Thoughts

WEDDING VIDEO
After seeing that my grandmother's condition had stabilized, we went to my parents house because my dad and Jonathan had gone back there. While eating my mom's almond jello and watermelon, we listened to Raymond and Jonathan play piano (my cousin is a virtuoso when it comes to the piano, literally.)
But the highlight was sitting around the TV and watching footage of my parent's engagement party and wedding. Aside from only a handful of pictures, this was really the first time I had ever seen such footage. Both my parents looked so young and beautiful together. It was interesting to see my roots. And I realized that I am the splitting image of my father when he was my age.
As I sat there, holding Karena's hand, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight and overcome by emotion. If you ever get the opportunity to see pictures or a video of your parent's wedding, I highly recommend it.

MY GRANDMOTHER
After having Raymond fly down and spending the morning having brunch with him, I was in a good mood in preparation for going to the CEFC nominating committee meeting before seeing Dave Mathews Band in concert. However, those plans came to a screaching halt when we got the news that my grandmother had suffered a seizure, probably as a result of yet another stroke.
The nursing home she's been staying at gave her anti-seizure medication and pain killers and tried to make her comfortable. My mom, preparing and fearing the worst, asked all of us to be there. When you hear things like, "Can you find the number to the Rose Hills Mortuary?", you quickly feel uneasy. But amazingly, my grandmother is quite the fighter and although she is still in a coma, she is still holding on.
If you get a chance, please continue to pray for her.

THOUGHTS FROM THE LAST FEW DAYS
1. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers regarding my "no complaining" day this past Thursday. I will have to admit that I was definitely tested and they again overloaded me at work (this topic is very long and there's no time to discuss it in detail now). But I did my best to let it go, not complain, and to give it to God. Of course, with Karena trying to do it do, we didn't have much to say to each other after work! =)
2. I'm almost happy Team USA Basketball lost. This will hopefully teach them that playing as a team is more important than having superstar talent. (This is a lesson I hope the Lakers have learned too.)
3. I will really miss having Jason and Debbie and Dewey and Janet in Koinonia. It is NOT an exaggeration when I say that their service is what kept the group going and what helped to keep me going too. During rockier times in Koi's existence, it was God who used these four individuals (and Michael too) to literally carry the group out of near extinction. I've told them they are like the Abraham Lincolns of Koi because the group was folding, but they put it back together. I am so thankful for their years of service. Friday night Koi is getting a real face-lift, but it'll be good. As much as I will miss them, I know God is continuing to take the group somewhere good.
4. Katrina prepared the food for last night's Koi BBQ. And let me just say, the girl has got some gourmet skills! I've never eaten salmon on skewers or had glazed nectarines. But I sure did love 'em!

NO COMPLAINING
Tomorrow (Thursday) is the day I'm supposed to practice not complaining. Or as Jesse put it, a day "to bless and not to curse."

Please pray that I can do it, in spite of difficulties that may arise at work or home. Thanks!

QUICK THOUGHTS
1. If you're interested in fine dining at an affordable price and fighting hunger all at the same time, check out this site that Janet referred me to: www.ladineout.com. But it's only until Auguest 29, so act now!
2. I feel bad for American gymnast Paul Hamm (what's the deal with him pronouncing his last name like "Hom" anyway?). He now has a gold that he didn't really rightfully deserve and has endured much abuse from the fans in Athens (for getting a questionable higher score than Russian gymnast Alexei Nemov, who appeared to do much better). If I were Paul Hamm, I'd make things right by returning the gold, despite what America or my ego might say.
3. We had a great time seeing some of my old UCLA co-workers (from when I worked there before PT school in 1997). Mark's wife Gina is due in 3 weeks. How exciting! Anyway, the couple actually eloped back in January, but decided (at the urging of both sets of parents, I'm sure) to have a Chinese banquet to celebrate. But the funny part was I had no idea what to say to them before we left. Do you still say "Congratulations!" or "We're so happy for you?" I was really at a loss for words so I went with, "You've got youself a great girl" to the groom and "You look beautiful" to the bride. Good enough, right?
4. Congrats to the USA Women's Softball team who won the gold medal and outscored its opponents 51-1. Now why can't USA Men's basketball dominate like that?

CHECK OUT THE LINKS
I've added some new links to others' websites over on the right, including Amy, Melanie & Bob and Simon. Check 'em out!

COMING TO AMERICA
News item: Yao Ming comes to America to play basketball for the Houston Rockets. After two spectacular seasons, he represents China in the Olympics. After getting routed by Spain 83-58, the even-tempered Yao blows up at his Chinese teammates and coach. He called his team "hopeless" and said he had "lost much of my confidence" in them. Fans are stunned at his outburst, calling him "Americanized". One said, " It is not the right behavior of a Chinese athlete, to get angry and lose your temper after the match. He's over-reacting."

Reaction: What is going on here? As I was reading this article, I immediately felt very offended that America was getting such a bad reputation for poor showmanship. I became upset that China's Communist government had produced such a "keep silent" culture in its athletes and its people. Why shouldn't Yao be allowed to saw such things to help inspire his team? Is he not human? Does he not have emotions? As long as he exhibits self-control in his comments and intends to build up the team, not break it down, then, I'm all for it.
But after taking some more time to reflect on the subject, I decided that the American culture IS to "talk back" and "speak up". Maybe Yao has become "Americanized" in the two years he's been here. But as a Chinese-American, he must dutifully walk the fine line between being himself and not disrespecting his native country or its people. And with that in mind, he should have kept his cool and toned down his anger. Don't get me wrong. I still agree with my initial feelings. But I feel that he has responsibilities as a Chinese-American that preclude him from acting out in such a way.
Yo, Yao! Welcome to life as a Chinese-American. It's full of contradictions and controversies. Get used to it.

PRAISE HIM ANYWAY
I've mentioned that for the past three weeks or so, I've been rather disgruntled at work. And yet, while Karena and I pray on the way to work or before meals, I almost always say something like, "Thank You for Your many blessing and provisions."
Karena confronted me on the contradiction and asked me to explain how I could complain about work and then close my eyes and say, "Thanks for Your many blessings."
I couldn't answer her at the time, but Jesse mentioned something interesting last night in Koinonia that helped me answer the question.
He said he keeps himself in the habit of praising God, even when he doesn't necessarily feel like it at that moment in time. Maybe in the same way, I feel I should continue to thank God for blessing me, even though I'm not feeling it at that particular moment.
As an application point, Jesse and I agreed that we wouldn't complain about anything or anyone for 24 hour period. Mine will be on Thursday. Wish me luck.

QUICK THOUGHTS ON MUSIC AND SPORTS
1. I purchased the "Guns N' Roses Greatest Hits" CD this week. I have to say that those are some of the greatest songs of all time.
2. I also purchased the "Michael Jordan to the Max" DVD for a discounted price. Even though I'm a die-hard Lakers fan and hated when Jordan's Bulls beat us in 1991, I have to admit that Michael Jordan's basketball abilities were second to none. To me, he is the greatest NBA player of all time. It's just too bad he was stupid enough to come back out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards and taint his image and legacy.
3. I'm disappointed the Angels just can't seem to get it together. This is their time to overtake the AL West lead, but they just don't seem to have the heart to do it. Sure, they've been bitten by the injury bug, but they still have the necessary talent. The AL West is going to come down to who chokes least.
4. USA Basketball sucks. They don't play as a team and have no heart. My favorite USA Olympic team right now? Women's softball. And I have to admit that Paul Hamm's rise from worst to first last night was truly amazing and one for the ages. By far, the great Olympic comeback I have ever seen.

MOUTHPIECE
One thing I've mentioned before and you might have noticed is that I walk with a slight limp. It stems from my back and my left hip. Sometimes, it's so bad, the limp is very noticeable. In fact, when I'm bringing the offering down to the front of the church, one thought that is always going through my head is, "Okay, tighten up your stomach (to support your back) and don't limp. Don't limp!"
But one of my co-workers says my pain also stems from my jaw. When your jaw is out of alignment, it affects sensors in your brain that keep you upright. Anyway, this can cause pain in your back and hip (which is exactly where I have pain).
In addition, Karena tells me that I grind my teeth when I sleep ... and when I get frustrated.
So, to counteract all these problems, I got a mouth guard that looks pretty cheap, but it definitely was not inexpensive ($55). But I have since seen it advertized in TIME magazine for $69.95 so I feel a little better about the $55 now. Anyway, I wear the mouth guard to sleep and it seems to help both problems thus far.
Except, of course, I often feel like Rocky getting ready to go back into the ring.

DONATING BLOOD
Since the church was sponsoring a blood drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross, and since I hadn't donated in over a year, we decided to show up to church early to donate. And I am proud to say that we were #1 and #2 ... literally.
I have to admit that even though you get poked and proded, it was a great experience to share with Karena. Also, it was good to see so many others (like Katrina) also showing up early to donate. Plus, the incentives of snacks (I chose Cheez-Its and apple juice), free lunch at Wahoo's (fish tacos), and a pint of Baskin Robbin's ice cream was a real plus.
Somehow, a strange blood donation memory popped into my head as we were lying reclined donating blood. I flashed back to an old "Beverly Hills 90210" episode, where Dylan keeps telling his girlfriend Brenda that he has something special and romantic planned for Valentine's Day. But in the end, they end up holding hands while donating blood together. This made me want to reach out to grab Karena's hand, but she was too far and that were the arms we were using to donate.
So much for trying to be romantic.

THE GOOD OL' DAYS
Sunday turned out to be a return to the days of yore for me, as I had lunch with Enoch and Ryan. Enoch I've known since 6th grade and Ryan since 3rd grade. Needless to say, it was great to share a meal with them. And it was great to see that Karena could feel comfortable in sharing with them (even though she doesn't know Ryan very well) and that they were comfortable sharing with him.
The major topic of conversation was Ryan's simple, yet very complex question, "How did you know you were with the right one to marry?" Apparently, he's been asking a lot of his engaged and married friends and hasn't come up with an answer he finds satisfactory.
Our answer: It comes down to somebody who you can get along with, you can support, you can love them despite their shortcoming and despite the things they do that bother you, you have similar values and ways of thinking, and you're able to laugh with them. Well, that was the gist of our answer.
He also asked if we believed in "the one" or "soulmates." Neither of us did, instead saying there's probably a select group of people who we would be compatible with to marry.
We had never talked about such things in the past, so it really great to be able to hang out and talk at that level and experience the good ol' days again.

A SATURDAY FOR THE BIRDS
My parents own a building where they were getting complaints of pigeons being on the roof. After climbing the long ladder to get up there, my dad, Karena, and I noticed the birds had been going in and out of an area ont he roof where the panel had fallen off. We didn't have a drill, screws, or nails to close the panel up so my dad said, "Find a 2x4 so we can lean it up against the panel to close it."
Now, where on earth are you going to find a 2x4 on a roof?
Well, after doing some searching, if you can believe this, I found one! And we closed up the panel and all was well.
And afterward, we were able to satisfy Karena's craving for Lucille's by going there for dinner. She ordered the Beef Ribs (which turned out to be the best deal -- the most ribs for you buck).

THE SLICKED-BACK LOOK
My hair is starting to get long again so I'll probably get it cut today (hopefully by Karena!). But I'm not in such a hurry to get it cut, because when it gets long like this, I like to come out of the shower with my hair still wet and slick my hair back. If it works for people like Pat Riley, Andy Garcia, and former UCLA coach Steve Lavin, it might as well work for me.
Of course, I'm starting to lose hair so it doesn't look nearly as good on me as it does on them.

CELEBRATING JESSE'S BIRTHDAY
The party was cozy, quaint, and homey feeling. Celebrating 30 years of life can sometimes be tricky. It's a time to look back and look forward. You might feel a little bit older than you'd like. You might feel like one door has closed and another has opened. And Jesse did express a push toward being more mature.
But Tuesday night, we celebrated like 20-somethings. We had a great time conversing with others, eating together, and sharing. My favorite moment came when we all sat around a picture of a cat on their wall that resembled an inkblot. We all decided to name something else we saw besides the cat. Some of the things mentioned included: two cats, a platypus, Homer Simpson, a fish, two old ladies.
Sorry this blog was a little off track. But happy birthday nontheless!

GHETTO MONTEBELLO
How ghetto is Montebello?
Well, when Karena and I went tie shopping for Jesse (happy 30th, by the way!), we went to Macy's at the Montebello mall. After walking around the entire store (which isn't all that big), we couldn't find the ties anywhere. So, we were forced to ask.

"Excuse me, where are your ties?"
"Sorry, we don't carry ties anymore."

How is that possible? A Macy's that doesn't sell ties? Just another sign that Montebello and ghetto are indeed synonymous.

QUICK THOUGHTS
1. My right eyelid has been twitching on occasion for about a month now. At first, I thought it was because I wasn't getting enough sleep. But even on nights when I sleep early and wake up late, it still twitches. It's more of an annoyance more than anything, especially while I'm charting. I can live with it as long as my patients don't notice.
2. We did go see "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle" last Saturday and I was pleasantly surprised with how funny it was. Karena loved it. It was definitely more well done than "Dude, Where's My Car?" but the humor was more raunchy at times too. But overall, I had a good time and it came at the right time too since my work week had been so terrible.
3. I'm not a fan of taking any medication (including vitamins), but Karena encouraged me to buy and start taking some vitamins from Kaiser. It's called "Vitamins For Hair." I guess she doesn't a bald husband by age 30. If anybody is ever interested in taking them, just let us know. I get a discounted price for being an employee!
4. I was fine to see Gary Payton go. I'm not so sure what we got back in return was worth it, but I can see the Lakers are trying to get younger and more athletic. Of course, this team is also becoming more unrecognizable in the process. Well, it's official: "Good Times" and "Bling Bling" are over.

THIS WAS A GOOD WEEKEND
After two such horrible days at work, I was happy to have a good weekend. Saturday was pretty mellow -- we didn't even do much house work! Instead, we made smoothies, watched a movie or two, and hung out with Mike and Cindy. They are a lot of fun to hang out with ... and Zankou Chicken ... good! And we were heading home when Karena had a sudden craving for Claim Jumper dessert. So, there we were, watching the Dodgers win while eating our lemon bar brulee and carrot cake.
Sunday proved to be a good day at church, lunch with Velina at Noodle Planet (our fave) and spending time with my parents afterwards. We even managed to take a dip in the pool.
Now, I'm sitting here on a Sunday night dreading work tomorrow morning with all the stress that brings. But hey, don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.

LIFE ISN'T FAIR
I had two of the most miserable days at work this past Thursday and Friday. I don't want to get into all the details, but here's the short laundry list of what went wrong: (1) I got into major trouble with two of the senior therapists for booking patients in inappropriate times; (2) My patients were very upset with me that they couldn't get in to see me more often or that I was discharging them from PT; (3) I was constantly running behind schedule; (4) I felt mistreated and abused by other staff that made me work hard while they just relaxed; (5) I had the front desk people forget to tell me my patient was here, so I was more than a half hour late and had to stay overtime without pay just to treat my final patients.
As I write this, I realize that the laundry list is not as short as I wanted it to be. And I also realized that I'm good at playing the victim. That's something I'm definitely not proud of.
What's the point of this tirade? I guess it's to vent and say that life is not fair. But hey, I knew that already. And as a man, I should just suck it up and move on.
I felt beat up, exhausted, hurt, confused, angry, and embarassed all at the same time of the course of the last few days. Thank God for good conversations with random people (not necessarily about this topic) like my wife, my parents, Jason, Simon, Jesse, etc.
The bottom line? Everybody feels this way from time to time. And I'm no different. Yes, the world is not fair. Jesus died for sins he didn't commit and for a people who rebelled again him and shouted, "Crucify him!"
So, like I said, I should take comfort in that, deal with my issues, get over it, and move on.

THE WHOPPER CHALLENGE
Unexpectedly, the Whopper Challenge at work was moved up to Wednesday. And also unexpectedly, we added another challenger. So, at 12:15pm in our back office, the three of us sat down.
I had to down my Whopper, have an empty mouth, and a clean wrapper within 50 seconds. My co-worker Scott had to do the same within 55 seconds. My other co-worker Hector had to down a Double Whopper (yes, he IS nuts) within 1 minute. About 30 seconds into it, Hector started laughing and spit his burger out. We all started laughing, and that really got me annoyed because that cut into my time. At the 50 second mark, I had bitten off about 75% of the burger, but most of it was still in my mouth. With my cheeks protruding, I tried my best to chew quickly and swallow even more quickly, but to no avail.
Final time? One minute and 50 seconds. I did manage to beat the other two contestants, but that brought me no comfort. I was disappointed in my poor showing. But in my defense, I was very dehydrated (from a full morning's work) and wasn't allowed to dunk the buns into a cup of water a la Kobayashi, the hot dog eating champ. Had I at least been well-hydrated (and not started laughing), I surely could have shaved 20 seconds off my time. And after it was all said and done, I found myself owing two other co-workers lunch for not finishing in the time I so proudly boasted I could finish it in. But wait! What's this? Another challengewas put forth: Double or nothing.
What are you crazy?!?

13 GOING ON 30
Tonight, we watched the Jennifer Garner movie and it was terrible. But I have to admit that she did a good job with a teeny-bopper, bubble gum script and theme. It was cheesy (even for me), but it made me think.
I always struggled with issues of inadequacy during my teenage years (especially in high school). And I just figured that by the time I'm in my late-20s to early 30s, these feelings will give way to strength and self-confidence. After all, shouldn't that be the normal progression towards maturity?
But instead, I still find myself struggling at times with those same issues. Things that make me uncomfortable are taking a real firm hard stand on something, leading a group of people, even doing home repair-type housework. I have such a fear of failure or doing something wrong. It still kills me.
In the movie, she makes her wrongs right again by relying on the qualities, values, and attributes she was taught as a child. Maybe I need to do something similar. I just need to remember all those cheesy things I was taught to tell myself growing up: I will mess up, but that doesn't mean I'm a failure. And if I don't succeed, try, try again.

NATHAN AND SINATH'S WEDDING
Any wedding held in the Crystal Cathedral is going to be beautiful. And it was even more so to see Nathan and Sinath get married. The ceremony was beautiful (complete with the glass panel opening to let the sunshine in, the fountains in the aisle going off while Sinath walked down, and Pastor Rich doing a great job, as always).
Afterward, there was a long time between the light reception and the dinner, so we got to spend some quality time with Sandra and Gabe at The Block. We did some shopping and hung out, which I was very grateful to get the opportunity.
The dinner was fun because we sat at the "young married table" ... but still managed to create quite a ruckus. And afterward, we were almost out the door without doing any dancing. Well, that is untile "Baby Got Back" came on. And before you knew it, I wasn't saying my congratulatory goodbyes to Nathan and Sinath anymore. Instead, I was on the floor doing the worm.
That song gets me every time.

THE DODGERS' EXTREME MAKEOVER
I know reality makeover/plastic surgery shows are all the rage these days, but little did I know that the quick change mentality would take over my baseball team too.
The Dodgers made so many moves over the last few days, my head is still spinning. Gone are the heart and soul of the team in players like Paul LoDuca, Dave Roberts, and Guillermo Mota. In are people like unproven Brad Penny, 40-year old Steve Finley, and journeymen Brent Mayne and Hee-Sop Choi.
What are the first place Dodgers thinking? Why gut your entire team now? And why make sure risky moves when you're sitting pretty in first place?
Personally, I think owner Frank McCourt is trying to show up Angels owner Arte Moreno as payback for the last off-season when Moreno made McCourt look bad by making all the moves.
Still, I have to admit that Dodger GM Paul DePodesta has earned a certain amount of respect for his moves thus far (namely Jayson Werth), so I'm remaining cautiously hopeful.