Wednesday, June 30, 2004

PICTURES
I forgot to put up the group pictures from our time at Mike's apartment and from Gary and Regina's condo. Also, included is a picture of me and Jason trying to literally turn around the Lakers' fortune.
So, here they are.

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

GARY AND REGINA'S PLACE
We had the privilege of finally seeing Gary and Regina's new place in Orange. They live pretty close to Angels stadium and the Pond so going to sporting events will be easy. Plus, they are very conventiently located by a Stater Bros. and many other stores.
Their place was truly amazing. It's an apartment in a gated community and the floor plan was really open. They seem to have decorated and settled down really quickly. Their furniture are very beautiful, yet comfortable and practical. It had a very homey feeling to it.
After that evening, I realized something that I would have never thought was possible, Gary is surprisingly NOT the funny one in the relationship. That's how energetic and crazy Regina is. Amazing!

Monday, June 28, 2004

KOREAN CLUB
Friday nights are usually reserved for Koinonia. This past Friday was our small group outing at Golfland. Although we were both looking forward to going, we were afraid we'd get there way too late to make it worthwhile so we decided to pass.
Instead, we figured we'd just go home and rest (since we were again out of the house for 17 hours Wednesday night). However, my co-workers changed those plans by inviting us out to a Korean bar/club. We didnt' really want to go, but they gave me so much heat for saying "no" all the time that I felt obligated to go.
If you've never been to a Korean place like that before, the most interesting part is the button in the middle of the table that sends somebody running to your table almost immediately. This place was called "S Club" in Koreatown. Everything was WAY overpriced and not worth it, but the company was good. My co-workers ordered a $175 bottle of Petron tequila (it costs $40 at Costco), a $20 fruit plate, a $15 pork chop plate, and some other stuff. Plus, some of my co-workers friends bought a few packs of cigarettes (who knows how much they jacked up the price of those!) By the time we left, we had dropped $85 on the table to cover the average food we ate.
Needless to say, it was an experience. But one that we will probably never go through again. Next time, I'm going to Koinonia.

Sunday, June 27, 2004

WINNERS AND LOSERS (PART II)
A few years back, I became really interested in Brain Types (aka Myers Briggs or Jung-Briggs) and how that related to my lack of confidence and fear of being a leader (as well as being unsuccessful at sports).
I bought a book called "Your Key to Sports Success" by Jonathan P. Niednagel. I was fascinated at how Brain Types were able to predict before the NFL draft that highly touted quarterback Peyton Manning was going to be a star and the other (Ryan Leaf) was going to be the biggest bust in NFL history. And that's exactly what happened.
Anyway, my brain type is somewhere between two. I'm sometimes an INFJ (introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging), described in the book as, "imaginative, conscientious, has concern for the needs and development of others, empathetic, enjoys enriching inner life." Some notable INFJs include Chris Dudley and Mark Eaton (read: nobodies). I'm also an INFP (introverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving), described as, "appears calm, creative, avoids conflict, sensitive, aware of others' feelings, sacrificial, flexible). Other notable INFPs include Michael Jackson, Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, and Mother Teresa.
The moral of this story: Half of the time, I've got the brain type of a nobody. And the other half, I could be kind, rich, famous, a leader, and a champion. Hmm ... how to do I get myself to be more of an INFP?

Saturday, June 26, 2004

WINNERS AND LOSERS
My name may be Victor, but I don't often feel like one. One big struggle I always have is in my confidence level. Would I ever be able to make the big shot? No chance. I usually don't even want to be near the ball at a time like that. Will I be able to fix the broken thing in our house, make the right decision, or say the right thing at the right time? Hardly ever. You know what's going through my head while leading worship? "Uh oh! That tough C#m chord is coming up. Better not screw it up!" (And then I usually do.) Whenever I am in charge of anything (whether work or church), my head is always spinning with whether people are enjoying themselves or getting anything out of it.
I know these thoughts are wrong, but I can't seem to escape them. They haunt me. They keep me from achieving dreams and accomplishing goals.
I was reading this article last week about Oakland A's pitcher Barry Zito who believes strongly in mind over matter. He said, "Basically everything we do is determined by what goes on in our heads. The only person who ever stops me from achieving something is me." I don't agree with most of what Barry Zito says (he's weird, plays for a team I despise, and he's from USC), but on this one, I couldn't agree more.
I think if I had more confidence in myself, I could achieve more. But then again, there is also a fine line between trusting in God and believing in yourself. However, where that line lies is still a mystery to me.
All I know is with a little more confidence, I might be a man better suited for my name. (More on this tomorrow)

Thursday, June 24, 2004

QUICK THOUGHTS
1. Last night, I dreamt that I was being attacked by three guys. They were beating me down pretty good and I remember waking up in a panic. Around the same time, Karena was dreaming about getting a knife to kill somebody.
Hmm ... maybe we should be watching fewer violent shows on TV.
2. We just watched "50 First Dates" with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Karena loved it! It has jumped the charts up to one of her all-time favorite movies. Why? Because it has so many things she loves including Hawaiians, cute kids, cute animals, good humor, romance, and most importantly, a happy ending.
3. I'm falling apart. Between my foot from the coral stuck in my foot to the right knee from surgery to the entire left leg from nerve pain to my low back from chronic low back pain to my tooth (which is better now after seeing the dentist) to my neck, I'm hurting. And I'm not even 30!

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

I'VE DECIDED
I've been fed up with Hotmail for years now. The problem? I'm really not a fan of changing email addresses too much. In fact, just this week, I got an email from a friend from PT school. I haven't seen him since our wedding. If I had closed that account down and stopped using it, I would have never gotten that email.
But today, the times have changed. Yahoo is giving out 100 MB. My other SBC Yahoo DSL account gives me 2 GB. But I'm going to use Google's new G-mail. So, the old hotmail account will still work, but I'm hoping all of you could start emailing me at this new one. Thanks!

(myfirstname)(mylastname)@gmail.com

Monday, June 21, 2004

MIKE'S NEW PAD
I had a great time hanging out with Michael and friends last Saturday. First off, his place really had some character to it. When I first saw the building and looked at the elevator (so old-school, we were too scared to go in), I was worried. But I love his room and the cozy feel of it. In addition to playing forced fun games (my favorite kind of fun), we also had an enjoyable 5 minutes on the roof admiring Pasadena by night and playing with sparklers.
Of note was the fact that everybody there were couples. And not only that, but everybody was married, with the exception of Mike and Cindy. It's that kind of camaraderie that only 6 couples can bring that I'm always searching for.

Sunday, June 20, 2004

LAKER DRAIN
To borrow the LA Times headline, this year should have culminated in another Purple Reign, but instead, it's looking more like a Purple Drain. Phil Jackson has been canned, Shaq is feeling disrespected and demanding to be traded, Kobe and Karl Malone have opted out of their contracts (with Payton and Fisher to potentially follow). Next year's starters could include Medvedenko, Rush, and Walton (scary!).
Here's the bottom line: Lakers owner Jerry Buss should have not chosen between Kobe and Shaq (he chose Kobe). Instead, he should have gone with the middle of the road approach and sided with both. Yes, Shaq is aging and doesn't deserve the money he's asking for in his contract extension. And yes, there are many stars in the league like Kobe, but few with his resolve and killer instinct (especially with the game on the line). You can't break those two up. Phil Jackson, albeit a good coach with a great record, had to go because nobody was listening to him anymore. Bring in Rudy Tomjanovich and still run the offense through Shaq and let's go. Neither will love it, but it'll hang more championship banners on the wall.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

A 24 MAN
I was always the guy who didn't want to fork over the $$ for a gym membership.
After all, just look at how many people keep paying and never go. Besides, you can get some pretty good gym equipment at home and work out without ever having to leave home (just ask Jason). And if you want to walk or jog, there's plenty of good sidewalk anywhere you go. (just ask Jesse or Mike).
But this week, I did the unthinkable. You are now reading the blog of somebody who has a gym membership at 24 Fitness. The deal was really good so I had to take it. Besides, I've been getting flabby after not working out for almost the last 6 months now.
Here's the deal: $799 for a Sports membership (meaning I can go to all the Sport ones, not just the lower level Fitness ones) for the first 3 years, and $24 every year after that. Trust me when I say that in the gym world, that deal is a steal. I have never heard of a better deal and ultimately, that's what won this Chinese guy over. Well, that and all the free stuff they also threw in including 15 of their Protein/Power bars, 2 free T-shirts, 2 workout towels, some Fit cookies, some Fit protein drinks, a water/protein drink flask, and a bunch of product coupons (including a free month's membership -- If anybody wants it, let me know).
Thanks to Karena for finding the deal and giving me the nudge to do it.

Friday, June 18, 2004

QUICK THOUGHTS
1. I did manage to move all my Monday patients to Tuesday and go through the necessary paperwork and computer work to get my day off on Monday and to instead work on Tuesday so I could see the dentist on Monday. By the way, the tooth is still killing me.
2. We had a great dinner with my parents, grandfather, and uncle to celebrate my mom's birthday and Father's Day last Tuesday. My mom later jokingly said, "I'm glad you're married because now I get presents for my birthday!" =)
3. Think you can differentiate between Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans? Check out www.alllooksame.com. This is the biggest thing going around at my work place right now. The funny thing is that the Asians are doing the worst. The average score is 7/18. I got 10. The high at my work is 11 by an Indian (as in from India). Check it out and post your score on the guestbook. I'm curious.
By the way, Karena's score: 5/18.

Thursday, June 17, 2004

TOOTH ACHE
Over the past two days, I've had some pretty horrible pain in my tooth. I had dental work done on it about two months ago and everything was fine. But all of a sudden, after having dinner Tuesday night, my tooth started killing me. It's about a 7/10 pain (with 10 being the worst pain I've ever experienced) and it's constant. I'm taking so much Advil a day that I'm going to have to buy another bottle soon.
The worst part is I called my dentist today and he has no openings for my day off (Tuesdays) until July 7th. So, I'm going to have to call in sick or take a day off work (not easy at all for me since it involves calling 15-17 people, rescheduling them, and getting people to cover the time I would spend seeing hospital patients. It's complicated and I don't like to hassle or trouble people.
Still, I'll probably need to do that because I can't keep on living this way.

On a much lighter note, happy birhtday to Nathan!

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING ...
Yes, I did cry.
BIRTHDAY WISHES
Happy birthday to my mom and to Tyrone!

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

ROAD RAGE
I've witnessed a lot of road roag going on lately. But two of the worst ones I've seen recently involved people actually getting out of their cars to attack somebody.
The first incidenct happened about a mile from out house. A car had cut off another driver. The guy got so mad, he got out of his car while surrounded by traffic on a busy street and started chasing after her. Luckily for the first driver, she made a quick illegal U-turn and took off. The guy was so mad, he was all red, shaking his fists, and cussing at the top of his lungs.
The second was really scary. I was crossing a busy street while talking on my cell phone. Suddenly, I notice that this guy angrily opens up the passenger car door and is ready to pummel the passenger and driver. They're obviously very frightened and the guy is piping hot. "Help us! Please help us!" the driver pleads to me since I'm literally standing 5 feet from all this. I'm shocked, surprised, and confused because I'm talking on the phone and slow to process everything. But the angry guy relents and slams the door with all his strength. It was an incredible scene.
The moral of the story: Yes, traffic is bad here. And yes, people make mistakes at your expense whether on accident or on purpose. Whatever the case may be, chill out, take a deep breath, relax.

Sunday, June 13, 2004

FIRST HAIRCUT
A haircut is a very special thing to me, mostly because my dad cut my hair up through college. It was one of the best father-son bonding experiences I've ever had. So, it was with great joy that I thought about the prospects of Karena cutting my hair after she bought me a hair cutting set for Christmas.
Of course, she had never cut hair ever before and was too nervous to do it ... until yesterday. She was very afraid to ruin my hair, but we both agreed that it turned out very well. And my hair is really complicated to cut too, especially because I'm balding and I have that bald spot in the back of my head where hair never grew. Needless to sasy, we were both pleasantly surprised with the results.
This first haircut got me thinking about the first time I cut hair: my own. I was in the third grade and had a night-time school choir performance to go to in about two hours. But I thought my hair was getting long so I grabbed a pair of scissors, headed to the bathroom sink, and started chopping away. By the time my dad found me, I had chopped off half my hair ... and not even close to even either. My dad had to do some major shaving and cutting just to make me look half-decent. So, there I was two hours later, in front of the whole school, parents, and family, with my now much less hair and more crooked rice-bowl haircut.
Good times.

Saturday, June 12, 2004

FOOSBALL!
We've finally found something to fill that room we don't know what to do with in our house: a foosball table! Thanks to Sandra and Gabe and Raymond, we are now the proud owners of a foosball table. Plus, it matches our house (a consideration that my wife appreciates!)
In our inaugural game, Karena took a commanding 8-3 lead, but ended up losing the nail-biter 10-9.
We can't wait to have people over again to play.

Thursday, June 10, 2004

NO MORE
No more jumping off the bandwagon.
No more joking about Kobe's "deal."
No more talk about not being allowed into the Wai household.
No more "fair-weathered Laker fan."
I'm getting that sinking feeling I had when Detroit swept the Lakers back in 1989. (I later cried that night). And I'm getting that sick feeling in my stomach like when Princeton forced defending-champ UCLA to play their style. Princeton knocked UCLA out in the first round, 43-41.

Here's the bottom line:
No more Laker championships.
No more talk of dynasty.
We're done.
Congrats to the Pistons.
You ended Showtime in '89 and now you're ending the Shaq-Kobe era.
Sorry Karl. Sorry Gary. We couldn't give you what you came here to get.

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

THE DEAL
After watching the final game between the Lakers and the Timberwolves last week, Karena couldn't help but be amazed at some of Kobe's shots. After all, don't we all marvel at his ability to hang in the air, make the big shot, and drive through countless defenders?
So what was Karena's conclusion for such great feats?
She joked, "He must have some deal with the devil because he makes everything!"
We had a hearty laugh about it. And we laughed again after sharing it with Simon, Aaron, Luong, Jason, and others after Game 1.
And after last night's thrilling shot with 2.1 seconds, we've decided that the deal is still on.

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

RONALD REAGAN
It's amazing for me to see the outpouring of love and emotion towards Ronald Reagan. For the first time since 9/11, I can really feel the nation as a whole mourning our loss.
This got me thinking about how society perceives a president and how "good" his presidency was. During his two terms in office, I think I can safely say Presidnet Reagan was considered an "above average" president. He did not excel because he made some huge blunders (the Iran-Contra affair) and some smaller blunders (joking that we had bombed the Soviets during a mike check). But I believe it was his assistance in tearing down Communism in Russia and the Berlin Wall that cememented his legacy. Plus, as history has shown, it doesn't hurt your legacy to have an assassination attempt on you and a debilitating illness(even though that is a cruel and twisted way to look at things).
But I agree with what many are now saying: He was the right President for our nation at the right time. His Hollywood style with Western attitude provided the grace and toughness we needed to survive the transition from the '70s through the late '80s.
It was sad to see the last 10 years of his life virtually wiped away by Alzheimer's. I believe his passing, although painful, brings relief to the family. And he's in a better place now. So despite the mourning, it is a good time to celebrate his life and his legacy.

Monday, June 07, 2004

TOM CRUISE
I'm not sure why this is (and I realize this is nothing to brag about), but I like a lot of Tom Cruise movies.
We just rented The Last Samurai, which I thought I would hate. But it turned out to be a pretty inspiring story and very well acted by both Cruise and Ken Watanabe.
Jerry Maguire is probably one of my most favorite movies. I love A Few Good Men, Top Gun, the Mission Impossible series, Minority Report, Rain Man, The Outsiders. And the rest of his movies aren't bad either, although I don't have the same passion for them.
I may not agree with his personal life (read: Scientology and supposedly being gay), but he seems to choose very good movie roles and excels at them.

Sunday, June 06, 2004

LORD HAVE YOUR WAY IN ME
Lord, this is my prayer today.

This is my desire to honor You
Lord with all my heart, I worship You
All I have within me
I give you praise
All that I adore is in You.

Lord, I give You my heart
I give you my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord, have your way in me.

Saturday, June 05, 2004

THESE ARE DAYS
These are days we'll remember ... and look back at history. Just in the past week, we've celebrated Memorial Day to remember our troops past and present who fight on our behalf. It is also the 15th anniversary of the Tienanmen Square student uprising. They re-printed that photo of the man standing in front of the line of tanks yesterday in the LA Times. That picture stands for determination of the human spirit and its ability to fighting the powers that be. Unfortunately, nobody in China has ever seen the photo. In fact, they don't even know about it because it' been kept under wraps by the government. And finally, tomorrow marks the 60th anniversary of D-Day. When the Allied powers stormed the beaches of Normandy, it arguably marked the greatest strategic offensive attack of all time. It was because of that day alone that made the downfall of Hitler possible. I've seen a recreation in Saving Private Ryan, but I read many firsthand stories in Time magazine recently and it was truly amazing. Imagine being a 20-something soldier riding in those boats toward probable death, with your feet frozen from the cold water rising up to your waist. The doors open, thre are bullets everywhere, and you're still glad to be there. The feeling I get from these WWII vets re-telling their story and the state of their country is drastically different than the one these current troops are giving me now in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thursday, June 03, 2004

APPLAUSE
Congrats to the Lakers for making it to the NBA Finals. Four more to go!
As for Shaq and Karl leaving the Western Conference champion victory party without celebrating, I applaud them. The Lakers do not display Western Conference champion banners, just like UCLA does not raise Pac-10 champion or NIT championship banners. Only championship banners will do.
Good for Shaq and good for Karl.
Four more 'til four!

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

MATH
Because of vacation and Memorial Day, I have only worked three out of the last 15 days!
I love it!

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

GAY MARRIAGE ARTICLE
So, I was asked to write an article on gay marriage that is due to come out in the July edition of our church's newsletter "The Table." I had a LOT of trouble with it, since it was a very difficult topic. But here it a VERY ROUGH draft. Please note, it's not very good and there are still a lot of changes that need to be made. But I hope the message gets across, despite my shortcomings.

Turn on your television. Read the newspapers. The topic of gay marriage is unavoidable. And yet, we, as the body of Christ, are avoiding it. We seem to be nonchalantly asking, “Who cares?” or “How does this really affect me?”
In order to answer these pressing questions, we must delve into God’s Word to uncover His plan for marriage and family.

“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.” (Leviticus 20:13)
God’s stance on homosexuality and gay marriage is clear: God created the institute of marriage to be between a man and a woman only. Recognizing any other union is detestable in His sight.

“Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie … Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lusts for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty of their perversion. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity.” (Romans 1:24-27,29)
In Romans 1, the apostle Paul describes the epidemic of homosexuality that was rampant during that time. Such outrageous conduct only led to the further demise of Rome. Can you imagine if same-sex marriages were deemed legal and constitutional in America today? Our society will also “become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity.” Romans 1 proves there is a direct correlation between the demise of marriage and the downfall of a society. Over the last few decades, the family structure has already been undergoing dramatic decline. Now, the institution of marriage and family will sink even lower with the passage of same-sex marriages.

Furthermore, this decline will not only affect this present generation, but also our children. Ephesians 6:1-4 clearly defines roles and responsibilities for all family members: children honoring their father and mother, parents training and instructing children in God’s values. How will this be possible without a traditional family in place? The death of family as we know it is at stake here.

Historically, the definition of marriage has been founded on theology, tradition, and legal precedent. The legalization of gay marriages will change all that and pave the way for other alternatives to one man-one woman unions including polygamous, incestuous or under-age unions. If a judge can rule in favor of homosexual marriages, what’s to stop them from ruling in favor of polygamy using the same argument? The sacred institute of marriage instituted by God will be no more than one man’s interpretations.

Perhaps one of the most important distinctions is God does not suggest through the Scriptures to despise these individuals. Instead, Jesus taught us to hate the sin, but to love the sinners. (Matthew 5:44) Let us not water-down our faith and beliefs in the name of “tolerance” or “political correctness.”

Even though we might not be directly involved in same-sex marriages, we, as Christians, must be pro-active in preserving God’s design for marriage and family. Legalizing homosexual marriages will curtail the spread of the Gospel and lead to further depravity. May God use us, in the midst of desperate times, to rediscover righteousness and bring about a spiritual revival in our land. For “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

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