She’s the cutest little girl!
This little girl is quickly becoming the highlight of my vacation – and only on day three! My cutie-pie little niece, Laniah will be two in April and boy is she full of personality already. This picture is from one of the many moments we spend in the front yard. NiNi loves her little chair and umbrella. She is never without her sippy cup and her “nummy nums”.
I am delighted to have the time to bond with this little one. I had about 8 months with her before I moved to Vietnam and while I know she recognizes my voice, I want her to remember me…cool, wacky, fun and playful Auntie Shanna.
My sister, Angie, will have her hands full with this little one in year two. Laniah is very clear as to the things she likes and doesn’t, the things she’ll do and wont. NO is said very distinctly and with lots of conviction. But for goodness sake, don’t tell this child NO – ever. Say this to her and her lower lip goes south, her hands are on her cheeks, her head slightly bows and she looks up at you as though you are the meanest person on the entire planet. Say NO to her for something particularly important to her and you get these gestures coupled with her elbows propped on her knees and a fake cry. Diva-licious!
I hope two weeks will be enough to get my fill of this little love-bug. But my hunch is that I could spend all day every day of my vacation with this adorable munchkin and not quite get my fix. Maybe I need to get one of my own? ;p
Vacation’s all I ever wanted
I knew immediately that I had landed back in California. Standing around the luggage carousel, I watch as nearly everyone put their phone to their ear or talked loudly with their hands-free robotic ear piece safely clipped on. I’m sure every single person on my flight was some super major important person who just couldn’t wait one more second to retrieve all those way super important and urgent messages!
Walking though the terminal on the way to the United desk, I heard a smattering of “right on” and “dude” and “cool” with a sprinkling of “that’s how I roll” and “you know what I’m sayin’?” Aaaaahhhh…California. Home.
With boarding pass in hand to San Diego, I waited at the gate and heard the following conversation between two ultra-hip dudes, sitting right behind me…
Dude 1: Have you ever been to that restaurant Helen Back?
Dude 2: Hell and back? What?
Dude 1: No. Helen Beck. It’s play on words. It’s a pizza place. Do you know it?
Dude 2: Oh, that’s funny. No. Is it good?
Dude 1. That place rocks, dude. It’s like my favorite pizza place.
Dude 2: Really? Sounds cool.
(1 minute pause in the conversation)
Dude 2: So what’s the style?
Dude 1: Of what?
Dude 2: Helen Back. What style is it?
Dude 1: What do you mean what style?
Dude 2: Like, what kind of toppings do they have?
Dude 1: Dude, it’s a pizza place, you can get whatever you want. Their sauce is the bomb.
Dude 2: That’s cool. I’ll have to try it out sometime.
Dude 1: Yeah, you should, it rocks.
Dude 2: Yeah.
(another pause)
Dude 2: Do you know about McGuires?
Dude 1: No, never heard of it.
Dude 2: Oh, it’s the best. But I don’t think they have one in San Diego yet.
Dude 1: Probably why I don’t know it.
Dude 2: Right on. If it was here, you would totally know it dude. It’s really good.
Dude 1: Oh yeah?
Dude 2: Yeah. It’s good to go there when you are like totally starving and stuff cuz you’ll leave full. That’s for sure.
Dude 1: Cool. Sounds awesome.
Dude 2: Man, I love that place.
(pause and then the beginning of a conversation about a co-worker)
Dude 1: I don’t really know him that well, but he seems cool.
Dude 2: Do you know what he does when he’s like, hanging out?
Dude 1: You mean like activities?
Dude 2: Yeah, like what kinds of things does he like to do?
Dude 1: I really don’t know. But he’s cool.
Dude 2: Yeah, he’s cool.
At this point as I was jotting down notes from their mind-blowingly intelligent conversation, I had the urge to turn around and smack the two of them and yell, “You two are exactly the reason I don’t live here! You idiots!” But I imagine that random act of anger would be met with a really profound come back such as…
Dude 1: Wow. That was like totally unnecessary and uncool of you.
Dude 2: Yeah, totally uncool.
Welcome to California! Let the vacation begin!
ひさしぶりです!
Today is a day when I am missing Japan. Perhaps it’s the lingering heat here in San Diego. I know in J-land right now, the mornings are getting chillier, the days are pleasant before the night cools off again. Autumn foods are starting to appear on plates. The rice is being harvested. Sometime around the 20th of this month, Fuji-san will get his first snow. Soon after, the trees will be “on fire” as the leaves turn. I’m missing the tiny little signs of nature that are ever present in Japan.
So, to fill my void, I browsed the online newspapers, The Japan Times and the Daily Yomiuri. Always a good way to see what’s happening in the land of sushi. As I read some of the articles, I memories flash before me, faces of my students, a party at a restaurant, my bike ride in the morning, kind gestures from my coworkers, my cozy little apartment. I can stand on a street corner where I take in all the sights and sounds and smells. If I close my eyes for just a moment, I am there again. No matter how short, I love the visit. I do miss Japan something fierce!
While browsing through the Daily Yomiuri, I came across the column, Troubleshooter. Aaaah, yes. I forgot how much I LOVE these! It’s the “Dear Abby” of Japan. Except that the same person does not respond to all the questions. They have celebrities, lawyers, writers, doctors and such who respond. It’s brilliant. They get away with some terrific answers! Here’s one:
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Troubleshooter/Husband used as chauffeur
Dear Troubleshooter:
I’m a housewife in my 40s. My husband takes some lessons on weekends and goes to class by car since it is far from home.
But two of his friends in the same class ride with him. One of them makes her husband drive to our place before changing to my husband’s car.
The other person can drive and has a car of his own, but he also shares my husband’s car.
Although my husband drives them all the time, these two people have never paid for gas. Am I wrong to think they should drive their own cars or pay for gas sometimes?
I feel angry when I see these people, who take it for granted that they can use my husband’s car. My husband says he can’t and won’t ask them to pay for gas. I have been putting up with this, but I can’t take too much more.
I, Tokyo
Dear Ms. I:
I can understand your feelings in a way. But as for your husband, I think doing nice things for his hobby friends gives him a pleasant feeling that money cannot buy.
You are not shouldering any additional financial burden, since your husband drives the car to go to the class anyway.
Having a generous wife who isn’t seen to complain about every little thing might even increase his esteem in his friends’ eyes. So that may be why he will not ask his friends to pay for gas.
Why don’t you let it pass and allow your husband continue to be viewed as a kind, dependable, good man?
You will be annoyed if he changes into someone who is grumpy, never goes out and always hangs around at home on weekends.
Don’t you think you also are enjoying invisible benefits thanks to his kindness or his attitude of trying to be a good man? You might be envied for having such a kind husband. We tend not to be able to see what we really have, although we can see very well what we don’t have.
Please have your own enjoyable time, just like your husband does.
Megumi Hisada, writer
Please have your own enjoyable time. I love my J-people!
なつかしいぃぃぃ よ!!!
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
Old Friends Reunite
I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that my high school graduation was 20 years ago. Unbelievable! So it was with mixed emotions that I attended the festivities for Valhalla High School Class of 1988’s, 20 year reunion this weekend. Now that the big event has come and gone, I can only say how wonderful it was to see so many old friends, to embrace the people who I shared so many terrific memories with, and to see how absolutely fabulous we all look!!!
Holly and I attended the reunion events together. We’ve been friends since we were second sopranos in Ensemble! Love ya, Holly!
One event was not enough for the Class of ’88! On Friday, we enjoyed a pre-reunion party at Jose’s Courtroom in La Jolla. It happens to be owned by one of our classmates, Tigg Mitchell. My dearest friend Holly Paton Nelson and I arrived together, and were met by Tigg at the door. Once we stepped inside, it was a sea of familiar faces, smiles and high school memories. I was so overwhelmed from seeing so many old friends, I didn’t even take one picture! It was a very boisterous and exciting night.
Last night was the official reunion, held at a golf/country club near our high school in Jamul, California. At least twice as many people were at this event; many spouses came along for the ride. The evening was a whirlwind of chatting, laughing, hugging, picture taking, a bit of food & beverage, recalling fond memories and catching up on the present. I had a fantastic time!
This is Matt and Tim, who I went to kindergarten with at Lexington Elementary. Good to see them both.
It was so good to see Tracie – We had many fun Friday nights switching out of volleyball gear and getting ready for football. Always a fun and wonderful friend!
Anyone who has reached this milestone in their lives can understand when I say that it just doesn’t feel like 20 years have passed and none of us feel like we’re 38 years old! But I do feel very fortunate that I get to grow old with such an amazing group of friends. The Class of ’88 is totally awesome!
With the love of my life, David Kilpatrick.
Thanks everyone for yet another weekend filled with great memories!
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
Plugging Away!
Work Station – The dining room table has been serving as my office, since I’ve returned to San Diego. At least I have a view of the pool!
Hellloooo! How’s the month of August treating you? Have you been enjoying summer? Have you gone on vacation? I hope you are surviving the heat and have had a chance to enjoy some leisure time with your loved ones.
It’s been just one week since I’ve returned from my travels. Still a bit weird to be back. In this short time, I think I may have created an unhealthy relationship with my Mac. Oh my Mac.
He went with me on my world travels, survived the humidity, saved all my photos, helped me book all my hotels and flights and allowed me stay in touch with you. He’s a good travel buddy. A Powerbook G4, he’s a little heavy, but nonetheless, he travels well. We survived five months together with nay a squabble.
Now I’m with him morning through night, pounding away on his keyboard, creating newsletters, videos, resumes, cover letters, endlessly researching employment opportunities online. I’ve even reorganized my photos from my travels. My poor Mac barely gets a wink of sleep!
You can see my work station here in this photo. You’ve got the ever-present cup of coffee on the left, with my calendar, notes, dictionary (for all those resume action words!) and pencil cup. Then that red book on the right is my travel journal. I’ve been using it as a reference for stories in my newsletters. Next to that is a travel guide for Spain. Still considering it. Finding some possibilities. The guidebook serves more as a geography reference. On the lower right is my binder with all my notes. My big TO DO list is on top, constantly reminding me that I have A LOT to do!!!
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
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