I was telling my sister last week that there was a chance next year's F2F was going to be in Seattle, and that I was really looking forward to heading west for it, no matter where it ends up. I'm starting to save my pennies now, because I know I don't want to miss it again!!

I have one cousin who is not actually related to me by blood. (She is, in fact, Philippina, which makes introductions entertaining. Or did last I saw her, which is probably six or eight years ago now.) One uncle and aunt. I think my dad has some extended relations out there but no one I really know.

I have a Chinese first cousin, adopted.

Dalik Volinitz.

Of course I know him! Actually, he always creeped me out a little bit.

You probably weren't even born when they showed "shminiot ba'avir"

Right, but I was a kid when he had a show on Saturdays mornings on channel 2, "Morning of Fun". The opening credits were Tislam's song, and that's where I know it from.

shapes-of-8 in the air

lolz.

My aunt and uncle were married when Irene (the cousin) was five or six. So in fact, I suppose I could say that most of my extended family is Philippino. Certainly I know them better than whoever is still alive on the American-born side. Nila (my aunt) has tons of family and they're mostly in the DC area so I did major holidays with them for a number of years. It was always fun watching them try to remember to speak English instead of Tagalog. Not when they were speaking directly to me of course, but for general dinner table talk, the conversation would get going and then they'd all stop short and start up again in English. Ah, Thanksgiving. The usual turkey, cranberry, etc. and then sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves and a host of other things I didn't begin to recognize.

Actually, he always creeped me out a little bit.

That's so strange - I always thought he was the most genuine and sweet of all of that bunch from channel 1. The one who actually stands behind what he says and can think for himself, not just read from a ready-made script.

he had a show on Saturdays mornings on channel 2

See, being religious, I never know which shows were on Saturday mornings. That's the first I've ever heard of it. How funny.

which makes introductions entertaining

A friend of mine and her adopted sister have very different coloring (the sister's complexion is a bit darker than mine, my friend has light brown hair and green eyes), and even that difference is enough to makes introductions interesting (even though there are actual blood-related siblings I can think of who look at least as different).

brenda, I loved the languages-shifting description.

Caught up!

I slept through all but a couple hours of Sunday, and spent most of Saturday in that place that shall not be named. It may have looked like light posting to y'all, but I had a few hundred to get through.

My mother has 5 siblings. We sometimes also call her first cousins aunts and uncles, but as we've aged we've started to call them cousins, and their kids cousins too. We don't really distinguish in terms of closeness.

I don't think I can count my father's siblings. They are plentiful and all half--his mother never married, and his father married other women/another woman. Historically we weren't as close with them because they lived all over the place, but my sister is re-establishing quiet a bit. More than me, anyway. The relative out here ignored me completely after meeting me once. ::sniff::

Dammit, I have one big task coming down the pike but I need information before I can start it. I'm mostly twiddling my thumbs until it shows up.

Well, twiddling my thumbs and gorging on Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade which lacks a lot of the typical bottled lemon juice aftertaste. Problem is, no ice around. Want cold. Want task and want cold.

A great "Sorry we're closed" sign: [link]

I had 3 cousins on my mom's side (1 died in a motorcycle incident at 18) and I have 6 cousins on my dad's side. We weren't/aren't close with my mom's side, but about 5 of us on my dad's side grew up near each other and are still pretty close. My mom had 1 sister and my dad had 6 brothers and sisters. My cousins' kids are more like my nieces and nephews.

Problem is, no ice around.

Shoving ice-chips through the internet for ita. They're really tiny ice-chips, so they should get through, right?