Saturday, June 30, 2007
QUICK THOUGHTS
1. I've come to realize that I'm not the gadget guy I once was because, although I think the iPhone is pretty cool, I have no desire to get one.
2. The NBA draft had many teams get better . . . except for the Lakers. Honestly, I hate to say it, but they have very few options and will drop lower unless something drastic can be done.
2. The NBA draft had many teams get better . . . except for the Lakers. Honestly, I hate to say it, but they have very few options and will drop lower unless something drastic can be done.
3. Speaking of the NBA draft, did you see what former University of Florida and now Chicago Bull star Joakim Noah was wearing? He looked like Colonel Sanders! And did you see his hair?
4. Now that Blockbuster has chosen to use Blu-Ray discs to stock their shelves, will HD-DVDs go the way of Beta? So far, if I buy a DVD movie, I've just been sticking with the old regular DVDs until this gets sorted out. I remember what it was like for some family members and friends to have this obsolete piece of equipment (Beta) that they couldn't use but didn't have the heart to throw out since they spent so much on it.
5. Having defeated the immigration bill, the Senate seems to be saying they're okay with keeping things the way they are. And that doesn't seem right for anybody.
6. Contrary to many forwarded e-mails, you don't have to start using hands-free headsets for your cell phone while driving beginning tomorrow. It will happen in January 2008.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
OCEAN'S 13 IN DLP
One of my favorite movies of all time is Ocean's 11. But after such a great start, the sequel really tanked. I was so disappointed (much like the Matrix) that I wasn't really looking forward to the third installment. But Karnea really thought we should see it since I've been a little down lately.
And although the movie wasn't as good as the first one, it was pretty entertaining. The reason? I think everybody loves seeing people take Las Vegas. In this one, hundreds of thousands of dollars are taken and everybody in our movie theater literally laughed out loud while it was going on. It was smart to put this movie back in Las Vegas.
On a related note, we saw this movie in DLP for $13. (Good thing we had some coupons!). When the movie started, we both noticed that it is much clearer and the colors were more vibrant. But after about 15 minutes, we didn't notice the difference anymore.
To pay another $2 in the future for a little more clarity and color? Forget it!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
NOSE JOB?My co-worker is one of the biggest clowns I've ever known. He's always quick with a joke and make anybody laugh with his antics.
Today, he sent an email about my supposed nose-job and included these photos of me and former Knicks center Patrick Ewing.
I thought it was hilarious.
Monday, June 25, 2007
MONTEBELLO BEING GHETTO YET AGAIN
For all you Montebello haters, I am giving you more fuel to the fire. Even though I love my roots and enjoyed growing up there, Montebelloians have done something bad. Apparently, students from Montebello High School put a Mexican flag on top of an upside-down American one.
I got these photos email to me from my cousin Allison.
In my defense, all I can say is, Montebello High is the OTHER high school! =)
(Sorry to Suzanne, Aaron, Simon, Amy, Bonnie, Ricky, and many others . . . )
Saturday, June 23, 2007
SLEEPING 3 HOURS A NIGHT
When you're a freshman in college, sleep is sometimes the furthest thing from your mind. There are books to be read, notes to be studied, TV shows to watch, stupid things to be done with your roommates, good food to be eaten, etc. But one thing I started to realize back then is I felt much more rested after only sleeping 3-4 hours a night, as opposed to a more normal 7 hours. I also noticed I had better memory recall for exams when only sleeping this much, but taking a nap during the afternoon.
And more recently, Karena has begun noticing the same thing. On a few occasions, she was up late, but felt great the next day after only sleeping 3 hours. In fact, she felt better than I did sleeping 6.5! I was falling asleep during my staff meeting at work, while she worked nearly 13 hours without skipping a beat.
I've been investigating why this could be and found a guy's interesting website about this topic. It's a little length, but basically, he says that we have 90 min sleep cycles. When we finish a cycle, we feel more rested. So, sleeping 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, etc hours is much better than sleeping any other amount. And taking a nap of the same interval (probably 90 min) is also beneficial in restoring hyper awareness for creative intelligence. This guys gets by sleeping 3 hours at night and taking a 1.5 hour nap during the day.
That's something I might consider. Do you know how much I'd get done if I only slept 4.5 hours during the course of a day?
When you're a freshman in college, sleep is sometimes the furthest thing from your mind. There are books to be read, notes to be studied, TV shows to watch, stupid things to be done with your roommates, good food to be eaten, etc. But one thing I started to realize back then is I felt much more rested after only sleeping 3-4 hours a night, as opposed to a more normal 7 hours. I also noticed I had better memory recall for exams when only sleeping this much, but taking a nap during the afternoon.
And more recently, Karena has begun noticing the same thing. On a few occasions, she was up late, but felt great the next day after only sleeping 3 hours. In fact, she felt better than I did sleeping 6.5! I was falling asleep during my staff meeting at work, while she worked nearly 13 hours without skipping a beat.
I've been investigating why this could be and found a guy's interesting website about this topic. It's a little length, but basically, he says that we have 90 min sleep cycles. When we finish a cycle, we feel more rested. So, sleeping 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, etc hours is much better than sleeping any other amount. And taking a nap of the same interval (probably 90 min) is also beneficial in restoring hyper awareness for creative intelligence. This guys gets by sleeping 3 hours at night and taking a 1.5 hour nap during the day.
That's something I might consider. Do you know how much I'd get done if I only slept 4.5 hours during the course of a day?
Friday, June 22, 2007
RANDOM THOUGHTS
1. The Lakers CANNOT and WILL NOT trade Kobe. After all, this is LA and nobody will stand seeing a team without a superstar. Plus, the Lakers already tried trading a superstar and look how badly that turned out. After all, can you even imagine Kobe in a Bulls jersey? They should trade anybody else to get the right parts to put a champion back together again. I'm not sure Jermaine O'Neal is the answer though. I'd much rather see Kevin Garnett in a Lakers jersey instead. (I've always found it fun to see what athletes would look like in other jerseys. I used to cut up old baseball and basketball cards to do the same thing. Now, photoshopping is my weapon of choice. I'm no expert at it, as you can see, but it's still fun!)
2. One of the best parts of the summer is seeing some missions like Amy and Bonnie Lo and Clive Chin and family return home, even if it's just for a little while. It's also nice to see people stepping up and going out on short-term trips. You guys are all in our prayers!
3. After sitting at home all week, I've come to realize how quickly the day goes by. Without getting much done, the days quickly turn into nights and back again. I remember when I thought Christmas would never come as a kid. Now, days just fly by, even when I'm not doing anything.
4. It's convenient to have those day laborers outside Home Depot. But I think every Home Depot should build a little area where they can hang out and also have port-o-potties. I've seen too many of them nearly get run-over or stand in the way of the entrance or parking spots.
5. One of my all-time favorite '80s songs is When In Rome's "The Promise."
1. The Lakers CANNOT and WILL NOT trade Kobe. After all, this is LA and nobody will stand seeing a team without a superstar. Plus, the Lakers already tried trading a superstar and look how badly that turned out. After all, can you even imagine Kobe in a Bulls jersey? They should trade anybody else to get the right parts to put a champion back together again. I'm not sure Jermaine O'Neal is the answer though. I'd much rather see Kevin Garnett in a Lakers jersey instead. (I've always found it fun to see what athletes would look like in other jerseys. I used to cut up old baseball and basketball cards to do the same thing. Now, photoshopping is my weapon of choice. I'm no expert at it, as you can see, but it's still fun!)
2. One of the best parts of the summer is seeing some missions like Amy and Bonnie Lo and Clive Chin and family return home, even if it's just for a little while. It's also nice to see people stepping up and going out on short-term trips. You guys are all in our prayers!
3. After sitting at home all week, I've come to realize how quickly the day goes by. Without getting much done, the days quickly turn into nights and back again. I remember when I thought Christmas would never come as a kid. Now, days just fly by, even when I'm not doing anything.
4. It's convenient to have those day laborers outside Home Depot. But I think every Home Depot should build a little area where they can hang out and also have port-o-potties. I've seen too many of them nearly get run-over or stand in the way of the entrance or parking spots.
5. One of my all-time favorite '80s songs is When In Rome's "The Promise."
Thursday, June 21, 2007
OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN
Some of you may recall that I left a Chap-Stik in my pocket a while back and ended up throwing it in the laundry. It ruined all our clothes with oily spots on all the shirts and pants we put in with it. After feeling horrible about ruining a lot of Karena's clothes, I vowed to never do it again.
Oops, I did it again.
But this time, it wasn't with a Chap-Stik, but with a pen. Now, all our hand towels in our house and many of our clothes have dark black ink marks throughout.
Again, I feel horrible. But Karena is always so gracious and forgiving about it.
So, the next time you come over and see dark ink stains on our towels, try not to say anything.
Thanks.
Some of you may recall that I left a Chap-Stik in my pocket a while back and ended up throwing it in the laundry. It ruined all our clothes with oily spots on all the shirts and pants we put in with it. After feeling horrible about ruining a lot of Karena's clothes, I vowed to never do it again.
Oops, I did it again.
But this time, it wasn't with a Chap-Stik, but with a pen. Now, all our hand towels in our house and many of our clothes have dark black ink marks throughout.
Again, I feel horrible. But Karena is always so gracious and forgiving about it.
So, the next time you come over and see dark ink stains on our towels, try not to say anything.
Thanks.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
FOLLOW-UP WITH THE DOCTOR
Well, I figured out why I was having such a horrendous headache for the last few days after surgery. As it turns out the tubes that the surgeon placed in my nose were about the size and length and width of my pinkie. After she took them out, my head felt so much better! Imagine that!
I still didn't sleep very well last night because I was mouth-breathing for the whole night. But I'd image I'll sleep better tonight. By tomorrow, I should hopefully be like my old self-again. I can't wait to stop mouth-breathing!
Well, I figured out why I was having such a horrendous headache for the last few days after surgery. As it turns out the tubes that the surgeon placed in my nose were about the size and length and width of my pinkie. After she took them out, my head felt so much better! Imagine that!
I still didn't sleep very well last night because I was mouth-breathing for the whole night. But I'd image I'll sleep better tonight. By tomorrow, I should hopefully be like my old self-again. I can't wait to stop mouth-breathing!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
QUESTION FROM A MOVIE
Since I can't really do anything this week, I've been trying to read and watch movies. One of the movies I saw was 16 Blocks. I gotta say although the movie was only okay, Mos Def was amazing in this role. I would say he was even better than Bruce Willis.
Anyway, one of the questions that Mos Def's character always asks people is, "You're driving in a car during a hurricane with only space for one more passenger. Then, you see an old lady who has lived a full life, your best friend, and your best girl. Who do you save?"
I thought it was an interesting question. I don't want to give away too much of the movie, but Bruce Willis ends the movie by saying, "You give your keys to your friend and tell him to take the old lady. Then, you and your best girl stay. Because if she's truly your best girl, whatever happens happens. And you'll be okay with that because you'll be together."
Monday, June 18, 2007
HELLO CLARICE!
Despite my looking very much like Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs, I am feeling pretty good after surgery.
There's still a lot of drainage that's left me feeling a little weak and tired, but overall I'm doing okay. I just feel like somebody punched me in the nose.
I'll probably end up taking a nap and just laying low for this week. But I'm hoping I've taken my first steps toward breathing like a champ!
On a side note, for my birthday, Karena gave me a card that said, "Boogers are like birthdays. The more you have, the harder it is to breathe!" That was the perfect card for my situation this year. It's still sitting on my night stand and has kept me laughing after surgery.
Thanks to all of your for your prayers and well-wishes.
Alright, naptime. Zzzzzz.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
TAMMY AND HUDSON'S WEDDING
I had been looking forward to Hudson and Tammy's wedding for several months now. Of course, I also felt much trepidation and worry too.
But alas, the day finally arrived. And all the preparations that many family members and I would have to help pull it all together.
And amazingly, together it came. Because of traffic into Hacienda Heights, the ceremony started late. But the ceremony was beautiful, the group pictures went smoothly. And before they knew it, they were husband and wife. And isn't that the most important part anyway?
The banquet would prove to be more tricky. We lost some of our decorations from our car on the long drive to Chinatown, but managed to make good time. And once we got there, it was difficult setting up all the sound equipment, my laptop, the party lights, the screen and projector, etc.
But even though we started late and it took longer than expected, everything worked. I managed to play the music at the appropriate time while serving as MC. The food was delicious, the chopsticks were used to clang against glasses, an AMAZING skit/musical was put on by the wedding party to the tune of "The Little Mermaid" songs, and some funny and emotional speeches were made by the fathers and the couple themselves.
We didnt' have much time for dancing, but that was okay. Everyone had a good time . . . and I inherited a cousin-in-law.
Friday, June 15, 2007
PLEASE PRAY
With all the craziness going on over the next few days with my family, we were dealt a serious blow. My mother, who had just come back from helping my sister with caring for Caleb while she went to work, slipped on the stairs and fractured her ankle and sprained her foot.
You may recall that she broke her ankle about a year ago. Well, now she has broken the other one.
Whether she could even make it to my cousin's wedding ceremony (and also celebrate her birthday, which is also on Saturday) will remain to be seen. But she's a fighter and my guess is she'll make it.
But please keep her in prayer.
With all the craziness going on over the next few days with my family, we were dealt a serious blow. My mother, who had just come back from helping my sister with caring for Caleb while she went to work, slipped on the stairs and fractured her ankle and sprained her foot.
You may recall that she broke her ankle about a year ago. Well, now she has broken the other one.
Whether she could even make it to my cousin's wedding ceremony (and also celebrate her birthday, which is also on Saturday) will remain to be seen. But she's a fighter and my guess is she'll make it.
But please keep her in prayer.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
CONGRATS VALEDICTORIAN!
These next few days are all about family! We have my cousin Tammy's wedding set for this Saturday, my mom's birthday also on Saturday, Father's Day coming up on Sunday, and my cousin Jonathan's high school graduation today.
Having watched Jonathan grow up from a wild little kid to become valedictorian of Troy High School, ranked in the top 20 of all U.S. High Schools, is pretty amazing. It's a great accomplishment and we could not be more proud. Plus, it got us out of work early for a day!
The problem with most high school graduations is that the speeches are too long and filled with too many cliches. Plus, they usually prevent any of the graduates from having any fun. This one featured some pretty decent speeches with no chiches (imagine that!) and had soe light-hearted moments watching the teachers try to take away and destroy beach balls that made it way around the students.
The only problem with this ceremony was the time: 2pm in the afternoon under the blazing hot sun. Apparently, space is limited in Fullerton so all the high schools have their graduations at one location: Fullerton High School. Once one graduation is over, they ship everybody out and star the next one. Unfortunately, Troy gets the shaft every year and gets the early shift.
We all baked, but it was worth it. Congrats, Jonathan! We are all so proud of you!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
NOSE SURGERYI think I've neglected to tell many of you about my impending nose surgery coming up this Monday. I haven't meant to hide it. I've just been very busy with many things (including my cousin's wedding on Saturday) that I haven't thought much about it.
Some of you may recall that I snore at night and have trouble breathing when I lie down. That's also why I breathe so loudly even when I'm sitting up. The reason for all this is because I have a deviated septum that severely limits the space of my right nostril.
So, Monday morning, I'm going to have an outpatient surgery to get that taken care of. It may not make me snore less, but at least, I'll breathe better.
The doctor asked that I be off work for two weeks because my job is physically demanding, but I figured a week will be good enough for me.
So, I guess I'll be hanging around at home next week with two big plugs up my nose. I was hoping to be able to run errands and stuff like that, but I don't know if I want to go out in public with two big plugs in my nose. I heard they'll be out by Wednesday so hopefully, I'll be able to go out after that.
If not, I guess I could have a repeat performance of when I had knee surgery and have Luong and Aaron drop by for a surprise visit so we can watch Mariah Carey's "Glitter!"
Monday, June 11, 2007
WHY?
During our Sunday service yesterday, we noticed that one of our church's welcome cards was filled out and left in the pews. We thought we should drop it off with one of the ushers after service. But I happened to glance at some of the comments written and discovered something really wrong.
I went ahead and scanned it. Please note, it's offensive.
As I read this, my heart hurt. What would cause someone to feel this way? Why so much hatred?
I started to examine my own life, the life of my friends, and the life of fellow church members. What did this church stand for when it came to gay marriage and homosexuality? Was it loving the sinner, but hating the sin?
I don't have any real answers, but this welcome card really made me think about how the Church as a whole is walking the fine line between standing firm on its beliefs and showing love and compassion to all people.
It's challenging for all of us. I pray for this person. I pray that she find God's peace and love and understanding. I pray that He soften her heart. I pray that someone in her life helps to explain the Church's stance and give her a chance to express her opinions and feelings.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING?
When I was a kid and we happened to be near a Drive-In theater, I would always try to look to see if I could name the movie just off the 2-3 second long glimpse I was able to steal while driving by. Most of the time I could, and that always made me feel good.
Obviously, they no longer have Drive-In movie places nowadays, but I noticed that I still do the same thing. Now, I do it when I drive past a car featuring those video screens for their back seat passengers. The difficult part is that most of the movies being shown in cars are for kids. And it's harder for me to come up with things like "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Hannah Montana" right away.
But just last night, I managed to spot "Finding Nemo" and "The Pirates of the Caribbean". I was pretty impressed with myself . . . until I almost hit the car on the side of me since I wasn't paying attention.
Maybe next time, I'll just keep my eyes on the road.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT PARIS
It really bothers me that with so much stuff going on in the news right now, all anyone can talk about is Paris Hilton.
I mean, there's a very controversial immigration bill before Congress right now, a recently captured guy who was walking around with tuberculosis, the space shuttle Atlantis just took off, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was not asked back, there are more suicide bombers in the Middle East killing our troops, etc.
And all anybody cares about is that this spoiled little party-girl/heiress was going to jail, getting out of jail by Sheriff Lee Baca, and now ordered back to jail by the judge. I guesss a story like that will sell more newspapers and internet ads. But come on!
Let's move on.
(Of course, now that I've written this blog, I've done the exact same thing I'm so angry about. Darn.)
Thursday, June 07, 2007
YOU MAKE THE CALL
Imagine this: It's your birthday. You're looking to get a good deal and want to make the most out of your birthday. So, you decide to go to dinner where you can get something for free.
Your best options:
(1) Todai for a free dinner
(2) BJ's Pizzeria for a free pizookie
(3) Red Robin for a free burger.
After much deliberating, we decided to skip Todai in favor of BJ's Great White pizza and the free pizookie. We're going to Red Robin for the free burger sometime next week.
But next year, we're going to Todai for sure!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
THANK YOU!
Thanks to SO MANY of you for sharing birthday wishes with me today including: Enoch, Luong, Michael, Jason & Debbie, Simon & Vanessa, Suzanne, Aaron, Carolyn, Bonnie, Victoria, Tiffany, Eunice, Gary & Regina, Mark & Gina, Ryan, and of course, my parents, Sandra & Gabe, Raymond & Sandra, and my cousins and aunt and uncles.
Once you get to this age, your birthday isn't a big deal anymore. But it's still nice to get phone calls and emails and cards. You sure know how to make a guy feel loved and appreciated!
Also, thank you to the Anaheim Ducks, champions of hockey, for adding to my newspaper bin of championship winners. Quack, quack!
Thanks to SO MANY of you for sharing birthday wishes with me today including: Enoch, Luong, Michael, Jason & Debbie, Simon & Vanessa, Suzanne, Aaron, Carolyn, Bonnie, Victoria, Tiffany, Eunice, Gary & Regina, Mark & Gina, Ryan, and of course, my parents, Sandra & Gabe, Raymond & Sandra, and my cousins and aunt and uncles.
Once you get to this age, your birthday isn't a big deal anymore. But it's still nice to get phone calls and emails and cards. You sure know how to make a guy feel loved and appreciated!
Also, thank you to the Anaheim Ducks, champions of hockey, for adding to my newspaper bin of championship winners. Quack, quack!
Monday, June 04, 2007
SPINNING SIGNS
I've been noticing more and more cell phone and other companies employing young guys to stand on the street corner throwing around their advertising signs. Initially, these guys just stood there and moved it back and forth.
But now, a new group has surfaced. These guys throw the sign up in the air, twirl it on their heads, spin around while the sign in my constant motion, and move it around their backs with a quick, almost violent motion. Sometimes they treat it like a skateboard. Other times like a baton. They look like majorettes sometimes.
All I know is that Karena and I both get mesmerized whenever we see these guys who really go at it. And the advertising works because I always remember what their sign says too. I think Cingular (I guess, AT&T now) has the best "sign guys." One guy in Burbank was half break-dancing and half doing gymnastics all with his Cingular sign. It was amazing!
Even the people in their cars waiting at the red light honked and flashed their lights in approval.
Do you think if we got some Alpha guys to stand on Atlantic Blvd and advertise for our church by spinning some CEFC signs, we'd get more people in the pews on Sunday morning?
Sunday, June 03, 2007
CORNELL WEDDING
Karena's Cornell group is friends are truly amazing. It's been more than a decade since they graduated from college, and yet, they still consider themselves close enough to choose many of them as groomsmen and bridesmaids.
This weekend, two of her classmates stayed with us. After being delayed on their plane for 2 hours in New York, they landed at LAX after midnight. But somehow, whenver we hang out with them, we stay up really, really late. So, we stayed true to form and ended up talking until after 3 am.
The wedding was held in an Anglican church in Newport Beach. Remind me the next time I need to head down to Orange County, I should avoid the 5 freeway. The traffic was horrible! Anyway, the short part of the ceremony we managed to catch was very Catholic.
The banquet was held in a beautiful Hyatt hotel in Huntington Beach overlooking the water. Since it was open bar and some of these guys like to drink, we popped some Pepcids to keep from turning red. We tried a lychee martini and a mango martini (complete with real fruit instead of the olive!). Both were delicious, except they mad the lychee with a little too much vodka.
I was fortunte to be there because I took note of what songs they played since I'll be the MC and DJ for my cousin's wedding in two weeks.
Again, just to stay true to form, we hung out with the bride and groom and about 30 of their closest friends in a hotel room until almost 2 am before heading up . . . and staying up some more before sleeping around 4 am.
I'm tired.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
I EAT TOO MUCH
One of the more poignant scenes in the documentary "Super Size Me" is when he orders a Super Size Meal and eats the whole thing and throws up afterwards from the overabundance of food.
Most people know me to have a big appetite. And when I'm hungry, I can really put away a good amount of food. But yesterday, after eating a Carl's Jr. Six Dollar Burger (and a small burger before that), I felt funny. Something just wasn't right.
And before I knew it, my meal had suffered the same fate as that of the Super Size meal from the movie. This made me think back to the time when I threw up after eating a Ciabatta sandwich.
Maybe my body is trying to tell me something . . .
Friday, June 01, 2007
RUINING THE FLOW
Is there anything that can ruin the flow and derail of your life more than a parking ticket?
I got a $45 one this week and I was mad about it for the entire day. I couldn't even get anything done. Even now, I'm thinking about how that $45 could have been better spent.
The bottom line though is that I have to read the signs more carefully. Living in LA for so many years, you'd think I'd know that by now.
Still, after that ticket, I was off my game. Luckily for me, I have a loving wife who helps to get my head straight so I can function properly again.
Now, back to the flow of life . . .
Is there anything that can ruin the flow and derail of your life more than a parking ticket?
I got a $45 one this week and I was mad about it for the entire day. I couldn't even get anything done. Even now, I'm thinking about how that $45 could have been better spent.
The bottom line though is that I have to read the signs more carefully. Living in LA for so many years, you'd think I'd know that by now.
Still, after that ticket, I was off my game. Luckily for me, I have a loving wife who helps to get my head straight so I can function properly again.
Now, back to the flow of life . . .
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