Sunday, July 28, 2019

2019 PWBA US Open Champion - Danielle McEwan

source: PWBA
2019 PWBA US Open Champion - Danielle McEwan

Better late than never. But it's Danielle.

Last month as the #2 seed coming into stepladder finals of the 2019 PWBA US Open, Danielle defeated #3 seed Shannon O'Keefe and top seed/tour roommate Tannya Roumimper to win her first green jacket and second major championship. Grace under pressure, Danielle needed to bowl consecutive strikes in her semi-final and final matches to win.

I watched the entire broadcast live on the edge of my seat screaming at the TV. I have since watched it 2 more times on my DVR.

You can see it here:

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Farewell: Based On An Actual Lie

source: Deadline
clockwise: Tzi Ma, Lulu Wang, Awkwafina, Diana Lin
I first saw the trailer for The Farewell movie about 2 months ago. I knew immediately that this would be on my must-see list.

Farewell premiered in New York and Los Angeles in limited release last week. This weekend, it was in San Francisco. I bought my tickets online on Friday to see Saturday's first showing at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema.

Extra tissues stored in purse, I ended up not using as many as I thought I would. Not to say that won't happen when I see it again.

For me, it didn't pack the emotional wallop that Crazy Rich Asians or Joy Luck Club. But it doesn't mean it had any less impact on me. It depicted Americanized/American born children of Chinese immigrant families in a very realistic, funny and poignant way.

If you're an American born child of Chinese parents, you absolutely, positively must see the movie.
Here's the trailer:

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Yee Reunion, Chapter 2

L to R: Cindy, Helen, me

Yee reunion, Chapter 2.

While I was in Los Angeles meeting up with the Vancouver Yees, Helen messaged me and said she would be in Oakland and Yosemite after the Fourth of July. She asked if I'd be available.

Me: Yes!!! I last saw Helen in 1982, not long after my Ohio State graduation and hers from Ohio Dominican College.

On Saturday, July 6 (Helen's birthday), she and her girlfriend Cindy, drive in to San Francisco from their Yosemite trip. They take me up on my offer to stay in the spare empty bedroom (with Aerobed) in lieu of a hotel. I order Thai for delivery to give us more time to catch up.

Cindy has never been to San Francisco and wanted to see the touristy spots. I hate crowds and didn't want to contend with weekend traffic. Happy medium found. Booked online a private 4-hour tour with Viator, a subsidiary of TripAdvisor.

Well worth the cost.

We started on 19th Avenue across the Golden Gate Bridge, got our picture taken (see above photo). Once we came back across the Golden Gate Bridge, I had the driver take us pretty much in this order: Presidio, Palace of Fine Arts, Marina Green, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street, North Beach, Chinatown, Union Square, Japantown, Alamo Square, the Castro, Haight Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, and Ocean Beach.

Ended the day with an early dinner of yummy udon and tempura across the street from my place.

It's my hope my next Yee gathering will be a reunion in Columbus with the Cleveland cousins, Sherman, Kat and son, and the Vancouver cousins.