Newbies

Ok, I have to admit that I am not very good with being pampered. I can count with my hands the number of time that I have had manicures or pedicures my whole life. I can’t say the same thing about massages, but it has not been that many times. I am extremely ticklish so I never enjoyed massages when I was young, now that I am older and not as sensitive, I can enjoy massages now and then but I am still very self-conscious about the idea of being massaged.

Since Angela’s stay with us, she’s booked us several massages to a place that’s close to our house. I had two massages and they were both good. However, if I had to choose between great wine & food versus massages, wine and food will always win. So, now that you know where I stand with massages, I will share my first massage of this trip with you…

I was still asleep when the masseuse showed up at Angela’s flat. I was still drowsy and confused when they came into our room. As soon as they asked us to take off all of our clothes, THAT woke me up. I looked over from the mat on the floor to see what Jim was doing, he was already getting under his towel by this time. Ok – I thought to myself, if he’s ok with this, why shouldn’t I be? I faced down, tried to hide under the tiny towel that Angela gave me (I think it was more of a floor mat but that will have to do for now) and closed my eyes. I told myself, my masseuse is a woman, so who cares. (Obviously, I do) She started with my right foot, calf, thigh, and then the right glute. All of a sudden, I felt this brush. “No, she didn’t just do that”. She was massaging my foot when I started wondering if she brushed up against the trough of the valley. Then there it was again. “Yup, she did!” I thought to myself. I thought they were not supposed to touch your back door! “Oh well, as long as she doesn’t massage there, it is what it is… But, did she wash her hands after the pervious client?” I continued to have thoughts like these for the next hour. When she curled up my leg to press into my thigh, I raised my head like a helpless turtle; usually this will get the masseuse to lighten up but not this one… I tried to communicate, but it just brought more confusion and pain… I told myself, “I will have to learn – harder, softer, and no in Thai before getting another massage”

I heard Jim flip over and saw his masseuse climb over the other side of the bed. I knew it was my time to do the same thing because the masseuse were pretty much synchronized. I can tell that my masseuse was a newbie and she was following Jim’s lady. So I flopped, with very little to cover me. Jim’s lady actually came over and helped my newbie masseuse to tuck that floor mat around my very private part. As my masseuse massaged my legs, I was a little concerned that she doesn’t respect the boundary of that floor mat. Just as soon as I started worrying about it, she brushed against me… This time, the flip side of the valley trough. I didn’t dare to say anything, afraid that she would be mistaken… I looked over to Jim’s bed wondering what was going on there. “Did he just get brushed against, like me?” “He seems to enjoy his massage, is that good?” Then she moved up to my belly. When she started massaging my stomach, I can’t help but think, “what if one of us farted right now?” I burst out laughing when that thought crossed my mind. I laughed hard and couldn’t stop myself and the two ladies also laughed with me, but not sure why. Then, the experienced one turned and said something in Thai to the less experienced one and started working on Jim again. My masseuse immediately started tenderizing my breasts. By this point, I figured stop laughing and stop dwelling on my own thoughts would be beneficial for me. So I tried to relax like a good chicken.

Jim was asked to sit up at this point, he saw my lady giving me a breast massage. I caught a glimpse of surprise on his face and then he closed his eyes to relax. I couldn’t help but think, “You better stay cool, calm, and collected. Otherwise it will be hilarious and embarrassing…”

As I have told you, I am not a very good at being pampered. It’s way too funny how self-conscious I get in these moments and it’s way too funny when I observe my own thoughts and running commentaries. But don’t worry, I will have plenty of massages this vacation and I am sure I will get over the “novelty” soon, I think.

Concrete Jungle

We passed through Thai immigration with no problem.  The immigration officer seemed to think Ryan was very cute.  At the end of her questioning (mostly questioning Angela, who can communicate with her), she grabbed Ryan’s hand and said her goodbye.  I caught myself thinking, “the American immigration officer would never do that! Why is it that everything needs to be so ‘professional’ and ‘non-human’ in the US?”

The Bangkok airport reminds me of most major airports that I have been to.  The airports are large, plain, and not very welcoming.  Walkways in the airports are usually lit with florescent lights and the walls are plastic and flooring blah.  The oversized conveyor belts and silver panels that wrap around baggage claim are probably the most interesting things on the arrival side of the airport.  At least the kids tend to think so…

The flight arrived at 2am so claiming luggage was a piece of cake.  After I changed Ryan in the restroom, Angela and Jim already had all of our 8 pieces of luggage and carry-ons.  (Mostly Ryan’s stuff)  As we met up with Jok (Angela’s personal taxi driver – yes, there’s such a thing) and his friend, the humidity and heat at the parking lot made me realize that this is going to be a completely different living environment and experience for Ryan.  I took Ryan out of his baby-bjorn and the extra layer of clothing, then sat in the car behind the driver seat with my arms around him.  If we get into an accident, Jok will be the human airbag and I will be the steadfast car seat…

The drive to Angela’s from the airport is approximately 30 minutes without traffic.  Since it was 3 in the morning, the only traffic was trucks going up and down the highway.  The shadows created by the orange-yellow colored light rays can be dizzying if the car is going too fast.  Ryan was in my arms with his eyes wide open.  I wondered what he thinks of moving from tree-lined streets in Gold River to a city woven with concrete…  I grew up in a city like Bangkok but I never realized how different it could be for someone else.  Not that I didn’t realize the differences between Gold River and Bangkok but it never occurred to me that the differences would be so vast, shocking or unsettling to others.  I am lucky to have lived in both places and have both places represent normalcy for me.  Ryan now will have the opportunity to live in a concrete jungle like Bangkok and have it be 'normal' for him.

Jok pulled over and told us that his propane converted energy efficient car won’t be able to make it.  The car either needs more propane or it needs fixing (that's right, 3 am in the morning). We decided to get an “unrelated” taxi to haul us in.  As we stood in the middle of nowhere hailing for a cab, everyone seems stressed out but I thought it was kind of funny and neat.  I don't expect everything to work in Bangkok like how things are back home...  The second cab came and we hopped in.  This taxi driver was younger and he drove a lot faster.  I held on to Ryan tighter than the previous ride trying to stabilize him so he doesn’t fly out of my arms when the driver hits the potholes.  Our taxi sped through the streets like an arrow in the middle of the night – I felt like we were in one of those movies during a car chase scene.  15 minutes later, we got to our destination safely but both Ryan and I were sweaty, sticky, and probably stinky (for different reasons).   I got out of the car satisfied because I know that Ryan will have an interesting time here in Thailand.  If he doesn’t remember, we will remind him.  Not from our perspective, but from his – from a perspective that’s novel.

Reflecting on 2009

Our 2009 started at Suzanne's New Year's party and ended with Ryan arriving to our family and staying with us in Sacramento.  This year has been everywhere.  It was extremely busy but exciting.  It was chaotic but definitely fulfilling.  It was packed with challenges, love, frustrations, unknowns, surprises, friendships, ups and downs, but mostly -  life itself...

As I reflect on 2009 and reading the blog post "Curious & Beautiful 2009", I see that my 2009 was definitely a year filled with a lot of unknowns that required a lot of curiosity to explore and enjoy these uncharted territories.  The year started with the last stretch of the Introduction Leader's Program.  This is the program that I spent 7 months with an action packed schedule to lead introductions.  The program ended in March of 2009.  From then, Angela, Mariola, Andrew, the Kershek's, the Chen's, Frank, Kelly, and Danielle visited us in Sacramento from all over the world.  On these visits, we went to Napa Valley for new wines and we also tried new wineries in Placerville, the Foothills, and Amador County.   During this time, Nikki turned one year old and we partied up with tons of kids and adults, and I also flew back to Taiwan to support my mom with her doctor visits.  By the time we celebrated Lucy's 22nd birthday, summer was almost over.  Shortly after July, I started a new job with the Infrastructure group learning about investing in infrastructure assets for the pension fund.  I traveled to DC for a conference and it opened my eyes to a different perspective of how this country is run and how policies are established.  Angela moved in with us in September and we threw a 'semi-surprise' party for Jim's 33rd birthday.  From there, we went to a comedy show, a world music festival, Halloween bar hop, Thanksgiving Run to Feed the Hungry , cooking Thanksgiving meal for the family, Black Friday shopping, family gatherings, Christmas, and finally New Year's eve...

I took up belly dancing in the beginning of the year and it made me feel sexy so I was confident enough to cut my hair short!  The communication courses, new job, the conference that I attended, and the material that I have learned over this year made me feel a little smarter and more beautiful inside.  I also bought cookbooks and looked up recipes online to cook Persian and Indian food as ways to explore and expand my understanding of spices and different types of cuisine...  I also felt more fit having completed the Thanksgiving Run in my goal time (1 hour and 20 minutes plus some seconds) and I felt accomplished and powerful becoming a top 20 fundraiser for the Run.

Although I didn't succeed in taking a piano lesson, golfing more, and cooking three times a week, I feel that I have achieved having a curious and beautiful year.  I learned that I have the capacity to be beautiful inside and out if I allow myself to be curious.  Because of the 2009 theme, I have improved my ability to accept compliments from others and own up to my achievements.  During this year, I have also experienced a tremendous amount of love from all of my friends, family, and most amazingly from Ryan.  With Ryan's arrival, love and parenthood have a completely new meaning to me and I know that Ryan will continue to surprise me.

I can't wait to set a new theme for 2010 and experience another action packed beautiful year!