Gung Hey Fat Choi!

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Maybe that’s why I feel like I have so many things on my mind. It’s said that people think too much because they don’t write things down. Chances are, I only have a few things on my mind, but they repeat and repeat, so my mind feels like there are too many things going on. But once I put them down on paper, I can see what I’m actually thinking about, and take steps to tackle them one at a time.

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the year of the Rat, which means that if you were born in 2008, 1996, 1984, 1972 or 1960, you are a Rat! We had a mother’s-side family dinner on New Year’s Eve, and a father’s-side family dinner on Sunday. We have another mother’s-side family dinner on Tuesday. Chinese New Year is an important time for families, if you haven’t already surmised. We eat the last dinner of the year together, because it is important to end the year with family. It’s also important to start the year off with family, so there’s also a dinner to commemorate the New Year. Maybe it’s a North American cliché to hate visiting the family during the holidays. I look forward to the holidays. For better or worse, these people are your roots, and it’s a chance to connect with the people who are a part of your history. I would like to thank my family for being a part of who I am. Uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, grandparents, mom, dad and brother. We’ve been through a lot together, and I thank you for the memories.

The fifty-year high school reunion was on Friday. Everybody who graduated from David Thompson Secondary School was invited to visit the school once more. It was nice to see my old teachers, but only 4 other people from my graduation year showed up. That’s a total of 5 people out of 250. This doesn't mean that there weren’t enough people at the reunion. The place was packed! The majority of attendees were people with grey and white hair. They were folks who graduated when the school was first built. It was nice to see all these people, but it definitely wasn’t something I’d jump at doing again. I do look forward to my next high school reunion. At that reunion, there will be more people who shared the same experiences.

Why is there Oscar buzz for “No Country for Old Men”? It’s a visually stunning movie, with great character actors. My opinion is that very little happens. It’s a very slow movie. I fell asleep for what seemed like a long time, and when I woke up, Tommy Lee Jones was still sitting at the same dining room table. Art? Yes. Exciting? No.

How is your New Year’s fitness resolution? I’ve decided to pick up yoga again. After a long day of sitting at your desk in the office, it feels good to stretch out your body the way it was meant to be stretched. When we were growing up, elders would always say that it would be the best to have a comfortable office job, where you don’t have to travel or do manual labour. I think having a job with some travel and some manual labour would be great. I am absolutely grateful for the chance to work with this company, and I look forward to the rare tasks where I get to leave my desk for an hour or two.

House is back on television! I missed the gang at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. And I hear the writers’ strike is at an end. Rejoice!

Mike Huckabee became my candidate for the Republican Party. In public engagements, he speaks his mind, he has a good sense of humor, and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s the kind of guy I would choose as my manager. McCain is a great guy I’m sure, but I don’t think he would listen to my point of view if we had different opinions. I would like McCain to represent the company at international meetings. And yet, I would like Huckabee to represent as well, because he appears as a good-hearted honest guy. If they were both capable candidates who could fulfill presidential duties, I would choose Huckabee based on his personality. On the Democratic side, I would vote for Obama. Clinton seems too "establishment", even though I’m sure she sees herself as an outsider, with her lack of Y chromosomes. Obama is articulate, thoughtful, and an outsider who seems to have a plan for how to change the establishment.

It's going to be a busy week. Busy with work, busy with relationships, busy with dinner plans. I'm already looking forward to my next yoga session. Breathe...