Firestone...uh....is it the same? or have i changed?

So the much awaited vacation ended with a trip good ol' faithful Firestone Grill in SLO.  And to my dismay... I think I've gotten to a point where the food is probably just as good as the memories.

There was a time where the food was gold.  The juicy chicken.  The tender trip tip.  And the seasoned fries.

But this trip truly was eye opening.  After sucking down an ABC Burger - which was simply above average

Maybe this is an aberration.  Only the next trip will tell, eh?

happy hour... phew

After 5 days of driving...waiting in lines... packing, unpacking.... dealing with mood swings and attitudes... we finally arrive in Morro Bay.  Shortly after checking in.... in find the have a "wine pouring" hour.

Skip the glass...just pour the wine into my mouth.  Oh baby....those two glasses of red truly hit the spot.  Would've preferred a cold one (or two). 

Disneyland and California Adventures

Been over 10 years since I've stepped into the "Happiest Place on Earth."  Last time I was here... I was a new college grad.  Boatload of debt.  Single.  Young.  Energetic.  Naive.  My how things have changed...

This was a new experience.  We decided to go all outs and stay at the Disney Resort right in the heart of Disneyland and California Adventures.  Didn't pay premium price...but it certainly wasn't cheap either.  The main thing was...we wanted some place close that didn't require us to drive back to the hotel for nap time.  As it turned out... that was the 2nd wisest decision we made.  The first was....to bring a friggin' rice cooker.  More on that later.

Disneyland has gotten smaller than I remember.  Joyce and I literally got done with California Adventures in half a day.  And likewise, we got done with Disneyland within 2 hours - since we had early admission prior to the general public.  A lot of things we decided to skip...or didn't bother waiting in line for.  The rest of the time...we either spent in line with Nui-nui (the kiddie rides) or we spent in the hotel pool.

As for the kiddie rides.... at Nui-nui's age...   it's more torture than enjoyment.  First of all... she has no concept of waiting in lines.  So to be in line for 30 minutes, and seeing people get on and off rides is a unfair...and unfathomable.  And after 30 minutes of tortuous waiting... they finally get to enjoy the 2 minute ride.  Oh boy!! As the ride comes to an end, they scream in terror...cuz they want it to continue or want to "do it again!" 
Torture for the kids?? Or torture for the parent who has to pull their crying child off the ride...only to reveal to them the truth about life.... it's UNFAIR.  Sigh...

As always.. and as expected... "It's A Small World" was the favorite ride.  But the favorite moment (or moments) have got to be seeing the princesses.  "AHHH!!!"  Forget any tiredness...any slumber... any hunger.  Once she saw Snow White walk out.... Nui-nui was more awake than a child who just inhaled an espresso at a Toys r Us.   Course...that excitement took it's toll.  We had reservations at Aerial's Grotto for Lunch with the Princesses.  And due to some miscommunication (or no communication), we almost missed it.  Have never seen Joyce so peeved....she was so angry she was on the verge of tears.  And all that....so her precious daughter (our precious daughter) can have those "AHHHH!" moments.  Sigh...to be a parent.  To be a loving mother.

Back to the rice cooker.  When that first idea was brought up...it was nothing more than a joke. Who brings a rice cooker to vacation? To Disneyland!?!  But nonetheless...we had it.  And boy...it was invaluable.  We needed to heat up (or almost had to cook) porridge for Bebe who still only eats one thing and one thing only.  None of the hotels we lived at had personal microwaves and there's no way they'll let us use the staff kitchen.  So each day...we fired up the rice cooker before we left the hotel room.  Furthermore... the ricecooker allowed us to make some simple breakfast and snack - macaroni, spam, chicken soup.  After 2-3 days of bacon and eggs... one really has to go to something else.  Embarrassing?? Sure. But practical.  Definitely!! 

I'd be remissed if I didn't mention Star Tours.  The one ride that made this trip worthwhile.  And in fact, I got to go on it twice.  With the average wait time being 60 minutes despite having 5 screens.  And with the fastpass times being 4-5 hours beyond the time it was available... I was lucky enough to have early park admission where the wait time was 5 minutes.  The ride itself was nothing compared to the very very first time (circa 1988?) that I rode this ride.  But was still an experience of experiences.

There's still a million and one things to write about.  The fact that Nui-nui hated the ugly characters and loved the cute characters..... how Bebe loved all kinds of characters, with no fear.... the outpouring of memories of the previous trips with my family.... the food excursions we took while in SoCal.... the fact that I'm a planner and I hate when things go unplanned or awry..... but most of all.... I will cherish those few moments where Joyce and I were able to spend time alone, embracing one another.  Regardless of where we are...that is truly the happiest place on earth.

First Fight

It's inevitable... but my dear Nui-nui got into her first fight.  Anecdotally, I was told she took her best friend's toy.  And her best friend retaliated by biting her in the arm.

Many thoughts cross my mind...

Did she really take her friend's toy? Or did her friend take it from her first...and Nui-nui was caught taking it back?
She was biten...WTH?? Where'd this kid learn to do that?
Should I teach Nui-nui to defend herself... to bite back? To drop kick and body slam the other kid?

It's really that age-old dilemma... fighting is wrong.  But I rather fight...win the fight...and be accused of being wrong.  Geez Louise.  Goes against everything I've been taught or want to teach. 

Sigh...to be a parent.

Here we go again...

September 2010 was when I ran my half-marathon.  Since then, I can count on one hand how many times I've gone for a run.  In fact, I can count it on one finger. 

On the eve of my son's first birthday, I got off my lazy @$$, dawned my New Balance to retread the familiar asphalt of m neighborhood.  Was thinking if I go a mile... that'll be a huge accomplishment. 

I went no further than 0.5 mile and my heart started hurting.  Legs were burning.  Lungs are screaming.  Oh me.... Oh my.... what have I done to my body the past year and a half??

A Man's First Love and Your Future In-law

One of my close friends conspired in me that he's been having some marital problems between his wife and his mom.  This is probably one of the most common areas of friction in any marriage.  And as I was doing the dishes... inspiration started coming to me... leading me to document the following.

A Man's First Love and Your Future In-law

From the moment we are born... we've been loved unconditionally by our mother.  The first person to hold us, the first person to feed us, the first person to coo us to sleep.  They were there when we fell off our bikes, when we got our first B+ in math (ouch!), when we needed someone to drive us here or there.  For the average man that gets married at 30, there are 20+ cognizant years of your life that have us put our mom as the number one woman in our lives.

Asians are raised under Confuscianism of "忠孝仁義." Throughout our childhood, we are taught to sing "世上只有媽媽好."  Americans, likewise, offer Mothers as the dominant parent of honor.  Mother's Day this...Mother's day that.  In the 90's, before cell phones were prominent, the #1 thing that happens on Father's Day is long-distance phone calls... children didn't even bother buying a card or sending flowers.  Catholics are taught to worship Mother Mary.  Christians, Jews and even Muslims have the 10 Commandments drilled into us throughout our childhood - "Honor Thy Parents."  It isn't until we are young adults, perhaps college years, that we start studying Ephesians and Colossians and learning about "submitting to your husband" or "love your wife as God loved the church."  And even then, it's still scratching the surface.


Men are emotional creatures, contrary to popular belief.  Ask any Giants fan about 1962 or 2002... and see if you see a grown man weep?  Or walk into bar that is showing Manchester United playing Chelsea.... and I'll show you men hugging like there's no tomorrow.  But interestingly... it takes men a while to fall in love.  And it takes us a while to fall out of love.  If we are committed to a person, place or thing... we go all in.  And it's hard to pull ourselves out.

Now, how can wives even begin to expect their husbands to "leave your parents and be one with your wife" after 2-3 years of courtship, 2-3 months of pre-marital counseling and a set of vows?  The answer is... WE CAN'T.  Not that we don't want to... but we don't know how. 

So does that mean wives need to just step aside and wait another 20+ years till their husbands come around? No no no.  This is where the grace of God comes in.  It is in His will that you two are together.  And it is through His love, that we can love one another.  Without even getting into the theological definitions of eros and agape... I can summarize it that God will work wonders.  And wives - you must never stop praying for your husband.  Pray that he will continue to be a God fearing man...and a God loving man.  A man that loves God... will learn to love his wife.

It's taken me 5 paragraphs to describe the first four words of the title.  It'll take me one to finish it up.  Instead of waiting for the wife (or spouse, I should say) to pray for the other spouse... parents, start praying for your children now.  Pray that their future spouse will be that God fearing and God loving man.  Why wait until your son or daughter walk down the aisle and commit themselves to your future son or daughter in law.  Now's the time.

We always want the next generation to have it better than us.  If your parents weren't able to pray for your marriage throughout your life... you can make a difference in your children's lives.  Remember... learn to love God more, learn to receive His love... and He will faithfully reward you with more love to love your husband or wife.

-H. Leung

A bus ride

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.

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?

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....

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.

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.