Gig 'Em Aggies
And just like that, everything fell into place.
Yesterday was the annual Aggieland Saturday at Texas A&M University. We had been planning to go for months, but on Friday morning when I took Cici to school I told her that we weren't going on Saturday because the weather was going to be too bad. Thunderstorms, continuous rain, high winds, and a colder day were predicted. So you can plan on sleeping in on Saturday morning and I will go to the office to work. Sleeping in sounded fine to her, so we told Ping of the change in plans.
Sure enough, the thunderstorms rolled into Houston about an hour or so before daybreak and the rain came down hard. The first big storm moved on and I got to the office before the next storm hit. But the weather in College Station was predicted to be even worse, at least until mid-day.
I left the office to go back home in between two of the thunderstorms around 11:00 a.m. I checked the University of Texas website again, just as I had done the previous day and evening, and every day for the past month, to see if they had made a decision about business school for Cici. I was relieved to see that the decision was posted, congratulating her for being admitted to the School of Undergraduate Studies, which is the general admission that is offered to most applicants. This was the news I had been hoping for and I printed the page and took it to Cici's room to awaken her.
I told her the news and she immediately said with a smile, let's reject the offer from UT. She came with me to our home office and took pleasure in handling the rejection. Then she accepted the offer from A&M, which also allowed us to sign her up for the required new student conference. I had cautioned her that by waiting for UT's decision that the earliest dates might be filled up and I was right. The earliest dates were June 19&20 so we chose those conference dates. That is our wedding anniversary, so it is a lucky date for you, I told her.
Now, I said, the thunderstorms have passed through and the rain is not too hard, so why don't we drive to A&M. We can be there before the last tour of the residence halls and you can make your decision about where you want to live on campus. Are you serious? Yes, Sweetie, let's get Mama and go now.
It took the girls half an hour to get ready but we headed off in time to make the last tour as I had suggested. Cici satisfied herself that the modular residence halls are the ones she likes best, and she was thrilled to see the video they showed of the new residence hall that they are building. It will be ready in time for her sophomore year and she is already making plans to live there.
Then we ducked into the bookstore and all things Aggie store on campus just as the rain started to fall harder again, but Cici was starving so we put up the umbrella and headed for the car. An Aggie client emailed me last week about a Chinese restaurant near campus that he thinks is the best in the area so we drove there to check it out. He was right - a portion of its menu was real Chinese food and we were able to order some of our favorite foods.
We drove back to Houston in a light rain and I went to work on the residence housing website. I confirmed that Cici's priority date for housing was established as October 2 when we first signed up and paid the fee after she received her admission letter, and not the date that she accepted the offer of admission. You should be one of the first in line for choosing your housing, I told her, so in all likelihood you will get your first choice. She was delighted.
But there was more work to be done. Now that Cici knew her new student conference dates we could book flights to China, so I got a commitment from the girls about their preferred departure and return dates and got on line to check on flights. I was glad to see that there are good choices now to fly from Houston to Guangzhou without going to Hong Kong and bussing to Guangzhou as we have done in the past.
I called Platinum Card Travel Services at American Express to book the flights. Let me see what I can do for you, the man said. He was friendly and talkative but seemed a bit inept about making the travel arrangements. He was talking about American Airlines connecting with a Delta Airlines flight in some convoluted way, so I suggested he check Continental Airlines from Houston to Los Angeles, connecting with China Southern to Guangzhou, and returning to Houston using the same airlines.
As we talked I figured out the agent was having difficulty saying and spelling Guangzhou so I told him just to use the airport code CAN for Guangzhou, short for Canton, which is its former name. That solved the problem and he immediately booked the same flights that I had found on line before I called him. But by doing it this way, I was able to use some of the points that had built up in my American Express account to pay for the tickets. But you can't pay the ticket fees of $39 each using points, he said, so that will be your only out of pocket cost for the travel.
Done, I told the girls. How much for the tickets? Ping asked. $39 each, I replied. Not possible she said. True, I said, and explained what I had done. Smart Niu Bao, she said, while Cici was already on her iPad sending news to her friends about the trip.
I felt a sense of relief because in a matter of four days we bought a car so we could give the Pilot to Cici and she can drive it and become comfortable with it before she drives it off to college, we finalized the decision about college and locked in the acceptance and the new student conference, and we booked the tickets for the girls to make their trip to China this summer.
Oh, and we also found Chef Cao's, which we will undoubtedly frequent on our trips to College Station during the next five years.
Yesterday was the annual Aggieland Saturday at Texas A&M University. We had been planning to go for months, but on Friday morning when I took Cici to school I told her that we weren't going on Saturday because the weather was going to be too bad. Thunderstorms, continuous rain, high winds, and a colder day were predicted. So you can plan on sleeping in on Saturday morning and I will go to the office to work. Sleeping in sounded fine to her, so we told Ping of the change in plans.
Sure enough, the thunderstorms rolled into Houston about an hour or so before daybreak and the rain came down hard. The first big storm moved on and I got to the office before the next storm hit. But the weather in College Station was predicted to be even worse, at least until mid-day.
I left the office to go back home in between two of the thunderstorms around 11:00 a.m. I checked the University of Texas website again, just as I had done the previous day and evening, and every day for the past month, to see if they had made a decision about business school for Cici. I was relieved to see that the decision was posted, congratulating her for being admitted to the School of Undergraduate Studies, which is the general admission that is offered to most applicants. This was the news I had been hoping for and I printed the page and took it to Cici's room to awaken her.
I told her the news and she immediately said with a smile, let's reject the offer from UT. She came with me to our home office and took pleasure in handling the rejection. Then she accepted the offer from A&M, which also allowed us to sign her up for the required new student conference. I had cautioned her that by waiting for UT's decision that the earliest dates might be filled up and I was right. The earliest dates were June 19&20 so we chose those conference dates. That is our wedding anniversary, so it is a lucky date for you, I told her.
Now, I said, the thunderstorms have passed through and the rain is not too hard, so why don't we drive to A&M. We can be there before the last tour of the residence halls and you can make your decision about where you want to live on campus. Are you serious? Yes, Sweetie, let's get Mama and go now.
It took the girls half an hour to get ready but we headed off in time to make the last tour as I had suggested. Cici satisfied herself that the modular residence halls are the ones she likes best, and she was thrilled to see the video they showed of the new residence hall that they are building. It will be ready in time for her sophomore year and she is already making plans to live there.
Then we ducked into the bookstore and all things Aggie store on campus just as the rain started to fall harder again, but Cici was starving so we put up the umbrella and headed for the car. An Aggie client emailed me last week about a Chinese restaurant near campus that he thinks is the best in the area so we drove there to check it out. He was right - a portion of its menu was real Chinese food and we were able to order some of our favorite foods.
We drove back to Houston in a light rain and I went to work on the residence housing website. I confirmed that Cici's priority date for housing was established as October 2 when we first signed up and paid the fee after she received her admission letter, and not the date that she accepted the offer of admission. You should be one of the first in line for choosing your housing, I told her, so in all likelihood you will get your first choice. She was delighted.
But there was more work to be done. Now that Cici knew her new student conference dates we could book flights to China, so I got a commitment from the girls about their preferred departure and return dates and got on line to check on flights. I was glad to see that there are good choices now to fly from Houston to Guangzhou without going to Hong Kong and bussing to Guangzhou as we have done in the past.
I called Platinum Card Travel Services at American Express to book the flights. Let me see what I can do for you, the man said. He was friendly and talkative but seemed a bit inept about making the travel arrangements. He was talking about American Airlines connecting with a Delta Airlines flight in some convoluted way, so I suggested he check Continental Airlines from Houston to Los Angeles, connecting with China Southern to Guangzhou, and returning to Houston using the same airlines.
As we talked I figured out the agent was having difficulty saying and spelling Guangzhou so I told him just to use the airport code CAN for Guangzhou, short for Canton, which is its former name. That solved the problem and he immediately booked the same flights that I had found on line before I called him. But by doing it this way, I was able to use some of the points that had built up in my American Express account to pay for the tickets. But you can't pay the ticket fees of $39 each using points, he said, so that will be your only out of pocket cost for the travel.
Done, I told the girls. How much for the tickets? Ping asked. $39 each, I replied. Not possible she said. True, I said, and explained what I had done. Smart Niu Bao, she said, while Cici was already on her iPad sending news to her friends about the trip.
I felt a sense of relief because in a matter of four days we bought a car so we could give the Pilot to Cici and she can drive it and become comfortable with it before she drives it off to college, we finalized the decision about college and locked in the acceptance and the new student conference, and we booked the tickets for the girls to make their trip to China this summer.
Oh, and we also found Chef Cao's, which we will undoubtedly frequent on our trips to College Station during the next five years.
That is one busy day!
A big congratulations to Angela!
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Thanks Smitty. I will tell her.
Now, you asked about the band tour and when they will be in Washington and Oregon. We just got the schedule and the band will be heading to the great northwest on March 7 and staying in Seattle before going on to Kennewick, Washington the next night. On the 10th they will be in Portland and then back to Seattle on the 11th and 12th. Sounds like a whirlwind tour to me.
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Perfect! I'll be on vacation those two weeks so I can see her perform after my birthday!
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Maybe they can play happy birthday for you.
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Wow, you have been busy. Me, I have just been trying to catch up on things now that I made it back to America. The sad thing is my wife and baby will be in China for at least two more months, so the house feels very empty
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LOL, I just went through that driving experience. Good luck with it. I will be facing that empty house feeling this summer as well so I feel for you.
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Ahhh don't worry - be happy! Misery loves company! After I ship Maggie and lil' Alex back to China, we can get together and eat our little hearts out... in China Town!
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LOL.
The only problem is that Ping and Cici will have all their spies out in Chinatown watching what I eat. They keep me on a tight leash!
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OK... so we eat bar-b-que the baby back pork ribs, sit on the patio and watch the baby ducks on the lake with those funny drinks that have those oriental umbrellas in them! LOL
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Party time!
When the girls hear they would miss out on your ribs, they may cancel their trip to China.
But if not, maybe I can get away with more than one beer without Cici there to control me.
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