Street Names

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

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

Try explaining THAT!

天下無不散之延席

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

今天﹐我在一千美元的誘惑下﹐出賣了她。 她。。。就是鐵達尼。

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

雖然心仲係依依不捨﹐但天下無不散之延席。我相信﹐鐵達尼已找到一個更好的家。

再會了﹐好朋友.


I dedicate this song to you....

朋友
曲:芹澤廣明 詞:向雪懷 編:入江純

繁星流動和你同路
從不相識開始心接近
默默以真摯待人

人生如夢朋友如霧
難得知心幾經風暴
為著我不退半步
正是你

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

A fine steak

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

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

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

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

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

Opening Day 2006

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

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

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

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

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

"BARRY!! BARRY!!"

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

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

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

At exactly...

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

01 02 03 04 05 06

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

A second career

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Highlights of the past several weeks:

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

Lowlights of the past several weeks:

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

Alls wells that ends well...

Friday night, my body officially collapsed.

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

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

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

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

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

Uh oh...

Went 21 days without coffee. Now that I've reintroduced my palette to coffee, I don't like it!!!! Uh oh... Can it be?!?

The time will come...

Carol and Simon celebrated Solomon 's One Month Old Party by bringing him to the So's home away from home. Carol's Xanga's makes Solomon look much bigger than he really is. Guess the camera truly adds 10 lbs? The little angel was as small as a 10" club sandwich at Subway. Without proper training, I did NOT want to come near that precious angel. He looked so frail yet peaceful...if I even breathed a little harder than usual, I'll blow him away.


My "prize" for guessing Solomon's birthday. It was suppose to be Solomon's Third Kiss. I think Simon and Carol jipped me.


Joyce struggled with initially. But I guess motherhood comes natural to some people... And perhaps fatherhood for me shortly. The time will come...

Then we went out to lunch with Patti, Mark and baby Hannah. Haven't seen the Haberstrohs since Hannah was 8 months in the tummy. Any time I got near to Hannah she'd start crying!! Must be my cologne...ah well, the time will come.

18-2
10-1
12-3

The score for Team China in the World Baseball Classic. Don't even have to guess...China was on the losing end of all three games. Sigh...the time will come.

Brokeback Mountain did NOT win the award for Best Movie despite winning the Golden Globe and all other major awards leading up to the Oscars. This morning on KLOVE, the DJ read the major winners of the Oscars, including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Movie, but strategically avoided announcing Ang Lee winning Best Director for Brokeback. Is it cuz of the movie topic? Will America ever accept homosexuality? Will the time come?

Been catching episodes of the critically acclaimed TV Series "LOST." And it makes me wonder why the show never show any of the castaways praying? It wasn't till maybe 9-10 episodes into Season 1 did the Iraqi character, Sayid, finally pray to Allah. And a couple episodes later, a black lady finally said the words, "Heavenly Father..." Are TV networks trying to remain secular? Or is the TV series a vivid lifelike portrayal of human life -- where prayer no longer exists in society? I believe God definitely heard our prayers this past Friday...and revival time will come.

Agony of defeat

Japan hammers China 18-2 in WBC

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan didn't have to worry about run production after all.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Kosuke Fukudome hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning Friday to lead Japan to an 18-2 rout of China in the World Baseball Classic.

The game was called after eight innings under the tournament's mercy rule.

Not only did China lose...but we lost by the mercy rule. That's the absolute worst way to lose! But it's okay, I held my head high 4 years ago when China didn't even score a goal in the World Cup. We've made a 200% improvement by scoring 2 runs in the World Baseball Classic. WOOHOO!!

In other news...Spring Training officially went under way. Giants beat the Brewers 10-5. Randy Winn leads off with a HR. Durham had a 3 run double. Things are sure looking good. Come July...no one will remember ANY of this but it's fun relishing the fact we're UNDEFEATED!!!

Welcome back Giants baseball... I've been waiting for you.