Thoughts

PAPER CUT
Yesterday, I got two papercuts on my right index finger. Is there anything more painful than a papercut, let along TWO of them? Everytime I washed my hands with soap and water(which is at least 20 times a day after each patient), I was in complete agony.

ANTI-CHRISTIAN SENTIMENTS
Remember a few days when I wrote a blog about my patient who made some racially insensitive comments? Well, he came back in today and had more to share. This time, he called creation "hogwash." He went on to say, "How can they (Christians) fight to teach creation alongside evolution? They've found absolutely nothing to support it, unlike evolution. In fact, the church has been wrong about EVERYTHING. Just look back in history. They were wrong about the Earth being in the center of the universe. How can they be trusted?"
Again, I was shocked and couldn't muster a response. I hate it when I get tongue-tied like that.
After seeing him, I went into our staff room where they were talking about televangelist Pat Robertson's comments about wanting to assassinate the President of Venezuela. His reasoning? It's okay to assassinate anybody who is in line with Satan or following Satan's teachings. He later tried to deny that he wanted him assassinated, but was caught in that lie too. Finally, he had to apologize outright.
With all these anti-Christian sentiments going around, it's hard to be a Christian. But I must re-read yesterday's passage that Pastor Clive spoke on in Ephesians 1:15-23 about receiving power.

GYM
They've been doing construction/remodeling to our local 24 Fitness since early June. During this time, they've allowed us to use the Super Sport location, complete with basketball court, swimming pool, racquetball court, and much more equipment.
However, because I've been working overtime and simply becuase we've been pretty busy this entire summer, we've only made use of this golden opportunity . . . ONCE.
Hmm . . . maybe we should try going today.

(And on a side note, speaking of golden opportunity, you may have seen or heard the Lexus commercials telling you this is the time to buy at their "Golden Opportunity Sales Event." Well, Karena found out straight from a Lexus car salesman himself that the Golden Opportunity means absolutely nothing! It's just a ploy to make you come in to buy a car. There isn't actually a sale or anything. How dirty is that?!?)

RACE RELATIONS
NOTE: Before I begin, I am merely repeating what a patient said to me. I am not trying to offend anybody or any racial group. I am only trying to share from my experiences and to get some feedback from others' and their experiences.

At the end of a treatment session, one of my new patients caught me off guard by saying some racist things. I didn't know how to respond because I was so shocked. If you feel comfortable, please share your thoughts or what you would have said in response to these words:

"You know, I was relieved to hear that I would be seeing somebody whose
last name was Chinese because I only see Asian or Jewish doctors. After all, I was a university professor for years and always noticed that the Asians and the Jews always put in the most effort or were naturally gifted. Other racial groups often blamed others or racism for their lack of effort.

I remember one time, I was going to fail a student because he didn't do any work. None! In fact, he could barely read. But I got a call from the dean asking to pass him. After I disagreed, I got a call from the coach asking for the same thing. I said no. Finally, the student's mother called and asked if he was failing because he was black. I was shocked that she would even suggest such a thing! But then again, many of them do blame racism whenever things don't go their way, even though they really should be blaming their own laziness.

I mean, just look at Africa. There's research that shows our civilization started in Africa. And during that time, what has Africa done or what has Africa developed? Nothing! Meanwhile, look at how much China, Japan, Korea, and places in Europe have developed in less time.

Anyhow, that's the main reasoning why I always try to get Asian or Jewish health care providers."

MOVIES
We've been watching A LOT of movies lately. Over the last few days, we've rented Bride and Prejudice, The Wedding Date, Beauty Shop, Guess Who, Are We There Yet, and Vanity Fair. Needless to say, you can guess who did the picking for all of these rentals.
In the theaters, we saw Wedding Crashers and Red Eye. I think we've both developed quite a fascination with Rachel McAdams, who stars in both movies. We both thought she looked a lot like Jennifer Garner, except McAdams is much better looking. We weren't impressed with either movie, but we loved her in both.
She's definitely a rising star. Plus, after watching her running around and beating people up in Red Eye, now she looks like Jennifer Garner even more!

EMOTIONAL OUTBURST
So, as some of you might have already heard or witnessed, I had a little emotional outburst while playing volleyball this past Sunday.
See, I'm very competitive and tend to play better once I get mad. Even before we started playing, I even jokingly turned to Karena and said, "If you want me to play better, you should yell at me to get me mad." She didn't do it, but I should be careful for what I ask for because I sure did get upset later.
After our team lost the first game, I got a little frustrated at myself. Yes, I was having fun and I think our team was decently. But for some reason, I get very frustrated playing volleyball because I make careless mistakes. Even though I'm not very good and never really played much volleyball growing up, I just think it should come naturally and easy to me. (I know it's irrational.) So when it doesn't come easily, I get very upset. So, I think it was that, plus the fact that I didn't want to lose without putting up a fight, and the frustration that was building in me over the last 6 weeks of working overtime. I just blew my top.
After getting a relatively routine hit over the net, I started screaming really loudly. All I was trying to do was rally our team and to scare the other team a little bit. But I think it got out of hand and I couldn't stop or control myself. It just went downhill from there.
So, if you were there, I apologize. I felt bad not only for myself, but for my teammates and the other team as well. I'll try to be more self-controlled this coming Sunday.

GREAT AUNT'S FUNERAL
I had a few thoughts from yesterday's funeral for my great aunt (my grandfather's sister):
(1) It's really good to see the Shen side of the family together, especially since we don't get to do it as often nowadays. It was especially good to see Joyce and Shirley.
(2) She was the first Christian in our family and exemplified it through her thoughts and actions. Even though her life was not smooth (her husband died after only 27 years of marriage and her son passed recently too), she would always say things like, "Who am I to always get what I want? God has already blessed me with more than I deserve." Plus, she was always more hospitable and generous with others than herself. I hope I can live with that kind of joy and perspective.
(3) Her memorial service was held at the Glendale Forest Lawn. The last time we were there was to test drive the Lexus RX 330. We went there because Karena mentioned how we drive up and down the Canyon roads everyday to get to work and wanted to testdrive it on a similar type of road. The cemetary was the best and only place in Glendale to do that.
(4) The reception afterward was held at Empress Pavilion. Obviously, that place holds special meaning for us since our wedding reception was held there. The food was really good and it gave us a little more time to chat with everybody and to see some extended family whom I've only heard about or seen pictures of.
(5) My great aunt will be missed, but we know she is overjoyed to finally be home.

NO KOINONIA
The way it stands right now, there is no Friday night Koinonia. It's difficult finding people to run Koi and we don't want to have it just for the sake of having it.
We have been meeting on Sunday afternoons (during Sunday school time), but even that is not a permanent thing.
Even though I told them that we're done serving and attending Koinonia since we've been there (and I've served on core) since its inception roughly 7 years ago, I still have a heart for it. And I have a heart for the people who would attend.
I know that the years straight out of college were tough for me and I'd venture to say it's rivals high school as being some of the toughest years of your life. You're looking for support, direction, guidance, growing up and making grown-up decisions, possibly moving out, find a job or a career, dating seriously, etc.
People undergoing such major life changes need some support from others and Koinonia was a great place to get some biblically-based support, prayer, and fellowship.
I just don't want the future college grads to miss out.
So, now the question is, will anybody be called to step up?

REWARD
My parents are getting desperate.
As my sister already mentioned in her blog, my parents have put up a handsome reward to the first couple who give them a grandchild. Now that all three of their kids are married, they figure the waiting game should be over.
When I heard the news, I thought they were kidding. But they seem pretty serious.
Getting a fat check is a good enough reason to bring a child into the world, right? =)

LA TIMES
Check out today's California section, if you get a chance. They printed my editorial about them writing two different viewpoints in the same day's paper this past Saturday. It's definitely not my best writing, but it got printed anyway!

THE LAST TUESDAY
Today is the last overtime Tuesday I'll have to work. And thank God for that because I don't think I could handle much more of it. But still, this doesn't mean I'm out of the woods yet. I still have a huge patient caseload and it's extremely difficult to discharge many of these patients. Plus, now I'll still be seeing this same number of patients while having one fewer day to get them in each week.
So, we'll see how this goes . . .

KO AND CHARICE
We drove out to Brentwood to see Ko and Charice's new apartment. Even though they're not totally settled in yet (and Ko will be leaving for New York for 7 weeks of training on Monday), they seemed pretty comfortable there. Plus, it was just great to see them again back in LA.
We had dinner in the valley and at one of the best rib places in the world called Dr. Hogly Wogly's. We didn't think it was as good as Lucille's, but the beef brisket was excellent. Plus, the atmosphere is not as nice (but maybe that's 'cause we didn't have Reuel there trying to move things with his palms since his fingertips were all covered in BBQ sauce!)
Afterward, we went to the BJ's Pizza in Westwood to have pizookies for dessert. This place is very special to Karena and me since that's the place we had our first date. Plus, it's right in the heart of Westwood and who wouldn't want to be close to UCLA? =)

AN APPLE A DAY . . .
Because Kaiser is implimenting a new computer check-in program, three boxes of Washington State Red Delicious apples were delivered to our department.
The idea was that since the check-in process was going to take much longer, we'd appease our patients by giving them some apples. It's also a a healthy snack that falls right in line with Kaiser's "Thrive" campaign.
But somehow, the plan got derailed. When the boxes of apples came in, nobody knew what they were for. So, the employees started eating it. And everybody started rationalizing their decision by saying that since Kaiser did not provide us with a basket to hold all the apples to put out for our patients, we had to eat them all ourselves.
So, needless to say, I've been eating A LOT of apples lately.
Hey, you know what they say: An apple a day . . . Or two . . . or three . . .

QUESTION OF THE DAY
How do they get new car smell?

BITTERSWEET
It really is bittersweet to see things come to an end and other things start anew. While noticing that our fish had not come up to the top for a few days to ask for food, Karena and I started to wonder. Had the sedentary fish we've come to know and love become permanently sedentary? Our wonderings turned into reality Tuesday night. It was sad to see the Betta fish we've had for two years (thanks to a housewarming gift from Luong and Suzanne) suddenly gone. Our fish tank now lies empty. And Karena was in complete tears today when she said goodbye to the Subaru SVX she's known and loved for over a decade. The car with the weird windows is now history, as the trade-in for our new Lexus RX 330. But the new car is pretty sweet and she's all smiles when she thinks about that.

THE NEWS
I consider myself somebody who grew up during the era of people watching the Evening News on a nightly basis. The names Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and Peter Jennings have rolled off my tongue for years since my dad invited them into our family room so often that they practically sat down to dinner with us.
Now, it's still hard to believe that all three are off the air ... and one of them (Jennings) passed away Sunday night. And now, hardly anybody watches the Evening News. They just log on to their computers ... or their phones or PDAs. But still, even in this new world of quick, instant access, I still think fondly of the times gone by.

GOOD MEALS
After church, we didn't have Sunday small group time so we all went out to eat lunch. And that's one of the things I value most -- seeing everybody eat together. We filled up a quarter of the room, and managed to have some meaningful conversations too.
Afterwards, we went over to my parent's place to some fun with my cousins. We did the Sudokus from the LA Times while watching "Shaolin Soccer." Afterward, we went to the place Enoch introduced us to for dinner. I never remember the actual name of the place, I just call it "Buck Eighty-Eight" since they have wonton noodle soup that cost that much. It's such a good deal! It was nice to hang out with Allison and Tammy, both of whom I don't see that often anymore.
Anyway, at the end of the night, I felt really content in both my stomach and in my heart.

MR. AND MRS. SMITH

We went to see the movie last night with Liz and Steven. First of all, (and this is going to make me sound old and jaded), but can you believe movies cost $10 now? No wonder we never go to the movies anymore!

Anyway, for weeks, my patients have been telling me to see this movie (along with Wedding Crashers). Karena and I were both intrigued by the concept, but hated knowing that this movie contributed to the downfall of the Pitt/Anistan marriage. But we went to see it anyway . . . and loved it. We thought the dark humor was hilarious and the action was exciting. Plus, their on-screen chemistry was amazing. It's no wonder these two ended up together.

In general, I enjoy seeing Brad Pitt play these roles (a la Ocean's Eleven), but I usually can't stand Angelina Jolie. But I even found her acting to be good.

The only bad part about the movie experience was the movie theater was completely packed. Even the very first row was almost full! Who would have ever guessed so many people would go see this movie after it had already been out for two months? We ended up sitting in the end seats of the second row.

WAKE UP
After working 11 of the last 12 days, I was excited to be able to sleep in this morning. But no such luck. My stupid internal clock got me up at the same time as if I were getting up for work.

JOKE

This joke was being circulated around Karena's workplace yesterday. Since we both thought it was funny, I thought I'd share it:

Jacob, age 92, and Rebecca, age 89, are all excited about their decision to get married. They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding and on the way they pass a drugstore. Jacob suggests they go in.
Jacob addresses the man behind the counter: "Are you the owner?"
The pharmacist answers "Yes."

Jacob: "We're about to get married. Do you sell heart medication?"
Pharmacist: "Of course we do."
Jacob: "How about medicine for circulation?"
Pharmacist: "All kinds."
Jacob: "Medicine for rheumatism, scoliosis?"
Pharmacist: "Definitely."
Jacob: "Medicine for memory problems, arthritis, Jaundice?"
Pharmacist: "Yes, a large variety. The works."
Jacob: "What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antidotes for Parkinson's disease?"
Pharmacist: "Absolutely."
Jacob: "You sell wheelchairs and walkers?"
Pharmacist: "All speeds and sizes."
Jacob says to the pharmacist: "We'd like to use this store for our bridal registry, please."

HAD ENOUGH
Today marked the 4th of 6 consecutive Tuesdays that I'm working to get some overtime to fit in all the patients I inherited from two PTs who left. As each week has progressed, I've gotten more stressed and disgruntled.
Today, I had had enough.
After getting overworked and having to deal with some really tough personalities, I snapped. I got very upset and didn't talk to any of my co-workers. In fact, when I got in the car to leave, I turned on some really loud music and just started yelling and screaming.
No amount of money is worth this.
And yet, I still have two more Tuesdays to go. Lord, please help me.

QUICK THOUGHTS
1. In regards to the Angels, it's starting to feel more like 1995 than 2002.
2. I can't believe after spending over a billion dollars over the last 2+ years, NASA encountered the same problem with the Space Shuttle Discovery as it did with the doomed Columbia.
3. For a multitude of reasons, I only went to church one time in the entire month of July.
4. They opened up a Goldilock's Bakery in the Eagle Rock Plaza just down the street from Karena's parents. For those who don't know, it's a Philipino bakery where they make a sweet bread with cheese and butter called an Ensaymada. It's so good, but not so good for you. But now that it's so close, I can see us going there all the time.