Dec 11, 2008
Oct 17, 2008
"no soup for you!"
i haven't had a 'seinfeld' moment in a LONG time, but i definitely had one last nite and i was thankful that my genre still lives in people! after all, it's not everyday one gets to actually meet a seinfeld character!
in the 21st century genre of character re-makes, where old school classic tv/movie characters are recycled, reimaged, and repackaged into their modern personas, we have seen:
- nick fury changed to an african american (played by samuel l jackson now... woohoo!)
- ace pilot 'starbuck' of battlestar galactica lore now a *gasp*... female...
- spider man actually shooting webs from his wrist???
- bumblebee reincarnation on the silver screen as a chevy camaro!!! *ugh*
anyway - last nite i met the 21st century soup nazi! this is probably one of my fave seinfeld characters of all time - but somehow, the script was dramatically altered as instead of running a soup kitchen, the modernized version travels the world and runs...concerts??? hmmmm go figure...
click me for a laugh!
in the 21st century genre of character re-makes, where old school classic tv/movie characters are recycled, reimaged, and repackaged into their modern personas, we have seen:
- nick fury changed to an african american (played by samuel l jackson now... woohoo!)
- ace pilot 'starbuck' of battlestar galactica lore now a *gasp*... female...
- spider man actually shooting webs from his wrist???
- bumblebee reincarnation on the silver screen as a chevy camaro!!! *ugh*
anyway - last nite i met the 21st century soup nazi! this is probably one of my fave seinfeld characters of all time - but somehow, the script was dramatically altered as instead of running a soup kitchen, the modernized version travels the world and runs...concerts??? hmmmm go figure...
click me for a laugh!
Oct 8, 2008
dangerous
that was the word that john mccain and sarah palin used to describe barack obama. i don't blog much now, but i just thought i'd vent some thoughts given the turn of events in US politics.
i thot this sarah palin was a christian... evangelical christian at that. but with the way she is overtly lying to the public and blatantly mis-characterizing (if that's a word) obama's (who is also a christian) character is pretty despicable. it's an election, yes, but there are boundaries, and even if you choose to take the low road, you still have to realize that at the end of the day, you (or your party) will have to work WITH the other to make change!
so, according to palin: obama is unqualified to be prez (um... who's the pot here??), is a terrorist, is dishonest (?? what???), is dangerous (huh??? presumably cuz he's now a terrorist), is a poor judge of character (coming from the person who gave her ex brother in law a cozy job, and had to fire him over a disagreement), and the list goes on... PLUS, she incites violence into her rallies now, to the point where people are shouting to "kill him" and "terrorist" referring to obama as she (and mccain) deliver speeches.
i'm sorry - but that's just pathetic. and it makes me shamed to call her a 'sister'. the sad part is that i'm also a [registered] republican. i believe in most of the platform, but because of the character of these 2 people, i'm sad... i really hope it's a landslide election this year, and really rubbing in their faces that america does not tolerate that kind of partisanship and divisiveness.
there... i'm done ranting.. i'm gonna post pics of our first family vacation in the philippines soon! have to say the highlight of the trip was our visit back to nehemiah house (the orphanage) and seeing all the kids now grown up!!! pics to come sooooon!
that was the word that john mccain and sarah palin used to describe barack obama. i don't blog much now, but i just thought i'd vent some thoughts given the turn of events in US politics.
i thot this sarah palin was a christian... evangelical christian at that. but with the way she is overtly lying to the public and blatantly mis-characterizing (if that's a word) obama's (who is also a christian) character is pretty despicable. it's an election, yes, but there are boundaries, and even if you choose to take the low road, you still have to realize that at the end of the day, you (or your party) will have to work WITH the other to make change!
so, according to palin: obama is unqualified to be prez (um... who's the pot here??), is a terrorist, is dishonest (?? what???), is dangerous (huh??? presumably cuz he's now a terrorist), is a poor judge of character (coming from the person who gave her ex brother in law a cozy job, and had to fire him over a disagreement), and the list goes on... PLUS, she incites violence into her rallies now, to the point where people are shouting to "kill him" and "terrorist" referring to obama as she (and mccain) deliver speeches.
i'm sorry - but that's just pathetic. and it makes me shamed to call her a 'sister'. the sad part is that i'm also a [registered] republican. i believe in most of the platform, but because of the character of these 2 people, i'm sad... i really hope it's a landslide election this year, and really rubbing in their faces that america does not tolerate that kind of partisanship and divisiveness.
there... i'm done ranting.. i'm gonna post pics of our first family vacation in the philippines soon! have to say the highlight of the trip was our visit back to nehemiah house (the orphanage) and seeing all the kids now grown up!!! pics to come sooooon!
Jul 6, 2008
lazy sunday
in my laziness today, i was thinking back on something that happened thursday and saturday that really disturbed me. i picked up lin's boss' car, and was driving home, and when i got to tin hau temple road- i see flashing lights. now in most (developed and maybe some developing) countries, when you see flashing lights and either a big white van marked AMBULANCE, or huge red ones with ladders on the side, you PULL OVER AND STOP. but in HK? NOOOO... i saw this taxi just continue on his merry way, and hold up this fire truck that's clearly in a rush to go somewhere... then on saturday, this private car was doing the same thing to an ambulance! HK needs to have laws in place to penalize people like that (assuming they're caught)!
anyway, to more important things. caitlyn managed to sleep a looooooonnnnnnnngggg time last nite! she probably slept at about 1:30am, and woke up almost 8am... i read in a book that at about 8-10 wks old, newborns can sleep thru the nite - it's nice to know that our girl is a bit ahead of the curve (nice for the parents, anyway!). it's now 11:30am, we we still lying in bed, all 3 of us, just being lazy :P
here's our beautiful daughter:
have a great sunday (what's left of it anyway)
in my laziness today, i was thinking back on something that happened thursday and saturday that really disturbed me. i picked up lin's boss' car, and was driving home, and when i got to tin hau temple road- i see flashing lights. now in most (developed and maybe some developing) countries, when you see flashing lights and either a big white van marked AMBULANCE, or huge red ones with ladders on the side, you PULL OVER AND STOP. but in HK? NOOOO... i saw this taxi just continue on his merry way, and hold up this fire truck that's clearly in a rush to go somewhere... then on saturday, this private car was doing the same thing to an ambulance! HK needs to have laws in place to penalize people like that (assuming they're caught)!
anyway, to more important things. caitlyn managed to sleep a looooooonnnnnnnngggg time last nite! she probably slept at about 1:30am, and woke up almost 8am... i read in a book that at about 8-10 wks old, newborns can sleep thru the nite - it's nice to know that our girl is a bit ahead of the curve (nice for the parents, anyway!). it's now 11:30am, we we still lying in bed, all 3 of us, just being lazy :P
here's our beautiful daughter:
have a great sunday (what's left of it anyway)
Jun 30, 2008
house husband
i'm a house husband today! linnet is at the office, i'm home watching li'l caitlyn. how weird is that? the house is pretty clean, so i think i'll pass on those duties. i have to be ready and on call for caitlyn, you know?
i have to say, after 7 weeks, i think we're getting the hang of the parenting thing. it's been difficult at times, and still is, but in the big picture, it's ALL worth it! i love watching her awake, love it when she sleeps (!), poos, pees, fuses, not love, but tolerate, when she cries... and when she smiles and laughs - oh man, those are the 'hitman' moments, where i'm just smittened by her! it makes all those sleepless nites worth it, especially when i can sit up with her all nite and watch her smile back at me :)
it's strange, but now whenever i go out, i always look at people and their children. it really brightens my day when i see babies now - one can almost feel the bond between parents n children when they're together like that. what bothers me more now is to see parents mistreating their child. it doesn't bother me so much to see others yell at their kids - but rather, it makes me think if i'm going to be like that. i'd say i'm a fairly even tempered man, and definitely not quick to lose temper (insert argument here). but what if i was tested to the n'th degree by caitlyn? would i turn like that? yell in public? dare to spank? i dunno... i envision that if the day comes, i think i'll have to pull linnet aside and re-hash the good cop / bad cop act, and invariably force her to be the bad cop. i'm just a big softie. however, i think when she comes at me and says: 'daddy, can i have a BV bag'? - that's when i can spank her and send her to her room!
today - i'm irked by that accident that happened on garden road - some car accident involving a tourist bus, where 1 person was killed n 32 injured. it seems most accidents these days involve bus drivers of one kind or other. now, i'm no genius, but shouldn't there be stricter laws to either qualify the drivers, or even a period skill/psych test to make sure they're capable - as they are responsible for thousands of lives a day? shouldn't there be stricter penalty for breaching that responsibility? i remember this one red mini-bus driver a few years back took off before this little girl had a chance to exit... ended up tripping her up and running over her - RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER MOM! and then he gets off with a few thousand dollar fine, suspension of license for a year or so, and no real jail time! i do realize the other side of the argument, but i think it's lame. it bothers me because i take buses every day and at any one time, i could be a statistic. sux...
done ranting.
received good news. my company has gone progressive and FINALLY implemented a casual dress policy for the summer! man - it was a long time coming, but we got it right for once. i absolutely HATE suits - so i really find it ironic that i'm in a profession where one is required daily. so - from now till Sept, i'm living the good life, except on days i got meetings :P
oh wells... it's 2pm. mommy will be back at 3... i got one hour to be mischievous while caitlyn is sleeping! :) hehehe
i'm a house husband today! linnet is at the office, i'm home watching li'l caitlyn. how weird is that? the house is pretty clean, so i think i'll pass on those duties. i have to be ready and on call for caitlyn, you know?
i have to say, after 7 weeks, i think we're getting the hang of the parenting thing. it's been difficult at times, and still is, but in the big picture, it's ALL worth it! i love watching her awake, love it when she sleeps (!), poos, pees, fuses, not love, but tolerate, when she cries... and when she smiles and laughs - oh man, those are the 'hitman' moments, where i'm just smittened by her! it makes all those sleepless nites worth it, especially when i can sit up with her all nite and watch her smile back at me :)
it's strange, but now whenever i go out, i always look at people and their children. it really brightens my day when i see babies now - one can almost feel the bond between parents n children when they're together like that. what bothers me more now is to see parents mistreating their child. it doesn't bother me so much to see others yell at their kids - but rather, it makes me think if i'm going to be like that. i'd say i'm a fairly even tempered man, and definitely not quick to lose temper (insert argument here). but what if i was tested to the n'th degree by caitlyn? would i turn like that? yell in public? dare to spank? i dunno... i envision that if the day comes, i think i'll have to pull linnet aside and re-hash the good cop / bad cop act, and invariably force her to be the bad cop. i'm just a big softie. however, i think when she comes at me and says: 'daddy, can i have a BV bag'? - that's when i can spank her and send her to her room!
today - i'm irked by that accident that happened on garden road - some car accident involving a tourist bus, where 1 person was killed n 32 injured. it seems most accidents these days involve bus drivers of one kind or other. now, i'm no genius, but shouldn't there be stricter laws to either qualify the drivers, or even a period skill/psych test to make sure they're capable - as they are responsible for thousands of lives a day? shouldn't there be stricter penalty for breaching that responsibility? i remember this one red mini-bus driver a few years back took off before this little girl had a chance to exit... ended up tripping her up and running over her - RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER MOM! and then he gets off with a few thousand dollar fine, suspension of license for a year or so, and no real jail time! i do realize the other side of the argument, but i think it's lame. it bothers me because i take buses every day and at any one time, i could be a statistic. sux...
done ranting.
received good news. my company has gone progressive and FINALLY implemented a
oh wells... it's 2pm. mommy will be back at 3... i got one hour to be mischievous while caitlyn is sleeping! :) hehehe
Jun 11, 2008
2am...
it's 2am... over the past 2 weeks, we've discovered that caitlyn doesn't like sleeping in her crib. everytime we put her in there, she screams her head off... cry the 7 rainbow, u low?
anyway - i'm used to no sleep already. parents-to-be out there - prepare for this madness!!!! it's great, but it takes lots of patience!!!!
guess no sleep tonite...
it's 2am... over the past 2 weeks, we've discovered that caitlyn doesn't like sleeping in her crib. everytime we put her in there, she screams her head off... cry the 7 rainbow, u low?
anyway - i'm used to no sleep already. parents-to-be out there - prepare for this madness!!!! it's great, but it takes lots of patience!!!!
guess no sleep tonite...
May 17, 2008
zzzzzzzzz
caitlyn has been home about 43 hours now. she's almost a week old and already strong as anything - at least a lot stronger than i thot newborns could be! she's such an awesome blessing!
that blessing comes with the zombies.. caitlyn finished feeding about 1:30am last nite, and by the time she went to bed, was about 2. then next feeding was 5am. i'm so bad - i actually didn't even realize she was up, and when i came to, linnet had taken her to change diapers. good thing i woke up, cause mt. saint caitlyn EXPLODED out her diaper!! HAHA - it was our first 'out-of-diaper' experience, and lucky for lin, it was her turn to do changing! hehe actually, that kind of eruption is a 2-person job for sure. b/c caitlyn's pretty strong right now, we really gotta hold her hard, otherwise she gonna kick her feet n legs into her poo. ewww. so after changing and all, she fed for a long while, and we put her to bed. (and us as well!).
about 10 mins later, she starts kickin up a fuss again, so i get up and calm her down. i go back to bed, and 5 mins later, fuss again! lin's exhausted, and i'm getting there - so i take her out of the room, and decided to check her diaper, even tho it was only a hour n some before the last change. when i looked - she had pooed AGAIN!!! man, it's so hard to read baby reactions! then again, i'd fuss too if i had to sleep in a diaper wrap full of crap. wet crap at that.
so i change her, and play around w/her, and then put her to bed. not 10 mins later, she fusses again! ugh.. so - just took her out to the living room, and we're just sitting here while i blog. she's resting comfortably on the sofa. not sure why it is, but for future parents reading this, babies do not like to fall asleep on their own bed!!!?!?!?!? i think that's fascinating. but at this point, i'm willing to put her anywhere that will get her sleeping. it's now 7:56. caitlyn is fast asleep, back in the room w/mom. i can't sleep anymore.
but then again - the celtics/cavs game is coming up in 4 minutes, so there are some benefits to being up early!!
caitlyn has been home about 43 hours now. she's almost a week old and already strong as anything - at least a lot stronger than i thot newborns could be! she's such an awesome blessing!
that blessing comes with the zombies.. caitlyn finished feeding about 1:30am last nite, and by the time she went to bed, was about 2. then next feeding was 5am. i'm so bad - i actually didn't even realize she was up, and when i came to, linnet had taken her to change diapers. good thing i woke up, cause mt. saint caitlyn EXPLODED out her diaper!! HAHA - it was our first 'out-of-diaper' experience, and lucky for lin, it was her turn to do changing! hehe actually, that kind of eruption is a 2-person job for sure. b/c caitlyn's pretty strong right now, we really gotta hold her hard, otherwise she gonna kick her feet n legs into her poo. ewww. so after changing and all, she fed for a long while, and we put her to bed. (and us as well!).
about 10 mins later, she starts kickin up a fuss again, so i get up and calm her down. i go back to bed, and 5 mins later, fuss again! lin's exhausted, and i'm getting there - so i take her out of the room, and decided to check her diaper, even tho it was only a hour n some before the last change. when i looked - she had pooed AGAIN!!! man, it's so hard to read baby reactions! then again, i'd fuss too if i had to sleep in a diaper wrap full of crap. wet crap at that.
so i change her, and play around w/her, and then put her to bed. not 10 mins later, she fusses again! ugh.. so - just took her out to the living room, and we're just sitting here while i blog. she's resting comfortably on the sofa. not sure why it is, but for future parents reading this, babies do not like to fall asleep on their own bed!!!?!?!?!? i think that's fascinating. but at this point, i'm willing to put her anywhere that will get her sleeping. it's now 7:56. caitlyn is fast asleep, back in the room w/mom. i can't sleep anymore.
but then again - the celtics/cavs game is coming up in 4 minutes, so there are some benefits to being up early!!
May 15, 2008
parenthood
our baby Caitlyn is finally home! what an unbelievable journey! more pics are posted here
So the timeline went something like:
Saturday, May 10
08:30
I was up and ready to go to get the rice boxes for our temple st. outreach, when i hear linnet going... "HOOONNEEEYYY" - turns out, her water broke, but not gushed (thank GOD!), so we had some time to prep before leaving. so after going down to pay for the rice boxes i got a cab back, picked up linnet and ran over to the hospital! At this point, i was pretty excited, but a bit anxious cuz of all the events to come!
09:30
we're checking in at the HK Sanatorium... a pretty good hospital! check-in was pretty long, so was good that lin's contractions weren't painful. We got to the room, and just chilled out. The doc came in and hooked up a bunch of machines.
15:00
After 5 or so hours, contractions start to get uncomfortably painful. Docs suggest we move to the delivery room. We get in there about 16:00...
19:00
Contractions are stronger and more painful, and linnet opts for the epidural. For the uninitiated, this is when they stick a catheter in your spinal column and feed a pain killer directly to your nervous system. It seems/sounds real scary, but it's actually a fast and safe procedure. The anesthesiologist makes a killing on this, literally charging HK$8,000 for 20 minutes of work, if that. Honestly, though, he was pretty sloppy. Anyhow, Lin felt much better after. check her out to the right.
22:30
PANNNIIICC!! ok - not really, but all of a sudden, the nurses were moving around fast and w/purpose. no one told them. i don't think linnet did anything special.. just everyone started moving! lin's doctor then came in all suited up. the bottom half of the bed was removed, and everyone was prepping like crazy for the baby!
23:00
this was amazing... half our of pushing, and the head was clearly coming out. i guess this is where many guys pass out, cuz there's blood, uterus ooze, and just a whole lotta we slimy, ghostbuster stuff. still, it was amazing!! a few more strong pushes and....
23:11
li'l CAITLYN pops out! man - it was weird seeing this li'l girl just plopped on linnet's lap! i love it!!!
anyway... the real fun begins NOW!! :)
our baby Caitlyn is finally home! what an unbelievable journey! more pics are posted here
So the timeline went something like:
Saturday, May 10
08:30
I was up and ready to go to get the rice boxes for our temple st. outreach, when i hear linnet going... "HOOONNEEEYYY" - turns out, her water broke, but not gushed (thank GOD!), so we had some time to prep before leaving. so after going down to pay for the rice boxes i got a cab back, picked up linnet and ran over to the hospital! At this point, i was pretty excited, but a bit anxious cuz of all the events to come!
09:30
we're checking in at the HK Sanatorium... a pretty good hospital! check-in was pretty long, so was good that lin's contractions weren't painful. We got to the room, and just chilled out. The doc came in and hooked up a bunch of machines.
15:00
After 5 or so hours, contractions start to get uncomfortably painful. Docs suggest we move to the delivery room. We get in there about 16:00...
19:00
Contractions are stronger and more painful, and linnet opts for the epidural. For the uninitiated, this is when they stick a catheter in your spinal column and feed a pain killer directly to your nervous system. It seems/sounds real scary, but it's actually a fast and safe procedure. The anesthesiologist makes a killing on this, literally charging HK$8,000 for 20 minutes of work, if that. Honestly, though, he was pretty sloppy. Anyhow, Lin felt much better after. check her out to the right.22:30
PANNNIIICC!! ok - not really, but all of a sudden, the nurses were moving around fast and w/purpose. no one told them. i don't think linnet did anything special.. just everyone started moving! lin's doctor then came in all suited up. the bottom half of the bed was removed, and everyone was prepping like crazy for the baby!
23:00
this was amazing... half our of pushing, and the head was clearly coming out. i guess this is where many guys pass out, cuz there's blood, uterus ooze, and just a whole lotta we slimy, ghostbuster stuff. still, it was amazing!! a few more strong pushes and....
23:11
li'l CAITLYN pops out! man - it was weird seeing this li'l girl just plopped on linnet's lap! i love it!!!
anyway... the real fun begins NOW!! :)
Mar 11, 2008
social...ism
i haven't been here in ages.. but for some reason i feel compelled to re-start my blog (probably the 16th such iteration). today's been a busy day at work... somehow, sitting here, staring at my screen, and writing reports, reading news, watching market numbers flash green or red, even my beloved excel sheets - all that seems so vain. but then as i'm taking my 15 minutes of freedom to write, staring at my monitors, i don't have that same sinking feeling as i do when i'm writing/reading finance stuff... odd.
2 interesting people lately have impacted me - altho in different ways.
i'm pretty much done with this book on barack obama, called the audacity of hope. for those that live under a rock (or on the other side of the harbor), he's currently embattled in a heated contest for the democratic presidential nomination against hillary clinton. the guy is a very thoughtful man, if not idealistic - and although i've never really been partial to that kind of person when thinking about THE PRESIDENCY of the us&a, i have to say that he displays quite the potential to be a good one if (and that's a BIG if) he can actually pull of half of what he proposes. actually, he doesn't propose much - and that is where hillary has him down. he talks a fantastic talk, delivers well, and speaks a language the people can understand, and maybe even speaks what the people want to the hear. but what's wrong with hope for a better america? what's wrong with striving to provide a form of 'universal' healthcare? what's wrong with policy to support marriage relationships and stable households? education? PEACE? MORALS & ETHICS? i can't think of a better platform than that - because if all i have to look forward to is a paycheck at the end of the month, hoping to someone that i can put enough away so that when i'm old and gray i'll have enough to keep a home, to see a doctor, to eat a nice meal once in a while, to call my grandkids, etc (generally the average american these days) - then that totally SUCKS! i'm glad obama is running, and putting out the awareness that someone that isn't the heir to the world's ketchup factory, the son of a son of oil barons, the family of questionable business ethics and morals, movie stars... that just a plain joe schmoe (who also happens to be black), that lived the american dream, that worked his butt off to make things right, that believes in GOD ALMIGHTY, and most importantly, that also has the same concerns as he is preaching out, that this is a person with the brains, smarts, and same vested interest as me, may well be running the country. i think that's totally radical...
jackie pullinger is also totally radical. i know absolutely nothing about her, except from what i've heard from other people. but i was essentially forced to go see her last week at the vine, where she conducted a 3 session 'seminar' on god's heart for the poor. powerful indeed! and i'm extremely glad i went. not sure what it is - but reading obama's book (above) has really gotten me to think about society as a whole. listening to jackie is a great complement, because she will make you take action against those convictions. like all superstar christian folk, it was difficult to actually have a conversation with her, not because she's stand-off-ish, but because she's constantly mobbed by people. so - i didn't wanna add to the mob... i'm not even sure what i woulda gotten out of a conversation with her that i already got out of listening to her talk. actually - it wasn't even the teaching that struck me - it was her stubborn focus, integrity and passion that caught me. she could actually have talked about knitting or cooking, and i woulda had the same effect. BUT, she talked about the poor, the lost, the addicts - the underpriveleged that in reading obama's book, i had felt that while government can do their bit, the people have to be moved in order for real change to happen. so i'm challenged by that - because if i call myself a child of God, if i worship with the true intensity reflected in the lyrics of the songs rather than the music, then the path really is to effect that change around me - as jackie said, with compassion for those that are underpriveleged, one at a time.
so i hope that the lessons stay, and become ingrained in my person. there is no greater blessing that i could imagine in my life as i have now - wife, home, job, daughter-on-the-way. i make no excuses for those blessings, but rather i accept them. i know that i've worked my butt off to get to this stage in life - sacrificed the fun for study, capitalizing on the great gift of education from my parents, and giving up my early years of post-college life celebration for long nights of work. knowing God has put that all into perspective. peter parker summed up the parable of tenants the best: "with great power comes great responsibility".
i fear complacency the most. it's easy to get lost in that - after years of toil and trouble (as we are cursed forever following the exile from eden), and finally settling down and seemingly having an opportunity to 'relax' a bit, i want to just hit cruise control and kick back and sip mango smoothies. i barely was able to get that straw into my mouth, when this pullinger lady comes to my church, and tells me to get off my couch, and turn my abstract intangible compassion, into real and physical action. i won't do it out of pity or guilt - that would be just plain wrong (and pointless); in fact, i don't have an ounce of pity. guilt - well, that remains to be seen. but i want to do it because a refugee in the church laid his hand on my shoulder and prayed over me, that i can have scales removed from my eyes, that i would be able to see with the compassion that God has for his people. that was heart-wrenching. that made me realize that although i have everything i could ever have imagined, it was actually nothing if i have not God's love.
then i looked on all the works that my hands had done,
and on the labor in which i had toiled;
and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun
eccl 2:11
last thing jackie said that impacted me: if i want to have the fullness of God's blessings, i'll need to empty myself of all that is me, so that when i have nothing left, God can replenish that with the fullness of His Spirit. wow... that's a lot of dumping that needs to be done then...
i haven't been here in ages.. but for some reason i feel compelled to re-start my blog (probably the 16th such iteration). today's been a busy day at work... somehow, sitting here, staring at my screen, and writing reports, reading news, watching market numbers flash green or red, even my beloved excel sheets - all that seems so vain. but then as i'm taking my 15 minutes of freedom to write, staring at my monitors, i don't have that same sinking feeling as i do when i'm writing/reading finance stuff... odd.
2 interesting people lately have impacted me - altho in different ways.
i'm pretty much done with this book on barack obama, called the audacity of hope. for those that live under a rock (or on the other side of the harbor), he's currently embattled in a heated contest for the democratic presidential nomination against hillary clinton. the guy is a very thoughtful man, if not idealistic - and although i've never really been partial to that kind of person when thinking about THE PRESIDENCY of the us&a, i have to say that he displays quite the potential to be a good one if (and that's a BIG if) he can actually pull of half of what he proposes. actually, he doesn't propose much - and that is where hillary has him down. he talks a fantastic talk, delivers well, and speaks a language the people can understand, and maybe even speaks what the people want to the hear. but what's wrong with hope for a better america? what's wrong with striving to provide a form of 'universal' healthcare? what's wrong with policy to support marriage relationships and stable households? education? PEACE? MORALS & ETHICS? i can't think of a better platform than that - because if all i have to look forward to is a paycheck at the end of the month, hoping to someone that i can put enough away so that when i'm old and gray i'll have enough to keep a home, to see a doctor, to eat a nice meal once in a while, to call my grandkids, etc (generally the average american these days) - then that totally SUCKS! i'm glad obama is running, and putting out the awareness that someone that isn't the heir to the world's ketchup factory, the son of a son of oil barons, the family of questionable business ethics and morals, movie stars... that just a plain joe schmoe (who also happens to be black), that lived the american dream, that worked his butt off to make things right, that believes in GOD ALMIGHTY, and most importantly, that also has the same concerns as he is preaching out, that this is a person with the brains, smarts, and same vested interest as me, may well be running the country. i think that's totally radical...
jackie pullinger is also totally radical. i know absolutely nothing about her, except from what i've heard from other people. but i was essentially forced to go see her last week at the vine, where she conducted a 3 session 'seminar' on god's heart for the poor. powerful indeed! and i'm extremely glad i went. not sure what it is - but reading obama's book (above) has really gotten me to think about society as a whole. listening to jackie is a great complement, because she will make you take action against those convictions. like all superstar christian folk, it was difficult to actually have a conversation with her, not because she's stand-off-ish, but because she's constantly mobbed by people. so - i didn't wanna add to the mob... i'm not even sure what i woulda gotten out of a conversation with her that i already got out of listening to her talk. actually - it wasn't even the teaching that struck me - it was her stubborn focus, integrity and passion that caught me. she could actually have talked about knitting or cooking, and i woulda had the same effect. BUT, she talked about the poor, the lost, the addicts - the underpriveleged that in reading obama's book, i had felt that while government can do their bit, the people have to be moved in order for real change to happen. so i'm challenged by that - because if i call myself a child of God, if i worship with the true intensity reflected in the lyrics of the songs rather than the music, then the path really is to effect that change around me - as jackie said, with compassion for those that are underpriveleged, one at a time.
so i hope that the lessons stay, and become ingrained in my person. there is no greater blessing that i could imagine in my life as i have now - wife, home, job, daughter-on-the-way. i make no excuses for those blessings, but rather i accept them. i know that i've worked my butt off to get to this stage in life - sacrificed the fun for study, capitalizing on the great gift of education from my parents, and giving up my early years of post-college life celebration for long nights of work. knowing God has put that all into perspective. peter parker summed up the parable of tenants the best: "with great power comes great responsibility".
i fear complacency the most. it's easy to get lost in that - after years of toil and trouble (as we are cursed forever following the exile from eden), and finally settling down and seemingly having an opportunity to 'relax' a bit, i want to just hit cruise control and kick back and sip mango smoothies. i barely was able to get that straw into my mouth, when this pullinger lady comes to my church, and tells me to get off my couch, and turn my abstract intangible compassion, into real and physical action. i won't do it out of pity or guilt - that would be just plain wrong (and pointless); in fact, i don't have an ounce of pity. guilt - well, that remains to be seen. but i want to do it because a refugee in the church laid his hand on my shoulder and prayed over me, that i can have scales removed from my eyes, that i would be able to see with the compassion that God has for his people. that was heart-wrenching. that made me realize that although i have everything i could ever have imagined, it was actually nothing if i have not God's love.
then i looked on all the works that my hands had done,
and on the labor in which i had toiled;
and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun
eccl 2:11
last thing jackie said that impacted me: if i want to have the fullness of God's blessings, i'll need to empty myself of all that is me, so that when i have nothing left, God can replenish that with the fullness of His Spirit. wow... that's a lot of dumping that needs to be done then...
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