Movin' on up

So Deb and I are trying to sell our house and move to the city. Part of that process involved cleaning house. Here are some before and after pics, if I can figure out how to use Picasa(thanks Katy), Flickr and Blogger at the same time. It's amazing how much more spacious a room looks once you clear out 20 people or so...

Update: So for some reason the pics are all in order except for the last picture should be first. No clue why flickr would do that.

Who's playing?

So we got tickets to the Rockets game last night courtesy of our realtor. We couldn't help but laugh at ourselves for not knowing who they were playing against until we actually got there. We showed up early to watch some of the players warm up and sign autographs, but being the huge basketball fans that we are, we couldn't tell who was actually on the team. The only guy we could recognize was Yao Ming, and that is because he's about 3 feet taller than everyone else. It was the only Rockets game that I went to where we actually won, so it was definitely worth spending $10 in parking.

Here are some pics...

Maybe Yao really isn't that big...

Apparently I play for the Houston Camry's.

Playing on water or ice?

Proof that we were really there...

Is this guy on the rockets?

Happy Stevie Wonder Day!

Well, it's December and I just realized that we've only posted 7 entries this year. So I figure I need to get on the ball if I want to make our quota of one post/month.

We just got back from one of the best concerts I've ever gone to... wait make that THE best concert I've ever gone to.... and that includes the Boyz II Men concert I went to in the 6th grade. Yes, I'll admit I used to like Boyz II Men. They were cool when I was young and I didn't know any better.

Anyways, Stevie Wonder is one of the greatest musicians in our time. He played for 3 straight hours before the concert ended, but he could have gone on for 3 days. I thought that with age he might have lost his touch or be a little rough around the edges, but he could still hit all the high notes and his piano playing was impeccable. Above all, he is a first class entertainer. In an age where the predominant music culture is filled with dancers, flashy video, and fireworks, Stevie can still put on an incredible show focused on the music. If you ever get a chance to see Stevie, DO IT! You will not regret it!

At the end of the show, some Texas government representatives pronounced Dec. 4th to be Stevie Wonder Day.

Review

I once was blind....

But now, not so much.

Taiwan

It was probably my 10th trip back to Taiwan, but it was by far the most special. My grandparents got to meet the love of my life... and they loved her!

The plane trip was typical. We got delayed at San Francisco International Airport (2007 Winner of Airport with the Most Rude Security Personnel) because the restroom was broken on our plane. It's a good thing they caught that problem before we took off because I think Debbie used the restroom 5 times that flight. As we boarded the next plane we walked by all the nice seats that we couldn't afford. It's like we were Rosa Parks and the front of the "bus" was pimped out by Xhibit. Once we got to Taiwan, everything went great. We got to watch old videos of Leon and I walking around in our backyard. We were soooo cool... just ask Debbie.

The food seems to get better and better each time I go back. When I was younger, I remember having to sneak food onto Leon's plate so it would look like I had eaten everything. Now I can sneak all my veggies and seafood to Debbie's plate. Here is a picture of me and my favorite fruit...

Nian Wu and Conrad together again

The first place we went to sold them for 100NT per 300 grams (1 jing). The next place I went to was 75NT per jing. The third place I went was 50NT per jing. Moral of the story is Conrad will inevitably get ripped off buying Nian Wu.

I must say that I'm proud of my wife. She charmed all of my relatives and really impressed me. I think her favorite saying now is, "Duo shao chien?" (How much is that?) Needless to say I think she bought enough shirts and dresses to clothe the entire population of Vietnam. Here are some pictures of Debbie effortlessly lifting part of the Chiang Kai Shek memorial.

Debbie lifts with such ease

Here I am trying to pick it up with my pink backpack on...

Here are my grandparents. They really amaze me. They've been married for over 70 years now. My grandpa took up swimming in his 80's and visited China in his early 90's. My grandma still cooks for him every day and should probably be the world champion Mahjong player.

Special thanks to Da Gu Gu, Xiao Gu Gu and Xiao Gu Dia for taking good care of us.
For all pictures click here.

All Growned Uppie...

It's amazing how much the travel industry (and technology for that matter) has changed since I was a little kid. I remember flights to Taiwan when I was younger and there were only 2 songs on the "in flight radio". (Rush, Rush, by Paula Abdul and Losing My Religion by REM). 16 hours of those 2 songs are enough to drive a deaf person crazy. Anyways, I flew out to Florida Sunday evening for work and I have to admit, that even with all the security measures, my travel experience has been quite pleasurable. Once I get my luggage from baggage claim, the Avis bus drops me right at my car without having to stop at the counter to talk to anyone. I was automatically "upgraded" to a Chevy Equinox (if you can consider that an upgrade). I suppose they were out of the "intermediate" class Pontiac G6 that I've become accustomed to. The nice thing about my rental this time is that it is equipped with XM radio, and I'm a big fan of any type of radio that offers a greater selection than the latest top 5 pop hits. Anyways, my point is that traveling for work gives me a feeling of maturity that I don't get from traveling for vacation. I remember talking to one of my friends who worked at a Red Lobster about business trips....

Friend: "I went on a business trip once..."

Me: "Really? Where to?"

Friend: "Albertson's... to buy milk.... we were out..."

So, now I'm in Jupiter, FL. If you are ever in Jupiter, you have to eat at the Food Shack. I went there right after work hoping to beat the crowds, and I still had to wait half an hour to get in.... not even for a table, just a seat at the bar. I'm not a fan of seafood, but this place makes everything taste awesome. Tonight I had a pork chop on some sort of salad. I'm not completely sure what was in it, but I think there was mango, chick peas, and parts of an apple. Oh yeah, bacon wrapped shrimp too. Magnificent. As if that weren't enough, I topped it off with a raspberry key lime pie topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries. Food Shack is one of those places that has a menu so big, you feel guilty for ordering the same thing on your second visit. But it's also one of those places where the first thing you order tastes so good, you have to have it again.

As I drive away from the Food Shack, I get to enjoy the musical stylings of Mose Allison on my fancy XM radio. Technology is amazing, isn't it? I get to chat with my wife and watch "The Batchelo.... I mean, we get to discuss the latest political news and social events via skype and a multitude of IM programs.

Welp, I'm off to bed now so I can be rested for a day of grown up work tomorrow...

Another Year Older

With each passing year, I feel more and more disconnected with my youth. These days, I rarely understand the music, the lingo, the fashion etc.... So with this passing birthday, I couldn't help but feel like I was becoming an old fogey. For the past few months, I had been noticing a new fad of shoes that the young ones have been wearing, called Heely's. If you haven't heard of these before, they are basically shoes with wheels on the bottom to allow you to skate at will. So my beautiful loving wife thought it suitable to buy me a pair for my birthday. She informed me that it was a long and arduous search... I can only imagine the phone calls....

Deb: Hi, do you have any Heely's in size 12?

Shoe store: I'm sorry ma'am, we don't carry children sizes that small...

Deb: Um.... no, I mean size 12 for adults....

Shoe store: (shocked) Uh.... (giggling) Um.... you may want to try the internet...

Deb: Yeah, thanks.


So for about an hour or two on my birthday, I felt like I was a kid again. Funny how kids make things look so easy. If you've ever gone to a Target after school hours, I'm sure you've seen them skating around as if the floor were made of ice and they were auditioning for the Olympic ice skating team. Anyways, trying to use Heely's is like trying to roller blade without using your toes. I soon discovered that I was not born with this natural talent. You would think that this would stop me from wearing these shoes in public. You would be wrong. So as we are walking back to our car from dinner, my left foot stays solidly planted while my right foot decides to slide as far as it can forward, leaving me to do the splits, falling into Debbie's arms as if she were my knight in shining armor. I scurry to my feet and flee the scene complaining to anyone within earshot, "They really need to fix that sidewalk... Someone could really get hurt there..."

So the moral of the story is... Conrad is not 12 years old anymore.