The Longest BLog Ever Written

This may be the longest blog ever written (at least for me it will be), but my flight to Minneapolis from Portland is 3½ hours long and I forgot to bring any movies, so I’ll just draft this blog up while I have the spare time. I apologize in advance for the length, but if you are bored at work, it will give you something to do, maybe something to learn, and maybe something to reflect on.

First off, I hope everyone had a good holiday with their family, and are getting pumped for the New Year. I’m usually pretty indifferent to New Years Eve and all the random festivities that accompany it. I feel like at this point in my life I would rather be spending it at home with close friends (damn this getting old and getting lame). A few days ago I thought about the most memorable New Year’s Eve that I had. It was probably the New Year that was spent down in Pasadena for the UW vs. Purdue Rosebowl game in preparation for the year 2001. I remember the details vividly, everything from spending the evening with Inoue and Blum at the LA Sports Arena and Coliseum where we rung in the New Year, “raving” to our hearts content; the next morning as we wandered back to the hotel to hear the stories of drunkenness (mainly Shaefer) that ensued during the night; and of course the game, which we were able to enjoy watching UW run all over Purdue. Curious to see what New Year’s Eve memories you guys have that you would consider the most memorable. This year will likely be another one for the books. I will be in Times Square celebrating it with a few friends and thousands and thousand of strangers corralled between the busy streets of NY. Not sure what to expect, I’ve heard from many of the NY locals that it sucks à you’re stuck in one place for 7-8hrs, with no food/drink/place to pee; but hell you have to try it once in your lifetime, right?!? I’ll be sure to post many pictures of the evening, and my month in NY. I leave tomorrow for St. Louis and then Friday I will start the drive with Jill to NY. Although everyone thinks it’s crazy that we’re driving, it’s only about a 14hr. drive per Mapquest.

I don’t have any pictures electronically on file so here are a few favorite pics/memories from New Years in 2004 and 2005:

Inoue’s place to ring in the 2004 New Year

Me, Green and Mike (2004)

Mike, Me and Inoue (2004)

Still one of my favorite pics from the 2005 New Year

Now to backtrack, my blog flow sucks, but I’ll quickly recap my “winter vacation” home and the horrors of flying during the holidays. Originally, I was supposed to fly home to Vancouver last Friday on the “GREATEST” airline ever…that would be Northwest Airlines. I’m sure you have heard me bitch about it before, and how I’ve sworn off flying this horrendous airline, but again low fares and a nearly empty pocketbook, keeps me coming back. Anyways, the original flight was to go from KCà Minneapolis (Northwest’s main hub) à Portland. Unfortunately, the whole Denver fiasco sent a ripple through the rest of the flight world, delaying the transport of planes and/or crews to their desired destinations. So with my wonderous luck, I decide to check my flight status before leaving the airport, relieved to see that it was “on-time.” The minute I arrive to the airport, the flight is listed as delayed for two hours for a minor technicality: lack of an aircraft. The two hours left me with a whole 1 minute window to catch my connecting flight to Portland. I am a quick…but not that quick. As I waited to see if the Minneapolisà Portland leg might be delayed, the KCà Minneapolis leg kept getting delayed further. It got delayed so long, that the incoming flight crew would not be able to fly out at all that night due to a mandatory rest period. This left me with no option but to reschedule to see if I could get out the next day, one of the busiest flight days: two days before Christmas. I was able to sequester a flight the next day through Midwest to San Antonio for the first leg and then from San Antonioà Denver à Portland on United. At this point I didn’t care about all the connections, I just wanted to get home. Since we are discussing flights, I do have to give props to Midwest. It is probably one of the best airlines that I have ever flown. The airplanes are very roomy and the service is very excellent. That leg was no problem. The newest problem arose in San Antonio, as I was to board the United flight. Apparently, the Northwest ticket agent screwed up the reservation for me and when I reached the ticket counter 5 minutes before the flight was to take off, they did not have a seat for me. So my luggage thus was headed to Portland, and I was to be stranded in San Antonio for the night. Luckily they provided me with a hotel room and some cash for food, but it still was a pain in the ass. Two days down, and still not home yet. The next day (third times a charm) I finally made it home.

One more gripe about Northwest Airlines, on the flights back to KC, I was reminded again of their stupidity. Both flights were with rather large aircrafts and for the most part were entirely booked. Who then was the smart one on both flights that decided that the best way to board the plane was to say, “Now boarding all rows.” Genius. Pure genius. It took at least ½ an hour each time to load the plane.

It was good to see my parents and my sister and her fiancee. It has been a long time since we have all been home at the same time. I was pleasantly surprised to see everyone get along real well. I think my mom is warming up to him, over dinner I even heard her teaching him some Vietnamese sayings.

The new family addition

I missed our annual family get together, due to the flying fiasco, to remember the passing of my grandparents; that was on Saturday night. But on Sunday was a gathering at my aunt’s house to introduce my cousin’s new fiancée, so I was able to catch up with most of my family members then. It was good to see everyone, but I feel so much like an outsider now at these functions. It’s hard to explain, but I don’t really feel like I belong there. A. I don’t really know any of the little rugrats that are running around; what their names are or even who they belong to. B. My Vietnamese sucks, and although I understand it pretty well, speaking it is a whole other thing. With my older relatives, they always give me a disappointed look when they speak to me and I can only reply back in really broken Vietnamese or in straight English.

Pictures from the shindig:

My mom and her little brother

My aunt Binh and my cousins Richard (engagement party and father to be) and Caroline

Me and my aunt

Monday morning we exchanged gifts…or more like I accepted gifts (It doesn’t count for an exchange if you don’t provide any gifts yourself). I got the usual cash for a Christmas present from my family (this year they finally stopped writing “from Santa Claus;” funny how Santa has always shared a checking account with my parents), something I can definitely use at this time. My sister gave me a bunch of random things, but my favorite gift was the little Vietnamese coffee maker ½ pound of Vietnamese coffee from my uncle’s coffee company that she brought back from her trip last year to Vietnam.

Another highlight of the trip was getting to see my parents’ new computer shop. They had converted one of our rental homes into a little workshop. Things have been going real slow for them in the first three months. I keep trying to figure out a way to make them more marketable or help them advertise, but I’ve been drawing a blank as to what do to help out. They’re goal is to see how things go at least for a year, and if things don’t start to pick up, they’ll probably just rent out the business property to a real estate or insurance group. I think the new business venture is good for them. Although it is not very profitable, with their “retirement” it keeps them busy and they have fun doing it.

Computer shop from the outside

Mom at her desk

Dad doing his thing

Overall it was a good trip, nice to see the family, and nice to get some time to relax in a familiar setting.

Last, but not least, I wanted to reflect on a death that occurred yesterday, a day after Christmas, that of President Gerald Ford. I wanted to take a moment to contemplate on his life and noteworthy events , not only because I have been on a recent history binge, but also because I had the pleasure of meeting him a few summers ago, when I participated in a medical student program at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA. They hold an annual picnic at the Betty Ford Center and I met him and his wife there as they were serving food in the buffet line. Flanked by two secret service bodyguards on each side, President Ford and Betty were more social and energetic than adults half their age. I remember him joking with each person as they passed through line, and taking a concentrated effort to make each interaction unique.

If you could care less about history, then you can probably just skip the next few paragraphs and jump to the end. What we are taught in our clinical years through medical school, is to look up the information on the interesting cases/patients that you are presented with or are responsible for, that way the information will stick. Along the same lines with history, I feel that is important to know about significant events and people in history that have worked to mold the place in which we live today. Taking that medical school approach, I have decided with major events, I will research them as they are presented, to ensure that I can grasp a better understanding of the issues and become a well-rounded person when it comes to national and worldly topics. Hopefully it won’t sound too much like a 5^th grade autobiography report, but no guarantees. I have to give credit where credit is due; most of the information comes from Wikipedia. I condensed the 22 pages of information on the site to make it more manageable. What amazes me the most about Wikipedia, which relies on its own readers to provide, update and correct the information, is that although President Ford passed yesterday, there is already a few paragraphs written about his passing.

Some quick background information:

Gerald Ford was the 38^th president of the United States. He was in office for one term from 1974-1977. Succeeding President Nixon and was then followed by the president I was named after, Jimmy Carter. He was the only president in U.S. history to not achieve the position of President or Vice-president through an election. He was appointed to the vice-presidency in 1973 under the 25^th amendment when Vice-president Spiro Agnew resigned and President Nixon nominated Ford to take his place. Only a short time later, President Nixon resigned amidst the Watergate scandal allegations, and Ford was sworn in as President.

Significant events during his presidency:

· Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam in Operation Frequent Wind

· Pre-emptive pardon to President Nixon for his role in the Watergate Scandal, which many believe was the driving factor to why he lost his re-election bid to Jimmy Carter

Relationships to current political figures:

· Selected George H.W. Bush to director of the CIA

· Named Donald Rumsfeld as 1st Chief of Staff and then youngest Secretary of Defense

· Dick Cheney was chosen to follow Rumsfeld as new Chief of Staff, and was also the campaign manager for Ford’s attempt at re-election

· In seeking re-election, Ford dropped his former Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller for Kansas Senator Bob Dole

And some other notable or just random points:

· The longest-lived U.S. president, passing Ronald Reagan’s record just over a month ago on November 12th (93yo).

· Gerald and Betty hold the record as the longest-lived first couple at 93yo and 88yo

· Only president whose parents have been divorced

· Played as a center for the University of Michigan football team during their undefeated seasons in 1932 and 1933

· Had offers from the NFL (Lions and Packers) but turned it down to go to law school at Yale.

· Washed dishes in his fraternity (DKE) during college: Joe Hoover as the next president?

· Joined the navy after law school in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor

· Mrs. Ford battled breast cancer, alcoholism and addiction during Gerald’s presidency

· Appointed to the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of JFK

· Covered up the assassination details to support the single bullet theory by altering the location of where the bullet had entered as it struck President Kennedy

· Vaccination program was instituted in an attempt to prevent a suspected swine flu plague in the 1970s. 25% of the United States population was vaccinated before the program was cancelled. The vaccine was blamed for 25 deaths; more people died from the shots than from the swine flu.

· Ford faced two assassination attempts during his presidency (within three weeks)

· Ford passed on the 34^th anniversary of the death of President Harry S. Truman

Feel free to pass along any other facts or events that you found significant in President Ford’s lifetime. I am always open to learn new things or clear up any misinformation I might have.

Alas, although yesterday marked a day of loss, it also marks a day 26 years ago, in which a large Puerto Rican meathead and his brother were removed from their mother’s womb and were brought into this world. With that I want to wish Mike G. a happy 26^th birthday and everyone else a wonderful New Year!