2012 Chinese New Years in Nantou
Nantou for 2012 New Years. Grandma, in her 80′s, hasn’t missed a beat with yet another outstanding New Year’s dinner with 3 different soups, 2 different pork, 3 different seafood, a duck, and some vegetable dishes. All of us were stuffed to the brim with good food. Big Aunt took us to a Mochi factory where you can sample an infinite amount of sweets. The kids went wild with their appetites. We also went to the hottest Pineapple Cake Factory in Taiwan. They give out free samples of their cakes. It is reported that they give out 7,000 cakes in a single day, and sell up to 30,000 cakes on the peak days!
The Thanksgiving Day 10 Years Ago in 2001
This day ten years ago, Harrison and I met at Sam’s turkey dinner in San Jose. Can’t believe it’s been a decade. There has been so many happenings between now and then. Most of our friends got married and our life also moved on with more new families and friends. I realized that our slideshow at the wedding was not included in the wedding DVD. There were so many memories there while watching it again today. Each picture has its unique mark and memory before we got married… Andy, do you still remember what you said to Harrison at the night of this picture in the slideshow was taken?! (hehe, you know which one I was referring to.) Sam, remember our failed tiramisu and the very first trip we visited you in NC when we went hiking? Tim,...
Anders Drawing and Painting
The first time we noticed that Anders could actually draw something meaningful was October 2010, at Grandma Hung’s new home in Laredo. He was drawing on the paper and naming what he drew. Surprisingly, I think they actually looked like what he claimed. He also loved filling colors and water painting. He used to do the water painting quite often at his old school, Five Canyon Montessori, but I never saw him in actions. He always mentioned it to me whenever he painted at school. So we got this little water paint with the book somewhere randomly and finally got the chance to use it. I wanted to do some work and thought this would kept him busy for a while. We were at Starbucks and the friendly staff came by and asked for a picture! Now that picture...
December 2009 Christmas in Texas
This last Christmas, we made a trip out to Texas to visit Harrison’s parents in Laredo, TX, and Christine’s sister in Houston, TX. Christine’s youngest sister flew in from UK to join us as well as Christine’s mom came in from Taiwan to join in on the festivities. Our trip was split into two parts, the first half in Laredo, and the second half in Houston. Some of my memories of the Laredo: The gang of 3 geese in my dad’s townhouse complex attacked me and Anders. I kicked the lead geese in the body and he improved his disposition. Christine, Mom, and the kids went to a Christmas party at the complex, and proceeded to win a bundle of prizes from the drawing. Mom and Dad watched over the sleeping kids as Christine, I, and...
Harrison’s Old Cello Recordings
My recollection is that we have boxes and boxes of old piano and cello practices and performances between my sister and I sitting in some box somewhere. My father was able to find a new toy to convert some old cassettes into MP3 files. He sent me a handful through email the other day, and I pulled out some samples of my cello playing. I think I started playing cello in the 3rd or 4th grade all the way until college. Below are some songs from when I was pretty bad… when I got better… and when I sounded awesome. I still have my doubts that the last recording was really me, as all the notes were pitch perfect. I do remember the song, all the notes, and most of the fingering still after all these years. My vague recollection was that this was...
Arden Reached 104.5 F
It was scary. Arden’s temperature went up from 103.5 to 104.5 in just 20 minutes yesterday evening Our whole family have been sick before Xmas and Arden and Anders picked up new germs from our TX trip and also from Anders’ new school in the past 3 weeks. Anders just had running nose and cough but his fever always went away in a day. Arden, on the other hand, always had two of the three symptoms at the same time – among fever, vomiting and diarrhea. However, she never lost her energy and was never fussy or cranky. Yesterday afternoon when we realize that her temperature was high at 103.5 F again, it was pretty sudden. I gave her Motrin right away and she started being sleepy. She was not crying or fussy. She just did not move and kept...