chocolate updates

- Yes, Chocolate now sleeps on the bed with us. Before you hygienic non-dog owners hem and haw, we put a sheet down for him to sleep on. That and we only eat off plates that he's licked clean when we're lazy. It was only a matter of time, really.
- He is terrified of thunderstorms. I once found him hiding under the clothes hanging in our closet. Last night, he tried to climb on my head when it thundered. You'd think at 65+ human years, he'd be used to lightning and thunder.
- His hair has grown back. He needs another groom soon. I've been maintaining it, so hopefully he doesn't come out looking like a chicken again.
- You can tell he needs a groom because he's gotten his paw stuck in his ear hair twice now while scratching (meaning the hair growing on his ears, not in them). I've had to untangle his paw for him.
- He has now been dog-sat by my parents and Reggie. The most recent time with Reggie went successfully. No whining or indoor accidents. I think our doggie is getting well-adjusted!

4th of july

For Independence Day weekend, Pete and I made a quick trip down to Rehoboth Beach (on the eastern end of Delaware, across from New Jersey's Cape May) where my sister and her husband rented an apartment for the long weekend. It was a quick stay for us (we left late on Friday and early on Sunday to beat traffic), but I was really happy to see my little niece. Hadynn is a such a cute, content baby (just over nine months now). She smiles constantly and waves her arms excitedly when she has anything remotely interesting in her hand.



Rehoboth Beach was packed on Saturday (a rare good, sunny day this summer) and even more packed at night for the fireworks show. Pete and I braved the still cold Atlantic Ocean and got handily tossed onto the rocky part of the beach. I think I can count the number of rainless days this summer on one hand. I hope for a few more beautiful weekends at the beach before I have to go back in September!




While we were away, Chocolate got a vacation too. He stayed with our friend Reggie (who has a catering business).Our lucky dog ate gourmet burger:

susie's wedding

Congratulations to Susie and Peter! When two psychologists walk into a bar....

One of my most memorable Christmas party memories is from two years ago when Uncle Timothy announced their engagement and popped a bottle of champagne. Uncle Timothy and Aunt Tracy looked so proud on Saturday. I am very happy for their family. Aunt Tracy was a glowing mother of the bride.

My cousin Susie was a stunning bride, and the entire wedding was thoughtful and elegant. New York's crazy June weather held out, and Saturday night was a perfect evening outdoors. The whole night passed much too quickly, and all the cousins barely had time to say hello (there are twelve of us in the States, from as far away as Honolulu and San Francisco). This is our first family wedding with grandkids, and Jordan made a beautiful, very timid flower girl. It was fun to see her, Devin, and Karina running around the dance floor. Hadynn also made an appearance and cut the rug with her mom in the baby bjorn. My personal highlight was when Pete danced with my mom. (!)

The big question asked by my aunts and uncles: "Who's next?"

I love family weddings.


The ceremony and a terrified Jordan.


Mom and dad, Viv and Hadynn.


Pete and me, Geoff and Viv and Jordan and Devin.

.
Three generations of the Chen family plus cousin Jesse, the Chen sisters.


Pete and my mom. Three generations of Lee women.


Geoff and Devin, Karina as the wise older cousin.


Uncle Timothy and Susie, Peter and Susie smooching.


The Lin Family, all the single ladies.

extracurricular teaching

Last week, my friend Rich and I (both teachers ) taught our fellow friend Kaity (also a teacher) how to ride a bike. One life goal completed. Her other life goal for the summer is to learn how to tread water. (She was a city kid who grew up without a bike.) Rich did most of the work, but I helped with the initial wobbling. Kaity learned in less than an hour!



This is my mom blogging. I taught her how to blog this weekend, and she learned pretty quickly for somebody who gets flustered by ctrl+c/ctrl+v. She's been bugging me for weeks now to help her create a platform to showcase her orchids and ikebana arrangements. You can see her new blog here. I am very proud. (This did not take less than hour.)

Next up, teaching Pete how to pick up his socks. (Numerous hours already logged.)

beer holder

Might not keep it cold, but hey, it works.

obama date night

Just in case you missed it...

The New York Times wrote a tongue-in-cheek article about the better half's response to the Obamas' date night. $24,000 be damned--it was all worth it:

From longtime marrieds-with-kids, the sounds of romance envy: Groan. Growl. Whimper. Sigh.

...

While some commentators were grousing about the presidential date’s undisclosed cost to the taxpayers, news of the romantic evening prompted many wives to glare across the breakfast table, trying to remember the last time their husbands made a fuss over them.

Elbowed sharply in the side, husbands felt betrayed by the commander in chief. On “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart reviewed the Obamas’ glamorous foray and screeched, “How do you compete with that?” He warned Mr. Obama, “Take it down a notch, dude!”

...

“And with a mother-in-law in the house?” she said. “Now that’s a real lust-corrector!” The president’s schedule posed unique marital challenges, she noted. Every day Mr. Obama has to weigh competing demands, Ms. Behar said: “Musharraf or Michelle? That’s a tougher thing for him than the average Joe. So it’s really meaningful when you watch them together.” She added, in a tone of wonderment, “He actually looks like he desires her.”

********

And here's the hilarious Daily Show clip:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Saturday Night Fever
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Economic Crisis

And Pete's response after watching the Daily Show clip together:
Pete: Hey Kitty, you're the first in my rotation. Desire.

the ephebic oath

Today I graduated from The City College of New York with a Masters of Science in Education with a specialization in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (that takes a gigantic breath to say). As a New York City Teaching Fellow, I paid almost nothing for my degree, and I'm very thankful for the opportunity to have studied at City College.

City College (or just "City") is the nation's first institution of public higher education, and I'm proud to have participated in its 163rd commencement. This year, the valedictorian of its bachelors program is a woman born to Pakistani parents, who emigrated with her family from Saudi Arabia in 2002. Just seven years later, a math genius soon to be pursuing a doctorate, she received the college's highest honor today. Her story is City's (and New York City's) classic story.

Townsend Harris, the founder of City College, said, "Open the doors to all--Let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together and know of no distinction save that of industry, good conduct, and intellect." To the extent that City College continues to honor these words today is hotly debated, but I know that for me, I had the opportunity to study with an incredibly diverse class of students that Columbia (my undergraduate alma mater twenty blocks south of City) could never claim. In my City College classes, sitting next to me were grandmothers, single parents, ex-servicemen, refugees, ex-engineers, artists, and numerous immigrants. In my classes, you were in the sore minority if you only spoke English.

In retrospect, my time at City sounds romantic (and it was not, by any means). But however much I complained about City and my program, I am lucky to have graduated from this historic institution, one that was built around a principle of not just service, but fairness.

Towards the end of commencement, we all took the Ephebic Oath (which I had never heard of until I googled it today). According to Wikipedia, the Ephebic Oath is the oath of citizenship that the young men of Ancient Athens took when inducted into the Ephebic College:

We men and women graduating from The City College of New York, do this day, after the manner of the Athenian youths of old about to enter public life take this oath of devotion to the City of New York:

we will never bring disgrace to our city by any act of dishonesty or cowardice nor ever desert our suffering comrades in the ranks;

we will fight for the ideals and sacred things of the city both along and with man;

we will revere and obey the city's laws, and do our best to incite a like respect and reverence in those about us who are prone to annul them and set them at naught;

we will strive unceasingly to quicken the public's sense of civic duty;

and thus, in all these ways, we will strive to transmit this city and not only not less but greater, better, and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.

bay ridge

Having traveled out of town the past two weekends, I stayed put in Brooklyn over Memorial Day weekend. This made for a relaxing three days in beautiful weather (before getting sick on Monday). On Saturday, I biked down to Bay Ridge to visit my friend Kaity, whose family is in the midst of moving into the neighborhood. About 60 blocks south of me, Bay Ridge occupies the blocks between the 70s and 90s, west of 4th Ave.

It being my first time in Bay Ridge, I was shocked by how little the neighborhood resembled Brooklyn (the Brooklyn I know, at least) and how much it resembled a typical Jersey or Staten Island suburb. (Saturday Night Fever was filmed here.) Kaity gave me a Bay Ridge tour (Hollywood mansions style) and showed me some of the fancier houses (owned by ex-Yankees and the Key Foods and tri-state Lexus dealership moguls). Most of these homes are on Shore Rd., which is the scenic street that faces the East River. After lunch, we walked along the 69th Street Pier and the Shore Road Promenade. According to Kaity, this was a prime make out spot when she was in high school (that and we saw a lot of fishing).

I finally understand what Kaity means when she says Bay Ridge isn't really Brooklyn. The Promenade is a beautiful, well-kept secret. I'll be back!



The last house is affectionately called the "Gingerbread House" by locals and was built in 1917. I'm somewhat obsessed with it now.

mr. and mrs. wally

"You know how they say we only use 10 percent of our brains? I think we only use 10 percent of our hearts."

Here comes wedding season! Three more to go.

Congratulations to Meredith and Wally for a beautiful wedding! It was very exciting to be a part of a D.C. wedding (historic cathedral, stop-off at the Washington Monument, reception near the National Mall). So many of our friends from Pete's high school days were there to celebrate. A very good time was had by all (maybe too good of a time for some).

Pete was Wally's best man. They go way back to seventh grade band class (Pete played first chair saxophone, too funny). They have been close friends (and co-conspirators) ever since. I'm proud of Pete. He did a great job (and looked handsome in a tux!).

chocolate redesigned

It was only a matter of time.

Pete branded Chocolate! Now we have to keep our doggy groomed this way. I love it--imagine the key chain and T-shirt potential! Too cute.

march into may

I've been so busy that I haven't been able to fully process everything that's happened since the end of March. So instead, before I forget, here are some random memories in no particular order.

Happy Mother's Day! I went home this weekend, along with the entire family. Hadynn surprised her A-po with a card.



Viv and Geoff took Jordan and Devin to Disney World a few weeks earlier. After some initial, glorious shock, Jordan and Devin quickly recovered and had a wonderful time. Jordan also turned four last week!




We finally groomed Chocolate. A very loving, meticulous groomer named Esther made a house call to our apartment. Two hours later, no longer matted, was a brand new Chocolate. He kind of looks like a chicken.



Towards the end of March, a fellow teacher and I coached our school's first ever in-school Model United Nations conference. The kids replayed the April 22, 1994 U.N. Security Council meeting that debated the Rwandan Genocide. I was super proud. Plus, a picture of us teachers after a week's hard work.



I love Brooklyn in spring time.



The community garden on 15th St. and 6th Ave.

welcome home

"What time did you get home?"
"Around 5."
"Peter picked you up?"
"Yup."
"He drove you home?"
"Yes, mom."
"I called Peter by the way."
"I know. He told me."
"You didn't call or email."
"I did. I emailed when I got there."
"Did Peter clean the apartment for you?"
"Yes! It was so nice when I walked in! He pretended like it was a big mess."
"Oh, that's good. He did the dishes?"
"Yup."
"He vacuumed?"
"Yup."
"You're not lying, right?"
"Jeez, mom. He even washed the dog."
*pause*
"I was going to call him to tell him to do that."
"To do what?"
"To clean the apartment."
"Oh."
"But then I thought it'd be a good test."
"A test? What does he need a test for?"
"Of course he does. Anyway, he passed."

****

Currently writing a thesis. Will post Peru pictures and stories next week--the trip was incredible.