Google & The Wayward One!

Yesterday, I got to hug my middle son, the ‘wayward one’, (the oldest is  the ‘big lug’ and the baby is the ‘young ‘un’) for the first time in five months. Now, I know I’m lucky. Many moms don’t see their kids for years, but we’ve always lived, even after they moved out, within regular Sunday dinner family barbeque’s distance, so the last two years have been a huge adjustment for me. At any rate, the wayward one works for Google, and we were treated to a tour of his new facility, and managed to meet his boss and  many of his teammates.

‘Googlers’, as they refer to themselves, have to be the luckiest and happiest employees on the planet. Everything’s provided for them. I’m convinced they’ve spoiled my son for working anywhere else. Not bad for the son nicknamed the ‘wayward one’ for  his rebellious inclinations. Hurrah for the rebels – they teach us to break the rules and make new ones!

Here are some pics:

 

Flavored waters at the gym - lavender was delish

Flavored waters at the gym – lavender was delish

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Look closely – it’s the mobile building & this is all made of dinky cars!

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My favorite place – Google employees can take free cooking classes from world class chefs – OMG I’m so jealous!

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The Sushi Bar in the one of 32 free restaurants on the Google campus. All are featured in foodie mags frequently. This one’s full service.

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Closeup of the sushi bar. Did I mention Googlers are encouraged to take food home? My son’s so spoiled.

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The Coffee & Tea Lab run in conjunction with Starbucks. It’s a real lab where they test responses to different concoctions. Amazing.

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One of the many parks & outside areas on the Google campus. Love the big chairs!

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Google’s Test Kitchen offers cooking classes to all employee free of charge, and all are taught by certified chefs! Sigh…drooling here.

 

 

 

Birthday Thanks!

My sincere thanks to everyone for their good wishes yesterday on my birthday. It turned out to be a wonderful day. First there were the birthday flowers:

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After a leisurely cup of coffee, the dh and I took Ricky (the best present ever!) for a walk.

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Then my girlfriend, Tamarind, and her husband treated the two of us and my two sons (the wayward one’s in California) to brunch at Oceans 2000. Yummy stone crabs, oysters, and a whole bunch of other seafood plus champers. Even though it was rainy and grim (which made it the perfect temperature here in South Florida) the misted ocean, and the rolling waves made for an incredible setting. How can anyone go wrong with a combination of a perfect view, friends and family, and fabulous food?

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Here’s a pick of the antique cake dish Tamarind gave me (I collect, according to the dh, ‘useless pink glass’):

Cake with Ricky card

 

And I can’t possibly mention or post a pic of the dh’s gifts…*wicked grin*.
Sigh, the only downside was that birthday number edging closer to the ‘big one.’
Have a magnificent Monday!
Cheers.

Jianne

Home Sweet Home!

When you’re an immigrant, home is a nebulous fellow. Having just spent the last five days in Trinidad, it felt like I’d gone home. But, now we’re back in Florida, and this, too, feels like home. So, do I have two or one? As I’ve grown older (the wiser part’s yet to kick in), it’s become clear to me – home is wherever your family is, and family has been redefined to include simply everyone I love. So, yes I went home, and yes, I came back home. It was a fabulous holiday. I loved seeing all the cousins arguing and playing games and ribbing each other mercilessly. It was amazing to have all my brothers and their wives and children and my mom and Jean in one place. Every meal was an absolute joy and I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in ages. Here’s a few pics:

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The Depleted Buffet Table!

The Depleted Buffet Table!

I hope your Christmas was incredible!

Cheers,

Jianne

 

Happy Holidays!

TurkeyMost of the North Americans I’ve met don’t realize that Thanksgiving is a holiday peculiar to the continent. While Germany, Bavaria, and Japan have similarly named holidays, to my knowledge no other countries in the world besides Canada and the United States celebrate Thanksgiving in such an elaborate manner.

While Thanksgiving is ‘the’ national holiday in the U.S.A., it isn’t so in Canada. Don’t get me wrong—it’s observed and is a day off, but not with the grand pomp and fervor of the American celebration.

I find the differences between the two nations peculiar because both are offshoots of Britain, both are ‘melting pots’ in terms of population, and both are immigrant-based nations. Yet—and any Canadian readers you can all correct me on this if I’m wrong—in Canada, Thanksgiving yields to Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid-ul-Fitr, Divali, and a whole host of other cultural holidays, in importance.

Over the years I have come to relish Thanksgiving because of the very fact that it’s commemorated by every single American no matter what their origins.

This year is my second without having all my sons present. Last year the young ‘un was in Madrid, and this year the wayward one (middle son) will be in California. He keeps trying to appease my sorrow and worry by reiterating constantly the fact that Google does whosoever’s left on campus proud with incredible feasts and fun-filled activities.

Sigh.

It won’t be the same, but I’m ever so grateful for Skype. We’re going to set up our biggest screen in the dining room and involve the wayward one even if he isn’t so inclined. His gramma insists on it (read his mom).

This will be my last blog before the big occasion, so I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone who’s celebrating Thanksgiving a joyous, happy, family-filled holiday!

Be safe!

Cheers,

Jianne

P.S. I’m on Cover Reveals on Saturday, November 30 – so those who aren’t braving Thanksgiving shopping please drop by – there will be contests galore and prizes!!! Heres the link: http://coverreveals.blogspot.com/

Going Back Home

Trinidad - vew from 17 072813Home. The word has so many different meanings for so many people. It’s challenging if you’ve lived in more than one place and downright confusing if you’re an immigrant, like me. Though my mother gave birth to me in Georgetown, Guyana, we moved to Trinidad when I was five, and I spent most of my formative years in that country. At sixteen and a half, I headed off the college to the University of Guelph in Canada. There, I met and married my Dutch-born husband. We lived in various parts of Canada for over seven years before moving to Trinidad.

My kids were born in Trinidad and Tobago and we spent fourteen incredible years there before, once again, changing countries. To date, we’ve lived in Florida for thirteen years. As I write this blog, I am back home.So where is home? I’ve come to believe it’s where your parents lived during your formative years. I am blessed to have my mother with me still, but I wonder if Trinidad will still be home when the inevitable happens.

My three boys are divided on the subject. They spent every summer while we were in Florida in Trinidad. They have friends here as do we, yet, for them home is Florida. And as for my poor hubby, he calls both Canada and Trinidad home. Truth be told, he’s way more Trinidadian than I’ll ever be. He took to Trini like a duck to water.

I haven’t been back to Trinidad in ten years and the changes are incredible. The country is not the one I remember and I feel like a stranger. So, have I come home? Or is that definition changing?

Where’s your home?

Cheers,

Jianne

 

P.S. The pic is of the view from my mom’s home and the house where I lived in my early