Final Farewell Luncheon from CQA

My co-workers from the Corporate QA group gave me a farewell luncheon last Tuesday. We gathered at the Bluestone restaurant for the occasion.  Only Kaster and Shraddha were unable to make it due to their meetings I think everyone had a pretty good time. Roger said a couple more nice things about me. Bill said a few words, Lyny asked me to wait for her on the Marjong game.  Anita surprised me with the bottles of black pepper with my picture and name as the label. How thoughtful of her.  She later told me that she just want to do some thing special for me because I am such a nice person.  I am truly moved by her extra efforts.  I hope that I finally learned that it's always worth it to be nice to others. It is worth it because you have an opportunity to touch someone else's heart, even though there always exists a risk of your feeling could be hurt at times.

Mommy, Won't You Take Me to Russia with You

I now am at home a lot more than before ever since April, which of course made Bowtie very happy.  He is quite attached to me and comes to relaxed on my lap at times.  Then he saw me started packing for my Russia trip.  He is CONCERNED.  He sat on my half packed suitcase and looked up to me with his pair of pleading eyes.  Ai, this little furry friend.  What am I going to do with him?!

My Retirement Tea

My retirement tea came and went.  I made a record of having most family member to join the tea of this kind.  tom, Janice, Margaret, Meghan, Alexander, Elizabeth, and Joshua were all there!  Amy, the HR lady, introduce them as "special guests".  Amy, Roger, and Anita from McCormick each talked a bit about me.  Tom, on behalf of the Huang family thanks the participants for coming, and talked a bit about his little sister.  I thanked McCormick and everyone.  I know Bill decided not to make a speech as I mentioned to him that I will be "protected" by minors.  I hope all McCormick attendees had a good time.  I think me and my family certainly had a wonderful time.

The kitchen was so nice to have baked three egg less pies for Meghan, and one sugarless cake for Tom and me.  Anita also baked a dozen egg less cupcakes.  The booklet assembled by Anita was just great. 

Eveything was nice.  I have to admit that I was nervous when Roger was speaking.  Anyway, it is not important anymore.  Dan came to me and said that what he wrote in the booklet was "from his heart".  That was nice of him.  Over the weekend, I thanked him via an e-mail. At the end of the day, it is the goodwill between one person and another matters.

An ordinary Chinese family in Shanghai

When I have been organizing the Asia Pacific QA Manager's Meeting to be held annually in Shanghai for the past several years, I developed a friendly relationship with this small business owner Mr. Zhao Qiang and his wife.  They print and bind the meeting booklets to be handed out to meeting attendees.  Their shop is right across from the hotel I stay every time when I am on business in Shanghai (Hongqiao Marriott), and that was how I first found them the first time.  They are simple and hard working people.  The wife is quiet but very helpful.  The husband sometimes grumbles about the government, and how hard it is to sustain a small business.  They had a son last year, a boy born in the year of Tiger.  So this March when I was in Shanghai to host the APZ QA Conference for the last time before retirement, I met their son.  I gave him a red envelop of 100 RMB.  Mr Zhao and his wife's faces brightened up and smiled widely.  The parents are so happy, not because of the money but rather because of the friendship I have shown to them.  It proves once again how precious it is to be connected with other human beings even in some very small ways.

I love the hair cut of the little boy!

One Thursday afternoon with Elizabeth and Joshua

Yesterday I went to visit Elizabeth and Joshua.  What a lovely afternoon and I truly enjoyed it.  I made some egg rolls for Elizabeth and Dan.  I hope that they reheat the rolls with some dry heat so that the skins do not taste too soggy.  We took a walk in the neighborhood.  Elizabeth is so beautiful as a young mother. How I remember her as a baby and a young girl seems not too long ago at all!

Wednesday Breakfast Club

For the past several years, a few of us at the QA Group always go down stairs to have breakfast together.  It's a special for just Wednesday.  I really developed a liking for the cooks and the kitchen aids .  Bobby has such a wonderful memory that he not only remembers every one's name, but also his or her food preferences.  Brenda is always friendly to me.  James a lot of times does not seem to know what he is doing, just shows his big smile with many teeth missing.  Lawrence is new, and is from TaiShan.  He is supporting not only his wife and kids, but also both his Mom and his wife's Mom.  One is 80 something, and the other is 60 something.  And the two Moms do not get along.  They all are simple people but are very hard working.

Bill is a co-worker with whom I talk about life and philosophy.  He teased a lot about my pre-retirement grin, showing too much happiness!

Here is Bill in a tie:

Some other breakfast club members: Lyny, Ken, and Earl:

Here is Lawrence, Bobby, Branda, and James in sequence:

Cherry Blossom at Kenwood

Julia Lee invited a few Class 68 friends to see the echerry blossom at Kenwood, then stopped by her home for a chat. So seven of us (Shan Shan, Joan,Yvonne, Kathy, Joan, Shu-jen, Julia, and me) first met at the Mongamory Mall for a simple lunch (at the Food Court).  We then car pooled to the Whole Food parking lot to leave the two cars.  We walked unto the Kenwood community, where homes are in the millions dollars.  The flowers were still in their early blossom, but quite pretty. 

At Julia's home, we tasted the 16 grains and beans sweet soup she prepared for us.  There were also gigantic strawberries from COSCO, nuts, baked flexseed chips, etc.  We chated well into 7 PM.  It was still light, and was time for us to part as originally planned.  Yvonne and the ladies gave me a bunch of lovely balloons for my retirement.  What a pleasant surprise!  Bowtie enjoyed them too after I took them home.

Flat Belly Solution

I made a pledge to my self: lose some fat and stay healthy!  So a new scale which can show fat percentage besides weight was newly acquired for my kitchen.  My current weight is between 116-118, and fat percentage is around 30.5 - 34%.  So the first goal is to drop the fat percentage to below 30.  The first change to make is to stop eating cereals for breakfast to avoid taking in excess carbohydrates.  So I switched to one boiled egg and some fruits (an apple for example).  Down the road I can try some vegetable and fruit smoothies for breakfast too.  Two days on the new diet, I seem to have dropped one pound.  :-)  Although it might be just water, but it's a good sign.

The next thing is to exercise more, especially aerobic exercise.  Now that's a bit more challenging for me.  I just have to remind myself "be consistent, be consistent".  Persistence is the mother of success!  Good luck to myself.