Visitation

Went with mom to visit her older brother, my uncle, at a recovery center in Concord.  Poor guy... apparently, he tried to step on a cockroach in his backyard... but one misstep, and he fell and fractured his hip.  He ended up laying there for an hour, unable to get up.  Luckily, it wasn't the day with downpouring rain!!!

At the recovery center... there were so many needy souls there.  I automatically switched into "Miranda-Mode." I wanted to stop in every room and talk to everyone... pray for everyone.  The patients there are all so lonely... so in need of a caring voice... so in need of Jesus.  

With COVID finally subsiding.. is it time to restart hospital visitations??? 

ESL and Tutoring

We officially kicked off this year's ESL and Tutoring classes.  After 15 years at Rock Spring and 5 years at Santee... we're finally returning home and teaching ESL at church.  Partnering with Pastor Jos and Nueva Vida... we're reaching out to our neighbors and friends again.  

We have over 60 registered.  First night... 20 showed up.  Second night... 21 showed up.  And not to mention their kids who need tutoring.  Two of which, are 3rd and 5th graders from Taiwan that arrived in December.  NN and SW had their work cut out for them. One on One conversation tutoring and it was a two way street.  They mustered up all their Chinese skills... only to be throttled by the native speakers.  All the meanwhile... trying to impart to them some American English, including SW's famous "Sup bruh..."  

On our way home tonight... they couldn't stop talking about their ESL session.  I was just beaming... smiling from ear to ear.  My kids... are loving their experience of serving.  May this continue to blossom and grow for the rest of their lives. 

Empty Nest Part IV

Last day of vacation and we find ourselves at Pt. Lobos - which usually has $10 parking.  But we parked along Highway 1... so it's free!!!  Beautiful hike.  Delightful Sabbath.  Who else would I be doing this with.. for the rest of my life?

Empty Nest Part III

Yes yes yes... food, food, and more food.  A $15 avocado toast. Overpriced wine-tasting and wine.  And a 14 oz ribeye with 7 ozs of fat.  Hmm.... Yes yes yes... my wife and I love to wine and dine. 

 

Empty Nest Part II

2.5 hours of being stuck in traffic.  2 hour wait for dinner.  And guess what... it's OK!!!  We weren't in a hurry.  We didn't have impatient kids with us.  The only impatient kid was me.  A beautiful, centrally located hotel.  Great start to our trip. 

Empty Nest Part I

Kids are away for Winter Youth Retreat... and for the first time ever... we are Empty Nesters!!!

The moment we parted... NN ran away with her friend and didn't even say bye.  SW's best-church friend didnt't show up yet... so my parting image was him sitting on a chair, eating his Chik-Fil-A by himself.  

We sat in the car.. while fighting back tears, I asked Joyce if she's gonna miss the kids, she said, "Nope! Let's go!" 

Huh???

 

Manual labor

 

Language Placement

NN took a Language Placement test to see what class she should register for.  She was hoping for Mandarin 3.  We were expecting Mandarin 2.  Lo and behold... she placed into AP Chinese!!!

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????  We know what her Chinese level is at.  How did she place into AP?????

G.O.A.T.

I love talking about the GOAT of sports... aka... the Great of All Time.

In baseball... you have both offense and defense... and hitters usually get all the glory.

In football... offense gets all the glory.

In basketball... it's about points scored especially in clutch moments.

In hockey... no contest, Wayne Gretzky.  And it's not even close.

These arguments are pointless... because as much as we don't want to admit it... the change of rules changes each era of play.  And I was so blessed to have live through so many eras.

For basketball... I grew up loving Larry Bird.  His tenacity.  His defense.  His three-point contest prowess, "Who's coming in 2nd?"  And yet... in all honesty... the greatest player of that era has to be Magic.  A 6'10 point guard.  His sky hook when Kareem went down.  Redefining basketball as we know it.  And of course... that smile.  But as I grew older.... here comes a boy from Chapel Hill.  He wins a college championship.  Then after several rounds of getting knocked out... he puts his stamp on the NBA with the slamdunk contest... followed by his own shoe brand that lives on 35 years later... to 6 titles... to the lore of betting on which luggage comes out from the conveyer belt first, only to find out later that he paid off the airport workers to throw his bag out before anyone else's.  #23.... his Air Ness himself.  But that was the 90's.  In the late 90's and early 2000's... there wasn't a player I feared more than Kobe Bryant.  Kobe somehow always sank that shot that stuck a knife in my gut.  Against my Warriors.  Against the Kings.  Against any non-Laker team.  And then... we yield the court for Lebron.  18 years old out of Akron.  Didn't even play in college.  And in his 20+ year career... he's played more postseason games than any of his peers.  "The Decision" taints it a little... but he had "The Block" against Iggy in 2016.... and then last night... he broke one of the most unbreakable records in sports history. You simply can't wipe that off his resume... despite his previous NBA finals losses... or how he switched teams just to make it interesting.  

Who's the GOAT??? I don't know....but I know that it can't be defined by any one era. 

And didn't even see it

One of the things that boggles my mind... is when you're about to witness a moment of a lifetime... and all you do is pull out your phone and record a shaky, blurry video?!? Just like parents at kids performances.  Why can't people choose to enjoy the moment cuz there'll be a professional photo or video??

Congrats King James.

奇妙的䇿士

民初俊少得嬌妻，歌詠載舞令君悅。
奇謀策士多事蹟，西來教士今細訴。

迦拿婚筵酒盡了, 一對新人不知曉。
母親勸言拉比聽, 首幕神職水變成。

埃及之地囚多年, 以色列族甚可憐。
兄弟二人會法老, 釋放子民大比舞。

勝負已分逃生天, 漫長之旅紅海前。
前冇去路後追兵, 高舉雙手顯路徑。

聲望名譽日漸升,人群擠擁五千名。
曠野之地未進膳,五餅二魚神跡顯。

驚濤駭浪暴雨風, 危在旦夕困船中。
拉比靠近水上飄, 嚇得門徒呱呱叫。

謙卑降世三十載, 人類歷史盡變改。
暫別回家現升天, 叮囑福音要傳遍。