Facebook Family

My aunt requested me. Then one of my professors. Then my uncle. Then my piano teacher. Then another aunt. And now my dad is on facebook.

It might have been a little weird at first because Facebook originated as a college networking site, but the site grew at the dismay of a lot of people. Part of it was elitisim (which I sometimes guilty of) because Facebook started off with Ivies and top-ranked colleges. For some reason we thought the site would be ruined by people at lower tiered colleges, JC's, high school'ers, or all those other people who did not have an .edu at the end of their email address. I always thought this was funny because you would only go to the sites of your friends, so who cared if these other people were on it.

Moreover, why deny these people the benefits of facebook because they did not go to a certain school or were born in the wrong year. Yes, there are benefits other than being a time waster. Especially in a transient society where people often move away from their hometowns, it is nice to have a site to connect to old friends and classmates.

I am fine with the spread of facebook and my new family friends (and I am not just saying that because they read this blog too). My thinking is that if there is something on facebook that your family should not see, it should not be there, no matter what your privacy settings are. I am still amazed at what some people post on their facebook pages, blogs, and other internet sites, especially people our age who are applying or are new at jobs. I know that when I have interviewed people for positions, the first things I do are facebook and google them. No matter how secure you think the site is or how many aliases you use, if it's online, it will be found.

Mr. Cao Goes to Washington

Yesterday Joseph Cao was sworn-in as the first Vietnamese-American member of Congress.

When I was home over break, my grandma mentioned how proud she was of him, and my parents watched with excitement as the nightly news did a story him yesterday (even if my mom was upset they were pronouncing his name wrong). And as white-washed as you can call me, I felt it too, the Vietnamese pride. It's the kind of feeling you get when you see an American winning in the Olympics. Except instead of cheering for Michael Phelps, you're cheering for a 5'2" lawyer and community organizer.

As the news story about Cao showed images of refugees leaving Saigon, I remembered something though. The West Wing television show saw this story coming. In the second part of 20 Hours in America (Season 4, Episode 2), President Bartlet meets Congressman Peter Lien. They never said he was Vietnamese, and I don't even think he was played by a Vietnamese actor, but the references to leaving in 1974 and having a big symbolic responsibility were all I needed to figure it out.

Such a good ending to a good episode:

CHARLIE: Congressman Lien.

President BARTLET: Could somebody get Leo for me, please? Peter, you hear that? He called you "congressman."

Congressman Peter LIEN: Yes, sir.

BARTLET: You think when your folks got you out in '74, they imagined they were taking you to a place that'd be willing to make you a Congressman?

LIEN: As a matter of fact, sir, I think that's exactly what they imagined.

...

LEO: Good afternoon, Mr. President.

BARTLET: Leo, meet Congressman Peter Lien, Texas 22nd. Peter, this is Leo McGarry, U.S. Air Force, 144th Fighter Wing.

LEO: Pleased to meet you, Congressman.

BARTLET: Peter's family fishes in Galveston Bay ... Peter's 34 years old.

LEO: I'm sorry it's been two months and we haven't been able to get you up here until now.

LIEN: No, please. It's a bust time. If there's any help I can give you in Texas...

BARTLET: Ordinarily I would tell you that Jim Coor was a good public servant, and you've got big shoes to fill, and he was and you do, but obviously you have a bigger symbolic responsibility then that.

LIEN: Yes, sir.

BARTLET: But you biggest responsibiltity isn't symbolic, right?

LIEN: Yes, sir.

BARTLET: What is it?

LIEN: It's my district, my country, and the Congress of the United States.

BARTLET: Welcome, my friend, to the show that never ends.

LIEN: Thank you, Mr. President.

BARTLET: Isn't that a hell of a thing? What's next?

Adios California, For Now

Last week when I was driving from Santa Barbara back to my home, I was once again struck by how beautiful this state is. I usually abhor driving, but that particular drive is gorgeous because you get to see so many aspects of the state. From the winding stretches along the crystal blue coast, the inter passes between rolling mountains, and the miles of orange trees, vineyards, and other agriculture. Along this route, Alex and I have stopped for everything including fresh honey, homemade tacos from a truck, wine, and produce. Plus it helps that it is one of the few highways in California that does not have a lot of traffic.

During that drive, I again wondered why I ever left California. And so I had to again tell myself: I had to leave so I could come back and appreciate in a way I never did before.

It's been a good 2+ weeks in the Golden State. I got to have a lot of quality family time, see friends, visit Alex's family, go to two amusement parks, eat Vietnamese food, and enjoy the relative warmth. It's strange flying back to DC thinking that this may be my last time in California until the bar exam in July. And it's also strange not knowing when I will be back to California permanently. Maybe in the fall, maybe in a year after that. But I do know that I will be back. (in the immortal words of our governator)

Dream Catcher

The other night I had a dream that I was a contestant on Top Chef. It was a dessert challenge, and I thought the winning route was to adapt a dish from my heritage. So I used my Grandma's recipe for Bánh Pâté Chaud (aka Banh Ba Te Xo), a Vietnamese-French puff-pastry stuffed with ground meat pocket of goodness which I have made before. Instead of a meat filling, I used jam, condensed milk, and fruit as the topping. I meant to use something other than jam but ran out of time. During judging, Padma spit it out because it was too sweet (a la Episode 2 this season) and Jill (the Ostrich egg girl) laughed at me. Fortunately Tom Coliccio was there to give me a hug and to tell me not to listen to them.

I often have very vivid dreams. The reason why I am writing this one down though is because:

1. The day after, when I went to my grandma's house, she said she had made Bánh Pâté Chaud, which was weird because she does it make it that often. (She later realized that she meant flan, but that's not important).

2. Today I found out that Wednesday's Top Chef quickfire is about making a dessert without adding sugar. Therefore, my dish would qualify.

3. This is my second dream about failure this week. The other day I had a dream that the California Bar called to let me know that while I was ethical enough to practice in the rest of the country, I would have to take the MPRE again for California. Considering that I already got my grades back from my two most challenging classes and did well, these dreams can only mean that bar exam nightmares have already begun. I didn't even think I was worried about the test. I blame the subliminal "failed the California bar exam" google ads that I get.

The Real West Wing

For my fellow West Wing fans:



The West Wing opening credits, in my opinion, are the best of any television show. Every time I hear the opening theme and see the images, I feel optimism, idealism, and even patriotism. Silly, I know, but it gets me every time.

Now to see Obama and his crew's images woven in, I feel like the show is picking back up from where it ended two years ago. I am excited, but equally worried. Current events seem more turbulent that President Jed Bartlet's fictional worst days. Israelis and Palestinians are lobbing bombs at each other. India is pointing the finger at Pakistan for the terrorist attacks. Iran and North Korea have crazy dictators and nuclear technology. Russia seems like it wants to take over the world. And oh yeah, our economy is horrible and one of the appointed cabinet members who was supposed to help fix it, Bill Richardson, has withdrawn his nomination because of a federal investigation. And who would have ever thought that someone would try to sell the President-elect's senate seat. If Aaron Sorkin wrote this, we would not believe it.

I guess now we will have to wait and see how the plot evolves.