boon's log 4908.03: Catching up: Back to Penang, Waikiki, Thanksgiving, and a Birthday Celebration...

It's been a pretty busy November. I had to return to Penang for a week and got detoured to KL for a few days and managed to catch up with some relatives there.

Upon arriving back in OR, I only had a day's rest before departing to Hawaii for our annual vacation - actually our (IL and I) first real vacation with Ab. Ab thoroughly enjoyed it - the parents were dead tired... but it was fun. So much so that Ab resisted to leave the island - she unrolled the beach mat and lied down on the floor and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, as IL and I were rolling the bags out of the hotel room getting ready for checkout (!!!). She enjoyed the Sun, the sand and the swimming. She even dipped her legs and hands into the cold Pacific waters.

Thanksgiving was filled with turkeys and shopping, as usual. Just that this year, we were invited over to a simple Thanksgiving gathering / dinner in EC's place. It was a huge turkey - enough to feed 7 adults and 4 kids! We were filled - God bless you, EC and CL.

And finally, it was Ab's 2nd birthday. She's got presents being sent in from all over and some were in-proxy. She had a nice time having her party with her buddies at school and then we had dinner with some of our colleagues, YY, SbS, HT, and TE. She also had a blast opeining all her presents and looking forward to getting home everyday to play with her new toys!

And with dat... in comes December 2008. Man this year did zoom by fast.


Flying back to Penang...


Arriving at LAX


LAX International


A380 at LAX International


Waikiki Sunset


Waikiki Sunset


Waikiki with Diamond Head in the background


Marina outside at our hotel


USS Arizona Memorial


Japanese miniature planes in the memorial


The modified torpedo, just like the one in the movie


USS Arizona Memorial


The Shrine Room, USS Arizona Memorial


USS Arizona Memorial


Where we stayed in HNL


Waikiki, Hawaii


Ab's footprints...


Sand Cars


Ab's tools and equipments...


EC&CL's Thanksgiving Party


Seasoned hands, entertaining the Thanksgiving/Christmas shoppers at Washington Square Mall


Happy Birthday Ab!


Presents!


Ab's Birthday Cup Cakes


Ab celebrating her birthday with her friends in school


"Dear Santa..."

Oh, and finally, it's not news anymore, but Obama made history when he defeated his Republican presidential candidate opponent with a landslide victory to become, the first black American President. I was told that Kenya even declared that "victorious" day as a public holiday. Well, many see this as another chapter in American history that embraces a next level of diversity and opportunity. This grand slam also revived MLK's "dream", when he delivered his powerful speech at the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington DC, on August 28th, 1963... Challenging times ahead and hopefully with a little bit of young blood in office will help...



boon out...