Letter from Mather "Breakfast Club"

Dear Mather High School,

We accept the fact that we are now young 30-something'ers with diverse lives, diverse occupations, diverse talents.  We think it would be crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are.  You see us as you want to see us.  In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions.

But what we found out is that each one of us is

... an electrical engineer...

... and a software engineer...

... a web designer...

... a mechanical engineer...

... and a tax analyst...

... a chemical engineer...

... and an environmental engineer...

... a registered nurse...

... in finance...

... a real estate agent...

... an owner of a car dealership...

... an aspiring musician...

... a part-time athlete...

... an IT network professional...

... a QA engineer...

... and a data miner...

... a doctor...

... a journalist...

... a pharmacist...

... an MBA...

... a venture capitalist...

Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,

Mather's Finest (Class of '92 & '93)

Christmas Tree

This afternoon, I accompanied my dear friend Shilo Christmas Tree shopping :) The Home Depot nearest her home had in a new lot of trees from the farms (they have been getting new ones weekly during the holiday season). They fenced off part of the parking lot for the trees. A lot of folks were there browsing.

Having always had an artificial tree since childhood, this was a new experience for me. You walk in and realize that there are different types of trees. I noticed "Douglas Fir" and "Noble Fir". So Shilo peeked at a few trees, and saw one which looked good. So she unraveled the string that was wrapped around the tree so that the branches would hang out a bit and she could check for holes (chunks of branches missing, etc.) Looked good! Then she dragged it near the trimming & bundling tent. I stayed with the tree while she went to the cashier with the tag to pay for it. Then she had a clever idea: so unlike other customers who would drag their tree around with them in order to pay for it and get in line for the trimming, one of us could hang out with the tree next to the tent, and one could stand in line. I happily stood in line :)

When it was our turn, the Home Depot guy slung the tree onto a table and then trimmed it per Shilo's directions. I think she had him saw off a few branches on the bottom, based on her knowledge of the tree base it was going in. Then some minor trimming at the sides. Perfect! Then the tree was shoved into a netting to keep the branches bundled up tightly. Then we carried it out to her car. Having it bundled is very useful in transport :)

We unloaded the tree into Shilo's living room, and she tweaked the stabilizers of the base so that the tree would stand up straight. I thought she could immediately start putting on the ornaments, but she said it's best to let the fir settle for 2-3 days. Then once it has taken shape, can add them on.

So although Shilo didn't have to trek over to a farm and cut the tree down herself, she knew quite a bit about tree selection. Like she even knew how fresh it was based on the feel of the needles. Key criteria:

1) Type: Shilo prefers noble firs because if the needles fall on the floor, and you step on them, they won't stab your feet like, say, Douglas firs. Plus noble firs have a nice smell.

2) Height: 5' - 6' worked well for her.

3) Price: Shilo, being one of the most practical people I know, already had an idea how much she was willing to shell out for a tree, based on its size, how long she would have it up, and the enjoyment she would get out of having it in her house. Mostly, she was looking forward to having the smell of a fresh tree pervade the air :)

Now you have to take care of it, since it's a real tree. Like watering it and stuff. Now I prefer a real tree over a fake tree, although wreathes are more my speed *hehehe*

Compass

Erik & I watched the Golden Compass at the Merc this evening. It doesn't feel as epic as Lord of the Rings, or as engaging as Harry Potter. Probably because we're not really familiar with the books that it is based on. To me, it's like a cross between Neverending Story & Narnia.

There's this hoopla about the Golden Compass having an atheist agenda. C'monnn, the "message" was as thickly veiled as, say, CS Lewis' message is in his novels. A Christian will of course catch the religious overtones. A non-Christian would simply see it as the struggle of the oppressed against tyrannical rule. I can put on my analytical hat and go to town with a paper discussing all the symbolism. But this ain't AP English folks -- it's simply enjoying a well-produced film.

I like that there is going to be another trilogy of a fantastical sort :) Plus I have a thing for talking Polar Bears *hehe*

The Bee

This morning Akeelah & the Bee was on TV. I actually netflixed this before, and caught it showing a couple of times on cable afterwards, but like good movies, you can't help but get drawn in again.

This movie floods me with memories of the Spelling Bee. I want to share what it's like, from first-hand experience. I represented my elementary school, Clinton. First I won the Class competition, then won the School competition, then went on to I think the City competition. Then now one word haunts me till this day -- "BARBELLATE". If there is one word that would send shivers down your spine if you ever heard it again, for me it's THAT word...

Spelling somehow always came easy to me. I never got a not perfect score on a spelling test. To me, what's so hard about remembering how things are spelled, or memorizing thousands of words? I-before-E-except-after-C, right? *hehe* It's very funny actually, how one of my biggest pet peeves remains to be misspellings. Really makes me cringe, especially when I'm not at liberty to bring it to someone's attention. I can't even bear it when I make a typographical error -- when your finger hits the wrong key by accident and your eye doesn't catch it! Exasperating.

I almost didn't make it past the School competition, by the way. The judges wanted me to spell "premiere", but I spelled it "premier". And they said it was incorrect. So I stood there with a look that a dog gives when it's bewildered about something. You see, at the International School where I spent my early childhood, that is the spelling that I was familiar with. So I begged to differ, rushed to a dictionary, showed it to my 8th grade teacher, then the decision was reversed.

So for the next level of competition, I was given this thick booklet full of words that I was supposed to study. My mom just drilled me a few pages at a time over the next few weeks, and at the end I ended up memorizing them all. INCLUDING that goddamn word we dare not speak of. I didn't go so far as learning word origins and alternate pronunciations, though -- that's for Nationals, which I didn't get to.

So in City, I came in third. So end of the road for me. Because I misspelled that infamous word. You see, you cannot go back when you have already uttered a letter. It was plain over-confidence that caused my stupid error. As soon as the judges gave me the word to spell, it immediately shone up in big bold letters in my head. All I had to do was SAY THE LETTERS. I was like, no way, this is too easy! So I spell it quickly -- "B-A-R-B-A...shit". Of course I didn't say the last part aloud up at the mic. I stopped right there and started walking off, before the judges could say "I'm sorry, but that is incorrect"... in fact you could tell how upset I was with myself when footage of the competition was aired on the evening news (don't know if my folks still have that tape, me storming off the stage *hehehe*). I think the judges knew when I knew that I messed up. And do you know what the winning word was??? RHEUMATISM. Unbelievable.

So even now as an engineering professional, when design documents and communications are filled with TLAs & FLAs (three-letter and four-letter acronyms) and abbreviations, I can pride myself on still being able to spell without the aid of a spell-checker :)