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.

Extended Weekend Family Visit

source: High Line Hotel, New York's Chelsea neighborhood

I returned this morning from a long weekend trip to New York for a family gathering at the High Line Hotel in Chelsea. I shared a suite with big sister Cindy and Mom's younger sister Mary. As I get older, these kind of gatherings become much more meaningful.

It was a fun and memorable event, right down to the flights to and from New York.

• No airport parking needed. Roommate let me park my car in his garage and gave me a ride to the airport.
• No shoes, jacket or laptop to remove during screening process. TSA is under a trial prescreen period which expedites the process to get to the gate. 
• Wide selection of in-flight entertainment. Flight time goes so much faster when there's a good movie to watch.

I only hope my next trip on a plane will be as painless.

Back to Work

Two weeks ago, after 3+ years, I returned to full-time work.

I am beyond relieved and ecstatic to return to work I've done for the past 15+ years: card operations and processing with a strong emphasis on customer service. I find this area of work very fulfilling.

During the time I didn't work, I got back into writing this blog, took online courses at Treehouse and Google (Google Analytics), explored different career paths, and bowled countless practice sessions.

I had to. They were necessary outlets from the stress of no full-time work. It wasn't the only life event I experienced which compounded what was already difficult. It got so bad I had to consider leaving San Francisco, the city I've called home for the past 30 years.

source: Wikipedia

On the left is a snipped chart taken from the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale. Along with no job, I experienced 2 close family member deaths and an event equivalent to another of the top life events listed.

What has and always helped me is a wide network of family, former classmates, co-workers and current/past teammates from softball and bowling to lean on for support. Especially during a time when my self-worth was constantly in question.

I can't emphasize enough for anyone who's going through a difficult time to reach out to people you know and trust. And don't be afraid to reconnect with someone once close to you but have lost touch. Strength does come in numbers.