BORN TO RUN by christopher mcdougall

i have consistently brought up this book ever since i started reading it, which i hope people dont find annoying but it really has changed the way i think about running, marathoners, and our bodies. everytime people mention injuries from running or how they're incapable of running (something i used to characterize myself as), i want to shove this book in their hands, sit them down, and make them start reading it immediately! the book's main story tells the tale about a race between crazy runners in america vs a mexican tribe called the tarahumara, who run 30 miles DAILY and are renowned for their long-distance running.

as the book title suggests, the author explains how human beings are created and (literally) born to run due to how our bodies are formed and put together. this really resonated with me because running has given me more results than any other physical activity/diet has in the past. not only that but all i need is a pair of shoes and non-rainy weather...no more dealing with gym memberships and all the needs a swim work out entails.

i highly recommend this book to those who love to run and to those who hate running with a passion. who knows, you might even end up buying yourself what's pictured below (mark refers to these as my "expensive socks"):

IBM 10k Run - 10.18.2009

Ran IBM's 10k run with Veronica and averaged a 10 minute mile :). she is my favorite person to run with & is pretty much the only reason i was able to stick with my running group that met during ungodly morning times!

Austin Cityworks Class

I am soooo behind on posting about my cityworks class! it's been so much fun and i've been learning tons so shame on me for not posting sooner.

lets rewind to how all this started. i read in the paper that the city of austin was putting on an academy so its citizens could learn more about their city government. being the nerd that i am, i immediately applied and probably spent a good 15 minutes on the application (when i probably should have spent 2 hours because it was comprised of 5 essay questions). i was surprised to find out that i was one of the 30 who was accepted out of the 300 applicants but later realized i was most likely accepted because of my ethnic background and gender, ha.

here's a quick run down of what we've covered so far. the class meets every tuesday and it comes with a free dinner!

1. met mayor, city manager, and some city council members to understand how the city is structured and receive a general overview of austin's govt

2. tour of austin convention center and airport. did you know the austin airport is named after the 1st austinite who died while in battle in WWII? did you know there's an age limit to work in the airport tower?

3. library services, economic growth & redevelopment services, small & minority business --> lots of resources available to austin citizens!

4. EMS and firefighter training (pictured above). these guys are everyday heroes! i got to break down a steel door, shoot a firehose, and watch a propoane tank blow up - super cool. i also tried talking to the cheif of the fire dept bc it's rare to see a female in this type of role but she was not interested in answering my questions :x.

5. communication center: where 911 calls are taken and homeland security and emergency management happens here too

6. municipal & community court (i hope i never have to return here) and austin police dept. i got to see the cop's helicopter, horses, bomb squad, and swat team. did you know just last week a pipe bomb was put on top of propane tanks at a nearby HEB!?

more to come as classes resume...

congrats david & annisa!

their wedding was at the beautiful villa antonia in austin, texas. yay for friends getting married :)

Los Angeles Angels

Made a quick trip to LA to celebrate miss laura's birthday...10/10, what an easy birthday to remember. this was my 2nd time visiting california within a 4 week timeframe, i'm either extremely spoiled or it's time for me to move to california (probably both)! highlights included beach bumming, spending time with some of my favorite people in this world, and celebrating laura's birthday with dorky event after dorky event (click here for pictures). laura is the queen of dorkiness and we love her so dearly for that :p.

 

we also went to LA to run our first half marathon! the most i trained for was 8 miles so i was super impressed with myself that i was able to run all 13 miles in 2:26:50! i even told my family to meet me at the finish line 3 hours after i started but i finished much earlier than previously predicted which also makes me smile.

run down of my race: mile 6 felt pretty good (surprising since i'm usually dying by then when i trained). mile 8 started getting a little painful but i gave myself the prize of listening to my ipod (since this was the furthest i trained for) which kept me motivated. mile 10 was extruciating. mile 11, someone please bring me a wheelchair. mile 12 is when the crowds start gathering to cheer you on and you feel like you can FINISH this thing. finish line, my feet and legs hated me so much that i had to sit down immediately and only stood up afterwards to take a quick picture with my family.

all in all, im really happy that i completed my first half marathon! never in my life would i have thought i could run 13 miles but I CAN. now i push myself to run further when i work out bc i know how far my body and spirit can go...

el palo alto

mark and i changed things up for the month of september and met up in palo alto, california to celebrate jen and matt's birthday and visit mr. matt liaw, who is still trucking thru his phd program (you can do it, matt!). timmy was also a trooper by driving all the way from LA to come hang out with us for a weekend.

the weekend was chill and i couldnt get over california's beautiful weather...is it time to move there yet? highlights were hanging out with great company, riding matt's harley (there is no protection to surround you!), delicious meal after delicious meal, and monterey bay. enjoy pictures here and go visit palo alto before matt, matt, and jen leave!

frontline: obama's war

i just finished watching this frontline episode about the war in afghanistan...it's about 1 hour long but definitely worth your time to watch. this war has been going on for 8 years, the longest war in american history and i definitely understand why it's such a long war after watching the video. it's soooo complicated with so many factors to think about. from the ground, the troops are trying to build relationships and trust with the afghan people while also fighting the taliban. politically, the country it filled with corruption and only 30% of the country is controlled by the government. with the failed election recently, it only complicates the war even more. furthermore, pakistan supposedly is an alli of america however pakistan is an alli with the taliban who america is fighting against. america wants to continue their alliance with pakistan so they fund pakistan with billions of dollars for military and civil use. it's odd that we're spending all this money to "support" pakistan while fighting against pakistan's alli, the taliban.

this seems like an overly complicated situation and i wont even pretend to understand everything that's going on with it. i DO think it's important for us to be somewhat aware of what's going on in afghanistan no matter how confusing all the names and places might be.

Theological Survey Class: Trinity

i'm trying to be a better blogger by writing down all the things i'm learning. i think it'll help me retain some of the info and force me to sit down and review all the things that are going through my head so bear with me as a jot down random things i'm learning and thinking about thru the theological survey class i'm taking thru austin stone. (hopefully, you can learn something too :).) come join me every sunday at 7pm if you're interested in learning more about theology! it's been super interesting so far!

this past week's topic was the trinity. honestly, i've never really cared to even think about my beliefs behind the trinity but i know it's important to know what you believe so you can worship the God of the scriptures and not a god that you've created in your head (thus making it idolatry). the class walked us through what the bible says about the idea of the trinity and summed up the trinity in 3 points: 1) God is 3 persons 2) Each person is fully God 3) There is one God. it's hard for me to say i completely understand the idea of the trinity but maybe it's one of those things where it's difficult for our limited minds to really grasp.

one of the highlights of the class was when we read 3 different quotes extracted from pentecostals', mormon's, and jehovah witnesses' doctrine and it was shocking to understand how different their doctrine was solely because of what they believed regarding the trinity. it was very surprising to me! before i could have never theologically explained how these religions were different from christianity but i can now.

we were also challenged to think about what our view is of the trinity. how is this even possible?? one suggestion is to analyze your prayer life. do you generally pray the majority of your time to only God the Father? Jesus? Holy Spirit? or do you pray to the Father, thru Jesus, and thru the power of the Holy Spirit?

bad habits

i've become more and more conscious of how i've started to stare down people on the road that have wronged me - from unnecessary honking to cutting me off to driving wayyy too slow. i pass them up with a really annoyed expression spread across my face and turn my body around so i can get a good look to see if they're talking on the phone or if they fulfill any of my previously established sterotypes regarding bad drivers. this is terrible! and i definitely dont want this to become a habitual reaction...it's a bad, bad habit. SO, my first step in recovery is just being more aware of my natural tendency to do this after being wronged. next step is controlling my desire to see and stare down who wronged me as i pass them by. so far, my journey in fixing this has been going pretty well! i find that not doing this eases my road rage, stops me from building up false notions about drivers, and i honk less.

what a great song

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

miss dai --> mrs kwan

it's always fun getting a bunch of girls together to celebrate a special occassion! miss annie dai is going to get married soon so we all joined forces to throw her one last horrah before she becomes mrs annie kwan. the weekend was packed with fun event after fun event as you can see here.

Book Thoughts

joseph recommended this book to me and i definitely understand him more after reading it. i never heard of the buckley family before reading this book however quickly fell in love with the buckley's within the first few chapters. they're an extremely intelligent family with a privileged network of friends. i love how their son, the author portrays them as very normal people who loved each other simply even though they were in a place of high influence. i almost felt like i was journeying through the healing process with the author as he recounted memory after memory of his parents. some of the memories were hilarious, some showed how real his parents were thru the struggles they faced. even if you dont know who the buckleys are, i would recommend this book to you because i think everyone should be educated about people who have impacted America in ways they are unaware. i also recommend that you read this book within google-search-reach due to the references and vocabulary used throughout the book :).

an old friend from the manila days recommended this book to christine through facebook and i happen to run across the status post as i was doing my daily facebook-stalking browse. the book is action-packed therefore making it a page-turner. it's about how future cities on earth will sit on wheels and travel place-to-place eating up other cities to get energy and resources. trouble begins to brew as one city creates an atomic-bomb type of weapon that can kill off cities within seconds (author subtly shows his anti-nuclear weapon beliefs thru this book). the ending was not predictable and character development was too weak for my liking.

won't you be my neighbor?

We picked up the family on Sept 4th at the airport and boy were we nervous! We really didnt know what to expect but all turned out well. Their first impression of their apt was how big it was, how unnecessary a dishwasher is, and they made a mental note to not use the right side of the sink due to fear of the garbage disposal :). The following day, we brought over lunch and celebrated the mom's and Simeon's birthday (he's the youngest son who just turned 2). Interesting fact, they dont celebrate birthdays in Burma so we welcomed them to the American birthday tradition by sharing a meal together, playing jenga and cards, and entertaining the kids.

The family's english is relatively good and we learned about their persecution in India for being Burmese and not Indian. The Indian children would even throw rocks at their kids while they were playing outside. The father, Sam also showed us his Burmese Bible and read a few passages to us. His favorite book of the Bible is Daniel.

I'm looking forward to spending more time with this sweet family. Even as they transition to a new country, they seem to remain happy and cohesive as a family despite worries like job, health, money, etc. We're currently working to set-up their utilities, figuring out what to do about their overpriced rent, finding Sam a job, and taking them to their health assessments. Please keep the Nawl family in your prayers.

We still need lots of help!:
- HEB gift card donations for family's food and diapers (food stamps have not started yet)
- job referrals for Sam (he speaks english, has a background in computers, and taught Western style music while he was in India - guitar and voice)
- Cash donations for family's basic needs
- If you're in the Austin-area: drive family to various appointments, tutor English

congrats weili and irene!

weili, irene, and i all grew up together in the same greater houston chinese church community. i think weili went to summer church camp with us and i remember irene from way back in the HCC days. i recall seeing irene, grace tow/ou, lina, and company at camp every summer and would wonder what life would have been like if my family kept on going to HCC. i have noticed how neat it is when people somehow become more interwined with each others groups as time passes along...especially in the chinese-church community.

i'm very happy for weili and irene as they begin their journey together as a married couple! weili has been a good friend to mark and i since the college days. i'll always remember his mad accounting skills, exploring austin in his scion, his constant loyalty and friendship to others, swish 3-pointers, and his kind-heartedness and gentleness. his guy friends are in complete disagreement to him being gentle but to this day, i value weili for this and stand by this quality of his! i'll also always remember weili giving me a really big hug after i first found out my grandfather passed away. irene and i have gotten the pleasure to know each other through important people in our lives like lina and our significant others. she has been a bigger blessing to me than she probably realizes because of her hospitality to me when i visit new york and how she cares so much about mark. i'll always remember irene's natural openness to me, hospitality and care, talent, and generosity.

click here for more pictures of their big day!

MTV CRIBS

I'm so thankful for everyone's generosity & God's provision for the Burmese refugee family. We had an OVERFLOW of items donated to the family's apartment that we were even able to save some items for another refugee family & donate the rest to Goodwill! Our group has done a great job in working as a team & we were so efficient in setting up the apartment and stocking the pantry/fridge with basic necessities...I'm really proud of the people in our group & it's neat to see everyone's gifts work together (the apt is more organized & nicely "decorated" than my apt :)).

my career at UT PAC

Since i couldnt find anyone to purchase season tickets with me for UT's performing arts center this year, i decided to volunteer with UT's PAC so i could not only enjoy the shows but also go for free!

Shows i saw this season:

1. Chick Corea and the John McLaughlin Band - liked the 1st song but the novelty of the strange sounding music quickly died
2. Flight of the Conchords - hilarious but rowdy audience
3. Annie - girl's voice was annoying & didnt realize how many songs i knew from this musical
4. Legally Blonde - cant beat reese witherspoon but still entertaining
5. Avenue Q - ruined by already knowing the soundtrack
6. Rent - 2nd time seeing it
7. Mamma Mia - favorite one i volunteered for!
8. Wicked - still top 3 broadway show
9. Light show - weird
10. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me - hilarious & educational, i'm trying to listen to this NPR radio show on a more consistent basis

! Important Post !

Hi Blog Readers,

My church group is welcoming and "adopting" a refugee family to Austin. They're a family of 4 from Burma (the parents are in their late 20s and have a 5 year old daughter and 2 year old son) and they fled Burma due to ethnic/religious persecution and have been living in India for some time now. We meet them at the airport for the first time next Thursday, September 3rd and have lots of things to do before their arrival!

Our group is excited about all the preparation for their arrival and could really use some support and help if you're able and willing :). The refugee family will only have a few personal belongings when they arrive so we're collecting things for their apartment and everyday items before they arrive.

Some things we're collecting:
- bedroom furniture
- kitchen items (place settings and cookware)
- appropriately sized clothing
- HEB gift card donations
- monetary donations to fund the purchase of the above items + misc items

In addition to preparing for their arrival, we're looking forward to getting to know them, welcoming and showing them around Austin, and helping them as much as we can (i.e. applying for social security cards, scheduling health assessments, practicing english with them). Prayers and thoughts for the family as they transition are also much needed and appreciated.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Let me know if you're interested and I'm always open for suggestions/ideas on how to welcome this family well! Feel free to forward this opportunity to anyone else that might be interested.

<3 johanna and her church group

p.s. info about burmese refugees for your reading pleasure:

1) Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) - In depth 88 page publication on Burmese Refugees, with highlights on the Chin ethnic group – page 50.

http://www.cal.org/co/pdffiles/refugeesfromburma.pdf


2) Church World Service - Short news piece on plight of Burmese monks and refugee situation, 2007:

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:dWhhfZnKjz0J:www.churchworldservice.org/site/News2%3Fpage%3DNewsArticle%26id%3D6362+church+world+service+burma&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us


3) Relief Web – News article on the Monk’s uprising in Burma, 2007:

http://www.reliefweb.int/rwarchive/rwb.nsf/db900sid/TBRL-78CQ3N?OpenDocument


4) Christian Today – News article on refugee situation in 2006, with reader comment at bottom from Burmese refugee persecuted for religious beliefs:

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/church.world.service.calls.on.un.to.respond.to.burma.violence/7805.htm


5) Refugees International – Short current 2009 piece on Burmese refugees, with links to other resources:

http://www.refugeesinternational.org/where-we-work/asia/burma?gclid=COCr98iDwJwCFQ8MDQod7HJbmw


6) Indo-Burma News – news piece on Chin Burmese refugees living in India (profile of the Nawl family), 2009:

http://www.indoburmanews.net/archives-1/archive06/aug_06/273/

Taiwan 8.6.09

congrats linton & phoebe!

phoebe and i grew up in the same church and i've always known her to be quiet yet wise. (i say this with much thought after just studying James 3.) every time i see her i have to refrain myself from spilling my guts to her because i know she'd love to listen about my "troubles." Linton and I served on core team together & we got to know each other pretty well through serving aacm together. i really admire his willingness to serve others and i cant get enough of his corny jokes! i am very happy for them because i believe their marriage will bear lots of fruit.

more pictures here.

happy bday mr.lam!

we celebrated your birthday early and now i'm posting a late birthday shout-out. nothing is happening on time this year for you! anyways, hope you had a fun birthday in LA & thanks for being one of the few people who read my blog :)

of all the fishes in the sea

CUTEST bridal shower theme EVER. click here for pictures.

congrats, irene!

happy bday clam!

thanks to the guys' planners, christine's surprise bday dinner was a fail. who knew guys kept their planners up-to-date?? o well, i still had fun making frozen margaritas for the first time, eating my fav cupcakes from uppercrest, & discovering the awesomeness of streamers. i'm going to have these at my wedding! click for more pictures.

how functional

Not only are these fully functional leather bags, they may also be used to hang your coat! not completely crazy on how it looks but it's unique & i appreciate increased function.

tom valenti

i volunteered for my 2nd cooking class with central market's cooking school this past friday. tom valenti was the guest chef and he made 5 different recipes from his new cookbook, you dont have to be a diabetic to love this cookbook. supposedly tom valenti's a pretty famous chef that's good friends with bobby flay and mario batali, which he made sure to name-drop them at least 4x during his class. the food was good with clever ways to incorporate a diabetic's eating limitations however the recipes are too complicated for my liking. i ended up not buying his cookbook and i think i might have offended him :x.

menu included:
- shrimp toast (good but too many ingredients for me)
- salmon carpaccio (didnt get to try :()
- fresh fettuccine with asparagus
- grilled tuna with red pepper puree (fav dish)
- stuffed chx breasts w basil, goat cheese, & sun-dried tomato (not a big fan of goat cheese)

hoping 24 is just as exciting as the tv show

God is a very thoughtful being because He knows how reflective I can get therefore He made my birthday in July, half-way through the year so I can reflect about everything on a grand scale at least 2 times a year - new years and birthday. If I was born in an odd month like february or november, I would be completely overwhelmed having to reflect for a year's worth of time during the new year (when most people do their grand-scale reflections).

Highlights so far from 2009:
- triathlon and trying to live a lifestyle that doesnt involve eating and watching tv :x
- san fran for tiff's bday
- 1st time getting pulled over and receiving speeding ticket :(
- beginning to find community thru austin stone. we studied in-depth some popular Bible stories and we're going thru James now.
- volunteered with utpac (a post to come soon about this), financial coaching, and jenny's school
- learning about golf, something i never thought i would ever care or know anything about 4 years ago!
- seattle for spring break to visit christine
- north fork, ny to celebrate 4 year anniversary
- LA family reunion
- July 4th lakehouse, good times and good memories

Celebrate, good times, celebrate! (how i celebrated the big 2-4):
- slept over at laura's only to find a sweet surprise (click to see pictures)
- breakfast with parents
- surprise lunch with friends!


Reflection summary (and trust me, it could be longer :x):
i really hate saying this but time flies by...a little too fast for my liking. i cant believe so much has happened already in the past 6 months! overall, my life is very good - it's almost impossible to think of even 1 complaint. work has significantally improved since i moved to a new dept where i have a super nice boss, helpful coworkers, and a challenging role. austin is still treating me well with great community and fun things to keep me occupied. as shown by the "highlight" list, i've even been able to travel and catch up with old friends often.

one thing i realized through all these good times is to have a good balance. enjoy life when it's good but make sure you share this with others. i dont want to enjoy life to the point where i completely lose sight of other people's needs. i also tend to feel guilty everytime life is going well but i'm beginning to learn that God delights in our happiness but desires to share in this happiness with us. i want to show thanksgiving and appreciation to him.

for the rest of 2009, i hope my theme will be of one similar to the vine and the branches passage in john. i've been thinking a lot about "seeing God work in my life" and this past sunday's message (which was the day of my birthday, how ironic) provided good insight for me about this. theresa shared about how she was fervently preparing for the message and studying Abraham's story of when he showed hospitality to strangers. shortly after she finished preparing her message at starbucks, she was approached by a woman who needed food to feed her 4 children. she bluntly told the woman, did you know that i was JUST studying the Bible about showing hospitality to strangers?? with God's word fresh on her mind and heart, theresa took her to sam's club to buy what she needed and was able to learn more about this woman and her needs after galveston's hurricane. i wonder if she would have done the same thing if she hadnt been studying God's word that day at starbucks...

so the same applies to me. what would my life look like if i remained in Jesus? what would my life look like if i remained in his word?

cheers to another year! thanks to everyone who wished me a happy bday & celebrated with me :)