02.08.02

Yesterday felt like a crazy day....chaotic and rushed! 911 and the fire department was involved. Since Sis was going to give me and Ashlyn a ride to the airport, we had to get up really early and go to work with her. The morning started out hectic. I ran around trying to get our heavy-@ss luggage out the door, get Ashlyn ready, and do some last-minute tidying up of my parent's place. Sis manages property for this wealthy HK guy, so she's the only one in the office....her boss is usually travelling. For lunch, we met with my parents and godfather at this vegetarian place. I parked the stroller next to my mom, and Sis and I went to use the restroom. When we came back, no one was sitting at the table...but the baby and stroller was still there. *HUH?!* I look in the lobby area of the restaurant, and my godfather was lying on the floor with both my parents on either side of him, and the Fire department showed up. I wanted to see what was going on, but I decided to stay with Ashlyn, and stay out of the way. Sitting there, I was really really stressed and worried. My godfather just celebrated his 80th birthday, and my sister and I just commented on how great he looked. =/ After a half hour, they took him away on a gurney. My parents kissed us goodbye and rushed off to the hospital to be with him. I found out from Sis that moments before going to the restaurant, my godfather took a nasty spill down some steps. He brushed it off...but I think the fall gave his system quite a shock, because afterwards he said he wasn't feeling well and needed to lie down in the car or something. Well, he didn't make it to the car and collasped in the lobby. Even though we both lost our appetites, Sis and I grabbed a quick bite to eat before rushing to the airport.
Dude!...when I said that my luggage was heavy, I wasn't kidding...I was tagged with a $45 fee for having an over-weight bag. Not only that, but they had to inspect it, and run it through some X-ray machine a couple times. I was totally sour because I spent all morning folding and packing everything nice, only to have airport personnel dig up and rummage through the whole suitcase. By the time they were done, they were unable to zip it back up...I watched in horror as they squished and crammed my belongings together. *huff!* Oh, did I mention that Ashlyn was crying the entire time? Yep. I caught a few dirty looks shot my way. But at that point, I couldn't have cared less. I even shot some "what the hell you looking at?!" looks myself. I was able to catch my breath and unwind on my flight. *exhale*

Aric picked us up...and it was really great to finally see him. Aric just flew in himself yesterday...from China. His company sent him there for three weeks to set up the Pu-Dong office. That was why he missed Ivy and Oli's big day, and why we were apart for so long. We spent the evening unpacking all our bags. The living room was a blown up mess. Aric got my sisters, girlfriends, and I a bunch of cool knock-offs from China (Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Rolex, etc...)! We also got a bunch of new DVDs ("Black Hawk Down", "Lord of the Rings", "Vanilla Sky", "The Others", "Training Day", etc...)! Aric said that copied DVDs are dirt-cheap there...I think $1.20 a piece. Insane, huh? Here are a couple pictures from his trip:


Shopping Center in Shanghai


View from Aric's 55th floor room, at the Hyatt, in Shanghai

Mike and Nancy called us, and we met them for dinner at Buca. Afterwards, they came over and checked out all of Aric's fake loot. hehehe Wey, Ed, and Sue came over too. What a nice home coming! Aric was pretty tired from his long flight, and I was pretty tired from my hectic day.

This morning we got up to take Ashlyn to the doctors. She has RSV...some sort of respiratory virus. I think a lot of kids are getting it because all the young 'uns in the waiting room had the same phlemy cough and runny nose. The doctor prescribed a nebulizer to clear up the congestion. Aric and I ran some errands, then came home. Aric, still jet-lagged took a super long nap. I just cleaned up the house, did laundry, and sorted through a month's worth of mail (BTW, thanks to WEY...for picking up our mail and checking on the house for us). We spent a nice quiet evening at home.


Ashlyn's pic of the day


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