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Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Verse of the Week
Psalm 84:12
Most of you are familiar with the song "Better is One Day," which is performed by Charlie Hall on the Passion worship CD. This is the passage in the Bible that the song is based on:
Psalm 84
This psalm culminates in the idea of trusting in the Lord. With so many things going on in our lives and stuff getting hectic, it's a nice thing to realize and understand in who we can trust.
"O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." ~Psalm 84:12
11:03 AM Albert
Monday, September 29, 2003
Birthday Thoughts
As of 5:59am this morning, I turned 23, and am now starting the 24th year of my life. With a life expectancy outlook that extends beyond 100, I've still got a long way to go. I just hope that I don't get too tired running the race of life. While I'm a good sprinter, tests of endurance usually have gotten the better of me.
Thanks to all the people who have sent me cards, e-cards, e-mails, text messaged, lifted up/"toasted" in blogs, and/or called me today. (I'd like to mention everyone by name, but that might not be good on a public weblog.. plus, I'd feel terrible if I left anybody out.) I have been blessed with such great family and friends. I really appreciate all of the warm sentiments and the thoughtfulness of your actions. I'm truly feeling the love. =)
To celebrate, I had a delicious dinner last night at Le Cheval, and had fun hanging out while watching the season premiere of Alias afterwards. I'm so lucky, that I get to go out again tonight for Olive Garden in Fremont. The unlimited pasta bowl special is back, and I'm gonna capitalize by eating way more than my $8.
I'm big on consistency. I consider myself to be pretty constant amidst an atmosphere of change. But, making changes can be good. The very idea of "improvements," or making something better, inherently means that the new thing is different from the old. Anyway, now that I've just turned 23, it seems like a good time to think about making some changes. Most are internal, so they won't be noticeable until much later. The realization that we are capable of so much, and yet I have done so little, is quite a motivating factor. I don't desire to attain fame or fortune. I seek to live a life worthy of imitation. But not because of what I do, but because of what God does through me.
6:04 PM Albert
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Song of the Week
Here is Gone
by Goo Goo Dolls
You and I got something
But it's all and then it's nothing to me
And I got my defenses
When it comes to your intentions for me
And we wake up in the breakdown
Of the things we never thought we could be
I'm not the one who broke you
I'm not the one you should fear
What do you got to move you darling
I thought I lost you somewhere
But you were never really ever there at all
And I want to get free talk to me
I can feel you falling
And I wanted to be all you need
Somehow here is gone
I have no solution
To the sound of this pollution in me
And I was not the answer
So forget you ever thought it was me
I'm not the one who broke you
I'm not the one you should fear
What do you got to move you darling
I thought I lost you somewhere
But you were never really ever there at all
And I don't need the fallout of all the past
That's here between us
And I'm not holding on
And all your lies weren't enough to keep me here
And I want to get free talk to me
I can feel you falling
I know it's out there
I know it's out there
I can feel you falling
I know it's out there
I know it's out there
Somehow here is gone
11:57 AM Albert
Monday, September 22, 2003
Taiwan Delight Restaurant
Take a look at the title of this post. Try searching for it in Google (hint: the restaurant is in Milpitas). Good luck, though, because it doesn't exist! Today, for LSF Monday lunch, MercedesChien chose this place, which he described as a, "Taiwan Xiao Chi place." Cynopsis knew something was awry because most restaurants with "delight" in their name are usually vegetarian (and Mercedes would definitely NOT pick a vegetarian place). Anyway, the place ended up being called "Tainan Restaurant." Not too far off, but still, not quite "Taiwan Delight."
Lunch was good.. I had deep fried tofu and ground pork with mushroom over rice. Yummy! When I used to eat at the same restaurant in Cupertino with my co-workers, I used to order the beef noodle soup and then get to eat a half order of ground pork with mushroom over rice (because that's what the girls would order, and they would never be able to finish their food).
A pleasant surprise was seeing Dkcwenge and Bluemoney at the Monday lunch. They don't normally come, but Bluemoney worked from home that day and Dkcwenge wasn't too busy either. Glad they came.. I had some good laughs.
3:43 PM Albert
Eyes (Slightly) Shut
When I woke up this morning, I was feeling really tired and out of it. I assumed that it was my grogginess which was why my eyes weren't fully opening. But it wasn't. Apparently, I have a set of bug bites on the tender parts of flesh surrounding my left eye, (like the top and side), which are only mildly swollen. Still, they're swollen enough to be noticeable and apply a little pressure towards closing my left eye slightly. Stupid bugs.. why'd they have to go for my eyes?? I'll show them..
3:33 PM Albert
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Terry Tate
Some of you have probably seen this on ESPN.. but it's still funny to me.
[movie provided by Squizzle.com]
12:41 AM Albert
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
What Is a "Yobo"?
Interesting, huh?
4:11 PM Albert
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
There Is More
I eat, I sleep, I work, I play,
My life traverses the past, present, and future, too,
The bottom line I realize each day,
Is that I'm alive, indeed, tis true,
But what's it mean, to be a possessor of life?
Is there deeper meaning found within,
The daily trials of struggle and strife,
A profound understanding, of what has been,
In the truth that does exist,
Pieces, fragments, have been filtered out,
And life continues to thrive, persist,
With wisdom and knowledge, overcoming doubt,
Forge ahead to future days,
Just let life go, in its own ways,
For the good it gives, I will receive,
But before that happens, I must believe,
That better things are still to come,
Indeed it'll be quite a while, before I go Home.
10:17 PM Albert
Sunday, September 14, 2003
Amazing Grace
A little background.. On May 15, I got pulled over and received a traffic ticket for making an illegal U-turn at the intersection of Holly St. and Industrial Rd. near my apartment in Redwood City. Besides the fact that I was not even aware of my wrong doing before I was pulled over (for many reasons, including that 1) I had never been to that intersection before, 2) the traffic light was a protected green arrow, which usually means U-turns are legal, and 3) it was late at night and I didn't notice any signs indicating otherwise), it was extra sad since the only reason I was even at that particular intersection was because I was showing a friend how to get to the freeway onramp after small group (the regular one he used was blocked off).
When I received the ticket, I decided to contest it by completing a "Trial By Declaration" form and sending it with a "Statement of the Facts" (my description of the situation). At that time, I was required to submit bail (in the amount of $122) along with my written plea. In my plea, I did not deny making the U-turn at that intersection. But my argument was based on the idea that I was not aware of the illegality of my maneuver (sort of like pleading ignorance, a defense that usually doesn't hold up in a court of law) and that the U-turn was conducted in a safe manner.
Today in the mail, I was pleasantly surprised to find a check made out for $122 from the San Mateo County Controller. My assumption is that the court found in my favor and was refunding my bail. It's truly amazing how God can work in situations. I believe that it was God's provision that allowed me to get my money back, because I had pretty much admitted wrongdoing in my plea.
12:51 AM Albert
Thursday, September 11, 2003
Yobo's Map to the Stars
I got the idea from Danny to put a picture of a map on my site. But I had to think of what kind of map would be appropriate. So, I decided to get a map of the Bay Area and then notate it with where I actually go during the week. I was lucky enough to have time to do this at work..
And so here it is:
Map provided by Yahoo!Maps.
The red stars are labeled to indicate place of significance. My travels for a typical week are as follows:
1) Mon - Home to Work to Home
2) Tue - Home to Work to Home
3) Wed - Home to Work to Small Group (Union City) to Home
4) Thu - Home to Work to Home to Small Group (Belmont) to Home
5) Fri - Home to Work to Home to Small Group (Oakland) to Home
6) Sat - Home to Church to Home
7) Sun - Home to Church to [Random Place] to Home
Notice just how much of the Bay Area I traverse on a weekly basis (at last count, I'm at about 21k after driving for about 8 months).. You, too, can rack up thousands of miles on the road by driving like me. Just keep your foot on the pedal and keep driving towards the stars.
3:04 PM Albert
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Leg Stuff
I'm wearing new socks today. The whiteness contrasts against my shoe and makes my shoes look extra dirty. Sad. But back to the socks.. they're cool because they are only ankle-length. It took some time to get used to because they end up sliding down my shoe a bit more than my old calf-length socks. I'm considering converting my entire collection of socks to ankle-length ones, but probably not.
Oh yeah, my legs are sore from the run yesterday. Somewhat discomfortable, but a good sign that my run was decent exercise.
4:31 PM Albert
Monday, September 08, 2003
Still in Shape
Running, running
As fast as we can
I really hope you make it
(Do you think we'll make it?)
We're running
Keep holding my hand
It's so we don't get separated
Went running for the first time in over a month. Felt good. The brisk air was blowing against my face.. refreshing. The moon was out reflecting on the water.. beautiful. The nice thing, too, was that I wasn't in too bad shape, finishing my 2.5 mile run in a respectable time.
9:37 PM Albert
Lucky Guys
(who says nice guys finish last..)
Congratulations to Steve and Maggie on their wedding! Here are a couple of pictures..
Lucky Guy #1 = Steve:
Yobo plus the happy couple (just look at those big smiles)
Lucky Guy #2 = Yobo:
BlueMoney says, "Ooh, aren't you a lucky guy right now!" Yobo thinks to himself, indeed I am.
9:35 PM Albert
Chicken of the Sea
Sometimes I'm hesitant to actually describe what I do at home because of the stigma of ghettoness I might incur. Even so, I will continue. Tonight, after working on med school stuff (I finished one app and am mostly done with another 2) and I got hungry for a snack. Peeking into my fridge, I found nothing really edible except for an opened, half-can of chicken broth. Sampling it for freshman, it actually turned out to be pretty delicious. No, I'm not completely crazy to just drink chicken broth straight up.. even the can says, "Use in your favorite recipes, or serve as a hot beverage." Admittedly, I didn't heat it up, but we all know that you can't microwave a metal can (that's a big "NO NO"). Since I wasn't very hungry, I ignored the rest of the "real" food I had in the pantry and the freezer and decided to have a can of tuna.
(Opening the can of tuna was quite an endeavor in light of our $0.99 can opener. We used to have a better one, but somehow, it got so jammed up that it didn't turn AT ALL. Before getting a new one, to open cans, I used to have to use the can opener like scissors, moving it alongside the can and "snipping" away at the lid. It was high time to get While at Walgreens, I opted to get the cheapest one they had, which turned out to be an unwise choice. This is one of those can openers that doesn't have a circular blade. Instead, it digs in with this triangular piece of metal, and all the turning action does is to drag it across the lid. It's mighty slow and cumbersome.. oh well..)
Holding the chicken broth and seeing the brand name of the tuna (Chicken of the Sea) gave me a clever idea, though. Why not just drain out the water from the tuna and replace it with chicken broth to give it a more savory flavor? And so I did (add chicken broth to drained tuna) and it was (more flavorful).. sort of. The saltiness of the tuna really overpowered any chickenness offered by the broth. I was fairly disappointed. Makes me in the mood for having some chicken Top Ramen. Now that's flavorful! Too bad we don't have any.
12:00 AM Albert
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Crazy Chicken
For lunch today, I had some El Pollo Loco, which literally means "The Crazy Chicken." (It reminds me of a Saturday Night Live skit where the guy is talking about "El Nino," to which he says, "Yeah. 'El Nino'.. that's Spanish for 'The Nino.' " Like many things, I guess it's funnier if you have actually seen it.) Anyway, I'm unclear to why it's called that, but I sincerely hope that it isn't because they are breeding/selling chickens diagnosed to be clinically insane. Who knows what kind of weird diseases you might get from that meat. More than likely, it's probably referring to their crazy pricing. My co-worker and I just split a 10-piece legs/thighs meal (complete with 9 flour - the corn ones are *ick* - tortillas and unlimited salsa) for only $6.99. It's crazy I tell ya.. all the chicken-y goodness of KFC, without the fat and 11 (secret) herbs and spices. Good stuff!
Another good place to eat is Denny's. Contrary to popular belief (and some popular people), it's really not bad. For $4 per person (that includes tax AND tip), you can have a hearty, sit-down breakfast meal consisting of 2 bacon, 2 sausage, 2 eggs, and 2 pancakes. That's good enough to fill most people. But if you're like me, you'll be willing to shell out an extra dollar for a side of hashbrowns.
3:00 PM Albert
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..a life in DUO