Spawn of some ancient Korean nobleman or god?
Moonlighting model for faux Asian artwork?

YOU DECIDE!

Had a wonderful weekend up at Pepe & Keala’s place in Hermosa Beach. The Kid was in fine form, having spent her week snowboarding on Mammoth - we’re both quite proud of her accomplishment of boarding down her first black diamond slope! In between stories of her fearless first foray into the sport, Keala and I managed some shopping, a haircut, a fun evening at the beach’s new hotspot listening to good live music (it was Hawaiian night, the headliner was John Cruz).

The trip also included leaving The Other Parent up in L.A. to check on friends and look for work. It is subsequently much quieter around my place; we’re adjusting this week, since I need to meet the Kid at the bus stop each afternoon. I’m hoping it isn’t too disruptive to work, though Broos has kindly allowed me the next few days to get the Kid (and me) adjusted to our new routine.

Of course, my dryer has stopped working at just the right time for me to actually make good use of the damned thing. I’m now waiting for Haier to tell me who fixes it. The air compressor/blower/whatever no longer does its thing and while it’s still under warranty I’m reading all kinds of horror stories about just this sort of maintenance on the various online dealer forums. Heh. Sob.

That’s it for now. Hope all is well with you!

Try as I might, staying in bed virtually immobile is just not possible. I got some great naps in thanks to the muscle relaxers but otherwise had to contend with laundry, food, packing the Kid up for her snowboarding trip, and driving her north to Hermosa Beach to meet up with K and company for the trek to Mammoth.

So my shoulder still aches like crazy and there isn’t going to be much I can do about it. Unless one of you wants to be my maid for a couple of weeks and help Broos out at the office!

As mentioned, the Kid is in Mammoth. She and Pepe’s daughter plan to do cousin things and talk about boys, makeup, school, skiing…whatever strikes the mind of tweenagers. K and I had a great visit, realizing that I haven’t driven up there in over a year. Bad moi. I’ll be back next weekend to pick the Kid up so I plan to stay over and spend some time in the area. Maybe take OSM up, as she’d get too lonely home alone.

Speaking of OSM, I planned a surprise side trip for her after we ditched my child. She was floored when we arrived in Garden Grove at the Crystal Cathedral, home to TV evangelist Dr. Robert Schuller. When I was younger we watched his “Hour of Power” program each week. I have to add that of all the televangelists out there, his were the most thought-provoking and enjoyable sermons, not very preachy and always filled with joy. I remember when he announced his plans to build this cathedral, how we watched the plans unfold, how OSM always wanted to visit it — today, she was able to fulfill that dream and step inside the building to see it for herself.

It is magnificent, even if you’re not into Christian worship.

I would not want to be their window washer!

They were getting ready for an afternoon wedding for a Korean couple — how serendipitous was that? She enjoyed the beautiful statues, the melodic and amazing bell tower, the quick chat she had with one of the wedding ushers (in Korean, of course). I promised to bring her back when Dr. Schuller was giving a sermon because she was rather bummed that he wasn’t around while we were there.

The day ended at Yoshi Sushi, her fav joint. We filled ourselves up and headed on home. I’ll post pics when I get them from T.O.P. (The Other Parent), who accompanied us in our travels.

Oh, and hot sake is a really terrific substitute for muscle relaxers! Hee!