Graduation

I know, the entries come in streaks. That's because, these days, I never know when I'm going to have a period of time when I can actually sit down in front of the laptop at home for a decent stretch and do this. Lina actually went down earlier tonight. Liz and I are spending some much-needed quality alone time together - her in front of the desktop fifteen feet across the living room and me in front of the laptop on the dining room table. haha. One of the biggest lifestyle changes since becoming parents is not to being able to surf the "internets" at will. So we're getting our fix now.

Anyway, I flew up to Berkeley on Friday for the day to attend my kid sister Joanna's graduation at Cal. I call her my kid sister because she's a whole decade younger than me. I actually remember the day she was born, her crying a lot as a baby, and growing up as a toddler. I remember, like it was yesterday, when she graduated from elementary school. She was wearing this funny-looking poofy dress that my mom probably bought from Japan, and she got to go on stage at Baldwin Stocker Elementary School because she won some prize. She has always been a nerd! Let's not talk about high school graduation because that seems like two seconds ago.

Anyway, she did it again - graduated with high honors at Cal, and got to wear a fancy tassle or rope (or something) and had her name listed separately in the program. No pics yet, I'll post one when my brother uploads them. Anyway, very proud of her. She also got some grant to go study in NYC and Poland this summer, with a bunch of PhD students. I don't know the exact topic, but it has something to do with the Holocaust. Btw, she is a History Major with a Jewish Studies minor. Funny story - a professor from Cambridge, where she studied last summer, asked her, "why is an Asian American girl from California so interested in Jewish Studies?" My mother asks the same thing, but I think it's a fascinating subject matter and it's cool that Joanna has the intellectual curiosity and thirst to pursue this field of study. My parents just worry that history majors won't be able to pay the rent. And I'm jealous that she'll be traveling through NY and Europe this summer to study and play. I remember doing my first backpacking trip in Europe right after college. I'll never willingly live in a hostel again (for vacation), but I'm glad I did it. It's a very special time. Anyway, congrats, Joanna! Before you find your full-time job, I think it would help your resume if you came over here and "interned" as a nanny/night nurse. = )

In just a few weeks we'll be attending my sister-in-law Eunice's graduation also! It's graduation and wedding season, alright. It's summertime...