Geoffrey Hom's Blog

January 6 - 28: Birds, Eaton Canyon, Charlotte and Val's birthday, Speed dating, Grandma's scarf

2012-01-28T21:43:00.000-08:00

January 6: I was driving to Huntington Beach to visit my uncle Al; it's a weekly ritual. And I noticed all these birds on the street lights. But what's weird is how they're all on one side of the street. (The picture doesn't really do the scene justice.) Why is that? What's wrong with the other side of the street? I was wondering if it's the angle of the lights (some are going up and some are going down, relative to the sunset), but it could be almost anything. It's a mystery! =)

January 14: Some of my Bible-study group (a.k.a. small group, community group) went on a hike to Eaton Canyon. The only other time I'd been was in 2006, when I was a guide for the Caltech "Finding Nemo" stack. (It's way at the end of that post.) The picture on the left was taken where, in 2006, we had buried dental tools and had the undergrads use a metal detector to find them. (We needed the tools to make an exchange for Nemo from the dentist, played by Chris Wetzel.) It was interesting to visit the same place in a totally different way.

From Eaton Canyon

My first time to Eaton Canyon, we didn't go all the way to the waterfall. So this was a pleasant surprise at the end.

From Charlotte and Val's birthday

January 16: On the left is my cousin Kristen (partly hidden) and her husband Mike; they're holding baby Charlotte, who just turned one. On the right is Mike's family; they're trying to attract Charlotte's attention to take a photo. I just found this scene to be very funny, in a sweet way.

From Speed dating

January 24: I went speed dating. And not just any speed dating, but Christian Asian speed dating. My friend Win Kang told me about it, and we both wanted to stretch our comfort zones a little.

The photo is from the venue (a sushi bar), afterward. If you're not familiar with speed dating, here's the Wikipedia link. In this case, there were 20 guys and 19 girls, and I got to talk with each girl for 5'. At the end, for each girl I secretly circled "Yes" or "No" on a piece of paper. If we both said "Yes," then we would later receive each other's email address. Oh, and the cost was $25. (Food and drink not included, but not required.)

The event was run by Click2Asia, which helps Asians meet other Asians. I didn't realize how much some Asians really prefer only Asians (or, say, some Koreans prefer only Koreans). I guess it has a lot to do with how we grew up. (I grew up here, as did my parents, so I'm mostly just American, if anything.)

At this point, I'm sure you've got a lot of questions about how the speed dating went. Actually, both Win and I thought it was a really worthwhile experience, even in terms of that night alone. In longer terms, well, it just happened. And if there's one thing I feel I've learned over the past 5 years, it's not to get ahead of myself. =)

Moving on: For Christmas, Grandma knit me a scarf. Sort of. Here's a photo of me wearing it.

My friend Marshall said it looks like I'm wearing a sweater underneath and it's sticking out. I have to admit that I was a little self-conscious about wearing it, since it's not really a scarf. It's really a Grandma Invention. =)

From Grandma's scarf

See, it's actually two rings, knit together in the front. Why, you ask? Grandma explained that it's because the back of my neck has more exposed skin than the front. So, I need something that is twice as wide in the back as in the front. And this was her solution.

As strange as it may seem, Grandma's gift was pretty good. She knit it herself, of course. But she also noticed that I wear my hair a lot shorter lately. I get cold easily, and I lost my scarf last winter. It's also not as tight as a scarf, so I can even wear it to bed without fear of choking myself. The color's a little funny: My sister thought it was pink, but Grandma said it was tan. I suppose I'll always remember my sister and I trying not to crack up about that at night.

So I've been wearing Grandma's–um, scarf-collar–a lot lately. (I'm wearing it now!) It really does keep the back of my neck warm. And Grandma probably knew that she imputed significant impunity with it, so I can wear it fearlessly in public: Anyone making fun of my 93-year-old Grandma's hand-knit Christmas present, whether they know it or not, would probably bring upon themselves significant bad karma, or worse.

But no, I didn't wear it to speed dating.

December 10 - January 1: CostCo, Foot massages, Christmas in Sac, Gray Lodge, Stockton In-N-Out, Young iPad, New Year's

2012-01-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

I made a Christmas card again this year. The only other one I've made was in 2008. If you want to see either, just email me and I'll send you the PDF version. If you want a real/physical version, I will also send you that, but you've got to *really* want it. =)

In writing my Christmas card, I was reminded that it can provide only one angle of my life. Similarly, this blog will never tell everything. More importantly, this blog rarely provides a balanced view of my life. But I'm okay with that.

From CostCo

December 10: Uncle John and Auntie Val were going to CostCo, so I tagged along. I learned that one can use the CostCo pharmacy without being a member. They give flu shots and other vaccines.

And I saw this list at CostCo: It ranks the CostCo cashiers by items per minute (”27.27”), members processed per hour ("65.15"), and scanning accuracy ("95.55"). It reminded me of that 2006 movie, "Employee of the Month," with Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson. What struck me is that the list has values to the second decimal place. I.e., "27.27" instead of "27.3" or, simply, "27."

From Foot Massages

I think the San Gabriel Valley has offered relatively inexpensive massages for several years. I even had a foot massage a few years ago, but I had no proof that they were always that inexpensive. Now I do!

Right in front, it says, "Foot Massage: $15/hr." (A body massage is $25/hr.) That's pretty reasonable, isn't it?

One thing I remember from my massage a few years ago: I laughed a lot. =)

For Christmas, I drove up to Sacramento. As usual, I posted on craigslist rideshare to see if anyone else wanted a ride. But this time, I also planned to visit Auntie Muriel and Uncle Ron in Fresno. We were going to have lunch to celebrate Muriel's birthday and their 35-plus-ish anniversary. (They're on the same day. Uncle Ron's very clever, isn't he? =)

So, Muriel, Ron, myself and my two rideshare companions all hung out at Sizzlers. Two of my social circles intersecting. I'm glad everyone had a good time.

This is my grandma's room in Sacramento. (It used to be my parents' room, but my mom gave it up for Grandma.) I liked how the light came in.

Mary brought three friends from Bethel for Christmas Eve. The three friends (right) were all flying out on Christmas morning to go to a prayer conference in Kansas City.

On Christmas, Sunday, we went to the cemetery, as usual. Dad died 17 years ago. And one of Grandma's daughters died this year.

The large pine tree on the right is leaning a lot.

Christmas at First Chinese Baptist Church in Sacramento, the church I grew up in. In many churches, the worship music is done by a live band. I feel it's like an unwritten rule. But here, they play a tape of someone else playing the music. I love that. It's more pure, more inclusive. More courageous.

Christmas at the Hom home. I love this photo … because it has a happy ending. Here we are, in the middle of our Advent service: Mom looks sad or mad, Mary looks bored, and Grandma is, well, Grandma.

It's really just an example of how the wrong snapshot can be soooo misleading. (Like a first or second impression.) We really had a great Advent service. Really … =)

This year for our Advent service, we started by lighting all four candles. Then, we each read our favorite Bible passage, talked briefly about it, and chose a song to sing.

After our Advent service, we opened presents. Look at Grandma's stash!

Doesn't this photo look happier than the earlier one? Mom's happy, Mary's happily about to take a nap, and Grandma's still Grandma.

From Christmas in Sac

For Christmas, I asked Mary what she wanted. She said she wanted me to pick something good to do. (So the gift was both the choosing of something special and the doing of it. Ah, my sister cleverly turned things around on me!)

I chose for us to have lunch together at Panera Bread. It's the first time I can remember us really talking since, well, ever.

And now, we turn to a story that I know my mom and sis have been waiting for me to tell. The "Gray Lodge" story.

The Gray Lodge Wildlife Area is a bird sanctuary about an hour's drive north of Sacramento. We had been there years ago, and Mom wanted to go back as her Christmas present. So we set aside a day, got up at 6:30 am, and went.

When we arrived, we were basically the only ones there. So far, so good.

There is a path from the parking lot to the bird-watching area. It's a mile or two long. Fortunately, we brought the wheelchair for Grandma.

But Grandma didn't want to use the wheelchair yet. She wanted to walk on her own and stretch her legs. No problem: Grandma held onto the back of the wheelchair and pushed it with her. She was pretty slow, so Mary and Mom went on ahead, and I said I'd keep track of Grandma.

In the distance, you can see Mary (left, black) and Mom (right, covered with a striped blanket). It was like the separation of the Fellowship in "Lord of the Rings."

When I said Grandma was pretty slow, I meant it. I didn't mind, but I couldn't help walking a little farther ahead, turning around to check on her. That was sort of a good thing, because it let me take this photo.

On the right, behind the tree, you can see my car. That's how far we had gone, while Mary and Mom were already way out of eyesight. Note also that there is a nice paved road for Grandma and her wheelchair. Also note that there are parts–let's call them ditches–just a few feet from the side of the road.

A close-up of Grandma. Since Grandma wasn't using the wheelchair, I put a blanket and a friend's tripod in it. Grandma didn't seem to mind pushing them.

Grandma has an insatiable curiosity. When in a new environment, she's always looking this way and that. Of course, that contributes to our slow progress.

So … Grandma's pushing the wheelchair. I'm walking about fifteen feet ahead of her. Mary and Mom are nowhere to be seen.

Then I hear Grandma shout, "Oh no!" I whirl around just in time to see our bright pink wheelchair roll off the side of the road and into a ditch. But the ditch … is really a pond.

Apparently Grandma wanted to get a closer look at something in the pond. So she wheeled the wheelchair off the paved road, but the ground was slightly sloped. The wheelchair either escaped Grandma's grasp, or she let it go, planning to walk the rest of the way on her own.

Regardless, there's our wheelchair, down an embankment and in the pond that's part of the bird sanctuary. The blanket and my friend's tripod are also in the water. And it's just me and Grandma.

For a second, I consider just leaving everything there. We could wait for someone to come by and help us … or maybe just run away? But, oh yeah, Mary and Mom are still here. And I think the wheelchair is slowly sinking deeper.

So, I slide down the embankment and into the pond. I grab the tripod and throw it onto dry ground. Same for the blanket. But the wheelchair is heavy, and bulky. It's stuck in some weeds and branches. And now, I'm starting to sink deeper.

At some point, I say a little prayer. And I realize I need a source of strength, so I can pivot and yank the wheelchair free. Then I saw it: A tree root! I grab the root and use that for leverage for myself, wrenching the wheelchair free and heaving it onto dry land.

Now, I have to get out. I try using the same root to pull myself up the embankment, but it snaps! I almost fall in deeper, but I grab the root at a point higher up, and I climb to safety.

In the aftermath, I made Grandma stand close to the pond to capture this photo. It's hard to tell, but from the wheelchair's ground to the water is several feet. You can see where the wheelchair and I were in the pond: It's where the moss on the surface is dispersed, near the gray metal pole.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but Grandma is laughing.

From Gray Lodge

Grandma and I went back to the car, and I tried to clean things up and dry my shoes and socks. I figured Mary and Mom would find us eventually.

Of course, when Mary did come back, she started laughing.

As no one got hurt, I guess it was kind of funny. (Thank you, God and trees!)

From Stockton In-N-Out

A few days after Christmas, it was time to drive back to LA. We stopped in Stockton at an In-N-Out, around 10 am. It's the first time I've ever seen an In-N-Out completely empty. It was a bit surreal.

One of my Craigslist ridesharers was a woman named Becky. Becky needed to get to LA that day, because the next morning she was going on a road trip from LA to New Orleans "with a friend." It turns out that the road trip was actually a 7-car caravan, driving 36 hours straight to relocate 40 pit bulls! Becky's a volunteer at a dog rescue; it's featured in a show on Animal Planet: "Pit Bulls and Parolees." Go, Becky!

From Young iPad

At Panera, I saw this little kid watching an iPad. Check that: He's really a baby, turning 2 in February, and he was using the iPad. I saw him swipe left to get to the app he wanted, open the app, and select the video he wanted to see (Veggie Tales). Then the kid sat back in his booster chair, obviously satisfied with his accomplishments. it was incredibly evocative of a man leaning back in his couch after successfully finding the football game he was looking for.

Then the iPad wireless prompt came up, blocking the middle of the baby's screen. I saw him hit the Home button to try to get rid of it. That didn't work, but it showed a savvy understanding of how the iPad works. (For example, he didn't try to wipe away the prompt or hit the iPad.) Then, the baby leaned over and calmly but insistently tugged his dad's arm, to get him to fix it. (The baby didn't scream, cry or throw a fit.)

Fascinating.

For New Year's Eve … I slept 14 hours.

For New Year's Day, my friend Chiyo invited me to her relatives' place. Chiyo is an older friend from church: She and her sister are the last survivors of six siblings. Chiyo is Japanese, and I think New Year's is a big holiday for the Japanese. They had an incredible feast. It was like a multi-course buffet. You'd eat at the buffet. Then an hour later, a dozen more guests would arrive and bring along another buffet.

But I photographed only one dish: Mochi-wrapped strawberries. One of the relatives' signature dishes; apparently it takes a trick/secret to make.

From New Year's, Chiyo's

I took a bite out of one, just so you could get a better idea. The sacrifices I make for you guys .... =)

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

2011-12-07T21:47:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

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

2011-10-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

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.

August 14 - September 6: Grocery shopping, praying mantis, basketball, Santa Barbara

2011-09-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

I've been on a gluten-free diet for about 70 days. People often ask me if it's hard to stay on the diet. The hardest part is eating out, since I don't know what's in the food. So, this is forcing me to go to the grocery store, but I don't mind since it's cheaper.

I was walking through Albertson's the other day, and look what caught my eye!

Special, gluten-free Rice Krispies! I thought Rice Krispies were already gluten-free, but I'm not complaining. What I appreciate most about this is that "Gluten Free" is so prominent on the package.

From Grocery shopping

Later, I was at another Albertson's with my friend Nick. We saw Cinnabon pastries, which can be warmed in the microwave. How long do you think that takes?

The box says "3 secconds"! A misprint?

Actually, only a few minutes ago (as I'm writing this), I saw a guy microwaving a cinnamon roll from Panera Bread. He had it in an enclosed plastic box and set for 1 minute, but we told him to stop after 15 seconds. 15 seconds was plenty, so I guess Cinnabon knows what they're talking about.

Once or twice a week, I visit some friends at a software/business group called Atlas. We help each other with programming. Recently, they got a pet praying mantis.

The mantis' name is Darrell (not to be confused with the Atlas founder, Daryl). He (or she?) was just a baby when we got him, so he's been molting. I assumed Darrell would just break out of his old skin, but it's like he just slipped out of his old exoskeleton.

How did he get his legs out?!

We feed flies and crickets to Darrell. Darrell will eat them only if they're alive.

Poor cricket.

From Praying mantis

Here's Darrell!

From Basketball

The church I attend, EBCLA, has a summer basketball league. I didn't play, but several people in my Bible study were on a team, so I watched a couple games. In the last game of the season, they won by one point!

I hope all the teams had fun!

On Labor Day weekend, my Bible study group made a day trip to Santa Barbara. It was my first time there.

Below is a view from the pier.

Doesn't it look beautiful?

Santa Barbara has a main street which is very long and has lots of shops. However, we had lunch at Panino, a sandwich/salad shop a couple blocks away.

I had the curry chicken salad, which was perfectly tasty.

After lunch, we walked up and down the main strip and to the beach. Some people went kayaking, and some went to a coffee shop. Kayaking was only $12 per hour per person, so I may try it next time!

Here, we are waiting for a dinner table at Pascucci. Less than half of our Bible study group came on the trip. On the other hand, almost half our Bible study group came on the trip!

From left to right, it's me, Nancy, Peien, David, Daniel, Nat, and Vince. Daniel, Nat, and Vince were our resident photographers, so that's why these photos look so good. Nat's photos are here, and Vince's are here.

At dinner, I was able to levitate some of the silverware!

(Some of the knives were magnetized, for some reason.)

Pascucci's had gluten-free pasta. Yay!

After dinner, Peien wanted to visit a pub. As he informed me, a pub is quite different than a bar.

We ended up at The James Joyce, an irish bar (pub) featuring live music. They also had infinite peanuts, pool was only $1 per game, and soda was only $1. Nice place!

From Santa Barbara

Vince took this great photo of me playing pool. Thanks, Vince! (How did he do this? Was there a mirror on the ceiling?)

Since this photo looks so cool, let's pretend I made the pool shot. :-)

July 18 - August 14: Hope for Horses, Mt. Shasta, Mom and Grandma, Audrey's egg, relatives, Vacation Bible School

2011-08-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

After the Hom cruise to Alaska, I stayed a few days in Seattle.

One place I visited was Hope for Horses, a place I used to volunteer at. Hope for Horses rehabilitates abused horses, but they also work on advocacy, law enforcement, and prevention.

This cat is Sister Mary Agnes. I like cats, but they're even cooler when they're just chilling in a horse paddock.

From Hope for Horses

Here are my friends Anna and Jenny. The two mini donkeys were acquired by Jenny after they were seized by the government from a wealthy person's estate.

If you're interested in helping law enforcement stop people from abusing their animals, check out Chandler Edwards, a related organization.

From Mt. Shasta

I had to drive back from Seattle to LA, so I asked for some riders on craigslist rideshare. I know rideshare can sound scary, but 100% of my rides have worked out. Everyone saves money, I save on driving, and I get to meet new people. Win-win-win!

For example, I was able to take this great photo of Mt. Shasta, because someone else was driving at the time. :-)

From Mom and Grandma

Back in Sacramento, my grandma had *just* moved in with my mom. I think as recently as a year ago, my mom wouldn't have dreamed that that living situation could work. It's a bit of a miracle! Yay!

From Audrey's egg

While in Seattle, it was also a sad time, because my Auntie Audrey died recently. I keep hearing of this book, "The Five Love Languages." I haven't read it, but I think one of Auntie Audrey's love languages was making things for people. Pictured here is a sugar egg that Audrey made for me and my sister when we were kids. (There's a detailed scene inside the opening, but I couldn't get a good photo of it.)

Back in LA, I was hanging out with some relatives recently, and I had to take this photo. On the left are Auntie Suan and Uncle Well; on the right are Caroline and Brandon, whose parents are elsewhere. I like this photo because Caroline is showing Uncle Well how to use an iPad. Isn't that cute?

From Relatives

Later that evening, I went to Olive Garden. I'm still on a gluten-free diet, so I was curious what I could have. They have a special gluten-free menu! There weren't a ton of options, but I was happy with it. Looking at this pasta, can you tell it's gluten-free? (It tasted good, too. :-)

From Vacation Bible School

Today at church, we celebrated the end of VBS: Vacation Bible School. I've never really participated in VBS, but I think it's like summer camp for church kids, except it's held at the church each day. This year's theme was "Superheroes of the Bible." That's why "The Incredibles" led worship today. Note that the children are sitting in the middle of the sanctuary. They were all really well-behaved throughout the service! Amazing!

June 18 - July 17: Caltech again, chess, granola bars, Anime Expo, a fossilized shell, washed car, family cruise to Alaska

2011-07-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Seattle! I was hoping to blog after Anime Expo and before the cruise … oops. Here are some highlights since my last post:

From Caltech

June 18: My friend Andreea, from Caltech, flew in from Chicago for a wedding. I was able to catch up with her and some other Techers. Clockwise from the left, it's Jon (Andreea's boyfriend), Andreea, Erik (fellow Avery alum), Habib (another Averyite), me, and Diana (Erik's wife).

Also, my old clamshell phone was dying, but Habib happened to have exactly the same model that he wasn't using. Habib, thank you!

From Jim & Mark

June 21: Uncle Derek came to visit. He's actually my blood-uncle's wife's brother, so not technically my uncle, but whatever. Anyway, some of my aunt's side got together to see Uncle Derek. Derek makes his own board games, notably Telepathy and Color Fever. During the get-together, my cousins Jim and Mark played a classic board game: chess.

June 30: Anime Expo was coming up, then my drive up to Seattle. I wanted some snacks for both of those. At Albertson's, I came across some granola bars. Little did I know that these would lead to the most epic series of grocery coupons I had ever seen.

Look at the sale signs for the granola bars. The first is that the bars are on sale at 2 for $5, vs. $4.19 for one. That seems like a great sale.

But additionally, the signs say, "Save $5 on your next shopping trip when you buy 4 participating General Mills products in a single transaction using your Preferred Savings Card." I was confused that "$5" was being used for two different things, but it seemed that I could buy 4 boxes for $10, and it would essentially cost me $5. I decided to try this.

At checkout, I paid $10 for my 4 boxes of granola bars, and the coupon dispenser gave me a coupon for $5 off my next purchase. Sweet!

And then it gave me the label shown.

It reads, "Congratulations! Now save even more! Buy Nature Valley Granola Bars. Buy (3) & get $1 or buy (4) & get $2 or buy (5) & get $3 coupon off your next order."

Attached to the label was a second coupon, for $2 off! (Since I had already bought 4 boxes.)

From Granola bars

Then the coupon dispenser gave me a third coupon!

It reads, "Free: Up to $4.50. One gallon of milk. Compliments of General Mills."

I have no idea why this third coupon appeared, but I wasn't complaining.

So would these coupons work? And could I use them all at once? Could I use them to buy more granola? The answers were yes, yes, and yes. I went back and bought 4 more boxes of granola and a gallon of milk. All three coupons worked, so I saved $11.50. (The milk coupon actually deducted $4.50 off the total, so for a $3 galloon, I saved an extra $1.50.) 48 granola bars and a gallon of milk suddenly cost ~$2.

Then the coupon dispenser gave me the same three coupons as before!

In the end, I left Albertson's with a couple hundred granola bars, a couple gallons of milk, a couple coupons for free milk, and a rotisserie chicken. (I had to spend my last coupons on something other than granola bars, or the cycle would never end. :-)

Thank you to Albertson's and General Mills!

July 1-4: Equipped with my vast collection of granola bars, I went to Anime Expo, at the LA Convention Center.

A lot of the fun of Anime Expo is seeing people in costume, both from anime (Japanese cartoons) and related genres (comics, video games, etc.). The people in costume, known as cosplayers, even self-organize by theme. Here is the Pokemon cosplay gathering. (Check out the guy dressed as Giovanni, right side in the orange suit.)

Anime Expo also has a lot of premieres. They showed the first episode of "Last Exile 2" ("Fam, The Silver Wing"), even before it was released in Japan! This photo is of a life-size picture at the Last Exile booth.

The girl dressed as a sky pirate (right) was handing out "Last Exile 2" posters, but one had to do what she said. She told me to do 15 jumping jacks. Exercise, and a free poster! Win-win!

This cute couple dressed as the Ice Climbers from Nintendo.

Ganondorf from the Legend of Zelda series.

There were as many anime costumes as video game costumes, but I haven't watched a lot of the newer anime series, so I didn't recognize a lot of the cosplayers.

Sazh from Final Fantasy XIII! This is my friend Godric, from the Game Developers Conference. Godric, great costume!

Anime Expo has a large "Dealer's Room" where you can buy any and all anime merchandise.

Some of the merchandise isn't even related to anime. This booth sold "Giant microbes," plush versions of microbial organisms. Things like HIV, penicillin, and yeast.

From Anime Expo 2011

For a niche company, they sure had a lot of giant microbes. Included on the list are a brain cell, chickenpox, gangrene, red tide, sleeping sickness, toxic mold, and an ulcer.

Note the upper-right: "Catch them all!"

From Fossil

July 7: After Anime Expo, I drove to Sacramento. My friends Joe and Glenn helped me tune-up my car. Also, I borrowed Joe's chisel to break apart a rock that I had found on the beach in San Diego.

Inside the rock were fossilized seashells! The biggest shell in the photo is about one inch long.

From Car shiny

Joe and Glenn gave my car its 60,000-mile tune-up. (Joe's a Toyota mechanic.) They also helped me vacuum and wash my car, so it was clean inside and out for my drive to Seattle!

July 10 - 17: Cruise from Seattle to Alaska, on the Sapphire Princess. This was a Hom reunion, and there were 35 of us!

My sister Mary. In the background is the Seattle skyline.

I had started a gluten-free (no wheat, etc.) diet a few days before the cruise. At first, I was bummed about this. But then I thought, "At least on a cruise, they should have plenty of options!" Here, the waitstaff brought me gluten-free bread (left). The regular bread is on the right.

Our first stop was Ketchikan, Alaska. And my first stop there was the McDonald's! Thank you McDonald's for free Wi-Fi and refills on soda!

I saw this sign on the Ketchikan docks and immediately thought, "PSP: PlayStation Portable." But it's actually an alert for Paralytic Shellfish Poison.

Ketchikan was full of seaplanes. As a kid, I loved watching the Disney cartoon, "Tail Spin," which borrowed heavily from the Miyazaki anime film, "Porco Rosso," which is one of my all-time favorites. Both make seaplanes seem *awesome*.

The cruise ship had many entertainment options, including fancy shows in a theater. This photo is from the Cruise Staff Talent Show. On the left is the Cruise Director, who is in charge of entertainment. I can't really describe this skit adequately, but it featured lots of water spitting and the Enya song, "Only Time." Actually, the skit was clever, cute, and funny, and my favorite entertainment memory of the whole cruise.

After Ketchikan, we went to the Tracy Arm Fjord.

The scenery was breathtaking, literally.

The bright white part in the middle-top is a glacier, slowly melting to the water below.

At the end of the Tracy Arm Fjord is a huge glacier. This was as close as we got, but I think other cruises have gotten much closer. Maybe next time!

I think one reason we turned back was that we saw this pregnant seal on an ice floe. (The onboard naturalist said she didn't run away when the ship got close, because she was about to give birth.)

The ice floes in the fjord were amazing. Apparently they had all come off the glacier that day. Some ice floes had this amazing sequence of blues.

Here, you can see the melt-off from the glacier mixing with the existing water.

During the cruise, we had a couple of Hom gatherings to make sure that we didn't just keep to ourselves. You might have to know us to appreciate this photo, but it's several different Homs just hanging out with one another. Love it.

After Tracy Arm, we sailed to Juneau, where we saw the Sea Princess, an older Princess ship that still looks great. I find it fascinating a ship can be so large as to carry other ships on it. The orange boats in the middle of the ship are called tenders. Here, the tenders were being used to ferry people to shore, since there weren't enough ports.

In Juneau, I did a little souvenir shopping. I really liked these piggy-bank variants: moose bank and …? They were only $13, but I realized I didn't need a piggy bank. Er, moose bank.

On our ship, my mom, Mary, and I slept in one room. But we had a great room with a balcony. In the photo, look at the sizes of the balconies. Notice the ones in the middle have larger balconies (and thus larger rooms)? One of those was ours; I think they're for handicapped people. My mom didn't need a walker or wheelchair on the cruise, so I think we just lucked out with an upgrade.

After Juneau, we sailed to Skagway. They have a small but dense museum, which includes this bear.

Notice the shadow of the bear. Isn't that interesting?

The Skagway museum had an old map showing where gold was in Alaska. The map seems to indicate that gold was everywhere, which would make the map a bit irrelevant.

Uncle Well and my mom rest from walking around Skagway. Skagway is a small, quaint town of 700. I really liked it; it felt like the show, "Northern Exposure," in a good way.

Skagway has a train that runs for tourists. Next to the train is this ice digger, which just looks awesome. Like something out of a Jules Verne novel, except this was real!

A couple nights on the cruise are designated as "formal nights," in which everyone is supposed to dress up. It's a good opportunity for formal pictures. Here is a small fraction of the Hom generation after mine. Five families (out of 30+) are represented here.

On the cruise, one can eat at a buffet or experience "traditional dining." We all had the latter, so we would eat together. This fancy appetizer had caviar and salmon eggs.

On the last night of the cruise, some of us gathered together to eat some more and play some games. This is nine (or ten) Homs, from three different families, playing the game "Sequence."

I hauled that game up all the way from LA. (Kristen and Mike, thank you for letting me borrow it!)

The last night wasn't over yet. My sister wanted to check out the "Farewell Party" in Club Fusion on the ship. She said no one else was dancing, so we should. Surprisingly, some of my other relatives really wanted to go, too, and I also went. Here are my Auntie Valerie, cousin Jonady, cousin Adrienne, and Mary dancing. In the background is Uncle John.

There's actually a video of this scene. (I can't believe I'm linking this.)

From Hom cruise 2011

A post-cruise tradition: checking our cell phones. This is my mom, my cousin Lance's wife Jonelle, and my cousin Lance.

This was our second Hom-reunion cruise; the first one was to Mexico in December, 2005 and had ~60 Homs. That cruise was life-changing, but I enjoyed this cruise to Alaska just as much.

Thank you to Uncle Al, Aunty Loretta, and everyone else for organizing such a wonderful time!

May 15 - June 14: Ditch Day, San Diego, Church camp, Glenn visits, Bologna, Caltech Commencement

2011-06-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I said I'd write not every two weeks but now every three weeks. And wouldn't you know it, then all this stuff started happening! So, this may be a very long post. But maybe the next one will be really short, so enjoy it while you can! :-)

May 20, Friday, was "Ditch Day" at Caltech. That sounds so innocuous, but it's really quite elaborate. I did an extensive writeup of just one "stack" at Ditch Day 2006 here. (There are ~40-50 unique stacks on Ditch Day.)

I didn't find out when Ditch Day was until the day before. It's a surprisingly well-kept secret each year, so even one day's notice is a privilege (or great luck). The late notice didn't stop me from changing most of my plans and waking up before dawn.

Because Ditch Day is a secret, a lot of the props and puzzles are hidden until the last minute: the seniors spend all night finishing, moving, and assembling hundreds of puzzles throughout campus. Ditch Day starts at 8 am, so I arrived before 7 in order to see all the stacks and puzzles in a pristine, unsolved state.

"Officially," I was there to help the "Harry Potter" stack of Avery House. (They turned the Avery Library into the "Shrieking Shack"–a two-level maze formed from moving boxes.) I wouldn't be needed until later in the day, so I happily explored the rest of campus to check out the other stacks.

Around 7:30 am, I was checking out Ruddock House when I saw two guys from the "Leverage" stack moving this big, wooden … sculpture. I asked if they wanted any help, and they said yes. We spent thirty minutes trying different ways to carry this bulky thing across campus, until we finally got a ride from one of the campus supply trucks. When we finally made it to the designated field, the dummy collapsed! (He's doing the splits here.) Although it seemed like a fail at the time, I'm sure the participants found a way to still have fun with this guy.

Once Ditch Day started, the undergrads donned shirts for their chosen stack. Then they went puzzle-solving across campus. I ran into this stack and had to get a photo. The stack is "Indiana Jones and … the Ocarina of Time"! ("The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" is a Nintendo game from 1998 and is the highest-rated video game of all time.)

Even though I graduated in 2005, I still have some friends at Caltech. One of these is Cynthia Carlson, who works for my old boss, Steve Mayo. I took Cynthia on a whirlwind tour of Ditch Day stacks. Here we found some top-secret, fragile documents for an unknown stack.

That's one tough thing about Ditch Day: we saw all these cool things on campus, but for most of them, we didn't find out what they were for. (But a few times, we were in the right place at the right time!)

This grid shows the stacks for one of the Caltech houses; the grid is to help each student decide which stack to participate in that day. Along the top is the name/theme of each stack (e.g., "Futurama"). Along the left are different aspects of each stack (e.g., tunnels, fire). Note that "Gardening" is missing from all of the stacks.

While Cynthia and I checked out Avery House, we saw a group across the street at the maintenance plant. We were just in time to see this clever puzzle!

The plant has this deep shaft. A dozen boxes of various sizes had been placed at the bottom, and the students had to use a makeshift crane to bring up each box. (Presumably they needed something in some of the boxes.)

I liked this puzzle because it was well-hidden, it revealed something neat (I lived in Avery for 6 years and never knew about the shaft), and it was a great exercise in anticipation and problem-solving. (The boxes are easy to see; but how do you reach them? Which one has what I want? And what will it look like when I find it?)

Back in Avery, the Harry Potter stack ("Harry Potter and the Mysterious Legend") had moved on to another part of campus. But they had converted one of the lobby areas into a Sorting Hat area, plus the wand shop.

It's amazing how effective a little calligraphy can be.

We caught up with the Harry Potter stack in front of Beckman Auditorium. They were playing Quidditch, of course.

Notice, in the foreground, a tarp revealing just a bicycle wheel. Which stack is it for? And what's under there?

A professional video crew finds part of the "Jedi vs. Sith" stack.

One of the great tragedies of Ditch Day is that almost all of the awesome and creative puzzles, etc. are seen by only about a dozen people (the students solving the stack). There are so many wonderful stories and histories that would bring joy to others. So, I was glad that the administration hired this film crew. But there's no way one film crew could cover even 5% of Ditch Day, especially without knowing what's where.

Back in Avery again, the conference room had been turned into a kitchen/class for "Transfiguration" for the Harry Potter stack. Transfiguration in Harry Potter is the art of transforming one thing into another (e.g., a car into a potted plant). How to adapt this into a real-life stack? Cake-making!

The students had to turn cake materials into a given animal (owl, turtle, teddy bear, cactus).

Can you guess which one this is?

While the transfiguration class was in session, I saw some familiar faces in the custodial room next door. It was Maria and Enrique, two of the long-time custodial staff! In the middle is John Liu, an Avery alum who flew in from Boston just to help out with Ditch Day.

Another great thing about Ditch Day is seeing how the campus is transformed. Consider just Avery: the library became a cardboard-box maze, a lobby became a wand shop, the conference room became a kitchen/transfiguration/sculpture class, and the vast dining hall became: a life-size word search! The Indiana Jones stack used it to adapt a scene at the end of the "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," in which Indy has to step on the correct letters to spell "Jehovah" … in Latin. As with most Ditch Day puzzles, this word search had some Caltech/nerdy twists. Either way, it was totally cool. And the use of sand to cover just enough of the letters was inspired.

Again in front of Beckman Auditorium, we find what was under that tarp on the Quidditch field. It's a bicycle frame … welded to a shopping cart! Apparently the red team's bi-cart hadn't worked out, but that didn't stop them from having fun!

Back in Avery once more, I had time to wander the halls. Avery House has a mixture of not just undergrads and grad students, but also some faculty. Here is the apartment door for one faculty family, and it really surprised me! These are the Zmuidzinases–a.k.a. the Z's. The Z's lived in Avery until about 1999 or 2000, but then they moved away. It's great that they came back!

From Ditch Day 2011

Of course, there was a ton of Ditch Day that I didn't talk about, and a ton that I'm sure I never saw. Even for the Harry Potter stack, there was a lot more. (We ended with games and dinner at a park 30 minutes away.) But alas, I still had other things to do: I had to pick up a cake for my Bible study group that evening, and pack for a trip to San Diego the next morning!

May 21, Saturday, was the "Ridiculous-Obstacle-Course Race" in San Diego. The website is here. It's a 5K with a dozen obstacles thrown in.

Now before you think too highly of me, I didn't run the 5K. But I did drive 60 miles to watch some friends in it. That counts for something, right?

Left to right, it's Mel, Elise, Sue, and Jeanne. We all worked together at Genentech.

I have several relatives in San Diego. This trip, I took the opportunity to visit my cousin Lance and his wife Jonelle. They graciously let me stay at their place. I also got to visit their church on Sunday.

Later on Sunday, I caught up with Mel, Elise, and Jeanne. We decided to try a famous breakfast place in San Diego. The wait was a little long, and the place may be a little overrated. However, I appreciated their chorizo, which is the red stuff at the top. What I appreciated was that it looks like chorizo, and it tastes like chorizo, but it's actually tofu. Same taste, more healthy = win!

After our big lunch, we went for a hike near Torrey Pines golf course. Just past the golf course is a nice hike to the beach, and along the way are some really unusual rock formations.

Here again is Mel, me, Jeanne, and Elise. Only Elise lives in San Diego, so it was really cool that we could all get together again.

From San Diego, ROC race

A better look at some of the rock formations.

So, it was a super busy weekend. But super fun.

The next weekend, Memorial Day weekend, was my church's church camp! I was really looking forward to this as a chance for people at the church to get to know each other better, and my hopes were pleasantly fulfilled.

Church camp was on the campus of Pepperdine University, in Malibu. It's nice. Here, we're worshipping in the amphitheater, which has a view of the sea.

From Church camp

Church camps can be quite diverse. I've heard some are almost like academic conferences, but ours was more like church vacation. That suited me quite well! Here, I was having quiet time on a balcony with this great view.

Actually, I think the key to our church camp was that everyone was divided into pseudo-random, same-gender small groups. My group had an 18-year-old, a 24-year-old, me (34 years old), two older guys (45 - 65?), and Pastor Ken. It was a great mixture of ages and experience. We met for a few key moments throughout the weekend, and we definitely got to know each other better than we would have at church. (I'm not sure I would have even met any of the guys during church.)

I didn't take many pictures during church camp, but others did. I think this link will go to our church's Facebook photos page.

My favorite part of church camp was during communion ("The Lord's Supper") at the end. We did it in our small groups. I didn't even take communion (long, same ol' story). However, I was almost moved to tears watching each group get up, look for its members, and just be together. It was really impactful to me for some reason. (I just hope everyone got to be in a small group, like most of the organizers.)

Everyone at church should be in a small group! (Or at least get to experience being in a small group.)

So that was my Memorial Day weekend … except for one thing. The Friday before the weekend was the birthday of my good friend Glenn Mondro. (Glenn's the guy who drove with me on part of my Minnesota -> Sacramento trip.) Glenn lives in Sacramento, so I called him up on Friday to wish him Happy Birthday. Of course, we ended up talking for a couple hours, mostly about video games and how he should take a trip down to LA to visit me. I thought we agreed that Glenn would research transportation options, email me later, and we'd go from there. Hopefully he could visit in a few weeks.

Then on Sunday, while I'm in Malibu for the whole weekend, I get a call on my cell. Glenn had driven down on Saturday to LA! He ended up visiting another friend, but he needed a place to stay or he was driving back on Monday. Crazy guy.

Long story short, I told Glenn to hang around LA on Monday during the day, and later we caught up and he stayed at my house for a week. I don't have any photos, but it was a full, fun week. We played a lot of video games and board games. We also caught up with Nick McGee, another childhood friend. On Friday, June 3, the three of us watched an improv comedy show that Nick is sometimes in. The show is called Improv Shmimprov. It's sort of like the TV show, "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" There are two opposing improv teams, and various improv games they act out in front of the audience. Improv Shmimprov can definitely get raunchy/offensive, but we were laughing throughout. Three of the funniest parts:

A game in which one person has committed a crime and will receive a punishment, but he has to figure out what both of those are from clues from his teammates. The guy's crime was that he "broke into Narnia." There were references to wardrobes, lions, witches, "see us loose" (C.S. Lewis), Christian fables, and even Turkish delight. And the criminal is like, "It's like … the Golden Compass!" When he finally apologized by saying, "So, I broke into Narnia …," we all cheered. (The punishment was that he had to tease his hair. Go figure.)
A game in which an everyday scene is acted out repeatedly, but each time the actors have to "step it up." The scene was three people at the DMV, and the first time, one guy mentions some bees buzzing around the room. By the last iteration, one of the other guys was transforming INTO a bee because he had to wait so long at the DMV! (And he drove a Volkswagon Bee-tle, har har.)
A game called "Time-Travel Raptor." The game was made up on the spot, and it involved a dinosaur raptor (think of "Jurassic Park") travelling to three key moments in time and wreaking havoc. The first two times, the raptor (violently) stole the Wright Brothers' plane and then (violently) tried to save President Kennedy. The third time, two people were about to sign the Declaration of Independence. The raptor actor walks in with a finger above his mouth for a mustache, and his other hand out for a raptor claw, and we all somehow know that the raptor's impersonating John Hancock. And the raptor just signs the Declaration of Independence.

Great stuff.

From Bologna

Oh, I suppose this photo is related to Glenn's visit. Glenn didn't have much money for food, but I told him he could eat anything in our freezer. Somewhere, he found this unopened package of bologna.

If you look closely along the top of the photo, you can see it says, "USE BY NOV 01 2005."

Glenn left before he could try the bologna, but I tried it. Still okay! (Knock on wood!)

Finally, on Friday, June 10, I was scheduled to visit the Headington Institute in Pasadena. More info about them is on their site, but they wanted my input on designing a mobile app to promote the well-being of caregivers. (Imagine an app to help a person's physical/spiritual/emotional well-being! Intriguing.) I mention this because if you have any input or assistance for them, I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

The day before my visit to Pasadena, I learned that Caltech's Commencement would also be on Friday! Perfect timing! So I arrived a couple hours early to see if I still knew anyone graduating.

And I did! This is Habib. Habib and I both lived in Avery. We had a lot of fun hanging out together over the years. Habib, congrats on getting that Ph.D.!

From Caltech Commencement

Ah, a second familiar face! This is Si-Ping, another newly minted Ph.D. Si-Ping and his fiancee, Jackie, also were in Avery with me and Habib.

Whew! That brings us to the present. See you in three weeks!

Good Friday, Transformers, and Three Weeks

2011-05-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

At the church I go to, we had a Good Friday service. "Good Friday" is the Friday before Easter. Easter is supposed to correspond to when Jesus rose from the dead, so Good Friday is supposed to honor when Jesus died on the cross. I feel we should instead call it "Bad Friday," because when Jesus died, it sounds like everyone who loved him felt really bad.

Anyway, for … that Friday, the church tried something new. They tied loaves of bread to the cross, and for Communion, people had to walk up to the cross and tear off part of the bread. Since the Communion bread is supposed to symbolize Jesus' body, I felt this was a surprisingly appropriate idea. But it sure felt weird (and I didn't even take Communion, since I didn't feel ready).

From Good Friday

After the Friday service, my Bible-study group went out for dinner and drinks.

Those aren't beers, I swear! :-)

A few weeks later, my friends Robert and Stephen Mar came to visit. Rob and I used to hang out all the time when we were kids.

While in LA, Rob and Stephen wanted to visit a place called Frank & Sons. It's basically a warehouse full of collectibles, especially comics, figurines, toys, collectible-card games, and sports cards. Entry is free, and each time there's some special event, like a baseball player signing autographs.

From Transformers

This time, the special event was "Star Cars." They had famous cars from TVs and movies. For example, KIT from "Knight Rider," Herbie, and the DeLorean from "Back to the Future." Those were all nice, but I really liked the car shown, which is Ratchet from "Transformers." Ratchet was the main medic/mechanic for the Autobots; I remember having that toy when I was a kid.

On top of Ratchet is the Decepticon "Ravage." (He's like a wolf, with missiles. And he transforms into a cassette tape.)

Finally, I want to mention that I'll be spreading out my posts more, from every two weeks to every three weeks. Frankly, I don't feel I currently get enough work done every two weeks to warrant a blog post. We'll see how this change goes!

The La Brea Tar Pits and Griffith Park

2011-04-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, some foreign friends from the Game Developers Conference (GDC) were visiting LA. Another GDC friend, Jeff, acted as tour guide and showed us around. We visited many places, including Venice Beach and Mann's Chinese Theater. However, I took pictures of only the La Brea Tar Pits and Griffith Park.

From left to right, here are Robert (from Sweden), Irene (from Norway), and Jeff. I had always wanted to visit the La Brea Tar Pits, so I'm glad Jeff took us. There are two main parts: the museum and the tar pits. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit the latter.

Another view of the elephant/mammoth skeleton. I had always thought that the tar pits were full of dinosaur bones, but actually the tar pits are too recent for that. (The tar pits date back maybe 100,000 years, but the dinosaurs date back millions of years?)

The La Brea Tar Pits also has a volunteer program in which you can learn to dig out and clean up the fossils. It's a tempting opportunity!

In the evening, we headed up to Griffith Park. The park is up in the hills around LA, so there's a spectacular view of the city. There is also an observatory, but it was closed that evening.

From LA w/Jeff, Irene & Robert

Grad school took me six years, but I never went to Griffith Park in all that time. I'm glad I got to see it.

Perhaps someday I'll do some other LA things: the Getty museum and Mount Wilson.

Trip to Berkeley with Helen and Bibi

2011-04-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

In March, I was in the Bay Area for the Game Developers Conference. I also got to see my Auntie Helen and cousin Bibi. We took a day trip to UC Berkeley, aka Cal, my alma mater.

At Cal, one of the biology buildings houses the Museum of Paleontology. They have a life-size T-rex skeleton! Her name is Sue. Bibi's in the lower-left.

GRAW-AUR!

There are a lot of hills in Berkeley! Here, we took a snack break in front of the campus bell tower, which is called the Campinile.

Bibi borrowed my camera and took this picture of a squirrel. I'm still not sure what the squirrel was doing, like whether he was resting, or about to zoom off somewhere.

This is one of the bells of the Campinile. Thankfully we didn't have to climb very far; they have an elevator.

The bells ring automatically on the hour, without warning. They are LOUD.

The Campinile offers great 360° views: the Big "C" in the hills, the football stadium, the Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, etc. The funny-looking building in the middle is the art museum. Below that are some tennis courts, where I once took a tennis class. You can also see a swimming pool; in the surrounding building, I once took a tap class. And in the field below that, we used to play ultimate frisbee.

From Cal w/Helen & Bibi

Bibi did some quick tree-climbing on campus.

We also visited the campus bookstore and a food court on the south side of campus. (We had Korean BBQ.) Then we took the BART back home. Even though it's a short BART ride from Auntie Helen's home to Cal, it sounded like they hadn't been there in years.

I'm glad we went.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

2011-03-14T15:28:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned that I live with my cousin Mark. One pleasant surprise of living with relatives is that I get to meet other relatives . . . who are not relatives.

From Grandma's birthday

For example, in Seattle are my Uncle Paul and Auntie Nancy; Uncle Paul is my blood relative. However, while living in Seattle, I also got to meet Auntie Nancy's side. (Here are "Uncle Wai," "Auntie Janice," and my mom at Grandma's birthday party.)

Back to LA: My Uncle John and Auntie Valerie live here; Uncle John is my blood relative. But recently, Auntie Valerie's niece Tish was visiting, and I was invited to the family dinner.

The dinner was held at "Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant" near Knott's Berry Farm. The restaurant is a Southern California icon, and it was my first time there.

Relatives! Shown here are Tish's family (husband + 2 kids), Valerie's kids (+ their kids), and me (right side, second from the back).

From Dinner w/Tish et al.

More relatives! Besides John and Val, here are Tish's parents and Tish's husband's parents.

I was grateful that I got to meet everyone, even if we're not related by family. (But genetically, we all share at least 99% of our genetic code!)

And, yes, I was grateful also for the chicken dinner. Yummy!

Video Games: "Valkyria Chronicles" for the PS3

2011-03-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

I love video games. I play them not as often as I would like, but more often than I should. My friend Glenn let me borrow "Valkyria Chronicles" (VC) for the Playstation 3, and I spent several dozen hours playing it recently.

VC is a turn-based, tactical strategy game in which you control a squad of soldiers. Since tactics are involved, you spend a lot of time looking at maps. Here, the blue circles with the funny icons are my guys, and the red circles with the funny icons are enemies. The yellow circle is the goal, and the concentric red circles are where enemy mortar shells will land.

Doesn't examining this map make you want to play the game? :-)

What makes VC unique is how you control each soldier. Instead of giving orders or moving soldiers on a grid, you control each soldier in a 3-D world. The game is turn-based, so while you're controlling one soldier, no one else moves . . . sort of. You'll have to play the game to understand. Anyway, the gist is that VC avoids the pressure of real-time strategy games and other 3-D worlds, but it still has immersion and emotion.

From Valkyria Chronicles

So, why did I take pictures of a video game? It was to document a particularly tricky mission in the game. In the picture at left, note the result for the number of turns used: 2. To a VC veteran, that says it all . . . almost.

You see, I love optimizing things. And games are easy to optimize, compared to reality. In this mission, "Escape from Forest Snare," a typical result is finishing the mission in 4 or 5 turns. If you're good or lucky, you can do it in 3 turns. But on the Internet, someone reported finishing the mission in 2 turns! The reported method required some tricks and a lot of patience, but it also sounded like an intriguing challenge.

In the end, I was able to duplicate the reported results (hence the last photo). But, I also discovered an incremental improvement to the reported method (hence the other photos). In VC jargon, I used only two "Double Movement" abilities, rather than three!

For most people in the world, that means absolutely nothing. For most people who've played Valkyria Chronicles, that still probably means nothing. Perhaps ten people in the entire world would appreciate this result.

But, I'm still glad I did it.

Baby returns

2011-02-23T19:00:00.000-08:00

From Baby returns

First, the important news: My cousin Kristen and her husband Mike had their baby! Her name is Charlotte Mar, and she's already 1 month old and doing well. They're grateful for everyone's prayers.

What does this have to do with me? Not much. I haven't even seen Charlotte yet, because I'm not sure if I've gotten the new Tdap booster. The Tdap is for tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis. It was released in 2005, and I think I got mine in 2006 in Minnesota. But I'm not sure. Anyway, they say we're not supposed to come into contact with newborns unless we've had a recent pertussis booster, so I'll have to wait until Kristen and Mike are ready to take Charlotte public.

Nevertheless, I'm already running errands for the kiddo. What happened is that Kristen and Mike received more baby gifts than they could use, so they wanted to return some. They didn't have time, so Kristen's mom, Valerie, took them. My Auntie Valerie didn't have time, either, so I volunteered. But deep down, I was being cocky, like, "Oh, that's so easy. I'll show you how to do it." If I had known that there were no receipts, I probably wouldn't have opened my big mouth.

Auntie Valerie gave me three bags of baby stuff, mostly clothes. With no receipts. We didn't even know which stores the stuff had come from. Since Kristen had a registry at Babies R Us, I was told to try there. That was my mission: Take three bags of baby stuff, without any receipts, to Babies R Us and bring back some money, or at least store credit. And don't let them rip you off by giving you only a little money for something worth a lot. Although the stuff may not even be sold there. Oh, and go to Borders and return a baby book, also without the receipt. (And Borders was about to declare bankruptcy.)

I had received the baby stuff at night, so I put them in my car and planned to go first thing in the morning, because this would stress me out until finished. That night, I almost couldn't sleep. Then I had nightmares of driving across town only to be met by a condescending statement like, "Of course you can't return this without a receipt. We go to great lengths to explicitly say that you need a receipt. And this isn't even our stuff."

If you're a seasoned shopper, you may be wondering what I was afraid of. I'm not even sure myself, but I know I was terrified. I think I was afraid of being labelled incompetent. I had never tried to return something without a receipt, much less three bags of items of uncertain origin. And I don't know squat about babies. Probably, I wouldn't be able to return anything, and I would come back to my aunt empty-handed. (Actually, with my hands totally full, of all the baby stuff.) Then, my aunt would say that she should have done the job herself, because it obviously couldn't have been worse. I was in a lose-lose situation.

So, terrified, I woke up early, drove across town, and arrived at the Babies R Us right when they opened. (They were still having their morning staff meeting.) I prayed. I was shaking. The lady came to the customer service desk, and she was very polite. I thought, "Sure, she's polite. She doesn't know that I don't have any receipts." I explained the situation, hoping she wouldn't summarily cut me off–for some reason, explaining the entire situation felt really important, regardless of the outcome. When I finished, the customer service woman spoke:

"Okay, well let's see what we can do!"

It was like a little miracle. Check that: I'm calling it a miracle.

The woman calmly, cheerfully, and politely when through each baby item in each bag. Many were sold at another store, Target, but she kindly explained how to tell the difference. Several items were sold at Babies R Us but were on clearance, but the lady scanned each item and showed me how much credit I could get, and she advised me on which ones to just keep. She looked up my cousin's registry (presumably as store policy), but it didn't seem to matter whether the returned items were actually in her registry. I left with two-and-a-half bags of baby stuff, and a gift card with a small-but-very-importantly-non-zero-and-non-ripped-off-amount on it.

Armed with knowledge from the Babies R Us employee, I went to Target. I was still a bit afraid, but the Target customer service desk was also very polite and helpful. Most of the stuff was on clearance and not worth returning, like at Babies R Us, but I still left with a gift card with a modest amount on it.

Lastly, I went to Borders to return the baby book. The employee politely informed me of store policy, but he also called his manager to ask if she would make an exception. She didn't. But Borders had bigger things to worry about.

I returned to my aunt before noon and gave her back two bags of baby stuff, two gift cards, and a lot of explanation. Auntie Valerie might rather have had zero bags of baby stuff and a briefcase full of cash, but it was good enough.

In the end, my lose-lose situation turned out to be a good experience. Besides learning a lot, I was reminded of what it's like to be humbled. I know I could use more of that.

But, I haven't volunteered for my aunt again yet. :-)

Thank you so much to the employees at Babies R Us and the employees at Target.

From Baby returns

Oh, and here's the requisite baby photo. :-)

Christmas in Sacramento

2011-02-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

Some of the other things I did while in Sacramento for Christmas:

On Christmas Day, Mary, Mom, and I visited Dad's grave. (In the picture, it's near the left-most headstones.) Dad's grave marker has a custom design, and it's almost cartoony. But I like that; it seems to give a little more joy to the place. Dad was extremely practical, but I am glad that we spent the extra money in this case.

We also visited the marker for Mr. and Mrs. Steinberg. Mrs. Steinberg was my math teacher through all of high school. She was ahead of her time: because of her, many juniors passed the Advanced Placement Calculus BC exam, when it was rare for a senior to even attempt the Calculus AB exam. (The BC was harder than the AB.)

From Christmas 2010

Afterward, Mom treated us to dim sum. Then we visited Hillary and Amanda, old family friends. (In the background is Amanda, and in the foreground, with her back to us, is Hillary.)

If this picture seems different, it's because Mary took it while practicing "artsy" photos.

A few days later, Mary and I went jogging. (I've taken up mild cardio.) I really liked this tree for some reason, so I took this picture. But I didn't realize why, until just now!

What does this tree remind you of? (The answer is at the end.)

Eventually, Mary and I made it from our house, through the parkway, to the Sacramento River. This was a rare occurrence (Mary and I doing something together, me jogging, and being in Sac), so we better take some pictures!

Mary tried taking some more artsy photos. Here, I am adjusting my ear muffs.

Sacramento has many trees. Many. And many great trees, like this one.

From Jogging in Sac

On the way back through the park, we saw a kitty cat! If you look closely, you can see dried cat food on the ground. So, someone was taking care of this kitty.

Holidays are funny. Growing up, I didn't think twice about the four of us being together for holidays. We were always together, at least geographically. I guess some things change, and some things stay the same.

Oh, what does that tree in the picture remind me of?

It's . . . a leaf!

That's deep, isn't it?

The Paul F. Hom M.D. Primary Care Center

2011-01-16T21:04:00.001-08:00

For Christmas, I went home to Sacramento. While there I visited the Paul F. Hom M.D. Primary Care Center, which was named posthumously after my dad.

The center is also known simply as the "Primary Care Center." It's basically a medical clinic run by Sacramento County. My understanding is that people who don't have health insurance can go there to get help.

The center is at the intersection of Stockton and Broadway. It's right across from the buildings shown here. My dad worked in these buildings right before he died.

This is one entrance to the clinic. If you go inside and down the main hall, you'll see a portrait of my dad.

My dad's portrait. Next to that is a poem; I think my mom wrote it.

The poem says:

Born a child of adversity,
He saw and cared for
Those in poverty,
The disadvantaged,
The victims of social injustice.

A man of vision
His humble actions and words
Transformed suffering
Through faith and resolve.

Healing, compassionate, dedicated
A man of the community
His work transcended caring.

From Paul Hom Primary Care Center

Also next to the portrait is this statement from Congress. The late Robert T. Matsui did this. You can read more about my dad in the statement, but I'll quote one sentence here:

"All in all, the Paul F. Hom Primary Care Center will enhance the access to quality and effective health care for people without health care."

I'm sure Dad would be happy about that.

"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"

2010-12-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

A few days before Christmas, I finally saw the play "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians." I say "finally" because I had wanted to see this play for five years. The play is based on a 1964 movie of the same name. However, the movie's ratings have been terrible. (For example, a 2.3 out of 10 on IMDB.)

Why did I want to see a play based on a terrible movie? Because my friend Nick was in it! For the past 5 years, Nick McGee has been performing in "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" at the Maverick Theater in Fullerton. I'm not sure about previous years, but this year Nick was St. Nick himself!

Here's a picture of Nick. When I was looking at pictures and promotional material from the play, I had a hard time recognizing Nick in his Santa suit.

The Maverick is a community theater, and it's got that cozy, hometown feel. This picture was taken during intermission. On the left is the Martians' robot, Torg. People were lining up to have their picture taken with him.

Mark and Torg. Mark remembers watching the movie every Christmas when he was younger.

From Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Mark, I, and the cast. Instead of trying to figure out who each person is, consider seeing the play in person during Christmas 2011! (Quick tip: Buy tickets early, and arrive early and sit in one of the two front rows.)

By the way, Mark and I both really enjoyed the play. It's good family fun. And, as Nick told me, they've had over 40 years to improve upon the original!

Everyone, I hope that this new year is good for you!

Geoff

A visit to a Montessori school

2010-12-10T01:47:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of a Montessori school? It's a type of preschool that uses "the Montessori method." I don't know enough about preschools to compare Montessori and traditional schools, but my understanding is that Montessori schools focus on "self-directed learning."

My second-cousin Brandon attends a Montessori school. Recently they had a "Special Friends' Day," so Mark and I went to visit.

Ah, the preschool circle. It's clear who the head teacher is. Brandon's in the bottom-right.

Mark and Brandon. Mark seemed right at home in the classroom. (He's been a special-education teacher for years.)

Brandon can already read very well for his age. *Very* well.

I got only one good picture of Brandon smiling. The rest of the time, he seemed a bit standoffish. Maybe that's because we arrived at school thirty minutes late . . . (It was my fault, or Google Maps'.)

Apparently each child has classroom chores–Brandon is supposed to "check aprons." They do that in Japan, too, except it's all the way through high school. They should totally do that in the U.S.

I just like this picture.

Brandon shows Mark a toy for learning about smells.

They had a lot of interesting toys and tools in the classroom. I kept trying to remember if, or when, I had those in school.

From Brandon's school

Back to the circle! I'm not sure if you can tell, but the head teacher was really good. Totally in control.

It was a privilege to visit the Montessori school and to see Brandon in a peer environment.

Actually, I had always wanted to see what a Montessori school is like. Have you ever heard of a guy named Will Wright? Will is the creator of two very creative computer games: "Sim City" and "The Sims." And, yes, he went to a Montessori school.

Ninety Thanksgivings

2010-11-25T02:33:00.001-08:00

In early November, I flew to Seattle to celebrate my grandma's birthday. I normally would not fly just for a birthday, but we were celebrating Grandma's 90th. Even I'll agree that turning 90 is worthy of a celebration!

Grandma has lived so long, we don't know how old she truly is: she was born in China around the end of World War I.

The neck brace Grandma is wearing is just a precaution for when she's in a car.

We celebrated Grandma's birthday at a local Chinese restaurant. The owners were very accommodating. Yum!

This is my cousin Michelle and her son Braden. Isn't it funny how kids can be cute even when they're not happy?

This is my auntie Nancy with her newborn grandson, Aaron.

From Grandma's birthday

Actually, we celebrated not just my grandma's birthday, but also my mom's birthday . . . because they were born on the same day!

It's kind of cool that a mother and daughter can celebrate their birthdays together.

Today is Thanksgiving, so I guess Grandma's been through 90 Thanksgivings! (Oh, but they probably didn't celebrate that in China.)

This year, our family is spread out for Thanksgiving: Mary in Calgary, Mom in Sac/Fresno, and me in Los Angeles. Growing up, one of our Thanksgiving traditions was to go around the dinner table and say one thing that we were thankful for. (For some reason, it was an effort to get me to think of or say even one thing.)

This year, when I reflect on it, I am very thankful. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful that I am not in debt. I am thankful for the generous opportunities that I have been given. I am thankful for the lessons I have been taught.

But thankfulness is different now than in the Pilgrims' day, isn't it? Back then, they were thankful for everything they had, because there was a very real chance that they might die from starvation, disease, or cold.

They were thankful simply to be alive.

It is hard for me to say that for myself and mean it. After all, I'm always complaining about everything beyond that, worrying about everything past that.

Today, I will try to be thankful simply that I am alive.

ElecTRONica at Disneyland!

2010-11-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

A few days before Halloween, a friend flew into town for the ElecTRONica event at Disneyland. My friend's name is TRONster, so this was a natural fit.

ElecTRONica is a new event at Disney's California Adventures, in anticipation of the upcoming movie, "TRON: Legacy." At ElecTRONica, they convert part of the theme park into a Tron-themed night club.

ElecTRONica is already special, but this was also a special ElecTRONica: the first 200 people in line were able to meet the screenwriters from the new movie! In the middle is Tronster.

Part of the "night club" of ElecTRONica. I liked that it was outside and not in a stuffy building.

They also had a sneak peak of the new movie in 3D, an exhibit with some of the real props from the new movie, and an old-school arcade filled with video games from the 80s. (The last part was one of my favorites, of course. :)

I was wearing a very bright T-shirt, which was accentuated by black lights in the street.

Here is an iconic poster from the original "TRON" movie. The text reads:

"A world inside the computer where man has never been."

"Never before now."

Some fans came in very elaborate costumes. These two took advantage of the black lights to strike a pose.

The next day, Tronster and I explored LA. We visited Saddleback Church, then we tried to find the Hollywood sign. In the evening we met with our friend George. (We all met at a game conference.)

George took us to his favorite restaurant, "The Counter." It's a custom burger joint. As George said, "It's the only place where your burger gets a character sheet you fill out."

The Counter is so fancy that they have 20 different sauces to put on your burger. (I chose either the roasted garlic aioli or the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette . . . I forget.)

From Tronster & George

A close up of my fancy burger. Whatever I ordered, it was very tasty. :)

I had a great couple days hanging out with Tronster and George. It was a fun change of pace, but what I enjoyed most was getting to know my friends a bit better.

Personalities; the dollar theater

2010-10-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

From Hom cruise

I'm living with my cousin Mark. The picture is Mark with an iguana; it was taken during a Mexican cruise in 2005. Mark is letting me rent his extra bedroom and bathroom.

On the surface, Mark and I might seem very similar. We're both single and over 30. We both like playing video games and board games. We've both watched a lot of TV. We both go to church. Mark was a special ed teacher (he's currently looking for a position), and I want to make educational apps. And we are cousins, of course.

But living with Mark has helped me see how different we really are. If you're familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality test, I am an ISTJ. Mark is an ESFP. (If you're not familiar with it, just note that only 1 of the 4 letters (S) is the same; so you could say we're 3/4 different. :)

Also, I read a book about motivation, and it tells you how to determine your "motivational DNA." I am a PSI: I have a drive to Produce, a need for Stability, and I prefer Internal rewards. Mark is a CVI: he has a drive to Connect, a need for Variety, and he also prefers Internal rewards. So, both our drives and our needs are polar opposites. Learning to live together and help each other has been a good growth experience for me.

As an aside, I think that after some time of learning how Mark and I are different, I'll start realizing how similar we really are. Our real DNA is 99.99% the same, after all. :)

From Dollar theater

This week, Mark and I went to a movie, along with Mark's friend Marshall. Mark and I both need to watch our spending; fortunately, the closest theater is a dollar theater! I didn't think that true dollar theaters existed anymore, but sure enough, this theater is $2 normally, and $1 on Tuesdays! Those aren't even matinee prices; it's just cheap all day! They even have movies in 3-D, and it's only $2 more!

The dollar theater has less-recent movies, but they're still big movies. We saw "The Expendables." Also running was "Eat Pray Love," "Toy Story 3," and "Salt." Oooh, and now they're running "Inception." I heard that was good.

A simple life in LA

2010-10-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have been in LA since September 12. Even though I've had a lot of errands related to moving, my life is simpler now than in Seattle, because I've maintained a low profile.

From Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Before I left Seattle, I saw this car and had to snap a picture. It reminds me of the animated movie, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

Everything I brought fit into my car's trunk.

From left to right, there's a bag of clothes, a windbreaker, my suitcase with some books and toiletries, a big box of papers, a small green bag with my laptop and iPad, some snacks, a mini-drawer with office supplies, a Jelly Belly jar with some knickknacks, a mesh bag with some dirty clothes, and a bag with a couple pairs of shoes.

I was really happy to fit my belongings, but it's still too much for me. For example, I can digitize my papers. I hope to be able to move and carry everything with me, like a hitchhiker or an old-fashioned journeyman. In spite of this goal, I have no plans to leave LA.

From Moving back to LA

In Seattle, I spent many days working on my laptop at Panera Bread. So, in LA, one of the first things I did was look for the nearest Panera. Thankfully, I live only 1.5 miles from one! Next door is a Starbucks, so I'm sure there's a healthy competition going on.

Hope . . . for Horses!

2010-09-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

During my last 4 months in Seattle, I volunteered at a horse rescue. It's called, "Hope for Horses." Hope for Horses takes in abused horses, rehabilitates them, and finds new homes for them.

Hope for Horses is in a secret location in the countryside; the secrecy is for security and safety. That surprised me at first, but then I remembered that homes for battered women also hide their locations.

This is Zigi. Zigi came to Hope for Horses as a result of a bestiality case.

This is Kelly. Whenever I hear the name "Kelly," the first thing that pops into my head is Kelly from "Beverly Hills 90210" (the original show, not the new one).

Before I came to Hope for Horses, I had never seen a horse lying down.

A view of part of the barn. I think the horse in the picture is Somebody's Baby (named after the song). The other animal in the picture is a pot-bellied pig! Her name is Mona.

This is Jenny and John Edwards. They're the 1-2 punch that runs Hope for Horses. Jenny and John would say that the many volunteers keep Hope for Horses running, which is true. However, for Jenny and John, rescuing horses is more than an activity or a job; it's life!

This is Pete. Pete has a tumor in his nose; sometimes he'll have terrible nose bleeds, with blood and mucus going everywhere.

It's a cat! This is Sister Mary Agnes. I've always liked cats, and Sister is no exception. It's so cool to see her walking across the fields like she owns the place. If you try to pet Sister, she does something really funny: before you can bend down all the way, she'll arch her back and jump up to reach your hand! I guess she can't wait to be petted!

A view from inside the barn. I had no experience with horses or life on a farm, so it was cool to me just to let the horses outside and bring them back in.

This is a better view of Mona, the pot-bellied pig. Mona is really old--like 19 years old. Mona can't see too well, and she has arthritis in her knees. But she still likes to eat!

This is Windy, short for, um, I forgot. Windy recently had an accident that messed up his back; we had to stay up all night to make sure that he didn't fall over and hurt himself more. Windy's doing better now, but he still can't go outside yet.

Windy, hang in there!

This horse is Cantour, and he's being groomed by a fellow volunteer. When Cantour first arrived at Hope for Horses, he was quite a handful. But he's already made great progress!

From Hope for Horses

On the left is Pete; on the right is Somebody's Baby. Doesn't it look peaceful?

To care for each horse takes a lot of time and money. Hope for Horses is always open to more volunteers and to donations. (Check their website.)

I learned a lot at Hope for Horses. The people taught me a great deal, but the horses, the pig, and the cat taught me even more. (Actually, there's more horses, another cat, a dog, and some geese. And probably some other animals I forgot. :)

Everyone needs help sometimes. Everyone needs love and compassion. Everyone needs hope.

Even horses.

REACH Ministries and Tony Campolo

2010-08-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

In early August, I finally got to see Tony Campolo preach in person.

Tony Campolo is my favorite evangelist. He tells the most wonderful, real stories, and I really appreciate his insights and challenges into how I live. I have listened to Tony's sermons again and again in my car, but I wondered if I would ever see him preach in person. (He's over 75 now.)

Fortunately, Tony came to Seattle to speak at a fundraiser for REACH Ministries. REACH is a Christian-centered charity that reaches out to children with HIV/AIDS and their families. REACH seems like a wonderful group, but honestly I was motivated to go to the fundraiser because of Tony.

The fundraiser was held at Overlake Christian Church and was a "dessert auction." Local vendors donated desserts, like the cupcakes on the left. We sat in tables, and each table pooled their money to bid on a dessert.

My Auntie Nancy and my roommate Peter also came to the fundraiser. Auntie Nancy really wanted the cake shown on the left. It had marzipan in it. The rest of our table was split on some other cakes, but the marzipan cake came up early in the auction. I think our table leader saw how excited Nancy was about this cake, so she bid on it.

When giving to charities, I sometimes wonder why we need an excuse to give money. By excuse, I mean, for example: running for charity, Girl Scout Cookies for charity, bowling for charity, raffles for charity, dessert auctions for charity. Why can't we just give directly to the charity and save them some time and energy? Are we really so selfish? Or are we really so easily fooled?

Well, at least in this case, I suppose the answers are "Yes" and "Yes." I didn't know how much money we'd need to win our cake, but since it was the cake Auntie Nancy wanted, and since it was for a good cause, and, yes, since I like winning, it definitely made it easier to pledge a larger amount to REACH. (I was writing a check, and I thought we had to write them out before the auction. It was a little confusing.)

Our table leader kept outbidding the other tables for the cake, and, in the end, we won with a bid of over $300! (Suggested retail price: $35-$50.)

At that price, I think the cake deserves a second picture.

From REACH event

Actually, the cake was quite delicious.

And of course, it was for a good cause.

On the left is Auntie Nancy. On the right is one of our partners in bidding!

Throughout the evening there were some very good testimonies from REACH. After the auction, Tony spoke. I pledged a little more again after that. :)

On Tony's website, there are some sermons you can listen to. But if you like reading, here is a transcript of one of Tony's sermons. Actually, I read that transcript before hearing any of Tony's sermons, and it had a profound impact on me.

The REACH website is here.

All good things . . .

2010-08-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have decided to move to Los Angeles. Why? To attend the church I went to when I was at Caltech. This church is Evergreen Baptist Church of LA, and the senior pastor is Ken Fong.

I first heard of Evergreen more than eleven years ago, when I was choosing whether to attend Caltech. One of the first things my mom said was, "Oh, Caltech! If you go there, you can go to Ken Fong's church." I didn't know who Ken Fong was at the time, but it turned out that his mom was my old Sunday school teacher. Also, I thought it strange to think about church when making a major decision like where to go to grad school. Aren't churches the same everywhere?

Even when I got to Caltech, I didn't think much of Evergreen. I went sometimes because my mom would want me to, but it was a little far--a whole 20 minutes away--so I also checked out churches close by. It took a couple of years before I started going to Evergreen regularly. Even then, after I finished at Caltech after six years, I hadn't met a single person at Evergreen! I had been content to attend the service and tithe regularly, and that was it.

It has been five years since I left LA. My faith is a much higher priority now. I have attended many other churches, but I always missed the sermons from Pastor Ken and others at Evergreen. (I still listen online.) At the same time, I have also learned the value of a church "small group," which is a few people who meet regularly to study the Bible and to share life together. Many times, talking and praying with 1-2 others has had a bigger impact on me than sitting in church.
So, I plan to go back to Evergreen and also join a small group there.

Have you ever wished you could go back in time, bring along some of your current experience, and do something over again? I do. I wish I had been less self-absorbed in high school. I wish I had worked a little before I went to college. And, yes, I wish I had joined a small group at Evergreen while in grad school.

I know sometimes we can't go back, and sometimes we shouldn't go back. But sometimes, I think it's a risk worth taking.

I leave Seattle on September 7. I will drive to Sacramento, stay a few days, and then drive to LA.

Returning to Kingston, again!

2010-08-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Grandma has a funny memory. She called me up one day: "I want to go to Kingston."

"Grandma, you know we were at Kingston just this spring."

"Really? I forgot. . . . What did we eat?"

"Crepes. Remember the crepe place?"

"Oh, yeah."

In the end, we decided to go back to Kingston, again. But this time, it was me and Grandma and two of her elderly friends, whom I call Ms. Green and Auntie Tina. I think Grandma wanted to give her friends a day out, but she also had her own desires.

We drove downtown to pick up Ms. Green, then to Bellevue to pick up Auntie Tina, then to Edmonds to take the ferry to Kingston. Whew! Already an adventure. We even brought along some pots in the hopes of picking blackberries.

At Kingston, we had a great lunch at the crepe place from before; it's called, "J'aime les Crepes Creperie." I think I had a crepe with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and green onions. We also had a blueberry crepe with ice cream. Yum!

After lunch, I thought we would go to the same place we went last time: our old summer home with only a chimney left. But Grandma had a surprise: she wanted us to find something called "Twin Spits." Grandma used to own property there, although apparently it's just an empty lot. (It has since been handed down to a relative.)

Grandma has never been able to drive, but she remembered clues as to find this legendary property. "It's in Hansville," she said. None of us had ever heard of Hansville, and there were no signs to it, but sure enough we found it on the map and made our way there.

"It's at the end of the road, right when you hit the water." Sure enough, at the end of the road, there was "Twin Spits," a very long street. However, nothing else looked familiar.

Rather than give up, Grandma and Ms. Green went to the local grocery store and asked around. They got the number for a local real estate agent and asked her for help with finding the exact address of Grandma's old property. The real estate agent tried but didn't find anything. Then we called my mom, Grandma's eldest daughter. Mom had the address, which was not Twin Spits but a side road. Thankfully, I had just driven past that same road.

It turns out the Twin Spits property was at the other end of Twin Spits Road, which also was right on the water, so that must have been what Grandma remembered. And it was indeed an empty lot. (Actually, it was overgrown with plants.) Nevertheless, Grandma's secret mission to see her old property was successful.

On the way back, we stopped at the remnants of our old summer home. In the picture it's: (left-to-right) Grandma, Auntie Tina, and Ms. Green.

Grandma was clever enough to have me bring some folding chairs, so we sat enjoying the sun and the view. Ms. Green went hunting for blackberries. Most were still green, but we found some tasty ones!

From Kingston

It would end up being a long day, but I think everyone had a good time.

And before we got back on the ferry, I made sure to get another crepe. :)

It had apples, cinnamon, and caramel. Yum!

Annual trip to Los Angeles

2010-07-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

Around graduation time, I always take a trip back to my old grad school, Caltech, in Pasadena.

At the time, the weather in Seattle was really dreary. So, the first photo I took was right outside the Long Beach Airport. Look, it's the sky! Isn't it beautiful? I missed the LA sun.

The next day, I drove to my cousin Kristen's place. It was past 9 pm. And, of course, I got caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic! That's one thing from LA that I did not miss.

At Caltech's Commencement, I still knew a couple of the graduates. In the center is Paul Lee, now a chemist with a Ph.D.!

I went with a couple of friends to the city of Glendora, which is an hour east of Caltech. Glendora is known mostly for the "Donut Man" shop, which is a bit of a Caltech icon. Sure enough, at the Donut Man I ran into my friend Habib, who had driven all the way from Caltech! Strawberry donuts: Mmm!!

Kristen and her husband Mike let me stay at their place for a few days. One night I really wanted a Thai ice, so we went out for dessert. We tried a place that had not only shaved ice but also something they called a "snowy." I think it was frozen condensed milk. (This can be quite different from simply adding condensed milk to shaved ice, it turns out.) In the picture, I'm pouring either brown sugar or maple syrup on my snowy. I forget which, but I remember that it was tasty.

Kristen and Mike. They ordered a mango snowy.

I really liked the mango snowy. I think my association of mangoes with healthy eating helped me like it even more. That could be a bad thing.

Toward the end of my trip, I had lunch near Caltech with my friend Cynthia. Afterward, Cynthia and I were walking through Caltech and stopped at one of the ponds with turtles in it. Then the funniest thing happened. There was a turtle about 10 feet away, and it swam right toward us. It came all the way to the corner where we were.

Then, the turtle tried to climb the walls of the pond! It was either trying to get out of there . . . or get to us! The turtle seemed to be gravitating toward me and not Cynthia.

We first thought the turtle might be hungry, but we later changed our minds.

Look! It's looking right at me!

From Trip to LA

Cynthia and I decided it must be the color of my T-shirt, which was a bright neon green.

Did the turtle think I was its mother, or . . . ?

We may never know.

Grandma has a good appetite

2010-07-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

My grandma is ~90 years old. We don't know for sure since she was born in China around 1920, and records weren't as meticulous then.

From G-ma buffet

Despite my grandma's age, she still eats a lot. Grandma likes to go to the China Super Buffet. In the picture, all of the food is hers. And she ate it all.

We all consider Grandma's large appetite to be a very healthy sign. Too bad that isn't necessarily true for people my age. :)

Greg Mortenson in Olympia

2010-07-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

Olympia is the capital of Washington State. To drive to Olympia from Seattle takes a little over an hour without traffic. Why go to Olympia? Because Greg Mortenson would be speaking!

I had already seen Greg speak in Seattle in December. (See these blog entries: 1, 2, and 3.) This time there was a charge for tickets, but I still decided to go. Partly, I think I needed a little inspiration again.

I made a day of it by leaving for Olympia in the morning. I spent some time driving around, and then I headed to the Capitol building, where a rally would be held.

The area around the Capitol was just beautiful. The weather was also great.

Doesn't the lake look enticing? The path in the foreground switches back and forth down the hill and leads to the park and lake. It seems easy to miss, which is a shame.

Another view of the park, the lake, and I think the Sound beyond.

The Capitol brought back memories of the one in Sacramento, where I grew up (birth through high school).

At last, Greg Mortenson! The rally was for "Pennies for Peace," which was started by Greg. The program encourages children in the U.S. to collect pennies to help children in poor countries like Afghanistan. A penny here may not buy much, but in Afghanistan, it buys a pencil.

"Pennies for Peace" is a great name, but it's also an honest description. The program encourages implementers to:

"Collect only pennies-no nickels, no dimes, no quarters, no dollars: This makes it possible for all students, including those of very limited means, to participate actively. The main goal is to teach students their capacities as philanthropists."

Despite the above guideline, I was surprised how much money families, classrooms, and schools had been able to raise.

After the rally, many kids and parents "rallied" around Greg. :)

But the main event, Greg's lecture in the evening, was still to come!

The evening lecture was held in the gymnasium of a local university, just like when Greg spoke in Seattle. Greg packed that venue and this one, which is amazing when you consider how much smaller Olympia is. Even more so: tickets in Seattle were free, but tickets in Olympia were $25 each. (All proceeds went to Greg's charities.)

From Greg Mortenson in Olympia

Before the lecture, a little girl gave her "pennies for peace" to Greg. When this happened, Greg wrote down the girl's name and info on a piece of paper. Knowing Greg, I presume he would be send her a thank-you note later. He's just that kind of guy.

That's the last photo I took that day.

So how was the lecture? It was great! Many of the slides and talking points were the same as before, but it was still good a second time. Also, it was wonderful to see how the people of Olympia responded. This event also had much more participation from the local community: it had been organized by a teacher and by a high-school student, and several students and teachers spoke or performed at the rally and at the lecture. One class had even written a song for "Pennies for Peace."

Greg had preceded the rally by visiting area schools and learning about their community service projects. After the lecture, he signed books until he had met every single person in line, which took until almost midnight. Quite a full day!

When I heard Greg speak in Seattle, I met a man who had a friend at Stanford. This man's friend liked Greg's work so much that "she would probably work for Greg for free for a year." I would, too. I think many would.

But in his lecture, Greg encouraged us not only to consider Pennies for Peace and his Central Asia Institute, but also to move beyond and start our own charitable projects. After all, if he could do it, why couldn't any of us?

It was an encouraging message, and perhaps a kind kick in the pants. Greg knows that the children and mothers of Afghanistan are not the only ones who need help: just look into any country, into the U.S., or into our own city or neighborhood. And, at least for me, it's easy to give money or volunteer time and rest on my laurels of association: "I donated to this good group," or "I worked for that good group." It's a lot harder to try to fill a need from scratch, to eschew reputation and depend on a vision.

But I don't want to get ahead of myself.

Evan's funeral

2010-06-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

My cousin Evan passed away in May. He was sick for awhile. I flew to the San Francisco Bay Area for the funeral, and to spend time with relatives.

The funeral was in Oakland. It was nice. There are many Homs (over 100), and many of them were there.

In Oakland, there is a very large cemetery that covers a huge hill.

Evan's grave has a nice view, including downtown Oakland.

After the funeral, there was a special lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Here's Mom, me, and my sister, Mary. I felt bad about smiling for a photo right after the funeral, so I wasn't going to show this one. But there aren't many recent photos of all three of us.

The next day, I hung out with some of the relatives. Since many of us are spread out, it's nice when we see each other.

Here, my cousin Alberta and my uncle Albert are waiting for some other cousins to finish checking out a silk-bedding store. I like this picture, because they're just chillin.

A motley crew of Hom relatives. From the left, it's Michael, Joseph, Frances, and kids from three households.

Clockwise from the left is Randy, Uncle Albert, Candice, and Alberta. This picture is of the same room as above. So it was crowded, but in a good way! Again, it was really nice to see everyone interact.

Later, I visited my alma mater, UC Berkeley. I took this picture low to the ground outside Zellerbach Hall. (Tip: free Wi-Fi here! Probably because they do fancy community events.) On the left, you can see the bell tower. If you look closely in the hills to the right, you can see the "Big C."

I rode the BART train back from Berkeley, and it was raining heavily. But this was neat, because the rain on the BART windows made the outside look like an Impressionist or surrealist painting.

We spent most meals eating Chinese food, which was both inexpensive and delicious since we were in Oakland Chinatown. However, one day I went with my Auntie Helen and cousin Randy to get chicken and waffles!

It's a diner next to the Jack London Inn in Jack London Square; I think the official name is "Home of Chicken and Waffles."

The diner had a fun happy hour special called, "Beat the Clock!": the time that you arrive is the price of your meal! So, if you order at 4:45 pm, your bill would be $4.45.

I had an incredibly strong desire to delay my flight home and come back the next day at 4:00 pm. :)

From Evan's funeral

Yummy! I really liked the diner, so I hope it survives. Fortunately, it seems to cater to a different crowd than the rest of Jack London Square, which seemed to be dying.

Then again, a business dying isn't the same as a person dying.

Evan, cheers to your time on earth. I pray we will all meet together in heaven.

Returning to Kingston.

2010-05-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

At the end of April, Grandma wanted to visit Kingston.

Kingston is a small town (population 2800) across the water from Seattle. When I was a kid, we had a summer home there. Once a year, we'd drive from Sacramento to Seattle, then take the ferry to Kingston. At Kingston, I remember playing board games with my sister, picking blackberries, and finding a jellyfish on the nearby beach.

However, we stopped going to Kingston when I was in middle school. The summer home also fell into disrepair and had to be demolished. I hadn't been to Kingston in almost 20 years, so I was excited at the idea of going back.

Auntie Muriel and Uncle Ron were also in town, so the four of us got into my Scion xB, and we took the ferry to Kingston. This ferry takes both people and cars.

We ended up with a great view just from our car!

The ferry has a big map of the area and the different ferry routes. Here, Grandma was reminiscing about trips she had taken.

We docked at Kingston and drove to our old summer home. All that remained was an empty shed and the chimney. It was both funny and sad.

We also drove to a place called Jefferson Beach. It was a gorgeous day.

I liked the way the sunlight played with the ripples from the pier.

Before we got back on the ferry to return to Seattle, we stopped at a crepe place. (It's right in front of the ferry entrance, if you want to find it.) They make both savory crepes (e.g., ham and cheese) and dessert crepes (e.g., strawberries and chocolate).

The crepe place had a gigantic container of Nutella (compare to the microwave in the picture). The person working there said they sold that size only in Europe.

The crepes were really big, not too expensive, and very tasty!

From Kingston

As the ferry enters or leaves Kingston, you can see our old summer home. Just look for the chimney!

We all had a great time in Kingston! To revisit a place from my youth felt really good, but I don't know how to explain why. I was simultaneously revisiting a fond memory and looking at it with fresh eyes, as an adult. I hope to return to Kingston again soon.

My 33rd Birthday.

2010-04-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

My birthday was April 8. I turned 33 years old!

I don't really celebrate my birthday. Partly, I don't like the attention. But mostly, I feel guilty if I receive something, because in the past people have had different expectations in return. (If you ever get a gift or even a note from me, it is unconditional. Or at least it should be. :)

So this year I didn't say anything about my birthday (except Facebook does), but I figured I should tell my roommate, Peter. I told him, and he generously took me out for dinner at Fu Man Dumpling House. Peter, thank you! The dumplings were very tasty, although I think they use a lot of MSG.

I started seeing a counselor in the fall, for "family matters." (I would say more, but I'm guessing the "family" doesn't like sharing publicly about stuff like this.) Anyway, my counselor said I should treat myself on my birthday. What's a treat for me? A new car? A PS3? Disneyland?

From Birthday meal

I decided that a special treat for me would be to buy the most expensive salad at Panera Bread. Perhaps you would have to know my family growing up, especially my dad, to appreciate this. Anyway, it was one of their "Signature Salads" (oohhh), and it had salmon in it (more oohhs). I also added a cheese pastry, since it was on sale.

In the picture you can also see my iPad. (I was reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Reading books on the iPad is revolutionary, by the way.) To the left is my pill bottle--but don't worry, it's just multivitamins.

What's funny to me is how my $500 iPad was not a treat (it's for "work"--really!), but my $10 meal was. Sometimes the best things in life don't make any sense. :)

From Library sale

I also went recently to the Seattle Public Library's spring book sale. It's big. And cheap; most books are $1. My dad would have loved it. I tried to restrain myself from buying books just because I knew they were a good deal; I already have more stuff than I need. (Who wants my Nintendo Wii? It's fun but I never use it anymore.) I bought 4-5 books for myself, but they might also become gifts. The one that I am most excited about reading is "Christianity for Dummies." (Yes, a real Dummies book!)

Since it was my birthday, I should give a clear update: I'm still single, no kids, no paid job, no clear career, and I still don't call myself a Christian but I like reading about Jesus. Do I feel old? Sometimes, like when I compare myself to others. But actually, I think this is the happiest I've ever been, and my life has been very blessed overall. I know, I know, we'll see what happens when my bank account runs out. But, I am really glad I chose this path. So please be merciful.

The iPad Cometh.

2010-04-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

As soon as the Apple iPad was announced, I decided to buy one. I pre-ordered the cheapest one from the Apple Store and said I would pick it up at the Apple Store in the University Village. I was curious to see what the lines would look like, so I showed up half an hour early.

There were two lines: one for people who did not pre-order, and one for those who did.

Here is the line for those hoping that the iPad doesn't sell out...

... and here is the line for those who pre-ordered. You can see the Apple Store in the background, all the way to the left.

It took me about an hour to get through the line, and that was fine because I could meet the other Apple fans.

So far, I am not sure what to think of the iPad; I have only played around with it for a couple of days. However, there are two iPad programs ("apps") that I want to mention.

The first app is based on those wooden mazes that you have to tilt back and forth to move a marble through. The app is a digital version of those, and it's called, "Labyrinth 2 HD Lite." ("Labyrinth 2" is the sequel to the app "Labyrinth"; "HD" is a convention to show that the app is for the iPad, and "Lite" is a convention to show that this app is free but there is a more expensive version with more features.)

My grandma used to have one of those wooden mazes, and I remember spending hours every summer trying to conquer it. The app does a great job of simulating the wooden maze: you simply tilt the iPad to move the marble, and the physics and sounds are spot-on.

But what's really cool is how the app does things that can't be done in the physical toy. For example, there are multiple mazes (hundreds in the $8 version of the app, and you can make your own). Even crazier, there are all sorts of gadgets in the maze that do things that are, well, magical. For example, one gadget resizes your marble, and another gadget duplicates your marble. But again, everything else seems so realistic, that it looks like . . . magic.

The second app that I want to mention is one I haven't even used: it's an astronomy app called "Star Walk." Star Walk has a feature that is just mind-blowing to me: you can go outside at night, point the iPad (or iPhone) up at the sky, and the app shows you that portion of the night sky . . . enhanced. By enhanced, I mean it labels stars, constellations, planets, and I think it can even show you things you *could see* if you had a better telescope, like nebulas and galaxies. And the program's only like $5.

From iPad debut

I wanted to mention Star Walk because it made me think of my dad, who used to like taking the family out for astronomy lessons. My dad was also a big fan of the Apple Macintosh, and it was one of the few things that I can think of that he splurged on: Dad probably paid more for our Mac 128K than he did for our cars. Also, the Mac is the only thing I can think of where my dad did not buy the cheaper alternative: i.e., a PC. For everything else, my dad always bought what was least expensive or on sale: cars, shoes, fresh food, canned food, books, toys, furniture, clothes, vacations, haircuts . . . .

Perhaps for my dad, the Mac was not really a more expensive PC; perhaps the Mac was qualitatively different, and qualitatively better.

I wish my dad were around to see the iPad. Maybe he would have bought two. He would have brought them to Blue Canyon to help us find the planets and learn the constellations. He would have gotten a kick out of that.

Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2010

2010-03-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

Like last year, I attended the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. I try to go every year or two, and I always go as a volunteer. Going as a volunteer is a win-win because the conference is very expensive otherwise, and the volunteers at the GDC are almost like a second family.

From Water

Before I left for the GDC, I saw this great reflection on my street.

This year for the GDC, I joined a caravan of students leaving from DigiPen. DigiPen is a college that specializes in learning how to make video games. My car was #2 out of 3.

On the way down, we stumbled across the town of Oakland . . . Oakland, Oregon! Who knew?

From GG Bridge w/Mel & Jeanne

We arrived in SF a couple of days early, so I went on a short hike with some former co-workers.

It's been a long time since I saw the Golden Gate Bridge from this angle!

At the GDC, a small army of volunteers stuffed the bags for the conference attendees. (Probably >10,000 bags.) The girl in stripes is Sherol Chen.

From GDC 2010

If you've ever seen the surprising video-game documentary, "The King of Kong," you'll recognize Steve Wiebe (black T-shirt). Steve is one of a handful of people in the world to have scored over 1 million points in the video game "Donkey Kong," and he's a teacher. Next to him is Adam Barenblat.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures this trip. A lot more happened, and I met a lot of old friends and made a lot of new ones. I only feel bad because so much was going on so quickly, that I didn't have time to absorb it all and reflect on it.

I will close by saying that I love the GDC and especially the volunteer program. If anyone wants to volunteer at the GDC, keep in mind that competition is really, really tough to get in, so treat it seriously! (You can e-mail me for more info, too.)

The Electricity Monster and the Saran-Wrapped Windows.

2010-02-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

Last year, my cousin Jason left to serve our country in Afghanistan. As I was the only one left in the apartment, I inherited the electricity bill. Suddenly, I started thinking about things that I had taken for granted. I knew that CFL bulbs used less electricity, and that heating a house takes electricity, but I had never *really* thought about it. I guess paying for something is a good way to get someone to appreciate something.

Long story short: I went on a year-long quest to reduce my electricity bill.

I switched all the light bulbs to CFLs. I turned down the temperature on the water heater. I did my laundry using cold water. I turned off the water heater completely if I left for more than 3 days. I turned the heat in the apartment down. (Way down.) I put empty containers in my fridge and freezer. And I saran-wrapped my windows . . . .

I first learned about saran-wrapped windows in Minnesota. 3M sells a special film which you wrap around your windows, then you use a blow dryer to make it tight. The film acts as an extra insulator; well, not the film but the air between the film and your window. Or if you have drafty windows, it blocks the draft.

At Lowe's, I found a similar kit for wrapping my windows. I figured the cost would at least be worth the experience and the experiment.

The apartment has a lot of windows. Big windows. Plus the huge patio door. In the end, I needed 3 kits for everything in the apartment.

I started with the window in the left of the picture.

Oh no! It looks really tacky! Just like ... saran wrap!

Ten minutes later, after using a blow dryer. I guess that's why we need the special film!

All the windows and the patio door are now wrapped. (You can see the "saran wrap" running along the bottom of the patio door.)

From Electricity bill

And how did all of this affect our electricity bill? We saved a ton! (Compare JAN 2009 to JAN 2010.)

Actually, I suspect that most of the savings were from simply turning down the heat. However, the wrapping helped keep the little remaining heat inside and the nasty wind outside.

From Saran-wrapping windows

I wrapped even our bay window! (I didn't need any of the stuff in there, anyway.)

I finally met Greg Mortenson.

2010-01-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

Greg Mortenson is the author of the nonfiction books "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones into Schools." The former is #2 on the NY Times paperback bestseller list, and the latter is #3 on the hardcover list. Greg spoke in Seattle in December, and he packed a local university gym. I heard there were about ~2500 people in attendance, and an unknown number were turned away.

I wanted to make sure I got in, so I arrived early: Doors would open at 6:15 pm for a 7 pm talk, and I arrived around 2 pm. No one was in line yet, but by ~2:45 pm, there were ~6 of us, representing 6 different groups. One was a wife (her husband would come later), one worked for World Vision, one was a consultant who had travelled near Pakistan and Afghanistan, one was a recent college grad (her friends would come later), one was me, and one was a family who had come from eastern Washington. The family had driven for hours and rented a hotel room, just to hear Greg talk! (Actually, I would have done the same!) Even though it was cold and rainy, I enjoyed getting to know everyone. We all shared a common passion.

Since I had already read Greg's latest book, and I had waited so long in line, the actual talk seemed a bit anticlimactic to me. Also, Greg is not the typical speaker: he does not speak with the polish or eloquence that a motivational speaker, politician, or salesman would have. But I daresay that Greg Mortenson speaks with authority, and that authority was earned in the villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and also in his tireless efforts in America. So we all listened.

Greg's talk ended around 8:15 or 8:30 pm, and then the real wait began. Hundreds of people rushed to the stage to get Greg's autograph! It was fairly orderly, and everyone got into line, but it sure formed quickly! I hate rushing, and I was in no hurry, so I went over to talk to a friend (the consultant guy) who had also not gotten into line yet. My friend had to get home to his family, and we tried to estimate how long the line would take. I was thinking ~250 people at 10 seconds per person = 2500 seconds = less than 1 hour. That was a conservative estimate based on what I had seen at other signings at anime conventions, video game conventions, etc. I was so wrong.

It turns out that Greg actually likes to meet people. And talk to them. Greg ended up talking to each person for an average of 1 minute each. 60 seconds each, for 250 people. That's a long time, if you really try to do it. (We have greeting time in church, and I have trouble talking to someone for more than 15 seconds.) And Greg has been doing this across the country for weeks. He must know that he won't remember everyone and that he could get a couple more hours of sleep if he just followed the norm. But he's just that kind of guy.

One thing that added to the time was that stack of books on the table. But that's not what you think. They sold all of Greg's books there, but that was at a table way in the back of the gym. The books you see are books that Greg is giving away. Yes, he would give away his own books. What would happen is that Greg would start signing whichever book you gave him, and he would talk to you, and in talking to you he might decide to give you another of his books. For example, if you had kids he might give you the children's version of "Three Cups of Tea." Or if you were a poor student, he might give you another book. Remember that family that had driven from eastern Washington? Greg gave them a *box* of books to take back to their school.

From Greg Mortenson

Anyway, I was still waiting around 11 pm, and my consultant friend had had to go home. (I feel bad because he really wanted to meet Greg and shake his hand.) I got in the very back of the line, and I talked to the others there. That was also enjoyable.

When I finally got to meet Greg, it indeed felt anticlimactic. I shook his hand, he apologized that I had to wait so long, I thanked him for everything, and I asked him to sign three of his books. He asked if I was a student, and I said no (I'll bet he would have given me a book if I had been), and that was pretty much it. I left around 12:15 am.

You know, there was a point near the end of "Stones into Schools" . . . I was reading in bed, and Greg was writing about one of his friends in a dire situation, about a school that needed to be built, and the ensuing winter that would arrive in a couple weeks time. I put the book down, and I lay in bed and prayed for Greg's friend. I am pretty sure that I have never prayed for a person in a book. Nevermind that the book was telling me about a past event, that winter had already come, and that Greg was only pages away from revealing his friend's fate. I prayed because if there was any chance that God could intervene--God being beyond both space and time--then I needed to take that chance. It was that important to me. I end with that story to show what kind of impact Greg's story has had on me.

As it turns out, my prayer was answered.

Cheers to Greg Mortenson!

Some stuff from my 2009

2010-01-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

Since I spent two whole entries on Greg Mortenson and "Three Cups of Tea," I was going to finish the trilogy and describe my experiences when Greg spoke in Seattle. But I will wait until later. Instead, I will catch up on some other events, starting with the most recent.

For Christmas, Mary and Mom flew into Seattle.

Are these Christmas ghosts?

Nope. Rather, my cousin Chris decided on the ultimate Christmas gift: the Snuggie! Everyone in the extended family got one, except the babies.

From A Snuggie Christmas

I am not sure what Chris' wife, Olivia, thought of the idea. But in Chris' defense, I had thought about doing the same thing.

Hmm, perhaps that isn't much of a defense.

From Trinity Lutheran concert

In early December, I took Grandma to an alumni concert. Grandma graduated from Trinity Lutheran College, I think in 1979. That means she was 60! As you can see in the picture, Grandma looked pretty good for 60. I guess that helps explain how she can still be so active today, past 90.

From Wai's baptism

In November, my "Uncle" Wai got baptized. It was pretty cool. Wai gave a very energetic testimony. His joy was very inspiring. I know Wai also works very hard in his business (a submarine sandwich shop).

From Ryan and Vi's wedding

In September, I flew to Los Angeles to see my friends Ryan and Vi get married. Ryan and Vi were both undergrads at Caltech when I was a grad student. I do not have any great pictures of them at the wedding. Fortunately, their photographer had that covered. Three that I really like are here, here, and here.

From Library book sale

Also in September, I went to the Seattle Public Library's semi-annual book sale. This is a big event, and it happens once in the fall and once in the spring. They hold it in an old airplane hanger. There are something like 250,000 books, most for $1. The line to get in wraps around the block, literally. And many people are serious about their books: they bring portable luggage racks and several boxes, and many even have bar-code readers!

At the library sale, I bought like 12 copies of "Three Cups of Tea" for $1 each. But that is really part of another story. Next time!

Greg Mortenson is speaking in Seattle on Tuesday!

2009-12-14T00:06:00.000-08:00

I got behind on updating this blog; sorry. Briefly, I spent much of the last month tutoring two (unrelated) students in math. Even though I have always been good at math, I do not think I am a very good tutor, at least judging by my past experiences. So, this time I spent a lot of time preparing for my sessions. I also tried to utilize a special memory program called Anki. Anyway, my tutoring is over for now, so back to programming. Best of luck to my students!

Last time, I wrote about Greg Mortenson, author of "Three Cups of Tea." Well, tomorrow (Tuesday), he will be speaking in Seattle! Greg's latest book is "Stones into Schools," and it is a follow-up to "Three Cups of Tea." I bought "Stones into Schools" on the day it came out, and I already finished reading it. It was really great throughout. In its first week out, "Stones into School" was #2 on the NY Times Bestseller List (behind Sarah Palin's book).

I realized that what I love about Greg's story (and the stories of his friends in Pakistan and Afghanistan) is not just how inspiring it is, but how convicting it is to me. I have so many more resources than Greg and his friends, but they are so much more resourceful. My resources are somewhat tangible/worldly things such as time, money, relative youth, health, and education. Their resourcefulness seems to come from the intangibles. Clearly, I still have a lot to learn. But I know that I already have more than enough worldly resources to start making a difference in the real world. I would say that we all do; perhaps we simply have to make that choice each day.

Greg's talk in Seattle is limited to 2,000 people, first-come, first-served. I look forward to arriving several hours early to make sure that I do not miss out. If anyone wants to join me, let me know!

Greg Mortenson speaking in Seattle on 12/15.

2009-11-15T01:59:00.000-08:00

I sometimes get confused about why I write this blog. I usually look for a fun picture of something I did recently, to convey that to my friends and family that I may not have spoken with in awhile. But at the same time, I am not sure if this is the right time or place for that.

This time I will talk about a nonfiction book that I read earlier this year: "Three Cups of Tea." It is the true story of Greg Mortenson, an American who has been building schools in poor villages in Pakistan (and now Afghanistan).

What I love about Greg's story is how unbelievable it is--and yet how simple it is. I feel like many of us are so afraid of trying to help the world, to really give ourselves. But with Greg, here is a man who at one time was arguably less educated than us, had less money than us, had less connections than us, was less computer-savvy than us, had less to gain, and was even more self-absorbed than us. But, he made a commitment out of love, and he kept trying until he finished it. And through the process, Greg found himself transformed, and now he is transforming the world.

Nowadays, I would guess that Greg is less healthy than many of us (40+, overworked, and stressed), has way less time, has family commitments just like many of you (two young kids and a wife), and he has already done so much to help others. He should just quit, play it safe, not risk his life over in Pakistan/Afghanistan, and manage the front office. But he doesn't. He keeps running his race.

As far as I know, Greg Mortenson doesn't profess any religion (although his parents with Christian missionaries). But I see in him more of Jesus than I see in, well, almost any of us.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

I was surprised and delighted to learn that Greg has a new book coming out on December 1, "Stones into Schools." It tells what has been happening since "Three Cups of Tea." Even better, Greg will be speaking in Seattle on 12/15 (no tickets, first come, first served). I think he spends half the year speaking across America and other places, then half the year in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Anyway, if you have trouble believing that someone in today's society--especially an American--could model Jesus' love, his servanthood and his sacrifice, then read "Three Cups of Tea." (There is even a children's version.) I think you will come to admire Greg Mortenson, especially because of his imperfections. But just like with Jesus, we need to move beyond admiration and on to imitation.

Let's go!

Vacation summary: Penny Arcade Expo (PAX)

2009-10-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

The Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) was September 4 - 6. It is a convention which combines video games and board games. They go together surprisingly well. :-)

The prince from Katamari Damacy.

The PC Freeplay room. PAX provides all of these computers for people to play PC games! It may be hard to see all the rows of computers, but there were probably 256 computers available. And this was just one half. Another ~256 spaces were reserved to "Bring Your Own Computer" (BYOC), for mostly hardcore gamers.

The Peregrine gaming glove. That's the black glove that each person is wearing. They can use that as an input device to the computer, while still being able to type with both hands. It certainly looks cool/geeky.

"The Emissary" dining and gaming table. It is expensive ($2000 - $3000), but it's also a cool idea: if you don't finish a board game, you can just cover it up and save it for later! IKEA should make one of these.

A shop had these cute Super Mario Pepsi caps. Isn't it cool how the characters are all pixelated? Presumably, these caps were available in Japan on Pepsi bottles, for free! (And even $5 for just the cap seems reasonable.)

The guy in the foreground is Reggie Fils-Aime, President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America! He was playing Wii Sports Resort, and he asked me if I wanted to play him! We played table tennis.

A normal match is to 6 points, but we went into multiple tiebreakers. I finally won, something like 11 - 9. Reggie plays with intensity!

Setting the Guiness World Record for most people playing the Nintendo DS in one room. I played Puzzle Quest. (Thank-you to Joel G. for letting me borrow it!) I think there were less than 1000 people, so there is a lot of room to grow.

From PAX, day 1

An artist was paid to make this "Bioshock 2" mural on the floor of the convention center! You could watch him work on it each day of the convention.

From PAX, day 2

The board-game checkout room. Hundreds of board games. Best of all, there were thousands of people available to play with!

The chalk artist has made a lot of progress on the mural. Very beautiful.

Giant Connect Four. This was part of the Omegathon, which is sort of a wacky/epic elimination tournament.

From PAX, day 3

Joe Cochran and I had an epic game of Dominion. I think the final score was 78 - 77.

Of course, the best part of PAX was hanging out with old friends and making new ones . . . even if one turned out to be a Cylon! (From the board game for Battlestar Galactica.)

The God of coin flips.

2009-10-12T00:26:00.000-07:00

In my life, I have had at least three experiences that I consider . . . supernatural. The first was my move to Minnesota and my time there. (Click here for one entry.) The third was when I donated a large sum of money and later received almost exactly the same amount of money. And the second? That is below.

---

It was January, 2008. I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area and working at Genentech. I was also trying to find God, to know if he really existed.

I had a pamphlet entitled, "How Can I Know What God Wants Me To Do?"; it was from May 2006, when I was deciding if I should leave Minnesota and return to California. The pamphlet mentions a story about Francis Schaeffer, a well-respected Christian pastor and author. When he was 19, Francis had a crucial life decision to make. Francis prayed and wept, but he was still unsure of God's will.

Finally, in desperation he took out a coin and said, "Heads, I'll go."

It was heads.

Then he pleaded, "God, be patient with me. If it comes up tails this time, I'll go."

It was tails.

"Once more, God. Please let it be heads again."

It was heads.

And Francis Schaeffer went.

That story was frightening to me. After all, it was just a coin! What if it had flipped the other way?

Schaeffer later said that he would never advise anyone else to use the same method of finding God's will. My first reaction was, "Of course! Don't put your fate in the hands of a coin! Schaeffer sure was lucky!"

However, at some point I began to think, "Why do I assume that it was simply luck? What if it really was God?" Schaeffer's God was the God of the Bible--an all-powerful, all-knowing God. If God were really out there, then he could make a coin flip heads or tails three times in a row. God could make a coin flip heads ten times in a row, if he wanted . . . .

I had read in the Bible that we are not to test God. Nevertheless, God had had mercy on Gideon when he asked for a sign, and God had had mercy on Francis Schaeffer. Maybe "testing God" and "asking God" were qualitatively different? Maybe the former is done with a poisonous heart, but the latter can be done with a humble heart?

So, I decided to ask God for a sign, like Gideon and Schaeffer had done. I asked God to show me if he was really there. I asked God to be merciful.

And, I asked God to make a coin flip heads, ten times in a row.

I had a pen and a piece of paper to record each flip as it happened. I had a quarter. I promised to do all ten flips and record them, whatever the result. For each flip, I would place the quarter over my thumb, flip the quarter into the air, let it land on the ground, and record that result.

Of course, even if God were there, he might not answer. One could argue that I had nothing to lose: if the flips looked random in the end, then maybe God had just declined to do anything.

I can only say that I tried not to have that mindset. I was trying not to test God, but rather to sincerely ask him, beg him, for help. However, I naturally braced myself for any "bad news."

I put the quarter over my thumb. I think I was trembling a little. And I held my breath.

<flip>

Heads.

"Heads!" I thought. "Maybe I should just stop here?" However, I had promised to do ten flips, so I kept going.

<flip>

Heads! That's two.

<flip>

Heads! Three.

<flip>

Heads! Four.

<flip>

Heads! Five.

<flip>

Heads! Six.

<flip>

Heads! Seven.

<flip>

Heads! Eight.

<flip>

Tails.

Tails. After eight heads in a row, the ninth flip was . . . tails. What?!

I paused briefly. I would have paused longer, but I had already decided to do all ten flips. I could wait until after that to think about what this meant.

<flip>

Heads! Nine heads and one tails.

It was heads, one last time.

Or was it the last?

"What if I keep going?" I thought.

<11th flip>

Heads!

<12th flip>

Heads!

<13th flip>

Heads!

<14th flip>

Heads!

<15th flip>

Tails.

<16th flip>

Tails.

Two tails in a row. I decided to stop . . . .

---

From Coin flips

A recap of what had happened: I had asked God for ten heads in a row, as a sign that he exists. I flipped eight heads, then one tails, then five heads, then two tails:

HHHHHHHH-T-HHHHH-TT

So, I had really asked for one thing to happen, and technically it didn't. But a strangely similar thing happened instead. What do I think this all meant?

First, I feel that God truly answered my request: He exists! (Or, more honestly, at least something God-like exists, or some things.)

Second, God can indeed flip coins. Whether it is three flips in a row, eight, fourteen, or fourteen thousand, God is in control. He is stronger than the laws of probability, the laws of physics.

Third, God is paying attention. I was only one person, in my room alone, out of a world of 5+ billion. Is it more likely that he just happened to be passing by as I was making my request, or that he is actually aware of everything everywhere?

Fourth, God is relational. I am not sure how to explain this. Assuming that God would reply, I sort of expected one of two responses: a clear "no" (randomness), or a clear "yes" (ten heads in a row). However, God knew me enough and cared enough to give me what I personally needed. Again, I don't know how to express the personal nature of my request or the personal nature of his response, and there are some things that I have not mentioned. But, I will say that what he gave me was more than I had asked for, and more than I had even imagined. (See Ephesians 3:20.)

I close with a clarification: Almost two years after this event, I am still seeking God, and asking him to find me. I believe there is someone out there, and he is incredible. However, is he the God of the Bible? And what does that really mean, since millions or billions of people believe in the same Bible but interpret it differently? I am still trying to figure that out.

Whatever the truth is, I at least believe in a God of coin flips, and I am grateful that he is here.

I hope this will help you know that you are not alone.

Vacation summary: pre-Penny Arcade Expo (PAX).

2009-09-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

The Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) was September 4 - 6. I had a lot of fun there, but I also had fun hanging out with friends beforehand.

Several friends from the Game Developers Conference (GDC) were in town for PAX. The day before PAX, I explored Seattle with two of these friends, Joel and Adam. We visited a famous bakery, the Essential Bakery Cafe. They helped us find the house that inspired the movie "Up"!

From House from "Up"

The story behind this house and its owner is, well, enough to inspire a Pixar movie. And my pictures do not do it justice. Check out this story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. A more recent picture than that is here. Finally, the latest chapter on this story is here; it explains the banner on the house.

Incidentally, the development surrounding the house contains a Trader Joe's, which I like. I am glad that the owner got to live this life out as she wanted.

Next, we checked out Gas Works Park. If you check out the official site for the park, it doesn't look special. However, I think it is awesome! Here, Joel raises the "ring of triumph" atop the hill at Gas Works Park.

Joel and Adam look out at Downtown Seattle. The strange pipes in the background are the old gas works.

Here I am!

From Gas Works Park

Gas Works Park juts out into the water of Puget Sound, leaving a clear view of downtown.

We also visited Green Lake Park, which is also very pretty.

Then, on the freeway, we were eyewitnesses to an accident! Two cars bumped into each other on the side, and one went careening off the freeway and into a ditch. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Finally, a dozen of us gathered at my place to hang out and to eat pizza and Ezell's Famous Fried Chicken. It was a great way to end an eventful day and to prepare for three days of video games, board games, and friends at PAX!

Remembering September 11.

2009-09-11T05:10:00.000-07:00

I had an extremely fun time at PAX 2009.

However, for this entry, I want to take time to remember 9/11. It does not seem like it was 8 years ago. I still remember what I was doing at the time: I was in lab, because I had been working overnight to analyze a protein that I had made. I needed some liquid nitrogen for the CD (circular dichroism) machine, and when I called the chemistry supply center to deliver it, the guy on the phone told me what had happened. I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but I did not even know what the Twin Towers or the World Trade Center were. (I have never been to New York, and to the East Coast only sparingly.) Of course, Caltech soon cancelled all work for that day, and some of us gathered at a friend's apartment to watch the news for hours upon hours.

About 3000 people died in the 9/11 attacks.

I will close with part of a speech by President George W. Bush, delivered on 9/20/01:

"Presidents come to this chamber to report on the state of the Union. Tonight, no such report is needed. It has already been delivered by the American people. . . . My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of our Union -- and it is strong."

I always liked that turn of phrase.

Next Tuesday, I fly to Los Angeles for a week. Two friends from Caltech are getting married (Ryan and Vi), and the reception will be at my old dorm/House, Avery House. It promises to be a joyful time, a festival.

Trip summary: San Diego

2009-08-28T03:40:00.000-07:00

After going to Anime Expo in Los Angeles, I spent a week in San Diego. This was in July.

From Balboa Park, San Diego

My cousin Gayle took me to the "Body Worlds 2" exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Body Worlds is beyond text description, and they did not allow photographs. But you can check out their website. The most profound parts of the exhibit were 1) a human head showing all of the blood vessels in it, and 2) a display with real preserved human fetuses and embryos. (The exhibit noted how the embryos had been obtained. I do not remember exactly what they said, but I was satisfied.) Actually, the entire exhibit was definitely worth seeing.

The huge tree in the picture is just outside the museum. That tree is off-limits now, but Gayle said that, when she was a kid, people could climb on it.

I saw the Pixar movie "Up" with my cousin Lance. Then we went to Barnes & Noble, and I saw the strangest book: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." I do not know which was more disturbing: adding zombies to "Pride and Prejudice," or the fact that this new version was a New York Times bestseller (and had no doubt outsold the original, at least recently). Nevertheless, I thought this would be the perfect gift for my cousin Jason, who both likes zombies and aspires to be a high-school English teacher.

I also went to the San Diego Zoo with my friend Steph. It had probably been 15 years since I had last been there.

We had a great time, but of course we did not see everything. I really enjoyed the seal show, which included this hawk. The hawk actually flew right above our heads, and I was totally tempted to stick my arm out and see if he would land on it. But seeing the hawk in person, one realizes that he (she?) could easily maim any person he wanted to.

From San Diego Zoo w/Steph

My favorite part of the zoo was actually not the wildlife, but this. Around that signpost is not ivy; it is a person! You can see more by clicking on the link below the picture.

From Hom dinner

We had a Hom family dinner at Gin Lai Sen. In the picture are my Uncle Jim, cousin Karen, and Auntie Evelyn.

The impetus for going to San Diego was the wedding of my friend John Love. John and I were in the same lab at Caltech; now he is a professor at San Diego State University. Our friend Possu was also there.

From Wedding of John and Therese Love

John's bride, Therese, seemed very nice.

I did a few other things in San Diego, but I did not take any pictures. I stayed a couple of days with my cousins Will and Nora, and Nora introduced me to the TV show "The Next Food Network Star." I also played some board games with my friends Elliott Davis and Aleck Lin (and Steph).

Next week is PAX, the Penny Arcade Expo! I went last year and blogged about it. Wil Wheaton will be there again!

One year later.

2009-08-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

I was planning to show pictures from my trip to San Diego. However, this time I would like to reflect on the past year.

From My last Genentech Ho-Ho

One year ago, July 31, 2008, was my last day at Genentech. I was doing postdoctoral research studying human genetics and the disease lupus. There were many nice things about that situation; nevertheless, I decided to quit, and also to move from San Francisco to Seattle. The picture is from my last meal as a Genentech employee.

Why did I decide to do this? In hindsight, it was due to three F's.

The first "F" was "Flash," as in Adobe Flash. Instead of studying lupus, etc., I wanted to make some computer programs. But not computer programs for scientists; rather, programs that my mom, sister, or even grandma could use and would want to use. The programming language that I chose to use was Flash. I had tried to program in Flash while I was still a postdoc, but I really wanted to try programming full-time. So, that is why I quit.

The second "F" was "Family," as in my mom's side in Seattle. In recent years, I had gotten to know my dad's side (mostly in Los Angeles and San Diego) much better than before. However, I had spent very little time with my relatives in Seattle: two weeks every summer when I was a kid, and one wedding a few years ago. So, that is why I moved to Seattle.

The third "F" was "Faith," as in faith in God, specifically Jesus Christ. Since 2005, I have been much more proactive about seeking faith, and in a related sense, truth. For example, the Bible describes Jesus Christ as dying and being raised from the dead. Did this really happen? While I was living and working in San Francisco, I had a lot of help trying to answer these questions, but I still was not sure. I did not have to quit or move to Seattle in this case, but the change would hopefully allow me more time and flexibility to pursue faith. Also, I really respected the faith of my grandma in Seattle, and I thought I might learn something from her.

So, with regard to the three F's, how has the past year gone?

Flash: I learned a lot, and I made some real progress on two programs. It is probably a lot more than I would have done if I had stayed at Genentech. But in terms of programming full-time, I honestly have failed. I will chalk this up to laziness, and I need to do better with my remaining time.

Family: I have gotten to know my grandma; Auntie Nancy and Uncle Paul; cousin Chris, his wife Olivia, and their daughter Jubilee; cousin Jason; Auntie Audrey; cousin Brian; cousin Michelle (and her newborn son Braden!); and Uncle Gordon, Auntie Marlene, and their kids Brendon and Sydney. Some better than others. And I have also gotten to know extended family, such as my Auntie Nancy's relatives. When I consider how little I knew beforehand--for example, I had never even met Jubilee before I moved--it has been quite rewarding.

Faith: I have read some books, joined some study groups, visited some churches, talked to many people, read the Bible more, and prayed. But I still am unsure. I am still uncommitted. However, I definitely think I have learned a lot over the past year, and I now practice daily quiet time and Bible reading. I feel more at peace with my spiritual progress than when I was in SF ... at least I think I do.

So that is how things look to me now. I do not regret my decision to quit my postdoc and move to Seattle, but clearly I still have a lot of progress to make.

I was thinking about how things would be if I had stayed at Genentech. I would probably have more money. For everything else, who knows? However, I know some things that probably would be gone: all of the experiences I have had up here in Seattle. All of the pictures.

From Roof cleaning

I will close with just one. My Uncle Ron was visiting from Fresno, and we were cleaning my Auntie Nancy's yard and roof. I was on the ladder, and Uncle Ron let me snap this picture of him.

I cannot explain why I like this picture, even to those who know Uncle Ron. But I feel that having even one picture like this means it was a good year.

Trip summary: Anime Expo in Los Angeles.

2009-07-17T01:27:00.000-07:00

I was in Los Angeles (LA) and San Diego for a trip. In this entry, I will cover the LA portion, which was basically Anime Expo 2009. Next time, I will cover the San Diego portion.

Anime Expo (AX) was held at the LA Convention Center. This was my first time at AX since 2005, and my first time as a dealer. I was a dealer because my friend Richard had just started an anime store, and I offered to help at his booth. Here is the dealer's room before opening on Day 2 (of 4).

I spent a lot of time with another friend, whom I will call Mika, who also helped out at the booth. Notice the car being swallowed by the ivy? That belongs to Mika.

I got to see my friend Justin Simonson, from the Game Developers Conference. Here, Justin is channeling his rage into a hadouken from Street Fighter.

There were some great single costumes ...

... some great pairs in costume (these are from "Last Exile") ...

... and some great group gatherings! (These are from "Trigun." In the bottom row is Trigun's creator, Yasuhiro Nightow!)

From From Mike: AX day 3

We spent a lot of time working at the booth. This was my first retail experience, and I really enjoyed working with old and new friends. However, it was a little hard on everyone's feet. We needed those pads that they have behind fast-food counters. (I am on the left; Richard is on the right.)

From Anime Expo 2009

After the last day of AX, we had to pack up the entire booth and put everything back in storage. We celebrated the thoroughly-exhausting-but-fun convention with Korean BBQ at Manna restaurant. (From left to right: Lucan, Gary, me, Mika, Stephen, and Richard.)

Overall, AX was awesome, and I am really glad that I went!

Special thanks to Amy Wong, for letting me stay at her place while she was in Australia, and to Mika, for driving me back and forth every day (in the car *not covered* in ivy)!

Next time: A summary of the San Diego portion of my trip!

Vacation, part 2. Plus: Vacation 2.

2009-07-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

Vacation, part 2, and Vacation 2? Yep. Part 2 is the rest of what I did while I was in Los Angeles for Caltech's Commencement, et al. But today, I fly again from Seattle to LA: this weekend is Anime Expo 2009, and next weekend is the Love Wedding in San Diego. Seriously: the groom, John Love, was a postdoc at Caltech, so he really can be called Dr. Love. And nowadays, even Professor Love. Yeah, it is fun. :-)

More pictures from hanging out in LA with friends Glenn, Shay, et al.:

From Mini-golf w/Glenn and Nick

Glenn and I visited our childhood friend Nick McGee (and his girlfriend Danielle). Nick does a lot of stage acting, from Shakespeare to ... Shakespeare musicals. This time, it was a dramatic adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island." Totally cool.

Less cool is the picture of us mini-golfing. Glenn (center) and Nick look like healthy mini-golfers, whereas I look like an old man using my mini-golf putter as a cane. Still, a great time. :-) At the bottom, you can see the shadow cast by my camera.

I visited Eduardo Garcia and his fiancee, Allison, in Glendora. Ed and I used to play Settlers *all the time* back at Caltech. According to Ed, Glendora is known for only one thing: Donut Man.

But, as Ed said, that is not bad for one thing. They are famous for their strawberry donuts. (They also have peach when in season.)

From Donut Man in Glendora

They even make lemon-filled donuts! Yes!!!!

For Shay's birthday, we all went to Disneyland! Shay's mom and his sister Tori also joined us. I had not been to Disneyland since 1995, the year that the Indiana Jones ride came out. So that was 14 years ago. Indy was still fun.

I did not take many pictures at Disneyland, but here is one from a show based around Playhouse Disney. It was pretty interesting to see a live person interact with puppets of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, etc., while all the kids oohed and ahhed. The live person, Casey, was *incredibly* upbeat, as one might expect. So in that sense, quite a professional performance.

From Disneyland

I found a great bargain at Disneyland. You know those penny-flattening machines at many tourist locations? You insert a penny (plus the fee), and the machine flattens the penny while imprinting it with an image from the tourist attraction. At Disneyland, they have a room filled with these machines, and they all cost less than $1, I think. What really surprised me was that the machines cover not just classic Disney stuff like Snow White but also really recent stuff, like Wall-E. Wall-E on a nickel? That's worth 80 cents!

Caltech Commencement was quite pleasant. The main speaker was Stephen Chu, now Secretary of Energy. One thing that stuck out for me was his only piece of advice to the graduates: "Be generous in your negotiations. Leave some change on the table."

I really took Dr. Chu's comment to heart, perhaps because I am Chinese-American. American culture emphasizes "me first," not "love your neighbor as yourself." And Chinese culture values shrewdness, not generosity. I was reminded of a garage sale I recently went to. There was a very large, nice wooden children's storage box selling for $2. A Caucasian man (who in this context could easily have been Chinese) offered $1 for the box. I said I thought it was worth $2 and would offer $2. The man got *really* mad and called me un-American, which hurt a little, but not as much as if I agreed with him. Anyway, the man quickly said he would also pay $2, so I let him have it rather than fight over it and make him even angrier. (I wasn't sure if my cousins' kids would use it anyway, but if so, I would have happily paid $5 or $10.)

From Caltech Commencement

Back to Commencement: Three people graduated from the Mayo Lab! Left to right: Ben Allen, Professor Stephen L. Mayo, Jennifer Keefe, and Heidi Privett. Congratulations, guys!

Overall, a wonderful trip to Sacramento and LA. I got to spend time with a lot of people, which is quite different than my (chosen) Seattle life in the apartment.

From Anime Expo 2001

Now I am planning for Vacation 2: this week is Anime Expo! I am totally excited. I am not sure if I will take many pictures, but certainly there will be a lot of people walking around dressed up as anime characters. It is really fun to see people walking around like this. For example, the picture at left is from Anime Expo 2001. The girls are two characters from "Trigun," which is one of my favorite anime. As awesome as those costumes were (especially that huge gun), every year the costumers get better and more frequent. It is like digital cameras becoming simultaneously more powerful and less expensive: double-win!

Click here to view someone else's pictures from Anime Expo 2008. The pictures no doubt cover only a small fraction of all the people and costumes at the convention.

From Bainbridge w/Christina

Perhaps some year, I will dress up at Anime Expo. For example, I could go as a muscle-man from "Street Fighter" or "Dragonball Z." :-)

Busy on vacation. So, a good kind of busy.

2009-06-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

I was in Sacramento for a few days, and now I am in Los Angeles. So far, my trip has been full of catching up with old friends, meeting a few new ones, and having quite a pleasant time.

I took pictures of only a few things, so I will describe those.

From Cats at Glenn's

In Sacramento, I spent a lot of time hanging out with Glenn Mondro, a friend since 5th grade. There are currently a lot of cats at Glenn's place.

Glenn and I drove from Sacramento to Los Angeles in my mom's car. Mom, thank you!

A friend from high school (Shay) has been letting us stay with him in the city of Sierra Madre. The house he is renting has a great view.

From Shay and James' house

See the cat on the roof?

Glenn and I were able to attend E3, a large video game convention. Here I am with some Ghostbusters.

Joseph Hatcher showed me around E3 a bit. Joe is a friend from the Game Developers Conference; he now works for Perfect World, who make beautiful *and* free-to-play MMORPGs. Here we are checking out "Wii Fit Plus" from Nintendo.

From E3 2009

At E3, one sees many unusual things. Like the robot mech in the center. At this distance, it looks like it could be stomping around the convention center! Yikes!

Tomorrow is Caltech's Commencement! Three people from my old lab (Steve Mayo's lab) are graduating. I also know a few undergrads who are graduating.

Pictures!

2009-05-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

Well, as soon as I said otherwise, I found myself taking pictures again. :-) In chronological order below.

We visited my grandpa's grave. It was the first time there for me.

Afterward, Auntie Muriel, Uncle Ron, Grandma and I went to V-Garden restaurant. Grandma likes it because they do not use MSG. Auntie Muriel made a funny face for the camera: she is sticking her tongue out at Uncle Ron.

From Grandpa's grave

One of the menus at V-Garden had a very funny name for a dish: "Budda Jump Over The Wall." Note that the other dishes have perfectly understandable names.

From Cyndy's Pancake House

On another day, Uncle Ron and I went to lunch at one of his old hang-outs: Cyndy's Pancake House. They had something called a "Holland Pancake" which I had never heard of. So of course we ordered a large one. It is really big, isn't it? :-)

A friend from SF, Christina Ha, has been visiting for a nurse's conference. On Saturday, we went to Bainbridge island via the ferry. It was my first time on the ferry since I moved to Seattle, but I have fond memories of it from my childhood. It is the kind of ferry in which you can drive your car onto it, and then drive off of it at the other side.

From Bainbridge w/Christina

On the way back on the ferry, downtown Seattle looked really nice.

Next: Mom arrives in Seattle, then goes to Europe. Geoff goes to Sacramento, then to Los Angeles. And, yes, I am still trying to program something....

No pictures....

2009-05-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

I rarely take pictures anymore. In spite of this, I almost always carry my digital camera *and* a miniature tripod with me. I do not know how to express why I rarely take pictures now . . . I guess I am not sure why.

Anyway, life is still nice. The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) has been having their annual meeting in Seattle. I am not attending the meeting, but I was able to catch up with some friends from Genentech, my old employer. (Genentech is now fully owned by Roche.)

My Auntie Muriel and Uncle Ron are also visiting from Fresno. We went to a local Indian casino (Muckleshoot) to try their seafood buffet, which was very filling, of course. :-) Auntie Audrey and cousin Michelle ate with us as well. Toward the end, the others went to gamble a little, but I wanted to let my stomach sit so I could squeeze in dessert. Uncle Ron came to get me 20 minutes later, but I hadn't even moved from my seat, because I was so full! Uncle Ron said that maybe I should get dessert first next time.

They also have bingo right next to the casino, but I did not get to try it out.

For Mother's Day, we spent time with three mothers: Grandma, Auntie Nancy, and Olivia, my cousin's wife. (I called my mom in Sacramento.) There were a lot of relatives and good food.

A quiet spring

2009-04-26T02:11:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I spent the day with Auntie Janice. We ran errands and just hung out. We had lunch at Ivar's, which is a fish 'n' chips place that also has good clam chowder. Then we went for a walk on the University of Washington campus, because the cherry blossoms were in bloom. Janice said that the blossoms seemed to have faded in color since she was a student, years ago. Sure enough, in another part of campus we saw some cherry blossoms that were a much brighter pink. (I did not take a picture of them, however.)

From Day with Janice

Otherwise, things have been calm. I have been trying to keep life simple, not sleep so much, and program more.

Regardless, everything should get busier soon. Several people are visiting in May, the weather is getting nicer, and I plan to visit California again in June (LA, 6/6 - 6/15) and July (LA/SD, 7/1 - 7/14).

I feel very fortunate to have this time. Prayers appreciated that I will use it wisely.

Back in Seattle.

2009-04-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

From Beach with Stephanie

Well, I had a wonderful time in California. A quick summary:

Seattle (dr. w/two from Craigslist) -> Sacramento (dr. w/Grandma) -> Fresno (Uncle Ron and Auntie Muriel) -> Los Angeles (friends from Anime Expo, Caltech, the GDC, and high school) -> San Diego (friends from high school, Caltech, Genentech, Urbana; Uncle Well's birthday party; dr. w/friend from GDC) -> Los Angeles (dr. w/friends from GDC) -> San Francisco (GDC: Game Developers Conference; old landlord; friends from Genentech, two churches, Stanford; cousin Danielle) -> Sacramento (Mom, friends from high school, namesake, neighbors) -> Corvallis (friend from high school) -> Seattle.

The top picture is from a beach in San Diego.

From Aleck Lin

Breakfast with Aleck Lin, a friend from Urbana. (My hair always sticks out on the left....)

At the Game Developers Conference: friends just having fun playing "witch hunt" (mafia).

Also, Wednesday was my birthday; I am now 32. Working on my taxes. Grandma returns on Saturday. Mom also visiting. Reading some books.

Sadly, I have not done any "work" since I got back. However, I know that great flexibility comes with great accountability.

From GDC 2009

Road trip!

2009-03-14T02:41:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I have not left Washington State since I arrived last August. It is a little scary to me to think about how much time has passed (7+ months). Then again, only 8 months ago, I was living in California with a totally different job/career, and my relatives in Seattle seemed more like fond memories from my youth, rather than people living and working every day just like me. So, yes, I am definitely glad that I have come this far.

From At Mars Hill

But, now it is vacation time! On Tuesday, I am driving to California for two events: my Uncle Well's 80th birthday in San Diego, and the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. I will also be visiting my hometown (Sacramento), my Auntie Muriel and Uncle Ron (Fresno), and my old lab at Caltech (Los Angeles). I will be gone for a total of three weeks, but that includes a lot of driving, and the conference is a full week. Because of the timing, I will not get to see everyone. However, I hope to visit again in June.

From GDC 2008

This picture is from last year's conference. My friends are playing a game called "Witchhunt," also known as "Mafia."

Since I prefer driving long distances with company, I am driving with some people who answered my post on Craigslist's rideshare. (I also did this going from Minnesota to Seattle, and from Sacramento to Seattle. Both times it was great.)

From Pet store with Jubilee and family

Last weekend, I got to spend time with my cousin Chris, his wife Olivia, and their special baby, Jubilee. We went to a nearby pet store. Jubilee loves rabbits. (Or, I should say, "bunnies.")

"Aladdin, Jr."

2009-02-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

From Aladdin Jr.

I went to an elementary school musical. It is an annual event, and a family friend is one of the co-directors. (She is a teacher at the school.) Auntie Nancy organized a whole group to go.

The musical was "Aladdin, Jr." It was basically an abridged version of Disney's Aladdin; many of the same songs were in it. I really enjoyed it. The cast was entirely 5th and 6th graders, and the 3rd and 4th graders helped make all the props and sets!

The last elementary school musical that I remember is when I was in 5th or 6th grade. Our teacher, Ms. McCoy, directed an elaborate musical about world music. I was not in the musical, but I remember four guys got to be The Beatles, and one girl did a memorable job of screaming and pretending to faint.

My sister was in a musical when she was in 4th grade. (Or was I in 4th and she in 6th?) She was a jungle explorer captured by cannibals. My mom and dad had to help put together the appropriate explorer costume, of course.

The picture shown is from the flying carpet scene in Aladdin in which Prince Ali and Princess Jasmine sing "A Whole New World." They are sitting on a cart that Uncle Paul made. The two kids in black "magically" move the cart around the stage, and of course to Ali and Jasmine they are invisible. A girl behind them represents the actual magic carpet and provided a nice background. It was kind of a classy implementation.

Time for a haircut

2009-02-08T00:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, my relatives thought I should get a haircut. (Or as a friend once said, I should get "many hairs cut." :-) This was not the first time that such a suggestion had been made, but they even went so far as to put money on the table.

Six relatives chipped in for a total of $11. That was perfect, because near our home is a simple "salon" which charges $9 for a men's cut.

That Thursday, I found myself actually awake during the daytime. So, I put in my contacts and took some "Before" pictures.

From Haircut

Then, I got many hairs cut, paid $9 + $2 tip, took a shower, and took some "After" pictures. I always feel I need a shower right after a haircut, because I always seem to have little bits of hair everywhere. Does this happen to other people?

To all my relatives who chipped in, financially or otherwise, thank you!

A money miracle?

2009-01-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

From Nintendo Customer Service Center

My last post was "A flat-tire miracle?" I know: two miracles in a row? Well, I simply had a very peculiar experience with money, and I want to share it. I considered telling this story without numbers, but I think the specifics are important. The story starts over two years ago.

In late 2006, when I was in San Francisco, I was attending a church called GrX ("Great Exchange"). GrX is a mobile church, but they started a capital campaign to buy their own permanent building. At that time, I was developing a new sense of what it means to give: that giving can be an obligation, but that giving can also be a challenge, an opportunity, and a privilege. (More on that below.) In the end, I decided to pledge ~$11,000/year for each of the next 3 years.

Why $11,000/year? In my case, I had done a quick estimate based on breaking even: my salary (~$45,000) minus taxes, rent, food, etc. I added a little more as a bit of a push, and also because I knew I would get a slight raise each year. So it was a bit of a sacrifice, but I knew I had money in the bank to fall back on.

In 2007, I fulfilled my pledge for the year.

In 2008, I was routinely fulfilling my pledge monthly, but in July I quit my job. Since then, I have dipped into my bank accounts but have continued monthly pledges. However, I know I have more in the bank than the average American family, which has $3,800.

2009 was approaching. On the plus side, my parents had long ago bought me stock in a company called Fiserv, which had done well over the years. I had 200 shares of Fiserv, and, in September 2008, Fiserv stock was $50/share = $10,000! I could donate that and fulfill almost an entire year of my pledge! (Donating the stock, rather than selling it first and donating cash later, would yield a better tax deduction.) However, I was greedy and wanted to wait, to see if the stock would go up even more.

Instead, the stock dropped ... quickly. By the end of October, the stock was less than $35/share = $7,000. Now I would have to take an extra $3,000 out of the bank! However, there was an expectation that Fiserv stock would recover eventually, perhaps by late 2009. I could wait a few months, even up to the last month my pledge was due (December 2009).

But essentially, I was holding back on giving now, just so it would cost me less. Somewhere, I had lost the spirit of giving, the reasons for giving! At the end of 2008, I did a complete review of all of my assets, and I knew I could afford to fulfill my pledge either way. So, after some hedging back and forth, in mid-January 2009, I transferred my 200 shares to GrX. Because the transfer would take a couple of days to process, and because the stock market fluctuates, I would have to wait to see exactly how much the shares (and my donation) would be worth. Hopefully, Fiserv stock would not go down in the meantime.

A couple of days later, I got a letter in the mail from my broker, Charles Schwab: my transfer was proceeding. Good. In the same day's mail, I also got an unexpected letter: it was from a bank in Utah, telling me that I had a certificate of deposit (CD) there. The CD was about to mature, and it was worth almost $7,000!

Remember, I had just performed a review of all of my assets! Or at least I thought I had. I consider myself to be relatively well-organized, but somehow I had missed this.

Isn't that strange? I had fought back and forth with my conscience, but I had finally given in and donated a large sum of money. Then a couple of days later, I find that I had almost the same amount of money "hidden away"!

To be more precise, the letter from the bank said that the CD was currently worth $6,868.

A couple of days later, I got an e-mail from GrX. The e-mail told me the exact value of my donation, which was calculated by using the average price for Fiserv stock on the day of the actual transfer.

The amount: $6,869.

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Similar to my last post, I like how the true story above is different from a lot of fiction, much of which seems designed to manipulate our emotions, at the expense of truth. In this case, the amounts are not exactly the same. Technically, I already had the CD. I still have money in the bank. And in my circumstances and in my heart, I am not like the poor widow who gave her last two pennies to God (Luke 21). This was a miracle in reality.

Earlier, I said that giving can be a challenge, an opportunity, and a privilege. In my case, I had promised to give someone $11,000 within the next year, I had stock that had recently dropped to $7,000, and I had some money in the bank. A challenge: not to trust in my own calculating mind. An opportunity: to put faith in God. A privilege: experiencing the miracle, and being able to testify about it.

I used to be very mechanical and calculating in my donations: exactly 10%. I still have struggles to be truly generous, but I am very grateful for the times that I have been able to see things in a different light. It is like everything flips upside-down. An old pastor friend in LA spoke of "seeing in light of eternity." When a man gets a chance to see the world from a totally different perspective, and it takes him from a begrudger to a joyful giver, perhaps that is the true miracle?

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By the way, the picture of me and Pikachu has nothing to do with the story, although I know Pokemon can also be considered a "money miracle" of a different kind. I recently went to visit the Nintendo Customer Service Center, which is just east of Seattle. I splurged and bought the "Ghost Mario" in my hand. Isn't he cute?

A flat-tire miracle?

2009-01-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

The new year is shifting quickly. Mary, Mom, Grandma, and Amy (cousin Jason's girlfriend) have all left Seattle. Jason is set to be deployed in the beginning of February, and then we will not see him for 400 days. And after taking a break from programming for a couple of weeks, I am hoping to re-commit myself starting today.

I did have an unusual slow-down moment, however. On New Year's Day, I thought it would be nice to take Mom et al. out to dinner. After some back and forth, we postponed until Friday lunch, because Grandma was tired.

So on Friday, I was driving Mom and Grandma on I-5 in my Scion xB. A car slows down next to us and starts yelling at us. He said we had a flat tire! I slowed down and hoped to make the nearest exit. (We were on the bridge near the U.) The xB starts going *bump* *bump* *bump*, but there was an empty school parking lot right off the exit.

I had never changed a flat tire, especially on my own, but I knew the xB was supposed to have everything I needed: spare tire, jack, tools, etc. The owner's manual seemed to have all the steps, except the first one: I did not know how to take off my hubcaps! At some point, I called AAA to come assist us; they said they would send someone, but it would be a 1-2 hour wait.

It turns out that one just has to pull hard to remove the xB's hubcaps, so the next step was to loosen the lug nuts. I tried and tried to pull any of the four nuts loose, but nothing would budge. In the meantime, I was worried about Grandma and Mom freezing. The weather was cold but thankfully sunny, and at the same time we had a very strange "hail": soft, slowly descending. Grandma called it "pearls."

After maybe an hour, I had not made any progress. AAA had not arrived. I was not able to get any of the four nuts to budge. To top it off, Grandma had to go to the bathroom! Thankfully, Mom got the school janitor's permission and took Grandma to the restroom.

So there I was, waiting alone. I must have been thinking about my parking brake--how we release it by pulling it up first--because suddenly I had an idea: instead of just trying to pull the wrench counter-clockwise right away, what if I first tried to go clockwise a smidge, and maybe that would help loosen it?

Then I had another ... epiphany: prayer. I knew Grandma and Mom had been praying that everything would be okay, and I even remember telling Grandma, "Yeah Grandma, keep praying." However, I realized that I had not asked God for help. I had been relying on my own strength, literally.

So, I put the wrench on one of the lug nuts. I prayed quietly to God. And I tried pushing down a bit before pulling up. And it moved!

The three other lug nuts also moved on the next try! (To be clear, they moved on the upswing: so I was always trying to pull it in the correct direction: counter-clockwise. "Righty tighty, lefty loosey!") The rest happened relatively quickly: Mom and Grandma came back from the bathroom, my Auntie Nancy (whom we had called her earlier) arrived to take Mom and Grandma home, I finished changing my tire, and AAA arrived belatedly (but at least they did not count the service call against my account).

From Flat tire

So ... does God exist? Was it really a miracle? What I like about this event is that one can interpret it either way. One can even attribute "blame" to different people, if that is important. I feel that way sometimes, but what seems most important to me right now is to have real faith in at least the possibility of a real miracle. Christians talk about a real miracle in history: a man died, was buried in a tomb, and then on the third day came back to life. (And, he raised other people from the dead, multiplied fish and bread, healed blind people instantly, et al.) Some truly believe that. And some essentially believe it to be impossible. And some are still in between.

General note: I was updating this blog weekly, but now I am going to try updating only bi-weekly. So the next update should be ~1/24.

Christmas in Seattle

2008-12-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my first White Christmas! Mary and Mom flew in, too. Here is Mary making a snow angel in front of Grandma's garage.

This was also my first year sending out Christmas cards/newsletters. I liked writing in the cards and the way they came out, but I was distraught by the process of narrowing down whom to send them to. If you did not receive a Christmas card, I apologize. I am happy to send a PDF (electronic) version of the card to each person who asks me via e-mail. It has the benefit of being scalable, and it will not fade in sunlight!

Everyone said this was the most snow they had seen in Seattle, and some people have lived here 30+ years! Outside of my Auntie Nancy's house, crazy icicles formed. The ones shown were at least 2 feet long.

When I was a kid, I was very into receiving presents. Well, only particular presents, i.e., things on my wish-list to Santa. Usually this included money, Transformers, G.I. Joe, GoBots, and/or He-Man. I remember one year when I must have had ~20 presents, and I wanted them ASAP. I probably asked if I could open them all on Christmas at midnight. While that did not work, I somehow got my parents to agree to let me open one present every hour, starting at midnight. While I was unsupervised (because they were sleeping, duh), I stuck to this "honorable" agreement. So I was spoiled ... and no doubt ungrateful ... but at least I had honor ....

From Christmastime

This year, Christmas was very low-key. In Sacramento, we would visit my dad's grave in the morning; this time we just did our own thing. The annual Christmas dinner here is hosted by Uncle Paul and Auntie Nancy. Unfortunately, a couple of relatives could not make it in the snow. After dinner, we opened up presents. The most presents probably were for Baby Jubilee. Mary also had us perform a reading of part of the play "The Man who would be King," by Dorothy Sayers.

On Saturday, Mary and I made Christmas cookies with a spritzer cookie gun. When we were kids, we used to do that every year.

From Icicles, snow angel, snow melt

Now the snow has mostly melted, but it was a bit messy. I think my car got stuck in the snow/ice/mud about six times over three days. But each time we were able to get it out after not too long. And I learned a lot.