a sunny day in daly city! but i'm sitting indoors... oh well whatever, as long as i feel i can afford some time spent being indoors. did a bunch of errands in the morning and i'm suppose to clean up my room and seal that big gap under the door between my room and the kitchen... but somehow i still find myself sitting on my comfy chair. well at least i emptied the trash and bottles in the kitchen earlier on. went to target in the morning as well to get a mini vacuum cleaner, finally got it after having my brother's laundry powder detergent spilled over half the trunk... so it's a good thing that happened and therefore i can get the vacuum. i'm trying to convince myself here by the way of spending the money to buy it. was actually standing at the aisle infront of a row of vacuum cleaners for half hour trying to decide which one i should get... my brain gets tired when there are too many choices at times. apparently michael really likes the mp3/cd player i got for him! that made me happy :) when i helped him move into his new place in berkeley 2 days ago i felt like a mom somehow, my mom i guess, when i started nagging at him and then hoping he'll be fine at his new place when i left. goodness... is that how daughters will slowly become - like our moms?
oh and i still want my own doggy everytime i go into the serramonte's pet shop! which i did again this morning after i went in there a couple of days ago with my brother... the west highland white terrier was still very playful, and there was this cocker spaniel which was so cute too. and then there was this baby golden retreiver sleeping away... having a dog is like having a baby isn't it...? hmmmph maybe i should just be a dog shop owner.
tomorrow i'll be doing my training at club one, wonder what's gonna happen? full of anticipation yet with a tiny mixture of uncertainty... preparing for my first real full time job!
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Thursday, July 22, 2004
come to think about it, it’s been…. quite a number of years since i really started playing basketball. since 13?
still remember when i was like 5 i had this pink rubber ball which i totally loved bouncing around, and there were this koala and panda bear cartoons on it too. my sister and i were watching a soccer anime on tv then, and she said she wanted to be a soccer player when she grew up. i probably didn’t know what i was talking about but i said i wanted to be a basketball player. it was funny, because i didn’t even know what basketball was about except for the bouncing part of it. my sister laughed at me, saying i was too short to be one. hmmph.
guess i didn’t turn out to be too short. somehow my love for bouncing a ball continued to stay with me even though i didn’t get a chance to play the real game when i was in primary and secondary schools. the basketball club closed down when i got into crescent girls’, so i joined track instead. i loved running. i still do. i loved the feeling of being fast. loved it even more when i was faster than anyone else. but nothing came easy when trying to be a faster-than-others runner. had to go through trainings that felt like hell, had to keep myself focused and disciplined. had to keep up with what others expected of me, but more importantly i had to keep up with what i expected of myself. that’s when i realized i didn’t like losing. i accepted defeat and did my best to get better and faster. drew strength from those around who supported me, and strength from God who kept me going and gave me that inner peace i need.
sweat. cramps. heat. strained muscles. dirt. torn ligaments… being an athlete taught me a lot. when i started track i started playing basketball on the side as well. my group of girl pals who were looking for the same fun went out there every recess to play hoops. it was so much fun! but somehow i still didn’t like losing, so i gave my best every time i played. i loved the sound of the ball swooshing through the net. i loved it when i jumped high. i loved it when i cut through screens and past defenders. i loved it when i failed and accepted it and then succeed.
7 months in JJC almost stopped me from coming out to the states. i joined one of the best basketball teams and i loved my coach and teammates to death. i learned so much about the game of basketball. no more is it about me trying to shoot some hoops alone on the court, but working together with my teammates towards the same goal – winning. i loved it when we tried to win, loved it when we win. i brought my game with me to the states, and i found myself expanding it. i’m a player on the court, i will take anyone and i’m not afraid. i take no crap from other people and i respect good players. and i make sure i have fun :)
recently though, i find myself shifting focus from making sure i have fun to trying to win too much. wanting to win is not a bad thing until you are overly obsessed with it. when that happens you’ll forget the simplest pleasure of running and basketball – feeling fast, jumping high, the sound of the net, the warmth of the sun, the cool wind on the back of the shirt… and the real reason to play - to have fun. God has given me this passion to help me live life fully - to help others up when they fall down, to taste joy and tears, to feel His creation under the sky, to understand the pain of sprains and strains, to go through the difficulty of being on crutches, to encourage and understand and go through what other people go through just like how He does the same for me. how can i forget how it all started - the love of bouncing a rubber ball?
http://www.tothenextlevel.org
still remember when i was like 5 i had this pink rubber ball which i totally loved bouncing around, and there were this koala and panda bear cartoons on it too. my sister and i were watching a soccer anime on tv then, and she said she wanted to be a soccer player when she grew up. i probably didn’t know what i was talking about but i said i wanted to be a basketball player. it was funny, because i didn’t even know what basketball was about except for the bouncing part of it. my sister laughed at me, saying i was too short to be one. hmmph.
guess i didn’t turn out to be too short. somehow my love for bouncing a ball continued to stay with me even though i didn’t get a chance to play the real game when i was in primary and secondary schools. the basketball club closed down when i got into crescent girls’, so i joined track instead. i loved running. i still do. i loved the feeling of being fast. loved it even more when i was faster than anyone else. but nothing came easy when trying to be a faster-than-others runner. had to go through trainings that felt like hell, had to keep myself focused and disciplined. had to keep up with what others expected of me, but more importantly i had to keep up with what i expected of myself. that’s when i realized i didn’t like losing. i accepted defeat and did my best to get better and faster. drew strength from those around who supported me, and strength from God who kept me going and gave me that inner peace i need.
sweat. cramps. heat. strained muscles. dirt. torn ligaments… being an athlete taught me a lot. when i started track i started playing basketball on the side as well. my group of girl pals who were looking for the same fun went out there every recess to play hoops. it was so much fun! but somehow i still didn’t like losing, so i gave my best every time i played. i loved the sound of the ball swooshing through the net. i loved it when i jumped high. i loved it when i cut through screens and past defenders. i loved it when i failed and accepted it and then succeed.
7 months in JJC almost stopped me from coming out to the states. i joined one of the best basketball teams and i loved my coach and teammates to death. i learned so much about the game of basketball. no more is it about me trying to shoot some hoops alone on the court, but working together with my teammates towards the same goal – winning. i loved it when we tried to win, loved it when we win. i brought my game with me to the states, and i found myself expanding it. i’m a player on the court, i will take anyone and i’m not afraid. i take no crap from other people and i respect good players. and i make sure i have fun :)
recently though, i find myself shifting focus from making sure i have fun to trying to win too much. wanting to win is not a bad thing until you are overly obsessed with it. when that happens you’ll forget the simplest pleasure of running and basketball – feeling fast, jumping high, the sound of the net, the warmth of the sun, the cool wind on the back of the shirt… and the real reason to play - to have fun. God has given me this passion to help me live life fully - to help others up when they fall down, to taste joy and tears, to feel His creation under the sky, to understand the pain of sprains and strains, to go through the difficulty of being on crutches, to encourage and understand and go through what other people go through just like how He does the same for me. how can i forget how it all started - the love of bouncing a rubber ball?
http://www.tothenextlevel.org
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
i'm so happy. i finally took the recycling bins out to be collected tomorrow morning! yyyaaaaayaaaaaaayy :) it was pretty weird too... after i took them out of the garage and came back up to the living room, i just happened to look out of the window and there was this old man look-alike (his back was facing me) with a huge white garbage bag and he was digging in our bins looking for cans and stuff... he was pretty quick too, for the whole time i was standing there like a piece of rock looking at what he was doing he just went through the bins in sound speed and then left. this was less than a minute after i took them out, i wondered where he came from. maybe next week i should leave more cans for him too.
anyways today have been a good day :) i was out there doing stuff! well i didn't do much but at least i was out walking here and there... it all happened this morning when i got up and the next thing i knew was that my glasses hit the bathroom tile floor while i was washing up... picked it up and there it was - a huge crack right across the left lens. i felt as though a cork just popped out of a champaign bottle and shot all around in my head. but somehow two seconds later i wasn't feeling that upset. it was pretty hilarious actually and i laughed at myself for my stupidity and clumsiness :D haha the feeling was like crossing the golden gate bridge the other time when i was supposed to go south, if you know what happened to me before (i must be going nuts) so well tried to do something about it, asked chia for information on shops and called my brother for his experience when he broke like 6 pairs of glasses for the past 3 years. i just loved my bro's reply: "oh that's easy, just go into any eyeglass shop and get it done lor" thanks for the info mike.
well in the end i ended up going with allen and florence to serramonte to the eyeglass shop there, since i remembered that the day before florence mentioned to me that allen was gonna go shop for his glasses. it's good to find company :). didn't get much out from there, the information the guy at the shop gave wasn't that helpful. and the eyeglasses he was wearing was weird looking too... nope not for me. so i got home and found my old pair of glasses just now and i think i'll just fix the paddings that had broken off somehow, the part that rest on the nose bridge... at least for now, till i see what i can do next. i gotta do it soon if not it'll cut into my skin which really hurts, or i'll just be quite blind. haha i love it when i can find ways to get around stuff :) usually not for long though.
i love today too since i cooked a super simple yet healthy dinner! was starving and then i was so full.... so decided to get up and walk and that's when i took the recycling bins out. oh back to the beginning.
bumming and lazing around are tiring me out. and i mean tiring me out. i think i'll really need to play some hoops, or jump some rope, or run around tomorrow. oh how about biking around the neighborhood? hmmmph that sure sounds good :)
anyways today have been a good day :) i was out there doing stuff! well i didn't do much but at least i was out walking here and there... it all happened this morning when i got up and the next thing i knew was that my glasses hit the bathroom tile floor while i was washing up... picked it up and there it was - a huge crack right across the left lens. i felt as though a cork just popped out of a champaign bottle and shot all around in my head. but somehow two seconds later i wasn't feeling that upset. it was pretty hilarious actually and i laughed at myself for my stupidity and clumsiness :D haha the feeling was like crossing the golden gate bridge the other time when i was supposed to go south, if you know what happened to me before (i must be going nuts) so well tried to do something about it, asked chia for information on shops and called my brother for his experience when he broke like 6 pairs of glasses for the past 3 years. i just loved my bro's reply: "oh that's easy, just go into any eyeglass shop and get it done lor" thanks for the info mike.
well in the end i ended up going with allen and florence to serramonte to the eyeglass shop there, since i remembered that the day before florence mentioned to me that allen was gonna go shop for his glasses. it's good to find company :). didn't get much out from there, the information the guy at the shop gave wasn't that helpful. and the eyeglasses he was wearing was weird looking too... nope not for me. so i got home and found my old pair of glasses just now and i think i'll just fix the paddings that had broken off somehow, the part that rest on the nose bridge... at least for now, till i see what i can do next. i gotta do it soon if not it'll cut into my skin which really hurts, or i'll just be quite blind. haha i love it when i can find ways to get around stuff :) usually not for long though.
i love today too since i cooked a super simple yet healthy dinner! was starving and then i was so full.... so decided to get up and walk and that's when i took the recycling bins out. oh back to the beginning.
bumming and lazing around are tiring me out. and i mean tiring me out. i think i'll really need to play some hoops, or jump some rope, or run around tomorrow. oh how about biking around the neighborhood? hmmmph that sure sounds good :)
Friday, July 16, 2004
being a runner, that's me right there
Every Runner Should
Order something besides pasta now and then;
Throw the old shoes away;
Marvel that endorphins are actually legal;
Leave that walkman at home for a change;
Be drenched by a passing car;
On purpose;
Should run in a foreign country;
In traffic;
Pass the guy on the straightaway;
Find the zone;
With the wind at their back;
Dream of chest hitting tape;
Twist an ankle;
Catch the eye of a stranger;
Slow the pace;
Choose to stay the course;
Start;
Stumble;
Fall;
Finish;
Know that a fraction of a second does not make a loser; or a winner… and
Throw the old shoes away!
--author unknown--
Thursday, July 15, 2004
thursday. somehow i felt it’s gonna be a good day. especially with the promise of the start of our basketball league game later this evening. and it sure is. having no obligation to do anything at all gave me the option to either laze my day away in my room sleeping, or to do something that i wanted but usually wasn’t able to because i was so involved in other stuff. i chose the latter. coming home in the morning first thing i noticed was that empty garbage container standing outside the garage, and i was thrilled by it. so happpppy! i don’t know why but there’s always so much trash from our house… everytime i couldn’t wait till the next wednesday evening to take them out so that they would be gone. and for our recycling bins, they were still full from 3 weeks worth of recycling stuff… goodness. and they kept mounting up since there’s always so much stuff we had to recycle. well i’m proud of that. florence and i had to use the chinese way of stepping onto them repeatedly so we could stuff everything into the bins. didn’t take them out yesterday since we found out that they are collected every wednesday morning, from our neighbor next door. i’ve seen him a few times working outside his house, an asian man who seemed to be working hard at something everytime i see him. i said hi to him a couple of times and yesterday he came over with a pit bull puppy to tell us about the trash and recycling schedules, while we were trying to pull out the trash and stuff from the garage. i felt pretty stupid but then it’s good to know the right schedule finally. the pit bull’s only 2 months old and it was so cute! pretty ugly so i guess that’s why it’s cute. it tried to jump towards me and i was patting it and it was trying to play and everything, my heart really went out to it! i so want to have my own doggy.
so back to today, i was hanging out in florence’s room and she was trying to take her nursing test online, while i looked over her bookshelf and found some recipe books. all of a sudden i felt as though i was back in pennsylvania when i started copying recipes into my notebook, all handwritten too! felt like back to those days of having nothing to do in PA where i borrowed recipe books from my brother-in-law and copied them down. and hey i cooked from them too! i remember it was fun. i know i’ll be doing so much more cooking from now on, now i’ve got alittle more time. maybe it’ll be different when work starts in august but then it’s all about prioritizing. nothing gives a better sense of accomplishment when results can be seen from trying and doing and hard work. that goes for a lot of stuff i do.
especially running and basketball.
save that for next time i write, there’s so much i can write about something that i grew up with.
so what can i learn from today?
take out recycling stuff on tuesday evening, trash on wednesday evening.
so back to today, i was hanging out in florence’s room and she was trying to take her nursing test online, while i looked over her bookshelf and found some recipe books. all of a sudden i felt as though i was back in pennsylvania when i started copying recipes into my notebook, all handwritten too! felt like back to those days of having nothing to do in PA where i borrowed recipe books from my brother-in-law and copied them down. and hey i cooked from them too! i remember it was fun. i know i’ll be doing so much more cooking from now on, now i’ve got alittle more time. maybe it’ll be different when work starts in august but then it’s all about prioritizing. nothing gives a better sense of accomplishment when results can be seen from trying and doing and hard work. that goes for a lot of stuff i do.
especially running and basketball.
save that for next time i write, there’s so much i can write about something that i grew up with.
so what can i learn from today?
take out recycling stuff on tuesday evening, trash on wednesday evening.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Noon time on a foggy monday at san francisco. i dropped stella off at SFO about 1/2 hour ago, it was foggy the whole way until we drove past south san francisco where the sun was just welcoming us with its warmth... and the funny thing was that it seemed there was a clear marked line up in the sky between the fog and the sun. wacky.
these 2 weeks have been an amazing time for me. for once i have a friend from my side of the world where i grew up in come visiting me. i was nervous for sure at the beginning, you know the feeling where all of a sudden someone's gonna be with me for a period of time, who was gonna depend on me to show and take care of her in a new place in which i didn't even know whether i could do it right. i guess there's no right or wrong here. i just did the best i could to make everything feel enjoyable. i think i did a fairly decent job.
it was great to hang out with stella again, we've changed so much the past 3 years, but yet at the same time we still had our individual personalities that kept our friendship strong and also ready to kill each other at times. lol. you get what i mean. seeing her 24/7 for 2 weeks was pretty crazy for me at first, ever since i left singapore i did not have company like this. it was really cool though, having her around doing stuff in the day and conversations late into the nights about everything. the past, present, future. the room's super messy but it gave a warmth feeling of something... can't tell what it is. but if it's more than 2 weeks of mess i'll probably go insane, i'm sure stel will too. having 2 people anal about cleaniness can really drive each other nuts.
hmmm i actually feel sad that she's going back home. it feels weird that it's quiet in my room right now. no sound from the tv, the stereo, or her loud mouth, except the clear tappings from my keyboard as i hit each key with my fingers. it's always been like this isn't it, getting together then leaving a place again. but this time it's not me doing it. feels the same though. i thought i've done this so many times that i feel numb about it, but surprisely not. there's always a tingle of sadness, a pinch of desire to get back with family and friends soon.
hmmmph.
i love it though, how circumstances in life make me stronger and not a cry baby. and now i'm blessed with friends i got to know as i keep on going. how lucky am i :)
lunch sounds good!
these 2 weeks have been an amazing time for me. for once i have a friend from my side of the world where i grew up in come visiting me. i was nervous for sure at the beginning, you know the feeling where all of a sudden someone's gonna be with me for a period of time, who was gonna depend on me to show and take care of her in a new place in which i didn't even know whether i could do it right. i guess there's no right or wrong here. i just did the best i could to make everything feel enjoyable. i think i did a fairly decent job.
it was great to hang out with stella again, we've changed so much the past 3 years, but yet at the same time we still had our individual personalities that kept our friendship strong and also ready to kill each other at times. lol. you get what i mean. seeing her 24/7 for 2 weeks was pretty crazy for me at first, ever since i left singapore i did not have company like this. it was really cool though, having her around doing stuff in the day and conversations late into the nights about everything. the past, present, future. the room's super messy but it gave a warmth feeling of something... can't tell what it is. but if it's more than 2 weeks of mess i'll probably go insane, i'm sure stel will too. having 2 people anal about cleaniness can really drive each other nuts.
hmmm i actually feel sad that she's going back home. it feels weird that it's quiet in my room right now. no sound from the tv, the stereo, or her loud mouth, except the clear tappings from my keyboard as i hit each key with my fingers. it's always been like this isn't it, getting together then leaving a place again. but this time it's not me doing it. feels the same though. i thought i've done this so many times that i feel numb about it, but surprisely not. there's always a tingle of sadness, a pinch of desire to get back with family and friends soon.
hmmmph.
i love it though, how circumstances in life make me stronger and not a cry baby. and now i'm blessed with friends i got to know as i keep on going. how lucky am i :)
lunch sounds good!
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
morning
it's past 10am tuesday morning, and compared to the past few days i wake up early today. woke up to a lovely message on my cell, i feel it's gonna be a wonderful day :) i could have continue sleeping for another hour or two, but waking up earlier to spend some time for myself is what i need. this next 30 minutes belong to me only.
having some instant coffee right now, it doesn't taste as good as what i remember... after graduation i feel i am in the transition of a lot of things, and one of them is to have better taste in food... finding myself seeking the move away from instant college stuff to eating better food. it's a good thing.
it’s been 4 days since we came back up from palo alto, and i’ve been hanging out with stella and chia everywhere. so thankful that chia is with us, i’m a total nuthead in planning things out... realize i have that attitude of taking things as they come, taking one day at a time... it must be a side effect from stressing my guts out in everything back home a few years ago. guess i just want to enjoy each day as it is. but alright, i'll work on my planning skills.
so let's see... what have we been doing these past few days?
Saturday – 7/3 - sunny
Headed out to napa valley on Saturday morning, while driving out onto 19th the fog was rolling in like a blanket thrown over the city. or maybe like a water bed that started to leak when the sky drizzled alittle too. i am not so much of a fog lover but then i was glad to see it - an excuse i find to make myself feel better about not playing basketball that morning. the sun was shining brightly at napa though. hate to admit it but I am such a risky driver, nasty at taking turns, inducing car-sickness to stella on the way to Sonoma… lol. She would have yelled at me but I guess she was too sick to do so. It was really fun to be with 2 people who are happy and who made me happy. Happiness is so complex yet so simple.
Sunday – 7/4 - foggy
back at church once again after 2 weeks and wasn’t I glad to be back… I felt at home. It’s july 4th, in the evening we went to jane's place for a BBQ. it was fun, meeting and talking to new people, i love conversations. so what's the big deal about alcohol? i think it brings out something in a person that he or she wants to express but can't really do so without it at times. i think there are many other ways to express oneself's thoughts and emotions, and for me when i need to alcohol comes later in my list. but it does provide a quick way to feel relax. it was a fun party that night, all the people there were having a great time, stella was definitely having a great time ;)
Monday - 7/5 - yesterday
slept till 12 noon. what a pig. but i was tired. went to Muir Woods later in the afternoon and did a 5 mile hike out to the ocean... a gorgeous view. felt like standing at the top of the world looking down at the works of God. the thick layer of fog covered the view of the ocean, enhancing the musical sound of the waves. the trees standing amongst the rolling fog stood really tall, as though they wanna catch a glimpse of the clear sky above. breathtaking. and a good burito to end the evening ;)
stel's still sleeping, i guess we'll have a later start of the day once again. love it!
having some instant coffee right now, it doesn't taste as good as what i remember... after graduation i feel i am in the transition of a lot of things, and one of them is to have better taste in food... finding myself seeking the move away from instant college stuff to eating better food. it's a good thing.
it’s been 4 days since we came back up from palo alto, and i’ve been hanging out with stella and chia everywhere. so thankful that chia is with us, i’m a total nuthead in planning things out... realize i have that attitude of taking things as they come, taking one day at a time... it must be a side effect from stressing my guts out in everything back home a few years ago. guess i just want to enjoy each day as it is. but alright, i'll work on my planning skills.
so let's see... what have we been doing these past few days?
Saturday – 7/3 - sunny
Headed out to napa valley on Saturday morning, while driving out onto 19th the fog was rolling in like a blanket thrown over the city. or maybe like a water bed that started to leak when the sky drizzled alittle too. i am not so much of a fog lover but then i was glad to see it - an excuse i find to make myself feel better about not playing basketball that morning. the sun was shining brightly at napa though. hate to admit it but I am such a risky driver, nasty at taking turns, inducing car-sickness to stella on the way to Sonoma… lol. She would have yelled at me but I guess she was too sick to do so. It was really fun to be with 2 people who are happy and who made me happy. Happiness is so complex yet so simple.
Sunday – 7/4 - foggy
back at church once again after 2 weeks and wasn’t I glad to be back… I felt at home. It’s july 4th, in the evening we went to jane's place for a BBQ. it was fun, meeting and talking to new people, i love conversations. so what's the big deal about alcohol? i think it brings out something in a person that he or she wants to express but can't really do so without it at times. i think there are many other ways to express oneself's thoughts and emotions, and for me when i need to alcohol comes later in my list. but it does provide a quick way to feel relax. it was a fun party that night, all the people there were having a great time, stella was definitely having a great time ;)
Monday - 7/5 - yesterday
slept till 12 noon. what a pig. but i was tired. went to Muir Woods later in the afternoon and did a 5 mile hike out to the ocean... a gorgeous view. felt like standing at the top of the world looking down at the works of God. the thick layer of fog covered the view of the ocean, enhancing the musical sound of the waves. the trees standing amongst the rolling fog stood really tall, as though they wanna catch a glimpse of the clear sky above. breathtaking. and a good burito to end the evening ;)
stel's still sleeping, i guess we'll have a later start of the day once again. love it!
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