Palo Alto contribution

Hi Hana,

This font's for you...

I was so happy to see Hana at my house (first time since the Brit Lows left) and her comment was: "yeah! there's not much food left at Daddy's house". I was still happy to see my prodigal child though - whatever the reason.

I sent the link for Matt's photos to my friends and everyone agrees they are awesome/sensational/holy cowish. David's sister, whom I have never met sent me an email asking what kind of camera he used because the images were so sharp.

Hana thought dinner with the Starks at a Greek restaurant in Palo Alto was quite entertaining. Grandma Stark with a bubble thought "I've never met a real live person from Gibraltar", and MR saying "I'd never realized quite how American Hana's family was".

Not really Low-related but it was a funny story so I'll share. A friend of mine, Nancy, (blond, WASPy, from Boston, grew up vacationing in Nantucket) told me that the author of "French Women don't get Fat" Mireille Guiliano, used to stay with her family as an exchange student and "the American family" she talks about in her book with the fried, stodgy, carbs that get Americans fat was her mom's cooking. It was all post depression food. And No, Nancy is not overweight like those boat women in Tahoe, in case you are wondering.

I enjoyed seeing all of you SOOOO much. Thanks for coming over. It was so nice that you could be here for Hana's graduation and meet the Starks (if only to prove that them that I'm the freak loser in the family and Hana's not necessarily doomed to a life of unemployment). Hopefully next time you can meet David who really wanted to come but was held up by the Habitat blitz build.

Just came back from visiting Ysa, my childhood friend from Malaysia whose husband is the founder of Walden investments - the company I had told Matt to contact for his venture. John and Sayling will remember Ysa. They had just bought a new house in Piedmont and we were invited to visit. She had extended the invitation to all the visiting Lows who were still around. Holy Moly! I was expecting a grandish, Don-Chi-style house but it was a mini Hearst Castle. Makes Don's house look like a cottage. 20,000 sq ft house in 4 acres of forested land in one of the most expensive parts of the Bay Area. Absolutely gorgeous! It was a 80 year old house that had been restored with original tiles in the original style of the house really nicely, obviously expensive but nothing ostentatious or garish about it (apart from the fact that it's a 20,000 sq ft house in Piedmont). Emma and I felt like we were at a resort. The pool looked a little small, but it was only in relation to the rest of the house, it's at least twice the size of our pool. The coolest part is they are going to do a nature trail around the property. Lip Bu told me he had specifically put in an elevator for his aging father who had lived with them for years so he could get down to the pool area and garden, but he died before they moved into the house. I left feeling like I should have paid an entrance fee to view the house, it was that grand. Ironically for mom and Henry and some of their cronies, (Ysa's parents were also included) when Lip Bu first started out 20 years ago and asked them to invest in his company, no one wanted to take the risk because he had a moustache, and by Chinese standards that made him look like a crook. I'll bet they regret that little prejudice - the guy's got to be a billionaire. Ysa still looks beautiful and as unaffected as ever. No designer clothes, make up or plastic augmentation evident anywhere.

So from EMma, Loser Loser, Double Loser, WhatEVER, get the picture, DUH!

L8er
Pen