We live a much busier life than our parents' generation. Nowdays more and more families have double incomes and send their young kids to daycares and schools. Emails, instant messages, pagers and cell phones keep us inter-connected all time. Are we really connected as we think?
Here is the daily ritual for many families. In the morning, wake up the kids and get them ready, rush to work after dropping them at the school. Keep busy all day at work. In the evening, pick up the kids and hurry back home, cook and have dinner together; spend some time with the kids since the parents have seen them for a long day, and then tug them to bed after the shower.
After going through all the activities, I found myself exhausted and just wanted to sit in front of TV before going to sleep. There was not much time for talk between me and my wife. Recently, my wife suggested me to give up wathing TV. Instead, we sit down and talk about what happened to each other during the day. This really helps us get more connected.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Friday, January 14, 2005
Winter: The Chicago Experience
"This was no time for play.
This was no time for fun.
This was no time for games.
There was work to be done."
Digging yourself out of that deep snow is a serious business in Chicago winters. Expect nothing from Dr. Seuss. Yes, the cat in the hat comes back every winter, but not here in Chicago.
I am no big fan of the Chicago winter. It just sucks the life out of you and the city like a giant vacuum machine. We are only left with heavy cloudy skies, gusty winds, 20 to 40 degrees below zero wind chills, snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice, slush and pot holes on the road.
Foot deep snow is no stranger to Chicago. Here are top three snow storm on record: 23" on Jan 26-27 1967, 21.6" on Jan 1-3 1999 and 18.8" on Jan 13-14 1979. Flights got cancelled in O'Hare airport. Passengers sit in their planes on the runway for hours, or camped out in the terminals. Railway switches got frozen. Trains came to a halt. Schools and stores were closed. Snow blowers and shovels were sold out. Roofs collapsed due to the weight of snow. Many families were snow-bound to their homes. A handful men died of heart attack while shoveling the snow. In some part of the city, residents put out garbage bins and chairs to guard their parking spaces.
January snow storm is usually followed by a heavy dose of stiff cold. However, if the weather warms up after like these days, snow melts into water and ice. Floods may follow. As the temperature dances up and down, flu and cold run wild. Daycares and schools become major staging grounds for flu attack. Working parents are called back home to take care of sick children. A few days later, they find themselves too get knocked out. People start to have headaches, sore throats and muscle pains. Cold medicine and pain relievers become hot items in drug stores.
I grew wiser after the great snow storm in January 1999. I upgraded the snow shovel with a 5HP Honda snow blower. After each snow, I just fired it up and cleaned out the driveway and side walk in 25 minutes. No more shoveling, no more sweat. In the long cold nights, I enjoy sipping hot barley tea with my family in front of the warm fireplace. This year is more interesting. My three year old son Daniel just loves to see the snow. There was no snow for Christmas. He waited and waited. There was no snow for New Year 2005. He waited and waited. Finally we got about 10" snow last week. "Hey, there is enough snow for everybody.", my son was nothing but excited. We put on heavy coats, snow pants, snow boots and bomber hats. Off we went snow sledding in that evening. The air was very cold, but the park was full of life, filled with kids and their noise. We had a great time sledding. On the way back home, we saw a guy stepping out the front door of his house, just wearing a T-shirt and a pair of short. He lit a cigarette and started smoking. What a spirit in Chicago winter!
Chicago winter is long, cold and harsh. It is not my favorite season in Chicago. Though I still struggle a little bit every winter, I finally learned to enjoy it.
Notes:
This is my ToastMaster Speech #4 on Jan, 13, 2005.
This was no time for fun.
This was no time for games.
There was work to be done."
Digging yourself out of that deep snow is a serious business in Chicago winters. Expect nothing from Dr. Seuss. Yes, the cat in the hat comes back every winter, but not here in Chicago.
I am no big fan of the Chicago winter. It just sucks the life out of you and the city like a giant vacuum machine. We are only left with heavy cloudy skies, gusty winds, 20 to 40 degrees below zero wind chills, snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice, slush and pot holes on the road.
Foot deep snow is no stranger to Chicago. Here are top three snow storm on record: 23" on Jan 26-27 1967, 21.6" on Jan 1-3 1999 and 18.8" on Jan 13-14 1979. Flights got cancelled in O'Hare airport. Passengers sit in their planes on the runway for hours, or camped out in the terminals. Railway switches got frozen. Trains came to a halt. Schools and stores were closed. Snow blowers and shovels were sold out. Roofs collapsed due to the weight of snow. Many families were snow-bound to their homes. A handful men died of heart attack while shoveling the snow. In some part of the city, residents put out garbage bins and chairs to guard their parking spaces.
January snow storm is usually followed by a heavy dose of stiff cold. However, if the weather warms up after like these days, snow melts into water and ice. Floods may follow. As the temperature dances up and down, flu and cold run wild. Daycares and schools become major staging grounds for flu attack. Working parents are called back home to take care of sick children. A few days later, they find themselves too get knocked out. People start to have headaches, sore throats and muscle pains. Cold medicine and pain relievers become hot items in drug stores.
I grew wiser after the great snow storm in January 1999. I upgraded the snow shovel with a 5HP Honda snow blower. After each snow, I just fired it up and cleaned out the driveway and side walk in 25 minutes. No more shoveling, no more sweat. In the long cold nights, I enjoy sipping hot barley tea with my family in front of the warm fireplace. This year is more interesting. My three year old son Daniel just loves to see the snow. There was no snow for Christmas. He waited and waited. There was no snow for New Year 2005. He waited and waited. Finally we got about 10" snow last week. "Hey, there is enough snow for everybody.", my son was nothing but excited. We put on heavy coats, snow pants, snow boots and bomber hats. Off we went snow sledding in that evening. The air was very cold, but the park was full of life, filled with kids and their noise. We had a great time sledding. On the way back home, we saw a guy stepping out the front door of his house, just wearing a T-shirt and a pair of short. He lit a cigarette and started smoking. What a spirit in Chicago winter!
Chicago winter is long, cold and harsh. It is not my favorite season in Chicago. Though I still struggle a little bit every winter, I finally learned to enjoy it.
Notes:
This is my ToastMaster Speech #4 on Jan, 13, 2005.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)