When your friends grow up

We all have friends we know from college, high school and even grade school. We knew them when they were young and foolish. As I grow older, it's kind of weird to see them in their "adult" lives. Friends, with whom I played the game hearts and darts (played continuously for one long finals weekend) are now 1) a PHD in Electrical Engineering who went back to get a law degree and is starting a clerkship for a circuit court judge in Puerto Rico 2) a father and teacher who designed an alternative education program for teenagers in technology and 3) one who was in near the beginning of AOL and now working for Meetup. So it's weird, and yet totally cool, to think of them as contributing and influential people in the world. Here's another example, my friend Nora B. is often brought in as an expert on coalitions in foreign affairs and just got this article about the counterinsurgency in Iraq printed in last week's Baltimore Sun. I could go on about the amazing things other friends are doing, but it's time for me to start thinking about planning for the upcoming school year as summer break is nearly over.

Seeing it through to the end

Those of you who are regular readers of the Chen blog are probably wondering whatever happened to the french doors project that I started earlier in the summer. Well, as of today, it is essentially finished. You will find some pictures below that show what the doors look like from the front/sitting room. I was unable to take pictures as to what the doors would look like from bed as I was aiming the camera into the light.

I won't go into any of the details, but the I did learn one thing about myself as well as having a long ago lesson reinforced. Starting with the latter, this project did seem overwhelming to me at first, but as we all must, I broke down the undertaking into small managable discrete tasks and lo and behold here I am. What new thing did I discover about myself? I am simply unable to hammer a nail if it isn't at eye-level height. I have a cemetery here to bent nails.

A typo of monumental propotion

Residents of the San Francisco Bay Area will agree with me that every conversation eventually turns to real estate. Whether you are renting, an homeowner, thinking of purchasing your first home, in escrow for your second home, it's all about real estate. There is a column in the SF Chronicle that is titled "SURREAL ESTATE." It is the source of the most outrageous, crazy and more often than not, sad stories of people in the Bay Area and their experiences dealing with the stress of owning or trying to own a "piece of the rock."

So, every Sunday, I always take a a quick glance at the open homes section, to check out if there is any home up for sale in my neighboorhood and the asking price. I also take a look at neighboorhoods near me or one's that I dream of living in. Here's what I found in the open houses section this past Sunday.

GLEN PK, at its best! *Great bay views from all primary Rms *Spectacular renovation& expansn *Spacious 6 room home with flex.open flr.plan *3 BRs, 2 exquisite BAs *Custom hd.wd.foors *View slate deck overlooks beautiful flagstone patio & lush garden. Every part of this home has custom detail. Pest control rpt. with clear Sec I, dbl. paned windows, new appliances, custom lighting, woodburn FPLC, near BART.

Everything sounded normal except what I saw next. The asking price on this house was $393,000. Those of you in the Bay Area immediately had to take a second glance. A house that sounded like this would have sold for a price like this, say 10-15 years ago. In today's crazy real estate market, this price would attract a mob of potential buyers.

I noted the address of the home and we went to take a look. Was the house tilted? Sideways? Foundation missing? What was up?

We parked the car, walked in, the place beautifully decorated, renovated, etc. The real estate agent introduced herself to Scott and said right off, "If you're here due to the Chronicle advertisement, there is ONE error I should let you know about......the price. The asking price is actually $939,000."

Ahhh, we said and immediately turned towards the door to exit. The world was in order and real estate returned to its rightful state of insanity!

Blank Slate

This past Friday, we were offered the opportunity to purchase tickets to the opening night of the musical Wicked's run here in San Francisco. We obtained a pair of tickets and so we were primed for an evening at the theater.

It was truly MAGIC. The only thing I knew about the show was that it told the story of the two witches who appear at the beginning of the Wizard of Oz. Essentially, it served as a prequel to the classic by L. Frank Baum.

Because I came in with no expectations or knowledge of songs, I never sat there waiting for "the main song" to be sung. Instead, I was entertained in its purest sense. Each twist of the plot and new song stirred in me the emotions intended by the performers. I laughed and I also cried. The two main characters share an incredibly touching scene/song near the end of the show and it spoke to the importance of friendships in our lives, especially with those with whom we initially think we have nothing in common.

I can't say enough about the show. I highly recommend you see it if you can. We bought one of those souvenier booklets. Usually, I scoff at such a tossing of good hard earned money. But everytime I have picked up the book , I relive the memories of that evening. I now understand how theater can truly be a magical and transforming experience!