Curious.
I was scrolling down Facebook at 2 AM when I saw that two of my high school classmates just got engaged. Everyone knew they were high school sweethearts, but wow! I had not seen either of them since graduation. Funny how time passes by.
Hearts and smileys fill the comments section. It’ll only be a matter of time before someone starts posting embarrassing photos from those awkward teenage years.
I was walking back from a late breakfast when I saw a father and son at the far end of the walkway practicing their penalty kicks between the trees. It’s the son’s turn to kick, and he steps backward like all the pros on TV.
Three seconds later the kid is on his ass and the ball hasn’t moved an inch. That’s what happens when you try to jump kick something that’s on the ground. Another ten seconds passed before he couldn’t hold the tears inside anymore.
Which hurts more? The pain of hitting your tailbone on the gravel, or the pain of feeling humiliated after missing a stationary ball? (and in front of your dad, too, when all you want is for him to feel proud of you)
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I’m twenty now, but even I still feel like that kid. Miss the shot and disappoint yourself and your teammates, who wanted to see you succeed just as much as you did. Miss the metaphorical boat and imagine everyone going off in their separate, amazing directions — but without you.
What then?
Here’s something I tell myself: take the next shot. Take the next boat. It will not be the same as the one you missed, but if you keep your eyes open, you can still reach interesting places.
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The father walked up and hugged his child. He didn’t say much else, and he didn’t need to.
I’ll see them doing the same next week anyway.
The medical profession drains people’s emotions, so the med students and teachers (the more sociable ones at least) cope by developing a morbid sense of humor. One professor said he loves to make comparisons with medical conditions and food.
“Cheesy necrosis” made him giggle. When was the last time he was able to use that?
From a class field trip to the Medical Education-Telemedecine (MET) Building in UCSD. Lots of cool (a.k.a. expensive) medical equipment there.
I was reaching in the back of the cupboard for another wine glass when I saw one I hadn’t seen before — small and tiny, with a cartoon that says “Downtown Los Altos: Art & Wine Festival 1993”. That’s one year before I was born.
Mom and Dad had gone to a lot of those kinds of festivals before they had my brother and I. Just another reminder that they are people, too, with their own lives, dreams, and fears before they became “Mom” and “Dad”.
I went back home to San José to my mom and dad and brother like I usually do for Thanksgiving. And as an unspoken tradition, we woke up early for some dim sum, this time going to the King Wah restaurant in Milpitas. Chinese restaurants are still open on Thanksgiving, and you’ll see a lot of families lining up hoping to get brunch.
Then some family friends came over and we had a cozy time. Dad’s lobster, Mom’s broccoli — we even had a whole turkey that I am still digesting now. I forget when was the last time we had that.
Last year was the only Thanksgiving I ever spent away from family, so it’s nice to be with them again this year. How comforting to know that there will always be a place to return to, so long as my parents are still around.
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Mom and Dad say we lead charmed lives. I think so, too. Many good things happen to us, many times out of sheer luck. That doesn’t always happen in the world, and I’m glad I’ve been taught to appreciate it when it does.
Here’s how a conversation would sometimes start while living in the Netherlands, especially if I met a new Dutchie:
-Where are you from?
-Oh, I’m from California.
-California?! Why would you go here?!
Then they would flap their arms about, or put their hands on their head, as though I had swapped a sunny paradise for a place with constant rain and no hill in sight (and because the weather is a safe and sure topic when meeting someone new). “I didn’t come here for the weather” would be my standard response.
Weather predictions for the same day, August 8th, 2014.
Marc says I’m missing a spectacular rain storm in the Netherlands — the kind that messes up the sewer pipes and floods the old neighborhood. Spectacular to witness, but not so spectacular when those sewer pipes are underneath your doorstep.
Joke’s on California though. The entire state is going through a drought.
Weather forecast from Google / The Weather Channel.
About a week ago the Netherlands held a National Day of Mourning for the civilian plane that was shot down over Ukraine. My flight back home was on that day.
Utrecht University released the names of some of the victims. I didn’t know any of them personally, but the Netherlands is a small country, so there’s a good chance I’m only two degrees of separation away from them.
Curiosity led me to search them up on Facebook. Turns out I’m only one degree of separation away — we even study in the same buildings. Privacy measures prevent you from looking at much else other than their profile picture and cover photos, but it’s easy to imagine them as one of your friends or classmates.
It’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen Mom and Dad’s face. (I can see my brother’s on Facebook). We would Skype together throughout the year, but the connection would always go to to their land line instead of the computer.
I haven’t forgotten what they look like, but it would be interesting to see how (and if) they have changed from what I remember. Marc says they’ll probably have less wrinkles since I’ve been away from home (ha ha).
And how have I changed? I won’t know the full extent of that until life starts to settle down.
In terms of outside appearances, I have some facial hair growing on the bottom of my chin (hooray!), but not nearly enough to tickle someone. Dad will probably tell me to shave it off.
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Anyways, it’ll be good to see the folks back home.
And just like that, my year abroad in the Netherlands has come to an end. Wow-wee, what an adventure! There are a lot of things I want to write about, and have yet to write about — but that will have to wait for another time.
New posts starting at the end of July, when I return home to California.