Hope . . . for Horses!

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

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 . . .

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!

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

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

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

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

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.

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.