Julie invited mom, Uncle Andy, untie 7, and me to dinner and mini concert at Starlight Casino tonight. I had a great time and I’m starting to feel like it’s time to start bonding with this older sister of mine. We’ve never really connected on a personal level in the past because we are so different in all aspects. .
It was a nice surprise to bump into Christine and Tony whom I had not seen for 23 years. I went over to say hi and we talked and exchange phone numbers. Very nice couple!
Mom and Auntie 7 left early. I chose to stay behind not to gamble but to spend more time to connect with my older sister. I understand how my family see me in the past and I really want to change that now. I am perceived as someone who is not interactive in a sense that I am always busy on my phone or busy working. Ever since 2011 during my travel with De, I vowed to not having my cell phone on the dining table so I can spend time to connect with people I am eating with instead. Unfortunately my family and friends have not noticed that yet. But I will continue to do the same moving forward because this is something that I valued.
At the end of the concert, I found out that Uncle Andy was still in the casino so I impulsively decided to play a few hands of blackjack to win a purple ($500 chip) for him to bring home to surprise Mom since she left after losing $100 tonight. Mission succeeded! I stopped casino gambling in 2011 when I discovered Kiva which is a micro-financing platform. I love the concept of teaching people how to fish instead of giving them the fish. I realized that if I give up one night of entertainment in the casino, I can make a difference in 1600 people’s lives somewhere in the world which was very powerful to me and therefore I decided to stop playing at the casino and become a lender for Kiva instead. Everyone was shocked how I can quit cold turkey just like how I can quit smoking (26 years) cold turkey, too. I guess determination is my essence! As long as Mom still likes going to the casino, then I will be going to the casino with her but the difference would be I will not gamble like I used to anymore.