Sushi

Sushi has become an all time favorite snack. It's cheap, tasty and healthy and easy to eat on the run. So many delish flavors. Dad and I are enjoying some of it this very minute as we wait to board our flight to Edmonton. Oh - and it packs easily too.

Last exam ever?

It's pretty discouraging for those of us who think that they might be writing their last exam ever only to realize a year or two down the road it probably won't be their last exam ever. It's happened to me a couple times already ... esp with the last exam of my Mphil degree and then the last final exam for the British CA, both times I thought I may not have to write any exams ever again. It happened again this week when I wrote my CA reciprocity exam to try to get a Canadian CA - at the time I thought maybe I will never have to write another exam again, so here's hoping with fingers crossed that this will be the case this time and that I will never have to write another exam again, which in a way still seems like a distant possibility given the amount of times I've thought that already!

So Where is He? And She?

So the Halloween party we went to was on Friday. What did Lindsay and I go as this year?

Yep, I was Waldo, she was Wilma. Did you find us?

Here we are, in case you didn't. Lots of fun, good friends, good music, "The Addams Family" movie playing.

Happy Halloween to Everyone from our Superheroes

Sisters

I saw this article on The New York Times today. I thought it was worth sharing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/health/26essay.html?src=me&ref=general

Paul the Octopus

So recently a terrible event happened. Paul the Octopus died! For those who don't know, Paul the Octopus terrorized bookies. He was 8 for 8 in terms of predicting who would win World Cup matches. According to the Globe and Mail, the odds of doing what Paul the Octopus did are 300 to 1. If you started with $20 and correctly followed all of his predictions (as some people did) you would've won about $4,500. He correctly predicted Spain to win and that Germany would win five and lose two games.

His handlers would give him two mussel-filled boxes with the flag of a different country on each and the box he picked would be the winner. I find the story fascinating not only because of the 300 to 1 odds of doing what Paul the Octopus did but how people discovered his special powers. I mean who would think to put a flag on Paul's feeding box and then see if he was successful in predicting the winner?

I got published (online)!

I submitted one of the posts on my blog since I started my parenting project to http://powerofmoms.com/ just for kicks one day and today they published it on their site! Powerofmoms.com was started by the kids of the Joy School family, it's fun to see how the program really "worked" for them ;) I love this website, it's a fun resource for moms, I've actually started one of their 'learning circles' here in LA and I was thrilled they put up my post. In case you don't know, this summer I started reading tons of parenting books because I was having a struggle with my kids and started blogging about what I was learning. I got more and more into it, and recently when someone in my twins group lost her twin sons who were born almost to the day gestationally as Caleb and Julian, I felt motivated to continue trying to improve my parenting. When Caleb and Julian were enduring all their surgeries, xrays, tests and other horrible things in the NICU and we didn't know if they were going to make it, I tearfully promised them day after day I would be the best mom I could. I realized that while I'd been doing a good job and would probably quit my 'parenting project' soon, I needed to do better. So I started a new blog away from our personal Puente blog at www.givingkidsourbest.com just this week with some goals and thoughts and plan to keep this up a bit longer. I was thrilled that powerofmoms published one of my entries, and they encouraged me to submit to their 'best of the blogs' section. I don't know how I find time for this, but somehow learning and sharing and throwing out questions has become a big priority and I feel it's really been helping us here at home to do the important things.

The Greatest Generation

Broadcast journalist Tom Brokaw wrote in his book The Greatest Generation, 'It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced." He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the right thing to do. When they came back they rebuilt America into a superpower. (that's from Wikipedia)

The Greatest Generation is the name of an exhibit Dad and I saw on the waterfront in San Diego last week. The first photo shows a statue of Bob Hope - life size - and what you don't see or hear is about a dozen statues of soldiers 'listening' to taped performances of some of the jokes he told when he traveled throughout the world to visit soldiers on the battle front. The second picture is one you probably recognize as a depiction of the famous photo taken in Times Square at the end of WW II. It's about three stories high and is very impressive.

With Veterans Day and Remembrance Day coming up, Dad and I thought the exhibit was a timely reminder of the sacrifices made by our parents' generation so that all of us can enjoy the freedoms we often take for granted.

We loved the exhibit and we loved San Diego.

Bridal Shower

I was so glad that mom was in town to do the food for Lindsay's shower. It was really delicious and beautiful and there's no way that I could have pulled it off. Caleb and Julian though enjoyed helping me make the "pom pom" decorations and Ian worked very hard to get our messy messy backyard presentable and actually looking really great. It was a really fun time! Everyone enjoyed visiting and laughing so much. We are so excited for Lindsay's upcoming big day!!

trip down memory lane

This past week I've been studying for an exam and have been using the Belgravia house as a main place for study. Until this week it's been a very long time since I've spent any considerable length of time in the old neighbourhood but this week has allowed me a couple of chances to roam the old streets a bit and take a couple trips down memory lane during study breaks. It was very interesting to walk down 116 st and 77 ave again. It was kind of like going back in a timewarp noticing some things that hadn't changed -Dutchak's house, the Hoyles' house, Mrs Moore's house and the Unger's house for example all haven't seemed to change one bit since we left. In the Unger's driveway there was even a hockey net taped to the outside of their garage door and I also noticed a play structure at our old house kind of similar to the one we had in our old backyard. But then again it wasn't the same street either - a few houses have changed significantly or had complete makeovers like the Laws' house (i think), ie the one at the end of the block and the house two doors down from us, aka Mr Fatty's house along with a few others. But despite the change it was interesting to explore the old neighbourhood and doing so brought back a few good memories. Ultimately it make me realize (esp since Char and I have been looking a bit at different neighbourhoods in Edmonton to move to) that Mom and Dad sure picked a good neighbourhood and street for us to live on for all those years.

As my Dad always said "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

There is a woman in my Mom's ward who lives outside of town in a little and very cluttered house. The woman's husband likes to collect things - junk - and the house is overflowing with it. This alone pulls at my Mom's heart strings because living in a house of such disorder is my Mom's idea of a fully tortured existence. Recently, the woman had to undergo foot surgery leaving her with limited mobility in this rather isolated home. As my Mom felt one would need the agility of an Olympic athlete in order to maneuver around this junk laden home she felt compelled to help out. She decided a cozy shepherd's pie was in order. She made a large batch for the woman and delivered it that day. She kept a small portion for her and Dad to eat for supper. That night after supper, Dad started making quick trips to the bathroom - the diarrhoea was unpleasant to say the least. As my Mother also had to make frequent trips to the toilet, my Mom suddenly felt horrified at the thought that she had sent this diarrhoea causing meal for a woman who would have EXTREME difficulties in running to the toilet with her limited mobility due to her surgery and the state of her home. My Mom was so upset saying to me today "What if this lady just ended up 'having an accident' in her pants because she just couldn't get to the toilet in time? How would she properly clean up the mess in her condition?" So not only does she have to struggle to move around, now thanks to my mom, it sounds like she's going to keep fairly busy with her new bathroom requirements.

What a shame. But mostly I kind of thought this was pretty funny.

Random Acts of Kindness

I witnessed the coolest random act of kindness the other day when I was walking over to the bridal shop for a dress fitting. It was a regular Wednesday afternoon and I was going from a residential street into a more business-y area. I passed a small group of men gathered around a taco truck visiting together after lunch. As I continued down the street I noticed a man in an SUV trying to exit a parking garage with a really low overhang. It was a tight fit and seemed like a super close call. He wasn't flustered, but he wanted to exit! The parking attendant had come up because it looked like the car wouldn't quite fit through unless the top scraped-

Meanwhile, the people standing at the taco truck nearby noticed the problem too! They came up and in a sort of joking, playful way they asked if they should hop in the back? This all happened so quick. The driver said sure, and the guys opened the doors and all hopped in! The car sank a little- and voila! Problem solved. It was such a funny little situation that I just happened to see.

I had gone on my way by the time it was all taken care of but I really enjoyed witnessing this little miracle because I know that wonderful feeling you get when you're at the right place at the right time and do the right thing. The little stuff that shows kindness: hold a door, rescue a fallen sippy cup, give a smile... and I bet these taco truck customers were feeling good, not just because they had enjoyed hot tacos!

My favorite season

So I thought I would just make a post saying that Autumn or Fall or whatever you want to call it is easily my favorite season of the year. It is hard for me to explain why this is my favorite season of the year. I had been putting a lot of thought into what my favorite season of the year is and I just couldn't find a good enough reason as to why the other seasons are better than Fall. So there you go.

More week in photos

Just thought I'd share some more of what's been going on with us through photos. I love to put our weeks in a book of pages like this at the end of the year.

San Diego

The old folks are in beautiful San Diego this week attending the annual meeting of the ASA - and that stands for American Society of Anesthesia. So there's a lot of gas floating around at the San Diego Convention Center. We are staying at the Hyatt right on the harbor. We have a fabulous view of the harbor - the home base of the Pacific fleet. It has been a great meeting and Gramps has made great strides in the struggle to stay current in a rapidly evolving field. Must run to my next lecture. More to follow.

Luv to all,

Gramps

Rescue of the 33 miners

So I am sure most of you know that 33 miners were rescued from a mine in San José, Chile located in the northern part of the country. They had been trapped in the mine for 69 days until they finally came out. They had been found from rescue probes after they had been down there for 17 days and were down to essentially their last rations. All of them thought they were going to die. They come from all walks of life, I think all but 3 of them are Chilean and are 19 to 64 years in age (I think). They said the rescued operation cost at least 22 million dollars which is definitely a good investment in my opinion. Anyway, I found it to be a very touching story and it made me proud that I could serve in the great country of Chile. It was also nice to see a story that brings hope and good news be the dominating story for a time in a time when bad news tends to be the main subject.

Livin' in a van down by the river

First of all, I apologize for not being able to find the video for the SNL sketch, motivational speaker with Chris Farley. The audio while inferior, is still, in my opinion, very, very good.

Motivation. It's been on my mind lately. Mostly because I've been struggling to find some motivation to maintain pace with the household demands of cleaning, sweeping, mopping, washing: dishes, clothes, faces, bottoms, wiping, sorting, folding. It just goes on and on. The housework is relentless, merciless and sometimes suffocating. Sometimes, I just don't do it and ignore it and hope the mess will somehow take care of itself. It doesn't. In fact, it grows and grows and then threatens to devour me and my family unless I take care of it. I know this shouldn't be such a big deal in my life, I can already hear Granny reading this post and typing out "Just quit whining and get to work." (rightly so, Granny)

While sitting on my behind, surfing the net (ignoring my housework) I came across this blog post. It really inspired me, I ended up doing more housework today than I have in the past two weeks. I thought I'd share it.

"Remember discipline? That thing our grandparents were so good at? Before we were conditioned to think that you needed to love your job and that happiness meant owning two cars and a 4-bedroom house even if you can’t afford it, people used to do things they didn’t like to do. Because they had to.

Okay, so maybe we’re not as lazy I claim, and perhaps my nostalgia for a time I never lived is a little facetious. But it always surprises me that “building more discipline” isn’t the obvious answer to people when they’re stuck in a motivation sinkhole.

Discipline is the productive habits you can start even when you don’t feel motivated. In practice, it should function a lot like a battery in a car: it provides the initial spark to get the whole process moving, afterward momentum will take over.

...The car battery doesn’t need to last the entire drive, just enough to spark the ignition."

One thing I love to do

One thing I love to do is collect pictures of road signs, restaurant fronts, store signs... I love wording and especially love snapping pics of places that are namesakes in the fam! Here are a few examples!

Busy Busy

It's been a tough past couple of weeks getting used to not having Isabel here. In some ways it's better, but mostly we miss her. It's made me realize how much I was able to manage because of her! Here's my 365 page from last month, we still managed to have some fun moments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm surprised no one else has posted on this yet. But to all of our Canadian friends and family, I hope the turkey and pie is great!

Recruiting

So one of my tasks at work the past couple of weeks was to go to Loyola Marymount University and Claremont McKenna College to represent my company at the "Meet the Firms" night for potential hires for students. This was my second year doing it and it was an interesting time.

I remember participating in these kind of events when I was still in school and they scared me to death, mainly because at the time I thought that the success or failure of my entire career depended on how well I performed and socialized during these two hours. While that wasn't the case, I could tell for a few of the students I talked to that they thought the same thing as well. All in all, it was fun to be able to describe some of the highlights about what I do for work to college students who haven't heard of the forensic accounting/bankruptcy work that I do and to see if they'd be a good fit for our group.

Life on Another Planet?

They've found a planet orbiting a star called Gliese 581, which is the 117th closest star to the Earth at about 20 light years away. Normally this wouldn't be especially big news, but this planet is in what they call the habitable zone. This means that the water on the planet should be at just the right temperature to remain liquid instead of freezing or boiling away. This as we know is essential for life! We don't know anything about this planet besides that, but there could be anything on there! The possibilities are endless.
Here is the article if you want to read more.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2022489,00.html

New Suits

I'm not much of a clothes guy. Melissa has helped me on that front, but I don't much love shopping. I've been needing a good quality suit for a while now, the kids have absolutely decimated the other one I have. A friend suggested a place in the fashion district and so I made a trek downtown. The place is called Roger Stuart and is a suit wholesaler, shipping around the country. They have their suits made in Italy and Spain and sell them for 25-40% of retail. I walked in and was greeted by an old man named Max who sized me up, asked me what I was looking for and proceeded to run me through the store like a whirling dervish. Within 20 minutes I had two amazing new suits, some white shirts and a couple of ties. He then ushered me out the door to a tailor around the corner who fitted my pants in ten minutes. It was one of the best, most painless shopping experiences I've ever had. If anyone wants to come down with me when next in town, let me know.

Rain

Los Angeles is a great place, but it can make you soft. The weather is almost always perfect and you rarely have to worry about the elements. Its raining today and when it rains, without fail, people will complain about it. I, personally, love the rain and am always happy to share that with folks when they complain to me. Sometimes they just look at me like I'm crazy, but every once in a while they stop, think about it and agree. Its one of the downsides of both Los Angeles and the unchallenged life. If you don't have to deal with rain (or trials) how can you truly enjoy the sunshine?

Disembarkment Syndrome

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-disembark-20101003,0,5113880.story

I thought thIs article was humorous.