and the heart of the alvinator.
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Monday, September 29, 2003 Weekend Recap Alright, after a good RW study, where we had 5 people in our group, with one person as a transplant, I went to Liwen's b'day party post-dinner activities. I got an Alabama Slammer, which is what Esther recommended from her bartending class in NY. I actually get a bit nervous when I approach a bartender because I don't want to look stupid, since I don't know much about alcoholic beverages. To my great relief, the bartender knew what an Alabama Slammer was. Let me be honest, due to my allergies, I don't taste much, so I can't really taste the alcohol in drinks, and when people ask if it's good or not, I just nod my head and go, "Yeah, pretty good." On Sat. morning, decided not to work out in the morning, and had some free time and spent it playing some guitar, talking to my parents, and just hanging around at home. It's very few and far between where I get time like that. I then went mountain biking in the afternoon with some PBC folks, and saw an old HS friend Lee-May who is in the area. I used to ride my bike everyday back at Davis, but going along dirt roads, with rocks and everything is very different than the 2-mile ride I took to get to campus. My bike wasn't in the best condition, but it was usable. We were supposed to meet at the place in downtown Saratoga at the Open Space Preserve at 1, but ended up arriving at 2:15. Putting bikes into bike racks, picking people up, etc. takes a lot of time. Anyways, it was pretty fun. I think getting "rock shox", or something like that takes away the pain the arms from the bumps on the trails. I actually enjoy the uphill portions better as there is less chance of falling. I am more risk adverse than when I was younger, and cautiously take most downhills. =P. Anyways, it was fun hanging out with a different community and getting to know other people. I will look into buying a Camel Pack, as most people had them, and it looked cool. I drink a ton of water though, so I may need more than a 2 liter pack. After getting dropped off at home, I quickly showered and changed and headed off to a wedding banquet of an old co-worker from my first company, Lattice Semi. I thought I was running so late, and arrived at the banquet at 6:30 p.m., with the official start time at 6 p.m. Food actually didn't start arriving till 7:15 p.m. Anyways, for party favors, the bride and groom took pics with all the guests, and then got them developed and passed them out during dinner. Since I went by myself, they actually got a bridesmaid to get in my photo to add some symmetry. That was quite interesting. I sat down at a table with Tuan's UCSC friends and an old co-worker from Lattice, and most of them talked Cantonese, so I was using my Canto to communicate to. I was sitting next to an older lady who was the gf of one of Tuan's college buddies, and she just finished cosmetic school and wants to open her own store soon. Anyways, she said in Canto, "why didn't you bring your gf?" As I was explaining that I wasn't dating, my old co-worker chimes in in Canto, "He has multiple gfs, and couldn't decide which one to bring?" I was thinking to myself...yeah, nice one. Later on in the night she says in Canto, "You're such a handsome guy, I'm surprised you don't have a gf." Oh well. Anyways, most of the night was in Vietnamese, so I had no idea what was going on. However, it was good to see my former bosses and my former co-workers. I was at Lattice only 10 months after finishing my B.S. degree. Overall, it was a fun night. =P. After church on Sunday, Pastor Harrison held a brief meeting to discuss the singles ministry at CBCSJ, basically with the goal of formulating and solidifying the cell groups for the following year. I don't attend fellowship at CBCSJ, since I go to RW, and had the chance to share actually why I feel I attend RW instead of CBCSJ's young adult group. After the meeting, had worship practice for RW's retreat at Lynn's place in Mountain View. Worship practice was a bit chaotic, as we didn't have the sets picked out. I was trying to play the djembe, and it was harder than I expected. I'm considering buying one, so I can practice, and add value besides playing guitar. After worship practice, just headed home and chilled. I was a bit anxious since I didn't have anything planned at night, but it was good just to relax. Watched "Alias", and my mom wanted to go through many of my digital pics, so she kept me up till 1 a.m. Too funny. =P. Upcoming weekend...RW retreat. Looking forward to it. posted by alvin | Monday, September 29, 2003 Friday, September 26, 2003 WCC EC Retreat Photos Posted View the WCC EC Retreat photos from last weekend. posted by alvin | Friday, September 26, 2003 Thursday, September 25, 2003 Wonderland Has Returned I would like to welcome back Wonderland. He was one of the first bloggers I knew. Welcome back...=P. posted by alvin | Thursday, September 25, 2003 Chinese Quiz Found out this morning I have a quiz in Mandarin today. Doh. I have missed 2/3 classes. Time to take the class pass/no pass. =P. posted by alvin | Thursday, September 25, 2003 Irony Got this handout from Psychology class last night. Pretty interesting. It talks about the fallen nature of man. ************** "The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice. We have higher incomes, but lower morals; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are the times of tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference...or just hit delete." posted by alvin | Thursday, September 25, 2003 Wednesday, September 24, 2003 Comments Interesting how many comments I have gotten over this past week when I write about relationships. Too funny. =P. posted by alvin | Wednesday, September 24, 2003 More Relationship Stuff So, realizing that I don't know much about relationships, a good way to learn about it is through reading articles from people who know what they are talking about. Anyways, check out the article. It asks the reader to rank the 10 categories, so here are my rankings. Going through this activity is very difficult, but worthwhile as it helps me get a better perspective on what I feel is important. However, many of these categories are very inter-related, so it makes it even more difficult. 1. Character 2. Authenticity 3. Spirituality 4. Personality 5. Chemistry 6. Intelligence 7. Ambition 8. Appearance 9. Parenting 10. Creativity posted by alvin | Wednesday, September 24, 2003 Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Issues with Extraction I have an issue with "extraction." When I'm at an event or gathering, and need to get going, I have a hard time leaving. I remember one time there was a small group leaders meeting for RW, and I was running like 15 minutes late, but couldn't make the move to interrupt the gathering and "extract" myself from there until Pao-Siang and Lisa made the move and then I followed right behind them. During normal social activities, I sorta' linger, and have a tough time leaving events. Even this past weekend, it wasn't until Bun told me that I should get going that I made the move to "extract" myself from the EC retreat. I needed that extra push to help me out. I guess, bottom line is that I don't like "rocking the boat", or interrupting people...or for that matter generating unwarranted attention. There are times when I make some "witty" jokes that I whisper under my breath, that I want people to hear, but leaving events are difficult for me. However, I don't mind being late to events. Anyways, I guess also I may have this complex that when I leave events, people actually care about me leaving...haha...maybe that's where my thinking is messed up. =P. If I take the attitude that people don't care about me, then leaving is easy. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Cool. posted by alvin | Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Monday, September 22, 2003 Weekend Recap Alright, another busy, busy weekend, that I wanted to update my readers about. It seems that I look forward to weekends a lot because there is a lot of stuff planned, but I come into the office on Monday very tired. Anyways, coming back from Irvine on Friday afternoon, I was quite tired. I ate McDonalds for lunch at the ONC airport, and ate fast because the plane was boarding. I didn't feel I had much energy after coming back in the office, so took off early on Friday for home. I went to the WCC EC retreat, which is moreso a getting to know you type of retreat, than a planning type of retreat for the WCC conference. I was planning on heading there (a place in Los Gatos) around 9 p.m., but due to a change of plans, ended up leaving at 10 p.m. I stopped by Calvin's place to pick up Marcia, who is from Seattle, and helped them load up food in their car. I knew over 50% of the people that were there already, so that was cool. I enjoy being well connected. Anyways, I had lots of trouble sleeping Friday night, as when I go to a new place, takes me a day to adjust to the new environment. I got like 3.5 hrs. of sleep on Friday night, even though I got into bed around 12:30 a.m. I had my own room/cabin so that was very nice. The next day I had to wake up early as guys were to use the showers from 7-8 a.m., while girls used them from 8:15 to 9 a.m. Anyways, was pretty tired throughout the whole day, but it was interesting nonetheless. My sister is serving as conference director, and it has been about 6 years since I have served with her in a similar capacity, last time back in Davis when she was the core leader, and I was the contact evangelism coordinator. The theme for this year's WCC is "No Greater Joy, no sacrifice too great,", based on 1 Pet. 4:12-13, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." The retreat actually gave me lots of time where I was able to calm myself down and refocus on some of my life priorities, examining what I enjoy doing in terms of service and where I see God leading. I gave myself a fuzzy 2-year commitment to my current company (mental commitment), and one year is almost over. Time flies. I was thinking about how it is so discouraging that many people lose the vision of missions after working for a couple years, get married, start a family, etc. I don't want to be like that, and want to be committed in my World Christian journey, to partner and see God's glory revealed to all peoples', nations tribes and tongues. I don't want to live life with regret. =P. Anyways, on Sat. night, went to my company party with Laura, which was a 4-hour yacht cruise along the SF bay. It was good to interact with my co-workers in a different type of setting, and Laura got along very well with my co-workers wives and such. The cruise took off near the Bay Bridge, passing through Angel Islang, Alcatraz, up through the North Bay and briefly went under the Golden Gate Bridge. This was the exact same boat that I went on for my senior prom in high school. The food wasn't that good, as the BBQ during lunch for WCC was actually better (good job Calvin). Sometimes it was pretty cold on the Bay, but overall, a really nice and professional party. Got back into the EC retreat around 12:45 a.m., and got to bed at 1:30 a.m. Slept pretty well on Sat. night. Sunday, my sister gave a short message, and we had a good 1 hr. of reflection time after the message. God spoke to me powerfully as I had the chance to sit back and reflect on the larger perspective of life. Anyways, after a bunch of group photos (which I'll post soon), Sojin and Mary Ann came over to my house, and Will also stopped by. I met Sojin from my missions trip last year, and since she has IM, we keep in touch pretty well. Mary Ann got picked up by Bernie and Colleen, and Will, myself and Sojin headed out to meet Christine and Iris, who were at Ponderosa Park for joint activities between GRX and HOC5. We actually stopped by Cupertino Village to get some pearl tea and "scoop of mango." It was my first time eating "scoop of mango," and it was really good. Will treated. Go Will. We think we saw DK's little sister Samantha at Fantasia, but since she was with her high school friends, she totally ignored us, even though I yelled out like Samantha like 3 times. Oh well. I guess we aren't cool anymore. However, walking back to the car, I saw one of the youth kids from my home church, with 4 girls, and he said to me, "is that 'scoop of mango'? don't ever get that again, i hated making that." I was like..."yeah, it's pretty good." Anyways, he used to work at Q-cup, and guess hated making that particular drink. We headed off to the park after getting pearl tea. I briefly played a bit of tennis with Christine and Iris. Christine talks a lot on the tennis court, always commenting on her shots, saying that she hits it wide, that she has no net game, no groundstrokes, etc. I think she says these things to try to set up low expectations...=P. Post tennis, we headed up to Iris/Christine's place to chill before heading up to SF to have dinner with Aiyin. Aiyin just started med school at UCSF, and lives on on-campus housing. Anyways, I took a brief nap in the car, as Will drove, and Aiyin's street is like on a pretty steep hill, almost 30 degrees. Definitely not as steep as Half-Dome, but if she walks up and down that street every day, man that's a lot of exercise. So, we found a good parking spot, checked out Aiyin's place, and walked down to eat at Pluto's. We took awhile to decide where to eat and ended up at Pluto's. These SF places don't turn on their AC, and it was so freaking hot inside. Will and Christine has some discussions about DB2 and ISP, or some products like that, pitting IBM vs. Oracle. Luckily Aiyin was sitting between them. It was pretty funny though. We then went to visit Abby who lived about 10 blocks east and 6 blocks north of where we were. Since we had 6 people, 3 went in the car and 3 walked. I ended up walking with Iris/Christine. As we left the restaurant Will says to me, "Make sure you protect them." I said, "Don't worry, Iris and Christine can protect me." Anyways, after about 5 minutes, Sojin calls and tells us that Will is coming to pick us up because the walk is pretty far. All of us, being pretty stubborn, say we still are going to walk, and although they still drove by to try to pick us up, they didn't even see us. Oh well. We briefly walked the Emmy's at Abby's place and took a group photo and then said goodbye to Aiyin and Abby and headed home. Our next PESI activity will be at "La Fondue," which was Will's original fun activity that we were supposed to do. Got home around 11:30 p.m., showered, and went to bed. Another packed weekend. =P. Anyways, pictures are posted from both Daphne's send-off and Sojin's visit from LA. =P. posted by alvin | Monday, September 22, 2003 Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Off to Irvine I'm off to Irvine for a short two-day business trip. Leaving tomorrow, back on Fri. posted by alvin | Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Tuesday, September 16, 2003 More relational success... Sent to me via e-mail. Notes from a pastor at Grace Community church down in LA. ***************************** Roadmap for Righteous Relationships (10 Principles, C's) 1. Contentment (Find your happiness in God alone) 2. Conversion (only a Christian. What do righteous and non-righteous have in common?) 3. Character (Realize in own and recognize in others, the issues of the heart) 4. Cultivation (Honor one another as spiritual siblings, as brothers and sisters in God. You could be dating someone else's mate.) 5. Chivalry (Understand relational roles) 6. Companionship (embrace God's purpose for marriage, to serve, represent and glorify him with a spouse in ways you could never do so alone) 7. Commitment (become a biblical lover, like Jesus loves. unconditional love to an imperfect person) 8. Communication (practice biblical communication, eph 4) 9. Chastity (ask how holy can I be, 1 Thes 4, Rom 13:11) 10. Confirmation (seek affirmation from the right sources, parental authority-->God works through authority, even when authority fails) posted by alvin | Tuesday, September 16, 2003 Monday, September 15, 2003 5 Keys to Relationship Success I got this e-mail forwarded to me from a friend, and thought I would post it. ****************** 5 Golden Rules For Finding Your Life Partner A relationships coach lays out his 5 golden rules for evaluating the prospects of long-term marital success. When it comes to making the decision about choosing a life partner, no one wants to make a mistake. Yet, with a divorce rate of close to 50 percent, it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding Mr./Ms. Right! If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married, they'll say: "We're in love." I believe this is the #1 mistake people make when they date. Choosing a life partner should never be based on love. Though this may sound not politically correct, there's a profound truth here. Love is not the basis for getting married. Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: You can't build a lifetime relationship on love alone. You need a lot more. Here are five questions you must ask yourself if you're serious about finding and keeping a life partner. QUESTION #1: Do we share a common life purpose? Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you're married for 20 or 30 years, that's a long time to live with someone. What do you plan to do with each other all that time? Travel, eat, and jog together? You need to share something deeper and more meaningful. You need a common life purpose. Two things can happen in a marriage. You can grow together, or you can grow apart. 50 percent of the people out there are growing apart. To make a marriage work, you need to know what you want out of life - bottom line - and marry someone who wants the same thing. QUESTION #2: Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person? This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship. Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person. The basis of having good communication is trust - i.e. trust that I won't get "punished" or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings. A colleague of mine defines an abusive person as someone with whom you feel afraid to express your thoughts and feelings. Be honest with yourself on this one. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry. QUESTION #3: Is he/she a mensch? A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person. How can you test? Here are some suggestions. Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis? Are they serious about improving themselves? A teacher of mine defines a good person as "someone who is always striving to be good and do the right thing." So ask about your significant other: What do they do with their time? Is this person materialistic? Usually a materialistic person is not someone whose top priority is character refinement. There are essentially two types of people in the world: People who are dedicated to personal growth and people who are dedicated to seeking comfort. Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing. You need to know that before walking down the aisle. QUESTION #4: How does he/she treat other people? The one most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure. Ask: Is this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in themselves and self-absorbed? To measure this, think about the following: How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as waiters, bus boy, taxi driver, etc. How do they treat parents and siblings? Do they have gratitude and appreciation? If they don't have gratitude for the people who have given them everything, you cannot expect that they'll have gratitude for you - who can't do nearly as much for them! Do they gossip and speak badly about others? Someone who gossips cannot be someone who loves others. You can be sure that someone who treats others poorly will eventually treat you poorly as well. QUESTION #5: Is there anything I'm hoping to change about this person once we're married? Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to "improve" them after they're married. As a colleague of mine puts it, "You can probably expect someone to change after marriage...for the worse!" If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you are not ready to marry them. In conclusion, dating doesn't have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart. It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating, to be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues. Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with a ring on your finger, you don't want it to be because you didn't do your homework. posted by alvin | Monday, September 15, 2003 Weekend Recap RW again was solid. John led a time of intense, deep sharing about struggles we were having in our walks. Everybody in the room shared, and although I at first thought it was a difficult introductory question, I felt it went very well. Good job John. I shared about having a solid week at work, where I finally felt like I have been productive. I have been battling being content in the good things. I realized that there are many things I could do in life, in terms of professional career. Would the "grass be greener" if I did something else? I'm not sure. Engineering provides the practicality of financial stability, while still being able to challenge me intellectually. I struggled during the down-times of productivity because it was during those times that I didn't feel challenged. Now, as I am busier with work, I feel happier. =P. I'm glad to be an engineer. Anyways, I headed up to SF to one of my college buddies place who I call "tennis" dave, and stayed with him on Fri. night. The drive from Menlo Park was about 40 min. to SF, so I thought that was pretty fast. I left for his house after RW. I ended up watching Tomb Raider on DVD, and was falling asleep during parts of it. Dave went to sleep and I watched the 2nd half of it by myself. The next morning, he had a tennis lesson to give, and I was just mulling around in SF, and spent a good time with God, being able to pour my heart and soul out to him. We then proceeded to the Giants game. Now we didn't buy tix b4hand, but trusted that there would be tickets available. We got bleacher seats, at the best location. We had shade, and shade was important because it was one of the hottest days you could imagine at PacBell stadium. Tickets were only $11. So, we got there early enough for batting practice, and I forgot my mitt, so I had to resort to try to catch balls bare-handed. However, I did get a ball during batting practice, but didn't catch it. I would call the scenario..."chasing the ball down the stairs." So, to set up the story. A home-run was hit by one of the players during batting practice...and 4 or 5 people were going for the ball with their mitts up above their head. Since I didn't have a mitt, I was just playing the ricochet, or the bounce. The ball happened to bounce off the side of the glove of the people and began rolling down some stairs. With my catlike reflexes and my stairmaster experience from the gym, I quickly proceeded down the stairs and ran after the ball. Two other people were also chasing me, but due to the lead I had, they didn't catch me, and I picked up the ball. Yeah, who's da' man. Anyways, that was the first ball I ever got. Now, people may ask..."alvin, well, you can just buy a ball." Yeah, I know that, but it's the experience. However, next time I'm going to the stadium, I'm going to build a mechanism that I saw other people use. During batting practice many balls are hit to the outfield fence with the players too lazy to pick them up. Fans throw down a contraption that has rope and an upside down cup, with a sticky substance that they use to corral the ball. I saw the people get like 5-6 baseballs that way. Quite ingenious. Next time, I will build something like that. Again, it's a matter of having fun and enjoying the experience and challenge. But again, what will I do with 5-6 baseballs. Anyways, the Giants lost the game, but I did see Mandy, Rayphil, Kalam, Joe and Curtis at the game because it was "Fellowship Day," where after the game some players gave testimonies. Dave and I didn't stay for that. Later that day we walked around Stonestown Mall, and we had dinner in the Richmond district. I then headed down for Joann's b'day party at Julie's house. Arriving at the party, I recounted my story about getting the baseball. I would say the reaction I sensed was that of "lukewarmness". A more polite type of "good job," for getting the ball. Anyways, we played the couch game, in which it was guys vs. girls. The couch game is complicated, so ask Mike to explain it to you. The guys won both games. It's basically a memory/thinking game, and it's very confusing. I lost track of people's names very quickly, and hit my head on the floor to jumpstart my brain, but to no avail. The highlight of the night had to be the dance-off to Britney Spears music by Chee-chee and Mike. Chee-chee has a more definitive dance style, while Mike uses his ghetto type of clubbing moves to feign actual moves. However, definitely entertaining. Two highlights from the dance-off...1. was that of mike doing a cartwheel to start his portion. We were all pretty wowed by this. 2. was when mike called out the "key change" during the song, "sometimes i run." I was laughing hysterically at this point, moreso from the fact that he knew exactly where the key change was at. I think most people wanted to dance together, but mike and chee-chee stole the show. Jonathan used the "cane" to try to pull them off-stage, but to no avail. When we tried a soul-train dance line, I tried to get Mike to go through it, and got laughed at for being so structured, and eventually Mike never did. Only Ellie and Mikey got through the soul train line. Oh well. After the party, had a good night of sleep as I was exhausted from the whole day. Next day after church, headed up to Palo Alto HS to play tennis and ultimate frisbee. I used to play tennis in high school, and it has been awhile since I picked up a racket, but in the past week, I have played 3 times. I miss actually hitting and pounding the ball. My sis also came with me. That was fun, and then we played ultimate frisbee. I have some trouble throwing, but I can catch frisbees pretty easily. I was pretty tired after this...went home, and then prepped for the Daphne's UCLA sendoff party. Will came over to my house early just to chit-chat and hang out. We headed over to Christine/Iris' place and arrived around 7:30 p.m. Christine/Iris do a great job of hosting events, as both of them are very domesticated. They will make good wives somedays. Anyways, the night consisted of worship, sharing and prayer. We ran a little over time, but I felt that the night went well. Daphne's parents also came to join us, and had some great things to say. We were all very encouraged. Christine/Iris/Will and myself all met Daphne through the China mission trip organized by PESI last year. I wish Daphne the best of luck as she starts college at UCLA. We ended up talking till like 11:15 p.m., hanging out at Iris/Christine's place. It was pretty good to catch up with all of them. I love my PESI pals. After that, headed home, and hit the sack. Tired and exhausted from an very sociable weekend. =P. posted by alvin | Monday, September 15, 2003 Wednesday, September 10, 2003 New Album Posted Wayne and Irene's wedding album now posted. Check out Photo albums on right hand side. posted by alvin | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 Monday, September 08, 2003 Weekend Recap Another quick weekend recap. RW was a good time as we continued our study on the Holy Spirit. Applicational portion was very challenging to me as Spencer led us into a time of defining 4 areas of our life...relational, emotional, spiritual, and physical. From there, we had 2 columns, things that bring death and things that bring life. Very challenging for me to fill out those things. The bottom line for me...cultivating the deeper time with God. The question I have been pondering lately is why I don't feel or experience the joy and Spirit-filled life in ways that others do. I believe it is a function of how I emotional or excited I get about certain events. As I wrote in a previous entry, I don't get excited for many things. Actually, for most things I don't get excited, I'm very chill. I know that I possess the deep rooted joy that comes from knowing God, but feeling that deep rooted joy has always been difficult, because I'm not a feeler. I will pray that God will grow that feeling side of me more. Anyways, I think I also realized on Sunday how sometimes I treat my own Christian walk as "same old, same old," and need to come and seek God at his feet more, dying to my pride and growing in my humility. Wayne/Irene's Wedding Actually went through some of my old yearbooks to see if Wayne wrote anything interesting that I could use at the wedding, and stayed up pretty late reminiscing a bit about my junior high/high school years. I'll post some interesting messages that were written to me later. Good memories. Woke up at like 8 a.m., did my deovs, got dressed, and got up to the Fairmont in SF by 10:30. Parking was a bit difficult as it took me 30 minutes to find the right garage because only one validated for lunch at the Fairmont. So, once I found the Fairmont garage, I forced my way into it going the opposite way even though the sign clearly said it was full. Got some dirty looks from the employees, but at least I saved Wayne/Irene some money, and no damage was done to my car. I was the first one to arrive at the Fairmont from the wedding party, and Wayne/Irene didn't arrive till like 11:05ish. Irene looked beautiful, and Wayne, well...Wayne looked good too.=P. We took some pictures with the professional photographer and then had lunch at the Fairmont. People told me to load up on food because we probably wouldn't eat much at the reception, which was true. We left for the church at 12:45 p.m., and got there by 1:30 p.m. The wedding only started a bit late, around 3:10 p.m. Good job. However, no "eprops" for the church being too hot. I sweat a lot as it is, and being in a tux, argh...sweat was dripping down my forehead, down the back of my neck...I don't think many people noticed, but yeah, not so comfortable for me. After the wedding, took more pics, etc. and then headed over to the banquet. Things were a bit chaotic, but overall I became good buds with the manager at the restaurant. His name is Peter. I had to intersperse my Cantonese and English as I was talking with him. He spoke to me in Mandarin some, and I just nodded pretending I knew what he was saying...hahaha. Anyways, during the wedding party introductions, I was introduced by Liwen with the following as written by Wayne: "Alvin has known Wayne since jr. high. He has a Masters degree in Computer Engineering and enjoys playing sports, swing dancing, and long walks on the beach. And ladies, he's available." I was a bit surprised with the last statement, but yeah, whatever. It's cool. Co-emceeing the rest of the night with Liwen was pretty fun. We had immense trouble regulating the feedback from the microphone, but other than that it was good. I got a couple affirmations of a job well-done. I felt overall the flow could have been improved, but for Liwen and mine first time at emceeing, I felt it went well. The highlight of the night is when we played this game with Wayne. On a 8.5x11 piece of paper, a 3x3 grid, of 9 squares, each square has the lipstick marks from a person kissing the square. Wayne had to guess which one was Irene's lipstick marks. Whichever square he guessed and if it wasn't Irene's lips, then the person who's lips they were, would come and give Wayne a kiss. Of course to rig the game, none of them was Irene's. We had Peter (who was the best man), Liwen (who was the other emcee), Irene's mom, Jason (one of the groomsmen), and Joel (one of Irene's college friends), come up to kiss Wayne. The highlight was Irene's mom, as she gave Wayne a kiss right on the lips for like 5 seconds. I couldn't contain my laughter. It was freaking hiliarious. After Wayne actually discovered that none if them were Irene's after Jason, I told him to guess one more, and then asked the audience if anybody would like to kiss him. Joel was volunteered, and Wayne "dipped" him and kissed him. Freaking hilarious. So funny. Setting up the dance floor was a bit chaotic, as we needed to clear 6 tables to get the table set-up in the restaurant. Anyways, overall a really good time, but I was extremely exhausted. Got home at 12 a.m., took a shower, and went to bed. Some people went clubbing after the wedding. Crazy... I will post pics of their wedding soon. Newest Cousin On Sunday, had a chance to meet my newest cousin, the 16th grandchild. I am #7. My aunt and uncle recently adopted this 1-year old baby girl from China, and we went up to Peony restaurant in Oakland to celebrate her coming to America and my grandfather's 81st birthday. I really love children, and having the chance to hold her was great. She hit me a couple times as she was reaching up to play with my glasses, but it was cool. She is probably pretty scared to see so many people, and receive so much love and affection from being in America. My aunt and uncle were explaining that in China, people said she had "hit the lotto," for the chance to be raised in America. Her name is Deanna, and I look forward to seeing her grow up. Unfortunately, I forgot my memory card for my digital camera, so I didn't get a chance to take pictures, so next time I see her, I will take some pics and post them. posted by alvin | Monday, September 08, 2003 Thursday, September 04, 2003 Somebody... So, after Tim/Nancy's wedding, I decided that I like the song "Somebody" by Depeche Mode. I'll consider using it at my wedding if I get married. =P. Here are the lyrics: I want somebody to share Share the rest of my life Share my innermost thoughts Know my intimate details Someone who'll stand by my side And give me support And in return She'll get my support She will listen to me When I want to speak About the world we live in And life in general Though my views may be wrong They may even be perverted She'll hear me out And won't easily be converted To my way of thinking In fact she'll often disagree But at the end of it all She will understand me I want somebody who cares For me passionately With every thought and With every breath Someone who'll help me see things In a different light All the things I detest I will almost like I don't want to be tied To anyone's strings I'm carefully trying to steer clear of Those things But when I'm asleep I want somebody Who will put their arms around me And kiss me tenderly Though things like this Make me sick In a case like this I'll get away with it posted by alvin | Thursday, September 04, 2003 First Day of School I always enjoy the first day of school. The adrenaline rush of starting class. It's been over 1.5 years since I've taken a class. I got one of the campus boxes which has the free stuff in it and receiving one made me feel young again. =P. I went to the bookstore and saw the huge lines. As lame as this sounds, I love school, I love to study, I love to learn, and I love to grow. The class on the "psychology of personal growth" is subjective in terms of its grading and material. Grading is simple; as attendance, journal entries, an autobiography and a final take home essay exam comprise all of the points. There are also 40 extra credit points that you can earn. 40 extra credit points out of 200...crazy. and homework is done during class hours. I wish engineering classes (or modern algebra courses) were this easy. This class is pretty reflective and requires me to think about my past life experiences and how they have formed me today. The teachers really are only there to share ideas. I think my goal for this class is maximizing personal potential. It reminded me a lot of "focused living," where some of the RWers who attended WCC were considering journeying together through the material, but decided against it. So, I guess I am going to journey through with random folks, which will be cool and different, requiring me to step out of my comfort zone to share my experiences with people I don't know well. It was interesting that they required us to sign a form on confidentiality. Very interesting. Anyways, looking forward to continuing this class. The book cost like $80, more than the class itself. Community college units are like $18 a unit now, much pricier than the $9 of before. Crazy...=P. posted by alvin | Thursday, September 04, 2003 Wednesday, September 03, 2003 Like brushing teeth... I think something Slim said during SNAP yesterday really spoke truth to me. My devotional time, the quiet time I spend with God, should be like brushing my teeth, or showering, or eating. A normal daily habit that has supernatural implications. I was reminded that it's something that I need to view as totally necessary, and knowing it's necessary to put forth the effort, discipline and dedication to really meet with Him. As I will be getting more busy with classes starting today, I need to really have the right perspective in meeting with God...=P. Thanks for the reminder Slim. posted by alvin | Wednesday, September 03, 2003 Tuesday, September 02, 2003 Quick Labor Day Weekend Recap Played on worship team. Feeling more comfortable worship leading. However, going to take a 3-month break, as needing to juggle many different priorities. Had a good bible study with RW on the Holy Spirit. The basic applicational question, "is our daily lives a reflection on the workings of the Holy Spirit?" Very challenging study. After RW, spent some time at Verde, and then went over to Tilden's briefly to watch some of LOTR. I wanted to hear some of Ed's presentation on his project that he is giving to Wycliffe this week, but didn't have the chance to. That's okay. Was pretty tired after Friday night. Sat. Judy/Roland wedding. Beautiful, beautiful wedding. A lot of personal touches. My favorite was the "he said, she said" video during the reception. Like how they met, first impressions, proposal, things they did together, why they were interested, etc. Awesome. Got a chance to catch up some older WCCers that I haven't seen in awhile. Sat. night after dinner with family, headed over to Calvin's/Dan's for a Davis get-together. Had a good time laughing, catching-up and playing Mario Tennis/Mario Kart. Lessons learned...we got a lot more sore playing video games than when we were younger. Sun. after church, played bball with CBCSJ at Valley church in Sunnyvale. Awesome court. Last week my brother sprained his ankle and hurt his wrist there so I went for a little payback...j/k...no payback, but just wanted to play bball since RW was playing frisbee that day, and I haven't been on the court for awhile. Our team won 6 games in a row. Sunday night...chilled at home, watched Daredevil with the family. Overall evaluation of Daredevil...i think the comic book character himself is not as exciting as Spiderman and Batman, so making a movie on him "the man without fear," was pretty difficult. Mon. worked out in the morning. not that crowded at 24 hr. Dim sum with family, and then up to Foster City to chill with jonathan, cory and tilden. we ended up playing bball, but i didn't have my gear, so played in my airwalks, khaki shorts, and an undershirt that i borrowed from jonathan. in two-on-two play...cory and tilden killed us. tilden was hitting all these outside shots...inside, outside, inside, outside, and cory was playing well too. we ended up playing 4-4 with these high school/college freshmen. good kids, with some serious hops. we won the two games that we played together with all 4 RWers as a team. when cory sat out one game, we lost that one. pretty fun. afterwards, we just chilled at jonathan's place playing spades, looking at jonathan's computer, watching shanghai knights (don't watch this movie), and playing nerts. got home pretty exhausted, showered and went to bed. =P. on tap this week...start of class at mission college in santa clara. looking forward to being a student again, and wayne/irene's wedding. posted by alvin | Tuesday, September 02, 2003 |
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