A look back at the 2000's...

As the decade comes to a close... I look back at the past 10 years of my own life and came up with two lists.

Bottom Moments of the 2000's

10. Prop 8 - For the record, Prop 8 did pass. For the record, I voted "Yes" on Prop 8. And for the record, it was NOT an easy decision.
9. Bush defeats Gore - Indecision 2000. I still hold firm to my belief had they done the recount correctly a decade ago, America will not be in the demise it is in now.
8. Breakup of Friendship - Thanksgiving Day 2000. The part that hurt most was... I never got a chance to defend myself.
7. Unemployment - I already touched on this an earlier post. Still remember the words uttered by Joyce when she waited all day for a phone call telling her she got the job. "I was so happy when the phone rang...but it wasn't them." She never got that phone call.
6. Facing the fact parents are getting old - We made so many phone calls to insurance agencies, hospitals, clinics, specialists... signed soooo many forms... went to so many doctor's appointments... learned so many medical terms (in English/Chinese). Now, we just see their bodies slowly wither away.
5. Father in Law's battle with cancer - Old age is for certain. But cancer and chemo is simply scary.
4. Natural Disasters - Katrina '04, South East Asia Tsunami '05, Sichuan Earthquake '08.
3. 2002 World Series - Game 6 - Up 5 runs with 6 outs left. Where did it go wrong? I can cope with the unemployement. This... I simply still can not deal with.
2. Nui-nui's close calls - Never, by own my power, could I have gone through all those ups and downs.
1. 9/11 - (Picture is worth a thousand words)

Some of you may say, "How can you put the World Series in front of your parents health?!?" To you I say, the World Series was a moment in time that pierced extremely deep to which I have yet to recover. Parents being in the hospital time and time again became more of reality than anything... And now for the happier list... the Top 10 Moments of 2000 (subject to change).

Top 10 Moments of the 2000's

10. Bejing Olympics Opening Ceremony - 同一个世界 同一个梦想 - I think the comments in an earlier post already captured the essence of this event.

9. President Elect Obama - Can the Democrats retake the White House? Can America have a minority can become the most powerful man in the world? Can America help make Dr. Martin Luther King's dream come true? Can we rally behind Hilary Clinton and the entire Democratic party for a better America? Can we? "YES WE CAN!"

8. Prop 8 - I think the greatest thrill of Prop 8 wasn't so much the outcome, but the fact that we citizens actually exercised Democracy and went out to campaign, to rally, to petition and to vote -- exactly what our forefathers fought for. Coupled with the significance of the Presidential Election... the voter turnout annihilated the polls. That was the big moment...

7. Skydiving - Turning 25 and right smack in the middle of my quarter life crisis. Life was nothing but a bunch of humdrum. And it hit me... (no, not the ground)... I needed to seek out some excitement! The sky is the wrong place to look. There is no adrenaline rush in skydiving. But jumping from a plane was a lifelong dream nonetheless.



6. Graduation - This happened so long ago that it's easy to forget the significance of becoming the 2nd Leung to be a college graduate and to achieve the dream my dad had in us when we emigrated to America.

5. Top of Great Wall - 不到長城非好漢 - Another life long dream of mine, to step foot on the Great Wall and climb to the highest peak. Once again, the essence of this was captured in an earlier post.

4. Game 5 of NLCS - I still remember the winning call like it was yesterday...

"Bell, possible winning run at second. Here comes the pitch. Kenny Lofton.. LINE DRIVE BASE HIT UP THE MIDDLE. BELL, ROUNDING THIRD, HEADING HOME, HE'S SAFE!! THE GIANTS HAVE WON THE PENNANT!! THE GIANTS ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE!! KENNY LOFTON, THE MAN THEY LOVE TO HATE IN ST. LOUIS, KNOCKS IN THE WINNING RUN. AND THEY COME POURING OUT OF THE DUGOUT!!" ~Jon Miller.

More importantly, we were there live.

3. Baptism - (I actually don't have a picture for this.) The events leading up to this turning point in my life was probably more storybook than the event itself. And this turning point opened up a brand new chapter, nay... a brand new VOLUME in my life. Opening doors I've never imagined possible. And experiencing God, like I've never imagined before.

2. Birth of Nui nui - Rachel Yat Hei Leung / 梁溢曦 (click here for the Running Diary).

Rachel - pure; a ewe lamb
溢 - 福杯滿溢 (詩篇23:5) / "...my cup overflows." (Psalm
23:5)
曦 - 晨曦 (約8:12) / "I am the Light of the World..." (John 8:12)

1. 9/16/2005 - Yes yes yes... for the one or two of you who might remember, my wedding day was on 9/17. But my top moment certainly is NOT my wedding day. Goodness... my wedding day was one of the most exhausting days of my life. Everything was sorta planned. Everything was kinda in place. Everything was almost running in order. Yet, nothing was as special, as meaningful, as magical as the day before the wedding - at Grace Cathedral - for my wedding rehersal. It wasn't just a rehersal, though. Each and everyone of my bestest and closest friends were there. My immediate family was there. My pastor and my spiritual parents were there. That was exactly what I would've wanted for a wedding, a little private wedding. And it was on that day, that I first had the opportunity to say my vows outloud for Joyce and for me to hear, inside a church, with God and men as my witness at that moment in time...

Runner up Top Moments of 2000's:

• Francisco's baptism
• Hong Kong PCS 2005
• NLDS Game 4 - 2002: "Ohhhh ooh-OOHH-ohhh"
• Grandma's 100th birthday
• Spring Training 2003