Who said only women are afraid of aging? Last night, XF and I ran into an acquaintance who we hadn’t seen for a while. The man was sporting a bright red brand name sweater, with braces in his mouth. I was a little taken aback by the braces and did my best not to look surprised.

I was sitting in my endocrinologist’s waiting room and heard two women gossiping. They were talking about a friend who had cancer but still managed to keep her house spotlessly clean. You would think when you’re near your life’s end, things other than a clean house would be on your agenda. The woman must be such a neat freak. I started to feel sorry for her. Then I thought what if keeping her house clean was her ONLY way of feeling in control in the face of a terminal illness. Heaven knows what I’d do were I in her shoes.

Since she spends so little time in her own bedroom, I had been using MM’s room to store things–primarily cardboard boxes for appliances that we had acquired over the years.  There was really no need to keep them now–the warranty for pretty much all of them had expired long ago. On Tuesday night, I decided to clean them all out. As I hauled these boxes to the trash can,  I was again amazed by the human capacity for hoarding trash. There were so many boxes that needed to be thrown away that XF had to crush them to make them all fit into the trash can. And this was just trash from one room only. Since we came to the States, we’ve moved a couple of times. And it seemed that each time we moved, there were more things to pack. The thought of us having to ever pack and move again really filled me with trepidations now.

I was complaining to a friend the other day about the price of duvet covers. She suggested making duvet covers out of flat sheets, which are generally included in a bed sheet set,  but never get used, in the Chinese way of making a bed. So I dusted off my sewing machine and went to work. Once I got over the initial hurdle of threading the machine, the actual sewing part didn’t take too long.  Two nights and mission accomplished!

The other day, I fixed a dish that had Jew’s ear (mu er) in it. MM didn’t want any, so YY advised her:”It’s good for your hearing, you know.” I don’t know where that came from. XF and I certainly hadn’t brainwashed her about the curing power of certain foods in the past, as far as I know. It’s amazing, and funny too, the way kids draw conclusions about things.

My bank was acquired by another bank lately. Today, when I went to a branch office to deposit some checks, I was happy to see some improvements in their ATM’s. For one thing, you can feed checks and cash directly into the machine without putting them in an envelop first; secondly, you can choose to print a receipt with an image of the check deposited. Pretty cool!

一首颂咏三日，绕梁不绝的好诗。当年英美诗歌课怎么错过了这么一首好诗？诗人Dylan Thomas，威尔士人。

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

1. Boil pork feet in water to get rid of the blood.

2. Stir fry in soy sauce, spice, cooking wine.

3. Wrap in foil and roast in oven at 365 for 2 hours.

I was told they taste much better than stewed pork feet.

Two weeks ago, I purchased a box of popcorn from BJ’s. When I got home, I found a $5 coupon that I had forgotten to use. On Friday, when I dropped by BJ’s again, I asked their Customer Service if I could use the coupon “after the fact”. They gladly handed me a refund for the value of the coupon. Then, at check-out, I found that the shampoo coupon I was going to redeem already expired a few days ago. The Customer Service rep scanned the coupon for another product for me with the words:”Got to keep our members happy.”

Have they always been so accommodating when it comes to the use of coupons or has the economy driven them to act like that? I wondered as I drove home.