甦醒吧!

千里馬! 甦醒吧!

Growing kids

(Following a melancholic post on aging parents.... )

SW ate two Sausage McMuffins by himself this morning.  A few common phrases that always comes out of his mouth now are:

"Prove it!"

"How dare you."

"點解啊?"

and

"我重好肚餓啊!"

Aging Parents

Spent over an hour this morning trying to unravel a Fraud Alert on mom's credit card account.  On the phone, mom is adamant she doesn't recognize the charge... so the credit card company blocked the charge and issued mom a new card. 

After hanging up, I had the chance to sit down and unravel the entire mystery behind it.  And lo and behold... I don't think it a Fraud charge.... but mom was tricked into signing up for some subscription when she did her online purchasing.  Those websites can be so tricky... even for a seasoned user like myself.  An old lady that barely knows English doesn't stand a chance.

I didn't want to rip into mom.... she is just know venturing into online purchasing.  There's so much she doesn't know.  And with the world moving away from brick-n-mortar... she's gotta learn some day.  And this is what we're dealing with now.  Aging parents. 

Technology is moving so fast... how do they keep up??  And on the darker side... I have so many friends who's parents visit the clinic and hospital more frequent than I visit Costco.  My team seems like they take turn asking for personal time off to take their folks to this appointment or that appointment.  It's so surreal.....

Having a daughter... having a son

A daughter is one of the sweetest being in the world.  She'll come up to you for no reason and give you a hug, or a little kiss on the nose, or just curl up by your side, stick her cold, icy feet in between your thighs and read.

A son... on the other hand.... will climb onto your lap.  Sit down.  Fart.  Laugh.  Then run away.

No one teaches them these things.  And I'm so blessed to have both.

Looking back at 2017

I love writing this post.  It gives me a chance to look back at my posts and re-live the entire year.  Looking back at 2017.... here they are... as customary, Nuuuuuuuuuuuumber 10.........

10. Snow Trip Vindication -  Back in 2015, we took Nn and Sw to Palm Springs, hoping to play in snow.  We got all our gear...we dressed up... we bought the tram tickets.  Only to find out, due to the drought, there was no snow.  When we broke the bad news to Nn... all I can remember hearing was, "Awwww......"  That knife in the heart has been pulled, but the wound is slowly healing.

9. End Times are near - Irma, Harvey, wild fires in NorCal, SoCal, earthquakes... not to mention flooding right here in San Jose (1 mile from my church).  Not to mention a full solar eclipse where the sun turned to darkness.  Not to mention re-establishing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (oh yes... that's coming).  Jonah got Nineveh to repent, not cuz of the words he uttered, but cuz of the signs that preceded him. 

8. End Times are here...? - "Covfefe?" "Fake News?" Record breaking attendance at the Inauguration? Only to be bested by REAL record breaking attendance for March on Washington. Trial and failure to repeal ObamaCare (God bless you Senator McCain) only to see the beginnings of Reaganomics 2.0.  Members of the Cabinet rotating like a revolving door.  I still can't figure out 51% of the country.... 

7. CNY2017 - it never turns out the way you imagine.  And it never goes as bad as you would think.  But the fact of the matter is... CS attendance was highest in 2017, the day AFTER CNY Night Market.  A resounding uproar to keep this format.... but little do they know.... 

6. Ep 8 - The Last Jedi - waited 2 whole years.  And the week it comes out, the family gets hit with a stomach virus.  I famously lost 7 lbs in one day from diarrhea, and I still went out to the city to watch it with Geoff and Anderson.  In the end, it really wasn't about the movie... it was about making and keeping a promise with my best buds.

5.  Redemption - 2016 Father's Day goes down as the one of the worst ones ever.  That pain (like the pain of 2002, or the pain I still have from SB47) will never be healed.  But this one helped.  It would've helped more if we could've gone 16-0.  But that's being too selfish now, aren't we?

4.  Departure from Eden - Two months since the handover... and I love it!!!  I should've handed this over years ago!! Sometimes the biggest act of love...is learning to let go.  

3. SW lands in the ER - In 2015, Nn landing in the ER took first place.  Why does SW only get 3rd? Probably cuz I was the one who cut up NN's finger.  But it was mom who fed him that cashew? Or deep down, we knew that SW was going to be fine.... praise God for His protection. 

2. 塞翁失馬焉知非福 - 3 separate full day on-sites. Not to mention the countless phone / pre-on-site interviews.  Every time... I feel like I creamed it.  And each time, I'm met with disappointment and depression.  I still can't come to grips that there are people who don't want to hire me.  It makes me feel a bit better if I tell myself, "I'm overqualified" But there's that one side of me that says, "You're a failure."   

1. NY/DC vacation with Dad - There are too many moments in the East Coast trip that caps off 2017.  But the one moment that takes the crown of the vacation, the one moment that stands head and shoulders above all other moments has gotta be the night we land at NYC and have dinner with the Leung family.  As Dom Toretto says in Fast and Furious, "It's all about family.........."  

Onto 2018.....  

Counting down the days...

As the days, hours, minutes, seconds tick by... we slowly bid 2017 farewell.  But not before the whole family gets hit with the flu.  Since the stomach virus a couple of weeks ago, our family has been sick for one thing after another.   This week, it couldn't escape us. 

When life gives you lemon, make lemonade.  Though we've been home during the entire shutdown, we've completely made the most out of everything.

• We finished three 500 piece puzzles... on our way to completing the fourth one.
• I bought SW Lego-Star Wars on the Wii... supposedly so I can have some father/son time going through mindless missions.  Turns out Mom/SW are enjoying it more than me.
• We've eaten very light...cuz none of us have much of an appetite.
• Nn and I have read a couple of books together. 
• Nn finished her Christmas Lego set (600+ pieces!!)
• We played with some of their Christmas presents, like making slime...just to see it get all over their clothes
• We finally got basic cable TV, so Bah-B can watch some sports on TV....
• We're completely entrenched in Puzzle Fighter on the iOS

Great family bonding time.... Thank you Jesus!!! 

Mission is in my DNA

My Christian denomination since 2005 is C&MA - Christian and Missionary Alliance.   Without even realizing it, I was raised to be mission minded my entire life. 

Wednesday night was Fr. Mario Rosso's Memorial Service.  Fr. Mario (aka 朱神父) was my spiritual overseer for almost 18 years.

I thought I knew this man... but on the night of his memorial service, did I come to realize what he's done as a servant of Jesus.  Born in Italy... he left to be a missionary in China in 1938 at the ripe age of 14.  Before World War II.... he already had a heart for the missions, a heart for China.  Starting at age 14, he went to China to learn Chinese, Cantonese, Shanghainese.  Not just to speak, but to read and write.  And not just write... but write elegantly.  

As a Catholic missionary, he survived World War II.  He survived the rise of Communism, the expulsion of organized religion, and survived the trials and tribulations of being a white man in a yellow country.  

"An egg" is how he characterizes himself.  White on the outside, yellow on the inside.  Conversely, I call myself a banana... yellow on the outside, white on the inside.  

One of my most vivid memory of 朱神父, unfortunately, was when he came into the sacristy and scolded me for not being solemn enough as an altar boy.  He was so pissed... he said if I didn't change my ways, "Don't come and serve on Sundays."   I never acted up ever again....  

His Resurrection Mass was beautiful.  The first reading was from Isaiah 61:1-3.... the passage for a missionary... as the priest would describe it.  Responsorial Psalm was Psalm 23.... very fitting.  And the 2nd reading was from Philippians 1:3-11.... as it was Paul's letter to the Philippians, it was also a letter from 朱神父 to all of us.  The choir was amazing... for the most part.  And even the altar boys (or altar servers) evoked a smile on my face with their tiniest little motions of bowing and turning.  

朱神父 never had much in his life.  But he legacy he leaves behind... is more than most people can ever imagine.  Rest In Peace.... you are in a much better place now.  

Food poisoning never felt so bad.... Part 3

In the end... it's only fitting I make this a Trilogy and end with Episode 3.

I never once doubted whether or not I'll go out.  I packed a bunch of plastic bags for the road and was gonna bring a pair of boxers / jeans in case I had an accident.  No way I was gonna miss Episode 8 on the account of some stupid stomach virus.  Only things that was stopping me were the family being too sick for me to leave (thankfully everyone was semi-recovered) and 2 hours of freakin traffic driving up to SF!!!

OMG.................. picked up Anderson around 5:20....and we didn't make it up there till 7:20.  Luckily the movie starts at 7:40PM.  And unlike previous episodes, we got pre-selected seats.  So no waiting in line to fight for crappy seats.

Phew...... and alas..... after I make one last pit-stop at a public bathroom (just to be safe).  After I get nice and comfy in my reclined seat with leg rest (overrated).  Here it was.....

The lights dimmed.



"Lucas Films"


"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...."



And then.................BOOM......  STAR WARS logo with John Williams music. At that moment, everything was perfect.  For 2.5 hours all sickness went away.  Until.............. SPOILER ALERT.....
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we realized the movie sucked... and I really wanted to puke.

Food poisoning never felt so bad.... Part 2

It got me.... I couldn't escape.  I was so confident too! 

I woke up... felt like I had a hangover.  Must be indigestion or an empty stomach.  But by 10AM, I knew I needed to go home.  About 5 minutes from home... I couldn't make it.  I had to turn off on the freeway... find a private street and hurled about 20 oz of breakfast and last night's dinner into a bush.  Ahhhhhhh much better.

Then I got home.... and the chills started coming.  Then the runs.  Wow.... I never knew I had that much "stuff" inside me.  From 2PM to 10PM.... I kept on sitting on the throne.  And within 1 night.... I lost 7 lbs. 

My colon is so clean now, I can go in for a colonoscopy. 

And inspite of it all... I'm still driving out to SF for Episode 8 baby!!!!!  We'll see what happens!!!

Food Poisoning never felt so bad....

Ohhhhh food poisoning hit our family hard today.

At around 2:30PM, we get a call from school saying SW threw up - twice.  As I'm driving and talking to Joyce, we wonder if it's something we ate.  Right away... we think it's the leftover pasta we gave them for lunch.  But nn and Joyce also ate it and were fine.  I didn't eat lunch today cuz I was too busy....

I picked up SW.... he was wearing leftover/lost and found clothes.  His clothes were a mess.  His face was green.  We got in the car and on the way home, he threw up in the car again. 

About an hour after we got home.... NN starts complaining of a tummy ache.  Then she starts  throwing up.  On the phone, Joyce says she wants to throw up.  Oh geez... that's it.  Leftovers.  That's gotta be it. 

If I didn't learn my lesson last time when I got sick.  I learned my lesson now.  No more.  And even as my kids were yacking their brains out... I'm here thinking, well... maybe 2 days leftover.  I'll draw the limit at 2 days.  Horrible, I am.

Then the thought occurred to me... maybe it's the dinner we had last night!! So I called the Yu's... and lo and behold, they also got sick and have been throwing up.  Joyce wants to go back one more day to the Eden Christmas party.  A couple of people were sick.... but the majority were fine.  It had to have been Sunday Night dinner.

Why wasn't I sick?? Am I that much stronger?? Is it because I sterilize myself with plenty of alcohol? (heh.. heh.. heh..).  As we're talking, we start realizing that there was one dish I did not eat, and SW ate a lot of.  Which is probably why he's the most ill of everyone else. 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... it's 2AM in the morning.  Just cleaned up the pillow case, SW's clothes, and the bedsheets.  He was sleeping in his own "stuff" for the past couple of hours and didn't even know it.  Their room stinks like a garbage dump.  And I'm wondering.... I'm doing all this cleaning without gloves.  SH*T!!!  (literally and figuratively). Hopefully I don't catch this bug!!!!

I lost my phone....

What would you do if you lose your phone??  What goes through your mind?? My contacts... my pictures...?  Makes me wonder if I should put stuff on the Cloud.

Happened to me last night.  I was losing my mind!! I searched high and low.  I could've sworn I had it with me.  I remember putting it on my kitchen table.... but it was no where to be found.  No where.  I convinced myself that I dropped it.  That's the only explanation.  I goofed.  Darn nit.

As we're putting the kids to bed.... Joyce's phone rings.  It was from MY PHONE!!!  Someone has it!!! But how did they unlock it to call????  Who was it.....?? WHO FOUND MY PHONE!??!  WHO STOLE MY PHONE?!?!?!

Turns out.... it was OML.  She accidentally packed it away in her bag.  OML.......................................

(Who is OML??  Oi Mo Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)