Sanctification

Had the honor today to witness someone sanctify themselves and draw closer to God by throwing away "something" that doesn't please Him.  I actually have no idea what was thrown away... I just happened to be walking by when C-leung asked me to help open up the trash can.  But the conviction that person had is deeply admired.  Very cool.... a great way to end a Sunday Service oh yeeeeeeeeeeah.

Pre-Thanksgiving 2012

Been a while since I've updated.... and you get into one of those conundrums of not knowing what to write cuz so much has happened, yet none of it really matters. 

And that's really been the theme of the past month.  So much going on...yet at the end of the month, what really happened? 

Tonight...while cleaning up the house in preparation for Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow, I find a little piece of fold up paper Joyce wrote.  It was probably from some fellowship thing we had.  In it, was a list of questions and answers.  Like..."best surprise of marriage" or "most trial times of marriage" or "difference before and after having kids..."  It was astounding seeing some of the things she wrote. 

And when all is said and done.... and I'm taking about 20 years down the line when the kids leave the house....when all is said and done... what really matters is the person you lie down next to every night.  What relationship do you have with that person?  Cuz that's not just your life...it's your lives. 

Childhood Dream Come True

Another item off the bucket list.... 49ers season ticket holder!!! WOOT!! WOOT!!!!

Public Speaking (revisited again)

Dangit.... I just have the knack of it. 

Did a dry run for our ALT presentation.... and one of the best comments I've ever received (and I've received plenty) was "O captain! My captain!" 

And this wasn't people who wanted to butter me up.  This is a genuine reaction.  Oh...sometimes I want to think about joining Toastmasters.  But I would hate to go there and realize how much I suck.  Or how much more I have to learn.  Other times, I sit in Sunday sermons and think, "Man....I can deliver it so much better."  Yet....I realize delivery is one thing, I can never come up with the material.

But as much humble pie as I like to eat.... I truly thank the man above for giving me the gift of public speaking.

What a whirl....

From coming back from Beijing....to moving into Quint street....to struggling to get Wi Fi....to suddenly hearing she has Medi-Cal.... to getting approval of moving into senior living.... it just all happened too fast.  Too fast for me to even try to keep up.

And in a week...we'll be moving again.  At least there's light at the end of the tunnel; I think.  At least after we make this moving, we can truly calm down for a bit. 

4 more years!!!

Wow.... first the World Series.  Now re-election!!  That's a pretty good streak.  And then on top of that... Prop 30 (raising income taxes for education) passes!!

Demos pick up Senate seats.
GOP retain the House. 

Overall... a pretty good election. 

Champions

One word...Champions.  Second time in three years.

Two years ago... my Giants did the unthinkable by capture their first World Series in San Francisco history.  I was ready to give up two years ago. I couldn't care less if the Giants end up in a perpetual state of disaster... so long as they had the one championship.  And now, we have 2.

A lot has changed during the past two years.  But a lot has stayed the same.  Didn't have the same feeling of torture...or the thrill of excitement.  Yet... I was still ticked off and scared whenever things didn't go our way.  I kept telling myself... "It's just a game.  You won already. Let it go."  Doesn't work that way.

BB wasn't born yet...the first time we won. He was in mommy's tummy.  But I really wanted him to be up and about.  He was in bed before the top of the 10th.

NN was there last year. For the NLCS Game 6 homer against Ryan Madson.  And the final strikeout of Nellie Cruz.  This time... she was more cognizant of what's going on.  I told her, "If Posey hits a Homerun here, you get to play with mommy's tiara."  Every time someone hit a flyball, she'll scream, "Homerun! Homerun!"

Throughout this postseason, I wanted to write and capture my thoughts.  No more than after going up 3-0 and wanting to title the post "On the verge..."  But as much as I'm a man of faith, I can't shake off the whole superstitious thing about counting my eggs before they're hatched.  Deep down... I knew that had we lost Game 4, we would face Verlander in Game 5.  That would mean we go back to SF.  And if we lost a close one in Game 6...momentum will NOT be on our side.  I knew all that.  Us...more than anyone, should know that up 2-0 or 3-1 doesn't mean you're going to win.  Look at the 2004 BoSox. 

We're no longer on the verge.  No.  We're past the verge.  We're champions.  Second time in two years. 

So many game thoughts....

• Bochy using Timmy in Game 1 - being second guessed that he might be needed for Game 2.  But Madbum shut up all the critics by going 7
• Madbum taking 10 days to correct a "mechancial error?"  Really?!
• Romo taking over for Beard. For good, perhaps?
• Bochy lining up two lefties...so he can have his two best starters in Games 3 and 4 in Detroit.  Genius.
• There had to be some torture to make this well worthed. (Game 4)
• Good pitching always beats good hitting...except in the case of Bonds.
• Oh btw... Bonds was no where to be found this time around.  Geez...
• Theriot DH'ed for the clincher - genius once again.  Sanchez was overmatched in the biggest stage of his life.
• Where was Xavier Nady?
• A right-handed LF wouldn't have made those 3 amazing catches that White Shark made.
• I truly thought we were gonna lose when Belt was caught stealing in Game 4....the breaks started going their way.
• It's been almost 30 years since the Tigers have won one.... they must be starving.  But at least they have college football/hoops, the Pistons, and I guess the Lions.
• What else does Posey need to add to his resume?
• Payback to Leyland for '93 and Miggy Cab for 2003
• I still would've wanted to play the Yankees.  Beating the Rangers and Tigers just doesn't have the same ring to it. 

And you know what? It just doesn't feel the same.... but it still feels awesome.

A tale of two movies...

I get on a United cross country flight... and one of the first things I habitually do is look at their Hemisphere magazine to see what movie will be shown. 

This time... I missed the Amazing Spider-Man by a day.  ONE LOUSY STINKEN DAY!!!

Instead, I get this gosh-knows what movie about two kids who run away... who end up making out (or more than that)... and is encouraged and shown as heroes.  I needed to burn away time...but not that way.

On the way back... it was some unknown story, unknown movie.  But I was drawn to it.  It made me laugh (Morgan Freeman tends to do that to folks like me).  It made me cry. (Morgan Freeman will also do that to you.)  It struck a chord.  There were things in there about marriage, about family, about chasing your dreams. 

Sigh.... two flights. two movies. two very different endings.

Another insomnia attack

It's 1130. Bedtime.

I'm fighting a cold. Rest time.

But I can't sleep. Too much on my mind.

Caught word that a parent of a childhood friend was found stabbed, beaten and murdered in her own house.  She was home alone.  Kids gone.  Husband out of town. Surreal.

Just read an article about a mom abusing her 5 year old. Gluing her to a wall... Then beating her and kicking her cuz she urinated on herself.  I'll never even come close to that type of abuse... but the thoughts and memories of me yelling at, punishing and scolding nn and bb suffocates me.  I couldn't help but walk over to them and kiss them while they're sleeping.... and apologizing. 

Tonight's bedtime story... nn picked it... was about a kid who stole.  And his mom didn't punish him...rather she encouraged him.  When the kid grew up to be a man... he was caught for stealing and was about to he hung.  His final wish to see his mom for one last time.  When she came, he started whispering.  The mom couldn't hear so she leaned closer...and the thief, now a grown man, bit her mom's ear real hard, saying, "This is your punishment for making me into who I am today." 

I haven't even typed a word of mom's situation.  And her it is... she's back in 3 days.  Now what?  3 days...and for the next how many years to come?

It's 1148.  Past my bedtime.
I'm still fighting that same cold.  Can't rest.
I can't sleep.  But I'm tired.  Sh*t.

Different world...Different dreams

Remember 4 years ago when China hosted the Olympics? The theme was "One World, One Dream."  Lo and behold... I realize how far apart Joycie and I can be sometimes.

I was reading a story to Bebe, and as always, I will read it or translate it into Chinese.  Joycie asks me to read it in English, because Bebe is around Chinese folks all day...and he needs to learn English.  I, on the other hand, think that he'll have a lifetime to learn English.  Let's get as much Chinese into him now.

Joycie and I grew up in different worlds.  She grew up in HK...and came to US as a teenager, so she'll always remember the hard times with learning English.  I grew up here... and learning English was as easy as pie. 

Thought provoking indeed...

Fly away

How many times...1 out of 1000, 1 out of 10,000, do you really kill a fly by clapping your hands together?  I got my "one" today.  Muahahhahaa...