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Continental
I showed up at the airport well before my flight, like a good little commuter. There was no line at the check-in counter. (Or rather, the check in terminals.) There was no line at the security checkpoint. There are only four other people at the gate right now. As travel nightmares go, this isnt turning out too badly. Oh, thats right. Im going to LAX. It wasnt too long ago that I didnt think I was going on this trip. (It being Spring Break and with ticket prices nearly three times what they were last month.) And I hadnt even known about the opportunity for all that long in the first place. But despite the fact that Im catching a red-eye , arriving in Los Angeles three hours before the meeting Im being sent to attend, Im glad Im being sent. My dad has linked me with a national AJA veterans group, which in turn is collaborating with other AJA groups on a project for the Japanese American National Museum. Considering how much Ive benefited from the legacy of my family (and here Im referring to the sometimes unheralded Japanese side of my family), I figured Im long overdue in trying to give something back. I dont know how much I can contribute. But it feels good to at least try. Weird. Theres a wireless network somewhere near here: SHAKANET. The signals not strong enough to connect to, though. I bet I have to go over to Starbucks. Im geeking out, to be sure. Im posting pictures of this cozy airport gate from my camera phone. Im listening to my 2002 Travel MP3s CD. And Im literally scribbling this entry out on my Tablet PC (a secondhand TC 1000 I picked up last year), giving the handwriting recognition a run for its money. (And of course, its a beta build of the Tablet PC engine in Windows XP SP2, due out later this year.) Pardon my glee. Its been a long time since my last real geek out session. Its been a long time since Ive been able to sit down and write. And now my wrist is starting to hurt. So. There are a few things to report. Big stuff first. For those who missed my wifes somewhat panicked web update in January (and my slightly less panicked weblog post soon after), were having another baby. Yes, a third, due in late August. Yes, we are insane. It was a surprise. A big, big surprise. Neither the news of Zacs pending arrival, nor that of Katie one crazy summer six (six!) years ago, shook us even half as much. In the end, we figured, the odds were 100:1. If this baby wanted to be that badly, who were we to argue? We cleaned out Katies room. We bought a bunk bed. We pulled out a crate of baby clothes. Were as ready as well ever be. There are still worries ahead, to be sure. The improbable conception raised some flags, and after Zacs ordeal theres a lot more testing and scrutiny this time. But so far, so good. And Tuesday brings the ultrasound that should tell us if Katie gets the little sister she so badly wants, or if Zac gets another little partner in crime. Hopefully, the biggest battle left ahead is choosing a name. A boys name. If its a girl, shell be Elizabeth, no question. The boy candidates so far? Alexander. Christopher. Nicholas. And, I suppose, since Zac got Zac, lain. Uh oh. Flight oversold. Theyre seeking volunteers to give up their seat for $300. Unfortunately, I dont think I can cut it any closer. After much handwringing and second guessing, we pulled Katie out of Lincoln Elementary up in Papakolea, and enrolled her in the Voyager charter school down in Kakaako. Shes been there for a few months now, and were very happy with how things are going. They have a very progressive philosophy, a very close knit and involved staff, mixed-age classes and varied teaching methods, and a rotating curriculum that focuses on varied topics (including a few sessions on Mandarin language). Katie loves her uniform (a blue T-shirt). Prove importantly, shes learning. Shes engaged and challenged and encouraged to think for herself. It was like night and day. Before, wed ask what she learned in school that day, and shed grunt, J. As in the letter J. (she reads at a 2nd grade level.) Now when we ask the question, the answer goes on and on and on. It feels like a private school, but its technically just a privately managed public school. Interestingly, we owe this change to a random Voyager parent, who happened to stumble onto my web journal and read about our concerns about Lincoln. Behold the power of the Internet. The only downside is the precarious nature of Voyagers funding. For better or worse. Theyre trying to sustain a private-school level program on a less-than-public school budget. Theres a lot of fundraising. A lot of volunteering. And d lot of pleading letters. Oop. Time to board. |