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| 2005/12/15 16:59:50瀏覽638｜回應4｜推薦5 | |
| Christmas tree is a big things in US. Decorating the trees is a traditional event for the family. The ornaments, the lights and the tree itself are fancy. However, the spirit about the tree is how family share their moment in front of the tree, appreciate each of the ornaments, and share the story. With a 3 year old and 2 year old, it is a fun thing to do now. A Christmas tree usually cost US$50-100. My first experience was not the greatest one in the beginning.. However, this story is going to last forever within our family. It has been over 10 years since I moved to US. After all the wait, five years ago, we bought this house; three and half years ago, we had Ethan; August 2005, we had Amelia; then we did some upgrade of our living room... finally in winter 2005, Tina and I decided to start our family tradition of putting up a Christmas tree. Beginning in the late fall, Christmas tree lots sping up everywhere in the US. Near the shopping malls, the private parking lots, or the bigger ones where they just converted from the pumpkin patches. Even some gas stations join the mix. It is quite a scene. So buying Christmas tree is supposed to be simple, right? Think again before you go. The prices of trees range from US$5 to US$15 in the easily acceessed location. Hum, being in California, we should have the best supply for the trees, right? No, even that was not true. Most of the tree lots I visited told me their trees were from Oregan. So, I better look up for some references. I am not good at web surfing. The limited websites I visited regularly are ESPN, New York Times, LA Times, USA Today, and IEEE. Ok, let me go to Yahoo!, the website for my generation to go when you try to find something. First, I entered Christmas tree. The top lines are Sears Official Site, the Buy Pre-Lit Christmas Trees at MACY'S... Not helping. Let me try to Google this time, and hope they can show me how much that high stock price worth! After I entered the google page, I recalled what my friend Ryan told me that Google search is so easy to use. You just think in English. I went ahead and typed "Where to buy Christmas tree?" First, Decorated Trees Under $50, Fresh and Fragrant Live Christmas Trees - Ready to Plug in & Enjoy. Second: Trees in Bay Area care. This is what I need to take care of my backyard, but not for now. Third: All About Christmas Tree Care. How to buy Christmas tree, etc I got what I need in the first page of the search result. I am not going to duplicate whatever in the web except one thing, the types of tree people use for Christmas true. It is a good way for me to pick up the biology knowledge that I never had chance to learn. There are five basic types of trees: Cedar, Cypress, Fir, Spruce, and Pine. Enought headache already, right? First I have to understand the nature of each one type, fragrant, shape, form, etc, and how they really look like, married guys should understand this :=). Fortunately, in California, we have enough Fir and Spruce since they are the most common ones. Tina and I decided to jsut go with Fir. Now, the next step was to go to the lots and check out the trees in person. The first place I thought of was the Moore's since that was the place seemed to offer the biggest amount of the trees, and away from the city. It was the place decorated as a nice pumpkin patch during Haloween. So, we went there one Wednesday afternoon. Tina and I got into the farm, and immediately we were stunned. There were Noble Fir, Fraser Fir, Grand Fir, and Douglas Fir. We like the bluish-green needles with a silvery appearance of Noble Fir, and the green-blue look of Douglas Fir, plus the good fragrant. However, the price was not what we were told, The price of three are mostly over $100, a little more pricy than people told us. Yet, the trees there looked so pretty. Then our Taiwanese characteristics took over. Let's go check out a few other places. We went to the lots, the one outside our iceland where we goes ice skating, then the one near ToyRus. The tree there were cheaper, but not as pretty, and not with too many choices. So, we didn't buy one. On Friday night, the last day we need to buy the tree in order to have time to let the tree settle down, and start decorating it during the past weekend, the weekend of Dec.11-12. Otherwise, we won't be ready for the party time. We took the kids to another lot, the one near Alameda County Fairground. Their price was good, and with lot of selection. But, I can't find those pretty as the one we saw in the Moore's, and I couldn't feel the gragrant smell and the kind of moist flexible needles in the trees there. Plus, they didn't carry as many 7' - 8' trees as Moores. So, here we come again, Moores. The kids went wild when we got to the Moores. Ethan was running around the Forest, as lion king as usual. Amelia loves the jump house there. The two kids ran around, and we explained to them what each tree was. And finally, we decided which one we wanted, the 8 feet tall Noble Fir. The workers helped us to trim and cut it. Then move it to the top of our SUV. Now, it was up to me. Going home was OK. And moving the tree down wasn't too bad. I settled down the tree in the front porch, cleaned it, knocked it in the stand. Then the funny feeling struck me. There was object in my eye. I tried to ignore it. But the pain was still there. I went in to the house, took off my contact lens, ran into shower and watered my eyes for five minutes. I still had that persistent pain in my right eye. Ok, now, let me get into my favorite bath tub, open my blind, and turned off the light, just enjoy the quiet moment. After a nap and 30minutes. The pain was still there. It was not a good sign. I had so many experience with objects in my eye, it was never so painful, and lasted for so long. I got off my tub, and told Tina that I had to go to ER. Sitting in the ER, the nurse gave me a eye drop and did not forget about reminding me the purpose of goggles, and the safty quide. One eye drop, the pain went away. "It was easy, a magic in modern medicine" I thought. I guessed maybe the medicine just soften the object, and it went out with my tear. Unfortunately, the nurse told me it was just pain killer, to help me feel better. He told me that the surgent would be with me shortly, after he put stitches on the other patients. A surgent? Man, it was too late for me to run away from the ER. The pain and the finacial responsibility were the only two reasons kept me rational. Otherwise, I would have run away and drive home. Looks around, nobody seemed to be terribly hurt. I tried to break the ice, and initiated the conversation with a young lady by asking whether I could take the Sports session of the newspaper. Then people started to chat. Funny thing was that about half of those in ER were some how related to Christmas trees, big splinter got into the wrist, the broken wood cut the palm, broken hip when he felt down the ladder while putting the star on top of the tree.... So, I felt better since I was not the only stupid one. I was called into the clinic, tested my vision. Then they examed my vision. My right eye could only see 0.2, with my super power -9.00 prescription glasses on already. That made me worry. Was I legally blind now? After a few more minutes, the surgent came to me, and examed my eye. He said the corneal was scratch pretty badly. He needed to take the LOG out from my eye immediately. Good lord, I had been there for about one and half hours already. Not to mentioned the previous couple hours I was spending at home. Don't make me lose my vision, please! The surgent used a Q-tip, to probe my eyes, and he took it out after five minutes of work. Lady and gentleman, that five minutes was long. Doctor told me that the nurse would give me some antibiotic, and let me rest for a while before checking me again. I found a chair and sat down. Another nurse came over, and gave me a shot. I thought that was a antibiotic. I was wrong again. It was the Tetanus shot. Now, my arm started to feel pretty sore, and swelling after 10 minutes. The eye drop was wearing off about the same time. Now, my eye was hurting again. Another 20 minutes passed, the nurse came over and put some Erythromycin on my eye. He told me that I would be blind for another hour or so. So, I'd better find a bed to lie down. It was 1:30am already. I was in the ER, and couldn't do anything, etc. The nurses were chatting, and one asked another one what happened to me. The one treated me told him "A log in his eye!" That cracked everyone up. So, after another hour or so, the nurse checked my vision. I was still 0.2 but told him that I felt I could drive. He went back to check with the doctor and told me that I could be discharged in another half an hours. I finally felt some relief. Upon discharge, the nurse gave me the Erythromycin, and a few tablet. He told me they were Vicodin. I have never given Vicodin in my life even I broke several bone, tore my ligament couple times before. Vicodin was the drug that my wife was given when she gave birth to my children So, this "Log in the eye" has the same pain level as giving birth? Funny it was. And I finally was able to go home. Sunday, we put the lights and all the ornaments we bought on the tree. It was pretty, but I felt we were missing something. Ornements are very personal things for American. Some of them have special meanings. In my uncle's house, they usually tells story about each ornament before they put it on. Sometime, they even spend time admire them over and over. That was the missing feeling I had. So, we went shopping again. Ethan chose some nice ornament, a Santa playing Football, a Santa playing Basketball. AND, he found a Darth Vader ornament in one shelf. Amelia got a Hello Kitty ones. Tina got some really nice deers, bells, and stars. Total, we spend some good amount of money at the shop. After we arrived home, Tina and kids decorated the tree again, and I was able to catch up with my newspapers and magazine after losing my eyesight for two days. The tree showed a life after those meaningful ornaments were put on. It completed our Christmas decoration after all these weeks. Tina said to me that "This is going to be the most expensive tree in our family." I didn't quite get it since a hundred something on the tree and another hundred for the ornaments was not too bad. Then she added "The tree plus the medical bill!" We were laughing so hard. Yeah, the my averge ER visit cost is about $350, and with the possibility that I might be forced to take two days vacation since I won't be able perform my work adequately. That's another few houndred bucks. This tree is going to cost me more than one grand. I hope this is the most expensive Christmas tree I am going to have in my life! Think again. How about those people I ran into in the ER on Friday night? Hope they are all well now and able to enjoy this one! |
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| ( 心情隨筆｜雜記 ) |
