Who Dat

Not too much craziness happened in February, except for two family medical emergencies. Connor got the stomach flu and was vomiting and had diarrhea for two weeks and lost about 2 1/2 pounds of weight and Grandma Hong ended up in the ER at UCSF because of a possible blood clot in her right leg.

Connor’s trip to the Pediatric ER at CPMC was just concerns of his lack of urination and his ongoing fever. Doctor’s were able have him drink enough fluids that he was able to urinate so they discharged him within a few hours. It took about another week after his discharge for him to get over his vomiting and diarrhea. But the little guy has been pretty resilient and has probably gained all his weight back. He’s got his chubby cheeks (both on his face and on his bottom) back now!

Grandma Hong had pain in her right leg when she got up off the couch, but thought she just strained her calf muscle on a Tuesday. But by Thursday, she was having some really bad pain and there was bruising and some swelling of her right foot. On Friday, she said it felt better, but by Saturday afternoon, it hurt so bad she couldn’t walk without discomfort. Elaine’s boyfriend Ed, who’s a plastic surgeon, looked at Grandma’s leg and thought it looked like she had a clot. We took her to UCSF’s ER and sat there for almost 5 hours before she was seen and it was another 2 hours before her first ultrasound on her leg. We ended up going upstairs to use the higher def ultrasound machines and they didn’t find a clot, but based on what they saw, they believe she had a cyst and that it had burst, hence the bruising and fluids. Some codeine and feet elevation for a week seems to have resolved that problem and Grandma Hong is up and about, none the worse for wear!

On the personal front, Femmie, Connor and I had a late Valentine’s Day buffet brunch at the Garden Court located inside the Palace Hotel. Nice, relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere and the servers there were very courteous and nice. I had a few glasses of champagne while Femmie and Connor stuck to orange juice. It’s not too bad there and most of the food was pretty good. The ribeye with horseradish sauce and oysters on the half shell were two of the more memorable items I consumed, while the grilled mahi mahi was a bit dry, probably from sitting inside the chafing dishes for a little while.

We also did our annual Oscar’s party at my former boss’ house when I was at Oracle. Loren and Philip were great hosts and we all had a great time. I finished midpack in the Oscar’s vote though, but it was expected since I hadn’t seen many of the movies that were under consideration. The surprise hit of the year was Slumdog Millionaire winning 8 awards from the Academy. Guess I should go rent it when it’s out!

Other than that…beware the Ides of March! Well…maybe a little after the 15th of March. According to the SJ Mercury website (http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11240039?nclick_check=1), it looks like SUN Microsystems has scheduled the next set of “Reductions in Force” aka layoffs on March 23rd, but I’ve heard through the rumor mill it could be as early at March 19th. 550 in California look to be affected with 175 from the Santa Clara area, which is where my office is located. Guess we’ll see what happens. Just keep working my escalations, try not to miss updates on some that were in monitoring status (whoops…had two this week, ugh) and see what the end of March brings…

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Sun Lien Fai Lok! Sun Tai Geen Hong!

Happy Chinese New Year and welcome to the year of the Ox!

It’s been a fun day today! Connor either ate something he was not supposed to or got the stomach flu which is going around. Either way, the little guy was yakkin’ all afternoon and didn’t stop until almost 6pm this evening when he finally was able to nap a little. After an hour nap, he got up and drank a whole bottle of PediaLyte and tried to raid my bag of Ruffles chips. He also had some diarrhea as well. But he’s resting comfortably right now and seems to be none the worse for wear at this time.

On the job front, it looks like SUN Microsystems laid off 1300 people last Thursday. The goal I’ve heard is 6000 by March. Guess I’ve got a stay of execution until March when I find out whether my winning streak of surviving layoffs stays intact! It’s a tough economy out there right now with almost 10% unemployment in California and some major companies like IBM, Home Depot, GM and a few other announced layoffs today as well. I know two people I’ve worked with, Joe McCabe and Art Ness were impacted last week. If anyone needs a product technical manager lemme know!

Other than that, I wish you a happy new year and that it be happy and prosperous for you and may you also have great health in the coming year!

Today was history in the making. The inauguration of the 44th President of the United States and the first person of African American heritage to rise to the highest elected office of our country, has helped to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of all those that have lived through the struggle for civil rights.

He’s promised change and has a full docket of issues that need to be addressed from troops deployed overseas in foreign lands, helping America rise up from the social and economic troubles its in and potentially leading the charge to reduce our addiction and dependency on foreign oil and helping the planet out to boot. And I don’t envy the trials and tribulations he and his team will have to go through. It seems like daunting work akin to a mole moving a mountain, but he gives hope that things can and will change for the better in this great nation of ours and that his message of public service may make that quote possible in that MILLIONS of moles CAN move that mountain.

Congrats to you Mr. Obama and may you be able to achieve all the goals you’ve set forth for your administration and hopefully we’ll all unite together say, “Yes I can!” to change!

The specialty, as the restaurant’s name implies, is steak. However, it’s not just ANY kind of steak. It’s Wagyu brand meat. Kobe beef, as it is commonly known. Before I describe it, let me tell you what Rich ordered. He had the prime rib and liked it. He had wanted it the last time, but tried a sampler of three or four meats before and was stuffed. This time he warned us not to fill up on bread. He was right.

Happy 2009! May old acquaintances never be forgot and the lottery will be mine! Wait…that isn’t how the song goes does it?
Been slacking a bit as of late, but can ya blame me? I was one of the lucky few at work who got the entire winter shutdown off through to new years. Granted I’m almost maxed out on accrual of vacation time and even taking 4 days off in December, I checked my email this morning and saw that I got another warning that I was hitting my limit again!?!?  How da hell does it accrue so damn fast???

And how did I squander the time my manager gave me? Sleep…blessed sleep…and going to the zoo with Femmie and Connor, hosting our annual Xmas dinner at the house, getting the Camry serviced, getting my back worked on, helping a friend with fried memory on their computer (warning kids…do not put your computer in front of a heating vent and don’t forget to blow or suck out all the dust bunnies lest they superheat your memory sticks!!), paid the bills, and FINALLY completing the last level on Command and Conquer Red Alert 3!!! Still on the “To do” list are installing a new light switch so we can adjust the brightness in our bedroom and to get the central heating upstairs fixed, a haircut, catching up on my comics and another chiropractic adjustment.

I also (finally!) uploaded new pics of Connor. Yeah yeah…these were taken back at the end of October!?!?! Been pretty busy with work and finally got around to doing the things I needed to do.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92964061@N00/sets/72157612025840485/show/with/3161345746/

Hope this brings a smile to your faces!

2008 was a tough year and 2009 doesn’t look too cheery to begin with either. SUN is planning on announcing layoffs in January 2009 (unofficial scuttlebutt sez 22nd or 29th) and it won’t be a “peanut butter” layoff. Yes…there are descriptions for the types of layoffs/Reductions in Force/Career Readjustments/Resource Shifting and Reallocation/whatever you want to call it to hopefully not make it more painful psychologically for people. For those not in the know a “peanut butter” layoff means that it won’t be spread evenly across all groups. From the scuttlebutt, it’ll be targeted at certain groups. Probably those that won’t be part of the corporate portfolio for products and services, those that aren’t meeting their goals or targets for generating revenue or future revenue and those that aren’t revenue generators or consume more revenue than they either create or save. The only confirmed piece is that approximately 18% of the global workforce will be impacted. We’ll see if I’ll be making a career adjustment in the coming month.

So all of you have seen me cheering the praises of the annual Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt Daisy and Uncle Robert’s house in this blog before and this year’s meal and festivities (Thanks Al and Tracy for the bingo prizes year after year!) was no exception. But unfortunately, like all good things, the yearly gathering after a 35 year run is coming to an end. My uncle and aunt informed the family that this was the last year that they’d be hosting because the amount of time and energy to host this event are taking their toll and that they are retiring the chef’s hat this year.

Hopefully someone will be able to take up the mantle of Thanksgiving host for next years family gathering, similar to what Femmie and I’ve done with hosting the annual Xmas party after my mom passed away.

So raise your glasses in salute to Aunt Daisy and Uncle Robert for their 35 year run and give thanks for the bountiful food, drink and merriment that they’ve provided to us for Thanksgiving and that they continue to help us celebrate Thanksgiving for many more years to come!

That’s how old Connor is today! He’s starting to babble a bit more, but still nothing I would call coherent communication…sorta like my dad. And speaking of my dad, the man is really really losing it at times. A number of things have me questioning how in touch he is with reality. So what happened? My dad had asked me who I planned on voting for in the election. I had stated that I was going to choose Barack Obama. While there were many qualities I had in common with McCain, I thought that the current direction that the United States needed to change. In order to effect that change, we needed someone who could effect that change. He however, would not tell me who he was planning on voting for and that it was his big secret. So after the election, I asked him again who he voted for and got the same answer. My step-mom said that he probably voted for McCain at which point dad started speaking “loudly” (he’s not yelling…really…he INSISTS he’s not YELLING!!!) about how important his vote was and how she had no right to tell me what his vote was and that she didn’t understand politics. I told him that he had already voted and that telling me WHO he voted for would not affect the current outcome so why not just state who he supported? He then started to tell me I didn’t understand politics. Fair enough…going forward, I don’t plan on telling him my choices for voting unless it’s an agenda I would strongly like for him to support, such as Prop V.

And before I forget, congrats to President elect Obama! It is indeed a time of change and accomplishment. Let’s hope that his presidency does indeed bring about needed change in America. With so many problems occurring at home, such as the mortgage crisis, deteriorating infrastructure, questions on energy dependence, social security and healthcare to name a few, it’s time we concentrated on things at home before trying to help other countries.

And last but not least, a belated “Thank You!” and “Happy Birthday!” jarheads for those in the Marines and armed forces serving domestically and abroad. People tend to forget that it was soldiers serving in the military who guaranteed the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States. We as citizens CAN NOT FORGET THIS, whether we lean to the left or right, are conservatives, liberals or progressives, straight or LGBT, poor or rich, Christian, Muslim or Buddhist. That those who oppose the military shouldn’t take things out on the soldiers themselves or be the object of our complaints and scorn, but on the leadership, to try and make change happen. Let us not forget the soldiers that are serving today and those that served this country of ours and who are no longer with us now.

Happy Belated Birthday Connor! You’ve hit the big Two-Oh! Connor’s growing up big and fast! It’s amazing how time flies. I still remember Connor as this little bundle that I could one arm football carry, but no longer. Now he’s running around and destroying things!
Was recently reminded that it’d been over three months since I made an entry. So what’s happened since then?

Other than the usual work and watching the economy go into a downward spiral because of the mortgage crisis, nothing too crazy or out of the normal. Just lots of work and then watching Connor after work, napping and playing with him. Dinner time has been fun watching him feed himself. What’s cool is that he’ll eat almost anything, especially if they’re veggies or fruits. He’s got a routine down now where he after he eats his dinner and washes his hands, that he’ll find someone to go into the dining room where the apples are or over to the fridge where my step-mother has watermelon, musk melon or honeydew cut up already. He’s also started to use a fork and spoon on occasion to pick up his dinner and fruits to put in his mouth. Still not speaking yet, but then Femmie and I’ve probably confused him a bit with English, Tagalog, Cantonese and Italian.

Went to Phoenix, Arizona in September with Femmie and Connor. Femmie had a massage therapists convention there and I had some vacation time to burn. Lucky for us, we missed the previous week’s temps when they were averaging 110-115 degrees a day. We got a slightly milder 95-98 degree average temp. Either way, it sure was hot for this native San Franciscan!

We also did the San Francisco Zoo annual Night Tour in September. Connor seemed to really enjoy seeing animals in the dark more than he does during the daytime. He also got to climb into the rear cab section of a SFFD ladder truck that was on display there. He seemed to really like all the radios and equipment that was in there that the firemen left for display.

As for new pictures, I’ve uploaded some of the latest here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92964061@N00/sets/72157608089941130/

I know I should have written this up sooner, but sometimes things such as the hustle and bustle of life or just plain laziness has caused me to put off this entry.

To give everyone some background and perspective, the San Francisco Board of Education has decided to terminate the JROTC program by 2009 and to end offering of credit to the program based on a "crap" vote during a board meeting on June 26, 2008. The resolution to end credits was originally shot down due to a vote deadlock on June 17, 2008. What’s interesting is that Jane Kim, one of the sponsors of the resolution was NOT present at the meeting which resulted in the deadlock. But due to some legal weaseling by Dan Kelly, a former school board member and longtime opponent of the military, he told the board that the rules don’t actually say a tie vote kills a resolution and that the rules only state that board can’t vote on the same issue a second time if a resolution loses by majority. Since a deadlock isn’t a majority, they put the vote up again on June 26, 2008. Unfortunately, two of the board members who supported the JROTC program were out of town on business on June 26, 2008, which resulted in the school board ending credits to students who take JROTC. The votes breakdown is as follows:

For Ending Credits

• Mark Sanchez, President
• Jane Kim, Commissioner
• Eric Mar, Commissioner
• Norman Yee, Commissioner

Against Ending Credits

• Kim-Shree Maufas, Vice President
• Jill Wynns, Commissioner
• Hydra Mendoza, Commissioner

So there are two things that really irk me: 1) Portrayal of JROTC as a recruiting tool and being anti-gay and 2) Termination of a program prior to having a new solution place.

First off, a little history of myself. I was in the Lowell JROTC program for all 4 years of high school. By the time of my graduation in 1988, I held the rank of Lt Col and was Battalion XO, the second highest position in the program at an individual school level. After graduation, I joined the Marines and was in it serving in the reserves for 11 years and also served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm when my unit was activated.

JROTC, while sponsored by the military, is NOT anti-gay. I knew of individuals who were gay and were in the program and I would have to say that the bonds of friendship and individual respect that were established by my predecessors and, I hope, that I instilled in my cadets was one of the fundamental building blocks in leadership development is learning to accept the differences and finding commonalities to forge an effective unit. Notice I said leadership development. Not learning how to shoot and kill. Not how to be a good little soldier. I still remember my first day as company commander and seeing all the new freshman in my class. Looking insecure, having doubts about whether they should have taken PE instead of JROTC, and wondering what they got themselves into especially when I called the room to attention and then started the rollcall telling the cadets to answer with a loud resounding "Here sir!" if I called out their name and they were present.

Right after rollcall was completed, I had my entire class sit and asked them, "What do you think JROTC is about and what are you hoping to get out of it?" Some of the responses I got were, how to shoot weapons, how to administer first aid, how to train to be a soldier. All good answers, but not the right one. It was NOT my job to steer these cadets into the military and I can vouch for all the other cadets that have gone through that none of them were actively recruiting for the military by their fellow cadets. My JOB was to instill leadership in all of the cadets so that they could be future leaders themselves. They were here to learn about responsibility, esprit de corp, motivation, teamwork and mutual respect. All things that, whether you decided to join the military or not, would be useful skills in a future career.

And it’s the mutual respect part that was a very important part of the leadership training. As a leader, you understood that respect was a two way street. It didn’t matter the color of your skin, your sex or sexual orientation, your height or width. What always mattered to me was, could you fulfill the duties of your position and could you instill leadership and teamwork in others. That type of mentality was what I learned and continue to bring with me on all aspects of my life.

One now might make the argument, if it’s not a military recruiting tool, then why did you join the Marines? Good question. While it’s true that being in JROTC can open you up to recruiters and calls from them to join, you always have the option of saying "No." No one will come over with a gun to your head and force you to join. It’s ironic, that the military is what helped keep America free and gives YOU the choice to choose to serve or not. And if the military were using JROTC as a recruiting tool, then why didn’t my long time best friend from 1st grade, the best man at my wedding, one of my son’s other godfather and my commanding officer when I was Battalion XO in JROTC, join the military? You’d think that with such similar backgrounds and such close friendship that we would have made the same choices, no? Oh wait…that’s right, JROTC taught us to think independently.

So why did I join? I signed up for the Marines as a backup in case I couldn’t find a job after college, that if civilian jobs were scarce, I’d have a plan where I’d have some means of taking care of myself. I also come from a family with military traditions. My grandfather was a general for the Nationalist forces in China before the Communist take over. My father served in the Taiwanese Air Force and Cavalry as an officer. Me, I stayed in the NCO ranks, realizing that was where I wanted to be. Being close to all the new and young Marines, helping them to understand that it wasn’t blind obedience to orders that I was looking for, but motivated individuals who wanted to take charge and be responsible for completing tasks and missions. That it was their duty to do the best job possible with the resources that they had.

So what made me quit? Married life, job responsibilities and wanting to have a bit more time to myself were all factors in my decision to leave the Marine Corps after 11 years. If I had stayed in, I would have hit 20 years this month of service.

Am I anti-gay? If I were, then why is one of the godfather’s for my son gay? I know the military has a policy of "Don’t ask, Don’t tell", but that policy doesn’t apply to JROTC and I’ve never heard of any cadet being told that they had to quit the program if they were gay or lesbian. If anything, the JROTC cadets are taught that difference is good and it’s always using your strengths and similarities, instead of your weaknesses or differences, to achieve a common goal.

Going to the second topic, what options do the current JROTC students have in regards to a leadership development course that is established and has a proven track record at this time? What? There aren’t any? We PLAN on having something within ethnic studies? I just love how the San Francisco Board of Education has thought this out. Before we have a replacement program in place, let’s get rid of the current one. That’s the plan??? So we have no proven replacement, no new track record for the new program, let alone the trained instructors and materials for the new leadership program. Who’s bright idea was that??? Don’t they relieve military personnel for that type of thinking? Don’t they fire CEO’s and VP’s for that level of preparedness? Time to vote out certain members of the school board come November?

For me, I plan to make my vote count in November’s election and any future elections. I plan on telling my friends and family which candidates I support and which ones I don’t. Will it make a difference? Maybe…maybe not, but it’s the attempt that’s important. Am I mad that they’re trying to end the JROTC program? No…just disappointed that a school program that has had such a high success rate in developing future leaders is being killed off without a replacement program in place and punishing JROTC because of it’s military sponsorship. Learning leadership is a step by step process and not something you learn in a book. The theories are there, but it’s the practical application that’s the learning experience.

As a former cadet of the JROTC program, I’m really fed up with all the attacks on the program by people who’ve never experienced the program, have preconceived notions of the program and not facts, and have made false and/or derogatory comments and statements in print and during the hearings. I’ve never heard of a cadet being kicked out due to their sexual
orientation and I’ve kept in touch with the instructors and some of the
cadets I’ve had the pleasure of serving with in my four years in the
program. JROTC is a leadership program and based on the actions of the members of the school board, I really question if any of them understand what leadership is. What kind of leader kills off a something with a proven track record of success before a new program is established? As I said, I’d be less upset if there was a viable alternative, which
STILL DOES NOT EXIST. School Board…how about a wake up call? I can
hear some of you snoozing back there…

One other comment:

"If students really love the program, they’ll take it anyway," said
board President Mark Sanchez.

Does that mean, Mr. Sanchez, that if you love your job as President of
the board that you’ll do it for free? Maybe take your salary and put it
back into the public school coffers to help the school district out? Or
is that silly, wishful thinking? Was that a quick sound bite that you
thought was a smart response? Sounds bites do bite back and that
response was flawed on so many levels.

Yeah…I’m late again on another entry for Connor. Still need to upload some of his latest photos also. But work, getting the flu and other activities have been keeping me a bit busy unfortunately.

Connor is doing well after he spent his 18 month with the flu bug. Poor kid kept vomiting and had the runs for almost a week. On a good note he spent a week down in southern California at Disneyland and California Adventures. Femmie had a massage therapist convention at the end of March down in Ontario, CA, so we decided to make it a family vacation out of it and spent the week down in Anaheim. Connor had a blast on most of the rides. His favorite was Dumbo and he loved most of the flying rides that were there. Femmie and I got him a lanyard with pins of most of the rides he rode on and also an autograph book for the Disney characters that we encountered to sign.

I think one of my favorite moments was when we went to the Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore meet and greet. Pooh didn’t impress him too much, but when he saw Eeyore, he had the expression of, "Holy moly!?!?! Yer real!?!?!" We have some Eeyore’s at home and Connor’s played with them before, but when he saw a human sized Eeyore wave and hug him, he was just astounded that this Eeyore could move on his own.

Other than that…nothing too much new to report. He’s jabbering a bit more now and he took his first art class at Gymboree two days ago. He’s in this phase where he’s more clingy and drops to the ground and starts crying when things don’t go his way, but he’s slowly learning that it won’t go his way all the time.