invisible

The other day I had the weirdest experience. I went to my local Subway to get dinner. So I walked in, and stood behind the father and son that were in the process of having their sandwiches made.

There was only one person at the counter, so I just stood there.

Then a different guy came out from the back and rang up the father and son. Then he went back into the back room. I figured at that point he was in charge, and had some big, important job to do in the "back".

So I stood there.

And I do want to take this opportunity to pat myself on the back - I was pretty patient. I didn't try to look like I was in a hurry. I didn't sigh, fold my arms, or tap my foot. I just stood there.

At this point, a couple walked in the store, and got in line behind me. And we all stood there.

Then, in a truly surreal moment, the guy from the "back" came out to the counter. He walked up to the couple behind me, that just walked in, and asked what he could start for them.

As I continued to stand there, I was a little bit incredulous that he didn't even acknowledge me, and started their sandwiches.

I looked at him, then looked at them. I looked back at him, then at them.

At this point, there was an entire inner-dialogue that I won't bore you with, but it did involve a selection of words, and whether I should say them...And I didn't say any of them. I'm SO proud of myself. :)

Suddenly, the guy at the counter looked right at me, and asked "are you with them?" Meaning, the father and son that were leaving, and at this point standing about 20 feet away from me. I answered "nope". And he proceeded to apologize profusely for not helping me. Everything ended up fine, and all's well that ends well.

This whole episode got me to thinking. At certain points in our country's history, there were entire groups of people that were treated the exact same way that I was. They were invisible.

Even today, people that don't fit into our same social groups or in our same social-economic group, sometimes they are invisible. It made me think about if I've ever walked downtown and treated a homeless person as if they are invisible. Then it made me think about if I've ever treated ANYONE else as if they are invisible, for any reason.

I'm sad to say that I'm sure I have at some point or another.

I have vowed to take this encounter with invisibility, and make it ensure that I never treat anyone else as invisible. No matter what.

Here's to being blind to status and anything else that we use to judge others.
K

moon cake

This is a moon cake.

I teach piano to a 76 year-old Vietnamese man.

Today he gave me a moon cake. And he told me to eat it with my mom.

...

I've got to be honest, I really do not know the significance of the moon cake. And, since the wrapper is totally written in Vietnamese, except for "moon cake", I can't even find out.

I do know that on August 15th, Vietnam has a Fall Festival, and it is an almost universal holiday to celebrate the past successful harvesting season. People chip-in offerings, and families gather together to celebrate. I just learned this from Vietnam Online. :)

So I'm guessing that his gift of moon cake is a celebration of Fall festival. But really the amazing thing in this story is that he is still excited to learn. We have a lesson every week, and he almost never misses. Except last week, because he was in the hospital. HOSPITAL!

But, this week we were back at it, counting out rhythms, and learning new musical terms like triplet.

I can only hope that I am as dedicated to something, and determined to excel at it when I am 76.
K

UPDATE: My roommate from college just posted on my Facebook page about the moon cake. She is an English teacher living in China now, but she did live and work in Vietnam for 8 years. She says:



"I just peeked at your blog and saw the part about the mooncake. Yummy lard. :) I'm not so fond of the preserved egg in the middle, but I like the lotus paste. The legend is that a mortal woman offended the gods by desecrating a banyan tree. It grew up around her, pushing her up to the moon and leaving her there as punishment. Children light lanterns every mid-autumn festival to light her way home."

Thanks Kim for the firsthand knowledge and cultural information. It makes that lard taste so much better! :)

another reason why I love my dad

After graduating from the University of Georgia and living in Athens, GA for 10 years, I am still a huge GA football fan. Today I had some things I had to do and since I don't get ESPN at my house, I wasn't able to watch the game. UGA is playing South Carolina, and Dad is texting me updates on the game.For example:

SC drives for a TD. 38-35. 3:30 to go.

Hold on. Murray throws a 40 yd TD! 45-42. 2:15 to go.

These are the texts I'm getting as Dad is watching the game, and keeping me up to the second on all the big plays. As much as I'm saying "Go Dawgs!", I'm saying "Thanks Dad for taking the time to text me all the big drives and scores".

He's a great dad, but this just puts him over the top.
Thanks Dad!
K

adventurous saturday

Wow! Today was about as much adventure as I would want to have on a Saturday. A fun day overall, but definitely not an everyday thing.

First, I slept in this morning. It was my reward for surviving the first full week at school. And the week was good, but I needed the rest.

Then I met my friend Jenn for breakfast. We went to the North End Diner and the biscuits and gravy were AWESOME! We both had the biscuits and gravy platter, and oh my word I cannot say enough good things about it.

Then I went over to the hockey rink, because the older nephew (7 years old) was playing in an in-line hockey tournament today. It was a pretty big deal to him, so I wanted to watch at least one of his games. Here he is at a face off:

And then, because I was taking pictures of the older nephew, the younger nephew (3 years old) wanted me to take a picture of him. Here HE is:

Thank you for that.

Then I watched some more hockey.

This was the view for a good bit of today. I think we might have to have a talk about finding some more "gettin' up and goin'" after the puck...


After that game I left the arena and was going to go home, but I called Mom and she said her vet's office was having a big open house, and the little nephew was in the bounce house. This was not to far from my house, so I stopped by.

There were HUGE iguanas there:

And there were snakes. Nana was NOT to thrilled about the snakes, but little nephew and I got right up close and he petted the "fat" yellow snake (a Burmese Python, for any of you who were wondering):

And then they got him all dressed up in a surgery suit - exactly what they wear to do surgeries:

And then he got to do a surgery on a teddy bear:

Someone needs to have a talk with that teddy bear - nephew pulled 2 balloons, a screw, and a nail out if his tummy!


After that Nana took nephew back out to the bounce house, but I had to head home and take a nap - this day wore me out! There's nothing quite like a day with family.

K :)
PS. I want to have a scrub suit like that...

laughter

This weekend, I laughed.

Not just laughed, but laughed until I cried, and couldn't breathe, and had tears streaming down my face.

The most memorable time was while listening to Car Talk - the NPR program featuring Tom and Ray Magliozzi answering questions about cars. But the guys like to laugh, and laugh they did. One of them was reading a "Washington Post Invitation-style thing", where readers were invited to propose ways to make modern life harder than it needs to be.

I don't remember all of them, but here's a couple:

Replace the computer mouse with two Etch-a-Sketch knobs.
Drive-on-the-left-side-of-the-road Thursday.
ATMs require a urine specimen.
All pills must be suppositories.
Bicycle-pedaled flush toilets.
Sell tires only in multiples of seven.
HOV use now requires three humans, a dog and a family of chickens.

Well.

The one about the ATM got me really laughing, but the one about the HOV lane really got the guys laughing. And then they got to laughing so hard that they couldn't even talk to each other. Not great news for a RADIO show.

Then one of them started making a high-pitched wheez-y noise as he gasped for breath. And then that noise got me laughing even harder.

Finally, I had to pull over to the side of the road, and turn off the radio just to be able to breathe again.

...

I'm chuckling right now, just remembering it.

Well I said all that to say this: It sure feels good to laugh. To laugh deep, and to laugh long, and sometimes to have a hard time stopping the laughter. My mom says that good laughter is like aerobics for your heart.
In that case, I am SO heart healthy...

Here's to good laughter.
K

friendship

I am going to take this opportunity to be thankful for my friend, Beth. She writes a blog too, and you can read it here. But today is to say how much I appreciate Beth.

We got together this week for coffee, and just talked. Not unusual for us, but the last time we did this was...

...

...

a year ago??? It's hard to believe that we haven't really spent too much time together in a year. Wow.

But, that's one of the things that I like about Beth. No, not that we don't spend time together, silly! It's that whenever we DO spend time together it is like we do it all the time. I appreciate her candor, and I know that if she thinks I'm off on something she will tell me. And we are real.

I think that this is the definition of a true friend. That you can not have to be together all the time,and still be real with one another. That you enjoy spending time together, whether it is on a regular basis, or on a MUCH more occasional basis than regular. That you can feel free to admit to your shortcomings, or struggles, and be secure that you will be corrected but still loved and comforted.

Thanks for the coffee, Beth, and let's do it again. Soon!
K

high drama

Yesterday I went to an opera. To be fair, as a music teacher it's kind of in my job description. But this time was not for me, but to support one of my students. She is in a summer intensive and the performance yesterday morning was the culmination of their work composing, writing, rehearsing and performing. It really was a great performance, and I enjoyed it very much. Then, to finish out the camp, they all go to the opera. I've gone before, and my student's mom loved having someone along to enjoy the student performances and the opera with her. It's nice to go with someone who is relishing it as much as yourself.

We saw "Carmen", and it was performed by the Central City Opera. It was fabulous!!! I can't say enough great things about the fantastic performance. Here's a picture, courtesy of the Central City Opera website:

Carmen: Central City Opera, 2011. Photo by Mark Kiryluk

Playing the role of Carmen was Kirstin Chavez, and playing the role of Don Jose was Jon Burton. These are the people in the above picture. They were FANTASTIC! The whole performance was amazing. Even though I have been in 3 operas and have attended several more, this was outstanding, and possibly one of the best. Oh, the DRAMA!

And, considering that Carmen was written in 1873 and first performed in 1875, it amazes me that the stories and lessons learned are still applicable today. Relationships haven't changed a whole lot since then. Carmen is a story about two people and the course their relationship takes. There are good times, but there are rough times too, and (spoiler alert!) even love is not able to overcome all, because Carmen is killed in the end.

I was moved, and very impressed by the stellar performances put on by the entire cast. Central City did a wonderful job, and I would highly recommend their opera season to anyone who is so inclined to be taken on a fascinating journey.
K

vacation

So, I just got back from California.

It was a lovely trip, and sunburn notwithstanding, I'm not sure how it could have been better.

Mom and Dad at Moss Landing State Beach

We started on the the coast, a little bit south of San Francisco. Moss Landing is between Santa Cruz and Monterey. It's right on the water, and fishing is BIG business here. Maybe that's why the food at our lunch spot was so good. We ate at Phil's Fish Market, and oh my land I could eat there everyday. They WON Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and I think we all know why. I would fly out there now, just to eat there again.

Phil's Fish Market: hard to find, but easy to eat their awesome food.

The next day we went to San Francisco. And we outdid ourselves on the tourist agenda. Not to mention we took my Auntie Carolyn with us. Carolyn is 80, but she's incredibly fun to be around. I had a great day seeing the sights, and hanging out with her.

Dad, Auntie Carolyn, and Mom at Pier 39

We went to Pier 39, ate Chowder in a Sourdough Bread bowl, and the took a driving tour around the city.

The Golden Gate bridge, socked in by fog.

We went over to the ocean, and the Cliff House. From there I could look down the coast where the boardwalk used to be. Now, it's all been developed into housing.

Where the ocean meets the city of San Francisco.

Then my dad drove us up over Twin Peaks, and because the fog had started to burn off we could see the whole city.

San Francisco, as seen from Twin Peaks.

San Francisco

Then we drove through the city, and after some shopping we drove down Lombard St.

The Cable Car that was dropping people off at the top of Lombard.

Going down Lombard: the crookedest street in America.

What a great day!

The next day we took a drive through the Napa valley, and saw all the vineyards and wineries. It was beautiful, and a relaxing day for everyone except Dad, because he drove. :)

Since our time in the bay area was done, we drove up the coast to Mendocino. Even though there was a music festival going on, we had a nice time walking around the town and looking at all the little shops there.

Mendocino coastline

Then we drove a little bit more, and stayed in Ft. Bragg for the next day. On the north coast it was gray and overcast, but that made the weather really cool and nice. It was a welcome change from the heat of the Napa Valley the day before.

The rocky beaches of Ft. Bragg.

We didn't do much in Ft. Bragg. We looked around the town, slept in, and Mom and I went hunting Sea Glass down at Glass Beach. Here's Mom with her treasures, coming back over the "difficult access".

And here's me, in front of the rocks and water.

And a fun time was had by all. :)
K

wedding

Hanna dancing with her Dad, my Uncle Mike.

Yesterday I went to a wedding.

My Mom's brother, Uncle Mike, married off his oldest daughter. And it actually was his first child to get married.

We all had a lovely time, and the two little boys were very well behaved.

My nephew Noah, dancing with Bernadette.

Hanna talking with my Dad.

In the past, there has been some family drama. (Isn't there always???) But yesterday was lovely. Everybody had a great time, everybody got along, and everybody had a great time with the rest of the family.

The Bride and Groom: Hanna and Louis.

Now, look at this next picture, and tell me that Hanna and my sister don't look like they could be sisters themselves. It's shocking!!! Angie and I look nothing alike, yet Angie and her cousin look SO much alike it is crazy. As Uncle Mike said, "It's all in the Genes."

Hanna and Louis with my sister.

Mary and Drew dancing. (He's the 3 year-old!)

My two nephews, dancing with their cousins, the bride's sisters.

I asked Noah (the 7 year-old) if he had a good time at the wedding yesterday. His response?
"Yes. It was really fun. (pause) Especially the dancing."

And a good time was had by all.
K :)

Lincoln, Nebraska

Where has the summer gone???

This is the big news of the summer so far:
2 weeks ago, about 70 of us hopped in several identical 12-passenger vans and went to Lincoln, Nebraska. There is a baby church there, and our church here in the springs wanted to support them. So, we went and did our WHOLE Vacation Bible Experience (VBX) at their church. And, we had about 6 or 8 guys that did construction or repair work around their church while the rest of us did VBX.
It was really a great week.

There were about 140 kids total that came, and only about 25 or 30 of those are affiliated with their church in Lincoln, so the rest came from the neighborhoods and community centers around there. There were 50 kids that made a decision for Christ that week, so that in itself was worth the trip. My mom went, and helped with the cooking, and it was fun to have her there, even though we only saw each other about 5 minutes a day.

Painting

Getting ready for VBX

Construction on the ceiling of their Gym

Evening service with our group, me playing the drum

Group Picture!

I had a fantastic trip, and I'm glad we went. It was worth it to encourage the Lincoln church, and most of all to see lots of lives changed for Christ.