3.31.2008

Yogurt Drinks

"Go say goodbye to your grandfather," said his dad as he loaded up the last of the suitcases into the van. The little boy, only eight years young, walked back into the house towards the dingy stuffy room he usually tries to avoid. Half holding his breath, the boy tiptoed into the room. His grandfather lied in bed, in his usual state of being not quite awake but far from sleep.

"Bye grandpa."

The elderly man turned in bed and looked over. Despite being over eighty years old, there was still a dignified fire burning in his eyes. The boy waved briefly, and began heading back outside to the van. Before hopping into the backseat he opened up his fanny pack, making sure all of his most prized toys and possessions were coming with him to the new world. Looking back at the house one last time, he noticed something odd - his grandfather got out of bed, made his way to the front door, and silently watched as the van pulled away. He thought this rather odd and uncharacteristic behavior, but unfortunately the naivety of youth made him oblivious to the gravity of the situation. Little did the boy know he would be responsible for his grandfather's death.

It would be many years later before the boy realized what he had done. Even though it wasn't his fault, a lingering sense of guilt creeps up each time he reflects upon that moment at the front door of his old house in Taiwan. If only he had said more than just "bye grandpa," he might feel less guilty. But then again, what could he have said? What are the appropriate words to tell someone, who dedicated their entire existence towards your happiness, that you were leaving permanently? If he could relive that moment again, he might have at least shed a tear. Perhaps some visual pathos could convey what simple words could not.

He realizes now that he was the reason grandpa stayed alive. It was a full time job, walking the boy to school, sneaking him a few coins to buy toys or snacks, keeping the fridge stocked with yogurt drinks, and making sure the boy was healthy and fat. The reason he sat on the couch watching weird Chinese operas on TV in the afternoon was so he could catch the moment the boy returned from school to promptly begin doting on him. Of course being eight years old, he could not truly appreciate how blessed he was to have grandpa around. Instead he was always embarrassed when the old man would constantly spit on the street as they walked to school, eagerly anticipating the moment when he could wiggle free from grandpa's hand and run away into the school. He was too young to know any better.

After a few years in the United States, the boy went back to Taiwan to visit relatives. He walked into his old house, everything a bit smaller now than what he remembered. His grandfather was sleeping in the same dingy stuffy room, unaware that his grandson had returned for a couple days. The room's moldy stench had gotten stronger over the years.

"Hi grandpa."

His grandfather turned in bed and their eyes met. The dignified fire in his eyes that once burned strong was now a wisp of smoke, and he seemed merely a shell of a man. After his grandson left, there was no reason for him to leave the room anymore, and slowly he became more and more secluded, and with that seclusion his life slowly drained away. Seeing his grandson for the first time in four years, however, rekindled a little bit of life back in the old man. He got up out of bed and left the room for the first time in weeks. He kept the fridge stocked with yogurt drinks, and gave the boy some coins to buy toys and snacks. The boy downed the yogurt drinks with zeal, although the coins no longer held much value since he was now in the business of American dollars. For two days, grandpa was alive again, and for two days he had a purpose again. Those two days would be the last time he saw his grandfather alive.

At the funeral service in China three years later, the boy, now a young man of sixteen years, walked up to the casket to pay his final respects. He looked down at his grandfather, sleeping soundly, the fire now completely extinguished. If his grandfather were to wake up from this slumber by some supernatural means, the first thing on his mind would probably be to find the nearest convenience store and buy some yogurt drinks for his grandson. He couldn't help but smile at this thought, as a tear rolled down his cheek and onto the ground.


Homer: "Marge, please. Old people don't need companionship, they need to be isolated and studied so it can be determined what nutrients they have that can be extracted for our personal use!"

Marge: "Homer, would you please stop reading that Ross Perot pamphlet?"

3.29.2008

Number Theory

Quite some time has passed between the previous entry and this much overdo entry, so I will attempt to fill you in on some the inconsequential happenings of these last one and a half months. As far as my job search goes, things are progressing, albeit rather slowly. I guess this is partially my fault, as I have not been the most proactive in my endeavors to find employment. I do have a couple prospects lined up, however, and I feel pretty good about where things are headed. It’s unfortunate however that I missed the recruiting season for most of the large consulting companies, since those were supposed to be some of my safety nets in this whole job search circus. Instead I’m left walking this tightrope with only the harsh reality of failure staring back at me. It’s quite a fall to the bottom, I should at least have taken out some life insurance. Mistakes of youth, what can you do?

On the parental front, the storm has finally passed and things have settled down quite a bit. There’s really not much to say publicly in those regards, so if you’re curious about the details you can ask me privately and I’ll be more than happy to regale you with tales of courage and fantastic adventures. Oh wait, that was Lord of the Rings. My tales are much less captivating, but they may be worthwhile to the curious.

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. I was informed the day before that this was my “golden birthday,” and until that time I didn’t know such a concept existed. For those of you who are as ignorant as I am, it’s when you turn the same age as the day of your birthday - pretty arbitrary if you ask me. What I’m much more excited about was the fact 27 is three to the third power (three is my lucky number). My birthday, 3/27/81, can be broken down into powers (not just multiples!) of 3, so 3^1, 3^3, 3^4, and having my age also fit that pattern means this will be a great year. It also means I’m a huge nerd, but you guys already knew that, so stop judging me you bastards.

Seriously though, just as I was relieved and excited about the arrival of 2008, I am absolutely ecstatic about what my 27th year of life will bring. This is going to be a great year, and by “great” I actually mean “inconceivably awesome.” New career, new outlook on life, renewed dedication to the pursuit of Faith, new BMW 5 series, new hot girls, new penthouse in Vegas… Ok scratch those last few, but the first batch are still good. My uncharacteristically high spirits aside, I am looking forward to this year very much. One thing I’ve come to accept is that nothing happens by coincidence, and the events of this previous year happened for very good reasons. It’s much easier to say that in hindsight (a reoccurring theme in my blog it seems) but standing here at this very moment, things make a lot of sense. My ducks are finally in a row, swimming around happily, unaware of how delicious they taste. (That last bit wasn’t meant to be metaphorical - I just really like eating duck.)

On an unrelated note, I actually had an idea for a bit of semi-creative writing to post up here, but I think I’ll flounder around with that project in the near future. After all, 4:10am is late even by my freakishly night-owl standards. I will definitely try to update more often and attempt to keep you all moderately entertained. Okbye for now.

(I really want to get some Peking duck now…)

(I am aware of the changing spacing/font. Seems to be a discrepancy between my desktop PC and Macbook. Deal with it.)

Barney: Hello, my name is Barney Gumble, and I'm an alcoholic.
Lisa: Mr Gumble, this is a girl scouts meeting.
Barney: Is it, or is it you girls can't admit that you have a problem?