Web Robin

It's all in the attitude!

We've heard that one's altitude in life is determined by their attitude. 

This story on Roger Ebert show him as an example of one of the "high fliers."  In it he says, "To make others less happy is a crime, to make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts."

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/roger-ebert-cheerfully-talks-oprah-winfrey/story?id=9987483

Welcoming a New Year

With the New Year being a short sundown away, most Americans take this time to reflect at the past year, and make some sort of promise to themselves about self-improvement.

I have personally always hated New Years resolutions as they have always been the same since 5^th grade, to lose weight.

So, I refuse to do that to myself this year. Not that I think my “bod” is just so great, but, I feel like the world as a whole is in a place where I need to be a little more concerned about things other than my thighs.

Robert Jordan Passes on....

I wanted everyone to know that RJ passed. For those who haven't read his books, he gave an amazing contribution to the world before he left. It is still unknown whether he finished his last book.

Pres. Faust

Continuing with those who have passed on, we note the passing of Pres. Faust.  Not seeing him as one who was great at explaining doctrine, as does Pres. Packer, or providing as entertaining and emotional discourses, as does Elder Holland, or giving the personal anecdotes that Pres. Monson does, Terrie and I remember hosting him in our home, even briefly (as related in The Gray Book, pg. 20-21), sharing some time with him as he told of spiritual experiences he had, and giving us personal advice that helped us feel good about proceeding with our family when we did, culminating in the birth of Jeremy.  He was a good administrator and great help to Pres. Hinckley, and will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Now the question is who will replace him in the First Presidency, and who will be called to fill a spot in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  I imagine the First Presidency will be completed within the next two weeks, but we wont see a new apostle until the October conference.

Papa Dennett

Speaking of dying out:  Papa Dennett died on Tuesday.  None of you but Terrie ever met him.  Papa Dennett was my "father in the Church."  When I was converted to the LDS Church, but not allowed to join, my family in the Church was the Dennetts.  My first Family Home Evening was in their home.  When I had Gospel questions, Papa Dennett always had time for me.  A quiet, gentle giant (he was tall!) he had a quick chuckle and easy-going manner.  He may also have been the most wise person I have ever met, able to sit down with a group of trouble making kids, talk to them about their behavior, how it affected others, what they wanted, and how to get it without acting out, and all this without ever raising his voice or being pushy.  When he became superintendent of schools for Shasta County Schools one of the first things he did was fire an asst superintendent who had been there many years and was just about one year from retirement, and was a friend of my folks.  I didnt know the reasons why, but knew my folks were upset and had some influence in town.  I suggested he talk to my dad about it, so he invited my dad out to lunch, talked to him about the situation in confidence (I never found out about the details of that conversation,) and my dad came home saying he understood why it was done and agreed whole-heartedly with the decision.

He was diagnosed with ALS a few years ago, but took the time to e-mail me on occasion using one finger to type out his messages, preferring to do it himself instead of depending on others.  Throughout it all he talked about taking care of his wife (who has always been in poor health.)  I recently re-connected with his daughter, Kathy, whose husband just died of a head-and-neck cancer a couple months ago.  Her son called me today to report the news and seemed more broken up today than when he gave his dad's eulogy.  A great man, he will be sorely missed.

Top Ten Addictions (That I'll Admit To)

What are yours? (Cross-posted in the usual places...)

1. My wife. Before I get things thrown at me, claiming I'm a sentimental sap, it's true. She just happens to be really cute, a fun companion, and smart, too! Though it's not always easy to admit it, every minute of every day, we're both darn lucky we're not single. Anybody who will put up with my other 9 addictions, in no particular order, and still manages to be unique herself, is worth keeping.

2. The Internet. Try and get me to take a vacation that doesn't involve easy access to high-speed Internet... it's not going to happen. I'm on the laptop first and last things each day.

3. My job. At each stop in my career, I've been all-consumed to exceeding expectations. If that sounds like a sorry first line to a resume, so be it. But hardly a minute goes by when I'm not either thinking about a project, or strategizing on where to take the next one. The goal is to make the company bigger and better because I've been part of it, and for them to know I helped.

4. Humor. It sounds generic, but if I'm not actively seeking out witty sarcasm through The Daily Show, The Simpsons, Arli$$, or This Modern World (to name a few), it's me making up the nonsense. I've usually got a crooked grin hiding the fact that something has internally struck me funny, and there's just not a good outlet for it yet. Other times, I let the words go, and so long as it's funny to me, that works well.

5. Competition. Again, generic. But I yearn for it. I hate losing, and I love fighting to come out on top, whether that's in a game of cribbage against my 78-year-old father in law, Trivial Pursuit against my wife, a pickup game of H-O-R-S-E with my colleagues, or in business. Competition stokes the inner fires and pushes me to get better at whatever I want to.

The Example of Older Siblings

I remember Jeremy's being interested in the psychology of birth order when he was in high school and early college. Check out this article on Slate Magazine that indicates birth order influences behavior in the family circle, but has little impact beyond it -- except to lead younger siblings into bad habits and delinquency!

Unselfish love

I heard this story on Sunday. It was told by our choral director who was explaining why he had missed our dress rehearsal downtown on Friday night.

Apparently, he had been married for many years to a woman who tragically died of leukemia, leaving him with several children. A year later he met and married his current wife, who happens to be our ward Relief Society president.

After their marriage, they decided to hold a "party" on the anniversary of the first marriage every year. During that event they'd watch home movies and tell stories about the mom/wife who'd passed away so the younger kids would have a sense of who their mother was and what she'd been like.

Over time, and as the kids grew older, this tradition faded away. Now the kids are mostly grown and gone.

But on Friday, they surprised their dad with a 25th wedding celebration. His current wife had decorated the house festively  and arranged for all the kids to come home.  So, of course, he couldn't leave for our rehearsal.

I am so impressed by this woman's unselfishness and kindness. Paul, the conductor, said, "I'm married to an angel."

Every once in a while you meet someone you want to emulate. I don't think I could ever reach her level, but I sure do want to get to know her better!

Newsweek's Perfect Mother issue

Hi. Since I'm not home I haven't see this week's Newsweek, but did catch a few of the articles online.

I'm curious what you all think about the "Perfect Madness" article that basically says our society doesn't do enough for families and kids so moms try to do it all and wear themselves out in the process.

Personally, I resonated with the "Slacker Mom" article myself.

What do you think? Do you agree that we should advocate that business and government help provide more options for kids and families?

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy lunar new year from Seattle!  This year for the lunar new year (it's the year of the rooster for those who don't keep track), we celebrated with Jess' mom Kelly and littlest sister Samantha (age 12) in the Seattle International District. 

Seattle has the third largest Chinatown in North America (first is Vancouver, BC, 2nd is San Francisco).  Needless to say, Seattle throws quite a party.

We watched the lion and dragon dances... the dragon dances went on a route throughout the whole district stopping at every participating business to "feed the lions" lettuce, (it has something to do with prosperity), and to set off a *lot* of firecrackers.  I'd include photos of the lions, but they were all taken into the sun and came out quite dark.

We had Dim Sum at the China Gate (one of Seattle's best authentic Chinese restaurants).  Dim Sum is a traditional celebration meal, for happy occasions, weddings, new year, and other family celebrations.  It's a many-course meal much like our traditional Thanksgiving dinner, except that it includes no vegetables.  Eating vegetables during the new year is considered bad luck.  If you eat veggies throughout the first 8 days, then that means that you'll have nothing but vegetables to eat all year long! (Not sure of the significance of 8 days, it has either something to do with religion or history, or the fact that a diet sans veggies has negative consequences)...

The whole event was wonderful, but very, very crowded.  We saw traditional Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Cambodian and Korean dancing and martial arts, not to mention the Taiko drums!  We ate lots of good food, and learned a lot.

Our favorite thing to do in the international district is the pet stores--lots of illegal meat-eating, scary-looking fish (no photos allowed!), and truly amazing goldfish, and to visit the museums and galleries.   

We went to the Wing Luke museum (one of my few decent photos--the yellow building) where they had a truly moving display on international adoption, including a photo taken in 1970 of two young Korean nuns who were assingned in an orphanage to care for 90 infants.  I stayed up most of the night last night wondering how one could possibly care for 90 infants every day and maintain one's wits.

WingLuke also had a great exhibit on Lunar New Year celebrations around the world.  For more info see www.wingluke.org

One of the other truly interesting things was how many people came from far away to participate.  We were in a dime store behind a British (and very blond) couple with two adopted Chinese daughters--they were buying "authentic" costumes for their daughters.    We also saw a tour bus letting off passengers.  It was marked "Wenatchee" (a town in Eastern Washington) disembarking from the bus were a handful of elderly Asian women, and many, many blond families with Asian children.   The dynamic was thought-provoking.  The adoptive families were trying to preserve as much of their children's heritage as possible, but much of the Chinese community in resistant to the mixing.

I'm attaching a few photos of our "travels" even though this distant-looking place was just 40 minutes by bus from home.  Also, the dragons--they're "Dragon Poles" 300 pound dragon sculptures mounted on lampposts throughout the district.  I think there's 30 of them, but I just have a couple of photos of them.

Enjoy, and next time you're in Seattle, do visit the International  district--it's a very vibrant place!