A glimpse of my life experience.

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Great post BK. Your story reminds me a lot about my parents' stories, though yours sound much more difficult. They were born and raised in Burma (Myanmar) and went through some similar circumstances. Extremely poor living conditions, 2 colleges for the entire country (same entrance exam structure, it seems), corrupt and/or lack of police/army, surviving a "cleansing" of Chinese residents, and, ultimately, flight to America. Had it not been for some good family ties and great friends, I would not be here right now and they would be in dire straits.
 
My current mother my father's 4th wife came to America in early 60's by ways of legal family immigration because both her father and uncle were Chinese immigrants to Fresno during the pre-depression era of 1928. Her father left is wife and my mother in China and never returned and married a Hispanic woman in Fresno where the brothers operated an Asian fruit orchards in the San Joaquin valley. They were the reason why we have Asian white peaches and other exotic fruits.



He sent money home but not for long when Japanese invaded China. He died in late 50's from a homicide and the majority of his estates went to his wife and some went to his brother. He never saw his daughter again since he Left China when she was 5. He had started immigration paperwork for my mother in the late 1940's but never materialized until John F Kennedy revived the immigration reform in 1961. Both Chinese and Japanese immigration were a threat to the national security due to WWII and followed by Communism.



His dream of seeing my mother was never realized but his brother Fred inherited the brother's fortune had a fiduciary duty to fulfil the dream. He paid for all expenses for my mother coming to America but my mother had to sign a waiver not to contest her share of the inheritance which he claimed was used up for immigration cost.



My mother started her life in America with nothing and her previous relationship with my father was strictly platonic. Marriages were seldom based on love during that era. She had no obligation to financially take care of a husband and a child living in the Kowloon Walled City. My father took care of my mother after she escaped from the communists with her daughter fled to Hong Kong.



My mother always pay back her debt and she has always helped people in need and even to strangers. During the Japanese invasion of 1935 she became a herbal medicine woman to help both female and male mutilated victims resulted from severe war crime by the Japanese. She started immigration paperwork for me as soon she heard of my existence. My father was too old to have a future in America but helping me was her way to repaying her debt.



She saved every penny from her sweatshop job to hire legal council and paid for an one way fare for me.



This is just a long winded post explaining something that is simple as an air fare.
 
[quote author="Anonymous" date=1251776846]Now I understand the desire to ride the bus in LA and look at architecture.</blockquote>


A single sheet of paper in the life of two different kids. The rich kid crumbled up that sheet of paper and threw it at the classmate. The poor kid took that piece of paper and folded it into an airplane. He experimented with it and adjusted the wing to understand the its air buyancy effect. The first kid became a manager at a market after years working as a cashier the second kid is currently typing this post.
 
[quote author="earthbm" date=1251753002]What happened to the "Thank you" buttons?



Now, seeing that, who thinks that Irvine-raised kids have any chance in competing with the Chinese? This can't be much different from where current rural migrants live in the outskirts of Shanghai. There better be some creativity skills you get from wallowing in fat, to compete with academic determination from living in these conditions.</blockquote>
that's a question i've been pondering for years, but on a boarder sense: how has america been able to keep its competitive edge against the hungrier countries that want to become us, and how come europe, try as it may, just can't catch us? we'll prooly need another thread for that question...
 
I wear the scars of american style poverty on my sleve, but I can't carry a candle to my wife, and neither of us can carry a candle to BK. Really, words cannot describe what he escaped, nor how lucky he was.



I think you and I need to talk about Fresno and those shitty white flesh peaches a little more in private.
 
Bk, thank you for sharing your story. It was as interesting to hear as it was when my grandfather used to tell me about growing up during World War II in Poland and meeting my grandmother during the process.
 
<img src="http://csflta.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/rooftop.jpg" alt="" />



I knew it. California has always been in my destiny. I had no idea where I grew up were all full of Roof top California Rooms.
 
I know some of Ladera Ranch homes have the "California Room" but they didn't call it that. I think they labeled it a loggia??? In the Pre bubble years I believe people call them covered patios . We should have a trivia, how many different names for a CA room?
 
NO WAY!!



You mean after 3 years of consumer research and spent millions of dollars in invention and all those architectural programing that the California Room already exists in Ladera Ranch 15 minutes away.



California Room will be the savior for the housing industry. Builders across the nation will come to Irvine to experience and tour the Mecca of California Rooms. Home Bus tour reservations are full.
 
Do you think I get away with calling my front porch a California Room? I want to take a piece of Irvine with me to Fullerton. IHO you should move to my hood. We have frontal California Rooms. I know how you like things towards the front of the house.
 
I have a similar story of growing up in disparate living conditions: I grew up in a BK-designed home in Irvine. My bedroom had its own set of stairs, bathroom, walk-in closet, and balcony... a lot to clean up for a kid! It was tough... but I've succeeded and made it to Tustin. ;)



Much respect BK
 
[quote author="almon" date=1251812511][quote author="earthbm" date=1251753002]What happened to the "Thank you" buttons?



Now, seeing that, who thinks that Irvine-raised kids have any chance in competing with the Chinese? This can't be much different from where current rural migrants live in the outskirts of Shanghai. There better be some creativity skills you get from wallowing in fat, to compete with academic determination from living in these conditions.</blockquote>
that's a question i've been pondering for years, but on a boarder sense: how has america been able to keep its competitive edge against the hungrier countries that want to become us, and how come europe, try as it may, just can't catch us? we'll prooly need another thread for that question...</blockquote>


We kept our competitive edge by sucking those hungry people in as immigrants. Those who take things for granted and fail to compete gets marginalized.



When I lived in Taiwan, the conditions were far better than BK's walled city, but we had to take entrance exams for secondary education, and public education is K-9. I woke up early in the morning and walked to school, and as elementary students we had to do cleaning and light gardening work before class started. We did not get home until late afternoon. College entrance exams were tough and kids spent a lot of time in cram schools.



TODAY, with low birth rate, 2-year colleges converting to 4-year universities, and new wild chicken schools popping up here and there, the academic requirements are um... far less intensive. I think the college entrance exam admission rate is something like 97%? You have to try REALLY hard to flunk it. Consequently, college degrees in TW isn't worth much today unless if it's from NTU or one of the other top ranking schools, and graduates from lesser colleges must pay a lot of $$ for study abroad (MBA program or other) for their resume's to stand out. The average monthly salary for a college grad is approx. $740 USD per month, and I've personally known a friend's friend who accepted a minimum wage job of ~$530 USD/month.



Japan once had one of the toughest college entrance exam system, where your future was decided based on college admissions. Success means lifetime employment at large company, failure means working in a blue collar job at one of the small supplier companies with no job security. Today with low birth rate and over 500 private universities (result of education system de-regulation), some half of the universities in Japan have student shortages and some are even sending recruiters to China, hoping to fill the gaps. Needless to stay, admission requirements are lowered year by year.





For BK: Hong Kong, for being a small territory with only 7 million people, actually produced 3 colleges in the top 50 ranking world-wide, versus Taiwan's best, NTU, comes in at #95:



http://www.usnews.com/articles/educ...9/10/20/worlds-best-universities-top-200.html
 
That is an interesting link. All 5 HK universities are in the top 200s in the world with 3 in the top 50s. Not bad for a tiny packed city.
 
[quote author="Mcdonna1980" date=1257980345]Do you think I get away with calling my front porch a California Room? I want to take a piece of Irvine with me to Fullerton. IHO you should move to my hood. We have frontal California Rooms. I know how you like things towards the front of the house.</blockquote>
Why do you think I like 3 car carages?



I open one door, I have one California Room, I open the other door, I have TWO!
 
Porch definition: single story outdoor covered space with a roof and often open on at least 2 sides. It is usually at the front of a structure.



A loggia is when there is a living space stacked on the top of it.



Both are not calculated in the house footage and there should not be a price increase for them.



When the seller want to charge the porch or loggia for an arm and a leg then the architectural terminology is void and the features are California Room.
 
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