Summer with Philip / San Francisco Home Exchange

Summer has come and gone.  Once again, I shared my summer with Philip as he learned MVC, jQuery, and more.

He is one of the few who I can talk about programming, whether it's python, web, abstraction.  I enjoy learning about his studies.





In the Fall, we had our second home exhange in Berkeley.  It was fun time touring SF, eat in Chinatown, ride the double decker bus, and visit museums.


I've been working on a project to incorporating computational thinking into high school math curriculum.  I entered the start up weekend davis competition and won!  Next, was Jeffrey and Linda's wedding.  It was good to see the Louie cousins again.

Elias and MaeMae ran their first 5k.  I continually overestimate my speed, or underestimate my age!  Elias beat me by 8 minutes!




My mom celebrated her 90th birthday.  We gave her a party and I'm glad that she enjoyed it.  It was fun!

Caleb's Graduation, Disneyland, and our first Home Exchange

Visits with friends (Narajaphon & Kip, Brian & Tiffany, Ed and Julie), four days at Disneyland, and Caleb's graduation began our summer adventures.  Now, in the aftermath, I feel the fullness of the family vacations and shared experiences.

Our Disneyland days were filled with  endless sensations--the attractions and rides, the noise and crowds, the enchanting musicals.  With endless stamina, MaeMae and Elias' excitement fueled their energy often late into water and firework shows.  While the crowds were huge and the attractions occasionally broke down, the magical kingdom did not disappoint.   The Tower of Terror, Cars, and the Aladdin musical were among my favorites, while Eli loved Goofy's Flying School.  

Caleb's graduation was impressive.  The caliber of students and optimistic spirit of the graduation speakers (particularly the engineering ceremony) left its indelible mark on soul that I wondered --What do I want to do when I grow up?"   Even at 48, or whatever my age, life is filled possibilities.  Each day we build families, relationships, careers.  Seeing Ed's success, made me question, albeit for only a fleeting moment, the trade-off's we make in life as we attempt to satisfy both our ambitions and desire for meaning.

Philip flew down and joined us in San Diego after his finals.  We stayed in our first home exchange, hosted by Lorrie and Don -- gracious and friendly people.  

Now, we prepare for the next steps... Pearl's surgery and Caleb's Internship in China.

Caleb lands an Internship in China. Tennis anyone?

As summer approaches, we enjoy an early May weekend up at the cabin.  Pearl's project has been painting the kitchen cabinets and walls.  The big news, of course, is Caleb's internship in Langfang, China.  He starts in July right after graduation.  It will be a great experience for him, as well as me, as I hope to visit him.

After a year of tennis lessons, MaeMae and Elias have become proficient.  Pearl started classes as well, which she loves, and now we often play together as a family.  We can rally 20 times across the net and it is enjoyable--not to always be fetching the balls.

The Buddhist Rhythm

As a beginning practitioner, my insights into Buddhism are limited,  yet this ancient philosophy continually surprises me with its understanding of  human nature.  For me, in particular, the ego, in its desire to protect itself, is a complex entity that weaves a twisted view of reality.  Buddhist tenets, cut through this web of entanglements and offers an alternative view.  While I am no expert, and my understanding consistently changes, I offer these reflections.

The Ego:  The ego identity is the center of who we are and it shapes everything about us, yet it's existence is a canard.  The denial of the ego soul is a path to a deeper understanding.  Here the Buddhist theme is not unlike the calling of Christ to deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus.  These words are hard to understand in the 21st century, where the cross has a positive meaning in Christian circles, but at the time, Jesus is calling his followers to literally assist in their own death, by carrying their instrument of death.   Far from committing suicide, Jesus is calling us to destroy the "self"; and in this same vein, the Buddhist tenet asks us to realize the ego's hold over us and it's distorted reality.

Mindfulness:  The mind warps reality.  Instead of being caught of in the infinite complex permutations of the mind, focus instead on the experience of being, living mindfully in the moment.  The act of each breath is a worthwhile experience and not to be habitually ignored as irrelevant.   This mindfulness offers possibilities of new experiences, rather than playing out one's mind's predetermined judgement and precursory response.   This is the act of being mindful of each experience and open to responding and living rather than merely acting out the delusional ego's will.

These are the beginning steps to understanding life.  Mine are baby steps, yet I can see that this path has the potential to alter value systems and life decisions.