Thoughts

UPDATE ON MY GRANDMOTHER
I know I haven't filled you guys in about my grandmother in a while, but here it is. She is doing MUCH, MUCH better. She is now in acute rehab where she gets 3 hours of therapy including physical and occupational. I was with her for one of her sessions of OT and PT. At first, I just sat there translating, but then I couldn't help but think to myself, "Hmm, why doesn't this PT do this with her? Or that? But I bit my tongue and held back from saying anything because I know the PT must have been nervous being all alone in this huge gym with just me and my grandmother. She must have known what I was thinking, but was nice about it. Besides, if the roles were reversed, I'd probably want her to keep quiet too.
Anyway, my grandmother is able to walk about 100 ft with a front wheeled walker and perform various balance exercises and coordination tests with assistance. She was also able to take a shower for the first time since being admitted to the hospital over a month ago. She was VERY excited about that! Overall, she looks pretty good and the word is that she will probably be discharged from the hospital in 3 weeks or so. Sure, we'll probably have to hire a 24 hour caregiver to assist her with everything, but she will at least get to be at home.
Isn't that amazing? Discharged from the hospital! I mean, it wasn't too long ago that the entire family assembled outside her hospital room at 4 am to possibly say our final words to her.
Prayer is definitely powerful.

I LOVE BEING A SHEN
I have to admit that I am proud to be a Shen. My family history is pretty amazing - including having some very famous, powerful, and influential people. For example, my great uncle (I think that's what I'd call him) was the head of the biggest bank in Shanghai and directly affected its economy. He was brilliant.
I am proud to have two parents who were able to come to this country and not just "make it," but be successful. I also am proud to have two genius siblings who work hard. Man, what a combo.
And my cousin? Shirley graduated from UCLA and has been doing her thing for a while (probably going for her MBA), Joyce is about to get married to Mike (and in the process make me related to Ko and Charice!). Jessica is enjoying life at Berkeley, Clarence is literally a genius (and I am totally serious. The guy defines smart.), and Jody is a great writer for her school paper. Apparently, Jonathan (Shen, not Eng) is a big stud at school (I heard this directly from many girls at church who think he is cute) and Theodore is a computer whiz.
And yeah, I know what you guys are all thinking: Man, what a smart family. What happened to you? =)

MY THOUGHTS ON THE WEDDING
Debbie looked beautiful, and I really do mean beautiful in every sense of the word ...
It's amazing how "out of the loop" the people in the ceremony are and how much of the service they miss. Example: Jason and his groomsmen were sitting in the room waiting to enter when we hear Wing start to sing. "Oh, I guess the ceremony has started already," Jason says ...
Funniest moment of the day: Jason and I sitting in my car on the way to the church with a huge "Just Married" sign on the back of my car. I was telling the guys beforehand that maybe people would think we were a same-sex marriage. And with Michael driving behind us and laughing, I leaned in to almost give Jason a kiss. Needless to say, Mike laughed, but was grossed out ...
Jason and Debbie should have known better than to put Reuel, Luong, Gary, and me together at the same table (and right in the front too!) ...
It still surprises me how much "The Worm" is still in demand. I've been trying to keep that move retired for some time now, but it's becoming increasingly harder to keep it that way ...

SOMETHING I'LL NEVER FORGET
At the risk of sounding cheesy, I have to say last night I experienced something I'll never forget. No, it didn't happen while rehearsing for Jason and Debbie's wedding. And it didn't happen at the rehearsal dinner either. It happened after all the camera bulbs had already gone off and all the people had gone home for the evening.
Mike, Andrew, and I had the privilege of spending Jason's last night as a bachelor with him at his apartment. Should we play video games? Should we eat some more? No, we did what most 20-something guys would NOT have done on a night like that: we just sat around and chatted. We talked about the wedding, the details, the preparations, and most importantly, the marriage. Jason, of course, was his usual self: very relaxed and calm.
He was ready. Ready to marry his sweetheart. Ready to face the challenges. Ready to enjoy the good times ahead. Ready for whatever was to come next.
I have never been more proud of Jason. And I never learned more about him or from him than I did last night.

I'M SO EXCITED
Today begins the two days of fun for Jason and Debbie. And I am probably just as excited as they are. To prepare for this event, I'm spending my day off running all kinds of errands including getting my car washed and picking up my tux. And by tonight, I'll look like a million bucks on my way to the rehearsal dinner. And tomorrow will be even more fun because I not only get to be with Jason on the best day of his life, but I get the privilege of driving them in my car from the wedding to the banquet. Even Sweet (the name of my Maxima) is excited about this, I'm sure. By the way, did I ever tell you why my car is named Sweet? My first car (the white Saturn) was named Dude and I got my Maxima just around the time Dude, Where's my Car? came out and I loved that scene where they're looking at their tatoos going "WHAT DOES MINE SAY?" Sweeeeeeetttttt!!! And boom, my car had it's name.
Anyway, back to the lecture at hand, I wanted to say an early congratulations to Jason and Debbie. This party's going to be a blast.

HEAD IN THE FREEZER
I don't know what you guys do to stay cool during these hot summer days, but I know I have the ultimate answer: sticking your head all the way into the freezer. I've been doing this since I was a kid and look how good I turned out!?! Err, nevermind.
Now granted some freezers are better than others, but most shoot the cold air right toward your head if you open the door up wide and stick your head in deep. And just keep it there for a while. The best freezers are the ones with the baking soda in it so they don't smell. Instead, all you get is that clean smell of cold air hitting your face. It's almost like lying down in a field covered with snow as you make snow angels. All I know is, after putting my head in the freezer, I feel refreshed and ready to go. And no amount of swimming, drinking a cold drink, or fanning myself can match that feeling!

TALKIN' 'BOUT MY GENERATION
Sure this is a rash generalization, but I'm just talkin' about my generation as a whole.
I'm tired of us. It bothers me that we're so spoiled. We have it so easy in comparison our parents. I mean, my dad came to this country with less than $200 in his pocket and was able to build a successful life here. And not only that, but he helped bring my grandparents over too!
What did I ever do? All I do is ask, ask, ask. Can I have some money? When will you buy me a new car? Why can't you help me NOW?
When will my generation (me included) grow up and realize there are more important things than not being able to get cell phone calls because of bad reception. Or not being able to drive the nicest car or go to the fanciest restaurants. We owe our parents so much -- and not just financially.
I wish I had enough money so I could get my life started without having to rely on them. But I can't see that happening.
If only weddings and houses didn't cost so much ...
Thank God for parents. They teach us about the past, the present, and help mold our futures.

EARLY MORNING WAKE-UP
I don't know what's been going on with me. Maybe it's because I have had a lot on my mind lately. Maybe it's because I'm been sleeping with the window wide open. Maybe it's because I like to sleep in shorts and a tank top. Whatever the case may be, I'm been waking up consistently at about 4am and again around 5am. Maybe my body is trying to tell me to stop the insanity that is my life right now and enjoy the sun rise ... literally.
Hmmm ...

THE PARTY
I have never seen anyone rise to the challenge like Jason did during his bachelor party yesterday. He handed feats of strength with the greateset of ease and activities of skill like a seasoned professional. And didn't even mind when he blew water from a Super Soaker in his face or smashed water balloons off his body.
But maybe the most meaningful part of the whole event was the brining togther of so many guys getting together. Sure, a few had to come late or leave early, but everyone tried to stay as long as possible to celebrate with Jason. And isn't that just so Jason? He wanted to have everyone over for a party. And that's just what he got.

IT'S NOT EASY
I can't say this has been the easiest week for me:
I worked really hard to prepare for my talk in Alpha, but it wasn't easy.
I worked really hard to ensure everyone would have a good time Saturday.
I worked really hard to try to give Karena everything she wants for our wedding planning.
I worked really hard to make time to pick Sandra up to drive her home for the weekend.
And in general, I work really hard to do the best I can and be the best I can be.
But it's not easy.
No, it's not easy.
To be me.

Note: Sorry, guys. Blogger has been giving me tons of problems so I haven't been able to update as frequently as I would have liked. The following two entries are ones I wrote a long time ago.

TEACHING
I don't know how many people know this, but as a kid, I always wanted to be a teacher. I really did think I was going to grow up to be an elementary school teacher. But things didn't turn out that way. And instead, I became a PT. But even a big part of PT involves educating patients and families. So in a way, I'm still a teacher.
But I think I'm quickly losing my love for teaching. I find myself shying away from opportunities or at least getting nervous about them. For example, I'm scheduled to speak in Alpha this Friday. This has led me to feel both excited and very nervous. Maybe it's just because I'm procrastinating. But I think I just don't feel like I'm a good enough teacher to get people to understand and disgest what I'm trying to tell them. The same thing is happening at work because I'm scheduled to have two PT students work with me for 6 weeks and 8 weeks. But I'm afraid I won't be able to communicate appropriately all the things I want them to learn.
Hopefully, I'll get over my little fear of teaching and trust that I can be used as His instrument.

FOOD, ERR, I MEAN, HOUSE HUNTING
Karena and I saw an ad in the LA Times for an open house so we went to go check it out because it was nice, affordable housing. But when we got there, in addition to checking out the houses, we were happy to see them serving food (i.e. hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones). Now, we were really pressed for time because we had to be back at church for a meeting. But we did manage to grab two hot dogs. But more than anything in the world, I just wanted to get a snow cone. Somehow or another, I have managed to develop a strong love affair with the snow cone. Maybe it was from my childhood when I used the Snoopy Snow Cone Maker on a daily basis. Maybe it's because I like Shao May's Shaved Ice. Maybe it's because I got an extra free one in the 4th grade during the teachers vs. students softball game. Whatever the case may be, I was disappointed not to get one because we were both afraid to spill it in the car.
That was pretty disappointing.

BLOGGER DOWN
Sorry everyone. I sure you've all been waiting in great anticipation for my next entry over the last few days, but I wasn't able to post my entries because Blogger has been down. But apparently, it is up and running now so it's all good. You can expect more of my babbling to resume as usual tomorrow. For today, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my girlfriend, err, I mean my fiancee Karena. (Man, I forgot she's a whole new French word to me now).

SANTA BARBARA (CONT'D)
I know I haven't written in a few days because ... well, what else is there to say? Now that Karena and I have been able to tell some people (and the CEFC grapevine/rumor mill is in full effect) I can fully let the cat out of the bag: Karena and I got engaged last Tuesday. Needless to say, it has been pure excitement and joy since then. And I have to say that we have definitely been feeling the love from everyone. We've seen such a great response from people once they hear the news that we have both been very touched.
Anyway, if you haven't yet heard the story, here it is (well, my side of it anyway):
We went to Santa Barbara for the day and ended up hanging out by the beach. We ended up sitting on a bench in a park that overlooks the beach. I brought out my guitar and played her a song I had written for her a while back. Afterward, I knelt down to put the guitar back in the case and pulled out the ring and proposed. She said yes. Now, the funny part about the whole thing is that while I was singing the song, I got really nervous and kept thinking that I had to go down onto my left knee because I had right knee surgery about four months ago and kneeling on it would really hurt. So, I kept saying to myself "left knee, left knee." So, when I turned to her to propose with the ring in hand, all I could think of was "left knee, left knee." So, I fumbled some words out and just went straight for the ones I needed to get out, "Will you marry me?"

SANTA BARBARA
I was going to write "Santa Barbara is coming ..." yesterday.
But I didn't get the chance.
So, instead, today's entry is:

"Santa Barbara has come.
And it's great!"

COUPON CUTTING
I have to admit that one of my favorite things to do on Sundays is tear open the Sunday newspaper and go straight to the coupons. I love cutting coupons. Enoch and Eunice got me into it back when I was a UCLA. Back then, it was a necessity to keep the cost of food down for us poor college kids. But now, it's still a good thing to save money, but I also enjoy getting the best deals.
For example, today I went to Vons (because it's closer and because they double your coupons). I usually try to have my total savings be greater than 50% of my total. And that is NOT easy to do unless you maximize the sale items and your coupons together. But today, I did better still. I spent $12.24 on groceries that should have costed me $33.34. Basically, I saved $21.10 or 63%.
This receipt is going straight on my refrigerator door.

A FICTITIOUS STORY
Here is a simple short story that has some meaning for me:
There once was a man who was a great warrior and became king of a land. He did not make a great king at first, but worked hard at it and improved with time. During his reign, people questioned his ability to lead this particular land because it had special needs. The king would have to devote all his time and energy ... and may end up doing himself harm in order to properly govern over this land. Finally, the questioning from the people became too great and a coup overthrew the king.
Saddened by this whole experience, the man went off to become a warrior for the people again -- fighting injustice, helping the sick, etc. Seeing the merits of his work, there became another opportunity for him to be king of a new land. He seized the opportunity and became king.
And he ruled mightily.
Some time later, the people from the first land saw how well he was ruling the new kingdom and asked him, "Do you ever think about us? Don't you ever wonder 'What if?' or how great we could have been?"
The man replied, "Of course I think of you and wish you all the best. But I don't wonder 'What if?' God has put me in charge of this land and this is where I am to be. I love it here."
And with an explanation like that, who could argue?
And so, the king ruled that land forever.

HANGING WITH THE GUYS
Since most people were away at Youth Camp, we decided to cancel Koinonia Friday night. That, plus the fact that Luong had his entire house all to himself caused him to invite some of the guys over for a PS2 night.
And as usual, we made our usual loud noise while linking up to play Gran Turismo 3 and some shooting game that I forget the name of. But our real pride and joy is playing NBA 2K2 together. Since we had 7 guys (well 8 once Enoch came) we ended up being able to have 5 guys play as one team and the other guys play with the other. And let me tell you, there is nothing more gratifying than being Tim Duncan or Shaquille O'Neal and dunking all over someone. And there is nobody funnier than Dennis doing all his yelling and screaming and showboating after doing someting good: "I own yooooooooooou!!!!!!" as he points a finger at all of us.
I have never laughed so hard or felt closer to the guys.

BBQ AND FIREWORKS
What would the Fourth of July be without some good ol' American barbeque? Well, that's just what my family had yesterday. And for the first time ever for a family BBQ, I was completely put in charge of the grill. And I quote the great words of Uncle Ben in Spider Man when he said, "With great power comes great responsbility." So, I made sure to be get everything set up early so most of the food would be done by the time it was time to eat. And after all that careful planning, it still took me forever because there was a lot of chicken to cook. Next time, I'm going to nuke 'em all first so they don't take as long to cook. And it's a real good thing I have a license to practice PT because I am a terrible burger flipper. I suck at it. Thank God I don't have to work at McDonald's for a living. I'd get fired on my first day!
Afterward, we all sat down on fold-out chairs on our driveway to watch us light up some fireworks. It's always pretty nice on our hill because we live on a cul-de-sac. There are usually no cars to mess us up and everyone in the neighborhood comes out so we can see a bunch of fireworks for free. Anyway, we bought the "49er" this year (so called because it cost $49, but we had a $10 off coupon). I have to say I'm pretty disappointed in today's fireworks because they aren't very creative and all pretty much do the same thing. Plus, they're so expensive that I'm starting to wonder if they're even worth it anymore. Next year, I think we'll just put out our fold-out chairs and look at everyone else's fireworks ... and think about all the money we saved!
Man, I'm so Montebello.

YOUTH CAMP BONDING
I'm not quite sure what it is, but I was feeling a little down over people who were regular attenders of CEFC but now are either going to another church or not at all. I have to admit that, out of nowhere, I suddenly missed seeing Simon, Luong, Dennis, Greg, etc. around.
With that in mind, I drove Karena to church so she could go to Youth Camp. One of the highlights of summer for me was the time right before we left for Youth Camp. There was always this buzz in the air about the exciting things that were going to happen that weekend. Plus, we always ended up forming that long assembly line to load all the stuff onto the buses. Obviously, this never was the fastest or most efficient way of doing it because the kids would all cram too close to each other and/or end up dropping a lot of stuff out of bags or having difficult lifting the heavy ones. But this was a sure sign of solidarity and teamwork that I think immediately brought the group together.
So, I was still feeling bummed about the past, I looked straight into the future ... kids laughing, helping out, and passing those bags down to the next person. Sure, they dropped a bunch of them. Sure, they probably spent more time messing around than actually passing them. But they worked together with passion and without complaint.
The future looks bright.

YOUTH CAMP BONDING
I'm not quite sure what it is, but I was feeling a little down over people who were regular attenders of CEFC but now are either going to another church or not at all. I have to admit that, out of nowhere, I suddenly missed seeing Simon, Luong, Dennis, Greg, etc. around.
With that in mind, I drove Karena to church so she could go to Youth Camp. One of the highlights of summer for me was the time right before we left for Youth Camp. There was always this buzz in the air about the exciting things that were going to happen that weekend. Plus, we always ended up forming that long assembly line to load all the stuff onto the buses. Obviously, this never was the fastest or most efficient way of doing it because the kids would all cram too close to each other and/or end up dropping a lot of stuff out of bags or having difficult lifting the heavy ones. But this was a sure sign of solidarity and teamwork that I think immediately brought the group together.
So, I was still feeling bummed about the past, I looked straight into the future ... kids laughing, helping out, and passing those bags down to the next person. Sure, they dropped a bunch of them. Sure, they probably spent more time messing around than actually passing them. But they worked together with passion and without complaint.
The future looks bright.

FOLLOW UP
Here are the continuing sagas or three events I've been covering through my webpage:
1. My grandmother continues to improve. She has moved out of the ICU and overall looks better. She still has some traces of bleeding in her brain and her expected time in the hospital is still very long, but overall, there is much improvement. Thank you for your continued prayers. I must admit that it was very nice to have her prayed for during the congregational prayer this past Sunday. It really validated my feelings of CEFC as a family and as the body of Christ.
2. My uncle flew back from Hong Kong to be with my grandmother and brought back with him some more bootleg DVDs. These include Training Day, Spider Man, Lord of the Rings 2 and 3, Star Wars Episode II, Ice Age, Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers, and Harry Potter. So, Jason and Nathan, if you want to see a blurry, out-of-focus version of the backs of your heads in Spider Man, call me. But it didn't all turn out to be good. Training Day loses all audio sound halfway into the movie. And Lord of the Rings 2 turned out to have the wrong movie inside. Oh well, what do you expect from bootleg?
3. And as for the pesky mouse that has raided my apartment, I have had many thoughts go through my head: pellet gun, rat poison, mouse trap, trying to catch it with my bare hands (man vs. animal). I finally settled on the rat poison, even though it may take die in some hole in my apartment and make the place smell for the rest of my stay here. As of this moment, some of the few pellets I put under my kitchen sink have been eaten so I think he may be a gonner. But, there is no sign of him so I can't be sure yet. More details to come.

NO CRACK ON THIS BUTT
When I got to the hospital to visit my grandmother yesterday, the occupational therapist was there to apply some lotion onto her hands. Afteward, I decided to have her sit up at the edge of the bed with me. Surprisingly, she did very well, although she is unable to sit up on her own. I was so excited, I sat down in a chair in front of her and had her doing some activities to promote weight bearing on her legs and arms. This got me a little sweaty so my aunt wiped my foreheard with a Kleenex. "That's okay. I'm not five years old anymore," I said. Anyway, everything went great with my grandmother... until I got her back into bed.
I got up to help pull her up and my aunt yells out, "Look! The chair has lotion all over it. And look at your pants and shirt. It's got lotion everywhere! See you ARE still a five year old!!!"
I was so embarassed, but we all had a good laugh.