Keeping Up with Technology (the Joneses for All)

The tournament scheduled at Classic Bowl in Daly City got canceled.  I was bummed.  That left me with a huge gaping hole in my Saturday schedule.  So I spent it watching YouTube videos, specifically the CrimeDotTV channel.

CJ bought the Chromecast setup for me, and so now I can view on my TV anything on my laptop using the Chrome browser.  How snazzy is that?  Keeping up with technology is fun.  The next step I want to figure out is how to watch shows via the internet only and cut out cable.  Before, I was paying about $160 per month on cable/internet.  That's a ridiculous amount when I spend most of my time on my computer on the internet, at work, with family and friends, and so on.  The time I spent watching TV was not worth $160 per month.  You can lease a car for that much for God's sake!  So I changed to the basic cable/internet package at about $73 per month.  Even that seems expensive.

Next, I need to upgrade my phone.  I have a Samsung Charge, but it's over 2 years' old.  In technology terms, it's almost obsolete.  Applications run slowly.  I can't run Facebook on it (that's probably a good thing), and it crashes every once in awhile.  It's not worth the $132 per month that I pay.  That's expensive.  You can lease a car for that much for God's sake!  I probably don't need the heavy data plan, which I'll get rid of perhaps when I upgrade my phone.

Speaking of cars, I've decided that my next investment in a car will be all electric.  More technology.  Circumstances are changing so that now the question is "Why gas?"  I'll wait another couple of years to do this.  Keeping up with technology has its price, but it's fun.  I certainly love my Chromecast!

My Vietnamese Sister

I've been posting all year long about particular siblings around the occurrence of their birthdays.  I just realized that I must do one for my sister-in-law Lien because she's been in my life since I was in junior high.  We've grown very close to her, and I consider her my sister.

Sometimes first impressions can be incorrect.  At first, I didn't like Lien at all.  I can't point to or remember the reason why.  Maybe it was jealousy - she was stealing our brother from us.  Maybe it was because she seemed stuck up.  She barely spoke.  Maybe it was immaturity on my part.

When Lien and Zaldy married, it was a blur.  I'm sure I was dealing with adolescent and juvenile issues, while focusing on academics and taking the path toward higher education as an engineering hopeful.  I was fairly nerdy and geeky, and I dealt with self-conscious annoyances such as acne.  I also started to give into peer pressure.

Lien and Zaldy soon had Naomi, the very first grandchild in our family.  Then they had Junior.  I was aware of the ups and downs in their lives, and honestly I was stressed by the downs.  I still recall that I had a conversation with my brother in which I made it clear to him that I wasn't happy and didn't agree with how he was behaving.  Although I was younger, it seemed to me like immaturity on his part.

Let's fast forward a bit to the morning before my son CJ was born and right after my water broke.  I didn't know what was going on and what to do.  The first and only person I thought of calling was Lien.  I knew she would have the answer.  She said, "Get to the hospital right now!"

Let's fast forward to today.  We've had more good times than bad as far back as I can recall, such as traveling to other countries, states, cities.  Seeing the Indy 500 live for the first time.  Clubbing until the wee hours.  Celebrating Christmas.  Shopping at Paragon.  The journey continues, and Lien is there, just like she was there when I called her that morning.  We keep going.  I thought I was a strong woman, but I think Lien is stronger.  Despite having to deal with my brother (ha ha), Lien has been bootstrapping her own success.  She has worked very hard, and I am proud to have her as my sister-in-law.

Know this Lien.  I am so thankful that God has brought you to our family.  You've tamed my brother.  I am also thankful for the further blessings of Naomi and Junior.  You will soon be a grandma, and knowing you, your efforts will be tireless in being the best grandma possible -- just like you have been tireless in your efforts as a daughter, wife, daughter-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, sister, and sister-in-law.  I look forward to more adventures with you.  I love you very much!

Oh yeah.  I almost forgot.  Thank you for introducing us to delicious Vietnamese food.  ;-)

Raising Gourmet

It's funny that I always wonder where my son CJ got his gourmet tastes and cooking skills from when the answer has been in front of me all along.  My son reminded me the other day that when he and I spent quality time together when he was little, we would go to BevMo and Trader Joe's to buy gourmet foods.  We also ate at nice restaurants, not the commercial chain restaurants.  I taught him how to cook some dishes.  This probably helped to liven up his tastebuds.

CJ and I spent a lot of time together, and that's why he and I are so close.  We have a very good relationship.  I admit that I spoiled him and still do because he is my only son.  I am thankful that he isn't in jail and/or doing drugs.  In addition to being foodies, we spent time going to the movies, seeing shows, traveling.  I taught him about visiting other cities, states, countries and learning by getting lost and reading maps and finding our way back.  I've sent him on trips without me to discover and become more worldly.  We appreciated the finer things in life, even knowing at the same time that we didn't always have money to buy them.  That's what made us appreciate things even more.

The time we spent together was around the end of my marriage through post divorce and until he moved and lived out in the world on his own.  Now he's living life with the same type of trials and tribulations that's part of mainstream.  He's had relationships that have pained him I'm sure.  I always hope and pray that he will find his soul mate soon and move onto the next phase of his life.

What hasn't changed is his love for food -- especially gourmet food.  CJ has become a much better cook than I.  He will ask once in awhile about how to make things, which he picks up on quickly and alters to infuse his own style and interpretation.  I admit it -- I've raised CJ to be just like me.  Instead of fast food, we would rather cook our meals and taste every morsel.  Or we would rather have a plate full of grapes, cheese, prosciutto and crackers while drinking that down with a fine glass of wine.

Forgot My Glasses and Other Things

Don't you wish that you can recapture all the time you waste when you have to backtrack because you forgot something?  I can remember many times when I had to go back home because I left my phone.  Things like your phone or your glasses or your computer should be attached to you so you don't leave without them.

I just got home from work.  It's about 7:00 p.m., and I realized that I forgot my reading glasses.  I have to go back to work to get them.  Instead of going back right away, I decided to sit and write this post.  What has my life come down to?  Again, as I have posted before, my life has come down to absolute boredom.  If I have time to waste on going back to get my glasses, my life really isn't chaotic.  Do you think that I forget stuff because my life isn't chaotic?  I wonder.

Now I'm thinking about what I need to do on my way back.  I might as well stop off at the bank and get cash.  I'm out.  I might as well stop off at the Great Mall and get some dinuguan at Red Ribbon.  When I get home, I'll eat and watch Criminal Minds.  Then I'll work on work stuff.  Then I'll work on other stuff.  Then I'll do my puzzles and keep my mind sharp.  Then I'll go to sleep.  Tomorrow is a brand new day.

But to do most of the stuff I just mentioned, I need my reading glasses.  I'm now squinting.  I hate to squint.  So back to work I go.  *sigh*