Super Mario Brother

In all my years of renting and home-ownership... I've dealt with numerous plumbing problems, but not the classic clogged toilet.  Until today.  I had the pleasure of using a tried and true plunger to force my way through a sh*tty situation.  Ha.... and it worked like a charm.  I told the kids... it's either a face wipe... or a pad.  Something got stuck.  And boy did it feel good when the water started flowing again... ahhhhhh... sweet relief.

Service Trip

Day 1 of TKA's Annual High School Service trip for Seniors.  NN got selected to go to the Navajo Nation in Arizona.  Woke up before dawn to get to the airport by 5AM.  Course... with the nervousness of oversleeping... you really don't sleep well the night before.  And as I expected, and much wanted to avoid, got into a little spaz with NN when she was packing.   But all is well.  We got there on time and blessed her as we released her into God's hands.

Occasionally, we'll get a text here or there.  And there's also the official TKA blog that's following this trip. 

The more pictures we got... the more it seemed like a glorified camping trip.  Smores... hmm....

Nonetheless... the pastor's message is a reminder, they're here to serve, not to be served.  They're here to serve, this isn't a project.  And the importance of listening.

NN lands tonight... I wonder what she'll smell like after a week of no showering.  Can't wait to feel her hug and embrace. 

 

背影

Jr High Volleyball tryouts... SW's been looking forward to this.  After an entire Fall of Club Volleyball and then Winter League at MVVC.... he went into tryouts with a chip on his shoulder.  Too short? Too small? Too weak??  Open gym after open gym... he impressed the coaches and friends.

"Night and day."  Said the Jr High AD.  

"Joshua's improved so much!!" Said Coach Molly.

And on the last day of tryouts... SW wanted to wear his MVVC practice shirt.  He wanted every edge to get onto A team.  And at the end of the day... he said he got pulled aside with another Sevvie and 4 other Ocho's by the coach.... "You guys need to show leadership and start setting up the net."  It was almost guaranteed he rostered.  But he had to wait till tonight to get the official word. 

A true underdog story in the making.

 

Part of your world

Growing up... I hated the story of the Little Mermaid.  I guess the first taste of it was a Chinese Story book that was based really closely on the Hans Andersen version where the star character dies and becomes sea foam. In the 90's... when Disney took a stab at it and rocked the animated and soundtrack world... I didn't like it because it was about a girl and Ursula was simply hideous.  Fast forward to becoming a dad and the Disney Princess era... I hated it because the story is about a girl defying her father, getting herself in deep doo-doo, almost getting her dad killed, then she gets what she wants!!!! HORRIBLE!!!  

So in the Leung household... we watched all the Disney animated features, except Little Mermaid.  

Then last night... after a week of boiling and simmering at home... I come to realize that a gut wrenching father/daughter story this truly is.  Rewind 10 years... my younger more brash self would say it's a disobedient teenage daughter wreaking havoc to everyone's lives.  10 years later.... the father drives the daughter away because he chooses to decide what's best for her/for him.  

Several times I teared up during the show.... and at the finale... the wedding scene... I simply couldn't watch anymore. If All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players...then NN, would you allow me... to be part of your world? 

Signs of old age

For like.... the 3rd or 4th time in a row... I meet someone face to face.  And I say, "Great to finally meet you in person,"  And they will all say... "We've met before at X-Y-Z." 

Man.... I use to pride myself on meeting people, remembering people, and even remembering the time/location/attire.  So embarrassing and disappointing.

Me Day

Things have been pretty rough lately...  to a point where stress is boiling over to the kids.  And to which Joyce "rewarded" me with a Me-Day.  Take some time off... you're tired.  It's Daylight Savings.  Go and just have some "Me-Time."  So I did....

So without hesitation... I decide to go out to the city to see Mom and Dad.  Had a hard time finding mom, so I got a hold of dad.  I initially suggested Horse Racing at Golden Gate Fields... but we ended up brunching at Beach Chalet.... and walking the sands of Ocean Beach and a flower garden at Golden Gate Park.

After dropping dad off... I was gonna go for a spin around the city... perhaps drive to the Golden Gate Bridge and kill some time before dinner with mom.  Oddly enough, I found myself driving to a 打卡點 at Lyon Street Steps... a place I've never been to while growing up in the city.  The top of those steps led me to the Presidio.  And entering the Presidio... eventually led me to the Yoda Fountain.

I looked up and felt I was just 20 minutes away from Palace of Fine Arts... so I kept going.  It was a downhill walk...  Somewhere in the midst of the Presidio... I found a self made Pickle Ball Court.  Go figure.

At that point.. I was within walking distance to the Golden Gate Bridge... so I crossed through Crissy Fields and ended up at the bridge.  To which point I thought... oh why not.  So I crossed the bridge itself.  Halfway thru crossing.... I was wondering... "Crap... I have to walk back to the car!"  So I was thinking of bus... or Uber.... or heh heh heh... a rental scooter.

 

Finding a scooter or Lyft bike wasn't as easy as I envisioned.  Normal people would pick one up and go to the bridge/and back... and head back towards civilization.  There's no way someone left it close to the bridge.  Indeed... it took me forever to find a rack of Lyft bikes... only for me to realize I would have to park it in a rack that wasn't close to where I parked.  I found an abandoned scooter on the beach... and after towing it back to land... I find that it's out of commission.  When I finally found a couple of scooters by the Palace of Fine Arts... I celebrated in joy!!!  Only to find... the scooter didn't make it up the hills of San Francisco with much torque.  I ended up pushing with my now spaghetti legs more than anything.  To top it off.... when I parked the bike... my phone was out of juice, so I never "returned" it until I got back to the car and recharged my phone.  That added another 10 minutes to my rental time.

I did however... time myself perfect to pick mom up for dinner.  As expected... she wanted Italian so we headed to North Beach.  I initally wanted Mona Lisa's Spaghettini Amatriciana (spicy pasta) but thought we might as well try something new.  I found a highly rated, hole in the wall.  

The waitress was amazing... gave me samples of wine to my liking.  Checked in occasionally but wasn't too intrusive.  And complimented me on my choice of attire (ha!!). I ended the night by shaking her hand and giving her a prefunctory kiss on the hand.  (Did I cross the line???)

The night wrapped up at the Gonz.  I almost would've hung out with him instead of walking the streets of SF.  But he was busy...so we ended up pouring a couple of Kolsch's while watching the Oscars.  After a while... we tuned out the Oscars and just caught up.  It was a great evening.

No... it was a great day... a "Me Day."  We all deserve more of these. 

有朋自遠方來

 There comes a time in life... when you find a friend, a companion, a mentor... who shows up in your life out of nowhere where you can be nothing but raw...and they can say nothing but truth.  Such is the case tonight when I hung out with Sandy姐。   She who's been in my life since we first came to SJCAC... and she has never disappointed.  Through highs and lows... she has been a constant.  Filling her role in my life where she is my guardian.. my guardian angel.  She who will always end a conversation in prayer... she who has dedicated her life to "praying prayer to the nations."  

I shared with her my current struggles... and she... in her unassuming self... brings me back to God.  I wouldn't expect any other.  And she takes no glory... she brings no judgement... but she brings the truth of what God has for us.  

Do you have a friend like that? Someone who can you go to at any moment... whether it's 1 year...2 year... 10 years past? I have that friend.  And I pray... she finds her next door that God will open.