just due to the obscure plot about a baby born as an old man who ages backwards and gets younger as everyone around him gets old. However, it does star Brad Pitt and that’s usually enough to get me and my mom into a theater. As my mom observed as we exited the theater, the movie had a distinct “Titanic” feeling, since the entire movie is told from the perspective of a old, dying woman. The story unfolds from a diary of Benjamin Button as his life is recounted for us. It plays out exactly as you might suspect, so I guess you could call it predictable. Benjamin is born old, grows younger and younger until he dies of young age as an infant in his lover’s arms. The acting, I will say, was quite good. Cate Blanchett ages well and carries off all stages of her character’s life. Of course, Brad Pitt reverse-ages VERY well. It was a bit difficult to buy into the fact he was a child caught in an old person’s body when he was young, though. The curiousness and youthfulness of a teenager was not visible in his eyes or expressions, but it may have been completely abstracted by the hours worth of makeup he had to don. All in all, it was a slightly above average holiday flick, but nothing I’d demand you go and see before it comes out on DVD.

2. “Slumdog Millionaire” – Unlike the previous movie, this one I demand you go and see. Now. As soon as possible. “Slumdog Millionaire” is also told as a visual flashback but with much more substance and creativity. Jamal Malik is a young Indian man who is about to win 20 million rupees on the Hindi version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, but who gets arrested after the end of the first episode (which ends right before his last question), being accused of cheating since he comes from the slums of India. He recounts his brutal childhood and teenage years which led him to know the answers to each question as they are presented to him. It is a story of ultimate poverty, liberation , and, ultimately, victory. It is a story everyone should see.

More to come….

My dad was a member of many social groups, one of them being the Elks Club. Yearly they would have variety shows at Christmas time. I don’t remember everything but I remember this one skit where my dad played the part of this guy who was peeing in the bathroom and ran into one of those typical awkward situations while peeing. Like I said, I don’t remember the details, I just remember being very embarrassed that my dad was supposed to be peeing on stage, like it was a really shocking event. He didn’t mind making a fool of himself, though, if it meant it would make a room full of people laugh till they cried.

Another small memory: my dad’s impatience for wait staff was on the verge of embarrassing. If he felt like we weren’t being served fast enough or given enough attention, he would take his napkin and wave it over his head to get the server’s attention. Yeah.

It does make me a little sad that I only have a few select memories. On the upside, almost all of them involve laughter, culture, charity or the mix of all three. If I leave lasting impressions on my future children, I hope they are made of the same components.

Friday we went and saw a matinee, Vicky Christina Barcelona, the new Woody Allen film. I thought it was quite perfect and Javier Bardem sold himself as a romantic Spaniard following his role as a serial killer. Scarily, both were very believable. Scarlett Johansson was superb as always, and Penelope Cruz was a raving lunatic, which she does quite well. Anyway, the story had a few flaws, or maybe there just wasn’t enough time to show the full character development, but I found the lead’s role a little hard to believe.

Friday night we had dinner with my best friend Meredith and then she and I headed to 2nd Street for a few drinks without mom. We ended up at a bar where they were playing the Titans vs. Raiders game, so I had a good time watching the Titans win in the last few seconds. As always, it was wonderful to see Meredith, I just wish I could’ve stayed longer!

Saturday mom and I saw another movie, this time one with a little more hilarity. Tropic Thunder. Ben Stiller. Robert Downey Jr. What else do you need? It was pretty ridiculous, but we laughed the whole time. I love that I can watch stuff like that with my mom.

Saturday night was the actual reunion at the Queen Mary and it was a pretty nice event. There were probably about 175 people there (out of a class of 650), and I recognized all but maybe 5 people. Although not too many of my theater friends were there, I did get to see a few of them and then a whole bunch of people I “kinda” knew.

After the main event, we went down to Seal Beach and hung out at O’Malley’s, a local Irish Pub, until they closed. It must be a pretty popular hangout because it was packed with people our age. I made some new friends and chilled with some old friends and overall had a great night.

Next….my 5-year college reunion! That’s already coming up in October, I can hardly believe it! I’ll know even less people from my college class, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be just as much fun! Plus, my friend Angelo is coming down from Chicago since he graduated the same year, so I’ll get to see him again! Stay tuned!

In case you’re wondering why I am going home (like one needs a reason to go to California!), this weekend is my High School reunion. I’ll let you guess how many years. I’m pretty excited. I haven’t really seen anyone from HS since…well, HS. Should be quite a trip. I hope a lot of people go to the event. We’re having it at the Queen Mary, which should be an elegant location. It may be a little weird at first, showing up alone, but I’m sure I’ll get over that quick enough. I’ll be sure to post an update when I return!

My mom arrived in Nashville on Saturday so she got to see my new apartment and sleep in my brand new guest bed. It was nice to have her here, if only for one day, to see my new digs and know that I’m safe.

We left for Norfolk on Sunday around 4pm and arrived on time around 6:30pm. Got our rental car and drove to Nags Head, NC where my brother had already checked in to our hotel. My mom had found this cute hotel called the “Surf Side Hotel”. Its a beach-front hotel, with 3 pools, and a 2-bedroom suite that faces the ocean. We were only staying for 4 nights, so my mom didn’t want to rent a condo (but let me tell you, if I ever go back, we’re renting a condo or beach house. Those things are AWESOME!).

The room was really cute and comfortable, but there was one unfortunate circumstance we had not anticipated. The fires in NC had driven all the little gnats to the ocean. And the ocean wetness drove all the little gnats into the nearest hotels. So, when we arrived, we noticed a few dead gnats on the tile floors (where there was tile, because the room was mostly carpet). At first it was just a few, but as the night went on, I noticed them on the bedspread, desk, and in the bathroom. By the morning, there were HUNDREDS of dead gnats and many live ones in the room. We called a few other beach-front hotels and they were all having the same problem.

Those of you who know me know I’m not great with bugs. Okay, I really despise the little creatures. But I can deal with them when I am in their territory…you know, hiking, camping, whatever. But when they invade MY safe, clean hotel room and make it unbearable, I cannot stand it. Luckily I wasn’t the only one with qualms, so my mom and brother and I decided to find another place.

My brother’s friends, Sam & Bea, just happened to be staying on Roanoke Island, which is still the “Outer Banks”, but is on the Sound instead of the ocean. His friends confirmed that they were NOT having the gnat problem there, so we went to visit the little inn where they were staying. Located right on the Sound’s edge in the town of Manteo, the Tranquil House Inn is an adorable 4-story inn with single, double, and suite rooms. My mom was really intent on having an ocean view to begin with, so when we were forced to flee to the island, she was glad to see they had a sound-front room available. The room was so pretty and they have a gorgeous deck that looks out over the marina.

We were very pleased with our choice to move to Manteo, even though we were no longer right on the ocean and away from the hustle and bustle of the main drag, still only an 8-minute drive away. Monday and Tuesday were unbearably hot though. We barely did anything those first two days. I went to the beach once with Sam & Bea, but it was just too hot to stay outside very long.

Luckily, Wednesday and Thursday turned out to be gorgeous days, so we took advantage of it by going to the beach and checking out some of the local tourist sites, such as The Elizabethan Gardens, named after Queen Elizabeth I, The Aquarium, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the oldest and tallest brick lighthouse in the country, and the Wright Brothers’ National Memorial.

We also got to know a few locals and spent our nights at “Poor Richards“, a sandwich shop by day, a hopping locals bar at night. I almost went parasailing, but was told, compared to skydiving, it’s really not that exciting, so I saved my $80 for something else!

All in all, we had a really great time in the Outer Banks. I can see why people fall in love with it and go back year after year. Although next time I’ll probably try to stay on the beach, I highly recommend Manteo for small families or romantic getaways.

Everything was supposed to be “final” last week, but, handling this on my own (aka sans attorney), I missed an integral step in the process and arrived at court only to find out I didn’t actually secure the date. It was quite upsetting at first, as you can imagine, but I soon came to grips with it and worked fast to take the necessary steps to secure the next available date, which is next week. If all doesn’t go as planned, it will be another two weeks before I get another slot. Its not that I’m in a hurry, but I don’t want to prolong the situation either.

One positive is that I’m going on vacation soon with my mom and brother. We’re going to the Outerbanks, which has been frequently suggested to me as a place to visit. So my mom is flying into Nashville next Saturday, and then we fly to Norfolk, where we’ll meet my brother, and drive to Nags Head for a week on the beach. I am very much looking forward to it.

The injury that was a result of my water sports accident last weekend is almost completely healed. I had the stitches taken out on Thursday and you can barely see it even now. Sorry, I don’t have any good pictures. I’m supposed to keep it covered with sunscreen to lessen the scarring, so that will be one of my primary tasks on my vacation.

Oh, and during my soccer games tomorrow. Tomorrow is the beginning of the Championship games, so if we win the first one, we’ll stay to play another one. I’ve had a week off and haven’t practiced at all. I hope I can hold up the whole game. Hopefully we’ll have at least 1 girl sub this time.

Not only did she get a brand new computer (the previous one she’s had since 1995), but she upgraded from dial-up internet to wireless high-speed internet through Verizon. To overwhelm completely, she also now has 200 TV channels to watch on her 21-inch television set. Amazing.

The best part is she did it all without telling me or my brother. She has been planning the thing for months and even stayed home yesterday to wait for the Verizon guys to install all the equipment and to set up her new laptop. Then she sent an email, of all things, to let me know she was “wired” (even though she’s really wireless, but whatever, it was cute).

*sniff sniff* I’m a very proud daughter right now.

My new place is a cute spacious duplex not far from work (a “scoot ride”, I always say) that is the top floor of an “old money” home in West Nashville. Its at least 1200 sq ft and I have the coolest downstairs neighbors. We’ve already planned a Sunday at the humane society, which I do frequently, and they get regular tickets to the Titans games, so you know I’m excited about that. I was really lucky to find this place and I’m going to make it my own. Which I’ve never done. Every action will be deliberate because I want it to be that way.

Of course there are moments of solace interlaced into this time of change, and if you desire to know that element of my experience, please email me, as it is too personal to put here. I do see this as a new start, but also know that my life is forever impacted by the past 7 years and I have no intention of forgetting that time.

Luckily his flight left 20 minutes late and he was able to make it. It was a close call though. He’s on his way back to NYC!

My brother is in town this weekend so he got to see me play soccer for the first time in many years. That was cool! Especially since we won. He’s here to help me move…which I won’t go into right now, but I’m sure it will eventually be addressed. Anyway, its great to have him here, especially to watch me play soccer! Did I mention that we won? :P