and the heart of the alvinator.
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Monday, May 24, 2004 New Albums Posted 80s/90s Party along with RW May Madness B'day Party. One More Album My 27th b'day party posted by alvin | Monday, May 24, 2004 Wednesday, May 19, 2004 Argh... Well, I feel a bit frustrated tonight. Of all the teams and people that I wanted to win, they didn't. I realized why I am such a realist in life. Because, if you are an optimist, you get your heart broken. I hit the gym right after work, and positioned myself with the Sharks game on one TV and the Kings game on the other. 1. Kings vs. T-wolves Well...missed FTs by Miller and a blown lay-up by Webber in the fourth quarter. Poor FT shooting really hurt. Garnett came up huge...as the MVP...basically took his team on his back and brought them to the Western Conference Finals. It would be a more entertaining series with the Kings vs. the Lakers, but it's not going to happen. Here's hoping Garnett explodes all over the Lakers, and that Cassell gets healthier very soon. Argh...the Kings have disappointed me every year, and frankly, their window has closed. 2. Sharks vs. Flames Well...hat's off to a good season by the Sharks as they were picked not to go anywhere this year. Once the Flames scored first, I knew it would be very difficult for the Sharks to come back. They are much better when they play from being in the lead. Hopefully, the youth movement continues, and their players turn into real superstars (Stuart, Marleau). Go get them next year. Heartbreaking. 3. Tara vs. Jessica B. Well...if you don't recognize those names, you probably haven't watched the Bachelor this season. Jesse always kept emphasizing that Tara wasn't expressing her feelings and such, but...gosh...how often do you have to affirm someone that you care for them, etc. Since in the beginning Tara was such a challenge to Jesse, it already put him on the defensive, and he became insecure. I liked Tara better than Jessica B, and picked Tara to win. She just seemed more with it. Later on ABC News, Jesse said he didn't chose Tara because there wasn't any chemistry. Gosh, when you kiss someone a lot...isn't there some chemistry. I digress. Tara was so freaked out in the limo ride over to the final rose ceremony, that they had to stop to let her throw up. Too nervous for her. Heartbreaking. She started going off on Jesse for leading her on and such. Hehe. Relationships are complicated. Issues, issues. Everyone has issues. Anyways, a tough night. None of the people I wanted to win, won. Oh well. I'm glad there's much more to life than sports and TV. The life-giving joy of the spirit. However, I'm glad that I can get excited even for an interim period of something so simple as sports and TV. It makes life more exciting. Final thought: time to jump on the Lakers bandwagon, although my true heart is still with the Warriors and Kings. posted by alvin | Wednesday, May 19, 2004 Tuesday, May 18, 2004 GRX Bball League As some of you know, I am playing in the GRX bball league, on Sunday nights at my alma mater, Lynbrook High School. It's a draft league, so you don't really go into this league with a bunch of friends. I actually like it better this way, as it allows for relationships to be built with people you wouldn't normally hang out with and know. Our team went 5-0, and lost for the first time this past Sunday. We only suited up 6 players. We use a fast-break strategy to wear down other teams, but unfortunately, our strategy didn't work. I had my best game of the season, in the loss. Here is the summary e-mail they sent out for this past Sunday's game. This is my first time making this summary e-mail. Yeah!!!!! I would prefer a win over any scoring, so it's kind of a bittersweet game. Game1: Gazelles hand Geckos first defeat of the season Gazelles 63 - Geckos 58 The Gazelles played a strong game wire to wire against the shorthanded Geckos and handed them their first defeat of the season. The Gazelles were led by Captain Danny Chen (21 pts). Nelson Lui (15pts) and Robert Go (10pts) contributed double figures for the Gazelles. Strong defensive showings by Cliff Sun and Brandon Fong helped to maintain the Gazelle's lead. The Gazelles led the entire game; however, the Geckos played valiantly despite suiting up only 6 players. The Geckos had several times cut the lead down to under five points, but came up a bit short in the end. The Geckos had 3 players in double figures led by Captain Dave Hiroshima with 19pts. Billy Lo had 11pts and Alvin Wu had a personal season high 15 points. Alvin did all this and even ran the Bay to Breakers that morning! Quincy Lin and Samuel Sun also chipped in with 6pts and 5pts respectively for the Geckos. posted by alvin | Tuesday, May 18, 2004 Thoughts from Bay to Breakers I decided around 10:30 p.m. on Sat. night to run the B2B the next morning. I was kinda' hesitant to run because I didn't train at all. Although I am in the gym 2-3 times a week, I don't do much running. I did use to run cross country in high school, and my most effective year was when I had my growth spurt and lengthened out. Anyways, since that year, I bulked up...hehe...and weigh about 35-40 pds. more, so running does not come as easy. Because I was so pumped from Sat. day activities, I couldn't get to sleep until 1 a.m. I slept 4 hrs. and woke up at 5, and carpooled up to the SF. People in my group were Mike, Nancy, Melanie, Lani, Laura, Cindy, and Sandy. We hopped onto Muni around 7:40 a.m., actually were late to the start (8:15 a.m.), and just went into the race about 300 yards from the starting line. I didn't actually see the starting line, and we didn't stretch much. Some observations: Running Unregistered Since I decided to run b2b so late, I didn't have the chance to register. Before the race, I felt a bit guilty for using the b2b resources, but once I started running, I didn't think about it. It's okay to crash a race. Watch out for parking meters. I commented that I wouldn't be surprised if someone crashed into parking meters. I almost ran into a couple while looking around at other people. On naked people Yeah, there were a lot, probably over 75+. I didn't count. The most brave ones were those not traveling in a group. One person had a hat that said, "Bare to Breakers." I ran through a group of them, cutting to the other side of the street, and almost ran into something...good thing I didn't...Some of them get arrested near the end of the race if they don't cover back up. The hill The hill is located between miles 2 and 3, and is supposed to be quite daunting. Frankly, I prefer running uphill to downhill, as it is less painful on the knees. I didn't think the hill was that bad, as it wasn't as steep as I expected. Going pee Alright, so the port-o-potties are very, very crowded. Although a couple us needed to go pee before the race after the Muni ride, we didn't have the chance to and jumped right into the race. I said that I would go at the 2nd or 3rd mile mark, but it was still too crowded. Eventually, I decided to go after mile 5, in the public restrooms in Golden Gate Park. No lines. So, for future reference, considering holding it until mile 5 or 6, where the restrooms are a lot less crowded. =P. Bob and Weave So, I didn't expect the race to be so crowded from start to finish. It didn't really filter out that way I expected. Most people with awesome costumes, usually walk the race. So, when running, you basically have to bob and weave through many people, hoping not to run into them. It's kinda' fun, like an obstacle course. Adrenaline Basically, since I got so little sleep, most of the race was run on adrenaline, and since there were so many people there, it was fairly easy to be pumped up. I hate crowds, but for an event like this, crowds are cool. There are even so many spectators, who are BBQing at the side. Finishing the race... It's really beautiful, as the finish line is along Ocean Highway, and you turn towards the home stretch with Ocean Beach on your right. It was fantastic weather, and a perfect ending to a 12k. Evaluating the Shared Experience It ended up that Nancy, Sandy and myself separated ourselves from the rest of our group, so we needed to watch out for each other, that we didn't get lost and such. It was good camaraderie. It was pretty fun when Mike and Mel finished later, and then I briefly saw Lani also at the finish line. Finishing the race, brought solid closure from our time there. Overall, a solid shared experience. I had a really great time. Thanks to Mike and Nancy for encouraging me to go. I wish I was a little less focused on running, and soaked in more of the experience, as there are some crazy things that you don't see everyday. Something to consider if I ever run in it again. Overall, I am glad that I ran it. posted by alvin | Tuesday, May 18, 2004 Friday, May 14, 2004 Turning 27... Well, today I officially turn 27. I can't say it feels much different than 26. Anyways, on reflecting on these past 26 years of life, I give a shout out to God for sustaining me all these years. It's been a wonderful journey of life, and I thank all my family and friends for journeying with me. I look with hope to what the future holds, and give thanks for what already has occurred in the past. To God be all the Glory. posted by alvin | Friday, May 14, 2004 Monday, May 10, 2004 RW May B'days On Sat., 6 of us celebrated RW May B'days. Shouts go out to Amy, Jennie, Kathleen, Lani and Shelley. We had a BBQ in Mountain View with a pinata and then went salsa dancing in SF. Things I learned from my own personal post-mortem. 1. Group games do not work with our generation when other activities are present. 2. Nobody arrives on time. Especially not for group games. 3. Having a schedule means other people will tease you. Boo!!!!! 4. Organization for a group photo is not easy. (Takes longer to organize than actually take photo). 5. Use more charcoal when BBQing. 6. Start BBQing earlier. 7. Don't pull a pinata too hard. It can and will break pretty easily. Getting a rope around a tree for the pinata can be a fairly repetitive process. Have someone throw the slack of the rope also. 8. Photographers drinking too much beer can make people laugh easily. 9. Salsa dancing is much sketchier than swing (although using swing moves makes it more fun). Stepping on people during salsa dancing is very acceptable and recommended for the full experience. 10. Having Mike around for your b'day, helps for admission into salsa dancing, free drinks, and post-dancing pho. A free Mike plug. He is interested in advising any "Advanced Technology Clubs" at local high schools. He seeks to exploit young, influential computer programming talent, in exchange for teaching them overall software architecture, free internship experience, and any references needed for college. Overall good times. Got home at 3. Got to bed by 3:30. posted by alvin | Monday, May 10, 2004 Friday, May 07, 2004 The World of Competitive Eating I was reading this Page 2 ESPN article on competitive eating. I briefly surfed the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), an organization that conducts about 100 sanctioned events annually. I went to the organization website and came by Sonya Thomas. She is currently ranked #3 in the world. She only weighs 105 pds. but here are some of her accomplishments. Asparagus: 5.5 pounds Tempura Deep Fried Aspargus Spears / 10 minutes Chicken Wings: 157 chicken wings / 32 minutes Eggs: 65 Hard Boiled Eggs / 6 minutes, 40 seconds Fruitcake: 4 pounds, 14 1/4 ounces Wegman's Fruitcake / 10 minutes Hamburgers: 7 Burgers (3/4 pound) "Thickburgers" / 10 minutes Jambalaya: 9 Pounds Crawfish Jambalaya / 10 Minutes Pulled Pork: 23 pulled pork sandwiches / 10 minutes Tacos: 43 soft tacos / 11 minutes Turducken: 7 3/4 pounds Turducken.com Thanksgiving Dinner / 12 minutes I am most impressed by the 43 soft tacos in 11 minutes. Go Sonya. Hilarious. Check out her homepage. How do you practice for this? posted by alvin | Friday, May 07, 2004 Monday, May 03, 2004 Update... Wow, worked has really picked up, and I'm starting to become a fairly happy employee. My overall quality of life has improved. Although there is more pressure at work, I feel like I am finally contributing something, but then realizing that sometimes I don't know much about board design. I mean, the schematic capture part is fairly easy and straightforward, but effective board layout is difficult. They don't teach you that stuff in school. Anyways, sometimes I feel inadequate, and stare blankly at my manager and say, "Oh, I haven't finished that yet." I learn best by example, and I sat with him most of the afternoon going over board layout for the project I'm in charge of. So fun!!!!! I didn't even fall asleep. 2 eprops for me. (There I go again giving myself eprops...hehe). Anyways, so a couple of my friends responded about Fuller. Here are some of their thoughts. I'll keep their thoughts anonymous. ***** So far I've really liked the classes and teachers at Fuller. For the most part, it has been very thought provoking and challenging and has helped in my understanding of my own theology and the issues that confront our faith. I have pretty high marks for the program. They mostly have the philosophy to present you with the various thoughts and history of theological issues and let you struggle and decide what your own theology is (as opposed to telling you what your theology should be). The course loads are fairly heavy though. Depending on what class I take, I read about 100-200 pages a week and write about 30 pages per class. The cost is about $900 per class. I would highly recommend Fuller as a school if you are interested in going to get a certificate from a seminary. OK, hope that helps. ***** Pros: Fuller is a very reputable, scholarly institution. You will definitely get a high quality education and preparation. Fuller is very strong in it missions department. One of the best in the world actually. Fuller is accessible here in the South Bay. Cons: Fuller though considered "conservative" in some respects. is not actually conservative from an Evangelical perspective. Fuller does not hold to the inerrancy of Scripture, which to me is a big problem. In attending Fuller you would need to take things with a grain of salt, not everything you learn can be accepted, an you will need discernment to try to figure it out. Fuller puts all the options out there, different profs will see things differently, and you will need to discern which teachings are unacceptable, and which ones are acceptable. This may be difficult when you are trying to get a handle on Theology for the first time. It is easy to be swayed by scholarly arguments from academic profs. ***** i had a great time at fuller but it's certainly not for everyone. fuller does not believe in inerrancy (although of course, it believes in infallibility). fuller is also very pro-women in ministry. so, for those reasons, more conservative types approach fuller with caution. i can only think of one time where i felt a faculty member was off, and he himself admitted that he "was an exception" in his thinking on that one point. i think extension would be much different than the Pasadena campus. it also depends on your goals for going to fuller. ***** I really liked Fuller and had a good experience there. It's non-denominational, so that threatens a lot of denominations because they don't teach one single denominational line of theological thinking. But I appreciated that because when I talk to people who went to Westminster, all they studied was the Presbyterian catechism and Calvinism. But in our theology classes, the professors have to teach everything and focus the class on having us work out our own theologies (with guidance, of course). I liked that a lot because it forced me to work through the hard theological questions I've always had and that people will ask of me in the future. In terms of the "liberal" tag on Fuller, well...it's more moderate than anything else. It's definitely not liberal, but it's also not fundamentalist. The theology there is very strong and the scholars that are on the faculty are some of the best in the country. There's no one preaching against the inerrancy of Scripture, but you will hear both sides of the debate. If you're planinng on working within a specific denomination long-term, you may want to consider the denomination's seminary, simply because that's what you're going to work with. I haven't tried any other seminaries, so I can't give you a comparison. But I really enjoyed Fuller. I started in Menlo Park, too, and thought that was great because those classes are full of pastors and missionaries who are actually doing ministry, not a bunch of kids out of college who never did ministry before. I learned as much from them as I did from the classes. ***** So, overall, it seems that theologically, Fuller allows the student to work it through themselves. I still need to sit on it for awhile, and understand the motivation for doing so. So, I'll push back my application date until Fall '04. Also, I'll have the opportunity to be a judge at the SCU Senior Design Conference Thurs. afternoon. Seems like there will be lots of judges. There is a free BBQ too. Yeah!!!!! posted by alvin | Monday, May 03, 2004 |
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