• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Catherine Gacad

  • About
  • Categories
    • Archives
    • Blogging
    • Burning Man
    • City Guides
    • Education & Politics
    • Favorite Books
    • Finances & Retirement
    • Parenthood
    • Relationships
    • Religion
    • San Francisco Bay Area
    • Travel
  • Hire Me
  • Subscribe
    • Feedburner
    • Bloglovin
    • Feedly
  • Search

All Posts

Dear Andrew

Sorry, I don’t remember the year you came to our elementary school.  I think it was in junior high–seventh or eighth grade.  Or was it beforehand?  Fifth or sixth.  It was so long ago. Whichever year you came as a newcomer, I remember feeling threatened because you were smart and especially good at math.  

It’s all very hazy.  Maybe you remember how we became friends.  I don’t know the details except that we were all sorta friends.  Thirty kids in a single class, going through first through eighth grade together at St. Joseph Elementary School.  Population 250 for the entire school.  God, it seems so long ago!

You became friends with Conrado.  Or was it the other way around?  Conrado became friends with you.  And I was friends with Conrado.  So naturally we became friends—good friends, almost like siblings.  I don’t know why I’ve always gotten along better with boys.  Too many hurt feelings and drama with the girls.  
Remember all the afternoons we would hang out at Conrado’s house?  After I got the phone call (“Come over!”), I’d race my blue Huffy bike with the banana seat.  I didn’t want another minute to go by where you guys were hanging out without me.  And as soon as I arrived, I’d ask, “Hey Conrado, can I have some ice-cream?”  Because his freezer always had pints and half-gallons of a various assortment of flavors.  Oh, we were all so skinny then.  Us three Asian kids, gulping down bowls of ice-cream.  
When Conrado came to visit me many months ago, he asked, “Hey Catch, do you have any ice-cream?”  And my heart just melted from the nostalgia.
Different from when my heart jumped with your comment today.
“Hi Cathy Gacad,
I guess I’m rather lucky to come across your site before you shut it down.  It was nice to read that you are well and happy and to piece together a bit of your life since I last saw you. Thinking of you in New York.”
Well Andrew Nguyen, I am thrilled to see you here in cyberspace.  Please, please email me: cgacad@chicagogsb.edu.  I get out to NYC often.  In fact, I’m planning on being there within the next month or so.  I can’t think of anyone else from my past who I would love to see more. Hope you are living the life that I always wanted to lead in New York.  Let’s get together soon.

Related

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

02.28.08

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

Categories

  • Archives
  • Blogging
  • Burning Man
  • City Guides
  • Education & Politics
  • Favorite Books
  • Finances & Retirement
  • Parenthood
  • Relationships
  • Religion
  • San Francisco Bay Area
  • Travel

Popular Posts

  • An Exploration of World Religions: Zoroastrianism
  • A Flowchart for Choosing Your Religion
  • Why Do Guys Date Girls Who Barely Speak English?
  • Touring Sunnylands, "Camp David of the West," near Palm Springs
  • UC Berkeley English Department
  • How to Avoid Fecal Coliform Bacteria on Your Next Flight
  • What to Know About the Lair of the Golden Bear
  • Daily Interviews
  • Pre-Thanksgiving Not So Good News
  • Oysters at Cafe des Amis

Back to top

© 2025 Catherine Gacad.