More of the Same

Well this past weekend saw me finish my gate project, getting the final of 5 coats of paint on and then covering the top with Plexiglas to keep the rain out. I then took 5 boxes of old paint to the recycler to clean out the garage. I then worked on the plants out back for a while and finally got the grill working again. I then went inside to watch the OU game. The king went to a concert on Saturday night to see Alan Tam who is a big artist in Hong Kong. She was in a very happy mood to see that. Yesterday we went to her friend Anna's house for a birthday party for her daughter. We are getting the torsion springs on the garage fixed today which have been broken for about 4 months. The garage door won;t open without someone helping it along. Aside from that it's life as usual, Crysta has basketball practice every day and they both have Dragon Boat practice about once a month. Aside from that, not much to report. Later!

What's Going On

Not much to report out here the past week. I spent all weekend painting our front metal gate. Scraped of all the old paint I could and then put on 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint. Hope I don't have to do it again. I then cleaned the aquarium in time to sit down and watch the game on Saturday. The King did what she does best and went shopping. Crysta has made the JV basketball team at her new high school with practice every day after school. So much work to be done around the house that aside from OU games, I plan to do nothing else on weekends until I get caught up. I figure sometime in June should be about right. Hope everyone is doing well!

Napa Valley

Well this past weekend I was stuck with a very emotional dilemma. On one hand I had the OU/Texas game to watch. On the other hand, one of my very good friends and his wife from New Orleans was in town. The King and I took them out to dinner Friday night at Fisherman's Wharf and really had a good time. They were asking us whether it was better to take a tour of Napa or just try it on their own. You have no idea how long and hard it was for me to utter the words' We would love to take you". In the end, I made the right choice. We really had a good time and I only thought about the game a few times. My friend did tell me later in the afternoon that we had lost, but we were having a good time and I didn't dwell on it.

Happy Birthday to the King!

Would like to wish the King a very Happy Birthday. Long Live The King!

Crysta's Birthday

Here is the gang celebrating Crysta's Birthday at BJ's Brewhouse. It was her idea to go there. Honestly!

Dance Workout

For Crysta's birthday, Mom got her a Playstation 2 game called "Dance revolution SuperNova" It's a really cool game that you mimics on a dance pad that you get to go with it. The kids had been playing it and we decided to get a second mat so that you could go head to head with two people. It is really fun plus you are getting a workout. Here is a picture of the two of them playing it.

Dragon Boat Races

Yesterday was the 11th Annual International Dragon Boat Festival held at Treasure Island here in the city. We awoke before the crack of dawn and delivered our race contestant before the sun ever rose. We then proceeded to spend the next twelve hours next to the bay under a perfect sunny day watching dragon boat races. We were there to cheer on Elijah and Lincoln High School where he and Crysta go to school. Lincoln has three teams and Elijah's team are the first year group. The other boats have been doing it longer. Traditionally Lincoln and Lowell High School are the top high school teams in California as well as the U.S. They had races to determine the seedings and in the first race they were up against the top team from Lowell and held their own. From there they went into the semi finals which determined their class. They were then in the "B" class finals. They started off very good and led throughout the entire race. It was so nerve racking hoping that another boat would not catch them and pass them at the end, but they didn't. They won the Class "B" division and won themselves gold medals. The top ranked Lincoln team won the "A" Division as well. The King and I are both very proud of him for doing this. We had no idea that he wanted to join the team. He didn't tell us until after he made the team and then he looked forward to every practice. He was always totally exhausted after each practice but really enjoyed every one of them. It was really great to see all of their hard work pay off. And all of those days that I had to take him and pick him up from practice and wait for him was worth it to see him so happy when they won. It was a good day!

Give em Hell and Get Well!

All of us here at West Coast Peavine wish UK a very speedy recovering from his ordeal yesterday. It is certainly no surprise to any of us that this happened, only that it doesn't happen more often. We are very happy to hear that it's not anything serious and that G-man is alright as well. Being over there and seeing the way they drive it's no surprise that the locals saw nothing wrong with it, that's how they are. Sorry you had to find out first hand, but are proud that you stood up for yourself. Never thought you would be the one the Day Officer had to bail out! Remember to look all 4 ways when crossing the street!

Autumn Moon Festival

This past weekend was the Autumn Moon Festival. In the Chinese culture it is very similar to Thanksgiving. The King and I took her mother up to Chinatown for the event. We first went and had Dim Sum at our regular spot there in Chinatown. After that we went and bough Moon Cakes. They are a type of cake that is usually about 3 x 3 and have different fillings in them. The King really likes the ones that have what I call dried egg yolks inside of them. I could do without those. After making our purchases we walked along the streets and checked out the hundreds of vendors selling all kinds of good stuff as well as performers doing there thing. We will probably eat Moon Cake for a few days now, trying different ones each night. It was a beautiful day here and we had a good time.

Week of Caring

Every year Chevron has their United Way campaign to raise money for non-profit organizations in and around the Bay Area. I have been on the core team of that for years but in the last few years I have been in charge of my OPCO's campaign. Each year we also have what is know as Week of Caring where people volunteer for different projects to work at. Chevron had over 2600 people that volunteered for different organizations. I worked at The Habitat For Humanity building houses for low income families, which here in the Bay Area would include me, but I digress. It was very hard work and it was a very hot day, but worthwhile in the end. Also as part of the same week, Crysta's ROTC group cleaned up the beach near the Cliff House for a few hours. She said they picked up a lot of trash except for the dead seal they found. This is me hanging inside a window. They asked who was not afraid of heights and I raised my hand. I got to work on putting up the roof. Did I mention it was hot! The smart ones were all working inside the house

Giants Game

Well I have been really bad and haven't blogged in a while, so I will do my best to catch you all up. A few weeks ago we got to go see a Giants game with some people I work with. Only this time we got to sit in the Chevron Suite. Since Chevron is a major sponsor of the Giants they have their own suite behind home plate. It is very plush with all of the food and drink that you want right there. There are sofa's and chairs inside if you want to watch on the plasma screen. But we sat outside and had a blast. If you wanted anything to eat you just called the kitchen and they brought it up to you. I think even Crysta got a little sick from all of the food she ate. The Giants won the game and we all had a really good time. I do think we are spoiled now and it will never be the same to just sit in the stands.

Happy Birthday Jeanne!

Jeanne, we hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Labor Day Camping

Well I hope you all had a great Labor Day holiday. We went with some friends of the King camping at a YMCA camp just outside of San Francisco. It was really a beautiful place in the woods. We went horseback riding which was the first time any of them had ever been on a horse. We also went canoeing which was really pretty and peaceful where they had it. The kids played a lot of basketball with the other kids that were in our group. We also made soap! All in all it was a pretty good time and the people we were with are all really nice people. I did feel like I was back in Hong Kong with 20 people all staying in the same cabin.

Happy Birthday Nate!

All of us out here on the West Coast would like to wish Nate a very Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day and we look forward to more stories about your football team.

Labor Day Weekend

Well I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend. We are going camping with a group of the Kings friends an hour down the coast. Still have not decided if I want to drive home on Saturday to watch the OU game. What would here friends say or think? It's only an hour away. I should probably stay there and watch it when I get home. Seems like the right thing to do. Well whatever you have planned I hope it's nice and safe!

15 Seconds

They say everyone get's 15 minutes of fame. Well this past weekend I had my 15 seconds, which is really all that I need. The local ABC station out here did a piece on volunteer work. My company is the largest volunteer company in Northern California. While we were at the local Food Bank volunteering, ABC was there filming for the episode. They say the camera adds about 10 pounds to you. Well they must have had about 10 cameras on me, and the glare from my head was blinding. They tried to interview me but I was to quick and had moved on before they could catch me. Please, no autographs!

After the Garage Sale

Well we had our garage sale this past weekend and got rid of some stuff. Not nearly as much as I would have liked but a very good start. I will give the rest to Goodwill and haul of the rest to the dump. We cleared around $700 for the 2 days. The King & Crysta made very good sales ladies, as they worked the crowd. I remember what Jeanne said about the people. We did have a few strange folks come by. There was the guy who had to have everything shown to him about how it works. We wanted him to leave, but the King just kept showing him stuff. Then there was the lady who was a little confused. She would come by and by some of the kids Pokemon cards. Just grab some and random, pay and then leave. An hour later she would be back after changing her clothes and get some more. She came back a few more times, each time in different clothes where she started buying golf balls a few at a time. Somewhere she is sitting with some really bad Pokemon cards and about 5 golf balls. It was also a really great way to meet the neighbors who came by. You always see them and wave, but now we actually know their names and their kids. I gave all of my old clothes to our day janitor at the office. She takes them and gives them to the people in Mexico. Next time I'm in Mexico I will probably recognize everyone or at least their clothes. I 'm getting closer to my dream of a house without unneeded things!!!

Garage Sale

We spent Sunday pulling stuff out to have a garage sale next weekend. It is amazing how much crap you can accumulate over time. We were able to empty out a room with so much stuff to get rid of. I know we won't get rid of enough to make me happy. The King seems to hang on to everything she has ever had. I am willing to part with a lot of my stuff. Only keeping things that have sentimental value, of which I have about 4 boxes and she has about 40 boxes. Hopefully the sale will go through and be a big success.

Back To Chinatown

It has been almost 3 months since we were in the SF Chinatown. We went sometime in May before we left for China and have not been since we got back. The King had not cooked Chinese food since we got back. I think that was because all we had on the trip was Chinese and she was paying us back. We went to Chinatown on Saturday to buy some groceries to get back to our old routine of eating Chinese food. I had begun to miss Chinatown, but quickly realized once we got there that I hadn't. It's funny, I really miss the China that we visited. Everyone here is pushy, rude and spits all over the place, plus it's just dirty. To me, it was just the opposite in China. None of that stuff went on like it does here, it probably has a lot to do with the consequences they face in China. Spitting will get you 2 years in prison over there. So I have decide that the Chinese that come to the states are like the kids from divorced families, they go live with the parent who will let them get away with stuff. All of the Chinese that don't want to follow the rules or deal with the consequences of their actions move to the states. I know things are tough in China with little or no freedom, but I'm having trouble finding fault with that. We might have a little too much freedom. Ride a bus or the subway in China then ride one here. I would pick theirs every time. No one eats or drinks or plays loud music over there. You want to kill half the people here for being a**holes. Enough of my rant, that's just how I felt after going back to our Chinatown.

Week In Review

Nothing very exciting happening out here. The weather has been very nice in the city, usually around 68 during the day. Elijah has joined a Dragon Boat team and has been practicing. For those who do not know what Dragon Boat racing is, please check out this site http://www.cdba.org/aboutdragonboat.shtml. He really seems excited about it and they practice 3 times a week for 3 hours. Did a little back to school shopping this weekend and then went to dinner with the King's parents and her brother Wing's family. After dinner their two kids came over and are staying at our house until they get bored or 4 kids is just too much for us. They have been no problem and they all seemed to be getting along and having a good time. Yesterday we went and bought a new bed for Elijah and that just got me started on cleaning up the place. We did a lot of cleaning with so much more to do. We are planning on having a garage sale the weekend of the 26th. Looking to unload a bunch of stuff. I smoked some ribs for dinner (I'm getting much better at it) and we ate. All in all not much excitement but life in general. Later!