Monday, June 28, 2004
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Weekend at Tahoe (only it was Wednesday)!
Ryan, Brandon, Katz, and I drove out to Tahoe yesterday, and came back the same day. Got to hang out with Tomio a bit as well which was cool. Planning for the trip was at a super minimum. Tuesday night (yes, that's the day before) at around 11:30PM, we decided that it would be splendid to spend the following day along the shores of the bluest lake in the world (and in the casinos and buffets that lie alongside). Day/road trip on a whim. It felt like college all over again.
It was good to just spend a good chunk of time with those guys. Talking, sitting, eating, sitting, laughing, sitting, hanging out, sitting. Good times.
Conversation of the day:
(Late in the day, after winning a number of times on the slots, Katz again wins on a slot pull. He proceeds to put his hand under the coin dispenser so that his winnings fall directly into his hand, keeping them from klanking on the metal bin below.)
B: "Hey, I thought you liked the sound of the coins falling."
K: "I did. But then it got annoying after a while."
Ryan, Brandon, Katz, and I drove out to Tahoe yesterday, and came back the same day. Got to hang out with Tomio a bit as well which was cool. Planning for the trip was at a super minimum. Tuesday night (yes, that's the day before) at around 11:30PM, we decided that it would be splendid to spend the following day along the shores of the bluest lake in the world (and in the casinos and buffets that lie alongside). Day/road trip on a whim. It felt like college all over again.
It was good to just spend a good chunk of time with those guys. Talking, sitting, eating, sitting, laughing, sitting, hanging out, sitting. Good times.
Conversation of the day:
(Late in the day, after winning a number of times on the slots, Katz again wins on a slot pull. He proceeds to put his hand under the coin dispenser so that his winnings fall directly into his hand, keeping them from klanking on the metal bin below.)
B: "Hey, I thought you liked the sound of the coins falling."
K: "I did. But then it got annoying after a while."
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Farmer's tan and good food
I'm colorblind. So, usually I can't see when people blush, tan, or burn. But today, as I was driving to Berkeley I noticed that I have the nastiest farmer's tan. To confirm, I touched my shoulders so that I could do a side by side comparison of my bicep and forearm. It was like night and day.
As a side note, "night and day" can also be translated as "California and Hokkaido" respectively. The color of my bicep used to be my skin color for about 2 years. As my mom said at a Starbucks when I came home, "[I'm] whiter than most caucasians." Sunny California days make all the difference.
Onto the good food. For lunch, I just went to Jones' BBQ on San Pablo Dam. I had their Catfish sandwich lunch special. Oh it was good eatin'. Fried catfish pieces with lettuce and tomato on a bun, beans and rice as a side, and a Pepsi for $6. Good deal I think. Definitely want to try out their beef and ribs now. If anybody's down, I'm in the area.
I'm colorblind. So, usually I can't see when people blush, tan, or burn. But today, as I was driving to Berkeley I noticed that I have the nastiest farmer's tan. To confirm, I touched my shoulders so that I could do a side by side comparison of my bicep and forearm. It was like night and day.
As a side note, "night and day" can also be translated as "California and Hokkaido" respectively. The color of my bicep used to be my skin color for about 2 years. As my mom said at a Starbucks when I came home, "[I'm] whiter than most caucasians." Sunny California days make all the difference.
Onto the good food. For lunch, I just went to Jones' BBQ on San Pablo Dam. I had their Catfish sandwich lunch special. Oh it was good eatin'. Fried catfish pieces with lettuce and tomato on a bun, beans and rice as a side, and a Pepsi for $6. Good deal I think. Definitely want to try out their beef and ribs now. If anybody's down, I'm in the area.
Friday, June 18, 2004
Great.
Had a great breakfast at Mama's in North Beach with Alinna followed by a great Giants game in the afternoon where we joined up with Jason, Mary, and Ev. Great time at the barbeque at East Bay... as usual. In the great words of the Kool-Aid man, "Oh yeah."
A thought on the megachurch phenomenon...
With the prominence of megachurches like Willow Creek and Saddleback, and their dubbed "success," I've seen a number of other churches try to imitate their style by investing considerable amounts of money to campus expansions, building renovations, and diversifying and increasing paid staff size. Granted, I definitely have a biased opinion about this, but wouldn't that money be better used for church planting rather than improving an existing church?
It appears that the early church thought so, that is, after the church in Jerusalem was dispersed. And if my generation is serious about desiring more intimate, closer, real communities/relationships, wouldn't ten 50-member churches be far more effective than a single 500-member church (all other factors aside)?
I remember reading this article from the Barna webpage when I was still in Japan. This may hold true right now, but I think the "Hope for small churches" section will be profoundly prophetic in the years to come.
Had a great breakfast at Mama's in North Beach with Alinna followed by a great Giants game in the afternoon where we joined up with Jason, Mary, and Ev. Great time at the barbeque at East Bay... as usual. In the great words of the Kool-Aid man, "Oh yeah."
A thought on the megachurch phenomenon...
With the prominence of megachurches like Willow Creek and Saddleback, and their dubbed "success," I've seen a number of other churches try to imitate their style by investing considerable amounts of money to campus expansions, building renovations, and diversifying and increasing paid staff size. Granted, I definitely have a biased opinion about this, but wouldn't that money be better used for church planting rather than improving an existing church?
It appears that the early church thought so, that is, after the church in Jerusalem was dispersed. And if my generation is serious about desiring more intimate, closer, real communities/relationships, wouldn't ten 50-member churches be far more effective than a single 500-member church (all other factors aside)?
I remember reading this article from the Barna webpage when I was still in Japan. This may hold true right now, but I think the "Hope for small churches" section will be profoundly prophetic in the years to come.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Back "home"
I read this good article about transplanting or moving to a new location. And yet, though the article is good and speaks to me to some level because of my move back home, my experience has been different because of that very reason... I'm back home.
Getting readjusted has been difficult for all the reasons mentioned in the article: Expect disorientation, new relationships take time, old relationships will change, transplanting means growth. The additional problem is that the "new relationships" are really old relationships, and the "old relationships" are new relationships, well, at least in comparison to the "new relationships." I've known the people in my "new surroundings," here at home, longer than those of my "old surroundings," Japan.
And so, it'd be safe to say that I've expected too much of you all here on this side of the Pacific. I treated my American relationships as if they were old relationships that could just pick up where they left off. And though we may share in old memories and laugh at the same old jokes, the fact of the matter is that my American friends have changed, and so have I.
It's just been so difficult to see a familiar face, and feel like I have to start the relationship all over again.
I read this good article about transplanting or moving to a new location. And yet, though the article is good and speaks to me to some level because of my move back home, my experience has been different because of that very reason... I'm back home.
Getting readjusted has been difficult for all the reasons mentioned in the article: Expect disorientation, new relationships take time, old relationships will change, transplanting means growth. The additional problem is that the "new relationships" are really old relationships, and the "old relationships" are new relationships, well, at least in comparison to the "new relationships." I've known the people in my "new surroundings," here at home, longer than those of my "old surroundings," Japan.
And so, it'd be safe to say that I've expected too much of you all here on this side of the Pacific. I treated my American relationships as if they were old relationships that could just pick up where they left off. And though we may share in old memories and laugh at the same old jokes, the fact of the matter is that my American friends have changed, and so have I.
It's just been so difficult to see a familiar face, and feel like I have to start the relationship all over again.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Crazy weekend.
Many congrats to Phoebe on her baby shower. Nuts! She's having a kid. Definitely cool to see all the peoples out representing and showing their support. There is much love.
Congrats to Gordon as well... getting married. Unfortunately, due to some major stomach discomfort I wasn't able to celebrate in full force. Later that night, I just collapsed into bed... twice. The result? Two days of feeling nasty = 9lbs of weight loss. Atkins' got nothing on this baby.
Many congrats to Phoebe on her baby shower. Nuts! She's having a kid. Definitely cool to see all the peoples out representing and showing their support. There is much love.
Congrats to Gordon as well... getting married. Unfortunately, due to some major stomach discomfort I wasn't able to celebrate in full force. Later that night, I just collapsed into bed... twice. The result? Two days of feeling nasty = 9lbs of weight loss. Atkins' got nothing on this baby.
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