Maui & China

We signed up for it and have gotten e-mails promptly. They sent e-mails to us for receiving our RFE reply, and approval of application. They must generate an e-mail to you as soon as they update your status. Nothing better than getting an e-mail from the CSC saying they have approved our petition. Now its on to the NVC!

Absolutely Fantastic!! Way to go Carl and Bing!!

May the Force be with you!!

Fantastic!! Hope Lai does well on her exam and you are reunited soon.

Congratulations Mark and Bea. Hoping the next steps go quickly for you.

I like mine with some tomato juice. That way I know I'm getting all my vitamins. Way better than a V-8.

Noni is a plant that grows in Hawaii and I think on some other Pacific Islands. The fruit is approximately the size of a fist, light green to greenish-white, with small knobby protrusions. It has been used by the Native Hawwaiians as a remedy for various illnesses. The University of Hawaii is currently doing studies on Noni for its cancer fighting properties. My neighbors who are part Hawaiian drink it all the time. From what I understand, they put it into a sealed jar and store it in a cool location and let it ferment. Don't know how long, but apparently it liquifies. You can only drink a small amount of this pure extract a day. Too much and it I think they told me it will do some terrible things to your body. Supposed to taste very bitter. I know my neighbors send some on a regular basis to an aunt who had cancer and she is now doing better since drinking it. My boss who is also part Hawaiian tells me her mother made her drink the stuff whenever she had a cold. It still makes her shudder when she remembers the taste. From what I gather it was/is a natural remedy used by native peoples that attracted the attention of New Age types who declared it a miracle cure-all. There may be valid properties and claims, hence the study by University of Hawaii, I'm not sure about all the other claims. Personally, I think I'll stick to my single malt scotch (no offense to you Jim Beam drinkers ) and beer. If someone wants a sample I can try to ask my neighbors for some and send to you.

Congratulations. I liked the report, especially the part where your wife chewed out the VO. I would have liked to have been there to witness that exchange.

All Right!!! Some good news!! Congratulations.

Carl, Just unbelievable what these people are doing to you. But I think your taking the right approach of going there with a calm demeanor. At least on the outside. Don't rip any heads off just yet. Wait until you get Bing over hear and then let ripping begin. I suggest documenting everything you are doing, getting names, dates, times. Keep some kind of diary perhaps. Then after you get Bing to Oregon, fire off some letters to your Congressman, Senators, the head of USCIS, President Bush or Kerry, maybe even to some newspapers. Show them all the steps you had to take to fullfill all their absurd, arbitrary, mean spirited, time wasting, bureaucratic nonsense. That's what I intend to do after I get Ling and her daughter to Maui. How they have wasted my time and wasted the taxpayers money, with their inefficiency, small mindedness, and ridiculas procedures. As someone else said, "Don't let them get you down." My prayers are with you. Just like indigestion or gas, "This too shall pass."

Wow, Houses are cheap in Portland. A house like that on Maui would start around $450,000.

Ventilation is a must. We have a very good exhaust fan, but it's in the ceiling (think old house). Jingwen has tripped the smoke alarm a number of times. We just put a contract on a larger house. The cooking surfaces are in an island with a downdraft exhaust. I can almost guarantee you it won't be enough. Also, the kitchen has a double oven. My guess is that it will be used for storage. Stats: A microwave/exhaust vent combo is fine, as long as it is powerful enough. The ones that recirulate the exhaust air back into the room are not as efficient at removing fumes as ones that exhaust directly to the outside, but they do a decent job. Just consider getting a more powerful one though. You might be able to get some recommendations from the place you buy the stove from, if your current exhaust fan is adequate. Frank: Is there anyway of them putting an overhead exhaust above the island? Will it ruin a view or be to obtrusive or cost big bucks to install? There are exhaust hoods that can go over islands now, that are high enough that you won't bang your head and captures most of the fumes/steam/smoke. I only ask because I have had clients that used the downdraft system on gas cooktops. The 2 main problems were that to really exhaust well, they had to turn it up all the way which made it noisy and tended to pull the heat away from the pots. You could actually see the gas flames being drawn towards the exhaust. As for your double oven, maybe you can teach Jingwen to bake for you. I have this great recipie for a Chocolate/Chocolate Chunk Pound Cake that my Ling likes. Not to sweet, and has lots of chocolate. It must be a women thing, all women seem to love chocolate.

I am resurrecting this thread, as I found it in a search. She will be here shortly and I am shopping for a new gas stove. I don't like my current electric range and have been think about replacing it anyway. I know she won't like the electric so I have been shopping. At any rate, I was shopping at Lowe's today. They had a Maytag with a 16,000 BTU high output burner. I had been looking at the ones with a 12,500 burner, but this one caught my eye. It's the highest I have seen in a 30" stove without going commercial grade. It's a bit more money than the other ones I had been looking at. I am just curious if the 16K will make a difference over the 12.5K. I suspect it will. She is a great cook and I want here to have the right tools. I just thought I'd see if there are any thoughts. (It was an old thread, feel free to move if needed Don) I used to be an Architect specializing in homes before I changed careers so I'll put my 2 cents in. 16K does make a noticeable difference over 12.5K. Even 14K will make a difference. I haven't actively practiced in 6 years and I'm not to familiar with the Maytag product line of gas ranges. But other Maytag products I know of are well built and sturdy. Kitchen-Aid and Dacor are some companies I know of that make good ranges. For a 30" model, they usually have 4 burners, 1 at 12.5K, 1 at 14K and I think 2 at 7K or 8K (can't remember, lost too many braincells.) Some important features to consider are: Sealed gas burners = easier clean up removable control knobs = easier clean up Electronic ignition, I think that is standard now. Cast iron grates if you can get them, the porcelain ones tended to stain as I recall. Grates that form a continuous surface, so you can move heavy pots without lifting. Simmer mode on one of the burners for melting butter/chocolate/water on simmer. For the oven features, Self-cleaning is a real treat. Convection if you can afford it will cook foods more evenly. Now there are other companies like Viking and Russell that make residential range models, but they usually cost 2 to 4 times as much. Don't know where you are located at, but there was this place in San Francisco that actually made built in woks, flush with your countertop. Even had a swing faucet above and drain below so you could wash the wok. One thing to remember when you get a gas range is to make sure you have adequate ventilation. OK, you probably have more info than you wanted. But if you need more, I'll try to help.

I see your point but still don't agree with you. Children should be not allowed near hot stoves until they fully understand what hot burners can do. Same with crossing the street. But I do understand you concept for it would be impossible, say in China, to casually impress the notion of traffic and that cars kill... etc. I am glad that we agree on the main concept. Don't beat the S*** out of cute, curious and wonderful people just because they are kids. I find that kids just want to explore and expirement and that's great. I also don't threaten to spank, turn your ass red or break their damn necks (as I have heard in grocery stores around the globe). Never had to, never will. But some may still say... "your just lucky you got good kids". I think I'm going to agree with Natrigon on this. But I certainly agree with others that some type of discipline must be used at times. I work at a luxury resort on Maui where I have witnessed parents who have no control over their children. They plead and beg with them to come down to the beach. They bribe the kids to eat their dinner. They acquiese to every whim the child may have. I have overheard a 15 yr old girl telling her friends how she got her father to pay for her breast implants for her 14th birthday, so what could she demand of him for this birthday. Some of these kids run around wild, causing damage, hurting other children and their parents do nothing. Basically, the kids are in control. Sometimes you just want to give them a good tongue lashing. I mean the parents, to displine their children. It makes me wonder what will become of this country when these children of wealth and privledge grow up to become leaders of important companies, or of our country.

Congratulations Thanks for the informative and thorough description of the interview process.

Hi, I'm new here although I've been reading CFL for a little while. Lots of great info and help. You all have a great "Ohana" here. (Family in Hawaiian) I'd like to offer my perspective on the topic and say that I agree that the Japanese government should apologize for their actions in China during WW2. Just because it occurred 60+ years ago does not make the complaint any less valid or important. But before we point fingers and say "Why doesn't the Japanese government just say sorry and be done with it." Remember, it took the US Government 40 years to apologize to their own citizens, Japanese Americans for Executive Order 9066 and the "Inernment Camp." Carl also mentioned Hawaii, and it took the US 100 years to apologize to the Hawaiians for the US's part in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. To this day, Native Hawaiians are not recognized by the US Government as a "native peoples." They do not have the status as Native American Indians have, they have no land or government to call their own. This is an ongoing fight/argument that looks like it will continue for many more years. So we shouldn't feel surprised that the Chinese may still harbor ill-feelings to the Japanese. Governments move slowly, as we are experiencing or have experienced. We should never bury the past, but remember it and pass it on to our future generations. Jon