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At home with my brother
Mar. 21st, 2006 09:02 amI spent the weekend at my brother's place in Corvallis, Oregon. Saturday was his 52nd birthday, and my sister-in-law made shabu shabu -- a Japanese dish that involves cooking chopped meat and vegetables in a big pot of broth in the middle of the table and then grabbing the cooked bits with chopsticks. It was delicious, as was the homemade Amaretto cheesecake that followed. (Youngest nephew and I tried eating cheesecake with chopsticks too. I was better at it than he was.)
My brother and I walked the country roads in his neighborhood to a couple of estate sales earlier in the day. We talked about aging, mortality, family, religion, and Iraq. He told me that if he were to die tomorrow, the only thing he'd regret is not being around to help his boys grow up. That kind of surprised me. I told him I was completely unprepared to face death, and that I had no idea how to even begin to prepare. After the shabu shabu, he confessed that it really bugs him that he's losing his athletic ability. He has always been a pretty good athlete. We commiserated on how distressing it was that just bending over is becoming a major physical feat.
I talked with my sister-in-law about her job at HP, which was going to be sent to Singapore, but now is going to be split between Corvallis and Singapore, which means she won't be looking for a new job. Both she and my brother have worked for HP for over two decades. Over the course of that time, the Corvallis plant has stopped manufacturing print heads and become a design and materials-purchasing center for the manufacturing plants in Singapore, Ireland, and Puerto Rico. This modern world. My brother does layout for the chips in the print heads. My sister-in-law is a purchaser who handles accounts with vendors such as 3M and Sanyo. She travels a lot. (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
daveon will be amused to know that she too has had the fish sperm sushi experience in Japan.)
On Sunday, we talked on the phone with our Yapese friend, Theo, who has found a mechanic's job with a fish processing plant in Seattle, which is a much better fit for his work experience than being a bouncer at a casino was. One of his younger sons is thinking of joining the US Army, because the incentives are so good right now. Theo is going to try explain why the incentives are so good right now. He told me he's ready to go back to Yap with us whenever we want to go. I think he misses it, although as usual he's fascinated by all there is to learn in his new situation. He has some new ideas about fish processing on Yap now. But it sounds like his wife is enjoying life in the US, so who knows when or if they'll move back.
My brother and I went for a hike with his younger son in the forest in the foothills of the coast range, spotting a pretty red-headed woodpecker along the way. When we got back, we shot hoops with both my nephews, playing horse and around-the-world and 21. I came in last in all of them, I think, but it was great to jump around and sweat a little, even in my decrepit state. My dental hygienist informed me on Thursday that I've clearly been grinding my teeth at night. I can feel the tension in my upper back. It was good to get a physical release on a beautiful sunny day on the eve of Spring. It was good to get away from my everyday life and spend some time with family. The middle-aged amongst us may be deteriorating, but those danged kids are just getting stronger.
My brother and I walked the country roads in his neighborhood to a couple of estate sales earlier in the day. We talked about aging, mortality, family, religion, and Iraq. He told me that if he were to die tomorrow, the only thing he'd regret is not being around to help his boys grow up. That kind of surprised me. I told him I was completely unprepared to face death, and that I had no idea how to even begin to prepare. After the shabu shabu, he confessed that it really bugs him that he's losing his athletic ability. He has always been a pretty good athlete. We commiserated on how distressing it was that just bending over is becoming a major physical feat.
I talked with my sister-in-law about her job at HP, which was going to be sent to Singapore, but now is going to be split between Corvallis and Singapore, which means she won't be looking for a new job. Both she and my brother have worked for HP for over two decades. Over the course of that time, the Corvallis plant has stopped manufacturing print heads and become a design and materials-purchasing center for the manufacturing plants in Singapore, Ireland, and Puerto Rico. This modern world. My brother does layout for the chips in the print heads. My sister-in-law is a purchaser who handles accounts with vendors such as 3M and Sanyo. She travels a lot. (
daveon will be amused to know that she too has had the fish sperm sushi experience in Japan.)On Sunday, we talked on the phone with our Yapese friend, Theo, who has found a mechanic's job with a fish processing plant in Seattle, which is a much better fit for his work experience than being a bouncer at a casino was. One of his younger sons is thinking of joining the US Army, because the incentives are so good right now. Theo is going to try explain why the incentives are so good right now. He told me he's ready to go back to Yap with us whenever we want to go. I think he misses it, although as usual he's fascinated by all there is to learn in his new situation. He has some new ideas about fish processing on Yap now. But it sounds like his wife is enjoying life in the US, so who knows when or if they'll move back.
My brother and I went for a hike with his younger son in the forest in the foothills of the coast range, spotting a pretty red-headed woodpecker along the way. When we got back, we shot hoops with both my nephews, playing horse and around-the-world and 21. I came in last in all of them, I think, but it was great to jump around and sweat a little, even in my decrepit state. My dental hygienist informed me on Thursday that I've clearly been grinding my teeth at night. I can feel the tension in my upper back. It was good to get a physical release on a beautiful sunny day on the eve of Spring. It was good to get away from my everyday life and spend some time with family. The middle-aged amongst us may be deteriorating, but those danged kids are just getting stronger.
