Thoughts

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Is that Melvin Mar seen holding hands with John Mayer in New York? You be the judge.

Karena thinks the photo has been doctored, but it still doesnt' change the fact that it really does look like Melvin.

Thanks to Suzanne for providing the link to the photo. Many people on Perez Hilton's gossip site even said Melvin looked better than Jessica Simpson.

I guess we can say, "We knew him when . . . "

BLACK FRIDAY

Okay, okay. I know I told everybody not to do Black Friday. And I also said that I wouldn't do it after last year's Best Buy debacle and the problem at the Camarillo Outlets the year before.

But, there we were, standing outside Sports Authority at 5 am so we could get Karena a heavier ski jacket for the upcoming snowboarding season. We were each handed a card good for at least $10 off. Out of the 100 cards they handed out, only 2 were for $100 off. And guess who got one of them? Yup, it was a 1/50 chance and I was one of the lucky ones! After Karena and her sister each scratched theirs to reveal it was $10 off, I was disappointed to also see the numbers 1 and 0 on my own card. But then, I saw that there was one more digit next to it. And the rest was history!

So, that made getting up early all worth it. Of course, then I had to drive to work quickly so I could make it by 7am. Still, $100 saved is $100 earned.

OLD PHOTO

Thanks to Jacob's new blog site (see links), you can check out old photos like this. I think this one was taken in summer of 2001.

On a side note, after this photo was taken, all the guys stupidly decided to see how long they could stay on a skateboard going straight downhill. Reuel was clearly the winner, but he paid a steep price. He ended up diving face first into the street and suffered several deep cuts and lacerations all over his body. The ones on his knee were the most severe and required us to provide some PT (as in pain and torture) just so he could bend it. And that took a few months!

Good times . . .

PERSIMMONS

People at work have been bringing in a lot of persimmons lately. And it's been great because I love them.

But the interesting thing I noticed was that everybody else just washed them and ate them with the skin.

I didn't even know you could eat it with the skin because my mom always cut the skin off.

So, I tried it for the first time with the skin on and I have to admit that it's not bad. And it's much easier and less time-consuming just to eat it with the skin on.

Still, if I didn't have to do the work, I'd prefer to eat them with the skin cut off.

HOME
Thanks to all of your for your prayers and well-wishes. My dad is now home and resting comfortably. He is able to walk around pretty freely, although he does have to wear a brace from his neck down to his waist (CTLSO brace). He is still in some pain, but overall doing well.
But he and my mom are both in good spirits.
Thanks again.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
After my dad was transferred out of the ICU and into a regular room, he noticed that the level of care went down drastically. It got so bad that he decided he just wanted to go home.
So, as soon as they said it would be okay to go, he called my mom and asked her to drive out to get him today.
So, as I type this, my mother and uncle and dad are coming home.
Still, I believe he'll be more comfortable back home because there's no place like home.

UPDATE
Thanks for your prayers. My dad is doing better overall, but there was a setback.
His kidneys weren't functioning properly so the doctors decided to keep him in the hospital until they improved. So, our initial plan of having him go home with their friends on Thursday are off.
Hopefully, he continues to improve so he can go home soon.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (WWYD?)
I help my dad and uncle do some maintenance work at an office building. Usually, we just change light bulbs, fix doors/locks, repair mini-blinds, etc. But yesterday, something unusual happened.
I noticed from inside the building that there was clothes stashed in the trees outside the building. I soon realized that each of the trees had clothes and other things probably belonging to a homeless person.
I was suddenly at the crossroads. Do I tell my dad and uncle and end up trashing all of this homless person's belongings? Or do I pretend I didn't see it and leave it there for the homeless person and risk the workers complaining when they come in Monday morning?
After thinking about it for a minute or two, I decided I had to protect my dad and uncle's investment and the people who worked there by telling my dad.
And before I knew it, we were outside throwing out all his stuff -- blankets, clothes, mouthwash, batteries, a radio, a backpack and some other stuff. On the one hand, I felt great that I noticed all this and was keeping the building safe and clean. But on the 0ther hand, I really felt horrible that all his belongings were now gone.
And just to make me feel worse, we later found a Bible and a Charles Spurgeon book and ended up throwing those out too.
What would you have done?

GEORGE CHEUNG MOVIES

It's always fun to say you go to church with someone who is on TV and in movies.

But lately, it's gotten a little ridiculous. I feel like I'm seeing Uncle George everywhere.

He recommended we check out one of his movies about a humorous take on Chinese culture and race relations called "American Fusion." We actually found the movie pretty funny. In one scene, they choose a doctor simply because his name is Dr. Lee and they figure he's Chinese. But to the old-fashioned mother's dismay, he's African American. Later, to thank him for healing the mother, the family brings things they think he'll like -- a basketball, Popeye's fried chicken, and a cake with Cadillac cars on it!

After checking out that movie, I went home to discover that Dish Network was giving us a free preview of some of the movie channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.)

Before I knew it, I was watching Uncle George in "Rush Hour" and then "Lethal Weapon 4" and then "Rambo II" and then "Starsky & Hutch" and then "The Pursuit of Happyness" and then . . . Well, you see where I'm going with this. And this only a few months after we saw him in Rush Hour 3!

It was pretty cool.