Nn has been begging to ride a bus for several months now. Time and time again, I keep promising I'll take her for a ride. And as I keep breaking my promise, her grandfather's already taken her on a public bus twice.
And nn looooooooooooooves it, for whatever reason.
So this past Saturday, I finally got my VTA pass from work and went joy riding with nn. Man.... if I didn't have that free pass, I don't know if I'd be willing to cough up $2 for a oneway ride. Put it this way... if I had to pay $2, I would ensure to take the longest route to maximize the bus ride.
As such... the ride from my house to the nearest stop (Good Sam, no less) lasted all of 5 minutes. We got off...and had to wait an hour for the return ride. An hour!!!
Luckily... with the magic of smart phones, I was able to find another bus line stopping virtually 4 blocks away from our house that departed in 20 minutes. To all those who say you don't need a smart phone...well... here's where it comes in handy.
One of the great hour I've yet to spend with nn. We had some quality one-on-one time. We enjoyed each other's company. She loved the bus ride. And I was able to re-walk the grounds on which she was born (Good Sam). A good day, indeed.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
The Ageless One
Today at McDonalds... I met an old man. Old?? He's older than old. His grand-daughter-in-law said he's 104 years old!! He sat there... holding a hamburger and munched on it. His grandson himself is already a grandfather of a 10, 8 and 5 year old. That's 6 generations right there!
As they were getting up to leave... the grandson (probably in his 60's?) started boxing with the old man. And I mean box - Wing Chun style. The old man was still very alert. He held up his hands and went through the motions. His grandson kept screaming, "C'mon soldier!! C'mon soldier!!"
After a few moments... they got up to leave. And it took all the strength of the grandson (again... he's well into his 50's, perhaps 60's) to pull up the old man. And just like how I'm holding Bebe in helping him walk... the old man needed assistance in walking from the bench to the door to the car. Crazy... amazing... beautiful.
With the way I eat... the way people drive... the stress from work... I don't suspect I'll live to 104. But I wonder where I'll be when I'm in the latter part of my life here on earth?
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Tommy John
On the night we find out Brian Wilson will likely have season ending (career ending?) Tommy John surgery, I rewatch Game 6 of the 2010 NLCS. Geez....
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Separation of Church and State
What an amazing honor to have the rare opportunity to teach "Separation of Church and State" for this quarter's Sunday School. The previous years have been rather mellow, mainstream, orthodox topics. Don't get me wrong... just having the chance to be part of any Sunday School, children, youth, adult...is truly a priviledge.
Having grown up in America... and gone through both private and public education... I have an engrained sense of how our country was established. Pilgrims, Puritans, American Revolution, Constitution, "In God We Trust", etc... But as I'm going through the research to prepare the lessons, I'm dumbfounded by the layers and layers of onion skin that I haven't pulled back.
The more I research... the more I appreciate all the religious and political intricacies that form our nation. Course... not everything is as glorious as our textbooks try to portray. And regardless of good, bad or ugly... I can continue inhaling everything. This stuff is better than the most addictive Korean Soap Opera!!
Yet... I can't help but admit I'm disappointed at the Sunday School's attendance. I can find excuses...that it's Easter Sunday... or there are folks who were stuck in other meetings. But Joyce really laid it out plainly.... "People are just not interested in politics."
I respond by saying, "Don't they care about knowing how to vote?"
She said, "People don't vote."
I had no comeback.
Having grown up in America... and gone through both private and public education... I have an engrained sense of how our country was established. Pilgrims, Puritans, American Revolution, Constitution, "In God We Trust", etc... But as I'm going through the research to prepare the lessons, I'm dumbfounded by the layers and layers of onion skin that I haven't pulled back.
The more I research... the more I appreciate all the religious and political intricacies that form our nation. Course... not everything is as glorious as our textbooks try to portray. And regardless of good, bad or ugly... I can continue inhaling everything. This stuff is better than the most addictive Korean Soap Opera!!
Yet... I can't help but admit I'm disappointed at the Sunday School's attendance. I can find excuses...that it's Easter Sunday... or there are folks who were stuck in other meetings. But Joyce really laid it out plainly.... "People are just not interested in politics."
I respond by saying, "Don't they care about knowing how to vote?"
She said, "People don't vote."
I had no comeback.
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
林嘉怡
How dare I write about a female other than my wife or my daughter? Well... this post is dedicated to a woman in my life (in many of our lives) that symbolize and defines the term "change."
I met 嘉怡 five years ago at Foothill College on an unassuming Tuesday afternoon. It was the start of Joseph's Outreach Campaign... and through the previous year's students, we found out that student orientation was a prime time fishing. By God's grace, she became part of the insurgence or invasion of students that completely overtook Joseph and part of CS. Slowly and sadly... the students started to fade away. Being consumed by work, life and anything but church.But 嘉怡 remained and was always the constant.
Joyce was given the opportunity to mentor 嘉怡 for a few months and as time continued to flow... relationships started to run its own course.
Shortly after... the fateful time came for this generation of students to transfer. We knew this date would come where the sheep we've tended to will be released into their own destiny. 嘉怡 remained. In fact... she was the sole survivor from that gigantic group - "the Foothillers" as opposed to the "De Anzanites."
From a student... from a young, naive teenager.... she slowly matured into a young woman. And from one who is served... she quickly became a servant leader herself when she was picked to lead Joseph Fellowship.
Three incidents stand out more than any....
1) One time, she unassumingly. described the "pain" and "nuisance" of always having to call the students to check on their attendance and ride situation.
2) Another time... she shared how much of a headache it was to keep the students occupied between Mission Conference and Alpha. They ended up playing Wii in the crying room.
3) CNY2012 - after Joseph's skit... our little 嘉怡 stood up and introduced Joseph Fellowship to the world.
In a way... she's the little sister I never had. In another way... she was one of my first "spiritual daughters" I watched grow up right before my very eyes. All this.. because we decided to make that trek up Foothill College to meet up with students we didn't even know.
My...how time flies.
We will miss you 嘉怡. This post is solely dedicated to you.
I met 嘉怡 five years ago at Foothill College on an unassuming Tuesday afternoon. It was the start of Joseph's Outreach Campaign... and through the previous year's students, we found out that student orientation was a prime time fishing. By God's grace, she became part of the insurgence or invasion of students that completely overtook Joseph and part of CS. Slowly and sadly... the students started to fade away. Being consumed by work, life and anything but church.But 嘉怡 remained and was always the constant.
Joyce was given the opportunity to mentor 嘉怡 for a few months and as time continued to flow... relationships started to run its own course.
Shortly after... the fateful time came for this generation of students to transfer. We knew this date would come where the sheep we've tended to will be released into their own destiny. 嘉怡 remained. In fact... she was the sole survivor from that gigantic group - "the Foothillers" as opposed to the "De Anzanites."
From a student... from a young, naive teenager.... she slowly matured into a young woman. And from one who is served... she quickly became a servant leader herself when she was picked to lead Joseph Fellowship.
Three incidents stand out more than any....
1) One time, she unassumingly. described the "pain" and "nuisance" of always having to call the students to check on their attendance and ride situation.
2) Another time... she shared how much of a headache it was to keep the students occupied between Mission Conference and Alpha. They ended up playing Wii in the crying room.
3) CNY2012 - after Joseph's skit... our little 嘉怡 stood up and introduced Joseph Fellowship to the world.
In a way... she's the little sister I never had. In another way... she was one of my first "spiritual daughters" I watched grow up right before my very eyes. All this.. because we decided to make that trek up Foothill College to meet up with students we didn't even know.
My...how time flies.
We will miss you 嘉怡. This post is solely dedicated to you.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
特首
香港的特首選舉﹐還有一個星期就是最後決戰日﹐對於這場前所未有選舉﹐我們已經不是看結果﹐而是在看過程﹐因為這幾天的變化﹐實在太精彩。結果怎樣﹐仍是未知數。現在的中國和香港﹐就是共產黨對“地產黨”。
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Just listen...
Here's some advice... and not just for married couples.
If your spouse comes home and complains about this or that... just listen... and end it with, "Wow... that sucks." Don't even think about giving solutions. Don't "try" to be helpful. More importantly... don't even say s/he's wrong. No no no. Simply listen and let your spouse vent.
The End.
Course... 1 out of 10 times, you could be wrong. Like, "Man... the laundry is just piling up! The house is a mess." Times like that, don't say, "Wow...that sucks." No no no.
If your spouse comes home and complains about this or that... just listen... and end it with, "Wow... that sucks." Don't even think about giving solutions. Don't "try" to be helpful. More importantly... don't even say s/he's wrong. No no no. Simply listen and let your spouse vent.
The End.
Course... 1 out of 10 times, you could be wrong. Like, "Man... the laundry is just piling up! The house is a mess." Times like that, don't say, "Wow...that sucks." No no no.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
不明白
So regardless of what storybook I've been reading nui-nui for the past 2+ years, I've read it in Chinese. Cantonese to be specific.
Well... it's finally settling in on us that we really need to teach her Mandarin. So the other night... I was reading her the same story... and telling it the way I usually tell it, except I switched to Mandarin.
My oh my did she throw a fit. "No! No! No! It's not like this!!" Is my Mandarin that horrible? Geez....
Goes to show that we have a loooooooong way to go to make her multi-lingual.
Well... it's finally settling in on us that we really need to teach her Mandarin. So the other night... I was reading her the same story... and telling it the way I usually tell it, except I switched to Mandarin.
My oh my did she throw a fit. "No! No! No! It's not like this!!" Is my Mandarin that horrible? Geez....
Goes to show that we have a loooooooong way to go to make her multi-lingual.
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Monday, March 05, 2012
Young at Heart
Hahaha... ordered a beer during dinner and the waitress carded me. Woohoo!! She got a nice tip. =)
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