A Really Goode Job

The great thing about being unemployed is that when a really cool opportunity presents itself, you've got nothing to stop you from going after it.

My aunt told me about an amazing job that is right up my alley. In case you haven't heard about it, Murphy-Goode winery is going to hire someone to work for them for six months. In return, their new employee will blog about their experience.

This job is great for me because:
a) I love wine.
b) I can easily work for six months and then go back to Vietnam (Huyen and I will visit each other before the job starts if I'm lucky enough to get it).
c) As you may be aware, I blog from time to time.

I'd really appreciate it if everyone who reads this could take two seconds and vote:
http://www.areallygoodejob.com/video-view.aspx?vid=ENgJxigG7WU

Yes, I know: I'm sooooooo demanding. First I want money for a house, now I want votes for me.

I'd say I have a pretty good shot at making the top 50 so if you could vote for me, that would be really cool....and then you can visit me in wine country and not feel guilty.

Max Frank Zucker

(PICTURE: The happy parents...and confused son.)

Yesterday afternoon my family got a little bigger. My cousin Adam and his wife Rachel gave birth to their first child, Max Frank Zucker.

I gotta tell you, Max is one lucky kid. Adam and Rachel are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet. The other day I went over to their apartment in New York City and their excitement about becoming parents was contagious. I even thought for a second about flying to Hanoi...

Lets be honest, once in a while you see a pregnant couple and think, "Geez, they're gonna be parents." Yes, I'm sure some people will say that about me one day too. However, the exact opposite is true with Adam and Rachel. After you see them together for two minutes you just know they're gonna be an amazing mom and dad.

Congrats, Cuz, Rachel and Max!

(PICTURE: Adam telling Max that he'll do the color commentary and Max will do the play-by-play for all college sports.)


















(PICTURE: My Aunt Donna...now Grandma Donna.)


















(PICTURE: My cousin Dana...now Aunt Dana.)

Babies On Parade

(PICTURE: This is the age we should be having babies!...I'm talking about the age of the guy on the right.)

As I walked the parade route yesterday, I occasionally heard people calling out my name. Sitting and standing on the sidewalk were old friends of mine, parents of old friends of mine, former teachers of mine and former coaches of mine.

Seeing everyone made me realize that, well, I'm getting kind of old. All but one of my old classmates was at the parade with their baby. First there was my friend Andy's sister with her two children. Then there was my good friend Christie with her 8-month-old (http://www.ghetianbaby.blogspot.com). Next there was my friend Danielle LeBenger with her blue-eyed baby (age unknown to me). And then finally was my co-senior superlative best athlete Peter Cullen and his wife Amanda with their (I think) 4-month-old baby. Also next to Pete was baseball great Mike Violette. I don't know if Mike is married with a kid but I think there was a second baby carriage next to Peter's so I can only assume it was Violette's (unless he was using it as an easy way to carry his baseball glove and bats).

Finally on the route I saw my friend/LHS golf legend/my old carpool buddy Rob Fink. I'm happy to report that Rob -- although married -- was at least for the moment baby free. Thank you, Rob.

Memorial Day

(PICTURE: One of the war memorials in front of the Livingston oval.)

As Mayor, my father thought he might have to give a speech for Memorial Day. Like all of the Boy Scouts who were out for the holiday, my father is always prepared. And, well, in this case he was too prepared since he wasn't scheduled to give a speech.

So, I'm gonna let his would be speech be my blog entry for today since I think it really captures the heart of Memorial Day:

Memorial day is one of our most sacred celebrations on the US calendar. Yet like many holidays, Memorial Day is beginning to lose its meaning. A lot of people believe Memorial Day is important because it signifies the beginning of the summer season or just another day off from work or school. However, Memorial Day is much more important than that. Because of the men and women who have served in our armed forces we can all say freely what is on our minds, we can all read what we want, we can all pray to whom we believe in and we can all vote for or against our political leaders.
I am a history buff and I have seen many veterans who say they are not heroes. They often say that the heroes are those who died and those who were wounded in action. Well, you are all heroes and this country can be proud of its long line of heroes. From the Minutemen in the revolution to the sailors on the USS Constitution in the war of 1812, to both the blue and gray, to Havana Harbor, to the trenches of Europe, North Africa and Italy, to the beaches of Normandy, to Guadalcanal, New Guinea, to the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, to the cold of Korea, to the heat of Vietnam, to the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, and to the men and women who have served in peace time, you are all heroes in our eyes.
No matter what branch of the military you served in you were all willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.
I encourage everyone to take a moment the next time they look at one of our war memorials in front of the oval and think of those who gave their lives so we could live our lives the way we do. I would like to finish by quoting a veteran of the 82nd Airborne who parachuted on June 6th, 1944 into Saint-Mere-Eglise who said, “Freedom is not free but very expensive.”
Today, and always we thank all veterans and those serving in our armed forced for your service to our country. Thank you.

(PICTURE: The stage where the speeches were held before the parade.)

(PICTURE: They mayor and the first lady of Livingston passing out American flags to children.)

The Ultimate Test

Coming back to America, I had only one concern: was I forgotten by everybody? Between my blog and email addiction I wasn't really too worried. However, two of my favorite people don't email and well, they don't read my blog either. Yeah, that's right, they don't read my blog. I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Why do you care about people who don't read your blog?" Well, as they say, "You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family." I have to still love these non-blog readers because they're my niece and nephew:

(PICTURE: Rocky enjoying a snack, Bella smiling.)

I have a very strange gift. Rocky is fully potty trained, but whenever he sees me he pisses himself with wild abandon. Zev actually has to take Rocky out of the house when I first come over or else he'll have a pool of yellow on his kitchen floor.

Seeing Rocky was what I considered to be my Ultimate Test on whether I was away too long. Would Rocky still pee himself or was I totally forgotten by him? This may sound crazy, but I was a tad nervous that he wouldn't pee his brains out when he saw me.

Well, last week Zev brought the dogs over and put them in my parents' backyard. I peeked out the window at the dogs a couple of times before I mustered the courage to say hi to them. I finally took a few deep breaths and went into the backyard. As I approached Rocky he gave me a look of recognition. I then gave him a big smile and jogged up to him. As I rubbed his head, the fire hose burst out and watered the grass in the backyard. Yup, I've still got it! I was gone but I wasn't forgotten.

Meeting Lilah

(Picture: The August Kids)

Within the first twenty four hours of returning home I was greeted with two amazing things. The first was a foot long Espesito's roast beef sandwich with sweet red peppers, balsamic vinegar and the works. The second amazing thing was my niece, Lilah. I'm torn about which to write about but since I didn't get any pictures of the sandwich before I devoured it, I'll write about Lilah.

I make no qualms about it -- I don't know much about kids. One thing I do know though is that most kids cry, making them the least preferable person to sit next to on a plane. However, not a tear or a scream or any unpleasant siren-like sound came out of Lilah when my brother handed her to me. Lilah simply looked at me as if to say, "Who is this guy that I'm suppose to entertain now?" After a few moments of mutual curious stares, Zev told me to rub my cheek against her because she likes scruff. After a few gentle brushes with my five o'clock shadow, I had Lilah in the palm of my hand...or maybe she had me in the palm of her hand. Five minutes later I was feeding her some mashed fruit goodness:

As I've mentioned on the blog before, nearly every day that I was away, my brother emailed me pictures and videos of Lilah. I really felt like I was almost there with my family watching Lilah grow up these past months. However, like many other things in life, there's just nothing like the real thing. Holding my beautiful niece in my arms was definitely second to none.

Thank You!

I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed to the Habitat For Humanity house. Yesterday three more checks came in the mail, officially putting the total over $2,000!!!!

I think it's pretty freaking cool that over sixty of my friends and family have contributed to help build a family a house in Vietnam! The contributions have ranged from $2 to $200. Little donation or big donation, we had a goal and together we achieved it.

If you often read the comments on the blog you would have seen one from LH from KY a few weeks ago. LH had suggested building a house for a Vietnamese War Veteran with the donations. LH also asked whether Vietnamese veterans get any benefits from the government. I asked someone in the Habitat office these questions and he wrote: We cannot be specifically targeting a Vietnamese War Vet for a particular build. I know that inside our programming, we do work with VWV to provide improving housing. FYI…VWV do get special social services from the Government of Vietnam.

Regardless of whether we build a house for a veteran or not, we can all feel good that we're helping someone in need.

Thank you again for all your contributions! That said, if you still want to contribute it's not too late. I anticipate a few more people donating in the coming weeks and will do a second bank transfer after collecting the money.

Ben

P.S. I've received lots of emails recently about when I'll start blogging again. Well, I guess this post answers the question. I'm back, baby!