Wahoo's Fish Taco

We had Wahoo's Fish Taco for lunch today. Since we had bought 9 entrees there, we got one entree free today. Unfortunately, Biajee had a severe headache and wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I did.

We then walked to Starbucks next door and each ordered a venti white chocolate mocha. Starbucks' mission statement is "To create a 3rd place for people to go to", meaning a place other than work and home. It's a pretty interesting mission statement. People who work for Starbucks will automatically have 401K plans.

Biajee has introduced me to a new website to buy computer hardwares: newegg.com. I like the name a lot. He said it could be the future amazon.com. We found that the names of these websites matter a lot. You don't want it to be called books-a-million.com because you can only sell books in that case or at least people think that you're only a bookseller. Although Amazon has started off selling books, you can now buy anything from that website, from cosmetics to child car seats.

When we build something, we should always see far ahead, so that we won't limit ourselves from expansion later on.

Hip Hop

I got lost in downtown Denver yesterday while trying to find the Convention Center. The traffic was so bad that it took me an hour to get there. Then I received a long distance phone call from Hong Kong. Afterwards, I decided that I should go home.

Biajee told me to get onto I-25, but I went the wrong direction on Colfax Ave so I never saw I-25.

"You should make a U turn and get onto I-70 now." Biajee said over the phone, "Then you'll be able to see I-25." Arnold is being fussy in the background. I was tired, sweating and I need to go to the restroom.

Finally I was on the right track. "I'm going to the gym." I told Biajee. I should burn off the stress.

We had a hip hop teacher last night. Basically I learned how to dance hip hop and I showed Biajee later. He thought it was most amusing. On a normal case, I would never take a 7:30 pm class in the gym. This is quite a pleasant surprise.

Bear Creek Elementary School

Biajee and I went to the Open House of Bear Creek Elementary School this morning. This is a small elementary school in Boulder. There are 342 students currently. Students are from Kindergarten to 5th grade. So technically Arnold could go after he turns 5.

The academic, sports and music classes are all very strong here. Kids in Kindergarten know negative numbers. I think math is the most important thing that Arnold needs to learn.

We need to get latest rankings for all the elementary schools in Boulder County and Adams County from now on and then decide which school Arnold needs to go to. It's important to spend money on him now than later. We'd like to give him the best education we can afford all through college.

We had Jason's Deli for lunch afterwards. Biajee decided to order a whole huge sandwich of muffalettas. We had half of it as leftovers. Then we discovered people usually order a quarter of it for a meal. I guess we can save it for tomorrow.

Social

Neil Callahan, our CIO from The Netherlands is about to retire and he hosted a toast of drink in Omni Interlocken Hotel last night. He is 63 years old and his last day in the company will be Dec. 31st. Of course he won't work till then. His last working day will be Dec. 21st.

I had two glasses of Carbernet last night and met a lot of VPs and directors in my company. It's actually fun to socialize with everyone.

"Congratulations, Neil." I raised the glass. "So what will you do after you retire?"

"Oh I'm going to be consulting for the Hong Kong office." He said happily. "I may only work 20 hours a week, but ideally I hope I can work only 10 hours a week."

I wish I were in his shoes. Not too many people can retire without lowering their living standard these days. I may have Biajee work till 70 so that I could retire at 50 and go to the gym every day.

Booty

Arnold's new favorite snack is Booty. There are 2 flavors: Pirate Booty and Veggie Booty. Arnold prefers Veggie Booty, but we haven't had the luck to find it in any stores so far. We have been feeding him Pirate Booty instead.

These snacks are actually flavored pop corns made by Robert's American Gourmet. People who like it are called Booty Heads, just like fans of Jimmy Buffet are called Parrot Heads.

Veggie Booty is actually made of spinach and kale, much healthier than Pirate Booty, which consists white cheddar. We may order some on line for Arnold.

Arnold has been on a diet for a few days. He refuses to eat the normal human food we cooked him. He has been living on snacks for a while, mainly because he knew that he is going to have his 18 month check up this afternoon. He does this every time before his doctor's appointment so that he wouldn't be too embarrassed with gaining weight too ferociously.

东周列国志

最近正在攻读《东周列国志》。真是好书，为什么我一直等到现在才开始读呢？书架上的书太多了也不好。所有的政治斗争哲理都寓于此书之中了， 其精彩不逊于《三国演义》。

晚上做了很奇怪的梦，梦见大阿诺趴在马桶里，被我冲掉了。也许我潜意识里真的觉得小孩子很烦。不过我马上就找人帮忙打捞他了，然后就醒了， 一直担心他会淹死在粪坑里。Biajee 今天安慰我说，阿诺已经长大了，塞不进马桶了，让我不要太担心。

公司中午请员工吃免费的火腿和火鸡午餐， 非常拥挤。Biajee 于是建议出去吃吧，以免找不到地方坐。饭后我们还买了星巴克的咖啡。今年星巴克的礼品卡是装在红色的小手套里的，好可爱。

传说要降雪了， 一直会冷到周末去。昨天我们部门的执行副总裁被炒了鱿鱼，可以感觉到大家都人人自危，拼命低头工作。圣诞节真是“几家欢笑几家愁”的时节。

今晚我们部门开圣诞餐会。大阿诺只好去彼得家玩几个小时。希望他不要在别人家大便才好。真盼着他能赶快学会自己大小便。 Biajee 曾经说过要从6个月开始就训练阿诺自己上厕所。这些话早就成了泡影。对Biajee的话坚决不能盲目相信。

Last Drop of Breast Milk

We defroze the last bag of breast milk for Arnold this morning. This is the true ending of any breast milk for him. From now on, he is totally on his own for nutrition absorption. No shielding from mom any more.

Fortunately Arnold loves cow milk as well. He'll continue to thrive and grow on normal food.

I went to a Whole Speak Training in Sun Microsystem today, which was a complete waste of time. I didn't fill out a comment card after class because they asked people rate this class with three words. I would have put in "Waste of Time", but I didn't even have time to do that.

I don't think I'll ever go to any activities organized by Sun. No kidding it's a sinking ship. Their people are investing energy into such stuff to teach people how to speak and walk in front of other people.

Ski

We went skiing for the 2nd time this season on Saturday. It was cold and snowy. There was also a ski race in Winter Park. Both Biajee and I did a lot better than the first time.

We are planning on going every Saturday this season. It's quite challenging with Arnold there. We had to take turns getting up because one of us would have to watch him down in the restaurant area.

We're both mediocre skiers because we don't have time to go very often. It's been 2 years since we last skiied. Pregnancy and nursing took 2 years away from us, but we think it's all worth it. Arnold may learn how to ski soon. Then our whole family can go together.

Biajee and I will need to get onto the blue in future because we'll need to watch Arnold as he gets better and better. The harder we work, the more fun we need to have.

If we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.