Saturday, November 10, 2012

Never to have grandchildren

Dad remembers a promise I made during my last trip home, that I would learn the trade of cutting my own hair from him. I was hoping he would have forgotten.

Enthusiastically, he whipped out his electronic hair mower, and instructed me, "Place it close to your scalp and mow, in all directions." I protested: I could barely see without my contacts, and I certainly can't see the back of my head. He insisted, "Don't need vision!" As a visual guide, I printed a picture of myself, which was taken immediately after a good trip to the barber. He said, "Don't need. You wouldn't look anything like that in the end!" I mumbled something about a date next week and it being his fault if he never has any grandchildren. That gave him pause.

Hair grows back right? I mowed. At first with great trepidation. And then confidence bloomed, and hair fell around me as a curtain of rain. I let my amused sisters and mother take care of the finer details, and the back of my head. Nun was particularly vicious, and delighted in tiny, energetic swipes; once I thought she drew blood. I am reminded of days when Mom would cut my hair, when my Chinese tutor kindly quipped, "Xiang gou yao de!"

Dad excused himself in the middle of the operation to send Lae for her Halloween party; this year she is a Goth. (Nun is disappointed that Lae didn't pick a more dangerous theme; I tell Nun she is projecting her own desire to cast off society's conventions. She admits to wanting to walk around Orchard Road as a vagina. It seems she is weighed down heavily by her job in Learning Lab these days.) When Dad finally saw the final product, he beamed with satisfaction. I'm taking the mower back with me to Princeton.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Return of the Drake

It’s great to hear that Big K is starting grad school in Seattle; maybe you can look out for our old friend RichardChiem. Last I heard he went to Seattle too to join his long-distance writing soul-mate. The two of you can form a club. What are your impressions of Seattle? Do you think you’d happy living there?

I’ve started writing more frequently, very soon after your visit in Princeton. If you recall one night in D-Bar over a beer, just before Nathan arrived, you were advising me to write a diary, and so I was inspired to write semi-regularly about my life. Not only do I enjoy the art of creating a sentence, writing has made me more self-reflective, something I sorely need. It changes my sense of time, introduces quiet moments in a life too fast-flowing. As I’m writing this, I am flying over the North pole from Tokyo to New York. I will land in New York after the worst of the storm is over, and trains are mostly running. The Japanese know how to design the interior of a plane to maximize comfort, their service is impeccable, and economy-class food that is prepared in Tokyo is by far the best I’ve eaten. By force of habit, I now notice these small details; I probably have a stronger opinion about planes than I do about cars.
Perhaps in turn I can convince you to write too, and the three of us (with Nathan) can form a writing club. The return of the Drake?

Haha, you are graduating in June?? This is monumental! Perhaps I’ll fly over for your graduation ceremony. 

I think I have already pre-ordered the last Wheel of Time book on Amazon, though I have to check to be sure. Brandon is doing such a great job ending it, I am very much looking forward to it. I recently read a Batman comic that I think you may appreciate. Why don’t you send me your Sacramento address and I’ll gift it to you. And how are job prospects in Sacramento?