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Diaryland
Meet the family 2003-10-29 @ 1:53 p.m.
Well, that I seem to have gotten the hang of this online diary thing, I'm kind of liking it. Some days I really don't feel like writing in it, but overall I think this'll be good for me. Gives my friends and random people on the Internet a chance to get to know me better, and I can get my thoughts out of my mind and into writing, where they are slightly less intimidating.
So, I think its time for you to meet the family! I of course am off studying at Sonoma State, so I am not living with my family at this time. They are, however, paying for my college education, and I see them probably about every other week on average now.
My dad's name is Mark - he's 50 and was born in Oakland I believe. We are almost exactly 30 years apart - both our birthdays are in January. He's a 3rd generation American of Jewish background - Polish on his dad's side and Hungarian on his mom's. He has olive skin, curly salt and pepper hair, and a heavyset build. He grew up in the East Bay Area and has been really involved in the Boy Scouts since he was a youth. I'm talking like super scouter here - he received the Silver Beaver award a few days after I was born, which is a very prestigious award for adult scouting volunteers working on a regional level. He's been especially involved in the Wood Badge program that trains adult Boy Scout leaders, and he did most of the writing for the new syllabus/program that is now being conducted. Sometimes he would spend too much time doing scouting stuff, and between that and work we never got to see him around. He's gotten much more reasonable about it though. My dad has a PhD in Chemistry and he's been very successful working in the Biotech industry. He's incredibly smart and should be allowed to play around in the lab as much as he wants; unfortunately, his experience and expertise in stuff like patents often means he gets delegated to do business vs. science stuff. He works hard and our family is very well off thanks to his work, but he gets awfully stressed out, and I worry about him from time to time.
Janet is my mom's name, and she is 49. Her family tree is like Heinz 57 for Western Europe, and she's what you might call an "all-American" girl in some respects. Her birthday is in February. She has peach skin, an average build and straight brunette hair that she's dyeing until she becomes comfortable with her hair going gray. She was born in the Altamont Pass area - was it Livermore or Tracy - I don't remember. She was raised Catholic, but I gather she had a bad experience with the nuns and while she is still spiritual she doesn't associate with the church anymore. She grew up in the East Bay, although her family did try living in Canada for a little while (it fell through). She was a nurse for many years, then a stay-at-home mom, and recently she worked for my aunt and uncle as a certified tax preparer. She loves to socialize, and this translates into the house being used for progressive dinners and company dinners every so often. My mom loves decorating and landscaping, and when all the new home and garden channels first came out, she got hooked. That's ok though, because I'd rather she be hooked on those than Days of Our Lives like she used to be.
My only sibling is my younger brother Jonathan. He's 16 and was born in Fountain Valley south of LA - his birthday is July 14. As brothers go, Jonathan and I get along remarkably well. I was kind of a jerk to him when I was going through some tough times a few years back, but since then I think we've gotten back to the good relationship we used to have. He is a junior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton. He's interested in architecture and design and is thinking about applying to Cal Poly. He won a first prize award for one of his blueprints at the Alameda County fair not too long ago. His other great passion is cars - he's been fascinated ever since he first saw "The Fast and the Furious". He's a sensitive and romantic guy (I like to think I helped that a little), and the ladies are crazy about him from what I gather.
My cousin Stacy is now living with my nuke family, and while I haven't really been affected by that, I'm sure its been a big change for everybody. I don't recall her exact age - I know she's in primary school now. Her parents have been deceased for a couple years now, and living with my other aunt, her daughter and Stacy's 2 siblings has proven unfruitful. She seems to like living at our place and my mom definately treats her better than my aunt, in my opinion. Stacy has special needs and issues because she spent her first few years in a traumatic environment, but things are starting to look up for her I think. She loves to spend time with me when I'm around, and I wish Jonathan would do more with her, but he's at the age where he wants to go lock himself away until he's 18.
Our other important family member is our dog Max. Max is in his middle years I believe - he is a small black/brown yorkshire terrier who is both incredibly smart and really, really cute. Max was originally my grandparent's dog, but after my grandfather died, my grandmother eventually realized she wasn't well equipped to take care of him and he came to stay with us. Max loves us to death, and we love him dearly as well. He's very protective of us for a small dog, but he's also quite friendly and happy to entertain guests. Max enjoys patroling the backyard, rides in the car with the windows down, and chewing on his favorite blanket that he's had since he was a puppy. He's also adept at triangulating the position of everyone in the house and marking it with his blanket.
My family lives outside of Pleasanton and Livermore, not far from where my mom lived as a child (now part of the Wente Winery). They have lived there for about a year and a half now. Before that, we lived outside of Redmond, WA (which I miss dearly) for about 8 years. Prior to that was a house in Long Beach we lived in for 7 years. We lived in Fountain Valley before that, but I can't really remember that far back.
I'll talk about my grandparents another time - whew, that's a topic in itself
"Details in the Fabric" - May 31, 2009
Not So Quick Questions - April 6, 2009
The Morning Stars - Lords of the 15 - April 9, 2009
Sincerity and Faith in Magic - April 10, 2009
Not So Quick Questions (2) - April 14, 2009
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