The Other Good Daughter

I was asked to speak to a church congregation about my father during yesterday's Father's Day fellowship lunch. Caught off-guard and with non-existent extemporaneous speech training, I hesitantly walked towards the microphone and prayed that the words would form quickly in my head as a coherent thought before I started talking. I can now honestly say that I spoke from the heart and moved the audience, even seeing my parents wipe a tear afterwards.

I quote myself non-verbatim below:

I grew up seeing my father as a public figure because he ran a school district in our province. I would oftentimes hear him delivering speeches with gusto and he was recognized for his good looks and athletic ability. At home, I have always known him to be a disciplinarian. I guess he thought it was necessary to keep peace among 11 children.

But what I really want to share to you is how difficult it is for me to see him in his old age now, battling all sorts of illnesses as nature is taking its course. This sadness I feel shared by my siblings is because he is now just a small fraction of the man he was. Nonetheless, we are grateful of these remaining years we have with him, sort of our long drawn out goodbye.

Appang, we love you and we want you to take pride in your accomplishments and know that your legacy and memory will live on forever through us, your children and grandchildren.

Stop & Smell the Roses

It's been a week since my rosy week-end visiting my now-exiled friend in Oregon and I welcome this opportunity to relive and share my northwest spring break. It was the first time in years that I left hubby behind for 4 straight days. Thankfully, everything was in order when I returned but I was kept busy all week catching up with things at home and work.

My flight's short stop in Reno, Nevada was worth the aerial view of Lake Tahoe and Mt. Hood as the plane passed by. From the airport, I boarded the MAX train and the rest of the day was spent touring the city of Portland by train and on foot, joining the hustle and bustle as the city celebrated Rose Festival and Fleet Week.

I must have brought the California sunshine in because the next day, we enjoyed a picture-perfect drive towards the mountains with the Columbia River snaking on the left side of the road. I filled my lungs with the fresh air and my eyes feasted on nature's spring show of lush foliage, waterfalls of various altitudes, amazing fish hatchery and powdery snow.

On my last full day, I was overwhelmed at the Rose TestGarden. Who would have thought there is such a place tucked in an affluent neighborhood with a bird's eye view of the city? I wished I had an extra chip in my camera to capture every single beauty in digital memory. Yes, I literally stopped and smelled the roses. Thrown in was much funfare at the carnivale along the Willamette River and upclose look of the Rose Parade floats.

My heartfelt thanks to S and A and their friendly cat Seuss for their warm hospitality. Hubby's looking forward to a fishing trip next time. Click HERE to view my souvenir photos.

Awesome-rrific

That’s how young nephew N described the spectacular panoramic views of snow-capped mountains, geologic wonders of glacial earth formations and lakes, and perfectly-shaped towering Douglas firs of the Eastern Sierras. We now know that it was too early in the year because we had un-forecasted snow and rain. Still, we had priceless memories and pictures (click here to view them) taken during memorial week-end as outdoor living lured us to go camping and fishing in Mammoth Lakes.

Excited to start our first visit to the area, around mid-day Friday, May 26, we were already happily cruising thru steady traffic flow out to the desert, passing by a graveyard of airplanes in all shapes and sizes, red rocks, cinder cones and signs of volcanic lava flow, big and small lakes, as well as quaint towns interspersed with cattle grazing. The passing scenery on our left and right side showed the striking contrast of the divide between California and Nevada.

Our only stop was at Bar-b-q Bill's in Bishop. It is a highly recommended western-decorated pit stop for a good-valued, wholesome, home-cooked style fast food meal. By early afternoon, we were already at the campsite, pitched our tents and took a nap. After an early supper, we cocooned ourselves inside our sleeping bags because it got windy and cold. Company came the next day along with the snow flurries. Fortunately for us, we found a room at an inn where we packed ourselves for the next 2 nights. Lake fishing would have been fun if not for the bad weather. We were not appropriately clothed for mountain hiking and biking either.

Driving back last Monday, May 29, was a breeze except for a little bottleneck in California City. We again stopped in Bishop and bought some goodies to bring home. Note that the cattle ranches in the area produced the best-tasting beef jerky for a low-carb diet.

As I’m writing this, I happened to glance at an article in LA Times about proposed luxury hotels and condos that explained the odd mammoth crane I spotted along Main Street. It may be good for the folks who live there but I sure am glad I was there to appreciate the small town look and feel before the area development gets underway.