sunsetting the parents

my time at the retirement community is coming to a close. thank god.


after the Big Move on monday, my parents' new house - which i had earlier derided as cheaply constructed and pretty gross - is looking a lot better, now that it's filled with their furniture (far too much furniture, but that's another story). it's actually borderline cosy. yes, it's not the beautiful, spanish-style home that they left behind, but i discovered a joy of new construction - this joint is as tight as a drum. it heats up quickly and you can actually sit in the house without 3 sweaters and a coat and scarf on. (that is, if your mom doesn't leave the doors and windows open when it's 40 degrees out to "air out" the smell of her cooking.) most of the boxes that should be unpacked are unpacked, and we've even cleared the boxes from the foyer and kitchen. 


my parents went from a four-bedroom, three-level house with more rooms than they could use to a house that is 1000 square feet smaller. there's one thing to be said about downsizing, and that is, just stop with the junk collection already. stop now, while you're in your 30s or 20s or 40s, before you get too old to lift boxes of your own crap into the back of a truck. junk is especially junky when covered with 30 years of dust. your children will not want your collection of beer steins or russian nesting dolls. if you haven't seen that brass korean hot pot vessel in a decade, chances are that you didn't miss it and won't miss it if you throw it out. ditto your college textbooks and that hi-fi system from 1993. my dad retained a box full of VHS tapes, despite the fact that they no longer have a VCR. this is the kind of thing that makes me, who has moved no less than six times in the past two years and faces yet another international move in a month, absolutely batshit crazy. i have thrown out enough clothing, shoes, grooming items and household crap to clothe, decorate and makeover a small country and its inhabitants. please stop with the junk. you don't need another vase or box of records. if your parents try to lob shit off on your, tell them "hell-to-the-no" and offer to drop it off at salvation army. 


in preparation for this move, we made three trips to salvation army and one trip to the dump. we will make at least one more trip to good 'ol salvation army and another to the dump, and i argue that they still have far too much crap. but, it's their place, and although it's stuffed to the gills with furniture and multiple dish sets and plants, i guess i can stop harping. when i own my own home, which will be so sparsely furnished with crap you won't be able to cook or bandage a wound, then i guess i can talk. being mobile has the polarizing effect of making you hate stuff and making you really want a place to call home and park your grill and cuisinart. i look forward to it with a combination of fear and anticipation.


i return to civilization early tomorrow morning, and i can't friggin wait.

homey loo

finally getting a handle on this jetlag. arrived home last week, and have conducted a rather extensive food tour of my favorite spots since the plane touched down. tartine, immediately after the airport. (a big shopping break at jeremy's - armani jacket and gucci sweater, 3 pairs of shoes.) pho for lunch at ao sen on e12th. dins with the village, korean bbq. since then, we've conquered more vietnamese, da bi no at my pah pah's house, tonight is burritos. me and grandma. it's on. right now she's getting her grub on with the almond chocolate pocky we bought her yesterday.

besides my tummy, the doggie has been benefiting rather nicely from my return. walks twice a day, nighttime runs. she seems to appreciate it. the cat, another story. her fat ass is so plumpy for the generous hand my mom has with her food. she's only getting one scoop a day from me, and she's not happy about it. she's wearing so much fat under her fur, she looks like a plushy snow leopard. without the fast and agile part.

saturday was lively. met up for dinner with former work peeps and their extended friends. drinks at casanova - $19 for a guinness, a pbr, a shot of jim beam, a sapphire tonic, and a belvedere cran? we're going back! - went for a couple hours, bumped into another few coworkers, then off to some lame joint in the marina. i promptly got rejected for my lack of ID (damn it. driver's license no longer lives in the wallet! no need for it in china) so jenn and erik and i sought out irish coffees at perry's. heavy on the irish, my friends. very very heavy. we almost couldn't finish them. jenn swears the guy used one shot of espresso for the three of us.

after perry's we headed late-night to the aquarium. running around at 4 am in the aquarium? petting the sea turtle. having giant sea bass swim up to us. the touchpool with starfish and abalone and anemone! sticky tentacles.

btw - i love berkeley bowl. about $100-worth of love.