The final stretch... it's so close we can almost taste it. And it's at this most crucial point where things start falling apart.
For 6 months... Joyce and I got into 1, maybe 2 arguments over the remodel. I've heard stories where people get divorces over remodeling. And now today... I ripped into her like I'm cursing at my worst enemy. I screamed into the phone so loud... I couldn't even believe my own ears.
Whoever was right... whoever was wrong... in the end, I was wrong. I should have never yelled. Should have never raised my voice. And in all ways, even if she was 100% wrong, take her side.
Ughhhh...... the enemy is seeing how we're growing in Christ. And the enemy is not happy. I know he will continue to ambush us and make false accusations. Must stand firm.
In technical sense... things are falling apart. The electrician... who we spent so much time instructing and care-taking when he wired the house, is finally putting on the lights. And of course... they're wrong. With the walls being up now... short of removing all the walls and starting over... there's nothing we can do. Uggggghhhhhhhhh......................................
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Livid!!!!!
One of the scariest texts I've ever received came from Joyce earlier today:
J: People telling sw he looks like a girl, now he chops off his own hair.
J: People need to mind their own business
Me: Who?
J: Don't know who. He says someone says he looks like a girl
Me: He cut his own hair?
J: Yes
To some... this may seem funny or cute. But to me... this is a horrifying of what may happen. I was scared. I was angry. I was livid!!!
Horrified and scared because my little baby fell victim to peer pressure. People (and I have a good feeling who) keep telling him he needs to cut his hair. People that he trusts and loves. And the more he hears it... the more he loses his self-confidence and self-esteem. He's 4!!!!! If people can manipulate him like this now... what can possibly happen to him when he's a teenager? or in college? Absolutely horrifying.
I was anger and livid. I let it out on Joyce. I told her... "This is a wake up call!!! Just cuz you think he looks cute... and you like it... you have to understand you put him in this situation!! You (and here's where I caught myself and said, "We") can't dress him up or shape him into something we want... but serve him up for ridicule. He's not old enough to know how to deal with this!!!"
This time, he cut his hair. I can't imagine what else kids these days will do to themselves......
J: People telling sw he looks like a girl, now he chops off his own hair.
J: People need to mind their own business
Me: Who?
J: Don't know who. He says someone says he looks like a girl
Me: He cut his own hair?
J: Yes
To some... this may seem funny or cute. But to me... this is a horrifying of what may happen. I was scared. I was angry. I was livid!!!
Horrified and scared because my little baby fell victim to peer pressure. People (and I have a good feeling who) keep telling him he needs to cut his hair. People that he trusts and loves. And the more he hears it... the more he loses his self-confidence and self-esteem. He's 4!!!!! If people can manipulate him like this now... what can possibly happen to him when he's a teenager? or in college? Absolutely horrifying.
I was anger and livid. I let it out on Joyce. I told her... "This is a wake up call!!! Just cuz you think he looks cute... and you like it... you have to understand you put him in this situation!! You (and here's where I caught myself and said, "We") can't dress him up or shape him into something we want... but serve him up for ridicule. He's not old enough to know how to deal with this!!!"
This time, he cut his hair. I can't imagine what else kids these days will do to themselves......
Monday, January 25, 2016
I am Cain
Cain - the eldest son of Adam and Eve. The older brother of Abel and Seth. The one who committed the first murder in the written history of man. The motive - jealousy? The background... God did not find favor in his offering. I am Cain.
Monday night... I am full of jubilance. I just came from a wonderful Servant Leadership Training course taught by Derrick. He reminded us that we are all priests and need to bring prayer back to our homes. I was so encouraged I even went to Sunday Intercession, first time in over 5 years. Monday morning, I got up a half hour early and did TWA. Monday night... I was determined to have Family Altar time. And here's where it fell apart.
Instead of true worship with guitar or piano. I lazily found two songs on Youtube. Instead of finding words / phrases of Praise / Thanksgiving / Declaration.... I had the kids listen to me read from the bible. Instead of giving them a chance to pay full attention...they were restless and wanted to play.
Halfway through our Family Altar time... Joyce scolded Nn for chewing her hair.
Halfway through our praise and worship time... I take a toy away from Siu Wah... and he starts pouting.
What was suppose to be a wonderful time spent with the Lord... turned out to be a total failure.
You get what you put into it. Garbage in, garbage out. We did not put any effort or heart into our worship. And what came out... was exactly what we put in there.
So sorry and disappointed in myself....
Monday night... I am full of jubilance. I just came from a wonderful Servant Leadership Training course taught by Derrick. He reminded us that we are all priests and need to bring prayer back to our homes. I was so encouraged I even went to Sunday Intercession, first time in over 5 years. Monday morning, I got up a half hour early and did TWA. Monday night... I was determined to have Family Altar time. And here's where it fell apart.
Instead of true worship with guitar or piano. I lazily found two songs on Youtube. Instead of finding words / phrases of Praise / Thanksgiving / Declaration.... I had the kids listen to me read from the bible. Instead of giving them a chance to pay full attention...they were restless and wanted to play.
Halfway through our Family Altar time... Joyce scolded Nn for chewing her hair.
Halfway through our praise and worship time... I take a toy away from Siu Wah... and he starts pouting.
What was suppose to be a wonderful time spent with the Lord... turned out to be a total failure.
You get what you put into it. Garbage in, garbage out. We did not put any effort or heart into our worship. And what came out... was exactly what we put in there.
So sorry and disappointed in myself....
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Remodel - Day 196
Gawd when is this gonna be over??
I'm so sick of negotiating with the GC. Joyce keeps putting me in these tough positions... And I get all worked up. I feel so anal retentive and petty... and I'm the very person that I personally detest.
Ughhh..... I know. I know that whatever I have to endure for 5 minutes every now and then is nothing compared to what Joyce has been through the past 7 months. But still.... haggling is just not my thang.
I'm so sick of negotiating with the GC. Joyce keeps putting me in these tough positions... And I get all worked up. I feel so anal retentive and petty... and I'm the very person that I personally detest.
Ughhh..... I know. I know that whatever I have to endure for 5 minutes every now and then is nothing compared to what Joyce has been through the past 7 months. But still.... haggling is just not my thang.
I'm sure the GC does this all the time. And if we don't negotiate... he'll just run all over us.
Counting down the days..
Or maybe..... I'm actually really good at this. And I should just get use to it and maybe make a career out of it. (pause to think) Naaaaaaaaaaaaaah.......
Or maybe..... I'm actually really good at this. And I should just get use to it and maybe make a career out of it. (pause to think) Naaaaaaaaaaaaaah.......
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Looking back at 2015
Since it's been so long since I drafting this post, I'm just gonna whip through it and call it DONE. Top 8 events in ascending order.... why 8??? I have no idea.
8. Wine Cork Way - After 10 years of living on Theresa Lane, we finally remodeled. Through the weeks and weeks of frustration in looking for temporary housing, we were about to move EVERYTHING into storage and rent a hotel. When on a fateful Saturday, we find the perfect condo. Truly divine intervention. And unlike the 20 other places we looked for, this place wants a short term lease! No 9 month lease...or 12 month lease with a penalty clause. Originally, the landlady had someone else lined up. But for whatever reason, the first choice fell through and we were next on her list. When applying for the place, I even went as far as sending a family portrait to her... to show her how cute my kids are. Not only does it have central AC (for one of the hottest summer ever!!!), it had a private washer and dryer, a 2 car garage... AND we had a swimming pool. This cozy little 2 bed 2 bath condo sorta became our vacation home. It was also the place that Nn learned to ride a bike. And the best thing.... it was only 0.5 mile away from home.
7. Nui-nui - PTC/graduation - Parent Teach Conference, I cry. Graduation - valedictorian.
6. Star Wars - Episode 7. Waiting in line for 4 hours. Why? Cuz I love Star Wars.
5. Wanting to Quit - I hate my boss' boss. The devastation is too much to bear. Took my authority away. Then gives it back to me. Then takes it away. I can't stand it.
4. Warriors Champions - another one bites the dust. One more Bay Area team wins a championship. And it was beautiful.
3. Big bro gets married / becomes a father - Finally.
2. Remodel - after two redraws....we finally start. Part of the worst nightmares we've had to go through. Never had we collectively hated someone so much. But alas... it's done.
1. Christmas Day Incident - Nn's finger. Carved up my baby's finger. Got her into the emergency room. And almost a year has past and I still get shivers every time I think about it.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Remodel - Day 187
Been almost 3 months since I've talked about remodeling. The job is finally coming to it's last weeks. But the past couple of months have been horrible, absolutely horrible. The silver lining in this whole ordeal is... it's coming to an end.
We're so tired with the GC. His lies... his undermining... his nickel and diming (when it's to his advantage)... the lack of quality and pride in their work... the lack of following directions. It's insane. There's no love lost. We absolutely hate each other and there's no hiding it.
Joyce is absolutely sick of this relationship and all I want to do is make life miserable for the GC. But I also know that if there's anyone you can't piss off, it's the guy who has your baby in their hands. Who knows what they can do. So every time we deal with them... we pray for God's grace to come upon us.
Maybe it's us... maybe Joyce and I are just too anal retentive. And we actually have a semi-decent memory of what is said/written. And we can't stand anyone who backs off on any word they say -- and we love calling them out on it. But I have a feeling this GC has never dealed with customers like us.
Anyhoo... counting down the days.
I guess things are looking half-decent.
The kitchen is coming together.
As a reminder, this job was suppose to be done in October. Then Christmas. Now it's looking like Chinese New Year.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
The Curse of Choice
Most recently... I've been cursing at the infinite amount of choices we have to make. Tiles... lampshade.. paint color... door hinge color. UGH!!!! Joyce says that's the beauty of capitalism. If this were a socialistic society, we'll have gray... and light gray.
This curse carries onto our kids. We think we love them... but it's a torture.
"What do you want for breakfast?" We'll ask them sometimes. How the heck do they know?!? They're 4 and 6. They want french fries and chocolate. Duh!!! I think we do this for two reasons.
1) We're (as parents) are lazy.
2) We don't want to hear them whine. Whatever they choose, we hope they'll like it and it's healthy.
Why can't we just cook them whatever we cook them...and they don't complain????
Then there's Netflix. I admit we fall victim to spoiling our kids to letting them watching kids videos on Netflix. What makes it worse... is we ask them, "What do you want to watch??"
There's over 1000 choices!!! How they heck do they know what to say??? It's just like Joyce asking me to go to Home Depot and say, "Which light switch do you want??" I'm a grown adult with a college education... how he heck do I know??
This curse carries onto our kids. We think we love them... but it's a torture.
"What do you want for breakfast?" We'll ask them sometimes. How the heck do they know?!? They're 4 and 6. They want french fries and chocolate. Duh!!! I think we do this for two reasons.
1) We're (as parents) are lazy.
2) We don't want to hear them whine. Whatever they choose, we hope they'll like it and it's healthy.
Why can't we just cook them whatever we cook them...and they don't complain????
Then there's Netflix. I admit we fall victim to spoiling our kids to letting them watching kids videos on Netflix. What makes it worse... is we ask them, "What do you want to watch??"
There's over 1000 choices!!! How they heck do they know what to say??? It's just like Joyce asking me to go to Home Depot and say, "Which light switch do you want??" I'm a grown adult with a college education... how he heck do I know??
Friday, December 25, 2015
Christmas Day -- A Day to Forget but will always Remember
Christmas Day 2015 -- A Day to Forget but will always remember cuz it's the day I put my daughter in the Emergency Room.
(Pardon for the swearing and expletives)
It started out as a great day. The kids woke up early (as expected) to open their presents, which they loved.
Then I headed out to SF to have brunch with dad. Siu Wah is running a fever so Joyce stayed home with him. I head out with Nui-nui only and we luckily found a Round Table that was open on Christmas Day. Dad loves pizza and Nui-nui hates dim sum, so it worked out perfectly. And with the cousins giving me the cold shoulder to having Christmas lunch, we had an absolute glorious time!!
I had a wonderful pizza brunch with dad.... And here's where things get dramatic.... to where I call events, "this moment in time"
This moment in time... after lunch, we were suppose to visit Mother in Law (MIL). But MIL turns out to be in Millbrae having dim sum. Change of plans.
This moment in time... after visiting MIL, we were suppose to go visit mom, for her Birthday and Christmas. I even brought some board games to kill time. But of all days, she doesn't bring her phone and doesn't check her iPad for weChat. Had she picked up... None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... I call Deddy, hoping to visit Howard to drop off his present and kill some time before mom calls back. He doesn't pick up. Had he picked up, None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... I'm at Starbucks with Nui-nui, killing time. I didn't know what else to do... so I stupidly ask, "Do you wanna go ice-skating?" To which she excitedly says, "YES!!!!" At the very same moment... Deddy calls back. Why didn't he call one second early?!?! Or I asked one second later....? I would've gone to visit him and skipped the whole ice skating thing. None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... we get to Union Square and find out we have to wait in line to skate the 2pm session. The lady announces the 2pm session is sold out. I could've walked out... but I didn't want to disappoint my baby... who really really wanted to skate. So I waited in line, hoping for a miracle. Had I walked away... and gone to the San Jose rink the day after, None of this would've happened.
This moment in time.... we get to the ticket booth. I kinda knew they were sold out... but Nui-nui was gonna be sooooooooooooooooooooooooo disappointed. So I asked anyways, "Do you have any 2pm sessions left." The lady at the booth said, "We have ONE." And then she gave me two tickets... and she even said, "Well princess, isn't this a magical Christmas." I was so happy that Nui-nui got to skate, I even tipped the girl $3 for a latte. But had she said, "Sorry, we're sold out." None of this would've happened.
We get our skates... we get on the ice. And of course... Nui-nui has a hard time. I hold on to her hand. But finally... she falls. She braces herself with her hand, where she's wearing gloves. But the ice was melting... so her glove got very wet. I decide to take her glove off....on her left hand. Had I kept it on...HER LEFT HAND... None of this would've happened. .
We keep on skating... and finally she falls. She braces herself with her hand. And here's where everything gets blurry.
She falls.... and I see her tiny little hand under my skate. I remove it and see blood gushing out. Nui-nui is screaming in pain. I pick up her hand and see a cut the size of grand canyon. SHIT!!! It's down to her bone. I cut my baby's thumb down to the bone!!!!
"Calm down." I say to myself. "You need to take control."
I start multi-tasking. I know I needed to stop the bleeding. So I searched for tissue in my pocket. All I can find was my glove. So I wrapped her thumb and applied pressure. I needed help. I needed to get off the ice.
"GET ME 9-1-1!!!" I screamed. The was to the bone. I didn't know if the bleeding will stop. I didn't care, "I NEED 9-1-1."
One of the workers there saw me. He walked me to the office and sat me down. He quickly called his manager. The manager, Janet, quickly put on gloves. But she wasn't trained. She didn't know what to do.
Nui-nui was hysterical at this point. Bleeding. Pain. She was screaming!!! I didn't know what to do. I took my gloves... threw it on the floor... and found some napkins in my pocket. I wrapped it around the wound and told Nui nui "Keep it above her you heart."
"GET ME 9-1-1!!!!"
I didn't know what was going on. All I cared about was getting Nui-nui to a hospital with a doctor!!!
I needed to call Joyce. I need to get her insurance information. FUCK!!! She doesn't pick up!!
I need a ride. If I'm to ride an ambulance... I won't have car. So I call my mother in law.
I text Joyce and call her again. She finally picks up. Paramedics haven't shown up yet!! I tell her the situation. (Stay calm) I tell her everything, tell her to text me the insurance info. Tell her to call Mah-mee. Nui-nui is still crying.
The manager of the ice rink is calling 9-1-1. And I hear her... answering a bunch of stupid questions. Time was ticking. I couldn't wait. "SEND A FUCKEN AMBULANCE!!!!" I screamed!!! The whole world stopped. Dad was mad.... and 9-1-1 wasn't coming yet. The manager was scared. She didn't know how to handle the situation.
We waited
"Why the heck was the ambulance taking so long?!?!?!??"
We waited some more
I give Nui-nui my phone alas... and she instinctively finds a game to play. At that very moment.... I knew things would be alright. She was cognitive enough to play with my iPhone. That means she's alright.
Finally...after waiting for eternity.... the fire department finally came. They checked her out and because the bleeding stopped... they cancelled the ambulance.
"Uncle Bernie" from the SFFD made everything better. Nui-nui wasn't in pain. The bleeding stopped. And we didn't have to pay for an ambulance ride. I can see in their eyes that the firefighters were a little annoyed - being called out for what turned out to be a "little cut." But man... at that moment, I didn't know we could stop the bleeding so easily.
After being dismissed by the firefighters... I carried NN back to our car and headed to St. Francis emergency room for her to get some stitches.
The nurses there were great. The doctor (or Practitioner Assistant) was amazing. And Nui-nui was totally engulfed in playing with my iPhone.
Slowly one by one... the grandparents showed up. And surprisingly, mom showed up with dad. A Christmas miracle. I told mom not to come. Of course, she shows up, she's mom. Was surprised dad was with her but that made complete sense. When it comes to grandchildren, all differences can be set aside. The only grandparent that was missing was Joyce's dad. Which was a bit disappointing - but he was in constant contact with me the entire time.
5 stitches. My baby girl spent Christmas in a hospital and got 5 stitches. Not sure how long this will haunt me. The sense of guilt is overbearing. The terror and horror of hurting her. Everyone and anyone is doing a great job of comforting me and reassuring me. But the true healing will need to come from Jesus -- the true meaning of Christmas. With that... let's hope the next several days go quietly so we can put a stamp on 2015. And guess what... now I know what to put as my 2015 top 10.
Christmas Day 2015 -- A Day to Forget but will always Remember.
(Pardon for the swearing and expletives)
It started out as a great day. The kids woke up early (as expected) to open their presents, which they loved.
Then I headed out to SF to have brunch with dad. Siu Wah is running a fever so Joyce stayed home with him. I head out with Nui-nui only and we luckily found a Round Table that was open on Christmas Day. Dad loves pizza and Nui-nui hates dim sum, so it worked out perfectly. And with the cousins giving me the cold shoulder to having Christmas lunch, we had an absolute glorious time!!
I had a wonderful pizza brunch with dad.... And here's where things get dramatic.... to where I call events, "this moment in time"
This moment in time... after lunch, we were suppose to visit Mother in Law (MIL). But MIL turns out to be in Millbrae having dim sum. Change of plans.
This moment in time... after visiting MIL, we were suppose to go visit mom, for her Birthday and Christmas. I even brought some board games to kill time. But of all days, she doesn't bring her phone and doesn't check her iPad for weChat. Had she picked up... None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... I call Deddy, hoping to visit Howard to drop off his present and kill some time before mom calls back. He doesn't pick up. Had he picked up, None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... I'm at Starbucks with Nui-nui, killing time. I didn't know what else to do... so I stupidly ask, "Do you wanna go ice-skating?" To which she excitedly says, "YES!!!!" At the very same moment... Deddy calls back. Why didn't he call one second early?!?! Or I asked one second later....? I would've gone to visit him and skipped the whole ice skating thing. None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... we get to Union Square and find out we have to wait in line to skate the 2pm session. The lady announces the 2pm session is sold out. I could've walked out... but I didn't want to disappoint my baby... who really really wanted to skate. So I waited in line, hoping for a miracle. Had I walked away... and gone to the San Jose rink the day after, None of this would've happened.
This moment in time.... we get to the ticket booth. I kinda knew they were sold out... but Nui-nui was gonna be sooooooooooooooooooooooooo disappointed. So I asked anyways, "Do you have any 2pm sessions left." The lady at the booth said, "We have ONE." And then she gave me two tickets... and she even said, "Well princess, isn't this a magical Christmas." I was so happy that Nui-nui got to skate, I even tipped the girl $3 for a latte. But had she said, "Sorry, we're sold out." None of this would've happened.
We get our skates... we get on the ice. And of course... Nui-nui has a hard time. I hold on to her hand. But finally... she falls. She braces herself with her hand, where she's wearing gloves. But the ice was melting... so her glove got very wet. I decide to take her glove off....on her left hand. Had I kept it on...HER LEFT HAND... None of this would've happened. .
We keep on skating... and finally she falls. She braces herself with her hand. And here's where everything gets blurry.
She falls.... and I see her tiny little hand under my skate. I remove it and see blood gushing out. Nui-nui is screaming in pain. I pick up her hand and see a cut the size of grand canyon. SHIT!!! It's down to her bone. I cut my baby's thumb down to the bone!!!!
"Calm down." I say to myself. "You need to take control."
I start multi-tasking. I know I needed to stop the bleeding. So I searched for tissue in my pocket. All I can find was my glove. So I wrapped her thumb and applied pressure. I needed help. I needed to get off the ice.
"GET ME 9-1-1!!!" I screamed. The was to the bone. I didn't know if the bleeding will stop. I didn't care, "I NEED 9-1-1."
One of the workers there saw me. He walked me to the office and sat me down. He quickly called his manager. The manager, Janet, quickly put on gloves. But she wasn't trained. She didn't know what to do.
Nui-nui was hysterical at this point. Bleeding. Pain. She was screaming!!! I didn't know what to do. I took my gloves... threw it on the floor... and found some napkins in my pocket. I wrapped it around the wound and told Nui nui "Keep it above her you heart."
"GET ME 9-1-1!!!!"
I didn't know what was going on. All I cared about was getting Nui-nui to a hospital with a doctor!!!
I needed to call Joyce. I need to get her insurance information. FUCK!!! She doesn't pick up!!
I need a ride. If I'm to ride an ambulance... I won't have car. So I call my mother in law.
I text Joyce and call her again. She finally picks up. Paramedics haven't shown up yet!! I tell her the situation. (Stay calm) I tell her everything, tell her to text me the insurance info. Tell her to call Mah-mee. Nui-nui is still crying.
The manager of the ice rink is calling 9-1-1. And I hear her... answering a bunch of stupid questions. Time was ticking. I couldn't wait. "SEND A FUCKEN AMBULANCE!!!!" I screamed!!! The whole world stopped. Dad was mad.... and 9-1-1 wasn't coming yet. The manager was scared. She didn't know how to handle the situation.
We waited
"Why the heck was the ambulance taking so long?!?!?!??"
We waited some more
I give Nui-nui my phone alas... and she instinctively finds a game to play. At that very moment.... I knew things would be alright. She was cognitive enough to play with my iPhone. That means she's alright.
Finally...after waiting for eternity.... the fire department finally came. They checked her out and because the bleeding stopped... they cancelled the ambulance.
"Uncle Bernie" from the SFFD made everything better. Nui-nui wasn't in pain. The bleeding stopped. And we didn't have to pay for an ambulance ride. I can see in their eyes that the firefighters were a little annoyed - being called out for what turned out to be a "little cut." But man... at that moment, I didn't know we could stop the bleeding so easily.
After being dismissed by the firefighters... I carried NN back to our car and headed to St. Francis emergency room for her to get some stitches.
The nurses there were great. The doctor (or Practitioner Assistant) was amazing. And Nui-nui was totally engulfed in playing with my iPhone.
Slowly one by one... the grandparents showed up. And surprisingly, mom showed up with dad. A Christmas miracle. I told mom not to come. Of course, she shows up, she's mom. Was surprised dad was with her but that made complete sense. When it comes to grandchildren, all differences can be set aside. The only grandparent that was missing was Joyce's dad. Which was a bit disappointing - but he was in constant contact with me the entire time.
5 stitches. My baby girl spent Christmas in a hospital and got 5 stitches. Not sure how long this will haunt me. The sense of guilt is overbearing. The terror and horror of hurting her. Everyone and anyone is doing a great job of comforting me and reassuring me. But the true healing will need to come from Jesus -- the true meaning of Christmas. With that... let's hope the next several days go quietly so we can put a stamp on 2015. And guess what... now I know what to put as my 2015 top 10.
Christmas Day 2015 -- A Day to Forget but will always Remember.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Twas the night before Christmas...
In I don't know how many years... SJCAC didn't have a Christmas Eve service. I didn't realize how much I would miss it. It's a personal tradition to have some type of service or mass on Christmas Eve. I was a little taken off guard to a point... I didn't know how to find a place to worship.
Went online. Typed the typical search words "Christmas Eve Service San Jose" or "Chinese Church Christmas Eve Service." I even wanted to take the kids to a Southern Baptist Church and watch some African American choir truly truly sing and worship!!!
In the end... we ended up going to River of Life church in Santa Clara. The one Chinese Megachurch in the bay area. And oh my was I impressed. No wonder they're a mega-church. No wonder they've sucked so many SJCAC-ers out of uhm... SJCAC.
Punctuality -- I got there at 5:59PM for the 6PM service. And on the dot... they said, "We're at capacity. Service is starting. Please sit in the overflow section." They started on time!!
Overflow -- the amount of seats and number of people in their overflow section was greater than the entire SJCAC Christmas Night. Not a competition... but embarrassing!!
Accents -- their English, even the pastor translating for Pastor Lau into English, has a heavy Chinese accent. That's almost the norm there. To speak with perfect American English, is the minority!!
Lack of YA -- just like SJCAC... there's a huge lack of Young Adult (or C&C). I guess all the College and Careers are hangin' out at the American Mega-churches (Abundant Life).
Creativity to the Max -- the Christmas Service turned out to be a Christmas Variety show. But they were so creative!! "Stall Walls" -- a parody of Star Wars of Luke and Leia trying to find the true "Force." Three Wise Men from the East - 東方三才子 where the three wise men are 魯子，孔子，孟子. Lao-zi who admits his philosophy is "lousy". Confucius who says his philosophy is "confusing." And Menicus who confesses that his mom moved three times for real estate reasons!! Hilarious!!! Puts our CNY performances to shame!!
Candlelight / Glowstick Service - every Christmas Eve has it... the candlelight service. But ROLCC was smart enough to prepare green and red glow sticks for the kids. Brilliant!!! (pun intended)
The Legendary Pastor Lau -- I never knew him... but I guess he was the former SJCAC Mandarin Pastor. And for whatever reason, he left SJCAC. Look at him now. Man... he was charismatic. He's a short, fat and balding Chinese man. But he had charisma. And his wife. You don't want to mess with her. I guess "chosen ones" from the Lord simply oozes with the aura.
General Population - A lot of mainlanders. No wonder this church is booming. It's totally capitalizing on the mandarin population. They have a small English and Cantonese congregation. Where are all the Cantonese people going.....?
Cantonese Population in Bay Area - in my search for a Chinese Church, it was pretty fun to find all these Cantonese churches outside of SJCAC. Makes me wonder... makes me think... should I go explore? Just to see? What if I see what I like.. I don't come back????
The one thing that irritated me.... was when I was the first in the overflow section. I stood in the front row and stood up to worship the Lord. About 5 minutes later... the Overflow section started filling up and then an usher came up to me and asked me to sit down. I was pissed!!!! In my best Mandarin, I said to him, "敬拜神不是應該站起來的嗎??" The usher had nothing to say but, "不好意思!" People!! We're here to worship God.... worship our Lord and Savior... not to watch a show.
Nui-nui loved it. And I hope to instill in her... that every Christmas Eve, the Leung family will find a place to worship our Lord.
Went online. Typed the typical search words "Christmas Eve Service San Jose" or "Chinese Church Christmas Eve Service." I even wanted to take the kids to a Southern Baptist Church and watch some African American choir truly truly sing and worship!!!
In the end... we ended up going to River of Life church in Santa Clara. The one Chinese Megachurch in the bay area. And oh my was I impressed. No wonder they're a mega-church. No wonder they've sucked so many SJCAC-ers out of uhm... SJCAC.
Punctuality -- I got there at 5:59PM for the 6PM service. And on the dot... they said, "We're at capacity. Service is starting. Please sit in the overflow section." They started on time!!
Overflow -- the amount of seats and number of people in their overflow section was greater than the entire SJCAC Christmas Night. Not a competition... but embarrassing!!
Accents -- their English, even the pastor translating for Pastor Lau into English, has a heavy Chinese accent. That's almost the norm there. To speak with perfect American English, is the minority!!
Lack of YA -- just like SJCAC... there's a huge lack of Young Adult (or C&C). I guess all the College and Careers are hangin' out at the American Mega-churches (Abundant Life).
Creativity to the Max -- the Christmas Service turned out to be a Christmas Variety show. But they were so creative!! "Stall Walls" -- a parody of Star Wars of Luke and Leia trying to find the true "Force." Three Wise Men from the East - 東方三才子 where the three wise men are 魯子，孔子，孟子. Lao-zi who admits his philosophy is "lousy". Confucius who says his philosophy is "confusing." And Menicus who confesses that his mom moved three times for real estate reasons!! Hilarious!!! Puts our CNY performances to shame!!
Candlelight / Glowstick Service - every Christmas Eve has it... the candlelight service. But ROLCC was smart enough to prepare green and red glow sticks for the kids. Brilliant!!! (pun intended)
The Legendary Pastor Lau -- I never knew him... but I guess he was the former SJCAC Mandarin Pastor. And for whatever reason, he left SJCAC. Look at him now. Man... he was charismatic. He's a short, fat and balding Chinese man. But he had charisma. And his wife. You don't want to mess with her. I guess "chosen ones" from the Lord simply oozes with the aura.
General Population - A lot of mainlanders. No wonder this church is booming. It's totally capitalizing on the mandarin population. They have a small English and Cantonese congregation. Where are all the Cantonese people going.....?
Cantonese Population in Bay Area - in my search for a Chinese Church, it was pretty fun to find all these Cantonese churches outside of SJCAC. Makes me wonder... makes me think... should I go explore? Just to see? What if I see what I like.. I don't come back????
The one thing that irritated me.... was when I was the first in the overflow section. I stood in the front row and stood up to worship the Lord. About 5 minutes later... the Overflow section started filling up and then an usher came up to me and asked me to sit down. I was pissed!!!! In my best Mandarin, I said to him, "敬拜神不是應該站起來的嗎??" The usher had nothing to say but, "不好意思!" People!! We're here to worship God.... worship our Lord and Savior... not to watch a show.
Nui-nui loved it. And I hope to instill in her... that every Christmas Eve, the Leung family will find a place to worship our Lord.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Hoopla and Overdrive
Finally took the plunge and dove into the world of free multi-media books, movies and music. Downloaded the Apps Hoopla and Overdrive so I can get stuff from the library for free. FREE!!! How is that even possible?? I don't even need to leave my house to listen to the latest Star Wars soundtrack, to read the latest Rick Riordan series, or to rent "Elf" for my kids.
I'm so out of technology.... so old... so jaded.
And the first movie I "rent" for free... Love Never Dies (Phantom of the Opera II). And ohhhhhh.... it's so bad. So so bad.....
I'm so out of technology.... so old... so jaded.
And the first movie I "rent" for free... Love Never Dies (Phantom of the Opera II). And ohhhhhh.... it's so bad. So so bad.....
Saturday, December 12, 2015
That's a first...
On business travel earlier this week. And on a Tuesday night, without scheduling dinner with any of my work friends... I found myself with an entire evening of solitude.
So I took myself out to a nice (very nice) steak dinner - at my favorite steakhouse Shanahan's. Then I went to catch a movie.
"Ticket for 1, please." How sad. All by myself. I still remember those final years of 7th - 8th grade when I didn't have any friends... I went to so many movies by myself.
The kid selling tickets at the booth was in college. He was studying for his Calculus final. Time would've probably be better spent if I tutored him a little. HA!
I walk into the theater... it's a ghost town. My movie was one of the last two showings in this megaplex. And when I got into my auditorium.... it was empty.
Watching a movie by myself... a thousand miles away from home... in an empty theater. Well.... that's a first!!!
So I took myself out to a nice (very nice) steak dinner - at my favorite steakhouse Shanahan's. Then I went to catch a movie.
"Ticket for 1, please." How sad. All by myself. I still remember those final years of 7th - 8th grade when I didn't have any friends... I went to so many movies by myself.
The kid selling tickets at the booth was in college. He was studying for his Calculus final. Time would've probably be better spent if I tutored him a little. HA!
I walk into the theater... it's a ghost town. My movie was one of the last two showings in this megaplex. And when I got into my auditorium.... it was empty.
Watching a movie by myself... a thousand miles away from home... in an empty theater. Well.... that's a first!!!
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