Determined to Have a Fabulous Christmas

We had a rough start this Christmas. Since midnight, Mom had been so uncooperative at her care facility, that my sister had to be called in early Christmas morning to talk her out. My sister-in-law had a severe car accident last night, probably due to her distraction over my brother's imminent appointment of VP at a giant PC company in PRC, starting January 2, 2013.

But the depressive atmosphere did not enclose us for too long. We were all determined to have a fabulous Christmas with our kids and Lew.  Our hot sweet potato soup, mashed potatoes, and Lew's deliciously glazed ham finally brought out our high spirits. With bubbling sparkling cider, we chatted late into the night, even though the rain prevented us from taking our Christmas walk. My sister's late call was icing on the cake: Mom had a great night out with her family after all!

SCPL 2012 Noteworthy Fiction and Non-Fiction

Santa Cruz Public Libraries just announced two online reading lists: Notable 2012 Fiction and Notable 2012 Non-fiction. Compiled by two Reference Team members, the lists also reflect the groundwork done by all the staff of Collection Management Services, from selections to acquisitions, from receiving to cataloging, and from processing to distributions to all users. It is gratifying to see what they do making a difference to their community. The following is a list of noteworthy fiction popular and about to be popular in Santa Cruz.

 

Bring Up the Bodies
by Mantel, Hilary

Canada
by Ford, Richard

Dear Life
by Munro, Alice

Flight Behavior
by Kingsolver, Barbara

This is How You Lose Her
by Diaz, Junot

The Invisible Ones
by Penney, Stef

NW
by Smith, Zadie

The Round House
by Erdrich, Louise

Some Kind of Fairy Tale
by Joyce, Graham

The Song of Achilles
by Miller, Madeline

Telegraph Avenue
by Chabon, Michael

The Yellow Birds
by Powers, Kevin

Most Distinguished Rodential Costume of 2012

PennyApple has won a new prize for Lee Anne and Bancroft Library: Most Distinguished Rodential Costume of 2012. The backstory about the book she is holding:  Bancroft has a book that's bound in human skin (its from the French Revolution era). 

 

For more details about 2012 Halloween Prizes for staff at Berkeley, please click here. 

What a day, 6 November 2012!

Nov. 6, 2012, an election day, is one of the longest, most meaningful and memorable days in my life.

Morning
Early in the morning, Paul and I drove to Croton-Harmon Station to be on board an express train to Grand Central to meet Yvonne and Willie at East Japanese Restaurant on 210 E 44th Street. Since we were early for our 12:15 appointment, we set out for 1st Avenue to see United Nations (UN) buildings. Paul took several pictures of me with UN as background, to help me to fulfill one of my youthful dreams, i.e., to be an simultaneous interpreter for UN.

Noon
I immediately recognized Yvonne in front of the restaurant, after our quick visit to UN. She is not changed at all, just like herself 34 years ago. In fact, she looked much younger. Soon after Yvonne found us a very exclusive table, Willie joined us. He has changed into a very distinguished registrar at the UN. We exchanged and caught up with our life changing events of 34 years, in a short span. Along with other 600 students (three grades), we spent three and a half years in Congming Island, study and farming. What was our life like? "Just like Navy Seals," Yvonne summed up most eloquently.

Afternoon
A little before 3:00 pm, we finally broke up after hearty laughter, sincere promises and group pictures. Willie showed us how to get to Rockefeller University on his way to his office. Bursting with pride, we saw our niece Wendy in action, performing experiments in her lab. As it was nearing dusk, we decided to return. Wendy is a true NYC resident, knowing all the back streets from 63rd to 42nd. She managed to find us a 4:30 p.m. express train leaving in 4 minutes, even after our pit-stop at a cafe.

Evening through Night
We arrived at our destination about 5:30 pm and visited Mom at her Manor. After putting her into bed, Paul and I spent our memorable night at Ying's, monitoring ever-changing election results, and eating our late dinner and snacks provided by Sue. We were all very philosophical towards the two candidates, therefore no heart-wrenching or hair-splitting political augments among us. After the final result was pretty much confirmed, we suddenly felt dog-tired and dispersed to our respective rooms. Our nephew and niece had been sound asleep, oblivious of what was going on that night.

Hurricanes in New York

Hurricane Sandy (2012)

Every fall I visit New York, I am always confronted with hurricanes. Fourteen months ago, I witnessed Hurriane Irene. Two days ago I was reminded by Hurricane Sandy. To average Californians, those hurricanes are like fires and earthquakes. But looking around, I have found the locals just minding their normal business. The only signs I can detect are: Paul bought the last five candles at a CVS on Maple Street, people were lined up in Sam's Club for bottled water and Hui's apartment has a little difficult time finding tenants as people are being distracted. Other than these signs, people are very calm. Ying even chuckled when we called him to postpone his invitation of tomorrow's dinner to next Sunday.

Hurricane Irene (2011)

Cat & Mouse

Cat Chippy likes to play with the mouse, but not the real one. As a cat, she likes to play with it. But as a domesticated being, she does not have a killer's instinct. That's why she is able to coexist with hamsters.

But do not get me wrong. Once our garage was invaded by a couple of mice, Chippy volunteered to stay there until the invaders were gone.

Our Paper in Polish

Thanks to Małgorzata Filipczak at Technical University of Lodz Library/ Biblioteka Politechniki Lodzkie of Poland, our 2007's Library Innovations in the 21st Century: An International Perspective has been translated into Polish for Polish librarians.  It is now called Innowacje w bibliotekach w XXI wieku: spojrzenie z perspektywy międzynarodowej

Monkey Orchid: Have You Seen It?

Since George Lee gave Paul and me his orchid bulbs from his own garden sixteen years ago, I have grown them in our yard, and become an orchid enthusiast. I am always interested in its wide variety.

Monkey Orchid is a new kind Paul has discovered via Flipboard (http://www.neatorama.com/2012/06/09/monkey-orchid/).

Even Though I Am Not a Dog Person

http://twitter.com/chiefbrody1984/status/202769547005149184/photo/1

Sunday at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

This morning, Crissie took Paul and me to her church on Hillcrest Road. Because of his new job and limited home time, Robb decided to stay, so did Bob, Max and Elle for other reasons.

It is not the first time we were at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, where we had attended the niece's wedding and visited several times in the past. However it is the first time we attended a Sunday service there. It is an entirely new experience from our Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church. 

First of all, it has a congregation of thousands, compared with Prophet Elias' dozens. There are nearly a dozen of priests and deacons milling around on the altar, compared with our lone Father Denis and Deacon Dr. Nick. Three priests conducted our communions for three long queues. But everyone was polite and orderly, almost the same as in our little church. Even babies and toddlers screamed just once in a while.

For some reason, I missed the intimacy so characteristic of Prophet Elias in the grand Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. But of course, it is a typical new comer's impression. I am sure that most of congregation still get their intimacy out of the anonymity after decades of Sunday church going. I am glad that we went and gained a new perspective toward grandiose and humble churches.