5 Languages of Love

Recently had a discussion on the "5 Languages of Love."  Upon reflection (and agreed to by my wife), I don't necessarily need any of the 5 languages.

1. I'm not big on gifts.  
2. I don't need touch. 
3. I am so overconfident, you can't say any more words of affirmation
4. I already maximize every second of my day to make quality time.
5. It's my DNA to out-serve you....so you'll never win.  

But then again.... while I don't need any of the 5... I think I need all 5.

1. I'd love to open up a box and be surprised by something I'm too cheap to buy....
2. Would I complain about more sex??? C'mon...I'm a man!!!
3. My ego is never too big for you to fill up.
4. Stop.... look at me.... stare me into my soul.  And that's the best moment of my day.
5. Yeah... I actually don't mind if you can change that light bulb yourself.

And at the heart of all this... as much as I think I love my wife... I know she deserves more.  

Conspiracy Theory

After two completely separate events... I think I'm onto a conspiracy theory.  There is a very popular app gives the "shortest" route from Point A to Point B. Without naming that app.... it is my belief, that app actually leads drivers onto side streets and detours to ease up traffic on the main routes.  I can't be 100% sure... and I wouldn't even know how to start testing this theory.

The Game of Life

We started playing The Game of Life with the kids... and it really reflects that Life, is sometimes, a Game.  And you're a victim of the roll of the dice - or in this case - the spin of the dice.

Case in point - I can go through the entire game and have the most amount of money, but I'll still feel like I lost, if I don't have children.  Conversely, I can go bankrupt, but as long as I have kids... I don't care how much money I have.

Nui-nui is very sensitive.  Earlier this evening, when she rolled the dice (spun the dice) and past her last chance to have a child - she started to cry.  I know that feeling FAR TOO well.  Siu-Wah was so nice.  He said he'll give 家姐 one of his kids.  Game, huh? Too real... sometimes, it really hits home. 

Prayer Meeting

PAL gave me the opportunity to lead CS prayer meeting tonight. Man!! It's hard. The prep work...the song selection... the slides.  Going through Alliance Newsletters and current events to look for stuff to pray for.  You either gotta love it... or have the passion for it... or you're darn obedient to want to do this day in and day out.  Not me.  Nope.  No thanks.  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-men!

God's Promise

It's religious jargon to say, "We will claim God's promise!!" 

The other day in Sunday School... a thought occurred to me.  Does God's promise solely mean the "good stuff?"  Do we only claim the blessings??  Well what about the hard times?

Not trying to be a stick in the mud or stump anyone... but after giving it some thought, I think that tough times can also be a promise.  So many examples in the bible where God allowed for his people to be tried. 

So if I were to teach Sunday School... I would say, "Be aware and wary of what you're claiming.  Without TEST, there is no TESTIMONY.  And without the passion and death, there is no resurrection." 

The Deep South

Another thing worth mentioning regarding my trip to the deep south - the Bible Belt - if you please. 

Both nights, I had dinner with my team.  One in Alabama.  One in Louisiana. 

Both nights, I asked the eldest, most senior person, lead us in grace.  I was 99% sure everyone in the group is "religious."  Everyone was respectful.  They bowed their heads and we prayed as a team.

But one of the two nights.... one of the senior person said, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Bless us O'Lord, and these, thy gifts. Which we are about to receive from thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen." 

I hadn't recited that Catholic prayer since 8th grade.  And every body at the table... my team, their spouses, made the sign of the cross. 

Blast from the past.  Once a Catholic, always a Catholic. 

Hunting for Shoes

Biz trip to the South East.... Tennesee / Alabama / Louisiana.  Got to SFO only to realize I forgot to pack my black dress shoes. 

Have no fret... I'm flying into a metropolitan area.  There's bound to be shoes.  I land around 6:30PM CST.  And instead of hitting up a DSW, I decide to have dinner at Downtown Nashville.   By the time I was done, a lot of the stores were closed.  D'oh!!

Have no fret... trusty Target closes at 11PM.  I go to Target and all they have are women's shoes!!  D'oh!!!

Have no fret... there's a Kohl's about 0.5 mile away that closes in 20 minutes. I race over there and find there are shelves and shelves of men's shoes.  But geez louise... they're all size 9 and below!!  Do everyone in Nashville have big feet?!?!  And I ain't gonna spend $80 on an ugly pair of shoes... I'm not fashiony, but I am thrifty!!   D'oh!!

Have no fret... there's old reliable Walmart next door.  Haha..... and at Walmart, I find a pair of decent black shoes for $25!!!! WOOHOO!!! 

Vacation is tiring!!

Kids had Winter Break last week - so we took at trip to So Cal and went to the Great Wolf Lodge - an indoor water park.  I can't say enough about how I hate LA traffic.  Both NYC and LA traffic makes Bay Area traffic look like a walk in the park.

Some highlights from this trip:

1. Indoor water park is consistently set at 84 deg F.  NICE!!!
2. The water slides are very high... which meant we had to lug those tubs u many many flights of stairs many many times.  Kids don't get tired. Adults do.
3. The water in the water park was.... salty.  Ugh....
4. The hotel had this electronic scavenger hunt that lasted the kids 8-9 hours (in aggregate).  Great idea - whoever thought of and marketed this.  Served as great downtime.
5. There was a $9.99 Unlimited Dunkin Donuts coffee cup.  I got my money's worth - seeing how I drink coffee like water.
6. We had dinner at Hataka Ramen (again).  Still have pictures of 2012, 2014 when we went.  It's nice to go back in time and see how the kids have changed and grown.
7. The weather was too cold for the beach - kids was really looking forward to it.  But on the last day, it got warm enough where we can build some sand castles.  YEAH!!!
8. Stopped by Firestones on the way down. BOOM!! And hit up Black Bear Diner on the way up.  BOOM BOOM!!
9. Kids had a huge skin reaction to the massive chlorine so they're skin really broke out.
10. SW had a huge reaction to pollen when we pulled over by, what I think is, an Almond Tree Orchard.  Luckily we had benadryl in the car.

Next family trip.... road trip to San Diego!!!

Pathetic... absolutely pathetic

I was sick the other night and didn't want to do anything but lie in bed.  So I go on hoopla and found the documentary on the 2015 Warriors Championship season.  Re-watching history and re-watching one of the greatest season of my life... I was absolutely sick to the stomach.

It's sacrilege for me to say this....

Watching the fans scream and yell out the names of the players is absolutely pathetic!  Do the fans really think yelling out "Go Steph!!" or "Let's go Klay!!" will really help the cause of winning a championship?? Especially if you pay $200 to sit in nosebleeds??

Geez.... watching them is watching me.  I'm pathetic.  Ugh.....

F.I.R.E.

FIRE - Financial Independence Retire Early

Here's a Rule of Thumb I just learned.  Nothing earth shattering or ground breaking -- the "25x Rule."

Take your annual spendings (food, gas, mortgage, insurance, etc...) and x 25.  That's how much money you need to retire.

If I spend $10k a month. 
That means I spend $120k a year. 
$120k x 25 = $3M.

甦醒吧!

千里馬! 甦醒吧!