100 words | last day

This is the 100th and last 100 word post. Thanks for reading.

The last day of the year is always a little bittersweet for me. I usually look over the past year and take inventory of all that’s happened. The overwhelming feeling is that 2011 hasn’t been a good year. I keep thinking about the rough times this year, which definitely weren’t fun. Then I think about the good times I’ve had: the trips, the friendships, and the year always seems to balance itself back out. I’m not sure how I’ll remember this year in the future, but for now, I can only hope that I make the most of next year.

100 words | coffee cup eruption

This morning I thought it’d be a good idea to grab coffee at common grounds before coming into the office. I thought nothing of the lid as I secured it to the cup, since it had a normal opening. As I was getting off the freeway on Jst, there was a slight pothole on the lane that I was in. Oh my goodness. I looked over at the cup, and as if in slow motion, coffee shot up from the hole of the lid into the air (at least half a foot) and came crashing down everywhere. Grr... Happy Friday.

100 words | no thanks, I don’t commute to work on a hang glider

Why do products these days assume that you lead a more active lifestyle than 007? Yesterday, my coworker showed me his new lunchbox, which had room not only for a sandwich and capri sun, but also carabineers for additional bottles and slots for energy gel packs. Watches these days go down to 12,000m underwater and have emergency transmitters, backpacks come with snowboard tools and foldout beach changing mats, and cars come with bulletproof panels. Basically, there are no longer products designed for the sedentary soul. I’m good on the lunchbox, I’ll take my lunch to work in a safeway bag.

100 words | I will probably be excommunicated for saying this but…

Would acacians be averse to paying dues? This may not be a popular idea, but please let me explain. If people paid, say, $100 a year to be a member of Acacia, it’ll cover church lunch, retreat, and any incidental costs that the fellowship may incur throughout the year. Whatever is left over can go to a rainy day fund, and it will likely encourage more budgetary discretion when planning church lunches and retreats. This would also clearly differentiate the members from guests and visitors and encourage members to attend as they have a vested interest. Just a random brainfart…

100 words | airport fun

Not all airports were created equal. There are fun ones, ones that have places to explore, things to do. Then there are airports where the most exciting feature is the scrolling flight status screen (believe me, it's no big whup). The dilemma here is, what do I do in those airports? I tried playing games, but angry birds can only take you so far on a four hour layover. People watching's (noncreeper kind) fun for a bit too, as you can sit there and make up stories about people who pass by.  What do you do for fun at airports?

100 words | sooo humid

I know, I’m from Shanghai, which is pretty much the humidest (I think that’s a word…) place on earth, but no, I’m not used to it. Every time I go anywhere that’s more humid than 40%, it’s game over, which kinda sucks, cuz a lot of places I like to go are humid. Sadly, I’m not made to be in hot and humid areas. Right now, I’m sitting here under the sun in 70% humidity (it’s soooo muggy). Bah humbug. I know it sounds weird, but I kinda wish I was back in Sac weather. Only a few more hours…

100 words | the cousins: Michelle

Michelle is Julie's younger sister, though they're quite different, with Michelle being a bit more outgoing and outspoken. I still remember the Friday she was born, since we had met their family the night before for thanksgiving dinner. It was quite an eventful weekend.

Julie and Michelle are quite close growing up, though they have different talents and interests. Michelle is also quite musically adept, having grown up at the piano bench, however she is definitely much more serious about her ballet commitments. It's been pretty amazing to watch these two grow up. *sigh* Man, I'm definitely getting older haha...

fathers and birthdays

At Christmas time, whether you believe in God or Santa Claus, the focus of the holiday is still centered on a family. It’s fitting that God, in His infinite wisdom, chose to reveal Himself to us through this family. Much is known about Mary and Jesus, but the Bible is relatively quiet on the life of Joseph. So what do we know about him? We do know that Joseph is a gentle, loving and courageous father who took his family on a dangerous journey to Egypt to escape from Herod. He taught his son his own trade, as many fathers still do today, and watched over Jesus as he grew up.

Joseph died before Jesus matured and began His ministry, but Joseph still believed. He had faith in that what he was doing was the right thing. At his best, a father is a solid foundation of a house, his support taken for granted. At other times, he may need shoring up himself. However, the father always looks beyond the here and now. He keeps one eye trained on the next generation, driven by necessity, he becomes a man filled with hope, hope that a knowing God watches over the universe, hope that justice will prevail, hope that God’s love will shine through His will. As Paul says, abide by these three: faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love.

When we gather this Christmas, we focus mostly on baby Jesus and Mary (and rightly so), but for me, Christmas has always been a time when I think about fathers the most. It’s a time for me to remember and reflect on what a blessing it is to have a father in my life. You see, today’s my father’s birthday.

Happy birthday Dad. Thanks for everything.

100 words | the cousins: Julie

Julie was the first cousin I watched grow up. We both grew up on the west coast, so our families always did stuff together. I still recall as a toddler, she couldn’t pronounce my name, so she would always call me “Duck”. To this day, every time I see Julie, I still think Duck haha. She has become an accomplished pianist and violinist, and has taken a shine to classical music. It was quite a shock when she got old enough to add me on Facebook. Ahh, she's all grown up and off to college now. Man how time flies.

100 words | the cousins: Christine

Ahh Christine. We call her Tintin because that’s her chinese nickname. She’s the next oldest cousin (younger than Kathy by two months), and we share the same birthday. We also represent the state school demographic in our family (Davis/ Pitt). Christne’s probably the one I talk to the most, usually because she’s on gchat 24/7 and generally replies to facebook posts in under ten seconds. I tested this once, leaving a comment on her status at midnight PST (she’s three hours ahead too). Within ten seconds she’ll like the comment, post a reply, and hit me up on gchat. Efficient.

100 words | the cousins: Kathy

Since I’m at a family reunion and I’m always talking about my cousins, I might as well introduce them to you folks. It’ll be one a day till Christmas (there are four) in order of age.

Kathy’s the oldest cousin (and yet still a few years younger than me). She’s easily labeled the genius of the family, and it’s not hard to see why. She is very dedicated to her work and definitely has the natural talent. We all love her, but she tends to get into her work and it may be months before we hear from her haha, but I suppose genius has its price. She is currently in med school studying to be some kind of doctor. I think she tried it explain it to me once but I don’t recall understanding. Typical =P

100 words | shenanigans seem to follow me...

It's never good when your opening line to a TSA agent is "so I got this knife..." It all started with a pocket knife I had since my youth. I was operating on no sleep and wasn't thinking. The exact moment they took my checked bag, I realized that the multitool was still in my pocket. Wait! Too late. Can't bring it back. Now, my only option was to check another bag ($$35!!). Fine... I said, as I checked my carry on. Of course, ten minutes later the flight got cancelled and I got both bags back. *sigh* shenanigans.

100 words | starting off the day with the most pointless flight ever.

*update* this flight has been cancelled. Crisis averted.

Don’t get me wrong, I love vacations, and flying is always an adventure, but is it necessary to have a flight that goes from Sac to SF? I realize that there are many more direct flights from SFO, but in this case, I still have two more connections after this. Not to mention the fact that the plane is a twin propeller plane that probably doubles as a cropduster. This whole thing has a Buddy Holly flying over Iowa feel to it. I hope everything will be fine, but if we go down, we better hit something hard. Just saying.

100 words | bicycle deck

As I pack for the family reunion this week, I am reminded of the old trips we used to take to places like Vancouver and Niagara Falls. I remember all the cousins sitting in the back of the van, the sound of shuffling and dealing filling the air as we played game after game of BS or deuces. Man those were the good old days. Every family reunion we’d always play cards to kill time during car rides, stopping only to find the cards that fell through the cracks of the seats. Hmm, maybe I’ll bring two decks this time.

100 words | oh target…

Last night, as I was prepping for the children’s object lesson, I found a creative way to use candy canes. So I head to Target, and this is what happened:

Me: Hi, where are your candy canes?
Guy: Our fruit flavored ones are right here…
Me: Yea um… what about the red and white ones?
Guy: What do you mean red and white ones?
Me: You know, the traditional ones?
Guy: Uhm, I don’t think we carry those…

*sigh* Target, if you must hire teenagers, please teach them about Christmas traditions. Your logo is red and white for goodness sake.

100 words | a very davis Christmas

Right now I am taking everything in slowly, enjoying, savoring every bit of these next few weeks in Davis. You see, the population in this little college town nosedives in December and (thanks to the four week winter break these lucky students get) a good chunk of January as well. The line at safeway is shorter, parking in downtown is manageable, and they’re opening a Whole Foods here (ok that’s not related to students leaving, but still…). It’s funny, I used to think big city life was for me, but now, I get joy when my little town is deserted.

100 words | jack and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mistake

Jack knew it was bad when he woke up this morning. There was a fright on his mind as he realized his slight. Oh no! He thought, “what on earth did I do?!” He bound out of bed and logged on his computer. Please, please, let it not be so! He log on to the site and waited and waited, wondering, praying, that he was just having a dream. It was a mistake, an oversight, an accidental click! His heart sank as the page slowly loaded. He clicked and clicked but the words wouldn’t change: Vacation Sold - one week.

100 words | pass the salt

Have you ever eaten with someone with whom you have nothing in common? A few minutes of small talk and then the awkward silence? It starts off with a little “hey how’s it going?” followed by some chit chat about how the weather’s turning a little milder over the last few weeks. This is generally accompanied by some nervous glances to the side and one or two nervous smiles at the other person just to be polite. After exhausting the last bit of small talk, all you can muster up is “pass the salt.” Exciting stuff. Happened earlier this week.

100 words | five pounds of peanut butter?

I have two days left to pick out a white elephant gift for work. $25 limit and gift cards are out of the question. I’m trying to go for gender neutral. I already did a lego castle last year. Snuggies have become passé. Some coworkers like to bring liquor, but that sends an inappropriate message. At least two of my coworkers are doing starbucks mugs. So now what am I left with? I can’t do sports stuff, since everyone’s a fan of different teams. BBQ equipment is out of season. Ahh poop. White elephant gifts should not be this difficult.

100 words | 13 years ago today

I was in the middle of my freshmen year at Saint Francis, and the prospect of speaking in front of people was mortifying. That Sunday afternoon, I was getting baptized, and had to give my testimony while standing waist deep in water. What if I got nervous and threw up in the baptism pool? What if my glasses floated away as I was getting dunked and I emerged a publicly professed Christian, but blind as a bat? Needless to say, I now recall that day with fondness. It’s been thirteen years, and yet I still have so much to grow.

100 words | Philippians 1:20

Yesterday in Sunday school, my group went over the story of the martyrdom of John and Betty Stam. They were the first missionary family to settle in China, with a young baby in their care. The family was captured by the red army when their city was attacked, and the couple was killed the next day. It’s quite a sad story, but in John’s letter to CIM before the execution, he included the verse: That Christ may be glorified whether by life or by death. (Philippians 1:20) That verse stuck out in my mind all day yesterday. Thought I’d share.

(ok… ending it on a happier note…here’s a giant lego head/box I saw at target yesterday…)

100 words | RIP Chemex 2011-2011

it’s really quite a sad story. I’ll never forget where I was when my roommate told me the news. Last week, the chemex was put atop the fridge during a routine house cleaning. Sadly, an inadvertent slam of the freezer door send the chemex to its sad demise. Ahh it was fun while we were together. There were both the highs and lows with seemingly endless cups of cold brew that Chemex filtered for me. The chemex was great, a beloved little object that brought joy to so many people in such a short time.

Rest in peace old buddy.

100 words | arts and crafts time

Finally it’s Saturday! After a quick trip to trader joe’s this morning, I noticed something amiss about this particular paper bag. There’s little directions to cut the bag up for Christmas decorations! It’s been quite a while since I’ve broken out the Fiskars and transparent tape, but it’s still fun nevertheless. After cutting along the dotted lines (skills I honed in college obviously) and taping it into a garland, I realized it wasn’t nearly long enough to hang on the tree. Oh well, hopefully between now and Christmas I’ll visit trader joe’s enough to make one loop around the tree.

100 words | what exactly is candy?

Starting last week, I got a new boss at work. Part of this transition is getting adjusted to him and some of his management styles. So this new guy tries to give feedback regularly, and here’s last night’s comment: “You’ve given me meat and potatoes. But it needs more candy.” How the heck do I put that in spreadsheet? If it’s specific I can fix it. Now half my time is spent deciphering what to do. Have I made it better? Did I put in too much candy? I guess when in doubt, highlight cells. We’ll see what he says…

100 words | it’s one of those days…

You know that feeling you get on a nice lazy Saturday morning when you wake up? You crawl out of bed a little late because, hey, it’s one of those mornings where you can sit on the couch for a bit and catch up on your rest. Or if you feel like curling up by a window with a book and some coffee, that’d be great too. It’s a great day for your mind to escape as the minutes drip by as slow as the coffee on the pot. Today feels like one of those days. Too bad it’s Thursday.

100 words | a christmas confession

Today, I share a deep buried secret I’ve carried with me all these years, something that brings me hidden shame every time the Christmas season rolls around. Heck, I don’t even think my folks know. Now, please don’t judge me. This is very hard so I hope you’ll allow me a stumble or two. *deep breath* Ok here goes.

I have an aversion to glitter.

Really it’s anything shiny, like tinsel, spray can snow, or glitter ornaments. They’re all bad news to me. Oh geez… now everyone knows... So yes, this glittery bear would scare the tinsel out of me.

syrian president

Saw this early this morning on yahoo news...pretty interesting. Barbara Walters actually got an exclusive with the syrian president. I also have to say, he seems completely different than I thought he'd be like...

100 words | hanging on a miracle

As blogger Dan Graziano pointed out yesterday morning, the Eagles still have a shot at the division title. If the Eagles sweep the remaining four games, Cowboys lose at least 3 games, and Giants lose at least two, Philly would be in a three way tie with Dallas and New York. At that point first tiebreaker rules out the Cowboys, and Eagles would have a lead on the Giants on the second tiebreaker. Of course, Aristotle once said probable impossibilities are preferable to improbable possibilities. Then again, he thought earth was center of the universe, so what does he know?

the beast.

This is one of the craziest watches I’ve ever seen. The Casio Protrek is for the guy who tackles the outdoors every day and needs a tool that will keep him alive and moving. This watch not only looks awesome, it comes with every feature possible for a wrist watch. That includes a watch with world-time, compass, altimeter, barometer, thermometer, moon data, tide graph, stopwatch, 5 daily alarms, etc. It’ll go down to -10C or and has a high/low altitude memory. It’s 100m water resistant and will also auto-correct when you cross time zones. Oh, and it’s solar powered, and has a 6 month battery reserve in case you’re stuck at the bottom of the ocean or in some cave for 6 months or so. Of course…if you find yourself in that type of situation, being able to know the time in Hong Kong is kind of the least of your worries. Although it doesn’t say it, I’m going to assume it’s got some kind of shock resistance as well.

For a guy like me, that shock resistance probably isn’t going to matter that much. The only damage I’d ever do to this thing would be the occasional desk-diving scratches. Nevertheless, it’s pretty cool to see this watch in action. I can’t actually justify getting this, as I would feel embarrassed in the checkout line, seeing as I’m not exactly giving off the outdoorsy vibe. This is like the watch equivalent of the Swiss Army Champ pocket knife/beast, in which case, I would really be only using the screwdriver functionality.

All in all this is a crazy cool looking watch. No way would I get it as I wouldn’t know how to use it…but it’s pretty fun to see what kind of tool you can strap to your wrist now-a-days. Also, I guess the fact that owning a casio watch could be cause for detention at Guantanamo Bay doesn’t make this watch any more appealing to me either. So I suppose if you like it…get it at your own risk haha.

100 words | my asianness has been called into question…

Yes, it is absolutely unfortunate. This morning, my coworker called my asianness into question. He claims I am a banana (yellow on the outside, white on the inside I guess…). He says because I don’t eat asian food regularly, that I am not really asian. Clearly a mistake, I say. For your information I am plenty Asian. No, really. For example: on the Census last year, I checked the little box next to Asian. White people don’t do that. Also, I have one of those buy ten get one free boba cards from both old teahouse and Quickly’s. So there.

100 words | the tree

This afternoon after church I went to target to search for a Christmas tree. There in the back of the store near the Christmas ornaments, they set up a little plastic rainforest for you to rummage through. After about 20 minutes of adventure filled searching (I had to shake a little kid off my cart) I found the perfect tree: a 7.5 foot Virginia pine. It even came with lights and little pinecones. Over the next few days I’ll be adding ornaments and Christmas cheer. Merry Christmas! (Disclaimer: no children or trees were hurt during the events of this post.)

100 words | gadzooks

Images courtesy of wikipedia (shh…they don’t know…)

I would like to go check out a monster truck rally. Ok… I guess I should preface it by saying that I don’t know the first thing about monster trucks or what they do, but according to Wikipedia, there are freestyle events where drivers can pick a course and perform tricks, donuts, and jumps, and are “somewhat akin to figure skating with giant trucks.” Sounds elegant. Apparently they also like to drive over things like smart cars, small airplanes, and motor homes. I’m intrigued. Hmm… field trip anyone??! Maybe sac small group… perhaps Brian will let me borrow his truck…

100 words | when one door closes…

Last night, I lost a dream. Ahh… this year was supposed to be it. But it didn’t happen that way. Last night’s game was it, the nail in the coffin. Season’s over. Oh well. At least I get to find something better to do with my time. You know, there are studies devoted to studying the lost productivity of watching sports. It does make me wonder what people could do with their time if there were no sports to watch. Heck we might have put a man on Mars, or fly around on jet packs by now. Eh… who knows?

100 words | mom

Just about everyone out there will say that their mom is one special lady. Well… same here. I guess the fact that she raised me kind of cements that special bond I have with her. Over the years I’ve come to appreciate the many traits my mom has, the warmth and kindness, the sixth sense she has about certain things, and a little bit of the crazy that all moms have too. I think many of my personality traits are from her. Yep, she’s a great mom, and since today’s her birthday, this post’s dedicated to her. Happy birthday mom!