Friday, March 19, 2004

flying home; flying home

So I just got back from another whirlwind trip to the west coast. The 2nd in as many weeks. I flew into LAX on Saturday and came back on the red-eye Monday night. I hate LAX. And I hate red-eyes. But I made exceptions for this trip because this trip wasn't about me, it was about my dad.

I've been living on the east coast for pretty much the last 18 years now, and I'm generally back home only for the Christmas holidays and occasionally a random trip in late spring or summer. So I'm never around for things like... birthdays. And I hate to admit it, but I've always been bad at finding presents for my parents. Dad in particular. But this year was one of the big ones. Wo fuqin jinnian shi qishi sui. He turned 70 this year. When I talked to my mom about it the week before, she said that he had been saying it wasn't a big deal. But, apparently he'd also been talking up that this year he actually had 4 birthdays because in addition the date on his driver's license, on the lunar calendar, his month shows up twice this year. And, if you trace back the lunar date to the actual year he was born, you end up with a different date on the Julian calendar than the one on his driver's license.

Anyway, it was also important to me that I do something. And I realize that while we don't necessarily DO stuff when I'm home, he's usually happy I'm around, even if we're just sitting around watching a basketball game on TV or something. So I booked my flight, reserved a rental car, and Saturday evening I appeared at the front door of my parents' house and actually surprised my dad for a change. He's always been a big fan of setting up surprises for other people, (Mom, in particular) but I wasn't sure how he'd respond. I ran the idea by Mom; she seemed to think it'd go over well. It was also good to coordinate to make sure they'd actually be home.

Good thing, too. I forgot my housekey.

My brain also didn't actually get past getting my physical self to the house, so I also didn't remember to check the weather or I might have known that it was already summer in Los Angeles. It would have been nice to have packed a pair of shorts and maybe have something other than flannel shirts to wear.

Anyway, it all worked out. Dad was initially unwilling to open the door for some stranger carrying a bunch of bags, probably begging for money or something; Mom had to open the door for him. He was happy to see me. Pleased. Contented. Over the weekend we didn't really do a whole lot, but it was still good.

Spending time together with the family generally revolves around eating. We went to Sam Woo which is basically a franchised Chinese deli, had the tires changed on Mom's car, ate at JiRaffe (Mom and I both favored the scallop and ravioli appetizers, Dad has a thing for their roasted chicken), visited my grandfather (who was also surprised, and happy, to see me), ate at Sue's Kitchen (a little noodle shop in Torrance) and had a family dinner at home. I got a little help with my Chinese, too. (although it turns out that Mom's mandarin isn't so great, nor is Grandpa's.)

I tried to stay on Boston time, so when I woke up at 6:30am PST, I'd get up. Did a little tai chi. Studied. Unfortunately, I was still going to bed around midnight -- 3am back home. Whoops.

I got back into Boston Tuesday morning around 7am; not much sleep to be had on the plane. July picked me up at the airport. Home again(, home again), a short nap and in the office a little before 11am --mostly useless-- I manage to make it to 5pm; it takes a little over an hour to drive home through the... snow? (Wasn't it just summer?) I call home to let the Folks know I got in ok (I don't think the message I left at 3am PST on Dad's cellphone made a lot of sense), and tell them I'm going to bed. It's 8:30pm. i hear ringing and i think i'll let july get it but it's probably not for her so i should reach for the phone what time is it? Mom calls. It's 10:30pm. I guess she didn't get the message from Dad. Apologies... Sleep... Cat on my head... 3am? 6... 8:30.

Aaaah, much better. (Wow, just 12 hours. How 'bout them apples?) Reentry was a little rough, but I think it was worth it, all around.

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