Moving to London

London Business School

A park near LBS

(I am writing this blog entry with very mixed feelings, so please forgive me if I go off on a tangent.)

Yes, S and I have finally made up our minds by making a "HUGE" installment payment last week, so we are moving to London for one year after agonizing over this decision for months.

No mistake here, S is very excited about the opportunity: he was accepted into the Master in Finance program (MiF) at London Business School (LBS) which is ranked way up there around the world. At first, I was very excited when he brought up the "idea" of applying to LBS, because London is my favorite city after living there for four years from 1987 to 1990. The mention of London brought back so many fond memories of traveling all over UK and Europe, excitement of living in a new country, learning a new language. In 1990, I was forced to leave London under very sad circumstances soon after I was accepted to LSE- basically my dad's business was not doing well so that he couldn't afford to pay the tuition and costs of living in London any more. My dream of attending a top college was shattered and I had to attend a city college in Pasadena CA instead of LSE. Coming from Taiwan's traditional focus on education, attending a top college was all I cared about in the world back then. Darn, I still feel that my English could have been much much better if I have stayed in London. There are too many Taiwanese in LA so that I was too lazy to practice my English. :)~ The thoughts of us returning to London also feels like a personal "redemption" and a dream realized through S's study in a top-ranked school.

However, reality quickly set in when he was actually accepted by LBS. Excitement turned into panic. I am no longer that young J who can move anywhere with a minute's notice and with only one suitcase of worldly possessions. Now, we own cars, a house, full-time jobs, a 2-year old to think about as well as a house full of junk, closets full of clothes and SHOES! It's going to be tough to leave my shoes behind, not to mention all the clothes I just bought in Taiwan this January! In addition, the costs of daycare (a.k.a. nurseries) in London is "shocking". Full-time nursery costs as much as us hiring a full-time nanny in CA!! We won't see S's family for a long time, so that Di-di will be even more isolated from any immediate family other than his parents. Renting a 2-bedroom flat way outside of central London still costs as much as our monthly mortgage payment. Besides, S didn't like England and the rainy weather that much when we vacationed there in April 2000. He was so happy to be back to warm and sunny CA.

Then S got me excited about the idea again. 1) He wants studying more about finance & asset management, and LBS is the place to go. 2) we can travel around Europe again (remembering how much you loved Italy- baby- he reminded me:). 3) Di-di is still so young that a change of environment won't be too traumatic for him. 4) Hey, Di-di might even start speaking with a British accent and people would automatically add 10 points to his IQ, because of the British accent (according to some study:)... 5) The kind of jobs that S will be getting after school could be more exciting (and pay more) AND we might move to SF which is closer to his parents'. I could tell S was trying so hard to convince himself and me. 6) If my Mr. Frugal doesn't mind the cost of living in London, why am I worrying about it! I have been the person in our relationship to splurge 99% of the time, so now that he is putting $$$ aside, I should give it very very serious thought and be a supportive wife.

Then, we both (sort of) changed our minds again. Well, I didn't want to go. The 10-months tuition will cost more than his 4-year JD/MBA. He was somewhat worried that the economy is not looking good right now to leave a stable job. I am attached to my house-full of junk and I am used to our quiet, easy life style in "small" town CA. We went back and forth about the pros and cons for a long time and the indecision was painful.

Now we have made up our mind by putting down that nonrefundable payment to LBS, we feel happy and are totally looking forward to this new adventure! I trust S 100% and I know that he is making the best decision for our family and his career; we will stay strong and together through this new journey.

(We still need to complete that long to-do list, take care of our worldly possession in CA, but we will take it one day at a time from now on.)

To Share or Not to Share (the choice was hard to our Di-di:)

One thing we are learning about human nature as parents is that the idea of "sharing" is very much a learned behavior. So far, I haven't run into any babies or toddlers in Di-di's class who would willingly "share" their toys. His classmates are very much like his siblings in that they fight over toys and for adults' attention, even though there are more toys than they can all have. I get at least one report a week from Di-di's school that documents either he bit someone or was bitten by someone when they were fighting over toys.
Di-di is even more protective of his food. I try to teach the idea of "sharing" food by opening my mouth in front of him when he is eating. If he give me some of his food, I would kiss him to encourage the sharing behavior. Sometimes he would eat "faster" or simply ignore my presence AFTER he gives me a cheerio or two . Today, totally out of the blue, Di-di just started to block his bowl completely with his hands as soon as I got near his food. This little gesture and change of pattern broke mommy's heart (inside), even though I was laughing! :) Of course, daddy was laughing so hard at mommy's misery. I finally got half of a grape from Di-di! I am realizing that my method is flawed and it's time to find help from experts. Note to self: need to study up on the right techniques of teaching the concept of sharing to Di-di.
Oh well, our backup plan for our old age is to buy an advanced robot (being developed and improved in Japan ) that can take care of lonely old people.:( We figure if Di-di is not willing to even share his food, what's the odds that he would take care of us and change our diapers when we are old and you know what...
(Hey- no hard feeling after all. Di-di: mommy and daddy still love you sooo much!!)




(Sweet dream Di-di. We love you!)

A weekend of fun

Sunday-

Di-di had his first taste of T-ball fun watching J playing. Auntie S and Uncle M were awesome and showed him a great time. (Di-di was probably thinking- I wish they were my parents..lol..!! :)

(Di-di tried to sneak into the field, so we had to keep the gate closed and Di-di out for now)

(J on third base)


(Di-di practicing his T-ball move)



I prefer sleeping in and doing nothing on weekends. However, with S busy studying for his CFA exam, I have taken on more baby-duties. Granted that Di-di and I both sleep in till 9:30 on weekends and don't miss our 2-hour naps, but I do try to do more things with Di-di when we are awake so that he doesn't miss his daddy too much. For the past 4 weekends, we have been going on long walks along the river, a trip to Fairytale Town in Sac, trips to Starbucks and grocery stores, but we did do a lot more than usual this weekend.

Saturday-

Di-Di had a fun weekend. We had B-B-Q at our friend's this Saturday. Di-di loved playing with the 3 older kids. A & J & D showed Di-di the ropes on how to be a little trouble-maker.. He has earned the honorable title of "Trouble Maker Number 4". :)



OMG.. my then 4-year-old flower girl is 10 years old now and will be baby sitting in 2 years!! (Can't believe it will be our 6-year wedding anniversary in June.)

Almost Two Years Old~~ :(

Di-di will be two years old on May 6! Oh..my... look at how much he has changed in two years!!
He is now a pro at using mommy's cell phone...and loves talking to himself on the phone. :)

(May 26, 2006 when my family picked him up from the hospital)

(June 1, 2006 with his first girlfriend)

(June 28, 2006 with his girlfriend after their hair was shaved)

(April 2008)

(April, 2008)

(Busy talking on the phone)

A New Baby in Town

Our friend D&A are overjoyed to have their first baby- H. H was born over two weeks early, but he is healthy and very very cute! We met H this weekend and our Di-di was fascinated by H. Don't know what was going through Di-di's head when he was checking out H, but he surely couldn't wait to poke his eyes & loved to pull his tiny toes!! Got to keep Di-di away from H for a while!

Ching Ming Jei News in Taiwan

Just read this Taiwanese news on line. [Wow.....] Over 10,000 "Yeh" descendants from all over Taiwan showed up at the Yeh family Tomb in Tao Yuan to sweep their ancestors' tomb on Ching Ming Jei!! Most of these distant relatives don't even know each other, but every year they all follow the same tradition of coming back to pay respect to their common ancestors who moved from Guondong China to Taiwan some 270 years ago. It's also a time for the Yeh clan to read up on their family "book" and catch up..

(My Wu ancestors would probably be very jealous that so many of the Yeh descendants still remember to pay respect to their ancestors...:)

Ching Ming Jei (Tomb Sweeping Day)

No matter where I have been, every Spring always reminds me of Ching Ming Jei. Chinese New Year is widely celebrated outside of China and Taiwan, but Ching Ming Jei is not as widely observed by overseas Chinese. It makes sense, since most new immigrants' ancestors are probably buried in their home town.

Growing up, Ching Ming Jei was as important as Chinese New Year in my village. Even for just one day, most family members would travel back to the village to sweep our ancestors' tombs, cook a feast for our ancestors and to "talk" to them. Children would "tell" our ancestors about our achievements for the past year and ask for protection and good grades in the coming year. We figured that a little extra help from our ancestors did not constitute cheating.. :) The family will then gather to feast on the "leftover" food that we have prepared and offered to our ancestors (they didn't really "eat" the food, but we always thought they did.:)

Then I moved away from Taiwan months after my grandma passed away in 1987 . She was my closest "ancestor" who actually brought me up, yet I didn't have a chance to sweep her tomb until last year when I was finally in Taiwan during Ching Ming Jei. It felt like I have never left my ancestors when I stood in front of them again to pray and tell them everything about my life, my baby and asked for their protection. The meaning of Ching Ming Jei for me is really to show respect and gratitude for people who gave me life and "roots". I do feel guilty not being in Taiwan for the Ching Ming Jei to perform all of the rites, but I will pray to them from a distance to let them know that I will not forget them and will forever be grateful to all of my ancestors no matter where I am.

S will probably never have the chance to sweep his birth ancestors' tombs in person, but I will teach him about this important tradition and the meaning of Ching Ming Jie. He may not know who his ancestors are like I did growing up, but the traditional value of respecting our birth (and adopted) roots and forebears will not be lost.

Here's my favorite Chinese poem for Ching Ming Jei: simply titled "Ching Ming" by Du-Mu:
清明時節雨紛紛
路上行人欲斷魂
借問酒家何處有
牧童遙指杏花村

Found this direct English translation on the web, but the "meaning" is somewhat lost in translation:(
Drizzling rain falls like tears on Ching Ming Shi Jei
A mourner`s heart is breaking on his way home.
Where can a hostel be found to drown his sadness?
A cowherd points to Xing Hua village in the distance.

(I did tweak the translation a little)

Beautiful Spring

After 4 years of "loving" care, the cherry tree in our front yard has the best full bloom this year! Our neighbors have also planted beautiful spring flowers. S enjoys the nice afternoon walk looking at the flowers and trees. We love Spring in Sacramento!

Our neighbor's garden- (thanks auntie M for visiting us and bringing S the Easter egg)

Enjoy a nice walk in the Spring

Spring cleaning includes a hair cut (before hair cut)

After