Bone Marrow, Exercise and Executive Board- OH MY!

It's been a while...


My co-worker reminded me that I haven't posted on here in over a month. I'm sorry. Things got really busy and I just didn't have time to sit and write about what's going on in my life. Here is the short abbreviated version:



On Friday, November 22nd, I received a FedEx package containing some important forms from DKMS. I had registered to be a bone marrow donor in October of 2007 and was a potential match for a patient who is in need of a bone marrow transplant. After sleeping on the butterflies in my stomach, I asked my parents and Daddy-2-bee what they thought. Luckily, they said they would support any decision I make. If I wasn't already all-in, after speaking to my donation coordinator, I found out that the patient was a 60 years old woman who suffered from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. That's what Grandpa JM had. Luckily for him, he was able to fight off the cancerous cells with just chemotherapy. At that point, I've made up my mind. I was going to do this. I looked up numerous donor and patient success stories of bone marrow transplants and was enlightened by the fact that so many people gave away a piece of their body for a stranger. A few people have come to me shocked that I was going to go through with this and asked "Do you know that it is really painful?!" YES! I do know that the process of the bone marrow extraction is quite unpleasant (to put it nicely) but you can potentially save a life, and give them more time with their loved ones. If my father was on the list of patients looking for a match, I would hope someone could return the favor. Sort of like pay-it-forward. 

Potential Match Letter

 If you are considering being a potential bone marrow donor, please contact DKMS




In the efforts of trying to get more fit and healthy, I decided to start P90X. My goal is to complete the program but after 4 days in, I feel completely exhausted, hungry all the time and aching everywhere. We'll see how many days I last!

I also was invited to join the Young Executive Board for my old crew team. I think it would be something new to get involved in. I wished I had more time over the years to give back to the organization, Row New York, but things always get in the way. I feel like by sitting on this board, I would be able to give my input and be part of the behind-the-scenes team.


Let's see what 2014 brings!

Autumn Breeze

I can't believe it has been a month since I last wrote a post. Things kinda picked up with the season and I only recently begun to settle down and resist the natural flow of things. So many things have happened in the last month and it's about time that I catch you up on them.

First off, I turned 25 years old. I feel so much older being a quarter of a century years old. How many times have you gone to the store and your total was eight dollars and some cents? Don't have any change? Some people were nice enough, "Don't worry about it!" they say. Well, when you owe eight dollars and twenty-five cents, they're waiting for you to break your extra dollar and give them their cents. Once you reach a quarter, it's significant and no one says "Just keep the quarter." I was pleasantly surprised in the morning as I walked half asleep to the bathroom and saw a myriad of colorful balloons fill the apartment. I still can't figure out how Daddy-2-bees got all the balloons inflated (he claims without a helium tank) and to float. He also gave me a birthday card with a $250 gift card to Dylan's Candy Bar! Later that night, we had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Trattoria D'ell Arte in the city. I love their pasta! The night started off with me being slightly ticked off because I got to the restaurant over an hour and a half early and was waiting for Daddy to get their. He didn't leave work until much later, after I got kicked out of a outdoor seating area in front of a corporate building. He also didn't tell the host that we had reservations which I believe is why we got seated in such a noisy area. We got off of the wrong foot but the delicious food changed my mood. When we got home, Grandma called to come over for cake. Except Mommy and Uncle Steven decided that we were going to cut the cake on Saturday. Nonetheless, messages were crossed and she never got the memo. She also had called everyone to come over for cake and they were already there- so we had to have cake. We go to get Uncle Steven to come up and blow out the candles and find him fast asleep, passed out from a very good night of drinking. This led to me cutting the cake without him for the 2nd time in my life. Just as I thought the day was over, Daddy surprised me with a brand new Macbook Pro laptop! I was speechless!

School picked up. Sorority life picked up. Work picked up and before I knew it, it was October! I went to Uncle Kevonte and Aunt Jessica's wedding celebration. Pictures are coming, to be posted. Surprisingly, the h'orderves were really good. The next day I attended Ken and Andie's baby shower for their baby boy Kal. It was superhero themed (they're Batman fans). I didn't bring my camera but this is a pic I took on my phone of the newlyweds.

Katie Couric Show

Last Friday, my sorority sisters and I went to a taping of the Katie Couric Show. I love being in the audience and seeing what happens behind the screen in the studio. Katie Couric was very lively and friendly. I'm surprised I've never watched her show before! The morning started off with some VIP treatment on the line outside the studio. My contact brought our group straight to the front of the line and gave us wristbands right away. After we went through security, we were led into a waiting room with refreshments while we wait. We all had to sign a waiver acknowledging that we were eligible to win a giveaway for $600 or more. My sisters were so excited because some of them never won anything in their life before! The guest stars on that particular episode was Michael Strahan of the NY Giants, Lil Wayne and none other than Katie's fiance. At the end of filming (almost 6 hours later) , the audience found out that we all won a brand new HP Rove 20 Tablet/PC all in one for FREE!

I loved being on the show and look forward to being on their set again sometime soon!

 

 

SDT at the Katie Couric Show

Photo credits: http://katiecouric.com/behind-the-scenes/lil-wayne-katie-photos/#

Food after the show

HP Rove 20 came in the mail! IT WAS FREEEEE!

1st Family Wedding (of many...) in almost a decade

This year, Daddy and I attended many more weddings than any other year (thus far). Over the weekend, Mommy's uncle Ken got married. Ken and Andie married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Wading River, Long Island. The food served during the cocktail hour was really good and the drinks were great! They ran into a few hiccups throughout the day but pulled through in the end. They had a traditional lion dance performance. I usually see the lion dance in Chinatown or Flushing for the Lunar New Year festival but I never seen it at a Chinese wedding. It was a nice surprise and very entertaining for folks who never seen it before. Here are some of my favorite photos from the wedding:

Uncle Steven and Uncle Kevonte

Mommy, Aunt Angela and Aunt Jessica

Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Steven

Aunt Angela, Virginia and Uncle Brandon

Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Kevonte and Aunt Jessica

Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Brandon and Aunt Jennifer

3rd Great Grand Uncle, 3rd Great Grand Aunt, Grandma and Grandpa

Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Jessica and Aunt Jennifer

Uncle Steve, Uncle Kevonte and Daddy

Father of the Bride and Andie

Beautiful Entrance

 Uncle William

Aunt Mabel, Uncle William, Aunt Margaret and Uncle Ken

Uncle Brandon trying to catch the bouquet--
All the SINGLE ladies, put your hands up!

Daddy, Mommy, Aunt Mabel and Maruf

Aunt Mabel, Mommy and Aunt Margaret

Labor Day Weekend

 To kick off Labor Day Weekend, Daddy-2-bees and I stayed at home, sleeping in til 9AM because that is late for us. We watched many episodes of "Scandal" and "Orange is the New Black" on Netflix. We ordered our usual: Singas Pizza for lunch. I took my routine food coma nap after we finished eating. I woke up to a call from my mom to go to dinner at Grand-uncle Peter's. Daddy had left already to go home to Bay Ridge to fix Grandpa T's computer.

 Mommy doesn't really enjoy the dinner at Granduncle's house. It usually consists of seafood and spicy dishes, both of which- I don't eat. So I opted just to go for the company and also to avoid making Grandma mad. Just so happens that Aunt Jessica and Uncle Kevonte came to visit. They had just returned from their vacation/wedding/honeymoon in Austria and came bearing souvenirs and pictures from their trip. They brought back some snapp- really alcoholic- 40% proof. It smelled like ginseng straight up. I didn't try it but it smelled pretty strong. After viewing the Jeng-Mitchell wedding photos, Aunt Angela and Uncle Brandon showed us photos of their vacation in Spain and Portugal. The pictures came out great from my DSLR camera that I lent them. They brought back jamon and souvenirs too. We also got to try marzipan. It was really sweet and pasty.

 When I got home from dinner, Daddy surprised me with a Crumbs cupcake with a candle. He said we're celebrating because it is my birthday month and that's a reason to celebrate :-D Got to make a wish and blow out the candle but he was disappointed because the candles were supposed to be magic candles and re-light but it didn't :-(  Mommy ended up giving the cupcake to Daddy because Crumbs Cupcakes are too sweet for me- that's a first!

 On Sunday, Daddy and I went to Queens Center Mall for lunch and to pick up a gift card and some dress shirts. It was nice and very productive. I usually find myself spending endless hours and buying very few things when I go shopping at the mall. Later that afternoon/evening, I attended a bridal shower for one of my relatives. It's always difficult to explain the relationship as he is technically my uncle. His father is my grandmother's brother. Grand Uncle Cunyin and Grand Aunt Andie are getting married next Sunday. It was the first time I seen the Liu family since 2006. Usually we meet again every few years at family events and special occasions but we've been so busy and haven't caught up in years. Mommy will be getting a 2nd cousin in November! The shower was a lot of fun and in good company!

 On Monday, Daddy and I ventured out into the city to fix our laptop. We got a new battery from the Apple Store and walked around 5th Ave. We couldn't find an affordable place to eat so we took the train down to Times Square. After walking around there, we decided on going to Ruby Tuesday's for linner. I always love the drinks here and the food is pretty good for chain restaurants. I was so full-- didn't have room for desserts!

Ghost Festival

Dear Child-2-bees,

Last night, the family celebrated "Ghost Festival." I didn't even know it had a name. Every year, on this day, which happens to coincidentally occur a day after great grandma's birthday, we celebrate and worship your ancestors or the dead.  While many people honor their most recent ancestors, some celebrate their whole family lineage. This holiday occurs on the 15th day in the 7th month of the Lunar calendar.  It is observed by mainly Buddhists and Taoists.

 Many of the things used during this celebration can be found in one aisle in an Asian supermarket or a specialty store that sells specifically things for this purpose and funeral services. My family buys special wax candles that sit on a stick so that you can stick it into something and let it stand on its own. The candles are red of course, the symbol for "Good Luck!" Grandma likes to buy these thin square paper with a shiny silver or gold foil in the center. We usually sit down for a few hours and fold them into boats or other shapes. The theory is that since "yuan bao,"  the ancient Chinese currency was greater than any paper currency used, folding the flat paper into a "yuan bao" shape would increase its value.  We also burn incense, sticks of 3 per ancestor. I am not sure why the number three, but I have always burned incense in set of 3 and bowed three times holding them.

 We also burn paper money. This bills look like our currency.  They are green, thin and about the same size as U.S. dollar bills. Depending on where you buy these, they will say either "Heaven Bank Note" or "Hell Bank Note." I am not sure if both as the same or if people believe one over the other.  My relatives believe in just an after life or spiritual realm where all your loved ones go.

To start the festive activities, we write your ancestor's name on one of the note, light it on fire and start burning. This year, since so many family members were away, it was just Grandpa, Grandma, Grand Uncle Tom, Uncle Jeremy and Mommy burning paper money. Grandma always insists on distributing the paper money evenly to avoid any Heaven disputes. We light three incense for each ancestor and bow three times to pay your respects. Afterwards, we start burning all the paper money designated for that member while saying messages to them, recalling stories and memories of them and wishing them well for this upcoming year.

As the paper is burning, the flame evolves. Some believe that this indicated your ancestors' ghosts trying to communicate with you. I was taught that a large and powerful flame is good.

 By the 2nd ancestor's ritual, I was sweating. The flame was big and strong and it was so very hot! Uncle Jeremy made jokes about the flame being so hot that he thought it burned off part of his eyebrows and arm hair. Now that's funny!

Child-2-bees, Sleep tight and don't let the ghosts bite!


Love Always,
Mommie-2-bees