Bay Area weekend.
I left the house at 8:00 Friday morning. The traffic was not so bad. I was surprised that there are only a few slow areas on the 210 westbound. The weather condition was poor. Cloudy and rainfall predicted for the rest of the weekend.
The I-5 north bound was also light. Not too many trucks either. The landscape is green all the way to my destination. I've never seen the California landscape so green in my life. The constant rainfall this past season has made the state so beautiful. The Pacheco Pass area was just gorgeous. It was actually relaxing. I always feels stressed out in this part of my trip to the Bay area but not this time. I also think that they have widened the road, I can't remember when the last time I drove through this area.
It was pouring rain when I reached Palo Alto. I made a stop at a local rest area. The side of a mountain was covered with wisps of clouds. Sureal. I thought of taking a picture but I know from experience that it will not record well if I hand hold my camera. A slow shutter speed is required and I didn't have one that will suit my needs. I brought a pocket tripod that I used on top of platforms or tables. Since it's raining, I found no suitable place for my camera. A mental picture will do for now.
To summarize my weekend visit, it was a mixed bag of experiences. Nothing new here. My uncle and auntie has a disfunctional relationship with their son. This I know from many years of visiting with them. I ended up with telling my cousin about my experiences with elderly people at work. Their needs and developmental level, their beliefs and also their limitations. Cousin didn't know what he is up for in terms of dealing with his parents at this point of their lives. He believes that his parents are the same people in their 40's and 50's. When they are working and healthy. They are now in their 70's. Although auntie is relatively healthy compared to my uncle, both have diabetes without complications, my uncle is suffering from a relapse of prostrate cancer. He just had chemotherapy that makes him swollen but full of energy. The mass in his neck has decreased in size and no longer bothers him.
Elderly people are no longer behaving as if they are in their 40's or 50's. Their needs are different. They're retired with fixed incomes. They have medications to buy on top of their bills. The house is paid for so they had the bathroom upgraded and the floor is now laminated wood. Not bad for a couple of retirees. They also have the propensity to drive Mercedes Benzes. A Honda Civic can't climb a mountain but they hardly drive. I don't understand this but that's what they do. Uncle is forgetful. So he can't recall what he has done yesterday. Normal for older folks. COusin didn't know about this so he decided to ask uncle what happened to the automatic dog feeder. Uncle said he didn't know and cousin kept asking him what happened to his $40 dog feeder. After repeated exchanges, uncle told cousin to get out of his house and never come again. Hahahaha. I can't help but to smile. DISFUNCTIONAL family? Nope. This is an example of crossed wires in communication. One's expectation has not changed from 20 years ago. I told cousin to adapt to these changes and life will be more tolerable. Time will tell and I don't plan to hang around to find out.
Uncle likes to fix things at home. He was telling me that the "fuse" needs replacement and he can't take it out. The fuse affects the use of the dryer. I tried to explain to him that he doesn't have a fuse and it doesn't burn out. Their house was built in the 70's and it doesn't have a fuse box. He insisted that he was pulling on it and it will not budge. "It's burned out inside" he said. I told him I'll tale a look. Sure enough, it's a circuit breaker. I reset the bipole switch and went to check on the clothes dryer and it is working. I told him and taught him how to reset it. Auntie was telling me that we was even trying to open the dryer to see what is wrong. Ahh, potential for electrecution, not a good sign. It's good he didn't try to pry the circuit breaker with some metalic object, that could have fried him to eternity.
My cousin unfortunately doesn't know all this house crap. Well, if you don't have a house then you might not know about this things. I've learned so much about home repair that I know what I can do (not much) and what a professional can do (a lot, and those bastards charge an arm and a leg). Thank God for a good paying job. I have books on lawns, electrical wiring, tile installation, masonry work, home rapair, home upgrading, painting, color design, and tons of other stuff. This is how I learn not to screw up on jobs that I can't do. Most of this things are labor intensive. I'm not into hard labor.
Going home the following Monday was a pleasant one. Traffic was light. My truck was the site of mass insect killing. Bugs everywhere. I need to stop to clean my windshield. I've done my duty to visit my uncle and auntie. I do care about them and wish them long life.
I left the house at 8:00 Friday morning. The traffic was not so bad. I was surprised that there are only a few slow areas on the 210 westbound. The weather condition was poor. Cloudy and rainfall predicted for the rest of the weekend.
The I-5 north bound was also light. Not too many trucks either. The landscape is green all the way to my destination. I've never seen the California landscape so green in my life. The constant rainfall this past season has made the state so beautiful. The Pacheco Pass area was just gorgeous. It was actually relaxing. I always feels stressed out in this part of my trip to the Bay area but not this time. I also think that they have widened the road, I can't remember when the last time I drove through this area.
It was pouring rain when I reached Palo Alto. I made a stop at a local rest area. The side of a mountain was covered with wisps of clouds. Sureal. I thought of taking a picture but I know from experience that it will not record well if I hand hold my camera. A slow shutter speed is required and I didn't have one that will suit my needs. I brought a pocket tripod that I used on top of platforms or tables. Since it's raining, I found no suitable place for my camera. A mental picture will do for now.
To summarize my weekend visit, it was a mixed bag of experiences. Nothing new here. My uncle and auntie has a disfunctional relationship with their son. This I know from many years of visiting with them. I ended up with telling my cousin about my experiences with elderly people at work. Their needs and developmental level, their beliefs and also their limitations. Cousin didn't know what he is up for in terms of dealing with his parents at this point of their lives. He believes that his parents are the same people in their 40's and 50's. When they are working and healthy. They are now in their 70's. Although auntie is relatively healthy compared to my uncle, both have diabetes without complications, my uncle is suffering from a relapse of prostrate cancer. He just had chemotherapy that makes him swollen but full of energy. The mass in his neck has decreased in size and no longer bothers him.
Elderly people are no longer behaving as if they are in their 40's or 50's. Their needs are different. They're retired with fixed incomes. They have medications to buy on top of their bills. The house is paid for so they had the bathroom upgraded and the floor is now laminated wood. Not bad for a couple of retirees. They also have the propensity to drive Mercedes Benzes. A Honda Civic can't climb a mountain but they hardly drive. I don't understand this but that's what they do. Uncle is forgetful. So he can't recall what he has done yesterday. Normal for older folks. COusin didn't know about this so he decided to ask uncle what happened to the automatic dog feeder. Uncle said he didn't know and cousin kept asking him what happened to his $40 dog feeder. After repeated exchanges, uncle told cousin to get out of his house and never come again. Hahahaha. I can't help but to smile. DISFUNCTIONAL family? Nope. This is an example of crossed wires in communication. One's expectation has not changed from 20 years ago. I told cousin to adapt to these changes and life will be more tolerable. Time will tell and I don't plan to hang around to find out.
Uncle likes to fix things at home. He was telling me that the "fuse" needs replacement and he can't take it out. The fuse affects the use of the dryer. I tried to explain to him that he doesn't have a fuse and it doesn't burn out. Their house was built in the 70's and it doesn't have a fuse box. He insisted that he was pulling on it and it will not budge. "It's burned out inside" he said. I told him I'll tale a look. Sure enough, it's a circuit breaker. I reset the bipole switch and went to check on the clothes dryer and it is working. I told him and taught him how to reset it. Auntie was telling me that we was even trying to open the dryer to see what is wrong. Ahh, potential for electrecution, not a good sign. It's good he didn't try to pry the circuit breaker with some metalic object, that could have fried him to eternity.
My cousin unfortunately doesn't know all this house crap. Well, if you don't have a house then you might not know about this things. I've learned so much about home repair that I know what I can do (not much) and what a professional can do (a lot, and those bastards charge an arm and a leg). Thank God for a good paying job. I have books on lawns, electrical wiring, tile installation, masonry work, home rapair, home upgrading, painting, color design, and tons of other stuff. This is how I learn not to screw up on jobs that I can't do. Most of this things are labor intensive. I'm not into hard labor.
Going home the following Monday was a pleasant one. Traffic was light. My truck was the site of mass insect killing. Bugs everywhere. I need to stop to clean my windshield. I've done my duty to visit my uncle and auntie. I do care about them and wish them long life.
