10:30am today: Wonder why Shaowei hasn't called me. I later figure out he forgot I asked him to.
10:50am: I leave for Stanford to check my mail hoping the Budak CD has arrived. It hasn't. I also decide not to get Philz. It's a long drive and I should space out my caffeine intake.
12noon: Arrive at Gilroy. Super packed. Camped out for parking at 2 different spots (Holland-Village-style!) before getting a spot. Have fun shopping with Shaowei Cynthia Clar Qianwen and Bert. Joel, Tam and Joel's family were around there too. I buy a nice maroon long-sleeved shirt and 2 (yeah, 2) pairs of shoes. I feel slightly strange that I bought 2 pairs of shoes at one go. At some point it suddenly occurs to me that there are a ridiculous number of Asian people there (including entire families speaking Mandarin), and almost no white people.
2:50pm: Meet at Applebees for "lunch". Fantastic meal. Steak, shrimp with parmesan (yeah I ate shrimp) and HUGE sides. Oh and quite a bit of pretty good Mango Long Island Iced Tea.
4:30pm: I leave Gilroy for San Diego while the others begin Round 2 of shopping. Was amused at how indignant Clar was about the preposterousness of napping after lunch when there's so much more shopping to do. I also discover that approximately a gazillion other cars decide to leave at the same time as me. It takes me about 10-15 mins just to get out of the parking lot. Thankfully they almost all get into the freeway in the opposite direction I'm going.
About 10 mins later: The sun sets. Was quite nice driving through the curvy roads leading to the I-5 in the dusky lighting. Would have been nice to have some light for more than 30 mins of the drive though.
Some time after that: I realize long solo drives are just like long plane flights when I can't sleep. I spent most of my time listening to my iPod, watching the scenery / clouds go by, sometimes sitting in silence or talking to God. Except this has the added dimension of me also being the pilot.
Somewhere around 8pm or so: Stop for gas. Gas is expensive! Then I realize an extra 20 cents a gallon only translates into an extra $3 for 15 gallons. Not a big deal. Also, I discover the gas station shop is selling Christian T-Shirts. Very random. I saw one that was quite nice. Bought it. :) Oh, and I calculate my average gas mileage. Roughly. It's around 24mpg. Given that almost the whole tank was spent on the freeway, that is abysmal. I am shocked and consequently (and somewhat neurotically) try to shift into neutral whenever I encounter long steep downhills in order to save gas.
Not long after that: No. of cars on the road has increased, and it remains that way until Alan's place. The road is also wider. This is good because driving with many cars around feels much more interesting than driving on a sparsely populated 2-lane freeway.
10:45pm: I suddenly realize the exit is coming up way sooner than expected. I check my mirrors and merge to the right, and as I do that some guy (in an Acura TSX a.k.a. Euro Honda Accord) tries to overtake me from the right going much faster than me. I am momentarily surprised and confused. He ends up having to go on the shoulder for a bit after passing me. I assume it's a guy - few girls drive like that. I am strangely unrattled. Thank God for protection!
10:55pm: I reach Alan's house in San Diego! My drive is officially successful, and surprisingly, caffeine-free. His house looks very nice from what I can see. Pretty good time - I expected it to take about 7 hours but made it here in 6 hrs and 15 mins, including one gas stop (yup I only stopped once). Well. Technically it was 6 hrs and 25 mins, but I feel justified in discounting the 10 mins it took to get out of parking. Amazingly, there was no LA traffic problems, save about 5-10 minutes in slow-moving traffic because a lot of cars were getting out at this one particular road.
Ok. Time to shower and sleep. My eyes are really tired... worst part about driving at night is the constant glare from the oncoming headlights. But thank God Forrest and I made it here in one piece! =)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas!
I was in Christmas service yesterday (Christmas Eve), and it dawned on me: God's most precious gift to us isn't that He gave Himself for us. It's that He gave Himself TO us.
geez. Talk about big revelation.
I feel like I'm waking up, like I've been semi-conscious all of Fall Quarter and the hunger is just starting to resurface. It's always been there, but kind of like hidden under the ice, and the ice is melting. Or something of the sort.
Today I was home (well, at Alan Jerry & John's house in Palo Alto, but it's home for these few weeks) for almost the whole day with John and his sis Jen. It was good. Spent time thinking about Jesus, praying and yearning. Went out for groceries, did some errands, then went to Qianwen & Clar's (and Shaowei's? hm. maybe I shouldn't stretch it) to cook. John and Jen came too and joined us for dinner. Afterwards I sent John and Jen to the airport, came back and nuahed with everyone in front of the TV. Cynthia came over too.
It was nice. It was for something like this that I decided I would be around this area for Christmas (and New Year's too). Can't imagine any other group of friends I'd rather spend Christmas evening with. :)
Going down to San Diego tomorrow! It's about an 8 hour drive. Going to stay with Alan until New Year's Eve when I'll drive back up and join the rest here for New Year's.
My plan for tomorrow:
10:30am (or so): Leave the house I'm staying at in Palo Alto. Get Philz coffee perhaps? And maybe go to campus to see if the Budak Pantai CD Angie sent me has arrived. :)
11:30am: Arrive in Gilroy. Shop. I need shoes. But also, hang out with Shaowei, Cynthia, Clar and Qianwen who will also be there.
Before 2pm or so: Have and finish lunch, then drive drive drive. =)
Arrive at Alan's around 9pm. Maybe later if there's traffic (which there is a good chance of methinks).
Most people don't like driving alone. I'm looking forward to it. Time alone driving is usually fun for me. It's also good God time.
Time for bed. :)
geez. Talk about big revelation.
I feel like I'm waking up, like I've been semi-conscious all of Fall Quarter and the hunger is just starting to resurface. It's always been there, but kind of like hidden under the ice, and the ice is melting. Or something of the sort.
Today I was home (well, at Alan Jerry & John's house in Palo Alto, but it's home for these few weeks) for almost the whole day with John and his sis Jen. It was good. Spent time thinking about Jesus, praying and yearning. Went out for groceries, did some errands, then went to Qianwen & Clar's (and Shaowei's? hm. maybe I shouldn't stretch it) to cook. John and Jen came too and joined us for dinner. Afterwards I sent John and Jen to the airport, came back and nuahed with everyone in front of the TV. Cynthia came over too.
It was nice. It was for something like this that I decided I would be around this area for Christmas (and New Year's too). Can't imagine any other group of friends I'd rather spend Christmas evening with. :)
Going down to San Diego tomorrow! It's about an 8 hour drive. Going to stay with Alan until New Year's Eve when I'll drive back up and join the rest here for New Year's.
My plan for tomorrow:
10:30am (or so): Leave the house I'm staying at in Palo Alto. Get Philz coffee perhaps? And maybe go to campus to see if the Budak Pantai CD Angie sent me has arrived. :)
11:30am: Arrive in Gilroy. Shop. I need shoes. But also, hang out with Shaowei, Cynthia, Clar and Qianwen who will also be there.
Before 2pm or so: Have and finish lunch, then drive drive drive. =)
Arrive at Alan's around 9pm. Maybe later if there's traffic (which there is a good chance of methinks).
Most people don't like driving alone. I'm looking forward to it. Time alone driving is usually fun for me. It's also good God time.
Time for bed. :)
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
I am now an amateur motoring journalist!
Oh man. This is so cool. Always thought of being a car journalist. Never imagined I'd be doing it now.
middleclassmotoring.com. Scroll down till you see "Scion xB review and our new contributing writer." Bookmark the site if you like it! And spread the word if you know anyone who might like it - it's a pretty new site. =)
If you can't find the article for some reason, here's a direct link.
middleclassmotoring.com. Scroll down till you see "Scion xB review and our new contributing writer." Bookmark the site if you like it! And spread the word if you know anyone who might like it - it's a pretty new site. =)
If you can't find the article for some reason, here's a direct link.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Jesus said...
"You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." Jn 15:14
We so often get tripped up on the 'whatever I command you' part. Read the whole passage, the whole chapter. It's not an invitation to obey His commands. It's an invitation to know Him. To be a friend of Jesus. Read it for yourself - the entire chapter talks about abiding in Jesus, about knowing Him, being with Him. It trips us up because the idea of a command is so foreign to us that we can't associate it with love. But ignore that for a second. Forget that He even mentioned the word 'command.' Hear His cry, His desire for personal closeness, to know you and to have you know Him.
And then you'll realize why Jn 15:14 makes sense. Because when you find that you'll do anything He asks without thought or hesitation, you'll know you've come to love Him as deeply as He loves you.
We so often get tripped up on the 'whatever I command you' part. Read the whole passage, the whole chapter. It's not an invitation to obey His commands. It's an invitation to know Him. To be a friend of Jesus. Read it for yourself - the entire chapter talks about abiding in Jesus, about knowing Him, being with Him. It trips us up because the idea of a command is so foreign to us that we can't associate it with love. But ignore that for a second. Forget that He even mentioned the word 'command.' Hear His cry, His desire for personal closeness, to know you and to have you know Him.
And then you'll realize why Jn 15:14 makes sense. Because when you find that you'll do anything He asks without thought or hesitation, you'll know you've come to love Him as deeply as He loves you.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
The Quest To Know God
I just started reading Francis Chan's book Crazy Love. Don't know why I didn't like it the first time I picked it up a year ago when De Wen had it. Now I can't even get past the first few pages of the first chapter.
Nothing earthshakingly new. Just this:
"Solomon warned us not to rush into God's presence with words. That's what fools do... The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him."
When you realize that God isn't just a concept but a person to be known, just like any other person in your life, the entire quest for truth boils down to one simple, scary question: "Who is God?"
It's been a while since I've been silent before God. With God. No need for petition, no complaints to make; simply resting in the knowledge that He already knows all that I am, and free to consider who He is.
Nothing earthshakingly new. Just this:
"Solomon warned us not to rush into God's presence with words. That's what fools do... The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him."
When you realize that God isn't just a concept but a person to be known, just like any other person in your life, the entire quest for truth boils down to one simple, scary question: "Who is God?"
It's been a while since I've been silent before God. With God. No need for petition, no complaints to make; simply resting in the knowledge that He already knows all that I am, and free to consider who He is.
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