Thoughts

CONGRATS
My good friends Mark (the scripture reader at our wedding) and Gina just told us that they are expecting their first child. I couldn't be happier! And my other good friends London and Summer are having their baby this month!
Congrats to both couples.
(And no, this does not mean there is any related news from us).

REINVENTING MYSELF
I think it's safe to say that I am undergoing the process of reinventing myself. I was watching this thing while I was at the gym about how Cyndi Lauper is back with a new CD that has shown her true vocal abilities minus all that hair and color she over-exhibited in the '80s. They called it: Reinventing Cyndi Lauper. But as far as I was concerned, I knew there was way more to her than "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Just listen to "Time After Time."
Anyway, that was a major tangent. The point is that I feel like I'm also undergoing a reinvention. For the past 5 years, I would say I was growing into the dependable, church leadership person who would have probably gone on to deeper church ministry or even deeper service (aka on the Board if I was eleected.) I would have had time for friends at any and all times and been holding down a steady job at UCLA.
Times have changed. I'm not a UCLA. I feel badly about not having enough time for family and friends. And I don't quite know yet where God wants me in terms of ministry, but it doens't seem like it's on any committees (and especially not the Board).
I'm still under construction and I can't honestly say I know what I'll look like when I'm finished. But I know that He who began a good work in me will see it through to completion.

GUESTBOOK
One of my favorite things about this site is when the guestbook takes on a world of its own. Many times, it becomes like a separate site where people (usually Simon) go off on various topics. Or there is a recurring topic that gets discussed.
Lately, thanks to Sandra, it's been all about that nerdy Berkeley engineer that appeared on Tuesday night's American Idol. If you haven't seen this boy sing Ricky Martin, you have to take a look.
And check out the guestbook discussion on it.
Here's my quick two cents on American Idol's popularity: It's amazing to me that it held down the top 3 spots on TV last week (above the Golden Globes and the State of the Union address). People love to laugh at other people, especially when Simon goes off on them. And people love to be entertained by singing. That's even more enteraining than movie and TV stars giving acceptance speeches and definitely more appealing than the President giving one. "Reality" still rules TV.

FRIENDS
For as long as I can remember, I've always tried to be knowledgeable about cutting-edge entertainment, even if I wasn't such a fan of it. There's a lot of music, movies, television shows that aren't necessarily popular, but are critically acclaimed and considered "artistic." And that's exactly the stuff that I would usually force myself to read about or watch or listen to just so I could keep up and "stay hip." I think about Michael and Cindy and all the cool stuff they're into. Or even Jason with all his movies and music (except for Charlotte Church).
But the older I get, the more I realize that all that "hip" stuff just isn't for me. I don't see many independent movies, listen to underground bands, or watch many critically acclaimed cable shows.
This truth hit me when I was sitting in front of my computer the other day and suddenly had the urge to vote for my 6 favorite Friends episodes. Why did I do this? For some reason or another, I love the show, even though the quality has fallen off considerably in recent years. I love what's popular. And that's okay with me.
By the way, my top choice was "The One With the Prom Video," especially when Monica says, "Hey, the camera adds ten pounds." And Chandler replies, "Well, how many cameras are actually on you?

COURT TV
It only takes one day off to realize just how court TV shows dominate the daytime scene. It used to be game shows and soap operas, but apparently those days are over. Kids who are at home sick, jobless adults, and the elderly can choose from everything from Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, or Divorce Court. I even heard one patient up in the hospital say, "Shhh! Be quiet. It's time for Judge Mathis!!! Turn that TV on and shut up!" As if what Judge Mathis has to say is so amazing! The only thing good Judge Mathis did was marry Shaquille O'Neal! =)
As for me, I'll stick to watching reruns of my old favorite shows like The Cosby Show or Saved By the Bell anyday.

FROM THE VALLEY TO THE VALLEY
You know you live in LA when you do more than 100 miles of driving in one day. Sunday, we drove 20 miles to church, then 35 miles to Northridge to attend Karen'a co-worker's baby shower. While we were there, we played the grossest, most funniest game I've ever seen: they melted various chocolate bars into baby diapers and you had to guess which candy it was. So, there we all were, picking up what looked like dirty diapers and smelling them. So gross!
Afterward, we drove another 35 miles to San Gabriel for dinner with my family to celebrate some family birhtdays and Chinese New Year. Then, it was another 5 miles to Montebello for cake. And finally, the 20 miles back home.
So, if my math is correct, that's about 115 miles! All in a days work.

RETURN OF THE WEEDS
Guess who was back out in their yard pulling weeds again? I guess this is a never-ending process because they not only grow back, but they grow back with a vengeance. The weeds we were working on yesterday were all growing out of basically the same area as the ground cover plants we want to keep. Those weeds are pesky, but we'll get 'em.
We usually only go out there for an hour or two (and we always have the radio on to keep us entertained). But it feels like we're out there for days.

PALMS
When you hear that, you may think of that Las Vegas casino owned by the Maloof brothers or some beautiful resort. But for us, we think of those five darn palm trees that leave their palm fronds all over our property. And it only gets worse when it's windy ... like it was Wednesday night.
When we woke up Thursday morning, there were over 25 palm fronds (huge ones, mind too) all over the place. They had landed all over our neighbors car, in their driveway and on their lawn, and all over the street. So, there I was, at 6:30 am all dressed and ready to go to work, pulling all the palm fronds off the street and off our neighbors property and onto ours. When I was done, our place was an absolute mess, but at least the neighbors woudn't get mad. I would just have to deal with that all when I got home.
But to our surprise, the City of Glendale finally did a good thing and took care of all the palm fronds for us. We were so greatful to find that all those palm fronds were gone.
Whew!

CHINESE NEW YEAR
Happy Chinese New Year!

BILL OF RIGHTS
Hearing President Bush giving his State of the Union address and talking about setting up a Iraqi government with an established Bill of Rights got me thinking. It really is a good thing we have a Bill of Rights here that guarantees such certain inalienable rights, such as freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
But are we really lucky to have that?
Wouldn't you agree that our spiritual lives would be that much more meaningful and special to us if we were risking persecution to meet, pray, and worship together? How would we feel about CEFC if we had to gather underground, hidden from the police, and sing very quietly? I'm sure we would disregard Sunday services like we are prone to do.
We are so lucky. Let's not take it for granted.

MLK DAY
Even though I had to work today, the words of Martin Luther King Jr. still rang in my ears.

"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Amen!

CHURCH IN A NUTSHELL
Here's the quick version of today's church service:
(1) Free extra sermon
(2) A packed house
(3) Covenant Players' (with Amy Lo) caused "An Awakening"
(4) Pastor Hoover detailed the marvelous conversion of Saul from persecutor to missionary and servant. Is your life on the road to Demascus?
(5) Good music ... as always.

Afterward, we had lunch with Enoch, Luong, Michelle, and Jennifer. It was great!

QUICK THOUGHTS
1. We saw Jimmy Kimmel at the Burbank Costco. I guess he's not toorich and famous because there he was, like all the rest of us, eating the free samples and gathering some boxes to put into his cart. So, I had the dilemma of whether I should go up to him or just let it go. I opted to let him go. And I think I was the only person who recognized him (he was wearing plain clothes and a hat).
2. After watching the mob of people go crazy for Michael Jackson's "Caravan of Love" yesterday, I'm convinced of one thing: some people are really foolish. The man is accused of a heinous crime and people basically hold a pep rally for him. Kobe Bryant gets accused of rape and his jerseys fly off the shelves like never before. Yes, "Thriller" is a great album. And yes, Kobe is the greatest all-around player in the game (well, except when he has to play with one arm). But do they need this? As their loyal fans, we should support them and pray for them, not gush over them and make them even more larger than life.

TODAY'S BLOG IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTERS ...
At work, I have a folder with all the letter of the alphabet that I use to keep all my charts in. But over the last 8 months that I've been working at Kaiser, I've noticed a trend.
The biggest spots are always reserved for the letters "W" and "S" and "C". I can't even begin to tell you how many patients I've had with the last name "Williams."
That just makes me wish for more patients with last names that start with the letters "Z" and "H" and "I." You know, just so they don't feel so lonely and abandoned. =)

ROGER AND MICHELLE
Karena and I had the privilege to meet up with Roger and Michelle for dinner Tuesday night at Mi Piace in Burbank. I have to admit that we thought we had it bad being out of the house for 14-15 hours a day. But they do just about the same thing and have to drive a little farther too. And somehow, they still amazingly manage to do some cooking too!
It was great to hang out with them and to see a marriage and the merging of two careers really work. They have been able to balance their work, their spiritual lives, their marriage, and their alone time.
In a world of 50% divorces and 55-hour marriages (read: Britney), it's good to see that the institution of marriage is still strong in some people.

HANGIN' WITH THE BOYS
I usually try to squeeze in a very short workout in between the time I get off work and the time when I have to go pick up Karena. And to be honest, I've been swamped at work for the last month and haven't had the chance. But today was going to be different. I tried to finish my work quickly. But, some of the guys at work decided that we should all go out to dinner. So, there I was, telling Karena I'd be going out to hang with the boys instead of working out.
But it turned to be a great time. There's nothing quite like five guys going to Versailles and pigging out on some good ol' Cuban chicken and friend bananas. The conversation was good and ranged from tender moments about being a father to scandalous stories about Magic Johnson sleeping with various women during the Lakers Showtime era to talk about other co-workers. In the end, we were stronger friends as a result. And to top it off, one of my co-workers treated!

AN APPLE A DAY ...
It's really interesting that I seem to go out of my way to avoid the doctor. That holds true for regular doctors visits, but even for the optometrist and everything else. But Karena was good about nagging me to make an appointment for a general check-up (always a good thing) and for my foot. I don't think I've told very many people this, but I stepped on a piece of coral in Tahiti back in May and have been hurting ever since. But I've done nothing about it (definitely not a good thing, I know, I know.) Plus, I'm going to make an eye appointment to get some new glasses (or contacts, haven't decided).
I DO eat an apple a day. Maybe that's why I feel this way about doctor's appointments.

CHECKS AND BALANCES/ REALITY VS. CYNICISM
There once was a story of three men. One was the President, one was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the final one was the Speaker of the House. According to U.S. law, they are all equal in power, according to the "checks and balances" system. The problem was, they were thrown into these positions. Although they did agree to serve, their terms became indefinite and their workload became insurmountable when they became the only three to run the country. There was no help from anybody else. Without these three, the country surely would have crumbled to the ground. Now that was pressure! So, what else could they do? They ran the country as best they could. It wasn't perfect, but they did it. And the country survived.
Now, years later, one has gone on to a different kind of political forum. The other has gone on to politics in another country. But the third is still amongst them ... not really a government official any longer, but still within the mix. It is this man who can no longer differentiate between what is real and what is his own cynicism as a result of the circumstances he endured.
All he knows is the winds of change may be blowing. And he is getting pushed. But to where? Hopefully to a place where cynicism goes to die.

THE TIE THAT BINDS
Some of the PTs at work wear ties. For me, there's no way I would wear them because they make me hot and they would get in the way of doing PT things. But for church, I've worn ties on Sundays ever since college. I think I started because I thought that I'd command more respect from the adults if I did. Besides, I thought it would be a better look for me.
And apparently, the more respect part is true because there are studies that showed that doctors who wore ties were considered better doctors than those who didn't, even though they said and did the same things.
That's still not enough to convince me to wear a tie to work. But I will still relish those Sundays at church where I can be decked out, looking my best, and commanding some respect.
Look your best, be your best.

MAD COW
So, the big talk lately is all about Mad Cow Disease. But what's the big whoop? My feeling is that when there's such a big scare like this, the meat packers are extra diligent about their practices. Besides, since this whole Mad Cow stuff resurfaced in the last few weeks, I've eaten at Outback, another steakhouse, and had more ground beef lately than usual.
Hmm ... maybe that explains why I've been so crazy lately.

NATE DOGG IN THE HOUSE
It was great to have Nathan stay with us for nearly a week in our guestroom. Here are some highlights:
(1) I felt very paternal when Nathan was out late one night. I couldn't sleep and kept getting up to look out the window everytime I thought I heard a car door slam.
(2) Apparently, we have the NASA channel. In over 6 months time, we have never turned to it. But Nathan watched it everyday.
(3) The man cooks a mean dinner.
(4) We watched Pirates of the Caribbean (which we all thought wasn't very good) and Shrek (Nathan had never seen it) while dining on chocolate cake and ice cream.
(5) Nathan never went anywhere without his trusty laptop.
(6) There was only one or two crickets spotted in our house (much less than usual) while he was here.

Now that he's back in Canada, I have to admit that we already miss having him around.

SNOWBOARDING AND SNOWBORING
Karena and Nathan went snowboarding at Bear Mountain. They were both pretty excited. Karena practiced carving and Nathan honed his already vastly improved skills (thanks to Canada). And I served as chauffeur (hmmm, that would be a good word for the spelling game). But I didn't mind because the company was good.
So, while they were doing their version of real life SSX, I sat there with my newspaper and some magazines. I did some people watching, but that got old. I mean, you can only see people eat it on the slopes so many times before it gets redundant. I took a stroll by the First Aid area for old time sake -- I spent many hours there after blowing out my knee two years ago. While I was there, I saw a kid get a sling for his newly broken left arm. He was much tougher than I was when I was in there.
Finally, as the weather got colder, I retreated to my car and watched so many people get ready for the snow by getting dressed by their huge trucks with the music blasting (always hard rock or rap). It was such a cool look. And here I was in my old Nikes, blue jeans, and my Lakers beanie trying to cover up my messy, balding hairstyle. I'll never have that look, or have that feel of going down the mountain (even if it was just the falling leaf) with the wind in your hair.
Do I miss it? Yeah, but you know, for me, snowboarding is just not worth it. I'd rather sit around being bored than suffer another injury.
Now, basketball on the other hand ... =)

LUONG STOPPED
Michael stopped, but started again. And now Luong has stopped. Stopped blogging, that is. Luong claims it's because he ran out of interesting things to write and found that he stopped thinking about what to write.
This got me thinking about my own blogs. I often times do not have much to say (as in right now). Should I stop blogging? The truth is that I still love it and often find myself thinking about what to write next, even if nobody reads it. In fact, when I was a kid, I thought I might want to be a reporter or journalist because all I really wanted was to have a blank page with which I could fill with my words. And isn't that exactly what this blog is.
Hey, I'm just a guy trying to figure it all out. If you enjoy reading, keep coming back. It's great to have you! If not, that's okay too. But for now, I think I'll keep writing nonetheless.

THE LO DOWN
It was great to see Bonnie and Amy these past few weeks. They were able to share some of thoughts and prayers in Koinonia on Friday night and they did not disappoint. It was good to share in their struggles, their concerns, their prayers, their joys regarding everything from ministry, to life on the road, to being away from family and friends. Plus, Karena and Bonnie got a chance to catch up too. I have to say that their servant's heart really inspired me. Keep up the good work Amy and Bonnie!
That's one of the best things about the holidays: people coming home. I asked Nathan if it was awkward to talk to CEFC people again. He said that only in the beginning was it tough. It's been great for me to be able to talk to everybody again.

MORE THOUGHTS ON NEW YEARS
1. It's always fun to spend New Year's Eve with good, close friends, even if it's probably the most anti-climactic event o fall time. I mean, you watch some ball drop for one minute, then hugs and kisses all around, then it's back to whatever you were doing before. But still, I enjoy sharing it with friends every year.
2. I have yet to do my yearly sitting in the dark with just the lights on the Christmas tree on to reflect and pray. I better do it soon since we're supposed to throw our Christmas tree out by next week.
3. I have yet to mistakenely write 2003 on any of my patient's charts ... so far.
4. No real New Year's Resolutions this year or any year really because I think everyday should be a day where you can make a fresh start.