tapping into the head

tapping into the head
and the heart of the alvinator.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

South East Asia Tsunami

I feel very sad about the disaster. The magnitude of it affecting 11 countries, with probably close to 100,000 people dead. It seems very surreal, like a movie. Many of these people probably haven't heard the Gospel. It puts a lot of stuff in perspective. Please pray.

Pray for:
1) God's peace and comfort to reign among the survivors. God's purposes will ultimately be shown and He can be glorified through this.
2) That aid can get to the people who need it.
3) Prevention of the spread of disease from the current conditions.

posted by alvin | Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Monday, December 27, 2004

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Sorry that these wishes are belated. Anyways, I have an Xmas '04 year in review newsletter. Unfortunately, I can't post files here to blogger, and didn't have everyone's e-mail address, so if you are interested in one, please send me an e-mail.

posted by alvin | Monday, December 27, 2004

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Back from Irvine

I took a 2-day business trip to Irvine on Mon/Tues. It was a good trip, and good break from the normal day to day things I do here in Santa Clara. I was able to resync with my old HP co-worker. We started on the same day back at HP. He nows works in Broadcom Irvine, actually working on the same chip that I am working on. It was great syncing up with him again. Small world. And check this out...I saw a guy I interviewed with back in '02 who is working in Broadcom Irvine too. I recognized him, but he didn't recognize me. He didn't make me an offer, so it was a bit awkward. Hehehe.

On Sunday, I felt pretty good playing bball. I wasn't so happy with my assist to turnover ratio, as my timing is still pretty off. I was quite on from outside though, which is not usual. Since I wasn't one of the bigger guys on the court, I had to play outside. I feel pretty good physically, but haven't had the chance to work out this week. =P.

Chinese final on Monday. I missed my oral speech and will need to give it on Monday. Hehehe. =P. I need to work on my Christmas newsletter too. Look for it soon. Hehe.

posted by alvin | Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Friday, December 10, 2004

PT Update

I went in for my latest appointment yesterday. The PT said I have been making huge gains. However, she said I still need to be very consistent and disciplined with my stretching and exercises. I expressed to her that I was concerned that the pain will easily come back again, and she said that I needed to change some of my habits to make lifelong progress.

She mentioned that how I walk is "cute." Umm...interesting word to use. She said that because my muscles (I.T. bands) are so tight, I first start walking in a straight line, and then default to some type of "waddling" method, that she termed "cute." Anyways, she said I need to strengthen my inner quads, and work on not stretching out my back so much. She said I overuse my back, and my back is used to being stretched out (due to slouching). She wants me to shorten the use of my back muscles, and told me that I can use a "dough roller" to loosen my I.T. bands.

In the end, I asked her if I can play basketball, and she said, "as long as it doesn't hurt." So, I said, "thanks for giving me the green light." She said, "Umm...it's more of a yellow light." Hahahaha. =P.

Anyways, lots of peeps have asked what caused this pain and such. Frankly, I would say that most of it is spiritual warfare. I felt really good physically in China, and only when I came back did I feel so weak. The pain resides in my knees, hamstrings and gluteus. Strengthening and stretching are my keys to success.

Overall, it's been a frustrating experience, but I'm glad it's almost over. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. =P.

Also, check out my Nov. 11th post.

posted by alvin | Friday, December 10, 2004

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Job Posting for Graphic Designer

I am posting this for Dave King, my college friend. He needs a marketing assistant. The company is located in Fremont. Please contact him directly for more information. Please feel free to pass this along to whoever might be interested.

"This is the two product line they will be working with:
www.airlink101.com

this is what i posted on craigslist last time:
Airlink+ and Airlink101 is a leading brand of high technology products, including data communications, wireless networking and peripheral products, for personal computers. Our goal is to provide high quality technology products in line with the latest standard. The growth and prosperity of our customers define our success. We strive to deliver unsurpassed levels of customer satisfaction and support.

Seeking a full time assistant with graphic design experience that will work side by side with the Marketing Director on a variety of projects.

Qualifications:- In-depth knowledge of Photoshop-
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, email, web, etc.-
Good knowledge of Dreamweaver and Illustrator

The candidate must:
- Excellent communication skills
- Be knowledgeable of web/software usability and web standards
- Team work. Must be able to work in dynamic teams.
- Good knowledge of computer / networking peripherals
- Self-motivated and has the desire to be up to date with latest and up coming technologies

Please send your desired wage, resume, and other materials you feel would be helpful to david@airlinkplus.com. Please include “Marketing Assistant” in the subject line."

posted by alvin | Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Morale Booster

We get free lunch tomorrow at work. It's a holiday lunch. There is also a raffle. Not sure if that boosts my morale that much, but at least it is free. =P.

posted by alvin | Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Transformation

Lately I have been pondering the idea of transformation. As I have been going to ALCF for the past couple months, the idea of transformation comes up time and time again.

One of Pastor Paul's favorite sayings, "Jesus loves you as you are, but loves you too much to leave you as you are." Even when Pastor Paul's older bro Horace came to speak, he used the exact same statement. Funny. =P.

Anyways, I get frustrated sometimes when I'm not making progress, or when progress is too slow, I get frustrated too. This could be obviously seen with my knee problems, where I was whining to the PT that I still can't do what I want to do. She then encouraged me and said I was making good progress. =P.

I guess sometimes I get frustrated with my Christian walk too. Why do I struggle with some of the same issues as before? Am I not over that issue? Why am I not over it? Why am I not progressing as far? Why does God put me where I am at? etc.

Last week during RW bible study, we finished the final chapter of Jonah. The key takeaway was that of broadening our perspective to see what God is doing, instead of being so focused on our "own issues." I don't feel that Jonah got it even at the end of the book, as it is interesting how the end of Jonah ends with a question, "Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Jonah was so focused on himself, that he lost focus on God sparing over 120,000 people. I love Jonah though. He is just like you and me.

Sometimes I lose focus too, and when I reflect on the bigger picture on how far God has brought me, I see and sense that God is working in me. As I was reflecting on Abraham this morning, and other "fathers of faith," I am encouraged that sometimes it took them awhile to get it. No need to be hard on myself. Just keep making progress...just keep growing, just keep on moving on. God will work out these "issues". =P.

Bible study was a good reminder for me. I want to be renewed. I want to be transformed. I want to be different. Father meet me.

I will never be (Geoff Bullock)

I will never be the same again
I can never return
I've closed the door
I will walk the path
I'll run the race
And I will never
Be the same again

posted by alvin | Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Monday, December 06, 2004

Woohoo...

Don't tell my PT, but I played bball yesterday with RWers. I felt like it was almost necessary for me to go out there and test to see where I am at physically. It was the biggest turnout I have seen at Terman Park, over 20 peeps. We have become the premiere south bay/mid-penisula, Sunday after church, basketball locale.

Anyways, I didn't play that well, but I was still pretty happy that I could get out there. Even today, I don't feel that sore, and my muscles feel alright. I still need to shake off a lot of rust as it has been 7 weeks off the court. My timing and arm muscles are not up to par, as I had to two-hand pass my deep outlets.

The core of my game resides in my scrappy play. I rely on high energy play, and wearing my opponent down through my better conditioning. Unfortunately, I'm not in bball shape right now.

Anyways, I am oversized as a PG (although have enough court vision to play the PG), and undersized as a SF. I don't have a solid enough shot to play the SG, and rather go push big guys around as the PF/C.

Unfortunately, since I didn't feel 100% physically, I held back to make sure I didn't get hurt, so I didn't get to push people around as much as I like. I was hesitant to jump for rebounds, and put a lot of contact on people.

I am excited that I got to play, and look forward to playing again. =P. Hopefully my PT will give me the green light to do so this Thursday, during my next appt. I have felt good this past week, and haven't had to take ibuprofen.

Another vent is that although we play for fun, people "call out" other people when they make mistakes. I don't think this is good. I rarely do this during or after the game, so I apologize to those out there I have called out during or after a game. I want you to become the best bball player you can be. =P. There are a couple peeps in particular, whom I feel lose perspective on why we are out there. It makes playing basketball less enjoyable for everyone when this happens. We are there to build community, outreach, and exercise. Please keep that in perspective. We'll see you on the court.

posted by alvin | Monday, December 06, 2004

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Heavy Heart

My heart feels very heavy. I need to vent on my blog.

No matter how many times you go through it (3rd time for me experiencing it), it just never feels right. My division has laid off 20% of the peeps. That is 20 people out of 95 in our division. People just found out this morning. I didn't get laid off, but the sad part is seeing your friends go. These are people's lives. People with families, kids in college, mortgage payments, lives to live.

A job doesn't define a person, and frankly, you need to have the right perspective with work. At HP, my hiring manager, who actually also attended my church told me this, "Alvin, the company owes you nothing." I took it one step further, "Ahh, I don't owe my company anything." Hehe. Maybe explains my slacking nature. =P.

Two years ago, at HP, the process was very respectful to the people getting laid-off. Here was a different story. I won't write it here, but I can tell you about it in person. With or without a job I would be fine. But here, it felt weird and different. I was fearful in the morning. Why was I so scared? I don't know...losing a job, I wouldn't mind. Maybe it was a sense of not feeling good enough, or up to par. Anyways, an engineer's lifespan is very short. Very different than the good ol' days.

Some of the layoffs were for non-performers, but most people were laid off for not being on the right projects. I was lucky. Since my manager left a couple months ago, I'm the only systems guy working on my project. If he was still around, I probably would be gone.

As I try to reconcile my feelings, ultimately, what I can do is pray for my co-workers.

posted by alvin | Thursday, December 02, 2004