Tag Archive

Friday.  Christina Tam and I met at Borders so we could carpool to watch Slant.  Craig Wen and Brian Thao-Huane were there, too.  I skipped out on FBCC’s monthly social: Iron Chef!  The secret ingredient was mango, and I heard the results were better than expected.  Jacky called at around 9pm to ask if I could watch their belongings while they did a run the next morning.  Uh..sure….

Saturday.  Christina and I again met at Borders to carpool to Jacky’s apartment, where Ted drove us four to be at Minute Maid Park at 7am.  They prepared, clipping on their running numbers, drinking water in the small cups being passed out, and stretching amongst the air “people” that would occasionally hit us (the way the air was blown and all).  We saw a man on stilts pretend he was a super-tall person, making balloon animals.  The girl and guy bunny suits wearing Astros attire came around to take pictures with the kids and whoever else wanted.  I’ve never participated in this sort of thing, so Jacky explained how it worked.  He paid $25 to participate, but they would get two free Astros tickets with an option of choosing from four games in the future (June 10, 11, 24, and/or 25).  They give you a timer that will start as soon as you step onto their carpet they have at the starting line and would stop when you step on the carpet at the finish line.  Some runs ask you to return the trakcer/timer, but this time they said the runners/walkers could keep it.  This is Ted’s first time, and afterwards he looked pretty winded (was it his knee, since he had a brace on? didn’t ask).  Jacky ran ahead.  Denver stayed with Ted. 

Christina needed coffee, so we walked around downtown.  We saw the “oasis” in front of Christ Church Cathedral–Christina couldn’t believe such a nice place in the middle of downtown.  She said she’d still feel unsafe walking around by herself, if I wasn’t with her.  I also saw some people waiting outside the Urban League.  We finally found this free-standing building all by itself on one side of the street to be Starbucks (good thing we used the map that the city provides atop the sidewalk, thank you Houston!).  At 8am, I bought her a drink (a grande mmchip frapp for $4.50), then we rested for a few minutes (she was carrying her papers to be graded in a backpack, then she volunteered to also carry Jacky’s, Ted’s, and my belongings–heavy!).  We headed back, realizing the run had pretty much ended (that was fast).  We had to walk all the way around since the doors were locked.  When we entered, a wave of stench (sweat and gym) hit my nose (never liked that smell).  Denver saw us, and Jacky encouraged us to get some food (he had his shirt off–not that it was attractive because I barely glanced, but that always makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason).  I stood in line for some lettuce wrap with meat on top (reminds me of that Chinese dish).  Jacky said there were also kolaches, so I stood in line for that.  They lady said, “Ham and cheese?”  Sure.  “Two?”  Sure….  JT said hi, and I think his girlfriend is Heidi.  She looks really familiar but I don’t know why.  Khon-Whey Tay was there with his two friends (they’re a couple of..Asian Indian descent?).  I wanted some fruit and found a pear within the tubs of water/ice/water bottles.  Was it supposed to be there?  I put it back, unsure of it’s cleanliness.  Later, after seeing many runners carrying fruit,  I realized I could use the water from the bottled water to clean it, but the pear was not there anymore.  Ah well.

I was so incredibly tired, even though I didn’t even participate, but since I wanted to have a somewhat normal sleeping pattern, I was determined to stay awake and not take a nap.  Christina and I went to Lowe’s to check out movies and their times.  Nothing particularly interested both of us, so we went to Fuddruckers at 11am.  By the time we arrived at her apartment, we would’ve completely missed the beginning of the movies we were debating on (sure bad at estimating time huh?).  We watched Stardust on her computer while eating lunch (I ate the big dog with chili and cheese while got the burger/fries/shake combo).  Phoebe called to watch the new Narnia movie.  So Christina quickly reviewed through the first Narnia movie on her computer, supplementing with verbal summarizations.  Then I browsed her books (she’s an English teacher at Kempner).  I asked about Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  She has no idea why the play references that; she was famous in the literary world and the title is a play on “who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?”  She took a nap while I looked Woolf up: “Dreadnought Hoax was a practical joke pulled in 1910 by Horace de Vere Cole and five friends, including Virginia Stephen (later Virginia Woolf)…Modern diagnostic techniques have led to a posthumous diagnosis of bipolar disorder…The ethos of Bloomsbury discouraged sexual exclusivity, and in 1922, Woolf met Vita Sackville-West.”  She committed suicide.

Christina suddenly got up and realized that it was time to go.  Good going, Christina.  She, Phoebe, Linton, Hannah, Tina, James, Jonathan, and I watched Prince Caspian at 4:30pm at Lowe’s (barely missed the matinee price for movies before 4pm on Saturdays).  Christina left because she was pretty wiped out.  Chris was at work.  I joined them (and Ariel came, too) at Avalon Diner for dinner at 9pm.  I got the turkey/avocado omelette for $10.  They ran out of the recommended-by-the-waitress dish of steak and eggs.  Hannah’s order was right, but James and Jonathan’s dishes were a bit mismatched–Jonathan wasn’t bothered much, just got the pork version.  The main question discussed for the evening was, “If you didn’t believe in Jesus, what religious would you follow?”  Here’s the breakdown: Phoebe said Unitarian Universalism (or Ba’hai or whichever incorporates getting along with all religions, obviously none of us know much), Linton said Mormonism (he arrived back today from Utah for business), and I think the rest of them said atheism (or James said burning incense to ancestors).  I said atheism/agnosticism.

We walked to Borders and sat for a bit (Hannah checked to see if there were any sales).  Then Tina jumped on another’s suggestion to walk to the water, “Yes, Tina needs to walk.”  The girls chatted about clothing (I think Ariel’s going to a wedding), then Tina suggested we get ice cream since Hannah regretted not ordering a shake.  Cold Stone Creamery was near Lowe’s, so we spanned the entire complex I guess.  James is always asking if something is junk food or not, or making explanations that it isn’t junk food.  Yeah….  “Not today” says Jonathan, since he got some.  Hannah got coffee with heath (yum).  Hannah mentioned a quarterlife crisis, which James somewhat related.  Linton says he hasn’t reached there yet, that he is still on the way up/forward to something.  LOL, it was funny how James said that he loved it when he resigned.  I got home at midnight and crashed.

Sunday.  Charles and I drove to Elliot’s house, where the three of us met up to carpool.  (Elliot couldn’t convince Ed to come, and so Pepsi didn’t come either.)  Charles drove us to pick up Henry from his apartment then headed to Jack In the Box at 1212 for lunch.  I ordered four grilled chicken strips for $4.64 (felt like a ripoff).  Then we got to MFAH at 1pm.  We browsed around until 1:30, when they started seating us to watch Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.  The guys talked about having dirt on each other (and Ed Ly) and using it against each other, revealing it, etc.  We looked at the pamphlet they gave out for this Target Free Sunday (comparing the pictures of plants to their names).  Christina suddenly appeared and sat to my right right when the lights dimmed at 2pm.  I liked the movie because she was really going for understanding.  And she was amazing in all her abilities, as Lord Yupa already professed at the beginning of the movie.  Indeed, “What are you so afraid of?”  A lot of violence is borne out of fear of “the other.”  Henry says she should’ve died (there were Christian undertones), but Elliot said, “No, she has to live, so I can marry her” LOL!  Hey, she’s like Rocky and Gandhi put together, as Dave would say it, haha!  Who wouldn’t find her attractive?

Afterwards we went around to the exhibits (Pompeii wasn’t free).  Elliot teased Henry when he tried to explain one of the drawings on the wall, that the explanation didn’t exactly match what was written on the author plaque.  One artist painted Egypt abstractly (I don’t ever get it, so they make me annoyed).  We spent quite some time in the Korean exhibits.  Henry said he really liked the small wall-mounted plaque statue of the elephant in the other Asian exhibit.  Lastly, we observed the poles that important people carry/use.  Each had something on the top, so there were explanations.  Elliot really liked the one that went like, “Holding a kingdom is like holding an egg; hold it too hard and it’s crushed, hold it too loose and it will fall and break.”  Henry said he liked the quote that went something like, “A crab doesn’t give birth to a bird.”  The one that got me thinking was, “The hen knows it is dawn but lets the rooster crow.”  Christina found it to be anti-feminist.  Jacky called, so I called Wilson about football.  We sat around discussing the next step (board game?  buy Ziggity?  eat?).  Christina suggested we eat, Elliot of course suggested Fuddruckers (to which Christina got all excited about), Henry suggested Niko-Niko’s, and Charles jumped on that and made the decisive push to leave (5:30 pm).  I got the Hercules Plate.  Then we all left for home.  Charles stayed with Elliot to help him with his Microsoft Word.  I end up napping from 7:30 until 9 pm (sigh, so much for trying to stay up until nighttime).  Lil goo-goo took the trash out and left for her workplace.  I watched Dead Like Me because it was the only thing on and then went back to bed.

This morning my dad went with shiaw goo-goo to Austin (they stayed with my brother) with shiaw goo-goo’s friend.  I could’ve joined/supported the NAMI Walk, but instead I drove to Jacky’s apartment to carpool to .  Jocelyn, JT, and Ted were already waiting.  He asked if I could drive since I was the only one with a four-door car.  Jacky sat in the passenger seat, JT sat on the right, Jocelyn sat in the middle, and Ted sat on the left.  We got lost briefly trying to find the Metro station, where we have permission and a permit to park for volunteering.  We waited for Jacky’s co-worker Andy? then headed towards the area (man, I forgot to take a picture of the metal see-through sign over the desolate grass area).  We passed an African-American with dreadlocks who was walking and also another man who was napping under the bridge but when he saw us (we were trying to take a picture of a family of ducks) he sat up and put on a shirt. 

After registration and getting our Tshirts, we were put to work doing random setup.  Jocelyn and I stuck together for the most part, trying to adjust/move the stage, transporting supplies to the media/vip area, transporting water.  The water was initially kept in this rundown building which had cool detached drawings of buildings on the white walls with black paint (I took pictures).  Shane Chen (a female), Jacky’s coworker who invited him and thus us to volunteer at this event, gave us special treatment.  We also got Astros tickets (unfortunately they gave us entrance to tomorrow’s and not Tuesday’s game), baby sunscreen, water, vegetable buns for breakfast (I know, sounds nasty in English), and overall better volunteering jobs than the other volunteers I think. 

We went walking around to the tents so that Jocelyn could say hello to Winston and Myrtle.  Myrtle is on the Houston Heat, as is Ying Yeung, my old piano teacher’s older daughter.  She says later I’ll probably see her dad since he’s coming as well.  Other people who I also ended up seeing were Jasmine and Annie from BASIC, John Hsieh (who gave me a large bottle of grean tea with lemon as well as a bbq pork bun), Rean, Christine Fung, and Susan Zhang.  Lol, Jocelyn ended up having to paddle for Lee High School.  I was pulled for Silver Eagle Distributors “Team Bud Light” because I was told one paddler had austism and had changed her mind, but the boat had already gone ahead so I didn’t have to.  I eventually ended up being the runner, meaning I would have to call the teams from wherever they were (usually at their assigned area under the bridge/tent) to get in line for their turn.  

On one trip of mine, I saw Robert C staying a little off from the crowd, on the sidewalk not close to the water’s edge, watching the race.  I went over and said hi, but he had this confused look on his face.  Not until he said, “You got a haircut” did I realize he probably didn’t initially recognize me.  We chatted, each telling the other why we were here.  He said that Joanne Wei (met on the football field, remet more firmly at David Zhao’s Chinese New Year party) had asked him to help out.  The RUCAA (Rice University Chinese Alumni Association) team consists of some current students and alumni, Joanne being one of them.  Another alumni, whom Robert introduced me to, is Ben Chu.  We both comment that each looks familiar to the other, but we have no idea how.  He graduated from Rice in 1995.  When I asked them if they were ready, Robert came up to me and said that actually they need 7 more paddlers.  I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to participate or be disqualified.  By the time they got their bracelets (they also forgot to register) to enter into the filtered area where current teams can be (and appropriate volunteers), they somehow could.  Turned out that they grabbed Jasmine, Annie, and John, and also roped in three Rice freshmen they had spotted.  One freshman came simply to watch her mom participate with the El Paso (Corporate?) Group, but now she has her own team to cheer on.

The guys (JT, Ted, Jacky, and Denver) were assigned to be dock helpers.  However, they are in a restricted area (and understandably so, because the people in charge don’t want that area clogged).  The girls are all running around as volunteers and as visitors.  Since Robert generally has an area he keeps going back to, I kept going back there to chat in between my runs.  It made my day, because he also asked me if I wanted some of their food (they were grilling hotdogs, sausages and hamburger patties on a metal portable enclosure) and man did I ever.  He went and grabbed me a hot dog in a bun (Vickie pointed this out to be that this is above and beyond simply asking if I wanted to eat) and asked if I also wanted ketchup and mustard, which I didn’t want him to go through THAT much trouble so I shook my heard (I was really hungry anyway).  I also ran out of the two bottles of water I had brought so I grabbed their paper cup and drank some from theirs as well (which I’m sure they desperately needed since they were rowing!). 

He’s an easy guy to talk with, and always with that big grin and easygoing attitude (with a humorous streak - saying I should wear my cap this other way, which I thought was true until he jk’d).  Some of the things I picked up:  He is going to finally graduate from residency in…2013.  I think he said he’d be 32 or something by that time.  He definitely never looks tired, though (good time management, eh?).  His family is in Louisiana, but they will probably move since they don’t really like it there.  He wants to go to Boston, but that is unlikely since there is more supply than demand with physicians.  He says there are three-digit-number of universities churning out medical graduates and a lot of people want to stay in the area.  His dream is to start a private practice, probably in San Diego, with two of his friends (who are specializing in oncology and radiation).  If his parents want his house, he’ll let them have it.  Otherwise, he’ll rent out his house.  OH yeah, and he remembered I was studying OT.  Wow.  The jokester again, saying that I should actually sell the projects (crafts) that the patients make during our Task Group in order to make more money.

When we were off the hook (we got to eat some of their food, but they also asked the guy to stay longer to help move the drums), we checked out some of the booths.  Jocelyn took me to the Wheel of Fortune put on by Western Union.  You could tell the staff wasn’t too thrilled to be there, just giving us their advertisements (and of course the prize I got from turning the wheel).  We passed one selling beautiful purses, and parasols, and even a tarot reading tent.  She also showed me where I could get my Chiense name written in calligraphy.  I got one for myself, and then when I commented that my mom would like it, she told me I could ask the man to write my mom’s name as well, which he did.  They were written on Beijing Olympics bookmarks.  Jocleyn is quite the social butterfly, taking photographs and contact information with all the people she met (e.g. the teacher who helped with Lee High School).  I also stood by as she talked with Caroline Long (the emcee and co-founder of the races).  Caroline said that initally they hired an emcee just like they hired the DJ.  However, something happened, so she ended up doing–and better.  She would go interview everyone while the hired would sort of just watch because s/he didn’t know anyone. 

Our last stop, right after grabbing extra white 8th Annual T-shirts as given permission by Joanne and Robert (Jacky was desperate for one), we “ordered” not food but some balloon sculptures from Smilez 4 Kids (they also paint faces).  As they were making them (the guys got them for their girlfriends), I started chitchatting with the one closest to me.  Turns out this grey-haired man is a missionary all over the world.  The younger people (like our age) standing behind him are two of his eight? children.  The guy was born in Germany? and the female making my penguin (as requested by Tedman, who personally got a Tigger tiger) was born in Italy.  This is their fundraiser.  Wow.

Hm…seems like I did a lot more.  I guess all that running, noise, losing my neon-yellow Airshow cap, pictures with newsreporters (just Greensheet - look for the June edition), and sunshine really did me in.  But with how things turned out, I am overall very happy.  Check out the link in http://www.buffalobayou.org/dragonboat.html for the official website, where you can click to Channel 13’s reporting with pictures and videos as well as the results (Continental Airlines reclaimed their champion title since 2004, 2003, and 2002) and especially how to volunteer for October’s Regatta ;-).

In the afternoon, I could’ve participated in Hector’s Cinco de Mayo cookout, but I was way too tired.  I took a nap (from 3 to 5 pm) then got up to eat dinner while watching Coyote Ugly on TV.  Turns out my mom went to the same Chinese singer concert as Jocelyn did (must be since she said something to that extent and was asking for directions to the front of the Reliant Stadium).  I also called Inch, Nathan Kim, who referred me to Chris Sun, and Henry (who asked Charles and Elliot who he was watching a movie with) if they wanted to go to the Astros game tomorrow.  Inch says he and Sarah Kim won’t be going because church conflicts (as I suspected).  Nathan is at a ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) conference.  Chris says he “probably won’t be going” and I didn’t press for a reason.  Henry gave generally the same answer, as did Charles, but Elliot said maybe.  We’ll see.

This weekend a lot of people, including Cynthia Lay but especially BASIC members, are out of town attending Ly Tran’s wedding (to Cynthia’s childhood friend) in the Dallas area.  I let my brother know about that since Ly used to be a respected mentor to him.  

Saturday morning I showered then returned Mod Podge to Michael’s.  Then I went to Morris’s neighborhood playground to attend Jaelyn’s party to celebrate her turning two years old.  They had a lot of food (spaghetti, catered sandwiches, fried eggrolls of course yum, cake, fruit, water, cookies….).  Jaelyn seems to like playing by herself and not the friendliest towards others.  We tried to take a picture with her, but she kept walking around.  I went on the swings and she wanted so I placed her on and pushed her a little.  Her mom came over and suggested maybe to play on the playground equipment again, and she complied.  It was a bit windy.  Someone bought Jaelyn her first “car” - I wonder if it’s battery powered, and she really can sit in it and drive it.  My parents left to take grams home.  I left some minutes after. 

Afterwards, I drove over to Panera Bread on Westheimer (next to Fogo de Chao) and tried to enjoy the weather and use their free wi-fi, but since my computer has a glossy monitor it tired me out quite quickly.  Around 5 pm, Linton called me (I had called Hannah a few times but that didn’t work) to eat at Benningan’s (they had gone rock climbing).  I turned that offer down since they were in the northwest.  He called me back and said they changed locations (the Benningan’s in the Galleria), so I agreed to meet them because I was quite hungry (I was going to eat at Panera but..I guess today I just leeched off of their facilities).  I think they didn’t arrive until 6:30 (an hour later than expressed), so we didn’t get our food until 7:30?  Most of us got the combo deal; Elliot and I split the deal because it was perfect–I got the entree and he ate the appetizer and dessert.  Elliot liked my red plaid hat :-)  Hannah Lin said that she doesn’t really wear accessories but when she sees others wear them she reconsiders.  Jennifer Lin, Laurie, the younger sister of Darwin, and Hannah Kwan (on crutches) with her boyfriend were there, too. 

The twins, Linton, and some of the others were going to attend a grassroots concert (one of Phoebe’s classmates was going to perform).  Well, I felt bad that there was no one attending Karin Hsieh’s Mary Kay Makeup Party, so I replied, “Yes.”  Thus I had to turn down the concert since it was at the same time (8 pm).  I got there at 8:30, and then we didn’t end until 10:30ish.  Karin used me as her first guinea pig to practice demonstrating the presentation (showing the different products, letting me try on the makeup, etc.).  It wasn’t too bad, and she gave me some free samples (i.e. I gave my aunt the foundation).  John Hsieh came back (we were at their parents’ gated community) and reported that he went to Swirll (1944A West Gray / Houston, TX 77019 / 713.523.4888) at 8:30 but no one was there so he left.  I called Jessica to see what happened, and she said that they just left there (there were about a handful of people..?) - she just arrived with Derrick late around 9 pm.  No big deal; I was quite tired.

And it turns out on Sunday I did end up going to Swirll after all.  Oliver Huang is the manager (Jessica Ng’s family friend is the owner).  They have the following flavors:  Original, Tart and Icy, Passion Fruit, Raspberry, Pomegranate, Blueberry, Green Apple, Mango, Banana, Cookies and Cream, Coconut, Vanilla Classic, Vanilla (no sugar), Strawberry, Strawberry (no sugar), and Chocolate (no sugar).  Another one (5000 Westhemier #608 / 77056) is supposedly opening up next weekend (free frozen yogurt!).  Call 713.552.0863 to make sure.

I was at home finishing up my activity analysis project since I’m presenting it this coming Wednesday; it was my first time in my life decoupaging.  Waiting is a crucial step.  I didn’t arrive on Willow Park until 1845, so I was surprised people were still playing flag football.  James suggested going to Boston Market to eat dinner.  Charles, Henry, and Elliot loitered until we were the last ones there.  Henry finally went home to shower, and then Charles (who drove Elliot) decided to just start driving and they’ll make a decision on the way.  Ah, my Staffordites. 

The BASIC guys shared a group meal; I was late (onto 288?) so I got the children’s plate.  I ended up sitting in front of Jeff Tang?.  It was a bit awkward…I wanted to join in the group conversation, but he was friendly and asked me questions about what I do and trying to relate, talking about bipolar, etc.  He didn’t play football today but he comes out at times; he just joined for dinner today.  Jeff Chen came later and sat at the end of the table that was moved to connect with a booth (he ended up ordering the same thing as Jeff Tang, haha).  At one point, Robert C asked if I we had a policy that we could not date our patients.  I figure sure, although if there wasn’t one in place, I don’t think anyone would really want to date them!  Robert said that if they were your patient once in their life, then s/he could never date the doctor.  Hm….  Andrew talked about having girls come watch the guys play in their basketball league on Saturdays so that they would play harder but not better - or rather, so that he (with his sprained ankle) could mingle with all the females LOL.  “Will you come, Amy?”  Uh…. 

Robert C convinced me to go to Swirll, saying it was only a few minutes away.  I called Karin to let her know about it (and unfortunately she called me back late at night, and a couple more times at that, while I was dog tired - I didn’t want to be rude but I cut her off and said I had to sleep for work tomorrow).  Vickie called me as I was sampling the flavors so I ended up having no idea what was good.  Derrick said his favorites are Pomegranate and Mango?  I may have totally made that up.  The guys who came were Robert, Robert, Jeff, Jeff, Derrick, John, and Andrew if I recall correctly (Alan and James went back home).  I was on the phone, so I missed something that Andrew said to/asked of me…suspicious….

Saturday, Feburary 16, 2008.  In the morning from 10 to 11:30 I did something but I forgot.  I tried to be productive by uploading pictures and comics, neatening up my room, and showering.  After picking up the Lins, we met Vickie at House of Bowls at 5:30 p.m.  She just wanted a discussion with her close girl friends without the guys for once.  I enjoyed it because it’s not often to hang out as a group of females nowadays.  Then, the guys started showing up.  Linton came, then David Kalloor, who brought his STIM friend Leslie.  They didn’t go to the same locale (she went to the Philippines), but they did the training together, as did Andrew Eng (he went to China) that year.  Much later Brad Eng and Denise (who apparently are dating right now) came by as well.  Hannah is the first to give me her Bible verse memory scrapbook page from my birthday!  I was so excited so when I came home I read it.  Along with it and a homemade card (talk about awesome), she gave me Diary of a Wimpy Kid: A Novel in Cartoons by Jeff Kinney.  I read the whole thing in one sitting.  It’s an easy read, but I found it so dejecting.  It’s a story about an immature boy who thinks he’s all that but in reality doesn’t take responsibility for any of his actions.  I guess the essence reflects the human condition.

Gladys Aylward in what is thought to be her only photograph
Courtesy of Moody Bible Institute

Inch came later all dressed up.  Apparently yesterday he and Sarah Kim had spent literally the ENTIRE day (since 5:30 a.m.) together because they drove to Austin to attend Eunice’s wedding.  It was an enjoyable day.  Unfortunately, the last fifteen minutes of their drive back wasn’t too hot.  I told him about Friday.  Jeff asked why I wasn’t playing (my ankle).  Anyway, tonight Harvest Community Church has an evening service and he was going to attend and thus he just wanted to drop by and enjoy the weather.  It really was splendid.  Andrew Eng arrived late and he came over to say hi.  He said he wasn’t playing because this is supposed to be a ministry so he’s letting the other people play first.  Inch commented on how Andrew’s shirt wasn’t as tight as he thought it would be (it’s a medium apparently).  We made other random comments, such as James Hsia climbing to retrieve the frisbee that ended up on the awning over the windows of the school.  I saw Kelvin so I went over to return the wrap that he lent me for my ankle.  Nathan Wang joined in later.

Tiffany Lin is amazing.  She struck up a conversation with me.  She asked me where I was working, and she said that actually she thinks that’s where she thinks she’s going to go for her psychiatric rotation (near April).  She expressed her disappointment in the working world and in herself when it came to God.  She said right before she started she had gone on a mission trip where she incorporated her medical skills and at the same time was able to ascertain the patient’s spiritual well-being as well.  However, now she’s so busy and on-the-go that she finds that she doesn’t have the time to do that, and isn’t even sure if it’s appropriate.  She reminded me of myself, when I went to Mexico with Nathan Kim, Lois Lim, Melvin Feng (”!esta bien!”), and Jane Park the week right before I moved to El Paso.  I didn’t even go home–my parents picked me up from Laredo and then we drove up to the Mountain Time Zone.  I was so hyped, and I really did feel like I was still in Mexico.  *Psi*  I find it also interesting that she asked if I found a church community.  It was like she got the core of my current issues.  How did she know?  I explained to her that the past year I had actually attended as many FBCC, WHCC, and HCC events I was invited to.  Somehow FBCC doesn’t plan as many or something, but the group I’ve ended up feeling the closest to has been HCC due to their weekly sports outings. 

I also asked Jesslyn to walk with me (I had anticipated Lindi was going to come so I could return her jacket, or Teresa Chii since she’s leaving Houston).  At the end she asked me if I was interested in missions.  I found that interesting; was she thinking about it?  She said somewhat, like either supporting here in the United States or teaching overseas or something of that nature.  I said that I hadn’t seriously thought of it, but I was always enamored of it even before I believed in God.  I told her how just this past Friday I had heard the descendent of James Hudson Taylor speak, and how I grew up being awed not only by him but by George Mueller, Gladys Aylward, Elisabeth Elliot….

I left early to join Phoebe, Hannah, Vickie, and Linton.  He decided to cook dinner for us since his sister was away and Vickie was in town and he usually eats with the Lins.  Vickie and he went to buy groceries, then the girls did work while he cooked.  He made lamb with two different sauces (ketchup with hoison sauce, and one with oyster sauce), baby bok choy (slightly over-cooked), sauteed onions, corn, and baked boned salmon.  Rebekah came home later.  Vickie initiated a conversation about flirting for attention from guys (doing good for the other versus leading the other on), emotional attachment (is okay), codependency (if the other’s wellbeing is wholly dependent on another), and other similar topics. 

A weekend of many thoughts….here’s a list of books about missionaries:  http://servinghimathome.blogspot.com/2005/12/missionary-stories-to-inspire-children.html

It’s 11:40 and I receive a call from Henry:  “Count to 20 then walk outside.”  Curious, I obey and find Henry, Charles, and Elliot tumbling out his well-worn red jeep.  They each hand me a large origami animal made from neon posterboard.  Charles gave me a green pig, Henry gave me an orange butterfly (”Happy B-Day From ~Z~”), and Elliot gave me “Punchy the pink penguin.  I dare you to go the next 5 minutes wihtout thinking of a pink penguin.”  Apparently Henry drove down from the medical center, woke Charles up (”He almost broke my ribs”), and helped Elliot in order to celebrate my birthday as close to midnight as possible.  I was beaming and gave each of them a hug.

My thoughts during all this:  “Wow, this is going to be a good year.”