Portland Bubble Tea Girl

Teriyaki Wok 99cents Kids Meals!

2011-08-09T14:36:00.001-07:00

Teriyaki Wok in Bonney Lake WA presents "Summer Family Nights"! Every Tues and Wed night this summer, Kids Meals are 99 Cents! Can you believe it?!? We are a family friendly restaurant with the best Teriyaki and Wok specials in town! AND we are the only place in Bonney Lake to get Bubble Tea. What could be better. Bubble tea and kids meals. :) Come on down!

Teriyaki Wok

9925 214th Ave E

Bonney Lake, WA 98390-3910

(253) 891-1980

Work - the toil of our hands.

2010-03-28T14:58:00.001-07:00

Gosh, it's been almost a year since I posted a blog post. I guess I just got stuck writing about my European trip because I was creating a scrapbook, my first one ever, and I was talking about it with so many people that I got tired of it. :) I might still fill in some old post so I can feel a sense of accomplishment about that series of blog entries. We'll see.

So just to update you on my life, after almost a year of unemployment, I am finally working again. I was laid off, or officially "bumped" from my job at OHSU last year. The BUMP means that if someone gets laid off, they can request to bump someone else out of their job, if the laid off person has higher seniority. So in my case, I was working in Epic Support (help desk for hospital staff using the electronic medical record.) Then after 9 months, I got a new assignment working directly on one hospital unit, supporting everyone on that unit as Epic Site Support. Very different work. Instead of waiting for people to call me and ask for help, I had to now chase down folks and force them to take my help. Well, not exactly but it does get a bit uncomfortable when you have to tell an attending physician that they are charting wrong on their patient. :) It was fun hanging out in the nursing station and rounding on patients with teams of doctors (yes, it's JUST like Grey's Anatomy, without the sex and drama, or even blood, oh so it's NOT like Grey's Anatomy at all, but I digress.)

After about 3 months of doing that, I was called into our IT office by a manager which made me kind a nervous. I soon found out that my own manager and 4 of my former co-workers from the Epic Support team were being laid off. Well, to make matters worse, I should have been one of the four since I have the lowest seniority in this behemoth of a union organization, but they decided to give me another job and move me to another team to shield me from the lay off. Not cool. I wasn't going to complain about having a job but long story short, one of my coworkers who was laid off bumped me out of my job, just like the union intended. Never mind that no one believed that he was qualified to do the job or that the rules state that you can bump someone from a job you have never done, which may mean a huge learning curve and probably a bad fit. Alas the union has only one priority: SENIORITY. So then the real drama began with harsh words (all spoken by me) in the cafeteria to my "bumper" and lots of of trash talking behind people's backs about the whole mess by everyone involved and two weeks later, I was at home collecting unemployment, but not before having to train my bumper and introduce him to all my coworkers. Brutal!

So to help me think on the positive side, here is a list of good things about being unemployed:

I took a Once in a Lifetime vacation to Italy and Greece.
I got to see my old friend Julie, finally visiting her in her stomping grounds of Philly.
Julie took me on a trip to Boston, crossing off the last city on the list of places I've wanted to visit in the US.
I drove out to CO via SLC, Boise, and Steamboat Springs to see old friends, including my best friend Daniela, at the Crusade staff conference. Had a great time there, feeling even more a sense of closure.
I enjoyed Portland in the summer time, unencumbered by the hassles of a job.
Didn't have to trek through the snow at 7am to get to the bus in the winter.
Spent ALOT of time with my family.
and last but not least, became very thankful for the privilege of having a job.

I must admit, it was very hard not working for that long. I became despondent and depressed about ever finding one at all. Then, out of the blue, my former teammate Karen sent me a link to a job at OHSU. I decided what the heck, I've applied for every other job at OHSU and in Portland. I sent in my application. I was called in for an interview and offered the job two days later. It was easy and painless and I felt it was a divine experience.

I now work at OHSU in the payroll department and I am the computer analyst on a project to implement a scheduling software to the inpatient hospital units. I am really enjoying it so far. The best part being the fun people and the joy of knowing that I am contributing to the world and feeling and sense of accomplishment. Things we all need as people navigating this world.

Athens, Greece

2009-04-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hey I'm in Italy, why not take a little side trip to Greece. :) Actually, I've always wanted to go to Greece and I'm very thankful for the opportunity. Crusade has a wonderful campus team in Athens including Catherine and her husband Paul, whose couch I stayed on. Thanks Paul for making me the best cup of coffee every morning! On my first day, I headed straight to the Acropolis, the religious center of ancient Greece. It was amazing to walk on Mars Hill where Paul gave the famous sermon of Acts 17.

"Men of Athens!...The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else...God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being."

Afterwards, I headed to the Greek temple of Zeus, only to find it closed. But I ended up meeting three wonderful gals there who I became fast friends with. Betsy is a chemical engineer with a personality of a sorority party girl. :) Jill is a theater major with a very kind and sweet demeanor and her best friend from childhood, Shannon is a spitfire. She later told me that only 2 years ago, she had a tumor IN her spine and was paralyzed for a time after having it removed. Now she lives life to the fullest. They are traveling the world. We had a great afternoon eating amazing food and enjoying the culture. Shout out also to the cafe owner who treated us to Ouzo, the worst taking drink I've ever had. I couldn't finish mine, esp since I have an alcohol intolerance. But the girls graciously drank all of theirs. :)

The next day, took a ferry to the closest Greek island, called Aegina. It was so glorious riding my little rented biked along the island by the water and seeing the most beautiful architecture. It was the most relaxing day so far in Europe. Just me and my bike and the beautiful sunny warm weather.

Hiking in Pisa

2009-04-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

You can't go to Italy without seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, right? I was ecstatic when I saw a couchsurfing event posted by a Univ of Pisa student named Marco for a hiking event in Pisa. I contacted him and asked if I could join the group from Florence.

Marco was amazing. He told me which train to take at what time. He even met me at the station with a couchsurfing sign, packed a lunch for me and lent me his backback. We hiked in the hills near Pisa to a 14th century monstary ruins. What a beautiful countryside. My favorite part was really getting to know these great Italians. We had wonderful conversation about politics, culture, religion, and life. I will always remember one student asking me with the deepest of sincerity and genuine curiosity how it is that Americans allow our fellow citizens to live without full access to healthcare. It led to some great conversations.

Not only was Marco hiking guide, he even took us to see the Leaning Tower near his campus. I LOVE couchsurfing.

Meeting new friends

2009-04-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

I quickly realized one of the best parts of being in Europe is going to be meeting wonderful new friends. Couchsurfing happen to have their monthly meeting in Florence on my second day in Italy. It was so fun meeting travelers from all over the world. I especially enjoyed meeting Nico, a Frenchman studying in Germany, and Phillip and Rui, two guys from Portugal. I invited them to meet me the next day for a tour of the Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David. The next morning I got up early to visit the Uffizi Museum before meeting the guys. As I was walking thru the exhibit, I noticed a gal walking next to me. I quickly noticed her Rick Steves Florence book and realized that we were both listening to Rick Steves' audio tour of the Uffizi. I decided that she must be a kindred spirit. :) At the end of the tour, I walked up to her as I do with strangers all the time and asked, "so, how do you like Rick Steves?" That question was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. We had lunch together and she joined me in meeting up with the guys and hung out the whole day. Here we are eating gelato, again! Sadly, we lost Michelle when she went back to her hotel to get something and couldn't find each other again. I ended up having dinner with the guys lamenting our loss of Michelle and had to drink lemoncello without her. :)

Florence, Italy

2009-04-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Nicole is a wonderful host. My first morning in Italy, Nicole let me sleep in, making her late for work but she didn't seem to mind. She took me to her favorite coffee shop for a latte and brioche and that began a very full day. Here's the highlights:

9am: Lattes at Nicole's favorite cafe and errands. Great conversation on the way.
10am : Tour of Nicole's office.
10:30 : Wait in line at the Uffizi Museum and meet a nice Korean American family from NY. Decide to not wait and go to another museum. On the way, call in my reservation to the Uffizi for tomorrow morning, as Rick Steves advised. No waiting for me!
11 : Enjoy the wonderful Barghello Museum.
Noon : Meet Nicole for lunch. She takes me to a great sandwich stand and a fun walking tour.
1pm : Nicole puts me on the bus for a 30min ride out to the country of Tuscany to visit the Lillestrand family. Feel very blessed as Nicole tells the bus driver where to drop me off since the bus stop doesn't even have a name.
1:30 : See Charmaine for the first time in YEARS and get to hang out with her and the kids (Greg is golfing with his team that day). So fun seeing her beautiful home and the kids are so very cute, so is Franklin the dog.
4: Take a quick walk around the vineyards in the neighborhood before getting on the bus back to Florence.
4:30 Got to find the bus stop to get back to Nicole's so I can get my bags and take them over to Marti's for the night. (Nicole is going out of town tonight). Finally find the bus stop and am waiting when Marti and Kelly (I led both the girls' new staff trainings) literally walk up to the same bus stop. Haven't seen Kelly since NST, so fun. Marti makes the trip stressless by taking me to her place. I love divine intervention. :)
5pm Go get my stuff at Nicoles, come back to Marti's and have a very fun conversation with Marti about life in Italy. I never knew Marti was so funny!
8pm: Marti and I take the bus into town. I'm going to my first Couchsurfing event and Marti is having dinner with old friends.
8:30 finally found Rex Pub, after asking like 4 people. Had a WONDERFUL time meeting couchsurfers from all over the world. We all have a few things in common, we speak English, we love to travel, we are adventureous, and we like to meet new people. That makes for a fun party.
11pm Wait at the bus stop to go to Marti's place. But wait, who walks up to the bus stop, yes, it's Marti! Another fun conversation and then off to bed.

What a fun and action packed day it was on my very first day in Italy. Just wait until tomorrow!

Couchsurfing Day 1 Frankfurt and Florence

2009-03-26T15:28:00.001-07:00

March 12 2009: Today is my first day stepping on European soil. I know lots of people go to Europe with their high school band or backpack around after college. I missed out on that so I feel like a kid in Europe. Everything I do is a first. My trip started with a 6 hours layover in Frankfurt. I messaged a few couchsurfers to see if anyone wanted to show me around town. Alexander the German chef said he was probably free but we couldn't connect because it was last minute I didn't have a cell phone. It seems like my couchsurfing experience isn't starting off well, but you just wait.

Walked around town in the rain for over 2 hours, taking pictures of great German architecture and had a huge doughy pretzel and a German sausage for lunch. Didn't have time to go to the History Museum but liked this statue out front.

Then off to Florence where I am staying with Nicole an old friend from Oregon. Literally two minutes after I got in the door, guests started arriving for the dinner party she was having at her house. We had pasta for our first course and chicken with potatoes for the "secondi." It was very Italian. Nicole tried to translate the conversation but I just enjoyed Italian being spoken so animatedly around the table. What a fun introduction to Italian life. Nicole (bottom left) was an amazing host and so was Marti (top middle) who I also stayed with for two nights on her couch.

Couchsurfing through Italy and Greece

2009-03-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

I've always dreamed of going to Europe, especially Italy and Greece. So, last month, when I was laid off from my job at OHSU (more on that in a later post), I decided to travel as a way of soothing the loss of my job, and also probably a way of escaping it. On my last day of work, I book the flight, not having any plans about what I would do during the two weeks in Italy. I was really nervous. I can't be blowing my saving on a dream vacation when I could come back to the reality that there are NO jobs in this economy. I decided I had to live life to the fullest, but that still meant doing things the most economical way possible. I found a killer deal on a flight (under $600) and started thinking through my plan of attack of Europe on a budget.

About two years ago, I had read an article in the New York Times about Couchsurfing.com and LOVED the idea. It's an online community of over 1 million members that offer couches to travelers and welcome them into their homes and lives as a way of connecting and learning from others from difference world and cultures. Here's some excerpts from the article by Penelope Green.

In an age of cheap airfares and porous borders, where nearly every corner of the earth, from Bulgaria to Bhutan, is open for tourism, the home is the final frontier, the last authentic experience. Instead of being in some sanitized hotel in Hanoi, said Erik Torkells, editor of Budget Travel magazine, “if I couch surf I could be on some cool ex-pat’s or local’s sofa.” He added: “I’ve already leapfrogged barriers."

The group’s philosophy:... I will offer you my couch free, along with the company of my friends and a tour of my favorite spots in my city. In return, you will give of yourself. In this way, we will be friends, if only for a day or two.

So, I created my profile and started requesting to surf couches in Rome, Florence, Naples, and anywhere else I wanted to go. Yes, I was nervous at first. What if a host is difficult to get along with or tries to steal my stuff, or worst, a serial killer! Well, I found that although people tend to be very trusting in the global community, the trust has to go both ways. One potential host told me that they couldn't host me because I had no references. Oh yeah, I only requested couches from people with tons of "friends" and references but I took for granted that they would just welcome me unconditionally into their home. One person responded that they get between 5-15 requests a DAY for their couch in the most visited city in the world. Alas I received many rejections for couches, but DID received offers to have coffee and invitations to events.

Well, it's a good thing that I used to work for Campus Crusade for 10 years where I trained thousands of new staff that are stationed on campuses all over the world. I could probably put a finger on the map and know someone there. I've wanted to visit my friend Nicole in Florence, Italy so it was no brainer to start facebooking friends and former new staff I'd trained to request their couches.

This is my travel journal as a couchsurfing adventurer in Italy and Greece. It's about the people I've met and their unique stories. Connecting with old friends and experiencing their lives. Seeing amazing sites and being awed by God's creation around the world.

Thanks for reading the following posts about my daily adventures.

With new friends at my first Couchsurfing event. Dinner at Rex Bar in Florence. I met about 30 couchsurfers from around the world. Nico is French and Rossano is from Venice.

Best Fudgy Brownies in the World

2009-01-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

You may know that I love to bake. I used to only do it when I was stressed out. I did it ALOT when I lived in Orlando, but now I live a relatively stress free life. Now I bake for pleasure. I mainly make fruit pies and chocolate dessert. My creme brulee is to die for. The other day I saw a brownie recipe in Sunday paper Parade section. I tried it out and it was fabulous. I took it over to Wendy and Josh's and everyone there loved it. So, I'm posting the recipe for anyone who might enjoy this wonderfully fudgy brownie. Enjoy!

Brownies By Doris Greenspan

5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup all purpose flour

1) Preheat oven to 325F.
2) Put a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. Drop in butter and chocolate and heat, stirring occassionally, until melted. Remove the bowl and whisk in sugar and salt. Whisk in eggs (one by one), and then the flour.
3) Bake the brownies in a buttered 8x8 in pan for 30 to 33 minutes.

Digital Converter Box

2008-09-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

On Feb 17, 2009 all TV broadcasts will only use digital signal. If you own one of these old TVs with rabbit ear antennas like I do, you will no longer get a picture on your TV unless you subscribe to cable or buy a converter box. So, I got my $40 off coupon from the government and headed over to Walmart to buy my converter box. Why so soon? Well, even though I won't lose my analog picture until Feb 18th, I decided to take advantage of the fact that most stations are already using digital signals. I LOVE my converter box. Not only do I get crystal clear digital picture, I got like 10 more channels I never saw before. Ok, so one is a Spanish channel and 3 of them are cheesy Christian channels, but it's all free! So get yourself a coupon and get a converter box. I got the RCA 800B1 and it only cost $9.99. Awesome!

Lost Dog

2008-09-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, driving down my street, I saw a strange site on the road. It was this little black dog trotting down the street in front of me dragging a red leash. I tried with all my might to ignore the obviously lost dog and drive past her. But, she wouldn't let me, weaving back and forth on the narrow road. When I finally stopped the car, she hid under my car, as if to say, "Please help me." So, what is a self professed dog lover to do? You guessed it, call Animal Control. :) Unfortunately, they were closed and after visits to two different vets, I couldn't pawn this little dog off on anyone, forcing me to take her home for the night. The poor little dog was so scared and timid, that she wouldn't move a muscle when I put her down. She looked so uncomfortable standing in the exact stop that I even pushed her bottom down, hoping she would sit. I was obviously intimidating her. So, I left the room for a minute and when I did she hid under my bed and slept the whole night in the corner under my bed on the hardwood floor. Well, the next morning, she was feeling a bit more gutsy because it literally took me 15 minutes of chasing her around my room (moving my bed back and forth across the room) to finally nab her so I could take here out to potty. Well, too late, she already did her business under my bed.

So I call Animal Control and it's the only day that they are not open until noon. I had no choice but to put the little dog in my basement and head off to work. When I got to work, I shared the story with 3 coworkers who are all dog owners. Diana said, let's check on Craigslist to see if anyone reported this dog missing. Ok, literally in about 30 seconds, she finds a posting for a lost black chihuahua /rat terrier. So to make a long story short, I went home during my lunch hour to get this sweet dog to her rightful owners. The story gets even better because the owners were a sweet little couple, I mean, literally, they were little people, dwarfs. They rescued Sophie from a puppy mill where she had been abused and that's why she was so timid and scared of me. So, the little couple took their little dog and drove off into the sunset. Now, if I can just get that dog pee stain out of my rug. :)

Summer is gone

2008-09-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Although it's still like 80 degrees here in Portland, I have to accept the fact that summer is almost over. It's been a very relaxing and fun summer. My church, Mosaic, had Urban Camp, two weeks of activities in the city every day. I wished I could have gone to more events but the second week, I was on the Alaska cruise with my family, which by the way was fabulous. It rained alot but one of the highlights was meeting the 60's style music group, The Unexpected Boys. 4 hot guys who sing broadway style 60's music. They were so much fun. One night, the crusie had a Ladies Night. My mom, my sis and I went to it to see guys take it all off :). The fun thing was that my bro-in-law insisted on coming too but he stay in the back while we got front row seats. How did we score such rockstar seats? Well, my new friends, the Unexpected Boys had the seats and gave them to us as the place filled up. It was all in good fun cuz the guys taking off their clothes were just the ship's staff having some fun :) Otherwise we just ate alot of good food and lounged around. Thank goodness for the Spa because it rained almost every day. Seeing whales and amazing glaciers weren't so bad either. :)

So, now that falls upon us, life in Portland will change a bit. I'll have to prepare my heart for the rain season. Another thing, my work schedule changes so that now I work the 6am-4:30pm shift. That's gonna be very hard but alas, maybe I can try to be a morning person. Oh well. Hope you all had a great summer.

3 Products for my Health

2008-07-31T18:45:00.001-07:00

I'm really into taking care of my personal healthy lately, a big change from my usual couch potato self. Here are 3 things I recently bought.

1) Umcka by Nature's Way : I get cold/flus pretty easily. Most of the time, when I get sick, I'm laid out in bed for days. I don't get little colds, I get out for a week type of sick. Well, I got sick last week but my sister and Mindy were visiting me in Portland the next day so I went to Whole Foods to do some grocery shopping and asked the worker there if she can recommend anything for my cold. She suggested Umcka and I took it faithfully and seriously it really shortened my cold, the symptoms were very mild with this cold. I know, it could be a fluke but why not try anything that could possibly help. Umcka is made from the root of a plant called pelagornium sidoides, from the geranium family, and the root has been used for hundreds of years by the Zulu tribe in South Africa to treat upper respiratory illnesses.

2) Oravive Toothpaste : I have sensitive teeth, it's from years of brushing too hard. I can't help myself, it's a compulsive thing. I have receeding gums as a result of it but I still brush with clinched fists. Then, I read in Prevention Magazine that there is a new substance that actually hardens the teeth surface with essential calcium and phosphorus ions. So, I've been using it for almost two weeks and I am starting to feel less sensitivity.

3) Hip Hop Abs : I hate to work out but I know I need to stay in shape. After months of inactivity, I finally decided to get a work out DVD. I know, I'm not a Hip Hop type of girl but it's really fun! Here's to your good health!

My new place

2008-07-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

I recently rented a house in Hillsdale (a small community near Downtown Portland). So this is my first time living alone, ever. Can you believe it? I went from my parents' house to the dorm to living with roommates. Friends have told me that I should never live alone. They know me well enough to know that I am a people person but I have a tendency to isolate myself, bad combination. I must admit that's been true. I REALLY enjoy living alone, maybe a bit too much. :)

Some of you know that I'm a minimalist. I hate buying things and owning things, that's why I lived with people who had everything and I just moved in with my bedroom furniture. I am the anti-consumerist, or at least I USED to be. Lately, I have been a shopping fiend! I didn't even own a set of utensils. I had to start from scratch. It's been stressful and time consuming, but at times kind of fun.

I LOVE Craigslist. I found pretty much all my furniture there. So the other day, I called on a CL ad for a dining room table and chairs. I drove to the east side up to a cute little house in a fun neighborhood. I rang the bell and a tall thin guy, ironically named Craig, answered the door. I went there to look at a dining room table and ended up sitting there for an hour hanging out with this interesting guy. He told me stories of being a chef at the vegan restaurant he owned, rescuing greyhounds from the race track, being beaten up by police at a rally. We talked about politics and tatoos. What he didn't tell me but I found out later is that he's the spokesperson for a national ecoterrorist group! :) I just really enjoyed meeting someone who is living a passionate life trying to make a difference in this world. Of course we differ in our world view and in how to actually make that difference. However, I had to applaud that he not only had deep convictions but that he was willing to take action on those beliefs. Sadly, so many Christians (including myself) are falling into the trap of living the comfortable middle class lifestyle. We don't take the risks and pains to find out what we really were created for. We end up in jobs that we can do instead of passions we can't live without. I know, here I go idealizing again. Anyway, I just think it's fun cuz only in Portland can you buy a vegan restaurant table from an ecoterrorist activist/lawyer/handyman/chef. :)

Alaska Cruise

2008-07-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm going on a 7 Day Alaska Cruise for our family vacation this year. I'm super excited. It was my sister's suggestion and I think it'll be awesome. My dad really didn't want to go, he's a total home body but I really think it's because he doesn't want to leave our dog. (He takes that dog everywhere he goes, seriously). See how in the picture below he has his arm around the dog and not me. I'm not bitter. :)

We're taking the Norwegian Pearl from Seattle to Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan and back through Victoria. It's our first time to Alaska so please let me know (in a comment) if you have any fun experiences or helpful suggestions on what to do or see while we're on the cruise. We leave August 10th.

Family

2008-07-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

For 6 years I lived 3,100 miles away from my family. Now I'm only 150 miles away, and it's fun to be able to go home for holidays. I was able to go up to Federal Way for both Mother's and Father's Day on the Amtrak. Speaking of which, the Amtrak is really the way to go. I once rode the Amtrak from Orlando to New York, taking a detour through Kansas City and Chicago. That was my whirlwind vacation after I graduated from college (my planes, trains, and automobile trip across the US). Anyway, I'm back riding the Amtrak (for gas price reasons now.)
Mother's Day was fun. We went a restaurant my family likes to go for very special occasions called Palisades in Seattle. It's a nice seafood restaurant with a great buffet brunch. For father's day we went to a new Asian seafood buffet called Blue Fin. For a family of really small thin people, we really like buffets. :) I don't think we get our money's worth but hey, you can't deny heredity.

Netflix

2008-06-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

I've been on a free 1 month trial subscription of Netflix and I love it. I don't really love Netflix per se, especially since they've denied every job application I've sent them, but that's another story. I love watching movies at home at my whim. Of the movies I've seen, I'd like to recommend two really good movies for the theme of family/community. Many of you know that I'm very passionate about the idea of community in our culture. I get so mad that our American culture can't seem to get beyond the individualist mindset to realize how detrimentally lonely and isolated we all are, but then I digress again.

The first movie : Lars and the Real Girl. Lars is a lonely, emotionally stunted single man who's in a delusion that a lifelike doll he's ordered on the internet is his real live girlfriend. He has a whole life story for her as a missionary in the jungle whose returned home on furlough. His family obviously freaks out but the gem in this story is how the whole town, his family, coworkers, and church, all play along that the doll, named Bianca, is real to help him. It's hard to find this type of genuine care in the community. Although difficult for many of them, they put aside their own discomfort and judgmental attitudes and embrace Lars and his healing. The ladies in his church even bring over casseroles and sit with Lars when Bianca is sick. I love how it shows that the journey to healing is a long process that involves showing your problems to the world and being loved and accepted and given grace in the midst of the problem.

Second movie : Dan in Real Life. Dan is a widow raising 3 girls. His whole family gets together every year on the coast for a family vacation. As he's in town on the first morning, he meets a woman he is totally connects with, only to find out that she's his younger brother's new girlfriend. He is tormented the whole vacation as he tried to wrestle with falling in love with a woman who his brother also loves. The family dynamic in this movie is so great. People are all in each other's faces and business. You can't hind and you can't put up a front. Your family knows you better than anyone else.

So, check out these two movies to be entertained and reminded that we are created to live in community with others.

Tech Support

2008-05-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would be in tech support but I really enjoy my new job. I not only survived working on the hospital floor without fainting from the sight of blood (even working on the Intensive care units) but I got to help a lot of people. As I wrote in my previous post, my job entails helping hospital staff use a new computerized medical records software. The new system went live last month and it's gone fairly well. So well in fact that after only two weeks, they no longer need us to there on the hospital floor. So, my new job is doing Epic support over the phone from our downtown IT office. I didn't think I would enjoy talking to people on the phone all day, but it's been fun so far because when the phone rings, you have NO idea what the caller's needs will be. It's kind of adventurous and exciting. Today, someone called to ask if the issue she reported weeks ago has been resolved yet. I looked it up and saw that it wasn't resolved. I could have just told her no and that I would report it again, but I asked what the issue was and how she was going about doing her job without this issue being resolved. That ended up in a very long conversation where I helped her create a different way of using Epic to help do her job more efficiently and increasing her communication with her coworkers. My team made fun of me because I was on the phone for so long with the one caller. I think I have a hard time keeping it short because I have a lot of empathy for the folks who are having trouble learning the new software. I also love to solve problem and be more efficient. This job really taps into that. The only problem is that I have to work Saturdays. Otherwise it's the perfect schedule. Wed-Sat 9am -7:30 pm and have 3 days off in a row. So, I can't go hiking on Sat afternoons but please inviting me to any fun parties you might be having in the evening. :)

A new job at OHSU

2008-04-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

I have a new short term job at Oregon Health and Sciences Univ (OHSU) Hospital for a couple of months. This job kind of makes me laugh because I am doing two things I thought I would never do. 1) I work in Information Technology. I may seem kind of techie to the general public, after all I do own an internet business but some of you also know that I am trying to sell my business because I don't like the tech side of the business but then I go and get a job in tech support. 2) I work at the hospital. I am REALLY squeamish. I can't even watch TV shows like CSI or ER. I can't stand the sight of blood so I decided to take a job testing computers in hospital rooms. Today I was in ER trauma. I know, crazy.

So, what's my job as tech support at the hospital entail? Well, I walk around the hospital all day testing computers to make sure they are configured correctly for the new electronic charting software, called EPIC, that the inpatient hospital will soon be using. Once the new software "goes live" next week, I will be assigned to one floor of the hospital working with the doctors and nurses to resolve any computer software glitches that come up. You can imagine how detrimental it would be if the nurses can't chart the patients information while they are trying to give care. I free the care givers up to take care of the patience while I resolve the computer problems. You may be thinking that I must be an expert on EPIC. Actually, I don't even know how to use it yet. I am starting my EPIC classes this week and I hope I know just a little bit more than the hospital users. I think it will be challenging but I am excited about being able to help the care givers be more efficient in caring for their patients with this new program.

One thing I don't like about this job is that the hospital is only 4 miles from my house but it can take me up to an hour to get there sometimes because I have to take the bus. There is no parking up there for employees. It's such a problem that a tram was built from the downtown waterfront to the hospital. My friend Julie calls it the Silver Tic Tac and it's fun to ride (tourists have to pay $4 to ride it and get the spectacular view) but we get to ride it everyday for free.

Another problem is that I work the same shift that the hospital staff works, 12 hour shifts from 7am to 7pm. I have to be thankful that I don't have to work the 7pm to 7am shift. That would be really hard. All in all, I'm thankful for the job and be able to something for a little while that's new and challenging.

Trendy Korean Food

2008-04-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Usually it's an oxymoron but there is a Korean restaurant here in Portland, on the east side of course, called TOJI that has good Korean food AND a fun trendy ambiance. I went there last night with three really fun friends from Mosaic Church. June, Jenny, and Kim (yeah, you guys made it on my blog :) ) are really wonderful women and it's always so much fun hanging out with them. We had great Korean BBQ and lot of fun conversation. Afterward, we drank coffee and tea at Fat Straw Bubble Tea. We were of course too full from dinner to drink bubble tea but that will have to be our next outing. After we got kicked out of Fat Straw, we ended up at Kim's house until 11pm chatting it up about what else, boys :) Thanks Ladies for a wonderful night on the town. :)

Better Living Show

2008-03-30T00:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to the Better Living Show at the Portland Expo Center. It's the northwest's largest sustainable lifestyle show. I'm not serious hardcore Green, but I like to think of myself as environmentally conscious. I did get Paula to start recycling. But still, I'm no Ed Begley Jr. Who, you ask? You know that great actor from "St Elsewhere". He just wrote a book called "Living with Ed" about how he's been living a sustainable lifestyle since the 70's. He was the main speaker at the conference. I didn't get to hear him speak but I did go up and talk to him for a few minutes at his book signing table. I know, I'm such a groupie. I did feel like one when I went up to shake his hand and thank him for coming to the conference. It was an interesting way to spend an afternoon. I got some free stuff like a Douglas Fir plant, organic milk, a water bottle from Energy Star, and lots of good information about making my home more green. They also had the Red Cross blood mobile there so I gave some blood on my way home. All in all, a productive way to spend an afternoon off. Go Green!

Ellen Page on SNL

2008-03-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

You guys know that I loved Juno, mainly because of Ellen Page. Imagine my excitement when I heard that Ellen would be hosting SNL. I stayed up late to watch it and sadly, I was sorely disappointed. I really wanted to like it, but her acting was so cheesy. She was especially bad as the urban girl at Baby Gap with the horrendous accent. She came close to having some personality in a parody of the new thriller "Prom Night" but fell short. So, was it a fluke that she did so well as Juno. Maybe she's just one dimensional and she just played herself in Juno but can't get into any other character that would require a stretch of her imagination and skills. I hate to have to write this post but I have to call it like I see it. Sorry. Oh well, at least I didn't completely waste my time and got to see Hilary Clinton having a little fun.

Rice Box and Bubble Tea

2008-03-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

As you know, I love Bubble tea and started a bubble tea stand about two years ago in WA, after I left Campus Crusade staff. Recently, Paul (Jeehee's husband) called and asked if I could help his brother John get set up with bubble tea at his new restaurant. If was really fun to work with John to help him at his great new place called Rice Box. I love his restaurant concept. Asian fast food, incorporating Chinese, Japanese, AND Korean food. I don't know of any fast take out restaurant that specializes in all three Asian cuisines.

It's been a while since I made a cup of bubble tea but I have to say, it tasted great! We used my Seattle vendor for bubble tea supplies and spent a day training John on how to make Milk Tea and Blended Tea. It's in Hillsboro so go visit the restaurant and drink a cup of bubble tea for me for me!

Detox

2008-03-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

I've noticed that in the last few weeks, I've been overly critical of people. I'm not sure where it's coming from but I'm concerned. I mean every day, we hear and see things we don't like or agree with but it's usually not a big deal. Walking down the street, you see someone litter but you don't exercise your right to make a citizen's arrest. You just think they are an idiot and walk on. (This is an example for those in the NW who are more environmentally conscious. :) ) But the other day, I drove to the grocery store and parked next to a row of handicap parking spots. I thought it was great that I got such rockstar parking. But as I got out of the car, a woman zoomed into the spot next to me (that would be the handicap spot) and bolted out of her car toward the store. I speed up to catch up to her and said, "do you know you illegally parked in the handicap spot?" (I have NO idea what got into me. I usually don't confront strangers on the street.) She said she did know. I should have let it go then, but I just go so mad, I said to her, "so it's just fine for you to just break the law like that?" Her response was to say, "no, it's not fine, but I'm not gonna be long." She was not apologetic at all in her tone. She sounded very justified that she should be able to park there because she can get away with it. Most people would say what she did was wrong but it's really quite fascinating how people can justify things that are wrong in their mind. I'm sure she would have said something like, "there were like 5 empty handicap spaces, what are the chances that 5 handicapped people would need the space in the next 15 min." There are so many ways we can make it ok in our mind.

The reason I'm writing this story is that I've been critical of people lately, not really the illegal parker (I'm totally justified in calling her out :) ) but I'm been critical of Christians whom I disagree with. It's not really about one topic or another. It's kind of encompasses the general idea that Christians feel they have the freedom to do whatever they want because they are justified by God. That theology is completely true but I feel that Christians put a higher value of their personal freedom than they do on the greater good of others. Corinthians 8 says "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak." Paul also says in teh Bible that "Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial." I wonder why freedom is such a strong value in the US. I know all the sociological reasons that Americans value freedom, but why do American Christians value it so much over other Biblical principals. This is a hard question. It's like the principal that fish don't know that they live in water. We as Christians don't know that our experience is different that others. We don't know that materialism and consumerism is destructive, we've never lived apart from it. We don't know that other societies value family and community over freedom. I respect people who will fight for their freedom to do things that they value, I wonder why American's fight (although not literally) for personal freedom above community well being. When I discussed this with my pastor at Mosaic, he thought I was going through "Detox" after being in ministry for 10 years. Purging things, even good things from your system can be very painful. I don't have night sweats yet but I'm definitely very uncomfortable lately in this culture. Call it the American or the Independent Northwest culture, but it's hard, not just because I think I'm right. It's just hard living with the understanding that values clash.

American Idol Junkie

2008-02-28T12:59:00.001-08:00

Ok, you all know that I love reality shows. There's just so something fascinating about watching people grow, change or improve in some way. That's why I love shows like Biggest Loser and Beauty and the Geek. Normally I'm not that into American Idol but I am totally into it this season because I have a HUGE crush on a contestant. I have never been so enamored with someone on TV (besides the Pie Maker on Pushing Daisies, that is :) ) So, who is my reality show crush, it's no other than the cutest 17 year old ever, David Archuleta. You have to see him perform the best composition of John Lennon's Imagine. You'll love him too.

Juno - one of my favorite movies

2008-02-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

Kerri and I went to see Juno last month. I know, it's had a cult following from the very beginning and a ton of hype. It's easy to get on the 'cool' bandwagon by liking a movie that is so well received by the right people (meaning the non-mainstream.) Here are some reason I loved it.
1) Ellen Page is amazing as Juno. I love her.
2) Favorite line. Juno suggesting adoption options to the soon to be parents of her unborn baby, "You should have gone to China. I hear they give babies away like free Ipods. They pretty much put them in tshirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events." Totally irreverent and sarcastic in a fun way.
3) SooChun- sweet Korean high school student who pickets the abortion clinic. You know that if it's Korean, I'll love it. She is so sincere and non-judgmental. If you're gonna picket a clinic (which I don't recommend) this is how you should do it. Juno walks up, and SooChun just talks to her and interacts with her. She does tell the truth by telling Juno that her baby has fingernails, and then tells Juno that God appreciates her blessing when Juno leaves without having an abortion.
4) It's life affirming, but in a responsible way. Jason Bateman ends up being a jerk who can't grow up and take responsibilities for his life. Usually in movies, these types of people are revered as true to themselves and nonconformists. Really, they are just not conforming to good character. The real non conformists are the cheerleader who's best friend is not the popular kid but the odd ball Juno, the father who actually stand by his pregnant child, the woman who was born to be a mother and does whatever she can to make her dreams come true, and Juno who has the maturity to give birth to a baby that can be a blessing to someone else rather than take the easy road of getting rid of it.
5) It's just funny. Some don't like this type of humor, but it's totally up my alley. It's a slower talking version of Gilmore Girls. You know I love that.

The happiest place on earth

2008-01-16T11:32:00.002-08:00

No, it's not Disneyland. It's Denmark, according to UK's University of Leicester's study on happiness. So, why is cold dreary rainy Denmark the happiest place on earth? It's fascinating. Here are some reasons.
1) Danes trust their government. They don't mind paying the highest taxes in the world, because they feel that the government is efficient and they feel taken care of and secure. Danes spend more money on their young and elderly per capita.
2) Danes choose jobs based on what they want do, not how much money they will make since most jobs pay about the same. A garbage man has about the same salary as a physician, and is just as respected.
3) Strong community and relationships are their secret to happiness. 92% of Danes belong to some social community, whether it's a singing or dancing club. The government even subsidizes these groups. Danes are interdependent and socially connected.
4) Denmark is a "post-consumerist" culture. They are not materialistic and shopping is not a priority. They can afford nice things but they don't accumulate them. They are not about status. Even though they can afford cars, they choose bicycles.
5) They trust each other and feel safe. Mothers leave their babies in strollers outside cafes, they buy groceries at stands on the honor system, bikes are unlocked.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in this type of society? The sad thing is that the US is completely opposite in the things that cause happiness. Our government is inefficient and not trusted. We don't take care of the less fortunate or needy. We feel like we have to fight to take care of ourselves. We are isolated and unconnected in our communities because people are divided by differences. We are very materialistic and status conscious.

I know that there are some who will be happy or unhappy no matter what the circumstances, but there are definitely things that cause us to experience happiness - which to me is a gauge of things like being secure, safe, content, respected and loved. The human heart wants those things and that's how we were created. But how do we experience these things in our society where advertisers judge our worth, over half the population is stripped of security and love through divorce, we are so independent that we don't know our neighbors or are suspicious of them, and our self respect is damaged by the sex and violence we are expose to everyday.

I've been trying to live a life against these cultural norms but it's really hard. I try to live in community by being in a home group at church. I joined a book club also to be exposed to other people's views on life. I try to give to charity and save instead of spend. I'm looking for career that will give me a sense of purpose and significance in life. Even all these things do not bring the kind of safety, contentment, and love that I suspect only truly can be experienced through a relationship with God, in whom true life can be found. After all it's Christ that said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Missed Opportunity

2008-01-11T13:52:00.001-08:00

Life is full of missed opportunities and regrets. You could have bought Microsoft stock back in 1984, asked out that cute girl at last night's party, majored in business instead of medieval literature. Some regrets are minor and only affect you for a moment, while others take your life down a completely different path. Of course hindsight is 20/20.

I recently experienced a sad regret that at the time felt like a great loss to me. It all started while I was driving in Tigard, OR. I felt this nagging feeling inside of me that I couldn't quite place. It felt oddly familiar and deeply urgent. After trying to get in touch with it for several minutes, I finally placed it as my carb addiction rearing it ugly head. I knew just what to do with this emotion, as I've had to deal with it many times before. I quickly reached over the dash to my trusty GPS unit and accessed the nearest Burgerville from my current location. I veered away from my current path home, and let my GPS lead me to where I knew my addiction could be fed. I had visions of my favorite menu item- sweet potato fries- dancing in my head as I tried to focus on my driving and get to Burgerville as quickly as possible. I reach the drive through window and made my order. Then, something unthinkable happened. The sweet young voice on the other end broke the sad news to me that sweet potato fries were no longer in season. My mind started wheeling. Thoughts bombarded my mind like, "if only I'd come soon" and "could I maybe order some online at www.sweetpotatoesRus.com and have it shipped overnight". I tried rationalizing and bargaining. I wanted to offer this high school student more money than she would see that month to miraculously make the sweet potatoes appear. But alas, I knew that I had missed my opportunity in the small agricultural window of time. I drove away knowing I had done my part to get my needs met but things are just outside of my control. I learned a great lesson that day - mark your calendar next year for Sweet Potato Season! :)

Career

2007-12-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

When I meet new people here in Portland, one of the questions that inevitably comes up is, "What do you do?" It's been hard for me to answer this question lately. I answer it differently based on how I'm feeling that day. Answers vary from, I'm an internet entrepreneur, I own an online business, I'm in transition, I'm unemployeed, I'm a former missionary, (and when I feel vulnerable) I am in a midlife crisis. :) All of those are true of me currently. I've come to the realization that although I love the challenge of running an online business, I find that it's very difficult for me to work alone. It's not the lifestyle that fits my personality. I've done a few things to help with this. Last few months, I worked a temp job at NW Natural Gas to get out of the house and work with others. I meet with a friend from church twice a week at a coffee shop so I get out of the house and have some interaction. And I'm looking for a fulltime job. I still don't really know what I want to do when I grow up :) but I do know that I'd like to get back working with people. I am looking for a job in Human Resources. If anyone of you out there have any leads for me in Portland, I'd appreciate it. :) Thanks!

Engaged friends

2007-12-19T11:26:00.000-08:00

If you're on Facebook, you know that one of the fun things about it is that you can watch a friend's relationship status change. You can be nosy about other people's personal lives without having to ask. It's been said that you're not really dating unless your Facebook status confirms it. Teenage boys are known to avoid conflict by breaking up with their girlfriends by changing their status to "single". :)

Anyway, it was fun to read that 3 friends I knew from Orlando got engage recently. I am so happy for all of them because it's so fun to see people you love find happiness through finding their mates. I was especially happy to get a message from Mike announcing his engagement. We have been friends for a long time, giving each other relationship advice and walking through relationships along side each other. He was such a good friend to me during my emotional ups and downs. I fully took advantage of the fact that he was getting his counseling degree. Even when he went to live in Brazil for two years, we talked on the phone at times. Although relationships change over time and distance, it's good to look back fondly on a season of time when God used specific people in my life to help me grow.

Here's a little fun Video about Facebook. :)

Good Coffee, lots of laughs, and a car accident

2007-11-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

It's so much fun having Julie visit this week. Here's a few things we did.

Lots of eating out : A beautifully cozy restaurant called Mothers, a swanky Thai place called Typhoon, breakfast at rustic Multnomah Falls Lodge and trendy Tin Shed Cafe.

Drank lots of coffee: Julie is a coffee connoisseur and I wanted her to try the local favorite, Stumptown Coffee, but she didn't like it. Her favorite is still Portland Roasting Company. Her favorite coffee shop, Palio Coffee Shop in Ladds Addition.

We laughed a lot: Julie is seriously one of my funniest friends. She had me in stitches all week. I even took her to the Pushing Daisies party where we laughed a ton at the fun episode about a dog breeding polygamist who was poised by one of his 4 wives. :)

We talked a lot: I sometimes joke that Julie is my counselor since she recently got her Christian counseling degree. It's so good to have a friend like Julie who knows me so well and can give me good feedback about things I'm thinking about or struggling with. She's seen it all in my life for the last almost 11 years.

We got in a car accident: I was taking her to the airport on Fri morning. We were really early so we took the scenic route and avoided the freeways. I was stopped at a light. Even though it was green, the little Honda Civic in front of me was stopped and so was I when a HUGE Ford Excursion with a sweet 19 year old gal behind the wheel ran into us at full speed, causing me to plow into the unsuspecting civic in front of me, crushing the car. We got the most impact, being in the middle, but interestingly, my trusty Honda CRV had the least amount of damage. The poor gal who was driving her mom's car was so traumatized, I even had Julie write down all our information for her because she didn't know what to do. I had alot of compassion for her because I actually crashed my parents car when I was 19 also. We were able to get that worked out and get her to the airport in time to fly back to Philly.

Since she's visited me in 3 different cities, it's definitely my turn to go see her in Philly next year. I'm already looking forward to it.

Julie is Visiting

2007-11-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

I have another friend visiting this week. Julie is from Philly and we met when we joined Campus Crusade staff together at the same training. I LOVED our new staff training, it was so much fun and I met a wonderful friend, Julie, who I stayed friend with for over 10 years. We have kept our commitment to our friendship by talking on the phone every month for all these years. I loved our new staff training so much that I later went on to become the director of that training for many years.

I'm looking forward to showing Julie around Portland. Here are some of her favorite things that I'll try to incorporate in her visit.

Being outdoors: she loves to shop at LL BEAN
Cute restaurants and cafes: like Panera Bread
Good coffee: her favorite coffee at the coffee show in Seattle (which she went to with me when she visited me in WA) was Portland Roasting Company.
Reading : I'll have to take her to Powells.

We'll have lots of fun even though it's gonna rain everyday she's here. Ah, the great northwest :)

Give Blood

2007-10-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

I gave blood for the first time today at the Red Cross Blood Mobile! I know, it's crazy that I've never given before. But I've tried! I was just rejected numerous times. I couldn't give blood for a long time because I was under the weight requirement. But when I finally was over the requirement, I went to the blood mobile to give blood. I just mentioned to the worker there that I had been under weight before but now I'm not. I should have just kept my mouth shut because she pulls out the scale and wants to weight me. Now, just that month, I was weighed at the doctor's office and I swear I was over their limit. But the blood nazi, oh I mean, the blood mobile worker, wouldn't let me give blood. I'm sure their scale was off.

Then, the next time I tried to give, I was told my iron level was too low to give. I was being thwarted at every turn. So, this time, I was determined. I loaded up on beef all weekend and ate Raisin Bran every morning. I even ate tons of broccoli at Daniela's place. Well, it worked, because my iron level just made their limit and I gave blood. I have to admit I was nervous and I am a bit squeemish so I didn't look but I felt fine and got to eat cookies afterwards. I encourage everyone to give blood if they can. It saves lives!

Pie Maker

2007-10-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

Since my new favorite show, Pushing Daisies, is about the loveable Pie Maker named Ned, I have taken up pie making myself. This is kind of what the first pie I've ever made looks like. It turned out great with Martha Steward-like lattice crust. I took it to my weekly Pushing Daisies party and it was a hit. If you haven't already, you've got to watch Pushing Daisies on Wed nights at 8pm!

Danidoodle

2007-10-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

My best friend is visiting me this week! Well, her visit may have something to do with her mom's birthday but I like to think that she packed up her hubby and two little kids to fly all the way out here to see me. :) Tonight I'm going up to Battle Ground, WA to see the whole Emery family at the home where Daniela grew up. It will bring back so many sweet memories to hang out at the house. I'm looking forward to it. If you don't know Daniela, you're really missing out, but at least you can get to know her amazing art at her online card business. Check her out at Danidoodle.

Book Club

2007-10-16T13:25:00.003-07:00

I just joined my first book club. I know, it's so unlike me. I don't read a lot of fiction and I don't really like the idea of sitting around and discussing a book in a group setting. But Mosaic church started a bunch of groups this fall and one was a book club. I was curious to see what a book club at a church would read so I contacted the leader and found out they are reading "The Shack" by William P Young. Then, I ready some amazon.com reviews including things like, "it's one of the best books I've ever read...it changed my life." But I would have to say that my joining may have something to do with the fact that the leaders are serving dinner and the author, William Young, will also be at the meeting. Wow, you can't beat that. A good book, delicious food, stimulating conversation, and insightful thoughts from the author. Cool. I'm all about book clubs now. I'll write a review about this book after I finish reading it. So far, I know it's about a guy whose daughter is brutally murdered and her body left at a shack. This father later finds a written note from God, telling him to go back to that shack. Should be a good read.

Pushing Daisies

2007-10-11T11:14:00.001-07:00

I am in love with a pie maker named Ned. The facts are these, 7 days 15 hours, 35 minutes, and 21 seconds ago, I saw Ned for the first time on ABC's Pushing Daisies and I've been pulled into this quirky, whimsical, colorful fairytale. Ned is the perfect man; quietly introspective, deeply sensitive, he loves his dog, bakes a delicious pie, and is still in love with his first kiss and childhood neighbor girl, Chuck. I can forgive him for that, as I am destined to live a life of unrequited love just like sweet petite tormented Olive, whose only way of having an ounce of contact with the illusive Ned is to dogsit his best friend, Digby.

The plot of my new favorite TV show: Ned, the Pie Maker and owner of the Pie Hole has the ability to resurrect a dead person by touching them. But if he touches them again, that person will go back to being dead forever. Which is why he can never touch his first and only love Chuck since he resurrected her and didn't have the heart to lose her again.

Why do I love this show so much? It's brilliant, down to every detail from the color scheme of the set (which was mostly green in the last episode) to the theme of dualism/symmetry which runs throught the show. You can spend hours watching the show for evidence of these themes which have included : synchronized swimming sisters called "Darling Mermaid Darlings", Ned's love named "Charlotte Charles" aka Chuck from "Couer du Couers", and a PI who knits matching gun holsters for himself. So why the prevalence of this theme? I'd like to think that it brings home the point that everyone has a pair, partner, match, kindred spirit. No wonder a romantic like me loves this show.

2007-10-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

AJ Jacobs is an agnostic Jewish author who decided to live for one year following the laws of the old testament as an experiment for his new book, "The year of living biblically." He followed not only the Ten Commandments, but such laws as do not wear clothes of mixed fibers and do not shave your beard. He found the experience to be liberating and enlightening for him. Although I find his experience fascinating, because we come to the bible from a different set of beliefs, I find that I disagree with his accessment of the concept of following the law.

Jacobs writes, "Your behavior shapes your beliefs. If you act like a good person, you eventually become a better person. I wasn't allowed to gossip, so eventually I started to have fewer petty thoughts to gossip about. I had to help the less fortunate, so I started to become less self-absorbed. I am not Gandhi or Angelina Jolie, but I made some progress." (It's hilarious that he uses Jolie as an example of ultimate moral comparison, but that's another story.)

The whole point of the Law is to show that we can't follow the law. Paul writes in Romans 7, "But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful." But for Jacobs, he gained inspiration from being able to follow many of the laws, even using "techniques" like thinking about women he might lust after as his mother and feeling successful at upholding the law, instead of realizing that the whole point of the law was to show that he even needed a technique.

I guess the reason this hit a cord with me is that one of my pet peeves in our society is our utter determination to not be sinful. We usually do that by just denying the law or justifying it. But when one man decided that the "law was good" and tried to follow it, in his quest to be less self-absorbed, he proved that he like all people even approach sin from a self-absorbed point of view. Feeling good about yourself for following the law wasn't exactly the point of the law.

The need for forgiveness and grace has no place in a worldview where the law is created to just give us a good life. It's true that God gave us the law to provide for and protect us, but recognizing that we in ourselves cannot fulfill the law is where true life comes as we yield our sin and our lives for God's power to transform us instead of trying harder to be perfect or lowing our standards to strive to be just a little bit like Angelina Jolie.

So my conclusing, Romans 8: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering."

Burgerville

2007-10-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

I love fast food. Some of you know that I'm all about instant gratification, and along with hating to cook, fast food is essential to my life. But lately, I've been having a love/hate relationship with fast food, just like all the other health conscious, but gluttonous Americans out there like me. That's why I love Burgerville. I don't eat there much but I love their sweet potato fries and coho fish sandwiches. Here are some of the other reasons.

-The Food Network awarded its first ever Better Burger award to Burgerville based on their sustainable business practices.
-It is a local family owned chain that's only in WA and OR.
-It pays for 90% of the health care insurance costs for all employees who work over 20 hour.
-Its beef is from humanely treated, grain-fed cows without using antibiotics or growth hormones.
-It transform cooking oil, a restaurant's largest waste product, into clean-burning biodiesel for their company cars.
-It has eliminated 17.4 million pounds of carbon emissions annually--the equivalent of taking 1,700 cars off the road by using only wind power.

Portland Chefs

2007-09-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

The New York Times has been running alot of great articles about food in Portland. The latest is about how chefs from around the country are flocking to Portland. NYTimes writes of Portland, "In the way New York drew artists in the ’50s, this city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers seems to exert a magnetic lure on talented chefs who come from almost anywhere else and decide to stay right here...Portland has emerged from its chrysalis as a full-fledged dining destination."

I experienced this first hand last week when our church small group had a dinner, prepared by our leader's roommate, Mike, who is a chef at Milo's Cafe. It was so much fun watching Mike prepare with expertise the salmon that our group leader, Cam, fished out of the Willamette just days before. Mike prepared it two ways, 1) grilled with lemon and herbs to bring out the pure paste of the fresh fish 2) baked in a hazelnut and panko breading with blackberry bulee on top. We also had butternut squash with butter and brown sugar; orzo with roasted red peppers, artichoke, and feta; and bread from Grand Central Bakery. I volunteered to bring the dessert and of course I went to my favorite bakery in Hillsdale, Baker and Spice and picked up their Flourless Chocolate Cake(Belgian chocolate, butter, eggs, and a touch of orange liquor. Topped with ganache and white chocolate curls.) It was wonderful meal with good friends.

Beauty and the Geek

2007-09-21T13:39:00.001-07:00

is my new favorite reality show. I find the Geeks surprisingly lovable with their awkward babblings in interviews and nerdy talents. One guy actually carries around a roll of duct tape attached to his belt. They are just so honest and their geekiness comes out so naturally in everything they do. I think my favorite so far might be Josh, President of the UC Berkeley Rubberband Club.

The Beauties are also really entertaining in their sweet obliviousness. You've got to love the "non-intellectual" statements like "my worst subjects in school were algebra and math."

But, what is UP with the lack of diversity on this show? Are you telling me that all Geeks are all white? Ok, so there is one token Asian guy, who is adorable in his bow tie, by the way. And really, there are NO African-American geeks out there? Now, on the other side, the Beauties have two African-Americans but no Asians. Is this just bad stereotyping? I can assure you that there are plenty of dumb Asian American hotties out there. At least the show has crossed one stereotype barrier and added a twist to the plot by introducing a couple where the Geek is female and the Beauty is male. Way to break down barriers in our society, BatG!

Online Nation

2007-09-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

Rhett and Link, former Campus Crusade staff, are co-hosting a new show on the CW network! You may know Rhett and Link as the fun and quirky duo of youtube fame. If you don't know them, check out their website. They make hilarious, smart, and clean videos.

I first met Rhett and Link when I led their new staff training for Campus Crusade. They were young bucks, just married, and ready to take the gospel to the world with their unique talent for entertaining and relating to college kids. I love that they are thinking outside the Christian box to draw people to Christ in fun and relevant ways. Check out their new show this Sunday at 7:30pm on the CW.

8 Things About Me

2007-09-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by my friend Daniela to tell 8 things about myself.

1. I'm addicted to carbs, usually the bad ones. I sometimes have an undeniable urge to eat a big bowl of pasta (usually with tomato sauce) or a big squishly warm piece (or loaf) of bread. I love donuts, bread, brownies, cake, rice, and potatoes.

2. I've never been outside of N. America and Asia. Granted I've traveled alot in those two continents. In Asia, I've been to China (twice), Thailand, Japan (only the airport) and Korea (I lived there at two separte times in my life and have visited two other times).

3. I love reading the newspaper and magazines. I subscribe to Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine, Budget Travel, New York Times, and Shape Magazine. I even read magazines at book stores. It has something to do with my short attention span.

4. I like to kayak and flyfish. I have an inflatable kayak that I throw in my car and put out in all sorts of fun places like Mt Rainier and Mt Hood. I've only caught one fish in all the times I've fly fished, I'm pretty bad at it. It was a small blue gill in the stocked retention pond at the Crusade HQ.

5. I've been told that I "love the mic." When I was with Crusade, I used direct and MC a training for our new staff (usually between 125-250 new staff at a time). Shane, one of our National Directors was speaking and he had already been introduced before so he said he could just go up without an introduction, but no, i wouldn't have it. I went up to introduce him, unnecessary but hey, I got to be on stage. I don't really love the mic as much as interacting with a large group of people at once. :)

6. I wanted to be a stockbroker when I was in college. I used to manage my own investments and trade individual stocks until I lost my shirt in the tech crash. I realized that I wasn't really a good trader so I gave it up.

7. I have a forearm fetish. I like to look at guys' forearms.

8. Since high school, I've never lived in the same place for more than one or two year.

I tag Kerri and Julie.

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

It was the last days of summer and I got to enjoy every moment. My old roommate, Tanya, from Orlando came to visit me for the week and we took advantage of every speck of sunshine and all that Portland has to offer. Here's all that we did.

Events/Sightseeing:
Oregon Symphony Free Concert - The symphony kicks off the season with a free outdoor concert at the waterfront.
International Rose Test Garden at Washington Park- beautiful view of the city and thousands of wonderful smelling roses
Pittock Mansion- it was closed but we took the poor man's tour by peaking in the windows.
Saturday Farmer's Market - We bought french bread and tomatos for a great meal at home.
Oregon Ballet Outdoor Performance - every summer the ballet rehearses outdoors and then does a short performance.
Art in the Pearl- annual outdoor art festival
Shopping at Woodburn Outlet Mall- I desperately needed some business casual.
Scenic Drive to Mt Hood and Timberline Lodge - love this 3 hour drive to Mt Hood
Hood River- Windsurfing capital of the US and lots of local farms with great fruit stands. Kerri, Tanya and I did a little tour of farms and I got some pears although it was peach season. The pear is the official fruit of Oregon.
Multnomah Falls - the 2nd highest year round waterfall in the US.

Eating Out :
Tin Shed- they have the best breakfast in town. It remindes me of a cute little place in Eugene, OR. I had their famous potato pancakes (basically hashbrowns) fiesta style with jalepeno peppers and salsa. We also had sweet potato french toast.
TeaChaiTe- Tanya thinks they have the best pumpkin chai she's had. I only drink bubble tea there. I tried the Red Bean flavor bubble tea. It's hard to find good Red Bean bubble tea and it was ok but I still think my Red Bean bubble tea is the best. :)
Portland City Grill- the best view in the city from the 30th floor.
Oba- kind of a ritzy spanish restaurant in the pearl, it has great happy hour prices. The rotisserie chicken tostata is awesome. Since I am alcohol-intolerant (it's an enzyme thing :), I drank marionberry lemonade.
Pastini- great inexpensive pasta!
Kennedy School McMenimens- The McMenimen brothers transform old buildings into restaurants, pubs, and theatres here in the NW. The Kennedy School is my favorite because of the beautiful outdoor garden seating. Tanya really loved her mediterranean chicken pizza. Of course we ordered tator tots too.
BBQ at my house - since we technically ate our food outside, i'll add this to the list. We had a BBQ outside with a few friends on our deck and then pulled out the firepit stand to roast marshmellows for smores in the backyard. Tanya cooked my smores for me. It reminding me of the time when we cooked marshmellows over a candle when the power went out during the hurricanes of '05.

City Vitals

2007-08-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

As you have already experienced, my blog is slowing turning into a Portland loving propaganda site. I know, I should keep my opinions of how I live in the best city in the US to myself, especially since it inadvertantly says that those who don't live here are lame. :)

But, please indulge me in the "honeymoon" period in my city with some more pro-Portland posts.

PRNewsWire writes:
CityVitals, developed by Portland-based economist Joseph Cortright in
partnership with CEOs for Cities, lays out the rationale for the things
cities must be really good at doing today and a new set of metrics -- 20 in
all -- to measure their progress.
"Every week it seems a new ranking of cities makes the headlines," said
Carol Coletta, president and CEO of CEOs for Cities. "Unfortunately, few of
those rankings are relevant to what makes cities successful today.
CityVitals gives urban leaders a much richer picture of what's going right
and what's going wrong in their cities and uncovers their best
opportunities to improve."
"To be successful today, cities have to develop their own unique
formula that addresses the four dimensions of urban success: talent,
innovation, connections and distinctiveness," said Cortright.

So, here's how Portland rates in a few of the categories.

Innovation : Self Employment. Ranked # 6 with 10.8% of residents owning their own business. This might be a bit lower because there are not as many tax incentives to own your own business here in Oregon as there are in other cities that try to attract new businesses. I learned that the hard way.

Connectedness: Voting. Ranked #7 with 66.2% voting in the last Presidential election.

Distinctiveness: Restaurant Variety. This is an interesting one. The ratio of ethnic restaurants to fast food. Ranked #4, after San Fran, NY, Boston.

The two categories it ranked the highest, at #3 in both, Economic Integration (Percentage of the population who would not have to move from their current neighborhoods in order to equalize the distribution of high-income and low-income households across all neighborhoods in the metropolitan area) and Movie Variety (Variance of local movie attendance from national movie attendance for the top 60 motion pictures nationally in 2005)

So, that's the skinny on some of Portland strengths. Come visit anytime. :)

Lunch time

2007-08-21T12:39:00.001-07:00

I usually eat lunch at my desk. I know, that's boring and anti-social. But, I only take a half hour so I can leave at 4:30pm and it's easier to just sit at my desk and work on some of my ecommerce stuff during lunch. But today, I had a couple of visitors. Julie Chang was in Portland from Eugene and came to have lunch with me a the deli on the first floor of our building, called Freddie Brown's Deli. It's owned by a cute Korean family and they wave at me every morning as I enter the building. As we were ordering, Shasta called so we invited her to come on down since she was just at Portland State Univ in downtown. It was the most fun I've had at work since I started here. If you're ever in downtown during lunch time, give me a ring. :)

Melon Madness and Corn Roast

2007-08-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

Portland Farmer's Market is having a fun event today at the EcoTrust. I don't think I'll enter the Zucchini Hot Rod Carving event but I sure will eat alot of Corn, that's for sure. I love that you can pretty much find a farmer's market on any day of the week. Of course Sat is the biggest near Portland State Univ but practically every community has it's own farmer's markets. The one in my neighborhood, Hillsdale has a little one on Sunday that I've been to. I like supporting the local farmers here in Oregon. I just have to eat more fruit and veggies now.

Walking Tour of Portland

2007-08-15T14:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday after work, I went on the Walking Tour of Portland as part of my church's two week long Urban Camp. It was crazy. We had like 50 people show up and it was a blast. I learned so many wonderful little facts about Portland. I especially liked hearing about all the public art in downtown Portland. The one place I want to explore more once the weather cools down a bit and I need to head indoors is the Center for Performing Arts. Portland has a magnificent arts culture and of course it's performing arts has to be fantastic too I'm sure.

Crazy Weekend

2007-08-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

This was one of the busiest weekends in a long time. But there were SO many wonderful activities going on. Here's all the fun activities I got to do:

Fri 6pm : My church, Mosaic, is having a two week fun extravagance called Urban Camp. There's an activity every day for two weeks. Today was Concert in the Park at the Rose Park Theater. It was great to see so many from the church come out for the concert.

Fri 9pm : After the concert, I grabbed some friends and we went to see Illume in downtown Portland. It's a 3 block outdoor photo exhibition of extreme sports sponsored by RedBull. There were amazing photographs from all over the world.

Sat am : worked on my websites.

Sat 4pm : BBQ at Dave's house with a rousing competition of Croquet.

Sun 7am : I rode in the Bridge Pedal with some friends. We opted for the 24 mile, 8 bridge route. It was a long but very beautiful route, taking us over 8 amazing bridges over the Willamette River.

Sun 12pm : Bite of Oregon. We got free entrance after the Bridge Pedal to sample the wonderful delicacies of Oregon. I had some seafood paella. Yum.

Sun 5:30pm : Mosaic Church service.

Sun 7pm : crash after a very busy weekend.

Fast Cities - Portland

2007-08-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

Fast Company, one of the many magazines I subscribe to, has a good article about the Fastest Cities in the US. Of course Portland is listed. It's hard to find a list ranking cities that doesn't include Portland. From magazines to books like "Cities Ranked & Rated" (where Portland ranks 3rd), all tout the virtues of our great city. Here's an interesting fact from the article :

With 125 projects and counting, Portland has the most structures certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Voodoo Doughnut

2007-08-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the popular business book "Made to Stick", have an article in the June issue of Fast Company, called "Give 'em something to talk about." The article starts out, "If you go to Portland, Oregon, everyone wants to talk about Voodoo Doughnut. They talk about the caffeinated doughnut. Or the chocolate-glazed chocolate doughnut rolled in Cocoa Puffs cereal. Or the voodoo-doll-shaped doughnut that bleeds raspberry filling when impaled with a pretzel pin."

I experienced Voodoo Doughnuts yesterday when on my usual 5 block walk from the bus stop to the office, I noticed a small sign for Voodoo Doughnuts on the side of a brick building. Of course I have heard of Voodoo, I am on top of Portland culture after all, but I never actually experienced it before. The sign was to their bakery and distribution center with a tiny counter where a pierced/tattooed young woman sells doughnuts. I had a traditional chocolate and peanut covered doughnut and it was very good. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have breakfast or that I am a recovering carb addict, but in any case, Chip and Dan are right, even I'm talking about Voodoo Doughnut.

My New Business

2007-08-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

My web empire is growing! Okay, not quite an empire yet but you gotta start somewhere. I now own another web business called Smart Pet Supply. Please visit and buy lots of cute things for your dog or cat. The site currently sells alot of cutsey things for small dogs. My first sale was the Pistacchio Dog Stroller to a woman in Beverly Hills. I know, it's silly to have a stroller for your dog, but you gotta love the American lifestyles of the rich and frivilous. :)

Love Won Out Conference

2007-08-07T11:59:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, I attended a conference called Love Won Out, by a great organization called Focus on the Family. The conference deals with the issue of homosexuality from a Christian worldview and it was is Portland last weekend.

I decided to go because I have been challenged and even frustrated at how the church deals with homosexuality, or should I say, how it doesn't deal with it. A speaker told a story of how one gay man received Christ after hearing the gospel message on TV and the next Sunday went to local church to ask for help. The pastor's response to his face was, "there's no place for f*gs here." I know that is appalling and we would never say anything like that, but what will it take for the church to actually tackle issues in our society that are so foundational in showing the world who Christ really is. The church was given a chance to step up and show Christ love to dying people during the AIDS epidemic but what it choose to do was condemn the dying instead.

The conference renewed my hope that people can and do change in this area. I have walked along side men and women who desired to leave their homosexual lifestyles with deep hope that they would find victory. I know it's possible because I've seen it. But, like all life change, it can't happen outside of a community of grace and truth. I hope the church will become that type of community for all people.

Republican Presidential Debate

2007-08-05T16:50:00.001-07:00

I just watched the Republican Presidential Debate with George Stephanopolous. Fred Thompson wasn't there because he's not an official candidate but did you know that he's polling at 13% in Iowa? Interesting. Well, nothing new or surprising at the debate. One interesting personal question asked by someone in Idaho, "What is the biggest defining moment mistake you've made in your life?" Some had the political agenda answer, just another shot at getting their position out there. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani made everyone laugh by saying there's no way he could just name one of his many mistakes, may he be referring to his divorces? :) Tom Tancredo (R-CO) answer was that his biggest mistake was taking 30 years to acknowledge Jesus Christ as his savior.

It's a milestone election with both a woman and an African American running with such strong campaigns. It's going to be an interesting election year!

Oneonta Falls

2007-08-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

Oneonta Falls near Multnomah Falls. I went with the hobnob folks on a beautiful hike to the falls. Here we are on a cool little bridge. There was also a small waterfall where the water gathered into a pool. Some of the gang went for a nice swim in FREEZING water. I'm from Orlando, so I don't go in water below 80 degrees. :)

My new Samsung phone

2007-08-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Yet another reason to love the Koreans: the Samsung phone. I just got the Samsung Trace which is a great little phone. I had to replace my broken Motorola phone, which wouldn't ring when anyone in my address book called. So, strangers could reach me but I wouldn't pick up for any of my friends. Some of you know this from frustrating personal experience. So, why did I buy a "non-Korean" phone in the first place? I know, I got taken in by the free offer when I signed up. But this time, I waited until the a Samsung was free. I would have also taken an LG, also Korean. :)

Birthday

2007-08-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my Birthday. I turned a milestone year but I won't tell you which one. :) The festivities started last week when I was visiting my sister in WA. After dinner on my last day in town, my sister thought it would be fun to have a little party with a cake, which she asked me to get on the way to picking the kids up from daycamp. So, of course I went for my favorite, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream cake. Oreo ice cream with chocolate cake. yummm. We had a little party with my sister, my neice Mindy and 3 other 8 year olds.

Then, the day before my b-day, Julie Esh, an old friend from Crusade came into town to visit me and some other friends. It also happens that we have the same b-day! So, after I got her from the airport, I took here out to dinner a cute local restaurant on Nob Hill called Rose's Restaurant and Bakery. I went on and on over dinner about all the reasons Portland is so great. Now she wants to move here. :) It was fun to have her because the next morning we got to have b-day bagel together before I went off to work.

On the evening of my b-day I threw myself a BBQ party and invited some of my old students, most of them from the OEX summer projects I led to East Asia. It was so much fun. 11 of us sat on my deck with hot dogs and burgers and had a great time into the late evening. I feel very blessed that I've moved to a town where I have so many close friends. It's the main reason I love Portland so much.

Downtown Portland

2007-07-30T12:43:00.001-07:00

NW Natural Gas is in a great location. On one side, you have the MAX station. The other side, CHINATOWN. Awesome. I walked down to street to explore today at lunch and found an inexpensive place to get lunch, and staked out where the bubbble tea shop was, although it looked a bit sketchy. I'll try it out some time. I love downtown Portland, esp for it's fun activities like the Fifth Ave Street Fair in Chinatown.

My new job

2007-07-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

I decided to get a temporary job while I work on my internet business. I started working at NW Natural Gas here in downtown Portland. It's a 2-3 months position and I think it's just want I needed. I work in payroll and shuffle a lot of papers around but it's a nice mindless job to get me out of the house and pay the bills. It's so strange getting back into an office. I pulled out all my business casual. I ride the bus and pack my lunch. It's a different type of life. I have not worked in a secular office since 1996. I've already had a chance to talk a little about my faith to three women over lunch. I felt it was well received esp since I was talking about my life, not just about religion. I like being able to talk about my faith in the context of relationships in the midst of sharing about my life. I will look for more opportunities.

Magellan GPS

2007-07-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

I love my new GPS. I got the Magellan RoadMate 2000 at the CarToys Tent Sale. I first experienced one while riding with the Chens. I loved how it helped us get back to our car from Mt Hood. You have no idea how many hours and tanks of gas I've wasted in the last three months in Portland trying to get places. First, I look up a location on google, then do the google map thing and the write it down on a piece of scratch paper, and then get lost getting there. Now, I just type in the name of the businesses or store, or the address, and it tells me exactly where to turn and what to do. I esp love that while I'm driving, I can look up all the Carl's Jr's in the neighborhood if I want to take a detour and get a milkshake. :) Seriously, everyone needs one of these.

Camping Mt St Helens

2007-07-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

It's been years since I'd been camping. I've only been camping about 6 times in my life. It was fun to go with some new friends. Mt St Helens is amazing. We had a chance to hike up to the snow. We even threw out the kayak on the lake and did a bit of fly fishing. Fun.

4th of July and Wii

2007-07-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

Who knew that the Nintendo Wii was so entertaining. I guess the millions of people who own them could testify. For the 4th, I went over to Josh and Wendy Chen's for a fun BBQ and Nintendo Wii party. It ended up being a little reunion for me. Domanic (a UO student who went to East Asia with me in 01) was there with his fiancee. I also saw Eugenie who I hadn't seen since I left UO in 2000. She was there with her fiance also. I love having these serendipitous reunions here in Portland. We decided not to fight the crowds to see the fireworks but that's ok, I saw them going off all over the sky as I drove home.

My friend Julie

2007-07-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you all about my dear friend Julie. We met in Jan of 97, when we were at Campus Crusade's New Staff Training. We were fresh young idealistic missionaries, ready to change the world for Christ. :) We became fast friends and after we left New Staff Training, we continued to talk on the phone for encouragement and accountability. Well, 10 years later, we are still talking on the phone every month. I am very thankful for Julie and our friendship. We've lived parallel lives during our years on staff and have really enjoyed walking through life and our relationship with God together. I also get to benefit from the fact that she recently got her master's degree in counseling. You can read more about her on her blog.

Fishing Mt Hood

2007-07-03T18:14:00.002-07:00

I finally took out the kayak last weekend when Joe Ying got a few people together to go fishing at Mt Hood. I've known Joe since he was a student at UO many years ago and now he's back in Portland. He had two friends from CA visiting for a dental conference in Portland (here are the two dentists in Joe and my kayaks). The Chens also came and we had a great time. I fly fished for the first time in ages and I caught a cute little rainbow trout but I decided to let him live. We all had a great time, esp Wendy and I in the pop up tent while the guys fished in the rain. Mt Hood is beautiful, esp from a kayak.

The Grotto

2007-07-03T18:08:00.001-07:00

Another fun Meetin event, the Grotto. The Grotto is a Catholic Sanctuary in Portland and about 30 people showed up for this fun event. I loved this peaceful sanctuary. An elevator takes you up to the upper level where a glass building/meditation room looks out on an incredible view of Portland including Mt. St. Helens in the background. I definitely could hang out in the garden for hours.

Portland Bike Fair

2007-06-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

I recently found a great website called MEETIN.ORG. Portland's Meetin is the most active in the country, and why not, there are so many fun great people here and lots of amazing things to do. There are at least 3 or 4 events every DAY. It's a fun gathering of people who enjoy similar activities. My first event was the Bike Fair as part of the week-long Pedalpalooza. I even volunteered at the event and got a free t-shirt. :) I love that Portland has such fun events like this.

Evan Almighty

2007-06-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

The Chen's and I watched Evan Almighty on opening day. I rarely go to the movies but I loved Bruce Almighty so I had to see the sequel. Evan Almighty is a totally different type of movie. First, it's rated PG. It's just a wholesome family friendly movie. There's hardly any inappropriate scenes or jokes. Ok, so it's been criticized as being corny and predictable, but it's also has a great moral story about family, faith, the responsibility to God and our environment. I loved that this movie shows Evan's relationship with God as being so personal and practical. I also loved that about Bruce Almighy, remember how Bruce and God mops the floor of that industrial building together and looks at their work with pride. A great lesson on life.

But, my favorite theme in the movie is environmental responsiblity. God shows Evan what he originally created which man has turned into a massive development of Hummer Homes. It's an issue that's contraversial in the church I think because Christians are notoriously apathetic to the environment but maybe that will change as we start to see the earth as a gift we are given to steward.

Go see Evan Almighty. It's fun for the whole family. :)

Web Design

2007-06-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

Since I'm an Ecommerce Entrepreneur, I have been learing Web Design using the Adobe program Dreamweaver MX. I really love this program. Paul of Ministryhome.org advised me to just go all out and take the time and energy to learn Dreamweaver because it's the best and I agree. So, here's the first full site I've created myself, a ministry site for my friend Kerri. It still has some design issues, but please feel free to give your input or advice on how to improve the site. Check it out at KerriLouck.com. Thanks!

Mosaic Church

2007-06-05T22:31:00.001-07:00

I've been going to a great little church called Mosaic Church here in Portland. I've only been there two weeks but one of my first priorities was getting involved in a home group. I really think that Bible Study or Home groups are one of the most important things about church. The Sunday service is great and it's good to be in a large group for corporate worship but it's really hard to experience the kind of "church" that the apostles and followers of Christ experienced in Acts 2 in a large group like a Sunday morning. Home groups and Bible studies are where faith is lived out in community. I've already visited two groups and I lived both of them. One is a group of married couples and one is a group of singles. I met some really wonderful people there. I am looking forward to getting to know them better.

Mystery Shopper

2007-06-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

As a way of getting out of the house and doing something fun, as well as getting some free stuff, I'm now a Mystery Shopper with National Shopping Service. Today, I had my first assignment. I drove myself to north Portland and ate at a national fast food restaurant in the "asian" category. It was my first time there but I had a pretty good experience. The food is definitely fast food type but hey, that's what American like. I just had to fill out a survey about my experience and there you go, a free meal. Next week, I get to have pizza delivered to my house. :)

Creature Comforts

2007-05-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about a new TV show that premiers this Monday at 8pm on CBS. It's called Creature Comforts and it's claymation comedy from the creators of Wallace and Grommit which is an awesome movie. Watch it, you'll love it!

My Home

2007-05-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Here's some pix of where I live. My former roommate from Eugene, OR, Paula owns this cute little house in SW Portland in a neighborhood calls Hillsdale and I'm her roommate again here in Portland. We call it "The Cottage" but since it's red and green, it's also called the "Christmas Cottage." I'm gonna enjoy it here this summer. Portland is a wonderful, beautiful city.

My Office

2007-05-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

So, what's the life of a carefree Internet Entrepreneur like? Well, I must admit that I've slowed down on my busy life at this stage of my life. My regular schedule consists of waking up at about 9am or even later. I have a bit of breakfast, cereal and yogurt. Then, I get on my laptop and start working on my online business. I take a lunch break and continue working, sometimes on the couch with the TV on in the background. I'm really loving Martha Stewart Show right now. Sometimes, I work from a cool Portland coffee shop, since all of them have wifi.

Right now, I don't have many orders to fill since it's spring and there's not much snow around. My time is main taken up with creating links to my site. That's what will increase the ranking for my site of search engines. By the way, if you have a website or blog, please link my snowmobile site to it. It would be very helpful. I'd appreciate it.

So, here I am working in my office. It's the back porch of my place here in Portland. I'm gonna LOVE living here in the summer time!

LOST

2007-05-24T22:42:00.000-07:00

Matt and Krista Mikalatos (or as I like to call them, "the Miks") have a LOST party every Wed night. People come over at different times and just hang out or come right at 10pm to see the show LOST. I had never seen an episode of Lost until I moved to Portland and my friends were going to the Miks so I decided to go to hang out. I've seen about 5 episodes now and I'm really into it, esp when the Korean couple speaks Korean on the show. So, last night, the Miks had a blowout, Season Finale of LOST Party. For fun, Matt even made up questions for a Prediction Contest and guess who won? Yes, yours truly. Here's a link to his Blog where he writes all about it. My favorite part of LOST episode? When Jin tells the Others who capture him to "Go to Hell" in Korean. :)

How's Business?

2007-05-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

You may be wondering how the Snowmobile Accessories business is going in the off season. Well, it's slowed WAY down as you can imagine. I haven't sold anything in awhile until someone in CA bought 4 of these hand mirrors today. I have no idea how they are even used but I'm glad someone wants them.

Most of my time will be spent on getting ready for coming fall/winter season. I have to start uploading new 2007 products, having off season sales, and the most important ongoing part of my business, trying to climb the search enging rankings. That's a whole business in itself. This is where my project manager and search engine expert Ryan comes in. He advises me on what I need to do to rank on page 1 of Google searches. If I actually did rank page 1 or even rank first place, that would be the equivalent of having my store on the busiest street in New York City. Business would go through the roof! Alas, I am still working on the technical issues regarding that.

Let me know if you are in need of any hand mirrors. I'm your gal! :)

Mother's Day Weekend

2007-05-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

It had only been a month since moving to Portland but I missed "home" already. I don't care how old I get or how long I've been out of the house, my family will still consider my parent's house, my home. My parents and sister still call the house in Bonney Lake my "home," as in "hey, when are you coming home for Mother's Day." Well, I did come home the Thurs before Mother's Day. I had already been sick with the cold for 4 days but felt like i was getting better. But once I got home to BL, I had a relapse and have been in bed ever since. The total # of days sick : TEN!! Yesterday, I finally went to the walk in clinic, even though I don't have medical insurance. One of the sacrifices of being self employeed. I laid down a chunk of change and found out that I have BRONCHITIS! So, now I'm on antibiotics and on my way back to health.

So, Mother's Day wasn't very eventful. Last year, we had a great time at a fabulous restaurant in Seattle. We tried to get reservations again this year, but we were literally the 100th people on the waiting list. I can't believe keep people on such long waiting lists, what's crazier is that people wanted to be on that list.

My mom's been patiently waiting for Mother's Day to let us know what she wanted as a gift. This is how our family is. We just tell each other what we want for gitfs instead of trying to find that perfect thing that would surprise them with wonder and awe at the astuteness of the gift. Well, my mom wants a Treadmill. As if it weren't enough that she goes to the gym 3 or 4 times a week to swim for an hour, now she wants to start running on a treadmill. I guess, it's good that she wants to keep in shape. My sister and I will have to go to Sears and get one for her this week.

Well, that's my Mother's Day weekend.

What should I call my Blog now?

2007-05-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

I need a new name for my Blog now that I don't own the Bubble tea shop anymore. By the way, my parents took over the shop and it's continuing to serve the Bubble Tea needs of the city of Bonney Lake, in case you were wondering if the citizens were being deprived of their only Bubble tea shop.

But, what should i call my Blog now? Give me some suggestions, please!?

My new career

2007-04-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be wondering what I'm doing for a living, now that I've left the Bubble Tea Shop. Well, after months and months of research and preparation, I am the proud owner of my own E-Commerce site. I sell snowmobiles accessories and equipment. I know I know, you had no idea I was into snowmobiling, right? That's right. I have never even seen a snowmobile in real life. But, I love my new business. My company is called Spiral Recreations LLC and I hope to branch out into other niche market sports and recreational arenas.

It all started when I came across a great company that builds E-commerce sites, Analytica Corp. I was so impressed with this company because of their excellent customer service and support. I knew that I could learn everything I needed to about E-commerce from them. After looking at some of the sites they created, I finally came across this snowmobile site. It's a great business. Although I've only owned this site for a few weeks, I really enjoy the "work" of running an Ecommerce site. There's a huge learning curve but it's been fun. There's still ALOT of work to do. The forum and classifieds sites connected to the "store" need to be redesigned but for now, I'm very happy with the progress.

I feel like it's totally God's provision for me. I even ran across an old UO student from when I was with Campus Crusade here in Portland, who has signed on to become my Project Manager. What a blessing to have someone like Ryan on my team.

Please take a minute to check out my site and let me know what you think :)

Snowmobiles-forsale.com

Tragedy at Virginia Tech

2007-04-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a very hard few weeks as I've been following the news of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. My family has been grieved to hear that the shooter was a young Korean-American student. Of course my friends with Campus Crusade in the Mid Atlantic area have been so grieved as their students struggle personally with the tragedy. I wanted to post a different perspective from the media regarding the tragedy from a student involved with Campus Crusade at VT who was the first to find the first two victims of the shooting. Molly, a freshman shares her story.

Please continue to pray for the students at VT. We are having of students placing their trust in Christ even daily as a result of this tragedy. Thanks.

I Love Portland

2007-04-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

So, I've been here almost two weeks now and I LOVE it. It's definitely my kind of town and here's some reasons why:

-There's Organic food at EVERY grocery store and not just one aisle.
-There are a ton of local mom and pop shops or local chains.
-I have yet to see a WalMart in Portland.
-I feel safe walking around downtown by myself.
-The public transportation is efficient.
-Many of my dearest friend live here, including Kerri.
-I'm always running into former students from UO here.
-Professional attire is corduroys and fleece.
-I live in a cute cottage in the woods.

Please come visit me if you're ever passing through. I've already had the joy of seeing Michael Na and Carolyn (my designer) when they came to visit Portland. :)

I'm moving to Portland!

2007-03-14T10:50:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been exactly one year since I left Campus Crusade. It's been a year of tremendous change and transition. I went from being the Dir. of Leadership Dev for the largest mission organization in the world to living in my parents' spare bedroom. Of course I loved being near my family and I enjoyed putting my business savvy to use in creating the bubble tea shop and also managing the Wok. After one year, our sales from the same month last year has increased 30%! That's tremendous but still it's been a hard year.

I knew this time would come though. I feel like I've accomplished all the things I wanted to here. I've experienced a great deal growth and healing. I feel like it was a very long sabattical, sometimes it felt like the desert, but I knew that God had a plan for me for this time in my life here in Bonney Lake.

I have NO idea what the next stage brings. I am moving to Portland in April with no job and no permanent place to live. I am handing over the Bubble Tea shop to my parents and I'm heading on to a new adventure. I think I still want to eventually own a bubble tea shop in Portland but I also have some other business asperations. Please pray for me if you think of it. I know it's the right decision. My best friends confirmed it at the reunion and I sense the Lord has released me to move on. Only He can take care of me and provide for me. I'll keep you updated. Thanks!

Reunion in Centralia

2007-03-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Lifetime friends are a blessing. Every year my 3 best friends from college and I get together for a reunion, we’ve been doing it ever we all left Seattle 10 years ago. How do we keep it going for so long, since we all live in the four corners of the world? It takes A LOT of commitment, especially now with 5 kids between the 3 girls. It’s one of the greatest blessings I’m experienced from the Lord. This year, we went in Centralia, WA. I know, it’s ho dunk town but all we needed was a restaurant and a hotel. Katie lives in East Asia, Daniela lives in New Mexico, and Sherri lives in N Carolina. Sherri wasn’t able to make it this year which was a great loss and her absence was definitely felt. We love you Sherri!

Our reunions are always a time of hilarious laughter, many traditions (like eating Dip Cones from DQ), and deep sharing that have literally changed my life. I am very thankful for these wonderful women.

Bubble Tea Missions Party

2007-02-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

I'm finally doing something for the Great Commission here at the Bubble Tea shop. I'm having a missions night. My favorite Crusade staff (I'm biased cuz it's one of my best friends from college) Katie and Matt are coming to the BT at the Wok to give a little presentation about their ministry in East Asia. I hope it's an encouraging time for all who attend and I'm also hoping it moves people to get involved either by praying for or giving to their ministry. I was sad to read that a recent statistic rated church giving to missionaries at 1-2% of all of their budget.

It's Sunday Feb 25th 6:30pm. The Wok will be closed and free Bubble Tea will be flowing all NIGHT!

If you'd like to attend, just email me and let me know!!

Christmas Gift

2007-02-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

I got a great Christmas Gift the other day. Yes, it was wrapped in Christmas wrap and everything. The ladies in my women's group at church all went in on buying me a table top artificial Christmas tree. That was so sweet. I felt so loved. I had told them that I hadn't had a tree since I was really young. My parents would bring out the same old fake tree every year when we were young but then go tired of it and we hadn't really celebrated Christmas since then. Our house usually looks exactly the same over Christmas as it looks the rest of the year. I only had Christmas trees if my roommate would put one up. Well, now I have my own tree. I can take it anywhere I want and it's special because the ladies of Calvary Comm Church Sisterhood group gave it to me. :)

Amazing Results from Superbowl Outreach

2007-02-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

934 Indicate a Decision to Trust Christ!!

On Feb 2, Campus Crusade placed a full-page, color advertisement in the USA Today Super Bowl special section as part of the Beyond the Ultimate outreach.

The ad featured both head coaches and points readers to a special Web site, www.BeyondTheUltimate.org.

Featuring articles and streaming video from players and coaches who share their stories and talk about their faith in Jesus Christ, the Web site has been a tremendous success.

Stats (as of 06.Feb)

Total site visits - 176,249
Visitors who indicated that they received Christ - 934
Visitors who moved on to a followup site - 510
Visitors who went to a special e-mail page where they could request more information - 958

Awesome!

Superbowl Sunday

2007-02-02T09:10:00.000-08:00

I must admit, I don't get into the Superbowl or football at all. The only reason I had know about it was because I had to plan the New Staff Training schedule around it. I'll never forget last winter when I had to ask our President, Steve Douglass, to speaker on Sunday morning instead of the evening because it happened to be Superbowl Sunday. I thought it was ridiculous that we would schedule our training around it but when I talked to Steve's (I'm on a first name basis with him ;)) assistant if it would be possible to change the schedule, the assistant said it was a great reason for changing it. I felt better.

Crusade has a Pro Athlete ministry and they've put out this really awesome campaign for Superbowl. Check out their website. It's really exciting.

Several years ago, I actually had two retired NFL players go through my New Staff Training to join the Pro ministry of Campus Crusade. I won't tell you who they were to respect their privacy (and because i can't remember their names now :) ) but the other new staff guys were so excited they were going through training with these NFL greats. I remember the guys had wonderful families (like 5 kids between them) One of the guy's wife was a pistol, really fun.

Well, happy Superbowl Sunday. I'll be watching the commercials. :)

Saint Ralph

2007-02-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

I love this movie. It's been a long time since a movie made me cry for a dissappointments of the characters like this. Everyone should see it.

Kelly James

2007-01-31T20:15:00.001-08:00

His name may not seem familiar now but on Dec 17, 2006, Kelly James' name was all over the news as one of the 3 climbers on Mt Hood in Oregon who died while climbing in storm conditions. It made national news and I followed it with some interest, like everyone else.

It's not until just today that I read that Kelly was the brother of Frank James, President of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, and brother in law of Carolyn James, speaker and author of "When Life and Beliefs Collide" among other books. Frank and Carolyn have been very good friends to Campus Crusade. Many staff, including myself have taken the course "Church History" by Dr. James and have heard Carolyn speak at conferences on many occasions.

Carolyn has actually been a personal "hero" for me. I met her when I asked her to speak to our women staff at New Staff Training in 2005. I so enjoyed her at NST that I decided to ask her over to my humble home for dinner. I didn't think a famous author would have the time to come to dinner at my home but she graciously accepted and my roommate and I had a wonderful evening with Carolyn. What an amazing woman.

It's intersting that the news of Kelly James was just headline news to me when it was happening. I knew he had a wife and kids and family members, but I couldn't really empathize with them. It only took knowing his family member to experience sadness for a lost life.

It makes me wish I saw people more as precious souls, even if I don't experience them being precious to me, they are still precious to the Lord. What more reason to feel connected to people who are in need or just passing by us in life. That will be my prayer today.

Caption Contest Winners!!

2007-01-21T22:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks all for entering the 1st Ever BTLA Caption Contest. Since there were so many great entries, I've decided to award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner. But alas only one can be 1st place WINNER and recipient of the coveted Teriyaki Wok T-shirt. Here you go!

3rd Place : Katie with "they say that people often look like their pets - "Angel slowly taking on the form of her new pet - her hen!" - it was the best use of other blog entries to personalize the photo.

2nd Place : Jenn with "Mother Angel please bless me and heal my hand!" - best incorporation of both the HAND and the HEAD THINGY

Drum Roll Please : BRBRBRBRBRBBRBRBRBRB
The Winner of the Caption Contest is Shawn with "Hey lady, lookout! There's a rabid albino vampire bat on your head!" - don't know why, it just made me laugh out loud.

By the way, that picture was taken by Dennis Brockman during my very first HR Vertical Team meetings for Campus Crusade. This one was held in Scottsdale, AZ and as the one fun event of the very long 4 day meetings, we went to a Arizona Diamondback game and they were giving away free promotional towels. That's Amy Rector's hand. :)

Thanks everyone for entering or reading along.

The Apprentice

2007-01-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

So, I'm sitting here watching the Apprentice, which is one of my favorite shows. Imagine my surprise when I saw my friend, James Sun, on the show. Have you seen him? We used to go to church together in Federal Way, WA. I recognized him right away, especially his voice. The last time I saw him was when we ran into each other at the Seattle Airport. He was going on a business trip and told me he was thinking about an internet business which is pretty hush hush right now. Well, reading from his bio, it sounds like it was a success. It's always fun to see people you know on TV. :) Good luck, James!

Caption Contest! - You could win BIG!

2007-01-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

There is only ONE MORE DAY left of the 1st Ever BTLA (Bubble Tea Life of Angel) Caption Contest!

This is how you play.
1) Observe the contest picture posted below
2) Think about a fun caption for this picture
3) Post your entry under "comments" by Jan 19th.
4) Wait with anticipation for the announcement of the Winner on Jan 20th!

Grand PRIZE : a brand new Teriyaki Wok T-shirt. That's right! It's the original TWok Shirt. Not sold in any stores. Once in a lifetime memorabilia. Could be worth millions one day on Ebay.

Here it is : the Picture for the Caption Contest: Yes, that's me!

Sean Taylor (1971-2007)

2007-01-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

My dear friend of 15 years from Green River Comm. College, Sean Taylor, went to be with the Lord on Sunday morning. It was a whirlwind as I read an email on Sat afternoon that he was in the hospital and that the doctors only gave him 3 days because his kidney and liver functions had shut down. I was shocked because I had never known him to be sick. Sat evening, Zack, another friend from Green River and I drove up to Seattle to visit him. I was able to take some time to say goodbye to him privately. I didn't know if he could hear me or if he even knew I was in the room. He did make a few different sounds as I talked to him and touched him, so I hope that he could hear me.

Sean has had a very difficult life. He struggled with issues from his past for most of his life. When he became a Christian through our college group at Green River, it was a radical transformation. We became like his new family. All these years, Sean and I remained close friends.

Tonight I attended my very first memorial service for someone I was close to. It was hard but it was also a celebration of Sean and his life. It was surprising a happy time. I joked with his mother and sister, I saw old friends, I remembered my old friend. It was a gift to have know Sean, a fun, crazy, wild, guy who loved SpongeBob Square pants, his friends, and the Lord. I will miss him always.

I have a pet chicken

2007-01-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

No kidding. Not only do I live in a totally ho-dunk town, but now I own livestock. One of our cooks at the Wok was given a chicken last week (don't ask me why). So, he decided to fatten the chicken up before chopping it up for dinner. But that takes time and since he couldn't keep it in his apartment alone, he decided to bring it to work and raise the chicken outside our restaurant. Well, I'm not even gonna name all the health codes this chicken breaks.

So, I decided to bring it home with me and raise it for him until the chicken grows up. Of course it was a sacrifice for me to have to look after this chicken for the sake of not jeopardizing our business. But, actually, this little chicken is growing on me. I went to the feed store to buy it some food and found out that this chicken is actually a hen and she will be laying eggs soon. Cool! Now I'm raising a chicken in a laundry room. So, what did I name this little bundle of joy? I just call her CHICKEN. As in, "Bo, stop barking at Chicken!" I hope I don't get too attached to Chicken because she's gonna be dinner soon. Gosh, if only I hadn't watched "Charlotte's Web" last week. :)

Does anyone have any advice for raising Chicken for me? For instance, do I have to walk her or bathe her? I'm this clueless!

Matt and Katie

2007-01-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

Katie and I met at Univ of Washington. I didn't really know her but after we graduated, she ended up being the third roommate of my two best friends where she became one of my THREE best friends. Well, fast forward like 12 years. Matt, Katie, Alathia, and Abigayle are on furlough from ministry in East Asia here in Seattle and they came to see me at the WOK. It was so wonderful seeing them. They liked my bubble tea too. :)

I'm hoping that we will be able to have our annual reunion this year. We have faithfully had annual reunions ever since leaving college, and last year was the first time all 4 of us were not together. Daniela will have to come from New Mexico, and Sherri from N Carolina. I hope we can do it this year. In any case, I love that they are here in WA. :)

An incredible loss for a friend

2007-01-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

I've been so burdened as I grieve along side a friend who is experiencing a deep loss. Haley Chitty was one of my new staff when I directed New Staff Training for Campus Crusade. I really enjoyed her because she was always so smiley and so sweet. Haley is on Campus Crusade staff at Univ of Tennessee and just after Christmas, her whole family, parents and two younger brothers were killed in a plane crash. She would also have been in that plane except she had to fly to attend a Campus Crusade conference. If you have a chance, please pray for her, even though you don't know her personally, I'm sure you can image what an incredible loss this is for her. Click here to read more.

Back to normal life

2007-01-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

How that all the holiday festivities are done, we're back to normal life. Gone is the Christmas CDs playing at the WOK, the wreath is down and all is kind of boring again. So to not get bored myself, I have decided to take on the next project which is remodeling our bathrooms. It may not seems very exciting to most people but i'm really looking forward to it. I wish I could do the work myself but with codes and stuff, I can't afford to do it wrong so I'll let the professionals take care of it. :) I would post some "before" pictures but we've already done a few cosmetic things so the contrast from before to after won't be as dramatic. Mainly, I'm changing out the vanity and mirror and painting. Hope it turns out well.

Happy New Year!

2006-12-30T10:29:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, I would be spending New Years with my family since New Years is the BIGGEST Korean Holiday. On New Years morning, the whole family would get together with LOTS of food and the little ones would do a traditional bow to their elders and get lots of CASH from them. Once when a college student from UofO came home with me for New Years, my parents even gave her money for doing the bow. :)

But, today, I'm off to Portland, yes, that wonderful city that plan to move to one day. First I'm driving to Batttle Ground to spend the afternoon with Daniela, Brian, EJ, and little baby in stomach Byers, as well as the whole Emery family. Then off to Portland to attend the Campus Crusade Winter Conference, not as a student, or a staff, but as a GUEST. Yes, I have graduated to the esteemed Guest status. I will be attending a fundraiser dinner for people in the Portland community. The speakers, Greg and Charmaine Lillistrand, the National Directors of our ministry in Italy. They are AMAZING people and I'm really looking forward to seeing them and hearing from them. Charmaine tried to recruit me to go with them to Europe when I was still up in the air about my future with Crusade. It would have been really wonderful to work with them but, alas, my calling was elsewhere, in Bonney Lake. :)

What I'm looking forward to most is just hanging out at the conference and seeing all my old friends on Crusade staff. Yes, it's kind of like going back to high school to see your old teachers but what do you do when you're homesick for the old days. I'll try to get some fun pictures of my time there. Have a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-27T13:16:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope the season continues be to one filled with joy and blessings. We still have New Years to come, the festivities aren't over yet!

My Christmas started out a bit bland. I went to my sister's house on Sat night after work and awaited my parents to come over for Christmas eve. They ended up not coming over because we were all under the weather. We sat around all day until we finally decided to head out to the Supermall to get some wintergear for our big snow outing the next day. I was sad I wasn't able to go over to Carolyn's place to see her family, which is a little traditional. Sad I didn't get to see Carolyn, her mom, her hubby, and our friend Michael, like I did on Thanksgiving.

But Christmas day ended up being wonderful. My parents came over and we all opened presents. Now, my parents don't really celebrate Christmas. Their house looks EXACTLY the same all year long, not even a wreath. So, it's up to my sister and I to make it fun. This year, my sister decorated her house quit a bit, but I was the one filled with Christmas spirit when it came to gifts this year. I loved being able to get fun gifts for my family. My sister got the G5 George Forman Grill which has 5 different inserts to make everything from Grilled steaks to panini sandwiches and waffles. My brother in law got a set of FireStorm tools including a drill (just like the one I have) and a circular saw and flashlight.

After presents, we had a nice meal at home and then headed to Snoqualmie for snow tubing. It was realy fun, altough my sister was too scared to go down the tubing run. My parents didn't even attempt it, they just went driving around with the dog. We had a great time. Here's a picture of my sister, my bro in law, and Mindy. :) FUN!

Bibles Replacing Beer On College Campuses

2006-12-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

This is why I love Campus Crusade. Check out this report on CBS EVENING NEWS. You can watch the broadcast by clicking on the link on the right of the CBS page called "Praying, not Partying." It's encouraging to see college students turning to spirituality.

Wind Storm in the Northwest

2006-12-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

Headlines read : "Storm leaves six dead, thousands searching for warmth"

How funny that I escaped the hurricanes in Florida only to face crazy wind storms in Washington! All my Oregon & Washington friends know what I mean by the crazy wind storms. I hope you all have your power back and are safe and sound.

On Thurs night, the lights at my parents house went out, along with the half of Bonney Lake. So, I decided to take comfort by going to my sister's house in Federal Way, but after only 3 hours, the power went out there also. I had flashbacks to the power outages my roommate, Tanya, and I endured in Orlando after the hurricane. (My favorite memory being how we toasted marshmellows for smores over candles.) But that was summertime in Florida so we didn't have to worry about freezing to death. :)

We have a fireplace at my sister's place and my brother in law had prepared us for winter by stacking up firewood. Thank goodness for that or we would have been in serious trouble. The first night was brutal because I woke up almost every hour to put more wood on the fire since we slept huddled next to the fireplace. My parents have a gas fireplace so I wasn't concerned about them. We didn't suffer at all compare to the poor folks who didn't have fireplaces.

It's Sunday now and my sister's house and the WOK now both have power. But my parent's house in Bonney Lake is still without power and my dad stubbornly refuses to leave the house. He's choosing to hunker down with our dog and brave the cold. So, the women in the OH family are having a slumber party again for the 4th night. Fun!