Grandma Lee, I'll miss ya!

I have spent many summer vacations with grandma Lee. One summer, she had made us chilled rice balls. It was so good that my cousin Martin and I finished the whole pot and asked for more. She cleared off the table and taught us how to make it. Martin and I realized that we should make more to avoid another shortage. We got to rolling, ball after ball. After we had made enough grandma told us to stop. We, of course, didn't. We had made way more than what we could eat, one bigger than the next. We made one that was the size of a baseball. Grandma finally shooed us off the table and told us that we'll have to finish everything we made. We didn't know it yet but grandma had a lesson planned.

She cooked all the rice balls we had made. The first few bowls went by fast. Pretty soon we were stuffed. We thought we had finished everything until she brought out more. And more. Finally, we gave up, we were ready to admit defeat. She didn't scold us though. She laughed instead. ...and brought out the baseball size rice ball.

Grandma was 102 when she passed away this Tuesday. In the picture, as with all her meals, she's eating fruit before her meal. Her visitors were likely to receive scarfs she's knitted. I have a few of these. You can often find her silvery hair intertwined with the wool.

ding!

We celebrated Ethan's first birthday recently by going to Monterey's Aquarium on a Friday. A few days before going to the aquarium Ethan had been saying "yu" a lot, which sounds like "fish" in mandarin. He would point at stuff and say "yu~", so I thought he might actually like to point at a fish instead of stuff that aren't fish. We were happy to see new additions at the aquarium. There was a new corner near the tidepool exhibit where waves would come crashing down on a clear plexi-glass roof.

We walked around the Canary Row and had a late lunch (clam chowdah in a bread bowl). We also walked down to the beach where Ethan felt the chilly water of the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

He's back!

I'm still getting used to the new and improved Ethan. He's just started to walk 2~3 steps. He's also started to make faces on demand (like the pic above). More pics on the way.

Point Reyes

With Sherie and Ethan still in Taiwan, I found my weekends very uneventful. So when my coworker invited me to join them on an 8-mile hike near Point Reyes I quickly agreed.

Taiwan '07

I've finally reduced all the pictures I took in Taiwan down to about 250. I'm also trying a flash version of CS2's automated gallery. I'm hoping the download time won't take too long.

If I had to reduce all the pictures I took down to one, it will prob be this one:

Taiwan is all about rice, especially during Chinese New Years. This picture was taken near my grandma's home in Yi-lan. I was only able to spend 2 days here but I got to see grandma. She's still trucking along at 102.

Besides Yi-Lan, we also took a short trip to Wu-Lai for a day. We ate at a restaurant that overlooked the Wu-Lai river. Afterwards we had afternoon tea/coffee at a hot-spring hotel. I ordered a Kahlua Coffee for about $6 USD, which also includes a dessert.

We stay in Taipei for most of the 2 weeks I was there. Not much was going on in Taipei as most business was closed due to Chinese New Year. Sherie's mom cooked us a huge dinner on the second day of New Year, traditionally the day where married women return to their parents home. Sherie's family, like most families enjoy "dry-land swimming" as part of the new year tradition. In front of Sherie's place there's a park with a wide open track. Although signs clearly say no fireworks, there was a show every night from 7pm to 3am.

Baby Plane

Don't have a silver spoon for your little one? No worry, dress it up with a Baby Plane!

9 month check-up, what a no-bloody mess!

Ethan's turned 9 months old this week. His weight gain has slowed but is still at a hefty 23lb-14oz. on a weight-height ratio, he is *still* off the chart, above the 100-percentile curve.

Before we saw Ethan's doctor we were told to do a survey. These questions are specifically for a 9-month old. We filled it out and for the most part it was a great reminder. One of the question asked if we lived in a place built before 1979. We do. The doctor sent us to have Ethan's blood tested.

We get down to the lab and two assistants were there to draw Ethan's blood. Actually, their badge said "Assistant II". The first assistant, felt around Ethan's arm for the vein. Felt around some more. Then he whispers to the other assistant, "oh, its a flush". The other assistant tries to feel the vein too. Both of them seem to be unsure. The first assistant, sensing me getting impatient quickly swabs Ethan's arm with alcohol and took out an adult-size needle. He didn't hesitate, to which I thought was a good thing at first, and plunge this adult-size needle into the Ethan's arm. He loosened the rubber strap and no blood anywhere. He then tries to dig around a bit more, still, nothing.

I knew these guys were practicing on Ethan. Fine. The only way they were going to get experience were on babies. So go ahead, practice on my only son. All this time, Ethan is crying louder and louder, and the assistant is digging around for a vein. Finally, I asked him if they could get someone else. Another guy in white coat came, used a "buttlerfly" (a thinner) needle, and was able to draw enough blood for the test (this guy saw Ethan and said "oh-oh, and I have carpal tunnel!").

So what went wrong? I don't know, but I have a few theories. I could've kept quiet for a little longer and maybe the first assistant would eventually find a vein with an adult needle? Couldn't this first assistant used a "butterfly" in the first place?

In anticipation

The whole chen5.1 gang will be taking a trip to Taiwan for Chinese New Year. I will be posting more frequently, so I hope. The furthest we've traveled with Ethan was a 2 hour drive to Monterey. So flying for 14 hours should be an adventure.

There are a few things I'm looking forward to. Introducing Ethan to Sherie and my family. Food. Yi-Lan (grandma Lee's farm is there). The night market and the grocery-market. New year festivities. TV! 7-11 (yeah that's right, 7-Eleven). Buying breakfast.

As giddy as I am, there are also some things i dread and can't avoid. Smokers, especially with Ethan. Smog. Lack of organized/clean sidewalk. The returning trip, it'll be tough since Sherie and Ethan are staying behind for a few weeks longer. Jet lag.

As I write this post, there's a list of things we need to bring back that's been growing exponentially. Vitamins tops this list both in quantity ~and~ importance. I frequently remind family that there IS a Costco in Taiwan... Glucosamine is the same everywhere right? We will be packing lots Ethan's things as well. We're still in the process of deciding what we can/can't get by. Long gone are the days when I can only pack 3 shirts and a jean.

So friends, family, and coworkers, what do you look forward to (or dread) when you go on a vacation? Food? People? Music?

Ethan's pics from 6 to 9 months

Things to eat before first birthday:
Chicken, check!