Manual labor

 

Language Placement

NN took a Language Placement test to see what class she should register for.  She was hoping for Mandarin 3.  We were expecting Mandarin 2.  Lo and behold... she placed into AP Chinese!!!

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????  We know what her Chinese level is at.  How did she place into AP?????

G.O.A.T.

I love talking about the GOAT of sports... aka... the Great of All Time.

In baseball... you have both offense and defense... and hitters usually get all the glory.

In football... offense gets all the glory.

In basketball... it's about points scored especially in clutch moments.

In hockey... no contest, Wayne Gretzky.  And it's not even close.

These arguments are pointless... because as much as we don't want to admit it... the change of rules changes each era of play.  And I was so blessed to have live through so many eras.

For basketball... I grew up loving Larry Bird.  His tenacity.  His defense.  His three-point contest prowess, "Who's coming in 2nd?"  And yet... in all honesty... the greatest player of that era has to be Magic.  A 6'10 point guard.  His sky hook when Kareem went down.  Redefining basketball as we know it.  And of course... that smile.  But as I grew older.... here comes a boy from Chapel Hill.  He wins a college championship.  Then after several rounds of getting knocked out... he puts his stamp on the NBA with the slamdunk contest... followed by his own shoe brand that lives on 35 years later... to 6 titles... to the lore of betting on which luggage comes out from the conveyer belt first, only to find out later that he paid off the airport workers to throw his bag out before anyone else's.  #23.... his Air Ness himself.  But that was the 90's.  In the late 90's and early 2000's... there wasn't a player I feared more than Kobe Bryant.  Kobe somehow always sank that shot that stuck a knife in my gut.  Against my Warriors.  Against the Kings.  Against any non-Laker team.  And then... we yield the court for Lebron.  18 years old out of Akron.  Didn't even play in college.  And in his 20+ year career... he's played more postseason games than any of his peers.  "The Decision" taints it a little... but he had "The Block" against Iggy in 2016.... and then last night... he broke one of the most unbreakable records in sports history. You simply can't wipe that off his resume... despite his previous NBA finals losses... or how he switched teams just to make it interesting.  

Who's the GOAT??? I don't know....but I know that it can't be defined by any one era. 

And didn't even see it

One of the things that boggles my mind... is when you're about to witness a moment of a lifetime... and all you do is pull out your phone and record a shaky, blurry video?!? Just like parents at kids performances.  Why can't people choose to enjoy the moment cuz there'll be a professional photo or video??

Congrats King James.

奇妙的䇿士

民初俊少得嬌妻，歌詠載舞令君悅。
奇謀策士多事蹟，西來教士今細訴。

迦拿婚筵酒盡了, 一對新人不知曉。
母親勸言拉比聽, 首幕神職水變成。

埃及之地囚多年, 以色列族甚可憐。
兄弟二人會法老, 釋放子民大比舞。

勝負已分逃生天, 漫長之旅紅海前。
前冇去路後追兵, 高舉雙手顯路徑。

聲望名譽日漸升,人群擠擁五千名。
曠野之地未進膳,五餅二魚神跡顯。

驚濤駭浪暴雨風, 危在旦夕困船中。
拉比靠近水上飄, 嚇得門徒呱呱叫。

謙卑降世三十載, 人類歷史盡變改。
暫別回家現升天, 叮囑福音要傳遍。

First points

Half time... we were up 20-5.  The starting 5 is that good.

Then Coach Stanley put in the 2nd 5....and the other team starting catching up.

And in the end... NN sinks her first points of the season.  Two jump shots.  She missed her two layups.  And how... outside of the starting 5, she's the only one to have notched any points.  NN was on cloud nine.  She can't stop talking about her 3 pointer that only counted for 2.  She can't stop murmuring about how she should have 8 points instead of 4.  And yet... she still isn't anywhere close to being a starter.  

So happy for her.... she's now on the opposite end of what SW (or I) had to go through. 

VICTORY!!!!

Boys Soccer lost to Sacred Heart 0-5.  Sacred Heart lost to Menlo 0-4.  And today... the Girls basketball team went up against Menlo.  I was certain we'd lose.  Menlo, as I remembered it, are big and tall.  Their PE class is their basketball team.  They practice during PE.  They practice during practice.  

But after the first 3 minutes.... we were up 7-0.  This could be it.  

NN was not on the starting 5.  She didn't come in until the 2nd round of subs.  And it was apparent.  The skill differentiation between the starters and bench warmers were soooooo apparent.  And as gifted and athletic as NN is... she really did not belong on that court with those girls.

She doesn't have an athletes' body... she has a dancer's body.  She tries to play smothering defense...but a bigger, speedier handler can blow right by her.  She doesn't have the confidence to dribble.  It's always go to the right... dribble twice... pick it up... and pass.   Her basketball IQ is high off the court... but in the midst of everything... she still throws up rainbow passes.  

So much she can work on and improve if she wants to sniff the starting 5.  With her stature... her skills... the time and work she puts in... I don't think she'll get there.  

And as the clock winded (wound) down... TKA Jr. High Girls Team A notched their first win of the season.

NN has zero points.  1 rebound. 1 blocked shot.  And the world has been lifted.  Hopefully...she can now play her best game with the first VICTORY under her belt. 

De ja vu

It happened again... another loss.  0-5.

Mercy rule was in tact after the first half.  Sacred Heart backed off.  And I changed the line up.  We needed speed in the back.  I rotated our best players from Forwards to Defense, to try and triage the mess.  Whether it was my dazzling play calling... or it was the fact the other team couldn't shoot in the penalty area.... they only scored one more goal in the 2nd half.

Then oh-my-lanta.... de ja vu....

Same kid. Same parent.  Took forever to come pick up their kid.  What is wrong with these parents?!?! Does the world evolve around them??? They smile.  They apologize.  But do they even realize... that their own selfishness wreaks havoc on a bunch of other boys that needed to go home.

How I wanted to rip into him.... but I held it in.  Is this week ever gonna get better?

So close... it's surreal

Around noon... one of my managers pinged me saying one of my employees hasn't reported into work and we can't reach him.  How do we do a wellness check.  It was the same employee that got trapped during the storm and had to evacuate to a hotel.  I told him to call the hotel and check up on him.  Simple enough.

10 minutes later... he pings me. "Emergency.  Need to talk."

He calls me on my cell and says, "Uh.... Jim passed away." 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  So I called the County Sheriff's Coroner's office and sure enough... "We have Jim." 

So surreal.  Last week... we had lunch with him.  We were laughing.  Joking.  Talking about life.  And now... there's no life to talk about. 

What made it worse was... when I told HR and asked for guidance.. I got slapped in the face, not once but twice, for not notifying them right away.  Sorry - I did what I thought was right in notifying their next of kin.  Redo this 100 times and I'll do the same thing 100 times over. HR never once thought about what I was going through.  I just lost a colleague.  I lost a friend. 

The rest of the day was surreal.  I needed to process this and I couldn't.  Had one meeting that allowed me to take my mind off of things for an hour.  Then headed to practice and I was able to distract myself for a bit.  But when I got home... my mind was completely consumed.

Kids knew I was off.  I was not normal.  I was still in shock.  Was stunned. 

Then mom... of all people... picked the absolute wrong night and wrong time to call for simple tech support and whine.  I couldn't take it.  The straw broke my back... and I snapped. Any other night... any other night...

This comes on the tail end of SW crying at church... 

I'm a mess right now.  I can't take this.  Can't bear this.  

Jesus... can you take my burdens?

Cloud nine to reality

CNY2023.... what a day.

Today started out with a bang... heading to church early to prep for CNY Hospitality.  Eden Fellowship hasn't had a chance to serve like this in 3+ years.  And we came out strong... came out in numbers... including our newest members. 

Then we headed out to SF for New Year's Dinner.  Mom graciously offered to have dinner together with dad.  Dad couldn't have cared less.  The restaurant was short on staff. But we figured it out. Knew exactly what to say... what to order.. down to getting the doggie bags / boxes and cashing in the check.  I saw other tables look at us / stare at us with envy... how we got in / got out.

And of course... the Niners eeking out another close playoff game against the hated Cowboys.  The entire restaurant was watching.  I was the only one that really cared. Bang Bang Niner Gang!!

But the reality really struck tonight... as I was putting NN to bed... NN asked, "Did mommy tell you what happened at youth today?"

Pastor Sam, during Sunday Youth Breakfast, asked if anyone's ever felt lonely.  And SW started tearing up... and he admitted to the Youth Pastor and the other Youths... he felt lonely at church.  To a point where he started crying,.. and had to excuse himself.  My SW... my jovial, goofy SW.  Admitting out in the open... open kimono... how he felt.  To a point... where he left the Youth Hall.. and Sam went out after him.  To a point.. where NN started crying because SW blamed her for not wanting to go to PBC and start a new church life.  And then... NN started crying.  For all the right reasons.  I call it Spiritual Discernment.  Something about PBC does not feel right.  For her... for me.  But SW and Joyce are ready to make the move.  I'm 50/50... lukewarm at best... and yet... it's NN who's saying this isn't the right move.  

My heart is broken for SW.  It's equally as broken for NN being so torn.  And here I am... sucking up every last tweet... free article... and replay of the Niner game... wondering what is next for our family.

Jesus... can you open up a way? (For the Niners to win a Superbowl... and for our next step as a family?)

Streak

The streak continues... Coach Henry remains winless.

Final score was 0-5. It could've been 0-4... but the opposing team scored twice after the mercy rule was called. And who knows what else could've happened had that team kept playing the way they played.

In my defense.. I substituted our talent away from key positions and automatically.. we got scored on.  

The worst part is... I don't know what to do.  I don't know what we need to work on to correct our course.  My goal (pun intended) now... is to score one.  I don't want to be shutout for the season.  Do we have a chance?? Based on our schedule... that can very well happen.