The end of the world

The movie 2012 gave us a pretty good idea of the disaster described in the Mayan Apocalypse in a very graphic and dramatic way. When the movie was released in 2009, I put the idea to the back of my mind thinking we still had a few more years.

So as we approached closer to December 21th, 2012, my emotions changed. Would it happen or not? I was not ready to die whether from disease or natural disaster, sadly, we would not be in the small group who survived, no matter how good and deserving we had been.

The day before the said apocalypse was a normal working day. After work, I went to the gas station to fill up my tank, thinking if the disaster did happen, at least I had a full tank of gas so we could run away in my car. 

Delivery at the door

Jack needed to replace the ice cream machine's wooden bucket as it was worn out over the years. After a long time researching for different options and talking with the welder, he came to a decision to try a modified beer keg as a replacement. So he ordered the beer keg online, and it was to be delivered on a cloudy Friday by Fedex.

Whenever there was an important delivery like this one, Jack became pretty anxious starting at the beginning of the day. Since we live on the coast, we were almost always the last stop for Fedex, so patience was required.

Before we left for the 3 Zero Cafe for a hearty lunch, Jack called Fedex to check on the status, and was instructed to leave a note at the door authorizing Fedex to leave the delivery at the door in case they came when we were out.

When we came back from lunch, the note was still there, untouched, covering the center of our L.L. Bean coastal theme Christmas wreath. So we went back to work and continued to practice our patience.

Time went by slowly and it was dark outside, so it felt like it was late in the day all afternoon. Needless to say Jack checked online for the delivery status every so often, and at 4:30 PM, the status was changed to "left at the door". He checked but there was nothing at the door.

Very annoyed, he grabbed his jacket and took off to look for his delivery.

Finally Jack came back with his precious delivery, and said: "they left it at Tim's porch!"

May I add that this was not the first time Fedex conveniently delivered our packages to our neighbor Tim's door, because his door was right off the path and much more visible.

Jack's new beer keg unscratched

Frozen broccoli with cheese

For years I took pride in making tasty stir-fried vegetables and many different home-made Chinese dishes. I never understood the idea of frozen vegetables, and didn't have the slightest interest to try them.

Back in July when I prepared to go to South Carolina for a week-long silence retreat, I went to the grocery store to buy some food for Jack so he didn't have to spend too much time cooking yet could still eat something healthy. Granted he is a good cook for Holiday meals, during the year, he spends most of his time by the computer, reading or watching movies.

I picked up some frozen Brussels Sprouts, frozen spicy chicken wings and frozen broccoli with cheese thinking perhaps they were more nutritious than canned soup. And Jack is probably better acquainted with them than me, since he is an American boy growing up in Michigan.

The frozen foods were left in the freezer for the next few months untouched.

One night in October, I decided to eat the frozen broccoli. I opened the bag, put the content in the frying pan, and cooked it in medium heat for 20 minutes while stirring it patiently, just as it was mentioned in the instruction. I even spiced it up with salt and pepper. The efforts to cook this frozen broccoli was no less than cooking fresh vegetables.

At dinner, Jack took a bite of the broccoli, looked at me quizzically, and said: "This doesn't taste good." He had a couple of bites, then went to the kitchen to find something else more edible. I couldn't help but laughed. This is probably the only time when I wasn't saddened when someone criticized my "cooking".

Workout

Among the many benefits of exercising, a notable one to me is it gives me a peace of mind. 

Human being is not designed to be sitting at the desk for 8 hours a day, and then sitting some more to watch TV at night. Over a few years, one can develop stiff neck and back, carpal tunnel disease, premature slouching, or worse, weigh gain. So we were told that we should go and do some exercises at least 3 times a week, e.g. Swimming, running on a machine, or some stretching exercises such as yoga or Pilates, to stay in a reasonable health.

Jack and I had been trying to keep up with our every other day workout regiment, and we reward ourselves with a nice steam bath afterwards. Then we can sit to watch the all episodes of The Big Bang Theory in the right order without guilt or reservations.

Hunger Games

I hate this movie. I hate the book. I didn't even pass the second paragraph. I cannot accept the idea of making children killing each other until one person remains. It is so wrong and unacceptable. What kind of sick person would write something like this and how can so many enjoy it?

The book is morally wrong. It doesn't matter how magnificent the movie is, as I can't watch it without being sick.

Do something, anything!

I was having coffee with Jack this morning, and we talked about the government again, and he said I should blog about my opinions. Even though I don't usually post my more serious opinions, I thought I give it a try.

Our constitution should be changed so that no political party be allowed to take the government and the people hostage as a political game. It is OK to have constructive debates about what methodologies are theoretically better for the country, but the time allowed for debate should not be exceeding a reasonable period, such as 2 weeks. After that, someone, such as the executive branch of the government, should be allowed to implement its proposal. Doing something is better than not trying at all.

We can't allow the two political parties to play tug of war, while millions of citizens are struggling to get by.

It is like my job. When I am working on a customer issue, I do all of my investigations, and propose a solution.  It is unacceptable for me to spend my sweet time without coming up with any kind of resolution. This is how I can keep my job.

We yearn for politicians who take ownership and responsibility for the country over power and individual gain!