Hidden Talents

I discovered a new talent today.  Apparently, I am very capable of splashing my eye with coffee (okay, it's milk with coffee in it) from my klean kanteen bottle (with the squirty top off). 

I have been advised  by a scientist acquaintance that the base quality of the milk neutralized the acid in the coffee, hence no sting.  But the artificial sweetener might harbor some bacteria that could cause an eye infection in a few days. 

Oh joy. 


On an unrelated note - I may be driving to San Antonio solo tomorrow afternoon.  The husband was supposed to join me for a weekend trip to my sister's, but he is feeling under the weather and would make a very poor travel companion.  My father has gone "Jewish Mother" on me (his words) and is a little freaked out that I would make the 3 hours trip alone.  I've sat in Chicago traffic longer than that.  I reassured him I'd check my tire pressure before leaving, get a full tank of gas, call him upon leaving and arriving, and that my GPS marked all the gas stations and I have road side assistance through my insurance and Toyota.  I told him that by being a Jewish Mother (we are not Jewish), he raised me right so he didn't have to worry, but that I knew he would anyway. 

I should note that my mother offered to caravan with me, as she and a friend are going to San An to see her brother the same evening.  But I'd rather make the trip on my own schedule instead.  A little solo time and independence does the soul good. 

A evening with the Japanese Consul General

On Wednesday, I had the distinct honor of attending a reception at the home of our Japanese Consul General remembering the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 and celebrating Japan's success in reconstruction.

First there was a ceremonial part of the evening, remembering and honoring the lives lost and the people who gave of themselves to help orphans and the reconstruction process. There were proclamations and plaques and a moment of silence. Then the Consul General shifted the tone to focus on Japan’s success in rebuilding its industries and reaffirming its relationships in the US. The mood of determined and hopeful, yet festive.

The sake, white wine, and food was imported from Japan. The Consul General was particularly proud of the sake (it was excellent). He’s a very gracious and funny gentleman, quick to smile and laugh at a good joke. He was very impressed and pleased that I greeted him in Japanese. His wife is equally gracious and warm; she was disappointed to learn that Ed had stayed home. I’m planning on writing a note thanking them for their hospitality.

Everyone was very friendly and seemed appreciative that I made the effort to say "good evening," "how do you do," and "pleased to meet" you in Japanese. That's about the extent of my Japanese.  A few who are Japanese-Americans and I joked at how we speak “menu” very well. I suspect their families have similar stories and histories with the detention camps as my in-laws (no one brought those up – not the reason for the evening).

We were sent home with a folk art doll that is proudly displayed at the office. It’s supposed to be good for mental and physical health.

I also got to meet some Japanese community contacts. We’re planning on attending Japan-Fest next weekend.

 A local County Commissioner, the Consul General, my boss, and me.

It's not that hard

My boss is an elected official.  His name is not hard.  It's not unusual.  If you want me to take your call or email seriously, the bare minimum you can do is spell and pronounce his name correctly.  And if in doubt, you can always just call him by his position (ex:  Chairman, Congress Woman, Council Member, etc) or ask for clarification.

And I understand that my last name is not exactly easy.  You may call me Leah, Ms Leah, or Ms MaidenName if Ms Maid-MarriedName is too hard.  Heck, if you can pronounce my married name, I'll even respond to Ms MarriedName.  Ma'am is also fine.  I don't particularly care for Miss or Mrs, but I won't correct you.  I will correct you if you call me only by my last name (either of them) as I'm not in the military or in law enforcement.

But my name is NOT Missy, Young Lady, Baby, Little Girl, You Stupid B-word, or anything else that initializes or disrespects me.

Capiche?

Gandmothers can be really sneaky sometimes

Many of you may remember the fiasco with my grandmother (via my bio-Pops) when I got married just over a year ago.  She left me a voice mail the week before the wedding saying she couldn't make it because 1) the cows at the ranch needed to be fed and 2) there were some cousins from my deceased grandfather's side of the family that happened to be in town and wanted to see the ranch.

I was pretty upset.  I'm the eldest granddaughter, and she'd just attended another granddaughter's wedding that summer, so I felt pretty snubbed.  I also knew that cows and cousins were pretty lame excuses for skipping a wedding and I suspect other motives, possibly including but not limited to:  it was a civil ceremony (the Cap'n atheist and I'm sorta agnostic/atheist/Buddhist), it was a 2nd marriage for both of us, my grandmother's extremely Catholic, the Cap'n half Japanese, it was a Pirate themed wedding & we encouraged costumes, and/or we'd been living together for several years.  This was 1/1/2011.  I'm also a fair bit disappointed with my bio-Pops and family for not telling her how cruddy it was to skip a wedding.  (you'd think she'd be happy that we were finally getting married and not "living in sin" anymore)

I skipped the family Christmas celebration this last year mostly to avoid her (I've been angry for a long time), though also because my sister from my adoptive side was in town with her family. 

Yesterday we attended a vow renewal for my Aunt MM and Uncle SM that celebrated their 25th anniversary.  I knew she'd be there, and I didn't want to cause a stink and detract in any from the party, so I talked to some of my FB gurus and decided that general avoidance was my best course of action. 

Even though she sat right in front of me, I managed to avoid her during the mass.  I also managed to avoid her though lunch - right up until the very end.  She cornered me and hugged me.  It was brief, so I just let it go and gave her a quick hug back.  Then, as the Cap'n and I were leaving, we encountered her again and she gave me another hug good bye, only she held on and started crying because she missed my grandfather so much.  (Frankly, I don't know why.  He was a class A abusive jerk.)

So I'm a big softie and I hugged her back and told her I loved her and that I was glad I saw her.  Am I still upset at the snub?  Absolutely.  But ya know what?  She'll never understand why what she did was so hurtful.  I'm 31, she's late 70's.  She's not going to change, and I have better things to do with my life than hold a grudge against an old lady. 

But she was sneaky with those hugs.    

I thought y'all might like the update.

Pink Cadawac

I have the itch to buy a house.  I know it probably won't happen this year, but looking at real estate now is prompting us to take a good look at our finances and credit ratings to start getting our stuff in order.

I found a house that we both really like.  Assuming we could get approved for a down payment loan and a mortgage, it's an incredible value.  It needs a lot of cosmetic work, and we have no idea what problems an inspection would reveal.  We have a huge crush on this house - I feel like a 14 year old girl and his house is "that boy" - you know the one.  The one with the perfect hair and the dreamy eyes.  Yeah.  Him.

(Leebee drifts off into La La Land for a moment............)

The house is on a street named "Cadawac."  Thanks to Lindsay, I know have Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac" stuck in my head, as sung by Elmer Fudd:

I wuv you for your pink Cadawac
Cwushed vewlvet seats
Widing in the back
Oozing down the stweet
Waving to the goils
Feewin' out of sight
Spendin' aw my money
On a Satuhday night
Honey I just wonder what you do der in back
Of your pink Cadawac
Pink Cadawac

(cue saxophones!)

Houston - the biggest small town in the world

Yet again, I find my life in Houston tends to overlap in weird and wonderful ways that I least expect.  A brief story of my latest "small world" experience.

I've been at my new office for nearly 2 months now.  I love it here.  My coworkers are AMAZING people and I have never had so much fun working.  We're still playing the "getting to know you" game and one colleague, "Mark", and I find that our lives have a lot of overlap, but we only recently met.  Turns out that he's friends with many of my old classmates from Jr High (his step-brother and I were classmates).  Last night, at a Rodeo event with the boss, I ran into an old classmate - one of the few whom I remember with fondness and am genuinely happy to run into (he looks great BTW!).  Turns out Mark knows him too and has a similarly complementary opinion of him.

Disney was right - it IS a small world after all.

Family Drama: Do I add to it?

I found the Xmas card & check from my biological-paternal-grandmother last night.
 

She got my new last name wrong and left out the "MaidenName-" and only listed me as my husband's last name.  I didn't stop being a member of my adoptive family when I got married, thank you very much. 

 
I'm sorely tempted to just mail it back to her with a note saying "You went to K's wedding, but couldn't bother to come to my wedding over some stupid cows.  Apparently, I'm not a real grandchild or member of this family. I'm not interested in having a relationship with someone who treats me like that."

But sending a letter like that would really hurt my Pops and probably cause a HUGE argument with other family members.  However, why didn't any of them stand up for me and tell their mother/grandmother that she was being really petty and that it's incredibly hurtful to snub a grandchild like that.  

She missed my first wedding in 2005, but it was back in Chicago and my grandfather was too ill to travel and she wouldn't travel without him - I think she made the right choice then.  But it also made it all the more important to me that she attend this one - it was local for her, and grandfather had passed several years ago.  (And gosh darnit, I travelled for his funeral right after having orthopedic surgery on my arm!  Stitches, bandages, vicodin and all!)

She's also my only living grandparent who acknowledges me.   My Mom's father died before I was born and her mom passed before I moved back to Texas.  I had no relationship with Dad's father, who died c. 1996, and his mother passed shortly after my Ex-Husband and I split (her last message to me, via Dad, was "Leah's going to be OK.", and gosh darnit, I won't prove her wrong!).  My biological mother parents refuse to meet me or even acknowledge me (F*** them!  I'm a neat person and I don't need them!).

So with that in mind, why on earth am I letting this even bother me?  To be honest, I don't know.  Maybe I miss my Granny R and I'm trying to find a replacement.  IG will never be Granny R.  They're vastly different people. 

I know, I know.  I should take this to a therapist.  Maybe when the new insurance kicks in.  Counting the days to April.