Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
誡子書
夫君子之行，靜以修身，儉以養德，非澹泊無以明志，非寧靜無以致遠。夫學須靜也，才須學也，非學無以廣才，非静無以成學。慆慢則不能研精，險躁則不能理性。年與時馳，意與日去，遂成枯落，多不接世，悲守窮廬，將復何及！
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Slabs and slabs of stones
Final day of our spring break with the kids...and we venture out to start shopping for countertops and kitchen cabinets. My biggest fear...with almost any type of shopping... is the sheer amount of choices we have!! There are so many stores. So many options. So many prices. It'll drive me crazy. It's already started to drive Joyce crazy.
One thing I noticed while doing our round of shopping. There's no lack of business in the remodeling business! It's such a lucrative business. And the thought creeps into my mind.... why can't I do this??
Heck... I can sell cabinets and stones. I can be a general contractor and take young/helpless/ignorant couples around and sell them things (while keeping 30% of the discount I get as a GC). How hard can it be??
Second career maybe?
One thing I noticed while doing our round of shopping. There's no lack of business in the remodeling business! It's such a lucrative business. And the thought creeps into my mind.... why can't I do this??
Heck... I can sell cabinets and stones. I can be a general contractor and take young/helpless/ignorant couples around and sell them things (while keeping 30% of the discount I get as a GC). How hard can it be??
Second career maybe?
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Remodeling
After almost two years of planning, drawing and design... our remodeling permit was approved today. It's official. We've been in this house 10 years and other than painting the walls... we haven't done anything! It truly was move in condition.
Thus begins the next month's frantic search for appliances... granite countertops... kitchen cabinets... bathroom vanities... and most importantly, a place to live while they're remodeling!! OH MY!!
Thus begins the next month's frantic search for appliances... granite countertops... kitchen cabinets... bathroom vanities... and most importantly, a place to live while they're remodeling!! OH MY!!
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Timeshare
Found a great deal at a Art and Wine Festival where we got to go to a vacation villa for only $400... but we get $200 cash back. So only $200!!! (normally priced at $1200). The catch is... you have to sit through a 90 minute presentation on becoming a Timeshare member.
From the minute I sat down... I was an a-hole. I disrupted the guy's pace. I interrupted him. I turned his sales pitch into a conversation. He in turn...got annoyed at me. Back and forth... back and forth.
Not sure what I have against salespeople. Maybe it's from the awful experience as a kid when I saw dad get ripped off time and time again at the used car lots.
Every salesman is sleazy. They're dishonest, no matter how nice they come across. And they'll do anything to get your business.
The crazy...CRAZY thing was. I think I can do that job...and do it well. HA!!
From the minute I sat down... I was an a-hole. I disrupted the guy's pace. I interrupted him. I turned his sales pitch into a conversation. He in turn...got annoyed at me. Back and forth... back and forth.
Not sure what I have against salespeople. Maybe it's from the awful experience as a kid when I saw dad get ripped off time and time again at the used car lots.
Every salesman is sleazy. They're dishonest, no matter how nice they come across. And they'll do anything to get your business.
The crazy...CRAZY thing was. I think I can do that job...and do it well. HA!!
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Leisure Reading...
Nn's favorite leisure reading book is the Bible. Not just any bible... But mom and dad's adult bible. Should I be thankful or a bit worried...?
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Wrestlemania
28 years ago...
March 27, 1987.... was one of the happiest day of my life. My mom was going to bring my brother and I to go watch Wrestlemania. Hogan vs. Andre the Giant! WHOA!!! That's impossible!! She hates wrestling... she hates us watching wrestling... we're poor and we never spend money. But she automatically shot up to be the best mom in the world!
So my mom... my 70 yr old grandma... Big Bro and I took the bus from the safe havens of Chinatown alllllll the way to the outskirts, unexplored world of San Francisco... the infamous Cow Palace. I've heard of this place before. Only the coolest things in the world take place in Cow Palace. And now... I'm here.
I vividly remember being in the lobby. My heart pulsating cuz I get to see Hulk Hogan... my hero, my idol. I'm going to see Randy Savage... the guy who broke Steamboats throat - almost killing him. I am now moving from poor Chinese immigrant... to a regular American boy.
"Go buy the tickets already!" I remember thinking.
Mom walks over to the box office with grandma.... grandma, who's deaf in one ear and blind in one eye. Big bro and I look around... hoping to see a superstar. Then mom comes back. "OK!! Let's go in!!" Except... that's not how the story ends.
Mom says, "Ok... let's go home."
No.... she did NOT just say that. She's suppose to be the best mom. Why is she doing this??? Why is she being the worst mom??
Mom then says, " And it's not watching real people. You're watching TV"
No... I don't care. I'm here! I need to go in.
The next thing I remember.... we were sitting on the bus. Big bro and I were flipping through a program. We came all the way from Chinatown... came within two doors of Wrestlemania... and we go home with a program. We cried on our way home. This wasn't fair. This isn't how the story ends. I was suppose to be a regular boy. I told all my friends I was going to Wrestlemania. How can this happen??
Flash Forward.... 28 years later...
Mom did everything right. She didn't know how much Wrestlemania would cost. She didn't know it was a simulcast. She was one woman...who barely spoke English... with a 70 year old blind/deaf woman... and two rambunctious boys. She laid down the smack down... and did everything by the book. If I was her... I'd do the same.
Flash Forward... 28 years and 2 days later.... March 29, 2015.
Levi's Stadium - me and my two best friends fulfill this child hood dream. This void that was left, not just empty, but cold... can finally start to heal. I can finally be a regular boy. And the first thing Geoff did... he ran and bought me a program.
Wrestlemania... isn't about me, or big bro, or any childhood dreams and ambitions. In the end... Wrestlemania will be a memory of my mom... I wish I still had that Wrestlemania III program. So I can give it to my mom and said.... "Thank you for being the best mom."
March 27, 1987.... was one of the happiest day of my life. My mom was going to bring my brother and I to go watch Wrestlemania. Hogan vs. Andre the Giant! WHOA!!! That's impossible!! She hates wrestling... she hates us watching wrestling... we're poor and we never spend money. But she automatically shot up to be the best mom in the world!
So my mom... my 70 yr old grandma... Big Bro and I took the bus from the safe havens of Chinatown alllllll the way to the outskirts, unexplored world of San Francisco... the infamous Cow Palace. I've heard of this place before. Only the coolest things in the world take place in Cow Palace. And now... I'm here.
I vividly remember being in the lobby. My heart pulsating cuz I get to see Hulk Hogan... my hero, my idol. I'm going to see Randy Savage... the guy who broke Steamboats throat - almost killing him. I am now moving from poor Chinese immigrant... to a regular American boy.
"Go buy the tickets already!" I remember thinking.
Mom walks over to the box office with grandma.... grandma, who's deaf in one ear and blind in one eye. Big bro and I look around... hoping to see a superstar. Then mom comes back. "OK!! Let's go in!!" Except... that's not how the story ends.
Mom says, "Ok... let's go home."
No.... she did NOT just say that. She's suppose to be the best mom. Why is she doing this??? Why is she being the worst mom??
Mom then says, " And it's not watching real people. You're watching TV"
No... I don't care. I'm here! I need to go in.
The next thing I remember.... we were sitting on the bus. Big bro and I were flipping through a program. We came all the way from Chinatown... came within two doors of Wrestlemania... and we go home with a program. We cried on our way home. This wasn't fair. This isn't how the story ends. I was suppose to be a regular boy. I told all my friends I was going to Wrestlemania. How can this happen??
Flash Forward.... 28 years later...
Mom did everything right. She didn't know how much Wrestlemania would cost. She didn't know it was a simulcast. She was one woman...who barely spoke English... with a 70 year old blind/deaf woman... and two rambunctious boys. She laid down the smack down... and did everything by the book. If I was her... I'd do the same.
Flash Forward... 28 years and 2 days later.... March 29, 2015.
Levi's Stadium - me and my two best friends fulfill this child hood dream. This void that was left, not just empty, but cold... can finally start to heal. I can finally be a regular boy. And the first thing Geoff did... he ran and bought me a program.
Wrestlemania... isn't about me, or big bro, or any childhood dreams and ambitions. In the end... Wrestlemania will be a memory of my mom... I wish I still had that Wrestlemania III program. So I can give it to my mom and said.... "Thank you for being the best mom."
Monday, March 30, 2015
Great American Homerun
Appropriately named... the Great American Ballpark... the Cincinnati Reds announced today they will have an area for new mothers (and fathers). A padded room with an area for nursing / changing / babies and toddlers to play. Long gone are the days of suit and tie for a baseball game... or where the men and their bros hangout for peanuts and beer. Can't wait for AT&T to have this too...
Saturday, March 28, 2015
New Church
Always see new Christian churches being built and planted... But when's the last time there was a Catholic Church being built? With the statues? Marble? Mosaics..?
Saturday, March 21, 2015
A bad week...
Had a bad week this week. This week was one of those weeks where my heroics were not recognized, but my flaws were magnified. Really humbling... quite belittling.
Times like this... I just want to quit. Then I remember the message at Deeper Life Conference. "Eternity." What does it matter now? What does it matter in eternity?
And with that... I found peace.
Times like this... I just want to quit. Then I remember the message at Deeper Life Conference. "Eternity." What does it matter now? What does it matter in eternity?
And with that... I found peace.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Slow down
Ended yet another 21 day fast. And once again... I fasted "speeding."
Trying to drive below Speed Limit. That's excruciating hard! You're in the Carpool lane with 4 miles of free space. The car behind you is riding on your bumper. But I can't go faster than 65.... cuz I'm fasting speeding!
Slowing down... that's the biggest problem we have today. We can't slow down. Everything is fast fast fast. If we can all just slow down.... smell the flowers... and reflect on what matters. Wouldn't life just be a little more wonderful??
Of course... now that the fasting has ended... back to my usual self.
Trying to drive below Speed Limit. That's excruciating hard! You're in the Carpool lane with 4 miles of free space. The car behind you is riding on your bumper. But I can't go faster than 65.... cuz I'm fasting speeding!
Slowing down... that's the biggest problem we have today. We can't slow down. Everything is fast fast fast. If we can all just slow down.... smell the flowers... and reflect on what matters. Wouldn't life just be a little more wonderful??
Of course... now that the fasting has ended... back to my usual self.
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