Thoughts

THOUGHTS BESIDE THE TREE (WELL, ONE OF THEM AT LEAST)
So, everybody's been asking me lately. It's funny how important something becomes when you put a little secrecy around it. Yes, it is true that I spend a little time every Christmas ... just thinking. I think about all kinds of things. However, I'll have to build up the hype a little more because now is not the time to talk about all this, but I will say that one of my thoughts was:

I fear failure. I'm sure we all do, but I REALLY fear it. I fear it to the point of not wanting to try sometimes. But it's time to take some greater leaps of faith, to be pushed out of my comfort zone. And like Aaliyah once said, "And if at first you don't succeed, pick yourself up and try again."

FOLLOWING MEG RYAN
Karena and I got the chance to see Kate and Leopold tonight and I have to admit that it turned out to be better than expected. And Breckin Meyer, the guy from Inside Schwartz, has a break-out performance.
But what Karena and I were talking about briefly during the movie was watching You've Got Mail after our trip to New York. That way, we could see the scene where Meg Ryan meets Tom Hanks at Cafe Lola's, the same cafe we went to visit while we were there. During that trip, we also visited Central Park and took some pictures (as seen on Luong's web page) on a huge rock there. Interestingly enough, during Kate and Leopold, Hugh Jackman is seen riding a horse with Meg Ryan through Central Park around that very rock that we took a picture on. I guess you could say we're following Meg Ryan around ... or maybe she's following us.
Meg's next stop? Montebello!!!

ESCONDIDO
I spent the day with my family and my aunts, uncles, and cousins at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido. The place is full of things to do on the site itself, but it's absolutely desolate outside of it - just mountains full of boulders, but no civilization aside from the 15 freeway. Even going on a market run is complicated since it's not close and not very convenient at all.
And the place itself is exactly what the name implies - a resort ... for old people. While waiting for the 3:00pm check-in time to arrive, we entertained ourselves by blasting our music, dancing (well, sort of), telling jokes, and generally being young. Meanwhile, all the cars that pulled up (about nine of them) all had older people in it. But this is definitely one of the "cooler" older places. While we were there, we had the chance to work out (I did my uppers workout since I didn't get to do it this past week), play basketball, shoot pool, play the piano, go for a nature walk, feed the ducks on the lake, watch people golf, and of course, watch TV. Because the place had cable, I was all over the TVs. Here's what I watched: an old ER episode, VH1's Behind the Music on Def Leppard and one on the Goo Goo Dolls, La Bamba, A League of Their Own, West Side Story, and of course, SportsCenter.
The evening was spent having all the Shens sleep on the floor in the living room, creating what was later desribed as the noisiest snoring symphony ever.
Vacations. You gotta love 'em!

KOINONIA PARTY
Another day, another party. Ahh, this is the life!
Koinonia had our second annual Koinonia post-Christmas, pre-New Year's bash at my house. The evening was complete with TONS of food (come on, you know how my mom is!), a time of worship, and of coure, the white elephant gift exchange.
I have to admit that it was great to see so many people at my house to celebrate the holidays. Here are the highlights of the evening:
1. Mike, Jason, and I getting a chance to talk, albeit briefly, about life, love, and other mysteries
2. Lauren spending almost the entire night getting a piggy-back ride from Eunice.
3. Watching the U2 DVD and seeing me, Jason, Raphael bobbing our heads together.
4. Reuel, in response to seeing that lotion was one of the white elephants gift, "Oh really?" with great interest. "Can I have some?"
5. A great game of the updated version of Taboo.
6. Having 48 of the best cream puffs you have ever tasted.
7. A cameo appearance by Andi Roselund.
8. Julie giving out our much-anticipated Brothers' Appreciation basketball pictures, compete with Ikea wood frames.
9. And of coure, the white elephant gift exchange!!! This year's far and away winner was a box full of strange knick knacks including a frosty mug, a steel thermos, coasters, and mugs. Dennis, our favorite person to participate in events like this, caused an uproar stealing it multiple times and also had Luong and Bonnie steal it, too. And in the end, he was victorious, getting his much-desired frosty mug. The runner up for best gift was an antique ship tht rocks back and forth as if appearing to be sailing over the waves. Sharon walked away happily with it and said it would be a great addition to her home. All in all, everyone walked away with a gift they were pretty happy with ...
Or so I thought until I began cleaning up the mess only to find multiple white-elephants gifts left under the table, on the piano, between the couch cushions, etc. This just goes to show that sometimes, one man's trash is STILL another man's trash!

MY DAD'S 60th BIRTHDAY BASH
I spent Christmas night at my cousins' Tammy and Kimmy's house in Valencia. The night was complete with me making a feble attempt to play something melodious on their new drum set (it's a secret passion of mine to play the drums), taking a nice, albeit short nap, and watching the Lakers come from behind to beat the Sixers. All in all, a great night.
But the 26th always brings yet another party in our family - my dad's birthday. This one was especially meaningful because it was my dad's 60th birthday. It's crazy for me to think I now have a dad who's in his 60s, but that thought also makes me feel blessed. We had about 30 people cram into two tables in our own room at NBC for a traditional Chinese birthday dinner - you know, the cold plate to start, shark fin soup, the chicken, the duck skin with the buns, the fish, and of course, the long-life noodles. The definitely highlight of the evening was when Raymond gave a toast in Shanghainese that Sandra translated into Mandarin and that I translated into Cantonese. It was both heartfelt and very funny because neither one of us were very good ... but we were sure going to go down trying!
Besides, you know what hams we Shens are, so you know it was good!!!

CHRISTMAS LIKES AND DISLIKES
Christmas 2001 is upon us and that gave me some time to reflect on ... my likes and dislikes in terms of the holiday season.
Songs I like: Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song, Band Aid's Do They Know Its Christmas?, Whitney Houston's Do You Hear What I Hear?, O Holy Night, the instrumental Sleigh Ride, and for some strange reason, Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You.
Songs I Don't Like: Santa Baby, Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
Most Overplayed Holiday Songs: Wham's Last Christmas and Adam Sandler's The Chanukkah Song
Weird Things I Like To Do: Make it a point NOT to open any gifts until Christmas morning; spend some time along sitting in front of the tree evaluating my life over the past year, my hopes and dreams for the coming year, and remembering the reason for the season; taking pictures of the family (complete in pajamas and bed head) opening gifts because it's easy to capture their true excitement.
Things I Don't Like To Do: Answer my dad's rhetorical question of "Do you know who sings this song?" It's rhetorical because he asks all the same ones every year so I already know all the answers - Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, etc.
Gifts I Liked This Year: Luong's gift of The Best of Friends DVD, my cousin Allison's gift of the U2 Elevation Tour DVD, my brother's gift of The Clapper, and Karena's soon-to-be-arriving gift of basketball shoes.
Gifts I Didn't Like This Year: I can't say right now because I'm going to give it out as my white elephant gift this Friday at Koinonia's Post-Christmas bash at my house. See you there!!!

DOLLAR TREE
While out shopping with Raymond today, we got sucked into a Dollar Tree store (very similar to the 99 cent store) - and let me tell you, "sucked in" was the operative word.

Raymond: Should I get this?
Victor: See, the downside to a store like this is that you start thinking everything is SO CHEAP, but it's still a dollar each. These little trickets we're holding right now cost a total of four dollars already.
Raymond: Yeah, but if you need this stuff, it's a real steal.
Victor: That's the thing. You HAVE TO, HAVE TO, HAVE TO ask yourself, "Do I really need this?" before buying it. If you do, then I'm all for it. But if not, chuck that thing back where it came from.

We walked out of there with: a pair of sunglasses, a fake Swiss army knife, a small frying pan, a spatula, and two rolls of tape.
The moral of this story? Apparently, we REALLY NEED all kinds of trinkets!?!

THE REPEATED OPENING AND CLOSING OF DOORS
The Sunday before Christmas has arrived. And we all know what that means - Joint Worship at CEFC. And with that comes sitting outside the normal confines of the sanctuary, surrounded by people who are no doubt singing only in Mandarin or Cantonese while you're left to represent singing in English on your own, and barely listening to the sermon ... because you only understand half of it. Because we arrived late, we sat in the lobby part just outside the glass windows of the santuary. This experience was complicated by the glare coming off the glass - allowing me to better see who was walking down the stairs coming in late than the pulpit.

Who's that new guy?
I don't know who you're referring to, but I can see that Michael and Matthew just walked down late!

And all I heard throughout the whole sermon was the back door opening and closing. The guy next to me must've walked out about six times to answer his cell phone. Doors opening. Doors closing. It's a sad state of affairs when people, Christians to boot, can't turn off their phones for an hour and a half to celebrate Christmas. Sad.

And afterward, I saw The Lord of the Rings at Puente with Victoria, Jacob, Amy, Bonnie, Jeff, Cathy, and my cousins Allison and Jonathan. And because the theater was packed, we sat at the seats right by teh door ... again. And when you're watching a three hour movie, the inevitable again happened to me.

I have to go to the bathroom!
I'm hungry. I need some popcorn.
Let's go, son. That old lady is kicking us out.

The creeking of that darn door opening and the slamming of the door was louder than some of those fight scenes!

Doors open. Doors close.

DRIVING IN TRAFFIC
In honor of Victor's missing me so incredibly much, I've decided to write a guest-blog and share about my drive up to San Francisco... Let me begin by saying that I've always veiwed our drives up to SF as long and torturous. So I finally convinced my dad to drive up highway 5 (vs 101) so as to avoid any extra road-time. Then I wanted to drive first so that we could hurry up and get on our way, but of course he had to drive first and we had to stop somewhere off the 134 Freeway and then turn around and get back on the 5. But not before getting lost and driving in circles for 15 minutes (which felt more like 45)! So we finally got headed the right way and there was SOOOO much traffic.
When I took over the second leg of the drive, it went something like this:

Ahh! How come they keep on braking?
That guy is trying to get in front of me!
Well, scoot over closer to the line then...and turn your headlights on, it's getting dark.
I want to but it's on highbeam and I don't know how to change it.
Well, these rental cars are usually automatic anyway, I'm sure they're on.
Hey that's the same guy that cut me off earlier! That dirty guy!

Anyway, generally 70-75 mph, except for the intermittent 90-95 to pass 1-2 cars (including the same ones - over and over). Then back to 70.
Well, at least when you do some of the driving, it's definitely not as boring! :)

A MERRY NIGHT AROUND TOWN
In honor of Christmas, Roger's birthday, and Roger and Michelle's new house, we were treated to a big dinner bash at their new home in Sherman Oaks. And let me say that they have good taste in houses - complete with a large kitchen, hardwood floors that they put in themselves, and one room with enough wood in it to make it feel like you're staying in a wood cabin in Big Bear. And that's not even talking about the love and warmth they had already filled the house with. The party was full of Roger and Michelle's family and co-workers so there were a lot of people we didn't know. That meant, the CEFCers - Charles and Lisa, Frank and Eunice, Allen and Renee, and us were relegated to stay in one room, eating off a table fit more for two then for eight, and watching a Hong Kong 50cent VCD of Pretty Woman on a 13" computer monitor. But somehow, I didn't mind the close quarters because it brought a new holiday togetherness.
We left early to catch the tail-end of the Young Messiah at CEFC. It was very exciting to see the return of some familiar faces - Danny and Sue, Rob and Daphne, Richard (who just proposed to Danette - congrats!), Tammy Ho, Cindy Han, Bert and fiancee, and my newly-engaged cousin Joyce with her fiance Michael.
And I hate to admit it, but this was my last Fellowship committee gig and now I am officially off the committee and feeling good. I have served for 2 years and now it's time to move on to other ministries. Hopefully, someone else from Koinonia steps up and takes my place.

GOD SPEAKS
I'm not sure what God is exactly trying to tell me, but it's been very interesting how the passage from Romans 8:28 continues to cross my path. First, I ran across it while thumbing through my Bible. Then, it was mentioned twice during last week's Sunday worship service. Then, a patient, who was a Jew for Jesus, mentioned it: "I'm a Jew, but I love Jesus. And I hold true to His promises of love, forgiveness, and like it says in Romans 8:28, that He works for the good of those who love Him. And that's me!" That patient's faith was very inspirational to me, by the way, because she had held firm despite fleeing the Nazis, undergoing eight different surgeries for multiple medical problems, and being a widow.
Anyway, because this passage keeps coming at me, I've decided to post it on my webpage and let His comfort come at you too!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
- Romans 8:28

3 FLAVOR POPCORN
The holiday season is upon us and you all know what that means - massive amounts of food at your workplace. It's doubly bad for me because not only do I have all kinds of junk food in our physical therapy department, but also up on the floors when I treat patients. I'm been stuffing my face with everything from cookies, pies, cakes, different kinds of bread, and of course, the popcorn from the 3-flavor popcorn tins.
Isn't it interesting which flavor gets taken up first, second, third? In our department, the caramel is far and away the winner (as it is for anywhere else). Second, as expected for me, is the cheese popcorn with the regular butter popcorn coming in a distant third. Just goes to show you that PTs are sweet ... or at least have a sweet tooth!

GIVING BLOOD, GETTING A BRUISE
Very few people know this, but I am very excited and fully support the giving of blood. This is especially true for myself because I have O+ type blood, making me a universal donor. That, plus the fact that I just about make it over the 110 lb. weight limit should make me a prime candidate to donate pretty often, right? Well, in truth, I haven't donated at UCLA since 1994. And when I walked in there this week to donate, they all let me know about it, jokingly of course.

Hey, nice to see you once a decade.
1994? I was in high school back then!!!

I didn't mind the friendly jokes at my expense. What I discovered is that I'm a big baby when it comes to pain. Don't let the big exterior fool you. Even the pinprick they give beforehand stung. Fine, call me a wus, but I'll tell you, needles are no friends of mine. And what's worse is that I have veins that do are not close to the surface, giving me the label: "a hard stick." After poking me, the nurse had to fumble around within my arm to find the vein (Read: NOT very comfortable AT ALL!) and then, she had to hold the needle in because she didn't get a good connection between it and my vein. After sitting there for about 10 minutes, I had only donated about 100 ccs of blood (roughly 25% the total needed to be good enough to give a patient) when I should have been done with 400 cs deposited. She decided to terminate the donation because she said my arm was going to bruise up pretty bad if she kept going - not to mention she would have had to hold that needle for half an hour longer.
I felt dejected and rejected. My own body had failed me and prevented me from doing something good for society.
The good part (or maybe bad depending on how you look at it) was that I still got a free T-shirt, still get 4 hours of pay banked, and still got all the juice and Diddy Reese cookies I wanted. And all I left with was a big bruise on my left arm.
Not a bad trade-off ... but I still wish some patient could have been feeling better today because of blood I had donated.

A BLOCKBUSTER NIGHT - A LACKLUSTER MORNING
After having an awesome steak dinner with Mark and Gina, they were gracious enough to loan us their latest Blockbuster movie rental - "The Score" starring Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton. And because of Blockbuster's strict return policy, we were forced to watch it the next night, even though I was extremely tired.
The movie turned to out to be suspenseful, but I didn't like the ending much. Basically, all you have to know is that Robert DeNiro is the man and will ALWAYS be the man ... in every movie ... until the end of time. Ey, you talkin' to me? And I was really impressed with Edward Norton's acting. And I have to admit, Jason, that in some scenes, he does look like Nathan Sturtevant. And how in the world did Marlon Brando get so fat!?! He's a far cry from the days when he was a sex symbol in "Streetcar Named Desire." Stellaaaaaaaa!!! Anyway, I'd give the movie a "B."
So, a great Blockbuster night, right? Well, maybe. But the problem is that reality always comes to bite you in the butt the next morning as you rush to return the movie before going to work. Let's face it, it serves almost no point to have the return time at noon because 9 times out of 10, you've got to be somewhere way before that. So, there I was, double parked in the middle of the street just so I could run out to drop off the movie at 7:20 and still make it to work on time. The funny thing is that four other people were doing the exact same thing.
Having to wake up earlier and rush around left me feeling more "lackluster" than "blockbuster."

REMEMBERING HAYDEN ENG
I've been asked many times why I have lumped together three somewhat depressing "remembering ..." segments right around such a joyous time as Christmas. Well, it's has been about 4 years since Dennis passed, almost exactly 10 years since Uncle Stephen passed, and 3 years to the day that my uncle Hayden Eng (Allison and Jonathan's dad) passed. I know it may be sad for some, but my intention is to do just what the title says: remember them. I remember how they touched my life and how I've learned a little something from them. It's a celebration more than some sad, somber thing. And so with that, I introduce my last installment. This one is about my uncle.
He was from Chicago and always had a little accent in his voice. He said things like "schoo" without the "l" sound and his face always lit up when you talked about Chicago. It was his kind of town. He was a peace-loving man. Gentle. Loved to laugh. His favorite thing was to come over every weekend and tell jokes to me or hear mine. That's part of the reason why Allison and Jonathan love jokes too (including the Arrrr-beees one everyone loves so much!). =)
But what I thought was so cool about him was that he had his priorities straight. He was a lawyer. And as everybody knows, that's no small feat. But he left that life, and all the fortune that profession would surely bring in, to sell insurance. Why? Because he wasn't happy with that job and it would hinder his family life. He was willing to sacrifice it all to take his family to see a baseball game, to tell them a good joke, or just to be less stressed when he got home. He made sure he loved life and he did. He was comitted to his church - CEFC's sister church in Walnut. He painted, taught, and was a visible presence to both the pastoral staff and laymen alike. Uncle Hayden had a genuine concern for all and he wasn't afraid to take time out of his life to show it. I wish I was more like him. Maybe that's why I'm so committed to helping to make sure Allison and Jonathan grow up right. I feel like I owe it to Uncle Hayden since he indirectly helped me grow up into the man I am today.
So, what connects these three extraordinary men together? None of them were Nobel peace prize winners, gained world-wide notoriety, or were millionaires. It's more the little things that they did - loving God and loving people. And ultimately, isn't that what it's all about?

SMOOTH PART II
Very related to this topic of me trying to be "smooth" is how I act when I walk into the Koinonia room on Friday nights. This is one of the few times where I really feel "smooth" and not just because I want to be, but because I am genuinely happy to be there and want to talk to people I haven't seen all week (or longer). It's a lot like the way Tom Cruise describes it in the movie "Jerry Maguire." In one scene, he explains how he "owns" the living room where he does his business wooing athletes/potential clients into his firm and then parading that athlete to teams to promote them. And then, he goes out and does exactly that with Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) by basically displaying and selling his talents to other teams. Jerry knows everybody's name, knows everybody's likes and dislikes, needs and wants, and he uses that information to sell his athlete.
Now, my intentions are way less selfish and on a much smaller scale, but the idea is still there. I love walking into that Koinonia room and feel good that I know everybody's name and I can relate to every person in there on some level. It's all smiles, it's slapping hands, it's making sure everyone is doing alright. And if their not, I'm there. And if things are all good, I'm there to share in that too.
See what I mean?
Smooth.

SMOOTH
I saw Ocean's Eleven in Burbank on Saturday. And I have to admit that I liked it. Most guys think they're not going to like the movie as much as girls just because the girls have all an over-abundance of "eye candy" in Georgy Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, etc. Meanwhile, guys only have Julia Roberts (who in opinion is good looking, but not great) to look at. But what I loved best is how they all work together to pull of the amazing heist of $160 million dollars from the Bellagio, MGM Grand, and the Mirage in Las Vegas. And I don't know what it is, but I think George Clooney is the man. I even liked "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" But anyway, the point of this blog is to acknowledge just how cool those guys were in this movie.
And through it all, they're smooth. Just when you think something is going to go wrong, you find out that they've already thought about that and it's been taken care of. Everything happens on their terms and according to plan. You never see them sweat. The epitome of "smooth".
Maybe I value this so much because I have very little of it. I sweat so much in pressure situations. You know how most athletes say they want the ball in their hands when the game is on the line? Well, I''m the guy who hopes I don't have the ball. And maybe this explains why I shy away from leadership sometimes. But, I'm trying to be more smooth with each passing day ... not to pull off some major heist, but more so I can be an effective leader.

FRIDAY RECAP
I was really happy to have Friday off because it was raining. So, I spent the day doing absolutely nothing! All I did was stay under the covers and read the newspaper, some magazines, etc. Let me tell you, there is no better feeling than staying in on a rainy day. And what made the experience better was enjoying some Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup. There is nothing better than having some good ol' chicken noodle on a rainy day.
The fate of my Aiwa stereo that was given to me as a huge gift from about 14 people has been decided: it's dead. Well, it can technically be revived if I spend $100 to fix it. But hey, if I'm going to spend $100 just to get something back that may break down again (it's had this same power failure before), I might as well spend a little more and get a new one.
In the evening, Koinonia was blessed to have Hannah Yu and her roommate speak on their missions trip into the inner city and relationship evangelism, respectively. And we were doubly blessed to have, in the flesh, the return of Richard Lew. You really don't know how much you miss a guy until he comes back.
Afterhours Friday night were spent at Jesse and Tammy's helping to decorate their tree and helping to decorate cookies that will be sold Sunday to benefit Alpha for their retreat. I've come to the conclusion that I have little talent, but try to have as much fun with it as I can. And it wouldn't be a night at J and T's without some deep, interesting conversation about everything from love letters versus email to how your parents got together to The Lord of the Rings being more "Christian" than Harry Potter to how incorporating U2 into our Friday Night Live worship sets wouldn't be such a bad thing.
All in all, a great day.

MY INTERNAL CLOCK
My internal clock is out of whack. Well, actually, it's a little too good for my liking. See, because I get up at the same time five out of seven days, as do most of you, (sorry Luong =) ), my body quickly adjusts to getting up at that time. This is especially true if I have to work a weekend day and end up working 10 out of 11 days straight. So, today, even though I'm off and could theoretically sleep in 'til the cows come home (I don't really know what that saying means), I still woke up at 6:30. And by Saturday, my body will start to figure it out a little bit more so I'll probably wake up around 7:30 or 8:00. And then, by Sunday, it'll really start figuring it out and I'll wake up a little later and probably not have enough time to thumb through the Sunday LA Times and still make it to church on time. Of course, by Monday, my body will think it's totally readjusted itself by trying to keep me sleeping that I'll wake up all groggy for work and slam my snooze button to no end.
I gotta get my internal clock a calendar.

BAD BREATH?
We're doing Secret Santa gift exchange at work and after waiting all week to get something, I finally got two things.
Gift #1: a box of breath mints. Cool. That'll really come in handy, especially when I go treat patients after lunch.
Gift #2: those liquid drops that clear up bad breath.
Hmm ... is my Secret Santa trying to send me a message here?

This reminds me of Jason's rule of thumb. He never offers mints to people because he's afraid they'll get offended. How funny is that?

WHAT WAS IT AGAIN?
I was thirsty. This happens quite a bit working in a hospital. Someone offered me gum and it seemed like the best thing (aside from water). Some time later, I finally managed to find a water cooler and while downing my cup of water, I accidentally swallowed my gum. I haven't done that in nearly 20 years. Suddenly, voices from my past filled me head:

That's seven years of bad luck.
That means you'll grow bubble gum in your stomach.
That means all the food you eat will stick to your gum.
When you pass gas, it'll come bursting out like you're blowing a bubble.

Wait. I've heard all of those before, but none of those are right. Hmm ...
Oh yeah, it supposedly stays in your system for seven years.
Don't hold your breath. I'll let you know when I turn 32.

REMEMBERING STEPHEN CHUNG
What makes a man great? Well, in this world, it's probably based mostly on the money he makes, the car he drives, and the way he looks.
What made Stephen Chung great? Well, he made money enough to support his wife and two kids. And he drove a red Dodge Dart in his younger days and the now-infamous blue Dodge Caravan Chung van in his older days. And he didn't have the trendiest clothes or the slickest haircut. But he definitely was great. Contradiction? No way.
Stephen Chung, better known to most of us as Uncle Stephen or Enoch and Eunice's father or the guy who made those famous Chung burgers, was a simple man.
1. He went about his business - going to work to earn an honest living. He took care of things around the house, including overseeing the addition of their entire upstairs level to their formerly one-story house. He built a sturdy kitchen table (and I emphasize sturdy!).
2. He did his devotions. He helped pick CEFC off the ground and was one of the founding fathers who helped turn it into the thriving church it is today. And how did he do that? One red chair at a time. He could often be found setting up chair after chair in the sanctuary (now the Fellowship Hall) for various functions. And afterward, he could be found stacking up the chairs. Nobody told him to do it. He just figured it had to be done so he graciously did it ... without complaint.
3. He loved his wife. Uncle Stephen and Auntie Angelina were very cool parents because they were a cool married couple. I often think about one image that exemplifies their marriage: a old, raggity green Bible with the engraving of "Stephen and Angelina Chung" on the front. That Bible has been beaten down by use year after year. Their marriage was like that Bible - the two of them together, centered on Christ.
4. He loved his kids. I can still here his sweet voice telling me first to "Hold on, please." when I called to speak to Enoch, and then gently saying, "Sai zhai, sai zhai" (Little son in Cantonese). The other image that demonstrates this perfectly is this old black and white picture that Eunice still keeps on her bookshelf of her dad looking so lovingly upon her little girl while she rests comfortable against his chest. He was her daddy and he made sure his kids knew it.
5. And most importantly, he loved Jesus. I will never forget the bright blue Jesus tie he wore the last time I ever saw him. Death had taken his life, but it could not extinguish his fire for God and his desire to praise Him. Even in death, he worshipped.
Was Stephen Chung perfect? No.
But was he great?
You better believe it.

FACTS AND THOUGHTS ON A NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD
Fact: Last night, Karena and I, along with 45 of her co-workers, celebrated Christmas at The Magic Castle in Hollywood between the Hollywood Bowl and Hollywood and Highland.
Thought:This sounds pretty hokie, but at least it'll probably make for a good story on my webpage.

Fact: Price of valet parking: covered. Price of admission: covered. Price of any drink from the bar: covered. Price of prime rib or salmon dinner with red or white wine and salad and dessert: covered. Price of multiple magic shows (good ones too): Covered. Spending time with your girlfriend: Priceless. (Sorry, I had to opt for the cheesy joke here).
Thought: How is it that Karena's work gets ALL that covered for her Christmas party, and yet, we at UCLA were expected to pay a whopping $41 to have dinner at UCLA eating food from UCLA Catering?

Fact:We saw many magic shows with tricks including a piano that plays your requested songs without anyone actually sitting at the piano (but refused to play my request of Cheers), multiple ripping up of things and suddenly put back together, a math trick (to please the Asians in the crowd, no doubt), multiple card tricks (one cool one where he drew the Ace of spaids card on a notepad and the card the audience member picked actually floated up from the drawing and ended up on the paper).
Thought: There's just something about deceiving sleight of hand tricks that just pisses me off. I hate being fooled!

Fact: After leaving the Magic Castle, we drove around Hollywood and Highland and saw a high speed chase: Four guys in a beat-up Toyota flipping people off, mooning people, etc. while about six police cars, two vans, and one helicopter gave chase. They passed by us three times because they kept making illegal U-turns on Hollywood Blvd.
Thought: At first it was, "Sweet! This is better than TV." But by the third pass-by, it was more like, "Okay, idiots. If you guys hit my car, or anyone else's for that matter, I am NOT going to be a happy camper."

Fact: I finally crawled into bed way too late, but felt very good. You could say the night was ...
Thought: Priceless.

WORRIES GIVING WAY TO PERFECTION
While doing some "fancy driving" to get down to Laguna Beach to meet Karena and her family, I had many worries running through my mind.

Am I dressed cool enough for the beach now and yet warm enough for later?
Am I going to get a ticket for driving this fast?
Am I going to get there before dark?
Did I remember to bring all my clothes with me to bring back to my apartment?
Do I smell bad?
Is my hair okay?
Will she be mad that I'm late?

All these worries were quickly blown away as I got there JUST IN TIME to catch the sun setting along the beach with Karena beside me.
Going ... going ... gone.
Perfect.

THE DRIPS
Over the last few days, I have endured a cold that has progressively gotten worse. And I have all the most inconvenient symptoms: stuffy and runny nose, dry hacking cough, stuffy head. The worst has to be the nose that drips like a leaky faucet at will and without warning.
Yesterday, I was helping a patient out of bed and suddenly, drip! right next to her leg. I tried to work with it, but it was hopeless. I lifted my head so as not to drip any further, but it's really hard to help a patient with altered mental status out of bed with your head looking up at the ceiling the whole time! Screw this, I thought. This patient is not mentally all there right now anyway, so I stopped, grabbed one of her Kleenex tissues and tried to blow it all out as loudly as I could (because it only really works when you blow your nose loudly.)
HRRRRRRRRRR!!! And yet, nothing. Let me tell you, that darn stuffy, yet runny nose leaves you feelingvery frustrated because it's a lose-lose situation.
Oh well. Nothing I could do. So, I went back to working with the patient ...
Drip ... drip ... drip!

ABIOCOR REPLACEMENT HEART
We had an inservice at work today from one of the engineers who works on and manages the new ABioCor hearts that have been given to six patients. This is that fully implantable new device that Robert Tools got and was even featured on Dateline a few months back. He just died last Friday after living with it for 5+ months, after he was only supposed to live about two weeks had he not gotten the AbioCor heart.
All I have to say is that I was more than impressed with the product. One of the six patients who currently has one is at UCLA. It's things like this that remind me why I got into health care in the first place. And lately, I've been needing the reminder because I've been very concerned about my poor benefits, poorer salary, and stagnant professional life.
I've got a heart. I should live with it.

THE REMOVING OF THE TOWEL
We were tired. We were sweaty. We were dirty. Working out will do that to you. Mark and I had just finished yet another killer workout and both stopped into the locker room portion to wash our hands like we always do. But we were stopped this time by a man washing his face at the only sink ... a man sporting nothing but a towel around his waist. No problem. We'll just patiently wait until he's done. Our conversation continues:

Mark: Yeah, since I've gotten married, I've been eating GOOOOOOD! That's probably why I'm gaining weight.
Victor: Nah, it's probably because we've been getting HUGE! Muscle weighs more than fat you know. And besides, all you eat is vegetables.

The water shuts off. And the man pulls the towel from around his waist and uses it to dry his face, leaving us with the perfect view of ... well, you know.

Victor: (nervously, and QUICKLY looking skyward at the ceiling) Yeah, uh ... I ... uh ... heard that mushrooms are ... uh ... high in vitamins and low in ... uh ... calories. Um, yeah.

Why couldn't the man just pull some paper towels from the dispenser just above his hand? These are questions that there are simply no answers for.

REMEMBERING DENNIS LOH
Remember senior year of high school? Thoughts of homework, life, anything even remotely serious were the further things from your mind. In fact, the most important things were who you were going to take to the prom, what you were going to do for senior ditch day, how you were going to "leave your mark." Thinking about anything serious? Gimme a break.
Not so for Dennis Loh. This guy was bowled over by God's goodness his senior year of high school. And funny thing was that God was probably the furthest thing from his mind at the time. He was the epitome of high school coolness - baggy shirts complete with white "wife-beater" underneath to cover up his lean body (after all, he was on the varsity track and cross country team), faded hair cut with perfectly-placed combed back hair with just the right amount of gel, and a great personality to complete the package. Girls wanted him, guys wanted to be like him. You think a guy like that needed God? You better believe it!
He started coming to CEFC's Alpha fellowship, in part because of my sister, who was his friend at Schurr. He asked a lot of questions about Jesus, faith, the Bible, etc. He asked everybody and soaked it up like a sponge. He was skeptical and wasn't afraid to question. But ultimately, that inquiring mind allowed him to believe wholeheartedly in Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. He fell in love with Jesus and suddenly was filled with good news. His life's focus and priorities had changed, forever. He was so passionate about his faith that he invited his parents and brothers to come to church. But they refused. But he was persistent and wasn't afraid to share his newfound faith with them. He didn't understand why God wouldn't allow them to come to church, but he remained faithful. You see, God had a plan.1
That summer, I had the privilege of driving him and others to the Emmanuel retreat at Takewitz Pines in Idyllwild. During the drive, the song "Meet Us Here" came on and he explained how he loved the song. And on the last night of the retreat, Danette led the group in some extended worship and was taking requests. I quickly requested "Meet Us Here" because I wanted to let Dennis know how much his passion for God has inspired me to love Him in the same way. He turned around as if to say, "Thanks" and I pointed back at him, gave him "the nod." I'll never forget it.
Later that summer, Dennis, who was scheduled to begin his college years at USC in a few weeks, was killed in a car accident when he fell asleep behind the wheel. I was devastated to find out the news. He, as a recently born-again Christian had jump-started my spiritual life more than anyone else, was gone, but certainly not forgotten. And that was evident when we began seeing his father and brothers sitting in the middle pews during Sunday service. Yes, God had a plan. It wasn't necessarily the one I had expected. But, He most certainly had a plan.
And still does.

A PICTURE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
Before I get to the real topic, I have to say how ecstatic I am about having such awesome choices for Sunday school. Pastor Clive's one on Philippians versus Jesse's one on church history from Acts to Reformation. Wow! I wish I could go to both. You think things at CEFC are on the up and up? You better believe it.
After church, Karena and I stopped off to have lunch at Deerfield (across from Dragon Regency in the plaza where Diamond Bakery is on Atlantic and Garvey). Good moo-shoo pork, bad fried dumplings.
While eating, Charles (looking suave in that black J Crew suit) and Lisa (looking quite good herself) walked in and waited for a table to open. While waiting, they sat and looked intently through the "Homes" section of the LA Times. It was a beautiful sight to see. Two twenty-somethings, newlyweds, starting their life and looking into buying a house to settle down in one place they can call their own. As they kept pointing at the newspaper and talking about various houses, I leaned over to Karena and said, "I wish I had my camera to capture this moment. This is the American dream right here. This is exactly what terrorists like Osama Bin Laden attempt to but can never take away."
Maybe I'm still caught up in post-September 11th patriotism, but that image is something I will never, ever forget.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
It's pretty stressful being in charge of putting up outdoor Christmas lights for two households (mine and my cousins). I spent Saturday afternoon at their place figuring and configuring the whole system so we could attach a wreath with lights in the shape of a star, a lit-up reindeer, and of course their icicle lights. And isn't it interesting how those icicle lights pretty much became the norm for all Christmas lights. If you have the older normal kind (even if they're different colors or blink), you're so early '90s. Trends are everywhere.
Anyway, back to the lecture at hand, putting up lights at my cousins had me running in and out of their house, into and out of their backyard and putting nails in various places of their house. But it was all worth it because I got to shoot hoops and through a football around with Jonathan and talk about shopping at the mall with Allison. Good family bonding.
And today, I spent all afternoon with my parents putting our lights up. We have this whole full-scale operation complete with three electrical outlets. My mom is very organized so that made it much easier, even with my dad's complaining. (He always complains, but he really does have some good ideas and is a big help.) Anyway, this year, we were very efficient and finished just as it was starting to get dark. And as the three of us stood in the middle of the street, admiring the finished product, I couldn't help but think how blessed I am. And just then, Nat "King" Cole's The Christmas Song came on, which is arguably my favorite Christmas song of all time, and suddenly, I knew it was Christmas.
Amen.

GINGERBREAD MANIA
Another holiday season brings out another Koinonia gingerbread house making party. And this one was filled to the brim with excitement.
And with it, as always, comes all the trash-talking from guys, some reallly creative ideas, as well as some truly genuine fellowship and sharing. Oh yeah, and I got to not only watch the Lakers thrash the Sonics, but also partake in the most elusive gift ever (U2's DVD).
The evening started with Koinonia newcomer Eddie asking a theological question that I have struggled with myself - so much that even after all my years of attending church and reading the Word, I still can't answer enough to my satisfaction. And the question is: How do you know that when good things or bad things happen in secession that it's truly God in your life versus karma or chance? I found myself babbling on and on and dancing around an answer I didn't have. I know it comes down to faith and just knowing we trust in something we can't actually see, but I always feel like I want to give a "better" answer. So, all you theological buffs, email me back or write in my guestbook.
And as Karena and I are doing with quite some regularity now at social events, we worked on Pastor Clive because he injured himself running and hiking a while back. We hope he's feeling better after one treatment, but chances are he'll be hobbling up to the pulpit Sunday morning because he'll be sore. While watching Karena work, I couldn't help but be amazed and impressed with her PT skills. And that inspired me to improve on mine.
And the last, but DEFINITELY not least, bit of news is who won awards: Charles and Lisa's house, complete with the best darn melted snowman you have ever seen won for best presentation (or something like that). Jason's windmill, complete with bicycle port, won best design (Mr. Creativity wins every year). Julie's beautiful house complete with multi-colored candy everywhere (and I do stress the word EVERYWHERE) won the coveted Princesses' award. And MY baseball field design, complete with oregano grass, scoreboard (Dodgers 4, Reds 1), and bat-wielding jelly bean batter won the most attention to detail. Can you believe that? But this will all make sense when you find out that Karena was the judge.
I'm glad that was the detail I paid most attention to. =)

BEING PRACTICAL
After the last entry, I was reminded of the multiple times Karena has told me that I'm "too practical" and how she wished I wouldn't be such a money-pincher or time-pincher. So I do things like leave the juice bottle over my cup until the very last drop comes out of the bottle. And, yes, I disconnect as soon as I'm done with the internet because I'm still using Netzero's free service, even though it's dropped down to only 10 hours/month. And I do wear my disposable contacts a little bit longer than I'm supposed to (okay, a lot longer) so that I don't have to buy as many. That doesn't make me "too practical," right?
In fact, I'm always telling her she should be more practical. This, obviously, leads her to get defensive and she charges back with how she's already practical:
I never turn on the stove fire bigger than the pot I'm trying to heat up
I only get my gas from the cheapest gas stations (the one on Atlantic and Valley or one on La Cienga just north of the 10)
I clean my bowl until there's nothing left, especially when it's good food I'm eating

This little exercise has only proven one thing: we're both too practical.

SWEET NOVEMBER
I ended up watching the movie Sweet November (Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron) with Karena Thursday night. It was alright - maybe a B-, but you should take my review with a grain of salt because I fell asleep while watching it. In the movie, Charlize is dying of cancer and decides to live her life to the fullest. Her idea of this is taking in one guy a month to help them get over whatever problems they have and to really live. One month because it's long enough to help them, but not too long so that they don't get too attached (since she's dying). Keanu, an up-tight advertising mogul who is too attached to his cell phone and his business, is her November guy, hence the name.
But what I want to talk about is a question Keanu asks her during the movie. It was something to the effect of: "Who said that it's better to live your life by stopping to smell the roses than to live as a responsible person?" Meaning, is it more beneficial to watch sunrises and sunsets, spend the day carefree at the beach than to, say, hold down a steady job and be responsible.
The practical part of me has to agree with Keanu. Whoa!
I understand that everyone thinks this is a better way to live because we never get to do that sort of thing because we're too wrapped up in our day-to-day city lives - working, watching TV, going to dinner, etc. - that we miss out on admiring the beauty of the morning dew on a rose petal. And I'm not saying that that's bad because I love doing that stuff (I'm a sap, remember?) But I still think it's better to live a responsible life.
And maybe I'm saying that because I'm trying to do my part in society by working hard at my job, making life better for the patients I see, etc. I'm also trying to play by the rules - pay rent on time, be devoted to one girl, call home to talk to mom now and again, etc. I'm looking to be responsible because I feel like there isn't enough of THAT in this world.
And again, I have to say Whoa!