A Bald Guy from Venice...

Every Wednesday, Abby has music / recorder class in the school.  It is taught by a volunteering parent of one of her classmate.  Abby has developed interests in music and instruments from it and I feel graceful for that.  It's kind of ironic that even though California is one of the higher income states in America, its education funding per child is one of the lowest country-wide.  Luckily through series of fundraising and volunteering, the kids can still have good exposure to different school activities.

Yesterday, during dinner, Abby told me that they learned a piece music about the swans.  I asked her if that's Swan Lake, she said she was not sure.  So I hummed some of the melody and she said, "yeah yeah, it was written by someone with beard."  I told her that that his name is Tchaikovsky, and she has heard of his other works before.  Abby's eyes were wide open and said, "no way!"  I told her it was the Nutcrackers and she was really excited.

Then, out of nowhere, Abby told me that they also listened music written by a bald guy born in Venice but she couldn't remember anything else.  I told her that she would need to give me more hints.  She thought about it and told me that the only things she could remember are something to do with birds, flowers, thunders, etc.  I asked her whether it was the Four Seasons by Vivaldi.  Then I hummed the melody of Spring to her.  She said, "yeah, yeah, that's the guy!"

A bald guy from Venice...  Hahaha...  I am sorry, Vivaldi.

Game Night

Saturday evening, my friend Craig and his wife came to visit us to return my Yankees baseball cap that I left in their car a couple of weeks ago.  Hope that's not the cause of the less than satisfying performance of Yankees these days.

When they arrived, Craig mentioned that they went to the Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival.  Though the entertainments in the festival was fun, they were not impressed with the food served there and were quite hungry.  So, I decided to take them out to dinner at one of my favorite place in San Mateo - Santa Ramen, to satisfy their Japanese food craving.

When I first came to California in 2000, I asked some of my Japanese colleagues and friends about the place to have good Japanese ramen.  Every single one of them told me that Santa Ramen was the place to be.  They said, "even though it is still a bit different, but it's as authentic as it can be in the bay area."  Santa was a very small restaurant on 8th St in San Mateo and was always crowded.  They closed whenever they ran out of broth, which was usually before 9pm.  They served only ramen as the entrees, which came in three choices of broth and several choices of toppings.  The food quality was, and is still superb and satisfying.  My favorite one is the pork flavor broth with stewed pork topping.  The broth is rich but not greasy, the stewed pork is fork tender, sweet and juicy.  Usually I'll also enjoy the side of karrage or grilled squid.  The only problem I have with Santa is the waiting.  The restaurant was so small that you had to wait on the street most of the time.  Luckily that they moved to a bigger location in a local plaza about 2 years ago, which provided more convenient parking and more seats.

We had three satisfying bowls of ramen.  Mine was pork flavor with stewed pork.  It was also the last bowl of stewed pork they had left that day, so I shared half of the meat with my friends.  Craig and his wife went for the basic.  As for the rice bucket Abby, as usual, a simple bowl of steamed rice plus some karrage would do just fine for her.

After dinner, we went back to my place and played some games.  Abby got a Yahtzee set on her birthday and she liked it.  We've played a couple of times before.  Abby likes it because it is one of the few games that she actually has a decent chance to win fair and square.  Yahtzee is a dice game with minimum, but not none, strategy.  I've seen people playing it on TV shows, mostly in the bar scene.  But I've never tried it until Abby got the set.  It was easy and fun.  Abby once got 4 Yahtzee's in a game, which got her all pumped up and excited.  But not this time.  :P

After a game of Yahtzee, we moved onto Blokus, the game that Craig introduced to us a while ago.  Craig has a set of Blokus Trigon with triangle bricks, ours is the classic one with square bricks.  The games were fun and also proved a point - it's as challenging playing against an expert as playing against a rookie.  Abby is like a bad neighbor who just interrupted your strategy with the most non-sense movement that didn't benefit herself at all.  Having her bricks getting closer gives everyone alarms, because that before you are aware of it, many of your plans would have been stopped because of that.  The unpredictability made Abby the most dangerous player in the game.  It also spiced things up quite a bit since others played a bit too nicely without her.

I like the board games and puzzles.  But they are usually not as much fun with only two players.  So, whenever there are friends visiting, we'd play a round or two.  Abby so far has been proven as a mean player in Blokus and Monopoly.  :)

Panthers' Closer

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Originally uploaded by Andrew Lan

This weekend, the girls in the softball team started to pitch for the first time this season and it was quite entertaining. In our youth softball league, the 8U (8 & under) division is considered a learning league. The coaches did most of the pitching to "feed" the balls to the batters. In the middle of the season, the players would start to pitch. It was quite interesting to see the reactions on both the pitchers and the batters. Instead of the relatively nice and safe pitches delivered by the coaches, they would face the wild and unpredictable pitches from their peers.

We had three girl pitchers for this weekend's game and Abby was the last one. She had some control problems to drive the balls to the 1st base side. Since it was a consistent error, I figured it was the mechanical issues that we can address later on. Aside from that, her pitching was quite powerful and she delivered some really mean strikes, which surprised me as well.

Abby is a quick learner and has good skills. But she doesn't like to practice much, therefore I wouldn't expect too much stability from her. Anyway, having fun is the most important thing, I suppose.

Abby is a girl that has too much in her mind and gets distracted easily. It's quite a challenge to keep her entertained and focused.  The only thing that can quiet her down is reading.  When she gets a good book on hand, she could sit there for hours.  But not anything else.  Her attention on things other than reading can hardly last over 10 minutes.

Black or White

A couple of weeks ago, Adam Lambert on American Idol sang this Michael Jackson song.  I thought he did a good job, relatively.  Even though I still enjoy MJ's version much better.  So, I told Abby about it.  Abby asked me what's this song about.  I told her that it's about how you should look the positiveness in each other and not treat people differently just because of their colors or background, etc.  Abby is all for world peace and doesn't really care much about all the racial and social class issues.  I wish her remain this way.

I went on Youtube and found her the music video for the song, of course not the extended version with the confusing cruch grapping dancing in the end.  Abby felt interested in the facial changing part in the and and asked me why they did that.  I told her that represents that people should get along regardless black or white.

Abby thought about it and asked me whether Michael Jackson is a mix like her.  Abby thought that he looks like a mix.  I told her that MJ was born an African-American and gradually grown into a Caucasian.  She said, "no way!"  I then found some pictures online to show her.  Abby's eyes were wide open.  She said, "that's amazing, how did he do that?"  I told her that's probably the miracle from God.  Hahaha...

I know, I know...  I probably shouldn't trick Abby like that, but I couldn't help it.  :P  Regardless Jacko's strange personality, he is still one of my favorite entertainer growing up.

I'm Melting

Can you believe it?  During the weekend, the daily temperature surcharged from around 75°F to 90°F.  Based on the Weather Channel, it's gonna stay that way until Wednesday.  I felt like melting here during the daytime.  Thank god that I live right on the edge of San Francisco Bay, the cool wind from the bay helped a lot as long as I kept the windows open and stayed away from the direct sunlight.

The hot weather here is just like this, even in summer.  It's usually very comfortable weather, with about 4 or 5 times a year really hot days.  Each time, it lasts for about 3 - 5 days.  Just when you almost cannot stand it anymore and want to get an air conditioner, it cools down right away.

This afternoon, Abby and I went to dip in the pool in our complex.  She was all happy and jolly.  It's been a while since she went to the pool after her bad ear infection in Pennsylvania last summer.  Abby loves water.  I've never seen someone so fearless about water even before she learned how to swim.  I don't know, I might need to feel worry about this someday.  She swam and played with other kids in the pool and had a good time.  I went to dip in the jacuzzi from time to time, and stayed under the shade on the beach chair reading books and taking naps.  I forgot to bring my iPod and some cold bottles, otherwise it would have been excellent.

Relaxing Saturday...

Abby had a sleepover at her friend Piper's place over the weekend.  It was a birthday sleepover since Abby and Piper's birthdays are 2 days apart.  However, it was also right before the spring break, therefore they had this party after the spring break.  Piper's parents are very nice and planned a lot of activities for the girls.

As a single parent, this is a rare opportunity for me to have some alone time.  I planned a lot of things to do during Abby's absence, but in the end, napping and sleeping won the battle.  Yawn...  I guess that the grown up movies and other entertainments would just have to wait for another time, maybe during summer when I have the whole month for myself.  :P

Jackie Robinson Day

Today, April 15th, is Jackie Robinson Day, probably one of the most important day in the American baseball history, and probably in all American sports and civil right movements as well.

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era.  Before his Major League debut on April 15th, 1947 for Brooklyn Dodgers (now Los Angeles Dodgers), African-American baseball players were only allowed to play in their own league.  At the time, many white people still believed that whites and blacks shall be kept apart in many aspects in life.  Despite all the obstacles, Jackie Robinson broke the barrier and had a wonderful 10 year baseball career.

Jackie Robinson's influence isn't just in sports, but in many other aspects as well.  He and many African-American civil right activists, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, opened the doors to many color people in the future generation.  Some says, without Jackie Robinson, there probably won't be Obama.  Well, that might be a bit over exaggeratted, but you can see how influencial he is.

Major League Baseball dedicates April 15th to be Jackie Robinson Day.  To show tribute to this baseball legend who changed the baseball history forever, many teams would choose to all wear No. 42 jersey to play today's game.

Another interesting trivia is that normally, the baseball clubs are responsible for retiring numbers.  On April 15, 1997, Major League Baseball took the unusual move of retiring a number for all teams.  On the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the major league color barrier, his number 42 was retired throughout the majors, at the order of Commissioner Bud Selig.  This meant that no future player on any major league team could wear number 42, although players wearing #42 at the time were allowed to continue with it, and of course, everyone is allowed to wear it on Jackie Robinson Day.

Go Go Stomper!

Abby and I went to a baseball game today in the Oakland Coliseum, the home of Oakland A's.  It's the first game we went to see together for the 2009 season, which turned out to be a surprisingly exciting one.  That was an excellent conclusion of Abby's 9 year old birthday.

Abby, as usual, was a flip-flopper fan whose loyalty switches according to the turn out of the game.  On our way there, she said that we shall cheer for different teams and she would pick Boston RedSox.  On the top of the 2nd inning, when RedSox's Youkilis hit a solo homerun, Abby was pretty excited.  On the bottom of the 2nd inning, when A's managed to score 5 runs, Abby turned to me and told me that she decided to cheer for the A's.  She used my phrase, "gotta support the local teams."  Yeah, right, Abby.

The only thing that she was not very happy about was that she had her softball gloves with her, but no foul balls came towards us the whole night.  Well, better luck next time, Abby.

I like to go to baseball games.  Many people go to the game to social or just to hang out with friends.  Enjoy the hotdog, garlic fries, beer, etc.  Unlike in Taiwan or in Japan, there is no organized cheering in Major League.  It's a place and time to relax and to have fun.  There are also little games during the change of the innings to entertain mainly the little fans as well as the grown-ups.  Besides, I also found girls with fan gears, whether it's the cap, the jersey, or the whole packages, quite attractive.  Something about female in athletic appearing that gives out positive energy.

Many teams have a mascot.  San Francisco Giants' is a seal named Lou Seal.  Oakland A's is an elephant named Stomper.  Abby likes Lou Seal slightly better because Lou Seal came to her softball activities before and signed her visor.

Unfortunately, Chien-Ming Wang had another bad day.  It's time for him to really put some hard work on it.  He looks just like Barry Zito last year, a Cy Young winner and the highest paid pitcher (before C.C. Sabathia this year), who could barely get one win in 2008.

California's Great America

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Originally uploaded by Andrew Lan

Abby interrupted me during my wonderful Sunday morning dream and told me that she wanted to go to Great America, a theme park in Santa Clara. It used to be Paramount's Great America, and now California's Great America. I woke up, looked at the bright sunshine outside, and told myself - why not?

The park is about 25 minute driving from our place. We applied the season pass like the last year. One thing I learned last year was that the season pass to a theme park close by is such a deal for the weekend when you often wonder what to do and where to take the kids to.

This year, Abby is tall enough to get on any ride. Last year, she suffered from the "not tall enough" syndrome and was unable to get on some rides that required the guest to be 54" or taller. I guess that she is getting taller after all, even though I cannot really tell.

Sometimes I don't really understand Abby. When it comes to games, rides, etc. Abby is quite adventurous and is really pushing the limits. But when it comes to study, learning, etc. it would take a team to convince her to try something outside the scope of what's been taught in the class.  Perhaps I just haven't found the right button to push yet.

It was a fun Sunday.  The perfect weather certainly helped a lot.

EE/CS @ Ortega Park

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Originally uploaded by Andrew Lan

The NTHU EE/CS alumni had a picnic at Ortega Park in Sunnyvale. The weather was surprisingly good, sunny with very light wind. The alumni association here is just like the clubs in NTHU, lots of population but not easy to make anything happen. We have an annually EE/CS picnic, and an annually Mei-Chu Game just like in Taiwan. The two activities are pretty much the limits of what we can attract enough attention here.

This year's picnic, we had a special guest - the NTHU chancellor, Dr. Chen. We also used this opportunity to celebrate our first Mei-Chi Game victory over 5 years. :P It was quite fun and interesting. Since this weekend was also the Easter weekend, the association also prepared the egg hunt for the kids.

Naturally, I took Abby with me. Abby enjoyed being the pack-leader since most of the kids there are younger than her. Before I knew, she had gathered 4 and 5 followers for her to boss around. I wondered whether it was because of Abby, or because of the soccer ball and tennis ball that we brought.  It's amazing how much kids can play with simply a ball or two.

For the Love of...

First of all, New York Yankees is still win-less today.  Wang had a bad day, even worse than C.C.'s.  When Wang's sinker balls don't sink, they are just medium speed fast balls.  It's ok, pick yourself up, shake it off, and do better next time, Wang.

Ok, enough baseball...

Early today, I was in the mood of listening to some music of Steve Vai, one of my favorite guitar players, whose album "Passion and Warfare" changes how I look at guitar playing forever.  I was at work, so that naturally I went to see if I could find it on Youtube.  I did, but in addition to his playing, I found the following two clips.  They are clips of a 10 year old Japanese girl, Karuka Kageyama, playing two guitar solo classic - "For the Love of God" by Steve Vai, and "Always with Me, Always with You" by Joe Satriani.

Hope you enjoy...

** For the Love of God **

** Always with Me, Always with You **

Giants & A's, Win * 2

San Francisco Giants beat Brewers today 10 - 6.  Oakland A's beat Angels 6 - 4.  It's a good day for the bay area teams.  Unfortunately, either starters were stable enough to claim the victories.

Giants' starter, Tim Lincecum, only lasted 3 innings with 78 pitches.  It was a bit disappointing.  This 24 year old Cy Young award winner is the 3rd in history to win this award in the 2nd year of his career, and the 1st year of his full season (2008).  He did a tremendous performance in the 2008 season, especially with a team of less than .500 winning ratio, he managed to score 18 wins out of Giants' total 44 victories.

Lincecum didn't try to find any excuse, he said that he just had a bad day.  But you can easily see that the Brewers were a bit overly aggressive with him, maybe just for the idea of beating a young gun.  For today's game, he said, "I'll try to take it with a grain of rice and move on."  Rice?  "Rice, salt, whatever. I'm half-Asian," Lincecum said.

Lincecum is half Filipino.

I do not plan to track game standings here.  However, since it's the opening series with the first wins from the two local teams, it doesn't hurt to mention it.

Tomorrow, Chien-Ming Wang is going to start his first game this season against Baltimore Orioles.  I wish him good luck.  After all, we came from the same place.  I am not over hyped about him like many Taiwan media.  Wang is no doubt a good player, but not a very dominating one and still has many to improve.  His performance depends a bit much on the teammate's support for the ground-outs.  I've seen his game against Oakland A's twice.  First was in 2007, a game that he didn't win nor lose.  The second was on my birthday in 2008, and that was a great game.  Wang pitched 7 innings.  There were 5 innings with first batter getting onto the base, but there were also 5 double-plays.  Let me put it this way, watching Wang's game is never relaxing.  It's exciting but nervous.

Go Panthers!

This is the 2nd year that my daughter Abby plays youth softball.  When I was a child, I always wanted to play baseball but didn't really get the chance nor have the environment.  Last year when Abby started to play, I pretty much stayed to help out in every practice.  So, this year I figure that since I am gonna spend time anyway, I might as well sign up as an assistant coach.

Playing with children is a lot of fun.  Some of the girls have never played before and have no clue regarding the rules nor the mechanics of the games.  But they learn so quickly and eagerly, which make us coaches feel that we are really doing something constructive.  You can see the progress on the weekly basis.  Everytime they have a good hit, catch a fly ball, or make a good play, we coaches are much more excited than the girls.

Last year, I got to stay on the sideline and capture the moments with my camera.  This year, I am on the field giving out instructions and cheers.  The more involvement is much more fun.  It is tiresome, but definitely worths it.

Go Panthers!

Play Ball 2009!

The baseball season 2009 for Major League Baseball begins on Monday.  As a fan, I cannot help feel excited.  I am not really following any particular teams, but just a fan of the sport itself.  I enjoy soccer, basketball, and football as well.  But for those timed sports, you pretty much can tell the result before the games end.  The fact that anything can happen in a baseball game until the last batter out is what attracts me the most.

Growing up in Taiwan, I watched a lot of manga as a child.  Many of them were baseball related.  I was not sure how much the manga contributed to me becoming a baseball fan.  But the first team I followed was Seibu Lions, and the reason was because of their logo design, which was based on the famous Kimba the White Lion anime by Osamu Tezuka.  Sometimes, our elementary school classmates would go to the neighborhood schools to play some balls, but nothing too serious.

Taiwan's CPBL was born when I was in the middle school.  I became a fan of Brother Elephants for the very same reason -- I liked their logo design.  Many people in my class were fans too.  We listend to the games on the radio, made waves and cheers even during the classes.  Those were good old days.  Unfortunately, the passioned died with the scandals surrounding the baseball environment in Taiwan.

I went to Pittsburgh in 1998, the year of the famous homerun chases between McGwire and Sosa.  I was overwhelmed by the positive energy of baseball here.  Yes, there were problems here and there, but overall the baseball was still indeed a sport in everyday American life.  I went to see three games that yeah, all of them Pirates vs Cardinals.  Out of McGwire's 70 homers, I witnessed the homer #52 and #63 in the Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

When I came to United States and tried to apply my first credit card.  I got a letter for MBNA (now part of Bank of America) regarding their MLB Preferred MasterCard.  I browsed through all the designs and chose New York Yankees in the end.  So, I guess you can say that I am sort of a Yankees fan.  I also cheer for my home team San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics now.  Choosing side is just to make the games more enjoyable.

My daughter plays youth softball and is a fan for softball and baseball as well.  We spend a lot of time in the neighborhood ball park where the Foster City Little League and Foster City Youth Softball Association play.  It's quite a pleasure watching the kids play when there is nothing complicated but the joy of the game.

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area is really good for a baseball fan like me.  We have a beautiful AT&T Park for Giants, and a bargain Colesium for A's.  I cannot wait to go to some games this year.  Let's play ball!