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| This weekend was NCA's Labor Day retreat. Not having gone to a retreat in... well, around five years, this was an amazing experience. (The worst part was that Eileen was not able to attend, since she had to work. booooooo!!!) This retreat had it all... the best food I've ever experienced at a retreat (Thanks to Jimmy Kim)... some of the best group games I have ever had the pleasure of watching other people experience (slimy watermelon relay and dizzy bat mountain dew chug, thanks to David "Paco" Chong)... but most importantly, great messages from God speaking through David and the music we sung during praise... and great fellowship time with people... brothers and sisters, all of whom Eileen and I have known for only about a year. As I said, this was the first retreat I've been to in about 5 years... but the first one since high school (which is about ten years ago... oh man... I'm old)... that I did not really have a defined leadership role. Yes, help leading the college guys, but thanks to Jimmy, I didn't really have to do much, and just focus on receiving from God. For the first time in a long time, I was just having a fun, laid back time, without the worries of having to be on schedule for anything, or preparing to lead a discussion. Thanks God. I'm at work, so, I'll get straight to the point. During the whole weekend, and especially through the Personal Retreat Time, I felt God speaking to me. Lately, with Eileen and I both working long hours, not getting a lot of time to spend with each other and friends, life has been... tough. Is this all there is? going to work, building a firm financial foundation/nest egg for you and your family to live comfortably... and hopefully have some left over for retirement... and have some memorable moments thrown into those years of working and slaving away, so you have stories that you can tell your grand kids, while you babysit them for your children... who are going to work, and building a nest egg for their family and retirement. "Meaningless... Meaningless" In the end... I'm not sure what to do at this time... but the good thing is that I know something's got to change... It's about His Nest Egg... not mine. A wise man once told me... "You shouldn't run away from things... Always run towards something better..." In this marathon that I'm walking right now... I've got my second wind... where to now? “American Dream” All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream
And he's gonna give his family the finer things Not this time son I've no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away So He works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better;
Better in time And he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands His American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away 'Cause he works all day and lies awake at night
He tells them things will get better
It'll just take a little more time He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand
Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time
'Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You | | |
| http://www.gabaradmissions.com/
Thanks for your prayers and support. I don't have to take another exam in my life!!! | | |
| On race...
Have you ever noticed that people of different races have a very distinct smell to them? If you walk behind an Asian person (I've only noticed this with Chinese and Koreans so far), particularly if they haven't taken a shower in a day or so, they have this distinct, tart, old musty clothes smell to them (I think it emanates from an unwashed scalp). I hate to say it, but just follow an Asian person entering a research facility/science lab and you'll know what I mean. I will refrain from possible offense and leave the remaining smells to your imagination. We had a bunch of white folks over at our place awhile back, and somehow got on the topic of race. Out of nowhere, one gal pipes up, "Do Asians think white people smell like sour milk?" Now that's a new one.
It's late morning and my scalp is screaming tart musty clothes to my nose. I think it's time to get up off the couch and get going for the day...I love being on break!
Partial entry during finals week that I meant to post...
Today I was studying in Borders, and was reminded how amusing a hobby people-watching can be. My darker-skinned friend pointed out this one woman who looked like she'd been left in the toaster too long, her pale blond hair looking almost wiggish over her crispy, wrinkled skin. The fascination with tanning salons will always escape me. At another tiny one-person table sat three high schoolers studying for AP something: one gal in the center, two boys flanking her just a little too closely, leaning over one little book, as if they weren't in a building filled with books. Later on, as I entered the bathroom, I saw one of the Borders' cafe employees step out of the stall with cordless phone in hand, turn on the faucet for 2 seconds, then walk out immediately. No more coffee for me today.
On imagination vs. faith...
"Imagination is not faith. The two are not only different from, but stand in sharp opposition to, each other. Imagination projects unreal images out of the mind and seeks to attach reality to them. Faith creates nothing; it simply reckons upon that which is already there." - A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God | | |
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So, now that someone introduced me to the fact that you can watch pretty much ANYTHING on the internet, I don't need my TV anymore... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8442381086256955513&q=Whose+Line&pl=true
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| Today, like every day, I get an hour for lunch. Since I really don't need an hour to eat, I decided just to drive around, and see what peaked my interest in cuisines. I passed by a Jason's Deli, RuSan's, Fogo de Chao, and other establishments... the choices and opportunities were great!!! But decided those weren't places I could see myself eating alone in... that's a-whole-nother issue that I will hopefully talk about later...
Well, I decided to go to Fatburger, since it was close to home, and perhaps I would be able to go home and eat, watch TV, relax... then go back to work (which is what I did on Wednesday actually)... Traffic was too bad, do I decided to go and sit... and eat by myself at Fatburger. I ordered the King cheeseburger (which is a 1/2 pound burger) loaded with everything on it, and a side of onion rings. As I (and pretty much ALL ASIANS I know) tend to do, I grabbed about 50 packets of ketchup and a hand full (basically the whole dispenser full) of napkins. Sat down with a large drink and began eating.
It was a pretty messy burger, so, I pretty much used all the napkins (as evidenced by a nine - ten inch pile of dirty napkins in front of me), and about 45 of the packets of ketchup (cause as my lovely wife tells me, cooked tomatoes are good for the prostate!!!)
I was almost done with my burger when I noticed a man walk into the restaurant (which was still pretty busy at this time). I don't know why I noticed him out of all those people, but for some reason, I just kind of stared at him. He did not walk to the cashier to place his order, but walked directly to the rear of the restaurant where the restrooms were. I though, oh, he's one of those people (that just goes into restaurants and uses the restroom not buying anything. Growing up in a restaurant, my parents basically taught us that "those people" were horrible.) Right in front of the hallway that leads to the restrooms, there is a trash can where everyone dumps their trash... leftover food scraps and cups and stuff. This gentleman nonchalantly looked into the trash can, stuck his arm in, pushed things around, and pulled out a crushed up cup. He turned an looked into my direction, and for the first time noticed someone watching him. I tried to quickly turn away, but it was too late, he had already seen my eyes. He quickly turned and scurried into the bathroom. I wonder what else he would have pulled out of the trash had he didn't see me staring. He came back out of the restroom, and proceeded towards the fountain drinks where he got a glass of Nestea, and two helpings of Sprite (very nice chooses if you ask me).
I happened to be sitting next to the drinks, and wanted to say something to him. But the first thing that popped into my head wasn't something I wanted to say. I could have though, "do you want me to buy you something to each?" or "could I get you a drink?"... no, the first things that I could think of was, "here, do you want my cup?" I decided not to blurt that out, and before I could gather the courage to say one of those other thoughts, he had taken his second cup of Sprite and walked out of the restaurant.
I sat and looked around, seeing if anyone else had seen this occurrence. Everyone I saw in the restaurant was just talking away, eating, carrying on their own business. And I wondered how many time had this guy come and done this? How many times had this guy done this without being noticed? How many times have I just sat, with my huge portions and huge piles of waste, while ones around me are digging through trash cans.
As I left the restaurant, I looked for him, to presumably ask him if he wanted lunch... but he was no where to be found. Another opportunity lost. I'm going to go back next week, and see if I can't "catch him in action". And maybe this time, I'll take the opportunity to share God's love.
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