Things I’m going to miss about LA

1.       WEATHER WEATHER WEATHER

2.       Rarely getting bit by mosquitos & seeing roaches anywhere

3.       Certain things about work:  within walking distance of little Tokyo & trader joe’s, best work café ever, beautiful gardens & paintings around the office, employee perks

4.       Diversity

5.       Awesome food scene

6.       Always something to do and places to go/visit (touristy city)

7.       Beach/coastline

8.       Being able to visit my grandma and extended family whenever I want

9.       Fashion district, jewelry district, flower district

Things I won’t miss about LA:

1.       Traffic

2.       Parking

3.       Size of the city

4.       Terrible drivers, I have become such a defensive and anxious driver since moving here!

Things I’ll miss about LA but will have in Minnie too:

1.       short commute to work

2.       rollerblading by a body of water

3.       biking by a body of water

Things I’m looking forward to about Minnie:

1.       living in a fun location that’s close to the lake, bike path, and restaurants/bars

2.       Having more couple friends

3.       (I guess…) Working at target & mark making some moolah for the family :p

4.       Ice-fishing

5.       Picking up a winter hobby

6.       Supposedly good food scene (but I’m thinking they’re lacking when it comes to good Asian food :\)

7.       Exploring a new city

8.   getting a dog???

Things I’m dreading about Minnie:

1.       Not perfect weather 24/7. Winter. Freezing my butt off.

2.       Mosquitos/Roaches??

3.   Driving in the snow and anything winter related that will complicate life

2012 resolutions:
1. personal: read 12 books (1 book a month)
2. physical: while in LA, go outside for at least 15 minutes a day
3. spiritual: read half of the Bible
4. relationship: speak kindly and more gently to the people closet to me (no snapping!)

half broke horses by jeannette walls

i have an autographed copy of this book, how cool am I?

i first picked up this book after hearing jeannette walls speak at the tx book festival. she comes from a crazy and super dysfunctional background so it was inspiring to see how she matured into the successful person she is today. the book is the story/memoir of her grandma who was an extremely interesting person (that's a complete understatement too). i love books like this because i like books about people, their history, and where they come from - maybe that's why i like talking to strangers :)

must read if you like memoirs and if you dont, then go read something else!

2010 resolutions

1. improve posture
2. complete marathon

psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah

Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Til next time: Paris day 7 and 8 (11.28-29.2009)

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Paris and i highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for a place to visit. The city is super easy to get around, there are lots of places to see, and its a beautiful place to visit to broaden your perspective on the world and its history. let me know if you're planning to go and you can borrow all my notes!

Paris Day 7 pictures here

Paris Day 8 pictures here

inspiration: Paris Day 6 (11.27.09)

ok seriously, my inspiration to blog about paris is pretty much nonexistent right now. i would graph-out my inspiration timeline for you from pre-paris to now but that would require work and inspiration...both of which my laziness has overcome. another excuse is my vp just came by to tell us that we can all go home early now if all "critical issues" are resolved...and posting paris pics  is not under the 'critical issue' category :)

Day Six Pics here...2 more days to go!

Happy Thanksgiving Americans!: Paris Day 5 (11.26.09)

During our visit to the Louvre (which btw is the most overwhelming museum i have ever visited), we ran across countless # of classes that were learning about art. i love this type of learning! maybe i was deprived of this as a student but can you imagine going to school in paris and being able to see first-hand all the things your history, literature, and art teachers are trying to get across to you?

Day 5 pictures here

Vous êtes belle: Paris Day 4 (11.25.09)

i came back from paris with a long list of things i wanted to further research - one being...synonyms for the word, beautiful.

Day 4 pictures here.

Dedicated to Ms.William: Paris Day 3 (11.24.2009)

Ms. Williams was my junior year high school history teacher and I am dedicating this post to her because she is the only history teacher I can remember the name of (I can remember plenty of past history teacher's faces though!!). I remember her name not because she made me fall in love with history but because she was completely biased towards me and my friends because we were known to place in history fair. i had it so easy in her class...placing in history fair meant straight A's for the rest of the year :).

I never realized how much i enjoyed learning about history until college - that's when i realized history was all about people and their decisions and personal journeys which intertwine into a bigger picture. with that said, one of the top 5 favorite things about my trip was learning more about france's history, revolutions, and people (specifically, marie antoniette and napoleon). so much of france's history i was unaware of which caused me to wonder if i had a poor history education or if i didnt pay attention during class! sigh, the mysteries of life.

paris day 3 pictures here, enjoy!

Cowboy in paris eating pho: Paris Day 1 & 2 (11.22-23.2009)

"bonjour! parlez-vous anglais?" - my most spoken phrase during my time in paris which also happens to be the only thing i know how to say in french! As a cost-saving measure, my company had a forced shut down for 1 week during Thanksgiving which prompted my mom to take me TRAVELING - dont i have the best mom in the world? we decided on paris since tickets were super affordable and quickly found a nice apartment to rent out for the 8 days we pretended to be parisians. The apartment was top 5 favorite parts of Paris because it felt like home to us and there was a kitchen/dining room where we could eat breakfast together each morning. Breakfast was top 5 favorite meal in paris which consisted of coffee, fresh baguette with generous spoonfuls of french butter smeared on top, and pastries from a local bakery we would walk to each morning to buy. life was good.

click here for pictures of our first 2 days in paris...comments = part of my blog post :). i know, it's cheating but cant control the laziness.

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!