Ohio December 2011

Emily and I flew to Ohio last weekend to visit Mom and Dad. Since Emily just started a new job, we didn't want to take time off work, so we took the Friday night redeye to arrive Saturday morning. The redeye always seems like a good idea when buying the ticket, since it maximizes visiting time and minimizes time away from work. In reality, however, it is always a struggle with the middle of the night change of planes and the 3 hr time zone difference. But nothing that can't be remedied with some good coffee!
We spent the entire weekend hanging out with family and got to spend a lot of time with my 3 nephews. We squeezed in 2 of Logan's basketball games.
Dad is still doing well with his rehab and recovery. He seems to be in better spirits, but still has a long way to go to get his writing and speech back. Since I will be on call and working during Christmas, we did an early gift exchange with my parents. We also got to see the nephews in the Christmas play at church. It was a great weekend, but went by too quickly. We flew back late Sunday night, to face reality (work) again on Monday morning.

ice crystals on our rental car in the morning - the thin needles were almost 1" tall and blanketed the car in a perfect uniform layer, resembling a finely manicured miniature frozen turf

Logan handles the ball under fierce defense

Logan shooting

and part of the fan club at the game:

Chandler

cousin Jill and her little R.J.

San Francisco - December 2011

I traveled with Emily to San Francisco for her weekend of MBA classes. She went to class while I got to have fun visiting with family. :)

We stayed with our cousins Danny and Renee (and their two adorable girls Naomi and Nina). Emily arrived on Thursday night so that she would be ready for her early classes on Friday. I flew in after work on Friday to join Emily and her classmates just in time for dinner in downtown SF. On Saturday, Emily went to class and Renee had to work, so Danny and I took the girls out for a little walk at Lands End. For being early December, the weather was amazing: 55 degrees and hardly a cloud in the sky! It's nice to be able to walk around in the winter with a mere sweatshirt. Sorry Midwestern people...I just don't miss those winters (if I want to enjoy snow, I can just go to the mountains).

The girls and I at Lands End (with a distant view of the Golden Gate Bridge)

We had lunch at a little bistro on the beach and watched the surfers maneuver the rough waves.

On Sunday, we all went to watch Naomi's dance recital. Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch and hung out at home with the girls. We got them a Play-dough set for Christmas:

the Play-dough set for the, ahem, kids

OK, I admit, that stuff is still awesome to play with. :)

Nina shows off her masterpiece: a multicolor Play-dough ice cream cone

Of course the trip was not complete without some famous San Tung wings, so we ordered take-out and munched them down before having to leave for the airport. Our trip was ever so brief, and we were back home in Portland on Sunday night so that we could face the real world on Monday morning.

Thanksgiving

We had our 4th Thanksgiving in Portland. Wow, I cannot believe how fast the years are rolling by. Our tradition is to host a Thanksgiving dinner at our home for all of our friends who are stuck in Portland, away from their families. This year we had 12 people to help eat our 26 lb turkey (OK, technically only 11 people since one was vegetarian). Needless to say, we had plenty of leftovers. It was great to spend time with our long-time friends, The Kerns (and Zoe), as well as with our newer friends from Emily's MBA program. It's also rewarding to see our different circles of friends mix and become friends with each other as well.
We were hoping for some potential excitement, since our good friend Courtney was in attendance and due to have her baby anytime (update: she gave birth on 11/28/11 to 8lb 15 oz Owen....congrats C&C!).

starting from L and going CW: Apu, Courtney, Charlie, Susan, Em, Alvin, Trami, Hiep, Deepak, Matt, Kristina

Thanksgiving would not be complete if the guys were not escaping the kitchen to watch football in the living room

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Thanksgiving. It is great to have such a wonderful group of friends!

Dad's Recovery, a visit to Ohio

I went back home to Ohio to visit my parents. My Dad has been recovering quite well since having his brain hemorrhage and surgery last summer. He has regained most of his motor skills and can do most "everyday" tasks. His speech has come back, but he still struggles with vocabulary and has some memory loss. His main obstacles are reading and writing. It has been tough on my Mom to provide the support he demands for his condition. On top of being primary caregiver, my Mom is also trying to keep the family businesses going. I commend my Dad for all of his efforts to recover, and I commend my Mom for her patience with the process. It is tough being far away from family during times like these. I went home for the weekend to try and provide my Mom just even a little respite. It was great to spend so much 1:1 time with my Dad. I don't think I have ever spent that much time with just him and I together. Usually when I am in town, I am rushing around to see old friends and cramming in as much as I can. This weekend was all about taking it slow and easy, at Dad's pace. A great deal of bonding ensued.

One project Dad has invested a great deal of his time in (before his health issues) has been the Garber Farm. The Garber family was gracious enough to donate their home and 113 acres of land to the county for use as a historical exhibit and park. My Dad was monumental with getting additional funding lined up and organizing the key projects required to turn the donated land into a park. Through collaboration with the local boyscout troops, they cleared brush and constructed a handicap-accessible boardwalk so that all may enjoy the natural beauty of the woods. They even added an ecologically friendly Eloo outhouse. The Eloo is an evaporative system that uses no water, electricity, or chemicals and does not discharge any sewage, chemicals, or odors into the environment. Wow, maybe my parents have been listening to my west-coast green preaching. :)

Dad on the boardwalk he help build, making the park into a handicap-accessible area


the boardwalk trail culminates at a 200-300 year old oak tree

The house itself tells a story of a forgotten past. When it was donated to the Park District, it seemed to be stuck in time. It had not been inhabited for many decades, and harbored some interesting relics. The Park District did a great job at securing donations to help restore not only the home, but the antiques inside.

the old Garber Farm house

an antique wheel chair found in the home

the Edison phonograph caught my eye as it is quite similar to the one that resides in our home
(I inherited an original Edison phonograph from my great-grandmother)

The rest of weekend plans included going to therapy, hanging out at the house, and taking Dad to the music store. One of the most amazing things about Dad's brain injury is that, even though he forgot how to read, write, and do most basic skills, he somehow retained his ability to play the drums. From my rough calculations, I figure he has been playing the drums for almost 50 years. It was great to hear that he did not lose this skill because it is something that he truly enjoys. He often joked when we were growing up that most doctors play golf, while his "golf" is drumming. I think that it is very important that he keeps drumming during his recovery; not only will it help rebuild motor skills and coordination, but I think it is important for his self esteem and morale. He often gets frustrated when he cannot perform daily tasks that used to be commonplace. So maybe drumming can give him an escape where he can immerse himself in a skill in which he is still proficient. Since his current drumset currently resides at the church and he is still not able to drive, we (all of us kids) decided to buy him another drumset to use at home. For Mom's sanity, we got him a practice pad set so that it would not be too loud in the house. From the sound of things, it has already gotten good use.

here's one from the archives: This is my Dad's band, The Blue Royals, from when he was in High School. They performed mostly Beatles and Eagles covers. Although I was not present during that era, I did get a chance to hear them perform live when they got back together to play for their 25th year class reunion.

As we are in the Thanksgiving season, I want to give an extra special thanks to the doctors and nurses who saved my Dad's life. They did a superb job with the surgery. I realize they are probably rewarded with high compensation, but sometimes I think that they do not get the true credit they deserve. To save, repair, and extend a human life has got to be one of the most valuable skills a person could ever obtain. I want to thank my Mom for noticing the early warning signs and taking action (even if it was against Dad's initial will to go the hospital). Mom also deserves an ongoing thanks from all of us for helping him through the long recovery phase. I can't think of a Thanksgiving when I have had so much to be thankful for.

Moscow, Part II

Our adventure in Moscow continues...

Prior to our trip, our Russian friends advised us to only carry photocopies of our passports while in Russia. Apparently, the local police are known to ask to see your passport, and then they will keep it until you pay them a bribe. So we heeded this tip, with the downfall that we could not get into the Ostankino TV tower (which required original passport documentation to enter). Next time, I will carry both the original (tucked away safely) and a photocopy. :)

Ostankino Tower - the tallest tower in Europe

OK, we all know Emily cannot go too long without shopping. We visited a local street market that sold everything from fresh produce to fur coats; it reminded me of the elaborate bazaars in Cairo, but colder and less touristy.


We also checked out a little more upscale shopping at the GUM, located in the Red Square. Honestly, we usually just went into the GUM to get warm in between visiting the magnificent buildings in the Kremlin and the Red Square. It is also a good place to grab a latte to combat jet lag in the afternoon. The 1890's building itself is nothing short of spectacular. The clothing stores may change with the season, but architecture like this never goes out of style.

inside the GUM

Emily ponders her next purchase at the GUM

the GUM at night (as viewed from the Red Square)

Emily read about a castle that was nestled in a wooden park area, so we took the train across town, got off at a remote stop in the country, and embarked on a trek through the woods to find said castle.

Apoptosis; the leaves had just fallen from the trees. The stark contrast between the barren black and white trunks and the colorful lying leaves, which once produced energy and life, signified the onslaught of the cold Russian winter.

the Russian squirrels look a little different than those native to the U.S.

We came upon a small log cabin surrounded by a wooden gate. Thinking this was the castle we were looking for, I opened the gate and walked inside. A man came out speaking in Russian and gesturing that they were not open for visitors, so we decided not to push our luck and returned on our path back to the remote train station.

"Is this it?"....not exactly the castle we were looking for

While waiting on the train, we realized we had gotten off at the wrong stop, so we got back on the train, rode to the next stop, and disembarked to find the castle we were searching for all along:

this castle is much better than the tiny cabin we found in the woods

a vodka distillery near the castle

Outside of the castle was an open air market selling lots of paintings and WWII memorabilia...I found an authentic old bronze SCUBA helmet that would have made an excellent decoration for the house, except for the fact that the guy wanted $1500 for it, and it probably would not meet the weight requirement for our checked baggage.

Emily bought a set of souvenir Matryoshka dolls at the market. Each one is hand painted and opens to fit the next inside of it. There are 20 in total with the last few so small (only a few mm tall), that you can barely decipher the details of the painting!

Some other random cool buildings we saw as we were walking around:

One destination which particularly piqued my interest was a former underground nuclear bunker that has been turned into a museum and opened to the public....well, sort of. It turned out to be about as welcoming as one would expect the KGB to be. At $40 each for admission, you would think they would be clamoring for customers. However, I could not successfully make a reservation on their website, nor find any real details about when they were open. I had difficulty speaking with them on the phone, so I tried to get our hotel concierge to talk to them to no avail. Finally, we decided to just show up and see what happened. Well, what happened is that we did not get in. There was a "No Trespassing" gate at the entrance, which I pretended to ignore. Then I found a small intercom buzzer at the gate so I pushed the button a received a crackly reply in hasty Russian. I have no clue what he said, but it was not exactly in a friendly tone....so, once again, we decided to cut our losses and leave before anything bad happened. Oh well, I guess it just adds to the mystique of the place.

Here we are, in a foreign land which had been an enemy of our country for most of our childhood, trespassing in the name of tourism. I love it!

Even though we did not get to tour the underground bunker, we did get to frequent the underground subway tunnel system while riding the Moscow Metro. Of all the cities I have been to in the world, I would argue that Moscow has by far the best subway system. It costs less than $1 to ride, the trains come every 2 minutes, the routes span out from the center of the city and include a large circle line to connect the outer extremes, and the stations themselves are historical relics. The stations are lined with marble and many of them house artwork and sculptures. The 1930's era light fixtures, while probably not efficient by today's standards, add a warm glow and distinctive classical feel. The trains themselves are a little old, but feel like they are built out of solid steel and function very well....they are the type of design that would make your grandfather say, "they just don't make 'em like they used to". Every time I rode the train, I could not help from being transported (pun intended) back to my childhood where I used to watch old James Bond films on VHS with my friend, Mark Lindloff.

the infinitely long escalators leading down to the Moscow Metro
(just for fun, I took the stairs up once....and was utterly exhausted at the top)

a typical Moscow Metro station

Despite the Cold War being long over, there was still a strong overtone of military prowess in the air. This feeling culminated at the Central Museum of Armed Forces. Chad and and I enjoyed checking out the tanks and missiles, while Brie and Emily waited patiently after briskly walking through the exhibits.

A quote from Chad (referring to the large missiles in the background), "You know, those probably used to be pointed at us". A sobering thought. I'm glad it never came to that.

my personal favorite - the armored locomotive

On our last evening, we decided to walk around the Red Square at night. Even though we had walked it several times prior, we just could not get enough of it. It is a real beauty at night.

the State Historical Museum (which we toured, but we were not allowed to take pics inside)

the State Historical Museum as viewed from the Red Square

the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin - originally built in 1491

...well, as they say "all good things must come to an end", so does our adventure in Moscow.

Moscow, Part I

In October, we took a trip to Moscow. Emily studied Russian for several years and used to perform Russian dance, so she had been itching to go for some time now. Of course, it did not take too much to convince me to travel to an interesting land so filled with history. In preparation, I picked up Tolstoy's "War and Peace" about 4 months ago (free download on Kindle)....however, I must admit I am only about a quarter of the way through the book....so I did not get it done before the trip. Oh well, it seems to focus more on St Petersburg anyways. :)
It was a short trip, so we decided to focus our efforts on Moscow and try to see everything we could in this amazing city. It is about the size of New York City, but does not boast skyscrapers. Instead, it has some of the most beautiful architecture and one of the best subway systems I have ever ridden on. The buildings are so iconic, you can feel the history radiating from them. A few months before the trip, we were talking to my High School friend Chad Staker and his wife Brie about our plans. Fortunately, the decided to join us and booked a trip as well. Since they are now living in Denver, we don't get to see them very much....so it was nice to spend time with them, albeit halfway around the world.

Chad, Brie, and Emily just outside of The Kremlin

in front of the Tsar Cannon - the largest cannon in the world, cast in 1586

The Assumption Cathedral
(sorry, no pics allowed inside most of these buildings)

Ivan the Great Belltower

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (WWII)

Lenin's Tomb

Chad and Brie in the Red Square in front of St. Basil's Cathedral

narrow passageway inside St. Basil's

the inside of St. Basil's
(most of the cathedrals had inner walls adorned with elaborate paintings)

As we were walking around the city, we noticed a lot of police and TV news vans. We decided to see what the commotion was about. They had red carpet rolled out leading up to the world famous Bolshoi Theatre. It is one of the oldest opera and ballet theatres in the world. Apparently it had been under a nearly $700 million renovation for the last 6 years, and we were lucky enough to be in town when it had its grand reopening! Unfortunately, we are not A List so we didn't get invited to actually go inside for the premier (but we did catch a little of it on TV in our hotel room after dinner).

the world renowned Bolshoi Theatre

We visited the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics, which is located underground, just under the Monument to the Conquerors of Space. It was interesting to see the old Russian space propaganda which acted to poke fun at the USA for being second place to space. We may have put a man on the moon, but they did beat us in sending a person to outer space and in putting a satellite into orbit. You can thank the Russians next time you use your cell phone. :)

Monument to the Conquerors of Space

We wanted to see some Communist era buildings, and we stumbled upon the All Russia Exhibition Centre. It was quite bizarre. Outside was a sort of free-for-all open market where we saw people standing in the cold, holding one or two items for sale. Most were selling handmade clothing, but other items ranged from live pets stuffed into the front of their coats (kittens, puppies, birds, ferrets, you name it) to outdated CDs, to taser guns. As Chad looked closer to see if the random guy was actually selling a taser, the guy hit the trigger to show us how it arced a menacing spark. Uh, OK buddy, no thanks. I can only speculate that this place would get even more shady after dark, but after my near death experience in Israel, I was not about to stick around to find out.

the Exhibition Centre

Well, this post is getting a little long, so I will wrap it up here for now. I'll try to get the rest of the Moscow adventure up soon....