vacation in hawaii

I know I just started working. But vacations are essential! We are spending 8 days on Hawaii's Big Island. Patrick has a conference here so Terran and I tagged along and it's been so wonderful. After we got in, Terran fell asleep immediately in the rental car so we decided to go for a little drive. We probably drove 50 miles max. But in those miles, we saw landscape vary from dried lava rocks, scenic ocean view, green rolling hills, gusty wind atop a big vegetated mountain to a small but populated town with traffic. We also immediately noticed that people drive SLOW! The speed limit was 55 and the drivers go at 55 even though there are only a handful of cars in sight. At first, we were inclined to pass the slow-ass driver in front of us. But we quickly realized that that's the way it is here. After understanding that, we drove slowly, enjoying the amazing vocano slowly rising from the sea. Everything is slow.

The resort is built on top of black lava rocks. It's amazing how men can build this lush green luxury mega resort with lots of pools, sandy beaches, palm trees, and 3 gigantic buildings where in natural state, there's nothing but a big black dead looking rock. We felt guilty going in to the hotel, which so obviously tampers with nature's creations. But guilty or not, as we got settled into our new environment, we quickly forgot about what is actually underneath us....

Terran enjoys the ocean view from our room and playing in the sandy kiddy pool. Pictures to come.

The chinese restaurant at this hotel is excellent. In LA, one could get something similar or even better for half the price. But I don't care. We haven't had good chinese food in so long.... Terran even loved it. Pat has dinner at conference tonight so Terran and I are going to the Japanese restaurant tonight. I even have to dress up. I'm going to look silly all dressed up and dining with a baby. Oh well. I crave good japanese food. New Jersey sucks.

I'm a working mom

I like that title: working mom. It says how big and strong I am and that I can juggle like no other. Terran started eating regular food now. He loves tofu, he will eat vegetables if it's with tofu, he eats rice, he eats pieces of meat with rice.... So my duty at home is to cook a healthy meal for all of us. I've devised a very simple plan to make this work and it has been working well so far. I come up with a menu for every day of the week on Saturday or Sunday. I go shopping for everything I need. I wash and chop up all the vegetables and meats that I will use during the week on the weekend. So during the weekday, when I come home after picking up Terran, I just cook and that takes me about 20 minutes. I also have the rice washed the night before so all I need to do is turn on the cooker. Sometimes, I'll use the slow cooker and turn it on before leaving. When I get home, the chicken is nice and tender. Now that's working mom.

Pat and I have been following NPR's "this i believe" since we were in LA. It's now a good collection of short essays written by several famous, including Colin Powell and Isabel Allende, and numerous non-famous people. We thought about writing one ourselves but that never materialised. Anyway, they recently broadcasted an essay written by a 13 year-old Chinese girl from West Windsor, NJ. It's a powerful essay to read, but even more so when you listen to it being read by her. The immaturity of her voice blended with the maturity of context was an eerie and somehow a sad combination. She speaks of duty that drives her life. Being an asian brought up by asian parents, I feel that I do share a part of that feeling of duty to accomplish. But I think at some point, I just got plain lazy and said "f*ck it". Or maybe I just learned the American way of being self centered. I feel a sadness in her voice as she reads her obligations. I wonder what will become of her in years to come. If I run into her at Marketfair, I should say hi.

Trenton Bathhouse

Since I have time, I went out in the 100+ degree heat to visit the Trenton Bathhouse. It is located adjacent to a pool and is still a functioning building for the Jewish Community Center. Because it is a privately owned property, I could not go in. I just took some pictures from the outside. Unlike the Kimbell Museum and the Salk Institute, which are both loved the community, the Trenton Bathhouse appeared old and tired and in need of proper maintenance. There were walls built on the exterior that seemed out of place. The roof and the CMU wall both need some major work.


I was totally missing Terran today and I decided that I really can't stay like this anymore (me doing nothing in particular and Terran in daycare) and I need to do something to get my mind off of him!!! So, I decided to take the job offer in Philadelphia. We are all taking tomorrow off so I get to keep Terran at home with me. I just want to do mundane things with him, like go grocery shopping, maybe go to the library, put him down for his nap, give him lunch.... I missed him so much.

ma!

Yesterday (july 31, 2006), Terran called me "ma!" so clearly for the first time.

We were all having breakfast in the morning and I was reading an article on the paper about Louis Kahn. The bathhouse that was shown in the movie, My Architect, is located minutes from where I live. This project was presented in the movie as one which really needs some work and maintenance. Now, the property is being sold from the origial owner, Jewish Community Center, to possibly some unknown developer. Although the buildings themselves are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and will be perserved, there is no way of knowing what lies in the future of the property. For more information check out www.trentonbathhouse.org

So I was reading this article and totally ignoring Terran's calls and yells. Finally, he said "ma!" really loud in a very Cantonese sort of way. I just stopped and forgot everything about what I had just read. I was eating cheerios with milk and he wanted it. At that moment, I was so shoked and so choked that I gave him my bowl and let him dip his little hands in my bowl. I just love that little guy so much.