Scattered minds...

Been hecka busy this week, with more to come. Won't be able to go into a detailed recap of the retreat with thoughts and stuff, so here's a random list from last weekend and this week:

- Retreat. Good time of refreshment, with fewer ministry responsibilities than usual. Rev. Nichols' messages weren't new but were still challenging, about never settling for what this world has to offer but instead to continually strive for depth in relationship with Christ. First chance in a while to engage in worship through song while not leading.

- Hoops. Ran full-court at the retreat playing as a point forward for the "old guys" (Hubert, Vincent, PDan, James, William) against the "young'uns" (Mike, Tim, Sam, Norman, Wesley). Was a lot of fun, and in fact my first time running full-court in several months. Was quite happy both at the absence of pain and played decently - made open shots, cut down on turnovers, a few smart passes.

- The Georgian. Met Eva's bf for the first time, and hung out on Sunday talking about differences between California and Georgia, baseball, revisiting old pics, eating at Ariake, and playing w/ Eva's dog. If you're reading this E... nice catch ;). Anyone who likes "Modern Marvels" on The History Channel gets a gold star.

- Praise. Arms have significantly improved over last 1.5 weeks. Much less pain. Physical therapy and exercise is helping. Thanks to everyone who prayed/is praying; gonna continue trying to strengthen to hold off any relapse of injury.

- Frustration. This week, have been re-met with old frustrations about time, or the lack thereof, to spend investing in people ranging from youth to old friends to ministry.

- CDs. Finally ordered The Beautiful Letdown by Switchfoot, which I've been looking for a long time on BMG, as well as Me Died Blue by Steven Delopoulous (sp?). The latter was the former lead singer for Burlap to Cashmere and has been getting get critical acclaim as a songwriter. I look forward to the CDs' arrival.

- The Two Towers. Watched the bulk of the DVD at Walter's on Wednesday, staying up till 1 am. Can't wait for the special edition to come out. Re-read parts of the movie in the book, and again shook my head at the horrid change in Faramir's character.

- Had watermelon tonight after dinner at work that wasn't as good as the one I picked last time. Maybe I am a watermelon genius.

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone.

[Homer Simpson voice]"I can't believe I ate the whole thing"[/Homer Simpson voice]

For you Cal alumni readers... I do believe I've found a replacement for the legendary La Burrita.

There's a small Mexican place about 2 miles away from my office that I've been to once for lunch, and now my company is getting food from there for dinner on Tuesdays. It's called Las Vegas Taqueria, and every day at lunchtime it's packed, which is a good sign. It has that small, homey feel with great, relatively cheap food that made La Burrita such a favorite. There's a wider menu than the Berkeley restaurant, ranging from burritos to tacos to enchiladas and so on down the line.

Tonight, I just polished off a Pollo Asado (Asada?) Super Burrito w/ a handful of freshly-made chips and salsa, prompting my inner voice to say the quote titling this post. Reminds me of when George said that back in his glory days, he could eat 3.5 of these things in one sitting.

Holes-in-the-wall rule. Or should that be hole-in-the-walls? Nah, the first one. They rule.

Now all I need to do is find a South Bay equivalent to Everett and Jones, the rib place.

To come... weekend recap. Retreat, Hoops, and showing the glories of California to a lifelong East Coaster.

Friendster Profile

I just edited my Friendster profile for the last time. Someone else created it for me, so even though I'm not planning on using it, here's what I input:

Occupation: Release/Test Engineer, Protego Networks
Interests:
Playing sports (in order: basketball, table tennis, ultimate frisbee, baseball, football), Hiking, Watching sports (basketball, baseball, football), guitar, Discussing worldviews, Music, Reading, Writing, Enjoying nature.

Favorite Music:
Styles: rock, pop, alternative, folk, combinations thereof, classical. Bands/musicians/composers: Jars of Clay, Caedmon's Call, Switchfoot, Jennifer Knapp, Rich Mullins, U2, Gershwin. Anyone good with an acoustic guitar and writes a decent lyric.

Favorite Books:
Non-Fiction: The Bible (Philippians), Celebration of Discipline (Foster), An Arrow that Points to Heaven (Mullins bio), various Piper, CS Lewis. Fiction: military fiction (Clancy, Coonts), sci-fi (Star Wars, other), The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Favorite TV Shows:
The Simpsons, Friends, Seinfeld, Alias, 24, SportsCenter, anything to do with NBA. Recently getting into various shows on Food Network (Iron Chef, Best Of), History Channel (Modern Marvels), Discovery/TLC, Travel Channel.

Favorite Movies:
Star Wars trilogy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Indiana Jones trilogy, The Shawshank Redemption, Top Gun, The Rock, A Few Good Men

About Me:
I am the slowest eater you'll ever meet.
I can raise each eyebrow independently.
I have very bad eyesight (prescription 7.5/8.0)
Sophomore year of HS, I was 5'9", 135. Ten years later I'm 5'9", 145.

Who to Meet:
I don't plan on updating this much. Feel free to visit my blog at http://blindman.blogspot.com. Don't bother emailing me at the address associated with this account either...

Random week-end thoughts

- heading to a retreat this evening with the church. Really need to get away from this Valley for a while.

- Lots of things going on with the Warriors, and more moves to come. Overall opinion: at least there appears to be a plan. Might be a bad plan, but at least a plan.

- Dream lineups for 2005-2006 NBA season for my favorite teams:
Warriors
PG: from draft (Felton?)
SG: Richardson
SF: Dunleavy
PF: Murphy
C: Yao
Bench: Pietrus, Foyle

Spurs
PG: Parker
SG: Ginobili
SF: McGrady
PF: Duncan
C: Nesterovic
Bench: Turkoglu, Rose

I hear some of you scoffing. Well, the last time I dreamed wildly in an NBA sense, the Spurs won the lotto and drafted Duncan to pair with Robinson. So there.

- Bonds is the man.

I'm a genius! Well, sorta

Yesterday my coworker labeled me a "watermelon genius." For dinner dessert on Tuesday, we picked up a seedless watermelon from the local Asian market. I did the selecting by using the rap-with-your-knuckle-and-listen-for-the-crisp-sound method, and apparently selected a good one. I've only done this twice in my life. I think I might have to pick another one tonight. I'm feeling the pressure to perform.

What to write... [taps thoughtfully]

I don't write nearly as much as I used to these days... but I'll jot down here all the topics (aside from general updates) I've had in mind to wax poetic on. If whatever readers I have actually care, feel free to let me know in what order I should write:

- why I keep a blog, explanation of the "Blindman" moniker
- the "rat race" and striving for more
- general character profile (favorites, pet peeves, etc.)
- thoughts from Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents, the Asian-American value system
- the concept and role of art
- beauty found in imperfection
- the need for tension
- singleness, relationships, expectations, and questions
- "What we're owed"
- optimism/pessimism and the change in my character
- purpose - general vs. specific, "envy" of those who know

... there are more that aren't coming to mind...

Weekend recap 2003/08/16-2003/08/17

Saturday
- praise band practice, lunch at the Japanese place next to Fu La Mum where George, Karen, and JT lapped up the tempura sauce like it was a drink and Andy Y regaled us with tales of sashimi of such high quality that you don't need to chew - it just melts.

- went to the used section at Tower Records and picked up the Top Gun soundtrack for 6 bucks, and the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon DVD for 10 bucks. Used stuff rules.

- stopped by the newly-remodeled Saratoga library since I'd been hearing about it so much. Very nice, clean, airy... I don't think I've been inside a public library since... high school. As such, I had to turn in a new application for a library card. Didn't seem to have a very wide selection of books, however.

Funny that just a few years ago, people were saying that with the usage of the Internet for research and mega-bookstores like Barnes & Noble/Borders dominating consumerist society, that the public library would go extinct. Now, this institution seems like it's making a comeback.

- BBQ Sat night with old-school Canaan buddies Chris L and Dave C, up from the LA area. Chris is in seminary at Talbot and looking to follow in his dad's footsteps (he preached on Friday at YG and Sunday morn); Dave's in pharmacy school at USC. 'Twas good to catch up with people and eat meat. Aidell's! Memorable: Eric's dry rub, Tuffy (tiny 12-year old Yorkshire terrier) thoroughly intimiating Oski (2-year old Lab) and Goofy (1-year old larger Yorkshire).

Sunday
- pretty low-key. Chris preached a message about the sufficiency of Christ vs. the pointless pleasures of this world; intro'd with a scene from Zoolander. Got to hear the Mexico team's sharing during Sunday School... it's always both sobering and encouraging to hear stories of spiritual warfare out in the missions field: sobering because Satan is very real, and yet encouraging that God is watching out for us.

- played 3-on-3 full out with Tomio, PDan, Ed, Hubert, and Vincent. As mentioned in the previous post, first time in quite a while that I didn't have any pain. A bit sore today as I'm typing this, but nonetheless a lift to the spirit.

- as my folks are out this week camping in Tuolomne Meadows in Yosemite, I had to scrounge up dinner on my own in the evening... ended up cooking some rice and ordering some walnut prawns from the restaurant across the street (owned by someone from my church, incidentally). Spent the evening in a semi-awake daze watching half of Crouching Tiger and finishing Flight of the Intruder.

Random
- at hoops, stumbled coming down from a leap and landed on the dirt next to the driveway, and a pebble scraped away a bit of the skin on my palm and drew a bit of blood. Not very much at all, not very deep, not a problem, right? You wouldn't think that you use your palm much, but I've found that gripping or pressing anything (steering wheel, washing face, etc.) becomes an unexpected nuisance. Here's hoping for a quick scab.

- current album: She Must And Shall Go Free, Derek Webb. He's fast becoming one of my favorite songwriters. While plenty of musicians within the Church have written songs about the relationship between God and His people likening it to the Biblical metaphor of the love of a father for his children, Webb's album looks at the relationship between the Church and Christ using the metaphor of the adulterous wife and her husband portrayed in the Book of Hosea. Challenging album that's making me think. Thinking is a good thing. It makes you more S-M-R-T.

Little blessing

Today was my first day in months without arm soreness. Even played guitar and basketball. To celebrate, I'm gonna stop typing :-).

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour.
Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute.
THAT'S relativity.

-- Albert Einstein

Weary. Parched.

This has been a tough week, been going through a high level of personal turmoil. Can't type much at the moment so won't go into much detail, but for those who pray, prayer is appreciated.

Not quite burnt out... the mental picture I get is of a pile of tinder or kindling - dry wood that, with a spark, could burst into flame and become a pile of ash.

That's kinda how I feel right now.

God, grant me the strength to get through this season of my life.

Just gonna jot down the good things from this past week just so I don't forget...

- lunch at Fresh Choice last Sat. Thanks Byron! Love that clam chowdah.

- hanging out w/ the future Wangs (Byron and Maria) watching cute baby tigers on Animal Planet, then doing some swimming in extremely warm water.

- hoops on Sunday afternoon, then chillin' with Eric, Tomio, and Byron, then chillin' for a while afterwards shooting the breeze in gorgeous, mid-70s California August weather, discussing topics from hoops to church to romantic histories.

- finished The Lord of the Rings trilogy on Monday night. Enjoyed it a lot more the 2nd time around. Read it for the first time before seeing the first movie.

- read through the Book of Philippians last night.

- current reading: Flight of the Intruder (Coonts), continuing The Four Loves (Lewis) and Divine and Human (Tolstoy).

- music: eagerly anticipating the arrival of my latest BMG orders: She Must and Shall Go Free (Derek Webb), Sixpence None the Richer, Here in America (Rich Mullins), and a Gershwin CD.

Random:
- you have the blaster virus and power going out over the East Coast. Everyone's getting attacked.

- looks like Xanga's still having some problems... poor Xanga users...

Current emotion: frustrated

God, grant me the strength to get through this season of my life.

Lyrics snippet

A great fool in my life I have been
Have squandered 'til pallid and thin
Hung my head in shame and refused to take blame
From the darkness I know I've let win

So turn on the lights and reveal all the glory
I am not afraid
To bare all my weakness, knowing in meekness,
I have a kingdom to gain
Where there is peace and love in the light
In the light, I am not afraid
To let your light shine bright in my life, in my life

- Jennifer Knapp, "Martyrs and Thieves"

Hoops! and other meanderings

I played ball on Sunday! :-)

First time in like a month. Boy, it felt good to get back out there running, cutting, jumping... I tried to minimize the use of my hands so I cut down on dribbling and shooting, and concentrated on blocking shots and back-cutting for layups. Had a pretty good shot-blocking game. I think I'm gonna try to play at least once every other week, and take it relatively easy on the arms... so less dribbling/shooting. Still nice to be back, even in a limited way.

Got a fair amount of exercise this weekend overall - Sat afternoon my bro came back from Berkeley and we went walking around the flea market, then went hiking with my parents in the evening. I was pleased to find out that despite my relative inactivity, I could still get up a fairly steep hill without losing my wind completely. In between squeezed in a few more chapters from LOTR... just finished Moria. Gotta admit, I'm getting a lot more from it now that I've seen the movie, because now I can identify lines/scenes that did and didn't show up in the cinematic version. Oh yeah, we celebrated my cousin's first birthday on Saturday - er, my cousin's kid. Does that still count as my cousin? In any case, cute kid.

Slamball premiered last night on TNN. It's actually kinda fun to watch. And who knew that Kobe's dad was a Slamball coach?

Went to see a physical therapist today about my RSI (repetitive stress injury, for the uninitiated). Since it typically flares up towards the end of the day/week, I wasn't showing many symptoms when she was examining me, so for today I just got some ultrasound and electroshock/heat treatments. The latter was unique - know the scene in "Dragon - the Bruce Lee Story" where the guy playing Bruce Lee has the electrodes strapped to his pecs and arms and they're convulsing, and he says, "This makes me do 300 pushups in 20 minutes!" or something like that? Same idea. My arms and wrists vibrated with electronic stimulus for about 15 mins under a heating pad, which really loosens things up in there. It's quite the interesting feeling to feel your muscles contracting involuntarily.