68,000 steps later

First time since 2019 in Florida... and first time since 2014... we're back at the Happiest Place on Earth. No, not Costco, though we did go there for a $4.99 chicken on our first dinner with some microwaveable rice.  We were back at Disneyland and California Adventures.  I was dead against it.  Everyone I mentioned it to said that's the busiest week of the year.  I keep on checking the weather and every day, the forecast was at least 90% rain.  I didn't eve want to ask about the ticket and hotel prices.  But alas... Joyce wanted to experience Christmas at Disney.  

There were some highs and lows.  Definitely more highs... as with all Disney memories.  right? (Maybe)

Some of the lows...  It was as if the Disney gods timed it where California can reverse the drought by pounding 3 years worth of rain within one week.  Getting drenched and walking around with soaked shoes and socks in the freezing cold - not magical. Or how about that 4 hour wait because Disney can't freaking get their act together for the Lightning Lane while a ride breaks down.  We literally just stood there for hours without moving - not magical.  The picture on my mobile app for the teriyaki chicken over rice was heavenly.  What appeared on my tray at the pickup counter came straight out of a high school cafeteria - not magical. People still can't drive... everyone wants to overtake you with just half a car space - it was magic we didn't crash.  Galaxy Edge was still meh... as were Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance.  And the Genie Pass... what a rip off.  Coming down with a friggin cold during the entire trip - it was magic it wasn't Omicron.  

Some of the highs... getting to do Rise of the Resistance (as meh as it was).  Getting to visit Avengers Campus, doing Webslingers (as meh as THAT was) and eating a Shawarma.  Siu Wah finally getting to do an upside down roller coaster (3x).  Getting out of Toy Story mania... just in time to catch Incredicoaster opening, thereby cutting our wait from the usual 60 minutes to a mere 10 minutes.  Can't complain too much about the wait in line... both kids have amazing patience and we had so much fun as a family. The clam chowder in a breadbowl at 50 degree weather.  Reliving some of the previous experiences.... when NN was 3 and we had lunch with the princesses.  Or when she was 5 and I took her to watch the fireworks while running 102 degree fever. Joyce for her tireless planning... A for effort. (Maybe a B for execution.) Heh.... Free breakfast at Embassy Suites (along with free happy hour). 

And finally.... after 3 days of walking, standing, walking and standing some more... after 68,000 total steps... the one magical Disney moment for me this time... Night 1... after the fireworks on Mainstreet... all the lights were off except a low calming blue... the speakers were blasting "I'm... dreaming of a Whiiiiiiiiiiite.... Chriiiiiistmaaaaaaaas."  as the heavens opened up and down came white snow.  Magical. 

When's the next time we'll be back??  I surmise... our next Disney trip will be Aulani or perhaps another cruise.  The next time we're back in Anaheim???  It'll be far too soon. 

BFF's

Went to dinner with two of my BFF's..... my college roommates and their wives.

It's like time never stopped and we picked up where we left off.  I look up to the heavens and thank the Lord for blessing me with these men.

But in the midst of my thanksgiving... tonight.. I find out that our former boss at HP... thought that SSF and I were a "thing!"  I mean... "not that there's anything wrong with it...." but did we really exude that aura????  We were roommates.... BFF's..... co-workers that shared an apartment.  

If I really were.....happy..... would I pick Mark?? Would he pick me?? Geeeez... Louissssse... 

Christmas Caroling

We only had 1 other family going.  I pretty much wanted to cancel our fellowship caroling.  What's 4 adults and 3 kids gonna do??  Well........  

Yesterday evening... Enoch Fellowship sent me a bunch of pics of them caroling to the elderly.  The 103 year old 黃太。 The hairstylist 李月芳 - who came to Sunday Service today.  (not a coincident).  Leo's mom.... and the picture that spoke a thousand words of the joy she was exuding.  Caroling... it's not just about singing songs.  

Then I thought... for the Gas Stations on Christmas Eve, it'll only be Keno and Peter/Stella.  Two families.  They're still going.  Chen's and Leung's.... what's stopping us??  

Even this morning... I told Joyce... "Let's just cancel it."  She said, "Yea." 

But lo and behold... when I asked the Chen's if they still wanted to go... seeing it was just us, they said, "Let's do it."  

And then... we grabbed William to join us.  8 of us.  Standing in front of Lion City.  A half empty parking lot with nearly no foot traffic.  

We got there early... so the kids and I "rehearsed."  Then Tall Ken and Tobrian shows up... and he wants us to do 12 days of Christmas with hand motions!!!  

What started out as a doubtful, insignificant event that almost didn't happen... turned out to be 15 minutes of joy and sweat.  I was sweating at the end of the caroling set.  The kids.. they don't know any better.  Caroling is caroling.  Me??? I was on the lookout for any suspicious or dangerous activities from panhandlers and homeless people.  And.... I was given a lesson by God.  

It's not about you.  It's about me. 

Top 10 of the last 10

Youtube surfing today... and came across a video.  The top 10 best selling songs of from 2010-2020 bassed on IFPI.  Starting in the 2013, it included streaming.

This is literally my entire parental career. Starting in 2009, when NN was born all the way till last year.  Do I know these artists? These songs? The 2010 and 2011... I actually had a good chance of recognizing 5-6 per year.  Starting in 2012... that number dwindled down to 3-4.  Around 2015-2016... it swung down to 1-2.  (including Let it Go!!)  Then in 2017ish... it started to pick up again.  

Some of the songs I think are recent (2019? 2020?) are actually from the early teens!!  A few of the best selling songs actually made it on the list twice... meaning they had an initial spike and for whatever reason, made a comeback a year later.  Two of the 100 songs.... CHINESE!!!!  Of course, there was Gangnam Style and BTS - Dynamite. I guess the I in IFPI is international. 

The funny thing was... SW watched it with me.  And where I knew about 20-30% of the songs... he knows about 60-70% of the songs.  How?!?!? We pretty much control all of his entertainment.  Don't we???? 

A little goes a long way...

Earlier tonight... I was at Costco doing some extra holiday shopping and I was in "one of those moods."  No... not one of THOSE moods. But one of THOSE moods.

I walked up the ramp and saw a Costco worker in a yellow vest pushing carts.  I went over and said, "Hey! You're doing an awesome job. Keep up the good work.  Merry Christmas."  

Then as I grabbed my cart... I saw a dad holding a baby in his hand.  I handed him my cart.  But my cart was full of garbage.  So I rolled it away and grabbed another one for him.  He stared at me wondering what I was doing.  "It's yours!"  "Thanks." "Merry Christmas!" "Merry Christmas."

Walk into Costco...flashed my card to the door checker. "Merry Christmas!!"  (wave.)

It was a quick stroll through the aisles. The checkout line was expedient. Separated by a foggy plexi-glass, I screamed, "Thank you! Merry Christmas!"

Walking through the receipt checker... I come across a young lady wearing a sweatshirt that read "Kirkland."  "I love your sweater! Where'd you get it?" "Here...but it's sold out." "Ok... thanks.  And Merry Christmas!!"  "Merry Christmas to you too, sir."  

If I wasn't wearing a mask...they woulda seen my genuine smile.  Hopefully.. my voice was able to carry that inaudible smile. Sometimes... all it takes are too simple words... and a little, goes a long way. 

Global Supply Chain issues

Costco... Target... Big Lots... Walmart... Smart and Final.  All out of candy canes!! Talk about supply chain issues.  heh...

Not only are candy canes out... for some reason, the entire world is giving out goodie bags this Christmas.  I thought I was setting the trend... turns out I'm just a follower. 

I went to Costco and Walmart to get all these goodies... and now I have to return them.  Cuz the only bags I found are too small!!  Ah wellz.... good things come in small packages, right? 

Sugar Free

For Thanksgiving... we handed out Blessings Bags with sugar filled goodies.  One family emailed us asking us to no longer give these bags to their elderly mom. I can only assume that it's cuz there's too much unhealthiness in the snacks.. causing a division in the family.  So for Christmas... we're seeking to look for "healthy" snacks.  Sugar free. Sodium free. Fat free.

Ohhhh how expensive the food can been.  And how disgusting. I went to so many stores looking for these snacks.. is "snacks" even the proper term to use.  As Americans...we put such a premium to eat healthy. Heh.. but alas.. I found a brand.. a batch of sugar free items that's affordable.  Ohhhhh....  

Second Harvest Food Bank

If it's slow... you can't hurry it.  If it's fast... it's a runaway train.  The food sorting assembly line at the Second Harvest Food Bank is unforgiving. I was responsible for scooping apples into a box full of corn, onion, cucumbers and cauliflowers.  These boxes will go to folks in need in the next 24-48 hours.

We started around 2pm... and I couldn't engage in small talk with my neighbor.  There was too much going on.  Every now and then, I'll take a look at the clock, longing for a break. My teammates were screaming at me to hurry up... and I felt like I was failing them.  Yet... I longed to take my time... but I would be failing myself.

My arm was tired.  6-7 apples don't weigh a whole lot.  But after the repetitive motion continues for 2 full hours, it builds on you.  My back was hurting from leaning over to scoop. And dog gone it... the National Guard who was suppose to partner with me was NOT helping.  Every time I had to swap carts... I was slowing everybody down.  Wasn't that his job?? I turn back to look...and he's on his phone.  C'mon man!! We got 40 pallets to build!!

At the end... we packed over 27,000 lbs of food, 

What an experience. 

Cafe au Lait

Not for the caffeine, it’s the full, coffee house experience. Incessant grinding of beans. Murmurs of men talking business. Giggles from the high schoolers Tik-toking. My safe haven for the next two hours as I check eHarmony and match.com updates before the start of another lonely day. Celeste greets me with a Cafe au Lait without me ordering.

“Venti Decaffe, black, please.”

Shivers run through my spine as I steal a glance over to see who would submit themselves to hot, bitter, brown water without the boost. My heart skips a beat, not from the caffeine, but the most gorgeous living creature to walk on earth peppers my gaze, looks away, and sneaks another a peek. The corners of her lips raises while a shy dimple sucks me in like a black hole. I spot someone get up so I make a zag to grab 3 packs of Splenda and claim my spot, our spot. I’m stirring in my Splenda, blending in cream with sugar when I hear, “This seat taken?” I glance up to see that God spent a little more time on this one. Black coffee in one hand, Wall Street Journal in another, and a pair of dark chocolate eyes that stares directly into my soul.

“Actually.. it is.”

I lied. Who in the world drinks decaffe, black, no less?! <Swipe Left>

Pick one super power

When asked "What is one Super Power you would want?" My answer will undoubtedly be "The Super Human power to Love." (Awwww.... or Barrrrrrrrrrfff... Heh). I always thought that was a clever answer and no one can trump or defeat me.  
Recently, I found out that Dragon Ball Super, the sequel to Dragon Ball Z, has a character who has exactly that power - The Power of Joy and Love!! Someone stole my idea!! I should have copyrighted it.  

**SPOILER ALERT**

While one would think there's no way you can defeat the Power of Love ("Love never fails." ~1 Cor 13:8), Brianne actually ends up losing when she sees the love shared between Android 18 and Kirin being true agape love, not her shallow, superficial eros love. Heh... And with any Dragon Ball series... the true winner will always be Gokou. Not a spoiler.

**SPOILER ALERT ENDS***

1.5x

One of the greatest inventions of modern digital media is the 1.5x.  You can watch Netflix shows, listen to podcasts, listen to online sermons!!~ at 1.5x the normal speed.  Can shave off a 1 hour podcast in roughly 45 minutes.  BAM!!! I just saved 15 minutes of my life to waste on surfing the web.  

Today... I decided to listen to my normal podcasts on normal, 1.0x and realized... "Dang, theeeeey aaaarrrrreeee soooooo slllllloooooowwwww."  Heh.  When teaching public speaking, that's my very first lesson, and very first reminder for every lesson thereafter.  Slllllllooooowwwww doooooowwwwwnnnn.

I needa rethink that now.

Espresso

Simple.  Basic.  To the point.  What can go wrong? 

In the early 2000’s… a TVB show called 美味情缘 said the litmus test of a good Chinese seafood restaurant is ordering Shark Fin soup with a bowl of white rice.  The most complex paired with the most basic.  What can go wrong?

An espresso or as the Italians call it, cafe. Short, black, approximately 1 oz of highly concentrated coffee.  Simple in appearance.  What can go wrong?

How coarse? How fine? How hot? How long? Which region? Filtered or tap? Ceramic or porcelain? 

So many variables and all I want is something simple. Basic.  To the point.  What can go wrong? 

Annual Thanksgiving Service

Since who knows when... PAL uses Thanksgiving as a means of skipping out of preaching.  Rather, he has people come out to give a testimony on God's faithfulness.  This year wasn't different.  

Of all the heart warming, gut-wrenching sharings - the two that stood out (other than Mrs. Yu) was the simple testimony Sean gave.  He openly said he doesn't have anything dramatic.  But the simple act of driving on the freeways accident free and going to pick up his son from day care where Lucas opens his arms to hug him is truly a blessing and thanksgiving worthy. So pure, so real.

The other one was Stanley sharing his trials with one of his daughters where they were engaged in a shouting match to a point where they had to close the windows to not scare the neighbors. And it ended up with a prophetic prayer that forgave his daughter... and him.  He once again experienced God's redemption.  

Praise God for a wonderful, wonderful church family. 

5 Kernels

So much to be thankful for… but alas… I’m going to pick 5. Starting from upper left going CCW…

1) Spirit of Hecker Award - Lifetime Achievement for Excellence Service.  Mom - as rough as our relationship is nowadays… is the example I long to become.

2) Home Sweet Home - a successful move resulting in reduction of drive time and traffic. 

3) 271 - Thankful for Democracy…and the electoral college got it right.

4) Be fishers of men - after so many years of trying… NN and SW finally caught their first fish!! 

5) Grandparents are treasures - thankful that dad is still healthy enough to engage in ping pong, badminton, and hoops with his grand children. 

New Year's Resolution

About a month and 6 days left till the end of the year.... time to check in on my New Year's resolution.  The one I publicly announced was... "Doing 50 pushups."  How close am I???? Well.... between the 5 and 0, I can do one of those numbers! 

Thanksgiving Blessing Backfire

"What's the worse that can happen?" I ask myself. with the whole Thanksgiving Blessings Bag.  

The leftovers were given to New Vine and New Spring.  But since I got in touch with PD first... by the time PHL found out, it was all gone!! HA! No harm, no foul. 

No... the worse part was... getting an email from a sister, who said one of the elderly's daughter called her and asked our church to stop giving food to her mom.  It was causing arguments and tensions in the family.  I guess the food I gave was too sugary and left some of the elderlies...shall we say... tempted?? 

Oops! 

"Beat that wall!!"

It must've been 2+ years... when one day...we random picked a local playground that has a mini-America Ninja Warrior play structure.  One of the obstacle is the infamous "wall" at the end of every ANW race.  Every now and then... we'll go visit that playground, but for the longest time, SW has not been able to "beat that wall." Until today... 

Ordering off the menu

Went to Grand View with the Yu's last night.... and the menu wasn't all that appealing.  So I ordered the "special" that the server rambled off to us.  I didn't really catch what it was other than..."Ribeye."  It was sooooooo good.  Cooked so well.  Marinated perfectly.  So juicy.  So much fat.  

When the bill came... my dish costed.... $290!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just do it...

Had a whim to make Thanksgiving Blessings Bags for church friends, newly baptized and old friends who haven't been at church for a while.  By the time I settled down to start planning... it was already Tuesday - 9 days before Thanksgiving.  Zero planning.  Zero coordination.  Zero ideas on what to do... who will do it... and how to get it done.  

For 10 seconds... I thought about punting Thanksgiving and rolling the money into a more valuable Christmas Blessings Bag.  10 seconds later... I came to my senses.  What's the worse that can happen????  

Spirit of Hecker Award

The “Spirit of Hecker” Award is named after our founder, Servant of God Isaac Hecker. It will be presented to an individual from each of the parishes and centers that we serve, as well as to an individual involved with each of our national ministries.

Awardees are selected for their extraordinary dedication to the Paulist mission to go beyond the walls of the Church to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. They readily share their strong belief that the Holy Spirit is at work in people, the Church, and the world.

As if time stood still....

Went to the long awaited Junior High Musical.  And it was.... a junior high musical.  Much critical, I am.  The storyline itself is quite simple... it's the story of the ugly-duckling.  But it took me all of the Act I to figure out which character was whom....or what.  The creative freedom the director chose was... a little too "free" for the average Joe (or Hank).  The performance... is a junior high performance.  And for some parts of that Act... it was as if time stood still.... *phew*

Most of the kids haven't experienced life enough... or seen enough professional performances... or know what to do with their hands other than making the "gorilla, hanging arms, palms flipped" motion over and over again.  

But I have to say... there are some true talent in that group.  A couple of months ago... NN and I got into a fight cuz she didn't make the cast, and I over-cared.  Well... it turns out... she is not up to par with the main characters.  All of them are amazing singers and dancers.  Tho I will say... NN is clearly a notch above the rest of the ensemble.  Maybe next year.... 

晨龍

 龍 - is the trademark of China and Chinese.  We are self proclaimed 龍的傳人.  In Chinese mythology and fairytales, everyone adores and nothing stops it when the dragon comes out.  Not a T-rex... not godzilla... not the European dragons with wings.  But it's the 八不是。  It's not a horse... it's not a deer... it's not a fish... it's not a snake... it's not a goat.... it's not a tiger.... it's not any one thing, but it's a combination, or totem of many creatures that were idolized.  And in my recollection... in all the movies I've seen... we've failed at all the animation, CGI of this mythological creature.... until Shang-Chi.  It took a US company to properly and most closely bring alive this creature.  

Squid Game

 I fell for the fad... the trend... the constant mentions on Twitter about the hottest streaming series on Netflix - Squid Game.  An 9 episode Korean Drama about a mysterious host that invite hopeless scumbags of society to take part in childhood games where the winner can win lots and lots of money.  The price to pay if you lose... your life. 

Ever since Lord of the Flies... and that haunting Japanese Manga... I stay away from these types of dystopian storylines.  Partially because it's so real.  When it comes to life and death... humankind loses all sense of "humanity."  Case in point... after watching the 2nd episode (right before bed, mind you), I had nightmares all night!!  Not for the faint heart... not for one who has a naive, utopian outlook on life.  But I muscled through it... including that one episode with the strobe light that easily could've triggered seizure attacks.

After finishing the 9th episode... I got on a Zoom call with Geoff and Nita to discuss the show.  Front Man, Suit Guy, the Babe, Snake Eyes.... we gave names to all the characters. LOL.  We got down to the penultimate question... "If it was down to me and Joyce (Nita and Brandon...), what would we do?"  Then the ultimate question.... "If it was down to the three of us... what would we do??"  

I slept like a baby that night. 

無名火

 At lunch yesterday... dad once again brought up the issue with my wrath... or as he puts it, 無名火.  90% of the time... I'm the most easy going guy you know. But if you step onto that final 10% and light my fuse... I will blow up on you.  Too many times... I've done it the past decade and taken it out on the kids.  During the day... work eats up all my margin with nothing left for home. 

The past week... I've been regretting those past 10 years. Re-thinking and re-living images of me yelling or screaming at an innocent child.  When their parents are their world... and those towering adults are coming down on them... their world crumbles.  And all they can do is helplessly stand there and take it.  Helplessly.

What happened? Why am I like this? Dad even brought up that Mom once brought up, "點解個仔變成咁?"  I don't even know... 

And as it was scripted on a TV show... I ended up blowing up on NN tonight.  I even scared myself with my anger.  After a long day of driving... I was tired and frustrated.  I was well past my 90%.  I didn't need any more enticement to explode.  But it happened.... and here I am... regretting... every... second... of it. 

死孤寒

Went out to the city to have lunch with dad by the Ferry Building.

Last night... I found parking lots/garages around there to set expectations.  But I was early today... so I checked out the street parking.

About 3 city blocks away... I found meters that cost $3.75 / hour.  Nice!!  3 city blocks... I have time.  Let's see if there's anything closer.

Traffic was bad in front of the Ferry Building.  Took me 15 minutes to move those 3 city blocks.  And as I should've expected, there's no parking in front of the building.  Grrrr.... and there's nothing 3 city blocks the other way.  I made mental notes of what's on the other side of the building.  Can always bust a U.  

As I busted that U.... I was led to some parking spots in a business district that's about a block away.  Woohoo!! I got out...tried to pay by phone.  Only to see that the spots are now $6 / hour!! Geeez!!!  No thanks.

So I slipped out and headed back to the main street.  Voila...!  Some spots directly across the street from the main entrance. $7!!!  Adios....  

Drove back to the original set of spots that were $3.75/hour.  Heh... 30 minutes later.  I started where I began.  But hey... I saved some chump change.  

Why???

Another Executive Announcement came out.  This time... one of my peers made VP.  One of my biggest enemies at work.  Is it my personal bias? I don't think so... I get a bunch of messages with the same sentiment.  There's a pretty big Anti-Fan Club.  And somehow... these people... who step on everyone, chew them up... leave them for dead... continues to climb up the corporate ladder.

Here I am... running in place.  Jealousy? Envy? I dunno... possibly.  Why can't I be grateful for what I have.  What I deserve. 

Times have changed

Times are changing.  

Back in the mid 2000's... when I was hard over on 過大禮, there's a lot of traditional things we can't buy in US.  So we substituted it with 利是。 

Then as I hit my late 20's and 30's.... gift cards started replacing actual gifts.  "The gift that keeps on giving."  We run out of things to give... so why not just let ppl buy what they want.

A couple of years ago... we stopped with the physical gift cards and send virtual, digital gift cards.  There! We save on the plastic also.

And today... SW wants to get a bday gift for his friend.... Minecoins.  Virtual, digital... to be spent in a virtual world.  And y'know what... that'll be the best gift the kid will get for this birthday. 

What in the world...???

Why is it that when a child misbehaves and a parent disciplines him/her.  The kid pouts, throws a fit, starts crying. Then it ends up being the parent that apologizes???  

Ear wax

I wrote about ear-wax a while ago... and how I need to Q-tip my ear despite general warnings of not doing so.  But for my bday... the kids got me a pair of Apple Airbuds.  They're an amazing feat of engineering with it's noise cancellation capability.  What's more amazing... is the soft, white membrane it uses to insert into the ear... always comes out of my ear with ear wax!!! Every time I pull it out... there's ear wax on it!!!  Dude!! How dirty is my ear?? What is the rate I generate ear wax?!?!? It's amazing!!! 

The moment you let your guards down

Went to a BBQ on Sunday. For the most part… we had masks on. But no one was social distancing and of course… we are (without masks) eating. Today… we find out someone tested positive!! WTH?!?!

Thankfully… their aging parents are ok. But what about us!?!?!

Took a rapid test and it came out negative. But still… to be safe, I’m gonna WFH for a bit. 

Sweet 小華

Some time ago... SW was upgraded from regular SW to Sweet Siu Wah (SSW).  A title he truly deserves. 

Ever since he was young... he was simply likeable.  Non-competitive and always your biggest cheerleader.

When we went bowling.. NN would be steaming if she's trailing.  SW, on the other hand, would watch his "opponents" bowl.... then cheer, scream, beg!!! for each roll to be a strike.  

The past few nights.. we've been playing Monopoly.  You would never know which side he's on. He'll call out the number of steps that'll benefit you when rolling the dice.  He'll grab his head in playful disgust if he lands on your property.  And he'll be first to console you if things don't go your way.  I told Joyce it's just so much fun playing with him... he doesn't care who wins or loses.  He's there to have fun.  Then Joyce told me... "He came up stairs with tears coming down his eyes after you bankrupted him."  He didn't show me those tears.

Yesterday... we had a hang-out session at Mini-Golf.  And when his friend putts... he'll be screaming "Go No No!!" (Noah's nickname).  Again... not about competition.  Just good ol' fashion fun. 

The cherry on top of the sundae comes with the dreaded Claw Game at the arcades - where you are under a timer to position a claw to grab some tantalizing prize that's nearly impossible to get.  This claw machine basically had these cardboard rolls with numbers on them...representing tickets to exchange prizes.  And as statistics would have it... SW won 150 tickets.  His friend (No-No) followed... and he also grabbed a "150 ticket" cardboard roll...but as the claw was returning home to dispense the prize, the roll fell!!!  Without missing a beat... SW goes, "It's ok... I'll give you half of mine. 75 / 75."

Where does he get this from???? Rumor has it... that was me before I turned 10.  Hopefully (prayerfully), this stays with him forever, unlike me. 

Father Daughter Moment

Was at Golfland today... and while chaperoning/babysitting SW and his friend... I saw a dad and his 1.5  - 2 year old daughter playing a Wheel of Fortune game.  The goal is to spin a giant wheel and you can win anywhere from 5 to 1000 tickets.  The girl obviously wasn't strong enough... so dad spun it for her.  The girl had no idea what was going on... but when the wheel stopped... the music went off and the lights started blinking!!  She was ecstatic!! Overjoyed!! She had nothing better to do but give her dad's knees a giant hug!! She was on cloud nine!! The tickets the wheel landed on... 5.  

Everyone wins - even the weird stranger spying on them. 

That familiar feeling

Game 5 NLDS...and we came up short.  Hate this feeling.  Hate writing these posts....

I am: amazed we got this far
I think: this was our best chance, this half of the decade
I know: I can't take 2010, 2012, and 2014 for granted
I want: a Super Bowl more than a World Series
I have: so much to do... but not sure how to do it
I wish: we could've sprayed champagne tonight
I hate: that the Dodgers won on our home turf
I miss: the days of MCC
I fear: that I won't ever make Director
I hear: the dripping faucet in our bathroom
I wonder: what {{someone}} is doing
I regret: not going into medicine
I love: a nice hot shower
I ache: when I hear of cuts, sore knees and shoulders without any rest coming ahead
I care: about NN's well-being
I always: point out people's faults
I am not: a strategic thinking
I dance: and get winded
I sing: Alexander Hamilton
I cry: when {{someone's}} tapped out of CMPW and can't take OT
I do not always: tell it like it is
I fight: those to point their fingers at us
I write: because it is a relief
I win: when another soul comes to Jesus
I lose: when I cause others to stumble
I confuse: my kids with my dual personalities
I listen: to the BS Podcast
I can usually be found: in a White CRV
I need: a new project
I am happy about: NN's academic excellence
I should: fix or sell my Miata

To combat the smell

There's a certain smell in this house... whether it's the paint... the mildew... the leftover scent of curry.  It's in the carpet.. in the walls.  We try to combat the smell with a little dish of baking soda everywhere.  We light candles in all the rooms.  And to rid our house of the smell of curry... we launch a war using good ol' Cantonese cooking... hot pot.  The house now...for the next few days... smells like Little Fat Sheep.  HA!

Inventoried

My inventory system worked... I know exactly (almost) where everything is down to each box.  The only problem is... I don't know where the boxes are!!!! There's so many of them!! AHHHHHH!!!!! 

Not my house

 Half a week of living in a new house... and there are so many problems and issues.  The bathroom leaks and hisses.  The cabinets and drawers don't have a soft closing.  The lights flicker...probably due to mismatched lightbulbs.  The hallbath drains very slowly.  And worst yet... the smell. It's not the smell of our house... our home.  

NN said it best... "It feels like we moved into a giant AirBnB."

Moving Day

Guess we'll start from last Thursday... it was late... I was still packing.  Been procrastinating cuz I knew that we had an escape path.  This wasn't the end game.  We weren't motivated.  But as we got to the eleventh and a half hour... I was focused.  Started boxing like mad... organizing... stacking.  Final count... 50 boxes.  Small, medium, large.  Each one labeled.  Each one accounted for.  Inventoried.  I was confident I knew exactly where everything was. I was skeptical that the movers will actually read the labels and put the boxes where they needa go.  More on that later... 

Got to bed around 2AM.... everything was done.  Remaining items were in the kids' room or bathrooms.   

The movers said they'll be here at 9AM.  I initially wanted them here at 8... but glad they planned it that way.  Knowing full well that it takes time for people to wake up and get out of bed. I specifically left the final dribs and drabs of food to make breakfast and lunch.  Then Joyce took them to school and I was alone.  

Panic struck. The bathrooms weren't packed!! So I ran and grabbed one of the few remaining boxes and threw everything in there.

Panic struck again.  Their rooms weren't packed.  Alarm clock. Glasses case.  Bed side stuff.  I threw their comforters into a closet, ripped off the bedsheets and wrapped up all their pillows 

Panic struck a third time.  My grill.  Heh... quickly disassembled it.  And then... 

At 8:45AM,  I'm done.  I have nothing else to do.  I have nothing else to pack.  Where are they?? I sit and wait.  There's nothing to do, but wait.  

They said they'll show up at 9AM. But no one is here. They're late.  Dang it.

9:15... they show up.  I didn't know what to expect.  They sounded like they were middle eastern on the phone.  Perhaps south east asian.  Turns out... they're Eastern Europeans!! Wow... Croatians.  That's new.  Two Eastern Europeans.  And then two Mexicans show up.  Within 30 minutes...all the boxes are packed.  cleared.  And they have everything Tetris'ed into the truck.  Onto the furniture.   Dang these guys are strong.  One man just picked up my sofa single handedly.  Piece by piece... they get the furniture onto the truck.  In the midst of everything... they see the box of biscuits dad got me for CNY... and I said..."Have it!!" They were famished.  They were so hungry.  I was glad someone liked it.  HA!!!  They finished half the box.  And then finally... "the beast" - our upright piano.  Heh... they're charging me an extra $350 for this.  They owner bought a plank. The entire crew were nervous and discussing this the entire time.  How to handle a simple upright piano?!?!

It was hilarious, side splitting, seeing them huddle up on how to move the piano.  The last time we moved it... the Chinese overs did it in 5 minutes.  3 old Chinese men vs. this crew of movers.  Amazing. Heh... but in the end, they figured it out.  They even figured out how to get my grill and the 4 bikes on the truck.  Lunch time. They needed an hour break.  Much deserved. The best part about the break... one of the guys asked,  "Wanna join us?"  I didn't expect that... and I was touched. 

But I didn't have time to have lunch.  I hurried to the new house to install the most important thing of all... WiFi.  The essentials.  But of course... nothing goes smoothly.  WiFi wasn't working.  So while they were moving... I was on the phone with Comcast.  Trying to multi-task to get it going... I failed.  The guys showed up around 1:30 and the move continued.  The first thing to decide... which way to go into the house.  Nothing was easy... the front door with a big opening? Or the garage with plenty of steps.  

After a series of contemplation... they started to unload, beginning with "the beast" going up a flight of cement steps and a flight of carpeted steps.  How I wish we coulda said, "Leave it in the bonus room" adjacent to the garage.  But that wouldn't work. Not for the future years of practicing. We ended up deciding to move the piano through the front door.  It was a simple move... supposedly.  But they made it soooo much harder for themselves.  There should be a youtube video on how to move a piano for non-professional movers.  I tried to interject with some of my thoughts... but why would they listen to a skinny Asian with no moving experience?? They aptly ignored my advice and continued their huddles.  

They ditched the piano plank... exactly what the Chinese movers used.  They had a nice dolly for rolling furniture...which they also ignored.  Instead, they dragged the beast over 6 feet of cobble stones... leaving a trail of white paint.  Then the used the fragile castors on the piano to roll another 20 feet before they got to a flight of 10 steps.  10 measly steps... 4 huge guys... 2 of which do professional strength training.  They barely did it.

It was as simple as ONE TWO THREE...HUH!!! ONE TWO THREE...HUH!!!  Nope.  Instead, they tried to power through it with brute strength.  A piano.  Without proper handles. CA-BOOM!! CA-BOOM!!  And with two steps to go.... they were all spent.  I was so scared that the piano will come crashing down... smashing my two movers... and making a new opening next to the front door.  They struggled.  They cried.  They used every last bit of their God-giving strength to heave the beast up that last step.  I stood there... helpless.  Scared. Fearing they'll die. And then... they finally got it to the top. 

"Hold on. Stop!" One of them cried. "I'm gonna black out."  That's how much strength they exerted.  More than they ever expected.  "I should have charged you more for the piano." The boss said to me.  But honestly... I wouldn't have given a penny more.  I tried.  I tried to call professional piano movers. But no one called me back.  The one who did call me back backed out after hearing about the stairs.  And to think... me and my college/high school friends moved that very piano from Daly City to San Jose.  Man.... we were strong (and stupid). 

From then on.... it was a breeze, all things considered.  We had four flights of stairs. I tried to help (to hurry the move, cuz I was charged by the hour.). But I needed to be by the truck to direct traffic.  "That goes to the garage.  That goes upstairs."  

I wasn't expecting them to follow the labels on my box... I was expecting all the boxes to end up in the garage and Joyce and I would need to lug it up the stairs ourselves. But they were professionals down to the last box.  Every box.... ended up exactly where I had wanted them.  My calves were so tired from running up and down the stairs. And that was without carrying 50 lb boxes!!! How did these movers do it???

From then on... and for the next 3 hours.. they methodically moved every single box to its final destination.  And when it came time to pay my bill... they charged me exactly what they quoted me.  Drive time.  Stairs. Piano. Gas. Etc... they were not cheap... not by a long shot.  But I enjoyed my conversations with them.  I enjoyed the time I had with these overs.  To a point, where I was wondering if they'll ask me for a tip.  They didn't.  Not a peep out of them... unlike my previous movers... how were downright rude and about to bust a cap into me for not tipping enough. I ended up giving a $50 to each of the movers personally... and they were ever grateful.  Deep down... I feel like if I gave a $20... they woulda been happy. But so be it... what's done is done.  Money... is worth less than it use to be.  I'm blessed to be in my position.  They gave me exceptional service... I will not be stingy, not in this case.

As we parted... I told them... "David.. I'm not kidding... I'm going to call you next time I move." And he replied, 'Thank you for the business, Henry.  I will be ready. "

I was drained.  From all the hustle and bustle.  Luckily... we have our new neighbors, the Yu's, in which we had dinner together.  I really wanted some comfort food of rice an Peking Spare ribs.  Instead, we had Korean Burgers and fries.  Close enough.  I wasn't going to argue.  I was famished.  And then... our first night at new house...let the adventures of unpacking begin...

Politically Correct

Needed to get renter's insurance... and when I was talking to the agent, he asked who, 18+, will be living with me.  Instinctively, I said, "Me, my spouse, and my two children."  (Spouse?! Why didn't I say wife?)

He replied back... "Ok... I have you... your (pause) spouse... and two minors."  

I guess... in the real world... my spouse isn't necessarily my wife.  My spouse, even if I have a man's voice... could be my husband.  Go figure.

Cyber Stalking

Once in a blue moon... I'll dream of "the kids" from SSPP.  The Altar Boys that grew up with me that endured my "leadership" and my "wrath." They're all grown up now... married... have a family...have a career.  

I woke up from the dream and suddenly had the urge to google my SSPP classmates to see where they are now.  Are THEY married? Do THEY have kids? Where are THEY with their careers.  I limited the search to a handful.  Some, I don't really care for. But some... I secretly have a competition going to see who's more successful.  Define success.  

The Essentials

Was talking to some co-workers who live in Santa Cruz... recalling the fires where they had to evacuate.  It really boils down to what are the most important things you want to bring with you when your house is on the verge of burning down.

Likewise... with this move... I'm down to my essentials.  I've packed the entire kitchen - almost.  But I have to save a few things.  The essentials.  

• frying pan... the deep kind, that can double as a boiling pot for pasta.
• paper plates
• flatware that I'm going to throw away anyways
• wooden chopsticks that are eat and toss
• oil
• coffee grinder, water pot and french press
• instead of mugs... I have travel tumblers
• as for spices... it really comes down to one thing - "salt."  Not pepper.  Not sugar.  Not soy sauce.  
• And of course...the trusty rice cooker.  

Aside from that... do you need anything else??  I guess I can have bowls for the instant noodles.

"You Will Be Found"

While driving NN to school..she picked "You Will Be Found" from DEH..... so I asked, "Have you encountered such issues? (Teenage suicide)."  The conversation that followed.... man... every family expects it.  But no one expects it to be them... right?

Sexuality

NN's class studied the chapter in Genesis on Lot.... and engaged in deep conversations on sexuality.  There was a 2 page list of questions on sexuality that I started going through with NN.  Part of that was.. is it a sin to be friends with someone that's LGBTQ+?  And how does a man have sex with a man?

I went through every question with NN... one by one.  Staying impartial...but at the same time asking, "What does the bible say?" Not sure if that's the right way of doing it. 

The other night... while talking to a dad, I asked how they handled it.  He immediately said, "The mom took care of it."  And when she asked "Do you know where babies come from?" The daughter said... "I don't wanna talk about it."  Heh.... 

Irony

For all the hate I give GE’s…. Even at the middle school level… here’s one of the ironies of life. Donated all the books in pic 1. Kept the ones in pic 2.

Too soon...? Or... as forecasted.

At some point in time, I knew things would collide between me and NN.  And boy has it ever.

On Saturday... we got the cast list for her Fall Musical and unexpectedly... she was NOT casted, not even for a minor role.  She is stuck as an ensemble.  With all the high hopes going in... with how she claimed the "destroyed the audition", with how she's never....ever... failed in anything in school... the world came crashing down.

The first night... when she did NOT get a call back... everything started crumbling.  More for me than her... or at least I wore it on my sleeve.  I quickly hugged her and said, "I'm sorry."  To which she completely side stepped me and rejected my sign of empathy.  "Stop assuming what I want or don't want."

Then when she did not get casted... and I walked in right when she read the email... she smiled.  I gave her another hug and said "I'm sorry." To which she snapped at me... in tears.... "I'm soooo SICK of you always assuming what I want."  She repeated that like three times.

I could've stayed silent and nodded.  But I knew she was hurt.  I knew she was disappointed.  I was seething.  And I reminded her, "You told me... you wanted a medium part.  You didn't want a lead because you said you have too much homework." She aptly denied ever saying that.

Since then... we haven't talked to each other.  Silent treatment going both ways. It got so icy cold in the house... Joyce finally pulled me aside, "You better start talking to her." And I said, "She needs to apologize first."  2nd night in a row of not talking.  

This morning... I walked out and said "Good morning."  To which she paused and said, "Good morning" in return.  That's it.  Nothing else. I don't need this.  I don't deserve to treated like this.  Back and forth, in my mind.  She needs to learn her place.  But I'm the adult, I shalln't act like a teenager.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.

Finally... when she got home after rehearsals... I went into her room and gently asked, "When are you going to start talking to me?" She coldly responded, "I don't know." 

That's it.  I extended the olive branch and she ripped it, smashed it and burned it.  I'm done with this crap.  You take your teenage bratty self and go rinse it in the Pacific Ocean 7 times and you come back and talk to me.  I ain't dealing with this.

With what's in my genes.... with the way I grew up... with the way Joyce treats her dad... with the way I treat mom... this was inevitable.  I guess.  I knew for the longest time... this was going to happen one day.  She's not even an official teen yet.... is it too soon?  

Oops!

For the first time in who knows how long...  I clogged one of the toilets at work.  Heh... and I thought my house has too much sh*t.  I guess the house takes on the owner,.  Oops! 

A year in lessons learned

NN auditioned today for her Junior High musical The Ugly Duckling.  Unlike last year... she actually listed to mommy and picked the song that was right for her.  She had a year of theater class and a few weeks of dance class.  She was ready... confident... prepared.  

When putting her down to bed... she was ecstatic of how she killed her audition.  Especially when the casting director complimented her when they were leaving the school parking lot.  And now... we wait for call backs. 

Boxing Day

Starting to prep for our move across town... and boy do we have a lot of sh*t.  So much stuff that just the bathroom itself has used up all our plastic totes.  I went back to work the other day to scour all the leftover cardboard boxes I can find.  Then I started calling furniture stores to look for their leftover boxes.  Would love to have a couple of giant Lazy Boy or Coffee Table boxes.  In the afternoon... I went driving around town to pick stuff up... and even jumped into a garbage bin to grab a couple of nice coffin like boxes.  Inherited a bunch of boxes from Big Bro that they so shrewdly saved over the years in preparation for their next move. Earlier this evening... got a DM from a NextDoor neighbor who just moved here from Anaheim.  She was trying to get rid of her boxes she used to move up here. Professional mover boxes.  

And even then.. .I don't think I have enough. Simply... too... much... sh*********************t. 

"Wanna get away?"

18 months later...  Without fail... I'm the stuck in the slow line that has one TSA checker that bottlenecks into one x-ray machine.  The adjacent line has two checkers and x-ray machines. Double the throughput.  I'm standing there helplessly seeing folks arrive waaay after me... getting through waaay before me.  The Laker Shirt dude.  The lady with the white hat.  The old man with the cane. They were probably looking at me... laughing inside, "HAHA!!! See you on the other side sucka!!!!"

  When I get up to the lady... I sheepishly ask her, "Why can' t you open another lane??" To which her answer was....  

Standardized Testing

Received NN and SW's standardized test scores from last year.... both of them scored exceptionally well.  For the most part... NN's scores are a 13th grader's equivalent and SW is, on average, a 10th or 11th grader's equivalent with the exception of his Reading Vocabulary.  Not going to kid... it does feel good knowing both are exceling academically.  Also validates our choice of drilling SW with vocab during the summer.  Though.. his vocab is still based on memorization, and not the fact he can recognize root words or figure out the parts of speech based on clues.  Clues like... "-ly" being an adverb.  Or "-tion" being a noun.  The time will come, I suppose.  

How I wish they can both do other extra-curricular... not cuz it's required, but cuz it's their passion.  Heh... to be a tiger-dad, while wearing sheep's clothing.  

Another trip around the sun...

Another trip around the sun.  This time, I actually made a special request to hang out with my friends.  Back in May or June.. we saw that the A's were gonna play the Giants at Oakland.  Figured tickets were gonna be cheaper and easier to come by.  

The day started out greeeeeeeeeeeeeat.  I woke up.  I was able to breathe.  Get up.  Pee without any problems.  The kids were awake too.  Things are different now.  When they were very young, they would RUUUUUUUUUN to wake me up on my birthday like it's Christmas morning.  As they got older... NN would wake up that morning and hurriedly, quickly whip up a card.  SW, if he had time, would do the same.  Or he would sign his name on NN's.  This year... they sat on the sofa and read. Heh...

I made a quick run to our local McD's to get a mouth watering sausage mcmuffin, hash brown and $1 coffee.  It's my bday... I should eat what makes me happy, right??  

During breakfast... for some unknown reason... NN get harping on SW about his love for ketchup.  And she wouldn't get off his case.  After the n-th time... I lost it and said, "Stop it.  Just mind your own business."   (Oops!!)  The house is now as cold as a random Tuesday night at Candlestick.  NN knew she messed up.  Joyce knew I was pissed.  SW was a bit.... aloof.  

You can hear them whispering... about getting daddy his presents.  I was sitting there on my phone, planning out my day when SW came up to be with a bag of gifts.  NN was about 3 steps behind, staying away.  I grabbed the bag and said "thank you SW."  I open the bag to find an iWatch and AirPods.  I hate gadgets especially if they cost hundreds of dollars.  Especially, after I found something I wanted and I told them explicitly what I wanted.  I didn't try to hide my disappointment.... I was actually, just pissed off at NN more than anything.  

Ended up hugging NN before I left for the game... sorta, kinda made up for my mis-step.  The game turned out to be amazing!!  The coliseum was ironically, my first baseball game ever.  Back then.. my friend would call me and I wouldn't even need to ask mom or dad.  I just grabbed my bag, stuffed it with some food, and went.  An odd atmosphere when half the fans cheered for one team and the other half was wrong.  But there was never a dull moment and it was all positive energy.  40,000 fans.... in the midst of COVID.  Unheard of.  The previous series, Oakland was drawing 8,000.  Geez.....

After the game, we trudged over to Gao Viet to get a bowl of Phozilla. An $80 bowl of pho with pork shank, prime filet and a whole lobster.  We messed up... and didn't place our name on the waiting list via Yelp.  Ended up waiting an hour 45 minutes.  Both kids knew... this was daddy's bday.  They didn't complain.  NN kept saying, "I'm not hungry."  SW was hungry... and we got him a bag of chips.  But after the initial hour... I didn't want to wait anymore and we went to a noodle place next door. It was dark and cold by then... and all we wanted some sustenance.  The waitress dropped off menus for us to mark up.... when.... Joyce got a text that our table was ready.  Sigh...  What would you do????  Since I was the bday boy... I made the executive decision... to go back and cash in on our "sunk cost."  I apologized to the waitress and said we have an emergency.  The food was amazing.... not worth the wait... but definitely worth going again.  

After all was said and done and I dropped Geoff off in the city... I finally got home around 11PM.  Expecting the family to be asleep.  Only to find them wide awake.  Not because they wanted to cut a cake with me... they know I don't like sweets... but because they had a third surprise present for me.  After an amazing day... they could've gotten me anything... and I would've been ecstatic.

"We saw you were a little grumpy this morning... so I told momma we need to get you want you wanted." 

Smiling from ear to ear... I gave them a kiss, tucked them in, sat down on the same chair I sat this morning... and watched the clock tick away the final minutes of yet again.... my 39th birthday...

求拉

Couple weeks ago... Hody told us about a Kings Academy WeChat group.  We clumsily figured out how to join... and then she told us there's a group for each class.  Not sure how long this has been formed.... but boy are the parents active!! 

They discuss the appropriateness of leggings (or no leggings) for girls.  They debate about "flipped classrooms" and complain about drop-off/pick-up.  They set up playdates and carpools on the side.  

They'll talk about the strangest things like "Do we really need lockers? They have backpacks!"  Or "What are the library hours?" or "Do I need to sign up for sports or is it optional?"  

I guess most of these parents went to school overseas so these questions are... banal. It kills me though... how reliant they are of other families when asking the simplest questions.  In the Chinese school WeChat 群， parents are so lazy.  They don't bother reading previous texts or emails... they just ask the teachers to send them this or that.  I guess that's the difference between communal cultures and garage door cultures. 

It's nice to see the banter though...and the language they use!! This is a whole new world to me.  

求拉, 啥， 娃， 折滕， 拉桿箱...  Hahaha... as I told Hody...to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth... you must learn the languages at the ends of the earth. 

Dragon Ball

SW has been pouring over the Dragon Ball manga/comic books the past few weeks.  By some miracle... I was able to get the entire collection from the library (a combination of several libraries).  We even founded the Japanese anime on Hulu with subtitles.

I originally wasn't going to retrace my footsteps... but on some days when you don't want to read anything else... I grabbed a copy of it.  And man.... there's a reason why it's the top 5 Japanese Manga of all time.  This is probably my 2nd or 3rd time going through the series... and it's amazing how cute and funny young 悟空 is.  The first 15 issues of the series actually had a story line.  There were random characters like Dracula and a dinosaur.  Saw the first issue where they introduced "Kamehameha" (龜波氣功).  There was a sense of adventure...character build-up and development... appropriate level of lewdness and humor.  You simply couldn't NOT love 悟空。 

And then...with all comics (with most comics), your protagonist grows up.  And when 鳥山明 was starting to run out of ideas (I can only assume).  He had one final Tournament of Heavens.... and the story started to veer and moved from rated PG to PG-13.  We started digging into the backstory of 悟空 and introduced the character of 比達。  He even dared to fancy with a 2nd generation with 悟飯。 

The first "all powerful" villain, Freeza, was fascinating.  Leading to the breakthrough and till this day, cultural reference of 超級撒亞人。 But the story, really could've ended there.  鳥山明 simply re-did Freeza with Cell...and then much later with Boo.  Give him props for trying to pass the torch to 悟飯 and then testing the waters with 悟天 and 杜拉格斯。 These characters never took off or was never received as well as  悟空.  Time and time again,  鳥山明 couldn't wrap up the story and just had to bring 悟空 back. 

Here I am...criticizing this cultural phenomenon that transcended multiple generations on multiple platforms.  The time finally came for me to return this series to the library... and hope that another father can pass this on to his son (and daughter).  I even thought about buying a set for keeps.... then I thought better of it... until the thought comes back again.  

盡我小小力

 Spent almost 2 hours with mom over the phone and Zoom tonight... helping her send tuition receipts out to Chinese School parents.  There's sooooo many things so she's doing wrong.  She's adding so much waste.  She creates images..edits them..then creates another image.  It takes her hours upon hours to create these receipts... and she is so inefficient.  That's not how you work. That's not how you run a business. The school is so dysfunctional... Lord knows how they've remained in business. 

So many times... I almost lost it.  "我拉左上去。"  Where???? Where did you "pull" it mom?? She doesn't know.  She doesn't realize that she has both an Outlook/One Drive account and a Gmail/Google account. 

But in the midst of all this... she said something, "我整左個table..."  How does a 73 year old, Chinese lady know how to create a "table" in Word or Google Doc?? Mom.... she's come a long way.  And that's when I settled down.

RESPECT.  That's what it is. RESPECT. 

She really doesn't know how to run a business. Nor do their school board.  Yet they keep running. They don't have to "hire" her and get a high school student.  Yet... they still have mom do all the administrative work.  This Chinese school can fold and they won't lose any sleep. Yet they keep churning away in the midst of competition, pandemic and what I call "business ignoramus."  

I changed my attitude.  I need to exercise my patience and give back to the very school that got me to where I am today. I ended up sending out all those receipts using mom's account.  I started teaching mom on how she's mis-managing this school.  I told her there's a better way.  But I fell short of revamping their system - I'm not the person to do it - maybe. 

It's 11:30PM.... I worry that mom is tired and cranky.  And she says, "I'm wide awake. Rarely do I get your full attention and you're not yelling at me."  My heart shattered.  

Friendly neighborhood, Spider-Man

Spider-Man... Spider-Man... does whatever spiders can....  

That theme song still rings in my head... in the Leung household.  We just got done binging on the MCU series... ending with Tom Holland's Spider-Mans.  Then we went back to what started it all... Toby Maguire's Spider Mans.  And what gets me... or what I don't get... is why Spider Man is hands down... the most popular comic book hero.  

"He's a teenager. He's relatable." 

Those are the words my NN said... those are the words I've heard over and over again.  And it's true.  The movies even go out of their way to point out how insufficient he really is... especially that one scene where there are no buildings for him to swing around and he's running across a giant field.  Outside of Manhattan (or Brooklyn....apparently), or any metropolis... what can Spider Man actually do? Or if he runs out of spider-serum... what can he shoot? Which is why Stan Lee and Steve Ditko limits him to fighting crime in his neighborhood.

Wrote a post 8 years ago... that was suppose to launch another post on  "Why Superman is my favorite super hero."  Over the past 8 years... I've waffled.  Jackie Chan, on one of the late night talk shows once said, his favorite super hero is Batman.  Not cuz he's cool... or he's rich... or he does things his way. But because he is human.  All his capabilities... is mortal.  But I never got over how dark he is.  I will always hate the times that DC comics wrote how he beat Super Man.  Whether it was synthetic kryptonite.  Or OD-ing Superman with the power of the sun.  

Same thing with Iron Man. He's but... just a mere mortal.  A billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist.  Who doesn't want to fit those shoes.  But yet again... Tony Stark is dark.  He's a maniac. And even if Kevin Feign tries to portray him as the fallen hero when he saved the universe... there was something you unattainable.  Or something you didn't want to attain.

The one thing... that goes back to Superman... is not his super human strength.  Or his ability to fly.  Or x-ray vision.  Those are powers of gods that any childhood would want.  What ultimately attracts me to Superman... the Man of Steel... my favorite super hero of all time... is his super human ability to love.  His one true Achilles heel... and the single way that Batman or Luthor has been able to defeat him. Logically... no human can possibly defeat him.  Even if you use the Mechsuit... or the Hulk Buster.  Or even the Infinity Gauntlet for that matter.  And if my my true weakness... is having too much kindness in my heart... well then... that's why Superman is my favorite super hero.

As for friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man... I like him. But I'll save that for the rest of the world. 

Q-tip

Back in the early 2000's... mom and dad came to visit me at Cal Poly and stayed over one night.  The next morning... they told me dad was dying from his ear being too itchy but couldn't find a Q-tip to pick his ear.  Apparently.. he had a habit of Q-tipping his ear every night.  I didn't understand back then... cuz I simply didn't need it.

Flash forward 20+ years... and I found myself in the same situation.  Maybe it's old age... where I now have more wax build up.  Maybe it's from all my headset suffocating my hear since I'm on telecons all day.  But it was worse than a medieval torturing device when we ran out of Q-tips at home.  I couldn't sit.  Couldn't stand.  Couldn't concentrate from the itchiness. 

Some doctors say it's a bad thing to use a Q-tip.  You can sever your ear drums.  Or you can push in wax that shouldn't go so deep.  The proper way to clean your ear is to use ear-wax remover.  Well then... when you're ear itches like a mutha... and your finger tips don't fit... what options do you have???

It is finished

 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” John 19:30a

Summer coming to an end...

Summer is wrapping up.  Camps are done.  The kids have two weeks left of chilling.  To not completely waste their time, I'm having SW learn to touch-type, while brushing up on his vocabulary in preparation for the upcoming SSATs.  In June... I had him make about 150 flashcards (to which he hasn't flashed once).  

Today... I asked him to starting memorizing 20 words a day and type out 2 sentences using each word.  (There, you don't have to do the typing tutor!!) Here are some of his words and sentences... 

Aloof means distant relations with other people

2) Some families have aloof relationships but our family is very close

Artifice means to trick someone or to be able to imagine

2) One time Loki went too far on a Artifice when he cut off all of lady sif’s hair

Amorphous means feeling of ill will, dislike for someone or something

1) John wilks booth felt Amorphous for Abe Lincoln so he assassinated him.

Adjunct something or someone in the secondary position.

1) Jarvis is an Adjunct avenger because instead of fighting he helps Tony Stark.  (I came up with this one to help out the kid, then he came up with his own sentence)
2) Friday is an Adjunct avenger because instead of fighting he helps Tony Stark.

Ascertain means to find out by examination. 

2) I have ascertained all the pokemon in existence by reading about pokemon and watching TV about them.

(and lastly...)

Altruistic means concerned for the welfare of others.

1) Some parents are altruistic towards their children because they want the best for them.
2) Altruistic is trait that can be annoying to kids, because it feels like their parents are being overprotective

Catching up...

When was the last time I had a 10 day gap in updating... hmm...  pens up and lets's blast a little, shall we? 

• Olympics Opening Ceremony - subduded... underwhelming for Japan.  Best ceremony to date... 2008 Beijing.
• "Who would you root for?" I ask Joyce and Grace. "USA, of course."  "What about diving..." "Ohh... in that case, China."
• Hong Kong won another Gold.  First time since 1996.  In 1996, the medal ceremony was serenaded by "God Save the Queen."  In 2021, the medal ceremony echoed "March of the Volunteers." 
• They say there's no politics in the Olympics... BS
• They say there's no politics in Church... BS
• Weeks 2 and 3 of NN and SW's Galileo summer camps.  Underwhelming.  Can't believe CES and SDP did what we did back then.
• Was worried that NN would have trouble making friends cuz we jolted her around during these few weeks, "Did you make a new friend?" "Of course. Why?" "Cuz I don't know how to make friends." "Why? It's so easy." (Zing!)
• Got SW started on Dragon Ball.  Took a moment to tell NN... "You should read it too." 
• JC finally went in for her surgery.  She'll be discharged tomorrow.  We came together and prayed hard over Zoom.  Then took the hubby out to lunch... a 5.5 hour lunch.. trying to keep him distracted.  What else do you do when you're waiting for your spouse to come out of surgery?
• Met with Corporate Ethics, "None of the accusations are substantiated.  Hank... are you there?" "I'm here." "Oh... we usually expect a bigger reaction, a sigh of relief." (In my mind, I did nothing wrong.  This does NOT surprise me one bit.  Why react?)
• China has never swept the diving competitions.  I know, right?!
• 728 - I texted Carole again.  Last time I texted her... 728. 
• Delta Variant... sheeeeeeeesh

There's more.  But this is what comes to mind. 

有家教

 SW was eating chips today and he got chips-seasoning fingers.  He started to "touch things" when I gave him a stare.  He immediately wiped his hands on the paper towels... the entire roll!!!! I gave him another stare.  He immediately moved to peel off what he used.  Not the whole sheet. Not even the perforated half-sheet.  He peeled off the parts that were dirty.  Thereby...saving the remaining clean stuff for the next person.  That's my son.  Cheap, stingy, and frugal SW.  Heheheh

Sola Scriptura

Inspired by the Bible Project podcast

"Can someone pick up the bible, whatever translation they have, read it and is THAT sufficient?" Sola Scriptura, or "In Scripture Alone." Great question.  Solid theological dissertation. And probably... centuries of division. 

Theologians point to 1 Cor 13:9-10, "For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears."  They claim that "completeness" points to the finished bible as we know it.  That with the bible, you need nothing else.  Those are the same theologians that do not believe in modern day prophecy... and even argue that we no longer hear from God. 

Theologians point to 2 Tim 3:16, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives."  While there's no direct word or words that point to the sufficiency, the argument is the scriptures are enough to do what God intends. 

My answer to my question... I think the answer is "Yes."  You read the bible as is, no commentary, no explanations, no concordance.  Just whatever translation you end up picking up... Yes, the scriptures are sufficient.  

The real question is, "What is sufficient?" Where do you draw the line? 

Creation.  The Fall.  The Covenant.  The prophets.  The Messiah.  The birth, death and resurrection.  Jesus' teachings.  The epistles to further those teachings.  And Revelations.  For one to understand and accept salvation - the bible as written is sufficient.  

Now... there are other arguments.  

• Scriptures - is not for reading.  Within scripture itself, it encourages studying.  
• Scripture - is text. It is dead.  The Holy Spirit is alive. You can't just read it and expect to know the heart of God. 
• The bible, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin, was written in context of the time.  Translating it into Latin, King James and modern day English, you lose the context.
• I started reading the Hawaiian Pidgin translation of the bible.  Their vocabulary is quite elementary and downright funny, in many cases, for Americans.  But as I'm studying, everything that needs to be there, is mostly there!! 
• God is speaking today.  He speaks to us every day.  Are we listening?

Now... having the benefit of studying, of learning a new language, picking up multiple translations to cross-reference, understanding the culture and meaning of the times.... do any of that really, truly impact the message of salvation???  Not really.  If anything, it further bolsters that gospel to be plain and simple.  

Sola Scriptura??? Yes, but..... 

Harry Potter

Joyce texts me: "Can kids read Harry Potter?" 

10-15 years ago... we wouldn't even ask that question.  It'll be an adamant "NO!"  But now... at this day and age... with the kids being exposed to what they've been exposed to... with all our other compromises... is it really still worth pushing back on? 

The Art of Making Friends (revisited)

Part deux to my "The Art of Making Friends"

Hung out with mom this morning and over breakfast she told me how she occasionally goes to lunch with another church goer, let's call her Diana.  Mom barely speaks English.  Diana doesn't know a lick of Chinese.  Yet... they're able to communicate to a point where Diana would take mom to a pancake / breakfast after church.  They'll have small talk and by small talk, it's the size of Ant Man (subatomic, at the end of Ant Man and Wasp).  They'll communicate via Google Translate!  Simple.  Light. No expectations. No strings attached.  

The pastor also invites mom out for lunch - Italian.  Mom always says "No."  Her reason being, "早餐好快完。 食意大利餐太耐喇." 

So sweet.  To invite a near stranger to break bread.  Our generation, we've lost that art.   Diana, what an {{angel}} .

Making new friends... again....

As we were getting ready for bed... Joyce told the kids (and me) that next week's Galileo Science Camp will be at another campus.  NN and SW immediately said, "I'll have to make new friends again?!" 

I immediately stared Joyce down with Superman's heat rays.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?  MAKING THEM NOMADS AGAIN?!?! Ugh..... right when NN and SW was just making new friends, they were hanging out together on Hangouts... playing online games together... eating lunch together... and now, we break them up.  

Sigh.... I didn't set up their summer.  I shalln't complain (too loudly).  There must be a good reason why we have to make them nomads all over again.  Maybe next summer... I take over the summer planning. 

I lost it (again)

Found out this morning that NN is building a chair in science camp.  That's cool.  Deep down... I've always wanted to be a carpenter because Jesus is a carpenter (heh).

Then she tells me that she's sawing and drilling... and right away I ask if she's wearing PPE's.  OMG...... the events afterwards blew up.  I gave her my goggles... trying to explain to her the dangers of working around any power tools.  Then I threatened to complain to the science camp that they're endangering the kids.  NN started defending them.... to my amaze.  "Parents aren't allowed."  To which I aptly responded, "What are they gonna do, arrest me?!"  

I can't believe she said that.... and she actually thought I was going to get arrested.  I'm not that stupid... but she thought I was over-reacting.  At that point, I really did over-react and.... Mr. Hyde came out.  Aye.... 

The Art of Interviewing

Just finished another round of interviews... and I ask myself... "I'm going to change the career, the life, of someone, based on a 45 minute conversation? Really?!?"  

I've been on the other end of this... I have a good 45 minutes, I get a new job.  I had a bad day... a bad half day... I didn't have good stories on the spot... and that determined my life.  Is that proper??

When I interview, I ask a bunch of questions during the interview.... and it's amazing how many people can't answer some of them.  

"Tell me something technical... but to a non-technical person".  Is it that hard to get people to communicate? They always trip up on this question.... and only once... in easily 30-40 times, did one person get it.  

"How many golf balls does it take to fill a city bus."  I get it.  It's a Microsoft brainteaser or a Google brainteaser that people have lobbied against.  I actually see the value in these types of questions.  First off...there is no answer.  You can't really be wrong.  But it shows the character of a person... being faced with a left-field question, right-field situation and you're at the plate.  Talk me through it.  Tell me how you can get creative and start solving problems.  You don't have information... tell me how you can get the information.  You don't have information... create some assumptions.  I even have people tell me, "I need a calculator."  And "Sorry... I need to pass on this question."  

Heh... Big Bro says if he ever gets asked these questions, he'll tell them he's lost respect for this company, get up and leave.  If someone did that to me... I'll say, "Thank you very much, you just made my life a whole lot easier to not have to waste more time with you."   

I hate "tell me a time" questions.... but when I asked my VP how he interviews, he suggested a follow-on to these "tell me a time" questions... "Knowing what you know now... what would you do differently..."  I like that.  

渾身解數

That time of the year again... where I clear out all our outgrown clothes, unplayed toys and unused stuff and donate it to Goodwill.  

On top of that... I took all our bottles and cans to a local recycling company.  Maaaaan it felt good!!! We even got $28 dollars back from all that recycling.  I tipped the counter lady $3 - to which she was ever grateful.  I tipped the dude who saved me a parking spot and helped me with the bottles $5 - to which Joyce chastised me for overtipping =(.  And the remaining $20.... I lost!!!! HA!!!  Well... hopefully I dropped it somewhere... and someone in need picked it up and was able to get a good meal.  

We're such a luxurious, extravagant society... we simply have too much sh*t.  Plain and simple. Too. Much. Sh*t.  And boy... it feels nice to rid myself of some of that sh*t. 

What's the dream...?

One of my biggest dreams (and hopefully not biggest regrets), is to go on a vacation with mom and dad.  Correction, mom OR dad.  <sigh...>

In my recollection... I have never, ever, ever.... taken them on a trip. We may have taken one day road trips here and there... but that's it.  Never overnight.  The closest one was for Chun's wedding back in 2012... but Hurricane Sandy put a dent in that idea.  And many years later... I find out that I'm the black sheep of the family cuz I never made it to my cousin's wedding when they rescheduled it.  Heh... 

Out of the blue today... mom says, "I want to go on a 3 day 2 night vacation." Mom never says that... she doesn't like to travel.  In fact... when the folks were together and dad was working for Hyatt... he booked all these international trips to Japan... Thailand.... only for mom to cancel last minute. 真掃興! 

I improperly thought of sending mom on one of those Chinatown bus tours (Shame on me!!)  Then we start talking about Jerusalem... the Holy Land.  Ohhhhhh.... my bucket list.  How I would love to walk the paths that Jesus walked on.  And to do it with mom.  The questions are... do we do it with a Christian tour guide? A Catholic tour guide? If we do it in Chinese...will the kids understand? If we do it in English... will I serve as translator?  And the biggest question... will Big Bro come with us??  

Sigh.... to dream.

A new perspective

The past couple of summers... I've hired a teacher for the course of 8 weeks.  The idea is to bridge industry with academia so they can take things back to school and help bridge the real world with textbooks.  This summer... I specifically chose a non-STEAM teacher.  In fact... she's a librarian with a degree in English Lit?? Why would I do that??? I wanted to give her an opportunity, a chance. I wanted to challenge myself.  I wanted a new perspective on running a department in an engineering firm.  And my.... how much I've learned in the past 4 weeks.  

I don't think she's anywhere near the caliber of my previous hires... but I've learned so much in hiring her... that she's left a bigger, deeper, more everlasting footprint in me... than all the previous teachers combined. 

For better or worse....

For thousands and thousands of years... house wives (homemakers) have taken care of the home without a word of complaint. In many cultures and societies... homemakers weren't just homemakers... they held a full time job as well.  And what did the husband (spouse) do?? Nuthing.  Absolutely nothing!!!  What did the wife (spouse) do? Nothing, either.  They didn't complain.  Didn't grumble. Whatever it took to keep a family going.

Well... I'm not that spouse.  I am going to complain.  Ugh!!!!  It's not fair!!!  Ugh!!! Why can't she pitch in a little... for dinner.  For cleaning.  For spending time with the kids!!! Ugh!!! Why?!?!?!??! Oh..... she did.  She dumped a bunch of her extra shoe boxes.  Donated a bunch of extra clothes.  The past two days... she cooked lunch and dinner.  She cleaned up the kitchen.  And when she knew I got upset... she went out an quietly bought a bottle of my favorite wine.  Heh.... "For better or worse...."  Vows are not to be taken lightly... huh? 

What a waste

 Pet Peeve #12

Before the beginning of every school year... we're told to buy this and that for school supplies. At the end of every school year.... they come home with a bunch of unused junk.  Including, even, 100 page spiral notebooks that have 10 pages of stuff written on it.  Why buy the notebooks if you're not going to use them??

Yes... I tore away the 10 pages... and will reuse that notebook next year.  Wouldn't you?

Surreal

 I went into work today and went to take a piss... and found another man doing his business 2 urinals away.  Wow... 16 months later... I'm sharing a bathroom again.  Surreal. 

What's most important to you

 For her Bday... we bought NN a mini-printer the size of an iphone that prints photos.  It's kinda sorta like an inkjet crossed with a polaroid camera.  Today... I sat on her table and found these 4 pics.

1. a family pic of going rafting
2. a picture of her and SW posing
3. a picture of her and the cousins catching a fish
4. a group photo of her 5th grade friends

A lot can be said of what these photos meant to my NN