November 14 - November 29: Al & John, Big tires, Piano Al, Boston Market, Sac Thanksgiving, Sac to LA, Roaster Family

You know those fast-food coupons you get in the mail? They really work.

I've been visiting my Uncle Al on and off for weeks, and he's never asked me for anything. But one day, he calls upstairs: "Hey, you still there?" I rush down, thinking it's an emergency. Instead, Uncle Al points at an Arby's coupon and says, "Hey, let's go here!"

Uncle Al loves food. He's also 100 pounds overweight and at high risk for a stroke, heart attack, etc. But what are you going to say when it's the first thing your 87-year-old uncle has asked for in weeks?

From Al & John

Uncle John happened to drop by right before we left, so the three of us had a rare lunch together. You can tell that Uncle Al was really looking forward to his Arby's sandwich, can't you? =)

I was driving from point A to B in LA, and I saw a semi truck with a load that I had to take a photo of. A semi truck has really big tires, right?

From Big tires

Look at the tires here! Imagine one of those upright, next to the semi's tires. On the freeway.

What monstrosity must these belong to? I shudder to imagine it.

On another day, Auntie Helen and I were visiting Uncle Al. She wanted to play the piano, so we tried a few songs, but we had both forgotten our training. Auntie Helen asked Uncle Al if he wanted to play, but he was demure. I had never seen him play since his stroke.

From Piano Al

Later that night, after Auntie Helen left, I was in my room upstairs. And I heard the piano below! I quickly crept to this vantage point, took this photo, and watched my uncle in awe. He wasn't a virtuoso or anything, but it warmed my heart to see him at least trying to play. I felt like I was in a feel-good Hollywood movie.

I later found out that Uncle Al didn't think anyone else was home. Maybe he's too shy to play around others? If so, does that mean that us being around could be hindering him in some ways?

Thanksgiving … it seems so far away now, but at the time I remember it was a rough period for me. Thankfully, God had friends, family, and even complete strangers lined up to help.

On Thanksgiving Day, I was going to drive up to Fresno alone. However, a guy answered my craigslist rideshare ad at the last minute. His name was Ken, and he's a performer at Knott's Berry Farm, not far from my house. We had a great time talking about girls, relationships, and life in general.

In Fresno, my Uncle Ron and Auntie Muriel decided to have Thanksgiving at Boston Market. I loved the idea. The only thing better would have been Thanksgiving at In-N-Out. (I'm serious!)

From Boston Market

Here we are at our Thanksgiving table. There was no tablecloth or fancy silverware. But I think the time and energy we saved let us focus on what's really important: each other. I was really glad that the three of us could be honest and talk about matters of consequence.

Afterward, I drove on to Sacramento. My sister wouldn't be home until Saturday, so we'd have Thanksgiving again then. This gave me time to hang out with old friends.

One of my closest friends is Glenn. Glenn's mom loves cats. Thankfully, I also like cats.

Isn't that an interesting look on the cat's face? It's like the Mona Lisa of cats.

Glenn and I played some board games with our other friends: Rob, Mitch, and Steve. Steve's aunt graciously invited us over for turkey soup, a fitting meal for the day after Thanksgiving.

Saturday morning, I woke to strange sounds from a neighbors yard. I went outside, and the Shibatas had quite the festival going in their driveway. They were making their own mochi!

They also had really good sake. =)

My sister was a little late flying home, so Grandma, Mom, and I had another simple Thanksgiving meal.

Simple but good.

From Sac Thanksgiving

The next day, we went to church. First Chinese Baptist Church of Sacramento, my church growing up.

Worship songs there are very simple: 2-3 people singing in front, and an overhead projector. But the small congregation is faithful and has a love for God.

Yeah, that was the theme of my Thanksgiving: Simple, but good.

On the other hand, driving back to LA was a bit of an adventure, but also really great. I was going to drive back alone, but another guy answered my Craigslist rideshare ad the night before. I'll call him S. S and I agreed to meet the next morning at a Starbucks near the freeway.

When I got to the Starbucks, S texted me that he was running late. I had time to think, and I noticed a "traveling kid" just sitting on the curb. He wasn't showing a sign, but otherwise he looked like a hitchhiker. Long story short, he was a 22-year-old guy who went by the name Tennessee, just wanted to go south "to warmer weather," and he didn't have any money to chip in for gas. He only had $4, to buy dog food for the little dog he carried with him (chihuahua-pitbull mix). But when S arrived, he said he was cool with it, so I picked up my first hitchhiker!

Turns out S was also 22 years old: An aspiring actor/stuntman/action hero. As far as I could tell, a decent-looking guy in great shape. (He was scheduled to do a workout video after we got to LA.) And then Tennessee, who had been bumming around the country for 5 years, growing his hair out, smoking a lot of marijuana. But they both had a lot of stories about girls. Anyway, everyone had a fun, safe, educational trip to LA, and we talked all the way. (No mom, I didn't smoke any pot.)

When we got to LA, things turned really funny. I dropped off S and Tennessee at an LA Fitness in Studio City, since S lives nearby and Tennessee could catch a bus to Venice Beach (of course). But after Tennessee left, I noticed that S was hanging around, calling people. I thought he could just walk home, but he had a lot of bags, and I guess he was hoping to find someone to give him a lift the rest of the way. He didn't want to trouble me since he said he lived a bit up in the nearby hills.

I said we'd come this far, I might as well take you all the way home. So we drive to this road I'd heard of but never been on: Mulholland Drive. (A movie was named after it.) It's a pretty ritzy area with a lot of windy roads. Finally, we get to S's place: 2607 Nichols Canyon.

It's a $4-million mansion!!!

Okay, maybe it's not a mansion. It's a villa. But it's so nice that it has its own website. Turns out S's aunt owns the villa and is trying to sell it, and he was just house sitting. But S let me take a peek.

I took only one photo, and it's of the closet in the master suite. Apparently Jason Bateman's family came to look at the villa, but his wife said this closet was too small. Girls.

You can look at the villa's website to see more of it, but I'll give two more points: It has its own tennis court (in the Hollywood *Hills*), and Matthew McConaughey used to live in the house nearby.

The website exists to help sell the house, so if you know anyone looking in the just-under-$4-million price range, please have them take a look!

Craigslist rideshare: A perennial hitchhiker with a dog and only $4, and a guy living next door to … Tim Allen. (Yes, him too.) Good times.

From Sac to LA

S lives near the Hollywood Bowl overlook, so I stopped there on the way home. I'd never been to the Hollywood Bowl, much less the overlook, but it's a nice view! (And I'm sure it's packed on date nights.)

From Roaster Family

On my way home from the great adventure, I stopped by Roaster Family Coffee, in Alhambra. (There's one in Arcadia, too.) Friends in my Bible study sometimes hang out there. They have great coffee at reasonable prices. And the owner, James, seems very friendly and down-to-earth. Here, James is making siphon coffee.

They even roast their own beans.

October 29 - November 14: Xenoblade Chronicles, EBCLA Fall Festival, cookies, Uncle Al, Bling tile, CPR, letters to Dad

From Xenoblade

Last time, I said I was playing a video game called "Xenoblade Chronicles." It's an adventure game for the Nintendo Wii, and it can take over 100 hours to finish. Also, the game hasn't been released in the U.S., so I had to import it from the U.K. Despite this (or because of this?), I was really looking forward to playing the game. I even went so far as to ask God if it was okay to spend 100 hours on a video game, and I felt he said yes.

When I told my sister, she didn't seem to approve. My sister has like 3 godly degrees, so it can be intimidating sometime. But I started to play "Xenoblade Chronicles" nonetheless. Thankfully, I felt my decision was correct after watching the opening cinematic: we learn of a world in which people are called not Humans, but rather, Homs!

Isn't that cool? I'm in the middle of this grand adventure, trying to save the universe. And everywhere it's like, "Homs don't give up!" "We have to fight for the other Homs!" "We trust our fate in you Homs." "Homs unite!"

October 29: My church had its "Fall Festival." It's supposed to be fun and food for the kids, both at church and in the neighborhood.

This year's theme was "The Wild West." They used cardboard boxes to give the food area a rustic feel. Cool, huh?

From EBCLA Fall Festival

My sedaqah group did the "Little Red Schoolhouse," which was a coloring and face-painting booth. We had enough people, so I worked at the "Dino Bean Bag Toss." It's the booth on the right.

From Cookies

November 8: At Albertson's, they were already putting up Christmas stuff. I remember these butter cookies from my childhood. I loved those cookies. Or perhaps I just loved anything sweet. Nowadays, I actually prefer to stay away from sugar, especially when it's a whole tin I can eat in one night....

November 9: I've been visiting my Uncle Al a lot the past few months. We exercise by going for walks in the park. This time, he said he wanted to walk at the mall.

I caught this picture of the mall Xmas tree half-decorated. Uncle Al is in the lower-right.

We walked all the way from one end of the mall to the other. But I think Uncle Al didn't realize that. He was really tired at the end, but I guess I tricked him into walking twice as far, and he definitely needs more exercise.

Uncle Al, you did a good job that day!

Uncle Al made me more stew that night. I guess he helped me break out of my gluten-free diet, which is okay. (I'm still trying to eat very little flour/bread.)

From Uncle Al

This tree is in Uncle Al's backyard. I was struck by how it appears to be reaching for the sun. It's like frozen, green water.

From Bling tile

November 11: At Home Depot, I ran across this display for tile. What's funny is the name of the company, in the upper-right. It's "Bling: Exquisite Mosaics." When I think of exquisite things, mosaics, and fancy script, I just don't think of "bling." =)

November 12: My Auntie Valerie wanted me to take a CPR course, and she gave me an offer I couldn't refuse: she'd pay for it. (Actually, Auntie Val is really good at asking for things in such a way that I can't refuse. My grandma is also good at that.)

From CPR

I always wanted to take a CPR course, but I guess I never made it a priority. The course I took was CPR plus first aid. I learned CPR for adults, children, and infants, plus how to use an AED (the defrillibrator). For the first-aid part, I learned how to stop bleeding of all sorts, how to make a tourniquet, and how to use an epi pen. Everything seemed surprisingly useful and understandable. I used to have a first-aid kit in my car, but I didn't have the confidence or knowledge to use it. Now I do. The whole course was about $80, but if it helps me help just one person in pain, I'll consider it well worth it.

November 14: For an unknown reason, Uncle Al had some old letters addressed to my dad. 40-year-old letters. Since we lost my dad 17 years ago, on November 5, the letters were a nice chance to think about him.

One of my dad's friends, Richard Yamauchi, wrote several letters to my dad while serving in the Vietnam War. My dad avoided the draft because he was in med school. Did you know he was a lawyer before that? I wonder if my dad would still have become a doctor if there hadn't been a draft. I'll have to wait until later to ask him....

This is a 40-year-old postcard from Japan.

I have only a few letters, and several of the addresses are in LA. I was thinking of trying to find the writers and visiting them; it sounds like a good experience. Does anyone know who this postcard is from?

I always thought my dad was a fan of public schools, since he went to UC Berkeley and UC Davis. But he also went to Hastings. And, he applied to USC and Loma Linda for med school! Dad was rejected from Loma Linda; I guess being a lawyer wasn't good enough to get in. But he was accepted at USC. I guess I need to stop looking down at the private schools.

From Letters to Dad

Along with the letters were 30 prints of this picture of my dad. He looks very young, but if this is from the time of the letters, he was 28 or 29, just about to start med school.

I gave a copy to my cousin Gayle, and she said, "Oh, is this when you were in high school?" =)

If you want one of the prints, just let me know.

October 1 - 21: Box City LA, Uncle Al, Steve Jobs, Popcorn, Art show, Cafe Evergreen, Uncle Al's birthday, Amy's memorial, Baby Charlotte

I spent most of the past ten days playing a video game called "Xenoblade Chronicles." It's been great so far, but I'm not done yet. And I don't have any pictures. So what else has been going on for the past three weeks?

From Box City LA

October 1: I visited my friend Nat at Box City LA. Nat is in my church group. Box City LA is a fundraiser for Family Promise of San Gabriel Valley (FPSGV). The event was also supposed to create awareness of homelessness by having people pay for the privilege of sleeping in a cardboard box overnight. (Or a tent.) FPSGV is supposed to become a big part of our church, Evergreen Baptist Church of LA.

October 3: I visited my uncle Al again. We took a walk in the park, and I caught this picture of him looking tough. Don't mess with Uncle Al. :-)

I've been getting to know Uncle Al a lot better over the past few months. I used to wonder if he could cook at all, since he seemed to eat out a lot. But here he is, cooking some noodles for me! I think he knows a lot, actually, but it's just a lot of effort to shop and cook for only oneself.

From Uncle Al

So, there was more unavoidable gluten. And that was totally fine. (I've discovered that I do get immediate bloating from pasta or something. Maybe it's a chemical reaction?)

From Macintosh

October 5: Steve Jobs died. I feel like I owe a lot to Steve, or at least to Apple. Apple products have definitely had a big impact on my life, and I don't think it's fair to assume my life would be the same if Apple hadn't been around.

On the Apple website, they said you could send in memories, thoughts, or feelings about Steve. Below is what I sent.

Subject: Thank you, Steve, and everyone who has worked at Apple.

My father died at 53. He got pneumonia, and he had a latent autoimmune disease. This was in 1994. I didn't realize it until this year, but Apple--and the Macintosh--showed me a side to my father that I might never have known.

My dad, Paul Hom, was the youngest of 12 brothers and sister: 9 boys and 3 girls. My dad was only about 2 years old when his dad died, and everyone in the family had to work hard to survive. (They ran a produce company, David Hom Produce, in San Diego.) My dad grew up learning how to be frugal and to do things on one's own. Eventually, my dad worked his way through college at UC Berkeley, then law school at Hastings. My dad was so frugal that, in law school, he lived out of his car and ate canned food, until he got pneumonia one winter.

Some time after becoming a lawyer, my dad felt called to help people in a different way, so he went through medical school and became a doctor. My dad worked as a doctor for the County of Sacramento for several years, up to his death. He also started a free clinic for poor people in Sacramento, and it still runs today as the "Paul Hom Asian Clinic." I think my dad felt very strongly about helping people.

Even though my dad was a doctor (and a lawyer), he remained frugal his entire life. He would buy produce from the farmer's market under the freeway, not the grocery store. We always ate at home, never at a restaurant. Instead of buying new cars, or a normal used car, my dad would buy a car at police auctions and try to fix it himself. He never bought new clothes or shoes: if my dad's sneakers got a hole, he would use "Shoe Goo" to repair them. At Christmas, my dad would wrap our presents in newspaper. At least he used the Sunday comics section whenever possible.

So my dad was always frugal. Always. Except for the Macintosh. Our first one was a Mac 128K, so I must have been 7 or 8. I didn't know enough about computers to know how different this was: graphics and a mouse. I remember the tutorial for learning to use the mouse, which involved a man throwing a paper plane out a window. I also didn't know how much computers cost, or how much a Mac cost vs. a PC.

As I grew up, we later got a Mac SE, then I think a Mac Classic. However, I found myself wanting a PC instead of a Mac. PCs had all the good games. In high school, I even convinced my dad to buy us a PC. But I used it only for games. All my homework was done on the Mac, and everyone else in the family used the Mac.

My dad died right before I went to college, but we've remained a Mac family. We've had an LC III, a Performa, and several iMacs, iBooks, MacBooks, and a Mac Mini. Today, I am an independent Apple Developer working on my first iPad app.

When the Mac 128K was released, apparently it was $1,995, which would be about $4,000 today, adjusting for inflation. I think my dad once paid $800 for the family station wagon at a police auction.

Until that first Mac, my family had never had a computer. My dad was smart enough and thrifty enough to buy a cheaper computer, maybe a build-it-yourself one or a used one. But he must have seen something special in the Macintosh. Something that would make him volunteer to spend more than the family car.

I think I saw it, about a year ago. I was with my ninety-year-old grandmother. We were waiting for her dentist appointment, so I brought out my iPad. My grandma has never used a computer in her life, but I opened the Photos app and was able to teach her how to move from photo to photo. Suddenly, she could see her children and grandchildren! If we had had more time, I'll bet I could have taught her how to use email.

I know the Mac and the iPad are due to more than just Steve Jobs. I'm not even sure if my dad thought about Steve Jobs at all. Maybe Dad just thought, "Apple. Mac. Good." But I think my dad and Steve shared a common belief: That everyone should be able to enjoy the fruits of society, not just those who are rich or savvy. Today, Apple products are a lot more affordable than they were in 1985. But, both then and now, they've always pushed the envelope of accessibility, usability, and, well, society.

Thank you, Steve, and everyone who has worked at Apple.

From Popcorn

October 6: I was making some microwave popcorn that Mark had bought from the 99-cent store. (3 boxes for $1, with 4 bags of popcorn in each box!) The popcorn has some "Helpful Hints." The first one reads, "For improved results, preheat a cup of water on high for one minute in microwave oven. Remove cup of water and proceed with popping instructions."

The more I thought about this hint, the more it intrigued me. Why would this work? And what if we left the cup of water in the microwave? Would that help more or less?

I ended up doing a quick test with two bags of popcorn: one with the helpful hint, and one without. I couldn't tell a difference, but then again, I didn't do it correctly: I stopped each bag popping when I thought it was done, when I should have run each for the same amount of time. And I should have done more trials.

Maybe next time that I have enough people around to eat all the popcorn, I'll test this again. :-)

From Art show

October 8: Some of my church group went to an art show at the church. We were hosting local street artists, since the city (Rosemead) apparently doesn't have a public art gallery. As part of the art show, one of the church members conducted a sketching class. I like this photo, because it's just the teacher and six people from my church group. (Daniel's in the corner taking a photo.)

October 9: My cousin Kristen and her husband Mike were working in Cafe Evergreen. Cafe Evergreen is a small cafe at the church; it runs only between church services.

From Cafe Evergreen

Mike figured out how to work the church's shaved ice machine, so that's their speciality.

Thank you for helping out!

In mid-October, we celebrated Uncle Al's birthday. A lot of Homs gathered at Uncle Al's place. In this photo are Luke, Caroline, Brandon, and Katie. Katie's the one making a funny face.

Some Homs looking at a memory book made for Uncle Al. What I really like about this picture is that the three Homs look like they could be one family, but actually they're three different Hom families. (Sort of.)

Everyone seemed to have a great time at the party. I'll describe the scene clockwise from the piano: Cousin Karen played while cousin Gayle sang. Derek, Uncle Al, and David enjoyed listening. Uncle Tom and Uncle Jim chatted on the couch. Auntie Evelyn also listened.

Ah, family.

From Uncle Al's birthday

After most of the people left, Uncle Al had an assignment for us: he wanted a huge cabinet moved! Fortunately, we had Mike's "Forearm Forklifts." If you haven't heard of Forearm Forklifts, they're the orange straps around my forearms. They're sold on TV in an infomercial. I had my doubts, but now I'm a believer! Mike and I easily moved the heavy cabinet through the house and into the garage. It was almost like the Forearm Forklifts made me stronger. Like they gave me super powers.

October 20: I went to the memorial for a church friend named Amy.

Amy was an older lady: she lived into her 80s, and I think she was a teenager when she and her family were sent to an internment camp during World War II. I didn't know Amy that well, but several times we had eaten in the same lunch group after church.

Amy didn't have any kids and never married. I think she was a little bit private. It took almost a month after Amy died to get in touch with her closest living relative. So I was surprised when I heard about the memorial, and I was worried that no one would come. But actually there were a lot of people! I guess Amy lived a life of quiet service and friendship.

Amy was a librarian, and she got her Masters in Library Science from USC. I was really struck by this photo. Several people in my church group are at or were at USC. Here, it looks like Amy could fit right in with us.

I really like this photo, too. It's so natural. It's wonderful that someone captured the moment. (And this is way before digital cameras!)

From Amy's memorial

I mentioned that Amy never got married. But when we saw these photos of Amy, several of us commented on how pretty she was.

When I meet an older person who isn't married, I often wonder to myself, "Is this person not married by choice, or did they want to get married, but life just didn't work out that way?" I hope Amy was happy in this life.

And as the pastor said during the memorial, Amy should now be eternally happy, in the presence of the love of God.

From Baby Charlotte

Finally, just the other day, Kristen and Mike visited with Baby Charlotte. I volunteered to "hold" Charlotte for awhile, as you can see. No, I haven't changed a diaper yet! But I would. Maybe.

September 8 - 27: Off Street Cafe, Paige & Tiffany, cleaning, fixing computer, short lamp, and unavoidable gluten

There's this new word I've been hearing/using for the past few years: foodie. It's someone who's really into eating good (tasty) food. I'm not a foodie, but it seems like everyone else is.

Anyway, my cousin Mark got me hooked on this Food Network show called, "Restaurant: Impossible." This guy and his team help struggling restaurants turn around in only 2 days. It's actually a very nice show; you always feel warm and fuzzy at the end.

One of the restaurants on the show is the Off Street Cafe in Cerritos, CA. It's pretty close to us, so I wanted to try it out. We went for lunch.

The inside of the Off Street Cafe, after the makeover. Very white and cheery. I like the plates as wall decorations.

Although it was lunch time, they serve breakfast all day. Mark would want me to point out that all the food showing isn't his, even though it looks like it. :-)

Both our breakfasts were quite sufficient. For my starch side, I had to choose corn tortillas (gluten-free diet). Mark chose biscuits and gravy. You can see both in the picture. The tortillas worked really well with my meal, but I can't shake the feeling that Mark chose more wisely…

The Off Street Cafe's cinnamon roll. I think that's melted cream cheese on top. It was literally dripping off the cinnamon roll.

Mmmmm...

From Off Street Cafe

If you watch the episode of the show, you'll want to visit the cafe. One of the owners invested her entire retirement in the cafe and had been working there for decades. The other owner had so much trouble making ends meet that she was waitressing 30 hours per week to get by. All things considered, I give the Off Street Cafe 5 stars out of 5!

From Paige & Tiffany

These are my friends Paige & Tiffany. We're in the same Bible study group. Both girls were celebrating their birthdays that week. I had bought all these boxes of Gluten-Free Rice Krispies, so I made Rice Krispy treats.

One weekend, my relatives and I had a special mission: cleaning.

It started sprinkling that day. The drops reminded me of puppy feet.

My cousin Cindy was in charge of doing laundry. Lots of laundry. Halfway through the day, my cousin Pat and I went to help her out.

See, here we all, all smiles. Ready to do laundry.

Overall, I think Cindy ended up doing laundry for 9 hours straight. And I mean straight. We had half a dozen washers and dryers running in the laundromat continuously. (Did you know they have washers that can do 6 loads at once!) I don't remember sitting down once.

From Cleaning

So by the end, we were a little tired. But at least we could still laugh about it.

Our new motto is, "So many sheets!"

A few days later, I had to fix a computer for one of my uncles. The computer had simply been moved from one home to another in a car, but now it wasn't working.

From Fixing computer

I was stumped, but I called my friend Glenn in Sacramento; he's an expert at building and fixing PCs. I had to take this picture to remember where all the cables went.

In the end, Glenn led me in the right direction, and we saved an expensive trip to the repair shop. Whew! Glenn, thank you!

From Short lamp

Later, I was staying at an uncle's house, and we didn't have enough lighting in my room. But I found a small Chinese lamp and this lamp shade, so I made a short lamp. Isn't it cute?

On Day 90 of my gluten-free diet, I faced a dilemma. I was having dinner with one of my uncles, and he made me a stew.

From Unavoidable gluten

The stew definitely looked like it contained gluten/flour/pasta, and lots of it. But my uncle had never cooked anything for me before. Also, he had recently suffered a stroke.

In the end, it was an easy decision. I ate the stew with gusto. And then I had a second bowl to clean out the pot. I definitely felt bloated later that evening, something I hadn't felt since starting the gluten-free diet.

But the privilege of eating my recovering uncle's home-made stew? Priceless.