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.   

Spark of Light

For some reason... just can't get away from this subject.  I first picked up "Spark of Light" when I grabbed whatever book I can find the day before we left for Tahoe.  Ended up bringing it up and back on the 9 hour round trip.  Never even looked at it until Christmas Day.  Hmm... didn't even realize the irony.  The day we celebrate the BIRTH of Christ...is when I crack open a book on abortion.

Like all of Jodi Picoult's books, she jumps right in and hooks you.  This time, it was a different hook.  So many characters.  So many arcs.  And by the time you get to the second chapter... you soon come to realize, this is a backwards book.  Like Memento... or that famous Seinfeld episode.  This bothered me soooo much... cuz I neglected to remember enough of the previous chapter... and I sorta kinda made me want to re-read it.  But I held out.

"Spark of Light." As Picoult describes it... is the moment a sperm fertilizes an egg.  And the chemical reaction will generate zinc... and also generate... a Spark of Light.  Is that where life begins...at conception? Or does life begin... at the exit of the womb? Or does life begin... whenever State government determines it begins? The author dove deep into the philosophical, religious, legal, and emotional angles.  Heck... she even took us between a woman's legs and inside her uterus, going through an abortion play-by-play, down to every last instrument inside the body, and every last tissue and liquid, coming out of the body. Never have I ever... but now I have.

The book was, strangely enough, centered around 2 dads and their daughters' relationship.  And oddly enough... not once, did I cry.  Me.  The guy who cries over diaper commercials!!  I did not cry... until I got to the Epilogue, when it wasn't even about the story anymore.  Picoult describes the real life doctor she interviewed and fashioned for the book.  And she said, "He chose this work because of his faith - not in spite of it."  At that moment... the waterworks came bursting.

Stranded

The atmospheric river or pineapple express has been wreaking havoc on California for a month now... torrential downpours unlike anything I remember for all the time I've lived here.  Yes - we get pounded, but not relentlessly, like this.  

And as trees, powerlines, and mountainsides came running down... also came down were bridges, especially up in the Santa Cruz mountains, in which one of my co-workers lived.

I tried reaching him the first week of the year... to no answer.  I vaguely remember he said he'll be on vacation, so I didn't give it much thought.  Then week 2 came by and still no response.  Out of the blue, my associate manager says the guy is trapped.  The access roads to his neighborhood got wiped out.  He's without power and running water.  But he has food and water, thankfully.

I didn't know what to do.  Call 9-1-1?? What's 9-1-1 gonna do??? Send in a helicopter to evacuate??  So I started cold-calling my company's emergency / security hotlines to ask for help.... no one knew what to do.  Physically, he was safe.  But for how long?? 

It was impossible for me to reach the guy... who turned on his phone just a few minutes a day... to conserve power on his phone.  So only way I got word from him was through that associate manager.  And he told me... the ravine from where the bridge use to be is at least 50 feet wide.  I told him... we can drive up to the ditch... and heave bottles of water, propane, battery, Domino's Pizza over to him.  

That was going to be our Thursday adventure. Drive up to the ravine.  I was thinking... we should bring ropes.  Maybe we can make a transport line.  Or I can maybe borrow a drone and fly some water (and beer) over to him.  Later in the afternoon... a co-worker that lives in Santa Cruz says someone made a zipline to ship supplies over.  Relief.

Then late last night... we find out that one of my employee's neighbor used a chainsaw and made a bridge or something... and the entire neighborhood got out. He was now in a safehaven of a Quality Inn.  

My L4 manager and I headed up to meet with him today and had lunch.  I thought about bringing a care package but wasn't sure what to get.  We drove through an hour of rain and mountainous regions... through fallen trees and power lines.  We saw CalTrans and PG&E fixing this and that along the way.  Suffice to say... it was not a drive I would take on any other Friday.

We got to this amazing Italian restaurant, situated in the middle of no-where, and as we found it, it use to be a brothel.  The decor is amazing.  The service is exceptional.  And the clam chowder... well worth the drive.  When my colleague walked in... he was smiling from ear to ear.  He was so glad to see a couple of familiar faces.  His eyes started welling up.  "You didn't need to do this.  But I'm so happy to see you right now." 

History repeating itself

A year and one day ago... this happened.  Course... the ensuing events snowballed into an inferno of a mess. A year and one day later... "Daddy... I got into Team A."  

Redemption. Validation. Vindication.  NN wanted it so bad.  She played with a chip on her shoulder.  She ran harder and faster than she ever ran... to a point, where she broke her shoe. 

Now she has a new chip on her shoulder.  She's riding pine. She'll have to work her way to the starting lineup.  Keep fighting Nui.... with every last sweat and every last beat of your heart... but in all things, give Glory and Honor to Jesus. 

I'm an American!!!

"Y'know... I know nothing about soccer.  What you'll get is an adult with a loud voice. You sure that's what you want?"

"An encouraging warm body is all we are looking for. :)"

I am so lost.... don't even ask me to explain offside.  I'm an American!!! I don't know anything about soccer.  But guess what.... Coach Henry is back. 

中華之傲

What a moment for Asians.  A moment for women.  A moment for 60 year olds.  Carry this to the Oscars.  You've got, at least, 2 billion people behind you...