Last weekend

The weekend was quite bittersweet for me. On one hand, it was happy since I had the chance to spend some more time with my family. I took the day off last Wednesday and we spent it shopping at the Citadel Outlets in Commerce. Thursday was our final backyard barbecue. While Friday (another day off for me) started with a quick lunch at Mongol King (my family loves Mongolian BBQ) before heading for Jules’ graduation cocktails at the Town and Gown Hall at USC, followed by his graduation at the Shrine Auditorium. The event was long, the weather was warm, and the place crowded, but we didn’t mind since we were all so proud of my brother for having completed his MBA and doing such a great job. Congrats Jules!!! We had a late, late dinner to celebrate at The Chart House in Redondo Beach. I love the ambience of The Chart House and even if the food is so-so, the Hot Lava cake at the end of the meal was worth the trip! Finally, on Saturday, we woke up late and lunched at Thai Tiffany (a wonderful hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Lomita that has the most authentic Thai food I’ve had this side of the world) and then back home for some last minute packing and bonding before heading to LAX. (I was secretly thrilled that their flight was delayed. This gave us more time together even if it meant hanging out at the airport, having McDonalds for dinner, playing silly games, and Duty Free shopping.)

But on the other hand, it was also sad since we had to see my parents and Jim off. Luckily Joy and Atsi are staying for one more week. Otherwise I think it would have been horrible to see them all off at the same time! For me, the worst part of any visit, is coming home from the airport to an empty and much more silent house. I know I’m being dramatic but seeing my mom’s half-filled glass of Coke on the kitchen counter, Jim’s white plastic slippers in the living room, and the dining table without dad’s notebook all made me incredibly sad. To take my mind off this “feeling-sorry-for-myself” mood, Atsi, Jules, Joy, Marc, Mark, Jojo and I decided to go watch a movie at the Rolling Hills Towne Center. We made it to the last full show – half the group watched Poseidon, while my group watched Mission Impossible 3. MI3 is of course not going to win any great film critic awards but it was a great way to get my mind off feeling bad that my folks and baby brother just left.

I can’t believe that 3 weeks has gone by. When I first told my co-workers that my family was visiting and staying over for three weeks, they all said “OMG, 3 weeks!!!!! That’s crazy.” I think they meant it in a “how-will-you-survive” kind of way. But for me it was more like “OMG, 3 weeks!!!!! That’s crazy” but in a “that’s-way-too-short-a-time-to-spend-together” kind of way.

Thanks dad, mom, Jim, Joy, Atsi, Jules, & Jojo, who made the last 21 days awesome, fabulous, and wonderful all rolled into one! Am thrilled that Atsi and Joy are still here. Jules and of course Jojo too. Mom, Dad, and Booy, I miss you guys already. Here’s looking forward to our next grand reunion, which hopefully will come sooner than planned. :)