Well, Lifehack, (2nd edition/revision of AZU-1:Lifehack) is finalized. It has an isbn code now, and a copy is headed my way for me to look over and approve before it officially can go up for sale on the interweb. Shortly after I approve it, I'll be setting up the hardcover version as well. I won't be ordering a huge stack of books this time, since I don't think too many people will feel the need to buy a slightly updated version of a book they bought 2 years ago- soon I'll be asking about 'pre-orders', so I can order an appropriate number of copies for the local crowd, and save us all a lot of shipping charges. Anyway, more on the (still undecided) launch day as it draws closer.
The hardcover version WILL be available on the net, but it's not really the type of book that usually does hardcover. This version will be mainly for collector types... myself, a few members of my family, and Carrie Shannon, who's request for a hardcover version caused me to create a whole new revision in the first place.
Alas, Carrie's store, 'Heron's book store and coffee shop', is no more, largely due to an awkward location. Lots of regulars will miss it. I don't know where else I should loiter now!
That's not entirely true... beside the starbucks-wannabe store half a block form heron's, (ew, it's SO dull and cold) I actually do a lot of loitering at the local community centre now. Besides being the new HQ for the MeadowRidge Optimist Club, there's also a fun drop-in thing in the gym 2 days a week, where I can go with Caitlin, (who turned 1 since the last blog post) and play on big toys, and meet other little ones.
The optimist club had a big showing on Pitt Meadows Day, and we were in the parade as well. So was Caitlin, strapped into my lap as we wheeled the route.
Frig, there's so much I could write about. 'Ping' left for China, maybe to return for a short time when she comes back to the area and looks for a place to stay closer to university. 'Radar' will be back for her grade 12 after spending the summer in Korea. 'Asuka' (from germany) is visiting with us right now for 3 weeks, which is awesome. She's the 2nd student to come back just to visit, (the first being Rei from Japan) suggesting that we're not jerks. In the summer, we will also be hosting two 10-year-old korean girls for a month, which is going to be a new experience for us, hosting for students so young. We had planned to do that last year, but ended up with the teachers, 'Snoopy', and ... oh, I forget the other one's code-name... then in september, we will be getting an all-new german student, as well as Radar coming back, as I mentioned.
Bah, so much to write about.. this is what I get for neglecting my blog for 2 friggin months. I should do separate entries for Caitlin's birthday, the new little assistants I have for taking care of her, my becoming the new 'primary caregiver', shine more of a spotlight on Optimist stuff... so much stuff going on.. now that I have a 'bonus' 3 hours of 'free time' 4 times a week, I might get more regular with blog posting... so much to do, so much to do...
Joseph Picard's writing projects and life ramblings including the kiddos, and life in a wheelchair.
Showing posts with label asuka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asuka. Show all posts
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Friday, July 20, 2007
International Ep4: Exit Asuka, Enter Ping
Quick note- Lifehack revision's at 45%-ish. Things go slow with the baby, but the world can be patient for Caitlin's sake.
Anyway, Asuka's stay had a few weeks left when the school board rang us up about a new student.
"From China, you say? She's going to be here the day before Asuka goes home to Germany, you say? How do Chinese girls feel about having the sofa for one night?"
Blissfully ignorant, I went to Rei to tell her the news. "Hey, we're going to get a new student when Asuka goes!"
"You say only short time with another student...!
"Well, it's been OK with Asuka, you two get along fine.."
"But you say..."
"Well, the school board has asked us to, and now it would be rude to say no. Besides, she's Asian too, you'll have a little bit more in common...!"
Rei's eyes became huge, and I understood anime in a whole new way. "What? No asian student! Anyone but asian!" Nerf? I didn't want to put my foot in my mouth here, so correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Rei's own Japan part of Asia?
Well, as further research on the topic taught me, it is, and it isn't. Japan has become very westernized, especially compared to China. This seems to give Japan kind of a 'black sheep' status in certain situations. It's also floating off to the side like that, oh, and there's all that WW2 stuff.... yeah well... yeah...
But we suspect none of that was foremost in Rei's mind. An Asian student would travel in social circles much closer to her own in school, and this could lead to the leaking of sensitive information on Rei's ongoing hunt- to which we had very little idea about at the time.
Later, Rei shows up in the doorway of my office again, looking forlorn as she can. "You lie me."
"Wha?"
"You say only 3 months. You lie me."
"Well, at the time, I thought it WAS going to e only 3 months."
"It better just you, me, michelle."
Oh man. I had heard tales of the powers of the Japanese teenage girl, and it was in the crosshairs of the 'poor little me' mode. She was good at it, no doubt. A big part of me just wanted to make everything OK for her, but my hands were tied at this point. She stood around looking sad for a bit, and I tossed the occasional comment trying to be supportive, and encourage a more openminded outlook. What do I get?
"Maybe I need live other house." Oh good lord Rei, aren't there any nearby cliffs you could threaten to throw yourself off of? Isn't that the traditional climax to this sort of act?
"Well, I'll talk to the school board about it." I did. But I just commented that Rei wasn't taking the idea very well. It wasn't the first time I felt the need to report Rei's displeasure about having another student around to the school board; I thought it was best to keep them abreast of that kind of thing, and they might have advice. They told me I was doing well, and that she was lucky to have a host parent that was this concerned with her happiness. So, we'd muddle through.
The day came when Ping arrived. Due to scheduling, my wife could only take her halfway from the airport to home, my dad and I picked her up from there. "Hi Ping!" (another codename, by the way) She fell asleep in the car on the way. It seemed this power to sleep anywhere was not unique to Japan.. but we could also pull the 'teenager' card.
We're quick to point to cultural differences. but it's often just teenager-ism, or "rich girl" ism. Almost all the the students that come here from abroad are rather well off. More on that in the next post.
That evening, me, Asuka, Rei, and Ping lingered in the hallway, lite only from the lights coming from the surrounding rooms. Polite chatter all around. Rei was mostly quiet. I think she was a bit relieved that Ping's english was a little worse than her own. Asuka had hints at emotional moments- tomorrow was the big day she'd go home.
My wife and I wanted to take Asuka to the airport ourselves, but because of the large group of Germans headed out, they insisted we just take them to the school board office. From there, they'd all bus to the airport. That morning was emotionally charged. By the time we got to the school board, with those buses staring at us, Asuka was crying, and so was Michelle if I recall correctly.
There was some waiting to be done, and some random socializing happened with other students. Asuka and my wife's crying got steadily heavier, and I joined in a little.
Asuka's friend was pretty sad too... "I fell bad because my host family didn't stay. They just dropped me off and left." This was baffling to me. Asuka had become family despite the shortness of her stay. How can you not treat these brave young students with every hospitality you can? They're far from home, and a lot of them can barely communicate when they get here. (Germans can, but that's beside the point. Every German student I've met are worried we won't be able to understand them.. well, they worry about that until they hear one of the Asian students talking english...)
Mercifully, the time to load the buses up came. Sobbing, hugs, blah blah blah. Michelle and I went back to the car and waited there until the buses left. Our first time sending a student back home.
Next post: I dunno, should I do "Ping VS Canada" or something about the baby for a change?
Anyway, Asuka's stay had a few weeks left when the school board rang us up about a new student.
"From China, you say? She's going to be here the day before Asuka goes home to Germany, you say? How do Chinese girls feel about having the sofa for one night?"
Blissfully ignorant, I went to Rei to tell her the news. "Hey, we're going to get a new student when Asuka goes!"
"You say only short time with another student...!
"Well, it's been OK with Asuka, you two get along fine.."
"But you say..."
"Well, the school board has asked us to, and now it would be rude to say no. Besides, she's Asian too, you'll have a little bit more in common...!"
Rei's eyes became huge, and I understood anime in a whole new way. "What? No asian student! Anyone but asian!" Nerf? I didn't want to put my foot in my mouth here, so correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Rei's own Japan part of Asia?
Well, as further research on the topic taught me, it is, and it isn't. Japan has become very westernized, especially compared to China. This seems to give Japan kind of a 'black sheep' status in certain situations. It's also floating off to the side like that, oh, and there's all that WW2 stuff.... yeah well... yeah...
But we suspect none of that was foremost in Rei's mind. An Asian student would travel in social circles much closer to her own in school, and this could lead to the leaking of sensitive information on Rei's ongoing hunt- to which we had very little idea about at the time.
Later, Rei shows up in the doorway of my office again, looking forlorn as she can. "You lie me."
"Wha?"
"You say only 3 months. You lie me."
"Well, at the time, I thought it WAS going to e only 3 months."
"It better just you, me, michelle."
Oh man. I had heard tales of the powers of the Japanese teenage girl, and it was in the crosshairs of the 'poor little me' mode. She was good at it, no doubt. A big part of me just wanted to make everything OK for her, but my hands were tied at this point. She stood around looking sad for a bit, and I tossed the occasional comment trying to be supportive, and encourage a more openminded outlook. What do I get?
"Maybe I need live other house." Oh good lord Rei, aren't there any nearby cliffs you could threaten to throw yourself off of? Isn't that the traditional climax to this sort of act?
"Well, I'll talk to the school board about it." I did. But I just commented that Rei wasn't taking the idea very well. It wasn't the first time I felt the need to report Rei's displeasure about having another student around to the school board; I thought it was best to keep them abreast of that kind of thing, and they might have advice. They told me I was doing well, and that she was lucky to have a host parent that was this concerned with her happiness. So, we'd muddle through.
The day came when Ping arrived. Due to scheduling, my wife could only take her halfway from the airport to home, my dad and I picked her up from there. "Hi Ping!" (another codename, by the way) She fell asleep in the car on the way. It seemed this power to sleep anywhere was not unique to Japan.. but we could also pull the 'teenager' card.
We're quick to point to cultural differences. but it's often just teenager-ism, or "rich girl" ism. Almost all the the students that come here from abroad are rather well off. More on that in the next post.
That evening, me, Asuka, Rei, and Ping lingered in the hallway, lite only from the lights coming from the surrounding rooms. Polite chatter all around. Rei was mostly quiet. I think she was a bit relieved that Ping's english was a little worse than her own. Asuka had hints at emotional moments- tomorrow was the big day she'd go home.
My wife and I wanted to take Asuka to the airport ourselves, but because of the large group of Germans headed out, they insisted we just take them to the school board office. From there, they'd all bus to the airport. That morning was emotionally charged. By the time we got to the school board, with those buses staring at us, Asuka was crying, and so was Michelle if I recall correctly.
There was some waiting to be done, and some random socializing happened with other students. Asuka and my wife's crying got steadily heavier, and I joined in a little.
Asuka's friend was pretty sad too... "I fell bad because my host family didn't stay. They just dropped me off and left." This was baffling to me. Asuka had become family despite the shortness of her stay. How can you not treat these brave young students with every hospitality you can? They're far from home, and a lot of them can barely communicate when they get here. (Germans can, but that's beside the point. Every German student I've met are worried we won't be able to understand them.. well, they worry about that until they hear one of the Asian students talking english...)
Mercifully, the time to load the buses up came. Sobbing, hugs, blah blah blah. Michelle and I went back to the car and waited there until the buses left. Our first time sending a student back home.
Next post: I dunno, should I do "Ping VS Canada" or something about the baby for a change?
Monday, July 9, 2007
International students, ep3: Enter Asuka
"A Geman, huh?"
Asuka's (yes, another codename) 'docket' arrived shortly after the conversation with the school board. Her picture looked a bit on a punk side. Just a little. Cool.
I had a pal in highschool who was a German exchange student, and he was a neat bloke. We made a bit of fun with his accent now and then, ("We watched wiolent wideos in wancouver.") and he got his revenge by stealing my girlfriend. Well, not really.. he actually asked permission rather formally, since he knew she and I had some kinda something going on, but that's a whole other story.
Anyway, Asuka. Before she arrived, we has to let Rei know there'd be another girl in the house. We told her over dinner. Her response? Emo silence for a while, followed by "I think just 3 is better." (Me, my wife, and Rei)
I figured she'd adjust to the idea, and that she just wanted to be the only student in the house beacuse she wanted to be special. Little did I know- she probably just didn't want someone in the house that she went to school with... that could pose a threat to Rei's cunning plan.
Asuka arrived, looking notably less punk-ish than her picture, but with all the spunk and energy you might expect. In many ways Asuka was Rei's opposite. Outgoing, open, chatty. (A contrast that coincidentally mimics the namesakes of thier codenames.) Rei was also mortified that Asuka's english obliterated her own. The Germans study english a good degree more seriously than they do in Japan.
Japanese highschools seem to study english almost as a novelty. The Germans study it to communicate with their neighbors. Asuka, much like my buddy from highschool, was almost entirely fluent, with only the occasional unknown word, which was easily explained without the use the little notepad that Rei and I had been using a lot.
It occurred to me briefly that we now had descendants of the WW2 axis living here. History is odd. If you could have sent a picture of our dinner table with everyone joking and talking back to 1950, what would people think? In 2050, will my daughter be hosting students from Iraq?
Asuka's level of energy brought a bit of much-needed volume to the house. Remember I said in the last post that I was trying hard to be quiet and un-rude for Rei's sake? That went out the window, and I realized that I might have been giving Rei the impression that I didn't like her much. (Which is kinda silly, given how much unrequired time I spent with her on homework and such.)
Asuka didn't need much help with homework, but we had lost to talk about.. like chocolate. We would have an hour long chat at the drop of a hat about chocolate, and related items. How this kind was good, that kind was not, and the stuff at the corner store was mostly shameful shadows of true chocolate.
Then a week later, something would set one of us off, and we'd have nearly the same conversation again, with just as much enthusiasm.
In 3 short months, this spunky girl had become part of the family.
Next post: Exit Asuka, Enter Ping.
Book update: Lifehack revision 33% done. Evenings don't get much done, I have to try t make better use of the mornings. Lil Caitlin's an angel in the mornings.
Asuka's (yes, another codename) 'docket' arrived shortly after the conversation with the school board. Her picture looked a bit on a punk side. Just a little. Cool.
I had a pal in highschool who was a German exchange student, and he was a neat bloke. We made a bit of fun with his accent now and then, ("We watched wiolent wideos in wancouver.") and he got his revenge by stealing my girlfriend. Well, not really.. he actually asked permission rather formally, since he knew she and I had some kinda something going on, but that's a whole other story.
Anyway, Asuka. Before she arrived, we has to let Rei know there'd be another girl in the house. We told her over dinner. Her response? Emo silence for a while, followed by "I think just 3 is better." (Me, my wife, and Rei)
I figured she'd adjust to the idea, and that she just wanted to be the only student in the house beacuse she wanted to be special. Little did I know- she probably just didn't want someone in the house that she went to school with... that could pose a threat to Rei's cunning plan.
Asuka arrived, looking notably less punk-ish than her picture, but with all the spunk and energy you might expect. In many ways Asuka was Rei's opposite. Outgoing, open, chatty. (A contrast that coincidentally mimics the namesakes of thier codenames.) Rei was also mortified that Asuka's english obliterated her own. The Germans study english a good degree more seriously than they do in Japan.
Japanese highschools seem to study english almost as a novelty. The Germans study it to communicate with their neighbors. Asuka, much like my buddy from highschool, was almost entirely fluent, with only the occasional unknown word, which was easily explained without the use the little notepad that Rei and I had been using a lot.
It occurred to me briefly that we now had descendants of the WW2 axis living here. History is odd. If you could have sent a picture of our dinner table with everyone joking and talking back to 1950, what would people think? In 2050, will my daughter be hosting students from Iraq?
Asuka's level of energy brought a bit of much-needed volume to the house. Remember I said in the last post that I was trying hard to be quiet and un-rude for Rei's sake? That went out the window, and I realized that I might have been giving Rei the impression that I didn't like her much. (Which is kinda silly, given how much unrequired time I spent with her on homework and such.)
Asuka didn't need much help with homework, but we had lost to talk about.. like chocolate. We would have an hour long chat at the drop of a hat about chocolate, and related items. How this kind was good, that kind was not, and the stuff at the corner store was mostly shameful shadows of true chocolate.
Then a week later, something would set one of us off, and we'd have nearly the same conversation again, with just as much enthusiasm.
In 3 short months, this spunky girl had become part of the family.
Next post: Exit Asuka, Enter Ping.
Book update: Lifehack revision 33% done. Evenings don't get much done, I have to try t make better use of the mornings. Lil Caitlin's an angel in the mornings.
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