democracy.

 

I am now a fan of rest stops. But only the one in Taiwan with the awesome food court.

By awesome, the one with green onion pancakes wrapped around a chinese sausage with white pepper and curry powder. The vendors that sell this also provide a container of fresh, peeled garlic cloves to add some extra yum to your breath. So everyone you run into will smell its goodness and know that they missed out on something delicious.

Anyways, the rest stop is where we waited before picking up my mother from the train station.
I asked her about her ride. Most people's responses usually include something like "good" or "bumpy" or "the crying baby hurt my ears". That is MOST people. My mother's response was, "I tried to spread democracy to some Chinese tourists."

Apparently, her conversation with some tourists from China on the train went something like this:
Mom: Have you heard about our upcoming election?
Tourist: Yes. It reminds me of China's Cultural Revolution.
Mom: It's nothing like the Cultural Revolution. This is a democratic election. Do you guys have elections?
Tourist: No.

Never a bore. No time to snore.

That is life when my mom is present.
There is never a dull moment.
She is like a whirlwind that picks you and sweeps you off to some place you didn't expect to go and make life much more interesting.

I just realized I never wrote about what happened when my mother visited two months ago. Time flies!
From what I recall, I received an email on a Monday. She said she was arriving on the 14th. I thought "Yay! After all the confusion and drama, she's actually coming!". Then I glanced over at the calendar. If today is the 13th.... the 14th is TOMORROW!?! If the flight is 13 hours long she should be boarding today and is anyone going to send me any information? A flight number or general arrival time would be nice...

Tuesday also happened to be my final for my night course. She said no worries she'd take a shuttle to the hotel nearby. Around 3pm I received a call from my dad, in China, saying she changed her mind I should pick her up from the airport. After class I drove to SFO to pick her up. It was late. Her flight was early and she had already been in the states for 5 hours. My dad called to ask if I had found her. No luck. I paged her a few times and waited. After half an hour I received a call from my mom. She finally got a hold of a working phone and was already at the hotel. In my post-final, sleep deprived state I had failed to even consider checking my voicemails. Apparently, she had quite the adventure on a share van traveling the entire bay area before reaching the hotel. She walked to the nearest and purchase a phone card that was not working. Her hotel phone was not working either. The hotel staff were not terribly helpful. When I arrived the single person at the front desk, who I had just talked to on the phone 10 minutes earlier, was on the phone and in between bits of conversation, informed me she was off-duty and I would have to wait for the person with the next shift to arrive to answer any questions.

As a sighed a heavy sigh and almost fell asleep while standing, my mom stormed out of the elevator dragging all her luggage because her room phone was still non-functioning. Finally. Near midnight, we were finally reunited.

MORAL: Always check your voicemail. Even if no one ever leaves you voicemail. Check it. It could be the difference between driving 70miles and 7miles.


THAT was the first 7 hours with my mother.
Later that week she rented a car. She had Places to go, People to see, and Things to buy. One of those places was rainy Oregon. Some of those people were old Oregonian friends. Some of those things were half of Costco. Not really, just more than I've spent at Costco, ever. But I rarely venture into Costco. I usually stop by for the gas. If you are ever thinking of going somewhere for a shopping trip, Oregon has no sales tax. If you are like me and are not used to driving in rain, I recommend going during the summer.


RECENTLY, my incredibly active grandmother has taken a turn for the worst. She was a mountain climber. She climbed hundreds of mountains in Taiwan. Just a few years ago her daily walks around the neighborhood included carrying a backpack with books, not because she was going to school, but for the extra weight. Yes, she was that hardcore. Last year she had quite a great fall. Now she spends her days lying in a hospital bed. Off I go to see her.


I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving across the globe in a country where people seem to eat 10x more than Americans and never get any bigger. Wish me luck.

Love is thicker than blood

Wasn't it easier in your lunchbox days?
Always a bigger bed to crawl into
Wasn't it beautiful when you believed in everything?
And everybody believed in you?

-Innocent

I have this song stuck in my head. I know it was aimed at Kanye West. But I like about Taylor Swift is her ability to conjure up moments in childhood or past relationships and bring out associated emotions listeners can relate to. This verse is one of my favorites because it resonates the simplicity of childhood and creates an ideal picture of an upbringing in a loving environment. Love. Something everyone craves. Even before we know how to speak the word.

This month is National Adoption Month.

Not all people born of this world have a bigger bed to crawl into.

Nor a mom and dad to cuddle with on Saturday mornings and rainy days.

I always thought it was odd that people born into different families could have such drastically different lives. A person born into royalty is exalted and provided from birth to death. Served by others for nothing more than their bloodline and who their parents are. Others are born into poverty or lose their parents at a young age. They may never experience the simplicity of childhood nor the warmth and security of family. 

I am overjoyed for those people who have sought to make a difference. Turning a child's view of the world upside down. Reminding them they are not forgotten and welcoming them into a forever family. Overcoming mountains of obstacles, these families are true warriors, fighting for a child most times before the child knows how to speak a word of gratitude. They are loved before they know the word.

It's all right, just wait and see
Your string of lights is still bright to me
Oh, who you are is not where you've been
You're still an innocent

I invite you to take a peek into some stories I've come across in the past month. 

May the pull at your heartstrings too:

Moments with Love

The mother of five that inspired this post.

The Journey of the Maks

College mentors still showing how to walk by faith.

This American Life- Unconditional Love

An episode with a family that adopted a boy from Romania who developed detachment disorder and his amazing mother who never gave up on her son.

Maureen Owino - Mercy House

This joyful Kenyan girl received sponsorship through Compassion.  She may have been born in a slum, but will soon receive her degree in education in December.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 

Many say misery loves company and spend their days dwelling on the injustices in their life.

I say some people's hearts are contagious and encourage you to see the hope in the world.

Spread the word.

Saturday stroll



Crispy crunchy autumn leaves under my feet. Door hangers in my hand.

Welcoming local east san jose residents to our baby church. I wish I could recall more Spanish. My mom always encouraged me to learn more languages because it can only help you in life. How do you say we are from the church at the park? All morning I thought "iglesia en el park?" but was too hesitant to try it outside of my head. Park is actually "parque". We are more similar than I think sometimes. Quite a few people had their front doors open and the smells of their mornings drifted out to the street. People did not look at us suspiciously and shut their doors on us. They took my doorhanger and nodded politely. Community is more than a row of houses with closed doors. Houses in the neighborhood reminded me of my random jogs and emo walks in berkeley through the neighborhoods straight to Ici (the ice cream shop). I am a 500 pound cookie/ice cream monster trapped in the body of a petite asian girl. I am not complaining.

Each house had it's own personality. And Everyone seemed to have a dog or (attack) cat. Across the train tracks was a newer neighborhood. Every house lined up pristine and matching. It felt like the Stanford campus versus Berkeley. No matter what side of the tracks you were on God made a beautiful autumn day.

(i'm a bit addicted to this retro camera app.)

better than the last

[Last last Night...]

Today my head hurt less than yesterday. I sounded sicker but felt much beter. I have about a hundred things on my mental todo list and about 10 on my physical one. But having a hurting head and tired body helps me accomplish none of my goals. So for now i hold back my normal energizer bunny tendencies and aim to rest. That simple. Jesus rested when he had the task of saving the world I should be able to do the same too. Hold back and simplify my plans. Enjoy company, sleep, and maybe make myself a grilled cheese sandwich in the morning. I cant wait till morning. But everything else on that todo list can wait tilll morning too.

My problem with naps.

[From Yesterday...]

I loved preschool. Everyday I went to the giant community church in my sprawling suburban neighborhood and played, learned, napped and played some more. I only had one gripe.

The naps.

My mom would ask me about my day and I would complain about the naps.
What was wrong with them?
I told her "Naps are a waste of life."
Seriously. I was... four? five?

I finally found an appreciation for naps during college. Amidst my 3-hour of sleep a night schedule, naps during the day were a gift from above. But I seem to be reverting back to my youthful thinking. Today my head hurts. A lot. I promised I would stay home this time and resist the urge to go to work with my body fighting whatever virus or bug that is going around. I am home. Last time I only made it to lunch until I hopped in my car and trekked into the office.

I should be napping. I tried. I really did. I had a goldilocks moment. My bedroom was too bright. So I migrated to the sofa in the living room. But the sofa was too soft. So I rolled onto the floor. Squished snugly between the coffee table and sofa I thought I had found my spot. Unfortunately, I am a side sleeper and the ground was too hard. I can't sleep. I can't go to work. I am restless. I have already itemized my goodwill donation, played with the angry birds app, downloaded the new taylor swift album, made rice for dinner, planned everything I want to buy at Target (Toy Story 3 comes out today!) and Safeway for when I am ready to drive and be around other people.

Time to go lie down and... stay there.

Orange Orange Everywhere!

[My posts keep getting later and later...]

I was so excited about last week's theme because currently, orange and black in the bay area don't mean Halloween, it is ALL about the SF Giants.

When the SF Giants were playing the Phillies, who were apparently the top-ranked team.
That Thursday WOULD have been epic if the Giants won because it would have meant they were going to the world series. We trekked up to the city to watch the game and be present for festivities JUST IN CASE they DID win. But they did not. Good thing I took pictures before the game. Because after the game, the sky was drizzling and the city's mood was somber.

It's amazing how a team of few people can unite such a variety of fans.
People can overlook differences and unite for ONE cause.

I love the spirit.

The good news is they DID win the game on Saturday.
2010 World Series was SF Giants vs. Texas Rangers.
A battle of the underdogs. I love it.
Tonight the SF Giants won that too.
 
There is a parade tomorrow but I am still recovering.