Our flight was Thursday night. We decided to take the BART to the airport for the first time. Usually we grab a cab. I’m not sure why. For some reason we had this idea that the BART would be more trouble than its worth, but actually it turned out to be very easy.
You may have heard about the gas line explosion in San Bruno, a town right near the airport. Well, we were traveling on the BART when it happened and didn’t hear a thing. We must have been underground at the time. In fact, I think we were waiting on the San Bruno platform – having take the wrong train initially – minutes before the explosion.
Chalk this up to two other explosions I didn’t hear.
I forgot the airplane would be so small, and MB was pretty cramped, but the flight was less than an hour. We flew into Burbank, a dinky little airport, and lickety split we were outta there and in my brother’s car. Much easier than LAX (though the flights are a bit pricier). It was already 10 by the time we got to his apartment so we just ate something, watched TV, chilled.
I slept awesome knowing there were no mosquitoes.
The next day my brother – whom I call Di, “little brother” in Mandarin – had to go to work so MB and I mostly hung around the apartment working on our own stuff. I put in some hours for my job but also had a chance to work on my writing.
For lunch, we took a long walk out to Ventura Boulevard, eating at this random Mexican dive, Manny’s, along the way. We walked in and saw all the customers were Mexican construction/maintenance guys, and thought the food must be good. And it was. I got a chorizo scramble (low cholesterol diet be damned for the weekend) and it was delish!
While it wasn’t too hot, it was still hot to be walking that much. By the time we got back, I was sweaty, sunburnt, and grouchy because I hadn’t brought enough clothes, not anticipating that one of my outfits would stink by the first day.
When Di came home, we got some ramen for dinner and then pie for dessert. The pie was good, especially my brother’s banana cream, but we kept smelling this weird, musty, mildewy smell. It was strange because it would come and go. At first Di thought it was the old woman at the table next to us, but then I surmised it was the rag they were using to wipe the tables. I smelled the smell when the guy wiped our neighboring table, and my bro smelled it later when another walked by with the offending rag. Gross.
More chilling out afterward. Di had just come back from vacation in Mexico and was pooped, and MB and I were worn out from our walk in the sun that afternoon, or at least I was.
The next day it was off to my uncle’s. He and my aunt were away so my parents were brought in to help with my grandmother. Luckily my grandmother has 24/7 care so my parents don’t have to do much except just be there.
My mom made a great lunch of beef noodles, dumplings, and a variety of other dishes. No pictures since I didn’t bring my camera. (I’ve fallen so far out of the habit of taking pictures!) Since we had time, my brother washed his car, and we did laundry. Yay, no more stinky outfit! Later we hit the mall (what else?), and I actually had luck finding some pants I liked.
Then it was back home and fantastic dinner, thanks to Mom again. There were two kinds of fish, stir fried shrimp with peas, mapo tofu, stir fried beef with pickled veggies, teriyaki chicken, tea eggs, baby bok choy, and beef soup. I’m sure leaving stuff out as well.
Okay, hungry now.
While we were eating, my mother asked my brother, “Do you remember my hitting you with my slipper?” and he said, “Yes, of course! Why else would I be afraid of a slipper?”
The funny thing is I don’t remember the slipper actually ever hitting me. I remember the threat, the rushing of my mother toward me with slipper in hand, but I probably never went so far as to warrant a whack.
Then we started talking about a whole bunch of other memories. I remember when Di knocked down the Christmas tree. I remember when I broke the wall and all these bees flew out. (Apparently there was a giant hive growing in the wall for years.) I remember when I used to pee the bed and Mom would get so mad. MB was thoroughly entertained.
We left L.A. Sunday afternoon, and returned to a very chilly Bay Area.
This upcoming weekend: Seattle!
