Monday, October 25, 2010

on being an uncle

I just found out my cousin Hui-Lin and his wife have recently welcomed their first child. There is nothing more precious than bringing a new life into the world. I'd like to congratulate the couple and wish them all the best for the future.

I'm aware that their little boy is technically my first cousin once removed. However, Chinese people often refer to children of cousins as nephews and nieces, hence my use of the term "uncle."

In other news...

On a similar note, my cousin Tom and his wife Sarah are also expecting a baby boy next month. I'm really happy for the them as well. Our family just keeps getting bigger.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

got my master's degree

Today was the graduation ceremony at St. Mary's College of California. I can hardly believe I've completed my master's degree in financial analysis. Time certainly flies.

It was raining heavily in Moraga, but that wasn't an issue as we were mostly indoors. The commencement was held inside the St. Mary's Chapel. In a departure from tradition, the orchestra didn't play "Pomp and Circumstance" as is usually done. After we were seated, the associate dean gave a speech and congratulated us before giving us our diplomas.

All of us then headed to the nearby activity center for the reception. I got to hang out with my classmates for the last time and eat lots of food. It was also nice to meet everyone's families. There goes the afternoon!

Now that I'm done with graduate school, I should probably continue working on my CMPS 101 and CMPE 107 assignments. In the meantime, I've posted pictures and a video of the commencement on Flickr.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

turned 25 today

I'm now a quarter of a century old. It's hard to believe how fast time has gone.

Given our current financial situation, I didn't plan anything for my birthday this year. On the other hand, my aunt Cynthia insisted that we have lunch at her house. Connie was away in San Diego, but Cathy was home. Things couldn't have worked out better. Be sure to check out the pictures from our lunch.

I received a few presents, starting with a $100 check from Cynthia. Dad gave me a book called What Every Body is Saying by former FBI agent Joe Navarro. Though I've only read a few chapters, the book is really interesting so far. I also got six dress shirts from my mother. There are no words to express my gratitude. I'm blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

As per tradition, here are three random facts about my childhood:

  1. I once thought babies were conceived by making out.
  2. Super Mario World was one of the first video games I ever played. I was so obsessed with it that I pretended I was Mario, Dad was Yoshi and Mom was Princess Peach!
  3. I had an orange toy hammer that I loved as a kid. It had a nickname: Doji.

October 11 update: One of my landlady Connie's daughters must have told her about my birthday because Connie bought me a small lemon cake. I'm guessing it was Anika as she had posted on my Facebook wall. The cake looks really good. Thanks, Connie!

In other news...

1. I attended the closing reception at St. Mary's College a week ago. It was just an awards presentation, but the lunch was delicious. Click here for the pictures.

2. Mom recently started her own blog and could use some subscribers. She mostly writes essays and articles about her art projects, although there are some recipes. The blog is in Chinese but should work through a translator.

Update: Mom has decided to shut down her blog due to people plagiarizing her articles. Sorry about that. :-(

Currently playing: Epic Battle Fantasy 3