It's Kuochun's Big Day!
Kuochun is celebrating a milestone birthday today! He likes nothing more than to go out to a restaurant for a great meal. Seafood is his favorite, he has always said he is all about anything that swims in the sea and the spicier the better. He is a huge fan of soup as well. One thing I admire about Kuochun is his willingness to try any food. He naturally likes some food better than others but he will always try it. I have introduced him to quite a few foods over the years including cream soda, Caesar salad, garlic bread and Cajun food. He has also developed a big love for french fries and donuts. I am still working on developing his sweet tooth! Desserts are not a focus for the Chinese. Sounds like I am a bad influence! Kuochun is a big believer in listening to his body and feeding it what it wants. He will not eat anything he does not feel like just because it is there in the house. Works for him! Times are different now in the midst of the pandemic and neither of us is ready to dine in at restaurants yet. It will be interesting to see what he chooses to eat on his big day. I joke that I love mid-century Asian furniture and it makes sense because Kuochun is a mid-century Asian, being born in 1950.
I am so proud of what Kuochun has accomplished in his life, coming to America with nothing after being forced to work on a farm as a pig doctor in his teen years. He was robbed of all his tuition money while living in Chinatown and had to start from zero again but he never gave up. He put himself through graduate school, earning a master's degree in Computer Science at DePaul working as a dishwasher and then a bartender. He landed his first corporate job at a law firm in downtown Chicago. He then moved on to the company where I worked in Evanston and our company's move to Deerfield three years later. He was able to purchase a townhome in Mundelein and then a single-family home in Gurnee during this time so his son would have a nice place to stay while he was here pursuing an undergraduate degree at Northeastern University. He stayed with our company for 22 years until his retirement. Now he is still able to put his talents to work helping with the estate sale business while "living the dream" of being on his own schedule and doing things he enjoys like reading, TV, taking care of our mini Schnauzer Margot and catching up with his darling 2 year old granddaughter with videos and photos from China. Anyone who can not only speak but write in Cantonese, Mandarin and English as well as write in Chinese cursive is very intelligent. Kuochun is also very wise, the first to give good advice for any sticky situation. He is kind, generous, thoughtful and a fun free spirit. Many happy returns to Kuochun!
I am so proud of what Kuochun has accomplished in his life, coming to America with nothing after being forced to work on a farm as a pig doctor in his teen years. He was robbed of all his tuition money while living in Chinatown and had to start from zero again but he never gave up. He put himself through graduate school, earning a master's degree in Computer Science at DePaul working as a dishwasher and then a bartender. He landed his first corporate job at a law firm in downtown Chicago. He then moved on to the company where I worked in Evanston and our company's move to Deerfield three years later. He was able to purchase a townhome in Mundelein and then a single-family home in Gurnee during this time so his son would have a nice place to stay while he was here pursuing an undergraduate degree at Northeastern University. He stayed with our company for 22 years until his retirement. Now he is still able to put his talents to work helping with the estate sale business while "living the dream" of being on his own schedule and doing things he enjoys like reading, TV, taking care of our mini Schnauzer Margot and catching up with his darling 2 year old granddaughter with videos and photos from China. Anyone who can not only speak but write in Cantonese, Mandarin and English as well as write in Chinese cursive is very intelligent. Kuochun is also very wise, the first to give good advice for any sticky situation. He is kind, generous, thoughtful and a fun free spirit. Many happy returns to Kuochun!
Kuochun does not have many photos but I had to include this family portrait with his mother and younger brother. He looks the same!
On the work front, we continue to be very busy with estate sales. However, we are starting to see a bit of a shift now, possibly things are starting to slow from the breakneck pace we have experienced since coming back to public sales in early June. This is a year like no other and nothing surprises us! However to us, a slowdown means three sales in a weekend as opposed to four. Personally things have not slowed down for me per usual. The fabulous jewelry is piling up and I am very excited to get it polished, priced and into the caravan for holiday shopping. However we have a big project to work on this week and any extra time will be devoted to this project. It is very exciting and more details will follow!
On the work front, we continue to be very busy with estate sales. However, we are starting to see a bit of a shift now, possibly things are starting to slow from the breakneck pace we have experienced since coming back to public sales in early June. This is a year like no other and nothing surprises us! However to us, a slowdown means three sales in a weekend as opposed to four. Personally things have not slowed down for me per usual. The fabulous jewelry is piling up and I am very excited to get it polished, priced and into the caravan for holiday shopping. However we have a big project to work on this week and any extra time will be devoted to this project. It is very exciting and more details will follow!