Mondays are fine.

Today (technically yesterday) was a fun day. I spent most of the morning and afternoon getting Autoshop 101 from my uncle, who helped me to do a light tune-up of my ghetto 1990 Nissan. We went to an auto store, bought parts, and just came back to the house to work on the car in the garage. Since I've never owned a car before, it was all very educational - learning to remove and replace the sparkplugs; mixing and refilling anti-freeze, taking off the air intake and replacing the air filter; checking the oil, belts, and tire pressure.

My uncle is cool like that, taking the time to teach me all that stuff... I guess since he has no kids of own, I get spoiled in their place. I finally know first hand what most of my friends got to do with their dads back in high school when they got their first cars.

Wow, what a difference a little tune-up makes. Car runs a lot smoother now.

Evening, I went to visit Shiv and the rest of the gang. I was starving when I got up there, but my lovely girlfriend already had a teriyaki meatloaf, rice, and green beans waiting for me as soon as I walk through the door... whoohooo! It's nice to feel lucky. =)

I also brought my copy of "Undercover Brother" since Dave (in town for a sermon this Sunday) has been itching to watch it for awhile. Hilarious movie, Steph never saw it before either and she got a kick out of it.

But yeah, getting back to my uncle... he's flying back to NorCal tomorrow. I hope he's had a good time here in Seattle, just visiting family. He's not a Christian, but he's good uncle and a kind man. Never graduated college, but he's damn smart... works for Chevron R&D and taught himself to speak Japanese. When my grandfather died, he dropped out of school to move home and take care of my po-poa (maternal grandma). Growing up, he was always the cool uncle - the uncle with the newest fast car/motorcyle, the uncle who played with the cousins, the uncle who gave all the nephews their first 486 and taught them how to run Master of Orion from DOS.

Once, back in the old house in ghetto Oakland, these 3 hoodrat punks tried to break into the house, to push their way through the front door and rob my uncle and grandma. Despite getting pistol whipped in the head, he fought them off, slammed the door, and called 9-1-1 (my grandma spoke mostly only Chinese). After that, he shelled out his own money for a brand-new house for my grandma and him to move to in San Leandro.

The big focus of his life has always been my po-poa and family, but since she passed away back in September 2001, I think he's sort of at loss of what to do with his life. I guess men in our family have it in our genes to feel useful, needed. He never married, never had any kids... family was his priority, but yet, I know he needs something more in his life. My grandma always wanted my mom to try and set him up, but it was a little hard since we're in Seattle and he's in Oakland. Besides, having a wife and kids would be nice, but I'm not sure that's what he really needs to find happiness. I think he turns 50 this year and he's wondering what to do with himself. In some ways our lives parallel each other, so maybe that's why I feel a special kinship to him. Maybe we're both are facing a crisis: he's got his mid-life crisis; got my quarter-life crisis.

God help us both.
posted by G at 2:40 AM   |

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33