BARRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I WISH YOU A BARRY CHRISTMAS!
I WISH YOU A BARRY CHRISTMAS!
I WISH YOU A BARRY CHRISTMAS!!

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Zito and Bonds... It's all about the Giants in 2007!!

When the trainer becomes the trainee

Been almost two weeks now and Mah-B still hasn't learned to sit still in the corner before we feed him. I don't think he's dumb, I think he's just reluctant. His capacity to learn and think far exceeds our imagination. Why do I say that??

The past two nights, we've come home late cuz of the holidays and we're out with family. Upon coming home, we see his feeding dish has been moved from the back of the cage (where I ususally place it) to RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CAGE DOOR!!!

Geez Louise! If I feed him everytime he pushes his dish out to the front...then who's the trainer and who's the trainee?

A New Family Member...

We've recently adopted a new member to our family... His name is "Mah-B." Having no pet raising experience whatsoever, we relunctantly accepted him to our humble home while Daddy Daniel is running wild in Hong Kong.

Naively, we're trying to train Mah-B to sit still in his corner before he gets dinner. We yell, we point, we whistle. He just sits there and stares at us. It's Day 4, I don't think he's learning.

The other night, we bought him a pack of bedding from Walmart. We sprinkled it into his cage...by the next morning, Mah-B ate almost half of it. Which got us kinda worried cuz some websites say that pine is poisonous to guinea pigs, especially if it has baking soda in it. Well... he's still mightily strong. Though his fecal output has quadrupuled.

We've even gone to far distances of leaving central heating on during the day so Mah-B doesn't freeze to death.

Funny though, we speak to him in both English and Chinese. Maybe we're confusing him....

學海無涯

上年拔甩教識我講個 “hea” 字。
早幾個月學識講 “噢 嘴” 。
噙晚學左 - “雞肋 - 食之無味棄之可惜” 。
今日又有咩新野學呢﹖

Don't judge a book by its cover...

...nor should you judge a coffee bean by its scent.

Recently bought 1/2 pound of Peet's Ethiopian Blend...a very aromatic, very shiney and colorful bean. (No, coffee beans are not brown). One would expect the outpouring of the taste should be over and beyond the scent, as the scent is usually the preview of what's to come. The bigger the hope, the harder the fall.

Conversely, we finally open a bag of coffee beans we brought back from Paris. The beans were dull in color and lacked any scent of smell. I was rather disappointed and when making my first pot this morning, I lowered my expectations at the same time I lowered the amount of water I put in. Lo' and behold!!! This coffee packed a bigger punch than a Peet's Triple Espresso!! (Well..maybe a double).

European coffee wins this round!! But the ultimate winner, is of course, ME!!! WOOHOO!!!

Coming in 2007

It started out as "Hen-derful." Then evolved to "Wonder-Hen." It's now in a state called "Roy-der-Hen" Or "WonRoyHen." Hor hor hor... where will 2007 lead us leh??

Christmas Shoes

Christmas Shoes

by Newsong

It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line
Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood
Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously
Pacing 'round like little boys do
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes

His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe
And when it came his time to pay
I couldn't believe what I heard him say

Chorus:
Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

He counted pennies for what seemed like years
Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here"
He searched his pockets frantically
Then he turned and he looked at me
He said Mama made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without
Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes

So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said
Mama's gonna look so great

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

Bridge:
I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me just what Christmas is all about

Repeat Chorus

A cup of coffee...

I love coffee. I've always been fascinated, if not mesmerized by this bittersweet nectar. Not just as a beverage, but the very site of coffee beans and the scent of the forebearing fruit momentarily removes me from the troubles and worries of life to a definite comfort level. So many times, I've tried to peel away from this elixir. But the beauty, attraction and magnificence of this one tiny bean is impossible to resist. Brown teeth? Get whitener. Diabetes? Use Splenda. Hard on your stomach, well....tuff!

Coffee is best served scalding hot, or otherwise, iced-cold (Vietnamese style). None of this in between stuff. Room temperature coffee is one of the biggest insults to java connoisseurs. Barely palatable, room temperature coffee ranks up there with overcooked steak, a wet sandwich, or warm beer. And what is it with drinking coffee from a ceramic mug that makes coffee taste so much better than drinking it from a paper/styrofoam cup?

Aloha, Fall Quarter

The 7AM final was suppose to be the easier one. Get in, get out... kiss the prof goodbye type of final. NOPE!!! Needed at a minimum, another hour to finish this two hour final. Crazy...

The 6PM final was suppose to be the hard one. The prof said we'll be lucky if we can finish in the alloted 3 hours. I was done in 1.5 hours. Extremely crazy...

Two more quarters left and I'll be done with my Masters. I still remember my last final as an Undergrad at Cal Poly. I finished my final early, but was reluctant to turn it in. I ended up sitting there for another 30 minutes...waiting hopelessly for something that never came. It was at that moment, that I realized my life as a student was coming to an end. Well... turns out I was wrong. And I wasted those 30 minutes relishing over nothing!! But come June 2007, will I have to relive that experience?

Congratulations to Andrew and Candy

picture courtesy of S. Chung

CONGRATULATIONS and GOD BLESS!!!

December 3, 2006 @ approximately 10:35AM PST, Andrew Leung takes center stage at San Jose Christian Alliance Church in San Jose, CA to make the most important speech of his life.

"Many of you don't know me. But that's okay. My name is Andrew. And some of you may know that I'm going to be leaving soon. But as a sign and expression of my commitment.... Candy, marry me."

***SCREAMS**HOLLERS***CHEERS***

Andrew lets Candy catch her breath as she walks up to the stage and asks, "Candy, will you marry me?"

In which Candy delightfully says, "Yes!"

***MORE SCREAMS***MORE HOLLERS*** MORE CHEERS***

After tears of joy flowed from most everyone's eyes, the newly engaged slowly return to their seats, when all of a sudden, Andrew gets down on one knee and says, "OH! And I have a ring!!"

(Based solely on author's interpretation/translation. Not to be taken verbatim)

The little things in life...

I hate spending money on clothes. But I'm in such dire need of some new jeans I caved and went ahead and bought some -- only to find out that on top of the sale, there was an additional 30% markdown!! WOOHOO!!! Paying $15 for a $60 pair of jeans. Hor hor hor...

The other day, an older colleague walks by and points to my mechanical pencil sharpener. (Y'know..one of those you mount on a shelf and have to crank a handle.) He says, "Oh thank you thank you thank you for having this. You can't find these anymore!" He then walks away with a big smile on his face. His smile was very contagious.

This morning, Joyce's company allowed her to get some 2007 Giants tickets. She was able to secure 4 tickets, behind homeplate View Reserved to the Yankees/Giants game. For all we know, outside of the World Series, the Yankees won't be coming back to town for at least 6 years. This is even before the season ticket holders can get tickets! Quickly called Geoff and Anderson and as expected, they both said, "Go for it."

Ahhhh...and finals are finally here, once again. I live for times like this, when projects are due, pressure is mounting, stress is at its height. Whenever I find myself questioning why I'm in school, finals week always slaps me in the face and say, "Dude! It's time to rock-n-roll!"

Praise God for all the big things...and the little things in life.

It's the most wonderful time...of the year

I love Christmas. Love it.. love it.. love it. (aside from the flippin' freezing temperature!!!)

Every year around this time, KNBR, KLOVE and AIR-1 steps aside as I tune into 96.5 KOIT for 24/7 Christmas Carols. I love driving through Willow Glen, turn my headlights off and seeing every single house having a Christmas Tree on their front lawn. I love going to the malls seeing wreaths and lights hanging everywhere. I love the laughter of children and the grumblings of adults as they line up for a picture with Santa Claus.

Everybody is in a giddy mood because it's a good reason to spend money. And Americans love to spend money. We just need a reason to do it. And even if people may not admit it, I bet that people enjoy the gift of giving more than receiving.

Most importantly, I love Christmas because it marks the day that Jesus chose to humble himself to come down on earth to be with us sinners...so that we may have the chance to seek salvation and re-enter into God's glory.

Conversely... I hate Valentine's Day. But let's wait a couple of months before I rant on that (again...)

My highlights of the Thanksgiving Retreat

Joyce and I skipped the YA Summit this year and have been looking forward to the CS Retreat. So many things happened during the three days up in the Santa Cruz mountains. Here are just some of my personal highlights.

1. Pastor SARS - A year after HK PCS, he still remembers me. How cool...
2. TWA by Poon C-mo - Not a big fan of corporate TWA. But God opened my eyes to new ways of spending time with him.
3. Loving my wife UNCONDITIONALLY -

   中國的父老兄弟們﹐讓我們一齊錫太太﹗

4. Joseph candlelight sharing and confessions - You just had to be there.
5. Each and every individual public testimonies - Especially Michael and Ketty's
6. Moonchi and Christie - AMAZING brother and sister
7. Revivial of Joseph and SJCAC - The entire CS knelt before the cross and prayed for forgiveness and mercy. Tears of confession flowed but the end result is glory in God.
8. Hiking up the Sand Dunes with Joyce - WHAT?! JOYCE?! HIKING?!? UPHILL!??! NO WAY!!!!! 1 Peter 3:1
9. Poon C-mo's confession
10. Wilson and Tim-tim stopping by Andy's Bait and Tackle for clam chowder - They woulda won the race had they brought the judges a bowl also.
11. Cup o' Noodles and porridge - SHOUT OUT TO CANDY!!!
12. A new journey with Jesus - "Lead the way, Jesus... I will follow"

4th and inches...

It's 4th and inches!!!
WHY WOULDN'T YOU GO FOR IT?!?!?!?!?AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

49ers 17

Rams 20

A blessing in my life...

It's not by coincident that God places certain people into our lives. Be it to mentor us (pastors, parents) or to serve us (parents, friends) or to challenge us (teachers, peers). I've been blessed with a huge family of brothers and sisters who continue to show me by example how to live a faithful life in God. A particular dear brother of mine has been very influential in my life in the biggest of ways and the tiniest of avenues.

One instance, we were driving on Hwy 17 when we missed our exit. Having to make a U-turn on the Santa Cruz hills is like trying to find good service at Fry's. We were sitting there for about 5 minutes (more like 1...) and I got a little (very) antsy. When I saw "potential" spots to turn... I would put on my backseat driver hat and scream "GO!! GO!! GO!!"

Course...this brother, being the cool and composed character he is, doesn't want to scare the on coming traffic. Instead, he whispers a prayer to God.... and within seconds, traffic completely disappears from the on-coming side!! We were able to bust a "U" without any worries!! I may be able to run off Proverbs 3:5-6 like the multiplication table... but this brother actually lives it.

Thank you Lord... for giving me another lesson in life.

Just one of dem days....

Ever sit on a wet spot and have the cold cool feeling linger on all day long?? Happened to me yesterday... all day long, that area under the left rear pocket of my pants felt cold. I figure I must've spilled coffee on my chair and sat on it. Accidents happen...right??

So last night, I get out of the car and start walking to school. And that chilly feeling is still there!! Did I spill coffee in on my car seat also? I reach back to feel my...uh....lower butt.... and lo and behold... my finger was touching my leg!! Like a dog chasing it's tail...I tried to look around to see a HUGE GAPING HOLE!!! Geez Louise!!! I must've walked around the entire campus yesterday...showing off my beautiful "lower butt" to everyone... but people were just too shy to come up and tell me...

It's just one of dem days....

After Thanksgiving sale: I needa get me some new jeans...

This moment in time...

(highlight to read)

...I feel sad. One after another, they are leaving. For better or worse, this is God's plan and I should be joyful. But I'm not....

...I feel betrayed. My 49ers are under the rule of a nasty owner who has gone to far extremes to get his way while undermining the city of San Francisco and the millions of fans who have supported this organization throughout the years.

...I feel numb. The Oakland A's are going through the exact same ordeal as my Niners and I don't give a rats' nest about it.

...I feel cold. My hot cup of coffee has been set down too long and is now at room temperature. Room temperature at the Leung Residence is very cold and I now I think I'm drinking iced coffee.

...I feel distanced. Hebrews 10:26 has left an empty feeling inside me.

...I feel hungry. I ate dinner at 6:30 last night and it's been nearly 14 hours since I've eaten.

...I feel burdened and frustrated. When can I exit from hibernation?

...I feel torn. Democrats have overtaken Congress...first time since 1994. This means America can finally concentrate more on domestic problems and downgrade foreign policies to a lower priority. But that means I might be looking for a job in about 6 months.

...I feel like a loser. All the propositions I supported, especially the education bonds, lost in the polls. What country am I living in? We barely pass the cigarettes law. And education is overwhelmingly shot down? Socialism has it's perks too... Kudos to Marx and Mao. If only humans were not selfish beasts.

...I feel like I'm done venting and it's time to start thinking about what I'm gonna have for lunch.

DEMOCRATS IN DA HOUSE!!!

OH YEAH!! The Democrats retake control of House!!

Just down to Virginia to see has control of the Senate -- and CONGRESS!!

So much for Dubya's legacy years... He's gonna be busy the next two years avoiding impeachment while rallying the GOP for the 2008 Presidential Election...

Election Day - Eve

So much is riding on this year's election!! Will the Democrats retake the House? Will we have a woman, Speaker of the House? And what if Hillary wins in 2008 and appoints Diane Feinstein as Vice President?!?!?! The top 3 highest ranking government officials will be WOMEN!!! How cool will that be?!?!?!

So long ESPN

It's shows like The World Cup-Stacking Championships that make me make want to cancel ESPN and save $30 a month. Until Giants baseball starts up again...so long ESPN....

LOST

This Sunday's message, Law C-mo spoke of "The Three Losts." Actually, I think she spun off into many more different types of LOST - but they more or less centered around the three major ones:

1. The Lost Sheep
2. The Lost Coin
3. The Prodigal Son

Ironically, that was the subject of my weekend - LOST. To be more specific LOST - Season 2.

Starting Thursday night and ending Sunday afternoon, Joyce and I polished all 22 episodes of Season 2 of the ABC TV Show - LOST. I would almost equate it to people watching Korean Soap Operas...a masochistic pleasurable pain. But this was the first weekend in a long time where we decided to completely put off homework, studying, yardwork, etc....

Unfortunately, Season 3 is on-going on ABC right now... so we won't be getting Season 3 on DVD until, earliest, summer of 2007. Oh well... back to yardwork I guess...

Fogo de Chao's

In Portugese, Fogo de Chao's means "Fire from the Ground." And what's the fire for???

FOR COOKING MEAT!!!!!

On Tuesday night, a bunch of co-workers and I went to Fogo de Chao's in Beverly Hills for some fine dining. And ohhhh was the food eXquisite!!! You start out with a buffet style gourmet salad bar that makes Sweet Tomato look like David to Goliath. Then you have the all-you-can-eat side dishes of mashed garlic potatoes, fried polenta, fried banana, and their world renowned Parmesan Cheese Bread. It's like eating a Lotus Bun from a Tea House, except it's cheese that oozes out. Then the main course.....the MEAT.

OHHHHH THE MEAT!!!! 15 different kinds of meat, cooked by an open flame on a 2 foot skewer. Then brought to you fresh off the blaze, sizzling and oozing with juice. The gaucho (waiter) sees that you've flipped your coaster to green - meaning you want more meat! And he runs to you cutting up as small or AS BIG a portion of meat as you want. You think you're full?? Flip the coaster to red. Think you're back in the game, flip it back to green!! Panacha, filet mignon, top sirlon, bottom sirlonn, lamb chops, linguicia, pork tenderloin, chicken wrapped with bacon, the list goes on and on.....

Normally, at buffets, the steak is cooked medium to accomodate for the general public. Not this place!! This place knows how to cook their steak --- to a medium rare (more rare than medium). I landed a chunk of filet that oozed either juice or blood. I wasn't sure. At times like these, I wonder why I wasn't born with a bigger stomach......?

The bill came out to be $500 for 6 people. But hey... it's allllllllllllllllllll goooooooooooooooooooood.

CONGRATS!!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Greg and Holly!!! May God bless your new life together!!

Alt-Enter

WOW!!! After all these years...I finally found out that "Alt-Enter" gives you a newline inside an individual Excel cell. Today, is officially a good day.

Harvest Crusade 2006

HP Pavilion - San Jose, CA (Oct 14, 2006)

Performers: Seventh Day Slumber, Kutless, Jeremy Camp

Speaker: Greg Laurie

Guest of Honor: Jesus

Life is fun...it really is....

On Saturday, I went computer shopping with a buddy who just came from Hong Kong. He's not too knowledgable about PC's. So I had to give him a 10 minute crash course on some basic concepts.

1. CPU: Athlon vs Pentium? Why dual core? 32-bit or 64-bit?
2. RAM What is DDR? What is 4200? 3200? What is a MHz? What is a Hertz??
3. PCI and PCIe What is an expansion card/slot?
4. Video: ATI vs NVidia What is AGP?
5. LAN: 802.11a,b,G
6. Mobos: All of the above =)
7. Monitors: LCD, Plasma, Refresh Rate, Compression Ratio

Pretty trivial...right? SURE!! Now try explaining all that IN CHINESE!!! I haven't worked so hard to speak Chinese since the time I had to make a shot-gun speech in Mandarin during a Parent Teacher Conference. Hahahaha... and I don't even know Mandarin!!

Oh...so fun....

Warm and fuzzy...

I went back to the building I use to work in for a meeting, and of course, I stop by to visit my old group. A surge of nostalgia hits me as I pace through the aisles and walk by the cubicles. Waves, handshakes, smiles, nods and the obligatory, "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank!!!"

This was where I started. This is home base. This is where it all began.

Only after you leave, do you get a chance to realize the legacy you've left behind. Sometimes, we put our noses to the grindstone and tunnel ourselves into working so hard, we seize to realize there are third parties who see what you're doing. But the words and comments I heard today were very flattering and I accepted them humbly because God gave me the abilities to perform my duties well.

Similarly, during a telecon yesterday, there was an action item assigned to "Henry." It was the first time I saw this action... so I said, "I'll look into it and get back to you guys..." Upper management came back and said, "Not you Henry, another Henry. If it was you, I wouldn't be worried."

My manager always come by and say "Good job, Hank!" But I take that with a grain of salt...cuz managers are trained to encourage their employees. I almost think these words of encouragement are patronizing... But to hear these words from a senior manager in a public forum is a good sign for me that I'm doing something right and I'm contributing my part.

I'm not big on compliments...mainly cuz I question how genuine it is. But when it's words from a third party who has no interest in the effects of these compliments, then they're well taken. It just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside....

Back to normal...

Ah... alas the jet lag has departed. Back to the normal routine of working till 1AM and waking up at 6AM. It's gonna be one tough winter...

Sayonara

"Out with the old... In with the new."
That's been a steady theme for me this year. But y'know... sometimes the cup is half empty. Just like Saturday night, Joyce and I had a craving for Japanese food. Time was running short and we didn't want to be late for the Mission Conference. So we sped over to MIYAKE's on De Anza. It's a place we've gone to for over 6 years off and on. The prices are reasonable. The service is above average. The food is as expected, no surprise. It's owned and ran by Japanese.. even the Sushi chef's. Nowadays...a lot of Sushi places have Mexicans making the sushi's.

We step into MIYAKE's and right away, things felt different. There was no line. Hrm... maybe cuz we were early. Then we got seated, but we weren't greeted with the usual screaming of the Japanese men. (I never knew what they said...) The menus looked the same, the decorations on the wall didn't. Then we started hearing people speak Cantonese!!! And it wasn't the customers. It was the waiters!!! Holy smokes... I look all around and everyone in there are Cantonese speaking. We get our sushi and from just the looks of it... we know they chefs have changed. We taste it.... ugh!! Below average. The longer we sit, the more uncomfortable we got.

This place is no longer the place we knew and loved. It's a wicked doppleganger who snatched my old restaurant and replaced it with a bad imitation. I vow to never go back there again. Sayonara Miyake's. Perhaps you're still pure in Palo Alto....

I miss Italy...

I come home, turn on the news and see there's a "Festa de Italia" at Santana Row. Food, wine, music... Joyce and I drop everything and fly over to Santana Row. Sigh... I miss Italy...

"I just felt like runnin'...."

"I just felt like runnin..."
Famous words by Forrest Gump in his self-titled movie. One day, he just felt like running and he ran across the nation from coast to coast.

The other morning, I just felt like walking. Woke up Friday morning and wanted to get some Peet's coffee. Instead of driving there, which will take 5 minutes round-trip, I felt compelled to walk. So I grabbed my cheap-oh MP3 player and stepped out into the brisk, misty San Jose morning air. That's what 2 weeks of non-stop walking in Europe will do to ya... completely alter your state of mind and being. The 5 minute round trip turned out to be 45 minutes. But it was ohhhhhhh sooooooooo nice.

After a two week hiatus, I returned home on Sunday. It felt great to be back at SJCAC. The familiar faces of strangers. The murmurs of children through the windows. The traffic directors directing traffic. Andrew's voice during worship. Good ol' Sandy bouncing up and down. Little Samuel saying, "Haaaalo Henry gor gor..." Alan giving me a big hug and then punching me at my midsection. (Can pastors do that?) And of course, His strong presence. I never realized how much SJCAC means to us.

Home sweet home...

After 14 days, pass 9 time zones, through 10 cities, across 4 nations, via 6 airports and 5 major train stations, over 16000 miles (25000 km).....we lie in bed, wide awake and hungry, at 3AM in the morning cuz in Europe, it's lunch time.

Regardless....there's just no place like home.

Till we meet again...

Thank you for all your prayers and blessings.

Thank you for your hospitiable grace.

Thank you for the laughter

and thank you for the tears.

Thank you for being the life of my wedding.

Thank you for offering to help me move and help me paint.

Thank you for listening to me complain about school at 2AM in the morning.

Thank you for sharing the love of wine and coffee.

Thank you for being a great friend.

Thank you for being a great brother.

Thank you....for being you.

Papa, thank you for bringing Guy Li into my life.

Papa, thank you for leading Guy into the next chapter of his life.

Till we meet again...

Anyone can be a plumber...

Last night, my toilet handle breaks. I lifted the tank lid and find the part has literally broken in half. No chance in Pluto being in the Solar System of fixing it. So I had to devise a mechanism to last me through the night until I can make a run to Home Depot. I dig through my boxes of junk and I find a SERIAL MOUSE!!!! Some of you may not even remember what a PS2 mouse looks like... and the Serial Mouse came before the PS2!! Anyhoo, this goes to show that anyone can be a plumber...

End of August Report Card

Three more days till the end of August... let's measure my accomplishments (or there lackof) against my goals...hor hor hor...

1. Amazing Race - Praise God for his protection and blessing!! Stay tuned for Amazing Race 2!
2. Climb Half Dome - On Augst 19, 2006 @ 11:30AM...WE MADE IT.
3. Scrub down the jacuzzi - uhm...
4. Reinforce the gazebo in the yard - I still have 2 days....
5. Install electrical outlets/switches in the house - It's already been a year, what's another month?
6. Fix the darn plumbing... (why does it never end?) - Replaced the kitchen faucet. But there's still a minor drip. Only this time, I know how to fix the drip. And just last night...the toilet handle breaks. Sigh...the neverending saga...
7. Rediscover my stroke (DRIVING RANGE BABY!!!) - I watched Tiger Woods for 5 minutes during the PGA Championships. Works for me.
8. Read an average of 2 non-sports-related books every week - Read a few chapters of Celebration of Discipline and some European travel books. So there!
9. Prepare for the overdue housewarming - Still very warm.
10. Slim down to 165 lbs of lean muscle (or glorious blubber...whichever) - No comments.
11. Build up my alcohol tolerance in preparation for France and Italy - AND I can sleep in on Saturday mornings.
12. Plan my European trip!!! - Just seven more days....woohoo!!
13. Learn French and Italian (at least the words for all the food) - Un grande cafe creme, s'il vou plait.
14. Celebrate the inevitable big "2-5." (Denial is a good thing) - Feels good to be 25 again....and again...and again....
15. Furnish the rest of the house - This may happen by default! God provides in mysterious ways!
16. Learn to play tennis - Can't be too perfect in August. Gotta save room for improvement in September.
17. Fix my computer (was it the HDD or the Mobo that crashed?) - Sigh...lost everything on my C drive. Good thing - wiped out all my pirated software and MP3's. Bad thing - wiped out all my legit software, pictures and homework!!
18. Sharpen those Analog Circuit Design skills... (heh...) - With a business trip coming up, gives me something to do on the plane.
19. Cities and Knights (ANNNNDERSON!!!!) - "Anyone gotta wheat???"
20. Somewhere in between all that... I think I'll sit back, relax, bust open a cold one and enjoy Giants / Niner pre-season game... - Giants back in the pennant race. Niners looking like the Niners of last year. Yet..... I BELIEVE!!!!

Kinda sad just thinking about all the things I won't be able to do once school starts again...

Discipline of Meditation

Couple of weeks ago, I was led to a different way of seeking God -- through waiting upon the Lord. At the same time, our cell group began studying the disciplines of meditation and prayer as described in Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline. Unlike other forms of mediation where their goal is to empty themselves to reach a state of selflessness, Christians seek to empty themselves of the sinful self and seek to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

As a mediation exercise, we chose to spend 15 minutes mediating on the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). Some of the responses we gathered were:

1. It was hard to stay quiet cuz we naturally start praying. - So, so true. Why are we doing all the talking?
2. Is Jesus weeping today? - What are we doing today that's causing him to weep? All our sins, all our rebelliousness, all of our self-righteousness.
3. Weeping, as opposed to wailing, is the expression of deep sorrow. - Like the time I wept when I came to grips that a dear brother of mine will be leaving for Hong Kong. I was overcome not with sadness, but with sorrow. The sorrow of departure was overwhelming.
4. The Bible doesn't mention "Jesus laughed." - Why do I portray Jesus as a stoic, strict teacher? Does He have a sense of humor? Will He laugh at my jokes?

All in all, most of us encountered God in a different way. If we're able to continue getting in tuned with Him, will we not find ways to listen to His heartbeat? Feel His breathing? Catch His pulse? Share His thoughts?

Next up... Disciplines of Fasting and Studying.

Missed Opportunities

Why didn't I think of this?!?!

Stuck in my head...

Ever get a song stuck in your head and you starting singing and humming it without even knowing? The lyrics are sooooooooo meaningful and they sound sooooooo cool, especially in Mandarin.

狂風暴雨巨浪中, 祢的恩典不離開...

One step closer to Half Dome...

YC took us out for a training session this past Saturday.

Mission Peaks: CONQUERED!!
Half Dome: To be determined...

Waiting upon the Lord

From yesterday's TWA:

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and soul sing for joy for the living God. --Psalms 84:2 (ESV)

When I read this, I immediately related it to two lovers and their mutual longing or no less, fainting for one another. What things in life do I faint for? I don't recall ever fainting for Joyce, but I digress.

So I know this this guy who doesn't get enough sleep, sometimes, because his girlfriend refuses to go home. But the girlfriend's reason for staying so late is, "I just want to see you for a few more moments." Awwww...how sweet. Can't really blame the girl...nor can you say the guy is heartless. Just another chapter in their ever developing love story.

A dear brother shared with me a very cool analogy about Waiting upon the Lord. Waiting upon the Lord can be quick...can be slow. It's really not about the quantity but the quality. Like lovers, grasping for those very seconds that they can be together. Sounds much better in Chinese: 你們會如愛人一般，寧可悄悄地溜開，那怕是一兩分鐘... So how long do I wait?? And what do I expect, every time I do? I guess I gotta wait to find out...

FOR THE FEW WHO READ THIS AND WANT TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE ABOUT WAITING UPON THE LORD, PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL HERE.

Ctrl-Alt-Del

Crossed my "tees", dotted my "eyes", did a final spell check... 11 pages, double spaced, size 11 Times New Roman font, mucked with the margins a little and my paper on IP Law is packaged and sent. AWAY YOU GO YOU PIECE OF CYBER JUNK!!!

July 31st unofficially marks the end of my school year. Between today and September 18, I get roughly 7 weeks of FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hop around, jumping up and down, pumping fist in celebration!)

August is gonna be BUSY....with a captial "B". Big things happening in August, off the top of my head...

1. Amazing Race
2. Climb Half Dome
3. Scrub down the jacuzzi
4. Reinforce the gazebo in the yard
5. Install electrical outlets/switches in the house
6. Fix the darn plumbing... (why does it never end?)
7. Rediscover my stroke (DRIVING RANGE BABY!!!)
8. Read an average of 2 non-sports-related books every week
9. Prepare for the overdue housewarming
10. Slim down to 165 lbs of lean muscle (or glorious blubber...whichever)
11. Build up my alcohol tolerance in preparation for France and Italy
12. Plan my European trip!!!
13. Learn French and Italian (at least the words for all the food)
14. Celebrate the inevitable big "2-5." (Denial is a good thing)
15. Furnish the rest of the house
16. Learn to play tennis
17. Fix my computer (was it the HDD or the Mobo that crashed?)
18. Sharpen those Analog Circuit Design skills... (heh...)
19. Cities and Knights (ANNNNDERSON!!!!)
20. Somewhere in between all that... I think I'll sit back, relax, bust open a cold one and enjoy a Giants / Niner pre-season game...

Praise God!! LIFE IS GOOD......

BELIEVE!!

Roughly two years ago, a dear friend of mine came back from Vegas with a souvenier for me. It was a piece of white marble with the word "BELIEVE" inscribed on it. I wasn't sure what that message meant, but he said it really fits me. This friend has since retired, but I still keep in close touch with him. This morning, my manager walks into my office while I was on a telecon and randomly writes the word "BELIEVE!" on my white board. He smiles, then turns and walks away.

Do I give off the impression that I don't BELIEVE? Curious, it is. Think, I must. Hungry, I am.

Spared yesterday...but not today (STAD - Part III)

Yesterday was another Spare the Air Day. Once again, my company was committed to keeping the lights on in California. At approximately 10:30AM, the campus PA goes off, broadcasting that the AC will yet again be shut off from 2PM to 6PM in certain buildings on the campus.

*SILENCE*

Everybody was listening closely as the annoucer read off the building numbers one by one. "157" , "156", " ...and 158" As the final number was read, the collective energy of hope in our building cresendos through the rooftop!! Were we hearing things?? Did our building get spared? The annoucer re-read the annoucement, and indeed, our building was spared!!! But that was yesterday... today, it's back in the sauna for me after 2PM. Lovely....

On a different note, I read an interesting fact from Peter King, renowned Sports Illustrated columnist, talk about parking at a baseball game. He arrived late to Fenway (Boston) and there was zero parking. Finally, he found a gas station about 3 blocks away that was charging a whopping $90!!! Peter King salutes the owner for his entreprenuer spirit and drives off. He ends up parking in an "invented spot" along a yellow curb. After the game, he comes back finding a $25 parking ticket. $25 vs. $90. I think Peter King won...

Having said that, I now feel inspired to launch my third series of soapbox rants. Following "Bathroom Jabbers" and "Why I Like Sports" comes... "Finding Parking."

Spare the Air Day (Part Deux)

Sigh... another day without wonderful, wonderful AC at work. Actually, this is the third time this week my company has shut down AC. But this time I came prepared. Came to work in shorts and brought a little deskmount fan. Thank goodness Monday was the hottest day of the week. Phew.... looking forward to a Winter already!!

From TWA a few days ago...

"Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the LORD."

--Provberbs 19:14

God has really blessed me with a prudent wife, who loves God, loves me and loves to EAT!!! To me, eating is so attractive... it ranks up there with sense of humor and lack of bad odor for my qualifications in a mate. Thanks to a couple of sisters who educated Joyce in the art of steaming crabs, we were able to satisfy our craving for seafood once again. (Shout out to Candy and Becca!)

We went to Lion City in San Jose to buy our dinner for the evening and the clerk grabs the crab and immediately stuffs it in the bag without letting us inspect it. Immediately, I felt a surge of heat coming from my right side, as if someone turned on the furnace. It turns out, my prudent wife, was giving the clerk the eye of the tiger.

"The crab is dead!" says the prudent wife.

The clerk returns with a dirty look and says, "LIVE! LOOK!" And he hurls it across the chopping board. The crab moves one, maybe two of it's 8 legs for a second, then stops.

The furnace gets hotter and hotter. "It's not moving!!" exclaims the prudent wife.

A more elder clerk walks by and yells, "It's alive!" He grabs the crab and SQUEEZES the bottom of it -- trying to force the crab to struggle. It does, for a few seconds, but returns to a state of dormancy.

"I want another one." grumbles the prudent, but clearly frustrated, wife. Staring down the clerk with her eye of the tiger.

And voila...we have crab for dinner. So delicious to be blessed by God. AMEN!!!

Spare the Air Day

Company wide the PA system goes off saying we're committed to keeping the lights on during summer, and will shut off the AC from 2pm to 6pm for the next two days. I rather have them turn the lights off and keep the AC on. But that's just me....

I am officially melting....

목적이 이끄는 삶 (Purpose Driven Life)

In the midst of the Cold War in the early 80's, Rev. Billy Graham was invited to preach and to the former Soviet Union. Rick Warren, author of the popular book "Purpose Driven Life" has been invited to preach in a stadium in North Korea in 2007. A country that hasn't opened up to Christianity for over 60 years suddenly opening its doors. Some say, Kim Jong Il's will be using this as propaganda. I would really love to be a fly on the wall come 2007 to hear what Rev. Warren will say... Maybe he doesn't have to say anything and the HS will swoop down and take care of it all.

Doing away with coins...

Since childhood, quarters have always been looked upon as my favorite coin. It was my bus fare. It was the price of a pack of gum. It was price of an arcade game. As I got older, everytime we saw a quarter, the words, "Oh! Laundry" would come out automatically and instanteously.

In lieu of buying our own set of washer/dryers, we're still bringing our laundry out to public laundromats. A new one just opened up about 100 yards from our house. And of course, we chose to drive there instead of walk. (heh...lazy we are). Once we got there, we noticed NONE, I say NONE, of the machines took quarters. Just like Dave-n-Busters don't accept quarters for arcades, this laundromat doesn't accept coins. They all used pre-paid cards. And the machines for charging the cards only accept bills!! Whoaaaa...so high.
Funny thing is, other than a sack of quarters, Joyce and I both didn't have any money on us. So we walked out of the laundromat with our tails between our legs. The owner quickly ran after us... "What's wrong?!?" she asked. I told her we're going to the bank to get some bills. Then she said, "Oh! We can give change!!" In all my years of doing laundry, I've never ever given quarters for bills. It's always been the other way around. Anyhoo... we no longer have to hang onto each and every quarter in desperation of needing to do laundry.

On a happier note (a much, much happier note), Joyce and I took our bag of coins, formerly the intestines and innards of my piggy bank, to a CoinStar machine at our local Albertsons. Walking into the supermarket, I asked Joyce how much she thought we have. She guessed, "Around $5." I was a little more liberal (no relation to my politcal views) and said "$8.23!!" We pour in our change and lo and behold...the total came out to $88!!!! It's like Christmas all over again!!!

The cool thing about the Coinstar machine, it filterd out all my foreign coins, my CalPoly Arcade tokens, and most importantly, the machine separated a few silver dimes. Prior to 1965, dimes were made of real silver. Nowadays, they're made of a copper-nickel alloy. You'll notice two colors circimscribing the edge of the coin, red and silver. The pre-1965 dimes only have one color. So if I'm ever in need of casting a silver tooth, I have the metal ready.

$88!!! WOOHOO!!!!

CONGRATS!! And God Bless...

The normally silly and often immature Peter busted out with "Thank you, Uncle...er....Daddy" and the erupted the whole church in laughter. But come time for his vows...Peter turned into the most astute and fine gentleman of gentlemen. As with most exchange of vows, I couldn't hold back my tears of joy. And centered around each and every minute of Peter and Stella's wonderful wedding is our Abba Father. Praise the Lord!!

50 years without change...

As far as I can remember, there are several things I simply do NOT eat...

1. Mushrooms - It's a fungus... things that grow b/w your toes. Things that grow on oranges that you accidentally leave out for a month. Some of them have hair (fur, whatever). And most importantly, those cute little Smurfs live in them. I shiver, just thinking about how disgusting the bottom side of a shroom looks... ugh...
2. Porridge - I can eat rice forever. Gimme a little canned black bean fish, and I can finish a pot of rice for you. Rice is warm, it's filling, it's sweet, it's the one thing you can't do without! But if you add water and dilute my rice, I feel ripped off. I don't get full from it and for some reason, I get the feeling I'm eating pre-chewed rice. Gimme the real deal baby!!!
3. Oatmeal - Similar to porridge. Highly watered down, except it's oat and not rice. I look at it and think...geez, why does it remind me of vomit? I was sooooooo hungry this morning, I actually shelled out $0.50 for pack of instant oatmeal. It worked!!! Cuz I instantly lost my appetite and wasn't hungry anymore. Ended up pouring it away...
4. Chinese Style Steamed Noodles (腸粉) - My whole family loves it. They always order it whenever we get Dim Sum. And I always end up staring at it in wonder. What am I eating? There's no taste to it. It's steamed flour, I think. It's sticky, rubbery and gooey at times. And I get paranoid it'll clog up my throat and esophagus. Ugh... Now, if you pan fry it with some XO Sauce, then I'm all over it baby!!!!

There's probably more, but these are definitely the major ones...

Superman Returns

Truth, Justice and the American way...that's what Superman stands for. After a nearly 20 year hiatus, Superman returns to theaters...and this time, he was larger than life as I saw him at San Jose's Tech Museum - IMAX theater.

The story picks up from the end of Superman 2, where the Man of Steel returns from a 5 year trip in search his home planet, Krypton. To make a long story short, he comes back, fights crime, saves people, nearly dies and in the end flies into space in style. Brandon Routh does a fairly good job of imitating Christopher Reeves, but doesn't do a good job of portraying Superman. Nonetheless, the movie was entertaining for the 2.5 hours.

Personally, if one were to watch IMAX, one should watch it in San Francisco's Metreon and not at The Tech. The IMAX theater in San Francisco is a huge flat screen...whereas the one in San Jose is a dome. Sounds cool...but hard on the neck and eyes.

Superman Returns probably will not reclaim the role of Best Superhero from the likes of the Dark Knight, Batman. But he's still my favorite... and really, that's all that matters.

sigh...

Brazil lost to France again.... sigh......

Train, say your prayers, eat your vitamins...

...and you can be a real Hulkamaniac!!!

Back in the 80's and early 90's, I was a Hulkamaniac. And I guess till this very day, I'm still a Hulkamaniac. Last night during dinner, Joycie and I flipped to VH1 and started watching the reality show, "Hogan Knows Best" starring the Immortal Hulk Hogan and the rest of his family. The show originally was going to get cancelled... but someway, somehow, it's been able to survive yet another season. The amazing thing is, not only has Hulk Hogan been part of my life all these years, but the fact that my wife and I can still share in his comedic act, 25 years after he appeared in Rocky III as Thunderlips. 25 years later...he's still entertaining the world and preaching his motto of, "Train, say your prayers, and eat your vitamins." If I was insane enough, I would name my son, Hulk Leung.

Two days ago, we celebrated our "Two Year Proposal Anniversary." For lunch, instead of eating our leftovers from the night before, we headed over to Chipotle and romantically shared a Burrito Bowl. At night, Joycie attempted to make Pho. I'm a die hard Pho fan... I've loved Pho since the first day I met Pho. I have dreams about starting my own Pho shop in places that don't have, but deserve this treat. The result left a bit to be desired, but for a first timer, I think it was Pho-bulous.

Last night's prayer meeting was amazing. Why can't we worship like the children?? I think they should lead worship every time...

Why I like sports...(con't)

12. Bonds (or anyone over 40) stealing second. This past Friday night, I was up at PacBell (the T for short) with a couple of my buddies and my lady. It's the bottom of the eighth, we're tied at 2. Bonds comes up to the plate. The A's fans behind me start screaming "STEROIDS!!" Instinctively I scream back, "GIAMBIIIII." Then they screamed, "BALCO!!" I wasn't too creative, so all I had was "GIAMBIIII."
Anyhoo, Bonds draws a walk with Feliz in the batter's box. At that moment, two people in the entire ball park noticed Bonds inching off first with a little too much of a lean towards second -- those two people being Ken Macha (A's manager) and Mr. Anderson (loud mouth Giants fan). "He's gonna steal!! He's gonna steal!!" The pitcher winds up...Bonds takes off for second...pitcher throws to first...Bonds is picked off...but he keeps running, he slides....he's SAFE!!!!!

PANDAMONIUM!!!

I turn around to the row of A's fan who's been heckling all game long and say, "You can't help but cheer for that. You got your money's worth!" They couldn't help but break a smile. Next pitch, Feliz bloops a single to centerfield, Bonds was running on contact and he limps home for the go-ahead run. That may have been the last time we ever see the HomeRun King steal a bag. The only member of the 500/500 club defying the laws of physics yet again. That is what the National League is all about - Small Ball. Course, Bonds is now hurt from stealing second and dashing home. He probably ends up hurting the team more than he helped them. But who can blame him?? He was auditioning for Billy Beane.

13. Costing your team the title. Bryan Steed just cemented his place in North Carolina history next to Michael Jordan. Okay...maybe not that dramatic. In the bottom of the 8th, with the College World Series tied at 2-2, Oregon State had men on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. UNC induces a ground ball to second, a routine ground ball that slowly trickles pass the grass onto the dirt. Bryan Steed gloves the ball, digs it out of his cowhide and flips it to......the fans along the first base line!!!! Oregon State capitalizes and takes the lead 3-2! For the next few minutes when the new UNC pitcher came to warm up, Steed was the loneliest man in the universe. He singlehandedly threw away the hearts of thousands of Tarheel fans.

But that's just the reality of the game. Nothing is ever routine. You start with the fundamentals and get every piece of your game down. And at that particular moment in time, Bryan Steed must've been thinking back to Little League when his coach said, "Steed!!! Always square up and point to where you throw. Don't hurry it. You hurry it, you'll miss your target." Nobody can possibly try to fit in Steed's shoes. No one can empathize his pain and embarrassment. "It's only a game," some may say. But we can all collectively say, "No it's not..." And that's yet another reason of why I like sports.

(to be continued...)

Bepharitis & growing up...

Doctor: You have bepharitis.
Me: BEPHARITIS?! OH NO!!! ......what is it?
Doctor: (translated from doctor talk to normal talk) You have too much eye poo-poo underneath your eyelids.

So that's the cause of my red eye. It's been two weeks since the corner of my right eye has gone from pink, to red, to uhmmm...red. I first thought it was the dry weather. Then I thought it was cuz the eye drops I'm using are ineffective. Now, I not only need to wash behind the ears, I need to wash underneath the eyelids. Fun fun fun....

Spent most of Saturday at school. The "Intellectual Property Class" went from 8-5PM. It was pretty good. The professor presented a bunch of interesting, landmarking cases. Most of the people there were interested and made good points. I think it's 8 hours well spent. Afterwards, headed over to the Louie's to bid farewell to several youngins' in our cell group. The time they've been here were short. I did not know them well...but I will never forget them. All of them, in their own special way, lives a life of happiness and ambition. They have a yearing to learn more about God, life and continue to battle through the transition from teenager to adult. I'm really going to miss them... but as Guy-guy said, "If the old doesn't go, how will the new come?" May the Lord bless you guys in your on-going journeys wherever He may bring you.

Why I like sports...

I like sports. I can honestly say I spend more time on sports (playing, watching, reading, analyzing, researching, thinking...) then any other leisures in life. On the tail end of Miami Heat winning their 1st NBA championship, I figure I oughta capitalize on this high and scribble some reasons as to Why I like sports...(in no particular order)

1) Giving praise to God. Some do it...some don't. But when they do...I get teary eyed. Dwyane Wade gave all the praise and glory to God as he accepted his NBA MVP trophy. How true is it that everything we have comes from the Lord? Thank you for acknowledging that in front of the world.

2) R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Aretha Franklin sang it... the players demonstrate it. You respect your coach. You respect the other players. You respect the National Anthem by removing your hat and standing up. Respect is 60,000 fans boo-ing Bonds as he comes to plate, only to have that very same 60,000 fans clapping when he hits a Homerun. Respect is Roger Clemens getting a standing ovation as he walks off into the sunset (the first time) during the World Series in Florida. Respect is when a player who gets tackled, gets up, slaps the tackler on the butt and continues play.

3) Vindication... ahhhh.... Montana got forced out of San Francisco, only to come back and beat the Niners (probably the only time I rooted against my Niners). John Gruden destroys the Raiders after being forced out of Oakland by Al Davis. Shaq shows the world he can do it without Kobe and Phil... when the Lakers barely make the playoffs. Don't we all have that same urge to say, "I told you so!!"

4) Miracles. "Do you believe in miracles?!?" Famous words from Al Michaels as the US Hockey team defeats the Goliath Russian in the 1980 Olympic Hockey Semi-Finals. The team that comes out of nowhere to and overcomes the impossible, with the winners, cheering not cuz they just won, but cuz they didn't lose. And the loser being so distraught, they can't even breathe.

5) Cheering in spite of... This is very close to R-E-S-P-E-C-T. But whenever any player gets hurt, the entire stadium stops. Fans, vendors, teammates, opposing team. Every single person stops and starts praying. When will you ever see a bunch of 300 lb men, holding hands, kneeling in a circle, praying for the well-being of another man? And when the injured gets up... winning and losing doesn't even matter any more. All that matters is the person is okay.

6) Get away from it all. People need ways to R&R. A baseball game, or a football game or anything, for 3 hours, helps a person escape from the realities of life to relax that 5 lb tissue in between the ears.

7) It's healthy! Albeit, the steroid (HGH) era is definitely the Joker to this Batman. And sitting in front of a TV with a sausage hanging out of your mouth with a beer in your hand is anywhere near healthy. But playing sports, in the words of YMCA, enriches the "mind, body and spirit." It builds the body. It builds friendship. It builds commamarderie.

8) The halftime show. Franchises have taken the halftime show to a whole new level now. The Superbowl spends more money for that 7 minutes of entertainment than the venue itself (tongue in cheek). At a recent Warriors/Rockets game, the Warriors invited a bunch of Chinese acrobats to perform with Thunder dunking sky high dunks. It's also the perfect time to make a run to the bathroom. (Stadium bathrooms deserve it's own posting, someday).

9) The Underdog. Unless you're part of the fine few, born with the looks of Brad Pitt, the wallet of Bill Gates, the brains of Albert Einstein... you're the underdog. You're always finding ways to get ahead in life. It's you against the world. And anytime there's a team out there who can defy all odds to make it where they are, you can't help but root for them. They can lose, but just the fact they've triumphed over stigma of being an "underdog", they're already winners.

10) It's the ultimate reality show (minus the Vegas stakeholder influence). Is there any other form of entertainment that reveals a person's true feelings? Tears from winning, tears from losing. Anger and frustration from bad officiating. Utter humdrumness from complete insouciance that can flip and flop at a moment's twist? It's pure.

11) The Wave. Anytime you have so many people doing the same thing in unsion, you have to be give props. Heavily despised in baseball... but we'll save that for another entry.

Preliminary list... this list will definitely grow....

New Year's Resolution

At the beginning of this year... I made three resolutions to my cell group. With much confidence, I can say I've succeed in none of them.

1) Wake up at 6AM to have Time with Abba.

Sigh... It's a constant struggle to meet the first (and most important) one. If I want to keep my current work and school schedule, I'll have to wake up at 5AM!! Oh...that means I have to sleep before 10PM. Is that possible???

2) Climb Halfdome with Yao Chung

Climbing Halfdome will also be tough!! Yao Chung is off to China in August and I'm off to Europe in September. Before we know it, Halfdome will be closed off to the public. Better hurry up.

3) Work out at least three times a week.

Today in front of church's office, Andrew pokes at my luv-handles and exclaims, "WOW!! You have a lot of excess fat!!" Ohhhhhhhhhhhh..... how sad..... On an exciting note, that one statement has reignited my fire to keep this third resolution!! I'm gonna lose all that fat surrounding my waist...so I can gain it all back in Paris and Italy...hor hor hor.....

DEE-OH-EN-EE

Phew....

The Real World

In my more naive days as a young buck engineer, I thought meeting and BEATING schedule was important. Especially if it meant coming under the proposed budget. The more I hang out in Systems Engineering, the more I realize that "beating schedule and under-running" is not necessarily a good thing.

Meeting schedule and meeting the budget is what maximizes investment. If you're beating the schedule, that extra time could've been allocated to do other work. If you're running under, that extra money could've been spent elsewhere.

More signs that I'll probably stay technical and avoid management. I can't deal with this stuff...

Playstation 2 - A Travesty

We had a sudden urge to bust out our Playstation 2 a few nights ago. Both Joycie and I aren't gaming avids, suffice to say, we have a huge lack in game selection. In fact, some of the games we bought in our younger years, we really shouldn't even have in the house. Be that as it may, we decided to go search for some new games. We don't need the latest and greatest, most popular kick-butt graphics game. Just something to play and enjoy.

We walk up the row of games at Fry's. We walk down the row of games at Fry's. Repeat that process for about 5 times...and we still come up FRUITLESS!!! Geez... what's up with video games nowadays? Violence, bloody, magic, wizardry, sex.... that's all we saw. I would not want my child to be playing these games. The only category of games that are roughly buyable are sports games. Luckily, we have a vault from which we can lend those games from (aka Mr. Anderson).

The only other game we found buyable was this:

World Cup 2006

I probably can't even categorize myself as a casual soccer fan. I don't play the sport. I barely know the rules. I can probably name 10 soccer players, active and retired. But once every four years... I'll stick to the tube like every other person around the world - outside the US.

My earliest memory of the World Cup came in the '86 Cup where Brazil lost to France in PK's in the quarterfinals. It was soooo nerveracking, my brother and I couldn't stand watching it. We ended up hiding in our parents room and played "Imaginary PK's." Him being Brazil, me being France. And of course...in our perfect world, Brazil won.

I don't remember watching the 1990 World Cup at all. The only thing I remember from that summer was an Italian friend of mine got into a fight with an Irish friend when taunting went too far... Heh... kids....

Then came the summer of '94, which will go down in personal history as one of the best summers I've ever had. I remember that being the first time me and my dad "hung out" together, just the two of us. My brother wasn't into soccer at all. He being older, at that time, was much more interested in girls. So it was definitely good times for father / son bonding. The most vivid memory in 94 was watching Columbia kick into their own goal against the US. Later, the player who committed the unforgivable, was shot and killed upon arriving back in Colombia.

World Cup '98 was another devastation. I watched Brazil get their butts handed to them by France while feasting over some Weinerschnitzel chili cheese fries at Chris's house down in Cal Poly. Next day...I failed my midterm cuz I was so sad....

The '02 World Cup was very bittersweet. Bitter, because I got laid off days before the event started. Sweet, cuz I got to stay up and watch almost every game. Bitter, cuz China didn't even score 1 goal (NOT EVEN ONE!!!!!). Sweet, cuz I got to watch those games with my dad at 3AM in the morning. That night after China lost its first game to Costa Rica... my dad told me, "Son...China just lost. I don't think I can ever fall back asleep..." Oh...the pain he must've been in.

Sigh...on a happier note. FIFA's website currently has the US team ranked 5th overall, with a 40:1 odds at winning the Cup. Funny how much politics get put into amateur sports nowadays. Cuz the line at Las Vegas has the US team at 400:1. Go figure...

More Bathroom Jabbers

The bathrooms by my office are under construction so I've been having to trek down this mile-long hallway to find sweet relief. Yesterday, as I was making one of my daily strolls, I notice lying on the floor outside the empty ladies room a sanitary napkin dispenser!! It's just one of those things you don't think of. WOW!! I mean... it really shouldn't be that astounding. Once you think about it... it's more like, "Duh!" I mean...there are sanitary napkins on airplanes. It's a basic necessity. Then again, they have shaving cream and shavers on airplanes, but I've yet to see a bathroom with those amenities. Anyhoo...it was just kinda exciting to see that.

Not as exciting as the time I was at Seattle's airport in 2004. I was walking by the ladies room. The door was opened, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a sofa in there!! I was so impressed, I even took a picture. Very cool...



This morning, I was listening to KNBR Sports Talk Radio. The host starts start yapping about how humankind is getting lazy with all the automatic faucet, automatic soap and towel dispenser. From my post on Bathroom Etiquette, I make claim that the automatic faucet and dispensers are not due to slothfulness, but for sanitary reasons. I mean, the dingiest, dirtiest place in the bathroom is the faucet handle!! Everybody is touching it with their infected hand. So I shoot an email to the radio station expressing my claim, and within 10 minutes, the host is reading my name and email on the air!! He even went the distance and spelled my last name!! (Of course, he completely dissected it...) It felt good. Felt like I made a difference in many people's lives by enlightening them on some of my insights.

It must've been a very slow day in sports cuz a bunch of people started calling in. One particular guy called in and claimed that the dirtiest place in the bathroom is not the faucet handle, but instead, the handle to the throne. He pointed out that, "Everybody flushes but not everybody washes." He has a point...but I won't sway from my position.

Apparently, there are a bunch of people out there who, like me, sit around and think of these things.

BE BOLD!!

God speaks to me in many ways...

Joycie sends me an email this morning. The subject line is: "Good verse from TWA."
The body of the email is:

From Psalm 127:2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

I think God is telling Joycie to tell me to stop working so hard.

May finally comes to an end. Ended with another long trip to the East Coast. Ugh... flying is such a pain. I'm thinking it's worth paying the extra $80 to upgrade to first/business class. Unless I can weasel my way into the EXIT ROW seats. Sigh....the price of having long, lanky legs.

This weekend, we attended PNC and Stella's wedding shower. Later that day, I found out that my close friend's grandfather passed away, and my other friends' cousin's body was found underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Funny how it takes the greatest joy and the greatest sorrow to bring a family together.

On Sunday, a sister came to visit our church. I vaguely remember her when she walked into the sanctuary but wasn't too sure. After worship, Joycie and I introduce (or reintroduce ourselves) and she says, "YEAH!! We met at PCS. We even sat at the same table and had dinner once." WOW!!! Keep in mind, there were about 200 people at PCS. We were at Breakthrough for 5 days. But the fact she remembered not only our face, but that we had ONE meal at the same table together. That just blows me away....completely puts us to shame. hahahahahah

breathe....

AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

We were there...

A beautiful Sunday. Perfect day for a day of sitting in the sun enjoying America's Past time with my girl and my two best buds. We were part of the capacity crowd gathered, hoping and even begging to be part of history. With a man on first, full count, Kim unleashes a fastball across the plate. Here it came, there it went... sailing over 415 feet over the centerfield wall. He did it... in the house that Bonds built, Barry Lamar Bonds eclispsed what was once thought to be unreachable and hit his 715th homerun.

Two banners on the centerfield scoreboard dropped and revealed, on the left, a portrait of Bonds and his majestic uppercut. On the right, Hammerin' Hank Aaron with his unobtrusive, silent but deadly swing. Black, orange and silver ribbons flew across the park. Fireworks were blasted into the clear blue sky. The foghorn sounded. The "4" of 714 was promptly replaced with a "5." We hi-fived complete strangers, as if they'd been our best friends all our lives. Barry came out for not one, but two curtain calls.

60 years from now, I can tell my children, and my children's children, that I was there to watch Bonds hit 715. This will forever be part of my life...this moment in time....

Standard of Excellence

Every year in May, I get teary-eyed when I drive by a local high school and see a graduate racing in their cap and gown, with his parent following closely. Afraid that they're going to miss the event they've worked their entire life for. Hard to forget, is the image of a mother, drenched in her own tears of joy as she saw her son walk across the stage to receive nothing but a piece of paper. I reminisce the day I sat on the 40 yard line of Mustang Stadium with all my friends as we baked in the sun - and the infamous picture of Lester falling asleep during the ceremony.



But this sense of excitement won't be felt by about 47,000 high school seniors in California. Passed by the Supreme Court of the State, all high school seniors are REQUIRED to pass the high school exit exam in order to graduate. No if's and's or but's. People are screaming at the fact that this criteria was removed weeks before the exam, and now reimplemented. They say the officials are "messing with people's feelings."

There really is nothing wrong with measuring a students' level of retention after 4 years of "toiling." With a few exceptions I can think of, there really is no reason why a person who's worked hard at passing the test, can't pass it. If indeed, a student can not pass the test, then that shows s/he is not at the aptitude of a California high school graduate. I am not a proponent of standardized tests. But in hearing no complaints about the fairness of the test, I have to say that the 47,000 seniors hanging in the balance, better start thinking about summer school.

Sick Leave

Ah....the beauties of Sick Leave. I don't remember the last time I took consecutive days off cuz of a mere cold.

Back in college, I never ever missed a class. Perfect attendance. Never played hookie. Even with a 102 fever, I'll drag myself to class to sit in there and pretend to listen. In grad school, hours after getting LASIK, I sat in the back of the class with my eyes closed, screaming in pain, just so I won't miss lecture.

When I first started working for industry, my mind was accustomed to the "tough it out" mentality As time went by, I realize that being sick at work does myself no good and does the company no good. I'm not working at my full capacity. I threaten getting coworkers sick. And it doesn't help with my healing.

Dear friend of mine is also sick...but she's a contractor and doesn't get PTO. So she's at work, spreading her germs around. While I'm home, enjoying a wonderful cup of java and staring at my four walls. Wait...but that's what I do at work!!!

Middle of May...

Sighhhhhhhhh.... it's the middle of May and I come down a stinken COLD!!!!! What gives?!?!?!

$1 Dollar

$1 Sausage McMuffins. Life is goooooooooooooooooood.

Happy Mother's Day

Why do we celebrate Mother's Day once a year? 364 days in the year, it's OUR day. And we select one day to say, "Gee Mom, thanks!"

Pastor Poon went into great detail dissecting through Proverbs 31, describing a godly woman. And it's so true. My mom slept after we slept. Woke up before we woke up. Had every meal ready for us. Never complained. Never sighed. Did it out of complete servitude. And what did my brother and I do? Rode her like a slave. Sure, we said thanks. Sure, we helped out. But I know that sometime between 2 months old and 1 year old, we learned not to take "No" for an answer. Cuz that's so true! Mom would never say "No." And if she did... we'll just work on her a bit. Wear her down...and the "No" becomes a "Maybe" becomes a "Yes."

Mom has been wanting to go to Alcatraz Island for almost two years now. We've ping-ponged the idea back and forth. Coming up with excuses like "We can't get tickets", "We have a midterm to study for and can't come out", "It's a lot of walking and your legs won't hold up", to something completely lame like "You'll get seasick from the ferry boat ride."

Well, this past weekend we finally scratched one of Mom's list. We parked in Chinatown, walked down to the Ferry Building and across the Embarcadero to Pier 41. Walking!?! I live in San Jose!! I never walk!! I either drive or I go nowhere. The weather was pleasurable. There were multiple street faires going on at the same time for us do mosey through.

I personally took a trip down memory lane with every street corner I turned and every shop I walked past. What once was a Comic store is now a tattoo parlor. The donut shop we'd run to in the early mornings for hot chocolate is still there, but the facade is different and the name is foreign. Some things never change. The salon across the street from the playground still exists. In fact, they still have the same posters up from 20 years ago. That coffee shop I use to crave walking by stood firm throughout the years of recession. The crowd and customer is different now. No longer are they filled with gray haired, weary eyed Italian immigrants. They are now full of Ralph Lauren, Gucci wearing preppies with too much time on their hands and not enough caffeine in their bodies.

With what seemed like a marathon, we finally arrived at Pier 41. We played the roles of tourists specklessly. Poking our noses in all the touristy stuff. Buying that $5 ice cream cone for but a few moments of satisfaction. Standing around and gawking at the piles and piles of blubber, aka seals, sunbathing on the wooden palettes. The ferry ride to Alcatraz was short. The tour was even shorter. Mom wasn't particularly interested in the stories of high time criminals like Al Capone. She merely walked around the cells, made comments of how advanced American jails are compared to Chinese jails, and called it day. HA! All this build up and the crescendo leads to disappointment!

Ah well... there's always next year.

The evening capped off with a few rounds of Mah Jong and a nice stroll back to the North Beach area for dinner. Like a couple of European tourists in a Chinese restaurant, we were the Chinese tourists not knowing right from left at the Italiano Ristorante.

Sometimes I wonder if the Americans really think that all Chinese eat sweet and sour pork and egg rolls for dinner. And will they appreciate the finer delicateses of Chinese cuisine? The same thing probably crossed our little Italian waiter's mind. "Typical tourist, will probably order spaghetti and meatball. Like everyone else."

Regardless of what we ordered, how advanced American prisons are, or how the sceneries in San Francisco will always be an anchor in my past....this past weekend was Mother's Day. A day we celebrated the heroics of my mom... a darn good example of Proverbs 31.

Oh...and we had dinner with Joyce's mom. But it's just not as fun writing about that, is it?

Sisters...

Two of my sisters are graduating from college this May. We had the honor of sharing the fruits of their labor at their Senior Show. The creative juice that flowed in that gallery could fill up a small country...amazing!! Here's a few of my favorite works.

In the spirit of...

In the spirit of starting things we never finish...here's another project we're adding to our list.



1000 piece, Photomosiac of Winnie the Pooh...

Twice in a day..and probably more.

We go through life sometimes, not counting our blessings. Things happen so fast and we're so innundated with our quick-paced lifestyles, we really ought to stop and smell the proverbial flower. Yesterday was a great day for me. A most happy day. Mainly because God showed me His almighty grace and love to me.

I flew down to LA yesterday morning at 630, and flew home at 630 at night. It was a long day, I'm tired, I'm hungry. Of course, the flight ended up being delayed. I reached for my bible and started to read when the passenger next to me asked, "Is that the bible?" Turns out this guy is a very devout Christian who is used heavily by God to serve in His kingdom. It was very touching hearing his testimony and his dream. The hour we spent together passed by quicker than a New York minute.

I come home and check my email and see one of my dearest friend inviting me to her baptism at San Francisco Christian Alliance Church. Not only is it my dear sister being baptized...but at an Alliance church!! I can't wait for it to happen.

God is showing me in so many ways His bountiful love and mercy. All these lives around me are changing. And this happened...twice in a day. And y'know what, there's probably more!

The Salvadors

It was hot. Not scorching hot, but baking hot. Standing in the line of the setting sun wearing the radiance-absorbing black tuxedo, steam was elevating off the top of my head. Then came the tear that cooled it all off. I've seen Mark cry three times in all the years I've known him. His "1st Tear" was when Microsoft stock fell 40% overnight. His "2nd Tear" came when he found a dent in his car. And his "3rd Tear" came, two words into his most sacred and holy vow. Bless his little heart.

The newlyweds

Mark and his usual playful self

CONGRATULATIONS TO VERONICA AND MARK!!

Solitarie

So I'm on hold... and with nothing else better to do, I start playing Solitaire.
Funny thing (well, not HA-HA funny), I start a standard, Draw-3 game. I start out without any moves. So I click the deck...and as I've gone through the deck. I just noticed that I don't have any moves at all!!
Another reason to play Freecell...

Still searching

Been about two weeks since I sold Titanic. I can't say I miss it, but I certainly wouldn't mind having her around. Be that as it may, we've been looking into a replacement for Titanic. And it's been a bear finding "the next car." With gas prices going sky high again, we oughta really think Corolla, Civic or Hybrid. Yet, I can't get pass myself for passing up on my chance for a Bimmer or Lexus. Luxury cars are nice... but the maintenance on those cars are pricey. Plus I can't really justify getting such an expensive car. Being neither here or there, it looks like we're going to settle on a Camry or Accord. And I do stress the word settle. Maybe we can get through the summer and wait till the annual End of Year clearances around August/September. Sigh...decisions decisions..

Tutoring Highlight of the Week: Every week, each tutor brings snack for the students. We usually bring healthy stuff like granola bars or oatmeal bars. But this week, being that it was summer weather, good ol' Isaac brings Pepsi and NESTLE CRUCH ICE CREAM BARS!!! WOOHOO!!! Isaac Rocks!!!

Street Names

Heard this on the radio. The most popular/most used street names in America are as follows:

1. Second Street
   
2. Main Street
   
3. Third Street
   
4. First Street
   

Try explaining THAT!

天下無不散之延席

五年啦。 係我人生最燦爛同最低落的時候﹐她都沒有離棄我。 我們一起返學﹐放學﹐返工﹐放工。亦一起遊覽過美加多處的美景。 人們雖然笑她﹐辱罵她﹐話它有多麼醜陋﹐在我心中﹐她永遠是美麗的﹐是忠心的﹐是一位能信靠的好知己。 當我另結新歡時﹐她依然在我背後默默地支持我。我承認﹐是我忽略了她。 我沒有好好照顧和疼錫她。 導致今天無言的結局。

今天﹐我在一千美元的誘惑下﹐出賣了她。 她。。。就是鐵達尼。

一次又一次的送她入廠醫病﹐愛妻和我終於決定是時候放棄。 將鐵達尼捐去某某機構﹐明年可以扣 稅, 大家都好過0的。經過一連串的調查﹐ 發覺扣稅的數目是相當微小。 不如嘗試尋找有緣人。 踏破鐵鞋無覓處﹐得來全不費Craigslist。

雖然心仲係依依不捨﹐但天下無不散之延席。我相信﹐鐵達尼已找到一個更好的家。

再會了﹐好朋友.


I dedicate this song to you....

朋友
曲:芹澤廣明 詞:向雪懷 編:入江純

繁星流動和你同路
從不相識開始心接近
默默以真摯待人

人生如夢朋友如霧
難得知心幾經風暴
為著我不退半步
正是你

遙遙晚空點點星光息息相關
你我那怕荊棘舖滿路
替我解開心中的孤單
是誰明白我
情同兩手一起開心一起悲傷
彼此分擔總不分我或你
你為了我 我為了你
共赴患難絕望裡緊握你手
朋友

A fine steak

Flew down to Long Beach for a symposium and had a chance to explore the fine dining in that area. Monday afternoon, after the symposium, I went to the hotel gym. Ran a few miles on the elliptical and did some laps in the hotel pool...worked up a hearty appetite just so I can go tackle a 24oz porterhouse at 555 East Steakhouse.

Time between ordering and having the food delivered was a little longer than expected. They could have at least brought some bread for me to munch on. After what seemed like eternity, the 24oz bone-in porterhouse with the football sized baked potato arrived. I immediately carved into the heart of the steak to check for the wellness. Ahhhhhhh....MEDIUM RARE!! They got it right!!

I went pop-eyed for their creamed spinach. Most creamed spinaches I've had are either diced or chopped. 555's were still in their long, full form. Their horseradish left a bit to be desired. With the tanginess present, it lacked the kick I'd expect. Their steak platter could've been a little bigger also - givine me more room to carve. Was disappointed their manager didn't come over to say hi, but seeing I was sitting at the bar, he probably left that job to the bartender.

All is forgiven after the first bite. The meat was so soft and tender, it was like biting into a piece of fish. And with enough juice overflowing I was lucky it didn't pour out of my mouth. Overall, the food was definitely: eXquisite. Gotta find ways to weasel into more of these symposiums.

Only thing that was missing...Joycie couldn't be there to share this experience with me.

Opening Day 2006

Rain, rain and more rain. The weatherman hasn't been very creative lately, cuz there's nothing new to report on. Then came the fateful day...

Thursday morning, I woke up to an anomaly - BLUE SKY and SUNSHINE. Hahahaha...

There's nothing like Opening Day. As I'm holding my wife's hand, we step off the escalator. The aroma of the roasted almonds, the smokiness of Chicago Style hotdogs, the murmurs of the little children who's parents pulled them out of school, the roar of the crowd echoing through the foundations, the new HD Plasma TV's hanging off of every corner, and finally we emerge behind the press box.

First thing I noticed, the Old Navy Splash Landing sign got replaced by an atrocious looking Levi Spash Landing sign. The old'skool counter is now replaced by a stone age Seven-Segment Display. The green outfield wall is now graffitied with a plethora of corporate advertisement. Sigh... such an eyesore.

Due to the downpour of rain, the grass really wasn't green. The dirt really wasn't brown. But all was forgiven when Omar's flyball soared itto the heavens and a blur of white jerseys sped around the basepaths. Runners on 2nd and 3rd and here came Barry!!

"BARRY!! BARRY!!"

The chants were defeaning. The crowd goes wild. (cliche) And what happens next?? The catcher stands up, sticks his left arm straightout pointing to the Giants dugout, and all those chants of "BARRY!! BARRY!!" became roars of "BOOS!!!" Good ol' Bobby Cox wasn't going to let Bonds beat him...so he gave him the Four Finger Wave.

The game turned out to be quick and short.
Final score: Giants 6 - Braves 4.
3 games down, 159 games to go.

Henry & Joyce's 2006 Season Record: 1-0.

At exactly...

... 1:02AM and 3 seconds today (April 5, 2006), we will have:

01 02 03 04 05 06

of course...in Asia, you'll have to wait about a month...

A second career

In the late 80's and early 90's...this face was more recognizable world-wide than Mickey Mouse. This celebrity had it all. A cereal, a cartoon show, loads of endorsement, the love of a beautiful princess... and one other thing... he had proper PLUMBING!!!!

Shigeru Miyamato was no also-ran when he came up with the Mario Brothers concept. Mario and Luigi could've had any occupation: firefighter, policeman, cable installation guy, PG&E worker.... no no and NO!! They were plumbers. (There was a Dr. Mario spin off that did very well though...so doctors are cool also.)

Why all this?? Why envy the occupation of a cartoon/video game character? Cuz, yet again, we have plumbing problems. This time the kitchen sink.

It started during finals week when Joycie noticed a small leak under the sink. She thought it was the trap pipe (aka goose neck.) Throughout finals week, we would turn the main valve off when not using the sink. After finals, we finally had time to go buy a replacement. Here's where the fun begins...

Ever see a Charlie Chaplain movie, where he's in a basement, and there's a leak in one of the pipes? He goes over to cover it up with his finger...only to force a leak somewhere else?? Then he sticks another finger to cover up the second hole, leading to yet another series of leaks springing up everywhere?

To make a long story short... we're still fighting through this problem. We now know, more than we've ever wanted to know, about kitchen and shower faucets.

Several months ago, Pastor Ted talked about heaven; about how we can't really bring anything from this life, into eternal life. He goes on to say that it's the relationships we build now that will matter in eternity. Pastor Ted specifically mentioned that he'll be of no use in heaven, they don't need a pastor there, or a lawyer, or an engineer. But I firmly believe, regardless of what heaven is like, we'll need a plumber.

Maybe that's why it's till raining in late March, early April. There's a leak up in the sky.........

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband. Proverbs 12:4

So exhausted, I couldn't even sleep...

Ever been in a realm where you're so exhausted you can't fall asleep? Your mind tells you, "Dude, get some rest!!" but your body says "Yo...you can't rest, keep on chugging."

Last Thursday after flying back from Philly and as the broken pieces of my life slowly came back together, I lied in bed around 1AM in the morning (3AM Eastern Time) with my eyes wide opened. Geez Louise....I sleep an average of 5 hours for the past two weeks and now that I can rest, I CAN'T!!! It's not like the other 19 hours were spent surfing the net or lounging on a couch watching the NCAA Tourney... I was either at work, getting into heated arguments with my boss or at the computer lab churning away at my stinken project.

Highlights of the past several weeks:

• Those very special moments I get to spend with Him.
  
• Thursday night tutoring where I felt most alive and recharged after spending 1.5 hrs with my buddy Poncho.
  
• One night when Joyce made me cook dinner. I was a little appalled she would do that, knowing full well I needed every single minute to study/work. Turns out that those 45 minutes were the most time I spent with her consecutively for the past 2 weeks.
  
• The moment my schematic checked out against my layout!
  
• Being able to fly cross country, and for once, not have to read a textbook on the plane
  

Lowlights of the past several weeks:

• Those very special moments I don't get to spend with Him.
  
• Missing out on two consecutive Friday gatherings and a Fondue night
  
• Spending only 45 minutes with my wife
  
• Kitchen sink starting to leak
  
• Semiconductor Device Physics and all that jazz
  
• Having to fly cross country and turn around in less than 24 hours (UGH!)
  

Alls wells that ends well...

Friday night, my body officially collapsed.

Saturday morning, I had a company picnic at Great America. Was gonna take Poncho and Isaac but they called me early in the morning saying they can't make it. So Joyce and I just slowly mosey our way over there, grab our free BBQ lunch, play a round of bumper cars, ride ONE roller coaster ride and head home.

Saturday night was one of my best bud's bachelor party. My first go around in organizing a Bachelor's Party and it turned out pretty well. I got a chance to speed through a go-kart track, tackle a 20oz ribeye (which I STILL claim to this day is overcooked) and ended the night chitchatting with my other best bud about nothing for an hour. And I walked away like it was the best conversation I've had in ages.

Sunday morning was SOOOOOOO AWESOME!!! I've been running on EMPTY for a while and it was the perfect remedy. I acutally lost count of how many times people hinted to us to starting popping out little Henrys and Joyces. For the first time in a long while, I got to go out to lunch with my bros/sis. Physically I was still aching, but spiritually I was on Cloud 9!!

And here we are.... end of the worst quarter of my Post Baccaleureate career. I get one week off before heading into the the next quarter, which I know..I KNOW will be even worse than this quarter.

Ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yyyyyyyyyyyyeaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!