My company has been planning the rebranding and renaming of itself for the past 4 months and they've been teasing us with clues for the past month and building hype and momentum for the change. I have to admit that if they hadn't gone to such extraordinary lengths to build the hype I probably wouldn't have really cared, but they did a really great job in getting everyone excited about it.
They began with setting up a website where they would release video clues every day for a week. Each revealed a clue to the new name and they even got some famous local personalities to be in the videos. They also had hidden easter eggs on the site that made it fun to discover and figure out. On top of that, they mailed out phony recruiting letters from a company that basically stood for everything my company didn't. Then they sent out decoy and funny emails that tried to mislead everyone into thinking the new name was some other name.
But the finale was the brand launch party which was just held last night. We were told that it was a "red carpet attire" event and everyone was very excited to see what the company had planned for us. The night started at a very unusual location. We were told to meet at small unknown menswear store downtown. When we got there we were told to look around and accessorize as we wanted to and the company would pay for it. Since it was a mens store, mostly it was just the guys that got to have fun. Some got funky hats and shoes and some got snazzy new ties.
Then we were told to go across the street where limos were picking people up to take us to the party location. We got into the limo and were driven a few blocks away to a bar/club that had been reserved for the night. There were spotlights in front with a policeman and security guards and of course the red carpet. We got out of the limo and literally walked the red carpet. Immediately after entering through the doors, we were greeted by a crowd of fanatic students that were all wearing t-shirts with our new name and yelling for autographs and basically treating us like stars. There were photographers too and we had fun being "famous" and signing their shirts and papers. After the crowd of fans we were individually announced as we walked down the stairs to the party. It was a pretty wild scene and experience.
The party itself was pretty top notch too...open bar, buffet lines, sushi bar, cigars a live band. There were also other unusual "treats" like a room to pamper yourself with make-up artists, color experts and tattoo (paint) artists. There was also a store wher the company gave everyone $200 to order company apparel with the new name.
Overall it was a pretty fun night, and while I'm not usually into the whole company party thing, I'm really glad I went to this one. It was fun to live like a rock star for one night!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Whistler is Amazing!
I seriously love Whistler. It's probably been about 5 years since I last went there, but as soon as we got there I knew the weekend was going to rock. It just blows my mind that we can cover miles of mountain and snow all on a little board or a pair of sticks. It's so exhilarating and amazing to play in God's creation like we did. We definitely have to make this a yearly trip (or even more often than that).
Note to self: Blackcomb is definitely more boarder friendly than Whistler. But I like Whistler too.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
The Blessing of Accountability
Wow! I can't believe I'm blogging again. Well sort of...I've created a new blog as an accountability experiment. It's not a new idea, I borrowed it from the guys CG, but without the "punishment". Basically it's an open blog for people to post their daily observations or share what God showed them in their bible reading.
God's really been working in this area of my life where I've always struggled ever since becoming a Christian. I've never been able to have consistent quiet times and spend time with Him daily in His word. I would always try, but fall short due to my lack of discipline and old habits which puts other daily things ahead in the priority list than time with God. In fact since last year I'd pretty much stopped meeting with God at all on my own. I was at a very low point in my journey with God.
But God saw me and met me where I was at. He saw that I did have a desire to turn things around and come back to meeting with Him, but he knew I lacked the strength to do it on my own (the spirit is willing, but the body is weak mark 14:38b). So God brought a new friend into my life that immediately suggested we start reading the bible together, and that very day we started. we began reading a chapter each day and then since we worked together we would take 15-30 min each day to talk about what we read with each other. it's an extra special blessing b/c we work together and even on the same project so it wasn't hard to do it every single day. we even made it a point to call each other on the weekends to talk about our reading. this accountability really helped me in getting started and from there God took over by really meeting with me in my times in His word.
I'm just totally amazed that I've been able to meet with Him and be in His word every day for almost 2 months now, and I can definitely see how my life has changed b/c of it. I totally praise God for just knowing where and how to meet me where i'm at and for blessing me with such an awesome accountability partner.
So that's why I've started this new accountability blog for reading the bible. I'm hoping others can also experience how amazing it can be when God really speaks thru His word and meet us right where we're at.
God's really been working in this area of my life where I've always struggled ever since becoming a Christian. I've never been able to have consistent quiet times and spend time with Him daily in His word. I would always try, but fall short due to my lack of discipline and old habits which puts other daily things ahead in the priority list than time with God. In fact since last year I'd pretty much stopped meeting with God at all on my own. I was at a very low point in my journey with God.
But God saw me and met me where I was at. He saw that I did have a desire to turn things around and come back to meeting with Him, but he knew I lacked the strength to do it on my own (the spirit is willing, but the body is weak mark 14:38b). So God brought a new friend into my life that immediately suggested we start reading the bible together, and that very day we started. we began reading a chapter each day and then since we worked together we would take 15-30 min each day to talk about what we read with each other. it's an extra special blessing b/c we work together and even on the same project so it wasn't hard to do it every single day. we even made it a point to call each other on the weekends to talk about our reading. this accountability really helped me in getting started and from there God took over by really meeting with me in my times in His word.
I'm just totally amazed that I've been able to meet with Him and be in His word every day for almost 2 months now, and I can definitely see how my life has changed b/c of it. I totally praise God for just knowing where and how to meet me where i'm at and for blessing me with such an awesome accountability partner.
So that's why I've started this new accountability blog for reading the bible. I'm hoping others can also experience how amazing it can be when God really speaks thru His word and meet us right where we're at.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Food Fest in L.A.
My first blog entry back will have to be about my awesome "food fest" weekend in L.A. this past weekend. It's been several years since I last visited SoCal and my friends who have traded the beautiful PNW scenery for the traffic and smog...oh yeah and sun.
The weekend started out with brunch at Doughboys which is a great bakery/cafe that has some breakfast foods with a twist. i had the french toast pie and my friends had a breakfast bbq pork burrito and a chilli omelette. they are also known for their red velvet cake which was delicious!
That night we went to an all-you-can-eat korean bbq place where you grill your own meat. needless to say, we left that place never wanting to eat meat again...well at least for a long while. we made the mistake of order a second round of meat from 2 waitresses and end up with way more meat than we could consume and we feared being charged for the uneaten meat. so we resorted to hiding meat under finished dishes and hanging out until they gave us our bill.
the next day we headed out to manhattan beach to meet up with steph and her friends. i've never been to an L.A. beach and was pleasantly surprised. i was impressed with the number of beach v-ball courts set-up for anyone to use..why don't they have things like that on hawaii beaches?
it was a super nice day too...a little too nice as we were told to buy some socks on our way to the beach b/c we were told that the sand was too hot to play on without socks. wearing socks at the beach was definitely a first, but it wasn't too bad a price to pay to play beach v-ball. it was a great day at the beach...we played v-ball, splashed in the cool water and just hanging out in the sun. on the way back to the cars we walked by all of the amazing beach front properties...i wonder if i'll ever be able to own a place like that.
that night we headed to The Loft to eat some hawaiian food. good stuff...kalua pig and island style fried chicken. i even had a lava flow...my favorite! after dinner we went down to hermosa beach to "walk around" but ended up hanging out at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and having some laughs with a super friendly barista named Star.
next morning we went to the pasadena mosaic church service and then to Din Tai Fung Dumpling House where we had to wait an hour, but got to eat some of the best dumplings ever!!! so yummy! later that afternoon i went with steph to her church, The Exodus, and got to hear some awesome sharing by steph and several other congregation members.
that night we ate light after a weekend of heavy eating, but still managed to squeeze in a visit to Diddy Riese for a cheap and yummy snack!
the trip wrapped up with a final meal at BJ's Restaurant/Brewery where they have the best Chicago style pizza outside of Chicago!
that was my "food fest" weekend of fun down in L.A... what was the best part of it all? hanging out with my friends, of course! thanks steph, susan and jerm for making my weekend awesome...i miss hanging out with you gals! shan, thanks for letting me crash with you!
The weekend started out with brunch at Doughboys which is a great bakery/cafe that has some breakfast foods with a twist. i had the french toast pie and my friends had a breakfast bbq pork burrito and a chilli omelette. they are also known for their red velvet cake which was delicious!
That night we went to an all-you-can-eat korean bbq place where you grill your own meat. needless to say, we left that place never wanting to eat meat again...well at least for a long while. we made the mistake of order a second round of meat from 2 waitresses and end up with way more meat than we could consume and we feared being charged for the uneaten meat. so we resorted to hiding meat under finished dishes and hanging out until they gave us our bill.
the next day we headed out to manhattan beach to meet up with steph and her friends. i've never been to an L.A. beach and was pleasantly surprised. i was impressed with the number of beach v-ball courts set-up for anyone to use..why don't they have things like that on hawaii beaches?
it was a super nice day too...a little too nice as we were told to buy some socks on our way to the beach b/c we were told that the sand was too hot to play on without socks. wearing socks at the beach was definitely a first, but it wasn't too bad a price to pay to play beach v-ball. it was a great day at the beach...we played v-ball, splashed in the cool water and just hanging out in the sun. on the way back to the cars we walked by all of the amazing beach front properties...i wonder if i'll ever be able to own a place like that.
that night we headed to The Loft to eat some hawaiian food. good stuff...kalua pig and island style fried chicken. i even had a lava flow...my favorite! after dinner we went down to hermosa beach to "walk around" but ended up hanging out at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and having some laughs with a super friendly barista named Star.
next morning we went to the pasadena mosaic church service and then to Din Tai Fung Dumpling House where we had to wait an hour, but got to eat some of the best dumplings ever!!! so yummy! later that afternoon i went with steph to her church, The Exodus, and got to hear some awesome sharing by steph and several other congregation members.
that night we ate light after a weekend of heavy eating, but still managed to squeeze in a visit to Diddy Riese for a cheap and yummy snack!
the trip wrapped up with a final meal at BJ's Restaurant/Brewery where they have the best Chicago style pizza outside of Chicago!
that was my "food fest" weekend of fun down in L.A... what was the best part of it all? hanging out with my friends, of course! thanks steph, susan and jerm for making my weekend awesome...i miss hanging out with you gals! shan, thanks for letting me crash with you!
Monday, July 17, 2006
Return of the Blog
i've been toying with the idea of returning to my blog. i've had passing thoughts of blogging...strange, since it's been almost a year since i left the blogging world.
hmm, i don't know...maybe i'll ease back into it and see how it goes...not sure who still visits this out-dated blog...anyways stay tuned...but don't hold your breath...
hmm, i don't know...maybe i'll ease back into it and see how it goes...not sure who still visits this out-dated blog...anyways stay tuned...but don't hold your breath...
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Finally Here!
after a week of intense packing and trying to figure out how to get rid of all the junk i've accumulated....after many "free" postings on craigslist and dealing with flaky people...after very little sleep and much understanding from faithful and supportive friends...after a mix-up of going to the wrong truck rental location and then dealing with a lost truck reservation...after about 3 hours of moving and then creating a large "free" pile of stuff in front of the old house...i'm finally here in my new place spending my very first night here!
it feels so good to know that this moving process is almost done and that i will once again get to return to semi-normal life...hopefully. it's been a really stressful and tiring moving process and i've been finding myself daily asking God for strength and energy and receiving it; just enough for that day.
ok, it's time to get on to my first night's sleep here and then my first morning here...yay! =o)
it feels so good to know that this moving process is almost done and that i will once again get to return to semi-normal life...hopefully. it's been a really stressful and tiring moving process and i've been finding myself daily asking God for strength and energy and receiving it; just enough for that day.
ok, it's time to get on to my first night's sleep here and then my first morning here...yay! =o)
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Painting Blessings
i'm officially halfway thru my painting project. and while it was very overwhelming before i began and still occassionally blows my mind, i've been tremendously blessed by all of the help i've received from friends and family.
God's really blessed me abundantly with so many awesome friends and family i'm really blown away by how blessed i am. i'm really humbled by how God constantly provides all things and none of it is by my doing or abilities.
ways i've been blessed thru the course of this project:
- God provided friends that are a 100x better than i am in visualizing how my place will look with furniture and new colors...i'm pretty horrible at picturing how things will look and i'm really not very good with colors/designing. in fact, many of my friends have spent hours with me just sitting in my empty place discussing colors and placement of furniture. many times i'm just sit and listen as they discuss amongst themselves the best layout and design for my place (which i totally love b/c i'm not good at it nor enjoy it...i'm more of a "tell me how it's supposed to look and i'll do it" person)
- God has blessed me with friends that have lots of experience with this painting process, and i feel totally comfortable with trusting them to help me make decisions that i know nothing about. without their help and advice, i would have spent way more hours and taken even more trips to home depot. (i've already been to home depot 7 times i think in the past 2 weeks...imagine how many more times i would've had to go if i was doing this just by myself)
- i'm also very bad at math and calculating things, but God also blessed me with friends that are good with numbers and are able to draw out floor layouts with dimensions.
- i've also been blessed to have friends that are willing to share and let me borrow the tools they have so that i don't need to buy/rent my own. i've borrowed: 5 different types ladders, 3 fans, several paint brushes and rollers, an assortment of tools, a miter saw, painting stools, flood lamp...and the list keeps growing!
- i've been totally overwhelmned by the amount of time, energy and love that has been shown to me thru the help my friends have given me over the past 2 weekends. we've logged about 24 hours of physical labor...and in 80 degree heat! i'm constantly amazed and humbled by their sacrifice of time and effort to help me out. there's no way i would've been able to do this on my own. thank you, stacey, cassie, michele, steph, vera, anne, jada, brittany, kelly, mary, kevin and wentina!!!
- i'm really excited for next weekend b/c my whole family (my parents, aunty and grandma) is coming up to help me finish painting. when they told me they wanted to come and help, i was amazed b/c it was totally unexpected! i never imagined they would come all the way from hawaii just to help me out for a weekend. i'm again blessed to have family that demonstrates their love for me...and i didn't even mention my sister that has been there every single day i've painted.
yes, i've definitely been blessed by this whole experience and it's only halfway thru! man, i totally don't deserve all of this...it's only by His grace! THANK YOU!
some pics from our first weekend priming:
scary ladder to climb and paint on!
God's really blessed me abundantly with so many awesome friends and family i'm really blown away by how blessed i am. i'm really humbled by how God constantly provides all things and none of it is by my doing or abilities.
ways i've been blessed thru the course of this project:
- God provided friends that are a 100x better than i am in visualizing how my place will look with furniture and new colors...i'm pretty horrible at picturing how things will look and i'm really not very good with colors/designing. in fact, many of my friends have spent hours with me just sitting in my empty place discussing colors and placement of furniture. many times i'm just sit and listen as they discuss amongst themselves the best layout and design for my place (which i totally love b/c i'm not good at it nor enjoy it...i'm more of a "tell me how it's supposed to look and i'll do it" person)
- God has blessed me with friends that have lots of experience with this painting process, and i feel totally comfortable with trusting them to help me make decisions that i know nothing about. without their help and advice, i would have spent way more hours and taken even more trips to home depot. (i've already been to home depot 7 times i think in the past 2 weeks...imagine how many more times i would've had to go if i was doing this just by myself)
- i'm also very bad at math and calculating things, but God also blessed me with friends that are good with numbers and are able to draw out floor layouts with dimensions.
- i've also been blessed to have friends that are willing to share and let me borrow the tools they have so that i don't need to buy/rent my own. i've borrowed: 5 different types ladders, 3 fans, several paint brushes and rollers, an assortment of tools, a miter saw, painting stools, flood lamp...and the list keeps growing!
- i've been totally overwhelmned by the amount of time, energy and love that has been shown to me thru the help my friends have given me over the past 2 weekends. we've logged about 24 hours of physical labor...and in 80 degree heat! i'm constantly amazed and humbled by their sacrifice of time and effort to help me out. there's no way i would've been able to do this on my own. thank you, stacey, cassie, michele, steph, vera, anne, jada, brittany, kelly, mary, kevin and wentina!!!
- i'm really excited for next weekend b/c my whole family (my parents, aunty and grandma) is coming up to help me finish painting. when they told me they wanted to come and help, i was amazed b/c it was totally unexpected! i never imagined they would come all the way from hawaii just to help me out for a weekend. i'm again blessed to have family that demonstrates their love for me...and i didn't even mention my sister that has been there every single day i've painted.
yes, i've definitely been blessed by this whole experience and it's only halfway thru! man, i totally don't deserve all of this...it's only by His grace! THANK YOU!
some pics from our first weekend priming:
scary ladder to climb and paint on!
Saturday, July 23, 2005
I'm Officially a New Home Owner!
as of July 15, 2005 i'm officially a new home owner! wow, i can't believe it!
yes, i really did mean to document my home buying experience, but it was such a crazy process that i didn't really get a chance to blog about it much. it started off being a slow process. i looked at maybe 20 places or so and it came to the point where i started to get really depressed b/c i wasn't seeing anything i liked and b/c houses were being sold so quickly i didn't get a chance to even look at it.
but then i saw this place. it too had a quick deadline to buy and i basically saw it on saturday, and had to make a decision by that night whether or not i wanted to place an offer for it. i decided to go for it, so i placed and offer. the offers were reviewed on sunday night and i was told that i was outbid, but they asked me if i wanted to be the back-up in case the first buyer backed out...so i said sure.
i figured it was pretty much in God's hands, and 3 days later i was told that the first buyer couldn't qualify for their loan so i had first dibs on the place if i still wanted it. PRAISE GOD! so the next week i had the inspection. there was a problem with the heater and so we requested it be fixed and we actually found out there were other problems with the heater in my building. this caused me a lot of stress and worry, but i eventually realized that i had to just let it be in God's hands, and about 3 days later i found out that the owner actually installed new heaters instead of repairing it for me (which was what i wanted since i was worried the repair would be a quick fix for a bigger problem) and i also found out that the other problems we had heard about weren't a problem in my place just in the other buildings nearby. PRAISE GOD AGAIN! then came the financing part which i wasn't worried about, but i was nervous about the big investment. i was also concerned that i hadn't locked down my interest rate before it started to go up, but when i checked with my mortgage broker i found out that he did lock it from the first time i talked to him...PRAISE GOD AGAIN AND AGAIN!
it was really a whirlwind of events, and now that i look back on it all i think God really knew what was best for me. it's funny b/c it was the most stressful couple of weeks with so many big decisions to be made, but God knew that the best thing for me was to keep it moving and just keep having me trust Him...and that's all i could really do. i'm in awe of the whole experience. i was also blessed with great friends who helped me focus on what was important when things became really crazy, and God really used them to help me focus on Him.
anyways, now that i'm a home owner i'm realizing there's definite signs of my "transformation" into a home owner...here are some of the signs i've discovered so far...
you must be a new home owner if...
- you start going to home depot or lowes a lot (2 times a week or more)
- your conversations seem to focus a lot more around home buying/remodeling/financing
- you start carrying around paint samples and/or start really noticing other people's home furnishings and room colors
- you carry around lists (either written down or in your head) of things you need/want to buy for your new place
here are a couple of pics of my new place:
yes, i really did mean to document my home buying experience, but it was such a crazy process that i didn't really get a chance to blog about it much. it started off being a slow process. i looked at maybe 20 places or so and it came to the point where i started to get really depressed b/c i wasn't seeing anything i liked and b/c houses were being sold so quickly i didn't get a chance to even look at it.
but then i saw this place. it too had a quick deadline to buy and i basically saw it on saturday, and had to make a decision by that night whether or not i wanted to place an offer for it. i decided to go for it, so i placed and offer. the offers were reviewed on sunday night and i was told that i was outbid, but they asked me if i wanted to be the back-up in case the first buyer backed out...so i said sure.
i figured it was pretty much in God's hands, and 3 days later i was told that the first buyer couldn't qualify for their loan so i had first dibs on the place if i still wanted it. PRAISE GOD! so the next week i had the inspection. there was a problem with the heater and so we requested it be fixed and we actually found out there were other problems with the heater in my building. this caused me a lot of stress and worry, but i eventually realized that i had to just let it be in God's hands, and about 3 days later i found out that the owner actually installed new heaters instead of repairing it for me (which was what i wanted since i was worried the repair would be a quick fix for a bigger problem) and i also found out that the other problems we had heard about weren't a problem in my place just in the other buildings nearby. PRAISE GOD AGAIN! then came the financing part which i wasn't worried about, but i was nervous about the big investment. i was also concerned that i hadn't locked down my interest rate before it started to go up, but when i checked with my mortgage broker i found out that he did lock it from the first time i talked to him...PRAISE GOD AGAIN AND AGAIN!
it was really a whirlwind of events, and now that i look back on it all i think God really knew what was best for me. it's funny b/c it was the most stressful couple of weeks with so many big decisions to be made, but God knew that the best thing for me was to keep it moving and just keep having me trust Him...and that's all i could really do. i'm in awe of the whole experience. i was also blessed with great friends who helped me focus on what was important when things became really crazy, and God really used them to help me focus on Him.
anyways, now that i'm a home owner i'm realizing there's definite signs of my "transformation" into a home owner...here are some of the signs i've discovered so far...
you must be a new home owner if...
- you start going to home depot or lowes a lot (2 times a week or more)
- your conversations seem to focus a lot more around home buying/remodeling/financing
- you start carrying around paint samples and/or start really noticing other people's home furnishings and room colors
- you carry around lists (either written down or in your head) of things you need/want to buy for your new place
here are a couple of pics of my new place:
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
"God can undo the voodoo"
here's an interesting article a missionary my church supports sent about the ministry ("lost coin") they are involved with. on one hand, it's cool that God's work is being shared on cnn, but sad that this type of "terrorism" is happening to those that are spiritually naive.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Amazing Race - Season 2
yes, i know the amazing race on cbs just finished their 7th season (yay, uchenna and joyce won!) what i'm talking about is basic's 2nd season of the amazing race. it was even better than last year!
this year, i didn't get to help plan it since last year there was a lot of talk about it being unfair that i knew everything and was also a participant (yes, my team did win last year). so this year, i was kept in the dark and really experienced the race the way it's supposed to be experienced....and i'll admit, it was tougher than i expected but a lot more fun too!
my team came in 5th (out of 10) and i was pretty happy with that considering how many mistakes i made as a driver. it's ironic how i watch the show so much and can comment on the mistakes of the players, and then i found myself making those same mistakes today.
here are a list of things i learned about myself and things i need to remember if i make it on to the "real" amazing race:
- never ever pick the task that has to do with "counting" things. it is always more time consuming and difficult than the other task! i'm horrible with numbers to begin with and counting with pressure and other people around makes it ten times worse! as i was counting tiles i was picturing that ikea scene from last season where people would count "...86, 87, 89, 90, 93, 94..."
- always take the extra time to read the directions and understand what you need to do instead of rushing off. it's better to do it right the first time than to go quickly and have to do it several times. every time i started driving before knowing where i had to go i always ended up going in the wrong direction.
- i thought reading maps was one of my strengths, but i found under pressure i would stare blankly at a map like it was written in chinese or something. once i finally focused and wasn't trying to rush, then it magically started to make sense.
- following another team is really risky b/c as i followed another team (w/ a speedy driver) i realized that if i lost them i would really be lost...plus there's also no guarentee they know where they are going either!
- i also found out it is very frustrating when you're the team member that has to wait for another member to complete a task. i can see why people are always yelling at their partners on the amazing race...i really had to bite my tongue to keep from trying to yell advice or to hurry.
in the end, the night was definitely a night to remember, and i heard a lot of students and friends say how fun it was! and though it was tougher than i thought...i still think it would be a dream adventure to make it on the show. applications are out right now and i really want to apply! i need to find me a partner!
this year, i didn't get to help plan it since last year there was a lot of talk about it being unfair that i knew everything and was also a participant (yes, my team did win last year). so this year, i was kept in the dark and really experienced the race the way it's supposed to be experienced....and i'll admit, it was tougher than i expected but a lot more fun too!
my team came in 5th (out of 10) and i was pretty happy with that considering how many mistakes i made as a driver. it's ironic how i watch the show so much and can comment on the mistakes of the players, and then i found myself making those same mistakes today.
here are a list of things i learned about myself and things i need to remember if i make it on to the "real" amazing race:
- never ever pick the task that has to do with "counting" things. it is always more time consuming and difficult than the other task! i'm horrible with numbers to begin with and counting with pressure and other people around makes it ten times worse! as i was counting tiles i was picturing that ikea scene from last season where people would count "...86, 87, 89, 90, 93, 94..."
- always take the extra time to read the directions and understand what you need to do instead of rushing off. it's better to do it right the first time than to go quickly and have to do it several times. every time i started driving before knowing where i had to go i always ended up going in the wrong direction.
- i thought reading maps was one of my strengths, but i found under pressure i would stare blankly at a map like it was written in chinese or something. once i finally focused and wasn't trying to rush, then it magically started to make sense.
- following another team is really risky b/c as i followed another team (w/ a speedy driver) i realized that if i lost them i would really be lost...plus there's also no guarentee they know where they are going either!
- i also found out it is very frustrating when you're the team member that has to wait for another member to complete a task. i can see why people are always yelling at their partners on the amazing race...i really had to bite my tongue to keep from trying to yell advice or to hurry.
in the end, the night was definitely a night to remember, and i heard a lot of students and friends say how fun it was! and though it was tougher than i thought...i still think it would be a dream adventure to make it on the show. applications are out right now and i really want to apply! i need to find me a partner!
Sunday, May 15, 2005
The Sonics Bandwagon
yes, i've secretly jumped on the sonics bandwagon this year...but i'm no longer ashamed to admit it! i never really got much into nba teams, but i started catching some games on radio and tv this year...and i got hooked. then i went to my 2nd sonics game ever this year and saw an awesome OT win. and then the playoff games started, and i found myself following the schedule and trying to catch as many games as i could on tv. and then this past friday, i actually called into a radio station and won tickets for today's game 4!! i just got home from seeing game 4 and it was totally awesome. the sonics were ON FIRE!!! yes, i'm definitely on the bandwagon and it's great! GO SONICS!!!
Saturday, April 30, 2005
How Great Is Our God
so my last post was about learning to be "real" with God, and yet (in an ironic way, but not, b/c God is deep like that) today i was also reminded that no matter how down i might feel, at my very core, i can't help but give glory to God.
i just bought the new passion cd this week, and i was listening to "How Great Is Our God" this morning as i drove to work. and surprisingly, i found myself getting kinda emotional just listening and singing these words.
my CG group is going thru a study right now called "A Life of Worship", and last week we studied and talked about how our original purpose is to bring God glory (isaiah 43:7). as i was singing this song this morning i think this really rang true with me. and as the song went on you could hear more of the audience singing and less of the worship leader, and you could just sense there were thousands of people there all singing "how great is our God"! i was just blown away by the thought of all these people giving God the glory and praise He totally deserves.
it's crazy how life might bring us down at times and how tired we may be, yet by singing five simple words that gives our creator all the glory it helps us to realize our true purpose and brings us so much joy...HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!
How Great Is Our God (Chris Tomlin)
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb
Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God
i just bought the new passion cd this week, and i was listening to "How Great Is Our God" this morning as i drove to work. and surprisingly, i found myself getting kinda emotional just listening and singing these words.
my CG group is going thru a study right now called "A Life of Worship", and last week we studied and talked about how our original purpose is to bring God glory (isaiah 43:7). as i was singing this song this morning i think this really rang true with me. and as the song went on you could hear more of the audience singing and less of the worship leader, and you could just sense there were thousands of people there all singing "how great is our God"! i was just blown away by the thought of all these people giving God the glory and praise He totally deserves.
it's crazy how life might bring us down at times and how tired we may be, yet by singing five simple words that gives our creator all the glory it helps us to realize our true purpose and brings us so much joy...HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!
How Great Is Our God (Chris Tomlin)
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb
Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Something To Think About...
i read an article online a couple of days ago that has been on my mind lately. i've been struggling for the past few months with the road God has called me to follow. some days and weeks are better than others, but i realized a while ago that there isn't a "quick fix" to this and that this is probably one of those times in my life where God is doing some "refining" and i just have to wait and trust him to see me through it.
but then i read this article and it made me think and gave me some encouragement b/c it reminded me that my relationship with God isn't about doing all of the "right" things and saying all of the "right" words to Him. but instead, like in any relationship, saying the "right" words when you don't really believe it just makes the relationship worse.
i also read this quote recently from C.S. Lewis:
"God is always comforting but never comfortable."
keep talking, God, keep talking...
but then i read this article and it made me think and gave me some encouragement b/c it reminded me that my relationship with God isn't about doing all of the "right" things and saying all of the "right" words to Him. but instead, like in any relationship, saying the "right" words when you don't really believe it just makes the relationship worse.
"We sometimes think that God only wants to hear nice, adoring things from us. Our prayers are often limited to praise, repentance and requests. But how often do we tell God how we really feel? How often do we tell God that we’re scared, and it doesn’t feel like He’s calling the shots? The absurd thing is that we act like God doesn’t know. If God knows the number of hairs on our head, He certainly knows how we feel. When we come before Him and offer nothing but praise when we’re angry or frightened, we’re lying. Don’t get me wrong; praise is often most important during our darkest times, but we can’t lie about how we feel."i think i've gotten to the point as a believer where i feel like i've been through enough dry and dark times that i assume that i just need to hold to what i know about God and wait it out. but i was reminded that God doesn't want us to just "survive" these times, but he wants us to be refined and to be changed by them. he wants us to come to him with our frustrations and feelings so that he can take them and change them into true praises.
i also read this quote recently from C.S. Lewis:
"God is always comforting but never comfortable."
keep talking, God, keep talking...
Friday Night Lights
so...we played hard and lost. it was kind of a shocking loss especially since we did so well during the season, and even beat this team twice during the regular season. but, the other team just improved a ton, and i think our team was just not used to playing from behind and with pressure. despite the nerves and tension, though, i thought we still played pretty well.
for most of us this was our first season playing volleyball, and i think next year we'll be even better now that we have some experience. i can't wait for next season! the thing i enjoyed the most, even though it was probably part of the reason we lost, was that our team just had a lot of fun playing together. as one friend put it, we're like the smiling little kid in outfield that is just happy to be in the game.
ok, maybe i shouldn't speak for everyone on the team, but that's definitely me. the reason i love to play games and sports of any kind is b/c i enjoy the competition and playing with friends...yeah, winning is fun too but i'm usually just happy to be able to play. it was a great season...i'm going to miss it.
Friday Night Lights
for most of us this was our first season playing volleyball, and i think next year we'll be even better now that we have some experience. i can't wait for next season! the thing i enjoyed the most, even though it was probably part of the reason we lost, was that our team just had a lot of fun playing together. as one friend put it, we're like the smiling little kid in outfield that is just happy to be in the game.
ok, maybe i shouldn't speak for everyone on the team, but that's definitely me. the reason i love to play games and sports of any kind is b/c i enjoy the competition and playing with friends...yeah, winning is fun too but i'm usually just happy to be able to play. it was a great season...i'm going to miss it.
Friday Night Lights
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Saturday is Almost HERE!
i'm so excited for this saturday i woke up on wednesday (yes, WEDNESDAY!) thinking it was saturday! i was so sad to find out i had to wait 3 more days.
why am i so excited? b/c this saturday is the semi-final and championship games for the michael chang league. and my team, Friday Night Lights, totally ROCKS! this entire season has been so much fun, i still can't believe i didn't discover how much fun it is to play volleyball until this year.
anyways...if you're free on saturday, come on out to blaine methodist church at 12pm to cheer on our team in the semi-finals. if we win that game then we'll be playing for the championship at 4pm!!! (we'll be the "stylin'" team in the red team shirts)
why am i so excited? b/c this saturday is the semi-final and championship games for the michael chang league. and my team, Friday Night Lights, totally ROCKS! this entire season has been so much fun, i still can't believe i didn't discover how much fun it is to play volleyball until this year.
anyways...if you're free on saturday, come on out to blaine methodist church at 12pm to cheer on our team in the semi-finals. if we win that game then we'll be playing for the championship at 4pm!!! (we'll be the "stylin'" team in the red team shirts)
Monday, April 18, 2005
Help! Calling on my "Fix-It" brothers out there!
grrr...i've had enough with our lame toilet...we need help! i had a conversation with a friend today regarding our house's toilet problem, and i've decided that i have NO problem asking a guy for help...i just don't know who to ask! so i'm calling out for some help from my brothers out there. if you know anything about fixing leaking toilets...could you please help some sisters out?! (now, i'm not excluding or saying that other sisters can't help us out too. it just seems like there would be more brothers out there that like fixing things, and yes, i know we could call a plumber. but i really don't think it's that big of a problem yet, and i would hate to get a $$$ bill that could have been easily fixed with some help from our friends.)
ok, here's the problem: our toilet is constantly leaking water into the bowl and our water bill is going sky high! i tried replacing the (red) "flapper" thing twice, but no luck. i think the problem has to do with that gray, rubber seal thing that is surrounding hole in the tank. please help!
UPDATE: Yay! Our toilet is now fixed...Thank you soooo much Ryan! You Rock!
ok, here's the problem: our toilet is constantly leaking water into the bowl and our water bill is going sky high! i tried replacing the (red) "flapper" thing twice, but no luck. i think the problem has to do with that gray, rubber seal thing that is surrounding hole in the tank. please help!
Sunday, April 17, 2005
More Than Fine
tonight i gave a lesson at basic, and i just gotta say "yay God!". this past week was pretty stressful for me b/c i did not have a clue on what to share on, and i usually like to at least have a general idea before the week before i share. i did a bunch of brainstorming and talked to some friends, but it didn't really all come together until today. yay God!
Not only did He help me put together my sharing, but he also spoke to me and taught me about things i've been struggling with in my own spiritual life. i've been struggling and kind of arguing with God these past few months about why i'm still serving in the youth ministry. i've been tempted to follow my impulses and just drop it all, and just doing my "own" thing. but then today God reminded me again of the life i chose to live when i decided to follow Him. it is not an easy road, but it is not one that is void of blessings and good times either. God met me where i was at today and that's why He is so awesome and worth following! yay God!
here are some crazy pics from tonight's electric fence game (not the type of pics you want the student parents to see):
yes, that is someone being thrown over the rope!
Not only did He help me put together my sharing, but he also spoke to me and taught me about things i've been struggling with in my own spiritual life. i've been struggling and kind of arguing with God these past few months about why i'm still serving in the youth ministry. i've been tempted to follow my impulses and just drop it all, and just doing my "own" thing. but then today God reminded me again of the life i chose to live when i decided to follow Him. it is not an easy road, but it is not one that is void of blessings and good times either. God met me where i was at today and that's why He is so awesome and worth following! yay God!
here are some crazy pics from tonight's electric fence game (not the type of pics you want the student parents to see):
yes, that is someone being thrown over the rope!
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Spring Youth Retreat 2005
last weekend was our spring youth retreat, and i got home and realized i didn't take a single picture while i was there. pretty lame, huh? but at least a lot of other people did!
some things that stood out to me this year:
1) i was a jr high small group leader and was reminded why i enjoy working with both jr high and high school students...they're both special in their own ways
2) i didn't sleep in the same room as all of the students...i think i got the best sleep ever at a retreat this year
3) i was also thoroughly impressed with the retreat accommodations...no, it wasn't like the berachah "hotel", but i enjoyed the setup of the cabins, appreciated the "little" things they did to make the cabins "nice" and i even enjoyed the food! (ok, yes, i've gone to many, many retreats and have become quite a retreat critic)
4) God really challenged me with the group of girls i had...they were asking a lot of science type of questions...i'm not a science type of person, and i was once again amazed how God can appeal to and draw so many different types of people
5) God was seriously amazing Saturday morning when we stepped outside our cabin and saw that the weather was absolutely gorgeous even after it was predicted to rain all weekend
Yay God!
some things that stood out to me this year:
1) i was a jr high small group leader and was reminded why i enjoy working with both jr high and high school students...they're both special in their own ways
2) i didn't sleep in the same room as all of the students...i think i got the best sleep ever at a retreat this year
3) i was also thoroughly impressed with the retreat accommodations...no, it wasn't like the berachah "hotel", but i enjoyed the setup of the cabins, appreciated the "little" things they did to make the cabins "nice" and i even enjoyed the food! (ok, yes, i've gone to many, many retreats and have become quite a retreat critic)
4) God really challenged me with the group of girls i had...they were asking a lot of science type of questions...i'm not a science type of person, and i was once again amazed how God can appeal to and draw so many different types of people
5) God was seriously amazing Saturday morning when we stepped outside our cabin and saw that the weather was absolutely gorgeous even after it was predicted to rain all weekend
Yay God!
Thursday, April 07, 2005
2 More Days To Go...
man, this has been a tough week. our youth retreat is coming up this friday in 2 days, and i'm starting to see the light at the end when friday will finally be here. i've kinda forgot what it's like to plan a retreat and work full-time at the same time. last year, i was totally blessed to be able to focus on planning the retreat without having to work too.
but this year, God's also been sustaining me and teaching me even more about relying on Him and not on my own strength. well, i'm pretty much forced to since i couldn't do it without Him! i just pray i continue to seek Him for strength, and that i focus on the blessings and joys and not on my diminishing patience and energy.
keep on praying! cause God's listening and has already answered many prayers!
but this year, God's also been sustaining me and teaching me even more about relying on Him and not on my own strength. well, i'm pretty much forced to since i couldn't do it without Him! i just pray i continue to seek Him for strength, and that i focus on the blessings and joys and not on my diminishing patience and energy.
keep on praying! cause God's listening and has already answered many prayers!
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