New Orleans

We just got back from our vacation to New Orleans and Orlando, Florida. We made the decision to go to New Orleans before the big oil spill, and everything in the city seemed to be business as usual. We only had a day to spend there, so we wanted to try to see as much as possible. Everything started out great, and it wasn't until near the end of the day that things started to go a little sour.

We walked along Decatur and Borboun Street, located in the French Quarter, and marvelled at the architecture of the buildings. Austin is considered the "Live Music Capital of the World", but just walking down Borboun Street in New Orleans, that seemed like a title that should go to them, as pretty much every corner was bustling with live music. There were also many "adult" clubs on the street, and both Christy and I wished we had a babysitter so we could fully enjoy our time there.

By dinner time, though, I began to become suddenly and unexpectedly ill. The city had a smell to it that reminded me of Taiwan. The odors began to get to me. Once we got to "Bubba Gump's" seafood restaurant, I was in the bathroom violently throwing up, and I couldn't eat a thing for the rest of the night. By morning, I was fine. Christy thought I might of had sun stroke, which was possible, since we spent most of the day walking in the intense heat. Whatever it was, it came and went, and once we left New Orleans, I felt fine for the remainder of the trip.

(Pictures: 1. A typical New Orleans building 2. A bar offering "huge ass beers". 3. Sara taking a water break. 4. A horse walks along a picturesque street (horse rides were $75 for a 30 minute ride, btw). 5. A riverboat that will take you out to the Oil Expedition)

Sara Graduates From Pre-K

Sara finally finished her very first year of school and has now been promoted to Kindergarten! Good job, Sara!

The Austin/Arizona Boycott Debacle

So I'm reading today that "The Burleson Tea Party" wants to boycott Austin because Austin is boycotting Arizona. This is what Angela Cox, founder of the party, wrote:

"I call upon you, to take a look at what has happened, right here, in the great state of Texas. The voice of the few, in Austin, Texas, have taken matters into their own hands, by slandering the Arizona legislation, and voting unanimously of a boycott of Arizona. How dare they ignore the voices and wishes of Texans!"

Well, I just have to say...good riddance, Burleson Tea Party. We don't need you here anyway. The Tea Party movement, in itself, is a bit of a joke. They name themselves after a movement related to taxes. Particularly, "taxation without representation." Since the Obama administration has reduced taxes for most Americans, this seems an odd name for a movement against him.

But anyway, back to this boycott. As a "Texan" myself, the Burleson Tea Party doesn't speak for me. I support what the city of Austin is doing. Does that mean I support illegal immigration? No. Not at all. I just think that what Arizona is doing is going a little too far. Basically, it's racial profiling. Anyone who doesn't look "Anglo" can be stopped at any time, for any reason. If I'm driving through Arizona, will I be stopped because my wife is Asian? I mean, really, where does it end? It's almost tantamount to placing a five-pointed star on someones clothes.

My mother was an immigrant. My grandfather was an immigrant. My wife is an immigrant. I'm only the first generation of my family that was actually born here. This a country made by immigrants, and it's what makes it great. The diversity. My wife was telling me the other day that nobody ever treats her special here. She complains that when I was living in Taiwan, I always got special treatment from people because I was a foreigner. And it's true, I did. But now that she is here in American, she isn't treated any different from an American citizen. That's because an American citizen can be anyone, of any race or background. Christy fits in as much as anyone else. But once we start stopping people for "not looking right", we're heading down the wrong path.

A Good Year for Concerts

"So ya, thought ya,

might like to go to the show?"

-opening lines from "The Wall"

I'm taking Christy and kids to see their first rock concert a little later this year. We're going to see RUSH. It's an outdoor concert, and I got tickets for the lawn seating. This way, if the babies want to run around and go nuts, there should be plenty of room for them to do that. Had we got reserved seats, it would have been another fiasco like the time we tried to watch the Austin Rodeo. Also, thankfully, kids get in free on the lawn, so I only had to buy two tickets.

I like Rush. They're not my favorite band, but they're in my top 10. This year they're playing the album "Moving Pictures" in its entirety. "Moving Pictures" has all the Rush classics that I grew up listening to as a kid: "Tom Sawyer," "Red Barchetta," "Limelight," "Witch Hunt,", and "YYZ." It's my favorite album by Rush, and if they weren't playing this front to back, I probably wouldn't be all that enthusiastic about going to another Rush "greatest hits" show (I've already seen them about five times before). Christy doesn't really like Geddy Lee's voice, so she's not sure if she will like the concert or not. I told her that Geddy has one of those distinct voices that you just have to get used to. I also told her just to go for the experience of an American rock concert (ok, Rush is Canadian, but you know what I mean).

In November, we're going to another concert, and this is one that I am really excited about. Roger Waters, of PINK FLOYD, is going to perform "The Wall" live in its entirety. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to see this show. I was too young to catch the show when Pink Floyd first toured it in 1980 (I was only 9, and there was no way in hell my parents would have allowed me to go). So I had to experience it through the pictures I would see in books, and the audio recordings. I'm realistic, so I know the show will not be the same as the one 30 years ago. David Gilmour will not be there, so his distinct guitar sound will be sorely missed. But the theatrical show will be almost the same, if not better. I'm taking Christy to this show without the kids (we're getting a babysitter). Christy, surprisingly, really likes "The Wall." I've probably made her listen to it about a hundred times, so it began to grow on her. She didn't even knew the band Pink Floyd existed until she met me. Apparently Pink Floyd is not that big in Taiwan. Too bad. Those poor Taiwanese don't know what they're missing.

3 Months as a Homeowner

We’ve been living in our house for three months now, and we finally feel as though we’ve settled in.

Last weekend we had to buy our first lawnmower. We opted for the lower priced, manual lawnmower, which cost us $99. For almost three months, our backyard consistently looked like dead, brown patches of grass. Then suddenly, within the last several weeks, everything turned green and all manners of weeds sprouted up from nowhere. The two trees that we have on our front lawn, which Christy that for sure were dead, also suddenly sprouted leaves. So…much of our weekend was spent mowing the lawn and digging up weeds. Just another adventure you get to have once you become a homeowner.

I was a little concerned about skyrocketing utility bills, but our electricity bill has been around the $100 level. This is without having to use any heat or A/C. In retrospect, I guess it was good that we bought a smaller house, as opposed to all the fancy, two-story homes we had looked at previously. Some of my colleagues here at work, who have much bigger homes than me, pay about $300 a month for their electricity. Our water bill is about $70. Again, much higher than I used to pay, but not shockingly high, considering we use the washing machine and dishwasher frequently.

I guess my biggest shock is when I get my mortgage bill every month and I see that only about $150 of my payment is going to the principal on our house. The rest is going to interest and escrow. No wonder it takes so freakin’ long to pay off a mortgage. I was told that once you buy a house, you normally spend your first few years paying off the interest, but this is ridiculous.

(Picture: our once brown backyard, now green and full of weeds)

Kyle's 3rd Birthday

Kyle turns 3 years old today. Unlike Sara's big, 5th birthday party, we decided to do something smaller for Kyle, and just have a small, family party.

Unfortunately, now that Kyle is 3 years old, he can't get into places for free anymore. So, maybe instead of having family outings to Disneyland or Six Flags or Sea World, we'll have more outings in our backyard. :)

The Art of Phlebotomy

So last weekend I took a crash course in "Basic Phlebotomy Skills" and by the end of the weekend, I became certified.

What is Phlebotomy? Basically, it's drawing blood from patients in a laboratory. I have to be honest, though, I had never even heard the word "phlebotomy" until recently.

The hospital where I work sent out an email offering free classes at Austin Community College, so I took them up on their offer. I figured, why not? Working in the lab would probably be better than what I'm doing now, and it pays more too.

For a good portion of the class, we had to practice on fake arms filled with red dye. Then at the end of the class, we were practicing on each other. That was fun. I thought I'd be a little nervous sticking someone with a needle, but I had no problem when my time came around. It was easy.

So when I came back to work I emailed my supervisor, telling her that I'm ready to start "sticking" people. She then goes on to tell me that to be certified with the hospital, I have to schedule time in the lab (during my time off), and perform 20 "sticks" while under the supervision of a lab tech. Wow, I was kind of surprised. It seemed as though she was trying to put up some road blocks for me to achieve the certification that the company was providing us.

"It's so obvious what they're doing." said a coworker. "They think that all of us will quit our current jobs and get lab jobs."

Yeah, she's right. That's exactly what I would do.