the vine center <-- click me!

those who have been around me the past 5 months or so know that i am NOT the most expressive person. i guess it's professional training, cuz when u'r thrown into a negotiation session, the worst thing you can do is let emotion guide you, or even give a hint of aggravation or satisfaction (unless u'r trying to redirect the perception of the opponent). john snelly, our senior pastor - knows this about me... fer sure. for the past 4 months, he has complained that i never show anything on my facial expressions when talking about the vine center. honestly, i didn't - cause the road was so rocky. i inwardly rejoiced, but my outward appearance was always reserved... now, tho, i'm so excited about the VC. read HERE to get an idea of the ride!

otherwise, life is pretty good. click this and put 2 n 2 together and u'll know why.

180 is prepping for our mission trip to cebu. we kicked off last week w/a great brainstorming session on fundraising and other admin duties. i'm so excited at the prospect of seeing the nehemiah kidz again! but more importantly, just the vision and challenge God has placed in the hearts of the leaders to bring the team to places where talents and abilities will be stretched, and real reliance on God is essential. it'll be a short trip, but from the looks of it, it is anything but straightforward.

the 180 team of ladies are also off in guangxi province on a teaching mission. they have been gone 1 week now, and will be back on wed (25th). they are a most eclectic bunch - all with different backgrounds, different places in life, different skills and abilities, and probably at different phases in their walk with God. however, i know that they are the perfect team, and will be executing God's perfect plan. i'm so anxious to hear about their exploits when they come back! so keep them in prayers!!!

my travel schedule coming up:
aug 24-27: shanghai
early sept: beijing
oct 14-19: hawaii
oct 21-24: taiwan(?)
nov 15-22: shanghai(?)
dec 28-jan 3: bali

then i got some guangdong trips floating all around. *sigh*... should i go back into banking?

there's no place like home

i tell you - i rarely have weeks where i'm in so many diff places everyday. this was a crazy week. monday all day in shenzhen. tuesday, half day in office, half day flying to shanghai for the nite. wed - meeting in shanghai, and fly back late afternoon (story here)*. thurs, all day in dongguan. and finally, an exhausted crif back in hk. ugh...

(story)* - i've never ranted about china before (always japan, korea or taiwan! hehe) - but man - them chinese sure better get their act together! oh yeah - and DON'T FLY CHINA EASTERN!!!! first of all - they have horrible cabin crew... they SO RUDE! i remember last trip coming back from beijing, this male cabin crew stuck his BUTT in my boss' face (we sat in opposite aisle seats) - he was reaching into the pocket in front of my seat to grab MY HEADPHONES!!!! then he went and plugged it into MY ARMREST!!! i was like WT@#$(#@&$#@$)#@(*$)#@$?????? then he casually unplugs and puts back in the bag and pocket as if that were the most normal thing to do! This time in shanghai, they role us out to the tarmac (cause we didn't get no gate), and then proceed to have us sit there for over 30 mins cause the plane didn't even de-board yet!!! PLUS, they shut off the bus engine, and it's OVER 30 (#$&@*$&#( DEGREES out there!!!!!!!! at least they opened the door so we could all bake outside vs. inside! i'm so glad i changed outta my suit before i flew! THEN - they let us in, and we're sitting there FOR ANOTHER 45 MINS!!!! ugh... it was horrible... i would even fly UA after that!!

then in dongguan - an abnormal day in the life of a big-building-seller... office till 10am - leave for hunghum train station... sit on my arse for just over an hour to get to DG. car picks us up and we sit for another hour or so on the way to client's office. get there an hour early (we budgeted 1 1/2 to 2hr ride but 1 hr) so we SIT in the cafe for an hour. then pick up the client, and proceed to SIT in the car for another hour or so as we do some site visits. then back to clients where we SIT for another 30 mins just discussing the project. then we SIT for a 2 hour ride back to the train station (ahhhh.. that's more like it). then we barely make our time, by like 3 mins, as we SIT for another 30 mins or so to get to Luohu. From Luohu, SIT for another hour or so to get to hunghum. Then SIT for a li'l bit to cross harbor back to HK! i tell you - after that, my arse is so flat you can use it as a desktop at this point.

i love china-experiences. and plus, that's what i signed on to when i asked God for a job. only prob is, i haven't kept up with my side of the bargain in keeping up with the mandarin. (i would say that i got sidetracked with japanese by a certain someone).... but i guess this will give me more appreciation as i complete more deals and more importantly, have the opportunity to see china grow and change, which is faster than ever now that the olympics are around the corner. in a way, it's like how i view my Christian walk. i have an inordinate amount of appreciation for God's grace, only cause i KNOW what i've been saved from - if not the 'eternal torment' of hell, at least the temporal torment of living a Godless life here on earth. and in that experience, i get to witness my own change from the bad to good. wat's more, i take some measure of satisfaction when i get the occasional affirmation that i'm running a good race, being the good ambassador. so when i look into the da-lu - and see how it is changing, much for the better, i'm sure somewhere, deep inside the bowels of the national peoples republic congress, there is some pride taken - but more importantly, the want to continually move more in that positive direction. there's hope for the motherland yet...

oscar nominee?

omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg

TWINS EFFECT 2!!!!!

i wonder if anyone even saw the first one......