Savor the Moment

My sister Midol was flying in to visit us at Christmas and asked if her friend, Sandy, could join her as well.  They knew each other from work and Midol is actually Sandy's supervisor at Expeditors in Seattle.  I was a little surprised that someone would be willing to pay holiday airfare for what was essentially a one-week blind date with our family, but Midol assured me Sandy would feel at home spending her vacation time with us.  She didn't have in mind a specific itinerary, but decided to join Midol on a lark just for the experience of going away and trying something new.  Sandy's parents were Chinese immigrants who happened to be very old-school and overly protective, and Sandy often felt smothered under their constant scrutiny and expectations.  She had also lost quite a bit of weight recently and was enthusiastic about being more active in all aspects of her life.  Midol and Sandy had done many outdoor things together, including mountain hiking, but Midol begged off when Sandy wanted her to attempt a 9-hour hike that (including travel time) would require their leaving home at 4 in the morning and not getting back until midnight.  Sandy gamely completed the climb without Midol, although she almost gave up the ascent to the top due to exhaustion.  Encouraged by her accomplishment, she didn't hesitate to sign up for another more challenging mountain climbing expedition, this time requiring an ice pick.  Again, Midol begged off.

For the duration of her stay, Sandy eagerly participated in any activities we suggested and consistently documented just about every event, no matter how mundane, with her camera.  She got some nice pictures of us that I'd posted on my Christmas Eve 2010 blog.

Seattle doesn't quite compare to Orange County, widely considered the mecca of Vietnamese expats, and Midol was determined to have her friend sample authentic Vietnamese dishes from as many restaurants as their time here would allow.  Our family came from Central Vietnam, and the cuisine we grew up with is what we favor.  Among the more popular dishes associated with that region were mi Quang and banh beo chen, pictured below, which we shared with Sandy.

  

Mi Quang

(Yellow noodles, pork & shrimp)

Banh beo chen

(Rice cakes with shrimp flakes)

My mom can whip up any dish as good as what the best Vietnamese restaurants in town had to offer, but Midol wanted to mostly go out to get Sandy acquainted with the countless eateries in Little Saigon.  We visited Brodard, famed for their nem nuong (broiled pork meatballs wrapped in rice paper), and Quan Hy – the latter twice in two days!  On the way, we stopped by Vua Kho Bo (Jerky King) and Sandy promptly spent close to $100 within minutes on their famed $18/lb snacks.  Midol and Sandy also bought for their white colleague at Expeditors who's crazy about Oriental beef jerky.

Sandy at Quan Hy

At the restaurant Sandy was careful to take a photo of every dish before we ate.  We teased her about her posing with a glass of cafe sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee) in hand as if it were a trophy, but she wasn't flustered.

Sandy spent Christmas Eve with our family and participated in our rowdy gift exchange.  She also went trap shooting with the kids.

  

Sandy under our Christmas tree

She managed to capture a stately picture of my Buddha statue in the living room with the twinkle of the Christmas tree lights as background...



My sister Terra, our family's resident tour guide, was always happy to accompany our guests on any excursions they chose.  After a whole week of unrelenting rainstorms in Southern Cal, the sky was still overcast and the weather gloomy, but that didn't keep Sandy from enjoying her moment on the beach.

Midol and Sandy at Balboa Beach

Midol and Natasha

Midol's minimalist impulse was thwarted when Sandy reminded her not to delete any pictures on her camera, even the blurry ones.  Sandy once took hundreds of photos on a trip they went on together and kept every single one.  When Midol decided to delete an unflattering photo of herself, Sandy was aghast and upset.  They'd both recounted the incident separately to me and  I sided with Midol, although I didn't tell Sandy so!



Sandy "Holiday Lights" pic

I named the following photo "Sandy foggy."  Normally, my perfectionist penchant wouldn't allow me to do a careless job of captioning, but in keeping with Sandy, I'm not sweating the small stuff!  It's actually a nice pic of her, but even if it were clouded over with haze, she would still treasure the photo for the memory it held.

 Sandy foggy

Sandy spent her last day in California taking the train to L.A. and Santa Monica by herself, since Midol had returned to Seattle on the 26th.  When I picked her up from shopping at South Coast Plaza, I asked if she'd had dinner yet.  Sandy said she wanted a taste of In-N-Out Burger (supposedly Midol had raved about them which made her curious) and luckily, we spotted one of their drive-throughs on the way home.  Believe it or not, Sandy had me snap a picture of her eating the burger in my car.  LOL!

We learn something from those around us every day.  From my time spent with Sandy, I learned to savor the moment and document, document, document. :)

(As if I hadn't already documented My Ordinary Life to excess!)